by Brian Knowles
Since the Clinton Administration came to power, the U.S. Military has fallen on hard times. As a fighting force, it is weaker and less well prepared than when he took office. It is certainly much smaller. It has enlarged the role of women, and embraced, to a degree, a philosophy of moral pluralism. Gays and lesbians fare better in today’s military than they did during the Reagan/Bush Administrations. Adultery among officers carries less of a stigma than it once did. Now another ominous development is asserting itself. Witchcraft.
According to Hanna Rosin, a Washington Post staff writer, "Every full moon for the past two years, a few dozen off-duty soldiers have gathered at an open campsite at Fort Hood, Americans largest military post. By day, they are privates and sergeants in the U.S. Army, training for deployment to Korea, Bosnia, Kosovo. But at these lunar assemblies they trade in their Army fatigues for hooded robes, chant to the lead of their chosen high priestess and dance around a fire well into the night."
In a battle situation, with bullets flying and bombings bursting around you, wouldn’t it be comforting to know that your buddy in the next foxhole was a witch or a warlock?
To the Army, Wicca – the common name for the religion of witchcraft – is merely a "minority religion." It supports soldier’s right to practice such religions "without passing judgment." As Ms. Rosin informs us, "Two summers ago, the Army approved the Fort Hood Open Circle as its first official wiccan group." The group meets twice a week for indoctrination sessions, and on full moons and eight "sacred" holidays, this group and dozens of other wiccans from the surrounding area, watch the high priestess lift her dagger over a ball of salt in honor of "the blessed earth."
Once the nation’s largest military base welcomed witches into its ranks, other bases quickly followed suit. "Open circles" are now found at Fort Polk (Louisiana), Fort Wainright (Alaska), Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa, and Fort Barrancas (Florida). Apparently, a high priestess has been approved for our troops in Germany, and another has filed an application for the Kosovo mission.
In pagan nations of old, military officers sought the blessing and protection of numerous gods and goddesses before going into battle. In many cases, they were actually consulting territorial spirits – demons that had staked out certain territories. Occult practices were common both in Egypt, out of which Israel was drawn, and in Canaan, into which Israel was sent. Israel was called out of witchcraft, idolatry and paganism. Said the Lord to Moses, "They shall no more offer their sacrifices to demons, after whom they have played the harlot…" (Deuteronomy 17:7). The word translated "demons" in the RSV, suggests the form of a goat or a satyr. Later in the same book, we read, "They sacrificed to demons, not to God…" (Deuteronomy 32:17).
The apostle Paul, writing some fifteen centuries after Moses, penned these words to the Church at Corinth: "…the things the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons" (I Corinthians 10:20).
It was Paul who reminded us that unclean spirits are often both hierarchical and territorial (Ephesians 6:12, note also Daniel 10).
In the last book of the Bible, Revelation, the apostle John writes of those who will experience terrible end-time plagues. He wrote of an army of "horsemen" numbering 200 million who would come against mankind. Vast numbers die. Yet, with remarkable stubbornness among the survivors, the spirits of idolatry and witchcraft live on. Writes John, "But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts" (Revelation 9:20-21).
Sin dies hard. It clings to mankind with tenacious stubbornness. Once subverted, no amount of punishment, it seems, can serve as a wake up call for the human race. The evil of witchcraft has now established a beachhead within the U.S. military. It is growing within the Army, from which it has now jumped to the Air Force. It is only a matter of time before all branches of the U.S. Military have their "open circles." From there they will grow. One wonders whether select soldiers will soon be issued broomsticks along with their M-16’s…
This trend bears watching, and praying about. It has ominous implications for God’s blessing and U.S. military preparedness in an increasingly dangerous world.