FAQ

Strictly speaking, the concept of mortal (and, correspondingly, non-mortal) sins has very little biblical foundation. The Bible generally distinguishes between sin, which always results in separation from God—that is, death—and righteousness, through which a person receives the gift of life from God. Only in one passage of the First Epistle of John is a distinction mentioned between a mortal sin, as a result of which a person becomes completely closed off to God, and a "sin that does not lead to death," in which a person has not entirely alienated themselves from faith and love for God. The Apostle John bases the distinction between mortal and non-mortal sin on consciousness and, so to speak, intentionality. If a person consciously rebels against God, it is a sin that leads to death, no matter how small it may seem. If, however, a person sins due to an inability to resist their corrupted nature, yet their will still opposes it (or if the person simply does not realize the sinfulness of their actions)—in such a case, the possibility of repentance remains open to them.

Early Christianity considered murder, adultery, and apostasy to be mortal sins (those completely separating a person from God). On this basis, the theory of the 7 deadly sins arose in the early Middle Ages, which include pride, greed, lust, wrath, gluttony, envy, and sloth. In contemporary Christian life, this list is considered overly scholastic; the majority of Christians avoid citing it.