Do ghosts exist?
Introduction. When we start talking about ghosts, spirits, the occult, demons, and such, we need reliable explanations & the insight given to us from the realm of divine revelation. Unfortunately, most of society's thinking about this topic is influenced more by TV, movies, superstition, and horror novels than by what the scriptures say.
The supernatural world. The Bible certainly teaches about a "supernatural" domain beyond what we can observe with our senses. This domain is populated with a variety of very interesting beings, including God, various classes of angels, the spirits of the departed dead, Satan, and demonic spirits. Regarding the spirits of the departed dead, the Bible indicates they go to Hades to await final judgment. They do not "roam the earth", linger around graveyards, come back as reincarnated people, or routinely communicate with the living.
Contacting the dead. There seems to be a renewed interest in the area of contacting the dead specifically (e.g., spirit mediums, Ouija boards, channeling, séances) and the occult in general (e.g., psychics, tarot cards, palm reading, astrology, horoscopes, crystal balls, crystals, witchcraft, white/black magic). Of course, this is nothing new. See Deut. 18:9-13, Isaiah 8:19, and Gal. 5:20. The Christian should not be involved in such activities.
The supernatural world. The Bible certainly teaches about a "supernatural" domain beyond what we can observe with our senses. This domain is populated with a variety of very interesting beings, including God, various classes of angels, the spirits of the departed dead, Satan, and demonic spirits. Regarding the spirits of the departed dead, the Bible indicates they go to Hades to await final judgment. They do not "roam the earth", linger around graveyards, come back as reincarnated people, or routinely communicate with the living.
Contacting the dead. There seems to be a renewed interest in the area of contacting the dead specifically (e.g., spirit mediums, Ouija boards, channeling, séances) and the occult in general (e.g., psychics, tarot cards, palm reading, astrology, horoscopes, crystal balls, crystals, witchcraft, white/black magic). Of course, this is nothing new. See Deut. 18:9-13, Isaiah 8:19, and Gal. 5:20. The Christian should not be involved in such activities.