Maybe so, maybe not. I'm not an expert in the occult. All I can say is, it's a very convenient assertion to make, given that anyone who did actually have occult knowledge, would instantly be dismissed for disagreeing with him on the grounds that they were batting for the other team.
Many equally qualified analyses take a contrary view, so I'll keep an open mind. It's either that, or proclaim his argument the winning one purely on the basis that he played a similar debating tactic to "Godwin's Law".
I wonder how many on here actually read the Bible?Pastor Phelps is apparently able to quote whole books of the Bible verbatim, but that doesn't make him right.
"Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons" on its own means one thing, but put it together with, "On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’" and it can mean something completely different.
Obviously, in Salem some 318 years ago there were a lot of people accusing each other of using witchcraft, and consorting with the Devil, and so on... a clear case of what can happen when you do not have enough good Christian folk reading Psalm 91, Proverbs 3, and 1 John 4:18 because they're too busy tossing themselves off over the fire and brimstone bits.