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great deal nowadays about the “loss of the sense of sin,” though Modernists hasten to assure
us that, while we have lost the sense of sin, we have gained the sense of sins, in the plural, that
is, of definite actual sins. But there is no doubt about it that people have to an alarming extent
lost the sense of the heinousness of sin, as committed against a holy God, and have largely
thought of it merely as an infringement on the rights of one’s fellow-men. They fail to see that
sin is a fatal power in their lives which ever and anon incites their rebellious spirits, which
makes them guilty before God, and which brings them under a sentence of condemnation. It is
one of the merits of the Theology of Crisis that it is calling attention once more to the
seriousness of sin as a revolt against God, as a revolutionary attempt to be like God.
2. CLASSIFICATION OF ACTUAL SINS.
It is quite impossible to give a unified and comprehensive
classification of actual sins. They vary in kind and degree, and can be differentiated from more
than one point of view. Roman Catholics make a well-known distinction between venial and
mortal sins, but admit that it is extremely difficult and dangerous to decide whether a sin is
mortal or venial. They were led to this distinction by the statement of Paul in Gal. 5:21 that they
“who do such things (as he has enumerated) shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” One
commits a mortal sin when one willfully violates the law of God in a matter which one believes
or knows to be important. It renders the sinner liable to eternal punishment. And one commits
a venial sin when one transgresses the law of God in a matter that is not of grave importance,
or when the transgression is not altogether voluntary. Such a sin is forgiven more easily, and
even without confession. Forgiveness for mortal sins can be obtained only by the sacrament of
penance. The distinction is not a Scriptural one, for according to Scripture every sin is
essentially anomia (unrighteousness), and merits eternal punishment. Moreover, it has a
deleterious effect in practical life, since it engenders a feeling of uncertainty, sometimes a
feeling of morbid fear on the one hand, or of unwarranted carelessness on the other. The Bible
does distinguish different kinds of sins, especially in connection with the different degrees of
guilt attaching to them. The Old Testament makes an important distinction between sins
committed presumptuously (with a high hand), and sins committed unwittingly, that is, as the
result of ignorance, weakness, or error, Num. 15:29-31. The former could not be atoned by
sacrifice and were punished with great severity, while the latter could be so atoned and were
judged with far greater leniency. The fundamental principle embodied in this distinction still
applies. Sins committed on purpose, with full consciousness of the evil involved, and with
deliberation, are greater and more culpable than sins resulting from ignorance, from an
erroneous conception of things, or from weakness of character. Nevertheless the latter are also
real sins and make one guilty in the sight of God, Gal. 6:1; Eph. 4:18; I Tim 1:13; 5:24. The New
Testament further clearly teaches us that the degree of sin is to a great extent determined by
the degree of light possessed. The heathen are guilty indeed, but they who have God’s