Day 718- Test The Spirits
1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world
Parents and friends contact me all the time asking me about signs and communicating with their departed loved ones. Just a couple of days ago a friend contacted me because she’s had a few signs from her brother who has crossed over, but she wanted to know how to better have a two way communication. I sent some resources to her that I will link to later in this post.
Yesterday, as I was cutting the grass, I listened to a podcast from a (Christian) philosopher and thinker. I was really impressed with his takedown of scientism (the religious like belief in materialism), materialism, and the closely related atheism. I was particularly impacted by the problem that materialists have with the very fundamental problem of identity. What is it that makes me me? It’s clear to any conscious human being that I am me. But, what does that mean exactly? For most of us it’s not a problem. We know who we are intuitively and we accept our personal experience of ourselves. From a materialistic, “show it it to me or it doesn’t exist” point of view, what can I point to and identify as me? Is it my body? Well, my body is very different now than it was when I was five years old. None of the same molecules are even present. My worldview has changed. My brain is different. Yet, we all know, intuitively and experientially, that the Brian that was five year old Brian is still Brian at 56, even though I have changed. Materially though, there is nothing I can point to though that identifies me as me which creates a crisis for materialists. Some have gone so far as to say no self exists, similar to the kook who said that consciousness isn’t real since he couldn’t explain how it arises from matter. Since there is no explanation for how physical materials could develop consciousness, in at least an attempt to be intellectually honest, this guy said “Well, I must not be conscious then. And, you aren’t conscious either since there is no such thing as consciousness. It’s all an illusion.”
This is there problem with dogmatic, fundamentalist thinking. Of course, we all have a paradigm that informs how we view the world. But, we must remain flexible, aware of what the paradigm is, and ready to change based on the evidence. If your worldview tells you that you don’t exist or that you’re not conscious, it’s time to change your worldview. Otherwise, you end up believing some pure nonsense.
So, today I’m finishing up the two hour podcast and hear the host ask this guest what he thinks about a person who claims to have channeled the spirit of Stephen the Martyr. The fascinating thing is this came through several occasions over a number of years. The channeler was examined by an 88 year old Anglican priest who researched not only the philosophy of the messages, but the channeler spoke in ancient Greek and used terminology particular to a very small region and a particular sect that Stephen the Martyr was in. The priest was skeptical at first, but because convinced over the years. All in all, it’s a pretty impressive case. Without knowing any more about it than what I just said here, the Christian philosopher rejected it out of hand saying it was contradictory to what the Bible taught him, that Stephen the Martyr could never be channeled, and “Why would anyone believe anything a spirit says? Because spirits lie.”
I was flabbergasted. Here is this guy who speaks so eloquently, who has studied philosophy, who just spent an hour condemning materialists for their rigid dogmatic views, and he was saying that this phenomenon that had been summarized in a description to him that took no more than two minutes was “impossible” based on his understanding of the Bible. He wanted to hear no more about it.
Well, to answer his question about why would we believe anything a spirit has to say, there is 1 John 4:1 as a start. Why would John tell us to test the sports if they all lie? There is the fact that there is a rich tradition in Judaism and Christianity of men being visited by angels (spirit beings, guy). I guess it’s a good thing Mary didn’t say all spirits lie when the angel told her she was going to have a baby, or Joseph when the angel told him to take Mary as his wife. Then, there’s this little known thing in Christianity called the “Holy Spirit” The Holy Spirit is a spirit. Does the Holy Spirit lie? Does the Bible really say all spirits lie? Clearly not.
This is some dogmatic nonsense that I don’t have time for. So, as promised. Here are some resources.
1.) Christine Duminiak has a group on Facebook called After Death Communications and Prayer Wave . Christine is a Christian (Catholic) who has written a book about how to recognize and encourage signs. The people in the group (almost 3,600 right now), will help you look for signs and will pray with you to receive signs. Christine believes that signs are allowed by God. So, it’s important to pray for them.
2.) Mark Pitstick has a audio available on his website that will help you learn how to connect with loved ones in spirit. His Facilitated After Death Communication audio has helped many people connect with loved ones in spirit.
3.) R. Craig Hogan has on his site a (free) self-guided afterlife communications course. After each module, you provide feedback to him, he gives you feedback on your results and you move to the next module. He also has links to a guided afterlife communication technique developed by Rochelle Wright. http://afterlifeconnections.org/craig.htm
4.) Susanne Wilson is one of the best mediums there is and she says that we can all learn to communicate with our own loved ones who have crossed over. In her book Soul Smart she gives details on how to do this and even provides scripts for meditations you can do to help you make this connection.
Back to the identity crisis I spoke of above. I know what makes me, me. It’s not my brain. It’s not my body. It’s my spirit. I don’t have a spirit. I am a spirit. When this body drops, my spirit is free, but it’s still me. If you can talk to me while I’m in the body. Why should you not be able to talk to me when I’m out of the body? I guess that it’s only forbidden until you drop your body, too. Then, us spirits can talk to each other. (I hope). I am a spirit. Why should I be forbidden from talking to spirits just because they are no longer in meat suits?
