Just touching upon a subject in this blog that will most likely require much more in-depth aspects for people to truly understand. Today I will cover one crucial aspect called Speaking in Tongues. There are those people who profess to 'speak in tongues' and then there are those 'who do not speak in tongues'.
So by an examination of that matter let's quickly look at the points to be made. Is speaking in tongues still valid today or required to this day? Or is speaking in tongues nothing more than modern day 'demonic jibber-jabber'? In this blog I will help you learn the truth which can have dire consequences.
First thing we need to understand is this: one of the most intriguing, yet least understood Heaven-bestowed gifts is that of speaking in tongues. Many Christians today believe that unless a person has received this “gift of the Holy Spirit” and can “speak in tongues” then he or she has not yet been “baptized by the Spirit.”
Speaking in tongues is typically used as a test to prove whether or not a person has been saved. The “speaking in tongues” that is practiced by many Christians today when they say they are praying or worshipping, is totally contrary to the genuine, Biblical speaking in tongues. Re-read this again if you don't understand what was just written.
For the apostle Paul believed in the gift of tongues, but he (Paul) understood that a true gift of tongues was ALWAYS a legitimate language which could be understood! Hence Paul, more than any other New Testament writer, wrote of the gift of tongues. Paul warned against the modern meaningless noise (just modern day demonic jibber-jabber) that many Today call the “gift of tongues.” For as true followers of Christ Jesus we are called to “But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more impiety.” (See 2 Timothy 2:16).
Therefore, it is recorded 1 Corinthians 14:18-19 (KJV) "I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all: Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue." Today the tongues which is given is not a known language but rather an unknown language, which then stems from the kingdom of evil thus a demonic trick to edify this person as being ‘truly baptized’.
The Apostle Paul explained the difference between those who make senseless noise (which is what is happening today) versus those who have actually been gifted with the ability to instruct others of truth in a foreign language. Follow this up with the words as follows 1 Corinthians 14:4-5 (KJV) "He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church. I would that ye all spake with tongues but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying."
Now let's go a bit deeper shall we. According to the holy word we find this: “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance ... Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.” —Acts 2:4,6. The Bible says that the people from other nations HEARD (Acts 2:6-8) in their own native tongue (i.e., language). Re-read this once again so you understand – Tongues is a true known language unknown to the speaker and the person who hears and then understands!
What those who actually experienced that day recorded in the Bible was HEARING IN TONGUES, which is totally different. The Apostle Peter never spoke any language other than the Greek he normally spoke in. It is IMPOSSIBLE to reconcile the demonic jibber-jabber of Pentecostals or Charismatics today with the miracle of tongues found in the Bible. Acts 2:9-11 mentions sixteen different nations which were present on the Day of Pentecost. Acts 2:8 plainly states that each man HEARD the Gospel in his own native tongue in which he was born. How does this compare with the so called Charismatic speaking in tongues today that makes NO SENSE TO ANYONE?
Many have all heard the term "speaking in tongues"; but, no one actually spoke in tongues in the Bible. Rather, they spoke in their OWN language, and the listeners then heard and understood the message spoken in their OWN native language. We read in Acts 2:8-11, "And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?
Parthians, Medes, Elamites, the dwellers in Mesopotamia, in Judaea, Cappadocia, in Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, in Egypt, in the parts of Libya, Cyrene, strangers of Rome, Jews, Proselytes, Crete’s and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God." So none of the Apostles, nor any of the New Testament saints, ever spoke in some unknown so called Heavenly jibber-jabber; but rather, in their own native language.
This is confirmed in Acts 2:8. The gift, or miracle, of tongues had manifested in the HEARING of the Word, and NOT the speaking. The term "speaking in tongues" is often misunderstood and is somewhat of a misnomer. When the Bible mentions "speaking in tongues," it is referring to truly hearing in tongues. When the Gentile converts spoke with "tongues" in Acts 10:46, it was the same Greek word for "tongues" as in Acts 2:4 ("glossa," meaning, "the language or dialect used by a particular people distinct from that of other nations."). It was a KNOWN earthly language. The same Greek word is used by the Apostle Paul in 1st Corinthians 14:18, "I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all." However, Paul had the GIFT of tongues, which is different from the MIRACLE of tongues in Acts 2. Paul was fluent in different languages, just as many people today are gifted in being able to learn several different languages.
The same is true of musical instruments. Some people are gifted writers. Now, nearly anyone can write something, but few people can write in such a way that others are compelled to read their works. The "gifts" of the Spirit are different from the miracles of God. The gift of tongues still exists today; but the Apostolic miracles of tongues and healing ceased during the New Testament, which is evidenced by Paul's inability to later heal himself, Timothy, and Trophimus. God does still heal today, but he works through the prayers of the saints, and requires for us to be reconciled with our Christian brethren (James 5:15-16). More importantly to be properly baptized in the spirit means that each person must be obedient and do the will of the Father, just as Christ Jesus did!
So as you have learned “speaking in tongues” should be questioned as well as tested properly for it probably is demonic jibber-jabber. I pray this has helped someone today have both their heart and mind opened on the aspect of this area.
Rev. Bradley Luoma, Exorcist & Deliverance Minister
Looking inside the spiritual & literary worlds
Sunday, February 21, 2016
Saturday, February 20, 2016
Can Demonic Attacks Really Happen During Dreaming?
Oh this is another common question I receive since the release of some movie a few years back. Can't remember the name to save my life. Grrrr...Demons will attach themselves to people when they are weak, if they can, but they will also work on those who think they are untouchable and too strong. Many people are struggling against the demonic who will not leave them alone. HUGE, HUGE mistake if you are truly thinking your physical strength will help you, your mental strength is what is being challenged. Make no mistake. The armor of God is what we need. A dream is a physical thing happening within you’re brain. I don't think at all it isnt impossible for a demonic entity to invade one in that manner. Sadly these things can’t be proved or defined in an actual way, so we can’t know what their limits at all. It's very disturbing. If you go on you tube you will find countless info on how to summon demons. Some are very Real summoning incantations too. Even satanic masses are secretly recorded. It's all over. Dark and evil has become cool almost. Even just looking at this abomination on YouTube could inadvertently draw the attention of the wrong person's attention as long as you don't become obsessed with it and you're just looking at it for research purposes you're OK. You just never want to fixate on this subject at all or anything to do with it.
2 weeks ago I wrote about Sleep Paralysis so feel free for reference to read it. When we sleep, our brains produce chemicals to paralyze our bodies. Otherwise, we would act out our dreams. Sleep walkers have a deficiency of these chemicals and others. Some Might be exiting out of the “paralyzed” state and this is the result of being unable to move or speak until you are back to your conscious state of mind. It's called Sleep Paralysis.
The most associated with demons is that of the “Incubus” or "Incubi" a term which translates to a male demon having sexual intercourse with a sleeping female. These dreams or visitations happening is very frightening. It is most common for those experiencing the “Incubus” subtype of hallucinations to believe that they encountered a demon or were victim of a demonic attack. In a majority of cases, people claim that the demon they encounter was attempting to murder them in their sleep.
Some Causes Of Demonic Dreams:
Bad associations
Cursed Items
Family Curses
And For no reason at all. Just to get to your soul or torment you.
Here are some bible verses on dreams..
Genesis 40:8 Jacob Dreamed
11 Then the Angel of God spoke to me in a dream, saying, 'Jacob.' And I said, 'Here I am.'24 But God had come to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said to him, "Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad."
Gen31:11,24
Genesis 28
12 Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
"And the Lord said to them, “Now listen to what I say:
“If there were prophets among you,I, the Lord, would reveal myself in visions. I would speak to them in dreams."
Numbers 12:6
"He speaks in dreams, in visions of the night,
when deep sleep falls on people as they lie in their beds."
Job 33:15
I found the following at www.dreamhawk.com. I thought it was interesting:
It could be expressions of you feeling threatened by. You may feel an urge is sinful, so you repress it. Your dream then presents it as a demon or devil, not necessarily because it is, but because that’s how you see it. Thus, a person who has terrible feelings of guilt about sexual urges, may represent them as a demon threatening to possess them. Therefore a demon may represent guilt, hatred, feelings of uncleanness, aggressiveness or desire for love, and so on. See: Devil; Satan
Although many dreams about demons are probably reflecting anxiety feelings and struggles we have with moral issues or sex, sometimes the battle with demons can be about our body fighting a virus or bacterial infection. See: devil
Example: We were trying to cross the hall diagonally toward the exit, but were constantly attacked or haunted by black demons or ghosts. I was fighting them off, but the struggle went on and on as they came back. Then toward the end I had a large pole and I was smashing them aside shouting, “By the power of God within me, I dismiss you” – or words to that effect."
This is really such a very difficult subject to give you foolproof answers that will satisfy everybody. In closing I would just tell people to ask God every night to protect you. Saying prayers every night without fail and really believe and you will notice changes they are very, very terrified of Jesus.
Written By Jennifer Auld
2 weeks ago I wrote about Sleep Paralysis so feel free for reference to read it. When we sleep, our brains produce chemicals to paralyze our bodies. Otherwise, we would act out our dreams. Sleep walkers have a deficiency of these chemicals and others. Some Might be exiting out of the “paralyzed” state and this is the result of being unable to move or speak until you are back to your conscious state of mind. It's called Sleep Paralysis.
The most associated with demons is that of the “Incubus” or "Incubi" a term which translates to a male demon having sexual intercourse with a sleeping female. These dreams or visitations happening is very frightening. It is most common for those experiencing the “Incubus” subtype of hallucinations to believe that they encountered a demon or were victim of a demonic attack. In a majority of cases, people claim that the demon they encounter was attempting to murder them in their sleep.
Some Causes Of Demonic Dreams:
Bad associations
Cursed Items
Family Curses
And For no reason at all. Just to get to your soul or torment you.
Here are some bible verses on dreams..
Genesis 40:8 Jacob Dreamed
11 Then the Angel of God spoke to me in a dream, saying, 'Jacob.' And I said, 'Here I am.'24 But God had come to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said to him, "Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad."
Gen31:11,24
Genesis 28
12 Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
"And the Lord said to them, “Now listen to what I say:
“If there were prophets among you,I, the Lord, would reveal myself in visions. I would speak to them in dreams."
Numbers 12:6
"He speaks in dreams, in visions of the night,
when deep sleep falls on people as they lie in their beds."
Job 33:15
I found the following at www.dreamhawk.com. I thought it was interesting:
It could be expressions of you feeling threatened by. You may feel an urge is sinful, so you repress it. Your dream then presents it as a demon or devil, not necessarily because it is, but because that’s how you see it. Thus, a person who has terrible feelings of guilt about sexual urges, may represent them as a demon threatening to possess them. Therefore a demon may represent guilt, hatred, feelings of uncleanness, aggressiveness or desire for love, and so on. See: Devil; Satan
Although many dreams about demons are probably reflecting anxiety feelings and struggles we have with moral issues or sex, sometimes the battle with demons can be about our body fighting a virus or bacterial infection. See: devil
Example: We were trying to cross the hall diagonally toward the exit, but were constantly attacked or haunted by black demons or ghosts. I was fighting them off, but the struggle went on and on as they came back. Then toward the end I had a large pole and I was smashing them aside shouting, “By the power of God within me, I dismiss you” – or words to that effect."
This is really such a very difficult subject to give you foolproof answers that will satisfy everybody. In closing I would just tell people to ask God every night to protect you. Saying prayers every night without fail and really believe and you will notice changes they are very, very terrified of Jesus.
Written By Jennifer Auld
Thursday, February 18, 2016
Was Jesus Christ a Ghost?!
By Reverend Mark Hunnemann
It has surprised me the number of seminary trained Christians whom I respect point to the text in Mark 6 as proof positive that Jesus believed in ghosts. They say it is the clearest text of Jesus affirming the existence of human spirits/ghosts populating the earth, and that Jesus Himself believed in ghosts because He did not correct his disciples when they thought/said Jesus was a ghost as He walked on the water. Though I dealt with this in my book, I want to address this again in more detail. What I want to do is take the cumulative evidence to show that Jesus was NOT affirming the existence of ghosts. As we shall see, the Holy Spirit's intent for this text is antithetical to the notion of ghosts. "Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. 47 And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. 48 And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, 50 for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid." 51 And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, 52 for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened."
1. It is important to put this text in context. Mark, spokesman for Peter, wrote this "docudrama" in order to persuade people to be followers of Jesus--words and actions of Jesus are presented by Mark to draw true disciples to our Divine Messiah. This episode is "hooked" into the preceding narrative of Jesus miraculously feeding over 10,000 people by using the word "immediately". (5,000 was just the men) Jesus is trying to show his obtuse disciples that He was the "greater then Moses" by giving us eternal Bread, and not ephemeral manna.The parallel text in Matthew 14, which includes Peter walking on the water, is also followed by the word "immediately". This is important because the authors want us to connect what had just happened (empirical evidence of Jesus' deity as seen in miracle of feeding of large multitude)The disciples were eyewitnesses of this profound miracle. In order to interpret this text correctly, we must remember that didactic/teaching texts interpret historical narratives.Both in the OT and NT followers of God did and said many wrong things, which are not always corrected by the editor. The classic case is Jepthah (Judges 11:30--who vowed to kill the first thing that came out of his tent, if God gave him victory. His daughter came out of his tent to congratulate him and was condemned to death. Jepthah had made an unbiblical vow--which the bible had made provisions for him to repent of. However, it seems that he did not repent and felt obliged to follow through with his horrible vow--he killed his daughter. However, the editor does not explicitly condemn this act. The inspired editor assumed prior knowledge of his readers. Anyone conversant with Leviticus/Deuteronomy would know that wrongful vows should not be acted upon, and that Jepthah SHOULD have known human sacrifice was repugnant to God. The editor assumes this prior knowledge, but does not give commentary. That is that danger of drawing doctrine from the silence of historical narrative. The same is true of the NT. Many evil words and actions are recorded in the historical books of the bible but are not always condemned. It is HISTORY. In the NT there are numerous examples of the disciples saying/doing whacko things prior to Pentecost,but Jesus did not always correct them (e.g. Transfiguration experience where Peter stuck his foot in his mouth, again)....a precedent of the disciple NOT being rebuked by Jesus for saying stupid things.
2. What was the Holy Spirit's intent in above text? Was it to prove the notion of ghosts? NO!! This text, and its parallel text in Matthew 14. was included to prove that Jesus was Yahweh! How sad and ironic that it is used to "prove" that Jesus believed in ghosts. Jesus intentionally "walked by them" in order for them to see Him, and thus give empirical evidence that He was the Creator of Heaven and Earth. By walking on the water Jesus wanted them to see Him walking in the midst of a ferocious storm to show He was the Lord of creation. "it is I....."ego eimi"...I AM" echoing Exodus 3:14 )By walking on the water in a furious storm He was demonstrating that He was Lord over creation, and that there was no need to be afraid. Not only Jesus' actions but His words were designed to show the disciples that He was/is God Almighty. The Septuagint uses the same word for "passed by" when Moses experienced God "passing by" him )Exodus 33:19,22....giving Moses/disciples a glimpse of God's glory. In Mark 6:48 "walking on the sea" echoes the Septuagint Job 9:8 where "God trampled upon the sea"....same Greek words. The Holy Spirit's intent in this text is to accent the deity of the Lord Jesus--King over creation (see Mark 4).
3. First century Judaism was rife with superstition and theological confusion. For example, Jewish leaders believed in salvation by good works, and the popular superstition of a plentitude of ghosts was rampant, as it has been since the dawn of time. Peter and the rest of the disciples were deeply effected by common superstition, and were very slow to change until after Pentecost.
4. Why would they call Jesus a "ghost" when they had just seem him a few hours earlier...very much alive? Was He a ghost of a living Person? Perhaps they were terrified because they thought this was a demon trying to deceive them? That is an option not often mentioned. Either way, with an abundance evidence for Jesus' deity, why would they call Him a ghost? How could God be a ghost?! This is (and the parallel text) is the only place that "phantasm" is used, which can mean superstitious imagination.
5. Recall that the Holy Spirits intent was to exalt the deity of Jesus, and the disciples de-exalted Him by calling Him a "ghost".
6. So, why did not Jesus correct them? First, we do not know if Jesus corrected them or not because in many cases the entirety of what Jesus said is not recorded. But my guess is that He did not correct them....not then, anyway. Why? They were deathly afraid! He was keen on comforting them, and not correcting them.It is an argument from silence to say that Jesus must have agreed with them since He did not correct them.The most common negative command that Jesus uttered was, "Do no be afraid!" If your child was drowning, and you jumped in to save them, what would be your first words to them?
7. In a context in which the deity of Jesus is being accented, it must have broken Jesus' heart that His disciples responded so faithlessly. He "walked by" in a manner to empirically display His Lordship over the storm, but the lesson was lost on them. Instead they became wild-eyed with fear, and superstition enveloped them like a cocoon.
8. To say that Jesus must have believed in roaming human spirits because He did not (that we know of) correct His disciples, is an argument from silence--a logical fallacy. Jesus/apostles did warn us of Satan and demons, but they never warn us of roaming human spirits. This is NOT an argument from silence because knowing who populates the spirit realm is utterly necessary for discernment and victory in spiritual warfare. As an exorcist, how can I properly proceed if I do not know exactly who/what may infesting the house/person? Jesus never cast out a human spirit from a human...only demons.
9. Not all historical narratives are bereft of teaching or editorial comment.v.52 is an inspired editorial commentary on this whole episode--they were afraid and their hearts were hardened. Faith Vs fear, and teachability vs hardened hearts. Unlike many historical narratives, this one is concluded with an editorial comment. This is extremely important in interpreting this text accurately. Everything...EVERYTHING...the disciples did and said has a shadow cast over it. Everything they said and did was compelled by fear and hard-heartedness. Their comment re: Jesus being a ghost was an expression of both fear and hardness of heart. They did not learn from the feeding of the 5,000 (or the 4,000) that Jesus was God almighty. How utterly tragic that they would call Him a ghost, when what He was doing and saying displayed that He was the culmination of the I AM". It is difficult to over-state the significance of this concluding comment...it renders the ghost comment utterly suspect.
10. The epistles were written largely to interpret the actions and words of Jesus. After Pentecost, ghosts are never mentioned again--except the deceased spirits in heaven or hell (e.g. Moses and Elijah). To those who are unduly affected by the fact that the bible does not mention Jesus correcting their comment that He was a ghost, was He a ghost in that text? NO! As parents, do we correct our kids EVERY TIME they make a mistake? The bible says that would break their spirits if we do. If your child was in danger of drowning and was frightened, would you feel the need to immediately correct them of anything dumb they may have uttered in their terror? I hope not....rather we would embrace them.
With an issue as significant as ghosts, we cannot camp on a text in which we are told explicitly that they were full of terror and hardness of heart, which casts a long shadow over everything they said. It is much more plausible that their cry of "ghost" was fueled by superstition.
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.
It has surprised me the number of seminary trained Christians whom I respect point to the text in Mark 6 as proof positive that Jesus believed in ghosts. They say it is the clearest text of Jesus affirming the existence of human spirits/ghosts populating the earth, and that Jesus Himself believed in ghosts because He did not correct his disciples when they thought/said Jesus was a ghost as He walked on the water. Though I dealt with this in my book, I want to address this again in more detail. What I want to do is take the cumulative evidence to show that Jesus was NOT affirming the existence of ghosts. As we shall see, the Holy Spirit's intent for this text is antithetical to the notion of ghosts. "Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. 47 And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. 48 And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, 50 for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid." 51 And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, 52 for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened."
1. It is important to put this text in context. Mark, spokesman for Peter, wrote this "docudrama" in order to persuade people to be followers of Jesus--words and actions of Jesus are presented by Mark to draw true disciples to our Divine Messiah. This episode is "hooked" into the preceding narrative of Jesus miraculously feeding over 10,000 people by using the word "immediately". (5,000 was just the men) Jesus is trying to show his obtuse disciples that He was the "greater then Moses" by giving us eternal Bread, and not ephemeral manna.The parallel text in Matthew 14, which includes Peter walking on the water, is also followed by the word "immediately". This is important because the authors want us to connect what had just happened (empirical evidence of Jesus' deity as seen in miracle of feeding of large multitude)The disciples were eyewitnesses of this profound miracle. In order to interpret this text correctly, we must remember that didactic/teaching texts interpret historical narratives.Both in the OT and NT followers of God did and said many wrong things, which are not always corrected by the editor. The classic case is Jepthah (Judges 11:30--who vowed to kill the first thing that came out of his tent, if God gave him victory. His daughter came out of his tent to congratulate him and was condemned to death. Jepthah had made an unbiblical vow--which the bible had made provisions for him to repent of. However, it seems that he did not repent and felt obliged to follow through with his horrible vow--he killed his daughter. However, the editor does not explicitly condemn this act. The inspired editor assumed prior knowledge of his readers. Anyone conversant with Leviticus/Deuteronomy would know that wrongful vows should not be acted upon, and that Jepthah SHOULD have known human sacrifice was repugnant to God. The editor assumes this prior knowledge, but does not give commentary. That is that danger of drawing doctrine from the silence of historical narrative. The same is true of the NT. Many evil words and actions are recorded in the historical books of the bible but are not always condemned. It is HISTORY. In the NT there are numerous examples of the disciples saying/doing whacko things prior to Pentecost,but Jesus did not always correct them (e.g. Transfiguration experience where Peter stuck his foot in his mouth, again)....a precedent of the disciple NOT being rebuked by Jesus for saying stupid things.
2. What was the Holy Spirit's intent in above text? Was it to prove the notion of ghosts? NO!! This text, and its parallel text in Matthew 14. was included to prove that Jesus was Yahweh! How sad and ironic that it is used to "prove" that Jesus believed in ghosts. Jesus intentionally "walked by them" in order for them to see Him, and thus give empirical evidence that He was the Creator of Heaven and Earth. By walking on the water Jesus wanted them to see Him walking in the midst of a ferocious storm to show He was the Lord of creation. "it is I....."ego eimi"...I AM" echoing Exodus 3:14 )By walking on the water in a furious storm He was demonstrating that He was Lord over creation, and that there was no need to be afraid. Not only Jesus' actions but His words were designed to show the disciples that He was/is God Almighty. The Septuagint uses the same word for "passed by" when Moses experienced God "passing by" him )Exodus 33:19,22....giving Moses/disciples a glimpse of God's glory. In Mark 6:48 "walking on the sea" echoes the Septuagint Job 9:8 where "God trampled upon the sea"....same Greek words. The Holy Spirit's intent in this text is to accent the deity of the Lord Jesus--King over creation (see Mark 4).
3. First century Judaism was rife with superstition and theological confusion. For example, Jewish leaders believed in salvation by good works, and the popular superstition of a plentitude of ghosts was rampant, as it has been since the dawn of time. Peter and the rest of the disciples were deeply effected by common superstition, and were very slow to change until after Pentecost.
4. Why would they call Jesus a "ghost" when they had just seem him a few hours earlier...very much alive? Was He a ghost of a living Person? Perhaps they were terrified because they thought this was a demon trying to deceive them? That is an option not often mentioned. Either way, with an abundance evidence for Jesus' deity, why would they call Him a ghost? How could God be a ghost?! This is (and the parallel text) is the only place that "phantasm" is used, which can mean superstitious imagination.
5. Recall that the Holy Spirits intent was to exalt the deity of Jesus, and the disciples de-exalted Him by calling Him a "ghost".
6. So, why did not Jesus correct them? First, we do not know if Jesus corrected them or not because in many cases the entirety of what Jesus said is not recorded. But my guess is that He did not correct them....not then, anyway. Why? They were deathly afraid! He was keen on comforting them, and not correcting them.It is an argument from silence to say that Jesus must have agreed with them since He did not correct them.The most common negative command that Jesus uttered was, "Do no be afraid!" If your child was drowning, and you jumped in to save them, what would be your first words to them?
7. In a context in which the deity of Jesus is being accented, it must have broken Jesus' heart that His disciples responded so faithlessly. He "walked by" in a manner to empirically display His Lordship over the storm, but the lesson was lost on them. Instead they became wild-eyed with fear, and superstition enveloped them like a cocoon.
8. To say that Jesus must have believed in roaming human spirits because He did not (that we know of) correct His disciples, is an argument from silence--a logical fallacy. Jesus/apostles did warn us of Satan and demons, but they never warn us of roaming human spirits. This is NOT an argument from silence because knowing who populates the spirit realm is utterly necessary for discernment and victory in spiritual warfare. As an exorcist, how can I properly proceed if I do not know exactly who/what may infesting the house/person? Jesus never cast out a human spirit from a human...only demons.
9. Not all historical narratives are bereft of teaching or editorial comment.v.52 is an inspired editorial commentary on this whole episode--they were afraid and their hearts were hardened. Faith Vs fear, and teachability vs hardened hearts. Unlike many historical narratives, this one is concluded with an editorial comment. This is extremely important in interpreting this text accurately. Everything...EVERYTHING...the disciples did and said has a shadow cast over it. Everything they said and did was compelled by fear and hard-heartedness. Their comment re: Jesus being a ghost was an expression of both fear and hardness of heart. They did not learn from the feeding of the 5,000 (or the 4,000) that Jesus was God almighty. How utterly tragic that they would call Him a ghost, when what He was doing and saying displayed that He was the culmination of the I AM". It is difficult to over-state the significance of this concluding comment...it renders the ghost comment utterly suspect.
10. The epistles were written largely to interpret the actions and words of Jesus. After Pentecost, ghosts are never mentioned again--except the deceased spirits in heaven or hell (e.g. Moses and Elijah). To those who are unduly affected by the fact that the bible does not mention Jesus correcting their comment that He was a ghost, was He a ghost in that text? NO! As parents, do we correct our kids EVERY TIME they make a mistake? The bible says that would break their spirits if we do. If your child was in danger of drowning and was frightened, would you feel the need to immediately correct them of anything dumb they may have uttered in their terror? I hope not....rather we would embrace them.
With an issue as significant as ghosts, we cannot camp on a text in which we are told explicitly that they were full of terror and hardness of heart, which casts a long shadow over everything they said. It is much more plausible that their cry of "ghost" was fueled by superstition.
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.
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Richard Gere: My Journey as a Buddhist
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| The Dalai Lama is Richard Gere's teacher |
I suppose it’s a sign of our current cynicism that we find it hard to believe celebrities can also be serious people. The recent prominence of “celebrity Buddhists” has brought some snide comments in the press, and even among Buddhists, but personally I am very appreciative of the actors, directors, musicians and other public figures who have brought greater awareness to the cause of Tibetan freedom and the value of Buddhist practice. These are fine artists and thoughtful people, some Buddhists, some not, among them Martin Scorsese, Leonard Cohen, Adam Yauch, Michael Stipe, Patti Smith, and of course, Richard Gere. I met Gere at his office in New York recently, and we talked about his many years of Buddhist practice, his devotion to his teacher the Dalai Lama, and his work on behalf of the dharma and the cause of the Tibetan people.
—Melvin McLeod
Melvin McLeod: What was your first encounter with Buddhism?
Richard Gere: I have two flashes. One, when I actually encountered the written dharma, and two, when I met a teacher. But before that, I was engaged in philosophical pursuit in school. So I came to it through Western philosophers, basically Bishop Berkeley.
Melvin McLeod: “If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, did it really happen?”
Richard Gere: Yes. Subjective idealism was his thesis—reality is a function of mind. It was basically the “mind only” school that he was preaching. Quite radical, especially for a priest. I was quite taken with him. The existentialists were also interesting to me. I remember carrying around a copy of Being and Nothingness, without knowing quite why I was doing it. Later I realized that “nothingness” was not the appropriate word. “Emptiness” was really what they were searching for—not a nihilistic view but a positive one.
My first encounter with Buddhist dharma would be in my early twenties. I think like most young men I was not particularly happy. I don’t know if I was suicidal, but I was pretty unhappy, and I had questions like, “Why anything?” Realizing I was probably pushing the edges of my own sanity, I was exploring late-night bookshops reading everything I could, in many different directions. Evans-Wentz’s books on Tibetan Buddhism had an enormous impact on me. I just devoured them.
Melvin McLeod: So many of us were inspired by those books. What did you find in them that appealed to you?
Richard Gere: They had all the romance of a good novel, so you could really bury yourself in them, but at the same time, they offered the possibility that you could live here and be free at the same time. I hadn’t even considered that as a possibility—I just wanted out—so the idea that you could be here and be out at the same time—emptiness—was revolutionary.
So the Buddhist path, particularly the Tibetan approach, was obviously drawing me, but the first tradition that I became involved in was Zen. My first teacher was Sasaki Roshi. I remember going out to L.A. for a three day sesshin [Zen meditation program]. I prepared myself by stretching my legs for months and months so I could get through it.
I had a kind of magical experience with Sasaki Roshi, a reality experience. I realized, this is work, this is work. It’s not about flying through the air; it’s not about any of the magic or the romance. It’s serious work on your mind. That was an important part of the path for me.
Sasaki Roshi was incredibly tough and very kind at the same time. I was a total neophyte and didn’t know anything. I was cocky and insecure and fucked up. But within that I was serious about wanting to learn. It got to the point at the end of the sesshin where I wouldn’t even go to the dokusan [interview with the Zen master]. I felt I was so ill-equipped to deal with the koans that they had to drag me in. Finally, it got to where I would just sit there, and I remember him smiling at that point. “Now we can start working,” he said. There was nothing to say—no bullshit, nothing.
Melvin McLeod: When someone has such a strong intuitive connection, Buddhism suggests that it’s because of karma, some past connection with the teachings.
Richard Gere: Well, I’ve asked teachers about that—you know, what led me to this? They’d just laugh at me, like I thought there was some decision to it or it was just chance. Well, karma doesn’t work that way. Obviously there’s some very clear and definite connection with the Tibetans or this would not have happened. My life would not have expressed itself this way.
I think I’ve always felt that practice was my real life. I remember when I was just starting to practice meditation—24 years old, trying to come to grips with my life. I was holed up in my shitty little apartment for months at a time, just doing tai chi and doing my best to do sitting practice. I had a very clear feeling that I’d always been in meditation, that I’d never left meditation. That it was a much more substantial reality than what we normally take to be reality. That was very clear to me even then, but it’s taken me this long in my life to bring it out into the world more, through more time practicing, watching my mind, trying to generate bodhicitta.
Melvin McLeod: When did you meet the Dalai Lama for the first time?
Richard Gere: I had been a Zen student for five or six years before I met His Holiness in India. We started out with a little small talk and then he said, “Oh, so you’re an actor?” He thought about that a second, and then he said, “So when you do this acting and you’re angry, are you really angry? When you’re acting sad, are you really sad? When you cry, are you really crying?” I gave him some kind of actor answer, like it was more effective if you really believed in the emotion that you were portraying. He looked very deeply into my eyes and just started laughing. Hysterically. He was laughing at the idea that I would believe emotions are real, that I would work very hard to believe in anger and hatred and sadness and pain and suffering.
That first meeting took place in Dharmsala in a room where I see him quite often now. I can’t say that the feeling has changed drastically. I am still incredibly nervous and project all kinds of things on him, which he’s used to at this point. He cuts through all that stuff very quickly, because his vows are so powerful, so all-encompassing, that he is very effective and skillful at getting to the point. Because the only reason anyone would want to see him is that they want to remove suffering from their consciousness.
It completely changed my life the first time I was in the presence of His Holiness. No question about it. It wasn’t like I felt, “Oh, I’m going to give away all my possessions and go to the monastery now,” but it quite naturally felt that this was what I was supposed to do—work with these teachers, work within this lineage, learn whatever I could, bring myself to it. In spite of varying degrees of seriousness and commitment since then, I haven’t really fallen out of that path.
Melvin McLeod: Does His Holiness work with you personally, cutting your neuroses in the many ways that Buddhist teachers do, or does he teach you more by the example of his being?
Richard Gere: There’s no question that His Holiness is my root guru, and he’s been quite tough with me at times. I’ve had to explain to people who sometimes have quite a romantic vision of His Holiness that at times he’s been cross with me, but it was very skillful. At the moment he did it, I’m not saying it was pleasant for me, but there was no ego attachment from his side. I’m very thankful that he trusts me enough to be the mirror for me and not pull any punches. Mind you, the first meetings were not that way; I think he was aware how fragile I was and was being very careful. Now I think he senses that my seriousness about the teachings has increased and my own strength within the teachings has increased. He can be much tougher on me.
Melvin McLeod: The Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism puts a strong emphasis on analysis. What drew you to the more intellectual approach?
Richard Gere: Yeah, it’s funny. I think what I probably would have been drawn to instinctively was Dzogchen [the Great Perfection teachings of the Nyingma school]. I think the instinct that drew me to Zen is the same one that would have taken me to Dzogchen.
Melvin McLeod: Space.
Richard Gere: The non-conceptual. Just go right to the non-conceptual space. Recently I’ve had some Dzogchen teachers who’ve been kind enough to help me, and I see how Dzogchen empowers much of the other forms of meditation that I practice. Many times Dzogchen has really zapped me into a fresh vision and allowed me to see a kind of limited track that I was falling into through conditioning and basic laziness.
But overall, I think the wiser choice for me is to work with the Gelugpas, although space is space wherever it is. I think the analytical approach—kind of finding the non-boundaries of that space—is important. In a way, one gets stability from being able to order the rational mind. When space is not there for you, the intellectual work will still keep you buoyed up. I still find myself in situations where my emotions are out of control and the anger comes up, and it’s very difficult to enter pure white space at that point. So the analytical approach to working with the mind is enormously helpful. It’s something very clear to fall back on and very stabilizing.
Melvin McLeod: What was the progression of practices for you, to the extent that you can talk about it, after you entered the vajrayana path?
Richard Gere: I’m a little hesitant to talk about this because, one, I don’t claim to know much, and two, being a celebrity these things get quoted out of context and sometimes it’s not beneficial. I can say that whatever forms of meditation I’ve taken on, they still involve the basic forms of refuge, generation of bodhicitta [awakened mind and heart] and dedication of merit to others. Whatever level of the teachings that my teachers allow me to hear, they still involve these basic forms.
Overall, tantra has become less romantic to me. It seems more familiar. That’s an interesting stage in the process, when that particular version of reality becomes more normal. I’m not saying it’s normal, in the sense of ordinary or mundane, but I can sense it being as normal as what I took to be reality before. I can trust that.
Melvin McLeod: What dharma books have meant a lot to you?
Richard Gere: People are always asking me what Buddhist books I would recommend. I always suggest Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind to someone who says, “How can I start?” I’ll always include something by His Holiness. His book Kindness, Clarity and Compassion is extraordinarily good. There’s wonderful stuff in there. Jeffrey Hopkins’ The Tantric Distinction is very helpful. There are so many.
Melvin McLeod: You go to India often. Does that give you the opportunity to practice in a less distracted environment?
Richard Gere: Actually it’s probably more distracting! When I go there, I’m just a simple student like everyone else, but I’m also this guy who can help. When I’m in India there are a lot of people who require help and it’s very difficult to say no. So it’s not the quietest time in my life, but just being in an environment where everyone is focusing on the dharma and where His Holiness is the center of that focus is extraordinary.
Melvin McLeod: When you’re in Dharmsala do you have the opportunity to study with the Dalai Lama or other teachers there?
Richard Gere: I’ll try to catch up with all my teachers. Some of them are hermits up in the hills, but they come down when His Holiness gives teachings. It’s a time to catch up on all of it, and just remember. For me, it means remembering. Life here is an incredible distraction and it’s very easy to get off track. Going there is an opportunity to remember, literally, what the mission is, why we’re here.
Melvin McLeod: Here you’re involved in a world of film-making that people think of as extremely consuming, high-powered, even cut-throat.
Richard Gere: That’s all true. But it’s like everyone else’s life, too. It just gets into the papers, that’s all. It’s the same emotions. The same suffering. The same issues. No difference.
Melvin McLeod: Do you find that you have a slightly split quality to your life, going back and forth between these worlds?
Richard Gere: I find that more and more my involvement in a career, in a normal householder life, is a great challenge for deepening the teachings inside of me. If I weren’t out in the marketplace, there’s no way I would be able to really face the nooks and crannies and darkness inside of me. I just wouldn’t see it. I’m not that tough; I’m not that smart. I need life telling me who I am, showing me my mind constantly. I wouldn’t see it in a cave. The problem with me is I would probably just find some blissful state, if I could, and stay there. That would be death. I don’t want that. As I said, I’m not an extraordinary practitioner. I know pretty much who I am. It’s good for me to be in the world.
Melvin McLeod: Are there any specific ways you try to bring dharma into your work, beyond working with your mind and trying to be a decent human being?
Richard Gere: Well, that’s a lot! That’s serious shit.
Melvin McLeod: That’s true. But those are the challenges we all face. I was just wondering if you try to bring a Buddhist perspective to the specific world of film?
Richard Gere: In film, we’re playing with something that literally fragments reality, and being aware of the fragmentation of time and space I think lends itself to the practice, to loosening the mind. There is nothing real about film. Nothing. Even the light particles that project the film can’t be proven to exist. Nothing is there. We know that when we’re making it; we’re the magicians doing the trick. But even we get caught up in thinking that it is all real—that these emotions are real, that this object really exists, that the camera is picking up some reality.
On the other hand, there is some magical sense that the camera sees more than our eyes do. It sees into people in a way that we don’t normally. So there’s a vulnerability to being in front of the camera that one doesn’t have to endure in normal life. There’s a certain amount of pressure and stress in that. You are being seen, you are really being seen, and there is no place to hide.
Melvin McLeod: But there’s no way you actually work with the product to…?
Richard Gere: You mean teaching through that? Well, I think these things are far too mysterious to ever do that consciously, no. Undoubtedly, as ill-equipped to be a good student as I am, I’ve had a lot of teachings, and some have stuck. Somehow they do communicate-not because of me, but despite me. So I think there is value there. It’s the same as everyone: whatever positive energies have touched them in myriad lifetimes are going to come through somehow. When you look into their eyes, when the camera comes in for a closeup, there’s something there that is mysterious. There’s no way you can write it, there’s no way you can plan it, but a camera will pick it up in a different way than someone does sitting across the table.
Melvin McLeod: How comfortable are you with your role as the spokesman for the dharma?
Richard Gere: For the dharma? I’ve never, ever accepted that, and I never will. I’m not a spokesman for dharma. I lack the necessary qualities.
Melvin McLeod: But you are always being asked in public about being a Buddhist.
Richard Gere: I can talk about that only as a practitioner, from the limited point of view that I have. Although it’s been many years since I started, I can’t say that I know any more now than I did then. I can’t say I have control over my emotions; I don’t know my mind. I’m lost like everyone else. So I’m certainly not a leader. In the actual course of things, I talk about these things, but only in the sense that this is what my teachers have given me. Nothing from me.
Melvin McLeod: When you are asked about Buddhism, are there certain themes you return to that you feel are helpful, such as compassion?
Richard Gere: Absolutely. I will probably discuss wisdom and compassion in some form, that there are two poles we are here to explore—expanding our minds and expanding our hearts. At some point hopefully being able to encompass the entire universe inside mind, and the same thing with heart, with compassion, hopefully both at the same time. Inseparable.
Melvin McLeod: When you say that, I’m reminded of something that struck me when I saw the Dalai Lama speak. He was teaching about compassion, as he so often does, but I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if he spoke more to a wider audience about the Buddhist understanding of wisdom, that is, emptiness. I just wondered what would happen if this revered spiritual leader said to the world, well, you know, all of this doesn’t really exist in any substantive way.
Richard Gere: Well, the Buddha had many turnings of the wheel of dharma, and I think His Holiness functions in the same way. If we are so lost in our animal natures, the best way to start to get out of that is to learn to be kind. Someone asked His Holiness, how can you teach a child to care about and respect living things? He said, see if you can get them to love and respect an insect, something we instinctively are repulsed by. If they can see its basic sentience, its potential, the fullness of what it is, with basic kindness, then that’s a huge step.
Melvin McLeod: I was just reading where the Dalai Lama said that he thinks mother’s love is the best symbol for love and compassion, because it is totally disinterested.
Richard Gere: Nectar. Nectar is that! [In vajrayana practice, spiritual blessings are visualized as nectar descending on the meditator.] That’s mother’s milk; that’s coming right from mom. Absolutely.
Melvin McLeod: Although you are cautious in speaking about the dharma, you are a passionate spokesman on the issue of freedom for Tibet.
Richard Gere: I’ve gone through a lot of different phases with that. The anger that I might have felt twenty years ago is quite different now. We’re all in the same boat here, all of us—Hitler, the Chinese, you, me, what we did in Central America. No one is devoid of the ignorance that causes all these problems. If anything, the Chinese are just creating the cause of horrendous future lifetimes for themselves, and one cannot fail to be compassionate towards them for that.
When I talk to Tibetans who were in solitary confinement for twenty or twenty-five years, they say to me, totally from their heart, that the issue is larger than what they suffered at the hands of their torturer, and that they feel pity and compassion for this person who was acting out animal nature. To be in the presence of that kind of wisdom of heart and mind—you can never go back after that.
Melvin McLeod: It is remarkable that an entire people, generally, is imbued with a spirit like that.
Richard Gere: I’m convinced that it is because it was state-oriented. Obviously, problems come with that, with no separation of church and state. But I am convinced that the great dharma kings manifested to actually create a society based on these ideas. Their institutions were designed to create good-hearted people; everything in the society was there to feed it. That became decadent—there were bad periods, there were good periods, whatever. But the gist of the society was to create good-hearted people, bodhisattvas, to create a very strong environment where people could achieve enlightenment. Imagine that in America! I mean, we have no structure for enlightenment. We have a very strong Christian heritage and Jewish heritage, one of compassion, one of altruism. Good people. But we have very little that encourages enlightenment—total liberation.
Melvin McLeod: Looking at how human rights violations have come to the forefront of world consciousness, such as in Tibet and South Africa before that, the work of celebrities such as yourself who have been able to use their fame skillfully has been an important factor.
Richard Gere: I hope that’s true. It’s kind of you to say. It’s an odd situation. Previously I’d worked on Central America and some other political and human rights issues, and got to know the ropes a bit in working with Congress and the State Department. But that didn’t really apply to this situation. Tibet was too far away, and there had been extremely limited American involvement there.
I found also that the question of His Holiness in terms of a political movement was very tricky. It’s a non-violent movement, which is a problem in itself—you don’t get headlines with nonviolence. And His Holiness doesn’t see himself as Gandhi; he doesn’t create dramatic, operatic situations.
So we’ve ended up taking a much steadier kind of approach. It’s not about drama. It’s about, little by little, building truth, and I think it’s probably been deeper because of that. The senators, congressmen, legislators and parliamentarians who have got involved go way beyond what they would normally give to a cause they believed in.
I think the universality of His Holiness’ words and teachings have made this so much bigger than just Tibet. When His Holiness won the Nobel Peace Prize, there was a quantum leap. He is not seen as solely a Tibetan anymore; he belongs to the world. We were talking before about what the camera picks up—just a picture of His Holiness seems to communicate so much. Just to see his face. It’s arresting, and at the same time it’s opening. You can imagine what it would have been like to see the Buddha. Just to see his face would put you so many steps ahead. I think a lot of what we have done is just putting His Holiness in situations where he could touch as many people as possible, which he does every time with impeccable bodhicitta.
I keep saying Tibet will be taken care of in the process, but it’s about saving every sentient being, and as long as we keep our eyes on that prize, Tibet will be all right. Of course there are immediate issues to deal with in Tibet. We work on those all the time. Although we had reason to believe a more open communication with the Chinese was evolving, the optimism generated by Clinton’s visit to China has not panned out. In fact, the Tibetans, as well as the pro-democracy Chinese, are experiencing the most repressive period since the late eighties, since Tienanmen Square.
Melvin McLeod: I’m always impressed with a point the Dalai Lama makes which is very similar to what my own teacher, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, presented in the Shambhala teachings. That is the need for a universal spirituality based on simple truths of human nature that transcends any particular religion, or the need for formalized religion at all. This strikes me as an extraordinarily important message.
Richard Gere: Well, I think it’s true. His Holiness says that what we all have in common is an appreciation of kindness and compassion; all the religions have this. Love. We all lean towards love.
Melvin McLeod: But even beyond that, he points out that billions of people don’t practice a religion at all.
Richard Gere: But they have the religion of kindness. They do. Everyone responds to kindness.
Melvin McLeod: It’s fascinating that a major religious leader espouses in effect a religion of no religion.
Richard Gere: Sure, that’s what makes him larger than Tibet.
Melvin McLeod: It makes him larger than Buddhism.
Richard Gere: Much larger. The Buddha was larger than Buddhism.
Melvin McLeod: You are able to sponsor a number of projects in support of the dharma and of Tibetan independence.
Richard Gere: I’m in kind of a unique position in that I do have some cash in my foundation, so I’m able to offer some front money to various groups to help them get projects started. Sponsoring dharma books is important to me—translation, publishing—but I think the most important thing I can do is help sponsor teachings. To work with His Holiness and help sponsor teachings in Mongolia, India, the United States and elsewhere-nothing gives me more joy.
The program we’re doing this summer is four days of teachings by the Dalai Lama in New York. August 12 to 14 will be the formal teaching by His Holiness on Kamalashila’s “Middle-length Stages of Meditation” and “The Thirty-seven Practices of the Bodhisattvas.” That’s at the Beacon Theater and there are about 3,000 tickets available. I’m sure those will sell quickly. If people can’t get into that, there’s going to be a free public teaching in Central Park on the fifteenth. We’re guessing there will be space for twenty-five to forty thousand people, so whoever wants to come will be able to. His Holiness will give a teaching on the Eight Verses of Mind Training, a very powerful lojong teaching, one of my favorites actually. Then His Holiness will give a wang, a long life empowerment of White Tara.
I’ve seen His Holiness give bodhicitta teachings like these, and no one can walk away without crying. He touches so deep into the heart. He gave a teaching in Bodh Gaya last year on Khunu Lama’s “In Praise of Bodhicitta,” which is a long poems Just thinking about it now, I’m starting to crys So beautiful. When he was teaching on Kunu Lama’s “In Praise of Bodhicitta,” who was his own teachers whooosh! We were inside his heart, in the most extraordinary way. A place you can’t be told about, you can’t read about, nothing. You’re in the presence of Buddha. I’ve had a lot of teachers who give wonderful teachings on wisdom, but to see someone who really, really has the big bodhicitta, real expanded bodhicittas.
So those are the teachings that I believe His Holiness is here to give. That’s what touches.
Original link with photos: http://www.lionsroar.com/richard-gere-my-journey-as-a-buddhist/
Saturday, February 13, 2016
Shadow People Sightings Also On The Rise?
This was another subject I was asked to touch on and go over again. But first I have to say... I can't help but often wonder if a lot of these claims are simply trick of the eye or mind over matter. I mentioned last week on my sleep paralysis blog very briefly on shadow people going hand-in-hand with sleep paralysis a lot of the time but I didn't get to touch on it very much but I will discuss it a little more in this article. If you watch all the ghost shows on TV like I know that some people do and they become very much obsessed with it and they go out wanting to investigate on their own so they're wanting to see something. They're not objective enough to be real good about trying to find any other possibilities to debunk the situation. People want to see something so badly when they go want to go swore or these amateurs are investigations where you have to pay to investigate it's hard for a lot of people to be objective. I'm not saying everyone but a good amount. They will refuse to debunk most things. Just because someone tells you a place is haunted doesn't mean that it is. Not to mention do you truthfully want to take the risk of attachments something following you home? It's a big risk to take. It's hard to put something back once you've opened that door. I assure you it is.
But I surely believe they exist and I'm honestly not surprised by the rise in claims. They were a issue when my dad was alive and he dealt with quit a few. They are not easy to get rid of. It's very difficult however, I disagree there's no hope so you have to relocate and hope the entity doesn't follow. I just don't believe my God can ever lose against these. It's written already what their doom is and their time is near and they are scared and trying to grab as many souls as possible. You have to remember I'm a Biblical Demonologist so I look at it from this point of view and I respect everybody's opinion this is just my mine. Some people don't understand there are different kinds of demonology there's even Satanology I had to study back in late 90's when Christian colleges offered courses on Biblical Demonology. It's not a degree, just a certificate of completion after 3 years. But it's hard to find many churches or schools nowadays willing to have someone teach it entirely due to the fact they think it makes them a expert and gives people false hope. It takes more than just a few years of study to deal with anything demonic.
What are Shadow People?
There are such a diverse amount of types. We may never know exactly where these vile entities are from. People are seeing shadow beings all over the world with increasing interest in the subject. Some people feel that they come from inter-dimensional worlds, others think that they are ghosts, and some other people see them as first, they appear only out of the corner of your eye, furtively darting out of view when you turn to look straight at them, but are now gone. Did you really see them? Shaking the image out of your head, you assume that it was a peculiar anomaly of your eyesight, however the feeling still lingers that someone continues to watch you. For weeks, months or years, the fast dark movements in your peripheral vision are dismissed until it finally happens without warning. You see the shadow directly in front of you: face to face, blacker than black, darker than dark, like a void that has punched a hole into the inky fabric of night itself.Sometimes it appears as the mere silhouette of a person, usually male, but generally lacking any other characteristics of gender. There are "hatted" shadow beings, hooded shadows, cloaked ones, and solid or wispy, smoky types.
Some are seen only from the waist up. Others clearly have legs that are seen fleeing from their observers. They dart into corners, through walls, into closets, or behind television sets, bushes, and buildings. Sometimes they simply fade into the dark recesses of the night. Lacking in the description is one common denominator unifying the many different types of shadow people, except that they are "intensely dark". . A number of witnesses believe that shadow people act as benevolent guardians watching us, just as many witnesses have no doubt of the evil soul-wrenching potential of these beings
Red Or Yellow Eyed Shadow People
Very possibly the most frightening of all shadow people experiences is that of the red/yellow eyed entity. This shadow person is described as having glowing red or glowing yellow eyes which cause the the person to feel paralysis and extreme terror. They have been described as the embodiment of "pure evil." Some claim they were wide awake and cross paths with one of these and they felt nothing but fear and paralysis they literally could not move others passed out due to the horrible vibes that these things tend to omit. All evil (in my humble opinion) are often found in a place where a lot of sadness and depression is going on or a tragic death had occurred. Or attach themselves to someone who is having reoccurring trauma, any type of verbal or physical abuse, drugs, alcohol, murder, rape, etc. It has been reported that these guys are to blame for SUNDS (Sudden Unexpected Nocturnal Death Syndrome). A lot of these beings tend to feed upon negative energies within the home. It has also been known that they follow people for a few days up to several years!
Hooded/Cloaked/Hat Man
The Hat Man is a peculiar human-like being described earlier. While the experiences and description of this type of entity closely matches that of the plain shadow person, there are noticeable differences. The most notable and obvious being the inclusion of a wide brimmed hat as witnessed, or the being will be wearing a hood. Many say The Hat Man seems to exhibit a large degree of curiosity towards the witnesses involved in sighting it. There have been many claims and reports of dread and/or paralysis associated with this one too. I've witnessed these two types I'm describing many times in my life sadly involved with cases or helping personal friends and being harassed myself by them at one point to scare me off cases. People see shadow people during sleep paralysis almost 80% of the time I believe. You can find thousands of claims on this on the Internet. And YouTube has many videos about this as well. Feel free to research this. You'll see it's running rampant.
After doing some digging I came across this information: Frederick van Eeden, the 19th century philosopher who coined the term “lucid dream,” writes that his lucid-control dreams are often followed inexplicably by “demon dreams.” He does not elaborate anywhere in his writings, leaving us only with that haunting phrase. Expert Scott Sparrow writes that at the height of his experimentation with lucid dreams, “all kinds of angry people began showing up in my dreams, and turning rather demonic to boot.” This makes now two experts who are separated by well over a century noticing a correlation between controlling their lucid dreams and the appearance of “demons” and angry dream figures.
The following are some experiences people are sharing I found on random forums. You can find thousands of them and people sharing experiences they had as well.....
"I had visitations as a child from age of 4 until I was 12, it occured on a nightly basis. I remember being terrified of going to bed because I knew what awaited me. My experiences did not occur while I was asleep however. I would wake each night at whatever time and see it without fail, dark and looming, either heading towards my bed, walking away from it or usually standing beside it. Each time I would be fully awake. I will never be able to describe the sheer terror I felt each night. I would will myself not to move or make a sound, terrified that if I did, it would somehow encourage this being to touch or attack me. I would will myself back to sleep, it's amazing what unearthly terror can do. I am relieved to say it never touched me once. I think I would have remembered if it had. I shared a large room with my sister and two other cousins during this period of my life and no one else ever saw this dark entity. I quit talking about it out of fear of being ridiculed by the adults in the home who did not believe me. Yet they discussed other supernatural events that happened in the home with ease. I didn't understand why my pleas for help were shrugged off.
I once shared my experiences with someone I view as my mentor. He had similar experiences as a child. His thoughts on this issue were interesting. He told me I was never touched because of "Fear" and that mirrors are often very fearful things and that these "creatures" were remnants of our energy form of what we might call "darkness". I'm sure most would find this hard to understand or accept but it's his take on it and I respect that.
Needless to say, I am happy these visitations stopped. An old great-grandmother was visiting and I shared my experiences and fears with her. She encouraged me to pray and put a bible under my pillow at night, which I definitely started doing that very night. Voila! I never saw it again."
"Hello to everyone
"My experience coincides perfectly with this thread. My first experience was about a month ago or so during the early AM hours when my partner just left for work. It occured within the next 20 minutes after he left, but ONLY lasted a few minutes, I Think. The second experience was worse and it happened a few days ago. My partner left for work at the PM hour I was in bed proceeding to go back to sleep when I was stuck in that awake/ asleep stage. I sensed something coming to the room and in my mind I KNEW it was happening again. The shadow is male, it feels male but not familiar to "our kind". I was lying in bed it sat next to my hip, both our hippings touching. At this point I was already paralysed, unable to move. I also get a very drowsy feeling inside me, a very heavy pressure over me. My eyes get so heavy to the point they feel they will close at any moment. The shadow leaned inward towards me, I could never ever see its face only from the waist down, my head can't hold up enough to see a face and even when I did it was blurred out. This thing drew itself closer to me not saying anything, I could feel its chest on mine and its face before me... My eyes were looking down, as my head felt too heavy to even lift. At this point in my head I told myself to say " God please help me God" But the words just could not form out of me. Instead I was able to barely and very heavily may I add, lift my right hand almost in slow motion, and pushed this thing away on the face. I pushed and I litterally said " no no no no ". After which THAT is what woke me up. Immediately after waking, I felt very light, the heavy pressure was lifted and I knew it was gone... I just did not know for how long. I truly do not wish for this thing to ever visit me again ever. The worst feeling in my life so far is being immobilized by this force. Please if anyone can reply to this I would appreciate it. Indeed I am taking the "smudging" idea seriously... My partner and I will do this soon. Does anyone else know of anything else that can be done?"
There are hundreds of testimonies online. Some so very disturbing. But like I said about sleep paralysis just keep repeating the name of Jesus even if you can't speak think it in your head and they will flee. When you research this you'll read so many testimonies claiming that it worked. What do people think about that when people say that was the only thing that worked but many people disagree? It's just one of those things no one really has solid answers to yet. Because of what my faith is I'm not surprised it works but everybody's different.
I hope this has help you.
Written By Jennifer L Auld
But I surely believe they exist and I'm honestly not surprised by the rise in claims. They were a issue when my dad was alive and he dealt with quit a few. They are not easy to get rid of. It's very difficult however, I disagree there's no hope so you have to relocate and hope the entity doesn't follow. I just don't believe my God can ever lose against these. It's written already what their doom is and their time is near and they are scared and trying to grab as many souls as possible. You have to remember I'm a Biblical Demonologist so I look at it from this point of view and I respect everybody's opinion this is just my mine. Some people don't understand there are different kinds of demonology there's even Satanology I had to study back in late 90's when Christian colleges offered courses on Biblical Demonology. It's not a degree, just a certificate of completion after 3 years. But it's hard to find many churches or schools nowadays willing to have someone teach it entirely due to the fact they think it makes them a expert and gives people false hope. It takes more than just a few years of study to deal with anything demonic.
What are Shadow People?
There are such a diverse amount of types. We may never know exactly where these vile entities are from. People are seeing shadow beings all over the world with increasing interest in the subject. Some people feel that they come from inter-dimensional worlds, others think that they are ghosts, and some other people see them as first, they appear only out of the corner of your eye, furtively darting out of view when you turn to look straight at them, but are now gone. Did you really see them? Shaking the image out of your head, you assume that it was a peculiar anomaly of your eyesight, however the feeling still lingers that someone continues to watch you. For weeks, months or years, the fast dark movements in your peripheral vision are dismissed until it finally happens without warning. You see the shadow directly in front of you: face to face, blacker than black, darker than dark, like a void that has punched a hole into the inky fabric of night itself.Sometimes it appears as the mere silhouette of a person, usually male, but generally lacking any other characteristics of gender. There are "hatted" shadow beings, hooded shadows, cloaked ones, and solid or wispy, smoky types.
Some are seen only from the waist up. Others clearly have legs that are seen fleeing from their observers. They dart into corners, through walls, into closets, or behind television sets, bushes, and buildings. Sometimes they simply fade into the dark recesses of the night. Lacking in the description is one common denominator unifying the many different types of shadow people, except that they are "intensely dark". . A number of witnesses believe that shadow people act as benevolent guardians watching us, just as many witnesses have no doubt of the evil soul-wrenching potential of these beings
Red Or Yellow Eyed Shadow People
Very possibly the most frightening of all shadow people experiences is that of the red/yellow eyed entity. This shadow person is described as having glowing red or glowing yellow eyes which cause the the person to feel paralysis and extreme terror. They have been described as the embodiment of "pure evil." Some claim they were wide awake and cross paths with one of these and they felt nothing but fear and paralysis they literally could not move others passed out due to the horrible vibes that these things tend to omit. All evil (in my humble opinion) are often found in a place where a lot of sadness and depression is going on or a tragic death had occurred. Or attach themselves to someone who is having reoccurring trauma, any type of verbal or physical abuse, drugs, alcohol, murder, rape, etc. It has been reported that these guys are to blame for SUNDS (Sudden Unexpected Nocturnal Death Syndrome). A lot of these beings tend to feed upon negative energies within the home. It has also been known that they follow people for a few days up to several years!
Hooded/Cloaked/Hat Man
The Hat Man is a peculiar human-like being described earlier. While the experiences and description of this type of entity closely matches that of the plain shadow person, there are noticeable differences. The most notable and obvious being the inclusion of a wide brimmed hat as witnessed, or the being will be wearing a hood. Many say The Hat Man seems to exhibit a large degree of curiosity towards the witnesses involved in sighting it. There have been many claims and reports of dread and/or paralysis associated with this one too. I've witnessed these two types I'm describing many times in my life sadly involved with cases or helping personal friends and being harassed myself by them at one point to scare me off cases. People see shadow people during sleep paralysis almost 80% of the time I believe. You can find thousands of claims on this on the Internet. And YouTube has many videos about this as well. Feel free to research this. You'll see it's running rampant.
After doing some digging I came across this information: Frederick van Eeden, the 19th century philosopher who coined the term “lucid dream,” writes that his lucid-control dreams are often followed inexplicably by “demon dreams.” He does not elaborate anywhere in his writings, leaving us only with that haunting phrase. Expert Scott Sparrow writes that at the height of his experimentation with lucid dreams, “all kinds of angry people began showing up in my dreams, and turning rather demonic to boot.” This makes now two experts who are separated by well over a century noticing a correlation between controlling their lucid dreams and the appearance of “demons” and angry dream figures.
The following are some experiences people are sharing I found on random forums. You can find thousands of them and people sharing experiences they had as well.....
"I had visitations as a child from age of 4 until I was 12, it occured on a nightly basis. I remember being terrified of going to bed because I knew what awaited me. My experiences did not occur while I was asleep however. I would wake each night at whatever time and see it without fail, dark and looming, either heading towards my bed, walking away from it or usually standing beside it. Each time I would be fully awake. I will never be able to describe the sheer terror I felt each night. I would will myself not to move or make a sound, terrified that if I did, it would somehow encourage this being to touch or attack me. I would will myself back to sleep, it's amazing what unearthly terror can do. I am relieved to say it never touched me once. I think I would have remembered if it had. I shared a large room with my sister and two other cousins during this period of my life and no one else ever saw this dark entity. I quit talking about it out of fear of being ridiculed by the adults in the home who did not believe me. Yet they discussed other supernatural events that happened in the home with ease. I didn't understand why my pleas for help were shrugged off.
I once shared my experiences with someone I view as my mentor. He had similar experiences as a child. His thoughts on this issue were interesting. He told me I was never touched because of "Fear" and that mirrors are often very fearful things and that these "creatures" were remnants of our energy form of what we might call "darkness". I'm sure most would find this hard to understand or accept but it's his take on it and I respect that.
Needless to say, I am happy these visitations stopped. An old great-grandmother was visiting and I shared my experiences and fears with her. She encouraged me to pray and put a bible under my pillow at night, which I definitely started doing that very night. Voila! I never saw it again."
"Hello to everyone
"My experience coincides perfectly with this thread. My first experience was about a month ago or so during the early AM hours when my partner just left for work. It occured within the next 20 minutes after he left, but ONLY lasted a few minutes, I Think. The second experience was worse and it happened a few days ago. My partner left for work at the PM hour I was in bed proceeding to go back to sleep when I was stuck in that awake/ asleep stage. I sensed something coming to the room and in my mind I KNEW it was happening again. The shadow is male, it feels male but not familiar to "our kind". I was lying in bed it sat next to my hip, both our hippings touching. At this point I was already paralysed, unable to move. I also get a very drowsy feeling inside me, a very heavy pressure over me. My eyes get so heavy to the point they feel they will close at any moment. The shadow leaned inward towards me, I could never ever see its face only from the waist down, my head can't hold up enough to see a face and even when I did it was blurred out. This thing drew itself closer to me not saying anything, I could feel its chest on mine and its face before me... My eyes were looking down, as my head felt too heavy to even lift. At this point in my head I told myself to say " God please help me God" But the words just could not form out of me. Instead I was able to barely and very heavily may I add, lift my right hand almost in slow motion, and pushed this thing away on the face. I pushed and I litterally said " no no no no ". After which THAT is what woke me up. Immediately after waking, I felt very light, the heavy pressure was lifted and I knew it was gone... I just did not know for how long. I truly do not wish for this thing to ever visit me again ever. The worst feeling in my life so far is being immobilized by this force. Please if anyone can reply to this I would appreciate it. Indeed I am taking the "smudging" idea seriously... My partner and I will do this soon. Does anyone else know of anything else that can be done?"
There are hundreds of testimonies online. Some so very disturbing. But like I said about sleep paralysis just keep repeating the name of Jesus even if you can't speak think it in your head and they will flee. When you research this you'll read so many testimonies claiming that it worked. What do people think about that when people say that was the only thing that worked but many people disagree? It's just one of those things no one really has solid answers to yet. Because of what my faith is I'm not surprised it works but everybody's different.
I hope this has help you.
Written By Jennifer L Auld
Friday, February 12, 2016
Bigfoot Aliens, Catching Ghosts, and Ralph Sarchie
By Reverend Mark Hunnemann
Sometimes there is truth to the warning of the ‘slippery slope.’ For example, the longer (and more people) disregard God’s Word about not contacting the spirit realm, then the further away from reality they tend to get. Once you begin ‘sliding down’ the slope of spiritism then a spirit of delusion begins to take over. The bible warns about a delusional spirit descending upon mankind in the last days. What were once vices are now virtues. Weirdness and implausibility appear to the deluded mind to be cool and even rational. There is a triplet of issues, amongst many, that I’d like to use as Exhibits of this slippery slope into folly/danger.
It is becoming increasingly popular to connect Bigfoot with Aliens. Because Bigfoot activity is often attended with UFO sightings, and because of the seeming difficulty to collect Bigfoot evidence, and because they are also linked to all sort of paranormal phenomena, some folks are beginning to theorize that Aliens are the origin and cause of this Cryptic ‘thing’. Hence, we now have a conjunction of two phenomena which used to be viewed as distinct.
This theory does take into serious consideration the very frequent association of Bigfoot activity with paranormal activity. Of course, many other Bigfoot researchers see them simply as a natural phenomenon….purely biological. But the weakness there is the inability to explain how or why Bigfoot activity is shrouded in paranormal activity.
So, in order to explain the phenomena, some researchers are looking to an Alien/UFO connection. This may make sense to them but I think it is part and parcel of the delusional thinking…and the slippery slope.
There is an excellent site on Facebook called “Ancient Aliens Debunked”. I mention this because there is strong evidence that both of these phenomena are demonic. Once you ‘peer behind the veil’ of both Bigfoot and Alien sightings, the paranormal activity associated with both can best be explained by demonic activity.
Once you fully grasp the Angel of Light Principle, then it has tremendous explanatory power. Satan/demons can appear as ANYTHING….including Bigfoot or Aliens!
TWC has a TV show in which they claim to be the first team to capture a ghost. These guys profess to be Christian in their convictions. However, when they are about to pray the leader usually says something like, “Let’s first fist bump the Big Man.” A slip of the tongue? Given the widespread deficient understanding of God’s character, I’m not sure….I certainly would not want to speak that way of the Holy Lord of Glory—a God of consuming fire-- who is the creator and judge of heaven and earth.
Okay, what do we make of this unprecedented attempt to capture a ghost? First, they haven’t actually caught anything yet. I mentioned the slippery slope earlier. There are thousands of groups in the US, and numerous TV shows, which are devoted to validating or debunking paranormal claims. These shows are meant to entertain, and the law of diminishing returns begins to apply—need something new…something further ‘out there’. In other words, slipping down the slope.
I have to ask you this: what sense does it make to try to capture an alleged soul/spirit? What makes them think that a box—no matter how many bells and whistles it has—can contain a spirit?
Most cultures from the dawn of history up til today, are respectful or even fearful of these entities. They might try to repel them but not capture them!
On one show these professing Christians were convinced that the entity they were trying to capture was demonic. Slippery slope. What kind of ‘maggot in the brain’ type thinking would it take to even think of attempting to capture a demon? A spirit who is pure evil and exceedingly more powerful than they/us…it SHOULD appear as pure madness to try to capture an unclean spirit. Is it not against the spirit of the Word that tells us in Jude and 2 Peter to not show disrespect to Satan/demons? They are using earthly means to try to fight a spiritual battle.
It grieves me to say this but a powerful delusion has settled upon the paranormal community due to its persistently disobeying Leviticus 19:26; Deuteronomy 18.
I am acutely aware of my own failures and brokenness, so I don’t want to seem as coming across as harsh. However, if we have to wait until we are perfect before we are allowed to steer folks away from serious danger, then nobody will be able to cry ‘halt’ when they see someone about to fall off a cliff. Or down a slippery slope.
Ralph Sarchie. Of the many demonologists out there, he has been catapulted almost overnight into the center of a lot of attention. I have no doubt that Ralph is a godly man and anointed in his ministry. If you are not aware, he and his team are on TV as well.
My concern is two-fold: he believes in trapped spirits, and the manner in which he cleanses homes. It distresses me how quickly and capriciously he comes to the conclusion that some spirits are human. But once you step on the earthbound spirit slope, then you are bound to slip.
But of greater concern at the moment is how he, too, dismisses the command to not disrespect the diabolical. Whatever his personality or background as a cop, that must be brought under the Lordship of Christ. It is not uncommon for Sarchie to provoke demons by demeaning them or cussing them. I cringe when he calls them cowards and uses profanity in his provocation.
Speaking of the slippery slope, of the thousands of folks who are coming under his influence, how many other budding demonologists will adopt his profane provocation, or take it a step further? Once you cuss a demon, where will it lead to? Jude and 2 Peter warn us for a reason.
The way to avoid slipping down the slippery slope is to stay away from the slope!
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.
Sometimes there is truth to the warning of the ‘slippery slope.’ For example, the longer (and more people) disregard God’s Word about not contacting the spirit realm, then the further away from reality they tend to get. Once you begin ‘sliding down’ the slope of spiritism then a spirit of delusion begins to take over. The bible warns about a delusional spirit descending upon mankind in the last days. What were once vices are now virtues. Weirdness and implausibility appear to the deluded mind to be cool and even rational. There is a triplet of issues, amongst many, that I’d like to use as Exhibits of this slippery slope into folly/danger.
It is becoming increasingly popular to connect Bigfoot with Aliens. Because Bigfoot activity is often attended with UFO sightings, and because of the seeming difficulty to collect Bigfoot evidence, and because they are also linked to all sort of paranormal phenomena, some folks are beginning to theorize that Aliens are the origin and cause of this Cryptic ‘thing’. Hence, we now have a conjunction of two phenomena which used to be viewed as distinct.
This theory does take into serious consideration the very frequent association of Bigfoot activity with paranormal activity. Of course, many other Bigfoot researchers see them simply as a natural phenomenon….purely biological. But the weakness there is the inability to explain how or why Bigfoot activity is shrouded in paranormal activity.
So, in order to explain the phenomena, some researchers are looking to an Alien/UFO connection. This may make sense to them but I think it is part and parcel of the delusional thinking…and the slippery slope.
There is an excellent site on Facebook called “Ancient Aliens Debunked”. I mention this because there is strong evidence that both of these phenomena are demonic. Once you ‘peer behind the veil’ of both Bigfoot and Alien sightings, the paranormal activity associated with both can best be explained by demonic activity.
Once you fully grasp the Angel of Light Principle, then it has tremendous explanatory power. Satan/demons can appear as ANYTHING….including Bigfoot or Aliens!
TWC has a TV show in which they claim to be the first team to capture a ghost. These guys profess to be Christian in their convictions. However, when they are about to pray the leader usually says something like, “Let’s first fist bump the Big Man.” A slip of the tongue? Given the widespread deficient understanding of God’s character, I’m not sure….I certainly would not want to speak that way of the Holy Lord of Glory—a God of consuming fire-- who is the creator and judge of heaven and earth.
Okay, what do we make of this unprecedented attempt to capture a ghost? First, they haven’t actually caught anything yet. I mentioned the slippery slope earlier. There are thousands of groups in the US, and numerous TV shows, which are devoted to validating or debunking paranormal claims. These shows are meant to entertain, and the law of diminishing returns begins to apply—need something new…something further ‘out there’. In other words, slipping down the slope.
I have to ask you this: what sense does it make to try to capture an alleged soul/spirit? What makes them think that a box—no matter how many bells and whistles it has—can contain a spirit?
Most cultures from the dawn of history up til today, are respectful or even fearful of these entities. They might try to repel them but not capture them!
On one show these professing Christians were convinced that the entity they were trying to capture was demonic. Slippery slope. What kind of ‘maggot in the brain’ type thinking would it take to even think of attempting to capture a demon? A spirit who is pure evil and exceedingly more powerful than they/us…it SHOULD appear as pure madness to try to capture an unclean spirit. Is it not against the spirit of the Word that tells us in Jude and 2 Peter to not show disrespect to Satan/demons? They are using earthly means to try to fight a spiritual battle.
It grieves me to say this but a powerful delusion has settled upon the paranormal community due to its persistently disobeying Leviticus 19:26; Deuteronomy 18.
I am acutely aware of my own failures and brokenness, so I don’t want to seem as coming across as harsh. However, if we have to wait until we are perfect before we are allowed to steer folks away from serious danger, then nobody will be able to cry ‘halt’ when they see someone about to fall off a cliff. Or down a slippery slope.
Ralph Sarchie. Of the many demonologists out there, he has been catapulted almost overnight into the center of a lot of attention. I have no doubt that Ralph is a godly man and anointed in his ministry. If you are not aware, he and his team are on TV as well.
My concern is two-fold: he believes in trapped spirits, and the manner in which he cleanses homes. It distresses me how quickly and capriciously he comes to the conclusion that some spirits are human. But once you step on the earthbound spirit slope, then you are bound to slip.
But of greater concern at the moment is how he, too, dismisses the command to not disrespect the diabolical. Whatever his personality or background as a cop, that must be brought under the Lordship of Christ. It is not uncommon for Sarchie to provoke demons by demeaning them or cussing them. I cringe when he calls them cowards and uses profanity in his provocation.
Speaking of the slippery slope, of the thousands of folks who are coming under his influence, how many other budding demonologists will adopt his profane provocation, or take it a step further? Once you cuss a demon, where will it lead to? Jude and 2 Peter warn us for a reason.
The way to avoid slipping down the slippery slope is to stay away from the slope!
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.
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Dalai Lama: Quotes on Happiness & Peace
Born to a peasant family, His Holiness was recognized at the age of two, in accordance with Tibetan tradition, as the reincarnation of his predecessor the 13th Dalai Lama. In 1950, at 16, His Holiness was called upon to assume full political power as Head of State and Government when Tibet was threatened by the might of China. In 1959 he was forced into exile in India after the Chinese military occupation of Tibet and has presided over the Tibetan Government-in-Exile since then. In 1989 His Holiness was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize because he has consistently has opposed the use of violence in his struggle for the liberation of Tibet. He has instead advocated peaceful solutions based upon tolerance and mutual respect in order to preserve the historical and cultural heritage of his people and has come forward with constructive and forward-looking proposals for the solution of international conflicts, human rights issues, and global environmental problems.
Dalai Lama Quotes on Happiness and Peace
The purpose of our life needs to be positive. We weren't born with the purpose of causing trouble, harming others. For our life to be of value, I think we must develop basic good human qualities- warmth, kindness, compassion. Then our life becomes more meaningful and more peaceful-- happier.
When we feel love and kindness toward others, it not only makes others feel loved and cared for, but it helps us also to develop inner happiness and peace.
Although I personally believe that our human nature is fundamentally gentle and compassionate, I feel it is not enough that this is our underlying nature; we must also develop an appreciation and awareness of that fact.
Dalai Lama Quotes on Finding Happiness
If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.
Consider the following. We humans are social beings. We come into the world as the result of others' actions. We survive here in dependence on others. Whether we like it or not, there is hardly a moment of our lives when we do not benefit from others' activities. For this reason it is hardly surprising that most of our happiness arises in the context of our relationships with others.
Happiness is determined more by the state of one's mind than by one's external conditions, circumstances or events--at least once one's basic survival needs are met.
Happiness can be achieved through the systematic training of our hearts and minds, through reshaping our attitudes and outlook.
As long as there is a lack of the inner discipline that brings calmness of mind, no matter what external facilities or conditions you have, they will never give you the feeling of joy and happiness that you are seeking. On the other hand, if you possess this inner quality, a calmness of mind, a degree of stability within, then even if you lack various external facilities that you would normally consider necessary for happiness, it is still possible to live a happy and joyful life.
Dalai Lama Quotes on Compassion and Happiness
If you wish to overcome that feeling of isolation and loneliness, I think your underlying attitude makes a tremendous difference. And approaching others with the thought of compassion in your mind is the best way to do this.
My basic belief is that you first need to understand the usefulness of compassion. That's the key factor. Once you realize the usefulness of compassion, you immediately develop an attraction towards it, a willingness to cultivate it.
Within all beings there is a seed of perfection. However, compassion is required to activate that seed which is in our hearts and minds.
Despite the fact that the process of relating to others might involve hardship, quarrels, and cursing, we have to maintain an attitude of friendship and warmth in order to lead a way of life in which there is enough interaction with people to enjoy a happy life.
Dalai Lama Quotes on Suffering and Happiness
The reason why reflection of suffering is so important is because there is a possibility of a way out. There is a possibility of freedom from suffering. According to Buddhist thought, the root causes of suffering are ignorance, craving and hatred. By generating insight into the true nature of reality and eliminating afflictive states of mind such as craving and hatred, one can achieve a completely purified state of mind, free from suffering.
We often add to our pain and suffering by being overly sensitive, over-reacting to minor things and sometimes taking things too personally.
I think to a large extent whether you suffer depends on how you respond to a given situation.
There may be a variety of ways that one might deal with the feeling that one's suffering is unfair. I've already spoken of the importance of accepting suffering as a natural fact of human existence. In general, if we carefully examine any given situation in a very unbiased and honest way, we will realize that to a large extent we are also responsible to the unfolding of events.
Dalai Lama happiness is characterized by peace, compassion, and loving kindness, and still it is strong enough to stand firmly against hatred and intolerance.
Thanks to http://www.happylifeu.com/DalaiLamaHappiness.html for this inspiring article.
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