Monday, September 15, 2008

Envies in Christianity

In Proverbs 6:16–19, it is stated that "These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:" (quotes from King James Version translation of the Bible).

These are:

- A proud look,
- a lying tongue,
- and hands that shed innocent blood,
- A heart that deviseth wicked imaginations,
- feet that be swift in running to mischief,
- A false witness that speaketh lies,
- and he that soweth discord among brethren.

While there are seven of them, these sins are considerably different in outward appearance from the seven deadly sins list that arose later. The only sin which is clearly on both lists is pride. "Hands that kill innocent people" could be taken to refer to wrath. However, it is possible to imagine a case where cold blooded murder of an innocent would be one of the "hated things" without necessarily being an example of wrath. Practices such as abortion, genocide, and euthanasia can be arguably covered under this umbrella of "hands that shed innocent blood".

The remaining five of the "deadly sins" do not have even this loose correspondence to the "hated things", even if it is easy to imagine how they might lead someone to acting in one of the ways described in "Proverbs". As previously stated, there is no where in the Bible where the traditional "seven deadly sins" are located or listed, although they are all condemned in various parts, along with several others. These "deadly sins" are not necessarily worse than any others that are listed. The New Testament shows that it only takes one sin, which is an act of disobeying God's law, to separate man from a perfect God, placing him in need of redemption and salvation.

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