Witches, wizards and the occult

[keith99]

Well its a case study in a book by a respected writer called Dr. Kurt E. Koch, Christian counselling and the Occult. He was very experienced in the field of Counselling and Evangelism - he examines cases in his book from multiple viewpoints - including medicine, psychiatry, depth-psychology, and theology.

Question: When 'fortune telling' serves absolutely no good purpose (and its dismissed by others) but may leave some with severe emotional disturbance and without proper help because its dismissed - why is it even allowed - is it just so others can have a bit of meaningless fun.???

Sadly this is not a made up story and this did happen, resulting in a young woman suffering for four years and dying at only 22 years of age.

Some people who seem to have no fun in their lives seem to condemn any fun for anyone else. Sport serves no good purpose. Same for almost all entertainment, though some make exceptions for things that are high brow enough.

Most of the things that make life actually fun are the things that serve no good purpose. I however prefer to have clothes other than a Mao coat and simple pants, to participate in sports I enjoy, to watch films and TV I like and to not just grant the same freedom to others but to rejoice in their pleasure. I am truly evil!

 

[dms1972]

I'll reply on the grounds of reason rather than what people of faith say for a moment - though people of faith also have good reasons for warning about the occult.

There is no comparison between watching sport, wearing fashionable clothes, watching films for these on the whole (with exceptions of one or two), have never resulted in anything like a serious psychological or emotional disturbances even in those with an 'impairment' (which the young woman who was hospitalised may have had) - something happened in that case that was more difficult to dismiss from her mind than a film. It wasn't for her a fairground ride she was able to get off at the end. People go on rides that they know will last 2 minutes, that they know have had rigorous checks done to ensure their safety.

There is no way to regulate the realm of ungodly superstition, or do 'safety checks' on fortune tellers.

People of faith say there are malevolent entities and that one can be taken captive, or come under oppression by putting oneself in harms way.

We are discussing in this thread mainly if there is a danger of progression into occult activity, and what might be the start of that. I don't think the Potter books or films would begin that for most, or that people reading them are dabbling or likely to dabble, but I don't find they provide an authentic depiction of good versus evil, even though there may be positive aspects at times in the story.

 

[dms1972]

true that was part of the message
and the dehumanizing of Tom Riddle was done in his quest for unnatural immortality, making the horecrux that rips his soul apart

but Flamel does not become a ringwraith

Harry Potter is about humans who routinely control the forces of nature with no ill effect where in Lord of the Rings it does more to show that humans are not made to wield magic.

not saying that HP is evil, just showing that you can draw a distinction between those two works without being a hypocrite
I just do not have time to write a dissertation on this lol

I agree in LOTR humans are not made to wield magic, and neither are the hobbits.

Sauron's hordes on the other hand are enslaved to his will, they don't know what to do otherwise. When Gandalf opposes the Balrog from the underworld, his goal is to let others have their freedom unhampered. Its a simple standoff - "you shall not pass" he doesn't cast a spell on the balrog, he opposes it.

 

[Goodbook]

I came across this article online.
It does recommend finding a pentecostal church, and I know people that are a bit unsure about what goes on in penetecostal churches, but I tell you, they are the ones that really seriously deal with demonic oppression. If you'd been exposed to the occult and need help getting out of it, christian ministers in these churches know what to do.

http://acureisoutthere.co.uk/escaping_demonic_harassment.htm

When I hear of christians who maybe only have been exposed to low-level occult things like fantasy stories and they know their bible but still play around with it, and actually encourage it, I just think, what a waste of time. There is nothing enjoyable about the occult, and I would reccommend just staying away from it.