Why is sorcery considered so bad by so many?

reply to post by DISRAELI


You just pointed out exactly the reason why I don't feel I can trust the Bible to be infallible anymore. I have seen too many things that don't make sense, too many inconsistencies, and an uncertainty of who wrote what and when. It is also the reason why I think many of the writings that didn't make it into the accepted canon can be worth reading and considering. That's not to say I believe anything. I just see it as my mind finally expanding. Also, if God wants us to know what He wants us to know, why the heck is it so inconsistent?!

reply to post by MikeboydUS


aye.


this guy talks about it from his perspective















[edit on 4-7-2010 by undo]

Originally posted by Ellie Sagan

If that's the case, and I believe you presented it very understandably, then is it only the looking into the future thing? What about things like spells for protection or help with an illness or whatever..

I'm not sure, but I also found this interesting passage in Ezekiel;
"Woe to the women who sew magic bands upon all wrists and make veils for the heads of persons of every stature, in the hunt for souls! Will you hunt down souls belonging to my people, and keep other souls alive for your profit?" Ezekiel ch13 v18

Nobody's quite sure what this is talking about, but it seems to be something to do with some sort of magical way of offering protection- "stopping souls from escaping"- something like that. I think it is at least partly about the way that practitioners were exploiting the vulnerably gullible. Anyway, the basic ground of the prophet's objection seems to be that these things are all a con. I think you've got to consider the possibility that "spells for protection" etc. could come under the same criticicism.

Originally posted by Ellie Sagan

You just pointed out exactly the reason why I don't feel I can trust the Bible to be infallible anymore. I have seen too many things that don't make sense, too many inconsistencies, and an uncertainty of who wrote what and when.

At one stage of my life I was an atheist.
I am now a Christian again.
All I can say, from my own experience, is that letting go of the idea that the Bible is letter-by-letter infallible doesn't mean giving up trust in God- it just makes the faith experience rather more challenging.

reply to post by DISRAELI


i think it's a language problem.
if you pray for protection from spiritually dark powers, you are in essence asking for magical protection from a magical god. if it were as easy as it claims it is, to walk on water, for example, you'd see christians all over the place, traipsing across the water on their feet. if you could literally tell a mountain made of rock, to move from one place to the next, just by saying so, there'd be mountains moving all over the place right this minute! suffice it to say, some data appears to be missing from the teachings and the only way you know what to look for is to read it all very carefully and in the original languages.

reply to post by DISRAELI


That's a really good way to put it, challenging. I'm the opposite... always had faith more or less, now I finally got the courage to start questioning more.

Originally posted by Ellie Sagan
reply to post by DISRAELI

 

That's a really good way to put it, challenging. I'm the opposite... always had faith more or less, now I finally got the courage to start questioning more.

You may find, in the end, that your faith ends up stronger, and perhaps more "your own" than it was before.
I do know that when someone is questioning things, there is no point in laying down the law. Which is why I don't.
I can try answering questions, though.

reply to post by DISRAELI


that ezekiel passage is reallllly bizarre. first time i've seen it, even though i've read the whole bible, i think my brain occassionally drifted off or was still working on data from previous verses. wowzers. so the passage claims WOMEN were doing this? making veils for everyone to trap their souls? i need some translation for that one!

ah they were wearing phylacteries!

speaking of which, check this guy out

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so the hebrew men could wear phylacteries and head scarves
and not be soul stealers or what have you, or ?

Originally posted by undo


ah they were wearing phylacteries!

I don't think there's full agreement on what they were doing. I've seen different guesses. I've certainly seen the "trying-to-stop-souls-from-escaping" suggestion that I cited earlier, but I don't have a commentary on my bookshelves. I will have to look around to see what I can find.

reply to post by DISRAELI


no, that's what the original word is related to. the wearing of "false phylacteries", i'm assuming that would be because women are not supposed to wear the tefilin (phylactery) on their arms (he has one on his arm! ) or their heads, although they were instructed to wear head scarves or veils, everywhere except the verse we are discussing.

and to the op's interest, a tefilin (phylactery) was an amulet of protection! it is interesting that it is a small black box, seemingly in the same exact spot as the serpents on the heads of pharaohs, and the serpent arm bands. oh this just gets more and more interesting.

[edit on 4-7-2010 by undo]

reply to post by undo

I've just found a site quoting from Barnes' commentary, referring to "Magic bands", to the effect that;
"The exact nature of these paraphernalia as well as the significance attached to them can no longer be established with certainty...The practice may have come from Babylonian magic rituals, in which knots and bands were tied to various parts of the body to ward off evil spirits or to heal diseases". Still guessing, in other words.

And I now notice that the address to these women ends in ch13 v23 with "You shall no more see delusive dreams nor practise divination", so we're back in that territory again.



[edit on 4-7-2010 by DISRAELI]

it just is, GOD, gives if you ask, why must people try to do it themselves. . JUST LIVE AND LOVE, B T W CHRIST IS THE ONLY WAY, DENY YOUR PAGANISIM, idid, BLESSED I AM. SO ARE YOU, YOU'LL BE FINE LOVE YOURSELF.