New to Tarot - Scared that it is anti Christian?

[Umbrae]

Hey there Kylie_Girl, very good to meet you.

First off, some folks just get a tad close minded. Take your 'pseudo-Christians' who rant about Tarot. Have they read their Bible? I like to remind them of Numbers 1:26-29, 1 Samuel 2:7, Romans 12:3-8 (& 12:18+) Corinthians 12:9-10, Luke 3:36, Matthew 12, The Book of Daniel, or Joseph and his Cup. Let them rant.

And as Jean-Michel David once said, “You can find all of the images of the Tarot Trumps on the walls and windows of ancient cathedrals all across Europe.” (a paraphrase mind you).

You will find bigots and small minded people across the globe. Ignore them. Your path is yours, not theirs. Their approval does not illuminate your journey.

Be well – keep smiling.

 

[Aerin]

There's a debate between Christians, not just 'Christian' vs 'Non-Christian' e.g. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/ireland/article584564.ece

Hederman has written a book on Tarot as well 'Talisman or Taboo' which looks at it from a Christian perspective.

Tarot isn't anti-Christian any more than it is anti-Science or anti-playing snap.

There are a fair few Christian tarot readers here, and also people who count members of the clergy among their clients I believe.

(I used to have an acquaintance who believed that knees were the work of the Devil and that any woman who showed them would burn forever. Yes. Right.)

 

[Sinduction]

lol @ knees being the work of the devil. I am surely going to burn!

There is nothing demonic about a pack of cards. They are ink and paper and in all the years I've been using them, I've never once met a demon or an evil spirit. Although, I would find that to be pretty cool, since I don't believe in demons.

It is true that the tarot is full of Christian symbols.

Anything that helps you grow or makes you happy can't be bad. So keep doing what you're doing as long as it works for you.

 

[Starshower]

Jesus encouraged people to:
"Love the Lord your God with all your MIND, & with all your HEART, & with all your SOUL, & with all your STRENGTH. And Love your neighbour as yourself."

Also: "Judge not, that ye be not judged!"

So very many fear-driven, so-called 'Christians' (esp.fundamentalists / literalists) ignore or counteract at least 2 or 3 of the above, in my experience - especially those who are so quick to judge & condemn the beliefs of others, & to turn off their own minds & souls in matters of reason, logic & conscience. And many are quick to fight, to kill, to enslave, abuse, etc. (Though mercifully not all; not by a very, VERY long way, Deo Gratias! )

I dissociate myself from the man-made church where it displays the above-mentioned unpleasant characteristics - with all the accompanying wars, slave-trades, tortures, inquisitions, tirades of invective & intimidation, control etc.
That is why I am not a 'Christian'.

I personally think that Jesus, who debated sensibly & wisely even from the age of 12; who listened to people & addressed their souls' genuine questions; who empathised with great understanding; who healed rather than killed, etc, etc, is 'the bees' knees' - the tolerant, loving, perfected (or 'Christed' - annointed) Human Spirit.
He used archetypal images in his parables & teachings.

I love exploring my inner self & my outer world via the Tarot archetypes, (expressing all the vicissitudes of life) which I find a great blessing on my spiritual path.

Just my opinion.

 

[Abrac]

Kylie_Girl, I would just read the sourcebook itself, the New Testament, and then decide for yourself. There are loads of people who, though they may have good intentions, really have no idea what it teaches but think it's their job to save you anyway. There's probably more disinformation out there about the New Testament, and the Bible in general, than any other book I can think of.

 

[NorthernTigress]

A small thing to some people, maybe, but please remember that lumping all Christians into a group and saying everyone in that group thinks this, or says this, is the same as saying pagans are this, or agnostics do this, or Jewish people think this (all examples, only!). There are annoying Christians, for sure, but Christianity does not hold the exclusive rights to all the annoying people. This forum attracts members of every race, religion, and creed, and everyone has something valuable to add.

Thanks for the listen, folks!

I apologize. I should have taken a few more keystrokes to say "Some, but not all Christians" or "some people who call themselves Christians".

 

[olivia1]

You will be consorting with demons.
I know, no one wants to believe that. I've had considerable experience with this and yes, it is like opening a window to the shadow world, oh they tell you all you need to know. Then bit by bit, they start making you think another way, giving you lies and distortions. All that you have built up in good, crumbles. I nearly lost everything as I believed them

I dont know, the only thing I got out of her post was that she sounds delusional and paranoid but doesn't want to take responsibility for her mental state so she wants to scape goat it on the cards.


I have a few friends who are born again Christians, who in the past used to read tarot. They claimed that when they were involved with tarot cards, demons started controlling them and they started doing bad things. I never did get it. Please correct me if I'm wrong but if that person really is a person of God, how were they able to be possessed by the Devil? Shouldn't their faith be so strong that demons would not be able to tempt them or really do much with them, anyway? Again,to me it sounds like people who want to justify their past bad behavior by putting the blame on someone else (in this case, the cards).

That's a real question that I have asked a few fellow Christians and no one has been able to answer me as of yet. They just shake their heads and say they'll pray for me. I just remind them there are people more in need and more deserving of their prayers than me ( like the homeless, the orphans, the terminally ill, the victims of genocide).

Yes, I read cards and as of recently, I also do tarot spells. I really believe that if God doesn't want me to do tarot, He would tell me so Himself. As a matter of fact, I credit God for leading me to tarot because I discovered tarot when I was at a point when I really wasn't sure if I believed in anything spiritual.

Through tarot cards, I finally found the proof that I was looking for that showed me that there really is a source of energy (higher than ourselves) that we can turn to for wisdom which seemed to work in a mysterious way.

 

[Grizabella]

Usually those who admonish "Oh, I've been there and experienced it so I know what I'm talking about." are the very ones who haven't done any such thing. Because if they had, they wouldn't be telling you such nonsense because they'd know it's not true.

I was raised in one of the fundamentalist Christian belief systems who are the most radical about anything and everything---certainly about believing Tarot is evil---and I've learned belatedly that none of what I was taught to fear about Tarot is true at all. In fact, what they believe and teach is spiritually abusive so if anything, they're more evil than Tarot is. Remember the passage that says that if anyone misleads one of Christ's children, it would be better if a millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown in the depths of the sea?

God is all-powerful, so if you truly believe that, then there's nothing at all we can fear in this life and certainly not a deck of cards that were originally invented based on Christian principles and which are only card stock and ink.

You've heard, I'm sure, "Oh but our God is a jealous God!" No He's not. You can't be unconditionally loving and jealous at the same time. They can't have it both ways.

Never forget that man wrote the Bible, God didn't. What you have in the Bible is man's interpretation of what God told him. And what we've got today, even in the King James version, is a far, far cry from what was given to the ancient prophets. Remember that children's game called "telephone" where you whisper something to the person next to you and it's repeated around the circle of people and then the person at the end tells what they were told aloud?

Also, I've read and studied the Bible since I could read it for myself at 7 years old, including studying foreign language dictionaries, the history of Jewish and Christian beliefs, etc. and I taught Sunday School most of my young life. I'm almost 64 years old now. Don't forget that there was this same God before all else, including the Jewish Torah and the Christian New Testament. What you have in the Bible, Torah and the churches and synagogues is a God that man has created in his own image not a true picture of the real God who created man in His own image. Organized religion has it all backwards, no matter which organized religion---and believe it or not, they're all organized by men (using the term generically to include women) including Wicca and Native American spiritual beliefs or any other you can name.

The God I've always loved and communicated with is the God who came before all else. As a child, that's who I turned to and throughout my life, He's the One who has been my confidant, my rock and my companion through all the hell as well as all the joy my life has contained. I was spiritually abused and misguided and taught a fearful God but always, the One I found as a child has been there.

Ask God to protect you and nothing can harm you. Don't listen to those who would make you fear and never, ever doubt that He (whoever He or She is to you) can protect you from all harm.

 

[Nytebugg]

tarot cards are paper with printed images. the energy they get comes from you and what surrounds you. you could read sugar packets if you wanted to.

oh and welcome.

 

[jantigercat]

Nytebugg...very true!

And they could be either used for good or bad intentions just like the Bible. It's how you use it and the outcome.

Jan