HW9: Bible's view on Fortune telling

“When you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the detestable things of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead.” (Deuteronomy 18:9-11)

There are many theories about the origin of man. In scientific terms, according to Charles Darwin, men came from apes and these species evolved over time to be physically or biologically called man. According to Filipino myth, Filipino’s first parents are Malakas and Maganda. While the most famous theory was the one indicated in the bible and believed by all Christian- that they came from their first parents Adam and Eve.The desire for prohibited or forbidden wisdom is entrenched in the man’s first sin. This is when Eve wanted to know what God has chosen not to disclose. Thus, fortune telling is a continuous attempt to gain forbidden knowledge.

I read about an article entitled “The Dangers of Divination” by Bob DeWaay. According to the article, God forbids divination because the fortune-teller illustration shows why divination is forbidden. It works because of the operation of evil spirits. Evil spirits are willing to give out some factual information as long as it serves their purpose of telling a bigger lie. People get sucked into the occult because of the accuracy of the secret information they gain.

There are methods of fortune telling which can as well be classified as a form of divination such as reading the future through the use of tea leaves. The information from fortune teller convinces his clients that he can talk or communicate to their deceased relatives. This is one of the reasons why God forbids fortune telling/divination, it is because they make ways for people to relate or communicate with the world of spirits which these spirits are not good beings, though they would like to make people think so.

For me, the negative side of this is the cases where a client can feel something indescribable and the fortune teller reveals that it is because of devil, bad omen or bad luck. So, the client needs to go back to the fortune teller to continue rituals to be able to dispense any evil or bad omen. And with every session or ritual, the fortune teller basically asks for payment for his services. This then deceives the client. And another negative side of this is when people already put in their minds that they can find the answer on how to keep away from these evils or bad omens from fortune tellers/divination and not with God. This can result to an unhealthy relationship with God.

Second, the article discusses that divination is a rebellion. According to the article, the murky world of secret, spiritual knowledge is characterized by unclear “whispering and muttering.” Seeking such secret information is the equivalent of failing to consult God who has revealed His truth objectively in His word. Those who are not satisfied with what God has chosen to reveal go to other spiritual sources. This, as we shall see, is rebellion against God.

I assent that divination is a rebellion but I don’t think that people are not conscious that what they are doing is considered as disobedient acts. I believe that fortune tellers are doing it not because they want to be rebellious but it is because of money I the same way with the clients who only seek or look for answers.

I do not say that fortune telling/divination should be wiped away but people who are dependent must learn to have faith in them and in the Lord, that it is not wrong to commit mistakes because it is where we learn our lesson in life. We should not entrust our whole life and time to look for different answers about our future instead we should put in mind that we are the one making or creating it through our acts and decisions.