The Bible’s Viewpoint
Fetishes—Can They Protect You?
“BETWEEN now and the harvesttime, Daniel will die!”
With these somber words, the West African fetish priest shocked the family standing before him. Yet this family had come to inquire, not about the young boy Daniel, but about his father, who lay seriously ill. After consulting a collection of small bones, shells, and stones, the priest had assured them that if proper sacrifices and rituals were performed, the father would soon recover completely! But to their horror, the priest added that young Daniel would soon be cut down by a terrible disease!
The family pleaded with the priest. Surely something could be done. At their insistence, the priest again resorted to divination. Yes, there was one hope! The priest said that only if a magical fetish coin was constantly worn by Daniel on a thread around his waist could he be rescued from imminent death.
Daniel was immediately called home from school and the peril explained. However, Daniel refused the copper coin offered him! Though not a Christian, he simply did not believe a coin had the power to preserve life.
Powerful or Powerless?
Can fetishes really protect those who use them? The belief that they can is by no means new. Fetishes were revered in ancient Rome, Greece, Babylon, and Egypt. And belief in them today is widespread. A wooden statue guards a village from evil. A father hangs a special bag from his ceiling to ward off evil spirits. A mother ties a leather pouch around her daughter’s neck to ward off disease. A chief wears a hippo’s tooth—insurance against the witchcraft of enemies.
True, many Westerners may disdain a belief in such objects. However, the Encyclopedia Americana reminds us: “Although often thought to be limited to primitive societies, fetishism is found in some degree in all societies.” So the Western man who superstitiously carries a rabbit-foot in his pocket or hangs a horseshoe over his door is likewise a fetish devotee!
Interestingly, those who use such objects often believe that their magical properties originate with God. But what does God himself say about fetishes? Speaking through his prophet Jeremiah, he makes the answer very clear: “They [fetish idols] can no more speak than a scarecrow in a plot of cucumbers; they must be carried, for they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them: they can do no harm, and they have no power to do good.” (Italics ours.)—Jeremiah 10:5, The New English Bible.
Note that just as a lifeless scarecrow has no ability to do good or bad, fetish objects can do nothing. They cannot walk or talk. They can be smashed, destroyed by fire, thrown into rivers, fall victim to moth and rust. If, then, they are so powerless to protect themselves, how can they possibly protect others?
Behind the Deception
Did you notice that deception is also involved? Birds are deceived into thinking there is life in a scarecrow. People are likewise duped into thinking that fetishes have power and are linked to their well-being.
For example, an Awake! reporter received permission to photograph a fetish that was in a museum. It was an African leather cap with the reputed power to make a warrior invincible in battle. When asked if someone would model the cap, the chief museum officer replied: “I cannot allow that. The hat still possesses magical properties. It could cause harm.”
Obviously, then, well-educated people can be deceived by fetishes. But who is behind such deception? Clearly, it is not Jehovah, “the God of truth,” who condemns magic practices. (Psalm 31:5; Deuteronomy 18:10-14) Rather, it is God’s chief enemy, Satan the Devil. He is the archdeceiver who, along with his demon subordinates, is “misleading the entire inhabited earth.”—Revelation 12:9.
Knowing the source of fetishism helps us appreciate that those practicing it are unwittingly looking to demons for protection and security. Is this wise? Certainly not! Jesus identified Satan as “a manslayer” and “the father of the lie.” Satanic forces wish not to protect but to dominate. Their aim is not to preserve but to destroy.—John 8:44.
Those desiring to please Jehovah, therefore, destroy their spiritistic paraphernalia, as did ancient Christians in Ephesus. (Acts 19:19) ‘But is it not true,’ some might object, ‘that some who have tried to destroy fetishes have found themselves under assault from the spirit world?’ Yes, but this is not due to a lack of protection from a lifeless piece of wood, stone, or cloth. Apparently the demons become enraged over having lost that contact with the material world.—Compare Matthew 8:28-32.
Remember, though, that Jehovah and his faithful angels are far more powerful than wicked spirits and will aid those calling upon God in faith. As Proverbs 18:10 says: “The name of Jehovah is a strong tower. Into it the righteous runs and is given protection.”
Fetishes can give no such protection. They are a sham, a hoax. Ask the man named Daniel who was mentioned at the outset. The events described there took place in the year 1935. His father, though under fetish “protection,” died within a month. But Daniel, who rejected fetishism, was condemned to die within six months. Fifty years later he remains alive and well.
So why use the tools of wicked spirits? Those tools are lifeless, as powerless as scarecrows. Real security and protection come from Jehovah God.
[Picture on page 27]
Fetish hat with the reputed power to make a warrior invincible in battle.—Freetown Museum, Sierra Leone