Why a Certain Kind of Legalism Entices Us (And What We Can Do about It)
Sometimes one sentence in a book just clicks. It opens up a new avenue of understanding, which can drill deep across layers of thought and practice. I had one such experience just this morning. While reading a book by Maximos the Confessor (c. 580–662), I came across this line: “The subjection of the passions does not suffice the soul for spiritual gladness if it has not acquired the virtues by the fulfillment of the commandments” (Two Hundres Chapters on Theology, 1.77). The sentence sounds complicated. But that has more to do with the old-time language than it does with the...