I
Iotaunum
Guest
Well just to clarify, I said; “All contact or attempted contact with the dead is forbidden by Scripture and the Church.” - I did not imply that the person you speak of was involved in conjuring up spirits nor actively seeking contact with them. As to the part about rejecting something which is “given to you” - the issue is by whom it is given. As history shows, this gift is very rare among the saints and when contact is made there is no doubt that it is from Heaven if God want’s a person to know it. For example, a nun was allowed to appear in her former convent to let the other pious nuns know of the pains she suffered in purgatory for neglecting her spiritual duties. A sign was also left in the form of a hand shaped burn mark on the door which matched the unique shape of the subsequently exhumed body of the nun. God permitted this for the salvation of souls - it was not an “I’m alright - I’ve gone to a better place - go for that job comming up” kind of message which mediums are wont to deliver. God only permits such experiences when it directly affects a person or persons salvation, as is the case in marian apparitions.Well, that’s sort of the point, I think, she didn’t** attempt** anything or ** try and get **anything to happen. It just did, I thought I made that clear. And that’s really my question: if something is given to you, how do you just reject that?
I don’t understand the relevance here. Christ talking to Moses and Elias on the mountain and the Transfiguration the Apostles witnessed has nothing to do with communication with the dead. The reason Christ permitted the apostles to witness Himself talking to Moses and Elias and His transfiguration accompanied with the voice of God the Father was not anything to do with contact, invited or not with the dead. It was about showing continuity between the Old law and the New and a prefigurement of Christ’s glory and that He was to suffer and die before entering into this glory. I cannot see the connection you see.As for Scripture, Jesus purposely had Apostles accompany Him up the mountain in order that they witness Him speaking to Moses and Elijah who were giving Jesus information about something, His Crucifixion, apparently. Jesus could not sin. Jesus purposely sought out those in Heaven to speak to. And, He purposely showed this to others.
I stand by what I said - perhaps I didn’t explain it properly. The issue here is discernment. I have studdied Marian apparitions for years and have read literally hundreds of books (I have well over 200 books myself on the various apparitions/seers and have borrowed more) on the various apparitions and their histories. I’ll be the first to admit that at first I gave more credit to some false apparitions which appeared on the surface to be of divine origin. Young or old, it does not matter - the issue of discernement is not easy. I know of lots of priests and bishops who have followed false apparitions which were later condemned by the Church. I have spoken to a few priests who gave credit to a well know apparition site and “seer” only for the bishop to later declare it a fraud. It happens all the time and happens even on a large scale today.The point is, discernement is not easy. Priests and theologians are often decieved either way. Even when many of the saints got locutions or apparitions, they wondered whether they were being decieved by the devil. One who believes the devil could not deceive “even the elect” does not know the capabilities of the devil. Therefore, I am saying that when someone claims to have got a revelation or message from the dead be highly skeptical at first and do not put your faith in it. It is very hard for the saints and theologians to discern, so obviously there is a very high risk of being deceived by the devil - no matter how saintly or pious a person is.I don’t believe that for a minute. You think God would create a system whereby we cannot tell what is of God or not? Maybe if you are a young person, I don’t know. What can it serve the Liar to illustrate the Truth of Eternal life?