takes care that opportunities shall not be wanting to gratify the tendency to evil . He tempts men to excess in that which is in itself lawful , causing them , through intemperance , to weaken physical , mental , and moral power . He has destroyed and is destroying thousands through the indulgence of the passions , thus brutalizing the entire nature of man . And to complete his work , he declares , through the spirits that " true knowledge places man above all law ;" that " whatever is , is right ;" that " God doth not condemn ;" and that " all sins which are committed are innocent ." When the people are thus led to believe that desire is the highest law , that liberty is license , and that man is accountable only to himself , who can wonder that corruption and depravity teem on every hand ? Multitudes eagerly accept teachings that leave them at liberty to obey the promptings of the carnal heart . The reins of self-control are laid upon the neck of lust , the powers of mind and soul are made subject to the animal propensities , and Satan exultingly sweeps into his net thousands who profess to be followers of Christ .
But none need be deceived by the lying claims of spiritualism . God has given the world sufficient light to enable them to discover the snare . As already shown , the theory which forms the very foundation of spiritualism is at war with the plainest statements of Scripture . The Bible declares that the dead know not anything , that their thoughts have perished ; they have no part in anything that is done under the sun ; they know nothing of the joys or sorrows of those who were dearest to them on earth .
Furthermore , God has expressly forbidden all pretended communication with departed spirits . In the days of the Hebrews there was a class of people who claimed , as do the spiritualists of today , to hold communication with the dead . But the " familiar spirits ," as these visitants from other worlds were called , are declared by the Bible to be " the spirits of devils ." ( Compare Numbers 25:1-3 ; Psalm 106:28 ; I Corinthians 10:20 ; Revelation 16:14 .) The work of dealing with familiar spirits was pronounced an abomination to the Lord , and was solemnly forbidden under penalty of death . Leviticus 19:31 ; 20:27 . The very name of witchcraft is now held in contempt . The claim that men can hold intercourse with evil spirits is regarded as a fable of the Dark Ages . But spiritualism , which numbers its converts by hundreds of thousands , yea , by millions , which has made its way into scientific circles , which has invaded churches , and has found favor in legislative bodies , and even in the courts of kings-- this mammoth deception is but a revival , in a new disguise , of the witchcraft condemned and prohibited of old .
If there were no other evidence of the real character of spiritualism , it should be enough for the Christian that the spirits make no difference between righteousness and sin , between the noblest and purest of the apostles of Christ and the most corrupt of the servants of Satan .
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