There’s nothing quite like seeing a blog post titled Black Magic Among Christians? to get your attention. That said post was on the Patheos Evangelical channel made it that much more interesting.
Clickbait? Not really. Roger Olson is one of the better bloggers on the Evangelical channel – anyone who preaches against Calvinism is a friend of mine. Or at least, someone I can have a reasonable conversation with.
Here’s the gist of his post:
Recently, according to news reports, a leading mega church pastor and evangelist with close ties to President Trump promised followers that if they sent her ministry $1K she would provide them with “blessings.” One such was to be making God their enemies’ enemy.
Olson condemns this statement and calls it “black magic,” which he defines as “the occult practice of using powerful words and gestures and rituals to harm someone.”
Along with many witches and other magical practitioners, I no longer use the term “black magic” because of its racial connotations – “baneful magic” works just as well. But there’s no question the term is alive in the wider culture.
And there’s no question that Olson is right – that’s exactly what this “pastor” is doing.
Grifters gonna grift
It didn’t take much googling to determine that this “pastor and evangelist” was exactly who I assumed it was: televangelist, prosperity gospel promoter, and Trump advisor Paula White. Here’s the story from MSN – the title tells you everything you need to know: MAGA pastor vows to direct God to ‘be an enemy to your enemies’ for $1K.
I’m going to skip the political side of this. If you’re shocked that Donald Trump would associate himself with someone like this, you haven’t been paying attention. I’m going to skip the televangelist angle too. Grifters gonna grift.
Instead, I want to explore this from a theological perspective. Just how small does Paula White think her God is? How powerful does she think she is? And what can Pagans and polytheists learn from all this?
Reading with comprehension is necessary
I do my best to avoid debating the Bible. When you debate the Bible you give it credibility it does not deserve, particularly for the majority of humans who are not Christians. Still, in this case I want to remove “I’m just quoting the Bible” as an excuse.
I haven’t watched White’s sermon and I don’t intend to. But according to The Christian Post, she based it on Exodus 23. A simple reading of that chapter shows that the promise that “I will be an enemy to your enemies” refers to the Israelites as they were moving into their Promised Land. It’s not a magical formula available to anyone for any reason, and it’s certainly not something that can be invoked by sending $1000 to a televangelist.
Exodus 23 also includes the very clear commandment “do not oppress a foreigner,” something MAGA Christians do their best to ignore or rationalize away.
The arrogance of a televangelist
My theological thoughts on this are summed up in a comment I left on Roger Olson’s post:
This isn’t just beyond the bounds of Christianity, it’s beyond the bounds of theism as it’s generally understood. I’m a Pagan and a polytheist who practices magic, and I would never be so arrogant as to claim I could persuade (much less coerce) any God or Goddess to become someone’s enemy.
It appears that this pastor’s concept of a God is very small. Or perhaps, her concept of her own power is vastly overstated. Or likely, both.
If I wrote a blog post or posted a video where I said “if you pay me I’ll send the Morrigan to harass your enemies” I’m pretty sure the Great Queen would have something to say to me, and it wouldn’t be pleasant. It might not even involve words. Just a spear.
The Gods deserve reverence
I don’t see the debates on reverence vs. familiarity in the polytheist world that I saw ten years or so ago (has it really been that long?). I think this is a good conversation to have. While some of us are on somewhat familiar terms with deities with whom we have deep relationships, and while our Gods do not have fragile egos that require sycophantic praise, it is good for us to remember that they are Gods and we are not.
We too have wisdom, power, and virtue, but theirs is orders of magnitude beyond ours. Humans discussing the Gods is like cats discussing humans. We know something of them, but not as much as we like to think we do.
The point here is that not only is it not our place to command the Gods, we don’t have the ability to command the Gods.
And while a deity might respond with “isn’t that cute” if a beginner tried to order them to do something, those of us who function as teachers and leaders are held to a higher standard and would likely face serious consequences (see “spear” above).
The standard for an advisor to the most powerful man in the world is commensurately higher.
Intercessory prayer is good but has boundaries
But what about intercession? Perhaps what Paula White meant was that if you pay her $1000 she’ll pray to her God and ask him to go after your enemies.
Intercessory prayer is a respected practice in many different religions and traditions. My relationship with the Morrigan began with intercessory prayer. I asked the Great Queen to help some friends in danger, and she did.
Did I persuade her to intervene? Did she do it as a favor to me? Did she do it so she could come back and demand my services in reciprocity? Did she already know what was going on and would have intervened even if I hadn’t asked? I don’t know. I just know that it is good to express the yearnings of our hearts, and that the aftereffects of those prayers have been a very good thing for me.
And I also know that “please protect my friends from harm” is a very different request from “smite my enemies!”
Justice is a human endeavor
The Gods do not micromanage our lives. They want us to learn and grow and take responsibility for ourselves, our families, and our communities.
I recently had someone ask me where are the Gods of Justice in our current political environment. That raises the question of what justice is and isn’t. I have my opinions, but I cannot look at the universe as it actually is and then insist that the modern, Western, liberal idea of justice as fairness, equity, and compassion is divinely mandated.
Mind you, I support fairness, equity, and compassion, because I think that’s the best way to promote mutual thriving among humans and other species. But that’s a human ideal we have to promote and build. The Gods – of Justice or otherwise – aren’t going to build it for us.
Protectors? Sometimes – Attack dogs? Never
Do our Gods protect us? Will they protect us? We should be careful what we assume… and what we claim.
I’ve found intercessory prayer to be effective at times, though not always in the ways I would have preferred, nor as quickly as I would have preferred.
I’ve made it into my 60s and I’m in a relatively good place. Some of that is my own efforts and some of it is luck, but I’m sure that some of it is divine intervention.
Having formal commitments with some deities has allowed me to more easily decline offers from other deities who I didn’t really want to work for or with (me and trickster Gods are a poor match).
Perhaps most importantly, following the Morrigan, Cernunnos, and the others with whom I have close relationships has kept me focused on doing things that bring me long-term satisfaction, and thus happiness. Having them in my life is a very good thing.
But they are not an umbrella and they are not a sword.
And they are absolutely not an attack dog I can send against people I don’t like, much less against the enemies of people who send me money.
The Gods do not work for us
I’m not surprised Paula White made the ridiculous claim she made. Those who give her money get what they deserve. Roger Olson is correct to call her “outside the camp” of Christianity – I wish more Christians with a platform would do likewise.
The lesson for us as Pagans and polytheists is to remember that while we are powerful and magical beings, our Gods and Goddesses are far more. When we are in alignment with their virtues and values we can work with them and work for them. Having them in our lives is a good and beneficial thing.
But they never work for us.
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