ETS 2008, Providence, RI

carmenhills@comcast.net

A Ghost in Grandma’s Rocker

Counseling Christians Who See Demons

Carmen J. Bryant

©2008

He breaks the power of canceled sin

He sets the prisoner free

His blood can make the foulest clean

His blood availed for me.

Charles Wesley

Barry wearily closed the door to his Honda Civic and made his way through the garage

into the kitchen. He knew his wife wouldn’t be home yet. She wouldn’t get off work for another

half hour. After splashing some water over his face and grabbing a snack from the refrigerator,

he moseyed into the living room, intending to watch some news on TV. Suddenly he stopped,

almost dropping his food. Grandma was rocking in her favorite chair, calmly looking as though

she were waiting for him to arrive home. The problem was that Grandma had been dead for two

years.1

After what seemed like ages but was probably only seconds in reality, Grandma

disappeared, and the rocker gradually came to a halt. Veering around the rocker, Barry slowly

crumpled into a corner of the couch, laying his food on the coffee table. The knot in his stomach

1 Stories in this paper that are not footnoted are based upon actual incidents personally told to the author. Names and

some details have been changed in order to protect the privacy of the families and individuals.

2

had taken away any appetite. His mind was reeling. Over and over he thought, “People will think

I’m crazy. I mustn’t tell anyone…I mustn’t tell anyone.”

For many westerners, ghost stories are part of the morbid entertainment reserved for

Halloween, mythical remnants of a pagan past that are not intended to be taken seriously. For

many others, however, encounters with spirits are a common occurrence. Some of these are

deliberate, as with those who try to contact the dead through séances. Others, however, are not.

The spirits manifest themselves unbidden, striking fear and disrupting normal life. These kinds

of encounters provide TV producers with their material for documentaries about haunted houses

and other tales of paranormal activity.2 Many people turn for help to psychic counselors, such as

Sylvia Browne.3

Biblical truth

Since biblical truth does not allow us to believe in ghosts as the spirits of departed

ancestors, we generally conclude that ghosts, unidentifiable dark beings, and other frightful

specters are actually Satan and his demons attempting to trap vulnerable human beings through

fear and deceit. Christians, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, are often thought to be immune to seeing

the evil side of the supernatural and certainly are not supposed to be hounded day after day by

beings that are invisible to everyone else.

In counseling, it would undoubtedly be easier if we could draw a definitive line between

believers and non-believers, concluding that only non-Christians are subject to such ghostly

2 Shows such as Ghost Hunters, Haunted Hotels, and Haunted Lives abound on TV, exhibiting not only what are

purported to be ghostly manifestations but also indicating the public interest in watching such tales.

3 Sylvia Browne, well-known psychic counselor, was raised Catholic but now claims to be a Gnostic Christian. In

1986 she founded the Society of the Novus Spiritus (Latin for New Spirit), an organization which she calls a

“monument to God.” The tenets of the Society affirm there is no fear, guilt, sin, hell, or Satan. Her alleged ability to

connect with the invisible world is equated with a gift of prophecy (“Novus Spiritus,” <www.novus.org/home

index.cfm> Oct. 6, 2008.)

3

encounters. Any such boundary, however, seems to dissolve when we meet Christians who insist

that ghosts come to them unbidden, even accompanying them wherever they go. They know that

something is wrong, but when they seek help in the church they run into theological blockades.

“You’re not really a Christian,” may be the pastor’s dismissive response. “If you were a

true believer, this wouldn’t be happening to you.” Thus, in spite of protestations, the confused

victim goes away with seeds of doubt about his salvation, having received neither help nor

sympathy. In addition to seeing what others can not, he has the added burden of wondering if

God has rejected him.

“You’ve been watching too many zombie movies,” is another typical response from the

church. “Your imagination is working overtime. You’re seeing things that don’t exist. Stop

watching all the horror movies and your nightmares will go away.” It may be good advice to

avoid horror movies, but when the videos are all discarded and the invisible beings appear during

waking hours, the victim begins to wonder if he is going crazy. He may even be referred to a

professional who has no regard for anything supernatural and attempts to cure the ailment with

medication alone. No pills, however, are going to get rid of demons if the demons are real.

A third response builds on the suspicion that the victim is involved in occult practices.

“Have you been playing around with a Ouija board? Do you hang around with Wiccans?”

Certainly these risky practices are worth investigating. What happens, though, when the victim

firmly denies having anything to do with the occult? Some counselors so equate demonic

manifestations with occult activities that they can only conclude that the person is lying.

“You must be involved in some terrible sin,” is a fourth reaction. “You’ve opened the

door for Satan to get into your life so that he can take control.” Again, hidden sins, like occult

practices, need to be confessed and renounced, but the assumption that a huge sin must be

4

present is fallacious. All of these responses reveal a theological mindset that denies the reality of

Satan’s having that kind of power over a Christian.

A fifth ineffective response is heard from the pastor or counselor who acknowledges the

possibility of Satan’s invisible world becoming visible, even to Christians, but feels helpless to

deal with it. In this case he admits the presence of the demonic but has to say, “I’m not equipped

to handle this. I can’t help you.”

If the victim has let his problems be known more widely in the church, he finds himself

shunned, as though he is bearing some contagion.4 He learns to say, like Barry, “I mustn’t tell

anyone…I mustn’t tell anyone.” Finding no help in the church, he begins to look for help in

spiritually unsafe places.

Christians and the powers of evil

Our struggle, Paul says, is against unseen supernatural forces—the rulers, the authorities,

the powers of this dark world, and “the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms”

(Eph. 6:12). For this kind of warfare Scripture says we need out-of-the-ordinary weapons. We

need the divine power that is capable not only of demolishing lies (2 Cor. 10:4) but also of

defeating the invisible, created beings who are Satan’s emissaries in the present age. Although

Satan’s ultimate defeat is guaranteed,5 his kingdom will still be fighting battles against the

people of God until his final destruction at the end of the age.6

4 One Christian woman known to the author was heard to say, “We can’t let our children be around the families of

such people. There was a good reason why God had the Israelites wipe out the Canaanites!” This was in spite of

knowing that the family members who were experiencing satanic appearances were sincere believers and active in

church ministries.

5 Satan was defeated at the cross, but the Scriptures are clear that the battles are not over (Jn. 12:31, 16:11; Col.

2:13-15; Eph. 6:10-18; 1 Pet. 5:8-10).

6 “And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false

prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever” (Rev. 20:10).

5

Spiritual warfare is not just personal. The classic New Testament passage on spiritual

armor addresses the church, the body of Christ, with grammatically plural commands. We are to

be strong, putting on the armor for our fight so that we can stand firm against the enemy.7 These

plural words definitely have an individual application. The invisible weapons of faith and truth,

for example, must be used to fight personal battles against the temptations with which Satan

bombards each one of us. In addition, we use standards of righteousness individually and

collectively to fight societal evil around us, whether it be offering an alternative to abortion,

strengthening laws against sexual offenders, or wrestling with poverty and addiction.

Many Christians balk, however, at accepting the reality of Satan’s invisible troops

becoming visible, especially in the West where reason and science are supposed to rule. When

weaker members of the body of Christ are victims of such attacks, we find it much easier to

explain away their experiences rather than teaching them how to use the spiritual armor God has

already provided them. The biblical command is that the strong are to help the weak,8 but instead

those who need the help are either avoided or told to take their battle elsewhere. Seeing

Grandma’s ghost must have another explanation: a hallucination, a mental illness, or even

wishful thinking that arises out of a deep sense of loss.

Real vs. Invisible

One challenge for both counselor and counselee is to distinguish between real and

invisible. Christians, by faith, don’t normally have trouble grasping God, heaven, and angels as

invisible realities. All of these have the potential of becoming visible: God as incarnate in Jesus

7 evndunamou/sqe, evndu,sasqe, du,nasqai uma/j sth/nai, ouvk e;stin h`mi/n h` pa,lh, etc. Eph. 6:10ff.

8 Gal. 6:1-2, 1 Thess. 5:14.

6

Christ, heaven as a future dwelling place to be experienced with the senses, and angels as beings

that occasionally reveal themselves to humans in visible form.9

Christians know from Scripture that Satan, hell, and demons exist, but because they are

of a different reality than that which is promised to believers, they are often relegated to the

realm of the permanently invisible and therefore not real. It is a mistake of language, but the

mistake can have serious consequences when talking to someone who has actually seen spirits in

the form of dead relatives or specters that emanate an evil presence. Such a person can readily

conclude that the counselor is not really listening. One Christian woman, who knew that Satan

could deceive people by appearing in various forms, made the mistake of pleading with her

husband that the dead relatives he was seeing were not real rather than building upon the biblical

concept of spiritual deceit. He, of course, would pay no attention. The spirits had been appearing

9 “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it”

(Heb. 13:2). See also the many stories in Scripture in which angels appear not only in visions but in physical reality.

7

to him for years and regularly conversed with him. Arguments that what he was seeing was not

real fell on deaf ears.10

Formulating a theology of the invisible is challenging at best. The Christian’s explanation

of invisible reality must be based on the revealed truth of Scripture, letting personal experiences

be tested by Truth. However, the results of the tests can be skewed if our understanding of the

relevant scriptures is distorted.

Such has been the case with the belief that it is impossible for Christians to see demons.

This conclusion is based on the doctrine of the indwelling Holy Spirit: if a person has received

the Holy Spirit, he cannot have an evil spirit at the same time.

The logic is flawed, however, for two reasons. First, we are not talking about demon

“possession” or “having a demon.”11

Rather, we’re talking about Christians who are enabled to

see what is normally invisible when no one else can.

Secondly, we cannot apply the logic of physics to the invisible, spiritual world. The realm

of the invisible overlaps physical reality. Physical space, to our perception, is filled. Yet, from

Scripture we know that God and his angels fill “space” that is already full. The visible and the

invisible are two different dimensions.

Concluding that a person who claims to see ghosts or other spirits is not a Christian

actually has no biblical foundation. The greater challenge is to discern whether the experiences

are demonic or have some other explanation.

10

Even if a person’s visions are caused by something other than supernatural beings—perhaps hallucinations

caused by chemical substances, damaged emotions, or a diseased mind, for example— to immediately suggest that

what someone is seeing is not real is a mistake. The visions are still within that person’s realm of reality. Our goal in

counseling is to identify the source of the problem and see that the counselee gets the help that is needed. Denying

his reality at the outset is more likely to turn him away rather than build any confidence that his counselor is actually

listening and might have a solution. This is not to suggest that we avoid the truth. Rather, it is to say that it is

important first to gain a listening ear that will pay attention to the truth. 11

Demon “possession” and being under the control of a demon are related issues, but not the particular issues of this

paper.

8

Christina is the believing daughter of godly parents, her father a pastor. When she was

nine years old, gossip and contention disrupted their church, and the tension was felt in

Christina’s home. One night after Christina had gone to bed, two glowing red eyes appeared in

the corner of her bedroom. She sat up in bed, frightened, and called her parents. They quickly

came, but neither could see the glowing eyes to which Christina pointed. Nevertheless, they

immediately knew that the Evil One was present. They were honest with their daughter about

Satan’s presence, at the same time assuring her that in the name of Jesus Satan would have to

leave. When they prayed, the eyes disappeared and never returned.12

Christina was fortunate to have godly parents to offer reassurance and a solution. Patti

was no so fortunate. She became a spiritually sensitive believer in childhood, but her parents

were indifferent to her decision to follow Christ. She began having unexplained beings threaten

her at night, but when she would run to her parents, they assumed that she was only having

nightmares and responded, “Whatever…!” It wasn’t until years later that she understood what

was happening and attained victory over the demonic in the name of Jesus.

It is tempting to dismiss children’s stories as those of the imagination. It is harder to

dismiss those of rational adults, however. In the early 1990s, a young couple from the United

States arrived in the Philippines to help missionaries in Manila. They had only been there a few

days when, suddenly, one dark morning about three a.m., the wife awoke to find a row of tiny

men dancing in the air at the foot of her bed. Startled and amazed, she sat up and spoke sternly to

them: “I don’t know who you are or why you are here, but get out of here in the name of the

Lord Jesus!” They were instantly gone.13

12

Descriptions of glowing red eyes are common as a sign of the demonic.

13 When she described her experience to more experienced missionaries, they told her about the dwende, the dwarf

spirits that inhabit the Philippines. It is unusual for western missionaries to see the dwende but a common occurrence

9

Finding the root

If a Christian counselee claims to see ghosts or in some other way is bothered by the

demonic, it certainly is necessary to explore some of the more common reasons for his becoming

vulnerable. The Bible gives ample examples of how Satan can gain a foothold into the believer’s

life through anger and other sin.14

Playing around in the Devil’s territory through occult practices

is also a sure way to let Satan wreak havoc with mind and body.15

When the counselor can

discover spiritually dangerous behaviors, solutions are more easily formulated—although much

time may still be needed to implement them, depending upon how much of a hold such practices

have over a person and on how willing he is to cooperate.

Sometimes, however, the source of the problem is not immediately identifiable. Such is

the case with one family of this writer’s acquaintance whose members have been seeing ghosts

and displaying the “gift of second sight”16

for six generations.17

Invisible playmates

Sasha was only a toddler when her mother first noticed that her daughter seemed to be

talking to someone who wasn’t there. At first, she assumed it was an imaginary friend, Sasha’s

own invention. She began to have second thoughts one day, however, when Sasha answered a

knock at the door that her mother hadn’t heard. Sasha quickly came to her. “Mommy,” she said,

“can I go outside to play with Jimmy?”

among Filipinos. The fact that mature Christians had their eyes opened to see the invisible world points to the

possibility of this happening elsewhere. 14

Eph. 4:26-27

15 This would include attempts to contact the dead, which can account for claimed appearances of ghosts. God

absolutely prohibits any activity of this kind (Lev. 19:31, Isa. 8:19, et. al.)

16 “Second sight” refers to the ability to see beyond the physical world into the invisible, spiritual world.

17 This writer has personally spoken with three generations. The three oldest generations are now deceased.

10

“Who’s Jimmy?” her mother asked.

“He’s the little boy at the door.” Sasha’s mother looked but could see no one. Sasha

insisted that Jimmy was standing on the front step. Again Sasha’s mother concluded that her

daughter only had an imaginary friend, but she nevertheless began to wonder.

After many months of watching Sasha with her imaginary playmate, mother and daughter

were both outside the house. Sasha’s mother began chatting with the woman from next door. The

neighbor asked, “Who is that little boy that is always playing with Sasha?”

“What little boy?” Sasha’s mother responded.

“The one that is with her right now,” her neighbor answered, and pointed to where Sasha

was playing in the yard. Sasha’s mother felt chills go down her spine. She could see no one with

Sasha, but her neighbor described Jimmy exactly as Sasha had. From that moment she began

paying more attention to Sasha’s claims, realizing that her daughter’s imaginary playmate might

not be imaginary.

When Sasha was ready to start school, her invisible world had grown to include dark,

frightening shapeless specters that would attack her, leaving marks on her body. As young as she

was, she learned that she couldn’t talk about these things except to her mother. For years, her

mother kept quiet, not spiritually grounded enough to know how to fight this and afraid of what

the consequences might be if school authorities found out her daughter was “seeing things.”

While Sasha’s mother was frightened by her daughter’s visions, her grandfather was not

disturbed at all. “She has a gift,” he insisted, “and she needs to learn how to use it.” Sasha’s

grandfather, of Native American heritage, had such a gift himself. He regularly received visits

from his deceased mother and from a favorite cousin who had died tragically while still young.

11

He further admitted to seeing things that he would not dare talk about. Sasha, then, was caught in

a family with two decidedly opposing worldviews.

The good, the bad, and the ugly

Is an invisible playmate something to be concerned about? Children often invent people

and animals to fill the world of their imagination. A friend’s three-year-old daughter invented a

mouse that she would lead around on an imaginary leash. Her mother became accustomed to

seeing her daughter walk around the house with her mouse. One day, however, the child began

leading around an imaginary cat. Her mother asked, “What happened to your mouse?” The

toddler responded, “Well, I had to do something to get rid of that silly mouse!”

Such playful events are harmless. Even the nighttime monsters that many children dream

up are nothing more than childhood fears surfacing. In Sasha’s case, however, evidence grew

that she was not imagining her playmate.

Another child, Seana, began seeing spirits and “knowing things” when she was about

five. She and her sister both witnessed strange things happening in their home, the sort of things

one hears about in stories of poltergeists. She frequently saw in a tree outside her second-story

window a man who called himself Walter and claimed to be her spirit guide. Other spirits started

coming to her, some resembling family members.18

Sometimes these were friendly, but

occasionally they would turn ugly and terrify her. Seana knew that she was different than other

children and learned to be choosy in selecting persons to listen to her.

When she was about ten, she was molested by a distant relative. Her behavior, already

abnormal, became severe enough that her mother found a professional Christian counselor for

18

In looking at a family photo album in later years, she discovered a photo of her great-grandparents and identified

them as the “ghosts” that had been conversing with her.

12

her. By that time, Seana had multiple psychological problems. Her family felt that school

counselors compounded the difficulties with their unprofessional attempts at diagnosis, labeling

her variously as schizophrenic, borderline autistic, manic-depressive, or having a split

personality. In her teens, she began having seizures, which increased in severity over the next

few years to the point of being life-threatening.

When she was referred to a psychiatrist, she was put on drugs to stop what were believed

to be hallucinations. Neither drugs nor counseling convinced Seana that what she was seeing was

not real. Having hallucinations was not the same as seeing something that is normally invisible,

and she felt mistreated when people tried to convince her otherwise.

When a child as severely emotionally disturbed as Seana shows up to school with bruises,

cuts, and weird behavior, it is understandable that teachers might suspect abuse. No one believed

Seana’s protests that family members were not hurting her, or believed her mother that no form

of physical punishment was ever used in their home. School authorities filed charges against

Seana’s mother, which eventually were dropped for lack of evidence.

Was Seana just a clumsy child, or did her story about spirits pushing her down the stairs

have some validity? What about the two spirits whom she claimed told her they would protect

her from her abuser, but then shoved her into harm’s way? Were they simply the work of a

disturbed imagination, or were they real, as she claimed? After years of trying to find help

through pastors, doctors, counselors, and psychiatrists, Seana was desperate. Desperate people

look for desperate solutions. Seana phoned Montel Williams,19

who in turn contacted the

spiritualist Sylvia Browne. Although Seana declined Browne’s invitation to go on the program,

19

Montel Williams was the host of the syndicated CBS TV program The Montel Williams Show, which ran for 17

years before its cancellation in at the end of the 2007-2008 season. Sylvia Browne was a frequent guest on his show.

13

she felt that at least for a while, Browne helped her. However temporary that relief might have

been, she was encouraged to finally have found someone who believed her.

No counseling is going to be permanently effective, however, unless it is based on Truth.

Psychic counseling that encourages one to communicate with the dead is strictly opposed to

God’s command that his people are to look to the living God for guidance, not talk to dead

ancestors or use mediums to contact them.20

Seana’s experience with a touted psychic only

increased her spiritual bondage. In her heart she loved Jesus, but constantly being hounded by

spirits was driving her closer and closer to suicide.21

The role of the church and Christian counselor

The church is to bring God’s truth into a deceived world, using God’s light to dispel the

darkness and mend the destruction inflicted by Satan’s lies. The biblical counselor must not only

have a grasp of the Bible’s teaching about the human condition but also about the overarching

warfare going on between the Kingdom of Light and the Kingdom of Darkness. A pastor who

turns away a spiritually afflicted person because he feels inadequate to fight the demonic has not

yet understood the power of the Word of God or the full potential of his own spiritual armor.

At the same time, the biblical counselor must not attempt to solve problems for which he

or she has not been trained. Christina’s parents were amply qualified to help their daughter send

away glowing red eyes. Seana’s case, however, has medical and psychological dimensions that

are beyond the boundaries of biblical counseling, requiring that all the appropriate disciplines be

brought together in order to treat the entire human being.

20

God absolutely prohibits any activity of this kind (Lev. 19:31, Isa. 8:19, et. al.)

21 In analyzing Seana’s case, it is important to note that supposed contact with the dead occurred years before any

contact with a psychic.

14

With these parameters in place, the following are recommended for the pastor or

counselor who is called upon to deal with Christians claiming to see the invisible demonic world:

1. Be grounded in God’s truth.

Scripture, properly interpreted, tells us all we need to know about Satan and his

schemes.22

It also gives us a complete armory of spiritual weapons to use against him. Being

ignorant of Scripture will weaken or defeat our efforts to help someone else who desperately

needs to be freed from Satan’s attacks. Going beyond Scripture can engage us in unnecessary

and fruitless battles.

In addition, we need to be able to express that truth in a way that will be understood by

the counselee, who needs to believe and use it. This means being able to explain the concepts in

everyday language, without theological jargon.23

Speaking the truth will expose and demolish

any lies that are deluding the counselee.

2. Be spiritually discerning.

Spiritual discernment is essential in determining whether the demonic is involved in any

particular case. The counselor should neither dismiss the possibility nor assume the actuality

without careful listening and questioning. Take seriously the counselee’s description of what is

happening, asking for God’s wisdom to grasp the nature of the problem. On the other hand, don’t

try to chase away demons that aren’t there.

22

The Apostle Paul indicated that he and his readers were aware of Satan’s schemes (2 Cor. 2:10). The context of

his warning to the Corinthians shows how easily we can forget and be led astray.

23 Jargon is the legitimate language that is used by any specialty. Theological jargon has its proper place, but when it

is spoken outside of the community where it was intended to be used, it is mere babble.

15

3. Set reasonable goals.

Whenever possible, the counselor should try to identify any circumstances that might

have triggered appearances of the demonic. In some cases, however, this may not be feasible.

The child Sasha, for example, is the sixth generation in her extended family to live in a world

where the visible and invisible cross. As intriguing as the family history might turn out to be,

realistically it is too late to find where or when it all might have started. The goal, then, is that

Sasha’s generation will be the last.

The goal should always be to see the counselee use faith to gain spiritual victory. This

will most likely not be a one-time encounter (such as casting out a demon) but a process of

teaching and using Truth.

4. Teach the Christian counselee how to use his spiritual armor.

The counselee will have to face the demons, not the counselor. It is unlikely that the

counselor will be around when the attacks occur. The victim must learn his position in Christ

Jesus, the nature of Satan’s attacks, and how to stand up to a lying, defeated enemy.

5. Teach the counselee his power and authority in Jesus’ name.

The power to fight Satan is from Christ; it does not originate from us. It requires no

special gift. Even a child can learn to speak Jesus’ name against the Enemy.

When Sasha’s mother finally sought help for her daughter, the counselor first spent time

with the mother to get her grounded in God’s truth. At six years old, Sasha needed her mother to

be supportive whenever the invisible beings manifested themselves. Sasha was taught to say, “I

belong to Jesus, and he says you have to leave. Go away!” The first time Sasha tried this, she

reacted with amazement, “Mommy! He went right out the window, and he didn’t even open it!”

16

Seana, on the other hand, experienced greater difficulties. She first had to learn the truth

about the ghosts and malicious specters she encountered. In all her emotional neediness and

loneliness, the spirits had provided her comfort. She thought she could differentiate between the

good spirits and the evil ones and so resisted getting rid of those she thought would be beneficial.

Convincing her that the spirits of light24

were part of Satan’s deceit and would eventually turn on

her took months.25

Over time, Seana began to realize the depths of the deception and ordered the spirits

away in Jesus’ name. When they tried to return, she learned to rebuke them or ignore them.

Getting rid of the spirits put some hope back into her life of multiple challenges.26

6. Consider the influence of family religion.

If a Hindu or Buddhist were to tell us of having problems with spirits, we might naturally

connect such experiences with the idolatrous nature of the religion, for Scripture tells us that

demons are linked with the worship of idols.27

In the same way, those involved in New Age

practices and have invited spirit guides to enlighten them give us cause to suspect demonic

association.

Less obvious are the New Age beliefs that go under other names, masquerading as part of

Christianity or at least seeming to be compatible with it. The Church has always been infected by

24

2 Cor. 11:14. Spirits described as having an aura of light are frequently referred to in the writings of psychics.

25 The counselor provides the truth. The counselee is the one who has to believe it and act upon it in faith.

26 Seana gave this writer permission to review her case with her psychologist, her goal being that her story might be

of help to others. Having faced the nightmare of negative church reactions, disbelieving friends, and government

accusations against the very people who were fighting this battle with her, she would like to see others like herself

escape some of her own suffering. When the appropriate permission was signed and mailed, the spirits that she had

sent away came at her with a vengeance. She was attacked with such force that she became dangerously hysterical.

Only her mother was able to calm her. Her mother then asked, “Do you want to change your mind about the

consultation?” “No,” she answered, “I want my experiences to help others.” Together, they fought the spirits, calling

upon Jesus and using his authority to order the spirits away. Seana has, since then, grown in her understanding that

she does not have to be a victim to Satan’s destructive maneuvers.

27 Deut. 32:16-17, Ps. 106:36-38, 1 Cor. 10:19-21, Rev. 9:20.

17

pagan beliefs, so that Christians who are poorly educated in their faith see no problem with

clinging to mutually contradictory principles. In our current Christian culture, angels are thought

to be spirits of the dead who become personal spirit guides. God and Satan are equals who must

constantly fight the battle between good and evil. Resurrection and being born again are equated

with reincarnation, and having “second sight” is equated with a Spirit-given ability to prophesy.

This syncretism sets believers up for being further deceived by demonic teachings and

experiences.28

Although anyone may become victim to these teachings, two groups in particular in the

West accept “the gift” as a natural part of their heritage. Native Americans constitute one of

these groups. An integral custom in all the tribes is to search for the spirit that will become a

guide throughout life. Seeing ghosts and other spirits is an accepted part of the culture, with

some persons being chosen to show exceptional power in this realm. This seems to be behind

Sasha’s grandfather’s having such a positive attitude toward her seeing spirits, even though he

professes Christianity. He is proud of his tribal traditions, in the same way that anyone else might

want to take pride in his ethnic identity.

Whereas Native Americans deliberately search for spirit guides, another group of Celtic

descent, particularly the Irish, Scots, and Welsh,29

considers “second sight” an inherited power.

When a counselee talks about having “the gift,” it might be beneficial to explore whether anyone

else in the family has claimed to have such powers—which almost always have to do with

tragedy and death.30

Some Celtic descendants consider second sight a gift that cannot be refused

28

1 Tim. 4:1-2. Paul lists specific examples that were prevalent in the early church, but the “things taught by

demons” would include any teaching that is contrary to the Word of God. False teachers promulgate the lies that

they themselves have already believed.

29 Other northern Europeans have traditions of this nature as well, but the Celts are thought to be especially gifted in

this area.

30 This “gift” may or may not be associated with witchcraft.

18

and learn to practice it according to the traditions. Others conclude that second sight is a curse, a

form of occult knowledge that they would like to be rid of.

7. Insist that all forms of satanic involvement be rejected.

Gift or curse, it is all a deception. A Christian must never be tempted to think he can

control the spirits. Those who think they can use the spirits will in the end be used by them. The

only acceptable option is to refuse them. Satan must be rejected.31

8. Guard yourself.

The biblical counselor must counter deception with God’s truth, but in so doing he or she

becomes involved in the war. The wise counselor will remain on guard, always aware that Satan

will try to disarm the counselee’s allies in any way possible.

Our end goal is to strengthen the children of God so that people like Barry, Sasha, and

Seana can understand and fight the spiritual battles they face. It may only be a one-time

occurrence of a ghost in Grandma’s rocker, or it may be an ongoing struggle against demons that

must be fought on multiple levels. At times other professionals should be involved, but in no

case should the battle on the spiritual front be underestimated.

31

An excellent first-hand testimony about the deceit of power-giving spirits (but outside the Western context) is

found in Spirit of the Rainforest by Mark Andrew Ritchie (Chicago: Island Press, 1996), telling the first-person story

of Jungleman, a shaman from the Yanomamö Indians from the Amazon rainforest. Satan’s deceits from culture to

culture differ only in outward form. His basic tactics are the same around the world and the same as those revealed

in Scripture.

19

Appendix

The Gift: Crossing into the Invisible World

Whereas Christians in the West may possibly accept the idea that converts from

idolatrous religions elsewhere could have trouble with demons, they are less likely to believe it

can happen here. The reaction of the pastor of one large Presbyterian church in the southern

United States is typical. When asked whether the uncharacteristic, sinful behavior of one of the

staff might be due to demonic influence, he responded, “Maybe in Africa, but not here.” It is as

though the West, an heir of the Enlightenment and scientific discovery, has invisible boundaries

that demons cannot cross.

The West, however, is Christian only in name. Although Christianity has been dominant

in its history, the practices of the people have always been syncretistic, a mixture of Christian

teachings and ancient superstitions inherited from pagan, polytheistic religious systems,

remnants of which survive to this day. The Church may have driven these systems underground,

but key elements subsist in popular traditions. What many of us know about only from folk tales

were actually core beliefs at one time. For some, these core beliefs are still alive, hidden by a

Christian veneer until something unexpected happens that peels it off, revealing the non-

Christian assumptions beneath.32

In the context of this paper, two historical groups warrant a closer look because of the

influence they have had in the cultural heritage of the West: the Native Americans and the Celts.

32

In Indonesia, for example, it was said that if one peeled off the outer layer of a Christian, he would find a Muslim;

if he peeled off the Muslim, he would find the Hindu; if he peeled off the Hindu, he would find the animist at the

core. Each of the layers represented historical waves of traders and conquering nations that brought their religions.

None of the religions succeeded in completely eradicating earlier worldviews.

20

The mingling of the visible and the invisible survives among their descendants, sometimes by

choice but sometimes by something more subtle that defies logical explanation. These people are

among us in the Christian community, but the nature of their cultural heritage often goes

undetected because of our own assumptions that anything pagan cannot survive in the Church.

Heritage of the American Indian tribes

At one time it was not socially safe to be a Native American, and outside of designated

reservations people often would try to hide their tribal connections. That began to change in the

early 1970s as the tribes began to assert themselves, demanding respect that should never have

been taken away. Today, a Native American is likely to take pride in his grandmother’s being

from a reservation in Oklahoma or in his father’s descent from a chief in the Northwest.

Along with a growing pride in ethnicity came a restored pride in tribal religious

traditions. Religion, after all, is an integral part of culture and a key element of personal and

communal identity. A philosophy of diversity now makes it safe to practice what at one time was

called heathen. The well-intentioned efforts to Christianize the American Indians by eradicating

native religions had the side-effect of building deep resentment. Now that it is no longer

shameful to perform the old rituals, young people are returning to their ancestors’ roots. At one

time cultural outcasts, they now talk about the “cultural genocide” that was practiced against

them, robbing them of their own Great Spirit and forcing upon them a very different kind of

divine being.

[C]ultural genocide begins when one people robs the religious views of another

people through indoctrination and fear….[T]he practitioners of Christianity made

every effort imaginable to impose their anthropomorphic33

God on Indian children,

33

Anthropomorphic because of his description in human terms as opposed to the Great Mystery that defies true

explanation.

21

stealing our future of the most precious and vital view of life and of the world and of

the universe.34

Tribal religions never actually died. The core beliefs survived under the surface even in

the churches. When the 1970s brought a greater freedom to “be Indian,” the syncretism not only

came to light but was celebrated. Vine Deloria, a Standing Rock Sioux known for his activism

for Native American rights, describes what happened:

Indians in their respective tribes began a serious revival of their religious traditions.

Ceremonies that had long been discarded or suppressed were once again performed.

Traditional people were sought out for their knowledge of ceremonies and customs.

Young Indians all over the country felt it imperative to experience a vision quest, and

some groups even reinstituted a version of the ghost dance. The movement even

intruded upon the congregations of Christian Indians as Indian priests and ministers

sought to combine the teachings and practices of both religions. Some traditional

ceremonies were even carried out in Protestant churches so that it became difficult to

tell whether one was going to attend a hymn-singing or a healing ceremony35

when

people gathered.36

Native American religion is not Christian, of course. In spite of attempts to equate God

with the Indian Great Spirit, the descriptions of each differ too greatly for them to be accepted as

one without doing damage to both.37

Native American religions are pantheistic, blurring the

distinction between the Creator and the created world. Nevertheless, in a post-Christian world

where these distinctives are already hazy, pantheism has become more acceptable so that an

undiscerning Christian believer may have no difficulty accepting both worlds, resulting in the

34

Gabriel Horn, “The Genocide of a Generation’s Identity,” Cultural Genocide, 66

35 I.e., a healing ceremony performed according to tribal rituals.

36 Vine Deloria, Jr., God is Red: A Native View of Religion, 30th Anniversary Edition (Golden, CO: Fulcrum

Publishing, 2003), 37. Deloria taught law at the University of Colorado and authored several books attempting to

demythologize the white man’s view of the American Indian. He believed that Indian spirituality, not Christianity,

would save Americans from the plight of modern technology. Deloria died in November 2005. (Kirk Johnson, “Vine

Deloria Jr., Champion of Indian Rights, Dies at 72,” New York Times (15 Nov. 2005. 17 Nov. 2008 <www.nytimes.

com/2005/11/15/national>.

Not coincidentally, this movement occurred at the same time New Age religions were growing in popularity.

Although the spiritual practices and beliefs were known by different terms, they shared basic spiritual elements. 37

There are some areas of common belief. Both the Christian God and the Great Spirit are described as Creator, for

example. However, Indian tribal legends abound with references to other gods, goddesses, and spirits that played a

part in creating parts of the original world.

22

same kind of syncretism one finds around the world where Christianity is adopted on top of an

indigenous religion.

Christian Indian priests and ministers felt no sense of guilt in conducting traditional

ceremonies because they felt that the ceremonies were as much Indian cultural

expressions as religious acts. Additionally with the argument that there was but one

deity, the difference in religions was merely one of choice and expression….

The churches eagerly embraced this new movement for the most part. Their

congregations had been declining drastically for years as reservation residents gained

more mobility and small settlements on the reservations could no longer support

churches and chapels that had been founded in the 1880s and 1890s, a period of

impressive conversions.38

The vision quest mentioned by Deloria was essential for establishing one’s spiritual

identity in a tribe. At a designated time, a young boy or girl would go on a sacred search for a

spirit that would be his or her companion and guide throughout life and the source of spiritual

power. The following description from the Nez Perce explains a typical vision quest:

The Nez Perce began his preparation for spiritual attainment almost in infancy. The

child, either boy or girl, when less than ten years of age was told by the father or the

mother that it was time to have tiwatitmas—spiritual power. “This afternoon you

must go to yonder mountain and fast. When you reach the place of fasting, build a fire

and do not let it die. As the Sun goes down, sit on the rocks facing him,39

watch while

he goes from sight, and look in that direction all night….40

Detailed instructions followed, outlining everything the child needed to do to be successful in the

quest.

Searching for spiritual power was seen as a good and necessary event. Each human being

was related to all other life,41

and among that life existed a kindred spirit unique to each

individual. Success in life depended upon getting in touch with that spirit.

38

Ibid., 37-38.

39 Note the personification of the sun. Celestial bodies were deified.

40 Rolling Thunder, quoted in Fitzgerald, Michael Oren, and Judith Fitzgerald, eds., Indian Spirit (Bloomington, IN:

World Wisdom, Inc.) 45. Rolling Thunder, also known as Chief Joseph, was from the Nez Perce tribe.

41 Created objects that are considered inanimate in the West have life in animistic cultures (e.g., stones, stars, etc.).

23

In addition to receiving spiritual power, Native Americans considered it normal to

converse with spirits of deceased ancestors because, they affirm, the dead are not really dead.42

“Many native people believe that our dead ancestors continue to influence our lives. Saying that

our relatives surround and help us, elders teach us to remember and honor the dead through good

thoughts and prayers.”43

Other voices from the tribes echo,

Through ritual and ceremony, American Indians form and re-create their relationship

with spiritual powers, and they link themselves with the dead, asking for help in

coping with life’s many trials. Spirits abound in Indian Country, influencing everyday

life in all quarters of the Native universe. Unseen powers still exist, and Indian people

call on this spirit power through hundreds of ceremonies that are alive today with

songs, dances, music, and motion.44

Chief Seattle, sensing a world in which the Native American might be wiped out, gave advice to

the white man that contains an implied warning: “Let him be just and deal kindly with my

people, for the dead are not powerless. Dead, did I say? There is no death, only a change of

worlds.”45

From an outsider’s point of view, going on vision quests and being able to communicate

with the dead differ little from New Age spirituality. Native American religious practitioners,

however, see a big difference. In the current Western environment, New Age religion is

commercialized, selling a shallow imitation of the sacred. Indian spirituality, on the other hand,

is considered far deeper and worthy of continuance. “The big danger,” writes Deloria, “is that

this gift [of communicating with the spirit world], which must remain a property of the Indian

42

In Christianity, the dead continue to live as well, but Scripture teaches that they have a distinct destination. They

are not allowed to roam the earth. Even Catholicism, which allows for some contact with the saints in heaven

through prayer, does not see those saints becoming personal spirit guides.

43 Gerald McMaster and Clifford E. Trafzer, eds., Native Universe: Voices of Indian America (Washington, D.C.:

Smithsonian, 2004), 36.

44 Ibid., 57.

45 Chief Seattle, Indian Spirit, 60.

P R E S E N T R E A L I T Y

24

community, may become part of the popular New Age activities and the Indian religious leaders

will lose this talent by secularizing it.”46

Before commenting further on the implications this has for those of Native American

heritage who become Christians, let’s consider the second group.

Heritage of the Celts: The Irish, Scots, and Welsh

The gift of second sight, that ability to see into the invisible world of ghosts and demons,

is well-known among people of Celtic descent. Native Americans deliberately sought spiritual

power from spirits, but the Celtic people were reputed to inherit their ability to communicate

with the invisible world. Although it was supposedly possible to gain second sight through

prescribed rites handed down from pagan ancestors, the mysterious aspect of its running in

families is what attracts our attention today. Shari Cohn of the School of Scottish Studies in the

University of Edinburgh believed that growing evidence for “genetic factors in cognitive ability

and complex behavior”47

justified a more serious investigation into the hereditary possibilities of

second sight. She writes,

Most of the investigators from the 17th

century until the present day have observed

that second sight ran in the family. Some observed there was a father-son

transmission, though most found that both men and women had second sight….In a

recent survey using random sampling methods, it was found that second sight does

seem often to run in families in the Western Isles, Highlands, Grampian and Lowland

regions in Scotland (Cohn, 1994). Clearly second sight could run in families as a

social and cultural phenomenon where the interpretation of experiences as being

“psychic” is orally passed down in families from one generation to another.

Alternatively, second sight could be a genuine mental talent that is in part

hereditary.48

46

Deloria, 253.

47 Shari A. Cohn, “Second Sight and Family History: Pedigree and Segregation Analyses,” Journal of Scientific

Exploration 13:3 (1999) 351. Online.

48 Ibid., 353-354.

25

Cohn decides on the basis of her statistical analysis that “second sight could be

hereditary, following an autosomal dominant inheritance pattern,” 49

but the evidence is far from

conclusive. What seems to be clear is that however one explains this hereditary tendency,

…there is an acceptance of the existence of second sight within the community at

large [i.e., the Highlands and Western Isles of Scotland]. In some families, though, it

was taboo to discuss it. Even so, it still ran in these families. This runs counter to the

view that second sight runs in families as purely a sociological belief.”50

As might be anticipated, a statistical study of a suspected hereditary psychic phenomenon

can not measure spiritual factors. Historically, the Celtic connection with the invisible world was

linked to its pantheon of gods and spirits that existed long before Christianity began to influence

Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and the rest of the British Isles.51

A baptized Christian did not

necessarily find it difficult to hold on to the assumptions of the past while adopting the religion

of the Church. Birds of omen, sacred stones, the art of divination, and the gift of second sight

remained a central part of popular belief, even among the royalty. Belief in reincarnation and

subjugation to astrological signs continued long after Christianity became the dominant religion.

So also did belief in “the wee folk,” the leprechauns and brownies for Ireland and Scotland who

get blamed for a lot of folk mischief.

It is easy to document cases of second sight. It is harder to explain it, especially the

assumption that it is inherited. We can outline what people believe about it, but fitting it into a

biblical worldview is difficult. Christianized Celts considered it the same as the gift of prophecy,

but it bears little resemblance to the prophecy of the Bible. It resembles more closely features of

pagan religions around the world.

49

Ibid., 366.

50 Ibid., 368.

51 Lewis Spence, The Magic Arts in Celtic Britain (Van Nuys, CA: Newcastle Publishing, 1998), 22-23.

26

If the ability to see into the future and to communicate with the dead comes from the

demonic world, what accounts for its running in families? Nothing in Scripture suggests that

demons can be passed on from father to son or mother to daughter. The explanation for the

hereditary tendency is more likely found in the religious heritage of the extended family. In an

environment where getting in touch with the spirits is considered normal and a particular feature

of the culture, any tendency in that direction would be not only acceptable but encouraged. In

other cases, it might not be particularly desirable, but it wouldn’t be resisted. It would be

classified as one’s fate.

Satan takes advantage of such favorable environments. The roots of Celtic second sight

may lie far in the past, but Satan keeps people in bondage by means of maintaining the false

cultural assumptions.

Gifts, ghosts and spirit guides

When Christians bothered by ghostly encounters do not receive the help they need from

the church, they will turn to those who offer a different kind of spiritual practitioner who will

affirm a belief that the dead really are walking the earth, giving comfort and aid to their relatives

left behind. The more malevolent spirits, it is claimed, need us to help them pass over “to the

other side.” With explanations about psychic energy, negative thoughts, and the difference

between angry, harmful ghosts and ghosts who offer comfort, a person is instructed to deal

intelligently with these spirits. The friendly ones can be spirit guides, while the angry ones need

to be rejected and helped on their way.

27

James Van Praagh is one such practitioner. Van Praagh “is the co-creator and co-

executive produce of the primetime series Ghost Whisperer.”52

He gives advice on how to

contact ghosts but at the same time warns that not all spirits are desirable to have around.

You could very well enter a world for which you are not at all prepared, and there may

be consequences you cannot handle. Remember that ghosts can read your mind and

recognize your fear, and if you don’t respect them by entering their world with

knowledge and preparation, the results can have dire physical, mental, and emotional

effects on you and anyone with you. This is not a game.53

Van Praagh, who claims to have second sight inherited from his grandmother, uses

Scripture to validate some of his claims, although it is obvious in his writings that he would not

subscribe to all that Scripture teaches. The teachings are twisted, as with his interpretation of

John 14:2, in which he considers the dimensions of the spirit world to be related to the mansions

Jesus promised to his disciples.

I believe the mansions referred to here are the various spiritual dimensions. As a

medium, I have the ability to penetrate these dimensions by raising my vibration to

higher frequencies. Thus I am able to be a conduit between the lower, slower physical

world and the faster, vibratory dimensions of the unseen spiritual world.54

Satan, in the biblical sense, is not a part of these theories. The real enemy, then, is

ignored and allowed to continue his deceit.

Encouraged and deceived by such supposed solutions to dealing with the invisible world,

the one who has experienced ghostly appearances presumes he has the power to distinguish

between good and evil spirits and control them. What he doesn’t grasp is that Satan is always a

Destroyer. That which appears to be good will in the end prove to be destructive.

Satan knows no ethnic boundaries when practicing his deceit. Searching for spiritual

power outside of that which is promised to the child of God through God’s Holy Spirit is

52

James Van Praagh, Ghosts among Us….Back jacket cover.

53 James Van Praagh, Ghosts among Us (New York: HarperCollins, 2008), 153.

54 Ghosts, 68.

28

deceptively dangerous. If spiritual power does not come from God, the only source that remains

is Satan, even if the power appears initially neutral or good. As Johanna Michaelsen testifies in

her book, The Beautiful Side of Evil, not all that appears good is from God, and in the end it

destroys.55

The Christian counselor, inasmuch as possible, needs to be aware of any cultural heritage

that might jeopardize a clear understanding of our spiritual enemy and his tactics. Knowing that a

counselee is of Native American or Celtic descent may offer clues for further questioning about

inherited beliefs and family involvement in this form of the occult.

55

Johanna Michaelsen, The Beautiful Side of Evil (Philippine Edition, Manila: Alliance Publishers, 1988). The book

was published in the USA by Harvest Publishers, Eugene, OR.

29

Bibliography

Cohn, Shari A. “Second Sight and Family History: Pedigree and Segregation Analyses.” Journal

of Scientific Exploration 13:3 (1999), 351-372. Online.

Deloria, Vine, Jr. God is Red: A Native View of Religion. 30th

Anniversary Edition. Golden, CO:

Fulcrum Publishing, 2003.

“Facts for Features.” U. S. Census Bureau. 10 Mar. 2006. 17 Nov. 2008 < www.census.gov/

Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions>.

Fitzgerald, Michael Oren, and Judith Fitzgerald, eds. Indian Spirit. Bloomington, IN: World

Wisdom, Inc.

Horn, Gabriel. “The Genocide of a Generation’s Identity.” Genocide of the Mind: New Native

American Writing. New York: Thunder’s Mouth Press, 2003.

Johnson, Kirk. “Vine Deloria Jr., Champion of Indian Rights, Dies at 72.” New York Times. 15

Nov. 2005. 17 Nov. 2008 < www.nytimes.com/2005/11/15/national>.

Lucci-Cooper, Kathryn. “Keeping the home Fires Burning in Urban Circles. Genocide of the

mind: New Native American Writing. New York: Thunder’s Mouth Press, 2003.

Michaelsen, Johanna. The Beautiful Side of Evil. Philippine Edition. Manila: Alliance Publishers,

1988. (Published in the USA by Harvest Publishers, Eugene, OR.)

McMaster, Gerald, and Clifford E. Trafzer. Eds. Native Universe: Voices of Indian America.

Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian, 2004.

Moore, MariJo. Ed. Genocide of the Mind: New Native American Writing. New York: Thunder’s

Mouth Press, 2003.

30

Native American Spirituality. Narr. Ben Kingsley. Religions of the World. Videorecording.

Wynnewood, PA: Schlessinger Media, 1999.

“Novus Spiritus” <www.novus.org/home/index.cfm> Oct. 6, 2008.

Spence, Lewis. The Magic Arts in Celtic Britain. Van Nuys, CA: Newcastle Publishing, 1998.

Van Praagh, James. Ghosts among Us: Uncovering the Truth about the Other Side. New York:

HarperCollins, 2008.