Modernism Study Outline
Pope St. Pius X, was not only a very holy Pope, he was also a brilliant scholar and theologian. He wrote the encyclical "Pascendi Dominici Gregis" using technical words and phrases which are very precise in "pinning down" the errors of the Modernists. The Holy Father, knowing how cunning the Modernists are, had the wisdom to describe their errors exactly, so that the faithful would know what these heretics really believed, and be able to recognize them before being led astray.
This study outline is a simplification of this important encyclical, designed to help us better understand the words and phrases with which we may not be familiar.
1. THE DUTY OF THE HOLY
FATHER
TO CAREFULLY SAFEGUARD THE TRUE TEACHINGS OF CHRIST
One of the most important duties given by Our Divine Lord to the Pope, the successor of St. Peter and the Supreme Shepherd of His Flock, is to carefully safeguard the Deposit of Faith.
The Deposit of Faith is the collection of all those truths we must know and believe for our salvation. These truths were made known (or revealed) by God to men over the course of many centuries, beginning with Adam and Eve. Divine Revelation of the truths of salvation continued to be made to the Patriarchs and the Prophets, who were very holy men living centuries before Our Divine Lord. Finally, at the time those Prophets had foretold, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity became man, and thus God spoke to men in the Person of the Divine Redeemer Himself. Last of all, God made known truths necessary for our salvation through the twelve Apostles, until the death of the last Apostle, St. John.
Our Divine Lord entrusted these Divine teachings, or the Deposit of Faith, to the Church He founded upon His Apostles. In a special way, Jesus Christ made St. Peter the chief caretaker of the Deposit of Faith, calling Him the "rock" upon which the Church is established. This means the Popes, as His successors, would have the unfailing guidance of the Holy Ghost, which would protect them from ever teaching error. With this power, they would always protect the Deposit of Faith from being corrupted. And since then, the Popes rejected and condemned any new teachings that may sound good, but were actually heresies against the truth revealed by God.
It has always been necessary for the Holy Father to carefully watch over the Catholic Church. This is because the Devil—the Father of Lies—who hates us immensely, has been very successful in convincing wicked men to assist him to destroy our souls. These evil men do the Devil's work for him by spreading his evil falsehoods among the faithful children of the Church, trying to deceive them.
During the late 1800’s and the early years of the 20th century, there were many, many more of these men, doing the Devil's work of leading souls astray. Using tricks and snares that are even more cunning than before, these evil men planned not only to hinder the Church’s work of leading souls to salvation, but also to completely overthrow the Church Herself!
The Holy Father could no longer keep silent about the wickedness of these men. He had to expose them as enemies of the Church, or he felt that he would surely answer to God for not having done so.
2. WHY IT WAS NECESSARY TO ACT
IMMEDIATELY
AGAINST THE MODERNISTS
Most of the enemies of the Church attack Her from outside. But the men the Holy Father wished to expose were actually members of the Church! They could do far more harm, precisely because they were not out in the open where they could be easily recognized. There were many Catholic lay people who were secret enemies of the Church, and even some priests! We call these wicked men Modernists. That is because they wanted to replace the unchangeable truths of God's Revelation with a new and more modern set of teachings.
These wicked priests and laity presented a grave danger to souls, because they were inspired by the Devil with a great zeal for spreading their error. In addition, they had never truly learned what the Church teaches. Instead, they filled their heads with false doctrines taught by the Church's open enemies, usually by reading heretical books.
In this tragic spiritual condition, these wicked priests and laity actually stepped forward and said that they were going to completely change the Church, and that their ideas would make the Church better. They called this reforming the Church. However, the real purpose of their phony "reform" was to do the Devil's work, by attacking the most sacred beliefs of our Holy Faith. They even commit the terrible sacrilege of saying that Christ was not God, but was only an ordinary man!
We must remember that the Catholic Church is the "Spotless Bride of Christ." The Church NEVER needs to be "reformed", if that means trying to make better what Jesus Christ Himself instituted. God is all-wise, and the Church is His handiwork. Therefore it does NOT need to be changed to be "made better."
However, the lives of the members of the Church always stand in need of reforming, but they do this by being more faithful to the Church and Her teachings, NOT by changing them.
3. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MODERNISTS
The Modernists acted surprised when the Holy Father called them "enemies of the Church." But the Pope knew that when we heard about their beliefs, the way they speak, and the things that they do, we would agree that they were indeed the worst of all the Church's enemies. That was because they were doing evil within the Church Herself.
These wicked lay people, and especially the Modernist priests, were able to do much more harm than a non-Catholic, who did not know much about the Church. But as these Modernists knew a great deal about the structure and practices of the Church, they were able to more quickly spread the poison of their heresy into every single part of the Church. They were very cunning, and used a thousand different tricks to lead the faithful into their way of thinking.
For example, while they appeared outwardly to be Catholic in the way they dressed and acted (attending Mass, saying prayers), their way of thinking was NOT Catholic. They thought, instead, as rationalists. Rationalism is the error by which a man believes only the things that he can arrive at by the power of his own reason. Of course, a rationalist would not accept Divine Revelation because it comes from God, not from himself. A rationalist pretending to be a Catholic is someone who does not really believe everything that is in the Deposit of Faith. He believes only those things he can arrive at without God's help.
Since most Catholics did not know what these heretical priests and lay people really believed, many of the faithful were easily led astray by the pleasant explanations these crafty Modernists gave for their beliefs. They made completely absurd statements against the true teachings of the Church, all the while acting in a confident and self-assured manner. Such brashness and stubbornness is one of the chief signs of a Modernist.
What made the Modernists so effective in leading souls astray was their lifestyle. While their minds and souls were given over to the Devil, outwardly they appeared as pious and holy men. They diligently studied various subjects and generally kept themselves very busy. But the Holy Father warned us not to be deceived by their outward appearance.
Finally, the wicked beliefs of typical Modernist made it nearly impossible to convert him back to the True Faith. In other words, as rationalists, they decided for themselves what to believe and what not to believe. They refused to accept anyone's opinion but their own. Thus, they relied only upon their own mistaken ideas. While they made excuses for their pride by saying they "love the truth", in reality they were stubborn, obstinate, and wicked men. Their pride made them blind to their own error.
There once was a time when the Holy Father had hopes of converting these poor souls. He tried to be understanding and kind; then he was stern with them. The Modernists pretended to repent, but after a short time they showed themselves as prideful as ever. They were hopelessly obstinate, and the Holy Father had to think of the entire Church, which was in grave danger from these evil men. That is why he had to publicly condemn them, and expose them for what they truly are — barely disguised instruments of the Devil.
4. HOW THE HOLY FATHER WILL ORGANIZE HIS INSTRUCTION
The Modernists were very crafty in spreading their false teaching. One of the cleverest tricks they used was to act as if they really did NOT have any organized beliefs. They tried to appear as if they were themselves doubtful about what they believe. But this is all a lie. In reality, they DO have a very well organized set of heretical beliefs, planned out for them by the Devil. These beliefs are so evil that they were afraid to let anyone see the entire picture, because then no true Catholic would accept these errors.
The best way, therefore, to combat Modernism, is to look at the "whole picture." We must bring together all of their false teachings and see how they fit together. It is not a pleasant sight to behold, but we must do it; we must learn exactly what they believe. Only then we will be able to recognize how they are trying to destroy the Church from within.
Once we have done this, we will then examine how it was the Modernists themselves came to believe these terrible errors. Last, but not least, the Holy Father gives us some important remedies to help avoid the terrible harm to souls that the heresy of Modernism causes.
5. THE "PERSONALITIES" OF THE MODERNIST HERETIC
The study of the heresy of Modernism is not an easy one. Indeed, it makes a true Catholic somewhat ill to even consider these wicked beliefs. But the Holy Father gives us a very simple outline to follow in our study of this heresy. We merely examine the various "personalities" of the typical Modernist heretic, and then we will better understand why he speaks and acts in such a contradictory fashion. Most of the Holy Father’s encyclical is based upon an explanation of the Modernist "personalities."
This is a very wise method, because the beliefs and actions of the Modernists seem so confusing and contradictory precisely because he has many different personalities, or "faces". At one moment he acts as a devout believer, praising the doctrines of the Church. But the very next moment we will find him questioning and criticizing the very doctrines he was just praising! This makes no sense whatsoever to a true Catholic, and we would be inclined to believe that such a person is insane.
But the Modernist knows exactly what he believes. While to us his words and actions appear unreasonable, he actually has a very clear and firm idea of what he believes. He knows that he has at least seven different ways of looking at things, depending upon what he is doing at the time. You could say that he is "seven different persons in one!" As difficult as it may sound, we will need to look into each of these seven personalities and try to learn the behavior of each one. We will also need to know when the Modernist puts on each of these "faces." Once we have done this, we will better understand the Modernist "system" of belief.
We must remember that Modernism is the product of an angelic intelligence—Satan’s. The complex system of Modernist beliefs are the result of his diabolical inspiration, and his ultimate purpose is to destroy God’s Church. It must make the Devil furious to realize that the Holy Father has seen through his magnificent plan to deceive the Catholic faithful. But even so, we will still be deceived if we do not try to learn how these agents of Satan—the Modernists—disguise themselves with their many faces.
As we study this diabolical scheme, it is wonderful to recall that, as Catholics, we are called to "live in the presence of God." This means that we should always behave in one way, as if we were then in God’s presence, since He most certainly is watching us! It would be hypocritical to behave well in church, and then to behave badly at home. But the Modernist doesn’t worry about that, because he does not believe in God as we do.
Since most of our study of Modernism is an examination of these "personalities", let us begin by listing them here with a brief description of each. It is only by sorting out these different roles which the Modernist plays that we will be able to understand what he really believes.
PROPER DEFINITIONS OF THE SEVEN "PERSONALITIES" |
MODERNIST DEFINITIONS OF THE SEVEN "PERSONALITIES" |
THE CATHOLIC PHILOSOPHER. Philosophy comes from the Greek language, meaning "the love of wisdom". Catholic Philosophy is a very important science, looking into the final causes of all things, using only man's natural reason to do so. St. Thomas Aquinas was the most brilliant of all Catholic philosophers, developing ways to prove the existence of God by human reason alone. This is important because it then leads men to believe in the true God, accept His Divine Revelation, and obey His Will. |
THE MODERNIST AS A "PHILOSOPHER." The Modernist philosopher, however, ignores the brilliant "scholastic" philosophy taught by St. Thomas, and replaces it with the false systems of modern philosophy. Many of these modern "philosophers" are Rationalists, and refuse to admit that man’s reason is limited. This leads to many wrong conclusions about God and man, and prevents them from ever arriving at a true knowledge of the ultimate Cause of all things, God. |
THE CATHOLIC BELIEVER. A believer is one who accepts without questioning whatever is proposed for his belief. A faithful Catholic firmly believes that which the Catholic Church teaches him, because he knows that the Church speaks with God's authority. |
THE MODERNIST AS A "BELIEVER." A Modernist, on the other hand, "believes" also, but he believes an entirely different set of beliefs, and for an entirely different reason. He does not believe because they are proposed by God through the Church, but simply because he "has a good feeling about it" as he feels it well up within himself. |
THE CATHOLIC THEOLOGIAN. A theologian is one who is well versed in Theology, which is the organized study of all that has to do with God. For the Catholic, this means a complete knowledge of our Holy Catholic Faith. |
THE MODERNIST THEOLOGIAN. The Modernist is a false theologian, however, because he does not accept the infallible teachings of the Church as we do. He believes that these truths can and should change with time. So he gives entirely different explanations for Catholic doctrine, and even attacks the teaching authority of the Church! |
THE CATHOLIC HISTORIAN. History is the subject dealing with past events in the story of mankind, and the reasons for such events. The Catholic historian presents history in such a way as never to contradict what God has revealed, even if means there are events which he cannot humanly explain. |
THE MODERNIST AS AN "HISTORIAN." The Modernist historian, however, bases his view of history on Agnosticism, which does not admit that God has ever intervened in the lives of men. And so a Modernist as a "believer" will proclaim that Christ was Divine; but as a "historian", he will firmly teach that Christ was not God and that He never did anything miraculous, because that would be beyond the power of any man. The life of Christ, they say, is a nice story which developed over the centuries, and it is helpful to believe it; but the "real" history of Christ should focus only on His humanity. |
THE CRITIC. A critic is one who gives his opinion on something involving a judgment of its value, usually that it may be improved upon. In all matters dealing with God and His Church, however, such criticism would be sinful, for what God has established cannot be "improved upon." Human activities and works can be examined and analyzed with a view to improve upon them, but never the Church Herself. |
THE MODERNIST AS A CRITIC. All of the false beliefs of the Modernist "philosopher" and the Modernist "historian" are now applied by the "critic." He is the one who actually arranges the various events of history, and explains them in light of Modernist belief. With unbelievable pride and arrogance he passes judgment upon Scriptural and historical events, and explains how these events were merely what men "needed" at that time. For example, men at the time of Christ merely "felt the need" to idolize someone, Whom we should now consider from a purely humanist point of view. |
THE CATHOLIC APOLOGIST. A Catholic apologist is one who speaks or writes in defense of the Divine origin and authority of our Holy Catholic Faith. He uses three primary sources to defend the true Faith, namely, Scripture, Tradition, and reason. |
THE MODERNIST AS AN "APOLOGIST." A Modernist apologist is one who pretends to speak or write in defense of Catholicism, but only as an admirable example of the development of the religious sense of man. As Rationalists, they proclaim to their opponents that they will not even attempt to use Scripture or Tradition, because these are mere fables. Rather, their whole attempt is to bring others to that personal "experience" of God which, for them, is the sole basis of faith. |
THE CATHOLIC REFORMER. A reformer is one who works to change things for the better. Since we live in a very imperfect world, there are indeed many things that can be reformed, especially in our own personal lives. A Catholic reformer, however, never tries to change the structure or teachings of the Church, because it never needs that kind of reforming. The Church is God’s handiwork, and is therefore perfect in every way. But the lives of the faithful frequently do need to be reformed. St. Teresa of Avila was a great reformer of the sixteenth century, and Pope St. Pius X worked to reform the lives of the clergy and people during his reign. |
THE MODERNIST AS A "REFORMER." There is absolutely nothing in the Church which the Modernist does not seek to change. They burn with eagerness to bring every part of the Church into conformity with Modernist beliefs. They wish to "reform" Philosophy by rejecting that of St. Thomas Aquinas, and adopting the teaching of modern philosophers. They wish to "reform" the doctrines of the Church so that they harmonize with the Modernist view of science and history. Their supposed "reforms", however, are all diabolical attempts to pervert the true teachings of Christ, and to lead souls astray from His One, true Church. |
This has been only a very brief description of the Modernist "personalities." Now that we have a general idea of the outline the Holy Father is going to use in his instruction, we are going to delve more deeply into each of these personalities in order to better understand how Modernism works, and what Modernists truly believe.
6. THE MODERNIST AS A PHONY "PHILOSOPHER"
As we learned in part five, Catholic Philosophy is a very important science which tries to explain the ultimate causes of all things, using only man's natural reason to do so. Philosophy was a subject that interested many of the Greeks, several hundred years before the Birth of Christ. The Greek philosopher Aristotle, who was a student of Plato and a tutor of Alexander the Great, wrote many books, including one on philosophy called "Metaphysics." In the Middle Ages, St. Thomas Aquinas, who was the most brilliant of all Catholic philosophers, took many of Aristostle's good ideas and carefully organized a complete system of Catholic philosophy, which is known as "Scholastic Philosophy."
Even though they already knew by faith that God indeed exists, St. Thomas and the other Scholastic philosophers showed how to prove the existence of God by human reason alone. They were able to show that God is indeed the ultimate Cause of all things. This is called "Natural Theology", that is, the study of God and His attributes, based purely on natural reason. St. Thomas convincingly showed that he who denies the existence of God by saying that it is "unreasonable", is himself the one that is being unreasonable and foolish.
The only possible way for the Modernists to get around the strong walls with which Natural Theology protected Catholic doctrine, was to completely ignore it. And this is exactly what the Modernists did.
Instead of accepting the existence of God proven by natural reason, the Modernists actually deny that man can ever arrive at any knowledge of God through the use of his reason! This is what is known as "Agnosticism", and it is the very foundation of the phony philosophy of the Modernists. According to an Agnostic, human reason is not even capable of examining things that he cannot actually see with his eyes or touch with his hands. He will only accept "phenomena", or things which he himself has actually experienced with his bodily senses, and only in the manner in which he has experienced it.
For example, St. Thomas explained that, even though we cannot see God with our bodily eyes, we know that He does indeed exist, in the same way that we would know the existence of a talented artist, by merely seeing his handiwork, a beautiful painting. But the Agnostic, although he can see the same beautiful picture, would deny that any such talented artist exists, until he could actually see him with his own eyes.
So the Modernist (Agnostic) philosopher, in the same way, declares that human reason cannot lift itself up to God and recognize His existence, even by means of visible things (such as the wonders of creation which manifest the infinite power and intelligence of God). They would go so far as to reject any visible revelation by God, such as the miracles worked by Our Divine Lord, saying that such things "cannot be a proof of a God whom they cannot see." The Modernist (as a philosopher) is simply not satisfied with any reason for the existence of God, short of actually seeing Him and having a conversation with Him.
Upon this absurd basis, then, the Modernists proclaim that God must never be studied by reason alone (such as in Natural Theology); and that the study of history must proceed as if He did not exist. And since the Scholastic philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas (especially Natural Theology) proves them to be completely wrong, the Modernists simply sweep it entirely aside. Not content with that, they sneer at St. Thomas and his philosophy, calling it "Intellectualism", which they condemn as an outdated and ridiculous system. Isn't it ironic that the Modernists, who claim to be the only true thinkers (or philosophers), would mock the Catholic system of philosophy in this way? The real reason for their scorn is that the Catholic Scholastic Philosophy is the greatest achievement ever made by human intellect in understanding (by reason alone) the realities of our existence, including a certain knowledge of our Creator.
In 1870, the Vatican Council condemned these very errors which the Modernist "philosophers" were already beginning to teach.
"He is excommunicated who says that the one true God, our Creator and Lord, cannot be known with certainty by the natural light of human reason by means of the things that are made." (This is direct condemnation of the core belief of the Modernist-Agnostic philosopher.)
And also:
"He is excommunicated who says that it is not possible, or not advantageous, that man be taught, through the medium of Divine Revelation, about God and the worship to be paid Him." (Once again, this is a direct condemnation of Agnosticism, which holds that we cannot know anything about God for certain.)
And finally:
"He is excommunicated who says that Divine Revelation cannot be made credible by external signs, and that therefore men should be drawn to the Faith only by their personal internal experience or by private inspiration, let him be anathema." (This is a direct condemnation of the Modernist "philosophers" who go so far as to reject any visible revelation by God, such as the miracles worked by Our Divine Lord.)
Yet the Modernist "philosopher", in his pride and arrogance, is not even fazed by the fact that the Church has formally condemned the very foundations of his philosophy.
But they even go further in their false philosophy. The true Agnostic does not really deny that God exists; he simply says that we cannot know Him. But an Atheist actually denies that God exists; he says there is no God! So while the Modernist-Agnostic philosopher starts out by saying that we are ignorant as to whether God has in fact intervened in the history of the human race (which is Agnosticism); he then goes on to explain this history, leaving God out altogether (which is Atheism)! So what starts out as Agnosticism ends up being Atheism!
So even though the Modernist "philosophers" cannot explain how they go from Agnosticism to Atheism, it is a fixed rule among them that both science and history must be Atheistic. According to them, the study of science and history must utterly exclude God and all that has to do with God. The only "evidence" permitted in these two subjects are things that they can see or touch ("phenomena", as described above).
We shall soon see plainly, as a result of this most absurd teaching, the horrible errors the Modernists believe about the most sacred Person of Christ our Divine Lord, and the Mysteries of His Life and Death, and of His Resurrection and Ascension into Heaven.
7.
THE MODERNIST EXPLANATION FOR RELIGION:
"VITAL IMMANENCE"
The Modernists, as we have just seen, would have us believe that we cannot even use simple reason and logic to arrive at the conclusion that God exists. They ridicule the brilliant and reasonable arguments of St. Thomas and the other Scholastic philosophers as "Intellectualism."
We may well ask, then, since they have rejected solid Catholic Philosophy, what exactly is the Modernists' explanation for religion? Do they have one? There must be some explanation for the fact that most men do indeed believe that God exists (even though many do not seek to serve Him as they should). Yes, the Modernists are eager to give us their phony explanation. They tell us that religion comes from within man himself!
Let us make sure we understand this. The Modernists first deny that we can reason to the existence of God by observing the wonders of creation around us. Secondly, they then tell us that no reason is good enough to make us believe that God has ever revealed Himself to man (such as the miracles of Our Lord), and that such outward signs that God is speaking to man are impossible. (Remember that St. Thomas and the Scholastic philosophers proved centuries ago that we can know God and His Revelation.)
Since the Modernist pretends that religion cannot come from reason or revelation, he decides that it must be a product that comes from the life of man himself, much like milk comes from a cow. Thus "religion", to the Modernist, depends upon man for its production, just as milk depends upon a cow to produce it.
The Modernists have a fancy word for this absurd explanation of religion. They call it "vital immanence." (Vital comes from the Latin word for life.) Very simply put, this means that, for the Modernist, religion "resides" in every living man.
As Catholics, however, we believe in a Revealed Religion, which means that God has made Himself known to us in a visible way, by sending us His Only-begotten Son, Who openly spoke to man about the Holy Will of God. He also gave us signs and wonders which prove to us that He was truly Divine. Faith, then, for the Catholic, is the act by which we firmly believe what God has thus revealed to us, on the authority of God Himself, Who can never deceive, nor be deceived.
THE "NEED OF THE DIVINE"
But what exactly does "faith" mean to a Modernist, who doesn't believe in Revelation as we do? What exactly does he believe in? In order to answer that, we must remember that he believes that "religion" resides within himself, as a product of his own natural life. When the time is right and special circumstances are present, he believes that he experiences a "movement of his heart", which comes from his "need for the divine." But the poor Modernist himself cannot even describe what this "movement of the heart" means! It is so hazy and confused that he can only call it "a certain interior sense", which he is only sub-consciously aware of! And this is what "faith" means to a Modernist.
You may be wondering how, in the Modernist scheme of things, such an obscure source of "faith" can ever become a religion! They have a very interesting explanation for how this takes place. They tell us that after studying Science and History (from an Atheistic standpoint, of course), they come to a point where they cannot learn anymore. Nor can they come up with any solutions by looking into their own consciousness. In other words, they've run clear out of answers.
At this point, obviously, we as Catholics have the benefit of Divine Revelation, the proofs for which are readily available to the right use of our reason. So we don't run out of answers.
But the poor Modernist does not take advantage of this infallible source of knowledge, because he believes, that it is precisely then -- when he has run out of answers -- that his "need of the divine" churns out a special "religious sense" within him! This happens (he thinks), even without any real mental effort on his part! And something "special" it must indeed be, because the Modernists think that this sense is the "divine reality" itself, like the "indwelling of God"! This, they say, is how man is "united to God."
Thus do the Modernists explain how their "faith" gives rise to "religion." And they still can't even explain what it is they believe in! But far from being embarrassed by such a silly pack of lies, they push still further on, and declare that they have now found the true source of Divine Revelation!
8. THE MODERNIST VERSION OF "REVELATION"
As Catholics, we believe that Divine Revelation is the act by which has God revealed Himself to man. The sources of Divine Revelation are firm and stable: Sacred Scripture and Divine Tradition. The Church alone can teach us from the sources of Revelation because Christ gave that right and authority to Her alone.
But the Modernist proudly demands, "Who needs the Church?" "Who needs the Bible, even?" For in the murky mists of his inner "religious sense", he has found not only "faith", but in and with "faith" (as he understands it), he has also found "Divine Revelation"! He brashly asks, "What more is needed to make a revelation?" "Is not that religious sense which I detect within myself, revelation, or at least the beginnings of it?" With God manifesting Himself, (indistinctly, it is true) by this religious sense, to the soul, who needs the Prophets? Who needs the teaching of Christ Himself?
This horribly blasphemous teaching of the Modernists becomes even more clear when we reflect upon what all of this means. It is God that is supposedly making Himself known within them, and it His Truth which is supposedly rising out of the murky mists of their hearts. But since (as we know), the entire process is nothing more than a product of their own will, imagination, and inclinations, they are, in effect, declaring themselves (like Lucifer) to be like unto God! For they are doing no less than "revealing God" to themselves, and holding up their own foolish ideas as "God's revelation"! This is unutterable blasphemy!
FOR THE MODERNIST
"RELIGIOUS CONSCIOUSNESS" IS THE SAME AS
"FAITH"
Let us now speak of the practical consequences of this diabolical belief. If it were true, as the Modernist's claim, that God revealed Himself to each man in this way, we would have to accept every false religion as coming from God! But since all religions obviously have different beliefs, the Modernists explain this contradiction by telling us that we must look at them in two ways. First, all religions have a natural aspect, and it is in this way that they are all different. In other words, they all have different "founders", they come from different countries, have different ideas of God, etc. But they also have (according to the Modernist), a supernatural aspect, since they all came from the same "divine" source--the religious sense of man--through the process of "vital immanence."
As an example of this distinction (that is, religion being both "natural" and "supernatural"), we could examine the Jehovah's Witnesses. Looking at it from a natural standpoint, we would merely see them as a sect which was begun in 1872 by a draper, Charles Taze Russell. Mr. Russell read the Bible and came up with doctrines which were totally new in Christianity. He said that that we do not have immortal souls and that Hell doesn't exist. The Modernist would not deny that the Jehovah's Witnesses certainly went in a new direction! But he would say that this is merely the natural aspect of their religion.
Supernaturally speaking, the Modernist tells us that we must reverently look upon the silly ramblings of Russell as a genuine "revelation" of God, especially since his movement gained a large following, which showed that the same "religious sense" was awakening in the hearts of other fools such as himself. Therefore, in the Modernist scheme of belief, we would all have to admire the "workings of God" at Kingdom Hall, and try to understand the ways in which their "religious sense" is similar to our own. And we must never, (according to the Modernists) dare to contradict their doctrines. For, to the Modernist, whoever is alive and comes up with any form of "religion", then that IS "Divine Revelation." What this means is that they look upon human consciousness and revelation as the same thing. Isn't that ridiculous, to look upon the confused ideas of human imagination as the voice of God?!
This also means that the Modernist looks upon the Catholic Church in the same way, as if She were produced by the same gurglings of human life. This would mean that Her sacred dogmas have no more value than any other religion, and that Christ would be brought down to the level of Charles Taze Russell.
Even worse, the Modernist believes that everyone, even (and especially) the supreme Authority of the Church, must recognize and submit to this form of "revelation"! In teaching doctrine, in the sacred liturgy, and in making laws, the Modernist believes that the Church must always recognize and respect the ridiculous dictates of this completely ludicrous pretense of "divine revelation"!
9. HOW THE MODERNISTS DISTORT HISTORYLet us now try to understand a little better the Modernists' foolish explanation for "faith" and "revelation." Admittedly, getting inside the head of a Modernist is much like walking into a carnival house of mirrors (surely you've seen them) which not only distort reality, but projects many other tortured illusions of the objects presented. Why should we even go inside? Well, it is important to do so, because only then will we be able to understand what the Modernists really believe about the history of mankind, the fact of our Redemption, the history of the Church, and the spreading of the Gospel. While we as Catholics believe that God sent His only-begotten Son to redeem us by His Death on the Cross, you will be surprised to discover that when a Modernist speaks of "Jesus", he does NOT mean the Divine Person Whom we as Catholics believe in! Just who do they think Jesus is, then?
As you recall from a few paragraphs ago, the Modernist claims that "when the time is right, and special circumstances are present", he experiences a "movement of the heart," which then produces the "religious sense", which (for the Modernist) becomes the object of his faith (what he "believes in"). But this does not happen, he tells us, "out of the blue." At the very moment the Modernist is looking for the answers to things he doesn't understand, and experiencing the stirrings of the "religious sense" in his heart, something happens, or so he thinks, which he is able to seize upon and make it the depository, as it were, of his suddenly awakened "religious sense."
Let us give an example of what the Modernists are talking about. Many centuries ago, just after the Migration of Nations, the Frankish missionaries who preached to the pagan tribes in the North found them worshipping an ancient, massive tree. These pagans were simply in awe of the majesty of its huge trunk and arching branches. To them, the dim recesses of its lofty limbs were most mysterious, as if they held the secrets of the universe in their leafy grasp. But instead of climbing the tree to verify this theory, they fell down before it in adoration.
Now, why did they idolize this old tree? As Catholics, we would answer that they did so through the inspiration of Satan because, as we are told in Psalm 95: "All the gods of the Gentiles are devils." It is always Satan who inspires the worship of false gods, since he is the eternal enemy of the True God. At the very least, we cannot excuse this performance as an "honest mistake" by well-meaning simpletons, since it shows a complete absence of right reason. Why didn't they climb up the tree and check, or better yet, see how its "divine powers" would hold up under the blade of an axe?
But turning now to the Modernist, let us hear his explanation for this leafy liturgy of the pagan tribesmen. The tree, he would solemnly declare, was simply a "mysterious fact of nature" which attracted the attention of the wondering tribesmen. They then directed all the pent-up "religious energy" within them at this poor, unsuspecting tree. In other words, the Modernist tells us, it gave them an outlet for the "faith" and "revelation" which was bubbling up within them. Something they couldn't fully understand—the mysterious tree—was the perfect depository for their "revelations", which were also something they couldn't fully understand. Very convenient, eh? (We must remember that the Modernist thinks that the "inner religious sense" is an authentic "revelation" from God.)
In reality, however, under the inspiration of Satan, these pagans were merely making their own perverse imaginations into "divine revelation," which told them to worship a false god. But to the Modernist, this is all a wonderful exercise of vital immanence at work, and he has what he thinks is an acceptable explanation for the tree worship of the ancient Saxons. Therefore, let us ask him, "Do you really think the that the tree-god of the pagan tribes is God?"
The Modernist laughs, "No, of course not, I'm not that dumb. But to the pagans it truly was God!"
Catholic: "Well, they were wrong then, weren't they?"
Modernist: "No, not exactly. Their religious sense needed an outlet--they needed to believe in something. And since the tree was mysterious, it was only logical to set it apart as the object of their worship." (The Holy Father's precise language: transfiguration of the phenomenon.)
Catholic: "But really, they got to the point of sacrificing victims to it, invoking it at times of national crisis, and treating it as if it WERE actually God!"
Modernist: "Oh, that, yes. That's because their concept of the tree, over time, took on more and more 'divine' attributes." (precise language: disfiguration of the phenomenon.)
Catholic: "But don’t you feel a bit foolish by the fact that St. Boniface chopped it down (without any problem, I might add), showing that the entire pagan religion was a demonic hoax?
Modernist: "No, I don’t feel foolish at all, because I know that the tribesmen needed their tree to express their religious sense, just as we Christians need Jesus to give expression to our religious sense. I am respectful of their tree, not because of the tree itself, but because it is the expression of a truly divine revelation."
This statement is incredibly similar to the current pronouncements of John Paul II, in the course of his interfaith "dialogue" with today’s descendants of the ancient pagan religions, who still practice their earth and nature worship rituals. If Catholics only knew what Modernism is, they would instantly recognize John Paul II as the perfect "poster child" for this formally condemned heresy.
We have now come to the horrible crux of the Modernists’ view of history, because they believe that the "mysterious phenomenon" which stimulates the "religious sense" of the people, can also be a man. This man would be "mysterious", whose character, actions, and words could not be fully explained. The Modernists blasphemously assert that this is what attracted the early Christians to Our Divine Lord, Who was nothing more than a "wonderful and mysterious person." The Modernist tells us that Jesus, like the pagans’ tree, was merely the object upon whom the people focused their ‘faith’. Having set Him aside for this purpose, as the pagans did their tree, they then, over time, began to give Him more and more divine attributes, and develop more and more doctrines about Him and His "church." What a terrible blasphemy against Christ, the Second Divine Person of the Blessed Trinity!
Yet we must summarize and complete this disgusting comparison, because it makes perfectly clear how blasphemous the Modernist belief is. Thus, the foremost example given to us by the Holy Father of this Modernist view of history is found in the Person of Our Lord Jesus Christ, since this entire heresy is a vicious attack against the sole Redeemer and Savior of mankind. The following dialogue shows how the Modernist logic proceeds:
This is, in summary, what the Modernists really believe about Our Divine Lord Jesus Christ. Obviously, their belief of Christ and ours are not the same; they are two different persons entirely. And since the Modernists apply this same "historical criticism" (assessing history) to every facet of the Catholic Church and our Holy Faith, we can clearly see how easily and casually they can dismiss even the most sacred elements of our Holy Religion. This is precisely what the Modernists of the Vatican II sect have done.
We must be careful, furthermore, not to be fooled by the more moderate Modernists who do not go to extremes, such as those who rise up in defense of pagan tree-worship, like the example given above. Remember that the Modernist has many "faces" behind which to hide. As a "believer", he would strongly deny that Christ is the same as an old tree. But the logical outcome of Modernism leads inevitably to that conclusion, whether they openly declare it, or not.
And so it goes.
(further study outlines to follow)