JW asks: "
I have a friend who is seeing a Rubenfeld Synergy practitioner (Synergist) for pain relief. I've expressed my concern that it sounds New Age to me. She assures me that it is not New Age but a form of Touch/Talk therapy. Could you give me some insight into this and let me know if it is something I should avoid?"
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SH writes: "I really enjoy wind chimes. I had some friends of my sister who are Christian (non-Catholic) visit me and they told me I should get rid of them because they are used by witches and occults to draw in bad spirits. I would like to know if that is so."
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As all regular readers of this blog know, we get many questions about children's books in which the characters use sorcery in one way or another. In an effort to help Christian parents learn how to discern whether or not this content is suitable for their children, I would like to post insights from Michael O'Brien's book,
Harry Potter and the Paganization of Culture (
www.studioobrien.com) which I hope you'll find useful.
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The month of August saw two significant court victories dealing with religious liberty; a case involving a Catholic school employee who was terminated after he entered a same-sex union, and a Catholic health care network that was being forced to perform abortions and gender reassignment surgery against their religious beliefs. In both cases, the courts decided in favor of protecting religious freedom.
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EG writes:
"I am willing to accept that the 12 step programs are new age with the "God as you understand him" placed in the steps. My husband got over an addiction to alcohol in 1981 through Alcoholic Anonymous and remained sober till his death in 1998....One of the things I have noticed is that the program members are getting involved in the "Course in Miracles", and I know of members who are starting Self Help Seminar programs that are using some AA materials but without "that god stuff". Could I get some clarification on this as I find it confusing."
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Lori McClintock, the 61-year-old wife of U.S. Rep. Tom McClintock, died from dehydration due to gastroenteritis that was caused by “adverse effects of white mulberry leaf ingestion.”
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VR writes: "
I have been getting homeopathy treatment from a chiropractor using Auricular Medicine. It is a bio-energetic medicine testing protocol that enables them to objectively determine which homeopathics are appropriate (and not appropriate) for each patient. Is this New Age medicine?"
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Photo by Elia Pellegrini on Unsplash
JJ writes: "I have a friend and practicing Catholic who has found healing from a medical medium. Even though the Church condemns mediumship, she believes that because she was healed, that it must be of God because Satan cannot heal. I haven't had any luck researching this on my own, but can Satan provide healing as part of his deception?"
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(Department of Defense photo by Marvin Lynchard, courtesy of Wikicommons)
Down on his luck and on the verge of suicide, actor Shia LaBeouff stunned both Hollywood and the Catholic Church last week when he announced his conversion to Catholicism while playing the role of St. Pio of Pietrelcina in an upcoming film – an event he referred to as the result of some very unexpected “celestial mathematics.”
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AP writes: "
A friend of mine from work, Chris, is a practicing Catholic with 5 children. Before marriage, he was even in the seminary. He is very orthodox. He also happens to have a number of black belts in all sorts of martial arts. I have two teenage daughters and and a 11 year old son. I want them to be able to protect themselves, especially when they go off to college. Last night, Chris came over and gave us family Karate lessons. I thought it was wonderful. The stretching and exercising were great. He talked about the Eucharist. The only thing that was a little bizarre is that in Okinawan Karate, and I think other Karate, they bow when they enter the dojo. . .
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