The 7 Deadly Sins and 7 Cardinal Virtues

It is the basic crux of Christianity: Man is born a sinner. Throughout history, the nature of sin has seen many different faces and has changed to fit many different social expectations. As Bartleby the angel laments in the movie Dogma, “I remember when eating meat on Friday was supposed to be a Hell-worthy trespass.” His friend Loki counters with the observation that, “The major sins never change.” Although the list of the Seven Deadly Sins is never mentioned in the Bible, the concept has existed since before the Middle Ages. Anger, envy, gluttony, greed, lust, pride, and sloth are present throughout human civilization even when they are not named as such or displayed as a set of seven. William Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello is a literary

example, Thomas Putman uses greed in the way to gain land. He sinned to this. He also had his

The cardinal sins are “sins that characterize fallen humanity,” according to orthodox Christianity and the Roman Catholic Church in particular (ReligionFacts). While the Bible does include lists of sins, none of these lists align with the traditional “deadly” sins known today; the list of seven cardinal sins were actually created in the fourth century by a monk named Evagrius Ponticus (ReligionFacts). After several revisions, a list of cardinal sins fell into more popular use when poet Dante Alighieri used them in The Divine Comedy (ReligionFacts). According to modern interpretations of the list, the seven sins are as follows:

“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” (NIV Bible 1 Timothy 6:10)

Deadly Sins come into play without actually being stated. The Sin of Avaritia that is forecast by

Now that it is clear why the Wrathful are in a lower circle then the Hoarders and Wasters, I would like to back up to circle three and look at the Gluttons. The reason for this is because the previous question was answered so it automatically brings up the question: Why is hoarding and wasting a more horrible sin than being gluttonous? A glutton is one who has an uncontrollable appetite and deliberately converts food into a sort of god, or at least an object of worship. So now in Hell he is punished by being forced to eat filth and mud, instead of the extravagant food and drink that he/she is used to in life. Here is what Dante saw upon entering the third circle; "Huge hailstones, dirty water, and black snow pour from the dismal air to putrefy the putrid slush that waits for them below"(Dante, Canto 6 line 10-12). The reason that this sin is not as bad as hoarding and wasting is that gluttons misused the natural products of the world, which for Dante, was not as bad as the sinners in the next circle who have no respect for the manmade objects of the world, such as money and property. The reason that it is not as bad as the Wrathful is the same reason that I gave for the Hoarders and Wasters; the sin they commit

In “7 Ways We Lie”, Riley Redgates wrote in seven high schoolers point of view, switching in between chapters, from person to person. Each of these seven characters had a one of the seven deadly sins, lust, envy, greed, sloth, gluttony, wrath, or pride.

Name the seven deadly sins off the top of your head. If you are like many, one of the first ones that you think of is pride. According to dictionary.com, pride is “a high or inordinate opinion of one’s own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in bearing, conduct, etc.” ("The Definition of Pride"). Having pride is a good thing. It keeps us moving. It makes us feel as though we have accomplished something. But with that being said, too much of it can be a bad thing. When you have too much pride that is all you think about. You stop thinking about others and focus exclusively on yourself. This is when too it takes a turn for the worst. When you are absorbed with yourself and your own accomplishments, you disconnect from the world around you. When you are put into stressful or frightening situations your weaknesses are exposed to the world. Pride is a major weakness that is evident in The Cask of Amontillado, A Jury of Her Peers, The Rats in the Walls, and Aliens.

Furthermore, while gluttony of delicacy may be different than the sin of gluttony, of excess, it “produces querulousness, impatience, uncharitableness, and self-concern,” counteracting the attempt to avoid sin in the first place (Screwtape ch17). Screwtape shows subtlety in encouraging gluttony of

The sinners are forced to wallow in vile, freezing slush while Cerberus guards them. Gluttony, contrary to popular misconception, is not just the indulgence in food, but over indulgence in anything that creates a marked change in a person in a negative way. Alcoholics, drug abusers, and other chronic indulgers (to much partying or shopping perhaps?) are all seen as gluttons.

These are three of the bible’s seven deadly sins that are ingrained in our society. Sins that our heroes are still fighting today.

This indulgent type of behavior is seen in the sinners in the second through sixth circle of hell.

The chief error about Gluttony is to think it only pertains to food. Some people can't have enough toys, television, entertainment, sex, or company. It is about an excess of anything. The world is full of good things, from the beauty of the stars to the ever-changing and never-changing oceans to the pleasure of human company. We are free to enjoy these things without becoming focused on any one of them to the exclusion of all else. It is possible to become so caught up in a pleasure, whether food or fun, that we can no longer enjoy other things, and would be willing to sacrifice other pleasures for the one.

The Bible classifies the seven deadly sins – greed, envy, sloth, wrath, gluttony, pride and lust – as the characteristics of people which will lead to unhappiness. One particular sin evident in our world today is greed. Greed is defined as an excessive desire to possess wealth or goods. The greed that exists in our world leads people to unhappy and selfish lives. Greed is evident through individual people, corporate companies and in our governments.

In The Deadliest Of Sins Robertson Davies, the seven deadly sins are briefly talked about but his main focus is directed towards the sin, Sloth. He talks about the sins in a speech to fellow Queen’s University graduates and is explaining to them what sloth, or as he refers to it throughout the speech, Acedia, does to the mind and why it was considered a sin. I will summarize Davies points as well as add in my own opinion to the subject.