Feng Shui seems to be big in the Villages. Is it at odds with Christianity?
 

I understand that there is a big Feng Shui movement in the Villages. A couple of friends of mine, one who is a priest and the other a theologian who teaches at a university say that it is a violation of the first commandment. They say that it is inconsistent with the teaching that God is the only supreme being. As I understand Feng Shui, it teaches that a "force field" is responsible for some things. Some friends of ours near Sumter Landing have had their house painted and landscaping done over to accommodate the Feng Shui beliefs. I am sure there is much more to it than that, but I would be interested in comments from those who believe that Feng Shui controls things in your life.

Re: Feng Shui seems to be big in the Villages. Is it at odds with Christianity?
 

Some people just think too hard!!! Feng Shui while not my style, is harmless and does not cause a Christian to abandon their faith. Me thinks the priest and theologian are thinking much too deeply for this. Tell them to lighten up!!!

Re: Feng Shui seems to be big in the Villages. Is it at odds with Christianity?
 

I agree with Frangyomory. Feng Shui is simply an Eastern belief that causes noharm and if you believe in it gives you some peace of mind. Something we can all use these days. Lighten up is right! People should let others explore new and different things and, as long as it doesn't cause harm to anyone, leave them alone. After all, isn't that what America is all about?

Re: Feng Shui seems to be big in the Villages. Is it at odds with Christianity?
 

True belief in superstition contradicts Christian faith. Read your horoscope (and believe it)....cheat your faith. Possesses and believing in a good luck charm ....sorry cheating. Having your palm read (and beliving it).....is no no. Spilled salt over your shoulder, walking under a ladder, broken mirror....yada yada......believing those bad luck omens....is a no no. The key word is belief...true belief. Remember George Carlin's comedy schtick on the Catholic interpretation of sin....that it's not the committing of a sin per se that counts...it's the intent behind it. That said though, I agree with the other posts in that your compadres, although meaning well, should lighten up a tad. Many lucky rabbit's feet where carried by aviators in WWII and died with 'em.....I think God, infinitely wise and loving, would understand.


For reference on the subject, here's an excerpt from the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

YOU SHALL HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME"

The first commandment forbids honoring gods other than the one Lord who has revealed himself to his people. It proscribes superstition and irreligion. Superstition in some sense represents a perverse excess of religion; irreligion is the vice contrary by defect to the virtue of religion.

Regarding Superstition

Superstition is the deviation of religious feeling and of the practices this feeling imposes. It can even affect the worship we offer the true God, e.g., when one attributes an importance in some way magical to certain practices otherwise lawful or necessary. To attribute the efficacy of prayers or of sacramental signs to their mere external performance, apart from the interior dispositions that they demand, is to fall into superstition.