"Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery" - Conan Doyle's Efforts to Propagate Spiritualism

 

Mt. Fuji and the Moon 

Conan Doyle's Efforts to Propagate Spiritualism

Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (1859 – 1930) is famous not only for his novels featuring Sherlock Holmes but also for his belief and efforts to diffuse spiritualism. 

However, his work New Revelation (1918) shows his passion to influence modern Christianity with a hope that the truth of Christ Jesus should be taught to Christians.  According to Doyle, Christ Jesus was the person with the highest spiritual power.  The Gospels should be read from the view point that miracles and healings by Christ Jesus were based on His ability to use spiritual power.  Doyle also believed that there was the afterlife.  He also thought that WWI had occurred due to the failure of the Vatican and other Christian churches in teaching truth of Christ Jesus while diffusing problematic creeds that could not prevent WWI.  And, the main reason for this failure of traditional Christian communities was, Dole thought, that they had not read and interpret the Gospels from the spiritual point of view.                

One of interesting points in his argument is that the event called the Transfiguration of Jesus in the Gospels shows Christ Jesus' spiritual power to evoke spirits of ancient Jewish saints such as Moses while using St. Peter and other disciples as spirit mediums.  

In the Synoptic Gospels, (Matthew 17:1–8 Mark 9:2–8, Luke 9:28–36), the account of the transfiguration happens towards the middle of the narrative. It is a key episode and almost immediately follows another important element, the Confession of Peter: "you are the Christ" (Matthew 16:16, Mark 8:29, Luke 9:20). The transfiguration narrative acts as a further revelation of the identity of Jesus as the Son of God to some of his disciples.

In the gospels, Jesus takes Peter, James, son of Zebedee and his brother John the Apostle with him and goes up to a mountain, which is not named. Once on the mountain, Matthew 17:2 states that Jesus "was transfigured before them; his face shining as the sun, and his garments became white as the light." At that point the prophet Elijah representing the prophets and Moses representing the Law appear and Jesus begins to talk to them. Luke states that they spoke of Jesus' exodus (εξοδον) which he was about to accomplish in Jerusalem (Lk 9:31). Luke is also specific in describing Jesus in a state of glory, with Luke 9:32 referring to "they saw His glory".

Just as Elijah and Moses begin to depart from the scene, Peter begins to ask Jesus if the disciples should make three tents for him and the two prophets. This has been interpreted as Peter's attempt to keep the prophets there longer. But before Peter can finish, a bright cloud appears, and a voice from the cloud states: "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him" (Mark 9:7). The disciples then fall to the ground in fear, but Jesus approaches and touches them, telling them not to be afraid. When the disciples look up, they no longer see Elijah or Moses.

When Jesus and the three apostles are going back down the mountain, Jesus tells them to not tell anyone "the things they had seen" until the "Son of Man" has risen from the dead. The apostles are described as questioning among themselves as to what Jesus meant by "risen from the dead".

The Vatican and other churches should diffuse the notion that there is a soul in everyman which will enter into the spirit world after bodily death in this world to continue to live in the spirit world as a spirit.

However, Christ Jesus also emphasized that poor men's souls would enter into Heaven but rich men's souls should fall into the hell to be eventually taken out.  As the Vatican and other churches have accumulated significant wealth, and their leaders are rich in terms of material assets they possess.  Therefore, in principle, the Pope and other leaders of various churches are destined to the hell as Swedenborg wrote.  They must be afraid that people would come to think this way if Christian communities followed the spiritual view on the Gospels.     

The spiritualism of today should first give a drastic influence on the Christian communities.


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Mark 10, King James Version

7 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife;
8 And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh.
9 What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
10 And in the house his disciples asked him again of the same matter.
11 And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her.
12 And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.