The sin of anger

No*s · Feb 28, 2005

I found this article at orthodoxinfo.com

Article.

Excerpt:

Very clear teachings on anger and the incensive power can be found in the first volume of The Philokalia, in the teachings of St. John Cassian, a Holy Father of the fifth century. According to St. John Cassian, all anger directed at other people—all such wrong use of our incensive power—blinds the soul. He writes: "We must, with God's help, eradicate the deadly poison of anger from the depths of our souls. So long as the demon of anger dwells in our hearts ... we can neither discriminate what is good, nor achieve spiritual knowledge, nor fulfill our good intentions, nor participate in true life.... Nor will we share in divine wisdom even though we are deemed wise by all men, for it is written: Anger lodges in the bosom of fools (Eccles. 7:9). Nor can we discriminate in decisions affecting our salvation even though we are thought by our fellow men to have good sense, for it is written: Anger destroys even men of good sense (Proverbs 15:1). Nor will we be able to keep our lives in righteousness with a watchful heart, for it is written: Man's anger does not bring about the righteousness of God (James 1:20)....

Joannicius · Mar 2, 2005

Appropriate theme and post for the place and time, thank you, may we ever be mindful.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us!

No*s · Mar 2, 2005

Yes, indeed. I have quite a temper, so it was very appropriate for me also. I can't remember who said it, but I read once in a Church Father that to become angry with someone is to suspend love for them.

Joannicius · Mar 3, 2005

I also have found a root in me that it difficult to face and admit. With all my pride, I take offence when there is no need, and in the Life of Christ there is never need for taking offence for oneself. Our perfect example of humility took no offence when they stripped Him of all, nailing Him to the cross so that he could destroy death and hell for our sake.

No*s · Mar 3, 2005

Yes. Quick and speedy anger, the existance of hatred for another person, or any of these other things are evidences of spiritual immaturity and the presence of corruption of the soul.

I am quite corrupt

.

Circle_One · Mar 3, 2005

No*s said:
Yes. Quick and speedy anger, the existance of hatred for another person, or any of these other things are evidences of spiritual immaturity and the presence of corruption of the soul.

I am quite corrupt .

I too then, am extremely corrupt and spiritually immature. But me, I don't care. I know I'm an angry and aggressive person and I don't mind it one bit.

No*s · Mar 3, 2005

Circle_One said:
I too then, am extremely corrupt and spiritually immature. But me, I don't care. I know I'm an angry and aggressive person and I don't mind it one bit.

I understand. We come from entirely different religious views on the matter. In mine, I will have to continue to work on my problem (among others...many others).

Circle_One · Mar 3, 2005

No*s said:
I understand. We come from entirely different religious views on the matter. In mine, I will have to continue to work on my problem (among others...many others).

See, I should work on mine, I just could care less

As long as I don't hurt anyone or anything in my anger than it's not a religious problem for me.

Joannicius · Mar 3, 2005

We all stand before the same Creator of All and will see his face soon.

I'm not meaning to say that prophetically,,, even 80 years is soon enough and I'm sure I don't have that long.

No*s · Mar 3, 2005

Circle_One said:
See, I should work on mine, I just could care less As long as I don't hurt anyone or anything in my anger than it's not a religious problem for me.

*nods*

In our tradition, anger harms us in the long run. Since we view heaven and hell as a state of our soul and how it interacts with God's presence, the presence of anger is a direct detriment to us. Anger, hate, etc. is more dangerous to our souls than some quick slip of a curse word or whatnot (and then...the person who gets really angry at the other person for cussing does more harm to themselves, ironically).

I can understand your POV, though. Anger could even be beneficial in some situations. I can see how you'd find uses for it (not accusing you of malevolance or the like).

Circle_One · Mar 3, 2005

We all stand before the same Creator of All and will see his face soon.

That is your belief Joannicius, but in my beliefs, I have a different Creator and upon death, I am not judged by her as you are by your God.

Joannicius · Mar 7, 2005

That is your belief Joannicius, but in my beliefs, I have a different Creator and upon death, I am not judged by her as you are by your God.

According to what standards will She judge you?

No*s · Mar 7, 2005

Joannicius said:
According to what standards will She judge you?

I think you will find that C1 doesn't believe that her Goddess will judge her at all, so the question is kind of moot...

GHSSOCCER07 · Mar 7, 2005

how could anger possibly be a sin?

No*s · Mar 7, 2005

First, welcome to the forums GHS

.

It's a sin, because it is spawned from our imperfection and causes more imperfection. Generally anger tends to exalt oneself at the expense of others, it harms others, and rarely serves a productive purpose. The net effect of this is that it harms the soul, and our not living peacably with other people also inhibits our ability to commune with God.

That, at least, is it in a nutshell

.

Linus · Mar 7, 2005

Are you saying that anger in itself is a sin? If this is the case then I must disagree. I will agree that some forms of anger are useless and wrong. But I think it is good that we get angry at certain things. How can we not get angry when we see sin in the world? Jesus Himself got angry at the moneychangers in the temple. I always think of this passage when I think of anger.

Ephensians 4:26 - Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,

I think it is ok to get angry for the right reasons, but if that anger gets in the way of your spirituality and causes you to sin, then get over it.

GHSSOCCER07 · Mar 7, 2005

God gets angry...so wouldnt that make him a sinner also?

GHSSOCCER07 · Mar 7, 2005

ok i see wat ur sayin now... i was typin that response at the same time u were thanks for clearin that up =-) even tho im still kinda doubtin gods existence. in exodus god says himself that what he plans will happen, and that he does what he wants...but when u think bout it does that mean he doesnt want all of us in his kingdom, or is the bible a way of life and has been passed on through generations?

No*s · Mar 7, 2005

GHSSOCCER07 said:
God gets angry...so wouldnt that make him a sinner also?

*donns apophatic hat*

The anger of God is a metaphor...it is unlike ours, and the terminology is simply to describe how we experience an action of God or a revelation, but not to describe an emotional state. God is not limited to any body that He should have emotions from the chemicals in a brain, unlike us

.

Further, I don't say all anger is sin...just the vast majority. There are valid times to get angry. It's just most of the time, anger is self-centered and self-edifying. It almost always hurts the person and the others around them. There are times when it serves a valid purpose (all God-given emotions do, sexual desire, anger, happiness, etc. and all can be misused).

No*s · Mar 7, 2005

GHSSOCCER07 said:
ok i see wat ur sayin now... i was typin that response at the same time u were thanks for clearin that up =-) even tho im still kinda doubtin gods existence. in exodus god says himself that what he plans will happen, and that he does what he wants...but when u think bout it does that mean he doesnt want all of us in his kingdom, or is the bible a way of life and has been passed on through generations?

Heh...and I was typing a response simultaneously to this

.

If you're asking whether God chooses whether who gets into heaven, I would say yes. If you were to ask the same question about whether we choose, I would also say yes

. That's a little beyond the scope of this thread, though. We could always start another on the subject lol.

The sin of anger

Captain Obvious

Active Member

Captain Obvious

Active Member

Captain Obvious

Well-Known Member

Captain Obvious

Well-Known Member

Active Member

Captain Obvious

Well-Known Member

Active Member

Captain Obvious

New Member

Captain Obvious

Well-Known Member

New Member

New Member

Captain Obvious

Captain Obvious