Against Our False Gospel: Medieval Wisdom on the Spiritual Battle

The modern world pushes its own gospel that focuses on the “self.” There is no need to fear God, for he is merciful. Follow your heart and your desires, for that brings happiness. You don’t have to think about anything negative, like death and judgment. You can decide for yourself what is sinful in your own conscience. People don’t go to Hell, except for possibly the very worst people like Hitler. You don’t have to take religion too seriously as long as you are a nice person. Times have changed, and we’ve outgrown all those old superstitions and bigoted beliefs. The whole reason we pray and go to church is to feel good about ourselves.

Hearing this nonsense repeatedly might tire us, but it forms the basis of our mission field. People need to hear the Gospel as Christ himself preached it: “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand.” The Bible tells us that the desires of the heart are evil until they are directed to God, redeemed as we are born again to a new life in the spirit. The entire purpose of our lives derives from God’s calling us into existence and offering us happiness within his glory. We are for God rather than the other way around. If we turn away from him, our lives will end in futility and misery.

Even if we can’t escape today’s false Gospel by returning to the past, we can receive edification from the wisdom of our forefathers in faith. TAN Books has stood at the forefront of making “spiritual classics” accessible to lay people for decades, and I’m very glad to see newly translated classics continue to appear. In particular, Fr. Robert Nixon, OSB, a Benedictine monk in New Norcia, Australia, has greatly contributed by translating classics from Thomas à Kempis, St. Bonaventure, St. Anselm and others. I was particularly drawn to two immensely popular medieval classics that have been virtually unknown in English-speaking circles.

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