What are the Seven Deadly Sins?
The seven deadly sins, also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins, are a classification of vices that were originally used in early Christian teachings to educate and instruct followers concerning (immoral) fallen man's tendency to sin. The Catholic Church divided sin into two principal categories: "venial", which are relatively minor, and could be forgiven through any sacramentals or sacraments of the church, and the more severe "capital" or mortal sin. Mortal sins destroyed the life of grace, and created the threat of eternal damnation unless either absolved through the sacrament of confession, or forgiven through perfect contrition on the part of the penitent.
And how has John McCain committed these mortal sins? Here is a brief photo tutorial, so let's count the ways.
- LUST (or lechery) is usually thought of as involving obsessive or excessive thoughts or desires of a sexual nature.
- GLUTTONY: Derived from the Latin gluttire, meaning to gulp down or swallow, gluttony is the over-indulgence and over-consumption of anything to the point of waste.
- GREED (or avarice, covetousness) is, like lust and gluttony, a sin of excess. However, greed (as seen by the church) is applied to the acquisition of wealth in particular.
- SLOTH: More than other sins, the definition of sloth has changed considerably since its original inclusion among the seven deadly sins. In fact it was first called the sin of sadness or despair. It had been in the early years of Christianity characterized by what modern writers would now describe as melancholy: apathy, depression, and joylessness — the last being viewed as being a refusal to enjoy the goodness of God and the world he created.
- WRATH (or anger) may be described as inordinate and uncontrolled feelings of hatred and anger.
- ENVY: Like greed, envy may be characterized by an insatiable desire; they differ, however, for two main reasons. First, greed is largely associated with material goods, whereas envy may apply more generally. Second, those who commit the sin of envy resent that another person has something they perceive themselves as lacking, and wish the other person to be deprived of it.
- PRIDE: In almost every list pride (or hubris or vanity) is considered the original and most serious of the seven deadly sins, and indeed the ultimate source from which the others arise. It is identified as a desire to be more important or attractive than others, failing to give compliments to others though they may be deserving of them,[citation needed] and excessive love of self (especially holding self out of proper position toward God).
John McCain:
When touting his foreign policy experience, McCain promised he would go after Bin Laden if he was president. McCain makes very few promises out on the trail, but that's one that regularly comes up. When asked, he often says, "I'll get him. I will follow Bin Laden to the gates of hell and I will get him. I promise you that."
NEWSFLASH: John, I think you're going to have a very short trip to find him.