On the face of it, the belief that it is better to be rich than poor requires no defence. Rich means more goods and more opportunity and less concern for the basics of survival. Most importantly, it means more choice. The rich can even, if they don't like the trappings of wealth, choose to be poor, a luxury denied to the poor imRich is Beautiful
Art of Living & Literature Across Frontiers: The Pages of Sin: indulging in the seven deadlies
The bad news is that we are born sinners;
the good news (Gospel literally means good news) is that we can make things right through repentance. So Scripture, of the Catholic Church, tells us. It also tells us that along with sin there is Sin. Original sin, about which we can do nothing (except strive for grace), issues from man's first disobedience. Eve ate of the apple, enticed Adam to eat of it as well, and all of us, as a result, are rotten at the core. God, however, does not refer to this as a sin; rather it was Augustine of Hippo who peered closely and identified the hereditary stain on our souls. The word "sin" actually makes its first appearance in the Bible after Cain becomes angry with God for favoring Abel's. offering of choice cuts of meat over Cain's own assortment of fruit. God doesn't care for Cain's attitude and says: "If you do not do well, sin is couching at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it."
• The apple had done its work Oh, Master, make me chaste and celibate – but not yet! [An article introduces the shameful feelings that many people have but few admit Seven Deadly Sentiments; Even for sceptics, Saint Augustine provides the most readily understood model of spiritual salvation: that of the fleshy and venal man who renounces material interests and pleasures and accepts enlightenment. Abasement, struggle, redemption; ambition, humility, even greater glory: two dramatic curves that buttress one of the great personal testaments in Western literature, unparalleled in naked self-examination until the Romantic period. Even for believers, though, the Confessions offers more questions than answers A review of Augustine, Sinner and Saint: A New Biography ]
• · Perhaps irony is not dead after all? Isn’t It Ironic?; Booker's discussion of what he calls "the Rule of Three" reveals his obsessive, self-confirming method. From the three questions of Goldilocks and Red Riding Hood to Lear's three daughters, sets of three are ubiquitous in literature, Booker claims. "Once we become aware of the archetypal significance of three in storytelling," he explains, "we can see it everywhere, expressed in all sorts of different ways, large and small." The Seven Basic Plots: Once Upon a Time
• · · Europeans have long bemoaned the influence of Hollywood movies on their culture. Now plans by Google to create a massive digital library have triggered such strong fears in Europe Are Google's Digitization Plans A Threat To World Culture? ; Oh no, it's the death of the book ... again Another Death-Of-Publishing Scenario
• · · · Now Hollywood is starting to get worried The Mystery Of Hollywood's Missing Audiences ; Hollywood studios are suffering their longest box office slump in five years with attendance at American cinemas Can Cold River Save Hollywood?
• · · · · The great Russian writer Aleksandr said that ‘the line diving good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being.’ When you are desperate it is all about good guys and gals doing bad things and vice versa. Sydney craves stern discipline. Melbourne is preoccupied with death and disaster. Perth feels the need for nutrition. Adelaide dreams of rural romance. And Brisbane is the last bastion of reality. These are among the regional taste differences that have emerged in the turbulent new world of television this year. More desperate bad parents than good housewives ; ‘Faculty Towers’
• · · · · · One of the UK's most respected movie producers says the country's film industry is in crisis and faces the "bleakest prospect" since the 1980s Lack of ambition: Producer: UK Film Industry Needs Help ; In pop culture, we approve of rogue heroes saving the day by any means necessary. It's all about getting the job done, and in getting the job done, there will always be casualties of war. And anyway, the bad guy deserved it." And if that means a little torture? Well... So are those attitudes bleeding into the way we conduct ourselves as a nation? Torture As A Weapon Of Mass Culture...