Is it time Spiritualism cut all ties with Christianity?

stone rainbow · Moderator

Is it time Spiritualism cut all ties with Christianity?
an article from Psychic News17/12/93

Is there really no common ground between Christianity and Spiritualism? In this hard-hitting article by television and newspaper medium Craig Hamilton-Parker, he argues that there is simply no place in our churches for orthodox elements of any kind. Should we ignore Christmas then? Perhaps this has no place in our Movement either.

It wasn't so long ago that Christians would burn mediums like me at the stake (possibly remembered by the burning brandy put on our Christmas pudding)

At this festive time of year when we celebrate the Virgin Birth (an old idea pinched from other religions) it's good to remember why real Spiritualists aren't Christians.

Read your Bible thoroughly and you will see that Spiritualism and Christianity are totally incompatible. Alternatively,to save valuable time ask a born-again Christian who will quickly point out many quotes that condemn mediumship as evil. The Bible was written by committees and altered over time to suit the current political trends. The gospels are Roman documents deliberately manipulated to suit a Roman domination of the world.

To the Emperors Justinian and Constantine they must have seemed like a gift from God. "Turn the other cheek while we occupy your country." All they had to do was Romanise it a bit, add a few ideas like the death and rebirth of the sun god, call it Christ and bingo -no more rebellions.

So why are we Spiritualists including all this junk in our religion? Part of the answer is that people who have been brought up in traditional Christianity cannot separate Jesus Christ from God. There's a great Zen Buddhist saying:"Don't confuse the finger that points at the moon with the moon itself."

Teachers like Jesus, Mohammed, Krishna and Sai Baba are signposts on the pathway to God. They have realised God but are not God itself. "Not me but my father" one of them said. Nobody, no matter how holy, can realise God for you. That's a path for your feet alone. If I burn in hell because I'm not a Christian that's fine. I'll be in good company. I'll look forward to meeting Gandhi, Socrates, Plato and Confucius who'll share my plight.

Isn't it about time that we purged our churches of Christian imagery put there by uncommitted Spiritualists who still can't let go of their ignorance?

Get rid of the Lord's Prayer, the crosses, and in particular that insipid picture of Jesus looking upward into a beam of light. We don't worship the ghost of an Essene Jew. We believe in personal responsibility. Nothing should stand between us and our direct experience of God.

I asked the president of one Spiritualist church why it had a large cross on the wall behind the platform. "New visitors may have just left a Christian church" he said. "It reassures them that we believe in God."

But are we only looking to attract former Christians and why should we cater to their misconceptions? And how would someone of a Jewish or Islamic background react to a cross, the symbol of war and persecution?

Before becoming a Spiritualist I searched many religions for a truth that would satisfy me. My leanings were towards Hinduism and Buddhism.

The cross on the wall of the first Church I visited was the main reason I nearly didn't go back. Luckily I was saved in the nick of time by philosopher Arthur Findlay. His book The Rock of Truth put me straight and should be compulsory reading for any Spiritualist who wants to occupy a position of responsibility.
Superficially, Spiritualism looks like a pale form of Christianity. If we jettisoned prayers, hymns, pews and the trappings of Christianity we would still be a religion. A real religion. A unique religion. A universal religion. One that doesn't ask you to believe in a person or a dogma but opens a pathway to the truth so you can find out for yourself.

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Our spirits are led by the head at times, the head is led by our thoughts. How nice it would be, to let the spirit run free. What a happier world this would be.