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1. Based on your reading of “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” predict what countries would not sign and explain their refusal on their possible operative ethical framework. (Cf. Module 2 and 3 on factors that affect ethical decision-making). How might this document reflect the inherent tension between universalist and relativist ethical starting points?
2. From your reading of “Sick Societies,” is the ethnographer Edgerton a universalist or relativist? Explain your answer with examples from the article.
3. Examine the works of Martin Luther King and Herodotus that have been specified, and determine if the perspective in each of these articles is one of moral universalism or moral relativism. Support your answer using the assigned readings.
4. After reading the “Seven Deadly Sins” website, identify your understanding of vice and virtue, its historical origins, how the meanings changed over time, and apply this understanding to topics of relativism and universalism? Use your readings for support.
5. What are the universalist-relativist elements involved in the political tug-of-war of ideas between the Japanese who hunt whales as food and those environmentalists who stand in front of their harpoons in the open seas, to defend the whales?
The Seven Deadly
Sins
Pride Envy Anger Sloth Greed Gluttony
Lust
Last updated: August 17, 2009 First appeared: June 18, 1996
“Sin creates [an inclination] to sin; it engenders vice by repetition of the same acts. This
results in perverse inclinations which cloud conscience and corrupt the concrete judgment of
good and evil. Thus sin tends to reproduce itself and reinforce itself, but it cannot destroy the
moral sense at its root.”
Para. 1865, Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1994
Bulletins
The book list has been updated to allow clicking for easy ordering. We have not finished all
the books yet.
There have been reports that the Seven Deadly Sins had been replaced, doubled or updated.
None of this is true. Gianfranco Girotti, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, was reported as
adding these, but he was really talking to priests about new “social” sins. The report on
FoxNews.com confused the Seven Deadly Sins with mortal sin, implying that pollution (one
of the “new” sins and something we all do) would result in eternal damnation. It was very
poorly written. BBC News also confused mortal and the Seven Deadly Sins, as did
allheadlinenews.com. CNN was no better. Please check the Vatican Web site (vatican.va), and
notice there is nothing about this. There is no list of the new Seven Deadly Sins, just an article
recounting details of a talk by someone in the Vatican who didn’t even mention the Seven
Deadly Sins. But here is the best article on it so far, and it has the list.
Newest page: Simplicity
Overview
The Seven Deadly Sins are really attitudes that underlie sins, whether mortal or venial, first
identified by St. John Cassian (360 – 435) and refined by Pope St. Gregory the Great (540 –
604). They provide keys to understanding our faults and the actions that result, and a
framework for self knowledge. If we understood how they factor into who we have become,
we would understand much more about ourselves and our effect on others. The Seven Deadly
Sins never occur as a list in the Bible, but occur many times individually.
Why bother?
Before even beginning a discussion of these Seven Deadly Sins, also known as “capital sins,”
it may be useful to discuss a few differences among Christians on this subject. Some people
feel it is better to take a more positive approach to faith and not dwell on sin. Others believe
all sin is equally repugnant to God, and so any classification of sins is wrong. Still others just
want to forget the whole thing since they are saved and God loves them and really doesn’t care
about all this “stuff.”
http://www.whitestonejournal.com/seven/pride.html
http://www.whitestonejournal.com/seven/envy.html
http://www.whitestonejournal.com/seven/anger.html
http://www.whitestonejournal.com/seven/sloth.html
http://www.whitestonejournal.com/seven/greed.html
http://www.whitestonejournal.com/seven/gluttony.html
http://www.whitestonejournal.com/seven/lust.html
http://198.62.75.1/www1/CDHN/gravity.html#PROLIFERATION
http://www.whitestonejournal.com/books1.html
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=12031
http://www.whitestonejournal.com/seven_deadly_sins/simplicity.html
http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt3sect1chpt1art8.htm#1854
http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt3sect1chpt1art8.htm#1862
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03404a.htm
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06780a.htm
Inscribed in ancient times at the Oracle at Delphi: “Know thyself.” Self-knowledge follows
closely behind the knowledge of God, and self-knowledge for anyone means knowledge of
sin. “My own heart shows me the way of the ungodly.” Scripture says we are all sinners, and
we don’t mind as long as the sins are nameless and faceless. When we name a sin found in
ourselves (by Grace) it is as though we are confronted in the back alleys of our souls with
furtive saboteurs and muggers who seek to prevent our union with God. The sudden self-
revelation of a serious fault is one thing: the discovery of a deadly sin which we hate very
much in others is worse. It is like finding out a spouse is unfaithful, or worse, that we have
been blindly unfaithful to the Spouse of our soul.
The following pages on the deadly sins may lead to horrible discoveries. Bear in mind:
1. Friends will almost never volunteer this information.
2. If they do, we will not accept it.
3. God forgives anything, even repeatedly, so do not be afraid.
A combination of good spiritual reading (nothing too recent), nearly constant prayer, and
reflection on the repetitive patterns of life works well for naming our sins. Remarks made in
job performance reviews and conversations with people who dislike us are especially
revealing. Our enemies usually lack the false charity to deny our sins. No wonder we are
called to love them.
The human capacity for self-delusion is nearly limitless. We have all seen people claim great
spirituality but do evil things and then ignore or rationalize them. Somehow we think we are
immune to this phenomenon.
The List of Capital (Deadly) Sins
The table below lists The Seven Deadly Sins (vices) in the traditional order with the virtues
against which they are sins. The history of this list goes back at least to Pope St. Gregory the
Great and St. John Cassian, but while the list itself is not strictly biblical, the Bible proscribes
all seven. If one or more of these doesn’t seem like a big sin to you, it almost certainly means
you have already rationalized it. Work on that one first. By the way, there is no set list of
Virtues corresponding to these. I’ve just listed the ones that made sense at the time.
If you need additional information on Dante’s views of these, it is after the table.
Vice Virtue against which it sins Brief description
Pride (1) Humility Seeing ourselves as we are and not
comparing ourselves to others is humility.
Pride and vanity are competitive. If
someone else’s pride really bothers you,
you have a lot of pride.
Avarice/Greed
(5)
Generosity This is about more than money. Generosity
means letting others get the credit or praise.
It is giving without having expectations of
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/siteindex?entry=Delphi
http://www.whitestonejournal.com/seven/#
Dante
http://www.whitestonejournal.com/seven/pride.html
http://www.whitestonejournal.com/humobed.html
http://www.whitestonejournal.com/seven/greed.html
http://www.whitestonejournal.com/seven/generosity.html
the other person. Greed wants to get its
“fair share” or a bit more.
Envy (2) Love “Love is patient, love is kind…” Love
actively seeks the good of others for their
sake. Envy resents the good others receive
or even might receive. Envy is almost
indistinguishable from pride at times.
Wrath/Anger
(3)
Kindness Kindness means taking the tender
approach, with patience and compassion.
Anger is often our first reaction to the
problems of others. Impatience with the
faults of others is related to this.
Lust (7) Self control Self control and self mastery prevent
pleasure from killing the soul by
suffocation. Legitimate pleasures are
controlled in the same way an athlete’s
muscles are: for maximum efficiency
without damage. Lust is the self-destructive
drive for pleasure out of proportion to its
worth. Sex, power, or image can be used
well, but they tend to go out of control.
Gluttony (6) Faith and Temperance Temperance accepts the natural limits of
pleasures and preserves this natural
balance. This does not pertain only to food,
but to entertainment and other legitimate
goods, and even the company of others.
Sloth (4) Zeal Zeal is the energetic response of the heart
to God’s commands. The other sins work
together to deaden the spiritual senses so
we first become slow to respond to God
and then drift completely into the sleep of
complacency.
MTV did a special in August 1993 on the Seven Deadly Sins which involved interviewing
various well-known entertainers from the music and television industry. They pretty much all
agreed these were not vices and the list was “dumb.” (Sigh) Oh well.
(Details: The MTV title was “Seven Deadly Sins: An MTV News Special Report”; PBS
showed it as “Alive TV.” First aired on MTV on August 11, 1993. PBS first aired it on August
20, 1993. If you have a copy, please e-mail us.)
Additional information (based on requests from readers):
Poll
An online poll displayed the following results:
http://www.whitestonejournal.com/seven/envy.html
http://www.whitestonejournal.com/seven/love.html
http://www.whitestonejournal.com/seven/anger.html
http://www.whitestonejournal.com/seven/lust.html
http://www.whitestonejournal.com/seven/gluttony.html
http://www.whitestonejournal.com/seven/sloth.html
http://www.whitestonejournal.com/seven/zeal.html
http://www.whitestonejournal.com/askus.html
Of the seven deadly sins, this
ONE is my biggest failing:
Lust 35%
Anger 18%
Pride 12%
Sloth 10%
Envy 10%
Gluttony 9%
Greed 6%
Origins
The Seven Deadly Sins never occur as a formal list in the Bible. Some people say they can all
be found in Matthew’s Gospel (chapters 5 through 7), but they are not in a simple list there.
Others submit Proverbs 6:16-19, but this is a different list, covering pride, lies, murder, evil
plans, swiftness in sin, lies again, causing conflict. Clearly not the same.
These sins were identified as a group around the same time as the Bible was being translated
into a single language. Rather than these sins being identified in a single place in the Bible,
they are found all through it, from Genesis to Revelation. The letters of the New Testament
mention all of these, and many others as well. The Catechism has many Scriptural references
in the section that lists the “Seven Deadly Sins.” It is well to remember that the Scriptures
come from the Jewish and Christian Churches, not the other way around. In both cases, faith
preceded the writing.
Lent
Lent is a special time of self-examination and thought about how we live. More on Lent.
Dante
Dante Alighieri (1265 – 1321) was a Catholic layman who wrote “The Divine Comedy,” which
is really three epic poems in Italian: “Inferno,” “Purgatorio,” and “Paradiso,” which are about
Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven/Paradise, respectively. In “Purgatorio,” Dante places each of the
seven sins on a level, with the higher levels closer to Paradise and the lower ones closer to
Hell. The numbers in parentheses, in the above table, indicate the level where they are found
in “Purgatorio.” Dante considers these sins as offenses against love, and groups them
accordingly:
Perverted Love: Pride, Envy, Wrath/Anger
Insufficient Love: Sloth
Excessive Love of Earthly Goods: Avarice/Greed, Gluttony, Lust
Dante seems to have had a well-formed conscience. His emphasis on love, in the sense of
Christian charity, is impressive. That is not to claim some sort of sainthood, but his ideas were
very much in keeping with the teaching of the Catholic Church at a time when the practice of
the clergy often fell short of the doctrine.
St. Thomas Aquinas
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs%206:16-19;&version=31;
http://www.whitestonejournal.com/bible.html
http://www.christusrex.org/www1/CDHN/gravity.html#PROLIFERATION
http://www.whitestonejournal.com/lent1.html
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/aquinas1.html
The Reverend Barthlolomew de la Torre, O.P. wrote the following on August 22, 2003:
“Thank you for your excellent web page on the Seven Deadly Sins. A principal classical text
not to be omitted is that of St. Thomas Aquinas’s Summa Theologiae.
http://www.newadvent.org/summa/208404.htm
Pax et fides.
Fr. Bartholomew de la Torre, O.P.
St. Dominic dedicated himself to promoting “pax et fides”, “peace and faith”, because without
peace, the faith cannot flourish, and he described himself as pursuing this goal by “singing and
gentleness, preaching, imploring and weeping” (cf. M.-H. Vicaire, O.P., St. Dominic and His
Times, pp. 62 and nt. 7, 146, 147 and nt. 80).”
Thank you so much for providing the link! For those unacquainted with Catholic orders, O.P.
indicates the “Ordo Praedicatorum” (Latin) or “Order of Preachers”, otherwise known as the
Dominicans, founded by St. Dominic. St. Thomas Aquinas joined the Dominicans in 1244. It is
worth noting that St. Dominic’s approach to heresy (false teaching), was to teach and debate,
rather than take up arms.
Fulton J. Sheen
Bishop Sheen spoke on a television show, Life is Worth Living, in the U.S. from 1951 to 1957,
and the “Bishop Sheen Program” from 1961 to 1968. He wrote 96 books and a very large
number of articles and columns, including entries in encyclopedias. In his book, The Seven
Capital Sins (alba–house.com), he made a connection between the Seven Deadly Sins and the
last words of Jesus on the Cross. These assignments are listed here in the order set by Bishop
Sheen in addresses from February 26 to April 7, 1939. The connection is not always obvious,
so the book is highly recommended for further reading.
Vice Words from the Cross
Wrath/Anger “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
Envy “This day you shall be with me in Paradise.”
Lust “Woman, behold your son… son, behold your mother.”
Pride “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Gluttony “I thirst.”
Sloth “It is finished.”
Avarice/Greed “Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit.”
C.S. Lewis
C.S. Lewis might well be considered a modern-day Dante. Try reading “The Great Divorce,” a
short little book, and compare it to “The Divine Comedy.” Lewis, as a professor of medieval
literature, would have been familiar with Dante’s work.
http://www.newadvent.org/summa/208404.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulton_J._Sheen
http://www.whitestonejournal.com/lewis.html
Narnia and the Seven Deadly Sins – Dr. Don W. King, Department of English, Montreat
College
The Dao
A little article considering the The Seven Deadly Sins from a somewhat Daoist perspective.
Christopher Marlowe
Donna Hatsuko Reedy wrote the following on May 18, 2000:
“I enjoyed your site; it’s quite informative. Just wanted to add another text to your reading list:
Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus. The entire play revolves around issues of salvation,
and there’s this great scene in which the seven deadly sins are paraded for Faustus. It’ll make a
great addition to your already well-supported site.”
Thank you for the suggestion! I’ve put a link to the on-line text here for our readers.
The Tragical History of D. Faustus
Edmund Spenser
Alan Sickler wrote the following on April 26, 2000:
“I was reading your page on the “Seven Deadly” sins and thoroughly enjoyed your definitions
of the sins; even better though was the literary occurrences of this that you outlined. However,
I was perplexed as to why you failed to mention Spenser’s “The Faerie Queene”; This work is
one of the greatest Middle English / Renaissance pieces ever written, and it is maybe the
greatest occurance of the seven deadly sins. I forget which book they are in, but Spenser
characterizes each deadly sin as a person – using physiognomy tradition to visualize the vices,
and he even models this parade of sins after the pilgrims in Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales”.
Gluttony rides a fat pig which is symbolic of his nature and etc etc. I don’t know if you’ve read
the Faerie Queen or not, but its maybe the most vital occurance of the seven deadly sins – a
must read for an enthusist like yourself. Thanks for your time – I enjoyed your site
thoroughly.”
I will read it soon, but for now I’ve posted your kind and helpful comments, as well as a link to
a Spenser site and “The Faerie Queene.”
The Seven Deadly Sins Personified In The Faerie Queene by Lisa Hunt
From another kind visitor:
I read through some of your sources for articulations of the 7 deadly sins. One of which was
Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene. The scenario where the 7 Deadly sins are shown is FQ
I.IV.1-37 (that’s FQ Book 1, Canto 4, stanzas 1-37). Thought you might appreciate this.
-Scott M. Williams>
Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales – http://classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/gchaucer/bl-gchau-can-
genpro.htm
Thomas Merton
Thomas Merton wrote a prayer to ask for help against the Seven Deadly Sins. It is found on
page 44 of “New Seeds of Contemplation.” Much of his focus is on the illusions we have
about ourselves, and how to let God clear these away.
Stephen Sondheim
http://cslewis.drzeus.net/papers/7sins.html
http://www.whitestonejournal.com/seven/dao.html
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Texts/Marlowe.html
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Texts/faustus.html
http://www.english.cam.ac.uk/spenser/main.htm
http://www.english.cam.ac.uk/spenser/main.htm
http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~rbear/fqintro.html
http://www.mindspring.com/~lisa-k/faeriequeen/index.html
http://mediustemporis.blogspot.com/
http://mediustemporis.blogspot.com/
http://classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/gchaucer/bl-gchau-can-genpro.htm
http://www.whitestonejournal.com/seven/sevenprayer.html
In the play: Getting Away With Murder (or The Doctor is Out), Patrick Phenicie says the
following characters appear to represent the seven deadly sins. Here are the characters and
sins:
Lust Pride Greed Envy
(NV) Anger Sloth Gluttony
Dossie
Lustig
Pamela
Prideaux
Gregory
Reed
Nam-
Young
Voung
Dan
Gerard Chistholm Vassili
Laimorgos
As you may have noticed, the names seem to form anagrams of the sins (or contain the
anagram; some are obvious, some are less so). Patrick and I were unable to figure out how the
name “Laimorgos” fits into Sonheim’s naming scheme, but Christopher Sabatowich has an
idea: Vassili Laimorgos can be rearranged (with some letters omitted) to form the word
“sm�rg�s,” which is Norse/Swedish for “bread and butter,” as in “smorgasbord.” In English,
“smorgasbord” can be applied as a “varied collection” of anything, and Gluttony does not
apply (exclusively) to food.
T. Nickson writes: “Vassili Laimorgos is a Greek Name – Vassili links with the Greek word for King and
Laimorgos translates literally as Glutton. Sondheim was being clever!”
John Gower
Confessio Amantis
Robert Mannyng
Handling Synne
Hieronymus Bosch
Table of the Seven Deadly Sins (about)
George Balanchine (Dance)
CiCi Houston writes: I found this website very useful for a current project I am working on.
Perhaps it would be of interest to your readers to hear how this list has crept into the arts. The
New York City Ballet had a production entitled “Seven Deadly Sins.” It was originally
choreographed by George Balanchine in Europe around 1933 for Tilly Losch. He restaged it
in the late 50’s for Allegra Kent, and in both productions Lotte Lenya participated. The ballet
focused on Anna 1 and Anna 2. Lotte (1) was the talking half, and would order around
Allegra (2), the silent but dancing half. 1 would make 2 commit the sins, or set double
standards. For instance, one famous picture of the ballet shows Lotte with an ice cream cone
(a clever disguise for the microphone she sang into) pointing a finger at Allegra, who is on the
floor pushing herself through a series of stretches and exercises under Lotte’s rule. I’m sure
there is much more information than what I have access to, but I’m sure that readers interested
in this will enjoy gaining the extra knowledge on a rather hidden piece of work (it was never
restaged since Allegra last performed it), whether they approve of the concept or not.
Thanks again for the useful website – CiCi Houston
Thank you, CiCi!
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/OMACL/Confess/
http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/9/0,5716,51829+1,00.html
http://sunsite.dk/cgfa/bosch/bosch16
http://www.mcu.es/prado/villanueva/4_eng.html
Other Art
http://www.kb.nl/kb/manuscripts/highlights/11M_uk.html
The Movies
There was a movie entitled “Se7en,” starring Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt. You can read
about it at IMDB.
Other Helps Toward Virtue and Peace
Description of Thomas More by Erasmus – St. Thomas More was a man of great virtue and
integrated faith
Faith and Reason (Fides et Ratio) – “Know thyself”
On Spiritual Direction – How can I get help?
Lectio Divina – A way to get closer to God
Other Information About The Seven Deadly Sins
In art, a different set of seven virtues is set in opposition to The Seven Deadly Sins. These
virtues did not correspond on a one-to-one basis, though, and the focus was on good art rather
than spiritual instruction for combating specific vices. See “The Cardinal Virtues” and “The
Theological Virtues,” below.
Pointless Controversy
Originally, the advice, “Know Thyself”, was attributed to the Greeks in a general sense. A
reader complained that it was Socrates, not Plato that originated it, and that the author “should
get an education before creating web pages.” I researched this and found that Socrates wrote
nothing, and that Plato attributes this saying to Socrates. So it was changed to:
Plato quotes Socrates as saying: “Know thyself.”
As viewers of the movie, “The Matrix,” know, this was inscribed at the Oracle at Delphi, a
sacred place dating from the 9th century B.C. to the late 4th century A.D. Another reader
pointed out that it was not Plato or Socrates. I don’t know, but as many people have seen the
movie, the text has been altered to the current form. Please don’t write to make corrections
about who said (or carved) it first. One way to avoid personal growth is to get caught up in the
medium and neglect the message. It is a good saying; think about it, and question why people
are more interested in the origins of good advice than in following it.
Addendum, 27 June, 2004: Blaise Pascal said, “One must know oneself. Even if that does not
help in finding truth, at least it helps in running one’s life…” Pensees, 72
More Information from the Catholic Catechism
The Seven Deadly Sins FAQ #1 – What questions do we get?
Signs & Symbols in Christian Art, by George Ferguson, has a few notes on The Seven Deadly
Sins. It sometimes omits details, but is otherwise a very useful book.
Other lists
http://www.kb.nl/kb/manuscripts/highlights/11M_uk.html
http://us.imdb.com/Title?0114369
http://us.imdb.com/Name?Freeman,+Morgan
http://us.imdb.com/Name?Pitt,+Brad
http://us.imdb.com/Title?0114369
http://pw2.netcom.com/~rjs474/thomasmore/1519lett.html
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_15101998_fides-et-ratio_en.html
http://www.whitestonejournal.com/higher/spirdir.html
http://www.valyermo.com/ld-art.html
http://www.philosophypages.com/hy/2f.htm#meno
http://www.christusrex.org/www1/CDHN/gravity.html#PROLIFERATION
http://www.whitestonejournal.com/seven/faq1.html
There are also lists of virtues, not directly associated with particular vices: The Theological
Virtues and The Cardinal (pivotal) Virtues. We don’t have pages on them yet, but they are
covered well in “Mere Christianity,” by C.S. Lewis. These and other lists from the Church are
described (briefly) below, or you can search.
The Theological Virtues: Faith, Hope and Charity
These are from 1 Corinthians 13:13
The Cardinal Virtues: Prudence, Justice, Temperance and Fortitude
These are from Wisdom 8:7
The Ten Commandments: With Ten Calls to Freedom
Go here for a different take on the Ten Commandments. It uses the Catholic list, but it can be
adapted for other traditions.
The Evangelical Counsels: Poverty, Chastity and Obedience
From the Beatitudes and Philippians 2:8. The name means they are suggested by the Gospel,
both the words and the example of Jesus.
The Gifts of the Holy Spirit: Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety,
and Fear of the Lord.
See also the Catechism, #1831. The term “Fear of the Lord” refers to an “awesome respect”
not abject or servile fear.
The Fruits of the Holy Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, and
Faithfulness
These are from Galatians 5:22. The Church has a tradition of twelve also, which adds:
Generosity, Gentleness, Modesty, Self-control, and Chastity (Catechism #1832)
The Spiritual Works of Mercy: Kindnesses to the spirits of others
http://www.ceeme.com/prayers/works.htm
The Corporal Works of Mercy: Kindnesses to the bodies of others
http://www.ceeme.com/prayers/crpwork.htm
The Precepts of the Church: Expectations of Catholics (it’s another list, so I put it here)
http://www.cin.org/precept.html
Links to other sites: They aren’t always pretty, but here they are:
http://www.le.ac.uk/arthistory/seedcorn/contents.html
http://www.le.ac.uk/arthistory/seedcorn/faq-sds.html
http://hometown.aol.com/MaryPulver/Sins.htm
http://www.whitestonejournal.com/lewis.html
http://www.whitestonejournal.com/seven/#SEARCH
http://bible.gospelcom.net/cgi-bin/bible?language=English&version=NIV&passage=1+Corinthians+13:13&matchno=0&restrict=1+corinthians
http://bible.gospelcom.net/cgi-bin/bible?language=English&version=NIV&passage=1+Corinthians+13:13&matchno=0&restrict=1+corinthians
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/bible/wisdom/wisdom8.htm
http://www.whitestonejournal.com/tencommandments/
http://bible.gospelcom.net/cgi-bin/bible?language=English&version=NIV&search=&passage=Matthew+5
http://bible.gospelcom.net/cgi-bin/bible?language=English&version=NIV&search=&passage=Philippians+2:8
http://bible.gospelcom.net/cgi-bin/bible?language=English&version=NIV&passage=Galatians+5:22&matchno=0
http://www.ceeme.com/prayers/works.htm
http://www.ceeme.com/prayers/crpwork.htm
http://www.cin.org/precept.html
http://www.le.ac.uk/arthistory/seedcorn/contents.html
http://www.le.ac.uk/arthistory/seedcorn/faq-sds.html
http://hometown.aol.com/MaryPulver/Sins.htm
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/010601.html
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/010601.html
http://www.thesevendeadlysins.org
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Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
is a milestone document in the history of human rights. Drafted by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world, the Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 (
General Assembly resolution 217 A
) as a common standard of achievements for all peoples and all nations. It sets out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected and it has been translated into over
500 languages
. The UDHR is widely recognized as having inspired, and paved the way for, the adoption of more than seventy human rights treaties, applied today on a permanent basis at global and regional levels (all containing references to it in their preambles).
Preamble
Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,
Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,
Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,
Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,
Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,
Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in co-operation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,
Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,
Now, therefore,
The General Assembly,
Proclaims this Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.
Article 1
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Article 2
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.
Article 3
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.
Article 4
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.
Article 5
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Article 6
Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.
Article 7
All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.
Article 8
Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.
Article 9
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
Article 10
Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.
Article 11
1. Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
2. No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.
Article 12
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.
Article 13
1. Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
2. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.
Article 14
1. Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
2. This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
Article 15
1. Everyone has the right to a nationality.
2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.
Article 16
1. Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
2. Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
3. The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.
Article 17
1. Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.
Article 18
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
Article 19
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
Article 20
1. Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
2. No one may be compelled to belong to an association.
Article 21
1. Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
2. Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.
3. The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.
Article 22
Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.
Article 23
1. Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
2. Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
3. Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
4. Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.
Article 24
Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.
Article 25
1. Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
2. Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.
Article 26
1. Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
2. Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
3. Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.
Article 27
1. Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.
Article 28
Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.
Article 29
1. Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.
2. In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.
3. These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
Article 30
Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.
These materials are made available at this site for the educational purposes of students enrolled at
Anne Arundel Community College. They may be protected by U.S. Copyright law and should not be
reproduced or transmitted electronically. One photocopy or printout may be made of each article for
personal, educational use.
SICK SOCIETIES
AH societies are sick, but some are sicker than others, This paraphrase of Orwell’s
famous quip about the equality of animals calls.attention to the existence of traditional
beliefs and practices that threaten human health and happiness more in some societies than
in others. But it also indicates that there are some customs and social institutialns in all
societies that compromise human well-being. Even populations tha t appear to be well
–
adapted to their environments maintain some beliefs or practices that unnecessarily
imperil their well-being or, in some instances, their.survival. Populations the world over
have not been well sewed by some of their beliefs such as, for example, those concerning
witchcraft, the need for revenge, or male supremacy, and many of their tradkionral
practices invoiving nutrition, heaIth care, and the treatment of chillrirem have been harmful
as well, Slavery, infanticide, human sacrifice, torture, female genital mutilation, rape,
homicide, feuding, suicide, and environmental pollution have sometimes been needlessly
harmful to some or all members of a society and under some circumstances they can
threaten social survivnl.
To Americans besieged by headlines and television reports concerning our
endangered environment, homelessness, child abuse, the threat of drugs, ADS, or gang
violence, the idea that some things people do may be harmful to themselves.and others wpl
hardly seem controversiaE. Beliefs that Iead to anorexia nervosa or wife beating are likely
to be seen as harmful, and beliefs favoring anti-Semitism or male supremacy are aIso likely
to be seen as dangerous. Americans mny also believe that if surveys can rate various cities
in the United States in terms of their 4crelative quality of life,” the same could be dome for
foreign cities and, for that matter, foreign countries. Many would surely be troubled by the!
idea that the political systems of Iraq, HftlePs Germany, or the Khmer Rouge ia Cambodia
were, or are, as good as those in, say Norway, Japnn, or Swiberland. And they would
probably react with disbelief to the assertion that there is no -.=;. scientifiz – A- basis for evaluating J’
, another society” practice of genocide, judicial torture or human sacrifice, for example,
, , except as the people in that society themselves evaluate these practices. Yet that is exact1
-t
YI what the principle of cultural relativism asserts, and this principle continues to be widely ,
” and strongly held. I
So too is the belief that “primitive” societies were far more harmonious than ,J-
societies caught up in the modern world. We know that human misery, fear, loneliness,
pain, sickness, and premature death are typical of America’s urban ghettos and its
homeless people, South Africa’s black townships, the starving villages of the Sudan, the
sEarms of Brazil, andl the was-ravaged lands of Central America or the Middle East. We
also know that people in places such as these are the hapless victims of sach forces as
governmental neglcct; racism; corruption; ethnic, religious and political strife; and
economic exploitation, among other kinds of social, cultural, and environment~l pressures.
However, many prominent scholars believe &bat this sod of lnaise~y is not natural to the E
human condition, that people in smaller, more homogeneous “folk” societies have
historically lived in greater harmony and happiness, and that many small popu8ations
continue to do so today. The belief that primitive societies are more harmonious than
modern ones, that savages are noble, and that life in the past was more idyElic than life
today is not only reflected in the motion pictures and novels of our popular culture (the., ,
:I film Dmces w i t Wolves comes immediately to mind), it is deeply ingrained in scholarIy li-I discourse as well.
This “community-lost” way of reconstructing history is founded in the romantic
bdief that the malaise and mayhem of the modern world is not the natural human –
condition. Instead, human misery is thought to be the product of pervasive social
disorganization, divisive ethnic or religious diversity, class conflict, or competing interests
that plague large societies, particuIwrly nation states. “because smaller and simpler
societies, on the other hand, developed their cultures in response to the demands of their
immediate and stable environments, their ways of life must have produced far greater
harmony and happiness for their populations. /%bin Fox, for emmpIe, vividly described
the upper Paleolithic environment of big-gam$ hunters as one in which Y . . there was a
harmony of our evolved attributes ns a species, including our intelligence, our imagination,
our violence (and hence our violent imagination), our reason and our passions-a harmony
that has been ~lost.”(~f-a small society is found that lacks harmony, many social scientists
conclude that this condition must be the result of the disorganizing effects of culture
contact, particularly urbanization. This idea, like cultural relativism, has been deeply
embedded in Western thought for centuries, and it persists in scholarly thinking t o d a d
In 1947, when Robert Redfield published his well-known folk-urban typology, he
did Iittle more than lend the cachet of anthropology to an aIready ancient distinction. ( h e
idea that cities were characterized by crime, disorder, and human suffering of all sorts ;
while small, isolated, and homogeneous folk societies were harmonious communities goes
back to Aristophanes, Tacitus, and the Old Testament. The idea was given renewed
prominence in nineteenth-century thought by many influential figures, not least of whom
Emile-qurkheim and Karl Marx in his Communist M a ~ i f a t o . Their writings and those of —
others led to a cofisensus that the emotional and moral commitment, personal intimacy,
social cohesion, and continuity over time that cl~arwcterized folk societies were lost in the
tramsition to urban life, where social disoqanizatisn amti personal pathology prevailed. In
the twentieth century, the contrast between folk “community” and urban “society7′ became –
one of the most fuladamental ideas in all of social science. The idea that large urban
societies lost the harmonious sense of community that was thought to be characteristic of ,
folk societies is widespread among social philosophers, political scientists, socioll~gists,
psychiatrists, tbeologiams, novelists, poeb, and the educated public in general,, Author
Kirkpatrick Sale defended the criticism of his book The Cufiquesd of Papadire (about t be
–
European conquest of the native peoples of America) by vigorously insisting tbrt compared
to the culture of Europe, the Ccprimal commnaities” of preconquest America were I ./
Cchasmonious, peaceful, benign and content”
The contrast between folk harmony and urban conflict is rooted in the evolutionary
assrsmption that while people in folk societies, Iike the Indians sf America, were achieving
hnrmonioras ways of living together, they were also developing traditional beliefs and
practices that helped them to adapt to their environrnenta without depleting or destroying
them. Jan-Jacques Rousseau made the idea of the Noble Savage part of our common I parlance, rand in one form or another many modern scholars sustain this viewpoint. . . . .-
When a society was encountered that seemed to lack a meaningful system of beliefs
or effective institutions, it was usually assumed that the cause must lie in the baneful
influence of other peoples-such as colonial officials, soldiers, missionaries, or traders-
who had almost always been on the scene before anthropologists were. When a society was
encountered whose traditional beliefs and practices appeared to be meaningless or even
harmful, the blame was often laid to extcrmal disruption. Thus, the conviction,has
persisted that before the social-disorganization and cultural canfu&bn brought about by
foreign contact, the lives of traditionaf populations must have been, if not quite idyllic then
at Least harmonious and meaningful. . . . Therefore, rather than rerort the alienation,
violence, or cruelly that sometimes dominated the Iives of the people they came to study,
some anthropologists tried to reconstruct the people’s way of life as believed it was
bcfore it was disrupted by the religious beliefs, taxes, laws, and economic interventions of
the colonial powers. Anthropologists may have believed that homicide, suicide, rape and
warfare were part of folk societies, but most of them wrote their ethnographies as if suchl
behaviors were either infrequent or somehow helped these people to adapt to their
environmental circumstances. As a consequence, even anthropologists who knew better
inadvertently reinforced the myth of primitive harmony.
11
I
It is very diffiicult to be precise about the frequency with which maladaptive trai ts
occurred in these smalI societies, because the existing ethnographic accounts seldom
addresses the possibility that some of the beliefs or practices of the people were anything
other than adaptive. On the contrary, when paradoxical, irrational, bizarre, inefficient, ar
dangerous beliefs or practices are described a t alLand very often they are not-they are
usually presumed $a be adaptive and are treated as if they must serve some useful purpose.
For example, even the most extreme forms of penile mutilation-slashing open the urethra,
scourging it with abrasive stalks of grass or other plants, mutilating the glans or
infibulating it-have typically been andyzed in the ethnographic literature (but the i.,
psychiatric) 8 as irrational, nonadaptive, or mahdaptive practices but in Perms of their
positive social, cuItural, or psychologica~ consequences.
i
/ – .-.
Simi!arIy, the practice of Pharanoic kircumcision or fernale genital infibu8atidn)
common in parts of Muslim Northeast Africa, involEves slashing away n girl’s clitoris and
both sets of vaginal labia. The wound is sutured together, leaving an opening the size of a
matchstick for the passage of mine and menstrual blood. When young women are
married, this small opening wrast be suqicwllly enlarged ta permit sexual intercoursa In
addition to inflicting great pain, these procedures arny a considerable risk for infection,
infertility, and even death, Nevertheless, %Re anthrops80gists have commonly chosen to
From the Histories of Herodotus by Herodotus
Is Morality as Custom?
It is clear to me therefore by every kind of proof that Cambyses was mad exceedingly; for otherwise he would not have attempted to deride religious rites and customary observances. For if one should propose to all men a choice, bidding them select the best customs from all the customs that there are, each race of men, after examining them all, would select those of his own people; thus all think that their own customs are by far the best: and so it is not likely that any but a madman would make a jest of such things. Now of the fact that all men are thus wont to think about their customs, we may judge by many other proofs and more specially by this which follows:—Dareios in the course of his reign summoned those of the Hellenes who were present in his land, and asked them for what price they would consent to eat up their fathers when they died; and they answered that for no price would they do so. After this Dareios summoned those Indians who are called Callatians, who eat their parents, and asked them in presence of the Hellenes, who understood what they said by help of an interpreter, for what payment they would consent to consume with fire the bodies of their fathers when they died; and they cried out aloud and bade him keep silence from such words. Thus then these things are established by usage, and I think that Pindar spoke rightly in his verse, when he said that “of all things law is king.”
