You don’t have to be a religious person to find the study of religious texts thought-provoking. I have had many a philosophical debate about, for example, why women can’t be priests or the reason for the immaculate conception story.

They also help formulate a moral and ethical code for living in an ever-more crowded society. Considering when they were written, they do a pretty good job of this if you ignore the smiting bits.

Considering the preponderance of God-fearing Christians in our current Parliament, I thought it might be timely to remind them of some fundamental tenets of their faith.

In the Book of Proverbs 6:16-19, among the verses traditionally associated with King Solomon, it states that the Lord specifically regards “six things the Lord hateth, and seven that are an abomination unto Him”, namely:

1. A proud look
2. A lying tongue
3. Hands that shed innocent blood
4. A heart that devises wicked plots
5. Feet that are swift to run into mischief
6. A deceitful witness that uttereth lies
7. Him that soweth discord among brethren

That struck me forcibly as it seems a fairly accurate description of Tony Abbott and some of his colleagues. Reading further only made the comparison more apt.

The seven deadly sins have been used since early Christian times to educate and instruct Christians concerning fallen humanity’s tendency to sin. The sins are usually given as wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony. Each is a form of Idolatry-of-Self wherein the subjective reigns over the objective.

Lust is an intense desire. Lust could be exemplified by the intense desire for money, food, fame, power, or sex.

Gluttony is the over-indulgence and over-consumption of anything to the point of waste. Gluttony can be interpreted as selfishness; essentially placing concern with one’s own interests above the well-being or interests of others.

Greed is, like lust and gluttony, a sin of excess. Greed is an inordinate desire to acquire or possess more than one needs, especially with respect to material wealth.

Like greed and lust, Envy is characterized by an insatiable desire. Envy is similar to jealousy in that they both feel discontent towards someone’s traits, status, abilities, or rewards. The difference is the envious also desire the entity and covet it.

Sloth can entail different vices. While sloth is sometimes defined as physical laziness, spiritual laziness is emphasized. Sloth has also been defined as a failure to do things that one should do. By this definition, evil exists when good men fail to act.

Wrath may be described as inordinate and uncontrolled feelings of hatred and anger. Wrath, in its purest form, presents with self-destructiveness, violence, and hate that may provoke feuds that can go on for centuries. Dante described vengeance as “love of justice perverted to revenge and spite”.

Pride is considered the original and most serious of the seven deadly sins, and the source of the others. It is identified as believing that one is essentially better than others, failing to acknowledge the accomplishments of others, and excessive admiration of the personal self.

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, a mortal or deadly sin is believed to destroy the life of grace and charity within a person and thus creates the threat of eternal damnation, so at this stage I was getting quite worried for Tony Abbott who is so obviously doomed. But fear not.

Luckily, through the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation (commonly called Confession, Reconciliation or Penance), the faithful obtain divine mercy for the sins committed against God and neighbour and are reconciled with the community of the Church. By this sacrament Christians are freed from sins committed after Baptism. The sacrament of penance is considered the normal way to be absolved from mortal sins which, it is believed, would otherwise condemn a person to Hell.

“Sometimes it’s better to ask forgiveness than permission,” – Tony Abbott

Perhaps so Tony but remember…..

“Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” – Proverbs 16:18

Edmund Burke wrote “When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle.”

Time for the Australian Association to rally and take on Team Abbott.