Michigan's Otherside Paranormal Forums

So how much do you guys feel a belief system affects whether or not you have a paranormal experience?

Amber

That's a good question. I suppose it depends on the belief system or religion (if you will) one is raised with. Most organized religions have some form of paranormal stories attached to it. Spirits coming back to teach, to impart a supreme beings words of wisdom. That can have a powerful affect on one, even if that person doesn't practise the religion or belief system they were raised with. Subconciously some things may have been ingrained into their psyche and that may affect what they see and hear or sense. I also suppose since we are the product of centuries of evolution that we've lost or had the ability to sense what is out there suppressed. Our ancestors had been more intune with the world around them and accepted more readily the unseen /paranormal. We've made things so complicated that only a few people still retain that ability.
Just my thoughts
Have good one!!

I grew up a Jehovah's witness, I was tought that when you die, thats it. There is nothing else.
I was told that people who could see ghosts had Demons attached to them. That haunted houses where full of Demons.
I had clarvoyant experiences since I was a little girl, I'm 34 now. Needless to say I was a VERY scared little girl.
It definately had nothing to do with what I was taught.
Because who, especially a naive little girl, would want to be possessed?

When I grew up, I finally found out what this was all about. I am no longer afraid, of course.

Unfortunately I can't tell any of this to my parents as they still believe in that. They demonize everything that they do not know. Everything that is not what they don't believe.
Sad really.
How terrible is must be to be so afraid of the unknown. It is like they are the naive child.

Know what you meanJewitch, My favorite cousin is a catholic priest. He is so rigid that I'm sure he'll be lambasting me all next week end. Wait till he finds out his second cousin, my nephew is a practising witch as well, He'll probably go after my sister for that. Well I hope he'll cool it for his parents sake . I just gotta avoid my uncle, He delights in tormenting me about politics and religion too. Can't wait till I get down there Aunt & Uncle 50th's gonna be a blast.

hii !!!
the Bible is full of spirits (the holy ghost, Jesus visiting the disciples before He rose) i was accused by fundamentalist Christians that i am conjuring up demons. when i walk in a cemetery i am just taking photos, not calling on the spirits. i visited a haunted abandoned house and brought home a trophy. i told my friend about, she told me she could not come over my house until i got rid of it. she said i brought the ghost in my house because it can attach itself to that item. what crap !!! i believe quija boards ARE portals for demons. heard too many stories from friends who used them.

It's amazing how some people believe we are "evil" because we ghost hunt. A long time ago, I was at the Felt Mansion. We were waiting for a wedding to clear out that had rented the ballroom. As we were waiting outside, some of the people from the wedding were walking by us. A little kid asked his mom who we were and she flat out told him, "Those are devil worshipers." Needless to say, we just stared at her with our mouths ajar.

Recently we were in Kentucky for the Mid-South Paranormal Conference where we were labeled "unsavory characters" by a pastor saying a prayer during the Miss Pre-Teen Kentucky Pageant. Many of the mothers and family of the kids also flat out stated we were "Satan worshipers." It was crazy.

Amberrose

A lot of more open minded people who do believe in ghost's and such get looked down on in the Christian community. I am not sure why that is. I do believe in God and I love the Bible. I am very interested in archeology and that book is jammed packed with history. I am also interested in the paranormal. A lot of my fellow christian friends and family cant except that. I never got it, because if they believe in the Bible and all of the crazy stuff that is in there then why would they look down on the paranormal. If anything I think the paranormal proves God's existence rather then disproves it. I do not however use Ouija boards or any of that. I just record and observe but I dont interfere. I think that there is good and evil out there and I dont want to take a chance on which one I conjure. As far as christian's who called you "Devil worshippers" well they are just ignorant. It turns people off from Christianity. If they really followed the Bible they would know that that kind of behavior is not Christ-like at all, Jesus excepted all people and a lot of Christians today judge everyone to a extreme. That's why I find it so hard to find the right church to go to. Belame it on the people though and not the religion. If you look at the true practices of Christianity it is a very loving religion based on loving everyone. It's just to bad that there are so many ignorant so called "Christians" out there. I'm definitely not one of them.

Yep, that about sums it up Kari. And you're right! There's paranormal stuff all over the Bible!

It would take me 3 hours to write my response to this question. And since im working on a few articles right now, I don't want to do this before that..but I did want to contribute to this topic.
For now i'll just say that I believe that it's all a 'grand illusion'.
stv

OOOHOOOOOOooooooOOO:) I'm looking forward to reading your viewpoint!!

Thats the problem with organized religion....its more policy and acceptance of the norm then it is their for what it is suppose to be.

First off I am a Christian, not because I was told to be one, but because of a experience I had as a teenager...the problem is Christianity is more worried about paying the church bills and bringing in the flock, then it is about teaching what the bible reads. Another problem is the bible is a tool, it was meant to teach us, not to control us..as one persons interpretations of the bible will differ from the next....I also know some of you want to throw at me one of two things now....the fact the bible counterdicts itself, or the fact the bible is missing about 12 books that were tossed out for one reason or another......Im not gonna indulge a religious debate on this..i will simply say the bible was written by man for man, inspired by God.

But the key words there are WRITTEN BY MAN

If you take the bible as a tool, it is full of good teachings, and words of wisdom on we should act....If you take it as the only truth then your missing on half the teachings it gives.....


whose to say God did not come down to the Indians as a phoenix, he went to moses as a flaming bush, it is entirely in his power, and lets not forget the tower of babel, what a better way to sow discontent among the nations then to give them a different idea of what God is (Hey you all may think its cruel, but anytime man plays God, the results are tragic)...

and lets not forget Jesus himself preformed casting of demons out.....so if there was no such thing as the paranormal and ghost and demons are figments of our minds, then what was he doing when he did that.

To end this ill quote, though I wish I can remember where in the Bible I found this...."To not curse the skies as there ARE other celestial beings who have ears"

ive been watching a lot of 'a haunting' on national geographic lately... does anyone else find it odd that pastors perform exorcisms and denounce the existence of any paranormal existence?
also, why is it that everyone who becomes possessed, the 'demon' inside them claims to be satan?

religion... blah... so inconsistent

Simple - WHAT WE DO NOT UNDERSTAND WE DESTROY, TO JUSTIFY US DESTROYING IT, WE CLAIM IT TO BE EVIL.

In the early days anyone who acted out of the norm were thought to be possess. However I do believe that there are dark forces out there. Its a rare thing to come across one, and I would not suggest to anyone to go looking for it.

Most malevolent spirits, tend to be ones who are not evil, but upset over something.

Yeah I've often thought that same thing Onefrijole. How can they exorcise demons, and not believe in the paranormal? I'll second what Lost said, if we don't understand it, we destroy it.
I think it's always Satan because it's the personification of evil. He's the scapegoat. If you can't figure it out, it must be Satan:) Maybe I should use that one more often....(I'm at work...patron angers me...I throw a book at them..."Satan did it!." And then I run away....) It could work.

lol I HOPE I GET BROUGHT IN ON THE EXERSISM....LOL

oh yea, we should all just start blaming satan for everything... take that to court after killing 5 babies... just tell them you're possessed by satan

it's foolproof

I like lostzac's post. I believe in a lot of the same stuff.

About the exorcisms- I do believe they exist. My aunt Connie came home one night from a party or something and she said as soon as she stepped in the house the red clock on her wall was glowing bright green. From there her door's and window's started opening and closing and everything was going nuts. She called us and even though I was not allowed inside (I was a girl, maybe 10) my mother and her mother went in with the Bible and her mom started reading verses very loudly, and after awhile everything stopped and settled down. Reading from the Bible was the only thing that made it calm down. I just remember thinking that her mother was such a force because of the way she read and how confident she was going into that house with her Bible. She was not scared in the least it seemed. Those word's did something to whatever was in that house, no question about it. My aunt Connie's mom told me "that's because they are God's words." After seeing something like that I could not, not believe in God. I knew he existed just as much as I knew I existed. It still gives me chill's even writing this.

I dont think that everything is a "possession" though, I just know that they do exist and I do believe that some of them are demonic. I think that people need to take consequences for their own actions also and not always belame satan.

I have always maintained this idealism. On the note of possessions and that, do not get me wrong, I truly think that 90% of all hauntings can be explained through normal process of thought, as natural occurrences, of the 10% left I think most are residual, and not ghost.

The ones left after that, I thank God he is on my side, because its nice to have a big gun in faith for protection, especially if it is denomic.

I agree, there is a supreme being.What I can't stand is how the belief in God has been so corrupted. As I said in another post (GLP).
The concept of religion was invented by MAN to control his fellow man. don't get me wong but I know what I experienced as a young child after a severe head injury was real... And I was told the God is God is God and he/she doesn't care how you honor him/her. Just honor God and try not to injure others. Every religion has paranormal happenings and yet the (not so small any more) minority will always deny the happenings and call it evil. Ingorant radicals who will always preach hate , death and destruction.
Sorry to rant on but one of my coworkers went off on me about the paranormal and how "the Bible" states( she said this ) says all other religions are evil and are Satan's minions.
Lord save me from ingnorant born agains. Sorry no offence to those who truly believe. She just went on and on how I was going to hell and she'll pray for my soul. All because I like to watch Ghost Hunters Geez Louise.

I have raised a lot of eye-brow's about being interested in the paranormal, I think it's stupid how much people care anyway. I am Christian and into the paranormal. Who cares.

I dont believe that religion was created by man to control man though, well I dont believe that the Bible was anyway because the Bible is opposite of what men hold high. It even say's to go against your community if that community shuns God, which in this day and age it most of the time does. So if man invented that to control people then they were not so smart. Man has been trying to destroy christianity for years and years and years because they dont have control when it comes to the Bible and Christians. "Be in the world not of the world" The man of the world hates the bible.

I have said this a lot though, dont judge christianity on it's people. If we all followed the Bible perfectly we would have world peace. I know how people can get so angry at other's pushing their religion and stuff in your face and be very judgemental about it. That is not how it is suppose to be and that is not how Jesus was or intended it to be.

I know not everyone is Christian though, and I respect that. I can get along with you no matter what religion pretty much. I just think that so many people dont understand what real christianity is because there are so many annoying judgemental so called "christians" out there, and I sometimes get a little to passionate about setting the record straight.