Richland beacon., 1875-10-23
RAYVILLE. LOUISIANA.
Saturday, October %. 1875.
SPIRlTISM IN THE COURTS.
Cause of Alarm to Believers of
the Bible,

apprehcnd approaching calamity
but the Bible reader, who believes
what he reads, especially the christian
who relies with implicit faith on the
promises and believes in the propbe.
sizes of Christ, sees many reasons for
such apprehensions. Those who
believe that God has punished nations
in the past for idolatry, unLclicf cor
ruption and ali manner of wickedness
can but believe that our own Country
VIII soon receive the severe.t chastiso-
nent at Gods hand, when they be.
hold the wonderful progress Of mod.
ern idolatry, or devil worship, in the
land, especially in the Northern States
under the name Of spirituaiism, ahicb
seems 10 have for lis votaries even
some OF the most influential officials
oi Tue Government, whose doctrines
ana teachings, while they advocate
Inc doctrine Of Immortality, deny the
authority of the Bible and give license
TO the qualification of the viies,
passions, which are destructive 70
society and religion and lead to the
commission of crimes as great rs
those which caused the destruction
Of Sodom.
These devil worshippers, called
spiritual mediums and clairvoyauts,
o have even invaded the courts Of
justice and introduced their spirits
upon the witness stands, and while
they may be laughed at AMI their
testimony he disregarded by the learn.
edJudges and attorneys. their state.
ments no doubt have as much iuau.
cncc with many jurors as the tcs,i.
mony Of the most reliable witnesses
,n Tact many of the jurors are often
urn believers in spirtualism, and
such jurors give more credence to the
spiritual than human evidence And
thus the judges are guilty of admit
'nS into their courts the testimony of
lying demons ; for it is not ONLY
possible, but very probable, that these
ciairvoyants are actual mediums Of /
EVIL spirits for We are inclined 70
believe that they are the yeri,able |
spirits of divinalion and an,i.cbris,s
OF which our Savior warns his peonle
and says that they should perform
soch miracles as would deceive the
very elect if it were possible; for we
ma even many protested christians
consulting and believing them and
running of into their abominable
Doctrines and practices, and thus
openly committing the sin of idolatrv
many of them ignorantly and Others
wilfully. 1
when one of these clairvoyants
ea veritable successor of the witch of {
Endor) was placed upon the stand as I
witness in the Tilton-Beecher case,
and swore to the presence of the
spirits Of many of the eminent dead }
and the interest they took in the case a
We could but condemn the course of t
the learned judges and counsel who n
a''owed her to proceed with her "
recital, but We felt but little alarm S
Tor We hoped it would be the last n
scene OF the kind that would be nd G
United into a court room. But now 81
comes great Michigan will case. ii
a five millions dollars e'
estate, in which two sets OF heirs III
children of two marriages of the Il
'esta'or, are interested, majority of h
Inc Witnesses being clairvoyapts
Mediums and believers 10 their deistic M
mo lnhdel doctrines. Itappears that a
be testator Zone Ward) was q be. fo
lever In spiritualism, who consulted c'
nese mediums relative " all bis bust. N
less transactions, attributed his sue.
'ess 10 business to this fact, ran
hese will give thee if thou wilt
sll down and worship mel and con. be
'uited the spirit of bis first wife and ",
's'atives Of bis living wife concerning dc
us will and wrote it as they directed W
As usual with these spirits, the sde
recessed spirit of his dead wife Se
ook occasion to dispute the words of fir
,hrist 10 one of the seances, that Gin pa
be next world they neither marry do
or are given 10 marriage" by saying th
bat she would be bis wife in the I'll
ext world. What strong pro,ec. ba
on to the true believer is the doctrine w
the resurrection and life only after col
be resurrection. The belief of No ito
piritaal existence separate from III. I'm
ody is that safe guard which will the
revent the elect from being deceived Der
y these false prophets. we