Your Child and the New Age Chapter 13 Books and Magazines that Corrupt Young Minds

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While relatives and friends cheered their favorite team, two girls huddled in the lower left corner of the stands, oblivious to the thrills of a championship Little League game. They sat bent over a magazine. Only occasionally did they thing break their silent concentration to point out something special on a page, to giggle, or to share a look of surprise.

Toward the end of the game, the two young teens finally closed the magazine and exposed the title: Sassy. Curious about its power to hold their attention, I bought a copy at the local supermarket the next day.

It opened my eyes to a new teen culture. (Or, is the new teen culture being formed by Sassy and other pacesetters?) In addition to gorgeous faces and bodies matched with corresponding beauty tips, it showed how to stay physically fit and "get the coolest look going." After putting on a pair of black Lycra biking shorts and a T-shirt sporting a picture of a glaring skull "slap some skate stickers, like metallic skulls and peace signs, on everything in sight. Anything else you can find with crossbones, '60s' symbols and gore galore (like severed hands and heads) will do it too.... Now pick up the latest issue of Thrasher magazine, start saying words like 'tear, thrash and rip.'"¹

Through compassionate interviews, Sassy brought the reader into the hearts of lesbian and gay couples. It encouraged its reader to use a cervical cap, know the best rock groups, and see the right movies. For example, avoid the low-rated (or near bomb) Casual Sex. "After all, what's so funny about watching a couple of L.A. chicks doing what every average sexually active person on Earth is doing?"²

One page brought the reader up to date on what was "sassy" these days - groovy words like groovox; and what was not - stone-washed denims. Under the column, "Comic Books Are Your Friends," it gave a list of "which comic books are hippest: The Uncanny X-Men, Batman: The Killing Joke, Lone Wolf and Club, Elfquest, and Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.³

I decided that if this is what the girls are reading, I'd better check it out. So I stopped by the local comic book store and read off the list to the salesman. He pointed to his display of the latest hits. My list matched his. Since he had sold the last Batman: The Killing Joke, he suggested I substitute with The Punisher, and Mai, the Psychic Girl - two more top sellers. Because I was beginning to feel uncomfortable in his shop, I quickly bought them all.

"How old are the kids who buy these," I asked before hurrying out.

"Every age," he answered. "From little kids to adults."

"How can kids afford it?"

"No problem," he smiled. "They've got bucks!"

When I arrived home and began to skim through these contemporary treasures, I could hardly believe what I saw. Young children read this? Pornography, cruelty, sadism, violence, and occultism leaped out from the pages. In less than five minutes I had skimmed through all I could take.

Selfism, Sex, and Violence

The word sassy describes an attitude modeled in today's movies, peer groups, and classrooms as well: "given to back talk, impertinent, physically vigorous, distinctively smart or stylish."⁴ It matches the selfism rampant today: I choose my own way, create my own reality; I am essentially perfect and divinely powerful; I am my own god!

Have you noticed how consistently this arrogant attitude comes through Popular comic strips? Lazy, cynical Garfield, the macabre humor of Far Side, and the delightful, incorrigible Calvin and Hobbes demonstrate the same deception: success and popularity come by arrogant self-confidence, macho self-sufficiency, manipulative control, and a sarcastic kind of put-down that masquerades as humor.

The young adult section of our local library – "for twelve-year-olds to high School seniors," says our librarian - spreads a more subtle form of the "sassy" attitude. Tempting adult-sized novels make humanist/New Age values seem normal, fun, and beautiful.

Judy Blume, "godmother of upscale adolescent realism"⁵ writes captivating novels for preteens and adolescent girls. While her books seek to guide children through some of the most confusing years of their lives, they also accomplish what humanists demand and teenagers desire: the separation of sexual cravings and expressions from all social or spiritual restraints. They answer questions, delight the imagination, and help teenagers overcome fears, "old-fashioned misconceptions," and guilt.

Kids have a right to read about decent kids who are involved in sexual relationships and nothing bad happens. Sex without punishment is very important. (Judy Blume)

Blume's Forever, "the volume most requested by teens in the New York public Library," tells about a young girl’s first experiences with sexual intimacy. A heartwarming and persuasive story, it gives young readers an encouraging how-to manual for intercourse, birth control, and handling concerned parents: "Don't tell them, for it is 'hard for parents to accept the facts.’"⁶

Equally hard for parents to accept are the facts behind our children's popular role models. Beckoning from a rack in the children's library, Duran-Duran by Toby Goldstein tells about the "cute" rock group that pioneered pornographic music videos. Leaving out the sordid details of their seductive songs and films, the book presents an enticing commercial for Duran-Duran's demoralizing products.

The violence and vulgarity in The Chocolate Wars by Robert Cormier do not prevent ft from being required reading for many eighth-graders. Concerning its author, a book editor for San Jose Mercury News comments: "Nobody who's fifteen wants a kidddie book, and Cormier doesn't write 'em. His thrillers come with adult-sized portions of sex, disillusionment, intrigue, and conflict. In Fade, he crosses The Invisible Man, The Bad Seed, and the collected works of Stephen King."⁷

Promoting New Age Beliefs and Practices

A selection of "bedtime fantasies to build self-esteem" fills a pretty little book by Michael Pappas titled, Sweet Dreams for Little Ones. One of them reads: "Your name is _________ Strong. You have special powers… You are very strong and can lift anything that you want to, no matter how big or heavy it is… you use your power only to help people."⁸

While this may sound appealing, like many of the beautiful children’s books available today, it teaches Guided Imagery – but not by God’s spirit; Visualization – but not based on truth; Supernatural Power – but not God’s.

Remember the best counterfeit is the most dangerous deception. And it may not be new. If you didn’t read The Secret Garden as a child, you could hardly miss it today. Prominently displayed in bookstores, it has experienced an amazing revival because it fits the basic New Age tenents.

When I first read it, I didn’t notice that Francis Hodgson Burnett had written a persuasive argument for pantheism. Without preaching, she identifies her god: a gentle, healing force that permeates all of nature. She calls it Magic.

Typical of most manifestations of the "beautiful side of evil," this magic takes on

It is true that what we think influences how we act. But [The Secret Garden] is saying more than that. It is saying that ideas actually make things happen. What we think creates reality. [This] is akin to the occult view that the material world is an emanation of mental and spiritual reality – and therefore if we change the mental world, we can create a new material reality.⁹

divine characteristics and accomplishes marvelous feats – just like God. Hear it from the children’s mouths. Notice how their beloved Magic exhibits all the characteristics of a New Age god.

· God is in everything (pantheism). "Everything is made out of Magic" says invalid Colin, "leaves and trees, flowers and birds, badgers and foxes and squirrels and people.

... The Magic is in me.... It is in everyone of us... "¹⁰ India-born Mary and Dickon, who share a special oneness with plants and animals, agree. They taught him.

· God is an impersonal force. "If you keep calling it [the Magic] to come to you and help you, it will get to be part of you and it will stay and do things!"¹¹

· Man can control and harness this cosmic power through mental exercises, creating his own imagined reality. "Every morning and evening…" vows Colin, "I am going to say, ‘Magic is in me! Magic is making me well!’"¹² Later the children sit cross-legged under a tree – "like sitting in sort of a temple" as Colin chants affirmations about the magic, ending with, "Magic! Magic! Come and help!"¹³

In the end, a strong, happy Colin testifies to the power of Magic - and to Satan’s delight in focusing man’s faith on a compliant substitute for God.

Loving the Occult

What kinds of books do you like to read?" I asked a ten-year-old.

"Science fiction," she answered.

"What are some of your favorites?"

"The books by Zilpha Keatley Snyder. I just finished The Headless Cupid." She told me the story.

"That sounds more like psychic fiction than science fiction. What do you think?"

"I guess so. But it's real adventuresome."

"How do you feel when you read stories like The Headless Cupid? Spooky and a little scared?"

"It's exciting and fun. I like it."

The children's library has other books by Snyder. "Fifth and sixth-graders love them!" affirmed the librarian. I checked out The Witches of Worm, a story about a demon-possessed kitten who gets a lonely little girl into all sorts of trouble. In the end, the heroine researches witchcraft, learns an occult version of exorcism, and apparently proves man's power to subdue the irascible forces of evil.

Preschoolers also love the scary and magical. Beautiful picture books tell ugly stories about witchcraft, magic, and sorcery. A book for toddlers, Little Witch's Magic Spells, even comes with a toy witch.

Elementary children read books like Bunnicula by Deborah and James Howe - a tale about a little dracula bunny who mysteriously escapes his cage each night to scavenge in the kitchen. Mom and Dad just can't figure out why vegetables turn white and have fang marks in them.

Worn pages and wrinkled covers prove the popularity of library series like the Dragontales and Endless Quest books, where the reader is the hero. Both equip youngsters with every kind of occult power.

The latter is published by the producers of Dungeons and Dragons. In Rose Estes' Dragon of Doom, you conquer an evil magician with your magical ring, spells, mind-linking with your companions to strengthen the force, entering into trance states, clairvoyance, mental telepathy, and the wisdom of today's "values clarification." Confronting the dreaded Dragon of Doom, you offer this contemporary guideline which supposedly justifies any action: "[Destroy mankind] because you choose to and not because you have been ordered to do so. It must be your decision."¹⁴

Libraries and book stores offer an equally menacing menu to teenagers. Even sixth- and seventh-graders devour seductive medleys of science fiction, sex, occult, and psychic adventure - including the adult horrors of Stephen King. These fantasies draw their minds into a demonic dream world where psychic phenomena, sensual highs, and occult terrors become as familiar as roses and rainbows.

Painting a New World

The cruel power struggle of The Chocolate Wars illustrates the selfishness of human nature and the horrors of anarchy. Without some kind of strength to maintain peace and justice, the strong will oppress the weak - in schools, in communities, in cities, in nations, and around the world. History proves it. Yet man continues to reach for fragile bubbles, like the dream of a more perfect mankind who - apart from God - can stop competing and live in peace.

The Butter Battle Book by Dr. Seuss, a tragicomic globalist parable, implies that wars rise from trivial differences such as buttering bread on the wrong side - which is what the Zooks do! But the Yooks spread their bread "with the butter side up ... the right, honest way!"¹⁵

The silly war between the Yooks and Zooks escalates from slingshots to the Bitsy Big-Boy Boomeroo, a Seuss-sized atom bomb. Meanwhile the Right-Side-Up Girls sing an inspiring anthem: "Oh, be faithful! Believe in thy butter!"

The last page shows two representatives - Grandpas Yook and Zook - each ready to drop the deadly bomb over enemy territory. The final words seem designed to raise fear, but - like globalist programs in schools - offer only a biased, uninformed glimpse of an extremely complex and painful dilemma. "Grandpa," I shouted, "be careful! Oh Gee! Who’s going to drop it? Will you ... ? Or will he...?"¹⁶

We all hate war. We want to live. But sometimes God calls us to stand firm in what we believe - even to the point of risking our lives. Of course, this kind of self-sacrifice is not an issue these days. Self-fulfillment is, and the world offers many tempting ways.

Older children feast on a fantastic assortment Of futuristic dreams. While science fiction needs no scientific basis, it builds plausible visions of an evolving universe and an omnipotent mind - whether human, robotic, or alien. Some stories are witty and nonsensical like Douglas Adams' series on The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. (You can even get a matching video game.) Others tell about global overpopulation, resettlements on other planets, time travel, fantastic humanoid robots who free man from the drudgery of work, mental, and spiritual transcendence, "probability patterns" that break every impossible barrier.... Often the fantastic illusions include distorted images of God - molded to fit the author's dream - along with selected Scriptures to add credibility.

If students can discern between fiction and fact, some of these books provide thought-provoking reading. But we should not let futuristic visions and unwarranted fears obscure God's view of the. future. The Bible tells us that God is preparing a new world where His love and power will guarantee genuine peace. He invites everyone to come. The door - Jesus Christ Himself - stands open and waiting. As He watches, He weeps over those who turn to go their own way. For the tragedy is that while Jesus loves all people, most of them are distracted by counterfeit visions of present and future life, and few accept His invitation.

Meanwhile, God is training His people for eternity with Him. He equips us to follow truth in a world that hates His Word and writes its own gospel. Are your children prepared to recognize and resist the counterfeit?

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His incomparably great power for us who believe (Ephesians 1:17-19)

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Chapter 14

What Can Parents Do?

When children from nine years of age upward are led to believe that [contemporary teen novels] reflect how most people live, then their conduct will certainly be influenced... If more acceptable conduct is desired by society, then society must hold before young people more acceptable conduct (Pro-Family Forum)

Literature that fails to thrill, titillate, or terrorize doesn't get far in today's secular marketplace. Shallow and provocative substitutes for good literature seduce rather than build noble character. Traditionally, the classroom has been a purveyor of character-building books. It still is, but what kind of values does it now build?

In the fall of 1988, my son's eighth-grade English teacher required her Students to read Jay Mclnerey's Bright Lights, Big City. The setting: a nightclub for singles, in the wee hours of the night. The hero: "You."

You spot a girl at the edge of the dance floor who looks like your last chance for earthly salvation... There she is in her pegged pants, a kind of doo-wop retro ponytail pulled off to the side, as eligible a candidate as you are likely to find this late into the game. The sexual equivalent of fast food.

She shrugs and nods when you ask her to dance. You like the way she moves, the oiled ellipses of her hips and shoulders. After the second song, she says she’s tired. She's at the point of bolting when you ask her if she needs a little pick-me-up.

"You’ve got some blow?" she says.

"Is Stevie Wonder blind?" you say.

She takes your arm and leads you into the Ladies.’ A couple of spoons and she seems to like you just fine, and you are feeling very likable yourself. A couple more. This woman is all nose.

"I love drugs, " she says, as you march toward the bar.

"It's something we have in common, " you say.

"Have you ever noticed how all the good words start with D?"

"…You know. Drugs. Delight. Decadence."

"Debauchery, " you say, catching the tune now.

"Dexedrine."

"Delinquent."¹

A discussion with my son's teacher resulted in a change in reading assignments. Yet it takes more than an occasional win to slow society's downward drift. In Amusing Ourselves to Death, Neil Postman compares the prophecies of two authors, Orwell and Aldous Huxley:

Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies, the orgy porgy, and the centrifugal bumblepuppy.... In 1984 ... people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short, Orwell feared that what we hate will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we love will ruin us."²

Postman suggests that Huxley, not Orwell, was right. I believe that if Huxley was right, Orwell's reality will follow. New Age optimists, who believe man's inherent goodness will lead him on an upward journey to spiritual perfection, have, in Huxley's words, "failed to take into account man's almost infinite appetite for distractions."

America still reads, but popular books aim to entertain, not inform. Thrills sell. Facts don't. A charismatic world leader needs no military weapons, only promises, to take control over a hedonistic and non-thinking people.

I am not a pessimist. Our King has won the war, filled us with Himself, and promised us a glorious future. We don't need to fear anything - other than turning our backs on God. And if we awaken to the current challenge, we can make a difference in the world.

Step One: Personal Preparation

Are children being taught to read discerningly, or do they accept whatever is in print simply because it is in Print?

· Pray as a family for discernment and wisdom. Don’t let fear of offensive literature stop your family from feasting on wonderful books.

· Commit yourself to a deeper knowing of the Living Word. Continue a daily Bible study program together. If children know truth, they will spot the lies.

· Enjoy books together that demonstrate God’s values. Read-aloud times build in most children a deep love for reading, while they also enable you to direct your children’s taste for enriching books. "While the average first-grade student reads from a primer with only 350 words, his listening vocabulary approaches 10,000 words, according to the Council for Basic Education."³

When the father and mother tell the stories, they can stop and explain the stories, tell them over and over, remold them, shape them for the child. (Bruno Bettelheirn)

 

Step Two: Recognize Deception in Magazines

· Discuss magazine displays with your child, if and when appropriate. Look at titles together and point out what is counterfeit. In addition to a broad selection of questionable teen magazines, I see the Yoga Journal, East West, Magical Blend, Shaman's Drum, UFO, Hinduism Today, and Meditation. If you haven't seen them yet, you will.

· Realize that magazines have changed. The January 1989 issue of Seventeen featured three main articles:

- "Spa Splurge" – "At last ... your folks have disappeared, and the house is yours!"

- "Bad Boys - Why we love them so" – "A cute ... good boy who has the same amount of experience you do ... simply may not make you feel sexy and grown-up enough."

- "Are you ready for sex?" - Until you have ... a birth control method ... [and know your boyfriend's sexual history] you are not ready."⁴

Across from the index page you see a young girl seductively posed in black stockings, black miniskirt, black leather jacket pulled open to reveal a chest bare except for a black metal lattice bra. Caption: "Some people are really into metal. They insist on it - even in unusual places ... Swatch [the watch] gives you more than the time of day."

Step Three. Be Alert to Deception in Books

· A crossless version of Christianity fits the New Age lie that all can be one - with or without Jesus. It denies man's need for redemption and, in effect, makes man his own savior. "For the message of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are saved it is the power of God" (1 Corinthians 1:18).

· Examine gift books for children. Discuss your observations with your child. Some of Audrey and Don Wood's attractive books are filled with enticing New Age magic. Other picture books, like The Witches Handbook by Malcolm Bird, treat witchcraft as a game for all to enjoy.

· Check contemporary children's poetry. While some poems are superb, others are grotesque and macabre.

· Check fantasy game books. They make you the hero - but what beliefs do you follow? What mental pictures will your imagination create? As you make decisions appropriate to the story, will occult forces become part of your thinking? Some titles will warn you - like Seas of Blood and Castle Death - but I many others sound innocuous.

· Be alert to what peers read. Discuss their influence with your child. During the winter of 1989, many of David's eighth-grade peers read Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King, master of occult horror.

· A new kind of joke book has captivated readers. The object of the humor may be sex, marriage, parents, or God. Some of the illustrations may be pornographic. While we desperately need a sense of humor, we don’t need to laugh at corruption and delight in immorality. God wants us to love, accept, and forgive each other. But He also tells us to discipline and control our own human nature. Discuss these Scriptures with your child: Leviticus 11:44, 20:26; and Matthew 5:6, 8. Review Romans 12:1-2, 9, and 13:14.

Step Four: Check Your Library

· Befriend your local librarian. Learn your library’s guidelines and limitations. Know its definition of adult literature and whether or not children can check it out.

Many decision-makers seem to deny essential differences that separate childhood from adulthood. Children have neither the knowledge, wisdom, or experience to make adult decisions and carry adult responsibility. Adult movies, television, and books feed children adult-sized mental stimulants that they are unprepared to handle.

The American Library Association's "Bill of Rights" states that, regardless of age, all persons have unlimited access to all library material.... In principle this eliminates any distinction between juvenile and adult sections.... Children have access to all books! Who gave the American Library Association the right to make this important decision? (Pro Family Form)⁵

· Scan the books promoted in special displays for children and for young adults (teenagers). Do they promote anti-Christian religions or low values? Do biographies promote social philosophies that oppose Christianity? Are they balanced with other views? If not, our libraries become like the media - a political force with incredible power to influence children according to their own bias.

· Discuss your concerns with the librarian. Observe the guidelines in Chapter 2. Suggest solutions. While your local librarians may share your values, the American Library Association denies the need to shield children from certain kinds of adult literature and illustrations.

Step Five: Join in the Battle for Truth

· Continue to pray with other Christian families for God's wisdom and direction.

· Write advertisers in offensive magazines. Under Dr. Dobson's leadership, a flood of parental protest against Sassy's style caused some of its major advertisers to withdraw. The consequent financial pressure seems to have made Sassy more responsible in its coverage.

· Keep an up-to-date church library and encourage other families to support and use it.

· Let God encourage you with biblical passages that promise victory to those who trust and follow Him. See Psalm 25:1, 4-5; Exodus 14:13-14; Deuteronomy 1:30; 20:1, 4.