Posted on 09/06/2023 7:29:54 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Over half of Americans claim to have communicated with deceased relatives either in dreams or other means — and the “moderately” religious are the most likely people group to say they've had such a supernatural encounter.
A recent survey by the Pew Research Center found that 53% of Americans say they've had interactions with loved ones who have passed away. Of these, 46% experienced the interaction within a dream, while 31% claimed it took place in some other manner.
Additionally, 34% of respondents said they've "felt the presence" of a deceased family member, 28% have spoken about their lives to them, and 15% felt that a deceased relative "reached out" to them. Just under half (44%) of participants mentioned having at least one such encounter within the past year.
The Pew survey, which gathered responses from 5,079 U.S. adults, took place between March 27 and April 2.
Interestingly, the research highlighted that Americans with medium levels of religious commitment are more inclined to report these experiences than those with either very high or low religious affiliations.
The report noted that “people who are moderately religious are more likely than others — including those who are highly religious and those who are not religious — to have experienced these things.”
Just 34% of agnostics and 26% of atheists claimed such experiences, compared to 42% of Evangelical Protestants. Historically black Protestants (67%) and Catholics (66%) reported even higher rates.
“People who are moderately religious seem to be more likely than other Americans to have these experiences,” Pew noted. “This is partly because some of the most traditionally religious groups — such as evangelical Protestants — as well as some of the least religious parts of the population — such as atheists and agnostics — are less likely to report having interactions with deceased family members.”
Demographically, women (53%) were more likely than men (35%) to report having an experience with the dead.
The survey inquired about interactions with deceased relatives but didn't delve into the reasons or interpretations behind these experiences. It also didn't clarify if respondents viewed these encounters as supernatural or explainable through natural causes.
Jeff Dryden, professor of biblical studies at Covenant College, told The Christian Post that while the Bible “does not really speak directly for or against the possibility or practice” of the deceased interceding or communicating with the living, traditionally, the Christian Church has treated this as “somewhere between superstition and something close to witchcraft.”
“The Bible does speak to the reality that personhood continues on past death and exists past death,” he said. “This is not unique to the Bible or Christian belief. Most religions have some kind of understanding of an ‘afterlife’ existence. The Bible gives no endorsement of the validity or utility of communication with the dead or their effective intervention in the land of the living.”
However, the Bible warns against attempting to communicate with the dead and the book of Luke is clear that the dead cannot communicate with the living, even to warn them about eternal damnation, as shown in Luke 16: 22-31:
“The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
“But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
“He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.
“Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’
“‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
“He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”
Dryden suggested that deeply religious individuals might be aware of traditional church stances that don't support such beliefs or practices, which is why the group is less likely to report having interactions with deceased family members.
In contrast, those with less religious conviction might have a limited understanding of the afterlife, he said, while those with a moderate religious affiliation might possess a belief in personhood continuing after death, which could support the idea of communicating with the deceased.
“I would venture to say that it is only folks who have some religious affiliation (medium strength) who have a real reason to believe in personhood persisting after death, which is a necessary condition for any kind of communication with the dead or their intervention in the world,” he said.
A 2019 survey from analytics company YouGov found that 20% of Americans say ghosts “definitely exist” and 25% say they “probably exist.”
More than one-third of Americans (36%) say that they have personally felt the presence of a spirit or ghost. Just over one in 10 (13%) of Americans say that they have communicated directly with a ghost or spirit of someone who has died.
While some churches have largely remained silent on the topic of ghosts and supernatural experiences, V1 Church Pastor Mike Signorelli recently told CP that in today's culture, where people seek supernatural experiences in all the wrong places, pastors are going to have to “get comfortable” with tackling the issue.
“As a result of New Age and tarot card reading, sage, and all these crazy things that people are getting involved with, unfortunately, for a lot of pastors, we're going to have to get comfortable with engaging the supernatural aspects of the Gospel, because people are going to the all the wrong places for supernatural experiences."
Been there....
Of course!
“They” are all kinds of people, every walk of life, every religious faith—some of which you may approve of and some of which you may not....
They are not “interpreting” the experience.
They are having the experience.
—> They are not “interpreting” the experience.
Everyone interprets their experience.
The Bible is pretty clear that this sort of thing does not happen except through divine authority. I would suspect that almost all of these people are either imagining it or are communicating with demons like the mediums described in 1 Samuel.
Agreed. And unfortunately, it seems as though most of the “Christian media” are not giving these necessary warnings but are instead celebrating people who are either crazy or are being tricked by the evil one.
I just heard a loud noise outside.
I did not “interpret” it.
I had a dream visitation from my father a year and a half after he died. I dreamt I was boarding a crew transport van at the airport and when I got on, he was there. (My dad was a pilot.) There was no conversation, just communication via the eyes, which I understand is how you can interpret a typical dream from a visitation—they usually don’t speak.
The sound was “chirp chirp chirp”.
Maybe I better get the Bible out to make sure I give the proper “interpretation”.....
Lessee...passages on birds—want to make sure it was not one of those evil birds...
;-)
Any of those could be true or false, without even getting to whether it was a natural or unnatural source or spiritual, or demonic. But good try!You judged that it was a current experience and not a memory.
You judged it was not just your imagination.
You judged that you did not interpret it.
You judged it was loud in comparison to other noises you heard.
You judged that it could have only come from outside.
You judged that it would make a good example in a post.
You judged that you did not interpret it.
You are walking around with a lead weight around your shoulders and neck—demanding a Biblical interpretation for every second of experience.
I had that happen. Several weird events that I did ask for.
Not bashing on anyone sharing their experiences, but definitely issuing a warning that folks should not dabble in this stuff. Avoid it.
Nice straw man argument, but false as they always are.
I'm giving you extra credit for shifting the goalpost from your previous argument.
You need to enjoy life—and put down the books now and then.
I do!
Unless you were being sarcastic...
You're not supposed to add them together. You're supposed to subtract each one individually from 100% to give you an idea what percentage of either of the two DNA-certified biological sexes report this experience.
Your accounts are fascinating!
My heart aches for you. I have searched for years in the word to understand what our beloved creatures experience when their all too short lives are over. I very recently feel I have had an answer. I am convinced that the God I serve is perfect and He has perfectly loved everything He created. These little creatures go to their creator for eternity because a perfect God would do nothing less. Judgement is not part of what happens for they have never sinned. Can you imagine your beloved dog in a perfect place in the presence of a perfect God who created him? He is there. May you be comforted.
Every once in a great while, something peculiar like this happens. I get a queasy feeling around certain places or people.
My mother had the uncanny ability to size people up within 30 seconds of meeting them. “Be careful around that one,” she would warn us. Invariably, she was proven right.
My husband can do that, too. Before he even shakes someone’s hand, he knows who they are at their core. He’s been shockingly accurate.
If something in my gut tells me there is danger, even if no threat is visible, I listen.
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