Spiritualism and Christianity
Spiritualism is not only a religion in itself. It is a way of life. It is a religion with a difference in that is not hampered by dogmas or creeds. Neither is it just another new religion but has been with us since the beginning of time. Both the Old and New Testaments are full of psychic phenomena. Many of the great writings of the past contained gems of spiritual philosophy.
Although we have declared that it is a religion we do not claim it as a monopoly. Religion is a matter of one's own private conscience and of one's choice. It is said that we are not Christians. This may be so in the same way that neither are we Hindus, Moslems, Brahmans, Buddhists nor Jews. We are just Spiritualists and accept the lives and teachings of the leaders of all these great religions as well as those of Jesus, where these teachings do not contradict natural law. We have often been accused of being anti-Christian. This is certainly not true. Spiritualism is a universal religion embracing all creeds but subservient to none. We may have been Christians, Buddhists, Mohammedans, Jews, or of no religion at all. We accept Jesus as a great healer and teacher in the same way as we accept the leaders of all other religions. Having no creeds or dogmas, Spiritualism bases its philosophy on the principle that God is our Father and we are all His children, no matter what our race or colour and that we have a duty to Him and each other.
Man's Survival
We prove through mediumship that man survives physical death and that his spirit lives on in a different environment. We hold that man alone is responsible, while on earth, for all his thoughts and deeds and compensation or retribution for those deeds will be necessary if he is to make Spiritual progress.
These teachings were all embodied in the teachings of Jesus. The religion preached by Jesus was pure Spiritualism. He healed the sick and performed miracles which the healers of today are likewise performing, as he told us we should.
Some churches in their creed pay lip service to the "Communion of Saints and the Life Everlasting". Mediums prove this to be a fact every day of their lives. The teachings of Jesus were "heresy" to two groups of people -the Jewish priests on the one hand who realized he was undermining their power and the Roman hierarchy on the other, for similar reasons. It was for this that Jesus was arrested, "He stirreth up the people." He suffered crucifixion, which was the normal method of execution in those days, and his Spirit returned to prove that man survives the grave and continues to live in "many mansions" or as we prefer to call it" spheres of Spiritual progress."
This great work which Jesus began was carried on for years after his passing, by generation after generation of mediums and healers. They suffered great persecution and were forced to meet in small groups (circles) and all the time in the background was the atmosphere of envy and jealousy against these mediums by those who resented and coveted the gifts they possessed.
Birth of Orthodoxy
At this time there appeared on the scene a Roman emperor, Constantine, who, perceiving the great conflict of religions among his own people and the steady growth of the young Christian church and with his eye on the main chance, became a convert himself and proclaimed Christianity the official religion. Many councils were held when a series of edicts, dogmas and a mixed creed of pagan and Christian thought were introduced.
From that time the influence of the mediums dwindled and the simple truths which Jesus expounded vanished, to be replaced by the orthodox Christianity we know today. For many centuries Spiritualists were persecuted and put to death and in England it was not until 1951 that the Witchcraft Act was repealed and, Spiritualism became official and was recognized as a religion.
Spiritualism - in fact all the great religions - subscribed to immortality, that is, life beyond the grave which has been proved irrefutably to countless thousands at Spiritualist gatherings and so bring us into personal contact with those who have survived death.
Spiritualism endeavours to find the cause of our social evils and to change man's material outlook into a spiritual one. By transforming the individual, we can reform society as a whole. Orthodox religion has lost its influence but man still needs some form of relationship with God, Spiritualism provides this.
Virile Religion
Spiritualism opens the door to a wider and more virile religious outlook. Co-operation between our earthly world and the world of Spirit will continue to grow until the time when man will no longer regard death with dread but as a natural transition from the mundane limitations of materialism to the joyous and endless possibilities of the world to come.