The Seven Deadly Sins

So, continuing on from the last post concerning The Deadly Sins, I thought it would be fun to look at the meaning for ones everyone is familiar with as being The List:

 Lust 

Is usually thought of as excessive thoughts or desires of a sexual nature.  In Dante's Purgatorio, the penitent walks within flames to purge himself of lustful/sexual thoughts and feelings.  In Dante's Inferno, unforgiven souls of the sin of lust are blown about in restless hurricane-like winds symbolic of their own lack of self control to their lustful passions in this earthly life.

Gluttony 

Derived from the Latin, meaning to gulp down or swallow, this is the over-indulgence and over-consumption of anything to the point of waste.  It is considered a sin because of the excessive desire for food and its withholding from the needy.

Depending on the culture, this can be seen as either a vice or a sign of status. Where food is relatively scarce, being able to eat well might be something to take pride in.  But in an area where food is routinely plentiful, it may be considered a sign of self-control to resist the temptation to over-indulge.

Greed

This  is, like lust and gluttony, a sin of excess. However, greed (as seen by the church) is applied to an excessive desire and pursuit of wealth, status, and/or power.  In Dante's Purgatory, the penitents were bound and laid face down on the ground for having concentrated too much on earthly thoughts.  These include disloyalty, deliberate betrayal, or treason, especially for personal gain, for example through bribery.  Scavenging and hoarding of materials or objects, theft and robbery, especially by means of violence, trickery, or manipulation of authority are all actions that may be inspired by greed. 

As defined outside of Christian writings, greed is an inordinate desire to acquire or possess more than one needs, especially with respect to material wealth.

Sloth

This term has greatly changed its meaning since Pope Gregory's time.  It has come to be closer in meaning to the consequences of sloth rather than the cause.  By the 17th century, the exact sin being referred to was believed to be the failure to utilize one's talents and gifts.

The modern view is laziness and indifference as the sin at the heart of the matter.  Sloth is often seen as being considerably less serious than the other sins, more a sin of omission than of commission.

Wrath

Or rage, may be described as uncontrolled feelings of hatred and anger. In its purest form, with self-destructiveness, violence, and hate that may provoke feuds that can go on for centuries. Wrath may persist long after the person who did another some wrong is dead. Feelings of anger can manifest in different ways, including impatience, revenge, and vigilantism.
 
Wrath is the only sin not necessarily associated with selfishness or self-interest, although one can of course be wrathful for selfish reasons, such as jealousy.  In its original form, the sin of anger also encompassed anger pointed internally rather than externally. Thus suicide was deemed as the ultimate, albeit tragic, expression of hatred directed inwardly, towards oneself, a final rejection of God's gifts.

Envy

Like greed, this may be characterized by an insatiable desire; they differ, however, for two main reasons:

• Greed is largely associated with material goods, whereas envy may apply more generally
• Envy resents that another person has something they perceive themselves as lacking, but also wish the other person to be deprived of it

Pride

In almost every list, pride is considered the original and most serious of the seven deadly sins, and the source of the others.  It is identified as a desire to be more important or attractive than others, failing to acknowledge the good work of others, and excessive love of self.  In perhaps the best-known example, the story of Lucifer, in his desire to compete with God, was what caused his fall from Heaven, and his resultant transformation into Satan.