Fraud or Familiar Spirits by F. M. W.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Dec 11, 1913

Fraud or Familiar Spirits

By F. M. W.

COMMENTING upon the recent utterances of Sir Oliver Lodge regarding the subject of psychic research, the British Reviewer for October, 1913, makes the following pertinent statements:—

Sir Oliver Lodge has won for himself a high position in the estimation of his countrymen, but we question whether his undoubted eminence is not largely due to other qualities than those of science. Parts of his presidential discourse to the British Association seem to us to afford evidence rather of skill in speech than of precision in thought, so that we hesitate to follow Sir Oliver, even when he tends toward conclusions which on other grounds we ourselves accept. Let us take one instance of what we mean:—

The president, as was to be expected, spoke, though not at length, of the evidence of a life after death that, according to him, is furnished by psychical research. There is great danger that imperfectly instructed Christians will in increasing numbers attempt to buttress their faith with arguments derived from this source. The evidence, if evidence it be, is in large part gathered in an atmosphere of such fraud on one side and—we say it boldly—of such credulity on the other side as to breed the gravest suspicion in the minds of reasonable men. But let us assume that the investigators do sometimes establish communication with spiritual beings. Even so, there is not the shadow of a guaranty that those beings are the disembodied spirits of men and women. A Christian ought to reflect that far more probably they are devils out of hell masquerading, for the destruction of souls, as the spirits of the departed, and he would do well to remember the condemnation that Holy Writ pronounces on those that resort to such. Fraud or familiar spirits—surely in neither can one find a fitting buttress for faith.

But that there are things done in Spiritualist circles which cannot be accounted for on any natural or scientific basis, and which prove indeed that communication is held with the unseen world, can no longer be disputed. This fact has been demonstrated too many times to the satisfaction of the most critical observers to be disputed. But that the pretended communication with the spirits of the dead is nothing short of communication with spirits of devils we believe also is just as true. We believe this, not on the basis of any scientific demonstration, but on the strength and authority of the Word of God.

Modern Spiritualism is a manifestation of the old-time necromancy. The same agencies which possessed evil men and women in the days of Christ possess evil men and women today. That these agencies will do marvelous things in these days the Scriptures plainly assert. “They are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.”

That many excellent people fondly believe that they are able to communicate with the spirits of their departed loved ones, and so have allied themselves with the Spiritualistic cult, is to be regretted. Many of these we believe will have their eyes opened to the dangerous delusion which has ensnared them. Let us pray and work to this end. F. M. W.