Venial sin
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According to Roman Catholicism, a venial sin (meaning "forgivable" sin) is a lesser sin which does not result in a complete separation from God and eternal damnation in Hell. A venial sin involves a "temporary loss of grace" from God.
A venial sin meets at least one of the following criteria:
- it does not concern a "grave matter",
- it is not committed with full knowledge, or
- it is not committed with both deliberate and complete consent.
As the above criteria are the three criteria for mortal sin stated negatively (via de Morgan's theorem), a sin which met none of these extenuating conditions would necessarily be considered mortal.
Each venial sin that one commits adds to the penance that one must do. Penance left undone during life converts to punishment in purgatory. A venial sin can be left unconfessed.
Venial sins usually remain venial no matter how many one commits. They cannot "add up" to collectively constitute a mortal sin, except in certain cases of theft, where one steals a very small amount of money or goods many times.
[edit] Forgivable sins in the Bible
The New Testament distinguishes between sin three different ways: venial sins (although not called such), sins "that lead to death" (1 John 5:16-17) (Mortal sins) and the unforgivable sin, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Mark 3:28-29).
[edit] Use in literature
"The Venial Sin" is a short story by Honoré de Balzac.
