Please enlighten me regarding hypnotherapy. Can a Christian go for hypnotherapy sessions (for example to stop nail bitting / slimming) or practise hypnotherapy as hypnotherapist? Please advise. -- Caroline (Singapore)

I see no major problem with this… But any good thing (painkillers, sleep, tea) can be abused. The Bible doesn’t address the issue directly.

Now if someone says it’s dangerous to permit another person to bring him/her into an altered state of consciousness, on what basis could we permit anaesthesia? I would, however, add one caveat. Where hypnotism is blended with eastern / New Age religion, alarm bells should be going off. We should be careful to steer clear of paganism.

Hope this helps.