Heads Up English | ESL Lessons - New Sins for the Modern Age

New Sins for the Modern Age

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Details: Parent Category: Advanced News Lessons; Category: Culture Lessons; Written by Chris Cotter

The seven deadly sins, according to traditional church doctrine, include pride, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, greed, and sloth. The church holds the belief that all people should strive to live a life free of these sins, and thereby ensure a place in heaven. The original list of deadly sins was put together quite some time ago, in the sixth century to be more exact, which led church officials to consider evils more appropriate to the modern complexities of society. The Vatican has added a number of new sins of which the faithful should be wary.

You shall not pollute the Earth. You shall avoid genetic manipulation. These are but two examples from a longer list of mortal sins which includes drug use and trafficking, and social and economic injustices. These new sins require penance, and serve to distinguish between other sinful behavior which can more easily be forgiven.

The number two man at the Vatican released the information on sins, modern evils, and forgiveness. In particular, he denounced cloning, stem cell research, and similar acts brought about through advances in biology and medicine. Apart from the stance held by the Catholic Church that stem cells represent a destroyed human life, and hence experimentation with is a deadly evil, other areas of biotechnology and genetic manipulation represent largely unforeseeable outcomes and should be avoided.

The environment received near equal mention, as the projected changes in climate signify a grave threat to the human race. The Vatican has gone green in recent years, and has hosted a scientific conference to discuss the ramifications of global warming.

A number of priests welcomed the new list of sins, as many realize that modernization is required to fit the global world.

Preview some of the lesson material:

Warm Up: Do you agree or disagree? Why?

One shouldn't harm the environment.
It's sinful to harm the environment.
The seven deadly sins are important for everyday life.
You should always listen to spiritual leaders and institutions.
Spiritual leads and institutions should make rules and guidelines about modern life.

Fill in the Blanks: Fill in the blank with the correct word.

There are seven deadly sins, according to traditional church doctrine, one of which is ( ).
( ), or laziness, is a deadly sin, too.
The church holds the belief that all people should ( ) to live a life free of these sins.
There is a new list of mortal sins which includes drug use, and social and economic ( ).
These new sins require ( ).
The number two man at the Vatican ( ) cloning and stem cell research.
The Catholic Church holds the ( ) that stem cells represent a destroyed human life.
Other areas of biotechnology and genetic manipulation represent largely ( ) outcomes.
The projected changes in climate signify a ( ) threat to the human race.
The Vatican has hosted a scientific conference to discuss the ( ) of global warming.

post-Comprehension: Talk about the following questions in pairs/groups. Remember to support your answers!

What do you think of the seven deadly sins? Which is the worst? Why?
Should the Catholic Church and/or other spiritual institutions comment on modern day life? Why/not?
If you could fix one problem facing humankind, which problem would you fix? Why?
If a spiritual leader said that pollution is a serious problem, would you not to pollute? Why/not?
Select one of the new deadly sins and discuss the ramifications of it.

Google Search: Type "deadly sins" into Google. Look at the websites, and/or read additional articles on this topic. Discuss or write an essay about your findings.