“For the household gods utter nonsense, and the diviners see lies; they tell false dreams and give empty consolation. Therefore the people wander like sheep; they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd” (Zechariah 10:2).
From the early Christian church until now, one of the most insidious philosophies to undermine the centrality of Jesus Christ is the implementation of religious syncretism which attempts to blend the surrounding culture’s folk beliefs and practices into the purity of the Gospel. This is a satanic cocktail still served today with the advent of myth and magic being celebrated in many corners of postmodern Christianity since the introduction of the pagan, occult-infused stories of C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien and other literary Christian romantics.
The fact is, there was a critical reason why Paul, under inspiration, warned believers in Asia Minor to make sure that “no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ” (Colossians 2:8). It is an admonition still fresh with relevance that needs to be heeded even now by many professing believers who insist that the appropriation and enjoyment of pagan elements by the Church does not compromise the Gospel message nor diminish the person of Christ.
Against this subversive laissez-faire attitude among believers, Paul’s “divine jealousy” was provoked in his desire to present his children in the faith as “a pure virgin to Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:2), knowing that God was a “jealous God” (Deuteronomy 6:15) Who had pronounced in no uncertain terms that “anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead” is an abomination to the Lord (Deuteronomy 18:10-12).
According to Clinton E. Arnold in his book, The Colossian Syncretism, the infusion of these kinds of pagan beliefs into Christianity was a heretical development in Paul’s day that was condemned by the apostle as soon as he discovered its cancerous presence among the various fellowships of believers. As Arnold explains it, “Contrary to a spirit of religious tolerance, Paul polemicizes strongly against the teaching of this opposing group (i.e., proponents of local folk beliefs and rituals) within the church. He goes so far as to label their teaching ’empty deception’ and as inspired by the evil spirits of this present age” (see Colossians 2:8).
So what are Christians today to make of this sharp rebuke by Paul? Perhaps, in consideration of the amount of time Paul spent in denouncing the blending of occult influences into the pure fabric of Christian faith and practice, we should be asking why some professing believers today are still trying to enhance their spiritual understanding of the Gospel with the vain imaginations of pagan myth and magic instead of heralding the unmatched power of Jesus Christ that brings glory to Him and Him alone (2 Peter 1:3; 2 Corinthians 10:5)?
Exploring the historical context of Paul’s condemnation of religious syncretism, Mr. Arnold presents the following summary about the magical influences in the early Church that so upset the apostle at the time. Although Arnold presents no connection to the present-day Church, his scholarly examination should nevertheless serve as a caution to modern-day believers who are still likewise enthralled with the enchantments of the occult — even as an object of amusement and entertainment.
Surely, in line with Paul’s original concern, this continued enjoyment of pagan powers by professing Christians not only subverts the exalted position of Christ as “all, and in all” (Colossians 3:11), but brings aid and comfort to His enemies, both in the temporal and spiritual realms.
Here, then, are a few excerpts from Clinton Arnold’s analysis of the syncretistic “philosophy” found in the New Testament churches of Asia Minor that brought such a swift denunciation by Paul:
CHRISTIAN SYNCRETISM AND MAGIC
The kind of syncretism we find at Colossae was not unique to that city or region. Paul had already written to a group of churches in central Asia warning them against the practice of “idolatry and magic,” which he classified as deeds of the flesh (Galatians 5:20). The burning of the magical books at Ephesus during Paul’s stay in that city demonstrates the temptation that believers faced to continue practicing magic even after conversion to Christianity (Acts 19:18-19). Luke emphasizes that these were people “who had believed” that confessed their continued participation in the occultic arts and brought their books out and publicly burned them. One cannot help but wonder how many did not participate in this act of renunciation! If many in Ephesus had continued their involvement in magic, it would not be surprising to find Christians elsewhere in Asia Minor doing the same.
I have argued elsewhere that the letter to the Ephesians addressed this issue in a general way. Specifically, I suggested that the letter assumes a prior involvement of many of the readers in magical practices and a continuing fear of evil spirits and hostile powers. The letter thus provides apostolic perspective on the relationship of Christ to the powers in an effort to help the believers forsake their amulets and other magical practices, move away from a magical world view and approach toward their Christianity, and have assurance in their relationship to the risen Christ who has been exalted far above all powers.
2 Timothy, which has a likely connection to western Asia Minor, also reveals the continuing tendency toward a Christian syncretism involving magic. The opponents are compared to Jannes and Jambres (2 Tim 3:8) — the Egyptian magicians who opposed Moses in Jewish tradition. The readers are subsequently warned about “magicians” who would continue to exert a deceiving influence on the churches (2 Tim 3:13).
D. Aune has described the presence of a strong anti-magic polemic in another document associated with Asia Minor, the Apocalypse. The practice of magic is represented as something of which people should repent (Rev 9:21). Those who engage in the magic arts will not have a place in the heavenly city (Rev 22:15), and the judgment of God will come upon them severely (Rev 18:23; 21:8: “their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulphur”).
One piece of anti-magic polemic can even be detected in Ignatius’s letter to the Ephesian Christians. He declares that with the coming of Christ “all magic and every kind of spell were dissolved” (Ign., Eph. 19:3). Throughout the first few centuries of the church, there was a steady stream of anti-magic polemic from many Christian writers. Thus, a person of the stature of Irenaeus could declare, “Nor does she [the church] perform anything by means of angelic invocations, or by incantations, or by any other wicked curious art; but, directing her prayers to the Lord… ” (Irenaeus, Adv. Haer. 2.32.5). His very insistence that the true church does not do these things implies that there are some Christians who do practice them.
In spite of all the anti-magic polemic, the tendency for Christians to combine their apostolic faith with magical practices and local beliefs did not stop. The polemic itself bears testimony to this…
The Colossian “philosophy” thus represents a combination of Phrygian folk belief, local folk Judaism, and Christianity. The local folk belief has some distinctive Phrygian qualities, but it also has much in common with what we could also describe as magic or ritual power. The Judaism of the area had already been influenced by these local beliefs and practices. Conversely, the magical substructure of Anatolian Judaism had already made its own contributions to pagan belief and practice. With the proclamation of the Pauline gospel in Colossae and the creation of a Christian community out of converted Jews and pagans, a controversy arose in the church a few years later over the practices and beliefs of an emerging faction within the church.
This “philosophy,” in the strongly held opinion of the Apostle Paul, compromised too much with the surrounding religious environment. Paul saw this syncretistic compromise as dangerous to the health of the church because it diminished the person of Christ and the present role he has in the church.
— excerpts from The Colossian Syncretism by Clinton E. Arnold
THE UNEQUALED POWER OF CHRIST AND HIS GOSPEL
This eye-opening historical backdrop laid out in Arnold’s book and the clear and consistent rebuke by Paul concerning the situation in Colossae and other churches in Asia Minor is very telling. The apostle immediately grasped how easily the world can insinuate itself into the fellowship of believers to undermine their covenant betrothal to Christ with a continued dependency on the perceived power of angel worship, magic, and amulets that ward off evil spirits. It is a lesson that needs to be taught even today in the midst of a similar spiritual downgrade.
Today’s obsession with the occult has made inroads into the visible Church, just as it did in Paul’s day and throughout Church history. The most notable Christian involvement with occultism in recent times, according to Richard Yoder in Church Times, was around the turn of the 20th century and beyond when many Anglican and Anglo-Catholic clergy (and some members of the famous Inklings) were drawn to the esoteric beliefs and practices of The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, The Theosophical Society, Rosicrucianism, and other similar forms of non-Christian mysticism.
Yet these days, it seems, the heretical interest in the occult by Christians is much more subtle, which surely points to its origin as a “subtilty” of Satan that can quietly lead you astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ (2 Corinthians 11:3, KJV). While the vast majority of professing believers are presumably not actively engaged in the magic arts, there are still far too many who exhibit a perceptible level of advocacy in their public enjoyment and consumption of the occult powers as celebrated in much of our art and culture.
Sadly, just as Paul warned, the result can be devastating to one’s faith when there is a subtle “shifting from the hope of the Gospel” (Colossians 1:23) and one is more easily “led away by diverse and strange teachings” (Hebrews 13:9). Social media forums like Reddit, in fact, are filled with proud ex-Christians who abandoned Jesus Christ to pursue an alternative spirituality because of their exposure to the seductive occultism promoted in the books and movies they enjoyed in their youth.
When judged by the biblical measuring stick of Paul, this worldly enjoyment of ritualistic magic in Christendom has all the earmarks of spiritual adultery. Why? Because it promotes, even in whimsy, the idea that there are equal powers of spiritual benefit outside of Christ. So why are we still joining with the pagans, gnostics and occultists in this endeavor? (2 Corinthians 6:14-15). And how, it must be asked, is this a true and faithful witness for the Gospel?
It should be sadly remembered that “sorcerers” (among other named rebels of God) will one day have their place in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur (Galatians 5:19-21; Revelation 21:8). Our calling as Christians, therefore, is not to even remotely encourage these practitioners of the occult to remain in their delusion, but to tell them about the divine power and glory of Jesus Christ in order that they might be saved from their horrific end, “according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5).
The overriding reason Paul rebuked the Christians of his day who dared to find power in magic? Because he was not ashamed of the Gospel, “for it is the POWER OF GOD for salvation to everyone who believes…” (Romans 1:16; I Corinthians 1:18).
