Weird supernatural event or trick of the mind?
Demonic activity or innocent fun?
Does it really matter either way?
Whatever side of the fence you sit: belief in the demonic or explained away happenings of the ouija board.
As a Christian there is a very real danger and risk. Over the last number of weeks yet another film has been released where the star of the show is a Ouija board. For those who don’t know the so called board game is believed to be able to contact the dead and relay information back from the grave. The age old quest to know what happens after death is aroused by the promise of answers through this ‘telephone box’ of the dead.
Some years ago my life was turned upside down by this dark game and I was moments away from death on a railway line in Surrey, you can read more about that in my testimony book Out of Darkness. http://www.eden.co.uk/shop/out-of-darkness-pb-4252388.html I was possessed, a middle class white Surrey boy was taken over by the demonic. However, the thing that intrigues me now looking back is there were three of us who went through this dark episode of the occult game ouija and now as adults some years later, there are three different responses. There’s one who completely denies it ever happened, that it was all made up in our minds, there is one who knows it happened but hasn’t quite worked out why and then there is me, convinced it happened and convinced that Jesus rescued me from my dance with the devil. Why is this important to you? Why does it matter?
I think these three responses will represent three likely responses you will get as a Christian when you talk about the occult and when you talk about the Gospel. One of my favourite films, The Usual Suspects had the line “the greatest trick the devil will ever do is convince the world that he didn’t exist” and that’s where the mystery of the ouija operates, you can explain it away, since the dawn of creation Satan has been heard to say “did God really say” to give us doubt in God. You see, that is the real danger and the real question, not whether the ouija board is real or not but is God real.
My fear with this new film is that the devil will either convince the audience that the supernatural is make believe or that it’s real and you should follow his path.
I could list you out case studies of demonic activity through ouija boards, I could probably fill several articles with them. I could tell you of a time when a girl with demons inside her looked me straight in the eyes and in a different voice told me to leave her alone, others who have watched horror films and invited evil into their lives and been near to suicide, or about a house plagued by physical throwing of objects. However my greater desire is to ask you that question does the devil exist? If he does what is he doing?
If we go back to the first encounter with the devil in the garden (Gen 3) then we see his first action is to cause doubt, his second action is to question the goodness of God.
While we dress the devil up in a red outfit in horns he wins a subtle mind war convincing the world he doesn’t really exist. While we dress him up in a cloud of darkness with huge power he has won another mind war convincing people he has the answers that we too can have access to that power. The Ouija is just one way that the devil offers the deception of power of the knowing what lies beyond the grave.
All the while the one with the true power, the one who truly exists above all, enters humanity to die upon a cross to defeat the powers of darkness, to offer his goodness and the answer to what is beyond the grave. For those that see and love this truth there is everlasting joy. For those who don’t, there is an eternity with the deceiver. There is a darkness but there is an even greater light and it shines brightest in the dark!
