The Occult, Paganism & Witchcraft: The Temptation That Ensares Our Kids

     If you are like me, I grew up loving to read.  And I was lucky enough to have an aunt who was an old-fashioned Librarian; that is to say, she was the caretaker of precious books which she screened for their educational, historical, and imaginative value.  As sad as it is, today's libraries often serve an agenda for non-profit organizations wishing to influence young minds in political and social principles.  But I received the benefit of her love of literature, as she introduced me to all the classic novels of the day, and so began my life-long pursuit of the written word.  And I will admit that the books I read as a child helped to instill values of honesty, courage, patriotism, compassion, and the love of adventure in my impressionable mind.
     So it is today, with our youth and young adults.  Although they may choose to read on their iPads or phones, stories of written fantasy still occupy their minds.  But I'm afraid it is a much darker world in which their imaginations wander.  I actually am fearful of the influence such reading has on their malleable minds.
     During my pre-teen years, I read classic books with moral values like Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, Little Women, and Little House on the Prairie.  As I grew older, I loved reading the works of James Fenimore Cooper, and wandered the forests with Natty Bumppo of the Leatherstocking Tales; and loved the star-crossed lovers in Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights.  I know I'm showing my age, but I can't help but think those were healthier choices than what's being offered to young boys and girls today.

     It's all about fantasy, and it is often dark and foreboding.  The advent of Harry Potter made a huge impact on children's literature, and normalized the idea of a school for Witchcraft and Wizardry, and introduced the struggle between magic versus non-magic people.  And countless Christian mothers bought the books for their kids and even read them, themselves.  The impact of J. K. Rowling's powerhouse can be measured by the fact that Harry Potter is the best-selling book series in history, and has been translated into seventy-three languages.  And once that portal was opened ....
     We now have the highly popular Percy Jackson series with its stories of Camp Half Blood, the summer camp of demi-gods; and the attempt of the hero to reach the gates of the Underworld.  What a great way to "soft sell" and legitimize the return of the Nephilim!
     As I perused the list of the most popular books for young teens (and which are being touted as follow-ups to Harry Potter), the titles caught my attention ... City of Bones, Magyk (Septimus Heap), The Amulet of Samarkand, Fablehaven, The Angel Experiment ... all involving some form of magic spells, supernatural powers, or other-worldly capabilities; and often inhabited with demons (both of the friendly sort, and those of the terrifying class).
     And who can forget the fascination and romantic spin of the Twilight series?  These vampire-themed fantasy romance novels became the rage among pre-teen girls, and none other than acclaimed author Stephen King called them "[a genre written] to a whole generation of girls, and opening up kind of a safe joining of love and sex.  It's exciting and it's thrilling and it's not particularly threatening because it's not overtly sexual."  Excuse me?!?  Does it bother anyone else that the series has been called "a gripping blend of romance and horror"; or that the author herself, Stephenie Meyer, says that the idea for Twilight came to her in a dream?  The dream was about a human girl, and a vampire who was in love with her but thirsted for her blood!  Did anyone even stop to think that there was a hint of the demonic surrounding this theme?  And who, or what, suggested this to the author in her dream?
     Then there is a whole genre of which I was largely unfamiliar, so I was greatly surprised by the popularity of animé among young adults.  A form of Japanese computer animation, the themes range from sexually playful (ecchi) to "gratuitous titillation", known as "fan service".  Overall, this form of entertainment can be described as a blend of sexual fantasy and comedy, including sub genres of  magical girl, harem, sports, martial arts, literary adaptations, medievalism, and war.
      So far, I have just barely scratched the surface of what is available for our youth!  The bottom line is this:  young adult fantasy has a basic menu replete with occult, witchcraft, Satanism, paganism, vampires, zombies, Greek mythology, and sexual themes.  And they are all being presented as mainstream and normal!  The truth is that the "dark arts" or "dark magic" has increasingly pervaded the subconscious of our youth through popular fiction and movies.  And right alongside them is the perpetuation of the religion of paganism, as evidenced by a whole genre of Wiccan/Pagan literature for young readers.  The agenda is clear.  With books like Isobel's Bird, in which three teenage girls learn what Wicca and Paganism is all about as they study to become real modern-day Witches; and Bell, Book and Murder, which is a mystery trilogy about a detective who happens to be Wiccan, one can see that pagan religions are being set forth as normal and acceptable.
     While researching this topic, I only had to read a comment from an obvious pagan worshipper to see how dedicated the Enemy is to introducing false religion into our culture.  Here is the comment:  "You obviously do not know what Paganism is.  You confuse it with Hollywood BS.  Pagans value the worship of Nature and Ancestors. They follow the Wheel of The Year. They believe in Wyrd ... The Wheel of The Year is the core belief system. It follow life from birth to death, seasons, light to dark, male and female.  Wyrd, is the uncontrolled destiny; we accept that we are not truly in control of anything, we do not wish to dominate Nature, we are part of Nature, and we do not own Nature.
We respect family, we follow a main rule, "Do what you will, but do not harm others." The only form of Magick we practice is the one of Will.  We focus our will in order to influence Nature. Any form of technology that exist today comes from Will.  If you say it is magic, then people like you should outlaw it.  Also note the difference: Magick is not Magic. Magic is Hollywood BS."
     It is quite apparent they take their religion seriously, and wish to promote their cause.  Read on:  "Pagans comes in three flavors: Fluffy, Genuine and Dark.  Fluffies are the misguided Pagans, or too new to Paganism to know exactly what it is. They include a lot of Hocus Pocus Hollywood BS. They are the ones giving Paganism a bad wrap.  Genuines are Pagans that are following the redes and beliefs of their faith. But they still cling to the ideas of dualism in some way, and have a dislike for dark and death, although they know it's part of the cycles of Nature and life.  Darks are Pagans that are exactly like Genuines except they accept the darkness and death as necessary.  Paganism comes also in an umbrella of paths: Wicca, Heathenry, Druidry... anything that does not follow the doctrine of Abrahamism. "
     So, if you ever doubted that Paganism is a real religion, well, I'm guessing you now have a new understanding.  It is not an insubstantial movement, and it is encroaching upon our culture and the lives of our kids through entertainment and the internet.  They are being fed a steady diet of the occult and witchcraft, all under the guise of fantasy and romance.  Once again, I cannot stress my oft-repeated refrain enough ... Technology has become a willing and convenient tool of the Devil; and we must guard our children!

Acts 19:19    "And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver."


   

Nothing Ever Really Changes

     As if we need more evidence that man's love of idolatry and false gods has always been present, news comes that a group of of European architects has proposed to build a 21st-century version of the Colossus of Rhodes, the ancient Greek statue erected on the island of Rhodes in the 3rd century B.C. The original ancient statue was of the Greek titan-god of the sun Helios, erected in the city of Rhodes, on the Greek island of the same name.
     One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, it was constructed to celebrate Rhodes' victory over the ruler of Cyprus, Antigonus I Monophthalmus, whose son unsuccessfully besieged Rhodes in 305 BC. Before its destruction in the earthquake of 226 BC, the Colossus of Rhodes stood over 30 metres (98 feet) high, making it one of the tallest statues of the ancient world.

The new proposed statue of Helios, sun god

     But the new version would stand 500-feet tall (five times larger than the original) and serve as a cultural center, as a library, an exhibition hall and a lighthouse on Rhodes, the largest of Greece’s Dodecanese islands.  This island is known for its beach resorts, ancient ruins and structural remnants of its crusades-era occupation.  I find the estimated cost of the statue ($283 million) to not only be offensive in light of the decimated Greek economy, but just another monument to man's obsession with pagan gods and his rebellion against the One True God.
     The fact that the statue honors the god Helios is just a perpetuation of sun god worship that has existed since the beginning of civilizations.   The imagery of the sun as the ruler of both the upper and the lower worlds that he majestically visited on his daily round is prominent among all the ancient cultures.  Even The Encyclopedia Britannica gives credence to sun worship:  "The sun is the bestower of light and life to the totality of the cosmos; with his unblinking, all-seeing eye, he is the stern guarantor of justice; with the almost universal connection of light with enlightenment or illumination, the sun is the source of wisdom."  I found it extremely sad and disturbing to read this once venerated source of knowledge equating and venerating all the ancient religions as equal to Christianity.  Here are some of the points they made about sun worship:
•  These qualities—sovereignty, power of beneficence, justice, and wisdom—are central to any elite religious group, and it is within these contexts that a highly developed solar ideology is found. Kings ruled by the power of the sun and claimed descent from the sun. Solar deities, gods personifying the sun, are sovereign and all-seeing. The sun is often a prime attribute of or is identified with the Supreme Deity.
•  In ancient Egypt the sun god Re was the dominant figure among the high gods and retained this position from early in that civilization’s history ...  Surya is glorified in the Vedas of ancient India as an all-seeing god who observes both good and evil actions ... In medieval Iran, sun festivals were celebrated as a heritage from pre-Islamic times ...
•  During the later periods of Roman history, sun worship gained in importance and ultimately led to what has been called a “solar monotheism.” Nearly all the gods of the period were possessed of solar qualities, and both Christ and Mithra acquired the traits of solar deities. The feast of Sol Invictus (Unconquered Sun) on December 25 was celebrated with great joy, and eventually this date was taken over by the Christians as Christmas, the birthday of Christ.  (The obvious attempt to equalize our Savior with other gods, and with sun worship is unmistakable).

Ancient Colossus of Rhodes

     I will grant you that the Greek Mythology gives us a fascinating picture into man's attempts to create his own gods.  The island of Rhodes derives its name from the nymph Rhodos, who bore seven sons to the sun god Helios, the patron of the island. Three grandsons of these offspring were the heroes of the three principal cities on the island: Camirus, Ialysus, and Lindus, which were named after them. In honour of Helios, Panhellenic games, the Halieia, were held on the island every five years, and each year a chariot and four horses (quadriga) were thrown into the sea as an offering to the god (who was believed to ride such a chariot across the sky each day).  It is almost funny to discern that this was all the result of man's attempt to explain God's creation of the sun -- except that we know it is the result of the Enemy's lies; his never-ending attempt to blind us to the true knowledge of our Creator.
     Other mythological associations with the islands include the belief that the Telchines had a workshop on the island. They were believed to be an ancient semi-divine race that invented, and were particularly skilled at, metalwork. Hercules was also worshipped on the island as the founder of the first settlement. Other important cults were dedicated to Apollo, Zeus, Athena, and Dionysos, and during the Hellenistic period the island adopted several Egyptian cults such as those of Sarapis and Isis ... and it all leads back to Nimrod and rebellion towards God.
     But knowing that Helios was not only the Titan god (translate as part god (fallen angel)/part human) of the sun, but he was also the guardian of oaths and the god of gift of sight.  His description shows just how far the devil was trying to go to equate him with Jesus, the Son of God:  "[Helios the Sun] rides his chariot, he shines upon men and deathless gods, and piercingly he gazes with his eyes from his golden helmet. Bright rays beam dazzlingly from him, and his bright locks streaming from the temples of his head gracefully enclose his far-seen face: a rich, fine-spun garment glows upon his body and flutters in the wind, and stallions carry him. Then, when he has stayed his golden-yoked chariot and horses, he rests there upon the highest point of heaven, until he marvellously drives them down again through heaven...".
     So, nothing has really changed.  Man is still trying to bow down to an image of a god he has created.  The new statue of Helios will be bigger and grander and more shiny than the original; just a bigger false idol than the first, and a sign of how obsessed we are to worship anyone or anything other than the True Light of the World.  The Colossus of Rhodes was destroyed by an earthquake in 226 BC.  I shudder to think of the destruction that is coming upon the newest version of this pagan god.  Will we never learn?

Deuteronomy 12:30    "Be watchful that you are not ensnared into following them after they have been destroyed before you and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? We will do likewise."