Thought for the Day: How Do I Choose to Behave? How Do I Use my Free Will?

I've been re-reading People of the Lie by Scott Peck. I don't agree with everything he writes, but as I neared the end of the book in the last chapter but one, I came across this absolutely true statement about free will:

Each of us is ultimately free to choose how we are going to behave. We are even free to reject what we have been taught and what is normal for our society.We may even reject the few instincts we have, as do those who rationally choose celibacy or submit themselves to death by martyrdom. Free will is the ultimate human reality. 

Sunday Meditation: Whom Can You Trust? Start with the Holy Spirit!

The first gift of the Holy Spirit it wisdom. We all need it and the six others that accompany it: understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. It's prudent to begin every venture with a prayer to the Holy Spirit for wisdom and guidance. And I offer this post today in that spirit -- seeking truth and praying for wisdom.

I shared this article by therapist Joshua Coleman today on my substack page. 

What Happens When Childhood Becomes the Explanation for Everything?

Coleman raises some questions that I think need to be asked about psychotherapy and its direction. I'm not saying there is no use for psychotherapy. A good holy practitioner can certainly be a help and support. I respected Dr. Ed Sheridan who died in 2022 who was a Catholic and daily communicant. Our pro-life community met with him on several occasions to discuss our approach to counseling moms in crisis. He was a wise and kind man. He was also a blessing to my own family during a challenging family crisis. 

When the Road Less Traveled Leads to the Abyss

I wrote the other day about re-reading People of the Lie by M. Scott Peck. I'm over halfway through the book now and I have to kind of shake my head to clear it. When I read it some 40 years ago I was still a bit naive and enthralled by men in white lab coats, although my pro-life activism had already dispelled the childish notion that all doctors were Albert Schweitzer.

Today, I'm reading the book with a more critical eye and, while I still find it useful, interesting, and thought-provoking; I'm much more aware of the flaws and my serious disagreements with Peck's philosophy and opinions. So here goes with a few:

• Peck was obviously Freudian in his approach to psychotherapy. Like Freud, most of his client examples go back to childhood assuming that almost all psychological problems are the result of parental abuse, neglect, and, as this book makes the case, actual parental evil. Freud believed that anything wrong with a person was the fault of upbringing, particularly problems with the mother. Many of Peck's cases exemplify this Freudian theory. Mom is a villain, in one case a spider. In several cases both parents are villains and I don't disagree, especially the case of the parents who gave their son a rifle for Christmas that his brother used to kill himself. That appears diabolical!

The Nature of Evil: A Social Disease or the Result of Original Sin?

Yesterday at coffee after Mass I was talking to someone about a difficult situation and asked if she was familiar with the book, People of the Lie by M. Scott Peck published in 1983. I read it years ago and decided to reread it which I've started. The first chapter, about a man who made a pact with the devil, got me thinking about the nature of evil. Christians have no difficulty recognizing the source of evil. While the secular world often wants to reduce it to environmental issues, bad parenting, trauma, psychological factors, etc. Christians go back to the source in the Garden of Evil when Adam and Eve freely chose to rebel against God and say "Yes!" to the devil. 

Most Catholics Support "Gay" Rights...Or Do They?

A poll released Tuesday by the Public Religion Research Institute claims that 75% of Catholics approve of "gay" and lesbian rights. But do they? William Donohue of the Catholic League demurs:

"Those who attend a few times a year think it's fine (59 percent); those who attend once or twice a month are mostly opposed (only 43 percent support it); and those who attend weekly or more are not big fans of two guys getting married (26 percent). In other words, there is a positive correlation between Mass attendance and adherence to the Church's teachings.” (The statistics cited by Donohue come from the Institute’s own findings.) Read complete article here...

So, it all depends. Real Catholic don't kill babies and real Catholics don't believe that Adama and Steve can get married. Cafeteria Catholics, on the other hand, rationalization any number of immoral situations: e.g., the murder of children in the womb, the use contraception including abortifacients to thwart God's will for the marital act, same-sex marriage, fornication, shacking up, cheating and stealing, women's ordination, etc.

The question is...why do these CINOs (Catholics in name only) bother? Jesus said, "Not all who say 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom, but only those who hear the word of God and keep it." So why do all these folks continue to play church? What's their motive? I think Scott Peck pegged it in People of the Lie when he quoted Martin Buber's book, Good and Evil:

Since the primary motive of the evil is disguise, one of the places evil people are most likely to be found is within the church. What better way to conceal one's evil from oneself, as well as from others.....Evil people tend to gravitate towards piety for the disguise and concealment it can offer them.

If I can claim to be a "devout Catholic" while promoting the killing of children as a "compassionate" solution to a difficult pregnancy situation, I can, perhaps, rationalize in my own mind that I'm a caring person rather than an accessory to murder. If I parade around as "tolerant" toward  immoral "gay" sex, I can feel justified about my own sexual sins and proud of myself for my superior open-mindedness versus all those rigid and judgmental Christians who quote the Bible.

It really isn't all that hard to explain when you think about it.