Monthly Archives: March 2013

The Truth About Vampires – Part 1

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Breaking News: Breaking Dawn is now available on DVD! Once again film viewers worldwide are being subjected to an occult worldview, including vampires, werewolves, magic and paranormal powers. The popularity of the Twilight series, and vampires in general, is nothing short of a cultural phenomenon. What are we to make of all this? Are vampires stories just innocent entertainment? Or is this current trend a reason for concern for the Christian. I believe it is the latter. Let me tell you why.

Violence and Gore

We live in an increasingly violent society. This is not only evident from the evening news, but also from the graphic and pervasive violence seen in our popular entertainment. According to Dr. James Dobson there are over 1000 studies that demonstrate that watching violence on TV and in movies has disastrous consequences: Children are more prone to violent and aggressive behavior, and people become desensitized to the serious nature of violence itself.

The Twilight series itself is culpable in this regard. From vicious battles between werewolves and vampires, to vampires being systematically dismembered and burned, to blood-thirsty gangs of marauding vampires descending plague-like on human populations the Twilight saga has more than its fair share of violence. But perhaps no episode in this series is more gory, and more horrific, than the pregnancy and birth of Edward’s and Bella’s half-vampire, half-human baby. In Breaking Dawn the newly wed Bella becomes pregnant and comes to full term in a matter of weeks instead of months. During this time she subsists by continually drinking blood. When it comes time for the baby to be born, a C-section is required. However, there is a problem—the amniotic sac is made of a vampire-like skin, which is impenetrable. To save the baby, Edward uses his vampire fangs to rip through Bella’s flesh and in a ghastly, bloody scene tears open her womb and delivers the baby. If this were not already enough of a blood-fest, we then see the dying Bella being turned into a vampire by her husband. This is accomplished by Edward injecting vampire venom (i.e., blood) directly into her heart, and then repeatedly biting her all over her body with his fangs—an action described as “the lush tearing of her skin.” Meanwhile, the newborn vampire-human child immediately begins to feed on blood.

And what we see in Twilight is only symptomatic of the entire vampire subculture. Think about it: The very concept of a vampire is a creature that exists by sucking blood from living creatures, and doing so in a most violent manner. Violence, gore and horror are an integral factors in the vampire world.

How are moral and decent people to respond to this? The Bible is clear: God “hates” those who love violence (Psalm 11:5) and the Lord “abhors” the bloodthirsty (Psalm 5:6). The Scripture also declares that it is the wicked who “devise violence” (Proverbs 24:1-2). The kind of bloody violence portrayed in Twilight is something that should be shunned, not enjoyed.

Evil Imaginations

I have been doing presentations about our society’s current fascination with vampires for several years now. One of the most common objections to my criticism of people’s interest in vampires, Twilight included, is something like this: “What’s the big deal? These are only fictional stories, and vampires are only creatures of our imagination. What’s the harm in being entertained by imaginary creatures?”

This begs an even more fundamental question: Is our imagination morally and spiritually of consequence? And does God care about our fantasies, our imaginative life? The simple answer is yes. The Bible is full of examples and admonitions about this very issue. It was largely because of people’s evil thinking that God destroyed the world with the great Flood of Noah’s day (Genesis 6:5). Romans 8:7 says that it is the carnal mind that is at variance with God. God judged Israel in Isaiah 65:2 because they pursued their own imaginations (cf. Jeremiah 7:24 and 11:8). Zechariah 8:7 says that God hates those who imagine evil against their fellow man. Romans 1:21 speaks of those in the world who became “vain in their imaginations, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” And lastly, 2 Corinthians 10:5 says that we are to “cast down imaginations” and all those things contrary to the will of God.

What does this have to do with vampires? Consider this: Vampires are by definition undead, supernatural creatures. They are of the realm of darkness. They are occultic creatures with paranormal powers contrary to the will and purposes of God (cf. Deuteronomy 18:9-14). Based on the foregoing Scriptures, even such imaginary creatures as “vegetarian vampires” (i.e., vampires who usually only consume animal blood) should not be the focus of our thoughts and interests. Further, besides their occult nature you have to recognize the violence, the sexual allure, the disregard for biblical morals, the complete ignoring of Christ and His glory, and… well, the list could go on and on. Bottom line: Vampires, including Twilights’s Cullen coven, should not occupy our imaginations if we are serious about being morally responsible and mature Christians.

Still not convinced? Read Philippians 4:8 and see if this verse can be applied to your interest in The Twilight Saga, The Vampire Diaries, The Vampire Chronicles, etc.

Occult Deception

Vampires are the undead. Think about it. They are creatures that have died and been raised to a supernatural life that depends on blood-drinking to survive. They have paranormal powers, powers traditionally ascribed to witchcraft. An interesting fact, since in traditional myths about vampires (and werewolves), there is a strong connection with witchcraft. Indeed, in many languages the same word that is used for witch is also used for vampire: lamia, strix, strigoi, strega, bruja, bruxa, loogaroo, etc. Simply put, vampires are magical, occultic, “witchy” creatures. As chief vampire Aro states in the novel Breaking Dawn when speaking of werewolves: “They are creatures of our supernatural world” (p. 705, emphasis added).

One of the great dangers facing American culture today, the church included, is our increasing fascination with the occult. We are being taken on a supernatural, “magical mystery tour” and we don’t even realize it. What does God say about the occult? There many biblical passages that deal with this issue. Paul says that witchcraft is a “sin of the flesh” (Galatians 5:19-20). John says that sorcerers will be eternally damned (Revelation 21:8). In Leviticus 20:6 God says he is against those who seek after occult practitioners. Numerous other passages could be cited. However, the classic passage is Deuteronomy 18:9-14. Here the Lord enumerates a variety of occult practices, and in no uncertain terms labels them as “an abomination to the Lord.” In other words, God hates witchcraft, sorcery, magic, the demonically supernatural.

Think about it—should we find entertaining what God hates?

Satanic Seduction

We have made the point that vampires are occultic, demonic creatures by definition. There is a further point to be made here. There is inherently an alluring, devilishly (literally) attractive quality to the occult. Think about it. The Serpent deceived Eve with his seductive ways. The Bible speaks of “seducing spirits” (1 Timothy 4:1). The Devil even manifests as an “angel of light,” appearing beautiful, reasonable and attractive (see 2 Corinthians 11:14). Yes, Satan is a deceiver and a seducer.

No wonder Twilight holds such fascination for so many. It is amazing (and disturbing) to see the hold this series has on people. Stephanie Meyers admits that in the months she was writing the first book she was so obsessed that she neglected almost everything else, including her family, to study and write about vampires. I know a Christian woman who became so engrossed with the books that she had to ask a friend to take the books away from her and not return them, no matter how much she asked for them back. In 2010 Dakota Fanning, who plays the vampire known as Jane in the Twilight films, was on a late night talk show. She told how she first became acquainted with the Twilight series. She saw a girl at her school whose arms were completely covered in quotes from the books. I have read of middle-aged women who decorate their bedrooms with Twilight sheets, pillow cases, lamps, posters, dolls, etc. There is something weirdly obsessive about Twilight.

Weird. But understandable. People who play around with the occult, Twilight and vampires included, need to be aware of the dangers here. There is a spiritual force in operation that they may not recognize, but it is there nonetheless. Remember the admonition of Paul in Ephesians 4:27—“Don’t give the Devil a foothold in your life.”

To be continued in the next post…

UFO Cults

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Earth Versus the Flying Saucers

It all began on an ordinary day in June of 1947. The pilot of a small plane named Kenneth Arnold saw some unusual objects flying near Mt. Ranier in Washington state. They were not circular in space—actually more crescent-like. But he described their motion as being like saucers skipping over the surface of the water. Later this would result in people calling these objects “flying saucers.” Thus was born not only a new entry in our popular vocabulary, but a cultural phenomenon.

It was only a month later that another incident occurred near Roswell, NM. Something crashed in the desert there. The government officially declared that a weather balloon had come to earth. Others thought it was something more otherworldly—that an alien spacecraft had smashed into the desert sands. Whatever these two incidents really were, the fact is we had now entered the age of UFO’s, ETI’s and close encounters.

Fascination with flying saucers exploded on the American scene. It has never gone away. Through the late ‘40’s and the 50’s, it was the stuff of science fiction and B-grade movies. Not something to be taken too seriously. But then came George Adamski, who claimed that in 1952 he saw a flying saucer land and an alien being emerge from the craft. The alien was supposedly from the planet Venus, and was named Orthon. He communicated via mental telepathy. And he began to teach Adamski all about the universe, including many ideas of a religious and philosophical nature. This was beginning of another phenomenon—UFO religion.

Since the ‘50’s and 60’s there have been waves of interest in extraterrestrial life and UFO’s. According to the accounts of many contactees, the UFO occupants have come to earth with a specific purpose—to aid us in our evolution as a species. They come bringing not only advanced technology, but superior mystical knowledge. They are here to teach us the ways of God (or the gods), to help us in our search for enlightenment, and ultimately to realize our spiritual potential.

There are numerous cults and religious groups that center around UFO’s and the message these otherworldly visitors want to convey to us. These include cults like Unarius, the Raelians, Ashtar Command, the Order of the Solar Temple, and Urantia. We all remember Heaven’s Gate, the weird cultists who received messages through episodes of Star Trek, whose members committed corporate suicide, enabling them to leave their bodies and take a ride on a comet. Both Scientology and the Nation of Islam have theology rooted in the idea of aliens being involved in human history. In addition, many New Age groups believe strongly in UFO’s—some even asserting that the next World Teacher may come to us via an alien spacecraft.

When it comes to the belief systems of the UFO religions there is a true hodge-podge here. There is sometimes a veneer of Biblical religion, a lot of the occult, Eastern mystical ideas, New Age beliefs, paganism, and a host of imaginative and wacky ideas from science, pseudo-science and science fiction. UFO’s devotees believe in everything from the Greys (the small, bald, bug-eyed, large-brained aliens) to invading alien reptiles—who are disguised as humans and hide in plain sight, e.g., as members of the British Royal family.

This all may seem somewhat odd, but not too threatening. But don’t be fooled. There is much spiritual error, and not a little of the diabolical in the UFO’s cults. For example, I remember watching the video of one contactee channeling an alien intelligence. It was obvious that there was a demonic presence at work speaking through this individual. Scary!

Summary of Beliefs
God: Varies from group to group. The most common ideas are some form of pantheism, or the
belief in many deities.
Jesus: Usually believed to be either an alien visitor, or a contactee.
Salvation: Usually some form of enlightenment experience, similar to Eastern or Gnostic
concepts. Some believe in reincarnation.
Human nature: Man is usually seen as basically good, often divine.
Sin: Varies. Usually the greatest sin is our ignorance of spiritual truth, cf. Gnosticism.
Afterlife: Varies. May be an advancement to another planet, or another dimension.
Scripture: Many different writings, often channeled via demonic agency.
Truth: Generally relative, individual and existential in nature.

Sources:

Mather, George A. and Larry A. Nichols. Dictionary of Cults, Sects, Religions and the Occult.
Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1993.

Lewis, James R., ed. The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects and New Religions. 2nd ed. Amherst,
NY: Prometheus Books, 2002.

New Age Movement

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Double, double, toil and trouble; fire burn and cauldron… take some pagan mythology, mix in a little Eastern mysticism, two parts occult philosophy, a good sized dose of Gnosticism, a dash of alternative medicine, some crystals, a pinch of UFO lore, a few shakes of karma and reincarnation, a hefty sprinkling of the human potential movement, some right brain/left brain studies, a heaping portion of pseudo-science, a good sized portion of astrology, season it with folk magic to taste, then blend it in a container made of Mayan calendar prophecies and the quatrains of Nostradamus and… Ta-da! You have a modern witch’s brew called the New Age Movement!

This cultural phenomenon burst on the scene in the early 1980’s. Though discounted at first (and often since) as a fringe spiritual movement, the followers of the New Age Movement have consistently held lofty goals. They see themselves as part of a universal human happening that is literally ushering in a new spiritual era. The promise of this New Age is the end of war and violence. All nations will join together and do away with nationalism and divisions. All religions will come together into one world religion. The leader of this new world religion will be the World Teacher, the next great spiritual leader anticipated by all individual religions. He will be the Messiah of Judaism, the Imam Mahdi of Islam, the Christ of Christianity, and the Lord Maitreya of Buddhism. And the good news is that he is already here, on the earth, waiting for the appropriate time to reveal himself to the world.

Although a very contemporary movement, the roots of the New Age concept are in the revival of occultism and Eastern mysticism that occurred in the late 19th century. If there is a grandmother of the New Age, it has to be Helena P. Blavatsky and her Theosophy. (See Truth Builders newsletter issue # 3 for more info on Theosophy.) Other influences include groups such as the Golden Dawn, the Lucis Trust, New Thought, the I Am movement, Christian Science and Wicca. People such as Alice Baily, Krisnamurti, Edgar Cayce, David Spangler and Benjamin Creme are looked on with esteem and respect.

When it first became known in Christian circles the New Age Movement was often presented as a secret political conspiracy to take over the U.N. and the U.S. In the ensuing years, it has proven to be something even more dangerous. It has become a social phenomenon has subtly, gradually and yet effectively changed our culture and affected the worldview of many Americans, even Christians.

Summary of Beliefs

God: God is an impersonal deity. The New Age is pantheistic in theology.
Jesus: A mere man, who was possessed by the Christ spirit. A vessel for the World Teacher.
Salvation: The goal is to achieve spiritual enlightenment.
Human nature: Man is essentially divine, and has unlimited potential.
Sin: What the Bible calls sins are errors and misconceptions. Spiritual knowledge and
experience will free man from these errors.
Afterlife: Reincarnation is a fact. Salvation will come when we are absorbed into the divine all.
Scripture and Texts: Various texts, including the Bible, Eastern religious scriptures, books by
Alice Bailey, H. P. Blavatsky, Edgar Cayce, David Spangler, Krishnamurti, Mark and Clare Prophet, New Thought writers, etc.
Truth: Relative to the individual person.

Group Snapshot: Jehovah’s Witnesses

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The official name for this group is the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, often simply called the Watchtower. The members of the organization are generally called Jehovah’s Witnesses, witnesses or simply Christians. They meet in buildings called Kingdom Halls. They are known for their literature: The Watchtower magazine, Awake! magazine, The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, and numerous books and pamphlets. The Watchtower claims that its source of authority is the Bible. However the Witnesses are discouraged from reading the Bible by itself, and instead are required to study the Bible only as interpreted and presented through Watchtower books and literature.

Origins:

What is now the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society began in 1879. It was founded by Charles T. Russell. Russell was a man who had been influenced by Seventh-Day Adventists and was adamantly against the Christian doctrine of hell. In the 1870’s Russell was elected as “Pastor” by a small group of students who had gathered to hear his teachings. With Russell’s death in 1916 the leadership passed to “Judge” Joseph Rutherford. It was under Rutherford that the group took the name Jehovah’s Witnesses and established the essentials of their doctrine.

Essential Doctrines:

1. Jehovah’s Witnesses deny the Trinity. They believe that only the Father is Jehovah God.
2. Jesus is viewed as the first and greatest creation of Jehovah. He is a god, but not the Almighty God. He was created as the Archangel Michael, he came to earth as Jesus, and was resurrected a spirit creature. His resurrection was definitely not bodily and physical.
3. Not only is the Holy Spirit not God, he is not even a person in JW theology. The Spirit is the power or activity of God, his impersonal force at work.
4. The Watchtower denies the reality of an everlasting hell. Hell is death, the grave.
5. Men do not have souls that live on after death. They are souls. When a man dies, his soul is also dead. The resurrection is really God’s recreation of a person.
6. There are only 144,000 who are born again and make up the Bride of Christ. These will be resurrected and live in heaven with Jesus. The rest of the true followers of Jehovah, if they are resurrected, will live in natural bodies here on this earth.
7. The Watchtower is God’s theocratic institution here on earth. The Society speaks as the end-time prophet of God.
8. Jehovah’s Witnesses are the only true followers of God, the only genuine Christians.
9. Armageddon is due to occur at any time. When it comes then all false religions, especially churches, will be wiped out. The only ones left will the JW’s.

Summary of Beliefs

God: God is a solitary being. The idea of the Trinity is pagan and devilish.
Jesus: Jesus was the Archangel Michael before coming to earth. He is a divine being, the first
and greatest creation of Jehovah God. But He is not Jehovah, or the Almighty God. He died on a torture stake, not a cross; and resurrected as a spirit creature, not physically.
Salvation: Salvation is gained through the works you do for Jehovah.
Human nature: Man is fallen and needs redemption.
Afterlife: Man does not have a soul; he is a soul. When he dies, he ceases to exist. The
resurrection is actually a recreation of our persons. Only the 144,000 go to heaven, as the Bride of Christ. The rest of Jehovah’s followers live on earth eternally. There is no eternal hell.
Scripture: The Bible, but as interpreted through Watchtower writings.
Truth: They claim to believe in absolutes and a Biblical understanding of truth. But all is filtered
through Watchtower writings and teaching.

To Trogo or Not To Trogo

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Enough! You have out waited me. I tried waiting patiently to see how many of you would be curious enough to ask the meaning of “trogo.” (“Trogo? Wasn’t he the Japanese warlord during WWII?”) But few have seemed interested. So today I cry “Uncle!” I guess I’ll just have to break down and explain the word.

I picked Trogo for several reasons. (By the way, the word has a hard “g”—like goose or Gandalf, not soft like giant or gerrymander.) Primarily the definition drew me—which we will get to in a moment. But I also like the sound of it. It sounds cavemanesque. You know, troglodytes and all that. Primal. Primitive. Also, it’s sorta rhythmic—like a chant. Imagine a slave-powered Roman galley. “Tro-go! Tro-go! Tro-go!” You can almost see those poor blighters heaving those massive oars to the beat of the drum. Plus, it sounds just a tad weird. Not Stephen King weird, just scratching your head and wondering weird.

The word trogo is Greek—a Greek verb, to be more specific. It means to chew, to gnaw, to eat, especially to eat slowly. In classical Greek it was used of a cow chewing its cud. (Moooooo! “Down, Bossie!”) The main purpose of the Trogo writings is, simply put, my own enjoyment. It is a creative release for me. However, I also do hope that at times I will give my readers something to think about, something to chew on. Hence, Trogo. (Two-Four-Six-Eight-What do we ruminate? Trogo! Trogo! Trogo!)

Yet, there is still another reason I chose this word—because of the way that Jesus Himself used it in the Gospels. This is especially true in the Gospel of John. Here the Master states:

“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” (John 6:51)

This is one of those verses, and contexts, that has many interpretations—a diversity of meanings. It is certainly an atonement passage. It also has Eucharistic overtones. It portrays to us the cost of salvation, as well as the desire of the Savior. But there is also something else…

The phrase “if anyone eats” intrigues me. For the word used here, in the original Koine Greek, is trogo. Let’s analyze this for a moment.

Why didn’t Jesus use a different word? There are several other Greek words meaning “to eat.” You would think that the Lord would use a word that connotes a one time eating, an act, an event of eating. This could carry the idea of commitment, a decision to “ingest” Jesus in our lives, to accept Him. But He did not do that. Instead, he used a word that literally means “to chew, to gnaw.” You get the idea of the process of eating—not an event, but a sequence of events.

From this I gather that the Lord is calling us to is a life lived in process. A progression. Life is to be a course, a journey…not a stop sign. Not even an intersection—although it begins that way. You see, inherent in that one word, trogo, is a picture of a believer in Jesus assimilating the Savior into his or her life, slowly, thoughtfully, over time, through a continuing process. Indeed, through a lifelong process.

Jim Elliot, that great missionary and martyr, knew this. He once said, “One does not surrender a life in an instant—that which is lifelong can only be surrendered in a lifetime.”

How important this concept is! How much we need to hear this truth! We are so impatient and hurried and rushed in our lives. Our attitudes cry out… “God, I want maturity—and I want it NOW!” If our behavior and our lifestyles reveal anything, then what we say in our hearts is far different from what we way with our lips. With our mouths we may say we want to serve God, but our hearts really say:

Lord, don’t teach me patience; it takes too long to master it.
Lord, don’t teach me how to love; it’s too time consuming, and hurtful.
Lord, don’t teach me kindness; it takes too much time to stop and care.
Lord, don’t teach me gentleness; I’d have to work too many hours at taming myself.
Lord, don’t teach me how to forgive; too much baggage to carry, it’ll only slow me down.
Lord, don’t teach me compassion; it’s too messy and too often dirty.

If we would be honest, brutally and bluntly honest, what we say to God is (maybe not in words, but in our attitudes and actions) …

“Lord, don’t make me like Jesus. I don’t have time for it!”

You see, it takes a long time—journeying through many valleys, pains, hurts, sorrows, much drudgery and hard labor to become like Jesus. Think not? (What planet are you living on?) Consider this then: It was the road Jesus Himself trod. “Though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience through the things He suffered” (Hebrews 5:8). This is what He did! Are the servants any better than their Master?

You see, this road, the Calvary road, the Golgotha path, is not an expressway. It is a road that we walk one step at a time, trek one foot at a time. There is no instant maturity while traveling this way. We learn the terrain one day at a time, one hurt at a time, one victory at a time. We feel our way, check out the map, follow those who have gone ahead, and tread in the footsteps of the Master.

Then little by little we find that we are slowly climbing higher, and growing stronger, and getting better at the traveling itself. For as we travel, we are developing character. But character comes gradually, if it is genuine. What is character? True character is nothing less than the image of our Lord formed in us.

So we must purpose, as did Christian in Pilgrim’s Progress, to journey to the Celestial City. And as we journey, we only grow, and we only receive sustenance for the trip, as we “eat the flesh of the Son of Man”—as we take Him into our lives. We chew on His words, and (I say this with utmost reverence) we “chew” on Him who is the Word. Little by little we assimilate the nature, the character, the very Person of the Son of Man into our lives, becoming ever more and ever more like Him. Thus, we go from “glory to glory” (2 Cor. 3:18).

Good journey, and safe home!