r3alchild
Is being a tarot reader really against the christian belief?
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The tarot and christianity
CrystalSun
No. If you look carefully to the cards you will see a lot of christian symbols on them.
Example: on the Lovers card you can see Adam and Eve in the Garden.
Example: on the Lovers card you can see Adam and Eve in the Garden.
Apollonia
Is being a tarot reader really against the christian belief?
No, there are even Christian ministers and priests who use the Tarot, although they probably don't advertise that fact widely.
starla
I am a Christian and at the moment I'm working with the cards to help me deeper understand the Christian mysteries. There are all sorts of Christian symbols and ideas woven into tarot imagery - there to work with for those who wish to, and easy to overlook for those who would rather avoid it.
As for whether it's against the Christian faith or not - well, there are bible verses which say that divination is a sin (google for the comprehensive list and the many opinions of people who agree), but as ever, everything in the bible is open to interpretation.
I can't say that reading the tarot sits easily with my faith - though my priests know about it, I keep it quiet for fear of worrying or offending those in my church community. I am at the beginning of a mystical journey with tarot and Christianity and so far enjoying where it's taking me.
As for whether it's against the Christian faith or not - well, there are bible verses which say that divination is a sin (google for the comprehensive list and the many opinions of people who agree), but as ever, everything in the bible is open to interpretation.
I can't say that reading the tarot sits easily with my faith - though my priests know about it, I keep it quiet for fear of worrying or offending those in my church community. I am at the beginning of a mystical journey with tarot and Christianity and so far enjoying where it's taking me.
Holland
Hey my friend check out my thread, I had the same question and a bunch of a Christians told me their opinions and to this day I still keep in touch with them. Just check out some of the answers, I think it will help, because it helped me. Blessings my friend.
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=219169
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=219169
danielnogo
It depends on who you ask and how fundamental their beliefs are.
I grew up in a pentacostal christian household where I went to church 5 times a wekk, spoke in tongues, and regularly saw people fall over when the pastor would lay hands on then, my parents also gave %30 of their income to the church - pre-tax.
My parents lump anything having to do with new age ideas as witchcraft, my parents are %100 against tarot cards or any form of divination because the bible says:
Deuteronomy 18:9-12 ESV / 23 helpful votes
“When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you.
Leviticus 20:27 ESV / 10 helpful votes
“A man or a woman who is a medium or a necromancer shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones; their blood shall be upon them.”
Micah 5:12 ESV / 9 helpful votes
And I will cut off sorceries from your hand, and you shall have no more tellers of fortunes;
Isaiah 8:19 ESV / 8 helpful votes
And when they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living?
I think the main point with christians like my parents is they believe they have a direct line to God himself where he communicates with them and tells him what to do, so why would you need a tarot if God is so great? My mom claims to have personal promises from God that me and my brother will one day be radical christians again, she thinks its set in stone and constantly reminds me of it. How that works with the whole free will thing I dont know.
If you ask someone else though, like a more liberal christian that kinda picks and chooses which parts of the bible to follow(they all do to a certain extent), they will tell you it's not a problem, even go so far as to say God speaks to you through the tarot. But to me, I could never be a christian and use the tarot at the same time, the christian worldview at least the one I grew up in, is diametrically opposed to new age stuff.
I mean if you claim to be a christian, and you claim to have the holy spirit in you and believe that the bible is the God inspired truth, a tarot shouldnt be able to compare to that if thats really real for you. The bible says "The steps of a righteous man are ordered by the lord." It's clear that God is supposed to give you direct guidance by you reading his word - the bible - at least from a theological standpoint. Why would you need an oracle when you are getting the direct words of God supposedly? The bible says man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
When the bible was written paganism was in full force too, so if God really wanted you to use divination, dont you think it would mention it in a positive light at some point? Witches and fortune tellers are almost as bad as homosexuals in the bible. I don't see how the bible and tarot can really be reconciled, and this is coming from someone that completely rejects the bible, but used to believe it wholeheartedly and live it to a fanatical extent.
Are you just holding onto your christianity in namesake only?
Just my two cents, no offense to anyone that does not agree.
I grew up in a pentacostal christian household where I went to church 5 times a wekk, spoke in tongues, and regularly saw people fall over when the pastor would lay hands on then, my parents also gave %30 of their income to the church - pre-tax.
My parents lump anything having to do with new age ideas as witchcraft, my parents are %100 against tarot cards or any form of divination because the bible says:
Deuteronomy 18:9-12 ESV / 23 helpful votes
“When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you.
Leviticus 20:27 ESV / 10 helpful votes
“A man or a woman who is a medium or a necromancer shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones; their blood shall be upon them.”
Micah 5:12 ESV / 9 helpful votes
And I will cut off sorceries from your hand, and you shall have no more tellers of fortunes;
Isaiah 8:19 ESV / 8 helpful votes
And when they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living?
I think the main point with christians like my parents is they believe they have a direct line to God himself where he communicates with them and tells him what to do, so why would you need a tarot if God is so great? My mom claims to have personal promises from God that me and my brother will one day be radical christians again, she thinks its set in stone and constantly reminds me of it. How that works with the whole free will thing I dont know.
If you ask someone else though, like a more liberal christian that kinda picks and chooses which parts of the bible to follow(they all do to a certain extent), they will tell you it's not a problem, even go so far as to say God speaks to you through the tarot. But to me, I could never be a christian and use the tarot at the same time, the christian worldview at least the one I grew up in, is diametrically opposed to new age stuff.
I mean if you claim to be a christian, and you claim to have the holy spirit in you and believe that the bible is the God inspired truth, a tarot shouldnt be able to compare to that if thats really real for you. The bible says "The steps of a righteous man are ordered by the lord." It's clear that God is supposed to give you direct guidance by you reading his word - the bible - at least from a theological standpoint. Why would you need an oracle when you are getting the direct words of God supposedly? The bible says man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
When the bible was written paganism was in full force too, so if God really wanted you to use divination, dont you think it would mention it in a positive light at some point? Witches and fortune tellers are almost as bad as homosexuals in the bible. I don't see how the bible and tarot can really be reconciled, and this is coming from someone that completely rejects the bible, but used to believe it wholeheartedly and live it to a fanatical extent.
Are you just holding onto your christianity in namesake only?
Just my two cents, no offense to anyone that does not agree.
Kalisti
I agree that it depends on the level of fundamentalism, but also I think the denomination makes a difference, too--Charismatic and Evangelical Christians consider tarot to be under the umbrella of witchcraft; mainline Protestants, I think, view it more as a superstition (at least my Lutheran father did!), and Catholics can fall in either camp.
When I picked up cartomancy, my severely Catholic mother was okay with it, so long as it was "just for fun." Indeed, back then I myself was a practicing Christian, albeit totally unaffiliated and unorthodox.
Christianity is so diverse, I mean it's a religion that includes the Southern Baptist convention with Universalist Unitarians, Catholics and Pentacostals. I think the individual churches say more than the broader term does. I know practicing Christians who view the Bible as little more than a mythology that sets guidelines for a proper, happy life, and other Christians who view anything short of literalism as "false."
I found the Eastern Orthodox Church when I was 20, and followed that path for four years. It actually was instrumental in getting me into tarot. The Orthodox have Icons of saints, and they are meant to be used as meditation/prayer tools; as windows into the lives and spirituality of the saints. I think many of us can agree that tarot has uses in a similar manner. I have even seen tarot decks based on saints and Christianity, and I'm considering getting a deck for my mom--although I expect her to put her favorite ones up around the house like icons, rather than using it as an actual tarot deck.
I didn't expect my first post to be on this subject, heh. Hello everyone!
When I picked up cartomancy, my severely Catholic mother was okay with it, so long as it was "just for fun." Indeed, back then I myself was a practicing Christian, albeit totally unaffiliated and unorthodox.
Christianity is so diverse, I mean it's a religion that includes the Southern Baptist convention with Universalist Unitarians, Catholics and Pentacostals. I think the individual churches say more than the broader term does. I know practicing Christians who view the Bible as little more than a mythology that sets guidelines for a proper, happy life, and other Christians who view anything short of literalism as "false."
I found the Eastern Orthodox Church when I was 20, and followed that path for four years. It actually was instrumental in getting me into tarot. The Orthodox have Icons of saints, and they are meant to be used as meditation/prayer tools; as windows into the lives and spirituality of the saints. I think many of us can agree that tarot has uses in a similar manner. I have even seen tarot decks based on saints and Christianity, and I'm considering getting a deck for my mom--although I expect her to put her favorite ones up around the house like icons, rather than using it as an actual tarot deck.
I didn't expect my first post to be on this subject, heh. Hello everyone!
Zedrex
The Tarot is full of christian themes and symbols. A E Waite made the case that the Tarot was the bible of the people when literacy was strictly limited to the clergy themselves and images were the best way that common people could get into the ideas.
I think it's funny that so many christians denounce the tarot without knowing anything about it, yet they all think that I - as an atheist - shouldn't be using tarot either!
I think it's funny that so many christians denounce the tarot without knowing anything about it, yet they all think that I - as an atheist - shouldn't be using tarot either!
nisaba
Is being a tarot reader really against the christian belief?
Tarot is loaded with Christian symbolism. Some of the earliest Tarot decks were commissioned by Popes and Cardinals.
If you think Christian symbolism is against Christian belief and people who have dedicated their whole lives to Christianity are against Christian belief, you can convince yourself of that if you wish.
BrownBear
A E Waite made the case that the Tarot was the bible of the people when literacy was strictly limited to the clergy themselves and images were the best way that common people could get into the ideas.
Interesting I hadn't heard that, but it makes a lot of sense. The tarot must've been like the comic book version of the Bible or something like that.
I think it's funny that so many christians denounce the tarot without knowing anything about it, yet they all think that I - as an atheist - shouldn't be using tarot either!
That has been exactly my experience as well.
