temptation

The Fall of Man, oil painting by Hendrick Goltzius (1616)

A temptation is the incentive or incitement to an act which seems attractive, but is impractical, a social norm contradicts or is prohibited. It can refer to all kinds of doing or not doing ( acting or not). The act committed can induce remorse and guilt .

The temptation can lie in the object of the desire as such or in the way it is presented, or it can be evoked by other persons who lead to temptation through the arts of seduction (e.g. flattering, begging, guiding, inciting, promoting, arousing curiosity, commitment of authority , creating fear , threat of loss or manipulation ).

Motivation and impulse control are research subjects in psychology .

A wolf (= evil) plays dead to tempt the ravens (= people) - San Pietro fuori le mura (Spoleto)

Temptation in Christianity

In Christianity , temptation is the incentive to commit a sin . The core of all temptations is to put aside God's commandments.

In the Bible , temptation is associated with evil . In 1 Petr 5,8  EU it says:

“Be sober and watchful! Your adversary, the devil, walks around like a roaring lion, looking for whom he can devour. "

Probably the best-known passages in the Bible where temptation is mentioned are the fall into sin by Adam and Eve described in Genesis , the temptation of Job by the devil and the temptation of Jesus mentioned in the synoptic gospels ( Mt 4 : 1 -11  EU ; Mk 1,12-13  EU ; Lk 4,1-13  EU ): After his baptism , Jesus is led by the Spirit of God into the desert, where he fasts and prays and the devil tries to tempt him.

See also

• Heracles at the crossroads
• seduction
• The temptations of Saint Anthony
• Addiction
  • non-material dependence
  • material dependence
  • Harmful use of non-addictive substances
• Our Father

literature

• Erik Aurelius, Martin Klein, Johann Anselm Steiger , Eric O. Springsted, Sabine Bobert : Art. Temptation I. Old Testament II. New Testament III. Church history IV. Systematic-theological V. Practical-theological. In: Theologische Realenzyklopädie 35 (2003), pp. 44-70 (comprehensive theological overview).
• Benedict XVI. : Jesus of Nazareth. From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration , Herder, 2007, ISBN 3-451-29861-9
• Joachim Gnilka : The Gospel according to Matthew (Herder's theological commentary on the New Testament, Vol. 1), Freiburg / B 1986.
• Edmund Schlink : The Church of Jesus Christ and the Contestation (= Theological Existence Today , Issue 59), Munich: Chr. Kaiser 1938.

Web links

Wikiquote: Temptation  - Quotes

Wiktionary: temptation  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Footnotes