7 Cardinal Sins: Which one applies to you the most?

I've been reading a bit on Dante's Inferno today, and it got me wondering -- which of the seven cardinal sins applies to you the most?

For me, I think it would be Envy. That is hard to admit, because I absolutely detest jealousy in others and it makes me a hypocritical. I try to keep it in check, though, mainly by reminding myself that I'm not so badly off in the grand scheme of things.

Here are the descriptions, stolen from Wikipedia:-

ETA: It's a good idea to read the descriptions, as they might not mean what you think they do (e.g. sloth)

Lust
Lust (or lechery) is usually thought of as involving obsessive or excessive thoughts or desires of a sexual nature. Giving in to lusts can lead to sexual or sociological compulsions and/or transgressions including (but obviously not limited to) sexual addiction, adultery, bestiality, rape, and incest. Dante's criterion was "excessive love of others," which therefore rendered love and devotion to God as secondary. In "Purgatorio", the penitent walks within flames to purge himself of lustful/sexual thoughts and feelings.

Gluttony
Derived from the Latin gluttire, meaning to gulp down or swallow, gluttony is the over-indulgence and over-consumption of anything to the point of waste. In the Christian religions, it is considered a sin because of the excessive desire for food, or its withholding from the needy.

Greed
Greed (or avarice, covetousness) is, like lust and gluttony, a sin of excess. However, greed (as seen by the church) is applied to the acquisition of wealth in particular. St. Thomas Aquinas wrote that greed was "a sin against God, just as all mortal sins, in as much as man condemns things eternal for the sake of temporal things." In Dante's Purgatory, the penitents were bound and laid face down on the ground for having concentrated too much on earthly thoughts. "Avarice" is more of a blanket term that can describe many other examples of greedy behavior. These include disloyalty, deliberate betrayal, or treason, especially for personal gain, for example through bribery . Scavenging and hoarding of materials or objects, theft and robbery, especially by means of violence, trickery, or manipulation of authority are all actions that may be inspired by greed. Such misdeeds can include simony, where one profits from soliciting goods within the actual confines of a church.

Sloth
More than other sins, the definition of sloth has changed considerably since its original inclusion among the seven deadly sins. In fact it was first called the sin of sadness or despair. It had been in the early years of Christianity characterized by what modern writers would now describe as melancholy: apathy, depression, and joylessness — the last being viewed as being a refusal to enjoy the goodness of God and the world he created. Originally, its place was fulfilled by two other aspects, acedia and sadness. The former described a spiritual apathy that affected the faithful by discouraging them from their religious work. Sadness (tristitia in Latin) described a feeling of dissatisfaction or discontent, which caused unhappiness with one's current situation. When Thomas Aquinas selected acedia for his list, he described it as an "uneasiness of the mind", being a progenitor for lesser sins such as restlessness and instability.

The modern view of the vice, as highlighted by its contrary virtue of zeal or diligence, is that it represents the failure to utilize one's talents and gifts. For example, a student who does not work beyond what is required (and thus fails to achieve his or her full potential) could be labelled slothful.

Wrath
Wrath (or anger) may be described as inordinate and uncontrolled feelings of hatred and anger. These feelings can manifest as vehement denial of the truth, both to others and in the form of self-denial, impatience with the procedure of law, and the desire to seek revenge outside of the workings of the justice system (such as engaging in vigilantism) and generally wishing to do evil or harm to others. The transgressions borne of vengeance are among the most serious, including murder, assault, and in extreme cases, genocide. Wrath is the only sin not necessarily associated with selfishness or self-interest (although one can of course be wrathful for selfish reasons, such as jealousy, closely related to the sin of envy). In its original form, the sin of wrath also encompassed anger pointed internally rather than externally. Thus suicide was deemed as the ultimate, albeit tragic, expression of wrath directed inwardly, a final rejection of God's gifts.

Envy
Like greed, envy may be characterized by an insatiable desire; they differ, however, for two main reasons. First, greed is largely associated with material goods, whereas envy may apply more generally. Second, those who commit the sin of envy resent that another person has something they perceive themselves as lacking, and wish the other person to be deprived of it. Dante defined this as "love of one's own good perverted to a desire to deprive other men of theirs." In Dante's Purgatory, the punishment for the envious is to have their eyes sewn shut with wire, because they have gained sinful pleasure from seeing others brought low. Aquinas described envy as "sorrow for another's good".

Pride
In almost every list pride (or hubris or vanity) is considered the original and most serious of the seven deadly sins, and indeed the ultimate source from which the others arise. It is identified as a desire to be more important or attractive than others, failing to give compliments to others though they may be deserving of them,[citation needed] and excessive love of self (especially holding self out of proper position toward God). Dante's definition was "love of self perverted to hatred and contempt for one's neighbor."

I would say mine is either Sloth or Gluttony.

Lust and sloth pretty equally.

I think they're all equally good attributes.

Very much the same here.

You missed the option "All of them"

Sloth and Pride.


Oh yeah, and Stupid.

"Sloth" for "uneasiness of the mind" (stress and all that).

At my worst, I can get pretty materialistic. Like if someone buys a really nice house or car that I'd want for myself, I can be "Why should they have it and not me?! "

I suppose it borders on greed, but I think it's because I feel narky towards another with something that I want that it slots into envy.

As for the others; well I don't think I'm lecherous enough to go for bestiality, incest or rape ("!"); I'm not wasteful; I'm not a navel gazer or depressive; I don't get angry very often and I don't feel like I've got to be better than everyone else.

But yeah, I do have a little green eyed monster that appears every now and then.

Sloth...
I'm very compliant with my situation, don't use my skills/gifts as i should etc...

Yeah. I can wish I was like someone, but I don't resent them for it.

Well, I'm not as bad as I thought I was. Maybe I won't go to Hell after all. That said, I guess "Lust". So how YOU doin', gorgeous?

Actually how ARE you doin'? On Dante, I mean. I tried reading it 15-20 years ago. Got through the first two parts before I got sidetracked and never got around to reading Paradise.

Sloth, greed, gluttony. lust... I'm with the Pet Shop Boys: Everything I've ever done, everything I'll ever do, Every place I've ever been
Everywhere I'm going to... It's a sin

Envy/Sloth

I concur!

"Hell, I'm a fan of all seven. But right now? I'm gonna have to go with wrath..."

Can't narrow it down any further than Lust, Sloth, & Gluttony. Of those, I guess Lust is the sexiest answer...

Lust would be my most honest answer. I still have a bit of a hangover though, so who knows.

That's my sin.

Lust.

What? I'm a normal guy.

And often at the same time!

Probably sloth. There are times when I could be putting more effort into whatever I'm doing.

I'm betting a fair number of the people who are putting themselves down for "sloth" are guilty of the modern usage of the term by being too lazy to have listened to Summer and reading how sloth was defined when the list was developed. IIRC, sloth was more like being guilty of being emo. (I'd go back and confirm that, but I'm too lazy to.)

Went with Lust, of course I fall victim to Sloth and Gluttony almost as often.

If I'm not being hedonistic, I'm just sitting around...

I would have to agree with flow and fasient. There may be a little bit of green eyed monster in me sometimes, but it's usually I want it too. I usually don't go on the I want to have and you can't route.

Wrath.