The sunset in my hometown with the Bow River and mountain range in the background.
In Western society, we are brainwashed. We are taught that good is evil and evil is good. Over the last three years, I have spent long hours studying and realizing that the post-enlightenment Western world is demonic. I now oppose modern Western values with all my soul.
However, just because I have rejected the modern Western mindset, does that mean that I have a Christian mindset? I don’t believe that it does. I believe in Christianity but do I think like a Christian? Since the enlightenment, the ideas that followed have polluted Christian thinking. Even though we believe in Christianity, we think like the world.
About a year ago, I decided to embark on a journey to alter my mind to have a Christian thought process, however I’ve really been thinking about it these last two weeks. When I read the writings of great Saints like St. Augustine of Hippo, St. Thomas Aquinas, or St. Francis de Sales, I try to really put myself inside of their thinking process. I’ve actually had some success. It’s not easy.
I use three methods in trying to change my thought process.
The first is reading Scripture. I use the Douay-Rheims Bible as often as I can because that Bible was translated before the French Revolution so these men had a pure thinking process. Angels and demons were very real to them and they knew how important the God-breathed Scriptures were to all people.
The second is studying the tradition of the Church. Here is a list of literature that has helped me:
-The seven epistles of St. Ignatius of Antioch
-The Summa Contra Gentiles of St. Thomas Aquinas
-Quanta Cura and the Syllabus of Errors, both written by Pope Pius IX
All of these documents come from different periods in Church history. They’re from the 2nd, 13th, and 19th Century, but these were times when Christians thought very differently. I strongly recommend these documents and they can all be found online with a brief Google search.
The third and final method is prayer. Prayer is our dialogue with God. He wants us to come to know his Son and to promote the Kingship of his Son on Earth. I recommend 15 mysteries of the rosary every day. If one cannot do 15, then do 5. Another good method is the Jesus Prayer, which is used in the mystical tradition of the East.
However, all of this prayer will be useless if you look at your prayer life as just a formality. Prayer guides you to truth and with this truth, we can work on repairing our minds and setting them on the right path.
Have I confused any readers?
Maybe I have. This is not a light subject. Altering your mind is not easy. I’m pretty sure that I’m not even a fraction of the way to success. Will I ever be? Lord willing.
Feel free to ask any questions below. This is something that I’ve thought about for a long time.
And be not conformed to this world; but be reformed in the newness of your mind
-Romans 12:2
Now this line will have more meaning for me!
This other blog post also goes into the idea of thinking like a Christian, unhindered by subtle false philosophies that creep into our minds. Check it out:
http://iteadthomam.blogspot.ca/2017/01/pope-francis-breastfeeding-comment-and.html
That’s a good post. The blog looks pretty good as well. I’ve never seen it before but I’ll definitely be going back to it.
I like to have a look at this blog from time to time. It can be very stimulating. I admire your reading list, I hope that in due course I can find the time to study the same works, particularly Ss Ignatious & Thos Aquinas.
You have reminded me that prayer is definitely something that I must work on.
I would hesitate to label the Western world demonic on a public blog (some people will jump to conclusions about the writer), but there are undoubtedly such forces at work across the whole world.
Best wishes.
Hey Patrick,
Thanks for visiting the blog. Feel free to subscribe to get all my posts when they come out.
I could have made the reading list longer but I kept it to those three for a couple of reasons. First, they’re only a starting point. There’s a lot more literature out there that could be used. They’re good starting material. Second, they’re free. No need to order books on amazon since these are all free online. This makes them available to those with less funds such as poor people, students, etc.
This is a beautiful thought. I suppose all Christians should be striving to become like unto God, which is the same as thinking as a true Christian pre- or post the enlightenment.
I like how this striving towards perfect union comes out in different types of minds and temperaments. I don’t think I have heard it expressed quite this way before! It is a helpful and motivating perspective.
Your means of perseverance are similar to mine (The Word, prayer, spritual and intellectual reading), but I think I am much less rigorous. I also have less brain power! That is where God’s unique approach to each of us comes in. For example gor me a little Saint Theresa of Avilla is more helpful than reading through the entire Summa. I can use that work as a reference, but the whole thing is too much.
May God Bless you with a fruitful Easter Triduum!
Hi Maria,
St. Teresa of Avila is just as good. I just picked 3 because I wanted to give a short list that people can find online. St. Teresa is golden though and her mystical writings are perfect for attempting to reshape the mind.
Keep in mind, I didn’t reference the Summa Theologica which is super advanced, I quoted the Summa Contra Gentiles which is easier to read but still intellectually hefty.
Happy Easter Triduum to you and your family!
Great post, thoroughly enjoyed it! I’ve given this topic a degree of thought as well. My challenge to you is to see how culturally informed your thinking is. It’s a brilliant thing to examine thinking from other eras and from other locations, as this is the best way to encounter other cultures. Examining from a cultural lens is the best way to become aware of your own culture. Just as we have culture, however, so did the original writers of each of these documents you are turning to.
In this regard, one cultural phenomenon is that we take things for granted, or have cultural norms and practices that “go without saying”. When reading cross-culturally (as you always are when opening a bible or other book), it’s important to know where things go without saying, for our heuristic of interpretation is prone to automatically insert what WE do without saying in places where the authors have other practices that ‘go without saying’.
Our Western culture is fiercely industrial and individualist, most writing in biblical and church father eras happened in deeply collectivist and moderately agrarian cultures. The relevant symbolism changes.
The best way to have this highlighted is through Jesus’ parables, as He demonstrated eminent cultural sensitivity: He spoke of fish with fishermen, crops and seeds with farmers, taxes and currency with tax collectors, the law with Pharisees, etc.
In the parable of the prodigal son, we often need to have our attention drawn to the shame the son brings on his father for asking for an early inheritance, for the gruesome nature of a famine, to the impropriety of a respected elder hiking up his robes to run through the dust to an excommunicated son, etc. The weight of the imagery of shame and suffering is lost on us, if not necessarily the general meaning.
A book I recently read, entitled “Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes” goes into this topic at length. I am currently engaged in reading “Paul through Mediterranean Eyes”, which speaks of his dual Hebrew and Roman heritage, and how his historical training in prophetic rhetoric actually makes 1 Corinthians a piece of art where most modern interpreters see something disjointed and hastily written.
C.S. Lewis has a great essay on the importance of being versed in “old books” from other times and cultures: http://www.covpres.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/On-Reading-Old-Books.-CS-Lewis.pdf
I’m all for “being transformed by the renewal of [my] mind to test and discern the will of God, and what is good, acceptable, and perfect.” 😉
Thanks for the input Tony. You’ve definitely thought deeply about this. I will definitely look into those books that you mentioned. Hope everything is well with you!