I listened to this on the radio this morning as I scampered around trying to get ready for work and I thought it was excellent so I wanted to share it.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/programmes/thought/documents/t20050620.shtml
"Today is the start of Social Science Week and to mark it the Economic and Social Research Council has published a report which links all kinds of current social ills to pride, anger, lust, avarice, gluttony, envy and sloth - in other words, the Seven Deadly Sins.
The report finds the sin of pride in the persistence of sectarian prejudice in Northern Ireland, it sees anger in uncontrollable tantrums in children and road rage in adults, lust in the ever-rising number of people who think its OK to have more than one sexual partner, avarice in the mounting levels of executive pay, gluttony in binge drinking and also in the steady overconsumption of alcohol by the middle-aged, envy in spiralling personal debt and lastly, sloth, the apathy reflected in spectacularly low turn-outs at the last two general elections.
What's truly extraordinary is that this prestigious agency for social research should have called on such an ancient spiritual tradition.
The first list of deadly sins was drawn up in the 4th century by Evagrius, a bright young clergyman who fled an unhappy love affair to live in solitude in the desert.. Evagrius identified eight dangerous thoughts which could lead to disaster if they were entertained. Let them in at all and they begin to form cracks in the human heart, tiny at first but then bigger as the heart itself begins to disintegrate. Being a good psychologist Evagrius understood that these dangerous thoughts often arise from ordinary anxiety. So gluttony starts from being afraid there might not be quite enough food to go round, lust begins in loneliness and avarice in the fear of a penniless old age. He doesn't have envy on his list but instead has discontent, a bitter nostalgia for the past which refuses to see any good in the present. Evagrius saw sloth as a kind of depression which slowly paralyses the will and makes all commitment seem pointless. Pride is thinking you can do without God to the extent that you become your own God, your own arbiter of good and evil. He had one more sin on his list, vainglory - which is a sin particularly of ambitious clerics - so perhaps it is not surprising that it got edited out of the list, to make the seven we have today.
What the Economic and Social Research Council thinks is the cure for these sins is not entirely clear, but Evagrius thought they had to be recognised and resisted by each individual in a strenuous battle of the will. I shall try to remember that today when I look anxiously at my pension prospects or wonder whether to have a third glass of wine with supper. For not only are we shaped by society, we shape it by our deeds
The points that especially stood out from the Egyptian's 7 deadly sins were how a different perspective makes them much easier to overcome. I was quite excited listening to it, like a mini epiphany - a more thorough understanding.
* Gluttony starts from being afraid there might not be quite enough food to go round,
* Lust begins in loneliness and avarice in the fear of a penniless old age.
* Discontent, a bitter nostalgia for the past which refuses to see any good in the present.
* Sloth as a kind of depression which slowly paralyses the will and makes all commitment seem pointless.
These points just seemed to have a much more human and less judgemental perspective. ie so called sins are born of our own fears and anxieties and if you know why you are doing them you can stop worrying quite so much about why I hoard food and eat too much and concentrate on what it is that makes you fear the food will run out. Those who display lust and have affairs could be because they are lonely. etc etc
Anyway I found this very thought provoking and hope you enjoy it too.
crumpet