Not child’s play

The Disney show, The Owl House encourages children to believe that witchcraft can be a wholesome activity in which they can be involved. It is truly unbelievable that the once great champion of children’s films and family-oriented movies would produce such a film.

The Owl House, which premiered earlier this month, “is about a teenager who finds herself stuck in the ‘Demon Realm’ and battles the forces of evil alongside a rebellious witch and a pint-sized warrior” (article by Jessilyn Lancaster, Charisma News, January 10, 2010 www.charismanews.com).

Up front, something is wrong here. Can evil (a witch) confront and overcome evil? Jesus also asked this question of the crowds who followed Him.  “… If Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?” (Matthew 12:26). In other words, it just is not possible that evil intentions can be used to defeat evil forces!

This show is a grave mistake by Disney because “it portrays the very real, supernatural forces of evil as good—a direct violation of Isaiah 5:20 (NIV): ‘Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.’” This is what Disney is doing. It is intentionally exposing its young audience to the world of evil and the supernatural!

One of the show’s artists told Newsweek that when the creator, Dana Terrace, first approached him about the show, she said, “We’re trying to make this demon realm a part of Disney” (article by Steven Asarch, Newsweek January 8, 2020,  www.newsweek.com). The artist further added, “We really wanted to make this demon realm feel like home, and just had to figure out how to do it.”

Really? Do they at Disney think that delving into Satan’s territory is just an experiment? Or, that the show is just a cute, little, harmless exercise with no resulting consequences to the children who watch it, or to those who produce it?

The Bible particularly warns us to stay far from witchcraft.

“…Never sacrifice your son or daughter as a burnt offering. And do not let your people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord…” (Deuteronomy 18:10-12 NLT).

The Owl House is vivid evidence that Christians need to pray about the content coming out of Hollywood, and particularly against the evil intentions of producers of shows like this one.

A former witch told CBN that parents need to monitor carefully what their children watch.

“I actually watched a movie that was very popular when I was in high school and it was called The Craft.  And the movie was about four high school witches that had all of this power, that had all of this control,” (article by Charlene Aaron, CBN News January 21, 2020, www1.cbn.com)

Having grown up in a dysfunctional home where she battled depression, the former witch actually saw the power in the movie as an escape route.

“I remember hearing these voices, ‘Just kill yourself. Just go away. It would be better off if you would just die.’ And so, I started to cut my wrists severely…” Cutting herself soon led to an interest in the demonic realm, and eventually she became a practicing witch. Thankfully, today she is a practicing Christian, having trusted Jesus as her Lord and Saviour.

Witchcraft and any association with the occult is certainly not child’s play. The Owl House presents evil as good, and children cannot see that this is wrong.

“In fact, media studies prove that children watching characters commit sinful acts, such as lying or stealing, will actually not recognize it as bad unless the character is immediately rebuked,” (www.charismanews.com).

Parents and all who care about the future wellbeing of our children ought to be vigilant with regard to what they watch. We must stand against every effort to turn their impressionable minds to the occult and away from God.