WITCHCRAFT—THE FASTEST GROWING RELIGION

Interest in witchcraft has been ballooning in the last couple of decades along with its rejection of traditional values and the Christian faith, which they blame for their persecution and banning. One indication of this is the proliferation of many hundreds of such groups, and maybe even thousands, on Facebook alone. Other indications come from studies:

•    Women, too, are more likely to buy in [to witchcraft], with 30% of women and 25% of men citing their earnest belief [in witchcraft].

•    According to YouGov’s 2022 poll, more than 1 in 4 Americans says the stars influence their lives, including 37% of adults under 30.

Witchcraft, which is one expression of paganism, has been packaged in many different and appealing ways:

•    Leda Beluche…says it’s not a sinister inclination. It’s simply borne out of feminine interest in self-knowledge.

•    Professor Helen A. Berger…said in an interview with Brandeis Stories. “For centuries, women have been told to focus on families. Focusing on the self is a radical act. It’s empowering. ”https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/oct/29/young-women-gravitate-toward-modern-witchcraft-psy/?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=email_link&utm_source=email

Many are attracted by the opportunity to practice white magic, casting spells to help others. However, eventually they gravitate into black magic—casting spells against others. Why? They have no defense against evil. According to them, both “evil and good” are equally valid aspects of life to be embraced.

However, there are those practitioners who call themselves “Christian.” Therefore, it is doubly important that genuine Christians arm themselves with the many verses warning against witchcraft. Here are just a few of them:

•    Leviticus 19:31 “ ‘Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.”

•    Leviticus 20:6 “‘I will set my face against anyone who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute themselves by following them, and I will cut them off from their people.”

•    Leviticus 20:27 “ ‘A man or woman who is a medium or spiritist among you must be put to death. You are to stone them; their blood will be on their own heads.’ ”

•    Deuteronomy 18:10-14 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, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 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. You must be blameless before the LORD your God. The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the LORD your God has not permitted you to do so.

•    1 Chronicles 10:13 [King] Saul died because he was unfaithful to the LORD; he did not keep the word of the LORD and even consulted a medium for guidance,

•    1 Samuel 15:23 “For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as king.”

•    Isaiah 8:19-22 When someone tells you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? Consult God’s instruction and the testimony of warning. If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn. Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God. Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness.

•    Jeremiah 27:9 “So do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your fortune-tellers, or your sorcerers, who are saying to you, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon.’”

•    Micah 5:10-12 “In that day,” declares the LORD, “I will destroy your horses from among you and demolish your chariots. I will destroy the cities of your land and tear down all your strongholds. I will destroy your witchcraft and you will no longer cast spells.”

•    Acts 19:19-20 A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas. In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.

•    Galatians 5:19-20 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions

•    Revelation 18:23 The light of a lamp will never shine in you again. The voice of bridegroom and bride will never be heard in you again. Your merchants were the world’s important people. By your magic spell all the nations were led astray.

•    Revelation 21:8 “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

If you are mature enough to stand against their many delusions, you might consider shining your light in opposition their hopes and practices. While they believe in spirit guides and even “negative spirit entities,” they naively believe that the combination of their intuition and herbs can protect them against these negative entities (They refrain from using Biblical terminology such as “demons.”)

I would advise against witchcraft groups that are simply pandering their services, selling products and spells. Instead, I would advise joining groups where the younger witches are hungering for friendships to take the place of their own shattered and demonized relationships so that you can speak into their hurts. Perhaps have a trusted friend accompany you into this darkness.