Gluttony

Message / Question

Why is gluttony one of the 7 deadly cardinal sins? If it's so wrong why are so many ministers morbidly obese?

Response

Don’t be too quick to judge, morbid obesity can have many causes other than gluttony!

The phrase “7 deadly / cardinal sins” is not a Biblical phrase, i.e. the Bible doesn’t list these particular sins as being “deadly” or cardinal (i.e. unforgivable). The Bible’s only “list” of 7 sins is found in Prov 6:16-19 – it says: “There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers”

The tradition of seven deadly sins as we know it today, originated in the 4th or 5th century as seven or eight evil thoughts or spirits that one needed to overcome. Each one of the “deadly” sins has its root in the human want for excess The Roman Catholic Church adopted these sins as being more serious than others – although the list did change several times before it was “officially adopted by Pope Gregory early in the 7th century.

The Bible would certainly validate each of these actions as sin, but nowhere are they recorded in a special “list” and nowhere in the Bible are they specifically referred to as the seven deadly sins.