Sin is out of fashion while fascination with our own inner workings is everywhere. But in his new book Stephen Cherry says that the concept of sin is an essential, and healthy, tool for self understanding.
At the beginning of Lent, he introduces his contemporary re-imaginings of the traditional seven deadly sins as ‘hostile pleasures’; tangled in our souls, they have deep roots and produce the words and actions by which we harm ourselves, others, and our relationship with God. Their examination, far from burdening us with guilt, can help to set us free.
Stephen Cherry is the Dean of King’s College, Cambridge, and the author of many books including Healing Agony: Re imagining Forgiveness and The Dark Side of the Soul: An Insider’s Guide to the Web of Sin (Bloomsbury 2012 and 2016).