someone help me tell the difference?

Question

this question asked just a few moments ago..
speaks of Gods gifts of prophesy and discernment and intuition ... other Christians are trying to help , saying it isnt a curse it is from God etc
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AtsbZ5QQaF8k48Ux8yCtRRqKBgx.?qid=20061203141306AABO0mr

why is this any different from a psychic who is told they are doing satans work ?
why am i damned to hell and years ago would have been burned as a witch ... yet being Christian makes it ok ?

soldier .. you rebuked me a long time ago ... but it was volountry lol

solomon .. wise words and ones i live by xx

so baza .. i am fine then , since i work only with good and in no way with satan

Answer 1

ok, i dont get what your talking about, and i like cats.

Answer 2

The thing about psychics doing Satan's work is that the Bible teaches that it's wrong to try to see into the future; that's only for God to know (it was probably a warning to the Hebrews not to visit clairvoyants who were charlatans and/or would take them away from the Truth).

The witch thing - once more, people being afraid of, or feel threatened by, something they don't understand.

As for the 'gift' thing, it seems the questioner has some good answers. I knew someone who was able to tell me the sex of my unborn children; things just 'came' to her, and she found it a pain. I think most people could be "psychic," it just needs to be developed - most people can be taught to dowse, for example, and I know two people who have found that when they lay their hands on someone, they feel a heat. One of them uses this talent to try to heal people; the other doesn't know what to do with it.

We can say that they are God-given talents, or 'gifts of the Spirit'. It seems to me that if you use them for good, that can't be bad. Look at the way Jesus used his gift for healing - he healed one woman when she touched the hem of his robe in a crowd; even though people were pushing around him, he felt the power go out of him. (The story is in three of the Gospels, the woman had an 'issue of blood' for 12 years, and would have been considered unclean. She was healed because of her faith.)

By the way, Hell doesn't exist, it's the grave, a hole in the ground, but a lost opportunity. Not all Christians believe in that medieval stuff. Have a look at the story of Lazarus; he was in the ground for 3 days, and there was no talk, when Jesus came, of him being in either 'place'. Just that he would smell! The medieval stuff comes from Revelation, and it's allegorical. Hell was a burning rubbish-tip outside Rome, and a place where hot gases escaped from the earth and had been set alight. Easy to understand where the idea came from.

Anyway, Pangel, I've seen some of your questions. They are very sensible - keep searching, and the truth will be revealed to you!

Answer 3

There's probably no difference. This girl may be in very serious spiritual deception. She seems to have been aware of that until she read or heard that pastor (or preacher)

The way demons work, in several similar situations, is to offer the unsuspecting person some "revelations", either as (supposed) angels, or as spirits, or as supposedly the Holy Spirit, or as a supposed sixth sense of that person, or as something seen in cards, crystal balls or other such things. These revelations look impressive and innocent, and the person may be impressed with things coming true, or puffed up with pride when thinking God has chosen him/her for a special gift. But these "revelations" separate from God.

For example, there is a story in the Apophthegmata Patrum (sayings of the Fathers of the Desert, form the beginnings of monasticism in Egypt, starting with St. Anthony in the 4th century). A monk was living ascetically in the desert for twenty years and he started to have these visions of angels revealing things to him. As these things were coming true, he started to think that his twenty years of prayer to God earned him great spiritual gifts. After a while, his father decided to come and visit. The monk had a vision warning him that satan, taking the appearance of his father, is coming to kill him with an axe. Then he saw his father coming with an axe in his hand (which was just his tool, nothing more) and he jumped at him and hit him to death. Then the demons possessed him and he died shortly, without repenting.

But another story in the same book mentions a monk who was praying and got this bright vision of Christ in front of him and heard: "I am your Lord Jesus Christ; worship me!" The monk closed his eyes, crossed himself (made the sign of the cross) and said: "I don't want to see my Lord Jesus Christ in this life, but in heaven! Go away!" Then he opened his eyes and the vision was gone.

Well, I think I've said enough.

Answer 4

I don't deny these things can happen, although the history of psychic communication is depressingly littered with examples of greed, fakery, exploitation and unscrupulous uncaring frauds ripping off the hurt and bereaved. There is just enough there - including in my personal experience - for me to beleive there is a spritual world and now again we can tap into it.

This spiritual world, btw, is there and exists INDEPENDENTLY of any world religion. Christian dogma is just that - untried and unproven dogma which bears only a shadowy relation to what's really out there. If it is sin to consult a medium - think about it. Why does King Saul of Israel go to the Witch of Endor for a seance? The "witch" (medium?) speaks to a dead prophet of Israel on the King's behalf. You find this in the Book of Kings (OT)

Be careful out there: the biggest danger is not from a hypothetical "Satan" devised by practitioners of a religion that brooks no competition. The most evil unscrupulous nasty little $hits are, as always, OTHER PEOPLE.

A good rule of thumb is - if it feels good and gives you no moral aversion, and you will know and sense who and what to steer clear of, then carry on doing it.

There is positive and negative out there - I believe the human psyche is programmed to recognise which is which and to tell the diffrence. So listen to yourself, and what your psychic gut instinct tells you.

THINK FOR YOURSELF!

Answer 5

We all have a spirit within that has spiritual ability. We also
have free will, and can choose to use it for good or ill.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Also, imposing our will on things creates a bond with the beings we use, both in this world and the next. Karma, that will have to
be worked out.
Jesus wanted us to experience our spirituality, but I cannot
stress enough that it is not a game.
You can wish for money, and a favorite family member will die
and leave you some money.
Do you see what I'm saying?
Don't be afraid to experience your spirit. But let's not be frivilous in
how we use our abilities.

Answer 6

True Soldier... you need to chill man. A persons personal beliefs are between them and their god, end of story. The only Satanists are the ones who really want to follow Satan, everybody else is just doing their own thing... as it should be. It amazes me the number of full on bible thumpers who make no effort to learn about other religions but start getting abusive as soon as anyone says they have a different view. Who cares - just live a good life, respect the planet, yourself and others.

Answer 7

A human claiming to have power under any label, is a liar. God is all power and doesn’t share it with anyone. To impart understanding is the work of God. God decides how this will be done, either from Him directly or by one that He has chosen.

Answer 8

Pangel, you got me on that one. I have always thought that people can have a gift of intuition and other forms and that didn't mean that somebody was evil or going to hell. I am not a judge nor would I want to be. I just accept people for how they treat me and my children, and I think each one of us, whether we are psychic, Christian, Religious(all beliefs), or Atheist, we all have some special gift that has been given to us.

Answer 9

It's not. This points out the obvious: you don't have to be a Christian to get recieve God's blessing. You don't need an ultimatum like Heaven or Hell to make you be a good person, but then many people who believe they have their ticket to Heaven through the Bible don't want to hear this. There are many people out there who are finding themselves surrounded by good spirits lately.

This just lets me know the end of our age is near, as these people will be inspirations for those that feel hopelessly lost.

Answer 10

Jesus said may will come to him saying "Lord, Lord, have I not prophesied. . .and He will say I never knew you." Prophesying without Christ in you is possible, but it's not truth. Even one proffessing to be a Christian but who hasn't accepted Christ would be considered of Satan to Jesus. With out Christ in you, you are operating from the only thing you have in you, darkness.

Accept Christ into your heart and life, then The Truth and light will be in you.

Answer 11

becase people were ignorant?

Their process was like this: We got a witch, so let's drown her, if she drowns, then we were mistaken, she is probably just human and the Lord will forgive us and her for our sins. If she is really a witch, she will escape the death of drowning, and then we're really screwed.

I think it was Mel Brookes history of the world (could be mistaken) where a witch is going to be burned, and the lady says,

here's a good link: http://boards.billmaher.com/showthread.php?t=44965

It all comes down to poor logic.