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The Apostle John the Theologian, in one of his epistles, writes that there is a sin not leading to death, but there is a sin leading to death:
Now it remains to understand what is the difference between these two types of sin. Here the epistle of the Apostle James can help us:
Thus, according to some interpreters of Scripture, a sin conceived in the mind, expressed in words, or otherwise, is not a sin to death, but a sin embodied in deeds, it is a sin to death.
Therefore, posting a selfie taken, for example, in a frank form in order to attract the attention of the opposite sex, can be regarded as a sin not leading to death, and fornication or adultery that occurred with the help of posting this selfie will already be a mortal sin.
To begin with, it would not hurt to understand the purpose of the selfie, to detect its intention. If we say that this is a banal desire to enjoy one's own beauty and earn social approval, the markers of which are likes and reposts, then we will find that the selfie is a sin of enjoying one's external beauty and seeking worldly glory, growing on the passions of pride, vanity and fornication.
But if we, having gained philosophical heights, assert, for example, that a person takes pictures of himself because of his alienation from others, because there is no one to look into his eyes and therefore he looks into their virtual reflection, then we come to the idea that the passion of despondency is the cause of selfies, and the act of shooting is then a sin of lack of hope in God,
Turning to the monastic culture, we will see that the mirror is an alien element of the interior for the ascetic, moreover, before the appearance of mirrors, it was not customary to look at your reflection in the water, and what's more, Anthony the Great, for example, said that he does not wash, so as not to pollute the water with his sins. However, this does not mean that the saints were basically strangers to the love of beauty. One of the spiritual practices in Christianity is to ascend from the contemplation of nature to the contemplation of God himself, to see the greatness of the Creator in the creature. Beauty is generally thought of as one of the proofs of God.
Therefore, to sum up, the mistake of selfies consists in the wrong intention of their desire, a person who was supposed to love God, loved himself and therefore completely lost peace of mind (annoying everyone on social networks), because, in the words of St. Augustine, ” God created us for Himself and our heart will not rest until it finds Him.”
By the way, passion is usually called a “mortal sin”, and there are only 7 of them (some saints single out 8), so a selfie is not a mortal sin, but it is a sin.
Let's put the gist of the matter in the realm of common sense. Why put your photos on public display? I printed my first photo when it was a little more understandable than a shamanic dance with a tambourine. Then there was also a joke: “If you want to ruin a friend, give him a camera.” But, oddly enough, it was a time of masterpieces. First, black-and-white photography required a certain, often considerable mental work: color as a means of transmitting reality was not available, and therefore it was necessary to strain and achieve this using only two available ones. The viewer, by the way, also needed the ability to “understand” what is depicted. Not to mention that photography wasn't “consumer goods” like it is now. Then came the technologically easily accessible “color”, and then the figure” finished off ” those remnants of creativity that still remained. A person wants to put their photos on public display – why? They are highly artistic works that can convey to the viewer the beauty of this world? Usually not. “Stop for a moment – you're beautiful.” Moreover, today it is customary to call it a “selfie” (previously it was called a self-portrait). Portrait, that is, the image of a person, is perhaps the most complex of all genres of fine art. A still image is intended to reveal to the viewer to a certain extent the personality properties of the person who is depicted, his character, despite the fact that the “object” itself may not fully know them. Are you ready to take the liberty of claiming that you can reach such a height? If not, then there are enough fans to increase the “mediocrity” in this world without you. If you are so eager to share your images with the world, then try to make sure that your face is not dominant in the frame, but something special that struck you so much that you wanted to perpetuate yourself next to this phenomenon. For example, in the photo of Niagara Falls, in all the grandeur of its beauty and strength, and on the edge, in the corner of my figure. Modestly and unobtrusively.
Although the list of the seven deadly sins (pride, laziness, greed, anger, gluttony, lust, envy), especially gained popularity after the film by David Fincher is quite an authentic and old Christian concept, it is more a way of understanding human life, weaknesses and passions than a practical guide. Of course, actions motivated by these feelings are not encouraged, but if you look at the question, for example, from the point of view of what you need to confess and what can become an obstacle to communion, then in the first place will not be such abstract concepts as “pride”, but a few more specific 10 commandments (those “do not make yourself an idol”, “do not kill”, “do not perjure yourself” and so on), Of course, these commandments are also commonly understood broadly, for example, “you shall not covet your neighbor's wife” is, among other things, a ban on viewing pornography, including with the participation of unmarried women, and even men. In this regard, in all Christian denominations that have the sacrament of confession, there is a tradition of making lists to help the confessor, which lists a large number of potential sins, which allows the believer to get acquainted with the list and understand what he has done.
All these violations are derived precisely from the commandments, and, theoretically, can include “taking selfies”, such as violating the first commandment “do not make yourself an idol”, in the sense that the “idol” in this case is your own body. But you need to understand that in the end, such lists are just an auxiliary tool, and may vary from one diocese to another. It all depends on the priest – someone strict, based on the idea of a rigid dichotomy of the world in which all things are either pleasing to God or God-defying, can brand selfies as something harmful, someone else will consider it just “meaningless vanity”, which is not harmful in itself, but distracts from useful things or incites to commit other sins (for example, lust), and someone will consider it an ordinary hobby that does not deserve special treatment from the church. Finally, you need to take into account the intention-a selfie, in the end, is just a self-portrait, no more sinful than any other photo. Although, of course, obsessive filling of the information space available to everyone with their own images CAN (although not necessarily) it may be considered a sign of excessive attention to one's own person, which is not appropriate for a Christian.
Personally, I have formulated a short and clear(in my opinion) answer to this question: it depends on the inner urge to take a selfie and post it, on the goal of the self-creator. In the case of “Oh, my God, look at me, I am the very splendor” or # yakrasotka, #8-oechudosvetaperedvami, feel free to attribute this individual to the future part of hell.