Pride leads to sin

[Crumpy]

I think it’s been stated many times, but it has never “sunk” into my brain. The sin of Adam and Eve was one of pride. The serpent tempted them into pride by suggesting that they would be like gods, if they ate of the forbidden fruit.

Augustine and other early church fathers point out that Christ taught humility, as the antidote for pride.

Chapter 10 of Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) is all about pride.

 

[ConstantineTG]

Pride does not lead to sin.

Pride is sin.

 

[nahbios]

Yes, pride is sinful. In a way, one could argue that all sins stem from pride - turning away from God and putting our desires above His Will, which is always GOOD.

Still, as St. Francis de Sales points out, humility needs to be accompanied by charity. Charity is the ultimate virtue. Deus caritas est.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

I think it’s been stated many times, but it has never “sunk” into my brain. The sin of Adam and Eve was one of pride. The serpent tempted them into pride by suggesting that they would be like gods, if they ate of the forbidden fruit…

Note that the Satan’s sin was also pride.

 

[babs57]

There is certainly a case for pride as the sin of our first parents, in a sort of “I will be master of my own destiny” type of way. However, could doubt be their sin? After all, Satan is the master of lies, and he really laid a good one on them! (By good, I mean bad! )

 

[R_C]

Pride does not lead to sin.

Pride is sin.

Good point.

Satan’s sin was one of pride. He wanted to be God. I mean, he asked Christ to bow down and worship him…that’s like the peak of pride.

However, Man’s sin was one of distrust in God.

Eve trusted more in the word of the adversary than in the word of God.
Adam trusted more in the word of Eve than in the word of God.

Because of that sin, we have what St. Augustine calls the “threefold concupiscence”:

These three there are, and thou canst find nothing whereby human cupidity can be tempted, but either by the lust of the flesh, or the lust of the eyes, or the pride of life.

 

[Crumpy]

Pride does not lead to sin.

Pride is sin.

Pride is sin and it does oten lead to other sin.

It raises an interesting (to me) point about how we sin – in thought, word, and deed.

Like envy and lust, pride is a sin of thought. I’ve never (in 63 years) thought about that in practical terms. When is a thought a temptation, and when is it a sin? Is 15 seconds the rule? It takes me 15 seconds at least to overcome thoughts of lust. Lately, if I have a thought of lust, I consciously switch over to “deliver us from evil” “deliver us from evil” “deliver us from evil” etc. When my thoughts are under control, I reckon myself as not having sinned.

The problem about being too literal and too critical about “pride leads to sin” is that scripture often does not speak in the language of pure philosophy. Augustine is quoted as saying “pride is the beginning of sin” and Sir 10:13 speaks of pride as the “reservoir of sin.” (NAB)

I’m not against being analytical, but I don’t think I recall anybody speaking or writing analytically about pride (for example). “The sin of pride is defined as” (fill in the blank) which is a sin committed (choose: thought, word, deed) and the appropriate response is (a, b, c,…).

with all due respect to ConstantineTG: the larger, unstated context of my original post was a discussion of the “fall” in Genesis. And, the accepted theory is that the serpent tempted Adam and Eve to commit the sin of pride which led them to disobey the injunction against eating the forbidden fruit. Hence, “pride leads to sin.”

 

[teeboy]

What sinful act does Pride lead us to? In other words, Pride in itself isn’t something to confess.

 

[babs57]

What sinful act does Pride lead us to? In other words, Pride in itself isn’t something to confess.

"Sin is an offense against reason, truth, and right conscience; it is failure in genuine love for God and neighbor caused by a perverse attachment to certain goods. It wounds the nature of man and injures human solidarity. It has been defined as ‘an utterance, a deed, or a desire contrary to eternal law.’ " -CCC 1849

I think this shows that if pride causes “perverse attachment” to something, (such as one’s opinions, time, one’s self) then it is sinful. It is, in and of itself, “an offense against reason, truth, and right conscience”.

It can also lead to other sins, such as not respecting others’ opinions, or not spending time with people in need because one feels one’s time is too important to waste it on other people.