Theology That Bites Back
Every sin that can be committed is traceable back to pride. Boil all the sinful meat off, and what you have left are the bones of pride. “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For …
Envy is a difficult sin for us to address in the modern era because in many cases we have sought to make it into a virtue. Jesus told about the workers hired at different times of the day to make a spiritual point directed at envy(Matt. 20:1-16); we take the side of the workers who …
As we address the subject of gluttony, we must begin with an important qualificataion. This short essay is not about that second helping of mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving. At the same time, the issues here remain important ones. Gluttony does not refer to a desire to eat and drink, but rather to an inordinate desire. …
We do not live in a time of public silence on lust. There has been no moratorium on the noise about it, the perpetual chatter that surrounds us on every side. Enticements to lust, discussions of lust, enducements to lust, are constant. Standing against this is the clear word of Scripture: “Mortify therefore your members …
As we have known for centuries, anger is a brief madness. And when a man comes to his senses again, after a fit of anger, he has plenty of leisure to repent of the damage he has done. But repairing the damage is often far more difficult than having a mere desire to repair it. …
We come now to the second of the seven deadly sins—covetousness. This requires great attention because we have come to an area where we tend to sprinkle lavender water on our vices and call them virtues. “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by …
The seven deadly sins? Where does that categorization come from? The question can be addressed in two ways—historical and systematic. The historical question is the simpler of the two. Gregory the Great (late 6th century) is responsible for the list as we have it today. The list is an exercise in moral systematics—looking for a …
