Behind the Folklore - The Magnificent Seven

by crystalrach

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SEVEN DEADLY SINS
The seven deadly sins, also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins, are a classification of vices that were originally used in early Christian teachings to educate and instruct followers concerning (immoral) fallen man's tendency to sin. The Roman Catholic Church divided sin into two principal categories: "venial", which are relatively minor, and could be forgiven through any sacrament of the Church, and the more severe "capital" or mortal sin, which, when committed, destroyed the life of grace, and created the threat of eternal damnation unless either absolved through the sacrament of confession, or otherwise forgiven through perfect contrition on the part of the penitent. Beginning in the early 14th century, the popularity of the seven deadly sins as a theme among European artists of the time eventually helped to ingrain them in many areas of Christian culture and Christian consciousness in general throughout the world. One means of such ingraining was the creation of the mnemonic SALIGIA based on the first letters in Latin of the seven deadly sins: Superbia, Avaritia, Luxuria, Invidia, Gula, Ira, Acedia.

Listed in the same order used by both Pope Gregory the Great in the 6th Century AD, and later by Dante Alighieri in his epic poem The Divine Comedy, the seven deadly sins are as follows: Luxuria (extravagance, later lust), Gula (gluttony), Avaritia (greed), Acedia (sloth), Ira (wrath, later anger), Invidia (envy), and Superbia (pride). Each of the seven deadly sins has an opposite among the corresponding seven holy virtues (sometimes also referred to as the contrary virtues). In parallel order to the sins they oppose, the seven holy virtues are chastity, abstinence, temperance, diligence, patience, kindness, and humility.

The identification and definition of the seven deadly sins over their history has been a fluid process and the idea of what each of the seven actually encompasses has evolved over time. This process has been aided by the fact that they are not referred to in either a cohesive or codified manner in the Bible itself, and as a result other literary and ecclesiastical works referring to the seven deadly sins were instead consulted as sources from which definitions might be drawn. Part II of Dante's Divine Comedy, Purgatorio, has almost certainly been the best known source since the Renaissance.


OTHER REFERENCES
"Candygram!" - Dean
Referencing the Saturday Night Live skit featuring Chevy Chase as the Land Shark. The Land Shark snuck up on unsuspecting victims by knocking on the door and getting them to open up with unlikely ruses.

"You guys seem nice enough, but this ain't "Scooby Doo," and we don't play well with others." - Isaac
Scooby Doo is a cartoon dog who travels with his friends solving mysteries.

"What's in the box?" - Dean
From the Brad Pitt film Se7en

"You'd better get Grissom." - Offscreen voice in the store
Refers to Gil Grissom, the lead character in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, which aired opposite Supernatural on a Thursday night.

"Here's Johnny!" - Pride
Refering to the 1980 movie The Shining in which a man and his family go to an isolated hotel in the winter. There have been several references to The Shining in the show.

"My name is Legion, for we are many." - Envy
This is a reference to Mark 5:9 in the Christian Bible. It is the reply given to Christ by a demon-possessed man after Christ questioned him about his identity.

"Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son." - Bobby
A quote from the film Animal House.


Information from Wikipedia and TV.com