It has been said that the new faith is the "religion of reassurance." The tag has come from the great variety of books assuring man that he can escape fear, anxiety, dread, melancholy, depression and want of self-assurance by large injections of psychological vitamins concocted in the laboratory of his own mind. There is really nothing very new about this kind of religion; it is called new only by those who do not know what is ancient.

The "Religion of Reassurance" was originally taught by an Englishman called Pelagius who lived around 400. He too held that man could lift himself by his own bootstraps; that he had no need of outside help; that broken mainsprings in clocks could fix themselves; that hands could be cleaned by rubbing them against one another and without the need of anything outside man, such as water; that the body needed no medicines besides those which its own blood could mix, and that the mind needed no knowledge of truth beyond that which it could generate within itself. The only difference between ancient Pelagianism and Psychologism is that Pelagianism  presented stronger arguments for the self-sufficiency of man than do the Psychologists.

It is true that, within certain limits, man can help himself: for example, his body cooperates with medicine given by the doctor; his will responds to love proffered by another; his mind digests knowledge from the information gleaned through his five senses. But, it is to be noted that he is here responding to what comes from without. So, too, for the greater ills of life, help must come not only from without, but from above; not just from humanity, which is only the mass form of our personal problems, but from God, to whose saving influences we respond.

It is very legitimate for the Religion of Reassurance to call itself a psychology, for man does not need to have a little more assurance in his dignity as a creature of God, and less assurance in his indignity as a featherless biped. But it is not legitimate to call the Religion of Reassurance, Christianity. Because a Hindu recommends a crunchy, crackly cereal, eating the breakfast food does not make one a Hindu.

Psychologism is basically a couch-mysticism in the sense that it believes life should be free from crosses. Christianity is, on the contrary, a cross-religion. Psychologism says: "Follow me and avoid a cross." Christ, the Son of God said: "Take up your cross daily and follow Me." Psychologism denies that defeat, frustration, trails, discouragement and suffering are the make-up of life. Christianity, on the contrary, says that they are; but they can be accepted, transmitted, spiritually by union with Christ on the Cross, as a dirty drop of water in a gutter is transfigured into a snowflake, thanks to the purifying power of the sun. Christ never hid from His disciples what it would cost them to follow Him; again and again, when there were signs of defection, He gave them the opportunity of leaving Him, if they so desired.

It is one thing to promise man that he can be free from crosses and defeats, and it is quite another to do it in the name of Christianity. The Christian law is unmistakably plain: "Those who suffer with Christ, will reign with Christ." This does not mean that there is no assurance of peace and hope: "I will give you a peace the world cannot understand." "Come to Me, all of you who labour and are heavily burdened, and you will find rest for your souls." Christ points out the constant antithesis between the "world" and "Him" between the religion of self-assurance and the religion of Divine assurance. Psychologism asks: "Which is the most pleasant and the easiest thing for my ego?" Christianity asks: "Which is the Divine Way - regardless of what it does to my ego?" This alone brings peace of soul.

BY ARCHBISHOP FULTON J. SHEEN  ( 1895 to 1979 )

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Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -