The new paganism or how to succeed in this life

Forgive me for not posting for ages...but that's me with a new toy. So what do I have to say?  I was invited to contribute to a book on biz strategy, not because I am an expert but because I am a potential customer for some new training program. I have taken some marketing courses in order to promote my novels. Now, I am being asked to sign up for something new...it never stops.  However, I might follow this through, (without any dollars upfront) in order to alert people to the new paganism that disguises itself as 'self realization' or 'achieving your goals'.

There are quite a number of sincere people who believe these things and genuinely care about others and are not pagans simply to make a pile of bucks. They do want you to be successful in business and in your personal life. They believe we succeed in biz by helping others. I can't disagree with that.


Some, who consider themselves Christians, would be shocked at these words: but true faith in Christ is not based on the gospel of wealth and health or on being successful in life. To believe this is pagan not Christian.


Contrary to Christianity, the new paganism is a life based on a life goal that is seen as the maximum satisfaction of all our so-called natural needs - what St John calls the lusts of the flesh... This kind of life-style is usually expressed through a broad moral freedom and is based on a belief that man is by nature spiritually sound. We only need the appropriate material and social conditions of life, and opportunities for self-realization.

The true Christian teaching about corrupt human nature and the need to purify it is totally foreign to new paganism. Today's pagans are fully satisfied with the present state of human nature, and therefore seek only "wealth" and "success".


It is difficult for us to find a balance between secular ambition and our loyalty to Christ. It is only through purification of heart, as the Fathers say, that we can begin to grow back into the likeness of God, which our ancestors lost.