p. 531 | SPIRITUALISTIC TRICKS

Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Dec 1, 1881

SPIRITUALISTIC TRICKS.

WHILE the self-styled “Professor” Denton was gathering gold from the lovers of novelty in San Francisco, the following appeared in the Chronicle:—

Last evening at the Central Presbyterian Tabernacle, Rev. W. J. Smith lectured on “Spiritualism, is it God or the devil?” The lecturer said that at the inquiry meetings lately, many had interrogated him as to the existence of spirits, and the propriety of believing in Spiritualism. A reference to the Scriptures, he said, was sufficient to convince him that there were both good and evil spirits, but he discarded the belief that the spirits of the departed could through any medium be recalled to this earth, either to rap on tables, hurl them through a room, utter sepulchral language and the like. “Ninty-nine one-hundredths of Spiritualism is sheer trickery and deception, and the other one-hundredth part is performed either directly or indirectly by the devil. Spiritualism, so great an enemy of religion, is rapidly gaining ground. The number of advertisements in the Sunday papers, of materializing seances, marvelous materialization, Christian Spiritualistic unions, and the like, are as numerous as church notices. This is a deplorable fact, and argues an irreligious tendency on the part of the community, many of whom are encouraging this work of the devil by their presence at seances and spiritualistic meetings, and by their belief in the trickery there resort to. Spiritualism, when tried either by the word of God, by the rules of common sense and reason, or by its moral effect on those who believe in it, utterly fails to stand the test, and is found greatly wanting. It was conceived in Satanic regions, and is emphatically denounced by the Scriptures in sundry passages. The children of God are warned to shun witches, enchanters, and the like. No wonder, then, that Professor Denton, and others of like proclivities, tramp upon the Bible, and use all their influence to crush it out of existence, for it ignores them and cautions all to beware of them. Spiritualism has been one of the greatest causes of insanity in the United States of late years. Our lunatic asylums are thronged with victims of this diabolical vice. People that make a practice of visiting these spiritualistic meetings become gradually unnerved. Their nervous system becomes a perfect wreck. They pass sleepless nights. Phantoms, visions, rappings, and the like are everlastingly haunting them. At last the brain will necessarily become affected, and insanity will culminate a wicked belief in spiritual manifestations.” Mr. Smith related an incident of which he was a witness, showing the trickery and deception of spiritual mediums. Once upon a time he was moved by curiosity and attended a seance. The medium informed him of a message that was sent to him by his deceased father. After the message was delivered, Mr. Smith paralyzed the medium by informing her that his father was not dead, and that he was a hearty, healthy old man, four score years of age. The medium expostulated with Mr. Smith, assured him it was a mistake, that the message was for another party, but he left the place convinced that spiritualism was just as the church has ever denominated it, a series of diabolical tricks and deceptions.