Gary Neal Hansen

Theology. It's good for you.

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You are here: Home / Archives for Evagrius Ponticus

Accidie — The Noontime Demon (The Writer’s Inner Life)

August 22, 2016 by Gary Neal Hansen 8 Comments

the noontime demon

I’m working on making my working life happy and productive without having to punch a clock or meet institutional deadlines. So my advisors at the moment are the Desert Fathers and Mothers, Christians who moved out to the fourth century Egyptian desert for an isolated life of prayer. Sometimes they hit it straight out of the park, not just […]

Filed Under: Monasticism, Saints, The Inner Life of the Writer Tagged With: Accidie, Antony the Great, Desert Fathers, Evagrius of Pontus, Evagrius Ponticus, Saint anthony, The noontime demon

Lent 4: On Sex, and Being a Seaworthy Ship

March 12, 2015 by Gary Neal Hansen Leave a Comment

Like food, sexual activity is necessary for survival. But while food is needed for each individual, in the case of sex the need is for the species. Nobody, as they say, ever actually died of chastity. The understanding of many Christian centuries that chastity is actually better for you may seem at least foreign. In our society we equate sexuality with […]

Filed Under: Church Year, Theology Tagged With: Chastity, Evagrius of Pontus, Evagrius Ponticus, Fornication, Lent, Lust

Lent 3: Food as Food

March 9, 2015 by Gary Neal Hansen Leave a Comment

Evagrius Ponticus (d. 399), the great Desert Father with whom I’m spending this Lent has a  has a way of pointing out obvious things that I’ve spent a very long time not noticing: biblically speaking, food has a long history of getting us into problems. Desire for food gave birth to disobedience and a sweet taste […]

Filed Under: Church Year, Faith, Theology Tagged With: Evagrius of Pontus, Evagrius Ponticus, Food, Gluttony, Martin Luther

Lent 2: Lenten Fasting and My Potato Chip Problem

March 6, 2015 by Gary Neal Hansen Leave a Comment

Once upon a time, a marketing genius thought up a great slogan for Lay’s potato chips: Betcha can’t eat just one.” My waistline has testified to the truth of this for decades. They are right. I can’t. My conversation partner for Lent, the great Desert Father Evagrius Ponticus, had the same insight back in the […]

Filed Under: Church Year, Theology Tagged With: Evagrius of Pontus, Evagrius Ponticus, Fasting, John Calvin, Lent, Lenten disciplines

Lent: Taking Stock with Evagrius Ponticus

February 26, 2015 by Gary Neal Hansen Leave a Comment

Lent is a season for self-examination. It is not mainly about feeling guilty. It is more like a chance to check the GPS (that might be “God Positioning System” if you like acronyms) and figure out exactly where you have come and where you still have to go. We often describe this life as a spiritual journey, […]

Filed Under: Church Year, Faith, Monasticism, Theology Tagged With: Desert Fathers, Evagrius of Pontus, Evagrius Ponticus, Lent, Self-examination

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Theology. It’s good for you.

I'm a Church historian by trade. My writing, speaking, and teaching explores the Christian past to equip today's disciples. Join me here for regular posts on the best of theology, spirituality, community, and ministry. read more…

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