May I note before starting this article: This is written without the intention to propose that these sins do or do not exist. It is not written out of personal views, being an Agnostic myself. I am simply interested in the idea of the sins and how they are now found in Modern Media Culture.
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The Seven Deadly Sins, also known as the Cardinal Vices/Capital Vices, are classifications of sins (an act seen as immoral that goes against the divine law of God). The sins are all polar opposites to the Seven Virtues: Chastity, Temperance, Charity, Diligence, Patience, Kindness and Humility. They originated from religion, mainly Christianity - though were not explicitly stated, originally. The sins are said to be the abuse of a human's natural facilities or passions. The Church used the deadly sins in order to prevent people from becoming drawn towards evil before dire consequences and misdeeds occurred.
The sins have had many references throughout culture. In most recent times, a most prominent feature of them is during the 1995 film 'Se7en' in where a serial killer preys upon those who they feel have most partook in the sins (which may I add, is an amazing film! I highly recommend it - though, warning, it isn't for the faint-hearted). They have also been featured in the anime, 'Fullmetal Alchemist', episodes of 'Supernatural' and 'Charmed' and have most recently become part of the story line to the Disney - Square Enix game, 'Kingdom Hearts'.
PRIDE & GREED
PRIDE
Along with Greed, Pride is one of the most focused upon sins as the worst of the list. Out of the two, Pride (also known as Hubris, by the Ancient Greeks) is considered to be the original and, thus, most serious of all seven sins. The sin is identified as dangerously corrupted selfishness, putting forward one's desires and urges before the welfare of others. In more destructive cases, it is irrationally believing that one is better and more superior than others, failing to recognise the accomplishments of others and excessive admiration of their own self-image. Humility is the virtue that opposes this sin. A pop culture reference to the sin can be noted in Rick Riordan's 'Percy Jackson' book series, where it is discovered that character Annabeth Chase's fatal flaw is her deadly pride - her Hubris.
GREED
Greed, also known as Avarice, is similar to Lust and Gluttony by being a sin of desire. However, Greed is used in reference to an artificial desire and pursuit of material possessions. Acts that fall under Greed include hoarding of materials or objects, theft and robbery - especially through ways of violence and trickery. It is believed to be one of the worst sins as it can lead to not just some, but all evil, unlike the other sins. Charity is the virtue of this sin. A pop culture reference to the sin can be most famously connected to the Spongebob Squarepants character, Mr Krabs - owner of the Krusty Krab. His love of money and selfish efforts to earn more and more are clearly that of Greed (and a little Pride...).
LUST & ENVY
LUST
Also known as Lechery, Lust is the feeling of intense longing. It is commonly linked to emotions of intense sexual desire, typically leading to 'fornicating', adultery, rape, bestiality and other sexual acts viewed as immoral. However, Lust can be referred to simple desire such as the lust for money or power. Lust is viewed as the least serious of all of the Deadly Sins as it is the abuse of a faculty that we share with animals (basically, it's one we can't always help but commit, as such) and because sins of flesh are viewed as less serious than those of spirituality. The matching virtue to this sin is Chastity. Not necessarily a pop culture figure, but from the top of my head, Hester Prynne from the book "The Scarlet Letter" is one who comes to mind. Admittedly, I never read the book but thanks to 'Easy A' - I do know the story! (like Se7en, if you haven't seen Easy A - highly recommend!)
ENVY
Envy is another of the desire sins. It can be described as having feelings of sad or resentful greed towards the traits or possessions of another and is typically linked to feelings of jealousy. The two feelings are similar in that they both resent the traits, status, rewards or abilities of someone else. However, they are separate due to Envy desiring the entity and coveting it, which directly links to the Ten Commandments 'Neither shall you covet anything that belongs to your neighbour". Envy is believed by some to be one of the most prominent causes of unhappiness, bringing sorrow and the urge to inflict pain upon others. Both Envy and Pride have had direct links to the Devil. 'the envy of the devil brought death to the world'. The virtue of this sin is Kindness. Sadly, I'm not able to think of pop culture embodiments of this sin. However, I do find it in a lot of modern culture such as the typical cliches of 'wanting to be the popular kid at school' etc.
GLUTTONY & SLOTH
GLUTTONY
This sin is the overindulgence of anything to the point of waste. It is considered a sin, in Christianity, when only related to food as the overindulgence of food means there is less to give to those who are in need of it. Gluttony can be interpreted as selfishness as it is essentially placing your own needs before another's. During times of famine, war and other times when food is scarce, it is believed to be possible to indirectly kill other's through starvation if you over consume food as it means another goes without. Thomas Aquinas, a Medieval Church leader, took a more expansive view and said that Gluttony can be committed by eating too expensively (Laute), eating too daintily (Studiose), eating too much (Nimis), eating too soon (Praepropere) and eating too eagerly (Ardenter). Ardenter is considered to be the most serious form of Gluttony. (Am I the only one who thinks you can't win with this guy? Eat too little?! TERRIBLE. Eat too much?! TERRIBLE!). The virtue of this sin is Temperance.
SLOTH
Sloth, also known as Acedia ('without care') can refer to multiple notions. It can be most notably defined as being lazy (disinclination to exertion) or as having an absence of interest. The scope of Sloth is very wide. Acedia was first referred to as religious persons who became indifferent to their duties to God. It has also been referred to 'affectlessness', a lack of any feeling about self or other leading to boredom, apathy and passive inert/sluggish mentation. Physically, Sloth is an indifference to work laziness, idleness and indolence. That isn't even all of the definitions! All in all, by the definition(s) of Sloth, 'evil exists when "good" people fail to act'. Unlike the other sins, which are sins of immorality, Sloth is failing to complete responsibilities. Diligence is the heavenly virtue to match this sin. If I had to think of a pop culture Sloth, I would say Experiment 625 (Reuben) from the TV series of 'Lilo & Stitch'. A highly intelligent experiment with all the qualities of Stitch, plus the ability to speak, and what does he do? He spends his days making mountains of sandwiches. Honestly - he is an inspiration to us all!
WRATH
WRATH
Wrath is commonly defined as uncontrolled feelings of anger, rage and hatred. These emotions can be known to manifest into a desire for vengeance in some cases. In the most purest form, Wrath can provoke feuds and lead to violence, injury and hatred. Feelings of Wrath can develop in a multitude of ways such as impatience, attack upon a beloved, revenge and self-destructive behaviour. Wrath is the only sin that is not always associated with selfishness despite people having the ability to develop feelings of wrath for selfish reasons, such as jealousy. The matching virtue is Patience. In my opinion, for Wrath, Disney's take on Greek God Hades shows most prominent features of Wrath (.. off the top of my head at least..). Fun fact: Hades is my favourite of all the Greek Gods!
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This is the only part of the article that I shall state my personal views.
For me, I believe that these sins are fairly idealistic in what they ask for and are arguably outdated. I personally find them ideals and guidelines to strive to avoid - but I don't agree with them shaming people for having qualities and emotions like this. They do not always define a person and are not always set in stone.
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Maybe you disagree with me?
Do you think the Deadly Sins are still important or are just simply interesting to look into?
Do you have the awareness to admit that you see yourself in one of the sins?
If I had to admit mine, my most prominent ones are those of Envy and Sloth - though I think I've harboured feelings and done things that can place me into all categories at some point or another. However, I'd say my least frequented ones are Greed and Lust.
I would like to thank BaileyyRosee for the amazing layout this week.
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