Psychology of truth and psychology of lies (Part 1)
Lvov, 29 December 2011
Psychology is the science about the soul (Greek: psyche = soul, logos = word, science). True psychology is to explain the true nature of the human soul. The basic truth is that the spiritual nature of man – the human soul (spirit) – is immortal, death does not put an end to it.
The soul longs for happiness, the good and the truth. Man does not have just a physical body like animals but has an immortal immaterial soul, and thus resembles God who is Spirit. Among the powers of the soul belong the mind, the will and the senses. The human soul is paralyzed by spiritual infection that causes disharmony. This legacy of broken human nature has its origin in the sin of the first man. This first sin consisted in unbelief and disobedience to God’s command. The first man believed a lie and through this false belief the human nature opened to the spirit of lie and death. Man, though eager for the knowledge of truth, hates to hear the truth about himself and believes self-deception. Although he has a natural desire for the good in his soul, he does evil; although he desires happiness, he himself is the cause of his own unhappiness. Deep in the soul there is a longing for God who created it. If man does good, the voice of conscience brings peace and harmony into his heart. If man does evil, disharmony arises in his soul and remorse and depression come.
The meaning of life and the meaning of suffering
The meaning of life is to seek the truth and eternal values, to respect the spiritual – divine laws, and by our spirit, which is in the depths of the soul, to enter into communion with God already here on earth. The human spirit longs for God. St. Augustine says: “You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our heart (spirit) is restless until it rests in You.” No created thing or being can fill the human soul with true happiness. The soul longs for its Creator, for the communion with God through pure love – agape. Wealth, physical pleasures, food, sexuality, alcohol or drugs will not make anyone happy, rather the contrary. There comes addiction, spiritual bondage and deep depression. True peace and happiness is only in God.
One knows that life is short and that one will soon face the reality of death. Jesus says: “Seek first the kingdom of God” (Mt 6:33) and: “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” (Mt 25:13) “It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.” (Heb 9:27) And after the judgement? “Some will go into eternal life and others will go away to eternal torment.” (cf. Mt 25:41f) Both of them are eternal.
Human life is a period of time when man is free to decide whether he will accept or reject the eternal life which is in God.
Man has free will and can choose whether to open to the vanity, i.e. a deception, false good and false happiness, or whether to seek eternal values already here on earth. The human soul was affected by sin – it is the mystery of evil – but God’s grace abounded all the more – the mystery of God’s love in Jesus Christ. “God so loved the world, that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” (Jn 3:16) The condition on our part is to accept Jesus as our Saviour by faith. This acceptance is associated with the confession of our sins and faith in Jesus as our Saviour. This is the basic truth of the Gospel: Jesus, the Only Begotten Son of God, died for me and for my sins. By His resurrection on the third day He gave evidence that He is true God and that His Gospel is true. Coming out of the system of lie and evil, bringing your sins to the light of God and receiving Jesus by faith is called metanoia – a change of thinking, or repentance (cf. Mk 1:15). Through repentance one receives Jesus and becomes adoptive child of God. “To all who did receive him, He gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12) Then starts the process of spiritual liberation which is associated with the life of faith and the loss of one’s soul: “Whoever loses his soul (psyche) for My sake and the Gospel’s will save it for eternity.” (Mk 8:35) Losing the soul for Christ’s sake is a process. This loss takes place particularly in the interior prayer. It is an act of absolute commitment to God by fulfilling the First Commandment: to love God with all our heart, with all our soul and with all our strength (Mk 12:30). In this act of commitment and pure love the soul experiences supreme peace and true happiness. The moment of the loss of one’s soul for Christ’s sake is associated with the separation of one’s spirit from the riches of the soul, which is expressed in the first beatitude: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 5:3) This means to separate by will from false values and visions which do not allow man to fulfil the will of God. In this inner prayer before God’s face, one is experiencing with one’s whole being a petition from the Our Father: “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” God can then use the one united to Him to work miracles. Saints, martyrs, and especially the apostle Paul are an example for us in the following of Christ and life in unity with Him. This process of purification and formation of Christ in us is the work of the Spirit of God. Jesus said: “When the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will be My witnesses.” This is no symbol but the real working of the Spirit of God who manifests Himself through special charismata (cf. 1Cor 12:4ff).
To be a witness to Christ means to be ready to endure humiliation, persecution and even death for Christ’s sake. Millions of Christians have borne this testimony. The essence of eternal life is that the soul is always in an interior communion with God. God’s Word says that we are God’s children and heirs of God’s kingdom. St. Athanasius (4th cent.) expresses it: “God became man so that man might become God” (an adoptive son of God).
If man remains in his selfishness, rejects God and seeks false ways to attain perfection, he, in fact, develops his mind. There is a difference between the natural and spiritual person. The natural person develops his ego; the spiritual man is united to God Himself.
The human heart is engaged in a mental and spiritual struggle. The soul can become united to false spirituality, so-called occultism, which has its strength in magic, divination and spiritualism. This demonic spirituality, which works through these three basic channels, then gets embodied in human soul. Through various Oriental meditations, gender-gay ideology, lie, evil, immorality, the soul opens to demonic spirituality. Such people are influenced and inspired by demonic energies which spread evil through them massively. These are mostly various philosophers, demagogues and ideologues, gurus and other seducers of humanity.
The greatest value is eternal life. God’s Word says: “Whoever has the Son of God has eternal life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” (1Jn 5:10-13) Since every man is inclined to evil which disrupts the human psyche, a number of wars, murders, torturing and other crimes have taken place throughout the human history. Healthy spiritual hygiene for human soul is the adoption of moral and spiritual principles that are rooted in the living faith in the Son of God, the Saviour, and in His Gospel. The one who receives Christ must then fight for the rest of his life with lies and evil which is in him and in the world. Evil and lies are like weeds; the good and the truth must be defended even at the cost of threats, ridicule or violence. Jesus said: “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” (Mk 8:36)
Every man will face death and then eternity. Man influenced by sin does not want to think of this most basic reality, and likewise the world mocks and ignores this truth in order to keep the souls in indifference, darkness and spiritual sleep to their own detriment.
The spiritual man, who is born of God through faith, has received the Spirit of truth and tries to walk in truth, is exposed to great pressures of his environment which hates the truth and does not want to hear it nor allow others to preach the Gospel’s truth of salvation to mankind.
As for evangelical psychology, it is a truthful revealing of the source of spiritual infection and of the causes of wounds on the soul. It is a life-long process of internal purification and healing, the essence of which is inner unity with Christ. The process of purification of one’s soul, which takes place through this unity, at the same time requires respect for sound principles that are given to us in the Gospel. The substantial thing is to put them into practice. Academic Christianity will not save anyone. Jesus emphasizes the realization – the practice of the Word of God. He stresses many times that salvation is for those who hear the Word of God and keep it (Mt 7:24, Lk 11:28). This process of purification, of the following of Christ, is associated with the elementary step, namely with renunciation of self, i.e. of one’s mental ambitions and even of one’s own will for the sake of God’s will. This is also expressed in the petition from the Our Father – “Thy will be done!” (Mt 6:10).
+ Elijah
Patriarch of the Byzantine Catholic Patriarchate
+ Timothy OSBMr + Methodius OSBMr
Secretary Bishops
Cc:
– President of Ukraine V. Yanukovych
– Members of Parliament of Ukraine
– Presidents of the CoE Member States
– Members of the European Parliament
– Russian Duma
– U.S. Congress
– Representatives of Christian Churches
– World mass media
