St. Michael Russian Orthodox Church

October 9, 2009

Whatever happened to the word "No". It was a word that my parents were very well acquainted with. My brother and I heard it fairly often. Once the word was pronounced there was no appeal. Mama's judgment was always swift and final. One Ascension Thursday a very objectionable movie opened at our theater. As we were walking in the street we could see a huge line of people waiting to see the picture. Mama said, loud enough, for us and a lot of other people to hear, "Just look at those dirty pigs". I was busy looking at the crowd, but they almost all turned their heads away in shame. It was still a time when people could still get embarrassed. That time has been gone for a long time.

In recent times we have been treated to the appearance of the Harry Potter series of books. These are books that Christian children do not need. Poor Harry is mixed up with witchcraft and its various practitioners. What child needs to have their heads filled up with this sort of nonsense? God Himself gave us His teaching about witchcraft in the Old and New Testament. The words of God on the subject are very direct and easy to understand. In Leviticus, chapter 19, verse 31, God says, "Do not follow after wizards, do not ask anything of soothsayers, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God". That word defiled is pretty strong stuff. It means to allow yourself to be made filthy by those people. We need to be aware that witchcraft is the exact opposite of what God teaches.

Contemporary Christians, including some brain-dead Orthodox, are trying so terribly hard to show that they can fit in with the rest of the secularized society around us. Unfortunately for these people, it just can't be done. In the Book of Deuteronomy, chapter 18, verse 10-12, God tells us, "There shall not be found among you anyone that ... consults soothsayers or that observes dreams and omens, neither let there be any wizard, nor charmer, nor any that consults spirits or fortunetellers, or that seeks the truth from the dead. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord". God certainly doesn't leave any wiggle room in His condemnation.

Parents need to let their children hear the word "No" and understand why it is being said. Christians have no portion with witchcraft, but instead their portion is only with Christ.

The Book of the Acts, chapter 19, verse 19, which was written early in the life of the Church speaks about what happened while the name of Jesus was becoming more and more known to both Jews and Greeks. It says, "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 to be fifty thousand pieces of silver." That was a great sum of money at that time. But that money didn't mean anything to them any more because, you see, they had found Jesus and He meant everything to them. Our children need to know that they, too, have a portion, not with poor Harry, but with the Good Who saved them.