Sins and Sinners
Basic Info
The doctrine of Original Sin or ancestral sin suggests that because Adam and Eve chose to turn away from God’s gifts and go after the one thing God forbid them (the Fall), all humanity has since been born with a tendency toward sin. Christians teach that Baptism cleanses one of that sin and provides one with gifts from God that make it easier to overcome the tendency to sin.
In the Catholic Tradition, the afterlife can occur at one of 3 “places:” Heaven, hell, or purgatory. Hell is for those people who have completely severed their relationship with God with serious sins and without remorse. Heaven is for those who have been cleansed of their sins. Purgatory is for people whose sins are not as grave as those in hell and who experienced remorse for their sins but whose souls aren’t yet clean enough for Heaven. They are in purgatory to be purged or cleansed. Once the cleansing process is complete, they can go to Heaven. Protestant reformers in the 16thcentury did not agree with the idea that a living person could help a dead person by praying for him or her (one way to get out of purgatory quicker in the Catholic Tradition), but many Protestants today don’t completely dismiss the notion of a third place, a place of cleansing before Heaven. I use the word place cautiously. Most theologians today would not describe these as existing in the 3-dimensional space of normal life.
But the art tradition very much treats these as physical places and the suffering as very tangible, visceral, and temporal. In depictions of hell or purgatory, we see sinners suffering. In hell we see the worst sinners; in purgatory we see the less bad sinners. Sometimes sinners are caricatures of their sin, exaggerations to drive home the point. Specific sins that have been depicted in art include the following:
- The 7 Deadly Sins: pride, envy, anger, spiritual laziness (sloth or acedia), lust, greed, and gluttony. They are considered deadly because they tend to create habits that lead away from God.
- Violations of the 10 Commandments: Different traditions number them differently, but the first 3 (4) are about how to love God; and the last 7 (6) are about how to love one’s neighbor. To God is owed not worshipping other gods, not making idols to worship (these two are combined into one for many traditions), not taking God’s name in vain, and keeping a Sabbath day devoted to God. Toward other human beings, one is to honor one’s parents and refrain from violence (especially killing), adultery, stealing, lying, and desiring someone else’s property or spouse (these latter two are combined into one in those traditions that separate having only one God and not creating idols).
Other sins that show up in art but are less well known today include heresy (statements that conflict with a church’s dogma or doctrine), blasphemy (irreverence toward, or making fun of, religion—Christianity in this case), apostasy (public rejection of one’s religious affiliation), and simony (paying for spiritual gifts / powers or religious offices). Witchcraft was considered an act of heresy in Church history. Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestant groups have all been known to execute heretics during some periods of history. These executions are sometimes the subject of artworks (e.g., the Salem Witch Trials).
Historical Notes
In the art tradition, sinners were not commonly depicted until the publication of Dante’s Divine Comedy in the early 1300s. He described the punishments of particular sinners in both The Inferno (describing hell) and The Purgatorio(describing purgatory). After the release of the book, artists (especially Hieronymus Bosch) depicted these realms more often than in previous centuries.
What to Look For
- Distortions of any feature of a person
- Beasts
- Figures that are combinations of humans and beasts
- Caricatures
- Scenes in which a sin is being committed
- Ugliness
- The grotesque
Questions to Focus a General Interpretation
Is the artwork condemning the sin and the sinner for eternity, or is there room for mercy and forgiveness in the way the sin or sinner is depicted?
Questions to Guide a Personal Interpretation
Sin is not a popular concept today, at least in the developed world; human beings prefer to psychologize their failings. Psychology suggests that we are unhealthy because of something in our past and suggests that we can be cured. Sin implies more of a choice and thus more culpability, but also less of a belief that one is trapped in one’s past and is in need of healing. Does the artwork imply that you can choose not to sin or otherwise engage in behavior that does not lead to the good?
Does the artwork suggest anything about mercy, redemption, or turning toward the good that offers you some wisdom or hope about your own behavior?
Questions to Suggest a Historical Approach
The fact that Christianity accepts that human beings are inclined toward sin means that it should come as no surprise that sin is present in every generation and in every place. The historical question seems to be more about which sins get the most attention in a particular time and place. Based on the artwork, which sin(s) seem(s) to be getting attention in the artist’s time and place?
