Deut 18:9 When you enter the
land the LORD your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the
detestable ways of the nations there. 10 Let no one be found among
you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices
divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11
or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults
the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the
LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God
will drive out those nations before you. 13 You must be blameless
before the LORD your God.
The context of this verse is that it is addressed to the Israelites
entering into foreign lands so that the Israelites do not embrace
the religious culture found in the newly occupied territory. This
is not to say that the warning is applicable to only to the
Israelites at that time. It also serves as a warning to modern day
believers who may not be aware of the danger of what the occult
bring.
However, in understanding the warning, we also need to define the
dangers more specifically. To pronounce a blanket denounciation
over anything remotely occultic (or even perceived to be occultic)
is dangerous and irresponsible.
When we look at the genres, something that is being defined as
occultic may not really be occultic after all, similarly, just
because an individual feels that a particular title or genre is
occultic does not represent that this title is truly
occultic.
SO WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF OCCULT:
The word "occult" is generally associated with secret knowledge and
practices dealing with the supernatural or "psychic" phenomena
often for the purpose of obtaining personal power. Some occult
practices rely on demons or "spirits" to achieve their goals.
http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/edn-occult-defn.html
A simple definition for occult is, "of or pertaining to magic,
astrology, and other alleged sciences claiming use or knowledge of
secret, mysterious, or supernatural agencies"
http://www.biblequestions.org/Archives/BQAR402.htm
WHAT IS NOT OCCULT:
Reading stories or articles about occult the key word is
READING.
Playing computer games computer games are designed to react to
commands, the games A.I. takes over in a preset sequence.
Watching TV programmes on occult in itself, it is no different
from watching a murder movie or a crime caper. If this is untrue,
than we should not watch a murder mystery because that will be
constituted as committed murder.
DO THE ABOVE ACTIVITES LEAD TO THE OCCULT?
It depends entirely on the individual watching/engaging in such
activities. If the individuals mind is weak and is susceptible to
influences than, yes, it will lead to the occult. This being the
case, the problem is not the activity, but the individual.
If the individual is now the problem, the media is NOT at
fault.
In my collection of books at home, I have many books on occult and
comparative religion all written from the non-Christian
perspective. My family reads Harry Potter, plays Pokemon, discusses
witchcraft. Non of us are affected by the occult, either
supernaturally or psychologically. My boys are heavily involved in
their church ministries, get along well with their peers, get good
school results.
My point is: occult involvement is dangerous, but the lack of
understanding of what is and what is not occult is equally
dangerous.
Occult activity can be strong, but the individual has to be
stronger. If the individual is overwhelmed, the problem may not lie
with the external forces, but with the internal
fortitude.
