The Seven Deadly Sins

The Seven Deadly Sins. The Church divided sin into two kinds, Mortal and Venial. The Big Seven are the “Mortal” type so I am not talking about your common garden-variety sins. The Venial sin can be absolved with a little sacramental action or a quick penance. I am talking about the big nasties. These actions and behaviors are one-way tickets directly to Hell; do not pass go, do not collect $200.

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The traditional ones are, of course:
1. wrath
2. greed
3. sloth
4. pride
5. lust
6. envy
7. gluttony

Or are they? In the 14th Century (and in Latin), they were:
1. superbia (pride)
2. avaritia (greed)
3. luxuria (extravagance)
4. invidia (envy)
5. gula, (gluttony)
6. ira, (wrath)
7. acedia (discouragement)

We seem to have traded “extravagance and discouragement” for “sloth and lust”. Maybe it's the “Puritan influence”. But at least it’s seven and not eight. The original list originated around the 4th century:
1. gula (gluttony)
2. fornicatio (lust or fornication)
3. avaritia (greed)
4. tristitia (despair or sorrow)
5. ira (wrath)
6. acedia (discouragement)
7. vanagloria (vainglory)
8. superbia (pride)

In this list (compared to our English list) we lose “sloth and envy” but gain “despair, discouragement and vainglory”. Vainglory seems to be a duplication of pride; despair and discouragement could be seen as sloth; and envy could be a form of lust. Meanings have changed slightly over the years.

Next question: Where in the Bible is this list? Answer...um...nowhere actually. Sure each one is in the Bible, some grouped together, other times alone. Proverbs takes a real shot-gun approach at naming “naughty behaviors” and does actually announce a list of 6 (or 7). Check it out:
There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that hurry to run to evil, a lying witness who testifies falsely, and one who sows discord in a family. (Proverbs 6:16-19 NRSV)

What were they again?

1. a proud look
2. a lying tongue
3. hands that kill the innocent
4. a conniving heart
5. rushing toward evil
6. a lying witness
7. a sower of discord

Not even close to what we have today.

Then there is the list Paul gives us:
Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. (Galatians 5:19-21 NRSV)

By my count that is 15 plus “things like these”; so that ain’t it.

So where did the list come from?

The Big Seven were laid down in the Sixth Century by Pope Gregory the Great (Pope Gregory I) and it does not include all sins of the Mortal variety. Our current list comes from The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri in the 14th century. Dante lays out the Seven and voila the people of the Middle-Ages have a bunch of things to feel guilty about. And people still are haunted...talk about staying power.

So being that Dante wrote it and it isn’t in the Bible, does that mean there is no significance? Is this just another example of Dante trying to “castigate people he despised”? Sure, in large part he was writing about specific people he felt were heathens and hypocrites, but there is significance here still. The “sins” were based on scripture.

Sure, there is some validity, but: 1) lists like these (and the Decalogue) are guidelines for us; 2) our sins are forgiven. I am convinced that there is no difference to God, sin is sin. Christ died for our sins, so other than making an interesting plot for a movie, I got nothin’.

I’d stick to my old stand-by:

Love God with all you heart, mind and soul. And love your neighbor as yourself. If you do both of those things, you are not likely to commit offenses to any of these lists.