Recently a student at a major

Christian university wrote an

article in the student newspaper
defending the use of tarot cards—
as not demonic and as compatible
with Christianity.
Tarot card “reading” belongs in
the larger category of “the
occult” and specifically divination
(foretelling the future by
paranormal means).
Three biblical passages stand out
as opposing all forms of
divination: Deuteronomy 18,
Isaiah 8, and Acts 16. As anyone
who is biblically literate known,
the latter passage records the
story of a young woman who was
enslaved (human trafficked) by
two men. She was a fortune
teller, used divination, and that
because of a demon in her. The
apostles liberated her from that
evil power and “gift” much to the
chagrin of her masters.
Besides scripture, Christian
tradition has always stood firmly
against divination by any means
other than prophecy by the Holy
Spirit or special revelations from
the Holy Spirit.
But let’s talk about the theology
behind the biblical and traditional
Christian prohibitions of
divination.
Divination arises from a desire to
know the future or to receive
guidance about how to live one’s
life from some power or force or
principle other than God. This is
one manifestation of the fall—the
desire to be as God. All evil and
harm ultimately arises from that
desire—to have power that
belongs only to God and to
possess it for oneself
independently of God. Underlying
that is the fallen human craving
for security outside of God.
All occultism, whether divination
or magick (the two main forms of
occult practice), is also an
opening to a demonic realm
through which spiritually
destructive forces can come. And
many people become obsessed
with the occult; like pornography
and drugs, the occult can become
addictive.
Divination can also be personally
harmful psychologically. I will tell
my own story here.
When I was about eight years old
I snuck into a fortune teller’s tent
at a carnival. I knew my parents
would be appalled, but I couldn’t
resist. I paid her fifty cents and
she read my palms. The only
thing I remember that she said
was that sometime during my
fifties I would suffer a very serious
illness. Who would say that to an
eight year old boy? Not a nice
person. That prediction, which I
took to be more than a prediction,
haunted me for decades. I feared
my fifties.
All one has to do to see that tarot
cards belong to a category of evil
is to examine the pictures on
them. But here my concern is
why? Why would a Christian ever
want to use tarot cards or defend
their use? Why would the faculty
advisor of a Christian university
newspaper ever allow an article
defending tarot cards as innocent
be published? Why would there
not be an outcry on that campus
and among its constituents about
such public defense of something
universally condemned among
orthodox Christians as evil?
Are tarot cards evil? Are they
demonic? Well, no…if all we are
talking about is the paper and ink.
The evil lies in the imagery and
use of tarot cards—the purpose
for which they are used and their
use by demonic powers and
principalities to harm people and
lure them into the realm of the
occult which is, according to
Christianity, a realm ruled over
and used by Satan.
Some people have suggested a
gentle approach to the student
author—simply attempting to help
her clarify her values by asking
questions. While that gentle
approach has its place, such as in
a situation where the person is
using tarot cards but not publicly
promoting their use as innocent
and even compatible with
Christianity, a firmer approach
also has its place, such as in a
situation where a person is
publicly promoting the use of
tarot cards (or anything else
universally considered evil by
Christians) within a Christian
community.
Let’s use a hypothetical example.
Suppose a male student at a
Christian university wrote an
article, published in the student
newspaper, arguing that
animated pornography is
innocent and compatible with
Christianity because it has no
victims. I predict that there would
be an outcry against that and that
the response would be more than
values clarification.
My concern is that some
Christians no longer really believe
in Satan or demons and do not
believe that occultism is truly
dangerous, demonic, or sin.
I wonder where people who
condone the promotion of tarot
cards within a Christian
community would draw the line?
What if a student published a
piece promoting attendance at
seances? Don’t laugh. I have
known students (and others) who
went to mediums to contact
deceased loves ones and friends.
Every week I drive past a
“church” of “spiritual science”
where the pastor is a medium. It
looks like any other church.
Should we not warn brothers and
sisters in Christ (and others)
against such practices? If we
should not, perhaps it is because
we don’t really believe in the
reality of evil principalities and
powers or that the Bible’s
prohibitions against divination are
valid.
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