How can someone consider themselves Christian and also believe in energy and crystals

[SnyperBunny]

Hi everyone, My purpose here is to gain some insight and understanding on what people tell themselves, and how they justify this combination.
My sister-in-law has made a new friend and this new friend believes this, and since I am not able to have an in-depth conversation with HER, I figure I'd ask some other people who might be able to explain this.

How can someone read the Bible, and consider themselves Christian and yet believe in energy and crystals and cleansing of houses, cats as guardians, etc. ?
Basically she was telling my sister-in-law that she had some cat/demon/thing following her and it had been following her for ages and eventually found her every time her family moved, and that she wanted her to carry a crystal around to ward it off (or something) and that she also had to sleep with one under her pillow.
Apparently this girl also reads the bible and considers herself a Christian. I'm a bit baffled at how this is possible. Can anyone shed some light?


(Also, if anyone has any ideas of other places where I could ask around please also let me know - and if this is in the wrong section go ahead and move it )

[Aeran]

Re: How can someone consider themselves Christian and also believe in energy and crys

I don't understand why it isn't possible? There's nothing in Christian doctrine which contradicts the existence of metaphysical energy, the occult qualities of crystals or the existence of spirits, as far as I'm aware.

Interestingly, if you listen to peoples accounts of having the Holy Spirit come into them, what they describe is very similar to the energetic events induced by various meditative and yogic practices, and I've even seen books describing the process of Kundalini awakening from a Christian perspective because people ended up triggering the awakening process during intense prayer and worship.

[MaskedOne]

Re: How can someone consider themselves Christian and also believe in energy and crys

She believes in the God of Abraham and believes that Christ was/is/will again be his incarnate son on Earth. Given just how insanely varied the beliefs that fall under the umbrella of Christianity are, it's not unheard of to find people who place faith in Christ but either

1) Don't know of the Biblical proscriptions against a number of mystical practices
2) Have read the right things to get the idea that the sections of the Bible that ban mystical practices are applied to specific practices under the original translations and don't apply to whatever the given individual is dealing with
3) Have no problem with the idea that a book written by men has within it flaws and therefore not everything within necessarily has to be treated as a literal divine command

Literally Christian sects disagree with each on almost everything. Many accept Trinitarian doctrine, Jehovah's Witnesses don't. Free will exists and people choose to bring Christ into their life... except when you start dealing with sects who've embraced a bit too much of Calvinism in which case it isn't possible to choose God unless he chooses you and it's not possible to refuse him if he does choose you (because mind control for the win). Hell is separation from God for Catholics, for the Orthodox both saved and damned experience the light of God but the damned hate God so the experience that is healing and wondrous for faithful is hell for the rest. The list of internal disagreements within the many, many, many, sects claiming to be Christian is very long. The beliefs you're describing fall under the Catholic definition of superstition (at least crystal based warding does) but Catholicism is merely the largest sect of Christianity. There are a lot of others with views ranging from far more benevolent than the Catholic pov to far less kindly.

[Corvus]

Re: How can someone consider themselves Christian and also believe in energy and crys

Technically speaking the bible says magic exists, but condemns it as the work of evil. Logically magic and lore as we understand it can be used to explain the power of God. Many pagans even consider magic a form of ritual prayer so saying christianity has magic isn't a terrible stretch, nor is it a stretch for a christian to believe in magic. The conflict would come from categorizing magic as from god or from the devil.

Synchronization between christian and pagan faiths isn't unheard of either since their basic themes share some similarities. Jesus is similar to many gods that came before him in that he is a dying god who is reborn (Dionysus, Attis, The Horned God, are some examples of dying/reborn gods), the same with the virgin Mary who came to adopt the aspects of various pagan goddesses (Several of her titles such as "Queen of Heaven" are shared by ancient goddesses like Aset). In this mindset The Christian God is another aspect of the Great God / insert-deity-here or vice versa. For centuries christian people have practiced folk magic descended from pagan rituals that their ancestors practiced before Christianity came to their country and this is the result of many modern superstitions. This in mind, the conversion from pagan to christian in Europe resulted in many pagan rituals being adopted into an Abrahamic framework. Seeing that, there is precedent for large numbers of people blending traditional faiths with Christianity.

Theses days there is a fairly large following of people practicing "White Wicca" or other Christian/Pagan paths with a decidedly Pagan/Christian flavor. A combination of Christianity and witchcraft is difficult but not impossible and in reality, fairly common as people are unwilling to part with the faith they've been raised with but are at the same time unhappy with it so they merge it with something they might feel more comfortable with and develop their own blend. It's also important to note that "Christian" is a very very very broad denomination and that there is a fair amount of divergence in any denomination as each person has their own interpretation of their religion's doctrine and rules and that religion is a personal matter which individuals construct themselves.

[Rae'ya]

Re: How can someone consider themselves Christian and also believe in energy and crys

Hi everyone, My purpose here is to gain some insight and understanding on what people tell themselves, and how they justify this combination.
My sister-in-law has made a new friend and this new friend believes this, and since I am not able to have an in-depth conversation with HER, I figure I'd ask some other people who might be able to explain this.

Welcome, and hopefully we can answer your questions for you.

How can someone read the Bible, and consider themselves Christian and yet believe in energy and crystals and cleansing of houses, cats as guardians, etc. ?

Quite easily. Lets look at the the things you have mentioned here.

1) Energy.

Energy is nothing that is specific to magick or pagan practices. Energy is a fact of nature, and has been scientifically proven in a number of ways. Electromagnetic energy in particular is really what we're talking about here... the electromagnetic energy of living bodies... you don't have to believe in it, it's just there. In terms of how that meshes with Christianity... well the Bible doesn't say anything negative about energy. And when I was growing up Catholic (which I understand some Christians don't accept), we used to talk about the little piece of the Holy Spirit in all of us, which was God's energy that he had imparted to us. Energy is non-secular... believing in it is not against Christian belief.

2) Crystals

Crystals are just rocks out of the earth. They aren't magick or sorcery or witchcraft. They have energetic vibrations that can interact with the energetic vibrations of the human body and cause changes in our emotional and psychological patterns. I know a number of very devout Christians who keep and believe in using crystals and semi precious stones. To them, crystals were one of the miracles of God and helped to bring his influence and healing to people.

3) Cleansing of houses

Again, this is very much non-secular. Lots of different faiths perform house cleansings of various kinds, including Christian faiths. Cleansing your house is just removing the stale and harmful energies that can accumulate over time. It's not inherently magick or witchcraft... it CAN be, but it's also possible to cleanse a house without it. Inviting Jesus' love into the house to clean out all disharmony and hate would be one house cleansing that I'm sure any Christian would be willing to accept.

4) Cats as guardians

This depends on whether the issue that you have is with cats or with guardians. Guardian spirits are not that unusual in some Christian paths... what do you think guardian angels are? I've been told by Christians that God sends angels to guard and guide people in all sorts of different forms. It's theoretically possible that he could send one in the form of a cat, isn't it?

Basically she was telling my sister-in-law that she had some cat/demon/thing following her and it had been following her for ages and eventually found her every time her family moved, and that she wanted her to carry a crystal around to ward it off (or something) and that she also had to sleep with one under her pillow.

Let me put this through one possible Christian translator for you...

She told your sister-in-law that she has a demon following her in the form of a cat, which has been following her around for ages, even when she moved (nothing unusual or anti-Christian about that). She wants her to carry a crystal, which will help to bring God's presence and protect her from the demon.

See? It is completely possible for one to be both Christian AND to believe in things like crystals and spirits.

The Bible only says that you can't make a deal with the Devil and perform his work (paraphrased, obviously). Some Christians believe that anything that you can get in a New Age store is the Devil's work... others believe that it is all a part of God's earth and that if you are using something in God's name then it is okay.

[Medusa]

Re: How can someone consider themselves Christian and also believe in energy and crys

Hi everyone, My purpose here is to gain some insight and understanding on what people tell themselves, and how they justify this combination.
My sister-in-law has made a new friend and this new friend believes this, and since I am not able to have an in-depth conversation with HER, I figure I'd ask some other people who might be able to explain this.

How can someone read the Bible, and consider themselves Christian and yet believe in energy and crystals and cleansing of houses, cats as guardians, etc. ?
Basically she was telling my sister-in-law that she had some cat/demon/thing following her and it had been following her for ages and eventually found her every time her family moved, and that she wanted her to carry a crystal around to ward it off (or something) and that she also had to sleep with one under her pillow.
Apparently this girl also reads the bible and considers herself a Christian. I'm a bit baffled at how this is possible. Can anyone shed some light?


(Also, if anyone has any ideas of other places where I could ask around please also let me know - and if this is in the wrong section go ahead and move it )

People like to pick and choose.

[Louisvillian]

Re: How can someone consider themselves Christian and also believe in energy and crys

How can someone read the Bible, and consider themselves Christian and yet believe in energy and crystals and cleansing of houses, cats as guardians, etc. ?

Because Folk Christianity. It's something with considerable historical precedent. These mystical and animistic things were often reinterpreted in a different light. Especially when the Renaissance came about, and older Occult practices became blended with Christianity.