Ok, my family and I just returned from a Disney World vacation in Orlando, Florida. It was warm, and we had a great time with all of the attractions, rides, and shows. Disney World certainly knows how to entertain a family. Yes it was expensive, but I as the ultimate tightwad didn’t seem to mind. The kids were loving it, and we as parents even had a great time.
But there was one thing that seemed to bother me, and that was the constant barrage of magic and supernatural. Now, magic has been a part of Disney since day 1, and if you watch Fantasia, you will see how magic was a big part of that (among other things). This is not meant to be a Disney bashing, nor am I advocating we boycott Disney or anything like that. What I would like to do is open a dialogue for intelligent discussion and reflection on the Biblical passages against magic, divination, and witchcraft, and contrast that with what is going on with Disney in the past and at present.
Some Biblical passages include the following: Leviticus 19:31, Leviticus 20:6, Deuteronomy 18:9-14, Galatians 5:20, Micah 5:12, 2 Kings 21:6, and 2 Chronicles 33:6, and Luke 16:26-28.
Basically the Bible prohibits the use of magic, divination, communication (or attempted communication) with the dead, and sorcery. Disney, however, promotes these things, glorifies these things, and makes them seem normal to some extent. Raven is a girl that can see short visions of the future. Twitches and Twitches Two is a set of twins that are teen witches. Wizards of Waverly Place is about wizards and witches in training. In the Lion King Simba sees his dead dad in the sky, and he seems to talk with Simba. Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella are all based on magic, divination, and necromancy.
So how do Christians relate with Disney? You can’t turn on TV or go see a movie or even go to a store without interacting with something Disney. So how do Christians interact with Disney? I guess the question before the question would be, are the Biblical prohibitions against sorcery and magic still applicable to Christians today? I would submit yes, they are, given the fact that there are both Old Testament and New Testament scriptures that prohibit or describe prohibitions on these things. So what do we as Christians do with Disney, Raven, and even Pirates of the Caribbean? I remember when Harry Potter came out, and there was a fundamentalist Christian opposition, the world didn’t spare any ammunition against the prudish and fuddy-duddy Christians. Even some Christians attacked other Christians for their strict fundamental views. So how do we engage in an unemotional, intellectual, and level-headed discussion about this issue?
I think we as Christians need to engage in this discussion. Maybe we don’t participate in magic and divination, but what about watching it? What about reading about it as entertainment? Does this type of entertainment affect the way our kids think about the world? And if our kids are constantly engaged in a diet of unbiblical yet “harmless” entertainment, who then hold their minds? God, or the world? Disney, or the Bible? If we are serious about the Bible, and serious about God, then we need to answer these questions.
