IDOLATRY By Jim Brodi

09JBrodi  Focus On Prayer  Idolatry - by Jim Brodi -  Prayer Team #9  - Psalms 100 & 132 - Jim Brodi  - #586-739-3802 - Remember to join one of the 12 Teams.

“I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery. You shall not have other gods besides me.  You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; you shall not bow down before them or worship them. For I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God, inflicting punishment for their fathers’ wickedness on the children of those who hate me, down to the third and fourth generation.” (Exodus 20:2-5)   “It is only about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘You shall not eat it or even touch it, lest you die.’ But the serpent said to the woman: ‘You certainly will not die!  No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods who know what is good and what is bad.’” (Genesis 3:3-5) Idolatry existed as long ago as the fall of Adam and Eve, and so it is we have been born into a fallen nature.  Because of our fallen nature, we too fall into the realm of idolatry through the lies of Satan.  Idolatry comes in many forms, all of which violate the First Commandment in some way.  Idolatry is the state of being attached to or adoring something or someone other than God, and allowing that attachment or adoration to detract in any way from our commitment to Jesus Christ as our true Lord and Savior.  Idols can be in the form of people (self, celebrities, sports figures), objects (money, stock market, houses, cars), or philosophy (New Age, Gnosticism, Monism, Pantheism, Neo-Paganism, Alternative Medicine).  As you can imagine, this list is not all-inclusive but it gives an idea of where we put our values.  If they are not totally focused on God, they are in the wrong areas. Idolatry of people and objects is relatively easy to understand and identify.  It is more difficult, however, to discern the “philosophies,” and in our Western culture to perceive the falsehood present within them.  To have better discernment in this area means that we must have an understanding of the basic principles of the various “philosophies” and some of the practices that are within them.   I have used The New Age Counterfeit by Johnnette S. Benkovic for the information below: NEW AGE BELIEFS: man is god man has limitless potential and ability to create his own reality  his problems do not stem from original sin or personal sin but from ignorance of his own divinity as we come to see our own godhood, personal and social problems will be resolved  man must become self-actualized, self-realized (this belief in limitless potential of the human person has given rise to the  Human Potential Movement) Elements of New Age:  Reiki, Yoga, Occultism, Human Potential Movement, Transpersonal Psychology, Telepathy, Clairvoyance, Self-Healing, Self Divinity, Enneagram, Biofeedback, Bioenergy, Tai Chi, Energy Work, etc.   GNOSTICISM:  Man's spirit is a "divine spark" which has been imprisoned in matter.  The goal of the gnostic is to be "awakened" from ignorance of his divine essence to gnosis (knowledge) and "awakening," typically gained through magical and occult practices  (Freemasonry, Theosophy, etc.)   MONISM:  Everything is "interrelated, interdependent, and interpenetrating."  God is not a personal God, but rather an impersonal energy force that permeates all things.  Decisions are based on situational ethics instead of moral absolutes. Consciousness-altering techniques are used to achieve this monistic worldview (sensory isolation and sensory overload, biofeedback; self help networks; hypnosis and self-hypnosis; Scientology; seminars like EST and Landmark Forum (Forum), Silva Mind Control, Lifespring, etc.)   PANTHEISM:  All is god.  The sun is god, the mountains are god, the trees are god, the animals are god, and we are god.   NEO-PAGANISM:  An eclectic modern movement primarily concerned with revived and reconstructed pre-Christian nature religions and mystery traditions  (polytheism, pantheism, animism, wicca, etc.)  IDOLATRY Involvement in the occult often brings varying degrees of oppression, depression, and harassment in our spiritual, mental, and family relationships. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph #2117, is very clear on avoiding all aspects of idolatry: “All practices of magic or sorcery, by which one attempts to tame occult powers, so as to place them at one's service and have a supernatural power over others - EVEN IF THIS WERE FOR THE SAKE OF RESTORING THEIR HEALTH - are gravely contrary to the virtue of religion…”   We must become educated in the fallacies of these philosophies and choose to renounce them and repent of our involvement with them.  (This is the 7th in a series of Bulletin articles that address the 12 areas of prayer for which the Lord has requested that all in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in the Archdiocese of Detroit intercede.  Those who are led to pray for this particular intention of “Idolatry” please contact Jim Brodi at #586-739-3802 to join in praying with him and others for this topic.)  Jim Brodi is a member of the Little “Flock” Prayer Group at St. Lawrence Church in Utica, Michigan, and serves on the DCCR Assembly.

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