Wednesday, 16 July 2008
-
Is it Bad For Christians to Read Horoscopes?
After growing up in a tight-knit, conservative Christian community where even Harry Potter was frowned upon, I reacted a little bit strongly when my college roommates started bragging about their horoscopes. Roommate: I need to wear more makeup today. According to my astrological reading, I'm supposed to meet a dark and handsome stranger in the shadows this afternoon.
Me: Do you seriously believe in that stuff?
Roommate: Well, it's kind of weird how true it can be.
Me: You're delusional.I wanted to ask how people who find it ludicrous that I believe in an all-powerful, personal deity put their faith in giant balls of gas. After hearing about horoscopes for awhile, though, I began to take them less seriously. I don't actively keep up with my horoscope because I just can't be bothered. The thing is, a lot of people say that they don't use horoscopes to predict the future, but rather, as reminders of things to reflect on. For instance, I looked at my Daily Single Love Reading today, which says:
Getting along well with others is key if you want to accomplish anything today. Mood swings and temper tantrums block your chances of success. Put your differences aside and work as a team.While I had no problem cooperating with people at work today, it's true that I need to mind my emotions when finishing projects with others. Interesting. Let's check out my Scorpio traits:
Strengths: loyal, passionate, resourceful, observant, dynamic
Weaknesses: jealous obsessive, suspicious, manipulative, unyielding
*Scorpios are fiercely independent and will accomplish anything they put their mind to. They do best when on their own. They are not very social.
*Scorpios are the most misunderstood of all astrology signs. They are all about intensity and contradictions. They like to be in touch with a situation and always know what's going on, figuring this out with their probing mind....To be honest, all of that is eerily true...but at the same time, it's unsurprisingly generic.
Yeah, so the horoscope was a good reminder, and yes, it does apply to me, but it's impersonal, blanket advice. My Scorpio characteristics are more of common human emotions that everyone goes through; I'm sure if someone put an Aquarius' description in front of me, I'd relate to it. I think today's reading could apply to just about anyone.The reason I don't read horoscopes is not because I'm convicted that they're witchcraft and sorcery, as the Bible insinuates, but because I believe in a personal God who DOES know me in and out - a God who "knit me in my mother's womb," as the Psalm goes.
Admittedly, God's answers can come far more slowly (and far more vaguely) than my horoscope reading, but in the end, they are the ones that I remember and actually apply.I'm not so much convicted about horoscope-reading being a sin as convinced that it's pointless for me...if anything, I might skim them when I'm bored, but I know that other people (Christians and non-Christians alike) feel differently about the nature of the zodiac. After all, the Bible blatantly tells us to avoid fortune-telling activities, but then again...that culture took those things way more seriously than our culture does, which, for the most part, has reduced horoscope readings to cute little desktop widgets or Firefox extensions.
Do you have a problem with horoscopes? Is it okay for Christians to read them, as long as they don't use them for serious purposes?
-
recommend
- recs 0
-
share
-
email
- sent 0
Related Posts
Post a Comment
- Back to revelife's Revelife Site!
- Note: your comment will appear in revelife's local time zone: GMT -05:00 (Eastern Standard - US, Canada)
Comments (95)
It depends on the kinds of horoscopes you're talking about. The ones that try to be all specific, like saying you'll meet some hot guy in the shadows, or the kind that remind that if we mind our manners we will have a decent day. The latter is general advice that we could use to hear every now-and-again.
I'm not a Christian, so I can't answer the question as you probably intended, but I don't think it matters if you read horoscopes, even if you're religious. (Are you talking about those small magazine horoscopes in those girl magazines? I'm referring to those as well as the personality traits that the astrological signs designate.) Horoscopes don't do any harm, do they? Really, would God send you to hell if you read some? Because to put it bluntly, that's rather stupid and cruel.
I mean no offense, but if horoscopes are frowned upon by Christians and God, then a good number of Americans will be in hell when they die. ^^;;;
I am not a fan of horoscopes. Although I realize that some people just think they are fun, they do come from witchcraft. Just like spirit boards. Whether or not it is fun, it comes from a source that does not honor God and has its source in spiritual forces not devoted to God.
Someone who believes in an omnipotent father figure - who dwells eternally in the sky - who also stands ready to punish or reward us for our behavior - telling someone (who believes in the equally laughable proposition that stars affect our lives and personalities) that he or she is delusional? Wow. Get some psychiatric help.
@lauralen@xanga - that whole moderation thing is tricky. it's applicable sometimes, and at others it's not.
i guess i'll build off of your alcohol example. it's true that the Bible instructs us not to become drunk on wine. yet we can look to many other parts of the Bible and see examples of where alcohol is used purposefully in moderation. Jesus creates it for the guests at the wedding at cana and even serves and consumes it Himself at the last supper. so we can see where God gives obvious approval of it under some circumstances.
i know you already realized that the alcohol example wasn't the best one. but the concept i just suggested is pretty universal; there are certain things which are only ok under certain circumstances. for example, sex is only ok between a married man and woman, and elsewhere is considered to be evil. moderation is another such circumstance which limits some activities.
but there's an important distinction to make between what is unacceptable under certain circumstances, and what is simple unacceptable. nobody can point to a time where Jesus said 'hey, just for fun, let's see what the horoscopes say!' maybe they didn't have horoscopes, i dunno. but horoscopes tie right in there with witchcraft, which is intrinsically evil. this is something that is by its very nature rebellious and offensive to God. and though it may not cause one to immediately lose faith, neither does getting drunk, usually. that doesn't make it acceptable. any kind of evil will try its best to draw your soul back into doing evil, no matter how harmless things may seem. Christ taught that this was inescapably evil.
one might also consider that deliberately exposing yourself to evil is nearly as displeasing to God as is committing it (if not equally so).
it's best to avoid it completely, at all costs, as is best regarding all evil.
Is it ok for Christians to celebrate holidays like Christmas and Easter when they are both filled with so very many Pagan symbolism? The only reasons why such "Christian" holidays were even established were to coincide with similar Pagan holidays. The Church was trying to entice Pagans to come to the church during their Pagan festivities. The Pagan symbolism filtered into the Christianized holidays. Christians all over the world celebrate their Christian holidays with Pagan symbolism. All the while they speak badly of Halloween and Samhain proclaiming it as an evil Pagan holiday. Is it ok for a Christian to read and watch The Chronicles of Narnia just because it's supposedly an analogy of Jesus Christ? The Chronicles of Narnia is full of Witchcraft and Wizardy just as the Harry Potter books and movies are. Why is one set ok but the other isn't? I thought all Witchcraft was bad. Why then is it ok to use Witchcraft to tell an anology of Jesus?
God curses Israel for prophets who tell
fortunes for money in Micah 3:10-12, and there's a girl in Acts 16 who
could tell fortunes for $$ with help from a demon, doesn't sound like a
cultural thing.
I feel relatively un-deep saying this but, well said.
Genesis 1:14 (King James Version) 14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
Luke 21:25-27 25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; 26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. 27And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
God made the sun, moon, stars, and planets. They are to be used by us as signs. We are to interpret these signs. This is what we call astrology. Astrology is not the worship of sun, moons or stars. Astrology is nuetral in the realm of religion. One could say that as we watch the heavens and interpret the signs it is the hand of God at work.
If you take the TV Guide's or your local newpaper's horoscope seriously, I think you are silly. However, there is truth in real astrology and those who are experienced in writing up real personalized horoscopes.
i've grew up with a conservative mom but she and i agreed that she can do whatever she wants and i can do whatever i want, since our tastes were different and we did not want to continue to keep arguing about our tastes.
so i never really was prohibited doing something. mom knew that prohibiting me doing something would only make me do it. so i made my choices on my own.
i love reading and horoscopes are fun to read once the term is over. i mean, like reading a weekly horoscope in the end of the day. since i know that most of the horoscopes are written by people who got too much time on their hands, i think it's silly to believe in horoscopes. plus, does any of us REALLY want to know the future that awaits us?
i like thinking that all the good stuff about me in the horoscope is gonna happen and all the bad stuff is just fantasy.
CONCLUSION: it's not bad tor read horoscopes. just don't try to live completely according to the horoscope. or at least try to find one that you like
I don't agree with them, or astrology in general, because it all stems from fortune telling, witchcraft, etc. and if you really take the ones you would find in your local newspaper seriously, you're just strange.
I mean, they're not terrible, horrible, sinful things and we should burn them in the name of God, but I don't read them.
As a Christian, I don't see anything wrong with it as long as you're not basing your life off of them.
And I don't see them as sin.
I view it as something amusing.
They're normally dead on, but like you said, very generic.
If I were to take it any farther than amusement, then it'd be wrong.
And sinful.
@Willowlost@xanga and the rest of the Christians over here:
I'm just curious. You say that the word of G-d prevents you guys from reading and believing in astrology. Doesn't the word of G-d also say not to eat pork or shrimp? It also says not to get tattoos. It also says not to make carvings in one's beard (like a goatee or a moustache). Yet so many Christians do so. What is up with that?
I don't have any problems with horoscopes, cuz I actually read them. Whether or not I take them seriously, that's a totally different matter. I've subscribed to both a general single's horoscope and a dating one and you'll notice that it's pretty generic and well... useless. I definitely don't read it for advice, but it's just something fun to see what they have to say. Sometimes it applies to how my day went; majority of the time, it's just a bit of silly drivel.
This post seems a little superfluous. Â The Bible is rather clear that we shouldn't "go to fortune tellers," yet it includes the astrologers who saw a giant star and knew it belonged to Jesus. Â Seems to me that the difference is these astrologers were dealing with giant events, while modern horoscopes address the daily grind. Â It's not possible that 1/12 of the world's population is going to have the exact same thing happen to them today, nor would anyone argue that there are only 12 different lives that a person can lead. Â I kept up with my horoscope for a little while, just to see what it was all about, and I found idiocy. Â The parts that "came true" were either so incredibly generic that they couldn't help but come true (show kindness today, and you will receive it... DUH!) or they quite literally got lucky. Â My horoscope told me several times over the course of a few months that something romantic was going to happen to me that day- it didn't, actually, the day I met my wife was when my horoscope appeared to be predicting a pretty bad breakup. Â Horoscope told me I would be getting promotions- I didn't even have a job! Â Said I'd be taking trips... does the grocery store count?
People who actually believe their horoscopes are forced to re-assess the entire day's events based on what their horoscope said would happen. Â How ridiculous would it be for someone to say "Oh no! It's 11:59 PM and Todd and I haven't gotten in a fight yet! Â I better call him..."
Horoscopes are pointless. Â Reading them is pointless. Â If you insist on reading them, I really could care less. Â If you think they're accurate, you're not very intelligent.
@UFFda_oyVEY@xanga - there's a difference in that idea... astrology is believing that you will receive answers from the stars through observation or even tapping into the spiritual essence of stars... to do such is to spit at God in the face because all answers come from God and nothing from His created things...
this is much different than eating stuff because God gave them to us... we don't get our answers from the stuff we eat... we nourish ourselves from what we eat...
totally different ideals between the Biblical prohibition of seeking the stars and eating pork tenderloin...
Christianity only furthers the notion against astrology...
An eerie voice comes from the cornfield saying, "If you read them, they will come."
I honestly didn't read all of the post or the comments but I really have an urge to express a general opinion. I am surrounded by superstitious people who are convinced that their lives are conditioned by the stars and their signs. Basically astrology determines their daily routine, relationships, business, sex life, etc. Putting your hope in the creation rather that the Creator is wrong in the eyes of God! This kind of remind me of God's words to his people Israel about their trust in fake gods that are made by human hands, that have no eyes or ears. Putting it plainly - believing in horoscope is idolatry!!!
@leadworshipper82 - But you guys are saying that G-d said NOT to listen to fortune tellers (astrology). You know, too, then, that He FORBADE tattoos, pork, shrimp, etc.? Right? G-d didn't give them to us to eat. He said so. He gave us CERTAIN things to eat and told us to stay away from other things that weren't meant to be eaten.
@UFFda_oyVEY@xanga - pre-Christ... yes... Judiac Laws state the forbidding of tattoos, pork, and shrimp....
Post-ascension states a deeper fulfillment of such... such as everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial... that goes hand in hand with eating and tattooes
the ideal of tattoos is found rooted in the basis of idol worship... and astrology also has it's roots in idol worship as well... worship of the stars... completely violation of the 1st and 2nd Commandment.... which Christ came to fulfill and empower our lives to live with such fulfillment of those commandments...
God said to not consult, listen, give room for a word to fortune tellers, diviners, astrologers, spiritists and other such influences... the idea is to not seek the voice of the created, but seek the will of the Creator.... in worship, love, adoration, and obedience to Him... God
I find Horoscopes and "luck" and other such supernatural forces offensive. At best they are devices that take away personal responsibility and defer credit (good luck) or blame (bad luck). At worst you are playing around with fire, demons etc. Either way is not good and 'harmless' is a relative term.
Anyone else here find it frustrating that Yahoo (Â http://www.yahoo.com/) insists on having horoscopes on the front page? Even if you log in you can't change it.
Horoscopes are wrong! In your post, you mentioned that we are not to seek fourtune tellers and such. The enemy is crafty. He uses these things to lighten the sins we commit and have us to feel blameless when we should be.
God told us not to seek mediums or familliar spirits. Although the advice is blanket advice there are shreds of truth in them. The enemy has knowledge too. He is not all knowing like God but he does know some stuff. We have to stand for Christ or we will fall for anything including the dellusion that it's okay to read horoscopes. It took me a while to come to this understanding.
www.waterplantgrowth.com
@LadyValkyrie37@xanga - I agree with you. Good points! It is for the reasons you mentioned that we don't celebrate Christmas but or easter. We do celebrate the Resurrection though. Do you celebrate the holidays you listed?
It's okay to read them for fun. I don't believe in horoscopes in general; after all, there are 12 signs (aren't there?), so it logically follows that one-twelfth of the human population has the same horoscope as you. So they are not meant to be taken seriously since they are generic, like you said.
I'm not a Christian and I don't read horoscopes because they are pointless and stupid.