Entertained to Death

Caryl Matrisciana was born to British parents in Calcutta, India, where she was raised surrounded by Eastern Mysticism and Hinduism. As a young woman, she became heavily involved in the occult, until she was gloriously saved. With her firsthand knowledge and background, she has become somewhat of a missionary to the lukewarm Christian church in America. Each of these articles below addresses some of the pathetically misguided, if not heretical, attempts at mainstream Christianity to justify watching Twilight and Harry Potter.

"The Twilight Phenomena" by Caryl Matrisciana

"Harry Potter: Can It Have a Christian Perspective?" by Caryl Matrisciana

Below is an excerpt from a documentary that she produced called "Harry Potter: Witchcraft Repackaged"



One of the main ideas that I discussed this summer with my Christian Worldview Class was how the church is blending with the occult to form a new kind of religion, one in which paganism and Christianity can happily co-exist, a new "pagan spirituality". I truly believe that Satan has used these 2 movie/book sagas to "break" otherwise Christian parents.

I heard one Christian parent on the radio this week, desperately defending allowing her teens to watch Harry Potter. She said there's no bad language or illicit scenes (I don't know; I've not seen them), and that she discussed witchcraft with her kids and felt like they could handle it. What struck me most was the desperate tone in her voice. No parent who truly knew she was making a wise and Godly decision on behalf of her children would feel the need to pick up a phone and dial long distance to a radio program and almost cry as she defended her decision. She admitted that her initial answer to her kids was "No." However, they pressured her relentlessly, and she finally caved in. I suspect this is the case with most Christian parents today.

I love children. I always have. I'm the kind of person that cries and loses sleep when I hear of a missing child all the way across the country that I've never met before. It grieves my heart to think of the innocent and trusting being violated. They deserve to be protected. I feel the same kind of grief when our children are assaulted with occultism. They deserve to have parents and pastors and teachers who will shield them from this satanic assault. They can't handle it themselves! It's bad enough when the lost world presents it to them with awesome special effects and cool storylines, but how tragic when the "Christian" world now defends satanism. Woe unto us! Jesus said:

"But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea." Matthew 18:6

The Whirlwind

"For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind" Hosea 8:7

From what I hear, this is the last Harry Potter movie to be released, and for that I am truly thankful. Now, I look forward to the end of the Twilight saga, and maybe I can get a little peace of mind. I'm NOT one of these people who sits around and picks everyone around me for a little sin here and another there. Believe me, I have enough in my own life to keep myself busy. I also truly do believe that there is liberty in Christ. There are some issues of conduct that the Bible doesn't speak directly to, or is not clear on, and I do not try to force my conviction on these issues onto others around me. If you turn to Romans 14 in my Bible, you will see where I have jotted down a quote from Augustine: "On essentials, unity. On non-essentials, liberty. In all things, charity."

I understand that different families have set different standards as far as media goes. Some shun it altogether, others allow closely monitored movies and books, others won't allow any movies that portray any kind of fantasy whatsoever, etc. I can respect any of those decisions (and others still) and ask God for the wisdom to do what is right for my family in our home and in our circumstances with our own unique children, and I don't part fellowship with others who see it differently than I do.

However, I am truly shocked and deeply saddened at the majority of my Christian friends on Facebook who see nothing wrong with witchcraft (Ex. 22:18), the occult (Lev. 20:27, a capital crime), vampires (and soul damnation), and the drinking of blood (Lev. 17:14). IF YOU'RE A CHRISTIAN AND DON'T KNOW THESE THINGS ARE ABOMINATIONS, STOP READING THIS BLOG RIGHT THIS SECOND. TURN OFF THE COMPUTER AND START READING YOUR BIBLE. J.K. Rowlings' books are longer than the New Testament. Instead of Harry Potter, you could read about how the blood of our precious Lord and Saviour atones for sins and gives us a home in heaven, and as you're rejoicing in these timeless truths penned under inspiration of God, you won't have a taste for the evil, dark arts of your greatest enemy, Satan.

I am horrified at the Christian moms and even preachers' wives who are taking their daughters and sons to see these movies and even list the movies and books in their own profiles. I can't help but think of the Scripture in Luke 18:8 "when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" I expect my lost family and friends to be fascinated by the dark arts, but Christians should be repulsed by anything that leads souls to hell.

My heart is especially heavy for the young people who have not been saved. Their hearts are vacant, and demons just love to find a swept and garnished residence in which to take up living. Is it worth gambling with such delicate little souls, all for the thrill of a few cool special effects and a clever story? I think eternity will tell us that there will be many parents who will wish a thousand midnights that they had summoned the courage to say "No".

Children are given only one command directly in the entire Bible, and that's to obey their parents. All the other commandments apply to children, but it's the parents' responsibility to instill them and enforce them in the lives of these immature little humans. I am reminded of the law of sowing and reaping (Gal. 6:7-8),one of the immutable laws of nature. You ALWAYS reap WHAT you sow, only MORE of it. It is impossible to sow occultism and reap salvation. That would be against the law.

A child of God should not have the same hobbies and appetites as sinners. When Christ is preached and men get saved, the occult is no longer popular. Think of what happened in that wicked city of Ephesus when Paul began to preach there:

"Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed."
Acts 19:19-20

Many Christian homes need to have a good, old-fashioned book (and DVD) burning!