Who You Gonna Call...on? Ghostbusters, or Jesus?

If you've never seen Ghostbusters, stop lying. EVERYONE'S seen it.

Growing up, this movie, cartoon and toys were the source of many hours of enjoyment and occasionally terror for me. I wanted to be a Ghostbuster, i had many of the toys, i wrote a Ghostbusters fan fiction in highschool that will never see daylight, heck, i even went to the firehouse in new york city on 14 N Moore St.

But, Ghostbusters also led me into the occult. Big surprise, i know.

For what it's worth, it is a fun movie, i still enjoy it, and many Christians probably do too. In all seriousness, i don't know anyone who takes it more deeply than that. But there are some things worth considering, especially from a Biblical viewpoint.

I know i certainly see this movie with new eyes.

Part One: The Ghosts

To be fair, the Ghostbusters mythos deals with things beyond ghosts, and the movie even deals with "a god" and a hundred foot marshmallow man. We're led to believe that most of all these normal ghosts are dear uncle charlie, or aunt sylvia. If thats the case, containing them indefinitely in a custom made storage facility is probably not the nicest thing to do.

But we never actually see someone die and become a ghost, so are these ghosts really dead people? If so, why do so many look like horrible monsters? In fact, with a few exceptions, the ghosts are pretty much all grotesque. Even the ones that aren't, become so when agitated.

As in the real world, the best explanation would be that these "ghosts" are demonic spirits, not dear departed loved ones.

Several plot points become much clearer when viewed this way. The devil dogs posessing Dana Barrett and Louis Tully, clearly demonic posession (though they have physical attributes). Especially the scene where Venkman encounters Zuul. That whole scene, ectoplasm and all, smacks of demonic manifestation as recorded in real "ghost hauntings" that I've read about. Since Dan Akroyd is a student of the occult, it should be no surprise that he provided authenticity.

It also explains the whole Vigo episode in Ghostbusters 2. In the guise of a human, Vigo, a demonic spirit attached to a painting posesses people and tries to permanently take over a baby's physical body. Vigo would not be a ghost of a human, so much as a demon pretending to be a person who wss Vigo.

What about Gozer? Seems a bit stronger than a ghost. Well, Gozer is a "god" so basically Gozer would have to be a fallen angel. Gozer seems to have some attributes if an angel, nanely physical and spiritual attributes.

In light of this, if indeed the "ghosts" in the Ghostbusters mythos are demons, and Gozer a fallen angel, what are we to make of this? In the real world, a believer in Jesus Christ has the authority and relationship with Jesus to rebuke these beings. I also believe it's possible, based on the pleadings of Legion in the Mark 5 area, for these beings to be sent to the abyss. A place which they fear and avoid.

The Ghostbusters, however, are able to do this not based on anything but science. In the old cartoon at least, the place the ghosts go, the containment unit, looks alot like an abyss, minus the eternal darkness. So in effect, it seems Ghostbusters are subconciously selling the idea that science can replace God and the authority of Christ and is able to sentence wayward spirits to their jail.

Part Two: Bible Prophecy

Interestingly, Ghostbusters has an interesting link with Bible prophecy. Apart from the obvious dead rising (which they pervert) one thing stands out.

In Revelation 9, a "star" (ie angel, fallen or otherwise) opens up the bottomless pit. This lets out all kinds of nasty creatures, seemingly demonic. Of course in Ghostbusters, this happens.

Louis Tully gets possessed by an evil entity named Vinz Clortho, the "keymaster". This entity is a devil dog, with physical attributes, as it creates much collateral damage, and also spiritual aspects, given that it possesses Tully. This makes the being very much like a fallen angel, though lower on the pole than Gozer.

The keymaster then proceeds to open the abyss, or its equivalent, letting all the "ghosts" out. The ghosts then proceed to terrorize the people of new york. Just like Revelation 9.

It's interesting that this is also paralleled in the recent Avengers movie, even including the same city.

Theres more though. Clortho then opens another portal with Zuul. A side note on Zuul, she bears a small resemblance to the woman in Revelation 17:4, in that she wears red/scarlett and also gold (in the form of glittery things). The color purple seems absent though.

So, they then open another portal, (sort of continuing what Vinz started earlier) and let out Gozer the DESTRUCTOR, which is interesting as the entity in the bottomless pit of Revelation 9 is known as the destroyer.

In the Bible, this series of events culminates with God's judgment of the sinful world, and His restoration of Earth.

In Ghostbusters, the destruction preceding God's wrath is thwarted (atop a tower, ie, Babel?) by 4 men armed with unlicensed nuclear accelerators. As if to say, "we will stop God's wrath and judgment through our own efforts and with science."

While not an exhaustive analysis of Ghostbusters and its symbolism, this should serve as a good place to start for a Christians to look at the film and themes therein.

In the end, the only way to escape God's wrath is to turn from our sin and accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. No amount of science will improve our sinful stance with God, nor will it put an end to His judgment.

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