Witches, wizards and the occult

[Cearbhall]

I would rather not try and never find out how Ouija and other occult things actually works. If God calls us to confront some kind of spirit, let's pray that God will empower us to do so. But never seek these kind of confrontations. Demons are powerful.

Ah. I don't believe in them, so I guess it's hard for me to understand. But I'm sorry it worries you so.

 

[Trogdor the Burninator]

This thread reminds me of ....

Being serious though - I don't think there's any issue with Goodbook's question, nor is there a problem if she feels that her Christian life is best lived without that kind of "spiritual" fiction.

I do wonder whether Christians pay too much attention to it though - I'd be more concerned about fiction which glorifies other sins like adultery and greed which impact on our lives than stuff like witchcraft which most western-raised people are unlikely to ever see beyond the occasional tarot reading and assorted crystals & crap at festivals

 

[ViaCrucis]

I would rather not try and never find out how Ouija and other occult things actually works.

In the case of ouija, it's the ideomotor reflex. Minuscule muscle responses from largely subconscious thoughts. In other words there's nothing paranormal about it--subconscious thoughts and expectations can result in such small muscle responses that it can seem that an outside force is causing movement. If someone was legitimately interested to find out if there was some sort of mysterious spiritual force behind the ouija board they would see if the thing would move on its own without anyone touching it. Notice that this never happens. Also notice that ouija boards are sold in the same aisle where you can buy Clue or Sorry. It's a toy, a meaningless toy.

If God calls us to confront some kind of spirit, let's pray that God will empower us to do so. But never seek these kind of confrontations. Demons are powerful.

"Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world." There is a rather significant portion of the Christian world that has been marketed an entire system of "spiritual warfare" with the idea that there are demons and devils hidden under every rock and that these demons have total systematic control over everything. Small problem here, the entire Christian religion is based on the fact that God won, Jesus is raised. We just celebrated Easter on the Western calendar, the whole point of our celebration is that Jesus is alive, God won. Sin, death, hell, and the devil are defeated.

Why do so many Christians want to ascribe glory to a pack of defeated dogs?

-CryptoLutheran

 

[Noxot]

I mean, the evil ones will grab hold of whoever they can. you can find diviners/soothsayers in churches sometimes.

 

[Miss Spaulding]

I'm holding my Professor Slughorn wand as I read through this thread.

 

[Noxot]

harry potter was about the last fantasy books that I got into. I bought a fantasy book written by christian brother on the forums here but I have yet to read it. maybe I should start reading fantasy again, if I can find God teaching me things in them like I do with my music then it would be a kind of spiritual practice with the Lord. harry potter is full of mythological archtypes that explain different parts of life, so many were naturally drawn to and enjoy those books because they give deep and meaningful expressions of life to humans in this world.

you would think that God would desire to bless us with all heavenly and good things?!

Isa 6:3 (YLT)
And this one hath called unto that, and hath said: `Holy, Holy, Holy, is Jehovah of Hosts, The fulness of all the earth is His glory.'

 

[Gnarwhal]

lol.
LOTR is the worst.
People seem to get obsessed with that one.

I know cos I live in the country where it was filmed.

Yeah, because that "counts".

 

[Goodbook]

There probably are witches and wizards hanging out on CF forums.
They would be the ones saying magic/sorcery etc is ok. I mean witches and wizards aren't only story book characters. They actually are real and highly involved in the occult.

They just appear like ordinary people but practices their witchcraft etc in secret, of course they not going to tell you off the bat.

God does teach us things but they generally actually line up with His word in the Bible, and also, he doesn't want us to go after other gods and idols and sorcery etc. Thats clear in the Bible too. Not because he doesn't want us to have knowledge or anything like that, its because we are to be singleminded for Him. All that supernatural stuff, and there is a lot thats out there, only good things can come from Him above.

When you mess with things below, thats when you get in trouble - and that's where you need discernment. If you just think all spiritual things and paranormal stuff is godly, well you have another think coming.

 

[MehGuy]

There probably are witches and wizards hanging out on CF forums.
They would be the ones saying magic/sorcery etc is ok. I mean witches and wizards aren't only story book characters. They actually are real and highly involved in the occult.

They just appear like ordinary people but practices their witchcraft etc in secret, of course they not going to tell you off the bat.

God does teach us things but they generally actually line up with His word in the Bible, and also, he doesn't want us to go after other gods and idols and sorcery etc. Thats clear in the Bible too. Not because he doesn't want us to have knowledge or anything like that, its because we are to be singleminded for Him. All that supernatural stuff, and there is a lot thats out there, only good things can come from Him above.

When you mess with things below, thats when you get in trouble - and that's where you need discernment. If you just think all spiritual things and paranormal stuff is godly, well you have another think coming.

I'm a wizard.

 

[SnowyMacie]

I'm a wizard.

 

[MehGuy]

Lol, I was actually secretly hoping someone was going to post that as response.

 

[SnowyMacie]

Lol, I was actually secretly hoping someone was going to post that as response.

ha. You are welcome

 

[Sketcher]

There isnt much difference, I know because I did dabble in occult.

Given what I have heard from friends who God redeemed out of occult involvement and from people I witnessed to who actually were dabbling in the occult, I have to say I don't believe you know what you are talking about. I'm not saying that reading Harry Potter is good or even OK. I am saying when you use that and Lord of the Rings as your point of reference, you sound like you cannot discern occultish fantasy from occult reality.

Perhaps because it provides a wider spectrum of spiritual experiences?

Other than the lack of evidence, I think the rising level of the irreligious is because mainstream religions are so boring and uninspired.

I really don't see what's interesting about actual occult practices. Especially when there's a world to pray for.

 

[Goodbook]

lol just because JK Rowling is british and comes from a nominally christian country, doesn't mean she's a christian or advocates the christian way of life. The same goes for hollywood movies screen writers etc.

Not saying you should only read christian authors etc but just saying, well don't be deceived about what other people write about. They will have a world view that isn't christian, and the way that is right will be in their eyes only. If you get caught up to the point of obsession with their fantasy stories, well, thats sad for you.

I saw the effect that HP had on children who are easily led astray, like they would be totally obsessed with HP, or star wars or whatever, want to buy every single thing related to the whole franchise, and then start roleplaying (pretend) witches, wizards etc.

The whole disney franchise Frozen is like that as well.
It only takes a doorway to open when children are young to get them into that kind of thing. Its worse if that child doesn't know the Bible. And a lot of children growing up these days do not know it, they don't have christian parents looking out for them or praying for them.

 

[redblue22]

and if anyone disagrees, then you're a witch.

 

[Citanul]

and if anyone disagrees, then you're a witch.

 

[Citanul]

I saw the effect that HP had on children who are easily led astray, like they would be totally obsessed with HP, or star wars or whatever, want to buy every single thing related to the whole franchise, and then start roleplaying (pretend) witches, wizards etc.

And they also grow out of it. You need to provide evidence that liking Harry Potter as a child leads to people dabbling in the occult when they get older, otherwise you don't have a case.

 

[Boogeyman07]

I just read the first page and this last one, not sure if anyone has gone into how serious the occult, magic, elite etc. is but it really is! There's definitely a deep 'rabbit hole' that gets rather confusing and can definitely make you go a little crazy if you're not careful. We live in a crazy world and it seems to me that the majority of people are either completely unaware or just choose not to believe or dig into it a little bit for fear of what they might find. I get into 'modes' where I do a bunch of research on the topics and after just a few days or a week I have to take a break. And it's funny I stumbled onto this thread because today I have been reading and watching videos for about the past 6 hours... I'm already ready for a good break. As with most things, it's all about balance. Focus too much on the evil and it can 'consume' you, I would rather focus all the time on the good things but I think it is very important to be aware of the evil. If you don't understand the nature of your enemy and the weapons they use how can you fight that enemy? That being said, Jesus is our only hope. I'm very glad the King of kings has already secured victory. It would be a scary time without Him.

 

[Boogeyman07]

And they also grow out of it. You need to provide evidence that liking Harry Potter as a child leads to people dabbling in the occult when they get older, otherwise you don't have a case.

I'm not saying Harry Potter is necessarily bad, but surely you can see how it would be possible for that to happen with children... at the very least it can desensitize them to the dangers of magic and the occult

 

[redblue22]

once you kill off the magic, why would anyone want to hear the story of greater magic?

what is a christian who doesn't believe in the supernatural?