Abstract / DOI
Temptation: Moral Theological and Spiritual Sketches: Temptation is an existential and basic human disposition, which defies human beings to act bad despite realizing what is good. Theologically and biblically this is connected with the evil, the devil, whom Joseph Ratzinger characterizes as the Un-Person. The tension between the evil, which approaches the human being from the outside and the evil, which rises deep inside, is preserved within the term concupiscence. From an ethical point of view temptation consists in refusing to accept responsibility. In accordance with spiritual tradition it is pointed to Jesus’s word «watch and pray» and the four cardinal virtues. Considering complex situations also the «discernment of spirits» is an important help.