[Greek] ἄθεος (atheos), [Latin] sine Deo (without God)

[Greek] ἄθεος (atheos), [Latin] sine Deo: (without God), ungodly, godless; Eph2:12

Modernism is a synthesis of all heresies. One’s human reason and religious sense only comes from one’s subconsciousness and lived experiences. Anything that suggests God and the divine must be excluded. 

Background Information:

Origins and sources of atheism:

1. Practical atheism of the ignorant.
2. Self-glorification of the state and secularization of religion (Greek gods, Roman gods, emperors)
3. Philosophical and humanistic enlightenment and removal of God in the culture (French Enlightenment)

Greek Hellenism: This term means with out God. Socrates, believing that truth comes from an inner voice from God, was accused of being an atheist. Pagans have also ironically called Christians as atheists for believing in only one God.

Plato’s Laws 967c : “These were the views which caused thinkers to incur many charges of atheism and odium, and which also incited the poets to abuse them by likening philosophers to dogs howling at the moon.”

Plato’s Laws 908b :”Those, though they utterly disbelieve in the existence of the gods, possess a just character and are incapable of being induced to commit unjust actions.”

Old Testament: Atheism refers to avoidance and rejection of God. God’s providence is dismissed and ignored. Belief in God can be turned into hatred to God. The demonic hatred of God seeks to destroy all His works. (This becomes prevalent in our current post-Christian secular world!)

New Testament: This term means without God. Gentiles were called the uncircumcision by Israel, being the circumcision. The Gentiles lacked messianic expectations and covenants with God.

Scripture:

“Remember, you Gentiles, were at that time without Christ, alienated from the community of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, without hope and without God in the world.” Eph.2:11-12 (The Gentiles lacked messianic expectations and various covenants with God. But through Christ all these barriers between Jew and Gentile has been transcended. The Gentiles were morally godless in the sense that they were void of any recognition of God.)

Pope Pius X’s encyclical Pascendi Dominici Gregis (Aug 7, 1907): prophetically warns about the evils, problems, heresies, and atheism of Modernism

1. Pope X recognized that the Catholic Church was facing the rising threat of Modernism.
2. Modernism: human reason is confined to natural phenomena, not the divine and supernatural realities. This is an agnostic worldview.
3. Vital  immanence: one’s religious sentiment (within oneself) develops doctrine and Church teachings. 
4. Divine reality exists outside the person. It is the experience of the individual that defines religion.
5. This Modernist human perspective allows Catholicism to be put on an equal footing with all other religions.
6. The Modernist is more easily able to reject, change, or update Tradition (and traditional doctrines). Dogma becomes optional.
7. Those who seek to hold on to Tradition are perceived as rigid and “Pharasaic”. (SOUND FAMILIAR??)
8. The Modernist is more easily open to criticize and change (democratize) the Magisterium and Church teaching authority. (The Synod is actually considering this now!)
9. Pride, curiosity, error, and ignorance are the immediate causes of Modernism.
10. Modernism is the cumulative subjective human embracing of errors ultimately leading to atheism.

Practical atheism: (Cardinal Sarah warns of a subtle form of atheism):

1. God is no longer at the center of one’s center of divine worship. Modern man acts as if God does not exist in his life.
2. Doctrine and faith are reduce to social activism.
3. One’s lived experiences becomes that basis for one’s moral guiding principles.
4. There is a continual need to adjust and change objective moral truths to the culture. Subjective situational morality exists.
5. There is a greater focus on horizontal relationships (man to man) rather a vertical relationship (God to man).
6. There is a continual rejection of traditional Catholic morals and theology.
7. There is a suppression of the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM).
8. Cafeteria Catholicism: one picks and choose what he like from Catholicism.
9. Synodal path: there are continual efforts to transform Jesus’ Church into a synodal Church in the image of man.
10. Clergy are becoming more concerned and conscious about their status (position) in the Church rather than on focusing on Jesus.
11. Adoration of Jesus becomes a distraction in comparison to other Church matters.

3rd century papyrus writing for “atheos”

Conclustion:

Atheism, atheist

Atheism was originally defined by the number of gods not worshipped. Now atheism is defined by the denial of theism.

Old Testament: Atheism begins to become associated with the demonic (undermining God).

New Testament: Many Gentiles, who were without God, often worshipped many other gods. Interestingly, Christians, who believed in only one God, were also called atheists by pagans who worshipped many gods.

Update: Vatican II, naively intending to “bring fresh air into the Church”, has resulted in a spiritual and pastoral disaster. As a result, worldly and secular influences, satanic influences, and Modernism has entered into the Church, leading to declining Church attendance, church closings, increase liturgical abuse and sacrilege, liturgical chaos and confusion, Modernists influences and ideology in the Church, loss of vocations, etc.)

The Church faith has become secularized in that Church teachings are being adapted to the world: non-liturgical blessings for same sex unions, normalizing homosexual behavior, diminishing the importance of sin, democratization of Church authority and teachings, submission to secular and political rights, acceptance of abortion, contraception, and euthanasia.

Cardinal Sarah claims that a practical atheism has crept into the Church: dogma and faith is being reduced to social activism, synodalism (bringing in worldly values and sin into the Church), priests focusing too much on their social standing and authority and focusing less on bring souls into heaven, diminished focus on adoration, sharing Church decision-making with the clergy and laity.

Pope Paul VI stated that the “smoke of Satan” (demonic influences) has entered into the crack of the Church: has undermined the Church, Church teachings and doctrine, clergy, and laity.

In the Modernist’s mind, the Holy Spirit becomes an agent for change and reform: “the Holy Spirit of surprises“, “Jesus’ Church must now become a “synodal” Church”. This becomes a Modernist rationale in using use the Holy Spirit to “reform” and “renew” anything they want ==> rinse and repeat. But the Holy Spirit cannot endorse sin!!

The “wealth and prosperity gospel” stresses material wealth, and prosperity as affirmation of God’s blessings, rather than of spiritual blessings. This ideology comes from the Old Testament. When pastors and preachers have accumulated mansions and other wealth ==> not a good look!!

Next post: You could be the next contestant on “Do you want to be a saint?”