What do you think of the TV show Long Island Medium?  She claims she can talk to dead people, and the TV show does a good job portraying that she can actually talk to the dead.

Sincerely,
Remotely Interested

Dear Remotely Interested,

Mediums are frauds, and God has always condemned them (Lev 20:27).  Television has a way of portraying reality the way they want you to see it.  Magicians really make it seem like they pull the rabbit out of thin air, but we know it is just an illusion.  Reality television has illusions, too.
The only account in the Bible of a medium talking to the dead was in 1 Sam 28:12, and the medium was just as surprised as everyone else when God sent Samuel to warn Saul!

     I love animals, and spirit guides have always intrigued me.  A spirit guide is an animal specific to you that can answer or lead you.  I am a strongly devoted Christian, and I understand the value of praying and asking God for guidance, and I do not feel that I would be worshipping a spirit guide in any way.  By obtaining a spirit guide, is it wrong?  Animals are all God's creation anyway.  If I am wrong, could you direct me to where in the Bible it states this, so I can right my wrong thinking?  Thanks and God bless!

Sincerely,
I Love Animals

Dear I Love Animals,

A “spirit guide” would be considered idolatry.  God should be the only guide for our souls (Jhn 14:6).  By definition, a spirit guide is a guide for your spirit.  Spirit guides are a Native American tradition and a definite form of idolatry.  Rom 1:23 warns against giving animals the glory that belongs only to God.  The Bible is the guide for our lives, and it contains all the instruction that we need for life and godliness (2 Pet 1:3).  God designed the Bible to lead our spirits and discern our character (Heb 4:12).

    If you practiced witchcraft just for fun, and you’re a teenager, are you automatically going to hell, and if so, can you change it?

Sincerely,
Bewitched

Dear Bewitched,

As long as we are living, there is time to change our lives.  Astrology, mysticism, séances, horoscopes, palm reading, witchcraft, etc. are all sinful.  God condemned that behavior in the Old Testament (Isa 47:13-14).  King Saul was put to death by God for seeking a woman that practiced divining (1 Chr 10:13).  Any Jew that was found visiting a ‘medium’ or ‘spiritist’ would be cut off from His people (Lev 20:6).  When someone became a Christian, they confessed sorcery as evil, and many of them burned their books of the magical arts (Acts 19:18-20).  If we want wisdom, we should seek it from God (Jas 1:5).

You mentioned that you did it just for fun and that you didn’t realize the implications.  Many sins are that way, but that doesn’t excuse the sin.  If you are driving down the highway and fail to note the speed limit… ignorance won’t stop the police officer from giving you a ticket.  When mankind makes choices in ignorance, those choices still affect us (1 Pet 1:14).  The way to receive forgiveness is to turn to the Lord, and He will give you forgiveness.  Read “Five Steps To Salvation” for exactly what it takes to be forgiven.

     I have a very interesting question, and I'm hoping you can help.  I know the Bible says you shouldn't mess with spirits, and fortune telling is sinful.  However, what if someone didn't ask for this gift?  I know it says no one knows the future but God, but what if He gave a gift to someone, and they were using it for good?  And what about Ouija boards?  I've always been taught they are of the devil.  One last thing, I'm from the south, and I've heard a lot about conjurers.  In fact, as a child, my grandfather visited one to get a growth removed, and it worked.  This woman was a christian and claimed it was a gift from God and not sinful.  Is this sinful and of the devil?  I am, by the way, very superstitious; however, I do believe the Bible is clear on the boundaries that should not be crossed.  Sorry for being so lengthy, but I believe there's a lot of people asking the same things.

Sincerely,
Magically Minded

Dear Magically Minded,

The dictionary defines ‘superstition’ as ‘a widely held but unjustified belief in supernatural causation leading to certain consequences of an action or event, or a practice based on such a belief’.  Superstition means that you are placing trust in the supernatural power of a rabbit’s foot, not walking under ladders, four-leaf clovers, Ouija boards, etc.  This is always wrong.  We are supposed to place our trust in God (Ps 56:11), and God has clearly said that He doesn’t give people the gifts of fortune telling; all these things are of the devil.  Even if a conjurer removed your grandfather’s growth, being a conjurer is still sinful.  There are lots of sinful things that have short-term benefits… but long-term consequences.

Superstition is a mild and socially acceptable form of witchcraft or divining.  There is no difference between trusting in a lucky coin and trusting in the astrological tables.  Astrology and horoscopes are wrong (Deut 4:19, 2 Kgs 23:5); witchcraft and magical arts are wrong (Acts 19:19).  Superstition falls into the same category as those practices.

    Do you know why the medium freaked out after seeing the ghostly Samuel (1 Sam 28:12)?

Sincerely,
Surprise Me

Dear Surprise Me,

One reason she was so scared was because once she realized that the man who had hired her to conjure up a ghost was King Saul, she feared for her life.  Saul had previously cast out all the mediums from the land (1 Sam 28:3).  The other likely reason was that she had never actually seen a ghost!  Mediums and sorcerors were charlatans back then just as much as they are today.