Opinions on secular spirituality program?

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Not nessecarily bad, but I would say that there are better uses of your time, centered around Christ and not the secular humanism this program appears to promote somewhat.
 
Secular spirituality is unguided and ultimately pointless. Any spirituality not directed towards God is unlikely to actually bring you closer to Him, especially with the excessive infiltration of New Age ideas into secular ideologies.
 
It is highly significant that some atheists, and others of the secular persuasion, recognize that there is something to spirituality, that it is beneficial, and that there is no substitute for it. They see others benefiting from it, and they want to enjoy the benefits as well.

This might present an opportunity for Christians to evangelize to them.
pkcath said:
Any thoughts on embarking on a program like this?
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I wouldn’t recommend it because it falls quite short of the truth. They take religion and remove the parts they don’t agree with, which are the foundation and the heart of the faith. They go through the motions. They get something out of it, but not nearly as much as they could if they recognized the love of God and their need to be in a right relationship with God.
 
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I recommend you be careful here. If it were me, I would stay away.

I just read all the profiles of all the guest experts. Many of them are Buddhists (including one former Catholic who is now Buddhist - his bio emphasizes the fact that he’s a former Catholic). And one “expert” says he uses both Buddhist and Hindu practices. Only one bio lists the “expert” as a Christian (a former Presbyterian pastor).

Seems like it might have a lot of New Age / Buddhist influences.

I would suggest you look into the Avila Institute https://avila-institute.com/ or find a good Catholic Therapist (if you are looking for more of a therapist type approach) http://www.catholictherapists.com/

God bless
 
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Pope Benedict:

We are moving toward a dictatorship of relativism which does not recognize anything as for certain and which has as its highest goal one’s own ego and one’s own desires. The church must defend itself against threats such as “radical individualism” and “vague religious mysticism”. [emphasis added]

Source: The Practical Catholic
 
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Thank you for these answers. Appreciated the variety of (name removed by moderator)ut. I think I understand that this program might be a facsimile, and perhaps a harmful diversion, of a truer path.

This program is being considered for someone who is agnostic, who might have had some negative prior experiences with religion beforehand, e.g., bigotry, fundamentalism, etc. As a next step on the path to spiritual growth, am hesitant to start with outright catechesis. There is a theme in evangelization that often one must start with where people are.

Thoughts?
 
pkcath said:
Thank you for these answers. Appreciated the variety of (name removed by moderator)ut. I think I understand that this program might be a facsimile, and perhaps a harmful diversion, of a truer path.

This program is being considered for someone who is agnostic, who might have had some negative prior experiences with religion beforehand, e.g., bigotry, fundamentalism, etc. As a next step on the path to spiritual growth, am hesitant to start with outright catechesis. There is a theme in evangelization that often one must start with where people are.

Thoughts?
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Philosophy and spiritual endeavors are never bad when dealing with atheists and agnostics.

With both of them, the first step is to make them realize that God is real. They need to admit God is real before they accept that the One True God is the God of the Christians.

However, with all this said, I frankly have no idea if this is a good program for them or not. I would recommend https://strangenotions.com, it’s a site that was designed to communicate with atheists and agnostics.

Perhaps start with this article by Dr. Peter Kreeft: 20 Arguments For God’s Existence : Strange Notions

God Bless
 
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I’ve known people who became involved with other religions and what I’ll call 'belief systems." These people were individuals and meeting them where they are meant different approaches for different people. One person was religion shopping; first he tried this then that. He later became a Methodist.

One group, with which I became quite familiar, was selling a fake Jesus along with other things. At meetings, members would chant something that sounded familiar so I checked my books. It was an ancient chant from another country. There was a symbol above the doorway, and I found it in one of my books. It marked a direct connection to another religion. So, in some cases, finding out what they believe is important, especially if their religious/spiritual group has unique or uncommon elements in it. That way, you know where they’re coming from.
 
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The central point of Christian spirituality is to ultimately behold the Beatific Vision in eternity. If that is not the driving force behind even the most well-intentioned spiritualism than it is not taking into account who God is and why He made us.
 
Thanks again for the additional (name removed by moderator)uts. A Catholic friend, one who is familiar with the program and recommended it, offered some following points that I shared in a new post to invite to any other feedback from our helpful members.
 
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