Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Satan at His Most Subtle: A Reflection on the Temptations and Traps of the Pious
Archdiocese of Washington ^ | 11-23-14 | Msgr. Charles Pope

Posted on 11/24/2014 7:50:29 AM PST by Salvation

Satan at His Most Subtle: A Reflection on the Temptations and Traps of the Pious

By: Msgr. Charles Pope

devil preacher

What is temptation? Temptation is the work of Satan to drag you to Hell. And Satan can read you like a book and play you like piano. Do not exaggerate his power, but do not underestimate it either.

Some of his subtlest work is done in the area of religious observance. There, he can cloak himself quite easily in the lamb’s clothing of piety, but, wolf that he really is, distort it, either through excess or defect, thereby destroying you with what is good. Beware what some spiritual writers call the “traps of the pious.” Consider some examples:

Well, you see, in a certain sense, any virtue will do. Satan can make use of any of them and will seek to corrupt all of them, even the religious ones. He will just as surely go to work in the life of someone in a church pew, as in a brothel or the gutter. No one is exempt from his work of temptation; his goal is to drag us to Hell.

What makes his work of corrupting virtue so insidious is the subtlety of his work, for he takes something that is intrinsically good and seeks to corrupt it, either by excess or defect, or to turn it into some sort of caricature of itself.

Virtues, of course, are meant to work in combination with other virtues that balance them. For example, charity should be balanced by truth and truth by charity. Without charity, the truth can bludgeon; without truth, charity can become harmful, patronizing, and wickedly affirming. Charity and truth are meant to balance each other and to work alongside other virtues in a delicate interplay.

One of Satan’s tactics is to take one virtue and isolate it from others. Beware of these subtle tactics of Satan, who disguises himself well in the robes of virtue. But they are detached virtues, virtues out of balance and proportion.

Beware the traps of the pious.



TOPICS: Apologetics; Catholic; History; Theology
KEYWORDS: catholic; devil; mass; msgrcharlespope; pius; rosary; satan; temptation; temptations; trap
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 101-120121-140141-160161-172 next last
To: Iscool

Your criticism is accepted. And your story is quite humorous.


121 posted on 11/25/2014 3:14:12 PM PST by SpirituTuo
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 118 | View Replies]

To: CynicalBear

What is the chapter and verse on that? In the KJV.

Thanks!


122 posted on 11/25/2014 3:14:45 PM PST by SpirituTuo
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 120 | View Replies]

To: SpirituTuo
>>What is the chapter and verse on that? In the KJV.<<

All of it. Read it.

123 posted on 11/25/2014 4:04:09 PM PST by CynicalBear (For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 122 | View Replies]

To: Dutchboy88

to be a protestant is to be ignorant of history

protestants never read the Church Fathers yet they act out as you do

you only demonstrate your ignorance.

AMDG


124 posted on 11/25/2014 4:21:02 PM PST by LurkingSince'98 (Ad Majoram Dei Gloriam = FOR THE GREATER GLORY OF GODs)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 31 | View Replies]

To: Dutchboy88; Dr. Thorne

Msgr Pope is basically correct, but he says that Satan can take religious things and corrupt them.

It’s more like Satan takes the things of God and corrupts them INTO religious things.

Then the problem is that religion replaces relationship and it becomes a relationship not based on love, mercy, grace, forgiveness, but wages due for work performed. With the thinking of *I fulfilled my end of the bargain, now God is obligated to me*.


125 posted on 11/25/2014 4:44:18 PM PST by metmom (...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: Hegewisch Dupa
A lot of people say Catholics worship Mary, and the saints, but they usually only are parroting whatever preacher boy they hitched their wagon to, or they are “smarter” than the Catholics who tell them Whom they actually worship. For some, the main part of Christianity is running around telling people what other Christians actually believe,

Exodus 20:1-6 And God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me.

“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

People can deny till the cows come home that they're not worshiping in spite of what it looks like to others.

The problem is, however, God says not to bow down to or serve those images.

And when the RCC is replete with carved images and people bow down and pray to them, and light candles to them, that can be objectively seen and discerned.

It's breaking some of the Ten Commandments, plain and simple.

126 posted on 11/25/2014 4:55:05 PM PST by metmom (...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 23 | View Replies]

To: SpirituTuo; CynicalBear; Dutchboy88
It is not a chapter and verse where it says “Mary was assumed into Heaven.” However, there are a number of references and inferences to be found in the Bible. Again, take a look at the sources I provided, and you will find the Catholic teaching on the subject.

It's beyond ironic, and well into the hypocritical that Catholics reject the notion of *sola Scriptura* because the term isn't found expressly in the Bible as such, and yet are willing to give the assumption of Mary and the doctrine of the trinity a pass based on references and inferences.

127 posted on 11/25/2014 5:02:28 PM PST by metmom (...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 61 | View Replies]

To: GreensKeeperWillie; CynicalBear
Early Christian writings say John went to live at Ephesus and that Mary accompanied him. There is some dispute about where she ended her life, perhaps there, perhaps back at Jerusalem. Neither of these cities nor any other claimed her remains, although there are claims about possessing her (temporary) tomb. Why did no city claim the bones of Mary? Apparently because there were no bones to claim, and people knew it. -Dr. Stackpole

Well, there's desperation if I ever saw it.

Maybe there were no bones to claim because some people actually believe that the dead should rest in peace.

Lack of evidence is not evidence of lack.

128 posted on 11/25/2014 5:07:26 PM PST by metmom (...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 75 | View Replies]

To: Bayard; Dutchboy88
Dutchboy says this....>>>no such thing as absolution of sin<<<

and you reply with a long, drawn out red herring instead of saying, yes, the Bible does indeed teach the absolution of sins and here are the Scripture verses to prove it.......

129 posted on 11/25/2014 5:12:05 PM PST by metmom (...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 90 | View Replies]

To: GreensKeeperWillie; CynicalBear
Where does the bible address the end of apostolic succession?

Where does the Bible address apostolic succession at all?

This concept that just because the Bible doesn't say anything about it, that means we can make up anything we want as we go, call it *sacred Tradition* and consider the matter settled, leads only to gross error.

130 posted on 11/25/2014 5:14:29 PM PST by metmom (...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 91 | View Replies]

To: SpirituTuo; Iscool
So, it is in the Bible, the KJV Bible, and I didn’t make it up. Do you deny it now? Mary interceded for the host, to Jesus. Jesus did as His mother asked.

So what did she ask Him to do? Seems like the version you quoted left that out.

131 posted on 11/25/2014 5:18:08 PM PST by metmom (...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 97 | View Replies]

To: LurkingSince'98; Dutchboy88
>>protestants never read the Church Fathers yet they act out as you do<<

Are your church fathers infallible? Are their writings considered the word of God?

132 posted on 11/25/2014 5:32:55 PM PST by CynicalBear (For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 124 | View Replies]

To: LurkingSince'98; Dutchboy88
protestants never read the Church Fathers yet they act out as you do

The church fathers didn't write the bible...They read it just like we do...

Most of the early church fathers believed in scripture alone...No traditions...

133 posted on 11/25/2014 5:41:44 PM PST by Iscool
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 124 | View Replies]

To: metmom

She told him so he would act. She didn’t tell him how to act, just that there was a problem. Running out of wine at a wedding like that would have had enormous social consequences.


134 posted on 11/25/2014 5:51:49 PM PST by SpirituTuo
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 131 | View Replies]

To: CynicalBear

Ok, thanks for setting the precedent. Whenever I receive the chapter and verse question, I will respond “All of it. Read it.” I guess that way I won’t waste my time telling you all of the chapters, and all of the verses, and still have you call it lies and propaganda.


135 posted on 11/25/2014 5:53:23 PM PST by SpirituTuo
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 123 | View Replies]

To: metmom

That isn’t the sole reason to reject Sola Scriptura. Additionally, Sola Scriptura is superficially reasonable. However, that is a different discussion. Besides the Church doesn’t teach Sola Scriptura, so it would be logical to assume some teachings wouldn’t be chapter and verse.


136 posted on 11/25/2014 5:57:16 PM PST by SpirituTuo
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 127 | View Replies]

To: LurkingSince'98; Dutchboy88
protestants never read the Church Fathers

Were the writings of the church fathers equally as inspired as Holy Scripture is? Did your Catholic church canonize their writings?

137 posted on 11/25/2014 5:59:02 PM PST by Alex Murphy ("the defacto Leader of the FR Calvinist Protestant Brigades")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 124 | View Replies]

To: Dutchboy88; metmom

>>>But, that is not the point. So far you have not refuted any of those doctrines I mentioned as spurious. Give us the passages which support all that Romish error and you may have something...until then, you are barking at the moon.<<<

I don’t have to refute anything. The burden of refutation is on you. And oh.. btw, please actually give me a Catholic doctrine. Please explain it like you understand it, not as a simple headline, and maybe I’ll take your points seriously. Otherwise, its a complete waste of your time and my time to post on this any further.


138 posted on 11/25/2014 6:17:04 PM PST by Bayard
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 115 | View Replies]

To: Dutchboy88; metmom

>>>But, that is not the point. So far you have not refuted any of those doctrines I mentioned as spurious. Give us the passages which support all that Romish error and you may have something...until then, you are barking at the moon.<<<

I don’t have to refute anything. The burden of refutation is on you. And oh.. btw, please actually give me a Catholic doctrine. Please explain it like you understand it, not as a simple headline, and maybe I’ll take your points seriously. Otherwise, its a complete waste of your time and my time to post on this any further.


139 posted on 11/25/2014 6:17:07 PM PST by Bayard
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 115 | View Replies]

To: SpirituTuo
I answered your question specifically. Here's your question.

>>"If it is not you, then from whom have you learned this specific knowledge, and how is it spread? On whose authority do you preach the message that the Catholic Church is a liar?"<<

Here is my answer.

Scripture. I really thought you would have realized that the Holy Spirit is the author of scripture through the writers and it is He who we have been told would teach us.

1 Corinthians 2:10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

1 Corinthians 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

1 John 2:27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

Romans 8:16 The Spirit himself doth testify with our spirit, that we are children of God;

So to your question "from whom have you learned this specific knowledge?". It's the Holy Spirit. And to your question "and how is it spread?" The answer is Scripture with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to give guidance and understanding. If you doubt that let me remind you.

Acts 15:8 And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.

So to your question "When, in all of your years upon the earth, did you become the inerrant interpreter of the One, True, God?" The answer is the day I was born again with the promised indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

So my "understanding and authority" comes from the Holy Spirit. Catholics are lied to and told their "understanding" has to come from some changing group of men. I rely on and trust the Holy Spirit to teach me. Catholics are told to rely on and trust the men of flesh in the magesterium.

Romans 8:5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

I hope that was specific enough for you.

140 posted on 11/26/2014 5:37:48 AM PST by CynicalBear (For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 135 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 101-120121-140141-160161-172 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson