Since working and studying in the ministry it never seems long until the topic of spiritual authority comes up. Either by a leader having to enforce his spiritual authority or by having someone rejecting the authority. On a number of occasions, as a pastor, I’ve been asked “how far does your authority go?” and honestly this question is one I had to ask myself a few years ago, when dealing with different institutions and their leaders. I remember asking “Just how far does this authority go? Where’s the line?” Well, fortunately, a lot of this answered itself when I studied it biblically.

     If there’s only one thing people take away from this blog I want it to be the importance of a Christian basing their life on the Spiritual Authority of the Bible. The Bible is the guide for the Christian. Meaning when it says to “love your neighbor” we are to do just that. Despite their race, religion, sexuality, political position, creed etc. The Bible has to be our basis for all our behavior and there must be a biblical reasoning behind all things we do. Often times when someone appears to make an outrageous claim within a Christian setting I will say something like “Okay, that’s a big claim…chapter and verse?” this normally allows a biblical discussion to take place rather than an opinionated one. So, with this being said, what does the Bible say about spiritual authority? Just how much power is given to the pastors? The deacons? Christian institutions? Even husbands?

     These seem to be very important questions. I’ve witnessed Christian institutions demand men, women, and families compromise their own consciences because they were “the spiritual authority” I’ve experienced people treating their pastor like his word itself was doctrine “Well pastor says ____ so that’s what we do!” I have seen many people hurt because the term “Spiritual Authority” was kicked around more than a soccer ball at an elementary soccer championship. I was fortunate enough to grow up in a church where the senior pastor seemed to have a very healthy understanding of spiritual authority. He never really infringed upon myself, or overstepped his bounds with anyone. You could imagine my surprise when I went to Bible colleges and suddenly these institutions were micromanaging their student populaces constantly (in more ways than I can list off here) This very behavior of Christian Institutions is what caused me to start asking “Is there a line to spiritual authority? How far does it go?” Before I always had a healthy view of pastoral authority from the pastor at my church, now it seemed the opposite. Was this just me not wanting to adjust to something different? Was this my conscience screaming it was wrong? Or just a tinge of rebellion?


Authority in the Bible


     The Bible actually says a lot about the importance of authority and our subjugation to it. There are tons of verses on the topic however, here are just a few.

Hebrew 13:17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. (Church authority)

Romans 13:1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. (Governmental authority)

Titus 3:1 Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work. (Human authority)

     Obviously, the Bible has made it very clear on just how important it is to obey the authorities that be. This includes government authority and church authority. God is not the author of confusion, He’s a Lord of Order. He has structure. Authority figures bring just that: order. Without the Government, the United States would fall apart. In fact, God created a governmental system for Israel with the Mosaic and Levitical Law. Everything needs order. Everything needs structure and authority has to exist. The Christian is bound to be humble and submissive before authority.


The Righteous Line


      We are called to be in subjection to authority and to be obedient to give Christ a good testimony in our lives. (2 Pet. 2:13-15) The question though has to be asked: Is there a line? When does, authority go too far? Can it go too far? After all, doesn’t the Bible just say to simply ‘obey the authority?’

      Many Christians don’t seem to think there is a line as long as it’s associated with a Church and they recognize a Mission Board or a Bible College as a Spiritual Authority that can’t be ignored and must be obeyed. This has allowed Bible Colleges to demand what people wear, who they date (therefore marry), where to work, when they can leave home, and for Missions Boards to demand how a man chooses to run his own home! Dictate what his own wife can wear (even in the bedroom…I wish I was kidding) how he disciplines his children, and what kind of hobbies they engage in, and churches to control the personal lives of each family in attendance. (the list would be nearly endless to continue)

     Oddly enough, there’s a large group of Christians that would defend this right for Christian organizations to have, but when something like “gay marriage” comes up many Christians throw up their flags and say “We can’t obey that! That’s against the Bible!” While they continue to follow an organization whose very rules also contradict scripture. Many of these people will talk about an overreaching government but few of them mention an overreaching spiritual authority. This, my friends, is an error.

     The Bible tells us of the importance of obeying authority, but also teaches us the importance of following righteousness and God’s Word. Standing up for truth and not compromising for that which is wrong/evil. There is such thing as overreaching Spiritual Authority and Governmental Authority. This occurs when the authority is asking us to go against scripture.

Romans 13:3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval. (Rulers are meant to protect that which is good)

All throughout the Bible we see people having to resist authority that is unrighteous or overstepping their bounds.


A Few Examples:


Jonathan: David’s friend, and son of Saul had to secretly defy his father/king to protect David

Pharisees: Jesus had to correct them because they were overreaching with their spiritual authority by putting requirements on spirituality that God never did.

Paul (and apostles): All had to resist the authorities around them to continue preaching the Gospel.

Moses: Had to defy the authority of Pharaoh in order to obey the authority of God.


     It seems that we are to obey authority when it is doing that which is righteous, but when they are infringing upon the commands of God…then we ought to choose the truth of God not the desires of man. Because the Bible also warns about being man-pleasers (Gal. 1:10)

     If the Bible says that a man is the authority of his own household, then no church organization has the right to start meddling in his everyday life. As long as the husband/father is striving to live righteously. If the Bible tells us that we have individual soul liberty and are free to live in the grace of God, then no institution gets to override that. Doesn’t matter if you have the word “Christian” on it or not. The whole reason for spiritual authority is to structure the church and keep people spiritually accountable to the Lord. Not to meddle in everyday Christian living. As long as the people aren’t living sinfully then the spiritual authority should keep out.

     There were many times where even Christians had to go to war to fight a tyrannical government oppressing the people (Revolutionary War, WWII etc.) there are times when the righteous path will demand you to say no to the authority if man in order to say yes to the authority of God. Because there is no other authority more important than the authority of God Himself.

Act 5:29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.

James 4:17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

Isaiah 1:17 learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause.

       God put authority in this Earth to bring order. We are to obey that authority both in government and in church until that authority goes off the deep end. Because at the end of the day we must follow God’s commands over man’s.

      This was a constant issue for me while at different Bible schools. They always pulled the “authority card” and I could not wrap my head around it. Because, to put it frankly, some of the demands felt too wrong and infringing. They felt invasive. There were even times they demanded I, and others, compromise our own consciences, all under the guise of “We’re the authority” and that never rubbed me the right way. There was even a time when I had an RA that was clearly overstepping his bounds. He was threatening to try to get a few dormmates kicked out, calling one friend a failure because his family had drug dealers in it, put his fist in a guy’s face once and say “Do you want me to put an imprint of my ring on your face?” and then moments later he says “Well, I’m the RA. I’m the authority” me and a few friends reported the instance and we got lectured that although his behavior was wrong, he was still the authority and should listen to him…however, I couldn’t. He had proven himself to overstep his bounds and behave foolishly. I tried defending the case and then this conversation occurred:


Dean: Well, I’ll talk to him but you still need to listen to him. He is the authority.

Me: He literally threatened people and was about to get violent over people talking in the dorm at 11pm in their own rooms…I can’t follow that kind of leader…

Dean: Well, you’re going to have to. He’s the authority this school put in place in your dorm…

Friend: How can this school still put him in authority after this behavior? This isn’t the first time he’s acted this way…he makes dorm life miserable and difficult to deal with…everyone else gets along just fine until he shows up…

Dean: Well you signed the school’s handbook, so therefore you submitted yourself to the authority of the school and the judgment of the leaders…

Me: But this is a Bible school…

Dean: Yes, it is, Mister Hess and the Bible says we are to obey authority. You signed the handbook.

Me: Since when does a bible college handbook and signature trump the Bible? This guy is going to be a pastor and he has consistently violated I Timothy 3 which are the basic qualifications to pastor a church. He can’t even lead a dorm full of Bible students…

Dean: Mister Hess, don’t argue with me. This is what’s required of you. I’ll talk with him but he’s still your authority and should be respected as such. We are your spiritual authority and that’s final.

Me: Spiritual authority? This is my institution of education. The pastor here doesn’t even know my name. How can this be my spiritual authority?

Dean: You signed the handbook…

Me: I guess my definition of spiritual authority is just vastly different than yours.


     Now, I get what the dean was trying to say. Which is to act respectfully to him, honor him, etc. To that I fully agree. We should always resolve conflict in a respectful manner following that of Matthew 18. However, the point is here the skewed perspective of what many of places, like this school for instance, has on authority and its place in Christian’s lives. This man was unfit to be an RA but because he was deemed as such we were told to obey him. Even if this man was infringing upon our rights as students or, worse yet, biblical callings. This is but one example of my own experiences (which did happen a few times). I hear dozens of stories like this regularly. Bible Colleges, Missions Boards, and even Churches use their handbooks/rules to infringe upon the rights of the individuals and really put the followers in an awkward spot. To follow their rules or to follow God’s. But Because it’s a Christian Institution people fall into the trap of following their every command as oppose to checking their commands with scripture.

     The short version is that we ought to respect, honor, and obey the authorities that be. However, if that authority is overstepping what our holy and all-powerful God commanded of us…then we must choose the ways of God. Don’t compromise your conscience to please people. Always follow the scriptures first. Because the Bible is the first true authority of God’s Word. Not your pastor, not your church, not your Missions Board, etc. I was very blessed to have a pastor growing up who had a good understanding of his role as spiritual authority and therefore I have respect for him to this day. However, there are a great many Christians that seem to really struggle with the idea of the “Righteous Line.” Never compromise the righteousness and liberty of Christ for the foolishness and pride of man.

Proverbs 28:1 The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion.

     In our society today we celebrate many holidays St. Patrick’s Day, Independence Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day etc. However, everyone know that the three major Holidays are Christmas, Halloween, and Thanksgiving (or New Year’s depending on who you’d ask.) I don’t really hear Christians debating on whether we should celebrate a certain holiday…unless it’s Halloween. As per usual, I’d like to give you my background on this topic and then give you the conclusion I reached.

      I find it curious how many Christian writers have written about this topic. It seems all can agree on the origins/history of Halloween, but when it comes to application of Biblical principles everyone is all over the place. Upon much thought, research, and discussion of this topic I hope I can help shed some light on this topic.


My Background


      Growing up in a strict Baptist home you can only imagine that I barely knew what Halloween was. Seriously, we never celebrated it. Our yard got covered in toilet paper a few times for lack of participation, but we never got a knock on the door. My family would turn off the lights and we’d have a movie night downstairs. On a hand full of occasions, we had a Harvest Party at our house or others and us kids would dress up, but even that faded after a couple of years. Essentially, we were taught as children that Halloween was an evil holiday that glorified Satan. Especially because it’s history was so abhorrent and evil. So all through life we never really engaged in the holiday. Now as an adult man, I almost always forget that Halloween is even a holiday until the décor comes out and I’m like “Oh yeah, that candy holiday is coming!” Then I buy Count Chocula and Candy Corn like it’s going out of style. So naturally, I didn’t even think about writing an article on this topic seeing as it was never really a thing in my life. Luckily for me I have smart friends and one of them mentioned I should write on this topic. So here goes nothing.


Dealing with Pagan Roots


     The history of Halloween has become pretty mainstream, but on the principle of being thorough I’ll give a brief explanation. If you want further information there’s plenty readily available. Traditionally, Halloween is Celtic in origin. It dealt with many pagan ritualistic practices and beliefs. They would celebrate the end of summer, change of the earth, and the annual ‘death’ of nature. Ultimately, during this time they would worship Samhain, the Lord of Death. They believed that during this time the veil between the living and the dead was the weakest and dead souls and evil spirits would walk among the living. Most of this took place in what is Britain and France today.

     Many Christians use the pagan roots of Halloween as their main reason for not celebrating it. However, this seems really foolish when you consider the fact that both Easter and Christmas have intense pagan roots as well. Christmas, was called Saturnalia, and during its winter festivities, courts were closed, and all crime was legal during that time. (The Purge: Roman Edition.) There’s a lot more to Easter and Christmas orginis, but ultimately, they have pagan roots. Look it up, makes for an interesting read.

     It is for this reason I also know Christians who don’t celebrate any of those holidays either. However, I believe it’s important not to focus on what something used to be and instead focus on what it is today. Reason for this is that things change over time: we mature as people, music has evolved, culture shifts, church styles change, and eventually become something very separate from what they once were. Nowadays, these holidays are extremely different than that of their roots! We can’t change the past so I see no point on dwelling on the past. I feel those who focus on the pagan roots of these holidays are forgetting that almost everything in our world today has pagan, evil, or questionable roots. For example, look into the history of any country that is established today. (USA, Great Britain, Germany, etc.) every country has things in its past that are very against the teachings of God. If Christians can’t celebrate a holiday due to its history, how can a Christian live in or support a country with such evil in its past? Well, most would say something like, “We can’t change that.” Or, “We’re not like that anymore as a country.” And they are absolutely right! Same thing with a holiday. You can’t change what it was, but we can appreciate it for what it is now.


Halloween and the Christian


     The history of Halloween is something that can easily be discarded since it’s not celebrated the same way, but can a Christian celebrate something that’s so focused on death? Witches? Ghouls? Zombies? Well…this is where the topic became complicated for me. Let me explain my reasoning.

     Kids dressing as these creatures is a complicated topic. If a parent has done their job their children should understand what is evil and what is not even at a young age. As a child I loved Star Wars. I knew Darth Vader was evil, but I loved to pretend to be the ‘bad guy’ while my friends were Jedi trying to defeat me. I understood as a boy what was good and what wasn’t. It didn’t stop me from wanting to act like the bad guy while playing with friends. (Hey, someone had to be the antagonist) It's important to note that there is a difference between fantasy and reality.

      On the flip side, I wouldn’t be comfortable letting my very little children around those things because it can be terrifying to a toddler or young child to see half the decorations on people’s properties, in the stores, or even the costumes that others wear. The issue with this is that today it’s unavoidable. I can’t keep my children inside for an entire month and avoid going to the store or walking down the street just to keep them away from something that might be scary. This is simply unrealistic. Plus, it’s important not to coddle our children. As a parent though, we are to protect them. Hence why I’d be cautious with my younger children on how much they are exposed to it. Basically: keep it age appropriate and use discernment with your child.

     The other issue though is all the focus on death, darkness, and evil things. This isn’t really arguable seeing as everywhere you go with Halloween are skulls, fake grave stones, evil creatures etc. The Bible often times uses death in a way to describe unrighteousness (sin, punishment, hell etc.) Although children often times know the difference between good and evil would it be wise to avoid a holiday that focuses on this so much? Afterall the Bible says this:

1 John 1:6-7 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

We are to be the light of the world, and the Bible does tell us to separate ourselves from the sinful nature of the world.

2 Cor. 6:17 Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you...

     This verse can be applied in a wide variety of ways. But what it’s ultimately focusing on is telling us to separate ourselves form the world’s sinful nature. Yes, there are things in Halloween that can focus on evil/sin, but I do believe there are innocent parts of Halloween as well. Some Christians I know celebrate Halloween by dressing their children up and going to only friend’s and family’s houses. Others I know have people over for a Harvest Party. They have games, food, costumes etc. So there are innocent ways to celebrate it ourselves.

     And before anyone reading this says “What about the appearance of evil?” Well, I already wrote about that in a separate article. The context of the verse would barely apply here if at all seeing as it means “Abstain from understanding/knowing evil.” If you simply teach your children the difference between right and wrong this should bring them to the point of not knowing or understanding evil, but knowing and understanding righteousness.

     It’s also important to note that all these different creatures that people dress as are fake. They’re just as fictional as Darth Vader, Superman, etc. So don’t get too wrapped up in that. My biggest concern would be for young children that can’t tell the difference and could easily become terrified.


Individual Soul Liberty: The Perfect Application


     Honestly, I can see both sides that Christians apply here. If a Christian doesn’t want to celebrate it because of all the focus on death and other things: that’s fine. No one should violate their own conscience. If a Christian doesn’t see anything wrong with it because they discern the difference between good and evil or real and fake and can celebrate it innocently then more power to them.

In the Bible there is a part that describes a situation like this perfectly.

1 Cor. 8:4 Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.”

1 Cor. 8:8-9 Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.

1 Cor. 8:11 And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died.

1 Cor. 8:13 Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.

     Basically the short story is this: the people in Corinth, before selling meat to the populace were offering the meat to the idols. This caused issue in the church and there were two schools of thought from Christians on how to handle this:

Group 1: If it’s offered to idols I want nothing to do with it. I worship only one God so I’m not going to eat any meat offered to these fake gods.

Group 2: If it’s offered to idols first, why should I care? The idols are fake and I don’t worship them. I just want to eat some steak.

     A few things I want to focus on in this passage. Paul refers to those against eating the meat as the ‘weaker brother’ and those who would eat of the meat as ‘having knowledge.’ I find this curious, because Paul goes on to explain that eating/not eating the meat doesn’t bring us any closer to Christ. However, because those who are weaker would be offended we shouldn’t engage in it lest we offend.

     Couple of things to consider here: Today’s culture is very different than the Romans. Whenever I mention this passage to church members today every single person I’ve ever talked to has said something like, “I don’t see why that was even an issue in that church, the idols weren’t real.” I have honestly never met anyone who says, “I wouldn’t eat the meat.” This is because cultures today have developed differently and have gained much more knowledge than back then. Also, because Western culture is very “individualistic” in mindset. Meaning that you’re only responsible for yourself. This obviously helps in such matter. You’re not responsible for what other people do with that meat/holiday only what you do with it. Hence why this type of issue isn’t as big in Western Cultures as it might be in others. Because we view mankind as responsible for themselves.

     Granted, I’m not ignorant on this topic. I understand that there will always be someone who is offended. However, there are those who’d be offended if you avoided the holiday and others would be offended if you celebrated it. (talk about a rock and a hard place.) So, ultimately be aware of the weaker brothers around you. Careful not to offend and approach all of it with love and decency. Ultimately, I feel there is always a balance between the two.


Finding the Balance


     Here’s my thing, we are to be a light in the dark. This holiday is the only one where people come to our doorsteps by the herds. This could easily be used as an outreach tool and to not use it as such seems to be a wasted opportunity.

John 1:4-5 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Matthew 5:14 You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.

     I personally believe it’s not so cut and dry where to say “Don’t celebrate it at all! It’s evil!” It is my understanding that such a claim is ignorant at best and not taking into accounts all angles of reality. The fact that most of it is done with innocent heart and most people understand what’s evil and what’s good. However, I personally don’t feel comfortable saying “Yeah, go ahead and celebrate it fully!” Due to the dark nature of some things. Like many things, I believe there is an easy balance.

     Celebrate it by going door to door in a trusted neighborhood. Dress your children innocently and in a fun way! Nothing wrong with a little dress up. Maybe have a party at your house and invite all the families that come to your door to your church. Use it as an outreach. Maybe have a costume harvest party at your church. This would actually be awesome! Halloween is the 2nd largest holiday in the USA. You can have games, costumes, prizes, and build relationships/outreach just by doing this. Obviously, keeping the party innocent as well. Nothing scary or edgy. Just fun.

     Besides a few people in a few circles this particular subject is very rare. A large minority have issue with Christians celebrating Halloween in a wise manner. Honestly though, this subject comes down to individual soul liberty. If someone chooses to engage in it: that’s fine. If someone chooses not to: that’s fine. No Christian ought to be looking down or being offended by what another Christian chooses to do with this holiday. To do so is judgmental at best. A Christian shouldn’t violate their own conscience either. Personally, I would like to use this holiday as a fun outreach opportunity to have fellowship with believers, time to get to know other people, and hopefully see souls saved and people grow.

     Christian, just prayerfully consider what God would have you do. Such a holiday is unavoidable to be around. It’s so engrained in our culture that avoiding it might make you appear as a judgmental snob. (careful not to offend…) However, participating in it might force you to be viewed negatively by a weaker brother. So ultimately, use wisdom and discretion! Who would it affect most in your life? What would God have you to do? And remember this: do not take an offense on what another Christian chooses to do with this holiday. God gives liberty to all and if someone chooses to participate or not, that is there choice. I pray my thoughts were clear on this matter and that a balance can be found amongst Christians. Praying for you all, God bless.

Romans 15:4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

     It is of no surprise that in the Christian realm, many debates have occurred and erupted over the topic of fiction, fantasy, and science fiction! Should a Christian participate in such things? Should a Christian watch these movies? Read these books? Play these games? Many are against a Christian being engaged in such! However, why? Is it wrong from a Christian to be enjoy these things?

     Before I start discussing this topic in length I’d like to take a moment to give my background on this issue. Growing up I loved many different fictional pieces of literary and cinematic art. Star Wars was my absolute favorite! I loved the story, the characters, the designs, the battles etc. (What can I say? I was a boy after all) Also growing up, I loved the 1990’s Batman show, The Amazing Spider-Man, Beast Wars, and of course the X-Men! I loved them all for different reasons, but I would ask my mom to wake me up early on Saturday mornings so I could binge watch these shows!

     Later on we moved to the greater Lansing area and started attending a church in that area. This is where these things got hairy. My family never had problem with Star Wars or such things. However, as franchises such as Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Poke’mon, and Chronicles of Narnia started getting some major attention by the populace, people started speaking against it in the church and our extended family. The family would often hear many different statements in protest to these things such as “Bible says to stay away from witchcraft” or “that stuff has demonic undertones and should be avoided, lest it corrupt the minds of your children.” This caused my parents to jump on the same band wagon as everyone else at the church and we were forbidden to watch any of those things. With the exception of the things we loved growing up (not the case for most kids my age) and Chronicles of Narnia (because its obvious symbolism of Christianity) this seemed to be the case a lot in Christian circles. Everything in the sci-fi/fantasy realm was condemned besides the writing of C.S. Lewis which I always found curious…

     So obviously, if such things are sinful then Christians need to stay away from them! For we shouldn’t dishonor the Lord, nor break His commandments. However, if there’s nothing there but empty or ignorant accusations then Christians can enjoy their liberty to enjoy such things. So let’s talk Bible shall we?


Textual and Cultural Clarification.

One of the many reasons Christians preach against such fiction is due to verses like this.

Galatians 5:20-21 Idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

     I strongly believe when studying anything in the Bible in depth it’s important to check the Greek and cultural context of what’s being spoken lest leading to possible misinterpretation. The Greek word used here for “witchcraft” is “pharmakeia.” (far-mak-aya) This is the root word where we get our English words “pharmacy” or “pharmaceuticals”. This is extremely important to recognize because witchcraft back then was never what we think of it today. It was never ugly old ladies running amok, wand in hand, and turning people into toads. Also, it wasn’t even summoning evil spirits to kill enemies or rivals. In fact, no one has ever succeeded in shooting a fireball out of their hand, a bolt of lightning out of a wand, cursing someone with the proper ingredients in a caldron, or sacrificing a virgin to grant magical powers. Witchcraft has always been a large amount of trickery and mind altering drugs.

     Pharmakeia (φαρμακεία) is often defined as “use medicine, drugs, or spells.” This makes perfect sense when you think of cultures that used such things. (including Romans, Canaanites etc.) The most well-known example would be witchdoctors. Witchdoctors, depending on the different situations, would create different concoctions. Most often these mixes would be ignited and then the fumes would be inhaled by the participant, causing a mind-altering state. These “highs” would create different hallucinations amongst other sensory issues. These acts are expressly forbidden by God. This makes sense seeing as the Bible tells us to be “sober-minded.”

1 Peter 5:8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

     Also, these drug induced states were often a form of pagan worship, or in participation of false worship. Which is also forbidden by God. (II Kings 17:12, Hos 4:12) Therefore, this is obviously a sin to participate in this. I don’t believe any Christian would even argue that statement. (for obvious reasons)

     With this in mind it’s important to note that whenever the Bible is talking about witchcraft it's dealing with idol worship, mind alteration, or other pagan/satanic rituals. It’s not referring to parts of fiction. It’s not talking about anything like Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, or anything else similar to it.

     Also, it’s important to note that mankind has never been able to utilize the power of the supernatural. The only beings that have ever been depicted with supernatural powers are God and the angels. In fact, we see that paganism is completely fake! These spells are complete shams. In I Kings 18 we see Elijah challenging pagan worshipers, and they failed where Jehovah succeeded! Really the only place in the Bible we see anyone succeed at casting spells is when Moses challenged the Pharaoh and his priests mimicked the miracle. There’s much speculation as to how this occurred . Did they perform some sort of sleight of hand? Did a fallen angel/Satan intervene? No one can be sure, but it definitely wasn’t because of any spell the Egyptians cast themselves. Because obviously if such magic were real, we’d see a lot more of it today! Since we don’t, it must be assumed that this was either trickery or an intervention of a fallen angel.


Tales of Fiction


     It’s also important to recognize the fact that fictional works are not prohibited in scripture. Nor are far-fetched tales that never occurred or will occur. Jews had their own stories, legends, proverbs etc. All with different morals in mind. In fact, there are many cases of this in the Bible with parables. Jesus told many fictional stories all with a moral in mind. So clearly telling fictional stories with a moral in mind can’t be wrong. What about stories that can “infect the minds of our young ones with false truths? Talking animals? Super powers?” It just so happens that there’s a Biblical example of a story that serves as a good example:

Judges 9:8-15 The trees once went out to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, Reign over us.’ But the olive tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my abundance, by which gods and men are honored, and go hold sway over the trees?’ And the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and reign over us.’ But the fig tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my sweetness and my good fruit and go hold sway over the trees?’ And the trees said to the vine, ‘You come and reign over us.’ But the vine said to them, ‘Shall I leave my wine that cheers God and men and go hold sway over the trees?’ Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come and reign over us.’ And the bramble said to the trees, ‘If in good faith you are anointing me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade, but if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’

     In this story the trees represent the men of Schechem and the bramble is Abimelech. The moral of the story is: The useful and productive have better things to do than play at being king. Obviously trees don’t talk, nor vines, or brambles. It’s simply giving a picture. A story to help teach a moral. This isn’t something that’d confuse children or the minds of men. Likewise, much fiction written would be easily understood by the masses. (more information regarding this Here)

     In every people group there has always been stories, legends, parables, short proverbs, and a number of other depictions that though they take place in a fictional world, teach real morals. So often we forget that a number of these fictional stories today teach strong morals and have many themes in them that are good! To see characters, develop and become better than who they were!


Understanding Fiction


      With this in mind it’s important to note that works of fiction aren’t evil. There might be evil in them, but most works of fiction paint evil as simply that: evil. Also, it has been argued that even the “good guys” do evil/wrong things! One man once told me “Everybody Loves Lucy was evil! Especially her because she was disrespectful, a liar, and mischievous." Let me be clear, although doing those things is obviously wrong, that was part of the charm of the show. She was relatable! So many of us could see ourselves in the same situation. We’d watch and laugh as we see her trying to wiggle out of the pickle she found herself in. Plus, at the end of the show she always realized her mistakes and would reconcile. This little tidbit is called: character development.

     When reading fiction, it’s important to pick up on the elements being presented. Every good story starts with multiple flawed characters, as the story progresses and the characters experience more, they develop and become more mature. They recognize previous mistakes while pushing on to rectify their wrongs. Yes, once in a while a main character will fall to evil and betray the others! But this doesn’t make it anymore evil. If anything it makes the story more relatable because this sort of things happens in real life. There are evil people who do evil things in this world. So if you want to tell a compelling story you must have conflict and realistic character development. Every good story in literature (even the Bible) builds a relatable character, realistic situations, and how people respond to those actions eventually dictate who they become in the future. In fact, many of the stories I hear bashed the most have great themes and morals throughout them.


Lord of the Rings: good vs. evil/the importance of friendship/standing for what’s right/self-sacrifice/having only one spouse/fulfilling your vows/the power of guilt/the power of redemption (and many other biblical themes due to Tolkien being a professing Christian.)


Star Wars: Redemption/selfless sacrifice/not compromising that which is good/resisting temptation/destructive nature of evil/power of friendship/the pain of betrayal/having one spouse. George Lucas was a professing Methodist, but over the years has become more wishy washy on his stance. However, many elements can be found in the films.


Harry Potter: Good vs. Evil/love of family and friends/faith and love can overcome a multitude of evil/murder and evil tears apart at the “soul”/the importance of learning/selflessness/forgiveness/ many biblical morals. JK Rowling is a professing Christian and thus there is a lot of allegorical biblical principles taught throughout.


Chronicles of Narnia: Good vs. Evil/self-sacrifice/resisting temptation/the hurt of betrayal/redemption/standing for righteousness, and an entirely allegorical parallel to the Bible.


Batman: Good vs. Evil/uncompromising with justice/killing is unacceptable/friendship is powerful/the importance of family/discipleship/mentorship/resisting evil/never compromising the truth.


Spiderman: Good vs. Evil/With great power comes great responsibility/don’t just go with the crowd/having power doesn’t mean your life will be perfect/love sometimes means self-sacrifice


X-Men: Good vs. Evil/prejudice is the child of ignorance/even if people wrongfully dislike you doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do the right thing/protect those you can.


     This list could seriously be endless, but I thought I’d park on some of my favorites! See, understanding fiction and story-telling is vital to understanding this topic. Many times people express themselves, political situations, social problems, wars, etc. by telling a story that more easily communicates the message. When I was a child I was never confused by Star Wars. My parents made it very clear to me that these things weren’t real! I understood the difference between reality and fantasy! I always participated in the comics, shows, or movies with an understanding that this was fake. I was grounded enough to recognize the evil that was depicted in the villains, the flaws in the heroes, and the moral that was being taught. I believe if parents are wise on when to expose their children to these things, teach them at an early age the truth of righteousness and God’s Word, then there should never be any confusion with your children and these fictional adventures.


Don’t Be a Hypocrite


     The Bible obviously instructs us to not be hypocrites (Matt. 7:5) so there are a few things that should be addressed here. If a Christian says Chronicles of Narnia is okay, but Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter is not, then that’s hypocritical. Just because Narnia symbolizes biblical events shouldn’t change the fact that the villain is still a witch and Aslan still uses magic. If witchcraft is evil no matter what, then so should Narnia be. (to avoid contradiction) Same concept should even apply to children’s stories such as Dragon Tales, Peter Pan, Beauty and the Beast etc. If all fictional magical fantasy is evil so should these, right?

     The next is that often times I hear Christian men and women say statements like, “These fantasy/fiction/sci-fi novels/movies give children and young people unrealistic expectations of reality. We shouldn’t feed such lies and fantasy to children.” Yet, often these parents will encourage their children to read “Christian Literature” (which is also fictional) examples such as Love Comes Softly, A Father’s Promise, The Wish, My One Regret, Lady Maybe, Left Behind, or pretty much anything written by Frank Peretti etc. Other big names include Christian media like Fireproof, Facing the Giants, Courageous, or even War Room. These are all works of fiction and the same accusation could be thrown at them. Let me give this a whirl:


“Fireproof gives married couples unrealistic expectations that if they follow a love dare, and do everything God says to do, that they can recover their marriages and win their spouses back no matter what they’ve done in the past.” (this is obviously satire)


      Someone with little to no discernment might make an ignorant statement like the one above. The movie doesn’t mean to convey the whole “love can conquer anything” moral. The point of the movie was to show the power of Christ! I doubt few people watched that movie and said “If I do everything he/she did then I can save my marriage!” No, only a person fully rooted in Christ, with humility, and a willing spouse, can recover a broken marriage (it takes effort on both sides, which the movie does convey briefly)

     Also, I’ve known many Christian women who read Christian soap-operas/romances (Love Comes Softly as an example) and often times they can fall into a trap of desiring that kind of life or desiring the man in the book and not the man she’s married to. However, does this make it the book’s fault that the woman can’t make proper discernment? That she can’t discern from reality to fiction? No. Such arguments seem silly to accuse a piece of fiction/literature/media for being evil/vain due to the lack of discernment and wisdom on the receiving end. Ultimately, this is what this issue comes down to: discernment and being grounded in truth.


Being Grounded in Truth


     Whenever questionable issues come up, or a Christian is worried about some things, it’s important that they are first grounded in the truth. The truth, of course, is Jesus Christ (John 14:6) If you’re grounded in truth then you will not be swayed by a simple work of fiction. If you’ve properly equipped and grounded your children, they too won’t be swayed by a fun story. We are made in the image of God. Christians day dream, have goals and aspirations, and we also learn to have fun! There’s nothing wrong with these things, so it’s wrong to condemn the enjoyment of the work of someone else’s imagination! Unless, of course, the work truly is praising that which is evil. Generally speaking though these works are not evil. They’re simply enjoyable with many great lessons, morals, and experiences that we can all glean from. In fact, one could argue that many of these stories help teach “critical thinking” in children. Because they see the protagonist in these stories confront situations and how their decisions can either reap reward or consequence!

Proverbs 15:21 Folly is a joy to him who lacks sense, but a man of understanding walks straight ahead.

John 7:24 Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.

     Christians, be discerning obviously. Don’t let your young children watch something that is inappropriate for their age. Judge/discern righteously for your lives. If a certain thing causes you or someone to stumble, maybe you should consider staying away from it, but you ought to trust your God given discernment to be able to tell the difference of bad entertainment and good entertainment. However, most of these things are quite harmless. Like anything else there are exceptions.

      Music is a good example of this. Most music is fine and harmless. There’s lots of enjoyment in many styles of music, but once in a while you’ll come across a song that is straight vulgarity. Likewise, the same principle applies here. The ultimate point here is that you can be a strong believer, enjoy some base level entertainment, root for a hero, use it as a tool to teach your children morality through them, and still honor the Lord and discern between right and wrong. Many children/young people/adults can discern this.

For example: my nephew when watching some shows (his favorite is TMNT: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) Whenever Shredder (the bad guy) comes on screen. My nephew will say, “He’s the bad guy!” then Shredder will do something sinister and again he repeats, “He lied! He hurt them! That was bad!” and then the turtles will come in, save the day! He then will go on and on about how they save people from the bad guys! How bad guys need to be stopped! How lying hurts people etc. etc.

     Granted, I’m aware that the Bible is the core of the moral teaching and where we should bring our children to see truth…but children (or other people) seeing these morals play out? This could only serve to help ground them even further in some basic moral truths! Some can serve to even push them more toward a lifestyle of faith in God (Preacher from Firefly, or Captain America from Marvel Comics)

     So Christian, don’t be fooled into thinking that the magic in these books is anything more than fictional imagination playing out on a page/screen. This isn’t the type of witchcraft the Bible was talking about. Plus, not all of these things are bad (or the people that enjoy them) in fact there are many great things in these pieces of fiction. Lastly, it’s not something to cause division over. Be grounded in the Lord, be grounded in truth, be grounded in God’s Word, and be grounded in Jesus Christ! Also, learn to enjoy (or let others enjoy) some good, innocent, fun entertainment that doesn’t contradict or compromise the Lord’s teaching. This is my most basic breakdown of this topic. I hope that it may be used to help clarify some thoughts, and serve as a beacon of truth. Thank you all and God bless.

Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

     When one hears the words “Separation from the world” what comes to mind? To some it could be the very phrase you hold your Christian life upon. Maybe you show this by listening to only gospel music, not going to any place that serves alcohol, not attending movie theaters, not having women wear pants, and men not wearing blue jeans. Maybe you don’t have boys spike their hair, wear name brand clothes, or permit girls to wear makeup or color their hair. This is what this phrase means to many different people. To others it may mean not to sin, or maybe to reject the culture around you! Few verses/phrases in the Bible have caused more confusion, debate, and frustration amongst Christians, and fewer verses have caused more churches and it’s people to be torn asunder. What does this mean? Is this a general command? Or is their a more specific meaning to this verse? What exactly is God trying to communicate to us when He says “to be separate from the world?”

Romans 12:1-2 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. 

2 Corinthians 6:17 by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left...

     To unlock the meaning behind these verses first we must understand. What does the word “world” mean? It seems many Christians have different ideas of what “world” really means here and hence all the different standards that come forth from this. This word “world” is the word “kosmos.” Interestingly enough, Greek doesn’t have a word for “culture” so generally speaking the word “kosmos” is also used instead. In the context of this verse, it’s obviously not telling us to be separate from the very world we live and dwell upon (as in the earth) that’d be impossibly absurd! This leads many to believe it means to separate yourself from the world’s culture! (women not wearing pants, not going to movie theaters, no modern music, etc.)

     However, people who say this forget that in the Bible we see the churches and church leaders adjust to their culture all the time! (Acts 17:23, Matt. 7:3-5, 19:24) These verses all use the culture in that locale to present the Gospel. In fact, this process is called “Contextualization.” So this verse obviously can’t mean to be totally separate from the culture in which you live. That would make the Bible contradict itself. For the Gospel has always been most effective when it is applied to the current culture in which it’s being presented.

     We see an example of Biblical separation by Daniel when he decided to follow the Mosaic law, and not defile himself with the king’s food and wine (Daniel 1:8) We later see Daniel living in the Neo-Babylonian Empire and living among the people/leaders peacefully, all the while, honoring to the Lord and following Him. Once the law was decreed that only Nebuchadnezzar could be worshipped, Daniel still lived peacefully among the people but chose to honor God and not worship the false idol.

     With this one example in mind, and we reread out texts in question in their entirety (verses before and after the stated verses) we see a common thread that many Christians seem to miss. Every time it talks about being separate from the world it’s clearly referring to sin (Ex: 2 Cor. 6 is talking about idol worship.) The Bible isn’t telling us we can’t enjoy basic things such as going to movies, playing video games, wearing modern clothes etc. It’s saying to separate yourself from the sinful nature of the world! Meaning to separate yourself from openly sinful behaviors.

     It’s amazing how much these passages get misinterpreted and misapplied. So many Christians bind themselves with rules and regulations under the banner “Be separate from the world!” But let me present to you something about this logic. If you start separating yourself based on its connection to the world (as in culture) you would soon be unable to do anything. Where would you draw this arbitrary the line?

For example: I’ll take a personal favorite topic of mine: music. How many Christians in the world think modern music is wrong? So, they start saying “It’s connected to the world!” and start pointing fingers as how it’s “worldly.” The list is endless, many say it's the drums, electrical instruments, syncopation, singing styles, etc. So they continually make newer and newer arbitrary lines as to why something is worldly. In short, if it's modern and popular, it must be worldly and sinful. However, what if a rock song uses a violin? Does the violin suddenly become as evil as the electric guitars? Where does one draw the line? 

     The logic in this is not used to its completion. If all things associated with something cultural are evil, then you soon wouldn't be able to do much of anything. If you’re going to take one part of something and label it as evil, then naturally you can’t leave a job half done. Such logic would leave us hypocrites. If name brand clothes are evil, then all brand clothes are evil! If movie theaters are evil, movies should be evil. But obviously this would be ridiculous. This would result in all Christians turning into Amish. However, even that lifestyle has its own hypocrisies. My point is this: Christians need to stop labeling such things as sin, when God never defined them as sin. This also includes adding to things to God’s command. For example:

I Corinthians 11:14 Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him...

     Here we see Paul, through God’s leading, instructing men to have short hair. Yet, many Christians put more regulations on just what exactly that means. (Ex: hair can’t touch your ears, tapered vs not tapered, no spiked styles etc.) this is not the case. It’s simply telling men to have short hair. There are no other footnotes than that! God says “men have short hair.” Then man jumps in and says “What God really meant was to style it within these ___ guidlines.” as if to help God out. 

     Let me give you an example: my third year in Bible college I was preparing for Easter Sunday and I decided to trim my hair around my ears (I looked pretty scraggly) and I wanted to trim up before Easter. So that Saturday night after work I started trimming. I got one side to look great and I switched to trim the other side. This turned out to be a mistake. My trimmer bit right into my hair and left a canyon in my head, so much so, that it was unfixable. I realized that I had to shave my entire head and start all over. I remember being horrified at first. Then me and my friends started joking around about it. Calling me all sorts of applicable names. Then, that Sunday I arrived to church and it was my turn to interpret the service for the deaf. I was up on the podium getting my materials together when the Dean of Men, came up to me, grabbed my arm, and then asked

“Mr. Hess, what do you think you’re doing?”

“What?”

“Mr. Hess, what happened to your hair?"


“William, I can’t let you interpret looking like that.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re practically bald and we specifically have it cited in the handbook that you can’t shave your head”

“Why? It was an accident anyway...”

“Because we’re not going to have you all looking like a bunch of worldly hoolagins running around here wanting to be a bunch of Vin Diesal knock offs.”

“But, I’m on the schedule to interpret. Plus it’s not that big of a deal. It’s just a buzz cut. It’ll be fine”

“No. You can’t interpret looking like that. We’ll be discussing your haircut in more detail later”
“The Bible tells me only to have short hair. Now, I don’t care what your handbook says, the Bible says I’m within my bounds. On top of that I’m on the schedule to interpret today which means it’s my responsibility and I am not handing my responsibility off to someone just because Crown’s handbook doesn’t approve of a buzz cut! Also, God’s calling and authority on my life to reach the deaf, and therefore interpret for them, far exceeds any boundaries or regulations given by man. Including your handbook.”

     He wasn’t happy about the response, but he knew I had a point and he said “We’ll talk about this later...” To my relief we never did. I continued on that morning interpreting despite this conversation. 

     Might I take a moment to add that it’s a massive crime to God to add anymore to the Bible than His own words. God says specifically what He means. No more. No less. Don’t add to the regulations God has set forth. To do so is a crime before a sovereign God. Most people think this simply means not adding false doctrines, but God doesn’t say that, He specifically says not to add unto these things.

Revelation 22:18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book...

     Granted, I am aware that the context of this verse is referring to the prophecy of John’s. However, I think it’s obvious that God doesn’t want His words tampered with.

      People so often forget that God created language to communicate to us. He gave us His Word as a guide. It is perfect and complete. No need to take His Word and apply multiple foot notes, read into statements, and ask “what if God really meant___” or “What would God say about___.” God already states what He means! God has already said what He needed to say. Remember, God is not the author of confusion! (1 Cor. 14:33) All issues that are sin today have already been addressed in the Bible. Sin has never changed. Lust and adultery are still the same. Today it’s just easier to have access to feed that sin. Thievery is still an abomination. Immodesty is still disgraceful. Pride is still shameful. Sin is still sin.

     It’s true, God’s people are to be separate, we are called out from the world, we are to be separate from the sinful nature of this world, but not so separate that we appear as foreign to them. If we become so distant from the people we live around and won’t associate ourselves with the common ground of people today, then we are defeating the purpose of being on this earth. Jesus Christ said this:

John 17:14-18 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.

     As Christians we’ve all heard the slogan “In the world, not of the world” and this is so very true. A man once said “Not of the world, but sent into the world”. If we are to be so separate from the world that we can’t dress like our culture (even though Jesus and His disciples did) and we can’t listen to modern styled music (even though culturally applicable music was in the temples) and we can’t do all these different things and are to be so separate that it causes us to not even be remotely “in the world” then we have separated ourselves too far. People need to feel like they can relate to us. This is how Jesus and His disciples were able to see so many souls saved. They lived for God, showed it in their lives, reached and preached, all without compromising the Gospel (which should never happen) but also within the world they lived.

"Christians are to be separate from the sinful nature of the world"

     In conclusion, to be separate from the world in no way means that we can’t enjoy our lives on this earth and do normal day to day things. It does not mean we have to live as if we are a part of the cast on “Little House on the Prairie,” it doesn’t mean we have to live reclusive from everyone and everything. It doesn’t mean we can’t go to movie theaters, listen to music, or dress like we’re from the 21st century. The Bible simply means to separate ourselves from the sinful nature of this world. God couldn’t care less about what footnotes you decide to add to your life. What guidelines you decide to run your life by. He doesn’t care about how high your standards are. He cares about how separate are you from sin and how close you are to Him.

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.