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By Gianluigi Gugliermetto 8/15/2025 |
Having
embarked on a psychological analysis of the current world scene, I can’t avoid saying something about Donald Trump. Many professional psychologists have asserted that his words and behaviors clearly and unmistakably show that he suffers from malignant NPD (Narcissistic Personality Disorder). |
Besides confirming with a medical acronym what many of us knew already, psychologists may help us exploring the issue a bit further. Narcissism is deeply linked to shame. Obviously the current POTUS experiences no conscious shame, i.e. he constantly exhibits shameless behavior, but that is
precisely a clear indication that he hosts within his subconscious mind an enormous amount of shame. Average people feel shame when they realize that they have behaved in ways that hurt or displeased others (thus |
Full-page ad published in the New York Times by 225 mental health professionals on the dangerous psychopathology of then-candidate Trump. From George Conaway’s X feed. |
one
can also distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate shame). Emotions can escalate to feelings of guilt for repeated or intentional behaviors (again, appropriate or inappropriate “feeling bad”). Shame and guilt are matters of human life which cannot be simply eliminated. In the case of persons suffering from NPD they
are deeply repressed. If they came to light all of the sudden, being huge as they are in their case, they would destroy their minds at once. Narcissists, however, not only push such feelings down as much as they can but — unfortunately for the rest of humanity — they also project them outwards in a desperate effort to free
themselves from them. Like a rolling ball of shame running amok and continually projecting blame, Trump has not only become a liability to America, but is responsible for an enormous amount of pain and suffering inside the USA and around the world. The question then is: why? Why has the currrent political/social system
given so much power to a person who is so broken? Many people have been duped, but that does not explain the situation well enough. |
Trump denies making crass impersonation of disabled journalist. CBS News. | There must be within US society a
consistent group of narcissists who identify themselves with the behavior of their chief — they already behave like him in private, but they fantasize being him, i.e. being as destructive as he is without paying consequences. There must also be a |
consistent
group of masochists — for lack of a better term — who are so used to be mistreated by narcissists that they find a kind of perverse comfort in the nation being led by him rather than by someone who would make them think, with the risk of bringing up to consciousness their real feelings. Donald Trump is sick, but a healthy
society keeps power away from people like him. Years ago, I was alerted by my friend Fr. Richard Rubin to the dynamics of shame and guilt: how they play within individuals and groups, and how Christianity could be understood as an attempt to “lift the shame” — meaning the inappropriate kind of shame — from people’s
hearts. |
Since then, I have been testing his hypothesis, often reflecting on New Testament expressions such as “shameful death on the cross” (Hebrews 12:2). Dying on a cross in Roman times was a shameful death, without a doubt, but I am now convinced that early Christians “appropriated” such shame, meaning that they made |
The apocryphal “Acts of Peter” tell of the saint asking to be crucified head-down, feeling unworthy to die in the same manner as Jesus. “Crucifixion of St. Peter” by Luca Giordano, 1660. Wikimedia Commons. |
the shame conscious
that they felt inside as slaves or lower-class people. And then they went further. By consciously placing “the crucified” as the foundation of their community (see 1 Corinthians 1), they not only proclaimed that the most humiliated are actually worthy but they also helped lifting the excessive shame from the shoulders of
the newly converted, while the community was safely closed off to any narcissist who wandered in and attempted to project shame. I know that this combination of social and psychological realities is fundamentally the opposite that the kind of Christianity that most people have known in their lives, especially but not
exclusively in the USA. Personally, I think that learning from these first-century folks is worth a try. |
See Matthew Fox, A New Reformation: Creation Spirituality and the Transformation of Christianity
And Fox, Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society And Fox, Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ
And Fox, Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality
And Fox, The Pope’s War: Why
Ratzinger’s Secret Crusade Has Imperiled the Church and How It Can Be Saved
Banner Image: Kept awake by voices of shame and guilt: “Seein’ Things.” Photo by The New York Public Library on Unsplash. |
Mystic-Warriors at the Roof of the World In Monday's DM, we shared the story of Marianne Grosspietsch and the Shanti Leprosy Aid organization of Nepal: faced with the loss of food from USAID, her community is planting thousands of fruit trees to nourish the hungry in the region while mitigating the effects of climate change.
We invite you to consider supporting this work HERE (US$) or HERE (€ and other currencies). |
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Queries for Contemplation Learn to spot the tricks
that shame plays in yourself and others, and act accordingly. |
Responses are welcomed. To add your comment, or read other comments and enter into dialogue, please click HERE to go to our website and scroll down to the Comments field. |
A New Reformation: Creation Spirituality & The Transformation of Christianity
A modern-day theologian’s call for the radical transformation of
Christianity that will allow us to move once again from the hollow trappings of organized religion to genuine spirituality. A New Reformation echoes the Reformation initiated by Martin Luther in 1517 and offers a new vision of Christianity that values the Earth, honors the feminine, and respects science and deep ecumenism.
“This is a deep and forceful book….With prophetic insight, Matthew Fox reveals what has
corrupted religion in the West and the therapy for its healing.” ~Bruce Chilton, author of Rabbi Jesus: An Intimate Biography |
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Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society
Visionary theologian and best-selling
author Matthew Fox offers a new theology of evil that fundamentally changes the traditional perception of good and evil and points the way to a more enlightened treatment of ourselves, one another, and all of nature. In comparing the Eastern tradition of the 7 chakras to the Western tradition of the 7 capital sins, Fox allows us to think creatively about our capacity for personal and institutional evil and what we can do about them.
“A scholarly masterpiece embodying a better vision and depth of perception far beyond the grasp of any one single science. A breath-taking analysis.” — Diarmuid O’Murchu, author of Quantum Theology: Spiritual Implications of the New Physics |
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Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election
Matthew Fox tells us that he had always shied away from using the term “Anti-Christ” because it was so often used to
spread control and fear. However, given today’s rise of authoritarianism and forces of democracide, ecocide, and christofascism, he turns the tables in this book employing the archetype for the cause of justice, democracy, and a renewed Earth and humanity.
From the Foreword: If there was ever a time, a moment, for examining the archetype of the Antichrist, it is now…Read this book with an open mind. Good and evil
are real forces in our world. ~~ Caroline Myss, author of Anatomy of the Spirit and Conversations with the Divine.
For immediate access to Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election, order the e-book with 10 full-color prints from Amazon HERE.
To get a print-on-demand paperback copy with black & white
images, order from Amazon HERE or IUniverse HERE.
To receive a limited-edition, full-color paperback copy, order from MatthewFox.org HERE.
Order the audiobook HERE for immediate download. |
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Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality
Matthew Fox lays out a whole new direction for Christianity—a direction that is in fact very ancient and very grounded in
Jewish thinking (the fact that Jesus was a Jew is often neglected by Christian theology): the Four Paths of Creation Spirituality, the Vias Positiva, Negativa, Creativa and Transformativa in an extended and deeply developed way.
“Original Blessing makes available to the Christian world and to the human community a radical cure for all dark and derogatory views of the natural world wherever these may
have originated.” –Thomas Berry, author, The Dream of the Earth; The Great Work; co-author, The Universe Story
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The Pope’s War: Why Ratzinger’s Secret Crusade Has Imperiled the Church and How It Can Be Saved
The Pope’s War offers a
provocative look at three decades of corruption in the Catholic Church, focusing on Josef Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI. The final section in the book focuses on birthing a truly catholic Christianity.
“This book should be read by everybody, not only for its ferocious courage, but also for its vision for what needs to be saved from the destructive forces that threaten authentic Christianity.” ~ Andrew Harvey, author
of The Hope.
“In the gripping The Pope’s War, Matthew Fox takes an unwavering look at the layers of corruption in the Catholic Church, holding moral truth against power.” — Jason Berry, author of Vows of Silence: The Abuse of Power in the Papacy of John Paul II |
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UPCOMING EVENTS See Matthew Fox's full calendar HERE |
Join Matthew Fox in a new 6-month program of mystical wisdom for a new world.
In this 6-month immersion program with Matthew, you’ll explore what it means to be a modern mystic and prophet, integrating this sacred knowledge into your life through the authentic teachings of Jesus and other wisdom keepers. This journey births what Matthew calls Christianity 2.0 — based not on dogma, but on a spirituality that recovers the sacred sense of original goodness. By Application only - apply HERERegister for a free information session HERE |
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Join Matthew Fox as he discusses his book, Hildegard of Bingen’s Book of Divine Works with Letters and Songs, in an online Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat. Thursday, August 21, 4:00pm-5:30pm PT. Register HERE. MONTHLY: Join Matthew Fox and Skylar Wilson of the Order of the Sacred Earth in a free virtual meeting for connection and networking with other mystic warriors. Last Tuesday of every month, 4:00-5:00pm PT.
Join Zoom Meeting HERE, Meeting ID: 886 6530 2478 Learn more at www.orderofthesacredearth.org |
Creation Spirituality Conversations |
Matthew Fox and Fr. Bede Griffiths each lecture for approximately 30 minutes followed by 30 minutes of dialogue. 91 minutes. 1990. You will receive a secure link to the file to download. |
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Inspired by this post? Share your insights on BlueSky, Instagram, Universeodon, or Facebook using the hashtag #RevDrMatthewFox and tag Matt with @RevDrMatthewFox FOLLOW MATTHEW FOX: |
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