Attention, desire and character

Here is my article for October:

 Image by kp yamu Jayanath from Pixabay

There are many sayings that connect our choices with the consequences of those choices: how many of us were told as children when pulling a funny face, “if the wind changes your face will stay like that!”; or the slightly more logical “you are what you eat”?  I heard another recently that is much more profound: “what you give attention to, your heart will desire.” It is both a warning and encouragement: the things we fill our minds with will become the things we crave.

There are many benefits to modern media but one of the draw-backs is the constant stream of 'content.' No sooner have you finished one show or video or reel or article than the next one pops up. This means that sometimes we are exposed to a wide variety of materials (although the algorithms eventually narrow that down!) but it also means that we skip past 'uninteresting' content (i.e. normal life!!) trying to find something that gives us a dopamine hit. Thus the ordinary becomes boring and real life becomes drab.

The truth that what we focus on eventually shapes our character is one of the reasons that I maintain that Halloween is never 'harmless fun' but is always dangerous. To surround ourselves with decorations that celebrate and trivialise the forces of evil is to allow them to become influences on our lives. The mixed message of wicked, nasty or violent things being praised and rewarded with sweets is particularly dangerous for the impressionable young minds of children – ordinary life becomes boring compared with the exciting thrill of the darker side of the supernatural. But even for adults giving attention to the sinister forces will lead to an openness to further interaction with them and then a desire for continuing interaction. Hence the interest in witchcraft, Wicca, mediums, psychics, spiritism, ouija boards, tarot cards, horoscopes and other occult practices. All these expose us to forces that want to control our lives, but not for our benefit.

Knowing that what we give attention to our heart will desire, the Apostle Paul encourages us, saying “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things” (Philippians 4:8). However, before we can do that we need “to be made new in the attitude of [y]our minds” (Ephesians 4:23), so we cry out with the Psalmist “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10). Jesus, who defeated the power of the forces of evil on the cross (Colossians 2:15) and who promises life in all its fullness to those who follow him (John 10:10), offers each of us that fresh start, and as we pay more attention to him and his word, we'll find that he is the one we were desiring all along.

Is there anybody out there...?

Here's my October magazine article:

I love showing people around the church and talking to them about its history and also what's going on in the present. One of the most common questions from adults as well as children is: “Are there ghosts here?” - an understandable question given the graves that surround the church and probability of people also buried inside the church. But it's not an easy question to answer, at least not in a brief way.

This is because we need to be clear what is meant by the word 'ghost'. It is true that there is a 'spiritual dimension' to the universe in which spiritual beings exist. These beings are either good or evil; they are either obedient to God or they are in rebellion against him (Ephesians 6:12). These spiritual beings can manifest themselves in the world, and we often refer to them by the general terms 'angels' and 'demons' (for more on angels, read the Advent 2019 reflections on this blog). The difficulty comes because evil spiritual beings don't mind lying – they will masquerade as good angels (2 Corinthians 11:14) or even as deceased people.

The term 'ghost' usually refers to the 'souls' or 'spirits' of people who have died, which can appear and even communicate with those who are still living. Thus they are thought to be human rather than spiritual in origin (this is further confused by the common but incorrect view that we become angels when we die). However, there is no such 'limbo' state: “people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). Jesus tells us (Matthew 25:31-46) that judgment leads either to an eternity in the presence of God or an eternity cut off from God's presence (which therefore cannot be in the world as God is present in the world). And Jesus' physical resurrection from the dead teaches us that our resurrection will also be physical – he even told his disciples “I am not a ghost!” (Luke 24:39). Humans are 'embodied souls' and 'ensouled bodies' (Genesis 2:7) - the two cannot be separated, that is why Paul teaches that at our resurrection we will receive immortal bodies (1 Corinthians 15:53).

So do ghosts exist? If you mean 'do the spirits of dead people hang around in the world?' then the answer is no. Some might point to mediums who have told them things that were only known by themselves and the loved one as proof that this is indeed the spirit of the dead person communicating. It may be true that no human could know those things but as these beings are supernatural, they have knowledge that humans don't. The medium may indeed be communicating with spiritual beings, but these beings are impersonating humans and must therefore be evil, as God has forbids us from trying to contact the dead (e.g. Leviticus 19:31, Deuteronomy 18:9-12).

Halloween is a time when evil spiritual beings are trivialised and rational people will claim to have seen ghosts or communicated with dead loved ones. There is only one person who has spoken to us after their death, the physically resurrected Jesus, and one of his messages to us is “stop doubting and believe” (John 20:27).

Dressing up evil

Here's my article for October:

A question that quite often gets asked is “Why is there so much evil in the world?”  As we approach the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War we again focus on the horror of war and “man's inhumanity to man”.  But there is also plenty in the news today that makes us despair about the prevalence of evil in the world.

There is, however, an irony in those who despair about the amount of evil in the world but at the same time take part in Halloween events.  Because despite its 'fun' and 'playful' image, Halloween is in essence a celebration of evil.  In fact it is even more dangerous because it makes evil seem to be fun and playful, and children get rewarded with sweets for being evil. This might seem a bit of a stretch make a link between dressing up as a vampire and acts of atrocity, but the normalising, minimising and rewarding of evil means that we become immune to the seriousness of evil.  If the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, this is true whether the direction is right or wrong!

Now that isn't to say that all those who dress up in Halloween costumes are evil or will commit evil acts, it is merely saying that we need to be careful what we celebrate, encourage and reward, especially in children, because that could set a precedent for future undesirable behaviour.  An example of this might be those who mark Halloween as 'Mischief Night' – a time for pranks such as egging or acts of vandalism.  If you can dress as a devil 'for fun' why can't you act as a devil 'for fun'?  Why is one praised and the other condemned?  Why is one promoted on social media and the other moaned about on that same social media?

The answer would be that it is a matter of moral boundaries, but that raises the question of where those moral boundaries should be set.  Once evil in whatever form is acceptable, when does it become unacceptable?  This then becomes a matter of personal interpretation: what one person calls 'being scary for fun' another might call terrorisation.

In the Christian worldview this confusion is exactly what the “spiritual forces of evil” (Ephesians 6:12) want.  The prophet Isaiah warned “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter” (Isaiah 5:20).  The devil is the 'father of lies' (John 8:44) who masquerades as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14) – a bad thing pretending to be good.  By tricking us into thinking that evil is 'just playing' and 'a bit of fun' he sows moral confusion and gets a foothold in our lives.  In the baptism service, after the parents and godparents have said that they reject the devil and all rebellion against God and renounce the deceit and corruption of evil, we exhort the child to “fight valiantly as a disciple of Christ against sin, the world and the devil.”  But they cannot not fight this battle alone; so we ask God to deliver them from the powers of darkness, restore in them the image of his glory, and lead them in the light and obedience of Christ.  Paul reminds us in Ephesians 5:8 “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.”

Luther, The Reformation and the rejection of superstition

Here's my magazine article for October:

On 31st October 1517, a German monk called Martin Luther nailed a piece of paper to a church door in Wittenburg. So began what has come to be called The Reformation. Luther's petition, although initially against dubious methods of fundraising by the Church, grew into a much wider protest against the doctrines and practices of the Roman Catholic Church, which lead to the formation of the 'Protestant' churches, including the Church of England. For most people the 500th anniversary of this event will pass unnoticed and unmarked, unlike the 20th anniversary of the death of Princess Diana or the 100th anniversary of Passchendaele. Yet the Reformation had a profound effect not just on the religious beliefs of millions of people but also on the the way the world is today.

It has been argued that without the Reformation, the technological and scientific advances of the Enlightenment would not have occurred. Ironically for some atheists the Reformation's rejection of some of the superstitious religious practices of the Mediaeval world has enabled the modern world to rejection all religion as superstitious. This is often the way that the relationship between religion and science is framed: superstitious religion vs rational science. The truth however is more complicated. Many aspects of Christianity in particular can be verified, and conversely some scientific theory is based more on ideology than fact. But also religion and science are actually on the same side when it comes to superstition.

The philosopher Roger Scruton has recently spoken about religion and science in contrast with the magical worldview of the Harry Potter books. Superstition and magic, Scrutton says, are rooted in the belief that we can control the universe, whereas religion and science acknowledge that we can't. A magical outlook arrogantly asserts that anything is possible if you know the right spell, whereas religion and science humbly admit that there are gaps in our knowledge and abilities. Scrutton argues that although this magical view is alright in fiction, it is a problem when it also becomes the outlook in real life. From a Christian perspective, the magical worldview is not only contrary to reality but also spiritually harmful.

31^st October is associated more these days with Halloween than Martin Luther, and I have written in previous years about the dangers of celebrating Halloween (here and here). Not only does it open people up to attack from malevolent spiritual forces but in normalising witchcraft and magic it perpetuates this magical outlook on life. In a world of magic, Scrutton explains, there is no need for God because we are god: we can control everything. Genesis 3 tells us that Satan tempted Adam and Eve not just to disobey God but to want to be God; that was the original sin and is the defect in all humanity.

Magic promotes the idea that evil can be overcome simply by knowing the right spell. Christianity teaches that evil can only be defeated by God himself: as a prayer from the Book of Common Prayer puts it: “we have no power of ourselves to help ourselves”. What Martin Luther reminded us was that God has defeated evil through Jesus' death and resurrection, all we have to do is receive that salvation as a free gift.

(For more on the Reformation, see the magazine from Church Society)

Halloween: Harmless fun? Trick or treat?

Here's my magazine article from October 2013.

“It's just harmless fun” is a phrase that we'll be hearing a lot over the next few weeks as people defend the activities around Halloween, but is it true?

The origins of Halloween are in the Druid and Celtic feast of Samhain which celebrated the end of harvest and the beginning of the dark period of winter. The boundary between this world and the world of the dead was thought to dissolve and the dead returned to earth and created havoc by playing tricks on people and damaging crops. When Christianity arrived in Britain, it attempted to 'Christianise' these and other similar celebrations around the world by talking instead of the 'hallowed' saints who have died. 1^st November became All Hallows (Saints) Day, and the day before, 31^st October became All Hallows Eve or Hallowe'en. However, despite this the pagan and occult origins of the celebrations never went away.

Today the celebrations of Halloween have little to do with Samhain, for many it's just a laugh, an opportunity to dress up and perhaps to get some free sweets. We might possibly object to Halloween because of its celebration of fear, and of causing fear; the anti-social problems and potential risks for children through 'trick-or-treats'; or the overcommercialisation of it. But there is something a lot more dangerous about Halloween than these.

Christianity teaches that the supernatural exists and that there are evil and malevolent spiritual forces in the world. Halloween celebrations both underestimate and overestimate the power of those forces. By trivialising their power and making it the stuff of funny costumes it may encourage people, especially children, to 'play' with ouija boards, tarot cards, horoscopes and other occult practices. This connects people with sinister forces beyond their control, forces whose only aim is destruction.

On the other hand, Halloween is the celebration of evil over good, of darkness over light. Christianity teaches that through his death on the cross Jesus defeated all evil powers, although they won't be finally destroyed until Jesus comes again. In the meantime, they are active in the world and although they are more powerful than we are, they are nowhere near as powerful as God is. In Jesus, good has triumphed over evil and light has defeated darkness. As we say in the baptism service as we give the person their baptism candle: “God has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and has given us a place with the saints in light. You have received the light of Christ; walk in this light all the days of your life.”

The 'treat' of Halloween is really a 'trick' to make us both forget the power of evil and also to think it more powerful than it is. Fun it may be, but harmless it most definitely is not.

Dabble, dabble, game or trouble?

Here's my article for the October parish magazine:

There's a fine line between vigilance and paranoia and between caution and hysteria and it's a line that I'm going to attempt to tread in this article.

This summer's gaming sensation has been Pokemon Go – a smartphone game where imaginary creatures and accessories are looked for and captured in real life locations.  Some have praised it for getting coach-potato gamers out of their houses and walking around, whilst others have pointed out the dangers of people walking onto roads or into streams; causing accidents or making themselves vulnerable to crime by playing the game.  A few people are warning of the spiritual damage that Pokemon can do.

This latter group look at the 'worldview' of the game. Pokemon is short for 'pocket monsters' and the Pokemon have different abilities, for example reading of minds, use of poison, mimicry, taunting, teleportation and hypnosis. The concept of the original game of Pokemon is that you capture these Pokemon, 'train' them and then 'summon' them to fight against other people's Pokemon.  This, they say, is very similar to the practices of summoning and trying to control spiritual beings and forces that are found in witchcraft, Wicca, shamanism and spiritism, all of which the Bible warns against.  They also point to the testimony of former witchdoctors such as Bautista who, with no prior knowledge of the game, identified some Pokemon with demons they had encountered.

However, whilst some of the underlying themes and concepts of Pokemon are based on unChristian and potentially dangerous worldviews, it is after all just a game.  The same can't be said, on the other hand for those who 'dabble' in witchcraft, Wicca, mediums, psychics, spiritism etc.  These are very real attempts to summon and control very real spiritual beings and forces.  The problem with these practices, apart from the dubious techniques used by some of the practitioners, is that although the spiritual forces are real, only demonic forces would use these means.  This is because God has forbidden these practices so no force for good would use them, despite them seeming to be harmless or even caring.  St Paul warns us the “Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness.” (2 Corinthians 11:14-15).

There is no such thing as good magic, the dead cannot be communicated with and spiritual forces are beyond the command of humans.  What will respond if you call on these things are evil spirits that we are unable to control.  However, the Bible records loads of occasions where Jesus demonstrated his power over evil forces, and ultimately “God defeated the spiritual rulers and powers. With the cross God won the victory and defeated them. He showed the world that they were powerless” (Colossians 2:15). If you have opened the door of your life to evil influences, the good news is that through Jesus that door can be shut and you can be set free from every evil force that wants to control you.