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Do Christ and Crystals Go Together? (Days 78-84 of Quitting the Bible)

Do Christ and Crystals Go Together? (Days 78-84 of Quitting the Bible)

Last updated on: September 25, 2018 at 9:55 pm by Dr. Sam Kline

Do Christ and Crystals Go Together? (Days 78-84 of Quitting the Bible) 2018-09-25T21:55:31-04:00 Dr. Sam Kline

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I attended a crystal workshop.

Although I have some experiences I could discuss from days seventy-eight through eighty-four of my year-long pause from Bible Study that could make things seem more on the proper Christian up and up, I choose this experience.

I believe there are more of us Christians with beliefs that do not fit neatly within the religious constraints of the pulpit than we care to reveal.

According to the Pew Research Center, 29% of those highly involved in religious congregations and active in faith practices, typed as Sunday Stalwarts, believe spiritual energy can be found in “physical things, such as mountain, trees, or crystals.”

A staggering 95% of another highly religious type, The Diversely Devout, share this belief. Most people in this group express faith in God “as described in the Bible.”

Therefore, I believe there needs to be more space in churches for critical exchanges about these possibly hidden beliefs. I perceive that people of different faiths, Christians included, do not want to experience a customized Salem witch trial for going public about things they believe, are interested in, or exploring.

Freedom and progress do not happen when all of us remain shrinking back in a shadowy corner.

Yes, I went to a crystal workshop.

Because of Jesus.

In this post, I discuss my decision to attend the crystal workshop, my impression, and the influence of contemporary Western paradigms.

If You Have Jesus, Why Go to a Crystal Workshop?

You might ask, “If you have Jesus in your heart, why would you attend a crystal workshop?”

I believe in Christ. I believe in God.

I believe in miracles. I believe in the goodness of humankind.

I believe in a world beyond the pages of the Bible and the brick and mortar houses of worship.

I believe in love.

I believe I am starting to sound melodramatic.

With all of my beliefs, I have been curious about the functional aspect of crystals outside of aesthetics and Biblical metaphors.

As an example, for the longest time, whenever I read about Jacob using a stone for a pillow, I thought things like, “If I used a rock for a pillow, I would need a chiropractic adjustment, a deep tissue massage, a Rolfing session, and a chai tea latte made with coconut milk. This is just the first step.”

Considering the dream that he had about the ladder to heaven, I wondered in amusement about the properties of Jacob’s stone pillow.

You might say that Jacob had the same reaction, for when he woke up, Jacob stood the stone upright and anointed it.

Stories like Jacob’s dream, which transpired while sleeping on probably the firmest pillow known to humankind, piqued my curiosity. Although I could see the “Jesus as the rock” symbolism, I wanted to explore more.

The Bible contains a treasure of things here and there that invite my curiosity, with different accounts of and references to gems and crystals.

If rocks, crystals, and gems mean little to nothing to God other than symbols, pillows, and aesthetics, then why mention them so much or at all? Why are they precious and valuable?

Scarcity gets at part of the puzzle.

For example, common sense seems to be scarce at times, but I do not see people rushing to pay a premium to remove the lack of it, myself included.

Also, the world has over seven billion people, far from scarce, and all life is precious.

I am comfortable with the puzzle.

I do not feel the hurry to have everything figured out like I used to.

This shift continues to be a massive one for me.

If I need to have it all figured out to believe in God, then where is faith, anyway?

Last week, I experienced another way that I can abide in Christ with my curiosity.

I believe God enjoys our curiosity. Curiosity turns the fear that distances us from the unknown or the other into a loving path that seeks to connect.

Beyond the Bling

As for the workshop, when you are surrounded by people who are givers and healers, a beauty happens likened to Jacob’s ladder connecting heaven and earth.

Throughout the workshop, the facilitators did not condemn me for believing in Christ.

In case you didn’t know, Christians do not have the corner on self-righteousness judgment.

The instructors were clear about not worshipping and relying on crystals.

It reminded me of the ways we can idolizing the Bible to the point that we miss God.

Something about the attendees I met left a profound impression on me. The participants co-created a space where diversity was simultaneously welcomed and, in some ways, transcended.

More and more, I have been encountering people whose spirituality does not make one go to these colorblind racist practices where the ego likes to hide. These individuals have been teachers here and there, pointing me higher and pushing my beliefs.

If anything, I felt such a reassurance of God’s love, mainly as I reflected on the moment I began my journey of striving to follow the Christ path.

I felt like I touched a faint whisper of the perfect love that casts out fear because I experienced the joy that comes when we value people as God’s creation.

Already Believers?

I do seek to convince you about the functionality and use of crystals because most of us are already believers.

Contemporary Western paradigms influence Christians more than many of us recognize.

In other words, most of us are using crystals in our lives without the wonder-working power of the blood of the Jesus.

For example, the quartz watch is not “quartz” because it sounds cute.

The graphite (often combined with other materials) in pencils are alleged tools of Satan in our children’s Sunday school classes.

Your mobile devices and radios use some form of crystal-based technology.

Your pastors and first ladies “going live” on social media on their way to church services are using all kinds of crystal technology for the glory (shout: Gloooowww-ray) of the kingdom of Gawd.

LED lights, lasers, LCD displays, and the one-eyed devil, commonly known as the television, use crystal technology.

Silicon, whether from naturally derived or used with lab-created crystals, has a ubiquitous presence in industrialized nations.

Perhaps you thought a USB flash drive was revolutionary to the floppy disk, but researchers have developed eternal 5D data storage by femtosecond laser writing. It is called the “Superman memory crystal.”

Properties include “360 TB/disc data capacity, thermal stability up to 1,000°C and virtually unlimited lifetime at room temperature (13.8 billion years at 190°C) opening a new era of eternal data archiving.”

As I write, our world has a Bible stored on a Superman memory crystal that will most likely outlive you, me, and your great, great, great, great, great, great, great, not enough greats, great-grandchildren.

You can read more about the fascinating 5D memory crystal technology here.

With this being said, does it make us godlier to use crystals in our clocks than holding them?

As for the area of medicine, you might know someone who doesn’t think twice about taking synthetic chemicals in the form of medication prescribed by a doctor to treat, not heal or cure, sickness.

This paradigm of treating sickness and disease counters the model of visiting a healer. What makes modern Western medicine inherently godly versus, for example, traditional Chinese medicine?

Am I supposed to believe that synthetic pharmaceuticals are inherently more divine than plants?

I bring up these examples because numbers of us grant so much credit and power to our theology of the devil that we minimize the power of God.

Either the devil is busy, or more Christians might want to consider looking at our social and cultural influences in our spirituality.

Closing

We have created these paradigms of evil, where we selectively vilify a people, thing, or belief over another based on prevailing cultural norms. By attaching religious value without evaluating the socio-historical roots of a field, we privilege one form of science and technology over another without exploring the validity of various kinds.

I suggest reviewing a range of perspectives because we might benefit from multiple cultural ways of seeing and drawing from the resources of the earth.

All of us draw from cultural paradigms and have blind spots.

It’s neither good nor bad. It’s human reality.

As for my experience at the crystal workshop, I did not abandon the Lord to hold crystals, wave crystals, dance with crystals, or drink Crystal Light, which I have not drunk in a long time.

Time flies.

I know because I just checked my watch.

Three Points of Wisdom from Days 78-84

You can abide in Christ with your curiosity.
Exploring and appreciating creation can draw you closer to God.
Cultural perspectives of science and technology can influence your spirituality and vice-versa.

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