{"product_id":"evagrius-of-pontus-talking-back-a-monastic-handbook-for-combating-demons-9780879073299","title":"Evagrius of Pontus: Talking Back: A Monastic Handbook for Combating Demons","description":"\u003cp\u003eHow did the monks of the Egyptian desert fight against the demons that attacked them with tempting thoughts? How could Christians resist the thoughts of gluttony, fornication, or pride that assailed them and obstructed their contemplation of God? According to Evagrius of Pontus (345 '399), one of the greatest spiritual directors of ancient monasticism, the monk should talk back to demons with relevant passages from the Bible. His book \u003ci\u003eTalking Back (Antirrhaatikos) \u003c\/i\u003elists over 500 thoughts or circumstances in which the demon-fighting monk might find himself, along with the biblical passages with which the monk should respond. It became one of the most popular books among the ascetics of Late Antiquity and the Byzantine East, but until now the entire text had not been translated into English. From Talking Back we gain a better understanding of Evagrius's eight primary demons: gluttony, fornication, love of money, sadness, anger, listlessness, vainglory, and pride. We can explore a central aspect of early monastic spirituality, and we get a glimpse of the temptations and anxieties that the first desert monks faced.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eDavid Brakke is professor and chair of the Department of Religious Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences of Indiana University. He studied ancient Christianity at Harvard Divinity School and Yale University. Brakke is the author of \u003c\/i\u003eAthanasius and Asceticism \u003ci\u003eand \u003c\/i\u003eDemons and the Making of the Monk: Spiritual Combat in Early Christianity, \u003ci\u003e and he edits the \u003c\/i\u003eJournal of Early Christian Studies.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Cistercian Publications\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/01\/2009\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780879073299\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 190\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.55lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.40h x 5.40w x 0.40d","brand":"Evagrius, Evagrius of Pontus","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":36645589352604,"sku":"9780879073299","price":21.21,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_d8a28665-a5f8-4284-9de4-7addb658c6bf.jpg?v=1603861532","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/evagrius-of-pontus-talking-back-a-monastic-handbook-for-combating-demons-9780879073299","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}