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Halloween,
Harry Potter, Pokeman, Digimon and Mandala: Innocent pastimes or Precursory
signs of a conquering satanism?
By
Rev. Fr. Pascal Schreiber
He who
wins over the children possesses the future. If Satan wishes to see his
kingdom established on earth tomorrow, it is today that he must prepare
the territory in the hearts of the children and the youth. And he does
so not in a coarse manner, but oh, so subtly, being careful that the people
– as beautiful as a sleeping forest, do not awaken from their peaceful
slumber.
In
the first place he destroys the desire for beauty. The children must accustom
themselves to what is ugly, to what is horrible. With Halloween, they
disguise themselves as a devil or another creature from hell. And good
people take pleasure in this. Thus, the great triumph of the devil consists
in the fact that he is no longer considered as what he is, that is, wicked,
the father of lies, the enemy of God and of man, but as a being who, after
all, cannot be as bad as all that.
Harry
Potter
We will
treat briefly here of the famous book which experiences an unprecedented
success among the young people. For a critical study we refer you to the
article of Father Niklaus Pfluger which appeared in Mitteihmgablatt in
the month of December. You will find a translation of this article in
the No. 14 of Alias of December 16, 2000.
Why
are the adventures of Harry Potter read? Must we attribute the charm of
these novels to the good that the hero Harry renders to his friends? If
that were the case, other books of fiction would have the same number
of readers. What causes fascination is Harry the magician. The work of
Mrs. Rowling introduces the people to the reality of occultism.
Even
if black magic is not glorified, the evil is, however, described in detail.
The grave error which the author insinuates is to presuppose that one
can expel the devil by means of the devil. Black magic must be vanquished
by white magic. It is evident that the hypothesis is false. Magic remains
magic. And the devil is not vanquished except by God and with the help
of God.
“By
their fruits you shall know them” (Mt. 7,16). What fruits does Harry Potter
produce in the reader’s adolescent soul? The following letter from Mrs.
Dura de Croire, which appeared in the “letters to the editor” of “Aargauer”
of October 19, 2000, enlighten us with several examples:
“I am
horrified,” she writes, “that the mass media gives so much publicity to
the books of Harry Potter. The books blaspheme God and propagate examples
of magic words, of rites and diabolical powers, which stimulate the desire
for sorcery and for vengeance. During an interview, the author Joanne
K. Rowling said to a reporter of the “London Times” (“n.d.l.r.” – “we
cite the horrendous reference”): “These books help the children to understand
that the feeble and idiotic Son of God is a living prankster, and will
be humiliated with the arrival of the deluge of fire.” Comments from the
readers agree with this declaration. A ten-year-old boy said: “Harry Potter’s
books are cool, because they teach all about magic. They show us how to
control people by using magic. I would like to learn the curse of Cruciatus
to make my teacher, who gave me a bad mark, suffer.” Another child said:
“I used to believe everything that they taught us at Sunday school. But
the books of Harry Potter have shown me that magic is something that I
can learn and use now, and that the Bible is composed of nothing but annoying
lies.” A “priest” from the satanic church of Salem said: “Harry is for
us a true gift from heaven.” Is it not just the opposite?”
Question:
Is Harry able to control the spirits he invokes? Do not the children who
use these curses abandon themselves into the hands of those who are to
execute them? The devil will surely try to take advantage of them a little.
Let us hope that the injury incurred will have its limits. There is something
else: We notice immediately that Harry bears a mark on his forehead. This
scar in the form of a bolt of lightning is what remains of an attempt
at murder, of which Harry survived. We do not wish to impute to the author
the intention of alluding to the mark of the Beast (cf. Apocalypse 13,
17). But in the minds of the readers the foundation is none-the-less laid
for the idea that a mark on the forehead is something quite normal.
So far
four volumes of Harry Potter have appeared. Three volumes have yet to
follow. In each volume Harry is one year older. In the fourth volume he
has reached the age of 14. Each new volume outdoes itself in ugliness,
horror and occultism. To what abyss of magic, sorcery and magic spells
should we expect for the seventh and last volume, of which the author
has already written the last chapter? He who has not understood by now
the harmfulness of this book will absorb the rest of them. How unfortunate.
Pokemon
and Digimon
Pokemon
is short for Pocket Monster. There are in all 151 Pokemons.
The
playing cards have been a great success. Many children spend all their
pocket money to buy them. Since 1996, the Pokemon video game is also sold
on the market. In this game, one must capture these 151 little monsters,
train them, equip them with energy and improve their aptitude in such
a way that they will be able to vanquish their adversaries. Each little
monster possesses his offensive technique or method of combat. For example,
the attacking Pokemon whose name is Pikachu battles with electric shocks.
Enton, another creature, uses psychokinetics; the glutton dreamer absorbs
the souls of his enemies, and so on. These Pokemons can even be cloned.
How will these playful youngsters of today, once they become adults, take
to cloning – which, don’t be deceived, is already performed on men – when
they will have been accustomed to playing continually with the Pokemon
Klonen?
Naturally,
there are also animated Pokemon cartoons, and the success is, in every
sense of the word, staggering. In 1997, the Pokemon television series
in Japan provoked among many children attacks of epilepsy. About 700 cases
of hospitalization are said to have followed the emission of this television
“entertainment”.
After
the excitement of Pokemon, there already appears the next pathogenic
agent: Digimon, the digital monsters. They are similar to Pokemon, but
yet are more horrifying. The new Mon-“Stars” are called Garurumon, Kabuterimon,
Ogremon, Devimon, Tyrannomon and Metal-Greymon.
Nomen
est omen.
The
Mandala
What
is meant by Mandala? The following citations are taken from the book of
Mrs. Sibylle Grummes Unruh, called “Mandala”, which is a coloring book
for children. She explains the notion of Mandala as follows (page 4):
“Mandala comes from Sanskrit (the Indo-Aryan language which was sacred
and used for literature in ancient India) and means “magic circle”, and
“circular image”, but also it means “secret”. The geometric figures: triangles,
squares, diamond shapes, as well as other symbols are placed in a concentric
manner or with rays proceeding out from a central point.
The
author writes in her preface intended for the parents: “How can we re-establish
relaxation and interior silence in the midst of our disorganized lives?
Amidst the numerous distractions of life, the observation or the coloring
of mandalas helps to recover the calm and concentration. This activity
invites us to take an interior voyage, to the sources of strength and
of confidence... With the present book, we would like to contribute to
the relaxation of the child and to the development of his creativity through
the concentration of his attention on the central point of the circle
(page 3).
What
is the effect produced by a Mandala? Mrs. Grummes treats of this question
in a detailed manner: “Perhaps have you already colored this or that Mandala
and noticed how you have become calm and concentrated, as the time passes
by quickly, even without your realizing it? Perhaps have you even not
heard the telephone or the call to meals, so great was your concentration?
Probably you recognize that this is true and you are right. But why does
the coloring of the Mandalas not only bring relaxation but also tend to
develop creativity?” (page 6)
Here
is a summary of the explanation: Man’s brain is divided into two hemispheres.
The left hemisphere, which is dominant, deals with the treatment of information.
It works with logic and reason, while the right hemisphere thinks in a
manner filled with imagery and works with fantasy. From there come ideas
and inspirations. Through the coloring of Mandalas the goal sought for
is to neutralize the left hemisphere of the mind in such a way that the
right hemisphere becomes dominant. This provokes a certain relaxation,
causing the creativity of the individual to increase, as he is in a state
to register and treat the habitual impressions and stores of knowledge
in a new manner. (page 6)
However,
it is worthwhile knowing that these exercises of coloring lessons in our
children’s schools have in Buddhism an occult meaning. It happens that
buddhas, the gods, meet with the demons to establish their residence in
the “Palace of Mandala”. In the magical perception of the Buddhist world,
the producing of Mandalas has its influences on the person who contemplates
or meditates these images. Mrs. Unruh Grummes may not be conscious of
this, but the manner in which she addresses the children is exactly of
the same nature: “The best method consists in first observing the Mandala
in quiet tranquility, concentrating on its central point, and then applying
the colors beginning from the center and going outwards.” (page 5)
Tenzin
Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama and an emblematic figure of Tibetan
Buddhism, practices these exercises. On June 19th, 2000, not
far from Los Angeles and in the presence of Sharon Stone, he presented
and “blessed” some Mandalas of peace. The purpose of this meditative image:
to bring universal peace to mankind.
There
are even Mandalas made of sand, and the contemplation of the resulting
figure is also a method of meditation, with the idea of reaching other
levels of conscience. According to the Tibetan teaching each grain of
sand is charged with energy. The Mandala of sand thus becomes for them
an enormous storehouse of mental energy. It is through the use of these
Mandalas that the Dalai Lama introduces his disciples into the practice
of Buddhist meditation.
Mrs.
Unruh Grummes incites the children to exercises similar to those found
in Buddhism: “Try to understand the signification of the “Point” with
the help of a little practical exercise: Close your eyes, inhale and exhale
deeply. Do not move. You do not see in front of you, nor behind, nor to
the left, nor to the right, nor above, nor below. You do not hear anything
nor feel anything exterior. There is nothing around you, neither time
nor space. How did that make you feel? Do you perhaps now have a little
idea of the condition where there is no extension possible? And now close
your eyes again. Do you feel as if you expand, as if you moved further
away? That’s how it is with the point.” (page 68)
For
a better understanding of this problem, it would be helpful to familiarize
ourselves a little with Buddhism. In what do the teachings of this oriental
religion consist?
The
Buddhist considers this life as a suffering, and therefore, an absurdity.
For him, the visible world contains nothing permanent, nothing unchangeable.
It is nothing but a continual changing creation. Man becomes a part of
this total absurdity. His “Me” is a continual changing between the future
and the past.
Seeing
that living and suffering are intimately linked together, suffering cannot
be eliminated unless one no longer lives. Since the Buddhist conceives
human life as one link in a chain of lives, he cannot die permanently.
He is constantly being reborn, the goal of each life being to increase
his desire to yearn for life. When he succeeds at that, the person arrives
at Nirvana, the definite interruption of the cycle of rebirths.
Every
Buddhist, and especially the monks, aims at achieving the absence of desire.
The “saint” in the end rejoices in the repose of his soul in a state of
ultimate indifference. He has no partiality. He no longer disputes. He
feels neither envy, nor pleasure, nor sadness. Without personal goodness,
without passion, without any desires, he adheres neither to the good nor
to the evil. In other words, he no longer has a human conscience.
It is
precisely this teaching which we find in the work of Unruh Grumms:
“Alike
one another, the circle and the wheel are at one and the same time a symbol
of the future and of the past. The turning movement of the wheel shows
us that everything is reached at the same time, including life and death.
While you read this, some cells of your body die, others begin life, people
come into the world, others depart. The symbol of the wheel shows man
that he must not be too presumptuous, because that which is at the top
must also go downwards, and that which is on the bottom must rise. Symbolically,
the goal of the learned man is to become as the axle around which the
wheel turns in such a way that he be not subjected to the ups and downs
of destiny. In other words, this means to liberate himself from the opinions
and the influences of others as well as from his own desires.” (page 70)
The
spirituality of Buddhism – by which man, radically turning his back to
the visible world, frees himself from all desires to reach his level of
absolute “peace” (Nirvana) – is totally opposed to Christian philosophy.
The Saints never concentrated on themselves, on their “Me”. On the contrary,
they totally forgot themselves in order to depend completely on God.
Even
if most people don’t see the link between Mandala and Buddhism, and if
coloring circles is not really bad in itself, one must not minimize the
danger of the exercises which are at first glance inoffensive. If one
strictly follows the directions of Mrs. Grummes, he will certainly have
a small initiation into the practices of Buddhism. But we have no need
for and we do not wish for this “spirituality”.
The
Psychology of the Child
In
his book “Christ in our Brothers”, Father Raoul Plus speaks of the power
of example. He finds very eloquent words to describe the psychology of
the child (page 134...) and warns us to take nothing lightly:
“If
it is true that one never knows what will be the consequences of our gestures
or words said or done in front of just anyone, with much greater reason
must one confess his ignorance if the observer is a child.
How
often do we not take liberties upon ourselves in front of these dreadful
recorders. We do anything, we speak of everything, and we allow them to
see everything. We take it for granted that all that is bold or immoral
they will not understand.
Can
we always be sure of this? Even if the child does not understand everything,
he catches on to, and carries away, certain details, or he will question
himself and guess about others. Better off will he be if, a little later,
he does not hasten to question this or that companion to obtain the key
to the secret.
And
is this believed to be of little importance? But nothing said or done
in front of a child is of little importance. Nothing that a child can
read or see is without consequences. Everything exerts an action upon
him, all the more because his soul is less resistant to the impressions
that it receives. He has not yet become insensible. The metal is hot,
pliable. One or two hits with a hammer well or poorly given may make of
it a weapon for God or for Satan.
When
we have before our eyes this notion of the tremendous influences of the
first impressions on youngsters, how sad it is to reflect upon the great
numbers who do not think seriously about giving the most pure, the most
elevated impressions possible.
The
public school, of course, greatly influences children. Many children resign
themselves to be like the others, to do what they do, so they will avoid
being ridiculed. The necessity of sending children to good Catholic schools
becomes greater every day.
“It
is impossible that scandals should not come, but woe to him through whom
they come! It were better for him if a millstone were hung abut his neck
and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should scandalize one of
these little ones” (Lc. 17,1-2).
Conclusion
For
several years, homosexuals present themselves in public and in the meantime,
thanks to an enormous lobby, have become acceptable. Who would still dare
to rise up against them? It is not impossible that the next taboo to be
lifted will be from satanism; these somber individuals already present
themselves somewhat in public. What is there to still hinder them from
spreading their cult in five or ten years, from organizing satanic factions
and from demanding the State to give them premises for the saying of their
black mass in public?
“Brethren,
be sober and vigilant! Your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, goeth
about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet. 5,8).
It’s
not a question of seeing the devil in everything. But we live in a time
where Christian values are being more and more destroyed. Nowadays, we
must be prudent, above all in what tends to be fashionable, and we must
apply the rules for the discernment of spirits. “But test all things;
hold fast to that which is good” (1 Thess. 5,21).
Let
us then refuse that which is evil and dangerous. One does not play with
fire. Even if it is sometimes difficult, the struggle and the choice of
renunciation are truly worthwhile.
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