CU LT S CR IT IQ U E
SPIRITISM ANALYZED
by Richard Wolff
different spheres. T he rca re two low er spheres in whicn those of lower character or sm fu l life are purified and madeTeady fo r the h igher exist- P H T M o s t of the departed are pre sumably to be found in the th ird sphere called the summer land. Above th is are still several other spheres. It is claimed that the phenomena of sp iritism consists of prophecy, clair voyance (power of discerning objects not present to the senses), g ift of tongues, laying on of hands, healing, visions, trance revelation, raps, auto matic w riting, m aterialization (ab ili ty of sp irits to assume visible or concrete form ), etc. We see, then, that the sp iritists do not believe in a personal God. They do not believe in the atonement of Christ. They have no faith in the revelation of God as found in the Scriptures. The ir actions are in di rect contradiction to the plain com mands of the W ord of God. They deny the reality of heaven and hell and almost all other essential C h ris tian doctrines as found in the W ord of God. In ligh t of these facts it is imperative fo r the child of God to abstain from any contact w ith sp ir itists and their re ligion save only to present the claims of the gospel to these deluded souls. The experience and fate of K in g Saul should be a w arn ing to all. It is extremely dangerous fo r any person to enter into close contact w ith sp irit mediums. The Scripture w arns em phatically against it. A ll we need to know in the realm of re ligion is con tained in God’s Word, and we should not seek wisdom beyond it. “A nd when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have fam iliar spirits, and unto w izards that peep, and that m utter: should not a people seek unto their God ? fo r the liv in g to the dead? To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not accord in g to th is word, it is because there is no ligh t in them” (Isa . 8:19, 20).
Interest in communicating with the dead ever has accompanied wars and our times are no exception. The recent telecast of a seance in which a well-known liberal claimed contact with his deceased son has stimulated this revival of spiritism. which follows is condensed from a booklet which may be obu^mafrom Back to the Bible, Lincoln, itebr. by whose kind permission — as^well as the author's — we reprint this brief summary of this dangerous cult. S p ir it is m is a very old delusion. Its modern revival began w ith the Fo x sisters soon after their father moved h is fam ily of six children to Hydeville, New York. On M arch 31, 1848, the Fox fam ily was disturbed by knockings or rappings in different parts of the house. The two youngest girls, M argaret and Kate, claimed to have worked out a code of communi cation w ith the author of the raps. According to the inform ation sup posed to have been given, the raps had been made by Charles Rosma, a peddler, who had been murdered by John Ball, a blacksm ith and former tenant of the F o x house. The body was supposed to be ten foot under ground in the cellar of the house. A s a result of the wide advertising of th is event, the Sp iritist movement swept the country. In 1855 adherents were reckoned to be nearly two m il lion in the United States, while over a dozen periodicals were devoted to the interests of the cult. The move ment was introduced into England by M rs. H aydn in 1852. In 1911 sp ir itists reported two m illion followers and three-hundred-seventy ordained m inisters in the U.S. In 1954 they reported only 180,000 members, and an average congregation numbering from twenty to twenty-five. The reason fo r this decline is un doubtedly due to many mediums hav in g been exposed as frauds. It is cer
tainly true that there is much trick ery and deception, and that through the discovery of telepathy m any phe nomena can be explained that pre-^. viou sly were considered m ysterious. We must bewareJjnjsrever, o f saying that all is frau d in spiritism . S p iritfa t# *w ^ n a v e been serious about their religion, have confessed to obsession by evil spirits. There are on record cases where mediums admitted that they were w orking under the control of evil spirits. The best-known sp iritistic organ i zation in the United States is the N a tional Sp iritu a list Association. The association believes in “infinite intel ligence.” The emphasis in their dec laration of principles is on life after death and communication w ith the “so-called dead.” They teach that man makes h is own happiness or un happiness as he obeys or disobeys nature’s laws. Sp iritism teaches that there is a spark of d ivin ity in every human be in g and that, therefore, all are chil dren of God. Strictly speaking, they should not speak of God, since they only believe in “infinite intelligence" by which they mean a “supreme im personal power.” S p iritists strongly oppose the doctrine of eternal con demnation and believe that sooner or later everyone shall be in perfect b liss through h is own efforts. “V ica riou s atonement has no place in the philosophy of spiritualism .” Sp irit ism does not accept the Bible as the one and only God-given revelation. It “accepts” truth “wherever it is found.” Since they adm it that com munications from the spirit-w orld are not necessarily infallible truth, and, on the other hand, do not recog nize the Bible as the sole authority, one would like to know where the standard of truth is to be found by which everything must be tested. Strictly speaking, sp iritualists do not believe in heaven or hell but in
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