Contending For The Faith---Part 32

 

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.

Eco-Paganism

There is much discussion going on around Jorge Bergoglio's ("Pope" Francis) statement that all religions lead to God. Vatican II sect apologist and the R&R movement are straining credulity (to say the least) to explain away his statement, or somehow "prove" that it does not constitute heresy.  This is not the first time Bergoglio has promoted the so-called "equality of religions." One of his biggest (and ongoing) attempts was in 2015, with the publication of Laudato Si ("LS") the "ecological encyclical on "Care for Our Common Home"--the Earth. Bergoglio states in para. #3, "In this Encyclical, I would like to enter into dialogue with all people about our common home." Religion is irrelevant. That's because: " Outside the Catholic Church, other Churches and Christian communities – and other religions as well – have expressed deep concern and offered valuable reflections on issues which all of us find disturbing." (para. #7).

With all the problems facing us, including (but not limited to) abortion, the occult explosion, sodomite/transgender perversion, the rise of militant atheism, and the threat of ever more fanatical Islamism, Bergoglio is concerned about Styrofoam cups and "climate change."  Bergoglio is not concerned with the salvation of souls because, like Freemasons, he's an adherent of Naturalism, "the philosophical belief that everything arises from natural properties and causes, and supernatural or spiritual explanations are excluded or discounted." A serious evil Naturalism engenders is Indifferentism. This is the heretical idea that one religion is as good as another (positive indifference) or the idea that one religion is just as bad as another (negative indifference). He adopts the pagan idea of deifying humans and nature with false and exaggerated claims of "human dignity" and "human rights." 

Beginning in 2012, the so-called Discastery for Promoting Integral Human Development (not spiritual development, more Naturalism) has begun a plan of implementing LS. 

(See laudatosiactionplatform.org). The purpose of my post is to expose the Naturalistic and pagan ideas in the "eco-menism" movement which has the Vatican II sect as one of its leaders. While a modest goal of protecting the environment is laudable, what is going on under the appellation of "ecological concern" is nothing less than a new belief system firmly grounded in paganism.

"Deep Ecology"

Deep ecology is the name given to an environmental movement and philosophy which regards human life as just one of many equal components of a global ecosystem. It is, by its own terms, anti-supernatural, and sees humans as "just another animal." Most deep ecologists are pantheists, and many explicitly embrace Hinduism, Buddhism or Confucianism. Deep ecologists are spiritual and religious in their attitudes toward environmental issues. Some actively seek to revive Druidism, witchcraft, Native American religions and―among feminists―goddess worship.

Drawing from both the Eastern religions and Darwinian science, they place man’s identity with the rest of nature in his ascent through the evolutionary chain of being. Thus, “one itinerant environmentalist conducts ‘workshops’ in which participants are urged to remember their alleged evolutionary history by rolling on the ground and imagining what their lives were like as dead leaves, slugs, and lichens.”

(See Robert James Bidinotto, “Environmentalism: Freedom’s Foe for the ’90s,” The Freeman vol. 40, no. 11; Yes, this was as far back as the 1990s and has gotten worse).

Today, deep ecologists collaborate more closely with politically active environmentalists, who tend to share the same basic worldview and communication strategy. A significant minority of deep ecologists reject any inclination to view nature as divine or indwelt by goddesses, animistic spirits, or other spiritual entities. They are thoroughly naturalistic, and rationalize their belief that plants, animals, and natural objects have intrinsic value by embracing a scientific, evolutionary starting point—although some admit this view is “often grounded in mystical or intuitive knowledge that is beyond the reach of the scientific method.” (See Bron Taylor, Dark Green Religion: Nature and Spirituality and the Planetary Future, [2010], pg. 14). In this quasi-scientific scenario, Homo sapiens’ evolutionary heritage—our alleged common ancestry with all life—has resulted in an interdependent, kinship relationship in which humans are merely one of countless other living things inhabiting Earth.

Hence, there are two views within deep ecology, one pagan and occultic, the other secular humanist. Both views reject and despise Christianity. They share the belief that Homo sapiens are only one ordinary organism inhabiting the Earth’s biosphere. All plants and animals, as well as inanimate objects, have intrinsic value equal to, if not greater than, human beings. In short, deep ecology endorses "ecocentrism." It puts the welfare of nature above human welfare. 

"Eco-Theology"

Carl Sagan (d. 1996), the famous astronomer, was also a pantheist; as his son Dorian said, "My father believed in the God of Spinoza and Einstein, God not behind nature but as nature, equivalent to it." It was Sagan who helped to popularize nature worship. In his book, Cosmos (1980, pg. 243), he quipped, "If we must worship a power greater than ourselves, does it not make sense to revere the Sun and stars?" No, it doesn't. We worship not some impersonal "power" but the personal, omnipotent, omniscient, omni-benevolent Creator of the stars and all things. 

 In his book, Earth in the Balance, former Vice-President Al Gore suggests that we return to the worship of nature and upholds various nature worshiping sects and Native American religions as a model:

"This pan-religious perspective may prove especially important where our global civilization’s responsibility for the earth is concerned…Native American religions, for instance, offer a rich tapestry of ideas about our relationship to the earth…All things are connected like the blood that unites us all." (Al Gore, Earth in the Balance – Ecology and the Human Spirit, 1992, p. 258-259).

Gore goes on to declare that we need to find a new nature-based religion and quotes New Age, censured theologian, Teilhard de Chardin, in support of the “new faith” of the future:

"This point was made by the Catholic (sic) theologian, Teilhard de Chardin, when he said, ‘The fate of mankind, as well as of religion, depends upon the emergence of a new faith in the future.’ Armed with such a faith, we might find it possible to re-sanctify the earth." (Ibid, p. 263). Teilhard was born in south central France on May 1, 1881 and was censured by the Church in 1936. He died in 1955, still censured, but not excommunicated. His secret disciples, who praised him openly after Vatican II, included Karol Wojtyla (JPII) and Joseph Ratzinger (Benedict XVI). His writings were considered so dangerous, even Roncalli (John XXIII) refused to allow any of his works to be used in the seminaries as late as 1962. Teilhard bragged about high ranking Modernists who were using their influence to prevent his excommunication, even though he could neither teach or write, and all his works were declared to contain errors.

Here are some interesting ideas of Teilhard that his proponents, like Al Gore, would like us to ignore:

"Rome does not want me to return to my professorship. They do not seem to have taken a dislike to me, far from it; but they want to save Religion…..I would take enormous delight in breaking all ties" (the reference here is to breaking all ties to traditional Catholic belief, and the Church as a whole – from letter written Feb. 14 1927)

"I do not think God should be worshiped" – from a conference given in 1947

"What increasingly dominates my interest is the effort to establish within myself, and to diffuse around me, a new religion (let’s call it an improved Christianity if you like) whose personal God is no longer the great neolithic landowner of times gone by, but the Soul of the world……"(Letter to Leontine Zanta, Jan 26, 1936; Emphasis mine)

"Christ saves. But must we not hasten to add that Christ, too, is saved by evolution?" (Le Christique, 1955;Emphasis mine)

"Our century is probably more religious than any other. How could it fail to be, with such problems to be solved? The only trouble is that it has not yet found a God it can adore." (The Phenomenon of Man; Emphasis mine).

"No humane hopes for an organized society must cause us to forget that the human stratum may not be homogeneous. If it were not, it would be necessary to find for the Chinese, as for the Negroes, their special function, which may not (by biological impossibility) be that of the whites." (April 6, 1927 letter--pure racism).

Carl Sagan was a major proponent of Teilhardian ideas. Before his death in 1996, he quoted one religious leader quite favorably, "St." John Paul the Great Apostate, a Teilhardian disciple. He quotes Wojtyla:  "Science can purify religion from error and superstition; religion can purify science from idolatry and false absolutes. Each can draw the other into a wider world, a world in which both can flourish….Such bridging ministries must be nurtured and encouraged. Nowhere is this more clear than in the current environmental crisis…. It has the potential to unify and renew religious life. " (See Parade, March 1, 1992; Emphasis in original).

False ecological cataclysms have been manufactured to scare people into submitting to more government regulation in their lives, and worst of all, to adopt the false and pagan idea of nature worship and pantheism to unite the planet. There have been past "chicken-little-the sky-is-falling" impeding ecological disasters predicted before:

• By 1989, "contamination of the planet" will destroy the Earth https://www.nytimes.com/1969/08/10/archives/foe-of-pollution-sees-lack-of-time-asserts-environmental-ills.html

• There will be an ice age by the year 2000, as reported in the Boston Globe https://www.newspapers.com/image/435402308/

• In the 1970s, "Ozone Depletion" would wreak havoc by the 1990s, now hardly discussed, See https://ozonewatch.gsfc.nasa.gov/meteorology/annual_data.html

Now, climate change is the latest "Eco-pocalypse" with a purpose; to bring all people into a worship of nature and a One World Religion. The stage was set for Bergoglio to enter next.

"Eco-menism"

At the end of his encyclical Laudato Si ("On Care of Our Common Home") 2015, Bergoglio sets forth two prayers:

At the conclusion of this lengthy reflection which has been both joyful and troubling, I propose that we offer two prayers. The first we can share with all who believe in a God who is the all-powerful Creator, while in the other we Christians ask for inspiration to take up the commitment to creation set before us by the Gospel of Jesus. (Emphasis mine). This shows his desire to have all religions, all beliefs, all opinions unite and mobilize against the "ecological threat" and engage in ecumenical prayer. 

In para. #87, Bergoglio omits the following words from St. Francis of Assisi's Canticle of the Sun:

Be praised, my Lord, through those who forgive for love of You;

through those who endure sickness and trial.

Happy those who endure in peace, 

for by You, Most High, they will be crowned.

Be praised, my Lord, through our sister Bodily Death,

from whose embrace no living person can escape.

Woe to those who die in mortal sin!

Happy those she finds doing Your most holy will.

The second death can do no harm to them.

Why were those words omitted? They teach the following truths Bergoglio wanted to leave out:

• the necessity of final perseverance in grace to arrive at a happy eternity
• death is inevitable and humans were NOT created for this world
• it warns of mortal sin and souls that die in the state of mortal sin will endure the "second death" of Hell

Bergoglio has  done away with the First Commandment, the worship due to the true God. It started with Paul VI's heretical ecclesiology, embodied in Vatican II. It continued with "Saint" John Paul the Great Apostate and his ecumenical abomination at Assisi, visiting Lutheran churches, praying in synagogues, and kissing the Koran. It progressed with "retired pope" Ratzinger's statement that the papacy (which he never held anyway) was the greatest hindrance to "ecumenical progress." It goes even further with Francis wanting all false sects to unite as one ecumenical denomination behind a one-world police state enforcing global ecological sanctions. Remember: Saving the environment, not your soul, is what really matters.

Laudato Si also tells us "our common home" is the Earth. Catholicism, on the other hand, teaches that our true home is Heaven, and while we must be good stewards of this planet, we must strive to get to humankind's ultimate purpose--the Beatific Vision. The only way to do this is by being good members of the One True Church, and making as many converts as possible so they can hopefully join us there. Not so, saith "Pope" Francis. In paragraph #175, the false pope also tells us: The twenty-first century, while maintaining systems of governance inherited from the past, is witnessing a weakening of the power of nation states, chiefly because the economic and financial sectors, being transnational, tends to prevail over the political. Given this situation, it is essential to devise stronger and more efficiently organized international institutions, with functionaries who are appointed fairly by agreement among national governments, and empowered to impose sanctions. In other words, a One World Environmental "Police Force" putting us another step closer to a One World Government, with a One World Religion dedicated to recycling cans and praying to "Mother Earth." 

The New Religious Holy Day/Holiday: Earth Day

Pagans love Bergoglio's deep ecology, and claim "he got it right." As one modern pagan wrote:

Throughout the encyclical, Pope Francis accurately and powerfully describes our origins in the Earth, our dependence on the Earth, and our desecration of the Earth.  More importantly, he describes how our harmful actions flow from a “throwaway culture” that mistakenly seeks meaning in things, and how the negative results are borne predominantly by the poor.

If you think Laudato Si’ is only about climate change, you need to read it for yourself.  It discusses the problems the poor have with access to clean water, the loss of biodiversity, the decline in the quality of human life and the breakdown of society, global inequality, and the weak responses to these problems from governments and individuals.

What does any of this have to do with saving your soul, which is the whole purpose of Catholicism?

He continues:

It is one thing to describe a problem so immense.  It is quite another to propose a solution.  Pope Francis does not propose an agenda of specific actions.  Instead, as a spiritual leader he proposes a spiritual solution.

Christian spirituality proposes an alternative understanding of the quality of life, and encourages a prophetic and contemplative lifestyle, one capable of deep enjoyment free of the obsession with consumption. We need to take up an ancient lesson, found in different religious traditions [emphasis mine] and also in the Bible. It is the conviction that “less is more”.

"All religions lead to God"--remember? 

As a Pagan, I accept the challenge to help create and promote a Pagan and polytheist spirituality that will be at least as effective in building a society that is respectful, compassionate, and sustainable.  As a start – but only as a start – I recommend reading and signing the Pagan Community Statement on the Environment...Thank you, Pope Francis.

(For the entire article, See patheos.com/blogs/johnbeckett/2015/06/the-pope-gets-it-a-pagan-look-at-laudato-si.html). 

Time magazine, had an article in 2023 advocating for Earth Day (April 22nd) a religious holiday. It was written by Paul Greenberg and Carl Safina, who describe themselves as a "nominal Jew" and a "recovering Catholic," respectively. Here's what they propose:

So, what would an earth-reverent belief system look like with Earth Day at its center?

To begin with, let’s take a look at what established religions get right and where we might take a cue. Perhaps the first step might be, um, unearthing the nature-centered origins of our existing religious holidays. Most of us know in the back of our minds that Christmas and Hanukkah fall around the time of the winter solstice; that Easter and Passover are celebrated in tandem with the arrival of spring; that Sukkot and Diwali mark harvest and summer’s last warmth, and Eid follows the path of the moon. These holidays have origins in gratitude. Gratitude for the sun returning. Gratitude for the harvest that could avert the starvation winter might bring. Thanks for when it did avert it. We could conceivably reframe these holidays as days of thanks for what the natural world gives and reminders that our responsibility for what remains is an ongoing covenant...We still don’t really know how nothing became something and formed a universe in which random pulses of energy and matter coalesced into beings writing op eds. In short, there’s plenty of mystery to go around. (Nothing became something; and Christians are derided for believing in "magic"---Emphasis mine)

In short, we must make nature central to our belief system with Earth Day or any number of earth-focused ceremonial days serving as regular reminders of what we owe our home planet.

(See time.com/6273684/earth-day-religious-holiday/).

Can this eco-mania of deep ecology bring together secularists and religious as the start of a One World Religion? 

Conclusion

As I have written before, the deep ecology of Bergoglio and his sect are being used by the forces of evil to further advance ecumenism and jettison Christ from society, replacing Him and His One True Church with a pagan One World Religion dedicated to "saving the planet," while its members lose their souls. A healthy concern for the environment is one thing, and making it the focus of our existence (pantheism or secularism) is another. Beware the Laudato Si implementation plan coming to a V2 sect parish near you, and shared around the neighborhood. 

Don't let Bergoglio and his false Vatican II sect lead you down that garden path; for those who worship "Mother Earth" would do well to remember the words of Christ, "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you will do." (St. John 8:44).