“Your father is the devil.” Fr. James Mawdsley sits down with Avoiding Babylon to unpack Know Thy Enemy — and why Catholic spiritual warfare starts with naming the real enemy.
This is not a culture-war recap. It is a recorded conversation on John 8:44, the Father of Lies, and what happens when the Church drops its guard. Fr. Mawdsley walks Anthony Abbate and Rob through Know Thy Enemy: the devil as the actual opponent, Fulton Sheen’s blind spot, Teilhard de Chardin, St. Maximilian Kolbe and propaganda, and why hope does not belong in princes.
If you have been asking who the devil is, and how a Catholic is supposed to fight, start here.
In this interview:
- John 8:44 — “Your father is the devil”
- Why spiritual warfare fails when you misname the enemy
- Fulton Sheen, Teilhard de Chardin, and a Church off its guard
- St. Maximilian Kolbe and the machinery of propaganda
- Know Thy Enemy — still on Amazon
- Jesus, Mary, and Fr. Mawdsley’s last word: don’t put your hope in anyone else
Know Thy Enemy, Volume 1 of 3, is the book under discussion. Fr. Mawdsley’s line on air: go buy Know Thy Enemy. It’s still on Amazon.
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⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 — Cold open
0:37 — Why this book
1:58 — After the war, the Church dropped its guard
2:17 — Know Thy Enemy
8:15 — John 8:44 and the Father of Lies
11:50 — Teilhard, the Vatican, and a carnal brotherhood
13:53 — Fulton Sheen’s blind spot
16:02 — COVID and the awakening
29:59 — Maximilian Kolbe and propaganda
32:16 — When the enemy is inside the Church
41:00 — Open borders and dissolving nations
48:00 — Accusations and Fr. Mawdsley’s story
1:13:56 — Get the book
1:15:00 — Jesus, Mary, and where hope actually is
