irituali
Men and women among you who act as mediums or who consult the spirits of the dead must be put to death by stoning. They are guilty of a capital offense. (Leviticus 20:27)
Read: Leviticus 20:22-22:16, Mark 9:1-29, Psalm 43:1-5, Proverbs 10:18
Relate: I was sitting in a Barnes and Nobles chatting away with my cousin. We both had our Starbucks and were just relaxing and killing time. I can’t remember now, but I think he was waiting for his fiance and I was just chilling with him. Whatever the reason, I noticed a “365 Day Horoscope” book sitting on the table between us and picked it up. I flipped over to a random page and said, “Let’s see how accurate this is.” I then started reading out its vague generalizations that masquerade as prophesy and advice.
My cousin nodded along at points saying, “Yah, I can kind of see that.” Then I told him I wasn’t reading his birthday. I then flipped over a few pages, showed him his birthday, and then started reading again. Once more he nodded and said, “Yah, that does fit a little better.” The only problem, I still wasn’t reading his birthday. I was reading the day on the opposite page, one day off.
On my last Sunday in Binghamton before moving to Istanbul, my fortune cookie told me, “A great adventure is right around the corner.” Of course it was. For anybody who is actually living life and not just lazily (and safely) drudging their way through it, a great adventure is always right around the corner. Both that stupid book that some ignorant idiot will eventually waste money on and those fortune cookies follow the same formula to sucker the gullible. Be vague and encouraging.
React: I think I probably take a softer line on those things than some others. I don’t think what my cousin and I did was sin. If we were sinning, it was in wasting time more than in joking around. Neither do I view it a sin to read and joke around about whatever “Confucius says” in that fortune cookie. Now if I were to change the course of a major decision because of that cookie, or if I were to actually spend money on that book or be dependant on reading whatever the local paper says each day, then I am in sin.
Where I do take a harder line is with those who are reading Tarot cards, holding seances, or in some other way supposedly consulting spirits or dead relatives. While I still believe that most of those who are hosting these things are charlatans following that same formula with perhaps an ability to read clues and reactions from the guest thrown in. Even still, the potential to opening oneself up to the demonic world is far too dangerous to play around with. Scripture frequently and fervently very strongly condemns this kind of witchcraft. The dead cannot be consulted in this way. No angel and certainly God Himself would never use this form of communication that He has so strongly condemned. The only “spirits” that you might be communicating with is demons and that is never a productive task.
Respond:
So what do you think? Am I right or am I blowing this out of proportion? Do you disagree with me? If so, why?
THE RIVER WALK 
Oh I 100% agree with you! I feel compelled to respond because recently, a fellow brother in Christ mentioned that he believes that God can speak to us in a variety of different ways, including through Tarot Cards. I thought that was outrageous! Where in the Scriptures does it states that calling of other spirits is communicating with God? I guess his position was that we are not to judge where or how God communicates with him. I just could not agree….
You are right. Very dangerous to play. If we want to contact someone in the Spirit, Jesus would be the answer. Your posts are very honest and thought provoking and I appreciate reading them. Thank you.
In my youth my family was into the tarot cards, doing your chart according to the stars, having a medium come and have the spirits write through them, all spooky scary stuff. My family also had tremendous issues. I now a Christian am very distant from them. We just do not seem to be able to understand each other. This stuff is better left alone and let God do our spiritual battle for us.
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Reblogged this on ChristianBlessings and commented:
Only God knows our future – not even the enemy of our souls, who is reliant on our submissions to lies, temptations. Going to anyone other than God is a waste of time, energy and money.
I don’t think you sinned. Reading a daily horoscope or fortune cookie can be entertainment. When I walked away from faith I scoffed (it’s early, I hope that is the right word) at the concept of spiritual warfare. Now, as I spend more time in God’s Word and view world events, I know it is very real. Thank you for sharing your walk of faith!
Well I for one, would never look at a horoscope or any other medium which tells us what our future will be… A sin ?? probably not… But why do anything in fun, or to pass the time…that the Lord would look at at not agree with ?? Actually, isn’t this the definition of sin ?? Doing anything God would not be happy with ??
I believe Satan can use the seemingly little, meaningless things like looking at a horoscope…to lead us the wrong way… Why allow oneself to even go there ??
Blessings in Christ, bruce
Sorry if this took a little while to appear. I just dug it out of my spam comments. Don’t know how it found its way over there.
Anyone trying to converse with the dead does not understand, “the dead know nothing” therefore, they would have nothing to say. Great post!
Reblogged this on Talmidimblogging.
Good post. I agree with you. The dangers of consulting any mediums is enormous. When our progenitors chose knowledge of good and evil, they were following a thought process that suspected that perhaps God was really withholding something beneficial from them.
The temptation played them in such a way they hadn’t consider. First, they were already like God. Second, they had no need to understand the difference between good and evil. There was only good. Evil had not yet metastasized. It was all capsuled in the serpent.
Man is the pinnacle of God’s creation and the human mind wondrously complex. He risked everything by giving him the freedom to think for himself. This God-like quality forever sets him apart from animals placing him precariously close to deity.
I agree! As a wayward teen, I desperately wanted to know my future – boyfriend, career, life….I did read my horoscope and almost went to a fortune teller! Thank God HE kept me away. And eventually, I found those answers in just following Him, learning all I could from the Bible, and eventually turning it ALL over to Him. There is so much peace in it!
Love this Jeremy Camp song….you find amazing ways to really bring the point home!
If you look to that stuff as a way to guide your life or trying to know what your future is then you are def in sin. Playing around or just reading for a laugh may not be a sin but you play with a loaded gun so to speak.
For myself I don’t even ‘play’ because it’s spiritual porn in it’s most insidious sense…the hook for myself personally is too great a risk and I refer to the story of Joseph when he ‘fled from Pottafer’s wife’ in essence fleeing from sin that easily entangles for everyone it’s different besetting things that we bring to God on a daily basis…repentance is a life style and making a covenant first off of accountability when something has been broken off by the power of Jesus, staying in God’s Word, obeying what God’s Word says, staying in fellowship with other believers of the faith and making a point to befriend people who are mature in the faith…above all else communing with God daily in time spent with Him…
I agree with Hannah above, better not even to play because there are better uses of our time 🙂 But I think your question was more about the whole area of seeking knowledge through cards, spirits and other spiritual forces. No question you are correct that we should stay well away.
It’s heartbreaking, though, that the world seeks to know their future, seeks advice from lifeless cards, from ‘mouthless idols’ but refuses to seek the one true source of Life and Hope.
Deception is rife so prayer must abound (forgive my poetical whimsy ;))
You are not over-reacting. For those of us who believe and cherish the Word, you are right on. Evil plays on the human desire to contact those we love, who have moved onward and upward. You and I know evil has powers beyond our earthly ones and can use disguises to fool us. Thank you for your posts and for sharing important truths. Blessings and love 💘 to you.
Completely agree. Thank you for writing about this sometimes touchy subject in a wise and biblical way.
I agree with you. I can quote so many scriptures where God tells us that he has a plan for us and His plan is always greater. Living out His Word and testing whether his word is true proves His will in our lives. To play around and believe in those superstitions/witchcraft doesn’t allow ALL of God’s word to manifest or be true the way it should. It confuses the mind and the links of God’s Word in our lives that makes things whole, and make things scattered instead. Also, i would find those things offensive to God’s character. Who are we to go against who God says he is and proves himself to be? Looking for answers outside of him is insulting.
As you stated, reading the fortunes or the like is not sin but when we act in such a way as in to believe those fortunes, etc., we forget and dismiss God’s sovereignty over even doves.
It’s funny that you post this because someone that I personally know has a husband who told her that she should start talking to the dead. When she brought it to my attention, I couldn’t help but remember 1 Samuel 28:7-9
“Saul then said to his advisers, “Find a woman who is a medium, so I can go and ask her what to do.” His advisers replied, “There is a medium at Endor.” So Saul disguised himself by wearing ordinary clothing instead of his royal robes. Then he went to the woman’s home at night, accompanied by two of his men. “I have to talk to a man who has died,” he said. “Will you call up his spirit for me?” “Are you trying to get me killed?” the woman demanded. “You know that Saul has outlawed all the mediums and all who consult the spirits of the dead. Why are you setting a trap for me?”
I had to let her know that, that wasn’t something that she should be doing and further more we should NEVER tap into demonic forces as such. What stood out more than anything was that the medium knew she wasn’t right and could be killed. How about that?! The thing that you’re consulting that’s wicked, knows that she’s not right!!!
On the other hand, her husband was very persistent with the fact that she should do this. I’m not sure if she tapped into this, but I made sure that I gave her scriptures to show her that she was about to step on dangerous grounds. This person was raised up in the church like I was and somehow drifted away from the True and Living God. Through this fact alone, when you leave from under God’s covering you leave yourself open to tap into things that may “Seem” right on the outside…but in reality it can destroy your Spirit.
I tried my best to tell her but what’s more dangerous is the fact that her husband recommended it to her. That’s unfortunate that you’re married to someone who encourages this, which means that he’s not leading her correctly.
-Ms. Spicy