The Weird and Spooky

Because of the season of life I currently find myself in, I have not blogged as often as I would like. It has given me time to think and process these very detailed thoughts. Indeed, in the length of this blog, I will only be able to scratch the surface on this topic. As we approach Halloween, everything is focused on the scare factor; from movies to candy. I must admit there is an aspect of all this I find fun, but this is not the weird and spooky I want to focus on. Instead, I want to focus on four common practices in churches and the lives of believers that are just flat-out wrong according to scripture.

The first weird and spooky idea is animism. Webster’s online dictionary defines animism as “the attribution of a soul to plants, inanimate objects, and natural phenomena.” This is a widely held theology among pagan religions. Cue Pocahontas singing Colors of the Wind. According to scripture, only humans reflect God. Only humans have a soul. I know I will make someone mad right now, but your pet does not have a soul, at least not in the spiritual definition. If you use the soul to define its character, loving nature, etc., perhaps. My pet will not attain salvation. Cap’s disobedience certainly illustrates this. This idea is dangerous to Christian theology and leads to the worship of nature rather than nature’s God.

Second, much is said of curses these days. Do I believe curses exist? Certainly. As a believer, am I under a curse, generational or otherwise? Certainly not! Gal 3:13 in the NLT states, “But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” I am no longer under the curse of sin, so why would I want to profess generational curses over myself and my kids. NO!!! Instead, I will proclaim and declare freedom from every curse through Jesus Christ. What is the danger here? Constantly stating I’m under a curse does two things, it minimizes the power of God in my life and maximizes the enemy’s stronghold. Nope…get behind me, Satan!

Third, I’m sending good vibes. Keep your vibes. I want your blessing in the name of Christ. Vibes are a new age belief that you can change someone’s mood or outlook by sending your thoughts to them. I suppose telepathy is used? Now I am not stupid. I recognize the importance and power of a positive word in someone’s life and the destruction of a negative comment. Let’s be honest. You don’t need my good vibes. You need the blessing of my God. By the way, He made heaven and the earth, so there is that.

Last, not everything that goes wrong in your life is a demon. Some things that go wrong in your life are demonic. We must be full of the Spirit and His power to know the difference. If I twist my ankle, it could be because I put on the wrong shoes and stepped off the curb while not paying attention. Probably not a demon. If I have sprained my ankle seven times in the last five days, well, I might at a minimum need to pray through that. Why is this important? I, for one, am not going to give the Devil the satisfaction of blaming him for everything. But, I will recognize that he is active and fighting. I will live a life of prayer and devotion to God.

In all of these, solid Christian theology becomes weird and spooky. They put the focus on us rather than on God. Guard your thoughts. Put on the helmet of salvation. That protects our brains. Maybe you need to put that on more often. I know I do!