This is an update of an article I originally published January of 2022. This is brainstorming a bit about deadly sins and their contrary virtues. If you search around online you will find a list of 7 deadly sins and their respective 7 contrary virtues. In this article, I posit there are more than 7. I came up with 9. In fact, there is one particularly conspicuous deadly sin that is overlooked almost all the time.
I found that the deadly sins had actual Abrahamic (Judaic) demons associated with them. I would think that it’s possible that their contrary virtues might also have Abrahamic (Christian) angels or saints associated with them, but I haven’t done a thorough investigation. Perhaps Christians just take the Maslow’s Hammer approach and prescribe Jesus Christ as the antidote to all demons. Some of the search results I found for the virtues didn’t make sense to me. In my opinion, the virtue should liberate you from the sin. So I took the liberty of doing some editing. Some of my recommended antidotes could be viewed as Buddhist. Or Buddhist-ish.
NUMBER 1
Yahweh – Demon of Jealousy
The opposite of jealousy is … compersion.
Christians, Jews, and Moslems may object due to their constant self-brainwashing, but, Yahweh is definitely a demon. Some may say Yahweh was “desert Pagan god” but is way too generous. It should be obvious upon a re-read of the Old Testament with your EYES OPEN, that Yahweh was an evil entity. Not just an evil entity, but if he existed he was an evil entity wherein the entire Old Testament literally documents just about every single one of his evil acts. Not only is Yahweh a jealous demon, he literally names himself “Lord Jealous” in Exodus 34:14. As we go through this list, you might notice that Yahweh committed probably every sin that is listed. You can double-check via this site.
(Conjugation: Yahwehist. “Seeing her ex-boyfriend with his new girlfriend, her over-the-top jealousy and murder threats were quite Yahwehist.”)
Lucifer – Demon of Pride
The opposite of pride is … humility.
While humility is an opposite, I recommend indifference. If you accomplish something great, be honest about it, accept it for what it is, and don’t worry about it.
It is theorized that Lucifer is modeled after the Greek God Prometheus. Prometheus appeared before Lucifer, in about the 8th century BCE.
Although Freemasons are rooted primarily in Egyptology, occasionally a Freemason will say Lucifer is their God.
(Conjugation: Luciferian. “Your gay pride is too Luciferian.”)
Mammon – Demon of Greediness
The opposite of greed is … modesty.
Liberality and charity was the original Christian opposite against greed, which, while opposite, seems ineffective. Modesty is more sober.
I did a little bit of research on this. In case you’re wondering, Plutus, the Greek God of wealth, doesn’t appear to mirror Mammon.
(Conjugation: Mammonistic. “Your interest in the stock market is too Mammonistic.”)
Asmodeus – Demon of Lust
The opposite of lust is … chastity.
Lust is somewhat up-in-the-air, simply of how Christians define it. I think what they are probably more concerned about is infidelity. The opposite of which would be fidelity. It is simply unfair and unreasonable to heterosexual normality to be unattracted or indifferent to the physical appearance of your heterosexual partner. Not to mention if your partner is built like a refrigerator, you’re genuinely lying to them if you say you find them attractive. Lying is not virtuous.
Eros, the Greek God of love and sex does not appear to be an origin or parallel.
However, Pan seems to be the God that Judeo-Christians have projected enough energy into to where he has usurped Asmodeus in popularity. Interestingly, the half-goat is literally scapegoated, ergo, blamed, for lust.
Aphrodite is also associated with lust, but she isn’t scapegoated for it nearly to the degree Pan is.
(Conjugation: Asmodeusian. “These strip clubs in my neighborhood are promoting Asmodeusianism.”)
Leviathan – Demon of Envy
The opposite of envy is … contentedness.
The original Christian opposite was “kindness.” Being “kind” to your neighbor who owns a bitchin’ sports car only looks like you just want to bum free rides in his car all the time. Kindness is going to ricochet. Contentedness is more Buddhist.
Cetus is a Greek sea monster, but does not appear to be an origin or parallel.
(Conjugation: Leviathanaic, Leviathanist. “You’re so green with envy, you look Leviathanaic.”)
Beelzebub – Demon of Gluttony
The opposite of gluttony is … abstinence.
Abstinence is at least a true opposite. However, in the long run I would recommend modesty. Abstinence could lead to eating disorders! If you have a teenage daughter you’re probably already concerned about food-related abstinence in terms of restrictive-eating disorders. Abstinence can lead to asceticism. Asceticism is obviously related to a few deadly sins, as the practice of asceticism leads to disease and early death.
Adephagia is a Greek Goddess that is the personification of gluttony. Doesn’t appear to be an origin.
(Conjugation: Beelzebubbish. “I don’t need to eat today. Last night I went to a Beelzebubbish smorgasbord.”)
Satan – Demon of Wrath
The opposite of wrath is … patience.
Patience may be a true opposite. However, in the long run I would recommend a libertarian ethic of common sense boundaries. Patience is both Christian and Buddhist, but it is also somewhat unrealistic in the long run. Infinity patience could broadcast yourself as a doormat.
Considering how much wrath Yahweh kept mentioning he had in the Bible, it seems Yahweh could easily be an alternate representation of wrath. Both Satan and Yahweh are “Gods of Wrath.” However… they’re both classified as demons on this list hence they’re actually both “Demons of Wrath.” Dispute the Yahweh-Wrath connection all you want, but flooding an entire planet is about as wrathful as you can get. Satan didn’t even do that. Not yet, anyway.
Ares is the Greek God of war. Not an origin or parallel.
Hades might be a parallel, but not really. I would presume Christian fear of death and a hope for an “ascension” into heaven could conflate Hades with Satan, simply because if you go downward instead of upward after death, it could be viewed as a “wrathful” punishment. But this is a conflation more than a parallel.
(Conjugation: Satanic. “A one-hundred year prison sentence for the crime of stealing a candy bar is Satanic.”)
Belphagor – Demon of Sloth
The opposite of sloth is … industrious.
Diligence would be a happy medium. I think it is easy to see how industriousness could lead to sloth, that is basically what technocracy is all about – getting ahead so you can sit around and do nothing. Whereas diligence is metered and gives you less time for messing around.
Aergia is a Greek Goddess that is the personification of sloth. Doesn’t appear to be an influence of the Abrahamic archetype.
(Conjugation: Belphagoric, Belphagorist. “Call me Belphagorist, but I’m not doing anything today.”)
NUMBER 9
Belial – Demon of Worthlessness & Wickedness
The opposite of worthlessness and wickedness would be … value and virtue.
We’re giving Belial some honorable mention here. If Venom hadn’t included Belial on their Welcome to Hell album cover with “קַ” (the first Hebrew letter for “Earth”) maybe I wouldn’t be including it here. But they did, so I learned about Belial. “Worthlessness” was apparently of big enough concern to ancient Judaism to where they recognized a demon associated with it. And let’s not forget that Jesus killed off a Belialian fig tree that wasn’t adding value enough to do its job of providing figs.
(Conjugation: Belialic, Belialian, Belialist. “My job is so boring I feel Belialic.”)
I find all of this pretty interesting in terms of archetypes or “first models.” Greco-Roman culture is loaded with archetypes, but their stories are about a particular God’s life and are pretty broad. Abrahamic development of these archetypes appear to fixated on sin and focused on the negative. The focus on negativity shouldn’t be too surprising considering their main God was/is Yahweh, who was/is actually a demon. Psychologically, the Greeks had more freedom. But what kind of freedom can anyone expect Abrahamic people to really have if they have 613 commandments to follow? Yahwehism is a psychological reign of terror.
(Original Version Published on: Jan 9, 2022 at 16:49)