Parker Brothers did not invent the Ouija Board. It had already been around for awhile when it was bought by Parker Brothers in 1966 and turned into a commercial success as a board game. The origins of the Ouija Board are disputed, and one can find many differing accounts. Apparently, it arose out of the Spiritualist movement of the 19th century, a movement which was quite active at the time.
Spiritualism is a practice (and a denominational religion) that is based on belief in contacting the dead. They believe the dead can gain wisdom that should be passed on to those on earth. Methods were devised to make such contact easier, and early forms of the Ouija Board (under other names) came about as a result, but some were awkward to use. People altered these boards as time went by to make them less complicated.
A board was further transformed around the turn of the century under the direction and ownership of two men, Elijah J. Bond and William Fuld. Fuld’s name can be seen on the Ouija Board today. The name Ouija is a combination of the French and German words for ‘yes’: Oui and Ja. According to Bond and Fuld, the Board suggested its own name.
The primary purpose of the board is and always has been to contact disembodied spirits. Contacting the dead is called necromancy, and contacting spirits is spiritism, both strongly condemned by God (Deut. 18:9-12; Lev. 19:31, 20:6; I Sam 28, II Kings 21:6; Is. 8:19, 19:3-4).
The Board’s translated name, ‘yes, yes’, is an ingenious and subtle way to invite spirit contact. Dead people cannot hang around after death; you cannot communicate with a dead person. The practices and techniques of contacting the dead and contacting spirits are used widely in the occult. Although the pointer is often moved intentionally or subconsciously by the players, one is putting himself in a vulnerable position when using the Board. “Playing” this ‘game is revealing an interest in spirit contact, because clearly, a piece of cardboard cannot hear and answer questions. If contact is made, it is demons (evil spirits, fallen angels), not the dead, who are responding. If Satan can disguise himself as “an angel of light” (2 Cor. 11:14), then it is not improbable that fallen angels can disguise themselves as the dead.
The Ouija Board is not harmless just because it is marketed as a game. Satan, the master of deception and seduction, is good at twisting the truth into lies (Genesis 3:1-6; John 8:44). Satan likes disguises and his lies are often disguised as games.
The next time you might be tempted to play the Ouija Board as a game, look beyond its disguise and see it for what it really is. Think about this: Just what or who are you trying to contact? God tells us to seek Him instead of the dead (Isaiah 8:19), and Christ “is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them,” (Hebrews 7:25b). Who wants the Ouija Board when you can know the One Who has “complete authority in heaven and on earth” (Matthew28:18)?
If you are wondering about Christ, think on His words in John 5:23b-24,
“He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him. I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.”