The prevalence of the occult in our culture is undeniable, which begs the question, what exactly is attracting people to vampirism, Wicca, and pagan worship? The Greatest Generation is almost entirely gone and the mystical has quickly stepped up to fill the vacuum of a society based on relativity, humanism, and science.

The result is a two-generation deep society that knows nothing of God or His laws. Unfortunately, this isn’t a new thing. “And also that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim….” (Jud. 2:10-11)

The Bible warns us that we are not to worship other gods, yet this generation of Americans is doing just that. Our children, particularly girls, are being fed the pabulum of Wicca, sorcery, and divination before they reach puberty. Yet witchcraft is as old as the lie of Genesis 3:4 when the serpent promised mankind that their eyes would be opened and they would be as gods. And who doesn’t want to be enlightened?

Practitioners of the craft believe their spells and incantations endue them with secret knowledge and the ability to manipulate their own destinies. Sadly, the power these children receive does not make them like gods, but rather subjects them to lying spirits, demons, and ultimately, bondage and fear.

God tells us that we are to teach His laws to our children. “Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” (Det. 6:7)

The biggest lie being perpetuated upon our society today is that we have become a secular nation. Although Christianity may be waning and is popularly frowned upon by the elite, the media, and academia, we are not a religion-less society. Rather than eradicate religion, these critics of Christianity have sought to replace the Christian religion with ones they can embrace.

Wicca, the occult, humanism, and New Age religions are all-inclusive and politically correct. They coexist in a world where personal sin is not a condition of the human race but a weakness, and one must only tap into his inner God within to become his higher self.

In witchcraft, practitioners use the elements to ask for what one desires. By saying the right words in the right way, facing the right direction, and when the stars and planets are aligned in a particular position, witches draw their circles and invoke the gods and spirits to manipulate the circumstances and people in their lives, often times with only the purest of intentions.

The prevailing idealism in Wicca and New Age religions is that mankind can evolve. He or she can reach his inner potential, ascend to god or goddess status, and manipulate his own destiny and even achieve immortality. Whether this is accomplished through chants, incantations, spells, or meditation, people are hungry for power in a world where they often feel powerless and out of control. I know I do.

Wicca and other pagan religions appear to offer practitioners the ability to govern their own destinies and to give their lives real meaning. Trouble is, most that journey into the mystical are completely ignorant and unsuspecting of just what and who, exactly, they are tapping into in this vast universe. And yes Virginia, there are a lot of spirits filling the cosmos.

At the core of why these pagan mystery religions are growing faster than Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism is, quite simply, that they are filling the vast spiritual emptiness that pervades our Western culture.

Sadly, much of modern Christianity has also become eat up in the occult. While Wicca may call on the four elements, misled Christians believe that by surrounding themselves with positive people and speaking positive confessions or affirmations they, too, can manipulate forces to, “have their best life now.”

Speaking positive affirmations into your life is the same as sorcery and Bible-literate Christians know better. Not so for this a new breed of Christians, many of who are just as lost as their professing vampire neighbors. The reality is that despite the Bible being available on our phones, today’s Christian doesn’t know the holy scriptures any better than his Wiccan or New Age coworker.

God’s word tells us very plainly that in this world we will have trouble. Jesus did not come to give us our best life now but rather, we are told to pray for the kingdom that is to come. As long as the world is under the power of Lucifer, the battle rages on.

Although our Western cultural has taught us that if matter cannot be perceived with the natural eye, it does not exist, this is simply a contradiction. Although we cannot see sound waves or viruses, we know they exist.  Interestingly, those who practice Wicca and other occult religions, know that there are gods and spirits inhabiting our universe. They don’t deny that we are spiritual beings in a spiritual world.

Rather than Christians being repulsed by the occult they find themselves surrounded by, they should view it as an opportunity to engage with others and guide them to the true source of mysteries, secrets, and power, and that is only through the person of Christ. “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.”

I have always respected, whether I am wrong or not, those people who religiously practice their faith even when it is one I am theologically opposed to, such as Islam. Why? Because there is a longing in that person to fill the spiritual emptiness. There is recognition that something is missing in their life and, at the very least, acknowledgment that there is a greater power to tap into.

But be prepared for battle when you engage others who are steeped in the occult. Satan will have you in his crosshairs. I experienced this first hand with a coworker who was very anti-God and who regularly practiced meditation. She often brought up the subject of religion, and after baiting me into discussing the spiritual, I in no uncertain terms, told her that I was a practicing Christian.

Don’t get me wrong here, I wasn’t ashamed of Christ or the gospel, but this was just three days into a new job. I didn’t know her, didn’t know the workplace, and frankly, didn’t think it was an appropriate, let’s get to know one another conversation. My mere presence in her domain however, drew her to me like a moth to a flame. Whether this was the Holy Spirit drawing her to the truth (you never know if you are the only gospel someone will hear) or the powers of darkness coming to attack me, I will never know.

What I remember most vividly and, looking back, I feel had the most impact on getting her to think about where her beliefs were leading her was this one question I asked her, “How do you know who is speaking to you and what his or her intention is?” In other words, what is your yardstick in which you measure truth.

So now this article comes full circle.  You do, indeed, need to know God’s word. I explained to her that the Bible is my yardstick in discerning the spirits. I explained to her that Christians often get spiritual insights or feelings just as nonbelievers do, and that we often experience impulses, premonitions, or dreams, but that God tells us that we are to test the spirits to see if they are from God. This surprised her. I told her in no uncertain terms that I most definitely believed she was talking to spirits and that spirits do exist everywhere.

This coworker, and many like her, take pride in the fact that they are open minded, yet I called her on the fact that she had not, in fact, ever read the Bible, the greatest piece of literature and the bestselling book of all time. Her open mindedness was a lie because she had rejected the Christian religion without ever exploring it for herself.

Finally, this coworker told me that she disliked the Christian religion because it was exclusive. I heartily agreed with her. I don’t think Christian’s should apologize for what they believe in or deny that there is a right way and a wrong way. God’s word tells us that, “Here is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” (Prov. 14:12)

This isn’t a game people. I was fired from that job after five weeks and she was the driving force behind it. And I have had a rough two years since that time. Yes, there is power in the occult, but there is no God like our God. “But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

So get out your armor and get on the battlefield. Wimpy, untrained Christians need not apply.