What
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? 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.” From these definitions, we can see that Spiritualism focuses on three major concepts: There is personal and conscious survival of bodily death. (Please note the words personal and conscious.) Death, itself, is the transition from one realm of awareness and life to another.
Communication of some form between this world and the world of Spirit is possible, provided that certain conditions prevail. These are the three fundamental concepts of Spiritualism. 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. 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.
