Why I Became an Atheist: A Former Preacher Rejects Christianity by Loftus John W

Author:Loftus, John W. [Loftus, John W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Prometheus Books
Published: 2012-10-10T00:00:00+00:00

MAGIC, DIVINATION, AND DREAMS

When the Jews were held in captivity in Babylonia, King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream. Never mind for a minute that it's claimed Daniel told him the dream and also interpreted it, because whether he did this or not is what's in question here. I want us to consider the religious culture surrounding the ruler of a great empire. We read, “In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his mind was troubled and he could not sleep. So the king summoned the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers to tell him what he had dreamed. When they came in and stood before the king, he said to them, ‘I have had a dream that troubles me and I want to know what it means’” (Daniel 2:1–3). Nebuchadnezzar believed that dreams came from the gods as divine communication. And he had magicians and sorcerers upon whom he depended to advise him and help run his country (see Dan. 5:7). How would it go over today if the president had such advisers? But it was acceptable to the ancient people Nebuchadnezzar ruled. Unlike Nebuchadnezzar's advisers, modern presidential advisers think through the problems and try their best to come up with reasoned answers. But what if one adviser were to say, “I read my tea leaves today and they say we should attack Iraq”?

Since Daniel himself was appointed by King Nebuchadnezzar to be in charge of his “wise men” (Dan. 2:48), which included magicians, enchanters, astrologers, and diviners (Dan. 5:11), let's take a look at two of these practices and ask ourselves how Daniel, supposedly a monotheistic Jew, could be in charge of them when they practiced the arts of magic and divination.

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