It is 2018. 10 years after I wrote a letter to Lighthouse Trails about Biola Univesity promoting occult spirituality and my serious concern that the campus is not actually a Christian campus. I will tell you I was afraid to write to Light House Trails because I KNEW I would be serious persecuted if I was found out. Many people demanded whoever wrote Light House Trails should step forward and leave Biola.
Here is the Light House Trails Research article about my letter I TOLD them to publish: Biola University Student Reports on Contemplative Chapel Services – Warns Parents to Avoid Biola
In light of the fact Dr. Barry Corey, the president of Biola has gone on a Catholic Sabbatical I am only affirmed 10 years later. I graduated from Biola with a degree in Intercultural Studies and minor is TESOL and Bible. I am glad I have a college educated, but moreso, the Lord educated me in spiritual warfare. No, not the spiritual warfare of the mystical crazy concepts of the Charismatics and Pentecostals and what was promoted heavily on campus as valid. But intellectual and deep spiritual warfare.
How am I doing 10 years later? I have had my ups and downs. A lot of post traumati stress and more from my spiritual experiences on campus and after campus. I will leave you will an article to check out on how Biola is embracing the heretical. When I graduated I shook Dr. Barry Corey’s hand. It sickens me to know that Biola which was once a historic, biblical, evangelical university that promoted the TRUE Gospel of the Bible, the Word of God has been so corrupted with Satanic deception. Not only their New Age, Occult spirituality, but the rampant sexual immorality and drunkenness of about 90% of the students there (my own opinion and observations). There are demons there and many kids will have problems if they are true Christians who want the truth of God to be promoted. I a not ashamed and there is NOTHING Biola or anyone associated with them can do to me now. Nothing. Freedom of speech, America, and my right. It feels great to openly admit how terrible Biola is for real Christians to go to. I still wear my Biola hoody and t-shirts to show my pride in my own education and to show that I made it out without selling out to heresy.
I am in no way perfect and I am a sinner in need of God’s grace through Jesus Christ, the ONLY way to salvation. I am someone who is only saved through repentance and my faith not by works and not by spiritual formation or contemplating myself. There seemed to be no desire to correct sin on campus or be told we need to live holy. I remember the “Sex and the Soul” conference that seemed to create sexual tension on campus and promote lust in the hearts of people through a deceptive message about “biblical sex” which was not biblical at all. Anyway, enough of this. Check out Light House Trails report on the embrace of Catholic Mysticism.
Health and fitness in the last 15 or so years has become increasingly mixed with New Age spirituality. It is no longer just science about burning calories and fat, and becoming healthier in the body. It is now a “mind body” experience. A “holistic” experience. There is nothing wrong with a healthy mind and body. But it has gone beyond just mind and body and into spirit. So now it is “mind, body, spirit” that people think they are nurturing when doing fitness activities. This attitude is mostly promoted by practitioners of Yoga.
The website hinduwisdom.info states,
“Yoga sutra consists of two words only: yogash chitta-critti-nirodah, which may be translated: “Yoga is the cessation of agitation of the consciousness.”
The word yoga is derived from the root yuj, which means to unite or to join together. The practice of yoga may lead to the union of the human with the divine – all within the self. The aim of yoga is the transformation of human beings from their natural form to a perfected form. The Yogic practices originated in the primordial depths of India’s past. From this early period the inner attitudes and disciplines which were later identified and given orderly expression by Patanjali.
According to Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra, the classical text on yoga, the purpose of yoga is to lead to a silence of the mind (1.2). This silence is the prerequisite for the mind to be able to accurately reflect objective reality without its own subjective distortions. Yoga does not create this reality, which is above the mind, but only prepares the mind to apprehend it, by assisting in the transformation of the mind – from an ordinary mind full of noise, like a whole army of frenzied and drunken monkeys – to a still mind.” (http://www.hinduwisdom.info/Yoga_and_Hindu_Philosophy.htm)
It also expresses: “Yoga is an integral part of the Hindu religion. There is a saying: “There is no Yoga without Hinduism and no Hinduism without Yoga.”
I took a Yoga class before at the YMCA because I worked there teaching Taekwondo and Kickboxing. I was waiting around for my class to start and followed along. Yes, the movements and poses they do can sometimes be challenging or build isolated muscles strength by various holds. It can also increase flexibility. This class was pretty much Yoga for yuppies and not a deeply spiritual class. The instructor did use terms that sounded new age and other expressions typical of Yoga instructors. But it was therapeutic in nature and also meditative. Like lying on your back and closing your eyes etc. Some of these drills can be used in a positive way but with Yoga’s historic roots it is obvious such classes are a gateway to New Age belief and Hinduism. This is something the Christian needs to avoid at all costs and not be open to. Of course I did not become demon possessed simply because I took a silly Yoga class for 1 hour and neither would anyone else. But over time becoming open to such ideas and getting deeper into the art you could very well open yourself up to unbiblical spiritual beliefs that can have a serous effect on you.
Yoga is simply a gateway into the eastern mystical traditions for the western culture. It is a shame many churches hold Yoga classes for their congregations. Yoga is simply a way that Satan uses to influence people and to soften their views of mysticism, new age, and occultic practices. We should shun it.
When I came back from the Philippines and was walking out of Los Angeles International Airport a Hare Krisha cult memeber gave me a tract talking about reincarnation. I took it home to see what they believe. Harre Krishna is a cult of Hinduism started in New York city by an Indian named Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. It has gone international and has members worldwide. It is a modern Hindu sect. The man at the airport randomly wanted to speak to me and handed me several books. I had no clue what he wanted and I said, “Huh? You are giving these to me?” Then he demanded money and I said, “Money? No way! And gave them back.” He was pretty dumb about it. He was behaving in the manner of “No money? Then you cannot have these.” But he did give me a small booklet titles “Beyond Birth and Death.” It says i was written by “His divine grace, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder-Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.”
Chapter 2 of this booklet mentions some interesting things that Christians who are thinking about practicing Yoga should consider:
“There are different kinds of transcendentalists, who are called yogis— hatha-yogis, jnana-yogis, dhyana-yogis, and bhakti-yogis— and all of them are eligible to be transferred to the spiritual world. The word yoga means “to link up,” and the yoga systems are meant to enable us to link with the transcendental world. As mentioned in the previous chapter, originally we are all connected to the Supreme Lord, but now we have been affected by material contamination. The process is that we have to return to the spiritual world, and the process of linking up is called yoga. Another meaning of the word yoga is “plus.” At the resent moment we are minus God, or minus the Supreme. When we add Krsna— or God— to our lives, this human form of life becomes perfect.” (p. 12)
It states further:
“‘One who, at the time of death, fixes his life air between the eyebrows and, (sic) by the strength of yoga, with an undeviating mind, engages himself in remembering the Supreme Lord in full devotion, will certainly attain to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.’ (Bg. 8.10 [meaning Bhagavad Gita 8.10 the popular 700 verse Hindu Scriptural book] ).” (p. 12-13)
This booklet goes on to explain concepts of Yoga helping the practitioner do transcendental meditation and traveling to planets and other such things and quoting more from the Bhagavad Gita. Such things described in the Hare Krishna booklet I received are clearly unbiblical and contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. A person cannot attain perfection doing physical movements and meditating. A person does not have the divine “within self” and we do not have to return to a spiritual world. Humans are not connected to the “Supreme Lord” unless they are Christians who have the Holy Spirit living in them. Non-Christians are dead in their sins and not at all connected to God until they receive the Gospel message of repentance of their sins and faith in Christ for salvation. And most certainly no one is connected to a false god called Krishna or Krsna whom they deem in the “Supreme Lord.” That is idolatry.
It is clear Christians should NOT participate in Yoga or promote it. Before the Yoga trend athletes have always done various deep stretching, deep breathing, and other positive physical activities. They did not need a “spiritual” attribute to their athletic training. The Bible says, in 1 Timothy 4:8 expresses, “for the training of the body has a limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. ” Paul was clearly teaching that there is a separation from physical training and spiritual training. They are different. The soul and body are not 1 thing. They are separate things. We are stuck in our flesh in this sinful body, and while we live we should do physical training to stay healthy and last longer for the purposes of God. But physical training itself does not save you or benefit you eternally. Our bodies still die. The Bible of course warns us to stay away from unhealthy practices such as gluttony, laziness, drunkenness and other things that give the human body bad health. God does want us to work our bodies and maintain health. But what is more beneficial is true spiritual training and learning from God’s word. It is separate. Practices like Yoga try to combine them and make them one. This is wrong.
There are various physical arts, systems, and styles that a human being can practice. Not all of them are satanic like Yoga. Yes, anything not biblical and contrary to the gospel truth is Satanic and demonic. It was brought fourth by lies to deceive and soften people to sin. Yoga fits this. On the other hand, dancing styles, gymnastics, and various sports are not sinful or full of false religion. Martial arts are also positive and non-religious. The thing about martial arts is uptight legalists do not understand the difference between culture and religion. They assume eastern customs such as bowing to the instructor, or to flags or photos of previous masters are religious worship. This is not true. It is the same as the military saluting those soldiers who died before them and saluting the flags and symbols of their regiments. In martial arts it is purely physical activity unless you practice a style that incorporates Buddhism or another religion into your training. This can happen in certain styles, but one can ignore it and train the self defense techniques. I personally would not recommend any Christian training in a system that promotes a false religion as mandatory study.
In different parts of the world there are different dominate religions. Within a culture a religion does affect certain customs or behaviors, but not every behavior is sinful simply because of a dominant religion. Certain philosophies or ideas are not inherently sinful either. While martial arts can easily be separated from religions (and should be), Yoga cannot. It is strictly a religious practice for Hinduism. It should be avoided. Christians should instead do conditioning classes with deep stretching and a focus on breathing. Martial arts offer this. In Taekwondo I teach my students to stretch in all kinds of ways, Yoga uses some of the same poses as various athletic training, but the training itself does not need Yoga to benefit.
I just got done watching the O’Reilly Factor on Fox News. At the very end of the show Bill talked about how he ran into Paul McCartney of the Beatles at some function. Bill said McCartney recently held a fundraiser concert to raise money for the David Lynch Foundation that teaches transcendental meditation to children as young as 4 years old. Bill O’Reilly then stated his support for the David Lynch Foundation, and said that TM helps these young kids, some of them suffering with extreme anger who have been abused. Bill O’Reilly said “transcendental meditation helps these kids.” And then he thanked Paul McCartney for supporting the David Lynch Foundation. Bill O’Reilly is a Roman Catholic and he sees nothing wrong with TM. This speaks volumes about how Catholics are so susceptible to the New Age within their mystical practices as well as undiscerning conservatives who have no sense of true biblical faith, but are only politically conservative. Bill O’Reilly is seen by millions of people every night as one of the top rated news and politics shows on TV. He is very influential and has authored several history books such as Killing Lincoln, Killing Kennedy, Killing Jesus, Killing Patton, and others. He sees absolutely nothing wrong with TM or what David Lynch promotes and fully supports it and thinks it is a wonderful thing for children.
David Lynch is a visual artist, musician, film and television director, author and sometimes actor. he is known for surrealist films. He heavily supports TM after being influenced by the Maharishi when he met him in the 1970’s. Maharishi is the founder of the TM movement. Paul McCartney and the Beatles went over to India and learned Hindu teachings and TM and brought it back to the west to influence many young people. Many young Christians think old bands like The Beatles are cool and hip. Those people professing Christianity who practice the Spiritual Formation and Contemplative Prayer practices brought about by Roman Catholicism are susceptible to having a desire to practice TM on top the Christian mysticism they already practice and will possibly include it.
On the David Lynch Foundation website it talks about how TM will bring peace to the world. There are children’s testimonies expressing how TM has helped their lives significantly. Kids growing up in poverty, high urban crime and other unfortunate situations are being taught TM. This is one way that Satan is using to influence children into New Age thought and beliefs and opening them up to the spirit world at a very young age. It is unfortunate. But more and more New Age, mystical, occult and magical practices that open people up to demons and Satan’s influence will be popular and such “world peace” ideas will no place for Christianity. Jesus warned that the end of days will have such deception.
The Beatles in the 1970’s with Maharishi Yogi (the founder of the TM movement) in the middle.
*Update, Bill O’Reilly the next night on his show, during his mail segment read a letter from a fan that praised O’Reilly for mentioning the David Lynch Foundation. The person said they have a child who lives in Newtown (same town as the Newtown Massacre of 21 children) and has been taught TM. They thanked O’Reilly for his support of TM and the David Lynch Foundation and said TM has helped their child cope with the trauma of what happened in their town. Bill then said more praises for David Lynch and TM and how it helps people.
LaVey Satanists Have A Desperate Need For Attention
In my experience the typical people claiming to be a Satanist come off as a pretentious goofballs with a desperate need for attention. They especially seem to take great pleasure in assuring us they don’t actually worship the Devil. When someone talks about them worshiping Lucifer they love to correct people and say “No REAL satanist worships Satan! He does not even exist! Just like your God does not exist! Instead Satan is a symbol of adversary to Christianity! They express how they are “in the know” and everyone else is so ignorant. They remind me the typical Wiccan witches who love to express to everyone that the Pentagram they use is not upside down like the Satanic pentagram is which is known as the “Sigil of Baphomet” (The Church of Satan uses it as their official symbol). Baphomet is the name of a goat deity known as a “Sabbatic Goat.” The term “baphomet” originally just meant an occultic deity certain “Knights Templar” members were accused of worshiping. The goat idol became associated with the occult and the idea of Devil worship popularized it in the mid-1800’s. only in 1966 did the Church of Satan use the goat deity with the pentagram to associate it with Satanism.
Examples of symbols:
Neopagan symbol of “right side up star” pentagram used by Wiccas. Can be with or without a circle.
Without a circle
“Upside down star” pentagram mostly used by Satanists of various types
“Sigil of Baphomet” first appeared in Clef de la Magie Noirse, a book written in 1897 by occultist Stanisla de Guaita
Sigil of Baphomet, the official symbol of the Church of Satan
Goat deity known as Baphomet associated with Satan. It has breasts but is also male.
Typical people wanting to associate with LaVey Satanism seem to relish the confusion or accusations of literal Satan worship thrown at them by the media and average people who do not know what the Church of Satan believes. These people love to “enlighten” such ignorant people that they truly do not worship the Devil but are actually Atheists and follow a theatrical religion. What is funny is most of these people are new to Satanism or really do not follow what the Church of Satan typically promotes. Even so, the Church of Satan itself comes off as an organization of elitists who think they are more profound, intelligent, deep, and important than everybody else. The official website of the church has a whole rant against “internet Satanists” that is pretty long. I find it amusing. It is basically saying “Hey guys we are the REAL Satanists! You are fakes!! You poseurs!!! ” Yes, they spelled it the pretentious way of spelling poser.
If an organization does not believe in any God or supernatural beings, not even Satan, but they enjoy using Christian ideas such as “a Satan” and “666” and other silly theatrical things that actually come from the Bible, then they are simply just riding off the waves of Christianity in order to draw attention to themselves and their ideas. It is awfully silly and unnecessary and just immature. They are hypocritical in their criticism of the so called “poseurs” who run website and pretend to be Satanic and are trying too hard. They in turn do the exact same thing but at a different degree.
There are on the other hand Devil worshipers but they are not a part of the Church of Satan and may or may not be a part of some organization. Many call themselves “Theistic Satanists” who worship Satan as a being literally as God. The Church of Satan claims there is no such thing as a true theistic satanist as the concepts of “theistic” and “Satanism” are a contradiction. They are only a contradiction if you accept their term of what Satanism is. They are elitists who think they are really original, when in fact their philosophy has always existed before them throughout history when man decides to elevate himself above God and refuse to believe God exists. Such people throughout history did not need to draw a name from a fallen angel. So why do Satanists claim there are rules such as only expressing “wrath within reason” against someone, and do not do illegal things etc. So for the LaVeyists out there, who is the grand arbitrator of true morality, or what is right and what is wrong? How far is too far and why? If there is no God who decides what is and is not okay to indulge in?
While there are devil worshiping “theistic satanists” out there who seem to think Lavay Satanists are weak and the true posers since they do not worship Satan literally in defiance of God. The Devil worshipers accept that God exists but think they can destroy God or defeat Him, and that Satan is actually strong and frees them. Such people are involved in occult magic and demon possession such as groups like Temple of Set (offshoot from Church of Satan by former members including Anton LaVey’s daughter who was a member) and the Temple of the Black Light from Norway composed of many black metal musicians who practice an esoteric Satan worship. At least such “Satanic, Christian-hating orders” have the guts to fully worship Satan, while the LaVeyists pretend and use the name to show off.
LaVeyists really are not their own gods as they claim, but simply follow dead prophet named Anton LaVey and his rules and ideas and whatever silly high priest (who literally looks like a goofball) is in office, who also wears all black and has a silly beard and looks like a nerd + beatnik (pre-hipster), yet mocks those who take up Satanism with scary clothes and demonic imagery. Yet the original church of Satan itself uses demonic imagery. It is all nonsense. It is a hierarchy of posers from the wannabe Church of Satan members to the actual members themselves who are also posers on another level (they are the elitists). Their Satanic ideas are absurd. “There is no god, you are your own god and you do whatever you want! Sin all the time! Oh wait don not sin too much and please do it within reason. We don’t want to get in trouble or anything…”
Church of Satan members are simply atheists who enjoy sin who want to feel special and get their kicks out of reactions and shock value. This is my opinion.
Whether or not the Church of Satan or any offshoots like The First Church of Satan actually worship the devil and have been deceiving the public has not been proven but there are speculations. Even so, if they are simply silly theatrical Satanists who are just atheists playing “devil” stuff for pretend does not matter since they are still godless, unsaved, sinners who are salves to Satan on earth and their sins whether they want to believe it or not. They all need to repent of their sins and follow God. Their pride and arrogance keeps them from the humility necessary to repent of sin and accept God for who He is, that He is loving and the standard of what is true and good, that humans need to fear Him and submit to Him and quit their sins, that Jesus Christ is the only way to be saved and truly given freedom. Indulging in sin leads to death.
The World King Antichrist Of Satan’s Empire Will Be Revealed: A Close Look At 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12
The Bible teaches that there will be an Antichrist (1 John 2:18, 1 john 4:3, 2 John 1:7) who will be the king of the world, and will proclaim that he is god and become an object of worship worldwide. This is said to be done by Satan’s work, who has been preparing him throughout history in order for his inauguration. Satan’s Empire is here on earth right now as he is the prince of the power of the air and ruler of the atmospheric domain (Ephesians 2:2) that is beneath heaven. That would be our world on earth. He was cast down from heaven when he rebelled (Revelation 12:9). He is the Father of Lies and a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44). He is the god of this world and age (2 Corinthians 4:4). So therefore Satan is trying to set up a worldwide satanic order for his own worship and to destroy as many people as possible before God’s wrath is carried out on him.
2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 states,
“The coming of the lawless one is based on Satan’s working, with all kinds of false miracles, signs, and wonders, and with every unrighteous deception among those who are perishing. They perish because they did not accept the love of the truth in order to be saved. For this reason God sends them a strong delusion so that they will believe what is false, so that all will be condemned—those who did not believe the truth but enjoyed unrighteousness.“
A lot can be taken out of this passage. The Antichrist is being prepared and is coming based on Satan’s working. So Satan has been working throughout the ages to prepare this man to take control. The Antichrist is satanically prepared by the devil himself, and most likely will be physically possessed by Satan. Much like demons possess people and control them, Satan will be possessing the Antichrist.
Part of the way Satan is said to be working is through false miracles, signs, and wonders. In the passage, these miracles are connected with every unrighteous deception among those who are perishing. “Those who are perishing” are everyone throughout history or currently living who have followed deception. Deception is obviously false religions, ideas about god, and other heresies. So the false miraculous signs and wonders are said to be connected to such things. Right now there are a few movements which are claiming many miracles such as healings, levitation, prophecies of the future, miraculous languages, bilocation (John Crowder, Bob Jones), teleportation, prophetic dreams, contacting angels, visions, ecstatic experiences and more. These movements claim to be Christian and claim to be from God. A lot of this is found from the Charismatic and Pentecostal movements, but are also heavily based on New Age and Occult practices through Contemplative Mysticism and the Spiritual Formation movement. Not only are there false religious sects claiming to be from God, but throughout history pagan religions have often participated in magical practices and spirit channeling as well as healing in much of the same fashion. In fact, some of these heretics admit that the New Age movement knows more about healing and supernatural experiences and prosperity than the Christians (while falsely associating that such practices are what Jesus Christ wants us to be doing). In Paganism these things are done through witchcraft and sorcery. Nonetheless, the heart of the matter is plain old spiritual deception, even if the deception is not miraculous. That means just unbelief and the enjoyment of what is unrighteous and a hate for the truth.
In our age in history never before has there ever been such a huge claim of miracles and signs as what is happening now. There is also an extreme intolerance towards people who have actual opinions or a belief in an absolute truth especially if it is about the Bible. Postmodernism has influenced the world in an extreme way. This means that the normal thinking of people now days is to question if truth exists and have a disdain for people who claim to know the truth such as Christians who believe in the Bible. There is a constant attack on biblical interpretation and theological proclamations where people frown upon doctrine and want an antinomian approach to faith. This sets up an “anything goes theology” that is full of false beliefs, which also embraces false religions who deny Christ, in order to satisfy the appearance of “loving everyone.” Basically, where people who profess biblical truth are scene as divisive, haters, and intolerant (but the intolerance is actually on their end), while people who claim they are unsure about all things and wish to dialogue forever about them without ever coming to a conclusion are seen to be virtuous. This type of spirituality has invaded our churches and Christian universities.
Just as the passage says the perishing “do not accept the love of the truth” it is so today. People who do not love truth, who are constantly confused out of false humility not to offend, who constantly will change their minds about anything and everything, who will hate you for loving what is true and accurate, are the ones who are perishing. Satan is setting up a king whom he will possess and control (the Antichrist will be willing) who will easily step in and take over the world with a one world worship of himself. In order to get people on the same page with religion, a hatred for truth has to exist in the minds of humanity. With no truth, everything else that is a lie is allowed. The current climate of the world screams for “world peace” and calls everyone who claims a hard stance on an issue an “extremist” or “terrorist,” while the actual terrorists, the islamofascists who claim an absolute truth for their god Allah, continue to kill people without anyone scrutinizing their religion as being wrong. Instead, Islam is embraced and accepted as a great religion people need to respect and claim just some of the Muslims are simply radicals and not the majority. The hatred for truth causes people to think illogically. So in due time, sooner than later, there will be a one world religion set up in order for the Antichrist to step in and take over and also to claim he is the god of all the religions. This is done heavily through occult spirituality that has invaded Christian churches: a seeking of mystical experiences and knowledge from spirits that people assume is god.
The True God is thus said to give out a strong delusion on those who are perishing in order to keep them believing the lies to build up more wrath for themselves to be punished with when God judges everyone. You can read about this idea in Jude.
These supernatural experiences or ecstasies feed a confidence in what is false and cause people to lose sense in what is actually true. Satan has created such sensual religions for people to follow, so what we see now is a sign of the times we live in. The Antichrist is nearer and closer to coming and the world is setting up for it. So Christians better get prepared and keep gospel witnessing. But in the end we can all be satisfied that these false beliefs will be done away with as all of the perishing people will finally complete their destruction and perish, including the Antichrist and Satan himself. All of these will forever burn in torment in Hell.
Now, this one world order of Satan is said to be set up by every unrighteous deception among those who are perishing. Right now there are a lot of people on the internet claiming some silly conspiracy theories with the Illuminatti, or Freemasonry and aliens and all kinds of wacky stuff. Christians have gotten involved and started a type of “conspiracy theorist theology” which is suspect at best and not based on much fact and more on speculation. Some people think Satan throughout time has a secret society or some cult through the generations that has been working to set up the Antichrist. I tell you Satan does not need to work in such a way with some interconnected web of intrigue. Satan has many things going on at the same time, things that are not even connected politically but are all at the same time being used for his evil purposes. In fact, much of these factions are even upset with each other. If we take the Bible literally about all that is unrighteous, it is logical to see that certain cults hate each other, certain sects of one religion hate each other, many evil groups are killing each other and in no way are connected in that sense. Yet, all these things are controlled by Satan but it does not mean that is it all some governmental satanic conspiracy. Such people are promoting an “X-Files Christianity” are making people who take a more biblical and less sensational stance on the workings of Satan, such as a typical Premillennialist, look bad. Satan does not need to use Freemasonry, Builderburgs, or Illuminati to do his work. They may have a part in it, but the world culture and spirit of the age will openly accept the Antichrist despite any political or secret societies existing. Taking a more biblical approach is better. Satan works through every unrighteous deception in order to bring this about, but we can be sure it will become his destruction.
Sleeping Giant Is Proof The Christian Hardcore Scene Is Corrupt with The New Spirituality And Not Biblical Faith
Sleeping Giant is a band that got its start and major popularity from being signed on Facedown Records which is a Christian heavy music label (currently they are signed to Ain’t No Grave Records). The lead singer’s name is Tommy Green and he preaches a lot and tells people about spiritual experiences that he claims he’s had, and he yells a lot in his music. He promotes the New Spirituality with all of the charismatic excesses and supernatural visions, miracles, signs, wonders etc…His new book called Religio-cide should tell you something about his agenda…
Introduction
In 2011 he was invited to speak at Biola University at one of their chapels. I graduated from Biola University in 2009 and I already saw the way Biola chapels were headed with the Contemplative Spirituality/Spiritual Formation New Age teachings and Lectio Divina and the embracing of supernatural experiences over Bible study. You can read how I felt after I graduated in 2009 here.
Here is a video of Tommy Green preaching at Biola:
As a Christian I do not support and cannot support his ministry or his band. I believe Tommy Green is not qualified for ministry and is teaching outrageous things that are dangerous and destructive to healthy Christian spirituality and faith. He says really convincing sounding things for the ear that is untrained in Scripture. But do not let soothing words and emotionally sincere words convince you. He is deceived either by his own mind, or the demonic. I am a fan of heavy music and was involved in the hardcore punk scene growing up (you can read a blog post about some of my experiences here) and I understand the desire for spiritually uplifting, and Christ-centered, gospel driven, hardcore music ministry. But I do not support it at the expense of proper biblical interpretations, solid theology, and sound doctrine. How else can a person be saved if they have a faulty understanding of the Good News and a weak foundation for faith? Godly faith must be Truth centered in all its objectivity because souls are at stake and it is the difference between life and death— eternal salvation and eternal damnation. Matters of God are very serious and Christians must be responsible and hold everything up to the standard of the Word of God (Scriptural revelation).
I would also like to briefly state that some people do have legitimate pain caused by typical church people who rejected them or are not allowing them to be used by God so many people are struggling with church life. They feel like misfits and are outcasts by popular culture. But this does not discount traditional church or careful theological studies. This does not mean that all traditional churches are full of jerks or bad people. We do have a serious, and I mean serious problem with church life in this country and it is very hard to find a church that feeds its flock. Even so….
The Bible is the only objective and valid form of truth for our spiritual lives
As Christians, even “punk,” “hardcore kids,” or “scene kids” (or whatever is the cool term is today) or just a general fan of heavy music who is a Christian; or anyone who feels like an outcast; or has been hurt by church people; or hurt by other Christians; those who do not feel accepted by normal society; it does not matter how bad your life was or how bad you have been hurt. There is no excuse to believe every wind of doctrine (Ephesians 4:14) that any persons claims. I feel much like you, and I have been hurt too; but still, we MUST….WE MUST ONLY base our theology and ideas of spiritual matters on what is objectively true: THE BIBLE: the objective Word of God. There is no excuse not to! And no real answers for life’s struggles outside of the Bible (God’s objective revelation). Anything else cannot be trusted as fact and there is no way to prove it. This is not putting God in a box, or throwing the baby out with the bathwater. But if that box is the Bible, then yes, God is in a box!
God is revealed through His word. John 1:1-2 specifically states that God is the Word. John 1:14 further states that Jesus Christ is the Word incarnated in the flesh. If God is the Word why would He work outside of what He is? The Bible is God’s revealed Word just as when God spoke Creation into existence. If we have God’s completed revelation to man in the Bible we do not need anything else, nor would have, nor does God send any other Scriptures. Revealed Scripture itself is sufficient and teaches us everything we need to know, and it equips us with every tool and weapon we need in this life to live for God (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
Now that the Bible is complete and all wisdom and mysteries of godliness, and all knowledge has been revealed to the world (Ephesians 1:9, Ephesians 3:3-4, Colossians 1:26-27), God and His truth are not currently revealed by someone claiming access to a visionary realm. Logically, if someone is claiming supernatural stories or revelations or ideas about God then they are equating themselves with the Apostles and authors of revealed Scripture. When people start claiming God spoke to them, or some vision they had revealed information about the Divine they are claiming more revelation from God and thus equating it with anything else God revealed in the Bible. If the Bible is what we base our faith on, and all revelation is complete then you cannot trust what other people claim outside of it. There is no way to prove any supernatural, mental experiences someone might have had. Such people are “false-apostles” (2 Corinthians 11:13), or false messengers or false teachers.
Do not let anyone disqualify you who claims access to a visionary realm
Tommy Green claims to have gone to heaven and back while he sat in a Starbucks in Redlands, California. This is ridiculous and is similar to what many false prophets who preach outright heresy claim (Bob Jones, Todd Bentley, Benny Hinn, Oral Roberts, and many TBN preachers and also various charismatic hipsters). It is wise to flee from people who use tactics as such evil men. Anyone adding ideas to the Bible is in serious error. Such people constantly disqualify rational thinking Christians who do not give into emotionalism, or allow amazing “testimonies” of supernatural experiences. They get upset. As Tommy Green said in the video about people saying such experiences are wrong and New Age. He said to not let anyone tell you that such experiences are not correct or tell you that they are New Age. In reality they actually are New Age and Occult experiences. Such visions, dreams, miracles, supernatural being contact and even Christ contact have occurred all over New Age circles and are explained in New Age teachings. He claims it was the Holy Spirit, and New Age cannot do what the Holy Spirit can do. But his “holy spirit” cannot possibly be the true Holy Spirit because what he explains is nothing different than other New Age mystics’ trips to heaven, and is even similar to alien abduction stories (especially with objects implanted or transplanted into people). Men like Tommy Green are always trying to guilt trip biblical Christians into accepting their spirituality and experiences as valid. They constantly try and disqualify Christians who base their beliefs strictly on the Bible. Colossians 2:18-19 states,
“Let no one disqualify you, insisting on ascetic practices and the worship of angels, claiming access to a visionary realm and inflated without cause by his unspiritual mind. He doesn’t hold on to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and tendons, develops with growth from God.”
There is also absolutely no way Tommy Green saw Jesus Christ. Who he saw had to be something in his own mind, a delusion, or an actual demonic being pretending to be Jesus. Scripture is clear that no one has seen Christ in 1 Timothy 6:16 where it says Jesus is “…the only One who has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom none of mankind has seen or can see…” Now according to Tommy Green’s testimony he claims he was in heaven and the light was “like sunset the entire time.” That to me shows a low level of light since a sunset is darker than say the afternoon. That is not unapproachable light. The being he saw was in a darker (obviously counterfeit) light. The verse says that none of mankind has seen Christ (obviously after His ascension into Heaven and glorious transformation). It also says no one can see Christ. So Tommy Green is claiming he saw Christ which goes against Scripture. If Tommy was in the presence of Christ he would be dead because of the unapproachable light and God’s glory that not even Moses could see. Such charismatic experiences constantly go against Scripture, and Tommy does not seem to know His Bible enough to reject such visions. Paul wrote 1 Timothy and Paul is also said to have gone to the third heaven and saw things he is not allowed to speak about, yet this verse in Timothy also shows that even Paul did not see Christ since “none of mankind has seen or can see” Him. Charismatics like Tommy explain sensational stories far beyond anything the Apostles themselves were allowed to experience. It is obviously a lie and Tommy never went to heaven and instead was speaking with a demon.
Another issue is that Tommy Green is a divorced man. I do not know the reason for his divorce except for what he said in a YouTube video by an anti-porn group called XXX Church (another problematic, unscriptural “ministry,” * the lead pastor even says homosexuality is not a big deal and homosexuals will go to heaven and do not have to change, and equates it with being “fat,” read this). He claims that his marriage “fell apart.” Either way the bible in 1 Timothy 3:2 and Titus 1:6 clearly state that no one should be preaching or teaching the Church unless they are the husband of one wife. Tommy Green is now re-married to a second wife. This disqualifies him for such a teaching/preaching ministry. Divorce is only acceptable if the reason is marriage-unfaithfulness or adultery (read Matthew 19:9, Matthew 5:32, Malachi 2:16, 1 Corinthians 7:1, Luke 16:18, Mark 10:11). If adultery is not the case, or his wife did not reject him because of Christ— if she was an unbeliever and cheated and left him—and if his first wife was a professing Christian as well as Tommy at the time— then Tommy’s 2nd marriage causes him to currently be living in sin. This is another red flag.
Unqualified for ministry according to the Scriptures
Another problem is that he disqualifies himself. He states that he is “immature,” “a moron,” is not that smart etc., in the Biola chapel he was speaking at in the video. As the Colossians passage above states, He does not hold onto the head where the tendons and ligaments grow. He is not grown. So it is obvious he is spiritually, theologically and moronically immature. He stated it himself. Why should any rational person listen to someone who disqualifies himself? Did Paul, Peter, or anyone else who wrote much of the New Testament ever claim they were immature or a moron? Colossians 1:28 states the importance of spiritual maturity,
“We proclaim Him, warning and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.”
Also Colossians 4:12 shows that one of Paul’s converts and workers contended and prayed for the Colossian church to be able to “stand mature and fully assured in everything God wills.”
In the video Tommy Green keeps saying “I don’t know,” “I don’t really know anything…” and “I could be wrong,” and “you guys know more than me…” Even Tommy Green himself is claiming he is not fully assured in everything God wills, but then goes and tells the Biola chapel that God wills them to have supernatural experiences and they must accept them and ask for them to happen. Is he sure about that? He testifies against himself that his own ideas are not trustworthy and keeps using extreme false humility and asking for grace so that people cannot question him and call him to repentance. It is just a tactic all the hip-false teachers use to appeal to young impressionable minds.
Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit. Ephesians 4:14
Biola University has low standards for chapels
1 Timothy 3:2 also states that a person who is going to preach or teach must be “an able teacher.” Obviously, just viewing the video proves he is not an able teacher. His actions are also undignified and irreverent and full of stupid jokes and sidetracking thoughts and weird antics. He wastes a large amount of time on things that have nothing to do with his message (pointless pop culture references, calling his wife hot etc). 2 Timothy 2:16 says, “But avoid irreverent, empty speech, for this will produce an even greater measure of godlessness.”
*If anyone has an issue with me claiming Tommy Green is not a good teacher, nor does he know much, let it be remembered in the video he claims Biola students know more than him. I, being a Biola graduate who took 30 units of Bible classes must then, know more than him, and he should listen to me because of that.
Why is Biola University giving the stage to self proclaimed morons and people who preach from their own minds and not from the Bible? How does this benefit bible students? Would you want to take a class from a professor on any topic who told you that he was a moron and is immature and does not know as much as you? Furthermore, would you want to take a class from that professor if he began teaching you from a dream or vision he had of new things and revelations about the subject instead of teaching with a textbook with credible sources who already have solid objective facts? I wouldn’t.
Such experiences are nothing different from pagan demonic spirit transfer
One really huge and scary red warning sign is when he talks about hugging Jesus near a really big building and how something spiritual was transferred into his soul, into his being, giving him a feeling like a bomb dropped in his stomach. Such goose bumps and bomb dropping feelings often occur in occult mystical experiences where spirit beings, said to be guides, or spirits of dead people, or angels, aliens etc. transfer powers or objects or even enter into people. Alien abduction stories often talk about objects implanted or put into them by a force. His story is not unlike what pagans experience in their false religions. Even pagan religions speak in babbling tongues, and they have been doing it longer than modern Christianity. I do not believe that Tommy Green’s out of body/vision/trip to heaven experience was from God. It could either have been his own imagination like he said he thought it might be at first, or it is from another spirit that is not Christ. What other spirits are not Christ? The answer is demons. If who Tommy was talking to was a demonic spirit of deception and false teachings, and something was transferred into him, then it is a very likely possibility that Tommy Green of Sleeping Giant is demon possessed. I know that this possibility sounds outrageous to some of you “Christcore” kids out there that your hero could be demon possessed but what other option is there? I remember an album by the band Seventh Star (also on Facedown Records) called Brood of Vipers that has a song called “Be Wary.” I even bought one of their shirts that says, “Be Wary” on it. I am telling you to be wary of what you believe and what people tell you. If it is true that a false spirit was talking to Tommy Green and transferred something into him and put it inside him it is a work of darkness masquerading as light. It is demonic. 2 Corinthians 11:14 says Satan himself disguises himself as an angel of light.
The Christcore, Spirit Filled Hardcore Scene, needs to repent and a reform
I am calling Tommy and the rest of his band and even Facedown Records which promotes such bands, and anyone involved in the Christian Hardcore scene who believes this New Spirituality to repent and flee from these false doctrines! I am also someone who likes hardcore music and participated in the hardcore punk and metal scene as a teenager and young adult since the 1990’s. I was even the singer and founder of a grindcore/crust punk band called Ninja Death Clan, that played shows in Eugene, Oregon. I may not be a cool band guy anymore (not that my band was ever cool), or some top touring band on a big ultra cool “Christian music label,” but I am not ignorant of this scene and I am not ignorant of the Bible! This gives me at least some amount of credibility.
My main point is that anyone who likes hardcore/metal/punk types of music and is a Christian, and is looking for spiritually uplifting music that does not contradict Christianity you should avoid Sleeping Giant because they promote spiritual deception. They promote a “Kingdom on earth now” theology that contradicts the Bible’s teaching that Christ’s return is at the Second Coming. They believe that they can make a Christian-spiritual world right now by their own effort with other Christians so that Christ’s return will happen before the Bible’s timeline as a spiritual Christ-resurrection consciousness. The New Age teaches the same thing about their cosmic-Christ. They believe they can create the return of Christ right now before the biblical Second Coming. It is a spiritual pre-return based on supernaturalism where they claim God’s throne and Kingdom is on earth right now but humanity just has to “realize” and claim it (much like eastern mysticism). And worship music and praise actions will make it all happen. The end result of these beliefs is for a one world, very tolerant spirituality worldwide. This is going to pave the way for the anti-christ one world religion mentioned in Revelation.
Sleeping Giant promotes Emergent Spirituality and New Apostolic Reformation ideas
Tommy Green is a proponent of Contemplative Prayer when he talks about “waiting prayer” and being still and listening for God to first speak and act on you. This is also known as Centering Prayer that was taught by catholic monks who were influenced by Buddhist and Hindu concepts. They are known as the Desert Fathers. Look them up. The Emergent Church also heavily promotes these “spiritual disciplines.” Tommy Green promotes emergent theology with hyper-charismaticism.
Here is another video of Sleeping Giant. This one representing Come&Live ministry.
Notice how the video says, “We don’t worship a doctrine or concepts” anymore and we cannot base faith on concepts. Well the men of God and reformers of the faith never worshiped doctrines. But doctrines are the basis of what Christians believe and they help people understand the Bible. They are confessions of biblical truth. Throwing away doctrines makes it a theological free-for-all where anything goes. How is this orderly and godly? God is not a God of chaos. God is the same, today, yesterday, and forever (Hebrews 1:13). He is not different for individual people. He is not one way here and one way there. He does not give one a revelation or vision, and another something else totally different. A negative view of theological teachings and doctrines is how false doctrines easily spread. Also notice how he claims we can literally talk to God now just like human relationships on earth and how God tells us we must have experiences in order to establish His throne/Kingdom on earth. This is dominionist theology and it is itself a doctrine, albeit a false doctrine. But nevertheless it is a doctrine. So they are now contradicting themselves by stating we don’t need doctrines. So their attitude is that “the only true doctrine is that we don’t need any doctrines.” This is self-contradictory.
One might argue and say he is just being sincere with how he feels. Obviously he has those “sincere arched up eye brows” that every charismatic preacher has. *The testimony brows!* But even so, it does not matter. Sincerity does not equal automatic truth. You can be sincere and wrong, or a better way to state it: sincerely wrong! A Muslim can be sincere but be wrong, a Jehovah’s Witness could be sincere but also be wrong. Yes, you can be sincere and destructively wrong. You can be sincerely wrong in a very nice sounding yet deceptive way too. So an argument from sincerity is invalid.
The new, post modern, charismatic rock and roll missionaries
On another note, ministries like Come&Live promote such concepts in foreign places like Columbia. You can send $10 a month to help Tommy Green keep doing his ministry of supernatural experiences! These sensual and popular mystical doctrines are spreading all over the world through the new type of hipster rock and roll missionaries. Not only guys in bands either but ultra cool looking people spreading these messages. The churches are funding such “cool dudes” to spread the mystical message of their “jesus-spirit” while missionaries who want to spread the Words of the Bible with the gospel message and want to do teaching and preaching are ignored as irrelevant. If I only realized earlier in life that to be accepted and funded as a missionary I had to get a few Straight Edge tattoos, icthys symbols, and tattoo sleeves, and maybe gauged ears, and a lip piercing or two and wore really cool clothes, and played in a band and spoke hyper-emotionally about cool supernatural experiences I would have gotten all of the funding I needed and probably had my college loans paid off. I would be a really important dude.
False Jesus, false gospel promoted through emotional manipulation and occult spirituality
1 Corinthians 11:4 says that people easily put up with false teachings with a false-jesus and false-gospel. Also, Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Whether or not everyone involved in this new spiritual movement know better does not matter. They all need to repent and change. They need to start viewing faith through the Bible. Just because they say “live the word!” and “this is biblical its ok!” does not matter. Just saying it does not make it true. They need to prove it, because all of the proof says they are not behaving biblically.
Also, Tommy Green even states that Jesus will create rooms in Heaven for people who won’t even follow Him and will not make it to Heaven. This idea is totally Arminian, and rejects the sovereignty of God and makes Jesus look like a desperate loser who planned a party where hardly anyone shows up. It says that God has no control over salvation, and individual Christians have to impress the unbelievers to think God is cool. This is done by emotional manipulation by hyper emotional hardcore metal music with melodic trance-like sounds in between breakdowns and sing along parts to get people in the mood to feel the Holy Spirit. But their spirit is not the true Holy Spirit, but the spirit of the New Age with all of its supernatural experiences and manifestations. It is a judge-me-not religion that claims to hate religion and deescalates the seriousness of sin in people’s lives. Basically if you are cool with Jesus you are okay despite your lifestyle and convictions and you can sin all you want as long as you say “hey no one changes over night!”, and only really really mean bad people go to hell probably. This is post-modern religion.
Here is an example of emotionalism and not objective thought:
This is nothing but “primal scream therapy.” So what now because someone put their hands up at a Sleeping Giant show and pretended to break negative thoughts or experiences in their life apart like chains they are now super spiritually close to God and the Holy Spirit is now in them? How does he even know everyone there is saved? And if he assumes some people are not then how does an unbeliever have the Holy Spirit because they did hand gestures and actions in a really emotional way? The Bible says true salvation from sin and death comes by faith through repentance and belief in God. It is a total heart change and open confession of Christ making Him Lord of your life. It is not done by hand signs, gestures, feelings, going to a hardcore show and moshing etc. This is very poor and very shallow theology that does not produce legitimate fruit. I would know because I have been to one of their shows, I have been to many bands shows who claim Christ, I have been to many charismatic church gatherings, I went to Biola University, and I have been around and seen a lot! I know that nothing like this ever changes a person’s heart. What does change a person is the truth of God’s Word and the response to the call of God by the Holy Spirit to repent and live a clean and new life in worship of God. It is not an emotional experience that changes a person. It is objective truth being understood and rationally accepted by someone’s mind through God, and by God alone. Not by human effort or emotional manipulation. This is done by preaching and someone hearing the Bible’s message (Romans 10:14).
Unchanged hearts and minds with a lack of true conviction and animosity towards the Church
Many people who go to such charismatic gatherings never change and are just as vile, wicked, angry, manipulative, mean spirited, and sexually immoral as they were before they had that experience. I remember a time when I saw the band Rock And Roll Worship Circus a few times in Eugene, Oregon which is another band that promotes the new spiritual deception and all its heresies. People did not really change, they remained the same and were just as sinful as before. It is a false understanding of salvation or “movement” of the Holy Spirit. It is inflated by a person’s own mind or it is demonic, and also can be both and in many instances probably both (whatever the case is for Tommy Green).
The hyper-charismatic, Contemplative Mysticism and New Age Occult practices have totally engulfed the Christian hipster world of underground art, music, entertainment, and churches. It is inflated with pride and claims: “We are the weird church and we are better than those old people in those traditional church buildings! We know better, but also we are super humble and down to earth and never judge anyone ever!”
It is a contradicting attitude about God and church living: “We don’t judge but we know the other churches are jerks and we are better and more loving! We are humble which makes us better than the mean prideful churches that hurt our feelings!” It has led to much heresy and liberal ideas as well as outright confrontation with Christ’s Church and the True Religion where it says “church is dead” and “religion must die.”
The appearance of evil
The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 6:14, “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?” This is a command stating Christians should not partner up and work together with unbelievers. It teaches that Christians cannot marry unbelievers, nor can Christians partner up in business with unbelievers especially God’s ministry! How ironic it would be to become a missionary and team up with an atheist or some very unchristian person. It would not make sense. But what do we see with Sleeping Giant! The band that is a ministry supposedly for our holy God to give the Holy Spirit to all people!— What we see is them partnering up with a pagan. Watch the music video of their song “Eyes Wide Open”:
The guest vocalist in this video with the white machine gun shirt is Frankie Palmeri of the band Emmure. He is also recorded on Sleeping Giant’s album for this song. The song “Eyes Wide Open” written by Tommy Green, has lyrics that are judgmental towards the church, claiming it does not care about people and it shuts its doors on them, and that such people as him (Tommy Green) are true revivalists and revolutionaries for the faith. He even states that “all of heaven is standing with me.” Basically, it seems that he equates himself as the ultimate truth for what church or faith should be. So heaven is standing with him so we cannot question him. Well for me, as a Christian, I stand with Heaven not the other way around. I stand for God, God does not stand for me because I am a sinner. But if Tommy is simply saying Heaven has his back because he is right and we are wrong then ok….still he is just claiming we cannot question him because he is absolutely right and the Church is wrong.
Now if this music is supposed to be about true revival and prayer to a holy God it seems odd that he would team up with Frankie Palmeri, an unbelieving secularite who writes sexually vulgar and misogynistic lyrics, songs about killing ex-girlfriends, blasphemy against Jesus Christ (“Imaculate Misconception”) , promotes bad taste in t-shirt designs (Columbine Massacre images with “Shoot first ask questions later”), believes in Niribu Aliens, claims to have had outer body experiences and spiritual experiences viewing all people as one (New Age much?), claiming he saw his soul in the mirror and he had horns, and who has a general ignorance of the meaning of life or where we go after death (very post-modern new age nonsense). Not to mention Frankie Palmeri idolizes Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit (not only a bad role model but a terrible vocalist that shows Palmeri has a horrible taste in music and is a poser in a mainstream boring rap/metalcore band). Read the Lambgoat interview. Did Sleeping Giant think they would win major hardcore scene points for featuring him as a guest? It would seem the true secular underground hardcore scene would think this is a joke. Did Sleeping Giant think they would win Christian scene points by making them appear relevant to the world? I don’t know but I can tell you they only look stupid and hypocritical. Emmure is a talentless boring band, and Frankie Palmeri is a nutjob and unchristian in every way. So they lose hardcore respect by having him in the video as well as biblical Christian respect by being unequally yolked with someone opposed to the cause of Christ. What ministry invites a pagan to speak for them and promote them? Sleeping Giant has the appearance of evil. There excuse will probably be that they are witnessing Christ to Frankie Palmeri and Emmure and their fans. It didn’t seem to work, he is still the same. Why should he change if he is accepted just as he is without a need to repent of his sins and follow Christ!
Time to take a stand against false spirituality and start being full of Absolute Truth
Beware who you follow in this day and age! It is time for rational Christians who are fans of heavy music to either get out and stop supporting so called Christian bands, or start making bands that are theologically sound and care about true evangelization who are uninterested in trying to please the world. Or just walk away from the scene all together and move on with your life. There are too many sellout Christian bands who used Christians for financial gain and were fake to begin with, and too many false teachers in bands who are deceived by false spirituality. They are spreading their messages through their music to many impressionable kids and young people who are looking for the Truth and not getting it anywhere. What makes it dangerous is the fact many false-Christian bands who live completely secular lives and never mention Jesus are rampant, so when a false-spiritual band is very loud and yells Jesus a lot and Holy Spirit, and comes off as very spiritual for God it is easy to fall prey to the mystical lies. This is just a trick of Satan as he understands the desire for outright Christian bands who promote faith.
Christian hardcore kids who base their theology or spiritual ideas on what other bands say are no better than the secular hardcore kid who bases all of his political and social beliefs, and his life philosophies on what secular bands preach. It is time to stop being a zombie in a moshpit and start basing your beliefs on God’s Word. Stop being an emotionally weak person who is manipulated and think for yourself and stand back and check to see if what you are doing or what your friends are doing is in line with Scripture. Prove it or shut up! There is no room for effeminate “scene kids,” man up and study the bible like the Bereans!
Conclusion
It is also absolutely a shame that Biola University who started on the foundation of God’s Word and Biblical beliefs has gone so far left and off the narrow path to embrace such self proclaimed morons to speak to their students as if they are a spiritual “giant” and super deep, or have something profound to say when they basically have ADHD and sound like a lame version of Jim Carey or trying to be Wayne’s World. Giving people like this credibility and a pedestal to stand on and appear important is going to continue to lead more young minds into confusion and false teachings. This is undignified behavior for a man of God who is supposedly preaching such a serious topic. What is really pathetic is that Tommy Green claims Heaven looks like Venice and people are flying around. Even Paul could not elaborate or explain what He saw in Heaven and would not dare tell us in the Bible when HE ALONE was taken up to the Third-Heaven (read 2 Corinthians 12). He heard inexpressible words which man is not allowed to speak. It was such a rare thing in the Bible only Paul went to heaven and back, and it most definitely is a rare and non-occurring thing today. This is why the Bible is so special. Only false teachers seem to be making such claims and if everyone could just go to heaven it makes the Bible ordinary and nothing special. Paul would no longer be an important Apostle for us to study if everyone can do what he did. 1 Corinthians 2:9 says that “No eye has seen, nor ear has heard what God has prepared for those who love Him.” Yet, Tommy “Jesus is HOT and we are dating” Green, an immature believer who in no way is even close to Paul’s status and character was allowed to go to heaven while chillin’ at Starbucks and was given permission to tell everyone what he saw? Yeah riiiight. Also, God prepares things for those who love Him. So any room Jesus created is for those who are saved and love God. There will not be ANY empty rooms in heaven and all will be occupied with true believers. Make sure you are one of them by having true repentance and faith and do not believe the new Spiritual Deception of our post-modern and occult embracing evil age.
The Christian music scene needs to repent of its false spirituality and heretical proclamations about God. It is time to stop supporting music that does not base beliefs on the Bible, but inflated minds, time to stop supporting false Christian bands who live completely secular lives, and time to stop supporting ANYONE who uses the Christian faith to make money and gain popularity whether it be record labels or speakers, ministries or anyone else. Christians should not support Sleeping Giant or Facedown Records because they are promoting the New Spirituality and all of its false teachings. If Tommy Green or anyone in Sleeping Giant has read this I urge you to repent and re-study the Bible and seek an objectionable faith based on what Scripture says. I also urge Facedown Records to repent. Also, if any rational Christians are reading this who are not deceived by the New Age mysticism rampant in our churches today please pray for men like Tommy Green to find the true faith of Christ and that His eyes will actually be open to God’s Truth found in the Bible. I really hope Tommy Green will be able to reject the demon presence in his life that is giving him these false teachings and spirit of deception, and I hope he becomes mature in Christ.
I am sick of this “christcore” scene! I am not here to win scene points or impress band guys or “Mr. Hardcore scene Joe.” I am here to present God’s truth and I do not care who I have offended because I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ (Romans 1:16). Because it is the power that brings everyone to salvation away from eternal damnation in hell; and the days are evil and full of deception. I stand for biblical truth. I am not afraid to be shunned by the Christian Hardcore scene.
*Now if you have read this entire article good for you. I want to update you with news that other bands who promote a false spirituality in much the same manner as Sleeping Giant are For Today (especially singer Mattie Montgomery who promotes heresy and is against “Sola Scriptura” whether he understands that term or not; because he claims in his blog that no one can know what is right from wrong by reading a book but instead by some “hearing” of the spirit. Read: Homosexuality and the Rebellious Church. Another band is Clear Convictions, the Puerto Rican, Christian Hardcore band that just released a new album and was formerly on Strike First Records (Facedown Records sub label). I personally chatted on Facebook with the singer, Daniel A. Maldonado, who proceeded to call me a pharisee and worker of the devil after telling him to read this article. I still have the messages to prove it. So be warned and stop supporting bands that preach a sappy, shallow, and false spirituality while claiming Christ. Giving your money to these bands is giving money to false teachers who lead people astray.
The Boogie Men of the Philippines: Aswang, White Lady, Witches, Batibat, Spirits, Ghosts, And Demons!
The information in this article was obtained by word of mouth through interviews I conducted with actual native Filipinos living in the Metro Manila area of the Philippines, as well as a small amount of internet research.
Introduction
Many Filipinos are extremely superstitious people who believe in various myths and legends about spirit beings, witches, ghosts, monsters, and what westerners would label as “boogie men.” The majority of westerners believe such appiritions of “boogie men” are children’s stories and made simply to scare kids. On the other hand, while many educated Filipinos are losing their supertitious attitudes, there are still a very large percentage of Filipinos who believe these myths as fact. Even though most superstitious Filipinos are part of the lower class and less educated, still many of the highly educated combine superstitions with their “rational” worldview.
During the summer of 2009 in Pasig was able to ask some of the maids in the house I was staying at about who the boogie men of the Philippines are. They told me about two different supernatural creatures: TheAswang and The White Lady, as well as gave me a discussion on witches and magic. Some Filipino parents use these stories to scare their children for whatever reasons they desire whether it be for them to stay in at night or make them go to bed on time (this is a similar attitude compared to the westerners labeling these creatures as “boogie men”). In other cases, a lot of Filipinos grow up believing in these creatures even in their adult life. Some even have claimed to witness the monsters themselves. Let’s look into some of the supernatural creatures that are claimed to live in the Philippines, and inside Filipino communities throughout the world!
The Aswang: The UFO sightings of Filipino Monsters
The Aswang are creatures that live mainly in the rural areas in the Visayas region and Mindanao. It is also said that in Metro Manila, in the region of Antipolo there is high supernatural activity and many Aswang have been claimed to be seen there too. Waugh (2009) explains,
“In Northern Luzon the province of Antipolo is also known as popular sightings (sic) of Aswangs especially during the Holy Week ( Easter in the Philippines) were (sic) legend says that paranormal activities are at its peak during the 3 days that Christ was dead” (www.hauntedamericatours.com).
Most sightings remind of me the American Bigfoot sightings or UFO’s as there are pictures on the internet claiming to have captured the image of a real Aswang, yet the pictures are all grainy and hard to decipher. Aswang creatures are kind of like the American stories of Vampires in colonial times or witches, and are kind of a mix of both. During the day Aswang walk around town like regular human beings and have the appearance of people, but at night they change into their true form. The maids I interviewed said they could be either a man or a woman creature. At night they split their body in half and the top half flies around. The legs stay planted in the ground. The Aswang have long hair that is wavy, red eyes, and their wings according to one maid look like a bird’s wings, but most everyone else would say they have bat wings. Their teeth can be sharp, and some have human teeth. Aswang have extremely long tongues that slide out of their mouths so that they can eat unborn babies still inside the mother’s womb as the tongue slides up the birth canal to snatch the baby (this is very disgusting to picture). They are known to fly onto rooftops and wait for small children to catch or wait above windows for pregnant women to lay down (pregnancy is a dreadful time for superstitious Filipinos). They also feast on dead bodies, human hearts, intestines, and livers. They can attack people too. When the Aswang are done flying around they fly back to their legs and re-attach themselves to the lower half of the body and walk around again like humans. When an Aswang is far away, it makes a loud sound as if it is very close by. When it is close, it makes a very quiet sound that sounds as if it is far away. This is a trick they use to confuse people they want to attack. Filipinos say they make the sound of “tuktuk” or “took took” and these specific Aswang are called Tuktuk. The Aswang creatures are supernatural beings and have special powers. Most of them are shapeshifters as well and can turn into large black cats about the size of a dog.
Most Aswang talk is directed towards children to scare them in order to keep them inside at night so they will not mess around. But, many Filipinos actually believe in these creatures and are terrified of them. Garlic is an agent that harms Aswang. I was told by my Filipino friends that you can put garlic on the legs of an Aswang when it is flying around so when it lands on its legs again it will die. Aswang are the most feared ghouls of Filipinos and just talking about the subject, even bringing it up, can sometimes cause a Filipino to shudder. This is especially true for Filipinas in my experience. One maid I talked to in Antipolo, who was working in the house of a missionary I was staying in for a couple of weeks in 2009, looked stunned for an instant when I brought the subject up to her. I could see she was spooked and when I asked her if they really exist she did not know. Most Filipinos when asked about Aswang will say they do not know if it is true or not, but tend to believe they exist. So if someone wants to give a Filipina maid the creeps, just ask her if Aswang exist.
After speaking with these maids in Pasig I had taken a short trip to Boracay. One late afternoon towards evening, I was at the beach enjoying the beautiful weather. I looked up at the slowly darkening blue sky and I saw a very large creature with wings flying above the water extremely high in the air. I instantly thought, “Wow! An Aswang!” in a sarcastic manner. Above that creature even higher was another creature of the same kind. The large bat-like wings wafted in the air. Honestly, these creatures looked as if they were about the size of what an Aswang would be. I instantly knew in my heart though, that these creatures were just giant fruit bats. It makes me wonder if people are seeing these kinds of animals that God created and assuming they are Aswang.
The White Lady: Horrifying Mysterious Apparitions
Another creature is The White Lady who appears in houses or areas where someone has died. It does not matter according to the maids if the person who died was a man or a woman, The White Lady will still appear. All she does is appear and does not seem to do much of anything else, yet it terrifies superstitious Filipinos. The White Lady is exactly what it sounds like: a White/Caucasian woman in a dress. She is of European decent and I have no clue why the lady is literally a White lady and not a Filipina lady, but they said she appears nonetheless. I was told of a story where a young girl was murdered by a taxi driver on the side of a road in an area close to Pasig where we were staying. The taxi driver pulled up to the girl and shot her dead with a gun. There was no explanation or story of why the murder occured, but they say it did. Now, no taxi drivers, according to the girl who told me the story, dare to drive through that street at night. If they do The White Lady appears and they fear for their lives. I do not know the validity of this story, but it is a true example of the kinds of stories that are told when talking about The White Lady. This ghost is the most common ghost talked about with Filipinos. Filipinos (and Asians in general) are really obsessed with ghost sightings in photographs and in many other things. Even in the United States ghost fever is stirring. The TV show “Ghost Hunters” shows people getting scared out of their wits over silly noises and reflections. The United States has a lot of skeptics, but a belief in ghosts is becoming more common. The Philippines however, has a long history of spirits, witches and ghosts and almost everyone from the lowest class, to the higher educated and wealthy elite believe in the supernatural creatures of the night and darkness. One of my Filipino American friends’ mother was discussing with her brother about a time when she was a youth in the Philippines where a certain house had a ghost in it and she was alone in the room and knew someone was there with her. She screamed and ran out.
Talking about Aswang or The White Lady really creeps out some Filipinos and many will want to change the subject according to one Filipino friend I have. There are also many other Filipino mythological creatures that a large amount of Filipinos believe in due to their superstitious outlook on life. Filipinos also believe in witches. They believe in what seem to be wild mythological stories about witches, but in reality there really are human witches in the Philippines practicing witchcraft and occult arts.
Witches and Magic
Many Filipinos are stuck in beliefs about witchcraft that cause sickness and other misfortunes. I may not believe in sci-fi monsters or aliens, but I do believe in spiritual beings that God has created. These of course are angels, and then the fallen angels called demons. In many cases I believe witchcraft and occult magic works; it depends on the beliefs of the person who is effected by it. Demons will do the work in order to keep spiritual bondage on people. But for me as a Christian I am protected by the blood of Christ.
One of the maids in Pasig thought that since I got sick in Bacolod (I had nasty watery diarrhea for 2 1/2 days), a witch might have cursed me, or some young woman admired me so much that she accidently cursed me without even knowing it. This is called the evil eye. The evil eye is a belief that if another person envies another, or desires something so intensely they can accidently practice witchcraft and curse someone. The person could end up really sick or dead. So you can see how such superstition causes problems and points the finger at people. Do not get angry, do not envy, and be respectful or else you could get labeled a witch and taken out by the rest of the group. This has happened all throughout history. This is how people groups maintain societal control within their own in many cases around the world. After I told the maid I was sick and she expressed that it had to be a curse of witchcraft, she tried to lick her thumb and blow some air on me in some sort of quick ritual to dispell the black magic; but I instantly declined. She told me to beware of anyone because you can never know if they are a witch or not. If they touch your shoulder randomly, you need to touch them back to block the curse they probably put on you from that action. This idea makes me think of the fear so many superstitious people live in day to day. Just like the X-Files: trust no one. I do not believe in silly superstitions, and I do not believe that Satan’s power has anything over me. With other people who have no faith in Christ, spiritual ignorance exists. With such a person there is also no protection of the Holy Spirit that seals him. Satan is able to use that person in any way he wants. Ephesians 1:13 says, “In Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation—in Him when you believed—were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.” All Christians are portected by the blood of Jesus Christ. His Spirit lives in us. We know that all evil spirits are really demons, who are fallen angels headed for God’s wrath in the end. Satan himself is an angel. Jesus Christ is superior to angels and controls them (Hebrews 1:7).
The Philippines is a country with an ancient history of magic, witchcraft, and sorcery that have influenced the lives of it’s modern citizens. This type of belief is called Animism. It is a belief that everything has spirits and many of them are angry and must be appeased. This is where magic rituals and spells come into play. It keeps people living in fear. It has mixed in with the culture and religions of most Filipinos causing religious syncretism within even opposing religions. In many cases I believe people are told so much about these supernatural creatures that people want to believe they exist, and that they believe they have sighted one (whether or not it really was one or not). This is like my case in Boracay where I saw 2 giant fruit bats flying. I could have believed they were Aswang, but my desire to believe truth kept me. It kind of reminds me of the desires some people have for a powerfully emotional religious experience. These people lie to themselves and believe what they experienced has to be from God, when its really just their desire for something to happen turning into self- manipulation. They believe, simply because they want to. Rational Christians know belief in God is not a mysitcial emotional experience, but it is a faith lived out day by day in security.
What is Really Going On?
People who see Aswang sightings and other ghosts such as The White Lady carry the same attitudes that many UFO hunters have. It is like how David Duchovney’s character of Fox Mulder from the TV series “The X-Files” would say, “I want to believe” as his famous poster hung up in his FBI office with those words boldly blazed across it. Truth stands objective despite whether or not it is believed. Someone could want to believe in something false with all of their heart and still be wrong. The goal is to understand the truth of what is really occuring: spiritual oppression from Satan and his demons.
As human beings of course we have no power to defend ourselves against demons, but God does. Since we have God, we are protected by His unlimitted power. When the Devil or his power comes upon a person whether it be a general temptation to sin, or a demonic attack; the way out is to simply “Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). It is that simple. Christians should never live in a superstitious way of life where magic is countered by magic. These problems exist from influence of the superstitious movements invading Christianity that have mixed mysticism with Christianity; such as the spiritual warfare movement. These ideas have pervaded in the modern environment of missiology and are brought into already superstitious cultures making them even more confused about the works of God. The spiritual warfare movement has created ideas of how to combat spiritual forcs of darkness with extra biblical tactics. This becomes “Christian magic” that keeps men blind in spiritual ignorance, who then think of prayers, Scripture, and Faith as some kind of force or magic forumala to combat evil spirits. This attitude ignores faith in Jesus Christ for salvation. In reality the only spiritual warfare we need to do is what James says in verses 4:7-8, “submit to God,” and “draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” The Bible does not give extensive directions on how to combat spiritual forces, or exorcise demons out of people. But the simple commands it gives are sufficient enough for us to claim victory in the face of demonic oppression. It is up to the indidivual to seek after Christ and reject Satan to be free from demonic bondage. Just as it was the individuals actions of responding to Christ that gave them salvation. Humans hold no power over spiritual forces they do not understand. As it says in 2 Peter 2:10-12,
“Bold arrogant people! They do not tremble when they blaspheme the glorious ones; however; angels, who are greater in might and power, do not bring a slanderous charge against them before the Lord. But these people, like irrational animals–creatures of instinct born to be caught and destroyed—speak blasphemies about things they don’t understand.”
Even angels higher in rank and power do not cast insults at demons. Jude 1:8 says,
“Yet Michael the archangel, when he was disputing with the Devil in a debate about Moses’ body, did not dare bring an abusive condemnation against him, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you!'”
If even Michael the archangel cannot bring charges against Satan then how can we as humans? We have to do what the Bible says and resist Satan by calling to God for help. Macarthur (2006) explains the Christians confidence in Christ: “It’s wonderful to know that God is on our side. We are one with Him and fully protected in Christ” (p. 110).
The Spiritual Truth
Now are Aswang, White Lady, and ghost sightings real? It depends on what a person means by that. I personally believe in spirits which are demons that cause problems for people and can even try to overtake people who are involved in the dark arts, believe in sorcery, and not protected by Christ. I think it is possible that Filipinos are actually seeing what look like Aswang, White Lady ghosts, and more. If a Filipino actually does see such creatures and it is not the imagination, I believe that they are demons who have manifested themselve to look how the individual assumes such creatures should look in order to decieve them and strike fear in their arts. These demons have the goal of keeping such Filipinos spiritually ignorant in false belief systems. Satan wants Filipinos to stay superstitious and ignorant of Christ’s power so it should not be any suprise that he would use such tactics. Satan will appear, as will his demons, in anyway he needs to; whether it be a positive looking and sounding being of light, or a dark creature of terror; depending on what the individual is expecting. Demons could even appear as a UFO alien, which I believe he does all the time. We have to understand that Satan’s true name is Lucifer which means “the light bearer.” He was an glorious angel before he rebelled against God. He is also the father of lies. Is there any doubt he would appear in whatever way, shape, or form he can in order to decieve someone? In Revelation he will even appear as a Messiah figure when he possesses the Antichrist to take over the world in the future.
Real Demons
Face it people, demons do exist and they do manifest themselves from time to time. But if you are a Christian and you see such things constantly, you should get your soul checked out with some serious Bible study and prayer. It is not normal for people who follow Jesus Christ to see apparitions of demons. If you see them you either have an unhealthy interest in demons, or are involved in something you should not be (either a deep sin, or occult activites). Another reason is that you are a threat to Satan’s work. Also, if Satan thinks he has you owned and you are comming out of some kind of spiritual bondage be it from a great trial or deep sin then there is a possibility of a last effort to keep you. This will most likely be in the form of a huge temptation, but sometimes it can be an actual apparition.
An example of someone who has an unhealthy interest in demons was a girl I knew in college who was partnered with me on a class project. She would always talk about how every day she sees demons everywhere, and is sometimes attacked. Then she began to tell me she sees giant angels behind me. The girl was creepy. She was caught up in the Charismatic church movement which is a mystical form of religion that claims to be Christian and follow Jesus. More particularly she was part of the Vineyard Church group who is responsible for beliefs in dog barking, weird babbling tongues, visions of angels, and other ecstatic bizzare experiences. They are deep into the spiritual warfare movement. But her activities and interests did not seem to be helpful in her life since every day she was seeing demons bothering her. She obviously did not understand what the Bible says about such things. Colossians 2:18 says,
“Let no one disqualify you, insisting on ascetic practices and the worship of angels claiming access to a visionary realm and inflated without cause by his fleshly mind.”
Shadow demons, the Old Hag, and Ilicano Bitibat
Now let me give you an example of Satan trying to hold onto a person who is being called to the Lord in a last ditch effort to keep him. This is a personal experience I had. During my life I suffered from extreme depression and hatered. I was morbidly depressed and hopeless. When I finaly started becoming confident in Jesus Christ and the Bible, and began to practice true faith; because I could then comprehend the Truth, I felt as though life’s answers were finaly clear. One night as I was sleeping in my room in Louisville, Kentucky I had a visitor. I thought my mom was in my room or something, but no it was a shadow being of complete darkness and it was overtaking me and paralyzing me so I could not move. It crawled on top of me in my bed and I saw it looking into my eyes as I felt my entire self being pushed aside as if it was trying to take over my body. I did not know what was going on and was full of terror. I could not move so I weakly tilted my head and eyes away from it and began to pray for Jesus’s help and began calling to God to save me and make the demon go away. Instantly it was gone and I was laying there wondering if it was a dream. I realized I was awake the whole time so it could not have been a dream. I did not sleep for 4 days after that happened, I tell you that. Nevertheless, I realized that night that true protection is in Christ and all it takes is a resistence to the Devil and calling upon God alone for protection. More occurences happened another time later in life as well as a few times being paralyzed and only feeling an entity, but not seeing it. I also had a few bizarre dreams with creatures as well as an old woman putting me in a trance and paralyzing me. Each time the answer was to call out to Jesus for help and it worked. A human cannot resist an angel’s power. Only God has that power and authority. So if you ever find yourself in a situation like I did remember what the Bible says. “Therefore, submit to God. But resist the Devil and he will flee from you.” James 4:7. The point is not that you have to believe me even though the story I told you is true. You might think I was hallucinating or mistaken. I do not care. It does not matter to me. I only care that you focus on the Word of God and seek Him for the answers to free your spirit.
These sleep occurences of being attacked by shadow people and paralyzed at night are common throughout the world. Even the old woman is a common sighting. In Western folklore, historically it has been known as the Old Hag, which is a female spirit that attacks you in the sleep. Filipino culture calls it Batibat, which is a huge fat woman that lives in trees and if you cut down a tree to use to build your house she comes in with it. This comes from Ilicano folklore. In my case the old woman was skinny. No matter what shape these manifestations can come in depending on individual cultural explanations, they are all the same idea; that there are spirit beings who attack people and try to possess their bodies or kill them.
Such common occurences of similar sightings cannot be explained scientifically, but the secular humanist scientists still try to explain it away by labeling the experiences of feeling, seeing, and being controlled by demons as an effect of the sleep disorder called Sleep Paralysis. While sleep paralysis might be a real medical problem the sightings of shadow creatures, old hags, or other monsters are not explained by science. They are explainable only by the reality of a spiritual world where demons are actually intereacting with humans to fight against God.
Conclusion
Whether real or not real, Filipino folklore and mythology is interesting. The Philippines is only one in thousands of cultures who experience the same problems with demonic power through magic, witchcraft, and sorcery. Many cultures see apparitions of strange supernatural creatures and each has their own idea of what monsters, or the boogie men are. It is a fun study, yet the realities of spiritual oppression are ever present. May more Filipinos, and people of all cultures, break the bonds of spiritual ignorance brought on by Satan, and come to saving faith and protection in Jesus Christ our God and savior (Titus 2:13)!
References
(2004). Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard Bible. Nashville, TN: Holman Publishers.
Macarthur, J. (2006). Standing strong: how to resist the enemy of your soul. Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook.
Waugh, L.L.H. (2009). “The Real Ghost and Strange Cryptids of the Philippines Makes it the Most Haunted Islands in the World”. Retrieved November, 3, 2009 , from http://www.hauntedamericatours.com/PHILIPPINES.php
Bill O’Reilly said “transcendental meditation helps these kids.” And then he thanked Paul McCartney for supporting the David Lynch Foundation. Bill O’Reilly is a Roman Catholic and he sees nothing wrong with TM. This speaks volumes about how Catholics are so susceptible to the New Age within their mystical practices as well as undiscerning conservatives who have no sense of true biblical faith, but are only politically conservative. Bill O’Reilly is seen by millions of people every night as one of the top rated news and politics shows on TV. He is very influential and has authored several history books such as Killing Lincoln, Killing Kennedy, Killing Jesus, Killing Patton, and others. He sees absolutely nothing wrong with TM or what David Lynch promotes and fully supports it and thinks it is a wonderful thing for children. 
ages to prepare this man to take control. The Antichrist is satanically prepared by the devil himself, and most likely will be physically possessed by Satan. Much like demons possess people and control them, Satan will be possessing the Antichrist.
Aswang creatures are kind of like the American stories of Vampires in colonial times or witches, and are kind of a mix of both. During the day Aswang walk around town like regular human beings and have the appearance of people, but at night they change into their true form. The maids I interviewed said they could be either a man or a woman creature. At night they split their body in half and the top half flies around. The legs stay planted in the ground. The Aswang have long hair that is wavy, red eyes, and their wings according to one maid look like a bird’s wings, but most everyone else would say they have bat wings. Their teeth can be sharp, and some have human teeth. Aswang have extremely long tongues that slide out of their mouths so that they can eat unborn babies still inside the mother’s womb as the tongue slides up the birth canal to snatch the baby (this is very disgusting to picture). They are known to fly onto rooftops and wait for small children to catch or wait above windows for pregnant women to lay down (pregnancy is a dreadful time for superstitious Filipinos). They also feast on dead bodies, human hearts, intestines, and livers. They can attack people too. When the Aswang are done flying around they fly back to their legs and re-attach themselves to the lower half of the body and walk around again like humans. When an Aswang is far away, it makes a loud sound as if it is very close by. When it is close, it makes a very quiet sound that sounds as if it is far away. This is a trick they use to confuse people they want to attack. Filipinos say they make the sound of “tuktuk” or “took took” and these specific Aswang are called Tuktuk. The Aswang creatures are supernatural beings and have special powers. Most of them are shapeshifters as well and can turn into large black cats about the size of a dog.
house of a missionary I was staying in for a couple of weeks in 2009, looked stunned for an instant when I brought the subject up to her. I could see she was spooked and when I asked her if they really exist she did not know. Most Filipinos when asked about Aswang will say they do not know if it is true or not, but tend to believe they exist. So if someone wants to give a Filipina maid the creeps, just ask her if Aswang exist.
Another creature is The White Lady who appears in houses or areas where someone has died. It does not matter according to the maids if the person who died was a man or a woman, The White Lady will still appear. All she does is appear and does not seem to do much of anything else, yet it terrifies superstitious Filipinos. The White Lady is exactly what it sounds like: a White/Caucasian woman in a dress. She is of European decent and I have no clue why the lady is literally a White lady and not a Filipina lady, but they said she appears nonetheless. I was told of a story where a young girl was murdered by a taxi driver on the side of a road in an area close to Pasig where we were staying. The taxi driver pulled up to the girl and shot her dead with a gun. There was no explanation or story of why the murder occured, but they say it did. Now, no taxi drivers, according to the girl who told me the story, dare to drive through that street at night. If they do The White Lady appears and they fear for their lives. I do not know the validity of this story, but it is a true example of the kinds of stories that are 
told when talking about The White Lady. This ghost is the most common ghost talked about with Filipinos. Filipinos (and Asians in general) are really obsessed with ghost sightings in photographs and in many other things. Even in the United States ghost fever is stirring. The TV show “Ghost Hunters” shows people getting scared out of their wits over silly noises and reflections. The United States has a lot of skeptics, but a belief in ghosts is becoming more common. The Philippines however, has a long history of spirits, witches and ghosts and almost everyone from the lowest class, to the higher educated and wealthy elite believe in the supernatural creatures of the night and darkness. One of my Filipino American friends’ mother was discussing with her brother about a time when she was a youth in the Philippines where a certain house had a ghost in it and she was alone in the room and knew someone was there with her. She screamed and ran out.
something so intensely they can accidently practice witchcraft and curse someone. The person could end up really sick or dead. So you can see how such superstition causes problems and points the finger at people. Do not get angry, do not envy, and be respectful or else you could get labeled a witch and taken out by the rest of the group. This has happened all throughout history. This is how people groups maintain societal control within their own in many cases around the world. After I told the maid I was sick and she expressed that it had to be a curse of witchcraft, she tried to lick her thumb and blow some air on me in some sort of quick ritual to dispell the black magic; but I instantly declined. She told me to beware of anyone because you can never know if they are a witch or not. If they touch your shoulder randomly, you need to touch them back to block the curse they probably put on you from that action. This idea makes me think of the fear so many superstitious people live in day to day. Just like the X-Files: trust no one. I do not believe in silly superstitions, and I do not believe that Satan’s power has anything over me. With other people who have no faith in Christ, spiritual ignorance exists. With such a person there is also no protection of the Holy Spirit that seals him. Satan is able to use that person in any way he wants. Ephesians 1:13 says, “In Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation—in Him when you believed—were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.” All Christians are portected by the blood of Jesus Christ. His Spirit lives in us. We know that all evil spirits are really demons, who are fallen angels headed for God’s wrath in the end. Satan himself is an angel. Jesus Christ is superior to angels and controls them (Hebrews 1:7).
complete darkness and it was overtaking me and paralyzing me so I could not move. It crawled on top of me in my bed and I saw it looking into my eyes as I felt my entire self being pushed aside as if it was trying to take over my body. I did not know what was going on and was full of terror. I could not move so I weakly tilted my head and eyes away from it and began to pray for Jesus’s help and began calling to God to save me and make the demon go away. Instantly it was gone and I was laying there wondering if it was a dream. I realized I was awake the whole time so it could not have been a dream. I did not sleep for 4 days after that happened, I tell you that. Nevertheless, I realized that night that true protection is in Christ and all it takes is a resistence to the Devil and calling upon God alone for protection. More occurences happened another time later in life as well as a few times being paralyzed and only feeling an entity, but not seeing it. I also had a few bizarre dreams with creatures as well as an old woman putting me in a trance and paralyzing me. Each time the answer was to call out to Jesus for help and it worked. A human cannot resist an angel’s power. Only God has that power and authority. So if you ever find yourself in a situation like I did remember what the Bible says. “Therefore, submit to God. But resist the Devil and he will flee from you.” James 4:7. The point is not that you have to believe me even though the story I told you is true. You might think I was hallucinating or mistaken. I do not care. It does not matter to me. I only care that you focus on the Word of God and seek Him for the answers to free your spirit.
Ehud's 18 Inch Dagger 
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