Religion, the Eighth Deadly Sin
I was talking with a Muslim once, who said that he believed that God created sins to tempt us. I said I disagreed, and used the example of gluttony as a case where something is indeed very good (food), but when used to excess is bad (gluttony). I suggested that the other sins were like that, a case not of something evil in itself, but a lack of balance.
Wrath: Sometimes you just have to get angry. However a person who is angry all the time is not healthy, and is miserable to be around.
Envy: It is natural to want to have what other people have. This is how civilization progresses. But to obsess over what another person has and you cannot is a ticket to disaster.
Lust: Without sex, where would we be? Sex is one of the things that is necessary for civilization to continue. But again, obsessing over sex is not healthy.
Sloth: Laziness is the number 1 cause of invention. It is natural to want to do things with minimum effort, and many times reducing the effort required is a very valuable thing. But life requires some effort, and those not willing to put forth required effort are going to "miss the mark" and miss out on much of life.
Gluttony: Food is vital to life. Sugar, salt, and fats are perhaps the most important nutrients out there, and we need them in greater quantities than the micrograms of vitamins and minerals we need. However, too much of any of these causes health problems. Also, in medieval times, gluttons were not only ruining their own health and vitality, but they were taking food from people who needed it to survive, and so other people had to starve.
Greed: It is natural to want to have things. In fact, without the desire to store things up for the winter, we would not have survived. And there is nothing wrong with having good things. But someone who takes this to excess is going to cause problems, perhaps even breaking rules of ethics in order to acquire more.
Pride: Without the ability to feel good about yourself and what you do, there is no motivation to do anything. Millions of people each year kill themselves because they do not have enough pride. But taken to excess, pride can blind one to both failings in other areas, and even to ethical lapses if one things one is above the laws.
Now, the reason I say that Religion is the 8th Deadly Sin, is that like the others, it can have a positive effect on people's lives. But taken to excess, religion can be quite deadly indeed.
Wrath: Sometimes you just have to get angry. However a person who is angry all the time is not healthy, and is miserable to be around.
Envy: It is natural to want to have what other people have. This is how civilization progresses. But to obsess over what another person has and you cannot is a ticket to disaster.
Lust: Without sex, where would we be? Sex is one of the things that is necessary for civilization to continue. But again, obsessing over sex is not healthy.
Sloth: Laziness is the number 1 cause of invention. It is natural to want to do things with minimum effort, and many times reducing the effort required is a very valuable thing. But life requires some effort, and those not willing to put forth required effort are going to "miss the mark" and miss out on much of life.
Gluttony: Food is vital to life. Sugar, salt, and fats are perhaps the most important nutrients out there, and we need them in greater quantities than the micrograms of vitamins and minerals we need. However, too much of any of these causes health problems. Also, in medieval times, gluttons were not only ruining their own health and vitality, but they were taking food from people who needed it to survive, and so other people had to starve.
Greed: It is natural to want to have things. In fact, without the desire to store things up for the winter, we would not have survived. And there is nothing wrong with having good things. But someone who takes this to excess is going to cause problems, perhaps even breaking rules of ethics in order to acquire more.
Pride: Without the ability to feel good about yourself and what you do, there is no motivation to do anything. Millions of people each year kill themselves because they do not have enough pride. But taken to excess, pride can blind one to both failings in other areas, and even to ethical lapses if one things one is above the laws.
Now, the reason I say that Religion is the 8th Deadly Sin, is that like the others, it can have a positive effect on people's lives. But taken to excess, religion can be quite deadly indeed.