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Spiritualism versus Christianity
In order to properly discuss the
contradictions and commonalities of Christianity and
Spiritualism, it would I feel be prudent to offer a brief
outline of both religions before any comparison can be
adequately formed.
With the above in mind, I will at first
approach the religion of Christianity, which is centred upon
the life of Jesus of Nazareth in the first century, who
forms the central figure on which Christianity has been
formed. There are three main branches of the Christian
faith, these being, Roman Catholicism, headed by the Pope,
Protestantism,
which arose during the reformation
brought about by Henry the eighth in 1537 which has grown to
include many denominations within itself, such as Methodist,
Baptists, Pentecostals and Evangelicals. The third division
is that of eastern orthodoxy, essentially a division of
Catholicism and includes Greek and Russian orthodox
churches.
The holy book of Christianity is the
Bible, which consists of the books of the old Testament, on
which Judaism is founded, and the new Testament, which in
itself contains twenty seven books; with the majority of
Christians holding the belief that the Bible was divinely
inspired. The Bible contains ten commandments which were
deemed to have been given to the prophet Moses whilst on the
mount, and in themselves form the tenets of the Christian
religion, these are outlined below.
- Though shall not have any other
Gods but me.
- Though shall not make for yourself
any idol, nor bow down to it or worship it.
- Though shall not misuse the name
of the Lord your God.
- Though shall remember and keep the
Sabbath day holy.
- Respect your father and mother.
- Though must not kill.
- Though must not commit adultery.
- Though must not steal.
- Though must not give false
evidence against your neighbour.
- Though must not be envious of your
neighbour's goods. You shall not be envious of his house
nor his wife, nor anything that belongs to your
neighbour.
The principal source of information on
the life of Jesus is contained within four Gospels, Mathew,
Mark, Luke and John, which are thought to have been written
between thirty and one hundred years after the death of
Jesus. The Gospels themselves describe a three year period
in the life of Jesus, whereby he gathered around him twelve
disciples who held him to be the Messiah, being the basis of
the title Christ, from the Greek word Messiah; as such he
was venerated as the son of God. A belief held by many
Christians is that Jesus came to provide salvation and
reconciliation with God, through his death for their sins.
Jesus gathered a great following
through his teachings which were focused on the kingdom of
God, the love of God and the love of your neighbour as you
would love yourself. He was a gifted orator and healer, as
referred to in the Bible of his curing of leprosy, fever,
blindness, and the raising of the dead, most notably that of
Lazarus. Accounts are also expressed on his control over the
weather, such as the calming of a storm, the feeding of the
five thousand, the walking upon the water, and the catching
of fish.
As his
teachings gained popularity, they were deemed to have
incurred the wrath of the Jewish church for his radical
teachings. He was however crucified in Jerusalem on the
orders of the Roman Prefect of Judea, Pontius Pilate on the
charge of sedition against the Roman Empire.
After his
death, Jesus is deemed to have resurrected three days later,
with this belief being a core element of Christianity and
upon which much of its doctrine and theology are based.
Christianity teaches the concepts of an eternal life
provided through the vicarious atonement, describing how sin
can be forgiven by God.
Having
provided a brief outline of Christianity, the next to
approach is that of Spiritualism. The birth of this modern
movement of Spiritualism is attributed to the events
surrounding the Fox family, who in December 1847 moved into
a small cottage located in Hydesville, a small hamlet some
twenty miles from Rochester, New York. John Fox along with
his wife Margaret and two of their children, namely Kate and
Margaretta.
During their tenancy the family were
plagued by raps and bangs which reached a crescendo during
the month of March 1848. Both Kate and Margaretta became
quite anxious as to what was occurring, so much in fact that
they refused to sleep apart and were taken into the main
bedroom along with their parents. Every opportunity was
undertaken in order to ascertain the source of theses
sounds, though no satisfactory explanation was forthcoming.
However on the night of the 31st of March 1848,
the youngest child, Kate issued a challenge to this “unseen”
power to repeat her has she clapped her hands, the sounds
instantly echoed these claps. The elder sister Margaretta
then made the pretence to clap her hands as she once more
challenged the “unseen” power to repeat her; the sounds
echoed her attempts. This “unseen” power could not only
hear, it could apparently also see.
Margaret
Fox then put a final test to this “unseen” entity and asked
it to rap the ages of all of her children. The raps began to
count out the ages of her children, with a sufficient enough
pauses between each child’s age, until after a longer pause
a seventh
child’s age was given, a child who had passed at the age of
three. Through such questions it was established the
“unseen” entity was a pedlar called Charles B Rosna, who
gave a detailed account as to how he had taken his passing
to the spirit world at the hands of a previous tenant, a Mr
John C Bell, and that his body was interred within the
cellar walls; the remains of such were inadvertently
discovered by children playing at the cottage in 1904.
Neighbours were invited to attend and through the use of a
simple alphabetical code, communication with Charles B Rosna
was undertaken with answers to people’s questions being
correctly answered; as such home circles sprang up across
America, Spiritualism was born.
From the
brief history of Spiritualism given above, a philosophy
emerged centred on an eternal life, that we survive the
transition of physical death, and continue our existence in
the spirit world. The philosophy of Spiritualism is based
upon seven principles conveyed from the spirit world in
1871, these are listed below:
- The Fatherhood of God
- The Brotherhood of Man
- The Communion of Spirit and the
Ministry of Angels
- The continuous existence of the
Human Soul
- Personal Responsibility
- Compensation and Retribution for
all the good and evil acts done whilst on the earth
- Eternal Progress open to every
Human Soul
Having
provided an outline of both Christianity and Spiritualism,
an objective comparison can be made between the two,
Though
both religions believe in an eternal life, the way in which
it is viewed is different to each other. Christians believe
in the Kingdom of Heaven which can be accessed through a
belief in God, primarily through the vicarious atonement.
This is through the acceptance of the fact of God’s
sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and that by seeking forgiveness
they can be absolved of all sin. They are as such judged and
deemed worthy of entry into the Kingdom of Heaven or cast
into the eternal damnation of Hell.
Spiritualism also accepts an eternal life, though through
the communion of spirit and the ministry of angles, our
belief is brought into reality. Spiritualists believe that
we all have an eternal life and that our actions in both
thought and deed pave the way for our life to come.
Spiritualism moves away from the Christian ideology of a
vicarious atonement, and instead places the responsibility
for “sin” as being our own and in putting right our wrongs
we achieve spiritual progression.
Both
religions seek to help others, Christians through the love
of their neighbour as they would themselves like to be
loved, to be charitable and give aid where needed.
Spiritualists, through the brotherhood of man also seek to
help others, through both a material and spiritual aspect.
In my
opinion however, both religions share a common ancestry, for
when looking into the early Christian church there are many
occurrences of a psychic or mediumistic nature contained
throughout the Bible. For example, in Exodus chapter 19
verses 19, it says [quote] “And when the voice of the
trumpet sounded long and waxed louder and louder, Moses
spake, and God answered him by a voice”. [unquote] It is
probable from this account that the trumpet was used to
amplify and direct the voice, as stated in the English
revised versions of the Bible, the expression “the voice of
the trumpet” is used instead of the “sound of the trumpet.
This and many other references to such occurrences are an
important factor when discussing Christianity and
Spiritualism, for it clearly shows that the prophets of
Israel possessed mediumistic abilities, which is a
fundamental aspect to the teachings of Spiritualism.
It is clearly evident when reading the
Gospels that Jesus had psychic experiences which closely
resembled those of the prophets of Israel, and could
therefore be construed that Jesus was carrying on these
traditions. He was a powerful psychic in that he displayed
the abilities of clairvoyance, clairaudience, healing and
aspects of physical mediumship, such as levitation. He
undoubtedly enhanced these abilities through prayer,
mediation and fasting in solitude. These aspects we know
today would enable him to calm the mind through meditative
contemplations, whilst the often repetitious nature of
prayers would further induce a trance like state, and the
fasting of food ensures that the physical body is not in an
uncomfortable state physically or emotionally.
Jesus had a close unity with spirit as
referred to in John chapter 10 verse 30 [quote] “I and my
Father are one” [unquote]. The implications of this
statement suggest that Jesus was not referring to God, more
so that he was in at one with or in direct contact with his
spirit guide or control. This is further emphasised in Mark
chapter 1 verse 11 [quote] “And straightway coming up out
of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like
a dove descending upon him. And there came a voice from
heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased” [unquote]. This could be construed as a
symbolic representation of the fact that Jesus had come
under the direct inspiration and control of an exalted
spirit influence, he referred to as the “father”. This
experience had made a very great impression on him, the
presence and power of spirit through direct contact or union
had remained with him throughout the remainder of his life,
as he appears to have been aware of his spirit guide or
control for a large part of the time.
There are a number of accounts within
the Gospels which reinforce the belief that the apostles
also possessed mediumistic abilities.
One such account mentioned in Acts
chapter 2 verses 2-4 [quote] “and suddenly there came a
sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled
all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared
unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon
each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost,
and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave
them utterance” [unquote]. This account suggests that
physical mediumship was taken place in the presence of all
the apostles as well as Jesus. Such instances of psychic
lights and cold breezes are a common factor amid séances
where physical mediumship takes place. The speaking of
tongues strongly emphasises that the Apostles were under
spirit control, whereby each individual spirit spoke in the
language of which they themselves had spoken whilst in the
physical body.
St Paul gave an account which today
would indicate an understanding of the role of spirit
guides, when he stated in Corinthians chapter 12 verses 1-10
[quote] “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same
Spirit, to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for
the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the
utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of
knowledge (inspiration), to another the gifts of healing. To
another the ability to distinguish between Spirits,
(clairvoyance) to another various kings of tongues (trance
control)” [unquote].
It is I feel prudent to have taken this
approach in order to express the many similarities between
the two religions being discussed. For in having a better
understanding that not only did Jesus Christ possess
mediumistic abilities, but also his apostles may have been
chosen due to their own mediumistic abilities. This is an
important correlation with the movement of Spiritualism, in
that there is assuredly common ground between the two. The
Spiritualist movement was formed around the Hydesville
rapping’s of March 1848. Spiritualism and the communion of
spirit such as the many physical phenomenon such as
levitation as undertaken by Daniel Dunglass Home, the many
accounts of miraculous healing as evidenced by Harry
Edwards, the direct voice mediumship of Leslie Flint, the
trance mediumship of Emma Hardinge Britten; and the mental
mediumship of Gordon Higginson. Most if not all the
phenomenon appertained to in the Bible forms the central
core of Spiritualist belief, chiefly through the principal
of communion of spirit and the ministry of angels.
It is to be honest a little sad that
the fundamental aspects of mediumship were deemed as no
longer permissible in the early Christian church, as this
was thought to have been against the teachings of the
scriptures, even though the early Christian Church was
founded upon such revelations, most notably through Jesus
and the Apostles.
This view was reinforced when in the
fourth century Christianity was adopted as a state religion
by Emperor Flavius Claudius Constantinus, known in English
as Constantine II, (316 – 340 AD). The church dogmas and
doctrines were creedalised by the Council of Nicaea. In the
same century Emperor Flavius Theodosius (347 – 395 AD) under
the advice of St Ambrose, Bishop of Milan issued an edict
against churches employing persons with psychic gifts,
resulting in the persecution and slaying of such.
In summing up the religions of
Spiritualism and Christianity, there are aspects common to
both, though some marked differences. Christianity through
its advocacy of a vicarious atonement, the belief in the
resurrection of Jesus Christ one can enter into Heaven, to
be judged worthy or to be cast into the eternal fires of
hell. This is essentially at odds with the teachings of
Spiritualism through its adoption of its fifth principle of
personal responsibility. This places responsibility for
wrongful thoughts and deeds where it belongs - with the
individual. It is the acceptance of responsibility for every
aspect of our lives and the use to which we place our lives
depends entirely upon ourselves. No one can put right the
wrongdoing except the offender. As we are given freedom of
choice (freewill) so also are we given the ability to
recognise what is right from what is wrong. We are totally,
as well as personally, responsible.
Communion with the afterlife also
raises differences between the two, for Christianity has the
intercedence with Priests who communicate to God on their
behalf. Spiritualism however holds the communion of spirit
as central to its philosophy. It has been continuously
proven over the last 161 years that communication with
discarnate entities is possible. As such Spiritualism
changes a belief into a reality, be it through organised
meetings or private sittings. The belief becomes a reality
through the proof of the continuous existence of the Human
Soul.
Both religions meet a common ground in
that they each seek to help one and other in our everyday
lives, helping our neighbours, our friends and most
importantly those in need without thought for recompense,
more so for that fact of giving help where it is needed.
If we harken back to the time of the
early Christian church, it is clearly evident that mediums
were used in Christian services to convey the message of
God. However through a probable misunderstanding and
interpretation of the holy book the Bible and the
creadalisation of its doctrines in the fourth century were
mediums prohibited from speaking in Christian churches. It
is a shame I feel that such a division could have been
brought about, and that there are more commonalities between
the two religions than some would wish to admit to.
Article written by Ian Doherty |
