“Your Word Is Truth”

Should the Living Seek to Talk with the Dead?

“STRANGE as it seems in the space age, the supposed reality of psychic phenomena continues to fascinate modern men.” So stated Time, an American news magazine, as it began a discussion of the subject of the living talking with the dead.

Learned men are still intrigued by the thought of life after death. Thus the late ex-bishop James Pike, a lawyer before he became an Episcopal clergyman, claimed to have gotten in touch with his son who committed suicide. Similarly, Anglican Bishop Stockwood insists that on five occasions he has communicated with the dead.

Gaining somewhat of an international notoriety in this matter is Rosemary Brown, who claims that ever so many great composers of the past appear to her and help her to compose music. While, by and large, persons who hear of it are skeptical, there are some who are impressed. Among these is British composer Richard R. Bennett, who stated: “If she is a fake, she is a brilliant one and must have had years of training. Some of the music is awful, but some is marvelous. I couldn’t have faked the Beethoven.”​—Time, July 6, 1970.

This indeed poses a question. Rosemary Brown has had very little musical training and appears to have very limited musical ability. Repeated tests indicate that she cannot even take down the simplest tunes dictated to her, and yet she has written some “marvelous” music as a result of her being “visited,” as she claims, by musical geniuses of the past. Then, too, at all her interviews she disarms reporters by her modesty and apparent sincerity. She claims that for upward of five years she has been in touch with such musical geniuses as Bach, Beethoven, Liszt and Schubert. How are we to understand this and other seeming psychic phenomena?

Bearing directly on this matter are the words found in the Bible: “And in case they should say to you people: ‘Apply to the spiritistic mediums or to those having a spirit of prediction who are chirping and making utterances in low tones,’ is it not to its God that any people should apply? Should there be application to dead persons in behalf of living persons?”​—Isa. 8:19.

Why should not the living seek to talk to the dead? One reason is that the dead are dead, nonexistent! As we read in the Bible book of Ecclesiastes (9:4, 5): “For as respects whoever is joined to all the living there exists confidence, because a live dog is better off than a dead lion. For the living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all, neither do they any more have wages, because the remembrance of them has been forgotten.” And as the same inspired writer goes on to say: “Throw yourself into any pursuit that may appeal to you, for there is no pursuit, no plan, no knowledge or intelligence, within the grave where you are going.”​—Eccl. 9:10, James Moffatt’s Version.

There is nothing in the Scriptures to indicate otherwise. That is why they often refer to death as sleep. A sleeping person is unconscious until he is awakened. Another reason, it might be added, is that Jesus Christ promised that all those sleeping in the memorial tombs will be awakened by means of a resurrection from the dead. So to try to talk with the dead is futile.​—John 5:28, 29; 11:1-44; compare 1 Thessalonians 4:13.

But there is a still more powerful reason why we should not seek to talk with the dead. This reason helps to account for all the psychic phenomena that has caused certain leading scientists in Great Britain and elsewhere, as well as Anglican bishops and Rosemary Brown, to believe that life does exist after death. And what is that? Seeking to talk with the dead may get one involved with wicked demons.

Yes, the Bible shows that there are not only good angels but also wicked ones. Satan the Devil is the chief of these, the great deceiver of humankind and the bitter adversary of the Creator, Jehovah God. These facts are particularly made manifest by the account of Eve’s being deceived and of Jesus’ being tempted by the Devil.​—Gen. 3:1-19; Matt. 4:1-11.

The other angels that work with Satan the Devil first made themselves manifest in the days of Noah. The Bible tells that they had been righteous angels who left their heavenly spirit estate and took on human form so as to be able to cohabit with the daughters of men. The Deluge put an end to their enjoyment of this form of life, but not an end to their existence.​—Gen. 6:1-7; 7:21.

What is their present lot or state? The apostle Peter tells us; for in discussing the conditions of Noah’s day he says: “God did not hold back from punishing the angels that sinned, but, by throwing them into Tartarus, delivered them to pits of dense darkness to be reserved for judgment.”​—2 Pet. 2:4.

Thus we have an explanation of Jesus’ encounters with spirit-obsessed persons when he was upon the earth, and in particular why they recognized him and on one occasion said to him: “What have we to do with you, Jesus you Nazarene? Did you come to destroy us? I know exactly who you are, the Holy One of God.” (Mark 1:24) Being intelligent persons with spirit bodies, they could very well impersonate the dead and thus deceive humankind. A Scriptural example of this is the case of the witch of En-dor who professed to call up the dead prophet Samuel.​—1 Sam. 28:7-25.

All this explains why, as noted in Time magazine, “the spirits that mediums raise always inconveniently refuse to answer the very questions that would prove their existence.” It also accounts for the fact that Rosemary Brown, practically devoid of all musical talent, can compose music some of which might be called “marvelous,” and yet why these pieces of music are not of the great masters’ quality and why she is unable to solve riddles that their lives have left behind them.

So it is not merely a matter of its being futile, this seeking to talk with the dead. Since these impersonators of the dead are God’s worst enemies, certainly no lover of God and of righteousness would want to have anything to do with them. More than that, there is evidence that time and again those who have dabbled in spiritism have become nervous wrecks, or mentally unsound, or have come near to committing murder or suicide. Surely all such facts are still more powerful reasons why one should not seek to talk with the dead.

So, in view of the fact that the dead are actually dead and those seeming to be in communication with the dead are actually in touch with wicked spirits who could seriously harm one, should humans seek to talk with the dead? Absolutely not!