Philip Davies

No, you are not responsible for sins committed in your dreams.

The reasons for this are 
1. It is not possible to control your dreams as they are not the product of your conscious mind
2. it is not you, committing the sin, it is the dream of you
3. No sinful act was committed only the dream of an act.
4. Choices made in dreams are not made by your conscious responsible mind, which are not the same as choices made in real life.

It might be reasoned by some that if thoughts can be sinful, then maybe dreams can be sinful too. However there are important differences between waking thoughts and sleep-induced dreams. Waking thoughts are the product of our conscious minds and the result of willful desire. Sleep-induced dreams are the product of our unconscious minds and result from influences beyond our control. Thoughts belong to us, we have ownership of them and consequently responsibility for them. Dreams originate outside our consciousness, are imposed upon us and consequently we are not accountable for them. We are no more responsible for our dreams than we are responsible for another person's thoughts.

We are only responsible for our own deliberate conscious choices, not for every idle thought or dream that might pass through our heads. As Spurgeon put it, "You can't stop birds flying over your head, but you can stop them making a nest in your hair."

Regards
Philip

December 31 2014 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report