Christian Concerns over the
New Age Fascination with Fairies (Faeries)
When we think of the subject of fairies most of us will automatically assign such things to the realm of fiction as we remember childhood fantasies around Peter Pan. But it may surprise some people to know that there is a growing trend amongst those in the New Age and neo-pagan communities to believe in fairies as real spiritual creatures (sometimes also referred to as "faeries" or "the fae" to distinguish them from their fictional counterparts). This is promoted through seminars, weekend retreats, various websites, magazines and books.
I have recently finished reading one such book on the subject called: Fairy Magic, written by Rosemary Ellen Guiley. It is a sort of ‘improve yourself with the aid of fairies’ type book.
To be honest (and I do not intend to be disrespectful), I often find with many of these particular kind of New Age self help type books, that when you read through the beginning, you have a lot of fluffy vague stuff that sort of numbs your brain, then, near the end, the more meaty stuff comes out as the author gets to the whole crux of the matter. It is here where the most worrying part of the book is revealed as the author encourages the reader to communicate with fairies, experience them, and seek them out (for those who don't see this as a problem yet I will expound on this more later).
But for the most part, time is devoted to convincing the reader of the existence and supposed value of these creatures.
I have no doubt that people see and experience phenomena with these things, in much the same way that others claim to have had encounters with ghosts, ET’s, angels, and other entities. This is just one of the areas where those who hold up science alone as the explanation to all things, or those who subscribe to a purely humanistic or naturalistic approach, fall flat as they simply can’t account for all of the unexplained supernatural encounters that so many people have. After all, all these people can’t simply be dismissed as liars or delusional can they?
A brief story from a friend of mine will serve to illustrate at this point. This friend of mine is one of those people who is trustworthy, honest, and not prone to exaggeration or sensationalism. He recalled an experience he had many years ago when he was a teenager on a night out with a friend. On their way to a nightclub they passed by an entry when something caught their eye. On closer examination they noticed a small triangular faced humanoid creature scuttling about. They both saw it and it saw them. With this they ran. After some discussion, they decided to go back to make sure that they had not imagined it. When they returned, they saw that it was still there and trying to hide from them. They ran off again terrified.
(continued, alien=/=faery)
