Dare we kneel?

[Petros]

Herself is slightly outraged, having encountered yesterday one of those find out what the children are doing and tell them not to Christians who maintain that anything that was ever done in the context of a nonChristian religion or a denomination other than narrowly defined Midwest Evangelicalism is of the devil, damnable and corrupting. Where is my Salem ancestor when he is needed?

Clap your hands? Demonic. Bow to the crucifix? Damnable. Contemplative prayer? Devilish. Acupuncture session? Hellish. Herbal medicine? Smell the sulphur. Hand candy to kids at Halloween? Satanic.

Leave us face it:
There are practices - some Eastern, some Western - that may open one up to the wrong kind o spirit. There are practices - some Eastern, some Western - that foster a magical mindset. But it is not so simple as they think. They would be perturbed by a lot of the practices of the Book of Acts church, could they but see them.

Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

And not by rote "discernment"

[bn2bnude]

It's much easier to fall into "sin management", in other words, just figure out what to do and what not to do to be "Christian" than it is to let God take control of our lives.

As you noted, there are practices that are harmful, either physically or spiritually, that should be avoided. On the other hand, it's really easy to make sweeping statements that don't do anyone any good.

[Petros]

Unless we define "good" as pinning symbols on those who deviate.

[Bare_Truth]

So drop the other shoe. What was the focus of this sin sniffer that tipped her hand to your wife and tweaked her sensibilities.

[bn2bnude]

So drop the other shoe. What was the focus of this sin sniffer that tipped her hand to your wife and tweaked her sensibilities.

I missed the whole "sin sniffing" thing... Another "pet peeve" of mine. Largely because it is just ugly gossip with a pretty dress on.

[Petros]

Herself ran across it while running over the web - she is beginning to feel she needs to shut it down, but she puts in a bit of time seeking out talk about bearable politics, interesting therapies, intriguing recipes or gardening tips, whatever. She happened on some site - address not known to me, but there are likely a few around - where someone was maintaining that getting a reiki treatment or doing a half hour of yoga was purely soul eating demonic.

And yes, there are some who dress such things up with a whole cloth spirituality, but we are talking food offered to idols here.