projection, delusion and wishful thinking.
very much like religion in general, huh?

I see dead people all the time. People who are dead to God. They may also feel dead themselves or they may feel very happy to be alive. In either case they go to the same place when they are dead physically. It reminds me of the Paul Simon song, "Hello darkness my old friend. I've come to talk with you again." Trouble with Paul is he didnt (at least in those days) offer God as a way out. In Flowers Never Bend With the Rainfall, he says "I am blinded by the light, of God and truth and right." If you ask Paul about it, he may say, "well, I wasnt saying that myself, I was just saying what someone else may say." But what image does it project to the listener? "He was a most peculiar man. That's what Mrs. Riordan said, and she should know. She lived upstairs from him. She said he was a most peculiar man. He was a most peculiar man. He lived all alone, within a house, within a room, within himself, a most peculiar man. He had no friends, he seldom spoke. And no one in turn ever spoke to him, cause' he wasnt friendly and he didnt care. And he wasnt like them, oh no, he was a most peculiar man. He died last Saturday. He turned on the gas and he went to sleep, with the windows closed so he'd never wake up, to his silent world and his tiny room. And Mrs. Riordan says he has a brother somewhere. Who should be notified soon. And all the people said, "What a shame that he's dead." But, wasnt he a most peculiar man?"

Excellent point Mr. Rational. Couldn't have said it better.

It is not surprising that people who have been able to sell themselves the ridiculous idea that they will somehow escape the finality of death, should then turn around and sell themselves the idea that the dead can somehow interact with the living. If anything, the idea would lend validation, in their fragile minds, to the whole notion of the existence of their desperately sought -after continuance sans life.

this post is a mockery of Americans and Christianity. where are the resources? this is obviously jib-jab, these "experiences" are the opinion of the Christian Americans who responded to this poll. who knows, maybe they even replied as a joke! so please don't mock the reality of religion because of one stupid post. if i looked up every inane thing an atheist has said, i could comment to make you look idiotic.
if you are uneducated, don't call the kettle black, so to speak.

People are looking for more these days. Sounds like going to church and blindly believing whatever the priest spits out isn't cutting it anymore.

Listen Stand For Something, don't blame others for your disappointment in your Christian brethren. Many of them are this way--superstitious and absolutely without logic--they see ghosts where there are none and they see visions of the Apocalypse at the drop of a hat. Atheists expect a vacuum when it's all over. Are some atheists stupid--sure, but the desperation of the believers to hang to the hem of any holy garment ,so proclaimed by men who are wearing those garments themselves,--the proclivity of the believers to cling to any such hem is what leads to the mental illness, wherein dead people rise like wisps of smoke from the earth and speak of a rosy world yet to come to living people. May be the polled Christians said they talk to the dead just for the fun of it? Let's just hope so for the sake of the progress of modern man--he seems to be fast regressing to the cro magnon state with Christianity as the main assist in this development.
Clay, that is the best most creative post you have put up thus far--interesting.
Ravensfan Anon

The 'ghosts' that you are seeing are not ghosts. If you feel an evil presence, they are demons and can be bound and cast out; if they are holy angels, you cannot bind and cast them out. They will stay and speak that which the LORD has sent them to speak. There is a supernatural world interacting at all times with our natural world. Wherever we are or go, demonic spirits, as well as holy angels are always in our presence.

Actually I have to give Paul Simon a lot of credit for that post. But I do believe that there are spirits around, evil as well as good. I have seen what the Holy Spirit can do. Some people may overdo it. Sometimes pics of Mary appearing are just light reflections off of the lens of the camera. People want to believe something bad enough so they make it happen. There are definitely spirits though, and other evil spirits like vodka and whiskey that make you see things also. The evil spirits here make you want to drink them perhaps.

In our human experience we have all come to acknowledge (universally) that we live in this physical "realm" of reality. Being human, we are separate from other beings in our physical capacities as well as our spiritual capacities. Acknowledging the spiritual has up for debate since the dawn of human existence. Arguing the unseen is an interesting topic and has no doubt had it's nature expressed through lore and legend. Is there more to these "ghosts and goblins"? What of the other "realm" of this reality we live in? What happens when we die? Science can only go so far as to explain paranormal phenomena -- but even today in our modern era -- has been able to attempt to shed light on our human understanding of these unseen forces.

So is this real? As a Christian, I would say I was taught of the spiritual from an early age, as are most youth in Christian families. It is a "fairytale" like concept; good vs evil; exciting and mystical. When I began to put serious faith in this concept within the context of my faith as I matured, I was fully aware of this unseen "battle" being played out in this "other realm". This doesn't happen over night. I'm sure it could in some cases.

Throughout history, people have been passionately inspired to do good and rise above all adversity and people have been negatively influenced by adversity, committed heinous crimes, become lost in hopeless situations with no metal integrity or a "brighter day" in sight -- these alone could give curious cause for a belief in an ultimate good and evil -- being "positive" of "negative" forces at work in our physical world effecting our human state. Have there been "mental breakdowns" or "delusions" or "visions" which could be termed false? No doubt. I'm sure some have claimed to see The Virgin Mother on a loaf of bread. Whether its for publicity or not; truth or hallucination; If a greater good comes from the experience -- a life changing turn for the better or a lesson learned -- all the power to ya! Life on earth is full of mystery and surprise.

I do believe in an "absolute" good and evil. On a very real and deep level. One can be lifted higher by this good and one can be sucked down by the opposite. The latter can be a very tangible and frightening experience. Apparitions, voices and the "signals" which are received with our human senses are mainstream fodder for lore and legend -- it is all too easy to cast these claims aside as delusional or superstitious rubbish -- however, for those who have experienced any real paranormal phenomena, for whatever reason, stand firm in their resolve that this reality is something to be respected. There are inconceivable forces at work everywhere that man will always be skeptical of; those who have been lucky or unlucky enough to experience these secrets will always come out wiser because of it. It is conclusive in all accounts, these forces are definitely good and definitely "un-good" or evil. I do not think there will be a huge consequence for those not believing in the unseen -- how it directly effects our "9-5" is irrelevant for most. Again, if a greater good comes from these "experiences" then we should be thankful for having been blessed as so. It really shall be good vs evil until the end of time.

An interesting thought from the French poet Baudelaire:

"Elle ne se plaignit en aucune façon de la mauvaise réputation dont elle jouit dans toutes les parties du monde, m'assura qu'elle était, elle-même, la personne la plus intéressée à la destruction de la superstition, et m'avoua qu'elle n'avait eu peur, relativement à son propre pouvoir, qu'une seule fois, c'était le jour où elle avait entendu un prédicateur, plus subtil que ses confrères, s'écrier en chaire:
«Mes chers frères, n'oubliez jamais, quand vous entendrez vanter le progrès des lumières, que la plus belle des ruses du diable est de vous persuader qu'il n'existe pas!"

"He did not complain in any way about the bad reputation he enjoyed all over the world, assured me that he himself was the person the most interested in the destruction of superstition and admitted to me that he had only been afraid for his own power one time, and that was the day when he had heard a preacher more subtle than his colleagues, shout out from the pulpit:"

"My dear brothers, never forget, when you hear the progress of enlightenment vaunted, that the devil's best trick is to persuade you that he doesn't exist!"

Those of us who are too busy and cluttered with distraction should not be too surprised if we never experience any of the paranormal. Maybe we are already on the path of disbelief and there is not need for revelation to change all that?

Clay - Your comments are hypocritical. You claim to have seen what the Holy Spirit can do, but dismiss other poeple's claims as imaginary. You must be either an Evangelical or Baptists to show such religious arrogance.

It's been found that in almost every ghost haunting and poltergeist that there are certain electrical elements at work. Using EMF detectors ghost hunters can monitor these electrical forces. These devices can examine and record even the smallest fluctuation in the surrounding electromagnetic field. Everything gives off some kind of electromagnetic field, even our own bodies. Electrical appliances, like television sets and computers give off higher distortions than a lamp or a toaster would. When ghosts are present there are higher levels of electromagnetic distortions. Many times the distortions are so high that they interfere with the working abilities of computers systems and audio/video equipment. High levels of static electricity are also detectable.

Recording temperature changes is another scientific way of detecting the presence of ghosts. Fluctuations of more than 10 degrees have been recorded in small areas of rooms with constant temperatures. It's a scientific fact that there has to be some form of energy present to alter the temperature. Temperature does not change unless "something" is affecting it one way or the other. In many ghost sightings witnesses report feeling a cold spot. This could be caused by the fact that light does not seem to reflect correctly off of most ghosts, which also gives them a dark form. The light seems to be absorbed into the ghost. The theory is that ghosts absorb both light and heat energy causing the general area around that ghost to be several degrees cooler. There are also hot spots recorded, which could be just the reverse affect occurring. Instead of soaking up the light and heat the ghost is reflecting it back, causing the area to be warmer.

These unexplainable electromagnetic fluctuations and temperature changes are scientific evidence that something is happening. Ghosts are real.

No I am not being hypocritical. I have seen what the Holy Spirit can do. I am just saying that some people take it too far. Sometimes people have been in contact with spirits, and sometimes they think they have been in contact with them and havent. I saw a program last night and they interviewed Johnny Cash's sister. When they were young their older brother got caught in saw while cutting wood. He lived for 6 days before passing away. When they went to visit him in the hospital, he said "do you see the angels mama?" She said no. He said, "they are standing right next to you mama." It had a huge influence on this family. I believe this to be true, although of course I didnt see the angels myself. But once someone showed me a picture of what was supposed to be Mary appearing and it looked like reflections of light off the lense. I just didnt believe it. Others did. Someone showed me a picture of what was supposed to be a ghost and it looked like the same type of thing. I have heard of many instances of a child having incurable cancer or something and after prayer the tumor is completely gone. So I definitely believe in the Holy Spirit. That doesnt mean that everything that everyone says about spirits is true. Thanks.

Clay – Agreed but you can’t discount anyone else’s claims because you don’t agree with then or see it. Didn’t Christ only appear to his disciples after he was raised? You are right sometimes people see what they want to but I don’t believe you are qualified to deny anyone else’s claim. I can’t confirm or deny any of them.

I cant either. It is just my own personal feeling about anyone's claim. Thanks.