Am I Being Idolatrous When I . . .?

[Jimbo9889]

Okay so I am in need of a peoples (name removed by moderator)ut again . . .

I like to read, I consider myself an Autodidactic Bibliophile and I take pride in being that since I find it inherently counter-cultural in todays world at least. I have a growing list of books I want to read and either have or still have to get, I also have books I have and that I am currently reading and yet to read. As you can imagine in the confusion of life I feel anxious my focus is always in fragmented, with the amount of books I still want to read and the books I am reading.

It maybe redundant to ask, and I am a slow learner, but am I being idolatrous toward God with these Books even if these books are geared toward Devout Living and the Spiritual Life, Theology, Philosophy, and Psychology?

There are other things in my life that I want to do and yet I walk this thin line: If I read too little I don’t feel edified for the week and if I read too much I feel like I am a slave at the expense of other things I could be doing.

Is there someone who can help me find balance? Certainly I will pray to God for a sense of Harmony in my life with regards to this issue but I feel really torn apart as to which direction I should head in.

 

[obliviuossquire]

I do not believe idolatrous would be the right word here, maybe your reference to fragmented might be more accurate. There is nothing wrong with living a contemplative life as a layman. I would suggest you seek spiritual direction with a clergymember or religous who is in or around your local diocese. This spiritual direction would help to better focus your study as well as serve as a guided reflection of where you are spiritually and what to do with the gifts God has given you.

May the Lord continue to guide you and keep you!

 

[Jimbo9889]

One of my concerns is that I am reading to the detriment of my body, I mean I get the 3-Square Meals a day and practice hygiene, but I am not really active in my body and its always been something of mine that I should aim for the Health of Spirit, Mind, *and *Body, understanding the Body not as the Flesh of course.

Also, briefly speaking one of my problems prior to my reversion back to the Faith was that I was always stuck in my mind, and I know that Catholicism is a very embodied religion designed to take us outside of our minds, even free us [not in the Buddhist conception however]. So I feel in part that I have fallen back into this same habit but now with the rationale [which I do see as legitimate] that I need to “re-catechize” myself back into the Faith having reverted back to it, since my previous Catechist experience was that of “milk” and at that “bad milk.”

 

[Ruthie_again]

I, too, love to read, and have a pile of books I haven’t read yet and a list of books I haven’t bought yet.

I also have a tendency to spend too much time on the internet, so that other things suffer.

But it is not idolatry. Here’s the Catechism, emphases mine:

2113 Idolatry not only refers to false pagan worship. It remains a constant temptation to faith. Idolatry consists in divinizing what is not God. Man commits idolatry whenever he honors and reveres a creature in place of God, whether this be gods or demons (for example, satanism), power, pleasure, race, ancestors, the state, money, etc. Jesus says, “You cannot serve God and mammon.” Many martyrs died for not adoring “the Beast” refusing even to simulate such worship. Idolatry rejects the unique Lordship of God; it is therefore incompatible with communion with God.

Re-reading your post, I can’t see that you are replacing God with books; you are looking for ways to get closer to Him. It sounds more like you and I are both poor at time management. I will pray for your improvement in that area, if you will pray for mine!

 

[Jimbo9889]

I think I may have answered my question already but I will ask for your opinions anyway.

In order to address my anxiety, flustered, and fragmented mind with regards to this issue do you think it would be possible to supplement it with dietary supplement and exercise regiment so as to possibly balance my anxious, flustered, and overall fragmented mindset?

My logic is that, improving the quality of food intake and exercise might help to open the mind to better clarity and the body to calmness, kind of redirect the anxious, flustered, and fragmented energy into a particular focus.

First reply and then highlight the space below to see what my answer was:

I feel that it would be okay, being that Grace does not destroy but builds upon Nature, that if I treat these problems of anxiety, fluster, and fragmentation through a Natural Way say by eating foods that are focused on Overall but in particular Mental Health and doing exercises to get the body active I may and the blood flowing to brain I can open my mind naturally to Clarity and Insight which [so long as in a State of Grace] when met with Prayer the Spirit will so descend upon me opening me up to the Wisdom and Knowledge needed to grow closer to God through the books I am reading.

 

[Ruthie_again]

I confess I highlighted before I replied…

Yes, both exercise and better nutrition can have a good effect on our mental state.

And you can read while on an exercycle or treadmill.

 

[AlanFromWichita]

I think I may have answered my question already but I will ask for your opinions anyway.

In order to address my anxiety, flustered, and fragmented mind with regards to this issue do you think it would be possible to supplement it with dietary supplement and exercise regiment so as to possibly balance my anxious, flustered, and overall fragmented mindset?

My logic is that, improving the quality of food intake and exercise might help to open the mind to better clarity and the body to calmness, kind of redirect the anxious, flustered, and fragmented energy into a particular focus.

First reply and then highlight the space below to see what my answer was:

I feel that it would be okay, being that Grace does not destroy but builds upon Nature, that if I treat these problems of anxiety, fluster, and fragmentation through a Natural Way say by eating foods that are focused on Overall but in particular Mental Health and doing exercises to get the body active I may and the blood flowing to brain I can open my mind naturally to Clarity and Insight which [so long as in a State of Grace] when met with Prayer the Spirit will so descend upon me opening me up to the Wisdom and Knowledge needed to grow closer to God through the books I am reading.

At first it was pretty clear cut, that this is not idolatrous. But it you have anxiety and all that about the issue, it may be a good idea to look into it some.

For example, I don’t doubt you have a hunger toward God. But how are you trying to get there? I’m more worried that you don’t give you mind time off for contemplate practices. Reading and thinking are active practices, not contemplative, vis a vis Christian contemplative prayer. I’m concerned that you think you can “figure out” your way to God. And it’s quite possible that without resting your mind in God, it will be as difficult as building a Tower of Babel.

Do you ever get any sort of break from intellectual exercises? When your mind is truly at rest, and contemplative prayer forms such as Lectio Divina are designed to help give it rest, it can “safely” explore other ways of thinking. You used the term “outside of itself,” well outside of anywhere it’s been before that is. Have you ever read the Cloud of the Unknowing? It’s about how if you take everything you know and is in your dreams and imagination, that’s the Cloud of Knowing. That is a subset of all there is to know; so God will be found in the Cloud of the Unknowing. This is unimaginable to someone who’s been highly trained in intellectual pursuits because that’s what “other” people say: “you’re thinking too much” when in fact it’s usually in situations where the others aren’t thinking at all. You know what I mean? People who can’t think their way out of a paper bag. Those are the same people that say, “you shouldn’t have an open mind because your brains might fall out.” Anyway I think you’ll know the type I mean. But this is totally different. This “resting” or even “unthinking” is something you can gain skill at, and it is even more rewarding than learning to think. I had masters degree in electrical engineering, working at Bell Labs, when I went into a psychosis, and it was among other things, the whole idea of contemplative prayer that has brought me out. So true healing can come this way. And when you’re healed by God it’s even better than never being broken… and from what you describe there is a perception of brokkenness or at least something doesn’t seem right. For me, when I was healed, the Lord showed me the kingdom Jesus talks about, and there is nothing I can say about my life that should have been different lest I failed to get to that point. :heaven:

The first time I met a spiritual director, who got me on track to true sanity, he told me that since I was such a technical person who likes to figure things out I should read Job 38-42.

The same spiritual director, as well as my psychiatrist, also told me that I should get more comedy in my life. :dancing:

Alan