Wednesday, October 24, 2012

7 Deadly Sins / 7 Virtues

One of my all-time favorite movies is Se7en with Morgan Freeman. For those who haven't seen it yet, but enjoy a good suspense flick, this is definitely one to see. The movie deals with the seven deadly sins - the killer going after people who are guilty of these sins.

The seven deadly sins was a list created as a way of classifying sins. The list went through a few stages (at one point there were 8, and a few were renamed to be more inclusive and/or just make more sense), and at one point had a severity attached. While most theologians no longer consider this severity, here is the list, from least severe to most severe (per the latest severity rating before it was deemed non-applicable):
  • Lust
  • Gluttony
  • Greed
  • Sloth
  • Wrath
  • Envy
  • Pride


Throughout the upcoming weeks, I will delve into each of these a bit more thoroughly. However, I do want to touch on this severity rating. Some may find it strange to find pride to be the most severe of the sins. But if you really think about it, pride is what leads to so many other sins. Envy is also the root of many other sins. The least severe of them all is lust - which is probably a good thing for me considering the most recent "which of the 7 deadly sins fit you the most" quiz I took (actually, 2 of them), showed that lust was the only sin I scored high in. This isn't too surprising for me. I think we all have a little lust in our loins, in addition to the rest of these sins finding their way into our lives at one point or another.

In contrast to these sins, there are also 7 virtues. These virtues are what we should be constantly aiming for, and in doing so, will be less likely to commit the sins. These virtues (in the same order as the sins so it's easier to see which is the virtue that is in contrast to the sin) are:
  • Chastity
  • Temperance
  • Charity
  • Diligence
  • Patience
  • Kindness
  • Humility
As with the sins, I will also describe these virtues more in depth in the weeks to pass. 

But for now, I shall leave you all (these pain killers are kicking my ass and I can't hold a thought long enough to finish writing this). Be on the lookout for sermons on each of the deadly sins, and the virtues.

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