The first impression we learn about the devil is that he is cunning and subtle than any other creature that God made. The things that the devil says aren't always obviously against God. This is important because, the devil knows who God is, and therefore doesn't always try to convince others that there is no God. Although what the devil does is so much more subtle that it is easy to be lured into the lies.

 

Evil can be obvious or in a lot of ways, silent. To show an example, lets take the Harry Potter series by J.K Rowling, and the Chronicals of Narnia by C.S Lewis. In these two stories that both convey the message on good and evil, evil is presented in two very different ways on your first impression. In the Harry Potter series, it is obvious which Hogwarts house brings out the evil in people. Yes, Slytherin house. Even a good hint with the name. the Hogwarts house is represented by a snake, and the common traits includes being cunning, seeking power, and ambition. We see from the start that finding a member of the Slytherin house who is good-willed at heart is harder to find generally.

 

On the other scale, C.S Lewis brings the more usually realistic approch to show how evil can be so subtle that it would not be as clear to notice. In the Narnia books, what always strikes me is how C.S Lewis picks a less obvious figure, one who would commonly be seen as the opposite to being a malicious villain, a beautiful woman. 

 

And does the White Witch reveal her wicked nature to Edmund straight away? Of course not. She offers him treats and acts like a safe, protective new friend to him. Why would Edmund question her real motives? And that is how Edmund falls into the trap. 

 

C.S Lewis conveys this message so truthfully that so often the thing or person who gives (or most commonly, promises) us exactly what we want, does not want us to succeed in being righteous in any way. It essential to understand that evil can easily hide behind something that we would commonly see as good. 

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Our first parents, Adam and Eve marked future generations to come with original sin. It is sometimes striking to me how quickly and subtly something so simple, such as fruit caused the downfall of humanity. It reminds me of the Disney story of Snow White, of how something very familiar seemed so appealing to Snow White that she couldn't resist. She believed the witch when she was told she could wish for anything, and by eating the apple it would come true. Snow White gave into the tricks and lies of the Witch, which consequently resulted in her near-death experience. However it wasn't just that the fruit looked appealing to Eve that caused them to sin, it was the disobedience action to eat of the fruit when God said not to. 

 

Sinning is an offence to the Lord. All people sin, Christians and non-Christians. We must become aware of our sin, get rid of it and repent. Christ says in the Gospel of Matthew, “If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away! it is much better for you to lose one of your limbs than for your whole body to go to hell.” (Matthew 5:30). Christ here is reminding us, and teaching us that sin separates us from God, and whatever is causing you to sin we have to get rid of it. 

 

Of course Jesus is speaking metaphorically in this verse. He doesn’t actually want us to damage our bodies in this way. But He is more saying, if what you see causes you to sin, get rid of it. If what you  handle or reach for causes you to sin, get rid of it. Stop doing the things that causes you to sin. We cannot become holy when we engage in sin. We need to be asking ourselves “Is what I’m doing helping me to grow as a Christian, or leading me away from Christ?”

 

John explains in 1 John 5:16-17 that there are two types of sin. One is mortal, and the other isn’t, however, he mentions that all wrongdoings are classified as sin. All sin affects our friendship with our Lord if not confessed. It is a common thought that when we sin, God is moving himself further away from us; and we may believe that God doesn't love us, and that He has broken the tie in our relationship. However, through sin, we ourselves instead are moving ourselves further away from God, focusing on the world and the material things rather than Christ. 

 

Mortal sins are when we purposely turn away from God’s promises and teachings with full awareness. Mortal sin wounds the soul, and we have to repent to God to be united with him once again. Mortals sins could include but not limited to the worship of another god or idol, murder, or adultery. 

 

Venial sins are sins we commit more often, even if we aren’t aware of the sin. Venial sins would include but not limited to laziness, greed, stubbornness, making excuses to help someone. As Christians, we should always be examining our conscious. An examination of conscious is where we look through deeply into our relationship with God and others, to see if we have ignored or neglected some aspects of the Christian life that we should be putting into action to be fruitful and Christ-like.

 

Despite all sins can affect our relationship with God, venial sins do not take away our friendship and grace with God. The Catholic Church believes if a non-believer is on their deathbed and repent and trusts the Lord, they may enter into Heaven. 

 

“Some offenses are light, some heavy. It is one thing to owe ten thousand talents, another to owe a farthing. We shall have to give account of the idle word no less than of adultery; but it is not the same thing to be put to the blush and to be put upon the rack, to grow red in the face and to ensure lasting torment. You observe that if we entreat for smaller offenses, we obtain pardon: if for greater ones, it is difficult to obtain our request: and that there is a greater difference between sins” St Jerome [Against Jovinianus 2:30 (c. A.D. 393)].