Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae

Objection 1: It would seem that idolatry is not the gravest of sins. The worst is opposed to the best (Ethic. viii, 10). But interior worship, which consists of faith, hope and charity, is better than external worship. Therefore unbelief, despair and hatred of God, which are opposed to internal worship, are graver sins than idolatry, which is opposed to external worship.

Objection 2: Further, the more a sin is against God the more grievous it is. Now, seemingly, a man acts more directly against God by blaspheming, or denying the faith, than by giving God's worship to another, which pertains to idolatry. Therefore blasphemy and denial of the faith are more grievous sins than idolatry.

Objection 3: Further, it seems that lesser evils are punished with greater evils. But the sin of idolatry was punished with the sin against nature, as stated in Rm. 1:26. Therefore the sin against nature is a graver sin than idolatry.

Objection 4: Further, Augustine says (Contra Faust. xx, 5): "Neither do we say that you," viz. the Manichees, "are pagans, or a sect of pagans, but that you bear a certain likeness to them since you worship many gods: and yet you are much worse than they are, for they worship things that exist, but should not be worshiped as gods, whereas you worship things that exist not at all." Therefore the vice of heretical depravity is more grievous than idolatry.

Objection 5: Further, a gloss of Jerome on Gal. 4:9, "How turn you again to the weak and needy elements?" says: "The observance of the Law, to which they were then addicted, was a sin almost equal to the worship of idols, to which they had been given before their conversion." Therefore idolatry is not the most grievous sin.

On the contrary, A gloss on the saying of Lev. 15:25, about the uncleanness of a woman suffering from an issue of blood, says: "Every sin is an uncleanness of the soul, but especially idolatry."

I answer that, The gravity of a sin may be considered in two ways. First, on the part of the sin itself, and thus idolatry is the most grievous sin. For just as the most heinous crime in an earthly commonwealth would seem to be for a man to give royal honor to another than the true king, since, so far as he is concerned, he disturbs the whole order of the commonwealth, so, in sins that are committed against God, which indeed are the greater sins, the greatest of all seems to be for a man to give God's honor to a creature, since, so far as he is concerned, he sets up another God in the world, and lessens the divine sovereignty. Secondly, the gravity of a sin may be considered on the part of the sinner. Thus the sin of one that sins knowingly is said to be graver than the sin of one that sins through ignorance: and in this way nothing hinders heretics, if they knowingly corrupt the faith which they have received, from sinning more grievously than idolaters who sin through ignorance. Furthermore other sins may be more grievous on account of greater contempt on the part of the sinner.

Reply to Objection 1: Idolatry presupposes internal unbelief, and to this it adds undue worship. But in a case of external idolatry without internal unbelief, there is an additional sin of falsehood, as stated above (Article 2).

Reply to Objection 2: Idolatry includes a grievous blasphemy, inasmuch as it deprives God of the singleness of His dominion and denies the faith by deeds.

Reply to Objection 3: Since it is essential to punishment that it be against the will, a sin whereby another sin is punished needs to be more manifest, in order that it may make the man more hateful to himself and to others; but it need not be a more grievous sin: and in this way the sin against nature is less grievous than the sin of idolatry. But since it is more manifest, it is assigned as a fitting punishment of the sin of idolatry, in order that, as by idolatry man abuses the order of the divine honor, so by the sin against nature he may suffer confusion from the abuse of his own nature.

Reply to Objection 4: Even as to the genus of the sin, the Manichean heresy is more grievous than the sin of other idolaters, because it is more derogatory to the divine honor, since they set up two gods in opposition to one another, and hold many vain and fabulous fancies about God. It is different with other heretics, who confess their belief in one God and worship Him alone.

Reply to Objection 5: The observance of the Law during the time of grace is not quite equal to idolatry as to the genus of the sin, but almost equal, because both are species of pestiferous superstition.

Articulus 3

Argumentum 1

Ad tertium sic proceditur. Videtur quod idololatria non sit gravissimum peccatorum.

Pessimum enim optimo opponitur, ut dicitur in VIII ethic..

Sed cultus interior, qui consistit in fide, spe et caritate, est melior quam cultus exterior. Ergo infidelitas, desperatio et odium dei, quae opponuntur cultui interiori, sunt graviora peccata quam idololatria, quae opponitur cultui exteriori.

Argumentum 2

Praeterea, tanto aliquod peccatum est gravius quanto magis est contra deum. Sed directius videtur aliquis contra deum agere blasphemando, vel fidem impugnando, quam cultum dei alii exhibendo, quod pertinet ad idololatriam. Ergo blasphemia vel impugnatio fidei est gravius peccatum quam idololatria.

Argumentum 3

Praeterea, minora mala maioribus malis puniri videntur. Sed peccatum idololatriae punitum est peccato contra naturam, ut dicitur Rom. I.

Ergo peccatum contra naturam est gravius peccato idololatriae.

Argumentum 4

Praeterea, Augustinus dicit, XX contra faust., neque vos, scilicet Manichaeos, Paganos dicimus, aut schisma Paganorum, sed habere cum eis quandam similitudinem, eo quod multos colatis deos.

Verum vos esse eis longe deteriores, quod illi ea colunt quae sunt, sed pro diis colenda non sunt; vos autem ea colitis quae omnino non sunt.

Ergo vitium haereticae pravitatis est gravius quam idololatria.

Argumentum 5

Praeterea, super illud Gal. IV, quomodo convertimini iterum ad infirma et egena elementa? dicit Glossa Hieronymi, legis observantia, cui dediti tunc erant, erat peccatum paene par servituti idolorum, cui ante conversionem vacaverant.

Non ergo peccatum idololatriae est gravissimum.

Sed Contra

Sed contra est quod Levit. XV, super illud quod dicitur de immunditia mulieris patientis fluxum sanguinis, dicit Glossa, omne peccatum est immunditia animae, sed idololatria maxime.

Corpus

Respondeo dicendum quod gravitas alicuius peccati potest attendi dupliciter. Uno modo, ex parte ipsius peccati. Et sic peccatum idololatriae est gravissimum. Sicut enim in terrena republica gravissimum esse videtur quod aliquis honorem regium alteri impendat quam vero regi, quia quantum in se est, totum reipublicae perturbat ordinem; ita in peccatis quae contra deum committuntur, quae tamen sunt maxima, gravissimum esse videtur quod aliquis honorem divinum creaturae impendat, quia quantum est in se, facit alium deum in mundo, minuens principatum divinum.

Alio modo potest attendi gravitas peccati ex parte peccantis, sicut dicitur esse gravius peccatum eius qui peccat scienter quam eius qui peccat ignoranter. Et secundum hoc nihil prohibet gravius peccare haereticos, qui scienter corrumpunt fidem quam acceperunt, quam idololatras ignoranter peccantes.

Et similiter etiam aliqua alia peccata possunt esse maiora propter maiorem contemptum peccantis.

Ad 1

Ad primum ergo dicendum quod idololatria praesupponit interiorem infidelitatem, et adiicit exterius indebitum cultum.

Si vero sit exterior tantum idololatria absque interiori infidelitate, additur culpa falsitatis, ut prius dictum est.

Ad 2

Ad secundum dicendum quod idololatria includit magnam blasphemiam, inquantum deo subtrahitur dominii singularitas.

Et fidem opere impugnat idololatria.

Ad 3

Ad tertium dicendum quod quia de ratione poenae est quod sit contra voluntatem, peccatum per quod aliud punitur oportet esse magis manifestum, ut ex hoc homo sibi ipsi et aliis detestabilis reddatur, non autem oportet quod sit gravius. Et secundum hoc, peccatum contra naturam minus est quam peccatum idololatriae, sed quia est manifestius, ponitur quasi conveniens poena peccati idololatriae, ut scilicet, sicut homo per idololatriam pervertit ordinem divini honoris, ita per peccatum contra naturam propriae naturae confusibilem perversitatem patiatur.

Ad 4

Ad quartum dicendum quod haeresis Manichaeorum, etiam quantum ad genus peccati, gravior est quam peccatum aliorum idololatrarum, quia magis derogant divino honori, ponentes duos deos contrarios, et multa vana fabulosa de deo fingentes. Secus autem est de aliis haereticis, qui unum deum confitentur et eum solum colunt.

Ad 5

Ad quintum dicendum quod observatio legis tempore gratiae non est omnino aequalis idololatriae secundum genus peccati, sed paene aequalis, quia utrumque est species pestiferae superstitionis.