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Summary
- Scripture teaches that “the curse causeless shall not come” (Proverbs 26:2); Balaam could not curse Israel, and God “turned the curse into a blessing” (Deuteronomy 23:5).
- Galatians 3:13 says “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law,” the verse John Piper cites against hexes and generational curses.
- Exodus 20:5 speaks of iniquity visited on the children “of them that hate me,” while Ezekiel 18:20 says “The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father.”
- Seven short prayers cover a feared curse, a family pattern, hurtful words, repeated misfortune, blessing the one who cursed, the home and fear at night.
- Saint Patrick’s Breastplate, in Kuno Meyer’s 1911 translation, prays “Against spells of women and smiths and wizards”; Orthodox Easter Matins begins with Psalm 68:1.
- The Catholic Catechism condemns magic and charms (paragraph 2117) and separates exorcism from psychological illness (paragraph 1673); Orthodox baptism includes exorcisms and the renunciation of Satan.
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (1611), text of Project Gutenberg eBook no. 10 (Exodus 20:5–6; Numbers 23:8, 23; Deuteronomy 18:10; 23:5; 24:16; Psalm 68:1; 109:28; 121:7; 139:14; Proverbs 26:2; Ezekiel 18:20; Matthew 6:13; Acts 19:19; Romans 8:39; 12:14; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 3:13; 1 John 4:4). https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10
- Meyer, Kuno, trans. “The Deer’s Cry.” In Selections from Ancient Irish Poetry, pp. 25–27, and notes. London: Constable, 1911. Project Gutenberg eBook no. 32030. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/32030/32030-h/32030-h.htm
- Hapgood, Isabel Florence, trans. Service Book of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Apostolic (Greco-Russian) Church. Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin, 1906. Easter Matins, p. 224; The Office of Holy Baptism, exorcisms and renunciation, pp. 272–275. https://www.ponomar.net/data/hapgood.pdf
- A Manual of Prayers for the Use of the Catholic Laity, prepared and published by order of the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore. New York: Catholic Publication Society, 1888. Christian Faith and Practice, p. 31. https://archive.org/details/AManualOfPrayers1888
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd ed. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1997. Paragraph 1673, https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P58.HTM ; paragraphs 2116–2117, https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P7E.HTM
- Piper, John. “Can My Life Be Plagued by Generational Sins, Hexes, or Curses?” Ask Pastor John, episode 720, Desiring God, 3 November 2015. https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/can-my-life-be-plagued-by-generational-sins-hexes-or-curses
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. https://988lifeline.org/
- Samaritans. “Contact a Samaritan.” https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/
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