JOHN WESLEY AND SPIRITUALISM.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume I, Issue 208, 19 August 1911, Page 4 (Supplement)

JOHN WESLEY AND SPIRITUALISM.

Air. Daniel W. Hull, in a recent lecture at Tacoma, Washington, reported in “ The Progressive Thinker.” thus referred to the connection of John Wesley with Spiritualism;—

John Wesley was most emphatically a Sj>iritualist. There was a medium iu lii- church with whom he was on term.* of intimacy, and whom he often used to visit, and receive from her lips accounts of visitations from spirits, and tho information they wished to convey to this world. There was another medium Irom whom ho received information concerning the death of a young British offit er which was conveyed to her on the same evening when it occurred. Bpworth, the residence of Rev. Samuel Wesley, the venerable father of John and Charles Wesley . . . was the scene of remarkable spirit demonstrations — raps and knocks about the house, noises like the gobbling of a turkey, or like someone tumbling over boots and shoes: leaping about of the furniture; heavy poundings; forcing the door open against the efforts of the oldest sister; turning of the windmill; apparitions seen and feared by the dog; and other maniie-stations—which continued with members of the family for several years.

Tli'?,e facts were written out by John Wesley and published in the “ Arminlan Magazine.” In his argument favouring the view that spirits do come back and hold -intercourse with people in earth life, ho asks: —

“ What pretence have J to deny well- ! attested facts because I cannot compre- ; Lend them? It is true that most of ■ tho men of learning of Europe haw ; given up all accounts of apparitions as ■ mere wives’ fables. I am sorry for it, and I willingly take this opportunity of ; entori:-g my solemn protest against this , i iolent compliment which so many that j believe in the Bible pay to those who ; do not believe in it. I owe them no ’ such service. They well know (who- ; tlier Christians know it or not) that the ■ giving up these apparitions is in effect giving up the Bible; and they know, ■ on the other hand, that, if but one account of tho intercourse with spirits is admitted, their whole castle in the air (Deism, Atheism, and Materialism) falls to the ground. “ One of the capital objections to all these accounts, which I have known urged irer and over, is this; pid you ever sea an apparition yourself? No, i nor did I ever see a murder, yet I be- ; lievo there is such a thing. . . Yet ; tho testimony of unexceptional witnegsos fully convinces me of both this one and tho other. . . M ith my last breath will I bear testimony against giving up to infidels one of the greatest proofs of this invisible world — I mean that of apparitions confirmed by the testimony or all ages.” This is strong and bravo testimony. Spiritualists could ask no more. But I wish yet to make an extract from one of his latest sermons. I think tho text was Hebrews i. 14, though it is quoted , as Hebrews xi. 1 : — j “ It is a pleasing thought that some | of those human spirits, attending us with or in tho room of angels, are of i tho number of those that were dear to ' its while in the body. How much will it add to tho happiness of these spirits already discharged from the body that they aro permitted to minister to those ; they have left behind? An indisput-I able proof we have of this in the ■ t wenty-second chapter of Revelation, j When the Apostle fell down to worship the glorious spirit which ho seems to have mistaken for Christ, he told him plainly, I am of thy’ fellow-servants the prophets, not God, not an angel, but a human spirit. And in hoiv many ways may they minister to the heirs, of salvation. Sometimes by counteracting wicked spirits, whom we cannot resist, because we cannot see them ; sometimes by preventing our being hurt by men or beasts, or inanimate creatures.” I