OPINION:
By the time the clock strikes midnight on Halloween this coming Thursday, Americans are expected to have shelled out $12 billion to mark the occasion.
With its pagan origins, involving druids, ghosts, and goblins, among other things, there are Christians who deliberately ignore even the seemingly innocent aspects of the day. Then there are many of us who choose to focus on the happier side. Many churches even hold “harvest” festivals and invite children to dress up in fun costumes.
Subscribe to have The Washington Times’ Higher Ground delivered to your inbox every Sunday.
But sadly, there are far too many who view Halloween as something of a secular high holy day – especially an increasing number of young people. Included among these would be “Wiccans” and “witches” – members of a paganistic religion that dates to the 1950s and took hold in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s.
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica:
Wiccan rituals typically take place in a practitioner’s home, often at night, rather than in purpose-built structures. They take place in a circle, at one end of which is an altar. Common ritual tools include a censer of incense, a chalice, a pentacle, a wand, and a knife known as an athame, which is not used to draw blood. Some Wiccans perform rituals naked (or “skyclad”), while others wear robes or everyday clothing. Rituals are typically described as magical, designed to focus the willpower of the assembled Wiccans in the belief that doing so will bring about a desired change in the physical universe, commonly for healing or to assist those in need.
SEE ALSO: Ex-psychic sounds alarm on dire dangers of Halloween, Ouija boards
Wicca’s popularity, especially with young people, gets an assist from the various entertainment offerings that glamorize the practice. This includes Netflix’s “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” and ABC’s “Once Upon a Time.”
Social analysts attribute its appeal to young people to a variety of things. First, given the decrease in Christianity across the culture, a void has developed and a hunger for something beyond the here and now. People will always worship something. Wicca also addresses many hot-topic buttons of interest to young people: LGBT issues, so-called gender equality, and climate change.
Listen to the ReFOCUS with Jim Daly podcast, where Jim digs deep and asks the hard questions to help you share Christ’s grace, truth and love.
Our Focus team has also warned moms and dads of the following characteristics of Wicca that seem to be sucking young people in:
Tolerance and openness
Hashtags such as #mindfulness, #meditation, #spirituality, and #wellness connect Wiccans across social media platforms. Wicca especially appeals to younger teens who feel pressured to show “tolerance.”
Re-establish the matriarchy
One of Wicca’s primary goals is to re-establish female power and usher in a new era of goddess worship. This is based in part on a flawed reimagining of history in which pre-Christian, ancient societies were matriarchal and utopian.
Emotional highs
In appealing to younger teens, especially females, Wicca promises a safe medium to manage and heighten one’s emotions. Wiccans believe that connecting with nature enables them to both receive and give extensive healing and miracles. Of course, these emotional highs ultimately are not grounded in universal, consistent truth.
Influence over reality
The promise of being able to influence your reality sounds particularly appealing to teenagers who might otherwise feel powerless. Through incantations and rituals, Wicca promises an outlet for teens to manipulate power in the universe for their personal benefit.
As a Christian, I believe true tolerance and openness are found in Jesus and His teachings. As far as the “matriarchy” goes, God has created both men and women with equal value, but they serve unique and distinct roles. It’s the wise Christian who finds an emotional ballast in an uneven world. And regarding finding one’s own reality – there are non-negotiable truths. We should be seeking our reality and finding our true identity in Jesus.
Halloween may be October 31 – but on the Christian calendar, the last day of the tenth month is remembered as Reformation Day, a key date in Church history. It was on the last day of October in 1517 when Martin Luther wrote a letter to the Catholic Archbishop of Mainz and Magdeburg, protesting, among other things, the sale of indulgences. He had other complaints, too, and what would become known as the “95 Theses” were nailed to the door of the Schlosskirche (Castle Church) in Wittenburg, Germany.
The Protestant Reformation was officially underway, forever transforming Christianity and the world. Halloween and Wiccan practices, while growing in popularity, still pale in comparison to the theological earthquake of Luther’s action.
–
Jim Daly is president of Focus on the Family and host of its daily radio broadcast, heard by more than 6 million listeners a week on nearly 2,000 radio stations across the U.S. He also hosts the podcast ReFocus with Jim Daly.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.