Guest post by author Alicia Willis  

  I suppose most of you are staring blankly at the computer screen. What is “Christian” occult? You may be surprised to learn it is all around us.

Let me lay out our foundation. As born-again Christians, we believe the Bible is the inspired (God breathed) Word of God. Our principles for life are found there and there alone. And anything that does not measure up to God’s sacred instructions within His Word are things we have no business partaking in.

We are all agreed thus far, correct? (Come on, let me hear a good hearty Amen! That’s better…)

Moving on, I think we also all agree that Satan wants nothing more than to corrupt what is good, holy, acceptable, and godly. After all, Satan cannot create. He can only pervert. And he wants us to embrace perversion under the guise of godliness. Remember, Satan doesn’t openly reveal temptation. He is subtle; thus, temptation to participate in ungodliness comes in many alluring (and seemingly beautiful) forms. It can sound worthy; it can look holy.

It’s a trap. Coming from under the influence of my dad, grandpa, and close friends who served in our military, I’d say it’s an absolutely stunning booby-trap. A veritable Trojan Horse.

Remember when Jesus said that a house divided against itself cannot stand? Satan cannot cast out Satan. So let me ask the all-weighty question: is witchcraft, sorcery, fantasy, and magic of God or the devil?

Think hard. Now think again. This is an important question to answer.

If you are a Christian, you are compelled to admit that all of the above (sorcery, magic, witchcraft) are not of God. And you are either for God or against Him. As I like to say, there is no middle ground, no white sin. You are either for holiness (God) or not.

Choose now. Good. We are all on the same page.

For what I am about to say next, please believe I am trying to do so graciously and with the intention of helping, not hurting. But it is time for a stand to be made. Christians are going with the flow, mindlessly watching and reading things that are grieving the Holy Spirit of God. I don’t think they are doing so in rebellion. I simply think they have never taken the time to really think this through.

But, ignorance is no excuse. A lot of the time, we can be willingly ignorant, which is sin. So let’s delve deep into this topic.

I have never watched or read The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, or The Hobbit. I certainly have never participated in Harry Potter. Why?

It’s all very simple. Those books/films are filled to every nook and cranny with creatures and actions which are cultic, evil, and down-right demonic. But these movies are Christian, you protest! Everyone from Kirk Cameron to American Family Associate promotes them!

Does that make it right? And who says demonic creatures are “Christian”?

I don’t have time to talk about all of the movies I mentioned. So let’s just zoom in and focus on one: The Hobbit. I will italicize every word that sends up red flags for me as a Christian.

The Hobbit is the story of a hobbit. (Very good; no surprise there!).

Quoting from Wikipedia “Bilbo Baggins, the titular protagonist, is a respectable, reserved hobbit. During his adventure, Bilbo often refers to the contents of his larder at home and wishes he had more food. Until he finds a magic ring he is more baggage than help. Gandalf, an itinerant wizard introduces Bilbo to a company of thirteen dwarves. During the journey the wizard disappears on side errands dimly hinted at, only to appear again at key moments in the story. Thorin, the proud, pompous head of the company of dwarves and heir to the destroyed dwarvish kingdom under the Lonely Mountain, makes many mistakes in his leadership, relying on Gandalf and Bilbo to get him out of trouble, but he proves himself a mighty warrior. Smaug is a dragon who long ago pillaged the dwarvish kingdom of Thorin’s grandfather and sleeps upon the vast treasure. The plot involves a host of other characters of varying importance, such as the twelve other dwarves of the company; two types of elves: both puckish and more serious warrior types; Men; man-eating trolls; boulder-throwing giants; evil cave-dwelling goblins; forest-dwelling giant spiders who can speak; immense and heroic eagles who also speak; evil wolves, or wargs, who are allied with the goblins; Elrond the sage; Gollum, a strange creature inhabiting an underground lake; Beorn, a man who can assume bear form; and Bard the Bowman, a grim but honourable archer of Lake-town”.  I have also been informed that the film contains shapeshifters. The story is also set in Middle Earth.

Nice. Half the synopsis is italicized. Let’s review: hobbit, wizard, dwarves, dragon, giant, man-eating trolls, talking spiders, talking eagles, evil wolves/wargs, goblins, strange creatures who live in lakes, a man who can assume bear form, shapeshifters, and Middle Earth.

Are any one of those creatures godly? Are any one of them Christ-like? Generally speaking, are those creatures pure, lovely, and worthy of praise or are they known to be mystifying, frightening, and evil? Would you expect to find these creatures in heaven or hell?

Oh, and Middle Earth. Where is that? It doesn’t exist, right? Or does it? The only place the Bible describes as being in the earth is hell. Hades. Slightly eye opening, isn’t it?

What does scripture say about this? 2 Corinthians 10:5 spells it out pretty clearly. “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ…”  And what about all of the verses that talk about witchcraft and sorcery? Those things are high treason to almighty God. They are works of the flesh and devil, not of our Lord.

You say: But it’s all in fun! Those creatures are imaginary!

I guess it leads me to ask why we permit devilish, demonic creatures to be imagined and used for our entertainment. It’s playing with witchcraft. Harsh, you say? I don’t think so. Playing with demonic creatures is the first step in playing in greater dangers, like consorting with the father of those creatures. And that father is not the Lord Jesus Christ.

I think we would all agree that goblins, ghosts, witches, wizards, shapeshifters, and wargs are not of God. But what about the wonderful character traits that can be learned, the sweet and inspirational feeling you will get when watching the movie?

Candy-coating. The icing on the poison. Satan disguises evil, demonic creatures under the guise of “character” and “inspiration” and “heartwarming”.

Let’s face it. Thousands of people aren’t flocking to theaters to watch The Hobbit in the interest of becoming godlier. Character, godliness, and inspiration are just the spiritual excuses we use to watch a cultic film.

It’s like watching a horror film about a witch who murders people. In the end, she gets a warm fuzzy feeling because she spares the life of a mouse. Yes, this could be considered mercy or grace. So we should all watch this movie because our children will learn “good character”, right?

Not a chance. And it’s no different with The Hobbit, a film that glorifies demonic creatures and a land depicted in the Bible as hell.

If you are really serious about learning good character, open your Bible. Read about Jonah and the Whale. Talk about the faithfulness of Noah. Just don’t use demonism to teach your children about character. Because, let me assure you, character is not what they are going to take away. They will only get a confusing message about so-called “good” witchcraft, “good” ogres, and a place called Middle Earth. By the way, Satan isn’t against good morals. He is against Jesus Christ. Using demonic creatures to teach a “spiritual lesson” is an oxymoron.

Oh, and what about the example we are sending the world? The unsaved watch horror films about witches; we watch so-called Christian films about wizards and goblins who manage to incorporate “faith and family” into their story. What is the difference? We are sending a nice message to unbelievers. We are no different.

Use this image as an example. Really think about it. Does it look spiritual? God-honoring? Christ-like?

As I said, my intentions are not to be hurtful. I realize there are some bluntly-put sentences. But I simply believe it is time to stand up. Candy-coated witchcraft must not have its place among the believers, no matter what the allures.

Taking a quick bunny-trail, I am not against allegories. The Lord has used some beautiful allegories to encourage, uplift, and teach me. But they weren’t full of devilish creatures and wizards. The only force of evil was the one depicted in the Bible – Satan. There is a huge difference between an allegory that clearly defines Biblical principles and a story like The Hobbit which beautifies creatures like hobbits/wizards and tries to somehow teach “faith and family” in ungodly places like Middle Earth.

Let’s take a stand. Remember, there is no middle line. You are either serving God or Satan. There is no way to mix the two.

So what side are you on?