Resisting Desire: Models of Christ’s Temptations

I propose a categorisation of models of Christ’s temptations. The main division is between models according to which he felt a desire to perform sub-optimal acts (“internalism”), and models according to which he did not (“externalism”). Most analytic theologians today are internalists. I examine different varieties of internalism and argue that they all have serious problems, which do not apply to externalism. I conclude that externalism emerges as the strongest model.