Are ghosts real?

[Michiah-Imla]

Satan or his servants don't have the power or the authority to raise the dead.

Certainty not in the sense of restoring life on earth. But real witches can bring up the dead for brief interactions. Otherwise why would God forbid such a practice IF IT COULD NOT BE DONE???

It happened with Samuel:

“And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up?” (1 Samuel 28:15)

For the upteenth time!!!

 

[BARNEY BRIGHT]

Take heed @BARNEY BRIGHT

Take heed!

You take heed, you're the one who's teaching that Satan and his servants can raise the dead. It's only the servants of God who raise the dead by using God Holy Spirit. Its not I whose saying that Satan and his servants can raise the dead, you are. Satan and his servants don't have God's Holy Spirit so they can't raise anyone from the dead.

 

[Michiah-Imla]

You're teaching people that Satan and his servants have the power and authority to raise the dead.

I am not.

You are trying to get me to disregard the scriptures for some personal reason of yours.

 

[Michiah-Imla]

You take heed, you're the one who's teaching that Satan and his servants can raise the dead.

“And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up?” (1 Samuel 28:15)

This scripture shows that witches can bring up the dead on a temporary basis.

It’s not teaching us to do it.

 

[Skovand1075]

For me I don’t have a actual stance. I look at multiple factors that leaves me standing under the tree at the fork in the road.

So from a scientific perspective there is zero evidence for the supernatural, and that includes ghosts. Often people who see ghosts turn out to be liars or someone suffering from some kind of delusion regardless if it’s waking hallucinations or something like sleep paralysis or dreaming while waking and so on. But within the scientific realm there are things like multiverses that are being discussed and quantum issues like quantum entanglement where two atoms separated from one another by thousands of miles are somehow communicating instantly. It’s bizarre. Some fringes of the scientific community are looking into could this phenomenon explain twin syndromes and even can the electrochemical aspects of our being remain after death and connected temporarily to quantum entanglement. We just really come to a door that science does not have a key for and it’s highly speculative.

We also come to the anecdotal experiences named by people spread out by thousands of miles and thousands of years that never interconnect that speak of the dead returning as a abstract, not completely here version of themselves.

then we have theology. The Bible says necromancy is a sin. That’s speaking to the dead. If speaking to the dead was a sin then I have to consider it was possible for someone to do it somehow. I also have to consider the witch of Endor that showed up in the Bible and summoned a spirit. There is debate over was it him or a demon, was it her that did it or God and that’s why she was scared and ect… but all I can say is that it says she summoned a dead persons spirit back into this reality. So part of me says it must be real. However, I can also lean on cessationism as to why it seems to no longer happen.

 

[Michiah-Imla]

Often people who see ghosts turn out to be liars or someone suffering from some kind of delusion

When Paul preached about seeing the Lord (who was killed), Festus had this same mindset:

“And as he thus spake for himself, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad.” (Acts 26:24)

 

[Enoch111]

So from a scientific perspective there is zero evidence for the supernatural...

Since science only deals with natural laws, what did you expect? So that is not really "zero evidence", but simply evidence that science has no business dealing with the supernatural. Are ghosts real? Absolutely. Since they are evil spirits, they are very real. The spirit world is very real, but many people refuse to acknowledge that. That does not make it any less real.

 

[dhh712]

It seems that people have been making claims of ghost sightings for a long time and over various cultures. I have never seen a ghost or witnessed any supernatural activity so I'm not sure.
How about you?
Do you think ghosts real?
Have you seen a ghost or experienced any paranormal activity?
What's your explanation for them?
Are these souls trapped or afraid to approach the light?
Does the bible say anything about ghosts?

In the Old Testament, our Heavenly Father warns us not to engage in sorcery and witchcraft and that sort of thing, and then you have the episode where Saul calls up the ghost of Samuel. I agree with Michaiah-Imla; I feel that these are spirits (I feel mostly demonic ones, but could be angelic too) and such not like spirits of dead people.

I have experienced paranormal activity once and it was enough; I'm just way too beat right now from work to recount it. Basically, hearing unexplained noises while on lying on my couch one early morning. I feel abiding in the Lord will protect one from such demonic activity and I trust in my Lord's provision. If one opens themselves up to such things like ougi boards and Tarot and stuff like that, then I feel that creates an opening for these kinds of things to become involved in your life. So, as our Heavenly Father warns us, we should stay away from those kinds of things.

Since science only deals with natural laws, what did you expect? So that is not really "zero evidence", but simply evidence that science has no business dealing with the supernatural. Are ghosts real? Absolutely. Since they are evil spirits, they are very real. The spirit world is very real, but many people refuse to acknowledge that. That does not make it any less real.

I agree. There will never be any proof of the supernatural. And you do have a lot of people who will lie about his or her experience of it, making something up; and since you can't prove it, sometimes it makes it difficult to disprove it as well. So I always look at the source. Most of the time I will be skeptical when it comes to someone's recollection of a supernatural experience; it's just my nature (which makes my conversion an amazing act of God because there's just no way I would have believed on my own. I'm way too much of a skeptic).

 

[Skovand1075]

Since science only deals with natural laws, what did you expect? So that is not really "zero evidence", but simply evidence that science has no business dealing with the supernatural. Are ghosts real? Absolutely. Since they are evil spirits, they are very real. The spirit world is very real, but many people refuse to acknowledge that. That does not make it any less real.

Well science is here to interpret this natural world. So as long as we are on this earth, in this time and space, I’ll consider it.
For example, you say ghosts are evil spirits. I have no reason to believe that from stories or theology. I don’t have any reason to believe Samuel was evil, or that the visions of Moses was evil and so on. I think the manifestation of Moses on the mount as accounted for in the NT very much fits the description of a ghost.

 

[BARNEY BRIGHT]

Certainty not in the sense of restoring life on earth. But real witches can bring up the dead for brief interactions. Otherwise why would God forbid such a practice IF IT COULD NOT BE DONE???

It happened with Samuel:

“And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up?” (1 Samuel 28:15)

For the upteenth time!!!

When I said that witches don't have the power to resurrect the dead, you said, "Certainty not in the sense of restoring life on earth." But what I'm telling you Is that the scripture at Genesis 2:7 is saying that the only way the prophet Samuel could be resurrected as a living person again is with a flesh and blood body (human body) with the breath of life in that flesh and blood body. So the prophet Samuel would have to been resurrected back on earth with a human body with the breath of life in that human body to be a living person again, but as you said witches don't have the power or authority to do that. It's impossible for Satan and his servants to resurrect a living person who is a human being back on earth, but being resurrected back on earth as a human being who is a living person is the only way he could be resurrected as a living person.

You said, "real witches can bring up the dead for brief interactions. Otherwise why would God forbid such a practice IF IT COULD NOT BE DONE???"

First of all as I keep saying to you what Genesis 2:7 is saying when it comes to human beings, they are no longer a living person when a human dies. When the breath of life(spirit) leaves the body at death that human being is no longer a living person. It takes a flesh and blood body with the breath of life(spirit)in that flesh and blood body for a human to be a living person.
So when you say that a witch brings up the dead for brief interactions and this spirit that this witch calls up is a living person who is the prophet Samuel, this is not true, because for the prophet Samuel to be a living person again he would have to have a flesh and blood body, with the breath of life (spirit) in that body because this is what makes humans living persons. It's that combination of flesh and blood body with the breath of life(spirit) in that body is what made him a living person.

Also YHWH God forbid the practice of those who talk to the dead because it was an outright lie. They were not talking to human beings who had lived on earth. As I keep saying Genesis 2:7 says that what makes a human a living person is the combination of a flesh and blood body and the breath of life(spirit) in that body. So since these witches didn't have the power to bring back a flesh and blood body with the breath of life in that flesh and blood body, they weren't calling up a human who had lived on earth before dying. Samuel was a human and what makes a human a living person is the combination of God forming from the dust of the ground a flesh and blood body and then blowing the breath of life into that flesh and blood ody and a human becomes a living person.

 

[Skovand1075]

When I said that witches don't have the power to resurrect the dead, you said, "Certainty not in the sense of restoring life on earth." But what I'm telling you Is that the scripture at Genesis 2:7 is saying that the only way the prophet Samuel could be resurrected as a living person again is with a flesh and blood body (human body) with the breath of life in that flesh and blood body. So the prophet Samuel would have to been resurrected back on earth with a human body with the breath of life in that human body to be a living person again, but as you said witches don't have the power or authority to do that. It's impossible for Satan and his servants to resurrect a living person who is a human being back on earth, but being resurrected back on earth as a human being who is a living person is the only way he could be resurrected as a living person.

You said, "real witches can bring up the dead for brief interactions. Otherwise why would God forbid such a practice IF IT COULD NOT BE DONE???"

First of all as I keep saying to you what Genesis 2:7 is saying when it comes to human beings, they are no longer a living person when a human dies. When the breath of life(spirit) leaves the body at death that human being is no longer a living person. It takes a flesh and blood body with the breath of life(spirit)in that flesh and blood body for a human to be a living person.
So when you say that a witch brings up the dead for brief interactions and this spirit that this witch calls up is a living person who is the prophet Samuel, this is not true, because for the prophet Samuel to be a living person again he would have to have a flesh and blood body, with the breath of life (spirit) in that body because this is what makes humans living persons. It's that combination of flesh and blood body with the breath of life(spirit) in that body is what made him a living person.

Also YHWH God forbid the practice of those who talk to the dead because it was an outright lie. They were not talking to human beings who had lived on earth. As I keep saying Genesis 2:7 says that what makes a human a living person is the combination of a flesh and blood body and the breath of life(spirit) in that body. So since these witches didn't have the power to bring back a flesh and blood body with the breath of life in that flesh and blood body, they weren't calling up a human who had lived on earth before dying. Samuel was a human and what makes a human a living person is the combination of God forming from the dust of the ground a flesh and blood body and then blowing the breath of life into that flesh and blood ody and a human becomes a living person.

Sounds a bit like unnecessary semantics within the scope of the discussion. After all, the talk is about ghosts.

 

[BARNEY BRIGHT]

I am not.

You are trying to get me to disregard the scriptures for some personal reason of yours.

No I'm not, I'm just not going to agree with a person teachings that ignore scripture like Genesis 2:7. This scripture is very clear that what makes a human a living person is that combination in how God created the first man Adam. This scripture says that God took dust from the ground and formed it into a flesh and blood human body then blew the breath of life(spirit) into that flesh and blood human body and the first human Adam became a living person. So for someone to say the spirit that separates from the body is the living person that's contradicting Genesis 2:7. For someone to say the human body without the breath of life(spirit) is the living person that contradicts Genesis 2:7.

 

[BARNEY BRIGHT]

Sounds a bit like unnecessary semantics within the scope of the discussion. After all, the talk is about ghosts.

Yes and most people I talk to about ghosts believe they were human beings that live on this earth before they died. This is impossible because it contradicts Genesis 2:7

 

[Skovand1075]

Yes and most people I talk to about ghosts believe they were human beings that live on this earth before they died. This is impossible because it contradicts Genesis 2:7

The Bible also mentions the deceased and says he’s not the god of the dead but the living, referring to those who have passed. But someone saying A being countered by someone saying B then being rebutted by a regurgitation of A is quite useless as far as discussions go.
As mentioned I’m not invested in this discussion despite having studied it out for fun. There is a lot of theological data between various Christian and Jewish sects throughout time including the Coptic Bible and texts upheld by Lutherans and so on. It’s a pretty big topic that is far easier for me to just say to each their own and move out. I said my piece. I don’t feel the need to turn a taco into a burrito and share it again.

 

[BARNEY BRIGHT]

Skovand1075 said,
The Bible also mentions the deceased and says he’s not the god of the dead but the living[/QUOTE].
At Luke 20:37,38 it says, "But that the dead are raised up, even Moses made known in the account about the thornbush, when he calls Jehovah ‘the God of Abraham and God of Isaac and God of Jacob.’ He is a God, not of the dead, but of the living, for they are all living to him.”

So, from God’s standpoint, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were then living. Not as literal living persons but because the resurrection of these faithful patriarchs was so certain in God’s appointed time, that God spoke of those three men as being then alive, although they were then dead, unconscious, in Hades. If they were to remain dead forever and never get out of Hades, YHWH God would never have spoken to the prophet Moses at the burning thornbush in the desert of Sinai as being the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. So Jesus said God’s making this declaration proved that there would be a resurrection of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and, of course, of all others with them in Hades. YHWH is not a past God of people of the dead past, but is the God of his faithful worshipers who will live in the future by means of resurrection of the dead. YHWH God will resurrect the dead back to.life as living persons.

 

[Enoch111]

For example, you say ghosts are evil spirits. I have no reason to believe that from stories or theology.

Well if you wish to pick and choose what you believe, that is your prerogative. But people either can believe the whole Bible or none of it. There are no half measures.

 

[Skovand1075]

Well if you wish to pick and choose what you believe, that is your prerogative. But people either can believe the whole Bible or none of it. There are no half measures.

well there has yet been anything to state from the scripture that ghosts are actually demons….. that’s really just part of the recent satanic panic movement. Similar to the late 80s and early 90s Bible Belt fears of “aliens” actually being demons and again…. Yall like to drop phrases like “ believing the whole Bible “ or “ cherry picking” but the reality is that I’m not disagreeing with the Bible, I’m disagreeing with you and your interpretation. I think you are wrong, not the Bible.

 

[Skovand1075]

Skovand1075 said,
The Bible also mentions the deceased and says he’s not the god of the dead but the living

.
At Luke 20:37,38 it says, "But that the dead are raised up, even Moses made known in the account about the thornbush, when he calls Jehovah ‘the God of Abraham and God of Isaac and God of Jacob.’ He is a God, not of the dead, but of the living, for they are all living to him.”

So, from God’s standpoint, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were then living. Not as literal living persons but because the resurrection of these faithful patriarchs was so certain in God’s appointed time, that God spoke of those three men as being then alive, although they were then dead, unconscious, in Hades. If they were to remain dead forever and never get out of Hades, YHWH God would never have spoken to the prophet Moses at the burning thornbush in the desert of Sinai as being the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. So Jesus said God’s making this declaration proved that there would be a resurrection of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and, of course, of all others with them in Hades. YHWH is not a past God of people of the dead past, but is the God of his faithful worshipers who will live in the future by means of resurrection of the dead. YHWH God will resurrect the dead back to.life as living persons.[/QUOTE]
All of that to say he still calls them the living.
Also in genesis, the same breath of life given to mankind making them a living soul is the same breath of life making animals living souls. Tim Mackie broke this down well, he’s a popular and very well educated professor with a phd in the Old Testament and a emphasis on Biblical Hebrew. He has a series on the Bible project podcast dedicated to “ the soul “. Maybe 4-5 episodes long spanning 3-5 hours total. Necromancy is mentioned and that’s communion and bring up the dead. Ancient Jews believed that the spirit / ghost of a person ( which is why you see Holy Ghost and Holy Spirit by Christians later on ) was the breath. They believed that the breath of Yahweh was wind. That the same wind that made clouds move and made water move and made leaves on trees move was the same animating force that flew down our throats and moved us. That when we died, our final breath was that ghost, the wind escaping back into the overall breath of Yahweh. So when someone was bringing up the ghost, they were calling up this vapor like form of the deceased.
Anyways I can see we will disagree. I’ve done did the whole B to the A thing again and i know it’s fruitless. So hope y’all don’t mind me ignoring the post for a while.

 

[dhh712]

well there has yet been anything to state from the scripture that ghosts are actually demons….. that’s really just part of the recent satanic panic movement. Similar to the late 80s and early 90s Bible Belt fears of “aliens” actually being demons and again…. Yall like to drop phrases like “ believing the whole Bible “ or “ cherry picking” but the reality is that I’m not disagreeing with the Bible, I’m disagreeing with you and your interpretation. I think you are wrong, not the Bible.

I haven't studied the Scriptures to determine what ghosts and stuff like that might be; it was just a hunch I had that seemed to make sense from what I understand from the word. I can't recall what little commentary I've read on that episode with Samuel talked about. I think my pastor's opinion was that it probably was Samuel, and then I do remember (I think, that is if my typically faulty memory is serving me correctly this time) that in my ESV study bible the notes stated that some scholars think it was a demon who was acting as though he were Samuel.

So I don't have a real position on what these things are. I'm just very confident that they exist, but can be persuaded by arguments from the Bible as to what they are.

 

[Nancy]

It seems that people have been making claims of ghost sightings for a long time and over various cultures. I have never seen a ghost or witnessed any supernatural activity so I'm not sure.
How about you?
Do you think ghosts real?
Have you seen a ghost or experienced any paranormal activity?
What's your explanation for them?
Are these souls trapped or afraid to approach the light?
Does the bible say anything about ghosts?

I was very young and the first three of us out of seven were born. I was about 3 or 4 and we all 3 at the time had our twin beds in one room, it was across from our parents room. I saw two whitish mists hovering over my brother and sisters beds. I was so scared and wanted to try to make a run for mom and dads room but was frozen in place. I hid under my blanket for the rest of the night. This was the house my mom was raised in. She herself said to us kids when we were older that that very room one time, she was on her knees praying with the window open (was upstairs) she too was a young girl at the time. She felt hands grab her folded ones and tried to pull her out the window. Now, I believed her and she believed me, my bro and sister and dad thought we were dreaming. No way. I KNOW what I saw and was NOT asleep, probably awake thinking what I could get from the fridge, lol. My wonderful mom never told stories that were not true, she rarely EVER told stories period, ha!