The Modern World of Witchcraft

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"The Modern World of Witchcraft: Part Two" (an article from the Christian Research Journal, Summer 1990, page 22) by Craig S. Hawkins.

The Editor-in-Chief of the Christian Research Journal is Elliot Miller.

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In Part One of this series we briefly examined modern and contemporary witchcraft, discussing some of the major beliefs of this syncretistic movement. The present article will further expound on witchcraft, and also critique it from a biblical, metaphysical, epistemological, and ethical basis.

It is essential to keep in mind that this movement encompasses a wide range of practices and beliefs. Consequently some of the critiques presented in this article may require some adaptation or modification in order to be applicable to certain variations of belief within the broader system of witchcraft and neopaganism. Nonetheless, the body of critiques presented here apply substantially to most witches and neopagans.

Glossary

epistemology: The study of the origin and nature of knowledge. Deals with questions like: What can we know? How do we know it? How do we know it is true? To what extent can we know it? And so forth.

ontology: As used here ontology is a branch of metaphysics (which in turn is a branch of philosophy -- see Part One) and, more specifically, is the study of the nature or essence of Being -- the One -- and its relationship to creation and vice versa.

panentheism: The view that the world is contained in and is a manifestation of the divine. Although the divine is immanent in and to the world, it still transcends the universe to some degree. As the human body is to the soul or mind, so the universe is to the divine.

problem of evil: The origin and existence of evil in the world. Traditionally, there are three main categories of evil: metaphysical, moral, and physical or natural. Blindness, deafness, and lameness are examples of metaphysical evil; cruelty and malevolence are examples of moral evil; and earthquakes, droughts, and tornados are examples of physical evil. All moral evil is the direct or indirect result of moral agents' free wills or ability to choose. Physical and metaphysical evil may or may not be the result of moral agents' choices.

syncretism: The combining or merging and synthesizing of religions or religious beliefs, practices, and philosophies. This results in new or hybrid religions that are composed of diverse elements of the religions from which they were derived.

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MAGICAL MANIPULATION

Many witches do not believe in spirits, and most if not all reject belief in a literal Devil or demons. Naturally, therefore, they reject the idea that sorcery and divination are accomplished by the agency of evil spirits. Many offer naturalistic explanations for the working of magic and divination and other "psychic technologies." On the whole, the occult community today has expanded its definition of "the natural" to incorporate elements that were earlier considered supernatural, placing them in the category of the super- or paranormal instead. Yet, they are still involved in the "old ways" -- that is, the occult.

Now You See it, Now You Don't

What has happened in the occult world in the past two or more decades is just what C. S. Lewis described in his classic work, see The Screwtape Letterssee -- which portrays an experienced demon (Screwtape) writing letters of advice to a novice demon (Wormwood):

I have great hopes that we shall learn in due time how to emotionalize and mythologize their science to such an extent that what is, in effect, a belief in us, (though not under that name) will creep in while the human mind remains closed to belief in the Enemy [i.e., God]. The "Life Force," the worship of sex, and some aspects of Psychoanalysis, may here prove useful. If once we can produce our perfect work -- the Materialist Magician, the man, not using, but veritably worshipping, what he vaguely calls "Forces" while denying the existence of "spirits" -- then the end of the war will be in sight.[1]

Lewis's insights on the insidious strategy of Satan -- the archenemy of our souls -- appear to have been right on target in regard to modern occultism.[2]

When observations like Lewis's are made, however, it is not uncommon to hear remarks to the effect that Christians attribute to the supernatural everything they cannot comprehend -- if it cannot be understood, it see mustsee be the Devil. However, this charge is unwarranted.

While it is unfortunately true that some Christians tend to hyperspiritualize events and exclaim "the Devil did it," or "the Devil made me do it," this is certainly see notsee the case with all. Many Christians have pointed out alleged demonic (or divine) occurrences which were -- in fact -- instances of fraud, anomalies, psychosomatic phenomena, auto- or heterosuggestion, and so forth.[3] Such Christians have demystified baffling occurrences and accounted for them by their natural causes.

Black, White, or Neutral?

The critical question is, What is the actual source or causal agent(s) of the occult (i.e., of divination, sorcery, and spiritism)? Some witches like to make a distinction between black and white magic/sorcery and divination. They claim that sorcery or divination performed for unselfish and/or "benevolent" purposes (to help others) is good. Thus, magic done with good intentions and desired results is classified as white magic. Conversely, sorcery performed with selfish and/or malevolent motives and means (to harm others) is classified as black magic.

Other witches deny the validity of this distinction or find it useless. Since they regard magic as a natural force they view it as morally neutral (i.e., not intrinsically good or evil). Like electricity, some say, magic can be used for good or evil -- but just as one would not speak of black or white electricity, one should not do so with magic either.

Christians too deny the validity of a distinction between black and white magic or divination, albeit for entirely different reasons. Whether called black, white, negative, or positive -- any such distinction is illegitimate. Where the Christian and all witches disagree is on the ultimate source, the actual identity, the who or what behind the scenes of the occult.

It is the Christian's conviction that despite all their magical theories, witches (and all other occultists) have failed to grasp the true source of the occult. I therefore offer the following biblical perspective on their beliefs and practices.

WHAT SAYS THE WORD?

Since witches do not generally accept the teachings of the Bible, we will not spend much time on a biblical critique.[4] However, even a cursory review of Scripture is enough to demonstrate that the beliefs and practices of witches are utterly incompatible with the Bible. Witches who honestly examine the Scriptural testimony will have no choice but to admit that the Bible condemns their beliefs and practices.

In fact, Scripture gives a blanket condemnation of all forms of the occult -- divination, sorcery, and spiritism -- in diverse passages throughout the Old and New Testaments. For instance, in Deuteronomy 18:10-12 God's view of occultism is expressed in the following warning: "Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD..."

If this were the only biblical passage dealing with this issue, it would be clear that all forms of the occult are denounced by God. Yet, this is only one of many condemnatory references (see, e.g., Lev. 19:26, 31; 20:6; 2 Kings 17:10-17; 21:1-6; 23:4-7, 24-25; 2 Chron. 33:6; Acts 13:6-12; 16:18; Gal. 5:20; Rev. 9:21).

Moreover, numerous forms of god and goddess worship are explicitly condemned in Scripture. There are, for example, a multitude of denunciatory references to worshipping or invoking the various gods and goddesses of the Near Eastern religions: the Assyrian and Babylonian Ishtar, the Ashtoreths of the Canaanites (e.g., the Sidonians and Phoenicians), and so forth (e.g., Deut. 16:21; Judg. 2:10-14; 10:6-16; 1 Sam. 7:3-4; 12:10; 1 Kings 11:33; 2 Kings 23:13-15). Ashtoreth is described in 2 Kings 23:13 as "the vile goddess of the Sidonians" (NIV), or -- as the KJV and NASB translate it -- "the abomination of the Sidonians." The Bible speaks out not only against worshipping, invoking, and consulting pagan gods, but also against the idea that human beings -- individually or collectively -- are divine.

In one sense, witches are right about the antiquity of some of their beliefs and practices. The belief that human beings are or can become divine is a good example. In the first book of the Bible (Gen. 3:5) we find the original proposal -- made by the serpent -- of the idea that we could become "like God." But Scripture emphatically states that there is only one being who is God (Deut. 6:4; 32:39; Isa. 43:10-11; 44:6-8; 45:5-6, 14, 22; 46:9; Jer. 10:10-11; Mark 12:29-31; 1 Tim. 2:5; James 2:19). Though there are many so-called gods or goddesses -- in the sense that people worship entities conceived by their imaginations -- there is only one God by nature (1 Cor. 8:4-5; 10:20; Gal. 4:8). As one astute observer remarked: "There are two foundational facts of human enlightenment: (1) There is a God; and (2) You are not He."

Humankind has not only demonstrated a great proclivity towards self-deification, it has also been strongly inclined to confuse God's creation (or His creative process) for the Creator Himself (Rom. 1:21-25). This is certainly the case with those entangled in the teachings of modern witchcraft.

Some witches have actually tried to reconcile the above passages and others with their own practices. Nonetheless, the Bible -- particularly in the original languages -- renders any such maneuvering futile.[5] We therefore ask that witches at least acknowledge that the Bible in no sense condones their practices, but rather expressly condemns them.

The Source of the Force

Like a drunkard who continually returns to the bottle, so mankind's bent toward self-deification and creation worship has been irrepressible, as has been its blindness towards its own deplorable predicament due to the ravaging effects of sin. To wit, witches are deceived not only about the inherent falsity of their often sincerely held beliefs (see Prov. 14:12), but as well about the source of their misguided belief system. Despite what witches claim, witchcraft originates from Satan -- the "father of lies" and the "god of this world," and from man's corrupt nature. Thus, though witches do not acknowledge the Devil's existence, they are nonetheless (all the more so) trapped in the talons of his tyrannical grip (2 Tim. 2:25-26).

To witches who believe that magic is a natural, neutral force or power, Christians reply that it is rather empowered by "the prince of the power of the air that now works in the children of disobedience" (Eph. 2:2).

As such, whether witches acknowledge it or not, all occultism involves interaction and trafficking with demonic spirits (see Lev. 17:7; 20:6; Deut. 32:17; Ps. 106:36-39; 1 Cor. 10:20-21; Rev. 9:20-21).[6] As W. Foerster comments, "For Paul witchcraft is meddling with demons....But there can also be intercourse with demons in the normal heathen cultus (1 C. 10:20f.)....While idols are nothing...demons stand behind paganism."[7] Or, as Bietenhard informs us, "Since dealing with demons lies behind sorcery...it is rejected (Gal. 5:20)....Heathen worship brings men into contact with demons (1 Cor. 10:20f.), for demons stand behind paganism in general (Rev. 9:20)."[8]

This is why occultism in all its forms is condemned in the Bible. Occultists therefore fall under the judgment of God for participating in such inexcusable activities (Rom. 1:18-25; Eph. 4:18-19; Rev. 21:8; 22:15).

Since witches generally do not accept the Bible, and because there are other inherent weaknesses and failings in their world view -- metaphysical, epistemological, and ethical -- we can and should critique witchcraft in these areas as well. This I shall do in the remainder of this article.

METAPHYSICAL MALADIES

In Part One I discussed the importance of polytheism as understood by witches and the related concept of an "open" metaphysic -- that is, the position that there are multiple levels of and meanings to reality. This is expressed in the belief that there is "no one way or right religion for all," and no "one truth."[9] We are told by witches that all religions lead in the same direction; they simply take different paths to get there.

Existential Essence

Witches further believe that everything one experiences is in some sense real and therefore true. Since reality is multiple and diverse, and since the possible levels or planes of meaning are infinite, there is always more to experience. We should therefore remain open-minded and tolerant of differing views.[10]

Witches who think along these lines hold that everyone has a part of the truth, for every person operates from a limited subjective perspective of the world.[11] And since no one has an absolute knowledge or perspective of reality (ultimate reality is inaccessible to us), all views and experiences must be seen as equally valid. One view is as good or true as another (minimally, it is true for that individual). Reality, then, is a matter of perspective -- and everyone has a different one.

Romantic Rationalizations

Christians certainly grant that witches have the right to believe whatever they choose, as much as we might disagree with their views. However, we reject that logic and reason should be ignored when we encounter two different views that are obviously incompatible.

We also grant that life is complicated and diverse, and that people can and do have an incalculable number of experiences. However, this does not prevent us from knowing many significant truths and facts about ultimate reality. We need to distinguish between knowing all about life or ultimate reality, which no human being is capable of, and knowing some true things about it. These are two different issues. Without this distinction, we could not make any meaningful statements about reality.

Experience and Truth

Many witches fail to recognize a key distinction regarding the validity of experiences. Over and over again, one finds a failure on the witches' part to distinguish between real experiences that people actually have versus experiences that are true. For instance, a man could have an experience or sensation of falling. The feeling might be quite intense. Upon awakening from his sleep, however, he realizes that he was not falling at all but lying on his bed. Did he have the experience of feeling like he was falling? Yes. Was he really falling? No! The latter question is not "Did he have this experience?" but "was he really falling?" These are two entirely different issues. To confuse the two is to commit the fallacy of equivocation.

We do not dispute that witches have many experiences that may appear to support their religion, but we must ask: Do these experiences really prove their assertions or only prove that they had some type of experience? Appealing to experience only establishes that one might have had one, not that one's world view is true.

The idea that each world view is like one more flower in the garden of life is a nice sentiment, but it does not fit the real world. In fact, it is nothing short of metaphysical madness. To paraphrase and adapt a quip by Edgar Sheffield Brightman, "In a world where Christianity and witchcraft are both true, we do not have a universe, but a cosmic nut house!"

As we shall see presently, the metaphysical framework of the witches' world has important implications in the realm of testing truth claims.

EPISTEMOLOGY

With their emphasis on experience and their belief in the intuitive and existential nature of truth, witches fall into diverse epistemological sinkholes on the road to truth. One finds a consistent appeal to "knowing" not by the intellect but by experience and "intuition." One also finds an implicit or explicit depreciation or denial of the principles or laws of thought.

For example, Starhawk -- a popularizer of the witchcraft/neopagan world view -- disdains what she terms "any beliefs which would...deny the authority of experience...," thus reinforcing what she calls "the lie that there is only one truth."[12] In the same way, Margot Adler -- another popular neopagan writer -- argues for the superiority of experience over dogma, and metaphor and myth over theology, doctrine, and creed.[13]

Although one often hears witches downplay or outright deny doctrines, dogma, and beliefs -- still, they too vehemently champion their beliefs.[14] To say that experience and ritual are more important than doctrine is itself a doctrine. Besides, how is it possible to have rituals in the first place if there are no beliefs to give them meaning? In short: no beliefs, then no rituals. Additionally, one must assert doctrines or beliefs and use logic to even refute the idea of doctrine.

Is Logic Necessary?

Many people berate the use of logic and talk as if they could think and do without it. The fact is, however, that it is impossible not to use logic. Should a person attempt to refute logic, he or she must use logic in the very process of refuting it -- thereby refuting his or her own argument. Let us be clear on this: one must use logic to disprove logic. For instance, suppose someone asserts that magic and experience are beyond logic and reason (i.e., logic does not apply to these realms). The person making this assertion has failed to note that this statement is itself predicated upon the use of logic -- that is, logic had to be utilized to even formulate it. Logic therefore does apply.

Due to limited space, we will consider just one of the primary laws of thought -- the law of non-contradiction.[15] This principle affirms that a statement cannot both be true and false (A cannot be non-A) at the same time and in the same sense. For example, it cannot be the case that one both can and cannot (at the same time and in the same manner) safely cross a busy street. It is one or the other, but not both. If one says it is both and attempts to keep his (or her) actions consistent with his words, he will end up being run over. When people fail to yield to logic, they will also end up being run over by their own arguments (i.e., they assert false, self-defeating, and/or meaningless statements).

Some (many?) witches try to avoid the anvil of logic, but to no avail.[16] A case in point is Stewart Farrar, who approvingly quoted C. G. Jung's assertion that "everything human is relative."[17] To which we respond: Is this statement relative too, since it was uttered by a human? If it is not relative, then the statement is not true. But if the statement itself is relative, that would mean there are times when it is not true -- when some things human are not relative, and are hence absolute. But this would contradict Jung's original statement. Thus, it is both false and self-defeating. Clearly, the sword of logic cuts both ways.

Magical Immunity

Witches often attempt to defend their magic castle from the battering rams of logic by erecting supposedly impenetrable walls.[18] Different explanations and rationalizations are offered to protect their views. These include the aforementioned depreciation, denial, or alleged inapplicability of logic and objective standards for discerning truth; postulating diverse planes or levels of reality and meaning; dichotomizing between emotions and the intellect, or between normal versus altered states of consciousness; and a number of other distinctions. To be fair, many of these attempts are simply sincere efforts to understand the mysterious world of the occult. Nonetheless, such attempts appear to be cases of special pleading and of employing double standards -- resulting in an assumed immunity from the normal criteria of truth-testing used to verify or refute a world view.[19]

No matter what explanations and defenses are used, however, experience and intuitive feelings are often an essential element of the witches' world view validation -- "It feels right; I have truly experienced it." Witches "know" via powerful spiritual and emotional experiences that their views are true. Therefore, they can at times affirm apparently contradictory assertions.

Again, regardless of which of the above distinctions are used to advance or protect the witches' world view, the distinctions themselves are based upon the validity of logic. Try as they may, witches simply cannot not use logic.

Our pagan friends are, so to speak, "up the metaphysical creek," without a trustworthy epistemological "paddle" -- and are caught in a whirlpool of subjective circularity that makes one's head spin. Witches cannot appeal to logic when it suits them and ignore it when it refutes them and still expect to be taken seriously.

As we shall now see, the use of logic in the categories of "both/and" as opposed to "either/or" have implications not just for thinking but for ethics as well.

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