Conclusion of What Draws People to the Occult?

Desire for Protection and good luck - In some regions of Africa, villagers hire a "prophet" from a charismatic church to exorcise bad spirits from the community. Rituals involve drinking potions and "holy water." Elsewhere, people consult spirit mediums in order to invoke good luck on a new house or a grave.

Threats to children - In Papua New Guinea, a mother may refuse to go outside with her newborn at night. Why? She fears that evil spirits might harm the infant. In Uganda, mothers routinely tie strings, sometimes with beads and shells, to the wrists and ankles of their babies to shield them from harm.

Loss of a loved one - British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle lost his son, brother-in-law, and a nephew in World War I. Distraught and desperate, Doyle and his wife attended seances, hoping to speak with their dead son. Today, too, many consult spirit mediums in an effort to speak with dead love ones. In some lands traditional religions and so-called Christian churches teach that death is the result of a malevolent act by angry spirits. Several compulsory, expensive rituals may be performed in order to ward off a chain of deaths in a community.

Fear of the dead - Beliefs regarding death and the dead have profoundly influenced humankind. Hence, in many lands people perform all kinds of rituals, including self-injury, to appease the dead or to "prove" their love for them. Among some peoples of the Pacific islands, widows or widowers are forced to wear black clothing and go into mourning for months, locked up in a house where they must refrain from eating the deceased person's favorite foods. Individuals who practice this custom can become depressed or sick from hunger or even die.

Clearly there are many enticements luring people into the occult. How important, then, that we understand the true source of occult teachings! To that end, let us examine the Bible, the only book that gives us the full picture.

Next time; Who Is Really Behind the Occult?

Awake! 2011