Today, we’re going to look at St. Thomas Aquinas on why God allows temptations. Below in black italics will be quotes from St. Thomas’ Summa, part one, Question 114. As usual, my commentary will be in orange below.
St. Thomas: I answer that, Two things may be considered in the assault of the demons—the assault itself, and the ordering thereof. The assault itself is due to the malice of the demons, who through envy endeavor to hinder man’s progress; and through pride usurp a semblance of Divine power, by deputing certain ministers to assail man, as the angels of God in their various offices minister to man’s salvation.
Nix: The “Catholic Scripture Scholars” of the 1970s erroneously taught that demons were just diseases renamed by a primitive and stupid people. But by now, most Christians in the 21st century have heard enough talks from exorcists to know that demons are real-fallen angels with astonishing power, at least to those who work in cahoots with them. There’s also too much sin in the world to deny the presence of preternatural evil far beyond human control. Where are the demons located? Demons are in hell (Mt 25:41) and they are also are on earth (Apo 12:4) Again, they are real-live evil-angels who have turned against God. Like angels, they surround us. (But thankfully, 2/3 of the angels around us are good, as seen in Apo 12:4.) Because angels (both good and bad) are not in the same time frame as us, the angels’ will got locked-in at what St. Thomas calls “the three instances.” The good angels were confirmed in grace. The bad angels (despite their current and eternal remorse) still have their wills locked on evil. Because their wills are set on evil, they still maintain their two main approaches to the Creator and creatures: 1) pride and 2) envy. Demons maintain envy towards man on earth because we may still attain the Beatific Vision, and they cannot. Demons flex in pride against man because they grasp at God’s power on earth. What is the take-away here? Get to heaven by being humble. This is first done by being humble before the traditional Magisterium, not adhering to the modernist Magisterium. Remember, many smaller angels followed Lucifer out of “obedience.” We must be obedient to God, not man, especially in a Church crisis like today.
But the ordering of the assault is from God, Who knows how to make orderly use of evil by ordering it to good. On the other hand, in regard to the angels, both their guardianship and the ordering thereof are to be referred to God as their first author.
It’s important to notice here that St. Thomas is not saying that God sends demons in the same manner as He sends us angels. Angels are sent directly by God as His positive will. Hence, St. Thomas says God is angels’ “first author” in their dealings on earth. Demons are simply conscripted or allowed in Divine Providence. But because demons are only on “the length of the leash” that God allows (so to speak) St. Thomas can write “the ordering of the assault is from God.” Why from God? St. Thomas just answered: “To make orderly use of evil by ordering it to good.” That is one of the most beautiful lines in the Summa! In other words, God turns the bad free-will decisions of all creatures (even fallen angels and evil humans) to the benefit of good humans on earth. St. Augustine taught that God allows evil men to persecute good men so that the bad man might either convert or to exercise (not exorcise) the good man in his virtue. And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.—Rom 8:28.
I answer that, To tempt is, properly speaking, to make trial of something. Now we make trial of something in order to know something about it: hence the immediate end of every tempter is knowledge.
Notice that demons tempt you so they may illicitly usurp God’s power by some form of fake imitation of His Sovereignty. Demons obviously also tempt you to bring you hell, to be like them in rebellion to God. But St. Thomas also gives a third reason above: Demons tempt you to find out something about you. It’s a “fishing expedition” to see what you got, what you’re worth in the spiritual life.
From this we can gather how various beings are said to tempt in various ways. For man is said to tempt, sometimes indeed merely for the sake of knowing something; and for this reason it is a sin to tempt God; for man, being uncertain as it were, presumes to make an experiment of God’s power. Sometimes too he tempts in order to help, sometimes in order to hurt. The devil, however, always tempts in order to hurt by urging man into sin. In this sense it is said to be his proper office to tempt: for thought at times man tempts thus, he does this as minister of the devil. God is said to tempt that He may know, in the same sense as that is said to know which makes others to know. Hence it is written (Dt. 13:3): “The Lord your God trieth you, that it may appear whether you love him.”
Notice St. Thomas is saying that God can test us to see what we’re worth. That is His prerogative, for He is sovereign and He is Our Father. (Think of Abraham taking Isaac up the mountain to sacrifice him, cf Gen 22.) However, when we tempt God (for example, serious sins like turning on a computer to see bad websites while asking God shut down the computer if He just wants to keep us from immodest images or driving drunk at high speeds thinking God will save you if He loves you) then we are sinning seriously by tempting the Lord Our God. It is obviously evil, but it’s also some form of a “fishing expedition” against God’s Providence. Because God is the Creator, He will not be tested by the creature in any way. However, demons are allowed to tempt us to learn our weaknesses. By calling on God in temptation, our weaknesses don’t matter as much as our trust. This is because God is infinitely more powerful than His puny creature, even the demon. Thus, when we call on God, we will certainly win against temptation. In some sense, every temptation is a test on how much we trust in God and are humble enough to call on him. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.—Jam 4:7.
On the contrary, It is written (De Eccl. Dogmat. xlix): “Not all our evil thoughts are stirred up by the devil, but sometimes they arise from the movement of our free-will.” for instance, we might say that he who dries the wood is the cause of the wood burning. In this way we must admit that the devil is the cause of all our sins; because he it was who instigated the first man to sin, from whose sin there resulted a proneness to sin in the whole human race: and in this sense we must take the words of Damascene and Dionysius. But a thing is said to be the direct cause of something, when its action tends directly thereunto. And in this way the devil is not the cause of every sin: for all sins are not committed at the devil’s instigation, but some are due to the free-will and the corruption of the flesh.
St. Thomas is here saying that all evil has some root in the initial fall of Lucifer and later Adam. However, we can’t blame every stupid thing we do on a demon. The fact is that many sins we commit without the help of a devil! Anytime we cooperate with grace (or sin) we do such as free-agents working with free will, whether angels or demons are involved in our decision or not. As the Holy Spirit said through St. Paul: No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation, He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.—1 Cor 10:12-13.