I'm surprised so many people here are can't seem to focus on the bigger, historical picture.
You know the old saying about boiling a frog. You start him out in cold water. Then slowly turn up the heat. By the time he realizes what is happening, the water is too hot for him to get out of. No one can deny the general public's accepetance of occult activity as "normal" has grown exponentially in the last 40 years.
- One guy has a TV show where he talks to the dead.
- Fortune tellers have become mainstream (call up madame whoever and have your fortune told anytime of the day.)
- Followers of Gaia have big roles in both the womens' and environmental movements.
- Wicca is now widespread enough that it is recognized by the military and allowed to hold religious cermonies on bases.
How did this all come about? Sure there are lots of reasons, but the softpedaling of the occult by Hollywood over the years has had some influence. "Bewitched" (along with numerous other Hollywood creations) certainly didn't cause people to all of a sudden turn to witchcraft on a wholesale basis, but it did plant the seed in people's minds that witches are not that different from everyone else, and that witchcraft is perhaps not that bad after all.
Drip, drip, drip. It is the small, slow, subtle influences over the years that have built up over time till we are where we are today. A time when witchcraft (Wicca) is considered by many to be "just another religion", and nothing to worry about.
A far cry from just 40 years ago.
Film Reviews From A Christian Perspective
by Phil Boatwright
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Robbie Coltrane, Michael Gambon, Gary Oldman, Maggie Smith. Warner Bros. Kids fantasy/adventure. W-Steve Kloves. D-Alfonso Cuaron.
"Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," like the previous two
installments from J. K. Rowling's hugely successful supernaturalism book series, is simply a masterpiece of technical craftsmanship and a brilliant example of rudimentary storytelling. That said, there is a problem. And that problem rests with its thematic foundation - witchcraft.
A dangerous and enigmatic wizard, Sirius Black, has escaped Azkaban prison and is believed to be searching for Harry. Legend has it that Black was responsible for leading Lord Voldemort to Harry's parents and ultimately to their subsequent deaths; it is also believed that he is determined to kill Harry too.
To make matters worse, Hogwarts is playing host to the Dementors, the terrifying Azkaban guards (ghost-like ghouls) who are stationed at the school in an attempt to protect the students from Sirius Black. The Dementors suck the souls from their victims and, unfortunately for Harry, they seem to have more of an effect on him than the rest of his classmates. Their ominous presence chills the young wizard to the bone, rendering him virtually helpless, until Professor Lupin, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, trains Harry in how to use the Patronus Charm to shield himself from the Dementors' paralyzing effects.
Meanwhile, Harry's third year at Hogwarts resonates with eerie encounters, adventures, mysteries and spell casting.
Action/adventures such as the film "The Craft" or the TV show "Charmed" ultimately deal with self-empowerment. Unhappy at home, unpopular at school, frustrated with the trials of life, many adolescents seek such validation and solace in things supernatural. But since Christianity and Judaism often seem a fanatical part of their parents' established world, they sometimes rebel by delving into the occult. Then, once ensconced in that dark culture, they find it coloring all aspects of life, ultimately destroying their souls.
I wouldn't suggest that viewing Harry Potter will lead to spiritual destruction. But it's a mistake to underestimate the impact of the occult, even in children's entertainment. Make no mistake, the real purpose of the occult is to lead people from the truth.
Both the Old and New Testaments warn against an involvement with these dark practices. In Revelation 22:15, NIV, Jesus states clearly that those who practice magic arts will suffer the same disastrous fate as murderers, idolaters, and the sexually immoral.
http://www.saworship.com/article-page.php?ID=1257&Page=family.php
The guy with the TV show where he supposedly talks to the dead is nothing more than a cold reader, and a bad one at that. He just plays the odds and makes junk up.
The telephone psychics use the same shtick, they tend to be better at it, of course they also get your credit card number and can run a quick check on you so they get a nice leg up (see a charge at a hospital recently "some one close to you is having health problems"... easiest game in the world, I can teach a 6 year-old how to do it in half an hour, no magic involved).
Of course Gaia yahoos have big numbers in the womens and enviro movements, Gaia yahoos tend to be tree hugging lesbians, nothing but demographics there.
Lots of wierd religions and psuedo religions get "recognized" these days. Lawyers have more to do with that than Harry Potter, I declare I'm a Movementarian and supply my ocmpany with my holy days and if they don't give me those days off with pay just like the Christians get Christmas I sue. Doesn't take a lot of these guys to get things to a point where everybody's claimed religion gets equal treatment.
Not much different than 40 years ago really. LOTR was really popular then, hippies were getting into the whole earth mother thing, and stupid people were doing stupid things for stupid reasons. To quote David Byrne "same as it ever was".
Boy, I'll say! I was even reading in a book recently how a witch conjured up some wild animals to devour children:
2 Kings 2:23
From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some youths came out of the town and jeered at him. "Go on up, you baldhead!" they said. "Go on up, you baldhead!" He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD . Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths.
(snip). . . . A time when witchcraft (Wicca) is considered by many to be "just another religion", and nothing to worry about.
I happened to live near the military base to which you refer and know the chaplain who dealt with the whole mess. The Wiccans (as opposed to witches) are pagans and worship nature. We're not talking sacrifices and spells.
Interestingly enough, I'd rather my kids taking object lessons from the Wiccans, who quietly asked for a place to meet, than from the local holy rollers who loudly protested at local shopping centers and went so far as to make death threats to the chaplain who was charged with religious liberty on base or to the Wiccans themselves.