Page 2841 - 1970S

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by Daniel Robert
BOGOTA: Last August, Colombia's
beautiful capital hosted the first inter–
national gathering of the World Coo–
gress of Witcheraft. About 3,000
magidans, soroerers, and witches, 200
reporters, and close to 150,000 visitors
from aJJ over the world attended the
meetin~. .
More than a congress on the occu1t,
the confercnoe seemed to be a giant
. trade fair. Tbere was tbe same atm<>–
sphere, tbe same type of sttucture, the
same producu for sale: wasbmg ma–
chines. blenders, encyclopedias. carpets,
grooeries. There was only one (pur–
ported) dilferenoe: tbe devil's presenoe!
A ridiculous lillle devil was displayed in
every stand. either riding a broorn, read–
ing an encyclopedia, or eating "Brand
xn ham (which, of coursc, was adver·
tised as "deviled hamj. .
Bul this crass onmmerc:ialism wasn't
the most ludicrous aspect of tbe onn–
gress. lt was, rather, tbe devil's OW!I,.fC~·
resentative$ - those' falcey magicfans
who seemed 10 be fugitives from sorne
child's sto,.Ybook: gaudy gurus, spouling
olf their bi.iarre lheology witb tbe same
profundity tbey had previously used to
try to seU us a dlsbwasber; fortune tell–
ers peddlin& their predictions lik.e street
ven.dors.
For sorne strange reason. tbe clairvoy–
ant charlatans seemed to predict the
same future for aU their customers:
"Tbere are grea1 prospects of suocess in
your future; nexl year you will take a
trip; if you make more of an elfort. you
wiU achieve your desired goal"
Tbe same bland predictability held
true for the muc:h-touted voodoo cesern«~y:
Before a crowd that was ready 10 be
scared at tbe slighlest provocation (afler
aU, tbat's whal 1hey had paid for) and
over the sbouls of waiters dressed in
tuxedos who were selling ham and
cheese sandwiches and orange-llavored
drinb, the voodoo oeremony began.
One onuld say many things about the
ri tual - .. ooisy. •• ••colorrut_''
"FioUywoodesque" - but it oertainly
was not cruel. lnstead of sacrificing a
live rooster, che witch doctor "sacri–
ficed" a stuJI'ed one.
Tbe services for lhe press and other
visitors were nearly nonexlstent. The
seats that were provided for the press
onuld very well have passed for tor1ure
instrumen.ts from the lnquisítion, while
tbe information personnel seemed to
bave beco tumed into deaf-mules by
sorne disgruntled soroerer. Despite Uri
Geller's presenoe, not one of tbe clocks
seemed to work properly, and none of
tbe preseotations began on time. lo the
hall. the sound 5Ctmed to emerge from a
cavem. and there was oo keeping ttack
of tbe stolen or los1 microphones, cam–
eras, film and acoessories.
WEEK EI'IOING I'IOVEMBER 1, 1975
There was, however, no dearth of in–
teresting people 10 meet: Simón Gontá–
lez, che "Warlocks' Pope" and the chief
organizer of the event; genuine witches
from the Colombian Sierra Nevada;
Higb Priest Yogakri.shnanda, spiritual
guide and guru; Latio American UFO
expert Enrique Castillo, who claimed to
have arrived at the congress afler a long
trip on a UFO; arid a ceítain promotor
who clañmd to be a clase friend of God,
but who erroneously propbesied that a
certain reporter would write a onver
story about her.
AU tbe participants were by oo means
this bizarre. Jusi enougb science and
parapsychology were included to keep
up the interest of serious demonologists.
Thirty-two expcrts on parapsychology
spoke on various aspects of their spe–
cialty. Sorne of the outstanding partici–
pants included Dr. Jean Mayo of
St.anford, Dr. J. M. Sanchez.-Perez of
Mexion, Dr. Tbelma Moss of U.C.L.A.,
aod Uri Geller. who was busy bendiog
forks .and knives and mysteriously re–
'pairing old clocks and appliances
througb sheer "conoenttation."
On the last day of the onngress, the
delegates reoeived the foUowing tele–
gram: ·"To Mr. Simón González, Chief
Sorcerer, First World Congress on
Witchcrafl. Bogotá. Dear Simon: Have
enjoyed congress tremendously. Tail
witbered. Homs fell out. Hope to be
invited to oext year's gatheriog. Your
brotber and Master, tbe Devil."
Despite tbe devil's aUeged enjoymen1
of tbe event. the end result was appar–
ently a fioancial, moral and inteUectual
Joss for the foroes of evil. Altbough four–
teen countries are now compeüng for
the dubious honor of hosting next year's
congress, the devil has sulfered an ir–
reparable loss of prestige. The joke, il
seems, was on Sacan, who was ridiculed,
abused, and exploited.
As a feUow reponer onmmented, "For
beaven's sake! Where are tbe devil's na/
representatives? H ave tbey become an
extinct species?"
lo order to answer this reporcer's
timely question, Jet us consider whal the
Bible has to say about Salan the devil.
~Real Devil
From the bíblica! point of view. the
congress was not a joke on Satan, but on
the wor/d, for baving fallen into a clev–
erly devised trap. While everyone was
busy poking f\Jn a 1 a fun.ny red devi l
with an old-fashíoned goatee, pitchforlc,
tail and calf-lilce homs, the Bible spealcs
of a powerful spirit being wbo appears
asan angel oflight.
Satan was not always "Satan." He was
once caUed Lucifer, which means "light–
briñger" or "angel of ligbt." He was ere-
ated with P.ñecc beauty and wiSdom
and was placed by God as seonnd in
command over his creation. But Lucifer
allowed vanity co ge1 the better of bim.
He actuaUy thoughl he coulá ovenhrow
God hirnself.
As the prophet Ezeltiel wrote, "Thou
sealest up tbe sum, full of wisdom, and
perfect in beauty. Tbou hast been tn
Eden the garden of God ... Thou are
the anointed cherub that onveretb ...
Tbou wast pcrfect in tby ways from the
day that lhou wasl created, t.iJJ iniquity
was foUJJd ·in thee ... Tbine heart was
lifled up because of thy beauty, thou
hast corrupted tby wisdom by reason of
thy brigbtness: 1 will cast thee to the
ground ..." (Eukiel28: 12-11).
.Tbe prophet lsaiah continues thc
story: "How an tbou filien from
heaven. O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How art .thou cut down to the ground,
which didst wealcen the nations. For
thou bast said in thine· heart, l will as–
cend into beaven, 1 wilJ exalt my throne
above tbe stars ofGod .... 1wilJ be like
the most Higb" (lsaiah 14: 12-14). •
And so-Lucifer became Satan, mean–
ing "adversary." In the Ne'w Testament,
Christ said to hl• disciples, "l beheld
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Here's a sampling of topics covered:
God'a Master Plan for Manklnd
• The Pu<pose of r«e
• Man's awesome potential
• Living laws ot SUC08$S
• Death, "hell" and salvation
Prophecy
• The essential keys
• Modern nations ident¡fied
• Armageddon
• Propllet«: symtJols
• Encl-lime chronology
Satan as lightoing fall from beaven"
(Luke 10: 18). Satan fe// and is now on
chis eartb. Christ caUs him the "prince of
this world" (John 12:31 and 14:30). Paul
called blm "the god of tbis world"
(U Corintbians 4:4), and John, in tbe
book of Revelation, categorically states
that Satan deoeives all nations (Revela–
tion 12:9).
How can this be? Paul answers,
"... for Sacan himself is transformed
into an angel of light. Tberefore it is no
greal thing if hls minlsters also be trans–
formed as the ministers of rigbteous–
ness ..."(JI Corinthians 11: 14-15).
Satan sways tbls world by posing as a
messenger of lig.bt. His representatives,
far from being typified by the ridiculous
antics and s~n~nge attire of the motley
group present at the World Congress of
Wítchcral\, are actually posing as re–
spectable "ministers of rigbteousness."
Where did the witchcrafl dele~ates get
tbe ridiculous notion that a little red
devil with a lail and a pitchfork has
anything to do with the Satan of tbe
Bible? Wbile such people exploit, abuse,
and malee fun of a false image of the
devil, they're definitely not dealing with
the REAL "god oflhis world." CJ
There lsno tUttion chargeor obliga·
tion- and lhere are no tests 10send
in. You evaluate your progress in the
privacy ol your home. Simpty foil out
and retum the coupon.
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