What about the people who speak with the dead spirits. Is it true? Are
there really people who can heal thru the spirits? What about that people
who can predict the future? My wife’s grandmother was able to cure with
the help of the spirit of some dead scientists, e.g. Robert Hook, and we
know people who was cured of cancer and other lethal illness, therefore my
wife fight frequently with this kind of beliefs. How can I help her? I
have seen how people are cured, too. I don’t feel uncertain about my faith
because I have taken the decision of resign all this to my belief, but
sometimes my wife wants to come back in her convictions. Please I will be
very grateful for your help.

I would say that in general you will gain less by trying to convince your
wife that these seemingly wild beliefs are wrong than you will gain by
simply providing evidence for the true teaching of the Bible. It is my
personal experience that once people have convinced themselves that some
particular phenomenon really happened, their belief is not easily shaken
by logical, rational arguments.

Besides, who are you to say necessarily that some certain supposed miracle
did not happen? Could the spirit of a dead person speak? Well, in 1 Sam 28
there is the account of King Saul talking to the spirit (ghost?) of Samuel
using a medium. The Bible presents this as an actual occurrence.
Personally, I believe that the vast majority of supposed
ghosts/spirits/speaking to spirits through mediums and the like is a big
load of hogwash, but again, I believe you will do more by not confronting
the weird belief, but rather by steering your wife toward the Bible and
toward the truth of salvation in Jesus Christ.

You mention healings and the like. Again, it may well be that the vast
majority of such claims are bogus, but we do not know absolutely for sure
that God will not work in this way. Besides, 2 Thessalonians 2:9-11
clearly teaches that the work of Satan will be accompanied by all kinds of
false miracles, which may well include someone’s grandmother being healed
through some sort of occult practice. I will have to admit the Robert
Hooke thing is so far out, I would be tempted to laugh if it was not so
sad that people get caught up in such things. Again, though, I would
advise you to gently instruct and direct people to the Bible and toward
true New Testament Christianity. Jesus was not absolutely averse to
confronting such practices, and Paul clearly taught against people being
involved in the occult (Acts 19), but generally they pointed people toward
Jesus first. Once people became convinced of the truth of the gospel, they
began to spontaneously bring their occult writings and burn them publicly.
I hope and pray that your wife will reach this point.

From your question it is not completely clear whether your wife claims to
be a believer in the Bible. If not, the advice given above is appropriate.
If she would claim to be a Christian, you may want her to consider some of
the verses quoted above. 2 Thess 2:9-11 clearly warns that Satan works
through such things. Acts 19 shows that involvement in magical arts and
the occult in general is sin to be repented of. In the Old Testament on
can find a number of passages which clearly condemn any sort of
involvement with mediums and the occult in general. For example, consider
Leviticus 19:31 and 1 Sam 28.

I would also suggest getting a copy of “The Spirit” by my friend Douglas
Jacoby. The book is available at www.ipibooks.com.

John Oakes, PhD