The Ideomotor Effect is Also Involved in Divination Methods
However, there are times where there was no evil spirit involved but rather there is the ideomotor effect. How does the ideomotor effect work? Here's how it is defined by BBC:
Ouija board cups and dowsing wands – just two examples of mystical items that seem to move of their own accord, when they are really being moved by the people holding them. The only mystery is not one of a connection to the spirit world, but of why we can make movements and yet not realise that we're making them.
The phenomenon is called the ideomotor effect and you can witness it yourself if you hang a small weight like a button or a ring from a string (ideally more than a foot long). Hold the end of the string with your arm out in front of you, so the weight hangs down freely. Try to hold your arm completely still. The weight will start to swing clockwise or anticlockwise in small circles. Do not start this motion yourself. Instead, just ask yourself a question – any question – and say that the weight will swing clockwise to answer "Yes" and anticlockwise for "No". Hold this thought in mind, and soon, even though you are trying not to make any motion, the weight will start to swing in answer to your question.
Magic? Only the ordinary everyday magic of consciousness. There's no supernatural force at work, just tiny movements you are making without realising. The string allows these movements to be exaggerated, the inertia of the weight allows them to be conserved and built on until they form a regular swinging motion. The effect is known as Chevreul's Pendulum, after the 19th Century French scientist who investigated it.
So what does the Bible have to say? One could take a look at how reprobate the human mind is and that the ideomotor effect is a result of the ill effects of sin. The wicked mind starts to play and demons can manipulate the mind. Remember when Saul was harassed by an evil spirit? Surely, he did nothing supernatural but you can't deny a demon was involved. The wicked mind could be at help with this ideomotor effect. One example would be the use of a dowsing rod used in a Taoist temple or any pagan temple. I remembered how an interpreter would actually use this dowsing rod while corn grains are used in this divination ritual. I was theorizing that the evil spirit behind the idol could have influenced it. Then again if nothing physically unusual is happening on the surface then the diviner is subjected to the ideomotor effect. I have never seen them using it with their eyes closed. If they started moving around with certain calligraphy then it must be the ideomotor effect. If there are demons involved then the influence was more on the mind of the interpreter who actually believes he or she has that power to determine that the spirits want to say.
Some may say that there's no real magic involved but only petty deceptive sleight of hand. Some have even proven that the magicians of Egypt namely Jannes and Jambres were actually using sleight of hand magic in their sorcery. The whole "replication" made it look like said magicians turned water into blood. If it happened then God allowed it to happen so the Pharaoh will further reveal his stubborn nature. It was most likely bloody red colored dye. The other one is where the staffs into serpents was different. Moses presented his staff that really turned into a snake. The two sorcerers were using various tricks such as pressing the nape of a snake and making it stiff or that there was a certain type of snake that could be stiff. In short, Pharaoh may have just thought Moses was making petty illusions even when his serpent swallowed up the others and turned back into a rod. This would show that while the occult does have some power but they can't match the power of God. The magicians of Egypt were just well show magicians who probably believed that their illusions were not illusions.
What we still can't deny that demons are still able to cause physical harm, do counterfeit wonders or possess people. While not every act of divination involves demon possession but we can't discount it. The Bible documents demon possession to be very real. True, not every act of insanity or divination is a demon possession but you can't deny that it exists either. Sometimes, said diviner is simply under the deception of his sinful mind that resulted to the ideomotor effect. However, there have been some cases where the demon behind the idol of certain pagan temples can harass worshipers who fail to fulfill their promise after a certain wish or pact is granted. Sometimes, God may even allow Satan and his minions to have a certain degree of power just like He seldom allows false prophets to prophesy the truth (Deuteronomy 13:2) in order to expose falsehoods or show to people their hidden faults.
Having more knowledge in sciences also further helps justify why God has a lot of dos and don'ts. The mind is being constantly plagued with faults because the world is fallen. How can you trust something done by the ideomotor effect in contrast to God's perfect written word? The discovery of ideomotor effect doesn't undermine the Word of God. Rather, it proves how the sinful reprobate mind leads to deception. If demons were ever involved then it's in the manipulation of said mind even if nothing unusual like a floating object or the grains of corn simply spelled out calligraphic characters without the interpreter's dowsing rod was happening at that very moment of divination. This is proof that you can't trust your reprobate mind. The solution is found in 1 Corinthians 10:5-7 to cast down all vain imaginations because they aren't God-honoring.
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