Jesus or Harry Potter?

Submitted by Phyllis Tarbox on Thu, 08/05/2010 - 11:41am

<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" _fcksavedurl="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" _fcksavedurl="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" _fcksavedurl="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" _fcksavedurl="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License</a>.I always find it interesting when parents bring their teenagers into our counseling office and those young people have an interest in learning about spiritual warfare and deliverance.  Their parents have typically brought them in for help because of some deep issues in their lives and they are seeking professional help for them. During our counseling or deliverance we end up educating each client about the realities of spiritual warfare and what the bible has to say about the demonic realm. I have found frequently that many teenagers would rather return to the spiritual “training” offered by the world rather than what the bible has to offer. Kids have been saturated and are drawn to what has consistently been offered to them in movies, books, TV, the internet and theme parks.  

<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" _fcksavedurl="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" _fcksavedurl="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" _fcksavedurl="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" _fcksavedurl="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License</a>.What kind of spiritual teaching do our children receive from these sources? Generally, they learn that “good power” can come from magic, wizardry, and new age methods. The bible teaches that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, in the persons of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is the only source of good spiritual power and that all other is from the demonic realm. The demonic realm is a counterfeit offering to what God has and many of our young people (and adults!) have been swept up in that.
 
Occasionally we will run across a child who has been kept from that kind of influence and who longs for the understanding of how to appropriate the spiritual authority Jesus talks about in the Bible. I recently had one of those teens sitting opposite from me on the couch. When I explained to this sixteen year-old girl how to close the doors to demonic torment in her life and use the authority of the name of Jesus, she exclaimed, "This is so cool, I cannot wait to do this! I knew there were keys to the kingdom of God that I had not learned in church!"
 
I am glad that I have learned how not to let my jaw hit the floor, because frankly, this kind of reaction is rare. It is a sad testimony that many churches have womens' groups, mens' groups, and spaghetti dinner nights, but they shy away from deliverance ministries. The demonic kingdom has carefully manipulated a strategy to infiltrate most media venues to trivialize or glamorize the occult realm.

When I was young it was TV shows like "Casper the Friendly Ghost" and "Bewitched" that deceived us but that is not what we are seeing now. Time is growing short, the vehicles are much more subtle and this generation is quite desensitized to the dangers of the demonic realm. Need an example? Consider the long lines for the recently opened “Harry Potter Theme Park” in Orlando FL. The park was at capacity, and there was a three mile long queue waiting to enter.

As a Christian counselor, the desire of my heart is to see that kind of attraction to true, life-giving Jesus-power in the churches? I know that the road that leads to life is narrow, but wide and long is the road to destruction and our younger generation is charging down that path in many ways. Personally, this single counseling appointment was a sign of hope for the future generation. I know there many others like her out there and many more will be more coming in soon and I cannot wait to teach them. I have read the end of the bible, and it's not Harry Potter’s side that wins!

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