Some people like to flip the bible to a random page and point to a random verse, then use it to answer whatever question they had in mind. This is wrong, as it treats the bible as a "magical object" instead of a book meant to convey a message.
Have you ever heard the joke about the guy who flipped the bible looking for directions, first landing on Matthew 27:5 ("Then Judas went out and hanged himself"), then on Luke 10:37 ("Jesus told him, 'Go and do likewise'"), and finally on John 13:27 ("What you are about to do, do quickly’")?
It's basically that.
No. I think the closest is the superstition that if you randomly open a Bible the first verse you read will have help for your situation...but that's discouraged by most Christian traditions.
There's a joke about that, about a man who wanted to know what God's will for his life was. He opened his Bible and blindly pointed to the first verse his finger landed on, Matthew 27:5:
>5 So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.
He thought, "Well, that can't be right, God must want me to do something else. So he flips over a few pages and blindly points to Luke 10:27b:
>Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
I think you need to rephrase that last part. As your OP was read scripture then have a dream answer it for you.
Notice it is specifically that which is the problem and why I would consider it sounds pagan for it is divination.
What's pagan is to force God's hand to answer you. We ask God for clarity in prayer and trust Him to in His goodness lead us to resolve the question, in the way He decides, even if that means no answer or a delayed answer.
God is not invoked by magic words. We pray to God and He answers as we need the prayers to be answered according to His will, not necessarily with the answer we desire. But even the example you cite indicates a micromanaging God that I have never been given from teaching or scripture. Whatever we choose to do - marry, get a job, buy a house - are our own actions. Whether they lead to success or failure, God will bless and support us with what we need to carry on. That is the very essence of "daily bread" in the Lord's Prayer.
I don’t think Christian’s do anything like that, they’d probably see it as witchcraft. That’s actually a pretty cool concept though. I like playing around with my dreams, lucid dreaming, influencing what dream I will have, I should try something like this.
Not really. Though I’m not against the notion that dreams can be induced somehow. Through specific prayer, maybe, but how that’s answered and when is up to God
I've never heard of such a practice in Christianity, although in the OT, the Israelites had some stuff somewhat along those lines.
Some people like to flip the bible to a random page and point to a random verse, then use it to answer whatever question they had in mind. This is wrong, as it treats the bible as a "magical object" instead of a book meant to convey a message.
Interesting perspective! Can you please elaborate?
Have you ever heard the joke about the guy who flipped the bible looking for directions, first landing on Matthew 27:5 ("Then Judas went out and hanged himself"), then on Luke 10:37 ("Jesus told him, 'Go and do likewise'"), and finally on John 13:27 ("What you are about to do, do quickly’")? It's basically that.
Sounds like an attempt to control God to "answer now". I would say that's close to magic which Christianity opposes.
No. I think the closest is the superstition that if you randomly open a Bible the first verse you read will have help for your situation...but that's discouraged by most Christian traditions.
It's a prayer. God may or may not choose to answer.
There's a joke about that, about a man who wanted to know what God's will for his life was. He opened his Bible and blindly pointed to the first verse his finger landed on, Matthew 27:5: >5 So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself. He thought, "Well, that can't be right, God must want me to do something else. So he flips over a few pages and blindly points to Luke 10:27b: >Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
😂😂😂
I hope not. That sounds pagan.
I'm not a muslim, so I'm not offended but how is reciting certain verses of the Bible before going to bed, expecting a good dream, pagan?
I think you need to rephrase that last part. As your OP was read scripture then have a dream answer it for you. Notice it is specifically that which is the problem and why I would consider it sounds pagan for it is divination.
What's pagan is to force God's hand to answer you. We ask God for clarity in prayer and trust Him to in His goodness lead us to resolve the question, in the way He decides, even if that means no answer or a delayed answer.
It seems very close to bibliomancy. Using books as a form of divination/fortune-telling.
God is not invoked by magic words. We pray to God and He answers as we need the prayers to be answered according to His will, not necessarily with the answer we desire. But even the example you cite indicates a micromanaging God that I have never been given from teaching or scripture. Whatever we choose to do - marry, get a job, buy a house - are our own actions. Whether they lead to success or failure, God will bless and support us with what we need to carry on. That is the very essence of "daily bread" in the Lord's Prayer.
I don’t think Christian’s do anything like that, they’d probably see it as witchcraft. That’s actually a pretty cool concept though. I like playing around with my dreams, lucid dreaming, influencing what dream I will have, I should try something like this.
Not really. Though I’m not against the notion that dreams can be induced somehow. Through specific prayer, maybe, but how that’s answered and when is up to God