Lust, gluttony, and greed- three of the seven deadly sins- are considered to be the some of gravest offenses of the human species. Although these vices were originally elements of religions such as Roman Catholicism and Christianity, they have since been ingrained into western culture as immoral. These cardinal sins are not only sins themselves, but have often been thought to incite further ‘evil’ behaviors. Are these sins really all so terrible? Can lust, gluttony, and greed lead America towards success and happiness?
Throughout his book, The Science of Sin, Simon M. Laham claims these hallmark physiological characteristics of humankind are not mortal sins, and in fact not necessarily sins at all, but can instead lead towards success and happiness if utilized correctly. In order to further analyze the affect of these sins on our present day society, we must first look at their history. So how did the seven deadly sins earn their bad reputation? Over sixteen centuries ago, two monks, Evagrius Ponticus and John Cassian, created a list of sins that were a hindrance to the ascetic communities. They organized this list in an attempt to keep the monks on the ‘right path’ towards their spiritual calling, and help maintain social order in the monasteries. Pope Gregory the Great later simplified this list in his A.D. 590 book, Morals on the Book of Job. This refined list essentially created the seven deadly sins that we know today. These sins were not normal transgressions with small penalties- these could condemn you to an eternity in hell.
As much as he champions for their potential, Laham admits that if used improperly, each of these sins does have it’s downside. He also says that in psychology, these aren’t necessarily considered sins, morally bad, or even wrong. Laham claims :
In the psychological sciences, however, the concepts of sin and morality have quite a different history. Over the years, philosophers and scientists have made attempts to naturalize morality, stripping any divine gloss from the concept. Morality is now considered a set of evolved mechanisms that serve useful evolutionary ends. As are the traditional “sins.” (p. 9)
These ‘sins,’ as we refer to them, are actually complex “psychological states,” that turn out to be largely functional in our modern times. Calling them sins merely stigmatizes them, breeds disdain, and is an overall simplistic label. Although many people in western society may no longer see the cardinal sins as ‘deadly,’ many still live strictly by these religious doctrines.
I especially found it interesting how the thoughts around mental health have changed over time, and now concept of sin seems to have little place in the modern practice of psychology, especially concerning psychopathology. I think the one thing that stood out to me the most in the article was when they listed the various ways that sin influences psychopathology in individuals. When discussing this topic, I always thought about an individual’s own sin or incompleteness as having an impact on their psychopathology. However, I never even considered the fact that another’s sin or the sin of society as a whole, and how this can impact the psychopathology of an individual. As I was thinking about it, this does play a significant role in psychopathology. I was thinking about the PTSD disorder, especially while thinking about this. The events that typically cause PTSD have nothing to do with the individuals own sin, but rather the sin of another or society. For example, a rape victim who is experiencing PTSD, this event was caused by the sin of another. Another example would be when a solider comes back from war. This would be due to the sin of society as a whole. It is very interesting to me, that the root of all psychopathology is
No doubt deviant sex is almost as old as the race. There are few innovations in moral weakness. What is new is the homosexual ideology which has made devastating inroads into the Church from the ambient culture. One is made to believe that recalling the Church's teaching is an uncharitable act and that the Christian thing to do is to act as if sodomy were as normal as marital sex. Of course it is scarcely a defense of homosexuality to point out that many people commit sexual sins. The tu quoque here is singularly inappropriate. We began with the observation that we are all sinners. The question is, what next?
Gluttony, Avarice, Wrath, Lust, Pride, Envy, and Sloth are all commonly known as the “Seven Deadly Sins”. Each of these seven sins plays a major role in development of the different characters. In Geoffrey Chaucer’s “The Canterbury Tales”, the Pardoner committed sins through gluttony and avarice; the Wife of Bath through Pride and Lust; and also the Monk through gluttony and wrath. However, omnipresent on all the characters are the different deadly sins that led to their development and morality.
The Seven Deadly Sins, is a classification of sins (sometimes referred to as vices), that were used to describe the sources of all sins. The Seven Deadly Sins is a Christian idea and was most widespread in the Catholic Church. These sins are thought to have possibly gotten their origins from two places in the Bible, Proverbs 6:16-19, and Galatians 5:19-21. The first idea for The Seven Deadly Sins was from the writings of the monk, Evagrius Ponticus, who lived in the fourth-century. The Seven Deadly Sins were edited and modeled into their modern form in A.D. 590 by Pope Gregory 1. These sins are as
There are seven deadly sins that, once committed, diminish the prospect of eternal life and happiness in heaven. They are referred to as deadly because each sin is closely linked to another, leading to other greater sins. The seven deadly sins are pride, envy, anger, sloth, gluttony, avarice, and lechery. Geoffrey Chaucer's masterpiece, The Canterbury Tales, provided an excellent story about the deadly sins. Focusing mainly on the sins of pride, gluttony and greed, the characters found in The Canterbury Tales, particularly The Pardoner's Tale, were so overwhelmed by their earthly desires and ambitions that they failed to see the effects of their sinful actions, therefore depriving themselves of salvation.
Theology and different religions, all contain information about sin. Sin is recognized as an unholy thing to possess, therefore, sin is not taken lightly. In Roman Catholicism, if one’s sins are serious enough, one may not receive eternal life with God, in Heaven. Severe punishments may occur, if one sins. Sin is thought to have been caused by mankind. The perception of sin continues to evolve as the analysis of texts continues.
Imagine a world where a school aged child can step out of their school and walk into a McDonalds. A world where soda companies make millions of dollars a year by placing soda machines in schools. A world where 30.5 percent of adults are considered obese. A world where obesity is killing more people than smoking. What if I told you this world is not in your imagination but is the world we live in today?
Obesity among Americans has been a growing issue in the United States predominantly over the past decade. Many may argue American’s are obese because of poor food choices, over-eating, genetic disposition, lack of exercise, or the environment which one lives, while others blame it all on fast-food chains and restaurants. Throughout my research I have come to find a lot of facts and statistics about fast food consumption causing obesity. Statistics show that without a doubt the United States is the most obese country in the world.
In the book Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser talks about the working conditions of fast food meat slaughterhouses. In the chapter “The Most Dangerous Job,” one of the workers, who despised his job, gave Schlosser an opportunity to walk through a slaughterhouse. As the author was progressed backwards through the slaughterhouse, he noticed how all the workers were sitting very close to each other with steel protective vests and knives. The workers were mainly young Latina women, who worked swiftly, accurately, while trying not to fall behind. Eric Schlosser explains how working in the slaughterhouses is the most dangerous profession – these poor working conditions and horrible treatment of employees in the plants are beyond comprehension to what we see in modern everyday jobs, a lifestyle most of us take for granted.
The government plays an important part in our safety, but many people think they take it too far. Recently, people have thought more and more about how much involvement the government should have when it comes to food regulations. Some people think the government's involvement in regulating food would greatly help obesity rates, and others think the country's obesity rates would show little to no improvement. Although no one cause of obesity exists, and no government regulations will likely alter someone’s lifestyle choices, the government should implement some regulations by implementing programs to educate and encourage citizens to lead a healthier life and by requiring companies to list a full disclosure of ingredients on their products.
nature was born. According to many theologians, this ‘original sin’ was passed on to every
Certainly, the sins appear throughout the literature of the Middle Ages. In sermon, drama, and verse, the sins are seen as the chief weapons of humanity’s three ancient foes, the world, the flesh, and the devil. From the unknown authors of the Celtic penitentials to the more artistically driven Chaucer, Langland, and Gower, the sins appear and reappear until their familiarity almost becomes a source of comfort.
However, no matter how offensive the topic, the issue of sin is very present and must be acknowledged in order to understand the natural tendencies of human beings. “The political value of the doctrine of original sin lies in its recognition that our evil tendencies are not in the nature of a problem that we can rationally comprehend and deliberately solve. (Tinder p.7) “The universe is moral by nature” (Wilberforce 108) therefore, sin must be addressed through the lens of morality and spirituality to be dealt with properly.
For years, the matter of morality has been a widespread topic of discussion, debating whether it is a product of our chemical composition or our free will. Before I get started, I will provide you with what I believe morality exactly is. Ethics is a “code of conduct,” much like a University’s student handbook, but applied to the expected morality of a larger group or society. Morals are how individuals choose to interpret and follow such code. Just as a student may not always act in complete obedience with the student handbook, humans also deviate from their ethical codes of conduct. Therefore, morals are the set of a person’s specific values and opinions formed by their interpretation of their society’s code of ethics. With this version of the meaning of morality, I believe that individual free-will and the neurological hardwiring in which we are born with both significantly influence the development of our mature human morality due to a variety of factors including: human brain development, differences in our upbringing and education, which give rise to disparities in matters such as what is considered right or wrong, decision-making processes, and our ultimate behavioral choices, and lastly, because morality cannot exist if based solely on human nature, it must also involve our own self-determination. My position that morality is not the product of one side of the debate or the other, but rather arises through the integration of both components, allows for a complete demonstration of morality in its entirety. In this system, the ambiguities present in the one-sided arguments are removed, making it easy to link any individual’s action to their personal moral accountability.
When considering morality, worthy to note first is that similar to Christian ethics, morality also embodies a specifically Christian distinction. Studying a master theologian such as St. Thomas Aquinas and gathering modern perspectives from James Keenan, S. J. and David Cloutier serve to build a foundation of the high goal of Christian morality. Morality is a primary goal of the faith community, because it is the vehicle for reaching human fulfillment and happiness. Therefore, great value can be placed on foundations of Christian morality such as the breakdown of law from Aquinas, the cultivation of virtues, the role of conscience in achieving morality, and the subject of sin described by Keenan.