TLEM
True Light Educational Ministry
Then
you will
know the Truth and the Truth will set you free ( John
8:32)
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OUIJA
BOARDS AND COMMUNICATION WITH THE DEAD
When a
person is separated from a loved one they seek communications with that
person. If the person in another state they will call or write. If the person
has deceased some people will seek psychic mediums or other means in attempts
to make communication. One of those means is the Ouija board. Unfortunately,
many today do not understand the workings, or know the history of the Ouija
board. The so-called "board game" is manufactured by the Parker
Brothers and sold in toy stores between other board games such as Monopoly and
Scrabble. However, when we examine its history we clearly discover it is
neither a board game nor a toy.
Talking
boards have existed in many parts of the world for centuries. For example in
China as far back as 500 B.C. the use of Ouija-like instruments were
commonplace, used as ways to communicate with the spirits of the dead. In
Greece, the philosopher Pythagoras (ca 550 B.C.) encouraged his disciples to
make use of Ouija-like instruments to unearth revelations "from the
unseen world." The third-century Rome and Egypt, and thirteenth-century
A.D. Mongols, all had forms of talking boards for the express purpose of
contacting spirits. The North American Indians long before Columbus' arrival
used instruments they called squdilatc boards to locate lost articles and
missing persons. It was also used by the Indians to transmit information as to
when and how certain religious ceremonies should be performed. Modern use of
the boards date back to 1853 when M. Planchette, a French Spiritualist,
invented a board that used a little heart shaped, three-legged platform with a
pencil as the front leg. This platform was called a "planchette."
When the user placed his fingers on the planchette and the platform over a
piece of paper and then asked questions, when it worked, the pencil wrote
coherent messages on the paper.
In 1889
Elihah J. Bond invented the Ouija board, and in 1891 he patented it in the
United States. In 1892 William Fuld, an enterprising Presbyterian bought out
Bond and in 1982 filed for another patent. Fuld who claims the Ouija board
advised him to set up the Southern Novelty Company in Baltimore, Maryland. He
eventually changed the name to the Baltimore Talking Board Company. Their
product: the Oriole Talking Boards. They were also known as the "Magic
Talking Boards" and the "Mystifying Oracle." With these boards
the pencil was removed and the three legged planchette passed over a smooth
board on which the letters of the alphabet, the numbers 0 to 9, and the words
"Yes" or "No," and "good-bye." The earlier
boards had a left-facing crescent moon and a star (known as the satanic
crescent) adjacent to the word "No," and a five-pointed star inside
the circle (reminiscent of the pentagram) in the bottom right-hand corner.
They did away with the star in later versions. Fuld named the talking board
Ouija from the French "oui" (yes) and the German "ja"
(yes). He claims the board itself suggested the name. Some occult traditions
hold that demons and other undesirable entities cannot fully operate in a
person's life unless invited or welcomed. "Yes,Yes" certainly
implies a welcome to them.
The
Talking Boards were a national rage during the First and Second World Wars,
when people desperately wanted to know the fate of their loved ones in battle.
There is a revival of Spiritism during times of war and other catastrophes.
Also, during the early 1900's the Talking Boards became fashionable among the
ladies as a parlor game. By 1920 William Fuld had sold over three million
boards. Those large sales alerted the IRS who wanted to collect taxes on the
boards sold. The IRS took the case to the courts in 1920 contending the Ouija
board was a game, and as was taxable. The lawyer for the defense, Allen Fisher
said, "We contend that it [the Ouija board] is a form of medium-ship for
communication between this world and the next and therefore does not in any
sense constitute a game or sport. By means of this board one is enabled to get
in touch with the other side." An attorney, Washington Bowie, supported
this view when he described the board as "a medium of communication
between this world and the next." The court ruled against the Baltimore
Talking Board Company and they were forced to pay taxes. The Supreme Court
refused to hear the case and the lower court ruling stood. Thus it was the IRS
and not the inventors or manufacturer of the board that determined it was a
game and not a spiritual tool. That determination was based solely on the
money made from the sales of the board and not in any way the use of the
boards.
During
the occult revival of the 1960's the board again soared in popularity, to the
point that in 1966 Parker Brothers bought the rights to the Ouija board and
moved its production to Salem, Massachusetts. During its first year over two
million boards were sold, outselling Parker Brothers' Monopoly. The Parker
Brothers offer no solution to what makes the board work. They did publish a
brochure in response to questions about the board. The brochure suggests three
possible reasons the board works. These reasons vary from imperceptible
muscular movements caused by messages originating in the conscious or
subconscious mind to contact with the spirits of the dead or evil spirits.
One of
the world's foremost occult historians, Manly P. Hall stated in 1979;
The
Ouija board driven from most of the civilized countries of the world, is a
psychic toy that has contributed many tragedies to man's mortal state.
Automatic writing (an advanced form of Ouija), a weird, fascinating pastime,
may end in a wide variety of disasters. He who listens too often to the
whispering of the "spirit" may find his angels to be demons in
disguise man should leave alone those forces which may only lead
to madness.
Following
the definition of the Ouija the Donning International Encyclopedic Psychic
Dictionary adds:
a
dangerous tool when used by one not well grounded in psychic sciences and
knowledge of beforehand preparation; when used as a game for those unfamiliar
with psychic tuning it has been known to draw the inferior entities to move
the indicator; this inferior entity fools the user and can lead to dangerous
physical phenomena.
If, and
there is little doubt, that outside sources can be responsible for the
operation of the Ouija Board, it is an occultic practice. Often the content of
the messages goes beyond what could be in the conscious or subconscious mind
of the operator. There have been many cases of possession reported after a
period of Ouija board use. This supports the claim of outside contact made
through the board. It appears that as the operator becomes fascinated with the
board it leads him to dependence and to the surrender of his will. This leads
to the answers to questions in the mind before they are spelled out on the
board. At this time the board may be discarded, and in its place the operator
may hear a voice or voices.
Psychologists,
psychiatrists, medical doctors, theologians and many other informed people
have made strong statements warning of the dangers of Ouija boards.
It is
important to know that the use of the Ouija board in hopes on communicating
with a deceased loved one that you are not in contact with them. The messages
if coming from the other side are coming from demons and not spirits of the
deceased.
As
Christians we should avoid all contact with the Ouija board. The Scriptures
forbid occult involvement (Lev. 19:31; 20:6, 27; Deut. 18:10-11; 1 Sam. 28:3,
7) The messages are often false, obscene, and contrary to Biblical truths.
Christians cannot interpret supernatural phenomena associated with the Ouija
board as manifestations of departed spirits. The Bible clearly teaches that
the human spirit does not wander after death but immediately goes to either
heaven or hell. Such expressions as "at home with the Lord" (2 Cor.
5:8) or "to depart and be with Christ (Phil. 1:23) teach that believers
go to heaven after death. In the account of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke
16, the rich man was in hades (v.23) and "there is a great chasm
fixed" between the redeemed and the unredeemed (v. 26). The Scriptures
clearly tell Christians to seek God and His Word: "And when they say to
you, 'Consult the mediums and spiritists who whisper and mutter,' should not a
people consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the
living? To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to
this word, it is because they have no dawn" (Isa. 8:19-20). It is also a
Christians duty to speak out against the use of the Ouija board to others so
they don't fall prey to its' teachings.
For
Additional Information Contact
True
Light Educational Ministry
P.O. Box
310
Shirley,
NY 11967
Telephone
(631) 395-4646
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