This report came out in The Star newspaper page N38, on the 25th May 2009.
A SPECIAL “wedding ceremony” was held in Segamat on Saturday. Both the bridegroom and bride were dead.
The 19-year-old youth died in a car accident but had “told” his family members that he had met his dream girl, China Press reported.
The bridegroom, who passed away in 1996 met his bride, who died from a sickness in 1973 when she was 18, during the Hungry Ghost Festival.
He had told his family members of his wish to marry through a medium in Segamat last year but the family did not take it seriously.
However, the man’s mother felt uneasy and decided to see the medium again last month.
Finally, the family approved of the marriage and the “wedding ceremony” was held.
The medium, who represented the bride, underwent a Chinese traditional wedding ceremony including serving tea to the elders of the family. The bridegroom was represented by his brother.
You can also view this story on line here:
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/5/25/nation/3974722&sec=nation
In the book, “Exposing Chinese Ancestor Worship” on page 25, i mentioned that this practice is actually called “minghun” or afterlife marriage. This practice was banned during the era of Chairman Mao Tse Tung when Communism was in full force. Subsequently, China has become liberalized and the government has allowed their citizens to pursue most of their religious activities as long as it is apolitical.
The root of this practice comes from ancestor worship.
In the quest for commercial gain, the Taoist priests have embarked on riding on the superstition of many Chinese people. By showing overt concern for the dead, fears of retaliation from the afterlife were heaped on the naive Chinese people. Most will fall for this ruse of wanting to provide adequately for the dead, including providing a bride or bridegroom for them in the afterlife.
In the end, the priests have mixed into ancestor worship, some acts of spiritism, by calling on the dead, and hoping into a pretentious trance. In the desire to convince the living to part with their money, elaborate “scammish” designs have to paid for, and in the end, the only benefactors were the priests.
As a Christian, we should have no involvement in the afterlife for it has been already clearly stated in Deuteronomy:
Deu 18:10 There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that uses divination, an observer of clouds, or a fortune-teller, or a witch,
Deu 18:11 or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or one who calls to the dead.
Deu 18:12 For all that do these things are an abomination to Jehovah.
May God show us greater wisdom and discernment.
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