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Page 77CHAPTER FIVEWHAT THE SPIRITS TEACHIT has been shown in the preceding chapters that the unseen "controls" (the beings who control the mediums) in Spiritualism, are not the spirits of the dead, but are fallen angels or spirits of devils. This fact will be confirmed by a brief glance at some of their teachings; for we are to remember that if they speak not according to the law and the testimony there is no light in them. It matters not that what they teach may be supported by signs and wonders beyond the comprehension of the human mind. That is no guarantee of truth; for such phenomena are to be wrought, as will soon be shown, to prove a lie. The Lord anciently put his people on their guard in this respect. Deut. 13: 1-3, 5: "If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul." "And that prophet, or that dreamer of Page 78dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the Lord your God, . . . out of the way which the Lord thy God commanded thee to walk in." Thus the fact that one who professed to be a prophet could perform a sign or wonder, showing his connection with some unseen power, was not enough to shield him from condemnation and punishment, if what he undertook to prove by that sign or wonder was contrary to the truth, and tended to lead away from God. The teaching of any system is an important part of the fruit it bears; and by: that, according to our Lord's own rule, we are to judge it, and not by any power or mighty works connected with it, however wonderful they may be. "'Tis not the broad phylactery It is therefore pertinent to look sufficiently at the teachings of the spirits to ascertain their character. . Here we shall find some most damaging testimony; for -- 1. They Deny God.-- It is no pleasure to transcribe the utterances of practical atheism; yet enough should be given to show what they teach on the great fundamental principles of Christianity. At a séance, reported in the Banner of Light, July 11, 1868, the following questions were addressed to the spirits, and the accompanying answers received: --
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The Devil, through the serpent in the garden, taught Adam and Eve that the soul is immortal, and has transfused the same idea very successfully through paganism, Romanism, and Protestantism; but he also said, "Ye shall be as gods;" and now, it seems, he is trying to make the world swallow his other leg of his falsehood; but by putting it forth under the form of the old pagan pantheism, that everything is God, and God is everything, he betrays the lie he uttered in Eden; for in that case, Adam and Eve were no more gods after they ate than they were before. Another séance, reported in the Banner about twenty years later than the one quoted above, April 28, 1888; an inquirer addressed to the "spirits" a question about God, and received answer, a portion of which is presented below: --
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The same views have been taught all along by the "spirits" of Spiritualism, as could be shown by extracts dating as far back as 1858, only ten years after the "Rochester Knockings." And though Spiritualism is now assuming more of the sedate speech of organized Christianity, the spirits do not modify their teaching in respect to God. In "Automatic, or Spirit, Writing," p. 148 (1896), are given many messages from the spirits through the mediumsbip of Mrs. S. A. Underwood, wife of the editor of the Philosophical Journal, Chicago. The " spirits" set forth their teaching in answer to questions by the medium, some of which have reference to God, though his name is not used. Thus on page 148, this conversation is given: -- Page 81
It will be perceived that the answers to these questions are, from the beginning, evasive; but the real idea entertained clearly shines through the thin veil drawn over to conceal it. The questions pertain to the source, or authorship, of the "laws of spiritual life;" and this would generally be understood to be God. But on a technicality the spirits refuse to answer. The question is made plainer, and the answer is that "spirits are not bondaged by persons;" that is to say that spirits have nothing to do with personalities, and that no personal being has anything to do with those laws. There is therefore no God who formulates and promulgates them. No wonder the question followed, how they came to know these laws; and it was a very convenient answer that we will know when we get there Page 82and have lost all physical perceptions. A desire for some explanation of those laws is met with the not very satisfactory information that they (the spirits) would have to give those in our sphere a course of teaching, like a college course, before we could understand even the rudimentary laws of Being. The only thing clear in all this is that there is no God; at least no personal God such as the Bible reveals. To the "grand whole," whatever that may be, they give the name of the "All of Being." In answer to a question concerning "personalities," they are called "atoms emanating from the same source -- parts of the great All of Being, partaking of the general characteristics of the grand whole." -- Page 14.9. Reader, how does all this compare in your own mind with the God of the Bible, the Creator of all things, the loving Father of us all, who has for his creatures more tender regard and pity than a father can feel for his own children, whose very name and nature is Love, and who has purposed infinite good for all men, and will carry it out unless they, as free moral agents, by their own sin, prevent his doing for them what he desires to do? The Bible is not responsible for the aspersions cast upon God by a false theology, which misrepresent his character and give occasion for the charges of vindictiveness and vengeance and awful tyranny, so freely made by fallen angels and wicked men. They do not belong to him who is the source of all goodness and mercy; and we would labor to bring those who have perverted views of God back to a right conception of Page 83the great Friend of sinners, as he has revealed himself in his holy word. 2. They Deny Jesus Christ.-- Christ is revealed as the divine Son of the Father; and to deny that he was or is any more than any other man is surely to deny him; and the scripture says that "whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father." 1 John 2: 23. The following is what the "spirits" began to teach in the earliest stages of Spiritualism concerning Christ: --
How fully does this declaration that any good man is Christ open the way for the fulfilment of the Saviour's prophecy that in the last days many false Christs and false prophets shall arise, and shall deceive many. See Matt. 24: 24. A prospectus of the Truth Seeker contained these words: "It shall be the organ through which the christs of the last dispensation will choose to speak." A little later, July 19, 1862, there was published in the Banner of Light a lecture on Spiritualism by Mrs. C. L. V. Hatch, in which she spoke of Christ as follows: --
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Here is something twenty-four years later. A séance reported in the Banner of Light, Oct. 9, 1886, gives the following questions and answer: --
Some years ago a class was formed in New York City for the purpose of investigating what is called the spiritual philosophy. Before that class, Dr. Weisse said: --
Page 85The peculiar insult here purposely offered to the Saviour will be appreciated when it is noted that at about the same time the spirits located Thomas Paine, the well-known skeptic, in the seventh sphere, one sphere above that of Christ. He must therefore have progressed very rapidly, seeing he so quickly surpassed Christ, who had over 1700 years the start of him. Before the same class Dr. Hare is reported to have spoken as follows, which we give without assuming any responsibility for the spiritual grammar therein exhibited: --
When Christ was upon earth, it was envy, jealousy, and malice that moved the Pharisees against him (Matt 27: 18); and it seems that he is followed by the same feelings in the spirit world. This is natural; for he who fired the hearts of the Pharisees with their malignant spirit, is the same one, as we have seen, who is working through the powers of darkness in the unseen world to-day. Any way to degrade Christ in the minds of men to a level with, Page 86or below, the mediums of our time, and make it appear that they can do as great wonders as he, seems to be the object in view. There is plainly manifest an irrepressible desire on the part of spirits and mediums to show Christ to be inferior to the leaders of other great religions of the world, as Buddha, Confucius, Zoroaster, etc. Thus, at a séance held in 1864 (Banner of Light, June 4), the spirits were questioned as follows: --
Indeed! Where are the records referred to? Where and when did Jesus "speak" the words attributed to him? And where does he tell us ,that he was inspired by Confucius? So we are to believe, are we, that the gospel of Jesus Christ, is only a rehash of what was originally wrought out in the brain of Confucius, and not words fresh from the fountain of light given him by his Father in heaven, to speak, as he claimed them to be? Yet he was a high and holy medium. We wonder what standard of holiness and perfection the spirits can have. But still later, in 1896, we find the spirits putting forth the same teaching in reference to Jesus Christ. In "Automatic, or Spirit Writing," pp. 148, 149, we have this: -- Page 87
Thus they persist in denying that Jesus holds any pre-eminent position as a religious teacher. He may as well be called Buddha, Krishna, or Mohammed as Jesus. They are all the same spirit, all atoms of the great "All of Being," all as much alike as three drops of water from the same ocean, and what is more bewildering still, they have now all lost their individuality in the spirit world. How, then, can it be told that Christ is in the sixth sphere, and Paine in the seventh? Such teachers, though they may claim to be good spirits, are branded as antichrist by both John and Jude. John says: "Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist that denieth the Father and the Son." 1 John 2: 22. Again, "Every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of Page 88God." 1 John 4: 3. According to the spirits, Jesus Christ has no more come in the flesh than have Buddha, Mohammed, Confucius, Zoroaster, or any other religious teacher. They all simply yielded to their environments, and showed marked individualism while on this earth, and have now become absorbed in the "great whole" in the spirit world. Thus, as Jude says (verse 4), they deny "the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ." So much for their denial of Christ in his person. They also deny him in his offices; for to deny and ridicule what he came to do, is one of the most effectual ways of denying him. The great work of Christ was the shedding of his blood to atone for the sins of the world; and the spirits are particularly bitter in denouncing that idea. If such sentiments were uttered only by open and professed scoffers, it would not do so much harm; but it is not unusual to find those bearing the title of "Reverend" descanting on these themes in a manner to show themselves antichrist, according to the definition of that term by John. And even this need not surprise us; for the sure word of prophecy has foretold that some who have once held the true faith will depart therefrom to give heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils. 1 Tim. 4: 1. One R. P. Wilson, to whose name is attached the ministerial title, in his lectures on "Spiritual Science," said: --
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In "Spiritual Science Demonstrated," p. 229, Dr. Hare said: --
A "spirit" calling himself Deacon John Norton, as reported in the Banner of Light, said: --
In the pantheism of Spiritualism, every object in nature, the tiny flower, the pebbles, the trees, the birds and bees, are worthy to be worshiped as much as Christ. In one breath the spirits extol him as a most perfect man, pre-eminent in goodness and Page 90worthy to be worshiped, and in the next, place him in a position which would make him the greatest fraud and impostor that ever lived. Such inconsistencies show that Christ is a miracle which evil men and evil angels know not how to dispose of. As they deny Christ, they must, logically, deny the doctrine of his second coming. This doctrine is made of especial importance and prominence in the New Testament. The nature of that coming, its manner, and the circumstances attending it are so fully described, that no one who adopts the Bible view can possibly be deceived by false christs. But the church and the world have been turned away from the true doctrine of the second advent, and the way is thus prepared for the great deceptions of the last days. Spiritualism is one of these, and claims that it is itself that second coming. Joel Tiffany, a former celebrated teacher of Spiritualism, has said: --
And through Mrs. Conant, a famous medium of the early days of Spiritualism, the controlling spirit said: --
But the Bible description of this event is, the revelation of the Lord himself in the clouds of Page 91heaven in the glory of the Father, the reverberating shout of triumph, the voice of the archangel, the trump of God, the flash of his presence like that of the lightning, the wailing of the tribes of the earth, as they thus behold him, while unprepared to meet him, and the resurrection of the righteous dead. And where and when have these inseparable accompaniments of that event been seen? They do not occur when a person is converted from sin, nor do they occur in time dying chamber, nor have they occurred in Spiritualism; and until they do take place, the second coming of Christ is not accomplished. Many seek to dispose of such testimony as this, by making it all figurative, or meeting it with a bold denial, as in the case of the resurrection of the body. And the way has been too well prepared for this condition of things, by much of the teaching of popular orthodoxy, which turns the early records of the Bible into childish allegory, perverts the true doctrine of the coming and kingdom of Christ, and denies the resurrection of the dead, by destroying its necessity through the immortality of the soul. On the vital point of the resurrection, Dr. Clarke makes this noteworthy remark: --
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In view of the way the Bible has been treated by its professed friends, it is no wonder that infidelity prevails, and Spiritualism prospers. 3. They Deny the Bible.-- The denial of God and Christ, as set forth above is, of course, a denial of the Bible; and not much need therefore be added on this point. We quote only a few representative utterances. Doctor Hare ("Spiritual Science Demonstrated," p. 209) says:--
As to the Old Testament, it would seem doubtful whether Mr. Hare ever read far enough to find (1) Job exclaiming: "For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold and not another; though my reins be consumed within me" (or, as the margin reads: "My reins within me are consumed with earnest desire [for that day];" or (2) David: "I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with Page 93thy likeness;" or (3) Isaiah: "Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust;" or (4) Ezekiel: "Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves;" or (5) Daniel: "Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt;" and (6) Hosea: "I will ransom them from the power of the grave, I will redeem them from death." Job 19: 25-27; Ps. 17: 15; Isa. 26: 19; Eze. 37: 12; Dan. 12: 2; Hosea 13: 14. And as for the New Testament, it is no doubt "disgusting" to many Spiritualists to read that "the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death;" and that without the city "are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie." Rev. 21:8; 22:15. Communications from spirits are offered in place of the Bible as a better source of instruction, the Bible being denounced, as above quoted, as "vague, inaccurate, and difficult to believe." A brief comparison of the two will furnish pertinent evidence on this point. Take, on the Bible side, for example, a portion of the record of creation (Gen. 1: 1-5): --
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The facts stated in this record, the profoundest minds can never comprehend; the language in which they are expressed, a little child can understand. The statements are plain and simple, a perfect model of perspicuous narrative. Place by the side of this an account of the same event as given us from the "spheres." The spirits have undertaken to produce a new Bible, beginning, like the old, with the creation; and this is the way it starts out, through the medinmship of "Rev." T. L. Harris:--
We will inflict no more of this "undulatory spiral" nonsense on the reader. He now has both records before him, and can judge for himself which is the more worthy of his regard. There have been Spiritualists who, writing in their normal state, and not yet fully divorced from the influence of their Page 95former education, have acknowledged the authenticity of the Bible, and the doctrines of Jesus as recorded in the gospels. But these, it is claimed, are to be understood according to a spiritual meaning which underlies the letter; and this spiritual meaning generally turns out to be contrary to the letter, which is a virtual denial of the record itself. But the quotations here given (only a specimen of the multitudes that might be presented) are given on the authority of the "spirits," whose teachings are what we wish to ascertain. THEY DENY ALL DISTINCTION BETWEEN RIGHT AND WRONGThere is implanted in the hearts of men by nature, a sense of right and a sense of wrong. Even those who know not God, nor Christ, nor the gospel, possess this power of discrimination. This is what Paul, in Rom. 2: 15 calls "the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another." That this distinction should now be denied by a class in a civilized community, professing to be advanced thinkers and teachers, among whom are found the learned, the refined, and the professedly pious, shows that we have fallen upon strange times. To be sure, many of them talk fluently of the beauty and perfection of divine laws; but in the sense in which they would have them understood, they rob them of all characteristics of law. The first great essential of law is Page 96authority; but this they take away from it; the next is penalty for its violation; but this they deny, and thus degrade the law to a mere piece of advice. The "Healing of the Nations," an authoritative work among Spiritualists, pp. 163, 164, says: --
A correspondent of the Telegraph said of this work, "The Healing of the Nations:
This is a favorite comparison with them,-- that the difference between God and the best of men is so much greater than the extremes of character among men,-- the most upright and the most wicked, -- that the latter is a mere atom, and not accounted of in God's sight. That there is an infinite difference between God and the best of men, is all true; for God is infinite in all his attributes, and man is very imperfect at the best. But to argue from this that Page 97God is inferior to man, so that he cannot discern difference in character here, even as man can plainly discern it, seems but mad-house reasoning. What would we think of the man who had the same regard for the thief as for the honest man, for the murderer as for the philanthropist? To ignore such distinctions as even men are able to discern would destroy the stability of all human governments; what then would be the effect on the divine government? God has given his law -- holy, just, and good -- to men, and commanded obedience. He has attached the penalty to disobedience: "The soul that sinneth, it shall die," "The wages of sin is death." Eze. 18: 20; Rom. 6: 23. And in the judgment, the distinction God makes in character will be plainly declared; for he will set the righteous on his right hand, but the wicked on the left. Matt. 25: 32, 33. This view of the failure of law, and the absence of all human accountability, naturally leads to a bold denial of sin and the existence of crime. The "Healing of the Nations," p. 169, says: "Unto God there is no error; all is comparatively good." The same work says that God views error as "undeveloped good." A. J. Davis ("Nature of Divine Revelation," p. 521) says: "Sin, indeed, in the common acceptation of that term, does not really exist." A discourse from J. S. Loveland, once a minister, reported in the Banner of Light, contained this paragraph: -- Page 98
In "Automatic Writing" (1896), p. 139, a question was asked concerning evil, meaning sin and crimes among men. The spirit answered that these were conditions of progress, and were so necessary to elevation that they were to be welcomed, not hated. The questions and answers are as follows: --
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In view of such a confession, what becomes of the many claims put forth by other spirits that they are ever hovering near their friends to assist amid guard them, to help and inspire them, and keep them from evil and danger? These say that those terrible crimes (and this would include all crimes) are all necessary, that they are tending to develop souls, and bring them to higher spheres, and thus are just as laudable as good actions; so they settle back in a gleeful mood, and "let the play go on;" let wicked men cultivate and develop and practice their evil propensities, and the innocent suffer. Well may men pray to be delivered from such a spirit assembly as that. In "Healing of the Nations," p. 402, Dr. Hare says: --
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A lecture on the "Philosophy of Reform," given by A. J. Davis, in New York City, bears testimony to the same effect: --
Thus they very illogically assume that if God has the will or the power to prevent evil, it could not exist, and therefore, if there is such a God, he is responsible, forgetting that God is long-suffering, and bears long with vessels of wrath fitted, for destruction, before they pass beyond the limits of his mercy and perish. But Mr. Davis says further: --
Page 101The Bible says, "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light and light for darkness." Isa. 5 20. And it makes another declaration which finds abundant confirmation in the sentiments quoted above: "Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the Sons of men is fully set in them to do evil." Eccl. 8: 11. Having thus attempted to destroy in the minds of men all distinction between good and evil, all being alike in God's sight, and all equally good, they try to make the way a little broader and easier for men to give full rein to all the propensities and inclinations of an evil heart, by teaching that there is no Lawgiver and Judge before whom men must appear to give an account of their deeds, but that they are responsible to themselves alone, and must give account only to their own natures. Thus Hon. J. B. Hall, in a lecture reported in the Banner of Light, Feb. 6, 1864, said: --
At a séance reported in the Banner of Light, May 28, 1864, the following question was proposed, and the answer was by the communicating spirit: --
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The "Healing of the Nations," p. 74, says: --
A little over twenty years after the birth of Spiritualism, Aug. 25, 1868, the Fifth National Convention of Spiritualists was held in Corinthian hall, Rochester, N. Y., at which a formal "Declaration of Principles" was set forth. From time seventh and eighth paragraphs, under principle 20, we quote the following: --
This is the same principle of man's responsibility to no one but himself, authoritatively adopted. What a picture have we now before us! Destroy man's belief in, and reverence for, God and Christ, as they do; lead him to ridicule the atonement, the only remedy for sin; make him disbelieve the Bible; take away from his mind all distinction between right and wrong, and assure him that he is accountable to no one but himself; and how better could one prepare the way to turn men into demons. All this the spirits, by their teaching, seek to do. And can any one fail to foresee the result? Comparatively a small proportion of the inhabitants of this country Page 103have committed themselves to these views; consequently but little of the legitimate fruit as yet appears; but take human nature as it is and suppose all the inhabitants of this land to act on these principles, and then what would we have? -- A pandemonium, a scene of anarchy, riot, bloodshed, and all depths of rottenness and corruption -- in short, a world where no place and no human being would be safe. That this statement is none too strong, will appear as we look a moment at some of the results which have already developed themselves among the friends of such views, and as their inevitable fruit. The tendency can by no possibility be otherwise than to atheism amid all immorality. As has been already remarked, the repulsive features were made much more prominent in the early stages of Spiritualism than at the present time. They are now held in the background. The literature touching these points has been remodeled, and an air of respectability and religion assumed. Most of the quotations therefore date some years back, and would be charitably withheld were there any evidence of reform either present or prospective. But where or when have these principles ever been officially repudiated, and evidence given that the consequent practices had been abandoned? That there are many Spiritualists of upright and moral lives, and honorable members of society, in the best sense of that term, we gladly believe; but is not this because they are living above Page 104their principles; and due, not to the influence, but rather to the non-influence of real Spiritualism upon their lives? The quotations given are from those who have been prominent among Spiritualists as authors and speakers. If they overdraw the picture, the responsibility is with them. Dr. B. P. Randolph, author of a work "Dealings with the Dead," was eight years a medium, then renounced Spiritualism long enough to expose its character, then returned to it again, unable to break entirely away from the spell it has fastened upon him. He gives his opinion of it in the following scathing words:--
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The following is an extract from the writings of J. F. Whitney, editor of the New York Pathfinder. His view of the subject accords with that of Dr. Randolph: --
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Every one who knows anything about Spiritualism has heard of Cora Hatch, who traveled extensively, and manifested her powers as an extemporaneous lecturer before astonished multitudes. One of her husbands, Dr. Hatch, renounced Spiritualism, and the following is from the testimony he bore concerning it: --
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Much testimony of this nature might be given from those who have had similar experiences and equally favorable facilities for judging of the character of Spiritualism. We present only a few extracts more. Dr. Wm. B. Potter of New York, in an article under the head of "Astounding Facts," and also in a tract entitled, " Spiritualism as It Is," gives the result of his experience and observations. His testimony is the more valuable, since he writes not from the standpoint of one who has renounced Spiritualism, whose feelings may for the time be overwrought, and his language stronger than would be used in calmer moments. When he wrote, he was still an advocate of Spiritualism, and spoke as a friend who would, if possible, induce Spiritualists to reform their faith and their manner of living. He says: --
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The same writer also mentions a fact which shows where the responsibility of all this looseness of morals belongs. He says: --
The fact that no plan could find approval which did not provide that they should never be blamed nor called to account for any of their deeds, shows on what points they felt the most anxious, and plainly proves that they belong to the class of which Christ spoke, who loved darkness rather than light, Page 109and who would not come to the light lest their deeds should be reproved. John 3 : 19-21. It is unpleasant to wade through pools of filth, and we therefore spare the reader quotations from those Spiritualists who have not only avowed the most revolting practices of free love, but openly advocated the same, and endeavored to induce others to come out likewise, on the ground that they were only honestly and publicly admitting what the others believed and practiced in secret. For the same reason we pass by the notorious Woodhull and Claflin, and Hull and Jamieson episodes, in this field, which, in the illustration and language of another, "burst upon the country like a rotten egg three thousand miles in diameter!" It may be said that these thing are in the past and the situation has now greatly changed. For the benefit of those who thus flatter themselves we introduce one more quotation. It is from "The Law of Psychic Phenomena," by T. J. Hudson (A. C. McClurg & Co., Chicago, 1894). The language is candid and conciliatory, and the author cannot be accused of any undue prejudice on the question of which he speaks. On page 335, he says: --
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We have italicized that passage in the foregoing which shows that the deadly evil is still working in secret, and that a large and constantly growing number of professionals are aiding and abetting the iniquity. DANGERS OF MEDIUMSHIPA few testimonies will show that when one gives himself or herself up to the control of the spirits, such ones take a most perilous position. The spirits insist on their victims becoming passive, ceasing to resist, and yielding their whole wills to them. Some of their persuasive words are these: "Come in confidence to us;" "Let our teachings deeply impress you;" "You must not doubt what we say;" "Learn of us;" "Obey our directions and you will be benefited;" "Seek to obtain knowledge of us;" "Have faith in us;" "Fear not to obey;" "Obey us and you will be greatly blessed;" etc., etc. Mesmerists operate in the same way. They gain control of their subjects in the same way that the spirits mesmerize their mediums and when under Page 111their control, the spirits cause them to see whatever they bring before them, and hear according to their wills, and do as they bid. And the things they suppose they see and hear, and what they are to do, are only such things as exist in the mind of the mesmerizing power. The subject is completely at the mercy of the invisible agency; and to put one's self there is a most heaven-daring and hazardous act. Mr. Hudson ("Law of Psychic Phenomena," p. 336) says: --
To further gain the confidence of mortals, the spirits claim to be the ones who answer their prayers. lit "Automatic Writing," p. 142, we have this:--
Mediums are unable to resist the powers of the unseen world when once under their control. Professor Brittan (" Telegraphic Answer to Mahan," p. 10), concerning mediumship, says: --
Page 112Dr. Randolph ("Dealings with the Dead," p. 150) shows the dangers of mediumship, as follows: --
This same writer, in the same work, pp. 108, 109, says:--
A work by A. J. Davis called "The Diakka, and their Earthly Victims," mentions the nature of these denizens of the spirit world, and their wonderful location. The country (to speak after the manner of men) which they inhabit, is so large that it would require not less than 1,803,026 diameters of the earth to span its longitudinal extent. This he had from a spirit he calls James Victor Wilson, a profound mathematician! This space is occupied by spirits who have passed from earth, who are " morally deficient" and affectionally unclean."-- Page 113Page 7. The same spirit, Wilson, describes the diakka as those "who take insane delight in playing parts, in juggling tricks, in personating opposite characters to whom prayers and profane utterances are of equi-value; surcharged with a passion for lyrical narrations; one whose every attitude is instinct with the schemes of specious reasoning, sophistry, pride, pleasure, wit, subtle convivialities; a boundless disbeliever, one who thinks that all private life will end in the all-consuming self-love of God."-- Page 13. On page 13 he says further of them, that they are "never resting, never satisfied with life, often amusing themselves with jugglery and tricky witticisms, invariably victimizing others; secretly tormenting mediums, causing them to exaggerate in speech, and to falsify in acts; unlocking and unbolting the street doors of your bosom and memory; pointing your feet into wrong paths, and far more." What this "far more" is, we are left to conjecture. The advertisement of this book says that it is "an explanation of much that is false and repulsive in Spiritualism." W. F. Jamieson, in a Spiritualist paper, called these diakka "a troop of devils," and quoted Judge Carter as saying: "There is one thing clear, that these diakka, or fantastic or mixed spirits, are very numerous and abundant, and take any and every opportunity of obtruding themselves." Hudson Tuttle, author of "Life in Two Spheres" and other Spiritualistic works, speaks of "a communication, through a noted medium, to Gerald Page 114Massey from his 'dog Pip,' the said Pip 'licking the slate and writing with a good degree of intelligence.'" He adds, "Mr. Davis would say that 'Pip' was a 'diakka,' and to-morrow he will communicate as George Washington. Theodore Parker, or Balaam's ass. This diakka is flesh, fish, or fowl, as you may desire." Some idea of how the spirits sometimes torment the mediums, as hinted at above, may be gained from the following instance. In "Astounding Facts from the Spirit World," pp. 253, 254, Dr. Gridley describes the case of a medium sixty years of age, living near him in Southampton, Mass. The sufferings inflicted upon him "in two months at the hands of evil spirits would fill a volume of five hundred pages." Of these sufferings, the following are specimens: --
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Who can doubt that such spirits are the angels of the evil one himself? Dr. Gridley in the same work, p. 19, gives the experience of another medium, for the truthfulness of which he offers the fullest proof: --
These descriptions, it would seem, ought to be enough to strike terror to any heart at the thought of being a medium. But there is yet another phase of the subject that should not be passed by. These fallen spirits who are engineering the work of Spiritualism, to maintain their "assumed characters," and "play their parts" like the aforesaid diakka, represent that disembodied spirits "just over the threshold," still retain the characteristics they bore in life, such Page 116as a disposition to sensuality and licentiousness, love of rum, tobacco, and other vices, and that they can, by causing the medium to plunge excessively into these things, thereby still gratify their own propensities to indulge in them. The following sketch by Hudson Tuttle, a very popular author among Spiritiualists, is somewhat lengthy, but the idea could not better be presented than by giving it entire. In "Life in Two Spheres," pp. 35-37, he says:--
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In these cases the whole evil of the indulgences of course falls upon the mediums; and who would wish to assume personal relation with such a world, and be forced to bear in their own bodies the evils of the unhallowed indulgences of unseen spirits, against their will? Other scenes represented as taking place in the spirit land, are most grotesque and silly and would be taken as a burlesque upon Spiritualism, were they not put forth in all gravity by the friends and advocates of that so-called new revelation. Thus Judge Edmunds, giving an account of what he had seen in the spirit world, mentions the case of an old woman busy churning, who promised him, if he would call again, a drink of buttermilk; he speaks Page 118of men fighting, of courtezans trying to continue their lewd conduct; of a mischievous boy who split a dog's tail open, and put a stick in it, just to witness its misery; of the owner of the dog, who, attracted by its cries, discovered the cause, and beat the boy, who fled, but was pursued and beaten and kicked far up the road. See Edmund's "Spiritualism," Vol. II, pp. 135-144, 181, 182, 186, 189. Surely here are the diakka playing their pranks in all their glory. MISCELLANEOUS TEACHINGOn the leading points of faith as held by Christians generally, quotations have been given to show sufficiently what the spirits teach, and the object they are trying to effect. But the reader will be interested to learn what they teach on some other points which incidentally appear in their communications. Spiritualists object most strenuously to the idea of unconsciousness in death, or to the Bible declaration, "The dead know not anything." But the spirits themselves teach this very thing. Thus Judge Edmunds, Vol. II, Appendix B, p. 524, quotes the confession of a spirit that he was totally unconscious for a time, he could not tell how long, and awoke to consciousness gradually; and that the state of unconsciousness differs with different persons, depending on circumstances. A. J. Davis admits that Professor Webster was eight days and a half unconscious.--"Death and the After Life," pp. 18, 19. Page 119Through Mrs. Conant, medium, in Banner of Light, June 3, 1865, we have this information: "It is said that some spirits require a thousand years to awake to consciousness. Is this true? -- Yes, this is true." In "Automatic Writing," p. 93, the spirits teach the same thing to-day. If others deny such statements, it only shows that their testimony is contradictory and therefore unreliable. Again, the Bible doctrine that the incorrigibly wicked must cease from conscious existence, is denounced by Spiritualists; but on this point the spirits confess also: --
There is, it seems, a purgatory in the spirit world. In answer to a question, a spirit replied: --
Page 120Spiritualism is claimed to settle the question of immortality; but the spirits confess themselves ignorant of it:
The spirits' heaven, it seems, is not so desirable a place that it prevents their being homesick.
Spirits are not allowed to tell too much about their condition, as the following question and answer show: --
They teach the pre-existence of souls, and the old pagan doctrines of the reincarnation of souls, and the final absorption of all into Nirvana. A spirit having answered that all had been asserted in some other forum, questions and answers followed from which we quote: --
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SPIRITS CANNOT BE IDENTIFIEDHaving now sufficiently examined the teaching of the spirits, a final question arises in regard to them, whether it is possible to identify them, and determine with any absolute certainty whether they are the spirits of the particular individuals they claim to be, or even spirits of the dead at all, or not. It should be distinctly borne in mind, always, that evil angels, whose existence has been proved from the Bible, whose nature and delight is to deceive, can walk the earth unseen, imitate and personate any individual, and reveal their characteristics of thought, writing, acts, form, and features, and make so perfect a counterfeit as to defy detection. How, then, can it be told what spirit it is, even though it shows the face and features of some well-known friend? On this topic, as on preceding questions, Spiritualists themselves may produce the evidence. President Mahman ("Discussion with Tiffany and Rhen," p. 13) remarks: --
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When it is considered, as already noted, that spirits do their work through mesmeric power, it is easy to understand how the medium is made to believe that such and such a spirit is communicating when it is not so at all. This question of identity came up in the very early stages of Spiritualism, and is no nearer settled, on their own confession, now than then. A Mr. Hobart, in 1856, who claimed to be the first Spiritualist in Michigan, made the following admission: --
An article in the Spiritual Telegraph, of July 11, 1857, begins as follows: --
Page 123This is an entire begging of the whole matter in question; for it is not denied that it is a spirit; we want to know what particular spirit it is; but for that we must not ask; for it cannot be ascertained. The same article states that other and lower spirits often crowd in and take the place of the spirit communicating, without the knowledge of the medium. We might also quote "Spiritualism as It Is," p. 14, that "not one per cent, of the manifestations have had a higher origin than the first and second spheres, which are filled with low, ignorant, deceptive, mischievous, selfish, egotistical spirits;" and "Dealings with the Dead," p. 225, that "the fact is, good spirits do not appear one tenth as often as imagined." Jan. 7, 1888, the following appeared in the Bamner of Light: --
Mediums themselves will not trust the spirits, according to statements made as late as 1896. Mrs. S. A. Underwood, medium, in "Automatic Writing," p. 55, says: -- Page 124
Spirit communication, then, certainly does not amount to much as a heavenly instructor, a celestial guide to enlighten the ignorance of men. Whatever we know ourselves, we may rely upon; all else is uncertain. Again, on p. 56, she says: --
Thus the spirits themselves confess that the names they often assume are not those of real beings, but typical and fanciful. Nothing more, it would seem, is necessary to complete the condemnation of Spiritualism, so far as its own nature is concerned. When in addition to all else, it appears that the spirits cannot be identified; that the whole underlying claim that the spirits are the spirits of the dead, must itself be assumed; and that, too, in the face of the numberless known falsehoods and deceptions that are constantly issuing from the unseen realm,-- there is nothing left for it to stand upon. Notes[1] The revision of Dr. Clarke's Commentary by Dr. Curry, proves the truthfulness of what the doctor here says, for this important passage is entirely eliminated, and its place filled with statements which Dr. Clarke did not make, and sentiments which he did not believe. It is no less than a crime to treat a dead man's work in this manner.
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