Samedi Energy Drink
To get your product out there these days, you need a hook. Especially in the ultra-hip, overly-cool, way x-treme world of energy drinks. But is it really a wise move to contact ancient Voodoun spirits to sell your product?
Samedi is a new energy drink being released in Australia. How are they differentiating this drink from all of the other energy drinks on the market? Well this one is named after Samedi, the Voodoo spirit of sex and resurrection. He’s closely associated with the zombie aspect of the Voodoo faith. Yes, that’s right, George A. Romero didn’t invent zombies. It’s got deep roots in Haitian pagan religion. And that’s the imagery that the Samedi energy drink is conjuring up.
It’s one thing naming your drink after a pagan spirit. We’re operating on an entirely different playing field when you send a team of people to witch doctors to conjure the spirit of Samedi and seek his blessing. In a series of videos on the official site, that’s exactly what they do. This is dangerous stuff. It’s not something to be taken lightly. In one of the videos, the team approach a voodoo priest who says “You don’t have to believe in Voodoo for it to work against you.” He’s right. These are evil spirits. They are not from God. And they are dangerous. Meddling with these kind of forces is a terrible idea. As Christians, we believe that there is a spirit world, that there are evil forces at work in this world. Don’t mess with them. Ephesians 6 warns us to be ever vigilant about spiritual warfare. The makers of Samedi are dabbling in dangerous things. The website even describes a Voodoo ceremony you can do with a can of Samedi to call on the spirit’s help. Friends, do not try this at home.
Should a Christian drink Samedi energy drink? I think it’s a similar situation to what the early Christians faced when it came to eating meat sacrificed to idols. In 1 Corinthians 8:1-13, Paul talks about this issue. He reminds the Church in Corinth that they have a freedom to eat the meat offered to idols because there is only one true God. And that our status as children of God is based on God’s grace, not following laws. But if eating the meat causes us or others to sin, then we shouldn’t do it. If drinking Samedi points you towards pagan practices and beliefs, don’t drink it. If drinking Samedi causes others to doubt your commitment to Christ and it causes them to sin, don’t drink it.
I don’t think Samedi is harmless. I think it is something to be aware of. If you choose to purchase and consume Samedi, be aware of what’s going on.
Pop Culture Christ 
Regarding your assertion that Samedi’s evil, and “not from god” — that’s not really correct; Baron Samedi is a loa, a vodou spirit not unlike an angel, that serves the will of Bondye (translated as “Good God”).
Hi Greg
I would make the assertion that any spiritual power that works outside of the will of (the Christian) God is not from God, and therefore evil. The Voodoo loa opperate outside of God’s will as shown through the Bible. I don’t believe they are serving the trinitarian God. And if they’re not for God, then they’re against him.
What a load of mystical hogwash. If these so-called “evil spirits” are not from God, then where are they from?
Sorry to break it to you, but God created the whole universe and everything in it, including “evil spirits.” It’s a shame you throw this kind of heresy up on the internet and still call yourself a “Christian” blog.
Hi Bill
By that logic, then Satan does not count as an evil entity to be avoided. The presence of evil in this world is a complex concept that has confounded theologians for centuries. We do know that evil exists in this world. We do know that spirits will try and pass them selves off as good, but are indeed evil. Acts 19:11-16 is an example of spirits named as evil being cast out.
It is a Christian truth that worshipping any one or thing that is not God is sinful. It’s written there in the first two of the Ten Commandments. The Vodoo Loa are no different to the evil spirits in the Gospel accounts or the ancient gods of Baal or Ashteroth that are present in the Old Testament. I don’t believe it is heresy to name and shame a spiritual entity that works outside of God’s will. It’s a Biblical principle.
Ha! Watch out! Santa is going to get you for drinking the Easter Bunny’s soda pop! Grow up!
Thank you for that well thought out and argued comment.
Hey Joel,
When I first saw the ads fro this drink I thought the same things and I was mystified as to why you would name a drink and market it after Voodooism. It mustn’t be very good if they have to lure people in with something like that. I agree with what you’vesaid int he post and I don’t think the other commenters quite get the point you are trying to make. They are obviously not Christians or they would unerstand. And to Bill…yes, God did create the universe and everything in it. ‘Evil spirits’ are fallen angels, those that were created by God to serve him on high, who rebelled under the leadership of Lucifer and were therefore cast out of heaven. So yes, God did create the angels that became ‘evil spirits’ but it was their OWN CHOICE to rebel against God, leading to their downfall. And I also don’t see how what Joel has written is heretical. Do you understand what that word means?
Thanks for joining in Kylie
To Kylez: Yes, but if God is *truly* omniscient, then ‘He’ knew everything before ‘He’ created it. Therefore, he knew that the angels he created who would ‘fall’ and…as you say, become evil…were going to do so, yet he created them anyway. Therefore, God created evil, knowing full well that he was creating evil and unleashing it on the world. To say that he didn’t know is to say that he’s not omniscient, and do you really want to say that he’s not ‘all-knowing’?
There’s a difference between all knowing and all approving. Just because God knew something was going to happen doesn’t mean that he approves it. He gave us free will to choose to follow him or not.
It’s a bit confusing to say he didn’t ‘approve’ of it. He ordained it to happen. He ordained it to happen because he knew it would and could have made the world any other way if he wanted to.
Follow my logic:
God exists outside of time, with all power and all knowledge. He sees the beginning and end of all time, and knows exactly what will happen. He has the power to make the world any way he wants it to be.
It follows that, the world we have is the world God chose (for whatever reason), because he knew it would be this way from the beginning – he can see it all and always could.
That doesn’t mean God is the one ‘doing’ the evil in our world. It doesn’t mean he ‘approves’ in the sense that he condones evil (he hates it!) – but for his own reasons he allows it in his plan, for now.
Anyway, back to evil spirits – totally real. Totally heretical to deny that they exist. Totally biblical to name and shame – Jesus sent them out of people!
At no pont in my comment did I say that God “didn’t know” as Nyght asserts that I did, and at no point did I say anything about Him being/not being omniscient. Did you read my comment at all? I was simply saying to Bill that God did create the angels that became ‘evil spirits’ but it was their choice to turn their backs on Him and follow Lucifer. God knows everything and even though he knows what we are going to end up doing/choosing, as Joel, said, that doesn’t mean he approves. Which is all beside the point anyway as Joel was discussing the using of Voodooism to market an energy drink. The broader point here is that it’s a sad day when religions are needed to sell soft-drink! I think people also need to realize that Joel is talking to Christians here, and most Christians would probably agree with what he is saying in regards to be being cautious about what we allow ourselves to consume, watch and read. For clarification on the point Joel is trying to make to CHRISTIANS, I suggest reading the second last paragraph again.
Baloney Sammich, LOL! “Santa will get you for drinking the Easter Bunny’s soda pop,” LOL! The things one gets when one Googles for energy drink recipes – this should be on Stumbleupon, though I didn’t find it there..
Actually, as a heathen idolater myself, I rather like the idea of an energy drink based on an African Trickster god..