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SEVEN DEADLY SINS
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- Cardinal sin redirects here. For the former Archbishop of Manila, see Jaime Cardinal Sin; for the painting by Hieronymus Bosch see The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things; for the video game, see 7 Sins.
The seven deadly sins, also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins, are a classification of vices used in early Christian teachings to educate and protect followers from basic human instincts. The church divided sin into two types: venial (forgiven through any sacramental) and capital or mortal (meaning they can kill the life of grace and risk eternal damnation unless absolved in the sacrament of confession). Beginning in the early 14th century, the popularity of the seven deadly sins with artists of the time engrained them in human culture around the world. The generally accepted deadly sins are superbia (hubris/pride), avaritia (avarice/greed), luxuria (extravagance, later lust), invidia (envy), gula (gluttony), ira (wrath), and acedia (sloth). Each deadly sin is opposed by one of the corresponding Seven Holy Virtues.
History
Desert Fathers
Evagrius of Pontus (349-399 A.D.), a monastic theologian in Egypt, is believed to be the first writer to record and systematize certain teachings of the predominately illiterate Desert Fathers. A prominent feature of his research was a list of eight evil passions. While he did not create the list from scratch, he is credited with refining and developing it. His list of passions are gluttony, lust, avarice, sadness, anger, acedia, vainglory and pride. Evagrius intended for this list to be used for diagnostic purposes. One cannot resist temptation without being aware of how it operates.
St. John Cassian (360-435), built upon the foundation laid by Evagrius and introduced the list of eight patterns to Latin audiences. In his Conferences (a 24 volume work consisting of interviews with leading monastic figures of his day), the Conference of Abbot Serapion (Book V) expounds upon the eight passions. Later, his twelve-volume series, The Institutes of the Coenobia and the Remedies for the Eight Principal Faults, established guidelines for monastic communities and addressed the passions much more extensively (particularly books V through XII). Cassian's writings continue to influence modern monasticism.
Gregory the Great
In the later part of the 6th century A.D., St. Gregory the Great (d. 604) in his work Moralia in Job, introduced the seven deadly sins. The goal of the seven deadly sins was to illustrate for laypersons of the church the need to be mindful of capital sin, or sin which requires penance in Hell. Capital sin is graver than venial sin, which can be forgiven through confession.
Further Developments
Pope Gregory's list was different from the one used today and the ranking of the Sins' seriousness was based on the degree to which they offended against love. From least serious to most, they were: lust, gluttony, sadness, avarice, anger, envy, and pride. Sadness would later be replaced by acedia (sloth), putting off or failing to do what God asks of you.
Throughout the Middle Ages and the Tridentine era, many important theological and confessional works were structured around the seven deadly sins. Together with the Ten Commandments, it was one of the most popular models for discussions of ethics and examinations of conscience.
In the official Catechism of the Catholic Church, consisting of 2,865 numbered sections and first published in 1992 by order of Pope John Paul II, the seven deadly sins are dealt with in one paragraph. The principal codification of moral transgression for Christians continues to be the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes, which are a positive statement of morality and part of the Sermon on the Mount. While no list of these seven deadly sins appears as such in the Bible itself, each of them is condemned at various points in the text. A list of seven sins that God hates is found in Proverbs 6:16-19:
- There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers. (New International Version)
Later iconography of the Sins was derived from the descriptions of battles between the Virtues and Vices in the Psychomachia, a poem by 4th-century poet Prudentius.
The Sins
The identification and definition of the Sins is a fluid process and, like many aspects of religion, idea of what each sin encompasses has changed over time. This was exacerbated by the fact that the Sins are not considered in a structured manner in the Bible, and works referencing the sins were gradually considered sources for others to base their definitions on. The second section of the Divine Comedy, Purgatorio, is the most well known source for defining the sins, though modern interpretations often show those guilty of the Sins suffering in Hell, not purifying themselves in Purgatory.
Listed in the same order used by both Pope Gregory the Great in the 6th Century AD and Dante Alighieri, the seven deadly sins are as follows:
Lust (Latin, luxuria)
Lust (fornication, perversion):
Lust is best described as depraved thought, unwholesome morality, desire for excitement, or need to be accepted or recognized by others. It also includes obsessive, unlawful, or unnatural sexual desire, such as desiring sex with a person outside marriage or engaging in unnatural sexual appetites (like bestiality). Rape, adultery and sodomy are considered to be extreme forms of lust. Dante's criterion was "excessive love of others," thereby detracting from the love due to God. In Purgatorio, the penitant walk within flames to purge themselves of lustful thoughts.
Gluttony (waste, overindulgence):
Modern views identify Gluttony as being associated with an overindulgence of food and drink, though in the past any form of thoughtless excess could fall within the definition of this sin. Marked by a refusal to share resources and unreasonable or unnecessary consumption, Gluttony could also include certain forms of destructive behaviour, especially for sport (like trophy hunting), Substance abuse or binge drinking. The definition for Gluttony has the words “over indulgence” in it, so therefore, Gluttony could be over indulgence in any one thing (not just food). The penitant in the Purgatorio were forced to stand beneath two trees, unable to make use of the food hanging there and giving them a starved appearance.
Greed (treachery, covetousness):
A strong desire to gain material wealth, Greed is, like Lust and Gluttony, a sin of excess. However, Greed particularly applies to the acquisition of wealth. Thomas Aquinas wrote that Greed was "a sin against God, just as all mortal sins, in as much as man condemns things eternal for the sake of temporal things." Dante wrote something similar, as the penitant in Purgatory were force to kneel on hard stone and recite the examples of avarice and its opposing virtue. Avarice is a blanket term that can describe many other forms of sinful behaviour. These include disloyalty, deliberate betrayal, or treason, especially for personal gain or when compensated. Scavenging and hoarding of materials or objects, theft and robbery, especially by violence, trickery, or manipulation of authority are all actions that are inspired by greed. Such misdeeds include Simony, where the sinner feels the urge to make money by selling things within the confines of the church. This sin is abhorred by the Catholic Church and is seen as a sin of malice and betrayal, and Dante included this sin in the first poem of the Divine Comedy (the Inferno).
Sloth (Latin, acedia)
Sloth (acedia, laziness, sadness):
More than other sins, the definition of sloth has changed considerably since its original inclusion in the list. Originally, its place was fulfilled by two others, Acedia and Sadness. The former described a spiritual apathy that affected the faithful by discouraging them from their religious work. Sadness (Tristitia in Latin) described a feeling of dissatisfaction or discontent, showing unhappiness with their current situation. When Aquinas selected Acedia for his list, he described it as an "uneasiness of the mind", being a progenitor for lesser sins such as restlessness and instability. Dante built on this definition, describing sloth as being the "failure to love God with all one's heart, all one's mind and all one's soul". He also describes it as the middle sin, and as such is the only sin characterised by an absence or insufficiency of love. Modern interpretations differ from either of these, and portray Sloth as being simply a sin of laziness, of an unwillingness to act. For this reason Sloth is now often seen as being considerably less serious than the other sins.
Wrath (Latin, ira)
Wrath (anger, hatred, prejudice, discrimination):
Inappropriate [unrighteous] feelings of hatred and anger. Denial of the truth to others or self. Impatience with the law, or seeking revenge outside of justice. Unnecessary vigilanteism. Wishing to do evil or harm to others. This also includes anger towards others for no good reason, such as their race or religion, leading to discrimination. 'Minor' sins born of wrath are some of the most serious, including murder, assault, discrimination, and genocide. (See Crimes against humanity.) Dante described wrath as "love of justice perverted to revenge and spite".
Envy (Latin, invidia)
Envy (jealousy, malice):
Like greed, envy is characterised by an insatiable desire, however the two sins differ for two main reasons. Firstly, greed is normally associated with material wealth, whereas envy can apply to other concepts, like love or success. Secondly those who commit the sin of envy desire something at the expense - or alternatively because of - someone else. Dante defined this as "love of one's own good perverted to a desire to deprive other men of theirs." Envy can inspire feelings of 'schadenfreude', where one delights in others experiencing misfortune because in the their eyes it compensates for what they are envious of (AKA: The grass is always greener). For this reason, in Purgatory the penitent walk around with their eyes sewn shut.
Pride (Latin, superbia)
Pride (vanity, narcissism):
In almost every list Pride is considered the original or most serious sin. It is identified as a desire to be more important or attractive to others, failing to give credit due to others, or excessive love of self (especially holding self out of proper position toward God). Dante's definition was "love of self perverted to hatred and contempt for one's neighbour". In Jacob Bidermann's medieval miracle play, Cenodoxus, Pride is the deadliest of all the sins and leads directly to the damnation of the famed Doctor of Paris, Cenodoxus. Pride was what sparked the fall of Lucifer from Heaven, and his subsequent transformation into Satan. Vanity and Narcissism are good examples of these sins, though both imply a more empty feeling of Pride, with little to back it up. In the Divine Comedy, the penitant were forced to walk with their heads bowed while they were whipped in order to induce feelings of humility.
Catholic Virtues
The Catholic church recognises the seven virtues as opposites to the seven sins.
Associations with demons
In 1589, Peter Binsfeld paired each of the deadly sins with a demon, who tempted people by means of the associated sin. According to Binsfeld's classification of demons, the pairings are as follows:
There are also other demons who invoke sin, for instance the incubi and succubi invoke lust. The succubi sleep with men in order for impregnation so that they can spawn demons. The incubi sleep with women to lead them astray and to impregnate them with demon spawn.
Cultural references
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The Seven Deadly Sins have long been a source of inspiration for writers and artists due to the influences of the sins on society. There are many references to them in cultural works, and a number of these are listed in the related article.
Further reading
- Summa Theologiae, by Saint Thomas Aquinas
- Inferno, by Dante Alighieri
- Purgatorio, by Dante Alighieri
- The Concept of Sin, by Josef Pieper
- The Traveller's Guide to Hell, by Michael Pauls& Dana Facaros
- Sacred Origins of Profound Things, by Charles Panati
- Faerie Queene, by Sir Edmund Spenser
- Oxford Univ. Press series on Seven Deadly Sins (seven vols.), 2006.
External links
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