Herbert Armstrong absolutely despised country music and insisted his followers should only swoon over classical. Back when backwards masking and subliminal messages were the hot panic of the day, we got sermon after sermon about demons literally hiding in your record grooves—especially if you were brave enough to play the album in reverse.
Another charming faction couldn’t stand movies and made it their holy mission to trash them at every opportunity. Others treated Sesame Street and Disney/Warner Bros. characters like they were gateway drugs to demonism.
The sole approved cartoon in our enlightened circle? Road Runner cartoons, naturally—the one where Wile E. Coyote gets brutally beaten, flattened, blown up, and literally killed… only to be magically resurrected for the next gag. Very wholesome stuff.
Sure, there are plenty of movies and modern cartoons that aren’t worth the pixels they’re displayed on. But apparently, we’ve now reached the enlightened stage where the How to Train Your Dragon movies are hardcore Satanic propaganda at their core. At least according to the ever-vigilant Kitchen family fun squad. Timothy has now heroically uncovered the demonic teachings lurking inside them. Truly, the spiritual warfare never sleeps.
How to Train Your Dragon presents itself as a heartfelt fantasy about courage, understanding, and peace, set in a Viking world shaped by generations of fear and warfare against dragons. Across the films, the people of Berk believe their survival depends on destroying the creatures they call enemies, until a young and unlikely hero challenges that inherited worldview.The story follows Hiccup, the son of the village chief, who defies tradition by sparing a dragon he was expected to kill. Through his growing bond with the dragon Toothless, the narrative steadily reframes dragons—from feared destroyers into misunderstood beings whose power can be guided, controlled, and integrated into human society. What begins as a tale of personal growth evolves into a sweeping transformation of culture, authority, and identity.As the series progresses, How to Train Your Dragon moves beyond a simple coming-of-age story and becomes a meditation on how enemies are defined, how power is handled, and how peace is achieved. It invites viewers to reconsider long-held assumptions, replacing confrontation with coexistence and conquest with relationship—ideas that feel compassionate and progressive, yet carry deeper symbolic implications worth examining more closely.The phrase “How to Train Your Dragon” sounds harmless—playful, even inspiring. Yet when examined through a biblical lens, the title itself signals a theological inversion that deserves sober attention.Scripture does not leave the symbol of the Dragon undefined. Revelation is explicit:> “That great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan…”(Revelation 12:9)When a modern story centers on training rather than overcoming the dragon, the issue is not imagination—it is posture. Words matter. Verbs matter. Titles teach before the story begins.
So, let's whip out those big fat Moffatt Bibles and let's explore dragons, making sure to fill your magins with the astounding material below, courtesy of Timothy Kitchen:
The Biblical Framework: How Scripture Treats the Dragon
Throughout Scripture, the consistent command concerning Satan and demons is never:
Train
Befriend
Integrate
Manage
It is always:
Resist (James 4:7)
Cast out (Mark 1:34)
Flee (1 Peter 5:8–9)
Overcome (Revelation 12:11)
Christ never negotiates with demons. He never studies their motives. He never harnesses their power. He commands them to leave.
Authority is exercised from above, not discovered through relationship.
So, boys and girls, if you ever run across a dragon needing help, you need to remember that you are looking Satan straight in his eyes.
Even the very words of the screen title are demonic:
What “Train” Implies SpirituallyThe verb train carries unavoidable implications:The dragon remains presentThe dragon has usable valueThe human becomes a manager of powerPeace comes through technique rather than submission to GodThis is not dominion under God.It is self-mastery without God.It echoes the oldest temptation:> “You will be like God…” (Genesis 3:5)Not by obedience—but by control.
“Your Dragon”: Personalization of the EnemyThe title does not say the dragon or a dragon.It says:> Your dragon.This possessive framing subtly shifts the enemy from an external adversary to a personalized companion force—something intrinsic, assigned, and ultimately manageable.Biblically, this is a dangerous move.Demons are not “your shadow.”They are not “misaligned energy.”They are rebellious spirits.Scripture never teaches coexistence with rebellion.
Timothy continues:
The Biblical Line That Cannot Be CrossedJesus never asked demons why they behaved as they did.He said:“Come out.”That is the dividing line.Any message—however gentle, artistic, or emotionally resonant—that replaces expulsion with partnership has crossed from biblical authority into spiritual redefinition.
---Final AssessmentThe title “How to Train Your Dragon” is not neutral.Through a biblical lens, it presents:Power without submissionPeace without repentanceAuthority without GodControl instead of deliveranceIt teaches that harmony comes not by removing the dragon, but by learning to live with it.That is not the Gospel pattern.Scripture does not teach us to train the dragon.It teaches us that:> The Seed of the Woman crushes the serpent’s head. (Genesis 3:15)
So what is an Armstrongist Christian supposed to do when. he finds a lttle dragon in his backyard? Why you over come it as Christ did!
How We Overcome the Dragon — As Jesus Christ DidThe purpose of exposing error is never fear.The purpose is victory.Scripture does not leave believers guessing about how Satan is overcome. Christ did not defeat the Dragon through technique, negotiation, or psychological mastery. He overcame by alignment with the Father, absolute obedience, and truth spoken with authority.
1. Jesus Overcame by Submission to God, Not Engagement with the DevilIn the wilderness, Satan offered Christ:PowerAuthorityDominion without sufferingJesus did not analyze the offer.He did not explore the source of the power.He did not attempt to redirect it.He answered with Scripture and submission:“You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.”(Matthew 4:10)Victory began with submission, not confrontation.
2. Jesus Never “Managed” Demons — He Commanded ThemEvery encounter Christ had with demons followed the same pattern:No dialogueNo curiosityNo cooperationOnly command.“Be quiet, and come out of him.” (Mark 1:25)This is critical:Authority does not come from understanding darknessAuthority comes from standing in the light
3. The Cross, Not Technique, Is the ModelSatan was not defeated because Jesus outsmarted him.He was defeated because Christ obeyed unto death.“Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.”(Colossians 2:15)The cross stripped Satan of his leverage:SinAccusationLegal claimThat victory is not reenacted through training, but through faithful obedience.
4. How Believers Overcome — BiblicallyScripture is explicit:“They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.”(Revelation 12:11)Not by:Integrating the dragonHarnessing dark powerMaking peace with rebellionBut by:Christ’s bloodTruth spokenLoyalty to God above self
5. The Proper Relationship to the DragonNot training.Not tolerance.Not partnership.The proper posture is:ResistanceSeparationAuthority under ChristFaithfulness to the end“The God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly.”
(Romans 16:20)Notice:God crushesSatan is crushedBelievers stand under God’s authority, not their own skillThe True GoalThe goal is not harmony with darkness.The goal is deliverance, victory, and transformation.Jesus Christ did not come to teach humanity how to live with the Dragon.He came to:Destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3:8)That is the model.That is the mission.That is the victory.
Everytingis always a spsiritual battle for some Armstrongites. It has to be tiring after wahile when the entire world is the bogeyman waiting to trip you up.
The reasoning is defensive: the group sees itself as the tiny remnant holding God's pure truth in a world completely overrun by the devil. So vigilance becomes extreme—spotting "demons in everything" is framed as spiritual discernment and protection, not paranoia. If you lower your guard on a cartoon dragon movie or a Beatles record, you might unknowingly let Satan sneak in and derail your salvation.Of course, critics (including many former members and mainstream Christian observers) point out this creates a siege mentality: fear-driven legalism, isolation from society, and a tendency to demonize harmless (or even positive) things as existential threats. It can turn everyday pop culture into a constant battlefield, which is exhausting and often over-the-top.
In short, it's baked into the theology: the world isn't just fallen—it's actively ruled by a clever, invisible adversary who's hiding in plain sight in nearly everything. So yeah, demons end up getting blamed for an awful lot.
In short, it's baked into the theology: the world isn't just fallen—it's actively ruled by a clever, invisible adversary who's hiding in plain sight in nearly everything. So yeah, demons end up getting blamed for an awful lot.
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