Should Christians seek psychic help? February 26, 2009
Posted by Brent Cunningham in : blog , trackbackPrint This Post | Email to a Friend
Though obviously an overgeneralization, it does seem that spirituality is among the “in” things. It has become both cool and lucrative. The television is scattered with spiritualists like John Edwards, James Van Praagh, Sylvia Browne, and Char Margolis who claim psychic power to speak to departed human beings. But as alarming as this movement may be in our broader culture, it’s most troubling that even many Christians are being duped into thinking that the practice of physics can be squared with a biblical worldview. The Bible’s prohibitions against necromancy (communing with the dead) aren’t given to keep us from gaining helpful information from the spirit world. Rather, such prohibitions come to us to protect us from lies and deception.
Many followers of Jesus are perfectly aware that the Bible forbids believers to participate in spiritism or psychic attempts to communicate with dead human beings (Lev 20:25-27; Deut 18:10-13; 1 Chron 10:13-14; Isa 8:19-20). However, we also need to know why God forbids His followers to engage in this practice, as well as be able to offer both a purer and more powerful way to connect with the spirit world.
Who’s the dead man behind the curtain?
When psychics claims to be speaking either to or on behalf of a departed human being, we can be assured that they are not. According to the Bible, dead human beings are not available for psychic contact. In his book, “The Truth Behind Ghosts, Mediums & Psychic Phenomena,” author Ron Rhodes distills the Bible’s teaching well on this issue when he writes, “At death, the believer’s spirit departs from the physical body and immediately goes into the Lord’s presence in heaven (2 Cor 5:8; Phil 1:21-23). The unbelievers’ spirit departs from the body, goes to a place of great suffering . . . confined until the future day of judgment (Lk 16:19-31; 2 Pet 2:9)” (p. 131). So, what is really going on when a psychic gets information from a supposed “departed human being”?
There are two possible explanations for psychic practices of supposed contact with the dead: (1) fraud or (2) demonic contact. Fraud occurs quite regularly as psychics research their subjects’ histories beforehand and/or simply engage in ‘cold readings’ of their subjects. But I don’t believe that fraud is an exhaustive explanation. The Bible is very clear that “Satan masquerades as an angel of light” (2 Cor 11:14). Satan or any number of his minions are able to counterfeit themselves as departed human beings and communicate information that few if any humans would know (Acts 16:16). The Bible calls these demons “familiar spirits,” because they are familiar with the situations and circumstances surrounding the individuals involved. That is to say, a particular demonic being could have been around “watching” persons and events at any time in the past which happened “behind closed doors.” Former psychic, Marcia Montenegro, who has become a follower of Jesus, suggests that we should not assume an either-or perspective when interpreting the work of psychics. They may be both fishing for information through very natural means (prior investigation, cold readings, etc.), as well as having genuine contact with familiar demonic spirits.
The real danger
So what is the real danger in tampering openly with the spirit world? Think of it this way. The Bible doesn’t tell us how many fallen angels or demons there are. But let’s suppose, and I know I’m aiming extremely low, there are a million demonic beings (remember that one group of demons who call themselves “legion”—and that a Roman legion was made up of 6,000 men—possessed just one man as recorded in Mark 5:9). If there are only a million malevolent demonic spirits, but only one Holy Spirit, this means that if you just unquestioningly open yourself up the spirit realm, you’re chances of getting true information are, so to speak, “a million to one”! Now, I hope you understand that my intention is not to actually quantify a statistical percentage, but to emphasize the real and present danger of inquiring of information from the spirit realm apart from the guidelines laid out by God.
A purer and more powerful contact
The follower of Jesus is assured by Jesus himself that as we pursue him in keeping his commands, the “skeleton key” to the trustworthy door into the spirit world will be given to us. The Apostle John records Jesus’ words in describing this skeleton key to the spirit world like this:
“If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. (Jn 14:15-17)
If there is an infinite personal God, who wove creation itself together (both the physical and spiritual worlds), why would anyone be content to seek answers to unrevealed mysteries from a supposed angelic being or dead person, when we can go directly to God Himself? And this is precisely what Jesus offers those who become his followers. Jesus, “who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him” (1 Pet 3:22), opens the door for each one of us to “approach [God’s] throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Heb 4:16).
Therefore, aside from the dangers of seeking guidance from unknown spirits “to help us in our time of need,” it is a flimsy and weak source of knowledge when the Creator of the universe awaits our reception into the most intimate of relationships with Him, through His Son, and in the power of His Spirit. Now that’s a purer and more powerful contact! Why would anyone settle for less?
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Comments»
This doesn’t sit well with me. I have been very close to God since a small child. I have received messages from deceased loved ones that stopped the living from committing suicide due to depression from the loss of a child. Why would a demon help the living from committing suicide.
I’m glad you posted on this topic Brent. One of my long time hobbies is as a “magical entertainer”. I do card tricks and small illusions; it has been my experience that the majority of “psychics” out there are most definitely fraudulent. Many other magicians have actually set out to expose psychics because they prey on peoples hopes and dreams.
I am saddened to see Christian men and women seek out the help of psychics when they can heed the words of Carmen…
“We don’t need to look to the stars for our answers when we can look to the very one who made those stars!!”
Nathan