The Book of Temptation

I could write a book on the nature of temp­ta­tion. I sup­pose most peo­ple above the age of twenty can too. As you get older, you dis­cover its many “nuances” (a pop­u­lar word these days). You also dis­cover its amaz­ing tim­ing. It comes to you when you are the most tired, when you are frus­trated, as your hopes are built up, when things seem to be going per­fectly, at the pin­na­cle of your career, when you are down and out, or when things seem most hope­ful or hope­less. It always sneaks up on you when you are the most vul­ner­a­ble.
There is another tac­tic it uses: per­sis­tence. I do not think that the story of Eve being tempted in the Gar­den was about one event. I think the tempter came to her over and over again, until she saw it through his eyes. Noth­ing beats wear­ing you down like end­lessly hear­ing the same old polit­i­cal or pop-cultural buzz­words or buzz-phrases. After a while, they play in your head until you believe them — and will even defend them (big mis­take).
Rep­e­ti­tion, rep­e­ti­tion, rep­e­ti­tion, may be the tried and true method of learn­ing, but it also the tried and true method of pro­pa­ganda. In-house groups enjoy hear­ing each other express the same ideas until they think every­one thinks like they do (com­monly called “group­think” in busi­ness sem­i­nars). They hear the same old stuff so long that they just can­not believe any­one could pos­si­bly see things oth­er­wise. Therein lies the lie.
Every­thing has at least two sides. Crit­i­cal think­ing takes a lit­tle work and involves being more than a par­rot. Stay­ing out of temp­ta­tion means think­ing when you are too tired to think, and hav­ing the patience to dis­cern while you are rushed and hur­ried. Another illu­sion in temp­ta­tion is that you can­not learn from it and be forgiven.