I love watching "Celebrity Ghost Stories," "Haunted Collector," and sometimes "The Haunted." My husband believes I have a morbid obsession with the afterlife. I admit I am most curious about the afterlife, because I have experienced some odd things in my life, that really can't be explained. I do believe in ghosts, and I think there are people out there that can sense and possibly comprehend such oddities that most people shrug off. However, what does the Bible say about such things? Am I sinning by believing such things? Are people sinning against God when they go out of their way to contact the spirits of loved ones or anyone in the beyond?
I have friends in my past who also enjoy dabbling with witchcraft. Nothing dark or dangerous...more like earth-loving free spirited hippies, and I have to laugh at any idea that they would be dark and sinister. I loved every single Harry Potter book and movie, and although I like to entertain myself with the witchcraft stories, I don't believe in the serious practice. I know that I have caught specific verses that go against ANY kind of witchcraft in the Bible. Leviticus 19:27 is pretty damning as it proclaims "A man or a woman who is a medium or a wizard shall be put to death; they shall be stoned to death, their blood is upon them." Seems to be pretty stiff punishment for simply contacting the dead or attempting to celebrate the power of the earth. Deuteronomy 18: 10-11 "No one shall be found among you who makes a son or daughter pass through fire, or who practices divination, or is a soothsayer, or an auger, or a sorcerer, or one who casts spells, or who consults ghosts or spirits, or who seeks oracles from the dead." That pretty much makes my interest in the other world a damning one, not to mention my love of Harry Potter. Why such a vengeful approach to something that seems to be harmless?
In Exodus 7: 11-12, 22; 8: 7, 18-19; 9: 11, Moses and Aaron use God's power to perform all kinds of signs to prove to Pharaoh the power of God. In the first few demonstrations, Pharaoh's magicians were able to perform the same feats. Yet when the signs became more powerful, Pharaoh's magicians couldn't compete. So if even Egypt's elite couldn't exhibit the same powers as God were they even a threat?
What of visions and prophecies, such as the doomsday prophecy that the world would end in December 2012? Or similar doomsday prophecies? Sirach 34: 4-7 claims that dreams mean nothing unless they are given by God. "Unless they are sent by intervention from the Most High, pay no attention to them. For dreams have deceived many, and those who put their hope in them have perished" Sirach 34: 6-7. How am I supposed to know what visions come from God? If the History Channel is correct, the Aztecs and the Hopis didn't worship God Almighty, but aliens from outer space. So I guess those prophecies are out for me.
The Bible does not say that all people who are mediums, sorcerers, or oracles are all phonies. In fact it seems to be quite the opposite. The various authors in the Old Testament warn explicitly against seeking counsel with such people. Why? Through reading throughout the scripture I can hazard a simple guess--if the counsel we seek does not come through God, our Father, then whom does it come from? Is it the dark one, the Father of Lies, Satan? Or does it come from the darkest desires of our human hearts? "From an unclean thing what can be clean? And from something false what can be true?" (Sirach 34:4) Most people want an oracle to give them worldly advice--when will I find my true love? Will I become rich? Famous? So many things we desire to know, and they center around the singular self, a selfish concern. If there is one thing that God and Jesus let us know is that we are put on this earth to rejoice in and worship our God. He gave us our life, our freedom to choose our paths, and the joy of knowing him personally. In the New Testament I could not find anything that focused on the occult, and if Jesus had personally changed the rules. But I did find that Jesus wanted our focus to be on our neighbors--what can we do to make life better for our fellow man? Not what can I do to make my life reach it's fullest potential in either fame, money, or worldly possessions. I think that God's biggest issue with the magical element people sought is that it put a wedge in between God and his people. He wants us to go to him with our problems, to seek a close relationship with Him, and not be led down false paths that pander to our single minded selfishness. Everyone has heard the commandment, "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me." When we turn from God, and seek knowledge from someone or something else, we have inadvertently put something else in a higher position than God, which is unacceptable. Does it require stoning or death? Not in any way, since as Christians, we are not to judge other people for who they are. I firmly believe that we are expected to reject the practices that would detract from our close relationship to God, and witness our loving relationship with God to those who wish to know. However, will I stand upon a soapbox and point an accusing finger at those who do not follow in my faith and religious beliefs? Certainly not. God gives everyone the freedom to choose Him or another path if they so choose. While I will not judge the person, I may judge for myself the practice and refrain from placing myself in the company of those who seek a different path.
And in closing with that feeling, I have to believe that though I find the idea of spirits and hauntings interesting, I will not let it in between me and God. If a message came to me from the "great beyond" it would be thrilling, but not something that I would base my decisions on. For the important choices in my life are to be chosen from the words of wisdom, and from within my heart and consciousness that God has given me. Each to his own, and I choose God.
