Can Something Be Evil But Not Sinful?

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Can something be evil but not sinful? What's the difference between evil and sin? How can do 'do' evil, if evil is a privation, according to St. Thomas Aquinas? Big questions like these have been popping up in the comment boxes of our Aquinas 101 videos since the start of our very first season. In this video series with Fr. Ambrose Little, O.P., we will attempt to provide some answers.
Want to participate? You can submit your big questions to Aquinas 101 using #AskAFriar in the KZbin comments and on social media. And don't forget to like and share with your friends, because it matters what you think!
The big question featured in this video was selected from an email submission.
Can Something Be Evil But Not Sinful? #AskAFriar (Aquinas 101) - Fr. Ambrose Little, O.P.
For readings, podcasts, and more videos like this, go to www.Aquinas101.com. While you’re there, be sure to sign up for one of our free video courses on Aquinas. And don’t forget to like and share with your friends, because it matters what you think!
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[@roisinpatriciagaffney4087]

Thank you, Father Little.

[@ThomisticInstitute]

Thanks for watching, and may the Lord bless you!

[@aiantenor9080]

learned something new today. First time i was able to hear the difference between evil and sin!

[@ThomisticInstitute]

We're glad to hear it! Thanks for watching, and may the Lord bless you!

[@aiantenor9080]

thank you for your blessing!

[@RafaeoNobre1]

The sense of humor of these guys makes it all so interesting to watch 😄greetings from Brazil

[@ThomisticInstitute]

Hello to Brazil! Thanks so much for taking the time to watch and comment. May the Lord bless you!

[@dalelerette206]

Interesting. I always thought they were the same -- but evil is the PRIVATION of good whereas SIN is when you ACT upon the privation of good. This video was very helpful. God bless you, father.

[@mikesarno7973]

Return of the milkshake brain freeze.

[@karenglenn2329]

Great observation. I do remember the last time it was referred to.

[@ThomisticInstitute]

Great memory! Thanks so much for continuing with us on Aquinas 101, and may the Lord bless you!

[@mikesarno7973]

@@ThomisticInstitute Thank you. I count The Thomistic Institute among my blessings. May the Lord continue to bless your most necessary work.

[@Spoinkle62]

@@karenglenn2329 a ❤

[@thomasjoseph4567]

Answered very clearly, thank you

[@ThomisticInstitute]

Our pleasure! Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment, and may the Lord bless you!

[@iqgustavo]

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:00 🤔 Is everything evil also a sin? This episode explores the distinction between evil and sin. 02:45 🔗 Evil is considered a privation - an absence of something that should be present. Not every absence is evil, but certain privations are, like illness or deficiency. 03:45 🌟 Sin is a type of evil, specifically a bad human action. Sin is a subset of evils, as not all evil actions are necessarily sins. 04:52 🌡️ Some evils can result from non-voluntary bodily actions, like illness or medical conditions. An action can be voluntary and evil but not a sin, like experiencing brain freeze. 05:42 🧐 Evil actions can result from performing concrete acts that are in some way deficient. Imperfections can be found in various aspects of the action. Made with HARPA AI

[@user-ug2hk3go6i]

Episode suggestion - A day in the life of a Dominican monk.

[@DistributistHound]

Thank you very much father for this insight to the topic of evil and sin. In regards to St. Thomas definition of sin it should take into consideration that some angels sined as well hence becoming demons. In regards to the last question I think is very interesting since some vices are a sinful behavior however the contrary virtues seem to be at first glance the refraining from doing sinful acts which means by not doing bad you are automatically doing good but not an act of goodness but an act of self control. Finally couldn't help but think about theology of the body which teaches that sexuality was created as a good thing but the devil distorted and we humans take it out of the order intended for sexuality therefore making bad use of something good.

[@dogbark8388]

Crazy collar man !

[@jesusloveyou3976]

Is Lewis's trilemma a good argument for Catholics to use? Can you do a video on this topic, I was debating with someone regarding this and didn’t know how to answer

[@anthonyw2931]

add #AskAFriar to the end of your question

[@wimvanackooij2594]

I have seen several Catholic KZbinrs use it (e.g., Brian Holdsworth) ; Possibly also Bishop Barron ; So I would guess yes ;

[@anthonyw2931]

great question and video! (as usual)

[@ThomisticInstitute]

Thanks for watching! May the Lord bless you!

[@anthonyw2931]

@@ThomisticInstitute thank you

[@storba3860]

2:05 Isn't that a bit of an oversimplification? When we look at a person who could have spent time at a soup kitchen but chose to sleep in for the day we can't really call them evil because there wasn't an obligation. Now if that same person goes around splashing scalding water in the eyes of homeless people we could rationally call that person evil. Both are privations of good but one is a near absence of good and one is simply a slight depravation of good and if someone is completely absent of good it's because their brain is damaged and we can hardly call an insane person evil.

[@danpdalmonte1092]

The doctrine of double effect could help us identify a voluntary act that includes an evil. There might be a consequence that we foresee but do not intend, e.g. an abortion resulting from a hysterectomy meant to save a mother from uterine cancer.

[@benjo6652]

So... moral evil (sin) and natural evil?

[@moussataouk7495]

With the rise of veganism, it is difficult to answer the question: if you can eat a healthy diet without causing harm to another animal, is it bad to nevertheless continue eating animal foods? Especially considering intensive farming, large abattoirs, battery hens etc. But even if conditions were improved, in principle, it would seem bad to derive the pleasure of eating at the expense of a sentient creature’s natural freedom and their instinctive pursuit of a natural life. Are Catholics obliged to be vegan? Why/ why not? Thanks, Father.

[@MiracleWeaver2012]

"God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them: Be fertile and multiply and fill the earth. Fear and dread of you shall come upon all the animals of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon all the creatures that move about on the ground and all the fishes of the sea; into your power they are delivered. Any living creature that moves about shall be yours to eat; I give them all to you as I did the green plants.Only meat with its lifeblood still in it you shall not eat." (Genesis 9:1-4)

[@davidlbedford]

If a water pipe bursts we define that as evil? Does God consider it evil or did we decide that for ourselves?

[@suanmung9616]

Is that can be a sin to man if he/ she does not do something which ought to be done as a meant?

[@eboshidori7748]

by describing evil as privation of good you perhaps unknowingly agree with negative utilitarianism; that goodness is absence of flaws means that morality is measured in flaws (negative things) aka negative utilitarianism

[@eboshidori7748]

to be clear i do not see this as an error. i am a negative utilitarian. the most common objection to it is the benevolent world exploder but i argue it is ill-formed because it assumes a pathological measure of conscious experience as being measured in people rather than proportion of experiences

[@music79075]

So, then can God create evil?

[@benso3840]

What if someone says that there is no such thing as: I should, I shouldn't (I ought...) - because it implies an objective morality. And that everyone sets their own goal, and bad is that which hinders this goal, and good is that which helps that goal. I had one such debate where the person in question even denied that, for example the body and organs have some objective purpose. Thanks

[@CaryChilton]

I always thought evil by definition was the opposite of God's will/rule/laws.

[@Zeppflyer]

Just before watching this video, I happened to watch a clip from the Simpsons where Homer is forced to eat all the doughnuts in the world as punishment for his gluttony. The machine that the demon uses to feed them to him holds them via a rod through the holes. Would we then say that the lack of a doughnut hole would be an evil, as it would prevent the administration of divine justice?

[@Trissana281]

father said the lack of something that ought to be there is evil, so yes, if that hole is not there and it is supposed to be there, than it should be by this logic evil

[@annakareninacamara6580]

I loved this comment.

[@Yersinia.Pestis]

I have a question about how evil is defined here. If in the example of the donut, the hole was not natural to it, presumably, the hole would be considered an evil, but then would the donut be evil? If an act that is deficient is evil, is an object (like a person) that is deficient evil? Thank you for your loving care, God bless you.

[@juanflorenciogonzalezmateo9803]

#AskAFriar : In the first way to demonstrate the existence of God it is said that the series of efficient causes cannot be infinite, for otherwise the change we observe would have no explanation. But if the series is finite, how is it demonstrated that the first mover is not immanent, but transcendent?

[@ApocryphalDude]

Lots of divinely commanded génocides are evil but not sinful

[@oliverpimentel7364]

Father can i ask another ... what is universal salvation ? an exegete shared it with us regarding criteria in the 2nd Coming...

[@ContriteCatholic]

"Brainfreeze is evil" -Fr. Ambrose Little, O.P.

[@niluksanjeewa3276]

Good day father. I feel father Sin is a nature of evil . what do you think about ?

[@Recordeer]

Does it matter?

[@catholic-jm6yt]

Thank you for this video! I have a question, and although a seemingly simple one, I would love to hear a different perspective on it: is it okay to hate someone, to be upset with them forever, if they have wronged you badly? Is this a sin or justice?

[@ET-sp8dy]

I'm not a priest, so sorry, but it's my best understanding to date that when Jesus taught us to say "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us" that He meant it as a condition of His forgiveness of us. In other words, IF we want to BE forgiven, THEN we HAVE to forgive.

[@juanflorenciogonzalezmateo9803]

When you ask if it is okay to hate someone, perhaps you mean disgusting their presence or memory, or perhaps you mean wanting to hurt them. Neither of these two is good. The first is an absence of inner peace and can lead you to the second. As for justice, this cannot, under any circumstances, consist of wishing and procuring evil for someone. If so, instead of being virtuous, a fair person could be subtly malicious.

[@zelda12346]

#AskAFriar I've got two questions that are somewhat related since they involve divinity. I'm a mathematician, so the first one is with that framework. 1) In my experience, things that can be proven analytically, no matter the standard proof, can be proven via construction because statements that can be proven exist within a subspace made up of a basis of some number of axioms. Thus, can a proof for God's existence exist in the first place since the proof's existence would necessarily mean one could prove God's existence through construction i.e. make God?, which would be an inherent contradiction? 2) Leaping off from this video talking about sin, I've been wondering what it means for Mary to be born without original sin. Without sin (sinsin? :P) can't mean without imperfections or lacking imperfections as that would mean Mary was God. I've been content with saying sin is "the capacity for someone to do profound evil" because that would allow Mary to be imperfect while also giving a concrete reason why she was chosen in the first place. For whatever reason, she lacked the capacity to do profound evil like what we saw in the 20th century. Is that an accurate characterization of sin and Mary's lack of it?

[@JAMMY174]

Is child birth evil?

[@andrewferg8737]

Can voluntary acts of privation that are not sinful come about as a consequence of justice? That is, may one with proper authority deprive another of a good in satisfaction of justice?

[@Trissana281]

This is difficult question since we do not know who is the authority here and who decides what is justice, what if authority is evil, for example missing respect, dignity and good decision making that it should have

[@andrewferg8737]

@@Trissana281 Proper authority, by definition, is not deficient. A deficient individual may be in a position of authority, but his deficiencies do not negate the authority itself.

[@CaptainBill22]

While in heaven, do the saints experience time as God does, and if that's the case, does that mean that the non-corporeal portion of our soul exists outside of time as we observe it? If our souls do exist outside of time as we observe it, that would have some interesting implications.

[@oliverpimentel7364]

In heaven there's no longer time , a timeless state . Everything is present- no past no future. Eternal

[@CaptainBill22]

@@oliverpimentel7364 That opens up some interesting questions don't you think? If our souls were to exist in a timeless state in heaven, is it possible that we pass on information to ourselves of things yet to come?

[@oliverpimentel7364]

@@CaptainBill22 no need to study and all that , for everything is full no more lacking no more longing whatsoever .

[@gybx4094]

Can you help us understand how to have hope while living in an insane society? Clearly, the Western culture has gone insane. How do we remain hopeful in such a mess? Can you make a video on this topic, please? Millions of us need hope right now.

[@zzc8505]

good and timely question. This culture is insane and often in very evil ways. Everywhere

[@oliverpimentel7364]

Pray with the heart ...until the Lord gives you the Theological Virtue of Hope and this is a gift coming directly from Him not with our effort. Once you have it , peace will be given to us , but not the peace of this insane world as you said One then can have real peace even there's trouble and insanity outside . And that peace only the Lord can give . I hope i can share you my spiritual experiences...

[@jmelvin]

Is violence among animals evil? What about human violence against animals? Even if it's for food?

[@zzc8505]

"violence" among animals has no evil intent: that is how God created them as predators. Using animals for food by humans can and should be done as humanely as possible (and it is possible). True human violence against animals constitutes animal abuse and neglect and as such carries with it an intention of doing harm, so it is evil and sinful .

[@oliverpimentel7364]

Animal eating other animal is a natural evil ...

[@GreteElvenes]

Humans

[@Thelnquisitor]

#ask a friar If all sin requires is an imperfect act then don’t we then sin constantly?

[@annakareninacamara6580]

From what I understood of the video, evil would be this imperfect act (the lack of some form of good, some attribute that should be there makes it imperfect). Sin, although I don't know the proper definition by Saint Thomas, would require a conscious and deliberate refuse to God's Will or Mandaments. I'm sure somewhere in the channel they explain the concept of sin way better.

[@Thelnquisitor]

@@annakareninacamara6580 Right. I agree, I just wonder about action without thought based on bad habits or the “cloud” that blinds us based on previous sin.

[@themodernwaiter8455]

this is grade A explaination

[@ThomisticInstitute]

We're glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching, and may the Lord bless you!

[@zzc8505]

those chimes must be significantly reduced -- their increasing sound seriously jars, especially after you watch a few of these shorts in a row, this repetitive intensifying chime becomes unbearable. Why not keep it a couple of tones down. But the speaker's voice itself is much lower, so I have to lower the volume for the chimes/intro, but then turn it up for the speaker. Then, I begin to watch something else and I have to lower volume again because it was turned up too much from the Thomistic Inst. before. At least, have your chimes and the speaker at the same level.

[@ThomisticInstitute]

Thanks for your input! We'll review the audio. Thanks also for watching -- may the Lord bless you!

[@zzc8505]

@@ThomisticInstitute Thank you! The volume becomes particularly problematic when I am watching your shorts on the go with my headphones

[@ThomisticInstitute]

Noted! Thank you!

[@Mr11ESSE111]

Catholic church can be and are evil but somehow sinful/without sins !!

[@judihart9658]

If you have to ask?you are not paying attention.#duh!🙄😎

[@KamanquaMusic]

I have been always led to believe the Catholic Church was evil.

[@theresaperez6440]

It is. They are worshipping saints and mother Mary praying to Mary to pray for them using beads to pray they have many idols and statues etc they worship. Plus much more that is wicked and sinful against God.

[@theresaperez6440]

Repent being Catholic or any religion is no where in the bible. It matters what God says not what we think. Your sinning in the way you pray what your teaching the bible says and by worshipping false idols like the saints your praying to Mary instead of directly to God etc

[@theresaperez6440]

There's only one father God. No where in the bible does it say for you to call yourself father such and such. You are only a father to your children. You didn't create mankind lord God almighty did.

[@ripvanwinkle1819]

Listened for years. Why have comments when nobody responds. I can understand you must get terrible slander. I am catholic. But why have comments if whomever never responds?