Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1878-10-09
Toe Religion Of tho Future,

The following IA from the Chroai'
cal and Eeamia0, tho largest aud
leading Baptist newspaper In tho
United States, What will the Bap'
tlst clergy say TO such an article al''
pearlng In their orgaRl
Thirty years ago tho first "spiritaal
circle" was held by tho BOX sisters on
the banks Of the Genesee and In a
few short months, although tho sum
mcr OF 4s was known as tho "battlc
summer" the fame OF the Rochester
rapplngs had extended throughout tho
world, The spiritual Significance ot
this event waS, for q time, by the ap-
plicatlon 10 IL of a term which cmpha.
sized the physical phenomena that
were ito mere accidents physical pho
nomena which skeptics pronounced
phenomena IN the fullest sense Of tho
word while contumacious men Of
science insisted that however strange
the phenomena might be, they were
BY no means new, aud must DO ex-
planned by reference to some hitherto
unascertaincd law OF nature, Few
realized IN that remote period, that
those derlded "rappings" enwrappcd
now cult and a uew creed that as de-
vout Mohammedans reckoned the age
Of the world from the hcgira, unborn
millions should trace their emaucipa.
ton from the troublesome ihralldom
Of the old lcligious faith TO that first
spiritual circle which suggested, to an
incrcdulous world, nothing more
promising to humanity than the collu.
sion OF servant girls, or the ability ol
women whose characters land motives
the world does not hesitate to asperse,
to snap their ankle joints.
Yet the emancipation of millions
from the thralldom referred to is trac.
ed, by spiritualsllc statsticians, to the
aforesaid circle. We have seen il
stated that the number OF spirllnalisls
in the United States alone is five mil.
lions Fow for every adhercnt Of Il
sect or creed, it is n well.knowp (or
taken.for-granted) fact that
you may safely reckon our semi'adhor-
hents in the shape of children, depend
ents and general hangers on; the
number of spiritualists in the United
States alone-if we count as is no less
than proper, the adherents and semi-
adhe no less than twenty-five
millions and as the entire population
of the United States was, according
TO the census Of 1870, but 5S.j5S,27l,
the disciples Of the Fox sisters have "a
right to congratulate themselves alike
to their present numbers, their rate of
increase, and their speedy prospective
overshadowing (or rather enligh ten
ing) of the entire earth.
A striking feature with reference to
this surprising growth of spiriluaism,
IS the immense obstacles which it has
10 encounter. We do not refer to the
,neers and ridcue of the vulgar, or
The more refined crcdulity Of those
who pride themselves on their learn
ng, as to the fact that spIritualism
1as, more than any other religion,
suffered at the hands of those who
"Stole the livery Of the court Of heaven
To serve the devil in"
The old religion has suffered in full
illment of the prophecy, "False
prophets shall arise, and shall show
'igns and wonders, to seduce, if it
we're possible, even the elect" But
he adherents of the old religion, in
ul6llment Of another prophecy, have
hown a perverse determination to
know not the voice of a stranger,
ND to "try the spirits, whether they
,e of God" which still gives to that
though it manifestly
s-the semblance of vitality. The
dherents of the new religion, more
and conceding, have been
hamefully imposed upon by unprin-
ipled adventures who showed the
igns of an apostle among them, but
Who proved in the long run, to De
solvss in Sleeps clothing. Again
nd again have quacks and charlatans '
'assed themselves off as representative
piritualists, and secured from the J
representatives. Of their assumed faith
he fullest possible endorsement.
Fortunately, no sooner have the i'm
'ositions of these charla tans been de- {
ected, and their masks and wires and
pirit hands been accumulated in the
urlieus Of some subllnary courtroom,
hen it has been easy to show that
hey never were spiritualists at all
nd that, stimulating with their base
Mechanical appliances the phenomena
Al.