The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1888-05-11
MODERN sPIl,ITUALISM .
Dr.. Talmage breaches on Mediums
and Their Followers.
Nothing Mysterious or Awfnl About the
whole rhinx-Terribls Effects Of Fol-
lowing Splrituaiistic Doctriue-NOt
an Invention Of This Age

In a late sermon upon '.Modern Spirit
uallsm" DR.. Talmsge took for bis text,
Behold, there Is woman that hath
familiar spirit al Endor. And Saul dis
gi,sed himself, and put on other raiment,
and he went, and two men with him, and
they came to the woman BY night; and he
said, l pray thee, divine unto me by the
familiar spirit and bring me him up, whom
shall name unto thee" Samuel xviii.
IS. DIR. Talmase recited the story Of King
Saul, how he disguised himself ard wis.,
tied the Witch Of Endor, who was believed
to possess the power of calling up the
dead, and depicted Sanrs anazemcnt and
horror at the communication which he re-
ceived from the Prophet Samuel. DR.. Tai
mage then said:
learn first from this subject that spirit
ualism Is very old religion. 1t is natural
that people should want TO know the origin
and the history Of II doctrine which Is so
widespread in all the villages. towns and
cities VI the civilized world, getting new
converts every day-a doctrine with which
many Of you are already tinged.
Spiritualism in America was born In
1S41. in Hydesville. Wayne County, New
York. when one night there was loud rap
heard against the door Of Michael Week.
man; rap q second time. rap third
time; and all three times. When the door
was opened, there was nothing found
there, the knocking having been made
seemingly by invisible knuckles. In that
same house there was u young woman who
had IA cold hand passed over her face, AMI
there being seemingly no arm attached to
it, ghostly suspicious were excited. After
while Mr. Fox and his family moved into
that house, and then every night there
was banging at the door, and
one night Mr.. Fox said: "Are you a
spiritr' Two raps, answering IN the
affirmative. "Are you an injured
spiri,'' Two raps. answering in the affirm
alive. And so they found out, as they say,
that it was the ghost or spirit Of peddlcr
who had been murdered In that house many
years before for his $50. Whether the
ghost of the dead peid'cr had come there
to collect his $500 or his bones, can not
say, not being spiritualist; but there
was a great racket at the door. so Mr.
Wcekman declared, and Mrs. Weekman
and Mr. Fox and Mrs. Fox And all the little
Foxes. The excitement spread. There
WAS universal rumpus. The Hon. Judge
Edm"nds declared IN book that he had
aciua IL seen q bell start from the top
shelf OF a closet, heard it ring over the
people that were standing in the closet;
then, swung by nvisib hands, it rang
over the people in the back parlor, and
iloated through the folding doors to the
front parlor, rung over the people there
and then dropped on the floor.
N. r. Talmage, Senator Of the United
States. afterward Governor Of Wisconsin.
had his head completely turned with spir-
itualistic demonstrations. A man As he
was passing along the road. said that he
was lifted up bodily and carried toward his
home through the air at such great speed
he could not count the posts on the fence
as he passed and rs he had saw anu square
In his hand, they beat as he passed through
the air most delightful music. And the
tables tipped, and the stools tilted, and the
bedsteads raised, and the chairs upset,
and it seemed as il the spirits everywhere
had gone into the furniture business! Well.
the people said: I'VE have got something
new in this country; it is new religion"
o, no. my friends. Thousands Of years ago
we find in our text spiritualistic seance.
Nothing IN the spritualistc circles Of
our day has been more strange, mysterious
and wonderful than things which have been
seen in the past centuries Of the world. In
all the ages there have be II necrOmancers,
those who consult with the spirits OF the
departed; charmers, those who put their
subjects in mesmeric state; sor-
c,rrrs, those who by taking poisonous
drugs see every thing and hear every
thing aud tell every thing; dreamers, PEG
pie who in their sleeping moments Can see
the future world and hold consultation
with spirits; astrO!Ogers. who could read a
new dispensation in the stars; experts IN
palmistry, who can tell by the lines in the
palm of your hand your origin and your
history.
From a cave on Mount Parnassus, VIC are
told, there was an exhalatiOn that intOx-
ica,ei the sheep and the goats that came
anywhere near it, and a shepherd approach
ing it was thrown by that exhalation into
excitement in which he could foretell fu-
ture events and Holt consul alton with the
spiritual world. Yea, before the time Of
Christ the Brahmins went through all the
table moving, all the furniture excitement,
which the spirits have exploited in our
day; precisely the skpe thing over aud
over again, under the h,anipuiatOns of the
Brabmrs. Now do yoQ say that spiritual
ism is different from thcses l answer, all
these dciuslons have mentioned belong TO
the same family. They are examinations
from the unseen world. What does God
think OF all these decisions! He thinks
81 severely Of them that He never
speaks of them but with iivid thunders Or
Indignation. He says: II will he swift
witness against the sorcerer." He says:
Thou shalt not suffer witch to live"
And lest you might make some important
distinction between spiritualism and witch
craft God says IN so many words: ''Ther.
shall not be among you cOnsulter Of IA
miliar spirits, or wizard, or necromancer;
for they thai do these things are an abom.
ination unto The Lord" And He says
again: THE soul Of those who seek after
auch rs have familiar spirits, and who 60
whoring after them, l will set myself
against them and he shall be cut of IRON
among his people" The Lord Almighty,
in score Of passages which / have not
now time to quote, utters HIS Indignation
against all this great family OF decisions.
After that be spirituslist II you dare!
Still further, we learn from this text how
it is that people come to fall into spiritual.
ism. Saul had enough trouble to kill ten
men. He did not know where to go for re-
LET After awhile he resolved TO go and
see the witch Of Endor. He expected that
somehow she would afford him relief Il
was his trouble that drove him there. And
have to tell you now that spiritualism
finds Its victims in the troubled, the bank.
rupt, the sick, the bereft. You lose your
watch, and you 20 to the fortune teller to
fad where it is. You lose friend, you
want the spiritual world opened so that
you may have communication with him.
In highly wrought, nervous and diseased
state of mind you go and put yourself in
that communication. That is why hate
spiritualism. 1t takes advantage OF one in
a moment Of weakness, which may come
upon US at any time.
But splritualis:n says: I'VE will open the
fuf,lre world and ranr loved one can come