Sorcerers, Witches and Zechariah
While living among a people group who both adhered to a strict form of Islam as well as followed Africa Traditional Religion, I encountered many myths. For a while, I simply shrugged off all the stories and myths as simple stories told throughout the generations around a campfire. As one missiologist stated, “Whatever could not conform to my Western worldview did not belong to the real world and was therefore classified as merely imagination, or at best superstition.”[1] Then, I read the book of the prophet Zechariah. It is not one of those books that gets read too often but I suggest looking back into it. There are some weird prophesies and visions in that book. One vision caught my attention. “Then a lead cover was lifted, and there was a woman sitting inside the basket” (Zech. 5:7).[2] The prophet goes on to say they are taking the basket to the land of Shinar. It was not the theology behind the verses but rather the myth itself that jumped out to me.
There it was, in the bible of all places, a story about a woman sitting in a basket, essentially engaged in astral travel. Astral travel is defined as, “The ability to descend or ascend to the abode of the spirits or elsewhere, even distant planets”.[3] I had heard a similar story about a sorcerer in our village who was rumored to be able to perform astral travel while in a handmade basket and would bring back artifacts from other countries. Suddenly, I realized I was at a concept threshold and our team was beginning to understand the worldview around us from a different perspective. The team I was on began to discuss the “realities” or at least our understanding of astral travel and the myths that went with it. Other teammates had experiences and similar stories from all over the world. A South African tribe had shaman who were said to use a rope to travel. An Eskimo group was said to use animal skins to travel. Middle Eastern stories have men flying on magic carpets from location to location. American lure has stories of old women traveling at night on a broom. All these stories have commonalities which include a person connected to the spirit world, a common household object and the ability to travel in the spirit world or in a different dimension. Yet, what is shocking about these stories is that the hail from across the entire world, from Alaska to South Africa. How is it that the mythic tales told for generations can be so similar?
In this weeks’ reading, Campbell essentially asks the same question at the start of his book. “Why is mythology everywhere the same, beneath its varieties of costume?”[4] Is the common myth motif a form of common grace that Paul discusses in Romans 1:19? Did these stories originate at the Tower of Babel and then adapted to fit different cultures? Campbell details how the hero goes through common stages of development, and these are similar in different cultures and throughout time. Though I am sure there are some cultures that might have very diverse ideas and his book is not comprehensive of every culture. He does demonstrate how there is a common myth that is at the base of so many cultures.
The question that I am left with is how does this affect our lives today? Campbell seems to have a similar question at the end of the book and asks how the hero myth might be affected by the modern age.[5] Does our postmodern society really believe in the myths of old or are we developing new modern myths? I imagine some Christians might struggle with the concepts or want to argue with the author. However, I want to look at the book with an evangelistic perspective. I certainly believe that Jesus is the Truth and want to point people to the Truth of the biblical myth. Understanding the stories of other cultures helps us see what is valuable in that culture and how there can be ties to the biblical story. With Campbells’ work, I feel more equipped and ready to look for the similar mythical ties that can bring cultures together and focus on the story of Jesus. For example, I have used the crazy stories of sorcerers traveling on corn baskets and compared them to the story found in Zechariah. This has allowed me the ability to open scripture and find ways that Scripture and sorcerers might share similar stories.
[1] Philip M. Steyne, Gods Of Power: A Study of the Beliefs and Practices of Animists (Colombia, South Carolina: Impact International Foundation, 2014), 13.
[2] CSB Study Bible – Christian Standard Version (Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017).
[3] Steyne, 126.
[4] Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, 1. Princeton/Bollingen paperback print., 3. print, Bollingen Series 17 (Princeton, NJ: Univ. Press, 1973), 4.
[5] Campbell, 387.
About the Author
Adam Cheney
I grew up in California, spent five years living along the beautiful coast of Kenya and now find myself working with refugees in the snow crusted tundra of Minnesota. My wife and I have seven children, four of whom have been adopted. I spend my time drinking lots of coffee, working in my garden, and baking sourdough bread.18 responses to “Sorcerers, Witches and Zechariah”
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Great perspective Adam. I’ve often felt confused when I read about sorcery in the Bible (like the witch of Endor, the Pharaoh’s magicians, etc. because it doesn’t fit into my western paradigms. How have you been able to reconcile this yourself?
I love your example of using the hero’s journey to to understand what is valuable in a culture, and how you can point them to Jesus.
Christy,
So many stories in the Bible don’t fit into our Western paradigms and this also bothered me. Then, I went and lived in a very dark and spiritual village and I learned that the Old Testament is still very much alive. I was living in an Old Testament village and so it made sense that as people came to know Christ, we were seeing some New Testament reactions. There are literally dozens of Bible stories I read now and I go, “oh yeah, I remember when that happened at such and such a place.” I learned that just because we do not readily see the spirit world amidst our technology focused lives does not mean that it does not exist. There is a spirit world that others are much more in tune with than we are in America.
What a great reflection Adam, thank you. I love how you and your team wrestled with the astral travel image in Zephaniah (no, I haven’t read that book yet; hoping to get to it in time as I have just started reading the Chronological Bible!), and then found ways to use the image to connect with the people in your context. Maybe that’s how we are always supposed to evangelize, right? It has to start with a connection so the person we’re talking to understands that the message is for THEM as well.
Debbie,
The chronological reading of the Bible is always a good way to go. Somehow God makes his good news relevant in all cultures and in all times. Probably because it all leads back to the monomyth. The one epic story of Truth.
Thanks Adam! I appreciate the way that you are looking for cultural connections and conversation points with people from other cultures.
I’m curious about your thoughts more on the stories in Zechariah, not because I have my own opinion but because I’m genuinely curious: when we see stories in the Scripture that don’t seem to fit with our own belief system, like astral travel, how do we interpret those. I think too of the story of Saul summoning the ghost of Samuel. Does this mean that ghosts exist? (a burning question in the mind of my 12 year old daugther).
Thanks again!
Ryan,
I had a woman in my church who came to worship one day for the first time. When I asked her why she came (as I always did) she matter-of-factly told me that every night Satan rapes her. She was truly abused and distraught. She had heard that Jesus has power of Satan and wanted to come and see if he would stop her from getting raped. Indeed it stopped.
I have had some people question the spiritual realities I experienced first hand and often find myself looking at the nativity scene. Christians hold fast to the validity and truth of this story (as do I). Yet, we often gloss over some crazy details. A virgin became pregnant. She talked with an angel in the night. Her betrothed also talked with the same angel in a different place. An old man became mute for 9 months and then was miraculously healed. Prophecies are fulfilled. Angels became visible to shepherds in the night and so they started singing. Then, wise men (seers, shamans??) who studied the stars followed a star to a city. A local king killed all the little children yet the father of one child ran away because he had a dream that he decided to listen to.
On the surface, it is pretty crazy for us Christians to believe any bit of the birth story.
Adam,
You have me intrigued about Zechariah now and I will read it with a closer view. I did, however, laugh when you said, “there are some weird prophesies and visions in that book” because I immediately thought of Daniel and his visions and Jeremiah who was told to lay on his side for a crazy amount of days.
I love how you wove in the Tower of Babel and the scattering of languages and people as a way to spread the gospel. And, to your question, I say yes.
As a missionary to Russia and having lived in a variety of countries as a child, I learned that storytelling is as common, in many cultures, as eating their meals. And, how one Russian Christian lives out their faith should not be judged by me because, just as you said, there is commonality amongst the diverse cultures.
So, you asked the question: how does this affect our lives today? Have you answered it for yourself?
Nancy,
Yes, I think that when we understand the monomyth and the general theme of the hero stories, it can help us point of the fictional narratives of others and lean in on the truth of the story of the Bible.
Your thoughts on Zechariah are interesting Adam, and you have definitely seen Campbells work first hand with your experiences in Africa. Thanks.
How do you think Christians can engage with the myths of other cultures/religions in a manner that promotes intercultural dialogue, with respect for the uniqueness of each culture, and simultaneously point towards the unique truths found in the Christian faith? I guess that’s the ultimate question for Missionaries. How did you do it?
Glyn,
I think we as Christians need to learn to ask better questions and learn to listen better. We are too quick to declare we have the right way and therefore are unwilling to learn and to listen to others. I do think we have the right way, but I also think that other cultures have done some things right as well. I look at some of my African friends here. As Muslims, they do not agree with me about Jesus being the Son of God. Yet, we can agree about many aspects of the life of Jesus. Let’s lean into the points of agreement, learn from each other and be willing to learn. Why should I expect others to hear me out if I don’t hear them out? It would be great if Christians who are living great godly lives around us would have a missionary perspective, as someone who ultimately does not belong to the culture but has so much to learn from those around them.
Thanks for your post, Adam. I appreciate that you are reading the bible through missionary, intercultural eyes. It stretches me to see the narrative differently. I certainly wouldn’t have thought of comparing the woman in the basket to astral travel. However, your cultural context probably helped you to see it that way. It demonstrates that people read scripture through their own cultural lens. The Western church obviously has its own cultural lens, one we tend to think is the correct one. However, I am always amazed at how we project our white Western viewpoints, agendas and images on Jesus. How might a Western Christian break out of this and read the Scriptures with different eyes?
Graham, my intercultural lens certainly goes with me everywhere I go now. I think that Americans in general are just very self-centered and focused on America. This bleeds into our theology and seminaries as well. There were some seminaries that I was looking into and decided not to attend. One reason I chose against them was that they basically stated, “here is the list of what you will believe when you graduate with us.” Though it is not bad to have a statement of faith and adhere to a specific doctrine, it limits learning from other perspectives. Reading through the late Kenneth Bailey’s work has been helpful for me.
Hi Adam,
I enjoyed reading your post. Thank you for sharing your experiences and reflections on encountering myths while living among people adhering to a strict form of religion. I had to refer to the book Zechariah, about the myth of a woman sitting in a basket in the book of Zechariah. The concept threshold you mention, where your team began to understand the worldview from a different perspective, is a fascinating turning point. I find it remarkable how similar myths of astral travel exist across diverse cultures, from a sorcerer in your village to shaman in a South African tribe, Eskimos using animal skins, Middle Eastern tales of magic carpets, and American folklore of women on brooms. The commonalities in these stories, spanning the globe, raise compelling questions about the origins and interconnectedness of these myths.
How does Campbell’s book, applies to your NPO?
Shela,
On the whole, I do not think that Campbell’s book is entirely relevant to my NPO but maybe it does bring us back to a common humanity which can certainly be valuable.
Adam, thank you for sharing your thoughts, lens, and experience. This has stirred a lot in me and I’m not sure I can put it all into words but as I read through the comments I wish we were on a live call to further unpack…
First off, I’m curious what it looks like for Christians to adopt the missionary perspective you describe and what it will take for this to happen?
While I know how “crazy” some of the supernatural experiences may sound to many in the US, your experiences are not strange at all.
I agree that we need more Christians to wake up to the reality that exists around them in the spirit world…or to at least open themselves up to explore how they can believe in an invisible God that they have not yet seen while at the same time concretely stand behind a belief that evil spirits don’t exist…
If we think about it, it doesn’t really make sense to believe one but not the other, or else what does it mean in the scripture when it talks about Jesus casting out demons and removing tormenting spirits? I love how you call this to our attention by examining scripture and the variety of things so many of us Christians easily accept as truth in one regard but reject in another…
When you mentioned the immaculate conception I laughed. In today’s day and age if someone were to say they conceived in this way I think most of us would be quick to call them a liar. I mean, it’s sad to admit but I too would be skeptical so I get it, this work takes real work but I think that it doesn’t have to be hard if we focus simply on fostering a deeper relationship with God. The more we spend time in His Presence, the more we are given revelation into His Kingdom and its inner workings.
Something I used to hear in the US is that witchcraft doesn’t exist or isn’t very active but I beg to differ. It just isn’t as overtly discussed as it is in other places, although that’s rapidly changing with mainstream media popularizing the practice of divination. I’ve never in my life seen so many women publicly claiming to be witches. We must have eyes to see and ears to hear.
I think sometimes we use two different languages or lenses to examine the same thing. For example, what we are comfortable calling generational trauma in the seen world can also be understood as bloodline curses in the unseen. Or sleep paralysis, a manifestation of demonic activity taunting an individual with a spirit of fear.
I’ve found that the challenge is if we don’t believe, or at least aren’t open to believing, then we risk never putting a stop to the issues that plague us and/or our families.
There is still so much to learn in spiritual warfare and I don’t know about you but for me, it hasn’t always been easy to find training and mentorship in these areas. However, as I think about my own research, a question I continue to ask is how do we create more leaders of faith who are spiritually sensitive and can discern what is happening on deeper levels, in the unseen?
Anyway, I could go on and on as my mind keeps stirring but I’ll stop here. Thanks for the invitation to this often not-discussed topic. 🙏🏾
Akwése,
I worked for fifteen years as a paramedic and a Fire Captain. I can safely say that witchcraft and demonic worship is alive and well here in the US. However, it is often not in the mainstream part of society so we tend to disregard it. How many people at church on a Sunday morning are actually aware of what was going on in the same city at 2am the night before?
Witchcraft in the US though is often in the beginning stages. What I mean is that many witches are first generation witches or maybe learned from a generation or two. Thus, I think that their work tends to have limited ability. Honestly, they just don’t have as much practice as in other places in the world. Where I lived, the sorcerers sold themselves to a demon who followed their families for generations upon generations. When the one person died, a family member enslaved themselves to the same demon and kept the trade going. The power of their practice gains momentum as time goes on. I do wonder what witchcraft will look like in the US in another generation or two.
Yes, this is so true and not spoken about enough. You hit at exactly what I mean when I mention bloodline curses that generations later someone must pay for the sins of a great great grandparent who sold themselves.
Honestly I dont even want to think about what things will look like in the US in the coming generations 🙈 I’m not the best at staying current with US happenings but some of things friends have been sending me about the blatant devil worship is horrifying.
Adam, that is an excellent post. How did you handle the times when you found yourself in the middle of a traditional ritual – those defining moments that would tell others whether you were an insider or an outsider? I appreciate your work to bridge the connection. You are a bridge builder.