Category Archives: Gnosticism

I’M CATHOLIC. NOW WHAT? By Shaun McAfee – a book review by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Abortion, Apologetics, Blessed Virgin Mary, Book Review, Church, Community, Converts, Creation, Death and Dying, Demons, Diaconate, Divine Mercy, Early Church Fathers, Easter, Ethics, Eucharist, Evangelism, Family, Fatherhood, Forgiveness, Gnosticism, Healing, Heresy, Holiness, Holy Orders, Holy Spirit, How to be Catholic, Lent, Life in the Spirit, Liturgy, Marriage, Miracles, Morality, Mystagogy, New Age, Penance and Reconciliation, Pope Francis, Prayer, Priesthood, Pro-Life, Purgatory, Relationships, Relics, Resurrection, Rosary, Sacraments, Saints, Scripture, Service, Sin, Social Media, Spirituality, Teaching, Trust, Vocation, Women, , ,

I’M CATHOLIC.  NOW WHAT?   By Shaun McAfee – a book review by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Shaun McAfee, founder of EpicPew.com, blogger at National Catholic Register, contributor to Catholic Answers Magazine and many other Catholic resources has written a new book published by Our Sunday Visitor.  Personally I think that this is the best book he has written; and I really enjoyed his other books.  When I first saw the pre-publication announcement for this book, I immediately put in an order for it.  The title and description led me to believe that this book would be a great resource for my parish RCIA program.  I have been involved in the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) program for many years and know that those who have gone through it need a really good resource book to continue their journey after the time in the program has finished.  After reading this book I not only realized that the book is perfect for that, but that the book is perfect for all Catholics on their journey of living out the beauty of the Catholic faith.

The author of this book is a convert and has gone through the RCIA process to become a Catholic.  How I wish that all of the people who go through RCIA become as good a Catholic as Shaun and his wife have become.  Shaun’s overall knowledge of the Catholic faith and Catholic Theology (he has a graduate degree from Holy Apostles College) is amazing.  The way he lives out that faith with his wife and family is even more amazing.  Faith is made to be put in to action and Shaun certainly does that.  I have followed Shaun and his family on Facebook for almost six years and although I have never met him in person, I see the faith filled life that he leads.  That faith filled life pours over in to this book.  Shaun tells us all the things we need to know to be a good Catholic and he gives us personal examples of how to be a good Catholic.

This 335 page book consists of 100 chapters that give us a lot of information on the Catholic Church and why we do the things that we do.  I find it very refreshing that he takes the times to not only tell us the things that we should be doing to be a good Catholic, but also tells us why we do those things.  He often refers to the Holy Scriptures as well as the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  He also uses stories from the early church Fathers and the Saints to explain.   Besides that, he gives us plenty of personal examples from his own life.  He covers just about everything that you can think of that speaks of Catholicism.  He not only covers different topics but also gives us things to do.  For example, not only do we learn about Baptism, but he also gives us ideas on how to celebrate our Baptism day.  He talks to us about the priesthood and then encourages us to invite a priest over for dinner.

Shaun’s section on BEING A MODERN CATHOLIC has so much richness to it when discussing evil, relativism (a must read), marriage, sexuality, abortion, euthanasia, immigration, gossiping, giving, and consumerism.  His discussion of the current sex abuse scandal and cover up is enlightening.  He deals with all of the current issues in the Church today.  His way of facing these issues clearly shows the HOPE that we as Catholics are called to have.  Shaun ends his book with a section on EVANGELIZATION: IT’S FOR EVERYONE.  The chapters in this section remind us of our calling as Catholics to share the Good News that we have received.  He explains the “New Evangelization” and encourages us to reach out to those around us, especially to our children.

I highly recommend that ALL Catholics read this book.  The book covers serious subjects but is very easy to read.  It is informative as well as interesting.  It is a wealth of information on the Catholic faith.  This book is not only for those who have just recently come in to the Church, although it is great for them, but it is for all of us on our journey towards Jesus in His Church.  We can all benefit from the explanations and the suggestions that Shaun makes in this book.  As I write this, we are approaching the LENTEN season.  I highly suggest that every Catholic get this book and read it and study it and live it out for Lent.  It might be the best thing that you ever did for Lent.

Living in a Gnostic Culture – by Father Bill Peckman

Anxiety and Worry, Apologetics, Church, Community, Ethics, Evangelism, Gnosticism, Heresy, Holiness, Penance and Reconciliation, Pro-Life, Spirituality

Living in a Gnostic Culture by Father Bill Peckman

A general rule of thumb for me is that if one truly believes something, it changes their behaviors. If I see someone preaching something or becoming an activist for something, but I do not see their behaviors follow suit, I dismiss it as hypocrisy at best and as neo-Gnosticism at worst.

In the USA, we live in an increasingly Gnostic culture. Gnosticism is a belief that the created order is the result of a malevolent entity, the height of that disorder is humanity, and that a benevolent entity has planted within us a spark and a soul that most are too ignorant to act upon. This spark is a special or secret knowledge. This created an elite group.

Gnosticism sees anything that creates more human beings as evil. Abortion, suicide, mercy-killing, birth control, homosexuality, and other forms of sexuality and life issues contrary to Christianity were seen as positives. As Gnostics are dualists (body bad, soul good), salvation comes not from renouncing sin, but from being released from ignorance about the created order. Gnosticism takes a very dim view of organized religion as a whole.

What we see today, I call a neo-Gnosticism. What makes it different is a two-tiered system of elites who posses the knowledge and the commoners who don’t. Rules do not apply equally to the two groups. Gnosticism is certainly the ‘religion’ of the eugenics movement. Gnosticism has found itself in the man-made climate crisis controversy.

I am a man who is very much in favor of NOT dumping pollutants into our land, sky, and water. I think we wildly over-consume. I am in favor of re-usable anything. The personal choices I have made reflect this. I think that many scare tactics are in use with the debate and that the debate has taken a near zero sum quasi-religious fervor. Again, since I believe belief should effect action, when I see celebrities and politicians who champion the cause but whose lifestyles would give no witness to these beliefs (they fly private jets, have limos, several homes, etc), it makes me question the veracity of their beliefs. While I might not agree completely with anyone, I will respect those who actions are in line with their beliefs in this matter.

My own opinion about so much of the debate in this country is that is it about control. Elitism in any of its forms is about a general disdain for the unenlightened. In this worldview, the enlightened are duty bound to save the ignorant masses from themselves, even if that means culling the herd. The tools for this are via the government: legislative activism, judicial activism, and punitive taxation. However, for this to work, division among the ignorant masses needs to happen. It is like the popular kids getting unpopular kids to attack other unpopular kids with the promise the attackers will become part of the elite..which seldom happens and makes useful idiots of them. The neo-Gnostic mentality allows for this.

Progressive politics are rooted in neo-Gnosticism. So is progressive Christianity. It is little wonder that progressive Christianity has adopted Gnostic views on life issues and the use of human sexuality. Certainly there are forces within the Catholic Church, who believing themselves to be oh so reasonable, want to follow suit. While they might not say it outright, that the majority of Catholics do not believe in the Real Presence is of no concern. For a Gnostic posing as a Catholic, the Incarnation itself would be problematic, hence all things that flow from the Incarnation, especially that we consume the Flesh and Blood of the Word made Flesh would seem ridiculous. As Gnosticism does not see sin in the way Catholics do, the consequences of sin would also mean little (who needs Confession? No such thing as spiritual warfare) and means to rectify the consequences would be ignored as irrelevant.

No heresy ever really dies. It morphs and adapts. It goes by new names while keeping its essential character. We live in a Gnostic culture in the west and the Americas. Just as Gnosticism wanted to be the orthodoxy of Christianity from the beginning, so too today. Heresy counts on ignorance of the truth to spread. 50 years of horrid catechesis within the Catholic Church is now bearing consequences that are a major contributory factor in the emptying of our pews and the despoiling of the flock by ravenous wolves.

Demanding the truth, living the truth, and giving witness to the truth is how we have always battled heresies; it will be the way we do now.

Father Bill Peckman’s website can be found at: http://www.ramblingsofacountrypastor.blogspot.com/