Experimental investigation of the spirit manifestations, [electronic ...

224 INFLUENCE OF SCRIPTUREthis to mc appears fanatical presumption, just as much as it would be inany other sectarian.The excellent authoress of the epistle puts herself ina class of females whom it has been iny object to emancipate from therestraint imposed upon their minds, no less cramping than that to whichthe feet ofChinese ladies are subjected.1169. It must be evident, that unless there was a successful precursoryeffort by factsand reasoning, to make me believe that what appears to meheloio good sense, is actually above it, her inference that discussion wouldbe useless is quite evident. But this amounts to an admission that theopinions which it is her object to impart, are not founded in reason.1170. Her clerical friend falls into the same error, as will appear fromthe following quotation. The last postulate in the world which he couldinduce mc to admit, would be that any thing which owes its existence entirelyto barbarous, wicked, ignorant,covetous, and blood-thirsty men, canbe God's word, and, therefore, paramount to human reason.1171. How would he enable an idiot to believe in the Bible, or in anything? Is not our capacity to believe correctly, greater as our reason isbetter by nature ? It is only through his own intellectual faculties thathe has received his opinions and can defend them. It is through my reasonthat my head and heart repel the Old Testament as, for the most part,the work of a set of unprincipled bigots, comprising allegations which thepresent state of astronomy and geology demonstrate to be fallacious, andwhich, independently of that cramping of the intellect by education, whichit is my ardent desire to remove, would be denounced replete with indecency,immorality, and misrepresentation of God.1172. It is striking that this kind lady, in referring to my sister andother spirit friends, should suppose that I would slight the direct heartfeltevidence received from them, in obedience to impressions felt hi/ her incommon icith every other devotee to any religion whatever. They could,with just as much consistency, appeal to their tenets, and assume their^' Koran, '^ their ^^Shasters," or '^ Zendavesta'' to be above my reason.1173. But the whole tenor of this application shows that the authoressexpects to set aside the results of nearly twenty months' investigation, creatingin me a firm devout conviction that I have a correct knowledge of thespirit world, received through my relatives, friends, and high spirits, indeference to those of a set of people of whom I know nothing but ill.May God do that for her which she has so benevolently implored for me,and remove from her brain the influence of educational narrowness. Iwould utter the same aspiration for the divine whom she has brought in asher advocate, who I hope as sincerely believes what he alleges, as I believein the communications of my guardian spirits.1174. But this superior intellect, it will be shown, falls into one ofthe most inexcusable errors, into which a tyro in reasoning can fiill, thatof founding his arguments onpremises which are emphatically denied by