Sin stories
Read each story and explain whether or not each character is committing a sin.
1) Jim has been in the marines for several years. He came from a very difficult
community and unstable family situation so part of his reason for enlisting was to get
away from his past. While serving several tours in Afghanistan, Jim was involved in
many combat situations and was exposed to a great deal of violence. After returning to
America, Jim met with an army psychiatrist who diagnosed him with PTSD (Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder). Once back in America, Jim never made any real
connections with family and friends and developed a severe case of depression. After
going through several extremely difficult and lonely months, Jim decided to overdose on
his medication and take his own life? Is Jim committing a sin in this situation? Make
sure to explain your answer by evaluating action, intent and awareness/circumstances.
2) Rob is entering his junior year in high school at an inner city school in Los Angeles.
His father has been in prison for years and his mom has been working three jobs just to
support Rob, his younger brother and two little sisters. Rob is a star running back on
the football team and knows that this is the year where he can really impress scouts and
possibly get a scholarship to play in college since his family won’t be able to afford it.
Rob here’s from some of his friends that they been taking some PED’s (performance
enhancing drugs) over the summer and it has really shown at practice since they are
playing much better. Rob knows that his only shot to get into college is through an
athletic scholarship since his grades aren’t good and his family doesn’t have the money.
He has been looking forward to being the first one in his family to actually graduate
college. He also knows that if he gets caught taking these substances that he would get
kicked off the team and would greatly disappoint his family, but some of his older friends
already did this last year and got away with it so Rob thinks he can do the same. Rob
and his friends also aren’t really sure what the side effects of the supplements are.
However, Rob decides to accept the offer from his friends to take the PED’s in order to
insure that he will have a great season and get a scholarship offer, figuring that he will
get off the PED’s as soon as he can. Is Rob committing a sin in this situation? Make
sure to explain your answer by evaluating action, intent and awareness.
3) Jane, her husband, and 3 young children live in a country with great political unrest.
Although she and her husband both have steady jobs and live in a comfortable setting,
recently a very strict fundamentalist Christian group came to power in the government
and made laws that anyone who wasn't part of their religion could be legally arrested
and would have to give up all of their property. Jane and her family belong to the same
religion as this group, so they pretty much get left alone, however Jane disagrees with
many of the strict beliefs and unfair policies towards people of other religions. Jane also
is aware that her neighbors belong to a different religion. One day Jane and her family
witness the military taking over their neighbors’ house and warning them to leave the
country. After the military leaves, the neighbors knock on Jane’s door and ask her if
they can stay with her since they have no money and wouldn’t be able to survive if they
tried to leave. Jane knows that she and her family could lose their property and she and
her husband would be arrested if the government found out that they were helping
criminals, so they decides to turn her neighbors away without helping them. Is Jane
committing a sin in this situation? Make sure to explain your answer evaluating action,
intent and awareness.
4. Mark is a police officer and has worked in a notoriously dangerous precinct. One day
he and his partner get a call about a robbery at one of the local convenience stores.
When they respond to the call, Mark and his partner see a man pointing a gun at some
people in the store. When they yell at the man to drop the gun, he turns and fires at
them. Mark fires at the man intending just to inure the man but the wound results in his
death. Is Mark committing a sin in this situation? Make sure to explain your answer
using action, intent and awareness/circumstances.
5. Maria has a big drinking problem. Many times she has gone out to her local bar to
drink heavily and later drive home. Maria knows that drunk driving it's not good, but she
thinks that it isn't that bad because her bar is only two miles away and she has
never gotten into an accident before. One night as she is driving home drunk she hits a
car and seriously injures the two people in the car. Is Maria committing a sin in this
situation? Make sure to explain your answer using action, intent, and
awareness/circumstances.