Worried We Are Being Deceived

Elaine & D

I may get slammed for going to the Bible on this, but I'm trying to speak yr language. from 1 John 4:1 :

"Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world."

So the Bible is not saying here don't talk to spirits, only don't accept blindly what yr told (the same way, I assume, yr not going to take candy from a stranger, either.) It goes on to supply the test itself:

"By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.”

I should probably apologize in advance to the others here who are not Christian and who may be offended by this posting. Am trying to move away from the concept of duality myself.

[quote=Elaine and D]I would like to know if there is anybody that wonders the same thing as myself.
I love the thought that one day we will see our loved ones again and that they can speak to us through mediums etc.
But there is one question that constsntly niggles away at me. It is "What if what we are told about the afterlife and the messages we receive from our loved oned through mediums is all a deception of Satan and his demons".

Dear Elaine and D: I would seek to comfort you by pointing you in the direction of the works of Dr Ian Stevenson, a doctor who's carefully documented every scrap of scientific evidence he gleaned from his years of work with children, all of whom taught him rather a great deal about the subject of reincarnation.

Now, I'm not a Christian (or religious per se), so I'm unable to relate to the term 'demons' except as being negative, 'grumpy' energies....but, if you are able to suspend any fears and disbeliefs, then you may find a great deal of comfort in his work on the subject.

After all, "..out of the mouths of babes..." and all that.

For me personally, reincarnation is about the only thing that makes any tangible sense concerning the matter of Life; there just seems to be too much to learn - far more than can be accomplished in one lifetime - but I could be entirely wrong.

Hugs
MorningMist

I think it's the devil when we're told to do something evil; as in, have an affair with a married man, and then try to break up his marriage. Now if the reading says something like, yes there is a strong attraction and connection, but since he belongs to someone else, it's not honorable to be anything more than a friend, which is good in itself; then it is not Satan. First has the potential, and second is not.

Originally Posted by Celeste

I think it's the devil when we're told to do something evil.

No disrespect intended here, Celeste, but I honestly find it difficult to comprehend the concept of a 'devil' making people do things they know are 'wrong'.

To my mind, that's a very tidy way to avoid personal responsibility for the actions we take and the choices we make.

We must all answer to our conscience, which is quite capable of creating our own 'hell on earth', without any external, intangible source helping it along.

At least, so it is with me :)

Hugs
MorningMist

[Truth_Seeker]

Ive read all the posts in here and have seen alot of interesting points, I myself have never been able to read the bible it just doesnt speak to me I have known a quite a few christians and some of them seem to me to be more scared than the people that they believe should go south after they pass.

From my own experience I sometimes have these thoughts or knowings, sort of like becoming lucid in a dream where I think of something and I realise Im thinking in the way I would in the spirit world and know it is a place I have been before.

Ive seen people who are alcoholics, drug addicts, people who physically hurt people and they dont seem to have this fear of hell or the afterlife, its possible its a stage in your evolution you need to overcome. Sort of like walking on a clifface and being scared of falling off, developing a fear of heights you never had before you knew the depths that life can reach.

I dont believe any demon is capable of worse than what we've seen and see humans do its just polarity, the depths that goodness can reach there has to be a polar opposite for it to become a reality, the amount of pleasure you can feel can only go as far as how much sickness or pain you can experience. In this capitalist world we're navigating through now we are definately experiencing the lower end of the spectrum imo, I came to the conclusion the other day though when I was scared of walking through my house without any lights on, whats the point of feeling fear when you dont have to?

Morning Mist, what I meant was, yes, you could be deceived (by the devil or whatever else you might want to call the negativity) if you're given a reading/message to do something that hurts another. But if there is a message that shows love, uplifting everyone concerned, then I don't feel that's a deception of Satan.

[theophilus]

Originally Posted by Celeste

Morning Mist, what I meant was, yes, you could be deceived (by the devil or whatever else you might want to call the negativity) if you're given a reading/message to do something that hurts another. But if there is a message that shows love, uplifting everyone concerned, then I don't feel that's a deception of Satan.

Don't be too sure of that. The Bible says that Satan can appear as an angel of light. He is quite capable of speaking about love and even commanding us to love others.

[Internal Queries]

Originally Posted by theophilus

Don't be too sure of that. The Bible says that Satan can appear as an angel of light. He is quite capable of speaking about love and even commanding us to love others.

and Yahweh can appear as wrath, disease and war.

kinda makes ya go "hmmm".

Originally Posted by theophilus

Don't be too sure of that. The Bible says that Satan can appear as an angel of light. He is quite capable of speaking about love and even commanding us to love others.

I cannot but feel sorry for you, Theophilus. You're living in a world where you cannot trust anything or anyone, not even your God. Suppose an angel of light were to appear to you. By your own words you cannot trust it to come from either God or Satan.

I don't believe in hell, the devil, or demons. And any spirit can only have as much influence over you as you let them. Negativity attracts negativity and visa versa. I was raised in the Southern United States as a Christian, and my entire life I was taught fear. If you believe in Christian doctrines then these questions will be difficult for you to come to terms with, if you ever indeed do. However, if you believe in mediums, then it is difficult to also believe in Christian doctrine because they believe mediums are evil doing. I think first you should come to terms with what your belief system is, and then seek the answers to those questions. I believe in reincarnation, I do not believe in hell, devil, demons, so my answer to your question from my own personal belief system would be that these things do not exist, and then your problem is solved. There is so much out there that you can believe in, or not, so finding your own belief system is incredibly important.