The 40 days rule

mugbags

A member of a friend's family died a few weeks ago and my friend has told me that he has spoken to her on a number of occasions since he died. She says that the spirit of the deceased stays on earth for 40 days after death to tie up loose ends and come to terms with their death, and they can contact you at this time. She says that this is common knowledge among Christians but it's the first i've heard of it. Anybody know anything about this?

maccored

im sure thats ties in with the 40 days and nights relating to Jesus. Still, how can anyone claim to know what way 'ghosts' work?

mugbags

I know about the 40 days that Jesus came back after the resurrection but why would anyone think that the same applies to us mere mortals? I don't know of anything in the Bible telling that this is the case...Can anyone shed any light on the reasons for this belief?

viadah

Humans can't comprehend nothing, absolute non-existence. It isn't a black void, nor a white luminescence, what most people would perceive non-existence as. Humans are also, on one level or another, afraid of death. To cope with the cessation of self, humans need faith in life after death, it's probably an evolutionary thing we'll grow out of eventually. To that end we believe in whatever we want to believe to ease our own mortality along.

This in itself is a belief, having no proof myself, and faith is a personal thing to which we're all entitled to. The reason for this belief is it is a comfortable notion, and i learned long ago that if someone believes strongly in their own convictions then you'd be wasting your time trying to convince them otherwise. An affinity in some way with Christ, for Christians, is a step closer to eternal life.

Antikythera

mugbags wrote: »

A member of a friend's family died a few weeks ago and my friend has told me that he has spoken to her on a number of occasions since he died. She says that the spirit of the deceased stays on earth for 40 days after death to tie up loose ends and come to terms with their death, and they can contact you at this time. She says that this is common knowledge among Christians but it's the first i've heard of it. Anybody know anything about this?

I'm sure there's no truth in this claim whatsoever.

kylith

I'm curious as to what this spirit would be 'tying up' for over a month. They can't be seen, or heard, they can't touch or be felt. Do they hang around yelling ''Maureen can have my good china!'' at people who are completely unaware that they're there?

It'd really suck if you were stuck on earth for 40 days after your death and in your final visits to your family to, I don't know, move their keys or cause a draft you discover that everyone is glad you're dead.

easychair

40 days is very neat. I've met people who were convinced, beyond any doubt that they were Jesus Christ. Just because someone believes something with conviction doesn't mean its true.

Not that many years ago the RC church told us that the wicked went to hell, and the righteous to heaven. After centuries of preaching that, they have now revised it and it seems it was never true at all. But lots of people believed it.

I don't suppose there is any chance th OP can show any sort of evidence for the claim?

sambuka41

It would be a bit cruel I'd have thought, sticking around to see the worst of the grieving process. Don't think I'd like to sit back and watch all my loved ones cry and not be able to do anything to help them. (see how sure I am that they will cry:p).
I think its more likely that the first 40 days is when the people left behind really want to talk to their loved ones, so it would be nice to think they are there.

easychair wrote: »

Not that many years ago the RC church told us that the wicked went to hell, and the righteous to heaven. After centuries of preaching that, they have now revised it and it seems it was never true at all. But lots of people believed it.

They revised it? Where do we go now?

fontanalis

sambuka41 wrote: »

It would be a bit cruel I'd have thought, sticking around to see the worst of the grieving process. Don't think I'd like to sit back and watch all my loved ones cry and not be able to do anything to help them. (see how sure I am that they will cry:p).
I think its more likely that the first 40 days is when the people left behind really want to talk to their loved ones, so it would be nice to think they are there.



They revised it? Where do we go now?

Santa Ponsa!

easychair

fontanalis wrote: »

Santa Ponsa!

If that were true, that sounds to me more like the modern version of hell, rather than any sort of heaven!

MapForJ

mugbags wrote: »

A member of a friend's family died a few weeks ago and my friend has told me that he has spoken to her on a number of occasions since he died. She says that the spirit of the deceased stays on earth for 40 days after death to tie up loose ends and come to terms with their death, and they can contact you at this time. She says that this is common knowledge among Christians but it's the first i've heard of it. Anybody know anything about this?

http://atheismblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/ghosts-resurrections-and-bereavement.html

tommy2bad

Mugbags;

She says that this is common knowledge among Christians but it's the first i've heard of it. Anybody know anything about this?

Er no.
No such belief exists as Christian thought. Folk religion maybe but not mainstream Christianity.

easychair;

Not that many years ago the RC church told us that the wicked went to hell, and the righteous to heaven. After centuries of preaching that, they have now revised it and it seems it was never true at all. But lots of people believed it.

No thats still the party line, no revision their either. I think you're mixing up hell and limbo. Limbo is now official gone, it was never official doctrine anyway just an option being considered. Things move slow in church circles.

tommy2bad

MapForJ wrote: »

http://atheismblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/ghosts-resurrections-and-bereavement.html

Nice article but not much help.
First century Jews didn't report seeing a ghost, they specifiably reported a living person.
Its a nice idea that the way we think applies to all times and people but it isn't true.