Bible Dipping

Bible dipping is the oldest and most common form of bibliomancy -- divination by book.

Bible dips are available anywhere, anytime, even when traveling far from home and staying in the cheapest motel. You can bible dip alone or with a partner. One person -- the reader -- holds the bible while the sitter thinks of a question.

So simple to do -- all you need is faith and a finger!

The reader then opens the bible at random and, without looking, places her finger on the page -- whatever word the finger lands on/ points to is the Answer.

Technicalities

By enlisting a partner, you are less tempted to cheat -- such as rationalizing your personal preference between two words when your finger technically lands in the space between, or touches, more than one.

By asking the question silently, the purity of the Word may be preserved, as the Reader can't be tempted to sway the result or flat-out tell you what he thinks you want to hear.

It's like having a Magic 8-ball -- with a much bigger vocabulary -- linked directly to God.

Bibliomancy can be performed with any book. I have a few theories of my own about Who is guiding the Hand in random selection, but I presume most God-fearing Christians feel that the Good Book safely invokes powers of Light, and that no dark entities would dare come close. The magic of physically handling the Word of God validates the truth of sworn testimony and is so highly revered it is entrenched in the judicial system of major world governments. Quicker and cheaper than a lie-detector test...

Warning: Can Be Highly Addictive

As a fail-safe, I make it a general rule to limit follow-up questions, clarifications, confirmations, and do-overs to no more than THREE dips per session. If you're not careful you can weaken the power of anything by using it too often.

I must credit Augusten Burroughs for introducing me to the actual phrase bible dipping, which he refers to in his memoir Running With Scissors