Proof of Life After Death
By F. M. W.
A NUMBER of papers have recently come out with the statement that man is no longer dependent upon divine revelation for proof of life after death; that science has helped to demonstrate this fact in the recent investigations of Sir Oliver Lodge, president of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. The scientific proof which Sir Oliver offers is that he has communicated with those who have passed from this life, or with the spirits of the dead. This claim directly contravenes the statements of Holy Writ. The Scriptures of Truth declare emphatically that when man dies, his thoughts cease (Ps. 146: 3, 4); that he has no knowledge of anything that is done under the sun; that he possesses neither love nor hatred nor envy, and that “the dead know not anything.” Eccl. 9: 5, 6; Job 14: 21. The question arises as to which testimony should be believed, the testimony of the Sacred Record, or that of Sir Oliver Lodge and the scores of Spiritualist mediums who pretend to hold communication with the dead. That Sir Oliver Lodge communicated with invisible, unseen intelligences we do not for a moment doubt. But they were not the spirits of those who once lived on this earth. They were the spirits of devils impersonating the dead. In this science the necromancers of old were much farther advanced than Sir Oliver Lodge. But against this spirit communion the Lord by his prophets faithfully warned his children. See Deut. 18: 6-12. If the practice of pretended communication with the dead was an abomination in the sight of the Lord in the days of ancient Israel, it is none the less an abomination in his sight today, and should be so regarded by all believers in the Scriptures of Truth. That the last days should be marked by a revival of this ancient form of devil worship and devil communion the Bible plainly indicates. See 1 Tim. 4: 1-3; Rev. 16: 12-14. May the Lord save us from the deductions of scientific research and philosophical reasoning which lead us to reject the plain statements of the Scriptures of Truth. F. M. W.