Would-be Mystic -- Aspiring Iconoclast -- Anticipating Rapture
Captivated by Mystery-- Called by Christ
When I was very young, maybe younger than 10 years old. I found a book at our public library. Inside were the most bizarre pictures I had ever seen-- multi-faced, human-animal hybrids, covered in scales, with extra limbs, wielding weapons atop granite shrines. It was a children's book on world deities. I was shocked. I was raised Christian, and I knew people worshiped other gods. Still, I never imagined they would look so bizarre, even grotesque. Even so, I was not repulsed. In fact, I was fascinated.
I might have delved into the world of exotic religions if my parents weren't devoted Christians. Anything that had to do with demons, witchcraft, paganism, and similar topics were so taboo I didn't even consider reading more, with or without permission. We didn't go trick-or-treating, no Buffy the Vampire Slayer, no Sabrina the Teenage Witch-- even the Teenage Mutant Ninja were considered abominations in our house.
"Today, we'll paint-Beelzebub-by- numbers! Take out your blood-red Crayloas!"
In the Furnace of Academia -- Scorched, but not Consumed
I was sheltered from overtly demonic media. But, as my father taught me, the Devil leads us astray by degrees, not an abrupt about-face. My faith was most harshly tested in my public school. The combined forces of conformity, scientism, and relativism buffeted my sails in the public classrooms. By the time I graduated from university, I was far off course.
Thankfully, God came for me out of the clouds, in the eye of the storm. In the wake of personal tragedy, for an entire week, God was so present with me I can only describe the experience by saying that it was like living with a ghost. After that time, I have never doubted that He is real and He is not silent.
Bearing a Cross -- Spoiling for a Fight
The Templar knights were burned at the stake for worshiping false gods. If Christ were subtracted from life, I believe I'd be a mystic, a gnostic, or an occultist-- some tradition which reveres both the spiritual and intellectual dimensions. Though Christ lives in me, I still have a passion for learning from every source. Like how Paul quoted pagan poetry to reach the pagans, believers can profit from reading "You've been smoking too much weed, worldly literature with a righteous John." heart. If I had known about classical education earlier, I probably would have sought a degree in the classics. Now, I feel called to lend my talents to the classical education movement. The words "Templar Fidelis" make me think of the kind of man I want to become, and the kind of men I want to see more of in the world. The Templars of legend honored God, recognized right and wrong, and offered up their lives to protect the church. I imagine that if the accusations of idolatry were true, and if I were among them, I would have been a faithful Templar, uncorrupted, devoted to working good in the midst of evil. The tide of malevolence the Templars battled against has certainly not turned back, not at the doors of our schools or anywhere else.
"Few scholars refute the importance of St. Thomas Aquinas's academic feats, though some doubt the historicity of his hydra-slaying rapid-fire goose-quill laser pen."
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