The seven deadly sins are a group of vices that have been used since early times to educate Christians about humanity's tendency to sin. In the currently recognized version, the seven sins are gluttony, envy, lust, pride, sloth, greed, and wrath.
The Catholic Church divides sin into two categories: venial sins and mortal sins. Venial sins are considered lesser, forgivable sins that do not cause complete separation from God. Mortal sins are severe sins that cause complete dislocation from the grace of God, insuring damnation unless forgiven.
In Catholic thought, the seven deadly sins are not distinct from other sins, but are rather the origin of all sins. They are sometimes called the capital sins, which in Latin means the "head" of all the others. Almost every sin can be categorized into one of these seven.
The origin of the concept of seven capital sins is linked to the work of Evagrius Ponticus, a 4th century monk. Evagrius listed in Greek eight evil thoughts: gastrimargia, porneia, philargyria, hyper phania, lyp , org , kenodoxia, ak dia. Respectively these are gluttony, prostitution, greed, hubris, sadness, wrath, boasting, and dejection.
In AD 590, Pope Gregory I revised the list into the seven deadly sins. He combined sorrow, despair, and despondency into acedia (sloth), vainglory (hubris) into pride, and added envy. This new order became the standard and was used by Dante Alighieri in his Divine Comedy. Dante's epic poem was an allegorical vision of the afterlife, and is considered a culmination of the medieval world-view as it had formed in the Western Church.
Each of the seven deadly sins has an opposite corresponding virtue. In parallel order they are:
Temperance - Gluttony
Kindness - Envy
Chastity - Lust
Humility - Pride
Diligence - Sloth
Charity - Greed
Patience - Wrath
By:
Lewis F.
10 comments
-
Firman Dharmawan
I want to ask about Seven Heavenly Virtues, why doesn't have a symbol like seven deadly sins ?
-
Firman Dharmawan
i want to ask about seven heavenly virtues, why doesn't have a symbol like seven deadly sins ? thank you.
-
Albert
The symbols for the seven sins in this article are very interesting.
I am writing a fiction series centered on the seven sins, and wondering if I can use these symbols to represent the seven sins in my stories.
I will link to this site for acknowledgement.
Thanks in Advance!
-
notsayingmyname
I'd read that tbh
-
david
You’ll only need do this, If it has copyright and I see no associated marks. Jesus words. I did not come to change the law. Think this clearly means best live by the law. Both to protect and to advance your life.
-
-
Lawanda Jenkins
This was a very powerful reading.
-
david
Anything a pope wrote, and charged indulgences in it’s time, not to speak of the scandalous events in the media in the modern day, has emptied my life of All I once believed, respected and looked up to. Every deceived catholic parent turns in their grave. By association alone, acceptance is acceptance no matter how you look at it. Now it’s electronic rosaries so the young might pray for world peace. The Earth is in pieces and they not happy with the 99.9% peace that is real. Can’t believe a Life church is just the same old same old holes in everything they assumed would not come to light.
-
Chaplain Shawn
Greetings,
It is easier to focus prayer on the fruit of the Spirit.
Galatians 5 indicate the fruit are faithfulness, gentleness, goodness, joy, kindness, love, patience, peace, and self-control. The virtues are a better focus and more complete than the opposites of the seven deadly sins.
Respectfully,
Shawn, MA Apologetics
-
William Wmj Johnson
This is very important things to remember about to be a rev. William wmj johnson
This is very very good and I wish all the individuals that make up this world would adhere to this teaching. Thank you for your ministry.
Larry Durr, Minister ordained by the Universal Life Ministries.