Dear Readers,
While taking some time to ponder about spirit of the law vs the letter of the law, coupled with "sin"'s archery definition of missing the mark, I had some thoughts about the seven deadly sins.
First of all, they are not scripturally listed off as seven deadly sins. The closest that comes is Proverbs 6:16-19
"16: These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
17: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
18:An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
19: A false witness that speaketh lie, and he that soweth discord among brethren."
These are far different than the seven we know: Lust, Greed, Wrath, Gluttony, Sloth, Envy, Pride. So, where did this doctrine of seven deadly sins come from?
The seven deadly sins are based in Catholic tradition rather than outlined in scriptures. That is not to say that the notion of these sins should be ignored. Even though there is no direct scriptures listing them, they are all sins and have been spoken against in the scriptures. Indeed, I would say that this configuration of sins is indeed inspired because of how well rounded and inclusive it is.
For lust there is "...whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." (Matthew 5:28) This sin is the devil's fabrication of love which is wonderful. Indeed, it is no crime to admire the beauty of a daughter of God, it is the objectifying and lust for her that pollutes the experience.
Greed has 1 Timothy 3:3 which advises against being "greedy of filthy lucre". "Lucre" means money gained in a dishonorable way and is not to be confused with simply gaining wealth. Wealth, money and riches can be a good thing: "But before ye seek for riches, seek ye for the kingdom of God. And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if ye seek them; and ye will seek them for the intent to do good -- to clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and afflicted." (Jacob 2:18-19)
"But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice..." (Colossians 3:8). Wrath, anger, contention, violence. Many times, these emotions and feelings come from the adversary, for "...the spirit of contention is not of [God], but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another." (3 Nephi 11:29). Nevertheless, there is a reason why the human body is able to feel these emotions, and it is not necessarily a result of the fall. For there is the righteous wrath of God in the Old Testament (Psalm 78:31) which is kindled towards wickedness and sin (Numbers 11:33). Even Christ exhibited righteous anger when He cleansed the temple of those polluting it (John 2:15-16), and yet, despite His anger, He never let it control Him, but was always in control of Himself (Jesus the Christ 12: First Clearing of the Temple).
To incorporate gluttony, one might need to look towards more modern scriptures. For example, there is the Word of Wisdom, a commandment relating to taking care of our bodies given to the Prophet Joseph Smith in February of 1833 (Doctrine and Covenants 89). It delves heavily into what types of foods to eat and things not to partake of, especially in excess. Beyond the scriptures of this dispensation (a "dispensation" being the time period when God has called prophets on the earth) there are references to abstaining from strong drinks (Isaiah 28:7) especially in excess (Ephesians 5:18).
There is a warning for those who are slothful. "The way of the slothful man is as an hedge of thorns: but the way of the righteous is made plain." (Proverbs 15:19). That is to say, that if you are slow to do things, like procrastination, then it is like traveling and having to pass through a thorn bush. The thorns may not be thick, for time has run out, but there is pain in scrambling to do things last minute. However, doing things early brings peace of mind and time to prepare for the needful aspects of one's life. I have also noticed from personal experience, that when I haven't done much recently, it can seem daunting and irksome to try to force myself to move and accomplish what is asked of me. Many of you might have noticed similar reactions with trying to roll out of bed in the morning, or do chores after work or school.
Envy causes discord among brethren, "And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt..." (Acts 7:9). For those who do not remember, Joseph was loved of his father Jacob also called Israel, and because of this love, Jacob gave Joseph a fine coat of many colors, more precious and beautiful than anything the other sons had. They were jealous of their brother, coveting his position, and envied the love and affection shown unto him. Wherefore, we are encouraged to "...[lay] aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings" (1 Peter 2:1).
I have written an entire blog post about Pride, and how it is enmity (contention or opposition) between us and God. It is often warned against in the scriptures: Jacob 2:13-14, 1 Timothy 3:6, Proverbs 16:18, Doctrine and Covenants 90:17. Some say that the root of all sin is money, but this is not so. Pride is the root of all sin, and is, ironically, a sin in it of itself. If we lust it is because we place our own desires above those of someone else. Greed is selfishly withholding from those who stand in need and even wanting more. When we are angry unto wrath, we feel as though our need to express our disdain is more than the right of health or even life of someone else. It is the cause of the hole in our souls to be filled with gluttony, and makes us feel like being slothful is our right or privilege. It even causes us to feel like we deserve blessings poured out upon others, leaving envy to unsettle our hearts. An episode of Charmed, where the Halliwell sisters were infected by the sins, portrayed pride as the only sin unable to be overcome by a selfless act, for even in an action with disregard for their own life, the individual is doing it for their own honor and pride rather than for God or righteousness' sake (Charmed Season 3 Episode 18: Sin Francisco).
Again, as the scripture in Proverbs was the closest textually, and having already shown how the sins are at least warned about if not rebuked about in the scriptures, I have contemplated how they fit together.
"A proud look" is easily compared to pride, much as "hands that shed innocent blood" is to wrath. However, the others have been rather difficult to meld together. "A heart that deviseth wicked imaginations" I would liken unto lust, in that the heart, and emotions can both be a receptacle of love, but can easily be turned into evil thoughts of lust. Then, what better sows "discord among brethren" than envy? Like covetousness, envy says, "I want what you have" or "I wish I was you because of these reasons", it leads to unhappiness and unfulfillment, always wanting more.
"Swift to running towards mischief" I first thought of sloth, merely because it was the only one that spoke of movement or action, but it clearly does not seem to fit. Greed creates acts of mischief, but many of those who are greedy wait and abide their time to take and keep wealth for themselves. So what is swift to move towards mischief? Gluttony seems to be the key. Gluttony is quick to over indulge, it is swift to partake, it is constant progression towards mischief of the body and spirit, to ease an insatiable appetite, a seeming hole in the soul.
This leaves the scripture with two very similar lines: "a lying tongue" and a "false witness that speaketh a lie". With the only two deadly sins remaining of sloth and greed, it became even more unclear which was most applicable. Alas, I came to the conclusion that "a false witness" involves another party, someone witnessing against another person. Greed often has false witnesses, claiming that treasures are rightfully the sinner's rather than someone else's. While one can be lazy and slothful, only using lies like "I'll do it tomorrow" when tomorrow never comes.
With these scriptures connected, even in a very loose, wrested way, I hope that it brings insight and illumination into these sins so that we all may be able to avoid and remove them from our lives more easily and completely. May we all better ourselves and come closer to Christ that we may return honorable to our Father in Heaven.
Love,
Jacobugoth
Sunday, March 25, 2018
Coulrophobia
Dear Readers,
Today I would like to speak about the serendipitous providence of God. It is amazing how much truth there is in the scripture "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it" (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Usually we think of temptations as oportunitites or enticements to sin. However, I would add that temptations include those things that cause us to fear and be afraid. God does not want anything to hold us up and stop us from progressing, which includes the addictions of sins as well as phobias or fears that act as stumbling blocks.
Throughout my life I have slowly worked on discovering the roots and causes of my fears and progressed in resolving and overcoming many of them. One of the first was my fear of heights or acrophobia. I realized that this was a fear handed down to me from my mother. Growing up with a protective mother who was afraid of heights, that fear spread and became contagious, making me afraid of heights because of seeing my mother so afraid of heights. To overcome this, I progressed by being willing to climb ladders and creep to the edge of lofty ledges until I became more comfortable there. I still have what I would consider a healthy respect for heights and the pull of gravity resulting from a fall, as well as a cautious approach when it comes to climbing, however it allows me to go forth and do those things I need and want to do.
Similarly, I was afraid of spiders ever since I was four and rolled over a tarantula on my tricycle. I still remember how I had a little trail through my back yard that I would ride back and forth on. One day there was a bump, like I was hitting a rock, yet back and forth I continued to go. After repeatedly hitting it I finally decided to lean over and move it out of my way. My hand nearly touched it as I saw so many eyes staring up at me. It was no rock.
With arachnophobia then encroached upon my heart, it took longer to overcome and even tolerate spiders in my life. It is rather difficult to say how the gradual change occurred from a shrieking disdain to acceptance of their existence. Though I do not foresee myself having a spider as a pet, I do try to spare their lives and remove them from my abode rather than slaying them outright.
While both my acrophobia and arachnophobia receded after time and effort over many years, my fear of the dark was the most aggressive. I had nyctophobia until I was fourteen. Despite my love of monsters, Halloween, and creepy things, my imagination would run wild and throw some of the most vile terrors into the shadows of my life.
I remember that my father had started his own charter school, and there was a back room where he had painted over the skylights with a light blue paint. With the lights on, it almost looked white with the blue tint, but with the lights off, the sun shining down though the ceiling filled the room with a shadowy blue aurora. I called it the blue room.
However, there was one more room attached to the blue room that, when the door was open, was barely lit by this ominous azure light. It was in this second room that my mind would play the piper, summoning the fiends from the depths of my subconscious. Therefore, it was in this room that I conquered my fear,
Standing alone in the dark, with the glints of blue highlight sparkling on different surfaces, outlining obscure edges and shapes, I spoke to the darkness. I was tired of being afraid, tired of being tormented by my own mind. So I called out to that darkness, addressed the beasts, creatures, and monsters real and imaginary and warned them, nay threatened them, that if they did not leave me alone then I would destroy them. I would become the thing they fear, more fierce, more ferocious, and more terrible. I would become a scourge for them as they had been for me.
Since then, I gained more confidence in the darkness. Like an old friend, it welcomes me and I find some amount of peace there. The apparitions of my mind are mine to command, and as for what beings that actually lurk in the dark, their disturbance of my life has been few and far between. While watching a 2002 documentary called Masters of Horror, I found a connection with Guillermo del Toro who recounted an experience from his youth where his imagination would create monsters in the shadows of his room. He over came his fantastic creatures by offering to become their friend, and was able to sleep peacefully after that.
From these experiences, not only did I see that I am not alone with my phobias nor with the ways to combat it, but fear has two main reactions: fight and flight. For my acrophobia and arachnophobia I would classify them as flight for it was by persisting and continuing on that I have been able to move on with my life. Thus, my nyctophobia is more of the fight response, aggressive, direct confrontation of my fear. However, there is another fear I had that provoked a fight response.
My fear of clowns, or coulrophobia, is the one that has inspired this post. I feel as though I have overcome this fear, but in such a way that is beyond my own labors. I am pressed upon to acknowledge and testify of God's providence in my life. For most would say it is by happenstance or serendipity that events transpired as they have, that luck and coincidence rules this life of chance. Nevertheless this fear, this temptation, was provided with a way to escape.
In the innocence of youth, I was left unattended in front of the television many a time. As it so happens, a movie crossed the screen, of red balloons filled with blood, and a clown horrendous to a child's mind. Steven King's IT was the movie, and Pennywise was the clown.
Despite this cruel impression left upon my growing consciousness, there would have been no way to foresee that as I waded through life wondering if I would beat the daylights out of the next clown I see or if I would run away screaming, the cure to my mental anguish would be the same culprit.
The 2017 version of IT has proved to be my saving grace from my fear. This new Pennywise's personality of a somewhat kind yet creepy demeanor, bright, flowing red hair and washed out colors of his costume made him the first clown I have not been afraid of. Despite his disposition and desire to munch on children, the way he spreads fear, and tries to startle with quick movements, reminds me a little of the darker side of myself. So much so, that I could even see myself being friends with that carnivorous little clown.
A partial factor could be that I heard the IT creature is similar to a boggart from Harry Potter. This, I admit, aided in the pacifying of the movie as a bunch of muggles trying to fight a boggart without magic.
Nevertheless, I see and acknowledge God's hand in delivering me from the temptation of coulrophobia, with His planned serendipity, which is providence, of the very being that smote the wound of fear into my heart being the one that also applied the balm of Gilead (healing ointment [Jeremiah 8:22]). Though I have not, as of yet, had ample opportunity to test my new found courage, my heart rests easy being lead to peace in the absence of fear, by the Lord my God.
I too know that God is faithful to those who are faithful to Him, I love my Father in Heaven and my Savior Jesus Christ. Praise be to them forever and ever. Amen.
Love,
Jacobugoth
Today I would like to speak about the serendipitous providence of God. It is amazing how much truth there is in the scripture "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it" (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Usually we think of temptations as oportunitites or enticements to sin. However, I would add that temptations include those things that cause us to fear and be afraid. God does not want anything to hold us up and stop us from progressing, which includes the addictions of sins as well as phobias or fears that act as stumbling blocks.
 |
| http://phobia.wikia.com/wiki/Acrophobia |
 |
| Lucas the Spider created by Joshua Slice |
With arachnophobia then encroached upon my heart, it took longer to overcome and even tolerate spiders in my life. It is rather difficult to say how the gradual change occurred from a shrieking disdain to acceptance of their existence. Though I do not foresee myself having a spider as a pet, I do try to spare their lives and remove them from my abode rather than slaying them outright.
While both my acrophobia and arachnophobia receded after time and effort over many years, my fear of the dark was the most aggressive. I had nyctophobia until I was fourteen. Despite my love of monsters, Halloween, and creepy things, my imagination would run wild and throw some of the most vile terrors into the shadows of my life.
 |
| Image Link |
However, there was one more room attached to the blue room that, when the door was open, was barely lit by this ominous azure light. It was in this second room that my mind would play the piper, summoning the fiends from the depths of my subconscious. Therefore, it was in this room that I conquered my fear,
Standing alone in the dark, with the glints of blue highlight sparkling on different surfaces, outlining obscure edges and shapes, I spoke to the darkness. I was tired of being afraid, tired of being tormented by my own mind. So I called out to that darkness, addressed the beasts, creatures, and monsters real and imaginary and warned them, nay threatened them, that if they did not leave me alone then I would destroy them. I would become the thing they fear, more fierce, more ferocious, and more terrible. I would become a scourge for them as they had been for me.
Since then, I gained more confidence in the darkness. Like an old friend, it welcomes me and I find some amount of peace there. The apparitions of my mind are mine to command, and as for what beings that actually lurk in the dark, their disturbance of my life has been few and far between. While watching a 2002 documentary called Masters of Horror, I found a connection with Guillermo del Toro who recounted an experience from his youth where his imagination would create monsters in the shadows of his room. He over came his fantastic creatures by offering to become their friend, and was able to sleep peacefully after that.
From these experiences, not only did I see that I am not alone with my phobias nor with the ways to combat it, but fear has two main reactions: fight and flight. For my acrophobia and arachnophobia I would classify them as flight for it was by persisting and continuing on that I have been able to move on with my life. Thus, my nyctophobia is more of the fight response, aggressive, direct confrontation of my fear. However, there is another fear I had that provoked a fight response.
My fear of clowns, or coulrophobia, is the one that has inspired this post. I feel as though I have overcome this fear, but in such a way that is beyond my own labors. I am pressed upon to acknowledge and testify of God's providence in my life. For most would say it is by happenstance or serendipity that events transpired as they have, that luck and coincidence rules this life of chance. Nevertheless this fear, this temptation, was provided with a way to escape.
In the innocence of youth, I was left unattended in front of the television many a time. As it so happens, a movie crossed the screen, of red balloons filled with blood, and a clown horrendous to a child's mind. Steven King's IT was the movie, and Pennywise was the clown.
 |
| Tim Curry as Pennywise the Clown from 1990's IT by Steven King |
 |
| Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise the Dancing Clown from 2017's IT by Steven King |
 |
| Spider version of the boggart from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling |
Nevertheless, I see and acknowledge God's hand in delivering me from the temptation of coulrophobia, with His planned serendipity, which is providence, of the very being that smote the wound of fear into my heart being the one that also applied the balm of Gilead (healing ointment [Jeremiah 8:22]). Though I have not, as of yet, had ample opportunity to test my new found courage, my heart rests easy being lead to peace in the absence of fear, by the Lord my God.
I too know that God is faithful to those who are faithful to Him, I love my Father in Heaven and my Savior Jesus Christ. Praise be to them forever and ever. Amen.
Love,
Jacobugoth
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