What Is Spiritual Warfare?

Hello para beauties! I hope everyone is well and everyone you love is healthy. I know many are also preparing for the holiday and have family in and out of town and have hardly a moment to sleep. Some of us have no one. Let's pray for anyone that might be suffering with depression and feelings of loneliness. This time of year especially, brings about a lot of human emotions. A lot of us hide this and I ask that you turn to God. Please open your heart to his and ask him to give you peace again and no more torment. It is a spiritual battle to be faced everyday however, we already know who wins. Fear is not of God. Perfect Love casts out fear.

Spiritual warfare is an activity by Christians whereby satan and demons are fought, using a variety of methods and prayers depending on the group, mostly a lot of prayer and fasting. From a biblical point of view, spiritual warfare is the cosmic war of good versus evil: its battles are fought daily between God and Satan; between the Christian Church and the world fueled by our spiritual enemy; and within every child of God, between the Holy Spirit and the lusts of the carnal flesh. The clear meanings of good and evil, as defined by God rather than man, are revealed within the verses of the Holy Bible and the life of Jesus Christ. The Book of Daniel, chapter ten, provides one of the most striking examples of spiritual warfare found in Scripture. Remember when Daniel was held in captivity in a foreign land due to a great spiritual conflict, which led to the conquest of Israel and Judah. He resorts to intense prayer, which includes fasting, to seek guidance from God, verses 2,3. He receives a miraculous vision and word, verses 5–9 (which introduce. 10–12), from one having the appearance of a man (cf. verses 16,18), who may have been an angel, but whose description in verses 5,6, seems to match that of Christ in Revelation 1:13–16. Daniel’s earthly conflict extends to the heavenly realm, as the spiritual messenger was delayed by a demon, until being assisted by an archangel, verses 12–14. Strong resistance was met due to the importance of the answer to Daniels’s prayer, as it is a prophecy on Satanic activity in the end time.

Do we have a say in the matter?

When a person becomes converted and receives God's spirit they immediately enter into a war-like struggle against two large opponents and a lot of it consists in the mind. They will have to fight these two powerful enemies every day of their life until they die. The first major opponent Christians face is themselves. They must battle their own human nature with its self-defeating, sinful and destructive tendencies. The apostle Paul referred to this constant battle of the mind Christians face in his book to the Romans. The second lifelong opponent true believers must face is the devil and the world he has deceived into thinking and acting like he does (Ephesians 2:2, 1 John 5:19, Revelation 12:9, etc.). Jesus, in his prayer to the Father before his crucifixion, reveals the ultimate attitude of those who do not believe God against those who do. I have given them (the disciples and all Christians by extension) Your words, and the world has hated them. . . (John 17)

Paul tells us, in no uncertain terms, that believers do not fight a carnal war that is so familiar to the world but rather one that is on a spiritual plane. Because we are not wrestling against flesh and blood, but against principalities and against powers, against the world rulers of the darkness of this age, against the spiritual power of wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6)

Now that we know how to create armor to protect ourselves, what other ways can we stop the enemy from influencing us? We have to avoid all evil influences in our life. We can find these influences through music that we listen to, the TV shows and movies that we watch, and activities that are tied to the occult that we can find ourselves silently drawn towards or introduced to via our acquaintances and friends. We don't realize how the little things we do can open up doors and allow legal rights for demonic influence in our life. I'm so guilty of this myself. None of us are perfect nor are we expected to be. Remember Jesus Christ died for our sins.

While the fallen angels have no control over your Free Will, they do have some preternatural abilities to influence your thoughts. They will silently tempt you, often to impure thoughts, or into dissuading you from some good effort. Construct a mental picture of Our Lord Jesus Christ during His Passion. Focus on His pierced hands or feet, or maybe His carrying of the Cross, or concentrate on His crowning with thorns or scourging at the pillar. You will be amazed at how fast the evil thoughts will flee.

The dark forces pull out all the stops to trick us out of our good intentions, and it is only by our soul's determination to succeed and by the grace of God's assistance that we can get back on track.

Without your spiritual armor on tight (the light of God sealed around you), it's easy to fall prey to a spiritual attack.

These so-called attacks don't have to be very in-your-face. In fact they work better when they aren't obvious, because you're less likely to do anything about it. Cunning and subtle methods cause us to accept an intrusion into our world as 'the way things are' or 'just part of our personality'.

It's important to recognize when we need to call to God to take care of that negative energy. Praying for discernment is key, as well as just simply practicing.

Spiritual warfare is really one of the greatest blessings we have. We don't have to wallow in the darkness, we can call for spiritual protection from the forces of light and they will fight back and raise us out of whatever negative state of mind or being we are in.

Written By Jennifer L Auld

How Serious is the Belief in Trapped Spirits?

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann    

My interest in the theological issue of spiritism accelerated like a rocket when I realized the titanic With the American spiritual landscape littered with the rubbish of all manner of crazy ideas and beliefs, it has the dubious distinction of being the arch-heterodox belief of the day…that is my opinion and I am prepared to defend that sentiment.

The first argument is simple but profound: fifty percent of Americans now believe in trapped spirits. HALF—ONE OUT OF EVERY TWO!—OF THE POPULATION HAS EMBRACED THIS ERROR…HIGHER WITH THE YOUNGER CROWD…AND GROWING FAST EVERY DAY.  No need to drone on here, but what other specific belief error comes anywhere near that quantity of people? Number of people affected should certainly be considered when determining if an issue merits being called a crucial issue, should it not?  Spiritism is a crucial issue which must be passionately addressed because more people have embraced this erroneous belief than any other heterodox belief.

Certainly one can believe in ghosts and still be saved, because Scripture clearly teaches justification by faith alone (Rom. 4; 5:1) However, the ability to discern the relative importance of theological/spiritual beliefs is vital for effective Christian life and ministry. The relative importance of certain issues/beliefs can fall within four categories. 1. Absolutes define the core beliefs of the Christian faith…what one must believe to be saved (the belief in absolute truth is a distinct issue); 2. Convictions, while not core beliefs, usually have significant impact on the health and effectiveness of the church and individuals; 3. Opinions, are less clear issues and are usually not worthy of dividing over; 4. Questions are issues which are currently unsettled. These criteria, and the seven below, are designed to help sort through the myriad of issues we face by categorizing them into four distinct levels of seriousness…hope they will help you in the future with thinking through the significance of other issues as well.

Where an issue falls within these categories should be determined by weighing the cumulative force of at least seven considerations: 1. Biblical clarity; 2. Relevance to the character of God; 3. Relevance to the essence of the gospel; 4. Biblical frequency and significance (how often in Scripture it is taught and what weight Scripture places upon it); 5. Effect on other doctrines; 6. Consensus among Christians (past and present); 7. Effect on personal and church life…all the categories should be considered collectively in determining how important an issue is to the Christian faith. The ability to rightly discern the difference between core doctrines and legitimately disputable matters will keep the church from either compromising important truth or needlessly dividing over peripheral issues. (pg. 2502 ESV Study Bible, emp. added)

In a sense, the main goal of my book is to provide the cumulative evidence (mentioned above and other) to argue that the issue of trapped spirits lies within the realm of convictions—see above for distinctiveness of four categories of issues…#2. While a biblically accurate belief regarding spiritism is not a core/absolute issue (not necessary for salvation…belief in the deity of Christ is an example of a belief that is a core issue), it is an exceedingly important conviction or teaching of the bible. Belief in ghosts, and attempting communication with them, can do serious damage to the church and to an individual’s spirituality. I should hasten to add, it IS doing serious damage right now. Let us look at the relative importance the bible gives to this issue, and the ramifications for the spiritual and emotional health of people by looking at these seven points.

1. Biblical clarity—using accepted principles of hermeneutics, Deuteronomy 18:9-14 and Leviticus 20:6-8, 27 are they key texts relative to communication with the dead (this is a distinct issue which is beyond the scope of this newsletter, but I devoted an entire article on this), and they are clear and explicit regarding the exceptional wickedness of spiritism. God as Judge used Israel as executioner of the Canaanites due to the latter’s occult practices which included spiritism. The land had become so defiled by this and other occult practices that it was vomiting them out. As I mentioned, using sound interpretive principles, it is abundantly clear that these texts have priority over all other “ghost” related texts. Then, when we look at these texts, we see that they are transgenerational in their authority. As far as biblical clarity, these texts are as clear as clear can get. There should be no debate if you under Christ’s Lordship. Remember that Jesus Himself quoted from Deut. three times when countering Satan’s climactic temptations in the wilderness.

2. Relevance to the character of God—the notion of ghosts casts a shadow over God’s omnipotence, and goodness (actually ALL the attributes of God are frontally assaulted by this notion)…what kind of God would leave deceased babies here as spirit babies? That “God” would be Satan-like. Spritism implies that the Lord is not sovereign over His creation—a godlette or McGod. “They died so quickly their souls got stuck here.” Are we to believe that manner of death can snatch believers out of God’s hands? God forbid! I could go on and on here…

3. Relevance on the essence of the gospel—the perfection of the Person and work of Christ is seriously undermined and impugned if we believe that some people get trapped when they die. What are we saved from, if death is NOT a doorway to heaven?  A McSalvation at best. While it does not utterly ruin the atonement, as denial of the deity of Christ does, it comes perilously close to it. Was Jesus’s salvation perfectly efficacious or not? Is Jesus the Son of Man, the conquering Warrior over evil and death, or not? Is it good news to believe that God’s blood was shed, only to wake up in the front porch to hell?

4. Frequency and weight—while spiritism is not mentioned often in the bible, where it is mentioned, the utmost weight or gravity is placed upon this issue (see 1 above).

5. Effect on other doctrines—pull out a book on bible doctrine and you will see how EVERY doctrine is undermined by the notion of people getting trapped here. For example, the biblical doctrine of hope is hopelessly destroyed by this belief. Hope is certainty regarding our future glory—how can one enjoy this basic fruit of the atonement when the fearful prospect of possibly being trapped here is hanging over our heads? Hope is not only an important biblical doctrine, but it is also crucial for a healthy emotional state. Another example is the believers union with Christ—we are in Christ, and indissolubly united with the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. We are already in heaven with Jesus, in a very real sense (Col.3:3). Our union with Jesus is unbreakable, and it is the hub from which all other spiritual blessings flow. What does it say about that union, if we can be separated from Christ indefinitely in a paranormal gutter-world…Satan’s home turf? The same corrosive effects occur to many other biblical doctrines. Please check it out for yourself….it may cast a whole new light on this discussion.

6. The consensus of Christians (past and present)—from the early church fathers who railed against the same pagan Gnosticism as we do today, up until today, the monolithic consensus of the doctors of the church has been that death ushers everyone immediately into their eternal destiny. I do not know of a single judicious theologian, in 2,000 years of church history, who has believed in ghosts—death has always been seen as certain entry into either eternal life or eternal death. Are we so foolish to ignore their collective wisdom?

7. Effect on personal and church life—how can you live with joy inexpressible when you are speaking to demons, and are being demonically oppressed?  Because the spirit realm is the God ordained temporary home of most of the fallen angels (rest already in hell), then when people summon spirits they immediately find themselves playing in Satan’s sandbox…and they are trespassing, which gives the demonic legal right to attach and attack. Since the notion of ghosts is so hostile to all that we call holy, then belief/speaking to the dead seriously undermines the stability of a Christian’s spiritual foundation—like a three legged table, it would not take much a “bump” to cause them to crash. As I mentioned, this belief is extremely corrosive to all it comes in contact with—other orthodox beliefs held side-by-side with it, will tend to be affected by it, and not vice versa. Kind of like when a Christian marries a non-Christian, the latter tends to pull the Christian down…having a corrosive effect on their spirituality.

Babylon the Harlot, Part 1

Hello my parabeauties. I trust you had a fabulous weekend.

Now the subject I am getting asked the most revolve around the book of Revelations. Revelations is a VERY difficult book to understand and comprehend. It's interpreted many ways. So this again is just my humble opinion on how I see it according to Biblical views but let the Holy Spirit guide you when you reading the Lords Word.

Babylon the Harlot or the Religious Babylon is Destroyed. 

Babylon the Harlot

Archaeologists tell us that Babylon is the cradle of civilization. Located on the shores of the Euphrates River, the ruins of this city have revealed some of the most ancient documents of past generations.

This city begun by Nimrod, who was a rebel before the Lord, authored some of the greatest evils ever to fall on humankind. Two of these evils will be destroyed during the Tribulation period. Revelation 17 is the destruction of the religious Babylon that takes place about the center of the seven years after the Antichrist declares himself to be God and no longer news the One World Religion.

In chapter 18 we will read about the destruction of the commercial, political Babylon when takes place at the end of the Tribulation.

In ancient days Satan seemed to make Babylon the capital of this evil operation. From this headquarters was started false religion, humanity's attempt for self-government in defiance of God's will and city dwellings for commercial and social purposes contrary to God's command to "be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth." (Gen. 1 v.28)

These great evils, which have damned the souls of millions by substituting counterfeit solutions to natural human problems that would ordinarily lead a person to God, will all be destroyed at the end of the Tribulation period. Chapter 17 describes the coming judgment of God on the religious system that has enslaved the human race in superstitious darkness for centuries.

The woman is a great city: "The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth" (Rev. 17 v.18) Many have taken this to mean that the woman represents the capital city of Antichrist's kingdom, but his cannot be, for Antichrist himself rules over the kings of the earth.

If, then, the women is not the Antichrist, what other possible explanation can we have for such unanimous world dominance? The only answer is the one system before which all kings, dictators, and nations have been forced to bow down throughout history, that is, the Babylonian religion of idolatry. One cannot go anywhere in the world without being confronted with some semblance of the idolatry.

No system in the world's history has enslaved more people than this awful religion. It should not take us by surprise that this prostitute woman, the religious system, is referred to as a city. When used symbolically, a woman is always intended throughout the Scripture to signify a spiritual or religious movement. If a good woman, it is "Jehovah's wife" or "the bride of Christ". If an evil woman, such as "a prostitute," it represents the evil religious.

Spirit of adultery

Since the woman who rides the beast gets her authority from the beast, the Holy Spirit uses this description to show how religious Babylon and governmental Babylon are so intertwined they are presented together. However, they are destroyed at different times. The prostitute (religious Babylon) is destroyed by "beast and the kings of the earth," who "hate the prostitute" and kill her.

This clears the way for Antichrist to fulfill the lifetime dream of Satan to get people to worship him. She is destroyed in the middle of the Tribulation; Babylon the governmental system will be destroyed at the end, when commercial, political Babylon is destroyed (Rev. 18). With "Mystery Babylon, the Mother of Prostitutes" out of the way, "all inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast, all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world". (Rev. 13 v.8).

The Vision of the Woman - Ten details describe this woman:

The great prostitute Who sits on many waters With her the kings of the earth committed adultery. The inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries. A woman sitting on a scarlet beast Dressed in purple and scarlet Glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. On her forehead: Mystery Babylon the Great, the Mother of Prostitutes and of the Abomination of the Earth. 10. Drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus Even before we come to the angel's interpretation of this vision, it is clear that we are not dealing with a mere human being, for no one woman can commit fornication with the kings of the earth, nor can a woman be "drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus." Chapter 17

17:1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:

This "whore" here is not a literal woman. In Hosea, his wife (who was a whore) was speaking of Israel. Here, this "whore" is speaking of the idolatrous church. Mystery, Babylon the Harlot

This statement "sitteth upon many waters", speaks of large groups of people. This is not the true church. This is the apostate church. God calls it the harlot church; the church that is not faithful to God, the church that is worldly. This church, while claiming to be Christian, finds many reasons to conform to the beast and the evil world system. This will be the one world religion which will appear which the church (Christians) have been raptured. 

One World Church

This, without question, is the part of the church that has compromised with the world and is no longer a chaste virgin in the sight of God. I truly believe that a large portion of the church falls into this category today. Worldliness has crept into our churches. The sad thing is that if she would repent, God would take her back, but she will not repent.

To be continued next Sunday.

Written By Jennifer L Auld

Is It Arrogant to Speak with Certainty Regarding the Paranormal?

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

"And When Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at His teaching, for He was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes." (Matt. 7:28-29) 

Is it arrogant to authoritatively assert that ghosts are demons, and that the bible does not have any wiggle room on this? I thought this would be an appropriate way to pull together and apply all that we have been saying about the attributes of Scripture...its authority relative to paranormal matters. I have been known to be quite assertive and certain in my comments--this has not always gone over very well....It seems that an amount of confidence is okay, within "reason", BUT to speak with utter certitude is deemed cocky and arrogant. "This is the mystery realm...we revel in diverse opinions." And what about the folks who are suffering?


Suppose God Himself appeared to you. Further, suppose He said this to you...face-to-face: "I want you to tell everyone you can about how Satan, and those filthy demons, are deceiving my beloved people by pretending to be ghosts. When people die, I immediately send them to heaven or hell. I love you--now go!" Suppose you had such an encounter--would you have any problem with following His command? Would you hem and haw when the topic of ghosts came up in conversations? Would you worry about sounding arrogant when speaking with winsome certainty? Certainly not! So, why is there such a small band of brothers/sisters addressing this vital issue? And even less with convincing, loving certainty?


Jesus did not hem and haw; He spoke with utter certainty on a wide range of topics, and the crowds marveled..And we learned that the written Word of God carries with it all the authority  of God's divine voice and the oral words of Jesus. That authority can be nothing less than ultimate and absolute. We have learned that when we read the bible we are not just reading verbiage...or just inspired sentences. WE ARE HAVING AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE REAL PRESENCE OF GOD HIMSELF!


We have repeatedly noted that the bible is 100 clear and emphatic that alleged ghosts are really demons


Let me give you this illustration from church history. The great reformer Martin Luther was engaged in debate with the learned Roman Catholic scholar Erasmus. What they were discussing was of immense importance, and this caused Luther to argue with great earnestness and zeal--the gospel was at stake! Well, being the gentleman and scholar that he was, Erasmus complained that Luther needed to show more humility and not be so dogmatic in his assertions. Uh oh...wrong thing to say! After thoroughly demeaning Erasmus (which Luther should not have done), he stated: "the Holy Spirit is NOT A SKEPTIC..." (Back in the day, the philosophical Skeptics debated everything and believed nothing) Luther's point is that it is not a sign of humility to hem and haw on a subject that the Holy Spirit has inspired and made clear. It is actually arrogant to NOT be assertive about subjects the bible is clear about because it implies that you are not trusting in its authority...autonomous thinking  In other words, being utterly certain and confident in one's assertions regarding the bible's teaching (providing it is clear and done winsomely) is a sign of submission to the Lordship of Christ. Remember our hypothetical encounter...how certainty regarding our message would be the only reasonable response.


The paranormal receives a great deal of attention in the bible--explicitly or implicitly. Because of the amount of detail, it is crystal clear. Below is just a small list of some of the topics the bible is crystal clear about

1.God is the sovereign, holy creator and redeemer
2.The instant we die, all of our souls stand before God in judgement and we are sent to heaven or hell...Judgement Day is simply public pronouncement
3 The paranormal realm is Satan's temporary home
4. Attempting to speak to the dead is an occultic sin
5. There are no trapped spirits on earth
6. Virtually all paranormal activity is demonic
7. Identifying entities in the spirit realm is a theological issue and not a scientific issue.


It seems to me that the paranormal community will gladly receive opinions, no matter how farfetched, based on a false notion of paranormal unity. Hence, any antithetical assertions--A is right and B is wrong--is considered judgmental and closed minded.


To assert with winsome certainty that ghosts are demons is NOT arrogant...it is humbly agreeing with God--seeing ghosts through His eyes. The essence of wisdom is to fear God, and trusting that His word is more sure than life itself. What the church and world needs are folks who will speak with prophetic certainty regarding this doctrine of demons.

God has ORDERED US to get out and tell folks all that Jesus commanded...that is the Great Commission...which has become the Great Omission when it comes to telling the liberating truth to those confused by the paranormal or oppressed by the demonic. How can we blame so many folks for believing this Satanic lie when so few are obeying God's personal call to YOU AND I TO GO? Go, and assert with certainty!

Sufficiency of the Bible

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

We have come to the end of our series on the attributes of the Word of God. If we are living in the last times then this is especially indispensable information to grasp.The last is also, in a sense, the most important--the sufficiency of Scripture. Or, Sola Scriptura as the reformers called it. We may define it thus: Scripture contains all the divine words needed for any and all aspects of human life.Here is the Westminster Confession formulation. (this is a wonderful teaching tool, but it is not infallible)

The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for His own glory, man's salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men. Nevertheless, we acknowledge the inward illumination of the Spirit of God to be necessary for the saving understanding of such things as are revealed in the Word: and that there are some circumstances concerning the worship of God, and government of the church, common to human actions and societies, which are to be ordered by the light of nature, and Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the Word, which are always to be observed." (WCF 1.6)  I will look at a few of these concepts.

Christians sometimes say the bible is sufficient for theology and spiritual matters but not for auto repair, scuba diving, zoology, or dentistry. Certainly the bible has more specific information relevant to theology than to auto mechanics, but that is not what we mean by sufficiency. In this context sufficiency is not sufficiency of specific information but sufficiency of divine words. Scripture has divine words for every aspect of human life. It contains all the divine words that the plumber needs--or scientist and modern ethicist-- and all the divine words that the theologian or preacher needs. So it is just as sufficient for plumbing as it is for theology! And we shall spend extra time showing how sufficient the bible is regarding paranormal issues.

Notice that the WCF states that the sufficient content of  the bible includes not only its explicit teaching, but what also may be properly logically deduced from it. Logic is a hermeneutical (interpretation) tool...a tool for bringing out meaning that is already there in the text.

Of course the sufficiency of Scripture means that nothing is to be added or subtracted to the bible--we do not need any more divine words than those in the bible. This does not forbid seeking information from other sources--our job requires it...and life in general.The last section of the WCF mentions the use of natural revelation--even regarding some issues in the church dealing with worship and government (Roberts' Rules...uugh!!)  Jesus had harsh words for the religious folks who elevated their traditions to the status of divine words.(Mark 7:8) The theological heritage I hold dear (Presbyterian/Reformed) has some traditions regarding worship which I know to be unbiblical...that is why we must be ever reforming!

2 Tim. 3:16-17 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work." "(see Rom.15:4   "Every" refers to sufficiency.

Scripture is clear enough to make us responsible for carrying out our present responsibilities to God. Like clarity, sufficiency is an ethical doctrine. It takes away excuses for disobedience. When we violate God's commandments, we cannot claim that they were unclear, or that they were insufficient. (John Frame--The Doctrine of the Word of God...pg 226)

Here is a crucial text for applying across the situational board...1 Cor. 10:31  "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."  And Col. 3:23 "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men."

The other day I was outside cutting the lawn, and I asked myself how the sufficiency of Scripture applied to that activity?I smiled as I remembered 1 Cor. 10:31...it is interesting how practical the results can be when you earnestly attempt to cut the grass to God's glory!  You see, this verse is sufficient regarding the divine words that I needed. Of course, additional information is needed for whatever the vocation, but the divine words in the bible are sufficient! If you are a plumber (fill in the blank) and read the bible everyday, then the fresh illumination of the Holy Spirit will astound you with how relevant the bible is on a daily basis.

There are principles in Scripture which apply to EVERYTHING...including thorny modern ethical issues . There is sufficient divine words to render inexcusable the reprehensible wickedness of abortion. That is THE most significant social/moral issue in our country. God is merciful and forgiving to any of you affected..okay? If He has forgiven you, then that should be sufficient--forgive yourself and move on.

The cultural mandate in Gen. 1:28 implies the acquisition of information gleaned from general revelation for your job...including our studies at school and work. But God's divine words in the bible are sufficient for you.Let me gently urge you to apply throughout your day today just 1 Cor.10:31 and see what happens!

This is a large subject but I need to apply this to our paranormal context.Though Scripture is sufficient regarding every area of human life, it has MORE divine words if the issue is critical. For example, the bible is filled with texts regarding how to be saved..

The paranormal--from what we have learned, the bible contains what God considers sufficient information.

When I began research for my book back in 2009, I thought that I might write a short pamphlet on "what the bible says about who ghosts really are". Man, was I mistaken! What struck me early on was how massive and wide-ranging the ramifications were for believing that humans could get trapped here after death. It has a deleterious effect on EVERY major doctrine in the bible...not to mention the catastrophically futile attempt to fit the notion of ghosts within a biblical worldview.

Take Deuteronomy 18:9-22...that one text SHOULD be sufficient for Christians who are  curious, confused, or attempting communication with alleged dead people. In that text we are presented with a clear choice--glorifying God by listening/obeying God's clear and sufficient revelation as revealed by His prophets--or glorifying self (and grieving the Holy Spirit as well as coming under divine discipline...and demonic assault on you and your loved ones) by seeking supernatural information from God's hated enemies--demons. God or demons--which do you want to communicate with?

It will revolutionize how investigations are done, but Christians must not solicit EVP's...NEVER!

As we end this series, I remind you that Scripture which is not applied is contrary to what the whole purpose of Scripture is--APPLICATION!  Bowing before the sufficiency of Holy Scripture is bowing before the Lordship of Christ. Let us resolve to live Sola Scriptura!

The Necessity of Scripture

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

The ultimate written authority we are subject to is God's inerrant, personal Word to us in the bible. It is God's authoritative interpretation of His own creation (among many other things)...which includes the paranormal. Hence, it is appropriate that we spend some time looking at the nature of scripture. This series will include discussions of: the necessity of scripture, the clarity of scripture, the comprehensiveness of scripture, and the sufficiency of scripture. All of these speak of why scripture is important for us, and the ways it is to have preeminence in our lives. A driving force of the sixteenth century reformation was sola scriptura (scripture alone), and it remains the driving force of any church or Christian who seeks to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Let us first look at the necessity of scripture.

To speak of the bible's necessity is simply to say we need it. We have noted before that when Satan tempted Jesus to turn stone into bread that our Lord replied by quoting Deuteronomy 8:3: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." (Matt. 4:4). Notice that Jesus refers to every word, which implies that every single word is necessary for our spiritual diet...every word is inspired by God the Holy Spirit (2 Tim. 3:16). We certainly need food, but our need for God's word is of even greater importance. In practice, which is viewed by you with more importance--eating      breakfast or daily ingesting God's word?

Recently I was communicating with a friend who is a witch. In response to a blog I had posted on Facebook, they commented that it would make them sad if their magical world of spirits was reduced to only demons and angels--implying that the bible impoverished one's view of reality. As is so often the case with occultists (and folks who believe/speak in ghosts are occultists), my friend was of the opinion that she had an objective view of the spirit world, but that I was saddled with an antiquated bible which has antiquated views about the spirit world. Poor me! I replied that nobody is able to be 100% objective (defined as not influenced by anything but the "facts") and we all operate, consciously or unconsciously, with a worldview--a set of presuppositions about reality...an ultimate norm or standard that we appeal to. The ultimate norm may be the bible or it might be one's reason, imagination, intuition, experience and so on. But we must disabuse ourselves of any notion that we view the paranormal objectively...nobody does...nor is it possible or even desirable. As followers of Christ, He must have preeminence in all of our thought--regarding the full circumference of reality--seen and unseen.

However, if our ultimate norm for interpreting reality is anything but the bible, then it has become autonomous (literally, "self-law"). Autonomous reasoning is attempting to reason independent of God. I told my friend that we ALL lean on something to be our ultimate court of appeal...it is not just Christians with their bible. For example, since the paranormal is invisible (usually), it is particularly necessary that we be guided through this treacherous terrain by the compass of the bible--otherwise our autonomous reasoning will steer us wrong....and onto the rocks. We WILL misinterpret real experiences, and Satan WILL deceive us if we attempt to reason autonomously regarding anything--especially regarding the spirit world on earth since that is God's ordained, temporary home for Satan and his infernal army. I refer you to the first sentence in this paragraph--there is no "IF"S" about it...it seems to me that the primary human cause (as opposed to Satanic strategy) of this explosion of necromancy is the ancient disease known as autonomous reasoning....Satan tempted Adam and Eve to first think autonomously, and their sinful eating of forbidden fruit would follow. Instead of bowing before the comprehensive jurisdiction of God's holy and authoritative Word over every area of our lives (including the paranormal), we have used our God-given faculties independently of our Maker.The temptation to think autonomously has its roots in the Garden (Gen.3......and Satan's revolt before that) and we must come to terms with how thoroughly original sin has affected our minds--we instinctively suppress and deny the truth of God and exchange it for a lie (Rom.1). I say all this because it accents just how necessary God's Word is.

Have you ever been to a county fair where one of the games was a duck-shooting gallery? Pling...pling...pling...even I can nail them at such close range. "They are a sitting duck" is a common expression referring to people who are defenseless against a deadly enemy. The tens of millions of Americans who have an active interest in the paranormal are sitting ducks in the worst possible way. Their insistence on autonomy of thought has exposed them to demonic oppression. The friend I mentioned earlier said that the idea that all paranormal activity was demonic was stupid (her word). Not so...what is foolish is playing in Satan's sandbox....what is naive is the notion that we can outwit Satan's deceptions without the Word of God. The carnage is becoming a killing fields--and it is heartbreaking to see. If ever their were in the history of mankind a situation which showed the absolute necessity of the word of God is America in 2013.

Second, the written Word is necessary because it establishes God's covenant authority over us. People often speak of having a personal relationship with Christ, but they are uncertain about the role of scripture in that relationship. Jesus says that if we love Him, we will keep His commandments (John 14:15, 21, 23, 15:7, 10) To obey His commandments we need to know them--hence, the necessity of having His Word and reading it. His words are absolutely necessary for our lives (John 6:68). If we do not obey His Word, then we may not call Him Lord (Matt.7:21--27). Jesus' words are found only in scripture. By right of creation and re-creation, God (and God alone) has the rightful authority to demand implicit obedience from us...keeping His commandments. We will speak more of this in the weeks to come, but the Lord, and His Word, has jurisdiction over every area of our lives--including full control over our interpretation and behavior regarding the paranormal. The written Word of God is the constitution of God's redeemed community here on earth.

Third, His written, personal Word to us records the key events in Jesus ministry, as well as giving us God's own interpretation of those events The four gospels and epistles are equally important--generally speaking, the gospels record the key redemptive events, and the epistles interpret or explain the meaning and significance of those recorded events. I hasten to add that the gospels certainly contain theological interpretation and commentary, and the epistles have historical elements in them...but we can still say that the gospels are primarily narratives of redemptive historical events, and the epistles elaborate the significance of the: incarnation, life, substitutionary atonement, resurrection, ascension, and second coming of our Lord Jesus. Without the bible, Jesus' death would have no meaning to us. Without the bible we would have no clue as to the Person and Work of Jesus--the incarnate Word. Without the Old and New Testaments, there is no Christ...without Christ there is no gospel....without the gospel there is no salvation. The gospel cannot be grasped by general/natural revelation--it had to be verbally communicated by our Lord to us. Below is the very first statement of the Westminster Confession of Faith regarding this matter--personally subscribing to the substance of the WCF was a prerequisite of my ordination in 1985 in the AR Presbyterian denomination.

Although the light of nature, and the works of creation and providence do so far manifest the goodness, wisdom, and power of God, as to leave men unexcusable; yet they are not sufficient to give that knowledge of God, and of His will, which is necessary unto salvation. Therefore it pleased the Lord, at sundry times, and in divers manners, to reveal Himself, and to declare that His will unto His Church; and afterwards for the better preserving and propagating of the truth, and for the more sure establishment and comfort of the Church against the corruption of the flesh, and the malice of Satan and of the world, to commit the same wholly unto writing; which makes the Holy Scripture to be MOST NECESSARY; those former ways of God's revealing His will unto His people being now ceased. (WCF 1:1...emphasis added)

Fourth, God's written word is necessary, because without it, reality in general would become meaningless and incoherent. Any attempts at autonomous reasoning (thinking independently of God's influence) ultimately becomes self-destructive. For example, Scripture says we are made in God's image (Gen.1).This image-of-Godness is not anan optional extra--it is the essence of our self identity. As His image bearers, we cannot even begin to have accurate knowledge of self if we reason independently (autonomous) from the God we mirror. As John Calvin said in the beginning of the Institutes, knowledge of God and knowledge of ourselves, are inextricably bound together...and it is difficult to know which comes first. Having, cherishing, and reverently reading the Word of God is absolutely necessary for spiritual growth and equipping of the saints for spiritual warfare.

See Part 2 The Clarity of the Word of God

The Clarity of the Word of God

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

Continued from The Necessity of Scripture

Last time we began a series on the attributes of the Word of God, and their ramifications for the paranormal. The necessity of the Word of God, the clarity, sufficiency, and comprehensiveness--all these speak of why scripture is important for us, and the ways it is to have preeminence in our lives. The purpose of this newsletter is to analyze, from a biblical perspective, what is happening in the paranormal community in general, and the notion of ghosts in particular. So, what we have to say about the clarity of the written Word, will be applied to these issues. If you did not read the last one on the necessity of the Word of God, it would be useful if you did, but this should stand on its own.

Why has there been a nuclear explosion in the number of people who have come to believe in ghosts in the last fifteen years? That can be accurately answered in a number of different ways, but for our purposes, folks attitude towards the bible is a huge factor.Last time we looked at the necessity of the written Word of God, and asking the above question brings us to a brief review of what we have already said, as well as sharpening our current application focus.

The bible is the ultimate presupposition for Christians in every area of life--including our reasoning, knowledge acquisition, and interpretation of God's world...this is merely the outworking of the Lordship of Christ in the area of human thought--it applies the the doctrine of scriptural infallibility to the realm of knowing. Human knowledge is servant knowledge (or primary vs. derivative).That is, in seeking to know anything, our first concern is to discover what our Lord thinks about it and to agree with His judgment, to think His thoughts after Him (seeing EVERYTHING through God's eyes!). There are no "neutral" facts because God's pre-interpretation of the facts logically precedes the existence of all facts. Hence, we must align our interpretation of paranormal phenomena with our Lord's infallible interpretation of the same. Put another way, we are obligated to re-interpret accurately what our Lord has already interpreted. Can any Christian seriously suggest otherwise? We shouldn't, but we do--remember what we said about autonomous thinking? Talk about foolish-- how could anyone imagine that contradicting the Master of the universe would be a wise decision? All sin, whether Adam and Eve's or ours today, is a result of sinful, autonomous thinking.

How does this apply to our paranormal focus, and our question? Just this, it is the seeking of knowledge about part of God's creation (the spirit realm), without being subject to God's revelation, that has been the primary cause for the explosion of belief in ghosts. How else can you explain the belief in, or "knowledge" of, something that does not exist? In fact, it would be wrong to speak of "knowledge of ghosts" because the category or class known as "trapped spirits" is the null set...it does not correspond to reality. Put another way, with the marginalizing of the God of the Bible, and the bible of God, in our culture, then intellectual autonomy is the inevitable result...as well as incurring God's wrath (Psalm 2; Rom.1). Folks sinfully prefer their reasoning, their intuition, their years of experience, their perceptions, and their interpretation of the paranormal facts over God Almighty's interpretation of the same facts. This is blatant intellectual arrogance."The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction."

Those in the paranormal community, Christians and otherwise, have spent all their academic training in an environment which disassociates the facts of creation from their Creator--by jettisoning from the classroom His authoritative interpretation of His cosmos (the bible). So, when faced with the facts of the paranormal (and the very real experiences which have become pandemic), the paranormal community does what they have been taught--disassociate the paranormal facts of creation from their Creator. We are not re-interpreting these facts in servant/creaturely submission to God's own authoritative interpretation of these realities. Consequently, they are creating their own fantasy land.

At this point we can now turn our attention to the clarity of the Word of God. The perspicuity or clarity of the bible is how evangelical/Reformed theologians have spoken about one of the attributes of the bible...indeed that is what the written Word of God affirms about itself. Scripture ( as in Deut. 8:3; Pss. 19:7; 119; Matt. 4:4) says that God's written Word is for everybody to understand and live by. The Westminster Confession of Faith speaks of how some doctrines are clearer than others. For example, what is necessary for salvation is very clear. However, it would be a mistake to say that even a single word in the bible does not, in some sense, speak of salvation in a broader sense--every inch of the bible enriches our understanding of the cosmic sweep of the drama of redemption. Nevertheless, that which is required for a credible profession of faith is quite simple (but profound)...and is very clear.

God is THE Great Communicator...He is fully in control of His communication to human beings. When He communicates with us the Lord always does so successfully (human rejection of His successful communication is a commentary regarding mankind's sinfulness...not His Word) But another name for successful communication is clarity. Since God's word is clear, it will always accomplish its purpose (Isa. 55:10-11)--it won't come back void. If a person rejects that Word, then it has still accomplished it's work--much like Jesus perfectly accomplished His Father's work, even though more people rejected the Incarnate Word than accepted Him.

As I point out in Seeing Ghosts through God's Eyes,the notion of ghosts touches on several crucial biblical themes--what happens to us when we die? And what is our hope? And others...many others! Certainly the two I mentioned are so significant that we would rightly assume that the Great Communicator would communicate ultra clearly regarding these, and He does! I am aware that there are those who disagree--saying the bible is not clear regarding what happens to us after death--butdo you see what that implies about God's communication skills? Fear of death is the most universal fear of humans...is it any wonder that hope (certain faith applied to the future) is a central Resurrection motif? The perceived un-clarity is inexcusable and sinful--yes, misinterpreting the Word of God is a sin.

When we consider the clarity of the bible in relation to the Lordship of Christ, it creates ethical obligation in its hearers: obligation to believe what it says, to do what it commands, and so on. To quote Frame, "The clarity of God's Word means that we have no excuse for failing to meet it obligations. To say that God's Word is clear is to say that we have no excuse for misunderstanding or disobeying it. So the clarity of Scripture has ethical implications." (pg 206...The Doctrine of the Word of God)

Again, how does all this relate to the notion of trapped spirits? Since it is inextricably tied to the central biblical doctrines of hope, the afterlife, and the Person and Work of Christ...to name but a few, then one would expect that the Word of God will be ultra clear. It is...very clear! Clear enough to create an ethical obligation to reject this demonic fabrication. Clear enough to make it sinful to believe in the notion of ghosts. Clear enough that there is no excuse for misunderstanding the bible's teaching regarding the matter. Clear enough that there is no excuse for believing in or attempting to speak to demons mimicking humans. And it is certainly clear enough that we do not need to hear a supplemental word from the "other side of the veil" to clarify what happens after death...implying that God's Word is unclear and defective. God, in His written Word, has clearly told us what happens when we die. If we are in union with Jesus, then we will see Him, with glorious clarity, face-to-face!

(The biblical texts are so extensive, and clear, regarding the afterlife, and related themes, it would be a monumental task to amass them--all biblical doctrines are inter-related.)

How Serious is the Belief in Trapped Spirits?

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann    

My interest in the theological issue of spiritism accelerated like a rocket when I realized the titanic With the American spiritual landscape littered with the rubbish of all manner of crazy ideas and beliefs, it has the dubious distinction of being the arch-heterodox belief of the day…that is my opinion and I am prepared to defend that sentiment.

The first argument is simple but profound: fifty percent of Americans now believe in trapped spirits. HALF—ONE OUT OF EVERY TWO!—OF THE POPULATION HAS EMBRACED THIS ERROR…HIGHER WITH THE YOUNGER CROWD…AND GROWING FAST EVERY DAY.  No need to drone on here, but what other specific belief error comes anywhere near that quantity of people? Number of people affected should certainly be considered when determining if an issue merits being called a crucial issue, should it not?  Spiritism is a crucial issue which must be passionately addressed because more people have embraced this erroneous belief than any other heterodox belief.

Certainly one can believe in ghosts and still be saved, because Scripture clearly teaches justification by faith alone (Rom. 4; 5:1) However, the ability to discern the relative importance of theological/spiritual beliefs is vital for effective Christian life and ministry. The relative importance of certain issues/beliefs can fall within four categories. 1. Absolutes define the core beliefs of the Christian faith…what one must believe to be saved (the belief in absolute truth is a distinct issue); 2. Convictions, while not core beliefs, usually have significant impact on the health and effectiveness of the church and individuals; 3. Opinions, are less clear issues and are usually not worthy of dividing over; 4. Questions are issues which are currently unsettled. These criteria, and the seven below, are designed to help sort through the myriad of issues we face by categorizing them into four distinct levels of seriousness…hope they will help you in the future with thinking through the significance of other issues as well.

Where an issue falls within these categories should be determined by weighing the cumulative force of at least seven considerations: 1. Biblical clarity; 2. Relevance to the character of God; 3. Relevance to the essence of the gospel; 4. Biblical frequency and significance (how often in Scripture it is taught and what weight Scripture places upon it); 5. Effect on other doctrines; 6. Consensus among Christians (past and present); 7. Effect on personal and church life…all the categories should be considered collectively in determining how important an issue is to the Christian faith. The ability to rightly discern the difference between core doctrines and legitimately disputable matters will keep the church from either compromising important truth or needlessly dividing over peripheral issues. (pg. 2502 ESV Study Bible, emp. added)

In a sense, the main goal of my book is to provide the cumulative evidence (mentioned above and other) to argue that the issue of trapped spirits lies within the realm of convictions—see above for distinctiveness of four categories of issues…#2. While a biblically accurate belief regarding spiritism is not a core/absolute issue (not necessary for salvation…belief in the deity of Christ is an example of a belief that is a core issue), it is an exceedingly important conviction or teaching of the bible. Belief in ghosts, and attempting communication with them, can do serious damage to the church and to an individual’s spirituality. I should hasten to add, it IS doing serious damage right now. Let us look at the relative importance the bible gives to this issue, and the ramifications for the spiritual and emotional health of people by looking at these seven points.

1. Biblical clarity—using accepted principles of hermeneutics, Deuteronomy 18:9-14 and Leviticus 20:6-8, 27 are they key texts relative to communication with the dead (this is a distinct issue which is beyond the scope of this newsletter, but I devoted an entire article on this), and they are clear and explicit regarding the exceptional wickedness of spiritism. God as Judge used Israel as executioner of the Canaanites due to the latter’s occult practices which included spiritism. The land had become so defiled by this and other occult practices that it was vomiting them out. As I mentioned, using sound interpretive principles, it is abundantly clear that these texts have priority over all other “ghost” related texts. Then, when we look at these texts, we see that they are transgenerational in their authority. As far as biblical clarity, these texts are as clear as clear can get. There should be no debate if you under Christ’s Lordship. Remember that Jesus Himself quoted from Deut. three times when countering Satan’s climactic temptations in the wilderness.

2. Relevance to the character of God—the notion of ghosts casts a shadow over God’s omnipotence, and goodness (actually ALL the attributes of God are frontally assaulted by this notion)…what kind of God would leave deceased babies here as spirit babies? That “God” would be Satan-like. Spritism implies that the Lord is not sovereign over His creation—a godlette or McGod. “They died so quickly their souls got stuck here.” Are we to believe that manner of death can snatch believers out of God’s hands? God forbid! I could go on and on here…

3. Relevance on the essence of the gospel—the perfection of the Person and work of Christ is seriously undermined and impugned if we believe that some people get trapped when they die. What are we saved from, if death is NOT a doorway to heaven?  A McSalvation at best. While it does not utterly ruin the atonement, as denial of the deity of Christ does, it comes perilously close to it. Was Jesus’s salvation perfectly efficacious or not? Is Jesus the Son of Man, the conquering Warrior over evil and death, or not? Is it good news to believe that God’s blood was shed, only to wake up in the front porch to hell?

4. Frequency and weight—while spiritism is not mentioned often in the bible, where it is mentioned, the utmost weight or gravity is placed upon this issue (see 1 above).

5. Effect on other doctrines—pull out a book on bible doctrine and you will see how EVERY doctrine is undermined by the notion of people getting trapped here. For example, the biblical doctrine of hope is hopelessly destroyed by this belief. Hope is certainty regarding our future glory—how can one enjoy this basic fruit of the atonement when the fearful prospect of possibly being trapped here is hanging over our heads? Hope is not only an important biblical doctrine, but it is also crucial for a healthy emotional state. Another example is the believers union with Christ—we are in Christ, and indissolubly united with the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. We are already in heaven with Jesus, in a very real sense (Col.3:3). Our union with Jesus is unbreakable, and it is the hub from which all other spiritual blessings flow. What does it say about that union, if we can be separated from Christ indefinitely in a paranormal gutter-world…Satan’s home turf? The same corrosive effects occur to many other biblical doctrines. Please check it out for yourself….it may cast a whole new light on this discussion.

6. The consensus of Christians (past and present)—from the early church fathers who railed against the same pagan Gnosticism as we do today, up until today, the monolithic consensus of the doctors of the church has been that death ushers everyone immediately into their eternal destiny. I do not know of a single judicious theologian, in 2,000 years of church history, who has believed in ghosts—death has always been seen as certain entry into either eternal life or eternal death. Are we so foolish to ignore their collective wisdom?

7. Effect on personal and church life—how can you live with joy inexpressible when you are speaking to demons, and are being demonically oppressed?  Because the spirit realm is the God ordained temporary home of most of the fallen angels (rest already in hell), then when people summon spirits they immediately find themselves playing in Satan’s sandbox…and they are trespassing, which gives the demonic legal right to attach and attack. Since the notion of ghosts is so hostile to all that we call holy, then belief/speaking to the dead seriously undermines the stability of a Christian’s spiritual foundation—like a three legged table, it would not take much a “bump” to cause them to crash. As I mentioned, this belief is extremely corrosive to all it comes in contact with—other orthodox beliefs held side-by-side with it, will tend to be affected by it, and not vice versa. Kind of like when a Christian marries a non-Christian, the latter tends to pull the Christian down…having a corrosive effect on their spirituality.

How Serious is the Belief in Trapped Spirits?

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann    

My interest in the theological issue of spiritism accelerated like a rocket when I realized the titanic With the American spiritual landscape littered with the rubbish of all manner of crazy ideas and beliefs, it has the dubious distinction of being the arch-heterodox belief of the day…that is my opinion and I am prepared to defend that sentiment.

The first argument is simple but profound: fifty percent of Americans now believe in trapped spirits. HALF—ONE OUT OF EVERY TWO!—OF THE POPULATION HAS EMBRACED THIS ERROR…HIGHER WITH THE YOUNGER CROWD…AND GROWING FAST EVERY DAY.  No need to drone on here, but what other specific belief error comes anywhere near that quantity of people? Number of people affected should certainly be considered when determining if an issue merits being called a crucial issue, should it not?  Spiritism is a crucial issue which must be passionately addressed because more people have embraced this erroneous belief than any other heterodox belief.

Certainly one can believe in ghosts and still be saved, because Scripture clearly teaches justification by faith alone (Rom. 4; 5:1) However, the ability to discern the relative importance of theological/spiritual beliefs is vital for effective Christian life and ministry. The relative importance of certain issues/beliefs can fall within four categories. 1.Absolutes define the core beliefs of the Christian faith…what one must believe to be saved (the belief in absolute truth is a distinct issue); 2.Convictions, while not core beliefs, usually have significant impact on the health and effectiveness of the church and individuals; 3. Opinions, are less clear issues and are usually not worthy of dividing over; 4. Questions are issues which are currently unsettled. These criteria, and the seven below, are designed to help sort through the myriad of issues we face by categorizing them into four distinct levels of seriousness…hope they will help you in the future with thinking through the significance of other issues as well.

Where an issue falls within these categories should be determined by weighing the cumulative force of at least seven considerations: 1. Biblical clarity; 2. Relevance to the character of God; 3. Relevance to the essence of the gospel; 4. Biblical frequency and significance (how often in Scripture it is taught and what weight Scripture places upon it); 5. Effect on other doctrines; 6. Consensus among Christians (past and present); 7. Effect on personal and church life…all the categories should be considered collectively in determining how important an issue is to the Christian faith. The ability to rightly discern the difference between core doctrines and legitimately disputable matters will keep the church from either compromising important truth or needlessly dividing over peripheral issues.(pg. 2502 ESV Study Bible, emp. added)

In a sense, the main goal of my book is to provide the cumulative evidence (mentioned above and other) to argue that the issue of trapped spirits lies within the realm of convictions—see above for distinctiveness of four categories of issues…#2. While a biblically accurate belief regarding spiritism is not a core/absolute issue (not necessary for salvation…belief in the deity of Christ is an example of a belief that is a core issue), it is an exceedingly important convictionor teaching of the bible. Belief in ghosts, and attempting communication with them, can do serious damage to the church and to an individual’s spirituality. I should hasten to add, it IS doing serious damage right now. Let us look at the relative importance the bible gives to this issue, and the ramifications for the spiritual and emotional health of people by looking at these seven points.

1. Biblical clarity—using accepted principles of hermeneutics, Deuteronomy 18:9-14 and Leviticus 20:6-8, 27 are they key texts relative to communication with the dead (this is a distinct issue which is beyond the scope of this newsletter, but I devoted an entire article on this), and they are clear and explicit regarding the exceptional wickedness of spiritism. God as Judge used Israel as executioner of the Canaanites due to the latter’s occult practices which included spiritism. The land had become so defiled by this and other occult practices that it was vomiting them out. As I mentioned, using sound interpretive principles, it is abundantly clear that these texts have priority over all other “ghost” related texts. Then, when we look at these texts, we see that they are transgenerational in their authority. As far as biblical clarity, these texts are as clear as clear can get. There should be no debate if you under Christ’s Lordship. Remember that Jesus Himself quoted from Deut. three times when countering Satan’s climactic temptations in the wilderness.

2. Relevance to the character of God—the notion of ghosts casts a shadow over God’s omnipotence, and goodness (actually ALL the attributes of God are frontally assaulted by this notion)…what kind of God would leave deceased babies here as spirit babies? That “God” would be Satan-like. Spritism implies that the Lord is not sovereign over His creation—a godlette or McGod. “They died so quickly their souls got stuck here.” Are we to believe that manner of death can snatch believers out of God’s hands? God forbid! I could go on and on here…

3. Relevance on the essence of the gospel—the perfection of the Person and work of Christ is seriously undermined and impugned if we believe that some people get trapped when they die. What are we saved from, if death is NOT a doorway to heaven?  A McSalvation at best. While it does not utterly ruin the atonement, as denial of the deity of Christ does, it comes perilously close to it. Was Jesus’s salvation perfectly efficacious or not? Is Jesus the Son of Man, the conquering Warrior over evil and death, or not? Is it good news to believe that God’s blood was shed, only to wake up in the front porch to hell?

4. Frequency and weight—while spiritism is not mentioned often in the bible, where it is mentioned, the utmost weight or gravity is placed upon this issue (see 1 above).

5. Effect on other doctrines—pull out a book on bible doctrine and you will see how EVERY doctrine is undermined by the notion of people getting trapped here. For example, the biblical doctrine ofhope is hopelessly destroyed by this belief. Hope is certainty regarding our future glory—how can one enjoy this basic fruit of the atonement when the fearful prospect of possibly being trapped here is hanging over our heads? Hope is not only an important biblical doctrine, but it is also crucial for a healthy emotional state. Another example is the believers union with Christ—we are in Christ, and indissolubly united with the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. We are already in heaven with Jesus, in a very real sense (Col.3:3). Our union with Jesus is unbreakable, and it is the hub from which all other spiritual blessings flow. What does it say about that union, if we can be separated from Christ indefinitely in a paranormal gutter-world…Satan’s home turf? The same corrosive effects occur to many other biblical doctrines. Please check it out for yourself….it may cast a whole new light on this discussion.

6. The consensus of Christians (past and present)—from the early church fathers who railed against the same pagan Gnosticism as we do today, up until today, the monolithic consensus of the doctors of the church has been that death ushers everyone immediately into their eternal destiny. I do not know of a single judicious theologian, in 2,000 years of church history, who has believed in ghosts—death has always been seen as certain entry into either eternal life or eternal death. Are we so foolish to ignore their collective wisdom?

7. Effect on personal and church life—how can you live with joy inexpressible when you are speaking to demons, and are being demonically oppressed?  Because the spirit realm is the God ordained temporary home of most of the fallen angels (rest already in hell), then when people summon spirits they immediately find themselves playing in Satan’s sandbox…and they are trespassing, which gives the demonic legal right to attach and attack. Since the notion of ghosts is so hostile to all that we call holy, then belief/speaking to the dead seriously undermines the stability of a Christian’s spiritual foundation—like a three legged table, it would not take much a “bump” to cause them to crash. As I mentioned, this belief is extremely corrosive to all it comes in contact with—other orthodox beliefs held side-by-side with it, will tend to be affected by it, and not vice versa. Kind of like when a Christian marries a non-Christian, the latter tends to pull the Christian down…having a corrosive effect on their spirituality.