- Feb 5, 2002
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When trying to make sense of a crisis, it is helpful to return to the starting point of those involved. In the case of humanity, that means examining the events in the Garden of Eden as recorded in scripture. God provided Adam and Eve with everything necessary to thrive, grow, and prosper. Nevertheless, with coaxing from God’s adversary, the couple refused to be satisfied with God’s gift and sought and illicitly obtained the knowledge of the fruit of the one tree denied them. For their transgression they were expelled from the Garden, but ever since then humanity, refusing to learn its lesson, has frequently lusted after forbidden knowledge. Since the advent of Christ, the Church has declared what is necessary for salvation and called it the deposit of faith. Although some dogmas have been refined over the centuries (such as papal infallibility, the Immaculate Conception, and the Blessed Virgin Mary’s Assumption, for example), nothing has been revealed by God after the close of the apostolic age that is required for Catholics to believe de fide.
The quest for forbidden knowledge began even in the first century with the Gnostics and continues in our day with permutations of the so-called New Age movement. An important link in that chain of errors is Theosophy, a set of esoteric beliefs formulated by the Russian Madame Helena Pavlovna Blavatsky (HPB, as she was known to many) in the 1800s. Blavatsky’s doctrines were derived from her “secret doctrine” and contributed to the growth and spread of secret spiritual teachings, occult beliefs, versions of yoga, and especially anthroposophy (a variation of theosophy with more Western influences), which also spreads its influence today through the Waldorf Schools. From a little-noticed beginning, HPB and her followers have made a noticeable impact on our culture and spiritual practices.
Continued below.
catholicexchange.com
The quest for forbidden knowledge began even in the first century with the Gnostics and continues in our day with permutations of the so-called New Age movement. An important link in that chain of errors is Theosophy, a set of esoteric beliefs formulated by the Russian Madame Helena Pavlovna Blavatsky (HPB, as she was known to many) in the 1800s. Blavatsky’s doctrines were derived from her “secret doctrine” and contributed to the growth and spread of secret spiritual teachings, occult beliefs, versions of yoga, and especially anthroposophy (a variation of theosophy with more Western influences), which also spreads its influence today through the Waldorf Schools. From a little-noticed beginning, HPB and her followers have made a noticeable impact on our culture and spiritual practices.
Continued below.
Theosophy: An Old Error In New Packaging
When trying to make sense of a crisis, it is helpful to return to the starting point of those involved. In the case of humanity, that means examining the events in the Garden of Eden as recorded in scripture. God provided Adam and Eve with everything necessary to thrive, grow, and prosper...
