There is Something in it
An article in the July number of La Religion Laique closes with these significant words: “Since learned men, physicians, and the Protestant clergy give so much zealous study to Spiritualism, it is probably because they see in it the beginning of something better.”
Yes, certainly there is something in it, and that something, which is about to overrun the world, presents in its phenomena, in its slow progress, and in its aims, a striking analogy to the beginnings of Christianity.
The teaching of Jesus contained no dogmas, neither does that of Spiritualism.
Christianity came at a time when the religious beliefs of Paganism were breaking up all over the world; the mass of the people were casting them aside through indifference, and the learned and thoughtful through the strength of their reason.
Spiritualism comes at a time when Catholicism has enveloped itself in the winding-sheet of the Syllabus; whilst Protestantism, divided into an infinite number of sects, is leading to an utter disunion of thought; when the Mahometans are drinking wine and making constitutions—two things forbidden by the Koran; and even the Jews themselves have their free-thinkers.
It is in the midst of this general confusion of old beliefs that Spiritualism first appears.
Christianity began by miracles; and if the miracles worked by Jesus were made the first steps of the Christian power, it is because the senses are like sentinels on guard, ready to rouse the sleeping intelligence. The best means of carrying conviction is by such involuntary testimony as can find an entrance into even the densest organism. The seal which is given' to the records of fact produces surprise, emotion, and interest. Reflecting minds, under the impression of a fact thus demonstrated, feel the need of inquiry into its cause, and examination thus with one bound enters along the path which sense has opened to it, making the facts which have been recognised by an unconscious sensory perception pass within the domain of reason.
Intended to act upon the masses, it was necessary that the religion founded by Christ should give some material proof: it was for this reason, then, that it was built upon miracles. The progress of human knowledge varies but little in the elements at the heart of which it operates. Christianity works through its miracles, and Spiritualism is revealed by the aid of its phenomena, two parallel words given to describe the same facts; but the change in their signification gives us an accurate measure of the progress made by the spirit of man during eighteen hundred years.
A miracle is superior to natural law. The Divine Will governs, orders, and suppresses the latter at its pleasure. The phenomenon, on the contrary, obeys the law. It is only the result of a law as yet unknown or misunderstood. The experience of ages proves that this alone is possible. No one now believes in the suspension of a law of nature. All laws have their raison d'etre, and it is the uninterrupted fulfilment of their function which constitutes the harmony of the universe.
The “something” of which I first spoke is then the seed of a new religion, or, rather, it is the return back through the last eighteen hundred years to the religion conceived by Christ—namely, a belief in God and in individual immortality; in the responsibility laid upon us by our deeds, and in the progression of the soul in wisdom, power, and love throughout eternity.
This, then, is what Spiritualism announces to the world; this is its mission, to strip off from the evangelical teaching all the material wrappings which have since the time of its birth encased it, so that it may act efficiently in our midst. No more creeds, no more mediation, no more ceremonies appealing only to the senses, but direct communion of the soul with God, leading to progression without end in the midst of acts of love.
This is a beautiful prospect, without doubt. But the careless world would never have been brought to look into the subject if matter had not been brought into the work. Thus one sees that everywhere furniture begins to move, and, even when loaded with enormous weights, rises in the air. Tables ran about wildly, without contact. Raps are heard on all sides, on the walls, the furniture, the floors. Then, after this first phase, which is exclusively material, intelligence begins to show itself. The raps are intelligently regulated; they take the character of personal communications, and the possibility of communion between the visible and the invisible worlds becomes a great novelty, upsetting all customary ideas, but opening a door to eternity. The soul no longer hesitates to cross the threshold, because it is attracted by the grand conceptions of God free from all anthropomorphism, and by visions of the gradual ascent of the human race, gravitating towards infinite perfection.
Then an interesting spectacle presents itself to the eyes of the attentive observer. For as fast as Spiritualism gains ground, so do the phenomena change in their character. There is progress as the phenomena spread. Little by little the mere material part gives place to the psychical, or the physical manifestations become impregnated with spirituality. The tables continue to give their proof of unknown laws at work, at the same time that the mediums receive inspiration mechanically or intuitively, the source being far beyond their own power or knowledge. Then by degrees arises a fresh development, calculated to popularise the movement; common men become healers and orators, and science begins to take into consideration the new facts, and to prove the truth of the strange phenomena. Known laws are overcome by others; solid bodies pass through other solid bodies. Things are brought from no one knows where, musical instruments are played without contact, direct writing is obtained inside closed and sealed slates, and finally the inhabitants of another world again take on a physical form, come amongst us for a moment, live again our material life, moving, speaking, drinking, and vanishing at last, to wear again their fluidic bodies, and giving us thus, by their re- appearance, proof positive that after death they live and retain their individuality,
This is something, is it not? And the movement is progressing. To-day the belief in an invisible world is spreading over all parts of the globe; no other equally new creed has so many journals. No other has shown such a tendency to become popular. Never have principles more pure been proclaimed. Never has a call, more constant, more earnest, more harmonious been made. Never through the world has rung before so grand a cry of love.
Worn-out society, oscillating between the past and the future, tossed about like a ship without a pilot, not knowing on what to fix its hopes, shuddering at the sight of its hidden perils, destroying like a useless garment all that has hitherto made up its moral force, reduced to quiet itself by the intoxication of material pleasure—one would have thought that the “glad tidings” would have been received like the hope of new life. But it has not been so. Society leagued itself against the birth of this new faith.
Science again, for the most part, believes in nothing but mere force, and revolts against any demonstration of a first cause. It does not trouble about it, convinced that its silence is sufficient to stop the movement.
The world, composed chiefly of superficial people in love with their easy mode of life, without faith, and fearful of the trouble that research may give them, remains indifferent, or treats the matter with ridicule. The press—which initiates all our organisations, and which ought to have a conscience if it is to teach the truth—the press lacks courage to put on one side the verdict of learned men, and to doubt their expressions of irony, so is forced to treat the facts with sarcasm, or to keep an absolute silence, which shall be its shame in the future. It will be asked, by-and-by, how it could disregard facts so plain as those which have cited. What! The press throughout every country in Europe; the press whose mission it is to spread that which is useful, and no assist the march of progress and discovery, has nothing but silence or disdainful words for a movement which has penetrated to the very heart of society. And the astonishment will be greater as we examine the moral and humanitarian side of this new truth.
All thinkers, economists, and politicians agree that our present society is passing through a great crisis. Man has lost his way, and travels blindly, hoping to stumble on the right road. Moral laws are like to physical laws. Unity reigns over all, and maintains its equilibrium in the midst of seeming disorder. The seed must perish in giving birth to the new plant. Decay everywhere precedes life. It is because we are journeying towards a higher stage that we see falling around us all that belongs to the past. There is fermentation going on; at the bottom there is future renovation; and the agitation causes an undue excitement of animal passions.
Catholicism wages its last battle, under the banner of temporal power, to the detriment of human liberty. In politics, might controls right. The most sacred engagements, the most solemn treaties, are put aside if they stand in the way of self-interest, suppressing the popular voice on all moral questions. In the world material pleasures, the need of making a great appearance, the sway of the passions, all menace the destruction of honour, chastity, and faithfulness. The outcasts, whose eyes are fascinated by the inequalities of wealth through which they suffer, begin to number their adherents and to unite. On the day when they have organised, and when the similitude of their interest has extinguished all national jealousies, this great crowd will rise, and all Europe will tremble.
But, behold, Spiritualism rises above all, bright with a glory from heaven, and cries:—
“Stay, my brothers! I am Love! Yes, the love of the resurrection; for the love which I preach shall reign upon the earth, and flourish during eternity. And in the home I would enforce parental authority, the chastity of the mother, the obedience of the child; for I preach the immortality of the soul, and personal responsibility for all acts. To those who suffer I advise resignation; for suffering leads to purification, and purification is recompense. To those who bewail the lost, heaven is opened, so that these may return to console the mourners. I overcome death, by the material proof of these apparitions. A double conquest, for the fear of death troubles their consciences, and the certainty that they shall live again makes devotees. To the incredulous, to all who seek, I furnish the elements of incontrovertible conviction. I open to science new fields of thought, and my inspiration enables her to reach them.
“I sit at the tribunal of the directors of the people, showing them the false work they have engaged in, in taking selfishness for their guide instead of solidarity. To the people ready to engage in a suicidal strife to revenge their sufferings or appease their hate, I cry unceasingly, ‘You are brothers, and only form one family in the sight of God; your souls come from the same source and await the same end, for happiness on earth as in heaven is not in strife but in love, not in vengeance but in unity of heart and work.’”
This is what Spiritualism preaches. And this is what the world will be when its voice is heard. If humanity has felt an undeniable moral depression by abandoning the ideal of the gradual attainment of happiness, it will rise great and strong when it understands its error, and the idea of God shall again take its place in the thoughts of mankind; and the belief in the immortality of the soul, in personal responsibility, and the happiness that springs from universal solidarity shall shine in its turn upon the earth, and shall lead a step forward in the march of progress. This day will come, and will not tarry, and it behoves all Spiritualists to hasten its coming by working with ardour, holding in common their souls, their science, and their love.
Krouz Kirche, par Neuwied, Prussia. July 26th, 1878.
Editor's notes
- ↑ There is Something in it by Clavairoz, F., London Spiritualist, No. 310, August 2, 1878, p. 53
Sources
London Spiritualist, No. 310, August 2, 1878, p. 53