Sins of ignorance.

Moralists understandably excuse wrongdoing of ignorance. But they nevertheless recognize that ignorance itself is often caused by negligence, disinterest, and bad will. No wonder, such ignorance is judged by ascetic authors severely. It almost seems to St. Basil that ignorance of the principal duties is not even possible in a Christian who wants to live as a Christian. After all, the Gospel is easy to understand and is at hand! What would St. Basil say today, when everyone knows how to read, when there is enough and enough spiritual literature, and yet there are so many people who do not know even the most basic of religion?
In addition to this, there is also a kind of sin connected with ignorance. Socrates said that man sins only out of ignorance. The Greek Fathers reversed his sentence. Because man sins, he becomes more and more ignorant. The thought of God disappears more and more from his thinking, his conscience becomes clouded, and moral principles become obscure. Against this ignorance, we must of course
fight against it, as we fight against darkness on the path of light of the headlights. “The way to the knowledge of God,” writes Hesychius, “is to rid oneself of evil inclinations and to be humble; without these qualities, no one will see God.” To the sins of ignorance belong the so-called sins of forgetfulness. The legalistic Pharisaic conception sees perfection as a complete set of prescriptions. Do not transgress what God forbids, is a great thing. But that alone means little if we do not also do what God positively requires of us, namely to fill our lives with love, with work, with sacrifice. To the confession of guilt at the beginning of Mass were added recently words: I confess… that I have not done what I ought to do.” It is good not to lie, not to steal, and not to offend others. Nevertheless, let us not forget the curse of Jesus at the barren fig tree (Mk 11:13). Some say, that they have nothing to confess, they do not know that they have sinned. And yet, the good things they neglect much more seriously than obvious transgressions.
Sins of human weakness.
Modern psychology comes to the aid of those who are indulgent in human sins. How many components are at work in a single act, from heredity to the influences of climate? It almost seems as if a man could not even consider what he does. Even Christ in the Gospel is manifested very much from the faithful to sinners, in whom he sees only weakness and not wickedness. Some moral preachers, e.g., even St. John Chrysostom}, occasionally allow themselves to be carried away to direct judgment, which seems inhuman and Pharisaical. This is partly to be explained by the fervor of eloquence. But there is another reason. This severity stands out in those places where the Fathers wish to emphasize a fundamental Christian truth: the only real cause of sin is man’s free will. For it depends on us, whether we want the good, on anything else. Wrongly, of course, this principle was understood by some of the ancient sectarians who claimed that a perfect man needs no longer fear any environment or temptation. He is said to be strong enough to resist everything. Surely he didn’t want to go that far, as any true preacher would go. Therefore, they correct their first statement about the strength of the human will, they give it the correct value and measure by challenges of the opposite character. They recommend avoiding all as far as possible all temptations. For we are frail. For even the angel in heaven and Adam in paradise sinned, how much more have we humans on earth? We are therefore to know our weaknesses and not to expose ourselves to danger arbitrarily or through carelessness. The point here, moreover, is something similar to the sins of ignorance. Weakness justifies sin, but the reverse is the case, with voluntary sins being the cause of our weakness. It is not possible, therefore, to be completely excused.