The Return of Idol Worship and the Occult, Part 2

The Return of Idol Worship and the Occult, Part 2
Thursday, October 30, 2025 by Dr. James W. Walraven

Categories: Apologetics / Apostasy / Contemporary issues / Scripture discussion / Spiritual deception / Spiritual warfare / The church / Thought for Today

Idol worship. One of the marks of God’s judgment we see recorded in Scripture against a nation is the rise of idol worship. That not includes a rise of paganism in general, but also the infiltration and capture of the church, of God’s commands regarding worship.

Biblically, perhaps the most severe example we find is that of what took place in Israel under king Manasseh. He more or less brought every pagan practice into the Temple (we will look at him in detail at some point). His actions brought on the certainty of Jerusalem’s destruction by Babylon. God’s judgment against them became irreversible.

What does that have to do with us? Or so you may ask. One doesn’t have to go very far to find current day parallels. Take, for example, revised versions of the Lord’s Prayer, found by doing simple Google searches. The following two are found in the United Methodist Church, at Minnesotaumc.org:

Version 1:

Eternal Spirit, Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver, Source of all that is and that shall be, Father and Mother of us all, Loving God, in whom is heaven: The hallowing of your name echo through the universe! The way of your justice be followed by the peoples of the world! Your heavenly will be done by all created beings! Your commonwealth of peace and freedom sustain our hope and come on earth. With the bread we need for today, feed us. In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us. In times of temptation and testing, strengthen us. From trials too great to endure, spare us. From the grip of all that is evil, free us. For you reign in the glory of the power that is love, now and for ever. Amen.

Version 2:

Oh Thou, from whom the breath of life comes, who fills all realms of sound, light and vibration. May Your light be experienced in my utmost holiest. Your Heavenly Domain approaches. Let Your will come true - in the universe (all that vibrates) just as on earth (that is material and dense). Give us wisdom (understanding, assistance) for our daily need, detach the fetters of faults that bind us, (karma) like we let go the guilt of others. Let us not be lost in superficial things (materialism, common temptations), but let us be freed from that what keeps us from our true purpose. From You comes the all-working will, the lively strength to act, the song that beautifies all and renews itself from age to age. Sealed in trust, faith and truth. (I confirm with my entire being)

Here is a widely distributed feminist version taken from the same website. It is believed to be authored by Karen Loveland, though that is not certain:

Our mother, which art the earth, Nurturing are thy ways. Thy web of life be woven Thy way be found within, As it is all around. Thank you this day for our daily bread and work and forgive us our misuse of you, as we forgive others their misuse of us. And lead us not into exploitation, But deliver us From lording it over you, And over each other, And over all our other fellow creatures. For thine are the waters of life, The hills, valleys and plains of home, The breeding, seeding, feeding ground, For now, and for as close to forever As we will ever come. Ah, woman!

While showing up in more traditionally “religious” circles, as opposed to the blatant dancing before physical idols at Defqon.1, both are equally pagan, aren’t they? One could even make the case that the prayers are worse. The dancing at Defqon.1 did not hide what it was, while these modified “Lord’s Prayers” are often found within communities that still call themselves “Christian” in some sense. That the communities have departed from biblical precepts is besides the point.

Either way, the result is the same: eternal death. It is vital that we remain steadfast in biblical truth and not buy what the culture is selling: a return to classic paganism and the occult, often sold in “Christian” religious garb.

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