[Un]holy Ghosts

One of my students swears that doors open and close in her house because of paranormal activity… she brought this up on a spiritual leadership retreat last summer.

I spend half of my time as a teacher trying to convince students that there is a supernatural (dare I say paranormal?) being called God. But when I hear stories like this, my knee-jerk reaction is to try to explain why air conditioners, open windows, and soffit vents cause weird stuff to happen. Even things like Ouija boards have reasonable methodologically naturalistic explanations (like The Blindfold Test). And while I do think there is good reason to believe that many paranormal events may be merely natural events with injections of the human subconscious or fear, I think that there is also a good amount of Biblical literature and Christian experience that point to some creepily legit claims. Many of these claims boil down to alleged demonic or angelic activity… but are there any other spooky beings beyond that?

So, for this special Halloween season post (Don’t fear Halloween ), here’s a brief foray into two characters that are staple costumes this time of year: Ghosts and Witches.

Ghosts:

I always thought that Christians weren’t supposed to believe in ghosts. My old King James Bible self wants to drop quotes about the “Holy Ghost” being the only ghost that matters. Somehow in my upbringing and training, I got the impression that all “paranormal” activity can be blamed on demons. And because of the fear, lies, and darkness usually associated with people’s encounters with demons, I figured that assumption was correct. But then I came across 1 Samuel 28 and the story of the medium (or witch) of Endor (not Star Wars).

Shortly after the death of the prophet Samuel, King Saul sees the Philistine army gather nearby and is terrified. So, even though he had banned mediums from the area, he hunts one down to conjure up Samuel’s ghost/spirit. There’s a bit of deception and back and forth with the medium, but she appears to successfully conjure the ghost of Samuel. Saul presents his woes to Samuel’s ghost and here’s how Samuel responds:

“Why do you consult me, now that the Lord has departed from you and become your enemy? 17 The Lord has done what he predicted through me. The Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors—to David. 18 Because you did not obey the Lord or carry out his fierce wrath against the Amalekites, the Lord has done this to you today. 19 The Lord will deliver both Israel and you into the hands of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will also give the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines.” NIV

All of this smacks of the notoriously straight-forward, sassy tone of the prophet of Israel when he was alive. To try to get around affirming the existence of ghosts, one person suggested to me that perhaps it was just an illusion created by a demon… but why would a demon remind Saul of the words of the Lord, and reconfirm his faithfulness to his promises (which ended up happening)? So, do ghosts exist? Well, at least one did.

Nevertheless, it’s probably still a good idea to not go to mediums to try to talk with them (see below).

Witches:

Thanks to our friend Harry Potter, the world of witchcraft and wizardry was brought under one umbrella and neatly sorted into unique disciplines. In Deuteronomy 18:10-11 we have a list that expands beyond mere witches and wizards but still fits into the Hogwarts disciplines.

“¹⁰ Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, ¹¹ or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead.” NIV

I think the prohibition of child sacrifice can stand without much explanation (those who do this clearly belong to Voldemort). But then who are all of these other characters that should not be part of the people of God? While this is not the appropriate medium (pun intended) for a deep study on each of these ancient Hebrew words, the ancient Israelites were clearly aware of a few different types of witches.

1. There are those who try to predict the future through nefarious means by practicing divination or reading omens (Trelawny’s class).
2. There are those who function as mediums for the dead or the other dark spirits (Trelawny again).
3. There are those who control the elements or other people through the use of sorcery, witchcraft, and spell casting (Flitwick’s class)
4. It is also important to note that the Septuagint renders “witch” in 22:18 as pharmakous, causing some to interpret this word as an herbalist. There is a long-standing connection between witches and psychedelics (Psychedelic Witches ) ensuring that Severus Snape’s position as potions master made the biblical cut.

Nevertheless, all of these dark disciplines are off limits for those of us who follow God… so put your wands away. We are invited to trust God’s vision for the future and not patterns in tea-leaves or animal entrails. Instead of conjuring the spirits of those who have passed, we are to commune with God and savor our moments with the loved ones who are still with us. We are to make changes in this world through love, service, and an invitation to God’s kingdom, instead of harnessing dark powers in an attempt to control people and objects. And while spells, divination, and necromancy may not be your thing, substance abuse has been a perennial temptation for humans that lures people away from sobriety. So, especially if you’re getting behind the wheel this Halloween, stay away from the pharmakeia!