the Seven Capital Sins In the early centuries of the Church, the formal list of the capital sins

took a few different forms. The earliest predecessor to the list that has been accepted for the past millennium was penned in the 4th century by a monk named Evagrius Ponticus, who listed eight evil thoughts. Seven of these evil thoughts were first listed formally by Pope Gregory the Great and later were enumerated by Thomas Aquinas in the Summa Theologica: vainglory (pride), avarice (greed), gluttony, lust, sloth, envy, anger (I-II:84:4). Since that time, theologians have retained the list. Pride Pride is an unrestrained and improper appreciation of our own worth. This is listed first because it is widely considered the most serious of the seven sins; pride often leads to the committing of other capital sins. Pride is manifest in vanity and narcissism about ones appearance, intelligence, status, etc. Dante described pride as love of self perverted to hatred and contempt for one's neighbor. Greed Greed, which is also known as avarice or covetousness, is the immoderate desire for earthly goods, as well as situations such as power. It is a sin of excess. The object a person is greedy about need not be evil, but the issue lies in the way one regards the object, placing inappropriate value on it. Greed can further inspire such sinful actions as hoarding of materials or objects, theft and robbery, trickery, and manipulation. Gluttony Gluttony, which comes from the Latin gluttirei to gulp down or swallow, refers to the sin of over-indulgence and over-consumption of food and drink. The manners in which gluttony can be committed, as first mentioned by Pope Gregory the Great and later reiterated by Thomas Aquinas, are eating too soon, eating too expensively, eating too much, eating too eagerly, eating too daintily, and eating wildly. St. Alphonsus Liguori explained that it is not a fault to feel pleasure in eating: for it is, generally speaking, impossible to eat without experiencing the delight which food naturally produces. But it is a defect to eat, like beasts, through the sole motive of sensual gratification, and without any reasonable object (The True Spouse of Jesus Christ). Lust The sin of lust refers to impure desire of a sexual nature. Sexuality is a gift from God, and not inherently impure in itself. However, lust refers to the impure thoughts and actions that misuse that gift, deviating from Gods law and intentions for us. Indulging in the sin of lust can include (but is not limited to) fornication, adultery, bestiality, rape, and incest and can lead to such things as sexual addiction. Sloth Sloth is often described simply as the sin of laziness. However, while this is part of the manifestation of sloth, the central problem with sloth as a capital sin is spiritual laziness. The sin of sloth means being lazy and lax about living the Faith and practicing virtue. The Catholic Encyclopedia explains: In general [sloth] means disinclination to labor or exertion. As a capital or deadly vice St. Thomas calls it sadness in the face of some spiritual good which one has to achieve. . . St. Thomas completes his definition of sloth by saying that it is torpor in the presence of spiritual good which is Divine good. In other words, a man is then formally distressed at the prospect of what he must do for God to bring about or keep intact his friendship with God. In this sense sloth is directly opposed to charity. Envy The sin of envy or jealousy is more than merely one person wanting what someone else has; the sin of envy means one feels unjustified sorrow and distress about the good fortune of someone else. The law of love leads us to rejoice in the good fortune of our neighbor jealousy is a contradiction to this. Envy is named among the capital sins because of the other sins to which it leads.
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Anger or Wrath From Catholic Encyclopedia [Anger is] the desire of vengeance. Its ethical rating depends upon the quality of the vengeance and the quantity of the passion. When these are in conformity with the prescriptions of balanced reason, anger is not a sin. It is rather a praiseworthy thing and justifiable with a proper zeal. It becomes sinful when it is sought to wreak vengeance upon one who has not deserved it, or to a greater extent than it has been deserved, or in conflict with the dispositions of law, or from an improper motive. The sin is then in a general sense mortal as being opposed to justice and charity.

Because anger can be just, and due to the common usage of the word anger, this capital vice is often referred to as wrath or rage, emphasizing the unbalanced and improper motives which result in anger being a mortal sin.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS The environment that we live in and make use of, is being stripped off its precious components day by day. There are many angles from which the problem of environmental problem can be studied. Similarly, many different views come in to play if we need to find practical solutions to these problems. There are innumerable factors associated with conservation of environment and also these problems are interrelated. The activities as well as the lifestyle of human beings too plays an important role in how the surroundings/environment is affected. Till date, it is one of the major factor that has affected the environment of the Earth as it is in constant conflict with it. Let us therefore, understand the different environmental problems of today and try to find the best possible solutions to them. Contamination of Soil The soil is an important natural resources on earth. It is the medium used for growing crops which provide us with the necessary foods. The contamination which alters natural composition of soil affects the food chain and thereby, the entire ecosystem. Use of chemical fertilizers is a major cause of contamination of soil. Making use of organic fertilizers not only protects the soil from getting damaged, but also leads to the production of crops with less amount of toxic chemicals. Using organic fertilizers also provides wholesome nutrition to the plants/crops which, in turn, benefits the consumers. Contamination of soil is one of the important environmental problems and issues which need to be dealt with a lot of care and responsibility. Non-Vegetarian Diet Following a vegetarian lifestyle can solve many of our environmental issues. Human beings have become so habitual to a non-vegetarian diet, they consider it quite natural. Now that the disastrous effects of indulging in meat-eating have been confirmed by United Nations and many different research organizations, we should rethink about what we consume. The greenhouse gases generated in order to produce food for a meat-eater are 7 times greater than those generated in case of a for a vegan diet. The above mentioned stats reveal only the economic losses that result from meat-eating. The extinction of several animal species is the irreparable damage caused by this eating habit. Pollution and other environmental problems caused by automobile and industries seems negligible if compared with that resulting from meat-eating. Animal cruelty is another aspect associated with meat-eating which, no matter how important can't be dealt in the context of information presented in this article. Genetic Erosion The foods that we consume, originate mostly from hybrid varieties of crops. Conservation of the natural/locally found crop varieties is important from the point of conserving biodiversity. It is necessary to take proper steps in this direction i.e. to conserve these local varieties. It has been found that local varieties are far more nutritious than those created by the method of hybridization. The hybrid varieties are created keeping in mind a certain objective i.e. of increasing the yield, making the crop resistant to pests, etc. However, in the process of adding these characteristics, we lose out on the original genetic make up of these crops. Steps should therefore, be taken to conserve their local crop varieties.

Water Pollution This problem has prevailed for so many years and still we aren't able to find satisfactory solution to water pollution. The indiscipline or lack of concerns about disposal of industrial waster is an important factor responsible for water pollution. Improvement in the recycling process is the possible solution for this problem. Implementing the strict guidelines set by the local governing bodies pertaining to waste water disposal should solve the problem to a great extent. Hazardous Waste Disposal The disposal of hazardous waste materials have a long-term effect on the environment. Plants, animals and human beings are all affected by this waste disposal. Different types of hazardous waste materials include pesticides, carcinogens, paints, solvents, teratogenic compounds, etc. Proper treatment of these wastes before disposal is the solution to this problem. Depletion of Ozone Layer The ozone layer protects living beings on earth from ultraviolet rays of sun. This layer is becoming thinner day-by-day due to pollutants like nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, particulate matter and carbon monoxide. Apart from the depletion of ozone layer, these emission of gases also cause several health problems. Keeping a check on these emissions is the solution to protect the ozone layer.

Concupiscence (from the Latin: con-, with + cupi, cupid - desire (usually sexual) + -escere - suffix denoting beginning of a process or state) is often defined as an ardent, usually sensual, longing or lust.[1] The concept is most commonly encountered in Christian theology, as the selfish human desire for an object, person, or experience.[2] For Christians, concupiscence refers to what they understand as the orientation, inclination or innate tendency of human beings to long for fleshly appetites, often associated with a desire to do things which are proscribed. Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy. This is a Greek word, a composition of (patria), "lineage, descent", esp. by the father's side[1] (which comes from (archon) meaning "leader", "chief", "ruler", "king", etc.[3][4][5] pat r meaning "father"[2]) and
Abraham Goes to Egypt 11:26-12:20

The first Hebrew was a man named Abraham who lived in the land of Ur, known today as Iraq. He had a wife, Sarah, who was his half-sister (20:12), and a nephew named Lot. Abrahams father, Terah, led the family to the land of Canaan. On the way, he came first to Haran, a place far north of Canaan, where they settled. Terah died there at the age of 205 years. Abraham had a revelation that God told him to continue on to Canaan where he will be the first to settle in the Promised Land. So Abraham left Haran for Canaan but he had to detour to Egypt for food because of a great famine. As he approached Egypt, he feared the Egyptians would kill him because his wife Sarah was beautiful. So they both agreed that Sarah would pose as his sister. When Pharaohs officials saw that Sarah was beautiful, the woman was taken into Pharaohs house. For this, Pharaoh made Abraham wealthy. But God afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plague because of Sarah. Pharaoh, realizing he was deceived, released Sarah and sent the two away.
The Birth of Isaac 21:1-6

At the impossible age of 90 years old for motherhood, Sarah gave birth to Isaac, and even nursed him; Abraham was 100.
Isaac and Abimelech 26

At the time of a famine, God sent Isaac to Abimelech, the king of the Philistines. When he arrived, Isaac told the Philistines that Rebekah is his sister. Fortunately, before she had a chance to sleep with other men, the king accidentally saw Isaac foundling Rebekah and realized she was his wife. When questioned, Isaac used the same excuse as his father, explaining to the king that he was afraid he would be killed because of Rebekahs beauty. The king gave him land, promised to protect him, making Isaac very rich.
Jacob Gets Isaac s Blessing 27-28:1-9

When Isaac was old and his eyes were failing, he called for his oldest son Esau to hunt for some wild game to feed to him before he died. After overhearing the conversation, Rebekah told Jacob to bring some goats for her to prepare so that he, Jacob, could bring it to Isaac. What if Isaac touched him? How could he impersonate Esau when Esau was hairy and he wasnt? Rebekah solved that problem by having Jacob wear Esaus best suit and a pair of gloves. When Isaac touched Jacob, the gloves felt like hairy hands. When he hugged Jacob, the suit had Esaus smell. So Isaac ate the stew and gave Jacob his blessing. Just after Jacob left, Esau came in with the game he cooked. After realizing he was duped and after Esau pleading for a second blessing, Isaac could not give his blessing twice. With his birthright and his blessing lost, Esau was so enraged, he wanted to kill Jacob. When word got to Rebekah, she sent Jacob to stay with her brother, Laban, until Esau cooled off. At Rebekahs insistence, Isaac commanded Jacob not to marry a Hittite or Canaanite woman and instead, take a wife among Labans daughters.