Spiritism
Spritism, or Spiritualism is the religion based around speaking to the dead. Their belief goes beyond that of the Christian in that not only is there life after death, but life after death is still interactive with the living, physical world and can work to better their fate after their physical coils are thrown off.
There are many different types of Spritists and as such, many different beliefs, but although many will enthusiastically say their beliefs are compatible with Christianity, there are certain beliefs that they hold that would say otherwise.
In general, the spritists reject the idea of the deity of Jesus, his bodily resurrection, salvation through faith alone, the existence of hell and demons etc, among other biblical teachings.
It is true that there have been many spritists who have been proven to be fakes, using trickery and ambiguity to fool the simple-minded (so to speak). But it is also true that there have been highly intellectual critics of Spiritism that have been baffled and convinced of the supernatural powers of powerful spiritists.
It would be very easy to pass Spiritism as a bunch of mystics and superstitions, but the Bible gives firm warnings against talking to the dead through mediums and witches. In the book of the law it is a forbidden practice, and even Saul, in disobedience to the word of God, consulted one such medium. The biblical account says the medium conjured Samuel’s spirit from the grave. The New Testament, likewise, spoke of men who had mystic powers that were seen as distortions of the truth. For this very fact, Spiritism cannot simply be overlooked as purely charlatans and tricksters. The Bible verifies such powers exist, and condemns them as demonic in nature. No, Spiritists are not malevolent in nature, they usually are well-meaning and loving people. They hold onto great hope for their followers and their fellow man and believe that man is perfectible (if, perhaps, only in the afterlife). They believe that good deeds create good accommodations in the afterlife while bad deeds create bad situations for the soul in the afterlife. This builds a basis of morality that can stand in similar grounds to a Christian morality.
The greatest lie is one that is closest to the truth. Christianity believes that, while good intentioned, the Spiritist is deceived. There is true power to be found in Spiritism, but it is not the type of power that is true. The Bible speaks of a girl who was possessed by a demon who had the power of prophecy, the apostles drove the demon out of the girl, and the girl’s retainers hated them for it. The girl was not hurting anyone, and the demon was not physically hurting the girl - in fact, I imagine her power of prophecy helped a great deal of people. But ultimately, the source of her power was deceptively evil. The disciples saw this truth and in the name of Jesus drove the spirit out of her.
It may be greatly comforting and greatly enticing - to be able to speak to loved ones past the grave - but ultimately, this power is based upon deception. Do not be fooled.
Jared Williams
There are many different types of Spritists and as such, many different beliefs, but although many will enthusiastically say their beliefs are compatible with Christianity, there are certain beliefs that they hold that would say otherwise.
In general, the spritists reject the idea of the deity of Jesus, his bodily resurrection, salvation through faith alone, the existence of hell and demons etc, among other biblical teachings.
It is true that there have been many spritists who have been proven to be fakes, using trickery and ambiguity to fool the simple-minded (so to speak). But it is also true that there have been highly intellectual critics of Spiritism that have been baffled and convinced of the supernatural powers of powerful spiritists.
It would be very easy to pass Spiritism as a bunch of mystics and superstitions, but the Bible gives firm warnings against talking to the dead through mediums and witches. In the book of the law it is a forbidden practice, and even Saul, in disobedience to the word of God, consulted one such medium. The biblical account says the medium conjured Samuel’s spirit from the grave. The New Testament, likewise, spoke of men who had mystic powers that were seen as distortions of the truth. For this very fact, Spiritism cannot simply be overlooked as purely charlatans and tricksters. The Bible verifies such powers exist, and condemns them as demonic in nature. No, Spiritists are not malevolent in nature, they usually are well-meaning and loving people. They hold onto great hope for their followers and their fellow man and believe that man is perfectible (if, perhaps, only in the afterlife). They believe that good deeds create good accommodations in the afterlife while bad deeds create bad situations for the soul in the afterlife. This builds a basis of morality that can stand in similar grounds to a Christian morality.
The greatest lie is one that is closest to the truth. Christianity believes that, while good intentioned, the Spiritist is deceived. There is true power to be found in Spiritism, but it is not the type of power that is true. The Bible speaks of a girl who was possessed by a demon who had the power of prophecy, the apostles drove the demon out of the girl, and the girl’s retainers hated them for it. The girl was not hurting anyone, and the demon was not physically hurting the girl - in fact, I imagine her power of prophecy helped a great deal of people. But ultimately, the source of her power was deceptively evil. The disciples saw this truth and in the name of Jesus drove the spirit out of her.
It may be greatly comforting and greatly enticing - to be able to speak to loved ones past the grave - but ultimately, this power is based upon deception. Do not be fooled.
Jared Williams
