Intro
How They Hook You
What is the Occult?
Ever since the hippie movement, the occult has been seeping into mainstream America like poison into a river. It has always had a dedicated segment of followers, but many ignored it because they underestimated the power it had to influence society. In fact, the first time it made the mainstream press was in 1987 on the cover of Time magazine! The same was thought of the homosexual movement. Christians thought that there was just be no way that society could accept such gross perversions of nature (much less condone it). They were wrong, as both movements (one a perversion of nature and one a perversion of the Word of God) are condoned and accepted as normal in the upcoming generation. They have made a stand while Christians remained submissive and complacent. Christians have a lot of stand-making to catch up on!
Followers of the occult attract new members by visions of prosperity, self-fulfillment and self-gain. They give you a formula that bypasses the deep, heart-felt desire to love Jesus Christ and the discipline of prayer. They speak of ways that you can use spirituality to spawn financial gain. Recently, many Christian preachers have lured new members (and succeeded) by appealing to their sense of financial greed. Hence, we have the false "prosperity doctrine" that has the mainline Christian establishment by the throat.
It appeals to those with no spiritual goals or primary aims in life. The occult is very addictive, and followers know that. They know that if you try one thing you will keep coming back. They tell you to use your imagination to invent the world around you, to isolate you from all pain and suffering, to quiet your screaming conscience, to scratch your itching ears. But when we isolate ourselves from the problems around us, we become weak and unable to change the (real) world for the better. We are unable to help others when we are basking in our own little paradise.
They also hook you by feeding some truth in with the overall lie. They claim science as their ally, when science (especially archeology) points to the historical authority of the Word of God. When they talk about casting spells, they also mention that electromagnetic radiation emitted from the brain lets the brains of others know what you need on a subconsciouse level so they can get it to you (if you are still following!). Don't believe a word of it. It all boils down to money, just like everything else. While some may be sincere in their do-goodism (although ignorant), most of the people we find involved in the occult are weak when push comes to shove.
The occult can be defined as a kind of supersticious mysticism that denies the deityship of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a world where people mistakenly invent their own religions from a sea of beliefs, each following a different path.
Think back to when you were in the first grade (if you can think back that far!). Compare an occultist's religion to a picture that is being colored. There are many crayons available; perhaps almost a hundred or so different colors to choose from. Of all the colors available, you will only use which ones attract your attention and suit your taste the best. But this doesn't mean that another color scheme using different colors would be wrong; you use what you like best. An occultist picks and chooses his beliefs in the same way you used to pick and choose colors.
The occult can be thought of as having four levels of involvement:
Dabbling is the first step into the occult world. Dabblers have had an interest provoked somewhere along the line, possibly by a friend, movie, book...anything really. Concerned Christians know how much occult doctrine has permeated every facet of American culture. A dabbler will usually go further up the ladder until his curiosity is satisfied. But that doesn't mean that he will. Many New Agers will never join the Church of Wicca (the organized religion of witchcraft) because they are content with the depth of their beliefs. They have no further interest in going deeper into the occult. They, too, are very dedicated secular-spiritualists.
New Agers adhere to the new age religion. It is unique because it allows its members to pick-and-choose their beliefs. They do not reject beliefs however; they simply set them aside. It is a religion based on relativism, and anything goes. Many believe in reincarnation, or they just make up something about where they go when they die. They reject traditional Biblical notions of a literal, painful hell for people who choose not to follow Jesus Christ. New Agers practice the same occult things that dabblers do (and more); they just do it with greater conviction.
Adherents to Witchcraft (Wicca)
There is a difference between witchcraft and Wicca. Wicca is the organized religion that practices only "white" magik. Wicca typically believes in Celtic mythology the same way that Christians believe the Bible. Slogans used by Wiccans include "Blessed be","So mote it be", and the Wiccan maxim, "An' it harm none, do as thou wilt."
Witchcraft is the practice of white and black magik. A word about white magik: Followers claim it to be "white" because it "doesn't hurt" anyone. But in reality, white and black magik are orchastrated by the father of lies, Satan. Those involved in the occult have a kind of wishy-washy weakness in their lives. Do not be curious about what I am saying. It is very easy to get sucked into a fantasy land of prosperity and pleasure, as if life were some kind of video game where people never get hurt, but only continue to live in happiness. I have felt the void that comes at the end of the road, when there are no more games and illusions to play. There is no fantasy; reality is all there is, like it or not.
Satanists are a mystery to me. I don't know if they think they are cool for worshipping the devil or what - but they are a mystery to me. Perhaps the most dedicated satanists belong to the organized Church of Satan, founded by Anton LeVeigh (deceased). I do not know much about satanism, except for the fact that they are into hardcore conjuring. Many witches who believe in black magik are into this sort of thing also. Many conjurers and sorcerers follow the conjuring style as laid out in the Necronomicon, a book of conjurings written in the 5th century (around the beginning of the Catholic Church) by an Arab sorcerer named Abdul Alzared. The Necronomicon conjures different demons to handle different tasks (similar to the way that a Microsoft task wizard handles things!).
Self-styled satanists are those who worship the devil in their own way, but do not belong to or follow the teachings of the organized Church of Satan. Many teenage satanists fit into this catagory.
