As if we needed more ways to mess up.

The seven mortal sins. Most of the population is at least somewhat familiar with the concept at the very least. Seven sins that are so base and so terrible, they are considered deadly to the soul. Commiting just one of these sins, even one time, results in eternal damnation to hell. For those who are not immediately familiar with the sins themselves (even I had to Wikipedia them to get the full list), they are: Lust, Gluttony, Avarice, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, and Pride. Oddly enough, pride is considered the worst of the seven. It just seems strange to me...I always assumed that the Catholic Church was pretty critical of lust in particular, but maybe that's just what modernity does to religion. At any rate, these seven sins have been corrupting humans worldwide since they were first laid down in the sixth century CE.

Recently, Pope Benedict XVI has declared seven "new" deadly sins; essentially the old sins with a contemporary twist. The list has been expanded to include genetic modification, experimenting on humans, pollution, causing social injustice, causing poverty, becoming obscenely wealthy, and taking drugs. Now, I can honestly say that some of these make sense; human experimentation isn't always a walk in the park. But are you trying to tell me that if I drive my car too much, or throw a piece of paper on the ground, that I'm going to hell? Now, before the environmentalists out there go balistic, let me just say this: pollution sucks. It's gross and it ruins the only planet we'll ever have. But come on...hell? For forgetting to turn off my t.v. at night?

It seems to me that the whole concept of eternal damnation is slightly flawed. I refuse to believe that a good person, who makes a couple mistakes (especially in his or her youth) will be doomed to suffer for eternity. Who are we to judge? The human race as a whole can't even agree on whether or not an afterlife even exists, let alone who gets to go there.

But I have class, so I suppose I have to cut this short.