Ever since I was little, I have been fascinated by witches.  I am a christian; I always have been.  I believe in God (as well as love Him).  I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sins and that He rose from the dead.  I have my doubts about other things but never this.  I’ve never read the Bible, but I know that witchcraft is evil in His eyes.  I have NEVER practiced it.  I merely find it interesting, but I do NOT follow it nor believe in it.  I love the Harry Potter books, but again, as you can see, I’m in the same boat.  I like witches, but I’d never practice the craft.  I want to know if I’d end up in hell.  I feel the same way about astrology.  I even wear a Capricorn necklace that I got for my sweet sixteen.  But again, I don’t believe in any of it… just as a hobby.  It’s been driving me crazy, and I don’t know what to do.

Sincerely,
Toil & Trouble

Dear Toil & Trouble,

Astrology, mysticism, séances, horoscopes, palm reading, witchcraft, etc. are all sinful.  God condemned that behavior in the Old Testament (Isa 47:13-14).  King Saul was put to death by God for seeking a woman that practiced divining (1 Chr 10:13).  Any Jew that was found visiting a ‘medium’ or ‘spiritist’ would be cut off from His people (Lev 20:6).  In the New Testament, astrology is just as roundly condemned.  Paul cast out an evil spirit that was fortune-telling (Acts 16:16-18).  When someone became a christian, they confessed sorcery as evil, and many of them burned their books of the magical arts (Acts 19:18-20).  If we want wisdom, we should seek it from God (Jas 1:5).

You mentioned that you haven’t read the Bible.  All faith in Christ is dependent upon the Bible (Rom 10:17).  It seems like you have an honest heart and a real desire to know what is right – two things that matter a lot to God (Lk 8:15).  Please feel free to ask any more questions as they come up, or if you would like us to set up a Bible study for you with a faithful church in your area, just let us know.

Is pyramidology part of or at least have anything to do with the occult?  I heard about this from an article I read about Charles Taze Russell, founder of the Bible Students, which later became known as the Jehovah’s Witnesses.  He preached about Armageddon and the second coming of Christ.  In order to prove his point, he used pyramidology, also sometimes known as pyramid power.  This predicted a certain date for these events.

Sincerely,
Watching That Tower

Dear Watching That Tower,

Pyramidology is the study of pyramids to predict future events such as the return of Christ, world wars, the formation of modern Israel, etc.  This type of philosophy is scoffed at by scientists and theologians alike.  Many Jehovah’s Witnesses are unaware of their founder’s beliefs in pyramidology because it was renounced and scrubbed from their history books in 1928 by Joseph Rutherford, Charles Taze Russell’s successor… yet this sort of mixed-up philosophy is part of the mindset that created the Watchtower Society.

God says that the Bible contains all that we need to know about life and godliness (2 Pet 1:3).  The law of the Lord is perfect (Jas 1:25); we don’t need inscriptions on pyramids and hieroglyphic predictions to find the will of God.  The gospel is God’s power for our salvation (Rom 1:16).  Trust in the alignment of the pyramids is occult.

When kids are psychic, and they claim they do not have anything to do with the devil, are they lying?  Or is the devil using them?

Sincerely,
Weirded Out

Dear Weirded Out,

People that claim they are psychic are lying and are meddling in the occult.  Astrologists, those who claim supernatural powers, palm readers, etc. are not from God (Mic 5:12, Isa 2:6, Jer 27:9).  Every lie is from the devil (Jhn 8:44), and the devil uses us when we promote false teaching (Matt 16:23).  The only way to properly serve God is to throw off all pretenses of these dark arts and wholly serve Jesus in truth (Acts 19:18-20).

What do you do when your teen son tell you that he is the devil?

Sincerely,
Dodging Pitchforks

Dear Dodging Pitchforks,

Start praying he is wrong.  Of course, it is impossible for him to actually be the devil, but when people live sinful lives, they become children of the devil (Acts 13:10, 1 Jn 3:8).  The devil has only one tool at his disposal – lies (Jhn 8:44).  The greatest antidote to lies is truth.

Ask your son to reason with you and explain why he thinks he is the devil.  God is a big fan of calm, rational discourse (Isa 1:18).  We have no idea how likely it is for you to get your son to do this… but it never hurts to try.  Many times when people have to explain their beliefs, the nuttiness of their position becomes apparent to even them.  Darkness hates being brought to light (Jhn 3:20).  Ask your son to explain why he believes what he does; chances are, you won’t have to prove him wrong… he’ll do that himself.

My husband is a christian who added a Satanist to his facebook friends list.  I guess he knew him in basic training.  So my question is: should he have done this?  I mean, he thinks he can win this guy over, but I don’t think so.  I just think he is thick-skinned and evil.  I had a nightmare about him.  My husband deleted him from facebook for me.  Should he have added this guy in the first place?  This is a man who has Satan as his profile picture.  Thanks for your time.

Sincerely,
Pitch The Pitchfork

Dear Pitch The Pitchfork,

You wrote, “He thinks he can win this guy over, but I don’t think so.”  The whole issue is one of wisdom and discretion.  You are worried that bad company corrupts good morals (1 Cor 15:33), and your husband is trying to make sure that his light shines for all to see (Matt 5:16).  Both opinions are perfectly valid and Bible-based.  The question is over which one is more applicable in this circumstance… that is a matter of opinion, not doctrine.  You and your husband must decide what is best, but remember that this isn’t an issue of right and wrong.

I have pondered about the idea of a messiah.  It seemed to me that all cultures and religions have a savior.  It seems to me quite possible that God sent His son, or Himself, or the third iteration of Himself (however one interprets the messiah) to all different peoples to lead them around the same time, essentially.  And presently, Satan exploits this to make humans fight each other because we all worship the same god.  So any theism works… that is what I’m trying to say and what I think.

Is Jesus Christ special, or was Isus the Egyptian messiah, or Allah, or Krishnu, or Jehovah just as good?

Sincerely,
Open Minded

Dear Open Minded,

Jesus is special, and He left no room for other gods.  Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Me” (Jhn 14:6).  Jesus was either the one and only Messiah – or He was a crazy lunatic.  Jesus teaches that we can only have one Master (Matt 23:10) and that serving anyone else is a sin.  Jesus taught that we either confess Him as the Christ, or we will be denied before God (Lk 12:8-9).  Jesus cannot coexist with other gods.  The Bible is clear – there can be only one (Eph 4:4-6).  Isus, Allah, Krishnu, etc. are all false gods.