I See Dead People
A look at after-death communication
by Marcia Montenegro
This article first appeared in the Christian Research Journal, volume 25,
number 1 (2003). For further information or to subscribe to the Christian
Research Journal go to: http://www.equip.org
SYNOPSIS
Recent years have witnessed a revival of interest in contact with the dead.
Much of this interest is due to the popularity of mediums such as John Edward,
Sylvia Browne, and James Van Praagh. Edward and Van Praagh both have popular
television shows, and all three have written best-selling books and have
appeared on numerous talk shows. Several movies, such as the hit, The Sixth
Sense, have also made spirit contact the theme of their stories.
Sylvia Browne and James Van Praagh do not practice spirit contact in a vacuum;
they have complex spiritual beliefs spelled out in their books and expressed
on talk shows. While Edward claims to be Roman Catholic, Browne and Van Praagh
have openly rejected orthodox Christianity and embraced a nonjudgmental God
more tailored to New Age beliefs. Edward, Browne, and Van Praagh all have
backgrounds that include heavy psychic experiences as well as research into
the occult and psychic worlds.
Skeptics have denounced these mediums and attempted to expose them as frauds.
This raises questions: Are all mediums frauds, and can we be sure that they
are? Is it possible that some mediums may be receiving information from a
demonic source? Is the classification of mediums as frauds a helpful response?
Despite seemingly being debunked by skeptics, mediums still generate strong
interest.
The belief in after-death communication should not be ignored or
simply put down. Christians need to tackle two issues dealing with this
phenomenon. First, we need to examine the mediums’ claims and spiritual
beliefs in a biblical light. Second, we should address the mediums’ popularity
and the best response to it; debunking should be a low priority unless there
is strong evidence of a medium’s fraud.
The church’s response is important since it could portray Christians as either
condescending or as caring and concerned. In the quagmire of beliefs that
surround after-death communication, Christians should not lose sight of what
can be offered to those who grieve — the true source of comfort, Jesus Christ.
Scene 1: A group of people sits in a circle in a dimly lit room. One of them
speaks commandingly, “We surround ourselves with white light. We ask that only
benevolent and helpful spirits be present.”
Scene 2: A man faces an audience and says, “I am getting a K, or a C, and a T
— I’m getting the number eight. I see lots of books….” A woman from the
audience smiles and vigorously nods her head, “Yes, yes! That must be my
grandmother Katherine. Her birthday was March 8th.”
Scene 3: A young boy claims to see the dead. He realizes this communication
with the dead is a gift that he can use to help the living. This story was
portrayed in the hit movie, The Sixth Sense.
SPIRIT COMEBACK
According to a recent Gallup Poll, 38 percent of Americans believe ghosts or
spirits can come back in certain situations. In 1990, it was 25 percent.
Today, 28 percent think some people can hear from or “mentally” talk to the
dead, compared with 18 percent 11 years ago.1 John Edward, a popular medium
with his own show, Crossing Over, on the Sci-Fi channel, now has his show in
syndication on 180 local TV stations, which cover 98 percent of the United
States.2 A television show, Beyond, featuring James Van Praagh, premiered in
early September of 2002.
Spirit contact, also known as spiritism, is an attempt to contact a
disembodied being such as a dead person or ghost, an angel, a spirit guide, or
a higher evolved soul in another dimension. There recently has been a revival
of interest in contact with the dead, also called after-death communication.3
Following World War I, this practice became popular because people sought to
contact loved ones killed in the war. Spiritualism, a religion that
incorporates belief in contacting the dead, began in the 1800s and still
exists. Before trusting Christ, I attended several spiritualist church
services where ministers communicated messages purportedly from deceased
relatives. I also took part in psychic development classes and séances, and I
had a spirit guide.
Several psychics4 and mediums, such as Sylvia Browne, James Van Praagh,
Rosemary Altea, and John Edward, claim their psychic abilities allow them to
communicate with the dead, who are in a place they call the Other Side.
Movies, such as The Sixth Sense, What Lies Beneath, and The Others, have
featured communication with the dead as a significant element of their plots.
One writer attributes this rising interest in after-death communication to a
“spillover” from interest in “alternative medicine and Eastern spirituality”
because people are more open to the “unseen.”5
Medium James Van Praagh categorizes mediumship as either physical mediumship,
in which the spirit speaks through the physical body, or mental mediumship, in
which the mind of the medium is used.6 Van Praagh claims to be a mental
medium.7 John Edward calls himself a “psychic medium”8 and states that he acts
as a “conduit of energy” from the “other side.”9 Sylvia Browne claims to be a
trance medium and defines her experience as letting her spirit guide,
Francine, take control of her voice but not her body or mind.10 Edward,
Browne, and Van Praagh have all written bestsellers.
THE MEDIUMS
One need not go to a séance or consult a medium in order to witness spirit
contact. Talk shows, such as Montel Williams and Larry King Live, often invite
mediums on as guests to give readings from deceased family members to audience
members or to callers. Edward’s show, Crossing Over, became one of the most
successful programs on the Sci-Fi cable channel.11
What do the mediums believe about God, death, and the afterlife? Can the dead
talk to us? We will look at three popular mediums and a biblical response to
spirit contact.
John Edward: A Rising Star. Born in 1969, John Edward is the youngest of the
well-known mediums. He claims he astral traveled (traveled out of his body)
from ages four to seven and had psychic abilities, which he thought were
normal.12 An uncle who was involved in yoga and psychic practices and whose
wife was a card reader, greatly influenced Edward,13 whose own mother “was
constantly getting readings from psychics” and often brought them to the house
to do readings and séances for groups.14
At age 15 when Edward received an accurate reading from a psychic and was told
he was psychically gifted, he was motivated to do research. He read
“everything” he could on topics such as psychic phenomena, spiritualism, and
spirit guides.15 He studied tarot cards and other “metaphysical” topics,
eventually leading him to work at psychic fairs and seminars.16
At one of these psychic fairs, Edward had his first contact from what he
believed was a dead person, which he claims was a “very different energy.”17
These spirits continued to interrupt Edward’s readings, but they brought to
him “a feeling of contentment, love, and peace,” so he decided to learn about
after-death communication.18
Edward subsequently discovered through guided visualization that he had five
spirit guides as well as a master guide.19 After receiving information from
his recently deceased mother, Edward was convinced of after-death
communication and eventually went to work as a full-time medium.20
Edward’s television show, Crossing Over, which features him receiving messages
from the dead, first became a hit on the Sci-Fi channel.21 According to
Edward, he gets sounds, images, and sensations from the spirits since they
cannot speak, and vibrate at very high rates, making communication
difficult.22 Edward claims the dead person is validating that he or she is ok,
so the surviving relative can be at peace.
Edward claims to be a Catholic, although he realizes that the Catholic Church
opposes what he does.23 He maintains that his relationship with God is
important and that his “connection to God has never wavered.”24 Edward has
priests and nuns as clients, and he prays the rosary and meditates before
doing spirit contact.25
Edward believes in reincarnation, while asserting that he does not know much
about the Other Side. He says one must review one’s life after death to
prepare for the next incarnation.26
Sylvia Browne: The “Christian Gnostic.” Sylvia Browne claims that she was born
psychic and that her psychic grandmother helped her understand her gifts. At
the tender age of eight, Browne saw a glowing light, out of which stepped a
dark-haired woman, who said, “I come from God, Sylvia.” Frightened, Browne ran
to tell her grandmother, who calmly told her this was her spirit guide.27
Browne relies on her spirit guide, Francine, for most of her information, and
Francine is the main source of information for Browne’s Journey of the Soul
Series.
Browne gives her background as Catholic, Jewish, Episcopalian, and Lutheran,
but she rejects any religion with “harsh” and “cruel” concepts such as “sin,
guilt, and retribution.”28 She also claims to have read “all twenty-six
versions of the Bible,” as well as the Qur’an, the Talmud, books on Buddhist
teachings, and the Egyptian Book of the Dead.29 In 1986, Browne founded her
own church, Novus Spiritus, which is based on her “Christian Gnostic theology
with shades of many other religions blended in.”30 According to Browne, being
“Gnostic” means one “is a seeker of truth and knowledge about God” and not a
seeker of “dogma.”31 In order to be elevated to any spiritual level, one must
have “total knowledge.”32
Browne’s trilogy, Journey of the Soul Series, presents complex teachings on
God, creation, good and evil, death, spirits, angels, reincarnation, and other
theological topics. Browne denies the pantheistic belief that all is God,33
but she nonetheless holds that we are a “divine spark” that emanated from God
and that everyone has his or her own “God center.”34 God, moreover, does not
punish or judge, and there is no hell; man made up hell.35 It does not matter
if Jesus is the Son of God because everyone is.36 According to Browne, Jesus
did not die on the cross but came to bring wisdom.37
People live on earth in order for God to “gain information” through their
“cells” because God is pure intellect and cannot directly know experience.38
On the other hand, Mother God, whom Browne calls Azna, is pure emotion and
experience. She is the original Creator, often appearing in the form of
Mary.39 She was suppressed by patriarchy but has come back through Gnostic
teachings.40 Mother and Father God are a “dual entity.”41 The information on
Mother God was given to Jesus via the Essenes and Gnostics and hidden in a
scroll in France.42
A believer in reincarnation, Browne states this life is her 54th and final one
on earth.43 Each planet has its Other Side; Earth’s Other Side is superimposed
on our reality with a higher vibrational frequency. People on earth are
actually ghosts in the world of spirits but are less alive than the spirits,
who are fully alive.44 (This idea is also found in the movie, The Others.) All
spirits on the Other Side are aged to appear 30 years old, but they choose
their own physical attributes.45 Those spirits who come to earth (who include
every human on earth) do so to learn and are watched over by spirits from the
Other Side.46
James Van Praagh: Hunting Down Heaven. As a first-grader, James Van Praagh
realized he was psychic when he knew that a car had hit his teacher’s son
before the teacher heard about it. This Catholic schoolteacher told young
James that he had been given a gift and was “one of God’s messengers.”47 As a
child, he also saw auras around people.48 Raised staunchly Catholic, Van
Praagh nevertheless found himself wondering whether God really existed and if
the Bible were really true.49 At age eight, after asking God to prove His
existence, Van Praagh saw a large, glowing hand, pulsating with light, coming
down toward him as he lay in bed, and he knew this was God.50 Van Praagh
continued to have paranormal experiences, including contact with a spirit via
a Ouija board.
To please his mother, Van Praagh enrolled in a seminary in preparation for the
priesthood, but he had many doubts about the teachings. During a meditation at
the seminary, Van Praagh realized that God is love, nonjudgmental, and within
us. He subsequently left the seminary and the Catholic Church.51
A few years later, armed with a broadcasting degree, Van Praagh worked in Los
Angeles, hoping to be a screenwriter. He received a reading from a medium who
told him that he had mediumistic abilities and that the spirits would use
him.52 After reading books on how to develop psychic and mediumistic
abilities, he practiced these techniques for about a year, increasing his
psychic sensitivity.53 Like Edward, Van Praagh states that doing spirit
contact gave him a strong sense of “love and joy” and requests for his
services led him to do this full-time.54
Van Praagh believes all creatures, both human and nonhuman, are made of the
“same God spark.”55 God is humankind’s very “essence,” and though many have
come representing the “light of God,” all of us are divine.56 Van Praagh also
believes in reincarnation. The soul’s journey after death involves an
intermediate astral world, then progresses to a higher level where it is more
“enlightened” and finally reaches the “true Heaven world.”57
To communicate with the dead, Van Praagh says he must raise his vibrational
level, since spirits vibrate at a higher level; and he must concentrate since
he does not hear the spirits at a normal conversational level.58 He opens his
mind to the thoughts of the spirits and repeats exactly what he perceives.59
Like Edward and Browne, Van Praagh believes everyone has spirit guides.
Preparation for readings involves meditation; Van Praagh’s books give
instructions on various meditations.
ARE THE MEDIUMS’ MESSAGES FROM GOD?
Why do people consult mediums? After losing a loved one to death, a person may
want the comfort of hearing from that loved one again and may be curious about
where the loved one is and how that person is doing. Others are hoping to find
out about death and the afterlife. Could God be comforting people through
contact with the dead? What does the Bible say about this?
God’s Word on Contacting the Dead. God’s Word clearly forbids consulting
mediums or spiritists. These activities are forbidden in several places,
including Leviticus 19:31, 20:6, 27; Deuteronomy 18:10–11; 1 Chronicles
10:13–14; and Isaiah 8:19–20. Jesus’ story of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke
16:19–31) implies that the dead cannot contact the living. Consulting the
dead, a practice called necromancy, usually was done for purposes of
divination and seeking the advice of pagan gods.60 God considers consulting
mediums and spiritists as spiritual adultery (see Lev. 20:6).
According to 1 Samuel 28:3–23, King Saul consulted a medium. Saul had banned
mediums, but, desperate for advice due to the advancing Philistine army and
God’s silence on what to do, he sought out a medium to call up Samuel’s
spirit. Samuel appeared and told Saul that he had disobeyed God in not
destroying the Amalekites in a previous battle, that Israel would fall to the
Philistines, and that Saul and his sons would die in battle the next day. This
passage cannot be taken to endorse spirit contact at all, especially when the
writer of 1 Chronicles 10:13 clearly states, “So Saul died for his
unfaithfulness which he had committed against the Lord, because he did not
keep the word of the Lord, and also because he consulted a medium for
guidance” (NKJV).
There is debate as to whether the spirit the medium called up was really
Samuel or was actually a demon. The Bible, however, specifically says Samuel
appeared. Samuel’s accurate and specific predictions furthermore indicate that
this was not a demonic spirit. Only God knows the end from the beginning (Isa.
46:10) and, according to Deuteronomy 18:22, only prophets from God give
predictions that consistently are 100 percent correct. The medium’s surprise
to see Samuel strongly suggests that God brought up Samuel in an unprecedented
miracle for the specific purpose of rebuking Saul.
Accuracy and Communication. Edward, Browne, and Van Praagh all freely admit
that they are not always accurate;61 indeed, Browne writes that no psychic has
100 percent accuracy and that 70 percent is above average.62 In psychic
development classes I attended, one teacher often told us that the best
psychic on his or her best day is about 75 percent accurate.
Edward claims that what the spirits give him is often in symbolic language and
therefore difficult to interpret. He explains this difficulty as the higher
vibrations of the spirits.63 There is no way to authenticate this information;
we have only the word of the mediums and others who teach this concept.64
Edward talks about the spirits playing “psychic charades,”65 and Browne says
that the spirits don’t speak but communicate by pantomime in a sort of “divine
game of charades.”66 The mediums can always explain, therefore, that
inaccurate information is due to difficulties in communication from the spirit
world or misinterpretation of the symbolic language.
Contrary to this routine fallibility are the Bible’s clear and accurate
messages given by God’s prophets and angels. God moreover commands that those
who seek mediums should seek out God instead (see Isa. 8:19–20). When God
speaks through the Scriptures, His words and messages are clear; there is no
need to interpret gestures, images, or pantomime. Because angels, who are
spirits, were able to speak distinctly, it is reasonable to conclude that
information from God or approved by God will neither be confusing nor
difficult to transmit or understand.
What If the Information Is Correct? It is true that sometimes the mediums are
correct in the information they pass on. This validates for many what the
mediums are doing.
How does one explain that the mediums’ accurate information is not from God?
The writer of Deuteronomy 13:1–3 advises us that if a “sign or wonder” comes
to pass from a prophet or a “dreamer of dreams,” and what they said comes
true, but then that prophet or dreamer asks that we follow other gods, we are
not to listen to what this person says. If the medium gives correct
information but has spiritual beliefs contradictory to God’s Word, then what
he or she is saying cannot be from God. Browne and Van Praagh deny the
biblical God, contend God is nonjudgmental and within everyone, and assert we
are a part of God. Browne denies Jesus’ death on the cross and the need for
judgment of sin. All three believe in reincarnation, a doctrine that nullifies
salvation by Christ and grace alone by teaching that one can be saved by
improving spiritually and morally through the course of many earthly lives.
On a John Edward fan site at www.johnedwardfriends.org, fans suggest books
for reading on topics, such as contacting angels, psychic development,
past-life regression, and Tarot cards. The person suggesting the Tarot book
notes that Edward recommends these materials in his “development tapes.” In
fact, on his official site, www.johnedward.net, Edward offers a tape on
developing psychic powers.
Since Edward still claims his Catholic faith, could his ability to contact
spirits, or a similar ability from someone claiming to be a Christian, be a
gift from God? The apostle James states God gives only “good and perfect”
gifts (James 1:17). God would not give someone a special skill that He Himself
condemns. Even if the information is correct, it cannot be from God, since the
mediums are engaged in a practice God has forbidden and they espouse beliefs
that conflict with God’s Word.
SKEPTICS AND BELIEVERS: IS THERE A HAPPY MEDIUM?
How can mediums pass on what seems to be accurate information? Skeptics who
have assessed mediums and replicated what they do have concluded that mediums
are doing tricks and fishing for information.67 Some say Edward and other
mediums are practicing a technique known as “cold reading,” in which initials
or numbers are tossed out to the audience until someone eventually responds to
them.68 Skeptics also point out that people notice the hits more than the
misses, even though the misses outweigh the hits. Believers in mediums are
convinced by the hits, which often seem to be enough for them.
The issue is often framed in terms of “either-or.” Either the mediums are
frauds or they are receiving information from spirits; but must it be one or
the other?
What Edward, Browne, and Van Praagh describe about their experiences is
similar to what I experienced as an astrologer and student of psychic
techniques. When reading astrological charts, I did on occasion receive
startlingly accurate information that seemed to be fed into my mind. I usually
went into an altered state of consciousness69 and felt a beam of energy
connect me to the chart (not the client). I also did many charts for clients
who were not physically present, ruling out the possibility of reading body
language or being led by the client. If I was able to come up with accurate
information without practicing the techniques described by the skeptics, is it
not possible the same thing is happening to the mediums?
Due to their spiritual beliefs, meditative practices, and training as
psychics, the mediums may be opening themselves up to information from
somewhere. If it is not the dead, then who is giving information when it is
specific and correct? According to 2 Corinthians 11:14, Satan can disguise
himself as an angel of light. It seems possible that demons can disguise
themselves as the dead and relay information that seems correct.
Even if skeptics are convinced that mediums are using tricks, is it necessary
to use this accusation when we have God’s Word forbidding this practice and
when there exists the possibility of demonic sources? Skeptical debunking
tends to alienate and does not convince the mediums’ followers. It can also
smack of smugness or condescension. The debunkers may convince doubters and
people who deny the supernatural, but their exposés have seemingly not
decreased the numbers of those who continue to seek out mediums.
Instead of trying to label all mediums as frauds, why not consider that what
is happening results from a combination of factors: coincidence, good
guessing, the mediums’ imaginations, generalities, demonic sources, and the
client’s belief and interpretations to fit the situation? If mediums are truly
trying to contact the dead, is it not possible they are contacting demonic
spirits in some cases?
Debunking the mediums could backfire if the debunking seems hostile; a better
response might be to speak to the issue of why people are seeking to contact
the dead and offer the comfort and peace found through knowing Jesus Christ as
Savior. Jesus, the One who died on the cross to pay for our sins and rose on
the third day, is the only One who has truly come back from the dead to give
us a message. Let us offer a positive message and proclaim Him. As Christ
said, “I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and
behold I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”70
NOTES
1. Bill Hendrick, “Higher Communication,” Atlanta
Journal-Constitution, 31 October 2001, sect. C; Greg Barrett, “Can the Living
Talk to the Dead?” USA Today, 20 June 2001, sect. D.
2. Brian Lowry, “A Medium to Channel the Dead,” Los Angeles Times, 15 August
2001, sect. F.
3. Ruth La Ferla, “A Voice from the Other Side,” New York Times on the Web, 29
October 2000 (http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/29/living/29 DEAD.html).
4. Most psychics do not normally try to contact dead people.
5. La Ferla.
6. James Van Praagh, Talking to Heaven: A Medium’s Message of Life after Death
(New York: Signet, 1997), 51.
7. Ibid., 54.
8. John Edward, One Last Time (New York: Berkley Publishing Group, 1999), xiv.
9. Terry Morrow, “Media Medium Tunes to Departed,” Washington Times, 20 August
2001 (http://aasp.washtimes.com/printarticle.asp?action= print&ArticleID=2001820-526642.
10. Sylvia Browne with Lindsay Harrison, The Other Side and Back (New York:
Signet, 2000), 191.
11. Chris Ballard, “John Edward Is the Oprah of the Other Side,” New York
Times on the Web, 29 July 2001, http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/29/magazine/29PSYCHIC.html?searchpv=day0.
12. Edward, xiii, 5–6, 12.
13. Ibid., 5.
14. Ibid., 8.
15. Ibid., 10–12.
16. Ibid., 13–15.
17. Ibid., 15–16.
18. Ibid., 24.
19. Ibid., 25–26. I was introduced to my spirit guide in a guided
visualization in the mid-1970s. This is a technique whereby someone verbally
guides a person into a meditative state through a series of images and
suggestions.
20. New York Times on the Web, 29 July 2001.
21. “Psychic Raises Ratings for TV’s Sci-Fi Channel,” CNN.com, 31 October
2000, http://www.cnn. com/2000/SHOWBIZ/TV/10/31/john.edwards/index.html.
22. Edward, 43–45.
23. Ibid., 104.
24. Ibid., 109.
25. Ibid., 45, 107, 222.
26. Ibid., 158–59.
27. Browne, xxii.
28. Ibid., xxiii, xxv.
29. Ibid., xxiv.
30. Ibid., xxv.
31. Sylvia Browne, Journey of the Soul Series, Book 1: God, Creation, and
Tools for Life (Carlsbad, CA: Hay House, 2000), 3.
32. Ibid., 22, 39.
33. Ibid., 185.
34. Browne, The Other Side and Back, 7, 13, 203; Browne, God, Creation, and
Tools for Life, 7, 81.
35. Browne, The Other Side and Back, 181; Browne, God, Creation, and Tools for
Life, 21, 150.
36. Browne, God, Creation, and Tools for Life, 4.
37. Ibid., 50, 74.
38. Ibid., 6–8.
39. Ibid., 9–10, 18–19, 22.
40. Ibid., 20, 41.
41. Ibid., 13, 19.
42. Ibid., 15.
43. Browne, The Other Side and Back, 64.
44. Ibid., 3; Browne, God, Creation, and Tools for Life, 119.
45. Browne, The Other Side and Back, 4–5.
46. Ibid., 8–9, 216.
47. Van Praagh, 4–5.
48. James Van Praagh, Reaching to Heaven (New York: Signet/New American
Library, 1999), 26.
49. Van Praagh, Talking to Heaven, 8–9.
50. Ibid., 9–10.
51. Ibid., 29–30.
52. Ibid., 33.
53. Ibid., 34–37, 243.
54. Ibid., 41.
55. Ibid., 42.
56. Ibid., 43.
57. Van Praagh, Reaching to Heaven, 51–52, 92–93.
58. Van Praagh, Talking to Heaven, 40, 54–55.
59. Ibid., 55–56.
60. Divination, often called fortunetelling, involves seeking information
through an occult method or reading hidden meanings in the natural world.
Divination includes palm reading, numerology, astrology, card reading, the I-Ching,
and Rune Stones.
61. Tim Goodman, “Medium’s Well-Done Show Wins over Some Skeptics, Chats with
the Dead Make Compelling TV,” San Francisco Chronicle, 23 January 2001
(http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/ article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2001/01/23/DD26094.DTL);
Browne, The Other Side and Back, xxiii, 58, 209; Van Praagh, Reaching to
Heaven, 39.
62. Browne, The Other Side and Back, 58.
63. Edward, 43–52.
64. The concept of moving to a higher vibration as part of spiritual
unfoldment was a part of New Age teachings I received. This is described in
James Redfield’s best-selling novel, The Celestine Prophecy (Warner, 1993).
65. Goodman.
66. Browne, The Other Side and Back, 166.
67. Michael Shermer, “Deconstructing the Dead: Cross Over One Last Time to
Expose Medium John Edward,” http://www.skeptic.com/news worthy13.html; also
see information on James Van Praagh at http://www.skepdic.com/vanpraagh.html.
68. La Ferla. When I was an astrologer, we used the term “cold reading” to
mean reading a chart without preparation; it had nothing to do with tricking
people.
69. This happened spontaneously, perhaps due to my many years of Eastern
meditation.
70. Revelation 1:17–18.
