In the last devotional, we looked at what happens in our hearts when we engage in entertainment, and how this so often leads to the time we have being stolen from God. Please keep the last devotional closely in mind as you read this one. Most of the content for this devotional is from my own examination of anime entertainment, which typically comes from Japan, but which heavily influences Western youth and young-adults, and even Western entertainment as a whole. Even if you have never got into this form of entertainment, there is much value for understanding entertainment as a whole through examining it. So, the following was my own reflection on this entertainment, which I wrote back in November, 2023. I know that this devotional is somewhat longer than usual, but I hope that you will seek to understand this, since so many are entrenched in this sort of thinking. Here are my reflections:
I have been reflecting a lot over the past few years on some consistent New Age themes that I have been finding in popular entertainment. We really shouldn’t be surprised by this, since New Age ideas have become more or less mainstream. These points represent common themes not only in popular anime, but also much entertainment in the West. I will begin with some common observations that I have made in various anime that I have seen over the years.
Heart or Emotions over the Mind. There is a common theme, where a person needs to just believe in himself for him to be effective. It is a theme of feeling of one’s heart or spirit over thinking. Often, the protagonist (or ineffective characters) needs to be taught that, what is holding him back, is that he is still thinking with his mind instead of with his emotions or “heart” (the modern definition of heart as the seat of the emotions). Channeling one’s heart into some endeavour, regardless of whether it is good or evil, is the way to get power and to exceed the “normal” limits placed on a person. So, the protagonists very often are passionate and emotional. They set their hearts on an objective, and give everything to do that—even when entirely irrational or against what seems to be insurmountable odds. Believing in such a thing with all one’s heart then gives them special powers to fulfill their objective. (Remember that God is the One who sets the limits on us as creatures, so this is seeking to defy God by becoming God).
Power from Believing. Very common is also the theme of not only “believing in oneself” for power (regardless of what that means, even in wickedness), but that those who believe in themselves effectively are those who then amass followers who also believe in him. Those who “believe” in such a person lend him their power, ultimately enabling that character to do impossible feats towards fulfilling his heart objective (again, regardless of what that objective is). So, there is an intrinsic power behind believing—especially if there are more who believe, and this belief not being merely numerical, but according to the measure of that belief (i.e., those who channel their whole emotions and heart into a belief stand to grant more power). Notice also the common theme of using characters en mass for gaining special power (usually it is an enemy who takes entire populations or certain “powerful” characters who use their hearts well), or an intrinsic power given to “teamwork” or, to put it differently, operating in synch or on the same wavelength. Such “teamwork” (usually of the main characters) gives their heart-aim special powers to attain to their objective. (A person can be his own god, and amass his own power and followers through the force of his belief in himself).
Elementals or “Ancient” Magic. There are many occult themes in many anime, usually revolving around both incantations and elemental magic. There are often assumptions that each person is born with a certain proclivity to a certain element or elements, and with a certain potential for using it. Either words or a strong belief in something yields power, and this power is furthered by the person’s strength of belief in their heart objective. Even the protagonists—who are so often obsessed with an ideal—often give praise to their adversaries if they are also obsessed with an ideal (in fact, that is often seen as what gives them their unique effectiveness or power). This also often sets characters up as rivals. Their power or magic corresponds to their obsession with a particular objective or ideal. (In this, God—or nature—is to be manipulated for a person’s own aims, as if he were God Himself).
The Absence of Good and Evil. This is even more evident in the relatively newer materials, since the West generally regulated its entertainment, requiring the “good guys” to always triumph over the “bad guys,” and which also required a negative portrayal of the “bad guys.” If you pay attention, then you will see that so-called “holy magic” is often wielded by characters that are portrayed badly, and you will see that so-called “holy magic” is often portrayed as coming from some reproduction of the Roman Catholic church. Likewise, the church is virtually always portrayed negatively, as hypocritical and corrupt, and as their deity being evil in disguise. So many times, God or “gods” are portrayed as being the bad guys, and especially so if God is portrayed as being one who is for “law and order.” Such “law and order” is then so often portrayed as being shallow, or is deconstructed in the hearts and minds of the show’s characters, and then replaced by a heart objective that does not care to be inherently good or evil. The point is that no one—even God—has the right to tell people what is right or wrong, and that what a person really should do is follow their heart in defiance to God, regardless of the consequences. God is then so often made out to be corrupt Himself, and the heroes then need to bring down His alleged tyranny. So, the measure for what is right and wrong is based on what one’s heart desires, and not on some transcendent standard that applies to all equally.
Common Eschatology in Anime. Peace and prosperity often result not from law and order, or even from being moral, but from characters transcending their limits (a “god” of law and order—or something like that—would be viewed as the opponent, who uses such limits for their own corruption). Peace is often viewed on the heart-level—being able to do what you pleased. Furthermore, the closer a group comes to this, the closer they come to something like godhood (like an Aquarian Age, where all is awakened to its godhood).
Becoming God. In many shows, a person keeps on punching past their limits to transcend to a level of being “like God.” In this scheme, God is merely a person who learned to transcend His own limits, and who amassed a following, which only serves to give Him more power. So, the way to defeat such a “god” is to remove belief in him, and to see such a god as controlling/manipulating others and putting limits on them. Inherent in such a view is to allow any and all others the opportunity to become either like God, or to become God. Such transcendence is viewed as the right for all to pursue in their own way, and such transcendence is viewed as desirable, since those who “transcend” are being true to themselves—which is viewed as the ultimate good. Not surprisingly, this leads to the view that actually obeying or worshipping God (or any deity) is viewed as naïve, corrupt, or holding oneself back, or merely for the ignorant masses to be manipulated—since, really, by their view, such a deity is simply using them for his own gain and power. According to this view, all ought to be free to pursue godhood; all ought to pursue becoming God (the sin of the devil).
Overt Sexuality. The overt sexuality in many anime out there is shocking, until one realizes where it is coming from. With no belief (1) in inherent right or wrong, (2) that a person should merely pursue their heart’s greatest desire, (3) that one’s power is based in pushing past all limits (even moral limits), it thus makes sense that so much material will be very corrupt. The assumptions that a person starts with is what they end with. Things like the sanctity of marriage, or chastity, or even common decency are thrown out the window in such a view—and it is even so often seen as good and desirable to do so. After all, morality is just one more limiter that a person needs to punch past to become their true self and to reach their heart’s ideal. So, not only does so much anime convey and teach the ideals I described here and above, but they also seek to demonstrate them in application—hence the high level of corruption in anime. In fact, many would even say that manga (the comic version of anime) is itself usually more violent, corrupt, and sexually charged than what the shows portray. So much manga is extremely bad (I knew many girls who were very much into this stuff). Morality is relative, violence and sex sells, and teaching others to give into their heart’s desires—regardless of what they are—is a recipe for producing people devoid of morality, law, and order.
Esoteric Shows. A good number of anime also set out to teach their viewers the basics of the New Age. This often goes hand-in-hand with the main character or characters, as they train to go beyond their normal limits. Often, the New Age elements being taught do not use traditional language for doing so, but some popularized version, which still seeks to get the basics across. Still others do get into many details, such as teaching about the seven chakras that need to be unlocked, and how to do so. The most-base chakra, also called the serpentine chakra, is that which is connected to both passion and sexual desire. So, indulging in passion and sexual desire are seen as the starting point for unlocking one’s potential. It is then through learning to channel one’s heart’s desires (giving oneself over to them as one’s life aim) that then leads to further chakras being unlocked, each which represents something different. Unlocking the final chakra allegedly leads to one becoming like God, or a god. Likewise, there are also chakras beyond the seven, leading to each point in a person’s body until they transcend their mortal bodies, which are seen as the ultimate limiter on one’s potential—i.e., they realize their godhood by finally breaking past their physical body. Notice that many times their “power” or elementals are limited by what their bodies can take, requiring transcending beyond their body’s limits, or getting more “forms” that are more powerful (forms that either are closer to deity, or deity itself). Notice also that the uninitiated are so very often portrayed as the ignorant masses (i.e., nearly everyone else, or the general population), and are up for the manipulation and abuses of those initiated ones to use as they please. Secret methods and knowledge (such as ancient magic or techniques), enflamed by being consumed by one’s heart desire or aim (unlocking one’s chakras, and thus going past normal limits), is what brings one out of ignorance and towards godhood, and their desires becoming actualized.
The Use of “Gods,” Demons, or Spirits. Many characters in anime will enter into “pacts” with one form of a spirit or another. Usually, the cost for such a pact is promising one’s own soul, other’s souls, or something very important to one’s soul (or even just simply one’s own ether, mana, or ki—a mutually-beneficial relationship). So, it is seeking to give power over to a “spirit,” “god,” or “demon.” This “power” is one aspect of the universe that has partially awakened to its godhood, committing its power to the pact’s spirit for all time, so that the spirit may have more power itself in its plight to full godhood. In turn, the spirit or demon pledges to give the person a measure of its power, taking “shortcuts” for the character to have more godhood power. Ultimately, the pact entails a person giving up something that usually is not the core heart-value or ideal, meaning that the spirit or demon would therefore help them to achieve what they desire.
Ki or Ether of the Universe. So very often, we are told that a person needs to learn how to use ki or ether through their bodies by channeling. A person can build up their ether (or potential for magic use) through using it, thereby breaking their limits. The point is that the universe itself is power, since all is allegedly God (pantheism), but the universe just doesn’t know it yet. A person becomes powerful by channeling the power of the universe around them and compelling more and more of it to fulfill their desires. In other words, the universe can be warped and manipulated as far as a person can channel their beliefs and desires towards a particular aim. It is in this sense that such physical matter in the universe realizes and awakens to its godhood, and thus goes to the one commanding it. So, since the whole universe is “god,” then the whole universe can be channeled by whatever comes to realize its godhood—with those having higher realization (i.e., more and stronger unlocks of their chakras) being those who have more power to bend the universe to their own will. This is also why such “power” usually manifests itself in the base elements, since those are powers viewed as inherent to the universe, just waiting to be used.
Reincarnation. Reincarnation goes hand-in-hand with a New Age view, since all the universe is seen as God. Think of it this way. If all the universe is God, then the universe becoming “awakened,” even partially, would show certain patterns of awareness. There would be recurring patterns, regardless of where it comes from in the universe. So, a character being a reincarnated demon lord, for instance, or a reincarnated hero, would almost be expected in anime. Likewise, to die would so often not be viewed as the end, but only a new beginning of the same thing. Life and death itself would be viewed in terms of more or less awareness of the universe’s own godhood, with only the initiated and enlightened possibly being able to break the cycle of life and death.
I could go on, drawing more of these themes out, but this should suffice for my purposes. The point is that the ideals and beliefs of the New Age permeate the greater chunk of anime. In many, the New Age is an undercurrent—assumed but not explicitly expressed. In this regard, it is kind of like a Christian movie that has undercurrent Christian themes and beliefs, which then lead its viewers to also see such things the more that they watch or consume such materials. Anime is largely based on a New Age worldview that permeates its materials and shows, even when it is not explained. Even when it is not explained, the main characters—almost invariably—still convey their ideals, which has the effect of drawing others into its system, and thereby to increasingly adopt New Age ideals. A covert and repetitive subtlety is so often very effective towards changing and influencing the masses into accepting new ideals and values. It is like seeking to raise up a generation for those things. Those ideals are what they know and hear over and over again, and the entertainment value drives it into their hearts. Because of all this, anime (and manga) is very dangerous and harmful to people in general, and especially towards those who desire to have their hearts set on lovingly obeying God as their chief aim. We do not try to transcend our inbuilt limits when we pursue God. Rather, we rely solely on God to help us to overcome our sin and to become like His Son. A chief message of the gospel is that we cannot transcend or go past our own depravity without God. God and God alone can help us, and this is only as we submit to Him. God alone is the One who determines what is right and wrong, and what we should and should not do. So, to seek to punch past all limits is for us to defy God in the same way that Satan did when he tried to usurp God’s throne. So often, in the New Age, the Christian God is portrayed as the true devil, and the devil as the true liberator; a liberator who helps all to realize their godhood. So, the gospel is inherently opposed to all that the New Age stands for, and thus against the ideals and teachings associated with virtually all anime.
Interestingly enough, we see a lot of these themes entering into the Western entertainment industry. Think, for instance, of the movie “Finding Nemo.” In the movie, we are told to “just keep swimming,” with only the desire of our heart leading us. When Nemo’s dad was planning on how he would get to his son, Dori told him, “don’t think about it,” and his dad later then started asking “What would Dori do?” Thinking is viewed as a lesser form, preventing oneself from reaching one’s goals, while focusing on what one desires as the way to one’s desires being fulfilled. Even just this can have serious repercussions for the Christian Faith. Many, many kids’ movies teach these sorts of things, including many of the themes found in popular anime. In certain cases, if we do let our children watch some of these things, it would be wise to talk regularly with them about the evil philosophies found in them. It may also be a good idea to really limit their access to entertainments, just as we would refined sugar, so that they can have wholesome food.
So, we need to bear in mind the sorts of influences that we are not only opening ourselves up to, but others as well. Our hearts’ will, desires, and decisions should gravitate towards God, and not be entertained and gravitate towards evil. I hope that this examination has helped to open your eyes to what so many hearts are pursuing, which is open rebellion to God and His will, desires, and decisions. Redeeming the time means cutting out all that does not honour Him. We need to be careful of what we consume and are entertained by, since we will need to give an account to God one day for all of it—for how we used our lives and directed our hearts, which are owned by Him.
Next time we will be closing the series on redeeming the time by looking at what Christ has done for us as our forerunner in faith.