It's Not in the Cards (or the Stars)

Continued from page 1

In the Greco-Roman world, astrologers were placed in the same league with those who examined sheep livers to see if the day was auspicious for doing one thing or another. This was called augury, and sometimes it also involved watching the flight of the birds, or the behavior of other animals. Again, the idea was to get some sort of forewarning about what the future might hold. From the point of view of ancient Jews and Christians, this was unnecessary because: 1) there was only one true God and 2) God had made perfectly clear in the Scriptures what his will was for the past, present, and future, and also what he required of human beings. In fact, both ancient Jews and Christians thought such practices reflected lack of faith in the true God at a minimum and idolatry at a maximum. Almighty God, not the stars, was in control of the universe, including the world of human affairs.

The Bible has nothing to say about Tarot cards for the very good reason that they did not exist in biblical times. But the judgment about them would surely have been the same as on these other forms of 'consultation.' Tarot involves seeking personal information which one should seek only from one's Maker and from the revealed sacred texts of that Maker.

There are some wise words in the Catholic catechism which deserve to be quoted here:

All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to "unveil" the future. [Cf. Deuteronomy 18:10; Jeremiah 29:8] Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.

All practices of magic or sorcery, by which one attempts to tame occult powers, so as to place them at one's service and have a supernatural power over others--even if this were for the sake of restoring their health--are gravely contrary to the virtue of religion. These practices are even more to be condemned when accompanied by the intention of harming someone, or when they have recourse to the intervention of demons. Wearing charms is also reprehensible. Spiritism often implies divination or magical practices; the Church for her part warns the faithful against it. Recourse to so-called traditional cures does not justify either the invocation of evil powers or the exploitation of another's credulity.

The bottom line is that Christians should trust God, pray to God for answers, search the Scriptures for answers, and ask questions of mature and wise Christians. They should ignore the illegitimate claims of people who allege that they know things they either do not really know, or only have learned through nefarious means that reflect a lack of trust or belief in God. God has revealed enough about the future in his Word to give us hope, but not so much that we do not have to live by faith.

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