What is animism?

Answer

Animism is the belief that everything has a soul or spirit, an anima in Latin, including animals, plants, rocks, mountains, rivers, and stars. Animists believe each anima is a powerful spirit that can help or hurt them and should be worshipped, feared, or attended to in some way. Animism is a primitive religion whose followers have deified animals, stars, and various idols for thousands of years, and engaged in practices such as spiritism, witchcraft, divination, and astrology. They employ magic, spells, enchantments, superstitions, amulets, talismans, charms, or anything they believe will protect them from evil spirits and appease the benevolent spirits present in all things.

Aspects of animism can be found in several false religions, including Hinduism, Mormonism, and various New Age cults. False religions often suggest that the spirit within humans is essentially divine, and that adhering to the practices of the religion will enable individuals to recognize and cultivate this divine spirit within them, aspiring to become divine themselves. This deception echoes the ancient lie propagated by Satan in the Garden of Eden when he tempted Adam and Eve by declaring, “You shall be as God” «for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. », (Genesis 3:5).

The Bible unequivocally affirms the existence of one God, who created everything from the angels in heaven to the grains of sand on the beach «In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. », (Genesis 1:1). Any religion promoting the belief in multiple gods is promoting falsehood. “Before Me there was no god formed, and there will be none after Me” «Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I haveChosen: “That ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.” (Isaiah 43:10). “I am the Lord and there is no other; besides Me there is no god” “I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me.” (Isaiah 45:5). The worship of false gods, who are not gods at all, is a sin God especially hates because it robs Him of the glory that is rightfully His. A check of any Bible concordance on the subject of idolatry will show how many times God forbade the worship of false gods.

In addition, the Bible strictly forbids the practices of animists. “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” “A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.” (Leviticus 20:27). The practice of animism opens a door for demons to enter into the lives of people who are deceived by the lie that is animism. The Bible condemns those who practice spiritism in very strong terms: abominations to God, stone them to death, the fire shall burn them (Deuteronomy 18; Leviticus 20; Isaiah 47).

As with all false religions, animism is simply another scheme of Satan, the father of lies. Yet many throughout the world are being deceived by the “adversary, the devil, [who] walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Peter 5:8).

1 Peter 5:8.