The first time we see a list of Deadly Sins is in the early Church. The early Church Father, Tertullian of Carthage, was the first to create a list of seven sins.
Then in the 4th Century, a monk named Evagrius Ponticus created a list of eight sins or more like ‘evil thoughts’. These caused fissures in the human soul which can drew people away from loving God.
His eight included:
Gluttony
Lust
Greed
Anger
Sloth
Pride
Vain-Glory
Sadness (nostalgic regret)
The modern list of sins we have today, was devised by Pope Gregory I in the 6th Century. He took Evagrius‘s list and reworked it slightly to get us seven.
Pride
Envy
Anger
Sloth
Greed
Gluttony
Lust
This list doesn’t specifically feature in the Bible, which may be surprising. Though these are mentioned in various unrelated texts across Scripture.
Dante’s Divine Comedy
The Seven Deadly Sins were popularised in Dante’s Divine Comedy. This was a poem which was divided into three parts, Heaven, Hell and Purgatory. In the section on Purgatory, Dante splits the areas on the Mountain which leads to Paradise into the Seven Deadly Sins.
His poem becomes very popular in Europe and is considered one of the greatest pieces of literature in the World. Its popularity probably brought the idea of the Seven Deadly Sins to a wider audience.
Why are these Deadly Sins?
Sin is sin. So what makes these ones worse than others? It is thought that if we exhibit these behaviours, it will lead to all kinds of sins. If we are able to control ourselves from committing these, then it will help us grow in our faith and avoid falling into temptation. Not only will our lives be more virtuous, but so will the community around us.
So these aren’t any more deadly than any other sin, it’s just they create the environment where we find it hard to resist other sins.
Why Seven?
Seven is an important number in the Bible. It is the number of perfection or completeness. We see the Creation story in Genesis 1 was over 7 days. There are 7 churches mentioned at the beginning of the Book of Revelation.
Isaac Newton described 7 colours of the rainbow, where in fact there are only 6. As a mystic, he wanted to make it 7 colours, in order to show perfection and completeness.
By having Seven Deadly Sins, it shows this is a complete list.
The Cardinal Virtues
The opposite to the seven deadly sins are the Cardinal Virtues. They are the antidote to the Deadly Sins. If we act out these behaviours, we will less likely commit sin. I will address these later in the series.
Seven Deadly Sins in Modern Culture
As we go through this series, I will look at how these Sins are received today. But I will have to put these behind a paywall as Western Culture seems to be particularly sensitive when it comes to talking about sin.
Salve brother, I will be doing a series on the Orthodox's version of the seven deadly sins by Evagrius Ponticus that you mentioned in your newsletter. I hope that you will look through it as it progresses.