Superstitious Shadows by A.W. Tozer
Faith honors God by accepting the biblical revelation of the divine character. Faith lets God be what He says He is and adjusts its concepts accordingly.
Superstition degrades the reputation of God by believing things unworthy of Him.
One rests upon fact and the other upon fancy.
As I said before, there is probably a streak of superstition in everyone, even in the genuine Christian.
Any notions we may have of God that have not been corrected and purified by the Word and the Spirit are likely to have some element of error in them, and the religious beliefs resulting from them will of necessity contain a certain amount of superstition.
The Christian who flares indignant at such a statement as this and denies that it describes him is not therefore free from superstition; he merely compounds his faults by adding bigotry and anger to the rest.
But if superstition dishonors God, is it not an evil thing and is not the Christian who harbors it guilty of serious sin against the Majesty in the heavens?
Source Evidence
Edit history
Editorial notes about changes to this quote's text or presentation.
Admin's Thoughts: I once attended a church where I could count on every October bringing a sermon series on the dangers of the month. There was a constant fear of witches, spells, curses, occult symbols, and hidden satanic influences. We would watch documentaries about former occultists. Guest speakers would tell stories about dark rituals. Entire evenings were dedicated to exposing the dangers of Halloween. The thing that always struck me was how much it felt like a Christian haunted house. There was pizza. The kids were there. Everyone sat around listening to stories about demons, witchcraft, secret societies, and spiritual darkness. Fear became the very attraction we were attempting to ward off. I am not denying that the occult is real. Scripture takes the spiritual world seriously. What struck me was how easily Christians can become captivated by the very darkness they claim to be exposing. The Christian life is lived by letting our light shine in the darkness. Light makes darkness scatter. Something else worth remembering is that October 31st is not only Halloween. It is also Reformation Day. While much of the culture spends the day celebrating ghosts, goblins, and superstition, Christians have every reason to remember the day that Martin Luther nailed the Ninety-Five Theses to the church door and helped ignite the Protestant Reformation. Too often Christians act as though every holiday belongs to the devil unless we retreat from it. The Christian faith has never advanced by surrendering territory. Let the world have its haunted houses if it wants them. I'll take hymns, church history, good food, fellowship, and stories about God's faithfulness in reforming His Church. We do not need to live in fear of a date on the calendar. Christ is Lord of October 31st too. Let's reclaim our holidays instead of handing them over.
Community verification
Help verify accuracy, sources, and attribution. Pick one action below — you don't need to fill out everything.
0 ratings
Rate this quote (sign in required)
Sign in to rate this quote and affect community trust scores.
Contribute
Choose what you want to add. Each option opens its own short form.
Discussion
Share context, ask questions, or discuss this quote. Comments are separate from source proposals and verification ratings.
No comments yet.