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SPIRITISM
THE MODERN
SATANISM
THOMAS F- COAKLEY
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SPIRITISM
THE
MODERN SATANISM
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Nihil Obstat
P. L. BIERMANN,
Censor Deputatus.
Imprimatur
GEORGE WILLIAM MUNDELEIN,
Archbishop of Chicago.
Copyright 1920
EXTENSION PRESS
All Rights Reserved
Printed in U. S. A.
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SPIRITISM
T HE
MODERN SATANISM
By
Thomas F. Coakley
“Whose coming is according to the
working of Satan, in all power
and signs and lying wonders ”
EXTENSION PRESS
Le Moyne Building Chicago
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^ e 0 L L f e> *
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CONTENTS
CHAPTER
Introduction 7
I. Spiritism a Plot to Destroy
Christianity 13
II. Christ Was Not a Medium 35
III. Spiritism Attacks Christ 72
IV. Spiritism at the Bar of Reason
and Revelation 112
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INTRODUCTION
It is evident from our current literature that
thoughtful students of the Spiritistic movement
are beginning to realize that, in the controversy
to which it has given rise, problems of a very
grave character are involved and that these prob-
lems cannot possibly be shelved or ignored. To
the ordinary reader of the popular works on
Spiritism increasingly issuing from the press, the
phenomena described and the spirit messages re-
ported constitute no doubt the most interesting
and fascinating aspect of the subject. He ac-
cepts the evidence presented at its surface value,
and is quite willing to believe that the spirits of
the departed have found a means of communica-
tion with the sense world, and that they are
really the individuals they claim to be. Devoid,
in most instances, of any deep and clearly de-
fined religious conviction or belief, he does not
concern himself with the moral aspect of the
matter: — the nature and aim of the messages
conveyed, or the effect produced by spiritistic
practices upon the experimenters and the sensi-
7
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8
Introduction
tive. He has moreover a vague sort of sympathy
with the attractive description of the other world
life that these curious messages so often convey,
and finds in them nothing contrary to the dic-
tates of his reason and his common sense. To
such persons the question of the identity of the
communicating agents, the immense difficulties
lying in the way of establishing that identity, and
the ultimate purpose underlying this deliberate
effort to open up communication with the living
is of no particular interest. It is sufficient for
them to know that there is another world and
another life, in which they may conceivably find
snore happiness than they have found in this one.
But to the serious student of the subject who
holds a deep religious conviction, based upon
what he believes to be incontrovertible historic
fact, and who consequently scrutinizes the con-
tents of these spirit messages and their manifest
aim and purpose, the matter assumes a very dif-
ferent aspect. He sees very clearly that prob-
lems are here involved which touch the very
foundations of religious belief and that these
problems must be solved one way or the other.
It is quite true that spirit messages generally
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Introduction
9
speaking are very ambiguous and contradictory,
one spirit often emphatically asserting what an-
other spirit equally emphatically denies. The
messages moreover are apt, in many instances, to
reflect the mentality of the medium through
whom they come. It is all the more remarkable
that, with respect to the great subject of Re-
vealed Religion, the spirits of the seance room
are strangely unanimous in their assertions. They
always and everywhere declare that Christ was
not divine in the sense in which he declared
himself to be divine, and in which the historic
Christian Church defines that doctrine. They
assert that the Fall of Man, the Atonement on
the Cross, the permanent and irremediable con-
sequences of unforgiven sin, are not matters con-
tained in the original Christian teaching, but
after-developments and speculations of theolo-
gians respecting which nothing is known in the
world beyond the grave, and which the spirits
are now specially deputed to refute.
The historic Christian, therefore, who is ac-
quainted with the true history of Christian
thought and belief, and who knows that these
doctrines are not only contained in the clear and
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10
Introduction
explicit teaching of Our Lord himself, but that
they formed the belief of the earliest Christians
who forfeited their lives in millions because of
their profession of this belief, is confronted by
a problem which he cannot possibly evade and
of which he is bound to find the correct solution.
He must recognize that there cannot be any
kind of intelligible compromise between the
teachings of the Church and those of the spirits,
and that if one is true, the other must necessarily
be false. Which is false and which is true? This
is the question which thousands of perplexed
minds, in many lands, are asking themselves at
this moment.
Any serious attempt to answer this complex
question, in an adequate and convincing manner,
demands not only intimate acquaintance with the
intricacies of modern psychical research and
with the results of true scientific investigation,
but also that accurate historical and theological
knowledge which only years of systematic
thought and training can furnish.
To one therefore who, like myself, has chiefly
confined himself in his writings to the scientific
and experimental aspect of the subject, but who
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Introduction
11
has always been conscious that he has thus not
covered the whole ground in this great contro-
versy, the appearance of such a work as this is
a source of real gratification. I heartily wel-
come the learned author as a fellow worker in a
field which is in large measure virgin soil, and
where trained thinkers, such as he, are sorely and
urgently needed. In his treatment of the sub-
ject, especially in his second chapter, Doctor
Coakley has shown the utter untenableness of the
Spiritistic reasoning respecting the person of
Christ, and it seems to me that his exposition can
scarcely fail to bring conviction to minds that are
not wholly blinded by prejudice and misconcep-
tion. I warmly commend the book therefore to
those serious searchers after truth, with many of
whom my own work is constantly bringing me in
contact, and who are sincerely anxious to find
their way to the true solution of what is perhaps
the most serious of all the problems that have
ever perplexed the human mind.
J. Godfrey Raupert.
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SPIRITISM
The Modern Satanism
CHAPTER I
SPIRITISM A PLOT TO DESTROY CHRISTIANITY
“For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and
shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch as to deceive if
possible even the elect. Behold I have told it to you before-
hand” <i>
“Therefore hearken not to your prophets and diviners, and
dreamers and soothsayers, and sorcerers.” (2)
The most popular amusement this year is
Spiritism. A vast proportion of the population
is practicing it, consulting mediums, purchasing
the latest books, magazines and newspapers deal-
ing with it and attending lectures by the leaders
of Spiritism and Psychic Research in such num-
bers that no hall in America has been large
enough to contain those clamoring for admit-
tance. The Eighteenth Amendment to the
American Constitution enacting Prohibition has
well nigh abolished the cabaret of dances; but
(1) Matt, xjciv, 24.
(2) Jer. xxvii. 9.
13
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14 Spiritism
in its place we have a cabaret of ghosts, with con-
tinuous performances, night and day. The
spirits have invaded the literary field and vol-
umes are written and dictated by spirit controls,
who seem to favor literary folk above other an-
cient and honorable professions; Detectives
have their favorite mediums for the purpose of
apprehending criminals, and brokers and their
clients consult them frequently to learn the fate
of their investments. Some business men keep
several mediums on their payroll, consulting
them independently on questions of importance,
and basing their action upon their agreement or
disagreement. School children are purchasing
the Ouija pointer at bargain sales in the base-
ments of large department stores; fashionable
ladies consult the planchette at afternoon teas,
until the country at large seems to have been
seized as in the grip of an epidemic of Spiritism.
Crazes such as this sweep over the world from
time to time. They seem to have their cycles
just as diseases come and go. The present mo-
mentum obtained by Spiritism threatens to rock
the bases of civilization and of reason, unless we
soon revert to sanity and wholesomeness. In all
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The Modern Satanism 15
these mental crises, even the keenest minds are
sometimes swept from their intellectual anchor-
age , giving the weight and prestige of their once
great sane and sober names to the propagation of
error.
The present craze for Spiritism is by no means
a novelty in the world’s history. In substance it
is as old as mankind. In ancient times the pagans
practiced the evocation of spirits ; it was common
in India, in Chaldea, and among the Egyptians,
and it has existed in China from time immemo-
rial. We find it in classic Greece, and stately
Rome. Socrates and Aristotle consulted the
spirits, and the works of the most celebrated Ro-
man authors contain many references to the
practice. The Old Testament has many pas-
sages containing severe prohibitions against its
use, although Christianity was the first real con-
sistent enemy of necromancy, divination, magic,
witchcraft, communicating with the souls of the
dead, and demonology.
Modern Spiritism began in 1848 with the ad-
vent of the Fox sisters. So swift was its progress
that in 1851 there were at least one hundred
mediums in New York alone. In a brief space
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16 Spiritism
it swept the entire country. By 1854 no l ess than
1300 persons signed a petition to Congress re-
questing a national investigation of its claims.
Some of the most prominent citizens of the
United States gave it their support. Soon it in-
vaded Europe causing immense interest and ex-
citement. So great was its popularity that in
1887 there were about one hundred newspapers
dealing with the philosophy and phenomena of
Spiritism. Its adherents were numbered by mil-
lions, lectures were given every day of the year,
and spiritistic circles were held in nearly every
city, town and village throughout the length and
breadth of the country. Since the outbreak of
the Great War the movement has grown by leaps
and bounds, and there is no telling the number
of those affiliated with the latest fad. Spiritistic
temples are being erected in many parts of the
country, and a veritable frenzy of spirit consul-
tation has seized upon the whole population,
stimulated by a flood of sensational articles in
newspapers and popular magazines, all of them
challenging the essential and fundamental doc-
trines of Christianity.
The one precise differentiation between the
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The Modern Satanism
17
movement today, and all that have occurred in
the past, is that those who look upon themselves,
and who are looked upon by others, as the leaders
of the Spiritistic cult, are Scientists of greater
or less reputation. Everything connected with
Psychic Research today seems to be clothed in a
scientific garb. Up to the present generation
Spiritism had never laid any serious claim to a
scientific foundation, when suddenly Scientists
with great names seize upon the movement, and
endeavor to give it an academic standing among
the learned and serious of the world. It is pre-
cisely this feature which entitles Spiritism to a
claim upon our attention. It means that the
reality of Spiritistic Phenomena can no longer
be denied. Too many eminent personages of un-
sullied reputation have given many anxious
years to its study to allow us to enter a sweeping
denial of the phenomena they report, or to waive
them aside on the plea of fraud or trickery.
And the scientific background and support it is
able to produce makes it a more than ordinary
enemy of Christianity. That crowds flock to
Spiritistic seances and purchase the literary pro-
ductions of Spiritistic authors, are only evi-
a
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18 Spiritism
dences of the shackles with which the human
mind has been enslaved by so-called Science.
We have been worshiping science instead of
God these many years. We came to the conclu-
sion long ago that everything uttered by scientists
was true, and multitudes today are willing to
deny Christ at the bidding of this or that scien-
tist The world at large little reckons that these
same scientists, or their predecessors who led the
scientific world in past generations, denied Christ
upon purely materialistic grounds. To deny
Christ seems to be the great thing, whether it be
on materialistic or spiritistic grounds. During the
past two generations Scientists have been the
avowed enemies of everything that even re-
motely concerned the soul or the supernatural
life. Let any theologian, however meek and
humble of heart, even hint at the immortality of
the soul, and at once the scientific world would
scoff and laugh, saying there is neither a soul nor
a future life, and that immortality is a figment of
the imagination.
Today all this is changed, and the successors
of those who formerly railed at God and the
spiritual life, are now crying from the housetops
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The Modern Satanism
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some of the very truths which Christianity has
preached for 1900 years. The pity is that the
present uproarious propaganda cannot be re-
ceived in its entirety, since it is mixed with so
much error. Because Spiritists admit the im-
mortality of the soul, which is a Christian
dogma, is no reason why we should admit other
statements of Spirits which are contrary to Chris-
tian doctrines. It needed no ghost or materi-
alized spirit or discamate soul or hysterical
medium to tell us that the soul is immortal. We
always knew that. It has been a doctrine taught
by God to humanity from the very foundation
of the world. Even today scientists decline to
investigate the Christian proofs for immortality,
preferring to wander in a labyrinth of seance
communications without proof of identity. The
modern Spiritistic craze proves just one thing:
Materialism is dead. How the great scientific
leaders of the nineteenth century must turn in
their unquiet graves at this complete revolution
and repudiation of their once vaunted opin-
ions ! !
Spiritism has been acclaimed on two conti-
nents as a new Religion, because, if we were to
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20
Spiritism
believe Spiritists, Christianity has broken down,
Religion is dead, historical Christianity has
failed. Remarks such as these fall limpidly
from the lips of the great High Priests of the
widely heralded New Revelation. And yet on
mere historic grounds we can easily demonstrate
that instead of being a New Revelation, Modern
Spiritism is an ancient heresy. There is nothing
substantially new in it; it is merely Anti-Christ
masquerading in modern clothes. The savages
of antiquity were acquainted with nearly every
one of the phenomena of modern Spiritism.
Scientific men are just now becoming familiar
with these facts that are evident to any one famil-
iar with the history of black magic. There is
scarcely a nation or a race or a period in the en-
tire history of the world which does not reveal to
us a well defined effort to hold communication
with the unseen world. Hence we must brand as
presumptuous those who claim that Modern
Spiritism is a New Revelation; it is in reality
nothing but a new form of arrogance, for Spir-
itists are by no means the pioneers or discoverers
of any new or wondrous psychic laws. Histori-
cal Christianity is not dead, nor is it likely to
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The Modern Satanism 21
die, whatever Spiritists and their advertisers say
to the contrary.
Was it not of his Church that Christ spoke to
Peter on a memorable occasion those far famed
words “The gates of hell shall not prevail
against it.” ,3) If the Bible means what it says,
if Christ was sincere in this statement, how can
Christianity have failed, as those fond of
Psychic Research allege? Is Christ in error, or
is it the spirit rapping, table tilting mediums and
their spirit controls? Did not our Saviour
promise his Church “I shall be with you all
days, even to the consummation of the world ?” (4)
How then can Christ’s Religion be dead?
And what must we think of the Spiritists who
give utterance to such destructive doctrines? In
spite of the age old declarations by Our Divine
Redeemer guaranteeing perpetuity to his Re-
ligion, we are told by those who follow Psychic
Research that these texts are unmeaning. The
lie is passed, and we are assured that historic
Christianity has spent its force, and now another
revelation has succeeded it. They thrust upon a
grief-stricken world an entirely new Theology,
(3) Matt, xvi, 18.
(4) Matt, xxviii, 20.
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22
Spiritism
which they claim is the very essence of the Re-
ligion of Christ, long obscured and travestied by
his followers.
Vast numbers of its mediums and adherents
look upon Spiritism as their religion. They at-
tend no other church than the Spiritistic. Let us
not forget that Spiritism is everywhere stressed
as a new Religion. The great object of the new
creed is to inculcate the religious frame of mind.
All the seances are looked upon as religious in-
stitutions. They are invariably opened and
closed by prayer. No levity is permitted. A
hymn is sung occasionally during the course of
the seance.
But we must not suppose that Spiritists assume
their new Religion to be a home-made, man-
made affair. They claim a divine origin for
their new cult. In some halting way they see the
absurdity of having an effect greater than a
cause, so they realize they must begin in the next
world, claiming a divine source. They style
their present spiritistic activity as the greatest re-
ligious event since the death of Christ, because it
has resulted in what they say is a breaking down
of the walls between two worlds.
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The Modern Satanism
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It is the avowed purpose of Spiritism to com-
municate with the souls of the dead, to catalog
and classify the subtle and elusive utterances
from beyond, and to construct from them an en-
tirely new religious philosophy and theology.
They lay great stress upon the appeal to human
reason in their new religion, to the exclusion of
Christian faith. Just how much value we should
attach to this spirit inspiration may be inferred
from a well known remark of St. Paul. “But
though we or an angel from heaven preach a
gospel to you besides that which we have
preached to you, let him be anathema.”' 5 ’ Fre-
quently spirits claim they desire to bring about
a union between faith and reason. But this is a
mere play upon words. Such a union as they
proclaim would not be a union of two partners,
each busily employed in his own sphere, in help-
ing the human soul onward and upward through
darkness to God. Rather it is to be a sort of un-
recognized union, a morganatic alliance, the one
bond, the other free, with science in the saddle.
Indeed Spiritists tell us plainly that the so-called
reconciliation between Science and Religion is
(5) Gal. i. 8.
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24
Spiritism
one involving the entire triumph of Science. So
instead of Science being the handmaid of Re-
ligion, as it should be in the ordered scale of
knowledge, the tables are turned, and Religion is
to be the slave of Science.
Spiritists wish for certainty and the evidence
of their senses instead of divine faith. In this
manner they are attempting to do away with
Christian faith, which they continually scoff at,
yet it is the one thing that Christ praised on
many occasions. So important is it that Holy
Scripture solemnly warns us “without Faith it
is impossible to please God.” (8) In countless
places in the New Testament, its necessity is in-
sisted upon to such an extent that it is the very
essence of a Christian that he believe and put into
practice all the truths that God has believed/ 7 *
Hence the insistence by Spiritists upon sensi-
ble vision and scientific certainty to the exclusion
of divine faith in God is a violent assault upon
the very foundations of Christianity.
The spirits are crafty and unreliable; hence
we must not be surprised when their earthly lit-
erary representatives become apt pupils at dis-
(6) Heb. xi, «.
(7) Matt xxviii, 19.
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The Modern Satanism
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sembling. They deny every fundamental doc-
trine of Christianity, yet they still wish to be
Christians. They affirm with vehemence that
they merely desire to modify Christianity and to
make it accord with the facts of Psychic Re-
search. They want to “serve two masters” not-
withstanding a certain notable passage in the
“Sermon on the Mount”' 8 ’ to the contrary.
Hence the intellectual acrobatic feats performed
in affirming and denying the same thing at one
and the same time. In one place they tell us
solemnly that Spiritism is a New Revelation;
then we are told just as energetically this does
not mean that it will necessarily crystallize into
a new Religion. None the less they are all agreed
that Spiritism has come to add new lustre to
Christ’s teaching. We may remark in passing
that Spiritists are not at all modest. They see
nothing incongruous in the finite giving lessons
to the Infinite, the creature instructing the Cre-
ator, and human beings with all their limitations
giving splendor to the teachings of Christ! 1 The
ages of Faith have always looked upon Our
Saviour as the Great Teacher; it remains for
(8) Matt. vi. 24.
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26 Spiritism
those who make propaganda for Psychic Re-
search to teach The Master!!
In spite of their dogmatic statements, the lit-
erary exponents of the New Revelation are not
quite sure whether their attitude toward Chris-
tianity is constructive or destructive, even though
Spiritists eventually reject every important doc-
trine of historic Christianity as revealed by
Christ, and found imbedded in the pages of
Holy Scripture. This contradictory quality is
one of the striking characteristics of Spiritism.
The very opposite is verified in Christianity.
“The truth shall make you free” from all doubt,
anxiety, suspense, uncertainty and indecision;
Christian faith is sure, certain, definite, precise,
unambiguous, the undoubting adhesion of the
mind to eternal truth, and Spiritism has none of
these qualities.
Psychic Research seems to some of its dev-
otees to resemble a modern Associated Chari-
ties organization, a sort of connecting link, or
clearing house, a great unifying force, the one
provable thing connected with every religion,
Christian or non-Christian, forming the common
solid basis upon which each rests, in some ways
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The Modern Satanism
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confirming ancient systems of religion, and in
some ways entirely new. A glorious compre-
hensiveness 1 1 A sort of omnium gatherum!!
And this is to be one of the shining marks of the
New Revelation. You may believe in God, or
not; you may assert the Divinity of Christ, or
deny it; you may proclaim the divine authorship
and inspiration of the Bible, or see in it merely
a defective human document; you may be a
Universalist or a Unitarian; you may worship
Christ or worship science ; you may do any one
of these and a hundred other mutually impossi-
ble things in the new Spiritistic Religion, and
see nothing incongruous in it! 1 O Science, what
absurdities are uttered in thy name!!
Spiritists are not too fond of accuracy of
statement. Their leaders assure us that when
holding communication with the spirit world
they have unhappily to deal with absolute cold
blooded lying on the part of wicked or mis-
chievous intelligences. This is a very fatal ad-
mission on their part. To claim that their Re-
ligion is founded upon statements made by such
lying agencies shows at once that Spiritism is a
subtle attack at the very heart of Christianity.
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Spiritism
There is no need to be other than purely ob-
jective in the whole investigation of Spiritism.
Men who are loudly championing its cause look
upon themselves as scientists. Hence we have a
right to ask that if a new force has been found
operative in the phenomena of Spiritism, let us
have proof of its existence other than seventy
years of such mediumship as we know today.
For the truly critical student who weighs all the
possibilities up to date we have not had a single
conclusive proof of spirit identity from the other
world. Every serious investigation of psychic
phenomena during the last few generations has
had but one result — absolute failure to demon-
strate the truth of the assertion made so emphat-
ically that spirits can be positively identified.
Rewards of large amounts of money have been
offered for the production of a single attested
proof of genuine spirit identity. These rewards
have never been claimed, and no attention seem-
ingly is paid to them by the leaders of the pres-
ent Spiritistic movement. Not a single spirit
has come to us with anything but empty hands.
After a long life given to an examination of the
phenomena, some very great authorities are
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The Modern Satanism
29
forced to say that the revelations from the other
side by no means prove that they come from the
souls of the dead, or from discarnate spirits;
rather some of them incline to the diabolic
theory. Yet despite this notorious lack of proof,
Spiritists boldly assume that the whole question
has been proved, and they are amazed at our re-
fusal to look upon this attitude as conforming
to the scientific method. Science cannot be built
upon doubt. Negation and contradiction and
suspicion are not the stuff out of which science
is builded. Furthermore, the so-called revela-
tions from beyond have usually been made not
by the great and good of heart, but by the flotsam
and jetsam of the spiritual world. If evil spirits
can come back, why not the good?
Spiritism tells us nothing about God, his na-
ture, his attributes, his perfections, his opera-
tions; it leaves us unenlightened as to how we
can know him, love him, or serve him ; it sets up
no moral code, no system of Philosophy or The-
ology. It leaves us like the seance room, dark
and doubting. It seems to acknowledge that we
can know nothing about God, yet the very
essence of religion is to know God : —
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30 Spiritism
“This is Eternal life” says Holy Scripture
“that they may know Thee, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent. (9)
Hence if we cannot know God, Spiritism is vir-
tually a Religion without a God.
Over against this if we look for positive and
constructive results to balance the ledger, we
will search in vain. The cult has brought to
mankind nothing of value; it has given us no
heroic examples of self denial, nor a single dis-
closure worth mentioning; no secret of nature
has been brought to light; no invention that
would benefit the human race ; no discovery that
would make for the progress of civilization;
nothing that adds to our happiness or that makes
nobler or higher our mutual relations on earth;
there has been no impulse given to art, or music,
or science, or literature, no new ideas have been
promulgated, no new principles have been pro-
claimed, nor from all the past history of Psychic
Research have we any ground to hope that any
such benefits will ever accrue from it.
Spiritists forget easily. No sooner have they
done telling us that they have come to give a new
(9) John xvii, 3.
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The Moderp Satanism 31
polish to the teachings of Christ, than we are
brusquely informed that their task is to be a very
thorough housecleaning. The lustre they are to
give the Church founded by the Son of God is
not to be a thin veneer; the axe is to be laid to
the very roots, and historic Christianity must
change or perish. Psychic Research is a revolu-
tion in religious thought, we are told, and his-
toric Christianity has received its death blow; it
lacks foundation, but Spiritists are rushing to the
rescue to give religion the firmest basis upon
which it has ever stood. These are almost verba-
tim expressions found in the very voluminous
literature of Spiritism today. This reminds us
of a certain remark of Our Lord to St. Peter who
thereupon became the enduring rock upon which
Christ erected his never failing Church. “Thou
art Peter and upon this rock I will build my
church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it.” (10) Up to the present time the only
Church that holds its ground is the one erected
on the rock of Peter, and it needs no reinforcing
from modern Spiritism. All other churches es-
tablished during the last 1900 years have had no
(10) Matt, xvi, 18.
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Spiritism
such firm foundation; the heretical creeds have
all crumbled, and we smile at the assertion that
Modern Spiritists have come to strengthen that
which Christ himself made impregnable. Yet
it is insisted that an acceptance of the teachings
of Spiritism brought to us from beyond would
deeply modify historical Christianity as taught
by Christ. Why, may we ask, have 1900 long
and anxious years passed while we have been
allowed to remain in ignorance of this doctrine?
Why postpone the modification until the twenti-
eth century? Where have the spirits been all this
time; or did they lack efficient publicity agents
such as their present leaders are proving to be?
Spiritists tell us that it is certain the New Tes-
tament records statements which have no mean-
ing at all unless they imply a knowledge of
Psychic Phenomena. They inform us that
Christianity has long been guilty of false witness,
and they hope the Christian people may come
back to the teachings of Christ whom they have
so long misrepresented. After reading these dec-
larations culled from many Spiritistic sources
competent to speak in its behalf, we turn to a
well known passage in the Gospel where Christ
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clothed his representatives with the most ample
authority. “He that heareth you, heareth me;
and he that despiseth you, despiseth me.” (u)
“Whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it
shall be bound also in heaven ; and whatsoever
thou shalt loose on earth, it shalt be loosed also
in heaven.”' 12 ’ Confronted with these majestic
lines, it is clear that modern Spiritists are the
ones who misrepresent. They remind us of In-
gersoll; the only difference is that they are if
anything more blasphemous. The heathen
Colonel was fond of libeling Moses; whereas
the Spiritists libel Christ.
Hence it is evident that Spiritism, or Spirit-
ualism, or Psychic Research, whatever its name,
is a definitely planned effort to found a New Re-
ligion hostile to Christianity. It is a well de-
signed plot to destroy the Church of Christ.
This is rather a huge undertaking. Christ’s
Church is not easily overthrown. It has been at-
tempted frequently in the past, but always with
the same issue. We commend to Spiritists and
all enemies of Christianity the history of the
many efforts of the human intellect to rise
(11) Luke jc, 16.
(12) Matt, xvi, 19.
8
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Spiritism
against the yoke of Our Saviour. After each
attack the Christian Church has emerged com-
pletely victorious. When we consider the tre-
mendous blows which she has survived, we find
it difficult to imagine what new assaults can
cause her to perish.
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CHAPTER II
CHRIST WAS NOT A MEDIUM
“Take heed that no man seduce you: for many will come in
my name, saying I am Christ, and they will seduce many.” (1)
“And every spirit that dissolveth Jesus is not of God; and that
is Anti-Christ of whom you have heard that he cometh, and he
is now already in the world.” (2)
Whether Spiritism is a New Revelation or a
New Religion, as is loudly claimed by its prop-
agandists, whether it is to afford a firmer foun-
dation for Christianity, whether it will modify
or destroy the Church of Christ, may be appar-
ent from the teachings of its well known and
recognized leaders whose principal doctrines
will be examined in some detail. They stagger
us at the very outset by declaring that Christ
himself was a Medium. His Divinity is brushed
aside by the assertion that he is not God, but
only a creature, a human being, one who is near
to God. They call him the ‘Christ Spirit’ who
represents God. In order to soften this cruel
wound to the Christian conscience, we are told
(1) Matt, xxiv, 4.
(2) 1 John iv, 8.
35
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36 Spiritism
with great condescension that Christ was the
greatest Medium of all time. His powers were
more highly developed than those of present day
exponents of the mediumistic profession, but in
all other respects he is like them. As a conse-
quence his many stupendous miracles lose their
divine character because they were performed
by employing the natural psychic forces which
he possessed. Hence all of the miracles of
Christ recorded in the New Testament are mere
spiritistic phenomena! Indeed they are quite
common, we are informed, to those familiar with
Psychic Research. Wonders of a similar na-
ture are reproduced so frequently by mediums
today that great light is thereby shed upon the
use of Spiritism by Christ and his Apostles. We
are told emphatically that the miracles of Our
Saviour are nothing but the production of Spir-
itistic phenomena which virile mediums today
can easily parallel; nay, more than that, that
they can actually transmit this power to others.
To style Christ’s miracles the ‘production of
phenomena’ is decidedly ingenious. Its lan-
guage sounds strange to a Christian, since it does
not savor of due reverence for the Son of God
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and his work. But with pious unction we are
summoned to believe in the credibility of the
Gospel accounts of the miracles of Christ pre-
cisely because modem spiritistic mediums are
alleged to perform similar wonders ! !
We hope to show that none of the miracles of
Christ have ever been reproduced by Spiritistic
means, nor can Spiritists today ever point to a
single case of a genuine miracle surpassing the
powers of nature, performed by themselves.
The gratuitous assumption of the Spiritistic
fraternity continues, step by step, until finally we
are told that the result of the present renaissance
of Spiritism will be a new school of Biblical in-
terpretation. Spiritists see nothing incongruous
in flaunting themselves in the face of all the
Christian centuries. It is evident that humility
is not one of their dominant virtues. They cry
aloud that the world has been entirely wrong for
1900 years, and that Spiritism has come to set it
right, leading us on gradually to a new school of
exegesis, in which all the Gospel story is colored
by Spiritistic explanations. Fools rush in where
angels fear to tread. Without adequate equip-
ment of Theology, or its cognate sciences, Spirit-
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Spiritism
ists have the temerity to found nothing less than
a new system for interpreting and explaining the
Bible. The world is strewn with the wrecks of
those who attempted this task in former centuries.
It were safer to touch dynamite. The Bible be-
longs to the Church of Christ, and she alone is
competent to interpret it; she is the only offi-
cially appointed School of Biblical interpreta-
tion. Did not Christ say: “He that heareth you
heareth me”? (3) “If they will not hear the
Church let them be as the heathen and the pub-
lican” ? (4)
Those addicted to Psychic Research proclaim
that on no account is the heart-searching gaze of
Christ and his clear vision into the innermost
thoughts of men to be attributed to his Divine
knowledge. Why, say they, call in the super-
natural when it is all so perfectly natural and ob-
vious? Miracle working is quite an ordinary
thing to Spiritists, and after all Christ was only
a Spirit, a Medium, even though he be the Chief
Medium, or the Christ Spirit. In explaining
St. Mark’s Gospel, for instance, “When Jesus
presently knowing in his spirit, that they so
(3) Luke x, 16.
(i) Matt, xviii, 17.
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thought within themselves saith to them: ‘Why
think you these things in your hearts ?’,” t6) Spirit-
ists sweep the supernatural clean away, and they
place all the miracle working power of Christ
upon a purely natural foundation, even though
he searches the secrets of the heart, lays bare the
sinful lives of others, or hints at their hidden
sins. Even Christ healing those who but touched
the hem of his garment is shorn of his divine
character, and relegated to the sphere occupied
by a highly developed psychic medium ; and the
cases of healing which Christ performed at a dis-
tance by his Infinite Word are now assigned to
the low level of Spiritistic phenomena. Such
for instance as where Our Saviour drove the
devil out of the daughter of the Syro-Phoenician
woman, and where he healed the son of the cen-
turion / 61 All of these miracles performed by
Christ are repudiated by the founders of modern
Spiritism. Even the eighteen cases of healing in
St. Matthew, the thirteen miracles of this class in
St. Mark, the twenty cures in St. Luke, the four
in St. John’s Gospel, as well as the two miracles
of healing in the Acts of the Apostles,— all are
(5) Mark ii, 8.
(6) I*uke vii, 1.
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40 Spiritism
rejected, and we are led to believe that every one
of them was merely the ‘production of Spiritistic
phenomena.’ They even explain away on this
basis the miracle of raising to life the daughter
of Jairus, (7) alleging that the girl was not dead
but merely in a comatose condition, and that Our
Saviour only awoke her from a trance by sugges-
tion, after having formed a psychic circle com-
posed of Peter, James and John, who, they tell
us, were the most powerful mediums in the
Apostolic group. Christ’s suggestion to the young
girl resulted in her immediate recovery of con-
sciousness, just as mediums today suddenly awake
from a trance. How easy this all seems 1! how
natural !1 Spiritistic writers pass over the quite
positive declaration of Holy Writ that the girl
was actually dead.
The raising of Lazarus to life (8) is surrounded
by a different set of circumstances, so another ex-
planation is furnished us. Anything but the
truth seems to satisfy a Spiritist, so they put
their own interpretation upon this great miracle.
It is a fair specimen of the method adopted by
modern scientific minds to discredit the miracles
(7) Mark v. 85.
C8) John xi, 38
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The Modern Satanism 41
of Our Lord. Instead of the plain, unvarnished
facts, as they stand in the pages of the New Tes-
tament, we are given a highly fantastic account
The groans of Christ on this occasion, we are
told, clearly indicate that he was a Medium. Do
not modem mediums groan during their seances?
Why then not explain the Resurrection of
Lazarus by Spiritism, since Christ is alleged to
have groaned audibly?
We have always been taught by scientists that
the modern scientific method was to prove your
facts, test your conclusions, and make good your
ground as you go; that nothing was worthy of
the name of science until it was supported by un-
impeachable evidence in its behalf, capable of
standing any test. Scientists and literary men
with more or less scientific training, are now as-
suming the fairly lucrative task of popularizing
and advertising Spiritism, writing many books
about it, some of which rank with the six best
sellers. But where in all this output is there a
single scientific proof to corroborate this bold
assertion that Christ was a Medium, and that his
miracles were but prototypes of present day
spiritistic phenomena? Scarcely ever since the
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Spiritism
Pharisees of old accused Christ of performing
miracles by the aid of Beelzebub.' 8 * has such a
calumny against the person of Our Saviour been
employed. Outside of a superficial similarity in
a few incidental and accidental details, not at all
connected with the events themselves, and hav-
ing utterly no bearing upon them, there is not a
shred of evidence of any kind anywhere adduced
to substantiate the claim. On the contrary there
are numerous places in the New Testament
directly contradicting this unwarranted assump-
tion, and showing not only its improbability, but
its impossibility as well.
In all the versatile and multiform exhibitions
of his Divine miracle-working power, Christ
never employed a dark room, nor even semi-
darkness. The vast majority of his miracles were
performed in the open air, in the crowded
streets, and along the highways pulsing with life.
Spiritists themselves reluctantly admit that all
psychical phenomena produced in the dark must
necessarily lose much of their value, and yet the
dark is the favored spot for such production. It
almost seems as if the passage in Holy Scripture
(9) Matt xii, 24.
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The Modern Satanism 43
were again verified : “they have loved the dark-
ness rather than the light.” (10)
Christ never sat in a seance; he never pro-
duced any spiritistic phenomena such as spirit
rapping, levitation, apport, table tilting, the
ringing of bells, or causing trumpets or other
musical instruments to float about in the air. He
never distracted the attention of his audience by
music or songs while he was performing his
miracles, although this practice is almost uni-
versally used by mediums in the production of
their psychic phenomena. Christ never went
into a trance, yet that is the usual prerequisite of
modern mediumship. He never imposed
psychical conditions upon others, such as hold-
ing hands, or insisting that the sitters remain in
a certain place, yet such things are obligatory in
the modern seance. Never did Christ hesitate
in the performance of his miracles; on the con-
trary most of them were instantaneous, unex-
pected, unhoped for interventions of his power.
Never once did he suggest a postponement to a
more propitious time. He never reported the
conditions as unfavorable or difficult, and never
(10) John ui. 19.
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Spiritism
in all of his career did he, by the slightest hint,
indicate that his power depended on the aid or
support of those in whose behalf he exercised
his wondrous healing touch.
Moreover Christ never gave exhibitions of
clairvoyance or clairaudience to amuse the pop-
ulace; he never displayed his powers to satisfy
the curiosity of the multitude, nor even to grat-
ify the cupidity of a king. (U> He never made
use of his infinite powers for gain, or a fee, as do
modern mediums. Even prominent spiritists
charge an admission for the purpose of inform-
ing us concerning those who have passed beyond.
Christ never hypnotized any one ; he never used
a Ouija board, or the Planchette, or any appa-
ratus corresponding to these instruments for
communicating with the souls of the dead. He
never called forth his supernatural powers for
light or trivial reasons, and we never read of him
gathering about him a circle for the purpose of
getting into touch with the unseen. Power or
virtue went out of him, but not with anything
resembling a local motion or material transfer of
power. Power did go out from Christ, but it
(11) Luke xxiii, 8-9.
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left him unchanged, and with his own divine
energy undiminished. A parallel of this may be
found in a teacher and a pupil. The former
transmits knowledge to the learner, without
thereby lessening his own stock of knowledge.
In this particular miracle virtue went out from
Christ only in so far as its effects may be said to
have been experienced by the woman who was
cured by the healing power that Christ pos-
sessed. But there is here, as in all other traves-
ties on the miracles of Christ put forward by
Spiritists, not a particle of evidence of anything
even remotely resembling a spiritistic seance.
Further than this, all the miracles he per-
formed were no drain upon his physical
strength ; they were to him easy, without effort,
without struggle; they caused no exhaustion in
him ; they did not leave him hysterical, or weary.
Yet all of these conditions and results are veri-
fied in all modern mediums. Spiritistic medi-
ums for physical manifestations sit only once or
twice a week, and then for a limited time, ex-
tending usually one or two hours. Whereas
Christ was accustomed to go about doing good
all day long, nay, even far into the night, and
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46 Spiritism
performing his miracles continually, yet it did
not affect his bodily health. On the other hand,
even Spiritists themselves complain of the tax
upon their intellectual and bodily constitution
by mediumistic practices. Spiritists claim that
the sitters at seances supply a great part of the
psychic energy required for spirit manifestations,
and this energy is alleged to be taken in some un-
known form from their bodies. Authentic pho-
tographs and the evidence of loss of weight,
showing the psychic stuff in the process of flow-
ing from the bodies of the mediums seem to bear
out this contention. As a consequence if a per-
son is in poor health the drain on the vital energy
may be disastrous, and we are assured by compe-
tent and reliable authorities that this vital or
nervous energy thus extracted from the bodies of
the medium and the sitters requires a consider-
able period for restoration. When experiments
are being carried out, the mediums often lose
temporarily 30, 40 and 50 pounds in weight, yet
we never hear of Christ losing weight in this
fashion owing to the performance of his
miracles.
Christ never used automatic writing, despite
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the amazing statement of Spiritists who venture
the opinion that among the many forms of
mediumship which he possessed in the highest
degree was the power of automatic writing.
They refer to the celebrated passage in St. John’s
Gospel, the only instance in all of the New Tes-
tament where Christ is reported to have written
anything. (12)
When we come to the Transfiguration of
Christ, Spiritists tell us that this is only one of a
large number of Spiritistic phenomena, easily
duplicated today by any well developed medium.
One simply stands aghast at the heights of blas-
phemy reached by the Spiritistic propagandists.
They inform us that they have been present at
miracles paralleling the Transfiguration of
Christ performed by modern mediums! They
tell us that at the miracle of the Transfiguration,
Christ was in contact with the dead, and thus
communicated with Moses and Elias after the
manner of a spiritistic seance, Moses and Elias
being only materialized spirits, just as psychic
phenomena are produced every day in spiritistic
circles. Yet in this case, as in all others adduced
(12) John viii, 8.
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Spiritism
by the new religious sect, there is not a single
solitary proof adduced to corroborate it, noth-
ing but the declarations, assumptions and theo-
ries of spiritists set down solemnly as attested
facts, without substantiation. At the Transfigu-
ration, not a single movement of any of those
concerned was in any way connected with what
Spiritists tell us so emphatically is necessary for
the production of psychic phenomena. There is
the open air, the broad daylight, the mountain
top. There is no swoon, no seance, no cabinet,
no preparation, no raps, no tables, — indeed, the
whole gospel narrative ' 131 is a simple, straight-
forward account of a miracle that is separated
by an abyss from anything that is even remotely
associated with psychic phenomena.
Christ never used such childish twaddle as the
enigmas and literary puzzles put forth as serious
revelations from the other world by modern me-
diums, who act as the mouthpieces of discarnate
spirits. Christ’s sermons, discourses and conver-
sations, as preserved for us in Holy Scripture,
are simple, direct, full of unction, lofty, noble,
and dignified. They reveal his Infinite wisdom,
(13) Matt, xvii, 1.
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The Modern Satanism 49
whereas the messages purporting to be the reve-
lations of modern spirits read like the effusions
emanating from an insane asylum.
Christ never became excited or eccentric, as
are all, or nearly all mediums today, most of
whom are persons of little or no education.
Christ never descended to exaggeration, a
feature that seems to characterize all modern
mediums, male and female. Surely one must
have lost all reverence for Christ to class him
with such creatures! Never do we read of
Christ losing consciousness, or lapsing into a
swoon, or falling into the repulsive and morbid
symptoms usual in Spiritistic manifestations.
That such things are customary is not made too
public by the advertising agents of the modern
Spiritistic renaissance. They conceal this very
dark side to the picture.
They rarely refer to the repulsive shaking and
trembling of the medium as the vital energy is
being withdrawn. The many photographs of
mediums under control are sufficient to shock the
Christian sense of propriety. Surely this is evi-
dence that the whole process of Psychic Re-
search is against nature, and is a violent removal
4
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50 Spiritism
of the barriers which nature has erected. Never
did any of the miracles performed by Christ
have an evil effect upon those in whose behalf
he worked, or upon the beholders; whereas there
is a downward tendency in all those who cooper-
ate in the experiments of the seance room.
Never do we read of the expenditure of weari-
some hours in the process of establishing condi-
tions, or of the frivolous waste of precious time
to the complete neglect of all true and whole-
some spiritual exercises on the part of those who
were in immediate contact with Christ Never
in all of his public life did Christ indicate physi-
cal collapse after performing a miracle. Yet
this is the ordinary effect today upon mediums
who regularly and frequently engage in seances.
It usually requires several days for a public me-
dium to recover strength after the ordeal. Yet
in spite of all this we are warned in trumpet
tones that by such disastrous methods, perilous
alike to the intellectual sanity and moral char-
acter and physical constitution of all concerned,
we are being made the recipients of a new and
tremendous revelation from all wise and mer-
ciful God!!
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Christ never extracted psychic stuff from the
bodies of so-called sitters for the purpose of per-
forming his miracles. Never did he withdraw
from his own sacred body any astral material for
this object, yet Spiritists tell us that the produc-
tion of phenomena depends upon this operation,
and innumerable photographs of the issuance of
this psychic stuff from the bodies of the mediums
amply prove their contention. The function of
the medium is to borrow from his body this
ethereal psychic stuff, and the function of the
sitters is to supplement the psychic energy. All
Spiritists agree in the existence in man of an
astral substance of an unknown nature, some-
where between matter and spirit, which, if de-
tached from the material body, offers a means of
communication with the unseen world and is the
raw material out of which spirit manifestations
occur. Mediumship, therefore, consists in the
ability of a person easily to detach from his body
this so-called teleplasm or astral substance while
in a passive state. Spiritists claim that Christ
was a Medium, yet there is not an instance in his
entire life where any psychic stuff issued from
him in the performance of his miracles or while
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52 Spiritism
he was in a passive state. Nowhere do we read
of the emanation from the body of Christ of the
so-called “odic effluvia” which some writers on
Spiritism say generally appears as a radiant
aura, and which at times transforms itself into a
sort of limb, capable of exerting at great dis-
tances forces that are both dextrous and power-
ful.
Christ is eternal truth, whereas mediums and
the spirits who control them often deceive, they
lie, they misrepresent, they cheat, they contradict
each other, they give false names, and they give
addresses that are unverifiable. Many of them
have been sooner or later caught in trickery and
fraud. The miracles of Christ were never pro-
duced amid the noise, confusion and disturbance
that frequently characterize the seance room.
Christ never took part in a gathering whose sole
result was throwing about the furniture, pro-
ducing spirit lights, pulling the hair of the at-
tendants, playing tricks on them, stroking their
heads, kissing them, or similar actions. The
mere thought of such things shocks the reverent
Christian mind. Yet all such things are the
usual phenomena attending the exercise of me-
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diumship, and in spite of it all we are told that
Christ was a Medium, yea, the greatest Medium
of all time 11
Is there a single recorded public utterance or
private statement of Christ that is occupied with
the mere trivialities of life, or the insipid memo-
ries of the dull and vapid existence of some dis-
carnate spirit? On the contrary, Christ’s mira-
cles were performed alone and unaided, by his
own inherent divine power, without any inter-
mediary. They all took place in the full light
of day. Never did he descend to tricks. He
never went into convulsions; he needed no elab-
orate preparation; he scored no failures. The
results were always certain and decisive, and no
cry of fraud or trickery was ever raised regard-
ing him, even by his avowed enemies. In a word
at every turn we behold in Christ the very an-
tithesis of all those circumstances and surround-
ings and environment that are so peculiarly in
evidence in modern mediums. Hence to allege
that Christ was a medium is at once to place him
on a level with the unwholesome practices in-
dulged in by all modern spiritistic mediums.
On many occasions the evil spirits rec-
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Spiritism
ognized Christ (14) and acknowledged his divinity,
yet he never permitted any conversation with
them ; he never sought to obtain occult informa-
tion from these diabolic agents; he never en-
couraged others to invoke them, but imme-
diately detecting them, banished them, con-
demned them, drove them out from the unfor-
tunates whom they had obsessed, and by his
whole attitude manifested his desire that the
human race have nothing to do with them, dem-
onstrating thereby that he knew them to be
demons, and not the souls of the dead. Never
did Christ refer to these spirits as other than
evil, and intelligences to be entirely shunned;
never once did he refer to the persons obsessed
by these evil spirits as other than their unfortu-
nate victims. So that at no single point in his
career is there a parallel between the practices of
modern Spiritism and the methods employed by
Christ.
Never once did Christ, the supposed greatest
medium that ever lived on earth, intimate that
we should seek knowledge from the dead, or
from discarnate spirits; nor did he ever indicate
(14) Luke iv, 41.
(16) Mark i, 34.
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the manner in which such communications could
be achieved; neither did he in any single in-
stance intimate how such information, even if
legitimate, could be identified and guaranteed
from error; nor did he ever formulate laws or
principles, or set up a standard and a system for
regulating such information, or propose rules to
guide us in separating what was true from what
was false in all such communications. More
than all this, all such communications were
strictly forbidden in the Old Testament, and un-
der the severest penalties:—
“Go not aside after wizards, neither ask any-
thing of soothsayers to be defiled by them.” (1#)
“The soul that shall go aside after magicians
and soothsayers, .... I shall set my face
against that soul, and destroy it out of the midst
of its people.”' 171
“Neither let there be found among you any
one that shall expiate his son or daughter, mak-
ing them to pass through fire, or that consulteth
soothsayers, or observeth dreams and omens,
neither let there be any wizard, nor charmer, nor
any one that consulteth python spirits, or fortune
(16) Lev. xix. *1.
• (17) Lev. xx. 6.
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56 Spiritism
tellers or that seeketh the truth from the dead.
For the Lord abhorreth all these things, and for
these abominations he will destroy them at thy
coming.” (18)
Christ formally and explicitly approved this
Old Testament legislation, and by his solemn
utterance “Do not think I am come to destroy the
law or the prophets; I am not come to destroy,
but to fulfill, ” (1#) he forbade any attempts on
the part of his followers to engage in Spiritistic
practices.
The only existing history of the life of Christ
is the New Testament. Hence the miracles of
Our Lord recorded there are in league with his-
tory, and they who accept them are on plain,
high, safe ground. Those who deny them, or
allege them to be the mere production of spirit-
istic phenomena cannot possibly be at home in
the pages of the Evangelists. To deny Christ’s
miracles or to interpret them in any psychic fash-
ion is to mutilate and enfeeble the whole of the
Gospel narrative. All of the four Gospels con-
cur in representing to us Christ encased in a set-
ting of miracles. The mere enumeration of them
(18) Deut. xviii, 10.
(19) Matt, v, 17.
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would make a very large total, and Spiritism has
nothing to show that can compare in the slightest
with any of the recorded miracles of Christ dur-
ing the three crowded years of his public life.
The mere list of the passages describing them,
their great diversity, and the peculiar circum-
stances surrounding them, make an impressive
recital.
In all the miracles of Christ, he invariably dis-
tinguishes cases of obsession from other cures,
and the Evangelists are at some pains to mark
this distinction, specifically calling attention to
the proper diagnosis made by Christ, never con-
fusing cases of obsession with ordinary symp-
toms of disease.
“And he healed many that were troubled with
divers diseases ; and he cast out many devils.” (20>
“And Jesus went about all Galilee, healing all
manner of sickness and every infirmity among
the people, and they presented to him all sick
people that were taken with divers diseases and
torments, and such as were possessed by devils
and lunatics, and those that had the palsy, and
he cured them.” lsl)
(20) Mark i, 84.
(21) Matt. It, 28.
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58 Spiritism
“And running through the whole country,
they began to carry about in beds those that were
sick, where they heard he was. And whitherso-
ever he entered, into towns, or into villages or
cities, they laid the sick in the streets, and be-
sought him that they might touch but the hem of
his garment; and as many as touched him were
made whole .”' 221
“And there came to him great multitudes,
having with them the dumb, the lame, the
maimed, and many others; and they cast them
down at his feet and he healed them ; so that the
multitudes marvelled seeing the dumb speak, the
lame walk, the blind see, and they glorified the
God of Israel .”' 231
“And in that same hour, he cured many of
their diseases, and hurts, and evil spirits ; and to
many that were blind he gave sight .”' 241
The supernatural prophecies and predictions
of Christ are real miracles, which have nothing
in common with Spiritism. In all of these far-
seeing glances into the future., Christ is not pas-
sive, as are the sensitives in a seance ; he is wide
awake, alert, active, and in full possession of all
(22) Mark vi, 55. (22) Matt xv, 80. (24) Luke vii, 21.
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his faculties. There is about him no swoon, no
trance, no dreamy state, no cataleptic condition,
no hypnosis. Christ manifests a perfect knowl-
edge of the secrets of the heart; he has an inti-
mate knowledge of Simon, for instance, whose
name he changes to Peter.' 1251 He is familiar with
the innermost secrets of the heart of Na-
thanael/ 20 ’ He is perfectly aware of the sad con-
dition of the Samaritan woman/ 27 ’ The treason of
Judas <28) is not hidden from his heart-searching
gaze, and he reiterates his betrayal by this un-
worthy and money loving follower a few hours
in advance of his base act/ 29 ’ He predicts with
fulness and detail the triple denial of Peter/ 30 ’
In general terms he deliberately and calmly pre-
pares his disciples for his coming passion, suf-
ferings, and death/ 31 ’ With a precision and a
clarity that are remarkable he gives the most
minute details, as if the whole tragic event were
spread before him as in a map/ 32 ’
He foretells the ruin of Jerusalem* 33 ' even to
its minor features: He predicts the fate of St.
Peter,* 34 ’ His chosen Rock; the long delayed
(25
(26
(27.
(28)
ft
ohn 1, 42.
ohn i, 47.
ohn iv, 16.
ohn vi, 71.
(29) Matt xxvl. 21.
(30) Matt xxv£ 81.
(81) John xiv, 29.
Matt xvl, 21.
Matt xxiv. 25.
John xxi, 18.
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death of St. John is revealed to the beloved dis-
ciple; and the persecutions to which the Apos-
tles (85) are to be subjected are foretold to them in
advance, as well as the proximate descent of the
Holy Ghost. (36) All of the miracles of Christ
took place in the presence of a great number of
witnesses, a large proportion of whom were not
his friends. This circumstance is not verified
in spiritistic circles where mediums repeatedly
refuse to continue the seance or produce any
phenomena unless the sitters are sympathetic.
The supernatural works produced by Christ did
not take place in a corner, a circumstance to
which Holy Scripture feels it necessary to call
attention . 1371 These stupendous marvels were
verified, not only by his selected friends, but also
by his bitter and implacable foes. Witnesses
numbering hundreds were either indifferent or
hostile, both to Christ and his miracles, yet on no
single occasion did they cry fraud, allege trick-
ery, or complain of deception. Their objections
to his miracles were not made because they de-
nied the fact that a miracle had been performed,
but for reasons flowing from the admitted facts,
(35) Matt x. 17. (36) John xiv, 16. (37) Acta xxvi, 26.
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for instance, because they were performed on the
sabbath day. (38) Miracles such as those of the
paralytic ' 591 curing the man born blind / 401 restor-
ing the withered hand, (41, relieving the woman
possessed by an evil spirit / 421 or healing the drop-
sical man <48) who had lingered for many years,
all were objected to on the ground of a violation
of the commandment to rest on the Lord’s day —
yet we hear no repudiation of the fact of the
miracle itself. His enemies would not have al-
lowed to pass an opportunity to cry fraud, if any
such existed, hence their silence is an eloquent
argument for the truth of the event
The mere touch of his hand is omnipotent and
suffices for the working of a miracle, as in the
case of Peter’s mother-in-law. He cures the sick,
raises the dead and drives out demons without
any elaborate apparatus, preparation or warn-
ing, employing but a single word, such as “Go
out of the man.” <44) “I will, be thou cured.” (4B)
“Arise, take thy bed .”' 401 Peace, be still.” (47)
“Young man, I say to thee, arise .”' 481 “Lazarus,
come forth .”' 4 ® 1 “He touched her hand and the
(38) John T, 17.
(39) John v, 1-16.
(40) John ix. 1-38.
(41) Matt, xii, 9.
(42) Luke xiii, 10.
(48) Luke xiv. 1.
(44) Mark i. 25.
(45) Matt, viii, 32
(46) John v, 8.
(47) Mark iv, 39.
(48) Luke vii, 14.
(49) John xi, 43.
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fever left her.”' 50 ’ “And the sick that he cured
by the laying on of his hands.”' 51 ’
Frequently miracles took place without any
external indication on the part of Christ that
they were to occur, there being no outward man-
ifestation of his will, for instance, his walking on
the water / 521 The “Miraculous fishing, ” <53)
“Healing at a distance, ” lB4) “The cure of the ser-
vant of the centurion, ” (B5) “The healing daughter
of the Chanaanite woman.”' 56 ’ Once only did he
put clay on the eyes of a blind man/ 57 ’ al-
though ordinarily the result was instantaneously
produced, without any intermediary. Even
Herod admits the fact of Christ’s miracles.' 58 ’
The doctors of the law, the last persons in the
world to lose an opportunity to deny the mira-
cles, none the less admit them, even though irri-
tated at the fact. The high priests in spite of
their enmity are forced to admit it again and
again by crying out “He saved others; let him
save himself,”' 59 ’ yet they are all the while plot-
ting his death. They could not deny the reality
of the miracles because the whole countryside
(50) Matt. viii. 15. (54) John iv. 46. (57) John ix. 6.
(51) Mark vi, 5. (55) Matt, viii, 7. (58) Matt, xiv, 2.
(52) Matt, xiv, 25. (56) Matt, xv, 28. (59) Matt, xxvii, 42.
(53) John xxi, 6.
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was filled with those who had been cured by
Christ. On one occasion an official inquest was
deliberately organized to test the fact/ 60 ’ the case
being the cure of the man born blind. This is
one of the most dramatic passages in the New
Testament, and like the denial of St. Thomas it
serves to throw into high relief the solid founda-
tion of reality upon which rest all the miracles
of Christ.
The noble serenity and perfect simplicity with
which Christ performed them are in striking
contrast with the labors and futile efforts of
Spiritists. His groans at Lazarus’ grave were
entirely independent of the miracle. 161 ’ In no
sense was it an indication of a medium passing
under control, but merely an expression of his
deep and abiding sorrow for the grief stricken
family, a touching incident of the wondrously
delicate and finely attuned human nature of
Christ. He performed his miracles as easily as
we do ordinary actions. For him to raise the
dead to life was the same as to wake them from a
tranquil sleep/ 62 ’ Hence from beginning to end
of his miracles, stretching through the years of
(60) John ix. 1. (61) John xi, .88. (68) John xi. 12.
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Spiritism
his public life, there is no effort, no hesitation,
no uncertainty. His language always is modest
and reserved, a word, a gesture, and the deed is
done. All of his prodigies were performed with
a superhuman poise and dignity, and assurance
of the possession of inherent divine power as
his personal prerogative, and with a high and
lofty purpose in view— the manifestation of eter-
nal truth. Between the exalted message of
Christ to fallen humanity which he came to heal,
save and restore, and the message of modem
Spiritists there is an abyss that is impassable. The
chieftains of the spiritistic forces now admit that
Spiritualism has forfeited considerable because
it has not organized its position into a moral,
ethical, intellectual or spiritual force for the re-
demption of individual and social life. It has no
supreme and consoling message for humanity.
It has concentrated interest almost exclusively on
communication with the dead and the survival
after death. We search in vain through the
vague and indefinite records of Spiritistic
seances for any tangible religious or moral doc-
trine. There is none to be found that we did not
know ages ago, and this reveals its utter weak-
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ness to establish itself as a practical every day
working basis for a new religion. All the mir-
acles of Christ were performed quietly, unos-
tentatiously, no matter what the nature of the
miracle he performed, whether it was cleansing
the leper, searching the hidden thoughts of the
heart, restoring sight to the blind, walking the
waves, calming the tempest, driving out the
demons, feeding of the multitude, restoring a
withered hand, or raising the dead to life.
He performed many miracles but not, how-
ever, in a prodigal manner. He always worked
within reason with superb calm and supreme
self restraint and for an object of a high moral
character, as well as a supreme necessity in the
physical order. For instance, he multiplied the
loaves, but ordered the fragments to be gathered
lest anything go to waste. He performed no
miracles during the first thirty years of his life,
and this wondrous self restraint is in itself a
miracle of self-abasement when we compare the
character of the miracles of Christ with Spirit-
istic phenomena. The latter are produced with-
out aim, without object, without reason, without
purpose, in a reckless, haphazard fashion. Nor
5
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can it be urged against Christ’s miracles that
they were performed in the presence of an igno-
rant multitude and that no commission of
learned men, university professors or scientists
stood by to investigate them.
It is not necessary to have a commission of
scientists to pass upon the plain, obvious, evident,
historical fact of a miracle. Facts are verified,
not by the learned exclusively, but by the testi-
mony of reliable witnesses. Miracles belong to
the moral order, and we cannot apply to the
moral order the forms, rules, methods and pro-
cedure applying to another and entirely different
order. Miracles are historical facts, and it is
necessary to treat them as such. Historical facts
cannot be subjected to an experimental verifica-
tion such as we employ in physics or chemistry,
for this would be equivalent to changing history
into a natural science ; it would be tantamount to
a complete revolution of its character and re-
verse all the rules of historical criticism. The
ordinary plain people endowed with integrity
and common sense have eyes to see and ears to
hear, and that equipment is sufficient for them to
verify an historical fact. To subject historical
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facts to a commission of learned men is on a par
with awaiting the decision of a commission of
professors before deciding that Germany was
defeated along the Marne. The American
armies composed of ordinary young American
soldiers who pushed back the German legions in
the Argonne needed no scientific commission to
tell them that they won the war.
Too much attention should not be paid to the
opinion of Physical Scientists who are now de-
voting considerable attention to Spiritism.
Physical Scientists have no business with the
spiritual world at all : they have no instruments
tz solve the problems of the next life. Science
is of the earth, earthy, and it must confine itself
to its proper sphere. It is the business of the
Theologian to discuss problems concerning the
Soul and the future life. Physical science is con-
cerned with the sensible world, with the
phenomena which we see, hear and handle,
touch, or weigh, in short, with the phenomena
which meet the senses. It is occupied exclu-
sively with matter and it can never invade the
domain of mind. It is quite evident, therefore,
that Theology is just what Science is not. The-
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ology is occupied, not with the finite, but with
the Infinite, not with the creature, but with the
Creator. Theological Science and Physical
Science are contrary the one to the other; each
of them has a method of its own.
What is known in Christianity is just that
which is revealed, and nothing more; certain
truths communicated directly from above are
committed to the keeping of the Church and to
the very last nothing can really be added to those
truths. From the time of the Apostles to the end
of the world no strictly new truth can be added
to the theological information which the Apos-
tles were charged to preach to all nations by
Our Saviour. It is possible, of course, to make
numberless deductions from the original doc-
trines, but as the conclusion is ever in the prem-
ises, such deductions are not strictly speaking an
addition. Physical Science proceeds along the
path of experiment and induction; Theology is
traditional and no laboratory work is required —
we know now all that God has revealed. Physics
is progressive and always reaching out for new
fields; Theology in comparison is fixed, station-
ary, anchored. Content with developing its re-
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vealed riches, Theology is ever looking to the
past; Physical Science has visions of the future.
Therefore the widely heralded opinions of
Physical Scientists are not entitled to any great
respect when they touch upon the domain of
Theology.
The rise and spread of the craze for Spiritistic
communication is but another evidence of the
vacillation of the human mind, once it cuts loose
from its anchorage to eternal truth. Truth is
ever one and the same; whereas error is varied
and multiform. It is always the same truth that
must be opposed to error, but it is never the
same error to which we must oppose truth;
hence age old truths must be constantly restated
in fresh terms to repulse the ever changing
kaleidoscopic forms of error. Moreover, error
is always rushing from one extreme to the other,
and within the memory of living men we have a
series of examples to corroborate the oscillation
to which the human mind is subject once it lets
slip its hold on divine and Christian faith. For
instance: A few generations ago, the whole of
the so-called scientific world was worshipping at
the shrine of Materialism. Scientists, intoxicated
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Spiritism
with the splendid discoveries in the realms of
physical science, were tempted to push their con-
clusions to the extreme of saying that there is
nothing spiritual at all in man or in the universe;
they denied not only the existence of the human
soul, but its immortality as well, and they scoffed
at any future life at all.
Of course, a recoil was to be expected from
this extreme view; it was false, and the reaction
was bound to come. It came sooner than was ex-
pected, and took the shape of still another ex-
treme view. The pendulum of error speedily
swung to the opposite pole. Christian Science
rose upon the horizon. It denied the existence
of matter and repudiated everything for which
Materialistic Philosophy had stood during the
previous generation. Now a third oscillation is
being observed throughout the world. A reac-
tion has taken place against the extreme phi-
losophy of Christian Science, which denies the
material world entirely, and we have a new
heresy, Spiritism, which utterly repudiating
Materialism, and crying from the housetops the
iniquity of any one who denies the soul, none the
less admits the body, but claims the soul lives on
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after death, even to the extent that we are able to
communicate almost at will with discarnate
spirits.
One can only reflect upon the next phase
of error which is to seize the human mind when
the inevitable reaction against the craze of
Spiritism takes place. In the midst of all this
ebb and flow of human thought concerning man
and his destiny, stands the Church of Christ, ever
one and the same, teaching today the self-same
doctrines as she ever taught, unchanging and un-
changeable, amid the ruins and wrecks of the
false theologies and philosophies that have risen,
flourished and fallen during close upon twenty
centuries.
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CHAPTER III
SPIRITISM ATTACKS CHRIST
“Dearly beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits if
they be of God: because many false prophets are gone out into
the world. By this is the spirit of God known. Every spirit
which confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of
God.”
“Neither let there be found among you any one that seeketh
the truth from the dead.” (2)
According to Spiritists, Christ is not God; he
is only one closer to God than the rest of us mor-
tals. He is the Christ Spirit, merely one of
legions of similar spirits. Spiritists think they
have shown quite enough reverence and homage
to the Son of God when they reluctantly admit
he is a perfect man. None the less he is only a
man, shorn of all Divine character and power, a
mere creature, like the balance of mankind, and
not the great Infinite Eternal Divine Creator, as
Scripture and history alike reveal him to us.
It is an interesting study to follow the working
out and development of a false idea in Theology.
A few hours devoted to an inquiry into the rise,
(1; I John iv, 1.
(2) Deut.xviii, 10.
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growth, dissolution and decay of all the heresies
against Christianity during the last nineteen
centuries, would save the leaders and followers
of Spiritism from many perils. All the truths of
Christianity are so intimately bound together
that they form one perfect whole. None of them
can be denied without shaking the entire struc-
ture ; none can be removed, or passed over with-
out destroying the integrity and essence of the
Religion of Christ. Hence a repudiation even
of one single truth in Christian teaching speedily
paves the way for more denials and for the re-
jection of still other truths, until finally the
whole edifice crumbles. This is the phenomenon
we are observing in the attempt to develop
Spiritistic doctrines into a religious system.
Once the Divinity of Christ is denied, a whole
train of fearful consequences is the immediate
result, consequences which were never dreamed
of by those who attempted to erect a religious
edifice on so slender a foundation. What a
strange set of beings these Spiritists are! They
tell us they have come to give a firmer basis to
historic Christianity, and in the same breath
they deny the Divinity of Christ. Historic
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Spiritism
Christianity without the Divine Christ is a sort
of Christianity with which history has not up to
this time been familiar. It is a sort of Chris-
tianity that Christ would not approve. “He
that is not with me, is against me,” he says. (S)
Spiritists are against the Divine Christ, there-
fore they are in every truth the “Anti Christ”
of whom the sacred writer speaks in such terms
of solemn warning.
It is not necessary at this late date to write a
treatise on the various proofs to substantiate the
Divinity of Christ. The elementary text books
on Christianity are filled with such arguments.
In them any seeker after truth will find devel-
oped in full detail the many cogent reasons
compelling the human mind to assent to the
great truth which is the very heart and soul of
the Christian Religion. Christ amply proved
his Divinity by being the perfect fulfillment of
all the ancient prophecies written concerning
him; predictions written more than a long
thousand years in advance of his birth ; prophetic
utterances that give with the most minute detail
the intimate circumstances of his life, passion,
(3) Matt. xii. 80.
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sufferings, death, resurrection, the founding of
his Church, and the miracles he worked while
on earth. And all this occurred a thousand years
and more before his appearance on earth, mak-
ing Christ the one solitary and unique instance
in history of a person whose biography was writ-
ten ages before he was born. This is why Christ
refers the doubting Jews to the Scriptures, sug-
gesting that they search their own sacred rec-
ords / 41 for they already gave eloquent testimony
to his Divinity. This is why St. Matthew uses
that celebrated and oft repeated Scriptural
formula. “Now all this was done that it might
be fulfilled that which the Lord spoke by the
prophet, saying.”' 5 ’ When Christ performed a
miracle, or preached a sermon, or held a conver-
sation or engaged in any other great act, St.
Matthew usually calls attention to the fact that
the very instance he is recording was foretold
centuries before by the prophets of the Old Law.
Hence the fulfillment of all those old predic-
tions is not only one of the evidences of Christ
being God, but it is evidence for the divine
origin of the Bible, for none but God can foretell
(4) John vii, 52.
(5) Matt, i, 22.
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the future / 81 arid none but a divine book could
record it in advance — yet Spiritists repudiate
both of these fundamental Christian doctrines.
Christ performed all manner of miracles and
he appealed to these miracles as a proof of his
divinity. (7) The preceding chapter gives in de-
tail some of the many instances where Christ
manifested his power over the chained and
otherwise unalterable laws of nature, proving
them to be plastic in his hands, as he was the
author of nature, to whom all things were easy.
Christ made many predictions, not merely about
others, but also concerning himself and the
Church which he founded. He foretells events
of the most personal nature, all of which were
accurately verified in those who were immedi-
ately associated with them. He speaks in ad-
vance of the various tragic incidents connected
with his passion, death, burial, and the progress
of his Church. Not only this, but in the greatest
of all his surpassing miracles, his Resurrection,
he displays the full extent of his power as God.
This it is that makes St. Paul cry out: “If Christ
be not risen again, your faith is vain.” (8) Thus,
(6) Matt, xxiv, 36. (7) Matt, xi, 6. (8) I Cor. xv, 14.
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the Resurrection is the very kernel of Chris-
tianity; without it our faith is meaningless; with
it, all is coherent.
Christ worked miracles to prove his Divinity,
but there is a special characteristic about his
miracles that makes his Divinity shine out re-
splendently. It is the manner in which he per-
formed them. He wielded infinite power, and
he held it in leash. He could have annihilated
his enemies yet he refrained. Possessed of infin-
ite power, Christ might well have terrified those
with whom he came in contact, yet he never in-
voked his infinite strength in his own behalf.
He was utterly unselfish in its use. To hold
nature’s laws in his hand and to wield them at
pleasure would have a tendency to repel, rather
than attract, others. Men always fear the pos-
session of unlimited power because it may be
exercised against them instead of being em-
ployed to their advantage. Hence the marvel-
ous self restraint of Christ’s power is Divine.
Even his enemies acknowledged that the posses-
sion of such power made it possible to work in-
calculable harm, yet they recognized this self
restraint so much that they even provoked him
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to exercise it in his own behalf and he declined.
Christ proclaimed in a hundred ways that he
was God. We must not forget that all past his-
tory is unanimous in admitting that Christ was
perfect. Spiritists themselves preach this. In
him was found no flaw; his honesty, his sincerity,
his goodness, his virtue, are admitted even by the
most inveterate foes of Christianity, and his hu-
mility stands out triumphant as one of the crown-
ing virtues of his life. But, let it be asked, was
Christ possessed of any of these virtues if he be
not God? Could any one possessed of any virtue
at all claim he was God unless he was actually
so? Could you, dear reader, pronounce yourself
to be God, and claim to be humble?
Christ always proposed the highest standard
of morality. Never is there in him a confession
of any unworthiness. He claims to be God. He
challenges his audience to accuse him of sin. <9>
And in striking contrast with this is the humble
confession of weakness and sin on the part of
every other great teacher in the world. No mat-
ter how exalted or virtuous human beings have
been in all the vanished ages, whether Pagan,
(9) John viii, 46.
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Jewish or Christian, they always shrank from
any claim to perfection. The holiest souls are
the ones most alive to the consciousness of their
own personal sins. Yet this is precisely what
Christ never manifests ; he claims to be a model
for all mankind. Therefore, he must be God,
for none other but God would have dared to do
this. The men in Christendom most conspicu-
ous for the sanctity of their lives are precisely the
ones who have been noted for their self accusa-
tion ; yet Christ never once in all his career con-
fesses the need of pardon; never does he
acknowledge the slightest blemish. In the case
of a human being this would be the most con-
summate pride; in Christ, however, in whom
humility was raised to an infinite degree, his as-
sertion of his Divinity must be taken as true.
Christ is God by reason of the manner in
which he taught during his public life. He
condemns in the severest terms the doctrines pro-
pounded by the most influential leaders among
the Jews. He assumes a higher position than
any one ever took among the chosen people,
divinely sent though they were. He does more
than this, and it is the most daring thing in all
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Spiritism
the world’s history. He passes in review the
acts and decrees of the Old Law, changes them,
alters them at his pleasure or approves theml
Think of it! ! His constant formula was “It was
said to them of old — but I say unto you.” (10)
Could any but God have done this? How dif-
ferent is the language of the prophets? They
have a mission direct from God, and they con-
stantly acknowledge the author of their mission.
They speak nothing of themselves. Their
formula was “Thus saith the Lord,” whereas,
Christ constantly speaks in his own name, with
an imperious command and with an authority
vested in his own Divine personality.
Christ preaches himself. He does not look
to one higher than himself as the author of his
message; he is no mere instrument or mouth-
piece of a superior. He calls himself the light of
the darkened world .' 111 He says clearly that he
is the only way by which men may reach
heaven.' 12 ’ He solemnly declares that he alone
is the truth that can satisfy the cravings of the
human soul. <13> He cries out in tones still ring-
ing down the ages that all who would have life,
(10) Matt. V. 27-28. (12) John xiv. 5.
(11) John vui, 12. (13) John xiv, 6.
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and who would really live forever, must have
that life imparted by himself. 114 ’ He is the very
Bread of Life, without which there is no liv-
ing. (16) He is the Good Shepherd/ 16 ’ nay, the very
door of the sheepfold. 117 ’ He is the true vine, the
life tree of regenerate humanity/ 18 ’ and he claims
to be the awful judge of the entire human race.
In other words, “he will proceed to return at the
end of the world to discharge an office involving
such discernment of the thoughts and intents of
the heart of each one of the millions at his feet,
that the imagination recoils in sheer agony from
the task of seriously contemplating the assump-
tion of these duties by any created intelligence.”
Only God can judge humanity, and Christ’s dec-
laration of judicial authority over all the world
is evidence of his Divinity. Christ sets up an
imperious claim to rule the entire soul of man.
He commands, not merely invites, discipleship.
He wants not merely man’s energies, his time,
his money, his ability, some portion of his af-
fections, he wants the whole heart and soul. He
wants all of man. His cry is “Follow me.” His
message is to be received wholly and unre-
(14) John xiv, 6. (16) John x, 11. (18) John xv. 1.
(16) John vi. 86. (17) John x. 9.
6
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servedly under the pain of eternal loss. Noth-
ing can intervene between him. He will allow
no rival claim. “He that loveth father or
mother more than me is not worthy of me.” (19)
Could any but God have set up this claim over
the human heart?
In addition to all this, Christ places himself
on a par with God by claiming a power equal to
God and by demanding for himself the homage
and worship of mankind, due to God alone. He
claims a right to break the God-given Sabbath,
placing himself on a level with God the Father,
and the miracle he performs on the Sabbath day
he does distinctly as his own work, by his own
authority and in his own name. He is no mere
delegate, acting for another. He claims that
whatever the Father does, he also does. <20) “I
and the Father are one.” <21 ’ He is conscious of
an eternal pre-existence, antedating his human
life on earth. His knowledge extends backwards
throughout a boundless eternity/ 22 * He con-
stantly speaks as One on whom time has no effect.
The Sanhedrin accused him of making himself
the Son of God (23) and yet before them he did not
(19) Matt x, 37. (21) John x, 30. (28) John xix, 7.
(20) John v. 19. (22) John viii. 52.
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deny it, nor explain his language in any other
than its most obvious meaning, admitting in the
most positive, formal and explicit manner that
he was in very truth the Son of God, and did
not repudiate this plain construction put upon
his words both by his friends and foes. •
If Christ be not God, is he really humble and
sincere after all the manifold evidences of self-
assertion on his part? Christ wants us to love
him, obey him, live for him, die for him, reject
all else but him; he claims to be the universal
teacher and saviour of men. Is he humble if
he demands all this? Hence, none but God
could do so. Say Christ is God, and all is intel-
ligible; if he is not God, then all of the Bible is
a mockery and a defense in its behalf an hypoc-
risy, and Christ is (sit venia verbo) the worst
charlatan and greatest fraud, cheat and impostor
of all history. There is therefore no middle
ground — either Christ is God or he was a
rogue or he was insane, which is obviously out
of keeping with his well balanced thoughts,
words and actions.
In substantiation of the fact that a repudiation
of one of the truths of Christianity speedily re-
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suits in a denial of all, we have as a consequence
of the rejection of the Divinity of Christ a num-
ber of conclusions that to the Christian mind are
startling. They deny the fact of original sin;
they ridicule the idea that man fell from grace;
they spurn the Scriptural account of the sin of
Adam and Eve by calling it a baseless figment of
the imagination ; they repudiate the lapse of our
grand first parents from a state of primal inno-
cence. Once started on a path of negation such
as this, we may be prepared for the most surpris-
ing conclusions leading to still further denials.
The results of this initial error in Theology are
so tremendous and so far reaching that if there
were no fall, what becomes of the Atonement, of
the Redemption? What is left of a large part,
if not the whole of historic Christian Theology?
To hack away at the keystone of the arch of
Christianity in this fashion is to cause the whole
edifice to totter. Christianity must be taken in
its entirety or not at all. We cannot pursue an
elective course in Religion. Christ ordered us
in tones indicative of stern command to “observe
all things whatsoever, ” <24> he had taught us, not
(24) Matt, xxviii, 19.
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one or two or a few. It is all or none. The
Spiritists are fond of quoting in St. Paul to sup-
port their strange doctrines. They will not ob-
ject, therefore, when we also quote their favorite
author to disprove their statements. “In Adam
all die” <28) he cries out, “wherefore, as by one
man, sin entered into this world, and by sin
death, and so death passed upon all men, in
whom all have sinned.”* 28 ’ If man never sinned
according to the Spiritists, what need was there
for Christ to suffer and die? Hence we quickly
find them telling us that Christ did not come
upon earth to take away the sins of the world in
spite of our Saviour’s explicit statement to the
contrary. “I came not to call the just but sin-
ners.” (27) They further inform us that the In-
carnation and Sufferings and Death of Jesus
Christ were in no sense an atonement for the sins
of man.” In short, that so far as Redemption is
concerned Christ might just as well have not
come upon earth. To which St. Paul enters this
denial ; “We were reconciled to God by the death
of his Son.”* 28 ’ St. Paul of all authorities is the
one to whom Spiritists should not appeal.
(25) I Cor. XT. 22. (27) Matt ix, 13.
(26) Rom. v, 19. (28) Rom. v t 10.
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Spiritism
St. John tells us that God loved us so much,
that he sent his only begotten Son as a holo-
caust for us; <28) yet Spiritists can see no justice in
a vicarious sacrifice nor in the God who could be
placated by such means. Calvary and its awful
Sacrifice that has formed the very center of the
affections and worship of the most of Christen-
dom for 1900 years is insulted, rejected, and cast
aside in the new Spiritistic Revelation, — for
they tell us frankly that the Crucifixion of Christ
was not of great importance; indeed too much is
made of Christ’s death. In other words, Holy
Thursday, Good Friday, The Way of the Cross,
the awful days of the Passion and the tragedy of
Golgotha mean nothing to Spiritists, and it is by
doctrines so shocking to the Christian conscience
that Spiritists are to give a firmer basis to his-
toric Christianity and to add new lustre to
Christ’s teachings!!
Since Christ’s death is of no importance to
Spiritists, we can be prepared for their no less
astounding opinion concerning his Resurrection
from the dead and his many appearances thereaf-
ter. This stupendous miracle is swiftly reduced
(29) John IS, 16.
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to the level of mere natural phenomena, one of
the numerous sensory automatisms so familiar to
those accustomed to seances, and the many ap-
pearances recorded after the Resurrection are to
be attributed to Spiritistic activity since appari-
tions are customary in the production of psychic
phenomena. St. Paul devotes an entire chapter
in his first Epistle to the Corinthians to extolling
the benefits accruing to mankind because of
Christ’s having risen from the dead, and pictur-
ing for us the woes that would have befallen us
had he not done so. “And if Christ be not risen
again,” he says, “then is our preaching vain, and
your faith is also vain.” 130 ’ “God hath raised up
Christ.”' 31 ’ In spite of this, Spiritists attack this
great truth by saying that the placing of em-
phasis upon the Resurrection of Christ was the
great mistake of Christianity.”
It is too late in the centuries to accuse Chris-
tianity of making a mistake. Spiritists call into
question the fact of the Resurrection. Yet for
1900 years the Resurrection has been one of the
“fixed facts” of history, and it argues no small
degree of presumption and arrogance to deny it.
(80) I Cor. XT, 17.
(81) I Cor. XT, 16.
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The Resurrection is looked upon by all Chris-
tians as the dominant proof of the divinity of the
mission and teaching of Christ. It set a heavenly
seal upon his life and work. It is a demonstra-
tion adapted to the capacity and understanding
of all classes whatever their intelligence. Hav-
ing proved that Christ died, and has come to life
again by his own power, without the aid of astral
matter or psychic stuff borrowed from the gar-
dener or any other person, there is absolutely
no escape from the conclusion that he is really
God. It is inconceivable that God would allow
such an imposition upon humanity as to permit
of a falsifier to work such a prodigy, especially
when such a miracle was foretold and appealed
to in advance as the very crown of his divinity.
Hence God’s honor is involved in the Resur-
rection of Christ. If Christ be not risen from
the dead by his own power, then humanity
should have nothing to do with God for allow-
ing the human race to be deceived in this fashion.
Christ not only foretold his own Resurrection,
but the Apostles appeal to it constantly in their
preaching. When there is a vacancy in the
Apostolic group, to fill the place of the traitor
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Judas, the qualities demanded of the new can-
didate are that he shall not only be a witness to
the life and death of Christ, but to his Resur-
rection as well. <32) The attempt of Spiritists to
explain the Resurrection upon purely natural
and psychic grounds is one of the few attempts
during the last 1900 years of the enemies of
Christianity to find such an explanation. Hith-
erto the customary attitude of Christ’s foes has
been to deny the Resurrection entirely. Atheists,
agnostics, infidels, — all realized the accumulated
weight of evidence was so tremendous that there
was no possible escape from either admitting the
fact and its consequent divine and miraculous
character, or else denying it in its totality. There
was no middle course. It remained for modern
Spiritism to evolve this new and fantastic ex-
planation.
There can be no question that Christ was dead
when he was placed in the tomb. St. John ex-
pressly tells . us that he died (34) on the cross, and
the other Evangelists give the same testimony.
The atrocious tortures that he endured before
being crucified would in themselves have been
(32) Acts i. 22. (33) I Cor. xv, 14-17. (34) John xix, 33.
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sufficient to kill him; the marvel was that he
lived three hours hanging in agony on the Cross,
a form of punishment that the great Jewish his-
torian, Josephus, tells us was in itself sufficient to
cause death. The Roman soldiers who were sent
for the express purpose of bringing about his
speedy death by breaking his legs did not do so,
for the simple reason that this was unnecessary,
Christ being already dead. The piercing of his
side with a lance by Longinus was in itself
enough to cause death at that moment, and Pilate
did not give the body of Christ to Joseph of
Arimathea until he had officially received the
proof of Christ’s death from the Centurion in
command of the troops. The Jews themselves
were convinced of his death, else they would not
have demanded a guard over the tomb. So we
see on all sides, and from all classes, a unanimous
conviction of the certain death of our Saviour.
Yet, suddenly nature is conquered, and his-
tory reverses itself. After three days, Christ
who was dead reveals himself full of life, and
this fact is attested by a large number of wit-
nesses, worthy of belief. They did not see him
in sleep, or during a dream, or at night, but in
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broad daylight, when they were in full posses-
sion of all their faculties ; they heard his words,
received his commands, touched him, felt his
pierced hands and feet and put their fingers into
his open wounds; they even reclined at the table
and ate with him. During a period of 40 days
this continued, under the most varied circum-
stances, in a great variety of conditions, and
among all classes of people. He was seen close
to the tomb, in the garden; on the road to
Emmaus, in the upper room, on the shore of the
lake, on the mount of Olives and elsewhere. He
was seen not only by the holy women, but by
men as well, by St. Peter, and the disciples at
Emmaus; then by all the Apostles gathered to-
gether, by that famous skeptic St. Thomas who
wished more evidence than the others; nor was
he denied it. Then to seven of the Apostles on
the shore of the lake, and finally in Galilee, when
there was an assemblage of five hundred of his
Apostles and disciples, most of whom were liv-
ing when St. Paul wrote his celebrated Epistles
to the Corinthians/ 351 an appeal to their testi-
mony as a proof of the Resurrection of his Lord
(35) I Cor. XV. 6.
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and Master. In all these apparitions of Christ
there was no dark room, no dim ruby light, no
medium, no cabinet, no complicated apparatus,
no table tilting, no spirit rapping; no automatic
writing; no direct voice manifestation, nothing
in short that characterizes modern mediums and
Spiritistic seances. The characteristic of Modern
Spirit materializations is that usually they occur
only a few feet distant from the medium, and
they are ordinarily visible only for a few min-
utes at a time and in a darkened room. Whereas
the appearances of Christ after the Resurrection
were at varying distances, often considerable
ones, and they were visible for a long period of
time in the sunlight. The Apostles and disciples
not only saw Christ, talked with him, broke
bread with him, and visited with him, but they
were so convinced of the reality of the Resurrec-
tion that they willingly laid down their lives for
the truth of their belief. No one at all familiar
with the history of Christ and his dealings with
the Apostles can accuse them of being credulous,
and easily persuaded. On the contrary, they
were hard to convince, and unwilling to make an
act of faith. Hence, this new attitude on their
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part, even to giving up their lives as martyrs for
their faith in Christ’s Resurrection is a proof of
the highest order.
Still another effect of Spiritists to discredit
and deny this miraculous element in the life of
Christ is found in their attributing to psychic
phenomena the celebrated miracle of Our Sav-
iour walking on the water, related in detail by
three of the Evangelists and the very clear ac-
count of it in the Gospels is alleged to be due to
the fact that the sacred writers were quite
familiar with psychic apparitions and spirit-
istic phenomena.' 38 ’ But no sane man could utter
such a calumny. A simple reading of the Gos-
pel narrative shows that Christ appeared to the
Apostles in the early morning, there was no
spiritistic apparatus, no medium, no darkened
enclosure, no cabinet, no trance, no hypnotism,
no hallucination. It was on the high seas; the
Apostles were frightened, therefore they were
not accustomed to the production of spiritistic
phenomena. The apparition was no usual affair,
as is alleged, hence their trepidation. More-
over, Christ spoke to them, and actually entered
(86) Matt. xiv. 22.
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the ship with them, so that it was no phantom —
no ghost — but Christ himself. To attempt con-
sequently to place this or any other miracle of
Christ in the category of spiritistic phenomena
is neither science or religion, but a studied effort
to discredit Christianity and to attack its great
central stronghold, the divine personality of its
Founder.
Consistent with its avowed policy of explain-
ing every event in the life of Christ from a spirit-
istic standpoint, we are treated to this highly
novel account of the well known triple tempta-
tion of Christ by Satan (87) which is referred to as
a travelling clairvoyance, a phenomenon, we are
told, quite common with spiritistic mediums, and
by which the soul leaves the body and travels to
the places represented in the vision. It is a sort
of globe trotting soul, in a half dreamy state,
with no objective representation at all. This
fantastic account shows to what lengths Spiritists
are ready to go in discrediting Holy Scripture.
No effort is too far fetched to use against Christ.
For Spiritists the Bible is no longer the Word of
God in the sense that historical Christians be-
es?) Luke iv, 1.
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lieve it to be inspired; it is merely a form of
automatic writing, tainted with the mentality of
the mediums cooperating therein, and conse-
quently the Bible contains misstatements and
errors. Shocking as this is to the devout
Christian mind, it is the only possible conclusion
from the spiritistic premises, and it should put
us on our guard against the new sect, that on the
pretense of proving the soul’s immortality, is
undermining the entire fabric of historic Chris-
tianity by actually or virtually, either explicitly
or implicitly, denying every doctrine of the
Christian faith.
Spiritist authorities assure us that Christ se-
lected his Apostles and disciples for no other
reason than that they were good mediums, pos-
sessed of unusual psychic powers. Out of all the
multitudes from whom he might select his com-
panions he chose twelve men. <88) Why these
particular ones? It was not for their intelli-
gence or learning, say the Spiritists, for Peter
and John, who were among the most prominent,
were expressly described as unlearned and igno-
rant men. It was not for their virtue, for one of
(38) Matt. tv. 18.
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Spiritism
them proved to be a traitor. It was not for their
unwavering faith, for there were great numbers
of earnest believers. And yet Spiritists claim
they were chosen on some subtle principle since
they were called in ones and in twos. In at least
two cases they were pairs of brothers, as though
some family psychic gift or peculiarity might
underlie the choice. In other words, we are
told by the Psychic Research Propagandists that
the quality which determined their choice by
Christ was this — that they were good Psychics,
and Christ, the greatest medium who has ever
appeared upon earth, desired to surround him-
self with others who possessed similar qualities.
But this is mere gratuitous assumption. Never
since rational man existed on earth has pure as-
sumption risen to the height of proof. It is a
violation of the elementary rules of logic to as-
sume as already proven the very point in
argument, yet this method is customary at every
step and is on par with the whole Spiritistic pro-
fession. Christ never, in any way, at any time,
gave any indication whatsoever of being directly
or indirectly engaged in the production of
Spiritistic phenomena. Never did he indicate
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by word of action that his followers either dur-
ing his lifetime or afterwards were chosen for
their psychic powers. Christ, the Son of God,
the omnipotent and eternal and everlasting,
never depended upon a few frail, weak human
creatures to give him some of their “psychic
strength” to enable him to perform his miracles.
Even Pentecost, the birthday of the Church,
is robbed of its supernatural significance. It
was nothing but a seance, the production of
psychic phenomena, a purely natural event.
Spiritists declare that on that historic Sunday,
the Christian leaders were all “with one accord”
in one place, and they seize upon the phrase
“with one accord” as expressing admirably those
sympathetic conditions which in psychic circles
have always been found conducive to the best
results. It is difficult to be patient with the pub-
licity agents of Spiritism. They falsify the most
obvious texts of Sacred Scripture. In this pas-
sage the whole argument is built up upon the
phrase “with one accord,” yet had a later transla-
tion of the Bible than the King James been con-
sulted the argument would have failed. The
Protestant Revised, like the Douay version, has
7
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the more accurate rendering — “all together”
meaning they were all present instead of “with
one accord” — so does the Latin and Greek orig-
inal. Is this an honest method of founding a
New Religion? Is this a Scientific way to add
new splendor to the Religion of Christ? Is it
ethical to deliberately distort texts in this fash-
ion to support a thesis? The gift of tongues
verified at Pentecost is lightly waived aside by
saying that in seances Mediums frequently
speak unknown trance tongues. The remarka-
ble difference is that mediums speak while in a
trance, whereas at Pentecost there was no trance
condition verified among the Apostles. Further,
mediums in a trance state act in an automatic
manner; they are in a condition of passivity,
without initiative, without volition, without con-
trol; whereas conditions the very reverse of this
are to be noted at Pentecost, where the Apostles
manifested a degree of high activity; they were
the masters of the situation ; they knew what they
were about, and they addressed themselves reso-
lutely to their task with the utmost energy.
Moreover, in a trance condition, mediums have
no clear knowledge of their utterances; nor do
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they direct the course of their thoughts. Whereas
the Apostles at Pentecost had a connected view
and grasp of their subject, and in well ordered
fashion set out to achieve it. In addition to all
this, a further variation must be observed. The
gift of tongues in the Apostles was external and
outside of them, in persons whom they addressed,
the effect having taken place upon the minds of
their audience of several thousand, whereas in
the medium the effect is internal, within the me-
dium who speaks a strange tongue. Hence all
through the weary effort of following Spiritistic
claims, we find upon investigation only a super-
ficial parallel that is nothing else than a travesty
upon historic Christianity; it is a caricature
that Spiritism presents to us, a counterfeit, noth-
ing real or substantial in the way of paralleling
genuine Christian miracles. Thus the whole
character and value of the miracle of Pentecost
is misconceived by writers on Spiritism. St.
Luke tells us expressly “Every man heard them
speak in his own tongue, ” (39) — and he emphasizes
the names of the nations present putting before
us the expressions employed by the vast audience
from the ends of the earth.
(39) Acts ii, 6.
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“We have heard them speak in our own
tongues the wonderful works of God .”* 401
There is here no question of dark lantern
methods, no seance room mysteries, no curtained
cabinets, no table tilting, no spirit rapping, no
hysterical mediums, no trance, no selected few
who were sympathetic, no psychic circle, no
holding of hands, no suggestions, no hypnotism,
no clairaudience, no direct voice. It is the plain
open air, out of doors — where “The multitude
came together .” 1411 The crowd was in a doubting
rather than in a receptive mood, they demanded
proof, and the proof was immediately fur-
nished by St. Peter in his address to that many
tongued population — “Parthians and Medes,
and Elamites and inhabitants of Mesopotamia,
Judea, and Cappodocia. Pontus and Asia,
Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of
Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome.
Jews also, and Proselytes, Cretes and Arabians.”
Peter spoke and the doubters were convinced,
“and there were added in that day about three
thousand souls.” (42)
The miracle of Pentecost was at once a physi-
(40) Acts ii. 11. (41) Acts ii, 6. (42) Acts ii, 41.
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cal and a moral miracle. One hundred
and twenty persons were present/®’ and it
resulted in a complete transformation of their
character. Previously they had been cowards,
hesitating, doubtful ; now they became bold
and zealous, braving all dangers, even death
for their crucified and resurrected Master.
What has Spiritism to offer in comparison
with this? Having destroyed as they think
the very essence of Christianity the Spiritists
proceed steadily attacking every doctrine that
stands in their path. Everything sacred must be
explained in accordance with their Spiritistic
theory. Once upon a time in respectable circles
Science was built upon facts; it had to fit the
evidence and square with the phenomena on
every side. Now modern Scientists reverse the
natural scientific processes of centuries and try
to make the facts fit their preconceived theory.
This results in distorting, truncating, evading,
minimizing, denying facts, however well proven,
just as it suits their unchristian purposes. By
these methods Spiritists are prostituting not
only religion but they are prostituting Science.
(43) Acts i. 15.
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According to Spiritism, the Sacrament of Bap-
tism is no regenerating function, cleansing the
recipient from sin and infusing supernatural
life. It is merely the reception of psychic
power. Denying sin, ridiculing the necessity of
a renewal of supernatural life, rejecting Baptism
whereby man is raised again to be a child of
God, the next step is that of doing away entirely
with the spiritual order instituted by Christ to
perpetuate his work. Hence we are treated by
Spiritists to the absolute rejection of the Sacra-
ment of Holy Orders. In the Church of Christ
the representatives of religion are made the
“ministers of God and the dispensers of the
mysteries of his grace, ” (44) but in Spiritism the
priesthood has no place — the medium takes the
place of the priest. According to the New Re-
ligion the Sacrament of Holy Orders was a mere
passing on of psychic power, and Christ differed
in no wise from any medium who is able to
charge another with psychic force.
Spiritists declare that mediums are able to
convey a power to other persons just as Christ
when he was levitated over the lake was able to
(44) I Cor. iv, 1.
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convey the same power to Peter so long as Peter’s
faith held firm. There is no case on record
where a medium has conveyed this power to any
one else. Yet it is with arguments such as this
that Spiritists wish us to deny the Divinity of
Christ. St. Paul too was a medium we are told,
a student of psychic research, and his miraculous
conversion while on his way to Damascus’ 45 ’ was
merely one of many similar incidents in the pro-
duction of Spiritistic phenomena, an apparition
of the dead, mainly an auditory one, a case of
clairaudience on the part of St. Paul having all
the features of mediumistic phenomena, both
experimental and spontaneous, although in St.
Paul’s case, they tell us, it was an event of the
first magnitude. This, it is alleged, was the be-
ginning of virile mediumship with him; from
that time on he began to recognize the phenom-
ena in all their types. The miracles to which
St. Paul refers are, it is alleged, mere psychic
phenomena, and he spoke and wrote as a spirit-
ist, manifesting a wide acquaintance with the
entire range of spiritistic phenomena. But to
this a flat denial must be entered. Even a super-
(45) Acts ix, 1-22.
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ficial perusal of any of the Epistles of St. Paul
would have revealed to any inquiring mind the
tremendous abyss between the great Apostle of
the Gentiles and modern Spiritism. St. Paul and
Psychic Research are in open and violent oppo-
sition at every turn. Indeed his whole antipathy
to Spiritistic Phenomena may be summed up in a
characteristic passage in the Acts of the Apos-
tles. (46) Like Christ himself whose ambassador
he was, St. Paul drives out the Evil one in
Christ’s name. “And it came to pass, as we
went to prayer, a certain girl, having a pythoni-
cal spirit, met us, who brought to her masters
much gain by divining. But St. Paul being
grieved, turned and said to the Spirit: “I com-
mand thee, in the name of Jesus Christ to go out
from her. And he went out the same hour.” (4T)
Were St. Paul alive today he would employ his
inspired pen and his gifted mind against the
emissaries of Satan who are roaming the world
disguised as Spiritists, as he did against the
magician of old. (48) And in this he would be but
carrying out his stern admonition to the Ephe-
sians (tt) warning them to have “No fellowship
(46) I Cor. iv, 1. (48) Acte xiii. 6.
(47) Acts xvi, 16. (49) J$ph. v, 11.
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with the unfruitful works of darkness but rather
reprove them.” Lovers of dark rooms and ob-
scure seances and curtained cabinets might
ponder on this apt command of the great St.
Paul.
Spiritists are taking out an insurance policy
against eternal loss by fire. They don’t want to
go to Hell so they are doing away with it en-
tirely. By this elimination of a highly uncom-
fortable future for sinful persons, Spiritism may
appeal to a large clientele who have little regard
for morality in its teachings. Hell drops out
altogether they tell us. It simply does not exist.
This reminds us of the remark of a sagacious
observer, who pondering on the wickedness of
the world and the apparent preponderance of
evil and the defeat of justice, cried out, “There
may possibly be a heaven but there certainly will
be a hell.”
And yet some how or other, but just how we
are not told, it may not be so happy over there,
for there is still a hint of some inconvenient sit-
uations. Some sort of Purgatory still awaits the
sinner. The idea of punishment, they tell us, or
purifying chastisement, in fact the idea of Pur-
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gatory, is justified by the reports from the other
side. Without such punishment we are assured
by Spiritists there could be no justice in the uni-
verse, for how impossible it would be to imagine
the fate of a Rasputin the same as that of a
Father Damien.
So the situation at best seems to be doubtful.
Yet there is some hope, even if there is a Hell.
Denying the Divine Christ to be the universal
Redeemer of the human race, nevertheless they
repudiate the age old expression “Out of Hell
there is no redemption,” for they teach that
there is a progressive evolution out of Hell and
its misery, a sort of wandering on and on ; a pro-
bationary period as it were, a progression to a
higher plane. But we summon all the Spiritists
in the world to bring forward one single text of
the Old or New Testament to substantiate this
endless progressive march of the soul. It is very
curious to observe the adroit way in which the
doctrine of Purgatory is insisted upon to throw
out a bait for the purpose of deceiving Catholics.
Needless to say in all of Holy Scripture or in the
great tomes containing the authentic teaching of
the Fathers and Doctors of historic Christianity
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there is not a line to substantiate this modern
Spiritistic position.
It is not surprising, therefore, after having
alleged that Christ and his apostles were me-
diums, and ancient Christianity was a perpet-
ual darkened seance, that the early followers of
Christ should have imitated their leaders, and the
Apostolic Church was filled with spiritualism,
they seeming to have paid no attention to those
Old Testament prohibitions of Spiritistic prac-
tices but lived and acted as those who cultivated
all the phenomena of Psychic Research. Evi-
dently there is not much agreement in the realm
of Psychic Research, because we are told by still
other Spiritist writers that the Apostles did not
succeed after Christ’s death as well as he did;
very few cures are recorded by them, and they
were not so conspicuous as those of Christ.
Certainly the pens that wrote statements such
as this, know nothing of the history of the Apos-
tles or of early Christianity. The texts already
quoted from St. Paul prove conclusively that the
Apostles and first Christians held no communi-
cation with evil spirits, nor did they indulge in
any form of Spiritistic communication; they
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never evoked the souls of the dead, but con-
forming to the Old Testament prohibition and
policy and example of Christ, they worked
miracles and cast out devils and warned their
followers to have nothing to do with dark room
methods.
It was necessary for the Apostles to perform
miracles to guarantee the divinity of the Chris-
tian religion, and this working of miracles was
predicted by Christ .' 501 That this forecast was
realized in the most public manner is evident
from the Acts of the Apostles, the first history
of the infant Church .' 511 Among the most strik-
ing of the innumerable miracles of the Apostles
were the healing of the lame man at the gate of
the temple , 1 1521 as well as that of the paralytic ,' 531
the healings performed by the mere shadow of
St. Peter, (54) and the deliverance of St. Peter by
an angel .' 551 We read also of the many miracles
worked by St. Paul at Ephesus and elsewhere,
even by the mere touching of handkerchiefs
brought tp him ' 561 and of the resurrection of a
young man, Eutychus, at T royas .' 571 The conver-
(50) John xiv, 12; (52) Acts iii. (55) Acts xiL
Mark xvi, 17. (53) Acts ix. (56) Acts xix.
(51) Acts v, 15. (54) Acts v. (57) Acts xx.
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sion of St. Paul alone would be sufficient to prove
the divinity of the Christian religion. It oc-
curred in daylight, and worked in him a com-
plete moral revolution. From an enemy of
Christ, he became his passionate friend and
Apostle, sealing with his life his energetic
belief in the Divinity of Christ. Christ ap-
peared to Saul, then to Ananias, then Saul was
cured of his blindness, he was baptized and re-
ceived the name of Paul, and worked ever after
with unwearied love and fidelity for the conver-
sion of the world. The reality of all these events
is testified by the full accounts in the Acts of the
Apostles.' 68 ’
During the first centuries of Christianity, the
progress of the Church was marked and en-
couraged by the continuance of the power of
performing miracles in the name of Christ. All
the Fathers and writers of this period are unani-
mous in referring to these prodigies, which oc-
curred before the eyes of the then scoffing world ;
they even invited the pagans to examine the cases
and they were challenged to deliver to them any
one possessed of a devil and they would speedily
(58) Acta ix.
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110 Spiritism
liberate the unfortunate, as Christ guaranteed.
The enemies of Christ themselves never
dreamed of denying the fact of the miracles.
They always admitted and acknowledged the
reality of the fact itself, and hence the constant
insistence of the Christian apologists that these
facts were due to the divine intervention. In the
following centuries, there is a vast number of
authentic miracles to testify to the continuance
in the Church of this power of working miracles
in the name of Christ, yet not a word is ever
uttered regarding Psychic Research, communi-
cation with the souls of the dead, or any Spirit-
istic Phenomena. The Acts of the Saints and
the great historians of the early centuries give us
an account of the striking miracles performed at
their own particular period of history and
worked under their very eyes, to which they had
been ocular witnesses. Nor has the power died
out as Spiritists would have us believe. Rome
today has a special tribunal for the examination
of all miracles and they subject every case to a
rigorous scientific scrutiny and investigation.
Before this court, the most august and competent
in the entire world, many miracles in
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the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries
were proven, which make the modern
world a parallel to the wonders operated
during the time of Christ, and prove true the
prediction of Christ that this power would never
fail. Yet in the face of all this testimony, run-
ning through nineteen centuries, we are told by
Spiritists that the teaching of Christ was in many
most important respects lost by the early Chris-
tians, and has not come down to us!!
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CHAPTER IV
SPIRITISM AT THE BAR OF REASON AND
REVELATION
“And this is the victory which overcometh the world, our
Faith.” (i)
“That henceforth we be no more children tossed to and fro,
and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the wickedness
of men, by cunning craftiness by which they lie in wait to de-
ceive.” <2)
SPIRITISM CONTRARY TO HUMAN REASON
Those who on earth were quite choice about
their company are not likely to be supremely
happy in the Spiritistic heaven where the souls
of the good and bad mingle so promiscuously as
they do in seances. Who would wish to go to
heaven if all the unrepentant villains of the earth
were there, mingling intimately with them, and
turning heaven into hell? What one believes on
earth seems to make little difference in the realms
of the Spiritistic heaven. It is quite useless to
be a Christian at all, to practice virtue, to be self-
sacrificing, to follow the counsels of perfection,
or to aim at a devout life, because murderers,
(1) I John v, 4.
(2) Eph. iv. 14.
112
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adulterers and blasphemers will get just as much
reward as those who lead an upright life. Inger-
soll, Paine, Voltaire, and Renan who spent their
lives scoffing at the divine Christ will fare just
as well as those missionaries and martyrs who
gave their lives that historic Christianity might
be propagated. If the future life must be spent
with the idiotic spirits who are manifested in the
modern seance room, then immortality has no
object. Certainly it is not an everlasting exis-
tence to which sane and saintly persons will be
attracted. Spiritism will have a tendency to de-
stroy, rather than to confirm belief in a future
life as Christians understand it, or else it will
have just the opposite tendency, namely to en-
courage those whose souls are racked with doubt
and uncertainty to commit suicide so as to arrive
at the truth which the human mind justly craves.
The spirits and mediums do not agree about
conditions in the next life. Some say they have
no hands; others indulge in athletic sports and
piano playing, they live in brick houses, there
are cigar factories there, and they get mud on
their clothes 11 So we are assured by no less
authorities than Sir Oliver Lodge and Sir Ar-
8
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114 Spiritism
thur Conan Doyle. None the less there is some
compensation for those who find “dry” America
a hardship, for the spirits assure us that there is
an abundance of whiskey and soda over there.
Prohibitionists and those of a Puritanical turn
of mind are not likely to be altogether at peace
in this spiritistic heaven where there are cigar-
ettes and the demon rum. The Spirits are rather
a dull, gross, material lot. Their conversation is
invariably of things that are not at all spiritual.
From authentic spiritistic photographs we ob-
serve that they have their pets and domestic ani-
mals in the next world. Of course some spirits
say there are no animal pets in the next life, but
this only adds to the confusion, and is one of the
very curious things about Spiritism, the lack of
unanimous consent about conditions in the future
life. The trivialities and nonsense, the obsceni-
ties and blasphemies, the lies and contradictions
of the seance room are notorious. The so-called
spirits of the great ones of the earth that are
evoked seem to forget their former existence, and
act and talk as if they were lunatics. So evident
are their lies and contradictions that Spiritistic
leaders are forced to find some excuse for the
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contradictions into which they are involved. For
instance Milton cannot scan, Shelley is unable to
make a rhymed couplet, and the Bard of Avon is
a poorly educated simpleton. But the chiefs of
the modern spiritistic cult draw a parallel be-
tween the liars on earth, and those in the next
life, warning us not to demand more hereafter
than we can secure here ! 1
Mediums claim that they can foresee the
future, yet they could not foretell the sinking of
the Titanic, on which their great admirer, Mr.
William T. Stead, was a passenger. They did
not forecast the Great War, either its beginning
or its end. They are unable to save from sickness
or financial disaster those who consult them, and
were they possessed of a vision into the future,
they would not remain poor, as most of them are.
The mediums suit themselves to the fancy of
their sitters, adapting themselves to the tastes,
habits and desires of those who consult them.
They take into account the national, racial, in-
tellectual, social and political aspirations of
various individuals and peoples. They are pious
when the devout appeal to them ; they are loving
when consulted by the affectionate, and they
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adopt a statesmanlike attitude when approached
by politicians. They are businesslike when their
wisdom is sought by merchants, brokers and
commercial leaders. They assume a learned air
with an intellectual and scientific audience, and
they do not hesitate to be vulgar and obscene
with those to whom such thoughts and language
make an appeal. In France they believe in re-
incarnation; in England they deny it, while in
Italy the favorite doctrine savors of Pantheism,
Atheism or Materialism. Thus it comes to pass
that Spiritism has a tendency to make the devil a
fool, rather than the source of all evil, which is
the historic Christian belief. Spiritists rob
Satan of his inherent and unwearied malice, and
they deceive the world into thinking that the
devil is not as bad as he is painted. Truly this is
a plan worthy of Lucifer, and in the opinion of
sagacious observers it is one of the most subtle
of all the evils of the new cult.
THE PERILS OF SPIRITISM
The physical dangers to mediums and sitters
attendant upon the cult of Spiritism have al-
ready been alluded to in previous chapters. The
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117
fact is openly admitted by friends and foes of the
new cult. But too much emphasis cannot be laid
upon the wrecked homes, the ruined lives, the
unbalanced minds, the shipwrecked careers, and
the thwarted peace and happiness of those who
became involved in this most insidious of all
modern perils.
The intellectual dangers are no less menacing.
The mind enmeshed in the experiments of the
seance room is kept in a state of anxiety and sus-
pense, constantly awaiting fresh disclosures, ever
hoping, and never having those hopes realized.
Soon all intellectual activity is crushed. Lunacy
is not infrequently the issue in some, while in
others there is a total neglect of the natural
powers of the mind, resulting in lazy, listless
habits, impairing the mental faculties and unbal-
ancing the judgment. This state of conflicting
doubt and uncertainty prevents any fixed and
settled convictions, either in religion, science, or
in the ordinary affairs of life.
Morally the practice of the new cult weakens
the will to such an extent that the result is the
fullest yielding to impulse, without strength of
character or energy to resist temptation, or an
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118 Spiritism
opportunity for the play of the normal processes
of thought and action. Thus all moral respon-
sibility perishes, and the operations of the will
are paralyzed. The mind passivity requisite in
all mediums and sitters soon becomes an open
door for the entrance of evil spirits, and as a con-
sequence we observe again the ancient phenom-
enon referred to so often in the Gospels, the
devils taking bodily hold of those who give
themselves up to spiritistic practices.
EXPLANATIONS OF SPIRITISTIC PHENOMENA
1. The most common Spiritistic interpreta-
tion of the phenomena of the seance room is that
all communications with the other world are
with the dead, the discarnate souls of human
beings who once inhabited the earth.
2. As opposed to this, there are three other
views. Some writers assert that all, or nearly all
of the phenomena of Psychic Research can be
explained by purely natural laws. They even go
so far as to say that the phenomena for which no
natural law is yet known may still be due to the
action of the unknown forces which will doubt-
less be made known by further experimentation.
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119
3. Others advance the opinion that many of
the phenomena reported are due to fraud, trick-
ery and cunning. This opinion is rapidly being
abandoned as no longer tenable. The evidence
of a great body of serious investigators whose in-
tegrity is unimpeachable prevents us from even
thinking of deliberate fraud or deception,
either by them, or upon them, extending over a
course of many years.
4. Finally there is a group of very distin-
guished investigators who admit most of the
phenomena claimed by Spiritists, but they give
an entirely different explanation of the facts ad-
duced. Spiritists claim it is the souls of the dead
who communicate with us, whereas this last
group of authorities claim it is diabolic interven-
tion, the action of unseen evil intelligences, com-
monly known as demons. There is no doubt that
some of the phenomena of Psychic Research
have been and are now due to deceit, deception,
fraud, lying, cheating and roguery, and that
some of them are due to the operation of purely
natural forces, partially known and partially un-
known, but which further investigation will
doubtless reveal to us in all its phases. Over and
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above all this, there are spiritistic phenomena
which cannot be explained either by fraud or the
operation of natural laws. To account for them
the operation of unseen, spiritual intelligences
or demons must be offered as the only explana-
tion that fits all the facts of the case.
That evil spirits, or fallen angels, exist, has
been known as long as the world has been
created. It is a fact admitted by Spiritists them-
selves. Many investigators, whether champions
or antagonists of the Spiritistic position, such
as Sir William Barrett, Doctor Carrington, Pro-
fessor Flammarion, Doctor Viollet, Doctor Lap-
poni, and Mr. Godfrey Raupert, go so far as to
say that the cases of demoniac possession spoken
of so frequently in the New Testament are par-
alleled today in many cases of modern me-
diums, where the evil spirits take possession of
human beings and employ them almost at will
for their nefarious purposes. Such for instance
are the numerous cases of automatic writing,
when the obsessed persons are compelled by the
demons to write day and night, without rest, and
to write the foulest things that can be imagined,
and against which they rebel, but in vain.
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It is sometimes difficult to convince Catholics,
who are not familiar with the literature or
phenomena of Spiritism, that the facts in the
case point unmistakably to the intervention of
unseen evil intelligences in worldly affairs, and
that they are accountable for much of the
phenomena obtained in the seance room. This
should not be. Catholics, of all persons, should
have no hesitation in believing in the existence
and nefarious activity of demons. After the
Mass, celebrated daily in countless churches
throughout the world, a public prayer is recited
to God, imploring his Divine protection against
the malice and snares of the enemy, Satan, and
the other evil spirits who prowl about the world
seeking the ruin of souls. This is a continuous
act of faith in the existence of demons, and an ex-
pression of the conviction that they can and do
harm us.
SPIRITISM CONDEMNED BY THE CHURCH
The Catholic Church has always recognized
the possibility of demoniacal possession. The
Roman Ritual, which lays down regulations for
Exorcisms that are centuries old, provides meth-
1
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122 Spiritism
ods for determining whether the obsession is by
devils or not, and formulates rules for expelling
demons. Countless times throughout the last
1900 years the Church has legislated regarding
devil worship, obsession, black magic, necro-
mancy, spiritistic practices, seances, and all other
similar methods of holding communion with the
unseen world. The Canon Law of the Church
contains innumerable references to the legisla-
tion enacted by the Ecclesiastical authorities in
Rome and elsewhere throughout the world to
guard the faithful from the evils of Spiritism.
As far back as 1585, Pope Sixtus V issued a
Constitution on the subject, in which he discusses
the whole matter, and warns Christians of its
perils. On July 28, 1847, Rome again issued a
decree warning Catholics of its dangers and pro-
hibiting them from attending seances. The eyes
of Rome are ever upon the signs of the times,
hence on March 30, 1898, we were given a fur-
ther decree by the Holy See reaffirming the
previous prohibition, taking into account new
methods of spirit communication, and forbid-
ding Catholics to practice them. Finally, by a
decree dated April 24, 1917, Rome prohibited
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The Modern Satanism
123
even a passive assistance at a spiritistic seance,
and interdicted under severe penalties even the
idle curious visiting such seances merely as a
spectator. Hence for a Catholic to practice
Spiritism, to engage in Psychic Research, to at-
tend its seances, even out of curiosity, to assist
even in a passive and indifferent way, without
any active cooperation is to run counter to the
laws of Church. It is in the eyes of Ecclesiasti-
cal authorities equivalent to paying divine honor
and tribute to departed spirits, or demons, and as
such the Church is competent to condemn it, just
as she is competent to condemn any heresy or
assault against the deposit of faith entrusted to
her by Christ.
THE SPIRITUALISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
There can be little doubt that the present
craze for communication with the unseen world
is due to a natural craving in the heart of man to
be in touch with God. Man was made for God,
and only in him can he find rest. Hence a right
knowledge of God must convince us that the re-
ligion he has established to be his representative
on earth must have within it everything calcu-
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124 Spiritism
latcd to satisfy the legitimate cravings of the
human heart. Among these insatiate longings is
the desire to know something certain about the
unseen world. The “Communion of Saints” has
been an essential part of the Catholic creed from
the very beginning of Christianity. The Church
firmly believes in the possibility of communi-
cation with the unseen, but she does it in a man-
ner utterly at variance from the dangerous meth-
ods practiced by Spiritists.
Recognizing the validity of man’s desire to
communicate with the supernatural, she has safe-
guarded this holy aspiration by wise regulations;
they are no mere arbitrary decrees, but shaped
and guided under the authority of the Holy See,
and tested by the experience of long centuries,
they have a double claim upon our interest and
our obedience. The Church has plotted the
course, laid out the lines of travel, set beacon
lights along the highway; she mounts guard over
the entire process of keeping in touch with the
next world, thus protecting her children from
the grave perils that otherwise wo.uld accompany
the seeker after a knowledge of God. That is
what Pyschic Research lacks ; it has no author-
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The Modern Satanism 125
ized control ; it has no traditions, no precedents,
no tribunal set up to supervise those who are its
devotees, and as a consequence there is nothing
but subjectivism, egotism, error, heresy, false-
hood, atheism, agnosticism, and in the end devil
worship, with the consequent impairment or
total loss of spiritual and bodily health.
The Mystical Theology of the Catholic
Church is earnestly recommended to all those
who long to communicate with the unseen world.
The history of the Catholic saints whose lives
and whose writings entitle them to be classed as
mystics would make thrilling reading for all me-
diums and attendants at spiritistic seances. Such
were the lives of St. Teresa, St. Gertrude, St.
Catherine, St. John of the Cross, St. Bonaven-
ture, St. Francis de Sales, Blessed Angela of
Foligno, St. Paul of the Cross, St. John of
Cupertino, or Venerable Marie De l’lncarna-
tion, to mention only a few of a vast number of
mystics. Nor did all ecstatics live in the dim
and distant past. One of the most noted ones was
Gemma Galgani of Lucca, Italy, who died in
1903. In the mystic theology of the Catholic
Church will be found explained the extraordi-
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126 Spiritism
nary forms of prayer practiced by the great
ecstatics of history. The higher forms of con-
templation in all their varieties, as well as the
gradations of private revelations, the visions
granted to the Saints, and the union growing out
of these between God and the soul are all set
forth with clarity and sanity. All this rich and
solid literature will furnish the criteria laid
down by the wise and saintly writers of the
Church for facilitating the mystic union of the
soul with God, while at the same time preserv-
ing the soul from lapsing into error or heresy.
They indicate maxims to prevent self delusion
and the soul’s deception, mistaking the powers
of darkness for those of light, or the promptings
of their own weak selves in place of the Divine
voice, dividing the true from the false, and sep-
arating diabolism from the true worship of God.
Those interested in Psychic Research will find
pleasure and profit by reading above all the
works of St. Teresa. This extraordinary woman
was one of the greatest saints the Church has
produced; her uncommon good sense, sound
judgment and practical sagacity united in her
the mind of a man, and the delicacy and tender-
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The Modern Satanism 127
ness of a woman. Before her time mystic theol-
ogy had neither logical nor chronological devel-
opment. It was not in any sense a science. It
was she who first treated in systematic form all
the phenomena of mysticism, organized and
classified all we know about it, and made it a real
science. Before her mystic theology concerned
itself with ecstasies, visions and revelations;
whereas St. Teresa addressed herself to a thor-
ough analysis of the various processes by which
the union of the soul with God is achieved.
Many of the saints of past ages have been
ecstatics, and it is highly interesting to institute
a brief comparison between the ecstasies and
visions of the Catholic saints and the trance
states of Spiritistics mediums.
In mediums during a trance there is a lessen-
ing of intellectual power, whereas, in the ecstasy
of a saint this power is immeasurably increased
by a process of illumination; and the pose and
attitude of the body is a noble one, not repulsive
or repelling as is characteristic of spiritistic me-
diums. One is attracted by the ecstasy of the
saints, whereas one is repelled and disgusted at
the facial and bodily contortions of mediums.
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The hallucinations in the case of mediums are
usually representations of the imagination; that
is they are visual, auricular or tactual, affecting
the senses, whereas, in the case of the saints in
ecstasy, there are no hallucinations, the vision
being purely intellectual. The mystic saints have
been noted for their strong intelligence, their
keen minds, and their lofty and noble projects
for the good of religion and society. This
is notably the case in the ecstatic founders of Re-
ligious Orders. They were men and women of
large and liberal ideas, of great plans for God
and humanity. But we will look in vain through
the chronicles of history for any distinct
achievement originated, carried on, or encour-
aged by any spiritistic medium. Furthermore,
the loss of will power in mediums is notorious,
whereas nothing could be stronger than the in-
flexible wills of the ecstatic Christian saints, who
by their indomitable resolution overcame all op-
position to their plans to promote the kingdom
of God on earth.
Many mediums are subjective, selfish, egotis-
tical and morally have reached no great heights
of virtue, whereas the Christian saints who were
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129
ecstatics have given the world magnificent
models of self forgetfulness, and have been con-
spicuous for their absence of hysteria, their
whole career having been marked by keen judg-
ment and robust virtue. The trances of me-
diums do not impel them to lead very saintly
lives, whereas the reverse of this has been true of
the saints ; after their ecstasies they have been led
on to the very summits of virtue. Mediums are
notorious for being incoherent, contradictory
and material in their language and concepts,
whereas the saints have been clear, connected,
consistent, elevated and thoroughly spiritual in
their revelations. In the history of the Chris-
tian religion there have been at times genuine
and well authenticated apparitions of those who
were dead and gone ; they have been miraculous
in every sense of the word ; they have been veri-
fied by solid and unassailable proofs that will
stand the strictest test in any court in the world.
At every point of comparison they are totally
dissimilar to the manifestations of the seance
room. There is no sensitive, no psychic circle,
no dark room surroundings, the apparitions in
the case of saints have been unbidden, no one
9
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130 Spiritism
can predict when they will come or when they
will go, they have not been invoked, we know no
laws which they follow, they are beyond our
control, we cannot take the initiative in produc-
ing them, nor can we shut them off at will, we
can create no conditions in advance which are
guaranteed to result in the apparitions, they are
sudden and unexpected, and altogether spon-
taneous, there is about them nothing uncanny,
nothing grotesque, nothing to impair health of
sanity, nothing that runs counter to historic
Christianity.
But the very reverse of all these circumstances
is verifiable in the materializations of spirits in
the seance cabinet Spiritists in the modern ex-
periments in Psychic phenomena take complete
control of the situation ; it is they who invoke the
spirits, they who prepare in advance all the con-
ditions, they who are the active agents in produc-
ing the result, and they can shut them off at will.
There is nothing sudden or unexpected about
their coming, and they follow certain laws,
which, when operative, issue in results that can
be assured in advance.
The one striking thing about them is that all
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The Modern Satanism
131
such revelations accorded to the Saints have been
in perfect accord with the doctrines of Chris-
tianity. In no instance did those who died in
the odor of virtue and sanctity, and who by the
permission of God appeared to living beings
thereafter, say anything that would repudiate the
historic Christian doctrines which they pro-
fessed during life, and for the defense of which
many of them either actually died martyrs or
would have gladly done so. On the contrary,
they all confirmed in every detail the historic
Christian faith they held during their lifetime.
This is marked contrast with the denial of every
doctrine of the Christian religion which we find
the predominant characteristic of present day
Spiritism.
For exhaustive detailed information relative
to the actual experimental features of Spiritism,
accompanied by illustrations and verbatim re-
ports of messages from the other world, the
reader is referred to the splendid works of Mr.
J. Godfrey Raupert, K. S. G., in “Modern
Spiritism,” “The Dangers of Modern Spirit-
ism,” “Spiritistic Phenomena and their Inter-
pretation,” “Christ and the Powers of Dark-
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132
Spiritism
ness,” and his latest and most important work,
“The New Black Magic.” Mr. Raupert covers
the entire field of Psychic Research and Spirit-
ism with a master touch, having given the most
and the best years of his life to a scientific study
of the phenomena of the seance room. He was
for years a member of the English Society for
Psychic Research thereby coming in personal
contact with all the noted leaders and mediums
of the modern Spiritistic movement, and his
volumes constitute a library on the subject that
is easily the best in the English or any other lan-
guage.
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