When I stumbled across several TikTok videos with the hashtag “Christian witch,” I thought my vision had gone blurry. How could two things, so polar opposite from one another, exist in the same phrase?
It turns out that I had not, alone, discovered this cognitive dissonance. The term “Christian witch” has surfaced in recent years, including a convention of Christian witches in Salem, Massachusetts, in 2018. Although the church has experienced witchcraft attempting to enter it since its roots (Acts 8:9-24), the newest iteration appears to be infiltrating in the form of “Christian witchcraft.” In today’s article, we’ll uncover what so-called “Christian witches” believe, what the Bible says about witchcraft, and why younger generations may find this set of beliefs appealing (and how to point them to true Christianity).
Let’s dive in.
Similar to Christian atheism, Christian witches cherry-pick from the Bible. They believe you can simultaneously have a personal relationship with Jesus and practice witchcraft. In essence, they will remove any passages from the Bible that deal with how God feels about witchcraft (more on this in a moment).
But how? One may ask. How can someone practice witchcraft and worship God at the same time?
In short, they cannot, but a quote from a Christian witch spokesperson may hint at how this belief system operates. As quoted by the Christian Post (plucked from a Facebook post), Valerie Love stated: “Stop thinking you can tell people how to worship. Stop thinking you can tell people how to connect with the divine. I could tell you how many people have told me, ‘You can’t be a Christian witch’ but here I am. See, you can’t tell me how to worship.”
Valerie goes on to say Christian witches can pick up Bibles and tarot cards, pray and cast spells—and many Christian witches go as far as to say that Jesus cast “spells” and “hexes” in his miracles.
In essence, Christian witches believe they connect to God through their witchcraft. The fact the Bible vehemently speak against witchcraft doesn’t hold relevance for them. They believe they can worship how they want.
If this makes your stomach crawl, welcome to the club.
Most of us have this gut reaction, because the Bible makes its stance on witchcraft clear. So let’s explore what the Bible has to say.
Witchcraft stems from the power of Satan. We see this evidenced in the magicians from Exodus (mentioned below). Anytime someone performs something supernatural outside of the power of God, it comes from the power of Satan. Although God has significantly more power, witchcraft can mimic this to small degrees, as shown by the magicians in Exodus 7-8). This seems to follow suit from Satan’s power, logically. Satan cannot create anything. He does have the ability to manipulate what is already created, which would include anything supernatural. Hence his ability to slightly tamper with supernatural occurrences.
When someone engages in witchcraft, they’ve entered Satan’s territory. Satan, being the accuser, stands against everything good and godly.
Hence, Christianity and witchcraft don’t mix. But don’t take my word for it. Let’s explore biblical passages that speak out against this.
1 Chronicles 10:13 states that part of the reason why God cut King Saul’s life short had to do with the fact that he consulted a medium. For those unfamiliar with the story, Saul needed advice from his dead friend, the prophet Samuel. So he consults a witch in Endor to conjure him up. God allows Samuel to appear (which shocks the witch), but Samuel is not pleased with Saul daring to try mediumship to talk to him from beyond the grave. Samuel informs Saul that he will die in a coming battle. If King Saul died for consulting a witch, as explicitly mentioned in the passage (and for having a life where he ran away from God continually), imagine the penalty for someone dabbling in the magical arts themselves.
Revelation 21:8 indicates that the final death, the Lake of Fire, is reserved for those who practice witchcraft. Playing with magic comes with consequences. Why? Because we have to look at the root of all sin: pride. We think we know better than God, so we play mini-god. Witchcraft decides to replicate miracles and acts of God. And as we can imagine, that severely damages one’s soul.
1 Samuel 15:23 hints as to why witchcraft goes against God so much. It’s linked with rebellion. If we think about it, witchcraft tells God, “I don’t want you to be in control. I want to control my own life, thank you very much.” This hearkens back to the very first sin in Genesis 3. Eve ate the fruit because she wanted “spiritual enlightenment” and “be like God.” This is the essence of witchcraft: becoming like God. This goes against God’s created order in all ways.
There are several other verses on witchcraft, several under the law of Moses carrying the death penalty. So the Bible makes its stance clear: those who are people of God should not even mess with witchcraft in the slightest of senses. This means horoscopes, New Age practices, etc.
So if the Bible talks against witchcraft to this degree, why would someone even become a Christian witch? Let’s examine some of the reasons below.
Since the church has fought witchcraft throughout history, we can see some reasons why this belief system would appeal—especially for people who want to take fate into their own hands and become like God.
Reason #1: Not Taking Up Your Cross
Christian witchcraft offers a compromise. It implies that yes, you can have a relationship with Jesus (or their counterfeit version of Jesus), but you can still practice the mystic arts. It suggests you don’t have to put to death the ways of Satan, but rather serve two masters (Matthew 6:24). Obviously, this won’t work. But for someone who doesn’t want to give up everything for Christ, this “meet you halfway” method sounds appealing.
Reason #2: Being like God
Every time we sin, we want to be like God. There’s a reason why Scripture equates witchcraft to a fleshly desire (Galatians 5). Our flesh, our sinful nature, wants to supplant God. We want to rule over our lives and “choose our own destiny.” A Christian witch attempts to be, in a sense, like God, exercising spiritual (demonic) powers over certain elements. In a world where many yearn to have extraordinary abilities, we can see why people would long to be “special” and “like God.”
Reason #3 Rebelling
There’s something very appealing to the flesh about the idea of rebellion. We see it praised in the all the time. “Welcome to the rebellion.” The good guys in Star Wars? You guessed it, the rebels. Media and witchcraft praise rebellion because humans tend to shake their fists at God and his order for all living things. Think of the Tower of Babel. Why did they build it? Because they wanted to rebel against God. They wanted to tell him exactly what they thought of the Flood he’d just caused on the earth (Genesis 11). The idea of becoming a Christian witch coats itself in deception. It makes it seem like you’re following God. But instead, you’re rebelling against him. Satan operates in half-truths, so it makes sense that he would twist Christianity enough beyond the point of recognition.
So how do we combat this? First, we exercise discernment. If any witchcraft practices have entered our church’s walls, we remove those elements. Secondly, we go back to the Bible. We go back to the truth. We make sure to instill truth in younger generations. Thirdly, we pray.
Although Satan has a certain amount of power, God has infinitely more. I’ve seen stories online of people who converted from witchcraft to Christianity. God still moves and can reach anyone through his power. Examples of such creators can be found here and here.
Further Reading:
What Is Thelema and Why Is It Dangerous?
How Should Christians Respond to Witches Being Mainstream and Cool?
Photo Credit: Getty Images/Oleksandr Shevchenko
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