Cardinal Sarah warns against ‘practical atheism’ even within the Church

[Michie]

Cardinal Robert Sarah delivered a speech to attendees of a sold-out event June 13 at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where he emphasized the dangers of “practical atheism,” calling it a great temptation in the Church today.

Practical atheism does not deny God or reject God outright, the cardinal said, but it removes God from the center of life. Criticizing the Church in Europe, Cardinal Sarah repeatedly warned of the “loss of the sense of the Gospel” which has permeated much of daily life in the West.

The temptation has even impacted Church leaders, tempting them to “dream of being loved by the world” rather than steadfastly opposing it, said the cardinal, who is prefect emeritus of the Holy See’s Congregation (now Dicastery) of Divine Worshipand the Discipline of the Sacraments, and archbishop emeritus of Conakry, Guinea.

More than 350 people attended the lecture, which was sponsored by the California-based Napa Institute and the Catholic Information Center, a Washington bookstore and intellectual hub. The lecture was preceded by Mass in the Crypt Church at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, which was attended by hundreds more, organizers told Our Sunday Visitor.

Cardinal Sarah’s address​

Continued below.

Cardinal Sarah warns against 'practical atheism' even within the Church

In his lecture, he addressed “Fiducia Supplicans,” the ongoing process of the Synod on Synodality and offered words of exhortation to the American church.

www.oursundayvisitor.com

 

[chevyontheriver]

Cardinal Robert Sarah delivered a speech to attendees of a sold-out event June 13 at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where he emphasized the dangers of “practical atheism,” calling it a great temptation in the Church today.

Practical atheism does not deny God or reject God outright, the cardinal said, but it removes God from the center of life. Criticizing the Church in Europe, Cardinal Sarah repeatedly warned of the “loss of the sense of the Gospel” which has permeated much of daily life in the West.

The temptation has even impacted Church leaders, tempting them to “dream of being loved by the world” rather than steadfastly opposing it, said the cardinal, who is prefect emeritus of the Holy See’s Congregation (now Dicastery) of Divine Worshipand the Discipline of the Sacraments, and archbishop emeritus of Conakry, Guinea.

More than 350 people attended the lecture, which was sponsored by the California-based Napa Institute and the Catholic Information Center, a Washington bookstore and intellectual hub. The lecture was preceded by Mass in the Crypt Church at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, which was attended by hundreds more, organizers told Our Sunday Visitor.

Cardinal Sarah’s address​

Continued below.

Cardinal Sarah warns against 'practical atheism' even within the Church

In his lecture, he addressed “Fiducia Supplicans,” the ongoing process of the Synod on Synodality and offered words of exhortation to the American church.

www.oursundayvisitor.com

The problem is old. I don't know how old really. Frank Sheed wrote about it in a book titled 'Christ in Eclipse', calling it 'Sheed's Disease', not only because he diagnosed it but because he could see that it affected him as well.

Cardinal Sarah is always well worth paying attention to.

 

[fide]

The problem is old. I don't know how old really. Frank Sheed wrote about it in a book titled 'Christ in Eclipse', calling it 'Sheed's Disease', not only because he diagnosed it but because he could see that it affected him as well.

Cardinal Sarah is always well worth paying attention to.

Yes, the problem is old, but I believe it is very different today. I believe that today, the problem is old, but has grown in our lifetimes not only into its "adolescence" but to the "young adulthood" of its [perhaps] soon-to-be horrific maturity. I believe Bp. Strickland's essay I recently posted [the link to] nailed it well:

.... There is a storm coming – the likes of which has never been seen upon the Earth.....

The lack of supernatural faith has weakened its ties to the Eucharistic pillar, and the indifference to Our Blessed Mother and the disregarding of her warnings and admonitions, as well as a refusal to acknowledge the words she still brings, have weakened the ties to the other pillar. Therefore, the storm that now comes brings unprecedented danger.

What will it take to truly, in Truth, bring or guide this 'Laodician' Church [Rev. 3:14] to awaken, to become conscious, of what has infected us?

 

[chevyontheriver]

Yes, the problem is old, but I believe it is very different today. I believe that today, the problem is old, but has grown in our lifetimes not only into its "adolescence" but to the "young adulthood" of its [perhaps] soon-to-be horrific maturity. I believe Bp. Strickland's essay I recently posted [the link to] nailed it well:

What will it take to truly, in Truth, bring or guide this 'Laodician' Church [Rev. 3:14] to awaken, to become conscious, of what has infected us?

Prayer warriors. People who pray. Sine qua non.

 

[Chrystal-J]

I asked a priest if he believed in demons, and he ran into the other room. (Huffing off because I said that I'd seen ghosts.) If you don't believe in demons, how can you believe anything in the bible?

 

[fide]

I asked a priest if he believed in demons, and he ran into the other room. (Huffing off because I said that I'd seen ghosts.) If you don't believe in demons, how can you believe anything in the bible?

Maybe you'd have gotten a different response if you had asked, "Do you believe that demons exist?" The question of fact, or not, concerning their existence is very different from the question, "Do you believe in demons?" as if in the same sense that one might ask, "Are you a Christian? Do you believe in Jesus Christ - as your Lord and Savior?"

 

[Gnarwhal]

So is a practical atheist someone who goes to Mass and then goes home and watches football after?

 

[chevyontheriver]

So is a practical atheist someone who goes to Mass and then goes home and watches football after?

A practical atheist is one who never thirsts for the Lord.

 

[Michie]

Not a Catholic source but an explanation of practical atheism.

Practical Atheism

Rubel Shelly defined “practical atheism” as: “holding an intellectual commitment to belief in God but thinking, feeling, and behaving as if there were no God” (13). The apostle Paul defined it when he stated: “They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient, and worthless for any good deed” (Titus 1:6). [Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture citations are from the New American Standard Bible, 1977 edition.] Craig Groeschel recounted the famous Charles Blondin (the first to cross Niagara Falls on a tight rope), as he once walked across Niagara Falls pushing a wheelbarrow. The story goes that an exuberant onlooker called out, “You could cross with a man in that wheelbarrow!” Blondin agreed and invited the man to be his “passenger,” but the man nervously declined the invitation. To this, Groeschel commented:

My dysfunctional relationship with God was often like that. I’ve always believed in God, just not enough to trust him with my whole life in his wheelbarrow. I knew God could fulfill his promises, but I was never sure he’d do it for me. My selfish Christian Atheist view was that God existed for me, rather than I for him. If he’d do what I thought he should, I’d trust him more. If he’d come through for me, I’d give him more of my life. If he made my life better and pain-free, I’d believe him more passionately. But anytime God didn’t meet my expectations, we had a problem. God created me in his image. I returned the favor and created him in mine. The kind of God I wanted to believe in was this: if he’s not what I want, then he can’t have my whole life. (233-34)

The “practical atheist” may not read his Bible, or study it in any way. He may not attend worship assemblies regularly. He certainly does not get fully involved in the work of the local church, although he may do things to help from time to time. How different is this from the speculative atheist who does not read the Bible because he considers the author of that book to be a figment of one’s imagination? Would we ever expect the atheist to attend our worship assemblies? And, even though they may do good things from time to time, they do not really get involved in the work and/or worship of the local congregation. Actually, the speculative atheist is even a bit more honest than the “practical atheist” because she informs us that she has no intention of getting involved with God, the Bible, or the church in any way. The “practical atheist” would be expected to be involved in each of these areas. But, since he does not get involved, he is even worse in character than the speculative atheist!

“Practical atheists” often think of the church for what they can get out of it, rather than for what they can give to it. In other words, they are expecting to be served by others instead of being servants of Christ, and therefore, servants of their fellow man. Think of what Jesus said to His disciples just here:

And hearing this, the ten became indignant with the two brothers. But Jesus called them to Himself, and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It is not so among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:24-28)

And, the apostle Paul said: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5, NKJV). The true Christian has a servant’s heart. He/she has the mind of Christ, and mimics God (cf. Ephesians 5:1). As Groeschel made clear, the “practical atheist” may very well believe in God, but is not convinced that God really loves him, or he does not believe in prayer, or he is not convinced that God will forgive, or he still worries all the time, or he does not believe in the church, etc. The practical atheist is always inconsistent in heart and life, and is really one who needs to repent. Rubel Shelly tells a story that illustrates this point very effectively:

A woman divorced her husband and took their tiny baby away with her. As that little girl grew up, she was lied to by her mother. She was told her father was dead. Not only was she told that her father was dead, but she was led to have a negative attitude toward her dad as she grew up. So she grew up and lived her entire adult life not knowing she had a father who lived relatively nearby. The only thoughts she ever had about him were negative.

Another little girl grew up in a home under the influence and guidance of her father. She was not separated from him nor lied to about his existence. That father loved that little girl. He fussed over her and gave her the best he had, beginning with his heart. But when she grew up, she broke that man’s heart by turning against everything for which he stood. Oh, she would visit him every once in a while. She would certainly visit him on Christmas and Father’s Day. She would send cards saying, “Dad, I love you.” But every day she broke his heart by living a life that repudiated all he ever held sacred.

Which of these two girls is to be pitied, and which one is to be scorned? I pity the one who never knew she had a father, who had been deceived and made to think negatively about him. I don’t scorn her because her mother had lied to her. However, I have contempt for the other one. She knew her father was good and kind. Her father had given everything he had to her, but she stomped on it.

I have more pity and sympathy for the atheist, the speculative atheist, the fellow who says, “I don’t believe in God,” who has been deceived, lied to, or misled and whose only thoughts of God are basically negative. However, I can only have contempt for one who wears the name of Christ and who, knowing our Father loves us and has give us His best, defies Him and breaks His will. It is worse for us to believe in God and yet live as if there were no God than to doubt His existence. (38)

There should be little difficulty in recognizing what I take to be a serious problem within Christendom in general, and Christianity in particular, today. Part of the obligation to love God supremely (cf. Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 12:29-31) is to love God “with all our mind.” It is this mental weakness, coupled with a lack of real commitment that creates the problem of “practical atheism.” There are millions, it appears, who believe that God exists, but who also live as if He makes no appreciable difference at all in their day to day activities. "Practical atheism" manifests itself in the lives of those who do believe in God, but who live, act and think as if God does not exist! Their thoughts are rarely focused upon God and His will; they do not attend worship assemblies regularly; their speech and actions are indistinguishable from others around them; etc. In short, they are really no different than atheists, in spite of the fact that they do believe in God!

Practical Atheism and Practical Theism — Warren Christian Apologetics Center

I have personally seen articles and books on “practical atheism.” Different than speculative atheism or philosophical atheism, “practical atheism” is found in the lives of many people who believe in God but who live as if He does not exist. “Practical theism” is quite another iss

warrenapologetics.org

 

[Michie]

Catholic source:

II. Practical Atheism

As I noted in a recent address to the Bishops of Cameroon:

“many Western prelates are paralyzed by the idea of opposing the world. They dream of being loved by the world. They have lost the concern of being a sign of contradiction. Perhaps too much material wealth leads to compromise with world affairs. Poverty is a guarantee of freedom for God. I believe that the Church of our time is experiencing the temptation of atheism. Not intellectual atheism. But this subtle and dangerous state of mind: fluid and practical atheism. The latter is a dangerous disease even if its first symptoms seem mild.”

By practical atheism, I mean a loss of the sense of the Gospel and the centrality of Jesus Christ. Scripture becomes a tool for a secular purpose rather than the call to conversion. I do not think this is widespread among your bishops and priests here in the United States, thanks be to God, but it is becoming more common among other regions of the West. Too many do not take the faith seriously and treat it as a hindrance to dialogue.

St. Paul warned us of this: “For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine but, following their own desires and insatiable curiosity, will accumulate teachers and will stop listening to the truth and will be diverted to myths” (2 Tim 4:3-4).

And yet we know that the faith, and Scripture and the sacraments in particular, give us life. That’s why St. Paul also charged us to, “proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching” (2 Tim 4:2).

There is, of course, no pure atheism. One must put his or her trust in something. So, the question is not whether you believe in God or not, but what do you believe in; what is your lower-case “g” – god? For many in the secular culture, it is sex and all its libertarian derivatives. For others, it is a positivist understanding of nature, where objective data is the only factor by which decisions should be made. And yet for others, it is wealth or power or social status or social activism.

All of these are corrupt and false idols by which we elevate something other than the one, true God, in all His majesty, love and mercy—just as the Israelites worshipped the Golden Calf. This is nothing new. Creation, in its many forms, has always competed with the Creator for our loyalty. What is of particular interest is how this sort of practical atheism has seeped into the Church. I would like to review what our three most recent popes have said about this as a reminder that the Church is the prophetic voice for our times and we must remain vigilant to voices from within that wish to alter her voice to something palatable to secular culture.

Continued below.

The Catholic Church’s Enduring Answer to the Practical Atheism of Our Age - The Napa Institute

I. Introductory Remarks I am grateful to meet with you, distinguished guests of the Napa Institute. Mr Busch: thank you for the invitation and the Catholic Information Center for your...

napa-institute.org

 

[Chrystal-J]

Maybe you'd have gotten a different response if you had asked, "Do you believe that demons exist?" The question of fact, or not, concerning their existence is very different from the question, "Do you believe in demons?" as if in the same sense that one might ask, "Are you a Christian? Do you believe in Jesus Christ - as your Lord and Savior?"

I was talking to someone about a ghost I saw in my house and this priest cut in and said "I don't believe in that!" Then I said "You don't believe in demons?" Then he got mad and stalked off.

 

[RileyG]

I am so grateful for Cardinal Sarah and all he has done for the Church! He is full of so much wisdom! May God bless him abundantly!

 

[RileyG]

I was talking to someone about a ghost I saw in my house and this priest cut in and said "I don't believe in that!" Then I said "You don't believe in demons?" Then he got mad and stalked off.

Purgatory exists, so ghosts do, too.

 

[Chrystal-J]

Purgatory exists, so ghosts do, too.

I agree. It's unsettling that a priest would be so adamantly against things that are clearly biblical.

 

[RileyG]

I agree. It's unsettling that a priest would be so adamantly against things that are clearly biblical.

Well said! Pray this garbage will soon exit the Church!

 

[Michie]

Purgatory exists, so ghosts do, too.

I’d like to hear more about this connection with purgatory and ghosts. I find it sort of murky.

 

[RileyG]

I’d like to hear more about this connection with purgatory and ghosts. I find it sort of murky.

Well?

Ghosts are basically asking for prayers. They aren't being violent or mischievous.

That's why they manifest and make themselves known to the living. If you want to find out more, go to YouTube.com

Fr. Mike Schmitz even made a video about this topic.

I just don't want to go off topic

 

[fide]

I agree. It's unsettling that a priest would be so adamantly against things that are clearly biblical.

"Live and learn." Priests are men; we may presume, or at least hope, but we cannot expect that just because a man has been received by the Church and ordained a priest, he is therefore holy, mature, wise and kind. Recent times have revealed priests who ought not be priests, but even those who sometimes don't "act priestly" might be struggling against their rough edges and are sincerely trying to grow toward holiness. We must be patient with everyone - none of us is now perfect. Jesus commands us to forgive one another, if and when they trespass against us, even emphasizing to us that God means this "forgiveness" business very, very seriously:
in our prayer "Our Father", He has us say:
"Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us!!!

If we understood and believed what we are saying when we pray this, we would be much more merciful than we are.

 

[fide]

Well?

Ghosts are basically asking for prayers. They aren't being violent or mischievous.

That's why they manifest and make themselves known to the living. If you want to find out more, go to YouTube.com

Fr. Mike Schmitz even made a video about this topic.

I just don't want to go off topic

I hope that this priest whom you cite, made it clear that he was merely giving you an opinion - I have never heard this as defined Catholic doctrine.
Can you give a link to this video - this "teaching"? I'd like to see/hear it.
edited to add: I found this video: Schmitz on "ghosts". He seems theologically OK - but RileyG, I think you summed up his teaching a bit "incompletely".

 

[RileyG]

I hope that this priest whom you cite, made it clear that he was merely giving you an opinion - I have never heard this as defined Catholic doctrine.
Can you give a link to this video - this "teaching"? I'd like to see/hear it.
edited to add: I found this video: Schmitz on "ghosts". He seems theologically OK - but RileyG, I think you summed up his teaching a bit "incompletely".

Ok. Maybe I wasn’t clear- my apologies.