DIALOGUES WITH THE
DEAD?
SPIRITUALISM,
or spiritism, is the belief that living persons may communicate with the spirits
of those who have died. The method may be anything from ouija boards, table
tipping, rapping, snapping, slate-writing, and music to trances, seeming ghostly
apparitions, occult voices, and the touch of visible hands.
MODERN
SPIRITISM
In
Christian lands modern manifestations of psychic phenomena as connected with
spiritism are more or less recent. It is usually agreed that 1848 is the time,
HydesviIle, New York, place, and the Fox sisters the first participants.
McClintock
and Strong's Cyclopaedia, under the topic "Spiritualism," quotes Mr.
Dale Owen as follows:
"'In
the month of January, 1848, the noises assumed the character of distinct
knockings at night in the bedrooms, sounding sometimes as from the cellar
below, and resembling the hammering of a shoemaker. These knocks produced a
tremulous motion in the furniture and even in the floor. The children (Margaret,
12 years, and Kate, aged 9 years) felt something heavy, as dog, lie on their
feet when in bed; and Kate felt, as it were, a hand passed over her face.
Sometimes the bedclothes were pulled off. Chairs and the dining table were moved
from their places. Raps were made on doors as they stood close to them, but
suddenly opening them no one was visible.
On
the night of March 13 (or 31), 1848, the knockings were unusually loud,
whereupon Mr. Fox tried the sashes, to see if they were shaken by the wind Kate
observed that the knockings in the room exactly answered the rattle made by her
father with the sash. Thereupon she snapped her fingers and exclaimed,
"Here, old Splitfoot, do as I do." The rap followed. This at once
arrested the mother's attention. "Count ten," she said. Ten strokes
were distinctly given. "How old is my daughter Margaret?" Twelve
strokes. "And Kate?" Nine,'
Other
questions were answered. When 'she asked if it was a man? No answer. Was it a
spirit? It rapped. Numbers of questions were put to the spirit, which replied by
knocks that it was that of a traveling tradesman [Charles B. Rosma], who had
been murdered by the then tenant, John C. Bell, for his property. The peddler
had never been seen afterwards; and on the floor being dug up, the remains of a
human body were found."
In
fact, the rappings indicated just where to dig in order to find the body. It was
afterward ascertained that a man answering the description of the murdered Rosma
had been seen to enter the house of Mr. Bell, and had not been seen again.
Neighbors
at first scorned the rapping idea. However, when their secrets were revealed and
lost articles found, it was a different story.
Margaret
Fox developed unusual occult powers. The next year she and her sister Kate gave
public exhibitions, and proceeded to New York the following year. Three years
later there were thirty thousand spiritualists, it is said, and the movement
spread like wildfire. They claim fifty million believers.
.
. Believers in spiritism come from the ranks of scientists, literary leaders,
prominent preachers, and political figures, as well as from nearly all walks of
life.
Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle, literary genius and creator of the fictional Sherlock
Holmes, was a vigorous promoter of the faith. Sir Oliver Lodge, great scientist,
was certain that his son, killed in World War I, returned in spirit form. He
claimed to have many times seen a figure appear and glide about the room,
playing an accordion.
The
Reverend A. J. Callahan, S.J., is quoted in the Western Watchman (Catholic),
March 12, 1920: "The dead can come back to life, but only through God's
extraordinary permission. . . . There are cases where a dead mother has come to
her wandering boy, but always for the best of reasons and for the boy's
welfare."
Dean
Weldon, of Durham, at a congress of the Church of England, held at Leicester
back in 1919, said, "Spiritualism has come to fill a void in church
practice because of the coldness of the old services."-Cited in Current
Opinion, December, 1919, p. 317.
The
noted Dr. Russell H. Conwell, pastor of Baptist Temple in Philadelphia, believed
that his deceased wife held converse with him on several occasions. (See Public
Ledger, Philadelphia, Dec. 22, 1919, p. 1.)
Dr.
Isaac Funk quotes the War Cry of November 27, 1897, to the effect that General
Booth, of the Salvation Army; spoke of regular communion with his dead wife.
The
former Russian minister of war in World War I, General Sukhomlinoff, is quoted
in the Washington Post, July 2, 1918, page 4, as saying concerning Grand Duke
Nicholas: "In addition to his weaknesses as commander-in-chief, he was so
influenced by his passion for spiritualism, in which his wife, Anastasya
Nikolayevna, believed blindly, that he frequently sought in spiritualism
solutions for some of the most serious military problems."
The
Kaiser of Germany during the same war is reported to have followed the same
practice, consulting the famous German medium Augusta Schoen and others. He
purportedly contacted the spirit of his grandfather, the founder of the German
Empire through spirit mediums.
Sir
William Crookes, famous chemist and physicist of his day, said, "I have
talked with the spirit of Katie King scores and scores of times, saw her form
appear and disappear, and photographed her many times."
Flammarion,
the celebrated French astronomer, asserted that "any scientific man who
declares spiritualistic phenomena to be impossible is one who speaks without
knowing what he is talking about."
Emperor
Hirohito, of Japan, went from his palace in Tokyo to the tomb of his father,
Emperor Yoshihito, to tell him that Japan lost the war in 1945.
HOW
OLD IS SPIRITISM?
That
spiritism is not actually new or modern in origin is stated by all. Dr. James H,
Hyslop, in his Contact With the Other World, writes, "Ancestor-worship, in
most cases simply the Spiritualism of the East, survives as the exponent of
immortality."
Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle says, "The thing itself, in one form or another, is as
old as history,"-The Vital Message, p, 30,
WHY
DOES THE BIBLE CONDEMN SPIRITISM?
The
Bible condemns spiritism for three reasons: First, spiritism's belief in
establishing contact with supposed spirits of the dead is unsound, The Bible
says that "the dead know not any thing, , , , Neither have they any more a
portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun," Ecclesiastes
9:5, 6,
This
is in full agreement with Psalm 146:4, that "his breath goeth forth, he
returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish," It is
evident to all that since the Bible teaches the cessation of thought at death,
so much so that the dead know not anything, and since they have nothing more to do with earthly affairs,
it is indeed reasonable that the Bible should condemn spiritism, which claims
communication with the dead.
The
second reason why the Bible is against spiritism is that Satan, the archenemy of
God, claims that death is not real. To Eve, mother of all, he said, "Ye
shall not surely die: for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then
your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods," Genesis 3:4, 5. In the
eternal conflict between Christ and Satan here is an issue. God says death;
Satan says life, Satan says a higher plane-"ye shall be as gods,"
Satan's lie about death led the human race into sin and woe, The , God of truth
is against Satan, "for he is a liar, and the father of it" John 8:44,
The
third reason the Bible opposes all forms of spiritism is that its general
influence is not good. It uproots faith in the Bible, Spiritualists purport to
call up John Wesley, and he renounces his Bible preaching, They teach that
infidels and saints share everlasting life and honor alike, They call up Thomas
Paine, and he says he lives with John Bunyan.
Talmage
is reported to have said, "First it makes a man quarter of an infidel; then
it makes him half an infidel; then it makes him a whole infidel."
Dr.
L. S. Forbes Winslow, lecturer on mental diseases, wrote, "I could quote
many. . . instances where men of the highest ability have, so to speak,
neglected all, and followed the doctrines of spiritualism, only to end their
days in a lunatic asylum. -Spiritualistic Madness, p. 29.
In
one State four persons were committed to an insane asylum after a twenty-four
hour steady siege at the ouija board.
J.
Godfrey Raupert, K.S.G., Catholic specialist on spiritism, stated: "Let it
once be clearly and fully known that these 'ones' on the other side of life,
ruin and desolate homes, that they drive men and women to destruction and to the
madhouse, that they undermine religious faith and confidence, and that in a
thousand instances, they bring about an utter weariness and detestation of the
duties of the present life. . .I have, during the last ten years, spent much of
my time in answering the inquiries of persons whose lives have been shipwrecked
by spiritistic practices and it is upon painful facts and incontrovertible
evidence that I base my conclusions and opinions,"
WHAT
DOES THE BIBLE SAY?
In
the Old Testament strictest command was given against the practice of spiritist
mediums or the consulting of the same by the people.
"When
thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not
learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shalt not be found
among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the lire,
or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,
or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a
necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord: and
because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before
thee," Deuteronomy 18:9-12.
Sweeping
condemnation is here passed upon astrology, fortune telling, charms, spiritist
mediums (consulters of familiar spirits), and all pseudo-prophets and
pretended wise ones. "I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a
swift witness against the sorcerers." Malachi 3:5.
In
the New Testament the prophecy is made that in our day there would be a special
manifestation of this work of Satan. "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly,
that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to
seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils." 1 Timothy 4:1.
We
have already noted how leaders of nations have given heed to such seducing
spirits in the conduct of War. One cannot resist quoting Revelation 16:14
"They are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the
kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that
great day of God Almighty."
The
Bible clarifies the whole issue. The dead are unconscious; therefore they cannot
make intelligent contact with anyone. The purported communications from the dead
are faked. They are the fakery of the medium or fakery performed by the
"spirits of devils." "seducing spirits." Concerning the
deluded Jews in ancient time, the Bible says, "They sacrificed their sons
and their daughters unto devils:' Psalm 106:37.
Satan
and his angels, who were "cast out into the earth," have great power.
They possess information that may be known only to the dead loved ones and their
kin or friends. When such is revealed through mediums people believe the
messages actually come from the dead. Evil angels may appear in the form of a
deceased loved one.
Whether
these things are faked by mediums or by "seducing spirits," through
mediums or apart from mediums, it is well to remember that "the dead know
not any thing.” It is also wise to recall that even the most intelligent may
at rimes suffer from hallucinations, and all of us have a way of seeing what we
want to see and hearing what we want to hear.
Consider
these four Bible verses:
"Satan,
which deceiveth the whole world." Revelation 12:9.
"Take
heed that no man deceive you:' Matthew 24:4.
"We
deceive ourselves." I John 1:8.
"Let
no man deceive himself." I Corinthians 3:18.
He
who plays with spiritism is like a man who puts his head in a crocodile's mouth.
Not long ago a young man, putting on his regular act at a circus, thrust his
head into an alligator's mouth before a body of spectators. Suddenly the
alligator's mouth snapped shut as his powerful jaws went into action. The father
rushed out with a crowbar, inserted it, and finally succeeded in prying the
mouth open. The boy was rushed off to the hospital.
There
is a lot of show business in spiritism séances, but it is no place for a
Christian to seek counsel, show his face, or risk his soul. "Wherefore if
they shall say unto you, Behold, . . . he is in the secret chambers; believe it
not." Matthew 24:26.
Americans
"spend literally millions of dollars with fortune tellers of one kind or
another. "Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread?"
Isaiah 55:2.
"When
they tell 'you to consult mediums and ghosts that cheep and gibber in low
murmurs, ask them if a nation should not consult its God. Say, 'Why consult the
dead on behalf of the living?'" Isaiah 8:19, Moffatt.
Then
Isaiah adds, "To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according
to this word, it is because there is no light in them." Verse 20, K.J.V.
Arthur
Greenwalt tells of a Sunday school teacher who asked a class of boys,
"Where do you keep your Bible at home?" One lad quick on the draw,
chirped, "In the cellar”, "What a place for the Bible,” replied
the teacher. "Oh, the Bible," the lad replied "I thought you said
bottle.”
"Many
men today, trying to find an answer for their profound troubles, make the same
mistake. They try to answer with a bottle instead of the Bible."-Pulpit
Digest, September, I948. Thousands have tried the spiked wine of spiritism to
comfort the soul, to stimulate a lagging interest in life, to reach the solution
of riddles, and to solve the mystery of the grave.
What
the world needs today is with open heart to look within an "open Bible.
"An
open Bible for the world!
May this our glorious motto be!
On
every breeze the truth unfurled
Shall scatter blessings rich and free.
"It
tells of Jesus and His death,
Of life for dying men;
And
to each soul of humble faith,
Gives sonship with the Lord again.
"It
offers rest to weary hearts;
It comforts those "who sit in tears;
To
all who faint it strength imparts;
And gilds with hope the eternal
years."
HENRY
M. KING
|
