This is crazy....
Questions From Readers
• How s hould Christians view fortune cookies?
Fortune cookies are often served as a dessert in Chinese restaurants in the United States and some other countries, but are absent in China. Various immigrant groups in California claim to have popularized them in the early 20th century, basing their recipe on a traditional Japanese cracker. They have been summarized as being "introduced by the Japanese, popularized by the Chinese, but ultimately ... consumed by Americans."
A fortune cookie is a crisp cookie usually made from flour, sugar, vanilla, and sesame seed oil with a "fortune" wrapped inside. A "fortune" is a piece of paper with words of wisdom or a vague prophecy. The message may include a Chinese phrase with translation or a list of lucky numbers used by some as lottery numbers.
Many persons view these cookies and the message inside them as harmless fun but for true Christians, there are hidden spiritual dangers. Much of what the world views as entertainment is condemned by Jehovah God and this would include the eating of fortune cookies and reading the "fortunes" contained within them. This is tantamount to spiritism, a practice that Jehovah condemns.
If a group of Christians were to patron a Chinese restaurant, consider how the actions of just one person who discusses the message found in a fortune cookie could caffect the whole group. How much better it is to heed the following advice: "therefore if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat flesh at all, that I may not make my brother stumble" (1 Corinthians 8:13).
Some brothers and sisters have been known to openly discuss the meaning of their "fortunes". Some have even been known to buy lottery tickets using the numbers provided in these cookies. Such action constitues blatant disregard against Jehovah's commandments and the direction he provides through the "faithful and discreet slave class" (Matthew 24:44,45). If a brother or sister were to pay attention to the words contained inside a fortune cookie, this could lead to an unhealty occupation with the occult. If we were to ignore the Scriptural counsel provided by the "faithful and discreet slave class", we could develop traits that could result in willful sin against the spirit, the loss of Jehovah’s favor, and eventual destruction ( Matthew 12:31, 32 ).
The Devil's goal is to turn everyone away from Jehovah and he does this by making this system of things look as enticing as possible. Let us continue to resist the spirit of the world and pay "more than the usual attention" to the things that Jehovah's organization warns us against (Hebrews 2:1).
