can i be a Christian and spiritual at the same time?

???

What do you mean by 'spiritual'? Isn't anyone who's religious 'spiritual' in some sense...?
@The_Lonely_Goatherd or @heldbygrace may have more Christian-specific tips or enlighten me if spiritual means something specific within Christianity that I don't know about :smile:

Reply 2

lalalandoo

OP

12

Original post by becausethenight

What do you mean by 'spiritual'? Isn't anyone who's religious 'spiritual' in some sense...?
@The_Lonely_Goatherd or @heldbygrace may have more Christian-specific tips or enlighten me if spiritual means something specific within Christianity that I don't know about :smile:

i meant spirituality like, connecting with nature and manifesting and stuff

Reply 3

becausethenight

19

Original post by lalalandoo

i meant spirituality like, connecting with nature and manifesting and stuff

Like Paganism? I don't think following two religions at once is kosher for any religion...?
I am really not a Christian expert so will pull out of any explicit theological discussion, but am fairly certain monotheism is a key requirement.

(edited 2 years ago)

Reply 4

Laurenalexa.x

17

Spirituality is just believing in a greater power or purpose. So if you are religious, you are spiritual 😂
I get what you mean, i would think you could connect with nature since you believe god made nature. Not sure about manifestation. But there are christians who practice witchcraft so im sure it should be fine

Reply 5

londonmyst

19

Yes.

But if your spiritual beliefs involve any enthusiasm for things like: crystals, tarot, spiritualists churches, ouija boards, seances or anything involving psychics- prepare for lots of fire&brimstone style criticism from the fundamentalist camp and plenty of noise nuisance from the hardliners of the orthodox and traditionalists wings of Christendom.

Reply 6

PenguinNexus

7

I think it depends on your definition of 'spiritual' but I'd refer to the following verses:

1 John 4:1 ESV
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Daniel 2:27 ESV
Daniel answered the king and said, “No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked,

There are many other verses on this topic as well, but essentially only God can actually change things in this world, mediums and other spiritualist things cannot - and these often dabble within evil, and we should know that we must not give the devil a foothold over our lives (Ephesians 4:27).

I would seek the advice of your pastor or pray about the situation, but you only need the Holy Trinity (God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit) to provide what you need, not spiritual or earthly things.

Hope this helps :smile:

Reply 7

lalalandoo

OP

12

I am so grateful for all your responses,so now,my main question is manifesting.....is it bad for christians? like asking the universe for stuff

Reply 8

The_Lonely_Goatherd

20

Original post by lalalandoo

I am so grateful for all your responses,so now,my main question is manifesting.....is it bad for christians? like asking the universe for stuff

I guess the question would be why you are asking "the universe" for stuff, when you could (and, some would argue, should?) be asking God!

Put another way: what do you understand "the universe" to mean, and how does that compare to your understanding of "God"? Which one - if any - has power, and why?

Reply 9

lalalandoo

OP

12

Original post by The_Lonely_Goatherd

I guess the question would be why you are asking "the universe" for stuff, when you could (and, some would argue, should?) be asking God!

Put another way: what do you understand "the universe" to mean, and how does that compare to your understanding of "God"? Which one - if any - has power, and why?

yes that is my question.....well,to me,the 'universe' is believing in energy,connecting with nature,like,the thoughts you have can become your reality and of course God has greater power...but then that's exactly why I'm asking the question,I don't quite understand what the universe is,I feel like I want to get spiritual but idk if its a sin to believe in the universe as worshipping other gods is a sin as a Christian,you know?

Reply 10

The_Lonely_Goatherd

20

Original post by lalalandoo

yes that is my question.....well,to me,the 'universe' is believing in energy,connecting with nature,like,the thoughts you have can become your reality and of course God has greater power...but then that's exactly why I'm asking the question,I don't quite understand what the universe is,I feel like I want to get spiritual but idk if its a sin to believe in the universe as worshipping other gods is a sin as a Christian,you know?

A lot of denominations probably would take issue with such things, tbh. So I guess it boils down to two things: what your particular denomination says about it, and how dogmatic or not you want to be within that denomination! For example, I'm Roman Catholic but not the most obediant one. I believe and do lots of things that I (technically) "shouldn't", but I can live with being labelled a terrible Catholic :yep:

So being thought of as a bad Catholic doesn't bother me :nah:

That said: whilst I do believe some have psychic abilities and personally take no huge issue with the principles manifesting or connecting with nature in a loose sense, I don't put "the universe" before God. I take all my questions and wishes to God or Jesus. It does feel odd to me that you'd believe in the Christian God but then be asking the universe for things, when you could/should just approach God? :dontknow:

Then again, I come from what can be regarded as a very superstitious denomination, so I can't judge you for it :tongue:

Have you asked any faith leaders in your community what your particular denomination's line on this is?

Reply 11

Ten-Ten

19

Original post by lalalandoo

I am so grateful for all your responses,so now,my main question is manifesting.....is it bad for christians? like asking the universe for stuff

Yes

Reply 12

username5804874

14

Yes, asking the "universe" for stuff is not Christian. We don't worship the "universe", we worship God.

Meditation and mysticism can be Christian. People like St Ignatius of Loyola and St John of the Cross were Christian mystics and are responsible for a lot of Christian meditation, and the Rosary is a form of meditation. Things like yoga, reiki, New Age stuff, astrology, etc aren't Christian because they're either inherently pagan concepts (like yoga) or encourage you to trust in created forces instead of God (like astrology and fortune telling).