Question Box
Good News Magazine
June 1961
Volume: Vol X, No. 6
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Question Box
Good News Staff  

I am planning to drill a well on my property. My wife suggested that I have her brother, who is a water diviner, locate the most likely place to drill. I have heard that this method is sometimes successful, but have felt that it might come under "divination" as condemned in the Bible. What is the truth about this?

   Here are the facts about "water witching." Water divining is widely practiced all over the world — even in the United States, Britain, Canada, and Australia. Yet very few people know just what water divining really is or where it came from. And most are ignorant of what the Bible has to say about it.
   Water divining — also known as "water witching" and "water dowsing" — is the art of seeking underground water by means of a divining rod. The commonly used rod is a forked stick which the "diviner" holds by the forks in each hand with the stock pointing outward or upward. As the diviner walks over the ground the stick suddenly twists in his hands as though by a powerful, invisible force. The stick points downward, supposedly indicating the presence of underground water. At times there is water; at other times there is NONE!
   Water witching is mentioned in the Bible! Hosea prophesied that people today would be using this very practice! "My people ask counsel at their stock and their staff [or "divining rod," see Critical and Experimental Commentary] declareth unto them" (Hosea 4:12).
   People consult the staff, or divining rods, to ask of them where they should drill to find water. Just where did this practice come from? How did it come to be used so extensively in our western, so-called Christian nations?
   Martin Gardner, writing about water divination, admits:
   "The employment of various shaped rods for divination purposes goes all the way back to the ancient Greeks and Egyptians... In the Middle Ages, it was associated with the power of Satan, although many churchmen made use of divination rods. The forked twig, for finding minerals, apparently did not appear until the fifteenth century when it was used by German prospectors in the Harz Mining region. When German miners were imported to England in the century following, they brought the practice with them. It was in England that the use of the twig was transferred from minerals to the search for water." (Fads G Fallacies in the Name of Science, page 102.)
   Water witching is outright divination — a practice of demon-worshipping paganism! God condemns all such practices!
   "Thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone... that useth divination" (Deut. 18:9-10). And God continues: "I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people" (Lev. 20:6).
   Divination is an abomination in the sight of God. He absolutely forbids and condemns it. Such persons as use it, God declares, He will cut off from among his people! We cannot practice divination and still be Christian! It is high time that we look into the Bible and begin to live by every word of God! We must quit trusting in the superstitions of ancient heathenism.
   Water is not difficult to locate. In order to find water, a Christian should first ask God in prayer to guide him in locating the right place. Then he should analyze the lie of the land and drill in the best-looking spot that is suitably located. It is also helpful to ask the advice of an experienced well driller who does not seek help of witchers in finding water. There is very little danger of drilling a dry hole in areas where wells are a common source of water.

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Good News MagazineJune 1961Vol X, No. 6