Updated: 12-13-2023

The Explosion of Paranormal Shows

I have a confession to make. Not sure if this is to you or to God, but here is goes: I love paranormal shows like Ghost Hunters. Back in 2008, I even planned a watch party for the first show of the new season! Project Fear is my favorite show. I do believe in ghosts! I think . . .

Maybe you are not familiar with these kind of shows. Normally they are weekly programs that air on YouTube or the Discovery Channel.  There are dozens of them now. In them, paranormal investigators broadcast their search for activity of “high strangeness.” They take calls from around the country from those who believe that their place of residence is “haunted.” Each show consists of the investigation crew traveling to the “haunted” location and listening to stories from the witnesses. After this they set up their cameras, night vision and thermal imaging, and begin to walk around in the dark looking for some type of communication from the dead or paranormal experience. What I like most about Ghost Hunters is that they don’t seem to be looking to claim any place as haunted. In fact, for the most part they “debunk” people’s claims, finding plausible alternative explanations to the their experience. But every once in a while (maybe every third show) they find something that leaves you scratching your head asking “How do I fit that into my theology?”

Since Ghost Hunters began two decades ago, there has been a massive surgence of television and YouTube shows about paranormal activity. From Ghost Hunters spin-offs to reenactments of “actual” hauntings, the entertainment business has found a niche to peak and feed peoples’ insatiable curiosity in the spiritual world. Its popularity cannot be ignored.

What is a Ghost?

The most popular understanding of the word “ghost” is in reference to disembodied spirits of humans who have died yet still walk the earth. It is believed by many that these disembodied spirits “haunt” certain locations. Trapped between this world and the next, these ghosts, it is claimed, often reach out to the land of the living.

Do You Believe in Ghosts?

This is an odd question. In one sense the answer is absolutely yes. Christianity denies physicalism (the belief that the physical comprises the sum total of reality). We believe that once a person dies, their spirit leaves their body. Therefore, there are disembodied spirits. The problem comes when the claims are made that these disembodied spirits remain on earth in some form and “haunt” or communicate with others.

The Three Christian Options

There are three primary views or perspectives that Christians take concerning this issue:

1. No there are no ghosts. Any supposed paranormal experience, if authentic, should be labeled as demonic activity.

This view would argue that the Christian worldview does not allow for disembodied spirits to roam the earth. When people die, their spirit enters into an intermediate state of existence, either going to the presence of God (heaven) or a waiting place to be judged (hell; see the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus—Lk. 16:19-31). In other words, there is no intermediate state of the intermediate state. Demons, however, do roam the earth as does Satan. Demons will often manifest themselves in ways that will confuse people’s worldview and undermines the Christian message. If a person were to believe in ghosts, this is, at the very least, a compromise with regards to proper Christian eschatology (beliefs in the here-after). Demons may appear as those who have previously died—even animals—in order to disenchant people about the afterlife, making the Christian worldview conflict with personal experience. These demons may communicate with a knowledge of the lives of those whom they are impersonating, giving the definite impression that they must be identified with that person.

Therefore, according to this view, it is unbiblical and destructive to believe in ghosts in the popular sense.

Strengths:

  • It would seem the Bible teaches, both explicitly and implicitly, that upon death people either go to the presence of God or await judgment.
  • Demonic activity does present a plausible and biblical explanation for paranormal activity (Job 2:2; Eph. 6:12; 2 Cor. 4:4).
  • The Bible has very little about the existence of disembodied spirits, but much about demonic activity.
  • The Bible warns against any communication with the dead—necromancing (cf. Lev 19:31; 20:6; 1 Sam 28:8, 9; Isa 8:19; 19:3; 29:4).

Weaknesses:

  • Many of the “hauntings” are hard to explain simply through demonic activity. Often those places that are claimed to be haunted are abandoned hospitals, ghost towns, and the like. These places are uninhabited and therefore do not seem suitable for a malicious demon to inhabit.
  • Most of the time communication with these “ghosts” is very limited. Shadows, moving objects, and faint voices does not seem effective toward the demonic agenda of confusion.
  • “Hell” or the “lake of fire” does not seem to be open for business yet. I don’t think it gets created until after judgement (Rev. 20:12-15). Therefore, those who die and are not “in Christ” are in a “place” awaiting judgement. But we are not sure where.
  • It is not necessary that disembodied spirits of humans roaming the earth would confuse the Christian worldview.  While the Bible does speak about the intermediate state, much of it remains a mystery. We just can’t be definitive about this issue, even if the Bible does suggest that it is normative for people to be situated in one place or the other upon death.
  • We don’t know where the intermediate state is. It could be a parallel plane to our own dimension.

2. Ghosts may be spirits of disembodied people who are left on the earth without explanation.

While not discounting the possibility that many of these events can be attributed to demons, this view believes that paranormal encounters may be legitimate encounters of disembodied spirits of people. We don’t have an explanation as to why these people would be on earth, but a lack of explanation does not mean that it is impossible.

There are four primary biblical arguments that this view uses to justify its openness to ghosts.

  1. When Saul sought a medium the witch of En-dor was apparently able to bring Samuel back from the dead in a disembodied state (1 Sam. 28:7-19). It is interesting that Saul was able to determine it was Samuel by his age and dress. This suggests that even in a disembodied state, spirits retain their physical characteristics that they possessed at death—even their clothes! This parallels with what many people describe when they encounter spirits whose characteristics, language, and dress remain the same as when they died.
  2. When Christ was transformed on the “mount of transfiguration” Moses and Elijah appeared in a pre-resurrected disembodied form (Lk. 9:29-33). While it is difficult to know how Peter recognized them, it seems evident that they were recognizable. Again, this parallels modern ghost tales.
  3. When Christ was walking on the water, the disciples thought he was a ghost (Matt. 14:26). This suggests that even the disciples’ worldview allowed for ghosts. Christ never corrected this (at least in the text).
  4. In the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus, the rich man requests that someone be sent back from the dead (i.e. a ghost) to warn his brothers about their impending doom (Lk. 16:31). While this request was denied, it was not denied based upon its impossibility, but its inefficiency to bring about belief. (Although, this story seems to suggest that Lazarus be resurrected to go inform the rich man’s brothers, not go back as a ghost.)

In addition to the arguments above is the evidence provided by near-death experiences (NDEs). Often people will describe a post-death experience where they remained, for a time, in a conscious disembodied state of existence without going to either heaven or hell. Often they will describe how they remained near their lifeless body observing the activity around them as attempts were made to revive their life.

Based upon these arguments, this view would tentatively believe that some paranormal activity can be legitimately attributed to disembodied human spirits (ghosts), believing that the intermediate state is too much of a mystery about which to make definitive pronouncements. They would be agnostic as to the purpose of this ghostly activity and this view would caution people about pursuing such activity.

Strengths:

  • The intermediate state of existence (the state between death and resurrection) is a mystery that God has seen fit to leave in relative obscurity.
  • The appearance of Samuel in his disembodied form does seem to give credence to the belief that 1) disembodied spirits—even of believers—can manifest themselves and 2) they do retain the physical characteristics they possessed at death.
  • The nuances of certain “hauntings” seem to favor something other than a demonic spirit (i.e. residuals—where the manifestation is non-personal having an entity that expresses itself the same way over and over again without any personal engagement—i.e. the same sound of a child’s laughter).

Weaknesses:

  • The “why?” question does not have many plausible explanations.
  • It is problematic when people tell of dead Christians who continually contact them. It seems that “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8) would preclude any manifestation here on earth.
  • Necromancing (communicating with the dead) is a sin that the Lord prohibits (cf. Lev 19:31; 20:6; 1 Sam 28:8, 9; Isa 8:19; 19:3; 29:4). Therefore, it would seem odd that God would allow such activity from people who have died—especially dead believers.
  • Near-death experiences are often problematic varying from culture to culture as well as being contradictory to the Biblical witness.
  • This seems to concede to and draw from cultural folk-theology about ghosts.

3. All “paranormal” activity has a naturalistic explanation.

As in Ghost Hunters where most of the supposed activity is “debunked,” this view believes that all activity, if all the information were available, would be debunked, having a purely naturalistic explanation. It is illegitimate to suppose a “ghost of the gaps” mentality that explains all the “unexplainable” with paranormal explanations. God neither allows ghosts nor demons to manifest themselves in such a way today.

Strengths

  • Most activity does seem to have an alternative naturalistic explanation.
  • Fits better within an advanced worldview that is able to understand most things natralistically.
  • Does not resort to a “ghost of the gaps” mentality which can be and often is abused.
  • Less sensational and usually will allow you to keep respect of your colleagues.

Weaknesses

  • Fails to recognize the continued reality of demonic activity due to a borderline naturalistic worldview.
  • Fits better within a deistic worldview than a Christian worldview.
  • Too easily discounts people’s experience.
  • Is often abandoned when there is a subjective experience, leaving the impression that people hold to this simply because they have not experienced activity personally, not because it is true.

Hopefully this primer has been helpful.

Now I want to ask you a couple of questions:

1. Which view do you believe is most plausible?

2. Have you ever experienced something “paranormal”? If so, what and how did/do you explain it?

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How About You—Do You Believe in Ghosts?


C Michael Patton
C Michael Patton

C. Michael Patton is the primary contributor to the Parchment and Pen/Credo House Blog. He has been in ministry for nearly twenty years as a pastor, author, speaker, and blogger. Th.M. Dallas Theological Seminary (2001), president of Credo House Ministries and Credo Courses, author of Now that I'm a Christian (Crossway, 2014) Increase My Faith (Credo House, 2011), and The Theology Program (Reclaiming the Mind Ministries, 2001-2006), host of Theology Unplugged, and primary blogger here at Parchment and Pen. But, most importantly, husband to a beautiful wife and father to four awesome children. Michael is available for speaking engagements. Find him everywhere: Find him everywhere

    108 replies to "Do You Believe in Ghosts? The Christian View of the Paranormal"

    • Jennifer

      I am a Christian and the subject of ghosts wasn’t really brought up in my home but I always believed that ghosts were just untrue, just hollywood stuff. I do however believe demons and angels are in this world. About a month or so ago I was home alone, kids were at school, husband was at work. It was a bright sunny day, nothing unusual about it. I had a horrible headache and decided to lay down for a bit before the kids got home. I had been laying on the couch for maybe 10 min, not quite asleep yet, and my cat was laying on top of my stomach. All of a sudden I heard what sounded like a door slamming shut. It was so loud. The air was not on or anything that could cause a draft. I know I wasn’t hearing things either because my cat heard it and jumped off me and got low to the ground as if to prowl for something. I was so scared someone was in my house (even though I keep the doors locked when I’m home alone) that I grabbed a knife from the kitchen and slowly started checking out each room. My cat slowly followed me. I looked under beds, closets, everywhere…I even looked to see if something had fallen somewhere…there was no one in the house but me. When I came back from the back of the house my cat was in the doorway of the office and hallway which is where I thought the sound had come from and she had her back arched and tail poofed out like she was trying to scare something off or scared herself. That alone freaked me out. I knew I wasn’t imagining things. So my question is what in the world made that sound and even had my cat scared? There is no other way to describe the sound except that is sounded exactly as if the office or a bedroom door had slammed hard. My husband’s mom passed away in our house 20 years ago from cancer but I just can’t believe that would be her. I had never met her, she passed before I even met him. We live in the house he grew up in, it was built I think in the 1950s. I just want to know what that was.

    • maria

      OH MY gosh!! are you a christian for real? I say this because you should know that hell was created for Satan when he was pushed out of heaven, it exists now! not after the judgement.. And if you say that ghost activity is mostly seen in hospitals and abandoned places (which is not entirely true) where humans dont live, and therefore demons shouldnt be there because there are no humans to bother,but at the end many humans go to those places because they know that there could ghosts there and demons know that so they confuse people contradicing the bible. Hope that I cleared things up!! ps: I am not a native english speaker so sorry about grammar 🙂

    • Carrie

      I have always been fascinated by the supernatural or paranormal. I like to get various views when researching so this has been very interesting. Just wanted to leave a theory on good or evil ghosts.
      If you are not a believer in Christ Jesus, satan really doesn’t have to work to hard to steer you away and if you are a believer then satan knows your smart enough to spot evil. In both scenarios think of this. The non-believer, if confronted with only evil, hurtful, demonic spirits might be scared into seeking out God and his Son instead of dabbling deeper and deeper into the darkness trying to find answers. The believer is not so easily deceived by demonic spirits because we expect them to portray hate and anger etc. So if satan is trying to deceive a believer wouldn’t it be more convincing if it seemed to be a harmless good spirit or if it portrayed itself as a long lost most loved relative trying to reach out to the believer from beyond? Lets not forget who we are dealing with. Our fight is not just against flesh and blood remember, we are all fighting a spiritual battle against the rulers of this earth. The ruler.. satan and his demons. He is THE great deceiver. Don’t think for a minute that he wont study you to find your weakness of mind and spirit in order to deceive even you! He concentrates on the believers! We are his ultimate goal. Satan is not bound by natural law as we are here on earth. He can and will use the supernatural in what ever way he knows it will work to lead one more of God’s children astray! Just my opinion!

    • Benson

      I would like to say that as far as I know these spiritual entities are demons. God never intended or want us to get involved with the spiritual realm. See… Our minds are patterned and think according to what we see, hear and feel. Satan can manipulate these senses and hence can completely throw us off the word of God. My brothers and sisters in case any of you encounter the dark side remember this-“Greater is he who lives in me than the one(God Almighty) who lives in this world(Satan)” .I liked what carrie said. I am not 100 sure if Ghosts exist or not but I am sure that I am safe and sound as Jesus said,’ I will never leave you’. I have been attacked by the devil many times right from my childhood but every time I have chased him away in the name of Jesus. Attacks happen. We sometimes get attacked by animals , people, vehicles and parasites so its just a way of life but wait- we have a 100% proof that is -God will never leave us to the mercy of the demons and I say confidently NEVER. I say this from my life experience. I read the entire blog and even after coming to the last blog wasn’t convinced of some issues(if departed human souls exist) but I know for sure that I am safe from all that might harm me. So remember that We have more power because Jesus gifted it to us(greater things than these shall ye do also) . if the legions begged Jesus they shall to us too but only if we have the faith and assurance that God lives in us.For more materials and things to make you more confident check out -Pastor benny hinn, pastor andrew wommack, pastor zac poonen.Their preachings have helped me a lot.Praise the Lord and All Glory to God.

    • Jeri

      I am a christian and a believer and have been my whole life. I also know that there are spirits among the living, ghosts if thats what you want to call them. I have experienced the evil side and the good side, or friendly side. A house that I lived in for many years and one that I own has something there that just stays there. I evidenced happenings when I lived there and now my daughter and her children are still experiencing evidence of a presence of some kind. Years ago before purchasing my home, I had a very scary occurence happen to me. I had just gone to bed, alone, and all of a sudden I was pinned to my bed and there was something evil in the top right hand corner. I could not move or speak and my body from my shoulders down began to rise from the bed at an angle that is virtually impossible. I could not move or speak, the only thing I could do was pray, which I began to do in my mind. All of a sudden I dropped back to my bed and was able to move so I got the heck out of that room. This was myonly experience with evil. I have had numerous other things happen in my home, that was just signs

    • Jeri

      Continuing my post. In my home I have experienced things moving, things turning on, cold spot and an apparition of some sort, that really could not be seen. Once as a child some friends and I used a Quiga board and it scared me by knowing things that was impossible for anyone there to know. My daughter as an adult used a Quiga boatd and the same thing happened to her. Neither of us will get near one of those things again. I believe that a person can open a door to the evil side if they take the steps to do so. I have also had a near death experience and have been in the light and told to go home because it was not my time. This was confirmed by the nurse that I truly had flat lined for a short time when this happened. God is REAL and satan is also. I put my faith in God and I do not mess around with anything that could possibly open the door to evil. A lot of people, when hearing these things, think I’m crazy. I know that they are true and so do others that experienced them with me.

    • Jeri

      To ask Linda Orze

      What are the scriptures in the bible about good and evil souls staying here on earth that you are referring to?

    • Will

      I’ve had the experience of being pinned down to my bed a number of times. It happened several times while I was in the Air Force, in the dormitory. Other Christians in the same dormitory also had similar experiences. All of us had no doubt that it was demonic. Whenever it happened, when I muttered “Jesus”, even incomprehensibly because my mouth also was paralyzed, whatever it was always left immediately.

      Christians and non-Christians alike can be tormented by false spirits of different types because of sin, wrongful vows, sins of previous generations in the family, curses, abuse, and so on. The difference is that Christians are given the means to overcome these situations. When a person dies, the tormenting demon spirit no longer has a home. The behaviour of ghosts is often quite consistent with demons, and the atmosphere they create and exist in. The spirit of course knows about the person, their life, their desires, etc.

      Also many times, these “hauntings” happen in a house or place where something wrong was done. I heard once of a foul atmosphere in a room where a child was locked up abusefully in the past. A mature Christian was called in to “clean” the place and sanctify it and declare the peace and presence of God on the place, and break the power of the sin that was committed there because of the inner vows the child had made while being abused there.

    • Lola

      hello people? what about this:
      1 Samuel 28:11–15

      “Then the woman said, ‘Whom shall I bring up for you?’ And he said, ‘Bring Samuel up for me.’ When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman spoke to Saul, saying, ‘Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul!’ And the king said to her, ‘Do not be afraid. What did you see?’ And the woman said to Saul, ‘I saw a spirit ascending out of the earth.’ So he said to her, ‘What is his form?’ And said, ‘An old man is coming up, and he is covered with a mantle.’ And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground and bowed down. Now Samuel said to Saul, ‘Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?’ And Saul answered, ‘I am deeply distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God has departed from me and does not answer me anymore, neither by prophets nor by dreams. Therefore I have called you, that you may reveal to me what I should do.’ ”

      Ghosts are real.

    • […] Michael Patton, in his blog post titled “Do You Believe in Ghosts? The Christian View of the Paranormal,” lists a few potential problems with the idea that ghosts are always […]

    • Steve

      Something interesting to note… 2 Cor 5:8 is most often misquoted and misunderstood. It does not say that to be absent from the body IS to be present with the Lord. Rather, Paul says he had rather be absent from the body AND be present from the Lord. There is an important difference between these two little words, “is” and “and”.

      In other words, I’d like to be on vacation AND at the beach. But to be on vacation does not necessarily mean that I AM on the beach. 🙂

    • Cris

      It seems like a simple explanation, but even scriptures as quoted in the #2 explanation above have also given me further questions about ghosts. I have been a Christian for nearly 50 years. I am Spirit-filled and know that there are spiritual forces at work all over the world and beyond.
      From the age of about 20, I began to have occasional demonic experiences, similar to what some others have mentioned here. I would have a visitation at night, an oppression that is hard to describe, but it is something like suffocation. Even if sound asleep, I could sense the presence of something in my room. The ONLY thing that would cause this to stop was the name of Jesus. The choking feeling would make it difficult to even get the name out, but I even found that calling on Him in my mind would allow me to break through this oppression. The second that Jesus’ name was spoken, this horrific demonic oppression would instantly disappear. I could breathe, pray and eventually go back to sleep.
      I learned to anoint and pray over every place that I moved into. This has made a huge difference. I once had moved into a temporary apartment and was so tired I went straight to bed. That was the strangest night, as a voice literally spoke something to me in the night and I literally knew in my spirit NOT to repeat the words, even though I was asleep. The words were not English. The next day, I anointed and prayed over my place and never had this experience afterwords.
      Over the past year, the strangest events of all have happened. My mother passed away of cancer. She was a devoted born-again Christian. I was with her during her final month. Later, I visited that same house and stayed in the bed where she had died. During the first night, I had a very strong sense of a presence in my room. I forced myself to wake up, saying “Who are you?” There was a figure next to my bed, the very same size and shape of my mother, only it was very dark and only the silhouette could be…

    • Cris

      The presence left immediately. Later, my sister, who stayed in that same house for nearly a year, told me about several events. Once, she heard a noise in the other end of the house. She went into the kitchen to find two plates that had hung on the wall were now perfectly arranged on a placemat on the the table.
      Another time, a huge mirror that had hung for decades suddenly came crashing down onto the buffet underneath it. Later, when the house was being shown for selling, one of the shadow boxes that contained items from my parents’ lives, fell off the wall while the people were in that room. Nothing like this had ever happened over the many years that my parents lived there. Only after my mom died.
      Eventually, my sister and a friend did a prayer walk and set a boundary of protection over the house and property. She didn’t have any further events during the final months of living there.
      I really don’t have an explanation for this, as it has caused me to ask new questions.

    • Steve

      Like Cris, who commented above, I too am a spirit-filled, born again Christian who has had recent experiences that have caused me to rethink things I have been taught all my life.

      We purchased a home recently that has antique items that the original builder brought in from various locations and “built them into” the home; a mantel from 1897, stained glass, 1920’s hotel doors, doors from a Civil War mansion… Within one month of living there, we began to experience inexplainable things. The first was that our double master bedroom doors closed on their own when my wife was home alone. A few days later, my wife was awakened by footsteps that sounded like boots walking on the hardwood floor in the living room, just on the other side of the same bedroom doors.

      Our 70 yr old neighbor and her brother built our house for their parents 40 yrs ago. We asked her about the history of the home & if it had ghosts. She smiled and said, “Maybe. But they’re harmless” (which honestly freaked me out). We told her the antique doors had closed on their own, but said nothing to her about footsteps. Then she shared her story about the doors. She explained that she grew up in a 25 room antebellum mansion that had been used as a Civil War hospital (decades before she was born). As a little girl she would often lay in bed and hear what sounded like soldiers boots walking across the front porch outside her bedroom. Then she revealed that the double doors on our master bedroom had been taken from that house. They had been her bedroom doors leading to that front porch. We freaked out hearing this and told her that we had heard the same boots and she just smiled. Creepy!

      That night, my wife and I anointed and prayed over the home, commanding in the name of Jesus any spirit that was not of God to leave. We’ve never had any more trouble. I was taught that spirits are either demons or angles, not dead people, but this makes me wonder how much we really don’t…

    • Sheri

      As a progressive Christian who doesn’t believe in the existence of hell or Satan, my theology has always been that as soon as you die, your soul is immediately one with God. So ghosts and demons aren’t something I believe in. However, we are made of energy and it does make sense that there are many leftover energies in the world from the people who have lived which could account for the things we label ghosts.

    • Jen

      Sherri, not trying to start a debate, but I am curious as to with you being a Christian, how you don’t believe in Satan or Hell? The Bible teaches they are very in fact real.

    • Razael

      why do you have to follow the word of man word by word
      follow your heart thats where god is the bible is a political mess and only should be used as guide lines the rest is up to you if you believe something then believe it

    • Kathy

      I am a born again believer and always thought that because the Holy Spirit dwells within me I was immune to “haunting” by evil spirits. I don’t believe in ghosts but do believe that Satan is out to deceive as many as he can by tricking people into believing that spirits of deceased people linger on earth in certain places. I am fascinated by the ghost stories on tv and watch them frequently. I have never had a paranormal experience myself and quite frankly don’t want one. Was wondering though are born again believers in fact immune to such things?

    • Kathy

      I am a born again believer and always thought that because the Holy Spirit dwells within me I was immune to “haunting” by evil spirits. I don’t believe in ghosts but do believe that Satan is out to deceive as many as he can by tricking people into believing that spirits of deceased people linger on earth in certain places. I am fascinated by the paranormal and watch ghost stories on tv frequently. I have never had a paranormal experience myself and quite frankly don’t want one. Was wondering though are born again believers in fact immune to such things?

    • Brian Hutchinson

      I know this is an old post but I feel I need to post
      The ghost as we have came to know though TV and Books is different for me. Te ghost can only come from 3 forms. 1) is and angle or God him self. 2) is the spirit of a once human on earth. They have only came to earth for a specific purpose through God. In other words God allows them or commands they to do Gods work. 3) is the devil or demons. This is that I be leave at this time and day for me. I was born again drowning at the bottom or a river. I said: “God I am yours. I ready to come home.” But he had something different for me. Later in my early teen years I bargain to doubt God’s existence. He have my soul to the devil in order to save my soul. I have seen, herd, physically Touched and lived for 5 years in continuous torment by the devil and demons. I did not know this until about 3 years ago. In short God showed me what it was like not to have God in my life. When I met my wife all demonic things stopped. I still see, hear spirits bit nothing bad. I keep this to my self except tell my wife. In closing no matter if you believe or not does not change the fact that there is a real spirit world. God has chosen this Burden for some. He chose people to deal with this matter. For other like my wife has never had any experience of such. For my? It is God’s will for me. How can I disagree. Cheers

    • ProtectMalaysian

      1) The word ghost in any language or movie often carry the idea that a

      dead person souls or spirit remain or returned to earth to do

      something bad and appears to be ungly and hostile. Which CHristian or

      not, should never relate it to Biblical Samuel, Lazarus, Moses or

      Elijah. Samuel was illegally called, Lazarus raised from dead back to

      human mortal form, Moses and Elijah are in their glorifed form like

      JESUS.

      2) JESUS did not say anything about ghost when Peter thought that HE

      was ghost, should not be used here, as hebrew word ghost in that

      context does not mean hostile returned dead person, but simply refers

      to spiritual being that defies gravity and appear to walk on water.

      That was why JESUS ask Peter to touch Him.

      3) Demons impersonate dead people to deceive those who does not know

      the word of GOD or JESUS. if a murdered victim returned and has the

      ablity to make events in this physical world, then he or she would go

      arrent the murderer. Obviously demons will not go arrest bad guys,

      because bad people are under their influence to kill, they are their

      agents, just different job scope.

      4) Why demons pretend to be ghost in some country and as alien in some

      other? because they will appear to you the way you believe they are,

      as long as you think that ghost is scary and powerful, you will think

      that demons are more powerful, so human spend their life fearing

      ghost. the TRUTH is, we should fear GOD instead of all these ghost or

      demons things. Hell is will be made to punish evil spirits and demons

      and their human alliances.

      5) forget about panaroma or ghost, GOD is whom we shall fear. The

      punishment for attempting to waste HIS time and try HIS patience is

      more scary than any ghost or demons.

      Fear GOD, Respect GOD. Seek JESUS

    • ProtectMalaysian

      6) Human are strange, they have a LOVING GOD they should spend time knowing, but instead, they scare of ghost but admire its fictional power, worship Satan and lust for its pleasure, Admire Aliens thinking of their high technology.

    • Peggy Van Meter

      When my husband passed suddenly, I was in shock and sadness. The confusion of sorting everything out was overwhelming. I admit I called to my husband for answers, for goodbyes Not afforded. My California relatives were positive I should go to a medium ( I did not) and the pressure was intense. I clung to my faith and the question why would he want to come back if he’d seen the face of God? The first two weeks alone in the house proved to be mildly eventful. One day the smell of “Skin Bracer” (his aftershave) permeated the upstairs making me think the cat had knocked it over. It was so strong it burned my eyes. But the bottle was intact and cap on. Another time I walked past the spot where I last saw him alive and smelled it again. And then it was gone, no more. About six months later after moving to s. Texas, I was praying as I drove to the hospital to see my Mom who broke her hip. In my prayer I told The Lord I loved him and if possible, tell Larry I love him, too. About that time a car passed me and got in front of me. The back windshield had “I Luv U 2” written on it. I do see the irony of it, but it was the timing. It made me smile. Now, no more smells or anything like it. Hmmmm.

    • Carolyn Smith

      My husband and I are both born-again, Bible-believing, evangelical Christians. Up until 2 1/2 years ago, I had never had any sort of experiences involving ghosts, and figured I probably never would.
      In October 2011, though, we bought a house that was several years old. We bought it from a couple our age, who had purchased it from the original owners. Shortly after moving in, I began hearing noises at night. It sounded like someone tapping a plastic object (such as the little plastic nob at the bottom of the blind pull cord) against the wall. My husband never did hear it. I started sleeping with a fan going, to drown out the sound. One night I was awakened out of a sound sleep by what sounded like a small object being dropped on glass. I knew that on the dresser was a small mirrored tray with tiny sea shells on it, and it sounded just like someone had picked up one and dropped it. I put the tray inside the dresser drawer and never heard that sound again, although I would still hear the tapping sounds.
      In asking my neighbors about the original owners, they said that an elderly couple had built the house, and that the man (Mr. Gray) had died, and shortly thereafter Mrs. Gray sold the house and moved to a small apartment. I became convinced that this was the spirit of Mr. Gray who paid those nightly visits.
      A few months ago we sold the house and decided to move to another state. I felt so relieved, because I would be rid of Mr. Gray forever. The house we chose in our new location was being sold by a woman whose husband had died a few years after they had the house built. I thought to myself, “Oh, no, I hope Mr. Johnson doesn’t come back and visit,” but we liked the house so much, that we went ahead and bought it. Well, it wasn’t long until I started hearing noises. I was sleeping alone in one bedroom, while my husband was sleeping in another one. One night after I went to bed, I heard knocking on the bedroom door. I got up, but nobody was there. (to be cont’d)

    • Carolyn Smith

      Continued from above.

      This happened several more times, so I started leaving the door open, and didn’t hear any more knocking. (It wasn’t my husband; he was upstairs at the time, and could not possibly have knocked on the door and gotten back across the room and up the stairs without my seeing him. And also, he is not the type to play jokes like that)
      I would also start hearing noises just behind the wall at the headboard. This was the wall to the terrace, and it was pretty clean, so there was nothing loose to knock around. The noises sounded like someone beating on wood or such, and sometimes woke me up several times in one night. I would turn up the fan as high as it would go, and the noises would still wake me up. Later I started sleeping in another room, and didn’t hear them any more.
      I never SAW anything odd until one day this week. My husband asked me to look at some dusty footprints on the living room floor (hardwood). It appeared to be footprints of a man wearing a very pointy-toed shoe and an animal (dog?) walking next to him. The prints appeared to start from the hall and across the living room, stopping at the piano. They ended there. We don’t have a dog. Our cat has much smaller feet. And there is no explanation for where the dust came from. The prints started from the center of the house, not from the outside. This phenomenon has caused me to lose sleep. I have prayed, recited protective psalms before bed, and begged God to take away whatever is causing these upsets. It is simply not possible that this is anything other than supernatural. We love this house and we paid a great deal for it. I’m afraid to mention it to the neighbors, because if we ever decide to sell, I don’t want any potential buyers concerned about ghosts.
      I would appreciate any prayers you are willing to offer.

    • Carolyn Smith

      In reading some of the above posts, I note that various people say they anointed and prayed for their homes. We did the same thing when we moved in here, which makes it even more strange that these things keep happening. I am seriously thinking about having our pastor come and anoint it again and pray. I just hope he doesn’t think we are totally dotty!

    • Carolyn Smith

      I made three posts to this blog yesterday. Half an hour later I verified that all were here. An hour later, they disappeared.

    • Jean Jacques

      Hi there,

      I’ve been a committed Christian for more than 30 years. I have also been a praise and worship leader for a while. At the same time, I have been very interested into the paranormal. From my maids, close friends and family, I had heard many ghost stories. The widespread belief is that where there have been people who died, mostly brutally, their ghosts hangs around. Then came the ghost hunters shows which fascinated me. And for a long time I thought that ghosts were dead people and from time to time some demonic entities would pop up. It’s actually after viewing several shows and particularly a ghost adventure show at Bobby Mackey that I understood that all ghosts are actually demons. They mimic living persons as well as dead persons. They know when to be friendly to gain people’s confidence and trouble them afterwards. Now let’s be logic. Do you think that dead persons and demons would live in the same dimension at the same time? It’s a deception. Only demons hangs around on earth. Sometimes angels come to intervene but that’s all. Dead people do not interact with living persons anymore.

    • junerose

      I agree with a lot of what Protect Malaysian says. The stories in the Bible do not refer to ghosts for the most part. The story of Moses and Elijah is about them showing up in their glorified form, not as ghosts. And Jesus was not a ghost when walking on the water. Even after Jesus rose from the dead, he still had a body and was even able to eat. If ghosts really had power, they would make sure that murderers were convicted, etc. Above all, it is the Holy spirit we should be interested in, not ghosts.
      I believe that there are some phenomena that can be difficult to explain, and God does not want us to know everything. There is what the Bible refers to as forbidden knowledge. I think Christians can experience disturbing phenomena, and they should be taken seriously when that happens. However, everything I have read about either ghosts or demons tells me that it is foolish and a waste of time for Christians to be fascinated by ghosts or demons.
      I attended college in the 80’s and for a while there was a lot of us of crystal balls and Ouija boards on campus. Christians got together to pray about it, and God simply told us to sing praises to him. It worked. We could feel the darkness scattering.
      Also, in my experience dealing with spiritual warfare, the Holy Spirit and the resurrection power of Jesus Christ is infinitely complex. I can spend the rest of my life learning about it, and it would never be enough.
      Demons on the other hand, resemble rats more than anything else. With that, I mean that they can be dangerous and destructive, but they are also disgusting creatures and very mindless. They are in severe bondage to certain spiritual principles. I watched a documentary where a Catholic priest was called in to exercise a demon. The demon spoke only in single words, not even in sentences.
      This proves that the more you give yourself over to Satan, the more you will be in bondage, and loose your individuality. The more you give yourself to God, the freer you…

    • junerose

      I agree with what ProtectMalaysian said. Jesus was never a ghost. Even after his resurrection when he went through doors he had a body and was able to eat.
      I believe that Christians can have strange experiences which should not be dismissed. I don’t have a firm theology about ghosts, but in regard to demons, what I have seen is that they are very simple and mindless compared to the Holy Spirit. As a college student, I experienced praying with other Christians because of the use of Ouija boards and crystal balls on campus. God told us simply to praise him. It worked, and the evil atmosphere scattered.
      I don’t usually watch documentaries on exorcism, but did one. A Catholic priest was called to exorcise a demon who had told a man to kill his family. The voice of the demon could be heard through some sound equipment. The demon only spoke in single words, not sentences. It had almost completely lost its individuality. The more someone gives themselves over to Satan, the more they will loose their own personality. The more someone gives themselves over to Jesus Christ, the more they will become who they truly are.
      The Holy Spirit is infinitely complex. Demons are in many ways very simple and mindless. They are bound to certain spiritual principles.
      If there is such a thing as ghosts, God who is all-powerful and all-knowing can show us what to do with them. Demons are created beings, and far from all-powerful and all-knowing. God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit are so much more interesting and worthy of attention than any ghosts or demons.

      • Lizzy

        It says in the Bible that the angels are a company they do not produce off spring, that they are stronger than us and more intelligent than us, we are made a little lower than the angels psalm 8;5 Then in his explanation of how angels in heaven do not rail against other angels like prideful humans rail against certain angels, Peter states in 2 Peter 2:11 that angels are “greater in power and might” than humans. This means they are higher than us in the ranks of God’s creation you must not underestimate demons as you should not give them more power than they have. satan and his demons are under Gods rule at all times, there is nothing satan can do or not do without Gods permission, satan can oppress Christians but cannot possess them you cannot share the holy spirit with a demon spirit inside you. If a demon acts dumb you may lower your guard thinking them to inept to worry about.

    • Carolyn Smith

      I appreciate the comments and confirmations from readers above. I have come to believe also that ghosts are demons that are trying to cause confusion and fear. Ever since the “footprint” episode, I have been saying special prayers before going to bed each night. Primarily I pray the Lord’s prayer, especially the phrase “Deliver us from evil” and the 23d Psalm (“I will fear no evil.”). I then ask the Holy Spirit to fill every room of this house and protect us from any other spirits. I have had no trouble since then. I have to conscientiously refuse to let my mind think about those footprints, though, because that was such an unnerving experience, that if I think about it much, I start feeling fear again. The Apostle Paul says that “God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” (2 Tim. 1:7) I claim that principle, and I believe it causes the evil spirits to flee.

      After I wrote the above posts, I recalled another experience about 20 years ago, which I believed then and now involved a demon. I was working for the Army in Germany and was living in an apartment in an Army housing area. I had a rather new Oriental (Chinese) rug on the floor of the living room. One evening I was sitting on my sofa and got up to go across the room for something. As I did, I stumbled over what felt like a metal dowel coming out of that rug. I looked down and saw nothing. I then stooped down and ran my hands all over that area of the rug and felt nothing. I wondered if I was imagining things. A few days later the same thing happened again. This time I hit my foot so hard that the skin was scraped between my big toe and the one next to it. Again, there was nothing on the floor (how on earth can a piece of metal come up out of the floor through a rug and not be visible?). I knew then that it was a demonic spirit, and I immediately cast it out in the name of Jesus. Jesus said in Mark 16:17, “These signs will accompany those who…

    • Carolyn Smith

      “These signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name….”
      I still have that rug and have never had any trouble with it again. I have wondered since then if the demon was haunting that apartment rather than my rug. In any event, I fully believe that the Holy Spirit removed it.

    • Jay Altieri

      Michael’s TV show is pure fiction. I too love a good zombie or alien movie, but there is nada real about any of it. I would concur with option #1. No such thing as disembodied spirits on earth. It is all demonic.

      Here is the theology behind my view:
      Disembodied spirits of humans are alive. They can think, act and move. Life is available only in Jesus. Thus the Redeemed are alive in spirit after body death, awaiting the resurrection while in the presence of Christ in heaven.

      But the unsaved are dead. Just as their body died, so too their spirit died. Sin kills every aspect of life, including especially the spiritual.
      The unsaved are unconscious in the grave (meaning of Hebrew ‘sheol’=grave)awaiting judgment. They are not yet in hell, as CMP said in the post, LakeFire is not yet populated, because there has not yet been Last Judgment.

      Conditional Immortality posits that the wicked do not receive the gift of Life, so they ultimately go extinct. Likewise, what I’m saying is that Intermediate Immortality (life after death before the resurrection) is also Conditionally granted based on faith in Jesus Christ.
      To say that humans have immortality OUTSIDE of Jesus’ gift is incorrect, and contravened by 1Tim 6:16. Only God is Deathless.

      The wicked don’t “go” anywhere. They are dead in the grave. Thus no such thing as a ghost.

    • Edoubts

      Very Interesting article on Ghosts.

    • Romy Blystone

      Hi. I just wanted to say, “well done.” You presented a very open and respectful dialogue with your readers and have invited them into conversation rather than play a modern day pharisee boasting of your wisdom. Suffice it to say, I really enjoyed reading your post. Keep up the good work… it matters. Peace and grace to you.

    • Sonja cribb

      I have video taped them and seen a shadow with my naked eye, I have been given the gift from god to be able to see such things. I see blue orbs everywhere they are always around me and in my church

    • Kevin

      I can’t say much except from a personal standpoint but it seems that the majority of the weaknesses in view 1 stem from the idea that it doesn’t make sense for demons to be causing these paranormal occurrences because they doesn’t further the agenda of undermining faith in God. I would argue that they do further this agenda, just in a more subtle long-term way. When we think demonic activity, we automatically assume such actions will mirror the exorcist or be some variety of large evil, immediately harmful act. So who hears of an old haunted hospital and thinks demons are behind it? No real harm or trouble is being caused so why would it be the work of demons? The same can be said of overly accurate psychics and other seemingly harmless paranormal occurrences, how can this be causing harm? Because it leads to the belief that there is something paranormal out there that is not of God. If we believe that innocuous paranormal acts are not the work of demons, then we believe they are caused by some other higher power. To believe in another higher power beyond what the Bible states exists (God, angels, demons) is to accept that Christianity is fundamentally wrong or incomplete. If this is so then is there really a God? Did the son of God really exist? This doubt is what demons achieve by appearing in such discrete non harmful way. How many Muslims have you met who claim to be psychic? It is very hard for us to actually believe in multiple things, so if you believe in spirits, psychics and other non religion based paranormal activities then its very doubtful that you will also believe in God.

    • Adam Kincaid

      I’ve been having a problem with a spirit, ghost, angel or demon. They have shaken objects, tapped, pressed my pillow area as I try to sleep. It has touched my arm, back, and swat my but, even attempted to choke me. When I stare at myself in the mirror my face will change into men I never met, and a hideous demonic thing. All my attempts to dispell this have failed. Senseless phych meds havent cured it. I’m at a loss to how to get this to stop harrassing me. Any input would be appreciated

      • Carolyn Smith

        Adam,
        I’m certainly not an expert, but from all I have read, this is definitely demonic activity. You say that “all my attempts to dispel this have failed.” I don’t know what kind of attempts you have made, but I recommend following Jesus’ admonition in Mark 16:17, “These signs shall follow those that believe…. they shall cast out demons in My name…” In my post above (Feb 24), I cite using that scripture for the authority to remove a demonic spirit that was in a rug. If you don’t feel strong enough to do this alone, ask your pastor or a strong Christian friend to believe with you and command this evil presence to remove itself. I will be praying for you.

    • Tammy

      I’ve really enjoyed this!
      I have always been a Christian.
      Recently while traveling Route 66.
      America’s Haunted Highways.
      I’ve had a strange addiction to want to learn
      About ghost & paranormal activity.
      Yet I’ve never experienced it. Thank God
      I haven’t. I’m really scared of such!.
      I don’t know what’s happened to me lately.
      I don’t like it. Thank God I stumbled
      Upon this thread. Once you open the door
      To this it can turn bad. I’m praying for God
      To feel my mind with power, love & a sound
      Mind. For he doesn’t give us the spirit of fear.
      Also I’ve been reading about Black eyed kids.
      It’s dangerous. The Devil doesn’t have long
      So he is getting to people thru the spirit world
      As well as Drugs, alcohol & disease.
      We have to keep in faith & praise him every
      Waking moment. People, just like the War
      That Israel has fought for ages. We have to fight
      The fight. God is our Father. We are his children.
      We can’t & must not give up. Pray, fast, believe,
      Receive. For God is the way the truth
      & the life. Thank you all for the stories.
      Love hearing them. God bless!

    • Peejae

      In all things I pray about it. I always try to trust God in all situations. To me this is something that shouldn’t be messed with. I also have had a frightful experience with meditation. I believed in Jesus, but didn’t read the Bible. I was meditating one night trying to induce a out of body experience because I was listening to Oprah talking about Christ consciousness and all that. I was like Oprah is a nice woman. She wouldn’t lie, so I set out to do it. I thought it was something I had to do to be with Jesus. Well lemme tell you I was completely wrong. I meditated that night in the total thought that I was gonna leave my body. I listened to certain beats while relaxing and focusing on it. I couldn’t get to the point of leaving my Body because my fiancé who was next to me sleeping kept moving, but the one thing that was really noticeable when I was done doing the meditation though was that my Brian felt completely open. It was the weirdest feeling ever. I set my iPod down and tried to go to sleep. I laid down for a second and my
      Window was open and I have vertical blinds in my bedroom. Once I laid my head down I heard a crash through my blinds. Like a sudden burst. I looked over and saw my blinds just flying all over the place. I looked out the window and it wasn’t Windy or anything like that, so I couldn’t explain why they just flew open. I decided to just go to sleep and forget about it, but as I laid to sleep I couldn’t help but think about how my Brain felt wide open after the meditation. I finally fell asleep and a little while later I was woken up. I was in a state of sleep paralysis. I have had sleep paralysis happen before, but not like this. In that moment all I could sense was pure evil. I was completely paralyzed. I couldn’t move or talk. I felt complete evil around me. I sensed something was there and then all the sudden my head was picked up off the pillow. It was being moved side to side like someone or something was investigating my head. I tried to scream but I couldn’t. Then all of the sudden I could talk, but I wasn’t the one talking. The words that came out of my mouth changed my life forever. I said “I am not yours in the name of Jesus Christ”. Then I started to senselessly bable nonsense I thought. Right after I said that my head was placed back on my pillow and the whole experience stopped. I was totally frightened at what just happened. I was scared to fall back asleep because the feeling of my head being open was still there. Well to say the least I did fall back asleep. Then the whole thing happened a second time just like the first. The same words came out and the experience stopped. Jesus saved me that night. I felt horrible for what I did the next day. He even put people in my way to tell me not to mess with that stuff, but my pride got ahead of me and I thought This is what God wanted, because I was looking for some higher supernatural truth. God has always been there for me. I rededicated myself to him and asked forgiveness. I trust God through it all. He has showed me that these things in life that we chase after aren’t as important that we make them out to be, as a matter of fact he showed me in the Bible. That’s how he talks to me sometimes. I’ll pray about it then read the Bible and find the answer. That’s why it’s called the living word. He is most gracious and awesome and he loves all. He showed me that all these things will not last forever, but the only things that last forever is Faith, Hope and Love. These three things should be out focus. Love to all and God Bless.

    • TAH

      Hey! I need to know what people’s Biblical view is on my situation. Tonight at an old fort in my hometown, I took pictures of the buildings. One building was an old jail for the soldiers. I went to see if when I took pictures, anything would show up-and it did! Lots of men in old uniforms and two women, one child(or so as they looked). For some reason, I got excited and sent them to the town’s paper by e-mail. Now I am feeling so guilty, especially after reading how God does not want us to mess with the dead- yet question the verses on the Bible’s talk of ghosts. Did I do something against God? Are these pictures of real ghosts or of demons? This article is a good layout, I just don’t want to anger God because of being caught up in a moment. If I did wrong, it definately was not worth it. Honestly, it just seemed kewl at the time to see soldiers who may just wanna be known. Opinions, please 🙂 Thanks!

    • NJDiva25

      We do know where these disembodied spirits go. According to the word of God, Luke 16:19-31, The Messiah (Jesus Christ) explained the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man. He gave us a view into the afterlife confirming that the rich man went to hell for his greediness and selfishness to Lazarus. Lazarus went into the Bosom of Abraham or (Paradise) after he passed into the afterlife. When the rich man asked for a drink from Lazarus and he was denied, Abraham had to explain to the Rich Man that in life he received many good things and Lazarus received many bad things. Abraham also explained to the Rich Man that there was a great chasm between Hades and Paradise. No one from either side could cross over to the other. By Jesus giving us this lesson, we are made aware that Hell is for the unrighteous and Paradise is for righteous. We are also made aware that souls don’t get stuck “inbetween”. Of course, after Jesus died for our sins, he went into Hell for three days and took captivity captive. Jesus went into Hell and took those who (Abraham, Lazarus, Isaac, Jacob, etc) were in Paradise into Heaven with him. All souls that are not saved go to Hell. Those who are saved by our Lord Jesus Christ, when they die, they will sleep until the final judgement. Those who are not saved go into hell. Remember, Rev. 20:14-15 states that God will take Hell (All inhabitants) and Death ,and throw them into the Lake of Fire which is the second death.

      We are also made aware through this lesson that Jesus taught demonstrates that there is no “inbetween”. If you are saved, you go to heaven, if you don’t accept Jesus as your Lord and personal savior, you go to hell. If you want to call that inbetween, that just about “inbetween” as it gets. Meaning, people’s spirits don’t get trapped here and run around which attributes to hauntings. You don’t get to stick around and haunt your relatives or whomever when you die. You either go to heaven or hell. According to Gary Kinnaman’s book, Angels:Dark and Light a, demon can change form and come back as a relative or a so called “friendly” ghost of a child. For example, there is a verse in Deuteronomy 5:9 stating that all of the iniquities of the fathers shall be visited to the sons to the third and fourth generation of those who hate him. We are made aware from this verse that generational curses are real and they possess a demonic presence. Demons will stay with a family for many generations to ensure that those generational curses are fulfilled. Demons can study the mannerisms of all human behavior and learn how to act it out. They can stay in families and learn intimate details about your life. What Lullaby mommy sanged to you before you went to sleep, etc So, if a person thinks that they are contacting their, Mommy or their Dear Dead Aunt Sally, they are mistaken, they are contacting the demon that was familiar with their Mommy or Dear Dead Aunt Sally. All of these things are done in order to lead you from the Word of God. Because if you begin to believe that loved ones can be contacted from the dead, then you begin to believe that the spiritual world is not operated by God’s Word or His Rules. You begin to believe that some people, when they die, can get trapped here and wander around and haunt which isn’t true. Pay close attention to these shows, you notice every time someone has a haunting, they have to “Cleanse” the house. Of course, they have to cleanse the house. Because it’s not the spirit of a dead person prancing around that house. It’s a demonic spirit taunting them. Anyway, Read the bible 15 minutes a day and read the book Angels: Dark and Light. Reading the bible and having a personal relationship with Christ is the only way to never mistake these things.

    • NJDiva25

      We do know where these disembodied spirits go. According to the word of God, Luke 16:19-31, The Messiah (Jesus Christ) explained the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man. He gave us a view into the afterlife confirming that the rich man went to hell for his greediness and selfishness to Lazarus. Lazarus went into the Bosom of Abraham or (Paradise) after he passed into the afterlife. When the rich man asked for a drink from Lazarus and he was denied, Abraham had to explain to the Rich Man that in life he received many good things and Lazarus received many bad things. Abraham also explained to the Rich Man that there was a great chasm between Hades and Paradise. No one from either side could cross over to the other. By Jesus giving us this lesson, we are made aware that Hell is for the unrighteous and Paradise is for righteous. We are also made aware that souls don’t get stuck “inbetween”. Of course, after Jesus died for our sins, he went into Hell for three days and took captivity captive. Jesus went into Hell and took those who (Abraham, Lazarus, Isaac, Jacob, etc) were in Paradise into Heaven with him. All souls that are not saved go to Hell. Those who are saved by our Lord Jesus Christ, when they die, they will sleep until the final judgement. Those who are not saved go into hell. Remember, Rev. 20:14-15 states that God will take Hell (All inhabitants) and Death ,and throw them into the Lake of Fire which is the second death.

      We are also made aware through this lesson that Jesus taught demonstrates that there is no “inbetween”. If you are saved, you go to heaven, if you don’t accept Jesus as your Lord and personal savior, you go to hell. If you want to call that inbetween, that just about “inbetween” as it gets. Meaning, people’s spirits don’t get trapped here and run around which attributes to hauntings. You don’t get to stick around and haunt your relatives or whomever when you die. You either go to heaven or hell. According to Gary Kinnaman’s book, Angels: Dark and Light, a demon can change form and come back as a relative or a so called “friendly” ghost of a child. For example, there is a verse in Deuteronomy 5:9 stating that all of the iniquities of the fathers shall be visited to the sons to the third and fourth generation of those who hate him. We are made aware from this verse that generational curses are real and they possess a demonic presence. Demons will stay with a family for many generations to ensure that those generational curses are fulfilled. Demons can study the mannerisms of all human behavior and learn how to act it out. They can stay in families and learn intimate details about your life. What Lullaby mommy sanged to you before you went to sleep, etc So, if a person thinks that they are contacting their, Mommy or their Dear Dead Aunt Sally, they are mistaken, they are contacting the demon that was familiar with their Mommy or Dear Dead Aunt Sally. All of these things are done in order to lead you from the Word of God. Because if you begin to believe that loved ones can be contacted from the dead, then you begin to believe that the spiritual world is not operated by God’s Word or His Rules. You begin to believe that some people, when they die, can get trapped here and wander around and haunt which isn’t true. Pay close attention to these shows, you notice every time someone has a haunting, they have to “Cleanse” the house. Of course, they have to cleanse the house. Because it’s not the spirit of a dead person prancing around that house. It’s a demonic spirit taunting them. Anyway, Read the bible 15 minutes a day and read the book Angels: Dark and Light. Reading the bible and having a personal relationship with Christ is the only way to never mistake these things. Just like Carolyn Smith said about, Rebuke the devil in the name of Jesus. I loved your post by Carolyn Smith, it moved me to tears. But, what I also loved about it is that you took Authority that only Jesus Christ can gave us. You casted those demons out in the name of Jesus. Your post was encouraging and I encourage others to read that Carolyns post and the word of God. There is nothing you need to fear, because God didn’t give us a spirit of fear or timidity, but of power, love, and self discipline (2 timothy 1:7). Praise God!

    • Shane

      I do not believe in ghosts per say but I have personally experienced demonic activity most all my life. I don’t agree with any of te 3 choices. Scripture is more clear than modern Christianity is aware of. Scripture indicates that once we die we “rest “. I have yet to read any biblical verse indicating the dead rise to paradise (in fact it states no one has ascended into heaven accept Him who came down from heaven). I also am convinced, that if it’s not for YHWH (god), it is against Him. Having said that, ghosts seem to be demonic. If this were not so, why are ministers and religious members contacted for consultation and exorcisms? I am always open to any thoughts on the matter.

    • Shane

      One additional thought. 1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, watch, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
      Considering the times and experiences many people have, the absolute best thing you can do is pray, study the Scriptures, and if needed anoint your house with prayer and Set-aSet – apart oil. Also, be extremely cautious as to what you allow in your home (TV, guests, objects) because if you let it in- its now in your home.

    • Zac Vinson

      I am a strong believer in #1. I think that demons take on the form of those who once lived to skew your beliefs and faith in God. As a child I saw many things that couldn’t be explained. Family members that I had never met because they passed away before I was born. I always felt an uneasy presence with them. I thought they were evil. I believe it was a demon taking the form of those that have passed. In the weakness section you say, “Many of the “hauntings” are hard to explain simply through demonic activity. Often those places that are claimed to be haunted are abandoned hospitals, ghost towns, and the like. These places are uninhabited and therefore do not seem suitable for a malicious demon to inhabit.” That being said, ghost towns are a sort of attraction that people go to visit, so perhaps ghost towns are the perfect place for demons to reach the masses. The people come to them. This makes it easier for them to skew our beliefs.

    • cyp

      just wanted to mention two mistakes the author makes when trying to disprove version 1 (ghost are all demons) :
      1. he says demons should not be in desrted places. Luke 11 clearly says that “demons when they are driven out of a person it goes into deserted places to find rest”. We also find that a lot of the persons heavily possessed by demons went to deserted places and in graveyards. From this we find that actually demons do tend to inhabit deserted places.
      2. he mixes hell with the lake of fire. Actually hell and the lake of fire are two different things. Hell (sheol) is where humans that have no followed God go. The lake of fire is where hell the demons and the people that followed them will be thrown at the end times.

      There are though cases when deceased had appeared in dreams to ask for absolution sermons to be held so that their soul may be freed from hell. this is different of what is refered as ghost though.

    • Matt

      The last post on this blog topic was in 2015, it’s now 2022! I guess it’s time to fire things. Ack up!

      I was curious one evening about what Christian theologians believed about ghosts and I found this post.

      I too am a believer. And a fan of Ghost Hunters and other paranormal shows. The topic has always fascinated me. As a young boy I heard stories from my grandmother and mom about crying babies in my grandparents attic. So the topic has always intrigued me.

      Fast forward several years, and I’m married with three kiddos and we had moved to Nebraska to a 10 year old house. After about 5-7 years in the house we started experiencing paranormal activity. It started with my second child hearing footsteps at the foot and side of her bed and hearing other weird activity in her bedroom downstairs. She would get so scared that she would freeze under her covers and have to build up the nerve to reach over and turn her light on and then run upstairs to tell us about what was happening to her.

      After her telling us the stories, my wife and I began to hear loud footsteps down our hall to our bedroom. They were so Loud they would wake us up, we would both sit up in bed and think an intruder was in the house, only to discover there was nobody there.

      We then began hearing loud crashing sounds in our bathroom down the hall like the shampoo bottle falling into the fiberglass tub. My wife would make me check it out, and nothing was moved. Crazy!

      Then we heard loud, crazy loud crashing sounds in the kitchen. It sounded like silverware was being thrown to the floor or our plates and bowls were being thrown against the wall. It was so loud it would wake my entire family up.

      I would of course again go to the kitchen only to see nothing out of place. So weird.

      Then my son saw the apparition in the basement. Ugh! He saw something.

      Then one evening my wife and I were watching tv in the downstairs and heard what sounded like someone walking around upstairs. No one was home except us . My wife again made me clear the house only to find out no one was there.

      I have about 50 plus documented stories of weird stories like this.

      I believed it was demonic and would go room to room and pray and cleanse the house.

      The activity has stopped and we haven’t had any activity in about a year, but I don’t really know what it was.

      As a believer i tend to think it was demonic, but I don’t believe we will know until we go home to Heaven and ask God.

      Fascinating nonetheless!

      I pray for all of you!

      Matt

      • C Michael Patton

        Thanks for the very interesting comment and story. I am glad it has all stopped.

        I don’t know why you can only see to 2015. While there has not been a lot of writing, there has been dozens since then. Are you going to the front page?

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