AFTER DEATH COMMUNICATION- ARE THE MEDIUMS’ MESSAGES FROM GOD?
Why do people consult mediums? After losing a loved one to death, a person may want the comfort of hearing from that loved one again and may be curious about where the loved one is and how that person is doing. Others are hoping to find out about death and the afterlife. Could God be comforting people through contact with the dead? What does the Bible say about this?
God’s Word on Contacting the Dead. God’s Word clearly forbids consulting mediums or spiritists. These activities are forbidden in several places, including Leviticus 19:31, 20:6, 27; Deuteronomy 18:10–11; 1 Chronicles 10:13–14; and Isaiah 8:19–20. Jesus’ story of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19–31) implies that the dead cannot contact the living. Consulting the dead, a practice called necromancy, usually was done for purposes of divination and seeking the advice of pagan gods God considers consulting mediums and spiritists as spiritual adultery (see Lev. 20:6).
According to 1 Samuel 28:3–23, King Saul consulted a medium. Saul had banned mediums, but, desperate for advice due to the advancing Philistine army and God’s silence on what to do, he sought out a medium to call up Samuel’s spirit. Samuel appeared and told Saul that he had disobeyed God in not destroying the Amalekites in a previous battle, that Israel would fall to the Philistines, and that Saul and his sons would die in battle the next day. This passage cannot be taken to endorse spirit contact at all, especially when the writer of 1 Chronicles 10:13 clearly states, “So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had committed against the Lord, because he did not keep the word of the Lord, and also because he consulted a medium for guidance” (NKJV).
There is debate as to whether the spirit the medium called up was really Samuel or was actually a demon. The Bible, however, specifically says Samuel appeared. Samuel’s accurate and specific predictions furthermore indicate that this was not a demonic spirit. Only God knows the end from the beginning (Isa. 46:10) and, according to Deuteronomy 18:22, only prophets from God give predictions that consistently are 100 percent correct. The medium’s surprise to see Samuel strongly suggests that God brought up Samuel in an unprecedented miracle for the specific purpose of rebuking Saul.
Accuracy and Communication. Edward, Browne, and Van Praagh all freely admit that they are not always accurate indeed, Browne writes that no psychic has 100 percent accuracy and that 70 percent is above average. In psychic development classes I attended, one teacher often told us that the best psychic on his or her best day is about 75 percent accurate.
Edward claims that what the spirits give him is often in symbolic language and therefore difficult to interpret. He explains this difficulty as the higher vibrations of the spirits. There is no way to authenticate this information; we have only the word of the mediums and others who teach this concept. Edward talks about the spirits playing “psychic charades,” and Browne says that the spirits don’t speak but communicate by pantomime in a sort of “divine game of charades.” The mediums can always explain, therefore, that inaccurate information is due to difficulties in communication from the spirit world or misinterpretation of the symbolic language.
Contrary to this routine fallibility are the Bible’s clear and accurate messages given by God’s prophets and angels. God moreover commands that those who seek mediums should seek out God instead (see Isa. 8:19–20). When God speaks through the Scriptures, His words and messages are clear; there is no need to interpret gestures, images, or pantomime. Because angels, who are spirits, were able to speak distinctly, it is reasonable to conclude that information from God or approved by God will neither be confusing nor difficult to transmit or understand.
What If the Information Is Correct? It is true that sometimes the mediums are correct in the information they pass on. This validates for many what the mediums are doing.
How does one explain that the mediums’ accurate information is not from God? The writer of Deuteronomy 13:1–3 advises us that if a “sign or wonder” comes to pass from a prophet or a “dreamer of dreams,” and what they said comes true, but then that prophet or dreamer asks that we follow other gods, we are not to listen to what this person says. If the medium gives correct information but has spiritual beliefs contradictory to God’s Word, then what he or she is saying cannot be from God. Browne and Van Praagh deny the biblical God, contend God is nonjudgmental and within everyone, and assert we are a part of God. Browne denies Jesus’ death on the cross and the need for judgment of sin. All three believe in reincarnation, a doctrine that nullifies salvation by Christ and grace alone by teaching that one can be saved by improving spiritually and morally through the course of many earthly lives.
On a John Edward fan site at www.johnedward friends.org, fans suggest books for reading on topics, such as contacting angels, psychic development, past-life regression, and Tarot cards. The person suggesting the Tarot book notes that Edward recommends these materials in his “development tapes.” In fact, on his official site, www.johnedward.net, Edward offers a tape on developing psychic powers.
Since Edward still claims his Catholic faith, could his ability to contact spirits, or a similar ability from someone claiming to be a Christian, be a gift from God? The apostle James states God gives only “good and perfect” gifts (James 1:17). God would not give someone a special skill that He Himself condemns. Even if the information is correct, it cannot be from God, since the mediums are engaged in a practice God has forbidden and they espouse beliefs that conflict with God’s Word.
AFTER DEATH COMMUNICATION- SKEPTICS AND BELIEVERS: IS THERE A HAPPY MEDIUM?
How can mediums pass on what seems to be accurate information? Skeptics who have assessed mediums and replicated what they do have concluded that mediums are doing tricks and fishing for information. Some say Edward and other mediums are practicing a technique known as “cold reading,” in which initials or numbers are tossed out to the audience until someone eventually responds to them. Skeptics also point out that people notice the hits more than the misses, even though the misses outweigh the hits. Believers in mediums are convinced by the hits, which often seem to be enough for them.
The issue is often framed in terms of “either-or.” Either the mediums are frauds or they are receiving information from spirits; but must it be one or the other?
What Edward, Browne, and Van Praagh describe about their experiences is similar to what I experienced as an astrologer and student of psychic techniques. When reading astrological charts, I did on occasion receive startlingly accurate information that seemed to be fed into my mind. I usually went into an altered state of consciousness and felt a beam of energy connect me to the chart (not the client). I also did many charts for clients who were not physically present, ruling out the possibility of reading body language or being led by the client. If I was able to come up with accurate information without practicing the techniques described by the skeptics, is it not possible the same thing is happening to the mediums?
Due to their spiritual beliefs, meditative practices, and training as psychics, the mediums may be opening themselves up to information from somewhere. If it is not the dead, then who is giving information when it is specific and correct? According to 2 Corinthians 11:14, Satan can disguise himself as an angel of light. It seems possible that demons can disguise themselves as the dead and relay information that seems correct.
Even if skeptics are convinced that mediums are using tricks, is it necessary to use this accusation when we have God’s Word forbidding this practice and when there exists the possibility of demonic sources? Skeptical debunking tends to alienate and does not convince the mediums’ followers. It can also smack of smugness or condescension. The debunkers may convince doubters and people who deny the supernatural, but their exposés have seemingly not decreased the numbers of those who continue to seek out mediums.
Instead of trying to label all mediums as frauds, why not consider that what is happening results from a combination of factors: coincidence, good guessing, the mediums’ imaginations, generalities, demonic sources, and the client’s belief and interpretations to fit the situation? If mediums are truly trying to contact the dead, is it not possible they are contacting demonic spirits in some cases?
Debunking the mediums could backfire if the debunking seems hostile; a better response might be to speak to the issue of why people are seeking to contact the dead and offer the comfort and peace found through knowing Jesus Christ as Savior. Jesus, the One who died on the cross to pay for our sins and rose on the third day, is the only One who has truly come back from the dead to give us a message. Let us offer a positive message and proclaim Him. As Christ said, “I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
Marcia Montenegro
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