Why Witchcraft?, Why Goddess Worship? A Scriptural Response

I am currently reading "Kingdom of the Occult" by Dr. Walter Martin. A good portion of the book deals with Satanism and Witchcraft. Without a doubt there is a prolific increase in the acceptance of Neopaganism in our society today. But why is this? What is the lure that Witchcraft offers that so many are being drawn to this evil religion?

I'd like to share an excerpt with you from Walter Martin's book that attempts to explain why this is.

Rejection of the Church

"There is a rejection of a church divided between orthodoxy and anarchy, a church that wants only part of the substance and part of the form of the Gospel, with no real commitment to the authority of either. Contemplative prayer - with its New Age technique of emptying the mind - labyrinth walking, goddess worship, and countless other forms of mysticism have invaded the church in the twenty-first century as they did in the first. Deserting the defense of the faith in deference to a "seeker-sensitive" mentality has resulted in a church divided, with a "live and let live" worldview that opens the door to the invasion of God as "mother" theology - a legacy of Sophia. This is anarchy."

"There is also a desperate need for purpose, meaning and order in a mechanistic and technocratic world where the individual has been largely forgotten, and where corporate structure and thinking has degraded the value of an individual soul. Why are people turning to Witchcraft? They are drawn to it because it offers the freedom of individuality and the power to change the world around them. As Witches, they do not feel as if they are beating their heads and their hands bloody against power structures that appear to care very little about anything, except perpetuating themselves in power. This need for purpose, meaning and order in a mechanistic and technocratic society is certainly one of the primary reasons for a turn toward Witchcraft."

"Also, people are fascinated by the unknown and challenged by any attempt to know the future. This is why they study tarot cards; this is why they visit palm readers; and this is why astrology often gains a foothold in their lives. The power of Witchcraft fascinates because through it, people can reach out and know something about themselves, the person next to them and about their neighbors. They can exert authority and power over other people with this knowledge, and that is what Witchcraft offers to those who come looking for it."

What should the Christian attitude be?

So should we sit on the sidelines wringing our hands, quietly quoting Bible verses? Or do we learn the Biblical position and then take definitive action? It is this last response that must be our choice." We know what God's attitude toward mediums, psychics and all occultist's is. Moses details the warning of God in Deuteronomy 18:9-14

"When you come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a wizard or a necromancer, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD. And because of these abominations the LORD your God is driving them out before you. You shall be blameless before the LORD your God, for these nations, which you are about to dispossess, listen to fortune-tellers and to diviners. But as for you, the LORD your God has not allowed you to do this."

Another example of God's attitude toward Witchcraft is found in Acts 13:5-12 when the Apostle Paul encountered a male Witch.

"When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them. When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, 'You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? And now behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.' Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand. Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord."

Witchcraft will always stand against the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There is no such thing as a friendly Witch when talking about the only path to salvation. Some Witches may be willing to talk about Christianity and Witchcraft from the perspective that modern Christians have wronged the Witches (as did the Old Testament prophets and the early church), but it is amazing how they suddenly become angry when it gets right down to the nitty-gritty of who Jesus Christ is and what the Christian Gospel is all about. Christ stands in judgment over them. He is no medium. He is no Witch. He is Sovereign Lord of all and they must obey Him - but they refuse to do so, for the source of their power is not Jesus Christ; the source of their power is the prince of darkness. That is why Witches will always oppose the Son of God.

Christ's Gospel is not negotiable

When this Witch withstood the Gospel, Paul did not negotiate on the defense of the faith. He did not say, 'I suggest we sit down and have a theological orientation on this subject...' No, the Apostles did not waste their time with the nonsense that ties up the church today. They knew precisely what to do when they were confronted with evil. they never found Jesus Christ's Gospel negotiable. NEVER!

When the Holy Spirit encounters Witches, there is only one outcome: The Witches come out on the short end of the broomstick. This happens every time, and the Christian must realize the power that is at our disposal; we must recognize the authority that has been conferred upon us as the children of God.

"Beloved, now we are children of god; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." 1John 3:2

In Galatians 5:20, the Apostle Paul listed Witchcraft as one of the works of the flesh and warned the church not to practice it. It is no accident that God chooses to remind us that Witchcraft is forbidden. the people who play with Ouija boards and occult games and spells should take care. Witchcraft is one of the works of the flesh, listed among those things condemned by God, and those who practice them will not inherit the kingdom of heaven.

But the good news in all this is that there is power in the blood of Christ. There is power in the Gospel. there is power in the Spirit that lives within the temple of the believer - power to touch the lives of the Witches and of all Neopagans - the kind of power that they fear, their masters fear, and from which Satan himself will flee. No force of evil in the universe is equal to that of a Christian on his or her knees.

"You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." 1John 4:4-5

The church of Jesus Christ has the priceless privilege of exposure to the message of God's grace and we are committed to the ministry of reconciliation. May the Lord give us the wisdom and the grace to realize that the Witches, and those who are dominated by Satan, are also souls who need to be saved from sin. Only Jesus Christ can bring them out of the authority of darkness and into His beloved kingdom. This is the true God. This is life eternal.