Horoscopes, divination. Why are they so sinful?

  • Thread starter Thread starter anhphan
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
A

anhphan

Guest
Are there any differences between Western divination and Asian divination (Chinese divination)? Does God only forbid western divination? I think they are good if we know how to use it. Please help me. Thank you very much.
 
anhphan said:
Are there any differences between Western divination and Asian divination (Chinese divination)? Does God only forbid western divination? I think they are good if we know how to use it. Please help me. Thank you very much.
Click to expand...
In the eyes of God there is no difference. Divination and fortune telling are sins against the first commandment as they seek control and knowledge about out future. At best they are forms of superstition which is also a sin against the first commandment.

This is what the Catechism has to say about it
2115 - God can reveal the future to his prophets or to other saints. Still, a sound Christian attitude consists in putting oneself confidently into the hands of Providence for whatever concerns the future, and giving up all unhealthy curiosity about it. Improvidence, however, can constitute a lack of responsibility.

2116 - All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to “unveil” the future. Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.
Click to expand...
 
Hi!

The problem with divination is that it makes man the object of worship/respect/dependency.

Since I do not know much about Chinese divination (other then the little that is shown on movies/shows where basically it is tied to both deity and forefathers/families worship/veneration), I can only tell you that it is the same as with losing self-control because of drinking/using drugs… the danger is that we may be led away from God by the “spirits,” and that Satan can manipulate us through our belief.

Just like there are people who end their lives buying pet food and starving themselves to death while seeking to care for their numerous animals, there are people who turn from God to creatures to solve their problems and to base their whole existence upon that which they come to accept as their new faith base.

Maran atha!

Angel
 
Thank you all very much. Many people says we can practise divination as long as we believe in God 😦
 
Better asked is what is the appeal of horoscopes? Anyone can sit down and write 12 little blurbs and randomly assign them to the different zodiac signs.
 
I don’t know exactly what you mean by ‘fortune tellers’, but I doubt that 99.99% of people who call themselves fortune tellers can tell the future.

I also don’t know exactly what you mean by ‘fate’. But I do know that knowing a persons fate per se, never involves a guarantee, and is not knowable.

I believe the Catholic Church looks on divination as something that is possible, but God (or anything else good) does not communicate with people through divination. The good comes to speak to us, we don’t ‘summon’ good things, they are not ours to command.

But I think it is more likely that something bad will disguise itself as something good.
 
Hi!

…yeah, that’s the rule of inclusivity: ‘you can do anything as long as…’

Here’s what St. Paul tells us:
10:23 ‘For me there are no forbidden things’, but not everything does good. True, there are no forbidden things, but it is not everything that helps the building to grow. (1 Corinthians)
Click to expand...
So just because something is accepted in society or because there are “state” laws claiming it right it does not mean that Christians can embrace/practice it.

Maran atha!

Angel
 
Hi!

…there are several layers to this issue… have you ever had a premonition or a dream that came true?

…then there are the subliminal messages… if we tell ourselves something and believe it… well whatever transpires would seem to mean that we can make things happen with just our minds…

…good and bad things will happen in our lives (world over); people suffer the same aspirations and casualties of existence (worldwide)… so it is not impossible to make a prediction about a relative (who we already demonstrated a concern) who will come/call/visit and/or have words/reconcile or die or be in a harmful situation…

These “tellers” are that they read our body language and listen carefully to our words in order to formulate a comprehensive mumbo jumbo file… the more we believe in something the more they can use to manipulate our thoughts.

Ever wonder why all these “future” seers do not hit the lottery every single time? …or why they don’t always have the generosity to offer their “gifts” for free (they usually claim that it is a gift from God/Universe), why not share the joy?

There has always been people who are sensitive enough to pick up things… what spirit they pick it up from is the concern with Sacred Scriptures… unless one believes that the Holy Spirit is a Spirit that man can command at will, there are no soothsayers that predict our lives.

(…just as an example: ‘hey, I just had this vision… don’t ware blue on Wednesday and take an umbrella with you…’)

So much can happen in such a suggestive “warning.”

Maran atha!

Angel
 
Fortune tellers (some) tap into the unconscious and the community of fallen spirits. Both can reveal alot about ourselves, circumstances and what may come
 
Also, a lot of this sort of thing is a way to gain power over others (love spells, or for promotion at work or punish enemies). It seeks to disable another person’s free will or cause them harm…

Of course, this occult stuff is all bunk, but what damage does it do to the practitioner, as they reduce other people to the level of objects placed on this Earth to serve their desires?
 
Hi, Ben!

Yet, the reality is that they do not control this.

Many are simply charlatans that have learned to read people and appeal to their psych–building up or persuading folks according to their fears and aspirations.

Are there those who genuinely connect with the spirit world? There could indeed be; yet, these may be controlled by the “spirits” rather than having a gift to view/see onto things.

Maran atha!

Angel
 
Hi, Scarlett!

This is precisely the danger that the Church and God warns against.

Both the practitioners and their pigeons are intertwined in this religious format (it is a religion); who they serve and what is being accomplished through them is of vital importance… as they serve both as conduit to the unknown (which could well be Satan and his minions) and to inculcating a behavior that predicates upon the vulnerabilities and superstitions of people… some get so consumed in this cult thing that they must consult their gurus before they engage even the simplest and most elemental decision making thoughts.

…and don’t forget about the financial portion of these things… ‘candle for cleansing $2000.00; spell for finding love one $20, 80, 200+ a pop…’

That person that coined, ‘…is born every minute.’ was sure on the money!

Maran atha!

Angel
 
very true what you said.

I would add, there are some who claim familiar spirits, channeling spirits and such. And you are right they think they are in control but aren’t. They invariably believe there is just one community of spirits not understanding that there are two. They haven’t the experience and knowledge of the holy angels so they aren’t aware that they are being deceived.
 
I went to a social in college being hosted by a secular man who was teaching against these things. One of his points was that these people who claim to be ‘mediums’ focus on something and still speak in generally vague terms. Or in the case of the man on TV (years ago, I can’t remember his name) who claimed to talk to the dead, would make general statements, watch the reactions in the audience and then refine the statements until he had his ‘target’. To prove his point, the example he used was 'A family member recently had a heart attack" - and I reacted to it because my Aunt just did. He pointed to me and said “See, I didn’t really know that, but the odds are that some one in the room had a family member affected by one”.

In issues like horoscopes, divination, psychic readings, etc, much of these could be considered ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’ - your mind goes into what these things say, that you make them happen because of your fear.
 
Last edited:
mikedf13 said:
One of his points was that these people who claim to be ‘mediums’ focus on something and still speak in generally vague terms.
Click to expand...
Yep, cold reading is a bit of a science and a bit of an art.

Actual preternatural knowledge of hidden things is much less likely than encountering a seasoned mentalist.
 
The Bible condemns it:
Astrology is the “interpretation” of an assumed influence the stars (and planets) exert on human destiny. This is a false belief. The royal astrologers of the Babylonian court were put to shame by God’s prophet Daniel (Daniel 1:20) and were powerless to interpret the king’s dream (Daniel 2:27). God specifies astrologers as among those who will be burned as stubble in God’s judgment (Isaiah 47:13-14). Astrology as a form of divination is expressly forbidden in Scripture (Deuteronomy 18:10-14). God forbade the children of Israel to worship or serve the “host of heaven” (Deuteronomy 4:19). Several times in their history, however, Israel fell into that very sin (2 Kings 17:16 is one example). Their worship of the stars brought God’s judgment each time.

Taken from:https://www.gotquestions.org/astrology-Bible.html
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top