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Q I am writing to you with a specific question. I went to see the psychic Sylvia Browne all in good fun, not that I believe in her. However, I had talked about the experience with a co-worker. She then said to me, “You can’t believe in Jesus if you believe in witchcraft.” Needless to say, I have been spending a great deal of time on what she had said. I love Jesus and I believe in him always; and forever please tell me that I did not harm my faith in any way. It was seriously in good fun; I don’t believe in witchcraft. Please get back to me. |
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“A Caring Place for All God’s Children” |
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Ascension Lutheran Church |
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Ask Our Pastors |
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A I am glad to hear that you place your faith in Jesus Christ and not in psychics, and that your going to see the psychic was “all in good fun”. Jesus said, “I AM the way, the truth, and the life,” and we believe this. Yet, truth be said, how many people can honestly say that they’ve never checked out a religion like witchcraft or New Ageism? How many people can say they’ve never looked at either their horoscope or a fortune cookie in “good fun”? In short, I do not think that your actions necessarily affected your faith, but they could. Faith is about who we trust. If you find yourself trusting the psychic as you would trust God’s word, then yes, your faith has been affected. But more must be said. Let’s look at your co-workers statement: “You can’t believe in Jesus if you believe in witchcraft.” If this means that the two cannot both exist, I cannot agree. I do not think the two necessarily exclude each other. In fact, there is an example of very real witchcraft in the book of 1st Samuel chapter 28, where King Saul seeks out “the Witch of Endor” who was believed to have the power to communicate with the dead so that he might speak with the prophet Samuel. She seeks to summon a demon to act as Samuel, but Samuel himself appears. Witchcraft was, and continues to be accepted as a real religion by many. The question isn’t whether or not one can believe both to be real, but whether or not one can put their faith in God and witchcraft at the same time. Had your coworker said, “You can’t TRUST in Jesus if you TRUST in witchcraft,” I would completely agree. As Christians, we believe that God created the heavens and the earth and that all things belong to him. We believe that God is ultimately in control and “works all things for the good of those who love him, those called according to his purpose,” (Romans 8:28). When writing about the 1st commandment, “I AM the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods before me,” Martin Luther taught that we are to “love, fear, and trust God,” above all else. We are called to trust God, even when life doesn’t go our way. This was King Saul’s problem. Things were not going his way, he was afraid that he was going to lose his crown to David. But instead of trusting God, he trusted in witchcraft. God was most displeased! Saul’s action was definitive. He broke the 1st commandment and would lose his crown to David. God wants our trust: always. It is too easy for people to be mislead and look to places other than God for questions to life’s difficult questions; questions like: “What good can God work out of the devastation that resulted from Katrina?” These are serious questions; ones that we might never know the answers to. But keeping the first commandment means that we must trust that God will work things out in the end, even if that end does not come until heaven. After all, all things worked out for Jesus: he rose from the dead and ascended into heaven from which he came. But none of that could have happened without his suffering, death, and burial. So I commend you and all believers to steer clear of psychics, mediums, witchcraft, and all sorts of New Age philosophies that distract us from the only one who has power over life and death, the crucified and risen one: the Lord Jesus Christ! |
