This is Part 2 of a series of postings on the authentic Christian view and attitude regarding psychic Phenomena
A look into the Old Testament shows that there is not a condemnation of all psychic phenomena, but a clear distinction is made between positive and negative phenomena. If the relevant passages are read carefully it can be seen that often it is not the phenomena that are condemned but the type of person who manifests them. Never is it declared wrong to seek to know the future or to gain advice in practical matters.
What is prohibited is seeking for this information from polluted sources. Also, some verses in the Bible were deliberately distorted by the King James translators and their successors. Telling the future by watching the flights of birds or by killing animals and examining their entrails is definitely censured. But in the English versions, instead of using the terms for this type of augury the translators simply put “divination.” That is deceitful.
If we read the description of the breastplate of the High Priest we will discover that its only purpose was for divination. Divination by other means was also used in the Old Testament. For example, Gideon’s setting out of the fleece (Judges 6:36-40) was a form of accepted divination, not a unique instance of divine intervention.
Prophecy and Psychic Phenomena
The same is true of prophecy–both in the sense of foretelling the future and of inspired advice regarding mundane matters. A distinction is made between positive and negative prophets. The Hebrews were not only told to avoid false prophets, they were also told to consult the good prophets. Divination and prophecy are not condemned by the Bible, they are commanded by the Bible.
The New Testament gives many references to the prophets in the Church who foretold the future. In one ancient book regarding Church discipline, The Egyptian Church Order, it is directed that each church should have at least one prophetess always present in the church “for revelations.” It was usual for a local church to have several prophets.
If we look at the Bible in a balanced and complete way, we find that there is no prohibition at all of the exercise of supernormal, prophetic, clairvoyant, clairaudient, clairsentient, or divinatory powers. Quite the opposite–they are shown to be a common and a necessary part of life. Some psychic abilities are classified as gifts of the Holy Spirit.
The invisible worlds
The psychic faculty is invisible, and functions in the invisible realms. In those invisible realms there are various types of beings we may perceive or even communicate with. Some are negative, ignorant and foolish, and some are positive, knowledgous and wise. Some are spiritually unevolved and others are highly evolved in the spirit. We should not fall prey to the superstitious fear that even a slight peep into the psychic realm will bring devils crowding around ready to pounce on us.
Unless, of course, we are the kind of people who habitually associate with human “demons” and like their company. In that case their astral counterparts will be only too ready to contact us. God is the creator of the invisible worlds as well as this visible one. In those, too, He is the supreme power, and His children need fear nothing therein–though caution, as in this world, is not a bad idea.
The Lord Jesus said: “In My Father’s house are many mansions”(John 14:2). The invisible worlds are populated by many types of beings, busily pursuing their life. The psychic opens a window into those worlds for either observation or communication. It is only natural that there be a response from those that live there. The type of response will be determined by the psychic character of the observer and the responder. Therefore a person moving into the psychic world does run the risk of being influenced by the intelligences he finds there. So the psychic must be able to tell which influences are desirable and which are not–and know how to resist any undesirable influences.
Psychic attunement
In one sense a psychic is operating his innate psychic radio or television. Now a radio or television set can only pick up the frequencies which it is programmed or built to receive. It is the same with the psychic faculty. It is our attunement–that is, our state of psychic and spiritual evolution–which determines what worlds and what types of beings we will perceive.
Those who are old enough will remember the days when television was only VHF, so our sets only got the programs broadcasted on the VHF frequencies. Later when UHF broadcasts were introduced, we had to add on some equipment to enable our sets to pick them up.Also in those early days those of us who did not live in the cities where the broadcasts originated needed aerials with motors to turn them in the direction of the broadcast we wanted to receive. It took a lot of tuning and turning to get the picture.
So it is with the psychic realms. It is not enough to know that everyone has innate psychic abilities and can develop them. We must first see that our inner receivers are rightly refined and attuned through spiritual practice, especially meditation. For the degree of our development will determine what inner worlds we will contact.
Next: The Negative Side of Psychic Phenomena
Further Reading:
- The Gnosis of the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes — The Ten Commandments give a complete picture of what is needed to extricate ourselves from the currents of the lefthand path and the Beatitudes show the means of entering the righthand path, the path of true blessedness. These articles give unique insights into these often misunderstood spiritual foundations. By Abbot George Burke.
- Religion for Awakening — A profound study in practical truth by F. W. Pigott, an esoteric Christian bishop within the Liberal Catholic Church in Great Britain who wrote in the first half of the twentieth century. This is an edited–and occasionally adapted–version, edited by Abbot George Burke.
- The Esoteric Christian Creed — Bishops Wedgwood and Leadbeater were adherents of the Non-dual (Advaita) philosophy of India as uncompromisingly taught by Madame Blavatsky, with whom Leadbeater lived for several years in India. This creed embodies that esoteric view. Commentary by Abbot George Burke.