Sin Abandoned

Those who excel in virtue have the best right of all to rebel, but then they are of all men the least inclined to do so. Aristotle

No more visiting sin. I wish I had never started with this sin thing. Having had the misfortune to be brought up a Catholic 'sin' featured heavily in my childhood. All babies, we were taught, are born with the Original Sin (something to do with Adam and Eve), described in simple terms as a big black mark on their souls. Once they are born it is a race against time to have them baptised as if they had the misfortune to die before this happened their soul would go straight to a place called Purgatory. We said lots of prayers for the babies in Purgatory. It seemed everything was potentially sinful and from the age of around 7 we had to confess our sins weekly in the Confessional Box. 'Father, I have sinned. It has been 7 days since my last confession' (does this count as child abuse?). We would then be given a penance to do, in accordance with the severity of our sinning that particular week. (Definitely child abuse) and although I knew from an early age that none of it made any sense I thought that I just wasn't getting it and that meant I would bypass the luxury of Purgatory and go straight to Hell. Now, with the luxury of a life lived wellish and the experiences gained I realise that I had 'got' it but lacked the vocabulary to tell my elders what I thought about sin. Which was that sin is actually a load of bollocks.

This is why I wish I hadn't started with the sin thing. It was meant a bit of fun but it is making me angry. Take Purgatory for instance:


Purgatory's role:

In addition to accepting the states of heaven and hell, Catholicism envisages a third state before being admitted to heaven. According to Catholic doctrine, some souls are not sufficiently free from the temporal effects of sin and its consequences to enter the state of heaven immediately, nor are they so sinful as to be destined for hell either. (this includes still born babies, on account of the 'original sin', the Catholic Church has sin all sown up you see). Such souls, ultimately destined to be united with God in heaven, must first endure purgatory— a state of purification. In purgatory, souls "achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven." Temporal punishment and eternal punishment are incurred by mortal sin, but eternal punishment is remitted by the sacrament of reconciliation (known also as the sacrament of penance or confession). The remaining temporal punishment may be remitted by sufferings in this life, indulgences, or time after death in Purgatory.

So Catholic parents and teachers in Catholic school teach their children this stuff. Thats without the drivel the priest preaches every Mass.

I was going to write about the 'sin' of pride. Pride is one of the deadlies and although I hear it comes before a fall you would run the risk of being criticised for having none at all. There are, hopefully, moments in everyones life when they are proud of an achievement, either their own or a that of a loved one.

Wiki on sin:

In Western Christianity, "sin is lawlessness" and so salvation tends to be understood in legal terms, similar to Jewish law. Sin alienates the sinner from God. It has damaged, and completely severed, the relationship of humanity to God. That relationship can only be restored through acceptance of Jesus Christ and his death on the cross as a sacrifice for mankind's sin.

In Eastern Christianity, sin is viewed in terms of its effects on relationships, both among people and between people and God. Sin is seen as the refusal to follow God's plan, and the desire to be like God and thus in direct opposition to him (see the account of Adam and Eve in the Book of Genesis). To sin is to want control of one's destiny in opposition to the will of God, to do some rigid beliefs.

In the Russian variant of Eastern Christianity, sin sometimes is regarded as any mistake made by people in their life. From this point of view every person is sinful because every person makes mistakes during their life. When a person accuses others of sins they always must remember that they are also sinners and so they must have mercy for others remembering that God is also merciful to them and to all of humanity

Judism regards the breaking of any of the divine commandments to be a sin. Judaism teaches that sin is an act, and not a state of being. Sin is any thought, word, or deed that breaks Gods law by omission or commission.

Islam sees sin as anything that goes against the will of Allah. Islam also teaches that sin is an act and not a state of being. The Qur'an teaches that 'the (human) soul is certainly prone to evil, unless the Lord does bestow His Mercy'

Hinduism have a different and more enlightened view:

In Hinduism, the term sin is often used to describe actions that create negative karma by violating moral and ethical codes, which automatically brings negative consequences. It is different from other religions like Judaism, Christianity and Islam in the sense that sin is not a crime against the will of God, but against Dharma, or moral order, and one's own self.

and let's hear it for the Buddhists -

Buddhist ethics is consequentialist in nature and is not based upon duty towards any deities. It is founded upon compassion for all sentient beings and upon the duty to cause their happiness and to prevent their suffering. The well-being of all sentient beings is seen as an end-in-itself and not a means towards any transcendent end. Buddhist ethics therefore closely corresponds to secular ethics and there is no Buddhist equivalent of the Abrahamic concept of sin. (Good old Buddhism!) Buddhism recognizes a natural principle of Karma whereby widespread suffering is the inevitable consequence of greed, hatred and delusion. Buddhism therefore seeks to end suffering by replacing greed with selflessness, hatred with compassion and delusion with wisdom.

Moving away from religion and into the realms of logic:

Aristotle and the Nicomachean Ethics:

The Nicomachean Ethics is the name normally given to Aristotle's most well-known work on ethics. The theme of the work is the Socratic question which had previously been explored in Plato's works, of how men should best live. In his Metaphysics, Aristotle described how Socrates turned philosophy to human questions, whereas Pre-Socratic philosophy had only been theoretical. Ethics, as now separated out for discussion by Aristotle, is practical rather than theoretical, in the original Aristotelian senses of these terms. It is partly intended to help people become good, and is not only a contemplation about good living. It is therefore connected to Aristotle's other practical writings, on Politics, which also aim at people becoming good, though from the perspective of a law-giver, looking at the good of a whole community.

Aristotle argues that the correct approach in studying such controversial subjects as Ethics or Politics, which involve discussing what is true about what is beautiful or just, is to start with what would be roughly agreed to by people of good up-bringing and experience in life, and to work from there to a higher understanding.

Taking this approach, Aristotle begins by saying that the highest good for humans, the highest aim of all human practical thinking, is eudaimonia, a Greek word often translated as well-being or happiness. Aristotle in turn argues that happiness is properly understood as an on-going and stable dynamic, a way of being in action, specifically appropriate to the human "soul" (psuchē), in accordance with "excellence" or virtue. If there are several virtues the best and most complete or perfect of them will be the happiest one. An excellent human will be a person good at living life, who does it well and beautifully. Aristotle says that they would also be a serious human being, in the same way that one contrasts harpists and serious harpists. He also asserts as part of this starting point that virtue for a human must involve reason in thought and speech, as this is an aspect of human living.

From this starting point, Aristotle goes into discussion of what ethics, a term Aristotle helped develop, means. Aristotelian Ethics is about what makes a virtuous character possible, which is in turn necessary if happiness is to be possible. He describes a sequence of necessary steps in order to achieve this: righteous actions, often done under the influence of teachers, allow the development of the right habits, which in turn can allow the development of a good stable character in which the habits are voluntary, and this in turn gives a chance of achieving eudaimonia. Aristotle does not however equate character with habit because real character involves conscious choice, unlike habit. Instead of being habit, character is a hexis like health or knowledge, meaning it is a stable disposition which must be pursued and maintained with some effort. However, good habits are described as a precondition for good character. Aristotle then turns to examples, reviewing some of specific ways in which people are generally thought worthy of blame or praise. As he proceeds, he comes to describe how the highest types of praise, so the highest types of virtue, imply having all the virtues of character, and these in turn imply not just good character, but a kind of wisdom. These four virtues which he says require the possession of all the ethical virtues together are:

Being of "great soul" (magnanimity), the virtue where someone would be truly deserving of the highest praise and have a correct attitude towards the honor this may involve.

The type of justice or fairness of a good ruler in a good community.

Practical judgment as shown by good leaders.

The virtue of being a truly good friend.

Put simply, if it is ever possible to put Aristotle simply -

Everyone wants to be happy.

Many do not do what is necessary in order to become happy.

To succeed in the pursuit of happiness, you must be a functional (not dysfunctional) human being.

To be a functional (rather than dysfunctional) human being, you must pursue excellence (virtue) in accordance with your nature.

Moral excellence or virtue is:

Avoiding the extremes of excess (too much) and deficiency (too little).
If you don't pursue the good and avoid extremes and absolute evils, your life will become disorderly, self-destructive, dysfunctional, and unhappy.

Intellectual excellence or virtue is the exercise of the intellect in pursuit of knowledge and wisdom. It is good to become more knowledgeable and more wise; it is bad to wallow in ignorance and foolishness.

You are free to pursue moral and intellectual excellence or not. It is in your own best interest to pursue it because, in pursuing moral and intellectual excellence, you will become more excellent, more functional, and more happy. If, in addition to becoming morally excellent, you also make intellectual excellence your chief goal in life, you will become even happier.

To be happy, you must be a fully-functional (morally and intellectually excellent) human being. Some dysfunctional (un-excellent) people may think they are happy, but they're not (not really). They are deluded. They are living contrary to their own nature and thus cannot find self-fulfillment or peace of mind. They smoke, they drink, they abuse drugs, they abuse sex, they bite their nails, they are subject to road-rage, they disrespect and break the law — in general, they go to extremes (too much here, too little there) and ruin themselves.

In addition to virtue (moral and intellectual excellence) and physiological well-being (e.g., health), which are "internal goods" (i.e., they exist in the self), the successful pursuit of happiness also requires such "external goods" as friends, wealth, political power, and security – i.e., what Aristotle calls "external prosperity." External prosperity and physiological well-being depend to some extent on good fortune, which means that one's happiness can be undermined, at least to some extent, by ill fortune.
I wish I'd concentrated on virtues instead of sins. But there are so many! Two virtues I tick are:

Acceptance - To consider circumstances, especially those that can not be changed, as satisfactory. as I was born in the week of Acceptance I am totally virtuous in this aspect.

Patience - Waiting peacefully. Quiet hope and faith that things will turn out right. The ability to endure delay, trouble, pain or hardship. Last week I said to my grandson 'you have to be patient' to which he replied 'I don't like patience. I like straight away'. A sinner if ever there was one.

In order to be self actualised one would have to be pretty much virtuous. Or tick most of the boxes. Well, two is a start.

Accountability: The willingness to take full responsibility for our choices.

Appreciation: Seeing the good in life. Freely expressing gratitude.

Assertiveness: Telling the truth about what is just, setting clear boundaries.

Awe: Reverence and wonder, deep respect for the source of life.

Beauty: A sense of wonder and reverence for the harmony, colour, and loveliness of the world. Calling on our creativity to add to the beauty in the world.

Bravery: A quality of spirit that enables you to face danger of pain without showing fear. caring

Caring : Giving tender attention to the people and things that matter to us. Listening with compassion, helping with kindness.

Caution: Avoidance of rashness, attention to safety.

Charity: A giving heart, a generous way of viewing others and caring for their needs.

Cheerfulness: Seeing the bright side, looking for the good in whatever happens.

Cleanliness: Keeping our bodies, our thoughts and our spaces clean. An environment of order and beauty brings peace to our souls.

Commitment: Caring deeply about a person, a goal or a belief. Willingness to give our all and keep our promises.

Compassion: Deep empathy for the suffering of others. Compassion flows freely from the heart when we let go of judgments and seek to understand.

Confidence: A sense of assurance that comes from having faith in ourselves and in life. Confidence allows us to trust that we have the strength to cope with whatever happens.

Consideration: Giving careful thought to the needs of others. Holding a decision in a contemplative and thoughtful way.

Contentment: The awareness of sufficiency, a sense that we have enough and we are enough. Appreciating the simple gifts of life.

Cooperation: Working together for a common goal, calling on the different gifts each of us has to offer.

Courage: Transforms fear into determination. Embracing life fully, without holding back, doing what must be done even when it is difficult or risky. Courtesy: Treating others with kindness, tact and graciousness.

Creativity: The power of imagination. Being open to inspiration, which ignites our originality.

Curiosity: A desire to find out and know things.

Decisiveness: Firmness of mind in taking a stand, reaching a conclusion, making a decision. It requires both courage and discernment.

Defiance: Bold resistance.

Detachment: Experiencing our feelings without allowing them to control us. Stepping back and thoughtfully choosing how we will act rather than just reacting.

Determination: Firmness of purpose.

Devotion: Commitment to something we care about deeply. Wholehearted service to our life’s purpose. A great love or loyalty, enthusiastic zeal.

Dignity: Honoring the worth of all people, including ourselves and treating everyone with respect.

Diligence: Doing what needs to be done with care, concentration and single-pointed attention, giving our absolute best.

Discernment: Applying the wisdom of our intuition to discover what is essential and true, with contemplative vigilance. Clarity of the soul.

Discretion: Being discrete in ones speech, keeping secrets.

Endurance: Practicing perseverance and patience when obstacles arise hones our character and educates our souls. We welcome all that we are here to learn.

Enthusiasm: Being filled with spirit. Excitement about life and openness to the wonders each day holds. Acting wholeheartedly, with zeal and eagerness, holding nothing back.

Excellence: Giving our best to any task we do and any relationship we have.

Fairness: Seeking justice, giving each person their share, making sure that everyone’s needs are met.

Faith: A relationship of trust. Belief in the reality of Grace.

Faithfulness : Loyalty to our beliefs, regardless of what happens. Being true to the people we love.

Fidelity: Abiding by an agreement, treating it as a sacred covenant. Complete faithfulness in our relationships.

Flexibility : The ability to adapt and change amid the fluctuating circumstances of life. Going with the flow. Adaptable, able to be changed to suit circumstances.

Focus: Concentrated awareness and effort.

Forbearance: Tolerating hardship with good grace. Not allowing the trials of life to steal our joy.

Forgiveness: Overlooking mistakes, and being willing to move forward with a clean slate. Forgiving others frees us from resentment. Forgiving ourselves is part of positive change. To cease to feel angry or bitter towards a person or about an offence.

Fortitude: Strength of character. The will to endure no matter what happens, with courage and patience.

Friendliness: A spiritual essential. Reaching out to others with warmth and caring. The willingness to be an intimate companion.

Generosity: Giving fully, sharing freely. Trust that there is plenty for everyone. Giving or ready to give freely, free from meanness or prejudice.

Gentleness: Moving wisely, touching softly, speaking quietly and thinking kindly. Moderate; mild, quite; not rough or severe.

Grace: Openness to the bounties of life, trusting that we are held in God’s love through all circumstances. Reflecting gentleness and beauty in the way we act, speak and move.

Gratitude: Freely expressing thankfulness and appreciation to others and for the gifts of life.

Gratitude: Being thankful.

Helpfulness: Doing useful things that make a difference to others. Taking time for thoughtfulness.

Honesty: Being truthful, sincere, open, and genuine. The confidence to be ourselves. sincere; not lying or cheating.

Honor: Living with a sense of respect for what we know is right. Living up to the virtues of our character. Keeping our agreements with integrity.

Hope: Looking to the future with trust and faith. Optimism in the face of adversity.

Humanity: Having an attitude of caring and mercy to all people.

Humbleness: Modest; not arrogant or boastful.

Humility: Being open to every lesson life brings, trusting that our mistakes are often our best teachers. Being thankful for our gifts instead of boastful.

Humor: The ability to perceive, enjoy, or express what is amusing, comical, incongruous, or absurd.

Idealism: Caring about what is right and meaningful in life. Daring to have big dreams and then acting as if they are possible.

Impartiality: Fair.

Independence: Self-reliance. Making our own choices confidently without undue influence from others. Perceiving the truth, with trust in our own discernment.

Industry: Diligent, hardworking.

Initiative: Daring to be original. Using our creativity to bring something new into the world.

Innocence: Guileless, not guilty.

Integrity Standing on moral high ground. Keeping faith with our ideals and our agreements.

Joyfulness: An inner wellspring of peace and happiness. Enjoying the richness of life. Finding humor, even in the midst of hard times.

Justice: Being fair in all we do. Making amends when we have hurt or wronged others. Protecting everyone’s rights, including our own. Fair, impartial, giving a deserved response.

Kindness: Showing compassion. Giving tender attention in ways that brings others happiness. Friendly, helpful, well meaning.

Love: The connection between one heart and another. Attraction, affection and caring for a person, a place, an idea, and for life itself. A deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward a person, such as that arising from kinship, recognition of attractive qualities, or a sense of underlying oneness.

Loyalty: Unwavering faithfulness and commitment to people and ideas we care about, through good times and bad. Steadfast in allegiance to one's homeland, government, or sovereign. Faithful to a person, ideal, custom, cause, or duty.

Majesty: Great and impressive dignity.

Mercy: Blessing others with our compassion and forgiveness. Extending our tenderness beyond what is just or deserved.

Mindfulness: Living reflectively and meaningfully, with conscious awareness of our actions, our words and our thoughts.

Moderation : Being content with enough. Using self-discipline to create balance in our lives and to keep from overdoing. Healthy stewardship of our time and resources. The avoidance of extremes in one’s actions or opinions.

Modesty: Self-respect and quiet confidence. Accepting praise with humility and gratitude. A sense of respectful privacy about our bodies.

Nobility: Having high moral standards. Doing the right thing. Keeping faith with our true value as spiritual beings.

Obedience: Following what we know is right. Compliance with the law. Abiding by our deepest integrity and conquering our misplaced passions. Willingness to obey, to be controlled when necessary, to carry out orders.

Openness: Willingness to consider new ideas. Listening to others with humility and sincerity. Being receptive to the blessings and surprises of life. Openness: Ready and willing to talk candidly. Unsecretive.

Orderliness: Creating an environment of peace and order. Planning step by step instead of going in circles.


Peacefulness: Inner calm and tranquility. Giving up the love of power for the power of love. Resolving conflict in a just and gentle way. Freedom from mental agitation; serenity.

Perceptiveness: Clarity of insight. Understanding that is intuitive, discerning and accurate.

Perseverance: Staying the course for however long it takes. Steadfastness and persistence in pursuing our goals.

Prayerfulness: A relationship of faith and gratitude with a power and presence greater than ourselves. A conversation with God.

Prudence: Wise or careful in conduct. Shrewd or thrifty in planning ahead.

Purity: A process of freeing ourselves day by day from influences and attachments that keep us from being true to ourselves and to what we know is right. Physical and spiritual cleanliness.

Purposefulness: Awareness of the meaningfulness of our lives. Living by a clear vision and focusing our energy on the goal before us.

Reliability: Being dependable. Being a promise keeper. Taking responsibility with trustworthiness. Can be trusted to do something.

Respect: An attitude of honoring oneself and others through our words and actions. Treating every person with dignity and courtesy.

Responsibility: The willingness to be accountable for our choices and also for our mistakes. Taking on what is ours to do with strength and reliability. Having control over and accountability for appropriate events.

Reverence: An awareness of the sacredness of life. Living with wonder and faith. Having a routine of reflection.

Righteousness: Living by a code of spiritual rectitude. Impeccable integrity to what we know is right. Calling ourselves gently back when we go off track.

Sacrifice: The willingness to give up what is important to us for what we know is more important. Giving our all for our beliefs. Making our life a sacred offering. Self-Discipline: The self control to do only what we truly choose to do, without being blown off course by our desires. Establishing healthy and ennobling habits.

Sensitivity: Heightened awareness of oneself and others within the context of social and personal relationships.

Serenity: Tranquility of spirit, with trust and faith that all will be well. Peacefulness in the midst of trials.

Service: Doing helpful things that make a difference to others. Investing excellence in everything we do. The contribution we make is the fruitage of our lives.

Simplicity: Straightforward; not complex or complicated. Unpretentious.

Sincerity: Being open and genuine. Our words and actions reflect a truthful heart. Free from pretence or deceit in manner or actions.

Sobriety: Serious, solemn and calm. Free from intoxication.

Spontaneity: Natural, not planned.

Steadfastness: Being steady, persevering and dependable. Having the strength to remain true to our purpose in spite of obstacles that arise.

Steadfastness: Firm, resolute; determinedly unwavering.

Strength: The inner power to withstand whatever comes. Endurance in the midst of tests. Capable of exerting great force.

Tact: Telling the truth kindly. Thinking before we speak, aware of how deeply our words affect others. Discerning what to say, when it is timely to say it, and what is better left unsaid.

Temperance: Moderation in our speech and our appetites. Using self-restraint in the midst of temptation.

Thankfulness: An attitude of gratitude for living, learning, loving and being. Generosity in expressing appreciation. Focusing on the blessings in our lives.

Tolerance: Being open to differences. Refraining from judgments. Patience and forgiveness with others and ourselves. Accepting things that we wish were different with humor and grace.

Toughness: Strong and durable; not easily damaged.

Tranquility: Serenely quite and peaceful; undisturbed.

Trust: Having faith. Positive expectation that all will be well. Having confidence that the right thing will come about without trying to control it or make it happen. Being sure, in the depths of our being, that there is some gift or learning in everything that happens. Having confidence in others; lacking suspicion.

Trustworthiness: Being worthy of the trust others place in us. When we give our word, we stand by it. Keeping our agreements faithfully. Able to be trusted or depended on; reliable.

Truthfulness: Truth is the bedrock of integrity on which we build all our other virtues. An ongoing commitment to live by what is most real and authentic in our own nature. Honesty in all our dealings.

Understanding: Being insightful in our perceptions of ideas and feelings. Listening with compassion and accuracy to others’ feelings.

Unity: Inclusiveness. Finding common ground in our diversity. Seeking peace in all circumstances.

Uprightness: Following what is right and moral. Standing up for honesty and justice. Living in integrity.

Wisdom: Having a discerning mind, based on experience and mindfulness. Making wise decisions based on our deepest intuition.

Zeal: Fervent enthusiasm for what we believe to be important. Living by a strong sense of the value of life and faith.

Finally, for no other reason than being a great song which is on an advert soundtrack at the moment - a song about Baby doing a Bad Bad Thing. Lets hope she isn't a catholic. her penance would be stiff.