History: The Seven Deadly Sins

• First discussed as separate entities throughout the scriptures of the Bible.

• Christian doctrine repeatedly states the seven deadly sins are deeply rooted in our fallen human nature- relating back to the fall of Lucifer and the origin of evil.

• They were later developed into self-help guides by early theologians and moralists in an attempt to save souls from the decay of immortality.

• The goal was to teach people how to control their inner virtues so their wrongful tendencies would be overshadowed.

• During the early sixth century, Gregory the Great was noted for making two important points about the sins although he never included examples: – Pride is the root of all sin.– There is a distinction between sins of the spirit (pride, envy, wrath,

sloth, greed) and sins of the flesh (lust, gluttony).(Frank 96)

History continued..

• The earliest influential list of the deadly sins identified them as the obstacles to perfection.

• Why “deadly?”– The soul of a person becomes corrupt through

sinful thoughts and actions during their time on earth. Christianity considered a corrupt person to be tainted therefore denied the graces of God. This damned the person to hell for eternity.

– The sins are considered to be “deadly” primarily in their effect on the soul, as divine judgment either offers salvation or hurls it into damnation.

(Frank 97)

LUST: defined by CHASTITY• Lust is defined as the self-destructive

drive for pleasure out of proportion to it’s worth.

• Early Christians believed their natural sexual instincts to be beastly and untamed. They also believed the body was made to honor God and self-control was necessary to please Him.

• It was commonly believed that lust led to the "excessive love of others," which therefore made love and devotion to God secondary.

• Chastity is lust’s equal virtue. A person remaining chaste was considered morally pure and undistracted by lust, a sin of the flesh. (Lackey 555)

GLUTTONY: defined by TEMPERANCE

• Gluttony rejects and disregards the natural limits of pleasures to where a natural balance does not exist.

• Gluttony does not only pertain to food in modern beliefs. A person can be gluttonous in almost any legitimate good such as money, entertainment and even the company of others.

• Early Christians believed the pursuit of these pleasures could lead to the committing of other sins in order to fulfill a want or desire.

• Gluttony’s counter, temperance, accepts the natural limits of pleasures, therefore a natural balance is achieved. (Frank 102)

GREED: defined by GENEROSITY

• Greed describes the intense and selfish desire for something such as wealth, power, or food.

• This sin turns the sinner away from God by promoting selfishness, destroying charity, and creating a preoccupation with the acquisition and preservation of material things and possessions. The sinner loses sight of the treasures and rewards of heaven and follows a corrupt path instead.

• Greed’s opposite is Generosity. Generosity is the act of giving without having expectations of the other person or letting others receive credit or praise without bitterness. (Schwartz 356)

SLOTH: defined by ZEAL• Originally, sloth referred to

sadness, apathy and joylessness, which reflected the sinners failure to see God's gifts and His goodness.

• In modern times sloth is interpreted as the sin of laziness, of an unwillingness to act, an unwillingness to care (rather than a failure to love God and His works).

• The other sins work together to deaden the heart of the sinner, eventually resulting in sloth.

• Contrary to sloth, there is zeal! Zeal is defined by the great energy or enthusiasm is pursuit of a cause or for God’s commands.(Lackey 568)

WRATH: defined by MEEKNESS

• Wrath, or anger, is usually considered the most common first reaction to a sinner’s problems with others.

• This sin leads to other serious sins and transgressions including violence, a desire to seek revenge, and a failure to forgive.

• Wrath is also a result of impatience or revenge outside of justice.

• Meekness, when contrasted with wrath, can be defined as the act of keeping oneself composed while taking a more tender approach with patience and compassion.

(Frank 100)

ENVY: defined by CHARITY• Desiring the qualities or

possessions or situation of another person which they perceive as lacking in themselves is the definition of envy.

• Envy causes people to resent the goods that others receive or even might receive. (Frank 103)

• Envy is almost indistinguishable from the deadly sin of pride.

• Jealousy is a common synonym for envy.

• Charity, envy’s opposing virtue, is defined by the kindness and tolerance in judging others and their possessions or qualities.(Schwartz 355)

PRIDE: defined by HUMILITY • Christian monks from long ago

believed that pride is the mother of all sins, the sin by which all other sins are bred.

• It also includes the excessive love of one’s excellence

• Pride is the sin which led to Lucifer's downfall and which plagues mankind in various forms. (Lackey 558)

• Vanity and narcissism are examples of pride.

• Humility is a modest or low of one’s own importance or the act of being humble. Humility is the virtue, against which pride is measured. (Frank 98)