# The dead contacting the living **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 7, 2009, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dead-contacting-the-living/502274 "2009-07-07T23:50:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![legalsnugs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@legalsnugs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/legalsnugs)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dead-contacting-the-living/502274/21 "2009-07-08T16:15:13Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > One of the only Scripture passages in the Bible that indicates the dead CAN’T contact the living is in Jesus’ parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man. When the rich man asks Abraham to send Lazarus’ spirit to Earth to warn his brothers to lead better lives, Abraham says there is an uncrossable chasm between the living and the dead, which means Lazarus can’t speak to the rich man’s brothers. > (snip) That’s not correct. That chasm is between heaven and hell. Abraham told the rich man, who was in hell at the time, that Lazarus, who was in heaven, could not bring the rich man some water because, “between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.” Luke 16:26. Abraham told him that Lazarus \*\*would \*\* not (not could not) go warn the brothers: “Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.” Luke 16:29-31 I’d love to know where in the Bible it says the dead cannot contact the living. ---
**Author:** ![Black\_Sunshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ce73a5/32.png) [@Black\_Sunshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Black_Sunshine)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dead-contacting-the-living/502274/22 "2009-07-08T16:46:59Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > Wait, so Jesus couldn’t come back and talk to the apostles? According to the story, after the resurrection, Jesus was no longer dead. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dead-contacting-the-living/502274/23 "2009-07-08T19:02:42Z")
> [@Black\_Sunshine](#): > > According to the story, after the resurrection, Jesus was no longer dead. Well, according to John 3:16, neither are Christians 🙂 ETA so that means seances with Christians whose physical body has perished are peachy and informative! ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dead-contacting-the-living/502274/24 "2009-07-08T19:15:29Z")
[moderating] Off to Great Debates with this one! [/moderating] ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dead-contacting-the-living/502274/25 "2009-07-08T19:18:44Z")
> [@silvermist](#): > > the Bible says that the dead cannot contact the living, so who is talking to people on Ouija boards or at seances? Demons impersonating lost loved ones maybe? I have read the Bible through quite a few times, and do not recall seeing this. Would you please tell me where it is written? Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dead-contacting-the-living/502274/26 "2009-07-08T19:22:42Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Something stupid like giving money to a medium. Yep. Better give it to me. I’ll keep it safe. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dead-contacting-the-living/502274/27 "2009-07-08T19:25:03Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > I have read the Bible through quite a few times, and do not recall seeing this. Would you please tell me where it is written? > > Thanks! Yes, if you’re going to begin a thread with “the Bible says,” it would be helpful to provide a cite. Even if seances worked as advertised, wouldn’t they be an instance of the living contacting the dead, not the dead contacting the living? Or does that depend on what you mean by “contacting”? Heck, every time I pick up a book by an author who is no longer alive, the dead communicate with the living! ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dead-contacting-the-living/502274/28 "2009-07-08T19:37:18Z")
Who moves the Quija? Well…me for one. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dead-contacting-the-living/502274/29 "2009-07-08T19:56:04Z")
> [@Ruby\_G](#): > > What happened was she went to a fortune teller and what she thought was her dead husbands spirit came back and told her to go have sex with a bunch of different guys until she got pregnant and then he would come back as the baby, but she never got pregnant but she did get AIDs. Ooh. That’s a whole different level of stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Cumberdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@Cumberdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumberdale)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dead-contacting-the-living/502274/30 "2009-07-08T19:57:28Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > The dead are dead. Not only can they not contact anyone, they also have a hard time making restaurant reservations. > > Seriously, when you die you become a bag of fertilizer: nothing more, nothing less. > > You’re a living animal, like a squirrel or toad. When you die, you die. End of story. Get over it. Plus, it gives worms a place to play pinochle. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dead-contacting-the-living/502274/31 "2009-07-08T20:01:16Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > The bible says a lot of things, this is one of the very few it gets right. Oh, please, the bible gets tons of things right. For example, it consistently spells the names correctly. ---
**Author:** ![hotflungwok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/edb3f5/32.png) [@hotflungwok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hotflungwok)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dead-contacting-the-living/502274/32 "2009-07-08T20:12:08Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Oh, please, the bible gets tons of things right. For example, it consistently spells the names correctly. So you think Jesus spelled his name J e s u s, huh? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dead-contacting-the-living/502274/33 "2009-07-08T20:18:46Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Oh, please, the bible gets tons of things right. For example, it consistently spells the names correctly. Jaysooz Kriest disagrees ! ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dead-contacting-the-living/502274/34 "2009-07-08T20:19:31Z")
> [@hotflungwok](#): > > So you think Jesus spelled his name J e s u s, huh? He doesn’t spell his name in any way. He’s dead. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dead-contacting-the-living/502274/35 "2009-07-08T20:19:36Z")
> [@](#): > > the Bible says that the dead cannot contact the living, so who is talking to people on Ouija boards or at seances? The Bible also says ‘Thou shouldst always capitalize thy sentences, for this is good in the sight of GOD!’. Ok…it might not say it in exactly those words, but that’s the gist. Anyway, if the Bible says that you can’t contact the dead (despite those nay sayers up thread pointing out those inconvenient ‘fact’ thingies), then I’d have to say, in this one instance, you should go ahead and take the Bible’s word for it. You can’t contact the dead. So, that means that the ‘who’ who is talking through the Ouija board, would be the person trying to trick you. Cast him out! For he is unsightly in the, um, sight of Our Lord… Or something like that. > [@](#): > > Demons impersonating lost loved ones maybe? Well…I suppose that depends on your definition of ‘demons’… -XT ---
**Author:** ![hotflungwok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/edb3f5/32.png) [@hotflungwok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hotflungwok)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dead-contacting-the-living/502274/36 "2009-07-08T21:16:17Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > He doesn’t spell his name in any way. He’s dead. We have this thing in the English language, it’s called _verb tense_, you should totally look into it. Is this going to be a hit n run by the OP? Looks like some lightly grilled proselytizing wrapped up in a spiritualism tortilla. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dead-contacting-the-living/502274/37 "2009-07-08T21:53:12Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Jaysooz Kriest disagrees ! So does יהושוע Χριστός (‘Joshua, the annointed’). ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dead-contacting-the-living/502274/38 "2009-07-08T22:08:28Z")
> [@hotflungwok](#): > > We have this thing in the English language, it’s called _verb tense_, you should totally look into it. > . Right - you should speak proper English, just like Jesus did! ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dead-contacting-the-living/502274/39 "2009-07-09T00:41:18Z")
The dead do not shoop boppa loo - Kai. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dead-contacting-the-living/502274/40 "2009-07-09T01:00:35Z")
> [@silvermist](#): > > the Bible says that the dead cannot contact the living, so who is talking to people on Ouija boards or at seances? Demons impersonating lost loved ones maybe? I can’t believe **kanicbird** hasn’t shown up by now. He get banned or something? ETA: Looked around and he’s still a member. Well, a guest. I’m worried. Maybe he’s lying in a ditch someplace. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dead-contacting-the-living/502274.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dead-contacting-the-living/502274.md?page=3)