Can I sin without the devil?

[DavidFilmer]

The devil is often mentioned as a factor in temptation. And, of course, it played an important role in the temptation that led to humanity's fall from grace.

But does the devil play a daily role in my life? I think (and maybe this is prideful, in a way) that I am perfectly capable of screwing up all on my own!

If the devil and his horde took a day off, would the world be free from sin? Would it really make much difference?

[Seeker]

Hi David,

My understanding is that we are tempted by the "unholy trinity" of the devil, the world, and the flesh.  So my guess is that if the devil and his hordes took the day off that the world would still be full of sin because of our own sinful pride as well as temptations that come from the world.

I too don't need any help being tempted.  I do very well on my own.  The devil certainly makes things tougher though.

Man, what a battle we face everyday when we have to fight ourselves, the world, AND Satan.  What is sometimes helpful to defeat these temptations, I think are:

• A child-like dependence on Christ
• Prayer to your guardian angel and St. Michael for aid against the Devil
• A healthy detachment from material things and the world
• Self mortification such as fasting and other sacrifices (not just during Lent) to help "conquer" ourselves

The bottom line is if Jesus abides in us, and we are a dwelling place for the Spirit, then we have the aid we need against all forms of temptation.  Great thread starter! This is an important topic.  It's not just the devil that causes us to fall.

[Rev. Eric]

Hello All,

Let me begin by examining the other side of the coin.

As we all know, God has given us the gift of a freewill, and we can choose to do good or evil.  The Holy Spirit inspires us to do good, and ultimately whatever good we accomplish was wrought by the fact that the Holy Spirit empowered us to do it.  But, whereas the Holy Spirit inspires and empowers, the Spirit does not force us to do good.  If God forces us, then he are not truly free to choose Him over sin.  If we are not truly free to choose Him, then we are not truly free to love Him.  God, of course, being perfect, true love, will make sure that we have true freedom, because true love is at stake.

With this in mind, it is reasonable to say that God preserves our freewill as far as the devil is concerned.  Whereas the Holy Spirit inspires us to do good, the devil inspires us to do evil, but neither will force us.  Ultimately, I have the God-given freedom to choose either.  If the devil and his fallen angels took the day off, my life would still be filled with choices and opportunities to do good or sin, and I would be able to choose sin if I wanted.  Even though the devil would not be around, temptation would exist because I would be around, and the essence of sin is the choice to put my interests and desires over the Will of God.  This, of course, is the "sinful pride" that Seeker mentioned.

So even though the devil has a hand in sin, vice and temptation, I believe that I can fall into sin on my own accord.  If I can't fall into sin in and of my own accord, then that could be seen as a violation of my freewill.  After all, if I am free, in and of myself, to truly choose God, then I am also free, in and of myself, not to choose God (which is what happens when we sin).

This was a very good and interesting question, David.  Of course, it is hypothetical and I am simply expressing my own opinion.  Unfortunately the devil does not take days off so I don't think we will be able to convince him to for the sake of experimentation.  

Seeker, I really liked your "unholy trinity" description.  On a side note, my copy of Patrick Madrid's "Answer Me This" arrived in the mail today.

God bless,
-Rev. Eric

[Seeker]

Great Rev. Eric!  Let us know what you think of Patrick Madrid's book.

[Melody]

Yes, a good question indeed David. And nice answers Seeker & Rev (as usual!).

I was prompted to look up the CCC's def. of 'Sin' before answering this one.

1850 Sin is an offense against God: "Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done that which is evil in your sight." Sin sets itself against God's love for us and turns our hearts away from it. Like the first sin, it is disobedience, a revolt against God through the will to become "like gods," knowing and determining good and evil. Sin is thus "love of oneself even to contempt of God." In this proud self- exaltation, sin is diametrically opposed to the obedience of Jesus, which achieves our salvation.

This pretty much endorses what you all have been saying about sinful pride.

One more passage that stood out was:

1865 Sin creates a proclivity to sin; it engenders vice by repetition of the same acts. This results in perverse inclinations which cloud conscience and corrupt the concrete judgment of good and evil. Thus sin tends to reproduce itself and reinforce itself, but it cannot destroy the moral sense at its root.

Based on the above & using yr hypothetical situation: Suppose a person was addicted to a sin. And then Satan & his angels took the day off. Would than person continue to sin? By the passage of the CCC above, it would seem that he would. A person who's not addicted perhaps might not.

In Concl. I think this is Good News rather than bad (I am an eternal optimist!) because it shows that we have FREE WILL - to choose right over wrong, whoever's on duty/off on any given day.

[tklein1014]

Just my meager addition and opinion, which pretty much agrees with the others already posted, but I think people are sinful by nature, so we don't need Satan's help, although he does contribute to and encourage our sinfulness.

Tina

[Seeker]

Let me add one more thing to the discussion.  The Devil figures prominently in the fall of Adam and Eve and thus, our wounded nature.  If the Devil had never tempted Adam and Eve, could they, or one of their descendants have sinned and lost original grace without Satan's help?  Just speculation.

[tklein1014]

If the Devil had never tempted Adam and Eve, could they, or one of their descendants have sinned and lost original grace without Satan's help?

Just my $.02 & speculation, but I don't think so, since they seemed so innocent before they were tempted.  I do believe that if he hadn't succeded in tempting Adam & Eve, Satan would have kept trying in future generations until original sin was acheived, one way or the other.  In other words, I think original sin is necessary for us to have a sinful nature. Hope that made sense...

Tina