The question itself—which is the worst of the sins?— is a temptation. It assumes a list, and it plays to our love of ranking and categories. But not so fast.

In my tradition, we try to remember to make a crucial distinction between sins and Sin. Those who talk endlessly about sins seem to want to scrutinize the behavior of others. And where there’s scrutiny, moralizing will follow, and close behind will come judgment and the call for laws. The presidential campaign trail is already littered with calls to put someone’s moral code into civil law. And religion is reduced to our nanny.

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Governor Huckabee’s claim is breathtaking. I can say that because I have to confess that I’ve given in to the temptation of that kind of thinking.

In the 1970s I ministered in a suburban parish where I was, among other things, youth minister with a couple hundred teenagers in my charge. In a prosperous community, these kids didn’t lack for opportunities, and I was jealous of how filled their calendars were. My program—and church time in general—was usually not the great priority.

Conventional church life was then helped by a state law. Believe it or not, Maryland still had blue laws strictly regulating what stores could open on Sundays. A convenience store and a gas station were the only visible distractions in that small community. The mall, one town over, was shuttered, and we had at least a fighting chance for people’s “Sabbath” attention.

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