Posted on 09/29/2014 1:24:21 AM PDT by markomalley
A very common word in the New Testament is deceived. In English we tend to think of this word as referring to someone who has been tricked or fooled. And thus the emphasis is on intellectual terms. The Greek and Latin roots, however, have an almost physical dimension to them.
The Latin roots for deceived or deception are de- (from) + capere (to take or carry away). The Greek word in the New Testament that is translated as deceived is πλανάομαι (planaomai) and means more literally to be carried off or to be led astray.
Thus, those who are deceived are those who have been carried off or carried away by false teachings, trends, or the ways of this world.
Perhaps another biblical image relating to this is the one in which St. Peter speaks of your adversary the devil [who] prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour (1 Peter 5:8). One can almost see in ones imagination a lion with his limp and dying prey hanging from his mouth as he carries it off. And thus one who has been deceived is like one who has been stalked, attacked, and stunned or killed, and is being carried off in the mouth of the lion (Satan).
This is deception; this is what it means to be deceived, to be stalked and through various means grasped, stunned, and carried off as prey.
Over and over again Scripture warns us not to be deceived, that is, not to become prey for Satan, for demons, and for all those who consort with him to capture us and carry us off. A plain warning comes in the Letter to the Hebrews:
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever. Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings (Heb 13:8-9).
Another text warns that there are many who wish to deceive us and their teachings are called the doctrines of demons:
Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by giving heed to deceitful spirits and the doctrines of demons, through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared (1 Ti 4:12 ).
Indeed, this is a common human problem, especially today. There are many plausible liars going about today who seek to confuse, to stun, and to carry off faithful Catholics. They do this with hypocrisy. To say that something is done with hypocrisy means literally that it is done by actors, since hypocrite in Greek means actor. In a more extended sense it means that when we say something with hypocrisy we are being insincere. These plausible liars, as actors, are well skilled at being pleasing, at appearing pleasant, reasonable, sophisticated, and free. But this is an act. They are in bondage to the sins they seek to glorify. The scriptural text here says that their consciences are seared; that is, they are branded, burned, and hypnotized by the sins they commit. They are not smart; they are lost and confused. They are to be prayed for, but not listened to.
Many of them are very good actors, playing the role of plausible liars. Some have many letters after their name (PhD, D.D., M.D., etc.). Some have advanced degrees and high positions in academia or in the media. Some of them teach in Catholic institutions; some even wear Roman collars. Most of them achieve their plausibility by appealing to innocuous themes such as tolerance, patience, kindness, and that most vacuous and currently ill-defined idea called love. Surely tolerance, patience, kindness, and love all have their places. And being agreeable, pleasant, soft-spoken, and reasonable in tone are all good things in and of themselves. But they can also become a cloak for a false plausibility and are, as the text above says, the hypocrisy of liars. In other words, these people are actors; they play the role of tolerant and enlightened experts but in reality are desperately trying to justify sinful behavior and quiet their seared (though still troubled) consciences.
And thus Scripture warns us not to be deceived, not to be carried off, not to be carried away by plausible liars who say exactly the opposite of what Gods Word says, who call good or no big deal what God calls sin. Thus, with their distorted understanding of tolerance and love they promote and even celebrate acts of sodomy, fornication, abortion, and euthanasia. They promote religious syncretism and construct a fake Jesus and a designer God through their God-within movements and their statements that Im spiritual but not religious. They substitute their own doctrines for the revealed ones of Scripture. If they reference Scripture at all it is only to declare that it does not say what it plainly does say.
Regarding all these erroneous stances and appeals, Scripture announces again and again, do not be deceived; do not be carried away; do not be carried off. Here are just a few of the texts that warn us:
Other texts warn us against deceiving ourselves. For at times we entertain lies and thereby allow ourselves to be entrapped by Satan and carried off by our own deceit.
And here are some texts that tell us who is really behind all deception:
OK, clear enough? Do not be deceived; do not be carried away or carried off by errors or by the sinful lies of this present evil age. As St. Paul says elsewhere, Test everything; hold fast what is good, abstain from every form of evil (1 Thess 5:21-22). Yes, square everything with the Word of God in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. Know the catechism; know your faith. Know the true Lord, the real Jesus of Scripture (not the fake Jesus of convenience). Test everything, everything by these standards. Do not be deceived.
For the preacher, the teacher and the parent comes this instruction from St. Paul:
I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word, be urgent in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, and exhort, be unfailing in patience and in teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own likings, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander into myths. 5 As for you, always be steady, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfil your ministry. (2 Tim 4:1-6)
Msgr Pope ping
Ping!
The most effective way to prevent being deceived is through prayer and constant study of His word. Many are in deceptive organizations to which they have belonged since they were old enough to be taught their family’s religion. This would be true for many mormons and muslims. And, interestingly enough, they are warned by their leaders not to be deceived and “carried away” from what they have been taught since early childhood.
It is what makes it difficult to prosthelize the devoutly religous.
Good words!
Mene mene tekel upharsin
I really appreciate you posting these. Ive been following them lately and have found them very edifying. Thanks!!!
Wow! This is one of Monsignor Pope’s works to print off and look at every day.
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