During a teaching session about 1 Corinthians 8, I was surprised to learn that a respected African brother and theologian viewed the existence of ancestors quite differently from me. He holds that at death, the spirits of the deceased go to Hades, but that they can leave Hades quite freely to interact with the living. (He was referring to non-Christians who died.) This makes sense of his experience, in which people often have convincing encounters with ancestors. My brother believes that those encounters are real because the spirits of ancestors can continue interacting with the living as agents of the kingdom of darkness. Christians have nothing to do with them, but they recognise that they are real.
In African Traditional Religion (ATR), ancestors are believed to be active spiritual agents who retain a personal interest in and influence over the living. They can bless and protect, or they can curse and punish. After coming to faith in Christ, many African Christians still believe their ancestors are active spiritual beings in the realm of the living that can bless or curse them. This deeply rooted belief deserves careful and respectful consideration. However, as Christians who ground our understanding of spiritual reality in the Bible, we must ask a crucial question: Do ancestors exist as active spiritual agents who can interact the living and act in the material world?
Although I respect my friend deeply, I argue that he is sincerely mistaken. While the belief in active ancestors is widespread and understandable, such ancestors do not exist as real, personal spiritual beings that continue to influence the living. What the Scripture says about Graeco-Roman idols in 1 Corinthians 8:4–6 is exactly what it teaches about ancestors in African Traditional Religion (ATR)—”An idol [or ancestor] is nothing at all in the world” (v. 4).[1]
The Anchor Text: 1 Corinthians 8:4–6
Paul writes to the Corinthian church about the issue of eating food sacrificed to idols, a matter of great contention in the Gentile world. His conclusion is emphatic:
4 Therefore, concerning the eating of food sacrificed to idols, we know that an idol is nothing at all in the world, and that there is no God but one. 5 For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, 6 yet for us there is only one God, the Father, from whom are all things, and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him. (1 Cor. 8:4–6)
This Scripture makes two critical theological claims that are also made throughout the Bible. (1) There is only one true God. Consequently, (2) idols are “nothing at all in the world.” This belief in one God is the lens through which we evaluate all other spiritual claims. I will offer four arguments to show that ancestors do not live amongst us.
Argument 1: Both idols and ancestors are nothing at all.
Ancestors in ATR play basically the same role as idols did in Graeco-Roman Religions (GRR). The physical idols represented spirits. They were lower-level “gods” that had the power to affect people’s daily lives. Their devotees “knew” that they were real because they had experiences and encounters with them.
Paul dismissed them with two shocking claims: (1) “An idol is nothing at all in the world.” (2) “There is no God but one.” There were two groups of Christians in Corinth. Some had come to know that idols were not real gods, but others still believed the idols were backed up by real, powerful spirit beings.
In GRR, people believed in many “gods and lords” (v. 5). Paul declared that they were not real gods; they are nothing at all. They are just fronts for the kingdom of darkness. For those who have come into the kingdom of Christ, they are dead.
The logic is simple: If there is one God, the Father, from whom all reality springs, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things exist, then any other claimed spiritual agent—whether a Greek “lord” or an African “ancestor”—is a non-entity. The ancestor, like the idol, is “nothing at all,” meaning he or she is not a spiritual being with real presence and power in this world.
Argument 2: Demons are the power behind idols and ancestors.
If the spiritual entities in question are “nothing,” how do we account for the experiences of people who feel they have been blessed or cursed, protected or punished by the ancestors? Many experiences can be attributed to a combination of confirmation bias and fraudulent mediums, but not all. The authentic, powerful experiences are real, but they are not what they seem.
19 What do I mean then? That food sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become partners with demons. (1 Cor. 10:19–20)
Deceased relatives are not here—they are in heaven or hell. When the living encounter “ancestors,” they are not really encountering ancestors, but demons impersonating them. The Old Testament says the same thing—the nations sacrificed to demons posing as deities (Deut. 32:17; Ps. 106:37). When an ancestor is petitioned or appeased, the recipient of that worship is an evil spirit that is all too happy to masquerade as a beloved grandfather or grandmother. The experience is real, but the personal identity of the spiritual agent is a deadly deception. The power exerted may be real (if it is not confirmation bias or fraudulent shamanism), but it is not from the ancestor; it is from the demonic powers, which is especially true if it actively seeks to pull worship away from the One True God and One Lord, Jesus Christ who is our sole mediator (1 Tim 2:5).
Argument 3: The dead do not remain in the realm of the living.
The core premise of the active-ancestor belief is that the deceased relative continues to exist in the immediate spiritual vicinity of the living, capable of crossing the veil between life and death at will, until they are finally forgotten, when they move to the abode of spirits. The Bible, however, teaches that at death, the spirits of the deceased do not linger in the realm of the living. They are immediately separated to a fixed and final destination: heaven or hell (e.g. Luke 16:19–31). The deceased Christian ancestor is with Christ, and the non-Christian ancestor is in Hades.
By the way, Hades is not Satan’s headquarters. He does not run the kingdom of darkness from there. It is God’s prison for fallen angels and humans awaiting judgement (2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6). Those confined to Hades cannot come and go. This was my colleague’s blindspot.
The key point is that deceased human beings do not remain around the living. The belief that they remain active in the world is simply unbiblical.
Argument 4: The popular counter-examples are misused.
African Christians often appeal to two biblical passages to show that the dead can appear and interact with the living.
Firstly, in 1 Samuel 28 King Saul visited a medium (the witch of Endor) and demanded that she “bring up” the spirit of Samuel the prophet. Samuel did, in fact, appear. This is taken as support for the belief that the dead can appear and speak to the living.
However, this passage is a clear exception to the rule, not the rule itself. The witch herself was shocked when Samuel appeared (v. 12). God sent Samuel to pronounce final judgement on Saul; it was not Samuel remaining on earth and able to interact with the living at will. His appearance was a once-off anomaly that did not result in any ongoing relationship with Saul. It showed that God is in control. He can sovereignly send one of His messengers to speak to the living. It does not imply that they remain amongst the living as ATR holds.
Secondly, in Matthew 17 Jesus was transfigured before three of his disciples, and Moses and Elijah appeared and met with Him. Once again, this was a rare exception in which God sent deceased prophets to meet with a living person for His chosen purpose. Moses and Elijah were not ancestral spirits resident on earth and able to appear to people at will.
The Bible’s two exceptions show that God rarely sent deceased prophets on a mission. This was the exception rather than the rule. There is no example in Scripture of a deceased relative simply remaining in the realm of the living, able to interact with them and influence their lives.
Conclusion
The belief in active ancestors springs from an understandable human desire: a connection to one’s past and a spiritual defence against the hardships of life. We must respect the depth and sincerity of this need.
However, the Christian must be persuaded by the truth of 1 Corinthians 8:4–6: there is only one God, the Father, and one Lord, Jesus Christ. If we are in Christ, we have:
One Protector: Jesus Christ, who has authority over all things in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18). We do not need the limited, pseudo-protection of a relative’s spirit.
One Mediator: Jesus Christ, the only one who can bring us to God (1 Tim. 2:5). We do not need the uncertain mediation of a deceased relative.
One Helper: The Holy Spirit, who is a real Agent of God’s presence, protection, and prosperity (John 14:26).
Therefore, we must respectfully but firmly reject the belief that ancestors exist as active spiritual agents who can bless or curse the living. This notion is incompatible with biblical truth. Our devotion and worship belong to the One God and the One Lord.
AI Acknowledgement
The core idea and primary theological and structural framing of this article originated from my personal research and study. I utilised Gemini as a writing assistant to develop this framework into a full-text draft. This draft was subsequently substantially edited, curated, and finalised by me to ensure its scholarly soundness and persuasive tone.
Sources:
[1] All Scripture quotations are from the NASB 2020.
Disclaimer: The views presented in this blog are those of the speaker and do not necessarily represent the views of SATS.