Fortune cookies: Are they sinful?

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Just as the title of the thread reads, are they in the same category as Oujia boards, consulting the dead, yoga, occult practices etc.?
 
Only if you take the seriously. Besides, many don’t predict the future, but give common sense advice, such as “To get friends you need to be a friend”. The ones that predict the future are just plain silly. I always ignore them. Most could be interpreted to mean just about anything could happen, so they’re hardly useful even if they were truthful/reliable, which they plainly aren’t. They are meant as entertainment, not as a guide for making future plans.
 
I’ve never met someone who actually thought fortune cookies were anything more than something funny at the end of a meal. I guess if you actually planned for the fortune or the ‘lucky numbers’ to be the real deal, then that could be sinful, but I’d say it isn’t usually a sin if it’s just for fun.

My random anecdote: I once got a fortune cookie that said something to the effect of, “In three months you’ll have a good day.” I promptly forgot the date, but a friend of mine remembered it just for kicks. Three months to the day was not only a bad day, but in fact the day of my grandmother’s wake. Obviously I wasn’t laughing about it at the time, but it was (morbidly) humorous how completely WRONG the cookie was.
 
Catholic4Christ said:
I’ve never met someone who actually thought fortune cookies were anything more than something funny at the end of a meal. I guess if you actually planned for the fortune or the ‘lucky numbers’ to be the real deal, then that could be sinful, but I’d say it isn’t usually a sin if it’s just for fun.

My random anecdote: I once got a fortune cookie that said something to the effect of, “In three months you’ll have a good day.” I promptly forgot the date, but a friend of mine remembered it just for kicks. Three months to the day was not only a bad day, but in fact the day of my grandmother’s wake. Obviously I wasn’t laughing about it at the time, but it was (morbidly) humorous how completely WRONG the cookie was.
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But the accuracy of the cookie or the intent in which you read the fortune was not the point as to whether or not it is sinful.

Some people use the oujia board or meditate through yoga on a “just for fun” basis too, yet I’ve read that the use of these objects and practices are sinful nonetheless, regardless of your intent or mentality.

That’s what is confusing about it in my mind. Naturally I’d assume the fortune cookie is a silly piece of paper too, but having read the aforementioned, it left me with a question.
 
I eat chinese food often and always read fortune cookies, they don’t mean anything to me.
 
CrimsonThorn said:
But the accuracy of the cookie or the intent in which you read the fortune was not the point as to whether or not it is sinful.

Some people use the oujia board or meditate through yoga on a “just for fun” basis too, yet I’ve read that the use of these objects and practices are sinful nonetheless, regardless of your intent or mentality.

That’s what is confusing about it in my mind. Naturally I’d assume the fortune cookie is a silly piece of paper too, but having read the aforementioned, it left me with a question.
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See the ask an apologist answer at forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=125842&highlight=ouija
Unless it is used with a deliberate intention to divine the future, a Magic 8 Ball is a toy that might be likened to a child’s folded-paper fortune-teller. It does not appear that the Magic 8 Ball should be put in the same league as the Ouija board, which is a well-known divination tool that has been misleadingly marketed to children as a board game.
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Also: catholic.com/quickquestions/are-ouija-boards-harmless
It’s true that many people view the Ouija board as harmless. They often claim, “Oh, I don’t believe in it,” or something to this effect. However, a disbelief in something does not necessarily mean that something isn’t real. The Ouija board has an objective reality that exists apart from a person’s perception of it. In other words, it’s real even if you don’t believe in it. And we know this because God himself tells us so.
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The Lord repeatedly condemns any and all occultic practices, including divination. While many Bible passages could be cited, the following one is typical of his view of occultic practices: “Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord” (Dt 18:10–12, NIV).
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On the experiential side of the issue, we have the testimony of the Church’s exorcists. Their experience shows that Ouija boards are far from harmless. Some investigating supernatural phenomena from a Catholic perspective have gone so far as to say that 90 percent of their very worst cases involving demonic activity have been linked to the use of the Ouija board.
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So there are two potential problems here:
  1. are you doing something forbidden? (Are you actually doing something spiritually dangerous?)
  2. do you think you’re doing something forbidden? (Are you trying to do something spiritually dangerous, whether or not there is any chance of it actually occurring?)
It appears that the common consensus is that an Ouija Board is a form of divination whether you believe in it or not (I say common consensus because I have a hard time getting over my skepticism about most of what I’ve read on the subject, but still try to take it into account). So, since the board is designed to be a form of divination and the people who have experience dealing with these sorts of things say that it can actually do occult things irrespective of the users intent, it should not be used even by a person who is not consciously trying to do something occult.

No such conclusion has been reached about fortune cookies (or magic eight balls). Fortune cookies don’t have the reputation of ouija boards and there is no reason that I am aware of to think that they are dangerous at all. So problem 1 is ruled out. That leaves problem 2 as the only potential problem, which is what the others were addressing.

As I’ve said, I have a really hard time swallowing all that I’ve read about the spiritual dangers of Ouija Boards and the like. But given that these testimonies are from people that I’d trust on other spiritual matters (priests, exorcists, etc), it seems like there is good reason to avoid playing with these things. But there is no such testimony regarding fortune cookies. They are considered silly.
 
I saw a program on the food channel, or the cooking channel that showed how fortune cookies are made.

The come from an assembly line and the fortunes come off giant presses and are inserted before the cookies are baked, they mean nothing.

And fortune cookies don’t even exist in China, along with chow mein and chop suey, all those things were invented by the American Chinese food industry.

We probably would’nt even touch real Chinese food as made in China 🙂
 
Of course not. They are tasty! The message within, however, if taken seriously, could count as superstition.
 
andrewstx said:
I saw a program on the food channel, or the cooking channel that showed how fortune cookies are made.

The come from an assembly line and the fortunes come off giant presses and are inserted before the cookies are baked, they mean nothing.

And fortune cookies don’t even exist in China, along with chow mein and chop suey, all those things were invented by the American Chinese food industry.

We probably would’nt even touch real Chinese food as made in China 🙂
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Agreed. Fortune cookies are fun and silly. A cookie and a piece of paper. That’s all it is. That’s all it ever was. ENJOY!
 
There is nothing wrong with Eastern practices. There is nothing at all wrong with Yoga. Fortune Cookies are not even “Asian,” they are American invented by Americans. The idea that Yoga is “sinful” is deeply rooted in racism towards Asians and Asian culture, in my personal opinion. However, to say Yoga is “sinful” or “evil” is not racist in and of itself, it’s just rooted in racism and intolerance for different and unfamilar cultures.

Peace and blessings.
 
Iaamiccwint said:
There is nothing wrong with Eastern practices. There is nothing at all wrong with Yoga. Fortune Cookies are not even “Asian,” they are American invented by Americans. The idea that Yoga is “sinful” is deeply rooted in racism towards Asians and Asian culture, in my personal opinion. However, to say Yoga is “sinful” or “evil” is not racist in and of itself, it’s just rooted in racism and intolerance for different and unfamilar cultures.

Peace and blessings.
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Actually the reason Ive read why yoga is wrong is because it involves taking your mind to places for information, to the gates of death, etc. Obviously all of this done in am attempt to gain knowledge, wihout God.

Also, the positional parts of yoga I have read are salutations to the gods.
 
andrewstx said:
I saw a program on the food channel, or the cooking channel that showed how fortune cookies are made.

The come from an assembly line and the fortunes come off giant presses and are inserted before the cookies are baked, they mean nothing.

And fortune cookies don’t even exist in China, along with chow mein and chop suey, all those things were invented by the American Chinese food industry.

We probably would’nt even touch real Chinese food as made in China 🙂
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Point taken, however where the object is made hardly seems relevant. For the record, Parker Brothers make the Ouija board and is also sold at Toys R Us, yet we see that it is still wrong, as stated by the Church.
 
CrimsonThorn said:
Actually the reason Ive read why yoga is wrong is because it involves taking your mind to places for information, to the gates of death, etc. Obviously all of this done in am attempt to gain knowledge, wihout God.

Also, the positional parts of yoga I have read are salutations to the gods.
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I respect your opinions, but I respectfully disagree with your comments. Don’t you think Christianity has influnces from religions other than Judiasm? I think so.

So what? Do you think God worries about silly things like this? God is love and loves each and everyone of us. Try and learn about Yoga from a secular non-religious source and not a ultra-Conservative souce. Again, many of the things that were considered evil were said to be evil because of lack of knowledge of the culture. Relgious critisim of Yoga is deeply rooted in racism, and I stand by those claims.

Peace and bleasings.

¡a Dios sea toda la Gloria!
 
CrimsonThorn said:
Just as the title of the thread reads, are they in the same category as Oujia boards, consulting the dead, yoga, occult practices etc.?
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Everything is a sin on these forums. Yoga a sin? Since when is it a sin to stretch and breath? Because that is basically what yoga is. This is really insanity how every little thing is considered sinful. We might as well cut all these threads short with the statement that it is a sin to smile. You are all downers and everything comes down to a moral debate. I wouldn’t be surprised if people were debating whether they sinned at breakfast by eating an extra piece of bacon.
 
Iaamiccwint said:
I respect your opinions, but I respectfully disagree with your comments. Don’t you think Christianity has influnces from religions other than Judiasm? I think so.

So what? Do you think God worries about silly things like this? God is love and loves each and everyone of us. Try and learn about Yoga from a secular non-religious source and not a ultra-Conservative souce. Again, many of the things that were considered evil were said to be evil because of lack of knowledge of the culture. Relgious critisim of Yoga is deeply rooted in racism, and I stand by those claims.

Peace and bleasings.

¡a Dios sea toda la Gloria!
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Some secular sources aren’t the most reliable. Catholic sources should be your main sources for information (excl. news, politics etc.), as some secular sources may give you false information. You may also get an incorrect Christian point of view from them. And no, I disagree. Criticism of yoga is not rooted in racism, but in the prayers that focus on the body and not on God.
 
Facite said:
Some secular sources aren’t the most reliable. Catholic sources should be your main sources for information, as some secular sources may give you false information. You may also get an incorrect Christian point of view from them. And no, I disagree. Criticism of yoga is not rooted in racism, but in the prayers that focus on the body and not on God.
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Secular sources are the best way to obtain information in a academic setting. Information from a Christian source would be a bias, since a Christian source would likely give you negative information. An Eastern Religion source would give you more positive information, which of course is also a bais.

Secular sources have no bias. They’re no for or against. Secular sources are neutral and the best information you can get in a academic and scientific setting.

I’m a college student, and I naturally would prefer secular over religious information.

Are we not temples of the Holy Spirit?

Try to be more open-minded about Yoga, but I respect your opinions and views. There is nothing wrong with what you believe. However, I do not believe Yoga is evil, wrong, or sinful. However, I’m with you believing that.

Peace and Blessings,

a Dios sea Toda la Gloria!
 
Obviously, secular sources are very reliable for media coverage (news, politics etc.), but tell me. If you were to get information on marriage advice, would you go to some book, or would you choose a more suitable source, like a book written by a priest, or an actual priest. That is what I mean by “information” (sorry for the not being specific!) 🙂

In regards to yoga, I am totally for the exercises and all the other physical benefits it gives, but the spiritual rituals associated with yoga… those can be a bit sketchy, and probably not very “catholic”.
 
Facite said:
Obviously, secular sources are very reliable for media coverage (news, politics etc.), but tell me. If you were to get information on marriage advice, would you go to some book, or would you choose a more suitable source, like a book written by a priest, or an actual priest. That is what I mean by “information” (sorry for the not being specific!) 🙂

In regards to yoga, I am totally for the exercises and all the other physical benefits it gives, but the spiritual rituals associated with yoga… those can be a bit sketchy, and probably not very “catholic”.
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Yes, yes, that’s that I meant. I meant as in when doing research for an academic setting. If you need spirtual advice, obviously you will consult religious sources not secular sources.

If you’re a religious couple, it’s probally a good idea to consult clergy and not these relationship “experts” on the Today Show. Gosh, I despise those “experts” on these morning shows. What makes them experts?

Well, I’m getting off topic. Well, good night. [Assuming you’re in the US.]
 
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