Society and The Seven Sins

I find something rather interesting. Xtianity is well rooted in society, to the point that you can't even sneeze without having a xtian-related response. However, let's check out the lifestyle of this so-called xtian society:

LUST:
desire for excitement, or need to be accepted or recognized by others.

Does that ring any bells?

Last time I checked, human population growth is a global issue. You can read it everywhere. Just check the internet if you haven't heard it anywhere else:

The 20th century saw the biggest increase in the world's population in human history. The following table shows estimates of when each billion milestone was met:

* 1 billion was reached in 1802.
* 2 billion was reached 125 years later in 1927.
* 3 billion was reached 34 years later in 1961.
* 4 billion was reached 13 years later in 1974.
* 5 billion was reached 13 years later in 1987.
* 6 billion was reached 12 years later in 1999.


Of course, science and technology have a lot to do with it, in their battle against maladies and help with issues like fertility, however, all this people are not growing on trees precisely. It takes a lot of fucking.and it's not a secret for anybody the craving of this society for the carnal sin. Sodom and Gomorrah ain't got nothing on us. We're raised to be accepted, to be pretty, young, wealthful, succesful, respected and admired by our fellow citizens. All of this is a biological behavior oriented to make of ourselves potential partners for reproduction. Besides, that "something" that distinguishes us from other animals, our specialized nervous system, makes humans the most hedonist of all creatures. Human lives are based in pursuing pleasure and running from pain (not very succesfully tho). This is present even in something like religion and the idea of "God". It's well known that life, the world, nature, crave for continuity, and in organisms that reproduce sexually, it's something to expect that sex is for them something extraordinarily pleasant, the most pleasant thing they can experience, ergo, they'll pursue this and the mechanism of reproduction is guaranteed. While I do not endorse any addiction, not even for sex, I do think that making of the so pleasant source of all life is, using words a christian would likely use, just sick.

Dante's criterion "Excessive love for others" is a rather interesting idea that deserves some thinking too.


GLUTTONY:
Thoughtless waste of everything, overindulgence, misplaced sensuality, uncleanliness, and maliciously depriving others. Marked by refusal to share and unreasonable consumption of more than is necessary, especially food or water. Destruction, especially for sport. Substance abuse or binge drinking. Dante explains it as "excessive love of pleasure"

Wait, isn't consumerism another global issue?? lets' see what they say about it on the net:

"Consumerism is a term used to describe the effects of equating personal happiness with purchasing material possessions and consumption. It is often associated with criticisms of consumption starting with Karl Marx and Thorstein Veblen, but can actually be traced back to the first human civilizations.
In economics, consumerism can also refer to economic policies that place an emphasis on consumption, and, in an abstract sense, the belief that the free choice of consumers should dictate the economic structure of a society."

"The want to consume is nothing new. It is has been around for millennia. People need to consume resources to survive. However, consumption has evolved as people have ingeniously found ways to help make their lives simpler and/or to use their resources more efficiently. Of course, with this has come the want to control such means. Hence, the consumption patterns have evolved over time based on the influence of those who can control it. As a result, there is tremendous waste within this system, to maintain such control and such disparities."

"On the one hand, religions and other belief systems that promoted limited consumption were supported by the wealthy elite to help sustain disparities and maintain control over the majority of people. (In many cases, those aspects of certain religions that were useful for the wealthy were promoted over other aspects.) For example, J.W. Smith in his book, Economic Democracy; Political Struggle of the 21st Century, describes in detail how Christianity was used in Europe in the Middle Ages for such purposes.

[...]

We consume a variety of resources and products today having moved beyond basic needs to include luxury items and technological innovations to try to improve efficiency. Such consumption beyond minimal and basic needs is not necessarily a bad thing in and of itself, as throughout history we have always sought to find ways to make our lives a bit easier to live. However, increasingly, there are important issues around consumerism that need to be understood. For example:

* How are the products and resources we consume actually produced?
* What are the impacts of that process of production on the environment, society, on individuals?
* What are the impacts of certain forms of consumption on the environment, on society, on individuals?
* Which actors influence our choices of consumption?
* Which actors influence how and why things are produced or not?
* What is a necessity and what is a luxury?
* How do demands on items affect the requirements placed upon the environment?
* How do consumption habits change as societies change?
* Businesses and advertising are major engines in promoting the consumption of products so that they may survive. How much of what we consume is influenced by their needs versus our needs?
* Also influential is the very culture of today in many countries, as well as the media and the political institutions themselves. What is the impact on poorer nations and people on the demands of the wealthier nations and people that are able to afford to consume more?
* How do material values influence our relationships with other people?
* What impact does that have on our personal values?
* And so on."


Interesting, uh? And you thought just the fat and obese could fall into this category? We are raised to CONSUME. Who wants to buy my God, my happinnes, my success, my clean white smile? Anything you want, I'll sell it. Even if you don't need it.

Which takes me to the next social value, I mean, Capital Sin:

GREED:
A strong desire to gain, especially in money or power. Disloyalty, deliberate betrayal, or treason, especially for personal gain or when compensated. Scavenging and hoarding of materials or objects. Theft and robbery by violence. Simony is the evolution of avarice because it fills you with the urge to make money by selling things within the confines of the church.

Strong desire to gain power? hoarding? urge to make money? Wait, aren't this things we're supposed to do if we wanna "be someone" in this society? Aren't this values that all parents want their kids to have? To be someone, someone important, to be succesful and able to provide for their family? To be respected and admired, a winner, not a loser, a role model for all?? Isn't The Pope himself surrounded by luxuries of all kind? Yes? Oh, ok. Unto the next sin.


SLOTH:
Apathy, idleness, and wastefulness of time. Laziness is particularly condemned because others must work harder to make up for it. Cowardice or irresponsibility. Abandonment, especially of God. Sloth is a state of equilibrium: one does not produce much, one does not consume much. Dante wrote that sloth is the "failure to love God with all one's heart, all one's mind and all one's soul".

One of the main qualities of our times. And we shouldn't be surprised. A society that urges its members to OBEY, with a religious, political and social system based in blind FAITH and where questioning is punished by tradition and by law and anything new that differs from the established is soon labeled as dangerous and malignant; is condemned to become stagnant and dull. Values are not something to be taught. The proccess of valuing something is something absolutely personal, where something acquires value to the individual beacause he understands its value by personal experience. Not because some book, church, celebrity or any kind of organization says so.

People make a big deal when traditions are endangered, but, deep in their hearts and in their lives, God is dead, and they don't really care. People are too busy and too afraid. Humans are the most vulnerable creatures, 'cus they 're very aware of their condition in this world. So they need something to hold unto, and this is the only reason why they still defend the obsolete institutions that have lost a place in their hearts and lives, they don't really care about anymore. There's a big need on their part to feel safe, to be parto of something, to have somebody tell them that they're not wrong, that they're ok, that there's in fact a God and more to life than this mortal passage they still can't understand, so they can forget about that and dedicate their lifes to be the succesful, respected, loved and beautiful people society demands them to be. It's much easier to have these answers given that choosing to think for yourself. Just do wha you're told, and be the one you're expected to be.

WRATH:
Inappropriate (unrighteous) feelings of hatred and anger. Denial of the truth to others or self. Impatience or revenge outside of justice. Wishing to do evil or harm to others. Self-righteousness.

Self-righteousness is a keyword here. No matter which our beliefs are, this society is characterized by a big denial and fear of truth, for it doesn't have a pretty face in many cases. If something is "ugly" or painful, it can't be true, and people prefer to close their eyes to that, hating anyone who attempts to uncover them and show them things as they actually are. "Ignorance is blessing" and those who reject ignorance must be doomed for eternity.

But let the christians speak for themselves, let's see just some of many proof of their hatre for all those who doesn't follow their path:

Psalm 69, 23-29


23. May their table before them become a trap, and [their hope] for peace become a snare.
24. May their eyes become dark, so they cannot see; constantly cause their loins to slip.
25. Pour out Your fury upon them, and may Your burning wrath overtake them.
26. May their palace be desolate; in their tents let there be no dweller.
27. For You-those whom You smote they pursued, and about the pain of those whom You wounded they tell.
28. Add iniquity to their iniquity, and let them not come into Your charity.
29. May they be erased from the book of life, and may they not be inscribed with the righteous.


Psalm 109, 6-15

6. Set a wicked man over him, and let an adversary stand at his right hand.
7. When he is judged, let him emerge guilty, and let his prayer be accounted as a sin.
8. May his days be few, and may someone else take his office of dignity.
9. May his sons be orphans and his wife a widow.
10. May his sons wander, and [people] should ask and search from their ruins.
11. May a creditor search out all he has, and may strangers despoil his labor.
12. May he have none who extends kindness, and may no one be gracious to his orphans.
13. May his end be to be cut off; in another generation may their name be blotted out.
14. May the iniquity against his forefathers be remembered by the Lord, and may the sin against his mother not be erased.
15. May they be before the Lord constantly, and may He cut off their remembrance from the earth.


So much for mercy and forgiveness, uh?


ENVY:
Grieving spite and resentment of material objects, accomplishments, or character traits of others, or wishing others to fail or come to harm. Envy is the root of theft and self-loathing. Dante defined this as "love of one's own good perverted to a desire to deprive other men of theirs"

In a society where you're judge based on what and how much you have and accomplish, envy can't be condemned. It's a natural consequence of the system. Everybody likes to feel good, to feel loved and special, and in this society you attain this by what you own. People grow with an inferiority complex, and many parents contribute to this, "you're not as much a good student as the neighbour" "you are not as a brilliant player as your cousin" etc.. And the parents themselves apply this same patter to their lives. They are worried not being as successful as the brother-in-law, not as in shape as the cousin, or not having the awesome car that idiot neighbour has, or that perfect family. They spend their lives trying to be at least as good as the people next door, otherwise their lifes are meaningless and lack that shining they so wish to have.

and finally, everybody's favorite, the one and only:

PRIDE:
Pride is known as the father of all sins. Pride is a desire to be more important or attractive to others, failing to give credit due to others, or excessive love of self (especially holding self out of proper position toward God). Dante's definition was "love of self perverted to hatred and contempt for one's neighbor". In Jacob Bidermann's medieval miracle play, Cenodoxus, superbia is the deadliest of all the sins and leads directly to the damnation of the famed Doctor of Paris, Cenodoxus. Pride was what sparked the fall of Lucifer from Heaven. Vanity and narcissism are good examples of these sins and they often lead to the destruction of the sinner, for instance by the wanton squandering of money and time on themselves without caring about others. Another example was Robert E. Lee of the former confederacy. Lee was better skilled than his opposing general from the north Ulissys S. Grant, Lee had never lost a battle before and he was too proud. Becouse of this pride Lee lost the battle of Gettysburg and in turn lost all of his respect and land leading to public if not personal downfall. Pride can be seen as the misplacement of morals.

Ah, c'mon. This has to be a joke. Pride, a sin? Humans are the only animal with pride. And with A BIG BUNCH of it. They think of themselves as the best, biggest creation. The whole world revolves around them. Christianity is a good example, with a God's plan specifically designed for man, his salvation and his eternal life.

We're encouraged to be proud, 'cus pride makes people easy to use. Be proud of your country and die for it. Be proud of your job and your family and work for us, be proud of your possessions and buy everything we sell you. Be proud of your accomplishments and be the one we demand you to be. Be proud of your religion and believe what we want you to believe.

After reading this, I think many satanists should begin to question if they really are in disagreement with society, after all, it seems that it along with christianity belong more to Satan and Sin than to God.

Lucy Phermann.
Ho Kategoros.