Basic Information
Somewhat less well established (theologically speaking at least) than their more famous cousins the seven deadly sins, the four sins that cry to heaven are those which, based on consensus of Biblical evidence, appear to be particularly offensive to The Lord. These appear to consist of:
- Murder - especially of family and/or the innocent: Abel's blood, famously, cried out to heaven to be avenged.
- Sexual Depravity
- Oppression of the Poor and Weak (widows and orphans are widely cited in Scripture)
- Cheating someone from what they have earned (traditionally defrauding an employee of their wages).
These are particularly deeply ingrained in Romanist theology - although even there it is emphasised that these sins are not unforgivable - merely particularly bad. Protestantism prefers not to create a hierarchy of sins and, with the exception of the sin against the Holy Spirit, regards sin as sin.
Similar concepts exist in other religions: Buddhism for example, identifies the Anantarika-karma - sins which are guaranteed to result in the offender being reincarnated in naraka (the Buddhist hell).