![\"charlie4-3\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/335\/2015\/05\/charlie4-3.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nIt seems to have come out of nowhere and gone viral in an instant. \u00a0There is a new \u201cgame\u201d sweeping middle schools called \u201cThe Charlie Challenge.\u201d \u00a0Superficially, it seems like a silly, harmless, childish fantasy. \u00a0Kids make a grid on a piece of paper that says, \u201cyes\/no.\u201d \u00a0They make an X out of two pencils and attempt to summon an erstwhile demon named \u201cCharlie.\u201d \u00a0Then they ask him questions which he answers by moving the pencils. \u00a0It\u2019s rather creepy to watch. (I won\u2019t link the videos here because I have no interest in spreading the craze but it\u2019s easy enough to find online if you want to look).<\/p>\n
For background, here\u2019s a BBC story<\/a> on the phenomenon. \u00a0Also,\u00a0Simcha Fisher<\/a>\u00a0has an excellent post on the topic that I highly encourage you to read.<\/p>\n Of course it all sounds like silly nonsense, except that it isn\u2019t and in the mind of a middle school child, this game can be played for rather high stakes. Remember the 2 middle school girls who attempted to murder their friend to appease \u201cSlenderman<\/a>\u201c? \u00a0Sometimes child\u2019s play isn\u2019t just stuff and fluff.<\/p>\n That said, my concern is less with what the culture makes out of this phenomenon than what to tell your kids about it. Here are some suggestions.<\/p>\n 1. \u00a0Satan is Boring.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n A lot of people who don\u2019t know better are fascinated by Satan. \u00a0But here\u2019s the thing. \u00a0Satan is boring. \u00a0Jesus Christ ROSE FROM THE DEAD. \u00a0Satan moves some pencils around. \u00a0What\u2019s so exciting about that? \u00a0People who are fascinated by this nonsense are, simply put, \u00a0foolish and stupid. \u00a0Don\u2019t be foolish and stupid. \u00a0Christians have better things to do. \u00a0We worship the God who kicked Satan\u2019s butt<\/a>. \u00a0Don\u2019t waste time with losers.<\/p>\n 2. Stupid and Foolish Is Still Harmful<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Just because something is foolish and stupid doesn\u2019t mean it isn\u2019t dangerous. \u00a0Drugs and alcohol are stupid and foolish. \u00a0High risk sexual behavior is stupid and foolish. \u00a0Texting and driving is stupid and foolish. But each year these lesser demons claim thousands upon thousands of lives. \u00a0Playing with \u201cCharlie\u201d is stupid and foolish too, because it purports to turn evil into a playmate. \u00a0When we choose to associate with even the glamour of evil, we take our eyes off of God. \u00a0That\u2019s like turning off the lights before walking through a room filled with booby-traps and alligators just for the fun of it. We need to keep our eyes on the Lord at all times because he is our only reliable source of guidance and grace. \u00a0The so-called, \u201cCharlie Challenge\u201d is a silly distraction \u00a0that isn\u2019t worth taking a single second away from the God who loves us more than anything and sacrificed everything to spend eternity with us. \u00a0God has given us much better than this and he deserves better than this from us.<\/p>\n 3. \u00a0It is A Serious Sin<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Playing this game is as serious sin and a violation of the First Commandment (Have no other gods but me). \u00a0It represents the sins of idolatry and divination. \u00a0Here is what the Catechism has to say on these sins\u2026<\/p>\n Divination and magic<\/em><\/p>\n 2115<\/b>\u00a0God can reveal the future to his prophets or to other saints. Still, a sound Christian attitude consists in putting oneself confidently into the hands of Providence for whatever concerns the future, and giving up all unhealthy curiosity about it. Improvidence, however, can constitute a lack of responsibility.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/a>2116<\/b>\u00a0All forms of\u00a0divination\u00a0are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to \u201cunveil\u201d the future.48<\/sup>\u00a0Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/a>2117<\/b>\u00a0All practices of\u00a0magic\u00a0or\u00a0sorcery, by which one attempts to tame occult powers, so as to place them at one\u2019s service and have a supernatural power over others \u2013 even if this were for the sake of restoring their health \u2013 are gravely contrary to the virtue of religion.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n In short, \u201cThe Charlie Challenge\u201d is idolatry because it is attempting to ascribe godlike power (e.g., secret knowledge and knowledge of the future) to something that is not God. \u00a0It is divination because rather than praying to God about their concerns this game has children asking a pair of pencils what the future holds. \u00a0Who is it better to give the care of the future to? \u00a0Lord God King of the Universe? Or a couple of pencils that, most days, can\u2019t even manage to help a kid fill in the right circles on a standarized test?<\/p>\n 4. \u00a0Go to Confession.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n If your child plays this game or has played this game, it will be important to go to confession immediately. \u00a0Letting the devil in the door, even for silly reasons, is never something to take lightly. \u00a0It is true that Christ has the victory and Satan has no power over God\u2019s children\u2013unless, that is, we invite him in. \u00a0It doesn\u2019t have to be a formal invitation. \u00a0Playing a silly game is enough. \u00a0 The idea that we can wield power over spirits is a tempting thought but giving into that temptation\u2013even over a silly game\u2013 can change our entire spiritual perspective. Instead of seeing ourselves as God\u2019s disciples, we begin to see prayer, the sacraments, and sacramentals as talismans that give us power over the world. \u00a0 This is the antithesis of the receptive spirit required of a disciple of the Lord and Satan knows it. \u00a0Anyone who dabbles in these kinds of activities will need to confess this prideful spiritual attitude to reorient themselves to a proper mindset for discipleship in which we learn the way of life by listening to God, not by trying to claim spiritual power over life by illicit means.<\/p>\n 5. \u00a0Don\u2019t Freak Out.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n If your child plays this game or has played this game your child will need you to treat him or her with gentleness, love, and affection. Not with anger, outrage, and anxiety. \u00a0Talk to your child as if you were talking to someone who had no idea what he or she was doing and still may not understand what has happened. \u00a0Most likely your child was acting in naivete and ignorance. \u00a0He or she will need to be taught, not only why this was a poor and even sinful choice, but what to do instead. \u00a0Your child\u2019s playing of this game represents a distortion of the natural and godly desire to know God\u2019s will and understand God\u2019s plan for their lives. \u00a0If you have not taught your child how to have a meaningful personal prayer life or discern God\u2019s will, you will need to do so\u2013or learn to do so\u2013over the next several weeks together. \u00a0 Simply punishing your child without teaching your child how to bring his or her concerns to God and hear his voice is simply setting your child up for future occult involvement.<\/p>\n Using your own words, gently and patiently explain to your child the things that I have shared with you in points 1-4 above. \u00a0Then take your child to confession. \u00a0Let your child know how much you love them and want to help him or her learn how to turn to God to get the answers for the deepest questions of his or her heart.<\/p>\n See the Hidden Opportunity<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n The Charlie Challenge is not something to lose sleep over, but it is something to take seriously. \u00a0Most importantly, it is an opportunity to teach your child to have the heart of a disciple who knows how to seek God\u2019s will and hear God\u2019s voice so that he or she isn\u2019t tempted to seek counsel from more dubious and diabolical sources.<\/p>\n For more information on raising truly a faithful kids, check out Parenting with Grace<\/a><\/em> and for more tips on helping your kids make moral choices in every aspect of their lives pick up a copy of \u00a0Beyond the Birds and the Bees<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It seems to have come out of nowhere and gone viral in an instant. \u00a0There is a new \u201cgame\u201d sweeping middle schools called \u201cThe Charlie Challenge.\u201d \u00a0Superficially, it seems like a silly, harmless, childish fantasy. \u00a0Kids make a grid on a piece of paper that says, \u201cyes\/no.\u201d \u00a0They make an X out of two pencils […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1437,"featured_media":3079,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3078","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-parenting","category-spirituality"],"yoast_head":"\n