Posted on 10/20/2017 8:50:31 PM PDT by Simon Green
When Coco Layne, a Brooklyn-based producer, meets someone new these days, the first question that comes up in conversation isn’t “Where do you live?” or “What do you do?” but “What’s your sign?”
Interest in spirituality has been booming in recent years while interest in religion plummets, especially among millennials. The majority of Americans now believe it is not necessary to believe in God to have good morals, a study from Pew Research Center released Wednesday found. The percentage of people between the ages of 18 and 29 who “never doubt existence of God” fell from 81% in 2007 to 67% in 2012.
Meanwhile, more than half of young adults in the U.S. believe astrology is a science. compared to less than 8% of the Chinese public. The psychic services industry — which includes astrology, aura reading, mediumship, tarot-card reading and palmistry, among other metaphysical services — grew 2% between 2011 and 2016. It is now worth $2 billion annually, according to industry analysis firm IBIS World.
Melissa Jayne, owner of Brooklyn-based “metaphysical boutique” Catland, said she has seen a major uptick in interest in the occult in the past five years, especially among New Yorkers in their 20s. The store offers workshops like “Witchcraft 101,” “Astrology 101,” and a “Spirit Seance.”
“Whether it be spell-casting, tarot, astrology, meditation and trance, or herbalism, these traditions offer tangible ways for people to enact change in their lives,” she said. “For a generation that grew up in a world of big industry, environmental destruction, large and oppressive governments, and toxic social structures, all of which seem too big to change, this can be incredibly attractive.”
(Excerpt) Read more at marketwatch.com ...
Better - “If we believe in nothing, if nothing has any meaning and if we can affirm no values whatsoever, then everything is possible and nothing has any importance.” Albert Camus
You are correct as you are making the point that the authority and power of God is infinitely greater than any power of Satan and the 1/3 of the angels which followed him out of heaven.
But this power of God is only available to those who have placed their faith in the sacrifice of God’s Son alone, The Lamb that was slain to pay for the debt of our sin - Ephesians 2:8-9 For by [God’s] grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourself, it is the gift of God, Not of works, lest any man should boast -
Romans 10:9 - That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.
However, just a cursory look at the New Testament itself (remembering all scripture is God Breathed, and not inspired by human hands), reveals and expounds about a great spiritual war, which has impacted and will continue to impact men, society, and members of the church itself.
Even to believers, Paul writing to the Church of Ephesus in Ephesians 6, and to all believers in Christ, a warning and strategy for believers to utilize, or we would be casualties.
Just a cursory look brought up some powerful text on this subject of demonic and Satanic activity, including how it would increase as the time of Christ second coming gets closer. Some of the most important warnings of all were written to those believers which make up the body of the church and its leaders, and there would be demonic influence on and through some of those claiming to be teachers of Scripture in an attempt to mislead believers.
While a true believer does not need to fear Satan or his demons if we belong to God and we are living for Him, these influences are real and Christians are warned in scripture.
More than one warning even communicates how we can be deceived that Satan and his efforts, and the evil he wants us to commit is not something to be concerned with!
These few examples both prove the authority of God over Satan, and warn us.
I John 4:3-5
Mathew 4:1-11
Matthew 7:21-23
Matthew 8:28-34
Luke 9:1,37-42,51-55,
II Corinthians 11:13-15
Ephesians 6:12-13
I Timothy 4:1
I Peter 5:7-9
I John 4:1
Revelation 12:7-12
TV + video games + school will prime you for this by your mid-teens.
>>For Astrology to work all the stars would have to be equidistance from the Earth and the constellations could never change. Neither of those things is true.<<
Also everyone born at the same day should have the same life arc. Or the Chinese version where everyone born in the same YEAR should share personality attributes and fates.
The Dumbest Generation
“Interest in spirituality”
What an idiot. Astrology, aura reading, mediumship, tarot-card reading and palmistry are not spiritual! they are silly-a$$ supersititions.
Supposedly intelligent people go in for crap like numerology. They actually fall for this stupidity. How many one-night liaisons have been arranged over “what’s your sign?” “that’s my sign too. You are sensitive and looking for love.”
Crap.
Good for you you’re normal lol. I experienced first hand that which cannot be explained. One instance we were sitting in a candle lit basement as teens having some kind of a trance/hypnotic session or some such nonsense. The German shepherd was snoozing on the floor in the next room. The dog got up all of a sudden and whined/yelped as he booked up the stairs. A half minute later my friend’s mother came down asking what we are doing and said the dog urged her to come downstairs. Normally docile dog literally grabbed her by the blouse and pulled her towards the basement door. My husband and I dreamed the same dream three different times. My father had a dream when he was a teen that came true the next day, all details matched. And the thing that happened to him also happened to me at the same age he was.
All that is old is new again.
Thankfully we have freedom of speech so that those who want to read can choose their reading material for themselves - even if it is garbage- rather than leave it up to whomever has a match and too much political power.
No book is a threat if you raised your children properly; my folks never exercised any restraint on our reading material and none of us fell away. In the case of fantasy books all you need do if you really don’t trust how well you’ve taught your kids, is read the books with them and hold a conversation with them about the material. That way they know the hot topic of their peers without being consumed by it, and can in turn influence the unchurched readers in ways they otherwise could not.
Truest thing ever said.
You can become an astrologer in a matter of months, and a talent for cold reading can make you a successful "psychic" counselor overnight. Becoming an astronomer requires an doctorate with extensive knowledge of physics and mathematics at a minimum.
Even the effort needed to be scientifically literate dwarfs what is necessary to dive into pseudoscience.
The irony is: in the absence of God, why was Voldemort evil?
Make no mistake. Mystical thoughts can lead to great insights and advances but they could also lead nihilistic absurdity. Einstein’s mysticism led to profound insights.
Most pop culture in general and Steve Martin in particular are excellent examples of the nihilistic downside.
Liberals cheer that atheism and agnosticism is on a rise ... but half of young adults believe in astrology.
In short, removing organized religion like Christianity does not result in most abandoning religious beliefs, just shifting to vaguer, less logical structures.
And that’s aside from environmentalism morphing into worship of Mother Earth and social justice as a cult, investing religious devotion in liberal political ideology. OR the Singularity, religion in a science fiction mantle.
I’ll lite the bbq!!!
These things really work? Cool!
I need to get one to talk to my mom and ask her what happened to the blue cornflower Corningware she had promised me and now nobody can seem to find.
[I need to get one to talk to my mom and ask her what happened to the blue cornflower Corningware she had promised me and now nobody can seem to find.]
The OCCULT is no joke.
Karma is not fake. Karma is Newton’s third law: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. It’s just a fact. People don’t understand it though - it doesn’t literally mean what goes around comes around although it kind of does.
Neither was my mom's pyroceram blue cornflower Corningware. That stuff is expensive these days!
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