How should a Christian view the idea of auras?

Answer  
  

Auras are believed to be subtle energy fields or fields of light emanating from human beings, as well as all living things, surrounding them like a bubble. It is claimed that the human aura indicates the spiritual, physical, and emotional state of a person via the color, depth, and strength of the aura. The colors are interpreted as indicating a feeling, experience, state of health, or quality possessed by the owner. Reading or scanning a person’s aura is allegedly done by some psychics and also by those in some areas of alternative healing therapies. Auras are allegedly seen through clairvoyance, a paranormal ability to see the non\-material realm. It is thought that people either have innate supernatural abilities to see auras or can develop psychic powers to see them. Belief in auras is an integral part of the occult, particularly among New Age teachings, Wicca, or witchcraft, all of which are condemned in Scripture as abhorrent to God. The Bible strongly condemns spiritism, mediums, the occult, and psychics (Leviticus 20:27; Deuteronomy 18:10\-13\).  
  

As with all New Age teachings, there is no biblical basis for belief in auras. There are some who actually believe that the Bible supports a belief in auras and point to Exodus 34 and Matthew 17 as scriptural proof. However, even the most cursory read\-through of these passages makes it clear that what was witnessed was the glory of God. In the Exodus passage, Moses had just come down the mountain after spending 40 days and nights with God, and the glory of God was still reflected in his face. The Matthew passage is the account of Jesus’ transfiguration. Both passages are specific to divine encounters and have nothing to do with a personal energy field.  
  

Some people claim that the halos around Jesus, His disciples, and various saints and angels in paintings represent their auras. It is believed that painting halos was first done in ancient Greece and Rome, and then borrowed by Christians in the early years of the church and during the Middle Ages for paintings of angels and the saints. Greek artists brought the halo technique into India during the reign of Alexander the Great, and Buddhist artists adopted it in their depictions of Buddha and Buddhist saints. Halos in paintings are pictorial representations of the spiritual power or status of a figure; there is no evidence that they signify a belief in auras by the artists. Therefore, the claim that halos in paintings are related to auras is unfounded. Furthermore, depiction of halos is part of cultural views and the artist’s imagination. As with auras, there is no biblical basis for a belief in halos.  
  

The Bible does not speak of halos or auras, but it does speak of light in many places, especially of Jesus Christ as “the light of the world” (John 8:12\) and of Satan as one who can disguise himself as an “angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14\). Consequently, we know that there are the true light and a counterfeit light. God says about Jesus, “In him was life, and that life was the light of men” (John 1:4\). Christians are to live as “children of light” (Ephesians 5:8\), knowing that they “are sons of the light and sons of the day” (1 Thessalonians 5:5\). Since “God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5\), one should reject the false light of the aura, a belief rooted in occultism, and rather seek the true light of Jesus Christ. “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6\).  
  

