Haase_UZ_x007E_DTh (2).pdf - South African Theological Seminary

which is one of the key factors that set Christianity apart from all other religions and
belief systems. Lesslie Newbigin adds:
We seek a security for ourselves that we were
not meant to have, because the only security
for which we were made is security in God,
security in God’s free grace. The search for
certainty apart from grace has led... to a
profound loss of nerve, a deep scepticism
about the possibility of knowing the truth.
We are shut up in ourselves (Newbigin,
1996:16).
People fear what they do not understand, or cannot control, so they attempt to
understand, to have power over whatever it is that affects their security and happiness.
However they are understood, this is precisely why spiritists seek to manipulate these
unseen powers. The person seeks to manipulate and control spiritual beings, ancestors,
and forces of nature, to do his will. Many around the globe believe the unseen or spiritual
realm can be manipulated, or controlled. Such beliefs are common to animist, Wiccan
and various other beliefs. Having power in, and/or control over this realm has been the
desire of humans throughout the ages.
The God of the Bible forbids such things, and those who seek to control their world
via such means are therefore disobedient to Yahweh, and in rebellion against Him. “For
rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry” (1Sa.
15:23a; cf., Deu. 18:9-14; 2Ch. 33:1f). The children of Israel were forbidden to practice
magic, divination and witchcraft, practices borrowed from the Egyptians, Chaldeans, and
various others. Such practices encouraged doubt about Yahweh, and dependence upon
demons (cf., 1Co. 10:14-22; 1Ti. 4:1; Rev. 9:20). “Superstition not infrequently goes
hand in hand with scepticism” (Smith, 1997). In contrast, the naturalists, those of the
Enlightenment, or modernity, seek to control their world through natural, not via the
supernatural, or spiritual means, but as mentioned, the postmodern cultural wave is
changing these long accepted notions. Samuel Escobar adds:
The new attitude toward religion and the
proliferation of religious practices has to be
understood as part of the revolt against
modernity. The modern ideologies of
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University of Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa