Friday, April 1, 2016

I was at a retreat required for my CCD class and we were told it was a sin to play with ouija boards. Can you explain why this is so? - Joe

Joe,

The answer to this question has sooo many layers!  Please hang on tight while I try to explain it as simply as I can!

Flat out:  The Ouija board is a tool, or a way, people converse with supernatural sources.  (contacting the supernatural is called "divination.") This is a serious and harmful thing to do..

The Ouija board can really work, and the only "spirits" that will be contacted through it are evil ones. "It’s true that many people view the Ouija board as just a harmless game, a toy. They claim, 'Oh, I don’t believe in it,' " or 'It's just for fun.'  "However, not believing in something doesn't make something not real." (I could say I don't believe the world is round and that scientists are just trying to trick me into falling off the face of the earth by telling me it's round when it isn't. That doesn't make the earth flat!)

"The Ouija board is real even if you don’t believe in it. And we know this because God himself tells us so.  The Lord repeatedly condemns any and all occultic practices, including divination. While many Bible passages could be cited, the following one is typical of his view of occultic practices: "Let no one ... who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord (Dt 18:10–12, NIV). 

"On the experiential side of the issue, we have the testimony of the Church’s exorcists. Their experience shows that Ouija boards are far from harmless. Some investigating supernatural phenomena from a Catholic perspective have gone so far as to say that 90 percent of their very worst cases involving demonic activity have been linked to the use of the Ouija board. Simply put, nothing positive can ever come from the use of the Ouija board, and God warns us against such things for our own spiritual safety." http://www.catholic.com/quickquestions/are-ouija-boards-harmless

So Joe, playing with Ouija boards is a way of connecting with evil spirits.  In a sense, it is talking with them.  What do we call 'talking with God'?  Prayer!  So, in a sense, when you talk to the spirits through an Ouija board, you are praying to the devil, and the devil's minions.  That is idolatry.  ... Like I said at the beginning of your answer, there are so many levels we could touch, but due to the space we have, I will stop my answer here.  I hope this helped you! 

God bless you for being attentive to the Word!


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