Quebec religion wants Canadian government to approve the use of magic mushrooms in its ceremonies

Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts. Revelation 9:21

According to Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, the Greek word for sorcery in Rev. 9:21 is pharmakia (or pharmakeia), from which we get the English word pharmacy...

...primarily signified the use of medicine, drugs, spells; then, poisoning; then, sorcery...mentioned as one of the "works of the flesh..."

...In sorcery, the use of drugs, whether simple or potent, was generally accompanied by incantations and appeals to occult powers, with the provision of various charms, amulets, etc., professedly designed to keep the applicant or patient from the attention and power of demons, but actually to impress the applicant with the mysterious resources and powers of the sorcerer.

We live in an increasingly drugged society--yet another end-time prophecy that's being fulfilled before our eyes. As reported by Darryl Greer of Canadian Press, October 21, 2024:

A Quebec-based religion is taking the minister of mental health and addictions to court, claiming Health Canada is dragging its feet on a decision whether to allow its members to use magic mushrooms in their ceremonies.

Gratitude Sanctuary, known as Sanctuaire de la Gratitude in French, and its “Reverend Superior” Alain Menier, filed an application in Federal Court claiming its members need to consume magic mushrooms to practice their religion.

The application was filed by the religious non-profit in early October in Ottawa, and says the group believes people receive “their own teachings when entering the sacred space opened by the consumption of psilocybin mushrooms.”

The application says ceremonies must be done safely and legally, but Health Canada hasn’t decided on the group’s request for an exemption from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, which was first submitted in March 2022.

“An important tenant of the religion is that the mushrooms should be consumed in the safest way possible, which requires that they be consumed under strict health and safety protocols, in a controlled environment, and under trained supervision,” it says.

In response to the request, the application says Health Canada sent two questionnaires to Menier with 41 questions in total, but months went by without a response.

The religious non-profit’s lawyer sent a “demand letter” in September to Health Canada seeking a response to the exemption request within 30 days, and “Health Canada confirmed receipt but did not provide any of the responses requested nor demonstrate that it was taking steps to further the processing of the exemption request.”

It wants to compel the agency to decide on the exemption, saying it “cannot conduct their religious ceremonies without” it.

Menier and Gratitude Sanctuary claim in court that their “religious freedom rights are being infringed by the lack of an exemption,” and they want a judge to compel the minister of mental health and addictions to either decide to grant or refuse the request.

“No harm will result from the minister continuing to process the exemption request,” the court application says.

“Rather, it will result in either the minister granting the request and allowing the applicants to practice their religion or the minister notifying the applicants about what more information that is needed or of the minister’s intent to refuse the request.”

Health Canada said it was looking into a question about religious exemptions from the act.

Health Canada’s website outlines how exemption requests are decided on a “case by case basis,” and processing times vary depending on the purpose of the exemption.

The agency’s website says it strives to “assess requests in a timely fashion,” aiming for 45 days for clinical studies, 70 days for scientific research, but for “non-routine exemptions, there is no set time period for receiving decisions.”

“The review time varies depending on the complexity and completeness of the request,” Health Canada’s website says.

A lawyer for Gratitude Sanctuary did not immediately respond to an email and voice mail seeking comment.

Youth "ministry" in at least two Winnipeg churches now includes Dungeons & Dragons

I've never played or had any desire to play Dungeons & Dragons or any other fantasy role-playing game, but I remember when the game was at the peak of its popularity in the 1980s. One of the few times I ever watched Sally Jessy Raphael's tabloid television show was when she had an episode on D&D in 1989. One of her guests was Paul Valentine, founder of the World Church of Satanic Liberation, and even he said that Dungeons & Dragons could be dangerous for players if they had an evil Dungeon Master. Christians warned against the game in those days, but now there are at least two churches in Winnipeg that use D&D as part of youth "ministry."

There's an old saying, attributed to various people, "What you win them with is what you win them to," or "What wins them is what keeps them." If you use Dungeons & Dragons to attract young people to church, that's what you're winning them to, and what will keep them in church. When I read of the nonsense described in the following article, it makes me more grateful that the Lord saved me when He did. As reported by John Longhurst in the Winnipeg Free Press, October 16, 2024 (photos by Mr. Longhurst):

Fifty years ago, a new game appeared on the scene: Dungeons & Dragons.

Soon after being introduced, the fantasy role-playing game, with its magic, wizards, sorcerers and warlocks, was criticized by many Christian leaders who saw it as a portal to the demonic — a way for Satan to steal the souls of unsuspecting youth.

That was during the time of the so-called “satanic panic,” when some Christians saw the devil everywhere they looked, from heavy metal music to graffiti.

One religious tract that circulated at the time said the game — in which players embark on adventures in a fantasy setting, directed by a dungeon master — was a form of “intense occult training” that caused young people to become witches and even to kill themselves.

In at least two churches in Winnipeg, D&D is seen in a very different light.

At River East Church, which is affiliated with Mennonite Church Manitoba, the game is seen as a great way to engage youth.

That’s the view of associate pastor Aaron Thiessen, 35, who runs a twice-monthly D&D game night at the church for as many as 25 youth from grades 7 to 11.

Thiessen hadn’t played the game himself growing up.

“It’s not that my parents were against it; I just thought it wasn’t for me,” he says.

When he discovered many young people in the church were into D&D, Thiessen decided to start some informal game nights in 2017. It went so well, he made it an official youth activity in 2019.

“The first time we tried it, 10 young people showed up. Now we have trouble keeping up with all who want to play,” he says.

The pandemic put a dent in the game — though they kept playing it online — but it came back stronger than ever when COVID abated.

Many of the youth who come to game nights aren’t from the congregation.

“For some, it’s the one connection they have to a church,” Thiessen says, adding it enables him to engage youth he had not met before, in a different way.

For him, the game nights build community and provide him with opportunities to have natural conversations with youth. He especially likes to see introverts open up as they play.

As for who comes, it’s a good mix of male and female players.

“It’s not just for guys anymore,” he says.

Thiessen begins each session with a story from the Bible or a story of a saint. On an evening in October, it’s the story of Moses going up a mountain, where he saw a burning bush and heard the voice of God.

“Mountains were special places where people could run into a deity,” Thiessen tells the youth about that Bible story. “I’m curious about what stories you will tell tonight.”

For Thiessen, incorporating stories such as this is a way to include a bit of spiritual teaching.

“The Bible is a book of stories, stories that continue to impact us today, stories that shape us as people, just as D&D is about stories,” he says.

The game also gives him and the adults who volunteer as dungeon masters to run the games a way to explore issues outside the games themselves.

“It gives us chances to explore why things happen the way they do in a game, the moral choices characters make,” Thiessen says.

After the games, there can be a time to debrief and talk about what happened.

Nathan Christmas, 18, is a volunteer dungeon master at River East. For him, D&D is a core way to bring youth together in a fun activity.

“It’s a space where youth can get together and tell stories. It builds conversation, improv and critical thinking skills,” he says.

For Kiana, one of the youth playing the game, it’s an opportunity to be with friends and “be in a different world.” For Jaden, it’s about “creating new worlds and stories with friends.”

Another congregation using D&D is FaithWorks, an independent church that meets on the campus of Canadian Mennonite University.

It’s organized by Christopher Neufeld, 42, who wasn’t allowed to play the game as a child, owing to some sort of “ambiguous evil” that was said to surround it.

In high school, he started to play with friends. Today he uses it as a way to engage young adults in the congregation; he hopes to start another game for youth in the church, too.
“It’s a connecting point with the church for some of them. Something in common we can do together,” he says.

Kiana (left) and Nori play Dungeons & Dragons at River East Church.

Anton Klein serves as a dungeon master during game night at River East Church.

I remember the "satanic panic" in the '80s, which included accusations of "backmasking" in rock music recordings in the early years of the decade, and accusations of satanic ritual abuse and murder toward the end of the decade. The latter peaked from about 1988-1992, and faded away when evidence mounted that many of the accounts were the result of false memories. I believe the concerns about Dungeons & Dragons, however, are legitimate. A good book on the subject from a Christian perspective is Playing with Fire by John Weldon and James Bjornstad (1984).

This was how demon-possessed criminals were dealt with in the Canadian Arctic in the 1920s

This has long been one of my favourite headlines; as reported in the Edmonton Bulletin, October 2, 1929 (capitals, bold in original).

ESKIMO GETS RELIGION AND SLAYS THREE

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Insane Native Then Pushed Through Hole In Ice By Tribesmen

Canadian Press

OTTAWA, Oct. 2--Believed by the authorities to have been a victim of the wave of religious mania, which swept over this lonely land about ten years ago, a young Eskimo inhabitant of the interior of the southern portion of Baffin Land became demented and shot and killed his two parents and a young woman relation. He shot at but missed his brother. The Eskimo tribe of which he was formerly a law-abiding member, kept him in close confinement through a long winter but in the spring, after he had twice escaped their vigilance, pushed him through a hole and drowned him beneath the ice of the sub-Arctic.

The story, almost unbelievable in its complications forms a part of a routine report of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers at Lake Harbor, Baffin Land, and will be incorporated in the annual report of the R.C.M.P. now being prepared at headquarters here.

Sergeant J.F.C. White in charge of the detachment at Lake Harbor reported that last winter, accompanied by Constable P. Dersch he made a long patrol through a section of southern Baffin Island where white men were unknown before the great war. He learned the story from the tribe in which the tragedy occurred.

Heard Voice From Heaven

The report stated that Mako Gliak, a young man became obsessed with the idea that he was a purifier of his race. He told his relatives he had heard a voice from Heaven telling him to kill all his people. He promptly proceeded to put this mission into operation.

The names of those he murdered were not ascertained by the police, although they were told Mako's parents and a young woman related to him were shot before the rest of the tribe overpowered him.

As Mako was obviously under a devilish spell, the Eskimos did not know what to do with him. The nearest post, Lake Harbor, was 500 miles away, and they had no means of making such a long journey with a madman. They bound him up with thongs of sealskin and kept him under guard in an igloo all winter. About March of the following year (1926) members of the group decided that they could not keep him any longer. They told police the men of the tribe were all worn out, by this time in maintaining a sharp vigilance lest Mako should escape and continue his crazy plan.

Pushed Through Ice

They summoned him before a meeting of the whole family one day, and told him he had to die. The gave him his choice of the manner of death. He could be shot, stabbed, or drowned--whichever he preferred.

But Mako did not widh to die, they told police. However his end was decided upon, and a hole was made in the ice. He was pushed through this and river currents carried him to his death.

No official action is contemplated, officials of the R.C.M.P. said. In making public the report from the north.

It is believed that the Eskimo tribe was actuated by motives of self-defence. Such occurrences are not unknown in the territory patrolled by Canada's silent watchmen of the North.

The district in which the deaths occurred is on a river which runs from Adjuak Lake into Nellfilling Lake in southern Baffin Land. The first white man to cross this lonely land was a German, and two years after the Great War it was penetrated again by Major L.T. Burwash, noted Canadian Arctic investigator of the Yukon and Northwest Territories branch. Occasionally since that time, R.C.M.P. officers have patrolled the district but no white man has visited the scene since the fall of 1925 when the youth went mad.

R.C.M.P. officials said a religious mania of this nature is not uncommon among the semi-civilized peoples of the north.