If you’re a new Christian or are hanging around with Christians, you may be puzzled about the relationship Bible-believing Christians have with fortune-tellers, psychics, Tarot-card readers, astrologers, and other forms of occult practices.
The Bible condemns these practices. The Biblical word used for this kind of practice is usually "divination" and it is considered an abomination to God. Divination refers to any type of practice that tries to figure out the future. You can use tea-leaves or the stars in the sky or your own intuition. Trying to unravel the future is considered sinful.
So what’s the big deal? Most major newspapers run a daily astrology column. Many fairs and boardwalks offer street psychics and card readers. Why make a big deal about this?
Even if you’re relatively new to the Bible you may have run into the fact that God, over and over, warns people about adultery. This is not always literal adultery in this sense of a husband or wife cheating on a spouse (although that’s a sin, too!) There is a kind of spiritual adultery that a person can commit when he or she is a Christian.
If you’re a Christian, you have been born-again, redeemed by Jesus Christ. It is to Him that you owe your allegiance. To draw an analogy, it’s like being married. You have pledged your life to Jesus Christ.
The Bible says that God is a jealous God. That doesn’t mean that God has fits of envy. God expects those who commit to Him to be faithful to Him. So if you are a Christian and committed to Jesus Christ, He asks that you stay away from false gods and other idols. When God calls Israel an adulterous generation, He meant that Israel had been unfaithful to Him by turning their backs on Him and running after idols.
All of these fortune-telling mechanisms are based–deep down–on a false god or idol. The Bible contains all that we need to know in terms of living a spiritual life. You don’t need to look at the stars to figure out if you’re going to have a good day or not. (And if the stars could predict your future, then how does that work? It must be run by something other than God but more powerful than God. This is "another god.") It’s the same with cards or palm-reading or tea leaves. If the power to predict the future was invested in some sort of charm or talisman or incantation, then that thing is more powerful than God.
You might argue that perhaps they could be compatible. Maybe Tarot cards really are powerful but God is OK with that. Here’s the flaw in that argument: God says He is not OK with that, in fact, He tells us to avoid divination. It’s a sin, which means it is an offense and an affront to Him. You disrespect God when you sin, among other things.
Maybe you’ve been to a psychic or been impressed by their abilities. Now some people will tell you that psychics are all phony. I am certain that many of them are. But maybe you’ve been convinced that some psychics really do possess real power.
I am not denying that. I think that could very well be the case. But if they do have any power, it’s not godly power. It can’t be, since God abhors divination. So if a psychic has impressive powers, it is from another source and that source is not God.
Books in PDF format to read:
Joanne Pearson - Wicca And The Christian Heritage Ritual Sex And MagicBenjamin Rowe - Chymical Wedding Of Christian Rosenkreutz
Arthur Edward Waite - A French Method Of Fortune Telling By Cards
