A Critique of the Seven Deadly Sins: Introduction
As someone who is thoroughly convinced that evil is a very real aspect of the everyday experience of life within God’s creation (even down to its most intricate details) and as someone who also is confident that the doctrine of sin is an appropriate (though fallible) means through which Christian people may discuss this reality, I am persuaded that it is vital for Christians to humbly criticize our own traditional understandings of sin, as a practical way whereby we might acknowledge our own propensity towards evil (a propensity which can even have a profound effect on the ways in which we have in the past and do currently identify, label, classify and ascribe sin) and furthermore in order that we in the church might repent of the ways in which we (perhaps unwittingly) have colluded with evil in our very pursuit of goodness and faithfulness to the cause of Christ in the world.
I have decided that the seven deadly sins will serve me well as I set out to rather simplistically critique though hopefully identify some of the shortcomings in the traditional Christian understanding of sin. Why these seven? They are first and foremost fairly well-known, which I believe will simplify communication. Moreover, each of the seven is broad enough in its definition to encapsulate a whole swathe of sins that have traditionally been condemned by both the Hebrew and Christian religions (thus, we should be able to pack more material into a smaller space).
I must, however, be clear. Despite the wide range of evils that are encompassed within these sins, we must not assume that this critique can or should be limited merely to these seven. Each and every sin as identified by and within Christianity must be examined individually and carefully if we are to be faithful to our own professed belief in the reality of evil. All things considered, though this series is not a comprehensive critique of the Christian doctrine of sin, I do trust that the seven deadly sins provide us with sufficient data wherewith we will be empowered to accomplish our primary purpose.
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