A week or so ago, a parishioner sent me an email and remarked, "I can hardly believe how much the world has changed in just a past few months." I wanted to respond, "No, you're wrong. It's hardly changed at all. The symptoms of the world’s evils are simply more evident. Most folks just don't pay attention and have no real sense of history." But that wouldn't be kind. Anyway, I tire more easily these days, and to have explained it all would have taken far too much time and energy, so I just gave him a virtual nod and wrote nothing in response. Once again, my inherent laziness won out. Guilt, however, occasionally conquers even laziness, so today I thought I'd better address the issue.
What is actually happening in our nation and our world today? I believe most sane, intelligent human beings would agree that the violence, hatred, destruction, looting, riots, defacement, dissembling, and all the rest are not good things. Below, for example, is a video of a hardly peaceful Black Lives Matter "protest" in Trenton, New Jersey. It's actually hard to watch the entire video, and please note that it also contains some rather graphic language. You can watch it if you like, or simply believe me when I say it’s both violent and very disturbing.
The video shows one of the more benign violent episodes plaguing our nation today, and here we encounter violence, presumably just for the sake of violence. But not really, for the organizers of these events are motivated by a desire to destroy the visible symbols of the existing culture. If, however, you disagree and believe the activities depicted in the video are good, then once again, I suggest you visit YouTube and allow your heart to be softened by the cute critter videos. The rest of us will begin by looking first at what Sacred Scripture tells us and then delve into human history to better recognize the symptoms and the illness that afflict us.
But first, let's recall St. Paul's words:
Remarkably, when I began to think and pray about these things a few days ago, the Spirit led me to the prophet Isaiah, a man with whom I seem to spend a lot of time these days. Anyhow, I opened my Bible and there it was. I didn't even have to turn the page.
The video shows one of the more benign violent episodes plaguing our nation today, and here we encounter violence, presumably just for the sake of violence. But not really, for the organizers of these events are motivated by a desire to destroy the visible symbols of the existing culture. If, however, you disagree and believe the activities depicted in the video are good, then once again, I suggest you visit YouTube and allow your heart to be softened by the cute critter videos. The rest of us will begin by looking first at what Sacred Scripture tells us and then delve into human history to better recognize the symptoms and the illness that afflict us.
But first, let's recall St. Paul's words:
"Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more" [Rom 5:10].Understanding this, we pray that God's grace fill the hearts of those who encourage and commit this violence. I'd rather they experience a spiritual conversion than an earthly punishment. As we pray for them, let's also ask the Holy Spirit to lead us in our response. He always responds to prayer, although not always in ways we expect or desire.
Remarkably, when I began to think and pray about these things a few days ago, the Spirit led me to the prophet Isaiah, a man with whom I seem to spend a lot of time these days. Anyhow, I opened my Bible and there it was. I didn't even have to turn the page.
"Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter" [Is 5:20].
Like Isaiah, we're called to discernment, to the discernment of spirits. We must sort out the evil from the good and the good from the evil. The evil we encounter today is certainly very evil, but really no different from the evils that have plagued humanity from its beginnings. It was first manifested in Eden when the serpent tempted our first parents to reject the one, true, living God that they might become gods themselves. As Satan, speaking of the forbidden fruit, put it:
"For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil" [Gn 3:5].
Satan was, of course, lying, because he always lies. Whenever we encounter the words of Satan, we must remember what Jesus, the Incarnate Word, says of him:
"He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies" [Jn 8:44].
Because Satan has "no truth in him," everything he says is a lie. Disobedience and sin do not open our eyes; just the opposite: they close our eyes, our minds, and our hearts to the extent that we confuse both good and evil.
Seemingly oblivious to the precious gift of their creation in God's "image and likeness" [Gn 1:26], Adam and Eve succumbed to the temptation to "be like God." Through their fall, we are all infected by the same spiritual virus. From Eden the presence of evil continued to spread throughout human history, leaving in its wake death, destruction, sinfulness, and so many damaged souls.
Seemingly oblivious to the precious gift of their creation in God's "image and likeness" [Gn 1:26], Adam and Eve succumbed to the temptation to "be like God." Through their fall, we are all infected by the same spiritual virus. From Eden the presence of evil continued to spread throughout human history, leaving in its wake death, destruction, sinfulness, and so many damaged souls.
But God's love for us knows no bounds and He promised redemption [Gn 3:15]. Through Abraham He chose a people from which a Savior would arise to free the world from its enslavement by sin. Out of this chosen people God gave the world His Son, Jesus, who became one of us, taught us, healed us, and died for us as the sacrificial "Lamb of God." Rising from the dead, He opened the gates of heaven to us, offering us eternal life.
Jesus, then, is the Way, for no one can come to the Father except through Him [Jn 14:6]. He is the Truth, the truth that will set us free [Jn 8:32]. And He is the Life, for the Father gives us eternal life through Jesus, His Son, and the Son's redemptive act. [1 Jn 5:11]. All of this God communicated to us through His Revealed Word, Sacred Scripture, and His Church, the custodian of Apostolic Tradition.
But man being man, many rejected not only the Redeemer, but also the Truth of Revelation. Instead of turning to his Creator, the creature preferred to turn inward, believing that man himself is the measure of all things. This is not some recent, 21st-century phenomenon. It's plagued humanity for centuries. And it was particularly evident among the ancient Gnostics, who declared themselves to be the "people who know."
Gnosticism, often considered an early Christian heresy, likely had far more ancient origins. Most early pagan religions, not unlike Judaism and Christianity, believed in varying ways that man's "salvation" came about, if not through faith, then through obedience to the will of God, however that supreme power might be envisioned. But Gnosticism viewed being through a very different lens. It held that Gnostics possessed special knowledge, knowledge that made them superior to those who did not know; i.e., the rest of humanity.
Where did this come from? Quite likely it was a response to the societal, indeed, the civilizational, changes that swept through the ancient world beginning around the 7th century B.C. Empires rose, conquered, and collapsed, while entire populations were exiled and enslaved. Efforts to establish independent city states, nation states, and ethnic states failed, the result of internal disorder and external pressures. In the midst of this turmoil and chaos, societies and their institutions crumbled leaving humanity disoriented without any sense of meaning. If this sounds vaguely familiar, realize that human nature and human history really haven't changed all that much.
Our ancient ancestors, at least some of them, strove to understand it all, to find meaning amidst the rubble. And so we find stoicism, epicureanism, Eastern mystery religions, Manichaeism, and other, largely short-lived attempts to help humanity deal with itself. Judaism and Christianity were the obvious survivors, but so too was another attempt to define the meaning of our existence: Gnosticism.
Because ancient Gnosticism appeared in many different forms, and was embraced by a number of different sects, one hesitates to suggest an all-encompassing definition. Generally, however, the ancient Gnostics saw the world as an alien place from which man must escape to his true home. As one early gnostic text demanded: "Deliver us from the darkness of the world into which we are flung." Gnostics did not see the world as the well-ordered cosmic creation that God declared as "good." For them it was a prison created by the evil God of this world, whether it be the Zeus of the Greeks, or the Jewish Yahweh. The good, but "hidden God" would provide them with the means of escape and deliver them. This would come about through hidden knowledge -- the gnosis -- revealed only to the elite, those who know.
I believe we can safely say that gnosis, in both its ancient and its modern variations, desires dominion over being. In other words, it replaces God with man. As you might imagine, it strives to achieve this dominion by exerting power over others.
In my next post, we'll look more closely at ancient Gnosticism's modern successors.
Jesus, then, is the Way, for no one can come to the Father except through Him [Jn 14:6]. He is the Truth, the truth that will set us free [Jn 8:32]. And He is the Life, for the Father gives us eternal life through Jesus, His Son, and the Son's redemptive act. [1 Jn 5:11]. All of this God communicated to us through His Revealed Word, Sacred Scripture, and His Church, the custodian of Apostolic Tradition.
But man being man, many rejected not only the Redeemer, but also the Truth of Revelation. Instead of turning to his Creator, the creature preferred to turn inward, believing that man himself is the measure of all things. This is not some recent, 21st-century phenomenon. It's plagued humanity for centuries. And it was particularly evident among the ancient Gnostics, who declared themselves to be the "people who know."
Gnosticism, often considered an early Christian heresy, likely had far more ancient origins. Most early pagan religions, not unlike Judaism and Christianity, believed in varying ways that man's "salvation" came about, if not through faith, then through obedience to the will of God, however that supreme power might be envisioned. But Gnosticism viewed being through a very different lens. It held that Gnostics possessed special knowledge, knowledge that made them superior to those who did not know; i.e., the rest of humanity.
Where did this come from? Quite likely it was a response to the societal, indeed, the civilizational, changes that swept through the ancient world beginning around the 7th century B.C. Empires rose, conquered, and collapsed, while entire populations were exiled and enslaved. Efforts to establish independent city states, nation states, and ethnic states failed, the result of internal disorder and external pressures. In the midst of this turmoil and chaos, societies and their institutions crumbled leaving humanity disoriented without any sense of meaning. If this sounds vaguely familiar, realize that human nature and human history really haven't changed all that much.
Our ancient ancestors, at least some of them, strove to understand it all, to find meaning amidst the rubble. And so we find stoicism, epicureanism, Eastern mystery religions, Manichaeism, and other, largely short-lived attempts to help humanity deal with itself. Judaism and Christianity were the obvious survivors, but so too was another attempt to define the meaning of our existence: Gnosticism.
Because ancient Gnosticism appeared in many different forms, and was embraced by a number of different sects, one hesitates to suggest an all-encompassing definition. Generally, however, the ancient Gnostics saw the world as an alien place from which man must escape to his true home. As one early gnostic text demanded: "Deliver us from the darkness of the world into which we are flung." Gnostics did not see the world as the well-ordered cosmic creation that God declared as "good." For them it was a prison created by the evil God of this world, whether it be the Zeus of the Greeks, or the Jewish Yahweh. The good, but "hidden God" would provide them with the means of escape and deliver them. This would come about through hidden knowledge -- the gnosis -- revealed only to the elite, those who know.
I believe we can safely say that gnosis, in both its ancient and its modern variations, desires dominion over being. In other words, it replaces God with man. As you might imagine, it strives to achieve this dominion by exerting power over others.
In my next post, we'll look more closely at ancient Gnosticism's modern successors.
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