Different Kinds of Sin
For each question make sure to write what type of sin you think is being committed (No
sin, venial sin, or mortal sin) and to explain your answer fully.
1. Sam is the rich leader and CEO of a large bank who decides to make more money
for himself and his other very wealthy friends by secretly scamming people. He knows
this will cause thousands of people to lose their jobs and life savings but he doesn’t care
because he and his close business partners will make hundreds of millions of dollars.
What type of sin if any is Sam committing and why?
2. 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 isn’t good, but she
thinks that it’s not 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. What type of sin if any is Maria
committing and why?
3. When Jim was a young kid, he was constantly abused and beaten up by his uncle.
As he grew up Jim became a violent kid and constantly beat up other kids in order to
get what he wanted. When he got older, he began to turn to crime and robbery. One
day while holding up a food store, Jim shoots and kills the store manager for trying to
fight back against the robbery. What type of sin if any is Jim committing and why?
4. James is really hooked on a new game for his Playstation 3. He knows that he is
supposed to shovel out the snow for his parents before they get home from work. One
snowy day, James gets so into his new game that he forgets to shovel the snow in his
driveway or help his mom carry in the groceries. When his mom gets home, she slips
on the ice and hurts her ankle. What type of sin if any is James committing and why?
5. Cindy and Kristen used to be close friends. After getting into an argument, Cindy and
his friends kicked Kristen out of their group. They stopped calling her, eating lunch with
her at school, and stopped talking to her altogether because they wanted to show
Kristen how much they didn’t like her anymore. What type of sin if any, is Cindy
committing and why?
6. Sara’s family is very poor. Her mom is very sick and her dad just lost his job last
month and can’t find something new. Sara also has two younger brothers and a
younger sister. She knows that her family has to pay the rent for their apartment at the
end of the week otherwise they will be thrown out since they have been late paying the
last 3 months. Sara knows that some of her friends hang out with a group of guys that
deal drugs, and she knows that these guys are always looking for new people to help
them deal. Sara decides to work for the dealers and sell drugs to earn money for her
family. What type of sin if any is Sara committing and why?
7. Brad is supposed to baby-sit the kids of his next-door neighbor and he is running late
from football practice. On his way over to the house, he sees an older boy pushing
around a smaller kid down the block and it looks like they are not joking around. Brad
decides that he really needs to get to his neighbors since he already has been late and
knows his neighbors need to get somewhere important, so he ignores the situation.
What type of sin if any is Brad committing and why?
8. Kate promised to help her little brother study for his math final over the weekend
because he has been struggling. At the last minute one of her friends asks her to go
away with her family over the weekend and Kate decides to go instead of helping her
brother. By the time she gets back late Sunday night, it’s too late to help her brother.
The next day her brother takes the test and a few days later Kate finds out that he did
very poorly. What type of sin if any is Kate committing and why?
9. 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. What type of sin is Mark committing?
Types of Sin:
Mortal Sin: A serious, grave or mortal sin is the knowing and willful violation of
God's law in a serious matter
Venial Sin: Venial sins are slight sins. They do not break our friendship with God,
although they injure it.