Question:
Is Feng Shui (or geomancy) a popular belief or practice today
acceptable as a practice by Christians before God?
Answer:
That Is a good question. The word literally translated means
"wind / water" in Chinese. Feng Shui is a Chinese
philosophy about the relationship between humans and their
environment. It is about how everything is connected and
affects our spiritual and physical well-being. Its theories
attempt to offer man a way of understanding why certain things
occur and how to create a comfortable environment that
apparently lets us live and work positively in harmony with
the earth elements.
Feng Shui is based on the Taoist
philosophies of nature: these include the Yin-Yang Theory,
Five Element Theory and the trigrams of the Yi-Jing. It is
believed that Everything is made of ‘qi’ or energy which
is organised into metal, fire, water, wood and earth and
associated to the trigrams. These five elements are perceived
not as static physical elements but cosmic energies. The
Theory explains how "qi" cycles in nature,
constantly changing from phase to phase, since energy is
neither created nor destroyed. Consequently, everything around
us is connected and has the potential to affect our spiritual
and physical well-being. Today, Feng Shui is a
multi-disciplinary spiritual study that encompasses
architecture, urban planning, geography, astrology,
environmental psychology and many others.
Developed over 5,000 years apparently as a
system of how to survive and excel in harmony with nature,
Feng Shui theories came from supernatural understanding of
so-called natural causes and effects that apparently was
passed down from generation to generation. Feng Shui all
points to worshipping and trusting or manipulating creation or
the created for better results rather then trusting and
obeying the Creator, God Almighty Himself. Those who practice
Feng Shui, are also known as "Geomancers" or those
who practice "Geomancy". According to the Webster’s
Dictionary, Geomancy means: divination by geographic features
or by figures or lines. Divination means fortune telling by
occult or super natural means. Look at what God has to say
about that in the word of God. Consider the following verses:-
Lev 19:26b - …we are warned of the
practice any form of divination or sooth-saying that Is
displeasing to God. Deut 18:11-13 There shall not be
found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to
pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an
observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer,
or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a
necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination
unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy
God doth drive them out from before thee (another strong
admonition against the use of the supernatural to influence
our lives). Isa 47:13 says, Thou art wearied in the
multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the
stargazers, the monthly prognosticators,
stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon
thee. (We are clearly forbidden to use the natural
elements like the stars moon, earth, wind and fire to
manipulate them to so-called positively influence our lives).
Jer 27:9 says, Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets,
nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your
enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, which speak
unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon.
There is the manipulative use of the supernatural resources
available to many by the evil one. We are to solely rely on
God alone for help and not on the forces of darkness today.
The five core elements of geomancy are
generally earth, fire, gold, water and wood and Feng Shui
experts gives advice as to, the ‘placement’, positioning
of doorways, homes, entire buildings..... and provides some
assurance of future prosperity. Apparently under the influence
of a spirit of divination! (Acts 16:16-18) by the reading and
study of certain zodiac signs, charts and pentagrams. This is
not acceptable to God at all (Isa 47:13).
The Concern
Many are searching for spiritual authority
from New Age mystics and not from the Word of God today. Feng
Shui, like other spiritual systems of our times, has been the
great interest of many over the past two decades. Spiritual
vacuum create desperate people. We indiscriminately
"borrow" concepts like Feng Shui and filter the
knowledge through our limited understanding. The New Age
movement is infamous for mixing any half-baked, over-priced
philosophies and marketing new age syncretistic products to
consumers who can’t be sure of the products’ authenticity
or lasting value. Perhaps they are too starved for spiritual
product and therefore is susceptible to seduction of the evil
one than to employ the powers of discernment by God.
People in spiritual crisis and those
disenchanted with mainline religions are making a mad dash for
any exotic new moral authority and spiritual paths advertised
to them. New Age businesses excel at marketing spiritual
products and are doing well over the past 15 years. In our
current romance with the supernatural, some Christians even
embrace Feng Shui, as if there’s nothing wrong with it. One
of the oldest earth occultic interest has been marketed as an
attractive New Age spiritual interest to many today
successfully even in the Churches. Feng Shui evokes the
spiritual salvation expression "living in harmony with
the environment."
In one form or another, this expression
appears on nearly every piece of marketing information for
Feng Shui. Some environmental activists supports and advance a
kind of "cosmic harmony" rhetoric, saying that it is
"Salvationist hyperbole" and really means
"saving that part of the planetary environment which has
traditionally and comfortably supported human beings." It
comes down to nothing more than another skilful deception or
distraction of the evil one and is totally unbiblical (ie the
earth will be destroyed by fire according in 2 Pet 3:10-12 in
these last days and against the teachings of Christ and the
apostles (Eph 6:10-12).
Symbols of Feng Shui
The dragon symbol has often been used to
depict Feng Shui among others like water and fire Biblically,
we know that the dragon is used to represent craftiness
(deception), and evil. And as a symbol of satan! (Rev 12:3-17,
16:13, 20:2). In early Christian church history, the dragon
represented sin. Christian art often depicts a dragon at Jesus’
feet, to show His triumph over sin and evil. Consider
carefully: The very first commandment of our Lord, God which
says: Ex 20:3-5 — You shall have no other gods before Me.
"You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any
likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in
the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;
you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD
your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the
fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of
those who hate Me… We are not to consult any spirits or
earthly elements that will supplant the place of God in
worship as well.
Conclusion
Clearly God’s desire for us is to keep
our eyes on Him and Him alone, not His creation…or his
creatures. Ask yourself honestly the following:-
-
Does Feng Shui point me to the living
and true God or something else?
-
Does it glorify and magnify God or men
or worst still something or someone else?
-
Is this belief or practice scriptural
or is it anti-biblical?
Examine the Scriptures and the facts of Feng Shui and
prayerfully consider the Bible is the only final authority
for our lives and the future and not some of the earthly
power or elements as claimed by some! Beware of the wiles and
seductive deception of the evil one in these last days. Jesus
clearly said: John 14:6 - I am the way, the truth, and the
life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (not
even the elements of the earth can help us). Let us be wary
and careful of these last days confusion, compromise and
obsession with or manipulation of the supernatural to the
exclusion of the only living and true God.
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