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Sins that cry to Heaven for Vengeance

In Christian hamartiology, the sins that cry to Heaven for Vengeance (, ) are four specific sins which are listed by the Bible.

While the Bible only refers to specific acts by Biblical characters as "crying to Heaven for Vengeance", in Western Christianity, these references are expanded upon and treated as establishing a category of particularly serious sins. Along with the seven deadly sins and the eternal sins, the sins that cry to Heaven for Vengeance are the most serious transgressions against the Law of Christ.

Catholic Church

The expression is referenced in the Jewish Bible, particularly in Genesis 4:10 ("The Lord said to Cain[...] the voice of thy brother's blood crieth to me from the earth"), Genesis 18:20–21, Exodus 22:21–23, and Deuteronomy 24:14–15. The sins are numbered as being either four or seven; they are listed as follows:

  • The "blood of Abel": homicide, infanticide, fratricide, patricide, and matricide
  • The "sin of the Sodomites": non-procreative sexual acts (sodomy). (cf. Jude 1:7).
  • The "cry of the people oppressed in Egypt, the cry of the foreigner, the widow, and the orphan": oppression of the poor.
  • The "injustice to the wage earner": taking advantage of and defrauding workers (cf. James 5:4).

Laurence Vaux's 1583 work, A Catechisme of Christian Doctrine, explains them as follows:

Tom Hoopes of Benedictine College explicates the sins that cry to heaven for vengeance with respect to modern political thought:

The sins that cry to Heaven for Vengeance are referenced in the Douay Catholic Catechism of 1649, a compendium of Catholic doctrine. The concept is present in Catholic moral theology.

Reformed churches

Reformed theologian William M'Gavin opined that "the four sins that cry to heaven for vengeance; these are, wilful murder—sin of Sodom—oppression of the poor—to defraud servants of their wages" are greater in gravity than the seven deadly sins.

Other interpretations

Many churches, particularly ones considered progressive, understand the "sin of Sodom" to be oppression of the poor, in light of Ezekiel 16:49–50 ("This was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy").

See also

References