Summary of text [comment] page 29

[I return to the text.]

How does Schoonenberg see the difference between venial and mortal sins?

The Dutch Catechism of 1910 set up a logic tree:

Is a human act a transgression of God’s law?  Yes (continue) No (not sin)

Is the act an important matter?  Yes (possibly mortal, continue) No (venial)

Was the act committed with full knowledge? Yes (possibly mortal, continue) No (venial)

Was the act committed freely (with free will)? Yes (mortal) No (venial)

Schoonenberg then pointed out – in a roundabout way – that humans do not act on the basis of logic trees.