Spiritualism;
Modern Spiritualism;
Modern Spiritualist Movement; Spiritualist Church:
What's
It All About?
Today, many
are confused over all this talk about Spirit and Spiritualism. We
have terms such as: Spiritualism; Modern Spiritualism; Modern
Spiritualist Movement; Spiritualist Church. Are there really
any differences amongst these various terms? We think there are;
significant differences at that. So, let us briefly explain how
we perceive and distinguish these various concepts.
It is important
to understand that the First Spiritual Temple was founded before
any organized Spiritualist Church body came about in the United
States. When it did, the Church leaders approached our founder,
Marcellus Ayer, and requested -- in fact,
they insisted -- that he join forces with them. He chose to remain
independent, in order to assure that our Church remain free to pursue
Spiritualism and the New Dispensation in
Spiritualism in a totally open environment.
First
of all: What is Spiritualism?
Spiritualism
is a way of looking at and living life which accepts the reality
that we were created, first and foremost, in God's image as SPIRIT;
that underlying all which appears to be material, there is a spiritual
foundation. In other words, Spiritualism is the opposite of Materialism.
Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle, in "The New Revelation," says
of Spiritualism:
"The
question which faces us, then, is how will this influence (Spiritualism)
bear upon older organized religions and philosophies which have
influenced the actions of men.
"The
answer is, that to only one of these religions or philosophies
is this new revelation absolutely fatal. That is to Materialism."
Therefore,
any religious or philosophical movement which accepts the reality
of the Spirit can be said to be Spiritualist in nature. One would
be very hard pressed to find any religious movement that does not
accept some type of spiritual force and consciousness underlying
and vitalizing the Human person. Therefore, Spiritualism can be
said to be the foundation upon which most faiths and denominations
are built.
Spiritualism
-- or "Spiritual-ism" -- represents any teaching or "ism" of the
Spirit.
If this is
so, then the logical conclusion would be that, once the Human Person
sheds the Human Body -- through death -- what remains is the Human
Spirit. That Spirit must, then, be free to go somewhere and continue
to exist in some manner. In other words, the Material World and
its body are temporal, while the Spirit is eternal. Again, most,
if not all, religions preach this basic tenet of life and death.
Many of Saint Paul's letters revolve around this seeming dichotomy
between material/temporal and spiritual/eternal. Jesus Christ and
many other prophets came to help show us this basic truth.
Yet, despite
this common ground amongst the world's religions, we have much confusion
and controversy over the following points:
- ONE: Where
is that "somewhere" to which the Spirit goes, following death?
- TWO: What
type of existence does the Spirit have, once it gets there?
- THREE: Is
there any contact between those of us here, in bodily form, and
those who have passed out of bodily form, through death?
What
is a Spiritualist?
A Spiritualist
is a person who answers these three basic questions as follows:
- ONE: At
death, the Spirit goes to another realm -- dimension, level of
consciousness, whatever you wish to call it -- of life and existence,
known simply as Spirit or the Spirit World (as opposed to the
Material World).
- TWO: Once
the Spirit passes into the Spirit World, he or she continues to
grow (not physically), mature, learn, relate with others, evolve
spiritually, etc. In other words, what motivates the Spirit while
in earthly form continues to motivate the Spirit in the Spirit
World. This makes perfect sense, if we agree that life continues,
unbroken, sometimes here and sometimes there.
- THREE: Yes,
there is contact between those of us, here, and those in Spirit.
This contact happens primarily -- but not always -- through mediumship.
A Spiritualist
-- and here is another source of confusion -- can be of any faith
or denomination. In fact, Spiritualism does not belong solely to Modern
Spiritualists, any more than Christ belongs solely to Christians.
Christ came to show us all the way back to God, our Father! Spiritualism
helps show us all the truth concerning Spirit, Soul, and Body.
Therefore,
what is the Spiritualist Religion?
The Spiritualist
religion emerged from a philosophical and spiritual movement which
commenced -- in a more objective form -- in the middle of the Nineteenth
Century; specifically, March 31, 1848. This movement is called the
Modern Spiritualist Movement.
Initially,
it began in pockets of light and mediumistic activity throughout
the planet. It proclaimed, in no uncertain terms, the answers to
the three questions posed above. And it did so through the demonstration
of Spirit communication -- or mediumship -- both of the physical
and of the mental kind.
Was this Movement
widely accepted? No, because it threatened the deeply ingrained
Victorian sense of Materialism. Yet, if you consider what was emerging
through such writers as Thoreau and Whitman, along with such religious
movements as Unitarianism and Universalism, the advent of Modern
Spiritualism really should not have been such a cultural or theological
shock. But, it was! Why might that have been?
The blame
must fall, in part, upon Spiritualists themselves. Something happened
to detract the Modern Spiritualist Movement from its intended course:
the medium became the message! The message of Spiritualism became
lost amidst all the phenomena and hoopla surrounding the medium.
The medium -- and what he or she could do or demonstrate -- became,
for all practical purposes, the focal point around the Movement
and its religion. Or, as so eloquently expressed by Eileen J. Garrett,
the mediums became the High Priests and Priestesses of the Modern
Spiritualist Movement.
In addition
to this, Modern Spiritualists -- in order to affirm their religion
-- tended to attack other religions, especially Christianity and
the Christian Church. Even to this day, there seems to be a rather
strong anti-Christian or anti-Church sentiment amongst many Spiritualist
organizations.
So,
what is a Spiritualist Church?
A Spiritualist
Church is a church which professes, as its faith and driving force,
the religion of Spiritualism, as manifested through the Modern Spiritualist
Movement. Such churches can be independent, or they can be affiliated
with Spiritualist Church bodies such as this country's National
Spiritualist Association of Churches or England's Spiritualists'
National Union.
The degree
of religiosity and Judaic-Christian teaching varies greatly amongst
Spiritualist Churches. Some prefer not to be called Churches at
all; rather, centers or societies. Others shy away from any sense
of religiosity or theology. Regardless of how church-oriented each
may be, most Spiritualist Churches have one thing in common: the
focal point of their worship service or meeting is the demonstration
of mediumship; claiming that mediumship represents the proof of
their religion.
So,
where does the First Spiritual Temple fall in all of this?
Our Church
was founded, first and foremost, as a nondenominational Christian
Church. As a Christian Church, we embrace the basic tenets of Spiritualism,
rather than the Modern Spiritualist Movement. We embrace the wonder
and mystery of Spiritualism, from ancient times, along with its
modern advent, rather than the religion which emerged from this
advent. Finally, we fully embrace the New Dispensation in
Spiritualism, then and now.
To us, there
is absolutely no conflict between our Christian faith and our open
embrace of Spiritualism. Our founder believed that Spiritualism
represents the missing link in Christ's Resurrection, and we agree.
Again, let
us quote from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "The New Revelation":
"As
to other creeds, it must be admitted than an acceptance of the teachings
brought to us from beyond would deeply modify conventional Christianity.
But these modifications would be rather in the direction of explanation
and development than in contradiction."
Later, he
says:
"There
are many higher spirits with our departed. They vary in degree.
Call them 'angels,' and you are in union with old religious thought.
High above all these is the greatest spirit of whom they have cognizance
-- not God, since God is so infinite that He is not within their
ken -- but one who is nearer God and to that extent represents God.
This is the Christ Spirit. His special care is the earth. He came
down upon it at a time of great earthly depravity -- a time when
the world was almost as wicked as it is now, in order to give the
people the lesson of an ideal life. Then He returned to His own
high station, having left an example which can still be followed."
As a Christian
Church of Spiritualism, we share in the world's celebration of the
150th Anniversary of Modern Spiritualism, with as much joy and enthusiasm
as should any Spiritualist Church. In this, we all stand together,
each doing its part to help celebrate the Spirit of God and the
work of Spirit.
©
2001 First Spiritual Temple. All rights reserved.
Reproduction or reuse of any pages without written permission is strictly prohibited.
First Spiritual Temple
The Ayer Institute
16 Monmouth Street, Brookline, MA, 02446-5605 USA
Telephone 617 566-7639
E-mail to the FST
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