IT was said by Sir Thomas More that to give up witchcraft was to give
up the Bible itself. This idea was entertained by nearly all the eminent
theologians of a hundred years ago. In my judgment, they were right.
To give up witchcraft is to give up, in a great degree at least, the
supernatural. To throw away the little ghosts simply prepares the mind
of man to give up the great ones. The founders of nearly all creeds, and
of all religions properly so called, have taught the existence of good
and evil spirits. They have peopled the dark with devils and the light
with angels. They have crowded hell with demons and heaven with seraphs.
The moment these good and evil spirits, these angels and fiends,
disappear from the imaginations of men, and phenomena are accounted
for by natural rather than by supernatural means, a great step has been
taken in the direction of what is now known as materialism. While the
church believes in witchcraft, it is in a greatly modified form. The
evil spirits are not as plenty as in former times, and more phenomena
are accounted for by natural means. Just to the extent that belief has
been lost in spirits, just to that extent the church has lost its power
and authority. When men ceased to account for the happening of any event
by ascribing it to the direct action of good or evil spirits, and began
to reason from known premises, the chains of superstition began to
grow weak. Into such disrepute has witchcraft at last fallen that many
Christians not only deny the existence of these evil spirits, but take
the ground that no such thing is taught in the Scriptures. Let us see:
"Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live."--_Exodus xxii., 18_.
7. "Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a
familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and enquire of her. And his
servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a spirit at
Endor.
8. "And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went,
and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night; and he said,
I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up,
whom I shall name unto thee.
9. "And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath
done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the
wizards out of the land; wherefore, then, layest thou a snare for my
life, to cause me to die?
10. "And Saul sware to her by the Lord, saying, As the Lord liveth,
there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing.
11. "Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said,
Bring me up Samuel.
12. "And when the woman saw Samuel she cried with a loud voice: and the
woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art
Saul.
13. "And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou?
And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth.
14. "And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man
cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that
it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed
himself.
15. "And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me to bring me
up?"--2 Samuels xxviii.
This reads very much like an account of a modern spiritual seance. Is
it not one of the wonderful things of the world that men and women who
believe this account of the witch of Endor, who believe all the miracles
and all the ghost stories of the Bible, deny with all their force the
truth of modern Spiritualism. So far as I am concerned, I would rather
believe some one who has heard what he relates, who has seen what he
tells, or at least thinks he has seen what he tells. I would rather
believe somebody I know, whose reputation for truth is good among those
who know him. I would rather believe these people than to take the words
of those who have been in their graves for four thousand years, and
about whom I know nothing.
31 "Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after
wizards, to be defiled by them; I am the Lord, your God."--_Leviticus
xix_.
6 "And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and
after wizards, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut
him off from among his people."--_Leviticus xx._
10. "There shall not be found among you any one that useth divination,
or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,
11. "Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or
a necromancer.
12. "For all that do these things are an abomination unto the
Lord."--_Deut. xviii_.
I have given you a few of the passages found in the Old Testament upon
this subject, showing conclusively that the Bible teaches the existence
of witches, wizards and those who have familiar spirits. In the New
Testament there are passages equally strong, showing that the Savior
himself was a believer in the existence of evil spirits, and in the
existence of a personal devil. Nothing can be plainer than the teaching
of the following:
1. "Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be
tempted of the devil.
2. "And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward
an hungered.
3. "And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of
God, command that these stones be made bread.
4. "But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread
alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
5. "Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on
a pinnacle of the temple.
6. "And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down:
for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and
in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy
foot against a stone.
7. "Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the
Lord, thy God.
8. "Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and
sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them.
9. "And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt
fall down and worship me.
10. "Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is
written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou
serve.
11. "Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered
unto him."--_Matt. iv._
If this does not teach the existence of a personal devil, there is
nothing within the lids of the Scriptures teaching the existence of
a personal God. If this does not teach the existence of evil spirits,
there is nothing in the Bible going to show that good spirits exist
either in this world or the next.
16. "When the even was come they brought unto him many that were
possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and
healed all that were sick."--_Matt. vii._
1. "And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country
of the Gadarenes.
2. "And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out
of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,
3. "Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no,
not with chains:
4. "Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and
the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in
pieces: neither could any man tame him.
5. "And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the
tombs, crying and cutting himself with stones.