Why I am a Spiritualst,
AND
AVWIlY  I AMl NOT  AN  OlRTIOI)0X.
J.7..................4'   5 J 








WHY I AI A SPIRITUALIST,
AND
WHY I AM NOT AN ORTHODOX.
J. B. ANGE LL.
" Heed well the emphatic lesson of the nineteenth century, which is
to thoroughly investigate a subject, however strange, before condemning it."
RED BANK, N. J.
1872.








WHY I AM A SPIRITUALIST, AND WHY I AM NOT
AN ORTHODOX.
I might say, for shortness, that I am a Spiritualist
because I have investigated the subject. I feel very
much when I ask a person if he believes in Spiritualism and he says no, as I should if he expressed himself as not believing in the art of photography. I should
say at once he had not investigated the subject. I
will endeavor to give some of my experience as near as
I can recollect, that has helped to confirm me in my
belief.
Having lost a brother (as we generally term it) late
in the spring of 1870, and being disappointed in seeing
him while in his last sickness before his death, it decided me to call on some medium, and see if I could get a
communication from him. I selected in my mind Mr.
Charles H. Foster for the medium. But I soon learned he had gone east for the season. After his return
in the fall, I called upon him at his r- oms, and found
him engaged with a lady and gentleman. He said to me
he would soon be at liberty, and asked me to walk into
the back room. I did so, and found there two ladies
also waiting. Now, to get communications through
Mr. Foster, he requests you to write each name of those
you wish to communicate with, upon separate piecesof
paper, and fold them as tight as you please, and this
you can do at any time either before or after you come
there. I had not written out my brother's name, and
having some blank paper in my memorandum book, I
thought I would write it out while I was waiting, and
also added some other names I wished to communicate
with at the same time. About the time I had got
through, Mr. Foster came to the door for the ladies,




4
and as they got up to walk out, one of them turned to
me and says, "There is one name  that  you  ought
to have in your list that you have left out, and," says
she, "his name is Thomas," asking me at the same
time if I had not a friend in the spirit-world by that
name. I said I could not call to mind any by that
name, and asked "Was it his last name? ". 0 o," says
she, " it was his first name. " Then it immediately occurred to me that I had formerly a nephew by that
name. He was about my age. We grew up as it were,
playmates together, and if I may judge by my own feelings, we were very much attached to each other, and
it was very natural that he should have a desire to
communicate with me. But he having moved out
west from our native state (Rhode Island) some forty
years ago, and soon having died out there, it did not
occur to me to put his name on my list until reminded of it by one of the ladies, and as I was about
to put his name down, the other lady says, "I
saw by your side a beautiful spirit while you were
writing out your list of names, and her name was
Mary." And then she asked me if I had not a spirit
friend by that name. Although I had that name on my
list, it had for the instant slipped my mind, and as I
hesitated to think, she said " Never mind, we shall see
soon"; and they passed on into the front room. After
I got ready (the door being left open) I could hear that
they were talking upon Spiritualism, and I thought
I would pass in and hear what they had to say. As
I entered the room they spoke to Mr. Foster saying,
", There is a gentleman [referring to me] who wishes to
communicate with some of his spiritual friends, and if
you have no objections, we would like to be present,"
and as there was none, we all sat down to a commonsized, round centre table, Mr. Foster opposite me, and
the two ladies on each side of us. I put my slips
of folded papers, some six or eight in number, in about
the middle of the table, and soon Mr. Foster asked if




5
there was any sprits present whose names were in those
slips of paper, and there came directly three raps (apparently about the center of the table; they were
about as loud as the ticking of a clock,) meaning yes,
and he asked who it was. The alphabet was called for,
but before we had fairly begun with the alphabet, he
was impressed it was J. Angell, and immediately reached down and picked up one ef the papers and handed
it to me, asking me to open it and see if that name was
on it. I found it was; and soon the spirit claimed
to take possession of Mr. Foster, and reaching over
and grasping my hand, expressed much pleasure in
meeting me, and gave a short and glowing description
of their condition, surroundings, etc., in the spiritworld. Soon he left Mr. Foster and took possession
of one of the ladies, and wrote a short communication
to  me, signing it J. A.  She said "It is your
father; he used to have a sore leg, and he used to limp
when he walked-in this way, " getting up and limping
round the room, which was all true. Soon we came to
Mary Angell. " There, " said one of the ladies, "that is
the spirit I saw standing by your side, and it is your
mother." Upon opening the pellet that Mr. Foster
picked up for me, as being for her, I found it was the
one I put in for my mother. The first name that was
called, required starting with the alphabet; immediately after a previous spirit had got through communicating, Mr. Foster would be impressed with the name of
the next, and would call it, reaching down at the same
time, without any hesitancy, picking up one of the
papers and handing it to me to open, to see if it was
-correct; until he had used up all the names without
making a single mistake.
Each of these spirits, after their names had been pre-.sented and investigated to see that all was correct,
would take possession of Mr. Foster, and grasp me by
the hand, giving me a hearty greeting, much as I should,expect to receive from them if I had met them in the




6
flesh, giving a short description of their conditions,
their surroundings, and how they were enjoying themselves in their spirit-life. When it came to my brother, the principal object of my call, I asked him, among
other questions, if they were settling up the business
that he left in accordance with his wishes. And he
said "Entirely so." And having heard from there
since, I should judge that it was correct.
Now, in the foregoing, there were several quite good
tests, especially from those ladies, they being entire
strangers to me, never having seen or heard of them
before.
Mr. Foster, after they had left, informed me that
they belonged South, but came North to spend the
summer, and being themselves good mediums, hence
being interested in Spiritualism, and knowing of Mr.
Foster by reputation as a medium, they had called upon him several times, and this was their last call before
leaving for their homes South, which they expected to
do next day.
Here is another test Mr. Foster gave me several years
ago. After going through with my list of names as
above, I told him I had heard he had the initials of
spirits' names show themselves upon his arm, and he
said he had, and he would ask if there were any
spirits present that would communicate in that form.
The response was " Yes. " He immediately stripped up
his sleeve leaving his arm bare; and I supposed he expected if there was anything came it would come out
upon his arm. But instead of which, we soon saw it
forming upon the back of his hand, and instead of its
being only initials, it wrote out Susan. These letters
were copper-colored (as near as I can recollect), formed
upon a white hand for a base, showing a distinct contrast. They came out and remained long enough to
be read and examined thoroughly, and then faded
away all directly before our eyes. Says Foster, "I am
impressed it was a sister of yours. " It was true that I




had a sister by that name, and it further occurred to me
that it was like her hand-writing, and as I had some of
her letters at home, I referred to them after my return
and I found it to correspond, as near as I could recollect, precisely.
The first question one may naturally ask is, How were
these letters formed, especially in a location we were
not expecting and in an unexpected form; and how
should he know I had a sister by that name; and further, how came her hand-writing there, when he could
not possibly have known anything about it; and also,
the form of her hand-writing had entirely passed from
my mind until seeing it awakened a recollection of it.
I will give now another experience I had in connection with Mrs. Angell. This was also a number of
years ago. Mrs. Angell had quite a severe ill-turn, and
hearing of a medium in New York who was said to be
skillful in the healing line, we decided to go over and
make a trial with her. We soon found the lady. I
think her name was A. W. Danworth. She was very
modest and retiring in her manner, possessing a very
pleasant countenance. When she got ready for the examination she said to me, "You must prepare yourself
with pencil and paper for taking down the prescription
when it is given, for I am entirely unconscious while
under influence." The physician who claimed to prescribe through her mediumship, was named Dr. Clark,
who was formerly a Thomsonian physician in Boston,
and when he took possession of her, she became another
kind of a person at once. She spoke up strong and
confident, and walked straight up to Mrs. Angell with
a staid, business air, putting her hand on Mrs. Angell's
head, and commenced examining and describing her
complaints, not only telling her present afflictions, but
what she had been liable to at times, all without a single mistake as near as we could judge. Then she gave
the prescription. After she came out of the trance,
she asked Mrs. Angell if it had been satisfactory. She




8
told her it was entirely so, as far as the examination of
her complaint was concerned. Then she asked me,
and I told her the same. But I said I was in hopes
that we should have in connection with it some more
striking tests of the truth of Spiritualism.  "0," she
said, "it was for one's relief, not for a test."  Soon
another spirit apparently took possession of her, evidently of a different character from the other, and she
said, "I see standing by that lady" (meaning Mrs. Angell) "a beautiful young lady, " describing her very particularly throughout.' Although she is full-grown now,
she was a child when she left. the form," naming her
age at that time, and how long it had been since it took
place. Then she said, " I see a young man near you,"
describing him in like manner, and then another, and
then another.  " These spirits seem to take great interest in you, and call you mother. Do you recognize them as such from the description and circumstances? " As near as Mrs. Angell could recollect, it
was all correct in every particular, with one exception.
She never had lost but three children.  " 0, " said the
medium, " the second son was a premature birth; it
never came to light alive upon your side; but he is
now a young man and a beautiful spirit. " This was all
true-there was a premature birth took place between
the two sons. Now here was a test of a very strong
character. It cannot be put down as mind-reading
from the medium, for Mrs. Angell could not recollect
of having thought of this premature birth for years
previous to this occurrence.
Since writing the above, we have had another still
more vivid experience, which has just transpired with
us. Having lately read in the Banner of Light, various
accounts of extraordinary spiritual manifestations at
Mr. Maurice Keeler's, near Moravia, Cayuga county,
N. Y., and it being near where Mrs. Angell spent the
most of her early life, and she long having had a desire
to visit the scenes- of her youth, with this additional




9
inducement, it soon decided us to make a trip there for
our two-fold gratification.
We went directly to Mr. Keeler's house, which is
about half a mile from the village, upon ground so
high that the vilage of Moravia appears, as it were,
nestling at our feet, and this, with the valley for miles
beyond, presents a view that is rarely excelled for its
beauty. On our first day's arrival, there were so many
people there before us that we did not succeed in attending a circle. After which we attended four. But
in the three first there was nothing occurred that was
of especial interest to us. The room in which we formed was darkened most of the time, so that in going in
to form a circle, we had to take a light with us, and in
arranging us in a semicircular form, some eight or ten
people just fills out the space from one side of the room
to the other, all taking hold of each other's hands, some
six or eight feet in front of the medium, who sits with
her back near the cabinet. No one can get into the
circle, except they come through the cabinet, without
getting over the circle's heads. After the circles are
formed, the light is turned down, leaving the circle in
utter darkness. In the fourth circle that we attended,
we had eight persons, seven of them old people, I
should judge over sixty years, and one middle-aged.
It is understood that singing aids in giving harmony
and strength to the manifesting powers. Our circle of
mainly old people was not especially blessed with very
exalted singing talent, but I believe we all put in the best
we knew. Old John Brown seemed to have the most
awakening power among the spirits while we were
there, and we soon struck in upon that, and we had not
proceeded far before there was evidence of magnetic
power about us. Little mild, bluish lights began to circulate about over our heads, and over the space just in
front of us for a time, and then vanished. Then each
member of the circle was consecrated by a holy sprinkling in our faces.  Then there joined us in  the




10
chorus a spirit man's voice, singing the treble, and
soon a second man's voice, singing the tenor; and directly they joined us, soon after we commenced, carrying their two separate parts through the whole song,
including the chorus, and when we had used up all the
words we knew, they improvised words for us that
none of the circle ever heard before. At one time an
additional spirit lady's voice joined us, and sung her
part through with the other two spirits. These voices
did not apparently come from a stationary point while
singing, but seemed to be waving about in the upper
part of the room, some of the time nearly over our
heads, and at other times over the space just in front of
us. Their voices were of the richest, and of the truest
ring. It-seemed to stir every fibre of one's musical soul.
No mundane effort that I ever witnessed would compare with it for its exhilarating effect. In due time a
spirit man's voice spoke directly in front of us, saying,
"Please strike the light." These introductory circles
are formed, they say, in the dark, with the mediums
seated outside of the cabinet to establish strong manifesting power. The lamp is lit, -and placed upon the
piano, on one side of the room, behind- a screen that
shades it from the main part of the room, but allows it
to shine obliquely upon a small black, curtained window in the front part of the cabinet. The window is all
open, excepting the curtain. After this the medium takes
-her seat in the cabinet, and the person that lights the
lamp and shuts the door after the medium, returns to
his seat in the circle as before. Then the circle commenced singing again, but we got no more aid from
the spirits. The power seemed to be wanted in another direction. Our feeble efforts in this line, after
having been exhilarated with such a glorious accompaniment from such a heavenly quarter, seemed a
pretty tame affair, I assure you. Nevertheless, as long
as we felt that our exertions were of any service, we
rendered them to the best of our capacity. Soon the




curtain began to rise, and several faces presented themselves in succession at the cabinet window, but none of
the circle could recognize them with any certainty.
Finally a lady seemed to be making efforts to bring
her face forward, and at last succeeded in bringing it
out to the light, and it was recognized with delight at
once by an elderly lady in the circle. This elderly
lady made some remark to her (the import of which I
have forgotten), to which the spirit assented by
giving three very graceful inclinations of the head.
The spirit's whole deportment seemed easy and very
graceful. She had a very fine countenance, with apparently fine wavy brown hair combed down over her
temples, with a band around her head, and a small
ornament at the centre of the parting, which sparkled
as the light shone upon it. She was formerly the wife
of one of the hotel keepers at Auburn, with whom the
elderly lady said she had been familiarly acquainted
with for years previous to her leaving the form, and
said, while she was living, ease and gracefulness of
movement was characteristic of her. That same evening, after this circle, we left for Auburn, accompanied
by the above lady, and we stopped at the same hotel
where this spirit-lady while in the form used to live,
and we were invited into the hotel keeper's family
sitting-room to see a large-sized photograph of her,
and a striking resembance was recognized at once.
There were the same noble features, the parted hair
coming down over her temples, apparently resembling
in every particular, the one we had seen but a few
hours before, bowing so gracefully to us at the cabinet
window at Mr. Keeler's.
Directly a man's face was seen coming-up, and the
moment the light struck it so that its features could be
seen, it gave Mrs. Angell such a shock that she could
scarcely contain herself in her seat, for the features
were apparently precisely those of a living son of hers,
and the first thought was that he had left the form




12
since she had heard from him, and took this opportunity to make himself manifest. Then it occurred to her
it might be one of her sons that she had lost; and she
said,  " Is it Samuel?" There was no response.
She said, " Is it John?" This was assented to at once,
by an inclination of the head.  "0," she said, "if it is
John, will you speak?" and he pushed his face out to
the light, a smile lit up his countenance, simply
saying at the same time, "Mother"; and his lips
wereplainly seen to move when he spoke the word;
after being requested to say more, he said, "I Mother,
I am with you every day." Then after something
further was stated, the import of which I have forgotten, his answer was, "Your impressions are
correct." Then a lady's hand was presented, with
three fingers partly gone, which a lady present recognized at once as her sister's hand, who passed over
some years ago.
Then an old lady, with a very broad bordered white
cap upon her head, tried several times to come up to
the light, and finally succeeded; but the border of her
cap was so broad, and projected so far over her face,
that the light could not shine upon her countenance so
as to discover her features. She presented her face
towards the part of the circle where I was, and she was
asked which one of us she wished to communicate
with, and she pointed with her finger toward me.
Then I asked her who she was, and she said, "Your
Granny Angell." Then I asked her if she would say
something more, and she said, " It is very hard work
for us to talk now, but the time is soon coming when
we can talk with each other.freely." Grandmother
Angell left the form  nearly or quite sixty years ago,
when I was probably some four or five years old, at
which time, old women of her age used to wear just
such caps as she presented herself with, and it was the
custom among children in the country, where we lived
at that time, to call our grand-parents on the female




13
side, Grannies. In her latter days, she lived with my
father's family, occupying a room in the second story,
and being too old and feeble to go down stairs, her
meals used to be taken up to her; excepting some simple things, which, when her health would permit, she used
to cook herself. And as I was some seven years younger
than any of the rest of the family, and for the want of
more appropriate material, I presume I used to be to
some extent a favorite of hers; for I recollect from time
to time she invited me to take my meals with her, and
those johnny-cakes that she used to bake upon a board,
propped up upon one edge by a flat iron, on the hearth
before a wood fire, had a sweetness in them that none
of our stove-baked, modern corn-bread family approaches to. All things considered, it was not strange
that she should make herself manifest to her now old
but once young (perhaps) pet boy. Especially when
doing so makes the test more perfect, for among all
my connections and friends that I had flattered myself I might see, the possibility of my Grandmother
Angell, whose absence from her old body had been of
so long standing, had not entered my mind as one who
might present herself to me. Hence it could not be
put down as clairvoyant mind-reading of the medium.
Now here is a line of tests that seem to me are beyond the possibility of being accounted for, excepting
through the return of spirit-friends. No combination
of talent in the legerdemain line could present at that
window likenesses of friends that are readily recognized by members of the circle, some of whom are entire strangers, not only to the Keelers and the medium,
but to every other member of the circle.
But for Mr. and Mrs. Keeler and the medium to accomplish so much through any peculiar art of theirs,
would be still wonderfully more strange, for I think of
all my acquaintances, from my boyhood up, I cannot
call to mind any that would appear so illy qualified for
carrying out a line of deception as Mr. and Mrs. Keeler.




14
The medium is more easy, and not so awkward in her
manner, but apparently entirely honest and sincere in
her deportment.
Tests in multitudes, and of various forms, (for there
are no two just alike) are occurring throughout this and
other countries daily, many of them of such a conelusive character that I am entirely satisfied that any
appreciative mind, whose judgment is not controlled by
his prejudices, his feelings, or his fears, and who will
faithfully investigate the subject, he will receive evidence of such a conclusive nature that conviction will
unavoidably follow. For when we have received evidence sufficient of the truth of a thing, our convictions
follow in spite of ourselves. One might from strong
prejudice, perhaps, resist coming in contact with the
evidence that there is, iunder certain conditions, a power
in steam for propelling machinery. But when he allows
himself to take an appreciative view of its workings,
he has to ground arms, strike his colors, and surrender
to his convictions.
The question is sometimes asked, Of what use is
Spiritualism? I feel that the scope of its uses are not
easily measured. We will take this last case of Mrs.
Angell. What a thrill of joy must come over a loving
mother's feelings, when such vivid evidence was presented to her understanding of the glorious condition
of those, the parting with which left a void that seemed to be a hopeless case to be closed in this life at least.
But this brought a conviction with it that they not
only still lived, but that they still took an earnest interest in their mother; and further, that when she had
stayed her time out here, and passed over, -he wouldmeet them under the full appreciation of a mothere' feelings (only, as it is stated, more vividly there than here).
Again, this settles the question which so agitates
the world, and upon which there are so many doubters
and utter unbelievers. Do we live hereafter or is the
soul immortal?




15
Then again, I have seen it stated that there are some
sixty thousand ministers in the United States alone,
and as I understand it, what is expected of a minister
different from other public teachers, is that he is to
minister for the good of our souls, or that he is to set
forth the evidences of a future life, and how we must
conduct ourselves to attain the best conditions in that
life. Now, in my estimation, an intelligent person,
with a good medium, under proper conditions, can get
more facts about our condition hereafter in a few
hours, than the whole sixty thousand ministers can give
us (without this aid) in their life-time, and this, too,
without ruffling a hair of their heads. These are a few
of the items out of the many I might name, which I
feel are of themselves of no small interest, and may
give a hint of the good we may expect from Spiritualism.
Another natural question further to ask is, What
doctrine does Spiritualism teach? It teaches emphatically the doctrine of doing unto others as you would
that they should do unto you, and loving your neighbor as yourself; and he who lives the nearest to these
principles, attains a condition the nearest heaven, or a
heavenly state of existence, and he does not have to
wait for it until he passes over. It begins here. For
when is a person nearer heaven than when he has
done a noble, kind, and just act to his neighbor?
and when is he nearer hell than when he has
done a mean, unjust, and cruel act to his neighbor?
This is the real heaven and hell so much talked about.
This burning, liquid, brimstone hell, with its accompanying personal Devil, is all a myth. There are none
so low but that they will be redeemed, and each has
got to perform his own redemption himself. No one
can do it for him any more than he can eat, drink, or
sleep for him, and if he does not begin his reformation
here, he will have to sometime hereafter. and his punishment will be just in proportion to the evil he has
committed.




16
You may readily imagine that some have a heavy
load to struggle up through, but there are none free.
All are far, very far, from perfection. Progress is the
grand ruling principle both here and hereafter, and
every step forward in that direction produces its own
glorious reward. And. there is room in that direction
for all, from the lowest to the highest.
These are some, as I suppose, of what may be called
the doctrinal ideas of Spiritualism.
Now, of course, believing as I do in the truth of
Spiritualism, it is a sufficient reason of itself why
I am not an Orthodox. But there are other reasons,
which I will try to explain, why I am not a believer in
the so-called Orthodox principles.
As I understand it, all who do not live up to their
particular form, as laid down in their various creeds,
are lost. And the opinion of people differ about the
proportion of those that are lost. Some say nine-tenths,
others  nineteen-twentieths,  ninety-nine-hundreths,
etc.; but by statistics the proportion, I think, can be
more satisfactorily approximated to. It is estimated
that the number of inhabitants on the globe is some
ten hundred millions, and that one-third of this number are under the Christian dominions, and that the
proportion of actual members of some church throughout the Christian countries, averages some say onefourth, others one-fifth, of the people, which former
proportion foots up some eighty-three millions of people that are actual members of some church, which is
aboutone-twelfth of the race. [If my statistics are
not entirely correct, if the actual proportion should
be more, or less, mind you it would only alter the degree, not the principle in the least.] The result of
which is, there cannot, according to the Orthodox
idea, be but one in twelve of the human family
saved.
Is it possible that a power that could call into existence
suns upon suns, and worlds upon worlds, poised in space




17'
perhaps millions deep, and all moving with such precisidn, order, and justice, towards each other, that an eclipse
can be calculated a thousand years ahead with entire
certainty of its taking place at its appointed time; and
if we may judge other worlds by our own, the apparent
object of this grand effort is to mature man and
prepare him for a future state of existence: (for
in man is represented all beings below him; in
addition to which, is his own superior intelligence;
and he is the only being of earth who possesses the
religious idea, who entertains an aspiration for a future
state of existence; —evidently man is the culminating
fruit of this immense forest of worlds, the harvesting
of which is to fill the spiritual granaries of heaven;)
is it possible, I say, that a power that can direct all
this with such apparent ease and order, should make
such a melancholy mistake? the result of which is that
only one in twelve should be saved, the other eleventwelfths of the race to be lost-yes, infinitely as it
were, worse than lost, for they will have to undergo the
most excruciating torment throughout eternity.
The Orthodox idea, as I understand it, is that we
must realize a change of heart through Christ to be
saved.  Now two-thirds of the inhabitants of the
globe are what we term heathens, a great portion of
which never heard of Christ, many of them probably living as near to the Golden Rule as it is possible for
human nature to come up to, devoting their lives to
doing good, ever renderingirelief to the suffering of
those about them, and when their lives are spent, and
their bodies are cast off, they find their spirits doomed
to eternal misery for the neglect of attending to certain
forms, the necessity of which never came to their knowledge, and there was no possible chance for them to
obtain that knowledge. Is that just? Is it-merciful?
Is it reasonable? If it was possible for man to commit
such a deed, would it not be considered a crime of the
deepest dye, and can we familiarize ourselves with such




18
deep injustice, without its having its unfavorable influence upon us? Was not the condition of the South
a striking illustration of the contaminating influence
of unjust surroundings? The effect of slavery had so
toned down their moral standard that they proclaimed
it a divine institution, and each popular denomination was represented there by scores of ministers,
preaching from  their pulpits the divinity of slavery.
When we came to fight with the South, we found
that they were capable of deeds below what we should
expect from  barbarians-such as murdering our soldiers after they had surrendered, and starving them,
while in their power as prisoners, by thousands directly under the eyes, as it were, and in the full knowledge
of their Confederate Congress, hence evidently showing
it to have been a national policy. The poet has it when
he says,
Vice is a monster, of such a frightful mein,
That to be hated needs but to be seen;
But seen too oft, with too familiar a face,;We first endure, then pity, then embrace.
Now,- kind reader, I do not give the above reflections
in a spirit of controversy, but in the spirit I should
expect from you, if it should be that I was a skeptic
upon magnetic telegraphing, and had expressed myself
to that effect. But finally, when the evidence had been
presented to me so directly that I could not deny the
fact, but had to admit it, I then pronounced it all the
work of the devil, and hence would have nothing to
do with it; if I had any messages to send, I would
send them in the old way, by a relay of horses and
their riders; now, in the best of feeling, you would try
to impress me of my mistake; perhaps by stating that
there was one company in New York who had 121,000
miles of wire, over which, under proper conditions,
they could send messages more miles in a few hours,
than perhaps 60,000 horses with their riders could
carry in their life-time, and this, too, without ruffling a
hair of their heads. What would be your feelings, if at




19
this stage, I should commence deriding and stigmatizing you and your idea to the utmost of my capacity?
You would naturally say to yourself, how gross, how
unjust, and uncivil a return for an intended kindness
-a kindness in which you had directly no possible
interest except for my good.  How often is Spiritualism and its advocates assailed in like manner
from Orthodox quarters? But then it is all in keeping.
It would be folly to expect a stream to flow higher than
its fountain.
There is one other point I wish to illustrate by
magnetic telegraphing.  The truth of telegraphing,
as with Spiritualism, is sustained by present living
facts, not upon some ancient record of events, that
transpired some two, four, or five thousand years
ago; but facts that are transpiring daily and hourly
all about us. Here is one of the important advantages
it has over every other heretofore professed doctrine.
Backsliders are very rare from convictions obtained
through present, positive, living evidence. Professor
Morse does not find it necessary every few months
to go round frightening back into his fold backsliders
from his magnetic faith; but, upon the contrary, he
might travel the world through, and he would find
every intelligent member of the race a fast subscriber
to his doctrine, without a single dissenter. It is said
if the Spiritualist doctrine is a doctrine of love, why do
we see among them at their meetings at times, such a
want of harmony? Now do not expect too much at
once. A change perhaps in belief from a God of
wrath and injustice to a just and merciful God, is not
sure to change the character of the individual at once.
The long ages of the demoralizing influence of slavery
was not changed the moment that Lincoln proclaimed
the freedom of the slaves, of which the existence of the
Ku Kluxes and their kindred spirits are a conclusive
evidence. Strong biased minds can only be changed
by lwng, patient, earnest training.




20
We hear much said at times, in certain quarters,
about evangelizing the world; and the leaders perhaps
of some leading denomination, will get their heads together to work up a powerful revival in view of that
object. Now what do these revivals amount to? It
appears to me (to use a homely comparison), it is like
applying soda wash to the stalk and branches of a
sickly tree; you may get up a fitful semblance for a
time of vivid life, but if the grub worm of injustice is
left girdling at the roots, the whole tree in time will
surely perish.
Talk about evangelizing the world. If it is a fact,
as the Bible says, that we commenced with a single
pair some five or six thousand years ago, and we know
now that we count up in round numbers some ten
hundred millions, it is no wise probable but that the
last third of this five or six thousand years has gained
fully its portion of the ten hundred millions. Hence,
while the race has been gaining at least three hundred
and thirty-three millions, Christianity has only gained
some eighty-three millions. Now it does not require
a very deep mathematician, to perceive that upon this
ratio it would take a long time to evangelize the world.
The Banner of Light sometime since contained
an account of the proceedings of the Massachusetts Legislative Committee, which was appointed, it seems, to investigate the propriety
of allowing the Spiritualists a special charter like
other denominations for publishing tracts advocating their doctrines. I see, according to the statement,
three of the Committee were ministers, and I should
judge from the tone of their questions, they were of the
Orthodox order, and it would seem that their great
fear was that the Spiritualist had too little reverence
for the Bible. Now the contents of the Bible are of
such a varied cast, that all shades of doctrine can find
passages that can be plausibly construed to sustain
them; and they have only to say, as the custom is,, that




21
all other parts of it that opposes their particular standsard are figurative, and theirs is the true literal meaning. Hence, the Universalist will perhaps call your
attention to the passage where it says, "As in Adam
all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. " The
Shaker will probably tell you it is good to marry, but
better to not; therefore they take the better part. The
Mormons will quote you David, a man after God's
own heart, to sustain them. And the slaveholders.
used to find passages which they felt fully sustained
their institution. And the Orthodox finds ample evidence there, as they understand it, to sustain eternal
suffering to all outside of their creeds. And even
John Allen, the wickedest man in New York, I presume
used to think that the life of old King Solomon was a
mantle sufficiently large to amply cover his leading
iniquitous deeds; and it was said of him that in his controversies he used generally to come out master of
the occasion.  In the above light, the Bible (with
those who believe in the peculiar sacredness of its contents,) acts, as it were, as a moral thermometer, showing as a rule quite plainly, how high each denominational moral mercury stands above zero.  What
can be said of the moral standard of a class of people who profess to be followers of Christ, the spirit of
whose life and teachings, as recorded, were to love thy
neighbor as thyself, return good for evil, if a man
smite you on one cheek turn the other also, and instead of adhering to these high and holy precepts
they search the Bible up and down for evidences of a
god of vengeance, wrath, and retaliation, and when
found they sieze and quote them with a gusto, showing plainly that it touches a kindred spirit in their own
mental organization; for although, as I said, they are
directly opposed to the whole life and teachings of
Christ, these extreme retaliatory passages must be
absorbed in their creeds, or it will not seem a truth
to them.




22
Spiritualism is like the light of the sun; it shines to
us in its own natural way independent of our control.
Our heretofore denominations are like our various
artificial lights, each individual or class choosing its
particular light, according to its fancy or capacity for
its support, each light shining in its own flickering,
sickly way, for the few just about it. But Spiritualism,
I say furthermore, like the sun, shines for all. Not a
soul is born but what in time will be a joyful recipient
of its glorious rays.
Is it not plain, if they were brought to the test,
which of the two above classes would be most likely to
adopt the extreme policy of our southern brethren
heretofore mentioned. For what is the transcient suffering of a starving or murdered man, compared with an
eternity of misery, each moment of which is infinitely
as it were greater than that of the man while being
robbed of the life of his body, even in its most aggravated form, and this punishment, too, must be endured in
many cases merely because his conscience perhaps
would not permit him to subscribe to the thirty-nine
(more or less) articles of faith? For he might be the
most exalted pattern of a man for justice, truth, and
love to his neighbor; but if he fails to subscribe to the
Orthodox creed an eternity of misery is his inevitable doom.
And this is the class that enlightened Massachusetts,
through its enlightened representatives, voted that
Spiritualists should not be allowed equal advantages
for promulgating its doctrines.
And this is the leading class whose minds are so terribly exercised for fear Spiritualism will demoralize
the race.
And, also, among this class, are those who are so
earnest for our return to the old form of Church and
State-a condition of things, which was so severely
felt by Roger Williams, when he had to flee for his life
from the old Colony of Massachusetts over to Rhode




23
Island rmong the desperate Narragansetts, for his conscience sake; also by the so-called witches, -who were
executed at Salem; by the Quakers, who were hung on
Boston Common; by John Rogers, who was burned at
the stake in old Smithfield; and was it not for the
fact, that since then a mighty change has come over
its surroundings, and had Orthodoxy of the old school
the power, free from the fear of the influence of these
surroundings, could we expect a better state of things
now than then? Could we even yet expect a stream to
flow higher than its fountain?
The question will naturally be asked, if Orthodoxy
is such a terrible affair, How comes it that so many of
the reforms have come through its church? HIas it not
been so as far back as we know of the race. Doubtless
each step up the rounds of the ladder of progress
could truthfully say that upon their particular round
had been established the greatest reforms that had tak
en place previous to their time; but did that prove that
they had attained perfection? Here has been and is
the great stumbling-block. Each considers his platform the ultimate of all progress, the highest round in
the ladder. And this to, when it is plain that our wisest are, infinitely as it were, more below perfection
than our veriest idiots are below our wisest; therefore,
what consummate presumption to say that we are perfect in any important direction. It seems to be our nature to insist upon wearing our old swaddling cloths,
even after our mental and moral limbs are away in advance struggling for greater freedom. How ridiculous
would be the position of the chicken, while being fully
decked out in Nature's elegant plumage, if it should insist upon carrying its old shell upon its back, because
at some previous time perhaps it had been so well
served by it.
There is many a member of the Orthodox church
whose soul is all aglow with a beautiful, high-toned,
rmoral, and religious plumage, who make a wofully.ri



24
diculous figure by insisting upon wearing on their
backs the old Orthodox shell.
I fully believe that all the doctrines that have heretofore existed, from Old Brahma up,have been in the main
founded upon speculation. Hence each individual, as
a rule, would be attracted to the doctrine that accorded
most with his or her mental organization. And as
there are no two organized just alike, therefore the existence of the great multiplicity of doctrines is entirely natural, each showing the condition or status of
the mind, each doubtless filling its niche in the line
of progress, acting, as it were, as caustics to burn
the proud flesh out of the old religious sore, preparatory for the reception of the healing ointment of Spiritualism.
I presume at this stage the unprejudiced, intelligent
reader may perceive why I am not an Orthodox.
Now, it appears to me that in the foregoing I have,
in the main, stated plain, self-evident facts. If so, facts
are mighty staid and reliable articles to deal with.
They are as permanent as the rocks —aye, more so.
You might roll up a pile of the hardest granite as
high as the Andes, or the Himelaya Mountains-in time
they would dissolve and moulder to dust. But a truth,
Never.
PHA.LAiqX, N. J.