Gulp!

One of the advantages of living in a quiet backwater of the blogosphere is a certain kind of Dutch courage. You figure no one is going to read your words except for a small group of friends plus the stray wanderer lost on their way to somewhere else.

But that's not always true.

Yesterday I mentioned Mark Matlock's book "Don't Buy the Lie" as a jumping off point for a commentary on Halloween.

This morning I wake up to discover a comment from, gulp, Mark Matlock! I mentioned that some of his approach "set me on edge" and Mark asked what that was. A fair question. Since I started it out here I thought I'd answer it here as well.

Let me be clear that I've read a total of about 9 paragraphs out of a book of 176 pages. It would appear that both Mark and I share a healthy skepticism on much of the occult stuff out there. His book did what good books always do - kick off some thoughtful consideration.

Sound like a case of energetic back pedalling? Not really. Think of it more along the lines of the natural Episcopal distaste for making guests feel uncomfortable or being caught in an unseemly spat.

So what put me on edge? Mostly from the section dealing with ghosts, parts of which I quote here:

The tellers are almost always people who heard it secondhand. In addition, people who claim to hear voices or see dead relatives almost always stop experiencing those things when they take anti psychotic medications. That suggests either that ghosts don't like medication or that people who are having intense emotional and psychological problems are more likely to see things that aren't there.

The Bible leaves little room for the existence of ghosts. It never, ever talks about the spirits of dead humans lingering here.

This is one of those moments when you're listening to someone with whom you basically agree then they suddenly say something uncomfortable. Not outrageous but just enough to make you squirm in your seat.

First, I challenge your assumption that there are virtually no first hand stories of encounters with ghosts. Curiously I heard just such a story this morning on the local NPR station. The lady believes she saw a ghost in a local theater. First hand. The genre has more than enough of these first hand stories to make me uncomfortable with this assertion.

Second, the pat statement about anti-psychotic drugs and folks who have seen ghosts is outrageous standing as it does without support. That some folks who are suffering from mental disorder are helped by drugs to eliminate unreal apparitions I do not contest. The way this is stated in the quote leaves the clear impression that ALL folks who claim to see ghosts (wait, aren't we supposed to assume that there really AREN'T any such folk?)would benefit by a quick dose of medicine to re-balance their minds. Again I think a great deal more support for the idea that folks who see ghosts are generally unbalanced needs to be offered.

Finally there is the "But it's not in the Bible" argument. Arguing (and I mean that in the rhetorical sense not the combative) from absence is one of the weakest approaches available. The Bible is silent on many things. The pure pursuit of this line of thought is the life of the Amish. I'm fairly sure that neither you nor I, being computer users, are ready to ride off in that direction.

As an Episcopalian I don't see the Bible as some sort of final word on things scientific. It spends very little time discussing how things take place (and in our more common belief does it in metaphorical terms rather than literal) and much more time telling us why. It is a book of faith that teaches us many important things. Through it we hear the voice and thoughts of God reduced to a manner which we are capable of understanding. It challenges us and in my experience very often surprises me. It is not a complete description of this world or the next. So we need to be careful about drawing absolute meanings especially from absences.

So those are my thoughts Mark. These are the places that made me uncomfortable. It may be that I've drawn an incorrect conclusion from an admittedly limited sample. I was only reacting to the passage provided. (For the record the excerpt was published in the Youth Specialties youth newsletter that I forward to the youth of this diocese in our diocesan youth newsletter. I noted my reservations as an editorial note there but thought that there was more than enough "good stuff" in Mark's words that I sent them un-edited.) Your thoughts triggered my thoughts and I appreciate that.

Thanks for checking in and leaving a comment!

Oh dear, it suddenly dawns on me that I'll probably be hearing from the Dutch embassy next! LOL.

Peace

On Halloween

Halloween is just around the corner. And with it comes a fair bit of noise from the faith community. Just recently I got an e-mail from the folks at Youth Specialties which quoted a book they publish "Don't Buy the Lie" by Mark Matlock. Mark is taking on the interest in the occult that has grown quite a bit in our culture over the last 10-15 years.

And that's not a bad idea really. We need to treat spiritual matters carefully and with careful consideration. It's just how he approaches the subject that sometimes set me on edge. So I noted my reservations and invited the youth to whom I send this information to spend some time and think for themselves.

I am absolutely NOT here to trash Mark Matlock. I've only seen a short passage from his book and I've never met the guy. But he did get me thinking.

So here's what I think about Halloween. These are just mine and kind of off the top of my head.

I don't get the folks who are in full "Halloween is Satan's playground" mode. Like ANY human activity evil can use it for its own ends. Little children dressed up as Spiderman or their favorite Pokemon character getting sugary treats really is not all that sinister.

On the subject of vampires, werewolves and ghosts my thoughts are as follows:
Don't exist.
Don't exist.
Might exist and that makes me sad.

A ghost seems to be a spirit of a person who has for whatever reason not let go of its time in this world. Because I do believe in Heaven (which for me is simply to be in the presence of the Creator with nothing standing between us) the idea that a soul refused to go is sad. The idea that not all souls will go to Heaven (and I believe that many will not choose to go) is equally sad. I've never understood my fellow believers who seem to get their jollies knowing that some folks will end up in Hell, whatever that turns out to be. I don't spend a lot of time thinking about what Heaven and Hell are like. I spend that time thanking God for grace.

Cause I need it.

So what about the Big Fella himself? Satan, Lucifer, the Devil. I do believe that there is a force of evil, a malignant drive in the world. For simplicity of talking about it I'll call he/she/it Satan. I have no better idea of what that "person" is like than I do for God. I see glimpses, shadows, results of actions. In the end however what I "know" is much more what I "believe" and far too often nothing more than pious fiction. Too many of us are still caught up in the horns, pitchfork and form fitting lycra bodysuit to make any headway. There is an evil power in the world. My study of it says it's much subtler than it is often given credit, and it's not as all pervasive as it is often accused of being. Folks out there get very caught up in the "spiritual warfare" mind set where every thing that goes wrong is the Devil striving against them. I'm afraid I find that point of view rather egotistical. It validates what we're doing because look Satan himself opposes me!

I think Satan is more than happy to take credit for our own stupidity and brokenness. We provide more than enough working material for the evil in the world. It usually doesn't seem to take more than a nudge for us to suddenly veer off into actions that are selfish, hurtful or worse. While it would be great to think that Satan really has to work hard to boost the evil levels in the world I think it's just a cop out answer to get ourselves off the hook.

To expand out the circle a little more I don't believe in horoscopes, or fortune tellers. You can only "Tell the Future" if it's a fixed thing with the end already determined. Since I reject predestination that's pretty much out then. I believe that Ouija boards and tarot cards are likewise hokum. Seances require that I believe that spirits that have gone to the "other side" still have calling privileges to this world. It seems unlikely that a soul in the presence of the Divine really has much interest in this world. And the ones in the "other place"? Do you really want to talk with them? What that leaves is our old buddy the Devil playing games with our heads. Thank you, no.

I also believe that any of these can be very dangerous. Because they can quickly become tools that lead people away from God. Rather than trying predict or control the future get out and create it. Things that need to be done in the dark are rarely a good idea. Live in the light, let the next world take care of itself. Live your life to the best of your ability and thank God for grace to cover the rest.

Oh yeah, and make sure to get in some trick or treating.

Mark's Blog
"Don't Buy the Lie"

Peace