‘Sinfully delicious’?

I don’t have many pet peeves but the ones I have are big and hairy with scary teeth. One such peeve, for example, is the phrase sinfully delicious. Variations of these sadly misguided words have filled shows and commercials for years: This dessert is so good… it’s sinful.

Pththth.

I’m no theologian but I am a Christian. The idea of honoring evil by giving it credit for inventing any true pleasure instead of a watered-down imitation is misleading and dangerous.

Can chocolate cake be sinfully delicious? I think not. One may overindulge in anything but delicious creamy richness is pretty much the opposite of sin. This, in my opinion, is one of the biggest disconnects between the Judeo-Christian view of sin and that of pop culture. In the final analysis, I’ll bet the only foods Hell has invented thus far are carb-free bread and rice cakes.

…in your presence there is fullness of joy;
    at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 16:11

Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

I Cor 2:9

Imagine that. All real pleasures come from God – pleasures far beyond what we are capable of imagining – and I’ve got a great imagination. Hell can only create the blandest of copies. Here is how the demon Screwtape describes it C.S. Lewis’ classic:

“Never forget that when we are dealing with any pleasure in its healthy and normal and satisfying form, we are, in a sense, on the Enemy’s ground. I know we have won many a soul through pleasure. All the same, it is His invention, not ours. He made the pleasures: all our research so far has not enabled us to produce one. All we can do is to encourage the humans to take the pleasures which our Enemy has produced, at times, or in ways, or in degrees, which He has forbidden. Hence we always try to work away from the natural condition of any pleasure to that in which it is least natural, least redolent of its Maker, and least pleasurable. An ever increasing craving for an ever diminishing pleasure is the formula.”

The Screwtape Letters
C. S. Lewis

Some people depict talented rock stars as the epitome of evil. Rock stars may wear black and may or may not choose evil but evil is rarely that glamorous. Or consider any kick-ass super-villain like Darth Vader. In real life, Mr. Vader would either be the powerful, smart, cunning (all good qualities) leader of your enemies or a hateful sniveling xenophobe like Hitler. Either way, you’d never buy his action figure.

Sam and Frodo discussed this in The Lord of the Rings:

‘Don’t orcs eat, and don’t they drink? Or do they just live on foul air and poison?’

‘No, they eat and drink, Sam. The Shadow that bred them can only mock, it cannot make: not real new things of its own. I don’t think it gave life to the orcs, it only ruined them and twisted them; and if they are to live at all, they have to live like other living creatures.

The Return of the King
J. R. R. Tolkien

Given all this, why would we celebrate evil? I saw a girl in the supermarket the other night with a baseball cap that read “Unholy”. The original meaning of the Hebrew word for holy means, “set apart” or “special”. She probably wouldn’t wear a cap that simply read, “Not special”.

So then, what is left? If none of these things are sin, what is? The true nature of sin and evil is more akin to a middle-aged predator trying to entice children at the mall. Pasty, cowardly, lustful, and selfish — never cool, never enviable. Sin can only mock, it cannot make. It is an ever increasing craving for an ever diminishing pleasure. When you think of evil, think of that predator. But when you think of chocolate cake, it’s okay to think of Heaven.