Another Counterculture Conversion

It is a well-worn tale by now. Person falls into sin and immoral behavior, person hits bottom and finds a caring voice and a place in a Christian church. Person turns life around and shares testimony. You could write a mad-lib version. The trick to keeping people interested is to find new twists and turns on the old conversion story. David Kithcart writing on the WDC Media web site focuses on professional skateboarder (and former drug addict) Jay Haizlip.

“Jay lived from one crack-cocaine high to the next. In between hits, he planned when and how he would be able to do the drug again. But he never would have imagined that he would end up doing some of the things he did. He was so driven and tormented to do drugs that he took his son into violent neighborhoods, crack houses where people were shot outside the front door, places the police would raid.”

So far, so good. The story is the usual drugs and madness conversion tale spiced up with the fact that Jay is a pro skateboarder. Sure to appeal to that coveted youth market. But then, perhaps feeling that drugs, violence, a broken home, and having your kids watch you smoke crack isn’t enough they throw in an occult chaser.

“The man and his wife [who lead Haizlip to Christ] had sensed other things in Jay’s life such as witchcraft. (Jay’s mother had been involved in Wicca and similar things growing up.) Through prayer, they broke the powers of everything that had ever worked in Jay’s life.”

So now his mother’s dalliances with Wicca while he was growing up helped lead him to an evil world of crack-smoking? Since they never hint that Haizlip himself was involved with the occult this seems to be a case of adding “spice” to the story. The truly modern conversion tale has to have occult practices and witchcraft in it to be complete it seems. The prayer warriors must be fed with spiritual battle so a “witch” must be produced. I somehow doubt that if the mother had been into Buddhism the article would report that “Jay’s mother had been involved in Buddhism and similar things growing up.”

I suppose Wiccans should feel flattered that they hold such a place of prominence in modern Christianity. After all they are naming what form of rebellion their children should take when they become dissatisfied with Christianity.

Tags: Neopaganism