Saving Souls From 7 Deadly Sins

Christopher Byram, opinion editor 

In this region, religion is king.

Religion is involved in almost every aspect of life, though opinions differ as to whether or not that is a good thing. A majority of the people in this area would probably have a complete meltdown if the very suggestion that religion might not be all that great were ever to be mentioned to them. It would just make my day if a few heads exploded after reading this latest bit of blasphemy.

Most of the people in the South are, of course, Southern Baptists. I don't know why, and I'm not that interested in finding out. There are a few Methodists, Catholics and the rest of the crazy bunch, but whatever the denomination, Christianity is the primary religion of America. I find this very amusing, since I believe that most of the religious people in this nation are morons who hide behind religion and use it as a tool of malice, not a method of enlightenment, guidance or healing.

Religious people in this area seem so content to climb on some religious high horse and spew judgments and ignorance as though it's gospel. I guess some of it is, but it isn't the scriptures that I'm worried about, it's the way they're being used.

I am not a religious person, by any means, but I recognize a few universal purposes that religion seems to serve. There's the age-old arguments of social control, the answer to life after death, and the comfort of having "someone" there to hear all the woes of one's life.

These are great things, wonderful things, that serve to help some people, but I am not one of those people. I see religion as a burden more than anything, especially with all the various dogmas and religious disagreements about whose imaginary friend is better. Frankly, I think religion is a joke, but there is one thing that religion has done that few other institutions are capable of doing, and that is establishing universal sets of moral boundaries.

People will (hopefully) develop morals in other ways as well, such as through family, education, individual experiences and personal knowledge. Religions, however, define a list of moral boundaries and are very clear about stating or referencing things that are considered good and bad through the use of myths and tales.

In every religion, it is a good thing to be a moral person. From religion to religion, those things differ slightly depending on the values and beliefs of the region, area or people, but a few things are paramount:

1.) It is not good to kill other people for no reason.

2.) It is not good to take things that belong to another.

3.) It is not good to do things sexually that are not acceptable, or seen as wrong in some way, or not sanctified by a rite of marriage.

People don't want people killing each other, and although it does happen, I think religion has an innate ability to guilt trip believers into at least thinking twice about taking an axe to a neighbor's face. Murder is generally viewed as one of the most heinous acts that an individual can commit -the worst of the worst, although I tend to believe that there are far worse things that can be suffered in life than having that life cut short. Mankind is capable of great, great wrongs, and there does not seem to be any universal way of inhibiting man's desire to harm his brothers and sisters other than through religion.

My subject, however, is not about the universal message that I think all religions encompass, as I doubt many people in this southern-Baptist region could relate to a Hindu, and certainly not to a Muslim -what with them being the terrorists and all. My subject is about the Seven Deadly Sins of Christianity, as well as the many variations of the Christian Virtues.

The seven deadly sins are listed as follows (taken from www.deadlysins.com, a great online resource for a non-denominational view of the Seven Deadly Sins and various virtues, as well as some other great stuff.)

Pride is excessive belief in one's own abilities, that interferes with the individual's recognition of the grace of God. It has been called the sin from which all others arise. Pride is also known as Vanity.

Envy is the desire for others' traits, status, abilities, or situation.

Gluttony is an inordinate desire to consume more than which one requires.

Lust is an inordinate craving for the pleasures of the body.

Anger is manifested in the individual who spurns love and opts instead for fury. It is also known as Wrath.

Greed is the desire for material wealth or gain, ignoring the realm of the spiritual. It is also called Avarice.

Sloth is the avoidance of physical or spiritual work.

These are not complex things. They're very straightforward, and very easy to understand. They're also very easy to identify, and it is very clear -even if one is not religious at all- to recognize how universal these sins are, and how easily applicable they are.

Envy, Pride, and Lust, I think are the very cornerstones of the American way of life. It's sort of funny for this area, since it's supposed to be so devout and all that. Of course, we're not supposed to kill, either, but Texas has a great way of acting as the Hand of God and killing all those thieving, murdering heathens.

America has a great problem with morality. On the surface, there's all this preaching, nay saying and fire and brimstone being thrown around that it's hard to imagine this society as being anything but pious and completely true to the Christian ethos. Just under all that self-righteousness, and right in plain sight, at least three of the Deadly Seven are being pushed on the people from every possible direction, in almost every possible way.

Lust is pretty straightforward. Sex sells, end of story.

Vanity is pretty clear, too. I think Envy and Avarice mix well with Vanity, in America. We're told to look like the pretty models, and that the people with the most money are the best. We can't all be that rich, or that beautiful, but society says they're golden and that everyone should want what they have. We're also told that we're the best. Period.

And capitalism absolutely adores greedy competition. If you're not the richest, you're not the best, so it seems -Avarice and Envy, again. They go pretty well together.

With the Seven Sins being pushed so hard on the people of the United States, one has to wonder where all the Virtues are hiding. With all the fire and brimstone about sinning going on in the churches, homes and on the streets, one would think that there’s plenty of virtue to combat all these vile sins –or at least enough fear of the fires of Hell (or your local priest, pastor or shaman) to act as a suitable deterrent.

There are many variations of the Virtues, and there seems to be more than just the odd number of Virtues that are intended to be used against the Deadly Seven. There are, in fact, quite a few of them. It’s astonishing that with so many virtues, and so few sins, that the sins are still the favorite.

The virtues fall into three main categories: the Cardinal Virtues, prudence, temperance, courage, and justice; the Theological Virtues, which are love, hope and faith and the Seven Contrary Virtues: humility, kindness, abstinence, chastity, patience, liberality, and diligence. The Seven Contrary Virtues were practiced in order to directly combat the seven sins, with Kindness to battle Envy, Abstinence to combat Gluttony, Chastity against Lust, Patience versus Anger, Liberality to counteract Greed, and Diligence to prevent Sloth.

This brings us to the Seven Heavenly Virtues, faith, hope, charity, fortitude, justice, temperance, and prudence. The Heavenly Seven are comprised of the four Cardinal Virtues and the three Theological virtues, though there are, of course, variations on both arrangements of Sins and Virtues.

With all these wonderful qualities to use to combat all that the Sins represent (Unnecessary or harmful excess), why is it that there are still so many horrible people doing horrible, thoughtless things to each other and to themselves?

Most sound religions recognize the importance of the character of people. Few religions promote excessive behavior and selfishness, because there is enough of that in the world, and a vast majority of people do not want to be part of that sort of society. Most of us do, however, want to be sinners. Let’s face it, it wouldn’t be a sin if it wasn’t something we wanted, but religions are there to teach and shape. I think of religious stories as mystical Aesop’s tales –tools that teach morals and good behavior through the use of fables and parables. I see the stories in the Christian Bible to be another collection of parables. They’re profound myths that are used to teach morals and just behavior.

As I’ve said before, I’m not a religious person, but I’m not the only person on the planet, and I do see the value of living in a world with moral people –not blind, self-righteous people, but sound and moral people. What is there to lose from that sort of population?

There are others who are more religious than others, but that does not necessarily make them better than another man. Following a religion does not magically make a person right about anything.

I think religions are capable of doing just as many great wrongs as the individuals who use the names of gods as a means of justifying a blasphemy. But most of us are capable of rational thought and logic, and most of us oppose that which would destroy us. Religions can hurt just as much as they can help, but most religions are not designed to cause harm. People do not typically form or join religions that are openly hostile, unless they are hostile people, themselves.

Regardless, the point is that we live in a Bible-thumping region that’s not the most moral, which seems to be one of the great mysteries of our world. A lot of the people may be good, moral people, but they may also be blind and intolerant.

I have a lot of problems with organized religions. They restrict and blindfold people, and I think everyone should question everything they know anytime they think they’re on the right of things. The point is, religions are supposed to be tools for teaching a certain code of ethics, and in this region, those ethics get twisted or simply ignored, and that, I think, is a problem.