"The concept of sin is a hard sell to atheists and agnostics alike. But... the seven deadly sins—has entered the collective consciousness regardless of belief. The origins of the seven deadly sins are nebulous and likely trace back to before Hellenistic Greece. The traditional seven deadly sins—as portrayed in Dante’s Inferno and Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales—include pride, envy, anger, sloth, greed, gluttony, and lust. Although this list has gone through various iterations in Christian liturgy, its foundations are more archetype than religious history... In the Old Testament, seven spirits of deceit are mentioned including fornication, gluttony, fighting, vain-glory, pride, lying, and injustice. This list likely influenced Evagrius Ponticus to write about the following eight categories of evil thoughts: gluttony, lust, greed, sorrow, wrath, pride, vain-glory, and sloth.... Notably, the reason why these sins are “deadly” (and not merely damaging) is rooted in Christianity. They are deadly because they have the power to “maim” or “kill” the divine spirit present in all men and women."