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Volume. XXV, No. 37 The Horror of HoroscopeWhat is Horoscope? Today hardly any newspaper or secular magazine doesn\'t contain some sort of horoscope. The world has diluted astrology so much that many Christians forget that it is actually has its roots in an occultism and paganism. While some people look to the stars to get advice, the Scripture may make some Christians think twice about relying on the practice. What is Horoscope by the way? The word "horoscope," which comes from the Greek language, means "watcher of the hour". It was first coined in an ancient, declining Greece that began to tolerate astrology. Horoscopes, as innocent and innocuous as they may appear, are not just products of the imagination or speculation. The authors of these columns found in Newspapers or magazine are usually astrologers; some are psychics (i.e. someone who is able to communicate with the spiritual world. The term is used to include mediums - someone channelled by the dead to communicate with the living). It is impossible for one not to directly or indirectly associate with occultism or fortune telling when reading the Horoscope. Is Horoscope even ‘accurate’? Thousands of years ago, astrologers have purposely studied what they believe to be the meanings of the planets, the zodiac signs, and other astrological data. Along with this information, they speculate how the positions of planets (and the sun, moon and the stars) and how they interact with the signs of Aries, Taurus, Gemini, etc. have effects on one’s future destiny. Over the centuries, these fortune tellers then give advice based on one’s astrological sign. The question is: Can Astrology really predict one’s future and accurately give advice to people? Since astrological signs are determined by the position of the sun relative to certain constellations on a person\'s day of birth, it is crucial to get the accurate sign of his birth. The problem is, the positions were determined more than 2,000 years ago! Nowadays, the stars have shifted in the night sky so much that horoscope signs are nearly a month off. Joe Rao, Space.com\'s skywatching columnist and a lecturer at New York\'s Hayden Planetarium says, "Astrology tells us that the sun is in one position, whereas astronomy tells us it\'s in another position." Giving that the astrological signs were stable, there\'s no evidence the stars have anything to do with people\'s day-to-day existence. One 2006 study published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences used data from more than 15,000 people and found no relationship between date of birth and personality. Geoffrey Dean, a scientific astrological researcher and Ivan W. Kelly, a professor, conducted a study of astrological predictions, including natal charts, which is reviewed in the article "Is Astrology Relevant to Consciousness and Psi?" in the Journal of Consciousness Studies. The study found that they are no better than chance, even on the most basic of predictions. Should a Christian Consult Horoscope? The Bible explicitly condemns divination and worship of the heavens, both of which astrology and consulting horoscope is a part. Occult divination and reading omens is clearly condemned in Deut. 18:9,10,12 as utterly ‘abominable’ to the LORD: “9 When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. 10 There shall not be found among you any one that…useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter…12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.” Why is Astrology such an abomination to God? Because Astrology originated in worship of the stars and heavens which is condemned in Deut. 4:19, 17:3 and Acts 7:42. Worship of stars and heavens is a hallmark of Satanism, witchery and sorcery practices. Seeking guidance from astrology or any type of divination, including horoscopes, can replace seeking God for advice and is condemned in Daniel 2:27-28 and Isaiah 47:13. What is it wrong with replacing God’s advice with the advice from Horoscopes? Horoscope advice is clearly based on the occult worldview that asserts "as above, so below." According to this worldview, everything in the universe is one and is connected; therefore, the patterns of the planets reflect our lives on earth. The belief that the patterns and movements of the planets, sun, moon and stars reflect our lives is contradictory to the Biblical worldview. The Bible tells us that God created the heavenly bodies to reflect and proclaim His glory (Psalm 19:1, 97:6), not ours! When one reads the horoscope in fun or out of curiosity, he or she is in a subtle way either accepting that worldview or assigning some kind of value to it. Some might argue, Is there anything wrong with accepting an non-biblical worldview? The Lord said, “Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.” (Jeremiah 10:2) While this verse can be applied to any heathen practice or non-biblical worldview, yet more precisely, the context of this verse is exactly about forbidding God’s people to meddle with Astrology and Horoscope. Again, some might say, I am not learning the way of the heathen, I am just reading it in fun. The word “learn” in the Hebrew used in Jeremiah 10:2 has the idea of becoming “familiar” with it. One would inevitably become familiar with Horoscope if he or she has the tendency of reading it as a habit. God’s people should have nothing to do with Astrology and Horoscope and other related occultic practices, for it is abomination to the thrice Holy God. For God says, “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.” (2 Cor 6:17) Occultism and Paganism Repackaged Astrology also is often intertwined with the teaching that since we are all connected to the universe by a force or energy, then everything in the universe is one. Therefore, there is no true distinction between man and nature: this is called monism (i.e. all is one and one is all). Identifying God as one with the universe is pantheism (i.e. God is all, all is God) or is sometimes panentheism (i.e. God is contained within the universe), and is totally at odds with the belief in a Creator who created the world out of nothing and is distinct from His creation. God is present in the world and transcends it, but He is distinct from it—God is everywhere but God is not everything. All of the above ‘isms’ come under the umbrella of New Age Occultism or New Age Movement. Most astrologers are involved in other forms of occultism and New Age practices such as tarot cards, numerology, belief in reincarnation, having spirit guides, Eastern meditation practices, and so forth. Since the very roots of astrology are in ancient paganism and worship of the planets as gods, this makes studying Astrology or consulting Horoscope a true form of "fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness" (Ephesians 5:11). If a Christian takes reading horoscopes lightly or "in fun," he or she is denying that the occult is forbidden or possibly dangerous. For “what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial?” (2 Cor 6:13,14) Can’t we even take a look at it for fun? The worldly advice will say, “It is no harm reading them as long as you don’t become an astrologist yourself.” But that is not what the Bible says. God says, “Abstain from all appearance of evil.” (1 Th 5:22) I think Astrology and Horoscope is ‘evil’ enough to come under this category. Conclusion: God has clearly warned us against divination, sorcery, spiritism and interpreting omens; such systems are not from Him. To read horoscopes is to take God\'s word lightly and is trifling with the occult. God has created the heavenly bodies so that He might reveal Himself as Creator in nature and in the design of the splendid universe (Psalm 19:1), but the fullest and most important revelation of God came in His Son, Jesus Christ (Heb 1:1,2) who suffered on the cross the penalty of many, who bodily resurrected the third day, and who will come again to judge the living and the dead. It is not important to know what will happen tomorrow, but it is enough to know that God of the Bible holds the future and is sovereignly in control of our lives past, present and future. To God be the glory! Ps Weng |
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