GENE 150 The True the Good and the Beautiful

Construct a short essay on one of the seven deadly sins (vices) as discussed in the DeYoung text. A successful essay will at minimum contain the following:

 

Have a robust definition and discussion on the particular vice that you have chosen to write on. Make sure that you identify how this vice is operating in the contemporary world.

Describe how the opposite Biblical virtue to the vice you are describing combats and addresses this particular sin.

Show how the enduring questions of truth, goodness and beauty assist us identifying, arresting and addressing this particular vice in our contemporary world.

Pride: Humility

Pride is conceptualized as one of the most serious sins among the seven deadly sins. It is seen as the root- cause of all other sins. Defining pride from is negative connotation perspective is a sense of self –elevation or gratification and disregard for others.  The sin of pride stands in opposition to God in that it seeks for supremacy.  Majority of scholars have provided significant contribution of pride and all that pertains to it. Similarly, the Bible also addresses pride in details by citing some characters who failed or came to an untimely end due to pride. For instance, a scrutiny of characters such as Goliath, Lucifer, Samsom, Nebuchadnezzar, Cain and many others show that their downfall was as a result of pride. On the contrary, the converse of pride which is humility has also been an equally discussed perspective. Just like there are consequences of pride, there are also the outcomes of Humility. Perhaps the best exemplification of humility in the Bible is demonstrated by Jesus as the son of God and the sacrificial lamb. The primary focus of this paper, therefore, is to discuss the concept of pride, its permeability in the contemporary world and how it is combated and addressed by humility.

Discussing Pride

 According to Dyson (Dyson:5), the concept of pride is both linguistically and rhetorically far-reaching. She, therefore, describes various aspects in which pride in a person is imminent. One sort of pride that she identifies is the prepositional pride. That is pride over, for, in and of. The other type of pride takes the verb and includes beaming pride and shinning pride.  The third is the experienced pride, and Dyson contends that this sort of pride umbrellas; foolish pride, false pride, motherly or fatherly, hurt, simple, wounded, and lasting pride. The linguistic and rhetorical description of sin by Dyson is a connotation that pride is a present vice in the contemporary world. She also portrays how the vice of pride is grounded in the religious, national, philosophies, and racial roots (Dyson: 6).

 The bible shows instances where God declares His detest for crime. Crime is abomination before God. Proverbs 15:5 contends that a heart that is filled with pride is seen as an abomination by God. Additionally, Proverbs 8:13 say that the fear of God can be expressed through hating evil, avoiding pride, arrogance and an obstinate mouth. Moreover, the book of revelation cites pride as one of the sins that anger God (Revelation 21:8). Pride results in negative outcomes. Firstly, the bible shows the destructive nature of the pride of sin ((Job 26:12, Proverbs 15:25, and Proverbs: 16:18).

 Black, Brad, and Spencer in their analysis of President Benson's Godly inspired Beware of Pride to contend that President Benson showed intrinsic interrelatedness of pride to enmity (Black, Brad, and Spencer: 165). Marchese (Marchese: 363) stresses the notion that pride is not the only enmity against a fellow man but also against God. Again, the authors also agree that pride is the greatest and deadliest sin from which all other sins arise. Consequently, the devil/Satan was filled with pride that led him to exhort himself and was hence cast to the world. Black, Brad, and Spencer, therefore, argue that it was pride that led to the ultimate enmity between God and Satan who is also seen as the fallen angel (Black, Brad, and Spencer: 166).  Black, Brad, and Spencer contend that President Benson was right in his connection of pride and the resultant enmity with God and men. The primary emphasis, in this case, is that a pride person does not know God and that such a proud person despises things and people. Hence, the tendency to look down upon other things or people blinds the person to see that who is above them including the existence and the supremacy of God. In other words, self-elevation and consequential diminish of others brings forth competition and contention which are also detested by God.

  Pride results in undesirable consequences as outlined by Black and the colleagues (Black, Brad, and Spencer: 172-176). One of the consequences of pride is that it exposes one to the worldly temptations. The pride cannot fit in the church because they are in disharmony with the church members. They also tend to propagate negative criticism against the church and the members. They thus pursue the teachings of men hence seek to mingle worldliness with gospel. They distract and deceive themselves by believing in the rebellious educational system as well as demoralizing the music, drama, art, and literature. Additionally, pride leads to the loss of the Holy Spirit. President Benson argues that pride that results from one's material possession, popularity, physical prowess, social status, self-righteousness, political power and many others tend to breed the feeling of supremacy (Black, Brad and Spencer: 176). For this reason, the person fails to pray and pursue God's teachings and exhorts the self hence the spirit of God ceases dwelling in the person. Pride damages relationships with men and God. The proud loathe counsel and the counselor (Lewis, 53). They also despise criticism but are frequent critics of others. Finally, Black, Brad and Spencer quoted President Benson's argument that pride leads to the risk of apostasy.

Operation of Pride in the Contemporary World

 The sin of pride is prevalent in the contemporary world as it was in the ancient times described the bible and older scholarly works. In fact, majority of people have sanctified pride such that is it now viewed as a virtue and a way of expression self-emotional maturity and self actualization (Sands: 40). Neu contends that it is because of the glorification of pride that teachers boost the learner's morale and self-esteem, psychological therapists encourage self-regard to their clients and the rising of the social movements that advocate for gay or black pride and many other instances that encourage pride (Neu: 230). Sands and Poston (Poston:286) are concerned that Christians in some professions are finding themselves in dilemma whereby they are sometimes faced with situations requiring self-encouragement of boosting morale. Therefore, the main problem facing these Christians arises due to the ambiguousness of the definition of pride (Sands: 40). Notably, the Christian teachings affirm that pride is a crime while on the other hand of profession asserts pride as a virtue.  

 Pride permeates every aspect of life may it be cultural, religious, political, sports, educational or professional aspect (DeYoung: 38). It is pride that leads an oppositional party to rebel against the party in authority. It is pride that motivates employees to disrespect their employers (Watson and John: 68). Pride on one partner leads to separation with the other or with children. Pride accounts for the reason why a client fails to follow the counsel of their counselor. For instance, Sands (Sands 40-41) says that Christian therapists and social workers can attest how proud clients rebel against authorities. Similarly, people without pride are frequently trapped in bad relationships. Due to this complex propensity of pride Sands advises that Christians ought to distinguish between the sinful pride and the good pride. In so doing, he suggests the need for nuanced analysis that takes into consideration the contemporary social sciences, the reality about pride, and Christian tradition.

How Humility Combats Pride

 The virtue of humility opposes the vice of pride. While pride alienates one from people and God, humility brings a person closer to the others and God. Hence, the flourishing of humility equates to the erosion of pride. In other words, the only way to combat crime is by practicing humility. Nonetheless, humility (an act of humbleness) is different from sham humility, authentic humility, and self-loss. The humble accepts their flaws without being oppressed by others (Sands: 47). The Association of Mormon Counselors and Psychotherapists (AMCP) describe humility as the mother of all virtues. Again, humility neither depicts timidity nor fear since one can be both fearless and humble. In the same sense, an individual can have courage but humble. Therefore, the AMCP connotes that humility acknowledges that there is a higher power and that a humble person is in constant need of God's support and intervention.

 Truth, goodness, and beauty are some other factors that play a significant role in identifying, arresting and dealing with pride. God created man and left a vacuum that He Himself can fill (Mauser: 75). For this reason, all human beings must recognize their desperate need for truth, goodness, and beauty. In fact, the needs for these three are unquenchable so as long as a human being is in existence (Hume; 22). Truth, goodness, and beauty, however, are not qualities possessed by a proud person. Consequently, it means that one has to shun pride to possess the three.

 In conclusion, it is evident that the sin of pride has been received paramount interest by many scholars. Pride is depicted as self-exhortation endeavor that recognizes no power or being above it. The bible has expressed some scriptures that show God hatred towards pride and the proud. Similarly, it is inarguable that pride breeds enmity between the fellow men and more so with God. Moreover, the paper has also outlined the consequences of pride, the practicing of pride in the contemporary world and how it is combated by humility.

References

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a Classic Address." Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel 16.3 (2015): 158-183. Print.

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Lewis, Clive Staples. Mere Christianity. S.L., Ny: William Collins, (1980). Print

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Neu, Jerome. "Pride and Identity." Midwest Studies in Philosophy 22.1 (1998): 227-248.

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