Paolo Coelho The Pilgrimage
My brother-in-law read this book and then went to travel the Road to Campostela with his wife.
He raved about Paolo Coelho and how poetic he is and the descriptions of northern Spain, and over the years, I've heard about Coelho and how wonderful a poet it is and yes, he has a wonderful way with words, is obviously highly intelligent, and a gifted storyteller
... he's obviously also a Satanist.
And this is a Satanic book.
Now, don't get all bent out of shape, Liberals! And don't get all frothy, Conservatives! I'm not saying that this is one of those books books that comes right out and says, "OK Kiddoes, let's all worship the Dark Lord!" ... because it's not.
In fact, there is a lot in this book that is a factual observation of humanity.
For example, during the prayer of Coelho's guide on page 152:
"Pity those who eat and drink and sate themselves, but are unhappy in their satiety. But pity even more those who fast, and who censure and prohibit, and who thereby see themselves as saints, preaching your name in the streets. For neither of these types of people know thy law that says, 'If I bear witness to myself, my witness is not true."
and (page 153):
"Pity those who reduce the cosmos to an explanation, God to a magic potion, and humanity to beings with basic needs that must be satisfied, because they never hear the music of the spheres. But have even more pity on those who have blind faith, and who in their laboratories transform mercury into gold, and who are surrounded by their books about the secret of the Tarot and the power of the pyramids. Neither of those kinds of people know thy law that says, 'Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.'"
And I must admit, one of the last lines that struck me described me a bit TOO perfectly:
"...people who consider themselves wise are often indecisive when command is called for and rebellious when they are called on to obey. They are ashamed to give orders and consider it dishonorable to receive them."
But we must remember that Satan himself is a shrewd observer of the human spirit, and so is Coelho, and by and large, while this book describes the road to self-discovery, it is, at its core, utterly humanist. It speaks directly about self-enlightenment and self-empowerment, and while it acknowledges the beauty of God, it focuses primarily on the strength of the individual.
I had had my suspicions when, at the beginning of the travel, Coelho's guide told him that fallen angels, sometimes called demons, were merely messengers, with no true ulterior motives, and also helped the writer conjure his personal messenger. Conjuring demons for advice? Yeah ... that's frowned upon in scripture.
And then there's the dog. The dog is the real demon in this story, the one that Coelho has to fight, to gain mastery over. The demon (as a dog) even has the name Legion, and in the book IS the same named demon as is recorded in the Bible. In the scene of the "final showdown" the writer describes how Legion enters him, and then he is (by his own will and strength), able to cast Legion out.
This is completely against the teachings of Christ. When we accept Christ, we are sealed by the Holy Spirit. We belong to God. And no demon can ever enter in.
And while Paolo might not be a Christ-Follower in that sense, the one thing that God does teach us through Christ is that we human individuals have no power to fight the forces of evil on our own. In fact, ALL of Christ's teachings are that we are helpless to save ourselves and MUST rely on our Lord and Savior. Coelho's bogus poetry denies that power and this book is simply one of millions of books that teaches humans that YOU too can draw demons into your body and cast them out if you just struggle hard enough.
That, my friend, is a very Satanic way of thinking.
And again, not in the way of sacrificing animals on some altar on Halloween, but in the exaltation of the individual as God. This is ultimately what Satan tries to teach people: "You don't need God.. You ARE God."
So ... is it a well-written book? It has some nice poetic sentiments in it, but ultimately it cannot hide the ugliness of what it truly is.
But I can tell you that I probably won't be reading The Alchemist
No comments:
Post a Comment