Spiritualism¶
The pursuit of spirituality without Christ opens doors to deception.
In today's world, many declare, "I'm spiritual but not religious," seeking personal enlightenment through eclectic practices like meditation, yoga, or New Age philosophies. This mindset rejects organized religion, particularly Christianity, in favor of a vague, self-directed spirituality. Yet, this approach often leads to superficial experiences, divorced from divine truth, and vulnerable to spiritual deception. It echoes a broader cultural shift toward individualism, where personal feelings trump doctrinal authority, promising freedom but delivering confusion.
Historical Spiritualism¶
The modern spiritualist movement emerged in the mid-19th century, ignited in 1848 by the Fox sisters in Hydesville, New York, who claimed to communicate with spirits through mysterious rapping sounds. This sparked a widespread fascination with mediumship -- the practice of channeling messages from the dead via séances, automatic writing, table-tipping, and trance states. By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, spiritualism had become a global phenomenon, attracting millions grieving losses from wars and epidemics, with prominent advocates like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Helena Blavatsky (whose Theosophy blended spiritualism with Eastern mysticism).
Promising proof of life after death and progressive revelations, spiritualism positioned itself as a "scientific" religion, free from dogma. Yet, exposures of fraud by figures like Harry Houdini revealed many mediums as charlatans using tricks. From an Orthodox Christian perspective, the genuine phenomena were far more sinister: these "spirits" were not departed loved ones but unclean spirits -- demons masquerading to deceive souls, drawing them away from Christ and into occult bondage.
Deceptive Spirits¶
Scripture explicitly warns against such deceptions, urging believers to test spirits and reject any that deny Christ's incarnation. Mediumship and spiritualist practices open portals to these demonic entities, who exploit human curiosity and grief to sow error and spiritual harm.
1 John 4:1-6
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.
You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
Charismatic Movement¶
This demonic mediumism persists in contemporary forms, such as the charismatic movement, which originated in Pentecostalism around 1900 and emphasizes emotional "gifts" like speaking in tongues and prophetic utterances. Influencing even Orthodox Christian circles through ecumenical efforts, it mirrors 19th-century spiritualism's focus on psychic experiences over doctrinal truth.
Fr. Seraphim Rose identifies this as a resurgence of shamanistic paganism, where "tongues" and visions often stem from demonic influence rather than the Holy Spirit. The movement's pursuit of power and unity without repentance invites the same unclean spirits that animated historical séances.
Fr. Seraphim Rose
This is truly a 'New Christianity' -- but the specifically 'new' ingredient in this 'Christianity' is nothing original or 'advanced,' but merely a modern form of the devil's age-old religion of shamanistic paganism.
For deeper insight, read Fr. Seraphim Rose's full article: Charismatic Revival As a Sign of the Times.
Christian Perspective¶
Orthodox Christianity teaches that the Holy Spirit is bestowed through the Sacraments, particularly Baptism and Chrismation, in a life of humility and ascetic struggle. True spiritual gifts are rare, granted to saints for edification, and always tested against Church tradition to avoid prelest -- spiritual delusion often induced by demons posing as angels of light.
Historical spiritualism's "spirits," like modern psychic phenomena, are unclean spirits seeking to counterfeit divine grace. Elder Theodosius the Athonite noted that demons may reveal truths to hook the unwary, but their ultimate aim is soul-destroying deception. Biblical prohibitions on necromancy (Deuteronomy 18:10-12) affirm this: communing with the "dead" invites demonic torment.
Fr. Seraphim Rose
The concept of prelest, a key one in Orthodox ascetical teaching, is completely absent in the Protestant-Catholic world which produced the 'charismatic' movement; and this fact explains why such an obvious deception can gain such a hold.
Warnings abound: False signs will deceive many, preparing for the antichrist. Orthodoxy offers safeguards through patristic wisdom and the Church's unbroken tradition.
Matthew 24:24
For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
Whether in 19th-century séances or today's "spiritual but not religious" pursuits, spiritualism without Christ invites demonic deception under the guise of enlightenment. These unclean spirits lead souls astray, but in Orthodox Christianity, rooted in the incarnate Lord, we find true communion with the Holy Spirit. Test all things, hold to the faith, and seek Christ alone.
Deuteronomy 18:10-12
There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch. Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee.