Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1859-07-09
IS HENRY WARD BEECHER A SPIRITUAL
MEDIUM?
His Own Statement,
From the Independent of Thursday.

A great many people there are who do not
know what they believe on many intricate
subjects. There are many, probably, brought
up to believe a great many things, which, if
keenly examined they do not believe. But,
neither of these positions is so perplexing as
that of finding ones self believing firmly and
religiousy what he had always supposed him
self to reject, so that he is living in doable
state, running parallel a state of unconscious
belief, and state of conscious disbelief, upon
the very same subject. These remarks are
suggested by the paragraphs which are flying
about the country papers as to our belief in
Modern Spiritualism. 1t seems Mr.. Chase
declared that we were a real spiritual medium,
and preached by help obtained of spirits. We
have seen this quoted scores of times, I'd we
have before us a Michigan paper, in which
MIR. Everts, in some explanations about his
remarks on Mr.. Chase, says:
81 am myself medium, and | always know
when am in a magnetic state, and if Mr..
Beecher is one, it would be impossible for him
to go into that state unknowingly. Mr.. Beech
er breaches about the same doctrines as other
Spiritualsts, and so doing, is also medium.
Ii he believes as he breaches, he certainly is
believer in Spiritualism."
And, again =
of Mr.. Beecher, then, is a medium, and his
communion with tie sbttsg e o. can an hold direct
and that said spirits do influence him to speak
as he does speak, he certainly must be con-
scious of such fact"
We are sorry to inform Mr.. Everts that we
are quite unconscious of having had any person
al intercourse with the departed spirits of
men; nor, from the fruits ofsuch alleged inter
course,in other cases, have We any particular
desire to do so. w G have noticed, attentiyey
Tor some years, the messages sent hither, as it
is SAID, from the other world, from some of the
most eminent names, and we are satisfied that,
ifthey are genuine, then either death has been
great injury to them, or else their wisdom is
much damaged by retraction in being trans
mitted to this sphere.
We are fartrom denying that these messages
did not come from the disembodied spirits of
Jefferson, Franklin, Washington, Jonathan Ed
wards, Napoleon, Bacon, Votaire, Webster.
Calhoun, &C., &c. But we may be permitted,
we hope, to mourn over the results to which
greatness comes and to throw new and mel
ancholy light upon the meaning of the Scrip
ture which says that the first shall be last
Certainly, If there is a lower depth of inanity
than that out of which these new spiritual
philosophers speak, our surprise must wait for
some augmentation of being before 1t can gain
any further expression.
But we do not interfere with other peoples
business. We do not attack the faith of any man
in modern Spirilualism. utwhen they insist
upon it that we do believe in Spiritualism our
selves; nay, that we are mediums, and, unless
dishonest, conscious mediums we dc. think that
we ought to overhaul our faith, experience, and
CONSCIOUSNESS, to see whatwe are. Now, if any
spirit, or any corps of associated spirits. are emf
ploylng us as line by which to telegraph
truth rom that sphere to this they are doing
nnr l-tn,, .l.1.,-
protest against the operation. And as we can
imagine no way in which to take the law
against them for trespass, we take the news
paper And we here bring no railing accusia-
uon against any or sundry spirits that have
quiZzed MIR. Chase or Mr. Avery but we ex
postulate with those mischievous spirits that
amuse themselves at the expense of these
sober and honest gentlemen. 1t isnot fair II
would not be regarded as square in the bodv
and we don't believe it is SO out of the body
And, as for using using us as go between on
such ludicrous errands, the spirits know very
well that it is on the sly, if at ALL And. if Il
is not stopped Immediately, we will find out
some way to cut the wires.
The only thing that connects us with Shirt
ualism is the publication of every sermon
which we preach i'll one or the other of tbe
Spiritual papers. But this is their arrange
ment, not ours. If they can stand our SER
mons, we can stand their papers. And as vet
we have seen no messages from the spirit
world alongside of the sermons which put us
10 the blush. But this putting every sermon
into type is handling minister rather severe
ly. 1t gives him no chance for poor sermons
1t gives him no chance to preach his sermons
over again 1t keeps him to the necessity of
good sound work for there is many SNOWY
sermon that would do well enough if only
heard, that would ill bear careful reading. But
II Spirltualists choose to build paper pulpits
for Orthodox preachers, why should we finch
at mounting them before an audience of a hun
dred thousand people?