Superstitions and Christians

1030 a.m on Friday saw my parents sitting amongst wedding guests in a jam-packed Catholic Cathedral in Trivandrum. Though the wedding was to commence at 1030, the priest was waiting patiently at the altar and the groom was spotted lounging in his car. Every movement of the clock’s hand saw an increase in the tempo of disquietude and murmurs. The priest remained composed but when the clock ticked 1100, my parents decided upon getting out of the church for a breath of fresh air (literally). Interestingly, they found the ‘wedding party’ (bride, groom, their families, friends etc) had assembled outside and were waiting complacently. Soon, the clock ticked past 1115, past 1130, and soon past 1145.

This was when the priest emerged from the cathedral only to find the sloths engaging in small talk. A brief conversation with the relatives revealed that they were waiting for the ending of the raghu kaalam at 1200. The irate priest grabbed the groom by the coat and dragged him into the Cathedral, despite the bride’s father bellowing in fury. With great reluctance, the angered family followed the groom and the ceremony commenced at 1150, 10 minutes before the ending of the raaghu kaalam.

Some of you might be perplexed. Raaghu kaalam is a Hindu custom based on astrological findings. It refers to the unfavorable hours every day when auspicious events (weddings, engagements, christenings, house warming, visiting people, buying luxurious items, operations) shouldn’t be held. Failure to do so will be consequent in doom. There is something similar called guilya kaalam but my knowledge is limited. Most Hindus also follow other traditions such a jaathakam (the marriage compatibility charts which also has a fair amount of past, present and future predictions), prashnam chollal (predicting future using parrots and tarots), and predicting future from nature (for eg: the position of the wall gecko when it croaks, the number of times, the time of croaking etc).

But why should ‘Christians’ follow such superstitions? If the wedding party above were keen on avoiding the raaghu kaalam, they could have scheduled their wedding at an alternative time instead of infuriating the guests and the priest. This is not a remote incident- At his farewell sermon many years ago, the outgoing pastor chided the stone-faced parishioners for rampantly resorting to superstitions (such as the ones described above) and witchcraft. Once he was invited to conduct a house warming service at a parishioner’s home and he arrived early to find a poojari (Hindu priest) conducting their rituals! But throughout the Bible, we find that the Lord hates witchcraft and superstitions. In particular are the following verses:

Deuteronomy 18:10 in which the Lord commands via Moses: There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch.

And in Leviticus 19:26: Ye shall not eat any thing with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times.

The following passages in II Kings:-

17:17 And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.

21:6 And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.

Later in 2 Chronicles 33:6:And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.

And Paul in Galatians 5:19-20: Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies..