Religious Demonology Signs of Possession

Do Ghosts exist?

The Bible seems to acknowledge that human spirits, ghosts, can exist. When the apostles are in the boat during the storm and see Jesus walking on the water they are described as being fearful because they thought he was a spirit. This implies that it was part of their culture to entertain that possibility. When Jesus appeared to the apostles after his resurrection some were fearful because they thought he was a spirit.

In some of the scripture I quoted in the spirit communication essay we see reference to communication with the dead, or seeking out spirits. It is possible that one reason these prohibitions are in place is that evil spirits pose as the dead. It is likely that the main reason for the prohibitions is that God doesn't want us to turn away from Him and His providence.

It seems possible, after reading the literature of some of the saints, that these are souls in purgatory working out some aspect of their expiation here on earth. It seems impossible that souls in purgatory would cause torment or trauma to a person, though their appearance might be shocking. It is always best to be cautious and not casually trust any spirit, remember to "test the spirits".

We know from hundreds of examples between the literature and experience that evil spirits pretend to be harmless to draw people in. Many demonic cases started out with what seemed to be a ghost (often a child, a sick little girl) and escalated to horror once the foothold was gained.

We might also entertain the idea that damned souls, slaves to the devil, could be sent to earth to do some work of his. We don't have any scriptural references about this, but it might give us another possible reason to be cautious about ghosts. There are refernces to damned souls being amongst the demons inhabiting a person during an exorcism but these are very likely just the demons who were with that person and so can mimic them well.

We can't presume to know all the aspects of the spiritual world, and perhaps we are not meant to understand these things fully in this life.

What seem to be human spirits are pretty easy to deal with, it is usually best to proceed as if the spirits are deception and add prayers to assist any genuine human souls from purgatory if they are present. Simply perform a house blessing and when the blessing has been executed pray and ask God to have his angels take care of any spirits in the house. Pray and ask to have the angels help the spirits. I've found it's useful to add "that if they do not wish to go please take them to a neutral location away from the home to as to not violate their free will, but allow the family to live in peace". There are some specific prayers to help the dead go to their rest in the Eastern Catholic Rite.

Ethics regarding ghosts and paranormal investigating

There is a paranormal craze of sorts going on in the USA at this time. There are many television shows that demonstrate various ways that people supposedly interact with spirits. Thousands of groups of people have formed to replicate what they are seeing on television. There are some potential ethical issues that groups might want to think about.

If it is your goal to help people how is it you are going to help them resolve the paranormal problem they have (assuming it turns out to be a legitimate paranormal problem)? Be careful about holding yourself out to help those in distress if you really don't know what you can offer beyond perhaps showing evidence that something strange is going on.

If you believe spirits are human souls in some trapped or confused state is it ethical to gather around and provoke them into performing for you? If you are not going to try and do something about their problem, what are you there for? Is it for selfish gain, to have things to get recognition for? To show to others? I am not intending for people to feel bad, this excited exploration is a typical beginners position, I'm just encouraging you to try and move beyond that and think about what you are doing.

It is very unlikely that any evidence will prove that the spiritual world exists to non-believers. Most people have to find out either through the grace of God or personal experience.

Please do not copy the material on this site, but link to this site instead.
All material Copyright Adam Blai, 2007


	Do Ghosts exist? The Bible seems to acknowledge that human spirits, ghosts, can exist. When the apostles are in the boat during the storm and see Jesus walking on the water they are described as being fearful because they thought he was a spirit. This implies that it was part of their culture to entertain that possibility. When Jesus appeared to the apostles after his resurrection some were fearful because they thought he was a spirit. In some of the scripture I quoted in the spirit communication essay we see reference to communication with the dead, or seeking out spirits. It is possible that one reason these prohibitions are in place is that evil spirits pose as the dead. It is likely that the main reason for the prohibitions is that God doesn't want us to turn away from Him and His providence. It seems possible, after reading the literature of some of the saints, that these are souls in purgatory working out some aspect of their expiation here on earth. It seems impossible that souls in purgatory would cause torment or trauma to a person, though their appearance might be shocking. It is always best to be cautious and not casually trust any spirit, remember to "test the spirits". We know from hundreds of examples between the literature and experience that evil spirits pretend to be harmless to draw people in. Many demonic cases started out with what seemed to be a ghost (often a child, a sick little girl) and escalated to horror once the foothold was gained. We might also entertain the idea that damned souls, slaves to the devil, could be sent to earth to do some work of his. We don't have any scriptural references about this, but it might give us another possible reason to be cautious about ghosts. There are refernces to damned souls being amongst the demons inhabiting a person during an exorcism but these are very likely just the demons who were with that person and so can mimic them well. We can't presume to know all the aspects of the spiritual world, and perhaps we are not meant to understand these things fully in this life. What seem to be human spirits are pretty easy to deal with, it is usually best to proceed as if the spirits are deception and add prayers to assist any genuine human souls from purgatory if they are present. Simply perform a house blessing and when the blessing has been executed pray and ask God to have his angels take care of any spirits in the house. Pray and ask to have the angels help the spirits. I've found it's useful to add "that if they do not wish to go please take them to a neutral location away from the home to as to not violate their free will, but allow the family to live in peace". There are some specific prayers to help the dead go to their rest in the Eastern Catholic Rite. Ethics regarding ghosts and paranormal investigating There is a paranormal craze of sorts going on in the USA at this time. There are many television shows that demonstrate various ways that people supposedly interact with spirits. Thousands of groups of people have formed to replicate what they are seeing on television. There are some potential ethical issues that groups might want to think about. If it is your goal to help people how is it you are going to help them resolve the paranormal problem they have (assuming it turns out to be a legitimate paranormal problem)? Be careful about holding yourself out to help those in distress if you really don't know what you can offer beyond perhaps showing evidence that something strange is going on. If you believe spirits are human souls in some trapped or confused state is it ethical to gather around and provoke them into performing for you? If you are not going to try and do something about their problem, what are you there for? Is it for selfish gain, to have things to get recognition for? To show to others? I am not intending for people to feel bad, this excited exploration is a typical beginners position, I'm just encouraging you to try and move beyond that and think about what you are doing. It is very unlikely that any evidence will prove that the spiritual world exists to non-believers. Most people have to find out either through the grace of God or personal experience. Please do not copy the material on this site, but link to this site instead. All material Copyright Adam Blai, 2007