Why are Evangelicals like this?

[Kielbasi]

FEvangelicals seem very quick to slap the “satanic” label on almost anything. Also there seems to be an obsession with the antichrist. First it was Obama, then Hillary Clinton etc. It almost seems like fearmongering. And it is all very strange to me because we never talk about this kind of stuff in the Catholic Church. Any thoughts?

I think you are stereotyping “all” evangelicals with your statement here, just taking a tiny number you see, and extrapolating the generalizations.

I’m sure that some evangelicals might meet your stereotype, most don’t at all.

 

[May1980]

Whaaaaat? I never heard of yoga at all in relation to anything but yoga class.
Sure I go to Yoga class, and um, Hindi religion never even crossed my mind. I don’t even think there is a Hindu in the class, but either way, that’s just going too far!
That’s like saying (if you are not Christian) your kids can’t hunt for eggs at Easter because then it’s a Christian religious practice.

But I never heard anyone of any religion mention things as Satanic. Maybe when pondering the Holocaust I’ve heard people mention evil and the devil?

 

[jimkhong]

That’s like saying (if you are not Christian) your kids can’t hunt for eggs at Easter because then it’s a Christian religious practice.

Sadly that’s happening. Witness the reaction by Hindu and Muslim fundamentalists against celebration of Valentine’s Day. There are Muslim leaders in my country who caution Muslims against wishing Happy Divali or Merry Christmas on those days. In fact, some advise against visiting their friends on their festivals if those friends are not Muslims (in my country it is a custom to hold open houses, where your house is an open party and your friends of all faiths come to visit for a short while before they move on to the next open house).

Christians against yoga is really subject to the same social forces as those Hindu & Muslim fundamentalists I mentioned above. Same arguments seeming from the same fears, just using different theologies.

There is and will always be human suspicions of the other. With the march of history, we have move from being wary that the next village will be pillaging us for our women to being wary to the neighbouring country pillaging our jobs. While some of us may have moved to being able to see ourselves as members more of the human race than our ethnic race, there will be some whose insecurity do not allow them to move as far. One day they will, and we just have to be tolerant of them until then.

 

[Hockeygurl]

I have also seen on my Catholic mother in law’s counter propaganda to boycott the harry potter books as well as the movie the golden compass. Evangelicals aren’t the only ones.

 

[IgnatianPhilo]

Some Evangelicals can only see the exterior of a practice, object or thing and condemn it on that basis alone. Such a thing X appears to be against biblical teaching (fantasy stories for instance wherein magic is used) therefore it is evil. The English word Easter seems similar to an ancient Goddess called Ishtar, therefore Easter is derived from paganism. Catholics and Orthodox kiss images, books and prostrate before them, therefore they violate God’s commandment. Examples could go on forever but I think some Evangelicals don’t want to understand the person they disagree with and instead want to maintain their perception of a thing. This isn’t only an Evangelical thing though. I’ve interacted with certain reformed people online and they will take every opportunity to put down any other form of Christianity they deem as insufficient or not at all Christian (Roman Catholics especially).

I think it ultimately stems from a certain set of presuppositions and the idea that if anyone violates those presuppositions they are to be suspect. Someone else mentioned it’s not wrong for them to be guarded but it sure does make conversation and understanding extremely difficult when the other side writes you off as a Pagan or defender of evil.

 

[Peter_J]

I have also seen on my Catholic mother in law’s counter propaganda to boycott the harry potter books as well as the movie the golden compass. Evangelicals aren’t the only ones.

Heh. Not to get off topic, but I hate when people lump Harry Potter in with Golden Compass. I like the former but I steer clear of the latter.

 

[Kliska]

Heh. Not to get off topic, but I hate when people lump Harry Potter in with Golden Compass. I like the former but I steer clear of the latter.

Me as well.

 

[mattp0625]

Whaaaaat? I never heard of yoga at all in relation to anything but yoga class.
Sure I go to Yoga class, and um, Hindi religion never even crossed my mind. I don’t even think there is a Hindu in the class, but either way, that’s just going too far!
That’s like saying (if you are not Christian) your kids can’t hunt for eggs at Easter because then it’s a Christian religious practice.

But I never heard anyone of any religion mention things as Satanic. Maybe when pondering the Holocaust I’ve heard people mention evil and the devil?

It depends on the type of yoga.

It’s not about being against different cultures, its not about being against exercise, although perhaps to some extent whether or not it is Christian (though not in a cultural sense but rather in the source of certain “powers”), but more about the nature of the thing.

Some yoga is more like exercise, but what about the type where people promote having out of body experiences or getting in touch with your third eye or the chakras? What is the source of these preternatural experiences?

What about the popular practices described in the book “The Secret” or other similar books which describe making things happen by way of manipulation with your mind or your “vibrations”? What about the use of crystals to enhance these “powers”?

What about reiki? What is the source of this miraculous “healing” or “warming sensation”?

Some claim it is nature. Some claim it is God. Some claim the power is within you.

When one meditates, if the aim is to “empty the mind”, what then fills it?

There is a reason you find related books in the isle called “New Age” - i.e. what some also refer to as the “post Christian age”.

All that aside - the people who should know, that is, exorcists who regularly encounter the demonic, often indicate the source of these “powers” are not natural and not from God. You can do the math. There is a fine line here. Use caution.

 

[FollowChrist34]

Some Evangelicals can only see the exterior of a practice, object or thing and condemn it on that basis alone. Such a thing X appears to be against biblical teaching (fantasy stories for instance wherein magic is used) therefore it is evil. The English word Easter seems similar to an ancient Goddess called Ishtar, therefore Easter is derived from paganism. Catholics and Orthodox kiss images, books and prostrate before them, therefore they violate God’s commandment. Examples could go on forever but I think some Evangelicals don’t want to understand the person they disagree with and instead want to maintain their perception of a thing. This isn’t only an Evangelical thing though. I’ve interacted with certain reformed people online and they will take every opportunity to put down any other form of Christianity they deem as insufficient or not at all Christian (Roman Catholics especially).

I think it ultimately stems from a certain set of presuppositions and the idea that if anyone violates those presuppositions they are to be suspect. Someone else mentioned it’s not wrong for them to be guarded but it sure does make conversation and understanding extremely difficult when the other side writes you off as a Pagan or defender of evil.

This is very well said. On top of this, they don’t seem to be able to grasp the idea that they can sin, offend God, or that they have any sort of responsibility to be charitable to their neighbors, to live transformatively in Christ. No carrying any crosses. They think that they accept Christ and are saved. Bingo. Everyone else is damned.

 

[MikeHammer]

First I want to say that I was born and raised Catholic and I am still practicing. Also I wanted to say I have nothing against Evangelical Christians (one of my best friends is Evangelical bless his heart) and I am going to apologize ahead of time if I hurt anyone’s feelings in this post. However it seems that Evangelicals (especially those on the right side of the political spectrum) are very quick to label certain things as ‘satanic’. From the Harry Potter books, to John Podesta’s “spirit cooking”, Evangelicals seem very quick to slap the “satanic” label on almost anything. Also there seems to be an obsession with the antichrist. First it was Obama, then Hillary Clinton etc. It almost seems like fearmongering. And it is all very strange to me because we never talk about this kind of stuff in the Catholic Church. Any thoughts?

In their defense there are certain areas in which evil is celebrated. Our entire entertainment culture seems to lean that way.
On the other hand it’s important to realize Satan appears many times, as Paul reminds us, as an angel of light. What appears to be for good, might actually be promoting evil.
Think about it, what is going to lead more people astray? More often than not, it might very well be that well-dressed guy in a suit.
We’re not to look for the devil everywhere. But we are to be ‘as wise as serpents’.

 

[Peter_J]

On top of this, they don’t seem to be able to grasp the idea that they can sin, offend God, or that they have any sort of responsibility to be charitable to their neighbors

Are they bringing drugs, crime, and rape?

 

[May1980]

Oh, yes my yoga is an exercise class in a community gym. We stretch and stand like a tree and try to get more flexible, etc, all that. Young and old!

 

[ltwin]

This is very well said. On top of this, they don’t seem to be able to grasp the idea that they can sin, offend God, or that they have any sort of responsibility to be charitable to their neighbors, to live transformatively in Christ. No carrying any crosses. They think that they accept Christ and are saved. Bingo. Everyone else is damned.

This is a very uncharitable view of evangelicals. I’m sure you can find some people who fit this description and label themselves evangelicals, but this really is not what Evangelicalism stands for at all. It’s regrettable that you have received this impression of Evangelicalism.

At the very heart of Evangelicalism is the theological belief that we must be truly converted–born again and become a new creation in Christ Jesus. It is all about repenting from sin and dying to self so that we can live in, with and for Christ.