Fr. Dwight Longenecker7. Materialism – I’m not talking about going to the mall to shop until you drop. That’s a minor form of materialism. The deeper problem is the growing conviction that there is no supernatural realm. God, the angels, demons, heaven and hell? They’re all just a myth. There s not invisible world. The sacraments are just symbols. The church is just a human institution. The priests are no more than social workers dressed in black. Marriage is just a piece of paper, confession is no more than therapy and self help and baptism and confirmation are just nice rites of passage for our kids. That’s materialism. Do you recognize it? Repudiate it with all your heart. It’s a lie.
8. Scientism – This is the idea that the only kind of truth you can know is scientific truth. Nobody states this as such. It’s a powerful lie of Satan because it is one of those things which is simply assumed in society. “We all know that science has disproved the Bible right?” Wrong. All truth is God’s truth and true science is always the sister of true theology. Scientism is an offshoot of assumed atheism. “There isn’t a God. There is just the laws of science. That’s all.” Spot it and name it.
9. Situational Ethics – This is another name for moral relativism. The idea is that nothing is right or wrong except for the intentions and circumstances of the moral choice. If you mean well and the circumstances justify it, then what you’ve chosen to do is okay. Huge numbers of Catholics have accepted first artificial contraception and then abortion because of situational ethics. It’s easy to see that this form of relativism is usually linked with sentimentalism and utilitarianism to bring people to the point of choosing mortal sin, but never admitting it and justifying their choice. It’s not Catholic. Don’t fall for it. If you are faced with a difficult moral decision talk to your priest or a good spiritual advisor.
10. Universalism – This poison straight from hell is the idea that God is so loving, kind and merciful that he won’t send anyone to hell. In other words, everybody will be saved. This not only directly contradicts Sacred Scripture, but it contradicts all the teaching of the church for the last two thousand years. It has lulled thousands into the false security that in the end it doesn’t matter what they do and what they choose because they will all make it to heaven at last. Satan loves universalism because he gets to dress up his lie in the clothes of the Father’s greatest attribute: the Divine Mercy. The best way to repudiate this lie is to fear hell.
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Lent is early. Ash Wednesday is February 10! If you would like a good book to read during Lent go here to check out my Screwtape Letters-type Lent books, The Gargoyle Code and Slubgrip Instructs. The second one, especially, discusses the “isms” I’ve written about here in an easy to read, day by day Lent book. It’s great for high school and college students because both books have an amusing and captivating plot line running through them. There’s also a special offer: get both books and save $5.
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