Feng shui – What is it? Is it okay for Christians to practice feng shui?

In the culture of the West and in the United States, most people associate feng shui with a pseudo-science that relates to interior design—deciding how to arrange furniture and such. However, feng shui, which means "wind-water" in Chinese, is a pseudo-religion upon which many people base their lives.

Feng shui has as its foundation an attempt to identify and line up with "qi" or an energy flow. This is done using laws of heaven (astronomy) and earth (geography). This duality also is reflected in many culturally Chinese disciplines, such as yin and yang, light and dark, female and male, low and high.

There are multiple forms and methods of feng shui. Some, particularly those who adhere to New Age thinking, have adopted feng shui philosophy and use it to order their lives to differing degrees. Other people see it as nonsense. Many of the principles in feng shui are based on Taoist philosophy. Those who use feng shui for home décor use the idea of the "I Ching" to determine which parts of the home are positive/negative and how to arrange furniture and décor.

For Christians, the Bible says our peace and harmony is supplied only by faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1, Philippians 4:4–7). If we rely on feng shui to provide harmony in our lives or homes, we create an idol. Christians should not rely on feng shui to manipulate their environment to produce peace. This takes the place of Jesus.

One other thought: the Bible teaches us that our true Home is not of this world (John 18:36; 1 Corinthians 7:31). Our interests and energies should be spent on glorifying God in all aspects of our lives, including in our homes, not trying to connect with some cosmic force.

Return to:
Truth about Religion

Subscribe to the CompellingTruth.org Newsletter:

Preferred Bible Version:

CompellingTruth.org is part of Got Questions Ministries

For answers to your Bible questions, please visit