Contrary to what many have been told, metaphysical practices or disciplines such as clairvoyance, numerology, astrology, handwriting analysis, meditation, past life regression, tarot, channeling guides of the Light, and others are very much in harmony with ancient (before the Church) Christian teachings. (Black magic or spells that attempt to manipulate someone in any way, on the other hand, should be avoided at all costs.) Demonizing the occult is misguided. The Church, since its early days, has demonized these practices in an attempt to keep their followers’ focus on Church doctrine instead of elsewhere.
To provide more clarity, we’ve included the following excerpt from our book, Your Love Life and Reincarnation: Why thePast is Affecting Your Present and How to Fix it:
“Whether the Bible is to be taken literally or figuratively, there are those who claim that reincarnation was once discussed and accepted. According to Edgar Cayce on Reincarnation by Noel Langley, the Byzantine Emperor Justinian (483–565 A.D.) ‘summoned the Fifth Ecumenical Congress of Constantinople in 553 A.D. to condemn the Platonically inspired writings of Origen.’ These writings apparently referenced the pre-existence of the soul.
“Moreover, according to The Christian Conspiracy by Dr. L. David Moore, the Bible was edited for more than 500 years for political reasons after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ: ‘Although it may be somewhat difficult for some to believe, the Bible in its present form didn’t always exist. In fact, there is a lot of historical evidence which states that the old Testament, in its present form, didn’t exist until some 60 years after the death of Christ; and the New Testament in its present form didn’t exist until almost 300 years after that. The major point to be understood is that the Old Testament upon which so much of early Christianity depended in order to have a historical basis and to become legitimized, didn’t officially exist until well after Christianity had been established and even after much of what later became the New Testament had been written. In addition, one major reason for establishing the Old Testament as canon was because during the first century C.E., Christianity was distorting the historical record in order to enhance their own new religion.’
“In addition to the extensive editing and rewrites of the Bible, there was the influence of the Inquisition or the Holy Calling (1231–1820). This was established by the Papacy to punish anyone who expressed a belief in reincarnation or practiced anything metaphysical that would threaten the universal control of the Church. They proclaimed these beliefs as the work of the devil and any believers were sent to dungeons, tortured, or burned to death. Countless people have died because their beliefs (or beliefs of which they were accused) went against those of the Church, including the many put to death for “witchcraft” from 1484 to 1775.
“Fears of persecution may remain in the subconscious minds of many alive today. We are conditioned to believe that anything metaphysical is invalid in part because ‘inquisitional viewpoints’ still exist.
“Organized religion continues to provide support and structure for those who choose to use it. However, some organized religions, which may be based on fear and guilt, continue to openly condemn and spread misinformation, intentionally or unintentionally, about metaphysics. This is unfortunate, since many have found that both their metaphysical viewpoints and their traditional religious background can exist together peacefully.“
Finally, it’s interesting that people who condemn metaphysical practices as “evil” or “dark” usually have no experience with them whatsoever, aside from what they’ve seen in Hollywood movies. The best way to understand the truth of metaphysical practices is by letting go of the fear-based conditioning, adopting a receptive, yet objective viewpoint, and by deciding for yourself, through experience, what is valid and what is not.
Copyright © 2003 Scott Petullo, Stephen Petullo