Seven Deadly Sins

The idea of the Seven Deadly Sins is nothing new. From what I understand, the Vatican released an updated list a few years ago, but you can't go wrong with the original seven. Wait. That came out wrong...

It's not the new list that Dan Boone wrote about in his book, but he treats each sin in a separate chapter and pulls back the mask to show how each of the seven lurk within modern Christianity.

On the plus side, this is a fast read. I polished it off in a few hours. Boone's writing style is very conversational, accessible. You don't have to be a theologian to appreciate his thoughts on each of the seven.

This is a great book for "afflicting the comfortable." There were many times that I was squirming in my chair as Boone's text held up a mirror to my life and showed me where the sins were hiding. But it's not so great at "comforting the afflicted." Boone seems very interested in drawing bright red circles around the the sins themselves but then moves on almost immediately to the next one without any real Gospel.

Also odd is the fact that Boone mentions that there are certain animals associated with each of the sins. I had never heard that before and wanted more info, but he never really developed the connection. For example, why is a frog associated with greed? Or why is a cow associated with lust? I'd think a rabbit would be better there, Playboy or otherwise.

All in all, it was an interesting read. I'm thinking it might just have to serve as the basis for a sermon series at some point (not that I'd read the book; I'd develop my own series based around the seven). But not this year.