Divination

Psychologist Julian Jaynes categorized divination according to the following four types:

The attitude of the Bible toward divination is decidedly ambivalent. On the one hand, verses like Deuteronomy 18:10-12 clearly forbid any acts of divination, describing them as something detestable to God. On the other hand Exodus 28 gives members of the priestly class the authority to perform divinatory rituals inside the temple. Priests used the Urim and Thummim to divine the will of Yahweh before times of sacrifice. Divination appears to be condoned in several places in the Hebrew Bible such as the chastisement of Noah, the journey of the sons of Jacob to Egypt, and the selection of a king by Samuel. It appears not so much that divination is forbidden in the Bible, but its use was restricted to people whom God appointed. Divination by members of other religious sects, for example in the context of witchcraft and necromancy, is forbidden.

Divination was considered a pagan practice in the early Christian church. Later the church would pass canon laws forbidding the practice of divination. In 692 the Quinisext Council, also known as the Council in Trullo in the Eastern Orthodox Church, passed canons to eliminate pagan and divination practices. Soothsaying and forms of divination were widespread through the Middle Ages. In the constitution of 1572 and public regulations of 1661 of Kur-Saxony, capital punishment was used on those predicting the future. Laws forbidding divination practice continue to this day.

Both oracles and seers in ancient Greece practiced divination. Oracles were the conduits for the gods on earth; their prophecies were understood to be the will of the gods verbatim. Because of the high demand for oracle consultations and the oracles’ limited work schedule, they were not the main source of divination for the ancient Greeks. That role fell to the seers (manteis in Greek).

The disadvantage to seers was that only direct yes or no questions could be answered. Oracles could answer more generalized questions, and seers often had to perform several sacrifices in order to get the most consistent answer. For example, if a general wanted to know if the omens were proper for him to advance on the enemy, he would ask his seer both that question and if it were better for him to remain on the defensive. If the seer gave consistent answers, the advice was considered valid.

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