It is against sound spiritual principle to seek out (as an end-in-themselves) psychic abilities or to patronize dead spirits, gods, and so on. The spirits appealed to may be on the good or the bad side, but either way they are tainted with human will and hereditary evil, and they cannot help but attach themselves to, and to manipulate our emotions. All humans have evil; only the Lord is goodness itself. Also, spirits who are willing to do this are not high spirits (angels), and they have a motive or their own for doing it and it is always messy to the psyche of the person doing it. They will also pose as ‘high beings’ of ‘angels’ to be revered.
Swedenborg tells that spirits who do this have no idea of the person they are attaching to anymore than the person on earth perceives the spirit. They simply desire to live through a body again, and they do so by attaching their emotional state to the emotional state of the person on earth, which is generally messy. The Lord does not allow these spirits to know they are in a body because if they did they would run wild with desire to control it, and take the will away from the person. It is a healthy universal principle that when we seek the spiritual realm we look to, and pray to the Lord alone. They Lord uses angels for his work, but it is his will that they serve, not any person or angel. Cults that seek the psychic are playing with fire and end up playing into the hands of spirits and demons who love to be adulated and worshiped. In seeking the spiritual, we tether ourselves to God, and to acknowledge Him as the one source of good. He alone is worthy to be worshiped. Furthermore, we must approach Him with honesty, humility, and sincerity. In fact, that is the only way He can be approached. We certainly do not manipulate Him for favor. The motivation to manipulate is from the external and tainted with evil; it comes from and attracts dark things. In Buddhism, adherents are taught to never seek psychic abilities, though it is recognized that these abilities are sometimes a byproduct of spiritual development. Swedenborg adamantly advised against intentionally developing psychic abilities or petitioning spirits, even though these abilities were enormous byproducts for him.
Mike Goodenow Weber | February 1, 2017
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I really agree with Steve on this matter. Spiritualism and seances and things of this nature are great risks to our soul. We should center our soul entirely in our Lord God Jesus Christ, and if He sends an angel, we should honor the Lord and the purpose in that message or assistance to our soul. Pursuing contact with spirits is spiritually dangerous, and praying to them fragments our soul.
Richard B Riddick | February 18, 2020
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Believers always say communing with spirits is wrong. Then what’s your take on the catholic church standardizing communion with the deceased spirits of saints. Everything about the world is so backwards and contradictory. If you would honor your God and savior, make an effort to question and see through lies and deceptions.
Steve Sanchez | Author | February 19, 2020
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Yes, I think the Catholic practice of venerating and worshipping saints is false. There is only one divine, and that is Jesus who is God and only he is to be worshipped. Remember in Revelation when John tried to worship the angel who was his messenger and that showed him the Holy City; when john did so the angel told John, “Do not do it, stand up”. The angel did not allow John to worship him, because all people and angels are in same relation -equally in a position of humility to the Lord – only the Lord is to be worshiped, not angels. There is an article in this blog on the decline of The Catholic church and falsities in it called – “Description of Declined State of Religion before 1757 that is the Cause of the Second Coming on Earth and in Spiritual World”. Please feel free to share you thoughts Richard or ask questions. Pastor Steve