SUMMONING UP SATAN: FUNDAMENTAL CHRISTIANITY VERSUS SPIRITUALISM

By Emma-Louise Rhodes

As soon as the wheels of the unstoppable Spiritualist engine were set in motion opposition to the faith sprang up from all quarters, in particular from the Christian faction. Literature was soon published citing biblical quotes which spurned the new religion and warned its followers that they were dealing with dark forces. Ronald Pearsall summed up the general feeling of the time in his book The Table Rappers by noting:

‘Astute clergymen recognised that Spiritualism
could offer something that nineteenth century
Christianity could not.’

Indeed, the Christian miracles loudly proclaimed from pulpits every Sunday morning were suddenly becoming overshadowed by apparent real-life phenomena occurring in parlours nationwide.

A surge in Spiritualism was seen both during and after the First World War, with the huge amount of war dead leaving grieving relatives to search for earthly reunions with their deceased loved ones. The vital communication with those who had died drove many, including rational men such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Sir Oliver Lodge, into the arms of the Spiritualist faith. Fundamental Christianity had to act fast and present its own interpretation of the new religion to the masses in an attempt to end the rapid spread of the fresh and accessible faith.

SPIRITUALISM AND THE BIBLE

In his 1918 book Spiritualism: What is it? Reverend G. R. Oakley points his reader towards bible references warning against the Spiritualist faith. These citations are often used by those opposing Spiritualism, although many of them are vague and offer little comparison to the religion started by the Fox sisters in 1848.

Leviticus 19, 31 reads:

‘Turn ye not unto them that have familiar spirits,
nor unto the wizards; seek them not out, to be
defiled by them: I am the Lord your God.’

The scripture goes on to describe that one who seeks out such people ‘shall surely be put to death.’

Isaiah 8, 19 reads:

‘When they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that
have familiar spirits, and unto the wizards that chirp
and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their
God? On behalf of the living should they seek unto
the dead?’

The term ‘familiar spirits’ has been embraced by the fundamental Christians in terms of describing exactly what takes possession of those who summon up the spirit world. Their belief, that the medium is not speaking to the soul of a loved one but instead a demonic spirit masquerading as such, is solely derived from the biblical interpretation of contact with the dead.

Furthermore, Christians believe that Spiritualism is:

‘ … a universal pagan practice of fallen man
outside the Judeo-Christian tradition.’ 1.

What evangelicals find so hard to account for is the fact that Spiritualism has churches where formal services take place. A particular bone of contention with Christians is the singing of hymns in Spiritualist circles.

In his booklet Spiritualism: Right or Wrong? James Allis writes:

‘The well known hymn “Just as I am” has been
tampered with to the extent that the emphasis is not
on looking to God for resources that we need in
Him but looking within ourselves to find all we
need …What they are doing is teaching that we can
be our own Saviour. We have the power to become
gods. They also teach that although we are not
perfect we can become so by our own efforts ‘on the
other side’.’

The altering of hymns was a common practice of Spiritualists in the early days of the movement. In Spiritualism: What is it?, Oakley writes of the sixth edition of Spiritual Songs and Hymns:

‘Although there are 200 hymns in the book, there is
not the faintest recognition of the Incarnation and the
very name of “Jesus” is generally (not always)
excluded from the hymns … “Hark, hark my soul”
has to be made to drop entirely the ordinary refrain
and the “voice of angels” to be substituted for the
“voice of Jesus.”’

However, there is very little else Christians can comment on regarding formal worship and the Spiritualist faith. Communication with ‘familiar spirits’ is the predominant argument in Christian opposition to Spiritualism and, by far, the most sensational.

LUCIFER’S FALLEN ANGELS

In his 1894 book Modern Mystics and Modern Magic Arthur Lillie examines the apparent confessions of the devout Spiritualist and converted clergymen of the time, Stainton Mosses:

‘Over and over again he (Stainton Moses) has told
me that his mediumship has passed through one
very grave crisis indeed. Evil spirits assailed him.
His days were perturbation, and his nights were
terror. Every sense assailed him … Often and
often Mr Stainton Mosses thought his guides
devils from hell.’

The Victorian era also saw the newly found automatic spirit writing often problematic.
Pearsall, in an examination of this, wrote:

‘Automatic writers had to be on their guard
against evil spirits taking an advantage over them,
using them as a platform for blasphemy and
irreligion … Anna Blackwell’s sister (Blackwell
being a minor trance medium of the time) had
problems, as she was receiving both good and bad
messages, the authors of the bad messages striving
to sign themselves Satan or Beelzebub … When
she saw the S of Satan being formed she would
twist her hand. In response, the spirits turned
over her table and broke it.’

Such phenomena can be attributed to the angry alter ego of a repressed Victorian, working in tandem with the desperate need for attention, as was so often the case with Spiritualists of the era. Despite this, it provided Christians with another reason why Spiritualism was a dangerous past-time which should not be entertained by God fearing folk.

Many mediums recount times when they have been ‘possessed’ by malevolent spirits and, due to this, a prayer is often said (particularly at meetings where a medium goes into trance) to ward off any ‘bad’ spirits.

The open admission by Spiritualists that mediums are vulnerable to possession by evil spirits is something that fundamental Christians have always been quick to capitalise on in terms of anti-spiritualist propaganda. As previously mentioned, the ‘familiar spirits’ that are spoken of in the bible are the linchpin of many Christian attacks on the Spiritualist faith.

In his 1914 book The Dangers of Spiritualism, J. Godfrey Raupert wrote:

‘It is universally acknowledged and admitted
even by experienced Spiritualists that the
influence of the séance room is on the whole
debasing, and that it tends to banish all true
devotional feeling and true religion. It
certainly creates a most grotesque conception
of the other world in the thoughtful mind.’

In a recent interview with an evangelical, I asked what the general belief regarding spirit contact is in the eyes of the fundamental Christian. The reply was simple:

“We believe that, in some cases, the medium is fraudulent and simply attaching themselves to Spiritualism for monetary gain. However, in other instances the medium is contacting familiar spirits or fallen angelic beings sent by Lucifer who have information on the dead person in question and are masquerading as them.”

Indeed in his book, Cults and the Occult, Edmond Gruss stated that:

‘Most evangelical observers would acknowledge
that some Spiritualists genuinely communicate
with spirit beings. The serious student of the Bible
believes such entities are fallen angels, the demonic
emissaries of Satan’s kingdom of darkness.’

This sentiment is echoed by many members of the Christian faith, but not all. A Church of England clergyman who I also spoke with regarding Spiritualism denied that there was any connection with the faith and satanic power. His belief is that:

“Ultimately Spiritualism is about those who believe they have psychic powers of some kind. This belief stems either from mental instability or the need to make a gain from the bereaved. Either way, it is created purely in the mind of the medium.”

However, the fundamental Christian faith seems almost as keen to sensationalise Spiritualism as the Spiritualist themselves. Thousands of writings concentrating on the dangers of Spiritualism have been published since 1848. The publication of books such as The Story Behind the Exorcist by Peter Travers and Stephanie Reiff in 1974 and If There Were Demons Then Perhaps There Were Angels: William Peter Blatty’s Own Story of The Exorcist in 1978, brought to the forefront the belief that demons very much existed in the world and were more than happy to manipulate man from within.

Such thrilling stories on the possession of individuals leaves psychic readings and open circle trance meetings much to live up to. If cold readers draw a blank at bringing back Great Aunt Maude and fail to move solid objects across a table, then being possessed by an evil spirit will certainly leave the crowd with something to talk about. I have had several ‘possessions’ recounted to me, all of which have appeared to be staged and amateur, or even drug induced.

In short, is it easier to believe that a genuine spirit voice is communicating through a medium, that Lucifer is imitating a dead relative for his own personal gain, or that the Spiritualist in question is simply making a profit by exploiting the grieving and naïve?

POLES APART?

One belief of many Spiritualists is that Jesus was a medium. Although this statement infuriates Christians, they too have to acknowledge that if Jesus was indeed born a mortal, then his abilities to heal the sick, see into the future and rise from the dead were supernatural. Of course, a fundamental Christian would be quick to point out that He had God close at hand unlike, perhaps, a common or garden medium charging twenty pounds per head at the local psychic fair.

The Christian warning against Spiritualism often has the reverse effect, and leads people to experiment with the faith. Like many teenagers, after being informed by an evangelical RE teacher of the horror and death awaiting those who played with an Ouija board, I at once rushed home and began cutting out the alphabet, eagerly awaiting the next evening my parents went out. By confirming the conjuring up of ‘familiar spirits’ by a medium, Christians are acknowledging that many Spiritualists do have mystical powers, regardless of the fact that they are allegedly dealing with dark forces posing as good spirits. This authentication of mediums sets them apart from the everyday man and sensationalises the Spiritualist faith, providing their churches with a steady influx of curious visitors.

In turn, modern Spiritualism presents the fundamental Christian faith with constant satanic fodder. TV medium Derek Acorah being apparently possessed by the dead witch-finder Matthew Hopkins would seem, to the evangelical Christian at least, to be slightly more solid ‘proof’ of Satanic work on earth than a cloudy vision of the devil’s face appearing in the sky above the twin towers on September 11, 2001. Furthermore, Accorah’s revelations that he has been possessed by ‘bad’ spirits are acknowledgements that Christians must surely revel in. However, this again highlights the need for the general public to witness something ‘dangerous’ in terms of contact with the dead, something that the Christian faith uses to warn against Spiritualism, yet which is so often appealing to the everyday man on the street.

Fundamental Christians regularly declare that they were ‘born again’ after seeing a vision of Jesus or being spoken to by the Lord. Spiritualists might argue that, in light of the fact that they are accused of contacting satanic forces by Christians, such an apparition could also be false and merely created by fallen angels masquerading as Jesus. Furthermore, ‘speaking in tongues’ is surely close to the state experienced by a trance medium. How, therefore, can we differentiate between the two and prove which (if any) is genuine? It is one faith’s word against the other, both (as always) from parties who genuinely believe they are telling the truth.

The Swedish philosopher and inadvertent founder of Swedenborgianism, Emmanuel Swedenborg, declared that Jesus spoke to him, yet is scorned by Christians due to the fact that the religion which developed after his death denies, amongst other things, the deity of the Holy Spirit. The US based Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry (CARM) assert on their website that Swedenborg:

‘ … had a vision where loathsome creatures
seemed to crawl on the walls of his room, then a
man appeared who claimed to be God.’

CARM concludes that the faith which followed Swedenborg’s writing was:

‘… a dangerous, mystical, non-Christian religion.’

However, Swedenborg’s denial of the authenticity of biblical scriptures such as Acts and Epistles along with his challenging of many Christian values, invalidates his religious visions and, for the fundamental Christian at least, turns them into apparitions either caused by mental delirium or demonic intervention.

By fancifully smearing Spiritualists as unintentional satanic emissaries, fundamental Christians involuntarily weaken their own beliefs. Validating Spiritualist powers, regardless of how it is done, seriously damages any argument and, bringing Beelzebub into the equation, worsens it considerably.

A brief look at the true nature of the Spiritualist faith is in order before any individual commits to an opinion on it. By understanding that mediums are (knowingly or otherwise) simply tricking the needy and bereaved into a false sense of security, we can recognise the gaping faults, not only in Spiritualism, but in Evangelism too.

REFERENCES

1. Gruss, Edmond, Cults and the Occult, P& R Publishing, reprinted, 2002.

Allis, James, Spiritualism: Right or Wrong, booklet copyright Jim Allis, 2002
Gruss, Edmond, Cults and the Occult, P& R Publishing, reprinted, 2002.
Lillie, Arthur, Modern Mystics and Modern Magic, Ayer Co Publishing, reprinted 1977.
Oakley, Rev G. R. Spiritualism: What is it?, Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, London, 1929
Pearsall, Ronald, The Table-Rappers: The Victorians and the Occult, Sutton Publishing, London, 1972.
Raupert J. Godfrey, The Dangers of Spiritualism, Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co. Ltd, London, 1914

www.carm.org