Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1885-01-09
An IncOnSidprate View.

ii' ~ VIM u lil"0' j" Ii'I' ~ pm
h, for thu deed" 1t then declares
that that iliilucnc" wa> >prltuall>m
and that il i characteristic "t
-piriliiali-m that the inquirer "l
in,c,tiuator. ~ we'll IL the convert
must surrender hi rca>"n as wei
"a, hi- faith before hc can come into
conditions favorable t" the examine
alton IF cNidcncr,. The impair
'ial reader will fail To- he convince
hy This very d"glnatic manner 81
di-p"-iug If the subject. All re
ligion- are based upon faith il
thing unseen" N"h"dy. excepting
i, may have been Moses. ever behcl'
the great Creator: none have re-
turned from that mysterious borne
aero, the dark river. Hope j.
/ therefore the essential element al
Faith. which hy growth become,
able Ia "lnuvc mountains" or il
more exact language to Surmount
great difficulties. 1t is this faitl
whose abnormal development some
time, leads To- mania that is likely
To- sanction or commit any attro
ciuu- act. nor j. it confined to any
sect or creed. We depl"re its ef
feet, upon the mind Of the BaptiS,
minister who whipped his son t'
death few years ago. without
hol,ling the doctrine If immersion
Responsible for the act> of the lu
matte. We protest against amy
h"ly'> faith becoming :" strong
that he maginc> himself Immanu
81 and call, himself Jesus. without
one word If fault to find with /:
creed which has been solace t'
many through life and comfort
when the black robcd messenger
summoned them hence.
But does the spiritualist reall,
surrender his reason as well a,
his faith. before he can come into
conditions favorable to the exam
nation Of evidence! As the Ore.
gon'o" affirms. This depends OF
what the ordinary operations Of
human reason" really are. If, a.
Webster defines reason, it be {
quality of the mind which enables
one to dcduce differences from fact.
or propositions, the spirit'lalis
may as safely as anybody elst
claim that his faith is built upon
rock, for he processes to have some
tangible evidence of immortalit,
based upon reasonable hypothe
sis, while other creeds, many O
them, admit spirit intercourse il
ScripturaI times and the age O
miracles, but denying any belle
that such a communication is DOS
sible now, in this age of wonders
when the voice of living man i,
carried instantly from zone to ION,
by those occult forces of nature O
which, with all our boosted knOwl
edge we know SO little. Has tn,
Unknown Land receded Will,
the nations of Earth have beel
drawn together! Has the voice Of
love grown SO feeble that it cannot
now reach mortal ears as it did il
the days when winged messenger,
spoke glad tidings to the shep
herds.
Unless we reject the whole sys
tenn of theology; unless We doubt
the history Of the past and aban-
don all hope for the future, can We
ignore spiritualism? The very
foundation is quickly removed
from all creeds, when this prop i.
knocked down. The only differ.
ence is, the spiritualists claim
that they have means Of commu
nication with the loved ones on the
other side. Who in this enlight
ened age will dare dispute it, pro
c'ed Immortality is conceded
The very moment the eye rests un.
mistakably on the other shore, the
bridge to span the Intervening
space is ut once erected. 1t only
wants a resting place to become
peopled with those who if they
"still live" are reaching out the
arms of affection to those who
stumble more from want of knowl.
edge than depravity of heart.
If the Oregonian had simply
said that the head of the unfortu
nate family, at Chehalis, had be
come insane from too much though
on given subject, it would have
told the truth. Int when + affirm,