Read Ellen G. White, “Dealing With False Science, Cults, Isms, and Secret Societies,” pp. 602-609, in Evangelism; and “Spiritism,” pp. 86-93, in Confrontation.

 There exists a foundation which claims that it is creating technology that will allow us to contact the deceased “via texts, phone calls, and video-conferencing.” Calling the dead PMPs (post material persons), its website claims that when humans die they simply pass on “into another phase of forever” but “retain their consciousness, identity, and core aspects of their previous physical form.” But, most importantly, the folks at the foundation claim to be developing, in three phases, technology that will allow communication between material and post material persons.

 The first phase will “allow texting and typing with postmaterial family, friends, and experts in every field of expertise.” Phase two is supposed to “enable talking with your dear ones who are living in another part of forever.” And the third phase, it says, will open the way to “hearing and seeing those who are experiencing the field of all possibilities from a different observation point.”

 Especially scary is how they test if the communicating dead are really who they claim to be. “For example,” the site says, “a bereaved parent might ask the following question of a son or a daughter who has changed worlds: ‘Did you have a dog named Snoopy when you were a child? Did we give you a pocketknife for your tenth birthday?’” How interesting in light of this warning: “Spiritual beings sometimes appear to persons in the form of their deceased friends, and relate incidents connected with their lives and perform acts which they performed while living.” — Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 684.

 1. Using the excuse of being culturally acceptable, many Christians consume whatever the media promote. Which biblical principles should guide our relationship with the media, especially when they openly promote views that we know are wrong and deceptive (see Ps. 101:1-8, Prov. 4:23, Phil. 4:8)?
 2. How can we help others to overcome Satan’s end-time deceptions without being exposed to the deceiving influence of those very same deceptions ourselves?
 3. Many Christians have seen the story of having “Samuel” summoned from the grave as biblical proof that the dead live on. What does this account teach us about why we cannot rely only on a single text or story to build a doctrine but, instead, we must look at all that the Bible says about a topic?