There were many comments to the post that I did not address. For that, I apologize. There was a death in my family on the first of January and I was battling a medical issue of my own at the time. Because of that, there was a 12-day gap in which I did not log onto CDFF (or respond to anything here).
Earlier today, Dgrimater/Dennis brought to my attention (on a separate, somewhat unrelated topic of mine in the "Biblical Discussions" section) that he interpreted my astrology post as meaning that I had a personal interest or engagement in the occult. I take the accusation seriously and am grieved that this issue has been festering for nearly 6 months. Had I been aware of the impression I was giving sooner, I would have addressed it sooner! (URL to the topic in question: http://www.christiandatingforfree.com/forum/forum_details.php?topic_id=10796&forum_sub_cat_id=14&start=0)
Because I take Dennis's words seriously, I'm essentially "reposting" the topic (wish we could bump old topics to the top instead!), so that we can all properly finish the discussion and clear the air, rather than assuming what the intent behind people's words is.
What SilverFire said on the topic best expresses my own thoughts:
"Uhm, guys? I think she was asking a question about astrology, not advocating using it. There is a subtle difference, you know.
"Astrology started (in my opinion) from a solid source -- from the observation of similarities between people born in the same time of year. Then, it built on that a lot of metaphysical hogwash. Using the stars for guidance for what you should do is silly and opens the doors to demons."
He is correct. Just because I posted this question does not mean that I practice astrology or that I advocate the practice of it. It is rare that I ask for guidance in my own personal life on here (though I have). Often, I ask questions because I'm polling a group of Christians on a topic that has come up among people I know. In this case, I've known several Christians who practice astrology. Because of that, I was seeking to understand the issue better, Before confronting someone regarding an issue such as astrology, it can be helpful to understand why some Christians believe in the practice of it. In short, I asked this question to gain insight, not because I, personally, practice astrology and wanted to know if what I was doing was wrong. To reiterate: I do not practice astrology and I am not interested in or involved in the occult.
I hope that addresses everyone's concerns on the topic. If the question as to whether or not I practice astrology or anything related to the occult is still unclear, please feel free to let me know, and I'll be happy to attempt to reword things in a clearer fashion.
P.S. Unless someone posts something to the contrary, I can only assume that I've addressed everyone's concerns adequately, and that I have cleared myself of any supposed sinful motives in the original topic. So... if you still have concerns, POST! I cannot address people's concerns that I'm not aware of!
The person that made this comment is a buffoon! This is one of my beefs with Christians. They are always throwing the baby out with the bath water. This person needs to read his OT again. (O get one and read it now) The Bible is very clear that the stars and planets are there to give us signs. The positions of the stars, the planets, the sun and the moon have been tracked by nearly every civilization that ever existed.
There actually are significant signs that exist in the stars that directly influence events on the earth. There are variances in energy fields, radiation, magnetism, and even the shape of the galaxies every day. Why can't it be possible that these conditions influence the human race in some way? Consider for a moment that you don't know everything and there may be something about this that you need to consider.
Astrological signs are mentioned by name in the OT, I recall specifically, Orion, for now. It has to be obvious to anyone that can see the constellations that although other stars travel without being a part of a constellation, these specific stars are always in the same formation and their flight through space does not vary as do other stars. Interestingly, there are twelve of them that are representatives of the twelve months of the year by thousands of people groups around the world.
The problem with astrology is that it has been taken to the point that, for some, it has become a religion. The sin of practicing astrology is not whether or not you believe your horoscope, but whether or not you choose to put your faith in the stars rather than the maker of the stars.
Bullinger wrote a book some, some time ago about the stars, he contends that men of God were able to learn about God by studying the stars and I agree. To what extend I can learn about God by studying the stars today, well there might be something I can learn.....the thing is my life is very focused on working with younger believers in colorado springs, so I am not able to just take on every area of the bible at once...
