Ex-parte Evidence by W.

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Aug 5, 1886

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 12, No. 30.

Ex-parte Evidence.

By W.

IN its issue of June 26, 1886, the Golden Gate contained the following:—

'Truth is generally determined by the weight of evidence in its favor. Our Adventist friends declare with Job, that there is 'no knowledge nor device in the grave'—that the soul sleeps after death till the literal resurrection of the body. Now we can bring a great 'cloud of witnesses' who were once mortals like us, and who will all declare most positively that they were never more alive nor wide-awake than they are now. Shall we not believe our spirit friends in preference to Job, who evidently did not know what he was talking about, never having had any experience as a spirit separate from the body? It is hardly fair to insist that a man is dead, when he himself declares to the contrary.'

Again, in its issue of July 17, we find the following in an editorial note:—

'Job said that 'the dead know not anything;' while the so-called dead come back to us by thousands, and declare that Job was mistaken. Who shall we believe?'

It is not at all surprising that a paper which has no special use for the Bible should persist in giving Job credit for what Solomon wrote; we never knew an opponent of the Bible to be acquainted with its contents. The mistake is not so bad a one, however, for although Job did not use the language attributed to him, he did speak thus of the dead: 'His sons come to honor, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them.' Job's testimony is directly opposed to Spiritualism, and so the editor of the Golden Gate did not go so very far astray. But it is surprising indeed to see a man of his intelligence bring in behalf of Spiritualism a class of evidence that would not be accepted by a Police Judge in a petty larceny case, and then call it 'weight of evidence.' Here the spirits are on trial. The Bible charges them with being spirits of devils. We call them up and put the question, 'Guilty, or not guilty?' They reply, 'Not guilty,' and straightway the editor of the Golden Gate claps his hands, and says, 'I told you so.'

The story is told that in a remote country village, a man of limited capacity was elected Justice of the Peace. The first case that came before him was that of a man charged with stealing chickens. To the usual question, the accused replied, 'Not guilty.' Immediately the Justice prepared to leave the court room. The prosecuting attorney asked in surprise if he were not going on with the trial. The Justice replied, 'What's the use? The prisoner admits that he isn't guilty.' We always thought that this story was the creation of somebody's imagination; but now we are prepared to believe it. Surely a country Justice should not be laughed at for doing that which is done not only by the learned editor of the Golden Gate, but by Spiritualists all over the world.

We don't accept the evidence; and we would warn all unsuspecting persons against being imposed upon by such one-sided testimony. When you are asked to believe that there is no death, on the ground that some wonderful spiritual phenomena have been exhibited, remember that the Bible says, 'They are the spirits of devils working miracles;' and remember also that the only defense made is on the testimony of the accused themselves.

But this is not all. Not only is there no evidence in behalf of the accused, except their own testimony, but their own testimony is admitted to be worthless. The Golden Gate of May 8, 1886, gave an account of a slate-writing seance, together with a fac-simile of the messages that were received. In the course of the account, the editor said:—

'It is not claimed that this writing was done, in all instances, or even in any instance, by the spirit giving the name. Much of it, no doubt, is done by the medium's control, or by spirits skilled in the manipulation of the pencil tips; and such spirits act as mediums for those less proficient in the matter. This explains the poor grammar and orthography sometimes witnessed in communications from spirits who, in earth life, we know would never have committed such mistakes.'

In the face of this admission, we are asked if we shall not believe our 'spirit friends' when they testify in their own behalf! No; for the most 'advanced' Spiritualists admit just what the editor of the Golden Gate does, that there is no means of identifying the spirits. We could give abundance of testimony on this point, but prefer to use the recent matter all from the same source.

The case stands thus: Certain spirits do communicate with men. This we all admit. We claim, on the testimony of the Bible, that they are the spirits of devils. Spiritualists claim that they are our 'spirit friends,' and offer the testimony of the spirits themselves as proof, at the same time telling us, what we would know without being told, that their statements are not to be relied on. And for the sole testimony of the accused, who are known only as liars, we are asked to throw away the Bible, which, by the exact fulfillment of prophecies covering the whole of earth's history, as well as by its general testimony concerning human nature, has been demonstrated to be the embodiment of truth. We shall stick 'to the law and to the testimony;' and we urge all people who are asked by Spiritualists to 'try the spirits,' to challenge the testimony that is offered.

Christ said that lying is the characteristic of the devil. 'He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own; for he is a liar, and the father of it.' It has been shown that the only thing known about these communicating spirits is that they are liars. Do they not thus in themselves afford proof of the Bible charge that they are the spirits of devils?

Next week, if we have space, and if not, the week following, we shall answer the question that is so often asked, namely, 'If these spirits are the spirits of devils, how is it that they sometimes heal the sick, and in other ways render aid to men?' It is not a difficult question to answer, yet thousands have stumbled over it. W.