A warning against the danger of delusion

To the editor:
As a personal object lesson, I will now share a tragic tale based on 2 Thessalonians 2:12 "That
they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."
Many years ago, I had a great-aunt by a second marriage who had been born in the old country
of Czechoslovakia. As a little girl, she was a member of the Hitler Youth. Alarmingly, despite all
the irrefutable evidence of crimes against humanity, my elderly aunt still claimed that Hitler was
a savior... the greatest gift Germany had ever given the world. She ferociously defended this
devilish opinion all the way to her grave.
With great consternation, I ask, "How can a person who lived through the horrors of World War II
be so utterly blind to undeniable truth?"
Sadly, we currently have an identical situation unfolding before our faces, and I desperately
wonder about the deceived mob, "How can they avert their eyes from truth to embrace a brazen
lie?"
I think the answer has something to do with pride, but no ordinary pride since this extreme,
personal trait verges on arrogance... similar to my Czechoslovakian aunt.
In recent years, I have voted for an individual three times... to my shame. I use the word
"shame" because I now know the truth and am not too proud to admit my error of previously
being deceived. I realize now that I would have spent my time better praying at home rather
than going to the polls. My heart breaks to think of the vile crimes this person has committed

against innocence while hiding behind Christ's Cross to deceive ignorant, naive members of the
Church! He is akin to Antichrist.
With each new evil revelation of the man's secret nature, his deceived supporters love him more
and more... which brings us back to the type of pride which verges on personal arrogance! My
elderly aunt could not abandon her childhood adoration of Hitler without admitting that her entire
life was built on a horrible lie. Thus, her desperate defense of the latter was more vitally dear
than her initial conviction in the former. By trading the old monster for truth, she would lose
herself in the bargain.
As St. Paul wrote about the supreme lie embodied by Antichrist (2 Thessalonians 2:4-9), the
apostle referred to the outcome of deceived individuals in verses 10-12, "They perish because
they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason, God sends them a powerful
delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed
the truth but have delighted in wickedness."
By defending a wicked man, we also delight in his wickedness. Not only will deception kill, but it
will also doom our souls to Hell.

Sadly yours,
Edwin Woolsey
Willow Springs