Why are Christians so uneasy about the paranormal

[Catholic_Lady]

We just assume for the sake of erring on the side of caution, that anything paranormal that does not come from God comes from the Devil. So for that reason it is suggested that we stay away from Ouija Boards and other attempts at communicating with the deceased, because we don't know who/what we could be communicating with.

My husband had a terrifying experience once when he was in basic training. He shared a dorm room with 2 other guys and the room had a sink with a mirror in it. Anyway, he was asleep and had a dream where he was at a Walmart and there was a horrible storm outside, like a tornado was coming. So he started trying to get underneath some shelves for safety when a loud voice coming from everywhere said "[my husband's name], where is God?" So he came out from his hiding spot and said "Sir, God is everywhere."

At that point, he woke up and it was the middle of the night. And it wasn't a scary dream, but for some reason he woke up feeling absolutely terrified, shaking and hyperventilating. He felt like there was some kind of bad presence in the room that was making him feel very uneasy. So he tried to calm himself down by getting out of bed and going over to the sink for some water. He splashed his face with cold water and when he looked up into the mirror he saw a dark figure standing behind him. He turned around and there was nothing there. Turned back to the mirror and there it was again. So he ran back to his bed and reached over to grab a hold of his sleeping roommate's headboard. He said that knowing his roommates were in the room with him and listening to them breath was the only thing that kept him from running down the hallway screaming.

Needless to say, he stayed awake for the rest of the night. The next morning he was so upset and shook up that they dismissed him from that day's activities and took him to the mental health counselor. He insisted on seeing a priest, so they let him go to the church on base. The priest told him it was probably just his imagination due to the stress of basic training (I think he was just trying to calm him down), but gave him a blessing anyway for some peace of mind. My husband isn't the type to ever have had sleep walking, sleep paralysis, or night terrors, so we both believe that what happened was real. But thank goodness nothing like that ever happened again.

[GrandizerII]

My husband isn't the type to ever have had sleep walking, sleep paralysis, or night terrors, so we both believe that what happened was real.

Doesn't matter. Can happen to anyone. Your husband is a human being.

[Catholic_Lady]

He swears by being awake from the moment of his Walmart dream until getting up in the morning, so I dunno.

[Minimalist]

Xtians are only uneasy about the paranormal claims of others.  Their own are fine.

[brewer]

We just assume for the sake of erring on the side of caution, that anything paranormal that does not come from God comes from the Devil. So for that reason it is suggested that we stay away from Ouija Boards and other attempts at communicating with the deceased, because we don't know who/what we could be communicating with.    

My husband had a terrifying experience once when he was in basic training. He shared a dorm room with 2 other guys and the room had a sink with a mirror in it. Anyway, he was asleep and had a dream where he was at a Walmart and there was a horrible storm outside, like a tornado was coming. So he started trying to get underneath some shelves for safety when a loud voice coming from everywhere said "[my husband's name], where is God?" So he came out from his hiding spot and said "Sir, God is everywhere."

At that point, he woke up and it was the middle of the night. And it wasn't a scary dream, but for some reason he woke up feeling absolutely terrified, shaking and hyperventilating. He felt like there was some kind of bad presence in the room that was making him feel very uneasy. So he tried to calm himself down by getting out of bed and going over to the sink for some water. He splashed his face with cold water and when he looked up into the mirror he saw a dark figure standing behind him. He turned around and there was nothing there. Turned back to the mirror and there it was again. So he ran back to his bed and reached over to grab a hold of his sleeping roommate's headboard. He said that knowing his roommates were in the room with him and listening to them breath was the only thing that kept him from running down the hallway screaming.

Needless to say, he stayed awake for the rest of the night. The next morning he was so upset and shook up that they dismissed him from that day's activities and took him to the mental health counselor. He insisted on seeing a priest, so they let him go to the church on base. The priest told him it was probably just his imagination due to the stress of basic training (I think he was just trying to calm him down), but gave him a blessing anyway for some peace of mind. My husband isn't the type to ever have had sleep walking, sleep paralysis, or night terrors, so we both believe that what happened was real. But thank goodness nothing like that ever happened again.

How does he know that was not god or one of it's agents?

[Catholic_Lady]

He thinks it was an evil entity because of the way the room felt and the fact that it was a dark figure. Angels have been described as shining lights, etc.

What sucks about it for me is that I looooove scary paranormal movies. But my husband won't watch them with me because he's so traumatized by that experience.

[GrandizerII]

He swears by being awake from the moment of his Walmart dream until getting up in the morning, so I dunno.

Yes, that's common correlate of sleep paralysis (or whatever his exact sleep experience at the time was), being conscious while still not fully awaken from the dream.

[Catholic_Lady]

Meh... I think if anything, it makes more sense to say he imagined it than to say he was actually asleep the whole time and the whole thing was just a dream that he thinks actually happened.

[GrandizerII]

Meh... I think if anything, it makes more sense to say he imagined it than to say he was actually asleep the whole time and the whole thing was just a dream that he thinks actually happened.

Regardless, the sleep paralysis + hallucinations explanation is compatible with the description you provided. In fact, it was the first thing that popped to my mind as I was reading your post. I was looking for anything in the post that would falsify the explanation but found none.

This once happened to me as well, and this is almost identical to what happened to me (the "half-awake, half-asleep" part).

[downbeatplumb]

I have heard Christians say that anything paranormal related is a tool of the Devil. But being an agnostic I really like to give everything a chance. While I am skeptical of the Paranormal, there are some stories that just aren't flawed and it's nearly impossible to poke holes in them. But I digress.

Ten people all told me that they saw a guy flying thorugh city park just by waving his arms. Now debunk.

Can you prove he wasn't wind assisted?
I saw the movie Thunderpants.