From Wizards to Prophets: Why the Supernatural Story Matters

Dr. Greg Bottaro and I were deep in conversation on his Being Human podcast when we found ourselves laughing about our sons—his 12-year-old and my 10-year-old—and their love of fantasy literature. Both avid readers who've devoured Tolkien and Lewis, they've been asking us questions about magic in the stories they read.

The conversation took an interesting turn when Greg mentioned that a male colleague of his plays Dungeons & Dragons, but shared the concern that some Catholics have about potentially "opening demonic doors" through fantasy role-playing. As two Catholic fathers and psychologists, we realized we'd stumbled into one of the most important conversations of our time: How do we discern between harmless fantasy and something spiritually problematic in a culture where the lines are increasingly blurred?

The Legitimate Concerns About Harry Potter and D&D

For decades, Christians have wrestled with the spiritual implications of books like Harry Potter or games like Dungeons & Dragons. These concerns weren't born in a vacuum:

Harry Potter has been criticized for portraying spells and curses in ways that seem too close to real occult practices. The detailed magic systems, incantations, and rituals can feel uncomfortably similar to actual witchcraft.

Dungeons & Dragons has faced accusations that its role-playing elements and storylines can blur into unhealthy obsessions with demons, witchcraft, or darkness. Some worry that immersive fantasy gaming opens doors to spiritual deception.

In earlier decades, these fears sometimes seemed exaggerated or out of touch. But today's cultural moment has sharpened these concerns. Witchcraft, astrology, manifestation practices, and occult spirituality have gone mainstream through TikTok and Instagram. What was once a harmless storybook image now overlaps more easily with actual practices people are exploring. The line between fantasy and real occult engagement has become thinner.

The Deeper Hunger Behind Fantasy

Still, the fascination itself reveals something profound about human nature. People don't turn to fantasy simply because they love goblins or dragons. They're hungry for transcendence. They long for wonder, mystery, and power that goes beyond the mundane reality of their daily lives.

That hunger is not wrong—it's God-given. We were created for the supernatural. The problem is that the enemy loves to twist legitimate spiritual longings. The counterfeit versions of spiritual power—spells, rituals, occult practices—are attractive precisely because they mimic something real and good.

Lewis, Tolkien, and the Innocence of True Myth

C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien understood this better than anyone. They recognized that fantasy could serve as a window into divine truth rather than a gateway to deception.

In Narnia, magic is always subordinate to Aslan, the Christ figure. The "Deep Magic" points beyond itself to sacrificial love and divine justice. It's never about self-exaltation but about surrender to something greater.

In The Lord of the Rings, what appears as "magic" flows out of creation itself—language, song, the very nature of elves and wizards. Tolkien's world feels sacred because it operates on principles of sacrifice, fidelity, and love rather than power manipulation.

Their stories feel purer because they reveal the difference between the true and the counterfeit. They point us toward the transcendent without pulling us toward the occult. They satisfy our longing for the supernatural while pointing us to its true source.

The Enemy Only Counterfeits

Here's the liberating truth: Satan cannot create anything original. He only counterfeits. The world's obsession with spells, manifestation, and hidden powers is simply a distorted echo of what God has already promised His people.

The prophet Joel declared it centuries ago: "I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions" (Joel 2:28).

This promise was fulfilled at Pentecost when the Spirit came in fire and wind. The supernatural life of the Kingdom is not a shadow or wishful thinking—it is the blazing reality. We don't need to chase after counterfeit spiritual experiences when we have access to the real thing.

Filling the Prophetic Vacuum

The real issue isn't that people love fantasy or are fascinated by spells—it's that they're spiritually starving. In the absence of a truly prophetic Church, people naturally turn to counterfeits to satisfy their God-given hunger for the supernatural.

Think about what people are actually seeking when they go to psychics, use tarot cards, or dive into manifestation practices. They want someone who can speak into their identity, their calling, their future. They're looking for supernatural insight that goes beyond human wisdom. They're desperate for encounters with divine reality that satisfy their longing for transcendence.

The tragedy is that God designed His Church to provide exactly what people are seeking—but we've largely abandoned our prophetic calling. When believers can't find prophetic ministry in their local church, when there's no one who can pray and receive specific words from God for them, when supernatural encounters are rare rather than normal, people will look elsewhere.

This is why groups like Encounter School of Ministry matter so profoundly. They exist to equip believers to walk confidently in prophetic gifts, healing, prayer, and intimacy with the Father. When the Church lives authentically in the true supernatural—when we have believers who can actually connect people to God's heart and reality for them—the counterfeits lose their appeal.

We don't need to banish all fantasy from our children's lives. What we desperately need is to raise up a prophetic people who can offer what the culture is actually hungry for: authentic encounters with the living God, prophetic insight that reveals His heart, and prayer that connects people to divine reality.

The answer to a culture fascinated with counterfeits isn't fear or withdrawal. It's becoming the Church we were always meant to be—a prophetic people who can satisfy the spiritual hunger that drives people to seek elsewhere.

Living the True Epic

This shift in perspective lies at the heart of what the Church is called to offer the world. We don't need to live terrorized by counterfeit powers or withdraw from imagination and wonder.

The supernatural story matters because it reveals our deepest longings and points us toward their true fulfillment. We were created for an epic adventure—a glorious, supernatural life in the Kingdom of God that makes every fantasy pale in comparison.

When the Church lives authentically in the prophetic gifts, when believers know how to hear God's voice and walk in His power, when we embrace the supernatural adventure we were actually created for—the counterfeits lose their appeal. No amount of occult or demonic imitation can compete with the real thing: a life lived in the Spirit of the living God.

The invitation is simple: let's give our children—and our culture—the real supernatural story they're longing for. Let the reality of God's Kingdom life eclipse every counterfeit the enemy offers. In a world hungry for transcendence and adventure, let's show them the epic they were truly made for.

This perspective represents the kind of mindset transformation I explore in my new book, Big God, Little Devil: A Radical Shift in the Approach to Spiritual Warfare and Deliverance—available at biggodlittledevil.com.