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> trac ki n g s p i r i t u a l t r e n d s i n t h e 2 1s t ce n t u r y
In this issue:
NEOPENTECOSTALISM - the
vitality of the Independent Network
Charismatic
OCCULTISM - “more than half of
young adults in the U.S. believe
astrology is a science”
+ ‘arming ordinary women who may
scoff at spirituality or magic with
the subversive feminist powers of
traditional witches’
Publisher: Apologia • www.apologia.org
Contact: ar.feedback(at)apologia.org
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Phone: (719) 225-3467
Editor: Rich Poll
Contributing Editor: Paul Carden
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APOLOGIAreport
v o l u m e 2 2 : 4 6 ( 1,3 6 6 ) / d e c e m b e r 2 1 , 2 0 1 7
PLEASE NOTE: This will be our last issue
for 2017. Look for AR to resume the week of
January 7th — and, Merry Christmas!
NEOPENTECOSTALISM
“Is this the ‘fastest-growing Christian group
in America,’ and perhaps the world?” — so
reads the title of a book review by Richard
Ostling, Mormon and former religion edi-
tor for Time magazine. He is referring to
The “Independent Network Charismatic” or
“INC” movement and the claim being made
in a new book titled The Rise of Network
Christianity: How Independent Leaders Are
Changing the Religious Landscape, by Biola
University sociologist Brad Christerson and
Richard Flory, senior research director at
the University of Southern California’s Cen-
ter for Religion and Civic Culture.1 (Broadly
speaking, the movement is also widely
known as “The New Apostolic Reforma-
tion,” <www.goo.gl/ietCDG> or NAR.)
“INC is a particular subset of the inde-
pendent, non-denominational congrega-
tions that are the growing edge of U.S.
Protestantism. The authors calculate that
over four decades ending in 2010, regularly
attending Protestants of all types declined
by an average .05 percent per year, which
is ‘striking’ since the U.S. population was
growing by 1 percent per year.
“Meanwhile, adherents of ‘indepen-
dent, neo-charismatic congregations,’ the
category that includes INC groups among
many others, grew an average 3.24 percent
per year. So INC is a distinct sub-category
within an already thriving segment of U.S.
Protestantism that shuns traditional forms
and provides a particularly intense form of
Pentecostal-flavored experience.
“The movement has expanded for
the most part under the radar. Have you
seen many news stories [if not, check our
<www.j.mp/ar-chive> database] about such
influential INC personalities as Che Ahn,
Mike Bickle, Bill Johnson, Cindy Jacobs
or Chuck Pierce, or about Bethel Church,
Harvest International Ministries (HIM), or
International House of Prayer (IHOP)?
“INC is more about fellowship than
building conventional Sunday congrega-
tions and empires, and avoids the customary
rules and regs required by denominations. It
is organized around, and led top-down by,
authoritative figures recognized as ‘apostles’
and ‘prophets.’ Crucially, it mostly dissemi-
nates its message and tactics, and raises
funding, through Internet networking,
alongside teaching conferences large and
small and specialized schooling as opposed
to graduate-level seminaries.
“Like other Charismatics but often more
so, INC gatherings emphasize the ‘signs
and wonders’ of miraculous healings of
mind and body, physical manifestations like
tongues-speaking and falling to the ground
‘in the Spirit,’ exorcisms, and proclamations
of prophecies regarded as direct messages
and guidance from almighty God.” GetReli-
gion, Oct 21 ‘17 <www.goo.gl/ysQn4f>
Also see the review in Christianity Today
<www.goo.gl/unnidE>
OCCULTISM
“Why millennials are ditching religion for
witchcraft and astrology” by Kari Paul —
“Interest in spirituality has been booming in
recent years while interest in religion plum-
mets, especially among millennials. The
majority of Americans now believe it is not
necessary to believe in God to have good
morals, a study from Pew Research Center
<www.goo.gl/Lm6BZt> released Wednesday
found. The percentage of people between the
ages of 18 and 29 who ‘never doubt existence
of God’ fell from 81% in 2007 to 67% in 2012.
“Meanwhile, more than half of young
adults in the U.S. believe astrology is a sci-
ence. Compared to less than 8% of the Chi-
nese public. The psychic services industry
— which includes astrology, aura reading,
mediumship, tarot-card reading and palm-
istry, among other metaphysical services
— grew 2% between 2011 and 2016. It is
now worth $2 billion annually, accord-
ing to industry analysis firm <www.goo.gl/
QPK8aZ> IBIS World.” Examples include
“Banu Guler <banuguler.com>, co-founder
of artificial intelligence powered astrology
app Co-Star [who] said the lack of structure
in the field is exactly what drives young,
educated professionals to invest their time

occultism (continued)
and money in the practice.” [An AI astrol-
ogy app is just a step away from occult
AI software that one programs to pray by
proxy. Farfetched? Maybe not. We some-
times “pray” via keyboard with others in
online chat-mode. Might not AI “prayers”
have a similar appearance?]
Guler also said: “There is a belief vac-
uum: we go from work to a bar to dinner
and a date, with no semblance of meaning.
Astrology is a way out of it, a way of putting
yourself in the context of thousands of years
of history and the universe.” [Will it seem
like enjoying the comfort of Providence
without the related obligations of personal
accountability?] MarketWatch, Oct 23 ‘17
<www.goo.gl/U5xTzn>
What remains to be seen is which will
gain dominance in the 21st century: occult
scamware or VR porn? Is it possible that they
could both become even bigger than the
unregulated alternative medicine/supple-
ments industry? Last, will the 21st century’s
greatest paradox be the West’s worshiping at
the altar of prolonged healthcare to the peril
of the world’s economy? Maranatha.
“Is Tumblr witchcraft feminism - or cultural
appropriation?” by Aysha Khan (RNS) —
Anything goes when nothing can be ruled
out.
“New York-based writer Jaya Saxena isn’t
Wiccan. She’s no pagan, either. She grew
up with a Hindu grandmother, attended a
Quaker high school and has Jewish in-laws,
but isn’t at all religious herself.
“Jaya Saxena <jayasaxena.com>, is not a
witch.
“So how did she end up publishing a
guide to modern witchcraft?
“’We see ourselves as continuing a long
line of unruly women,’ Saxena explained.
“She and her ‘Basic Witches’ <www.goo.
gl/RYDDpe> co-author, Jess Zimmerman
(an atheist who doesn’t believe in the occult
or mysticism), aim to arm women — ordi-
nary women who may scoff at spirituality or
magic — with the subversive feminist pow-
ers of traditional witches.
“’We make no claim to the religious
practice of Wicca, paganism or any other
faith,’ Saxena told RNS. ‘But we see the cul-
tural image of a witch as a separate and valid
identity.’”
On the other hand, “’real’ witches, who’ve
historically faced persecution and execu-
tion, aren’t all happy with the new trends.
“Critics say a perfect storm of Instagram-
era online branding combined with leftist
political posturing has made witchcraft the
APOLOGIAreport
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latest victim of cultural appropriation. ... “Witches also have grabbed headlines
“For many young women, participating with public hexes on President Trump.
in online witchcraft communities — re- The loosely organized ‘resistance witches,’
blogging spells, recommending essential including neo-pagans, activists and a
oils, posting selfies with crystal collections diverse array of magic practitioners, num-
— is a digital shelter, an alternative identity ber at least 13,000. ...
from the real word. And online witchcraft’s “Two years ago, liberal witchy women
DIY culture paired with its innate sister- across the country launched revivals <www.
hood is compelling to young women. ... goo.gl/coA5Qu> of W.I.T.C.H., hosting
“There’s a reason the witch’s aesthetic has ritual performances to strengthen the rights
captured the imaginations of young, digital- to housing, abortion and education. Along
minded women. with their counterparts in Portland, Ore.,
“’Beneath all that glossy packaging hums and other U.S. cities, the anonymous group
the same idea that has tantalized girls for has turned its powers toward ‘dismantling
millennia,’ Anne Theriault writes <www. the white supremacist patriarchy’ and fueling
goo.gl/ruPnJQ> on The Establishment. ‘The the #MagicalResistance against the current
fact that to be a witch is to be a woman with White House administration.
power in a world where women are often “But many actual practitioners of witch-
otherwise powerless.’ craft weren’t thrilled with the headlines.
“Sometimes that radical feeling of sub- They say they wouldn’t use their power to
verting society’s standards comes from bring harm to another person — not even
hexes, crystals and herbs. For others, a dark Trump. ...
lipstick and long black dress do the trick. “But the morality and spirituality of
“Just as ideas of women’s empowerment witches aren’t what guides today’s Instagram
and self-care have become marketable con- witches: it’s the visions of resistance, subver-
sumer trends, so has witchcraft, coinciding sion and feminism.” Religion News Service,
with rising interest in yoga, meditation and Oct 27 ‘17 <www.goo.gl/MRBQPE>
sex positivity (a movement that embraces
safe, consensual sex). ...
“Witches around the world have joined SOURCES: Monographs
forces to serve justice to convicted rapist
Brock Turner, whose light sentence turned 1 - The Rise of Network Christianity: How
the internet’s viral ire on him. In June 2016, Independent Leaders Are Changing the
witches from around the world organized Religious Landscape, by Brad Christer-
a mass hexing ceremony to turn Turner son and Richard Flory (Oxford Univ Prs,
impotent and cause him the ‘constant pain 2017, hardcover, 200 pages) <www.goo.gl/
of pine needles in (his) guts.’ Jq9r9u>
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