Wicca, also known as witchcraft, is on the rise. And its allure is drawing countless teens, including many in the church. Learn the truth to protect your children on the next HAVEN Today as Steve Russo joins Charles Morris for the second half of a program called "Protecting Your Child From Witchcraft".
October 31, 2006
Protecting Your Child from Witchcraft (Part 2) w/Steve Russo
They can’t keep them on the shelves. If you look at the card catalog at the public library in Canton, Ohio you’ll find numerous books on Wicca and witchcraft but all the books are missing. They’re checked out but never returned. The library thinks it’s a little of both, people who don’t want others to read about witchcraft or people want them for keeps. I’m Charles Morris and this is Haven Today telling the great story of Jesus who’s conquered death and evil and sets captives free because of his going to the cross. Witchcraft, it’s on the rise especially among young people and so we have an expert, Steve Russo, back with us again for part 2 of a program called, “Protecting Your Child from Witchcraft”. Most parents don’t even know what’s going on and that makes the next few minutes critical so please don’t go away. Later we’ll tell you how to get a book for parents or one for young people or both and we’ve decided for anyone getting one of these important books we want to send you our programs with Steve Russo from yesterday and today. Now let’s get started by worshipping the one true living God together.
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This is Haven Today and I’m Charles Morris and joining me in the studio on October 31, Halloween day, is Steve Russo. Steve real answers from you, thank you for coming back again today.
SR: Oh you’re welcome thanks for having me, it’s fun.
CM: It really is and we’re going to tell people later on how they can get a copy, how a parent can get a copy of your book called, “Protecting Your Teen from Today’s Witchcraft”. Or also we’ve got a book for young people that you’ve authored called, “What’s the Deal with Wicca? A deeper look into the dark side of today’s witchcraft”. You know Steve I’ve got to tell you, I love sometimes to get on Amazon and I read the comments of what someone has to say about an author. Well, my assistant David Wollen went to Amazon and he came back and he said, “You wouldn’t believe it. There isn’t one positive thing that anybody says about your book,” either one of them! So we started reading the comments and we found as we got deeper into them that everyone who was condemning your books was also practicing the Wiccan religion themselves.
SR: Oh absolutely, doesn’t surprise me at all.
CM: so no wonder they wouldn’t like you very much.
SR: Do I take that as a compliment?
CM: You know it’s interesting, something you told me, and we’re talking primarily about younger people, teenagers, twenty somethings, you told me though when we had lunch the other day that it affects some other older groups of people as well, doesn’t it?
SR: It does. This conversation I had, we talked about it in the show yesterday, this conversation I had with this witch who started the witch school, I talked to him about age groups. I said, “You’ve got 160,000 people registered online. Talk to me. Are they mainly of one age group?” And he said, “Primarily 2. Mostly younger people,” but he said, “Also those over 60 is a fast growing population for our school.”
CM: Boy that’s like dropping a brick. I wouldn’t have expected that at all.
SR: No, I was totally taken aback. But you begin to think of what’s happening today and I think that it’s a statement in the church unfortunately that people in this age group, both age groups are disillusioned.
CM: I want to ask you in a minute, exactly what is Wicca? And we’ll list that, but before that, let’s say I’m a parent and I’m listening to the program right now – and we’ll post yesterday’s program up on our website so people can hear that if they missed it. What are the warning signs maybe that my daughter or my son are getting into practicing witchcraft?
SR: OK let me give some basic ones, but let me preface this by saying to parents listening, or grandparents, just because you see one or more of these signs does not mean that they’re necessarily practicing witchcraft or into Wicca, but it does mean there’s a problem that has to be dealt with properly and promptly. First sign would be the withdrawal from routine activities. And that’s that young person, there’s that transition time –
CM: That’s going to happen a little anyway.
SR: It’s going to happen a little anyway. I mean when they’re withdrawing from basic routine activities where they’re very secretive, very isolated. You know there’s a problem, there’s a chance that they’re delving into witchcraft and into Wicca. A second thing would be a lot of unusual candles, candle wax drippings. Candles play an important role in the practice of Wicca so – Now again, don’t panic because you see candles. It may be –
CM: Little incense showing up in the house, yes.
SR: Exactly, that may have nothing to do with it, but it’s another one of the warning signs, if you find some ornately decorated daggers in that son or daughter’s room that’s a warning sign. These are not necessarily used to kill somebody, to hurt somebody, to stab somebody, but they’re used as implements of power and it’s part of their whole, when they do their spells or incantations, that kind of thing. Another very obvious sign would be an altar. And this could be in the child’s closet, in their bedroom, in the garage, in the basement, out in the barn someplace where you would find candles, you’d find these daggers, you’d find different symbols. That’s not as common. One of the more common things besides the withdrawal, besides the candle wax drippings is Wiccan literature including, not just books that talk about it, because there’s a lot of different books. They don’t have one central book like we would as followers of Christ with the Bible, but the Book of Shadows is a key thing that you might find in that son or daughter’s room which in essence is a diary where they keep track of spells that they’ve cast, incantations, contact with the supernatural, anything and everything to do with the practice of their “religious beliefs”.
CM: Wow, I’m looking at, back to Amazon again, and you know the top 25, “Wicca for Beginners”, “The Complete Idiots Guide to Wicca and Witchcraft”. Certainly there’s an entire Wicca store at Amazon.
SR: Yes.
CM: And you see it in the book stores too. Now the average person goes in a large book store and they’re going to just walk right past and be oblivious to this, but it’s there if you look for it, isn’t it?
SR: It is. It’s everywhere and you’re not going to escape it. We’ve got to be aware that it’s there, that it’s real and it is captivating the hearts and minds and emotions of this generation.
CM: You know it’s funny, because I know in the past I’ve heard Christian radio programs on a day like today talk about should I send my kids trick-or-treating or not? I think we’ve got bigger fish to fry!
SR: We really do. And I appreciate, some listening may say, “Well, I think I’m going to close, turn the lights off, close the doors and I’m going to hide from this night.” Well, –
CM: Yes and my kids, I’m going to rent Disney movies tonight
SR: Exactly.
CM: and not let them ever have contact with other kids again. Yeah.
SR: And that’s not what God has called us – God has called us to be salt and light. Let’s turn on a light. Halloween is a huge holiday. It’s the number 2 retail holiday in America only behind-
CM: After Christmas.
SR: After Christmas.
CM: yeah.
SR: It’s huge. Why not take advantage of this? Of course this is the evangelist coming out in me.
CM: That’s right. I’m letting you go on a rabbit trail here, but it’s one I wanted you to take.
SR: Why not take advantage of this day and say, “OK, we don’t have to, because we participate in an alternative doesn’t mean that we’re celebrating this day or recognizing this day, although in reality Christians should recognize this day because way back in 1517 on October 31, that’s the day that Martin Luther tacked his 95 Theses on the day of Wittenberg University. And it’s funny, we have a staff person in our office that remembers as a child, she comes from a reformed background, that they would have Reformation Day parties, celebrations
CM: Reformation Day! That’s right
SR: So we have a right to celebrate it. Let’s take it back. Let’s take advantage of it. There’s a heightened interest in the supernatural and in spiritual things.
CM: So let’s lead to the Holy Spirit today.
SR: Exactly! You know, it’s –
CM: Yes.
SR: and why not when people come to trick-or-treat let them come to your door. Give them good candy and give them a tract that explains who Christ is. If you take your kids trick-or-treating, obviously be careful of the costumes that they’re wearing and their safety because that is an issue today, but why not arm them with some tracts as well? And when they knock on the door to say, “Trick-or-treat!” they hand that person in your neighborhood a tract. But let’s take advantage of it. We serve a great and awesome God.
CM: We do, don’t we?
SR: You know 1 John 4:4 says, “Greater is he that is in you than he is in the world,” let’s take advantage of this. Let’s at least plant the seeds of the Gospel in people’s lives to say, there’s something else besides this darkness. You can come into the light and you can live the truth and live the life through Jesus Christ.
CM: You know we said this on our last time together Steve and you pointing out that the fastest growing religion among North American younger people is Wicca.
SR: Yes.
CM: Now I’m thinking about Acts 8. We’ve got that story where Simon the Sorcerer was following Peter around. He wanted to have what Peter had. He even wanted to buy the power that Peter was using which of course was just God’s Holy Spirit working through Peter. Peter finally turned around to him and said, “May your money perish with you because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money. You have no part or share in this ministry because your heart is not right before God.” And then he says to him, “Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart.” And then Simon responds to the Apostle Peter, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said will happen to me.” And there we have this story of somebody who was out there. I don’t know that teenagers are thinking of it in terms of a power-trip, but why don’t you outline for us what Wicca teaches. Now I know it’s very diverse.
SR: Sure.
CM: You can make it up as you go, But there are certain distinctive that you’ve outlined in your books.
SR: Yes. Wicca is a very girl-friendly religion. That’s not to say that it only involves females. Unfortunately they have capitalized on some of the abuses that have happened in the church, still today, when it comes to women. We know that’s -
CM: And would say that through the history the church has mistreated women.
SR: Of course we know that has happened. That’s not what the Bible teaches. That’s not what Jesus would want. Look at his relationship to and how he viewed women. Look at how God used women in the Old Testament. Who were the first people on the scene of the resurrection? Women!
CM: At the empty tomb.
SR: It was women! So we can put that to rest very easily, but they’re also very environmentally friendly. And that’s a good thing, we should be.
CM: Sure, Christians, all people should be interested in the environment, helping it.
SR: Exactly. The difference is they want to worship the environment, worship the creation –
CM: And not the Creator.
SR: And not the Creator. They believe in reincarnation and I think this makes it very comfortable, very convenient for them since there is no right and wrong in Wicca, when they die they go to a holding place that many of them call Summerland and as kids would say they “chill”. They decide who they’re going to be, what they’re going to be when they’re going to come back and then they come back when they’re ready to. And they’re not really paying for the sins of a previous lifetime they’re just kind of working through some things. But that’s a key tenet to them. The other issue is of course believing that they can design their own gods and ultimately they believe, almost every Wiccan I’ve ever talked to would adhere to the Wiccan Read.
CM: What’s that?
SR: And this is a long poem that we’ve included in both books, but it’s summarized by a statement at the end and basically the statement says you can do whatever you want to do as long as you don’t perceive it to cause harm to yourself or someone else.
CM: So it’s all up to yourself again.
SR: Exactly. It all comes back to yourself.
CM: You can decide what you want to make it to be.
SR: And they’re definition of harm and ours would be totally different because again we’d be coming at it from a biblical world view. But that’s what makes it fit so well.
CM: Wow.
SR: They can control this. They can have the power, because certainly kids are looking for power to change their lives. They can build their own deities. They can do it anyway they want to. They can practice it alone in their room –
Cm: Or with a group.
SR: Or with a group, with a coven. I think one of the most dangerous things that parents need to be aware of is the internet.
CM: We scanned the internet a little bit and if this is only a “good” religion there sure are a lot spells to get back at somebody -
SR: Exactly.
CM: that fall under the rubric of Wicca.
SR: And you know, taking about the internet, you can even pay somebody on certain websites, even if you’re not a Wiccan, to have a Wiccan cast a spell for you. I mean, there’s a price to pay but they’ll do it for you.
CM: They don’t call it Wicca in Haiti, but you can do that there as well too.
SR: That’s right. Absolutely.
CM: It’s more traditional witchcraft going on in Voodoo.
SR: Yeah, it’s the Voodoo and so on. But I think parents need to be aware, I think the internet has introduced more kids to Wicca than any other single factor. Kids can go in their rooms. They can log on online. They can take these classes like our friend from the witch school talked about. They can find information. It’s all there, so that’s one of the things we as parents need to be aware of and interact with our kids and find out where they’re going.
CM: There’s certain places in the country you can go to, like for instance Northern California, there’s a town called Santa Cruz. You can go to certain places and you can certainly find witchcraft, Wicca being practiced in abundance and resources available.
SR: Oh, no question. I personally did some research for the books in Santa Cruz and I ended up in a store called, “13” and it was as if Harry Potter came to real life. Now again, I’m not against fantasy, but I don’t believe Harry Potter is fantasy. It’s neo-fantasy because it is so closely tied to witchcraft and the occult. I went in this store, Charles –
CM: It’s not the same as C.S. Lewis, right.
SR: Oh, definitely not. It’s not healthy fantasy. Where in C.S. Lewis you know what is good. You know what is bad.
CM: There’s right and wrong.
SR: There’s right and wrong.
CM: Yes.
SR: It’s all very clear, and of course it’s all based on biblical principles. With Harry Potter that’s not the case. And here in this store, one of many I’ve been to across America, this stuff came alive. And I’m not talking about merchandise; you know the swag stuff, oh buy a Harry Potter t-shirt. I’m talking about the real deal. It was real and it really took me back just a great reminder as to how far Satan will go. And I don’t want to blame Satan for everything, but he is our adversary. John 10:10 says that he comes to steal, kill and destroy. What a better place to go than this generation.
CM: And a believer goes into an environment like that, and I’ve been in a couple of places like that, you’ve been in many, as a believer you get a sense – how can I describe it? It’s a feeling –
SR: It is.
CM: but you know that evil abounds.
SR: It really, well classic example with this store Charles. I walked up. There was two people sitting in front, younger people, teenagers, a guy and a girl, they both happened to be dressed a-la Goth style. I never said a word to them, I touched the doorknob and this young man jumped up like somebody had lit a firecracker under him, looked at the girl and said, “Excuse me. I have to follow him.” And I had never said a word! And he followed me in, I could feel his breath on my, on the back of my neck and he said, “What can I help you?” And I said, “I’m just here to look.” And he said, “We have everything you need,” so he obviously sensed something and it’s really someone in me that, a greater power, and every person in that store looked at me and it was almost like I was leading a small parade as they followed me around. It’s there and it’s a real thing. And I think those of us in North America don’t see it as vividly as you might see it in Haiti or in other parts of the World.
CM: Steve Russo’s our special guest. He’s written a couple of books that we’re talking about on the program yesterday and then also today for parents, “Protecting Your Teen from Today’s Witchcraft” and then also “What’s the Deal with Wicca?” Steve I got a call 2 years ago from a friend of mine, a missionary on the East Coast. And his daughter had been a young teenage daughter, 15 years old, had moved in with a guy, wouldn’t have anything to do with her parents. Part of it was, in addition to moving in with him was that he had led her to begin practicing Wicca. She even got a job in a major city at a Wicca book store. Thank goodness, she met Jesus. This was a Christian home. She knew the difference. I’m sure you see this all the time but there are a lot of worried parents listening to us right. There is hope, isn’t there?
SR: There is and we’ve got to remember who we serve, that we serve the Living God who’s all powerful, all knowing who has the resources we need to see our children rescued. But we can’t panic and we’ve got to in a sense, engage these kids. One of the key factors I have found is when it comes to a young person we’ve got to find out what unmet need in their life is being met, at least they think it is, through Wicca, because that gives us a starting point. It’s interesting, I’ve had people – Christian people – criticize me because I have gotten involved in this, or I had some friends say how afraid they were for me that I talked to this witch that I interviewed. Well if we don’t engage them, how is it we’re going to reach them?
CM: The Apostle Paul did.
SR: Exactly.
CM: Peter did. Certainly scripture says that we don’t have to be afraid if Christ is in us.
SR: so we as parents or grandparents rather than, and this is a tough thing to do, but rather than interrogate that son or that daughter that we think is involved, we’ve got to tear down the emotional barriers between us and them. We’ve got to build a bridge from our heart to their heart that Jesus can walk across. And start finding out what’s really going on in their life. And one of the greatest adventures we can have then is to share with them, “OK you think that this need is being met through Wicca, but I can show you how it can truly be met through Jesus Christ.”
CM: Do you see kids coming out of Wicca?
SR: Oh absolutely, absolutely.
CM: So it is happening.
SR: It is happening and in fact often times when I have the chance to take calls on a radio program like this we will have kids call. It happened just recently. A young lady called and said, “Steve you are dead on. I came out of Wicca. It is such a lie, it is such a false religion, but I had bought the lie, but now I have the truth of Jesus Christ.”
CM: Praise God for that. Steve Russo, we’ll tell people how to get your resources in just a moment, but I’d like to ask you to pray again.
SR: sure.
CM: I would like to ask you to pray for perhaps some teenagers that are listening right now, or maybe they’re 25 years old like the guy that went in shooting at the college in Canada a few weeks ago as well. Pray for people who need Jesus, and that’s all of us.
SR: Absolutely. Heavenly Father, we come to you with heavy hearts. We come to you with great concern as we look across North America, maybe even oversees, but we see problems like these school shootings, we see families falling apart, we see just violence and it can almost seem hopeless, but our hope is in Jesus Christ. And Father there’s those listening to our voices right now who are separated from you. They have not come to that place and that time where they recognize their need for Christ and Father I want to, I want to see their eyes opened, their hearts opened to the truth. And if you’re listening today and something that Charles and I have said has sparked something in your heart, your mind is opened and you want to place your faith and trust in Christ I invite you to repeat this prayer with me. Lord Jesus Christ I need you. I want to turn my life around. I believe you did die in my place on a cross, that you paid my sin debt, that you died my death. And I believe that you didn’t stay dead on the cross or in the grave but you came back after 3 days and you’re alive right now and you want to live inside of me. Jesus I ask you to be my Savior, save me from the punishment of my sin and I surrender to you as my Lord. Help me, Lord to follow you. You be the boss of my life. Enable me to be the person you created me to be. Father I pray for anybody that might have expressed those thoughts, that they would be connected to a mature believer in Christ that would help mentor them and teach them, that they would get connected to a local church where they can grow in their relationship with you and if people still have doubts, whether they’re teens or adults, that your Spirit Father would continue to work in their lives and their hearts and draw them to yourself. And for those of us that have that relationship already would you use us as lights in the darkness? Use us to rescue the spiritual hostages that are being held captives as your word says, on their hearts and to do the will of the enemy. Help us to see people, young and maybe not so young, taken out of the kingdom of darkness and put into the kingdom of light. We love you and we’re so grateful for your love for us. We pray this all in your name Jesus, amen.
CM: Amen. Thank you Steve Russo for being with us on a program called, “Protecting Your Child from Today’s Witchcraft” and that’s from Steve’s book for parents confronting Wicca and the occult. We’ve got that book available for you as a thank you for your financial support of Haven Today. We also have a second book by Steve for young people called, “What’s the Deal with Wicca? A Deeper look into the dark side of today’s witchcraft”. Now you can get one or both for your financial gift to Haven Today. The gift amount is on our website where you can read more about both books and you can reach our home page by going to haventoday.org, that’s haventoday.org. Now this issue is so important, in fact I used the word critical earlier. We’ve decided to send a CD with both programs of Steve Russo with me in the studio when you get either book or both from us here at Haven Today, haventoday.org. Now you can also call us on our toll free number at 1-800-654-2836, that’s 1-800-654-2836. Please let us know the radio station you’re listening to when you call us. I’m Charles Morris and I want to thank you for being with me and Steve Russo on a very, very important topic. We live in a world where evil abounds, but the great story is that grace abounds and overcomes all because of Jesus and that’s what we‘re going to talk about again tomorrow together, here on Haven Today.
