Tuesday, October 31, 2017
Youcat commented through CCC – Question n. 356 – Part IV.
(Youcat
answer - repeated) No. esotericism ignores the reality of God. God is a
personal Being; he is love and the origin of life, not some cold cosmic energy.
Man was willed and created by God, but man himself is not divine; rather, he is
a creature that is wounded by sin, threatened by death, and in need of
redemption. Whereas most proponents of esotericism assume that man can redeem himself,
Christians believe that only Jesus Christ and God’s grace redeem them. Nor are nature and the
cosmos God (pantheism). Rather, the Creator, even though he loves us immensely,
is infinitely greater and unlike anything he has created.
A deepening through CCC
(CCC 2116)
All forms of divination are to be
rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices
falsely supposed to "unveil" the future (Cf. Deut 18:10; Jer 29:8).
Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and
lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a
desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human
beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the
honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.
Reflecting
and meditating
(Youcat comment) Many people today practice yoga for health
reasons, enroll in a meditation course so as to become more calm and collected,
or attend dance workshops so as to experience their bodies in a new way. These
techniques are not always harmless. Often they are vehicles for doctrines that
are foreign to Christianity. No reasonable person should hold an irrational
world view, in which people can tap magical powers or harness mysterious
spirits and the “initiated” have a secret knowledge that is withheld from the
“ignorant”. In ancient Israel, the surrounding peoples’ beliefs in gods and
spirits were exposed as false. God alone is Lord; there is no god besides him.
Nor is there any (magical) technique by which one can capture or charm “the
divine”, force one’s wishes on the universe, or redeem oneself. Much about
these esoteric beliefs and practices is superstition or occultism.
(CCC Comment)
(CCC 2120) Sacrilege consists in profaning or
treating unworthily the sacraments and other liturgical actions, as well as
persons, things, or places consecrated to God. Sacrilege is a grave sin
especially when committed against the Eucharist, for in this sacrament the true
Body of Christ is made substantially present for us (Cf. CIC, cann. 1367;
1376).
Monday, October 30, 2017
Youcat commented through CCC – Question n. 356 – Part III.
YOUCAT Question n. 356 - Part III. Is esotericism as found, for example in New Age beliefs, compatible with the Christian faith?
(Youcat
answer - repeated) No. esotericism ignores the reality of God. God is a
personal Being; he is love and the origin of life, not some cold cosmic energy.
Man was willed and created by God, but man himself is not divine; rather, he is
a creature that is wounded by sin, threatened by death, and in need of
redemption. Whereas most proponents of esotericism assume that man can redeem
himself, Christians believe that only Jesus Christ and God’s grace redeem them. Nor are nature
and the cosmos God (pantheism). Rather, the Creator, even though he loves us
immensely, is infinitely greater and unlike anything he has created.
A deepening through CCC
(CCC 2113)
Idolatry not only refers to false pagan worship. It remains a constant
temptation to faith. Idolatry consists in divinizing what is not God. Man
commits idolatry whenever he honors and reveres a creature in place of God,
whether this be gods or demons (for example, satanism), power, pleasure, race, ancestors,
the state, money, etc. Jesus says, "You cannot serve God and mammon"
(Mt 6:24). Many martyrs died for not adoring "the Beast" (Cf. Rev
13-14) refusing even to simulate such worship. Idolatry rejects the unique
Lordship of God; it is therefore incompatible with communion with God (Cf. Gal
5:20; Eph 5:5).
Reflecting and meditating
(Youcat comment) Many people today practice yoga for health
reasons, enroll in a meditation course so as to become more calm and collected,
or attend dance workshops so as to experience their bodies in a new way. These
techniques are not always harmless. Often they are vehicles for doctrines that
are foreign to Christianity. No reasonable person should hold an irrational
world view, in which people can tap magical powers or harness mysterious
spirits and the “initiated” have a secret knowledge that is withheld from the
“ignorant”. In ancient Israel, the surrounding peoples’ beliefs in gods and
spirits were exposed as false. God alone is Lord; there is no god besides him.
Nor is there any (magical) technique by which one can capture or charm “the
divine”, force one’s wishes on the universe, or redeem oneself. Much about
these esoteric beliefs and practices is superstition or occultism.
(CCC Comment)
(CCC 2115) God
can reveal the future to his prophets or to other saints. Still, a sound
Christian attitude consists in putting oneself confidently into the hands of
Providence for whatever concerns the future, and giving up all unhealthy
curiosity about it. Improvidence, however, can constitute a lack of
responsibility.
(This question: Is esotericism as found, for example in New Age beliefs, compatible with the Christian faith? is continued)
Sunday, October 29, 2017
Youcat commented through CCC – Question n. 356 – Part II.
YOUCAT Question n. 356 - Part II. Is esotericism as found, for example in New Age beliefs, compatible with the Christian faith?
(Youcat
answer - repeated) No. esotericism ignores the reality of God. God is a
personal Being; he is love and the origin of life, not some cold cosmic energy.
Man was willed and created by God, but man himself is not divine; rather, he is
a creature that is wounded by sin, threatened by death, and in need of
redemption. Whereas most proponents of esotericism assume that man can redeem
himself, Christians believe that only Jesus Christ and God’s grace redeem them. Nor are nature
and the cosmos God (pantheism). Rather, the Creator, even though he loves us
immensely, is infinitely greater and unlike anything he has created.
A deepening through CCC
(CCC 2112)
The first commandment condemns polytheism.
It requires man neither to believe in, nor to venerate, other divinities than
the one true God. Scripture constantly recalls this rejection of "idols,
(of) silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but do not
speak; eyes, but do not see." These empty idols make their worshippers
empty: "Those who make them are like them; so are all who trust in
them" (Ps 115:4-5, 8; cf. Isa 44:9-20; Jer 10:1-16; Dan 14:1-30; Bar 6;
Wis 13: 1- 15:19). God, however, is the "living God" (Josh 3:10; Ps
42:3; etc.) who gives life and intervenes in history.
Reflecting and meditating
(Youcat comment) Many people today practice yoga for health
reasons, enroll in a meditation course so as to become more calm and collected,
or attend dance workshops so as to experience their bodies in a new way. These
techniques are not always harmless. Often they are vehicles for doctrines that are
foreign to Christianity. No reasonable person should hold an irrational world
view, in which people can tap magical powers or harness mysterious spirits and
the “initiated” have a secret knowledge that is withheld from the “ignorant”.
In ancient Israel, the surrounding peoples’ beliefs in gods and spirits were
exposed as false. God alone is Lord; there is no god besides him. Nor is there
any (magical) technique by which one can capture or charm “the divine”, force
one’s wishes on the universe, or redeem oneself. Much about these esoteric
beliefs and practices is superstition or occultism.
(CCC Comment)
(CCC 2114)
Human life finds its unity in the adoration of the one God. The commandment to
worship the Lord alone integrates man and saves him from an endless
disintegration. Idolatry is a perversion of man's innate religious sense. An
idolater is someone who "transfers his indestructible notion of God to
anything other than God" (Origen, Contra
Celsum 2, 40: PG 11, 861).
(This question: Is esotericism as found, for example in New Age beliefs, compatible with the Christian faith? is continued)
Saturday, October 28, 2017
Youcat commented through CCC – Question n. 356 – Part I.
YOUCAT Question n. 356 - Part I. Is esotericism as found, for example in New Age beliefs, compatible with the Christian faith?
(Youcat
answer) No. esotericism ignores the reality of God. God is a personal Being; he
is love and the origin of life, not some cold cosmic energy. Man was willed and
created by God, but man himself is not divine; rather, he is a creature that is
wounded by sin, threatened by death, and in need of redemption. Whereas most
proponents of esotericism assume that man can redeem himself, Christians
believe that only Jesus Christ and God’s grace redeem them. Nor are nature and the cosmos God (pantheism).
Rather, the Creator, even though he loves us immensely, is infinitely greater
and unlike anything he has created.
A deepening through CCC
(CCC 2118)
God's first commandment condemns the main sins of irreligion: tempting God, in
words or deeds, sacrilege, and simony. (CCC 2110) The first commandment forbids
honoring gods other than the one Lord who has revealed himself to his people.
It proscribes superstition and irreligion. Superstition in some sense
represents a perverse excess of religion; irreligion is the vice contrary by
defect to the virtue of religion.
Reflecting and meditating
(Youcat comment) Many people today practice yoga for health
reasons, enroll in a meditation course so as to become more calm and collected,
or attend dance workshops so as to experience their bodies in a new way. These
techniques are not always harmless. Often they are vehicles for doctrines that
are foreign to Christianity. No reasonable person should hold an irrational
world view, in which people can tap magical powers or harness mysterious
spirits and the “initiated” have a secret knowledge that is withheld from the
“ignorant”. In ancient Israel, the surrounding peoples’ beliefs in gods and
spirits were exposed as false. God alone is Lord; there is no god besides him.
Nor is there any (magical) technique by which one can capture or charm “the
divine”, force one’s wishes on the universe, or redeem oneself. Much about
these esoteric beliefs and practices is superstition or occultism.
(CCC Comment)
(CCC 2111)
Superstition is the deviation of religious feeling and of the practices this
feeling imposes. It can even affect the worship we offer the true God, e.g.,
when one attributes an importance in some way magical to certain practices
otherwise lawful or necessary. To attribute the efficacy of prayers or of
sacramental signs to their mere external performance, apart from the interior
dispositions that they demand, is to fall into superstition (Cf. Mt 23:16-22).
(This question: Is esotericism as found, for example in New Age beliefs, compatible with the Christian faith? is continued)
Friday, October 27, 2017
Youcat commented through CCC – Question n. 355 – Part IX.
YOUCAT Question n. 355 - Part IX. “You shall not have strange Gods before me.” What does that mean?
(Youcat
answer - repeated) This commandment forbids us: to adore other gods and pagan
deities or to worship an earthly idol or to devote oneself entirely to some
earthly good (money, influence, success, beauty, youth, and so on); to be
superstitious, which means to adhere to esoteric, magic, or occult or New Age
practices or to get involved with fortune telling or spiritualism, instead of
believing in God’s power, providence, and blessings; to provoke God by word or
deed; to commit a sacrilege; to acquire spiritual power through corruption and
to desecrate what is holy through trafficking (simony).
A deepening through CCC
(CCC 2127) Agnosticism
assumes a number of forms. In certain cases the agnostic refrains from denying
God; instead he postulates the existence of a transcendent being which is
incapable of revealing itself, and about which nothing can be said. In other
cases, the agnostic makes no judgment about God's existence, declaring it
impossible to prove, or even to affirm or deny.
Reflecting and meditating
(CCC Comment)
(CCC 2128)
Agnosticism can sometimes include a certain search for God, but it can equally
express indifferentism, a flight from the ultimate question of existence, and a
sluggish moral conscience. Agnosticism is all too often equivalent to practical
atheism. (CCC 2138) Superstition is a departure from
the worship that we give to the true God. It is manifested in idolatry, as well
as in various forms of divination and magic. (CCC 2139) Tempting God in words or deeds, sacrilege, and simony
are sins of irreligion forbidden by the first commandment. (CCC 2140) Since it rejects or denies the existence of God,
atheism is a sin against the first commandment.
(The next question is: Is esotericism as found, for example in New Age beliefs, compatible with the Christian faith?)
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