The Occult?

Question

I've often wondered why people, particularly Christians, react with fear at the word, "occult." From Wikipedia,

"The word occult comes from the Latin occultus (clandestine, hidden, secret), referring to the 'knowledge of the secret' or 'knowledge of the hidden' and often popularly meaning 'knowledge of the supernatural', as opposed to 'knowledge of the visible' or 'knowledge of the measurable', usually referred to as science. The term is sometimes popularly taken to mean 'knowledge meant only for certain people' or 'knowledge that must be kept hidden', but for most practicing occultists it is simply the study of a deeper spiritual "reality" that extends beyond pure reason and the physical sciences. The terms esoteric and arcane can have a very similar meaning, and the three terms are often interchangeable.

The term occult is also used as a label given to a number of organizations or orders, and the teachings and practices as taught by them. The name also extends to a large body of literature and spiritual philosophy."

If you are Christian, or another variation of "believer" would you please tell me why you fear the occult, if you in fact do fear it?

Thank you.

Answer 1

I don't react with fear, but with rejection. To me and other Christians a cult is "counterfeit Christianty."
That is the best description I can give for a cult. Counterfeit Christianity is an imitation of real Christianity. Bible terms like "Jesus Christ, resurrection, salvation and atonement," are used by the Cult but entirely different meanings have been assigned to these terms by various cult groups.
Like counterfeit money which is sometimes difficult to detect, so it is difficult to detect counterfeit Christianity, since it looks like the real thing. Experts examining counterfeit money often hold it up to a strong light and look for identifying marks. Counterfeit Christianity also has identifying marks which can be seen when held up to an even stronger light, the light of God's word, the Bible.
We are repeatedly warned in Scripture to watch out for false prophets, false teachers, and false doctrine. To do this, we need to examine the prophecies, teachings, and doctrines of the various groups claiming to be Christian, and then we need to expose them.

Answer 2

It is not really accurate to say that Christians react to occult with fear.
It is not so much about fear of the occult.
We fear God and God said clearly in the Bible that we (Christians and believers in God) are to steer clear of the occult because these things do not glorify God and causes people to wander away from God.
So we stay away from and avoid the occult.

Answer 3

as a spiritualist i dont like the term occult probably because of the connotations and misconceptions
but i am open to anything .. and enjoy studying and practising psychically and meidumistically
there is so much we do not know or understand ... we should be looking to understand as much as we can

Answer 4

i think many today think of it in terms of "knowledge of the supernatural" or interest in,,, yet many organized religions do not see that they are doing the same thing! isnt God and miricales themselves supernatural? and yes, today most think of it in negative, satan worship, terms, why i dont know