Murder. Hatred. Idolatry. These ideas fill the world?s movies, politics and newspapers. Teens are often warned and guarded against them as a menace to themselves and society. Many blame sin for world wars and natural catastrophes. Yet a majority of campus students do not recognize the seven sins set dubbed ?deadly? for the last 15 centuries.

Begun by a Greek monk before the 6th century, the Seven Deadly Sins consist of sloth, lust, anger, pride, envy, gluttony and greed. Cemented into Catholic tradition by Pope Gregory the Great, the list provides guidelines embraced by the early church.

For such an ancient concept, the list has maintained its importance over centuries: the seven sins often serve as a gauge of human failings.
Among other transgressions, the Seven Deadly Sins reveal the common flaws everyone deals with.

?The seven deadly sins have remained relevant because the old church tradition actually can apply to our lives,? Scott Falk, campus pastor, said. ?The list and the name represent ?these sins will kill you?. They are the origin of all sins; it branches out from there.?

For everyone, at one point or another, has experienced greed, envy or pride. These characteristics are imbedded in human nature as something culture and the church has taught us to try to overcome. While the church teaches against all sin, the first seven are presented as elemental, basic, and the most severe of challenges.

?The seven deadly sins are important because they cover everything; all other sins are derived from them,? Adam Casuga, ?09, said. ?They give us a basis of what to beware and what to avoid.?

The sins have been portrayed in movies, books and pop culture. Anthony Campolo, a professor at Eastern College, St. Davids, PA and guest lecturer, gives insight of the sins in his 1987 book, Seven Deadly Sins.

?[The Seven Deadly Sins] are not so much as they are evil dispositions which motivate us to sin,? Campolo wrote. ?They are attitudes, emotions, and states of mind which condition our behavior in ways that are destructive.?

In a Dec. 8 campus poll students were given a list of 25 sins, with the Seven Deadly Sins mixed in, and asked to choose the seven they found most deadly.

Around 48% of students chose murder, not one of the actual list, as the sin they found most deadly. Lust was the top pick for the sin chosen from the list with 43% of the vote.

This shows how failings rate differently by opinion. Most found murder and hatred to be the most wicked with 35%, though they were not officially recognized.

Some, however, found the poll to be insignificant, believing all sins to be equal.

?In the eyes of God, all sins are the same,? Sydney Ray, ’10, said. ?It doesn?t make sense to have some sins bear more weight in his eyes. God told us not to murder and not to lie, so murder is not more important.?

Others pass the list off as irrelevant, a tradition held on to by the church.

“In my opinion, the Seven Deadly Sins aren’t any more condemning than other sins,” Elise Porter, ’11, said. “It is mostly just an old Catholic tradition. Pretty much any other sin is as significant.”

While murder, larceny and rape are considered some of the most serious crimes by the government, in the eyes of the church, these simply stem from the Seven Deadly Sins.

The list shows continued relevancy through its staying power: having survived for 1500 years, the Seven Deadly sins are now universally recognized.

“The Seven Deadly Sins are a way people to equate the shortcomings they struggle with,” Casuga said. “They show us what makes us human, and what we need to overcome.”