Viewing the Paranormal through a Biblical Worldview, Pt.1

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

Is it possible to access the mind of God? The beautifully staggering truth is "yes, we can"--that is precisely what the bible is...God revealing some of His mind to us. I wonder, as bible-believing Christians, if we sufficiently appreciate the astonishing wonderment of God speaking to us...revealing His mind to us? As we shall see, this self-disclosure of God provides the foundation for everything--certainly everything pertaining to our worldview.

Before we apply this worldview thinking to the paranormal, we need to lay the foundation of what a worldview is and does.

This is a longish and not easiest of blogs to read, but love/compassion is often hard, isn't it? Why are there so many professing Christians but such little impact on culture? I believe that a big part of that is due to the fact that we are not discerning enough...not equipped to discern evil and error. This takes hard work--learning how to think with a biblical worldview, but love (for God and man) dictates we do the hard work necessary. Anyway, the whole premise of my blog is to equip to think/analyze issues from a worldview perspective. This is already way too long...enjoy! :)

A provisional definition of a worldview is best conveyed like this: to see with a biblical worldview is to see all of reality through God's eyes...to see it as He does. Or we could put it like this: a worldview is how we view God and the universe, and our relationship to both. I suppose if there is one thing unique about my book, it is that it teaches about the nature and importance of worldviews. Worldviews are like spectacles through which we view the world, and it effects how we think, feel, and behave. We almost always hold them unconsciously, unless we systematically discuss them as we are now. This is not secret knowledge, like gnosticism/occult, but it is rare, even among pastors, to know how to think with a full-orbed biblical worldview

In my book I list what I consider the seven components of any worldview...

1. What is the nature of God or ultimate reality?

2. What is your purpose in life?

3. What is the nature of reality?

4. Is history going anywhere?

5. What is the basis for morality?

6. What does it mean to be human (essential traits of being human)?

7. What happens to us after we die?

Let me ask three questions: do you see how utterly basic these questions are...how divergent the answers would be depending upon whom we asked...and how seriously impoverished and "lost" one's life would be if they lacked certitude regarding them? Sometimes stating a thing negatively can have some shock value which is conducive to learning...like this. "I have no clue as to what God is like...no idea why I should get out of bed because I have no clear purpose...I think reality is all in my head...morality is whatever feels right to me....humans are just apes with little hair...we are annihilated when we die...I think..."  Get my point??!!

Before I proceed any further, I believe that one of the best ways we learn is just by doing. So, the next time you read a novel, go to an art gallery, watch a TV program or movie, and so on, please ask yourself how they/it are "answering" each of the above seven questions. Obviously, the movie director is not going to have one of his cast say, "Hey, this is the worldview of this film...god is energy, pleasure is our purpose...and so on...!" It takes listening carefully to dialogue, and other factors, to pick up the explicit or implicit expressions of the seven worldview components. That is, put into practice the habit of viewing everything through a biblical worldview.  But that involves being able to spot the distortions in one's worldview spectacles,as they are presented on the silver screen or in the novel, ect...After awhile it becomes second nature. We need to develop a distinctively Christian mind if wish to have a substantive impact on our culture (Rom 12:1-2)

I want to introduce a philosophical term--epistemology--a branch of philosophy which deals with the validity, nature, and extent of human knowledge. Put another way--it deals with how we know, and how we know we know..Christians should know this term because it lies at the heart of what ails our country We are not experiencing a generation gap, but instead we are experiencing an epistemological gap (which at root is spiritual in nature). Which has led to what some call "culture wars"Let me explain.

One-hundred years ago there was a basically Christian ethos in our country.. If you were to ask the average person off the street any/all of the seven questions above, most would have given an answer that was roughly based on the bible. If someone disagreed with them in conversation, it was understood that one of them was wrong...or both were. Today the responses to the above questions would be all over the map, leaning heavily toward New Age/neo-gnostic beliefs. And to even gently assert that someone is wrong is taken as an offense...absolute truth lies bleeding in the street. Yes, it is an epistemological gap. How we acquire knowledge regarding basic issues has radically changed.

The seven questions above, which comprise one's worldview, are either answered by God's revelation or man's autonomous speculation. These differing presuppositions lead to radically differing conclusions..as we shall see. Is it not instructive that the first temptation was epistemological in nature? Says Satan/serpent, "C'mon Eve, use your autonomous mind to determine right and wrong...and you'll also discover that YOU are the real god....be a big girl and THINK FOR YOURSELF. Be open-minded!" How we gain knowledge is the key to everything...we either fear God and attain true knowledge of reality or we trust in ourselves and distort reality.

Where do you go to answer these questions? What is your final court of appeal in answering life's most basic questions? Do you look inward...to your intuition...your experience...what your heart says--or do you look outside of yourself to the Living God who created heaven and earth, who in His kindness and love, has spoken true-truth to us in His written Word?

Let's go to Psalm 119 to get just a glimpse into what the biblical worldview is. Our epistemic assumption is that we can access the mind of God, and this is done via His special revelation in the bible. ALL knowledge, certainly all the knowledge pertaining to the seven questions above, can only be answered by accessing the mind of God--because we are incapable of ascertaining the answers autonomously...

Please read these verses carefully, and in light of these basic questions. As a philosophy major, it was a beautifully stimulating experience to see the basic questions philosophers had been asking for millennia, and how the bible fit like hand-in-glove in answering them!

"Oh how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day." (119:97)

"I have more understanding than all my teachers, for Your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts." (vv. 99-100)

"Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."(v. 105)

"How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to Your Word." (v.9)

"I am a sojourner on the earth; hide not Your commandments from me." (V.19)

"Righteous are You, O Lord, and right are Your rules." (v. 137)

"The sum of Your Word is truth, and every one of Your righteous rules endures forever. (v.160)

"Your hands have made me and fashioned me; give me understanding that that I may learn Your commandments." (v. 73)

"Forever, O Lord, Your Word is firmly fixed in the heavens. Your faithfulness endures to all generations; You have established the earth, and it stands fast. By Your appointment they stand this day, for all things are Your servants." (vvs. 89-91)

Please forgive my repetition, but these concepts are new to some, and they are vitally important for us to understand (for a whole slew of reasons) Epistemology accents the wonderment of having God's personal revelation to us--explaining who He is....who we are....the nature of the universe--and our relationship to both. Using just Psalm 119 let us give a brief review of a biblical worldview.

1. What is the nature of God or ultimate reality? (119: 89-91, 137) The word used for God throughout the psalm is LORD....which is Yahweh in the OT--this is the covenant Name of God. He is infinite/personal God who created the heavens and earth...all creation is His servant. Energy is not ultimate reality. The gnostic worldview denies the distinction between Creator and creation, and subverts other creational distinctions.

2. What is our purpose in life? Frankly, had Yahweh not revealed this to us, our lives would be utterly meaningless. (v.97) speaks of loving the bible of God, and the God of the bible..the Great Commandment is our noble purpose as redeemed humans. (v.73) God Himself made and fashioned us...we are not cosmic accidents or descendants of monkeys. And of course Jesus Himself declares that loving God is the greatest commandment. Think of all the alternatives we have come up with to replace loving God as our purpose (or dominant life value, as some put it)...as Calvin said, we are idol factories.

3. What is the nature of reality? It is not an illusion. Matter/energy is not eternal.

(v.89-91) Again, we see that there is a distinction between the Creator and His creation. There are two basic types of reality--the self existent and eternal Creator, and His creation which He created ex nihilo. The physical world is not the full circumference of reality--there is an unseen, spiritual dimension as well.

4. Where is history going? LORD...Yahweh is the faithful God of the covenants--the flow of history (including your personal history) has meaning because history is His-story. The whole psalm points to a God who will hold us accountable for our thoughts, words, and deeds. (v. 19) that we are sojourners here, means that we are preparing to go home! Eastern thought tends to see history as moving in endless, meaningless cycles..NO!

5. What is the basis for morality...or how do we distinguish right from wrong? (v 9, 137, 160) A young person can discover right and wrong by meditating on God's word, which is entirely truthful. Because God is righteous, His laws are righteous..forever. We know that right and wrong are based on the unchanging character of God, as expressed in his written Word. If energy is ultimate reality, then there is no adequate basis for morality. Or if we base it on anything other than God's Word, then it is not a sufficient basis for morality.

6. What does it mean to be human (essential traits)?  v.73 God made us and fashioned us in the womb ( see Ps. 139--fearfully and wonderfully made!) Human beings are not self-referential...As John Calvin said, knowledge of ourselves and knowledge of God are inextricably bound together in a thousand different ways, since we are made in His image. We are certainly not animals or glorified monkeys. We are noble, but we are sinners as well.

7. What happens when we die? Again, we are called "sojourners on earth" (v. 19) We are just passing through this time/place before we enter our eternal rest. We are a body/soul composite, and when we die our soul immediately goes before the Holy Judge of heaven and earth. Death is determinitive of our eternal destiny--either eternity in heaven or hell. At the Last Judgment we will be reunited with our glorified bodies. Hence, any notion of "trapped souls" is repugnant to scripture and to God's holy character. Ed and Lorraine Warren got this issue wrong--unfortunately. Annihilation is also wrong-headed.

(89-91, 99-100,160) All of this discussion would be for naught if it were not for the truth of these verses.The infinite and personal God of the everlasting covenant is really there, and He has not remained silent. His Word is true truth (forever His Word is fixed in heaven) Every one of His righteous rules endures forever. Amen!

Have you ever heard someone say, "I have 35 years researching the paranormal."? I certainly have, and it is often (not always) used as a fact to buttress the force of their argument against what I or someone else has said that contradicted a claim of theirs. Here the psalmist states that he has more true knowledge than his teachers BECAUSE it is grounded in the granite of revealed truth, and not in the shifting sands of man's autonomous speculation.

I have mentioned this example before but it bears repeating: an unbelieving friend of mine, who specializes in getting rid of spirits who are hostile (and they stay busy all year), loudly proclaims two things: they have nearly 40 years of experience, and they have never, ever seen a demon! This is usually followed by a sarcastic, withering criticism of those who stupidly believe that all ghosts are demons. This person is my friend and it grieves me that they are so blind that they cannot even recognize demons when they are attacking or harassing them. Every classic criteria used to determine demonic presence has been met many times over, and yet they still refuse to see reality clearly...tragic, but quite common.If our worldview glasses are distorting our perception of reality, then decades of experience will only make one more foolish in their understanding of the world.

There are no answers to the seven questions above if our epistemology is not grounded in the Word of God. That is, if we do not look to God's revelation to learn what: God is like, the nature of reality, our purpose in life, what is right and wrong...and so on, then we have no adequate foundation for acquiring any knowledge. This may not be exciting, but please know that this is bedrock foundation for building a biblical worldview...reason for getting out of bed and not committing suicide. I am baffled by this optimism which is grounded in a worldview in which impersonal energy is Ultimate reality....that kind of optimism has both feet planted firmly in mid-air.

The paranormal or spirit realm was created by God, He owns it, He sustains it, and He is in absolute sovereign control of it. Hence, next week we shall examine it through a biblical worldview.

Each question is SO basic...if only one is wrong or even partially distorted, it will seriously impact ones life. Yet the majority of people in the world have all of them (seven questions above) partially or totally wrong! Why? Because their epistemology is wrong. This is not rocket science...we either humbly look to God to answer life's most basic questions, or we pridefully look to ourselves...revelation or speculation. We DO have access to the mind of God through the Holy Bible--and that is the foundation of a biblical worldview! Please do try to watch and read with these questions in mind this week...

Part 2 is here: http://eyeontheparanormal.blogspot.com/2016/03/my-basic-beliefs-about-what-paranormal.html

"Seeing Ghosts through God's Eyes" (also in a Kindle edition)...please consider purchasing my book which uses science, logic, and the bible to analyze the true source of power behind paranormal activity.

Demons and Unclean Spirits...Same Thing?

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

I do not usually include such long texts but it is needed to show a pattern...a very significant pattern.This is but a small sampling of what occurs throughout the gospels.

Please slowly read these texts. Are you willing to change your mind if the bible is clear and contradicts what you believe? Specifically, are unclean spirits different than demons, as some assert? Is there a distinction between unclean spirits and demons? A careful reading of below texts should answer this question...unequivocally. More later...

Mark 6
v.7 And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits (ton pneumaton  ton akatharton). 8 He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff-no bread, no bag, no money in their belts- 9 but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. 10 And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. 11 And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” 12 So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. 13 And they cast out many demons (daimonia) and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.

Is there a distinction? (note verses 7 and 13)

Mark 1...
And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. 22 And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. 23 And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit (pneumati akatharto). And he cried out, 24 “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are-the Holy One of God.” 25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26 And the unclean spirit (to pneuma to akatharton), convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. 27 And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits(pneumasi  tois akathartois), and they obey him.” 28 And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee. (please note below on Luke 4:31-37...parallel text)

29 And immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 Now Simon's mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. 31 And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

32 That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons (daimonizomenous). 33 And the whole city was gathered together at the door. 34 And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons (daimonia). And he would not permit the demons (daimonia) to speak, because they knew him.

35 And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. 36 And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, 37 and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” 38 And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” 39 And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons (daimonia).

Is there a distinction?

Mark 5...(if you are rushed and can only read one text, please read this one)

1.They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. 2 And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit (pneumati akatharto). 3 vHe lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, 4 for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. 6 And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him. 7 And crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” 8 For he was saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” (to pneuma to akatharton) 9 And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” 10 And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. 11 Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, 12 and they begged him, saying, “Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.” 13 So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits (ta pneumata ta akatharta)came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea.

14 The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. 15 And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man (daimonizomenon), the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. 16 And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man (daimonizomino) and to the pigs. 17 And they began to beg Jesus4 to depart from their region. 18 As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons (ho daimonistheis)begged him that he might be with him. 19 And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.

Is there a distinction?  (notice the clear and natural transition of terms as the narrative evolves) This one text should resolve the issue once and for all..

The debate continues unabated concerning who/what populates the spirit realm. One argument that I have seen recently is that there is a distinction between unclean spirits and demons. Stated differently, unclean spirits and demons are alleged to not be the same thing--they are different kinds of beings. They may have some similarities, but the alleged dissimilarities are said to be proof of their distinct identities. Usually the bible is used to demonstrate this distinction.Also, one of these beings is said to be stronger than the other. In addition, it is perhaps significant that those who do distinguish between the two, tend to also believe in some forms of trapped human spirits...but that is another story.

So what...what is the big deal? As we have noted before, when dealing with God's Word, we are ordered by God Himself to be as accurate as possible in our interpretation of every text.To mis-interpret is sin...a failure to love God with all of our minds. Second, once you begin multiplying spirit beings confusion is bound to follow. "Is this house occupied by a demon/s or by unclean spirit/s?" Confusion from the outset.(some say that they deal with unclean spirits and demons in the same manner, but that is irrelevant as to our purpose--determining what populates the spirit realm?)

Third, once the multiplying of spirit beings is begun, it is easy to step on the slippery slope of introducing additional beings.(e.g. purgatorial dead, malevolent dead, elementals, etc) But, most importantly, we are simply to be consumed with accurate exegesis and interpretation...handling the precious oracles of God with immense care.

My purpose in this blog is not to analyze the specifics of these texts, but to ask: does the bible differentiate between unclean spirits and demons? Are they different or the same? That is the issue before us.

IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY DONE SO, PLEASE READ SLOWLY THE ABOVE TEXTS FROM THE GOSPEL OF MARK. Btw, I chose these passages almost at random...what you read here is uniform throughout the New Testament, especially the gospels.Next week I think I will deal with what theologians call "progressive revelation", and the Old Testament view of demons and how it is consistent with the NT view, albeit not as clearly or as fully revealed.

Luke 4:31-37 is a parallel passage to Mark 1:21-28. In v 33 (and this is very significant) it states, "And in the synagogue there was a man with a spirit of an unclean demon (pneuma daimoniou akathartou)..." Under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Luke called this being an "unclean demon" which Mark had called an "unclean spirit". The implications are very significant for our purpose. Also, uncleaness and "demoness" are connected in this one verse..further supporting that unclean spirits and demons were seen by the gospel writers as one and the same being. Is it not common sense to view demons as the epitome of uncleaness? That is a reason why the terms are interchangable.Let me elaborate a bit.

In Mark 1:23,26,27 Jesus comes into conflict with "unclean spirits" (pneumati akatharto...pneuma to akarthton....pneumasi tois akathartois--these are the different forms of the same words in the Greek for an unclean spirit/s) in these verses.
(However, hard on its heels, in v 32, 34, Jesus's ministry is casting out "demons" (tous daimonizomous....daiomonia ...ta daimonia ))

The point being that unclean spirits and demons are one and the same. In this text, the beings react the same whether they are called unclean spirits or demons.

Again, in a parallel text in Luke 4, verse 33 speaks of "unclean demons"  35 they are called " to daimonion"  and in v 36 (akathrtos  pneumasin)....interchangable. It could not be clearer....unless one does not want to see.

In the classic text of Mark 5, you will have noticed that this poor man is possessed by a  being which is first called an unclean spirit/s, but as the story unfolds Mark begins to use "demon" terminology. To me, it could not be clearer--the Holy Spirit uses demons and unclean spirits as synonyms. The bible frequently uses multiple terms for the same being to accent different things. Jesus Himself, had many names/titles but they all refer to one and same Divine Person, accenting different facets of His person and work. Satan has multiple names as well, so why all the fuss about some alleged distinction between unclean spirits and demons? Every judicious commentator on these verses sees demons and unclean spirits as the same thing.

If you read the above passages carefully, then it should be obvious that the various gospel writers used "unclean spirits" and "demons" as synonyms..I have minimized my comments in order to let the focus be on the sacred text.

All of the Greek texts which refer to unclean spirits have some form of...pneumna (spirit) akatharton (unclean), and the texts which speak of demons have some form of (daimon). I try not to overdo the original languages because I don't want to undermine your confidence in the integrity of the English bible translations...in this case the ESV. I just wanted the reader to see in the original how these two terms are used interchangeably. Bottom line--unclean spirits are demons, and demons are unclean spirits.No distinction! It is clear as the noon-day sun.

"Seeing Ghosts through God's Eyes" (also in a Kindle edition)...please consider purchasing my book which uses science, logic, and the bible to analyze the true source of power behind paranormal activity.

Act of Smudging - Witchcraft Ritual

So the question that gets asked to the Exorcism Ministry quite frequently is “Is it okay if I were to smudge my house to remove “negative energies?”  During this blog we hope to help you discover the “Biblical Truth” of what the Holy Bible states regarding this pagan ritualistic act practicing witchcraft.

Yes you read that correctly.  Smudging is Witchcraft.  First of all so all of you understand Sage will NOT work to cleanse a Demonic location.  In the previous blogs, we made reference to the fact that it is the Fallen Angels who are posing as the culprits.  In other words as Jesus Christ said recorded in Matthew 7:15 (KJV) “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”

So let’s look at this in a different aspect shall we.  Say you are walking home and a group of creepy individuals begin to stalk you, yelling threats and insults at you as they quickly close the distance between yourself and them.  Would you run over to a rock or a mailbox and beg it to protect you from these individuals?

Of course not, that wouldn't make any sense would it.  A mailbox doesn't have ears to hear you asking for help, and a rock doesn't understand language, right?  So why would you use a plant to battle Demonic forces?  This plant does not comprehend you are in trouble and need of protection.  Wouldn't it make sense that if you’re in trouble you would seek the help of someone who is stronger than those who want to harm you?

Who is bigger than the darkness and the bumps in the night?  God is, specifically his one and only son, Jesus Christ who beat death and rose again to eternal life with decisive victory.

Isn't it logical, that if you are having issues with the infestation or heavy oppression in a house you would ask someone who already beat them and is much greater source of protection? The request to a greater and stronger force, such as God (i.e. Jesus Christ) to protect you from an ancient evil rather than a few smoldering leaves?

Now, there are many who burn sage because that's what everybody on the ghost hunting/paranormal shows are doing.  The other aspect is, one of the many dubious "experts" on the paranormal told them to do this and naively they “obeyed” without so much as a second guess to find out if this is correct.

So then what is it you are doing when “smudging?”  You are engaging in Nature Worship – Paganism.  The act of burning this plant with the hopes of “clearing” a place of Demons becomes an act against what the Ministry of Jesus stood for.  Thus, reciting words in addition to this act of burning the plant to create “smoke” becomes an offering of homage which is not from Christ.  This very act of paganism becomes known as Witchcraft.

Requesting a plant to give you or someone else protection from forces of evil is just absurd.  Nature worship is as old as the hills so I won't spend much time explaining it, but for those who don't know what it is Google nature worship.

Basically doing this act boils down to worshiping the creation instead of the creator.  In addition to this just not being an effective way to protect yourself from the Demonic (realize Ghosts don’t exist – Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6 & 10), you are adding insult to injury.

By practicing this act of nature worship you are saying to the Demons, "I don't need God."  This is like trying to put out a fire with gasoline.  This also makes one open to attack by Evil from the spirit realm, because you openly mock God (Galatians 6:7)

The act of rejecting God and taking it upon yourself, thinking you have the power to attempt to fix the mess or that you know better, opens the gateway for all types of Demonic attacks into your life.  This allows one to become proud enough to say "I have the power ~ I will fix this."  This how you make yourself vulnerable.  A little plant that goes good with beef or lamb is not going to do the trick and has no power over Demons.

Now if you are seeking a Priest or Pastor to perform a simple Exorcism on your house (because confirmed diabolical actions are present) and you tell the Priest or Pastor that you smudged, many of the clergy will refuse to help you.  Why?  You’re a practicing pagan by your actions of plant usage to ward off Demons.

The data used to write this article was taken during Exorcism’s with a reformed Wiccan, turned Christian.  This person went on to tell me in a frank manner that during the numerous years that they were a practicing “good” witch, they burned bushels of the stuff and it never did a thing for protection against Evil even when manifesting near her.

The only time in her life did she receive any protection from the Demonic realm began just about a year ago after she came to learn the truth about God.  Believe her when she stated “I tried everything and looked for protection but absolutely none of it was ever effective in keeping me safe, except the word of God.”

So the moral of the story is this you either ask Jesus Christ for help or you try your luck with the “elementals” with the Demonic, as well as whatever else is out there masquerading as Mother Nature and her "elementals".

Regardless of how convincing or sincere people can be, mixing a little nature worship into their watered down faith in God is dangerous. Just remember this: "No man can serve two masters” (Luke 16:13; Matthew 6:24).

For Christians, in name only, who practice this act of smudging, who feel it is not an issue to do a little nature worship you need to be reminded of God's thoughts regarding this very dangerous act: read Isaiah 44:14-20.  The mighty King was to be chopped down much like Lucifer fell from Heaven.  Yes, we are under authority of the true King Jesus, thus we are righteous in his eyes.  So as we can see the only way to defeat evil is with the name of Jesus Christ, not using false items or occult practices.

See additional scripture for support to this claim that “any false worship” is NOT sanctioned by God or his son Jesus Christ.

Exodus 34:14 "For you shall worship no other god..."
Exodus 20:3 "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."
Luke 4:8 "...Jesus answered.... Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
1 Samuel 12:24 "...serve him in truth with all your heart..."
Exodus 20:5 "Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them..."
Exodus 23:24 "Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works...."

Rev. Bradley Luoma, Exorcist Minister

Trapped Spirits ... What Would Jesus Do?

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

Many millions are curious or confused as to how to relate to the paranormal craze. If you are a Christian, then you have likely asked yourself, “How does my Christian faith inform my views of paranormal activity…how do they relate?”

Would it not be cool if we had a record of how Jesus viewed and interacted with the paranormal realm?  The wonderful thing is that we have four inspired biographies of Jesus’ life, which explicitly reveal Jesus attitude toward, and interaction with, the paranormal realm (or heavenlies, spirit realm, invisible realm).

WWJD?  What would Jesus do?  That is, what would Jesus do today regarding how to view and interact with the paranormal realm? Of course, if we can definitively answer how Jesus interacted with the spirit realm, then that should go a long way to answering how WE should view/interact with the spirit realm, shouldn’t it? May I suggest that you read the four gospels (or choose one) and while reading, have this question on the front-burner: how often does Jesus interact with the trapped spirits of His day? (given basic ghost formation theory, then there should have been a ton of dead humans trapped here on earth) Many Christians are curious or confused as to how their faith relates to the current paranormal craze, and what better way to answer that question than to watch our Master at work.

If you read, say the gospel of Mark, then what becomes immediately obvious is how much time Jesus spent dealing with folks who had “paranormal issues.” No other spiritual leader comes close to Jesus’ near fixation on helping those with “paranormal problems.”

That being the case—how often did Jesus speak to deceased humans? Put another way, how often did they seek Jesus out for help, and how often did Jesus approach deceased humans in order to free them? If you have never done this exercise before, it is quite revealing and instructive!

The first thing we will notice in His bio’s are the innumerable folks He helps who are demon possessed! Like today, demonic activity increased when Jesus was incarnated. Hence, true diabolical possession was a terrible reality which Jesus forcefully and authoritatively dealt with thousands of times during His three year public ministry.

So, when you read the inspired biographies with fresh eyes, how many deceased humans approach their Creator, as countless demoniacs did?  ZERO   Ummm… what is the deal? Since demons and deceased humans are generally said to dwell in same paranormal spiritual ghetto-world (don’t we allegedly have a lot of evidence revealing demonic bullying beyond the grave?) Regardless, I must ask the question again—how many trapped spirits approached Jesus for help…or just revealed themselves as they are supposedly doing to us today? In all four gospels, with a wide variety of spirit realm issues arising, there is not a single recorded case of a trapped spirit trying to get Jesus attention, or vice versa.

How about the opposite—how many trapped spirits did Jesus assertively contact?  How many instances of Jesus speaking to trapped spirits in order to help them? NONE. We have many Christians attempting communication with the souls of deceased loved ones, yet Jesus never did that. Never…not according to His Spirit inspired biographies.

WWJD? That question is rooted in what Jesus has already done during His public ministry. Jesus is our Master, our Lord—we follow His example (when appropriate). AND JESUS NEVER COMMUNICATED WITH EARTHBOUND SPIRITS.

The above argument is simple. Our Master is recorded as having innumerable encounters with demons (encounters with angels as well), but He never encountered trapped human spirits. When I wrote my book, this argument was the most persuasive one I had come across—it remains so. Will you read  the gospel of Mark and ask yourself…WDJD—what did Jesus do? Then you will be ready to ask, WWJD?

God Really, Really Hates Ghosts

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

¹The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,²"Say to the people of Israel, Any one of the people of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones.³I myself will set my face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given one of his children to Molech, to make my sanctuary unclean and to profane my holy name.

⁴And if the people of the land do at all close their eyes to that man when he gives one of his children to Molech, and do not put him to death,⁵then I will set my face against that man and against his clan and will cut them off from among their people, him and all who follow him in whoring after Molech.⁶If a person turns to mediums and necromancers, whoring after them, I will set my face against that person and will cut him off from among his people.


The same God, who created the universe, uttered the words above. As Creator, He has the authority to hate and be angry with whatever/whoever He wants…always in keeping with His just character. In verses 1-5 the Lord tells His covenant community that He detests the practice of child sacrifice to Molech. He hates it so much that He declares that it is a capital crime. I read this text in my personal devotion today, and it is what comes next that particularly struck me. In v.4 the Lord says that if the people fail to put the perpetrator to death, then He will cut his life short. How terrifying it would be to have the Lord set His face against a person and pledge to cut him off—which is simply another way of saying to “kill” someone. When the Jews were circumcised, the foreskin was cut off as a sign of blessing and curse—as members of God’s holy covenant community, they would be blessed if they believed and obeyed, and they would be cursed if they were disobedient. On the cross, Jesus became The Circumcised One—cut off from the Father. From the context, it is clear that the Lord would Himself kill the practitioner of child sacrifice to Molech. Does that not indicate how much He hates that practice?

However, the Lord’s pledge to avenge unpunished wrongdoing does not end there (and this is key)—in v. 6 God Almighty states that He will personally kill people for two other sins if the covenant community does not follow through with the death penalty. Along with killing one’s own child by sacrificing them to Molech, Yahweh says that seeking after mediums and necromancers will result in He Himself killing that person (if they are not properly dealt with judicially). THAT is what leapt off the page this morning when I read it…God promised that He would kill anyone who committed those three sins—that is how much He hates them. As I showed in an earlier post, there are gradations to sins seriousness…and God has revealed three that top the list.

Notice that it is not the mediums and necromancers who are singled out for His special wrath (though surely that is implied), but the people who seek them out. What does that mean for today? Since there is not a theocracy anymore, then the death penalty has been discontinued in the New Testament for being involved with mediums and attempting to traffic with the dead. (there is a distinction between sin and crime). What does carry over from the Old Testament to today is this principle: the Holy God has particular revulsion for mediumistic activity as well as any practice that involves seeking the dead. Here is what truly frightens me—all the folks actively investigating the spirit realm, are the objects of His special displeasure and wrath. Rom.1:18 explicitly says that God’s wrath is currently being poured out from heaven upon those who suppress the truth, and then fall into dark practices. God is immutable (unchanging), so if He actively punished those who sought mediums as well as interaction with the dead, then there is every reason to believe that is still the case.

Every square inch of the Old Testament is applicable to today, and has up to the second relevance…THE CHALLENGE IS KNOWING HOW IT IS APPLICABLE. Just because the sacrificial system has been abrogated by the once-for-all sacrifice of the Messiah, that does not mean that all the various sacrifices have no purpose for today. Each one highlights an essential aspect of Christ’s atonement, and helps us to understand the many splendored wonder of the cross. There is both continuity and dis-continuity. Similarly, the death penalty has been discontinued, but certainly God’s resolute anger towards, and special punishment of, mediums and spiritism flows with continuity into our era…especially in light of the reality of Rom.1:18ff. Why does God accent the particular repugnance of these three sins? As Creator He can pull rank and not answer that—I really think it is important that we understand God can do what He wants with or without our approval. Nevertheless, the fact that all three sins lead one into direct contact with the demonic is certainly something that sheds light on the situation. Intentional contact with the spirit realm is exceedingly dangerous, and angers God mightily.

Since God created the world, then He has the authority to hate and punish how He wishes (God does love everyone, and forgiveness is available to all who embrace the gospel).According to God, all those who mess with alleged ghosts are spiritually whoring (v. 6). Can God still hurt people? He most certainly can and does…and He has said He will severely punish all who mess with mediums and ghosts. Yes, God expresses more grace in the New Covenant, but that does not abrogate or do away with the continuity of basic principles from Old to New Testament. God really, really hates the notion of ghosts…do you?