The Conditionalist Faith of Our Fathers, vol. 2

III. Three Stages in Historical Development of Spiritualism

As we have seen, the phenomenal phase of the Spiritualist Movement in the United States began in 1848, with spirit rappings, mediums, seances, ouija boards, table tipping, and such. These manifestations soon attracted multiplied thousands of men and women eager to communicate with their “departed” loved ones. Groups formed into what were called circles. But in 1893 Spiritualism shifted to a religious basis, and declared itself to be a church. As more and more church people accepted Spiritualism, this religious phase became predominant and inevitable. CFF2 1058.3

Though the first Spiritualist congregation, as an individual church, was established in Sturgis, Michigan, in 1858, it was not until 1893 that action was taken declaring the entire movement to be a church. Thenceforth Spiritualist congregations, spread everywhere, with ordained ministers, church manuals, hymnals, yearbooks, et cetera-and even a sort of seminary. CFF2 1058.4

1. SHIFTS FROM CHURCHLY TO SCIENTIFIC STAGE

Thus, beginning with Spiritualism’s crude phenomena in the earlier decades-shot through and through with fraud and trickery, but with some inexplicable realities-this early secular period was followed, as noted, by the avowedly religious (though not Christian) stage. Then, after several decades in that form Spiritualism developed a distinctively “scientific” aspect, matching the tempo of the times. It was marked by new emphases and new tests, with a new vocabulary suited to the demands of this nuclear era. It is now stressing the scientific laboratory side of Spiritualistic phenomena. As Alson J. Smith aptly put it: CFF2 1058.5

“Psychical research rode into the camp of science on the coattails of psychology and when it got there it changed its name to ‘parapsychology’ (a study of the phenomena that are beyond the present scope of psycholgy)” ¹⁰ CFF2 1059.1

Now the psychic phenomena are tested in the laboratory, where they are weighed, measured, dissected, and counted by the apparatus of science. CFF2 1059.2

2. OLD WORLD SCIENTISTS ESPOUSE SPIRITUALISM

During the course of its history Spiritualism has won over to its cause hundreds of scientists. Not a few of these were of European fame, such as Sir William Crookes, inventor of the Crookes tube; Pierre Curie, discoverer of radium; Cesare Lombroso, founder of the science of criminology; Sir Oliver Lodge, biologist; Morselli, psychologist. ¹¹ It has had a brilliant roster of adherents. Also included are numerous poets like Tennyson and Longfellow, or so the Spiritualists claim. It was the latter who wrote: CFF2 1059.3

“There is no Death! What seems so is transition;
This life of mortal breath
Is but a suburb of the life elysian,
Whose portal we call Death.” ¹² CFF2 1059.4

It is to be observed that Spiritualism has adroitly changed its form, and veiled some of its earlier, cruder, and more objectionable secular features. But while it assumed a churchly guise and then took on a scientific front, its basic utterances are identical and its key teachings have remained unchanged. CFF2 1059.5