|
The
Spiritual Combat by
Dom L. Scupoli A famous Catholic classic on the strategy for achieving spiritual perfection and salvation. Shows how to combat our passions and vices with an intelligent method in order to achieve a final victory. Also shows how to concentrate one's energies to make constant spiritual progress. One of the Church's all-time unforgettable books on the spiritual life and a favorite book of St. Francis de Sales. Highly recommended! CLICK HERE |
CONTRAVENING THE OLD TESTAMENT, POTTER ARRIVES AS AN OCCULT TIDAL WAVE
It looks innocent enough, even cute. There is the bespectacled boy, Harry Potter, and he stands up against the forces of evil. He does this by using magic. He's a wizard. He trains under witches. He is a witch -- more technically, a warlock. But it's all in fun. Harmless. Those who complain are on the fringe.
And so it is that at the most spiritually vulnerable time in recent world history comes an occult tidal wave, packaged irresistibly. This is the Beaver Cleaver of witchery. Never has the occult come in such a desirable form, and never has it come in such a massive fashion. We don't pretend to be experts on Potter, but we know all we need to know. We know that Potter casts spells, that he employs witchcraft (there is no such thing as "good" witchcraft), and that the books about him contain the names of actual demons. One former witch -- now a pastor -- described the Potter series as "witchcraft manuals" written at a surprising level of sophistication.
There is the Hogwart's School of Witchcraft. There is a witch's actual incantation.
Such is anything but harmless and the residue will be with us for years. For to orient our youth in the direction of the occult and to expose them to such forces in the name of fun is very dangerous and comes at a time (remember September 11?) when we're supposed to be in the mode of repentance. Societies in Egyptian and Roman times were chastised for involvement in precisely such paganism.
It has nothing to do with fanaticism. It has everything to do with the Bible. Again, the bottom line is simple. As it explicitly states in Deuteronomy 18:10: "Let there not be found among you anyone who immolates his son or daughter in the fire, nor a fortuneteller, soothsayer, charmer, diviner, or caster of spells, nor one who consults ghosts or spirits or seeks oracles from the dead. Anyone who does such things is an abomination to the Lord." In another version (the King James) it explicitly uses the term "wizard" as a condemned practice and in 1 Samuel 15:23 we see mentioned "the sin of witchcraft." In II Chronicles is the account of a man who "wrought much evil in the sight of the Lord" because he "used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards."
It doesn't get much more direct then that. You believe the Bible or you believe J.K. Rowling. As we recall, Rowling told an interviewer she was given the idea by an entity that popped into her head. We wonder what that could have been, but we do not wonder about her books. However cute, to embrace Potter is to expose our kids to the energy of darkness. We realize that many of you have done so unknowingly, and so that's excused; we know you meant no harm. But you know now, or will if you open up Scripture. Whenever we have books or see movies involving the occult, there is the potential for infestation. Often unrecognized, spirits are allowed to attach themselves to people who willingly expose themselves; let's not forget that the child behind the case in The Exorcist became possessed after playing with a "harmless" Ouija Board.
Hopefully, Potter will quickly fade. But it doesn't look like he will. It looks like it could be one of the biggest movies ever. And it couldn't come at a more spiritually vulnerable time. During a moment when the Lord is calling us back-- and specifically calling us to guard our youth -- here we are sending what can only be described as the occult's version of a tidal wave.