"Know Thyself…"
18/09/05
Pride, envy, anger, sloth, greed, gluttony, and lust... Ah, those seven deadly sins; those ghastly little traps. Throughout the middle-ages they were used to instruct the masses against straying from the teachings of the Church and from the dawn of Christianity, theologians considered them to be equally important to all people, whether they were Christian or not.
Where do you find them listed in the Bible? Well, you don't. Though both Biblically and theologically based, a list of sins doesn't appear anywhere in the Bible (though some say they can all be found in Matthew 5-7).
The concept of capital sins has been around at least as long as the Bible itself and gained wide popularity with the writings of Dante Alighieri (Commedia (The Divine Comedy): Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso) and of late reinforced by the great Anglican theologian and writer C.S. Lewis.
The human capacity for self-delusion is nearly limitless. We've all seen folk claim great spirituality, then go right out and do less than good deeds, only to later rationalize them. Somehow we all believe we are immune to this phenomenon. If any of those seven little "sins" doesn't seem like much of deal to you, it almost certainly means you've already rationalized it. So there!
So, how might you deter "those ghastly little traps"? Well, some 1,600 years ago the Christian poet (and lawyer) Prudentius came up with the Seven Heavenly (contrary) Virtues: Faith, hope, charity, fortitude, justice, temperance, and prudence. Ah, the yin and yang of human nature...
Where do you find them listed in the Bible? Well, you don't. Though both Biblically and theologically based, a list of sins doesn't appear anywhere in the Bible (though some say they can all be found in Matthew 5-7).
The concept of capital sins has been around at least as long as the Bible itself and gained wide popularity with the writings of Dante Alighieri (Commedia (The Divine Comedy): Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso) and of late reinforced by the great Anglican theologian and writer C.S. Lewis.
The human capacity for self-delusion is nearly limitless. We've all seen folk claim great spirituality, then go right out and do less than good deeds, only to later rationalize them. Somehow we all believe we are immune to this phenomenon. If any of those seven little "sins" doesn't seem like much of deal to you, it almost certainly means you've already rationalized it. So there!
So, how might you deter "those ghastly little traps"? Well, some 1,600 years ago the Christian poet (and lawyer) Prudentius came up with the Seven Heavenly (contrary) Virtues: Faith, hope, charity, fortitude, justice, temperance, and prudence. Ah, the yin and yang of human nature...