Do you believe in ghosts and/or demons???

[The Suckling]

I believe that a ghost is merely a spirit who doesn't know he/she is dead. If a spirit knew it was dead it would cease to exist in mortal consciousness and move on, would it not?

A demon is supposedly a "evil" ghost that enjoys tormenting mortals. I have two interperetations of this.

1. A "demon" is actually a polterguest, which evedence shows may simply be the anxiety emitting from a powerfully psychic teenager.

2. "Demon" is merely a name that religions give to fairies and other sprites that they just don't like (in Christianity's case, all of them).

What do you think???

[amberlaine]

I think demons are probably real, yet are none of the above.

Like angels, I suspect tht demons are astral beings with specific purposes. This is pure suspicion on my behalf. I don'tknow if I believe in them or not--thought I find them absolutely fascinating, so I"m mor eincilned to believe than disbelieve.

[Myst]

I agree with amberlaine about demons.

A ghost is a spirit that doesn't know s/he is dead, or doesn't want to pass to the next plane. Ghosts have the same personality they did when they were living creatures. A poltergeist is merely a ghost who is not happy with someone - either thinking they have no right to be living in the home of the ghost, or the poltergeist wishes to cause problems, etc.

Ghosts and demons are two very separate creatures.

[Siren]

Definitely believe in ghosts...i have two in my house...lol...but they seem nice enough and haven't hurt anyone....Bill gets a little rowdy with the hammer downstairs now and then, but that's about it....

i think demons are completely different than ghosts....demons are evil...bad things, but ghosts aren't....not necessarily anyway,,,,i mean, i have two nice ones here....(they sometimes help find things)....


the origins of demons is from christianity......apparently in early christianity priests would have wet dreams.....and then say that a demon came into their room and made them have sex with them,....so that they had not sinnned (since masturbation is a sin).....

i found that quite interesting....i'm sure there are other explainations...but that makes sense to me..since i don't believe in demons persay....just ghosts...*grin*

[amberlaine]

the origins of demons is from christianity

Poor Christians. They get blamed for everything.

Demons are not unique to CHristianity, nor did they begin with Christianity. The concept of demons has been along for a long, long while.

And to say that demons are evil...in my opinion, tha'ts probably less than accurate. THat's probably like saying angels are "good". I'm not so sure I"d say that, either. Angels and demons aren't really good nor bad--they simply *are*. They do the job set out for them. While overindulgence in such attributes as greed, solipsism, lust, etc. are probably detrimental, in small doses, I"d argue they are *necessary*--not evil. Similarly, to be too selfless, too forgiving, too open can also be a detriment--no long "good". So think we have to submit that all of these things in moderation is the way to go. And that while you probably wouldn't invite a demon to tea, to sum it up as "evil" is probably oversimplifying things a bit.

[MistOfTheSea86]

I dont think anything is just Naturally evil, they have a balance of both as does every living being. It is the common misconception and conclusion jump that classifies demons as being evil. People are usually afraid of what they dont understand, and this misunderstanding is the dark side. So when they did bad things, they blamed it on this primal force that no one could see. ANd eventually it became the root of everything that is evil.

[The Suckling]

I agree that that the label of "evil" is purely subjective and has no pure definition or basis in nature. If I had to give my personal definition of "evil" it would be malice.

And you're right, amberlain. Demons have been thought to exist just as long as gods. I think what people call a "demon" is simply a fairy (which I heartfully believe) that they find disagreeable. Similarly, "The Devil" is the name of a god that peple don't like.

[clef0628]

I have atleast two ghosts. I girl who likes to hang around me for some reason. And my Grandpa who likes to check in from time to time. As for demons, I not sure. I do not believe in ture evil, so I guess I don't belive in them. Thou, I do believe that some ghosts do bad things to people.

[Psyche Ague]

*shrug* I can't say that I've ever believed in either ghosts or demons. I was brought up catholic, so that should probably have been part of my faith, but it wasn't, somehow. I did, however, used to scare the crap out of myself and of my friends by telling ghost stories and I've always been somewhat fascinated by demons, but I don't honestly believe.

[stillwater]

I believe in ghosts, demons, and angels. But I share the same opinion with someone else who said that none of the above should carry the label of "good", "evil", etc. I do agree that ghosts are spirits who either don't know they have died, or choose to hang around for some reason. However, I also believe it is possible that they are loved ones who are not bound by space and time; therefore, just "wishing" them into presence for whatever reason is possible. As for the angel - demon thing, I think everything exists for a reason. If one appears to me, I should acknowledge it for the simple reason there is a message for me.

[white_draco]

I believe in Ghosts, Angels, and Demons. I too believe that they are nuetral and not anything that is purely good or purely evil.


- White Draco -

[Kian]

ermmmmmm nope I don't believe in ghosts or demons....... I believe in energy manifesting itself in various ways and I believe in grounding it when you've raised a lot of it so it doesn't manifest itself in ways you'd rather not deal with.

[mato]

again I turn to the old 'as above so below' and say that there are many more kinds of spirits than just us and the divine. 'Primitive' cultures knew/know this as well as the fact that spirits do what is necessary to survive just as any other animal. So a demon is not an 'evil' creature any more than a wolf is evil for killing deer. and an angel is not a 'good' creature any more than an oxen is good for carrying a heavy load. Ghosts are people, I have met many a ghost who havent died yet, I have met many lively joyful people who just happen to be dead (great grandma for one). Its manifestation discrimination to deny these people their rights just because their dead! :T seriously most cultures recognize this and if it werent for the encredibly repressive modern faiths most people would choose to acknowledge their ancestors and friends, and therefore see them.

I dont use any of those terms though but hey when in Rome... Conquer it!

[Radocs]

I don't believe in either ghosts or demons.

[crusader_daisyy]

hii there..!!
uh huh, so do i believe in ghosts and such? Maybe it depends on how you define the terms, spirits, ghosts and demons.. I believe in spirits, which i coin them as souls that comes out of bodies, dead or alive. I truly believe in them as i can see them around all the while but i cannot make out their features most of the time. I'm born with a "3rd eye" (this is wat the chinese call it when someone has the ability to see 'things') since i was born and tried all sorts of methods to "close" it but to no avail. Later i decided, since it doesn't really bring forth harm or good, i just leave it at that and hopefully, it can just go away and i'll be normal like anyone else. A tibetian buddhist practioner once suggested if i could chant some "heart mantra" for 108 times a day every day, i could make it... uh well, forget it. i can't make it... As for stuff like ghosts, i coin them as spirits which came out of dead bodies and are floating around on our mother earth in this dimension although i thought they are better off to the place they should be. Spirits can be good, can be bad, so are ghosts. Some of them are harmless with no bad intentions, but some are out to make trouble.. The things that i come into contact or see around, i just call them spirits because.. i dunno whether they're truly ghosts or not. i feel that some of them are in another dimension right here because most of them can float pass right through you just like that.. and if you can't see them like any normal person, you won't know or feel anything. For those spirits that i can see or communicate with, they're there in our dimension. As for demons, uh well... hopefully they don't exist at all. Or maybe they're just right there in our minds..


lodsa fun+peace+joy+luffter and mighty l0ve,
crusader_daisyy

[Epona44]

this is a slightly different question, but there's a ghost discussion going on in the Just Talk forum.

I don't believe in demons, per se.

But I do believe in thought forms.

there are as I recall, perhaps someone else will know, a series of books identifying a hierarchy of demons and eudemons, which are of a less harmful, more helpful species.

In christian mythology, when there was a war in heaven and god threw lucifer out of heaven, all his army were also cast out with him.

According to the legend lucifer was the first to fall, and he fell straight through to hell along with his closest allies.

But many lesser spirits were also cast out and were still falling when lucifer and his minions were sealed within the gates of hell.

They, according to early christian mythology, became nature spirits. As soon as I can recall where I read this I'll pass it along.

So, everybody's got a story.

[lucidfire]

(first, on a side note, don't forget Lucifer was originally a pagan god, before the Christians hijacked the concept)

I believe in ghosts and demons. I don't claim to know what they are, although I have a few ideas. (I listen to a lot of Art Bell, in case you haven't guessed)

Ghosts intrigue me more than demons I suppose. I have this idea that demons are more of a physical earthly thing, something to do with parasites.

I'm not sure if ghosts that are around are disembodied spirits, or simply echoes of energy that went before. Some people have recorded strange things (resembling ghosts, sounds, images, etc..) of people they found out were still alive. That's strange to think about