Do Not Cause The Little Ones To Stumble

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

- Proverbs 22:6

But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea. 

- Mark 9:42

    When you look at the entertainment we allow our children to watch, read, and listen to, we find ourselves in a world saturated with the magical, the fantastical, the superhuman, and the beastly. From Disney to Nickelodeon to PBS Kids, just about every show involves one or more of the above. And if it doesn't involve any of those things, there's a good chance that it teaches immoral perspectives (such as homosexuality) or things contrary to the Word of God (such as idolatry).

    A child is impressionable, even up throughout their teenage years. Science proves it, psychology proves it, even the Bible says it (Proverbs 22:6). So what are we teaching our children? Anything containing superheroes, people who suddenly acquire strange abilities and "powers", those born with them (mutants, hybrids, "witches", etc...) is in reality, teaching our children that 1: transhumanism and magic is okay; 2: transhumanism and even human hybrids (through science, accident, or magic) is cool and desirable; 3: transhumans will always save the day and are the good guys (except the villains, they're bad *sarcasm*); and 4: that transhumanism is "safe" and fun for Christians because it's not hurting anyone watching and loving these shows and movies.

    Do you realize that by allowing your children to watch, love, and even pretend play superheroes and transhumans that you are encouraging the same sin that Adam & Eve were tempted with in the Garden of Eden? Satan didn't tempt Eve with just the fruit. She had plenty of delicious fruit to choose from even though this particular fruit did look tasty. He tempted her with the chance to "be like God". Ever since the fall of Adam in the Garden, mankind has been since tempted with power, ability, and glory - to make himself (or herself) "as God". That's why magic and the occult is so prevalent today and throughout all time. That's why the gods and goddesses of old were so deified, glorified, and worshiped.

    So what are transhumans/superheroes and why are they so bad? Well, one group of them are the result of the fallen angels marrying human women (Genesis 6). These were the giants, the Nephilim, Anakim, Rephaim, etc... that caused the Lord to send the Great Flood of Noah's day as well as command Joshua and the Israelites to wipe out them out completely in Canaan. (Numbers 13, Deuteronomy 2 & 3, Joshua 12, 13, & 17, etc... etc...). These are the inspiration for and actually were the gods and goddesses of ancient civilization (like Hercules, Zeuss, Ra, Thor, etc...).

    Another group of "transhumans" are those who started as witches and warlocks, and who made covenants with demons and fallen angels in order to receive special power and abilities (such as vampirism, lycanthropism, Harry Potter...) Witchcraft and sorcery is condemned in so much of the Bible I'd be listing the references all day. What does the Bible say the end will be for those who practice witchcraft and sorcery in any form? Hell, where there will be fire, weeping, and gnashing of teeth. (Revelations 21:8, 22:15)

    And then there's the kind of transhumans where they were genetically modified - whether through some science experiment gone wrong, purposeful experimenting, or successful beneficial "science" rolled out for the betterment of all humanity. Examples would be like Spiderman, the Fantastic Four, Captain America, etc...This would be a fulfilling in a way of the prophecy in Daniel 2:43, the mixing of iron with clay. That prophecy is double fold as it itself states. Why do we need to fight the curse of sin (Romans 6:23) when Jesus did that for us? Why do we need to "improve" our bodies of flesh that will be destroyed? Why isn't the promise of a resurrected body that knows no pain, death, nor sin, and allows us to worship Christ and our Heavenly Father for all eternity, enough?

    Satan is still deceiving us today with the same tactics. What better way to distract a child (or an adult for that matter) from normal life, from being obedient to the Lord, than to cause that child to want to be a god/goddess. He'll whisper in that child's ear, "You're special, you have gifts that no one else has. You can be someone, and the whole world will love you. Be who you want to be, follow your dreams, you can be anything." And that child, believes the devil, takes that superhero fantasy world, and immerses themselves in it to live it, breathe it, wish for it....planting in them the seed of the occult and ultimately - the seed of the AntiChrist. A seed, that if left unchecked or even worse - permitted to grow and be nourished by the parents, will grow into a plant of wickedness.

    That plant is their heart. Their hearts will become corrupt, hating the true God (even if they deny it) and desiring to be a god themselves (when you look at the root of it). They may even grow up "in the church", become a minister or pastor, and say "Jesus loves you". But, their hearts are corrupted and they desire a "physical/earthly" immortality. They fear the curse of death and run to anything offering to curb or eliminate it (whether via a vaccine, a miracle pill, a transplant, or some biotechnological breakthrough). They fantasize a perfect world - dramatized, painted, and glorified by Hollywood. They envision themselves the "hero". They see no wrong in DNA altering mRNA va## ines (word altered for censorship), in implantable microchips, in genetically modifying and gene editing, in searching for the cure to mortality. And for the record, no, I'm not saying that all people who fit the above description grew up watching superhero shows. I'm trying to correlate what it leads to and the root of the problem.

    Before you call me a Bible-beating, holier-than-thou, conspiracy theorist...know that I grew up loving superhumans and magic. I was obsessed with X-Men, Batman, Spiderman, Fantastic Four, The Avengers, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, The Little Mermaid, mythical creatures, dragons, etc...etc.... My father was a preacher and his father before him. I was raised in the church and didn't know anything outside of Christianity. Yet, I was allowed to pollute my mind and heart with such filth. It was encouraged to grow. Toys, movies, and books were bought. Movie tickets purchased and fan gear worn. Cosplayed (character dress-up) and fan group discussions and idolatry happened. I know, because I've lived this deadly lie. I embraced the occult and transhuman agenda because I had been raised to believe that it was innocent as long as it didn't cause you to hurt anyone and didn't outright attack Jesus. I thought that I could be "as God". Wow, what a naïve lie wrought by Satan.

    So, instead of teaching your children to look up to superheroes (or embrace villains)...teach them to look up to Jesus and Jesus alone. Instead of fully immersing them in the fantasy worlds of this fallen earth.....teach them to yearn for and love the perfect and holy Kingdom of God. We don't have to fantasize about immortality because we know that God promises us wonderful things that "no eye has seen nor ear has heard" for those who belong to Him and His Son, Jesus. (1 Corinthians 2:9)

    Jesus is the only One whom we should admire, love, and look up to - aspiring to be like Him. Instead of dreaming about superpowers (transhumanism) or having magical abilities, we should encourage and teach our children to work at producing the ever powerful Fruits of the Holy Spirit and to use the spiritual gifts He gives us to do great things to glorify HIS NAME.

    Satan is cunning in his deception with teaching modern-day Christians to embrace, love, yearn for, and literally worship demons in disguise - accepting and even wishing for the ability to perform magic and be transhuman. Thus teaching our children the same deception and on and on it goes - resulting in an idolatrous and lukewarm body of Christ. God calls us to be holy because He is holy. (Leviticus 11:45)

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

- Romans 12:2

28 Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. 29 Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. 30 They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. 31 They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. 32 They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.

- Romans 1:28-32

15 “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! 16 But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!"

- Revelations 3:15-16

9 Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”

- Revelations 14:9-11