“Developed by George Goodheart, who received most of his information by psychic means, Muscle Testing (AKA Applied Kinesiology) is accomplished by, for example, pushing or pulling on an arm or finger muscle while the client resists the force. The therapist ‘feels’ the amount of resistance, enabling him to ‘diagnose.’ For instance, the individual being tested holds a tiny amount of a suspected allergen in one hand, while extending the other arm at a right angle. The practitioner then places one hand on the individual’s shoulder and uses the other hand to lightly press down on the extended arm. In theory, if allergic to the substance, the individual’s arm muscle weakens, and the arm can easily be pressed down. If not allergic, the arm remains strong. Many practitioners also claim to test the appropriate dosages of nutrients or the effectiveness of a particular substance for an individual. The practitioner might ask the ‘body’ the question, ‘Would vitamin C be good for you to take?’ If the arm weakens, the question is then asked, ‘how many vitamin C tablets should you take?’ He would then count out loud while pressing the patient’s arm down. At whatever point the arm weakens, that is the number of pills the ‘body’ knows should be consumed. Muscle testing claims to reveal secret knowledge from the body about what will make it work best. Some practitioners also use muscle testing to reveal knowledge about when the patient’s next appointment should be, and other questions. All that is needed is a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question and a test of arm or finger strength, and one can ‘know’ anything. Muscle testing is nothing more than Satan’s repackaged form of divination in a more palatable fashion. It is simply using the body as an Ouija Board. The scriptures strongly condemns the practice of divination (Isaiah 2:6).”

The following is a well put-together, thorough explanation, and testimony of a Christian who was involved in Muscle Testing and how demons are behind it:

“Christians Beware of Muscle Testing”

None of us likes to be deceived. As much as I hate to say it, I’m ashamed to admit that I unknowingly fell prey to one particular case of deception–muscle testing (otherwise known as Applied Kinesiology). I was introduced to muscle testing during a time when I desperately needed answers and relief from unending health problems. To someone living with constant pain and no hope, the claims of Applied Kinesiology to be effective in diagnosing illness and choosing treatments simply by testing muscles for strength and weakness proved alluring. Little did I realize the far-reaching consequences of becoming involved with practices that I understood so little. Like I once did, so many people today find themselves in desperate physical circumstances when traditional medicine fails to help, and they turn to alternative medicine for answers and relief. Many chiropractors and alternative medicine practitioners offer explanations for how muscle testing works that sound harmless, but their explanations leave out critical pieces of information that would otherwise raise red flags for someone with a Christian view of the world. After several years of extensive involvement in alternative medical practices utilizing muscle testing, both personally and as a practitioner, I began to fervently seek the Lord regarding those practices. In this blog series, I intend to share the knowledge and conclusions I came to regarding this ever-expanding realm of alternative medicine based on Applied Kinesiology.

How I became involved with muscle testing

At the time of my introduction to muscle testing I knew very little about it. For nineteen years my health had spiraled ever downward–from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome & Epstein Barr to parasites and heavy metal poisoning (most likely the souvenirs of Indian and Polish missions trips), from a multitude of female conditions to significant adrenal and thyroid problems, from Fibromyalgia to severe anemia, and from allergies to herniated discs.  The list of symptoms and diagnoses seemed endless.  As the years progressed, I would at times be unable to eat or drink anything as my body seemed to be simply shutting down.  This would land me in the hospital.  For well-over a decade I lived with literally, constant pain.  The chronic fatigue, although difficult to manage during the day at least enabled me to sleep at night in spite of the fact that I frequently woke myself up crying from pain that never ceased.  Doctors offered little help and no hope.  Despite my Christian faith, despair consumed my private thoughts.

After exhausting traditional medicine’s meager or undesirable treatments, I stumbled upon the book, Say Goodbye to Illness by Devi Nambudripad on display at the library.  This book detailed a branch of alternative medicine and would open a new chapter in my life, which would prove costly in its writing.  The author speaks of muscle testing as a means of determining allergies and then proposes a treatment for those allergies that is quick and painless.  The treatment, called NAET, purports to eliminate the faulty messages in the brain that rally the body to fight otherwise harmless substances called allergens.  The author provided reasonable sounding explanations to a number of my physical conundrums, which traditional medicine had failed to address.  Although it sounded too good to be true and a bit “out there,” desperation drew me to it like a moth to a flame.   After devouring the book, I quickly found a NAET practitioner in my area and scheduled an appointment.

Muscle testing explained

Because it is tedious to explain every variation on muscle testing, I will give a general description of how it is performed based on the variety with which I became involved (and quite “gifted” at).  Practitioners who utilize muscle testing to “diagnose” allergies teach that when the body comes in contact with an allergen, the muscles weaken.  Performing the muscle test is quite simple. The individual being tested holds a tiny amount of a suspected allergen in one hand, while extending their other arm to their side at a right angle.  The practitioner then places one hand on the individual’s shoulder and uses the other hand to lightly press down on the extended arm.  In theory, if allergic to the substance, the individual’s arm muscle weakens, and the arm can easily be pressed down.  If not allergic, the arm remains strong.  It is also possible to self-test using other techniques, but many can’t do it.  Oddly enough, many also can’t seem to test others (the tested person’s arm NEVER weakens).  This calls into question the physiological explanation for the arm going down, which if true, should be constant regardless of who tests the muscle strength. After all, either the muscle weakens in the presence of an allergen or it doesn’t.  Furthermore, the supposed allergens being tested are often not even what is actually being held by the one being tested.  Instead, they hold a vial with a liquid in it that has supposedly been electrically charged with the energetic or electrical charge of that substance.

 Many practitioners also claim to test the appropriate dosages of nutrients or the effectiveness of a particular substance for an individual. Again, the procedures vary, but, for example, the practitioner might first ask the “body” the question, “Would vitamin C be good for you to take?” and then muscle test. If the arm weakens, the question is then asked, “How many vitamin C tablets should you take?” He would then count out loud while pressing the patient’s arm down. At whatever point the arm weakens, that is the number of pills the “body” knows should be consumed. A double-blind study was conducted by the ALTA Foundation for Sports Medicine Research in 1988 and, not surprisingly, concluded this approach was “no more useful than random guessing.”[1] A further method of muscle testing that is practiced by especially “gifted” practitioners is done remotely via phone. In other words, there is no physical contact with the individual! I will discuss the tremendous significance of this practice in another post in this series, but for now it is worth mentioning that testing muscles without exerting strain on those muscles or even touching the individual flies in the face of any possible scientific explanation.

The religious origins of muscle testing

Although practitioners prefer not to discuss the origins and basis for Applied Kinesiology, someone who wishes to make an informed decision about muscle testing would be wise to begin their research there. Applied Kinesiology came from Kinesiology, which, simply put, is the study of body movement. “Body movement” sounds rather scientific and medical, like, say–physical therapy. However this study of how the body moves is based on a belief in “an inner power, an innate intelligence, which is said to be connected to the universal intelligence (God) through our nervous systems.”[2] Contrary to what proponents of Kinesiology would have you believe, this is not science, but rather pantheism. (The word pantheism itself reveals its meaning. It comes from the Greek roots pan (all) and theos (God), and so, very simply put; it is a belief that everything in the universe is a manifestation of God.) Because of this foundational religious belief, practitioners often talk to the body of the person they are treating as though it is its own separate entity.

The religious underpinnings of Kinesiology were later expanded upon by the founder of Applied Kinesiology, a chiropractor by the name of Dr. George Goodheart. He created this new branch of Kinesiology in 1964 by combining elements of psychic philosophy, Chinese Taoism, and ancient Eastern practices such as meridians and ch’i, with chiropractic theory. Goodheart utilized this cocktail of religious elements to construct a practical application to Kinesiology. Since then, the practice of muscle testing has been expanded upon in numerous branches of chiropractic care and by alternative practitioners for everything from allergy testing and treatment, to general diagnoses and treatment, mental health, nutritional counseling, emotional healing, and even veterinary care. The less religious sounding rhetoric that is used by most practitioners to explain Applied Kinesiology is that the body knows what is wrong and how to fix itself and will reveal that special knowledge through muscle testing. Some vary that explanation by stating that the depths of the unexplained subconscious hold the answers every person needs to be whole and can be discovered through muscle testing.

In addition to his involvement in Applied Kinesiology, George Goodheart openly claimed involvement in the occult.[3] He claimed that at least part of the content of his detailed “charts showing the relationship between certain organs and zones of the body as well as to specific nutrients and herbs came from psychic powers.”[4] Although much more could be said about the anti-Christian, spiritual teachings that undergird this practice of muscle testing, from my experience these overtly spiritual views have been repackaged by most who are involved in Applied Kinesiology.[5] By using palatable words like “energy” and “subconscious” proponents of Applied Kinesiology avoid arousing the suspicions of Christians. For example, Dr. Joseph Mercola, a best-selling author, osteopath, proponent of alternative medicine, and professing Christian, admits that he doesn’t know how it works but nonetheless manages to offer an impressive, pseudo-scientific sounding explanation.

“I really don’t understand how this works, but I can offer some suggestions as to speculated mechanisms. The technique’s effectiveness seems to be related to using energy reflex points, somewhat similar to acupressure, at specific body sites to neutralize the energy imbalance in the body. There also seems to be a profound normalization that rebalances the autonomic nervous system.”[6]

NAET explained

NAET utilizes muscle testing in order to determine allergies to everything imaginable, including the individual components of everything.  It teaches that not only can you be allergic to milk, for example, but to the calcium in milk.  The theory goes that if you are allergic to calcium, then your body can’t properly absorb that vital mineral, and calcium deficiency symptoms would ensue. Therefore, theoretically, allergies are the source of most every health malady.  Once the allergy is determined, however, a simple treatment affecting the spine and key meridian pressure points can be performed in a matter of minutes that will eliminate the allergy.  After the treatment, the individual is again muscle tested to determine if the allergy has been “cleared.”  If it hasn’t, the treatment protocol is repeated until the muscle remains strong.  If it does remain strong, then the individual is told to completely avoid the treated allergen for 25 hours.  Afterwards, the individual is again muscle tested to confirm that the allergy is cleared.  After clearing, one is told that they will forever be free of that allergy and no further avoidance is necessary.

The danger here is apparent–as in cases where the allergy may be life-threatening. One documented case of the worst case scenario sadly came to pass and was reported in an Irish newspaper in 2009.  Thomas  Schatten, a 43-year-old man was treated by a chiropractor according to NAET for his allergy to peanuts.  Neither he nor the chiropractor recognized the beginning symptoms of anaphylactic shock that began during the treatment.  Ninety minutes after returning home, the man died of anaphylactic shock. [7]  It would appear that muscle testing proved inaccurate in determining that this man’s allergy was “cleared.”

In my particular case, although the whole thing sounded a bit crazy and the appointment strange, I was desperate.  Shockingly, the initial results were dramatic, even miraculous.  After a treatment for iodine, my thyroid immediately began functioning normally.  I had been on thyroid medication for 2 to 3 years at this point, but had to immediately stop taking it because I suddenly became hyperthyroid with my heart racing terribly.  According to conventional medical understanding, once an individual is on thyroid medication, that person can never get off it because the natural function of the thyroid largely ceases as it relies almost solely on the medication.  For the first time, even since being on the medication, I had completely healthy thyroid function.  I also discovered in the days, months, and years ahead that all of my female related conditions were gone.  I suddenly had balanced and healthy hormones, where once a doctor had declared me “a hormone nightmare.”  (This statement was based on test results by the lab that did my hormone testing.  They actually put a special note in the report indicating that they had retested my results because they couldn’t believe some of my hormone levels could truly be so low.)  You can imagine my shock and joy over what appeared to be such miraculous changes.

Scientific studies on muscle testing

It’s important at this point to consider  the conclusions that numerous scientific studies have come to about both muscle testing and NAET.  I’ll first consider muscle testing, as it is the basis or the determining factor for treatment by a number of different alternative medical practices, including NAET.  If this foundation on muscle testing is problematic, then all practices built upon it are also problematic.  Various studies, through the years, have tried to determine proof of Applied Kinesiology’s validity and effectiveness, and yet all conclude that there is nothing more than anecdotal evidence to substantiate it.[8]  “There is little or no scientific rationale for these methods.  Results are not reproducible when subject to rigorous testing and do not correlate with clinical evidence of allergy.”[9]  A hallmark criteria for scientific evidence is that something be reproducible and therefore, consistent.  In spite of my experience with the treatment for iodine, I would readily concur that the typical results are far from consistent.

A significant point must be made, however.  What these scientific studies test for is the effectiveness and accuracy of muscle testing. In other words, can the results of muscle testing be confirmed by other accepted scientific means, and are the results consistent?

The studies ignore one critical fact though–that the individual’s muscle does often, unexplainably weaken significantly when muscle tested. Why?

For anyone who has ever experienced a weakening of the arm while being muscle tested, further proof that it works is unnecessary.  (Please notice that I am referring, NOT to the accuracy or effectiveness of diagnoses or treatment as a result of that testing but ONLY to the testing experience itself.)  As I said before, I became uniquely “gifted” at muscle testing.  I could make a muscular man’s arm go as weak as a baby’s arm with the slightest downward pressure while he held one substance, even though he was easily able to stay strong while holding another.  In fact, I can’t count the number of times I did this for the first time to an individual where a look of utter shock immediately followed their weakness, along with the statement; “Wait!  Do that again!” after which they would visibly strain for all they were worth to keep me from again gently pushing their arm down.  My own muscular husband became a “believer” when he, time and time again, experienced the uncontrollable weakness brought about by muscle testing that even his level-headed logic couldn’t deny. No one could argue with those results.

Accounting for this muscle weakness is paramount.  Either there is a scientific (physical) explanation for it,  or it must be the result of spiritual forces.

If the explanation is merely physical and indeed reveals information about the body from the body, then the results should be confirmable by scientific tests and produce treatment protocols that are consistently accurate and beneficial.  According to the many scientific studies done on Applied Kinesiology, this is far from the case.  Therefore, another explanation for the muscle weakness must exist.

Scientific studies on NAET

Unlike with Applied Kinesiology, the scientific studies on NAET are limited.   The NAET organization conducted one in-house study on people who were treated for milk allergies in 2006.  This study does appear to follow the typical protocol for a double-blind study, except that no scientific results were published that I could find for any aspect of the study.  Instead only a general conclusion is given that NAET effectively reversed the treated patients’ allergies.  Such a conclusion is certainly called into question without supporting data.[10]

Another study was conducted in 2011, which tested six people who were treated with the NAET protocol for potentially life-threatening peanut allergies.  This study was completed without any control groups and with such a small number of participants that it is difficult to garner any meaningful conclusions.  Four of the six individuals who participated in the study demonstrated only minor allergic reactions to peanuts immediately after being treated as well as 1-2 weeks later.  This apparent improvement from severe reactions to minor is notable.[11]  Interestingly, the peanut study did trend in the same direction that I generally experienced while involved with NAET.  Myself and others whom I treated by NAET most frequently seemed to benefit for a time, but it rarely lasted.  As a result, the constant need for treatments keeps one bound to the practice and can potentially place participants in danger as they continue exposure to allergenic substances.

Ignoring a sense of unease

Not a doubt existed in my mind that muscle testing “worked,” but from day one, a nagging uncertainty about how it worked plagued my mind.  Like times in my childhood when I had an unexplainable sense of unease before I was even told that a particular activity was wrong, so also was the case with NAET and muscle testing.  From the beginning, I knew that it’s power was either physical or spiritual, and as a Christian who had benefited from the practice, it was critical to me for it to be physical.  I did much praying about the matter because that sense of unease was great.  However, due to the significant improvement in my health and God’s apparent silence, I initially concluded that NAET and muscle testing must be a gift from God.  I proceeded to go to great lengths to convince myself and others that some obscure, unproven physical explanation for it all must suffice.  Oh how I wish I had listened to the prompting of the Holy Spirit early on because it would have saved me from many far-reaching and shameful consequences.  I pray that others might not make the same mistake.

 Source

Like walking down a dark alley alone evokes wariness, a tremendous sense of unease enveloped me when I began my journey into the world of Applied Kinesiology (muscle testing). In the days following my first appointment that sense of unease motivated me to think and pray a lot about muscle testing and NAET (Nambudripad’s Allergy Elimination Technique). These branches of alternative medicine claim to be effective in determining allergies that cause illness by quickly testing muscles for strength and weakness and then eliminating those allergies through a simple treatment. If I had not been so desperate for relief and experienced such a dramatic “healing” of my thyroid as a result of an early treatment, I might have never gone back. The physical results, I’m ashamed to say, trumped that still, small voice. I’ll admit that as a devout Christian some of the jargon used also troubled me. I saw two options for explaining why it worked. Either it was a purely physiological phenomenon or the results stemmed from spiritual forces. I knew the current understanding of science couldn’t explain it. Perhaps, I reasoned, the explanation lay in the complexity of how God created the human body, which is yet to be fully understood. I pleaded with the Lord for insight but heard only silence. In light of James 1:17 which says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights…”, I initially concluded that NAET and muscle testing were indeed good gifts. Looking back, I now see that my logic was akin to one concluding that heroin is a gift from God because it makes one feel so much better, at first. Although a simple internet search reveals many who warn of the demonic associations with muscle testing, I failed to research it at all. The concerns remain largely unknown or ignored by many. As a result, muscle testing gains ever-increasing popularity among Christians as the angel of light, the deceiver Lucifer, repackages divination in a palatable form that can mislead even the elect.

If you consider yourself a follower of Jesus Christ, then you should answer one pivotal question before getting involved or continuing involvement in anything that uses muscle testing:

If it works, does it work by purely physical means or

is its power spiritual in nature?

If there is indeed a purely physical explanation for Applied Kinesiology and its various branches, then the following should be true:

• Certain “knowledge” it provides should be verifiable through physical measures such as blood work, traditional allergy tests, x-rays, etc.  (This is often NOT the case.)

• Double-blind studies should verify consistent results. (This is NOT the case.)[1]

• The actual muscle being tested must itself show strength or weakness.  If no pressure is exerted on the muscle (as in surrogate testing or phone testing), then there IS NO POSSIBLE SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATION.  The explanation of transference of energy is nonsense and founded in the false teachings of pantheism.

Also, one must consider if it actually works?  A number of scientific studies indicate that there is only anecdotal evidence that it does.  (See the first post for specifics.)  It seems reasonable, therefore, to conclude that the power that muscle testing purports to wield is actually the result of:

• Random chance or the placebo effect, AND/OR

• Satan’s limited power used to deceive and ultimately bring destruction.

Getting deeper involved in muscle testing

In the first two years of involvement with muscle testing and NAET, I came to the wrong conclusions because I failed to learn about what I was practicing. My early positive results convinced me that these forms of alternative medicine did work, and because they appeared to have brought benefit to me, I wrongly concluded that they must be a gift from God.  So, in spite of the fact that certain things about muscle testing and NAET troubled me and my greatest mental gymnastics couldn’t find a way to explain them away, one appointment turned into dozens.  Before long, it occurred to me that what the practitioner was doing wasn’t that difficult and much money could be saved if I taught my husband how to perform the treatment.  When I did it at home, I “Christianized” it by eliminating the part of speaking to the body and instead often prayed.  Surely if there was any cause for concern, praying made it alright–I thought. Before I knew it, allergy testing and treating took place every day in our home.  The initial dramatic results were replaced by a constant need to retreat previously “cleared” allergies and to treat for the first time every conceivable thing I encountered in life in order to hold on to my new found, tenuous level of health.  I reacted constantly to everything but found that a quick treatment could have me right-as-rain in a couple of minutes.  The time spent testing and treating seemed a small price to pay for the great relief it brought.

Using my “gift” to attempt to help others

After a while I discovered that I had an uncanny “gift” at muscle testing and an intuition about what substance caused a particular negative reaction.  As a mother, it seemed a marvelous gift as I could pin-point the cause and alleviate the symptom(s) of suffering for my child in a matter of minutes.  As a result, I was soon treating my son daily as well, and many of his allergy symptoms seemed to disappear.  Before long, he too seemed to have an uncanny “gift” for testing and treating, which proved useful to me during the day while my husband was at work.  As long as we kept it up, both of us could function well with a carefully controlled degree of health.

Having suffered physically so much, I hurt for others who also suffered.  I thought I had a powerful knowledge and ability to alleviate suffering.  How could I keep such a “gift” to myself?  I couldn’t.  So, I became a self-trained NAET practitioner of sorts, who spent much time attempting to help others who couldn’t afford to pay someone for treatments.  I saw this as my ministry, and praised God for leading me to what I was certain was a cure for most every physical problem.  On a couple of remarkable occasions, the results were again dramatic while treating others, but in general the benefits seemed temporary, questionable, or even detrimental.

God brings true and lasting healing to me

Somewhere during all of this, God, in His infinite mercy, brought me true healing through His Word alone.  (The details of that are told in “A Heart at Peace.”)  A dear friend, noticing how consumed my life was with NAET, insisted that I was in “bondage” to it.  Indignant, I told her that that was ridiculous!  She gave me a book, full of Scripture, that spoke of the spiritual roots of many illnesses.  Although initially offended that my friend would insinuate that the physical suffering I had endured for almost two decades might be based in sin or a lack of peace in my heart and mind, out of respect for her, I read the book.  Because every page of the book quoted verses from the Bible, I began looking up every one and reading each in context.  Over the course of about three months, I reread almost the entire Bible from cover to cover trying to gain a biblical understanding of illness.  As a result, I saw that throughout both the Old and New Testaments illness was often shown to be directly linked to either unrepented sin or emotional distress.  I began to earnestly ask God to reveal to me any such areas in my life, and He faithfully did.

After a time of much emotional healing, confession and repentance for sin, I simply prayed in the quiet of my bedroom and asked God for physical healing.  In a moment God miraculously healed me completely, separate from any NAET treatments.  I no longer tested positive for a single allergy.  For the first time in 19 years I was truly healthy and strong, and now over six years later, I am still well.  Where once my days revolved around numerous physical constraints, suddenly there was glorious freedom.  I can’t begin to describe the change.  I was like the lame man Peter healed, walking and leaping and praising God.  My joy and thankfulness knew no bounds.

The demons make their presence known

However, as soon as I quit needing muscle testing and NAET treatments, my husband, who previously had no physical symptoms that might benefit from those practices, suddenly began to have numerous unexplained symptoms.  I suspected “allergic” reactions, and so he complied with muscle testing and NAET.  For a number of months I continued to treat him and others, while earnestly praying that God would continue to reveal any areas of sin in my life and to cause me to walk in holiness.  During these months, some concerning and unexplainable things began happening.  I believe that, as a result of my fervent prayers, significant spiritual warfare began taking place surrounding me.  Just as in the Bible, when Jesus entered the presence of demons and they became agitated–doing things that made their presence known, so also their once quiet influence became noticeable around me.  At least twice that I specifically remember, doors in my house slammed unexplainably while I was home alone.  My son, who also had a tremendous ability for muscle testing, started having frightening “prophetic” dreams.

One particularly bizarre and unexplainable instance unsettled our whole family.  We were on vacation in New York, and I wanted to mail out postcards to all my nieces and nephews from a local post office.  After addressing the cards while sitting in the idling car, I exited and went inside.  When I came back out of the building and again sat in the car, my son began telling me of the conversation he and my husband had while I was gone.  I immediately interrupted and finished telling him in great detail about their conversation.  In confusion, I asked them why they were bothering to repeat a conversation which I had already heard in its entirety.  They were both perplexed and insisted repeatedly that there was no way that I could have known the details of their conversation because they both distinctly remembered watching me wait in line through the glass windows of the post office as they had that conversation.  I kept insisting that they were wrong and that they most definitely had the conversation in the car while I addressed the post cards.  With mutual expressions of concern and confusion they reiterated that they had waited in silence for me to leave the car before they began their conversation.  How did I hear and know the conversation spoken in my absense?

With all of these occurrences in mind, I renewed my prayers that God would reveal sin in my life and whether or not I had opened myself and my family up to Satanic influences.  I wasn’t ready to admit it to anyone, but I was beginning to suspect that I didn’t just have an uncanny sensitivity for muscle testing but that I had developed actual power that couldn’t possibly be explained scientifically.  I began noticing that I seemed to know without muscle testing, whether or not someone was “allergic” to something.  I suspected that this foreknowledge matched up to muscle testing with 100% accuracy but was afraid to test the theory because the ramifications were too frightening.  For the first time I understood how it is that practitioners could “muscle test” people on the phone.  These clairvoyant abilities defied scientific explanation and pointed to the true source of power.  However, I’m ashamed to admit that I liked this sense of power, and struggled with giving it up.  Just as Satan tempted Adam and Eve in the garden with special knowledge, which brings power separate from God, so also Satan tempted me to hold on to the special knowledge and power that muscle testing and NAET brought.  Eventually, however, I confessed my suspicion of “special knowledge” to my husband and told him that I feared muscle testing and NAET were accomplished by spiritual power.

I’ll never forget the night of my confession.  My husband, Seth devised a way to test the theory of “special knowledge.”  First, he named things in the room and simply asked me if he was allergic to them.  As soon as each object was named an immediate and strong sense of the answer came to me.  Perhaps one could compare it with reading a question on a test and immediately knowing, without a doubt, that you know the correct answer.  The sense was so strong that it made me want to laugh at the absurdity of it.  Before we did any muscle testing, my husband recorded my predictions to how he would test for well over 10 things.  When we finished recording my prescient answers, I muscle tested him and found that 100% of the time, my foreknown answers matched the muscle testing results.  It didn’t matter how many times or how many different methods we used, I knew the correct answer 100% of the time before testing.  (Keep in mind that Seth is a very strong man.  When I muscle tested him however, and he was “allergic,” though he tried to resist, I barely had to exert any effort to press his arm down.)  After all of this testing, Seth calculated the statistical odds of having obtained such accuracy by chance.  It was staggering!  Afterwards, we both just sat, rather stunned.  The odds were impossible for me to have guessed correctly every time.  Our Christian faith has a term for such predictive power:  divination.  And divination, the Bible teaches, is never the result of good forces but always evil.

Blessed deliverance

Now please understand; we are not charismatic, and although I can be swayed by emotions, Seth is a, logic, fact-based kind of man.  Although as Christians we knew and believed in spiritual forces, we were not of the This Present Darkness mentality that sees angels and demons behind every act.  Furthermore, we knew that a true believer has the Holy Spirit indwelling them and therefore can’t be possessed by demonic powers.  Was it possible though for demonic forces to empower and influence me outwardly? In light of the empirical evidence of spiritual forces at work, we decided to renounce Satan and any influence we had granted him.  We called our son in and explained to him what we believed to be the case.  He indicated some concerns of his own that had him frightened as well.  As the spiritual head of our home, Seth prayed for God’s protection, and then in the name of Jesus verbally instructed any demonic forces present that they must get out of our home.  When he did so, an indescribable and overwhelming presence of fear and evil encompassed me so great that I could hardly breathe, and I cried out.  Seth again renounced any influence that Satan had on me and as he did so the fear and physical distress lessened.

Finally, after ridding our house of every last bit of NAET and muscle testing literature and paraphernalia, peace enveloped us all.  I was afraid to try muscle testing again, but the next day I had to know if perhaps our conclusions about Satan’s involvement had been wrong.  If my ability was only based in science or if it was the result of God’s, not Satan’s power, then I should still be able to muscle test as before.  So, I tried muscle testing one final time, and had absolutely no ability, nor did I have any sort of sense of “special knowledge.”  The temptation, however, for me to rescue the NAET stuff from the trashcan by the street remained powerful until Seth completely disposed of it all.

I would like to say that great peace and joy followed, but instead tremendous guilt and shame enveloped me, along with perplexing spiritual questions.  How could I, one who truly loved the Lord with all my heart and sought after Him daily, be involved in the very power and work of Satan?  How could I have been so deceived?  In the light of truth, I could now see what I had been blind to previously–the devil’s destructive purposes being brought about through me.  A few others, whom I had treated, had been seriously harmed by what I had brought into their lives.  A close friend had committed suicide, a family member had ended up in the hospital with serious consequences from eating food that I told her she was no longer allergic to, and others had become so ensnared by the deception of muscle testing that their lives became absolutely consumed by it.  The consequences of sin can be so tremendous, and although the Lord forgave and delivered me and my family, my actions could not be undone. Oh how I grieved. With Seth’s support and with tremendous, humble remorse, I began contacting the many people I had treated during the previous two years to ask forgiveness and to attempt to warn them.  So many questions flooded my mind.

Since the time of my deliverance, Seth and I have done much thinking, talking, and studying in order to understand our experiences.  Recently, Seth began to describe to me his thoughts on how muscle testing is Satan using the human body like a Ouija Board.  His perspective, along with two books, brought the final answers that I sought, and I’d like to share them with you.

Muscle testing is simply using the body as a Ouija Board

If I ask you what comes to mind when you think of divination or fortune telling, things like psychics, séances, and the Ouija Board will likely come to mind.  From the beginning of creation, people have desired to have secret knowledge, and Satan has obliged in many fashions.  Muscle testing claims to reveal secret knowledge from the body about what will make it work best.  Almost none of this “knowledge” is ever confirmed by accepted medical tests, and sometimes proves harmful (see first post).  In my last post, I focused on the form of muscle testing that supposedly reveals allergies, but that is hardly the extent to which Applied Kinesiology seeks special knowledge.  Some practitioners also use muscle testing to reveal knowledge about when the patient’s next appointment should be, what supplements should be taken and how many, and what memories are at the root of various health problems. All that is needed is a “yes” or “no” question and a test of arm or finger strength and voila, one can “know” anything.  I’ve even known Christians who struggle with decision making to use muscle testing to direct the choices for all sorts of things in their daily lives.  That particular use is clearly attempted divination and requires repentance.  God gave the Christian the Holy Spirit and God’s Word to lead us, not the strength of our muscles.  Muscle testing is often done through a surrogate for those who are physically unable to be tested themselves; i.e. infants, the elderly, or the infirm.  No scientific explanation exists for muscle testing working when the tested person’s muscle is not actually used or touched.  All of these uses of Applied Kinesiology and many others are asking for “special knowledge” from a power that science doesn’t measure.  Does this not sound a lot like divination?

The origins of the Ouija Board

Most people know about the Ouija Board, and whether or not they believe it, understand its association with the occult.  William Fuld patented the board in 1892, and by 1967 it had taken the place of Monopoly as the number one game in America.  The clever name Ouija came simply from the combination of the French and German words for yes (oui and ja), but the idea behind the game was hardly clever.  There is, after all, “nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9) but only Satan’s repackaging of old evils.  The idea for Fuld’s board went all the way back to the Egyptians and other ancient peoples who also used sundry articles to gain answers through divination.  Some included the letters of the alphabet. Another popular method of divination that many used in the Victorian era of Fuld’s day was called table tipping.  In this method people placed their finger tips lightly on a three legged table and asked questions that primarily had yes or no answers.  Prearranged behaviors of the table for yes, no, don’t know, or uncertain were stated at the outset.

Fuld combined table tipping with elements of other ancient practices to invent his own simple version that could be easily used and sold for profit.  Fuld’s rectangular board lists the numbers zero to nine and the letters of the alphabet, along with the words good-bye at the bottom and yesand no in the opposite, upper corners of the board.  The heart-shaped message indicator is a mini three-legged table on which the two operators lightly place their fingers so that it can easily glide across the board pointing to or spelling out answers to the questions people ask.  The instructions included with the board state that the operators should do so with concentration and seriousness.  (This type of instruction is also common with Applied Kinesiology as practitioners sometimes require a spouse to leave the room because of the “bad energy” they bring.)  Countless people through the years have claimed the Ouija Board’s effectiveness at providing special knowledge, as well as reporting the dire effects on their lives from demonic forces that involvement with the board brought to bear.

The use of divination in medicine

Although Christians know better than to consider using overtly Satanic practices, those who deal with chronic health issues are often susceptible to questionable methods, if they seem to lead to results. There is no shortage in the medical or pseudo-medical world of examples of demonic power applied to medicine.  Dr. Kurt Koch writes of one such example in Demonology Past and Present.  He tells about the use of divination by a medical doctor who used a variation of the Ouija Board involving a disc and pendulum to diagnose and treat his patients and experienced surprisingly effective results.  This doctor “applied” the idea of the Ouija Board to medicine, harnessing Satan’s power, similar to the actions of many witchdoctors through the ages.  Never forget, Satan does have limited power and therefore, is willing to apply it with effectiveness when it suits his purposes.  The use of divination to determine unknown medical information and treatments is not new.  It’s called sorcery and is forbidden in the Bible (Deuteronomy 18:10-12).

Earmarks of divination

What is done by practitioners with muscle testing and associated practices has the earmarks of divination.  Divination is “the practice of seeking knowledge of the future or the unknown by supernatural means.”[2]  God allows man to know much truth by physical means (i.e., science) or by truth He reveals through Scripture.  When answers aren’t available by those avenues and man attempts to gain unknown knowledge outside of God’s revelation, that is divination. If Applied Kinesiology reveals knowledge that can’t be determined through physical means, it is seeking unknown knowledge.  One indication of the nature of Applied Kinesiology’s unknown knowledge is found in the origin of muscle testing.  As discussed in detail in the first post, the very basis of muscle testing is pantheism and the occult.  The founder of Applied Kinesiology, Dr. George Goodheart made the claim that at least part of the content of his detailed “charts showing the relationship between certain organs and zones of the body as well as to specific nutrients and herbs came from psychic powers.”[3] If the foundation of these practices is evil, the practices will also be evil.

If it’s divination, how does it work?

As previously pointed out, both the Ouija Board and muscle testing have only anecdotal evidence to support that they “work.”  Similar to how the Ouija Board seems to “work” for some and not for others and how its information or answers are sometimes disturbingly accurate, so also is the case with practices that rely on muscle testing.  Obviously, if divination didn’t ever prove accurate or insightful, then no one would bother with it. The big question through the years of the Ouija Board’s popularity is how does it work?  Parker Brothers, who bought the company and all rights in 1966 claims, “How or why it works is a mystery.”[4]  Some people have theorized that that the muscles of the arms and hands are affected subtly by the subconscious producing accurate information that has been locked away in the body’s own version of a “black box.”  Many in Applied Kinesiology make the same claim in order to explain how it works; however, if the subconscious can be so readily relied upon, then the scientific evidence should confirm muscle testing’s accuracy.  Many believe in an alternate explanation of how the Ouija Board works, which is by the spirit world moving the pointer across the board through the operator.  Likewise, I propose that in Applied Kinesiology, the muscles of the arm or hand are similarly affected by the spirit world.

How, then, does the spirit world (demons) influence someone’s muscles?

Obviously, since I exist in the physical world without line-of-sight into the realm which demons inhabit, the following theory will be conjecture, but it seems to fit the phenomena I personally experienced during my era of muscle testing:

During muscle testing, “answers” to questions are revealed in a binary format, meaning that for every question asked, the muscle will give a yes or no (true or false) response.  The muscle gives these binary responses by either being strong or weak in response to the question asked of it.  When the muscle weakens during testing, there is no odd sensation as a precursor, warning the subject that his/her muscle has weakened.  Nor is there any sort of external sensation, such as a sense that someone in addition to the tester is strength testing the muscle.  There is only the sense that although the brain is sending signals to apply strength, those signals do not seem to reach the muscle in full force, and therefore the muscle does not respond as it should to the will of the tested subject.  This phenomenon is quite startling to anyone experiencing it for the first time (especially to strong men), and inevitably, their first response to this sudden weakness is to exclaim, “Wait!  Let me try that again.”  So the test is repeated with the same results.

This sensation with its dramatic results leads me to believe that the mechanism through which spirits use muscle testing to commune with people is based upon an ability they have to restrict the passage of electrical signals between brain and muscle.  This also seems to explain the evident power that spirits have to communicate through the Ouija Board.  A person, sitting at a Ouija Board with finger tips lightly touching the pointer does not detect the subtle variations in electrical signals traveling to the muscles that maintain the arms’ position over the board.  That person only knows or senses that without him/her willing it to do so, the marker begins to move, spelling out messages.  (If you would like an interesting visual of this concept, check out this Ted Talk, “How to Control Someone Else’s Arm with Your Brain.”  We know from the story of Satan physically tormenting Job that Satan does have the power to physically impact humans without possessing them.  The next post will address the biblical aspect of this truth in greater detail.

Conclusion

Only two explanations exist for how alternative medicine practices relying on muscle testing work.  It is either physical or spiritual.  The evidence indicates that Satan has merely repackaged divination by making the human body a sort of Ouija Board.  1 Timothy 4:1 says, “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.” As one who has learned the hard way, I plead with you to have nothing to do with anything that uses or is related to muscle testing.  It doesn’t matter if the chiropractor or practitioner you see is a devout Christian who combines Scripture and prayer with these practices.  Satan masterfully used God’s own words when he tempted Adam, Eve and Jesus.  As Jesus promised in Mathew 24:5, Satan can deceive the people of God.  Don’t be one of them.  Also, if you have previously been or currently are involved with muscle testing, I strongly urge you to verbally renounce all involvement with them as Seth and I did and seek the Lord’s forgiveness today.  “Do not give the devil a foothold” in your life for another day.  (Ephesians 4:27)

Source

The temperature must have been well over a hundred, but after several weeks in India’s summer heat we hardly noticed it anymore.  On this particular day of my summer mission trip experience, my team biked to a remote village to share the Gospel.  With only dust-packed ground and round, thatched huts the villagers had little and gladly welcomed the Americans who would pray for them and tell them about the one, true God of the Bible, who loved them enough to die for their sins.  As a group of us stood with our eyes closed, praying through a translator for a woman standing in the opening of her hut, we suddenly heard screaming.  Eyes immediately opened in shock to discover the woman, previously calm, now screaming and wild-eyed.  After only a few seconds, she collapsed to the ground as though she had passed out.  The Indian pastor who was with us knelt in the dirt by her side and continued praying.  Within a short time, the woman opened her eyes with clarity and got to her feet.  The pastor later explained to us that the woman had been demon possessed, as so many are in the villages where the name of Jesus has never been heard. We rejoiced that she was now set free.  Many missionaries in completely unchurched areas testify that Satan’s forces work openly in such places and demon possession is not uncommon.  In America, however, where churches and Christians are abundant, it’s easy to think that demons only manifested themselves in Bible times.

I would contend that, although the testimony of Jesus in America prevents Satan’s bold, unhindered power from manifesting itself, the angel of light, the deceiver, continually finds new and more subtle ways to deceive and ensnare.  1 Timothy 4:1 warns believers of this very thing by saying, “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.”  What form do you suppose this deceptive teaching takes?  I am certain there are many forms, but I know that one of the deceptions is in causing people to use the human body as a sort of Ouija Board through muscle testing.  (Please see the first post in this series for an explanation of muscle testing & NAET and the 2nd post for why I’m convinced that muscle testing is divination.) In this post, I will discuss what the Bible has to say about Satan’s work, and how the practice of Applied Kinesiology (AK) can be understood through the truth of the Bible.

Biblical overview of demons

What are these deceiving spirits or demons?  These beings are portrayed in Scripture as having personalities–the ability to think, act, and speak.  The Ouija Board–Doorway to the Occult by Edmond C. Gruss & John G. Hotchkiss succinctly outlines the description of demonic activity along with the corresponding Bible passages.  For simplicity’s sake, I will begin by quoting their list and then follow up with a discussion of questions that should be asked and biblically answered about Applied Kinesiology.

With that brief, biblical overview of demons in mind, allow me to now  answer several individual questions that arise about practices that rely on muscle testing, when one considers  the possibility that those practices are the result of demonic activity.

Can Satan affect true believers in Jesus Christ through demonic activity?

One of the many questions I had after being delivered from the Satanic forces that I had unknowingly permitted to influence my family and me through my involvement with muscle testing & NAET, was to what degree the Bible indicated a believer could be impacted by evil spirits?

Although never stated outrightly, the Bible indicates that, because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in an individual who has been saved by the blood of Christ, demons cannot also dwell in that individual.  However, we also know from Scripture that Christians do face attack and influence from Satanic forces.  We are instructed to “resist the devil” (James 4:7) and to “put on the whole armor of God” (Ephesians 6:11) in order to withstand Satan’s attacks.  Jesus warns us in Matthew 24:25 of false Christs and false prophets performing signs and wonders “that will deceive even the elect.”  We’re also told in 2 Timothy 2:25-27 that believers might need repentance in order to “escape the snare of the devil who has taken them captive to do his will.”  A further truth to note is that Satan can physically impact the health of one who is NOT possessed by a demon.  Take for example, the story of Job, who received a nightmarish case of boils by the hand of Satan (Job 2:7).

How are people made well by treatments based on Applied Kinesiology?

Based on Scripture, I don’t believe that Satan has true power to heal.  (For simplicity’s sake, I use the term Satan throughout this article to reference not only Satan himself but also the actions, thoughts, and motives of the demonic forces that support him.  Satan himself is a finite being, and whether or not he was ever personally aware of my case is unknown to me.)  For example:

• Even though Simon successfully practiced sorcery, he was so astounded by the apostles power to perform miracles that he began following them around trying to get the gift of the Holy Spirit, in order that he too might do such things.  Clearly Satan’s power did not match up to God’s.  (Acts 8:9-24)

• John 10:21 says,  “But others said, “These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”  This indicates the Jews believed that only God could perform true healings.

So, if Satan can only offer counterfeit healing and I claim that AK utilizes his power, how is it that positive results do sometimes stem from muscle testing and related treatments?  Because I don’t have direct sight into the spirit world, let me offer a possible explanation based on what is described in Scripture and my own experiences. Since it seems evident that demons have the ability to harm health, even when they are not able to take possession of the individual, particular conditions or symptoms can be the direct result of demonic activity. This would not have to be due to actual possession, because, according to Scripture, Satan’s physical attacks can be against the righteous.  For example:

Satan does have limited power and makes use of false or counterfeit miracles.  2 Thessalonians 2:9-10 says, “The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives…”

• The Bible refers to Satan tormenting Job physically with sores (Job 2:7).

• Also Ephesians 6:11-122 says, “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (NIV)

Therefore, if Satan’s forces are causing particular symptoms, how might those symptoms be remedied?  I see two possibilities:  Either God orders Satan to back off or Satan does it of his own accord.  Think of it like the removal of a splinter from your hand.  The hand is made better, not because of a miracle but because of the splinter’s sudden absence.  In the “healing” of my thyroid through muscle testing and NAET, it stands to reason that Satan had been the cause of my trouble all along, similar to Job’s case of boils.  Therefore, if Satan uses muscle testing and NAET, his only action necessary to affect my “healing” was to cease suppression of my thyroid in concert with my first NAET treatment.  My thyroid suddenly recovered and appeared to be healed by NAET.  Why would Satan perform such a generous act?  The obvious answer is that doing so would convince me to continue being involved in his practices.

Perhaps the following is another example of the same thing:  One of the individuals I tested and treated was an infant who had been screaming inconsolably from the moment of birth until four months of age, when I saw her.  With no explanation, except suspected colic and allergies, this baby girl had terrible bowels, fitful,  tormented sleep, and cried incessantly.  My non-Christian friend, the mother, would not allow anyone to visit because of her child’s constant screaming.  Finally after four months, I convinced her to allow me to test and treat her baby.  As the result of muscle testing, which had to be done through the mother as a surrogate, I determined that the infant was allergic to the formula they were feeding her.  After testing, I treated her through NAET and immediately the child quit screaming.  It was remarkable!  Shortly thereafter, she had a significant bowel movement and then fell sound asleep. After I left, my friend reported to me that her daughter slept peacefully for three solid hours, which had never yet happened.  I came back the next day to a very different baby and treated her for a second formula they had been using.  Again the same progression occurred, except this time the child slept through the night for the first time and woke up a transformed, happy infant.  The parents could not believe the child’s startling change to one with such a remarkably happy disposition.

On observing this seemingly miraculous transformation, my reaction was to laud NAET as a tremendous blessing.  However, my doing so ignored another possible explanation:  If a demon was causing that infant’s torment in the first place, all Satan had to do was remove the tormentor and suddenly the child was well.  Nothing physiologically changed, but Satan simply lifted the evil spirit’s torment when I tested and treated.  Again, this counterfeit miracle served to deceive and ensnare,  convincing me further of the tremendous benefits of muscle testing and NAET, and so I sought out others that I could “help.”

Why do Muscle testing and related practices seem to bring “healing” at times, if they are empowered by Satan?

The answer to this question lies in the purpose and character of Satan.  Have you ever heard the sayings, “kill him with kindness,” “fattened with friendship,” or “you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar”?  If Satan can bring about his purpose initially through good things, then he certainly will.  The Bible tells us that he is a deceiver and the father of lies and that his end goal is to bring destruction.

• John 8:44 says, “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (NIV)

• 1 Peter 5:8 says, ” Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”  (NIV)

The devil will do whatever needs to be done to bring destruction in the end.  His character reveals his methods–he is described as an angel of light (2 Cor.11:14) and a wolf in sheep’s clothing(Mt.7:15).

Apparent “healing” or effectiveness accomplishes many things:

1.   It deceives many by the testimony of one.

If you have a product or service that you wish to sell, what method do you suppose convinces the most people to try it?  Word of mouth from a respected individual proves more effective than any other method, which is why companies pay huge sums to get celebrities to endorse their products/services. Just as in my case, Satan effectively utilizes improvement (apparent healing) in one individual to bring destruction to more people.  Because I had a significant reversal of hypothyroidism as a result of my involvement with Applied Kinesiology and NAET, I found ways to justify and explain away my misgivings about those practices.  I became more and more involved, and before long had become a practitioner who unknowingly led many others into Satan’s snare.  My influence on others, and therefore Satan’s impact, was greater due to the respect that people had for me as a serious follower of Jesus Christ.  Sin tends to blind the sinner from seeing the truth, and so the more involved I became, the more I ignored any evidence of the negative impact my sin had on myself or others.

Recently I had a conversation with someone who was contemplating being trained as a practitioner in a methodology that relied on muscle testing.  She too had experienced relief from a plaguing health problem through muscle testing and the related practice and wished to help others.  I pleaded with her to seek God alone in prayer and through His Word for a time rather than seeking the advice of other people before making the decision to deepen her involvement in this methodology.  Instead, she spoke to a respected Christian she knew who had been involved in Applied Kinesiology for years.  The father of lies used that Christian’s testimony to convince her to ignore all concerns.  It is so much quicker and easier to seek people rather than God, but even good Christians can be deceived by Satan’s lies, which is why it serves his purposes well to manifest “counterfeit miracles” among devout Christians. (2 Thes.2:9)

2.   It causes bondage and mental fixation.

Another way that Satan’s destructive purposes can be achieved is by bringing temporary improvement.  Over and over again, I personally experienced and witnessed in others temporary improvement in symptoms as a result of NAET treatments based on muscle testing.  This served to achieve two things that fit well with the devil’s purposes–bondage to the practices and a false sense of immunity to harmful substances.

When muscle testing “reveals” a problem, and the subsequent treatment seems to resolve that problem, the treated individual becomes powerfully convinced of the absolute reliability of muscle testing.  Following the initial ensnarement, it is no longer necessary for Satan to allow permanent relief from other symptoms.  Temporary improvements will suffice, and the treated person becomes bound or ensnared to continuing those practices as powerfully as an addict who once received great benefit from a narcotic drug but increasingly relies on it to simply get mild relief.  Once Satan has deceived an individual into believing, without question, the reliability of any “information” gained from muscle testing, the deceiver has full reign in directing that individual’s life.  I’ve seen Christians do the most outlandish things with complete seriousness on the advice of a practitioner after “muscle testing” through the phone.  I’ve seen lives derailed and absolutely consumed by a fixation on divining through muscle testing.  You might read that and think, “I would never do that!  I only use it on occasion when I see my nutritionist or chiropractor.”  But remember.  Satan’s work is always progressive, which is why we’re warned in Ephesians 4:27 not to even give him a foothold.

3.   It places some at a serious health risk.

In some cases, when the allergy returns, the individual’s very life may be jeopardized.  The evidence from one scientific study done in an attempt to validate NAET clearly indicated that out of the six individuals treated for life-threatening peanut allergies, four had minor allergic reactions to peanuts following treatments.[1]  They were not “healed” of their allergies, and yet the study states that those four individuals began consuming peanuts in the week to two weeks following the study.  No follow up was done after two weeks.  Potential for fatality remains, as in the case of an Irish man who died of anaphylactic shock after a NAET treatment followed by muscle testing supposedly indicated the man was no longer allergic to peanuts.[3]  Again, absolute conviction in the reliability of Applied Kinesiology may lead to ignoring symptoms, setting the stage for Satan’s destructive purposes.

How can it be Satanic if the practitioner is a Christian and prays before/after the treatment?

Christians use many things that were designed by pagans and even perhaps used initially for pagan purposes. I once taught 3rd grade at a Classical Christian school where this idea was applied to education and referred to as “plundering the Egyptians.” For example, by teaching Greek literature and Greek ways of thinking to our students we were, in a figurative sense, taking from the riches of the pagans just as the Israelites did when they left Egypt. Whether or not this practice is generally advisable, I will not say. However the same argument is dangerously applied by many Christians regarding alternative medicine. The argument is that, although these practices have pagan roots, there is nothing intrinsically evil about them, and therefore; a Christian can use them without concern, just as one might use antibiotics or heart surgery. Then, just in case the concerns about demonic influence prove valid, just slap the name of God on to the practice through prayer, and presto, all the bases are covered!  I wasn’t comfortable with the lingo used in muscle testing, so I instead spoke of the complexity of the human body that God created and how every good gift is from God. I even “Christianized” my use of Applied Kinesiology by eliminating the part of speaking to the body and instead prayed. Surely that made it alright, I thought.

The problem with those arguments, when applied to muscle testing and related practices, is that they ARE as intrinsically evil as a séance, tarot cards, or the Ouija Board. You cannot Christianize divination. Paul speaks to this very issue in 1 Corinthians 10:18-22, which says,

 “Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar?  Do I mean then that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything?  No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons.  You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons.  Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? Are we stronger than he?”

The Journey tells the fascinating biography of a Jewish missionary, Rose Warmer and provides a good example of the futility of attaching the name of God to demonic practices.  This Jewish woman lived in Hungary during both World Wars.  As an unsaved, young woman surrounded by the turmoil of World War II, Rose became involved with the spirit world through séances.  At her first séance, demons chose to speak to the others through her, making her their medium.  She describes how, before long, she and her friends began to be frightened by the spirits, and so they began reading the Bible at the beginning of their séances, certain that only “good” spirits would then manifest.  In response, the spirits used Scripture in their messages to the group.  Just as the devil quoted Scripture when tempting Jesus, so also the demons quoted Bible verses to mislead Rose Warmer and her friends.  As is always the case with the work of the father of lies, the harmless facade was replaced over time by greater and greater destructiveness in Rose’s life.  She describes how, before she even became aware of demons possessing her, she would, without prelude, be overcome with suicidal thoughts.  As she began to recognize and resist the evil spirits’ control of her, they became even more blatant in their attempts to harm her and in making their presence known.  At that point, Rose began to truly seek God by reading His Word with a desire to understand, rather than to merely attach it to her activities.  By the grace of God, Rose eventually found answers and deliverance by truly studying the Word of God hour after hour, at the direction and prayers of a missionary in Budapest.  A great difference exists between seeking answers from the Bible and from the Lord, rather than simply attaching them to one’s actions for validation.

A further point bears thoughtful consideration before assuming that prayer sanctifies any activity.  If muscle testing is indeed divination, then it is blatant sin and will cause prayers to remain unheard.  The Bible says in Isaiah 59:1-2 that our sin can cause our prayers to go unheard. “Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.  But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.”  Therefore, praying or reading the Bible while committing sin will have no impact whatsoever.  Ezekiel speaks of God’s people attaching His name to divination when he says,

“Their visions are false and their divinations a lie. Even though the Lord has not sent them, they say, “The Lord declares,” and expect him to fulfill their words.  Have you not seen false visions and uttered lying divinations when you say, “The Lord declares,” though I have not spoken?” (Ez.13:6-7)

 Do not think that even the most sincere of Christians is immune from Satan’s deception, which is why I plead with you to seek the Lord and His Word alone when trying to discover the truth about muscle testing and related practices.  Do not make the same mistake I did by presuming that prayer makes holy these practices.

What harm is there in Christians using muscle testing or treatments based on the results of muscle testing?

It should be apparent from my posts that the foundation of Applied Kinesiology is in the occult. There is no scientific proof that it works reliably and there is no scientific explanation for how it might work when it does.  (See Part 1 for the details on this.)  However, these practices can be explained as working according to Satan’s limited power and purposes.  With that knowledge in mind, further reasons for Christians to stay away from practices relying on muscle testing should be unnecessary.  However, Satan’s deception can be profound, so let me conclude by stating clearly the reasons to avoid this modern form of divination:

1.   The Bible forbids such practices.

Leviticus 26:19 commands, “Do not practice divination or seek omens.”

Isaiah 2:6 strongly warns, “You, Lord, have abandoned your people, the descendants of Jacob. They are full of superstitions from the East; they practice divination like the Philistines and embrace pagan customs.

Throughout the Old Testament we’re told of the snare of pagan beliefs and practices in the lives of the Israelites.  Over and over again, God had to punish His people to cause them to return to Him.  However they failed to truly rid the land of the problem, and so always came back to those practices.  If you want to please the Lord and to receive His blessing on your life, you must turn from this sin and rid yourself and your family from any further connection to it.  In Acts 19: 18-20, we’re told of how, when people who once practiced sorcery came to saving faith in Jesus Christ, they publicly burned the paraphernalia of their former practices.  Like I once did, I urge you to confess to our merciful Savior your sin of involvement in the work of Satan through muscle testing, and then verbally renounce his presence in your life that, by the name of Jesus, he might flee from you.

2.   There will be a price to pay.

As a 14 year old I went on a mission trip to Haiti, and worked on building a dormitory in the city of Cap Haitian, which happens to host the world’s largest voodoo festival every summer.  For a week we could hear the voodoo drums at night and asked many questions of the Haitian pastor concerning what took place at the festival.  He told us that people would offer sacrifices to the devil by throwing them into a huge mud pit.  It was believed that the offering would cause Satan to give them some benefit that they sought.  The pastor explained that the benefit would indeed come, but often at great cost.  He told us to take notice of the curtains that hung as a doorway to the front entrance of the Haitian houses. Sure enough, following the festival we noticed a large percentage of doorway curtains that were hung, tied in the middle, when they normally hung straight.  Haitian tradition dictated that when someone died, the curtain was to be tied in the middle, similar to how we might fly a flag at half-mast.  Every year after the festival, the pastor said huge numbers of people mysteriously die.  Satan will give benefits, if it suits him, but his end goal is always destruction.

I saw the same principle manifested in my three years of involvement with muscle testing and NAET.  Yes, my hypothyroidism was amazingly ended, but I became a slave to muscle testing and treatment as I dealt with numerous “reactions” throughout every day.  Yes, an infant’s life was made better, but I have no idea what has transpired in her non-Christian family since.  Yes, I also treated a man whose muscular dystrophy had seemingly come out of remission and was put back into remission by my treatment.  But I also witnessed tragedy.  A family member by marriage appeared to have her allergy to dairy ended by my treatment and so began freely eating dairy products.  After a short time of this, the allergy returned without warning and landed her in the hospital for days as the doctors fought to undo the damage her returned colitis, triggered by the dairy consumption, had caused.  I also know of one individual whose involvement with these practices may have contributed to their death by suicide.

As I stated earlier, the nature of Satan’s work is progressively destructive.  I saw this hold true with the non-Christian practitioner who originally treated me.   After a number of initial NAET treatments with her, I taught my husband how to treat me and so my interactions with her were infrequent.  After more than two years had passed, I interviewed for a position as a practitioner with her.  After being offered the job but before starting, I learned that she had begun hosting séances in her office as another modality for achieving health.  Obviously I declined the job offer.  Such is a snap-shot of the end result of involvement with demons.  You may begin subtly, until what appears harmless becomes increasingly destructive as Satan accomplishes his ultimate goal.  There is always a price.

3.   Muscle testing is a road that doesn’t lead to complete healing.

So many are hurting and suffering physically and on a quest to find answers and relief.  I understand this better than anyone .  From living through two decades of health struggles, I understand the desperation and the blessing that even small improvements bring in the midst of such suffering.  I wouldn’t for a moment want to rob someone of benefit through these practices, if I wasn’t absolutely convinced that it is wrong and that God does offer a better way.  These practices aren’t roads that lead to healing.

The Bible contains a wealth of insight on matters of illness and health.  Satan used alternative medicine to distract me with lies that brought only partial wellness, great bondage, and grievous consequences.   It wasn’t until I devoted the energies that once were directed at alternative medicine to seeking God’s wisdom about health through the Bible that I found true and lasting healing.  When I finally, by the tremendous grace of God, repented and truly began to seek answers from the Scriptures, God brought true, complete, and lasting healing.  Where once I was an invalid, now I run for miles, multiple times a week.  Where once every detail of my life revolved around concessions and accommodations for my health issues, now I live in freedom.  Satan’s power can never offer what God can.  My heart’s desire is that you too might find these true gifts from God.  Seek Him.

 Conclusion

As one who has learned the hard way, I plead with you to have nothing to do with anything that uses or is related to muscle testing.  It doesn’t matter if the chiropractor or practitioner you see is a devout Christian who combines Scripture and prayer with these practices.  Divination is forbidden whether or not God’s name is attached to it.  As Jesus promised in Mathew 24:5, Satan can deceive the people of God.  Don’t be one of them.  Also, if you have previously been or currently are involved with muscle testing, I strongly urge you to renounce all involvement with those practices and seek the Lord’s forgiveness today.  Then truly seek God’s Word for the healing you need and trust in Him alone to deliver you.  Like me, you will find mercy and deliverance.

 Source

Here is her video/audio testimony:

You may also want to check out New Age Medicine Exposed.

(Sources for the meme: “Can You Trust Your Doctor?” By John Ankerberg and John Weldon and this blog post)

If you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you can receive Him into your heart, and He can deliver you from darkness and sin and have your name written in His Book of Life.

If you are sincere, you can say this simple prayer to the Father (it doesn’t have to be word for word):

“God, I recognize that I have not lived my life for You up until now. I have been living for myself and that is wrong. Please forgive me of all of my sins just as I forgive others. I need You in my life; I want You in my life. I acknowledge the completed work of Your only begotten Son Jesus Christ in giving His life for me on the cross, I believe in my heart Jesus is Lord and was raised from the dead and I long to receive the forgiveness you have made freely available to me through this sacrifice. Come into my life now, Lord. Take up residence in my heart and be my king, my Lord, and my Savior. From this day forward, I will no longer be controlled by sin, or the desire to please myself, but I will follow You all the days of my life. Those days are in Your hands. I ask this in the Lord and GOD Jesus’ precious and holy name. Amen.”