The Sopranos, C.S. Lewis, and the Christian Fixation on Sexual Sin

In 'Mere Christianity,' C.S. Lewis explained that 'sins of the spirit' are more destructive than sins of the flesh.

The idea of sexual sin is deeply rooted in the Bible and Christian theology. I think few argue that adultery and fornication are, shall we say, strongly frowned upon in Scripture. We hear about it a lot, in churches, media, and daily conversations.  

One could argue that a casual non-Christian observer could even be partly excused for (falsely) believing that the Christian doctrine can primarily be summed up as, “Thou shall not put that there.”

This is, of course, not true. So it bears asking, is there too much focus among Christians on “sins of the flesh”?   

In the four Christian Gospels, after all, Jesus of Nazareth spends very few of his words on sexual sin and none of his powerful parables. On the other hand, he spends a great many words and parables teaching love, forgiveness, and grace. Many more are spent chastising the men he viewed as legalistic hypocrites; those who falsely believed themselves to be holy, good, and pure.  

In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis seemed to suggest that “trespasses of the flesh” are often overemphasized in the Christian hierarchy of sin. This is what he had to say:

…[T]hough I have had to speak at some length about sex, I want to make it as clear as I possibly can that the center of Christian morality is not here. If anyone thinks that Christians regard unchastity as the supreme vice, he is quite wrong. The sins of the flesh are bad, but they are the least bad of all sins.

Greater sins, in the opinion of Lewis, are sins of the spirit. What are those? He offers us an answer:

[T]he pleasure of putting other people in the wrong, of bossing and patronizing and spoiling sport, and back-biting, the pleasures of power, of hatred. For there are two things inside me, competing with the human self which I must try to overcome. They are the Animal self and the Diabolical self. The Diabolical self is the worse of the two. This is why a cold, self-righteous prig who goes regularly to church may be far nearer to hell than a prostitute. But of course, it is better to be neither.

I wonder if a careful look at these messages would not give some Christians pause. Humans in general tend to view themselves as basically good.

I’ve been watching The Sopranos with my wife over the last few months, and one can’t help but notice that Tony Soprano thinks of himself this way.

Tony is a lecherous husband who can’t remain faithful to his wife. He’s gluttonous. He’s incapable of being honest (with himself or those around him). And he’s quite willing to murder to protect his own interests.

Yet Tony doesn’t see himself as a bad guy. He tells his therapist, Dr. Melfi, that hell is for child rapists and Hitler—the really bad guys. Not him. Tony’s mafia pals see things the same way (see below).

The reality is, humans tend to see themselves as mostly good—even bad guys like Tony Soprano, and even those rare souls honest enough to see their own failings. And if we’re truly honest, those failings often include backbiting, power hunger, and selfish hearts that occasionally cause spasms of hatred. These are, of course, the very sins Lewis described as worse than sins of the flesh.

That said, “sins of the flesh” can still cause immense harm. Scripture makes clear that sin is not only an affront to God but also a force that enslaves and destroys.

Even non-Christians, I think, would concede that lust and adultery can be deeply destructive. In The Sopranos, for instance, Tony’s lust is intimately connected to his violence and his inability to tame the wolf within.

So is a hyper-focus on sexual sin a sign of spiritual pride? Not necessarily—though it certainly can be.

For Christians, the answer is simple: be wary of all sin and anything that separates us from God—and don’t be too distracted by the plank in your brother’s eye.