Who "summoned" Samuel from Sheol?
A woman engaged in spiritualism. Who do those who practice spiritualism serve? God or Satan? These people deserved to die according to the law of Moses. Because Saul turned to a fortune teller, God completely turned away from him.
Therefore, is it possible to say that this story confirms that the spirit or soul can live separately from the body.
Only God can bring the dead up. The witch shows surprise and shock when she actually sees a spirit coming up.
Of course it is possible to say from this story that the spirit or soul can live separately from the body.
Saul was rejected by God because he did not completely destroy the Amalekites.
This was like rebellion but God just rejected him as King. But God did say that rebellion was like the sin of divination and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.
1Sam 15:28 For rebellion is like the sin of divination,
and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
he has rejected you as king.”
What does Saul do? He acts arrogantly and goes to a witch, a diviner, thinking that God will understand no doubt and becomes guilty of something worthy of death.
What Samuel said to Saul about dying in battle was almost like a sentence of death from God.
God can use anyone for His purposes, even a witch, even Satan (as in the story of Job) even Nebuchadnezzar, even anyone, no matter how evil they are.
Using that reason to say it was not Samuel is a nothing argument and is just a ploy to try and twist scripture to agree with the Watch Tower theology. But it does not and really cannot work when
the scripture in question actually tells us a number of times that the spirit that came up is Samuel.
When people are in a certain religion that denies and twists parts of scripture for the sake of their own doctrines, the followers want to believe so much that they are willing to go along with it. They become blinded to the truth. This happens especially in a religion like the JWs that uses coercion on it's member and they know they will lose a lot if they go. They may be estranged from their families and friends. They feel as if they are leaving the only channel of truth from God on earth etc etc.
