There comes a day when old/ancient belief systems are challenged.
That day is upon us.
To remind: Allegedly born at a Christian monastery in Egypt sometime during the first century, the original list that informed the world reads:
Lust
Gluttony
Avarice/Greed
Sloth
Wrath
Envy
Pride/Hubris
Times change, cultural norms shift. After two millennium, it is sorely in need of an refresh.
Fortunately, Dislocated Thoughts is – as always – there for you.
The updated list, soon to be adopted by nations/religions/academia/think tanks the world over reads:
Tolerance
“Tolerance is a moral virtue best placed within the moral domain”
Scott White, The Conversation, Tolerance is more than putting up with things – it’s a moral virtue
There is a tolerance, the moral/righteous kind, that is a virtue.
“But, unlike prejudice, tolerance can be grounded in the moral domain which offers a positive approach to examining relationships between groups of people who are different from each other.”
Ibid
There is another kind of tolerance, sinful to its core.
“The function and value of tolerance,” Marcuse argued, “depend on the equality prevalent in the society in which tolerance is practiced.” Since capitalist societies are shot through with profound inequality and the – in Marcuse’s view – widespread ignorance, propaganda and social structures needed to perpetuate inequality, Marcuse called for replacing Mill’s regime of “pure” tolerance with a “liberating tolerance” that would mean “intolerance against movements from the Right and toleration of movements from the Left.” That would involve withdrawing tolerance from “regressive movements before they can become active; intolerance even toward thought, opinion, and word, and finally, intolerance in the opposite direction, that is, toward the self-styled conservatives, to the political Right.”
Ian Brodie, C2C Journal, Taking on “Repressive Tolerance” at Canada’s Universities
With a clear eye and a full moon, who - and who not - to tolerate, comes into focus.
“The withdrawal of tolerance would have to be aimed at ideas, groups, and movements “which promote aggressive policies, armament, chauvinism, discrimination on the grounds of race and religion, or which oppose the extension of public services, social security, medical care, etc.”
Encyclopedia.com, Repressive Tolerance
Tolerance must be applied judiciously.
“Granted, the empirical rationality of the dictinction between progress and regression, and granted that it may be appicalble to tolerance and may justify strongly discriminatory tolerance on policial grounds (cancellation of the tranitional liberal creed of free and equal discusion.
Herbert Marcuse, 1965, Repressive Tolerance
There will be times when the application - or withdrawal - of tolerance, necessarily go against traditional morals and virtues.
“In terms of ethics, both forms of violence are inhuman and evil, but since when is history made in accordance with ethical standards”
Herbert Marcuse, 1965, Repressive Tolerance
Fortunately, Herbert provides more light than a full moon on this subject..
“Liberanting tolerance then, would mean intolerance against movements from the right and tolerance for movements on the left.”
Herbert Marcuse, 1965, Repressive Tolerance
The required response is natural/necessary.
“break[ing] the concreteness of oppression” by suppressing ideas and actions (and language) objectively determined to be “regressive” and “inhumane”
Encyclopedia.com, Repressive Tolerance
Tolerance of people/groups/creeds/nations/political parties/family members/homeless that do not support/embrace/advocate the progressive agenda is a sin.
Climate Change Denial
Venus’ atmosphere is ninety-six percent carbon dioxide, atmospheric pressure is ninety times ours, temperatures run around 460C.
“The debate is settled, climate change is a fact.”
Barack Obama, 2014 State of the Union Address
We are ten years away from becoming our solar twin because of climate change.
Our impact on our planet has resulted in an existential threat to earth and life upon it.
“But the climate crisis is too urgent a problem to let even one person off the hook.
If we are going to win this thing, we’re going to do it together.”
Climate Reality Project, February 3, 2022, Climate Denial: Why It Happens And What To Do About It
Denying that simple/straight forward fact is not just a sin, but criminal.
Man-made climate change happens. Man-made climate change kills a lot of people. It's going to kill a lot more. We have laws on the books to punish anyone whose lies contribute to people's deaths. It's time to punish the climate-change liars.
Adam Weinstein, Gawker, March 28, 2014, Arrest Climate Change Deniers
This criminal activity is forestalling/hindering efforts to avoid certain doom.
“Overall, these four positive frames have little to no effect on ACC [anthropogenic climate change] beliefs. But exposure to an ACC denial counter-frame does significantly reduce respondents' belief in the reality of ACC, belief about the veracity of climate science, awareness of the consequences of ACC, and support for aggressively attempting to reduce our nation's GHG emissions in the near future. Furthermore, as expected by the Anti-Reflexivity Thesis, exposure to the ACC denial counter-frame has a disproportionate influence on the ACC views of conservatives (than on those of moderates and liberals), effectively activating conservatives' underlying propensity for anti-reflexivity.”
Aaron M. McCright, et al, Wiley Online Library, Examining the Effectiveness of Climate Change Frames in the Face of a Climate Change Denial Counter-Frame
It is dangerous on a scale unprecedented in the history of our civilization.
“Climate change denial can and will leave people dead. It has never been more evident than now that it is not only scientifically wrongheaded but dangerously and morally abject.”
Brian Merchant, The Outline, September 1, 2017, Climate Change Denial Should Be A Crime
The denial of experts/scientist/really, really smart people can no longer be tolerated (please see the above sin).
“Quite frankly, I’m not a scientist, what I am doing is listening to what all the experts are saying, we’re living in this insane world where the experts aren’t being listened to.”
Phoebe Plummer, Just Stop Oil Spokesperson, GBNews, Just Stop Oil’s Phoebe Plummer argues ‘people are DYING’ in net zero clash with Jacob Rees-Mogg
You don’t fuck with apocalypse.
“Jacob, you have six children, do you not care about their future? Do you not care about them not being able to feed themselves? ‘Cause right now, under this government’s policies, your six children are heading towards a future that is filled with life threatening extreme weather events, crop failures, famine, war. Suffering on a scale that is completely unimaginable.”
Ibid
Denial of a self evident/obvious future – catastrophic in nature, supported by experts – is a most egregious sin.
Lying
It is the corrupting influence, the catalyst behind misguided beliefs, the impetus for bad decisions.
When we base our decisions on false information, the choices we make may not be in our best interests.
Falsehoods from well intentioned idiots can harm, but when its intent is malicious, it be perniciously wicked.
Disinformation is false information that is deliberately intended to mislead. It is sometimes called “fake news”.
Misinformation is false information that is shared without intention of misleading.
Any type of false information can cause harm.
We must be more than vigilant, we must leverage the virtuousness of intolerance.
“If we are on guard against disinformation, and alert others to it, research shows that we tend to think more critically about the information we are encountering. Just reading these sentences has helped build up your defenses.”
Union of Concerned Scientists, Apr 1, 2022, How to Stop Disinformation
Individually, we can protect ourselves.
To make a truth sandwich, begin and end with the facts, and layer a reference to the lie in the middle—while making it clear that it is a lie.
Ibid
Sometimes, it’s easy.
Here’s an example: Much heavier snowfall in regions where winters were historically mild is a sign of climate change. Some climate change deniers falsely claim that increased snow must indicate a cooling world. But climate change makes extreme and erratic weather more likely—and in some cases, more severe.
Ibid
Sometimes, it get a little tricky, and the consequences can devastating for democracy.
“The danger of disinformation and other false news is evident in what happened at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.”
Ibid
Requiring governmental intervention.
“Legal responses should include laws that impose liability for disinformation on platforms to provide for redress for harms caused by disinformation to individuals, brands and companies.
Technology responses should include government funding for startups to develop tools to identify and counter disinformation in a way that encompasses responsible innovation inclusively, across the whole country.”
Business in Vancouver, Christine Duhalme, Jan 29, 2021, The dangers of disinformation are increasing dire for democracy
Fortunately, we have the tools and the motivation to affect change.
“Censorship has been used for centuries as a means to promote social harmony. It can be used to prevent the spread of dangerous or inflammatory ideas that might otherwise cause chaos, unrest, and discord among the public. By controlling what people hear, read, and see, censorship can maintain harmony within societies by preventing individuals from being exposed to certain information that could be disruptive and harmful.”
Enlightio, Clariza Carizaal, Feb 25, 2023, Why Is Censorship Important? (17 Reasons)
We must take care, but we can never forget the risk.
“While some may argue that censorship violates our right to freedom of speech, the truth is that censorship helps to protect vulnerable individuals and groups from harmful content that could incite violence, promote discrimination, or spread dangerous ideas.”
Ibid
A fine line, for some. If we error on its placement, we must error on the side of caution.
By carefully controlling what information is allowed to enter the public sphere, censorship can help ensure that only accurate facts are accessible and disseminated to citizens.
Ibid
Lying - whether unintentionally or maliciously - is a sin.
Transphobia
The staff of Dislocated Thoughts don’t like spiders (arachnophobia) or snakes (ophidiophobia), and that ain’t what it takes for us to love the trans.
“Of the nearly 30.5 million people in Canada aged 15 and older living in a private household in May 2021, 100,815 were transgender (59,460) or non-binary (41,355), accounting for 0.33% of the population in this age group.”
The Government of Canada, April 27, 2022, Canada is the first country to provide census data on transgender and non-binary people
The very definition of a visible - victimized - minority.
“The legislation proposes the grounds of “gender identity” and “gender expression” be added to the Canadian Human Rights Act. Doing so would clarify that discrimination or harassment related to a person’s gender identity or gender expression is against the law.”
Canadian Human Rights Commission, May 17, 2016, Transgender people have the same right to respect and dignity as everyone else in Canada,
The assault is ubiquitous.
“The gay/trans panic legal defense legitimizes and excuses violent and lethal behavior against members of the LGBTQ+ community. The defense is defined by the LGBT Bar as "a legal strategy which asks a jury to find that a victim's sexual orientation or gender identity is to blame for the defendant's violent reaction, including murder." This legally sanctioned discrimination against one's sexual orientation and gender identity must cease.”
Alexandra Holden, CRSJ Intern, American Bar Association, The Gay/Trans Panic Defense: What It is, and How to End it
If the church can offer support, so can you. Call to arms?
"There are a significant number of people who have deemed that the fact that the Nashville shooter happened to be a trans person, so it's been reported, as just the excuse they need to call for the eradication of trans folks,"
Micah Louwagie, Lutheran Pastor, North Dakota, Rumble
The disrespect/dismissal of the threats/genocidal tenancies toward the trans is a sin.
May God give us guidance.
And justice for all.
Seek atonement.
Repent now, before it’s too late.
P.S. Rest assured, this list will be updated as the next heinous sin appears.