[Greek] δόλος (dolos), [Latin] tenere, [German] halten, [German] betrug: treachery, deceit, trickery, duplicity, deception; Mt.26:4, Mk.7:22, Mk.14:1, Jn.1:47, Acts 13:10, Rom.1:29, 2Cor.12:16; 1Thess.2:3, 1Pet.2:1,22, 1Pet.3:10
CORRUPTION OF MINDS IS SATANIC ACTIVITY! As the serpent deceived Eve in the garden, Paul points out to the Corinthians that their thoughts might be corrupted. (2Cor.4:2)
Background information:
Old Testament: This term mean deceit, deception, dishonesty, treachery, guile, secrecy, and hypocrite.
New Testament: This term means treachery, deceit, trickery, duplicity, wickedness, and deception.
Conspiring against Jesus with trickery:
Mt.26:4: “The chief priests and the elders consulted together to arrest Jesus by treachery and put Him to death.” (The Passover festival was soon approaching. But the chief priests and elders delayed these actions because it would cause a riot among the people. Just before this, Jesus had predicted, ‘In two days the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.’)
What comes from with defiles:
Mk. 7:20-22: “But what comes from within, that is what defiles. From within people come evil, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, and folly.”
- The Pharisees and scribes asked Jesus why His disciples do not follow the tradition of the elders (observing purification rituals) but instead eat meals with unclean hands.
- Jesus points out prophecy [Isa.29:13] about hypocrites who hearts are far from God and who teach human doctrines.
- They disregard God’s commandment but cling to human traditions.
- Jesus states that nothing enters one from outside can defile that person, but that things come out from within are what defile.
- Jesus declared all foods clean.
The son of Satan, full of deceit:
Acts 13:10: “Paul said to Elymas the magician, ‘You son of the devil, you enemy of all that is right, full of every sort of deceit and fraud. Will you not stop twisting the straight paths of the Lord?'”
- Satan is considered the author of deceit and father of lies.
- Elymas attempted to turn the proconsul away from the faith. He attempted to resist the truth of the gospel.
- In contrast, Paul makes reference to a voice proclaiming preparing the way of the Lord, making straight a way to the Lord.
False prophets and false teachers who will introduce destructive heresies:
2Pet.2:1: “There were also false prophets and false teachers among you, who will introduce destructive heresies and even deny the Master who ransomed them, bring swift destruction on themselves.”
- Many will follow their licentious ways and the way of truth will be reviled.
- They will exploit you with fabrications. Their destruction does not sleep.
- They revile things that they do not understand. In their destruction, they will be destroyed.
- Their eyes are full of adultery and insatiable for sin. They seduce unstable people.
- They have gone astray, following the road of Balaam who loved payment for wrongdoing.
[Greek] πανουργία (panourgia), [Latin] dolus, [Latin] astutia:
1Cor.3:19: “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God.” (Paul states that one can be truly wise if he recognizes the foolishness in the world. Likewise, God’s wisdom is also seen as foolish by the world.)
2Cor.11:3: “As the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts may be corrupted from a sincere and pure commitment to Christ.” Corruption of minds is satanic activity. Adam was also culpable in failing to help Eve.)
Eph.4:14: “So that we may not longer be infants, tossed by waves and swept along by every wind of teaching arising from human trickery, from their cunning in the interests of deceitful scheming.”
Spiritual infants: childish, naive, impressionable, impulsive, unthinking, led astray, ignorant, lacking in faith, indulgent, easily influenced
Human actions: (silence, cowardice, tolerance, false compassion, failing to uphold or ignoring Church teachings, getting along with others): May lead to scandal, division, heresy, permitting of sin, scandal, and eternal peril to souls.
False Compassion: “A person in authority who deprives his subject of the truth when he says, even with the best intention of helping them, ‘You may ignore the teachings of the Magisterium: God’s laws are too hard for you.’ By that he says in effect, ‘You are not and never will be strong and good enough to adhere to these laws.” Catholic psychiatrist Conrad Baars
- Does this sound like the Vatican’s LGBTQ “outreach”?
- This is how the clergy fail to act like clergy.
- These clergy are failing in their duty to clearly state Church teachings against sin.
- This becomes false compassion of the worst kind for the LGBTQ community.
- This is clergy failing in their duty to bring souls into heaven.
Pope Francis: “It is a mistake for the Church to try to hold onto old traditions or to have clear answers for everything.”
- God forbid that the Church would have answers for everything!
- This quote essentially embodies Pope Francis’ papacy and new synodal Church: worldliness, moving with the world, paying lip service to Church teachings, being “two-sided” in speaking about the faith, watered-down teachings, confusion, division, chaos, and heresy.
- Pope Francis again illustrates his disdain for Tradition.
CHATGPT: Someone asked CHATGPT “If you were the devil, what would you do to keep God away from the people as far as possible WITHOUT THEM REALIZING IT?
- It would be too obvious to explicitly say that God does not exist. I would use more subtle distractions.
- I would start with small shifts in focus that would seem harmless. But over time, I would create a massive distance from God.
- I would corrupt mainstream religion, turning it into a tool for control, hypocrisy, and division.
- I would make people feel obsessed with their life, ambitions, and their status. I would make them too busy for their faith.
- I would fill their time with constant noise, social media, endless entertainment, and mindless consumption.
- I would make them feel that silence is uncomfortable and that self-reflection feels impossible.
- I would make instant gratification the ultimate goal. I would make them believe that sin can be a form of self-expression and freedom.
- I would reframe obedience to God as repression and rebellion.
- I would make worship feel like a burden, rather than a refuge.
- I would make them see acts of worship as outdated.
- THE GREATEST TRICK ISN’T TO GET THEM TO REJECT GOD, BUT TO MAKE THEM FORGET HIM.
Further quotes by Dietrich Bonhoffer:
“The devil does not fill us with hatred for God, but forgetfulness of God.”
“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”
“The time is short. Eternity is long. It is the time of decision.”
“Christianity without the living Christ is inevitably Christianity without discipleship. Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ.”
One doesn’t need to be full-blown possessed by Satan to be influenced by him. Satan works in more subtle and sneaky ways: distraction, busyness, temptation, worldliness, fame, and riches, and noise.
It is also very important to be reminded that Satan has been often been referred to as “ruler of this world”.
Conclusion:
Astute, betray, betrayal, halt, tenure, tenant, tenacity, tenet
Polycarp, a disciple of John, called Marcion, the “firstborn of Satan” for stating the heresy of two different Gods: an evil Old Testament God and a benevolent New Testament God.
Paul rightly points out that corruption of mind is satanic activity.
Update: Silent and cowardly clergy may unintentionally or intentionally further Satan’s purposes in undermining the Church and turning people away from God. These silent and cowardly clergy will have much to account for themselves before God.
The Synodalists continue to elevate synodality as an idol. The Synodalists continue to cling to their human traditions.
The Synod of Synodality coordinators would often invoked the Holy Spirit as justification for their agenda. This is deceitful and dangerous in that the Holy Spirit can only stand for Truth!
The synodal Church seeks to remake Jesus’s divine Church into the image of man (and his lived experiences). This synodal Church continues to be seduced by the world.
Modernism and synodality can lead to subjective human errors ==> heresies ==> atheism (paying lip service to God).
There is a relationship between Satan, heretics, and deceit. Satan would only be very happy to encourage a heretic.
Toleration, indifferentism (“can’t we just all get along?”), false compassion, “mercy above all else”, and relaxation of Church doctrine (teachings) can be a slippery slope to heresy and heretical teachings (documents).
The Vatican continues to pay lip service to Church teachings against homosexuality. The Vatican’s LGBTQ’s “outreach” continues to increase. This has led to clergy failing to state Church teachings and permitting a sinful lifestyle for many. These clergy are failing in their responsibilities to bring souls into heaven.
“The synodal Church is controlled by old homosexual men.” Fr. Heimerl (This illustrates the homosexual proclivities of the older clergy.) This is contrast to the more conservative younger priests and seminarians.)
The USCCB and other Catholic charities continue to show their fixation for money as they continue their legal battles to keep the money supply going from the US government.
Pope Francis and other Modernists (Synodalists) have shown disdain for Tradition, the TLM, and “Trads” (traditional Catholics). Traditional Catholics have been called rigid and backward looking.
Bishop Georg Batzing, head of the German bishops’ conference, laments dwindling faith. German Catholics are leaving the faith in large numbers in response to the most radical form of synodality. Bishop Batzing is deceiving himself if he doesn’t know why this is happening!
Unfortunately what CHATGPT would try to do as devil is already happening: sin becoming rights, getting caught up in the world, people leaving the faith, too much noise, busyness, and distractions.
“The greatest deception and the deepest source of unhappiness is the illusion of finding life by excluding God.” St. John Paul II
Next two posts on tradition:
Paradosis: what is handed down
Paradidomi: to hand down\to hand over