Read Time: 1 Minute 52 Seconds
A man who spent more than three decades embroiled in the occult is sharing his incredible story of leaving Satanism behind, finding freedom in Christ—and now spreading the gospel to others.
Brian Cole explained on the finale episode of “The Playing With Fire Podcast” that, as a little boy, he didn’t feel like he belonged anywhere.
“I didn’t understand who I was in Christ,” he said. “I was 10 years old and I had an abusive father … I was bullied at school and my mom forced us to go to church.”
Cole said he was also emotionally abused at his church. Every dynamic in his life left him feeling alone and disconnected—until he met a group of older kids who took him in.
“They were talking to me, they were paying attention to me,” he said. “They weren’t calling me names and beating me down.”
Cole soon realized the kids he befriended were involved in Satanism—a belief system polar opposite from his family’s church experience.
While he wasn’t drawn in by the theology, Cole said he “wanted to do whatever these kids were doing.”
So, before long, he was partaking. Listen to Cole share his decades-long experience in the occult as well as his healing:
“One of the first rituals I was in, they were going to sacrifice a squirrel. I told them I would not do that,” he said, noting that he had always loved animals. “They said, ‘Well, [Satan] demands blood, so you’re going to have to cut yourself,’ so I did. And that ended up being an addiction for 33 years—the cutting and self-mutilation.”
As time progressed, Cole said the fear Satanism sparked—and the rebellion—further attracted him. At first, it wasn’t a theological connection; instead, it was more of a “dabbling.” He would trash Christian symbols in graveyards and smash nativities.
“I was kind of the dabbling guy from 10 until I was 18 years old,” he said. “When I turned 18, I got arrested … I got a 10-year sentence and, when I went into prison, that’s when it went from dabbling to all-in [on Satanism].”
Listen to Cole’s entire story on the finale of “The Playing With Fire Podcast.”
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Reprinted with permission from CBN.com. Copyright © 2022 The Christian Broadcasting Network Inc. All rights reserved.
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