“Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the Lord your God. Leviticus 19:31
6 “If a person turns to mediums and necromancers, whoring after them, I will set my face against that person and will cut him off from among his people. 7 Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God. (Leviticus 20:6-7)
Psalm 36:9 says that “in His light, we see light.” That is, without the light from God’s revealed Word, we have no basis for assessing this Charlie phenomenon….or anything for that matter. Only a biblical worldview can make sense of life, as it is the inspired Word of He who created all things.
So, at the very outset, you have a choice: rely upon your autonomous reason, or humble yourself before the Living God by seeking His ‘opinion’ on this matter. Only in God’s Light can we attain light we can trust regarding this Charlie Challenge.
So, why is this Charlie craze a big deal? Primarily because God says it is a big deal, which is abundantly clear from texts above. God has not changed since these words were penned, and the warnings are trans generational and transcultural in their divine authority. They have up-to-the-second relevance, as does all of the Word of God.
Sometimes called the ‘Charlie, Charlie Challenge, this is an occultic game that has recently gone viral around the globe, especially among Middle School and High School students. It evidently originated in Mexico but only recently caught on elsewhere, including the USA. The spirit is thought to be a spirit name ‘Charlie’.
The way this game works is by taking a piece of paper and dividing it into four quadrants, with ‘yes’ and ‘no’ written on it. Then, two pencils/pens are set on top of each other at 90 degrees on top of the paper—kind of a simplified Ouija Board.
Then, by asking questions that can be answered either ‘yes’ or ‘no’, the participants inquire if the spirit of Charlie is present, and this spirit uses the rotating pens to answer this initial inquiry and their additional questions. At middle/high school age, one can does not have to think long about what kind of questions may be asked. And given the loss of faith amongst American families, as well as the God-given longing to experience spiritual reality, students are engaging in seriously dangerous activity in their pursuit of entertainment or even in serious, but seriously misguided, pursuit of truth.
The first thing to note is that a spirit is explicitly being summoned or invoked. Furthermore, additional attempts to communicate with this mysterious ‘Charlie’ are part and parcel of this game.
According to God, He detests any/all attempts to attain special knowledge from the spirit realm. The texts quoted above from Leviticus and Deuteronomy reveal that the kind of activity behind the Charlie, Charlie Challenge is an abomination to Him—that is a very strong word in both Hebrew and English. Whether the person is attempting to speak to what they think is a human spirit, or a demon, or just going through the motions for fun, the bible has serious warnings for all three. First, it is dishonoring to God to seek supernatural wisdom apart from God’s written revelation. We are told to be holy as He is holy, and this is seriously un-holy activity. Second, God enacted these prohibitions because He loves us and does not want us to get hurt. And the Charlie game most certainly opens doors that were meant to stay nailed shut. Between the things we see and the unseen are doors; once they are opened nightmares can become reality.
Let me anticipate a question/objection: most of these kids are simply bored and just seeking harmless fun. Additionally, one may object, that they know a person who used this Charlie game (or the Ouija) and nothing happened. How do we respond?
First, we must remember that we live every day in spiritual warfare with the demonic. They know the bible very well, and they know what gives them legal rights to come at us in accelerated ways. They are acutely aware of the above texts and seek to lure folks, regardless of intent, to disobey God’s warnings because they know that summoning spirits gives them the right to attack, and they don’t give a hoot about fun-loving naiveté. They don’t ‘play fair’.
There are many, many people who have used the Ouija board (and now the Charlie game) who would give anything to go back and do things differently, because their lives have become a living hell. Additionally, the demonic can act in subtle, long term ways. They don’t always infest a home and then possess people who use these forbidden games. They can attack one’s health, their relationships (especially with the Lord), their sanity, etc., without revealing themselves overtly. Yet, the use of “Charlie, Charlie Challenge” gives the diabolical a legal right to attach and attack, either overtly or covertly. They can be inhumanly patient, luring a person in a long walk in the wrong direction spiritually. Put differently, they can act like spiritual radioactivity—slowly and quietly wreaking havoc in innumerable ways. So, to the person who says that nothing happened after playing the game, I would ask: how do you know nothing happened?
We are all involved in spiritual warfare, and if we participate in an occultic practice, then this gives the devil a foothold he otherwise would not have had. Some sins are more serious in God’s eyes, with the possibility of extremely serious consequences (e.g. demonic oppression/possession).
There is not a Mexican demon which is harassing people who play this game. It is local demons who are looking for an opportunity and go along with the charade. Demons are the ultimate opportunists. By demons I mean fallen angels or vice versa—they are synonymous in the bible, along with unclean spirits.
It matters not what one’s intentions are. Though demons cannot read our minds, often intent is verbally expressed or through body language. Nevertheless, and this is important and tragic, no matter how sincere one might be, or no matter if it is intended as mere fun, those who play this game are at high risk of coming under serious demonic attack.
A child may not heed his parent’s warnings to stay away from the hot stove, and all his sincerity and fun-loving curiosity will not protect the child from being burned by the hot stove. As there are laws in nature which we break to our harm, so there are laws in the supernatural which we break to our harm as well, regardless of sincerity or intent.
Since our country has become increasingly anti-God (the real God) and increasingly inquisitive regarding the paranormal, the floodgates of diabolical darkness have been opened. Meaning that “more bullets” are being put in the spiritual Russian roulette gun. Hence, the likelihood of being oppressed as a result of playing this game has risen exponentially In other words, more demons are overtly active today than ever since the First Coming of Christ, and this makes any occultic practices all the more dangerous.
Where is a soldier more at risk: at the rear of his own army or in the middle of an enemy camp? It saddens me to say that our beloved country is becoming increasingly like the latter. The consequence is that playing occultic games is now more dangerous than ever before.
Our youth are being entertained to death and seem to embrace anything that will cause some excitement. Whether it is Bloody Mary, Ouija Board, attempting to acquire EVP’s, or Charlie Challenge, they are all attempts to communicate with the “other side”, which God forbids in the strongest language.
One of the problems with the Charlie Challenge is that it can lead to increasing involvement with the occult. There is no such thing as an ‘innocent interest in the occult’. Joseph Smith was said, in his youth, to have had an innocent interest in the occult. No wonder high weirdness ensued. One can be sincere but sincerely wrong.
Perhaps you could ask your pastor or Sunday school teacher if this topic could be addressed. Millions of kids are being affected and we need to have the compassion to stop them from committing what could become spiritual suicide, if not physical suicide.
My mom was fond of saying, ”Better safe than sorry!” A moment’s communion with common sense will reveal that it is truly better safe than sorry when dealing with supernatural evil. And we have to decide if we are going to humble ourselves before our Creator and Redeemer by heeding His warnings, or insanely cling to our spiritual preferences and desires.
One does not even need a ‘device’ to commit this cosmic treason against a holy God. All one has to do is call out to any kind of spirit—to seek advice, etc. However, actually summoning a spirit like ‘Charlie’ takes it to an even darker and more dangerous level. Never, ever attempt to invoke or summon a spirit, or you very likely will encounter one, and it will not be kind-hearted deceased ‘Uncle Bob’ or an alleged spirit named Charlie. It will be a fallen angel who hates you and will do all he can to destroy you and your loved ones.
This Charlie craze is symptomatic of spiritual emptiness. In my last blog I spoke of how God wants us to find in Him our highest treasure….to take supreme delight in Him and to display His glory. To enjoy and glorify Him. If we do this, then those in our circle of influence will see the spiritual reality that they long for. Consequently, they will be less likely to fall prey to the Charlie Challenge or something similar, because they will be exposed to true spiritual reality and beauty.
If you or someone you know has become involved in this Charlie craze, then please feel free to contact me and I will try to help, or get someone to help.
Educate….educate….educate---talk with our kids or grandkids and gently warn them of supernatural evil-in an age appropriate way. And for now, please take every opportunity to expose this Charlie Challenge as the satanic scheme that it is. That is why this Charlie Challenge is such a big deal.
Mark Hunnemann is the author of Seeing Ghosts Through God's Eyes: A Worldview Analysis of Earthbound Spirits. It's also available in eBook format.
