The Psychic Guide Dogs

By Bob Anderson

"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. There shall not be found among you anyone that maketh his son or his daughter pass to through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter of mediums, or a wizard, or a necromancer. 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. Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God." -Deuteronomy 18:9-13

Today's world confronts a strange and growing paradox that could well mark a pivotal point in human history. Even as the scientific and technological advancement which ushered in the space age accelerates at an exponential rate, we are witnessing far and away the greatest occult explosion of all time. The evidence seems to indicate that something of unusual historic significance is in process.

Rise in Occultism

The Bible absolutely condemns occult practices of any kind. The word "occult" comes from the Latin word occultus, which means "dark, secret, hidden, or mysterious." It expressly alludes to the intrusion of a spirit realm-a fourth dimension-into our three-dimensional world. Throughout the Old Testament, God repeatedly warned His people about participating in such activity. In much the same way, the New Testament forbids such actions (Galatians 5:20). Today, however, occultism besieges America, once considered a Christian nation.

I am not the first to point out that the New Age movement, so prevalent today, is anything but new. Historians trace New Age roots back thousands of years to the occult religions of the Babylonians and India's pantheistic (all-is-God) beliefs of the Hindus. Hinduism claims to be the world's oldest religion. However, New Age beliefs ultimately go back to the beginning of time. It was in the Garden of Eden that Satan beguiled Eve through his subtlety, convincing her that she and Adam could become as gods, knowing good and evil.

The serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. The Bible tells us in Genesis 3:1-6 that the serpent said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"

The woman replied to the serpent, "We may eat from the trees in the garden, but God did say, You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it or you will die."

"You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman, "for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

New Agers teach the same lies that Satan dispensed at Eden:

1. God's Word cannot be trusted (verses 1,4,5).
2. Man does not have to die (verse 4).
3. Man can become a god (verse 5).
4. Man can evolve through hidden knowledge (verse 6).

Satan is the author of this so called "movement," and all of the thousands of other cults in the world today as well. His goal is to deceive the world through his emissaries of darkness who appear as angels of light (2 Corinthians 11: 13-15).

Encompassing thousands of autonomous (and sometimes contradictory) beliefs, organizations, and procedures, "New Age movement" is simply an umbrella term that masks its devious teachings and practices that have greatly influenced our society as a whole. Packaged as the latest advance in science, medicine, psychology and physical fitness (thus making it more palatable to the American mind), the New Age movement has made large gains in our technologically oriented society.

Christian apologists and cult experts have been warning us for years about the perils of occult activity. The warnings have gone largely unheeded, however, and New Age and other occult practices have become commonplace in America today. The Pledge of Allegiance still proclaims that we are "one nation under God"-but which god? New Age beliefs and practices have blitzed America, ranging from goddess and nature worship to reincarnation, psychics, UFOs, and Astral Projection (out-of-body experiences). Furthermore, New Agers and other enemies of the biblical gospel have tried in our schools, on television, and in other public arenas to lump Christianity with Santa Claus, the Easter bunny, and other childhood fantasies. At the same time they deem shamanism, witchcraft, Native American superstitions, and other occult beliefs worthy of our respect and admiration.

Purveyors of Delusion

Pluralism has led to great confusion in our society. Challenging the validity of someone's spiritual or religious belief is no longer politically correct, no matter how absurd that belief or doctrine might be. The social engineers now ask that we accept all religions as equally valid. But if, as they maintain, all religions are equal and all ultimately lead to God, why do we need so many new ones? And why don't these new religions at all resemble the old ones? It has been hard enough for many people to distinguish between Baptists, Lutherans, Pentecostals, and Catholics. But now they are being offered everything from the Aquarian Gospel to Zen Buddhism to examine. As a society we are cajoled, deluded, beguiled, and seduced into believing and accepting occultism under the cloak of tolerance and religious pluralism.

The problem with the growth of pluralism is that it reduces the authenticity of any one religious practice. Christianity becomes merely one of many alternatives. This explains in part why we now have more than 5000 cults in America, with tens of millions of followers. It also accounts for the fact that about one out of every four Americans has now embraced a belief in reincarnation. Another revealing statistic comes from a poll conducted by George Barna in 1993:

About four out of every ten adults strongly concur that when Christians, Jews, Buddhists, and others pray to their god, all of those individuals are actually praying to the same god, but simply use different names for that deity.'

Presidential candidate and author/broadcast journalist Pat Buchanan writes, "Americans of left and right no longer share the same religion, the same values, the same codes of morality; we only inhabit the same piece of land.

The psychic guide dogs, who lead the way through the metaphysical realm, are found at virtually every level of culture spiritually blind leading the spiritually blind. Statistics show a marked increase in psychic interest. Some 70 percent of baby boomers believe in psychic powers. Some 67 percent of American adults claim to -have had a psychic experience such as extrasensory perception.' Hollywood actors and entertainers, such as Dionne Warwick and Billy Dee Williams, star in television programs urging people to call "America's top professional psychics." A popular New Age magazine, Body, Mind & Spirit, recently proclaimed, "Now with a single phone call, you can choose for yourself from among the country's leading Master Psychics including: ASTROLOGERS ... NUMEROLOGISTS ... DREAM INTERPRETERS ... TAROT CARD READERS... CHANNELERS ... PAST LIFE THERAPISTS ... CLAIRVOYANTS ... AURA READERS ... and HEALERS.

All of this is available for a mere $3.95 per minute on a convenient 900 number.' Today's psychic hotlines and mystic infomercials, as well as movies, documentaries, and television programs that frequently promote occult phenomena, attest to the fact that we live in a time that must be very close to the end of the age.

God has spoken clearly in His Word about occult workings. The Old Testament book of Deuteronomy deals with the detestable practices and idolatrous customs of the Canaanites. Through the prophet Moses, God warned His people not to participate in the evil practices of those nations they were about to possess. However, many of those same practices, or modified versions thereof, are now commonplace in America. Let us examine some of the things that God labeled detestable in Deuteronomy 18:9-13 in light of what is happening in America today.

Abortion

First, the Lord cautions His people not to sacrifice our sons or daughters in the fire. The Canaanites and Ammonites reverenced many pagan gods. Among them was Molech (Leviticus 18:21, Jeremiah 32:35), whose worship was accompanied by the burning of children offered as a sacrifice by their own parents.' All life is precious to God, particularly children: "Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God" (Mark 10:14).

Although here in America we do not legally throw living babies into the fire, we do kill 4000 of them every day in an equally repugnant ceremony called abortion. This highly profitable industry uses many methods of destruction. Most of them are much more hideous than death by fire. Partial birth abortion, for example, employs an instrument that sucks the brains out of the partially born baby before crushing its skull. Remains of abortions are disposed of in a variety of ways that may at times include burning. Based on current figures, by the year 2000 we will be approaching 50 million abortions in the United States alone. In a short 27 years (1973-2000), we will have aborted 30 times the number of Americans lost in all U.S. wars." The same spirit that led the Ammonites to sacrifice their children to a pagan god now leads Americans to sacrifice more than 1.5 million babies each year through abortion.

Astrology

In the same verse of Deuteronomy, God warns against divination or sorcery. Divination was the act of foretelling future events, an imitation of prophecy. Today divination and sorcery are found in many New Age activities. One of the most prevalent of New Age divination practices is astrology. Astrology, or observing times, is a contemporary myth that America widely accepts. In 1975 a Gallup poll showed that more than 32 million Americans believed "that the stars influence people's lives" and that many of them consult their daily or weekly horoscopes. Estimates of the number of astrologers reached as high as 10,000 who practice it full-time and 175,000 who engage in it part-time. Nine years later, in 1984, a Gallup poll revealed that among teenagers (ages 13-18), 55 percent believed in astrology. This figure was up from 40 percent in 1978. A 1988 Gallup poll showed that 10 percent of evangelicals believe in astrology. just as many people once believed that the stars were gods, many today believe that the positions of the stars and planets at the time of one's birth determine one's character, abilities, and destiny. These people identify the document that aspires to accomplish this as the horoscope, which also serves as the doorway through which many people enter pagan religions.

Many of today's astrologers frankly admit that ancient Babylonians developed their craft, just as they invented about every other type of divination known to man. More than 80 percent of all newspapers in America now carry horoscope columns. According to a past White House source, former President Ronald Reagan and his wife, Nancy (both of whom are considered by many to be godly people), are very superstitious. Nancy is reported to have consulted horoscopes and a California astrologer before making major decisions affecting both the Reasons' private and political lives.

Necromancy in the White House

This was not the first time that occultism had occurred in the White House. A TV network reported that Mary Todd Lincoln held seances in an upstairs room-a practice which President Lincoln apparently tolerated with amusement. It certainly is not amusing to God, who labels the practice of contacting spirits of the dead (necromancy) detestable.

More recently, first lady Hillary Rodharn Clinton used New Age psychic Jean Houston, Codirector of the Foundation for Mind Research, to talk to the spirit of Eleanor Roosevelt. Reports say that Mrs. Clinton had talks with Roosevelt and Mohandas Gandhi.

Mrs. Clinton said, "Now I'm sure that there will be a talk show host somewhere who will point out with great glee that I have gone over the edge and am talking to myself and to Mrs. Roosevelt on a regular basis, but I believe the world, and particularly our country, would be better off if we all spent a little time talking with Mrs. Roosevelt....

Interestingly, when Houston suggested that Mrs. Clinton next have a conversation with Jesus Christ, the first lady declined, saying that it would be "too personal. 1112 Incredibly, the United Methodist Bishop of Arkansas, Richard Wilke, endorsed Mrs. Clinton's involvement with necromancy, saying, "I think it's marvelous that she's having experiences like this," adding that Mrs. Clinton was "one of the most profound lay theologians in the United Methodist Church."" This is simply further evidence of how deficient we are in biblical discernment and godly wisdom among our mainline denominations.

Spiritual Frauds

What position should Christians take when discussions of astrology and other forms of divination arise? Do the stars shape our destiny? Are there unseen influences in the unconscious mind related to the position of the planets in their orbits? Again, we must go to the Bible. God branded these practices as detestable. In other words, they were particularly offensive to Him. When Israel wanted to know God's divine will, they were commanded to avoid the magic and superstitious practices of the Canaanites. Instead, they were to wait upon the Lord, who would raise up a prophet from among them. God's prophets were not primarily to tell the future, but to instruct and reprove people in the Lord's name. God intended prophecies and miracles primarily as a sign to establish the prophet's credentials, and God's prophets were accurate 100 percent of the time when they prophesied (Deuteronomy 18:20-22). Anything less than total accuracy resulted in death by stoning for the false prophet.

Check the record of any modem-day astrologer or psychic, even the famous Jeane Dixon, and you will discover that, unlike God's prophets, they are extremely inaccurate. Yet many people believe Dixon to be a good Christian. In her book Yesterday, Today and Forever Dixon asserts that the Holy Spirit guided her in uniting Christianity with astrology. "As I understand it... the Catholic Church and many other religious bodies as well have never condemned the study of Astrology Dixon says. "I have never experienced any conflict between my faith and the guidance I receive from my church on the one hand and the knowledge I find in the stars on the other ... Actually, much of what I know I learned from a Jesuit priest, who was one of the best-informed scholars I ever met."

Deuteronomy 13:1-5 informs us that even a prophet who prophesies correctly, but leads a person to worship other gods, is a deceiver and a betrayer of God. We are not to follow that prophet. Most prophecies of modern-day psychics do not come to pass. Deuteronomy 18:22 states:

When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously; thou shalt not be afraid of him.

Ruth Montgomery, Dixon's biographer and close personal friend, is the first to admit that Dixon has made false prophecies, but (in spite of evidence to the contrary) she says those errors are infrequent: "Jeane made a few forecasts that failed to occur.... She predicted that Red China would plunge the world into war over Quemoy and Matsu in October of 1958; she thought that labor leader Walter Reuther would actively seek the presidency in 1964." According to the Word of God, the sign of a false prophet is false prophecy. Jeane Dixon qualifies as a false prophet.

There is also an occult connection to Dixon. For example, she uses a crystal ball and telepathy plus astrology in her activities, all of which Scripture condemns. Furthermore, her call to become a prophet was dispensed by a fortune telling gypsy.

Does any scientific evidence support astrology? Do the sun-signs really influence our lives? In test after test, the answer to both questions is no. One experiment involving nearly 3000 married couples and 500 divorced couples tested compatibility based on astrological signs. The results showed that astrological signs did not significantly alter the outcome of either group. Those born under the "compatible" signs married and divorced as often as those born under the "incompatible" signs."

Astrologers have also claimed that certain professions, such as politicians and scientists, tend to be born under one certain sun-sign or another. In other words, they link a person's sign to his or her chances of succeeding in a particular field of endeavor. Yet research involving more than 16,600 scientists and nearly 6500 politicians detected no relationship between the sun-signs and the particular vocation in which a person worked. Sun-signs among the two occupations mentioned were as arbitrary as for society at large." Robert A. Morey declares in his book Horoscopes and the Christian, " . . . it is idolatry to ascribe to the stars that which belongs only to the God who created them."

Witchcraft

In America, witchcraft has received a great revival of interest and participation. Occult book stores, which now proliferate in this land, are busily trying to satisfy the immense interest for books and other information on witchcraft and black magic. Browse through any mall bookstore and you will find an entire section of occult books that children of any age can acquire. These occult sections are typically much larger than the Christian sections. Public libraries also have great demand from people with an ardent curiosity in books dealing with witchcraft, demonology, and the occult. However, the Bible calls sorcery witchcraft, and strictly forbids the practice (Deuteronomy 18: 10; Exodus 22:18).

Witchcraft was a means for extracting information or guidance from a pagan god. The word describes the activity of Balaam the soothsayer, or professional prophet, who was hired to curse Israel. It also describes the woman at Endor who brought up the spirit of Samuel. All the major prophets condemned witchcraft.

Yet, here again, some witches and sorcerers have tried to sanitize their practice by calling it "white" witchcraft or "white" magic as opposed to "black" witchcraft and "black" magic. Those who use such terminology are merely trying to conceal their works of darkness with religious or spiritual words and symbols. White magicians teach that there is only one source of universal power. Black magicians, on the other hand, believe in a good source and a bad source of power. White magic is nothing more than Satan transforming himself into an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11: 14).

Anton LeVey, author of the Satanic Bible and Pope of the first Church of Satan in San Francisco, California, has said explicitly that to believe that there is any such thing as white magic is mythology. There is no such thing as white magic, according to LeVey. All of it has its source in occult psychic power and has nothing to do with God."

Satanism

Some who practice black magic have made a pact with the devil. Some occult churches right here in America require submission to Satan as a requirement for membership. Maury Terry, an investigative reporter, writes in his book The Ultimate Evil:

There is compelling evidence of the existence of a nationwide network of satanic cults, some aligned more closely than others. Some are purveying narcotics; others have branched into child pornography and violent sadomasochistic crime, including murder. I am concerned that the toll of innocent victims will steadily mount unless law enforcement officials recognize the threat and face it."

The Bible teaches of a literal being called Satan who is out to deceive the world: The great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him (Revelation 12:9 NKJV).

The devil is not only real, but his ultimate goal is our destruction (John 10: 10). He will use any deception at his disposal, but generally uses the most subtle deceit (2 Corinthians 11:3,4).

Spirit Guides

A wizard is a person who has a familiar spirit. In the Old Testament, a familiar spirit was a spirit that had frequent communication with the wizard. New Agers call this practice "channeling." This is a term for spirit possession. A familiar spirit, called a "spirit guide," speaks through the channeler (automatic speaking) or writes through him (automatic writing). According to reliable sources, there are thousands of channelers in America today. Some, like J. Z. Knight (who channels a 35,000-year-old spirit called Ramtha), have made enormous amounts of money. Knight owns a 50-acre ranch in Yelma, Washington and earned at one time a reported 4 million dollars a year from her various Ramtha enterprises. The estate in Yelma evolved into a New Age mecca, with a 2-million-dollar, 10,000- square-foot house and a giant maze where Ramtha initiates develop their relationship with the tutelary spirit .20 Like wizards and channelers, many psychics and occultists also acknowledge that their powers come from spirits they have contacted, whether they initially realized it or not. Channelers, however, knowingly and willingly allow spirits to control them.

Devil Music

Rock music has become an occult religion to many people. At some of their concerts, the heavy-metal group Black Sabbath has given altar calls for Satan, inviting young people to come forward to make Satan their lord. Lyrics in their song "Master of Reality" call Satan the "Lord of this world" and "your confessor now." Ozzy Osbourne, son of a Christian minister and former lead singer for Black Sabbath, has also given an altar call for Satan at one of his concerts.

Some members of the group Iron Maiden openly admit that they are dabbling in the occult, including witchcraft .22 One Iron Maiden concert in Portland, Oregon, opened with the words "Welcome to Satan's sanctuary." Glenn Tipton of the group Judas Priest confessed that when he goes on stage, he goes crazy: "It's like someone else takes my body. " Rock music has become a purveyor of occultic and satanic activities. Some of the most common themes found in this style of music are illegal drugs, illicit sex, violence, incest, rebellion against authority, and rebellion against God. There is little question as to who energies this activity.

Occultism and the Movie Industry

Not only has Satanism affected rock music, but its presence has been heavily felt in the American motion picture industry. Movies such as The Exorcist, Rosemary's Baby, The Amityville Horror, and Poltergeist exalt and glorify Satan. Jesus Christ, meanwhile, has been degraded. For example, Martin Scorsese's film The Last Temptation of Christ depicts Jesus in a highly offensive manner. The film portrays the Son of God as a sinner, a coward, and a homosexual who stumbles through life, having an affair with Mary Magdalene along the way before being executed for his troubles.

Perhaps the most dangerous movies, however, are not the blatant ones just mentioned. Most people recognize those movies as flagrant attacks on Christianity. The more subtle films that plant seeds of occultism in the minds of our unwary youth are much more dangerous, in the opinion of many critics. Most of the films of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg would fall into this category. Enormously successful movies such as the Stars Wars trilogy, Close Encounters, Poltergeist, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones, Ghost, and Cocoon, to name just a few, are rooted in Eastern occult religion. We are raising an entire generation of young people who are unaware that their minds are being filled with Eastern religious thought.

God's Final Warning?

The spiritual roots upon which this nation was built have eroded from every vestige of society. The Bible has been removed from public life and replaced by occultic and pagan ideas of the past, even though America achieved greatness because it was founded upon Christian principles and values. But God is not mocked; if He brought judgment upon nations in the past that turned to occultism, how can He ignore a land where 30 percent of our children are born out of wedlock, where 1.5 million unborn babies are murdered in their mother's womb each year, where an estimated 30 million people belong to cults, and another 60 million believe in or practice some form of occultism?

We desperately need to heed the words of Scripture: If thou do at all forget the Lord thy God, and walk after other gods and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish. As the nations which the Lord destroyeth before your face, so shall ye perish, because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the Lord your God (Deuteronomy 8:19,20).

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