Do all temptations have an external source?

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I recently read the Screwtape Letters, and the idea of an evil spirit continually tempting a man intrigued me. Since then I’ve started looking at temptations as a trap put before me by an adversary, and that has made them easier to resist. Is this compatible with Catholic theology?
 
As I understand it, not only is it compatible, it is in fact a statement of Catholic theology to say that we are tempted by the devil. C.S. Lewis never indicates in that book that ALL temptations result from the devil, and such a statement would (it seems) deny the existence of Original Sin. But Original Sin–and our resulting weakness–is not nearly our only obstacle to God. The other is the devil, and I think C.S. Lewis did a very good job of illustrating (by creative analogy, perhaps) the devil’s influence on us.

A very good book, wouldn’t you say? 🙂
 
Oh yeah, I loved it! I’d reccommend it to a wide range of people. Several parts really had me blushing/laughing at myself, recognizing for the first time some foolish thoughts of my own mirrored in Screwtape’s advice. I can’t think of any other fiction that has so directly helped my faith.
 
So how do we know when a temptation is internal vs. external? Does it matter?
 
Aquinas would say that there is both an internal and external cause. He says in the second part of the first part of the Summa that:

“The proximate internal cause of the human act is the reason and will, in respect of which man has a free-will; while the remote cause is the apprehension of the sensitive part, and also the sensitive appetite.”

Ultimately, the underlying cause in whether we do a sinful act is determined by our habits (or dispositions). If our will is ordered toward the good, we will resist the internal causes of sin. If our inclination toward the sensual passions (external causes, to include spiritual suggestion) are more toward the restraint of acting on those passions, then we guard against external causes of sin. It all lies in the will.

Hopefully I’m making sense.

I should add that the external cause of sin is not the same as the internal. As Thomas points out, “something external can be a cause moving to sin, but not so as to be a sufficient cause thereof: and the will alone is the sufficient completive cause of sin being accomplished.”
 
While Catholics believe in a very real devil, I personally hesitate to attribute all, or even most, temptations to an external source. To me that line of thinking can easily lead to not taking responsibility for my own actions. It does not matter where the temptations come from, ultimately I am the one who acts on them or resists them. Also, I think that in order to avoid sin it is helpful to me to accept that it is me who wants this not some sneaky devil. This helps me to analyze myself and my motivations so that I can work through them rather than simply assuming that they just popped in to my head. To avoid a pattern of the same sin, we must deal with ourselves internally. That’s just my opinion. 😃
 
Binary said:
I recently read the Screwtape Letters, and the idea of an evil spirit continually tempting a man intrigued me. Since then I’ve started looking at temptations as a trap put before me by an adversary, and that has made them easier to resist. Is this compatible with Catholic theology?
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classically in Christian spirituality the 3 sources of temptation to sin are the world, the flesh, and the devil. The worldly temptations are those of wealth, power, material gain and the like, and greed for created things. The temptations of the flesh are those of concupiscence, the disordered desire for natural pleasures (at the wrong place, time and circumstance or to a morbid degree) or disordered desire for unnatural pleasures that gratify the senses, including sexual sin as well as other misuse of the body. The temptations of the devil are those specifically addressed by Satan and his minions to the individual and are those against the first 3 commandments, sins that directly deny or challenge God’s primacy and authority. Christ was tempted by Satan in all 3 ways. The source of the first 2 tempations can lie in the created things themselves and in our desires for created things and pleasures that have been disordered by original sin. The source of the 3rd is Satan himself.
 
Well, you all gave me a lot to think about. How does this sound: Though some subset of all temptations have an external source, they are only tempting to me because of a defect in my moral character. I can deduce what these defects are (and work to correct them) based on the nature of the temptations.
 
There are three sources of temptation The World, The Flesh, and The Devil.

My personal opinion is that between the The World and The Flesh, The Devil doesn’t have a lot of work to do. Note that this is strictly my opinion. I would say that 50% of temptations are Flesh - within our self; 40% the World - our culture, and only about 10% the Devil. Again just my opinion; I have no source to quote.
 
carinapir said:
While Catholics believe in a very real devil, I personally hesitate to attribute all, or even most, temptations to an external source. To me that line of thinking can easily lead to not taking responsibility for my own actions. It does not matter where the temptations come from, ultimately I am the one who acts on them or resists them. Also, I think that in order to avoid sin it is helpful to me to accept that it is me who wants this not some sneaky devil. This helps me to analyze myself and my motivations so that I can work through them rather than simply assuming that they just popped in to my head. To avoid a pattern of the same sin, we must deal with ourselves internally. That’s just my opinion. :D/Q

Well…i disagree. Attributing all temptations to the devil , does not prevent you from taking responsibility for your actions!! To the contrary. Knowing that you are being tempted, then acting on the temptation, now leaves you where?? It leaves you making choice that you are 100% aware of. You spotted the temptation as evil/from the devil. Then you weigh it out in your head…untill??? Untill you either fall into the devils trap, or are strong enough to resist it. Either way… how can you not have ownership, over something that you have invested time & thought into ??? Its not “passing the buck” it is simply keeping inventory of your choices in life, and knowing where your thoughts (good or bad) are coming from. When i I began my actual awarness of these forces, I have improved on choosing the right way! Its a lot harder to listen to the temptations, when you know the sender is the devil himself… Would you open an e-mail that you knew would damage your computer??? probably not!!! Same goes for the spiritual warefare that we call temptation. If you knew a messege, or thought came from God you would listen closely & welcome it , right?? So when the devil creeps into your life, rejecting its messege, thought or whatever it displays to you is a victory for all that is holy!!! Oh…and if you believe in God there must be a devil…
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Binary said:
I recently read the Screwtape Letters, and the idea of an evil spirit continually tempting a man intrigued me. Since then I’ve started looking at temptations as a trap put before me by an adversary, and that has made them easier to resist. Is this compatible with Catholic theology?
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My opinion is that all temptations are internal. External situations might tempt you to do something, but really it is YOU that is tempted. If you see something that you could steal without getting caught, you might feel tempted, but if someone else sees the exact same thing, they might not be tempted at all…I don’t think that God would let any demon tempt you, and if he did let it happen, in the end, he would be behind it because he is allowing it when he could stop it.
 
Temptation and negative thoughts/ actions etc., have to be external anyway…i feel it’s because we as Catholics/ Christians, believe that we are born with the burden of sin. After baptism, our spirit is clensed of all spiritual impurities. This making our spirits pretty much like a clean slate!! After baptism, you no longer posses the sin that we were born into. Meaning from that point on, any evil, negative, or anti christ-like afflictions , are exactly that…an affliction!.. mere attemps by the devil, to destroy the pureness of your spirit. Thus tainting it , and making it appear less then holy. Another thing …it is not the temptation itself that is a sin. It is falling for the devils trickery , that is when you sin. remember…when you fall for temptations, you are saying yes to the devil, and Disobeying the Lord. Lastly…if God didn’t believe that evil, & demons were going to attack us spiritually, (leading to sin) then why did he give up his son to die for these sins???

ps…& for you to think that what temps one, should tempt all is just ludicris…if that were true, then we should all have the same birthdays, or DNA too! That makes no sense
 
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