The Biblical story of Adam and Eve tells of God creating the universe, world, mankind, and placing man in the Garden of Eden; there in its midst He had placed the “tree of life” and the “tree of knowledge of good and evil.” In this story Adam and Eve were instructed by God not to eat of the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil or even touch it because if they did they would die.
The fallen angel from heaven, Lucifer/Satan, disguised in the form of a serpent, spoke to Eve as she approached the tree of “the knowledge of good and evil” asking “Yea hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” She replied that it was permissible to eat of every tree except one; the consequences would be death if they ate or touched the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The reply of the serpent was “Ye shall not surely die: for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” (Gen. 3: 4) The serpent/Satan/devil, assured Eve that she was immortal and could progress to godhood. Here we have the beginning of the foundation of spiritualism—paganism.
The Bible identifies the serpent as follows: “And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.” (Rev. 12:7-9 NIV)
Eve believed the serpent, she disbelieved and mistrusted God, and this was her sin. Man had been created to live throughout eternity, he had immortality as long as he believed, trusted, and obeyed the living creator God. Death was an unknown entity until man disobeyed, then he became mortal.
“Spiritualism is a belief system or religion, postulating the belief that spirits of the dead residing in the spirit worldhave both the ability and the inclination to communicate with the living. Anyone may receive spirit messages, but formal communication sessions (séances) are held by “mediums“, who can then provide information about theafterlife.” Carroll, Bret E. (1997). Spiritualism in Antebellum America. (Religion in North America.). Bloomington: Indiana University Press. pp. 248. ISBN 0-253-33315-6.
The other half of the lie of the serpent was” …ye shall be as gods…,” teaching a progression in wisdom until godhood is obtained and at death one enters the spirits universe. Herein is laid additional dogma of the foundation for spiritualism/paganism.
How can the above definition of spiritualism, spiritistic, and spiritualistic relate to therapeutic procedures for health and healing? This answer is to be found as one traces man’s expansion of such doctrine in the framing of a counterfeit story of creation, apart from a living God, which utilizes the precepts that one has innate immortality—divinity within; that all material substance, including humanity, was formed by the appropriate balance of a power that is a divine—god. When that proposed power is said to be unbalanced, illness and death of the physical body is the result, yet the “spirit” is said to live on, is immortal. A myriad of methods have been designed to rebalance this believed in creative power—energy so as to effect healing.
As the people of Israel were about to enter and possess the land of Canaan, God through Moses gave strict and grave warnings in regards to meddling in spiritism. “When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord, and because of these detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you.” (Deut. 18:9-13 NIV)
Also in the scriptures, in the book of Revelation we are warned that just before the second coming of Jesus a great surge of spirit activity (working of Satan’s fallen angels) will come on the earth to deceive man. “Then I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. They are spirits of demons performing miraculous signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty.” (Rev. 16: 13,14 NIV)
We turn from the ancient descriptions of the workings of spiritualism to characteristics of modern spiritualism exposed in the text The Great Controversy by E.G. White as follows: power to heal; teaching that man is a creature of progress; the throne is within you, all are fallen demigods; any just and perfect being is Christ; all sins are innocent, God doth not condemn; man is accountable only to himself; there is no difference between righteousness and sin; denial of the Bible as the word of God; Love as chief attribute of God, but in a degraded sentimental way; law of God not upheld; no punishment for sin or sinner; nature of man as the only object of adoration, or rule of judgment, or standard of character.
This leads to the question: What is death?