I can remember that when our children were young, there was a big debate in Evangelical circles as to whether you ought to say anything to your children about Santa Claus. The Easter Bunny was very clearly a no, no. The Tooth Fairy usually did not come under as much fire, but that is because she did not interfere with any Christian beliefs.
Of course, Halloween came under the most fire, as it still tends to do to this day in many overly-conservative Evangelical circles. To allow your children to participate in any trick or treat activities was equivalent to forcing your child into Satanism. Christian urban legends made the rounds about the evil things that happened to either parents or their children if they participated in Halloween. Nobody notices that they were apocryphal and that they followed the typical urban legend format of claiming that your friend knew someone to whom this had happened, or at least knew someone who knew someone. Like the tale(s) of razor blades in apples, these tales spread far beyond reality into what would have had to be an incredibly active conspiracy which no police force ever seemed to spot. In fact, the secular urban legends have been quite effective in coming close to shutting down trick or treat activities in many towns.
All our children are grown nowadays, so we no longer have to face the issues raised by these holidays. However, periodically we will end up facing the person who claims that some adult or young person who is involved in any type of gaming activity is somehow opening themselves up to occult possession. By gaming activity I mean participation in some massive multiplayer online role playing game, such as World of Warcraft, or some participation in a local role playing guild. Inevitably, they are convinced that it is rather easy to become demon possessed or oppressed. And, inevitably, they are convinced that participation alone is sufficient to contaminate someone with a demonic taint.
I do not know fully what to answer some of these folk. Is possession real? Yes. Are exorcisms sometimes necessary? Yes. Are there activities, such as playing with oija boards, that are clearly connected with the occult? Yes. But, is any and every contact with any gaming or diversion activity that has any mention of anything regarding magic or fairies or elves or evil dragons or . . . , automatically to be considered to be a non-Christian activity? No, most emphatically, no!
As Christians we are indeed called to caution with regards to Satan. However, it often appears to me that the arguments made by many in the “see-no-good” camp are based on the oddest mixtures of legalism, a view of the powers of evil that goes far beyond the witness of Scripture and Tradition, and a view of creative literature and leisure time activities that is every bit the conservative Christian equivalent of the “Marxist realism” that the various communist governments insisted must be present in the art and literature within their nations.
It has been commented by more than one person that authors such as C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, J.R.R. Tolkien, etc. would not be allowed to be read by many in the conservative Evangelical camp of which I speak. Unfortunately for that camp, these authors have been so well accepted by the Christian community that there is no way that they can deny them their place in conservative Christianity. Let me go farther and say that William Shakespeare’s, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, would also have been forbidden had it been written nowadays.
But, the worst effect of this camp is that one has to wonder if there are any future Lewises or Chestertons or Tolkiens or Shakespeares among the children of those in that camp. And, if there are, one has to wonder whether we will ever have the opportunity to read them and to even have our Christianity shaped by them. Sadly, I doubt it. The constraints of our modern version of “Marxist Realism,” which I think I will call “Evangelical Realism,” ensure that any “creative” writing or art is strictly channeled down a very limited number of permitted channels.
Here is the not-so-funny part. I am slowly becoming convinced that this whole movement has been one of Satan’s best deceptions. Posing as a defense of our children against Satanic influence of any type, it has actually been a movement that is more likely to reduce Christian creativity and put a set of blinders on our Christian youth. And, in reducing that creativity, it will, in the long run, make our children actually less able to respond to attacks by Satan and less likely to be able to write in ways that will allow them to gain a hearing in non-Christian circles.
The thing is, if you’ve ever met a REAL faery (which is a sort of demon), you’d never joke about “tooth fairy” or “tinkerbell” again. đ
Heh heh,
Very true, but I would not classify them as a “sort of demon.” The faery tales all point out how dangerous it is to enter Faery. But, that is because they appear capricious to our eyes. Various tales point them out as quite different, but not necessarily evil per se. Even G.K. Chesterton’s fairies are not safe.
Having said that, it is not a point I would care to argue. LOL.
Most of the stories about the Fae paint them as a not-quite-human supernatural people that you associate with at your own risk.
And for too many Christians, ANYTHING outside of quoting and reciting their Bible is “A DEMON!!!!!!!” (I’ve played D&D since 1976; I know whereof I speak.) When a light bulb burns out, you don’t get out your Bible and start rebuking the Demon of Burned Out Lightbulbs.
Oh my have you touched a nerve here!! I do not know how many people I have sought to “reeducate” regarding what might be satanic and what is clearly not!! The enemy in my opinion on the one hand plays into the “there is no satan” camp and on the other hand into the “everything imaginary is satanic” camp. Thus the enemy hides in both camps and also succeeds in hiding in the middle because of the folks who go their own way without guidance in a plague on both your houses kind of sense. So you have modern denial of the existence of spiritual warfare and the modern equivalent of witch hunts, both of which make the enemy stronger. If people are so busy watching gamers and readers of Harry Potter and people who enjoy imaginative fiction of all sorts and people who dress up for Halloween for satanic activity, they will be much less aware of the subtle forms of true evil and the real forays of the enemy.
Alix
1) “The Devil sends error in matched opposing pairs, so that in fleeing one we embrace the other.” — either C.S.Lewis or G.K.Chesterton
2) Remember Golden Compass? Phil Pullman has actually thanked J.K.Rowling for taking all the heat with Harry Potter while Golden Compass got a free ride into school required reading lists, children’s book awards, best-sellerdom, and even Christian School Libraries. While the Kyle’s Moms have been denouncing Harry Potter and burning HP books, their kids are reading Golden Compass.
we struggled with these very issues when our children were small, as well. now i prefer to look at the issue from the standpoint of those who spot counterfeit money: the way to spot a counterfeit is not to study all possible counterfeits, but to study the real thing so thoroughly that any fake stands out as an anomaly immediately. the more we focus on satan & his ploys, the less we focus on Jesus, and the less we are able to discern whether we are in satan’s arena or God’s. satan doesn’t care how he takes our focus away from Jesus; one way is as good as any other as long as it accomplishes that goal. our job is to have that “single” eye (matt. 6:22) that is consistently fixed on Jesus (heb. 12:2). thanks, ernesto.
I like that comment!
Like the tale(s) of razor blades in apples, these tales spread far beyond reality into what would have had to be an incredibly active conspiracy which no police force ever seemed to spot.
That is because ALL the police in ALL police forces were part of The Conspiracy. The rules of Grand Unified Conspiracy Theory are now in effect: The Dwarfs are for The Dwarfs, and Won’t Be Taken In.
y gaming activity I mean participation in some massive multiplayer online role playing game, such as World of Warcraft…
Now it’s WoW. Then it was D&D. Same accusations, same anathemas, same denunciations. Except WoW doesn’t have any 25mm miniatures to be demon-possessed and melted down by Christians.
…and a view of creative literature and leisure time activities that is every bit the conservative Christian equivalent of the âMarxist realismâ that the various communist governments insisted must be present in the art and literature within their nations.
Don’t forget the Nazi equivalent, “National Socialist Realism”.
It has been commented by more than one person that authors such as C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, J.R.R. Tolkien, etc. would not be allowed to be read by many in the conservative Evangelical camp of which I speak.
“We, the writers, are faced with the proposition that if we do not write to their criteria, there is no chance of publication â no matter how good our writing is. We could send them the Chronicles of Narnia, and have it rejected on the grounds of smoking, drinking, violence and a nasty outbreak of Universalism in The Last Battle. We could send them Lord of the Rings and have it rejected on the grounds of â again, smoking, drinking and violence, the fact that God doesnât get a mention and no one gets saved in the third act.
— Dr Simon Morden, “Sex and Death and Christian Fiction”
But, the worst effect of this camp is that one has to wonder if there are any future Lewises or Chestertons or Tolkiens or Shakespeares among the children of those in that camp.
Not if I have any say in the matter. I joined the Lost Genre Guild to get away from that mentality. I’ve been the most vocal proponent of mainstreaming (going outside the four Thomas Kincade-decorated walls of Christian Bizarro Land and staying out) in both writers’ lists I belong to. I will never write anything Christian (TM), and I will always encourage others to do the same. Let them keep their Bonnet Romances and “Just like last-years-fad, Except CHRISTIAN (TM)!”, with Bible quotes every X pages, Altar Call Endings, and ever-lengthening list of banned words. I am NOT going to write for The Most Easily Offended Church Ladies. I want to be the next Poul Anderson, not the next LaHaye & Jenkins.
I hadn’t even finished Fr. Ernesto’s article before I started longing to read a response from the Headless Unicorn Guy.
And there it was. And I’m not disappointed. Thanks, HUG.
As if I had nothing to do, I clicked on HUG’s link to the list of banned words. Turns out I just used one of them in reference to Fr. Ernesto (there, I did it again).
The term “Father” (when used to describe a religious official) is not allowed by the publishers of Steeple Hill novels.
I could use up a lot more words on that list if I expressed my opinion.
Blink, blink,
Wow, talk about theological Nazis (or Marxists)! Thou shalt not call any pastor by any term which we do not approve even if we are willing to recognize that they are Christian.
Don’t flatter yourself. How do you know they’d consider an Orthodox priest a pastor? Or a Christian?
You are right, I would be considered an apostate Christian since I left the Evangelical fold!
Don’t blame it all on the Evangelicals. The most vocal denouncer of Harry Potter I’ve ever heard is a thoroughly orthodox JPII Catholic. It makes me discount what he says about a number of other things (justly or unjustly.)
Thanks for this, Father.
I hate the fact that Christians have become SO sensitive to these issues. I mean, c’mon. I understand the intentions- I really do. However, we seem to have become so afraid of anything that might smack of “occult” (whatever that means) that we refuse to use literary devices. Hence, the proliferation of so called “Christian” novels, which more-or-less paraphrase and rip off of the Bible. Or, we can have “realistic” Christian books, i.e. about lawyers, preachers, etc; God forbid we have anything…. interesting or imaginative.
It frustrates me SO much. Alas…. ugh……
Almost forgot to mention-
because I do play Warcraft and, when I can, D&D, I have been counseled several times. I was even once told to “cast away the demons”. I’ll just add it to the list of anathemas against me. *Sigh*
Shh, Tim, I have a level 80 Paladin on WOW, and a level 70 Paladin and (GASP) a level 58 Death Knight!
You know, for a priest, you have a fondness of the Horde that is suspicious.
Hmm…. *casts Starfire* ALLIANCE FOR THE WIN!
LETS DO THIS! LEEEEERRRROOOOOOYYY JENKINSSSSSSSSS!!!
Heh heh, I actually have the “Jenkins” achievement!
In my early D&D days (1976-80), we called it “French Knighting.”
because I do play Warcraft and, when I can, D&D, I have been counseled several times. I was even once told to âcast away the demonsâ.
I was on the fringes when the first Satanic Panic hit in the late Seventies. (Remember Jack Chick’s Dark Dungeons? And Turmoil in the Toybox? Mike Warnke, Constance Cumby, John Todd, Johana Michaelson? And all the other Uber-Christian Spiritual Warfare types denouncing it? The constant digs on Christian radio? The Wholesome Christian Games introduced to fight “This Satanic Game of Dungeons & Demons & the Occult”? The PHB/DMG/MM and Demon-possessed 25mm miniatures shrieking and screaming as Christians threw them into the flames?)