You're real enough, and it would be fine anytime :-)

thats a great song from nightwish :P

One of my relatives is a little superstitious, so despite my beliefs, I keep an open mind. They also make Sagas really interesting.

*puts tinfoil hat of existentialism back on dischord

Okay, its not working. Dammit! ;)

Nah, but it was a bit harrowing at the time.. I'd try to sleep through it after countless endeavors that proved to be fruitless, but my ex had other ideas ie: protector rise, and now :-)

...as I'm already breaking up the thread somewhat... lets enjoy some Stevie Wonder on SESAME ST!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ul7X5js1vE

I have witnessed nothing definite myself, but there are many testimonials which are detailed enough not to dismiss.

You're dismissing a few thousand years of "christian" ghosts mythology (with exorcisms, blessings, late burials, sin triggers, afterlife resolutions, all that jazz). And "our" ghosts (with the whole person's "soul") is a very christian conception of the body/mind duality (as opposed to exotic multi-"souls" version).

Actually, you'll have to admit that the whole european medieval folklore, with its ghosts, vampires, werewolves, even trolls, was pretty much christian, because these widespread belief were held by "faithful people" (and all these tales have references to god, the church, prayers, sanctity, etc), and if you dismiss their christianity, you'll have to accept in exchange that Europe has never been christianized...

Understandable, glad that's behind you, though!

\m/

No idea. I get beaten down by people saying I'm going to hell on a regular basis and it all sounds like so much hate spewing to me by this point. But Christianity, like the Catholic faith, original from Europe and have had little change in hundreds of years. The most recent pope could be considered one of the most radical religious leaders to have ever emerged. But it doesn't matter much anyway. Ghosts are a perversion of the fundamental ideals that these churches established. If you're atheist like me, then you don't believe in a soul, and it makes the argument for ghosts existing just as difficult because it means subscribing that something lives on after death. I assume the Islamic Faith is similar in how it treats the concept of one's soul/spirit.

Maybe one stuck somewhere in between, no idea. Life force might equal life force, and void equal void, once again no idea or anything to support.

Strange things seem to happen to many, cause unknown.

http://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine/2008/07/15#.UzoeR1fb-Z8

This what I remember when others mention Stevie Wonder, anyway.
Cool stuff.

Exorcisms as I recall tend to be considered a the release of a demon or evil spirit from a person or location. I suppose you could argue a human who relished in chaos would welcome the chance to become a demon, but that would also in itself be a mockery as it means that the Devil has the stronger, and larger forces, and gives a wicked person power instead of punishment. Blessings I believe were the same thing without the angry spirit, a prayer or act to protect a person from such evil. I admit I don't know anything of Late Burials, Sin Triggers or Afterlife Resolutions.

For Ghosts, Vamps, Werewolves, ect, I'm curious to find out if those creatures had existed in written lore before the expansion of Christianity out of Rome. They're not in modern bibles, none of those beasts, except for as I recall the Giants, such as the story of David slaying Goliath. If those creatures are indeed then a part of the fundamental mythology, and religion itself, then we should instead argue that the US practices a perverse and misinformed denomination, as it started in Europe and moved on to North America.

From what I recall, the story of how Christianity originated (As opposed to the in-book guide) was with a Roman General, facing a foe that he was unsure he could defeat. In his dreams he saw a flaming cross appear to him in the stars, a voice telling him to spread the symbol across his armies shields, and they would see victory. He did so, and proceeded to survive, eventually becoming emperor and establishing Christianity. This I believe is the Catholic Half of the equation. Later in the world in Europe, King Henry the VIII would see himself married to a woman who did not bear him a child. The law of the religion said that he could not re-marry, and so established his own, eventually courting 4 additional women, killing most of them, and bearing no male heirs, which I think begets the current Christian half of the pair. I may be wrong, and it's very likely I've got something backwards, but this is the story I recall as for how each one began.

Edit: Now that I think about it, none of that accounts for Judaism. I have no idea if they have a direct relationship with either of the other two, but I think they were otherwise fairly separate. I also couldn't tell you when, where, or how it began, so this might be what I baffled you on.