The existence of philosophical sin was a debate waged in the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
in the late seventeenth century. A philosophical sin is a morally bad act which violates the natural order of reason, not the divine law. The idea of philosophical sin, as opposed to
theological sin, was advocated by those who wished to construct a moral system independent of God.
Those who believed in God and divine law yet contended for a distinction between philosophical and theological sin maintained that there are morally bad acts that, while violating the order of reason, are not offensive to God. They believed that the sinner can be ignorant of the existence of God and that, without the knowledge or consideration of God, it is impossible to offend him.
This doctrine of philosophical sin was censured as scandalous, temerarious, and erroneous by
Pope Alexander VIII
Pope Alexander VIII ( it, Alessandro VIII; 22 April 1610 – 1 February 1691), born Pietro Vito Ottoboni, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 October 1689 to his death in February 1691. He is to date the las ...
in 1690 in his condemnation of the following proposition:
The Catholic Church maintains the contrary view that sin can be offensive to God even if the sinner either does not know or does not consider God.
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Sin