Sloth, Avarice, And Mtv
Both MTV and the New York Times have rediscovered sin. The problem is that we’re not too sure they disapprove of it.
Sin we have always with us, but talking about it, dissecting it, and labeling its parts have not in recent memory been acceptable in polite company—until this summer, when MTV and the New York Times Book Review took up the topic. When these polar opposites on the landscape of postmodern American culture devote their resources to the same topic, we know that something other than the Zeitgeist has been brooding over the cultural waters.
On MTV, Queen Latifah remarked, “Pride is a sin? I wasn’t aware of that,” while fellow rapper Ice-T commented, “One of the main problems [is] kids have no pride.”
“There would be no point to sin if it were not the corridor of pleasure,” author Mary Gordon wrote in the Times about anger. The allure of sin resides in its promise to deliver the object of one’s desire. But sin’s reach always exceeds its grasp. As rock star Ozzy Osbourne said on the MTV special, as soon as he became a millionaire, he wanted to become a “double millionaire”; envy and avarice are self-defeating in the end.
Perhaps it was sin s insatiable character that inspired Harper’s magazine several years ago to turn to advertising as a medium for reflecting on sin. Seven ad agencies developed advertisements for the Seven Deadly Sins. The results included such gems as: “Pride: the sin you can feel good about.” And, “Lust: Where would we be without it?”
Sin—in moderation
The idea that sin exists, that certain acts are inherently evil and offensive, is one of our most ancient and pervasive religious concepts. Tragically, our society’s reluctance to label anything as wrong, bad, or evil has resulted in young adults who lack the mental categories to think ethically. Guilt has been reduced to negative energy, and sensitivity toward dolphins now outranks concern for the sanctity of human life.
Thus we are reluctant to call sin sin. We much prefer talking about crime, terrorism, fraud, or malfeasance. These are not mere euphemisms for sin. Our culture now affirms sinful dispositions, while condemning their outward manifestations. No wonder the teenagers of the points-for-sex Spur Posse were confused. Greed is touted as good (at least for the economy), but insider trading is bad. Lust is preached as healthy, but the mere accusation of sexual harassment can threaten the career of a Supreme Court nominee.
This cultural ambivalence toward sin stems from misunderstanding what sin is and what sin does to us. Fortunately, MTV openly acknowledged that sin can have dire consequences for both the self and others. However, because the inward character of sin is not understood, people seek not to avoid sin, but to counteract its effects through condoms and entitlement programs. In our low-fat, low-conscience culture, Sin-Lite has found shelf space alongside other low-guilt pleasures. “A little lust, pride, sloth and gluttony—in moderation—are fun, and that’s what keeps your heart beating,” says one MTV commentator.
These diversionary ways of talking about sin deny the transcendent reality of sin. People sin against God, against their neighbors, and against themselves. If we deny the divine dimension of the sin problem, it is easier to downplay the importance of the neighbor and the self. But God cares passionately for his creation, and we are not free even to sin against ourselves.
Individual sins can, to some degree, be controlled with disciplined effort. But our depravity can only be healed through God’s redemptive action. Both MTV and the Times in the end are content to leave us in our sins and the uncertain hope of earthly forgiveness. Yet the hope and good news of the gospel are all about divine forgiveness and the promise of eternal life.
To MTV’s credit, they included the following statement of a young woman born after the baby boom: “The Twelve Steps are God’s gift to the twenty-first century,” she says, because human beings “didn’t get it” with Moses or Jesus. She’s right—the recovery movement has become a rare context for confronting personal evil, while acknowledging dependence on a “higher power” and the value of searching personal inventories and making amends with those who have been harmed.
Yet, as powerful as the Twelve Steps have been in helping individuals at least confront their sin sickness, we have as a culture been unable to confront our corporate responsibility: an economy of greed, a fashion industry built on lust, an entertainment industry geared to violence. Structural sins that produce racism, chronic poverty, homelessness, classism, and sexism seem far more powerful than our growing list of regulations designed to control them.
If we truly understood sin’s nature, we would corporately confess and throw ourselves on the mercy of God. How bleak it is for MTV and the Times to acknowledge sin but ignore the possibility of salvation. Perhaps they should set out next to explore redemption. Across the centuries, Christians assert, God foresaw sin and provided a way of grace from the foundation of the world: through faith in Jesus Christ.
The final segment of the MTV special profiled a young man convicted of assaulting and murdering a homosexual in a random act of gay-bashing. The remorseful youth wonders aloud whether he has committed an unforgiveable offense. A prison chaplain, he says, has counseled him that one day he will experience God’s forgiveness. Because he knows his sin, he may indeed.
By Timothy C. Morgan.
Peace In Palestine?
For many years it has been to the advantage of both the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Israeli government to perpetuate tensions in the Middle East. The PLO and other Arab governments have been able to point to the plight of displaced Palestinians as evidence of Israeli repression in order to foster Arab unity against the mighty midget, Israel, and to beg alms and arms from the Soviet Union. Israel, in turn, has been able to point to the PLO and yet more radical terrorist groups to solidify its own political base and to elicit arms, dollars, and sympathy from the West.
But now continued conflict no longer promises a payback, and Israeli and PLO leaders are eager for a settlement. The Gulf War has strained the bonds of Arab unity, PLO loyalty among Palestinians is weakened, Israel’s leadership is suffering from intifada fatigue and considers the Gaza an administrative nightmare, and the Soviet Union is no more. It is time for a new Middle East.
If all has gone according to plan between the writing of this editorial and the printing of this magazine, those leaders will have signed a declaration of principles putting in place the beginnings of Palestinian self-rule. But the plans are at present sketchy. Neither group of leaders wants to be too specific about tough issues, particularly control of East Jerusalem (which includes key holy sites), for fear of alienating fragile support.
Christians should pray for those who have yet to settle those issues. The following principles can guide those prayers for a lasting peace:
• Pray for clearly defined territorial responsibility and respect for territorial integrity. This is a principle that has been followed historically in the Middle East. Witness how, on a small scale, it has worked in Jerusalem’s Old City (with its Muslim, Christian, Jewish, and Armenian Quarters), and even in sacred sites like the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (in which various Christian churches have their own few square feet in which to worship). In these places, each religious or ethnic group has had its precious piece of turf, and although tensions persisted, peace reigned. The same culturally sanctioned pattern should be followed in the future.
• Ask God for justice for displaced Palestinian families. This will require compromise on the part of the negotiators. Many houses and tracts of land from which Palestinians were expelled in 1948 cannot be realistically restored. They have been occupied by other, Jewish, families for over 40 years. Absolute fairness is impossible. But generosity in this situation requires the watching world, both the West and Arab nations, to become the helping world: to finance acceptable housing, schools, and hospitals in order to foster an adequate standard of living. Continued unemployment and poverty will only contribute to further instability in the region.
• Pray for Israeli security. The multiple wars of aggression Israel has suffered during its four-and-one-half decades means that country has a justifiably edgy populace. Unfortunately, that edginess has resulted in human-rights violations and the creation of a population of refugees. Now, however, optimism is dominant. Rumors of plans to return the strategic Golan Heights to Syrian control shortly after the implementation of Palestinian self-rule signal high expectations in Israel’s Labor party leadership. Clearly, Israel is expecting less hostility from its neighbors under the new Middle East order. Pray that their optimism is well-founded.
• Remember Palestinian Christians, most of whom are Orthodox or Anglican. Thank God for this easing of tensions. Until recently, the repression has lent an appeal to radical Islamic groups, which have been expanding rapidly. Christians who have worked for nonviolent change, following the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount, have been subjected to increasing scorn. Now, it seems, God has worked in his own mysteriously slow way to bring about this miracle. Pray that Christians will be able to take appropriate leadership roles and strengthen the new atmosphere of peace and hope.
By David Neff
