A Note of Caution for Paranormal Investigators

This last year has been such a blessing. Since my decision to first publish some of my tales the paranormal community has welcomed me and made me feel so at home.

That you read this blog is to me a blessing, and when you ask me questions of a religious or paranormal nature I am doubly blessed.

In a year that has been personally very tough I have been given strength and encouragement.

Thank you all so much.

To my readership I give a heartfelt thanks that I can only say has been a gift from God.

Throughout this year I have had some struggles in the subject of the paranormal that I may have raised but I have not fully voiced.

But I just have a fear and dread for some who have just begun to explore the dark corners of the earth.

Not to mince words I will just say it.

I fear by then end of this decade (and beyond) we will see a devastating toll in the ranks of paranormal investigators.

Many will face debilitating illness and those who have minor illnesses will see an increase to their inflictions.

I speak not of physical illness but mental ones.

Those of you who have come to know me in this blog should know that I never confuse a mental health issue with an instance of demonic oppression or infestation.

I know SO many that have mental health issues that the church has misguidedly assumed to be demonic and proceeded to cause more psychological damage to innocent victims that the numbers actually overwhelm me at times.

Instead of the peace that they sought in the church, they find that condemnation, judgment and misunderstanding. A place of solace for them has been transformed into yet another arena for them to be cast off as wrenched refuse.

It is a shame of indignity on the church as a whole in some circumstances and a cause for looming judgment for many Christians who think they live a prefect life yet choose to demean others who have no control over their circumstances.

No, I do not want you to confuse my compassion with my fears on this subject.

I fear that many Paranormal investigators in their zeal to uncover issues of the paranormal have unleashed forces in their lives which they have no control over. Forces that they are truly unprepared to face while trying to function in their normal day to day life apart from their ‘investigations’.

The issue at hand is how many handle encounters with various entities while in their investigations. I have observed an increasing number of individuals relating that they are trying to carry on a conversation with entities whose position and power they have no knowledge of. It is as if they are long lost friends with whom they are trying to catch up.

Even in the face of possible physical manifestation.

Let me just forewarn you that if the entity that you have been called on to investigate has in the past manifested itself physically in the real world you need to keep your guard up and be VERY cautious.

Even without such manifestations you still need to be very cautious when trying to communicate with entities.

The Bible warns about communications with spirits, and with good reason.

Deuteronomy 18:10-12 commands,

“There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD,.” NKJV.

Now as a good Biblical deconstructionist I of course have to ask why the Bible condemns such practices. Of course the easy answer that most Evangelicals and Fundamentalists would give is because in participating in these practices you are wandering into the Devil’s territory. Doing any of these things is and of itself ‘satanic’. However there are examples in the Bible where the Holy Men of history are participating in these very things.

Joseph apparently practiced divination. In Genesis 44:1-5 Joseph has servants put his ‘silver divination cup’ into his younger brother’s baggage in a ruse to reunite his unsuspecting family.

In Judges 6:35-37, Gideon a Judge of Israel used a fleece in the same way as soothsayers used various others objects to divine the future.

And in the book of Acts the remaining 11 Apostles draw lots to pick a replacement for Judas.

All of these practices are either the same ones condemned in Deuteronomy or bear a close resemblance in both form and substance to them.

So the command to not participate in these occult practices must have a deeper underlying meaning.

I feel they are condemned rituals because one can easily come into contact with demonic spirits while doing them and because of the nature of the practices one can easily become ensnared and manipulated by said evil entities.

These practices fall under the umbrella of the forbidden rites of communication with spirits.

Now why does the Bible and other religious tomes warn against communication with disembodied spirits?

Because they lie.

They lie very good.

Why?

Sometimes it seems as if they can read your mind and find the weakest spot of your psyche on which to feed upon.

And they want you to believe the lies they spit forth.

They want you to believe in them. To let your guard down.

They want power. Power over YOU.

They want to control you.

I know a woman who has spent most of her life in the church and whose life has been one of caring and giving. She is not just a religious woman, she is a spiritual woman. But she has spent most of her life in bondage. She was addicted to asking advice from her Ouija board. She would not make any decision no matter how small without asking her board first. And the board answered her with precise clarity. She told me it had a real personality of its own. It even told her unknown secrets and predicted the future. The spirit of the board became her best friend and confidant. Soon though she felt trapped by the spirit of the board and told her son, who was a church Elder, of her dabbling with the occult. In a solemn ritual they took the board out to the backyard and put it in a burning barrel.

It would not burn.

She is just one example, I know of many others who have been ensnared by the power of divination.

Demonic entities have one goal: to harm as many as they can. They hate human beings and will do anything to make their lives miserable.

And they can latch on to anyone who gives them undue attention or power. Letting the entity have control in an investigation feeds it and allows it develop a bond with the person who allows it to have control in a conversation.

I am not talking about asking simple questions or tasks that would assist in determining if there is an intelligent entity in the place of investigation. I am talking about those investigators who have drawn conclusions about the entity before any evidence as to its nature or origin is determined and they assume that the entity is the spirit is a deceased individual and try to ‘get to know it’.

Malevolent entities love the attention and would love to get to know the interviewer in an up close and personal way.

Powerful Demonic entities do seem to have some sort of telepathic or at least empathic ability. Whether they can actually read minds or have been around humans for so many millennia that they can predict human thought and behavior is a discussion for another day. That they have the ability to latch on to unsuspecting victims and affect them emotionally and psychologically is well documented and is the basis for demonic possession. But possession is a rarity, even though some popular television shows would like to have us think otherwise for the sake of the spectacular.

More common is Demonic oppression. It is when a dark entity latches onto a person and although it does not control the individual it does manipulate. Some signs of Demonic oppression are changes in personality, depression, suicidal or uncontrollable thoughts, addictions, increased severity of pre-existing psychological problems, undiagnosable physical ailments and poltergeist phenomena. Now the presence of any of these conditions does not mean Demonic oppression, but if they happen to manifest themselves after an encounter with an entity it might be a sign of an infestation. Of course even then it could be a natural occurrence and have nothing to do with the demonic at all, so caution mixed with wisdom and discretion is advised. If they are caused by Demonic oppression, in the long run normal treatments will not work. In fact the conditions might actually get worse. And the common wisdom of our current culture is to treat many of these conditions with pharmaceuticals, which will only hide the symptoms or exacerbate things.

What is needed is spiritual guidance and cleansing.

You need to find yourself a reputable person who has had training and experience in these areas. Sometimes that is hard to find.

In talking with a few associates I have decided to try to compile a national/international database of those who have both training and experience in the field of Demonology and spiritual deliverance or Exorcism to handle any such problems if the need arises. Those on the database could also be consulted in investigations as well.

The list is growing and we are hoping to compile it and distribute it within a few months. Of course it will be an ongoing project with names being included and updates being distributed periodically. The completed list will be distributed to all those included and to various paranormal investigative teams that wish to participate across the globe. Anyone in the general public who needs these services as well will be able to get in touch with anyone on the list through various contacts that shall be web accessible.

If you have had experience and training in Demonology and/or Deliverance-Exorcism please send you name, address, phone number, e-mail, limit of geographical area you would wish to travel in (most are saying within 100 miles from home) and a brief description of your experience or training to: theparanormalpastor@roadrunner.com .

Let’s fight the darkness together.

Until Next Time,

Pastor Swope

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