All the things. (Greed)

This blog gives a quick summary of all seven sins and some examples of how to use them. So reading it might mean you don’t need our seven episodes but how about come along for the ride anyway?

The Seven Deadly Sins (this link) in Roman Catholic theology, are the seven vices that spur other sins and further immoral behavior. First enumerated by Pope Gregory I (the Great) in the 6th century and elaborated in the 13th century by St. Thomas Aquinas.

The sins are:

1. Pride
2. Greed
3. Lust
4. Envy
5. Gluttony
6. Wrath
7. Sloth

We’ve done these before (episodes 151–157), but it’s been a while and this time we’re going to sharpen the focus on the sins as potential stakes-raising behaviors.

This week’s focus is Greed. According to deadlysins.com “Greed is the desire for material wealth or gain, ignoring the realm of the spiritual. It is also called Avarice or Covetousness.”

In the Summa Theologiae, Medieval theologian Thomas Aquinas said Greed: “it is a sin directly against one’s neighbor, since one man cannot over-abound in external riches, without another man lacking them… it is a sin against God, just as all mortal sins, inasmuch as man contemns things eternal for the sake of temporal things.” (2, 118, ad 1)

According to SimplyCatholic.com: 

Greed: the desire for and love of possessions. “Sin … is a failure in genuine love for God and neighbor caused by a perverse attachment to certain goods” (No. 1849).

The literary trope is the miser and some of the most well-known misers are (link) Silas Marner, Ebenezar Scrooge, and Shylock.

BUT, greed isn’t always about miserliness. Sometimes it’s about the accumulation of wealth or power (link).

Read more on the blog