Ouija boards?

[Liberanosamalo]

RascalKing, I suspect you think only gullible people believe in such things as the demonic or that the activity occurs in this world.

Obviously you have been spared any encounter with such a reality. Thank God for that.

For those who have been forced to encounter it, it can be terrifying. Sane people have seen it. Those who see it aren’t gullible. Actually, the first reaction is to try to find a sane physical explanation for it. To find a normal everyday cause for such activity. Most people don’t WANT to believe they are dealing with such entities.

After a while they are forced to accept it is something else. Gullibility isn’t at play here. The reverse is true. For Satan to work he has to overcome people’s skepticism. And he’s good at that. His greatest triumph is to make people believe he doesn’t exist. Or that only the gullible believe in him. Imagine if every thief and crook out there could give themselves a Cloak of Invisibility. How much easier to break into houses. Satan has managed to do just that.

With most people he doesn’t have to resort to amazing feats of supernatural book throwing. He gets them through sex, drugs, and other pedestrian sins. Child’s play.

He must be bored to death. People make it so easy. Like shooting fish in a barrel.

Satan and all his evil spirits roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls. Imagine his fun when once in a while someone unwittingly seeks him out. And gets way more than they bargained for.

Being a skeptic and calling people gullible doesn’t always make you look smarter. Just because we don’t have the tools to measure a reality yet doesn’t mean it isn’t there. At one time we didn’t know about bacteria, till someone invented a microscope. Then we realized there was a whole world of things there that could destroy our bodies.

Same with things that would destroy our souls.

 

[Rascalking]

RascalKing, I suspect you think only gullible people believe in such things as the demonic or that the activity occurs in this world.

Obviously you have been spared any encounter with such a reality. Thank God for that.

For those who have been forced to encounter it, it can be terrifying. Sane people have seen it. Those who see it aren’t gullible. Actually, the first reaction is to try to find a sane physical explanation for it. To find a normal everyday cause for such activity. Most people don’t WANT to believe they are dealing with such entities.

After a while they are forced to accept it is something else. Gullibility isn’t at play here. The reverse is true. For Satan to work he has to overcome people’s skepticism. And he’s good at that. His greatest triumph is to make people believe he doesn’t exist. Or that only the gullible believe in him. Imagine if every thief and crook out there could give themselves a Cloak of Invisibility. How much easier to break into houses. Satan has managed to do just that.

With most people he doesn’t have to resort to amazing feats of supernatural book throwing. He gets them through sex, drugs, and other pedestrian sins. Child’s play.

He must be bored to death. People make it so easy. Like shooting fish in a barrel.

Satan and all his evil spirits roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls. Imagine his fun when once in a while someone unwittingly seeks him out. And gets way more than they bargained for.

Being a skeptic and calling people gullible doesn’t always make you look smarter. Just because we don’t have the tools to measure a reality yet doesn’t mean it isn’t there. At one time we didn’t know about bacteria, till someone invented a microscope. Then we realized there was a whole world of things there that could destroy our bodies.

Same with things that would destroy our souls.

Excuse me sir or ma’am, but never once did I infer that being a skeptic made me sound or look smarter than anyone else.

As to other people having experiences with that sort of thing and me being ignorant of them-fine, but someone does not have to experience something in order to have an opinion about it.

 

[HarmonyServant]

I, for one, wouldn’t dare touch a Ouija Board with a twenty-foot pole. Not even if I was wearing gloves doused with holy water. Just no way. My father was a Baptist Preacher, and he has several stories to tell about ouija boards. A couple in his church thought it would be fun to purchase one. They asked it a couple mundane questions, then asked, “what’s your name?” It spelled S-A-T-A-N.

 

[MariaMadeline]

*Being brand new to this site, I first want to say that I am really, really impressed with both the intelligence I’ve seen in the expression of opinions so far and the respect with which people present them. I think I was maybe drawn to this topic to see how rationally people would deal with something that I’ve seen REALLY irrational reactions to in other places. I think that in the past I’ve shied away from talking about religion/theology/spirituality/ANYTHING metaphysical in anything but the most polite and vague of terms with people I don’t know really well because, like politics, it tends to get some people riled up to the place where they get abusive for one thing and start sounding like idiotic zealots for another, and I just end up getting mad, getting a tummyache, and getting outta there~in that order.
I appreciate your reasonable attitudes, you guys. It’s refreshing.
As to the Ouija board conversation, I was interested in two points in particular: one, that there were several stories told that were SO similar to mine in certain ways~anecdotal rather than empirical evidence for sure, but still, the ways the stories of FickleFreckled, dixieagle and _just me really mirrored my own were remarkable in some ways. Teenage girls~and I agree they are probably the most likely to get involved in this sort of stuff~particularly in the 12-15 year old age range, are the very definition of rebellious, fearless, and ignorant about the nature of the Universe~no matter how bright they are or how well brought up {all the girls that were involved in playing with the Ouija board with me are now extremely high functioning, good hearted adults who try to contribute heavily to the good of the world~I would say more so than average, but we were hell-on-high-heels then, and I don’t think any of our mothers were sure we’d turn out as well~I’m not sure at that point they thought we’d stay out of jail}. Certainly skepticism is healthy regarding anything that involves what we cannot see or prove~otherwise, we’d all be sitting ducks for any charlatan that came by selling snake oil, or living on armed compounds blindly following the orders of any expletive deleted! who claims to be a prophet, drinking the koolaid, whatever. But I have certainly in my life witnessed things~both good and bad~that cannot be easily explained away. I have to say I was a bit relieved to hear some similar stories in the Ouija board department…I suppose a tiny part of me always wondered if, since it seems on it’s face to be a bit outlandish and certainly I’ve run into people who simply dismiss EVERYTHING like that as having a ‘scientific’ explanation, I was ‘full of it’, even though I know in my heart that it happened the way I remember it, no more and no less. The danger in talking oneself out of believing his or her own experience when it comes to this is that you run the risk of saying to a fourteen-year-old that you might be responsible for NOW, ‘Oh, go ahead, honey. It can’t be harmful; it was purchased at WalMart.’~I wouldn’t let my fourteen-year-old nephew drink a half-gallon bottle of WalMart brand mouthwash, because I care about his liver, even if he might only care about having fun and can’t see his liver so he doesn’t think about it~I can only imagine he probably has a similar attitude about his soul, but there’s a reason why he isn’t allowed to make all of his own decisions just yet.My having nearly thirty years on him should be to his advantage,& not just physically.
Again, it’s not my place to try and convince anyone of what they don’t believe, and I certainly believe in free will. In the end all anyone can do once a person can walk out of the house under their own power (for better or worse, this usually includes fairly young teenagers) is tell them what you know and warn them according to the best of your ability. Maybe there is another way to approach it and I’d certainly be interested to hear what other people have to say.
The second point that interested me was the Wikipedia link someone (I’m sorry, it’s early and I’m forgetting who, but thank you because I found it quite helpful and fascinating) provided. What jumped out at me was how many people who ordinarily would be diametrically opposed on a lot of spiritual topics~from Evangelicals to Catholic Priests (and even just that is a pretty big gap, a lot of the time), to mediums~ Sylvia Browne, Edgar Cayce and folks like that~to those late night AM radio guys that are really into talking about alien abductions~I was really, really amazed at the vast swath of people that warned AGAINST the use of the Ouija board on the grounds that it’s nothing to be trifled with, basically. Even Alasdair Crowley seemed to be, while as enthusiastic about the use of the thing as one might expect, pretty specific about trying to summon something in particular~a specific angelic guide, rather than just randomly chatting up whatever happens to be hanging around. That says to me that~and this is again anecdotal not empirical, but we’re talking about people who probably agree on virtually NOTHING else~these gadgets, registered with the patent office though they are, have impressed an awful lot of people with negative, scary experiences.
Says something, methinks!
Peace, Everyone, and Thank You Again~
MM *

 

[Consecrated]

I look at Ouija boards the same way I look at people who see the Virgin Mary in grilled cheese. Could the Virgin Mary want to appear in a grilled cheese sandwich and tell people what to do? Of course She could! However, she probably doesn’t. Could the devil use a plastic board to decieve people?! Of course he could…but he probably doesn’t.

i’ve been trying and trying to understand how this comparison makes any sense… but I just don’t. The two are not related. Except I guess you could say that some people are duped by both. , but for totally different reasons. in a ouija board, people run the risk of not only deceiving themselves, but also being deceived by the devil. In the Virgin on a grilled cheese, people i think are usually just deceiving themselves. I wanna know why you think the devil “probably doesn’t” use a plastic board to deceive people…? I mean, why wouldn’t he? It’s an easy way to gain access to an unguarded soul.

 

[Consecrated]

Your both right. It’s not a game, no stratergy or anything like that. It’s more a way to fool the 1) The gullible who **want **to be fooled 2) The stupid (who believe it’s really movie) and 3) The foolish who actually want to play with some demonic of ghostly spirit.

**I never thought about it that way. I never wondered too much about it because I always thought they were rubbish-a sham that people on both sides get too excited about. **

Maybe I was wrong. I don’t know.

I think this is the dangerous part. Not for you or me necessarily, b/c we prolly wouldn’t waste our time with one. But for our children (if you have any). If we teach them by word or example that ouija boards are “rubbish-a sham”, they might not think twice about wasting their time with it, esp. if a whole party of friends is. B/c really what’s the harm? So now they’ve unwittingly opened themselves up to demonic influence. :nope: and yes, you can be opened to demonic influence simply by being involved in a ouija “game” even if you think it’s “rubbish-a sham”.

 

[whatevergirl]

I hate to be creepy, but don’t underestimate anything that falls into the realm of “occult.” It has a lot less to do with what the device is, in this case, a board with letters and numbers on it, and everything to do with the heart and intention of the people using it. They’re dangerous, especially to kids looking for an exciting or interesting diversion. There ARE things out there that mean us spiritual harm and they respond to stuff like that. Using a ouija board is just like sending them an engraved invitation into your mind and soul.

*I wholeheartedly agree with this. Sometimes, people see what they want to see…hear what they want to hear…and attribute it to the occult. Many people have committed horrific crimes, because they claimed the devil made them do it, etc. The devil works in mysterious ways…the ouija board is yet another (maybe small) attempt to take people’s focus off of Christ. Anything that tempts us to dabble in things that are not of God, should be avoided. *

 

[Rascalking]

i’ve been trying and trying to understand how this comparison makes any sense… but I just don’t. The two are not related. Except I guess you could say that some people are duped by both. , but for totally different reasons. in a ouija board, people run the risk of not only deceiving themselves, but also being deceived by the devil. In the Virgin on a grilled cheese, people i think are usually just deceiving themselves. I wanna know why you think the devil “probably doesn’t” use a plastic board to deceive people…? I mean, why wouldn’t he? It’s an easy way to gain access to an unguarded soul.

Both the people who think the Virgin Mary is in their grilled cheese and people who think a Ouija board is a meta dimensional tool to contact another world are both people who are deeply delusional.

Sometimes the hype over Ouija boards and if they can contact dead reminds me of people who claim demonic possessions for those suffering from schizophrenia.

 

[Rascalking]

I think this is the dangerous part. Not for you or me necessarily, b/c we prolly wouldn’t waste our time with one. But for our children (if you have any). If we teach them by word or example that ouija boards are “rubbish-a sham”, they might not think twice about wasting their time with it, esp. if a whole party of friends is. B/c really what’s the harm? So now they’ve unwittingly opened themselves up to demonic influence. :nope: and yes, you can be opened to demonic influence simply by being involved in a ouija “game” even if you think it’s “rubbish-a sham”.

I’m sorry, I think it’s best if we agree to disagree.

 

[Consecrated]

I just want to add that I don’t think that it’s a given that EVERY time someone plays with a ouija board, it’s ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN they’re going to be contacted by an evil spirit. But the fact remains that the possibility is very real. And that fact alone makes it far from harmless. It is not delusional.

 

[Liberanosamalo]

people who think a Ouija board is a meta dimensional tool to contact another world are both people who are deeply delusional.

Sometimes the hype over Ouija boards and if they can contact dead reminds me of people who claim demonic possessions for those suffering from schizophrenia.

Well, then I suspect you think that a string of plastic beads is a meta dimensional tool to contact another world and the people who use it are deeply delusional?

I knew an exorcist. Believe me, the patient he visited in the hospital psych ward was already tested for schizophrenia. Nope.

The story I heard was that when someone walked into the room the “schizophrenic” told the person they had just bought a picture of himself and hung it on his wall. (It was the picture of a rock star of the time.) The “schizophrenic” couldn’t have known that and was telling the visitor basically that he possessed the famous singer. The “schizo” brought that stuff into his world through a ouija board if I remember the story correctly.

Another sermon I heard was from someone making a pastoral call to a hospital psych ward. They were secretly carrying a pyx with the Host in it to give communion to the person. As they walked by one door they were met with a barrage of abuse from within by someone that “knew” it was Christ walking down the hall.

Call it deeply delusional if you want. But there is a world out there that is summoned by plastic and such. You’re lost in the details of the board and the pointer when the real activity is the minds and words and wills of the people “playing” with the boards.

 

[gmcbroom]

I had one growing up. My mother and I played with it. iI stopped playing with it when she admitted to manipulated it so that I would receive answers I wanted instead of what may or may not have been there. Is it a real scrying tool? Yes too many sources and books document it as such. But, the power, to scry actually comes from the people who use it. In my case the poster talking about the subconscious and gullible has a point thats how it was with me. Now, others more sensitive to whats out there may get a different result. In either case whether the fear is being manipulated by sinister forces or actual physical people one would be wise to avoid using the Ouija board. I won’t knock those here and elsewhere who have had actually experiences with it however, not everyone has.

 

[Tietjen]

Wow, and considering how that turned out, I can see why you would never use one again.

LOL. Yes, I will never go through EITHER ceremony again.

 

[Tietjen]

Both the people who think the Virgin Mary is in their grilled cheese and people who think a Ouija board is a meta dimensional tool to contact another world are both people who are deeply delusional.

I wouldn’t call myself “deeply delusional.” I don’t go around seeing things that aren’t there. I don’t hear voices when no one is around (unless the radio is playing). Because of my profession, I have been interviewed by mental health experts who have found me to be quite sane and without mental defect. I lead a normal life in all aspects but for one event which took place some 20 years ago. “Deeply delusional” people would certainly show other evidence of being such. Like you, I was a skeptic at the time. So much so, that after having “played” with the board, I dismissed it as stupid and went about my life having forgotten all about it. After my wedding, a friend who happened to take part in the Ouija Board event, reminded me of the night we all played. That is when the realization happened. Delusional?.. I think not.

 

[Rascalking]

Well, then I suspect you think that a string of plastic beads is a meta dimensional tool to contact another world and the people who use it are deeply delusional?

I knew an exorcist. Believe me, the patient he visited in the hospital psych ward was already tested for schizophrenia. Nope.

The story I heard was that when someone walked into the room the “schizophrenic” told the person they had just bought a picture of himself and hung it on his wall. (It was the picture of a rock star of the time.) The “schizophrenic” couldn’t have known that and was telling the visitor basically that he possessed the famous singer. The “schizo” brought that stuff into his world through a ouija board if I remember the story correctly.

Another sermon I heard was from someone making a pastoral call to a hospital psych ward. They were secretly carrying a pyx with the Host in it to give communion to the person. As they walked by one door they were met with a barrage of abuse from within by someone that “knew” it was Christ walking down the hall.

Call it deeply delusional if you want. But there is a world out there that is summoned by plastic and such. You’re lost in the details of the board and the pointer when the real activity is the minds and words and wills of the people “playing” with the boards.

Nice try with the rosary. When you use the rosary, your hands are moving over the beads in a conscious effort to pray to the Virgin Mary. When people use a Ouija board, it is simply involuntary and or unconscious movement moving the board, not a hidden spirit.

Thank you, I will call it deeply delusional.

 

[cheese_sdc]

Thank you, I will call it deeply delusional.

Your call. I’ll disagree.

 

[Liberanosamalo]

And I guess the clock that flew off the wall and nearly hit the priest’s head with witnesses around was deeply delusional too. Because unseen spirits never move anything. Right?

 

[Rascalking]

And I guess the clock that flew off the wall and nearly hit the priest’s head with witnesses around was deeply delusional too. Because unseen spirits never move anything. Right?

This is NOT a slam on your integrity, so please don’t take it as such.

What your saying is interesting, and I’m sure it happend. I do believe many things that I have not seen and only heard, but I need to hear a bit more evidence until I believe something repeated on an internet chatroomt.

To repeat myself, because I do not wish to be misunderstood-that is NOT a slam on your integrity.

 

[dakotagirl]

Well, then I suspect you think that a string of plastic beads is a meta dimensional tool to contact another world and the people who use it are deeply delusional?

:sad_yes:

 

[Mimi]

I, for one, wouldn’t dare touch a Ouija Board with a twenty-foot pole. Not even if I was wearing gloves doused with holy water. Just no way. My father was a Baptist Preacher, and he has several stories to tell about ouija boards. A couple in his church thought it would be fun to purchase one. They asked it a couple mundane questions, then asked, “what’s your name?” It spelled S-A-T-A-N.

I had a similar experience as a teen (back in the Stone Age). We were just looking for ‘something’ to do & I pulled it out of the closet. It had been an innocent gift from a relative at one time. Well, after a few tries, the plastic thingie started moving quite a bit. We were both conscious of keeping a very light touch on it.

One time, “it” correctly spelled the middle name of a boy who liked me. The next day I asked “Who is William Fulton?” That’s the name on the bottom of the board; William Fulton & Co. The plastic thingie circled and circled, again and again – then quickly spelled out:
T-H-E-D-E-V-I-L

I STILL get shivers recalling that! I should have burned that thing up.
Every year before All Saints Day, I think I should offer to tell this story to the Faith Formation classes (that’s “Sunday school” for non-Catholic readers).

If you have ever EVER had any dealings with the occult (I’d say even horoscopes), I would urge you to include it in your next confession to a priest.

I think staying in a state of Grace is the best protection & pray the St Michael prayer every day.

God bless,
Mimi