Posts Tagged ‘hauntings’

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The moment that consciousness of the world around him first bloomed in the mind of primitive man, god was. Early man could only explain the awesome terror of thunder and lightning flashing through the night, the wonder of a child birthed into the world, the mysterious, inescapable power of death, as the work of some force, some entity greater than himself.  An eternal force, all-powerful, all knowing, immutable.

God.

Millions of years later, most of humanity still holds a belief in a god, or gods. This, despite the fact that there is not one shred of evidence to prove that god exists. Simply stated, a belief in god is an act of faith.

Over the last five years or so, I have been actively engaged in studying paranormal events as I researched my three books about ghosts and ghosthunting. As I conducted my research, my curiosity about paranormal activity deepened. I began to ask larger questions: What were ghosts, exactly? What was the nature of their existence if, in fact, they existed? What did their existence say about the nature of our existence? What did it say about the possibility of human existence after death? An afterlife?

That’s when parapsychology ran smack into theology.

If ghosts exist, then there must be another level of existence for us after death. Such an afterlife is incorporeal, a realm of spirit energy. Nearly all the world’s religions down through the ages have maintained a belief in some sort of afterlife, or at least, a belief in a spirit world distinct from the human plane of existence.

Here’s where things get a bit sticky. If god were spirit, then he would be part of, or would exist in that spirit realm. Is it possible then, that the existence of ghosts could be evidence of sorts of the existence of god, since both would presume that world of spirit?

A woman approached me after I had given a talk about ghosts at a library in Ohio. She said that she was a devout Christian and, as such, believed in ghosts because they proved to her that there was life after death as Jesus had promised.  A few minutes later, a second woman came up to me and said that, as a devout Christian, she categorically denied the existence of ghosts!  They were the work of Satan, designed to confuse us poor mortals and lead us astray. Two devout Christians, two opposite ideas about ghosts. These different viewpoints served as the springboard for my inquiry into the connections between parapsychology and theology, ghosts and religion.

I was raised in a traditional Roman Catholic family where the Holy Ghost was invoked every time I began to pray and made the Sign of the Cross. I didn’t give the term much thought as a youth, but in later years, I did question the word ghost, as did the Church apparently, since the term more commonly in use these days is Holy Spirit, rather than Holy Ghost. But, why the switch?

The change makes sense. The word spirit refers to a being that never had a corporeal existence, in other words, a being that was never human, but was always spirit. For religious folk, angels and demons, gods and goddesses would fall into this category.

The word ghost, on the other hand, refers to a being that was once alive as you and me. Now deceased and without a body, the essence–perhaps soul–of that person remains earthbound for whatever reasons. I think of this ghosthood as a transitional state, something akin to getting off a bus at the wrong stop. We know we haven’t reached our proper destination and now we’re lost, confounded, without a direction–or a bus–to guide us home.

This distinction between ghost and spirit, helpful as it may be while investigating paranormal events, becomes less clear when theology enters the picture. Some of the world’s religions, notably Christianity, believe in a god that is also human–fully human and fully divine. These gods die, just as we mortals die, but what then is the nature of their existence after death? Ghost or spirit? Reading the New Testament accounts of Jesus after his death suddenly appearing among his disciples in a locked room, or materializing beside two disciples on the road to Emmaus, one is struck by how ghostly these events seem. In many details, they mirror modern day ghost sightings. What of Lazarus coming forth from his tomb? Was he a ghost?

As we explore the connection between parapsychology and theology, it would be helpful to use one term that would encompass our traditional understanding of ghosts and spirits (gods). I propose the term spiritual energies. Here, spiritual refers to any being that does not exist in a corporeal state. The word energies means that these beings have some force, some essence associated with them. Since we know that all things are energy, the word energies is useful in capturing the conceept of both ghosts and spirits. It makes no claim as to whether these beings have intelligence, emotions, motivations, etc.; it simply says that they are.

There are three possible explanations for the existence of spiritual energies:

1. Spiritual energies are actually manifestations of physical laws whose science we do not yet understand. Just as centuries ago, radio waves and microwaves were unknown, it might be that science, especially quantum physics, will demystify paranormal and divine events to show them up as naturally occurring scientific phenomena.

2. Spiritual energies may be products of our own neurological and psychological functions. It may be that paranormal and divine manifestations stem from our own hallucinations, misperceptions, delusions, and physical and metal abnormalities. In other words, we experience spiritual energies in our minds and not as objective reality.

3. Spiritual energies may, indeed, be real entities inhabiting a realm of existence separate from our own and subject to metaphysical properties and laws unknown to us. Ghosts, then, are real in this scenario, as is god.

More about John B. Kachuba:
John B. Kachuba is the author of Ghosthunting: On the Trail of Mediums, Dowsers, Spirit Seekers and Other Investigators of America’s Paranormal World, Ghosthunting Illinois and Ghosthunting Ohio. Author John Kachuba holds advanced degrees in Creative Writing from Antioch University (Yellow Springs, OH) and Ohio University. He has taught writing at both the University of Cincinnati and Ohio University. He is also on the faculty of the Gotham Writers Workshop. John is a noted conference speaker and presenter and has appeared at Wildacres Writing Workshop, Florida Suncoast Writers Conference, Columbus Writers Conference, Erma Bombeck Humor Writing Workshop, Blooming Grove Writers Conference, West Virginia Ghost Hunters and Spirituality Conference, Haunted America Conference, and Victory of Light Psychic Festival. He has also spoken on many radio and television programs throughout the country and internationally. John lives in Athens, Ohio, with his wife Mary. More info at http://johnkachuba.com

Listen to interviews with Kala and John Kachuba on ghosts, hauntings and paranormal experiences on The Explore Your Spirit with Kala Show.

Shows include:

http://exploreyourspirit.com/Media/shows2.shtml#GHOSTHUNTINGGUIDES08

and

http://exploreyourspirit.com/Media/shows2.shtml#KACHUBAGHOSTTRAIL

and

http://exploreyourspirit.com/Media/shows2.shtml#KACHUBA

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