If your life is so miserable that you despair, is that the greatest sin, because you don’t have faith that God is making your life a living hell so you can be an example to others, for example. (The story of Job.)
If not, what is the greatest sin?
I grew up to believe that under the OC, which pertained only to the Ancient Jews, God’s main line of work was to provide earthly rewards and earthly punishments.
He never totally abandoned that. E.G. He still sometimes answers prayers including those for earthly mercy.
But the NEW Covenant. which applies to everyone is not about earthly rewards and punishments.
I have despaired of a number of things.
I have begged God for earthly intervention and God has responded in a most amazing and wonderful way.
But making my life a living Hell?
Making me an example to others?
Not, to my understanding, part of His main game.
no.
Ten characters
Pride.
Ten characters.
Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (impenitence–not feeling regret for the evils one commits) is the greatest sin because it is the one unforgivable sin.
If we define pride very very broadly, more broadly than is normally done in everyday language,
then one could say pride was the source of all the other defects that led to my downfall.
And recovery began when, in a very deep meaningful way, I stopped praying for myself or others, and said “Thy will be done.”
What is the reason for the despair? Is it a medical issue? There are many who have lives others would love to have and yet they have despair? There are many reasons and many answers that can be complicated. Life is not easy and can bring with it…despair.
not sure what is meant by “greatest” in the phrase “greatest sin”.
the sun with the greatest number of sin events must be envy. But the sin with the greatest physical consequence on earth is the unlawful killing of men. The sin with the greatest spiritual consequence is causing another to lose their faith.
… just off the top of my head. I’m receptive to changing my opinion if there is a good reason to.
I was listening to a series of lectures by a Shakespeare professor called Peter Saccio. (Well, professor emeritus, these are oooold lectures).
It is he who says that Despair is the greatest sin, the unforgivable sin, because it implies that one does not trust God’s plan for one’s life. I cant remember his exact words, unfortunately…
If it was an unpardonable sin, then even brief moments of despair would damn someone. David certainly expressed momentary despair… and then brought himself out of it by praising the Lord. Even the final words of Jesus reference a psalm that is meant to bring one out of despair. So maybe falling into some permanent state of despair is what the guy is talking about… but certainly not your typical phases that despair that we all face from time to time.
If blasphemy is unforgivable can you go to heaven if you committed it
in the Catholic Church Pride is the greatest sin.
Pride is good people doing bad things for good reasons.
To witness the power of God unfolding in and through Jesus, be haunted by it in a callous heart, and turn to delude others by ascribing the Holy Spirit’s work to Satan.
I am pretty sure the concept is that pride leads to the other sins.
Think:
Greed leads you rob.
Robbery leads you to kill.
In the above three-part example two things are obvious.:
- killing is obviously the worst.
- greed is not an action, it is a state of the heart. (vice)
The Catholic Church likes to philosophize and, was not being random when it listed pride first in its list of 7.
From the Catechism:
1866 Vices can be classified according to the virtues they oppose, or also be linked to the capital sins which Christian experience has distinguished, following St. John Cassian and St. Gregory the Great. They are called “capital” because they engender other sins, other vices.138 They are pride, avarice, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony, and sloth or acedia.
http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s1c1a8.htm
We are each blessed with gifts. Those whom The Lord has blessed with a strong faith, it is The Lord’s Will that you would encourage your brethren and help strengthen their faith. If your strength is mercy, be a great example for your brethren. Ours is not to judge others but to judge ourselves as to how we are Glorifying God, doing His Will and how much of our heart are we selfishly not yet submitting to loving Him.
Ill second the pride idea, the kind of pride that leads to self deception, exagerated feelings of self importance.
Well if you go by Dante’s Inferno Treachery especially against god is the worst sin since it is the 9th circle. And Judas is their.
The Seven Deadly Sins are:
Pride
Lust
Envy
Sloth
Gluttony
Anger
Greed
Along side listing of these sins, the Catholic Church recommends practicing virtues to overcome them:
Humility over pride;
Chastity over lust;
Kindness over envy;
Diligence over sloth;
Temperance over gluttony
Patience and meekness over anger;
Selflessness over greed.
