Scripture says, "Those who do evil things hate the light and will not come to the light, because they do not want their evil deeds to be shown up" (John 3:20, GNV).
Many people love to go to masquerade balls and parties dressed as witches, warlocks, ghouls, and vampires, especially at Halloween. The bats will be flying this year, no doubt. And there'll be the quinessential dracula introduction or two, "Good Evening. Let me introduce myself." With shows like Vampire Diaries, Twilight, True Blood, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and movies like Blade to name a few, the subject of vampires is being pushed by Hollywood now more than ever. A vampire is a human who feeds on the blood of other humans. Vampires historically sleep by day and roam the earth at night. Vampires have supernatural powers and can live for thousands of years unless killed in the proper manner, so goes folklore. As we prepare to give a Christian defense for the season of Halloween, let's explore the subject of vampires.
Are vampires real? Do humans actually drink human blood? What does the Bible have to say?
In the movies back in the day, all you needed was a cross and some garlic to protect yourself from the draculas and vampires of old. Today's vampires attend vampire "clubs" and go on blood-drinking binges. In the cable series, True Blood, werewolves drink blood too. It's like they're part human, part werewolf and part vampire. How many crosses must you wear to turn back one of them? Does the size of the cross matter? Must a stake be driven in their hearts to kill them? What are some of the disturbing new trends in vampire flicks today, or in the news concerning murders associated with vampirism? What should the Christian response be to anyone caught up in vampirism and the occult?
Please read the article Vampires: Hollywood Is Pushing Them, But Are They Real? by a former "vampire" turned Christian. Let's begin give a Christian defense for the season of Halloween.
Remember, it is not Mohammad, Buddha, Confucius, nor New Age that saves. Jesus saves! Celebrating Five Years of Lifting Up Jesus Christ!
Here's more about vampirism from the Christian Research Institute and the article, "The World According to Goth."
ReplyDelete"There can be a dark(er) side to goth—vampirism. Vampyres34 are a subset of the goth scene, though many goths reject vampyres as such and dislike being associated with them, finding it embarrassing. Vampyres may dress in capes, play a live action role-playing game such as “Vampire: The Masquerade,”35 wear artificial fangs,36 and may or may not drink blood from a voluntary donor. There are vampyre games that incorporate their own mythology and belief system. There is disagreement among vampyres as to what a real vampyre is. Some merely play the part in clubs or in games, or are into fetish scenes. Some belong to groups, called clans.37 There are those who claim vampyrism as a medical condition that causes them to shun the sun or to crave blood. Others believe that a true vampyre is initiated by another vampyre, often through a blood-drinking ritual. Still others believe that one is born a vampyre. Some vampyres do not drink blood and reject this as a part of vampyrism, while others claim that it is essential.38 Then there are the psychic vampyres who allege that they gather their “life force” from psychically feeding off people’s life energy. The psychic vampyres often e-mail me to insist that they are the true vampyres, while the blood-drinking vampyres do the same.39
Some vampyres believe that they are not human, and that they have reached a state of immortality. This nonhuman status is possibly an ironic reaction to, or comment on, the dehumanization of our fast-paced and increasingly impersonal society, where shifts in relationships are casual and constant. The vampyre seems to say, if society treats us as nonhuman, then nonhuman we will become. Sometimes the vampyre guise is a way to reject others before others reject them, or a way to hide pain under a seemingly forbidding persona. The vampyre underground, although it is an extreme form of goth counterculture, does exist, despite the fact that it is not commonly known, and despite the fact that society may not want to believe it exists."
Here's more about vampires from the Christian Research Institute and the article, "The World According to Goth."
ReplyDeleteThere can be a dark(er) side to goth—vampirism. Vampyres34 are a subset of the goth scene, though many goths reject vampyres as such and dislike being associated with them, finding it embarrassing. Vampyres may dress in capes, play a live action role-playing game such as “Vampire: The Masquerade,”35 wear artificial fangs,36 and may or may not drink blood from a voluntary donor. There are vampyre games that incorporate their own mythology and belief system. There is disagreement among vampyres as to what a real vampyre is. Some merely play the part in clubs or in games, or are into fetish scenes. Some belong to groups, called clans.37 There are those who claim vampyrism as a medical condition that causes them to shun the sun or to crave blood. Others believe that a true vampyre is initiated by another vampyre, often through a blood-drinking ritual. Still others believe that one is born a vampyre. Some vampyres do not drink blood and reject this as a part of vampyrism, while others claim that it is essential.38 Then there are the psychic vampyres who allege that they gather their “life force” from psychically feeding off people’s life energy. The psychic vampyres often e-mail me to insist that they are the true vampyres, while the blood-drinking vampyres do the same.39
Some vampyres believe that they are not human, and that they have reached a state of immortality. This nonhuman status is possibly an ironic reaction to, or comment on, the dehumanization of our fast-paced and increasingly impersonal society, where shifts in relationships are casual and constant. The vampyre seems to say, if society treats us as nonhuman, then nonhuman we will become. Sometimes the vampyre guise is a way to reject others before others reject them, or a way to hide pain under a seemingly forbidding persona. The vampyre underground, although it is an extreme form of goth counterculture, does exist, despite the fact that it is not commonly known, and despite the fact that society may not want to believe it exists.