THEOSISVissarion (Nechaev)
You have compiled the transgressions of Manasseh by your will, establishing as abominations desires and multiplying, O soul, actions that incite divine wrath. Manasseh ascended the throne in Judah after his father, King Hezekiah. While the father was righteous, the son was corrupt. Manasseh obliterated all that his father Hezekiah had accomplished in the pursuit of authentic faith. He reinstated the worship of Baal and Astarte, which his unrighteous grandfather Ahaz had introduced, offered human sacrifices to Moloch in the valley of Gehenna, paid homage to the celestial bodies, and engaged in sorcery. Moreover, he was a ruthless oppressor of the faithful; under his command, the prophet Isaiah, who condemned his iniquities, was sawed in half with a wooden saw.
Read more (152 words)
Regrettably, Christians can fall into similar depravity, when they, following their own unjust whims, substitute passions for worship, leading them to multiply actions that oppose God, becoming increasingly entrenched in wickedness. Self-gratification leads them deeper into selfishness; their attachment to figures like entertainers and performers diminishes their human dignity and enslaves them to idolatry. An obsession with worldly amusements fosters indifference, if not hostility, towards living in accordance with the Church's teachings. A fixation on material possessions leads them to disregard integrity and conscience.
In some, faith in God and trust in Him have become so feeble that they resort to forms of sorcery that similarly disgraced Manasseh. Any attempt to rebuke those who emulate him is often met with hatred, as they would resort to the same cruelty against their admonishers as Manasseh did to Isaiah, ready to eradicate them if not restrained by the fear of earthly judgment and consequences.