Avoid the 'seven' to get to heaven

HAMILTON, Ohio — Pride, greed, lust, wrath, gluttony, envy, sloth.

Regardless of one's religious affiliation or lack thereof, sin affects everyone. Particularly, the seven deadly sins.

It remains a thorn in the side of the human spirit. However, religious and spiritual experts advise there are ways to combat it.

"From my viewpoint, of those seven (deadly sins) there's just one deep and abiding tendency to use other people to their own advantage," said Rocco LoBosco, co-director of Yoga Darshana Center in Long Island, N.Y. "They (people) think, 'I have to be good.' It tells us how we should be not as we are."

The seven deadly sins are defined as:

• Pride or vanity — a desire to be important or attractive to others.

• Greed or avarice — a desire to possess more than one has need or use for.

• Lust — seeking sex for pleasure; overindulgence in sex; fornication.

• Anger or wrath — uncontrollable feelings of resentment, revenge or even denial.

• Gluttony — eating for pleasure; overindulgence in food, drink or intoxicants.

• Envy or covetousness — resentment of others for their possessions; competitiveness.

• Sloth or acedia — laziness or idleness.

According to historians, Pope Gregory the Great identified "The Seven Deadly Sins" in the sixth century. He listed the spiritual offenses with pride being the first. Historians explained that pride is the first and gravest of the seven because it can lead to the other six.

The seven deadly sins are usually committed against one's self and can destroy a person's spiritual health.

During the 13th century, the Roman Catholic Church incorporated these sins into its teaching. The church called them "capital vices" that can lead to sin.

Literature such as Geoffrey Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" and various paintings have illustrated the seven deadly sins.

"Pope Gregory took medieval writings and narrowed the sins that come from human beings," LoBosco said.