Atheism and the seven deadly sins.

[Rum]

'Sin' becomes an alien concept if one is an atheist I think most of us would agree. And yet those with a socially oriented moral sense would agree that there is such a thing as good and bad behaviour from a social and functional perspective. I tend to think, with a sort of social evolution hat on that a sense of right and wrong is functional and advantageous for human social groups.

Where does that put the so called seven deadly sins, some of which it seems to me are about personal behaviour with not too much social context, do you think? Do they have a socially useful function in terms of trying to moderate behaviour? For those of you who sensibly are well past the stage where you would choose to retain such information here is the list.

Pride
Envy
Gluttony
Lust
Anger
Greed
Sloth

[normal]

Everything is ok if you use moderation. Even moderation.

[Millefleur]

Do Christians go to hell if they're proud of their children?

[Rum]

Do Christians go to hell if they're proud of their children?

Yes, because the credit goes to god, not to the parents..you sinner, you!

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Surely there's more than just that seven?

[Ronja]

Surely there's more than just that seven?

. Where were you when you were supposed to be in Sunday school?

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Surely there's more than just that seven?

. Where were you when you were supposed to be in Sunday school?

Making pipe bombs. Why?

[Robert_S]

'Sin' becomes an alien concept if one is an atheist I think most of us would agree. And yet those with a socially oriented moral sense would agree that there is such a thing as good and bad behaviour from a social and functional perspective. I tend to think, with a sort of social evolution hat on that a sense of right and wrong is functional and advantageous for human social groups.

Where does that put the so called seven deadly sins, some of which it seems to me are about personal behaviour with not too much social context, do you think? Do they have a socially useful function in terms of trying to moderate behaviour? For those of you who sensibly are well past the stage where you would choose to retain such information here is the list.

Pride
Envy
Gluttony
Lust
Anger
Greed
Sloth

IIRC, they were invented later than the Bibble Books.

I keep them in mind not for any societal reason, but to look at myself and see if I'm feeding any of those tendencies in myself to the point of it having a detrimental effect on my overall quality of life.

[Animavore]

Pride: Is the very sin that makes you good. If you are a proud person you may want to elevate yourself and set standards for yourself that are above the norm. Pride can be a good thing so; not a sin.
Envy: Being envious of others can make us want to be better or equal to them. A person who uses envy right will use it to make sure she has what the other woman has.
Gluttony: Fairly obviously bad. Being a glutton makes you fat. Does that mean that one can't have a banquet every now and then, though?
Lust: Presuming they mean sexual lust, there's nothing wrong with lusting after people. Out of all the sins this is the one that asks you to fight against your nature the most. Of course in some religious people forcing down that lust makes it pop out in other places, ie. the condemning of sex. Quenching your lust seems worse to me than following it. Except in cases where it leads to sexual assault.
Anger: Anger can be a fairly good way of asserting yourself. Nothing wrong with being a little snappy every now and then. It's worse to bottle it up until one day you snap so hard someone gets hurt.
Greed: Probably one of the worst traits to have in its out of control state. You really have to only care for yourself and not give a whit what others think for that one.
Sloth: Meh.

[devogue]

A person who uses envy right will use it to make sure she has what the other woman has.

That's so PC.

[Mysturji]

'Sin' becomes an alien concept if one is an atheist I think most of us would agree. And yet those with a socially oriented moral sense would agree that there is such a thing as good and bad behaviour from a social and functional perspective. I tend to think, with a sort of social evolution hat on that a sense of right and wrong is functional and advantageous for human social groups.

Where does that put the so called seven deadly sins, some of which it seems to me are about personal behaviour with not too much social context, do you think? Do they have a socially useful function in terms of trying to moderate behaviour? For those of you who sensibly are well past the stage where you would choose to retain such information here is the list.

Pride
Envy
Gluttony
Lust
Anger
Greed
Sloth

They all boil down to fear.
Every one of them.

[Mysturji]

Everything is ok if you use moderation. Even moderation.

EVERYTHING in moderation!
Including excess.

[Coito ergo sum]

Do Christians go to hell if they're proud of their children?

Depends which kind of Christian...

[Coito ergo sum]

Pride: Is the very sin that makes you good. If you are a proud person you may want to elevate yourself and set standards for yourself that are above the norm. Pride can be a good thing so; not a sin.
Envy: Being envious of others can make us want to be better or equal to them. A person who uses envy right will use it to make sure she has what the other woman has.
Gluttony: Fairly obviously bad. Being a glutton makes you fat. Does that mean that one can't have a banquet every now and then, though?
Lust: Presuming they mean sexual lust, there's nothing wrong with lusting after people. Out of all the sins this is the one that asks you to fight against your nature the most. Of course in some religious people forcing down that lust makes it pop out in other places, ie. the condemning of sex. Quenching your lust seems worse to me than following it. Except in cases where it leads to sexual assault.
Anger: Anger can be a fairly good way of asserting yourself. Nothing wrong with being a little snappy every now and then. It's worse to bottle it up until one day you snap so hard someone gets hurt.
Greed: Probably one of the worst traits to have in its out of control state. You really have to only care for yourself and not give a whit what others think for that one.
Sloth: Meh.

They're not bad things to avoid, generally speaking. As far as sins go, they make sense. They make a lot more sense than some other sins bandied about.

Pride when referenced here is more like "vainglory." Excessive appreciation of one's own achievements - key word there is "excessive." It's the empty pomp of the braggart that is considered the deadly sin.

Envy is not merely a motivation to do well or achieve - rather it's the damage one does to oneself by pining excessively over the prosperity of another. It can plunge the envious person into despair and make them mean and consumed by their envy.

Most of these things are good things to avoid. To give Catholicism its due, at least they provide a moral guide like this. If most people followed most of these rules most of the time, the world would, in fact, be a better place.

[Tero]

Envy and greed are similar, mostly useless. If you get easily angry, you are stuck being your own boss.

Gluttony and sloth seem attractive but get old soon.

So where does lust get you? At least you are on your biological mission, your purpose.