Recycle Or Go To 7734
There was an announcement from Rome yesterday. It seems that there are now seven new and exciting ways to go to that really, really. hot place and hobnob with Hitler, Stalin, and Barney. It seems that you don’t have to rely only on Sloth, Envy, Gluttony, Greed, Lust, Wrath, and Pride to punch your ticket on the down escelator. Now you can add genetic modification, experimenting on humans, polluting the environment, causing social injustice, causing poverty, becoming obscenely wealthy, and taking drugs to your list of choices. 
I appreciate the fact that the folks in Rome are trying to keep up with the times. And you can see a certain amount of logic or at least biblical background to some of the new mortal sins. But does Warren Buffett now have to worry about getting into heaven? Bill Gates? Frankly, I think a lot of Windowsâ„¢ users think that Bill’s fate is already sealed anyway, but I hear Warren is a nice enough guy. You can probably trace this one back to the “easier to get a camel through the eye of a needle than a rich man into heaven” reference from the New Testament.
The church has long been against genetic manipulation, so that’s no surprise. (For an interesting twist on the idea of genetic manipulation aka cloning and the church try reading the thriller “The Genesis Code”, link at the right. I really enjoyed the book, even if it does essentially turn out to be a shaggy dog story…)
I don’t think the reference to taking drugs was a surprise either.
Polluting the environment? A mortal sin? I think most everyone would agree it’s a good thing to avoid. I know I’ve cussed at a few folks (oops, there’s Wrath) for flipping their cigarette butts out of their car window. But are they really going to 7734? (It’s a joke, a very old joke. If you don’t remember, punch the numbers into a calculator and turn it upside down. 
)