Padre Pio: A Skeptical View

 

To My Readers: This week my guest poster, Dominic Caggeso, offers a well-reasoned (yet sure to be controversial) examination of Padre Pio, a "saint" of the Vatican II sect, who is also revered by many Traditionalists. 

Feel free to comment as usual. If you have a specific comment or question for me, I will respond as always, but it may take me a bit longer to do so this week. 

God bless you all, my dear readers---Introibo

Padre Pio: A Skeptical View

By Dominic Caggeso

In their efforts to make their new, counterfeit religion appear credible, the Novus Ordo sect has employed many tactics. One of their schemes is the creation and promotion of imitation “saints”. These pseudo-holy men and women, often known for their false signs and lying wonders, employ various religious deceptions to achieve their ends. Mother Teresa’s apparent care for the poor distracted from her rejection of the necessity of the true Faith for salvation. Similarly, the rock-star status of John Paul II served as a smokescreen for his numerous public acts of apostasy.

There is a clear litmus test for these fake “saints”: their acceptance of the Second Vatican Council and the Novus Ordo religion, and/or their rejection of the Traditional Catholic Faith. Thus, it is relatively easy for Traditional Catholics to discern the genuine from the counterfeit. It is possible that someone who died before the Second Vatican Council and was “canonized” by a Vatican II antipope lived a sufficiently holy life to be considered a Saint. However, because such a person was promoted by the Novus Ordo sect, they must immediately be considered suspect of heresy or apostasy. Not all “saints” canonized by the Novus Ordo sect are heretics or apostates, but our default position towards these “saints” should be one of skepticism and prudence.

Over the years, through numerous conversations with other sedevacantists, I've come to notice that there are a few Novus Ordo “canonized saints” who are widely regarded as genuinely holy. Among these, Fr. Maximilian Kolbe (who seems genuine as far as I can tell) and Padre Pio stand out. While there may be others I have overlooked, these two are often held in high esteem, with Padre Pio receiving the most devotion from Traditional Catholics. 

He is seen as a staunch promoter of Catholic Tradition, particularly in the years leading up to the Second Vatican Council. To be frank, I believe that some Traditional Catholics are also captivated by his purported fantastic miracles. Let’s delve into some of the significant events in Padre Pio’s public life and examine them more closely. Perhaps he should be counted among the other counterfeit Novus Ordo “saints."

General Information About Padre Pio

• Padre Pio was born in 1887 in Pietrelcina, Italy.  He died on September 23rd 1968, shortly after the end of the Second Vatican Council (which ended in 1965) and he died shortly before the promulgation of the Novus Ordo rite of Paul VI, which took place on April 3rd 1969.

• He entered the novitiate of the Franciscans in 1903 around the age of 16 years old.  He was ordained a priest in 1910.

• Padre Pio is famous for his alleged stigmata, and for the many reports of wonders and miracles that he performed throughout his adult life.  

• He was "beatified" in 1999 by John Paul II. He was "canonized" in 2002 by John Paul II.  

Condemnation by the Pre-Vatican II Holy Office

One of the most compelling reasons for skepticism regarding Padre Pio’s authenticity as a true Catholic saint are the numerous condemnations he received from the Pre-Vatican II Holy Office, spanning multiple decades. These condemnations take on further gravity considering they were issued and upheld by two steadfast defenders of Catholic teaching and Tradition: Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val and Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani. Cardinal Merry del Val, a close friend and confidant of Pope St. Pius X, led the Holy Office from 1914 to 1930. Cardinal Ottaviani succeeded him, serving from 1959 to 1968.

The initial condemnations of Padre Pio were made by Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val. Cardinal Ottaviani chose to maintain these condemnations, along with subsequent censures placed on Padre Pio in the 1930’s and 1950’s.

Here is a list of the acts of the Holy Office pertaining to Padre Pio through the first half of the 20th century:

1. On June 22nd, 1922 the Holy Office issued its first decree against Padre Pio:  

• “He will celebrate Mass in private.

• He will not bless the people.

• He will not show to anybody the so called stigmata.

• He will stop immediately any communication with Padre Benedetto, his spiritual director.

• To best execute the above orders Padre Pio will be immediately transferred to a convent preferably in Northern Italy.

• Padre Pio will no more answer letters.

Wishing all the best, Cardinal Rafael Merry Del Val."

2. On May 31st, 1923 another decree came from the Holy Office:

• “The Supreme Congregation of the Holy Office, responsible for upholding the faith and defending morals, held an inquiry on the phenomena attributed to Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, a member Friar Minor of the Capuchins at the Monastery of San Giovanni Rotondo in the Diocese of Foggia, and declares that: it cannot confirm from this inquiry any basis for the supernatural character for this phenomena and exhorts the faithful to conform their practices to this declaration."

3. On July 24th, 1924 the Holy office issued a warning for anyone to avoid contact with Padre Pio.

4. On April 23rd 1926, the Holy Office condemned a book written about Padre Pio, and put it on the index of forbidden books.

5. Another book was written about Padre Pio in 1931 and it was placed on the index of forbidden books by the Holy Office.

6. In May of 1931, the Holy Office stripped Padre Pio of all his ministerial functions.

7. In Fall of 1931, the Holy office confirmed all its previous condemnations concerning Padre Pio.

8. In 1933, he had his ministerial functions restored.

9. In 1952, the Holy Office condemned and placed on the index of forbidden books, eight books about Padre Pio.  Previous to 1952, any book written about Padre Pio was regularly placed on the index of forbidden books.

10. On Jan 1952, the Holy Office made a report after having visited Padre Pio's monastery.  The report said that the monks should discourage any pilgrims from coming to see Padre Pio, and to stop handing out pictures of him to pilgrims.

Padre Pio and the lead up to the Second Vatican Council

The drama surrounding Padre Pio, his followers, and various figures in the Catholic Church, unfolded over several decades, starting in the 1930s and continuing until his death in 1968. This drama was highly publicized, and at times, scandalous accusations were made by Padre Pio's supporters against certain Catholic Church officials. This controversy captivated the attention of Catholics in Italy, fostering strong feelings and opinions on both sides of the debate.

The drama reached a crescendo in the decade before the Second Vatican Council and persisted throughout the Council. Whether intentional or not, this controversy diverted the attention of many devout Italian Catholics away from the Second Vatican Council and onto Padre Pio. With the benefit of decades of perspective, it seems to me that this diversion was a convenient way for the Modernists to draw pious-minded Italian Catholics’ attention away from the events transpiring during the Council. 

As Traditional Catholics, we can now see in hindsight that the Second Vatican Council was an immense evil that nearly devastated the Catholic Faith and religion worldwide. If Padre Pio was truly a wonderworker and mystic, how is it that he failed to sufficiently raise the alarm about Vatican II? He had three years after the Council's conclusion in 1965 until his death in 1968 to read its documents and point out the clear heresies contained within them. There could have been no better use of his miraculous powers than to alert the Faithful about the impending worldwide great apostasy!

As a final note on the issue of Padre Pio's silence regarding Vatican II, it's worth mentioning that he wrote a letter to Paul VI on September 12th, 1968, nearly three years after the conclusion of the Council. This letter contains no condemnation of the Council's false doctrines; on the contrary, it praises Paul VI for his “lofty teachings”.

Notably, Padre Pio commended Paul VI's encyclical, "Humanae Vitae." However, Traditional Catholics have pointed out that "Humanae Vitae" obscures the traditionally taught hierarchy of the ends of marriage, a timeless teaching that places procreation first, followed by mutual aid to the spouses. This disruption of this hierarchy, as laid out in "Humanae Vitae" is the foundation for the Novus Ordo teaching that marriage is as much for the pleasure of the spouses as it is for procreation.

This letter, allegedly written by Padre Pio, was published in the L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican's newspaper, on October 10th, 1968.

Padre Pio the Wonder Worker

Our Lord warned us that in the end days, there will arise many false Christs and false prophets. One very likely fulfillment of this warning of Our Lord are the anti-popes of the Vatican II sect. A real pope is the true vicar of Christ on Earth, and in that sense, he is another Christ. Therefore, an anti-pope would be a false Christ. Our Lord said the following in the Gospel of St. Matthew, chapter 24: 

24 For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders, insomuch as to deceive (if possible) even the elect. 25 Behold I have told it to you, beforehand. 26 If therefore they shall say to you: Behold he is in the desert, go ye not out: Behold he is in the closets, believe it not. 

The original Greek word used for "closets" is "tameiois," which is given the meanings "inner rooms" or "closets." By a very basic and rudimentary examination of the word "cloister," we can see that one of its synonyms is the word "closet."

Thus, is it possible that Our Lord was warning us that in the end days there will be false prophets who will play the role of cloistered monks or nuns? It certainly does appear that way!

As for working great signs and wonders, there is no modern man with as great of a reputation for this than Padre Pio. In fact, one of the names given to him is the "wonder worker." Even though Padre Pio is regarded as a worker of miracles, there doesn't appear to be any other lasting legacy for him. He did not found any great Catholic reform movement, such as St. Francis or St. Ignatius of Loyola. He did not add to the body of Catholic study and understanding as St. Thomas Aquinas did. He did not battle the modernists who, at his time in the 1950s and 1960s, were infesting the Church, as St. Pope Pius X did. All he seems to be famous for is principally the wonders he worked.

Summary and Conclusion

Given that Padre Pio was “beatified” and “canonized” by the arch-heretic, John Paul II, and given the numerous condemnations and censures issued to him by the pre-Vatican II Holy Office, and given the convenient timing of the “Padre Pio drama” that transpired in the lead up to the Council, perhaps it is best that we let go of Padre Pio. But most of all, because he did not use his “miraculous” abilities to identify the errors of Vatican II and then broadcast them to Catholics around the world, I argue that we should stop all practices of devotion to Padre Pio. Let us stop posting his quotes on social media, let us take down his pictures in our homes and let us focus our attention on Catholic Saints whom we know are genuine because they were declared Saints by the true Catholic Church of Christ.

If you would like to view my video about Padre Pio on YouTube, which offers these points and many others, enter the following video title in the YouTube search bar. 

Behold He is in the Closets, Believe it Not

Singing For Satan: Special Edition

 

From August 2017 to August 2019, I ran a series of posts exposing the evil in rock, pop, and rap music, and I called the series of posts "Singing For Satan." Although that "first Monday of the month" series ended almost six years ago, I reserved the right to bring up another post on the topic if I thought any artist(s) not previously covered needed to be exposed or if new developments with those I had covered took place. I feel the necessity to present the facts on Eminem's latest album, Stevie Nicks' new song, Billy Joel, and the music/musicians involved at the funeral and in the life of former President Jimmy Carter. I combined original research about these developments with that from the past.  I will reproduce the brief overview that accompanied the Singing For Satan series before exposing the artists.  God bless you all, my dear readers---Introibo

The Introduction to the original series of posts:

This week I continue my series of posts regarding an informal study I undertook in the early 1990s regarding rock and pop music. The purpose of my study (and the background to it) can be read in the first installment of August 7, 2017. If you have not read that post, I strongly encourage you to do so before reading this installment. I will only repeat here the seven (7) evil elements that pervade today's music:

1. Violence/Murder/Suicide

2. Nihilism/Despair

3. Drug and alcohol glorification

4. Adultery/ Fornication and sexual perversion

5. The occult

6. Rebellion against lawful superiors

7. Blasphemy against God, Jesus Christ in particular, and the Church

 The exposing of the bands/artists continues.

WARNING!! This post contains material that is extremely graphic, and may be found very disturbing. Reader discretion is advised.

Eminem: Is "Slim Shady" Really Dead?

Eminem (b. Marshall Mathers III in 1972) came from a humble start. Eminem became the best selling artist of 2000-2010, having sold an incredible 47.4 million albums in the United States alone, and he is listed as #83 in Rolling Stone magazine's "100 Greatest Artists of All Time." He was born to a dysfunctional family. His father left home when he was young, and his mother Debbie (who recently died, and whom Eminem despises), raised him. Eminem spent most of his youth growing up in a very poor, predominantly African-American community in Detroit, referred to by some as "8 Mile" because of 8 Mile Road that separates the poor from the rich. 8 Mile would become the title of his box office smash movie in 2002, basically telling his story. He derives his stage name from his initials, "M and M."

I took an interest in Eminem when he started and followed his career. He is one of the most vile, obscene, anti-Christ artists in the world. He embodies all seven of the evil elements in today's music. He is friends---and collaborated with---open Satan worshipper Marilyn Manson. On July 12, 2024, Mathers released his 12th studio album entitled The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grace). 

For those who don't know, Eminem's burst into fame came after he created an "alter-ego" he named "Slim Shady." In Spin magazine's cover story ("The Devil and Mr. Mathers..."), the rapper admits that he encountered an "entity" in his bathroom mirror which identified itself as Slim Shady. When Slim Shady started writing his lyrics, he became a superstar. In his song My Darling, he raps about his encounter:

And the dark shall emerge from the fiery depths of hell
Then swallow the shell, all the hollow who dwell
In the shadows of all who are willing to sell their souls
For this rap game and it g-g-goes
One-two-three, chk-chk, one-two-three
Chk-chk, one-two-three, that ain't the hook, now follow me
There's nothing else for me to say, my public adores me
Everybody bores me, they're just so corny
So at night before I sleep, I look in the mirror
The mirror grows lips and it whispers: "Come nearer!"...

He then tells of the price he had to pay. Slim Shady speaks to him as follows:

You remember that night you, prayed to god (sic)
You'd give anything to get a record deal, well Dre signed you
This is what you wanted your whole life Marshall, right through
Look at this house, look at these cars, I'm so nice, wooo!
Oh, but you didn't know, fame has a price too

Just a publicity stunt? According to Marcia Dawkins' biography, Eminem: The Real Slim Shady, Some scholars believe that Eminem uses his music to dramatize a deep and intense spiritual battle. He admits as much in "Must Be The Ganja" (2009) where he confesses he can identify with both the Dalai Lama (good) and Jeffery Dahmer (evil). As he seeks deeper spiritual commitment, Marshall Mathers, the redeemed or spiritual Everyman wrestles against the sinful Slim Shady persona. In Rap and Religion: Understanding the Gangsta's God, Ebony A. Utley suggests that the Slim Shady persona is downright demonic. Utley writes that, 'In the introduction to the Slim Shady EP, a foreboding voice not unlike the one attributed to the Devil in 'My Darling' taunts Eminem even though he repeatedly states, 'I thought I killed you,' 'What do you want from me?' and 'Leave me alone." (pg. 81; Emphasis mine). The Dalai Lama is evil, leading souls to Hell, and so is Dahmer for obvious reasons. There is no one Eminem identifies with who is truly good. Dawkins writes, "In fact, as Slim Shady, Eminem is known for being at odds with everything sacred and being passionate about anything profane." (pg. 79).

While Spin magazine reported that he first met the spirit of Slim Shady when he was in the bathroom, in his song, Low, Down, Dirty, he sings about "Hearing voices in my head while these whispers echo, 'Murder Murder Redrum" (redrum is murder backwards and made famous in the movie The Shining, where actor Jack Nicholson portrays a writer whom is driven insane by demonic forces).

Now, the rumors are flying that Eminem has killed off his alter ego, and will end his career. Such is not the case. While the album is a "battle" between the rapper and Slim Shady, the lyrics are evil and vile, showing Slim Shady will remain very much alive. Turning 53 this year, Mathers will not be ending his drive for more money and fame.

The following is taken directly from The Death of Slim Shady album.  WARNING! The lyrics of this artist are extremely vile and disturbing. I've censored them as much as possible.

In the song "Lucifer," Eminem tells his mother she really gave birth to Lucifer (Satan) and that the rapper's followers are a "Satanic cult" and then compares himself to infamous killer Charles Manson:

Haters can meet the same exact fate as my dad, wait

'Least he didn't miss me graduate (okay, yeah, great)

But, Mom, do I still act eight?

Uh, maybe a little, Debbie (what?) Like a snack cake (slut)

But if this is what he do to his mom

Imagine what he'd do to you, I'm a lunatic armed

And if it's you I use the clip on, for you to respond

Is ludicrous, ma, look at what your uterus spawned, Lucifer...

Now my followers are like a Satanic cult (what?)

Yeah, they listen to me like when Manson spoke (shh)

They say I don't know struggle no more, that's a joke (haha)

Bitch, the fu****' elevator in my mansion's broke (see?)

I have to walk like half a block to get a can of Coke (Emphasis mine).

In the song "Antichrist," Slim Shady is the one speaking and proclaims Marshall (Mathers) the Antichrist:

Marshall, he's the antichrist

He will slice and dice

Sluts, whores, men, women, and children (one more time, what's my name?)

His name is Marshall, he's the antichrist

He will slice and dice

Skanks, sluts, whores, men, women, and children

You wanna dance with the devil, dance with the devil, dance with the devil?

You wanna dance with the devil, dance with the devil, dance with the devil?

You wanna-

(I ain't goin' nowhere)

It's about to get scary

Bizarre (I'm still here, ay-ay, ay-ay, ay-ay) (Emphasis mine).

In the song "Guilty Conscience 2," it makes it seem that Mathers has returned to his "old self" and killed off Slim Shady, but the outro to the song says Mathers hasn't changed, he was just dreaming:

Oh, woah, what the f**k?

Come on, come on, come on, come on

Yeah?

Paul

You're not gonna f***ing believe this, bro

I had this dream, it was f***ing crazy

It was like, the old me came back on the new me

And took over my brain and had me sayin' all this f***ed-up shit

About little people and Caitlyn Jenner and

PC police were chasin' me

And fucking Gen Z was tryna kill me

And quadriplegics, and Christopher Reeves

And I was saying all this fucked-up shit

And I couldn't stop sayin' it

And then I wake up and it was like I was still dreamin'

F**k you

Wait

Hahaha (Emphasis mine)

Stevie Nicks: Anthem from a Baby-Killing Witch

Stevie Nicks was born Stephanie Lynn Nicks in 1948. She was unable to pronounce her first name as a small child, saying "tee-dee," resulting in her childhood nickname of "Stevie" which she adopted as her stage name. Nicks enjoys dressing in long, flowing witches gowns, usually with a hood. She inserts Wiccan imagery and incantations into the albums of both Fleetwood Mac and her solo endeavors. Her "soft rock" image serves as a cover for the sinister messages she brings through her music.

Nicks believes she is the reincarnation of a Welsh witch named " Rhiannon," and her music is published under the name "Welsh Witch Publishing Co." Although Nicks now denies ever having involvement in witchcraft, her past interviews and song origins/lyrics give the lie to that contention. According to a feature story about Nicks in  The Ringer, Nicks wrote the song [Rhiannon] after stumbling upon Mary Leader’s Triad: A Novel of the Supernatural in an airport bookstore. At the time she just liked the way the name "Rhiannon" sounded, but later she’d grow to feel a kinship with the Celtic deity’s origin story. Ever since, she’s taken to using the word as an adjective: To this day, if someone or something has good vibes, Stevie Nicks considers it "very Rhiannon."

 (See https://www.theringer.com/music/2017/11/21/16683772/stevie-nicks-book-career-fleetwood-mac).

 Even in her attempt to distance herself from Wicca, we see the name Rhiannon is of a pagan Celtic "goddess" obtained from reading a book on the supernatural; not a very reassuring denial. She claims to have been able to write the song in a mere ten minutes after reading the book (which deals with demon possession).  While touring, Stevie would sometimes open this song by informing the audience the tune is about "an old Welsh witch." Here are the lyrics:

Rhiannon rings like a bell through the night/And wouldn't you love to love her?/Takes to the sky like a bird in flight/And who will be her lover?/All your life you've never seen a woman taken by the wind/Would you stay if she promised to you heaven?/Will you ever win?/She is like a cat in the dark/And then she is the darkness/She rules her life like a fine skylark/And when the sky is starless/All your life you've never seen a woman taken by the wind/Would you stay if she promised to you heaven?/Will you ever win?/Will you ever win?/Rhiannon/Rhiannon/Rhiannon/Rhiannon (Emphasis mine). In live concert, the following lyric was added: "Once in a million years, a lady like her rises. 'Rhiannon' you cry but she's gone, and your life knows no answer, and your life knows no answer."

Nicks claims that the hit song Sara was written in memory of one of her four aborted children she conceived with different men. This particular child was conceived with Don Henley, the occult practicing drug addict from the band The Eagles. (See www.lifesitenews.com/news/stevie-nicks-confirms-she-wrote-hit-song-about-baby-she-aborted-with-don-he). 

Nicks said she would have named the child Sara if she had chosen not to murder the baby and it was a girl. Henley was going to build a house for them when he found out she was pregnant, but Nicks thought her career was more important, which is why she murdered all four of her unborn babies. She murdered one child fathered by Henley, one by then-boyfriend Buckingham, one by rock star Joe Walsh, and another by whoever she was sleeping around with at the time. The pertinent part of Sara:

Sara, you're the poet in my heart
Never change, never stop
And now it's gone
They say it doesn't matter what for
When you build your house, call me…

All I ever wanted was to know
That you were dreaming
There's a heartbeat
No, it never really died

You never really died 

Yes, your unborn baby really died, and you murdered her. Yet Nicks assures us,"...  It's much more fun to be the crazy auntie [of a child] than it is to be the mom, anyway." (See http://www.theage.com.au/news/music/a-magical-life/2006/02/09/1139465789637.html?page=fullpage).

Now, in 2024, Nicks has released an ode to abortion in the aftermath of the wonderful U.S. Supreme Court case Dobbs v. Jackson (2022) which overturned Roe v. Wade (1973) that had declared a "right to abortion" was protected by the U.S. Constitution. Whether or not to allow abortion (and to what extent) is up to each individual state. 

In the song "The Lighthouse," the witch who killed four of her own children, tells women to fight for the right to kill their babies, and "be afraid" if they can't murder them. 

"Don’t close your eyes and hope for the best / The dark is out there / The light is going fast / Until the final hours," she sings. "Your life’s changed forever / And all the rights that you had yesterday / Are taken away / And now you’re afraid / You should be afraid.”...

“I find it very sad, at 76 years old, I had to see Roe v. Wade taken away," Nicks tells PEOPLE exclusively in an email interview. "Two years ago, when I realized the consequences of women’s rights that are vanishing, I watched a lot of news, and I was like a sponge — it just went into me.”

Following the news, the Grammy winner and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee channeled that sadness into song.

“One morning I woke up… which, I never write when I wake up in the morning, and all of a sudden went, ‘I have my scars, I have my scars,’ so I just grabbed my notebook, and I started writing the whole thing," she says. "It was a long-form poem, and I didn't know what kind of song that would be. I found an instrumental that I loved and within two or three days, I had recorded the song. I never redid the vocal — it's an original vocal — and it's taken me two years.”...

The topic of women's reproductive rights is a personal one for Nicks, who in 2020 revealed to The Guardian that she "would have had to walk away" from Fleetwood Mac if she didn't get an abortion in 1979. Without the procedure, "I’m pretty sure there would have been no Fleetwood Mac," she added at the time.

Now, she tells PEOPLE, “All the stories that we tell about the necessity for women's healthcare and the necessity for a safe and legal abortion option for women is absolutely necessary."

(See https://people.com/stevie-nicks-discusses-new-song-the-lighthouse-abortion-access-exclusive-8719365). 

Ultimately, what Nicks is saying is that in order for women to be powerful and in charge of their lives they need the ability to kill their own preborn children. The notion of women needing to have abortions to be successful is not only wrong, but grossly misogynistic and pure evil. It's an idea that Nicks has frequently promoted; and why wouldn't she do so? Wiccans are advocates for abortion

The wicked song proclaims that murdering children is like "The Light" and saving them is darkness. Immediately Isaiah 5:20 came to mind, "Woe to you that call evil good, and good evil: that put darkness for light, and light for darkness: that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter."(Emphasis mine). 

Nicks is going on tour with another avowed enemy of Christianity, Billy Joel.

Billy Joel: Only The Evil Die Eternally

William Martin (Billy) Joel (b. 1949) is a Jew born in New York City and raised on Long Island. He began playing the piano at a young age, and was discovered in 1972 when his song "Captain Jack" got noticed. The song is based on a drug dealer who sold heroin near where Joel grew up. It was also the first song on the radio to specifically use the word masturbate:

Saturday night and you're still hangin' around

You're tired of livin' in your one horse town

You'd like to find a little hole in the ground for a while

So you go to the village in your tie-dye jeans

And you stare at the junkies and the closet queens

It's like some pornographic magazine, and you smile

But Captain Jack will get you high tonight

And take you to your special island

Captain Jack will get you by tonight

Just a little push 'n' you'll be smilin'

Oh yeah, yeah

Your sister's gone out, she's on a date

And you just sit at home and masturbate

Your phone is gonna ring soon,

But you just can't wait, for that call

Joel produced 12 studio albums and is still touring. He has sold over 160 million records. Joel was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1992, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999, and the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2006. His net worth is estimated at approximately $250 million dollars. Although his parents are Jewish, he was not raised in the religion. He would attend true Masses pre-Vatican II with his friends, and was baptized unbeknownst to his parents in a Protestant church when he was 11 years old. Yet, he claims it was peer pressure and is a self-proclaimed atheist.

His 1977 song "Only The Good Die Young" is about a Jewish boy trying to convince a devout Catholic girl to fornicate with him. 

Come out, Virginia, don't let me wait

You Catholic girls start much too late

Aw, but sooner or later it comes down to fate

I might as well will be the one

Well, they showed you a statue, told you to pray

They built you a temple and locked you away

Aw, but they never told you the price that you pay

For things that you might have done

Well, only the good die young

That's what I said

Only the good die young

Only the good die young

You mighta heard I run with a dangerous crowd

We ain't too pretty, we ain't too proud

We might be laughing a bit too loud

Aw, but that never hurt no one

So come on, Virginia, show me a sign

Send up a signal, I'll throw you the line

The stained-glass curtain you're hiding behind

Never let's in the sun

Darlin', only the good die young

Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa

I tell ya only the good die young

Only the good die young

You got a nice white dress and a party on your confirmation

You got a brand new soul

Mmm, and a cross of gold

But, Virginia, they didn't give you quite enough information

You didn't count on me

When you were counting on your rosary

Oh-whoa-whoa

And they say there's a heaven for those who will wait

Some say it's better, but I say it ain't

I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints

The sinners are much more fun

You know that only the good die young, oh, baby

I tell ya only the good die young

Only the good die young

Said your mother told you all that I could give you was a reputation

Aw, she never cared for me

But did she ever say a prayer for me?

Oh-whoa-whoa

Come out, come out, come out, Virginia, don't let me wait

You Catholic girls start much too late

Sooner or later it comes down to fate

I might as well will be the one

You know that only the good die young

Tell you, baby

You know that only the good die young

Only the good die young

Only the good

Only the good die young

Ooh-ooh, ooh-hoo

Ooh-ooh-hoo-hoo

Ooh-ooh, ooh-hoo

Ooh-ooh-hoo-hoo

Ooh-ooh, ooh-hoo

Ooh-ooh-hoo-hoo

Only the good die young

Only the good die young  (Emphasis mine)

Interestingly, as Joel was nearing the peek of his fame at this point, he wanted to buy a mansion on Long Island to show off to the people who said he would never make it when he began his career in music. He had his eye on a beautiful place in the posh area of Oyster Bay Cove. The home was going cheaper than most as a murder had occurred there. Joel waited a day too long to make his move and it was sold to Archbishop Lefebvre, who consecrated it as a Church. In 1983, it became (and remains) the signature Church of the Society of St. Pius V (SSPV) when they broke from Abp. Lefebvre.

Billy Joel has this to say about going to Mass as a child:

I viewed the whole business as a lot of very enthralling hocus-pocus. There's a guy hanging upon the wall in the church, nailed to a cross and dripping blood, and everybody's blaming themselves for that man's torment, but I said to myself, 'Forget it. I had no hand in that evil. I have no original sin. There's no blood of any sacred martyr on my hands. I pass on all of this.'

He says of his atheism that it is like a father-child relationship (in a perverse way):

You decide first of all that will not ask Daddy – meaning God in all of his imagined forms – for a helping hand when you're in a jam. Then you have to try and make some sort of sense out of your problems. And if you try and find you can't, you have no choice but to be good and scared – but that's okay!

(See https://hollowverse.com/billy-joel#http%3A%2F%2Fwww.celebatheists.com%2Fwiki%2FBilly_Joel). 

His nastiness is legendary. I worked with a woman who was out on Long Island and saw Joel reading a newspaper on a bench. Excitedly and nervously, she approached him to ask for his autograph. Without looking up, he replied, "F*** off." 

He has struggled with depression. According to one source:  According to Joel, he often felt like life was meaningless and that there was no point in living. (See https://westwindrecovery.com/recovery-blog/celebrities-with-mental-health-issues/#1698780174435-620c897d-3d44). 

Jimmy Carter and "Good Christian Music"

Former U.S. President James Earl ("Jimmy") Carter died on December 29, 2024 at the age of 100. He lived longer than any other president in American history. Carter is often lauded as a "devout Christian," yet supported abortion on demand. At his funeral, Garth Brooks, a country singer, played the detestable John Lennon song "Imagine," an atheist anthem. 

Imagine there's no heaven

It's easy if you try

No hell below us

Above us, only sky

Imagine all the people

Livin' for today

Ah

Imagine there's no countries

It isn't hard to do

Nothing to kill or die for

And no religion, too

Imagine all the people

Livin' life in peace

You

You may say I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one

I hope someday you'll join us

And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions

I wonder if you can

No need for greed or hunger

A brotherhood of man

Imagine all the people

Sharing all the world

You

You may say I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one

I hope someday you'll join us

And the world will live as one (Emphasis mine).

While claiming to believe in nothing but himself, Lennon and The Beatles promoted pagan religion and a Satanist, Aleister Crowley. The man who wanted us to "imagine no possessions" was a multi-millionaire. He was anti-war and denounced the United States for acts of violence while beating his wife Cynthia, emotionally abusing his son Julian, and on at least one occasion was filmed making fun of the physically-challenged. He was a raging drug addict and advocated drug use. Why would "devout Christian" Carter want THAT song by THAT man at his funeral? Like Lennon, Carter was more focused on the things of this world than the next. Building houses was more important than seeking your heavenly home.

Brooks (b. 1962) likes to "thank Jesus" frequently, claims to be Christian, yet espouses no denomination and has no regular church attendance. Nominally Republican, he was a supporter of baby killer, pro-sodomite, Communist Barak Obama. He also sang an overtly atheist anthem for Carter's funeral. Brooks admitted to cheating on his first wife, Sandy Mahl, in 1989. Last year, an anonymous hairstylist is suing Brooks for sexual assault. 

Finally, Jimmy Carter holds the infamous distinction of being the only president to pardon a convicted child molester. On January 19, 1981, one day before his term ended and Ronald Reagan became president, Carter pardoned Peter Yarrow of the folk group Peter, Paul, and Mary. Yarrow died on January 7 of this year at the age of 86. Only Paul Stookey remains alive. Mary Travers died in 2009.

Yarrow was the ultimate liberal, secular Jew, having been born here in Manhattan and being the quintessential anti-American hippie. In 1970, Yarrow (then 34 years old) was visited at his hotel room by a 17 year old girl and her14 year old sister; they were hoping to see him and get an autograph. He asked the 17 year old to wait in the living room while he took 14 year old Barbara Winter into the bedroom and made her masturbate him. He was arrested, and at trial, claimed the little girl was a "willing participant." The judge found Yarrow guilty and sentenced him to a mere three months in jail. 

For reasons unknown, Carter gave the folk singer an Executive Pardon. Yarrow then admitted to the crime and confessed that Winter had not been a "willing participant." In 2021, another allegation came forth. According to the Washington Post:

Then, 40 years after Carter’s pardon, another woman stepped forward with an accusation of her own. In a lawsuit filed in New York on Feb. 24, 2021, she alleged that Yarrow lured her to a Manhattan hotel when she was a minor in 1969 and raped her.

Through an attorney, Yarrow, who turns 83 this month, declined to respond to questions about how he acquired his pardon or the new allegation against him. The lawsuit, which sought unspecified damages, also named the band Peter, Paul and Mary as co-defendants, alleging that Travers and Stookey “knew that Yarrow liked to have sexual intercourse with and perform other sex acts on minor children.”

Travers died in 2009. “This is all a surprise to me,” Stookey told The Post. “It’s not in his character. If anything he’s over solicitous in making people comfortable.”

Court records indicate the woman reached a settlement with Yarrow and the band in April. She and her attorneys did not respond to multiple requests for comment. (See https://web.archive.org/web/20210517122113/https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2021/05/17/peter-yarrow-carter-pardon-assault/).

As if all this isn't sick enough, Barbara Winters said that after she masturbated Yarrow (not knowing what she was doing and afraid) he told her, “not to tell anybody except for, because I was a Catholic, I could tell the priest in confession.” He knew enough that a Catholic priest can never break the seal of Confession. 

The only reason Yarrow could be sued after so many years was because the New York State Legislature allowed any sexual assault lawsuit regarding a minor to be initiated, regardless of how long ago in the past, in response to the raping of children by the Vatican II sect's clergy. 

I had the dubious distinction of meeting Yarrow in person 25 years ago when he was starting "Operation Respect," a program which was aimed primarily at school bullying, but was also at first a general anti-bullying message. One of the partners at my firm wanted me to take the day off to go and see Yarrow's presentation at a nearby hotel to see if HR could use any of his "cultural sensitivity" material. His presentation was attended by about 100 people. We sang anti-bullying songs, he told stories about the bad effects of bullying, and gave out some literature on how to be inclusive.

Peter, Paul, and Mary had a famous song, "Puff, The Magic Dragon." "Magic dragon" was 1960s slang for marijuana. The song tells it like a children's story. It even became a children's cartoon. Yarrow always swore the song was not about drugs despite all the dope-laden references. As the time to end approached, Yarrow asked, "Before we leave, does anyone have any questions for me?" I had to go for it. I raised my hand.  Yarrow pointed to me (the only one with a raised hand) and smiled. "yes, the young man in the blue suit!" I asked, "Mr. Yarrow, with all the drug references throughout 'Puff, the Magic Dragon' isn't it really about marijuana?" He turned red with rage and screamed "NO!!!" at the top of his lungs and ran out. The audience was in stunned silence. So much for anti-bullying and being respectful. 

Conclusion

This concludes my update on the sorry condition of most modern musicians and the evil messages they convey. Let this post serve as a warning to be careful of the music which you listen to and allow in your home. If you think you are immune from its influence, think again. Medical doctor and brain specialist, Richard Pellegrino, who is a consultant to the entertainment industry, wrote an article for Billboard Magazine, about the power of music. Dr. Pellegrino stated: Take it from a brain guy. In 25 years of working with the brain, I still cannot affect a person’s state of mind the way that one simple song can.

Then think of what the demonic Eminem stated in his song "Marshall Mathers:" I think I was put here to…destroy your little 4-year-old boy or girl.

The Four Temperaments---Choleric (Part I)

 

To My Readers: I have received several requests for posts on the subject of The Four Temperaments. This week's post is the sixth installment to this most important and interesting topic. I will follow-up with other posts so that by sometime in 2025, I will have concluded the series, and hopefully do some justice to presenting the Four Temperaments. 

I want to acknowledge that I take no credit for the posts on this topic. My primary sources will be from theologian Schagemann and his work entitled Manual of Self-Knowledge and Christian Perfection (1913).  Also, the work of theologian Hock The Four Temperaments (1934) will be used throughout this series of posts, with various other sources. I take absolutely no credit whatsoever for the content of this post (or the ones on this topic to follow). All I did was condense the material of these theologians into a terse post that hopefully will be advantageous for  those looking for information, but without time to read an entire book or two from the pre-Vatican II era on the subject.

God bless you all, my dear readers---Introibo

The Characteristics of the Choleric Temperament

The choleric person is quickly and vehemently excited by any and every influence. Immediately the reaction sets in and the impression remains a long time. The choleric man is a man of enthusiasm; he is not satisfied with the ordinary, but aspires after great and lofty things. He craves for great success in temporal affairs; he seeks large fortunes, a vast business, an elegant home, a distinguished reputation or a predominant position. He aspires to the highest also in matters spiritual; he is swayed with a consuming fire for holiness; he is filled with a yearning desire to make great sacrifices for God and his neighbor, to lead many souls to heaven.

The natural virtue of the choleric is ambition; his desire to excel and succeed despises the little and vulgar, and aspires to the noble and heroic. In his aspiration for great things the choleric is supported by:

1. A keen intellect. The choleric person is not always, but usually endowed with considerable intelligence. He is a man of reason while his imagination and his emotions are poor and stunted. It is said that Julius Caesar was able to dictate different letters to several secretaries at the same time without losing the line of thought for each dictation.

2. A strong will. He is not frightened by difficulties, but in case of obstacles shows his energy so much the more and perseveres also under great difficulties until he has reached his goal. Pusillanimity or despondency the choleric does not know. Hamilcar of Carthage in North Africa took his son Hannibal to the altar of their god and made him swear eternal hatred for Rome, their implacable enemy. Later, Hannibal assembled a complete army and elephants and led them through Spain, over the Pyrenees, through Southern France and over the Alps into Italy, a feat never equaled before or after, and came very close to conquering and destroying Rome.

3. Strong passions. The choleric is very passionate. Whenever the choleric is bent upon carrying out his plans or finds opposition, he is filled with passionate excitement. All dictators, old and new, are proof of this statement.

4. An often times subconscious impulse to dominate others and make them subservient. The choleric is made to rule. He feels happy when he is in a position to command, to draw others to him, and to organize large groups. A very great impediment for the choleric in his yearning for great things is his imprudent haste. The choleric is immediately and totally absorbed by the aim he has in mind and rushes for his goal with great haste and impetuosity; he considers but too little whether he can really reach his goal.

A high Nazi official told a former chum, (later a priest): "We cannot back out; we have gone too

far."

He sees only one road, the one he in his impetuosity has taken without sufficient consideration, and he does not notice that by another road he could reach his goal more easily. If great obstacles meet him he, because of his pride, can hardly make up his mind to turn back, but instead he continues with great obstinacy on the original course. He dashes his head against the wall rather than take notice of the door which is right near and wide open. By this imprudence the choleric wastes a great deal of his energy which could be used to better advantage, and he disgusts his friends, so that finally he stands almost alone and is disliked by most people. He deprives himself of his best successes, even though he will not admit that he himself is the main cause of his failures. He shows the same imprudence in selecting the means for the pursuit of perfection, so that in spite of great efforts he does not acquire it. The choleric can safeguard himself from this danger only by willing and humble submission to a spiritual director.

The Dark Side of the Choleric Temperament

Pride which shows itself in the following instances:

a) The choleric is full of himself. He has a great opinion of his good qualities and his successful work and considers himself as something extraordinary and as one called upon to perform great feats. He considers even his very defects as being justified, nay, as something great and worthy of praise; for instance, his pride, his obstinacy, his anger. The Italian dictator Mussolini had himself called 'II Duce,' the Leader. Adolf Hitler followed his example by assuming the title: 'Der Fuehrer,' The Leader.

b) The choleric is very stubborn and opinionated. He thinks he is always right, wants to have the last word, tolerates no contradiction, and is never willing to give in. The Russian dictator Stalin brooked no opposition. A friend of his, during a drinking bout, voiced his disagreement with Stalin's opinion. Fearing for his safety some of his friends approached Stalin the next day to excuse their friend on the ground of having been drunk. Stalin coolly told them that their intervention came too late.

c) The choleric has a great deal of self-confidence. He relies too much upon his own knowledge and ability. He refuses the help of others and prefers to work alone, partly because he does not like to ask for help, partly because he believes that he is himself more capable than others and is sure to succeed without the help of others. Hitler relied on his 'hunches' in his war against Russia despite the advice of his generals, convinced that he knew better. He lost the war and everything. It is not easy to convince the choleric that he is in need of God's help even in little things. Therefore he dislikes to ask God's help and prefers to combat even strong temptations by his own strength. Because of this self-confidence in spiritual life the choleric often falls into many and grievous sins. This trait is one of the main reasons why so many cholerics do not acquire sanctityin spite of great efforts. They are infected to a great extent with the pride of Lucifer. They act as if perfection and Heaven were not in the first place due to grace but to their own efforts.

d) The choleric despises his fellow man. To his mind others are ignorant, weak, unskilled, slow, at least when compared with himself. He shows his contempt of his neighbor by despising, mocking, making belittling remarks about others and by his proud behavior toward those around him, especially toward his subjects. A Russian general, asked what he would do if his soldiers came to a mine field, responded that he would order a company of soldiers across it. The fact that he would sacrifice the lives of these soldiers meant nothing to him. (General Eisenhower).

e) The choleric is domineering and inordinately ambitious. He wants to hold the first place, to be admired by others, to subject others to himself. He belittles, combats, even persecutes by unfair means those who dare to oppose his ambition. Julius Caesar said that he would rather be the first in the smallest Alpine village than the second in Rome. Alexander the Great, considered one of the greatest generals of all time, was found by a friend of his one clear night looking at the stars and weeping. Asked why he wept he said: "See those thousands of stars in the sky to be conquered, and I cannot even conquer this world of ours."

f) The choleric feels deeply hurt when he is humiliated or put to shame. Even the recollection of his sins fills him with great displeasure because these sins give him a lower opinion of himself. In his disgust over his sins he may even defy God Himself.

2. Anger. The choleric is vehemently excited by contradiction, resistance, and personal offenses. This excitement manifests itself in harsh words which may seem very decent and polite as far as phrasing is concerned, but hurt to the core by the tone in which they are spoken. Nobody can hurt his fellow man with a few words more bitterly than a choleric person. Things are made even worse by the fact that the choleric in his angry impetuosity makes false and exaggerated reproaches, and may go so far in his passion, as to misconstrue the intentions and to pervert the words of those who irritated him, thus, blaming with the sharpest of expressions, faults which in reality were not committed at all. By such injustice, which the choleric inflicts in his anger upon his neighbor he can offend and alienate even his best friends.

The choleric may even indulge in furious outbursts of anger. His anger easily degenerates into hatred. Grievous offenses he cannot forget. In his anger and pride he permits himself to be drawn to actions which he knows will be very detrimental to himself and to others; for instance, ruin of his health, his work, his fortune, loss of his position, and complete rupture with intimate friends. By reason of his pride and anger he may totally ignore and cast aside the very plans for the realization of which he has worked for years. P. Schram says: "The choleric prefers to die rather than to humble himself."

3. Deceit, disguise and hypocrisy. As noble and magnanimous as the choleric is by nature, the tendency to pride and self-will may lead him to the lowest of vices, deceit and hypocrisy. He practices deceit, because he is in no way willing to concede that he succumbed to a weakness and suffered a defeat. He uses hypocrisy, deception, and even outright lies, if he realizes that he cannot carry out his plans by force. For the true Communist everything that will help his cause is right and just: he makes and breaks treaties and promises; robbery and lies and murder are considered justified if done for the Party and the Cause, without consideration of the cost in human suffering.

4. Lack of sympathy. The choleric, as said above, is a man of reason. He has two heads but no heart.

Wars, torture, concentration camps, the death of millions of people meant nothing to modern dictators like Lenin, Hitler, Stalin, Mao Tse Tung, and their like. This lack of human sentiment and sympathy is, in a way, of great advantage to him. He does not find it hard to be deprived of sensible consolations in prayer and to remain a long time in spiritual aridity. Effeminate, sentimental dispositions are repugnant to him; he hates the caresses and sentimentality which arise between intimate friends. False sympathy cannot influence him to neglect his duties or abandon his principles. On the other hand, this lack of sympathy has its great disadvantages. The choleric can be extremely hard, heartless, even cruel in regard to the sufferings of others. He can cold-bloodedly trample upon the welfare of others, if he cannot otherwise reach his goal. Choleric superiors should examine their conscience daily, to discover

whether they have not shown a lack of sympathy toward their subjects, especially if these are sickly, less talented, fatigued, or elderly.

Conclusion

This concludes the first part of understanding the choleric temperament according to the theologians.

 

The next installment will discuss the "bright side" of the choleric, and how those with such temperament should self-train for spiritual advancement. 

Contending For The Faith---Part 35

 

In St. Jude 1:3, we read, "Dearly beloved, taking all care to write unto you concerning your common salvation, I was under a necessity to write unto you: to beseech you to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints." [Emphasis mine]. Contending For The Faith is a series of posts dedicated to apologetics (i.e.,  the intellectual defense of the truth of the Traditional Catholic Faith) to be published the first Monday of each month.  This is the next installment.

Sadly, in this time of Great Apostasy, the faith is under attack like never before, and many Traditionalists don't know their faith well enough to defend it. Remember the words of our first pope, "But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect..." (1Peter 3:16). There are five (5) categories of attacks that will be dealt with in these posts. Attacks against:

• The existence and attributes of God
• The truth of the One True Church established by Christ for the salvation of all 
• The truth of a particular dogma or doctrine of the Church
• The truth of Catholic moral teaching
• The truth of the sedevacantist position as the only Catholic solution to what has happened since Vatican II 

In addition, controversial topics touching on the Faith will sometimes be featured, so that the problem and possible solutions may be better understood. If anyone had suggestions for topics that would fall into any of these categories, you may post them in the comments. I cannot guarantee a post on each one, but each will be carefully considered.

What You Need to Know About Dr. Jordan Peterson

This past April, a colleague of my wife gave her two tickets to see the enigmatic Dr. Jordan Peterson at Radio City Music Hall. Peterson's website has this to say:

Dr. Jordan B. Peterson is an author, psychologist, online educator, and Professor Emeritus at the University of Toronto. The Jordan B Peterson podcast frequently tops the charts in the Education category. He has written three books, Maps of Meaning, an academic work, presenting a new scientifically-grounded theory of religious and political belief, and the bestselling 12 Rules for Life, and Beyond Order, which have sold more than seven million copies.

With his wife, Tammy, Dr. Peterson’s international lecture tours have sold out more than 400 venues, providing live insight into the structure of mythology and narrative to hundreds of thousands of people.

For twenty years, he taught some of the most highly regarded courses at Harvard and the University of Toronto, while publishing more than a hundred well-cited scientific papers with his students and co-authors.

Dr. Peterson’s online programs, selfauthoring.com and understandmyself.com have helped tens of thousands of people inquire deeply into the structure of their personalities, develop a vision for their future, and sort out the details of their pasts. He maintained an active clinical and consulting practice during this period, helping individuals across the full spectrum of ability and temperament deal with the complexities of their lives and situations.

In conjunction with the Daily Wire Plus, Dr. Peterson recently led and released a 17-part seminar on the biblical book of Exodus, as the continuation of his critically and publicly acclaimed lectures on Genesis.

Peterson, a top-tier academic, became famous nine years ago for his opposition to Canadian Bill C-16, which was passed in 2017. The bill was meant to give special protection to mentally disturbed "trans" people.  As a university professor, he was accused of  hate speech by a "trans student" as he repeatedly refused to use "preferred pronouns." He argues that the requirement to use “made up words” as pronouns is equivalent to “compelled speech.” He has also criticized the notion of the patriarchy, identity politics, white privilege, and the gender pay gap. This made him a darling of conservatives.

His wife developed a very rare form of cancer, and against all odds, she beat it. During her sickness she prayed the Rosary and converted to the Vatican II sect. Dr. Peterson does not commit to believing in any religion. He once stated, "I don't know if God exists, but I'm afraid He might." 

His speaking tour was a promotion for his book, We Who Wrestle With God, released on November 19, 2024. Here's what the publisher says about the book:

In We Who Wrestle with God, Dr. Peterson guides us through the ancient, foundational stories of the Western world. In riveting detail, he analyzes the Biblical accounts of rebellion, sacrifice, suffering, and triumph that stabilize, inspire, and unite us culturally and psychologically. Adam and Eve and the eternal fall of mankind; the resentful and ultimately murderous war of Cain and Abel; the cataclysmic flood of Noah; the spectacular collapse of the Tower of Babel; Abraham’s terrible adventure; and the epic of Moses and the Israelites.  What could such stories possibly mean? What force wrote and assembled them over the long centuries? How did they bring our spirits and the world together, and point us in the same direction?  

It is time for us to understand such things, scientifically and spiritually; to become conscious of the structure of our souls and our societies; and to see ourselves and others as if for the first time.   Join Elijah as he discovers the Voice of God in the dictates of his own conscience and Jonah confronting hell itself in the belly of the whale because he failed to listen and act. Set yourself straight in intent, aim, and purpose as you begin to more deeply understand the structure of your society and your soul. Journey with Dr. Peterson through the greatest stories ever told.  

Dare to wrestle with God.

My wife was fascinated by Peterson, and his brave stand against many of the WOKE issues. We went, and the seats were right up in front, close to where the doctor would be speaking.  I was amazed at the number of young men coming in, almost all of whom were wearing suits. Many of the women were wearing fashionable dresses one would expect to see at a formal dinner. Sitting over in the section next to us were three Vatican II sect "priests." (They were talking about "Pope" Francis as they were coming in, and about how Dr. Peterson inspired them). Two of them looked to be in their 40s and were wearing their clerical garb and Roman collars. One was in his 70s and was dressed like a slob. 

Dr. Peterson came out exactly on time. The stage had props to make it seem like you were hanging out with him in his living room. The doctor (b. 1962) was impeccably dressed and looks very distinguished in person. He paced back and forth in front of the stage and performed a ninety minute soliloquy about the ideas contained in the Bible. He used no notes, made direct eye contact with audience members, no teleprompter, and would often speak thinking with his eyes closed. He held the audiences attention the whole time before taking his bow, and leaving to a standing ovation. 

Peterson is one of the most gifted public speakers I have seen. Were he a lawyer, his oratorical prowess would put him in the top 1% of the profession. As I was listening to him (and after reading his 500 plus page book in late autumn) it becomes obvious that Dr. Jordan Peterson draws his ideas from two people: Paul Tillich, and Carl Jung. (N.B. I have culled much information about Peterson from many sources both online as well as books. In addition to reading his book and attending his tour, a great amount of my information comes from a plethora of sources, too numerous to mention. What follows is not my original work, but a compilation of sources that together will give a terse and concise exposition of the dangers inherent in Jordan Peterson's works. ---Introibo). 

Jordan Peterson: Ideas from Dangerous Ideologies

Peterson is commendable for standing strong against "trans-insanity" and the PC/Woke agenda. However, I wince when I see clergy going to his book tour and trying to learn "theological truths" from this man. It's another indication of the sorry state of affairs that is the Vatican II sect. To understand his "profound insights" as his fans call his ideas, you must understand from whence they originate.

Paul Tillich (1886-1965)

Paul Tillich was  a Lutheran minister and philosopher. His first wife committed adultery and bore a child fathered by her lover. She promptly divorced Tillich. He met Hannah Werner-Gottschow, a married woman who was pregnant, and convinced her to leave her husband and marry him in 1924. They had an "open marriage" whereby each could have lovers, but they remain living together. They stayed together this way. 

Tillich belongs to that liberal school of Protestantism that dissolves dogmas into vague religious experiences. Tillich is convinced that God is not discovered through rational reflection on the cosmos. Discursive reason for him never arrives at God. That is why natural theology is a sterile occupation. There is no dialectical ladder reaching from earth to Heaven, from man to God.

Rational, discursive, supernatural, historically accurate, object-like awareness of God is simply beyond man’s powers. Thus, for Tillich, belief in God is brought down from a level of superior knowledge by the light of faith to the natural level of normal knowledge by concern for moral seriousness. God and faith are the fruit of crisis situations.

Tillich calls God, "the ground of Being," whatever that means. He is a "death of God" theologian for which God is not personal. When you become aware of the ground of being in your personal experience, Tillich calls this the "New Being." Now, the New Being is attained in Jesus. However, Tillich places the true message of the New Being not in humanity's unquestioning acceptance of the New Testament as the historical Word of God but in Man’s acceptance of the symbolic meaning of the historical Jesus, who merely manifests in Himself, or is the occasion for, the manifestation of the New Being in other people. 

In de-supernaturalizing the New Testament and accommodating its message to man’s problematic, existential, modern situation, Tillich drained Christian mysteries of their divine substance, secularizing them all along the line. In his hands, belief in God and Christ, as handed down by thousands of years of Judeo-Christian written and living tradition, is evacuated of all historical, supernatural substance or content. Man’s fall is diluted to mean his creatureliness; sin, the mystery of iniquity, the offense against the infinitely good God is attenuated to mean merely existential estrangement.

All the classic, traditional truths — creation, the Fall, Reconciliation, Salvation, the Cross, the Resurrection, the Kingdom of God, the Trinity — all of them are mere symbols. They have permanent value, and Tillich would hate to part with them, but they must all undergo radical reinterpretation if they are to become acceptable to the modern world. (See Paul Tillich, Ultimate Concern, [1965]).

Carl Jung (1875-1961)

Carl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychoanalyst who abandoned the Lutheran sect of his parents for the occult. Jung’s entire life and work were motivated by his hatred of Catholicism, the Faith and Morals of which he considered to be the source of all the neuroses in the world.  Jung’s mentor was psychoanalyst Otto Gross (1877-1920). He was particularly drawn to Gross's ideas about the "life-enhancing value of eroticism" and his concept of "free love." Jung wrote with approval of Gross’s use of sex orgies to promote pagan spirituality, as he did when he wrote: "The existence of a phallic or orgiastic cult does not indicate eo ipso a particularly lascivious life any more than the ascetic symbolism of Christianity means an especially moral life." Jung, absorbed by eroticism and entranced by the occult, sought to provide a holy merger of the two, which is now popularly know as "Jungianism". In 1912, at the age of 37,  he declared that he could no longer be a Christian, and that only the "new" science of psychoanalysis—as he defined it through "Jungianism"—could offer personal and societal rebirth. 

 Many of the apostate clergy in the wake of Vatican II became disciples of Jung, and were eager to spread his errors. As a result, Jungianism has become a great money-maker in the Vatican II sect, by promoting books and seminars on such topics as "analysis of dreams," "archetypes," "Enneagram personality types," and "discovering the god within you."  God, for Jungians, must be both male and female--incorporating the Eastern pagan notion of "ying and yang." The Mass is a "communal celebration" (sound familiar?) and the Real Presence in the Eucharist is denied since we all have "god within," a form of pantheism. According to Robert Noll's book, The Jung Cult, "...for literally tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of individuals in our culture, Jung and his ideas are the basis of a personal religion that either supplants their participation in traditional organized Judeo-Christian religion or accompanies it."  

Jordan Peterson's Fake Christianity

Based on Tillich and Jung, you will be able to see how Peterson's ideas are far from "new," "conservative," or "Christian." 

Peterson: Jesus is an "Archetype" of a Hero

Jordan Peterson frequently describes Jesus as a powerful archetypal figure within the broader human story of meaning, struggle, and redemption. Drawing heavily from Carl Jung’s psychological theories and the concept of the hero’s journey, Peterson interprets Jesus as the ultimate example of an individual who faces suffering, confronts chaos, and emerges victorious. In this framework, Jesus’ life and death are seen as symbolic representations of the universal human experience of confronting one’s fears, accepting responsibility, and bearing the weight of existence. Peterson views the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus as profound metaphors for the psychological processes of transformation and renewal. He argues that, just as Jesus takes up His cross and suffers for the sins of the world, individuals must also face their personal suffering, bear responsibility, and find meaning in the midst of chaos.

Jesus is a mere man in Peterson's philosophical theology.

Peterson: God is an "Archetype:"

In Peterson’s framework, God is often described as an archetype—a powerful symbolic representation of the highest human ideals and moral values. Drawing from the psychological theories of Carl Jung, Peterson views God as an image that represents order, meaning, and the ultimate good. In this sense, God is not necessarily a personal being or a transcendent Creator, but rather a conceptual framework that helps people organize their lives, find meaning in suffering, and strive for higher moral standards.

 Peterson frequently refers to biblical stories as archetypal narratives that convey profound psychological truths. For example, he interprets the story of Adam and Eve as a symbolic exploration of human consciousness and moral responsibility rather than a literal account of humanity’s origins. Similarly, he views the crucifixion of Christ as a powerful metaphor for the necessity of accepting suffering and taking responsibility in the face of chaos. While Peterson acknowledges the deep cultural and psychological significance of the biblical God, he stops short of affirming the Christian doctrine of God as a personal, omnipotent, and transcendent being who is actively involved in human history. For Peterson, God is more of a guiding principle—a symbolic representation of the highest possible good that individuals should strive to emulate.

Peterson: Morality as Pragmatism and leading to Relativism:

One of the key ethical errors in Peterson’s framework is his reliance on pragmatism as a basis for moral reasoning. Pragmatism emphasizes the outcomes of actions and how they help individuals or societies navigate life’s chaos. While practical considerations are certainly important, the problem arises when pragmatism becomes the primary or sole criterion for determining what is right or wrong. In Peterson’s framework, actions are often judged based on their utility—whether they help individuals assume responsibility, create order, or manage suffering—rather than on intrinsic moral principles.

Peterson often speaks about the psychological benefits of living truthfully, acting responsibly, and confronting challenges head-on. While these behaviors are undeniably valuable, his justification for them is often framed in pragmatic terms: they help the individual thrive, maintain stability, and avoid chaos. This approach risks reducing morality to a function of personal and societal well-being, with little regard for absolute moral truths or principles that transcend mere utility.

While pragmatism can guide practical decisions, it cannot serve as a sufficient foundation for ethics. Morality is about more than just what works or what achieves certain outcomes; it is also about what is intrinsically right or wrong, regardless of the consequences. A purely pragmatic ethic runs the risk of endorsing morally questionable behaviors if they yield desirable results, leading to moral relativism. This undermines the objective moral standards of God, and even leads to a complete rejection of the Ten Commandments.

Conclusion

Dr. Jordan Peterson is a dynamic speaker who writes well. He has taken morally correct stances against PC/Woke nonsense. Yet, many are taken in by him as some sort of "Christian guru." Peterson peddles the "God as symbolic" teachings of Paul Tillich, and the occultic psychobabble of Carl Jung with his "archetypes." 

Don't waste your time or money on Peterson's books. The next time your hear some Vatican II sect "priest" spouting nonsense about Christian truths being "metaphors of a truth we experience," he may very well have been reading Dr. Jordan Peterson.