Superstition might be a religion too

I'll admit it, dear reader, I'm one of these people that stick to their old superstitious habits while actually being a christian. And I bet I'm not the only person that doesn't like anything with the number 13 on it, that never walks under ladders or that feels somewhat awkward when somebody sends you an e-mail you have to forward to at least 15 friends of yours in order to not break the chain or otherwise... something will happen. Furthermore, I have OCD, abbreviation for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. In concrete, I have to count my steps, I have to count the stairs, I have to cross a street by putting one foot on the white lines of the pedestrian crossing and I can't walk on the yellow stones in the street or else... yeah right, what else? Even more, I have to see pass by certain hours in numbers on the digital clock, preferably 12.34 and 23.45 every day, but there are also other beautiful examples, like 11.11 or 22.22 or... hell, there are a lot of beautiful hours, too many actually... If you'd know how much time I spend - or rather loose - on a daily basis by watching obsessively at that digital clock...

 

 

As a christian, I believe that God protects me, and that He has great plans for me in store. Therefore, I actually don't need those little treasures that have the reputation to bring luck, like Buddha figures or lucky numbers... but I had/have them, and I feel guilty about it. See, I used to be a catholic, and so the virgin Mary was a very important figure, even though me and my family weren't that religious. Now I see that adoring  or worshipping the saints and the virgin Mary is wrong. It's all about Jesus, only Him, and you shouldn't worship anybody else but God and His son Jesus. I can imagine that it sounds a bit stupid if you're not a christian, or if you're one of those catholics that have been raised with the idea that the saints and especially the virgin Mary are very important figures in the catholic religion and the life of Jesus. I can tell you - and beg you - to dedicate some space in your heart to Jesus. That's what it's all about in our religion. If you accept Jesus in your life, God will be very pleased with you, and He'll help you through whatever difficult times you have to go through. Believe me, I've been there (and still am...).

But let me turn back to superstition, because in fact I don't really care if you adhere to the virgin Mary. No, what I really want to talk about is this: I really dislike it when people send me this kind of e-mails that supposedly bring you luck or money if you send them to a couple of friends and bad luck or poverty when you don't. I know that God is real, so I shouldn't pay attention to them and just delete them, but that's easier said than done. Also, because of my OCD, I have this thing with numbers. No, not numerology, because the occult is even worse than superstition, and I'll talk about that later on, but just numbers. They're everywhere, even in my small 12 m2 room. There are lucky numbers, like the number 7, and there are numbers that bring bad luck, like the number 13. Unfortunately, and while I know that God doesn't want me to focus on those numbers, I do have bad feelings with the number 13 and good feelings with other numbers. I know I shouldn't, but it's not that simple. 

However, there is more to superstition than just numbers. A few weeks ago, I was walking with a friend of mine through the beautiful city of Leiden, when she suddenly saw an oil lamp at a second hand store. She was determined to buy it, and I think the owner of the shop actually rippped her off by asking 10 euros for it, while it was not working properly, but ok, if that'd make her happy, then I wouldn't want to prevent that happiness. I asked her afterwards why she was so determined to buy it, and then she told me that she already had almost everything prepared for the 21st of December. That made me laugh initially because I thought she was making a joke, but she was pretty serious about it. I remember that some people are afraid that the end of the world is near, because of the prediction of the Mayan calendar. My friend's not exactly adhering to that theory, but she knows for sure that there will be a sunstorm on that day and that the sun will explode and that there will be darkness everywhere, that all the power stations will break down, that there will be no food, that people will plunder the shops for food and water... exactly, the end of the world in a somewhat more dramatic way. I'm not ridiculing her, especially not if she's going to read this, but I'm asking myself: Where does this idea come from? She's quite intelligent, in her fifties and not mentally disturbed, but she was really serious about it. She's even a catholic. Now I know for sure that the sun won't explode on December 21st, just because I've been reading about how stars - for the sun is just a star - explode when their fuel supply comes to an end, and our sun still has a few million years to go before this happens. I think that the chance that a meteorite hits the earth and destroys life is actually far more bigger than the idea of an exploding sun. However, I don't have a good feeling about 21-12 either, but I don't think it will be the end of the world. It's just this number (numbers again, yes sir!), perfectly mirrored...

Another kind of superstition are horoscopes. People, you just shouldn't do that. It's all a bunch of crap. Just because you were born on a day that the planet Mars was in the constellation Gemini means that you are easily bad-tempered? Or because Jupiter and Saturn were in a specific conjunction that means that we will be in trouble? I gave these examples, but of course they are imaginary, but my point is that there really is no connection at all between the position of the planets and your character. You are you, just because God made you that way. Do you really think that two people born on the same day at about the same hour will be perfectly equal when it comes to character? And isn't it just the case that those horoscopes, especially the predictions for the coming week, are so general that it's always applicable to someone? Be honest, there is no and there can be no relation between the position of the planets and our future. There is only one person who knows what future has in store for us, and that is God. Trust me, He really is trustworthy!

Let's talk about the occult now. It's not the same as superstition, that's true, but I consider it as a kind of different "religion" too. I have to admit that, when I was younger, say 14 or 15 years old, I used to evoke spirits. My two cousins and I made a kind of habit of it at New Year's Eve. Some strange things happened back then, but I've always blamed one of my cousins. However, when my pastor asked me about it a while ago, and after I'd admitted that we used to do that, he told me that the strange things that had happened actually could have been real, because evoking spirits is not that innocent as you might think. Now I regret having done that, and I believe that we should stick to the bible when God forbids this kind of things. He knows what's good for us and what isn't. The same counts for Tarot cards and fortune-telling. You just shouldn't do that, it can do irrevocable damage to a place and the persons involved. Don't consult fortune-tellers, it's occult and God forbids it. Chances are big that it's just a rip-off anyway. I do believe that some people are able to talk to ghosts, but I don't think it's a good idea to consult this kind of people. God wouldn't have forbidden it if he didn't have some very good reasons for it. That guy Derek Ogilvie for example gives me the creeps. I actually do believe that he is a medium, but I stick to my idea that he shouldn't do that. He should know that there are some very evil spirits out there. Yes, I do believe that some spirits of deceased people keep on wandering around on our planet earth, but I don't see any reason to consult them to ask them what they are experiencing now. 

What's more, people that claim that they've seen a ghost and that that ghost told them things they could possibly not have known if they hadn't been friends or family have to realise that we're not really dealing with true ghosts here. This is just some evil idea of the devil that wants to convince you that it's allright to evoke spirits. However, they are absolutely wrong. The devil knows everything about you: your fears, your hopes, your memories... everything. And he abuses that to make you believe that you're communicating with deceased loved ones, while he's actually playing tricks on you, because the only thing he wants is that you start doing bad things, things that help to destroy other people and the planet. If you open the door for the devil, you don't even need to invite him in, because he'll come in anyway and very easily. 

To finish, I have one more example of things to put on your not-to-do list: wicca. I believe that witches exist and that they can cure a disease by using herbs, but I don't believe in the magic they're using. I really love Harry Potter, but there's no such thing as wizards and witches. You know, I used to be a polytheist, so I worshipped the gods of nature, which was partially pretty well based on wicca. The rituals they perform are very questionable however. Some believe they can exorcize the devil. I think the only way to say no to the devil is to take authority of your life and to pray. God will help you, and if you believe that the devil is inside of you, just talk about it with a christian. He or she might be able to help you. Wizards and witches may have good intentions, and they might think that they go back to basics by focussing on the earth, but they don't go back far enough. The real base is namely God, He's the one you should be able to trust and allow in your life.

Superstition and the occult were the topics of this post. I have undertaken some of these occult things, and I repent it. Now I know that some of these actions can have serious and irrevocable consequences. About superstition then... I think it's my OCD that is telling me to be superstitious. I know I should get some treatment for that, but that is not going to happen real soon, I'm not stable enough. It's just that I'm always worrying about getting good grades, about falling in love with the right person, about finding a job, about anything you can imagine. And then I'm so stubbornly superstitious that I actually believe that, if I don't do this or that that I have to do, or if I do something that I'm not supposed to do, then something terrible will happen, be it in the near or the far future.That's why I think that people who are superstitious are actually adherents of a certain religion, and the same counts for people that spend their time on Wicca, Tarot cards or talking to spirits. I can't recommend it to you. If you're really looking for a bigger being, then ask God to come into your life. He's right there, on your doorstep, and contrary to the devil, He does knock, and He waits till you invite Him in. It's as simple as that...