[MUSIC]
>> THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS--
THEY EXIST IN EACH OF US,
AND SOME SAY
THEY AFFECT OUR VERY SOULS.
>> THESE ARE DEATH DEALING SINS.
THEY WILL HAVE A SEVERELY
DAMAGING EFFECT
ON ONE'S SPIRITUAL LIFE.
>> ACCORDING TO
CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY,
COMMITTING THESE DEADLY SINS
IS AS SIMPLE
AS THINKING ABOUT THEM.
>> SCRIPTURE SAYS,
"THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH."
>> EACH OF THESE SINS
HAS A SECRET HISTORY
REVEALING HOW THEY CAME
TO BE DEADLY.
THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS
HAVE HAD AN ENORMOUS IMPACT
ON HISTORY, SOCIETY,
AND OUR SOULS.
>> YOU CANNOT TRANSGRESS
GOD'S MORAL LAW WITHOUT SOMEONE
PAYING A TERRIBLE PRICE.
>> AND THE MOST ENTICING
OF THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS
IS LUST.
THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS
DO NOT APPEAR IN SCRIPTURE.
SO WHERE DID THEY COME FROM?
>> STRICTLY SPEAKING,
THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS
ARE NOT IN THE BIBLE.
THAT IS TO SAY THERE IS NO LIST
OF THESE SINS.
THIS HAS ALL BEEN CREATED
FROM THE ETHICAL INTERESTS
OF THE EARLY CHURCH.
>> IN ABOUT 375 A.D.,
A CHRISTIAN MONK
FLED THE TEMPTATIONS
OF CONSTANTINOPLE
TO A SMALL MONASTERY
IN THE EGYPTIAN DESERT.
HIS NAME, EVAGRIUS PONTICUS.
THIS ISOLATED EXISTENCE
LED HIM TO LOOK DEEP
INTO HIS OWN SOUL,
AND SOON EVAGRIUS
BEGAN TO CATALOG
THE THOUGHTS HE FOUND THERE.
>> EVAGRIUS WORKED ON THIS LIST
OF DANGEROUS THOUGHTS.
HE STRUGGLED WITH PRIDE,
AND GLUTTONY, AND LUST.
>> EVAGRIUS NARROWED
THE NUMEROUS TEMPTATIONS
TO A SINGLE LIST
OF THE MOST TERRIFYING
AND MOST DANGEROUS.
THE LIST WAS MADE UP
OF EIGHT TEMPTING THOUGHTS--
>> IN A WAY, YOU CAN KIND OF
COMPARE THESE DEADLY SINS
TO MARIJUANA, WHICH IS,
YOU KNOW, CONSIDERED THE CLASSIC
GATEWAY DRUG, AND THESE ARE,
FOR LACK OF A BETTER TERM,
GATEWAY WAYS OF THINKING.
YOU FALL INTO THIS PATTERN
OF THOUGHT, AND THEN
IT CREATES VULNERABILITIES.
IT CREATES FAILURES.
>> IN CREATING THE LIST,
EVAGRIUS MAY HAVE BEEN
REFLECTING ON HIS OWN
SINFUL LIFE.
THE FORMER ARCHDEACON
HAD BEEN ROMANTICALLY LINKED
WITH THE WIFE
OF A ROMAN DIGNITARY
BEFORE HE WAS EXILED
TO THE DESERT.
THERE WAS ONE SIN
HE STRUGGLED WITH
MORE THAN THE OTHERS
EVEN IN EXILE, LUST.
DESPITE THE FACT
THAT THESE MONKS
RARELY SAW WOMEN, THE TEMPTATION
TOWARD LUST REMAINED.
>> WHEN THOUGHTS OF LUST
WOULD COME TO THEIR MIND,
THEY WOULD DISTRACT THEMSELVES
FROM THESE LUSTS
BY PUTTING THEIR FINGERS
IN THE FLAMES OF OIL LAMPS
SO THEY WOULD THINK
ABOUT THAT PAIN
INSTEAD OF SOME OTHER PAIN
THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE
IN THEIR BODIES.
[MUSIC]
>> THE SIN OF LUST--
THE DEVOUT ANCIENTS CALLED IT,
INORDINATE CRAVING
FOR CARNAL PLEASURE.
THE BIBLE CALLS IT FORNICATION,
ADULTERY,
TEMPTATIONS OF THE FLESH.
IT IS SEXUAL DESIRE SO POWERFUL
THAT IT OVERWHELMS AND DESTROYS.
[MUSIC]
YET, FOR MUCH
OF THE ANCIENT WORLD,
LUST WAS NOT CONDEMNED,
IT WAS CELEBRATED.
HINDU TEMPLES
IN KHAJURAHO, INDIA,
WERE DECORATED
WITH THOUSANDS OF SCULPTURES
OF INTRICATE SEXUAL POSITIONS
CULLED FROM THE EROTIC SCRIPTURE
CALLED THE KAMA SUTRA.
THIS ANCIENT HINDU TEXTBOOK
DETAILS 64 TYPES OF SEXUAL ACTS
AND DISCUSSES
THE SACRED HOLY ASPECTS
OF PROSTITUTION, GROUP SEX,
HOMOSEXUALITY,
AND SADOMASOCHISTIC PRACTICES.
IN THE KAMA SUTRA,
SEX AND RELIGION ARE ONE.
CLOSER TO HOME,
THE GRECO-ROMAN WORLD
BUILT MONUMENTS
TO CELEBRATE SEXUALITY.
IN CLASSICAL GREECE,
BOUNDARIES AND ROADS WERE MARKED
WITH GIGANTIC STONE PHALLUSES
CALLED HERMA
AFTER THE FERTILITY GOD HERMES.
THE GOD DIONYSUS WAS WORSHIPPED
WITH WILD SEXUAL RITUALS
IN THE WOODS.
SEX WAS PART OF RELIGION.
IN FACT, THE GREEK WORD ORGY
ORIGINALLY MEANT SIMPLY
A SECRET RITUAL.
>> THE GRECO-ROMAN ATTITUDE
TOWARDS SEXUALITY
WAS MUCH LIKE OUR OWN,
IN THAT FOR THEM
THERE WAS REALLY NOTHING
THAT WAS PROHIBITED.
SEX IS A KIND
OF TOTAL BODY EXPERIENCE.
ALL OF THAT
WAS PERFECTLY ACCEPTABLE
FOR THE UPPER CLASSES
OF GREEK AND ROMAN SOCIETY.
>> AND NO ONE PRACTICED
THE WORSHIP OF LUST
BETTER THAN THE ROMAN EMPIRE.
[MUSIC]
THE PORT CITY OF POMPEII
PRESERVES SOME
OF THE FINEST EXAMPLES
OF ANCIENT ROMAN ART.
>> POMPEII IS A DELIGHTFUL
ARCHEOLOGICAL SITE, BUT ONE
OF THE DELIGHTFUL ASPECTS
OF POMPEII IS THE FACT
THAT THERE IS A GREAT DEAL
OF EROTIC ART.
>> THE ARTWORK IN POMPEII
DATES FROM THE 1st CENTURY A.D.
SOME ARE FROM BROTHELS,
WHERE EROTIC INSCRIPTIONS REVEAL
SPECIFIC SERVICES AND PRICES.
>> WHAT IS CLEAR IS THAT
THE ROMANS DID ENJOY SEXUALITY
AND HAD NO QUALMS
ABOUT DISPLAYING SEXUALITY
ON THE STREETS,
ON THE CORNERS
AND IN THEIR HOUSES.
>> THE ROMAN WORSHIP OF LUST
PERHAPS REACHED ITS PEAK
WITH THE REIGN
OF EMPEROR CALIGULA IN 37 A.D.
THE YOUNG EMPEROR
WAS SAID TO HAVE DEMANDED SEX
FROM EVERY ATTRACTIVE WOMAN
IN ROME,
INCLUDING HIS OWN SISTERS.
IT'S RUMORED
HE TURNED PART OF HIS PALACE
INTO A BROTHEL,
WHERE HE FORCED ROMAN MATRONS
INTO PROSTITUTION
FOR HIS OWN AMUSEMENT.
CALIGULA'S MURDER
AT THE YOUNG AGE OF 28
WAS SAID TO BE A SIGN
OF THE GODS' ANGER
BECAUSE HE ABUSED
THE POWER OF LUST.
THE ROMANS MADE LUST
INTO A GODDESS--
VENUS, THE VOLUPTUOUS DEITY
OF SEXUALITY.
>> ONE OF THE OLDEST WAYS
OF THINKING ABOUT CREATION
IS THE FACT THAT THE GODS
AND GODDESSES CREATE
IN THE SAME WAY THAT WE CREATE,
THEY PROCREATE.
THANK THE GODS AND GODDESSES
FOR THEIR SEXUAL ACTIVITY
BECAUSE THAT'S WHY
WE HAVE CROPS AND HUMAN BEINGS
AND ALL THE LIVING THINGS
UPON THE FACE OF THE EARTH.
>> A VERY DIFFERENT CONCEPT
OF SEXUALITY BEGAN TO EMERGE
IN ANOTHER PART
OF THE ANCIENT MIDDLE EAST.
>> IN THE JUDEO-CHRISTIAN-
ISLAMIC HERITAGE,
THE EARTH IS NOT A GODDESS
BUT THE EARTH IS A THING,
AND GOD IS THE GREAT BACHELOR
IN THE SKY.
AND SO AS A RESULT,
THERE ISN'T THE SAME KIND
OF CELEBRATION OF SEXUALITY
ON THE PART OF THE GODS
AND GODDESSES
IN THIS FAMILY OF RELIGIONS.
[MUSIC]
>> THE OLD TESTAMENT
HAS ITS OWN LIST OF DO'S
AND DON'TS.
BUT IT ISN'T
THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS,
IT'S THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.
>> THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
PRESCRIBE WHAT WE MIGHT CALL
THE OPPOSITE OF SIN,
WHICH IS RIGHTEOUSNESS.
>> THERE ARE TWO COMMANDMENTS
ABOUT LUST, "THOU SHALL NOT
COMMIT ADULTERY,"
AND, "THOU SHALL NOT COVET
THY NEIGHBOR'S WIFE."
THE OLD TESTAMENT
OR HEBREW BIBLE CONDEMNS LUST
BUT NOT SEXUALITY IN ITSELF.
HOWEVER, IT IS VERY CONCERNED
WITH THE OVERWHELMING POWER
OF SEXUAL DESIRE.
>> JUDAISM UNDERSTANDS
THAT DESIRE IS UNRULY
AND THAT YOU WILL ALWAYS
WANT THINGS OR OFTEN WANT THINGS
THAT YOU OUGHT NOT TO HAVE.
THE WANTING ITSELF
IS NOT A SIN.
IT'S ENTIRELY
WHAT YOU DO WITH IT.
[MUSIC]
>> CHRISTIANITY INHERITED
THIS TRADITION AND EXPANDED IT.
JESUS TELLS HIS FOLLOWERS
THEY COMMITTED
THE SIN OF ADULTERY
EVEN WHEN THEY LOOK AT A WOMAN
WITH LUST.
>> JESUS TALKS ABOUT
AND EMPHASIZES SINS OF THOUGHT.
YOU CAN COMMIT ADULTERY
MENTALLY.
>> JESUS SAYS
THE PUNISHMENT FOR SIN IS HELL,
ETERNAL DAMNATION.
THE FAITHFUL BELIEVED
THAT COMMITTING
THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS
WOULD SEND A PERSON TO HELL.
YET NOWHERE IN THE BIBLE
IS THERE A DESCRIPTION OF HELL.
THE MOST POWERFUL DEPICTION
OF DAMNATION FOR SINNERS
WOULD COME IN LATER GENERATIONS
FROM THE PEN
OF THE ITALIAN WRITER
DANTE ALIGHIERI.
IT WAS AROUND 1320 A.D.
THAT DANTE WROTE
"THE DIVINE COMEDY,"
AN ELABORATE DESCRIPTION
OF HELL, PURGATORY, AND HEAVEN.
THE STORY BEGINS
WHEN DANTE FINDS HIMSELF
LOST IN THE DARK WOODS.
HE MEETS THE ROMAN POET VIRGIL,
WHO LEADS HIM
THROUGH THE GATE OF HELL ITSELF.
[MUSIC]
DANTE DESCRIBES
THE NINE LEVELS OF HELL.
THE LEVELS HAVE PROGRESSIVELY
WORSE PUNISHMENTS,
FROM LEAST OFFENSIVE SIN
TO MOST DIRE.
ALL SEVEN DEADLY SINS
ARE REPRESENTED.
THE PRICE EACH SINNER MUST PAY
IS FITTING FOR THE CRIME
THEY'VE COMMITTED.
THE SIN OF LUST IS FOUND
ON THE SECOND LEVEL OF HELL.
HERE, THE LUST-RIDDEN
ARE FLUNG THROUGH THE AIR
BY FIERY BATTERING WINDS
WITH NO HOPE OF REST.
THE PUNISHMENT IS THOUGHT TO BE
A SYMBOL OF THE STORM-LIKE POWER
OF LUST.
>> DANTE TREATED THE SIN OF LUST
AS THE LEAST BLAMEWORTHY
OF SINS, SO IT'S BEEN SUPPOSED
THAT PERHAPS HE'S LIGHT
ON THE SIN OF LUST
BECAUSE THAT'S THE ONE
THAT HE WAS MOST GUILTY OF.
>> DANTE LATER VISITS PURGATORY
WHERE THE LUSTFUL ARE PURGED
BY FLAMES THAT CONSUME THEM
LIKE SEXUAL DESIRE ONCE DID.
DANTE'S VISION WAS SO POWERFUL
THAT IT BECAME CHRISTIANITY'S
MOST COMMONLY ACCEPTED VERSION
OF HELL.
BUT THIS DEPICTION OF HELL
HAS NOTHING TO DO
WITH THE BIBLE.
THE LEVELS OF THE INFERNO
AND THE PUNISHMENTS
OF THE DAMNED COME ONLY
FROM THE PEN OF DANTE.
BUT THE BIBLICAL INJUNCTION
AGAINST LUST DID NOT DETER
ONE EARLY CHRISTIAN SECT.
THESE RADICALS
TOOK A VERY DIFFERENT APPROACH
TO LUST.
INSTEAD OF DENOUNCING IT
AS A SIN,
THEY CELEBRATED IT
AS A SACRAMENT.USIC]
THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS.
FOR CENTURIES, THEY'VE SHAPED
SOCIETY'S BEHAVIOR.
TO THE FAITHFUL, WHEN COMBINED,
THEY REPRESENT A MORAL CODE
FOR A LIFE WELL-LIVED.
YET EACH TRANSGRESSION
HAS A SPECIFIC DEFINITION
AND PUNISHMENT.
[MUSIC]
THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
IS VERY SPECIFIC
IN ITS VIEWS ON LUST.
THE CHRISTIAN BIBLE STATES,
"NEITHER FORNICATORS,
NOR IDOLATERS, NOR ADULTERERS,
NOR EFFEMINATE, NOR ABUSERS
OF THEMSELVES SHALL INHERIT
THE KINGDOM OF GOD."
THERE WASN'T ALWAYS CONSENSUS
IN THE VIEWS ABOUT THIS SIN.
ONE GROUP OF EARLY CHRISTIANS
SAW LUST VERY DIFFERENTLY.
AROUND 325 A.D., IT WAS SAID
THAT A SMALL GROUP
OF DEVOUT CHRISTIANS
CAME TOGETHER FOR WORSHIP.
THE SERVICE BEGAN
WITH RITUAL DISROBING,
FOLLOWED BY ANOINTING,
THEN GROUP MASSAGE,
AND CULMINATED IN A SEX ACT
BETWEEN THE PRIEST
AND PRIESTESS.
THE SECT WAS CALLED
THE CARPOCRATIANS,
PART OF A MOVEMENT
CALLED GNOSTIC CHRISTIANITY.
THE WORD "GNOSTIC" IS BASED
ON THE GREEK WORD "GNOSIS,"
WHICH MEANS KNOWLEDGE
OR ENLIGHTENMENT.
>> THE GNOSTICS
HAD A VERY DIFFERENT IDEA
ABOUT WHAT SIN WAS ALL ABOUT.
IN FACT IN THE GOSPEL OF MARY,
JESUS IS MADE TO SAY,
"THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS SIN."
>> FOURTH CENTURY BISHOP
EPIPHANIUS DESCRIBED
THE GNOSTIC ORGY IN DETAIL.
"THEY FALL INTO A FRENZY
"AMONG THEMSELVES,
"SOIL THEIR HANDS
"WITH THEIR SECRETIONS,
AND RISING, PRAY STARK NAKED."
BUT SOME BELIEVE THIS PORTRAYAL
MAY HAVE SIMPLY BEEN
NEGATIVE PROPAGANDA.
>> THE HERESY HUNTERS,
THE HERESIOLOGISTS,
WERE EAGER TO ACCUSE
THEIR SPIRITUAL FOES
OF ANY KIND OF IMPROPRIETY.
THEY'LL SAY THAT THERE WERE
SOME GNOSTICS WHO WOULD HAVE SEX
WITH ANYBODY THEY WANTED,
THEY HAD SEX PARTIES.
THEY WOULD CONSUME BODILY FLUIDS
FROM ONE ANOTHER AND SO FORTH,
SO THE HERESY HUNTERS SAY.
>> IT SEEMS THE MAINSTREAM ARM
OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
SAW THE LUSTFUL CULT
AS A THREAT TO THEIR POWER
AND TO THEIR SOULS.
AS A RESULT, THEY FOUGHT BACK.
THE GNOSTIC GOSPELS
WERE DESTROYED,
THE GROUPS OUTLAWED,
LEAVING HISTORY
ONLY WITH THE LURID TALES
OF THE ANTI-GNOSTIC CHRISTIANS.
ABOUT THE SAME TIME THAT
THE GNOSTICS WERE DISAPPEARING,
IN THE 4th CENTURY A.D.,
EVAGRIUS PONTICUS
WROTE THE FIRST LIST
OF "EIGHT TEMPTING THOUGHTS."
BUT IT WAS LITTLE NOTED
AT THE TIME.
EVAGRIUS LIVED IN SECLUSION
IN THE DESERT AND MADE HIS LIST
FOR MONKS ONLY.
THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS
WOULDN'T BECOME MAINSTREAM
UNTIL 200 YEARS LATER.
THE ROMAN EMPIRE HAD CRUMBLED,
AND WITH THAT,
THE DARK AGES BEGAN.
THE SENSUAL,
OPEN-MINDED ATTITUDE
TOWARD LUST WAS STAMPED OUT.
IT WAS REPLACED
BY THE GROWING POWER
OF THE CHURCH.
IT WAS AT THE HANDS
OF THE REFORMER,
POPE GREGORY THE GREAT,
THAT THE EIGHT TEMPTING THOUGHTS
TRANSFORMED INTO
THE MORE DRAMATIC
SEVEN DEADLY SINS.
IN CREATING HIS LIST,
THE POPE ELIMINATED SADNESS
AND VAINGLORY AND ADDED ENVY
TO COME UP
WITH THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS
WE KNOW TODAY.
POPE GREGORY THEN PROMOTED THEM
THROUGHOUT THE CHRISTIAN WORLD.
THOUGH FOUND NOWHERE
IN THE BIBLE,
THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS
HAD NOW BECOME
CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE.
GREGORY WAS THOUGHT TO BE
ONE OF THE GREAT REFORMERS
IN THE HISTORY
OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.
IT WAS ANOTHER
OF HIS RADICAL CHANGES
TO CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE
THAT WOULD HAVE
AN ENORMOUS EFFECT
ON THE CHURCH,
ON THE CONCEPT OF SIN
AND ESPECIALLY
ON THE SIN OF LUST.
[MUSIC]
THE POPE DECLARED ALL PRIESTS
IN THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
MUST BE CELIBATE.
UP TO THAT TIME,
MARRIAGE HAD BEEN AN OPTION
FOR CHRISTIAN PRIESTS.
IT'S THOUGHT THAT
THE CELIBACY RULE
WAS PARTIALLY INTENDED AS A MOVE
TO CONSOLIDATE POWER.
POPE GREGORY DID NOT WANT
CHURCH PROPERTY TO BE INHERITED
BY THE SONS OF PRIESTS
AND BISHOPS.
THE RESULT WAS MUCH MORE
FAR-REACHING.
IN A RELATIVELY
SHORT TIME PERIOD,
CELIBACY EVOLVED
FROM A THEOLOGICAL CONCEPT
INTO A WHOLESALE DENUNCIATION
OF SEXUALITY AND LUST
FOR ALL THE FAITHFUL.
>> THE CHURCH HAS BECOME
MILITANTLY ANTI-HEDONISTIC
SO THAT SEXUALITY EXISTS
FOR THE SAKE OF REPRODUCTION
AND ANYTHING GOING ABOVE
AND BEYOND THAT IS SINFUL.
>> THE CELIBATE CLERGY
WERE NOW WRITING THE RULES
FOR SOCIAL
AND POLITICAL INTERACTIONS.
TO COUNTERBALANCE
THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS,
THE CHURCH CREATED
THE SEVEN HEAVENLY VIRTUES.
THEY WOULD BE
FOREVER LINKED IN THE BATTLE
FOR THE SOULS OF MEN.
LUST'S OPPOSITE WAS CHASTITY,
A QUALITY THAT WOULD INFORM
THE CHRISTIAN WAY OF THOUGHT
FOR CENTURIES.
TO MEDIEVAL THEOLOGIANS,
THE PROBLEM WAS NOT ONLY LUST
BUT ANY FORM OF SEXUALITY.
THE DARK AGES SAW LUST
CONDEMNED EVEN IN MARRIAGE.
THIS WOULD BE
WESTERN CIVILIZATION'S ATTITUDE
TOWARDS SEXUALITY
FOR NEARLY A THOUSAND YEARS.
LUST HAD BEEN DEMONIZED.
THE POPULAR BELIEF AT THE TIME
WAS THAT EACH SIN COULD INHABIT
OR POSSESS A PERSON IN THE FORM
OF A SPECIFIC DEMON.
THE ONLY WAY TO RID
THE AFFLICTED OF THESE DEMONS
WAS THROUGH THE PRACTICE
OF EXORCISM.
[MUSIC] OUT.
>> THE EARLY CHRISTIAN MONKS
BELIEVED THAT
THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS
HAD THE POWER
TO CONDEMN THE FAITHFUL
TO ETERNAL DAMNATION.
WHEN OTHERWISE PIOUS MEN
AND WOMEN WOULD COMMIT SINS,
SOME BELIEVED
IT WAS DUE TO DEMONS.
HUMANITY HAS BELIEVED
IN THE EXISTENCE OF DEMONS
FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS.
THE HEBREW BIBLE
SPEAKS OF DEMONIC SPIRITS
IN THE DESERT.
JESUS EXORCISES DEMONS
IN THE NEW TESTAMENT.
MONKS FOUGHT THE DEMONS OF LUST
AND OTHER SINS THROUGH PRAYER
AND FASTING.
DEMONS ARE SAID TO BE ANGELS
WHO REBELLED AGAINST GOD
AND SIDED WITH SATAN.
THEY WERE CAST
INTO THE PIT OF HELL
AND DOOMED TO SPEND ETERNITY
TEMPTING THE SOULS
OF HUMAN BEINGS.
>> DEMONS ARE EVIL, MALEVOLENT,
SUPERNATURAL BEINGS
AND NOW THEY ROAM THE EARTH
LOOKING FOR THE HABITATION
OF HUMAN BODIES TO BRING ABOUT
THEIR WORK OF EVIL.
>> IN THE MIDDLE AGES,
THE STUDY OF DEMONS,
OR DEMONOLOGY,
BECAME SOMETHING OF A SCIENCE.
CHRISTIAN MONKS
BEGAN TO CATALOG DEMONS.
THERE WERE BOOKS
LIKE "THE KEY OF SOLOMON"
AND "THE GRAND GRIMOIRE"
THAT LISTED THOUSANDS OF DEMONS
BY NAME, DIVIDED BY CATEGORY,
SUBHEADINGS, AND HIERARCHIES.
AND DEMONOLOGISTS MIXED POTIONS
AND CONCOCTED SPELLS
IN ORDER TO SPEAK WITH THEM.
FURTHERING THIS THEORY
WAS THE BELIEF THAT THERE WERE
SEVEN EVIL ARMIES,
HEADED BY SEVEN SATANIC PRINCES,
EACH REPRESENTING
ONE OF THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS.
EACH OF THESE DEMONIC PRINCES
HAD A NAME--
AMON, DEMON OF ANGER;
BELPHEGOR, PRINCE OF SLOTH;
AND THE DEMON OF THE SIN
OF LUST, ASMODEUS.
THE NAME ASMODEUS PROBABLY COMES
FROM A PERSIAN PAGAN DEITY
NAMED AESHMA-DAEVA.
AMONG THE FIRST APPEARANCES
OF THIS DEMON IN SCRIPTURE
IS IN THE BOOK OF TOBIT,
WHERE THE DEMON
SEXUALLY POSSESSES
A BEAUTIFUL YOUNG WOMAN
AND FORCES HER TO MURDER
SEVEN WOULD-BE SUITORS.
THE DEMON IS A DANGEROUS
AND POWERFUL BEING,
BUT MAGICAL TEXTS
LIKE THE TESTAMENT OF SOLOMON
SAID ASMODEUS COULD BE
CONTROLLED THROUGH SPELLS.
IT WAS ALSO THOUGHT
THAT THIS DEMON PRINCE
COULD BE FORCED
TO GRANT SEXUAL DESIRES
AND EVEN ALLOW SEXUAL CONGRESS
WITH BEAUTIFUL SHE-DEMONS
CALLED SUCCUBI, WHO PROVIDED
MIND-BOGGLING PLEASURE
WHILE THEY CONSUMED THE SOULS
OF HUMANS.
BUT THERE ARE THOSE
WHO SAY THE STORIES
OF CONGRESS WITH DEMONS
ARE NOT JUST METAPHORS,
THEY ARE REAL.
>> I RENOUNCE--
>> I RENOUNCE--
>>--EVERY LEGAL RIGHT--
>>--EVERY LEGAL RIGHT--
>>--TO STOP MY DESTINY.
>>--TO STOP MY DESTINY.
>> AT HIS CHURCH SERVICES,
PASTOR BOB LARSON
IS WAGING HIS OWN BATTLE
AGAINST THESE DEMON PRINCES.
>> --CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 10:3:25
SPEAKS OF PULLING DOWN
SPIRITUAL STRONGHOLD.
THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS
ATTACK THE SOCIETY
IN WHICH WE ARE ALL A PART.
WE ARE ALL PART
OF AN INTERWOVEN FABRIC.
SOMEBODY WINS AND SOMEBODY LOSES
WHEN MORAL LAW IS TRANSGRESSED.
THAT'S WHY
THERE ARE SEVEN DEADLY SINS.
THEY ARE DEADLY.
>> THE TRADITIONAL WAY
TO FIGHT DEMONS
IS WITH LITERAL EXORCISMS,
CASTING OUT DEMONS OF SIN
AND FORCING THEM TO DO BATTLE.
>> COME OUT.
>> THE PRACTICE OF EXORCISM
IS AS OLD
AS THE BELIEF IN DEMONS.
BY THE MIDDLE AGES,
A VARIETY OF SIGNS OF POSSESSION
CAME INTO WIDE ACCEPTANCE.
THEY INCLUDED--
THERE ARE ALMOST
AS MANY REMEDIES FOR POSSESSION.
>> DEMONS CAN BE PROVOKED
BY A NUMBER OF HOLY THINGS,
TOUCHING THE PERSON
WITH THE SIGN OF THE CROSS
WITH HOLY ANOINTING OIL,
THE PRESENCE OF A CROSS
OR A BIBLE, PRAYING,
READING SCRIPTURE.
THINGS WHICH ARE HOLY
WHICH A DEMON
DOESN'T WANT TO BE AROUND
WILL ANTAGONIZE THEM.
>> AMONG THE MOST COMMON DEMONS
THAT PASTOR BOB BATTLES
IS ASMODEUS,
PRINCE OF THE SIN OF LUST.
>> I DEAL QUITE FREQUENTLY
WITH THE DEMON OF LUST.
SOMETIMES IT ENTERS
THROUGH PORNOGRAPHY.
IT OFTEN ENTERS THROUGH SOMEONE
HAVING SEXUALLY ABUSED
THAT PERSON.
>> LARSON USES
A VARIETY OF ANCIENT METHODS
TO ATTEMPT TO RID A PERSON
OF THE DEMON OF LUST.
>> I TELL THE DEMON WHAT TO SAY.
I'LL PUT YOU IN TORMENT.
>> TORMENT.
>> FOR EXAMPLE,
"I, THE SPIRIT OF LUST,
"RENOUNCE MY RIGHT
"TO THIS PERSON,
"A CREATURE OF GOD,
"AND I CLAIM NO FURTHER RIGHT
TO THEM."
GET OUT.
NOW, IT WILL FIGHT, IT MAY SAY,
"I'M NOT GOING,
THIS PERSON IS MINE."
AND YOU SIMPLY
KEEP SAYING TO THEM,
"YOU MUST GO."
YOU WILL.
>> BOB LARSON'S EXORCISMS
ARE CONTROVERSIAL
TO MANY MAINSTREAM CLERGY,
BUT THEY HEARKEN BACK TO RITUALS
AS OLD AS RELIGION ITSELF.
THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS
HAD BECOME ASSOCIATED
WITH DEMONS AND EXORCISMS
BY THE MIDDLE AGES.
IN THE SAME PERIOD,
1213 A.D. TO BE EXACT,
THE CHURCH ADDED
ANOTHER NEW TWIST
TO THE HISTORY OF SIN,
CONFESSION.
IT BECAME REQUIRED
THAT CHRISTIANS GO TO A PRIEST
AT LEAST ONCE A YEAR
AND DESCRIBE THEIR SINS
IN EXQUISITE DETAIL.
AS A GUIDE TO HELP THE FAITHFUL
DETERMINE EXACTLY
WHAT THEY SHOULD CONFESS,
THE CHURCH ENCOURAGED THEM
TO CONSIDER THE LIST
OF SEVEN DEADLY SINS.
>> YOU FIND VERY FREQUENT
REPETITION BY BISHOPS,
TELL THE PEOPLE TO REFLECT
ON THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS.
THIS SHOULD BE
WHAT THEY THINK ABOUT
WHEN THEY GO TO CONFESSION.
THESE ARE THE KINDS OF THINGS
THAT THEY WANT
TO ORGANIZE THEIR LIVES AROUND
AND CHANGE IN THEIR LIVES.
>> THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS
HAD BECOME INSTITUTIONALIZED.
THEY BECAME PART
OF POPULAR CULTURE
THROUGHOUT EUROPE.
THEY WERE CARVED
IN CHURCH SCULPTURES,
PAINTED ON ALTARS,
DRAWN IN THE MARGINS OF BIBLES,
AND DESCRIBED IN TALES
AND STORIES, POETRY AND EPICS.
THEN, IN THE 16th CENTURY,
THE WELL-ORDERED CHRISTIAN WORLD
CHANGED DRAMATICALLY.
CHRISTIANITY SPLIT
INTO TWO CAMPS,
CATHOLIC AND PROTESTANT.
THE SCHISM IS REFERRED TO
AS THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION.
IT BEGAN IN 1517 AND WOULD LAST
FOR ANOTHER 150 YEARS.
ONE OF THE MAIN POINTS
OF DIFFERENCE WAS THAT
THE PROTESTANTS REJECTED
THE CONCEPT OF CONFESSION,
BUT THEY KEPT A DEEP
AND ABIDING INTEREST
IN THE SIN OF LUST.
DURING THIS PERIOD,
ONE SECT OF PROTESTANTS,
CALLED THE PURITANS,
FLED THE SINFUL
EUROPEAN CONTINENT
TO SEEK RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
IN THE NEW WORLD.
THE PURITANS WERE SO NAMED
BECAUSE OF THEIR PIOUS BELIEFS
AND THEIR CENTRAL GOAL
OF CREATING A MORE PURE FORM
OF WORSHIP AND DOCTRINE.
THEY INTENDED TO CREATE A COLONY
IN NORTH AMERICA WHERE SIN
WOULD NOT BE TOLERATED.
WHEN THE PURITANS
LANDED AT PLYMOUTH,
MASSACHUSETTS IN 1620,
THEY FORMED A COLONY
WHERE THE SIN OF LUST
WAS CENTRAL TO THEIR THEOLOGY
AND THEIR LEGAL CODE.
IN PLYMOUTH,
COMMITTING THE SIN OF LUST
CARRIED DIRE PENALTIES.
WOMEN CAUGHT COMMITTING ADULTERY
WERE CONDEMNED
TO WEAR THE LETTER "A"
FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES.
PURITANS CAUGHT
IN ANY SEXUAL ACTIVITIES
OUTSIDE OF MARRIAGE
COULD FACE WHIPPING,
PUBLIC SHAMING IN THE STOCKS,
AND IN THE CASE OF SODOMY
OR BESTIALITY,
THEY WOULD FACE DEATH.
IN SPITE OF THE PURITANS'
REPRESSIVE VIEWS,
THE SIN OF LUST
WAS NEVER STAMPED OUT.
SOME SAY, IT IS BECAUSE
MANKIND IS SIMPLY
HARDWIRED FOR LUST.
[MUSIC]
THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS
WERE THE GATEWAYS
TO ETERNAL DAMNATION
ACCORDING TO CENTURIES
OF CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE.
THE SIN OF LUST
IS CONDEMNED IN THE BIBLE,
IN CHRISTIAN TRADITION,
AND IN AMERICA'S
PURITAN HERITAGE.
BUT DESPITE THE SUPPRESSION,
THE DEMON OF LUST
NEVER WENT AWAY.
>> FOR MODERN RESEARCHERS,
LUST IS LESS ABOUT SIN
THAN IT IS ABOUT SCIENCE.
>> THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS
ARE ABSOLUTELY DRIPPING
WITH BIOLOGY.
WHETHER IT'S LUST
OR ANGER OR GREED,
THESE ARE ALL TRAITS THAT
IF DONE IN MODERATION,
CONTRIBUTE SIGNIFICANTLY
TO THE SUCCESS OF INDIVIDUALS
WHO DO THAT.
>> WHILE SOCIETY HAS CHANGED
OVER THE CENTURIES,
OUR PRIMARY HUMAN INSTINCTS
HAVE REMAINED THE SAME.
>> THE HUMAN SEX DRIVE
PROBABLY HASN'T CHANGED
FOR FOUR MILLION YEARS.
LUST IS NOT AN EMOTION.
THIS IS A DRIVE,
A MOTIVATION SYSTEM THAT ARISES
FROM VERY PRIMITIVE PARTS
OF THE BRAIN.
>> SOME NEUROSCIENTISTS
THINK THEY NOW KNOW
WHY LUST CANNOT BE SUPPRESSED.
THE BASIC INSTINCT TO MATE
OR WHAT WE COMMONLY REFER TO
AS LUST COMES
FROM THE HORMONE TESTOSTERONE.
THIS CHEMICAL IS PRESENT
IN THE SEX DRIVE
OF BOTH MEN AND WOMEN.
THE NEUROCHEMICAL
OF ROMANTIC LOVE IS DOPAMINE,
WHICH REGULATES PLEASURE
AND FOCUS.
>> WHEN YOU FALL IN LOVE
WITH SOMEBODY,
YOU DRIVE UP DOPAMINE
IN THE BRAIN
AND DOPAMINE ACTUALLY TRIGGERS
TESTOSTERONE ASSOCIATED
WITH THE SEX DRIVE.
>> THESE INTERCONNECTING
BRAIN CHEMICALS
CAN HAVE NEGATIVE EFFECTS.
THE DOPAMINE
ASSOCIATED WITH LOVE
CAN LEAD US TO LUST,
AND TESTOSTERONE
CAN MIMIC FEELINGS OF LOVE.
>> ANY KIND
OF SEXUAL STIMULATION
DRIVES UP NOT ONLY TESTOSTERONE
ASSOCIATED WITH THE SEX DRIVE,
IT DRIVES UP DOPAMINE TOO.
AND THAT CAN PUSH YOU
OVER THE THRESHOLD
INTO FALLING IN LOVE
WITH SOMEBODY.
THIS IS WHY CASUAL SEX
IS NOT CASUAL.
>> EVOLUTION HAS CREATED
THE DRIVE TO MATE AND BREED.
BUT HUMAN BEINGS
HAVE ALSO EVOLVED
A SPECIFIC TYPE
OF BREEDING BEHAVIOR.
SCIENTISTS CALL IT PAIR-BONDING
OR MONOGAMY.
IN ORDER TO TRULY UNDERSTAND
HUMAN LUST, WE MUST EXAMINE
THE MATING HABITS
OF LOWER SPECIES.
>> HUMAN BEINGS, LIKE VIRTUALLY
EVERY OTHER SPECIES
THAT WE STUDY,
TURNS OUT TO BE INTERESTED
IN MULTIPLE SEXUAL PARTNERS.
BIOLOGISTS TALK ABOUT
WHAT THEY CALL EPC,
WHAT HUMANS WOULD CALL ADULTERY.
EPC STANDS FOR
EXTRA-PAIR COPULATION.
>> GENETIC EVIDENCE REVEALS
THAT EVEN SPECIES
THAT BOND IN PAIRS,
LIKE SWANS AND WOLVES
USUALLY SEEM TO HAVE SOMETHING
ON THE SIDE.
THE BIOLOGICAL REASON FOR EPC
IS SIMPLE: CHEATING AND ADULTERY
GIVE A SPECIES
AN EVOLUTIONARY ADVANTAGE.
>> IF YOU'RE A MALE,
THE PAYOFF IS YOU MAY WIND UP
INSEMINATING ADDITIONAL FEMALES
AND HENCE BECOME A FATHER
WITHOUT A GREAT DEAL OF EFFORT.
>> FOR FEMALES, THE PAYOFF
IS ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
AND BETTER GENETIC MATERIAL.
PERHAPS THE ONLY REASON
LUST WAS CALLED A SIN
WAS TO REIN IN
EXTRA-PAIR COPULATION
OR AS HUMANS CALL IT, ADULTERY.
>> IF SOMEONE
IS GOING AROUND BEING LUSTY,
THERE'S SOME CHANCE
THAT HE MAY WIND UP COPULATING
WITH MY WOMAN.
OR IF YOU'RE A WOMAN,
YOU MAY WIND UP COMING AROUND
COMPETING FOR MY MAN.
AND SO,
FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF SOCIETY,
IT'S ADVANTAGEOUS TO RESTRAIN
THE LUST OF THE INDIVIDUAL.
>> FOR CENTURIES,
THERE WAS A LONG CRUSADE
TO SUPPRESS THE SIN OF LUST,
AND IT HAD BEEN
MOSTLY SUCCESSFUL.
BUT THE BEGINNING
OF THE 20th CENTURY
WOULD PROVE TO BE A RENAISSANCE
AND LUST WOULD BE
THE BENEFICIARY.
IC]
THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS
WERE COMPILED
BY THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
AS A MORAL CODE
FOR ALL BELIEVERS.
THE SIN OF LUST
HAD A CHECKERED HISTORY,
CELEBRATED BY THE ANCIENT GREEKS
AND ROMANS,
VILIFIED IN THE MIDDLE AGES,
AND EVEN OUTLAWED
BY THE PURITANS IN AMERICA.
THE VICTORIAN ERA OF THE 1800s
GAINED A REPUTATION
FOR PRUDISHNESS
AND SEXUAL REPRESSION.
VICTORIAN LITERATURE
OFTEN PORTRAYED
ANY SEXUAL FEELINGS AS DEVIANT,
IMMORAL, AND POSSIBLY INSANE,
UNLESS SANCTIONED, OF COURSE,
IN HOLY MATRIMONY.
THE PRACTICE OF PROSTITUTION
ALONG WITH ADULTERY
AND HOMOSEXUALITY,
NOT TO MENTION
EVERY OTHER LUSTFUL BEHAVIOR
CONTINUED, OF COURSE,
UNDERGROUND.
A NEW ERA FOR LUST
BEGAN AT THE TURN
OF THE 20th CENTURY
AS INDUSTRIALIZATION
BROUGHT TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES
AND URBANIZATION.
THE FLAPPERS OF THE 1920s
MARKED AN EVOLUTION
IN THE CONCEPT OF LUST,
A NEWLY SEXUALIZED VIEW
OF WOMANHOOD.
BY THE 1950s,
THE BIRTH CONTROL PILL
WAS AVAILABLE AND WAS READY
TO TRANSFORM SEXUALITY
AND THE SIN OF LUST.
THE EVOLUTION OF THE SIN OF LUST
BECAME FULL-BLOWN BY THE 1960s
WHEN THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION
SWEPT THE GLOBE.
IT SEEMED THAT THE SIN OF LUST
AND THE VIRTUE OF CHASTITY
HAD CHANGED PLACES,
VIRTUE AND VICE WERE SEEMINGLY
IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER.
RIDING THE WAVE
OF REVOLUTION,
AND IN SOME WAYS
EVEN DIRECTING IT, WAS ONE MAN,
HUGH HEFNER.
[MUSIC]
>> WITHOUT QUESTION,
MY FAVORITE SIN
IS DEFINITELY LUST.
A LUST FOR LIFE
IS A VERY HEALTHY THING
AND THAT INCLUDES SEXUALITY.
>> HEFNER CREATED
"PLAYBOY" MAGAZINE,
CONSTRUCTING AN EMPIRE
WITH AN EYE TOWARD THE ANCIENTS,
BUILDING A TEMPLE TO EXCESS
AND WORSHIPING LUST
IN ALL ITS GLORY.
>> I THINK THAT "PLAYBOY"
PLAYED A VERY REAL PART
IN THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION.
I GOT THE GOOD WORD OUT
THAT SEX WAS NOT EVIL.
>> DESPITE CENTURIES
OF RELIGIOUS ATTEMPTS
TO STAMP OUT LUST,
THE SIN ALWAYS RETURNED.
IS THERE A BIOLOGICAL
OR NEUROLOGICAL REASON WHY LUST
REMAINS A VITAL TEMPTATION?
[MUSIC]
IN SEATTLE, WASHINGTON,
SCIENTISTS ARE ATTEMPTING TO MAP
THE EXACT NEURAL ARCHITECTURE
OF HUMAN SEXUALITY.
DR. KEN MARAVILLA
INVESTIGATES HOW LUST
AND SEXUALITY AFFECT EACH PART
OF THE HUMAN BRAIN.
HE USES TWO TECHNOLOGIES.
ONE IS THE MRI MACHINE.
THE OTHER TECHNOLOGY
IS A SIMPLE DVD PLAYER.
>> OUR SUBJECTS ARE PRESENTED
A STIMULUS THAT CONSISTS
OF SEXUALLY EXPLICIT SCENES
THAT PROMOTE THEIR ABILITY
TO BECOME AROUSED IN THE MAGNET.
THE EXPERIMENT IS SIMPLE.
SUBJECTS ARE SHOWN
NEUTRAL VIDEOS
TO GET A BASELINE.
THEN IMAGES
BECOME MORE SEXUALLY EXPLICIT
FOR SEVERAL MINUTES
WHILE MARAVILLA AND HIS STAFF
VOYEURISTICALLY WATCH
AS THE SUBJECTS' BRAINS CHANGE.
>> WE HAVE AREAS
IN THE FRONTAL LOBES
THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH REWARD
AND PLEASANT FEELINGS,
AND THESE BECOME ACTIVE
WITH AROUSAL.
THE AMYGDALA
OFTEN BECOMES ACTIVATED
AND THIS IS ONE
OF THE DECISION-MAKING,
EVALUATIVE AREAS OF THE BRAIN.
>> THE MRI SHOWS
THAT AS SUBJECTS
ARE SEXUALLY AROUSED,
THERE IS AN INTRIGUING COROLLARY
TO THE NEW FINDINGS.
>> WE ALSO FOUND
THAT CERTAIN AREAS OF THE BRAIN
SEEM TO BECOME LESS ACTIVE.
AND THEY APPEAR TO BE AREAS
THAT ARE RELATED
TO MORAL JUDGMENT,
OF INHIBITION, IF YOU WILL.
>> WHEN THE LUST AREAS
OF THE BRAIN LIGHT UP,
THE JUDGMENT AREAS OF THE BRAIN
BEGIN TO TURN OFF.
THE CONCLUSION:
THE MORE AROUSED A PERSON,
THE LESS ACCESS THEY HAVE
TO CLEAR JUDGMENT.
IT WOULD SEEM THAT SCIENCE SHOWS
A DIRECT CONNECTION
BETWEEN LUST AND POOR JUDGMENT.
THE THEORY SUPPORTS
THE BASIC PREMISE
OF SOCIOLOGISTS
STUDYING THIS AREA
OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR.
>> SINS ARE GOOD,
THEY'RE ADAPTIVE.
SEXUAL DESIRE IS NORMAL
AND APPROPRIATE AND HEALTHY.
LUST IS A TERM WE GIVE
WHEN THERE'S TOO MUCH OF IT
OR IT'S INAPPROPRIATE.
>> BY THIS DEFINITION,
SOMETHING BECOMES A SIN
WHEN IT IS DESTRUCTIVE.
IT WOULD SEEM
THAT ACCORDING TO SCIENCE,
IT IS LESS A MATTER
OF GOING TO HELL
THAN GOING TOO FAR.
>> ALL OF THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS
HAVE TO DO WITH EXCESSES,
BECAUSE A GOOD LIFE IS ALWAYS,
I THINK, A MATTER OF MODERATION.
>> THE SAME ENERGIES
THAT MOTIVATE US TO DO GOOD
CAN BE SHIFTED A LITTLE
AND CAUSE US TO SIN.
SO IT'S IMPORTANT
THAT WE UNDERSTAND
THAT THIS IS A CONTINUING
AND INTRICATE BATTLE
INSIDE EVERY SOUL.
THE QUALITY OF YOUR LIFE
AND THE HOLINESS OF YOUR SOUL
WILL DEPEND ON THE DECISION
THAT YOU MAKE
EVERY DAY OF YOUR LIFE.
>> IN CHRISTIANITY,
A SIN IS A SIN IS A SIN.
IT'S NOT A QUESTION
OF WHAT PASSES
FOR TODAY'S STANDARDS.
THESE ARE ETERNAL STANDARDS.
>> THE QUESTION REMAINS,
COULD THE PRACTICE OF--
--DOOM ONE TO AN ETERNITY
BEING PUNISHED
IN THE PITS OF HELL?
WHATEVER YOU BELIEVE,
THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS
REMAIN RELEVANT
FOR THEY STILL AFFECT SOCIETY,
OURSELVES, AND QUITE POSSIBLY
OUR SOULS.
CAPTIONING PERFORMED BY
PEOPLESUPPORT
TRANSCRIPTION & CAPTIONING
