The Seven Deadly Sins: Then and Now

Parishoner receiving the sacrament of Confession.

Western Catholicism has always had trouble explaining the problem of evil in a world created by a benevolent god. Medieval theologians personified sin in the guise of Satan, an angel who rebelled against God and was cast from Heaven. It was Satan who unleashed sin upon the earth and poisoned men's minds. The struggle between obedience to God and a human beings' free will became the battleground for man's immortal soul. The stakes couldn't be higher--salvation or perdition.

Though not explicitly mentioned in the Bible, the Seven Deadly Sins became fundamental to Roman Catholic doctrinal and confessional practices in Medieval Europe. The Catholic church promoted the concept of the Seven Deadly Sins in church sermons and religious artwork encouraging the faithful to curb their sinful ways.

 

The origin of the Seven Deadly Sins is linked to the works of fourth-century Greek monk Evagrius Ponticus. One of his disciples--John Cassian--brought these categories to Europe and translated them into Latin--the common language of the Roman Catholic Church. The sins were Pride, Greed, Gluttony, Wrath, Envy, Sloth, and Lust.

Medieval priests studied the Seven Deadly Sins in penitential manuals training them to hear confessions. After a parishioner's admission of sin, priests assigned prayers for penance usually involving the recitation of Hail Marys and Our Fathers and an Act of Contrition before the priest would absolve your sins. Sometimes wealthy patrons made contributions to the church hoping to buy their way into heaven.

The Seven Deadly Sins were given popular expression during the Renaissance in Dante's Inferno (1320 AD), an anonymous writer's The Summoning of Everyman (1510), and Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus (1604). Each fictional treatment was a cautionary, morality tale.

Dante envisioned the nine circles of Hell in his Inferno. The lustful are condemned to the 2nd circle; the gluttonous are grouped in the 3rd circle; the greedy inhabit the 4th circle; and the wrathful are imprisoned in the 5th circle. Four of the nine circles are dedicated to the Seven Deadly Sins. Though Hell is never mentioned explicitly in the Bible, Dante and the clergy did not mind scaring it out of people.

After a lifetime of sinning, the main character in The Summoning of Everyman must make an accounting of his life which is sorely wanting. Everyman's eternal soul is not in a state of grace. Death summons Everyman, but Everyman is unprepared to face his judgement and tries to delay his fate. To make amends, he confesses his sins to a priest, does his penance, and is administered the Last Rites. All his worldly goods, his friends, and family give him no comfort in his time of greatest need. Only his Good Deeds follow Everyman to the grave. The moral, of course, is prepare in this life for the next.

The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus is the most subversive play of the period. Faustus is a heretical priest who dares to study the forbidden secrets of necromacy (conjuring demons). His excessive pride prompts him to brag that he has studied every subject and finds them all wanting. He denounces Logic as merely a tool for arguing; he proclaims that Medicine is useless unless it can conjure up the dead; he feels that the Law is mercenary and beneath him; and that Divinity is useless, which is blasphemy against God.

Corrupted by practicing the black arts, Faustus creates a magic circle and attempts to summon Satan. Instead, the devil Mephistophilis (sic) appears and strikes a deal with Faustus giving him magical powers for twenty-four years until he must surrender his soul. Faustus is introduced to the Seven Deadly Sins and lives a self-indulgent life until it is time to pay for his devil's bargain. His corrupted soul is drawn to the everlasting bonfire of Hell.

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In our more secular age, the Seven Deadly Sins have lost their power to shock or discourage many wayward sinners, but they haven't lost their power to captivate the popular imagination and produce box office gold for filmmakers. Though many twentieth-century films clearly deal with the concept of sin and morality, the theme is often implied rather than expressed.

 

Dracula

One of the earliest Hollywood morality tales was the 1931 horror film Dracula, about a vampire who attacks godfearing humans and robs them of their souls. Lust and sacrilege are the movie's subtext as Dracula is hunted down and destroyed with a wooden stake driven through to his heart while in his coffin. This film made an international sex symbol of Hungarian Bela Lagosi, and it started the era of the Universal Pictures costume monsters.

 

Released nine months later, Frankenstein was another 1931 monster movie that left its mark on the moviegoing public. The film is about an ambitious scientist who dares to emulate God by creating a human life. Pride in his achievement is a direct affront to God. Dr. Frankenstein's transgression creates a monster that unleashes murder and mayhem upon the countyside.

 

This film helped promote the Hollywood cliche of the mad scientist. For his pursuit of the mysteries of life and death, Dr. Frankenstein goes insane. Costume monsters like Dracula and Frankenstein lost their power to scare audiences in the 1950s after Hollywood entered the post World War II era of the psychological thriller.

 

The movie that changed the horror genre forever was 1960's Psycho directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The film was groundbreaking for its unprecendented depiction of sex and violence which set a new standard of acceptability for feature films. The movie ended with a psychologist's evaluation of the killer's motivation and mental state. No attempt was made to provide any religious context for the audience, although the deadly sins of greed, lust, and wrath run throughout the film.

 

Janet Leigh in Psycho

Psycho viewers enjoyed the rush of jumping out of their seats screaming--especially during the famous shower scene. To offer guidance to their parishioners, the Catholic Legion of Decency gave the film a B rating for being "morally objectionable," but the public loved the film and long lines formed wherever it was shown. For a modest capital investment of $806,947, Psycho made $50 million dollars becoming one of the most profitable movies of its era.

 

 

The most explicit treatment of the Seven Deadly Sins in a modern movie is the film Seven--a psychological thriller starring Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Kevin Spacey. Serial killer John Doe drops clues at five murder sites, each resembling a different deadly sin. Two detectives frantically pursue the unknown serial killer before he acts on the final two deadly sins.

By committing horrific murders linked to the deadly sins, a religious zealot wants to incite the public to repent for their sins. John Doe wants to be known as a martyr in service to God's will, despite committing the mortal sin of murder repeatedly. This film had a $33 million dollar budget and earned $327.3 million dollars worldwide making it the fifth most popular American film of 1995. What the movie did for church attendance is unknown.

Today, the problem of evil with its enduring themes of sin and transgression are the stock in trade of writers and movie producers. Rather than morality lessons that lead people to God, these modern films are popular for their ability to thrill and entertain mass audiences.

 

Danse Macabre (Dance of the Dead)