VV 4,-1d AMERICA'S PROPHETIC WEEKLY VOLUME 48 MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, MARCH 29, 1921 NUMBER 13 • President Wilson and his Cabinet, as they met in session for the last time. This is the first posed picture of the President since his illness. Left to right: President Wilson. Back row: Secretary of the Treasury Houston; Attorney-General Palmer ; Secretary of the Navy Daniels; Secretary of Agriculture Meredith; Secretary of Labor Wil- son. Front row: Secre- tary of State Colby; Sec- retary of War Baker; Postmaster-General Bur- leson; Secretary of In- terior Payne; Secretary of Commerce Alexander. Edmonston from International Spiritism's Starless Midnight HERE was a day in the de- The only common grownd between the with its fundamentals. The ex- velopment of the phenome- plicit testimony of the Scriptures is non known to the world as sunny day of Christianity and the dark to the effect that in death man is "S piri ti s m" when this cult of psychic research is a "No Man's totally unconscious. Thus we read: movement made no pre- Land" of absolute diversity. "Put not your trust in princes, nor tense of possessing a reli- in the son of man, in whom there gious character. In fact, is no help. His breath goeth forth, during its early years it openly By CARLYLE B. HAYNES he returneth to his earth; in that disavowed and repudiated the fun- very day his thoughts perish." damental teachings of Christianity. Psalm 146:3, 4. This verse de- More recently, however, Spiritism has taken on another ap- clares that there is no consciousness, no intelligence, in death. pearance, and it desires now to be accepted as a religious as In death the ability to think and reason comes to an end. well as a scientific movement. Some of its leading spokesmen, That death is an absolute cessation of conscious existence is during the last year or two, have gone so far as to claim that taught by the Bible in the following passage: "The living know Spiritism constitutes a restoration of original and primitive that they shall die: but the dead know not anything, neither Christianity, even having the audacity to declare that Jesus have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is for- Christ Himself performed His miracles by virtue of His being gotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is a spirit medium. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has declared that now perished; neither have they any more a portion forever in Spiritism constitutes a new revelation of religious faith and anything that is done under the sun." Ecclesiastes 9: 5, 6. practice. In the Bible death is given a name which stands for uncon- McClure's Magazine for December, 1920, contains an article sciousness. It is called a "sleep." "Consider and hear me. 0 by Sir Oliver Lodge, entitled "Religion and Psychic Research." Lord my God: lighten my eyes, lest I seep the sleep of death." In beginning this article, Sir Oliver informs us that he has Psalm 13: 3. From this it is plain that death is a period of un- often been asked since he began his investigations into Spirit- consciousness, a sleep, from which all are to be awakened by a ism whether these investigations have led him away from or resurrection. toward the Christian religion. He replies to this question with The teaching of Christ on this point is in harmony with that • considerable emphasis that Spiritism has brought him back "to of David, as is plain from the following passage: "These things the essentials, the main teachings of the Gospels." said He: and after that He saith unto them, Our friend Laz- In discussing some of these "essentials" which he accepts as arus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. "the main teachings of the Gospels," Sir Oliver declares that Then said His disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. How- some of the doctrines which ecclesiastics hold have been proved beit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that He had to be erroneous by the revelations of Spiritism, and "will have spoken of taking of rest in sleep. Then said Jesus unto them to be discarded." He further declares that one of these doc- plainly, Lazarus is dead." John 11: 11-14. trines which will have to be discarded is "the long sleep in the With these statements agree many other passages in the grave," and he says, in commenting on this, that "we never en- Scripture, among which these may be considered as examples: ter the grave. Nothing is put there but our discarded remains." "After that, He was seen of five hundred brethren at once; of We believe that Sir Oliver Lodge states the truth when he whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are declares that the acceptance of the teachings and revelations of fallen asleep." 1 Corinthians 15: 6. Spiritism lead one to this conclusion. We affirm, however, that, "I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning far from correcting certain erroneous doctrines and leading one them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which to the essentials of Christianity, Spiritism is in direct conflict have no hope." 1 Thessalonians 4: 13. 2 The Signs of the Times for March 29, 1921 "Many of them that sleep in the dust of know, but which may be found after- "Among these objectionable features I the earth shall awake, some to everlast- wards to be true. They can assume dis- denounce the following: the vicarious ing life, and some to shame and everlast- guises innumerable, impersonate any atonement, the doctrine of eternal pun- ing contempt." Daniel 12: 2. character, and call to their assistance at ishment, the literal resurrection of the "He kneeled down, and cried with a loud any time a vast multitude of other beings body, the virgin birth of Jesus, the in- voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their like themselves. fallibility of the Bible, and the doctrine charge. And when he had said this, he These wicked spirits have, through all of salvation by faith only. fell asleep." Acts 7: 60. the ages of the past, unsettled the minds "Some of these doctrines are merely "David, after he had served his own of multitudes of people, and have led foolish, but some of them, like the blood generation by the will of God, fell on many into madness, insanity, and ruin. atonement theory, are absolutely vicious sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and Scientists, such as Sir Oliver Lodge, are and lead to wicked and immoral liv- saw corruption." Acts 13: 36. perplexed and baffled by the phenomena ing. "Why dost Thou not pardon my trans- which these wicked spirits present, and "No: the Spiritualist religion is as dif- gression, and take away mine iniquity? are led to conclude, as he does, that these ferent from the so-called Christian 4-e- for now shall I sleep in the dust; and phenomena are produced by the spirits ligion as a sunny day is from a starless Thou shalt seek me in the morning, but of the dead, rather than by the spirits midnkht. I shall not be." Job 7: 21. of the devil who pretend to be the spirits "One is based on a book and teaclalag PSYCHIC INQUIRY THE ENEMY, NOT of the dead. That is, these scientists are two thousand years old—the othe s THE HANDMAID led to believe exactly what these wicked based on teaching that is received from These passages constitute a direct con- spirits desire them to believe. the world of spirits in our own day and time." tradiction to the statements of Sir Oliver SPIRITISTS RECOGNIZE UNBRIDGEABLE We think that the writer in the Pro- Lodge. Further, these passages are the GULF teachings of Christianity. Sir Oliver gressive Thinker sees more clearly than Spiritism is not, and never can be, the Lodge's conclusions directly contradict does Sir Oliver Lodge. He recognizes, at them. Therefore, to accept the teachings "handmaid to the Christian religion," as any rate, that there is a great gulf be- Sir Oliver Lodge asserts, for the plain- of Spiritism means to be led directly tween Christianity and Spiritism *which est teachings of the Bible stand in direct away from the teachings of Christianity, can never be bridged. The two systems opposition to the teachings of Spiritism, rather than toward these teachings. are opposites. It is true, as he says, that Sir Oliver Lodge to the contrary, not- Christianity and Spiritism have nothing there is as much difference between withstanding. This may be seen by some whatsoever in common; one is the exact Christianity and Spiritism as between a quotations from a leading Spiritist paper opposite of the other. The passages sunny day and a starless midnight, only of Chicago, the Progressive Thinker, in which have been quoted teach that at Christianity is the sunny day, and Spir- its issue of August 28, 1920. In this itism is the starless midnight. It is true death man lies down to sleep and in the paper we read: resurrection is awakened; that there is again, as he declares, that Christianity between death and the resurrection a "Spiritualism is a religion, but it is a is based on a book which sets forth Christ period of unconscious sleep. Also, that religion free from the absurd and super- as the Saviour of the world. This book the process of dying is not death; the stitious features that mar the system is a comprehensive statement of the life known as Christianity.