The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1900-03-02

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everything and hear everything and
tell everything; dreamers, people who
in their sleeping moments can see the
future world and hold consultation
with spirits. Yes, before the time of
Christ. the Brahmans went through all
the table moving, all the furniture eX-
element, which the spirits have eX-
plotted in our day, precisely the same
thing over and over again, under the
manipulation of the Brahmans. Now.
! do YOU say that sriritualisln is differ
ent from these? / answer. all these
decisions | have mentioned belong to
the same family. They are eNhuma-
tons from the unseen world.
What does God think OF all these de
lusions? He thinks so severely Of them
! that He never speaks of them but with
| livid thundcrs of Indignation, He Essays:
Il will be- a swift witness against the
~aorcerer.' lie says: Chou shalt not
| suffer a witch to live" And, lest you
might make some important distinc-
ton between sp]iritualism and witch
craft, God says, in so many words:
There shall not be among you a con
suffer Of familiar spirits, or wizard, or
n~ccronancer. for they that do these
things are an abomination unto the
Lord The Lord God Almighty in 4
score Of passages which have not now
time to quote utterS His Indignation
against all this great family Of delu-
sions. After that be Il spirit ualist if
YOU dare.
Still further. we learn from this text
how it is that people CONT to fan into
: spiritualism. Saul had enough trouble
| to kill ten men. lie did not know where
to 60 for relief. After awhile he re-
solved to 90 and see the witch Of En-
dor. He expected that somehow she
would afford him relief. 1t was his
trouble drove him there. And / have
to tell you now that spiritualism finds
its victims in the troubled, the bank
rupt, the sick, the bercft. You lose
your watch. and you 90 to the fortune
teller to find where it is.
You lose a friend; you want the spir-
itual world opened, Sc that you may
have communication with him. In a
highly wrought, nervous and diseased
state of mind YOU go and put yourself
in that communication. That is why
| hate spiritualism. 1t takes idyan-
tage of one in q moment of weakness.
which may come upon us at any time.
We lose "A friend. The trial is keen,
sharp, sutfocating, almost m~addcning.
If we could marshal a host and storm
the eternal world and recapturc our
loved one. the host would Don be mar
shalcd. The house is SO lonely. The
world is 50 dark. The separation is so
iusutferablc. But spiritualism says:
I'VE will open the future world. and
YOUR loved one can ont back and talk
to YOU Though we may not hear bis
voice. we may hear the rap Of his hand.
SO, clear the table. Sit down. Put
your hands on the table. Be very quiet,
Five minutes gone, Ten minutes. No
motion of the table. No response from
the future world. Twenty minutes.
Thirty minutes. Nervous excitement
all the time increasing. Forty min
utes. The table shiycrs. Two raps
from the future world. The letters of
the alphabet are called over. The de-
parted friends name is John. At the
pronunciation of the letter J, two raps.
At the pronunciation Of the letter Q,
two raps. At the pronunciation of the
letter II, two raps. At the "pronuncia-
ton of the letter y. two raps. There
you have the whole name spelled out
John, John. Now, the spirit being
present, YOU say: John, are you hap
py?" Two raps give al affirmative an
swcr.
Pretty soon the hand of the medium
begins to twitIh and toss and begins
10 write out. after paper and ink are
furnished. a message from the eternal
world. What is remarkable, the de-
parted spirit, although it has been
amid the Nominations Of the Heaven,
cannot spell as well as it used to. 1t
has lost all grammatical accuracy. and
cannot write as distinctly. | received
a letter through a medium once. !
sent it back. ! said: Just please tn
tell those ghosts they had better go to
school and get improved in their or
biography" Now, just think Of spirits,
that the Bible represents as %enthroncd
in glory, coming down to crawl under
the table and break crockery and ring
tea bells before supper is ready and rap
The window shutter on a gusty night.
What consolation in such miserable
stuff as compared with the consolation
and sin and pain are forever happy, and
that We will n them, not in mystic
rious and half utterance which makes
the hair stand on end and makes cold
chills creep the back, but in a reunion
most blessed and happy and glorious!
And none shall murmur or in!sdoubt
When Gods great sunrise finds us out"
| learn still further from this sub
ject that s~piritualism and necromancy
are affairs Of darkness. Why did not
Saul 90 in the day? lie was ashamed
to 20. Besides that, he knew that
this spiritual medium. like all her
successors, performed her exploits in
tie night. The D~aycnports. the Fowl
ers, the Foxes, the spiritual mediums
of all Gges. have chosen the night or
a darkened room. Why? The ma
lority of their wonders have been
swindles. and deception prospers best
in the night,