Witchcraft
on the Home Shopping Network?
Marsha
West Marsha West
March 28, 2008
Last
week I received an email from a pastor asking if I'd help inform the public of
the Home Shopping Network's participation in peddling witchcraft. Included in
Dr. Greg Allen's email was a letter addressed to HSN accusing the company of selling
materials with spiritual principles that can be used to "teach their 'power'
and promote New Age spirituality." It seems HSN is marketing the Evolve with
John Edward collection. Since I don't watch HSN, I have no idea what products
are being peddled to the public. So I needed to visit the website.
Sure
enough, the Evolve with John Edward collection has an entire page [1] featuring
Edward's picture and several products. HSN's "exceptional array of celebrities"
includes Wolfgang Puck, Suzanne Somers, Jennifer Flavin-Stallone and Tori Spelling. The
description reads, Hope,
comfort and inspiration: Discover
the Evolve with John Edward Collection, an HSN exclusive featuring the comforting
and hopeful message of this world-famous psychic medium, best-selling author and
renowned motivational figure. The
collection includes, 7-Strand
Beaded Chakra Bracelet — "Each color representing one of the seven 'chakras.'
Chakra is a Sanskrit word meaning 'spinning wheel of energy.'" Practical
Praying Book with 2-Tone Glass Bead Rosary — "Helps you learn about
the power of prayer and how it can illuminate a path for each of us to follow.
Also, learn to use this rosary as a tool to bring focused energy and creative
thought into your everyday life." Handsigned
Limited Edition Trilogy Book Set — "Helps answer many of your lingering
questions about the afterlife... Chronicle of personal transition — John
deals head on with the controversial issues he has confronted on his voyage as
a psychic medium " Proverbs
24:11says, "Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering
toward slaughter." By writing this article I'm hoping to rescue those who
are being led into the occult [death] by John Edward. What
do we know about John Edward? Mr. Edward is best known for his syndicated TV show
"Crossing Over" on the Sci-Fi channel. The superstar psychic engages
in after-death communications and purports to receive messages from friends and
family "on the other side." He also claims to communicate with dead
animals. In her
article "I See Dead People: A Look at After-death Communication [2]"
Marcia Montenegro enlightens us on John Edward's early years, "He
claims he astral traveled (traveled out of his body) from ages four to seven and
had psychic abilities, which he thought were normal. An uncle who was involved
in yoga and psychic practices and whose wife was a card reader, greatly influenced
Edward, whose own mother 'was constantly getting readings from psychics' and often
brought them to the house to do readings and séances for groups. "At
age 15 when Edward received an accurate reading from a psychic and was told he
was psychically gifted, he was motivated to do research. He read 'everything'
he could on topics such as psychic phenomena, spiritualism, and spirit guides.
He studied tarot cards and other 'metaphysical' topics, eventually leading him
to work at psychic fairs and seminars. "At
one of these psychic fairs, Edward had his first contact from what he believed
was a dead person, which he claims was a 'very different energy.' These spirits
continued to interrupt Edward's readings, but they brought to him 'a feeling of
contentment, love, and peace,' so he decided to learn about after-death communication."
(You can read more about John Edward here, or go to link 2 below) Now
back to Edward's page on the HSN website. In the Customer Review section Donna
from PA wrote, "Received the bracelet yesterday. I think it is very inspiring,
1 of my sons passed away, and the bracelet makes me feel close to him. I love
watching John Edward and I have all his books. I am so glad he came to HSN. Look
forward to seeing more of him. Would recommend his things anytime, I really believe
him." Donna
may believe Mr. Edward, yet skeptics who have investigated John Edward's claims
to receive messages from family and friends believe he's a huckster who preys
on those who have lost loved ones. Which brings to mind Terri Irwin, wife of deceased
Croc Hunter Steve Irwin. A
few months ago the grieving widow arranged a "private reading" with
John Edward. Translation: He held a séance. On January 6, 2008, Steve allegedly
"spoke" to Terri and his father, Bob Irwin, through Edward. "There's
no doubt that Steve was with us," Mr. Irwin said. "It's not black and
white, it's grey, but there was a definite, unmistakable Steve energy [3]." Terri,
who says she's a Christian, addressed the crowd of 5,000 who paid $90 a head hoping
to "see" Steve at the Astralia Zoo. "If any of you are wondering
why Steve didn't come through," said is wife, "it's because look around
you, he's everywhere." One
disgruntled Crock Hunter fan growled, "Steve Irwin spent a lifetime establishing
a rock solid reputation of credibility and integrity. Terri has just shattered
that rock with one blow. I wonder if John Edward will pass on Steve's thoughts
about that?" Amazing
what extremes some people will go to get their names in the headlines. Perhaps
John Edward is a fraud and a brilliant con man. Then again, it's entirely possible
that he does, in fact, receive information from the spirit world. My question
for those who believe he's for real, and that he actually communicates with spirits
of the dead, is this: What if the info that's piped into the medium's mind comes
from another sort of spirit, a spirit not from a deceased loved one, but from
a demonic spirit? God's
Word tells us that there are dark powers lurking in the unseen world. One such
spirit is the fallen angel, Lucifer, AKA Satan, also the Devil. The
Bible is the Christian's ultimate authority. So naturally Christians want to know
what it says about the dark forces of evil. In Ephesians 2:2 the Apostle Paul
calls Satan "the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at
work in those who are disobedient." For
a glance into the spiritual realm read Ephesians 6:10-20. Paul paints this vivid
picture in verse 12, "For
our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the
authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces
of evil in the heavenly realms." When
speaking about the Devil, Jesus Himself said, "He was a murderer from the
beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies,
he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies" (John
8:44). In other words, the devil is a big fat liar! (1 Kings 22:20-23 tells about
a "lying spirit" who offered his services.) Jesus also referred to Satan
as "the ruler of this world" and "the prince of this world"
(John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11). So,
according to Jesus Christ, demons are real. What's more, it's impossible to make
sense of Jesus and His ministry without acknowledging that demons exist. The spiritual
forces of evil are ever present, waiting for humans to let their guard down. Dwelling
on demons is never a good idea. But if Christ acknowledged that they exist, we
can too! Yes, Satan and his minions are powerful, but they are created beings,
fallen angels, who were defeated by Christ when he went to the cross. Satan is
by no means God's equal! To
me it's perfectly rational to assume that a psychic medium who channels spirits
could be hearing from a demon, not a dead person! Now, some people will out and
out reject the notion that spirits are demonic. Why? Because they choose to believe
that the info the medium passes on to them comes directly from someone they know
and trust. But what if it's actually a knowledgeable demon, full of lies and treachery?
In other words, a lying spirit! There
are many skeptics who believe that so-called psychic mediums are not in contact
with the dead or even evil spirits. It's all smoke and mirrors. "The
smoke and mirrors behind his [Edward's] self-professed ability to communicate
with the dead is a simple application of the laws of probability. Basically, if
you keep trying something whose results are independent, your odds of getting
your desired result increase. "For
example, the odds that you will roll a 3 on any one roll of a six-sided die are
1 in 6, about 17 percent. After six throws, the chance that you will have thrown
at least one 3 has increased to about 67 percent. After 12 throws, it's nearly
90 percent. "Lucky
for Edward, most audience members on his television show are too hopeful and trusting
to pull out a calculator and expose the charlatan behind the prophet [4]." Sadly,
Edward's audience often includes Christians. Many Christians who involve themselves
with psychics are unaware of what the Bible says about them. So allow me to clear
things up once and for all. God opposes those who practice the magical arts! He
says, "When
you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the
detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices
his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets
omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist
or who consults the dead" (Deuteronomy 18:9-11). Could
God be any clearer than that? The
Greek term used for contacting the dead is "necromancy." According to
Wikipedia.com, "Necromancy is a form of divination in which the practitioner
seeks to summon 'operative spirits' or 'spirits of divination,' for multiple reasons,
from spiritual protection to wisdom. ... [S]ince the Renaissance, necromancy has
come to be associated more broadly with black magic and demon-summoning in general,
sometimes losing its earlier, more specialized meaning." Now
for the definition of witchcraft: "Witchcraft (from Old English wiccecræft
"sorcery, necromancy"), in various historical, anthropological, religious
and mythological contexts, is the use of certain kinds of supernatural or magical
powers." There
you have it. Necromancy, which is what John Edward practices, falls into the category
of witchcraft. So when Dr. Allen accused HSN of promoting witchcraft, he was dead
right! By promoting
sorcery on their website it would appear that HSN has joined those who are looking
to change society's "conversation." And "someone who has the capacity
to change a society's conversation has the capacity to change the society,"
said New Age guru Marianne Williamson. It is no secret that a cabal of New Agers,
including Oprah Winfrey, is inviting people all over the globe — from North
America to South Africa, from Europe to Australia — to involve themselves
in New Age Spirituality — or what some call Cosmic Humanism. Evangelist
Bill Keller goes so far as to accuse Oprah of pushing "spiritual crack."
Keller has been quoted in the national media as labeling Oprah a "New Age
witch." Speaking
of witches, John Edward has been a guest on Oprah's daytime program. One would
think that Oprah would use great caution when dealing with so-called psychics.
Yet she just settles back in her chair and allows snake oil salesmen to push Eastern
mysticism on a gullible audience. She claims she's not trying to tell her fans
how to think about anything. That's
bunk! It doesn't matter how Oprah tries to couch it, she provides an uncritical
platform to both her TV viewers and XM Satellite radio listeners. Last
year I wrote a piece on Oprah's endorsement of the self-help manifesto The Secret,
"Is Oprah Peddling Snake Oil?" In it I said, "Oprah
Winfrey's message comes straight from the pit of hell. Think about that for a
moment. Who else but Satan would be behind such a diabolical movie? Why would
any serious follower of Jesus Christ worth their salt waste his or her time watching
Oprah's show? Christians (wittingly or unwittingly) are entering into practices
that are contrary to the Word of God. Whether they know it or not, their actions
are counterproductive to the cause of Christ. My love and concern for them is
what drives me to speak the truth in love [5]." I
would like to suggest that HSN shoppers contact the execs and ask them why they've
climbed in bed with occultist John Edward. Inquiring minds want to know! You
can Email HSN Customer Service by clicking here: (Or you can copy and paste the
URL into your browser http://hsn.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/hsn.cfg/php/enduser/ask.php) Write
to HSN
Chief Executive:
Mindy Grossman, CEO, IAC Retailing
PO Box 9090
Clearwater,
FL 33758 Phone
HSN
800-284-3900 One
last comment. HSN has a perfect right to sell whatever products they so desire,
as long as what they're selling is legal. Conversely, if HSN's customers find
what they're selling objectionable, he or she should consider taking the high
road and shop elsewhere. "I
will destroy your witchcraft and you will no longer cast spells."
—
Micah 5:12
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