[Danielle]

Is it a sin to dream about devilish things?

User Detail :  

Name : Danielle, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, City : Kamloops, State : KY Country : United States, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, 

[Erica]

I do not believe (being a christian) that it is bad to dream about devilish things. That is of course if they are just dreams and you are not acting on them. But God gives people dreams, some as warnings, some so that we can pray for other people, or some just to answer a question we might have. You say you are an atheist though, so do you believe in the devil? Let me ask you why is it easier for people to believe in the devil than it is God, when God brings all good things and the devil all bad?

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Name : Erica, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian Scientist, Age : 19, City : Fenton, State : MI Country : United States, Occupation : Daycare Center Teacher, Education level : High School Diploma, 

[krystajo]

Curious question, given your profile. Also, somewhat of an unclear question. What do you mean by 'dream', and what do you mean by 'devilsh things?' For the purposes of the answer, I'm going to assume you mean night dreams, not daydreams. With the caveat that different religions define 'sin' in somewhat different ways, to my best awareness the majority of Christian adherents define sin as an act in defiance of God's will, that involves a deliberate choice of doing something wrong or evil (or that one should know to be because it is codified somewhere in Scripture or church law). Since most people have little if any control over the content of night dreams, a deliberate choice is not involved in this instance, unless you are a rare person with 100% dream control [I do know one person like that.] Also, in general, spontaneous night dreams are symbolic, so the meaning of 'devilish things' is actually a representation of something else, in general. With daydreams, a more conscious choice may be involved, so that instance may be subject to more interpretation.

User Detail :  

Name : krystajo, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 50, City : Wakefield, State : MA Country : United States, Occupation : Writer, other, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Dan27376]

For as long as I can remember, I've had the ability to lucid dream. I remember years ago I was in a very dark place. In my dreams I would deliberately act out what I couldn't get away with in waking life. I'd burn down my school, kill my teachers... just go on a general rampage. If you could imagine a beast with unrestrained rage and libido with all the destructive power of the Huns, that was me in dream time. Usually I wouldn't be bothered one way or the other once I was awake, because I was rotten to the core at that time. Nowadays I may at times find myself acting out something out in a dream and I'll wake up feeling like total scum. And no, it's not due to 'repression' or any psychobabble crap like that (which some might accuse me of), it's just that the condition of my heart has changed, and I no longer find such things to be so very thrilling. So, to make a long story short, go with your conscience. I'm no moral relativist, mind you, but when it comes to your dreams, base it on how you feel about it when you wake up. If you feel horrible, like you're guilty of murder or worse (or that you might as well be) or otherwise like utter filth, then perhaps it's not such a good thing. However, if you wake up with a grin on your face, having had cathartic release or having gotten your kicks, or if you wake up feeling rather indifferent about the entire affair, then if I were you I wouldn't sweat it. Just don't let the activities of dreamtime creep into waking life. Or, perhaps dreamtime would be so that you DON'T do such things in waking life.

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Name : Dan27376, Gender : M, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Religion : Pentecostal, Age : 25, City : Los Angeles, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Grad Student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[NDN Girl]

How can it be? People don't have control over their dreams.

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Name : NDN Girl, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : American Indian, Religion : Native American, Age : 42, City : Great Lakes, State : IL Country : United States, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, 

[Shannon-C]

Do you control your dreams? No. A dream is either (a) a message sent from the spirit world or (b) a product of your subconscious (depending on your beliefs in what dreams are). In the first case, receiving a 'devilish' dream is no more a sin than if someone walked up to you and shoved a 'devilish' picture in your face. In the second case, we don't control our subconscious minds. Having an 'evil impulse' is not sinful in and of itself -- it's simply temptation, which we are all subject to. It's acting on such impulses which would be sinful. Having a devilish dream, then, is no more sinful than that momentary feeling of 'I'd really love to hurt that guy' you get when someone cuts you off in traffic. It's just a temptation, nothing more.

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Name : Shannon-C, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 33, City : Tallahassee, State : FL Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

[Margo]

No. Dreams are part of your subconcious mind, you don't chose them. ALthough I'm not religious, I have always understood that sin involves deliberate or wilful wrongdoing, or deliberate failure to act the way you know is 'right', or that you believe 'god' would want you to do.

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Name : Margo, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 30, City : Trowbridge, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, Occupation : lawyer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Juno]

A modern orthodox Christian take on the Bible says that it is not a sin until you actively decide (use your free will) to sin. Everyone is tempted, both in thoughts and dreams; but it is up to the Christian whether to turn that temptation into a sin.

However, I think that this matter is a minor sin with Catholics, who must confide in their priests during Confession of such matters. It'd be good to remember, though, that while all Catholics are Christians, all Christians are not Catholics.

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Name : Juno, Gender : M, Race : Asian, Religion : Orthodox Christian, Age : 21, City : Richmond, State : VA Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[L. Winston Bialey]

if you're atheist, why would you believe in sin? or the devil for that matter... Yeah, so I'm not a theologist or a priest, but I'd say if you don't think God's coming after you, then you can dream whatever you want.

User Detail :  

Name : L. Winston Bialey, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 20, City : West Tisbury, State : MA Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Mike]

but your an atheist, why should you feel the need to worry about such things? If you fantasise about doing something, for example sexual activities you'd like to undertake with a person to whom you are not married then according the bible on which Christianity is based, if you've thought the sin, you've as good as committed it. Seems a bit ludicrous perhaps, but that's the Christian perspective, thoughts can be sinful. However if you quite literally mean dream of demons, satan, and other horrid things, I'm don't think the same applies. Books I've read on dreams largely suggest they are a random bunch on things going on in your head, and mean nothing. Although if your having dreams about certain anxiety causing things, there may be something in your physical life that's causing you distress and whatever it is, it needs sorting out.

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Name : Mike, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 25, City : Swansea, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, Occupation : Unemployed, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Georgia]

HUH??? You identify as an atheist, but you're saying you believe in a devil? And being an atheist, why do you care? You don't answer to a deity. I'm not being flippant, just baffled.

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Name : Georgia, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Lesbian, Race : Human, Religion : Pagan, Age : 50, City : Springtown, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : nurse, Education level : Technical School, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Che]

If you're a self-confessed atheist, then why are you worried about 'sins'? Your question reveals something deeper: that deep down you still long for God. Let go of finding all the answers in your head, for some things can only be perceived by the heart. Open your heart to love. That is how you will find God.

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Name : Che, City : Manila, State : NA Country : The Philippines, 

[Matt]

Because I'm a Christian, I usually try to look for answers about what is a sin in the Bible, but the Bible doesn't give a clear answer there. The only time the Bible talks about dreams is when a prophesy appears in them, and it's pretty safe to assume most dreams then weren't prophetic, just the ones they bothered to write about. It appears that one can't always control one's actions in a dream, so I doubt it is a sin to dream you are sinning. On the other hand, if there's a sin you constantly dream about, it might be a good idea to examine your life to figure out why you're constantly dreaming about it. If you often dream you murder your boss, for example, you might want to see if there's an unresolved grudge you have at work.

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Name : Matt, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 25, City : Oxford, State : GA Country : United States, Occupation : Engineer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[SC]

Don't you think that 'sin' is something you do >by choice< that you know is harmful to persons, things, or significant moral codes? Very few people, if any, can 'control' their dreams (look up 'lucid dreaming'). Dreams are either fantasies and wishes from the unconscious (outdated Freudian view) or brief spurts of random information processing as the brain sorts through the chaos of short term memories. Dreaming only happens during brief periods of sleep (so called 'rapid eye movement' stage). Dreaming is not very relevant to morality or ethics. 'Devilish things'? I suppose you mean forbidden acts or thoughts or things we do that we know are wrong. I think our minds should be free to contemplate anything in the world, including evil, so we can more clearly understand it and, hopefully resist or avoid it. I hope your definition of devilish or wicked is about what's really evil (like terrorism, child abuse, fraud, etc.) rather than those natural instincts like hunger and sexual drives that nature gives us to help us survive.

User Detail :  

Name : SC, City : Vienna, State : VA Country : United States, 

[Shlomo Taub]

'Sin' is defined differently by different religions. You present yourself as an Atheist, which makes it particularly difficult to help you define 'sin'. I would suggest that unless your dreams are caused by day-time fantasies, you cannot be responsible for them, and are not 'sinning'.

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Name : Shlomo Taub, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 25, City : Manchester, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, Occupation : Software Developer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

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