In 2019, YouGov found that 45 percent of Americans believed ghosts either “definitely exist” or “probably exist.” The study went further to find that more Republicans believe in ghosts as well as other supernatural beings compared with Democrats. But we’re getting away from the issue at hand. Do Christians believe in ghosts?
Part of the answer depends on how you define the word ghost, but the best place to start when talking about what Christians believe is to look at what the Scriptures say about ghosts. We’ll look first at the Bible and then we’ll see if that’s connected to the modern concept of a ghost.
Are there ghosts in the bible?
First of all, what is a ghost? Most most stories link ghosts to the deceased. And there’s only one time that it can be argued that a ghost appears in the Bible. That’s in 1 Samuel. I’ll include a large portion of the passage for reference:
Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in his own town of Ramah. Saul had expelled the mediums and spiritists from the land.
The Philistines assembled and came and set up camp at Shunem, while Saul gathered all Israel and set up camp at Gilboa. When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid; terror filled his heart. He inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets. Saul then said to his attendants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I may go and inquire of her.”“There is one in Endor,” they said. So Saul disguised himself, putting on other clothes, and at night he and two men went to the woman. “Consult a spirit for me,” he said, “and bring up for me the one I name.” But the woman said to him, “Surely you know what Saul has done. He has cut off the mediums and spiritists from the land. Why have you set a trap for my life to bring about my death?”
Saul swore to her by the Lord, “As surely as the Lord lives, you will not be punished for this.” Then the woman asked, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” “Bring up Samuel,” he said. When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out at the top of her voice and said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!”
The king said to her, “Don’t be afraid. What do you see?” The woman said, “I see a ghostly* figure coming up out of the earth.”
1 Samuel 28:3–14
Now the word ghostly is a translation and it could instead be translated as spirit or god. So we shouldn’t read too much into the single word. Even though the ghost appears to act like Samuel and tells him that he will be defeated by the Philistines in the following battle, the story doesn’t make it clear that this is truly the ghost of Samuel.
I would say this isn’t clear evidence for the modern idea of a ghost. But the Bible does talk a lot about other supernatural entities.
Are ghosts the same as angels or demons?
The Bible speaks regularly about angels and demons. A large part of Jesus’s earthly ministry was miraculously driving out demons from those who were possessed. It’s hard for us in modern times to understand what this looked like, but it would be hard to argue that the Bible doesn’t communicate a reality that includes positive and negative spiritual beings.
Modern ghost stories tend to differ from Biblical stories of angels or demons, however, so even if Christians believe in spiritual entities beyond the physical realm, they have good reason to be skeptical of every ghost story they hear. That being said, although I’ve never seen or heard a ghost, I don’t think it’s outside the realm of possibilities.
Conclusion
It’s easier to live in a world that’s formulated and simple. But the world we live in is complex and often more surprising than we’d like. It would be strange to believe in spiritual entities and then also be certain that ghosts don’t exist, but it’s also hard to take someone else’s word for it when I’ve yet to meet one.
So I think all Christians should believe in supernatural beings, especially God, who is Spirit. Bud do Christians believe in ghosts? Ghosts, or souls that are detached from their original bodies, aren’t a part of the Biblical narrative save the exception of the 1 Samuel passage. And because of this, it’s ok that there isn’t perfect uniformity in belief between Christians. I, for one, am willing to just wait and see, hopefully that’ll never happen, however.
If you have other questions at the intersection of faith and philosophy, please post a comment or reach out. I like talking through almost anything that’s contained in the Scriptures, and that even includes strange things like ghosts, free will, and time travel.