On Witchcraft"For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being king." (1Sa 15:23) Recently, I have been called "witch" - a title that was supposed to be an insult, no doubt. For we know what the bible has to say about witches and sorcerers: "A man or a woman who is a medium or a necromancer shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones; their blood shall be upon them." (Lev 20:27) As the person uttering the insult was anything but a match, I was amused rather than insulted, and realized that we need an article on here that will define witchcraft according to biblical standards. The bible is full of references to witchcraft and sorcery, necromancy and divination, familiar spirits and fortune tellers. But modern day perception of witchcraft is shaped by medival ideas and pop culture rather than by a biblical definition. Stay tuned for a series of articles.
"When you come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD. And because of these abominations the LORD your God is driving them out before you. You shall be blameless before the LORD your God, for these nations, which you are about to dispossess, listen to fortune-tellers and to diviners. But as for you, the LORD your God has not allowed you to do this." (Deu 18:9-14) |
