Do you Believe That Ghosts are Real?
David Slone asked:
Ghosts are different things depending on who you ask. While 32% of Americans believe in ghosts, according to a 2005 Gallup poll, there is a divergence of opinion as to what constitutes a ghost. Parapsychologists are in favor of the term, apparition, because it’s purportedly more precise. An apparition is considered immaterial, but it can seem real and tangible. There are a variety of entities that qualify for the catch-all term, ghost, and here they are, in no particular order.
The spirit of a deceased person could make itself known in its former habitat, i.e., a home or office. In this case, the ghost is said to have a likeness to the deceased either in appearance, behavior, or vocal imitation. Of course, it may not be an imitation!
Other common uses of the term refer to angels or demons, or even as a synonym for a person’s immaterial spirit, whether or not they’re presenting themselves to others.
Ghosts are portrayed as having a semi-transparent, unspecific form, loosely resembling the person they once were. Their motives are helpful, ominous, or treacherous. Their motions are transient because they pop in and out. They’re often seen fleeing or scurrying. Of course, reports abound, and these are only a few examples of the alleged behavior of ghosts.
Ghost mythology is common in every ancient culture – from the Egyptians, to the Chinese, to the Europeans of the Middle Ages Ghosts were thought to be the disembodied soul of the person they once inhabited.
Parapsychologists study ghosts as part of their living. A parapsychologist seeks to understand paranormal phenomena. Paranormal phenomena is described as any phenomenon or occurrence that exceeds the bounds of what is possible, according to the established principles and laws of science.
Skeptics charge the controversy with several explanations for suspected ghost sightings. For instance, Scientists Richard Lord and Richard Wiseman explain that sound waves having frequencies less than 20 hertz are normally inaudible, nonetheless, they may cause someone to feel a presence or shift their mood to anxiety or dread. Carbon monoxide poisoning was cited as a cause for haunted houses as early as 1921 because it can cause hallucinations, ill feelings, and a sensation of dread as well.
Another condition, pareidolia, is a condition that causes someone to recognize human faces or forms in random patterns. That’s kind of like a case of seeing what you anticipate, hope for, or want to happen, instead of just seeing. Skeptics aside, extraordinary sightings and stories flow in from all corners of the world at large.
Let’s take a look and see whether or not ghosts might have a scant possibility of really existing.
The New Testament acknowledges the existence of demons, the real spiritual beings that tempt, lie, deceive, and physically harm humans. According to the Bible their intention is to turn people away from God, from the best interests of the human and what will make then happiest, and to try to cause humans to think that they’re smarter than the All mighty loving God. Jesus gave humans the power to cast out demons and walk over the enemy. We have a shield of protection through Christ’s blood. A study of the gospel and the historical teachings of Jesus as it relates to angels and demons is too important and is a separate area of study outside of ghosts.
But, before we begin, let’s move on to the ghost stories of the world.
The face of Martha Rendell, the only female to be executed at Fremantle, appears in the window of the church frequently. The face seems to be produced by ripples in the glass that reflect light in an abnormal way, but the resemblance is eerie.
In China, Tuen Mun Road in Hong Kong is apparently causing excessive death tolls due to “ghosts popping up in the middle of the road”. Drivers avert the apparitions by veering their cars quickly and end up crashing. Hundreds of people allege that this highway is haunted, and many claim to have lost complete control of their automobiles.
Traveling to England we find a case with some substantial evidence, no pun intended. London’s primary criminal court, the Old Bailey, has an uninvited guest at major trials. Judges, barristers, and policemen attest to this strange apparition.
Even Mount Everest has its ghost in resident, probably the ghost of climber, Andrew Irvine, who tried to reach the summit in 1924 with George Mallory, but disappeared on his journey upward. Two climbers in 1975 said that they occupied a snow hole with him, and other climbers have seen a ghost too.
Ireland has the Temple Michael, a quint church and castle positioned on the blackwater river, with a close proximity to Youghal, Co Cork. The place is not used, and it overlooks the blackwater river. Visitors and local inhabitants of the region claim to have heard shrieks, screams, lights in motion, static on cameras over the church grounds, twigs that break without explanation, and coffins that close and open of their own accord.
In Japan, the tomb of Masakado near Tokyo is said to be haunted by the ghost of Masakado. During the 1920’s, the Office for the Ministry of Finance was built on top of it. In 1926, the minister of finance and 10 staff members died of disease. The tomb was restored. After WWII, however, they attempted to construct over it again. The driver of the bulldozer died, however, when it overturned.
The most haunted abode in Scotland is the Close of Mary King in Edinburgh. It was built in the 1600s, and it contained hundreds of people during the plague of 1645 when they were quarantined. Voices, dogs, and a lady clad in black have all been recorded.
Several fables, stories, and accounts arise out of the United States. One of particular interest is the Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Louisville, Kentucky. It used to house tuberculosis patients and people refer to it as the most haunted place ever. More than 60,000 unconfirmed deaths have been reported and the owners of the property, construction workers and maintenance staff, and paranormal investigators have claimed one can see unnatural lights and phantasms darting around the premises at night. The hallways and rooms are filled with appearances of ghosts.
It is clear that immaterial entities exist because Jesus cast these personal and evil beings out of people. They shrieked and screamed and cursed, and this was written about as an account of real events by the meticulous doctor and historian, Luke, in the gospel of Luke. Get protection from spirits through Jesus Christ. Whether or not they’re actual people or vicious demons, Jesus has all power in heaven and on earth, and it says this in Matthew 28:18.
Paranormal phenomena are alive and well because the physical world isn’t all there is.
Ghosts are different things depending on who you ask. While 32% of Americans believe in ghosts, according to a 2005 Gallup poll, there is a divergence of opinion as to what constitutes a ghost. Parapsychologists are in favor of the term, apparition, because it’s purportedly more precise. An apparition is considered immaterial, but it can seem real and tangible. There are a variety of entities that qualify for the catch-all term, ghost, and here they are, in no particular order.
The spirit of a deceased person could make itself known in its former habitat, i.e., a home or office. In this case, the ghost is said to have a likeness to the deceased either in appearance, behavior, or vocal imitation. Of course, it may not be an imitation!
Other common uses of the term refer to angels or demons, or even as a synonym for a person’s immaterial spirit, whether or not they’re presenting themselves to others.
Ghosts are portrayed as having a semi-transparent, unspecific form, loosely resembling the person they once were. Their motives are helpful, ominous, or treacherous. Their motions are transient because they pop in and out. They’re often seen fleeing or scurrying. Of course, reports abound, and these are only a few examples of the alleged behavior of ghosts.
Ghost mythology is common in every ancient culture – from the Egyptians, to the Chinese, to the Europeans of the Middle Ages Ghosts were thought to be the disembodied soul of the person they once inhabited.
Parapsychologists study ghosts as part of their living. A parapsychologist seeks to understand paranormal phenomena. Paranormal phenomena is described as any phenomenon or occurrence that exceeds the bounds of what is possible, according to the established principles and laws of science.
Skeptics charge the controversy with several explanations for suspected ghost sightings. For instance, Scientists Richard Lord and Richard Wiseman explain that sound waves having frequencies less than 20 hertz are normally inaudible, nonetheless, they may cause someone to feel a presence or shift their mood to anxiety or dread. Carbon monoxide poisoning was cited as a cause for haunted houses as early as 1921 because it can cause hallucinations, ill feelings, and a sensation of dread as well.
Another condition, pareidolia, is a condition that causes someone to recognize human faces or forms in random patterns. That’s kind of like a case of seeing what you anticipate, hope for, or want to happen, instead of just seeing. Skeptics aside, extraordinary sightings and stories flow in from all corners of the world at large.
Let’s take a look and see whether or not ghosts might have a scant possibility of really existing.
The New Testament acknowledges the existence of demons, the real spiritual beings that tempt, lie, deceive, and physically harm humans. According to the Bible their intention is to turn people away from God, from the best interests of the human and what will make then happiest, and to try to cause humans to think that they’re smarter than the All mighty loving God. Jesus gave humans the power to cast out demons and walk over the enemy. We have a shield of protection through Christ’s blood. A study of the gospel and the historical teachings of Jesus as it relates to angels and demons is too important and is a separate area of study outside of ghosts.
But, before we begin, let’s move on to the ghost stories of the world.
The face of Martha Rendell, the only female to be executed at Fremantle, appears in the window of the church frequently. The face seems to be produced by ripples in the glass that reflect light in an abnormal way, but the resemblance is eerie.
In China, Tuen Mun Road in Hong Kong is apparently causing excessive death tolls due to “ghosts popping up in the middle of the road”. Drivers avert the apparitions by veering their cars quickly and end up crashing. Hundreds of people allege that this highway is haunted, and many claim to have lost complete control of their automobiles.
Traveling to England we find a case with some substantial evidence, no pun intended. London’s primary criminal court, the Old Bailey, has an uninvited guest at major trials. Judges, barristers, and policemen attest to this strange apparition.
Even Mount Everest has its ghost in resident, probably the ghost of climber, Andrew Irvine, who tried to reach the summit in 1924 with George Mallory, but disappeared on his journey upward. Two climbers in 1975 said that they occupied a snow hole with him, and other climbers have seen a ghost too.
Ireland has the Temple Michael, a quint church and castle positioned on the blackwater river, with a close proximity to Youghal, Co Cork. The place is not used, and it overlooks the blackwater river. Visitors and local inhabitants of the region claim to have heard shrieks, screams, lights in motion, static on cameras over the church grounds, twigs that break without explanation, and coffins that close and open of their own accord.
In Japan, the tomb of Masakado near Tokyo is said to be haunted by the ghost of Masakado. During the 1920’s, the Office for the Ministry of Finance was built on top of it. In 1926, the minister of finance and 10 staff members died of disease. The tomb was restored. After WWII, however, they attempted to construct over it again. The driver of the bulldozer died, however, when it overturned.
The most haunted abode in Scotland is the Close of Mary King in Edinburgh. It was built in the 1600s, and it contained hundreds of people during the plague of 1645 when they were quarantined. Voices, dogs, and a lady clad in black have all been recorded.
Several fables, stories, and accounts arise out of the United States. One of particular interest is the Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Louisville, Kentucky. It used to house tuberculosis patients and people refer to it as the most haunted place ever. More than 60,000 unconfirmed deaths have been reported and the owners of the property, construction workers and maintenance staff, and paranormal investigators have claimed one can see unnatural lights and phantasms darting around the premises at night. The hallways and rooms are filled with appearances of ghosts.
It is clear that immaterial entities exist because Jesus cast these personal and evil beings out of people. They shrieked and screamed and cursed, and this was written about as an account of real events by the meticulous doctor and historian, Luke, in the gospel of Luke. Get protection from spirits through Jesus Christ. Whether or not they’re actual people or vicious demons, Jesus has all power in heaven and on earth, and it says this in Matthew 28:18.
Paranormal phenomena are alive and well because the physical world isn’t all there is.
Aura (paranormal)
Michael Smith asked:
The depiction of such an aura in religious art usually connotes a person of particular power or holiness. According to the literature of movements (such as Theosophy, Anthroposophy, Archeosophy, etc.) each color of the aura has a precise meaning, indicating a precise emotional state.
A complete description of the Aura and its colors was provided by Charles Leadbeater, a theosophist of the 19th century. The works of Leadbeater were later developed by Palamidessi and others. Skeptics such as Robert Todd Carroll doubt the evidence presented for the perception of auras, contending that auras may be seen for explainable reasons such as migraines or synaesthesia.
Some people see auras as the result of a migraine, epilepsy, a visual system disorder, or a brain disorder. Eye fatigue can also produce an aura, sometimes to referred to as “eye burn”. (See Aura (symptom) and synesthesia.) W.E. Butler has connected auras with clairvoyance and etheric, mental, and emotional emanations.
He classifies aura into two main types: etheric and spiritual. Robert Bruce classifies auras into three types: etheric, main, and spiritual. Various books have been written that derive various personality traits based upon the specific colors of the different layers of the aura. Auras are thought to be related to the etheric subtle body and to serve as a visual measure of the state of the health of the physical body.
Auras are not thought to be actual light but a translation of other unknown sensory readings that is added to our visual processing. According to Bruce they are not seen in complete darkness and cannot be seen unless some portion of the person or object emitting the aura can also be seen.
Debunkers of paranormal activity deny claims of the existence of auras, labeling them pseudoscience. One test, which was televised, involved an “aura” reader standing on one side of a room with an opaque partition separating her from a number of slots which might contain either actual people or mannequins.
The aura reader failed to identify which partitions had which behind them, claiming that all were concealing people. According to Bruce’s criteria for the visibility of the aura, this test would have been impossible.
The depiction of such an aura in religious art usually connotes a person of particular power or holiness. According to the literature of movements (such as Theosophy, Anthroposophy, Archeosophy, etc.) each color of the aura has a precise meaning, indicating a precise emotional state.
A complete description of the Aura and its colors was provided by Charles Leadbeater, a theosophist of the 19th century. The works of Leadbeater were later developed by Palamidessi and others. Skeptics such as Robert Todd Carroll doubt the evidence presented for the perception of auras, contending that auras may be seen for explainable reasons such as migraines or synaesthesia.
Some people see auras as the result of a migraine, epilepsy, a visual system disorder, or a brain disorder. Eye fatigue can also produce an aura, sometimes to referred to as “eye burn”. (See Aura (symptom) and synesthesia.) W.E. Butler has connected auras with clairvoyance and etheric, mental, and emotional emanations.
He classifies aura into two main types: etheric and spiritual. Robert Bruce classifies auras into three types: etheric, main, and spiritual. Various books have been written that derive various personality traits based upon the specific colors of the different layers of the aura. Auras are thought to be related to the etheric subtle body and to serve as a visual measure of the state of the health of the physical body.
Auras are not thought to be actual light but a translation of other unknown sensory readings that is added to our visual processing. According to Bruce they are not seen in complete darkness and cannot be seen unless some portion of the person or object emitting the aura can also be seen.
Debunkers of paranormal activity deny claims of the existence of auras, labeling them pseudoscience. One test, which was televised, involved an “aura” reader standing on one side of a room with an opaque partition separating her from a number of slots which might contain either actual people or mannequins.
The aura reader failed to identify which partitions had which behind them, claiming that all were concealing people. According to Bruce’s criteria for the visibility of the aura, this test would have been impossible.
How does a true professional ‘Exorcist’ react to skeptics and debunkers ?
May 11, 2009 by admin
Filed under Spirituality
Anthony Cox asked:
Q. What do you as a professional Exorcist think about Skeptics and Debunkers?
A. Firstly, I’d like to make it clear that in my line of work, I also need to be a Skeptic, or should I say, be objective in my approach. There are many people passing themselves off as experts, and there are also many who make fraudulent claims for ‘fun’. I take my work extremely seriously and have no time or desire to go off on tangents or be led down paths wasting time. And in the case of people who honestly make mistakes about what they’ve experienced or whose problems are not Spirit caused, I have no interest in telling them that their problems are something that they are not. My interest is in the truth, and giving people the help that they need, be it through Spiritual means or otherwise.
Now, myself aside, there IS a real need for Debunkers to exist because as I said, not only are there many people passing themselves off as ‘Exorcists’ and experts in the field, but there is an incredible amount of ‘garbage’ out there being passed off as ‘Psychic Healing’, ‘Paranormal activity’, ‘ Religious healing’ etc. It is always a good day when some of this ‘stuff’ get’s properly ‘debunked’ , and disappears .
Unfortunately though, there is an even greater amount of garbage passing itself off as ‘debunking’. The largest problem is that most active Skeptics are extremely narrow minded amateurs who are usually driven by their own negative experience that they wish to purge via a crusade to ‘prove’ that these things don’t exist, therefore no matter how much evidence they are provided with, their own fuzzy logic invariably refuses to accept it as such. For what it’s worth, the same can be said for many Medical professionals. These people are more embarrassing than those they are trying to debunk.
Many calling themselves ‘Scientists’ have the catch-cry “There is no proof” and approach the subject with a completely biased and closed mind . Well, there is plenty of proof , provided by Science, as well as the general public and people in the field that is equal or greater in quality than that in many other fields. A real Scientist would say “show me what you have” ,and view it with an open perspective.
For what it’s worth, I have had a fair share of ‘Skeptics’ and ‘Scientists’ amongst my clients over the years and in each and every case their viewpoint changed as they were faced with the reality of what they were experiencing and enlisted my help.
Another important consideration as to whether the Paranormal exists or not, is the fact that not only do many Police Departments around the World enlist the help of skilled Psychics to help with investigations, but the extremely well documented Paranormal research and Psychically based espionage programs sponsored by the US Department of Defense, The former USSR, China, The UK, and so on , to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.
The bottom line is that peoples own inner fears will ultimately guide their feelings on this subject. If someone chooses to not believe in these things that is their free choice, but if they wish to fancy themselves as a ‘Debunker’, they should do so in a sensible and professional manner with an analytical and open perspective and be willing to accept evidence when it is presented to them.
I myself am here not to judge, but to help those who know what they may be facing and have nowhere to turn.
Peace.
www.spiritentityremoval.com
Q. What do you as a professional Exorcist think about Skeptics and Debunkers?
A. Firstly, I’d like to make it clear that in my line of work, I also need to be a Skeptic, or should I say, be objective in my approach. There are many people passing themselves off as experts, and there are also many who make fraudulent claims for ‘fun’. I take my work extremely seriously and have no time or desire to go off on tangents or be led down paths wasting time. And in the case of people who honestly make mistakes about what they’ve experienced or whose problems are not Spirit caused, I have no interest in telling them that their problems are something that they are not. My interest is in the truth, and giving people the help that they need, be it through Spiritual means or otherwise.
Now, myself aside, there IS a real need for Debunkers to exist because as I said, not only are there many people passing themselves off as ‘Exorcists’ and experts in the field, but there is an incredible amount of ‘garbage’ out there being passed off as ‘Psychic Healing’, ‘Paranormal activity’, ‘ Religious healing’ etc. It is always a good day when some of this ‘stuff’ get’s properly ‘debunked’ , and disappears .
Unfortunately though, there is an even greater amount of garbage passing itself off as ‘debunking’. The largest problem is that most active Skeptics are extremely narrow minded amateurs who are usually driven by their own negative experience that they wish to purge via a crusade to ‘prove’ that these things don’t exist, therefore no matter how much evidence they are provided with, their own fuzzy logic invariably refuses to accept it as such. For what it’s worth, the same can be said for many Medical professionals. These people are more embarrassing than those they are trying to debunk.
Many calling themselves ‘Scientists’ have the catch-cry “There is no proof” and approach the subject with a completely biased and closed mind . Well, there is plenty of proof , provided by Science, as well as the general public and people in the field that is equal or greater in quality than that in many other fields. A real Scientist would say “show me what you have” ,and view it with an open perspective.
For what it’s worth, I have had a fair share of ‘Skeptics’ and ‘Scientists’ amongst my clients over the years and in each and every case their viewpoint changed as they were faced with the reality of what they were experiencing and enlisted my help.
Another important consideration as to whether the Paranormal exists or not, is the fact that not only do many Police Departments around the World enlist the help of skilled Psychics to help with investigations, but the extremely well documented Paranormal research and Psychically based espionage programs sponsored by the US Department of Defense, The former USSR, China, The UK, and so on , to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.
The bottom line is that peoples own inner fears will ultimately guide their feelings on this subject. If someone chooses to not believe in these things that is their free choice, but if they wish to fancy themselves as a ‘Debunker’, they should do so in a sensible and professional manner with an analytical and open perspective and be willing to accept evidence when it is presented to them.
I myself am here not to judge, but to help those who know what they may be facing and have nowhere to turn.
Peace.
www.spiritentityremoval.com
