the ordinary mediumistic faculty of spiritual clairvoyance! Fifth, that our Lord's theological and psychical teachings were but the reproductions of false mythologies! Sixthly, that he held His power, great or little, because under the influence of departed men !"

Mr. T. W. Greenwell, in his "Latter-Day Delusions," in "The Watchword," under the head of Spiritualism;" while quoting the above, also adds to their number as under :

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"All things originate in nature, and man is a development of the animal-our first parents, born of brutes, were savages of a degraded type-All things and beings are governed by natural necessity; man possesses no freedom nor moral, will-There is no retrogression, through moral disorders, either of the individual or of the species-Vice is virtue in its unprogressed or germinal condition; SIN IS THEREFORE AN IMPOSSIBLE CHIMERA!-Self-love is the centre and fountain-head of all human affections, and the chief inspirer of all human or spiritual actions 1-the spirit world is the theatre for the continued evolution of human spirits, under the perpetual force of nature WORKING THROUGH SELF-LOVE!—lastly, the doctrine of free-love is incul

cated"!!

“All sin and vice," says good old Archbishop Leighton, "springeth from the property of our own will; all virtue and perfection cometh and groweth from the mortifying of it, and the resigning of it wholly to the pleasure and will of God." "For from SELF-LOVE and SELF-WILL, spring ALL SIN and ALL PAIN.”

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And the Rev. A. R. Fausset, writing in the "Silver Morn" for October, 1885, on Spiritualism tested by Scripture," quotes from a book on spirit-manifestations by Stone, in 1852, which he says, "denies (1) the Scripture doctrine of the Trinity in one God, and the Godhead of Christ; (2) the fall and consequent innate corruption of every man; (3) the believer's acceptance through faith in the Lord Jesus, as our sin-atoning substitute, making reconciliation by His blood-shedding, between God and man; (4) the need of our regeneration by the Holy Spirit, if we would enter heaven; (5) the eternity of future punishment and hell. It represents even the worst men as entering bliss at death, their happiness increasing progressively AS THEY RISE IN MORALITY HEREAFTER; (6) it denies the resurrection of the body; and a day of judgment which will fix men's state for eternal weal or woe; according to their works now; and the second advent of Christ; (7) it renders the Bible (even the New Testament) a superannuated almanack"!!

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Let me add a few more only, in confirmation, from Spirit Teachings and writings," culled from "Spirit workers in the Home Circle;" and then I will pass on. 'January 31, 1871, Automatic.

"When we say keep to your boyhood faith in the old gospel we do not intend you to believe you cannot outgrow it! The Gospel of our dear Jesus was but the beginning of A MORE GLORIOUS DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHRIST LIFE-all that ever will remain, but SPIRITUALISM SHALL CONSIDERABLY ADD AND EXPAND IT!—

the same truths, dear Papa-do not shrink from our messages. Science advances and Religion must! It would not be worthy of God if it did not, nor carry out Christ's promise that greater things shall ye do! -when He has gone to the Father. Which is the greatest, think you? Christ or His Spirit? The former was the seed corn, the latter will bring on the second coming in power-the true spiritual harvest-go in and reap-shrink not-be not dismayed so long as the spirit of Christ leads the way!-onward ever, dear Papa. Good night." And if we have not here a "seducing spirit," with a "conscience seared with a hot iron," speaking lies in hypocrisy," there never was such a thing!

1

"November, 1882. Another automatic message "; with a postscript, as follows:-" The reason is and must be the ultimate appeal in all things-where the reason cannot go nor penetrate you will be wise to refuse to follow" 2-a sentiment which would suit "Rationalism" to perfection!

"October 22, Automatic.

"The resurrection is A CONTINUOUS PROCESS OF SPIRITUAL LIFE! It may commence here with you, but will continue yonder, as you call it ! THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A RESURRECTION OF FLESH, for that corrupts and cannot live apart from the spirit.

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3

Sunday, 19th and 20th April [1885].—Had a long conversation on re-incarnation with the direct voice of

1 "Spirit Workers," &c., pp. 251, 252.

3 2 Ib., p. 255.

Ib., p. 257.

E.M., who said he had been living on earth once, and should never again"-true enough in the demon's case; no doubt!" neither he, nor Saadi and Wamik, who had been there in the spirit world hundreds of years, ever heard of one case of re-incarnation; he would endeavour to get at the truth of it and write fully (this he has not yet done), but on January 31st, 1866, we received the following direct writing upon the subject:

"We will not yet write on the subject of re-incarnation, as you of the world are not yet ready for it, and at the present time (it) would do more harm than good, but in due time you shall have it. E.M. and Saadi!" 1

3. But in the work entitled "Spirit Teachings," published by an M.A. of Oxon, from which I shall now proceed to give extracts, we have the authoritative doctrines, if I may so say, of the demons themselves; issued for the use of the faithful: as would appear, not only from the assertions of the demons; but also from the use made of them by Spiritualists, and the reverence they seem to have for the M.A., through whom they were originally delivered.

In his introduction, which is dated March 30, 1883, the writer states, that "the communications which form the bulk of this volume, were received by the process known as automatic, or passive, writing. This is to be distinguished from psychography. In the former case the psychic holds the pen or pencil, or places his

1 "Spirit Workers," &c., p. 232.

hand upon the Planchette, and the message is written without the conscious intervention of his mind. In the latter case the writing is direct, or is obtained without the use of the hand of the psychic, and sometimes without the aid of pen or pencil.

"Automatic writing is a well-known method of communication with the invisible world of what we loosely call spirit. I use that word as the most intelligible to my readers, though I am well aware that I shall be told that I ought not to apply any such term to many of the unseen beings, who communicate with earth, of whom we hear much and often as being the reliquiæ of humanity, the shells of what once were men! It is no part of my business to enter into these most moot questions! My interlocutors called themselves spirits, perhaps because I so called them, and spirits they are to me for my present purpose.

"These messages began to be written through my hand just 10 years since, March 30, 1873, about the year of my first introduction to Spiritualism. I had had many communications before, and this method was adopted for the purpose of convenience, and also to preserve what was intended to be A CONNECTED BODY OF TEACHING!! The laborious method of rapping out messages, was manifestly unfitted for communications such as those which I here print. If spoken through the lips of the medium in trance, they were partially lost, and it was, moreover, impossible at first to rely upon such a message of mental passivity as would preserve them from admixture with his ideas.