Spiritualism

Mediums, channeling, ghost phenomena, automatic writing. Read why the forces behind these phenomena are not good, but that it is a case of deception

In the article What are UFOs we talked about the connection with UFOs and humanoids. It was talked about how some people believe they have seen these spaceships and have also been in contact with their owners. Some of them even believe that they have received special messages from these beings to convey to humanity - messages that are usually quite ordinary.

When it comes to spiritualism and connection beyond the border, it's about the same thing. Also in Spiritism, it is believed that there is more than just air in the immediate environment, right around us; that is, the spirits of the dead, which can be contacted by receiving messages from them and also delivering them to them.

Many think that they have been in contact with their close relatives, receiving messages from them. Still others believe they have been in contact with well-known deceased public figures such as Napoleon, Picasso, Carl Jung, pharaohs, kings or even people mentioned in the New Testament. The best example is the the late well-known medium, Arthur Ford, who is said to have been in contact with about 8,000 deceased persons across the border.

But is it possible that this, like UFO phenomena, is just a fraud? Many people who are dealing with these things do not take this into consideration. This is a big mistake.

We will look at this matter in the coming lines mainly from the point of view that there is a spirit world that tries to separate people from God and mislead them. We look at it e.g. in light of the following facts:

- There is a spiritual world

- Why are mediums needed?

- Practical observations

- What does the Bible teach about the whereabouts of the dead?

- "In connection only with good spirits".

- Where do the ghost phenomena come from?

There is a spirit world. If we start from the reasons why you should suspect the possibility of deception also in the area of spiritualism such as UFOs, the first reason is that the Bible in so many places refers to the evil spirit world that exists. It has been referred to by Jesus and the apostles as well as several different books in the Bible. Here are some such places:

- (Eph 2:1-2) And you has he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

2 Wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience:

- (Eph 6:12) For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

- (John 14:30) Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world comes, and has nothing in me.

- (1 Peter 5:8-9) Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour:

9 Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brothers that are in the world.

- (Matt 12:43-45) When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walks through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.

44 Then he said, I will return into my house from where I came out; and when he is come, he finds it empty, swept, and garnished.

45 Then goes he, and takes with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also to this wicked generation.

- (Acts 5:16) There came also a multitude out of the cities round about to Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one.

- (Acts 8:7) For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed.

As far as this possibility (that we would personally be deceived by the devil) is concerned, most people flatly deny this in their own life. They do not in any way regard it possible that they could be deceived in any area of their lives.

However, it is good to consider the words of Jesus concerning the devil. He said that the devil is a liar and the father of all lies who can deceive us in all areas. His greatest power is deceit, and he wants to mislead people and destroy their lives. If you reject this possibility, you are certainly not doing wisely in this matter:

- (2 Cor 11:14) And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

- (2 Cor 4:3-4) But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:

4 In whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine to them.

- (John 8:44) You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and stayed not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

- (John 10:10) The thief comes not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

Why are mediums needed? If we continue with the reasons why to suspect the possibility of deception in the field of spiritualism, one such is why mediums are needed to deliver messages? Why do the supposed dead relatives need to deliver messages through a mediator instead of dealing directly with their loved ones?

Ask yourself why a wife, father, mother, child, or some other close relative wishing to contact us would use a mediator instead of speaking to us directly. Introducing a mediator would be unlikely because this did not take place in real life when these people were still alive. Therefore, the presence of mediators seems to give reason to doubt any real connection with the loved ones.

Another observation that can be made about the mediums themselves is the background of how they became mediums. The way most of them have become mediums is usually always the same: they have practiced some form of Oriental meditation. (The ouija board is also very often in the background of novice mediums). They have perhaps practiced it for many years or for a shorter period of time but the result is the same: at some point they have gotten under the power of the spirits that have started to speak through them. Kenneth R. Wade provides an example in his book Uuden aikakauden salaisuudet: New age (p. 137). He states that almost all channels and mediums he knows began their activity through some form of Oriental meditation:

Of the channels and mediums, I studied, nearly all of them first came into contact with their spirit guide while practicing some form of oriental meditation. Shamans also usually use a spell or mantra to enter a trance where they can connect with the spirit world.

However, what these mediums fail to consider is that they have actually become like automatons that evil spirits can take advantage of and work through them. Raphael Gasson's statement points to the same thing. What makes his statement important is that he himself was a former medium who proclaimed to others the "good news" that "there is no death":

Whoever wants to be a medium must learn to relax his body and focus his thoughts on one point until he reaches a passive, self-hypnosis-like state where he no longer controls his thoughts. A person becomes like an automaton through which evil spirits can act by taking advantage of his passive state." (1)

Practical observations. One reason to suspect the possibility of deception in the area of spiritism is the many practical observations of how Satan and his angels can well disguise themselves as an angel of light (2 Cor 11:14), for example as a close relative of a person. It is easy for Satan, because he himself was an angel of light before he fell (Eze 28:12-19).

The description given by Basil Tyson in his book (UFOs: Satanic Terror) is a good example of the former. In it, a demon, a fallen spirit being, posed as the writer's mother, even though she was still alive. However, it had to leave when confronted with the name of Jesus Christ:

As I have already said, all my life I have known the reality of the diabolical interest in me. Once, as a young man, I was away from home for several days. One night I had a terrible dream. I could clearly see the door of the room where I was sleeping and felt a horrible certainty that an inexplicable, horrible being would come from that door. Surrounded by terror, yet still asleep, I saw the door slowly open and my mother's ghost standing in the doorway. I can still see her in my mind as I saw her then, perfectly like my mother in every detail of her features. He was wearing the same brown suit I had seen him wearing when I left the house a few days earlier.

The shocking thing was that I knew it wasn't my mother. I was fully aware that he was NOT present as he was at home, about 15 miles away. In my dream he walked across the floor to my bed, bent over me and woke me up with a kiss. I woke up to the demon's unpleasant presence. It had disguised itself as my mother and had now completely abandoned the resemblance. I was a Christian then and in the name of Jesus Christ I told the creature to leave and it didn't last long!

Since then, I have been especially aware of how easily evil spirits can impersonate our loved ones. They can; and they will even go farther than that because they pretend to be others as well as those who are close to us.

In the example above, the mother of the author was still alive when a figure that resembled her appeared. There can also be examples found in which a person has spoken through a medium and this person was presumed to be dead but was later found to be alive and leading quite a normal life elsewhere. The next example describes such a case.

The significant thing is that even though the information about the session seemed to be correct, there was no contact with the supposed person in reality:

During the Second World War a Scottish woman had been informed that her husband "had been lost in a battle". She waited and prayed for her husband to return but it seemed to be that the man had died. Believers who meant well urged her to go to a spiritualistic session and try to get connected with her husband.

The woman went and to her surprise, a creature who greatly resembled her husband appeared. They spoke together and the voice of the creature was as happy as her husband's voice had always been. It made her shiver when they spoke about many personal issues. Imagine her surprise and shock when a few months later her husband, without any warning, arrived home as healthy and vigorous as he had ever been. He had not even been wounded. (2)

Edmond Gruss presents another example in his book about the Ouija board. In this book, there is a confession of a spirit that should be taken with reservation, but apparently the spirits can read our memory as soon as we make room for them:

A person named J. Raupert says the following: 'Some years ago I had a very good experience of this. For many months a spirit claimed to be a friend of mine who had already died. He had many excellent proofs of this. However, he was exposed because of conflicting information and deceit. When he was urged in the name of God to reveal the true source of his information, he explained that he got all his information from our stupid 'memory boxes' and that he could read the contents of our passive memory as easily as we read a book or a newspaper. (3)

What does the Bible say about the whereabouts of the dead? If you have been involved in spiritualism, you may be under the impression that you are in contact with the spirits of the dead. You may think that they live very close to us in the atmosphere, and that we can communicate with them through mediums or even ourselves. Perhaps you also think that you have received messages from your dead relatives.

But is this possible? Is it possible for the dead to appear and speak to us? We will look at this matter in the following lines mainly in the light of examples from the Bible - examples that everyone should study. What is significant about the first couple of examples is that they were uttered by Jesus while he was here on earth. Surely he is a better expert than any of us:

Lazarus and the rich man. If we are looking for the best descriptions of the invisible world, one of them is certainly the account, which Jesus told about the rich man and Lazarus. From this can be seen that the life of the dead really continues in the other world. However, the teaching of this story is that the spirits of the dead cannot leave their whereabouts as has been claimed. A great chasm that was between the rich man and Lazarus prevented it:

- (Luke 16:19-26) There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:

20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,

21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.

22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;

23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and sees Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and you are tormented.

26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from there.

The rich man's spirit, therefore, did not get across to the saved ones (the verses above) and neither him nor Lazarus were able to come back to the Earth, as the next verses show. The people had been given the written word, Moses, and the Prophets. If they did not hear and believe that testimony, neither would they be persuaded by if someone rose from the dead:

- (Luke 16:27-31) Then he said, I pray you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house:

28 For I have five brothers; that he may testify to them, lest they also come into this place of torment.

29 Abraham said to him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.

30 And he said, No, father Abraham: but if one went to them from the dead, they will repent.

31 And he said to him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

The thief on the cross. The second good example is the thief on the cross. Even this person did not remain wandering on earth, but immediately went to Paradise on the same day. Jesus gave him this promise:

- (Luke 23:43) And Jesus said to him, Truly I say to you, To day shall you be with me in paradise.

Paul. Another example is found in the words of Paul. He did not think that he would remain wandering somewhere in the atmosphere; he believed that he would go directly to God and to Heaven. He thought that as long as he was still in his body he was away from Heaven, but immediately after his death he would go "home" to the Lord in Heaven:

- (2 Cor 5:6-8) Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:

7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)

8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

- (Phil 1:23-24) For I am in a strait between two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:

24 Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.

“In contact only with good spirits”. One very common explanation put forward when talking about the spirits of the dead is that "we are in contact only with good spirits, not evil ones". People may sincerely think that when they pray and turn to the good spirits, the bad ones will stay away. They may also think that "good spirits" can always be relied upon because they always protect and never harm. Nicky Cruz describes this in his parents’ lives. His parents lived for a long time under that mistaken belief until, during the latter part of their lives, the truth dawned on them:

My father and mother believed that the good spirits protected our family – but that they both had to be watchful against the evil spirits. They believed that when they called for help from the good spirits, the evil ones often came along.

So they both took some precautions to keep away the evil spirits.

(…) When my father and mother started to practice sorcery, they did not even dream that the evil spirits would take advantage of them. They quite sincerely thought that they were helping people through the good spirits.

They quickly learned the terrible truth.

My father was so deeply under the power of the spirits that he spent almost eighty years without Christ. The truth dawned on him at the moment he took a step towards the Savior. (4).

As for connecting with "good spirits", again it is good to note that it is not even possible to connect with the dead - be they good or bad. It was prevented by the great chasm spoken of above.

Instead, the most reasonable explanation is the evil demonic spirits. They can imitate our beloved relatives, appear as spirit guides, higher selves, inner counselors, or even illuminated and resurrected masters (things that are very common in the New Age movement.) So these are not "good" spirits of the dead, but only demonic spirits whose sole purpose is to deceive and mislead us. They are written about at least in the following verses:

- (Lev 19:31) Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.

- (Lev 20:6) And the soul that turns after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.

- (Deut 18:10-12) There shall not be found among you any one that makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that uses divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch.

11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.

12 For all that do these things are an abomination to the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD your God does drive them out from before you.

- (Lev 20:27) A man also or woman that has a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be on them.

- (2 King 21:6) And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he worked much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.

- (1 Chron 10:13) So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire of it;

- (Isa 8:19) And when they shall say to you, Seek to them that have familiar spirits, and to wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek to their God? for the living to the dead?

- (Isa 29:4) Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.

- (Acts 16:16-18) And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:

17 The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which show to us the way of salvation.

18 And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.

Why is spiritualism wrong? If we look at the previous verses about spiritualism, they clearly forbid contact with familiar spirits and even with the dead. They show that this matter is not God's will, and that those persons who were under the influence of these spirits were subject to a blood debt. They were condemned to death in the days of the Old Covenant.

But what is the reason for such a negative attitude towards the matter? Why is connection with spirits of the dead such a serious matter as the Bible shows?

However, the answer to this is simple. When a person is an eternity soul and God loves people and does not want anyone to perish, these warnings are because of that. He does not want anyone to become bound or to lose his eternal soul. God wants the best for man and that is why these warnings are necessary.

Therefore, you who operate in this area, understand the meaning of the previous verses! Repent in time and abandon your wrong associations, turning to God through Jesus Christ! When you do this, you will be cleansed of your sins and have eternal life:

- (1 John 1:9) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

- (1 John 2:12) I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake.

On the other hand, if you reject God's grace, then you yourself will have to pay for your sins in eternal damnation prepared for the devil and his angels. So rather, let God touch you and release you from the enemy’s web of lies:

- (Matt 25:41,46) Then shall he say also to them on the left hand, Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

- (Gal 5:19-21) Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, jealousies, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

21 Contentions, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

- (Rev 22:12-17) And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and fornicators, and murderers, and idolaters, and whoever loves and makes a lie.

16 I Jesus have sent my angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.

17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that hears say, Come. And let him that is thirsty come. And whoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

Where do the ghost phenomena come from? One thing associated with spiritualism is the ghost phenomena that some people can experience whether willingly or unwillingly. They may experience knocking, other sounds and phenomena or, for example, the feeling that they are being followed. Admittedly, many phenomena in this area move only in the area of the mind, that is, they are hallucinations and visions, but in addition to that, there are also real phenomena.

Why do some people have these experiences? Why do some people have these experiences while others are completely free from them?

There are always reasons for this; they do not appear just by accident. They usually start from the following things. If you suffer from these phenomena, you will probably recognize some of them:

Practicing occultism. The first and most common reason is probably that the current or former residents of the house have taken part in occultism and parapsychological activities. Kurt Koch, who had plenty of experience in this area, wrote:

In my own work of pastoral care, I have often been confronted with this mysterious thing. I have noticed that it is connected to the occult activities of the former or current inhabitants of the haunted house. (5)

On the other hand, if a person turns to Jesus Christ and gives his life to God, these phenomena disappear and the spirits have to retreat. You too, if you suffer from these things and turn to Jesus Christ, you can be freed. It will happen by resisting the devil and his spirits in the name of Jesus Christ, and they will flee:

- (Jam 4:7) Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Objects. One reason may be objects made for idolatry. They are the property of evil spirits and sometimes even Christians have brought these objects into their homes - usually souvenirs - and experienced illness, anxiety and inexplicable problems. Occult books can also be such a gateway.

The following description is an example of this area. In it, the author of the book had received a cow's tail as a gift, which was cursed with the spirit of death. However, he was immediately freed from anxiety when he destroyed this magic object by burning it (compare Acts 19:18,19):

The Prophet bowed his head in prayer and after a few seconds he asked, "I see a stick on the wall of your house, but I don't understand what it means. Do you have any idea what it could be?" To which his wife continued, "I see that stick too, and it has hairs on it!" - "It's a cow's tail. A gift I got from a Mumuye man. I hung it on the wall in the hall of my house." "It's a witch's tool. Cursed by the spirit of death. Go and burn it and you'll be free!" To think! Ilmankos Nabang had sensed the "the smell of death" in me. The Prophet again bowed his head in prayer...

My home was a hundred and fifty kilometers away but it was not difficult for the prophets to see it. In the evening, I grabbed the cow's tail from the wall. I took some matches and my bag. While walking like other men to the forest nearby, I had a severe attack of shortness of breath, the air felt like it was under a rock. When I reached the place in the bushes, I burned that tail. At the very same moment, the internal bandage broke, the distress that had lasted for months disappeared, and I was free again. The nightly attacks of the demons stopped and the feeling of death in my body disappeared. What else could I say than HALLELUJAH! (6)

Related to persons. A very large part of the phenomena are related to certain people -- mediums. When this person leaves, the phenomena stop, or they may go with them to a new place. Often, such contact persons are still young.

Visiting a healer. One possible reason for the phenomena could be that someone in the family has visited a spirit healer or has been treated with magic to be cured of an illness; this may have opened the door to spirits.

Kurt Koch tells about one such case, i.e. a woman who was healed by magic. However, as a result, he had to suffer from these phenomena:

An old married woman came to me for pastoral care. She told about the strange ghostly phenomena occurring in her apartment. At night there were dogs running around her bedroom trying to lick her. Her bed had been lifted up by invisible hands, and at times she had seen several different figures in her room. When she prayed, the apparitions disappeared instantly. This haunting had been going on for years. The lady is mentally completely healthy and does not suffer from any mental health disorders. When I asked if she had ever been involved with occultism, she replied that she had been healed through black magic from diphtheria and some other illnesses. (7)

Family. If occultism has been practiced in a person’s family, descendants in the family can also be bound and suffer because of that activity. If these activities bind you but you break away from them and resist the evil powers in the name of Jesus Christ, you can be freed.

HOW ABOUT THE WORSHIP OF OUR FOREFATHERS? A matter related to the subject of the whereabouts of the dead is the worship of forefathers' spirits and saints, which we are going to address here at the end. This matter, which occurs in many nations, especially in Asia, but also among natural nations, is problematic for many. They don't always know how to react to this and how to deal with it. The next quote from present-day Japan describes this:

In each Japanese home or at least in possession of each family, there is an altar of Buddha before which the spirits of the forefathers are worshipped. The Japanese believe that the neglect of this worship will result in punishment: the house will burn down, a member of the family will become seriously ill, a car accident will take place. I do not know if the civilized Japanese really seriously believe in the existence of the spirits but I know that most of them fear their revenge. (8)

When it comes to the worship of the spirits of forefathers and saints, which the above example tells about, this area therefore includes the notion that the spirits of the forefathers are thought to influence people who are now living so that they can produce both good and bad things for their descendants. They are thought to bring their descendants either well-being, health and wealth or illnesses and bad things - always depending on how they have been appeased, e.g. through various food offerings. However, it is often difficult to say what draws these people to serve such spirits. Is it the fear of revenge or attachment?

You who believe in this view should take into consideration the next couple of points. They are worth taking into account, as you may have been mistaken in this matter:

No connection. Firstly, the Bible verses provided earlier teach us that the spirits of the dead cannot come and wander on the Earth or appear to people. If these verses really are true, it means that it is impossible for us to be in contact with the dead and whatever we do does not affect them in any way. To expect assistance or revenge from them is futile because they can no longer affect this world.

Evil spirits. The second thing is that if any spirit appears to you and troubles you, it can be a demonic spirit. They live between the Earth and Heaven and can trouble people, as we learn in the Bible. (However, they are easy to drive away in the name of Jesus Luke 10:17, if you first turn to Him.) So you have then actually been in contact only with the evil spirits, not the spirits of the dead. Note the following verses:

- (1 Cor 10:19-20) What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing?

20 But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that you should have fellowship with devils.

- (Deut 32:17) They sacrificed to devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.

Respect and worship. One thing that is also worth noting is that honoring parents and ancestors is not wrong. It is not wrong because Jesus also taught so (Mark 7:9,10 and 10:19).

However, the other side of the matter is that God alone is worthy of our worship because he created our ancestors and all humans. He alone deserves our thanks and worship, and from Him we can ask for help when we need it (Phil 4:6: Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.) So even past ancestors can be respected and valued in a certain way, and taking care of the graves is not a bad thing either, but it is good to understand that it is not that important for them or for us:

- Who said such a thing to you? Of course, Christians are allowed to take care of their graves. Oh, if you saw the Finnish cemeteries; they are like the most beautiful gardens.

- Maybe I've misunderstood then... I don't even remember where I got that idea.

Nakagawa-san looks relieved.

- It is one thing to care for a grave and another to worship spirits. After all, you don't have to take food offerings there.

In my opinion, the Christian Church here should develop Japanese customs to honor the memory of ancestors. It is an integral part of this culture. The Christians unnecessarily get a reputation that they do not respect their forefathers – when respecting and worshipping are, however, two different issues altogether. (9)

REFERENCES:

1. Raphael Gasson, The Challenging Counterfeit, eight printing USA, p. 89

2. Roy Allan Anderson, Henkimaailman salaisuudet (Secrets of the Spirit world), p. 94

3. Quote from Jälleensyntyminen vai ruumiin ylösnousemus (Reincarnation), Mark Albrecht, p. 93

4. Nicky Cruz, Juokse henkesi edestä (Devil on the Run), p. 22, 178

5. Kurt Koch, Taikauskot (Der Aberglaube), p. 50

6. Vanhaparta, Operaatio Mumuye jatkuu, p. 184, 185

7. Kurt Koch, Taikauskot (Der Aberglaube), p. 51

8. Mailis Janatuinen, Tapahtui Tamashimassa, p. 13

9. Mailis Janatuinen, Tapahtui Tamashimassa, p. 89,90