Simon the sorceror Archives

Religious Holy Waters and Scams — Ganges Holy Water on Amazon.com

There is almost no limit to what various religious hucksters will do to make money and persuade others to join their religious systems. Selling religious holy waters and scams is nothing new. The Bible records instances where deceivers tried to convince people to buy into their false claims.

In Acts 8:9-24, we read about a magician named Simon who convinced others of his powers by performing magic tricks they did not understand. When Simon saw Peter and John perform miracles, he tried to buy their ability. In Acts 19:11-16, seven sons of a Jewish priest saw Paul perform exorcisms. When they tried to duplicate that, the man leaped on them, overpowered them, and forced them to run away naked and injured. We might smile at these misguided attempts to scam people by religious charlatans, but the problem still exists today.

You can buy a variety of Holy Waters on Amazon.com. Some believe that water blessed by a Catholic priest can cure diseases or purify something unclean. In Islam, water from the Zamzam well is sold in Mecca for $64.99 for 5 liters and is said to work miracles and provide benefits. Water from the River Jordan, claimed to purify those who drink it and cure illnesses, is sold for $9.29 for 300 ml. For Hindus, the waters of the Ganges River are sold for $8.99 for 100 ml.

It is essential to note that the Bible never presents water of any kind as having any medical benefit. A popular country song by Carrie Underwood titled “Something In the Water” talks about baptism. The truth is, the power isn’t in the water; it’s in the blood of Christ, given for our sins. In Christian baptism, we are buried with Christ and raised to walk in newness of life. (See Romans 6.) Don’t waste your money on religious holy waters and scams. The salvation Christ offers is free because He paid for it.

Reference: Skeptical Inquirer, May/June 2023, pages 30-31, and Amazon.com.

Religion Is a Way to Make Money I Timothy 6:4-5 “He has an elevated opinion of himself, being without knowledge, but dotes on an unhealthy love of questionings and war of words which leads only to envy, division, insults, insinuations and wranglings of men corrupted in mind and destitute of truth who think religion is a way to make money.”

The above description could be a description of some atheists I know. It also could be describing some religious figures who claim to be Christians. I think every lectureship I have ever done contained a person who dominated the question/answer session and attempted to impugn my motives. Atheists tend to believe that all religious speakers are hypocrites just in it for the money. Religious figures have desired to take over our ministry and link it to theirs so they could increase their income. Others seemed to believe that our outreach was taking paying contacts away from them.

This is not a new issue. The Bible has many accounts of this same kind of attitude. Acts 8 tells about a man named Simon who believed that religion is a way to make money. He had used sorcery “and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that he was a great one” (Verse 9). When he saw the power of the apostles, he tried to buy it (verses 18-19). Peter told him, “Your money will perish with you because you have thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.” Acts 19:13-14 tells a fascinating story of the seven sons of Sceva who are called “vagabond Jewish exorcists.” They had a colossal failure when they tried to merchandise the religious tools of the apostles to help people who had serious problems.

There are con artists today who believe religion is a way to make money. I don’t know of any human enterprise where greed is not involved, including atheist and skeptic projects. However, for every religious con artist out there, there are hundreds of people who do their ministry with no pay at all. No one gets rich in running a food pantry or a day-care center or a prison ministry. For every TV evangelist making money, there are dozens of people supporting themselves with a secular job while using their resources to do what God has called them to do.

The passage in 1 Timothy 6 cited earlier ends with Paul saying: “Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And if we have food and shelter, let us be content with that. But they that want to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil: which some have coveted, erring from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (Verses 6-10).

Just for the record – your author does not receive a salary from this ministry and supports himself with his 41 years of teaching science in the South Bend Community Schools Corporation.