Prescott journal. [volume] (Prescott, Wis.) 1861-1871, 1870-04-07
APRIL y, 1870.
Spiritualism.
.d hoId fst

as we'll as elsewhere. The subject is not en-
tirely new, nor are the views, thoughts and
ideas which have been expressed. The same
may Just " be said of anything. or of all that
may be found in these articles. But repe-
tition of thoughts and ideas may not be alto
gether out of place under many circumstau-
ces.
That the movement is. in certain sense,
popular. and that it is gaining good deal
of strength and conference, and that 1t now
claims distinct position as denomination,
whether religious or Otherwise, viii be de-
nied by no candid individual. Some over
twenty years ago it began in vague, fever
ish excitement, which neither opposition or
ridicule could allay, or extinguish. and now
il claims 10 teach complete philosophy of
human life. 1t numbers among the adher-
ents, persons of high responsibility in public
and private life, whose intelligence and cam
dor challenge for their views, a respectful at
tention. 1t counts its adherents in this
country by millions. whose views are advo-
Gated by numerous lecturers and large
amount of literature in the shape of books
and periodicals, and when we look back to
one OF its important conventions. we there
find no less man than the distinguished
poet, John PierpoInt, as the acting president.
whose name would have honored the presi-
dency of any literary or religious society in
our land. And now whether it is considered
material, immaterial, or religious in its char
acter, ii cannot be treated with contempt. but
it deserves careful study and candid atten-
tion. True it is shapeless and confused, and,
in word, seems TO be Incomprehensible. 1t
may be made TO mean little, or it may en-
brace within its wide borders many extrava-
gances and delusions as we'll as many sensi-
BILE and wholesome doctrines. 1t may, in
deed, be difficult to determine what Spirit
ualism really means, or 10 sift out the truth
and the error, the good aud the evil which it
may teach or reject. and few, if any. can dis
cuss the subject with much confidence of do
ing it justice. it is only our impressions
upon certain phases of it that can be safely
promulgated.
One prominent feature of this doctrine is.
that we in this world can communicate with
the spirits of the departed, or that they can
return TO us, make known their presence and
converse and commune with as. This doc
trine encounters violent prejudice, which al
ways impedes candid Investigation. and il is
undoubtedly true that unfavorable associa-
tions IN The character and manners of some of
its advocates, have justified some prejudice
and suspicion. Yet these preiudices should
not go so far as TO forbid investigation, or
discredit respectable testimony. Prom the
testimony before Us it can no longer be de-
MED that there is something in these mani
festations that deserves thorough scientific
study. There may be danger attending it,
moral. if not physical but dangers have at
tended many scientific inquiries and research
es. A certain Russian philosopher once at
tempted to repeat the experiment Of DIR.
Franklin in drawing lightning from the
clouds, and was instantly killed but this
event never delayed the progress of science,
and out of repeated experiments we now
have the electric telegraph
1t is useless to assert that t'ese manifesto
tions:are all ingenious jugglery, when there
is such an array Of respectable testimony to
the facts, and though there may be ludicrous
failures and any amount of mistake and de-
ception, it still openly invites, and success
fully challenges scientific invest igation.
And here the inquiry very properly arises
whether it is not strictly physical science.
Does not this peculiar belief depend entirely
upon the evidence OF our own senses, or upon
the testimony of Others 10 such evidence?-
And if so. can it be, in amy sense. moral or
religious2 Or, does modern Spiritualism in
any way teach morality or religion? These
are questions which il may be well to consider.
Most people believe that knowledge comes
TO us through one or the other of two chan
nels. The one is called the testimony Of the
soul. sight or insight, and the other the testi-
mOny of the senses, such as feeling, hearing
and seeing. Thought, emotion and wisdom
constitute ourspiritual nature. in the common
acceptance of terms, Mind and matter are
entirely unlike. Man in one sense may be
like lump of earth but lump of earth is
not man, and there is all the difference be-
tween the two that there is between a clod
aud thought.
1t is through our spiritual natures that we
have ideas, that we have moral impressions
that we have the emotions of reverence, the
experience of penitence and pardon. 1t is
through this nature that we receive the evil
dence of what we deem religious truths and
our various convictions concerning God and
our duties and relations TO him. Hence our
religious convictions, to great extent. are
the legitimate result of our early education,
especially in the awakening of spiritual in
sight, so called.
Strictly speaking. cannot discover that
Spiritualism is in any just sense, religious
movement 1t has place of its own. and
in that place it is entitled to the same respect
of any other theory, art or science. 1t makes
no pretensiOns by way of teaching us any
thing respecting our relations to God; if it
does. fail to discover them. Christianity,
therefore, has still its own duty to Perform
its own work 10 accomplish 3 tfs-r -.
1t is not my design TO pass judgment upon
any particular feature of this novel theory,
but rather to converse concerning it, and i
would by no means detract from its merits or