| Author | Message | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 1089 Registered: 3-2004  |
As I studied my way out of Adventism last year I came across a story of an SDA man who left the SDA church, became a psychologist and practices hynotism. I know what EGW says about hypnotism, that it is the work of the devil, so can anyone tell me anything about it?? Diana | ||
| Bob Registered user Username: Bob Post Number: 80 Registered: 7-2000  |
Diana, check out the following link. This may be the man you are referring to. Just a guess. http://home.earthlink.net/~jcmmsm/story/ | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 1474 Registered: 12-2003  |
This is not related to hypnotism, but I didn't think it warranted a new thread; we just saw a news report on the internet that Gene Scott, the TV preacher Susan and Belva have talked about, died today at Glendale Adventist Medical Center. He had a stroke and had been battling prostate cancer for 5 years. He was 75. | ||
| Bob Registered user Username: Bob Post Number: 81 Registered: 7-2000 |
Wow! I was just watching his program for a while on TV last night. I don't know when it was taped, but he looked terrible! He was weird in some ways, but he certainly understood the Pauline message of grace. | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 1090 Registered: 3-2004 |
Thanks Bob, That is the one I read about. What I want to know is what is hynotism? Is it the evil thing EGW spoke of? What do Christians in general believe or say about hypnotism? Is it evil as EGW said? I suspect she is wrong about hypnotism, like she was wrong about a lot of things. Diana | ||
| Susan_2 Registered user Username: Susan_2 Post Number: 1572 Registered: 11-2002 |
Diana, As I understand hyptotism it is just getting deep into the subconscious. The pyscharist my children went to as kids was trained in hyptotism but he always reused to do it to any of my family. Too bad because I thought it would be great fun to find out what secrets I have lurking in my subconscious but our good doctor wouldn't do it saying that he only would do it in certain cases and none in my family met his criteria. However, chanting and swaying in a repetive motion can clear the cobwebs from the mind and one can induce a self hyptmosis. Go to the Hare Krishna meetings and really get into the chanting and what-have-you and you can get totally spun. (And afterwards the HK's will feed you a wonderful vegetarian feast.) It's like being on acid only you don't have the drugs in your body. You can go to the yoga centers or the Tai Chi centers and learn this. It works best with some good hard acid rock in the bsackground and some insence burning. A blacklight adds to the aura. Go down to the hippie stores and you can gets oodles tripping-out supplies. Now about Dr. Gene Scott. The last few times I saw him on t.v. I thought he didn't look too well. That's too bad that he passed away as I'm sure there are a lot of people who loved him much. I hope they keep his ministry going. He was a wonderful teacher and I hope even though he has passed away I can keep learning from him. PS, my mom used to be a nurse at the Glendale San. I like going to the Glendale Gallerria. It's huge! | ||
| Bob Registered user Username: Bob Post Number: 82 Registered: 7-2000 |
Many years ago I was hypnotized, and discovered, to my dismay, that I am an excellent subject. I went under while sitting in a small audience watching someone else on stage being hynotized! The hypnotist was a friend of mine, and later on several occasions, I allowed him to use me as one of his subjects in his performances. I would not submit to it now, as a Christian. I don't think we should voluntarily submit our minds, even briefly, to some measure of control by another sinful human being, particularly one who is not born again. | ||
| Bob Registered user Username: Bob Post Number: 83 Registered: 7-2000 |
One thing the experience of hypnosis taught me. I can much more easily understand now that there are degrees of hypnosis, and that the subjects may be in a hypnotic trance while fully conscious. If one is properly conditioned, many small things, such as a word, a gesture, a song, a phrase, etc., can immediately put him in a deep hypnotic trance. Lots of "church" traditions and activities can fall somewhere on the spectrum of "trance-inducing." | ||
| Susan_2 Registered user Username: Susan_2 Post Number: 1574 Registered: 11-2002 |
But, can't it be used for good? Like stopping smoking or this or that? | ||
| Bob Registered user Username: Bob Post Number: 85 Registered: 7-2000 |
Personally, I don't think so. I am afraid enough of my own evil tendencies of mind to trust my mind or will to someone else who is in the same boat as I. But then, what do I know. I am just responding out of my own personal experience. You may be right. I don't want to risk it. | ||
| Bob Registered user Username: Bob Post Number: 86 Registered: 7-2000 |
For a few years in the "running away from the Lord" stage of my adult life, I got quite involved in "New Age" practices. I learned that there is much more to such things as hypnosis than meets the eye. Look up the following text: Romans 6:16. | ||
| Susan_2 Registered user Username: Susan_2 Post Number: 1578 Registered: 11-2002 |
I have never fully understood what the term New Age means. Can someone explain. | ||
| Bob Registered user Username: Bob Post Number: 88 Registered: 7-2000 |
Here is a link to a news story about the death Monday of Dr. Gene Scott: http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/Stories/0,1413,206~22097~2727045,00.html | ||
| Tracey Registered user Username: Tracey Post Number: 192 Registered: 9-2004 |
I don't follow any stuff like hypnosis. It wasn't taught to avoid in my church. But if you can't rely on Jesus to help you, what good is any other option? It's seems to be a carnal, worldly answer to a problem when the Lord promised to always be there for us and is a very present help in time of need. New Age? For me, any silly new religion that doesn't teach us to follow the teachings of Christ. I will serve but one Lord. | ||
| Bob Registered user Username: Bob Post Number: 89 Registered: 7-2000 |
Susan, to define "New Age" - the short answer is, it is pursuit of the occult, even though it sometimes clothes itself in "religious" or even "Christian" terms. It is essentially Hinduism presented in a way that appeals to the Western world. As I delved into it, I came to the shocking realization that at its core, it is the old "witchcraft." There is definitely a strong power behind it. I personally have seen and done some amazing things through it. Looking back, I know I was very near the edge of a precipice that would have taken me to Hell had I continued to pursue it. New Age teaching leads to the belief that you are your own God. You need no outside moral compass. Whatever you decide to do is "right" if it is right for you. It is Satan's oldest lie to Adam and Eve, "You shall be as gods." | ||
| Susan_2 Registered user Username: Susan_2 Post Number: 1581 Registered: 11-2002 |
I lived down the street for awhile from a Wiccan commune. At night we would watch these ladies dance naked around the fire and do their witch thing. I never got any closer to them than watching from a distance and when we'd pass on the road a neighborly "hello". But, I remember thinking that is was some really weird thing to watch. Yet, I'd go to the Hare Krishna meetings anytime. It just doesn't seem satanic to me. Sure, it's not Christian and it's really off-the-wall but it doesn't seem satanic. I lived in a community with an extremely large Sikh population and I have been to several services at the Sikh temple. Sikhism branched off the Hindu around 700 years ago (My history may not be very accurate.). I have never thought of being in a Sikh service as being in a house of satan. I mostly just thought of it as a different culture and therefore they have a different religion. There is Little India over in Cerritos, Ca. There is the very large Hindu temple over there. Some Hindu's I know have invited me to come to the temple service. Is it wrong for a Christian to go to a worship service in a non-Christian setting? I do not understand how come it would be. When I go to the Hare Krishna meetings I do not bow to their alter and offer sacrifices to that picture of their purple god they have in the front. I just plain like going. The music is good, the food is good, the people are nice and it is just plain relaxing and at the same time, well, I just plain like going. How about going into the local Buddhist temple for private prayer and meditation? I have never been in a mosque and cannot go in one because one has to be Moslem to go in the mosque after it has been concentrated to God so that is something I will not be checking out. I just like to check things out. But, I draw the line at anything satanic or deevilish or witch or spiritism, I will not even let myself get courious about that. Or pagan or voodoo, those I won't even be courious enough to read books about, let alone going to their services. | ||
| Belvalew Registered user Username: Belvalew Post Number: 147 Registered: 7-2004 |
Bob, thanks for the information on Gene Scott. I'm hoping they will continue to show tapes of him teaching. He was a crusty curmudgeon, but he truly loved Jesus, and he made you hungry to know more about the Gospel. After years of being told that celebrating being saved was unsafe, he was a breath of fresh, dare I say Heavenly, air. Belva | ||
| Pw Registered user Username: Pw Post Number: 328 Registered: 6-2004 |
I got hypnotized at a Revelation Seminar. Broke out of that trance a year later though. | ||
| Belvalew Registered user Username: Belvalew Post Number: 149 Registered: 7-2004 |
Good point PW. After participating in the SDA discussion group on the Bucky site, you will get a great picture of how heavily hypnotized SDA's can get! | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 1476 Registered: 12-2003 |
Pw--funny comment, but actually entirely true! Susan, I just have to say there are only two powers in the universe. Nothing and no one is neutral. Whatever is not of God is of evil. Even though Hare Krishnas don't seem Satanic, they are not Christian, as you said. Their beliefs will take you farther and farther away from truth. We are admonished to be discerning. Witchraft under any guise (as Bob so clearly pointed out above) is still witchraft. It might have different names and variations of behaviors, but if it is not directing you to the sovereign power of God, it is taking you into yourself--and that's the biggest deception. YOURSELF (all of OURSELVES) are inherently sinful and under a curse. Our natural selves are innately evil. If we believe we will find fulfillment by looking within, we will find oursleves caught in a snare of crazy-making, anxiety-producing, entrapping commitment to evil. We put ourselves on Satan's ground. As Christ-followers we are asked to turn from even wise-sounding beliefs and practices if they are not of the gospel (Colossians 2:20-23). I'm not trying to tell you what to do, Susan, and I'm not suggesting you aren't saved in Jesus. I'm only pointing out that however "peaceful" and self-denying and disciplined a religion might look, if it's not based on the Bible and the truth about Jesus, it is a deception. Praise God for revealing Himself continually as we grow in Him!! Colleen | ||
| Susan_2 Registered user Username: Susan_2 Post Number: 1584 Registered: 11-2002 |
What I ment is is wrong to attend services in a non-Christian religious setting? Like a wedding or a funeral or the blessings given to a new baby at the temple? I have always thought of those religions more as just the religions of a different culture. Of course, I would not attend any of those functions I just mentioned if they were at a Wiccan meeting or a voodoo thing. I mean a legitamet non-Christian religion. I remember as a child being told is was wrong to go into a Sunday-keeping church and the most wrong one of all was Catholic churches. I got over that fear. My SDA loved ones will not even go into a Sunday church unless it is for a wedding or some such function. It just seems to me like superstition and I do have a strong sense of avoiding being in the company of demons and evil spirits but I never thought of real religions that are not Christian in that way. I also was blessed, or cursed, depending on how one looks at it, with a great sense of curoisity so I check those places out. | ||
| Bob Registered user Username: Bob Post Number: 90 Registered: 7-2000 |
Susan, there are really only TWO religions in the entire world: 1. the true religion of God and His saving grace, as revealed in Jesus Christ. 2. the religion of works, the religion of this lost world, inspired by Satan. Everyone belongs to one religion or the other, whether they think they do or not. I personally think we need to very careful about the spiritual influences to which we voluntarily expose ourselves. | ||
| Weimarred Registered user Username: Weimarred Post Number: 20 Registered: 1-2005 |
Diana, I once went in for smoking-cessation hypnosis. It didn't work, but I do remember feeling very relaxed during the session. I've got mixed feelings about hypnotism. I can't help but point out, though, wasn't EGW herself in deep-trance states where Someone else was supposedly in control of her? How else could she hold up that heavy Bible? I can think of another "hyp" for EGW: HYPOCRITICAL! Tom | ||
| Susan_2 Registered user Username: Susan_2 Post Number: 1589 Registered: 11-2002 |
I have had several SDA's tell me even accupuncture is wrong. I thought accupuncture was/is a valid form of treetment for what ails someone. i still have not gotten a stright yes or no answer to my question. Is it wrong to attend a service at a non-Christian religious function? And, I am not referring to a service that is dedicated to demons, satan, witches, Wiccan, voodoo, Santeria or those sorts of religions, spiritism, etc. I mean legitmament non_christian religions such as Hindu, Jewish, Moslem, Sikh, etc. And, I do include Jewish in this because in my thinking Jewish is no more Christian than any of the otherts. Any religion that denies Jesus as the promised Messiah is non-Christian. | ||
| Pw Registered user Username: Pw Post Number: 329 Registered: 6-2004 |
All accupuncture does is just relieves pressure from joints. Pretty much of an oxymoron when you have the SDA condemn it yet push their diet message. | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 1480 Registered: 12-2003 |
Tom, even that Bible is a legend. It's now known she didn't hold that thing and prophesy. But the trance part--yes, that still seems to be true! Colleen | ||
| Bb Registered user Username: Bb Post Number: 73 Registered: 7-2004 |
Susan, I think if you have a strong faith in Jesus and attend someone's wedding or some special occasion at a Jewish or non-Christian place of worship just to honor them you are not crossing the line. But I think everyone here is just trying to warn you that maybe it's not good to subject yourself regularly to a non-Christian belief system. I know I am easily influenced, and I don't want to doubt my belief in Jesus at all. That is just what I was thinking. I don't think it is wrong, maybe just not wise. To say it is wrong is like being a JW or SDA, and thinking you can't possibly walk into another church. It all boils down to the heart. That's just my humble opinion. | ||
| Weimarred Registered user Username: Weimarred Post Number: 26 Registered: 1-2005 |
Just saw the movie, ěConstantineî. It was pretty good, strictly as a drama. From the point of soul-control, it was desperately silly. Roger Ebert pooh-poohed the movie, of course, but then, what does he know? SDAs, for all their angst over Catholicism, seem to share this view with them, that others can easily take control of our souls, whether theyíre supernatural or human. Iíve got a few problems with this soul-control thing, namely: 1 ń How could our loving God give us all freedom to choose, but then take away that very freedom by making it easy for someone to take control of our souls? 2 ń It was a catch-all for everything not easily explained, like those who are deformed, mentally ill, subject to addiction, or who commit crimes while ětemporarily insaneî. Instead of helping these people with realistic approaches, they were written off as ěpossessedî. 3 ń It becomes an excuse. If youíre possessed, how can you be held accountable for your actions? Being possessed by ěGodî is the real kicker here. I know many ěChristiansî who are very judgmental and hypocritical, but they will never see it because they view themselves as being possessed by God, or perhaps more accurately, by the Holy Spirit. 4 ń Itís an all-or-nothing concept, which is just plain silly. We go through our lives making decisions every day, maybe 95% good, and 5% bad. Aside from being saved, I really donít think thereíre that many all-or-nothing decisions that we can make. Of course, there are still consequences to our decisions. God shields us from the ultimate consequence of our bad decisions, but not from the earthly consequences. 5 ń It implies a concept of alignment; youíre either with God, or with Satan. In reality, weíre all living in a state of decay, born with a sentence of death hanging over our heads. To be saved is not to immediately leave a state of decay, nor to even escape temporal death, but rather, it is to live free from that sentence, with the hope of eternal life. I donít mean to be a stumbling block, but if I give my mind temporarily to someone else, or if I black out while drinking too much alcohol, or if I go in for acupuncture, I donít understand how it is that Iíve gone over to the ěDark Sideî. I may have to live with some horrific consequences, but I am still ultimately responsible, and my soul is ultimately mine to control, at least while here on earth. | ||
| Weimarred Registered user Username: Weimarred Post Number: 27 Registered: 1-2005 |
Colleen, I always thought that Bible thing was goofy. The arguments that some use to "prove" that EGW was a prophet are just plain whacky. They ultimately sound desperate, desperate to find something, anything. And then they up being disproved! Sad, really... |
