THE HEAVEN AND HELL OF SPIRITUALISM CONTRASTED WITH THE HEAVEN AND HELL OF SCRIPTURE.
738. On the first spiritual manifestations occurring, the great object of the mass of observers was to see the physical effects. In the next place, intellectual communications were sought, but these being obtained by a tedious process, it was deemed sufficiently interesting if a few sentences could be made out, or even one. It was, moreover, a great object with inquirers to ascertain by the interchange of language, whether the spirit of a relation or friend were really present, as alleged by the supposed spirit. Hence, the communications were very deficient as respects any information of the spirit world. It is not surprising, therefore, that prejudicial unbelievers should have taken up the idea that there is nothing inviting in the heaven of Spiritualism. I hope that, agreeably to the communications from the spirit world recorded in the preceding pages, there is enough to create an ardent desire to become a dweller therein.
739. But is it not unreasonable for a person to disdain a state of existence which is by the spirits themselves described as “ineffably” happy? Alluding to the progression, which is to carry spirits eventually among the ministering angels of God, I observed to my spirit friend, Dr. W. E. Channing, that I did not consider him in heaven yet. “Were you situated as I am,” said he, “you would not say that!” But let us see how far the ideas of heaven, as warranted in Scripture, are comparable with those which have been communicated by spirits.
740. In a work by the Rev. Mr. Harbaugh, of the German Reformed Church of Lancaster, Pa., a great effort is made to collect all the hints respecting heaven which have been given in the Old and New Testaments. This learned divine quotes the following paragraph from Dr. Chalmers: “The common imagination,” says Dr. Chalmers, “that we have a paradise on the other side of death, is that of a lofty aerial region, where the inmates float in ether, or are mysteriously suspended upon nothing—where all the warm and sensible accompaniments which give such an expression of strength, and life, and colouring to our present habitation, are attenuated into a sort of spiritual element; that is, meagre and imperceptible, and utterly uninviting to the eye of mortals here below; where every vestige of materialism is done away, and nothing left but unearthly scenes, that have no power of allurement, and certain unearthly ecstasies, with which it is felt impossible to sympathize.”
741. After reading and believing the representations of heaven given by the immortal inhabitants of the spirit world, who can avoid turning in disgust from the portrait thus cited by Dr. Chalmers?
742. The most favourable idea of heaven given in Scripture seems to be that which identifies it with Paradise; in other words, a most beautiful garden. But who would conceive an eternal residence in one garden, however superlative its attractions, as desirable? The idea of the spheres assumes a succession of gardens, with every pleasure, every joy of which the human heart and intellect are capable; and beyond those gardens the whole universe is open to us, and an ultimate ministration as angels under our Heavenly Father.
743. The portraiture cited by Chalmers is not approved of by the Rev. Mr. Harbaugh, but in order to confute it he does not resort to any better picture given in the Bible, but to reasoning. This shows that, learned as he is, and idolatrous as he appears in worshipping the Bible as an adequate fountain of light, he cannot get from the object of this idolatry any passage tending to prove the inconsistency of the idea quoted from Chalmers with Scripture. Were there not the greatest poverty of instruction on this all-important subject, the ideas alleged to exist as above mentioned, upon the high authority of Dr. Chalmers, could never have had sufficient currency to merit notice. It may be assumed that no Christians can conceive themselves to be better entitled to the joys of heaven than the twelve apostles of Christ. In order to show how far any expectations of a bliss higher than that afforded by Spiritualism could have been entertained by those disciples consistently with Scripture, I deem it in point to refer the language held to them by their Divine Master. I subjoin a few lines from Dr. Harbaugh, wherein he quotes the query put to that Master, by the twelve, and the consequent reply. Nothing can be farther from my idea of a happy state than the benefaction promised to them. The query and reply are subjoined, in order to enable the reader to judge of both:—Behold, we have left all and followed thee: what shall we have therefor? The Saviour answered the above query when made by Peter, as follows:—When the Son of Man shall sit upon the throne of his glory, ye shall also sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Here is a direct answer by Christ to an inquiry respecting the nature of the reward which his disciples were to have for their merits as his faithful devotees. They are to be made severally worldly dignitaries; each is to sit on a throne, judging a tribe of Israel. That is, they are to have worldly pre-eminence, accompanied, of course, by all the vexations attendant on such stations, as well as the uncertainty and limitation arising from liability to death and disease. How weak and worldly-minded must his disciples have been, could such a prospect be alluring to them! I ask for any sectarian to say in candour, whether a governorship over one of the wealthiest States, the presidency, or any sovereignty in Christendom, would be deemed a heaven in comparison with that eternity of ineffable happiness enjoyed by the immortal spirits of the higher spheres? Yet Mr. Harbaugh, with the simplicity of blind faith, quotes this without perceiving how meagre is the gospel evidence thus afforded of the joys awaiting the faithful as a reward for their good conduct in this life.
744. The following remarks, made by Mr. Harbaugh, demonstrate how partial sectarians are in reading Scripture: “What shall we have therefor? This is a question that frequently arises in the Christian’s mind, as he endeavours to cheer his ofttimes drooping spirits with a look toward the recompense of reward. What shall we have? We have left all for thee, and by following thee we have confessed that we are pilgrims and strangers upon earth. In this world we shall have tribulation; but thou didst overcome the world; what shall those have who overcame with thee?” Harbaugh remarks: “Here then is curiosity which the Saviour himself approves, because he satisfies it. The same pious curiosity still manifests itself in the minds of God’s people in their holiest hours, and shall there be nothing revealed to satisfy them? Yes, God will approve of such inquiries, and will grant the influence of that Spirit, who leads unto all truth to all those who search the Scripture for an answer.” Drawing an eloquent picture of the aspirations of the soul for some realization of the vague ideas of the rewards of the faithful in a future state of existence, he exults that this curiosity, as he calls it, should be sanctioned by Christ, “who approves this curiosity because he satisfies it.” How does he satisfy it? Is it by holding up the hope of a judgeship for each? It seems it was not then foreseen that instead of performing the part of the Jewish Messiah, with which he thus identified himself, that of gathering together the chosen people of God, he was to put forth opinions which were to scatter them through the world. “Wo unto you, Chorazin,” &c., for the heinous offence of not admitting him to be both the Messiah and the Son of God. The promise of the judgeships was quite consistent with the former character, and strengthens the idea that he never pretended to any higher mission. With this the promise in question is consistent, but is wholly irreconcilable with his divinity, which would make these judgeships worse than giving a stone for bread or a serpent for a fish. In order to have bestowed these judgeships, the Roman empire must have been subverted. It seems that if (as stated by the worthy Mr. Harbaugh) the curiosity of the disciples was truly and correctly satisfied, that this satisfaction was the sum total of the heaven with which they were remunerated; since not the slightest hint is given that they were, like the penitent thief, to be with their object of devotion in paradise. It would seem, on the whole, that the rewards of the thief and the beggar Lazarus were of a more heavenly nature than those promised to the apostles, even had the latter been susceptible of realization, instead of being irreconcilable with the doom which awaited the Hebrews, and consequently a mere vox et præterea nihil. But while, in lieu of an eternal progressive happiness, Christ holds up the transient, precarious, and limited supremacy from which a truly pious and wise man would turn in disgust, when hell is to be represented, we have eternal torments typified by fire, and weeping and gnashing of teeth in utter darkness, in despite of this fire. The situation which Christ, the Son of God, was to have, was to bear manifestly a relation to that of his disciples. His situation would be somewhat analogous to that of Washington, when he was in the presidential chair, and the thirteen States were governed by as many of his faithful followers in the Revolutionary War. Yet Washington did not find his chair worth retaining longer than the good of the country made it important to remain. I am confident that neither would that great man leave his position in the seventh sphere for the presidency, nor any spirit among those who held the gubernatorial dignity, as suggested, find a governorship now a motive for leaving their bright abodes in the celestial world.
745. Dr. Harbaugh sanctions the idea that the revolutions of all the constellations with which telescopic examination has made us acquainted, may take place about a central sun, bearing the relation to other suns analogous to that which God has been represented to have to the other potentates; whence the title of “King of kings.” The existence, then, of a sun of suns is suggested, about which the constellations formed by inferior bodies of the same kind revolve. It would seem, then, that a more fitted allotment had been made if, enthroned by his Father’s side on that sun of suns, he had allotted to each of his disciples a constellation, than have assigned to them miserable transitory judgeships in Judea: a speck of territory, in this speck of a globe, which in a field of vision embracing the universe, would be imperceptible.
746. There being in Scripture so much more stress laid upon the torments of hell than the joys of heaven, is probably the reason why the horror of death is so great among Christians in general. Their practice in this respect is to speak of death as a great calamity. Here and there may be found a believer who is thoroughly convinced that the efficacy of his peculiar tenets, combined with the absence of criminality, and the redeeming influence of repentance, will insure him a passage to heaven; but the predominant language is to represent the death of any large number of human beings as a great calamity. Those who are exposed to danger pray most earnestly to be saved, and their death is always treated as a cause for deep regret by surviving friends. Hence the weeping, the grief, and the mourning called for by custom,—the relations and connections wearing black for months. Hence the dark hearse, the black pall, and bitter lamentation over the grave; which shows that it is not realized that death is only a glorious spiritual birth! I am confident that spiritualists will soon abandon a custom which must on their part be inconsistent; since they must look on death as no more a bereavement, than a residence in a foreign country, the means of communication being within reach, and a happy reunion foreseen.
747. When on board of a steamer under way at night, the possibility of her going down occurring to my mind, I felt cheered by the idea that I should not go down with her, but soar to the spirit world with my immortal friends, who would flock to meet my apotheosis. (Page 101.)
748. It has been urged that a most substantial idea of heaven, given in the old Bible, is that of a restoration to Paradise, of which the description gives the idea of an exquisite, beautiful garden; but Spiritualism gives the idea of garden above garden, improving in beauty with their elevation. Then there are thirty-six gradations in all, and in the five happy spheres thirty; so that there is excitement arising from well-rewarded emulation as a source of interest. Into the idea of heaven, as suggested in Scripture, intellectual ability and improvement form no part and give no superiority; whence the tendency of the more strict constructionists to turn a cold shoulder to every acquirement which is not coupled with scriptural knowledge. Neither the Athenæum, nor any library, is to be accessible on Sunday. If the time devoted at meetings and at church were given to the study of the real book of God, how much more learned would be those who thus employ their Sundays! It is held that the lowest and most ignorant person who is educated to believe implicitly the tenets of a sect, when he would by the same process as easily be made to believe any other tenets, is in heaven to be as high as the most enlightened as well as virtuous man, who has the only merit which can be attached to belief in a high degree—that of ardent desire for truth, and taking the pains to form an opinion for himself. Nay, the ignorant bigot is to be higher in heaven, if the free-thinker alluded to, should not agree with the ghostly adviser, of the devoted sectarian with whom he is compared.
749. The idea of living in the finest garden which imagination can conceive, without the enjoyments and progression which my father’s communication attributes to the spheres, would beget tedium rather than the ineffable happiness which my spirit friends profess to enjoy. But while one of the Jewish ideas of heaven in its best form, is thus deficient, the description given by the learned Josephus of hell is horrible in the extreme, that of heaven being disgusting. I give it as I find it quoted by the Rev. Mr. Harbaugh:
750. “Now as to Hades, wherein the souls of the righteous and unrighteous are detained, it is necessary to speak of it. Hades is a place in the world not regularly finished, a subterraneous region, wherein the light of this world does not shine; from which circumstance in this region there must be perpetual darkness. This region is allotted as a place of custody for souls, in which angels are appointed as guardians to them, who distribute to them temporary punishment, agreeably to every one’s behaviour and manners.
751. “In this region there is a certain place set apart as a lake of unquenchable fire, whereinto, we suppose, no one hath hitherto been cast, but it is prepared for a day aforedetermined by God, in which one righteous sentence shall deservedly be passed upon all men; when the unjust, and those that have been disobedient to God, and have given honour to such idols as have been the vain operations of the hands of men as to God himself, shall be adjudged to this everlasting punishment, as having been the causes of defilement; while the just shall obtain an incorruptible and never-fading kingdom. These are now indeed confined in Hades, but not in the same place wherein the just are confined. For there is one descent in this region, at whose gate, we believe, there stands an archangel, with a host; which gate, when those pass through that are conducted down by the angels appointed over souls, they do not go the same way, but the just are guided to the right hand, and are led with hymns, sung by the angels appointed over that place, unto a region of light, in which the just have dwelt from the beginning of the world, not constrained by necessity, but ever enjoying the prospect of the good things they see, and rejoicing in the expectation of those new enjoyments which will be peculiar to every one of them, and esteeming those things beyond what we have here; with whom there is no place of toil, no burning heat, no piercing cold, nor any briers there; but the countenances of the fathers and the just, which they see always, smile upon them while they wait for the rest, and eternal new life in heaven, which is to succeed this region. This place we call the bosom of Abraham. But as to the unjust, they are dragged by force to the left hand, by the angels allotted for punishment, no longer going with a good will, but as prisoners driven by violence; to whom are sent the angels appointed over them to reproach them, and threaten them with their terrible looks, and to thrust them still downward. Now these angels that are set over these souls drag them into the neighbourhood of hell itself; who, when they are hard by it, continually hear the noise of it, and do not stand clear of the hot vapour itself; but when they have a near view of this spectacle, as of a terrible and exceeding great prospect of fire, they are struck with a fearful expectation of a future judgment, and in effect punished thereby; not only so, but when they see the place (or choir) of the fathers and of the just, even thereby are they punished, for a chaos deep and large is fixed between them, insomuch that a just man that hath compassion upon them cannot be admitted, nor can any one that is unjust, if he were bold enough to attempt it, pass over it.”
752. So much for Josephus. Mr. Harbaugh subjoins as follows: “This extract is exceedingly interesting. It shows to what extent of distinctness the Jewish ideas of the future state had attained. The dreamlike underworld is here considerably illuminated. The righteous and the wicked are separated, and already share the first fruits of their eternal reward. The righteous are surrounded with intimations and shadowy promises of better things to come, in the expectation of which they are already happy; the wicked are surrounded with tokens and forebodings of more fearful ill, much of which they already suffer in awful expectation.
753. “Through this picture,” says our good parson, “we see in faint but terrible glimmerings, in the distance, the region of eternal fire, which awaits the wicked when the judgment-day shall remove them from Hades; on the other hand, we see also the dawning of an eternal day for the just, the rest and eternal new life which is to succeed this region. This kingdom of the dead, beyond which the thoughts of men in the early ages did not wander, is considered only as a place of detention for judgment, while the idea of a final state, both for the righteous and the wicked, is believed to exist beyond it.”
754. How can any person sincerely pretend that those who rely on a happy idea of our immortal life are indebted for it to the source from which this Hebrew Pharisee derived the impressions given in the preceding quotation? Yet the Pharisees were the only conspicuous Hebrew sect who believed in heaven. The Sadducees did not believe in immortality.
755. The history of Lazarus and the rich man, (says Harbaugh, page 168,) “plainly teaches that both the righteous and the wicked on death pass into a fixed and eternal abode, where no change is possible;” and he further states (pp. 169-70) that “the misery of the wicked commences immediately after death, and before the resurrection, and their condition is unchangeably fixed.” According to St. Luke, (chapter xvi.) in the page alluded to above by Harbaugh, we are informed that the wicked, while in the torture of hell-fire, are within the view of the righteous, (verse 23.) The righteous are near enough to converse with those in torment, and yet there is an impassable barrier between them. The rich man is not tortured for his sins, but simply because he had “enjoyed good things.” Yet Abraham, who turned his son and son’s mother out in the wilderness to starve, and twice exposed his wife to prostitution, is represented as enjoying the reward due to the righteous.
756. How little sincere, heartfelt belief there can be in the words of Christ, may be estimated from the fact that scarcely any Christian but seeks for the good things of this life, instead of qualifying themselves for heaven by undergoing the rewarded privations of a Lazarus.
757. It is utterly unintelligible to my mind why repentance and reformation should not avail after, as well as before death, as it is represented to be in the spirit world.
758. There is a coincidence between these representations of Josephus and those of the gospel, so far as that both represent the righteous as witnessing the torments of the wicked. Would not such a situation make heaven a hell to good-hearted angels?
759. According to Matthew, (chapter xxv. 24,) the blessed, after the day of judgment, are to inherit the kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world. Of the joys that kingdom would afford there is no description. But, as usual, hell is made sufficiently horrible, (chapter xxv. 41,)—“Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.”
760. In this respect, if in no other, there is an immense superiority in the conceptions of futurity given by my immortal advisers, in comparison with those attributed as above to Christ.
761. It has been urged that human conduct is so much dependent on organization, education, temptation, and example, neither of which are within the option of any soul, that the orthodox doctrine respecting sin is manifestly wrong. But admitting the culpability which that doctrine imputes, it has been shown that the gradations of sinfulness between the extremes of vice and virtue are innumerable. Suppose for each gradation a strand in a ladder, like that of which Jacob dreamed, and human souls supported severally at elevations commensurate with their respective pretensions. This adjustment being made, suppose a plane at any level to divide the vertical row into two portions, all below the plane being considered as goats, all above the plane as sheep. Evidently, between the soul just above, and that just below the plane, there would be only a shade of difference; yet the one would have to go to hell, the other to heaven, eternally.
762. According to Spiritualism, on entering the spirit world each soul finds its just level by a sort of moral specific gravity, in which merit is inversely as weight. Every soul, moreover, has the privilege of reforming, and rising proportionally to the improvement thus obtained.
763. One of the most agreeable conceptions attending our future existence in the spheres, is that of being restored to the appearance of youth; the decrepitude and wrinkles of age, of disease, mutilation, deformity, ugliness, are all avoided in the spiritual body. The insane are restored to reason, the idiot gradually improved in mind.