Sin CanNot Separate You From God? Modernism On The Runway!

 

The Modernist cleric coating  his errors in novelty and ambiguity, with an appearance of  Catholic authority... Blind, Misled, Misleading... 

Preamble:

Any informed Catholic knows that listening to Protestant preaching endangers faith, which is a theological virtue that must be protected and nourished by truth, not error. Even if a Protestant sermon seems "inspiring," it may contain subtle doctrinal errors which distort or undermine Catholic truth. Therefore it is forbidden, under the pain of sin, for Catholics to listen to protestant sermons.

This applies also to the preaching of   modernist clerics. Indeed, a Modernist cleric does more harm than a Protestant, because he does so under the guise of Catholic authority,  using ambiguous language to cloak heresy.

As a matter of fact, Catholics, especially the poorly catechized, are more likely to be misled by a Modernist than by a Protestant.

Now, a sermon by a popular Modernist cleric which I saw advertised on the news feed of my Facebook page few days ago is a classic example of how poorly catechized Catholics are easy preys to Modernist novelty, ambiguity and insidious sophisms. 

The Sermon Under Catholic Spotlight 

The sermon in question was delivered and posted by a Modernist cleric named "Fr." John Oluoma. The whole sermon can be listened to here with caution, of course. The key points in the sermon are as follows:

1. Sin does not, cannot, separate you from God. 
2. A proof for this is that God does not treat sinners differently from the righteous.
3. Another proof is that God is everywhere, and you will always be in the same location in reference to God.
4. Another proof is that Jesus did not separate himself from sinners but mixed with them.
5. Sin "disconnects" you from God even though you remain in the same location. 
6. Sin cannot separate you from God because Jesus has paid the price for sin.
7. Once you find your location in Christ it is impossible to be separated from God.

Anyone with an informed Catholic common sense would, by a native instinct, perceive the errors inherent in these points. 

While the feedback from his poorly catechized immediate audience tells how deeply impressed they were with his supposedly clever exposition, the feedback from his online audience is a rather mixed bag of criticisms and adulations. And his attempt to refute certain critics both betrayed the disposition of a wounded pride and failed to free him from the quicksand of error where he is philosophically and theologically "located".

A Catholic Analysis

1. "Fr." Oluoma claims "Sin cannot separate you from God but only disconnects you."

This is ambiguous, erroneous and doctrinally misleading. It redefines sin as psychological rather than moral. The statement minimizes the gravity of mortal sin.

Saying sin “cannot separate” but “disconnects” is a novelty that confuses objective doctrinal categories and contradicts Scripture:

 “But your iniquities have separated you from your God...”— Isaiah 59:2

Catholic teaching is that Mortal sin truly separates the soul from God by destroying sanctifying grace (Catechism of Trent, II). This is not merely subjective; it is a real rupture in the soul’s union with God, a separation. 

2. "Fr." Oluoma claims that "God does not treat sinners differently from the righteous, therefore sin does not separate."

This, again, is an error; an insidious sophistry: it denies divine justice and judgment.

Catholic teaching is that God loves all, but He rewards the just and punishes the wicked (Romans 2:6–10). Mortal sin makes the soul an enemy of God (James 4:4).

3. "Fr." Oluoma claims that "Since God is everywhere, you’re never separated from Him."

This is sorely erroneous. It confuses God's omnipresence with His indwelling by grace.

Catholic teaching is that God is present everywhere by essence, but He dwells in the soul only through grace (John 14:23). Sin drives Him from the soul (Wisdom 1:4–5); mortal sin separates Him from the soul.

4. According to "Fr." Oluoma, "Jesus mixed with sinners, so sin cannot separate you from God."

This is another error. It must be noted that Christ sought sinners to convert them, not to affirm them in sin.

Catholic teaching is that Christ’s mercy is for repentance. He said: “Go, and sin no more” (John 8:11). Sin offends Him and separates the soul from His friendship (Isaiah 59:2).

5. According to "Fr." Oluoma, "Because Jesus paid the price, sin can’t separate you from God."

This error denies the need for cooperation with grace and repentance. It makes believe that Christ made salvation automatic. 

But, Catholic teaching is that Christ made salvation possible but not automatic. And that Redemption is applied through the sacraments and moral conversion. Christ’s merits do not override free will or moral responsibility (Council of Trent, Sess. VI, can. 30). 

Mortal sin destroys sanctifying grace and separates from God. 

 “If any one says that the grace of justification is not lost through mortal sin… let him be anathema.”— Council of Trent, Session VI, Canon 23

6.  "Fr." Oluoma claims that "Once you find your location in Christ, you can’t be separated from God."

This is another blatant error. It presumes eternal security, a Protestant heresy. It is a refined version of dabbling Damina's "saved, sanctified, perfected forever" or the classic "once saved, always saved" scam. 

Catholic teaching is that  a soul in grace can fall by mortal sin. “He who thinks he stands, let him take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor. 10:12). Salvation requires perseverance (Matthew 24:13).

More so, his comments on the "elder son" in the parable of the Prodigal son does serious violence to it: twisting the parable; equating sin with a lack of emotional awareness, not with moral offense. 

The Root Cause

One would wonder, how could a less than eight minutes sermon be saturated with that number of errors? The answer is to be found in their root cause. 

All the erroneous claims arise from the Modernist error of reducing sin and grace to subjective experience, feelings, or relational states. 

"Fr." Oluoma manifests himself a true product of a Modernist-dressed-as-Catholic seminary. He makes his modernist masters really proud. How pitiful those who think him as teaching with Catholic authority! How sad! Blind, Misled Misleading... 

Summing Up: Evidence In The Pudding

From the list of errors contained in "Fr" Oluoma's sermon titled "Sin Cannot Separate You From God", could anyone dispute how dangerous it is for those not properly catechized to listen to the sermons of  Modernist clerics or any other protestant? 

He categorically and emphatically teaches that "sin cannot separate you from God" while posing as a Catholic Priest and one teaching with Catholic authority.

Meanwhile, the Traditional Catholic Faith teaches that:

• Mortal sin truly separates the soul from God (not metaphorically).
• Grace is objective and sacramental, not merely emotional.
• Union with God requires repentance, faith, charity, and obedience to His commandments.

Yes.

• Listening to Protestant sermons is objectively sinful, gravely dangerous, and forbidden.
• Listening to sermons by Modernist clerics, who preach errors under the guise of Catholicism, is likewise forbidden and may be an even greater danger to the faith.
• The faithful have a duty to avoid doctrinal corruption, guard their souls, and hold fast to the unchanging truths taught by the Church since Apostolic times.