Are all superstitions anti-Christian?

[BeauJangles]

1 hour ago, joebloggs said:

What are we talking about when we say being superstitious?

Pretty much this. 

Superstition is any belief or practice that is considered irrational or supernatural [ dubious – discuss ] [ citation needed ] : for example, if it arises from ignorance, a misunderstanding of science or causality, a positive belief in fate or magic, or fear of that which is unknown.

 

[BeauJangles]

Some of our most common superstitions. 

 

The Origins and Meanings Behind Our Most Common Superstitions

There are many traditions and rituals that we follow in our daily lives that we don't even stop to think about. While it may not be logical to behave in a certain way, something in the back of our mind encourages us to keep the tradition and ritual alive. These illogical rituals are also known as superstitions.

Definition of a Superstition

According to dictionary.com, a superstition is a belief that is "not based on reason or knowledge." It can also be an irrational fear.

However, not all irrational fears are superstitions. For example, the fear of heights, crowds, or the dark may not be logical but they aren't usually superstitious. But some of them, such as the fear of the number 13, can fall under superstitions.

Interestingly, many superstitions have a deep history that can extend back to ancient times. Here is the history, meaning, and origin of some of the most common superstitions.

Spilled Salt

If you spill salt you are supposed to throw a pinch of it over your shoulder to ward off bad luck, but why is that?

While speculations that salt was a precious commodity may have some validity, there may be even deeper, religious implications to the belief in spilling salt.

An examination of Leonardo Da Vinci's painting, The Last Supper, shows a canister of spilled salt by the arm of Judas, the disciple that betrayed him and led to his crucifixion.

According to Mail Online by Ticky Hedley-Dent, salt then became a symbol of betrayal and evil. Throwing the salt over your left shoulder (the side associated with evil) is supposed to blind the eyes of the devil that is waiting there to confront you.

Other religious traditions hold that the devil hates salt and it can be used to ward him off.

So Da Vinci himself may be responsible for our modern fear of spilling salt.

Friday the 13th

Many don't like the number 13 and will avoid it in all parts of their lives. Hotels have even been known to skip that number when they are numbering their floors, just to alleviate the fears of the superstitious. But where do these fears come from?

Some trace the fear back to the above painting of the Last Supper when 13 came to dinner and the outcome wasn't great for Jesus or Judas. But it turns out that, according to a 2009 Time magazine article by Claire Suddath, suspicions and fears about the number 13 can be found as far back as the code of Hammurabi. The number 13 is conspicuously absent from the code.

Another part of the superstition may have emerged in the middle ages.

During the crusades, according to History.com in an article by Jennie Cohen, King Philip had many of the French members of the Knights Templar arrested and tortured on October 13, 1307. Some hold that our fear of Friday the 13th stems from that day but modern references to Friday the 13th fears don't really show up in literature and other sources until a bit later.

According to the Time magazine article, Friday the 13th superstitions in America began to gain popularity after the publication of a 1907 book called Friday the 13th which featured a plot of a business man trying to crash the stock market.

Another resurgent of the Friday the 13th superstition came about in the 80's with the creation of the movie series of the same name featuring the mysterious and scary Jason who was born on, you guessed it, Friday the 13th.

Black Cats

Did you know that in some countries a black cat is considered good luck? In the United States though, a black cat crossing your path is considered to be a bad omen.

According to Hartz.com, our American fear of black cats stems back to our early, Puritan roots. The article "How Black Cats Came to Halloween," explains that in those times, black cats were associated with witches and the devil.

As we know from the Salem Witch Trials, the Puritans took their witch hunts very seriously. They even burned black cats on Shrove Tuesday (Fat Tuesday) to rid the house of evil spirits.

Even though the witch hunts of the Puritan style are no more, the idea of black cats being associated with evil has persisted as a lingering superstition from a darker time in our history.

However, in places like Japan and Great Britain, black cats are considered good luck.

This is one superstition that is harmful as black cats have a harder time getting adopted even though they tend to have very friendly and loving personalities. Rescue organizations such as Black Cat Rescue in Boston (http://blackcatrescue.com/) are working to change the image and harmful superstitions surrounding black cats.

Stepping on a Crack

This superstitions seems more muddled and there is more speculation than solid fact surrounding the superstition of stepping on a crack and its relationship to your mother's back health.

According to Smart Aleck's Guides, the rhyme can be seen in 19th and 20th century children's poems and may have just been a convenient rhyme for skipping or jumping rope.

Variations of the rhyme (including ones with a racial undercurrent) developed over the latter half of the 20th century.

So a simple children's rhyme may have led to people walking awkwardly on the city sidewalk lest their inadvertent step make their mother ill.

Broken Mirrors

Mirrors are breakable items so it's only natural that one will get cracked or dropped and broken from time to time. So why do some believe that it automatically sentences you to seven years of bad luck?

It looks like we have the Romans to blame for that one.

According to Wisegeek.com the Romans actually invented the earliest mirrors.

Because it was such as strange creation, they believed that the reflection you saw not only represented you, it was also you in a sense in that a portion of your soul was trapped in the mirror world.

If the mirror were to break, your soul could possibly be trapped in this broken world and a broken soul, of course, equals bad luck.

The Romans also believed that the body went through a renewal process every seven years so that is why it would take seven years for your soul to heal from this tragedy.

Crossing Your Fingers

Superstitious people cross their fingers for luck or to absolve themselves when they tell a lie, but where does the idea of crossing your fingers come from?

According to Woman's Day Magazine in an article by Kathleen Davis, crossing your fingers may date back to pre-Christian times when people believed that the intersection of shapes were where spirits resided so they would create that intersection by crossing fingers (one finger from each person).

It is also commonly known that archers would cross their fingers for luck during the 100 years war.

The most common thought about crossing your fingers derives from the earliest days of Christianity when Christians were facing persecution. Fellow Christians would use the crossed fingers as a sign of Christianity and solidarity. However, like its predecessor it was usually the crossing of one finger from each hand and not the single person gesture that we use today.

Crossing fingers while lying's origin is not clear and may stem from the same sources, needing a bit of luck to get away with the lie.

Knocking On Wood

If you are superstitious and you are talking to someone about your good fortune or how things are going well or working out, you may then say "knock on wood" or literally reach over and knock on a wooden table or door. This doesn't usually have anything to do with wood so where did this habit emerge?

According to Matt Soniak of MentalFloss, the idea of knocking on wood may have developed out of pagan religions that literally worshiped trees and believed that deities or spirits inhabited them.

They may have either been knocking on wood to keep the bad spirits from hearing about their fortune and reversing it or to thank the spirits for their continued good luck.

In most religions pride is not considered a virtue and Soniak points out that not letting the spirits think you were too full of yourself was probably a good thing.

Walking Under a Ladder

While walking under a ladder might very well be a safety concern--after all it could fall or objects on the ladder could fall off and hit a person walking under it---is there more than just safety at play here? Is it also a superstition?

According to livescience.com, the belief that walking under a ladder would bring bad luck could be traced back as far as ancient Egyptians.

Since a ladder leaning against a surface formed a triangle and triangles were sacred shapes to them, walking through that triangle was a sign of disrespect to the gods.

Christians later associated ladders with bad luck since one was said to be leaning against the cross during the crucifixion.

Cementing the belief in Europe was the practice of making those sentenced to death by hanging to walk under a ladder on the way to their sentence.

Birthday Cake Candles

Many of us try to blow out all the birthday candles on our cake in one breath, but why do we do that? What is the reason that blowing out the candles on the first breath brings us our wish but two breaths makes the wish null?

Believe it or not, the tradition of birthday candles can be traced back to the times of the Ancient Greeks who used the candles on a cake and the smoke created as a gift to the gods.

According to a July 2011 article from the Examiner by Benjamin Cloth, the myth stated that Artemis, Daughter of Zeus (also known as Diana in Roman tradition) asked for six wishes when she was born (literally her birthday).

One of her wishes was for chastity but out of that grew her patronage over expecting and young mothers.

In a tribute to this goddess as she watched over the young mothers, moon cakes would be made and lighted candles added to the top. These cakes were presented to the goddess on her birthday which was the seventh day of Thargelion (a month somewhere around our modern May and June).

The icing on the cake, so to speak, of our modern tradition of blowing them out in one breath comes from the practice of blowing out the candles on the moon cake in one breath, sending the largest plume of smoke and an homage up to the adored goddess.

Which superstition still spooks you just a bit? Which one do you practice?

• Throwing salt over my shoulder
• Not liking Friday the 13th
• Thinking black cats are bad luck.
• Avoiding cracks when I'm walking. I like my mom!
• Freaking out about broken mirrors.
• Crossing your fingers for luck or lies.
• Knocking on wood.
• Avoiding walking under a ladder.
• Trying to blow out all the candles on my birthday cake in one breath.
• I'm afraid I'm guilty of more than one of these superstitions.

[BeauJangles]

Are all superstitions anti-Christian?

Sure looks that way...

[dhchristian]

On 12/7/2019 at 9:24 AM, ReneeIW said:

I know as Christians  we should not be superstitious, but I was wondering if all superstitions were  inherently evil?

Are you saying it wasn't my lucky hat that made the Redwings win all those Stanley cups? I Mean I lost it on a Boat the summer after they won their last Stanley cup, and now they can't seem to win a game.  

[joebloggs]

22 minutes ago, BeauJangles said:

Pretty much this. 

Superstition is any belief or practice that is considered irrational or supernatural [ dubious – discuss ] [ citation needed ] : for example, if it arises from ignorance, a misunderstanding of science or causality, a positive belief in fate or magic, or fear of that which is unknown.

 

So when we are talking about superstition we are actually talking about either

A. irrational beliefs or actions eg phobias. A fear of walking on cracks in the pavement, throwing salt over your shoulder etc.

Or

B.  a belief or a practice of the supernatural. Any belief in the supernatural. I guess witchcraft would be the practice bit? Believing in spirits, ghosts, demons, gods or even our God would be supernatural I guess.

These are the two main clumps of stuff we mean?

 

[BeauJangles]

3 minutes ago, joebloggs said:

So when we are talking about superstition we are actually talking about either

A. irrational beliefs or actions eg phobias. A fear of walking on cracks in the pavement, throwing salt over your shoulder etc.

Or

B.  a belief or a practice of the supernatural. Any belief in the supernatural. I guess witchcraft would be the practice bit? Believing in spirits, ghosts, demons, gods or even our God would be supernatural I guess.

These are the two main clumps of stuff we mean?

 

SUPERSTITION 101

Answer = A,

[joebloggs]

Hang about Jesus is supernatural and so is God. Wouldn't that mean we are superstitious? We believe in something supernatural. And if we believe our bibles then we believe in the dead coming back to life, we believe in demons, we believe in spirits. We believe witchcraft exists and is evil. We believe in exorcism. We believe in supernatural blood atonement rituals. 

So are we superstitious if we are Christians then by our very beliefs?

[joebloggs]

Just now, BeauJangles said:

SUPERSTITION 101

Answer = A,

But you said it's a belief in the supernatural aswell though didnt you?

[joebloggs]

35 minutes ago, BeauJangles said:

Pretty much this. 

Superstition is any belief or practice that is considered irrational or supernatural

 

 

[BeauJangles]

3 minutes ago, joebloggs said:

Hang about Jesus is supernatural and so is God. Wouldn't that mean we are superstitious? We believe in something supernatural. And if we believe our bibles then we believe in the dead coming back to life, we believe in demons, we believe in spirits. We believe witchcraft exists and is evil. We believe in exorcism. We believe in supernatural blood atonement rituals. 

So are we superstitious if we are Christians then by our very beliefs?

Hi, Joe, 

Superstition and the supernatural world of God for instance, are two different things. I can see how it might be easy to confuse the two separate issues, but there is a definite distinction. Here's an example. It's not my preferred choice for reference*, but this might help shed light on the situation. Thanks for asking and God bless! 

Shalom, 

David/BeauJangles 

*Disclaimer: The article below is not necessarily my personal opinion. 

 

Superstition and the Supernatural

Dwight Longenecker 

The reason exorcism films are popular is because it is one of the few phenomena of religious life where the invisible becomes visible, and film makers need action and something to see.

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That's why movies are called "motion pictures."

Exorcism movies are popular, but when you see one what is your reaction?  Will you respond with superstition or supernaturalism?  Superstition is any sort of belief or behavior which is magical.  A magical understanding of religion is primitive, immature and dangerous.  It involves sympathetic magic or an irrational link between certain behaviors and their outcomes.  It means, in some way, we are trying to manipulate things to produce an outcome that we desire.

Sympathetic magic links two otherwise unconnected things together — usually one physical and the other metaphysical and expects a causal result.  So, for example, you have a black cat, and you believe that black cat symbolizes evil, so you cast a spell which you believe transfers the evil to the black cat, then you kill the black cat in order kill the evil.  The form of magic which makes an irrational link between certain behaviors or objects with their outcomes is just as dangerous.  So a person may believe that by walking in a circle clockwise thirteen times and throwing salt over the shoulder will ward off the evil eye.  Similarly, carrying a rabbit's foot or some other talisman to bring good luck or blessing or to ward off evil is a form of magic that makes an irrational link between an object or behavior and the desired result.

The problem is, there are a good number of Christians — especially Catholics, I have to say — whose devotional practices verge on the superstitious.  If a Catholic is living like the devil but wears the brown scapular because the Blessed Virgin promises that anyone who wears it will be delivered from hell, he's being superstitious.  If someone thinks just because they pray this novena or go through the motions to win that indulgence (but they are not properly disposed spiritually) that it will have an automatic benefit they're being superstitious.

It is easy to think that the opposite of being superstitious is to be materialistic and dismissive of everything supernatural.  Untrue.  The true balance to superstition is not materialism, but supernaturalism.  The truly supernatural view is based on the foundational belief that the grace of God is working in our world and through our lives.  It allows for, and expects miracles.  It understands that God's grace comes to us especially through the sacraments and we draw closer to him through sacramentals, but it rejects any magical interpretation, and always involves the human reason and human will in the interaction between this world and the next. 

Furthermore, while there may not be watertight categories and explanations for the working of the supernatural, there are theological reasons and rational interpretations of what happens.  God's working in the world always flows from and is oriented to his primary interaction — the incarnation of His son in human flesh.  All supernatural works of God in the world flow from, and return to Jesus Christ — Son of God and Son of Mary.

With superstition, or what might be called magic, the practitioner is always manipulating the material world in order to manipulate the supernatural world for his own benefit.

The other distinction between the superstitious and the supernatural is the direction of the interaction.  With superstition, or what might be called magic, the practitioner is always manipulating the material world in order to manipulate the supernatural world for his own benefit.  The magician or shaman kills a black cat to kill the evil powers that threaten.  The superstitious person wears a talisman to ward off the evil eye.  The superstitious Catholics says prayers and does penance to get God to give him what we wants.  The superstitious Catholics wears a scapular to escape hell — not as a sign of his constant life of prayer and faith.

Supernaturalism, on the other hand, is God's grace coming to us through the natural world.  In superstition we try to impose our will.  In Supernaturalism we try to conform to God's will.  In superstition we do something to get our way.  In supernaturalism God does something to change us to his way.  This is why when we do bring our prayer requests to God we always include the prayers, "According to your will."

Finally, a word of clarification.  It might sound here like I am opposed to traditional devotions, novenas, indulgences, scapulars etc.  I'm not.  I'm opposed to their unthinking practice, and the  tendency for them to drift into superstition — the tendency to use the devotions of the Church not to conform ourselves to the Divine Will, but to get God to do what we want.

The devotions of the Church are given to us to provide the words and ways for our love of God to be expressed.  They provide a method and system for our contrition, our submission to the Divine Will and a way to draw closer to Christ.  They must be accompanied by true conversion of heart, genuine contrition, true devotion and an unwavering trust in God, in whom we live and move and have our Being.