Travesty of the truth

The expression appears in the Acts of the Apostles. St. Paul warned the elders of the church of Ephesus to be watchful because “when I have gone, fierce wolves will invade you and will have no mercy on the flock.” (cfr 20,28-38)

And he continued by saying that “even from your own ranks there will be men coming forward with a travesty of the truth on their lips to induce the disciples to follow them.”

These words acquire immediate relevance as we see them turn to reality today when the perversion and distortion of the truth that comes from God is done not by those openly against God, the Church, or religion itself, but by those who appear to be for God, for the Church and religion in general.

That is why Pope Francis in his latest Apostolic Exhortation, Gaudete et Exsultate (Rejoice and be glad) warned us today of some fake forms of holiness that manage to beguile many faithful: Gnosticism and Pelagianism.

He described Gnosticism as a “a purely subjective faith whose only interest is a certain experience or a set of ideas and bits of information which are meant to console and enlighten, but which ultimately keep one imprisoned in his or her own thoughts and feelings.”

Gnosticism is a distortion of the truth about what holiness is because “a person’s perfection is measured not by the information or knowledge he possesses, but by the depth of his charity.”

“Gnostics do not understand this,” he said, “because they judge others based on their ability to understand the complexity of certain doctrines. They think of the intellect as separate from the flesh, and thus become incapable of touching Christ’s suffering flesh in others, locked up as they are in an encyclopedia of abstractions. In the end, by disembodying the mystery, they prefer ‘a God without Christ, a Christ without the Church, a Church without her people.’”

In other words, Gnostics are those who may be knowledgeable about the faith but whose deeds and behavior are inconsistent for they are devoid of true charity. Their knowledge and special experiences are more for themselves and not at the service of God and others.

Pelagianism, on the other hand, is the belief that holiness can be achieved exclusively through man’s effort alone, without any divine help. This goes against what St. Paul said that everything, especially holiness itself, “depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who shows mercy.” (Rom 9,16)

Not that human will and exertion are irrelevant in the pursuit of holiness and everything that is good and proper to us. They are indispensable, but only as means, evidence, and consequence of the working of God’s grace and his mercy.

Pelagians are those who may be doing a lot of practices of piety --like being active in church activities, joining religious processions, and other forms of popular piety-- but still fail to be with God, to be consistent in charity in their life.

Their practices of piety are more a matter of performance, and not as a means to be with God and to be truly God-like as we are meant to be. A Pelagian spirituality often insists on the performance of these practices of piety without checking if indeed these practices lead one to God.

We have to be wary of these travesties, perversions and distortions of the truth about sanctity. They can be marketed by those inside the church who actually are wolves in sheep’s clothing or devils dressed as angels of light.