Do Christians Believe in Ghosts? This One Does!
My Experience with the Paranormal
To understand what I believe as a Christian when it comes to paranormal activity you must first understand my definition of paranormal. Paranormal as defined by the Cambridge Dictionary is "all the things that are impossible to explain by known natural forces or by science". It would be correct by definition to say that miracles found in the Bible would be considered paranormal, this however does not answer the question of why Christians can believe in ghosts.
My earliest experience in what would be a modern understanding of paranormal would be when my great grandmother passed away several years ago. I had the good pleasure to sit with her as she passed away. We had many conversations in the days that led up to her death. The day she died was a special day as far as our conversations went. She constantly spoke about the things she was seeing and feeling. At one point she woke up and asked me who my friend was. I told her that I didn't have a friend over and she went on to explain to me that he was standing over my shoulder and that he had a beautiful smile. Later in the day she looked at me and told me how much she wished I could see the beautiful things she was seeing. She was at peace when she passed and I believe in my heart that she was seeing angels.
Not all people who are passing away see good things. A friend of mine passed some months ago and his passing was not pleasant. He was resistant to most of the high powered drugs that were prescribed to him. Near the end of his suffering he was constantly scared. In his final moments he asked who the evil people were in the room. We tried to comfort him by telling him there was nobody else in the room. He could not be consoled and passed away with a look on his face that could only be described as terror.
Times of death are not the only times I have found myself confronted with ghosts and paranormal activity. As a child I remember a home in our small town that was rumored to be haunted. A friend of mines family bought the house and I spent the night with him several times. One night in particular we were awakened by the sound of the living room rocking chair. We tip toed into the one of the rooms adjacent to where the rocking chair was and saw the rocking chair gently rocking back and forth. It was definitely rocking more than it would if it had a fan or air conditioner blowing on it. We sat watching the chair rock for a good 15 minutes until my friend coughed. As soon as my friend coughed the chair quit rocking and didn't move the rest of the night. I still believe it was a spirit of some kind. Some years later the house had been sold several times, each time someone sold it they did so because of the unexplainable bad experiences they were having in the house. Things disappeared, books fell off shelves at odd hours, and floors creaked constantly through the night. Several years ago the house was torn down and it was discovered that the house was built over an ancient Indian burial site.
As a Christian I feel that I can believe in ghosts as long as I understand them for what they are. The Bible speaks of spirits, demons, and angels that are constantly at work in the world around us. Mark 5:1-20 tells of a story of a demon possessed man who when he was healed the demons were seen entering a pack of swine. Psalm 91:11 tells that God sends out his angels to minister to us and protect us. Ecclesiastes 9:5 tells us that the dead are conscious of nothing at all. It leads me to believe that ghosts are real and that they are most likely demonic in nature. Either way, I usually answer the question of do Christians believe in ghosts with a resounding yes. UFOs, now that is a whole different story.
Published by T.K. Moyer
Avid researcher who loves to read as much as possible. Freelance writer and a horribly curious know it all when it comes to all things sports. View profile
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27 Comments
Post a CommentThe Bible is God's truth. It says there are demons there are demons. This factis also supported by the testimony of reliable witnesses. One supporting fact is that belief in demons is world wide. A good book on the subject is Kurt Koch, Between Christ and Satan. By the way, he is alive and quite busy these days!
I believe that all "ghosts" are not human because the Bible tells us where we go when we're dead, and it's not back to Earth. I think rather these are fallen angels, aka demonic spirits, that Satan uses to deceive even us Christians into believing they are our loved ones or a departed human spirit who once lived in this house, etc. Satan can play on our imaginations this way. Do I believe there is a spiritual war going on sight unseen? Absolutely. But as a believer, I know that demons will flee from Christ/the Light.
It's too bad nobody offered the horrified dying man an introduction to Jesus!
I agree with you; I definitely believe in spirits. I'm not sure I believe that the souls of humans that have died stay on Earth, though, but there's a lot that I don't know. Loved your article!
Excellent, TK!
I like this one!
Well-presented and sourced, T.K.
I am not religious, but I "see" a lot. Most of what I see in and around people is very negative. It seems to me that this world is dominated by dark forces just outside most people's perceptions. I think there are some helpful ones, too, but I have only seen them rarely. I do believe that there are ancient powers with names like Yaweh, for example, that can be called in to fight or eliminate dark forces. I think when people die here, they don't go far. Frankly, it worries me - I wonder if we are all trapped in something. This is an excellent article... thanks!
I keep an open mind about ghosts and paranormal activity. I think all the stories and experiences are interesting.
Growing up, I was told about the "Holy Spirit," sometimes referred to as the "Holy Ghost" (we even had a "Holy Ghost" Parish. To me, the fact that the spirit was referred to as "Holy" indicated there must have been others. Good commentary. I'm sure you helped a lot of believers feel better about themselves. It's amazing how many people think of themselves as evil just because they believe in the unseen. And as far as UFOs are concerned, I think that only after you have seen one do you believe in them. Oh, so many doubting Thomases.