Miscellaneous Teaching.On the leading points of faith as held by Christians generally, quotations have been given to show sufficiently what the spirits teach, and the object they are trying to effect. But the reader will be interested to learn what they teach on some other points which incidentally appear in their communications.Spiritualists object most strenuously to the idea of unconsciousness in death, or to the Bible declaration,“The dead know not anything.”But the spirits themselves teach this very thing. Thus Judge Edmunds, Vol. II, Appendix B, p. 524, quotes the confession of a spirit that he was totally unconscious for a time, he could not tell how long, and awoke to consciousness gradually; and that the state of unconsciousness differs with different persons, depending on circumstances. A. J. Davis admits that Professor Webster was eight days and a half unconscious.—“Death and the After Life,”pp. 18, 19.[pg 119]Through Mrs. Conant, medium, inBanner of Light, June 3, 1865, we have this information:“It is said that some spirits require a thousand years to awake to consciousness. Is this true?—Yes, this is true.”In“Automatic Writing,”p. 93, the spirits teach the same thing to-day. If others deny such statements, it only shows that their testimony is contradictory and therefore unreliable.Again, the Bible doctrine that the incorrigibly wicked must cease from conscious existence, is denounced by Spiritualists; but on this point the spirits confess also:—“Ques.—Do I understand you to say that a diakka is one who believes in ultimate annihilation?“Ans.—Only yesterday one said to a lady medium, signing himself‘Swedenborg,’this:‘Whatsoever is, has been, will be, or may be,thatI am, and private life is but the aggregative phantasms of thinking throblets rushing in their rising onward to the central heart of eternal death.’—“Diakka”p. 11.“Q.—Does every human being continue life on higher planes?“A.—Shall not all who are abortions die?”“Q.—Do you mean that some born on this plane may spiritually die from lack of force to persist?“A.—Yes—both women and men are born into the divine humanity who must necessarily perish, because they have not sufficient soul strength to persist.”—“Automatic Writing,”pp. 101, 102.There is, it seems, a purgatory in the spirit world. In answer to a question, a spirit replied:—“There is a sphere in spirit life allotted to those who leave the earthly plane in spiritual ignorance, which isnot pleasingto dwell upon, yet which is absolutely necessary to spiritual soul growth.”—Id., p. 90.[pg 120]Spiritualism is claimed to settle the question of immortality; but the spirits confess themselves ignorant of it:—“Ques.—On your plane do you arrive at certainty in regard to immortality?“Ans.—We here are asignorant as you areas to the ultimate of existence. Immortality is still anundetermined issue. One life at a time seems as pertinent with us as with you.”—Id., p. 103.The spirits' heaven, it seems, is not so desirable a place that it prevents their being homesick.“Ques.—Why are you homesick?“Ans.—Have not found out the real reason; things are so different from former ideas.”—Id., p. 111.Spirits are not allowed to tell too much about their condition, as the following question and answer show:—“Ques.—Can't you tell us what makes it pleasanter,—describe so we can understand?“Ans.—You'll find out as I did—'gainst the rules here to tell.... Just be patient—it's all easy enough when you learn how. I was puzzled, but it all seems straight enough now.”—Id., p. 115.They teach the pre-existence of souls, and the old pagan doctrines of the reincarnation of souls, and the final absorption of all into Nirvana. A spirit having answered that all had been asserted in some other form, questions and answers followed from which we quote:—“Q.—Is that statement an intimation of the truth of reincarnation?“A.—Souls of all who have preceded you are centered in you in spite of your childish protests. Ask not of those[pg 121]predecessors; for they yet live in you, and you in them.... Long ago you and I went over the ground under eminent names.... Were not we together when Socrates and Aspasia talked?”—Id., pp. 151, 152.“Q.—Can you tell us, at least, whether spirit, as a whole or in its individual atoms, exists eternally?“A.—Yes; spirit as a whole is eternal—exists—did exist—by force of Powers you cannot understand. But you as individual, self-conscious, atomistic particles of spirit wholeness, are not eternal, and must return to the Primal Source.”—Id., p. 133.Spirits Cannot Be Identified.Having now sufficiently examined the teaching of the spirits, a final question arises in regard to them, whether it is possible to identify them, and determine with any absolute certainty whether they are the spirits of the particular individuals they claim to be, or even spirits of the dead at all, or not. It should be distinctly borne in mind, always, that evil angels, whose existence has been proved from the Bible, whose nature and delight is to deceive, can walk the earth unseen, imitate and personate any individual, and reveal their characteristics of thought, writing, acts, form, and features, and make so perfect a counterfeit as to defy detection. How, then, can it be told what spirit it is, even though it shows the face and features of some well-known friend? On this topic, as on preceding questions, Spiritualists themselves may produce the evidence. President Mahan (“Discussion with Tiffany and Rhen,”p. 13) remarks:—“Certain experiments have been made, in order to determine whether spirits are present. Individuals go in as[pg 122]inquirers, and get definite answers—in the first place, fromdeparted spiritsof personsyet living; in the second place, from departed spirits of persons whonever existedhere or anywhere else; in the third place, from the departed spirits of brute beasts.”When it is considered, as already noted, that spirits do their work through mesmeric power, it is easy to understand how the medium is made to believe that such and such a spirit is communicating when it is not so at all. This question of identity came up in the very early stages of Spiritualism, and is no nearer settled, on their own confession, now than then. A Mr. Hobart, in 1856, who claimed to be the first Spiritualist in Michigan, made the following admission:—“The spirit sometimesassumesthe name of an individual belonging to the same church, to induce them to hear. This is necessary with some who are so bigoted they would not believe unless a name was assumed which they respected.”An article in theSpiritual Telegraph, of July 11, 1857, begins as follows:—“The question is continually being asked, especially by novitiates in spiritual investigations, How shall we know that the spirits who communicate with us are really the ones whom they purport to be?... In giving the results of our own experience and observation upon this subject, we would premise that spirits unquestionably can, and often do, personate other spirits, and that, too, often with such perfection as, for the time being, to defy every effort to detect the deception.... If direct tests are demanded at all, we would recommend that they be asked for the purpose of proving that the manifesting influence is that ofa spirit, rather than to prove whatparticularspirit is the agent of its production.”[pg 123]This is an entire begging of the whole matter in question; for it is not denied that it isaspirit; we want to know whatparticularspirit it is; but for that we must not ask; for it cannot be ascertained. The same article states that other and lower spirits often crowd in and take the place of the spirit communicating, without the knowledge of the medium. We might also quote“Spiritualism as It Is,”p. 14, that“not one per cent. of the manifestations have had a higher origin than the first and second spheres, which are filled with low, ignorant, deceptive, mischievous, selfish, egotistical spirits;”and“Dealings with the Dead,”p. 225, that“the fact is, good spirits do not appear one tenth as often as imagined.”Jan. 7, 1888, the following appeared in theBanner of Light:—“Ques.—What is the cause of our receiving inconsistent and untruthful communications? Does the blame, if any there is, rest with us or the controlling intelligence?“Ans.—There are spirits who delight in imposing upon mortals; they realize their power outside of material things, and that those who seek knowledge from themcannot see nor get hold of them; therefore to an extent they exercise a certain power over those mortals who approach; and if the mortals are themselves tricky by nature, insincere, ready to take advantage of others, whether it be at the time of sitting or in their daily life, rest assured they may be imposed upon by spirits from the other side who occupy a like plane of existence with themselves.”Mediums themselves will not trust the spirits, according to statements made as late as 1896. Mrs. S. A. Underwood, medium, in“Automatic Writing,”p. 55, says:—[pg 124]“With all my experience in it, I would not to-day venture upon any change, business venture, friendship, or line of conduct, advised from this source, unless my own common material sense endorsed it. Indeed, I would not take as fact any of its even reasonable advice without question, because it is not reliable as a guide in earthly affairs.”Spirit communication, then, certainly does not amount to much as a heavenly instructor, a celestial guide to enlighten the ignorance of men. Whatever we know ourselves, we may rely upon; all else is uncertain. Again, on p. 56, she says:—“Then the assumption of great names by apparently common-place minds is a very strange thing. I was horrified and annoyed when this occurred under my own hand, because that is one of the things which disgusted me with spiritual messages before this writing came to me, as I had occasionally glanced over such messages. When I protested against such assumption, I was told that‘Elaine and Guinevere’were not real beings, but types. So somewhere in our sphere are spirits who embody cleverness in creations of their own fancy, and adopt names suited to that fancy.”Thus the spirits themselves confess that the names they often assume are not those of real beings, but typical and fanciful. Nothing more, it would seem, is necessary to complete the condemnation of Spiritualism, so far as its own nature is concerned. When in addition to all else, it appears that the spirits cannot be identified; that the whole underlying claim that the spirits are the spirits of the dead, must itself be assumed; and that, too, in the face of the numberless known falsehoods and deceptions that are constantly issuing from the unseen realm,—there is nothing left for it to stand upon.
Miscellaneous Teaching.On the leading points of faith as held by Christians generally, quotations have been given to show sufficiently what the spirits teach, and the object they are trying to effect. But the reader will be interested to learn what they teach on some other points which incidentally appear in their communications.Spiritualists object most strenuously to the idea of unconsciousness in death, or to the Bible declaration,“The dead know not anything.”But the spirits themselves teach this very thing. Thus Judge Edmunds, Vol. II, Appendix B, p. 524, quotes the confession of a spirit that he was totally unconscious for a time, he could not tell how long, and awoke to consciousness gradually; and that the state of unconsciousness differs with different persons, depending on circumstances. A. J. Davis admits that Professor Webster was eight days and a half unconscious.—“Death and the After Life,”pp. 18, 19.[pg 119]Through Mrs. Conant, medium, inBanner of Light, June 3, 1865, we have this information:“It is said that some spirits require a thousand years to awake to consciousness. Is this true?—Yes, this is true.”In“Automatic Writing,”p. 93, the spirits teach the same thing to-day. If others deny such statements, it only shows that their testimony is contradictory and therefore unreliable.Again, the Bible doctrine that the incorrigibly wicked must cease from conscious existence, is denounced by Spiritualists; but on this point the spirits confess also:—“Ques.—Do I understand you to say that a diakka is one who believes in ultimate annihilation?“Ans.—Only yesterday one said to a lady medium, signing himself‘Swedenborg,’this:‘Whatsoever is, has been, will be, or may be,thatI am, and private life is but the aggregative phantasms of thinking throblets rushing in their rising onward to the central heart of eternal death.’—“Diakka”p. 11.“Q.—Does every human being continue life on higher planes?“A.—Shall not all who are abortions die?”“Q.—Do you mean that some born on this plane may spiritually die from lack of force to persist?“A.—Yes—both women and men are born into the divine humanity who must necessarily perish, because they have not sufficient soul strength to persist.”—“Automatic Writing,”pp. 101, 102.There is, it seems, a purgatory in the spirit world. In answer to a question, a spirit replied:—“There is a sphere in spirit life allotted to those who leave the earthly plane in spiritual ignorance, which isnot pleasingto dwell upon, yet which is absolutely necessary to spiritual soul growth.”—Id., p. 90.[pg 120]Spiritualism is claimed to settle the question of immortality; but the spirits confess themselves ignorant of it:—“Ques.—On your plane do you arrive at certainty in regard to immortality?“Ans.—We here are asignorant as you areas to the ultimate of existence. Immortality is still anundetermined issue. One life at a time seems as pertinent with us as with you.”—Id., p. 103.The spirits' heaven, it seems, is not so desirable a place that it prevents their being homesick.“Ques.—Why are you homesick?“Ans.—Have not found out the real reason; things are so different from former ideas.”—Id., p. 111.Spirits are not allowed to tell too much about their condition, as the following question and answer show:—“Ques.—Can't you tell us what makes it pleasanter,—describe so we can understand?“Ans.—You'll find out as I did—'gainst the rules here to tell.... Just be patient—it's all easy enough when you learn how. I was puzzled, but it all seems straight enough now.”—Id., p. 115.They teach the pre-existence of souls, and the old pagan doctrines of the reincarnation of souls, and the final absorption of all into Nirvana. A spirit having answered that all had been asserted in some other form, questions and answers followed from which we quote:—“Q.—Is that statement an intimation of the truth of reincarnation?“A.—Souls of all who have preceded you are centered in you in spite of your childish protests. Ask not of those[pg 121]predecessors; for they yet live in you, and you in them.... Long ago you and I went over the ground under eminent names.... Were not we together when Socrates and Aspasia talked?”—Id., pp. 151, 152.“Q.—Can you tell us, at least, whether spirit, as a whole or in its individual atoms, exists eternally?“A.—Yes; spirit as a whole is eternal—exists—did exist—by force of Powers you cannot understand. But you as individual, self-conscious, atomistic particles of spirit wholeness, are not eternal, and must return to the Primal Source.”—Id., p. 133.Spirits Cannot Be Identified.Having now sufficiently examined the teaching of the spirits, a final question arises in regard to them, whether it is possible to identify them, and determine with any absolute certainty whether they are the spirits of the particular individuals they claim to be, or even spirits of the dead at all, or not. It should be distinctly borne in mind, always, that evil angels, whose existence has been proved from the Bible, whose nature and delight is to deceive, can walk the earth unseen, imitate and personate any individual, and reveal their characteristics of thought, writing, acts, form, and features, and make so perfect a counterfeit as to defy detection. How, then, can it be told what spirit it is, even though it shows the face and features of some well-known friend? On this topic, as on preceding questions, Spiritualists themselves may produce the evidence. President Mahan (“Discussion with Tiffany and Rhen,”p. 13) remarks:—“Certain experiments have been made, in order to determine whether spirits are present. Individuals go in as[pg 122]inquirers, and get definite answers—in the first place, fromdeparted spiritsof personsyet living; in the second place, from departed spirits of persons whonever existedhere or anywhere else; in the third place, from the departed spirits of brute beasts.”When it is considered, as already noted, that spirits do their work through mesmeric power, it is easy to understand how the medium is made to believe that such and such a spirit is communicating when it is not so at all. This question of identity came up in the very early stages of Spiritualism, and is no nearer settled, on their own confession, now than then. A Mr. Hobart, in 1856, who claimed to be the first Spiritualist in Michigan, made the following admission:—“The spirit sometimesassumesthe name of an individual belonging to the same church, to induce them to hear. This is necessary with some who are so bigoted they would not believe unless a name was assumed which they respected.”An article in theSpiritual Telegraph, of July 11, 1857, begins as follows:—“The question is continually being asked, especially by novitiates in spiritual investigations, How shall we know that the spirits who communicate with us are really the ones whom they purport to be?... In giving the results of our own experience and observation upon this subject, we would premise that spirits unquestionably can, and often do, personate other spirits, and that, too, often with such perfection as, for the time being, to defy every effort to detect the deception.... If direct tests are demanded at all, we would recommend that they be asked for the purpose of proving that the manifesting influence is that ofa spirit, rather than to prove whatparticularspirit is the agent of its production.”[pg 123]This is an entire begging of the whole matter in question; for it is not denied that it isaspirit; we want to know whatparticularspirit it is; but for that we must not ask; for it cannot be ascertained. The same article states that other and lower spirits often crowd in and take the place of the spirit communicating, without the knowledge of the medium. We might also quote“Spiritualism as It Is,”p. 14, that“not one per cent. of the manifestations have had a higher origin than the first and second spheres, which are filled with low, ignorant, deceptive, mischievous, selfish, egotistical spirits;”and“Dealings with the Dead,”p. 225, that“the fact is, good spirits do not appear one tenth as often as imagined.”Jan. 7, 1888, the following appeared in theBanner of Light:—“Ques.—What is the cause of our receiving inconsistent and untruthful communications? Does the blame, if any there is, rest with us or the controlling intelligence?“Ans.—There are spirits who delight in imposing upon mortals; they realize their power outside of material things, and that those who seek knowledge from themcannot see nor get hold of them; therefore to an extent they exercise a certain power over those mortals who approach; and if the mortals are themselves tricky by nature, insincere, ready to take advantage of others, whether it be at the time of sitting or in their daily life, rest assured they may be imposed upon by spirits from the other side who occupy a like plane of existence with themselves.”Mediums themselves will not trust the spirits, according to statements made as late as 1896. Mrs. S. A. Underwood, medium, in“Automatic Writing,”p. 55, says:—[pg 124]“With all my experience in it, I would not to-day venture upon any change, business venture, friendship, or line of conduct, advised from this source, unless my own common material sense endorsed it. Indeed, I would not take as fact any of its even reasonable advice without question, because it is not reliable as a guide in earthly affairs.”Spirit communication, then, certainly does not amount to much as a heavenly instructor, a celestial guide to enlighten the ignorance of men. Whatever we know ourselves, we may rely upon; all else is uncertain. Again, on p. 56, she says:—“Then the assumption of great names by apparently common-place minds is a very strange thing. I was horrified and annoyed when this occurred under my own hand, because that is one of the things which disgusted me with spiritual messages before this writing came to me, as I had occasionally glanced over such messages. When I protested against such assumption, I was told that‘Elaine and Guinevere’were not real beings, but types. So somewhere in our sphere are spirits who embody cleverness in creations of their own fancy, and adopt names suited to that fancy.”Thus the spirits themselves confess that the names they often assume are not those of real beings, but typical and fanciful. Nothing more, it would seem, is necessary to complete the condemnation of Spiritualism, so far as its own nature is concerned. When in addition to all else, it appears that the spirits cannot be identified; that the whole underlying claim that the spirits are the spirits of the dead, must itself be assumed; and that, too, in the face of the numberless known falsehoods and deceptions that are constantly issuing from the unseen realm,—there is nothing left for it to stand upon.
Miscellaneous Teaching.On the leading points of faith as held by Christians generally, quotations have been given to show sufficiently what the spirits teach, and the object they are trying to effect. But the reader will be interested to learn what they teach on some other points which incidentally appear in their communications.Spiritualists object most strenuously to the idea of unconsciousness in death, or to the Bible declaration,“The dead know not anything.”But the spirits themselves teach this very thing. Thus Judge Edmunds, Vol. II, Appendix B, p. 524, quotes the confession of a spirit that he was totally unconscious for a time, he could not tell how long, and awoke to consciousness gradually; and that the state of unconsciousness differs with different persons, depending on circumstances. A. J. Davis admits that Professor Webster was eight days and a half unconscious.—“Death and the After Life,”pp. 18, 19.[pg 119]Through Mrs. Conant, medium, inBanner of Light, June 3, 1865, we have this information:“It is said that some spirits require a thousand years to awake to consciousness. Is this true?—Yes, this is true.”In“Automatic Writing,”p. 93, the spirits teach the same thing to-day. If others deny such statements, it only shows that their testimony is contradictory and therefore unreliable.Again, the Bible doctrine that the incorrigibly wicked must cease from conscious existence, is denounced by Spiritualists; but on this point the spirits confess also:—“Ques.—Do I understand you to say that a diakka is one who believes in ultimate annihilation?“Ans.—Only yesterday one said to a lady medium, signing himself‘Swedenborg,’this:‘Whatsoever is, has been, will be, or may be,thatI am, and private life is but the aggregative phantasms of thinking throblets rushing in their rising onward to the central heart of eternal death.’—“Diakka”p. 11.“Q.—Does every human being continue life on higher planes?“A.—Shall not all who are abortions die?”“Q.—Do you mean that some born on this plane may spiritually die from lack of force to persist?“A.—Yes—both women and men are born into the divine humanity who must necessarily perish, because they have not sufficient soul strength to persist.”—“Automatic Writing,”pp. 101, 102.There is, it seems, a purgatory in the spirit world. In answer to a question, a spirit replied:—“There is a sphere in spirit life allotted to those who leave the earthly plane in spiritual ignorance, which isnot pleasingto dwell upon, yet which is absolutely necessary to spiritual soul growth.”—Id., p. 90.[pg 120]Spiritualism is claimed to settle the question of immortality; but the spirits confess themselves ignorant of it:—“Ques.—On your plane do you arrive at certainty in regard to immortality?“Ans.—We here are asignorant as you areas to the ultimate of existence. Immortality is still anundetermined issue. One life at a time seems as pertinent with us as with you.”—Id., p. 103.The spirits' heaven, it seems, is not so desirable a place that it prevents their being homesick.“Ques.—Why are you homesick?“Ans.—Have not found out the real reason; things are so different from former ideas.”—Id., p. 111.Spirits are not allowed to tell too much about their condition, as the following question and answer show:—“Ques.—Can't you tell us what makes it pleasanter,—describe so we can understand?“Ans.—You'll find out as I did—'gainst the rules here to tell.... Just be patient—it's all easy enough when you learn how. I was puzzled, but it all seems straight enough now.”—Id., p. 115.They teach the pre-existence of souls, and the old pagan doctrines of the reincarnation of souls, and the final absorption of all into Nirvana. A spirit having answered that all had been asserted in some other form, questions and answers followed from which we quote:—“Q.—Is that statement an intimation of the truth of reincarnation?“A.—Souls of all who have preceded you are centered in you in spite of your childish protests. Ask not of those[pg 121]predecessors; for they yet live in you, and you in them.... Long ago you and I went over the ground under eminent names.... Were not we together when Socrates and Aspasia talked?”—Id., pp. 151, 152.“Q.—Can you tell us, at least, whether spirit, as a whole or in its individual atoms, exists eternally?“A.—Yes; spirit as a whole is eternal—exists—did exist—by force of Powers you cannot understand. But you as individual, self-conscious, atomistic particles of spirit wholeness, are not eternal, and must return to the Primal Source.”—Id., p. 133.Spirits Cannot Be Identified.Having now sufficiently examined the teaching of the spirits, a final question arises in regard to them, whether it is possible to identify them, and determine with any absolute certainty whether they are the spirits of the particular individuals they claim to be, or even spirits of the dead at all, or not. It should be distinctly borne in mind, always, that evil angels, whose existence has been proved from the Bible, whose nature and delight is to deceive, can walk the earth unseen, imitate and personate any individual, and reveal their characteristics of thought, writing, acts, form, and features, and make so perfect a counterfeit as to defy detection. How, then, can it be told what spirit it is, even though it shows the face and features of some well-known friend? On this topic, as on preceding questions, Spiritualists themselves may produce the evidence. President Mahan (“Discussion with Tiffany and Rhen,”p. 13) remarks:—“Certain experiments have been made, in order to determine whether spirits are present. Individuals go in as[pg 122]inquirers, and get definite answers—in the first place, fromdeparted spiritsof personsyet living; in the second place, from departed spirits of persons whonever existedhere or anywhere else; in the third place, from the departed spirits of brute beasts.”When it is considered, as already noted, that spirits do their work through mesmeric power, it is easy to understand how the medium is made to believe that such and such a spirit is communicating when it is not so at all. This question of identity came up in the very early stages of Spiritualism, and is no nearer settled, on their own confession, now than then. A Mr. Hobart, in 1856, who claimed to be the first Spiritualist in Michigan, made the following admission:—“The spirit sometimesassumesthe name of an individual belonging to the same church, to induce them to hear. This is necessary with some who are so bigoted they would not believe unless a name was assumed which they respected.”An article in theSpiritual Telegraph, of July 11, 1857, begins as follows:—“The question is continually being asked, especially by novitiates in spiritual investigations, How shall we know that the spirits who communicate with us are really the ones whom they purport to be?... In giving the results of our own experience and observation upon this subject, we would premise that spirits unquestionably can, and often do, personate other spirits, and that, too, often with such perfection as, for the time being, to defy every effort to detect the deception.... If direct tests are demanded at all, we would recommend that they be asked for the purpose of proving that the manifesting influence is that ofa spirit, rather than to prove whatparticularspirit is the agent of its production.”[pg 123]This is an entire begging of the whole matter in question; for it is not denied that it isaspirit; we want to know whatparticularspirit it is; but for that we must not ask; for it cannot be ascertained. The same article states that other and lower spirits often crowd in and take the place of the spirit communicating, without the knowledge of the medium. We might also quote“Spiritualism as It Is,”p. 14, that“not one per cent. of the manifestations have had a higher origin than the first and second spheres, which are filled with low, ignorant, deceptive, mischievous, selfish, egotistical spirits;”and“Dealings with the Dead,”p. 225, that“the fact is, good spirits do not appear one tenth as often as imagined.”Jan. 7, 1888, the following appeared in theBanner of Light:—“Ques.—What is the cause of our receiving inconsistent and untruthful communications? Does the blame, if any there is, rest with us or the controlling intelligence?“Ans.—There are spirits who delight in imposing upon mortals; they realize their power outside of material things, and that those who seek knowledge from themcannot see nor get hold of them; therefore to an extent they exercise a certain power over those mortals who approach; and if the mortals are themselves tricky by nature, insincere, ready to take advantage of others, whether it be at the time of sitting or in their daily life, rest assured they may be imposed upon by spirits from the other side who occupy a like plane of existence with themselves.”Mediums themselves will not trust the spirits, according to statements made as late as 1896. Mrs. S. A. Underwood, medium, in“Automatic Writing,”p. 55, says:—[pg 124]“With all my experience in it, I would not to-day venture upon any change, business venture, friendship, or line of conduct, advised from this source, unless my own common material sense endorsed it. Indeed, I would not take as fact any of its even reasonable advice without question, because it is not reliable as a guide in earthly affairs.”Spirit communication, then, certainly does not amount to much as a heavenly instructor, a celestial guide to enlighten the ignorance of men. Whatever we know ourselves, we may rely upon; all else is uncertain. Again, on p. 56, she says:—“Then the assumption of great names by apparently common-place minds is a very strange thing. I was horrified and annoyed when this occurred under my own hand, because that is one of the things which disgusted me with spiritual messages before this writing came to me, as I had occasionally glanced over such messages. When I protested against such assumption, I was told that‘Elaine and Guinevere’were not real beings, but types. So somewhere in our sphere are spirits who embody cleverness in creations of their own fancy, and adopt names suited to that fancy.”Thus the spirits themselves confess that the names they often assume are not those of real beings, but typical and fanciful. Nothing more, it would seem, is necessary to complete the condemnation of Spiritualism, so far as its own nature is concerned. When in addition to all else, it appears that the spirits cannot be identified; that the whole underlying claim that the spirits are the spirits of the dead, must itself be assumed; and that, too, in the face of the numberless known falsehoods and deceptions that are constantly issuing from the unseen realm,—there is nothing left for it to stand upon.
Miscellaneous Teaching.On the leading points of faith as held by Christians generally, quotations have been given to show sufficiently what the spirits teach, and the object they are trying to effect. But the reader will be interested to learn what they teach on some other points which incidentally appear in their communications.Spiritualists object most strenuously to the idea of unconsciousness in death, or to the Bible declaration,“The dead know not anything.”But the spirits themselves teach this very thing. Thus Judge Edmunds, Vol. II, Appendix B, p. 524, quotes the confession of a spirit that he was totally unconscious for a time, he could not tell how long, and awoke to consciousness gradually; and that the state of unconsciousness differs with different persons, depending on circumstances. A. J. Davis admits that Professor Webster was eight days and a half unconscious.—“Death and the After Life,”pp. 18, 19.[pg 119]Through Mrs. Conant, medium, inBanner of Light, June 3, 1865, we have this information:“It is said that some spirits require a thousand years to awake to consciousness. Is this true?—Yes, this is true.”In“Automatic Writing,”p. 93, the spirits teach the same thing to-day. If others deny such statements, it only shows that their testimony is contradictory and therefore unreliable.Again, the Bible doctrine that the incorrigibly wicked must cease from conscious existence, is denounced by Spiritualists; but on this point the spirits confess also:—“Ques.—Do I understand you to say that a diakka is one who believes in ultimate annihilation?“Ans.—Only yesterday one said to a lady medium, signing himself‘Swedenborg,’this:‘Whatsoever is, has been, will be, or may be,thatI am, and private life is but the aggregative phantasms of thinking throblets rushing in their rising onward to the central heart of eternal death.’—“Diakka”p. 11.“Q.—Does every human being continue life on higher planes?“A.—Shall not all who are abortions die?”“Q.—Do you mean that some born on this plane may spiritually die from lack of force to persist?“A.—Yes—both women and men are born into the divine humanity who must necessarily perish, because they have not sufficient soul strength to persist.”—“Automatic Writing,”pp. 101, 102.There is, it seems, a purgatory in the spirit world. In answer to a question, a spirit replied:—“There is a sphere in spirit life allotted to those who leave the earthly plane in spiritual ignorance, which isnot pleasingto dwell upon, yet which is absolutely necessary to spiritual soul growth.”—Id., p. 90.[pg 120]Spiritualism is claimed to settle the question of immortality; but the spirits confess themselves ignorant of it:—“Ques.—On your plane do you arrive at certainty in regard to immortality?“Ans.—We here are asignorant as you areas to the ultimate of existence. Immortality is still anundetermined issue. One life at a time seems as pertinent with us as with you.”—Id., p. 103.The spirits' heaven, it seems, is not so desirable a place that it prevents their being homesick.“Ques.—Why are you homesick?“Ans.—Have not found out the real reason; things are so different from former ideas.”—Id., p. 111.Spirits are not allowed to tell too much about their condition, as the following question and answer show:—“Ques.—Can't you tell us what makes it pleasanter,—describe so we can understand?“Ans.—You'll find out as I did—'gainst the rules here to tell.... Just be patient—it's all easy enough when you learn how. I was puzzled, but it all seems straight enough now.”—Id., p. 115.They teach the pre-existence of souls, and the old pagan doctrines of the reincarnation of souls, and the final absorption of all into Nirvana. A spirit having answered that all had been asserted in some other form, questions and answers followed from which we quote:—“Q.—Is that statement an intimation of the truth of reincarnation?“A.—Souls of all who have preceded you are centered in you in spite of your childish protests. Ask not of those[pg 121]predecessors; for they yet live in you, and you in them.... Long ago you and I went over the ground under eminent names.... Were not we together when Socrates and Aspasia talked?”—Id., pp. 151, 152.“Q.—Can you tell us, at least, whether spirit, as a whole or in its individual atoms, exists eternally?“A.—Yes; spirit as a whole is eternal—exists—did exist—by force of Powers you cannot understand. But you as individual, self-conscious, atomistic particles of spirit wholeness, are not eternal, and must return to the Primal Source.”—Id., p. 133.
On the leading points of faith as held by Christians generally, quotations have been given to show sufficiently what the spirits teach, and the object they are trying to effect. But the reader will be interested to learn what they teach on some other points which incidentally appear in their communications.
Spiritualists object most strenuously to the idea of unconsciousness in death, or to the Bible declaration,“The dead know not anything.”But the spirits themselves teach this very thing. Thus Judge Edmunds, Vol. II, Appendix B, p. 524, quotes the confession of a spirit that he was totally unconscious for a time, he could not tell how long, and awoke to consciousness gradually; and that the state of unconsciousness differs with different persons, depending on circumstances. A. J. Davis admits that Professor Webster was eight days and a half unconscious.—“Death and the After Life,”pp. 18, 19.
Through Mrs. Conant, medium, inBanner of Light, June 3, 1865, we have this information:“It is said that some spirits require a thousand years to awake to consciousness. Is this true?—Yes, this is true.”In“Automatic Writing,”p. 93, the spirits teach the same thing to-day. If others deny such statements, it only shows that their testimony is contradictory and therefore unreliable.
Again, the Bible doctrine that the incorrigibly wicked must cease from conscious existence, is denounced by Spiritualists; but on this point the spirits confess also:—
“Ques.—Do I understand you to say that a diakka is one who believes in ultimate annihilation?
“Ans.—Only yesterday one said to a lady medium, signing himself‘Swedenborg,’this:‘Whatsoever is, has been, will be, or may be,thatI am, and private life is but the aggregative phantasms of thinking throblets rushing in their rising onward to the central heart of eternal death.’—“Diakka”p. 11.
“Q.—Does every human being continue life on higher planes?
“A.—Shall not all who are abortions die?”
“Q.—Do you mean that some born on this plane may spiritually die from lack of force to persist?
“A.—Yes—both women and men are born into the divine humanity who must necessarily perish, because they have not sufficient soul strength to persist.”—“Automatic Writing,”pp. 101, 102.
There is, it seems, a purgatory in the spirit world. In answer to a question, a spirit replied:—
“There is a sphere in spirit life allotted to those who leave the earthly plane in spiritual ignorance, which isnot pleasingto dwell upon, yet which is absolutely necessary to spiritual soul growth.”—Id., p. 90.
Spiritualism is claimed to settle the question of immortality; but the spirits confess themselves ignorant of it:—
“Ques.—On your plane do you arrive at certainty in regard to immortality?
“Ans.—We here are asignorant as you areas to the ultimate of existence. Immortality is still anundetermined issue. One life at a time seems as pertinent with us as with you.”—Id., p. 103.
The spirits' heaven, it seems, is not so desirable a place that it prevents their being homesick.
“Ques.—Why are you homesick?
“Ans.—Have not found out the real reason; things are so different from former ideas.”—Id., p. 111.
Spirits are not allowed to tell too much about their condition, as the following question and answer show:—
“Ques.—Can't you tell us what makes it pleasanter,—describe so we can understand?
“Ans.—You'll find out as I did—'gainst the rules here to tell.... Just be patient—it's all easy enough when you learn how. I was puzzled, but it all seems straight enough now.”—Id., p. 115.
They teach the pre-existence of souls, and the old pagan doctrines of the reincarnation of souls, and the final absorption of all into Nirvana. A spirit having answered that all had been asserted in some other form, questions and answers followed from which we quote:—
“Q.—Is that statement an intimation of the truth of reincarnation?
“A.—Souls of all who have preceded you are centered in you in spite of your childish protests. Ask not of those[pg 121]predecessors; for they yet live in you, and you in them.... Long ago you and I went over the ground under eminent names.... Were not we together when Socrates and Aspasia talked?”—Id., pp. 151, 152.
“Q.—Can you tell us, at least, whether spirit, as a whole or in its individual atoms, exists eternally?
“A.—Yes; spirit as a whole is eternal—exists—did exist—by force of Powers you cannot understand. But you as individual, self-conscious, atomistic particles of spirit wholeness, are not eternal, and must return to the Primal Source.”—Id., p. 133.
Spirits Cannot Be Identified.Having now sufficiently examined the teaching of the spirits, a final question arises in regard to them, whether it is possible to identify them, and determine with any absolute certainty whether they are the spirits of the particular individuals they claim to be, or even spirits of the dead at all, or not. It should be distinctly borne in mind, always, that evil angels, whose existence has been proved from the Bible, whose nature and delight is to deceive, can walk the earth unseen, imitate and personate any individual, and reveal their characteristics of thought, writing, acts, form, and features, and make so perfect a counterfeit as to defy detection. How, then, can it be told what spirit it is, even though it shows the face and features of some well-known friend? On this topic, as on preceding questions, Spiritualists themselves may produce the evidence. President Mahan (“Discussion with Tiffany and Rhen,”p. 13) remarks:—“Certain experiments have been made, in order to determine whether spirits are present. Individuals go in as[pg 122]inquirers, and get definite answers—in the first place, fromdeparted spiritsof personsyet living; in the second place, from departed spirits of persons whonever existedhere or anywhere else; in the third place, from the departed spirits of brute beasts.”When it is considered, as already noted, that spirits do their work through mesmeric power, it is easy to understand how the medium is made to believe that such and such a spirit is communicating when it is not so at all. This question of identity came up in the very early stages of Spiritualism, and is no nearer settled, on their own confession, now than then. A Mr. Hobart, in 1856, who claimed to be the first Spiritualist in Michigan, made the following admission:—“The spirit sometimesassumesthe name of an individual belonging to the same church, to induce them to hear. This is necessary with some who are so bigoted they would not believe unless a name was assumed which they respected.”An article in theSpiritual Telegraph, of July 11, 1857, begins as follows:—“The question is continually being asked, especially by novitiates in spiritual investigations, How shall we know that the spirits who communicate with us are really the ones whom they purport to be?... In giving the results of our own experience and observation upon this subject, we would premise that spirits unquestionably can, and often do, personate other spirits, and that, too, often with such perfection as, for the time being, to defy every effort to detect the deception.... If direct tests are demanded at all, we would recommend that they be asked for the purpose of proving that the manifesting influence is that ofa spirit, rather than to prove whatparticularspirit is the agent of its production.”[pg 123]This is an entire begging of the whole matter in question; for it is not denied that it isaspirit; we want to know whatparticularspirit it is; but for that we must not ask; for it cannot be ascertained. The same article states that other and lower spirits often crowd in and take the place of the spirit communicating, without the knowledge of the medium. We might also quote“Spiritualism as It Is,”p. 14, that“not one per cent. of the manifestations have had a higher origin than the first and second spheres, which are filled with low, ignorant, deceptive, mischievous, selfish, egotistical spirits;”and“Dealings with the Dead,”p. 225, that“the fact is, good spirits do not appear one tenth as often as imagined.”Jan. 7, 1888, the following appeared in theBanner of Light:—“Ques.—What is the cause of our receiving inconsistent and untruthful communications? Does the blame, if any there is, rest with us or the controlling intelligence?“Ans.—There are spirits who delight in imposing upon mortals; they realize their power outside of material things, and that those who seek knowledge from themcannot see nor get hold of them; therefore to an extent they exercise a certain power over those mortals who approach; and if the mortals are themselves tricky by nature, insincere, ready to take advantage of others, whether it be at the time of sitting or in their daily life, rest assured they may be imposed upon by spirits from the other side who occupy a like plane of existence with themselves.”Mediums themselves will not trust the spirits, according to statements made as late as 1896. Mrs. S. A. Underwood, medium, in“Automatic Writing,”p. 55, says:—[pg 124]“With all my experience in it, I would not to-day venture upon any change, business venture, friendship, or line of conduct, advised from this source, unless my own common material sense endorsed it. Indeed, I would not take as fact any of its even reasonable advice without question, because it is not reliable as a guide in earthly affairs.”Spirit communication, then, certainly does not amount to much as a heavenly instructor, a celestial guide to enlighten the ignorance of men. Whatever we know ourselves, we may rely upon; all else is uncertain. Again, on p. 56, she says:—“Then the assumption of great names by apparently common-place minds is a very strange thing. I was horrified and annoyed when this occurred under my own hand, because that is one of the things which disgusted me with spiritual messages before this writing came to me, as I had occasionally glanced over such messages. When I protested against such assumption, I was told that‘Elaine and Guinevere’were not real beings, but types. So somewhere in our sphere are spirits who embody cleverness in creations of their own fancy, and adopt names suited to that fancy.”Thus the spirits themselves confess that the names they often assume are not those of real beings, but typical and fanciful. Nothing more, it would seem, is necessary to complete the condemnation of Spiritualism, so far as its own nature is concerned. When in addition to all else, it appears that the spirits cannot be identified; that the whole underlying claim that the spirits are the spirits of the dead, must itself be assumed; and that, too, in the face of the numberless known falsehoods and deceptions that are constantly issuing from the unseen realm,—there is nothing left for it to stand upon.
Having now sufficiently examined the teaching of the spirits, a final question arises in regard to them, whether it is possible to identify them, and determine with any absolute certainty whether they are the spirits of the particular individuals they claim to be, or even spirits of the dead at all, or not. It should be distinctly borne in mind, always, that evil angels, whose existence has been proved from the Bible, whose nature and delight is to deceive, can walk the earth unseen, imitate and personate any individual, and reveal their characteristics of thought, writing, acts, form, and features, and make so perfect a counterfeit as to defy detection. How, then, can it be told what spirit it is, even though it shows the face and features of some well-known friend? On this topic, as on preceding questions, Spiritualists themselves may produce the evidence. President Mahan (“Discussion with Tiffany and Rhen,”p. 13) remarks:—
“Certain experiments have been made, in order to determine whether spirits are present. Individuals go in as[pg 122]inquirers, and get definite answers—in the first place, fromdeparted spiritsof personsyet living; in the second place, from departed spirits of persons whonever existedhere or anywhere else; in the third place, from the departed spirits of brute beasts.”
When it is considered, as already noted, that spirits do their work through mesmeric power, it is easy to understand how the medium is made to believe that such and such a spirit is communicating when it is not so at all. This question of identity came up in the very early stages of Spiritualism, and is no nearer settled, on their own confession, now than then. A Mr. Hobart, in 1856, who claimed to be the first Spiritualist in Michigan, made the following admission:—
“The spirit sometimesassumesthe name of an individual belonging to the same church, to induce them to hear. This is necessary with some who are so bigoted they would not believe unless a name was assumed which they respected.”
An article in theSpiritual Telegraph, of July 11, 1857, begins as follows:—
“The question is continually being asked, especially by novitiates in spiritual investigations, How shall we know that the spirits who communicate with us are really the ones whom they purport to be?... In giving the results of our own experience and observation upon this subject, we would premise that spirits unquestionably can, and often do, personate other spirits, and that, too, often with such perfection as, for the time being, to defy every effort to detect the deception.... If direct tests are demanded at all, we would recommend that they be asked for the purpose of proving that the manifesting influence is that ofa spirit, rather than to prove whatparticularspirit is the agent of its production.”
This is an entire begging of the whole matter in question; for it is not denied that it isaspirit; we want to know whatparticularspirit it is; but for that we must not ask; for it cannot be ascertained. The same article states that other and lower spirits often crowd in and take the place of the spirit communicating, without the knowledge of the medium. We might also quote“Spiritualism as It Is,”p. 14, that“not one per cent. of the manifestations have had a higher origin than the first and second spheres, which are filled with low, ignorant, deceptive, mischievous, selfish, egotistical spirits;”and“Dealings with the Dead,”p. 225, that“the fact is, good spirits do not appear one tenth as often as imagined.”
Jan. 7, 1888, the following appeared in theBanner of Light:—
“Ques.—What is the cause of our receiving inconsistent and untruthful communications? Does the blame, if any there is, rest with us or the controlling intelligence?
“Ans.—There are spirits who delight in imposing upon mortals; they realize their power outside of material things, and that those who seek knowledge from themcannot see nor get hold of them; therefore to an extent they exercise a certain power over those mortals who approach; and if the mortals are themselves tricky by nature, insincere, ready to take advantage of others, whether it be at the time of sitting or in their daily life, rest assured they may be imposed upon by spirits from the other side who occupy a like plane of existence with themselves.”
Mediums themselves will not trust the spirits, according to statements made as late as 1896. Mrs. S. A. Underwood, medium, in“Automatic Writing,”p. 55, says:—
“With all my experience in it, I would not to-day venture upon any change, business venture, friendship, or line of conduct, advised from this source, unless my own common material sense endorsed it. Indeed, I would not take as fact any of its even reasonable advice without question, because it is not reliable as a guide in earthly affairs.”
Spirit communication, then, certainly does not amount to much as a heavenly instructor, a celestial guide to enlighten the ignorance of men. Whatever we know ourselves, we may rely upon; all else is uncertain. Again, on p. 56, she says:—
“Then the assumption of great names by apparently common-place minds is a very strange thing. I was horrified and annoyed when this occurred under my own hand, because that is one of the things which disgusted me with spiritual messages before this writing came to me, as I had occasionally glanced over such messages. When I protested against such assumption, I was told that‘Elaine and Guinevere’were not real beings, but types. So somewhere in our sphere are spirits who embody cleverness in creations of their own fancy, and adopt names suited to that fancy.”
Thus the spirits themselves confess that the names they often assume are not those of real beings, but typical and fanciful. Nothing more, it would seem, is necessary to complete the condemnation of Spiritualism, so far as its own nature is concerned. When in addition to all else, it appears that the spirits cannot be identified; that the whole underlying claim that the spirits are the spirits of the dead, must itself be assumed; and that, too, in the face of the numberless known falsehoods and deceptions that are constantly issuing from the unseen realm,—there is nothing left for it to stand upon.