How to Talk About the Supernatural World with Your Child

With Halloween just around the corner, your child might be asking questions about ghosts, witches, and demons. What’s your response?

The Supernatural World

In the “spirit” of Halloween, here are a few tips for how to talk with children about the supernatural world.

Make your conversations child-centered.

Let your kids ask questions, and give their thoughts. Respond to things you see they have been exposed to (i.e. scary movies, YouTube videos they watch, popular challenges, or T.V. shows).

Lead with God, not fear.

Establish that God is the supreme supernatural being, nothing and no one is more powerful, and he is all good and all loving. 1 John 4:4 states, "he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” All supernatural conversations should focus on God. The Bible also teaches that "The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work," (1 John 3:8) showing that God is more powerful than Satan.

Establish who exists in the supernatural world.

There are God’s supernatural beings, angels, and there are the Devil’s, demons. The Devil (Satan) and his demons are simply angels who rebelled against God and are wholly evil. This means that there is no cosmic energy like the force of Star Wars. There is no earthly power or supernatural abilities that can be accessed by people like you and me.

Teach God’s Rules.

God has told us to focus all spiritual energy on him. Seek him for power and seek him for help. Going to anyone or anything other than God is always bad. Go to God because He will provide all we need to stand up against evil. Ephesians 6:10-11 says to “Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”

Avoid all “spiritual” things that are not related to God. (Deuteronomy 18:10-12) 

Dabbling in the spiritual world that is not related to God opens ourselves up to demonic deception. Here are some things God wants us to avoid…

• Talking to anyone or anything spiritual other than God (i.e. Ouija boards, seances, mediums, any contact with the dead, etc)
• Getting power through something other than God (casting spells, brewing potions, energy crystals, calling on spirits to help you with things)
• Getting information from spiritual things other than God (i.e. Tarot cards, divination, astrology)

Some common questions that kids might ask are:

• Are ghosts real? There are only angels or demons. So no, ghosts are not real. If you think you saw a ghost, you were either mistaken, or being tricked by a demon.
• How do you tell the difference between an angel or demon? Angels will always help you grow closer to God and will always support what the Bible says. Demons will always try to pull you away from God and go against what he says in the Bible to deceive you.
• Is it okay to try to be a witch? No, God tells us many times not to try any form of witchcraft. Never try to cast a spell or brew a potion or contact the dead.
• If witches are bad, what about Harry Potter? Is it okay to read that? There are two types of witches or wizards in books.
  
  • First, there’s the type who have power, like Superman. It’s part of who they are, they were born with it. That type is okay to read about (i.e. Harry Potter).
  • Then, there’s type who get power from spirits, potions, the earth, crystals, or some supernatural means. That is not best to read about.
• Should I be scared of demons?  Yes and no.
  
  • Yes, because demons are very real and very evil and will try to lead people away from God. That is not good!
  • No, because you have a God who is WAY stronger than any demon. So as long as you are living with Jesus, you have NOTHING to be scared of.

We pray that this serves you as you have conversations about the supernatural with your children.

 

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