Ever since I was little, I have been fascinated by witches.  I am a christian; I always have been.  I believe in God (as well as love Him).  I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sins and that He rose from the dead.  I have my doubts about other things but never this.  I've never read the Bible, but I know that witchcraft is evil in His eyes.  I have NEVER practiced it.  I merely find it interesting, but I do NOT follow it nor believe in it.  I love the Harry Potter books, but again, as you can see, I'm in the same boat.  I like witches, but I'd never practice the craft.  I want to know if I'd end up in hell.  I feel the same way about astrology.  I even wear a Capricorn necklace that I got for my sweet sixteen.  But again, I don't believe in any of it… just as a hobby.  It's been driving me crazy, and I don't know what to do.

Sincerely,
Toil & Trouble

Dear Toil & Trouble,

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).  In the New Testament, astrology is just as roundly condemned.  Paul cast out an evil spirit that was fortune-telling (Acts 16:16-18).  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 haven’t read the Bible.  All faith in Christ is dependent upon the Bible (Rom 10:17).  It seems like you have an honest heart and a real desire to know what is right – two things that matter a lot to God (Lk 8:15).  Please feel free to ask any more questions as they come up, or if you would like us to set up a Bible study for you with a faithful church in your area, just let us know.

5 minutes a day 5 days a week - a year of Bible Wisdom

I was baptized a year ago, but I have sinned so much since then.  I was wondering if I can get re-baptized one more time, or will it be held against me?  I am going to stop doing what I am doing.

Sincerely,
Do Over

Dear Do Over,

We are only commanded to be baptized once because baptism is a burial with Christ (Rom 6:3-4).  After baptism, we must learn to walk in our new life.  You don’t need to be baptized again, but you do need to confess your sins to God (1 Jn 1:9) and repent of them (Acts 8:22).  Do as you have promised; quit doing what you have been doing.  A large part of getting our lives in order is to become a part of a faithful congregation that can support and encourage us as we try to live rightly (Heb 10:24-25).  If you need help finding one in your area, please e-mail us at askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org, and we will happily locate one near you.

5 minutes a day 5 days a week - a year of Bible Wisdom

(This question is a follow-up to “Original Origins”)

Thank you for your answer regarding the first church in history, but I have another question.  Did the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church start at the same time, or did one form first and then the other?

Sincerely,
Ground Zero

Dear Ground Zero,

Both the Roman Catholic church and the Eastern Orthodox church trace their history back to the days of Caesar Constantine.  As we mentioned in the last post, Constantine made Christianity the national religion and forced all people to join it.  By forcing people to join Christianity, Constantine removed all traces of the volunteer Bible-based faith that Christ died for.  With national sanctions, political power, and a religious hierarchy that included cardinals, bishops, archbishops, etc., Constantine’s endorsement of Christianity suppressed Christ’s religion.  This time period gave birth to a national religion that was more about politics and power than faith, hope, and love.  Paul warned christians that an apostasy like this was coming and to beware of anyone that would set themselves up as head of the church (2 Thess 2:3-4).

This national religion continued until about the 11^th century when there became a dispute over whether the city of Rome would lead this church or the city of Constantinople would.  This argument (and other smaller ones) broke the national religion into two groups.  The Roman Catholic church followed the Pope from Rome, and the Greek Orthodox church chose to have more localized bishops control their territories.  In any event, both churches can be traced to the same non-biblical beginnings which have confused many people for many generations.