The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-07-21
SPIRITUALISM AND THE BIBLE
MARRYING A BROTHERS, WIDOW.
is MAN ONLY AN ANIMAL i?
Ministerial Changes and Move
memts.
Services To-day.

Bishop will tell what he knows about "The
Mission OF Eias'' in the afternoon, ut the Uni
versity
Rev. Dr. Flagg breaches at both services at the
Church Of the Resurrection.
Rev. DIR. Deems breaches morning and evening
at the Church Of the Strangers.
Rev. G. W. Steele discourses at the camp meeting
at Sea Cliff this morning
In Attorney street Methodist church there will he
preaching morning and evening. The subject OF
''Sunday Recreation" will be considered.
Professor Edward J. Young OF Massachusetts,
Will preach In the Church o: the Messiah in the
forenoon. The building viii be closed during the
evening.
Services will be conducted in Grace church.
broadway, in the forenoon and evening.
Rev. George F. Seymour, D. d. will preach In st.
Chrysostom's chapel Thirty-n street and
Seventh avenue, in the evening, in aid OF mission
work In rural part OF this State.
Spiritualism and tho Bible.
70 THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD
An article in your columns on Spirituaism and
Catholicism has doubtless attracted the attention
or many OF your readers and has led at least one OF
them to inquire what the Bible, that glorious vol
ume which has come down to us from our fathers
and claims to be the word OF God has to say on the
subject OF Spiritualism ? From this book we learn
that there is spiritual world, and that it is pos
sibe to see and converse with spirits, and
that man has guardian spirits, and that
there are evil or unclean spirits, and numerous ex-
amples or instances are given OF open vision and
spiritual communication, and even of men being
possessed by spirits, that spritualsm is nothing
new.
But we hear from the sacred volume that there
are two kinds OF spiriualism, If you please; one by
Divine permission, protection and guidance in
which the Lord and His angels manifest themselves
to men and reveal important truths. and permit
men to see the inhabitants OF the spiritual world,
as was the case with the prophets and
disciples, and especially with John the Re-
velator. The individual man, not having sought
such intercourse, but seeming 10 have been
chosen for his Office and only when some important
knowledge or information for the good of his race
was tn be impaired by or through him. The second
class OF communications and spiritual phenomena
would seem to be dis0rderly and evil from the fact
that they are prohibited by the Lord In the Old
Testament, and that the LORD when earth cast
out the possessing spirits in one instance permit
among the lowest and most filthy of all animals.
These possessing spirits chose them for habita-
ton, but 1t seems no good came to the poor swine,
for according TO the record IL would appear that
the whole herd ran down a steep place and per-
ished in the sea. In the Old Testament we read -
"Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither
seek after wizards to be defed by them. am the
Lord your God" Gevltlcus XIX, 81 And
tho soul that turneth after such as have
familiar spirits and after wizards, and go whor-
ing after them, VIII even set my face against that
soul, and will cut him OF from among his people.n
Lev XXX. o. There shall not be found among you
any one that maketh his son or daughter to pass
through the fire, or that useth divination, or an
observer OF times, or an enchanter. or witch,
charmer, or consulter with familiar spirits, or a
wizard or necromancer For all that do these
things are an abomination 70 the Lord, and because
OF these denominations the Lord thy God doth
drive them out from before thce.n deuteronomy
xviii. 10-l2D "And when they shall say unto YOU.
seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto
wizards that peep and that mutter: should not
people seek unto their God for the living to the
dead to the law and 10 the testimony fthey speak
not accordingly to this word II is because there Is
light IN them" isaiah viii, 1920 Can ii he that
the word OF the Lord would pointedly condemn
seeking communications from spirits, even to the
driving OF nations out of their lands and cutting
OF, II it were harmless practice If It
was a sin, and such deadly one, TO seek
intercourse with spirits several thousands
OF years ago, is IL any the less wrong nowy II
obsess0n was so Objectionable that the Lord, when
His disciples power over such spirits. should men
and women to-day allow spirits to take possession
OF their bodies, and perhaps souls, and speak and
write through them And should we run alter
them and read their writings
Finally cannot some OF your numerous theologi-
cal writers give good reason why the Lord pro-
hibted, under the most fearful penalties, the con-
sultng with familiar spirits or even with those
who have such spirits What real objection can
there be TO our seeking open intercourse with
spirits and consulting and regarding those who can
see and converse with splritsY Surely, II IL IL
wrong there must be some good reason why IL Is so
which would appeal TO understandings A
great many intelligent men at this day, and who
are not among the worst OF men, have in great
measure outgrown authority, and perhaps to q
greater extent than they should have done, rever-
ence for ancient dogmas. II spiritualism, for i'll
plainly teaches. they want to understand the why
and the wherefore. Let us have light upon this
BIBLE sPIRTrUALIsT