Spiritualism and necromancy

Front matter

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I 1 f UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. |

Spiritualism

Contents

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I. Spiritualism and Necromancy, ... 9

II. Spiritualism an Agency of Satan, . 36

Introduction

TT7R0M its earliest history, Methodism has -*• carried on a vigorous warfare in defense of spiritual Christianity. It has been not only a stirring appeal and invitation of mercy to sinners, but also a bold note of warning to souls who have fallen into the snares of false religion. Our fathers were conspicuous for their boldness and readiness in attacking vagaries of unbelief, and every form of false doctrine. In this country, the itinerant ministry has pursued the same methods. But the concessions that our Government makes to religious liberty and freedom of speech and worship, offer facilities for the propagation of false

6 INTRODUCTION.

religion, of which the spirit of evil has been alert to take advantage.

The author of this little volume has chosen to appear in print, not to achieve the notoriety of authorship, but to carry the practical results of his pastorate into a wider field. In the course of his regular duties, the delusion known as spiritualism, through the advocacy of one who had formerly been a Methodist preacher, produced bewilderment and perplexity in the minds of some over whom he had spiritual care. He wisely entered the lists in defense of the truth as it is in Christ. The success of his public effort, embodied in two sermons, called for their publication as desirable and profitable to his Church ; and out of these has grown this larger essay.

Spiritualism has had a wonderful growth in the United States in the twenty-five years since the Misses Fox, of New York State, first gained the public attention. By bold assertions and shrewd practices, it has bewildered and entrapped some honest people whose curiosity was excited, and

INTRODUCTION. 7

they have received spiritual harm. For modern spiritualism, as a system of religious thought and faith, is identical in origin and analogous in spirit and practice to that of demonology, which Inspiration has described as the doctrine of devils. It has borne no good fruit. . The classes it attracts by its teachings, and whose lives it fails to reform, are a standing proof of its worthlessness as a religious system. It has swept many into the most vicious forms of immorality and wickedness. It has added nothing to our knowledge of this life or of the world to come.

This pernicious belief has but to be examined and judged by the light of the Sacred Scriptures, the teaching of history, and in its unvarying tendency to pervert the moral life of its disciples, to be seen in its true character. This is the aim of the author of this volume. He defines and sets forth its proper character and constant tendencies, comparing it with the spiritualism taught in the Word of God. We commend it to all who are seeking to know the truth. We are

8 INTRODUCTION.

confident that its perusal will prove a benefit to those whose minds are in doubt and need such light as its pages offer. A knowledge of its contents will prepare any one to ward off the subtleties of the deceiver of souls, and establish the conviction that spiritualism is the most dangerous form of unbelief with which Christianity

has now to contend.

St. Louis, June 6, 1873.

Spiritualism and Necromancy.

SPIRITUALISM AND NECROMANCY.

" There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consul ter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord : and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out before thee." — Deut. xviii, 10-12.

OINCE the unfortunate fall of our race, ^ every recorded act of man has been in clear demonstration of the Bible doctrine of our alienation from God and from righteousness. And it has ever been the studied policy of Satan, that old seducer, so to blind the eyes of men as to keep them in ignorance of God. A thousand years ago, this was no difficult task ; but, with Bible-houses and a free press, Satan must bestir himself, or the light of the ages must fall on and illuminate the eye of reason in the masses of men. So, the very Pandoras box of hell has, within a hundred years, been opened out to earth's inhabitants, for the tangling of their feet and the snaring of their souls ; and every-where men are seeking to hew out to themselves new cisterns, in the vain hope of finding in some one of them the elixir of the soul's life. It is not a new weapon of war that Satan uses, when he throws the blinding cloud of doubt over the mental vision of man — bringing in strong delusions, trusting that men may believe a lie that they may be damned ; for he has been all too successful in the ruin of souls with this weapon to abandon it now. Nor does he hesitate in using things real to induce men to believe things unreal ; nor the contrary, the use of things unreal to induce

SPIRITUALISM AND NECROMANCY. II

men to believe things real. All this to delude men, and keep out, or shut out, the light of the Gospel, and the true service that God requires. Anciently, he habitually used the art of the magician and soothsayer, sorcery and divination ; to-day, he uses the arts and sciences, perverting them. He seizes the Bible doctrine of spirit communication, abusing and perverting it into a lie. The warfare is the same ; the weapons are nearly identical. Their appliance only is different ; then he used magic, now he uses spirit. We notice : i. Ancient necromancy and modern spiritualism are identical. By the term necromancy, we mean now to include the theory that men on the earth are able, by spirit alliance, to converse with the spirits of the dead, and thereby get a knowledge of the spirit-world ; for a necromancer is properly one who pretends to foretell future events by holding converse with departed spirits, and one who uses sorcery and enchantments.

Young says, "A necromancer is a trickster." Gregory says, " Conjuration, or the black art." Necronite is, in the Greek, "fcztid" while necropolis is the city of the dead, with whom the ancient necromancer claimed to be on familiar terms, and with whom they claimed to converse at pleasure; and by such conversation they claimed to know future events. For this purpose they used divination, of which there were many sorts, as is implied in the original expression here, " Kasemy Kasamim" — seeking to know, by unlawful arts and practices, things secret or to come. They were very superstitious ; and, by closely observing the planets and the weather, they pronounced one day lucky and another unlucky. By such means they obtained the mastery of the superstitious minds of the masses, who had no means of refuting them ; for they were also jugglers, causing things by some secret art to assume a false appearance, and thus would practice illusions on the people's fancy, and deceive by the slight of hand. These pretenders were wont to use superstitious words in their incantations ; and, by observing the waters, looking through smoke, and other foolish ceremonies, they conjectured the destiny of the spirit. They used witchcraft, or were admitted to be in league and covenant with the devil, by whose help they deluded the people's senses, etc., through evil arts. The word is "nackash" where it is in the plural ; it is sorcerer, who is one who transforms natural things so as to deceive the eye, not only deceiving, but getting possession of the will-power of the deceived.

The word is sometimes translated soothsayer— sooth and say; for they pretend to know and tell the events of life and future things. And because of this, then secret, power of mesmerism — for it was nothing else — they were called charmers ; for, at this

juncture, the devotee would, by means of 2 ventriloquism, make the astonished subjects believe that they were in familiar conversation with the spirits of the dead. Hence Moses, in the text, calls them "consulters with familiar spirits.,, The original word is " Shoel Ob" and is, literally, " one who speaks out of his belly," and inquires of Ob, which means a bottle, and was the name given by the Hebrews to the spirit, and was aptly applied to those deceivers ; for, during the process of their divinations, or seance (sa-ance), they distended their bodies violently, as a leather bottle full of new wine. Galen says, " Such persons violently distend their bodies like leather bottles full of wine, ready to burst, and speak as if their voice was sent from their bellies." Whoever has witnessed the art and heard the words of the professional juggler will comprehend this, and also see that such shabby tricks are not yet extinct ; but, with the practice of such arts, the heathen nations of the land which Israel was to occupy and possess, were able to palm themselves off as wizards and necromancers ; for these terms were not then offensive. The one signified " a knowing man ;" the other, " a consulter of the dead." Their manner of doing so was to lie down in some dark place in the night, usually on or at the grave of him whose spirit they would consult, and then, after muttering strange and unintelligible words, in low, solemn, guttural sounds, would pretend to have communion with the spirit, and would sometimes claim to have seen the spirit. Such, then, is a brief outline of ancient necromancy.

My proposition identifies modern spiritualism with it ; and, if the identity be maintained,* we need but refer to the terrible maledictions of God upon the one, to be conscious of his disapprobation of the other.

Diviner, observer of times, enchanter, witch a consulter with familiar spirits, a wizard, and a necromancer, signified the same characters,

16 SPIRITUALISM AND NECJROMANCY.

in the performance of their several practices ; as the term architect signifies builder, who may be laying the foundation, or mounting the turret. So, for convenience, we may use the general term "necromancy," and notice its work, as compared with spiritualism.

The necromancer pretended to know, by means of spirit communication, future events. Webster says, "By magic, enchantment, witchcraft, and divination, by the assistance of evil spirits ;" that is, as we understand him, by help of the devil. Now, is there any thing in spiritualism like this practice ?

A medical medium, or clairvoyant, in Boston, on Washington Street, advertises after this manner:

"MAGNETIC TREATMENT!

BUSINESS MEDIUM!

Turkish Love Powders ! Something New ! Ladies in trouble I Fi?idhig lost property"- etc. ;

and all this she pretends to carry on by aid of the spirits of the ancients, for the moderate sum of two dollars ! not including medicines, some particular kinds of which are exorbitantly high.

It is estimated that the fifty medical mediums in Boston realize an aggregate income of six hundred thousand dollars, for soothsaying the fortunes of the thousands who go to their seances daily ; and it is worthy of note, that nearly all mediums who have the shrewdness to do so, resort to the medical trick for gain, in money and lust. But we notice :

The necromancer was a consulter with familiar spirits ; that is, they pretended to talk with the spirits of the dead. Webster says, u Familiar spirit, a demon or evil spirit, supposed to attend a call."

By this means, the damsel spoken of in the sixteenth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles " brought great gain to her masters ;" and, like the modern follower of the Fates, they were quite angry when the circle was broken, and the power of the medium blasted by the name of the Lord Jesus. Sorcery was a recognized practice in the days of the apostles, and Simon Magus supposed it was by this means the Holy Ghost was given. But, are there any such practices in spiritualism ? Let us see. Here is an abstract from the Boston Daily News, July 25, 1872 :

" Mrs. Harding, a noted medium of Boston, gets two dollars for getting dead relatives to come and converse with their living friends. Hundreds visit her daily. To get a ' setting/ you must send in your application several days in advance, otherwise your desire to converse with a relative will be denied. This woman was in poverty five years ago, when she hit upon the happy art of clairvoyance, or spiritualism ; now, her income is said to be eighty dollars per day."

" By her soothsaying her masters had great gain " (Acts xvi) ; and, by Mrs. Harding's spiritualism, she has, in five years, sprung from poverty to a princely fortune. The same paper says her house, at No. 4 Concord Square, cost her twenty thousand dollars, and is furnished at an expense of eight thousand dollars, while her bank account is as creditable as the largest wholesale houses in the city. In a business sense, with her, spiritualism is no " humbug."

But the necromancer of Moses* day was also a wizard. In plain English, a wizard is a conjurer, or one who resorts to tricks and sleight of hand, for the purpose of causing imaginary things to seem true, making the unreal to appear real, the false to seem true, etc.

Dr. Waterland, an author of some note, says it properly means one who. consulted the dead, and he describes their manner of doing so : " They, the ' wizards/ went to the grave of the dead in the night, stretched themselves upon them, and muttered as from the belly, or in ventriloquism.,, To this Isaiah is thought to refer, in the nineteenth verse of the eighth chapter. Hear the quotation: "And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep and mutter : should not a people seek unto their God ?" Then Isaiah challenges thus : " To the law and to the testimony : if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them."

Now, are there any such "peepings" and mutterings in spiritualism ? Let us see ; and we will not, dare not now, descend to the low, sluttish seance of home manufacture, where the lowest order of ignorant men and women cherish the baser passions, whose spawn is treachery and free-loveism, and the consequent concomitant, violation of the conjugal vow; but we prefer giving its fairest lights.

An unmarried and, we are told, eloquent divine, of Alton City, determined, some months ago, to " leave his own little corner of the Lord's vineyard to grow up in weeds," and visit the great Mecca of spiritual manifestation, which " Mecca " is an obscure village in the State of New York, called Moravia ; and the result of his visit is in print, and so becomes public property. We quote only a few of the leading features of the article ; for, as it appeared in the St. Louis Democrat, July ioth, most of you have read it.

He says : " Kind reader, imagine yourself in a country house," etc. ; " a circle of seven is formed, hands are joined, the medium faces us." " The light is excluded ; but a lamp is burning." " The only door is bolted ;" " now the lamp is extinguished — all is dark." Suddenly, " the piano begins to play. Nothing is touching the keys ; but the playing goes on." " Now, voices, seemingly above us, join in the song with great power and sweetness." The author does not tell us whether he learned the tune or not, nor the name of the song. We shall in a moment speak of optical illusion.

But, just now, we have something that reminds us of the wizards that "peeped" — the evidence of sound. A little study of the habits of the ancient necromancer will fully explain this sound, or those " peepings." They — while in the dark — muttered, murmuring words that seemed to be the voice of another. So Mrs. Andrews — who was our author's medium — with a knowledge of mesmerism and ventriloquism, while in the dark, spake and sang, as did the wizards of Moses* day. But now, while the mind is beclouded, and every nerve of the soul is on the stretch, it is a fitting time for yet other display of the spirits.

Accordingly, " mysterious lights began to dance in circles about the room ;" which was doubtless but an optical illusion, aided by the magic-lantern in the hand of Mrs. Andrews, who was just then behind the "velvet curtain of the cabinet." And now, while the mind is so entranced, "soft voices whisper startling things in our ears" — whether those "startling things" were of earth or of heaven the narrator does not tell us — but "delicate hands thrill us with gentle and affectionate touches,,, and " tender lips kissed mine." No marvel that he was speechless. We have read, in 1 Samuel xxviii, 7 (it was after Saul had got tired serving Israel's God, and God had forsaken him), he said to his servants, " Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit." At En-dor, he found just such a woman, and her performances were so overpowering that Saul fell down in a swoon.

But our author was now sufficiently wrought up to get nearer the medium, which he did, even shutting the door of the cabinet after her ; which door, you will bear in mind, only extended part way up, the upper portion of the aperture being covered with a " blackvelvet curtain ;" and, to his amazement, out thrust an " armless hand" — it was a pretty hand — "white as snow." And it, in a knowing way, " tapped him on the hand and arm." After this, faces, heads, etc., appeared ; and did n't look at all ghostly either, but were perfectly natural.

Permit us to remark here, that we would suppose any such ocular demonstration, purporting to be spirit, would startle the fears of one so orthodox as we are told the narrator is ; for Jesus said, to his doubting disciples, " Handle me, and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have."

Surely, the man must have forgotten his Bible, to have believed those Moravia women were spirits, after they had played the piano for him ; had sung sweetest music to him ; had familiarly patted him on hand and arm — ah ! had embraced, " hugged, and kissed him." We say, after all this, the man must have forgotten the Scriptural declaration, "A spirit hath not flesh and bones." But do you ask for an explanation of these singular manifestations on other than spiritual development ? Very well. There are times in the life of almost every one, when they are easily led into illusions. We once, out of curiosity, visited a noted French spiritualist during the seance. He seemed to take off his head ; and then, by aid of ventriloquism, the severed parts held familiar conversation. But he as readily conversed with any friend you might wish to hear from. Now, what sane man will say those acts or tricks of the artful juggler were real ? But, to hundreds of men and women, they were as real as are the late developments at Moravia, in New York. Our purpose in referring to those wonderful manifestations has been to show that necromancy has only changed in name; that its practices are common to-day, in Europe and America, under the Christian name of spiritualism ; and this we have plainly done by comparative analogy. And now we are ready to examine a second proposition, namely :

2. Spiritualism is a dangerous delusion.

We wish to premise, with this thought :

Christian men seldom fall into this heresy while Christians, or, falling into it, are seldom Christians after it; and, because of this, the danger is all the more to be dreaded. It can not be denied there are men, all through the land, avowed spiritualists, who were once Christians. Fifty years ago, in this country, when men lost the grace of God out of their hearts, they were at once restless and unhappy until they returned. To-day, spiritualism seizes such men, and at once, with its semidiabolism, settles the soul in apathetic ease, keeping up the dangerous delusion by flooding the country with pretended messages from the dead.

Isaiah said to all such : " To the law and to the testimony : if they speak not according to these words, it is because there is no life in them."

That is, as we understand the prophet, let this dispute be determined by the Word of God, which is the law.

SPIRITUALISM AND NECROMANCY. 2J

He was now speaking of apostate Israelites (see Isaiah viii, 19), who had sought "familiar spirits, and conversed with wizards, who peeped or muttered," and declares, "If they will not go by God's word, trouble, darkness, and the dimness of anguish shall finally come upon them." The Scriptures speak elsewhere of certain characters who are given over to believe a lie that they may be damned.

Hence the danger of the delusion. It is a law in physiology, that the effect of opinion on mind is as the reality. The man who studies physical anatomy until he finds a weak spot in his frame, will at once become a chronic invalid on the physician's hands.

So men and women, falling into the power of some designing schemer, in some dark room set apart for seance, and seeing strange sights, their untrained ears listening to the peepings of the wizard, will first of all be put under the enchanter's spell. After that, not all the world — no, not the world's great

Redeemer — can convince them that they have not heard the voice and seen the shape of the spirits. To reason with them, and to undertake to show them the unchristlikeness of such foolish diabolism, but maddens them. Nine out of ten have a morbid, mental depression, bordering upon mania. They lose their interest in rational things. Their business goes down, and most of them go to poverty and want ; for it is only the designing knaves of the circle who amass wealth by filching it from the pockets of their dupes.

At a spiritualists' picnic in Island Grove, in the East, the present season, one poor " Simple Simon " importuned the company for one hundred dollars, to enable him to perfect a wonderful invention which he claimed Hindoo and Egyptian spirits had revealed to him. They were old spirits too, some of them seven hundred years old. An old lady wanted eight hundred dollars, to help her in the performance of spiritual cures.

Nothing is more evident than that the leaders in spiritualism advocate the heresy from the most sinister motives ; but it is almost equally apparent that the victims of it seldom escape the snare. Hence, we pronounce it a very dangerous delusion. But, again :

3. Spiritualism is terribly wicked and false. It is a noteworthy fact, that the advocates of heresy are flippant with Scriptural quotations, until the Scriptures condemn them ; then they abandon the Bible for tradition, or for infidel productions. Spiritualists are no exception to the rule ; for in argument they invariably commence with the Bible, but end with the revelations of the seance, and thus close the mouth of the unbeliever, for the simple reason few sensible men have been on the other side and come back to report ; and respectable people, who have some regard for their reputation, do not like to go "capering" about in dark corners and dens to- hunt up the spirits. So the argument is ended whenever the spiritualist declares himself to have had a statement from some spirit, received in some dingy back-room, where decent people would not dare to go. But we deny the right for this barest assertion, and propose showing the wickedness and falsity of the terrible heresy, by its own practices and by the Word of God, the Bible :

Deuteronomy xviii, 12: "For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord."

Deuteronomy xviii, 14 : " For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners : but as for thee, the Lord thy God hath not suffered thee so to do."

Leviticus xix, 31: "Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them."

Leviticus xx, 6 : " And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, I have set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people."

Leviticus xx, 27: "A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death."

Exodus xxii, 19: "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live."

Now, read the case of Manasseh. He reigned in Israel something over fifty years ; but toward the close of his reign he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, for which God sorely punished him.

What were his crimes ? The record is in 2 Kings xxi ; he became an observer of times, and used enchantment, and dealt with familiar spirits, and wrought much wickedness in the sight of the Lord. " Therefore," saith the Lord, " I am bringing such evil on Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle." The affliction came, and the poor old backslider, being in sorrow and penitence, returned unto his God. But Isaiah says: "When they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that hath familiar spirits : should not a people seek unto their God ?"

Malachi, to show God's displeasure, says, " I will come near to you to judgment, and will be a swift witness against the sorcerers,,, etc.

" By their fruits ye shall know them," said Jesus ; and by this unfailing rule may we try spiritualists.

And, first, who are spiritualists ? Who, O who, in any country or town ?

Second, what have they done ? Has science been promoted by them ? have the industries been advanced ? has society been elevated and made better by spiritualists ? Rather, has not the tendency been directly the reverse of all this ? Those we have known have not been patterns of piety ; and not one in a thousand has made any claim to the Christian religion. Robert Dale Owen, a noted infidel and free-lover, is an acknowledged light in the motley company ; so is Victoria Woodhull.

Thi :.: are their practices? But,

known, we may not answer this question in public.

Fourth, to become a spiritualist is to ab: don all Scriptural hope of heaven.

God's plan of life provides that nothing unclean, impure, or unholy can ever enter heaven.

Spiritu: units the vilest with the pure.

God says, (l Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."

But spiritualism makes no difference, after

h, between the good and the bad ; for

their professed messages from those of every

grade of character, while on earth, are of the

same complexion.

But Malachi says, " Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth the Lord and him that serveth him not."

David says, "The wicked shall be turned into hell, with all the nations that forget God ;" but in the creed of the spiritualists there is no such place of habitation.

The Lord Jesus says, "These shall go away into everlasting punishment ;" but the only everlasting punishment in spiritualism is possible delayed spiritual development.

God's Word says, "The soul that sinneth, it shall die ;" but spiritualists deny all such Scripture, and so are without Scriptural hope of heaven.

But, to conclude, we may ask, since spiritualism can not be maintained by the Bible, but is strongly condemned wherever it is spoken of in the Scriptures, as we have plainly shown, how can a good man or woman embrace it ?

It never reforms heart or life, and why should good men wish to embrace it? It helps no one in the life that now is ; why, then, should men practice such folly? And, finally, it never yet smoothed a dying pillow ;

why should men throw away religion for such unsatisfying chaff? May God save us from its power here, and save us in endless life hereafter, through Jesus' merit! Amen.

II. Spiritualism An Agency Of Satan

" Get thee behind me, Satan." — Jesus. " Neither give place to the devil." — Paul.

r I ^HE cunning and malignity of Satan can **- never be fully understood in this life. But is there such a being? The name, Devil, comes to our language from the Greek word diabolos, which signifies calumniator, or accuser. He is represented in the Scriptures as a fallen spirit, or as a wicked angel — an enemy of the human race and a hater of God. He is in the Scriptures spoken of by the various names which express his character, such as serpent ; for in that character and form he deceived the federal head. But he can assume a variety of forms, and can appear