Spirituality: A Short History of Sin – Part 2 of 5

A Short History of Sin

The development of the Penitential manuals (a guidebook for confessors to help adjudicate sin in the one seeking reconciliation) moved Christians away from the Gospel teachings, which teach that sin is something within the person. Our tradition tells us that sin is a type of action that we are to avoid. The Penitents learned that sin is an external act, while Jesus taught that sin comes out of a sinful person.

1st – 5th Century: Becoming conscious of sinful actions in light of Gospel
6th – 12th Century: Focus shift to the lives of the Penitent and his or her incorporation
13th – 16th Century: The development of Confessional manuals


1st – 5th Century:

By the 5th c., people were naming their sins in the Penitential Rite during Mass. They were conscious of their sins which was often uncomfortable and embarrassing to the person and to the community. The big question they had to deal with was apostasy. People were denying they were Christians during persecutions. When the violence ended, former Christians wanted to come back. How do you readmit persons who apostatized? But not only did people apostatize; they also committed murder and adultery.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation was born. In Acts 15:29, the Council of Jerusalem made the following distinctions and parallels.

a. idolatry equated to - apostasy
b. blood equated to - murder
c. unchastity equated to - adultery

Dilemmas arose because a person could only be readmitted once. What happened if person was only a simple murderer and did not abandon community? The person had a notion that she did something wrong and a ritual developed to give someone a stiff penance.

People began to wait until they are near death for Reconciliation. They formed the Bonum Morum Society – O Happy Death. Priests would not be able to give penance to someone on their deathbed; therefore they had a happy death. The tradition of nine consecutive First Fridays began, as a way of receiving something like absolution because priest would not be able to come to a poor person.

6th – 12th Century:

Late in 5th c and early 6th c, monks in Ireland provided spiritual guidance. Mostly monks talking to fellow monks, but lay people wanted those conversations too. Monks began to give out fair penances – a system of equity, to be fair in the distribution of penance. It was pastoral practice, not Church legislation. Monks relied upon Abbots to write manuals (pamphlets) which were categorized by the 7 deadly sins

Sample Penitential manual were created. For each vice, there were 10-20 entries to ensure fairness. It was a way of cataloging the sins according to the status of penitent: Clerics, Nobles, and serfs. This is a list of sins people confessed from their experiences.

Noble people began to be hit with big penances. Nobles became members of the Happy Death Society, while the serfs did the penances. What perception results? only the poor sin. Nobles avoided public penance because they could not perform penance and carry out responsibilities. They developed a practice on their deathbed to give over 1/3 of estate to the needs of the diocese. What perception results? The noble person is benefactor.

13th – 16th Century:

The 12th century was marked by an awareness of spirituality and asceticism. It was an awakening that was marked by interiority, the importance of personhood, and that a person was created in the image of God. This gives birth to the Renaissance. The 12th c raises different questions about freedom, intentionality, motivation, and circumstances.

In 1215, Pope Innocent III institutionalized Confession stating one must go before Easter. All people are required to go, not just monks. The identity of the Confessor is to be a just judge and healer (physician). The priest is the one who determines the cause of sin.

In the 16th century (Trent), seminaries are established and moral theology is taught for the first time. They became concerned about how people are being formed to make good confessions. Trent writes a catechism in which the 10 Commandments are inserted (because people focused on the Seven Deadly sins which does not have a scriptural basis.) The catechism tells you what to avoid and what to pursue. However, only the confessor knows what these are because they are inserted into Confessional Manuals. These confessional manuals have been revised and used up through the 20th century.