Counsels for the Church - Ellen G. White

can they come through any man's mind. The human agent must never
interpose between the heavenly agencies and those who are suffering.
Everyone should be in a position to cooperate with God in directing the
minds of others to Him. Tell them of the grace and power of Him who is the
greatest Physician the world ever knew.
We do not ask you to place yourself under the control of any man's
mind. The mind cure is the most awful science which has ever been
advocated. Every wicked being can use it in carrying through his own evil
designs. We have no business with any such science. We should be afraid of
it. Never should the first principles of it be brought into any institution.
Neglect of prayer leads men to rely on their own strength, and opens the
door to temptation. In many cases the imagination is captivated by scientific
research, and men are flattered through the consciousness of their own
powers. The sciences which treat of the human mind are very much exalted.
They are good in their place; but they are seized upon by Satan as his
powerful agents to deceive and destroy souls. His arts are accepted as from
Heaven, and he thus receives the worship which suits him well. Through
these sciences, virtue is destroyed, and the foundations of Spiritualism are
laid.
Magic and Superstition
By burning their books on magic, the Ephesian converts showed that the
things in which they had once delighted they now abhorred. It was by and
through magic that they had especially offended God and imperiled their
souls; and it was against magic that they showed such indignation. Thus they
gave evidence of true conversion.
It is fondly supposed that heathen superstitions have disappeared before
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