Sounding the Alarm on Harry Potter

I think it’s time I sound the alarm about the influence of the occult seeping into the church.  I’ve noticed that many within the church are becoming more and more attracted to pagan spirituality.  If you think I’m exaggerating, just ask the kids in your youth group if they are fans of Harry Potter.  If you receive honest answers, you are going to be surprised.

I might be wrong, but the way I see it is that this stems from the church putting the cart before the horse.  What I mean by that is that there is a movement today within the church to put too much emphasis on signs and wonders.  Jesus said that it is a wicked and adulterous generation that does such things (Matthew 16:4).  This Scripture is being revealed today in the desire of many, within the church, to entertain themselves with wicked and perverse things.  How can we justify this?  Does not the word of God say that we should have NOTHING to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness? (Ephesians 5:11)

My opinion is that they aren’t finding the signs and wonders in the church, so they are going “a whoring” after other gods to fill their longing to see the miraculous.  This, they find in the occult.  If I’m right about my assumptions, we need to connect the dots and sound the alarm.  But, regardless of whether I am right on WHY they are being attracted to this wickedness, we still need to sound the alarm about the kids in the church messing around with pagan spirituality.  We have a responsibility to, not only abstain from evil, but also to expose it. (Ephesians 5:11)

This is the second article in a week in which I’ve covered Harry Potter.  You might think I’m making a big deal out of nothing.  But that’s not the case at all.  Trust me.  The new Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows—Part II, is coming out tonight.  Ask the youth in your church if they plan on going.  Ask the parents in your church if they are going to allow their children to go.  Let them know the wickedness behind this stuff.  It’s not innocent fun.  The devil is after our kids.  He wants to devour them.  We had better realize that and stand against him with the word of Almighty God.

I am not going to write a detailed exposition on why Harry Potter is so dangerous, but I will take the time to outline something that is extremely dangerous.  If you have ever witnessed to a Wiccan, you are going to find that they typically have a great desire to see justice done.  They understand that the world is full of evil; which is a good trait.  The problem is, they believe that they can overcome evil (dark magic) with good (white magic).  And, while there are many reasons Harry Potter is so dangerous, this is paramount.  Romans 12:21 says, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”  Witchcraft is evil, whether “white” or “dark.”  Children, by the droves, are being overcome by evil, by falling in love with the Harry Potter series.

The series written by J.K. Rowling gives children very detailed examples of witchcraft.  And it gives them the a picture of “the good” that can come from magic.  J.K. Rowling actually said, “The idea that we could have a child who escapes from the confines of the adult world and goes somewhere where he has power, both literally and metaphorically, really appealed to me.”  You’re not the only one it appeals to Ms. Rowling.  I believe that Harry Potter has been a huge influence on kids who have entered the Wiccan religion.  Harry has become a hero to them, and they want to become like their hero and fight off the forces of darkness.

You might say that you are spiritually strong enough to take in movies about witches and vampires.  I doubt it, but let’s assume you are.  What does it say to the brand new Christian that just got saved out of darkness?  Do you want to cause your brother to stumble?  Romans 14 is clear that we must never do something that might cause our brother to stumble.

Of course, Romans 14 is talking about disputable matters.  Witchcraft is not at all what the Bible would consider disputable.  It is an abomination.

Deuteronomy 18:9-13 says, ” 9 When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. 10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD; because of these same detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you. 13 You must be blameless before the LORD your God.”

Also Galatians 5:19-21 says, “19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Let me end with 1 Samuel 15:23a, which says, “For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.”  The word there for divination is the same word used for witchcraft.  This verse makes it very clear.  How I wish I could just quote Scripture, showing that witchcraft is evil, and it would cause those following Harry Potter to repent.  Oh, how I wish I could.  But, you know what?  To many, this article will only cause them to justify, deny, rationalize or blame.  Why?  Because they are rebellious and arrogant.  Just like Saul.

Though I want to keep this article short, we have to look more into Saul.  If you read 1 Samuel 28, you will find that, though Saul was outwardly against witchcraft, he loved himself so much, that in the end, he was willing to consult a witch.  He had expelled all witches from the land, but on the day before his suicide, he went to the witch of Endor to pull up the soul of Samuel.  Why?  Because he was driven by his flesh.  And that is the exact same problem of those in the church who embrace Harry Potter.  They are driven by their flesh.  Just like Saul.

But you don’t have to become like Saul.  The word of God is clear.  Heed it’s warnings.  Follow it’s principles.  Beloved, become like King David, who repented when he was confronted with his sin.

I plead with you, beloved.  Open you eyes.  We need to have nothing to do with these things.  But not only that, we need to expose these things.  We need to stand against the schemes of the devil.  We need to expose his lies.  And we need to lovingly confront our Christian friends going down paths that lead to destruction.

In Christian love,

Adam Tennant

How Should Christians Deal with the Things That God Hates?

Have you ever wondered whether Christians should be outspoken about things that the Bible considers sin?  Maybe you have had friends that took part in things that you knew were wrong, and you weren’t sure whether or not you should speak up.  In the past year or so, I have written several articles on holiness.  The Bible is clear that, if we are truly born again, we should live holy lives; separate from the world.  That is clear.  But what about our stances?  Should we be vocal against sin, or should we keep these things to ourselves?  Let’s take a look at some Scriptures to see what the Bible has to say about that.

The Bible makes it very clear that we should be a holy people, but also that we should call out sin.  You’ll find examples of this all throughout scripture, but I just want to focus on a few today.  First, I’ll show you that the Bible commands us to abstain from anything that even hints of wickedness.  Then, we need to take a look at how we, as Christians, have been commanded to speak up against sin.  That’s all we’ll look at in this teaching.  I want to keep it simple.

In the first Scripture we’ll look at, both of these principles are present.  Ephesians 5:11 says, “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.”  I don’t think we could ask for a verse to be more blunt.  In order to make this hit home, let me use an illustration.

Deuteronomy 18:9-13 says, “9 When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. 10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you. 13 You must be blameless before the LORD your God.”  In context, this scripture is found in Moses’ farewell sermon to the Israelites, right before they entered the land of Canaan.  God wanted to make it very clear that they were to “have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness.”

We would probably all agree that the detestable practices mentioned here serve as great examples of “fruitless deeds of darkness.”  After all, God actually sent the Israelites into Canaan, with a mandate to utterly destroy these nations that practice this wickedness.  So, here’s where things might get a little personal.  If God hates witchcraft enough that he would actually wipe out men, women and children, in order to eradicate it; how come some Christians find no problem with watching or reading Harry Potter?  Hey!  Before you call me a legalist or a Pharisee, answer the question.  I would really like to know.

The reason I use Harry Potter as an illustration is because I know it is embraced as family-friendly entertainment for much of the modern American church.  But the truth is, these novels written by JK Rowling have had devastating affects on teenagers.  If you look into middle schools and high schools, you see more and more darkness.  Now I won’t blame this solely on Harry Potter, but Satan has definitely used it to pull more kids into the occult.  And Christians are okay with watching or reading this garbage.  The most common excuse is, “Well, I am spiritually strong enough to take it for what it is.  It won’t have an affect on me.”  Really?  Because it seems to me that you have decided that entertaining your flesh is more important than walking in holiness.

And that’s what it comes down to:  Holiness.  If you really want to please God, examine yourself.  Ask the Spirit of God to show you where you are allowing Satan a foothold.  Then repent.  Harry Potter is definitely not the only place where people are tolerating sin in order to entertain themselves.  Sin is crouching at our door, and desires to have us.  Therefore, do as 1 Thessalonians 5:22 says, “Avoid every kind of evil.”  Have nothing to do with it!

So we see that the Bible commands us to walk in holiness, but what about the question we opened with?  Should we be outspoken against sin?  Or should we keep it to ourselves?  We already saw the answer to that in Ephesians 5:11.  We are called to expose the fruitless deeds of darkness.  If we don’t, we are in sin.  And I’m not taking it too far when I say that.  Look at Ezekiel 33:7-9.

7 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. 8 When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade him from his ways, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. 9 But if you do warn the wicked man to turn from his ways and he does not do so, he will die for his sin, but you will have saved yourself.”

Do you see what I see?  If we see someone in sin, and do not warn that person to repent, then we will be accountable for his blood.  Wow!  That’s a tough pill to swallow, but it’s the truth.  We are not only commanded to have nothing to do with evil; but we are also commanded to be a watchman and speak out against it!

We also find the command to confront others in their sin, in Matthew 7:3-5, which says, “3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”  These verses are preceded by one of the most commonly twisted Scripture there is; which is, “Do not judge,” found in Matthew 7:1.  In it’s context, it becomes very clear that we are not being commanded not to make judgments.  We are simply being given proper instruction on how to judge.  First of all, we must use the correct measure—the Word of God(Mt. 7:2).  Secondly, we must judge ourselves and remove the log from our own eye(Mt. 7:5a).  But lastly, we are commanded to remove the spec from our brothers eye(Mt. 7:5b).  In other words, we must deal ruthlessly with the sin in our own lives, so that, we can fulfill the command of Jesus to call out the sin in the lives of others.

Now, many in the church would say this is a hateful message.  But that is because they don’t understand biblical love.  Leviticus 19:17 says, “Do not hate your brother in your heart.  Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt.”  If we do not confront sinners, it is evidence that we hate them.  Hmmm….think on that.

Stephen Furtick - Pastor of Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC

The following video serves as a great illustration of how the church cannot grasp biblical love.  Stephen Furtick (Pastor of Elevation Church in Charlotte) has a video on Youtube called, “Hey Haters.”  It was very difficult, but I actually watched it three times, just to make sure that I was hearing him correctly.  I’m not exactly sure who he was pointing out in this video,but he sure has plenty of stones to cast at those who “cast stones.”  All in all, Mr. Furtick comes off very arrogantly in this video, and says a couple handfuls of things that fly in the face of biblical Christianity.  Here is an actual quote from the video.

“You’re full of opinions, but your low on the Spirit.  Because the Spirit is love, the Spirit is peace, the Spirit is kindness.  And the only kind of words you ever seem to speak bring death to the hearer and leave weakness in their wake.  You look like a toddler, drawing lines in the sand, talking about how you’re defending the truth and taking a stand.  But for all your hating and pontificating and stances and games, there’s no change.  Fall back.  It’s a new day.”

I wonder what Mr. Furtick would have said about Hosea.  For, in Hosea 6:5-6, the prophet said, “Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets, I killed you with the words of my mouth; my judgments flashed like lightning upon you.  For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burn offerings.”  Well, seeing that this was actually God speaking through his prophet, Hosea; a better question might be, “What does Mr. Furtick really think about the character of a holy God?”  Furtick said, “the only kinds of words you ever seem to speak bring death to the hearer…”  What he doesn’t realize is that, when God brings life to someone, He first has to slay them.  His judgment always precedes His mercy.

Mr. Furtick says, “You look like a toddler, drawing lines in the sand, talking about how you’re defending the truth and taking a stand.”  I have a serious problem with this statement.  Should we, as Christians, not be very clear about good and evil?  It seems to me that Mr. Furtick is against boundaries.  But Scripture is not.  Proverbs 22:28 says, “Do not move an ancient boundary stone set up by your forefathers.”  Beloved, we need to draw lines in the sand!  We need to stand for truth!  And, therefore, we need to call out those who would oppose it; namely Mr. Furtick!

You see, he might think it’s cute to say that those who stand for righteousness look like toddlers; but it is clear that he is the one still in spiritual diapers.  Oh, don’t get me wrong.  There is no doubt that Stephen Furtick is gifted to preach.  And there is no doubt that he is truly born again.  His problem is that he has never advanced past the ABC’s of God’s word.  That’s why he perceives true biblical love as hate, and that’s why he sees biblical Christians as “haters.”

Let us end by looking at Hebrews 5:11-6:3

5:11 We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. 12 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

6:1 Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, 2 instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And God permitting, we will do so.  (Hebrews 5:11-6:3)

I know I have talked much about Stephen Furtick, but this article is not about him.  He just serves as an example of where much of the church is today.  It is quite clear that God wants us to move on from the elementary teachings and acquaint ourselves with the teaching about righteousness.  If we do that, Mr. Furtick will see us as “toddlers.”  But he’s the one that can’t handle solid food.  Beloved, it is vital that we learn how to distinguish good from evil, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

Everyday, in America, there are over 4,000 babies murdered through abortion.  Homosexuals parade their sin like Sodom, and force us to be “tolerant” of their wicked behavior; making sure that our kids are taught that they are “born that way.”  In any American city, you don’t have to look hard to find strip clubs, porn shops and prostitutes.  Evil is all around us.  We are a nation given over to wickedness.  And as Christians, we are caught in the middle.  So, what do we do?  Should we just go with the flow?  Would God be okay with that?

Ephesians 5:11 says it all.  We must “have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.”  If we have embraced sin in our lives, we must repent.  If we have embraced a message of hate, like the one Stephen Furtick shared with us, then we must repent.  That is our only hope if we want to pursue God.  Yes, we need to have a firm understanding of the ABC’s, but there comes a time for us to leave those elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity.  There comes a time to pursue righteousness and distinguish good from evil.

That time is now.  What are you waiting for?