ON FIRST PRINCIPLES

"Paul the apostle teaches us that we 'should not give place to the devil,' (Eph.4:27) but, he says, 'Put on the whole armor of God, that he may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil' (Eph. 6:11), pointing out that the saints' wrestling 'is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the world's darkness, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places ' (Eph 6:12). Further, he says, that the Savior was crucified by 'the princes of this world,' who are 'coming to naught,' whose 'wisdom,' he adds, he does not speak (cf. 1 Cor 2:6-8). Through all these instances, therefore, the divine scripture teaches us that there are certain invisible enemies fighting against us, and it tells us that we must be armed to meet them. This leads the simpler sort of believers in Christ the Lord to suppose that all the sins that men have committed come from the persistent influence of the contrary powers on the sinners ' minds, because in this invisible contest the powers are found to be superior. But if, so to speak, there were no devil, no man would sin at all. "We, however, who look more carefully into the reason of things , do not think this is so; especially when we consider the acts that arise clearly from the necessities of the body. Are we to suppose that the devil is the cause of we being hungry or thirsty? I suppose that there is no one who would venture to maintain this. If then he is not the cause of our being hungry or thirsty, what of that condition when an individual has attained the age of puberty and this period has called forth the exciting movements of the natural heat? It follows without a doubt that, as the devil is not the cause of our being hungry or thirsty, so neither is he the cause even of that impulse which is naturally called forth at the time of maturity, that is, of the desire for sexual intercourse. It is certain that this impulse is by no means aroused by the devil , so as to lead us to suppose that if there were no devil our bodies would not have the desire for such intercourse." P.277-278, "The Opposing Powers," ON FIRST PRINCIPLES by Origen (2013)