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Occasion of sin
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Occasion of sin
In Christian hamartiology, occasions of sin are "external circumstances—whether of things or persons—that either, due to their special nature or because of the frailty common to humanity or particular to some individual, incite or entice one to sin." This Christian theological concept is taught in the Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and Reformed traditions.
The obligation to avoid near occasions of sin can be traced back to the evangelical counsel formulated in the first Epistle of Saint Peter warning to "keep watch" as "the devil goes about seeking whom he may devour." (1 Pet. 5.8)
On the opposite side, another spiritual tradition of confronting the devil's temptation can be traced back to Jesus going to the desert "to be tempted" (Luke 4:1–13; Matthew 4:1–11). The cenobitic tradition of the Desert Fathers lived out this spiritual warfare by voluntarily facing temptations. "Tempting the devil" went as far as to develop the practise of syneisaktism for which Robert of Arbrissel, itinerant preacher, and founder of Fontevraud Abbey in the 11th century, was most notorious. The council of Poitiers in November 1100, which two legates of Pope Paschal II had convened earlier that same year, condemned this practice.
Beyond detailing the importance of the cardinal virtue of prudence in his Summa Theologiae, Saint Thomas Aquinas has been seen as a model in fleeing the near occasions of sin since the 13th century. For the famous episode of him fleeing the women sent to him by his brothers and given a chastity chord by angels, he was said to have fled these worldly temptations, "fuggendo le occasioni", like men run away from serpents and scorpions.
The formula of "avoiding occasions of sin" is first found in Latin in the writings of Bernardino of Siena for whom it is the best of all counsels, and as it were "the foundation of religion":
“Inter consilia Christi unum celeberrimum, et quasi religionis fundamentum est, fugere peccatorum occasiones.”
In the 14th century, Matthew of Kraków makes it clear that a confession is fully made only when the occasions and causes of sins are also mentioned:
“Similiter de plenitudine confessionis est dicere non solum circumstantias praedictas vel similes, sed etiam occasiones et causas peccatorum, propter quas incurristi ipsa peccata; videlicet quia neglexisti ea vitare, sicut potuisti et scivisti..”
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Occasion of sin
In Christian hamartiology, occasions of sin are "external circumstances—whether of things or persons—that either, due to their special nature or because of the frailty common to humanity or particular to some individual, incite or entice one to sin." This Christian theological concept is taught in the Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and Reformed traditions.
The obligation to avoid near occasions of sin can be traced back to the evangelical counsel formulated in the first Epistle of Saint Peter warning to "keep watch" as "the devil goes about seeking whom he may devour." (1 Pet. 5.8)
On the opposite side, another spiritual tradition of confronting the devil's temptation can be traced back to Jesus going to the desert "to be tempted" (Luke 4:1–13; Matthew 4:1–11). The cenobitic tradition of the Desert Fathers lived out this spiritual warfare by voluntarily facing temptations. "Tempting the devil" went as far as to develop the practise of syneisaktism for which Robert of Arbrissel, itinerant preacher, and founder of Fontevraud Abbey in the 11th century, was most notorious. The council of Poitiers in November 1100, which two legates of Pope Paschal II had convened earlier that same year, condemned this practice.
Beyond detailing the importance of the cardinal virtue of prudence in his Summa Theologiae, Saint Thomas Aquinas has been seen as a model in fleeing the near occasions of sin since the 13th century. For the famous episode of him fleeing the women sent to him by his brothers and given a chastity chord by angels, he was said to have fled these worldly temptations, "fuggendo le occasioni", like men run away from serpents and scorpions.
The formula of "avoiding occasions of sin" is first found in Latin in the writings of Bernardino of Siena for whom it is the best of all counsels, and as it were "the foundation of religion":
“Inter consilia Christi unum celeberrimum, et quasi religionis fundamentum est, fugere peccatorum occasiones.”
In the 14th century, Matthew of Kraków makes it clear that a confession is fully made only when the occasions and causes of sins are also mentioned:
“Similiter de plenitudine confessionis est dicere non solum circumstantias praedictas vel similes, sed etiam occasiones et causas peccatorum, propter quas incurristi ipsa peccata; videlicet quia neglexisti ea vitare, sicut potuisti et scivisti..”