The Other Side

There are many who believe that there is an “Other Side” aspect to the universe, a place or dimension where non-corporeal beings exist. Sometimes these beings are benign, and sometimes not. You may call them spirits, lost souls, angels, demons, ghosts… there are many names for these entities that most of us never see.

Sometimes these spirit beings are considered to be uninterested in the doings of the physical world, but others believe they have strong interests in influencing events here, for good or ill.

Belief in the Other Side is not confined to any particular religious group, ethnic group, or country. Some people who are not particularly spiritual in a general sense may grow uneasy when walking by a graveyard late at night, or become jittery at unexplained noises in a house that has long lain empty.

A recent Gallup poll found that over 75% of Americans believe in angels. And a Harris poll discovered that over 51% of Americans believe in ghosts, and over 68% of Americans believe in the Devil. Is it any wonder that, with these numbers, we are curious about what is on the Other Side?

Although we tend to think of the Middle Ages as the time when the Church’s belief in witchcraft, demons, and spirits flourished, those beliefs have not died away even in our modern society. But should they disappear, or are they worthy of retaining?