The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1900-03-14

The house Is 80 lonely. The world is 81
dark. The separation is so insufferable
But spiritunlism says, "We will open the
future world, and your loved one can come
back and talk to YOU" Though we may
not hear his voice, we may hear the raj
OF his hand SO. clear the tuble. 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 al the time
increasing. Two raps from tho future
world. The letters OF the alphabet are
called over. The departed friends name
Is John. At the pronun citation Of the let.
ter y two 'raps. At the pronunciation OF
the letter o two raps. At the pronuncia-
| tion OF the letter II two raps. At the
| pronunciation OF the letter N two raps.
There you have the whole name spoiled
OUT -o-h-n, John. Now, the spirit being
| present, you say, John. are you happyp"
| Two raps give an nfflrmati ve answer.
Pretty soon the hand Of the medium be-
gins to twItch and toss and begins to write
| out, after paper and ink are furnished, q
message from the eternal world. Wat Is
| remarkable, the departed spirit. although
1t has been amid the ilumnattons OF the
| heaven, cannot spell as we'll as 1t used to.
1t has lost all grammatical accuracy and
cannot write as distinctly. I received O
letter through medium once. sent 1t
back. I said, "Just please to tell those
ghosts, they had better go to school and get
improved in their orthography." Now,
Just think OF spirits that tho Bible repre-
sents as enthroned in glory, coming down
to crawl under the table and break crock
cry and ring tea bells before supper is
ready and rap the window shutter on a
gusty night! What cons olatton In such
miserable stuff as compared with the con-
ISOLATION OF our departed friends free from
toll and sin and pain are forever happy
and that we will join them, not In mysterl-
o1s and hatf utterance which makes the
hair stand on end and makes cold chills
creep the back, but In a reunion most
blessed aud happy and glorious!
And none: shall murmur or mlsdoubt
When Gods great sunrise finds US out.
Many years ago the steamer Atlantic
started from Europe for the United States.
Getting naidocean, the machinery broke,
and she floundered around day after day
and week utter week, and for n whole
month after she was due people wondered
aud finally gave her up. There was great
anguish In the cities, for thsre we're many
who had friends aboard that vessel. Some
Of the women In their distress went to the
spiritual medium and inquired as to the
the spirits, and the rapplngs on the table
indicated the steamship lost, with all on
board. Women went ravlng mad and were
carried to the lunatlc asylum. After
awhile one day a gun was heard of quaran-
tine. The flags went up on the shipping,
and the bells OF the churches were rung.
The boys ran through the streets crying:
"Extru Tho Atlantic IS safe!" There was
the embracing as from the dead when
friends came again to friends, but some OF
those passengers went up to IND their
wives 10 tho lunntic asylum, where this
cheat OF Internal spirltualisn had put
them.
I bring against this deluston more
fearful indictment-it ruins the soul I'm
mortal. First, It makes q man q quarter
OF minded; then 1t makes him halt an In
ndel.' then It makes him awhole infdel.
II God Is ever slapped in the face, 1t fs
when O spiritual medium puts down ber
hand on the table, invoking spirits de.
parted to make revelation. God has told
you all you ought to know, and how dare
you be pryfng into that which Is mono OF
your business? You cannot keep the Blbie
One or the other will slip out OF your grasp,
depend upoa 1t. Spiriruallsm Is adverse
to the Bible, in the fact that 1t has in
these lust days called from the future
world Christian men to testify against
Christianity. Its mediums call back
Lorenzo Dow, the celebrated evangelist,
and Lorenzo Dow testiles that Christians
are idolaters. Spiritualism calls back Tom
Paine, and he testifes that he Is stopping
In the snme house In heaven with John
Bunyau. They call back John Wesley, and
he testi1es against the Christian religion,
Which he oil hls;.lite gioriously preached:
4 T,o vto
the spiritualista, comes to the front and de-
clnres that the New Testament Is but "the
dismal echo OF q barbaric age" and the
Biblc only zone Of the pen and Ink relics
OF Christianity"
Ihave In my house book used in spir-
itualIstlc service, It contains catechism
and a hymn book. Tho catechism has these
questions and answers:
@. What Is our chief baptism? A. Fre-
quent ablutIon In water.
q. What is our inspiration? A. Fresh air
and sunshine.
o. What is our love feast? A. Clear
O.. What is our prayer? A. Physi cal ex-
erclse. - ..h..
And then 1t goes on to show that great
proportion OF their religious service Is
system OF calIstherics. Then when they
want to arouse the devotion OF the people
to the highest pitch they give out the
hym on the slxtylflfth page:
The night hath gathered up her silkoD
frlnges. =. 49,.
Or, on the fifteenth page:
Come to the woods, heigh ho!
"But," says some one, wouldn't 1t be
OF advantage to hear from tue future
world? Don't you think 1t would strength
en- Christians2 There are q great many
mnteyiallsts who do not believe there arc
souls, but, II spirits from the future world
should knock and talk over to US they
would bs persuaded" To that alsgar in
the ringing words of the Son OF G6d, "t
they believed not Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be persuaded though one
rose from the dead"
IlbelIsve these are the days OF which the
apostle spake when he said, I'm the latter
times some shall depart from the faith,
giving need to seduciug spirits" Audi
in cheir hearing the passages l quoted
some minutes ngo. '"Ehere Rhall not be
among you,a consultsr OF familiar spirits,
or wizard, or necromancor, for they thar
do thuse things are an abominatton un.o
the Loli," and, 1.-THE soul that turneth
after such as have familiar spirits l Will
set Myself against them, and they shall be
cut or from their people,"
Bus I Invite you now. to a Christian
senuce, noondEY seance. This congre-
gatIon is only one great family: Here -
the church table. Come around the cnufen
table; take your seats for this great CHRIS
finn seance; put your Bible on the taoie,
uut you- hands on top Of the Bible and then
listen and hear II there are any voices COM
ing from tho eternal world. think there
are. Listen. 'Secret things belong unto
the Lord, our God, but things that are re-
yea!ed belong unto US and to our chi.-
dren." Surely that is voice from the spirit
world. But before you rise from this Chris
|,tInn ssance want you to promise me you
Will be satisfied with the Divine revelation
until tie light OF the eternal throne breaEs
upon your vision. Do not go alter Ihs