Deathly (De)Vices

Vainglory, envy, sloth, avarice, wrath, gluttony, and lust.



To study the seven deadly sins or capital vices is no novel endeavor. Vice lists like this one have circulated for centuries. But the innovations of today constitute a unique challenge. In this technocultural moment, most people have on their persons—nearly every waking second—a device that possesses great power, including the power to awaken the capital vices, to de-form people.



Christians young and old must come to think of technology in terms of spiritual formation. They are inclined to think that they shape technology, which, of course, is true. But it is also true that technology shapes them in return. Devices mimic Jesus’ call to discipleship—“Abide in me, and I in you”—and the disciple of the lord called Digital will find that he or she is incrementally yet definitively fashioned into a new creation. But not every new creation is a pretty one.