Passion can be understood in many ways, even Christians have applied the term differently. In its theologically-negative sense, it connotes a desire that cuts-off the individual from God, that inordinately serves the self, including its body and its worldly appetites. It is the bridge from sinful thought to sinful action. The thought crosses the bridge of passion so it can commit the act that spits in God's face; the act then crosses back over the bridge and further corrupts thoughts. “Sinful acts provoke passions, the passions provoke distractive thoughts, . . . Distractive thoughts are the promptings of the demons and precursors of the passions, just as such promptings and mental images are also the precursors of particular actions.” Gregory of Sinai. The avaricious man's greedy thoughts result in the act of theft; the sensuous man's forays further steep his mind in lustful dreams.
