There was a series on The History Channel recently called "The Seven Deadly Sins". I figured this is important information to know. The History Channel is a good source for this information since, while it is not always historically accurate, ironically, it is always entertaining and I am not likely to fall asleep while it's on.*The Seven Deadly Sins are: Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, and Pride. You may be surprised to know that these were derived from the bible, not taken whole, and that there was originally 8 of them. Some were combined, some were tossed, a couple were added, and all were clarified. Since this was done by a Pope, it must have been right since Popes are infallible. For a number of years, I thought the Seven Dwarfs of Snow White were allegories to this. Especially as done by Disney. I am still not sure they aren't.
In case you were curious, the original eight were: Gluttony; fornication; avarice; sorrow; anger; discouragement; vainglory; pride.
We'll stick with the Seven mainly because I know them so well.
Lust is not so much a sin anymore, more like a virtue. It seems to be celebrated and desired these days. Otherwise you would not see all those Cialis and Viagra commercials everywhere. And they would not emphasize the .001% risk of priapism. Lust used to be reserved for the young but, with the advent of those pills, Victoria's Secret has opened a special Senior's Section.
Gluttony used to be a rare sin. But according to the latest obesity figures (no pun intended), it seems to have made a resurgence. It was actually celebrated a couple of times a year, Thanksgiving and Easter. Now it is three times a day.
Greed. (may also be called "covet") We all learned as children that greed was bad. Our older brothers and sisters taught us that. Since they did not have older brothers or sisters, they never learned it, just practiced it. In more recent years, we learned that Greed was good. Michael Douglas in "Wall Street" taught us that. And, as evidenced by the recent economic troubles, some of us learned that lesson too well.
Sloth is one of my personal favorites. If I had my way, Sloth would not be a sin and would only be known as its favored alter ego, Efficiency. Anytime I can do more with less effort, I do. Otherwise, I just do as little as possible. I like to conserve my energy. I need it for practicing Gluttony and Lust.
Wrath is a bad one, I'll agree. I have given it up though I practiced it often enough in my younger days. Since I discovered Sloth, though, it has fallen out of my favor because Wrath just takes too much energy.
Envy is interesting. It's also common. While Greed is "I'll take what you have", Envy is "I want what you have and, if I can't, I'll do my best to make sure you get it taken away by someone else." While Greed seems to be the underlying principle of the Republican Party, Envy belongs to the Democrats. In truth, all politicians practice both, along with several other sins. (I know, I said I would avoid politics in this blog but I couldn't help it)
Pride is one I just do not understand as a Deadly Sin. It's confusing. Even the Amish, who revere humility above all else and eschew pride, practice it. Think about it, a whole community that basically prides itself on being humble? I'd say pride is not bad unless it is false pride. That leads to all kinds of trouble. Real pride is not bad. You can be proud of your children, proud of your skills at something, proud of your driving record, and (on occasion) your country. None of that is bad.
In fact, none of the Deadly Sins are really bad, if you practice them in moderation. It is only when one or more take over your life, become an obsession or a constant, that they seem to be harmful. So just forget everything I've said and go enjoy yourselves.
I am not sure where this guy fits in but I'm pretty sure there's at least three Deadly Sins involved...
INTERVIEW WITH GERMAN NUDE TRAVEL ENTREPRENEUR
* I always stayed awake in History class in school, too. Mostly. I'm pretty sure anyway.
14 comments:
very good post, but come on, you said no politics, go on you know you want to ... you need to and you can't resist.
I have to finish my 4000-word essay on Hell this weekend. The Seven Deadly Sins and the eight original ones are deeply engraved in my mind. Dante's Divina commedia was ingenious and the Sins are definitely very interesting to think about.
I have wondered about the Seven Dwarfs. I always thought they were a bit creepy. ...They're seven dwarfed miners who suspiciously welcome a beautiful woman into their little hut in the woods.
I like looking at the Seven Sins and Virtues and thinking about where my friends and I fit on the Sin-Virtue spectrum and I have to tell you, I don't surround myself with a lot of virtuous people.
Michael.
Douglas, superbly reasoned. Efficiency, I like that, I am very efficient.
Neo, no goading... not fair!
Michael, I just tried counting the virtuopus people in my life, I didn't have to count trianca on the second hand... LOL
AV
Great post Douglas :-)
Religion seems to enjoy trying to prevent fun, as much as anything. Hardly deadly, those sins are they?
The conclusion at which I arrived upon watching the series was that, as with many things in life, the "declaration" or demarcation of the activity as "sins" was designed to accomplish certain "societal" objectives which were related to governance or management of society.
Society has a history of creating artificial constructs or contrivances to achieve some semblance of order.
Whether true or not, I'm unsure but what I heard was that the pope added new deadly sins. Of course when I heard one was addiction I tuned out. Not like I haven't tuned out from Catholicism long ago. Um, won't get into that here.
Neo - Avoiding politics is a bit like avoiding food. It can be done but it is difficult. I am on a diet, of sorts. Don't tempt me with those sweets.
Michael - Please tell me you didn't read it in Latin. I have not read Dante (yet), never had the patience. I want to, really. As for those virtuous people, I know precious few of them and those are boring.
AV - Efficiency comes with age. I think it is our ultimate goal.
Jules - Well, to be fair, the "deadly" part involves the eternal soul. Yet, the contradiction is Purgatory and Hell, isn't it?
Log - Did you not catch the integration of genetic imperative? Along with the folding of "useful" vs "harmful" traits into societal construction? I also liked the use of the physical manifestations of mental aberration and even human desires.
MPH - I don't like to get into the pluses and minuses of specific religious doctrines. I try to keep that out of this blog, as I do politics (and, now, computer systems). Like most everyone, I have my own view of these things and it can too easily offend. Your faith, I know from your blog, is strong and from the heart.
Dante's Divine Comedy is Italian. It's a great read and to really find the 'coolness' of it, you simply need to go on Wikipedia. (Although, I know you don't like that, but really, the whole thing is the thickness of a Bible. Appreciating every detail takes about five months.)
Latin would be Ovid's Metamorphoses, Virgil's Aeneid and Horace's odes. I read an English translation, as I did with Greek Homer's Odyssey.
The title of the essay is: The depictions of Hell in Homer's Odyssey, Dante's Inferno and a selection of T. S. Eliot poems.
Michael.
Oh yes Douglas. The whole discussion was fascinating. I particularly found the evolution of the practice of monogamy to be interesting. Just last night, I became angry at myself for watching a THS Investigates programs entitled, "Women Who Kill." It was all about woman who had been "driven" to kill their philandering husbands.
It still fascinates me that people would put themselves in a situation where they could be potentially cheated upon, and then blame the other person. That's like walking out in traffic because you want to cross the street, and there is a potential for getting hit by the passing cars.
How about not getting married in the first place? That's the responsible course of action, isn't it?
OF COURSE, I'm being facetious and laughing out loud. However, assuming that human conduct can be viewed in black and white terms is problematic.
Michael - Of course it is in Italian. I knew that. I just am lousy at proofreading. I am in training to be a doddering old man.
My "Bucket List" has reading on it; specifically, Plato's Republic, Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice, Homer's Odyssey, and Dante's Inferno.
Gutenberg Project has these online for download. My local library has tehm for lending too. All I need is my round "tuit"
Log - Science tries to explain what has been the traditional domain of philosophy and religion.
I suppose it is the battle of nature vs nurture in a sense.
Marriage does not have to be involved for cheating to occur. Nor for murder in revenge.
The human condition has provided the foundation for great works of art and thought throughout the ages. I suspect it has all been said, portrayed, studied, and quantified in error.
It's interesting that the "Seven Deadly Sins" came about from a papal order. The pope, as the figurehead of the Catholic church (big C), should be well read in the bible, and therefore should know that it says every sin is equally damning for a person's soul. Stealing a book from the store is equal to premarital sex is equal to murder, according to the bible. So it is as Log said that things get grossly manipulated for some sort of societal benefit, even if that benefit is not well published or beneficial.
Michael, have you thought about having a tag title in your essay, followed by the actual synopsis? For example
"Hell is Other Poets: The depictions of Hell in Homer's Odyssey, Dante's Inferno and a selection of T. S. Eliot poems" OR
"What the Hell? The depictions of Hell in Homer's Odyssey, Dante's Inferno and a selection of T. S. Eliot poems"
Just a suggestion.
Sartre... Thanks for the suggestions, generic Brand. I will consider those.
Michael.
When I get to the Pearly gates, St Peter's gonna ask what I was doing on Earth. When I tell him I was a blogger, he'll invite me into heaven declaring that I have already been through Hell!
AV
http://netherregionoftheearthii.blogspot.com/
http://tomusarcanum.blogspot.com/
AV - I suspect, if you reveal your blogger status, that you will find yourself in one of the deepest of the 7 circles of Hell. I could be wrong, after all, no one has come back and told us what we'll find. It's all guesswork and faith.
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