Being Deceived! by Merritt E. Cornell

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jul 15, 1873

Being Deceived!

By Merritt E. Cornell

ROMAN CATHOLICS have boasted that they were proof against spiritualism, because they were the true church, and, indeed, they have generally opposed it as it appeared among Protestants. But, of late, it seems they are found an easy prey to the enemy. Satan was in no hurry to try his snare on them, for he knew they were safely enough on his side. A well-authenticated report has gone the rounds of the papers, of the appearance of the spirit of James McDonough to his daughter, to the Catholic priests, and many others of the Catholic religion. They all immediately embraced it, and believed it to be just what it professed to be, the real McDonough. A writer, in one of the papers, remarks of it as follows:—

“This spirit announced that he had seen God, Jesus Christ, winged angels, etc., etc., and had been judged by them. He further gave spiritualists the cold shoulder. All of this was highly satisfactory, and placed the spirit of McDonough right before the church, and the priesthood have conceded the fact that it was a veritable spirit visitation. The whole Catholic world will believe the report of his appearance to be true. His professed piety and his yarns about purgatory, God, Jesus Christ, and the winged angels, and, especially, his rap at the spiritualists, is (like Henry Ward Beecher’s orthodoxy) just what will open the eyes of the Catholics to see that spirits can commune with mortals. Thousands will see that if McDonough can do so, others may. They will visit mediums and find out that their own loved ones have the same privileges that McDonough has—aye, more, they will learn that McDonough has been practicing upon their credulity for the sake of gaining a willing ear, that otherwise might have been deaf to him.”

How easily the whole world will be ensnared! They are ripe for the delusion, because they receive not the love of the truth that they may be saved. There is no shield but the present truth. The enemy will soon come in like a flood, and but few will stand.

M. E. CORNELL.

Napa City, Cal., June 16.