What is Spiritualism

What is SpiritualismWhat is Spiritualism? Is it a religion? Is it a science? Is it a philosophy? Does it deal with the living or the dead? Is Spiritualism a concept indigenous to modern minds, or does it have its roots buried deeply within ancient mysteries? Does Spiritualism deal with "things that go bump in the night" or is there a more meaningful side to it? How does Spiritualism relate to other religious beliefs? Is it in opposition to those beliefs? Are there any references to Spiritualistic concepts and phenomena in the Bible? What is a Spiritualist Church?

These are all questions which any serious investigation of Spiritualism must address. The study of Spiritualism and its implications to the matters of the spirit is, truly, a lifelong pursuit. Knowledge is wonderful; something which the serious student should always strive to attain. But knowledge alone is not enough. Once the objective facts of Spiritualism are mastered, the fascinating process of transformation must begin. That transformation is a process whereby knowledge (the acquisition of fact) becomes digested, assimilated, and synthesized into wisdom (the use of that knowledge in order to further the unfoldment of soul qualities for the benefit of self and others).

So, let us begin. Before we do, though, I should indicate that the First Spiritual Temple has never been part of the organized Spiritualist Church body; thus, our views and perceptions on Spiritualism may differ from those of more traditional Spiritualist Churches. As usual, the best place to begin is at the beginning: what is Spiritualism?

Webster defines Spiritualism as: The belief that the dead survive as spirits which can communicate with the living, especially with the help of a third party, called a medium.

The National Spiritualist Association of Churches defines Spiritualism as: The science, philosophy and religion of continuous life, based upon the demonstrated fact of communication, by means of mediumship, with those who live in the Spirit World.

The definition adopted in 1948, during the centenary of the movement known as Modern Spiritualism, very succinctly defines Spiritualism as: The proof of survival.

The Dead	Science
The Living	Religion
Spirits	Philosophy
Communicate	Continuous Life
Medium	Proof/Demonstration

From these definitions, we can see that Spiritualism focuses on three major concepts:

The birth of the Modern Spiritualist Movement is most widely accepted as having taken place on March 31, 1848, with the events surrounding the Fox family, in Hydesville, New York. In reality, though, Spiritualism is as old as humanity. Spiritualism, in its pure essence, has its roots in ancient religion and spirituality. In effect, Spiritualism represents the alternative to Materialism. Furthermore, it is the basic essence from which all religious thought appeared and continues to appear on this great Earth plane. As such, Spiritualism really belongs to no group, nor to any religious movement or denomination. It is a gift from God, given to all people, of all faiths and denominations.

Therefore, what is a Spiritualist church? Well, I guess all churches, temples, synagogues, and mosques are spiritualist in nature, because all houses of worship are supposed to be places from which the message and inspiration of a higher Spirit can come forth.

Spiritualism, itself, as a concept of communication between those in the body and those in Spirit, has been a part of the human story for centuries. The Old and New Testaments are, in effect, a grand recording of ancient Spiritualism; they talk about spirit intervention and communication from approximately 1800 B.C. to around 200 A.D. Throughout their pages, we are warned to discriminate carefully between true and false prophets. Many were the people of Biblical times who were admonished to "test the spirits".

The heralding in of Christianity involved several spirit visitations, and it is recorded that Jesus appeared eleven times after his death upon the cross. Jesus died in the flesh and resurrected in the Spirit; thus, demonstrating the reality of ancient Spiritualism.

Beliefs in Spiritualistic concepts were not confined to Biblical personalities alone. Bascowen, the famous anthropologist, states: "In dreams and visions the primitive Akkadians no doubt saw, as they declared, the shadowy forms of departed human beings." He further adds, "Inscriptions as early as 3800 BC on tablets show their beliefs in ghosts and spirits."

Before discussing the precarious events which surrounded the birth of the movement known as Modern Spiritualism, we must look at the work of two men who helped lay the groundwork for the events which took place on that fateful evening of March 31, 1848: Emanuel Swedenborg and Andrew Jackson Davis.

Arthur Conan Doyle, in his classic The History of Spiritualism, made the following comments concerning the Swedish seer, Emanuel Swedenborg:

"When the first rays of the rising sun of spiritual knowledge fell upon the earth, they illuminated the greatest human mind before they shed their light on lesser men. That mountain peak of mentality was this great religious reformer and clairvoyant medium, as little understood by his own followers as ever the Christ has been.

"In order fully to understand Swedenborg one would need to have a Swedenborg brain, and that is not met with once in a century."

Emanuel Swedenborg was, truly, one of Europe's great minds; and it is to this that we can attribute the success of his mission as a teacher and philosopher of the Spirit. At that time, Spirit needed a vehicle to help lay the groundwork for what was to follow. Spirit needed a channel who would be respected amongst the world's great minds. Spirit needed a vehicle through whom they could open the eyes of men and women to the realities of spiritual communion and communication, without creating a cultural or theological shock.

Emanuel Swedenborg was that vehicle. He was an expert in mine engineering, metallurgy, astronomy, physics, zoology, anatomy, and political economics. He was, also, a military engineer under the reign of Charles XII. Above and beyond this vista of intellectual accomplishments, Swedenborg was best known as an astute Biblical theologian.

The son of a strict Lutheran minister, Swedenborg grew up in an atmosphere full of religion and the Bible. As we shall see, this affected his outlook on spiritual matters, as well as the content of his later revelations. Yet, in many ways, he was so nontraditional with respect to his theology that it frightened many of his peers.

Swedenborg's psychic faculties were quite evident as a child; but, as adolescence approached, they were put aside and room was made for more practical pursuits. As time passed on, however, the unfoldment of his inevitable mission as a forerunner to Modern Spiritualism could not be camouflaged by more mundane activities. The philosopher, Kant, investigated and found quite genuine Swedenborg's vision of a raging fire in Stockholm while he, himself (Swedenborg), was in Gothenburg, a city some 300 miles away. To this day, this clairvoyant (seeing with the mind's eye) vision is considered to be Swedenborg's most amazing psychic experience.

In April, 1744, Swedenborg had his first real illumination and intercourse with the Spirit world. In the preface to his Arcana Celestia, Swedenborg writes:

"Of the Lord's Divine mercy it has been granted me now for several years, to be constantly and uninterruptedly in company with spirits and angels, hearing them converse with each other, and conversing with them. Hence, it has been permitted me to hear and see stupendous things in the other life which has never before come to the knowledge of any man, nor entered into his imagination. I have been instructed concerning different kinds of spirits and the state of souls after death; concerning Hell, or the lamentable state of the unfaithful; concerning Heaven, or the most happy state of the faithful, and particularly concerning the doctrines or faith which is throughout Heaven."

His whole concept of Heaven and Hell was strongly influenced by his Lutheran background. The fact that he, himself, was in constant communication with the Spirit world and promulgated said spirit teachings, while at the same time warning of the deception and falsehood of spirit communicators, is clearly reflective of his general approach to spiritual and theological matters: that he, alone, was the spokesman for those in Spirit.

In effect, Swedenborg could be called the first Spiritualist; for those who came before him did not claim to be in contact with departed men and women. Up until Swedenborg's revelations, spirits who communicated were generally considered to be of a very high order of being. The idea of communicating with ordinary people was decidedly new and quite threatening to the theological community at large. Nevertheless, Swedenborg continued and, in effect, helped bridge the age-old gap between life and death.

Throughout his adult life, Swedenborg was in daily communication with the Spirit world and received much instruction and revelation concerning life after death. We can summarize the mediumistic teachings of Swedenborg as follows:

Although Swedenborgian philosophy and traditional Spiritualism differ on many points, and although the Church of the New Jerusalem (the religious movement based on Swedenborg's revelations) generally condemns the practice of spiritism, we cannot overlook the tremendous impact and contribution which this Swedish seer made towards laying a pathway for the coming dispensation of spiritual truth.

We can summarize Swedenborg's contributions to the cause of Spiritualism as follows:

Spiritualism will be eternally grateful for the work brought forth through Emanuel Swedenborg.

Forerunners to Modern Spiritualism:

Andrew Jackson Davis (1826-1910)

Andrew Jackson Davis is often referred to as the John the Baptist of Modern Spiritualism; for it was he who firmly set into place and definitively proclaimed the coming revelation of Spirit communion.

Andrew Jackson Davis grew up in poverty. He was born at Blooming Grove, a small hamlet along the Hudson River, in New York State. His mother was a simple, uneducated woman, and his father, between binges of drunkenness, earned a scanty living as a weaver and a shoemaker.

Young Davis showed signs of clairvoyance and heard voices very early in life and, on the advice given from Spirit, he convinced his father to move to Poughkeepsie in 1838. In 1843, a Dr. J. S. Grimes visited the city and gave a series of lectures on mesmerism (hypnosis). With Davis's curiosity getting the better of him, he attended one of the lectures and was tested as a subject, with no results. Later, a local tailor named William Levingston helped induce upon Davis a state of mesmeric trance and found that in this altered state of consciousness, he (Davis) could accurately diagnose medical disorders. In this condition, Davis described how the human body became transparent to his spirit eyes; this seemed to come from the center of the forehead. Each organ stood out clearly with a special luminosity of its own which greatly diminished in cases of disease.

In 1844, Andrew Jackson Davis had an experience which was to change the course of his life. On the evening of March 6th, Davis was suddenly overcome by some power which led him to "fly" from Poughkeepsie, where he lived, and hurry off in a semi-trance state, upon a rapid journey. Upon gaining full consciousness the next morning, he found himself amidst the Catskill Mountains, some 40 miles away. Here, he claims to have met two very distinguished men, whom he later identified as the philosopher Galen and the Swedish seer Emanuel Swedenborg, both of whom were, of course, dead. He also claimed to have experienced a great mental illumination and revelation.

Now, it is very difficult to ascertain exactly what happened to Davis during this evening: was the experience a vision; was it an actual levitation and/or transportation to the Catskill Mountains; or did he really walk 40 miles in the trance condition? Regardless of what actually happened, the effect upon Davis was tremendous.

From that time onward, he traveled extensively, giving public lectures and teachings. In the course of a teaching tour, Davis met Dr. Lyons and Rev. Fishbough. Dr. Lyons was a qualified mesmerist and often induced the trance state upon Davis. During these episodes, a wealth of material came through, all of which was transcribed by Rev. Fishbough. In November, 1845, Davis began dictating his great work, The Principles of Nature: Her Divine Revelations and A Voice To Mankind. The dictation lasted for 15 months, with many enthusiastic people bearing witness to these trance utterances.

Nandor Fodor, in his Encyclopedia of Psychic Science, writes of one of these witnesses:

"Dr. George Bush, Professor of Hebrew at the University of New York, declared that he heard Davis correctly quote Hebrew. The seer's good faith was also established by his answers to impromptu questions put to him as tests while he was in the clairvoyant state. Professor Bush summed up his opinion thus: 'Taken as a whole the work is a profound and elaborate discussion of the philosophy of the universe, and for grandeur of conception, soundness of principle, clearness of illustration, order of arrangement and encyclopedic range of subjects, I know no work of any single mind that will bear away from it the palm.' It was partly due to Bush's enthusiasm that the book, published in 1847, met with eager interest. Within a few weeks of its appearance, however, Professor Bush published a small pamphlet, Davis's Revelations Revealed, in which he solemnly warned the public against being misled by the numerous errors, absurdities and falsities contained in that work. It was clear to him, he said, that Davis, although himself apparently an honest and single-hearted young man, had been made the mouthpiece of uninstructed and deceiving spirits ..... The book attained 34 editions in less than 30 years which alone proved the appeal of the style and the qualities of this stupendous work."

"In the beginning the Univercoelumm was one boundless, indefinable, and unimaginable ocean of Liquid Fire. The most vigorous and ambitious imagination is not capable of forming an adequate conception of the height and depth and length and breadth thereof. There was one vast expanse of liquid substance. It was without bounds - inconceivable - and with qualities and essences incomprehensible. This was the original condition of Matter. It was without forms, for it was but one Form. It had no motions, but it was an eternity of Motion. It was without parts, for it was a Whole. Particles did not exist, but the Whole was as one Particle. There were not suns, but it was one eternal Sun. It had no beginning and it was without end. It had not length, for it was a Vortex of one Eternity. It had not circles, for it was one infinite Circle. It had not disconnected power, but it was the very essence of all Power. Its inconceivable magnitude and constitution were such as not to develop forces, but Omnipotent Power.

"Matter and Power were existing as a Whole, inseparable. The Matter contained the substance to produce all suns, all worlds, and systems of worlds, throughout the immensity of Space. It contained the qualities to produce all things that are existing upon each of those worlds. The Power contained Wisdom, and Goodness, Justice, Mercy and Truth. It contained the original and essential Principle that is displayed throughout immensity of Space, controlling worlds and systems of worlds, and producing Motion, Life, Sensation and Intelligence, to be impartially disseminated upon their surfaces as ultimates."

One can see clearly from this passage that much of the teaching that was given through Andrew Jackson Davis is similar in style and content to that of Emanuel Swedenborg; yet Davis was not at all an educated person during his earlier years. It is this fact, we feel, which makes the revelations of Davis so very interesting. Here we have two seers, Emanuel Swedenborg and Andrew Jackson Davis. Each came from totally different social, economic and educational backgrounds, yet both were channels for some of the most profound and esoteric philosophies and teachings to come out of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Davis's prediction of the movement of Modern Spiritualism was given in his Principles of Nature, first published in 1847. In it he wrote:

"It is a truth that spirits commune with one another while one is in the body and the other in the higher spheres - and this, too, when the person in the body is unconscious of the influx, and hence cannot be convinced of the fact; and this truth will ere long present itself in the form of a living demonstration. And the world will hail with delight the ushering in of that era when the interiors of men will be opened, and the spiritual communion will be established."

Finally, on March 31, 1848, in his diary, Andrew Jackson Davis recorded the following:

"About daylight this morning a warm breathing passed over my face and I heard a voice, tender and strong, saying, 'Brother, the good work has begun - behold, a living demonstration is born.' I was left wondering what could be meant by such a message."

At that very moment, not too far away, in Hydesville, New York, the events which literally shook the world into looking at the very real possibility of communicating with those in Spirit were taking place. Indeed, the good work had begun.

The contributions made by Andrew Jackson Davis to the cause of Spiritualism simply cannot be enumerated. This simple, uneducated man, through whom so very much was given, should be noted as the prime forerunner to Modern Spiritualism. From 1845 to 1885, he wrote over 30 books dealing on subjects from cosmological philosophy and dissertation, to health, to a descriptive analysis of the afterlife.

In the latter years of his life, having finally acquired a medical degree, Andrew Jackson Davis retired to Boston, where he opened a small book shop. There he sold books and prescribed herbal remedies to his patients.

We are very proud to say that Marcellus S. Ayer, founder of the First Spiritual Temple, was a dear friend of Andrew Jackson Davis. As Honorary Treasurer, Mr. Ayer served with Davis on a committee established to help promulgate the work of Professor Joseph Rodes Buchanan, pioneer researcher in psychometry.