Werewolves, Vampires And Other Abominations

In November, 2009 New Moon, the next film in the Twilight series appeared in theaters. In the film Edward leaves Bella after an attack that nearly claimed her life, and in her depression she falls into yet another paranormal relationship—this time with werewolf Jacob Black.

Werewolves? Moons? Paranormal? What is all this? Here are some notes from Wikipedia:

Clinical lycanthropy is defined as a rare psychiatric syndrome that involves a delusion that the affected person can transform into, has transformed into, or is a non-human animal.[1] Its name is connected to the mythical condition of lycanthropy, asupernatural affliction in which humans are said to physically shapeshift into wolves. The terms zoanthropy and therianthropy are also sometimes used for the delusion that one has turned into another animal in general and not specifically a wolf.[2]

The legend of the werewolf is very ancient. We all know the story of Liitle Red Riding Hood.  This innocent child becomes the victim of a werewolf who dresses in Grandma's clothing with the intent of eating her. Many such stories exist. And often the mystical power of the moon is involved.

Some claim the Bible has a story of a king who was changed into a wild beast, perhaps even a werewolf. The king was Nebuchadnezzar II.

And in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem and laid siege to it. And they built siegeworks all around it. So the city was besieged till the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. - 2Ki 25:1-2 ESV

In the book of Daniel, one of the Jews carried to Babylon after the destruction of Jerusalem, King Nebuchadnezzar turns to Daniel (also known as Belteshazzar) for an interpretation of a strange dream he had. Daniel tells him that his kingdom would eventually fall and that he would be turned into a wild beast for seven years because of his immense pride.

Immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles' feathers, and his nails were like birds' claws. 

At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, "What have you done?" At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and splendor returned to me. My counselors and my lords sought me, and I was established in my kingdom, and still more greatness was added to me. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble. - Dan 4:33-37 ESV

So what lessons are there for us in all of this? Obviously it is clear that we are to have no other gods before the LORD. This is the first of all the commandments. Anything or anyone who is worshipped and placed above and before the LORD God is an idol. Babylon's king made himself a god, an idol to be worshipped. He was therefore justly condemned. This is also why the Bible strictly forbids believers to turn to the occult, magic and other related dark powers.

"When you come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD. And because of these abominations the LORD your God is driving them out before you. You shall be blameless before the LORD your God, - Deu 18:9-13 ESV

From a Biblical viewpoint the whole vampires and werewolves phenomena surfacing in these days must be seen and evaluated as an abomination. We are warned to avoid such things in the same way we detest and condemn the sacrifice of our children to some god or goddess, the worship of an idol, homosexuality, adultery and the murder of unborn infants.

What Shall We Say About Vampires?

76, 900,000! That's how many sites popped up as soon as I did a Google search on moon vampire! Wild! And weird. Girls can go to YouTube and see a demonstration on how to do makeup to look like
new moon vampire Jane. Everyone is invited to play Play Full Moon Vampire a Free Game at Fupa Games. Vampires ruled the night at the MTV Movie Awards. And on and on and on. 

What's this all about? Why the popularity and fascination with vampires and the moon?  Vampires are evil and evil fascinates. And these poor vampires need normal people. Even though they have their own doubts about killing and drinking blood, they still need us. They are lonely.

The exciting thing, especially for youth, is that they challenge established ways of thinking, organized religion, racial and class prejudices. They seem so wise and above the adults with their narrow ways. Vampires are beyond all that. They have no restrictions about monogamy or sexuality. Anything goes. They are the dark and powerful beings of the night.

What's more, vampires defy death; they are eternal and forever young. And so they attract youth who want to believe they too will or can, somehow, live forever.

Wikipedia says this of vampires,

Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence (generally in the form of blood) of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person/being. Although vampiric entities have been recorded in many cultures, and may go back to "prehistoric times", the term vampire was not popularized until the early 18th century, after an influx of vampire superstition into Western Europe from areas where vampire legends were frequent, such as the Balkans and Eastern Europe,[8]although local variants were also known by different names, such as vrykolakas in Greece and strigoi inRomania. This increased level of vampire superstition in Europe led to mass hysteria and in some cases resulted in corpses actually being staked and people being accused of vampirism. . . 

With the arrival of Christianity in Greece, and other parts of Europe, the vampire "began to take on decidedly Christian characteristics." As various regions of the continent converted to Christianity, the vampire was viewed as "a dead person who retained a semblance of life and could leave its grave-much in the same way that Jesus had risen after his death and burial and appeared before his followers." In the Middle Ages, the Christian Church reinterpreted vampires from their previous folk existence into minions of Satan, and used an allegory to communicate a doctrine to Christians: "Just as a vampire takes a sinner's very spirit into itself by drinking his blood, so also can a righteous Christian by drinking Christ's blood take the divine spirit into himself." The interpretation of vampires under the Christian Church established connotations that are still associated in the vampire genre today.[9]For example, the "ability of the cross to hurt and ward off vampires is distinctly due to its Christian association.

What does all this have to do with the Christian family that looks to the Bible for guidance and counsel? For the youth, grounded and secure in God's love and in the love of their parents, interest in such fantasy fiction as the Twilight series of books and movies may be harmless. They are able to sort out fantasy from reality. However, all preteens and teens are dealing with issues of identity, meaning, self-esteem and purpose in their lives. And they do not all come from healthy, spiritually mature families. Such kids are at great risk for developing unhealthy interests in the occult. Listen to what the Apostles say about Satan's use of such things and about the importance of filling our minds with God's word:

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. - 1Pe 5:8 ESV

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me--practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. -
Phl 4:8-9 ESV

Parents are well advised to take an active interest in their children's attraction to vampires and all the literature and movies related to the same. Read the books. Learn about them and the movies. Discuss what you learn with your kids and help them to see the problems and dangers. Above all, let them know that you care about them and want them to grow and develop in God pleasing ways.

More about this in my next post.

Demons Are In The News

The end of last week and the first of this, I posted three guest blogs by my friend Bob Schwarz about a Zulu Lutheran pastor who reported the successful exorcism of demons in Africa. The questions that remain here in the United States—and elsewhere—have to do with the reality of this experience. Did it really happen? Are there indeed such beings as demons that can and do occupy the souls of others?

No matter what I say there will be those who simply deny the existence of evil spirits or demons. It does not fit into their worldview. Others go further and claim that such things are entertaining fantasy, like pretending there are dragons, vampires and Harry Potter. It is a big piece of today's entertainment industry. Samples:

• Vampires—background
• The pilot for the Dan Curtis 1972 television series Kolchak: The Night Stalker revolved around reporter Carl Kolchak hunting a vampire on the Las Vegas strip. Later films showed more diversity in plotline, with some focusing on the vampire-hunter, such as Blade in the Marvel Comics' Blade films and the film Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Buffy, released in 1992, foreshadowed a vampiric presence on television, with adaptation to a long-running hit TV series of the same name and its spin-off Angel. Still others showed the vampire as protagonist, such as 1983's The Hunger, 1994's Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles and its indirect sequel of sorts Queen of the Damned, and the 2007 series Moonlight. Bram Stoker's Dracula was a noteworthy 1992 film which became the then-highest grossing vampire film ever.^[162] This increase of interest in vampiric plotlines led to the vampire being depicted in movies such as Underworld and Van Helsing, and the Russian Night Watch and a TV miniseries remake of 'Salem's Lot, both from 2004. The series Blood Ties premiered on Lifetime Television in 2007, featuring a character portrayed as Henry Fitzroy, illegitimate son of Henry VIII of England turned vampire, in modern-day Toronto, with a female former Toronto detective in the starring role. A 2008 series from HBO, entitled True Blood, gives a Southern take to the vampire theme.^[158] Another popular vampire-related show is CW's The Vampire Diaries. The continuing popularity of the vampire theme has been ascribed to a combination of two factors: the representation of sexuality and the perennial dread of mortality.^[163] Another "vampiric" series that has recently come out is the Twilight Saga, a series of films based on the book series of the same name.
• The Discovery Channel - Real Life Exorcisms 

News of the Roman Catholic church training priests to be exorcists has been widely publicized recently. Last November you may have read that "Overwhelmed with requests for exorcists, U.S. Roman Catholic bishops are holding a special training workshop in Baltimore this weekend to teach clerics the esoteric rite, the Catholic News Service reported."

For Lutherans the sole source of teaching about such things is the inspired Word of God, the Holy Scriptures. In the next days I'll access that Word to discuss and apply what the Holy Spirit says about these rebel spirits and what that means for us believers in Christ. 

Werewolves, Vampires and Demons—Oh My!

Since I brought up the subject of demons and evil spirits in my previous blog, I suppose I must—reluctantly—say a few things more about it.

It seems that our culture is obsessed with the demonic, dark and evil—even while we seemingly deny the existence of actual demon possession, or at least mock the idea. A few recent cases in point:

• Legion - a new sci-fi movie about the threatening apocalypse
• Werewolf movies—New Moon
• Vampire movies and books by the ton.

The list goes endlessly on.

 

Problem: it's entertainment. We love to be scared for a while and then get back to real life.

 

Real problem: The Bible says this IS real life! Demons, the devil and evil spirits of many kinds not only exist, they run the show and are in control of the world. Some information from God's revealed Word:

• Luke 4 -  the devil insists that he has been given all the kingdoms of this world and offers them to Jesus if he would but worship the prince of this world (Luke 4:5-8).

• John 12 - Jesus acknowledges that satan is the ruler of this world whom Jesus has come to cast out (John 12:31).

• John 14 - Satan was at work through the schemes of those who crucified Jesus. He, however, had no power over or claim on Jesus (John 14:30).

• Colossians 1 - Jesus has delivered believers from the domination and power of darkness and transferred them to His kingdom and authority (Colossians 1:33).

This list also goes on and on. I speak not of mere entertainment and the rush of adrenaline. We all need to take a long, hard and very careful look at what is going on behind the scenes and in the shadows. And then ask the personal question, "Who is MY king and to whom do I owe allegiance?