Definition
Animism (from Latin anima, “breath, spirit, life”) is the belief that all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather, words, buildings and other artifacts—are animate and alive. This belief teaches that the soul or spirit or sentience exists not only in humans, but also in other entities of nature. In this belief, there exists no distinction between the spiritual and physical (or material) world.
And because the followers of this faith believe each anima is a powerful spirit that can help or hurt, they practice Spiritism, witchcraft, divination and astrology to protect them from these spirits. This belief system is typical of many indigenous tribal people around the world.
Animism is found in Hinduism, Mormonism, and the New Age. The teaching that the spirit in man may be a god or can become a god is Satanic and not new. It started from the very beginning of time when the devil told Eve, “You shall be as God” (Genesis 3:5). These words reveal the blasphemous nature of a created being’s words (Isaiah 14:12–14) and the full gravity of his deception.
Animism not Biblical
The Scriptures teach that there is One God, “Before Me there was no god formed, and there will be none after Me” (Isaiah 43:10), and “I am the Lord and there is no other; besides Me there is no god” (Isaiah 45:5). The first commandment emphasizes this fact in protest against the worship of many gods. “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3). Being the Creator of all, the Lord requires that He alone be worshiped.
And the Lord clearly forbids the practices of witchcraft, sorcery, and divination. “A man or a woman who is a medium or a wizard shall be put to death; they shall be stoned with stones, their blood shall be upon them” (Leviticus 20:27). All those that practice idolatry will to be judged by God (Deuteronomy 18; Leviticus 20; Isaiah 47).
In His service,
BibleAsk Team
