Are Ghosts real? or Do They Exist? (Part 1)

Do you believe in ghosts?

That's a pretty loaded question isn't it? It would be more productive to ask "Are ghosts real or, do they exist?", but does "evidence" for or against such a thing change opinions? Here's where it gets complicated. See, there will never be evidence to support that they exist AND that they don't exist. If someone has blue eyes, you will never find evidence to support that he has brown eyes; does that make sense? Things that are true and fact don't contain evidence that contradict in that sense. Actually, if there are two opposites and one is true, the first thing that would be false is the other; (i.e. if you're inside a building, you're definitely NOT outside of a building.)

So if it were to be proven that ghosts don't exist, how could you prove that they do at the same time? You couldn't; but apparently it's a debatable subject, mainly because there are variables that most people just aren't sure about. One example that comes right off the top of my head is, what happens when you die? One would think anyone that could answer this could answer whether or not ghosts exist. Now, I myself have never died and I can assure you that everyone reading this post isn't dead, so once you experience said death, I'd say there's a good chance it would be impossible to talk about. As far as what happens when you die, I'd like to break down the evidence a little, starting with the Bible, even though there are many different Bibles, I believe since the majority of the United States is christian, it might be a good place to start.

Were there any ghosts in the Bible? Did people talk about the dead and their ghosts floating around? Did God ever discuss ghosts to his followers? If there was something about ghosts, could there be any facts about what they are, what they're made of, or why they exist in the first place? Looking into the Old Testament, we see quite a bit of context where death is involved. The ancient Hebrews related death to "sleep". I'll give just a few examples.

Matt 27:52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,

1Cor. 11:30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.

1Cor. 15:6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.

1Cor. 15:20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

Dan 12:2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake...

Eph. 5: (14) Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead...

Psalm 13:3
 Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;

They didn't believe in an immortal soul, whereas you stay conscious after death and that consciousness leaves your dead body to exist elsewhere.They believed when you die, you no longer exist. Death is complete unconsciousness.When you're dead, you're dead; there is no being "alive" somewhere else. I'll give another few examples about the state of being (or state of the dead) in what they call sheol, or the grave:

-Psalm 6:5 For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?
 

-Psalm 31:17 Let me not be ashamed, O LORD; for I have called upon thee: let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave.
 

-Psalm 88:11 Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? or thy faithfulness in destruction?
 

-Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
 

-Ecclesiastes 9:5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.

According to the above verses, these are some of the attributes of the dead in the grave (with just these verses alone):

1. They don't remember God

2. They don't give God thanks

3. They are silent

4. God's loving kindness is not declared

5. God's faithfulness in destruction is not declared

6. There is no work

7. There is no devise (plan or scheme in which to do things)
8. There is no knowledge

9. There is no wisdom

10. The dead know nothing

11. The dead have no reward.



Edit: There are those that believe that all of this is just referencing what happens to your body and not your soul/spirit. Here are a few proofs that these verses are in fact talking about you and not just a part of you:

Gen. 35:18 And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin.
(The second definition and part of the first definition in two separate online dictionaries show "departing" means "to die" 1,2)


Ezekiel 13:19
And will ye pollute me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to my people that hear your lies?


Ezekiel 18:4
Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.

Ezekiel 18:20
The soul that sinneth, it shall die...


Rev. 16:3
And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.

The soul dies. Is there a difference between a soul and a spirit? Yes, actually. According to Scripture the spirit does actually go somewhere:

Ecc. 12:7
Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. 


Could you believe that this is supposed to be the formula for every person that ever lived and not just believers? If you say that this is where your consciousness lies, then it would be impossible for you to "go" to a place like hell, no? If your spirit was who you are and your spirit has to go directly to God, wouldn't that also rule out becoming a ghost, therefore denying a good/evil scenario based relocation? Just so we're clear that "the dust" refers to people:



Gen. 3:19
In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

How can all these conditions be met and still produce ghosts of dead people that walk, talk, move things around, interfere with electrical equipment, etc...? All of these verses agree with the idea that the dead do not function in another location. If they did, they'd be vegetables compared to the standards of the living. There are also many questions this poses according to additional Scripture.

1. Lazarus was raised from the dead. Why didn't he immediately inform everyone what it was like to be dead? He was dead several days, that should have been long enough to get a good look around. You could say it just wasn't recorded. If so, then why not?! Most new age christians believe that before Jesus died everyone went to hell, because if they didn't and Lazarus ended up in heaven, it would mean achieving heaven membership was possible without Jesus and therefore made his death unnecessary. So, Lazarus could have gone to hell; and don't you think that would have been a very important message to convey, that you're judged by God to be tortured forever without mercy if you don't meet certain conditions. You would think Jesus was Lazarus's personal savior before he was crucified, no? Unless he was just dead in the grave and didn't have anything to say about it because everyone else believed he was actually dead.

2. There is mentioned in the Scripture several times a Day of Resurrection, where everyone that has ever died is brought back to life simultaneously and are later judged and rewarded or chastised according to their works. As far as I know this only happens once (hence "day"), so why, if there are possibly billions and billions of people in the paradise and perfection of Heaven, would God take them away from that to be judged yet again? They are dead, aren't they? and why for that matter would they need to be judged again? Was God mistaken the first time? Did they sin in heaven? One could claim that those that went to hell are the ones that will be judged. If so, I repeat, Was He mistaken the first time?

3. Christianity claims that the judgment to be sent to Heaven or Hell is eternal. If that was the case, there would be no coming back. Plus, not only would they have to be there forever, they would also have to have been there forever ago, since eternal means without beginning and without end. So, technically speaking, you were always there and never lived on this Earth. How is it that God makes your destination eternal, yet temporary, since he's raising you from the dead? Isn't that a little wishy-washy?

4. Christianity also believes that when you die, you have to go to either heaven or hell. If God is in control of everything, how can some people slip through the cracks to become ghosts? Are some people just that sneaky? So not only are you alive, conscious, aware, or what have you, now you have at least three possible places in which to relocate. Are christians just misinformed about their ultimate destiny? Can one that's claimed to be destined to hell escape such an unspeakable tragedy by simply floating around?

Unfortunately the Scriptures don't support the existence of ghosts. Either that or the Scriptures that christianity swears by is uneducated on the subject of the paranormal. Even the idea of a human soul wandering around aimlessly after they die is a complete contradiction to what christianity should be behooved to believe. The verses above are pretty clear to point out some characteristics of being dead, but the characteristics of a ghost are non-existent in the texts. However, I'm not finished in my quest to ask or even answer a few questions about the existence of ghosts, so stay tuned until part 2 of my paper.