Permission must be obtained from the copyright holder for any other purpose, or for multiple copies.
Satanism or Christianity?
Bible truth about the occult
THE question can be simply put. Should we believe in a supreme and all-powerful Being who is the essence of goodness – a God who is so interested and concerned for His creatures that He sent His Son to be the saviour of mankind; or should we place our trust in a supernatural power of wickedness and darkness – the basis of occult beliefs? Only one other possibility has ever been considered, and that has been a belief that man can determine his own destiny and solve the world’s problems.
Despite the great strides made by mankind in the technical world – or perhaps even because of them – man’s inability to solve the one problem that afflicts every human being has caused him to search elsewhere for answers. Man’s great problem is his certain destiny. The great advances made in the last century-and-a-half have shown that it is not just death that needs removing from the earth; the effects of mortality are equally serious. People are now living much longer than they used to. Yet who really wants to live an extra five or ten years if they bring no improved quality of life?
In years gone by religion would have given mankind the opportunity to discover satisfactory answers to this universal problem. But society today has relegated religion to a very low position. Religion is the butt of comedians’ jokes, and religious leaders rarely comment on anything other than sociological issues. This situation has occurred for a number of reasons. Primarily it has come about because the authority of God’s revelation of Himself and His purpose has been forsaken. Men have failed to denounce as “sin” behaviour which is contrary to His law. Self-indulgent thought has been elevated by the producers and consumers of technology, and religious principles are scorned. Unthinkingly, Karl Marx’s comment about religion has been widely accepted; he called it “the opium of the people”.
If religion has become a no-go area for many people, where else can they turn? Some deliberately push into the back of their minds the reality of life and its unanswered questions and make the desire for entertainment act as a buffer against searching enquiries about man’s destiny. But the claims of believers in the occult have provided for others an outlet for their frustration. The purpose of this booklet is to examine these claims and to measure them against those made in the Bible. Are they serious claims, demanding careful attention? Or are they just another form of entertainment – a type of escapism where the need to go to extremes is like a drug addict requiring ever stronger and more frequent doses?
A source of authority
As with all difficult questions the true answer can only be found from an authoritative source. In matters affecting man and his worship, and enquiries about his eternal destiny, only one authority has been confirmed by the passage of time, and that is the Bible – the word of God Himself. It is sincerely to be regretted that this word of authority, while not failing in itself, has not been well represented by those who claim to uphold it. Many people, for example, will claim that religion has failed. But if religion has failed to provide answers only two conclusions can be drawn. Either the answers cannot be found in a religious faith, or those who are in leading religious positions are not making these answers widely available. There is no middle course. The same is true for belief in the occult. Either it really offers answers, or it is an elaborate sham or a mirage, confusing those who place their trust in it. There are no half measures.
Definitions
But can occult beliefs offer any real solutions to the difficulties posed by illness and death, by a growing population and reducing natural resources? Let us first look at what the terms Satanism and the Occult describe. According to dictionary definitions, occult is the wider term. It is applied to all ‘sciences’ involving the knowledge or use of the supernatural, like astrology, magic, or witchcraft. Satanism is a more specific definition, and is used to refer to the worship of Satan, who is alleged to be the supreme evil spirit.
Without wishing to make too much of the words themselves, for we wish primarily to examine the claims made by adherents to these beliefs, the derivation of the term “occult” is interesting and significant for our enquiry. It is based on the Latin word meaning ‘to hide’. The occult therefore deals with those things which are kept secret or hidden, shrouded in darkness, or beyond the range of ordinary knowledge. Because they involve hidden or secret things occult practices are sometimes called the Black Arts.
The terms themselves therefore involve a range of varying beliefs and practices, and any explanation of them can only cover generalities. Not all believers in the supernatural will believe all of the following, but it is a genuine attempt to show what occultic beliefs involve.
The primary belief is in a strong power or force of wickedness. Often this is personalised, either into one demonic being – called Satan, Lucifer, or the Devil – or into a whole hierarchy of evil spirits through which the world and its inhabitants are controlled. As the supreme power in the earth, it must be obeyed or appeased. To defy it is to court disaster, and dread warnings are given of what may befall anyone who opposes it. The worship of the Devil by Satanists has therefore been likened to the worship of God, though as we shall see, the analogy is not really helpful. God does not ask to be appeased to stop Him unleashing His judgements on an unsuspecting world, yet this attitude is adopted by those involved in the Black Arts towards the ungodly supernatural power which they believe exists. All sorts of different means are used to show that they are ‘in tune’ with wicked forces, which they trust will then work in their favour; for them, and not against them.
A lot of these practices bear striking similarities, at least outwardly, to religious devotions. At the centre of the religious life of believers in Christ is the communion meal, when they share together bread and wine – symbols of Christ’s body and blood – in memory of his victory over sin and death. Many believers in the occult hold services where real blood is offered and drunk as a mark of the ‘fellowship’ existing between the congregation and the ungodly powers, the blood having first been taken from a ‘living sacrifice’.
Comparisons with religious worship
As sacrifices and ritual in occult worship shadow similar practices connected with religious worship, belief in the supernatural and in the power of evil has become itself a religion – the worship of a superior being. But instead of the belief and worship of a God who is essentially good, the supernatural being in occult worship is utterly and completely malevolent. Because of the great differences between the objects of worship of believers in God and believers in the occult, the effect upon them is also completely different. True belief in a God who cares for the people of His creation, and who is concerned about their eternal destiny, develops love, trust and confidence in those who worship Him. By contrast, worship of a supposedly evil power issues from fear: fear of the consequences of failing to give honour and respect; and fear of the punishments that will be directed at anyone denying the existence of that power.
It is sometimes suggested that belief in the supernatural is not inconsistent with believing in the God who created the world and sent His Son for the salvation of mankind. There is, so it is said, both a power for good and a power of evil, and man must decide which he chooses to worship. Even some of those who claim to worship God alone also recognise an ungodly power of wickedness from which they believe they have been delivered. They believe also that there are evil spirits which can possess innocent people against their will, and that they need removing – or exorcising – to allow the individual to serve God wholeheartedly. We must therefore find an answer to the following question:
