This isn’t to say that the Orthodox marginalize the power and ubiquity of sin in our lives. But the frame here has shifted in an interesting way. As mortal creatures, separated from God’s vivifying Spirit, humans are fearful and survival-driven animals, easily drawn into sinful and selfish practices. Because we are mortal and driven by self-preservation, our survival instincts make us tragically vulnerable to death anxiety—the desire to preserve our own existence above all else and at all costs.
