These are the seven deadly sins, as named by Pope Gregory I in 590:
pride (ego-drive, narcissism)
greed (avarice, money-madness)
wrath (rage, anger, hatred)
envy (resentment, spite)
lust (lechery, sex-abuse)
gluttony (overindulgence, waste)
sloth (laziness, negligence, apathy)
Do you recognize all of these in your Newsfeed? In your town?
They describe not so much evil acts,
but common human failings, weaknesses,
that may be destructive to the life of the sinner &or those around them.
These failings are timeless aspects of human nature,
with us today just as much as they were in 590 AD.
They figure in every comedy and every tragedy.
Perfectly natural. Nothing to be ashamed of,
but things to be aware of and to protect against.
All programs to eliminate them have failed.
Punishment is cruel and poorly preventive.
Blaming & Shaming give pain but no gain.
High Ideals & Reason don’t make people rational or idealistic.
Piety doesn’t make people saints.
If we put sin outside ourselves, blame it on demons,
on other people or groups, on society,
we fail to find these weaknesses in ourselves,
where we can work on them.
Not to say we don’t need to work on society as well.
Make Beauty . Keep an Open Mind . Be Kind
(for my father, Dr. Harold E. Hatt, professor of Theology and Philosophy and ordained minister, whose multifaceted approach to ideas opened my eyes)