The Occult

Sean Wordingham ventures into the unknown

The occult is fast growing in popularity and acceptability, Wicca is one of the fastest growing religions of the moment, Leeds University has a special pagan counselor and an Occult Society has even been set up at York University. These events have provoked a strong reaction on the part of most Christians (‘panic’ is a word that springs to mind). I feel that this panic, rather than galvanising us into action, has had a paralysing effect. As the Occult grows we are more and more likely to come into contact with those who are involved with it and to be asked for our opinions about such issues and it is vital that we are ready. There are several things we should do.

Firstly we should remember that people who are involved in the Occult are still people. We are commanded to love them, we can talk to them, befriend them and maybe help them in practical ways. Even if they are involved with the most dangerous forms of the occult “our battle is not with flesh and blood”. People who are involved in the Occult Society or with SpookySoc are interested in the supernatural, we should tell them about it.

Secondly we should not be scared of the occult. “If God is for us who can be against us?” As Christians, with the Holy Spirit inside us, we cannot be demon-possessed (Luke 11:24–26). Occult magic will also have no power over us (1 John 4:4). We are loved by a living God and if we are scared about anything all we need do is pray to Him. There are no elaborate rituals to go through for protection, it is occultists who are bound by rituals. We must stand against occult beliefs but we also need to show love; and fear is much more likely to make us seem antagonistic.

Thirdly we must remember how much our faith has to offer to people. Occultists believe in a supernatural which is unknown and unknowable, we worship a God who is alive and who has revealed Himself so that we can know Him personally. Christianity offers forgiveness for sins, purpose, unconditional love and an assurance of life after death. Above all however it is true.

Fourthly we should inform ourselves. Occult beliefs are largely misunderstood and misrepresented. If we display ignorance about these beliefs then occultists will simply believe that the only reason we disagree with their views is that we don’t understand what they are. Fear of the occult is also largely a fear of the unknown, there are aspects of the occult which will always be frightening but it is much better to know what they are. Ignorance benefits no-one.

Obviously the mass media is no help, we need only look at coverage of Christian issues to see how informative the media can be. Thankfully there are Christian books on the subject, including one called When the Devil Dares your Kids, relevant even if you have no kids, more informative than many of the other books on the topic and much less sensationalist than the title might lead you to believe. The authors are two investigative journalists who have spoken to many witches and Satanist in America and looked into stories of ‘survivors’ of ritual abuse, even exposing one very famous case. the book debunks many myths about both witchcraft and Satanism.

Firstly modern witchcraft; Wicca is the most popular form of this at the moment. Its claim to be related to the religions practiced in pre-Christian England is almost universally rejected by scholars and it is mainly a DIY religion. Wiccans believe that all creation is Holy and that there is a supernatural force which can be manifested in either two forms (male and female) or in many different forms. Wiccans believe in the Wiccan Rede ‘An’ it harm none and the rule of three ‘Whatever you do to others will come back on yourself times three’. However precise beliefs differ quite widely between different covens and even amongst individual witches. Wiccans do not believe in objective truth and believe that all roads to the supernatural have equal value.

Satanist are confused with witches. Both groups use pentacles (although different ways up) and pictures of goats and some Satanist even refer to themselves as ‘witches’. Some Satanist worship a ‘demon’ of some sort, some believe in supernatural forces and some in natural forces. However most Satanist worship the self. This is not as surprising as it may seem, the Christian devil is a creation of God and will eventually lose the struggle with Him. It would obviously therefore not be a practical idea to worship him. Those who do follow a demon believe in a demon who is equally powerful with God and normally do not believe that either Satan or God is wholly good or wholly evil.

Satanist practices such as upturned crosses and reciting the mass backwards are more an explicit rejection of Christianity than a reversal of it and nowadays are more likely to be replaced by anti-Christian heavy metal. Christianity is seen as repressive and so Satanist practise what Christianity defines as sins in order to ‘free’ themselves. Satanist also do not believe in objective truth and there is wide variety of belief and practice. Many Satanist pick up their rituals from horror films and books.

The Bible does not mention Satanism, as far as the Bible is concerned if you’re not a Christian then Satan has you anyway. Occult practises and magic are all condemned equally (Deuteronomy 18:10–13) as they are an attempt to counterfeit God’s power.

The authors’ research leads them to believe that the real danger of the Occult lie in its relativism and eroding of moral values. This leaves people with little reason not to do things which they feel tempted to do. As there is no objective guide to what is right and wrong it is much harder for people to say no to things. In this way it is not some hidden dark secret of the occult which is the danger, but that which is seen and widely accepted.

Sean Wordingham

Continuing the debate …

By Sean Wordingham

The occult is fast growing in popularity and acceptability, Wicca is one of the fastest growing religions of the moment, Leeds University has a special pagan counselor and an Occult Society has even been set up at York University. These events have provoked a strong reaction on the part of most Christians (‘panic’ is a word that springs to mind). I feel that this panic, rather than galvanising us into action, has had a paralysing effect. As the Occult grows we are more and more likely to come into contact with those who are involved with it and to be asked for our opinions about such issues and it is vital that we are ready. There are several things we should do.

Firstly we should remember that people who are involved in the Occult are still people. We are commanded to love them, we can talk to them, befriend them and maybe help them in practical ways. Even if they are involved with the most dangerous forms of the occult “our battle is not with flesh and blood”. People who are involved in the Occult Society or with SpookySoc are interested in the supernatural, we should tell them about it.

Secondly we should not be scared of the occult. “If God is for us who can be against us?” As Christians, with the Holy Spirit inside us, we cannot be demon-possessed (Luke 11:24–26). Occult magic will also have no power over us (1 John 4:4). We are loved by a living God and if we are scared about anything all we need do is pray to Him. There are no elaborate rituals to go through for protection, it is occultists who are bound by rituals. We must stand against occult beliefs but we also need to show love; and fear is much more likely to make us seem antagonistic.

Thirdly we must remember how much our faith has to offer to people. Occultists believe in a supernatural which is unknown and unknowable, we worship a God who is alive and who has revealed Himself so that we can know Him personally. Christianity offers forgiveness for sins, purpose, unconditional love and an assurance of life after death. Above all however it is true.

Fourthly we should inform ourselves. Occult beliefs are largely misunderstood and misrepresented. If we display ignorance about these beliefs then occultists will simply believe that the only reason we disagree with their views is that we don’t understand what they are. Fear of the occult is also largely a fear of the unknown, there are aspects of the occult which will always be frightening but it is much better to know what they are. Ignorance benefits no-one.

Obviously the mass media is no help, we need only look at coverage of Christian issues to see how informative the media can be. Thankfully there are Christian books on the subject, including one called When the Devil Dares your Kids, relevant even if you have no kids, more informative than many of the other books on the topic and much less sensationalist than the title might lead you to believe. The authors are two investigative journalists who have spoken to many witches and Satanist in America and looked into stories of ‘survivors’ of ritual abuse, even exposing one very famous case. the book debunks many myths about both witchcraft and Satanism.

Firstly modern witchcraft; Wicca is the most popular form of this at the moment. Its claim to be related to the religions practiced in pre-Christian England is almost universally rejected by scholars and it is mainly a DIY religion. Wiccans believe that all creation is Holy and that there is a supernatural force which can be manifested in either two forms (male and female) or in many different forms. Wiccans believe in the Wiccan Rede ‘An’ it harm none and the rule of three ‘Whatever you do to others will come back on yourself times three’. However precise beliefs differ quite widely between different covens and even amongst individual witches. Wiccans do not believe in objective truth and believe that all roads to the supernatural have equal value.

Satanist are confused with witches. Both groups use pentacles (although different ways up) and pictures of goats and some Satanist even refer to themselves as ‘witches’. Some Satanist worship a ‘demon’ of some sort, some believe in supernatural forces and some in natural forces. However most Satanist worship the self. This is not as surprising as it may seem, the Christian devil is a creation of God and will eventually lose the struggle with Him. It would obviously therefore not be a practical idea to worship him. Those who do follow a demon believe in a demon who is equally powerful with God and normally do not believe that either Satan or God is wholly good or wholly evil.

Satanist practices such as upturned crosses and reciting the mass backwards are more an explicit rejection of Christianity than a reversal of it and nowadays are more likely to be replaced by anti-Christian heavy metal. Christianity is seen as repressive and so Satanist practise what Christianity defines as sins in order to ‘free’ themselves. Satanist also do not believe in objective truth and there is wide variety of belief and practice. Many Satanist pick up their rituals from horror films and books.

The Bible does not mention Satanism, as far as the Bible is concerned if you’re not a Christian then Satan has you anyway. Occult practises and magic are all condemned equally (Deuteronomy 18:10–13) as they are an attempt to counterfeit God’s power.

The authors’ research leads them to believe that the real danger of the Occult lie in its relativism and eroding of moral values. This leaves people with little reason not to do things which they feel tempted to do. As there is no objective guide to what is right and wrong it is much harder for people to say no to things. In this way it is not some hidden dark secret of the occult which is the danger, but that which is seen and widely accepted.

Sean Wordingham