The Absolute Necessity of the Atonement: Cur Deus Homo? A Plea to Come to Jesus

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

Now we consider the work of Christ, and His atonement—the cross of Christ. The universal symbol of our faith from the first century onwards has been a symbol of execution-the cross. It is in the cross that all of our hopes and comfort, in life and death, are to be found.

As Paul said 1 And I, when I came to you, brothers,a did not come proclaiming to you the testimonyb of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. (1 Cor. 2:2)

We have looked at who Jesus is, and now it is time to look at what He did; the person and work of Christ can be distinguished, but not separated.

Definition—"the atonement is the work that Christ did in His life and death to earn our salvation.” (Wayne Grudem) Usually we think only of the cross but I will explain later why the entire 33 years or so of Christ’s life should be considered as part of this event known as the atonement.

 For first 1,000 years of Church, there was no clear explanation of the atonement. Many saw it primarily as a ransom paid to the Satan…and to make matters worse, it was thought of as being done via trickery…like a mouse-trap! I was taught this in grade school. Anselm the archbishop of Canterbury (c 1,000-1,100 AD), wrote a short book entitled: Cur Deus Homo? Why the God man? Monumental work which I recently re-read. Why did God take on human nature, why become incarnate, why the cross and atonement? To satisfy the demands of Gods justice. He does this in the form of a dialogue with Boso. Seeing the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice to satisfy the demands of God’s justice and his holy wrath by means of substitution; from then on that became dominant view of atonement.

Why didn’t God just forgive us and get it done with? As He told us to forgive others, why didn’t God just do what He told us to do, and just forgive us? As it has been said: “It is the purpose of divinity to forgive—that’s His job.” Really?

Frist, we are supplied with the answer of Anslem. He wrote: if anyone imagines that God simply forgives us as we forgive others, that person has ‘not yet considered the seriousness of sin—heavy a weight sin is.’ And he supplied the second answer as well: you have not yet considered the majesty/justice of God. When we have deficient views of God’s holiness and our sinfulness, then we will have deficient views of the atonement and its necessity. We are not God, and so, as we shall see, when we sin we sin against Him and the His laws. Therefore to expect the Creator to act like a creature we are doing violence to this vital distinction…as well as His righteous nature. He always does what is right and fair—always.

The crucial question is not just why God finds it difficult to forgive, but how He finds it possible to do so at all. As one man put it: “forgiveness is to man the plainest of duties; to God is the profoundest of problems.” There is a collision between divine perfection and human rebellion; between God as He is and us as we are. The real problem is this: God is holy and we are not. Something radical had to happen, IF He was to forgive us.

Deficient views of the cross, which abound today amongst theologians and laity alike, stem from either a shallow view of God’s holiness and/or shallow views of the gravity of sin…sinfulness of sin.

Cause of atonement—usually we think of the mercy, grace and love of God. John 3:16 true. But as Anselm reminds us, the primary cause of the cross is God’s justice. His righteousness. We must not be selfish and think first of us—God is concerned for the His own glory above all else. His love is holy love. How can God save us in a manner consistent with and true to His internal character which cannot bear to even look upon sin? Yes God is love but it is a holy love. But before we move on we must ask the painful question: would God have been unfair, unjust in damning all sinners to eternity in hell? The only acceptable answer is: no, God would have been just in damning all of us. That is what we deserve. He did not save lost angels, who are rational beings as we are. After years of knowing the Lord, I think it is good to remind ourselves of this very basic fact, lest we unconsciously drift into entitlement mode of thinking.

In this regard, there are three views of atonement: it was not necessary, it was hypothetically necessary, it was absolutely necessary. The first is the view of liberals and other unbelievers. Others say that once Christ freely and graciously decided to save us, He could have chosen other means, but once He chose this route He was bound to it. Lastly, and what I am convinced the bible teaches, is the absolute necessity of the cross. Once God did freely and graciously decide to save us, there was no other way. The Gethsemane prayer-Matt. 26:30, the words of Christ about the necessity of the Christ to suffer—Lk 24, Romans 3:26, need to become man—Heb. 2:17; and the Temple patterned after heavenly sanctuary-Heb. 9:23—all point to absolute necessity of atonement.

To bring home nature of this problem more clearly, I want us to see sin from three perspectives, but before we do that, notice how often righteousness of God is mentioned. God ALWAYS does what is right and just. On the cross, God’s infinite justice and righteousness was satisfied. On the cross He bore the judgement we deserve in order to bring us the forgiveness we do not deserve. On the cross justice and mercy kiss.

16For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith,e as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
(thematic statement of Romans—v. 17)

God’s Wrath on Unrighteousness

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth…..on and on for 3 chapters!

21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:21-26, emphasis added)

Paul had spent 3 chapters relentlessly driving home the wrath of God against God hating sinners, and now He is anxious to show how He has gloriously forgiven us in way consistent with His holy wrath. If modern man, including theologians detest anything, it is the need to assuage God’s wrath. They are blind and lost in arrogance, for this is clear on every page of scripture. Penal substitution challenges any/all human pride, which is why it is detested so fiercely.

Now, to express this need for an atonement more clearly let me take just three of the many images of sin in scripture. Sin as: a crime…a crime of cosmic treason; sin considered as an unpayable debt; sin as enmity requiring reconciliation.

To the extent that we understand the gravity, seriousness of sin-sin’s sinfulness, to that extent we will understand, appreciate, and stand in awe of God’s tender love, mercy, and grace to hell-deserving sinners.

Here is a fuller list we shall address as we move along: we are alienated from God/reconciled; under God’s holy wrath/through propitiation God’s wrath is satisfied/quenched; we are enslaved/we are set free through redemption; we are guilty and condemned/pardoned and counted as righteous through justification; we are under control of dreadful enemies/God delivers and rescues us so that we are triumphant in Christ.

First, let us see that sin is a crime. As our Creator, God has the absolute right to impose obligations upon us. Most companies will not employ someone who has been convicted of a felony. Yet, we are all guilty of a felonious assault on the Holy One—cosmic treason. Treason on human level is considered a capital crime, but we have committed treason on a cosmic scale. One sin is enough to send us to hell for eternity because of the infinite dignity of the Person whom we have offended. Treason against one’s country is bad enough, but we have committed treason against the King and Lawgiver of the cosmos.We are criminals in God’s sight in desperate need of being declared not guilty/justified.

We live in a culture in which folks say: everyone deserves a second chance. That is fine on horizontal level, even if we grant that for arguments sake before God, how long ago did you use up your second chance?! All spiritual Benedict Arnolds—treason. God almighty sees our sin as cosmic treason because we have conspired and rebelled against His Lawful authority over us, and sought autonomy—seeking to throw off His control, we’ve broken His holy law—which is a mortal sin in His eyes. In a sense, all sin is mortal sin. None of this ‘boys will be boys’ attitude. What we may consider peccadillos (little sins) are crimes against the Holy God of law and the holy law of God. Lawbreaking is a crime. We are to love God with all of our being, and nobody has done that for five seconds. So unclean has this crime made us that the OT says it vomits people out of the land—it gags on our depravity.

Regarding our status as guilty criminals before God, He justifies us in Christ—declaring us not guilty and forgiving our crimes and counting us as righteous in God’s eyes. Our most urgent need is to be justified because our most fundamental problem is objective guilt before God’s law.

2. Sin as enmity. Eph, 2—by nature children of wrath, and Romans 5 sees us as at enmity with God--enemies, and that goes both ways. We are not just indifferent to God, but unbelievers hate God. And God is infinitely angry with sinners. The notion of reconciliation assumes what? That there is estrangement. If husband and wife seek counseling and mediation for reconciliation, that assumes hostility. I’m sure you have heard of Jonathan Edward’s sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” That is true…most certainly so. But I also know that it is also true that when Jesus came to His own, it was “God in the Hands of Angry Sinners.” Such is the intensity of our hostility to God that a sinless God/man was murdered because we were traumatized by His holiness.

Folks say that essence of hell is the absence of God—they wish. The essence of hell will be the stern presence of God as judge. The wrath of the Lamb. I cannot bear to think of this. Have you ever been bopping along and suddenly an awful possibility popped into your mind? Perhaps you are driving down the road to work and cannot remember if you turned the stove off? In a flash, your peace goes to utter panic in a second, and actually feel the horror in your stomach. I sometimes think of unbelievers standing before the throne of God, loved ones, and the sinking, nauseating feeling that they will certainly feel as they face a horror of unspeakable magnitude for eternity. I have almost vomited myself thinking of this and how it grips my heart with anguish, as when Paul spoke in Romans 9…wishing to be damned himself if it would save his beloved countrymen.

Yes God is loving but He also is holy and wrathful. The first fruit of justification is peace with God-Rom. 5:1. The atonement brings reconciliation.

3. Sin as a debt. There is a difference between a monetary debt and a moral debt. If I owe you 10,000 dollars, then I may get a loan and pay bank back through a loan program. Speaking of debt, on human level many people live under crushing weight of monetary weight indebtedness due to various reasons.

However, if I owe you 10 million dollars tomorrow, there is no way I can pay you back—crushing weight. I don’t know the President or Bill Gates. I suppose it is hypothetically possible, but not probable. With God how much is our indebtedness? Infinite. That is purpose of the parables Jesus taught regarding repaying debt. It is infinite debt. After all that God has done for us. And the bible speaks of this as wracking up an unpayable moral indebtedness.

What can you or I do to repay this debt? What moral merit can you claim for yourself? If you have sinned but once, you have wracked up an infinite debt before your infinitely holy God. He does not grade on a curve. Unlike Islam which says that we shall go to heaven if the scales of justice, indicates that our good deeds outweigh our bad. If that is so, then why did Jesus die the horrific death He did? But the most common notion of salvation or justification is justification by death. All we have to do is die and the loving arms of God will bring us home. This is terrible demonic lie.

God is called our surety and we are redeemed by the precious blood of the Lamb (1 Peter 1:18-19).  18knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. Freed from all moral/spiritual debt. Biblically, this is called redemption/ransom.

The cross answers the need for God to satisfy His justice.

1. Do you see your sins as a crime—as an act of cosmic treason? Which the cross satisfied…

2. Do you see your sins as a debt…a debt which you absolutely owe but absolutely cannot pay? That the cross satisfied.

3. Do you see you your sins as enmity, which required reconciliation, which only the cross could satisfy?

I beg of you to examine your heart to make sure you are truly ‘in the faith…in Jesus.’

If folks en masse saw God’s burning holiness and their sinfulness, they would be kicking down the doors to the churches and crying out in anguish: what must I do to be saved!

What agonizes my heart are the vast number of people who say that they do not need a savior—no need of the cross. Indifferent. Dear friends, since God is utterly holy and we are unholy, then our most profound need is for a savior—the cross. Amen.

Rom. 3:23—admit you are sinner   “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Rom. 6:23—admit that you deserve eternal death, but God has provided forgiveness based on finished work of Christ on the Cross. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.  (Rom. 5:8) 8but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Rom. 10:9-10 9because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved

Repent of your sin and believe in Jesus as your savior and Lord…and you will be saved and have eternal life.

Mark Hunnemann is the author of Seeing Ghosts Through God's Eyes: A Worldview Analysis of Earthbound Spirits. It's also available in eBook format.

Satan and Demons

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

Satanas, or Hebrew for Satan means Adversary or opponent, and it carried over into the Greek as diabolos—or devil, which means slanderer. The bible has at least 22 different names for Satan, our enemy. How did they come about?

Who are they, where did they come from, and what do they do? I should not have to say this but I do: the bible alone is our all-sufficient and only inspired source of information regarding these beings. Specifically, to use the book of 1 Enoch to ‘fill in the gaps’ of our knowledge does two awful things at once: it implies that the Word of God is insufficient (See 2 Timothy 3:16-17), and using details from this non-canonical book in this manner is adding to the bible, which is explicitly forbidden, condemned by the Holy One who wrote His Word, and a curse is levelled at those who do (Rev. 22:18-19). It is one thing to use a book to help understand the historical setting, but it is quite another thing to use it as ‘template’ through which the bible is read and interpreted, which is being done in increasing frequency. Details regarding Satan and demons from 1 Enoch are being added to the biblical narrative and that is unspeakably prideful. It must stop now. If bible is silent, then we are to be humble and accept that-Deut. 29:29 29“The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.

How did the notion of a red dressed character, with a pitchfork, who looks like he just left a Halloween party, become an image of Satan? In Medieval Christianity, they believed that Satan’s main sin was pride, and the image was intentionally meant to mock him as a means of defense. They knew he did not really look like that. They thought it would wound his pride…and insult and repel him… he’d slink away. Unfortunately, the next generation kept the imagery but not the explanation.

Satan and his demons are fallen angels. There are elect angels (1 Tim. 5:21, just as elect humans) and non-elect angels. They were/are all angels, of varying kinds and ranks, and they rebelled—but all angels. Now, there are two and only two kinds of supernatural beings—good and bad angels, with many biblical nicknames, so to speak. Satan and demons are pure evil—utterly depraved.

In Genesis 1:31 God declares His benediction upon on the whole of His creation, and we can assume that would include the spirit realm. So, sometime between 1:31 and 3:1 there was a spiritual rebellion in angelic realm. One possibility is that Lucifer was assigned to guard Adam and Eve, hated the newly revealed plan in which he would be subordinate to them, and his fall was essentially simultaneous with human Fall..or slightly before.

3 When the LORD has given you rest from your pain and turmoil and the hard service with which you were made to serve, 4you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon:.’
12 “Howyou are fallen from heaven,
O Day Star, son of Dawn!
How you are cut down to the ground,
you who laid the nations low!
13 You said in your heart,
‘I will ascend to heaven;
above the stars of God
I will set my throne on high;
I will sit on the mount of assembly
in the far reaches of the north;c
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.’
15 But you are brought down to Sheol,
to the far reaches of the pit.

The prophets often spoke of more than they knew, and I have a hard time seeing how this can only properly apply to human king. Plus, we know that Satan is the ‘god of this world’ so he is the ultimate wicked force behind this human wicked nation (under God sovereignty). But beneath all this is pride. Perhaps in Ezek 28 we have more hints, I don’t know—but we see a guardian cherub in garden. That would place Satan near garden and that he was designed as a warrior.

How Satan, who was sinless and had no external temptation could have sinned is a mystery, but he did.

I think the classic teaching that they fell with him is truth—help explain all the false religion soon after Fall.. I know Heiser and other appeal to Gen. 6:1-4 as fall of angels. However, Dr Wayne Grudem, spent several days studying the ancient Jewish literature on this sin (Midrash, Talmud, Josephus, Philo and apocrypha. Found 18 places where this sin discussed: 9 thought they were humans and 9 thought they were angels. Reading Heiser one gets the impression that it was uniform interpretation amongst second Temple Jews—not true.

I have studied this text and the context is contrast of seed of serpent and seed of woman, leading up to flood, with 4 verses devoted to this episode, with no commentary by Moses. Plus, it says they married and bible says angels do not marry. And this I know: women are being sexually assaulted by demons but they are not getting pregnant. Perhaps it is due to cross species—human with angel….like pig mating with gorilla—not offspring.

What do they do? Destroy and lie. John 8:44/Cain; ‘did God say/”

Demonic influence leads to self-destruction. Any addictive behavior can lead to this. And he hates the truth—exposing his lies, including this.
Satan in OT--6Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satanb also came among them. 7 The LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.

1 Then Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel (2 Chron. 21:1)
36 They served their idols,
which became a snare to them.
37 They sacrificed their sons
and their daughters to the demons; but no mention of exorcisms
NT. Jesus speaks a word and they leave-people marvel. Sign kingdom had arrived.
I have done a study of demons and they are not the spirits of dead Nephillim-that is based on unbiblical source. The bible sees Satan as ‘the prince of demons’, which suggests an identity of nature, but difference in rank. We see this in Matt.9:34 4But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the prince of demons.”. Most natural rendering is he is the prince of similar beings. ..not lowly spirits of dead hybrid giants.

“It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” 25Knowing their thoughts, he said to them (Matt. 12:24)

We see in Matt 25 that devils angels are synonymous with what had been called demons and unclean spirits before are eternally sentenced to hell.

Just as God is Lord of Hosts, Satan copies and is lord of his infernal army. Demons, unclean spirits, devils angels, elemental spirits, principalities and powers, cosmic powers,ect are all synonyms for fallen angles subordinate to Satan, as general.

12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the east. 13 And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. 14 For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty. 15 (“Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”) 16And they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon..

What do they do? (kill and lie) Gen, 3:1ff ‘did God say..?” Why would brother kill his own brother?
1. Destroy/kill—John 8:44 murderer…occult activities (Hitler diary..today I made covenant with Satan) have you ever seen self-destructive tendencies of people under demonic influence?
2. But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 2 Cor. 11:3)
9 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, 12in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
With the rise of occult and fascination with paranormal doors are being opened left and right and our culture is becoming demonized.
3. 14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. (2 Cor. 11:14)—he can be smooth, suave, plausible sounding.
They can appear as anything—they know which buttons to push to attract us
I have encountered directly demons on dozens of occasions. I have had them communicate with me via text and phone calls.
7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 8but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothersb has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. 12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”
3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Hindering truth or effective gospel witness. (temptation, fear, pride, doubt, envy, confusion)
Demons/Satan cannot read minds—but keen observers and transmit information (psychic detectives). They can be in one place at a time.

. 8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
Today—12—70—whole church. We live in time of Acts. dwell in us”? 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. (Eph 6)
18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

Balance: we fight against the world, the flesh (indwelling sin) and demons. In book of Acts and epistles the usual approach was to deal with sin and obedience. In Corinth with all its problems, he never said to cast out demon of pride, envy, incest, litigation.

26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil. (Eph. 4:26-27) Habitual sin can lead to giving devil a foothold.

Can a Christian be possessed? No! But we can so open ourselves through persistent serious sin that we can be so oppressed it almost looks like possession.

Should Christians speak directly to demon or pray to God? Command demon directly…that is NT pattern.

Should we be concerned with generational sins? If there is a long history of addiction, pray that God would break futile ways of life by precious blood of lamb and command any spirits to leave.

18knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

Folks who are dealing with oppression are often very open to gospel. Jesus has won the victory Col 2:15

Mark Hunnemann is the author of Seeing Ghosts Through God's Eyes: A Worldview Analysis of Earthbound Spirits. It's also available in eBook format.

Dalai Lama at the Mind & Life Conference - Reimagining Human Flourishing

Thekchen Chöling, Dharamsala, HP, India - The Tsuglagkhang, the Main Tibetan Temple, adjacent to His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s residence was the location this morning for the opening of a Mind & Life Conference focussing on ‘Reimagining Human Flourishing’. Participants, presenters and moderators are seated around a large low table set laterally across the main body of the temple. They are flanked by guests and interested observers—100 from the Mind & Life side and another 200, many of them scholarly monks and nuns, invited by the Dalai Lama Trust. When His Holiness arrived he greeted several old friends before taking his seat at the head of the table.

Susan Bauer-Wu, President of the Mind & Life Institute, began by welcoming everyone present to this Mind & Life Dialogue, the 33rd altogether and the 13th in Dharamsala. She expressed gratitude to His Holiness, the Dalai Lama Trust and the Hershey Family Foundation for their support in making it possible. In the 26th year of its existence she reiterated the Mind & Life Institute’s aim of working to eliminate suffering and promote human flourishing. On this occasion the intention is to delve again into how to give young people a good education that takes account of secular ethics, attention and compassion, love and forgiveness—an education of the heart, bearing in mind the evidence that compassion can be taught. She closed her introduction by presenting His Holiness with a copy of a new book, ‘The Monastery and The Microscope’, a record of the dialogue that took place in Mundgod in 2013.

This morning’s moderator Kimberley Schonert-Reichl introduced the first speaker, Richard Davidson. He started by thanking His Holiness for his time and inspiration and went on to present a brief historical context for the current meeting. He cited five previous meetings as having a pivotal bearing on this one. The first was the 5th Mind & Life dialogue held in 1995 in Dharamsala, at which altruism, ethics and compassion were discussed. Next was the 8th Dialogue, also in Dharamsala, that dealt with d estructive emotions and led to Dan Goleman’s writing a book that catalysed public focus on them. At this pivotal point, Davidson reported, His Holiness advised the members of the Mind & Life Institute to investigate practical ways to cultivate a virtuous mind and counter destructive emotions.

The third key meeting on ‘Investigating the Mind’ took place at MIT. It was pivotal again because it was the first public meeting to raise questions about the mind and destructive emotions in a mainstream scientific context. The prestigious scientific journal Nature reported it and so brought the mission of Mind & Life to the attention of the world. The fourth key meeting, focussed on Neuroplasticity, revealed that training the mind can change the brain, while the fifth, in Washington, DC, focussed on educating world citizens.

Having reviewed the topics that will be discussed during the course of this conference, Davidson began his own presentation under today’s theme of Early Childhood Development and Social and Emotional Learning. He mentioned neuroplasticity, the role of genetics, sensitive periods and innate basic goodness in early childhood development. He talked about early synaptic overproduction, cortex pruning and prefrontal pruning in the context of a timeline of brain development. Some developments can lead to vulnerability, while others lead to resilience. He also made reference to sensitive periods in childhood development, such as birth, starting school and adolescence.

In the context of thoughts associated with changes in the brain, His Holiness wanted to know, if someone is physically at ease, which comes first the thought or the change in the brain. Davidson replied that many scientists say thought and brain activity co-occur, remarking that this relates to the relation between mind and brain about which he considers little scientific progress has been made for 100 years. This prompted His Holiness to reflect on the purpose of his meetings with scientists.

“One purpose is to extend our knowledge. Several decades of experience have shown that ancient Indian understanding of the workings of the mind derives from practices to cultivate single-pointedness and analysis—shamatha and vipashyana. It involves knowledge of how to transform emotions that remains relevant today. On the other hand, science presents a challenge to traditional Indian cosmology, which has resulted in my publicly rejecting belief in Mt Meru as the centre of the universe.

“However, since science is only beginning to investigate the mind, I believe ancient Indian knowledge has a contribution to make and that it is important to bring these traditions together. In 1979, when I held discussions with scientists in Moscow, they were happy to acknowledge five sensory consciousnesses, but dismissed mental consciousness as only of religious concern.

“The second purpose of these meetings relates to the crisis of emotions we witness in the world today, which is manifest in the contrast between the peace we enjoy together here and the anguish experienced in other parts of the world where people are being killed or dying of starvation. We need to show more concern for others’ well-being. We need a greater sense of the oneness of all human beings, the sense that we all belong to one community. We need to promote warm-heartedness. Religion can contribute to this, but sometimes religion leads to greater divisions. In such a context, scientists’ finding evidence that basic human nature is compassionate is a source of hope.

“That basic human nature can give rise to self-confidence, trust and transparency. It allows us to smile. Viewing others with suspicion is not a way to be happy. The one billion of seven billion people alive today who have no interest in religion are still human beings. We and they need a secular approach to creating a more peaceful, joyful world. Science shows us, for example, that warm-heartedness is good for our physical health.

“The time has come to think in terms of the whole of humanity not just our nation within its own boundaries. The environment too is telling us that we human beings have to work together as one community, which is the only way we’ll meet such serious issues as the increasing shortage of water. It will require a new approach to education that takes account of scientific findings and that cultivates human qualities on the basis of a secular scientific approach.

“This world with its human population may last another few thousand years, but we have to encourage the next generation to do things differently. I’m nearly 83, so I don’t have that much time left and when I’m gone I may go to heaven, if there is one. But I may be reborn on this planet since I pray to abide to dispel the misery of the world for as long as space endures and as long as living beings remain.

“It is our generation’s responsibility to act. We’ve seen too much war. We’ve seen too much money spent on weapons. To respond to problems by resort to the use of force is out of date. It’s the wrong method and yet we see it being repeated now at the beginning of the 21st century. We have to change, but our education system is too materialistic. However, we can improve that and the work we do now can influence the centuries to come.”

Richard Davidson concluded his presentation noting an increase in depression and suicide among children and young people. He remarked that leading scientists are beginning to acknowledge the potential contribution ancient Indian understanding of the workings of the mind can make.

After a fifteen minute break for tea Michel Boivin spoke about studies in child development, especially the investigation of the way twins develop. With regard to whether nature or nurture has greater influence in child development he quoted another expert in field asking which is more important to a rectangle, the width or the length.

Dan Goleman considered social and emotional learning in the context of reimagining human flourishing. He spoke of teaching young children to think about what would make a given situation better and what would make it worse. He reminded His Holiness that his friend Paul Ekman had commented that maturity is about widening the gap between impulse and taking action. Amongst social and emotional learning’s advantages are that it leads to greater self-awareness and self-management skills, as well as responsible ethical decision making.

His Holiness remarked that the mind can change and that children are susceptible to being taught to analyse. He noted the ancient Indian approach that reading or listening to an explanation is not enough. You have to think about it to really understand it. And having understood something you have make yourself really familiar with it in order to embody that understanding.

As the opening session came to an end, His Holiness left the temple and returned to his residence. Conference participants continued their discussions during the afternoon. His Holiness will join them again tomorrow morning.

Original link & photos: https://www.dalailama.com/news/2018/mind-life-conference-reimagining-human-flourishing-opening-day

The Rapture And The Second Coming Are Two Events

Hello everyone. I hope your having a wonderful Sunday and getting ready for the holidays. I chose this subject because I am asked about it quit a bit lately.

There are very many misunderstandings that come from confusing these two events. In today's world we see the signs everywhere that show us that the return of Christ is near. We speak not of the Rapture, but of the Lord's ultimate return to the earth with all His saints. According to the book of Revelation, this coming of Christ occurs after the Rapture and differs from it in at least two ways.

The Rapture will be a secret event in which Christ will be witnessed by believers only. His Second Coming, on the other hand, will be a public event. Everyone will see Him. Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him. Even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. This is also called in revelations 'The Day Of The Lord.'

The "second coming" is found in Zech.14:4-5; Jude 14; you will find Christ returning with all His angels in Mt.24:30-31 and His entire Church following Him on white horses, dressed in fine linen, white and clean, in Rev.19:14 [A sign of the righteous acts of the saints, as found in Rev.19:8, NIV], in His massive armies from heaven. Which makes it quite impossible for any such thing as a post-trib rapture.

The entire text by Jesus, from Mt. 24:4-31 is an amplification of Dan.9:27, where God has decreed Israel to go through the 70th and final week/the seven year tribulation. Which the Church will not go through, according to 2 Thes.2:3 and 7-8. The antichrist is all three of the "he's" in Dan.9:27, the very same person found in Dan.7:23-27; 8:9-12 and in 9:27.

In Christianity there are so many churches rewording the Word of God. Adding to it all kinds of the things. Like different factions if you will that have beliefs of Christ. But not all are honest we have to do our own research. Without Christ dying on the cross we'd never be forgiven of sin. That's why He shed His blood on the cross. He knew that was His demise before it ever came. See, I'm trying to answer 3 questions at once in one blog.

People are entitled to their own opinion and have a right to freedom of religion. But I dislike denominations. It divides us. Fighting about who is right or wrong when the focus should be on the ONLY book God's Word (Holy Bible) that has made sure to stand the test of time. Why is that? There is no gospel greater than Jesus Christ. (Depending on what you believe) Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth as they say the word Bible stands for that.

Satan and his demons know their time is near. They know the bible inside and out. So they are corrupting people and this world in an attempt to drag as many souls of people to hell. They hate our guts! Demons aren't our friends as many will say. They do turn on you. You best keep away from anything to do with the occult like these 'Christian Witches'. We call that 'Luke warm' in Christ.

One foot in and one foot out. It doesn't work. The churches are becoming corrupted. Not all, please no emails. I'm not saying all churches. There are some very fine churches doing good things for the community. That's what they do with the tithes they receive. Every time a disaster happens everyone says 'where's all the churches with free food and clothing?' Well it takes money to provide help. That is why we tithe to GOD. God will bless those who give and those unable to give too.

What can we do? Always be on the alert and ready to suit up our armor of God and be ready to go to battle when attacked. But spiritually. It's hard to fight when we can't see. So these vile creatures attach and oppress and torture and kill and possess etc....They don't want to go back to hell saying they failed. They will fight a deliverance/exorcism to the bitter end. I've known some to last a week. I kid you not. I truly have nothing to gain by making this up. Remember, I grew up in this. It was so confusing at times but the Lord always kept me safe when anyone rang the doorbell late at night. It usually means trouble and the kind my dad could only help. But I've always been protected as this is a calling. If it wasn't I'd be bad off after all these years.

They say Demonologists die young. A lot have but certainly not all. If your faith slips one bit you're open. We already have bounties on our head by Satan and his nasty looking creatures THAT DO NOT SCARE ME ANYMORE. Stand your ground.  Profess the name of Jesus Christ. Don't let the paranormal activities around you distract you for a moment. It's very dangerous doing deliverances setting people free. It takes time and knowledge and guidance from an elder of the same faith as you. Opinions will differ. And that's ok.

I hope I've addressed the emails I received Friday night about a few subjects. Some things don't have an answer until we're on the other side. No one knows everything. That attitude opens doors. This is not a game. No summoning!! Please don't. Those things are so very hard to get rid of once in. They will drive you to suicide, make you seem mentally ill. A lot of real mental illnesses exist, but some are possession, in my humble opinion.

'It's not over till it's over. Not until that trumpet sounds.'

Written By Jennifer L Auld

Demons, Demonic Influences & Holy Angels

The first goal of demons in my opinion is to prevent us from receiving God's love and ever lasting life in Heaven..getting saved. Their sneaky are to attempt to get people to turn away from God. They do this through many forms of temptation, harassment, and also from distorting The Word Of God. Demons lie to us and work hard on our minds so that we are lying to ourselves and thinking awful things of our self worth and our ability to do things right. And pleasing to,God.

Another form of attack is accusation and criticism. Demons will interject condemning thoughts into the minds of believers. They absolutely love to conjure up the past with thoughts of, “You really failed at so much..” or “You really messed up”. Demons are on a mission to destroy us. They work together and strategize. They go after our weaknesses especially times when people are physically and/or emotionally weak. They attempt to affect all areas of a person’s body, soul, and spirit. They don’t play fair.

We know that we are made up of body, soul and spirit. Again the soul in itself is made up of mind, will and emotions. Becoming a believer means we must have surrendered our will to the Lordship of Jesus Christ our savior. But the mind and emotions, we might not have fully surrendered to our Lord. In these circumstances either knowingly or unknowingly we are allowing the devil to have a legal hold on our mind or emotions.

There are several ways by which demons oppresses people. Afflict: To inflict something hard to endure. Harass: To annoy or disturb persistently, to wear out by frequent attacks. Influence: To exercise indirect power over in order to sway or affect. Oppress: To lower in spirit or mood. Torment: To cause severe suffering of body or mind. Torture: To punish or coerce by inflicting excruciating pain. Worry: To disturb one or destroy one’s peace of mind by repeated or persistent torment. Wrong: To inflict injury on another without justification.

A demon can keep you in chains and isolate you by attacking the mind. That is the devils playground. But God has the final say and power to end it all. Rev 20:10 and the devil who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Demons are not God but sometimes they become the object of worship.  Behind every idol, there is a demon or an evil spirit. Sometimes we cherish certain beliefs which are not true.  This can become a form of idolatry.
Psalms 106:37 They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons.

God's Angels Are Invisible But Every Where

God has had angels specifically assigned to supervise and protect his Church throughout all of its history (Revelations 1:4, 16, 20; 2:1, 8, 12, 18; 3:1, 7, 14). He has angels who are to always walk through the earth to watch and report back to him the overall conditions on earth (Zech 4:10; II Chron 16:9; Revelations 5:6). And God has angels specifically assigned to look after his begotten human children (Mattew 18:10 Acts 12:15). God promises: “For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways (Psalms 91:11).” Angels are Good spirits that can manifest them self into a physical body. Good spirits linked to The Holy Spirit always speak the truth. Angels are everywhere my friends. God has us under protection.

In Job 38:4, 7, God is speaking specifically of the creation of earth. He says all the angels shouted for joy at the creation of the earth. This shows us that angels were created before the creation of the earth and probably before the material universe. The suns, planets and astral bodies are material substances. Angels are individually created spirit beings, composed solely of spirit.

Written By Jennifer L Auld

What Does it Mean--Jesus Learned Obedience?

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

This is a brief reply, as one could easily spend an entire blog answering this question.

“Although He was a Son, He learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him…” (Hebrews 5:8-9)

Does that imply He was not perfectly obedient early on? No!! What DOES it mean, then?

Though fully God, Jesus is also fully human. He lived a sinless life (Heb. 4:15; 7:26) and was always obedient to the Father. Nevertheless, Jesus acquired knowledge as a normal human would, and He gained experience (in His human nature)by living 33 years as a human being (Luke 2:40, 52), and He came to know experientially what it cost to walk in obedience in the midst of suffering.

In a manner appropriate to each stage of development (physically and psychologically), Jesus was perfect, and He grew in wisdom in His human nature. He was a perfect two year old…perfect four year old…perfect teenager…perfect young adult…and perfect up to His death at approximately 33 years old. He was perfect in ways appropriate for each stage of development as a growing human being.

No doubt, as Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, successive temptations and trials became more difficult to deal with. It was as He obeyed His Father in the face of lifelong temptations that Jesus “learned obedience.”…His human moral ability was strengthened as He grew.

As a child, Jesus did not lack any godly traits, but He was lacking in the full experience of having lived a perfect human life, as man—obeying the Father in everything. It is in this sense, that in His human nature, Jesus “learned obedience.”

Hence, our Lord is experientially aware of the trials and temptations that we experience. Though fully God, Jesus still retains His human nature/body in heaven. So, He is tender and sympathetic to all the struggles you are facing. Look to Him for comfort, as he knows what it is like to suffer as a human. And look to Him as your Savior if you have not already, for there is no other road to heaven, but through Jesus.

Lastly, and remarkably, the lifelong perfect obedience of Jesus provides the basis for eternal salvation. Justification consists of a double transfer. Our sins were transferred to Jesus on the cross, and His 33 years of perfect obedience is transferred to our spiritual bank account. It is the robe of righteousness that surrounds us, and the Father sees Jesus’ perfect life, as He looks at us, due to our union with the life of Christ. How can you look with detachment at such a great salvation? Let us rejoice at such a great Savior and salvation!

Mark Hunnemann is the author of Seeing Ghosts Through God's Eyes: A Worldview Analysis of Earthbound Spirits. It's also available in eBook format.

Can Unfinished Business, Premature/Violent Death, etc Cause a Person to Get Trapped?

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

It just so happens that as I am finishing this blog, tragedy struck our apartment complex. Cops and CSI units have descended upon our little village. A young woman in her 30’s, with children (though taken away by the courts), was apparently dead for a week in her bathtub…the stench was so horrible it posed a biohazard. I’m speculating, but given her serious drug/heroin use, it may have been an OD…maybe a suicide, I don’t know. I just looked outside and her obviously bloated body is wrapped up on a gurney. So sad. From a human perspective, her death is marked by all the things I am discussing in this blog: unfinished business, premature death, highly emotional death…..and perhaps violence. So, I’m reminded in a visceral way that this issue is one that affects us all, in some fashion. Troublesome deaths happen all the time. My point is that this discussion is far from being merely academic. My heart aches for a woman I knew, who died a tragic death.

There is a monolithic consensus in the paranormal community (which is bleeding over into culture in general) that certain kinds of death may lead to entrapment here on earth. These alleged ‘death criteria”, as I refer to them, include: dying with unfinished business, a premature death, a highly emotionally charged death, a violent death, and a fear of hell. The last of these, the fear of hell, I have written about recently. We saw that nobody has the free will/ability after death to avoid the unavoidable summons to stand before the Judge of heaven and earth, immediately upon death. These kinds of death are assumed by the paranormal community to render one susceptible to becoming an earthbound spirit. However, I would like to humbly but firmly challenge this notion.

These criteria are repeated so often that they have almost become like a mantra. And when a group repeats a belief often enough it becomes so ensconced that it acquires a non-negotiable presuppositional status—a habit of the heart, which is not open to scrutiny. However, merely repeating over and over that certain kinds of death can cause entrapment, does not make it so…and neither does it explain HOW these kinds of death trap people. Stating a belief, does not explain that belief. And thus far, nobody has adequately explained the mechanism behind the ‘death criteria’….or how it squares with the bible.

In addition, the soul, death (including the consequences of how one dies), and the after-life are manifestly theological issues. Science can’t explain any of these three phenomena. Hence, the notion of the ‘death criteria’, since they touch on all these theological issues, requires a theological analysis. However, I have seen little theological reflection on HOW/WHY certain kinds of death would cause a person to be trapped here. Just speculation.Nowhere, I repeat, NOWHERE, in the bible are we told that certain kinds of death might cause people to become earthbound. In the book of Acts (or any historical book of God’s Word), we don’t see any examples of it either. Since the bible clearly speaks of spiritual warfare, as well as heaven and hell, then it SHOULD explain to us the reality of earthbound spirits due to how they died…if it was true. But it says nothing. The silence is deafening.
At the outset, let me give a very brief theology of death as presented in the bible. “Mot” is the Hebrew word for death, and we find it first used in Genesis 2. Adam and Eve were originally designed by God to not die. They were designed, body and soul, to live forever in Eden, IF they passed the test. But they failed miserably.

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "You may surely eat of every tree of the garden,
17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." (Genesis 2:16-17, emphasis added)

Sadly, the couple made a beeline for the forbidden tree. However, instead of killing them instantly like God had threatened, and as they deserved, He graciously expanded their life spans by hundreds of years. Spiritually they died instantly, but physical death was also a consequence of the Fall. Death is not normal, as many assume. Rather, it is a monstrous abnormality introduced by the historical Fall of Adam and Eve. And as we’ll see more later, the violent ripping asunder of the soul from the body at death, was not God’s original intention.

As we approach the notion of the “death criteria” we need to be reminded of the biblical view of death…at least how it began.  Since we have all sinned (Romans 3:23; 6:23), and the wages of sin is death, then we are all “bene mawet” (sons of death).  The bible says that we all must die due to our having sinned. (Enoch and Elijah only exceptions) Even though forgiven in Christ, we still must die because of having sinned—in Adam and in our own lives. Most significantly is that the Living God is the Lord of death. The Lord of Life is also the Lord of Death…He is the All-powerful Lord over all things. God created death, and He is Lord over its process over every living soul—which He owns as well (Ezekiel 18:4) Specifically, for our purposes, it is important that we see from the outset, that death was created by God as a consequence/punishment for sin, and He is utterly sovereign over human death….and He owns our souls. And any notion that detracts from this crucial fact must be jettisoned because it diminishes God’s ‘absolute sovereignty. His unfolding drama of redemption includes victory over death; the death of death in the death of Christ. Until the Second Coming, God Himself is the One who separates our souls from our bodies at the moment of death. He owns us, body and soul, and back to Him we go after death….for judgment.

If you are a Christian, then I assume that you accept the full authority of the Bible over every area of our life. Please read Psalm 139 slowly and carefully, and ask this question: is the God presented  in this Psalm  compatible with the notion of ghosts in general, and the death criteria in particular?  

1.O LORD, You have searched me and known me!
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.
5 You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.
7 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,"
12 even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.
13 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you.
19 Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God! O men of blood, depart from me!
20 They speak against you with malicious intent; your enemies take your name in vain!
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
22 I hate them with complete hatred; I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!
24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!
Please search us God, and show us any harmful beliefs.
Four great truths about God are revealed in the context of personal experience, in this magnificent psalm. The Bible is never speculative, and it never considers a truth “known” until it controls the life of the learner. God is omniscient/all-knowing (v. 1-6), omnipresent/everywhere (7-12), sovereign/all-powerful(13-16), and holy (17-24) The psalmist delights in the security (both in life and in death) that these traits of God ensure, and he happily recognizes the permanence of Divine companionship (v.16…whole psalm)
Security in God amidst all circumstances is the main theme of this psalm. At all times, in all places, and in all circumstances, God is in control and the psalmist is joyfully safe. This all-encompassing security includes God’s pre-planning of all his/our days and deaths…. (v.16)…which has obvious implications for our topic. And v 8 where God’’s loving presence follows us when we die (sheol). We shall return to this great psalm, but please note that the psalmist never considers the option of divine abandonment, which the notion of ghosts and the death criteria necessarily implies. Indeed, as we’ll see, all the alleged death criteria are contradictory to the central theme of this wonderful psalm.
All the laws of nature, which are God’s Laws, reveal something of His nature—wisdom, power, glory, ect. Likewise, any laws in the supernatural realm are equally God’s Laws, and should reveal something of His glorious nature. However, what do these death criteria “laws” reveal about God? Nothing good—they trivialize or deny all the attributes of God mentioned in this psalm….especially His absolute holiness and sovereignty. It seems to me that the psalmist would have been aghast at the notion that certain kinds of death would have left him stranded here on earth, until they either ‘found the light’ or accomplished their unfinished mission, That idea bespeaks more of a deistic god, who winds up the world and let it/us run our course, on our own. God forbid!
Back to the notion of unfinished business as being the cause of some people becoming trapped here. Let me ask this question: who does NOT die without some amount of unfinished business? The obvious answer is: nobody. Having experienced the death of both my parents, four siblings, and my 9 month old still born granddaughter, I know that all of them, to varying degrees, died with unfinished business. When I was 16, my brother died in a tragic accident at age 20, and I went through a ‘door’ which I wish I had never experienced…the devastation of losing a loved one at a young age. And without going into detail, some of their unfinished business was pretty significant. ALL of us will die with unfinished business. The same holds true for every person who has ever lived, except for Jesus Christ, who accomplished every jot and tittle of His Father’s will for His perfect life. Unless you, or a loved one, lived a perfect life, then you can be sure they died (or will die) with some amount of unfinished business. That raises several questions.
How can you then have peace that they are with God, if they died with unfinished business? If you are consistent, then you can’t, because there will always be the nagging doubt that they got trapped due to unfinished business.
Someone may reply: “Well, that may be so, but some people die with a lot of serious unfinished business.” True enough, but who/what decides when the ‘line’ is crossed and the unfinished business becomes serious enough to entrap them? The bible certainly doesn’t enlighten us. In fact, from Genesis to Revelation, we are never warned (as we are repeatedly about spiritual warfare here, and heaven and hell in hereafter) that we need to be prepared to possibly get stuck if we die in a certain way. If that were the case, would not God have warned us? That oversight would call into question the sufficiency of Scripture, and the Greatest Communicator would then be (and I say this reverently) a lousy communicator regarding what happens after death. The very thought is detestable and painful to write.
My point is that there is no mechanism in these death criteria. Who decides when the line has been crossed, and causes the soul (which belongs to God) to not cross over? What quantity or quality of unfinished business can derail a person from making a beeline to God’s Throne room after death? I can assure you that it is not God...not the Living God, as revealed in this psalm..The reasons I have heard paranormal investigators confidently assert why this/that person died with unfinished business, and thus was trapped, (like tension in the family or ‘premature death’), could easily be applied to many of all the people who have died since the dawn of time.
I’m 61 years old, and if I were to die today, then I can confidently assure you that I would die with significant unresolved issues. We all have skeletons in our closets. This notion of unfinished business is so ill-defined, and so subjective and capricious, that we could never have a certain hope that anybody we loved has gone to heaven. And in that sense, it is unintentionally cruel.
Repeatedly, Jesus warns us to be prepared to die, because once we die, we immediately face judgment (Hebrews 9:27) Nowhere in the bible does it ever say, or imply that unfinished business, may cause one to avert this summons before the Judge of heaven and earth. We have one chance at this thing called living, and then we pass into eternity, and no amount of unfinished business can separate us from either the love of God, or His infinite wrath—depending on our relationship to Christ.
I repeat: nobody dies with no unfinished business, and it becomes a hopelessly subjective task for the paranormal investigator to determine when the line has been crossed. Assuming that a ‘haunting’ or an entity, which is allegedly connected with a person who died with unfinished business, is circular reasoning. Nobody has yet to show how/why unfinished business can cause a soul to get trapped. Just saying it doesn’t make it so! If we followed the logic of this criterion to its logical conclusion, then EVERYONE who dies is susceptible to becoming trapped...and this destroys the certain hope which God gives to believers in Christ. Worse, it smears dung into the infinitely precious blood of the Lamb, whose death assured our salvation from A-Z…justification, sanctification, and glorification. (Psalm 23, John 10, Romans 8)
Psalm 139:16 is comforting because all the attributes of God mentioned earlier ensure that the Creator’s work covers all of our life, including our deaths. The omnipresent, omniscient, all-powerful, and holy Creator holds our souls in His tender hands throughout every second of our lives and deaths. Our lives and our deaths are under His absolute sovereign control....meaning He has decreed every second of our lives and deaths…including how much unfinished business one dies with. How could unfinished business then take Him by surprise? In fact, this verse clearly implies that, in the ultimate sense, there is no such thing as unfinished business when it comes to our deaths. That does not mean that there isn’t unfinished business on a human level, but God has sovereignly taken that all that into consideration as to when He calls us home, or to hell.(see Ephesians 1:11) 11 “In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,”

This verse is both astonishing and pivotal because it implies that every molecule, and every event (no matter how evil or tragic), is under God’s sovereign control. If God is not sovereign, then He is not God. In a sense, God has decreed everything that happens. Every event, including our deaths, has been decreed by God, and He is absolutely sovereign over the moment of our deaths, and all that it entails (means, motive, and timing).
It is my belief that the reason the notion of ghosts has exploded, even among Christians, is primarily due to a deficient view of God’s attributes as outlined in Psalm 139….especially His holiness and absolute sovereignty. Eph. 1:11 is clear that EVERYTHING  is decreed by God. Our God is too small.
Listen to Romans 8:38-39….
38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Did you get that?!

After reading verses 38-39 in which our union with Christ entails that nothing in all creation (that would entail unfinished business), can keep us from God, in heaven? It even mentions ‘death’! Our union with Christ is like an indissoluble, unbreakable umbilical cord which stretches from our soul on earth to God’s heart in heaven. NOTHING can break that bond...certainly nothing as universal as unfinished business.

I spent so much time on this criterion because, in a sense, all the rest, fall under this criterion in some way.

For many in America, God is either deistic in nature, or God is equated with the Universe. Either view, seriously diminishes the omnipotent love of God that is absolutely sovereign over death. My calling is to summon God’s people to re-gain a view of God’s utter holiness, and to see the notion of ghosts through God’s eyes. In my book, I go into more detail regarding the alleged death criteria.

Let us now turn to premature death. I’ll be more concise here. First, Psalm 139:16 clearly implies that there is no such thing as a premature death in God’s eyes. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

Please look at this verse carefully. God’s absolute control/sovereignty over the course of our lives/deaths, was decreed before we were even born, and extends to every second of our life, and subsequent death. “Every one of them..” emphasizes the particularity and specificity of God’s control over the full course of our lives—from conception to death, and everything in-between….and all the particulars of our deaths.

Yes, in our eyes, loved ones do die young...and I’ve experienced this anguish first hand. And I certainly don’t want to diminish the pain of losing a child or something similar. And God’s tender heart is touched by this anguish. We must remember that God’s is sovereign over a Fallen cosmos. However, in the ultimate sense,,. God tells us that He is in control of every second of our lives and ultimate death—whether young or old. To the psalmist, that was very comforting and moved him to worship. So, in the ultimate sense, there are no premature deaths, in God’s eyes…and His perspective is what controls the after-life. So, the very criterion of premature death is incompatible with the bible’s clear teaching. Hence, we have no business speculating that a seeming premature death could lead to entrapment.

I ask again, who/what determines at what age that the line has been crossed to cause a person to be entrapped due dying too young? Is it 2 years old? 12 years? 22 years old? When?? I’m not being sarcastic. I’m simply pointing out the hopeless conundrum people put themselves in once they affirm that people can get stuck due to premature death.

Without meaning to, this criterion is exceedingly cruel. Taken to its logical conclusion, then all infant deaths should lead to entrapment. In fact, not a few people do believe in ghost babies…and many more believe in child spirits. How horrible!! And how anti-biblical, which implies that all children go to heaven, through Jesus.

And what of all the young men who have died in battle while serving in the US military? Millions have died in our nation’s multiple wars, and most who died were in their late teens or early twenties. Most of these KIA’s actually fit ALL the death criteria mentioned above (unfinished business, premature death, violent and emotional death, etc.). If one takes the death criteria to its logical conclusion, then almost all the millions of men who have given their lives to save ours, are shoe-ins for entrapment. What a terrible way to ‘honor’ them.

How many times have I heard that the men who died at Gettysburg or some other battle are at unrest and trapped, because they have unfinished business due to dying so violently and so young?. This notion makes me sick to my stomach…..literally.

How horrible….how absolutely cruel. If one cannot live with the logical extension of their beliefs, then there is something wrong with that belief. That is why I keep saying that the death criteria are unwittingly cruel, and are internally self-destructive—you can’t live with them in any manner that approximates consistency.

Often we hear that someone is stuck because they want to either seek revenge or get across some truth, due to how they died. However, see the below text which makes clear that a comforting truth is that GOD is the One who will take revenge. What kind of mcgod would allow us to stay here indefinitely after we die, and sinfully seek revenge, which so many alleged human spirits seem bent on? As an aside, most anecdotal evidence, as Ed Warren stated, indicates that most spirits seem to be “self-absorbed loners.” The only entities that populate the spirit realm are angels and demons.
26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.
28 Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses.
29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?
30 For we know him who said,"Vengeance is mine; I will repay." And again,"The Lord will judge his people."
31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10:26-31, emphasis added)
We have lost the fear of God….that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a God who is an all-consuming fire. Reading this text, we see that it is God who takes revenge…and do we think that the Living God would allow us to stay here and avenge ourselves?

The point being that either here, or at Judgment, God will repay those who have hated us. How many times have you heard that so and so stayed behind because he either wanted revenge or to get his story out? It is assumed that the person’s anger is so strong that we forget, that the Living God is a God of infinite wrath and anger. But will not the Last Judgment deal with both issues? We have truly lost a biblical view of the mighty majesty and holiness of God Almighty. Do we really think that God will let people stay on earth and sinfully avenge themselves for decades or even centuries…as is claimed in many haunts?

Background checks are needed, but they must be done with extreme caution. Because death attracts demons, since they hate us, then it makes much more sense that the paranormal activity is demonic in nature. How people discern the alleged difference between a demonic infestation and a human haunt is fraught with peril and human subjectivity. The bible never tells us that we are to discern whether a spirit is human or demonic. For example, 1 John 4:1ff is an either/or between teachers who are animated by the Holy Spirit or unclean spirits/demons. Human spirits are not in the picture. THAT is what discernment is needed for: whether the supernatural activity is from God or Satan. We are NEVER warned in the bible to look out for human spirits…never—including those who are allegedly here due to an abnormal death.

Can we die and continue to sin grievously for an indeterminate amount of time? The notion casts a long shadow over God’s awesome holiness .

What of emotional deaths? I ask again: what death is NOT emotional, to the one dying and/or the loved ones left behind? Yes, there are degrees of emotion connected with one’s death, but there are different kinds of emotion, as well as degree..And some do die without any loved ones to mourn them, but that is not the issue.

Once again, who/what decides when a death is emotional enough to cause entrapment?
We can deal with violent death quickly because all that I said above applies here. I have heard the most absurd theories advanced simply because a person was murdered or some other kind of violent death (like death by IED) Did not God say that our deaths were planned by Him? (Psalm 139:16) Did not God say that death could not, and would not, separate us from His love in Christ Jesus? Does not v 8 say that God’s perpetual companionship follows us to death (sheol)? And if a person is an unbeliever, then they are a child of wrath, dead in sin—enslaved to sin, Satan and death….and sadly are hell-bound sinners. Upon death, God has an infinite hatred toward unbelievers who have scorned His Son. See the hatred in this psalm for God’s enemies. (Psalm 139:19-22)Their umbilical cord to hell is as indissoluble as the believer’s umbilical cord is unbreakable by virtue of our union with Christ. Ephesians/Col. says that we are already in heaven reigning with Christ, in a provisional sense, so how could manner of death keep us from heaven when we already have ‘one foot in heaven’?
Also, according to the bible, ALL deaths are, in a sense, violent. As we saw, physical death is abnormal and is a result of the historical Fall of Adam and Eve. PHYSICAL DEATH IS THE VIOLENT DISRUPTION OF THE VIBRANT FLOW OF LIFE. Please read that again. As originally created, humans are a body/soul composite. So, there is something profoundly disturbing, violent, and unnatural about the ripping asunder of the soul from the body at the moment of death. But that is one of the consequences of sin. My point is that, again, all deaths are violent in a very real sense. One could argue that God’s ripping asunder of soul from body, is at least as violent as any of the violent ‘means’ by which a person may die—like murder, suicide, ect. This is not to diminish the reality of a violent means of death, but to show that everyone’s death is exceedingly violent already. And God is the One who is the Lord over this ripping asunder process…and as Psalm 139 states, there is no place that we can escape God’s perpetual companionship…including a violent death.
Once again, (sigh), who/what decides when a death is violent enough to cause entrapment?  There is no mechanism.The most violent death in history was the death of the Lord Jesus because the sinless God/man was crucified. He died so that death would be conquered…He took the sting out of it. However, the death criteria inadvertently put the sting back into death..That should raise huge red flags.

What disturbs me is that there is very little self-reflection in the paranormal community regarding their most basic tenets about how people get trapped. I get upset when I hear folks speak so confidently to a client that they don’t have to worry about the entity in their home because it is simply a trapped little child, or a benign adult….or residual energy (please see my 4 blogs on this unscientific notion).

Why is it that the vast majority of deaths with significant unfinished business, very violent deaths, extremely emotional deaths, and premature deaths do not result in a haunting or evidence of earthbound spirits?  If one cannot find a discernible pattern that applies to the majority of problem deaths, then there is something wrong with the hypothesis. If this small percentage were applied to a scientific hypothesis, then it would be rejected quickly. At the very least, the paranormal community should show some willingness to subject its basic tenets to serious scrutiny.

Demonic activity is the best and most comprehensive answer which explains all the data. There is a profound irrationality at the heart of evil, especially demonic activity, that would explain the non-ability to predict results from problem deaths.

No doubt every day, there are technological advances in the paranormal community—empowering them to do that which is condemned by God (communicating with the dead), BUT there is very little desire or attempts to examine the mechanism behind the alleged death criteria. That doesn’t make sense. Folks should be looking at this relentlessly.I hope and pray that at least one person will have the courage and integrity to think for yourself regarding the death criteria...and see if it really stands up to honest scrutiny.

17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, "Fear not, I am the first and the last,
18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. (Revelation 1:17-18, emphasis added)

In close, it seems that all the death criteria can be subsumed under the notion of unfinished business. Be that as it may, all of the death criteria are flatly contradictory to the bible. No mechanism has been suggested as to how certain people get stuck and not others. Worse, they belittle the awesome nature of the Living God, as expressed in Psalm 139. Worst of all, it dishonors the infinitely precious and efficacious blood of the Lamb which ensures that believers will go home immediately upon death..and unbelievers to hell, for spurning the blood of the Lamb.

One last comment: the soul and the after-life are manifestly theological issues, which do not lend themselves to scientific analysis. Theological concepts/issues need theological answers, or we’ll be spinning our wheels.

Heaven and earth and all that is in it was created by God and belongs to Him. (Col. 1:16)…and in Genesis 3 God created death. Death is owned and controlled by God, and every human death (manner, means, and timing) was decreed by God Almighty. Hence, the death criteria are a blatant negation of that fact.

Mark Hunnemann is the author of Seeing Ghosts Through God's Eyes: A Worldview Analysis of Earthbound Spirits. It's also available in eBook format.

Alleged Reasons Why Some Are Likely to Become Ghosts: Fear of Hell.

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

I recently read an article in which eight reasons were given as to why some are likely to become ghosts upon death: violent death, dying with addictions, money owed to them, died suddenly, have young children, unresolved emotions, betrayal, and seeking revenge. However, even the author stated that most of these fell under the general principle of unfinished business.

While the paranormal community has no consensus as to who or what makes the final decision as to who stays behind, there is a somewhat of a consensus as to WHY people stay behind. There are four criteria: traumatic death, emotional death, untimely death, and unfinished business.

I shall look at those next time, but there is another reason stated as to why some folks refuse to move on: the fear of hell.

Before we examine this notion, we have to deal with first things first. That is, from where do we derive our ideas about the fate of the dead? There are ultimately only two alternatives, though they may be semantically streamed in different ways. We either lean on revelation or speculation. Those are the only two possible alternatives.That is, we either look to what God has revealed to us in His Word, or we autonomously seek to use our God-given faculties to determine this issue by reason, feelings, observation, etc…placing them above God’s Word.

Since the soul, the after-life (including hell) are manifestly theological issues, then whether people can refuse to pass on due to a fear of hell is clearly a theological issue as well. Hence, we NEED God’s Word to answer this question.  Natural reason cannot answer that question.

Some assert that the bible is not clear regarding the Intermediate State (when we die, and before Jesus’ Second Coming). Hence, this is the time when folks may avoid going to the Light. First, there are only a very few theologians who think the bible is unclear about the Intermediate State. I have shown elsewhere that the bible is exceedingly clear as to what befalls all people immediately after death…our judgment. Second, the “Light” is not a celestial bright spot. Rather, the Light before whom we all must come for judgment (either to be pronounced “not guilty’ or condemned) is the High King of Heaven, the Lord Jesus…the refulgence of His awesome holiness is the Light we see. The Light is a Person, and not a destination or a thing, which can be avoided or resisted.
Again, it is stated that some spirits/souls stay behind out of fear of what awaits them IF they walk into the Light. Either because of fear of what they believed, or how they lived their lives, the possibility of going to Hell dissuades them from crossing over.

According to this theory, humans retain free will after they die, which includes the free will to (at least temporarily…some say eternally) to insist on staying on earth, in order to avoid hell.

This belief places man in the position of final determiner of his eternal fate (at least temporarily). This casts a long shadow over both God’s holiness and His absolute sovereignty. It is a denial of the reigning Kingship of God as Judge of all the earth (Genesis 18:25)If a person can run away from God’s judgment as long as he wishes (eternally according to many), then man is placed in the seat of ultimate authority. God could only judge us IF we let Him! The most cruel and wicked men who ever lived could laugh at the King of Glory and tell Him to basically “get lost.” The very thought should be odious to all God’s saints.

As many have pointed out, Jesus spoke much more about hell—its reality and horror—than He spoke of the glories of heaven. He did this because He loves us, and wants us to think long and hard about something we would rather ignore, or explain away.

Jesus warned many people to flee from the wrath to come…He warned them of the eternal consequences upon death if they put anything before Him. Nowhere do we get a hint of possible snubbing of the Holy One of Israel. To state that man may choose to flee from hell is to strip the gospel of its utter urgency. Why? Because we can just say to ourselves: “I’ll just resist going into the Light.”When you read the gospels and epistles, the gospel is a message of fleeing from a clear and present danger…a message which is of eternally urgent importance.The gospel is good news, but it is urgently good news…for sinners who are hell-bound.

Jesus pled with people to not waste their lives on trivialities, only to be thrown into the pit where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The parable of Lazarus and the rich man is clear in its implications regarding the inalterability of God’s Judicial summons and holy decree after death. It cannot be averted.

28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.
30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.
31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
32 So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven,
33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

Please read v. 28 carefully. Is there any hint of human free will to avoid hell? If you look closely, in the succeeding verses, Jesus is asserting His utter control over seemingly insignificant events. How much more the lives and deaths of His image bearers—whether to heaven or hell. Again, there is no hint of avoiding God’s judgment in v. 28, 32-33.

If a person misses an important court date, then a summons is given for their arrest. Do we really think that the Holy Lawgiver and Judge will let us avoid being prosecuted for cosmic treason?

What disturbs me about the notion of ghosts avoiding hell is the trivializing effect it has on the holiness and utter sovereignty of God, as well as the reality of Hell. The bible is clear that our free will ceases upon our deaths. Upon death, it is too late to believe in Christ, and we cannot flee from the personal judgment.  This is an appointment that no man can cancel or flee from. Death ushers us into God’s holy throne-room, and we are either sent to heaven or hell, depending on whether we have clung to finished work of Christ on the Cross.

We need to remember, that by virtue of creation, God owns us—body and soul. He determines when we shall die (Psalm 139: 16 ) Hence, there is no such thing  as a untimely death. (more of that next time)

Hebrews 9:27 states it very clearly. In a context of the once-for-all nature of the atonement…it says: “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment…” Notice, that our deaths are appointed by God. He is utterly in control, and any human effort or free will, melts away. What does it say comes after (meta, Greek) our appointed deaths—which implies there are no untimely deaths? Our appointed judgment comes immediately after our appointed deaths.The notion of a person choosing to avoid their appointment with the Ancient of Days is repugnant to both reason and Scripture. God’s sovereignty, and the beauty of the atonement is everywhere in this context, and resisting the Irresistible summons is impossible.

To state that we can avoid facing God’s judgment also minimizes the beauty and efficacy of Christ’s atonement, in which He became a curse for us….so that we would be blessed and not eternally cursed. Jesus shed His infinitely precious blood to ransom us…to pay the price to release us from sin, Satan and death. To assert that we can avoid hell is to deny the urgency and centrality of the atonement.

If our deaths are appointed by God, then how much more so are our judgments appointed by God.  And after we die, we face judgment. The notion of retaining a free will which averts this judgment flies in the face of this clear text, and countless others.

There are two judgments: our personal judgment the moment we die, and then the general/universal judgment (or Great White Throne…Revelation 20:11-15) The two are often conflated, because the general judgment is simply the public announcement of God’s holy judicial decree at the moment of our deaths.

11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.
12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.
13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.
14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Upon reading this text, does the notion of avoiding God’s judgment seem possible to you? The same God who will stand as Judge at the end times, is the Judge whom we all face immediately upon death. Again, I ask: does this God/Judge seem like One whom we can avoid simply because we fear hell?

Stephen saw the Lord Jesus stand up in anticipation of his arrival, but unbelievers have nothing but the fearful prospect/certainty of the Lord Jesus pronouncing an eternal guilty verdict upon them and sentencing them to an eternity in Hell. In Hell, Satan won’t rule, but God Almighty will be present, and causing the excruciating eternal agony of all those there. This is where we must bow our heads and weep for those who are lost. It is ugly, very ugly, for a person to speak glibly of hell. On the other hand, it is monstrous to think that we can cancel/postpone our judgment before our Holy Creator. To think that a reason for some people remaining as ghosts due to fear of hell, is to deny every attribute revealed about God in the Bible.

When we die, we are drawn by an omnipotent, irresistible summons before the holy Judge of heaven and earth. Let us expunge any notion that minimizes the incomparable glory of the Person and Work of Jesus Christ. Let the Word of God control all of our thoughts and beliefs.

Mark Hunnemann is the author of Seeing Ghosts Through God's Eyes: A Worldview Analysis of Earthbound Spirits. It's also available in eBook format.