A Tennessee church held a bonfire for congregants to burn the fantasy books alongside Ouija boards and other “demonic influences”
A controversial US pastor conducted a bonfire of various ‘occult’ materials, including copies of Harry Potter and Twilight books, in order to combat “witchcraft” and “demonic influences.” He argued that his church had a “biblical right” to destroy “materials that they deem are a threat to their religious rights and freedoms and belief system.”
Greg Locke, who heads the Global Vision Bible Church in the city of Mt. Juliet outside of Nashville, Tennessee, organized the burning on Wednesday. In an Instagram post announcing the event, Locke encouraged his congregation to bring copies of the popular fantasy books, as well as “tarot cards, Ouija boards, healing crystals, idol statues, spell books and everything else tied to the occult.”
Noting that the event would “expose the Kingdom of Darkness for what it is,” Locke denounced the Twilight books and movies as being “full of spells, demonism, shape-shifting and occultism.” He claimed that the church had received material “from all over” and warned that “witchcraft and accursed things” need to go since it was “time for people to be delivered.”
The burning, which was livestreamed on Locke’s Facebook account, saw people hurl a variety of items into a massive blaze in the church’s parking lot. In a sermon preceding the bonfire, he urged the churchgoers to “give the devil a black eye.”
“I ain’t messing with witches no more, I ain’t messing with witchcraft. I ain’t messing with demons. I’ll call all of them out in the name of Jesus Christ,” Locke said, to applause from the gathering.
According to the Nashville Scene news outlet, a protester who held up copies of ‘Fahrenheit 451’ and Charles Darwin’s ‘On the Origin of Species’ hurled a book into the fire that he claimed was the Bible. A video posted on YouTube showed members of the crowd confronting the man, who yelled “Hail Satan,” and telling him to leave. The uploader claimed there were “atheist and pagan counter-protesters” across the street from the church.
Locke has reportedly previously made headlines for claiming that autistic children suffered from demonic possession and is permanently banned from Twitter for spreading Covid vaccine misinformation, NBC reported.
