I remember attending Christ the Foundation Anglican Church in Kailua, Hawaii, northeast of Honolulu, a few years ago. It was a journey from the urbanity of Waikiki, with its heated asphalt and towering buildings, through the mountains of Ko’olau, prehistoric and looming, that, especially upon exiting one of the Tetsuo Harano tunnels, was truly like a journey back in time.
Like many Anglican churches of late, who’ve left the earthly beauty of stony steeples and vaulted ceilings, the church was housed off the beaten path in a non-church building, in this case a converted schoolhouse. Because of the strange proximity and the winding narrow roads, we were late arriving, settling into the pew just as the Rector was closing out his sermon on Pride, the most recent subject of a series on the Seven Deadly Sins.
The sermon was fascinating. Much like the gigantic mountains through which we’d traveled to get here, it was a blast from the past, solid and strong, towering over our time like something stubborn that had to be contended with.
“The concept of the Seven Deadly Sins was introduced by Tertullian or Pope Gregory, depending on who you believe,” said the Rector. “As it says in St. Augustine’s Prayer Book, it is overcome by humility.”
Indeed, many theologians have cited Pride as the worst of the deadly sins, because so many of the others flow from it. "Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness and all that, are mere fleabites in comparison,” said C.S. Lewis. “…it was through Pride that Lucifer became wicked: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.”
Aquinas himself wrote extensively on pride, counting it among the “capital vices.” He speaks extensively of it in “Summa Theologica.”
Pride is so-called because a man thereby aims higher than he is…for he who wishes to overstep beyond what he is, is proud. Now, right reason requires that every man’s will should tend to that which is proportionate to him. Therefore, it is evident that pride denotes something opposed to right reason…
And again:
Pride is opposed to humility. Now, humility properly regards the subjection of man to God…Hence, pride properly regards lack of this subjection, in so far as a man raises himself above that which is appointed to him according to the Divine rule or measure…
It was for sermons such as the one mentioned above that I was drawn to Anglicanism. For, despite all its recent shortcomings, at its best, the Anglican Church offers something solid to anchor on in tumultuous times such as ours: tradition, truth…salvation. To men, it was like finding a rare pearl washed up on a forgotten beach somewhere, at a time when it was thought that pearls such as these were extinct.
This is also how I felt about the sermon. Where had this been all my life? I vaguely recalled encountering the “Seven Deadly Sins” while watching the movie “Seven” with Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, and recognizing the power that the doctrine had in its ability to provide the moral weight on such a successful film. Dante’s Inferno came to mind. Later, I would recognize the great contribution made by this Renaissance author and bemoan the underappreciation of this work in our own Western culture, an experience that would drive me to its reading again and again. During this time, however, I only sensed a great loss at the neglect of the “Seven Deadly Sins.”
After the service, I told the Priest that we would be in town for several more days, and that I hoped to hear another sermon on the series. Alas, he said, it was the last night for it. And, when we returned to the island a few years later, I was disappointed to learn that the priest wasn’t even there anymore, that he had left the priesthood entirely. I have no idea if this was due to pride, but it seems as likely a suspect as any. The doctrines of the ancients are real and will be ignored at our own peril. They’re as old as the mountains, and a fall from their lofty cliffs would prove just as deadly. We’ve not yet deserted their exalted abode in this country—else there wouldn’t be a readership for this article—but many would prefer that we all just take the leap already.
As we left the church that night, I told my wife: “The Seven Deadly Sins…I think that’s something that could really be a game-changer. Not just for us, but for the entire Western world.”
I said this as we entered the deep, silent darkness of the mountain tunnel.
Along with his father, Allen Keller runs a lumber business in Stevenson, Alabama. He has a Ph.D. in Creative Writing from Florida State University and an MBA from University of Virginia. He can be reached for comment at [email protected].
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