Wolves Among Us (35 page)

Authors: Ginger Garrett

As I sat with the witches and we discussed Jesus, one woman sighed and said, “I’d like to think that if Jesus were here on earth, He’d walk right into our meeting. He’d want to know us.”

Knowing that Jesus lives within my heart, I smiled at her. “He is here,” I said. I saw myself in a new way that day: as a physical body with the spirit of Jesus living within. My job was to take His Spirit out into the world so that He could tend to the wounded and reach out to the hurting. I’m just His physical chauffeur. I wasn’t given this body so I could run my own errands. Those women belonged to Him, and He wanted to be there, sitting in that meeting, listening to their stories, looking into their eyes, and hearing their hearts. I know that He longs for them, for us all, to know Him and to know His truth expressed in love. This truth and this love are the source of all true hope and salvation.

As I close this book, you may like to know that much of the book is based on fact, including the baptizing of the cat. Bastion’s arguments and theology and some anecdotes are taken from the
Malleus.
Stefan’s story of ministering to Ava the witch is based on a true story too. During the witch hunts, a witch was kept in a cage and used like a circus animal to scare people. One wise and courageous priest developed a relationship with her and taught her the truth of who Jesus was and how she could find true peace and love only in Him. This priest led her to Christ, and the woman escaped her captivity.

Thankful for this freedom,
Ginger Garrett

Discussion Questions

1. Read these three statements:

• “All witchcraft comes from carnal lust, which is in women insatiable.”—the
Malleus Maleficarum

• “This [theory of the insatiability of women, which I teach,] comes out of some social research which suggests that some women are insatiable or never satisfied. From that, I point out that Eve had paradise but wanted more. She lacked satisfaction with paradise!”—best-selling Christian author who teaches on marriage and gender roles

• “The temptation to give in to evil comes from us and only us. We have no one to blame but the leering, seducing flare-up of our own lust.”—God, as recorded in James 1:13 (
MSG
)

The
Malleus’s
false theories are still being repeated today, often under the guise of “Christian marriage teaching.” What does the Bible say about the root of lust and temptation? Is it a particularly male or female problem? If lust is a male problem, what can explain the actions of Potiphar’s wife? (See Gen. 39.)

2. Jesus said, “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them” (Matt. 7:15–16). Not everyone who uses God’s name speaks for God. What are some of the signs that a person is truly doing God’s work? Is success always a sign God is endorsing them?

3. Throughout the story, Mia is hungry. She presses her hand into her stomach to keep it from growling. In your opinion, what is this hunger symbolic of? Why was Mia always so hungry? Did she need anything more than food?

4. Deuteronomy 8:3 says, “He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the L
ORD
.” In our culture of abundance and instant access, do we experience hunger of any kind? Is there a connection between humility and hunger? What interferes with the experience of hunger, especially spiritual hunger, in our lives and culture?

5. Bastion knew Scripture very well and twisted it just slightly to make a convincing case for evil. Did you find any of Bastion’s arguments persuasive? How can we recognize the actual truth of Scripture versus a false little twist someone puts on it?

6. Why was Bastion able to come in and swiftly turn the villagers to evil? Are you safe from the Bastions of our age? What are your defenses?

7. Father Stefan knew many prayers and rituals, most of them in Latin, a language few understood or spoke. Did he have true spiritual authority in his village? What is the true source of spiritual authority? Did he ever acquire it?

8. Mia made a decision to honor God by avoiding temptation. She recognized that Bjorn was not worthy of her faithfulness, but God was. Have you ever seen a broken marriage healed when one partner commits his or her life fully to God?

9. Mia is afraid of the darkness in the world and the darkness in her heart. But toward the end of the novel, she realizes she has never been alone in either one. Which is harder for you to feel and trust in: God’s presence in the darkness outside your door or God’s presence with you in the darkness you have in your heart?

10. Which is more important: experiential truth (deciding that what I experience is also a universal truth) or Scriptural truth (deciding that Scripture is true, regardless of my experience)?

11. The witch hunts were a volatile combination of religious half-truths and public imagination. Do you think the church teaches any half-truths today? What has our culture’s imagination right now? What do we seem to be fantasizing about, obsessing about, and fearful of? How can we apply the antidote of truth and love to these issues?

Supernatural Housekeeping

In my research, women told me that they became involved in the occult after experiencing a strange supernatural event. They were often unable to get help from their Christian church, so they turned to the occult or witchcraft for answers. If you believe you are being plagued by a demon, spirit, or any other supernatural phenomenon, you can find relief and restoration.

1. Start by reading these verses about Jesus:

• Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12)

• All the people were amazed and said to each other, “What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!” (Luke 4:36)

These verses give you a bedrock, a firm foundation to work from. Jesus is the sole source of salvation, both in the eternal sense and in the earthly sense. He alone can save you from a supernatural affliction. His name is the only name with the power to save us from ourselves or anything else. While on earth, Jesus ordered evil spirits around, and they obeyed. He can handle whatever problem you may have, whether mundane or supernatural.

2. If you have a spirit in your home, don’t talk to it. Don’t attempt to engage it in conversation. (If you need to understand why, read the story of Adam, Eve, and the serpent.)

3. Pray over your home, room by room, speaking aloud the verses above. In Jesus’ name, command any evil spirits to leave. I’d like to suggest that a Christian should do this, since Christians have Jesus’ spirit within and have His authority to drive spirits out. If you’re not a Christian, you can consider asking a Christian friend to do this with you. You can also contact a nearby Christian bookstore or church. Many larger churches have counselors with training in what is frequently called “spiritual warfare.”

4. Satisfy your curiosity about the supernatural by going straight to the source: God. In the Bible you’ll find plenty of frank conversation about spirits, ghosts, psychics, and supernatural phenomenon. If you don’t know where to start, you can use
BibleGateway.com
. Search by keyword to see any verse that addresses that topic, in almost any translation. For example, I can enter the word
demon,
select my favorite translation,
The Message,
and see every verse in the Bible that talks about demons. It’s a good place to start your research, but you will still want to read the Scriptures in depth so you get the proper context.

5. I also recommend the books
The Invisible War
by Chip Ingram and
Victory Over the Darkness: Realizing the Power of Your Identity in Christ
by Neil T. Anderson.

My research told me that experiencing a supernatural occurrence presents you with a choice. You must decide who to listen to, and which path to follow. I pray you choose to listen to Jesus: “A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of” (John 10:10
MSG
).