On May 31st, 1848 the home of John Fox
began to experience strange rapping noise. Mrs. Fox, described as gullible and excitable,
told the neighbors about the unusual phenomenon. They of course wanted to hear
for themselves. The noises seemed to center on the two daughters Margaret, age
8, and Kate, 6. The noises seemed random and mysterious until someone suggested
a simple code, which allowed the raps to answer questions. Slowly the family
and visitors to the house were made to understand that a disembodied spirit was
generating the sound.
An older married
sister, Leah, returned for a visit and discovered the local interest in the
strange raps. She quickly organized a Society of Spiritualists and took charge
of her young sisters, promoting their occult powers. For a hefty fee, audiences
could commune with the spirits and ask their own questions.
The girls became the
center not only of a Victorian fad, but also a religious cause. The new
religion attracted celebrities like Horace Greeley, Elizabeth Barrett Browning,
Mary Todd Lincoln, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and even Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. By 1888, there were eight million
Spiritualists in the United States.
It however was a
fraud. On October 21, 1888, Margaret Fox would confess it had all been a prank
by the girls to terrify their superstitious mother. They used a few simple
tricks, like snapping their toe joint to cause the sounds. The older sister had
turned the kids' trick into a major religious movement.
It Wasn’t just these sisters that fooled people into false beliefs.
Over the centuries many used ruses and deceit to establish faith in the false.
Jesus warned about it (Mark 13:22), and Paul cautioned Christians to not fall
for it(2nd Thessalonians 2:9).
Real religion is found
in fads and gimmicks. It’s found in faith and truth. It is sad to me how people will jump right into
hoaxes and conspiracy theories yet will reject the thousands of years of
evidence of the Bible. Don’t buy into
the fake bit. Seek real truth.
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