Christian author and pastor Lee Strobel warned this week during an interview with Tucker Carlson that Satan and the demonic realm are likely working through Hollywood and mass media to corrupt society by normalizing evil.
"If demons do exist, we ought to be heads-up about it," Strobel said, referring to his recent book Seeing the Supernatural: Investigating Angels, Demons, Mystical Dreams, Near-Death Encounters, and Other Mysteries of the Unseen World.
He emphasized that "the two biggest mistakes we can make about the demonic realm: number one, is to deny that they exist; and number two, to see a demon behind every bush and think they're more powerful than they are."
"They're both problems, but I think the biggest problem in our culture is to deny that there is a demonic realm, pretend like there isn't," he added.
Strobel, a former investigative journalist, went on to describe what he perceives as Satan’s strategy to influence society through mass media and entertainment by mainstreaming sin.
"If Satan were smart, which he is, would he go around the country and around the world trying to possess or bother average, everyday people?A much more efficient strategy is to 'go to Hollywood and influence a bunch of people there who are very influential in, let's say, the entertainment industry.'"
He explained, "And let's say he encourages them to create films and television shows that are funny and that are creative and they're fun, but there's an underlying message to them, that there's a normalization of immoral activity."
"When audiences are laughing, their guards are down and more susceptible to suggestion," Strobel added.
He pointed to the popular 1990s sitcom Friends as an example, stating it glorified "a very ugly sexual ethic that normalizes multiple sexual partners and that sort of thing — the kind of thing that Satan would love to inculcate into American culture."
Friends, which aired from 1994 to 2004, featured six friends living in New York City, often uncritically depicting casual relationships and hookups.
Strobel emphasized that such tactics are not limited to sexual immorality but extend to other sinful and destructive behaviors.
"I think it's much more efficient for Satan to influence moviemakers and TV makers in Hollywood to create products that feed us stuff that, without us even realizing it, open us up to the occult, open us up to immoral activity."
Carlson remarked on how such a worldview has personally affected many industry insiders, describing them as "really tormented people" with "a string of wrecked relationships, kids who hate them, trans kids, drug problems."
"It does seem to match up," Strobel agreed, regarding the likely personal consequences of embracing Hollywood’s promoted ungodly behaviors.
