What Is Behind This Fascination with the Occult?
MOST “educated” people have generally scoffed at reports about “supernatural” things. They have always believed that these could be explained by what they called “rational, scientific” means. Now some are having second thoughts. Recent years have witnessed a startling resurgence of occultism, most notably in the so-called “civilized” parts of the world.
Many universities and hundreds of high schools not only have professed witches on campus, but also now offer special courses on the Devil and witchcraft. And, according to one news report, there are “more than 600 witches’ ‘covens’ now operating in the United States and including about 100,000 avowed witches.”
In recent years a vast array of books on occultism has appeared. The manager of one California bookstore chain, for example, said that its main store stocks around 2,000 different occult-related books “and there are several hundred more available that we just don’t have any room for.” These books, the manager said, move well, “not only in Hollywood, where you’d expect it, but in all of our stores.”
Business Week magazine reports that even business and government are seriously investigating extrasensory perception (ESP) and other “psychic” powers for possible use in their operations. “And the National Aeronautics & Space Administration [NASA] has financed a Stanford Research Institute program to teach ESP skills to NASA personnel.”
A wave of “exorcism” frenzy recently hit America with the release of a gruesome film on the subject. And the occult is becoming so popular in England that the Anglican Church recently appointed exorcists throughout the country to cope with resulting problems.
Young people all over Australia are reported to be deeply involved in witchcraft and spiritistic séances, sometimes held right at school! “Schoolchildren drinking blood before an upturned cross,” teenage girls “subjected to sexual indignities on so-called ‘sacrificial altars’” and swelling Ouija-board sales cause growing alarm there, reports the Sydney, Australia, Sun. Adult “witches” recruit children who, in turn, persuade schoolmates to join in.
If you are a parent, would you want your children to get into something like this? Do you know whether similar things occur at their schools? Or, do you brush aside this fascination with the occult as harmless entertainment? Do stories about this strange “other dimension” perhaps even fascinate you? Many people are strongly attracted by the occult, especially now. Why?
WHY THE OCCULT?
Understandably, many people are searching for something more to life. The glaring failures of religious, political, economic and scientific institutions leave many hungrily reaching for anything to give life meaning.
Traditional religion has not filled the void. “To many, there is no purpose in life today,” admits a Roman Catholic official, for “they can’t relate what is happening to anything in their faith experience.” The fact that uncontrollable forces seem to be shaping a catastrophic future for mankind causes many to feel that there must be greater powers than allowed by purely materialistic thinking.
So people turn to the occult. And it thrives because so many people actually seem to experience something personally. But do you know what is behind it all?
ARE OCCULT PHENOMENA REAL?
Both science and religion are divided as to whether “supernatural” incidents actually occur. Some believe that claimed occult experiences are merely indications of mental problems or errors in reporting. Others say that, rather than being evidence of the supernatural, such experiences show that mankind itself may have latent “psychic” powers still not understood by science. However, occultists insist that there is a “spirit world” operating through these unusual manifestations.
Many “supernatural” experiences may be illusions or trickery, but does this account for all of them? Recent publicity has spotlighted cases of alleged “demonic possession.” Not all psychologists are convinced that every case has a purely psychological explanation. Dr. Alan Reed, Jr., of Wisconsin’s Milwaukee Psychiatric Hospital, though skeptical, would not rule out the possibility of possession. He says he has “seen people change abruptly . . . so that you have the feeling they are someone else.” These sudden changes involve general appearance, voice quality and personality. “Part of this could be hysteria or some other manifestation, but there are aspects of this sort of thing that I don’t have an understanding of or explanation for,” he said.—Milwaukee Journal, January 27, 1974.
Similarly, the Encyclopædia Britannica says that, though there is still much debate about the source of spiritualistic phenomena, “there is a general agreement among those who have devoted time and attention to the subject that some of the phenomena are genuine.” The evidence for the existence of unknown forces is such that about two hundred U.S. scientists are now engaged in similar research, a number through government grants.
But does growing credibility make the occult a proper field of investigation for you or your family? There are substantial reasons to hesitate. Why? Because of what the Bible says. It alone provides a satisfying explanation for occult phenomena, and this is discussed in the following article.