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If someone proposes doing a sinful act (e.g Avoda zara) and you respond by saying that you are not interested “for now”, is that considered a chillul hashem, as you may want to sin in the future?

In Pirke Avot is says “don’t be sure of yourself until the day of your death”, which as far as I know implies that one should never be sure if the Yetzer hara will over take him. Could that be a possible excuse?

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  • Interesting question- on the one hand this is exactly how Chazal tells us to "trick" the yetzer harah, on the other it does look bad
    – יהושע ק
    Commented Nov 11, 2019 at 23:00
  • @JoshK chazal says to tell this to your yetzer harah; not to say to another person.
    – larry909
    Commented Nov 12, 2019 at 0:09
  • What is the context of your question? Does he fear for his life? Is he answering to the Inquisition?
    – larry909
    Commented Nov 12, 2019 at 0:11

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The story of Rav Amnon, printed in most machzorim under Unisana Tokef and taken from the Or Zerua (Rosh hashana 266) could be taken as evidence that it is. In that story, a bishop asks Rav Amnon to convert to Christianity, and he asks for three days to think about it. Rav Amnon was very worried about the chilul Hashem, and the rest is legend.

However, the comparison is imperfect. In that story he implied that right now he would consider the sin. In the question he says that right now he absolutely will not sin, just that the future might be different.

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  • Perhaps in the case of the story there can be a leniency because he feared for his life?
    – larry909
    Commented Nov 12, 2019 at 0:16

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