It's not Religion, but the Abuse of Religion, that is the Problem
It's not Religion, but the abuse of Religion, that has conceived, promulgated, and perpetuated the Evil that confronts us in our daily lives. The validity and necessity of Religion, itself, has been historically scoffed at and denounced by many as being the root cause of extremism, hypocrisy, intolerance, and open rebellion; sowing and nurturing the seeds of mistrust, division, hatred, and in certain instances the shedding of innocent blood.
Yet, it is not the practice of “True” religion which has caused these Evils we’re confronted with but rather it is “man”, being carried away by his self-serving passions, who is responsible for abusing religion, and using it as a cloak to cover his wicked intentions and unsavory deeds.
It should be evident to all that the abuse of a “thing” does not, in and of itself, make the “thing” bad?
True religion inculcates the principle of love for God and all mankind; which if we would but faithfully adhered to those principles and put them into practice we could bring an end to the injustice and suffering of the world.
Since the beginning of time, “obedience” to the will of God has proven itself to be a daunting task; for, it is written that Satan “seduceth the whole world” (Revelations 12:9) and works relentlessly to lure man away from “True” Religion and onto paths that lead the unsuspecting, one step at a time, away from “salvation” and on towards their spiritual demise.
In short, Satan recruits “religious pretenders” to do his bidding. And these “religious pretenders” perform their demonic duty admirably and work faithfully to sow the seeds of doubt and mistrust into our Catholic hearts and minds by defaming / slandering those commissioned by Christ (through apostolic succession) to lead, guide and direct us.
Revelations 12:9, mentioned above, is a stark warning that implores us to be attentive and on guard against those who appear from out of the shadows of doubt, parroting alluring partial-truths, and claiming that they have been chosen by God to lead us towards His light. These “false teachers” and/or “religious pretenders” are blind to the Truth and must be avoided / shunned.
For Jesus said: “Every plant which my heavenly father hath not planted shall be rooted up. Let them alone: they are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the pit.” – St Matthew 15:13-14
The tactic of verbal violence (defamation and slander) has become repugnantly commonplace today.
Defamation: Any intentional false communication, either written or spoken, that harms a person's reputation; decreases the respect, regard, or confidence in which a person is held; or induces disparaging, hostile, or disagreeable opinions or feelings against a person.
Slander: Oral defamation, in which someone tells one or more persons an untruth about another which will harm the reputation of the person defamed.
Verbal violence has proven itself to be effective “tool”, utilized by those in league with the adversary, to sow confusion and discord out across the internet (social media) and lead the “weak, “vulnerable”, and/or “disgruntled” away from the Church.
The adversary has seduced these receptive, misguided, disgruntled Catholics (“Catholo-Protestants”) into donning an array of “mail-order” religious vestments and to sacrilegiously self-anoint themselves as divinely chosen “teachers”, “pastors”, “prophets” (and let’s not forget “monks”) who feel compelled / justified to heap vile accusations of heresy, apostasy, schism, and eternal damnation upon anyone who does not see Catholicism in the same light as they do.
These “religious pretenders” have simply “seized” on an opportunity presented by a possible sincere but misplaced “desire” to masquerade before God and man as a “pastor”. Is such deceit not an abuse of Religion?
How can these “religious pretenders” claim to be “teachers” when they never undertook the mandatory 6-8 years of formal theological studies / instruction under the guidance and direction of a validly ordained “bishop”? Is such deceit not an abuse of Religion?
How can these “religious pretenders” minimize the importance associated with being “called” to serve and validly working towards obtaining the official “right” (a commission) to “preach and teach” to the laity? Only those set apart and ordained by Christ’s designated Teaching Authority can claim to have been “sent”? Is such deceit not an abuse of Religion?
“If anyone says that ... those who have been neither rightly ordained nor sent by ecclesiastical and canonical authority, but come from a different source, are lawful ministers of the word …: let him be anathema [cf. n. 960].” - Denzinger: Sources of Catholic Dogma - 967 Can. 7
<
Thus, how can these “false teachers”, “religious pretenders”, “charlatans” (etcetera) take offence and cry “foul” when their deceit is exposed and they’re called what they actually are? It is not defamation or slander when the “facts” implicitly support the accusation.
Oddly enough … the Dimond Brothers (MhFM) actually, though unwittingly, condemn themselves yet confirm as true what I have written in the sentence above; when they stated: “Against a fact there is no argument.” (Page 33 - the Truth about what really happened to the Catholic Church after Vatican II)
We must avoid and/or flee from those who abuse religion by turning their ministry into a lucrative self-serving secular “business” venture.
We must avoid and/or flee from those who present themselves as “evangelicals” and/or “pastors” but who lack the seal of authentication of their having been duly commissioned by those holding the authority to preach and teach.
We must avoid and/or flee from those who cannot provide evidence of their receiving daily guidance and supervision from a validly ordained bishop or priest who can offer to the laity true “Sacramental” pastoral care.
We must never forget that “True” Religion inculcates the principle of love for God and all mankind. Any purported religion or religious community sowing the seeds of strife and discord against their “brothers and sisters in Christ” cannot be and never will be a "True" Religion.
For it is written in St Mark 12: 28-31:
"And there came one of the scribes that had heard them reasoning together, and seeing that he had answered them well, asked him which was the first commandment of all. And Jesus answered him: The first commandment of all is, Hear, O Israel: the Lord thy God is one God. And thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength. This is the first commandment. And the second is like to it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is no other commandment greater than these."
Do not be deceived by those “religious pretenders” who decry, without substantiated / formal proof, that:
The One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church has been infiltrated and taken over by Jews, communists, freemasons, modernists, and/or all four.
Since 1958 the “Chair of Peter” has been vacant and that all duly elected Popes since then have been heretics and therefore Antipopes.
That Rome, as a result of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), is the biblical “Whore of Babylon”
That Pope ohn Paul II is/was the Antichrist.
That Pope Francis is the “Last Pope” mentioned in St. Malachy's purported 12th century prophecy after which Rome will be destroyed and the Apocalypse will begin.
Etcetera … the list goes on and on.
Proverbs 6:12-15 describes well these “religious pretenders” who seek to confuse, disorient, and scare the “lambs of God” into leaving the “Good” shepherd (the Church) and joining ranks with them.
“A man that is an apostate, an unprofitable man, walketh with a perverse mouth. He winketh with the eyes, presseth with the foot, speaketh with the finger. With a wicked heart he deviseth evil: and at all times he soweth discord. To such a one his destruction shall presently come: and he shall suddenly be destroyed, and shall no longer have any remedy.” – Proverbs 6:12-15
St Ignatius of Antioch stated clearly who we should follow:
“See that you all follow the bishop, even as Jesus Christ does the Father, and the presbytery as you would the apostles; and reverence the deacons, as being the institution of God. Let no man do anything connected with the Church without the bishop. Let that be deemed a proper Eucharist, which is administered either by the bishop, or by one to whom he has entrusted it. Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude of the people also be; even as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church.” — Letter to the Smyrnaeans, Chapter 8
Thus, let this be the “litmus test” to use before joining ranks with any purported religious community. If the community in question cannot provide evidence that they are under the direct guidance and supervision of a validly ordained Bishop or Priest then flee; for they are “religious pretenders” and as such are in league with the “Father of Lies”.
Simply remember ... True religion inculcates the principle of love for God and all mankind.