Ouija Board

[GammaRay]

Some non-Christian friends came up to me and said they tried it. They said it worked perfect and all the replies they got did make sense. Of course, there was another one with 10 years of "experience" along.
Once they ("amateurs") tried it alone, they'd only get gibberish replies. Not even their theological views on the matter made sense, let alone the fact they couldn't tell that they had self-submitted themselves.

On the other hand, we have Christians who believe that these Ouija boards can haunt your house with demons and even possess your soul. The criticism this mere FRAUD (or magic trick) has received from Christians is an insult to Christ's people; to our intelligence. Just because people can be driven crazy it doesn't mean it's actually the devil's work directly. It was John of Damascus who said that there are actions guided by God, those by Satan and those by other forces (i.e.: psychological phenomena!).

Long story short, it's nothing at all. It's not a demonic board. It's just a game inside your mind. A game played by yourself.

Watch this video, please:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cma5Zn7xrWU
Another good test I've heard is blindfolding the participants. Surely, the spirit will still be able to move around the board without you having to watch, right? (Come to think of it, this whole Ouija practice is kinda offending to blind people! )

Also see:
http://www.skepdic.com/ouija.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideomotor_response

Trying it out isn't dangerous. Believing it actually works IS dangerous. Because, then, even if people are not communicating with any evil force actually (or with any force at all!), there are great chances of them going crazy over it and becoming occultists.


God bless us all!...with reason this time!

[Severian]

--Subscribed--

This might be an interesting thread.

[JamesRottnek]

I would say that just because demonic forces aren't always involved in something, doesn't mean they often aren't.

[Jetavan]

I prefer the Nonnein Board, myself.

[Melodist]

I've heard differently from some of my friends.

My advice would be to have nothing to do with it.

[Deacon Lance]

If you invite spirits they may come.

[Andrew21091]

I don't think it invites evil spirits. Its just silly. I think it can be dangerous because it can be a distraction. We should keep our minds on Christ instead of thinking a little board can tell us things. I don't believe the board itself has power, except for the power to distract us from Christ.

[JamesRottnek]

If you are genuinely attempting to use a Ouija board for the purpose of contacting the dead, you are engaging in something quite close to necromancy, and I would argue this does - in fact - invite unclean spirits.

[ialmisry]

Is it necessary? No. May it be harmful? Yes. Ergo, have nothing to do with it.

There are two Ways, the Way of Life and the Way of Death, and the difference between the two Ways is great...

....Do not be always looking for omens, my son, for this leads to idolatry. Likewise have nothing to do with witchcraft, astrology, or magic; do not even consent to be a witness to such practices, for they too can all breed idolatry.

-The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles

Btw, there is something to the ouija board: I have a personal experience that IIRC I've posted but do not have time now.

[Deacon Lance]

The board itself is a piece of cardboard.  The purpose of using the board is to try to contact spirits, the same is true of seance, wicca, satanism, etc.  Do any of these rituals have power in themselves?  No.  It is the interior disposition of the user that can give the demonic spirits entrance to and power over a person.  For most these are silly games but still sinful in that they are superstitous.  For some they are an invitation to demonic obsession, oppression and  possession.

[Maria]

The board itself is a piece of cardboard.  The purpose of using the board is to try to contact spirits, the same is true of seance, wicca, satanism, etc.  Do any of these rituals have power in themselves?  No.  It is the interior disposition of the user that can give the demonic spirits entrance to and power over a person.  For most these are silly games but still sinful in that they are superstitous.  For some they are an invitation to demonic obsession, oppression and  possession.

Thank you, Deacon Lance, a voice of reason.

Two people I knew who had played with that board had very negative demonic experiences.
They avoided the Ouija board from then on.

Why play with fire?

[Andrew21091]

If you are genuinely attempting to use a Ouija board for the purpose of contacting the dead, you are engaging in something quite close to necromancy, and I would argue this does - in fact - invite unclean spirits.

I honestly don't believe that it has any power. Same with Wicca spells, seances, etc. I don't think there is any power in them. The danger is believing that they do have power and that can lead one into delusion. I believe such things are also blasphemous. That is where the real danger is.

[IsmiLiora]

I don't read horoscopes, not because I think that a demonic spirit will take over my body immediately, but there is nothing spiritually beneficial about it. Same with the Ouija board. Why bother?

[sprtslvr1973]

My two cents on occultic games like ouija boards, tarot cards, "the bell witch" is this:
1) at best it is a silly game, and thus a waste of time
2) at worst it is much, much more sinister and dangerous than option 1.
At any rate, why would you even want to try it? Remember Russian Roulette with a six shooter gives you a 83.33% chance of not blowing your head off, but would you still take the risk?

[Anastasia1]

Long story short, it's nothing at all. It's not a demonic board. It's just a game inside your mind. A game played by yourself.
...
Trying it out isn't dangerous. Believing it actually works IS dangerous. Because, then, even if people are not communicating with any evil force actually (or with any force at all!), there are great chances of them going crazy over it and becoming occultists.

God bless us all!...with reason this time!

When my mom was young, she did ouiji board with some friends, maybe this was high school. She asked the name of the man she would marry. The board got to all but the last letter of a name when my mom took her hand off. She thought maybe the name had a wrong letter in it and thought it was different name. In college, she met a man, later married him, and later realized that his name was the name from the board plus one letter. I'm just saying...

[Gamliel]

When I was a kid I had one for a while.  Got to the point when I never used it, and I started wondering if it was bad news, so I got rid of it.  I would never have one again.

[Achronos]

I experienced some weird things with that board.

Nothing Paranormal Activity crazy though.

[Andrew21091]

Long story short, it's nothing at all. It's not a demonic board. It's just a game inside your mind. A game played by yourself.
...
Trying it out isn't dangerous. Believing it actually works IS dangerous. Because, then, even if people are not communicating with any evil force actually (or with any force at all!), there are great chances of them going crazy over it and becoming occultists.

God bless us all!...with reason this time!

When my mom was young, she did ouiji board with some friends, maybe this was high school. She asked the name of the man she would marry. The board got to all but the last letter of a name when my mom took her hand off. She thought maybe the name had a wrong letter in it and thought it was different name. In college, she met a man, later married him, and later realized that his name was the name from the board plus one letter. I'm just saying...

Do demons know the future? Or perhaps quiescence that the name was the same?

[Gebre Menfes Kidus]

Reason is sometimes the enemy of faith and plain Christian common sense. Whether Ouija boards have actual demonic power or whether it's merely a psychological effect makes no difference. These things should be avoided like the plague by all Christians. But then again, take my opinion with a grain of salt. It's probably just one of my raving fundamentalist views like my belief that abortion is murder.



Selam

[IsmiLiora]

Reason is sometimes the enemy of faith and plain Christian common sense. Whether Ouija boards have actual demonic power or whether it's merely a psychological effect makes no difference. These things should be avoided like the plague by all Christians. But then again, take my opinion with a grain of salt. It's probably just one of my raving fundamentalist views like my belief that abortion is murder.



Selam

Almost everyone who posted is fundamentally agreeing with what you're saying. Why did you have to post that last line again?

[Asteriktos]

The idea that demons can infect people through the use of weegee boards provides the demons themselves with much lulz. Seriously, why would they bother trying to influence people who use those things? Either people're just having a bit of fun, in which case the demons can't do anything; or the people are already so far off the path that no demonic influence is really needed. For realz.

[JamesRottnek]

From The Sayings of the Desert Fathers:

"Some brothers came to find Abba Anthony to tell him about the visions they were having, and to find out from him if they were true or if they came from the demons.  They had a donkey which died on the way.  When they reached the place where the old man was, he said to them before they could ask him anything, 'How was it that the little donkey died on the way here?' They said, 'How do you know about that, Father?' And he told them, 'The demons shewed me what happened.'  So they said, 'That was what we came to question you about, for fear were were being deceived, for we have visions which often turn out to be true.'  Thus the old man convinced them, by the example of the donkey, that their visions came from the demons."

[JamesRottnek]

Reason is sometimes the enemy of faith and plain Christian common sense. Whether Ouija boards have actual demonic power or whether it's merely a psychological effect makes no difference. These things should be avoided like the plague by all Christians. But then again, take my opinion with a grain of salt. It's probably just one of my raving fundamentalist views like my belief that abortion is murder.



Selam

Do you ever feel persecuted?  Do you ever feel passive, while also feeling something close to the opposite of that?  Do you ever feel like righteousness may describe self?

[Anastasia1]

The idea that demons can infect people through the use of weegee boards provides the demons themselves with much lulz. Seriously, why would they bother trying to influence people who use those things? Either people're just having a bit of fun, in which case the demons can't do anything; or the people are already so far off the path that no demonic influence is really needed. For realz.

Or the people think that they are believers who are just having fun and then they do it again and again and start to rely on the ouiji board or believe in it enough for it to affect their lives and they are not longer the powerful tools for the Kingdom of God that they once were. That could also happen. (I know it doesn't always happen like that, but I feel the possibility needs to be mentioned.)

[Gebre Menfes Kidus]

Reason is sometimes the enemy of faith and plain Christian common sense. Whether Ouija boards have actual demonic power or whether it's merely a psychological effect makes no difference. These things should be avoided like the plague by all Christians. But then again, take my opinion with a grain of salt. It's probably just one of my raving fundamentalist views like my belief that abortion is murder.



Selam

Do you ever feel persecuted?  Do you ever feel passive, while also feeling something close to the opposite of that?  Do you ever feel like righteousness may describe self?

Do you ever feel like Dr. Sigmund Freud, or do you just do lots of cocaine?  


Selam

That attack was very unfair. 40 days of warning for an ad hominem - MK.

[Gebre Menfes Kidus]

The idea that demons can infect people through the use of weegee boards provides the demons themselves with much lulz. Seriously, why would they bother trying to influence people who use those things? Either people're just having a bit of fun, in which case the demons can't do anything; or the people are already so far off the path that no demonic influence is really needed. For realz.

Or the people think that they are believers who are just having fun and then they do it again and again and start to rely on the ouiji board or believe in it enough for it to affect their lives and they are not longer the powerful tools for the Kingdom of God that they once were. That could also happen. (I know it doesn't always happen like that, but I feel the possibility needs to be mentioned.)

That's a very good point Anastasia.


Selam

[Ortho_cat]

I'm skeptical about this stuff, but we are told not to mess with it.

[Timon]

I don't think it invites evil spirits. Its just silly. I think it can be dangerous because it can be a distraction.

never used one, but i agree.  I dont see how a piece of cardboard can be dangerous.  it seems like it would a be a funny/quirky thing to pull out at a party or something.  i didnt know people out there really took these things serious...

[Asteriktos]

The idea that demons can infect people through the use of weegee boards provides the demons themselves with much lulz. Seriously, why would they bother trying to influence people who use those things? Either people're just having a bit of fun, in which case the demons can't do anything; or the people are already so far off the path that no demonic influence is really needed. For realz.

Or the people think that they are believers who are just having fun and then they do it again and again and start to rely on the ouiji board or believe in it enough for it to affect their lives and they are not longer the powerful tools for the Kingdom of God that they once were. That could also happen. (I know it doesn't always happen like that, but I feel the possibility needs to be mentioned.)

I covered that scenario when I talked about some being so far off the path that the demons don't even bother

[JamesRottnek]

Reason is sometimes the enemy of faith and plain Christian common sense. Whether Ouija boards have actual demonic power or whether it's merely a psychological effect makes no difference. These things should be avoided like the plague by all Christians. But then again, take my opinion with a grain of salt. It's probably just one of my raving fundamentalist views like my belief that abortion is murder.



Selam

Do you ever feel persecuted?  Do you ever feel passive, while also feeling something close to the opposite of that?  Do you ever feel like righteousness may describe self?

Do you ever feel like Dr. Sigmund Freud, or do you just do lots of cocaine? 


Selam

Did you just accuse me of being a drug addict?

[Melodist]

My two cents on occultic games like ouija boards, tarot cards, "the bell witch" is this:
1) at best it is a silly game, and thus a waste of time
2) at worst it is much, much more sinister and dangerous than option 1.

2

At any rate, why would you even want to try it? Remember Russian Roulette with a six shooter gives you a 83.33% chance of not blowing your head off, but would you still take the risk?

Correction. 83.33% the first person to go will lose. The rate gets more risky as it gets passed around. There is a 100% chance that, if not you, someone playing will die, that is if everyone fully follows through with the game.

[Jetavan]

Correction. 83.33% the first person to go will lose. The rate gets more risky as it gets passed around. There is a 100% chance that, if not you, someone playing will die, that is if everyone fully follows through with the game.

...unless one of the players is a robot.

[Father Peter]

I would absolutely insist that any person I had spiritual and pastoral responsibility for had nothing ever to do with this, or with other such activity including horoscopes.

[FatherGiryus]

I attended a number of occult activities throughout my childhood and into early adulthood.  Spirit boards were part of that.  Most of the time, it was rubbish, which in part led to the collapse of the Spiritualist Movement in the early 20th century.

However, when people begin inviting spirits to enter their space and communicate, they are opening doors that can be difficult to close.

While 99% of people experience no aftereffects from Ouija Board use, there are 1% who do end up with some kind of negative after-effects.  These can range from small to large problems.

Yes, in most cases the devil is not too worried about us: we are so weighed down with sins and distractions that God is the farthest thing from our minds.  However, sometimes we do get some attention, and so we probably should not unnecessarily increase our chances.

[IsmiLiora]

I am just remembering that we were playing with the Ouija board when I was a child and I asked who I would marry. It said that my husband's name would start with a D (it does) and I would marry at 37. Okay, so it was wrong on that one. (My sister and cousins all got to marry in their early 20s -- I am having the last laugh .)

Hm, scary now that I think about it. I'm surprised that my mother didn't stop us from playing with it. Probably because she thought it was hogwash or, as a very superstitious Catholic, thought that we might find out something true.

Anyway, I wouldn't even try that today. It just opens the door in my mind. I used to read horoscopes and play with tarot cards. What's worse, I actually thought that if I prayed beforehand, that God would use the cards to send me a message. I don't mess with that any more.

[Jetavan]

The Mothman Prophecies addresses all of these issues, and more!

[orthonorm]

Is it necessary? No. May it be harmful? Yes. Ergo, have nothing to do with it.

There are two Ways, the Way of Life and the Way of Death, and the difference between the two Ways is great...

....Do not be always looking for omens, my son, for this leads to idolatry. Likewise have nothing to do with witchcraft, astrology, or magic; do not even consent to be a witness to such practices, for they too can all breed idolatry.

-The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles

Btw, there is something to the ouija board: I have a personal experience that IIRC I've posted but do not have time now.

That applies to nearly everything in life.

[orthonorm]

Here is my take YOUVE all been waiting for.

If using a ouija board is how you get your kicks during in any age group, you need rethink the definition of enjoyment.

Swirling around your alphabet soup and seeing if any words appear or looking for patterns in clouds is about as dangerous.

[Anastasia1]

The idea that demons can infect people through the use of weegee boards provides the demons themselves with much lulz. Seriously, why would they bother trying to influence people who use those things? Either people're just having a bit of fun, in which case the demons can't do anything; or the people are already so far off the path that no demonic influence is really needed. For realz.

Or the people think that they are believers who are just having fun and then they do it again and again and start to rely on the ouiji board or believe in it enough for it to affect their lives and they are not longer the powerful tools for the Kingdom of God that they once were. That could also happen. (I know it doesn't always happen like that, but I feel the possibility needs to be mentioned.)

I covered that scenario when I talked about some being so far off the path that the demons don't even bother

No, I am saying that the person could be just starting off the path and the board could the be the tool that takes them further. Just starting to leave the path is not unbelieving, unfaithful, into the occult, or whatever the way that the person could become, the way that could become too far off the path.

[Ortho_cat]

Correction. 83.33% the first person to go will lose. The rate gets more risky as it gets passed around. There is a 100% chance that, if not you, someone playing will die, that is if everyone fully follows through with the game.

...unless one of the players is a robot.

or has a kevlar helmet.

[William]

The board itself is a piece of cardboard.  The purpose of using the board is to try to contact spirits, the same is true of seance, wicca, satanism, etc.  Do any of these rituals have power in themselves?  No.  It is the interior disposition of the user that can give the demonic spirits entrance to and power over a person.  For most these are silly games but still sinful in that they are superstitous.  For some they are an invitation to demonic obsession, oppression and  possession.

Amen.

[sprtslvr1973]

Here is my take YOUVE all been waiting for.

If using a ouija board is how you get your kicks during in any age group, you need rethink the definition of enjoyment.

Swirling around your alphabet soup and seeing if any words appear or looking for patterns in clouds is about as dangerous.

So if I get messages in my Alphabet Soup telling me Elvis is alive and is the the Archbishop of North America's secret identity, maybe I should  be worried??

[orthonorm]

Here is my take YOUVE all been waiting for.

If using a ouija board is how you get your kicks during in any age group, you need rethink the definition of enjoyment.

Swirling around your alphabet soup and seeing if any words appear or looking for patterns in clouds is about as dangerous.

So if I get messages in my Alphabet Soup telling me Elvis is alive and is the the Archbishop of North America's secret identity, maybe I should  be worried??

Dude, Elvis? rly? livEs. Play Blue Hawaii backwards and you will get the answer to the second.

[FountainPen]

Funnily enough i had a conversation on the phone about this yesterday with a friend who thinks that the devil is more interested in destroying our relationships with each other and ultimately God. So he wouldn't be interested in silly games like that. I tend to think that anything that brings about fear in a person --which those board games can -- is dangerous. I'm not saying the enemy is right there at that moment or even that spirits would be present, but the idea of what you're doing makes you nervous and jumpy so you'd be more inclined to be fearful and think about it during the week.

Without faith it is impossible to please God!

[Melodist]

Correction. 83.33% the first person to go will lose. The rate gets more risky as it gets passed around. There is a 100% chance that, if not you, someone playing will die, that is if everyone fully follows through with the game.

...unless one of the players is a robot.

or has a kevlar helmet.

They're better at deflecting rounds than stopping them. That's why they have that real curvy shape.

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