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Where The Producer Gets the Mic
7 Deadly Sins: Great Movie, Awful Theology
The Seven Deadly Sins: Great Movie, Awful TheologySince January, people always come up / email / send messenger pigeon to me saying, "can you believe Allen became Catholic." And I always say, "for those of us who know Allen, it really wasn't that much of a surprise." And I can attest that since becoming Catholic, not much has changed.1

One thing that has changed: Allen has increased his use of the phrase the "seven deadly sins" exactly2 834%.

The seven deadly sins make for a great movie3 but awful theology. The ranking of sin itself is determinental to a true understanding of grace and redemption.

The Catholic church has taught for years there are two categories of sins: venial and mortal. Venial being your light everyday sin that must be easy for God to forgive.4 Mortal, or deadly, being the stuff God must have to work at to forgive you.5

But it isn't just the Catholics. We all do it. Please rank with your best Protestant Theology from most to least likely to be shamed.
  1. Worked everyday of the week
  2. Looked at pornography
  3. Thought of myself better than the homeless man
  4. Lied to a friend about plans
  5. Cheated on a spouse
  6. Used the words God Damn It
  7. Disrespected a parent on national radio
  8. Downloaded MP3s illegally
  9. Used Ecstasy recreationally


My guess is you would rank it: 5-9-2-7-4-6-3-8-1

If I came to you and said, "hey, I was just really busy this last week. Boss really riding me. Worked every single day of the week." Would you even think there was anything wrong with that?

Now let's say I cheat on my wife.6  Now let's say I regularly sleep with my girlfriend.7 Now let's say I came to you and said, "hey, for the last five years I have had a sex buddy. We have no real relationship, but you know, we both have needs, and we both get pretty stressed out, so you know, from time to time we are 'friends with benefits'." Tell me you would not think differently in this case?

The point. We all rank sin. But does God?

The way I read it, there is no goody-two-shoes in the Bible.8

Paul, killed thousands.

Peter, denied his relationship to Jesus when Jesus needed him the most.

David, slept with Bathsheba, tried to cover it up, murdered her husband.

Abraham prostituted his wife for safety.

Name one person in the Bible who actually lives up to a sanctified life.

Heck, even sweet Ruth seduced Boaz on the threshing floor.

Do any of these sound like your pastor? Better yet, let's say your pastor did any of this, do you think he would keep his leadership position?

The modern Church has missed out on being apart of the story of redemption and grace for thousands of years. And it is all due to the fact we have an erroneous, sanitized view of redemption and it starts with the ranking of sin.

What's Andy Up To?

Description
Andy is the Executive Producer of The Allen Hunt Show; a progressive, talk radio show based in Atlanta, GA aimed at bringing faith back into the public discussion. Andy enjoys travel, aviation, web design, politics, friends, and faith. He holds that the secret to a full life is loving God and loving people - which he fails at constantly.

Andy's blog is a place to discuss religion, politics, ministry, education, and well, just life - especially focused on the time of life we call our 20s! It is cross-post at The Allen Hunt Show, and, in a more limited fashion, at Newsvine.

Andy grew up in Fort Wayne, IN. He now lives in Alpharetta, GA.

More information about Andy can be found at www.2timothy42.org or Andy's Virb.

P.S. As has been mentioned on air, Andy is horrible at grammar and spelling. Please excuse any mistakes, trust me, he's sorry.



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