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Old Errors and New Labels

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This book, the author wrote in 1931, is an attempt to judge contemporary ideas in the field of morals, religion, science, evolution, sociology, psychology and humanism in the light of the philosophical daylight called 'common sense.' If at times it criticizes certain views on the grounds of their unreasonableness, it does so to prepare for a view which seems more reasonable. If at other times it shows that what is wrong with a certain philosophical outlook is an emphasis on a part against the whole, it does so in order to suggest a view that is more catholic in the sense of being the whole truth. There is little sympathy in these pages for those who believe that everything modern is good, or that everything modern is bad. The remarkable -- if unsettling -- discovery is that seventy-five years later, Bishop Sheen's challenge o tired old errors still finds some of them huffing and puffing under entirely new garb.

222 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1931

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About the author

Fulton J. Sheen

491 books727 followers
Fulton John Sheen was an American bishop of the Catholic Church known for his preaching and especially his work on television and radio. Ordained a priest of the Diocese of Peoria in Illinois, in 1919, Sheen quickly became a renowned theologian, earning the Cardinal Mercier Prize for International Philosophy in 1923. He went on to teach theology and philosophy at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. and served as a parish priest before he was appointed auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York in 1951. He held this position until 1966 when he was made bishop of the Diocese of Rochester in New York. He resigned as bishop of Rochester in 1969 as his 75th birthday approached and was made archbishop of the titular see of Newport, Wales.
For 20 years as "Father Sheen", later monsignor, he hosted the night-time radio program The Catholic Hour on NBC (1930–1950) before he moved to television and presented Life Is Worth Living (1952–1957). Sheen's final presenting role was on the syndicated The Fulton Sheen Program (1961–1968) with a format that was very similar to that of the earlier Life Is Worth Living show. For that work, Sheen twice won an Emmy Award for Most Outstanding Television Personality, and was featured on the cover of Time magazine. Starting in 2009, his shows were being re-broadcast on the EWTN and the Trinity Broadcasting Network's Church Channel cable networks. His contribution to televised preaching resulted in Sheen often being called one of the first televangelists.
The cause for his canonization was officially opened in 2002. In June 2012, Pope Benedict XVI officially recognized a decree from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints stating that he lived a life of "heroic virtues," a major step towards beatification, and he is now referred to as venerable. On July 5, 2019, Pope Francis approved a reputed miracle that occurred through the intercession of Sheen, clearing the way for his beatification. Sheen was scheduled to be beatified in Peoria on December 21, 2019, but his beatification was postponed after Bishop Salvatore Matano of Rochester expressed concern that Sheen's handling of a 1963 sexual misconduct case against a priest might be cited unfavorably in a forthcoming report from the New York Attorney General. The Diocese of Peoria countered that Sheen's handling of the case had already been "thoroughly examined" and "exonerated" and that Sheen had "never put children in harm's way".

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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
Profile Image for Martin.
5 reviews
August 23, 2015
In only three words? A MUST READ.

There are perhaps few who could claim to have made a masterpiece in their lifetime, and even less who can claim to have made two or three more. Venerable Fulton J. Sheen is one of these few greats.

First published in Written in 1931, 'Old Errors and New Labels' is one example of how prophetic Fulton Sheen can be. As you read on, you'll see why you'd be forgiven for thinking this book was written in 2014, not 1931.

This is perhaps the second or third time I've encountered Sheen's direct and prophetic style in the first opening pages of the book. With the Chapter 'The Decline of controversy' describing the decline of Reason which aims to snuff out the light by which we search for Truth in public debate. It is often joked, in the early beginnings of man that we started posting pictures on walls in scrawled unintelligible messages and developed language to it's highest peak, only to devolve back into posting unintelligible messages and pictures on walls again, albeit on Facebook.

On that note, his chapter on Cosmic intimidation puts right the often posted images online that argues due to the size of heavenly bodies in our universe, we are relatively insignificant in the grand scheme of things (if atheism could bring it self to use the term scheme), instead correcting it and pointing it in the right direction. How he does that you'll have to find out.

His chapters on 'Agnosticism' and The 'Theism of Atheism' are also a must read. And the chapter on The Philosophy of charity is a wake-up call, and is perhaps as some readers in the US might be thinking right now, prophetic.

These are but a few of the chapters that caught my eye. The book is so typically Sheen, clear, solid, charming and witty. It's no wonder that there is a cause for his Canonization, and it is especially not surprising this man was at least Declared Venerable. We need the wonderful and enchanting voice of this man to ring out once more.

I highly recommend this book, it's a must-read. If you haven't already, the next book that would compliment this wonderful text would be Fulton Sheens 'Your Life is Worth Living' and 'Life is Worth Living'. After that 'The Life of Christ' just to name a few. (Listing these not in order of greatness, but of necessity to understand clearly the Rationality of the Catholic Faith)

Buy it, read it, re-read it. Study it. Get this wisdom in your veins. It is a wonderful book.
Profile Image for Sarah Cain.
Author 1 book15 followers
May 30, 2022
This book was actually first published in the 1930s, and as you read it, it seems as though it could have been written yesterday. I suppose that gives further weight to its title. It's such an amazing book. I made tons of highlights that I have since published to Goodreads but I would implore all to read it to understand the errors of "scientism" in the modern world and the heralding of man above God as we see in the various forms of modernism. It's written in a compelling style that's addicting rather than being dull as some might expect from a religious text.
Profile Image for Fr. Ryan Humphries.
78 reviews31 followers
June 1, 2014
A must read. In these short essays, the venerable Archbishop brings his unique depth and simplicity to the great questions of the day with surprising accuracy - considering the book was first published in 1931. Everything from paganism to scientism to homosexuality and laziness is addressed. The essay on education is top notch - all of my teachers will be reading it at the beginning of the coming year. Just amazing!
Profile Image for Mitch.
85 reviews
November 11, 2014
Overview of reoccurring social ideas and thoughts that happen in every age and take a new name each time they arise.
Profile Image for Karolina Osewska.
339 reviews5 followers
January 3, 2025
Filozoficzne rozważania

Arcybiskup Fulton John Sheen – amerykański duchowny katolicki, birytualista, biskup pomocniczy Nowego Jorku, biskup Rochesteru i arcybiskup tytularny Newport oraz tercjarz dominikański.

Rozgłos zyskał jako kaznodzieja, rekolekcjonista i nauczyciel prowadząc od 1930 r. audycję radiową, której słuchały 4 mln Amerykanów. Głośne były nawrócenia ważnych osobistości pod wpływem jego nauk radiowych.

W 1951 roku rozpoczął cykl cotygodniowych programów telewizyjnych pod tytułem Life is Worth Living, które stały się popularne. Był to cykl wykładów na różne tematy prowadzone przez biskupa na żywo. Program powstawał w latach 1951–1957 i 1961–1968.

Do końca życia znany był jako płomienny mówca, a kazania, które głosił, przyciągały tłumy. Zachowało się wiele nagrań z jego wystąpień. Napisał 66 książek i wiele artykułów.

Przez świętego Papieża Jana Pawła II został nazwany podczas jego wizyty w Nowym Jorku w październiku 1979 roku „wiernym synem Kościoła”.
Od czerwca 2012 roku przysługuje mu tytuł: Czcigodny Sługa Boży.

"Nowe stare błędy" to doprawdy ciekawa lektura, ale tylko dla tych, którzy lubią podczas czytania zastanowić się nad czytanym tekstem i porozmyślać. Idealna książka dla tych, którzy lubią filozofię i niestraszna im lektura z rozważaniami filozoficznymi, wymagającymi skupienia i cierpliwości.

Lektura książki arcybiskupa Sheena była dla mnie niemałym wyzwaniem i jestem z siebie dumna, że nie podałam się i przeczytałam ją w całości i odkryłam wiele pięknych cytatów, które poruszają serce i zmuszają do zastanowienia się nad życiem i współczesnym obrazem świata. Przytaczam kilka z nich, by podzielić się z Wami ich głębią i zachęcić w ten sposób do sięgnięcia po tę książkę.

"(...) co świat nazywa nowoczesnym, w rzeczywistości jest bardzo stare – a to znaczy, że nowoczesność jest tylko nową nazwą dawnych błędów."

" Nie może istnieć wszechświat bez Boga, bo nie mógłby on znieść żalu wynikającego z faktu, że nie zna swojego Autora i swojej Pierwszej Przyczyny. Nie może też istnieć bezbożna ludzkość, bo nie mogłaby ona znieść ciężaru swojego serca. Dlatego zawsze jest mi żal ateistów, którzy nigdy nie będą mogli powiedzieć na pożegnanie: „Bóg z tobą!”."

" Wielu współczesnych kaznodziejów jest mniej zainteresowanych głoszeniem Chrystusa ukrzyżowanego niż swoją popularnością w kongregacji."

" Prawdzie można zaprzeczać tysiąc razy, ale to dowodzi tylko, że jest ona wystarczająco silna, aby przetrwać tysiąc ataków."

" Obecnie wielu najbardziej znanych kaznodziejów głosi tylko apoteozę humanizmu, a bardzo niewielu ma odwagę mówić o Bożej sprawiedliwości czy karze za grzechy."

" Dokonawszy tego podziału, nowe pogaństwo natychmiast odrzuca lepszą połowę i prowadzi gorsze życie z drugą. Dlatego obecnie istnieje religia bez Boga, chrześcijaństwo bez Chrystusa, psychologia bez duszy."

" Współcześni poganie również znajdują boga, a tym bogiem jest człowiek."

" Kiedy ludzie przestają wierzyć w Boga, państwo staje się bogiem."

" Prześladowania są formą społecznego sadyzmu, w ramach którego społeczeństwo – podobnie jak wypaczona jednostka – czerpie przyjemność z zadawania bólu."

" Człowiek staje się zatem mostem łączącym królestwo czystej materii z królestwem czystego ducha."

" Rodin twierdzi, że religia to fundament sztuki."

Jak widzicie książka jest pełna przepięknych myśli i warto ją poznać. Ale polecam ją tym, których intryguje filozofia i są cierpliwi i potrafią skupić się podczas lektury 😉

A za możliwość poznania jednego z dzieł arcybiskupa Sheena dziękuję wydawnictwu W drodze.
Profile Image for Helen.
334 reviews18 followers
April 28, 2019
Utterly prophetic! I highlighted many things, some visible on goodreads and some not, and will be going back over them again. I highly recommend this book. Any review I could write wouldn’t do it justice.
Profile Image for JessicaPJ.
65 reviews1 follower
March 25, 2022
What a great read. I had to keep reminding myself it was written in 1931, everything was still very relevant in 2022. If only we starting straightening our path then we wouldn’t have so far to go now.
Profile Image for Eduardo Garcia-Gaspar.
295 reviews10 followers
December 7, 2019
Con un estilo elegante, a veces complicado, publicado en 1931, el autor presenta una evaluación de «ideas contemporáneas en el campo moral, religión, ciencia, evolución, sociología, psicología y humanismo» usando un enfoque de sentido común.
Con eso intenta mostrar que lo que «a menudo es llamado "moderno" es solamente una nueva etiqueta de un error viejo y lo que es calificado como "pasado su tiempo" es en realidad "más allá del tiempo" y fuera de modas, como la verdad y la tabla de multiplicar».
Con este enfoque trata temas como el agnosticismo, el ateísmo, el conductismo y otros muchos temas, como las declaraciones teológicas de A. Einstein y la noción de la tolerancia. En fin, un festín de sentido común que apunta con precisión esos errores viejos bajo el disfraz de nuevos nombres.
Habiendo sido obispo católico, Sheen incluye amplios comentarios pertinentes sobre la religión en cada tema, mostrando una inteligencia fuera de serie.
Muy recomendable para quienes se precian ahora de ser políticamente incorrectos. Más el hecho de haber sido escrito hace muchas décadas, lejos de empobrecer al libro, lo hace aún más interesante.
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