Birth of Modern Spiritualism
Historians of religion in America generally agree that “in the United States, the modern spiritualist movement began in 1848.” 6“Spiritualism,” World Book Encyclopedia (1990), vol. 18, p. 796. The town was Hydesville, New York, a community situated some 35 miles east of Rochester; 7Early Writings, 300 5th ed. (1963), appendix note, “Mysterious Knockings in New York, and Rochester Rappings.” the place was the home of the John D. Fox family. 8“Spiritism,” The New International Dictionary of the Christian Church, rev. ed. (1981), p. 926.GVEGW 50.6
A peddler reportedly had died in this house sometime earlier, and tenants prior to the occupancy of the Fox family had been repeatedly disturbed by strange noises, particularly the sound of knocking, tapping, or rapping. 9“Spiritualism, Spiritism,” Abingdon Dictionary of Living Religions (1981), p. 713. Two teenage Fox girls, Margaret and Katie, initially were frightened by bedclothes being pulled off the bed, and chairs and tables being removed from their places by invisible hands. They overcame their fears and, somewhat emboldened, eventually managed to develop a code by which they communicated with this alleged “spirit.” 10“Spiritism,” p. 926.GVEGW 51.1
Thus modern spiritualism was born!GVEGW 51.2
Ellen White had been receiving messages from God through prophetic visions for about three years now. About a year or less after the “Rochester rappings” had begun, with subsequent widespread publicity, the Lord sent a message to His church through Ellen concerning this new historic development.GVEGW 51.3
On Sabbath, March 24, 1849, in a meeting of Sabbathkeepers at Topsham, Maine, she was told four things about this new phenomenon:GVEGW 51.4
1. It was satanic in origin. “I saw that the mysterious knocking in New York and other places was the power of Satan.” 11Early Writings, 43. Four decades later, in an expanded account in The Great Controversy, she added:GVEGW 51.5
“The mysterious rapping with which modern spiritualism began was not the result of human trickery or cunning, but was the direct work of evil angels, who thus introduced one of the most successful of soul-destroying delusions. Many will be ensnared through the belief that spiritualism is a merely human imposture; when brought face to face with manifestations which they cannot but regard as supernatural, they will be deceived, and will be led to accept them as the great power of God.” 12The Great Controversy, 553.GVEGW 51.6
2. The phenomenon would spread widely and quickly. In an early account of the 1849 vision Ellen wrote that “such things would be more and more common.” 13Early Writings, 43. What is the testimony of the historians of our own time, looking back at the “Rochester rappings”?GVEGW 51.7
John P. Dever: “This widely advertised event set off a Spiritism revival in the United States that soon spread to England and Europe.” 14“Spiritism,” p. 926. F. L. Cross: “Spiritualism ... soon spread to England and the Continent.” 15“Spiritualism,” The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, p. 1283. And R. S. Ellwood: “A Spiritualist enthusiasm sparked by these revelations swept the country and spread to Europe and Latin America.” 16“Spiritualism, Spiritism,” p. 713.GVEGW 51.8
3. The “rappings,” though initially a secular phenomenon, would soon also take on a life of their own in the world of religion. In the earliest days spiritualists would perform their occult arts before bedazzled, dumbfounded audiences in vaudeville and at the circus. The Academic American Encyclopedia shares this interesting bit of historical trivia: The Fox sisters performed their arcane arts at seances and toured with the circus of master showman Phineas Taylor Barnum (1810-1891) (best remembered today for his cynical remark “There’s a sucker born every minute”). 17John Bartlett, Familiar Quotations, 14th ed. (1980), p. 536. As a result, they “soon became celebrities.” 18Academic American Encyclopedia (1983), vol. 18, p. 189.GVEGW 52.1