358 Notices of Books. [July, 
phenomena in question as real and authentic, but as infernal in 
their character and origin. Lastly, spiritualists, including the 
author of the book, ascribe the incidents described to the agency 
of disembodied human spirits. 
Dr. Crowell addresses himself in particular to the third class, 
and seeks to combat their objections. He dedicates his book 
«To all liberal minds in the Christian churches who are disposed 
to welcome new light upon the spirituality of the Bible, even 
though it may proceed from an unorthodox source, and who dare 
weigh and consider, even though they may reject, the claim 
herein made for the unity of the higher teachings of modern 
Spiritualism with those of early Christianity.” He contends 
that the revelations of Spiritualism are the great and needed 
remedy against the development of Materialism, against which 
the Church has been powerless, on account of her unbelief in 
“‘ spiritual gifts.” These gifts, claimed by the early Christians, 
he urges, have not ceased, as Protestants suppose, but are still 
exercised. Spiritualism, therefore, is no novelty, but merely a 
re-manifestation of powers familiar to the first teachers of 
Christianity, and which, though obscured and neglected in suc- 
ceeding centuries, has never ceased to exist. ‘I shall attempt,” 
he writes, ‘‘to prove the genuine character of the so-called 
miracles of the Bible by evidence as strong as that required to 
decide the most important cases in our courts of law, by esta- 
blishing the fact of the occurrence of similar miracles in our day 
constantly occurring in our midst, and which may be witnessed 
by all, and have been witnessed by thousands of persons of 
ereater intelligence than most of those who witnessed the Bible 
miracles, and upon whose testimony these depend for credibility ; 
and while I contend for equal credibility for both those which are 
recorded in the Bible and those which are now occurring, I shall 
be able to show that the different manifestations at the present 
time are fully as wonderful as those in ancient times, and that 
whereas they were little understood then, they are far better 
understood now.” 
As arguments against the asserted diabolical origin of Spiritu- 
alism, he contends that it has effected numerous conversions 
from Atheism, from Deism to Christianity, and from Unitarianism 
to orthodoxy. He maintains that Spiritualism has an elevating 
and purifying effect upon the inner life, and proclaims it to be 
simply ‘“ Christianity minus the framework of the ecclesiastical 
structure,—that is, Christianity stripped of the terrors with 
which superstition and error have invested it.” 
In support of these views Dr. Crowell displays great learning 
and research, and no small degree of acumen. Of his thorough 
sincerity the work seems, to us, to contain abundant evidence. 
But in how far his interpretation of certain passages of the Old 
and New Testaments will be admitted, by competent authorities, 
we entertain some doubt. Nor do we think that his compara- 
