[This post is a continuation of Sunday's post.]
“having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart.” (Ephesians 4:18)
“Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.” (Proverbs 26:12)
I Googled “Astaria” in the wee-hours of the morning and found next to nothing initially, apart from the name being used as a proper noun: a name for a certain restaurant; a town name (and that not being the town mentioned in scripture)[i]; also the name of a complex role-playing game. After some searching, I did find one page that connected “Astaria” with a religion of some kind. Here is a link to what may be the most information that is “out there” (pun intended). Don’t spend too much time trying to figure it out (you won’t get those hours back again—besides, some people after 50 years still don’t have it figured it).
“Astaria” seems to be a “quiet” form of neo-paganism that claims a Judeo-Christian foundation. My knee-jerk reaction was that “Astaria” was a system connected with Ashtaroth, the female deity of Baalism, (also known as Ishtar of the Accadians and Assyrians or Astarte to the Philistines and Greeks) as found in the (Jer. 44:17; 1 Kings 11:5, 33; 2 Kings 23:13)[ii]. Actually, the thrust of Astaria is a New Age mix of religion and science fiction with a sprinkle of Scientology. If I were to sum it up in one word, the Kevin Spacie movie “K-Pax” comes to mind (didja notice that Starman plays the psychiatrist in the movie?).
From what I am able to tell, the “travelers” in this group consider themselves to be just that—travelers across geography, time and space. They also practice manipulation of energy through various levels of contact with “Mother Earth” and the universe. These travelers view themselves as transcendent, inter-dimensional beings. When they go to a certain place, they arrive geographically, but through animistic/New Age practices, they also try to “experience” a culture across time (even ancient cultures) with the view to move into a perfected culture in a futuristic sense (the Guild Pilots of Frank Herbert’s “Dune” come to mind).
The key word in all this is “animism.” A colleague and former mentor of mine, Dr. Phil Steyne, explains that “animists believe that an impersonal power is present in all objects. This power may be called mana, or life force, or force-vital, or life essence or dynamism. It may be likened to electricity—an essence with which everything is charged, which flows from one thing to another. The person in possession of this force my use it has he sees fit but always stands the chance of losing it. This is a type of pantheism.”[iii]
I’ve posted the interview below once more so you can watch and listen how “Doc” described the “white energy” of the cross, the pyramids and the force of the impersonal word called “Christ.” Also, note the principle of “fear” that sprinkles the conversation (he is fearful of being locked up for what he says at the beginning, and states fear in connection with the powerful word of “Christ.”) Animism is a system of fear as power (and spirits) cannot be fully trusted, hence the use of “protections” (amulets, charms, etc):
If you are interested in taking a one-week course in "Folk Religion and Spiritual Warfare" [animism and a Christian response] this June, please visit this website for information. Please understand that I do not intend this to be a commercial. I am that deeply concerned about how the fingers of animism have crept into this culture and am eager to see Christians obedient to carrying out the Great Commission ready to address this movement with biblical truth.
My next post will include some suggestions for getting the conversation started and how to evangelize animists/New Agers.
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[i] “A city of Bashan, in the kingdom of Og (Deut. 1:4; Josh. 12:4; 13:12; 9:10). It was in the half-tribe of Manasseh (Josh. 13:12), and as a Levitical city was given to the Gershonites (1 Chr. 6:71). Uzzia, one of David’s valiant men (1 Chr. 11:44), is named as of this city. It is identified with Tell Ashterah, in the Hauran, and is noticed on monuments 1700-1500. The name Beesh-terah (Josh. 21:27) is a contraction for Beth-eshterah, i.e., ‘the house of Ashtaroth.’” Easton, M.G. Easton's Bible Dictionary. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1996, c1897.
[ii] The goddess Astarte, as she is known in Greek transliteration, figures prominently in the religious world of the ancient Near East as a mother-goddess associated with sexual reproduction as well as warfare. The Hebrew ˓aštōret is cognate to Akkadian išhtar and Ugaritic ˓ttrt (there is also a masculine deity, ˒ttr; cf. Moabite ˓štr [masc.], Phoenician ˓shtrt, Aramaic ˓tr, Old South Arabic ˓attar [masc.]). The Hebrew ˓aštārôt is the plural form. Albright and Pope suggest that the plural refers not to many such goddesses, but reflects “an increasing tendency to employ the plural of the name ”in the clear sense of totality of manifestations of a deity’ " (Pope, p. 20, quoting Albright, p. 213). The BDB lexicon observes that the singular form ˓aštōret may be an artificial pronunciation to suggest the vowel pattern of the Hebrew bōšet “shame” (q.v.); the Akkadian, Ugaritic [normalized ˒attart], and Greek renderings show no vowel between the last two consonants. This singular Hebrew form is used three times in the book of Kings of a Sidonian goddess worshiped by Solomon (I Kgs 11:5, 33; II Kgs 23:13, called the šiqqûṣ “abominable idol,” of the Sidonians). Elsewhere in the ot the plural ˓aštārôt is found, usually associated with Baalim (the plural of Baal [q.v.], Jud 2:13; 10:6; I Sam 7:4; 12:10), and once with “strange gods” (I Sam 7:3). Saul’s armor was placed in a temple of Ashtaroth upon his death (I Sam 31:10).
Some scholars dissent, but it appears likely that the goddesses Ashera (q.v.) and Astarte are one and the same (e.g. Kapelrud, p. 62). In the Hebrew Bible, as in the Ugaritic texts, Astarte is used much less often than Ashera. Yet they are both associated with Baal (and in Ugaritic, with El). To complicate the picture of the Canaanite pantheon further, some scholars suggest that the goddess Anat (Ugaritic ˓nt, UT 19: no. 1889), the consort of El and the sisterspouse of Baal, is identified at times with Ashera and Astarte (e.g. Harrison, p. 167). Anat does not occur in the ot as the name of a goddess, but is the name of Shamgar’s father (Jud 3:31; 5:6; cf. Anathoth, a place name, Josh 21:18). The devotees of these goddesses glorified Astarte, Ashera, and Anat (or, as some suggest, one goddess under three designations) in terms of exaggerated sexual features (so the terra cotta figurines) coupled with vicious sadism (so the nauseating scenes in the Ugaritic epic literature). Harris, R. Laird, Robert Laird Harris, Gleason Leonard Archer, and Bruce K. Waltke. Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. electronic ed., Page 707. Chicago: Moody Press, 1999, c1980.
[iii] Steyne, Phil. Gods of Power: A Study of the Beliefs and Practices of Animists. Columbia, SC: Impact International Foundation, 1996, ’99. Available from bookstore of Columbia International University, P.O. Box 3122, Columbia, SC 29230
