Can modern Spiritualism stand the tests of enlightened reason? Let us see.

If this life is but the beginning of an endless life, it is manifest that doctrines, thoughts, words, and acts, which tend to subdue our evil inclinations, and to lead us to love the Lord and our neighbor supremely are of first importance, for they tend to unity and peace, happiness and heaven. But with multitudes to-day, selfishness and sensualism rule, and they must be born again, or put away their supreme selfishness, and come to act from higher motives, or it is manifest that they can never enter the kingdom of heaven; for heaven is not a pen or place into which a man can be let as a matter of favor. Heavenly principles must rule us before we can enter the gates of the celestial city. Now, let the man who is ruled by either the selfish love of power or money, or who is vain, licentious, or given to drunkenness, jealousy, or envy, seek communications from spirits, and what is the inevitable. result? Please remember, like attracts like. Being swayed by evil motives, his associate spirits are necessarily evil, and evil spirits are in false doctrines, therefore they deny the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ, for they hate him; they deny the necessity for regeneration, in fact deny that man can live from any higher motive than selfishness; and, if the man hearkens to. them, they will use every effort and art to hold him in his present state of life, and to destroy all reverence for the Lord, and the sacred Scriptures as special revelations from Him; for, if the man changes for the better, they are repelled and will have to leave him. Thus by seeking and hearkening to spiritual communications, the evil or unregenerate man confirms himself in his evil loves; his spirits justifying him. by every seductive argument imaginable, and thus even the prospect of his future regeneration is materially lessened, if not actually destroyed. Could a greater misfortune befall an evil man here below, than this? Again, supposing a man has commenced living a new life, the

work of regeneration is not accomplished in a day; but regeneration results from the warfare of a lifetime. Little by little are his evil inclinations and thoughts put away; evil inclinations and thoughts are prompted by evil spirits, and supposing while temporarily harboring such, the man seeks and heeds communications from spirits, these evil spirits will necessarily use every art to destroy the new resolutions for a better life by, as rapidly as he will bear it, denying all heavenly doctrines, and confirming him, if possible, in his evil states. Could a greater misfortune befall him? Once more, there are three heavens, seen and carefully described by Swedenborg, within the reach of men, and whether a good man shall reach the lowest, middle or highest, depends upon the progress made here in the regenerate life. Supposing a good man, in a good state, seeks communications from spirits. His associate spirits are no better than he is, and open vision with them or communicating with them will tend to fix him in his present state of life, and prevent his progress towards a higher life; thus checking the great work of regeneration. How serious the injury to the man!

But there is another view in the case of good men, or of those who reverence the Lord and His Word and who are striving to lead a good life in accordance with the Divine commands, seeking such communications. They have the Divine warnings sounding in their ears, and are consequently reasonably sure to. have conscientious scruples when they seek such communications; and if so, they are, it would seem, almost necessarily brought in contact with evil spirits. The Christian, therefore, who, from the stand-point of a distinct recognition of the Lord and of Divine revelation, goes away into Spiritualism, and seeks communications from spirits, must run a fearful risk; and have we not good reason to fear, that he will fall to rise no more forever? Whilst for those who have little or no reverence for the Lord Jesus Christ, and for the sacred Scriptures, there may be far less danger and

comparatively little harm from their seeking such intercourse, as they do not profane holy things. In fact, thousands of skeptics and naturalists have been convinced that they are to live after death, by the phenomena of Spiritualism; and finding the communications entirely unreliable and unsatisfactory, have turned to Divine revelation, and to the Lord, and thus have been led into the Lord's church. Here then is a use which Spiritualism is performing for many earnest seekers after truth; and perhaps this may be one of the reasons why it is permitted by the Lord. But, oh, how unwise is the man who rests satisfied with the phenomena and revelations of Spiritualism, when they should lead him up to the feast of fat things, and wine on the lees, or to the spiritual good and truths revealed by our Heavenly Father in the Divine Word, and in the writings for the New Jerusalem!

The following statements by Swedenborg appeal to our highest reason: "Good spirits and angels," he says, never induce any dogmatic principle of religion, "for the Lord alone teaches a man, though mediately, through the Word in illumination." "Nor do they say anything which takes away the freedom of reason," such as dictating or attempting to control his actions, for this would impair his manhood if he were to obey such dictations; only evil spirits attempt such interferences with man's freedom and

reason.

In conclusion, we will ask the reader if enlightened reason, and even the common sense with which God has endowed man, do not condemn in the most earnest and positive manner the seeking of open intercourse with spirits, or the obtaining communications from them? The sacred Scriptures, as interpreted in the writings of Swedenborg, reveal to us a knowledge of a higher and nobler life than it is possible for our associate spirits to comprehend or unfold to us; and if any one is anxious or curious for a knowledge of the spiritual world, or of spirits, or even of modern Spiritualism, according to the

best of our judgment, after a careful examination of the whole subject, he can only obtain reliable information by reading the writings of the Swedish seer. For him the Lord had a special mission; he sought it not, but he was called to it by the Lord Himself, and he cheerfully forsook his scientific and worldly pursuits, and, guided by the Lord and His angels, he devoted his life and means to writing and circulating his works. How important was his mission, if a reverence for the Lord Jesus Christ, or even for a personal God and His Word, is to remain with men, Spiritualism is now making manifest in one direction, and Naturalism or Scientism in another.

In a small work on "Intercourse between the Soul and Body," Swedenborg says: "That there is a spiritual world in which are spirits and angels, distinct from the natural world in which men are, has hitherto been deeply hidden, even in the Christian world. The reason is, because no angel has descended and declared it, and no man has ascended and seen it. Lest, therefore, from ignorance concerning that world, and the uncertain faith concerning Heaven and Hell that results from such ignorance, man should be infatuated to such a degree as to become an atheistic naturalist, it has pleased the Lord to open the sight of my spirit, and to elevate it into Heaven, and also to let it down into Hell, and to exhibit to its view the quality of each. It is thence manifest to me that there are two worlds which are distinct from each other; one in which all things are spiritual, which is thence called the spiritual world, and another in which all things are natural, which is thenee called the natural world; and spirits and angels live in their own world, and men in theirs; and also that every man passes by death from his own world into the other, and lives therein to eternity."

Writing within a few years after the opening of his spiritual sight, he said: "For several years I have now almost continuously conversed with spirits and angels,

and they with me. In this manner I have been instructed respecting the state of souls after death; respecting the divers sorts of spirits who seduce man; respecting Hell, and its various and cruel afflictions and punishments; respecting the heavens and the felicity of the souls which are there; respecting true faith and the interior senses."

The Lord punishes no one, but evil carries with it its own punishment in that world as it does in this. From the doing of evil suffering inevitably results-evil the cause, suffering the effect. Hell-fire is self-love perverted.

XXI.

An Appeal to Spiritualists in behalf of the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg.

(A LARGE PORTION OF THIS SECTION WAS FIRST WRITTEN FOR AND PUBLISHED IN THE BANNER OF LIGHT.")

WE

E ask of you, fellow-citizens, children of the same Heavenly Father, journeying toward the mansions of the spiritual world, to lay aside for a few moments— if you are troubled with any such infirmities—prejudice, preconceived opinions, and the spirit of sect or party—a very difficult thing, we know, for most men to do-and to consider for a short time the claims of the Swedish seer to your attention, and compare them with those of modern seers and mediums, and then judge for yourselves. For the truth we should all seek, for the truth alone can make us free from the mistakes of ignorance, the snares of bigotry and sectarianism, and the dominion of evil. It is of no moment to us that we should be able to confirm ourselves in our present views; for, although it should gratify our vanity, it might do us great harm; but it is of vast moment that we should seek and find the truth, and be able to see truth in the light of truth, and to live in accordance with it. Those truths and that system of truth are the most important to us which will lead us to