![[tmbchr]™](/journal/popocculture-blog-logo.jpg){kind=logo}
Christian (Anti) Occultists & the Urge for Power
I just read an article on a Kentucky-based Baptist website called: Occult Phrases, Practices Permeate Culture, Expert Says. It’s really just your typical Christian hyperventilation, but there are a couple things which seem worth discussing.
This article centers around a Baptist workshop offered by somebody named Dr. Bill Gordon on the occult. Now, I know Christians claim to depise occultism in all it’s forms. But if this is the case, then how come they constantly seem to be holding workshops on it, discussing it, and studying it? Sure, they may be rebuking it in the process, but at the same time, they are still focusing attention on it and absorbing information about it. Surely this constitutes a type of occultism in itself, does it not? Anti-occultism is still occultism. Hell, some of these Christian occult-experts actually seem to know more about this stuff than me. Certainly their take on it is rather different, but expertise is expertise. I’ve also noticed this trend while listening to paranormal radio shows like Coast to Coast AM. It’s very interesting to me that probably about 80-90% of people who call in to the show are Christians who are trying to reconcile these topics into their Christian worldview: Is this the work of demons, angels, etc? Guess what! Angels and demons are occultism. If I have to say it again: Anti-occultism is still occultism.
Anyway, getting back to this article, another favorite thing that Christian (anti-) occultists love to put on the table is:
Gordon said that often people who participate in the occult are seeking great power, which they believe they can find by seeking out hidden and supernatural things.
I see this all the time. I also get warnings like this all the time from Christians who once dabbled in demonology or witchcraft, before coming to the Lord. They always tell a tale of how they got interested in the Black Arts as a way for them to gain power. It may be power over other people, or it may be something else entirely. Looking around at popular occult literature, it’s not difficult to see where they got these ideas. A quick look at Amazon will yield scores of books on summoning or creating occult entities.
Maybe I’m just atypical, but the idea of acquiring power is pretty alien to my own interest in the occult. To my anarcho-gnostic sensibilities, there’s as little value in enslaving otherwordly entities as there is in taking power over an unwilling human. If anything, for me, it seems like the farther I get along in these studies, the more I embrace the idea of surrendering power. Maybe it’s sort of like in martial arts though: how people get interested in it at an elementary level because they want to be good at fighting - they want power. As they progress though, the true martial artist learns not to fight. At at least, that’s what I hear.
- The Occult & the Experience of God
- Are Occultists “Better” Than Fundamentalist Christians?
- The Effects of the Occult
- Why r u all so anti-Catholic?
- If I was the Anti-Christ…
- Prev: The Wilkerson Debate, Part 2
- Next: Eckankar & Scientology
June 25th, 2005 at 5:12 pm
Gordon offered the following suggestions for sharing their faith with Wiccans: 1) don’t misrepresent Wiccan beliefs, 2) realize the spiritual warfare involved, 3) use the Bible, 4) share your testimony, 5) explain the meaning of the gospel, 6) show how Jesus overcomes everything, 7) share the simple gospel.
what gordon doesn`t share is the fact that jesus couldn`t overcome the people who tacked him to the cross.narrow-minded types who believed that only they were right.
gordon is only offering power for power.he`s just calling it a different thing.he is as engaged in spiritual warfare as anyone wanting to summon golems.twat.
June 25th, 2005 at 7:37 pm
i also saw this process at work in the insurance business in the late 80`s when the threat of primerica challenged the status quo of the large insurance companies.primerica was called and evil cult in an attempt to marginalise the product by attacking the methods of management of the sales force.it`s still going on today.this was,at it`s core a financial battle.the religious one is too.
June 25th, 2005 at 9:53 pm
Very interesting stuff, man, and well-written as well. Nice work. I’ll be back!
June 25th, 2005 at 11:20 pm
I think that the Power that they really mean, but don’t say, is the Power of knowledge. Forget about summoning shit — one of the main goals of an institution like Christianity is to obscure knowledge, while a main goal of Occultism or conspiracy or whatever “fringe” study is to gain Power through knowledge.
Conspiracy theorists like Mike Ruppert try to shift the balance of civil power. While you and I try to use our knowledge to project power inward, spiritually. And we’ve talked about how independence like that tears right through christian power systems.
Trying to prevent “knowledge power” — ala the tree of knowledge, ala FOX News — would make all these workshops that you talk about a little more realistic in terms of real world application. These are just a bunch of goofy, bald, limp-dicked douchebags holding focus groups trying to figure out why their product isn’t selling. Their boss, the demiurge, is gonna fire them if they can’t adapt.
June 26th, 2005 at 12:24 am
I agree with you John about the search for knowledge and the power that it gives being a motivator for entry into the occult, but I also think that others are drawn to the occult for, as silly as this may be to us, “magic(k) powers.” I’ve run into a few people who are looking to get superhero-type abilities by messing around with the occult, so maybe that’s what they’re talking about as well. However, a few of these people actually wanted to use these abilities to help others. I think the article really misunderstands the motivation (surprise, surprise *sarcasm*). They say “power to control,” but they don’t say control what exactly. Most people that do go into the occult for control are just trying to get control over their own lives, not over other people. And this, by the way, seems to be exactly what the Christians in this article say they look to Christ for.
June 26th, 2005 at 12:36 am
Yes. They’re still trying to sell absolute certainty, while keeping it proprietary
June 26th, 2005 at 12:40 am
Yeah I considered going down the road of that argument John. And I think it’s probably the best one. I guess the whole thing got me examining my own motivations. What do I want out of this? I certainly don’t sit around hoping for power, I know that. But at the same time, I don’t sit around wanting knowledge either. What I mean by that is I don’t lust after it.
I’m not sitting here thinking: “If I can just figure out this one thing, then I’ll have power over such and such, or I’ll have such and such result.” I think there are definitely short-term goals like that, on particular topics. But in general, it’s more like a compulsion. It’s like a fixation on solving puzzles and uncovering stuff. I don’t feel like “more powerful” because of the stuff I know. But I do find satisfaction in the quest.
I’m not totally articulating my point here I guess. But that’s why I figured I would open up the topic for conversation…
June 26th, 2005 at 12:40 am
Magic (or “directed meditation”, if you will) is essentially just a set of techniques to focus will and energy to manifest a particular goal. Not unlike the prayer of Jabez used by Christians. Or much of what passes for prayer in general among Christians. So, any Christian who tells you that “the Occult” is all about power isn’t paying attention to what’s happening closer to home.
I agree with John. For me, “the Occult” (or whatever) is about knowledge. Its application involves knowing how to maintain balance. I’d be dishonest if I said there was absolutely no interest in power, but let’s face it: manifesting anything in the world requires a certain amount of power. Simply staying alive requires the power to subdue other biological organisms and appropriate them for food. What is difficult is to know when to exercise power and when not to. This is the true art of living in harmony with the Cosmos.
An unhealthy interest in power is a symptom of internal imbalance, and it leads to greater imbalances and distortions until it manifests in behavior that either leads to self destruction or profound psychic scarring evidenced by conversion to Christianity. Thus, the Christian converts who offer testimony to the evils of “the Occult” are not a representative sample of all seekers of Gnosis. In fact, there is a strong bias for the unhealthiest subpopulation of such seekers.
June 26th, 2005 at 12:45 am
Fantastic point, slomo. The vast majority of Christians just treat God as though he were a wish-granting genie in the sky, which I’ve written about before. Asking God to help you make your mortgage payments or to give you success in your marriage is just as occult a power-fixation as anything else, maybe moreson because they don’t admit to what they are doing. Perhaps the occultists have a one-up in this area though. They recognize that, shit, there’s things we want. We’re not gonna sit around and petition some abstract deity for it, let’s try to actively make it happen.
June 26th, 2005 at 12:45 am
Interesting issue. This gets into the whole left hand vs. right hand dichotomy, which I actually find much more interesting and productive than obsessing about “good” vs. “evil”. Once again, I recommend Ursula LeGuin’s Lathe of Heaven for a very accessible sci-fi parable about the danger of trying to acquire power, even for “good”, without proper knowledge.
June 26th, 2005 at 12:55 am
Yes. (Although it’s important to balance humility and hubris here). There’s another very critical issue to consider here, whether you’re a Christian or an “Occultist”. It’s very important to understand what you really truly want. Because the subconscious has a way of trying to get what it wants, even while you’re preaching, singing the Gospels and speaking in tongues, or doing flaky NewAge peaceandlove crystal shit. If you can’t get down that deep, then you’re always going to be a dog wagged by its own tail.
June 26th, 2005 at 12:59 am
I think the super-hero powers bit is played on a whole lot in the marketing especially of New Age materials. UNLOCK THE MYSTERIOUS POWERS WITHIN! Then you end up with people sitting through thousand dollar workshops about acquiring psychic powers, and huge markets of books and CD’s to take home with you so you can practice after the workshops didn’t unlock anything for you.
On a more positive note, this reminds me of an excellent article by Gerard Jones, a comic book author on why it’s good for kids to be exposed to violent superhero stories. The whole thing’s worth reading, but here’s a taste:
I think in a large degree, maybe a lot of people really are drawn to the occult for exactly this same reason. They need a story-system to immerse themselves in which authorizes them to quest after being something more than they are. But to do it outside the mainstream story of their life. Perhaps this helps explain the role-playing game/occult connection discussed earlier.
June 26th, 2005 at 1:58 am
I get the impression they’re shopping for that authorization. If they could only get that look or feel, things would be okay. They have a big box retailer experience: hundreds of things to choose, but none of them fulfilling. They should be good because they paid for them.
June 26th, 2005 at 4:08 pm
Hey Tim I trackbacked this - not sure if it worked though, this blog code crap is kinda confusing. Lemme know if I’m doing it wrong.