Well the Decalogue is common to the Mesopotamian region, not only the Commandments, but even the rite of their enactment ... but there is a distinct difference in the case of the Jews, which sets them apart — they open up a theological dimension ('I will be your God, you will be my people').
But the 'seven deadly sins' are something else, they are universal human traits, flaws of character if you like, a disorder of the passions and thus give rise to sin ... they are traditionally considered 'deadly' because they create the condition in which sin can occur.
In Hindu theology for example, the Arishadvarga correspond to the Seven Deadly Sins: kama (lust), krodha (anger), lobh (greed), moha (attachment), mada/ahankar (pride) and matsarya (jealousy).
In Brahminism, they are the negative characteristics which prevents man from attaining salvation. In Sikhism they are known as the Five Evils, as they are referred to in Sikh Scripture, Guru Granth Sahib, which does not include matsarya (jealousy).
The Christian 7DD were taken from Greek philosophy, but that's not to say that the Egyptians didn't have their equivalent, nor that older cultures didn't have theirs ... I don't necessarily subscribe to the idea that ideas are passed from one culture to the next like a baton in a relay race, they can arise quite distinctly within cultures, given that man is the same the world over.
God bless,
Thomas
I don't see anything wrong with any of these supposed Sins; greed, pride, envy, anger, gluttony, lust, and sloth
I don see something wrong with the impedance of another's Will and desires though.
Impeding certain 'vices' such as Lust is IMO detrimental, for it is a natural chemically induced emotion necessary for the propagation of species.
Matter of fact
Lust is an aspect of Love . . . should we add Love as the 8th Deadly Sin?
Pride is what drives all our great achievements and Art, as a society we need this, it is healthy. Teaching against pride encourages people to be submissive to religious authorities in order to submit to God, thus enhancing institutional church power.
Aristotle's description of pride makes more sense, respect for oneself, as the greatest of all virtues. Rational pride makes a person harder to rule and dominate.
Making
Envy a sin encourages people to be satisfied with what they have rather than object to others' unjust power or seek to gain what others have.
Teaching that
Gluttony is a sin encourages those with very little to not want more and to be content with how little they are able to consume, since more would be sinful.
Anger? Come on, this is a no brainer, getting a little pissed off at yourself, something or someone else in order to make a change is sometime needed.
Condemning
Greed once again is a device that keeps the poor in their place, and prevents them from wanting to have more.
Sloth is the most misunderstood of the Seven Deadly Sins. Often regarded as laziness, it is more accurately translated as apathy: when a person is apathetic, they no longer care about their duty to God and ignore their spiritual well-being. Condemning sloth is a way to keep people active in the church in case they start to realize how useless religion and theism really are.
Just Sayin'
