Should a Christian have a dreamcatcher in their car?

TODAY A DEVOTED MEMBER OF OUR SITE ASKS US THE QUESTION, CAN A CHRISTIAN HAVE A DREAMCATCHER?

In this article, I tell a personal story, which is linked to a question that was recently asked of me. You will therefore discover my opinion, and the result of my research concerning dreamcatchers and the Christian religion.

A few years ago, my parents took a cruise ship to Alaska. During this trip, my mother found an attractive dreamcatcher, and she gave it to me as a birthday present. So I hung this dreamcatcher in my car, around the rearview mirror, just to remember her and her thoughtful gift.

Thus, I was caught off guard a few years later, when one of my Christian friends was offended to see this dreamcatcher hanging in my car. Some Native American cultures historically venerate dreamcatchers as religious symbols, intended to protect children from bad dreams and evil spirits. But the broader pan-Indian movement of the 20th century, in an effort to raise awareness among the majority population about Native American cultures, adopted the dreamcatcher as a cultural symbol.

Not all Native Americans share exactly the same spiritual beliefs as the Ojibwe tribe, from which the dreamcatcher probably originates. My mother considered it a souvenir, something she wanted to give to her son.

The Christian apologist John Oakes, on the apologetics blog Evidence for Christianity (a blog for English speakers), whom I highly respect, has an article explaining why he personally would not have a dreamcatcher in his car. We both agree that having a dreamcatcher is a gray area, in the category of "disputable matter," as found in Romans 14. Oakes does not think a dreamcatcher is a sin, but personally, he would not have one because it could offend someone else, just as eating food sacrificed to idols could personally offend another Christian in the first-century church.

I support most of what Oakes says, but I take a different personal position. It is important to remember the context for Romans 14. There were Christians in the first century who came from pagan backgrounds, where eating food sacrificed to idols was commonly practiced. Such practices would offend the conscience of some believers in certain contexts, which is why the apostle Paul exhorted other believers from different backgrounds to carefully avoid offending the conscience of the more sensitive believers by avoiding such practices.

In the case of my Christian friend who opposed my mother's dreamcatcher, this friend had no Native American background. That was also not true for my mother or me. Therefore, it was no one's conscience that was "offended," but rather the idea my friend had in mind of a dark power, that maybe someone, somewhere, could be troubled by the presence of a dreamcatcher.

Although I appreciate my friend's concern that the followers of Christ should reject idols, my response is as follows:

Good grief!

THE EFFORT WE MIGHT DEDICATE TO TRYING TO REMOVE ALL THINGS FROM OUR LIVES THAT COULD OFFEND SOMEONE, SOMEWHERE IN THE WORLD, IS A FOOLISH TASK.

To apply Romans 14 in this way takes the text out of its proper New Testament context. It would be a form of perverse legalism to constantly monitor our lives, looking for those practices or artifacts that might trouble someone, somewhere. The meaning of symbols constantly changes across various cultures today, being appropriated and reappropriated with different meanings quite frequently.

For example, the radical Islamic State (ISIS) destroyed countless precious cultural objects of ancient Syrian culture, all in the name of eradicating idolatry. Technically, were these Muslim radicals right to declare various statues as polytheistic idols from a bygone era? But would anyone be tempted to worship these idols today? Maybe, but it is highly, highly unlikely. Most modern people consider these artifacts as testimonies of history and so we mourn their loss. As this destructive ideological extremism spreads, preserving precious cultural heritage becomes more important than ever.

Just think of the evolution of the swastika, discovered by the archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann, and more recently the Confederate flag. At one time, these were symbols with positive meanings, but no longer.

A popular American Coca-Cola pendant, before the Nazis adopted the swastika as a symbol and ruined it for everyone.

As Christians, we regularly use terms like "Sunday," "Monday," "Tuesday," "Wednesday," etc., to describe the days of the week. The religious people of the 17th and 18th centuries refused to use this terminology for the days of the week because these names correspond to pagan gods who were worshiped hundreds of years ago during the pre-Christian era of Europe (the same logic applied to the first eight months of the Roman calendar). Thus, these early religious people used terms like "first day," "second day," "third day," etc., a very biblical terminology, to faithfully describe the days of the week.

But to my knowledge, there are no people today, nor in the 17th century, who come or came from these pagan origins, who might have or had such sensitive consciences. I do not see Christians today demanding to change the names of the days of the week, wishing to rid our minds of these supposedly pagan mentalities, who might be tempted to worship the sun (Sunday), or the moon (Monday), or Thor, the god of war (Thursday).

Now, suppose I actually know someone who would drive in my car who really came from a background where a dreamcatcher had a religious or spiritual meaning. They might see my dreamcatcher as implicit approval, tempting them toward a spiritually harmful practice.

That would be an area where Romans 14, regarding "disputable questions," would be applicable. I hope in that case I would quietly take down my dreamcatcher and slip it into my glove compartment. I would not want anything to become a stumbling block in their path to Christ.

But until then, I like having this dreamcatcher visible, to remember how much my mother cared for me. If there are other Christians who continue to oppose, I would say this: they probably have too much free time, and they would do better to put their efforts into clearing our lives of "idols" to use them better.

Feel free to respond to this story, I would like to know your opinion, and your testimonies if such a story has ever happened to you!

See you soon for another article!