{"id":235,"date":"2026-07-26T00:15:38","date_gmt":"2026-07-26T00:15:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jackshine.net\/?p=235"},"modified":"2026-07-26T00:44:26","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T00:44:26","slug":"virtue-vice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jackshine.net\/?p=235","title":{"rendered":"Virtue & Vice"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I often refer to how certain things are “demonic” in nature. Psychics, Free Masonry, Child Abuse, \u2014 sure, it’s a long list. I’m not being hyperbolic when I say that in regard to something I genuinely believe the culprit is darkly spiritual. But it’s not just grand scale stuff that is subjected to spiritual attacks, it permeates our daily life. A question that myself and others have had though is \u2014 why are we subjected to such harassment? Why is this allowed? Why is it necessary for us to deal with?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One aspect of Orthodoxy I was particularly drawn to was the emphasis on drawing from the Church Fathers. And for my Roman Catholic readers, St. Maximos the Confessor<\/em> is the last Church Father recognized by both churches \u2014 which I found to be an interesting sidenote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“There are said to be five reasons why God allows us to be assailed by demons. The first is so that, by attacking and counterattacking, we should learn to discriminate between virtue and vice. The second is so that, having acquired virtue through conflict and toil, we should keep it secure and immutable. The third is so that, when making progress in virtue, we should not become haughty but learn humility. The fourth is so that, having gained some experience of evil, we should ‘hate it with perfect hatred’ (cf. Ps. 139:22). The fifth and most important is so that, having achieved dispassion, we should forget neither our own weakness nor the power of Him who has helped us.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 St. Maximos the Confessor, Four Hundred Texts on Love<\/em> 2.67, The Philokalia Vol. 2<\/a> (+662 AD)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I see it as a spiritual gauntlet \u2014 and in this fallen world, each day affords us plenty of fresh battles to partake in.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I often refer to how certain things are “demonic” in nature. Psychics, Free Masonry, Child Abuse, \u2014 sure, it’s a long list. I’m not being hyperbolic when I say that in regard to something I genuinely believe the culprit is darkly spiritual. But it’s not just grand scale stuff that is subjected to spiritual attacks, … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[72,41,71],"class_list":["post-235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","tag-church-fathers","tag-orthodoxy","tag-saints"],"yoast_head":"\nVirtue & Vice - Jack Shine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/jackshine.net\/?p=235\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Virtue & Vice - Jack Shine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I often refer to how certain things are “demonic” in nature. Psychics, Free Masonry, Child Abuse, \u2014 sure, it’s a long list. I’m not being hyperbolic when I say that in regard to something I genuinely believe the culprit is darkly spiritual. But it’s not just grand scale stuff that is subjected to spiritual attacks, ... 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