Over the past couple of decades, I’ve come to see how much the thinking of our society has invaded the church. I remember when one long-timer at Curwensville, someone who is no longer with us, talked about ghosts being in her home. Ghosts? OK — I enjoy a ghost story as much as the next guy, but I also enjoy stories about Santa Claus. That doesn’t mean I believe there’s a guy in a red suit being dragged through the sky on a sled by flying reindeer. And I don’t believe in ghosts.

My perspective on ghosts is not a denial of the supernatural. I believe in the supernatural. I’ve experienced supernatural events. So how can I say I don’t believe in ghosts? Because the God I believe in tells me what happens when we die — and haunting the living isn’t part of the program.

“The God I believe in…” Is that one of the goofiest things we could ever say or what? Yet whenever you hear someone say something that is in opposition to the teaching of Scripture, that’s what they are saying. They are saying that their version of god is different than the Bible’s version of God. And, make no mistake about it, they are saying that the god they believe in is superior to the God of the Bible. Wow — Is that arrogance or folly? Maybe both.

You don’t pick and choose what God says or does. He’s a person, distinct from you and me. We can’t tell him who he is any more than we can tell gravity how to behave. I addressed this on Sunday in the sermon: Real God. If you haven’t listened to it, it’s online at the church website. It’s an important concept. In fact, if you wish to be part of what’s happening at Curwensville Alliance you must grasp and appreciate the concept of Real God.

Did you read that last sentence? If you wish to be part of what’s happening at Curwensville Alliance you must grasp and appreciate the concept of Real God.

If you have questions about ghosts, then check what the God of the Bible says about them. Maybe I’ll do a Halloween sermon in late October to “lay that issue to rest”. But for now, let’s agree on this: The place we go for a clear understanding of God has to be the Bible. And when the god I believe in contradicts the God of the Bible, the God of the Bible wins.