A Trip Into the Supernatural
Roger
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TROUBLE WITH THE SPIRITSAs Istarted to pick up a book to read, the pIe e (If pap r with the message (InII to phone Roland b gan to levitate around the room; then itslapped against my open book " ...ith such force that II knock d the volume out of my hands and almost jell off my lap. My first impulse \•...as to tell the spirit a thing or two, but I had det rmind d that regardless of \•...hat took place, I \•.o..uld not get Involved in verbal communication with it. Placins the piece of paper between pags ofthe book. Icontmu d to read. A short \•..h.ile later a force pulled the book out of my hands and threw it against the wall on the opposite side of the room.
ot because of the spirit's action, but because of resp ct tor my friend, Id cided to phon him. There was apay phone in the hallway. but in this cas I would not use It.so I went to a restaurant down the street. As I sat in the phone booth, I glanced at my watch: I:00 a.m,The phone rang twice.
"Hello! Mom au, isthis you?" "Yes, itIS."
"Morneau, you dared \'11 what am Isa nne? I didn't mean II that way. I meant to sa r that you're gambling with your life. Have you lost your mmd?"
"You sound upset." I replied. "What's your problem ')"
"My problem ') I have no problem. You're the one In gr at trouble and you sound as ifyou haven't got a care in the world. Morneau. I've always admired your daring spirit, but now you've gone too tar way too far. You've turn d against the spirits that hav b n tiled you, and now the 'will destro 'you. I'm surprised that you're still alive. Man, I'm concerned about you. B cau e I care lor your well-being, I've been sitting by this phone all evening waiting tor your call. Don't you hav anything to say'!"
"Of course Ihav som thing to sa " but how can I wh n you haven't given me achance to talk')"
Immediat Iyhe continu d, "Morneau, you don't under rand the ext nt of the trouble you're In. By Wednesday evening according to the Satani. t priest- ou were In deep trouble with the spirits. But now it's too late, too lale."
"Roland," Iinterrupt d. "if you'll calm down It will b much easier lor us to understand each other. ow. explain yourself about Wednesday evening."
After a few mom nts he regained hi: composure. "Last Wednesday when Ientered our place ofwor hip, I was whisked into the high priest' office. H asked wheth rIhad seen you inthe past week. His expression gav me to understand that something awful had happen d. Iasked wh th ryou were dead- maybe you had an accid nt. He stated that you were Ina situation mor horrible than that. On Tuesday mght. during the sacr d hour of midnight a spirit counselor app ared to him and told him that you were stud nng the Bible with Sabbathkcepers th very peopl the master hates most on the fac of the earth. TIle priest asked me to try to get hold of you and make you realize the danger you're in, but I couldn't reach you."
"Ev rything isund rcontrol." I told him. "I'm In no gr al danger."
"That's what you think." His voice ros in pitch again. "At 6:30 thi evening the high priest called to inform me that according to the. pirits you have been Inchurch today with thos Sabbath peopl , and that has infuriated the master. What do you have to sa about that'!"
"Y s. Ihav been tudying the Bible, and hav gone to a Sabbath-observing church. But Icouldn't car I 5S about the way the fallen cherub l'el about me. Ifyou would like to know more about my activities during the past week, why don't you come over to see me in the morning '!"
On my return horne Iprayed, then '•...ent to bed. Twenty rrunutes lat r the lights came on. Iturned them oil. Almost mstantly they flashed back on. Then I decided to sleep WIth them on. A coupl of nunutes lat ralmost everything started moving out (If Its place. A picture on a wall float d acre sthe room and hung on the opposite wall, and atable lamp hung In midair without any visiblesupport. As I ob served the spirits' activities I realized that my prayers had placed them under some kind of restraint. They could not converse with me. as Ibeliev d they would have liked to do. Immediate] Icommanded them to leave by order 01"Christ Jesus. The lamp and picture tell to the 1100r.Pickmg up the lamp. I straight ned the damaged shad . but left the brok n glass 1T0m the pictures, to be swept up inthe monung. Ithanked Jesus tor His loving care over me, then returned to bed.
TIle thought that powerful demon spirits had left at His name tilled me with a great sense ofsatisfaction, That
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encounter also served to strength n my conviction that everything was as Ihad told my friend truly under control.
Itmust have be nabout an hour later when the spirits returned. Once more Icompelled them. using Jesus' name, to leave my place. Without hesitation the rdeparted, and I tried to get some sl ep.
To my amazement, about 4:00 a.m. the irritating phenomena began again. Sitting in bed, Itried to figure out why the lord had allowed them to come back. I concluded that perhaps I.hould hear tor mys If how demons felt about my acceptance of Jesu: as my Lord and Saviour.
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"So, you want to talk to me. OK..,speak up."
"Why do you refuse to talk to us'!" a spirit asked III a voice that drifted about the room. "I hav found a better Master."
"Why have you given us up wh n we have great wealth prepared tor you?" "You have deceiv d me lor so many years that Ihav no use tor you."
"We have tr ated you right sine you affiliated with thos ' •••ho know. the real source ofwealth and power," he said in a voice that. e med to command re pect and authority.
Iperceived that I was conver ing vvith a chi Icounselor. TIle very air in the place seemed charged with energy, and his presence was imposing. R alizing that I was no match lor his power, Iprayed silentl ,"Lord Jesus, pleas help me!" Then a passage of Scripture came to my rrund on that Pastor Ta lor had brought to my attention that sam day. "H came unto hi. 0\1,1\,and his 0\1,1\ received him not But as many as received him, to them gave he power to becom the sons of God, even to them that believ on his name" (John I:II. I
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Immediately Ifelt that God would carry me through that encounter victonously. A gr at calm came over me. Later I realized my great danger 111an mpting to speak to SPIritS.As our conversation continu d Idet cted that the spirit emed to be facing some kind of crisis. In fact Isensed waves of despair engulfing him as he becam aware that he ,•.as.. ' ••as..ting hi. efforts 111trying to regain my allegiance.
"Listen to mecarefully," the spirit said. "I am telling you the truth. The master has great wealth pr pared tor you ifonly you give up associating with the people he hat s, and stop observing that Seventh-day Sabbath he de pises, '"
"Spirit, Ibelieve you're telling the truth, but Idon't '••.a.nt your wealth. It's not enough. I have had abetter offer lor my all gianc all the gold I want. plus unlimited life to enJoy It with. Ihave decided to turn my life over to Christ Jesus."
"LAter [reahzed my great dancer inanemp1ms 10 cat 10SPirit..
"Stop mentioning that name." the spirit exploded. "Ineed to talk to you, but don't mention that name. Iam a chief counselor. My spirit associates and Ihav worked to prepare the way so that the master could shower you "..ith wealth. We have brought George the tame and honor he now enjoys. And we arranged tor the two of you to meet so that you could understand what 'vonderful plans we have lor your life. I plead with you don't pass it up."
"Spirit," I said. "ten days ago I, ••..ould have fallen for your lin .but not today. Now I am what you could call an educated former demon worshiper. Jesu I novvmy Master, and ,v ith His help Iwill be a commandment keeper, joining those Sabbath observers you hate. As for you and your :pirit friends, in realit you're a bunch of cheats. You offer me gold if! will forfeit eternal lite. Forget it. I can wart tor the coming ofthe lord. Then I will possess all the gold Ineed in the earth made newt."
For about two mrnutes, only my alarm clock ticking awa r broke the SIlence. Apparently the spirit couru elor had met the unexpected. And as a losing general on a bartlefi ld. he needed a little time to work out a new strategy.
"Very well," he said at last. "You are refusing wealth and tame 1T0m the master. 0poverty shall be the lot of your life. That is. ifyou manage to stay alive any length oftime. You ,••ill f.. rom this day on walk under the hadow of death."
Then followed a laugh such a. Ihad never heard in my life. Itconveyed an intense pleasure incruelty.
Immediately I thought that itmu t have been the type that ero laughed as the lions pounced on Christian victims in the Roman arena. Ashrver went up my spine, and I probabl rwould have been terrified except for the assuranc of God's protection.
"Spirit." I said. "Iwant you to know that Ihave placed myself in the car of the Chn tof Calvary and that I am prepared to walk under the shadow of death as long as He goes with me. ow I command you in His name to depart from me and come. no more."
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A door leading to a back balcony open dasthe spirit left,and slammed against thewall of the room with such force that the door hand] almost went through the plaster.
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YSI wass bom the fifth child In a family or eight on Apnl 18. 1925. In St.Ja ques, ew Brunswick. a mall village near the border ofthe provine of Qu bee, in eastern Canada. My parents were devout French Catholics. On my lather's side ofthe family, two of his sisters were nuns. and hisyounger brother a priest ,•.ho lat.. er becam a mon.s ign ur of the Roman Catholic Church.
Even now I can't help admiring how my parents dilig ntly followed the teaching and requirements of their church. As tar back as I can remember, our home had daily family prayer. The evening prayer period I remember best. TIle Rosary was the main part of the service. but we also repeat d the Litany of the Saints. Itconsisted in calling out the names of about 100 or more saints and asking them to pray tor u .A children our kne s became sor tram kne ling so long a time. But we ,'v ere encouraged to offer the suffering to God. that in turn He could use it to relieve some poor soul for a short while from thetorment of the tlam s of purgatory.
Our family practic d many types ofbodil r humiliations In order to gam favor b fore God. Every Friday we abstained tram m at. On the first Friday of every month If a P r on went to confession and received Communion, he was assur d of indulgences that amount d to 5.000 days le SIn purgatory for a particular soul. Inthos days it meant taking no food or \•.a..t r from the evening before until after one hadrec ived Communion the following morning. (The church has since changed this rule.)
Itvvas customary at certam time or theyear tor the memb rsor our family to hold an all-night vigil. Each of us took turns kne ling for one hour b fore a statue and sa mg the Ro.'>3IYor other prayers. The Lent n period. preceding Easter was also atime of greatself-mortificanon. My parents were God-loving people. and all activities of their lives revolved around Him. To pleas God "vastheir main objectiv .
When I was 3 ye<3r old. I becam extremely Sick and the doctors gave up on my getting well. In tact. my father made arrangements for my funeral. Then my moth r promised God that if I becam well again, she would do everything in herpO\ller to se that when I grew up I ' ••ould be a priest.. , living to glorify His name and bring others
to serve Him. Accordins to her, an mun diate improvement took place. and my recovery was rapid and complete. The time came for meto prepare for myfirstCommunion. TIle mor I memorized of the catechism. howe\'er
-the teachings and cornmandm nu of the church the mar difficult I found it to harmonize its teachings with what I knew of the gospel of Christ.
TIlepriest reada chapter from either one ofthe four Gospels or one ofthe Epistles before his sermon on Sunday. and I always enjoy d ittr m ndously, Once wh n I ,••as abou.. t 7 years old we wer returning home tram church one beautiful winter day. TIle. un shone brightly. and about 20 horse-drawn sleigh wer following one another. TIle sound of alltho bells onthe sl ighs didn't allow much conversation. Everyone rode along in silence. Then I
brok itby asking my mother ' •.by.. Jesus \••a..sso kind to P opl wh n He walked on earth. and became so mean after He ' ventto heaven?
"What make you ask that?" she said.
"Why ,•.'ould a good God bum p opl. e m purgatory tor hundreds of years over little offense ,.>', I mquired. "H certainly does not practice what He taught. You and Dad practice what you teach us why doesn't He'! You teach
us to forgive one another's offense . Shouldn't God also forgiv completely'!"
As I looked mto her face. I could se that such r asoning puzzled her. My father tried to help h r by app aling to higher authorities. "You s e, son, it'slikeyour uncle Felixthe priest one. said: God hate sin so muchthat to help
people turn away tram it He hadto attach a gr at penalty to it And besides. our Holy Father thef)ope knows of other good reasons wh 'God uses purgatory, and we mu t not question the pope's authority."
Taught the transub tantiation doctrin ,I accepted It as any other child of myag did,believing that in the Eucharist the pri tchanged the br ad and the wme mto the body and blood ofChri t. But on Easter Sunday, 1937,
the year my mother di d. I heard something that led me tothmk diff r ntly.
The priest read from one of the Gospel. about the resurrection of Christ. What fascinated me was the fact that Jesus had a hard time convincing His disciples that He was, in r alit ,resurrected that He was a b mg with real
tl sh and bones, and not a spirit. A couple of int re ung questions popped into my mind. Could it be that heaven is a real place, lik on earth, wher peopl with flesh and bones can liv real lives, and not be spirits floating on clouds'! But if Jesus is not a spirit. how can Hebe In the host'!
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It ISprobabl difficult for some peopl to understand how asmall child could lose faith 10 God and turn against
religion in the way I did. Perhaps I can explain what happened by recounting several mcidents,
As ayoungster what I heard and saw 10 the lives ofadults Impressed me deeply. Our home was a place wh re
peace and joy abode. My parents gave us a good exarnpl 01"hov •..peopl .hould get along together. They practiced
kindness and consid ration for others, and in turn exp ct d u to forgive one another's shortcomings and be kind.
Our parents were forever helping the poor and n edy. In my estimation, I felt that God should at least be as kind
and compa sionate toward human as He exp ct d them to b toward each other.
One particular experience greatly perplexed my rrund. Inthose days peopl did not use their cars during the
winter months, and itsometim stook quue an amount of work to put a car back into running order for use during
warmer weather.
My dad decided to have a mechanic who lived 10 Edrnundston spend acouple of days getting his Model A Ford
in condition. B fore my father went to sc the man he said, "The man i. Protestant, but a very tine person and an
excellent mechanic. ow, children, list n to me. It may well be that aswe recite the Angelus at noon. before
having our meal, that he will not participate in our devotion. PI a e. do not tare at him. and above all, don't ask
embarrassing question. pertaining to his religion. You understand?" And as he spoke, he looked directly at me. In unison we all repli d."Yes, Dad."
For three days the man worked on the car, and Ienjoyed watchmg him. He wai all that dad had told us. and
more. A kind man, he seem d to enJoy talking to me. or did he use profanity.
My father owned and operated three farms. and, ofcours . employ d quite a few men. Many times I heard him
sa ,wb n he had decided to hire anew man, "Friend, Iknow that you and I ,•..·illget along well together. I'm not
hard to please. But one thing I wanl you never to torg t. My wile and Idon't allow peopl who work for us to
blasph m God or the saint. We have children whom we are trying to bring up to rever nee God. Sowatch your
words." D pite hi. request, tbe rforgot thernselv s\•..'bile working and call ddown all the saints nom heaven " ..ith. profanities.
But ifthe Protestant mechanic happened to skin his knuckles. or pinch his finger, all he said was "Ouch IThat
hurts!"
As tor tbe Angelus. I found the mechanic to b mor rever nt than we were. Wh n dad said, "Let us pray." he
bowed his head. closed his eres. and folded hi. hands. We never clos dour e re ,and rushed through the Angelus
as fast as possible.
After the man left. something troubled me greatly. and Icould not put it out of my mmd. It was aphrase I had
memorized from the catechism: "HOI'S deL'eglise Cathohque Apostolique t'lRomaine IIn\ apoint deSa/III."
Translated, it staled, "Outside ofthe Roman Catholic Church, there ISno salvation."
My mother sensed that, omething was bothering me and asked about it. "Mother, wher do the good Protestants
go wh n theydie')"
"Thai is a good question, son. Wh do you ask?" Iquoted her what I had memorized nom the catechism. Sh
admitted she did not know. and suggested that we should ask my uncle when he came to visit us. My question
must have also troubled her, lor at the evening meal that day she told my father what we had talked about and
asked hi. opinion on the subj ct.
He did not have much of an aruwer, but commented that he felt that God wouldn't leav a good per.on out of
heaven, regardless ofwh th r he was a Catholic or aProt slant. Probably. he suggested, when a good Prot slant
dies. the ang Islead him through the back door. "Prot stunts do not have the glory ofbemg welcomed by Samt
Peter personally. but the rshouldn't car as long as the get m. They shouldn't exp ct to be treated as celebrities.
After all, their forefathers made a bad mistake when they len the Catholic Church, and all their d cendants can
exp ct to suffer on account of it."
While I concluded his reasoning was mo t lik Iy corr ct. thos solemn words kept running through my rrund:
"Outsid of the Roman Catholic Church there ISno salvation."
A tev••..months went byand finally we heard that my uncle the priest would be visiting all the relatives. I asked
my lath r if he could. wh n the opportunity presented nself ask Uncle Felix about the good Protestants.
After we had visit d lor quite awhile, dad turn d to my uncle, and said, "F lix, tell me, where do the good
Prot stants go wh n the rdie'!"
"Whydo you ask'!"
Dad explained my question In light of what the catechism said.
"What Rog r has quoted to you from the cateclusm IS correct." Uncle Felix replied. "Th r IS no salvation
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outsid ofthe Catholic Church regardless ofvvhornthe person ma be."His statement opened upquite a debate onthe matter. My father claimed that it wouldn't be fair of God not to let a good Prot stant mto heaven, while myuncle took the heatout of the conversation by suggesting thatthe soul ofa good Protestant probably went to limbo at death. ItISsuppo:ed to be theplace wher the souls ofunbaptiz d infants gowhen they die. "Onething I do know." Uncle Felix concluded, "according tothe church, 110Protestant, good orbad. will goto heaven or will ever see God. And remember. I didn't make the rule; I only teach them. If there 'lias anypo ible way for a Prot tantto get to heaven. our Holy Father thepope. urely \•.ould have.. told u."
The exp rience placed a big question mark m my nund about God'sJustice.
Time went by, and a coupl of years laterthe matter of God's justice came up agam.
On beautiful July e ening sorn one pa ingby stopped to tell myparents that an rghbor had died suddenly while working about five miles from home. One statern ntdisturbed everyon present: "H died without having a priest to give him the last sacram ntof the church." After mentioning that the dead man's brother was bringing the body home, the man left, shaking his head from Sideto side '•.'h.ile saymg, "It'ssad, sad. sad."
I can remember that incid ntasIf it were yesterday. Before too long we saw a dilapidated horse-drawn wagon movlIlg slowly down the road. Ablank t covered thebody, andthe driver sat onthefront of the wagon, legs dangling down. his face reflecting his de spair.
A couple of neighbors who had come to u e our phone (our fanuly had one ofthe only two telephones for miles around] were. itting onthe front porch with us.After thebody hadpassed our hou e,my mother commente-don how sadil was. "If only he could have had apriest toforgive his mortal sins so thathe would not find himself gomg into helltire. Let's hope he had only venial SIllSon hIS soul.That alone repres nts ye.ars ofbuming mthe flames ofpurgatory."
"We'll hav to geta few dollar togeth r and have masses celebrated tor thepeace ofhi soul," myfather said.
"for I can't se how hi. widow and thekids will be abl to do so."
On oftheneighbors poke up. "I feel liketelling you to save your mone .I am mclined tothink that his soul IS no' v mhelltire. You see, Mr. and Mrs. Morneau. thisman was knO\>,'TtoI have had sticky fingers. What I mean to sa isthat hehad at times tak n thmgs that were nothis."
"That' a rather strong accusation," myfather replied. "and unless you're able to prove it,I would appreciate
your notsa ing anything at all."
"I hateto sa this, butdo you remember that last year about this time youwere unabl to locale a log-dragging chain you hadbought only a short while before. Ifyou were to go intohi barn and look inone particular place,
you would see your chain. I saw Itthere only a few days ago. Asamatter of tact, I commented totheman about it; and he said that he hadborrowed itfromyou, but thatyou did not know about it.~
My lather appeared shocked tor amoment ortwo. But after regaining his composure he said. "This is quite a revelation tome. listen everyon , I want you alltoknow that in the Sight of God Iam giving to the dead man the chain hehadborrowed from me. even if h never had any int ntion of returnmg II.As amatter of fact, if he took anything else from methat I'm notaware of, I give ittohim, also. Inthrsway his soul is treed fromany condemnation hem.ayhave brought uponhirru elf inthe. ight of God."
"I don't mean to be irreverent toward God," the neighbor re ponded, "but nght now I feel thatyouare kinder than He is.Imust admit that this i the nicest gesture toward anyone I have ever seen orheard of. Intact. you ma bethe first human bing ever to forceGod totak a soul outof helltire andplace him in purgatory till he is purified enough to enter heaven."
That experience made quite an Impact upon me. For lnany days that Incident kept passing through myrrund.AsI meditated upon itIagreed with theneighbor that my dad had amore noble character than the God he served. I concluded that God was mo tunkind in forcing souls to sutler inpurgatory because therelatives hadnomone r to have masses celebrated.
One experience that served to turn me completely again tGodwas that of the passing away ofmy own mother. Duringthe spring of 1937mymother went tothe hospital tor anoperation. After a coupl ofweeks they sent her horn to liv out her lastdays. Only
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year old, I was at an srnpres ionabl age.Arriving home fromschool one day. I went into her be-droom to kiss her on the forehead, which I did daily. "Please sit down." she said. "I would Iik to sa sornethingthat I te eIIS Important to both of us. As you know I have buta short while to be with you and I wantyou to remember thisbitof advice. Asyou make your way through life, show appreciation topeople tor their kindness toward you. Give thanks tothemeven if it is only tor a glassofwater. People who express appreciation tor small favors receiv benefits Ingr at r ways."
A Trip Into the Supernatural
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In thos days it was customary to view the dead in their home instead of at a funeral parlor. For three days friends, relatives, and n ighbors came to pay their re peers and pray tor my mother' soul. On the day of the funeral many felt that our moth r was in heaven next to God becaui e she had had so many Roseries recited tor her. But that which made ustee I best was thetact that myfather had schedul d Gr gorian masses tor thepeace of her soul.
Asour uncle Felix explained to u ,Gregorian masses hav to be the most wond rful thing that can happen to someone's departed soul. He explained how Pope Gregory, who had aspecial concern tor souls in purgatory, had devi ed them. TIle familyarranges to hav 300 masses celebrated at the sarn time in various parish s. convent,
monasteries, etcetera on a particular day. Accordmg to him the ' have a redeeming power sufficient to tak a soul directly to heaven, so that it would noteven. ee the Hamesof purgatory.
That same day I heard a relative state that Gregorian masses cost one dollar each, or in other ' ••ords,•. 300 tor the entir arrangement. The thought ent red mymind that we were most fortunate that our father could afford to help OUT mother get to heaven so nic Iy.Then I remembered a woman who had died six months earlier in our parish. Because the family was too poor to haveany masses c lebrated she would have to suffer in purgatory. Her funeral arrangements had up et my fath r greatly, inc he was a member of the "•.elfare committee of our parish. .
Later in the day he sat down tor his evening meal, then decided he would pass it up. My mother, sensing hi mood, asked whether sorn thing was wrong. "Yes, I might as well tell you," he said. "I have spent the better part of the afternoon at the church presbytery with other member of the Welfare Committee discussing the problems of the poor in our parish. The main item of concern wa, th purcha ing ora coffin tor old Annie. I wasn't against trying to save a little money, but wh n Father Paquin asked the funeral director how much we would save if we had the crucifix and handl s of the coffin removed before burial. I became up et and felt lik giving the good father a piece of my mind. But I held back because of re pect tor hi. office. To put an end to the discussion, I said I would paythe ditference in thecost. Things ofthis kind somehow get to me. It's a sad, sad thing to be poor in this day and age, especially wh n it com _to dymg."
As I thought upon both incid nts, I couldn't help feeling that God was most unjust by allowing the mis ry going on in our world to continu .As time went on, I lost confidence in God and the church and determined to have nothing to do with either as soon asI would be old enough to b on my own. In the tall of 1937 myfather ent my brother Edgar and me to a boarding academ toperated by the nun of l'Hotel Dieu de St. Basil. I received a gr at deal mol" religiou instruction that served only to further harden my heart. From outward app arance no one would have dreamed of the conflict going on In mysoul. St p by tep I turn d awa from God in di gust and hate. A few ye.ars went by, then World War II came along, and with it a call to serve my country.
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'TO THE SVPER.; 'ATllRALThe Canadian Merchant Navy attracted me because sorn one whom I knew had join d and told me how much he enjoyed 11. Having th Royal avy and Air Force watchmg o••er you (merchant shipping was.. the lifeline ofthe armed forces) gav you a secure feeling.
For two and one-half years Iwork d m the engin rooms of the various ships Iwas assign d to. most of th time as a fireman. I can remember coming on watch and sa'ing to myself, "I hope no torp do lams into these boilers while Istand here." A number of men whom I knew P ri: h d at sea.That merchant nav experience served to harden me more against God and man.
Good jobs were hard to find in Montreal after the war because thousands of discharged 'ervlcem n swarmed the city. looking for employment. Idecided to learn a trad .som thing Icould enjoy doing that would hav some creativity to it. Ididn't want a job just for the sake of earning a living. So I decided totake my time and make sur that when Idecided on a particular choice Iwould reallyenJoy II.
Meanwhile. to occupy time Iaccepted a job at the Windsor Bowling Alleys located on St . Catherine Street We t.At the time it was one of the nicest places m Montreal for that type of amusement. Iwas assistant to the manager of the billiard room. The work wasn't hard. I met a lot of people. and it was a good pastime.
Ihad not been employed there long when an old buddy Ihad sailed with at thebeginning of my merchant navr exp rience came walking in. Delight d to find that both of us were still alive. we had dinner together that evening and talked about many things.
On topic that my friend Roland spoke about with gr at enthusiasm was his new interest m the supernatural. He
told me how fortunate he was in having becorn acquainted with a group of peopl who were members of a society
that communicated with the dead. TIle spiritualist medium had Roland talkwith his father, who had died when he was only 10 years old. His father's spirit had given him much advice about the future.
Whil It was int r suns to hear Roland's exp rieuces with the supernatural. the gav me a weird feeling. Then he asked me wh th r Iwould be int rested in attending one of their seances. "Maybe the medium could have you talk to the spirit of your dead moth r. You would lik that. wouldn't you?"
His enthusiasm abated sorn wh n he realized that Iwas so shocked that Icould not answer. After a fin•... seconds of silence he continu d. "You wouldn't be afraid of talking to the departed soul of your dead moth r, would you'!"
Sorn how I managed to say that Iwouldn't, but I\•.·ould like a li. ttle time to consider It. having never thought
about such athing before.
He looked me straight in th eresand said. "Morneau. you're afraid. Ican tell by the \•.ay you look at m.. it's written allover your lace. Man. you hay changed a lotSIIlC Isaw you last. TIle Roger Morneau I knew was
afraid of nothing. I recall the time wh n you and I were deckhands along with six oth r neophytes. and the first
mate came to u and said he need d a volunte r to go up and pamt the upper portion ofthe mainmast the n xt day. 'Which one of you is willing to go up there'?' he said. TIle height is not great it's only 70 teet. Butone hastohave a lot of nerve one he has reached thetop. He has to g t off the board he sat on while bing pulled up \•.i•t.h a rope. and lie on his stomach across the top of the mast lit was two feet m diameter] in order topaint on the opposite Side." All of us were scar d to death to go upthere. and we were delighted to hear you tellthe first mate that you would, Talk about courage. fellow, you hadII. ow. tellm ,you're 110tgoing to chicken out on coming with me to
our next seance, ar you'!"
After that little sp ech I couldn't refUs .Sudd nly I had to liv up to the image of Rog r Mom au being afraid of nothing. I was hooked.
Thus one Saturday evening my friend and I found ourselves m a home wh re a visiting medium was tobe an honor d gu st, and we were introduced to som ofthe others pr sent. On coupl in particular we felt honored to meet. TIle man wa...•a professional entertainer. a jazz band lead r currently in great demand. His band played inthe most elegant night spots.
Late that evening after the. eanc concluded and som or the guest. prepared to leave, the band leader tum d to his \•.ife and said.. , "Honey, what do you sa thatwe depart. as it's getting late'!"
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gohomeand getyour rest," .hereplied, "and I'll stay a little while longer and have theB lang rsdrive mehome'!" He agreed with hersuggestion and proceeded outof the house Justas Roland and lien.
One outsid George turn dto usand said, "You fellows driving'!" "No.we'r going to tak the stre tear about two blocks from here," I said.
"I'llbe glad to driv you there. Jump in."
Duringtheevening the subject had come up that both of us had been In the merchant nav during the war. The spirit medium had conjured the (suppo. ed) spirit of one of Roland's coworkers who had p rished wh n the ship theywere on sank.
Aswe enter d George's automobile, hebegan to ask about thedanger of our \••ork dur•. ing thewar. Butin no time atall we had reached our destination. Hethen made asuggestion.
"What doyou sarthat we go toarestaurant and hay a bite to eat. and at the same time you could tellme about
your adventure during thewar? They fascinate me. It\vill b mytreat. Then I'll driv you home."
George drove to St .Catherin Street West, anarea known bythe natives asthe gourmet re taurant section of Montreal. Suddenly he steered hi deluxe lincoln Into a narrow drive leading to therear of one of his favorite eating spots.then left the car parked behind a black Cadillac. saying, "Joe IShere. He'sthe owner ofthe place, a tine fellow."
Wh n we ent r d theplace, a ho tess informed usthat we \•·..ould hav towart in the lounge until atable becam available. As we headed there Joe. potted George from qoue adistanc awa and came over to greet him.
Informed that wewere waiting tor atable, Joe stated that wewouldn't haveto. A tel phone call a coup I of minute. earlier hadjust cancell d a reserv dtable. Itwas our. tor thetaking. We followed the owner, who removed the reserved sign from thetable and sat usdown.
The cocktail waitr sscame over and took our order tor drink .She said that we might have to wait a little longer than usual for our foodto reach usbecause theplace \••as ti.. lled to overcapacit .George asked for a double in his favorite alcoholic bev rage in order tooccupy time. Then weanswered his question about the merchant navyand talked of our interest and activities with the. upernatural.
A fairamount oftime elapsed untilour food came, and we consumed a second order of drinks. ItputGeorge in a talkativ mood, which in turn mad him willing totell usmany things that I doubt he would have mentioned under normal circumstances. For mstanc ,I asked wheth r he would tellus alittleabout how hebecame so famous in hi: profession.
"I don't mmd at all." hesaid. "As amatter offact, 1'1\tellyou the real andtrue reason of my success, something mywife doesn't even know about. Butyou must promise tokeep it Instrict confidence."
Weassur d him that \ hatever he mentioned would remain a secret.
"You fellows know anything about demon worship?" "I don't," I answered. "Why doyou ask'!"
Without answering myquestion, he inquired, "How long have you fellows been Involved with sorcery?" "G orge, I don't understand what you're getting at. What doyou mean ""
"What Imean to say IS,How long hav you been pr tending to hold communication with the dead?" " otvery long tor me," I replied.
"I seewher you guys have alot to learn when Itcomes tothe. upematural. You're both wasting your time by going to tho e spiritualistic seances. Don't g t mewrong, they have their place. They're a good pastime tor women inthat th rec ive some comfort from thmking that the 're getting guidance III their lives through ome departed loved one. You se ,the reason I attended theseance thisevening ,••as.. ju tto make mywife happy. I go with hera coupl oftimes ayear to make her feelthat I'mconcerned with her Interest.=-that's th only reason. What h doesn't know isthat I have learned to goto the very source of that pow~. wh rea person can get realaction demon worship, that IS."
Of allthat he had saidto us, one. ent nc stood out in mynund. "G org .would you clarify the question you asked us a little while ago: 'How lone have you been pretending to holdcommunication with the dead'!' What do you mean bytheword pretending? ~
He smiled, glanced at his watch, and said, "It'stoo latetoexplain that onetonight, but let metellyou this ou have not been talking with the dead." Then hewent back to discussing his personal success.
"YouSf ,toryears it seemed I was a failure inorganizing and maintaining myownJazz band. Then I was fortunate enough to be introduced to demon worship. And bythat great power I hav obtained everything I had always wanted. Of course. I hadto become acquainted with certain ntual that I need d to perform before the
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spirit. began to work things out In my behalf"
His face lit up with a big smile. "From that day on, Itwas In tant success tor me and my band. Recognition
came to usovernight. Without any effort on our pan we were discovered (though we had been there all the time)
and heralded as one of the great bands in our field. Sorn how the nev•...smedia got all excited about us. We became
the talk of the town. The leading peopl of the radio world di cussed us,and in no time w reached the top."
George took another sip from his glass, a puff from his cigar' .tte,and continued. "We have been in constant
demand ever sine. Money tlows in.Our lees are the highest In the Industry. People like to dance to our music. In
reality, the spirits take control of us or Inother words, possess us, energize us and in turn we pass the influence
on to the people. TIley lik what the' get and keep returning tor more of the same."
Leaning back and lighting another cigarett ,he chuckled a little and said. "You guys have got to hear this. I had
an int rvi won radio about amonth ago and I really enjoyed myself There were SIX of the top peopl of the radio
world from Montreal and Toronto conversing with me. Everything I said seemed to fa cinate them. In tact, I was
amazed over my instant responses. Never had I been so witty In my lite. And Ienjoyed the attention they gave me.
ltalmost reached a stale of wor. hip. In addition. the' were trying to figure me out. And \•.hen we parted,.. the still
hadn't succeeded."
Looking at his \•..atch once. more. he said, "Fellows, it's g tting very lat. Whal do you sa ' that we get rolling tor
home'!"
Waiting to get his check, George commented, "That success of mine ISeasy to figure out one a person
understands the mighty power of the spirits and the process involved in getting that power to working lor you."
Amazed at what h had told us. Roland and I asked him to tell us mor about IIas \••e..drove home.
"I leeIimpressed to tell you of my experience because I believe you're looking tor. omething powerful to ben fit your lives. And I know that you will not tind Itby attending eances such as the one you \vere at this evening. L t me put il to you this \vay: Wh rdo you want to pia in the little leagues when you can be In the
majors?"
My friend then asked him to tell us hO\\I to get into the major leagues of the spirit world.
"You two are truly brave young men," George said. "and have done a lot tor our country. ow I'm going to do something greal lor you. I will arrange to have you both attend our next spirit worship assernbl '."
111en George. glancing from Side to side, an air of mdecrsion about him, finally said, "There i one point I want
to assure myself of. I presume you hav no reverence tor Christ in your lif am I right? The reason I ask ISthat
we can't hav anyon there who has any loyalty to the Christian God, as itcould be disastrous."
We both assured him that \••e had blasphem.. d God, and gone past the point of no return.
"I becam aware of that tact thrs e enmg." he continu d. "in that the conjured spirits se m d to favor you two
above all the people present there. I hope that my question did not offend you. I had to ask itjust to make doubly
sure that you guys are OK"
Although I was somewhat reluctant to at! nd a gathering of demon worshipers, my fri nd Roland had no
hesitation in doing so. He reasoned that, since we \•.ere going.. to hell anyway to bum throughout eternity, we might
aswell gel acquainted with rom of the folks before we arrived.
I as.umed that George might nev r contact us agam, SInC he had b en drunk wh n he made the Invitation and
in the morning probabl r\ •••.ould not even remember half of whal he had said the night before. But a few days later
we both received a call to be ready at :00 the following evening. wh n he would pick us up.
That n 'er-to-be-forgotten evening began by George tilling u in on man)' details of the seer t society to \••hich..
he belonged. He wasn't a fast driver and seemed reluctant 10 pass streetcars in motion. We must have made
probably a hundred stops on our \•.ay.. to the meeting. So we had a lot of time to converse before \ve reached our
de.••tination.
George told us that we should not be surprised to me t some of the great and successful peopl of Montreal. and
named at least a half dozen of the more notable ones. Hi statern nt urprised me In that I had air ady concluded
that \•...e \•...ould me Iagroup of tough-looking character .. But on the contrary, everyone wais surprisingly well
mann r d, superbly dre sed, and possessed a \,..inning personality. They made us feel as if the ' had known ustor a
long time and \•..e were part of the group. .
TIle me tins convened about 15minute! after our arrival. It wass most informal. The peopl spent about two
hours telling of the fantastic accomplishments the' had attained through the workings of the spirits mainly
busin ss transactions resulting m great profit. to themselv . as the result of their abilities to u e clairvoyance and
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On man told of how, as an astrologer using divination, he becam a counselor to certain wealthy persons in
their mve tment ,and was himselfbecoming nch. He explained how a demon spirit hovered at hi side during
each. ession to give him precise information audible to him but not the c1i nt on how the should invest and
when. "These rich folks hav the means to invest," he said. "I have the knowhow to make it pay off."
Highly impressed, my mend asked \••..h th r he ever worried about being cheated on hi, hare of the returns?
"Icoun.sel on a percentage of th returns on mvesrmenu .As you are well aware. the astrology bit isonly a come-on. Ihave noworry. My familiar spirit looks out lor my well-being. let me illustrate.
"One coupl tried to deprive me of my lair share of one prolitabl mdu trial real estate transaction. They
pr sented me with a check making up quite a bundle, and I felt sati tied. until my familiar spirit told me to ask them when they were going to give me the additional 1,700 that made up my correct share of the pro/its on that particular investment. TIle wife tainted, and the husband was terrified. He quickly explained that the rhad no
intentions to cheat me and the money would be 10 my hands within 24hours."
After each success. tory, the individual would always praise or give credit to aparticular spirit by name. and many time: referr d to the spirit as lord of hIS life.
During the time Iwas involved with demon \•••.orship rs. Iobserved that in their testimonies of how the spirits had work dlor them, they often referred to a demon as "lord god." For 10 tanc ,one would say. "It was wond rful to se the lord god Beelzebub's power exhibited in my behalf on such and such a day." Or som one would ask, "Sam, how have you been since I saw you last?" The reply would b ,"Real tine, thank you. TIle gods have really ben fited my life inwonderful way."
That evening one individual Impressed me greatly. A medical doctor, he explained hov•••.the spirits had given him great hypnotic and h aling powers, including the abilit rto tak awa pain and to stop ble ding in wounds and seve re cuts.
After telling sorn fascinating account of his healing people, he announced he must go down to the wor hip room. "Will you, fn nd.s,please excuse me?" he said. "I need to go and perform acts of devotion so as to b regen rated by the lord god Nehushtan. I depend on his vivifymg power to revive and heal my patients."
An hour after the meeting started. a latecomer app ared. Anumber or people gr et d him. referring to him as Channel'. As we drove back horn lat that evening. I asked George, "What about that dignified looking gentleman who came in lat '!Sorn addressed him as Channel'. Does the narn hav any particular significance?"
"It does, but I can't sa ranything about him now. After you have att nded a few of our meetings and you become
part of the group. remind me to tell you about him. He's a fascinating individual. In tact, he is believed among us to have been the gr at stcharmer, or hypnotist. who has ever walked the Sidewalks of Montreal,
"B rthe way. fellows, Iwas delighted to see how everyon this evening took to you guys. It made me feel good to se that. Understand this: We are a clos lyknit group. In tact, Ihad a hard time getting permission to bring you with me to this me ting. At first Iwas refused the privilege. 111en through the working of a spirit counselor appearing to our leader on vacation 10 the U.. A.. Ireceived a phone call giving me the OK.,and the way opened
tor you to associate with us and eventually become members
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our society. I'll tell you more about it sornetim in the futur "I felt sorn what uncomfortable when I heard George assuming that I was going to become one of them. But the whole thing overjoyed Roland.
"Aft r afew visit ." George said.. "I'll have you come downstairs to se our wor hip room. Ithink you will find itquite impressive. However. it will not be possible tor you to visrt the worship room of the gods until the Satanist priest ispresent, and only then after receiving the approval of the spirits."
The meeting had tak n plac in a private home, a luxurious Montreal residence. As we vi ited on the main 1100r, we could hear, faintly coming from the basement level, sound! that closely re em bled the type of religious mu ic and chanting used by the people of India. Every so often some of the people would go downstairs, returning about 30 minutes or so later. All that activity prompted George to lean toward me as we sat on a sofa, sa ing softly, "Our worship room isdownstairs. I'll tell you about It after we leave this evening."
About six weeks after we had met the man called Charmer, Iasked George one evening as we were returning home whether he felt lik tiling us about him.
"Oh, ye s, you fellows should hear about that fa.scinating mdividual. But tirst I would like to remind you that we are, gen rail rspeaking, a law-abiding group of citizens. I don't know of anyone of u who wouldn't give the shirt oil hi back to help sorn one. And we never really tak advantag of peopl with the powers the spirits have passsed on to us.
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"But in th case of the Charmer-well, he's sorn what differ nt 1T0mthe re tofu. It app ars that h has a weakness in hi character and, because ofit employed hi gr at hypnotic power, or gin in a way that he should not have done. I should sa that h lost his seru e of direction tor a . hart while.
"H i a harp businessman owns two nightclubs and has been doing exceedingly well. And as I said before,
he's a powerful hypnotist. He can place a per on under hi. pell, or in a hypnotic trance, in le than r n conds if he or he agrees to look him traight in the e e .
"Having two nightclub, he ha, a lot of contact witb show busines peopl . Most groups nay tor an engagem nt about tour to ix weeks, then move on to aneth r area. We becam aware of the tact that som of the group were breaking up or would lose one of their member after performing in one of hi, clubs. And the dropout was alway female. About six month! ago th Montreal vice squad raid d a plush house of prostitution where all the girl consisted of former nightclub entertainer, and every on of them had worked tor him.
''You see," George continued, "thos girls would never hav found themselves in the itualion they were in if tbey had not agreed to lei someone hypnotize them, Such a p r on can nev r from tben on re ist the hypnotist's power."
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CHAPTER
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WORSHIP ROOM OF THE GODS
During Roland's and my third visit to a demon worshipers ass mbly George Informed us that the Satanist pri ·t ,vould b present, having JU t returned from a trip to the States. He felt quite ure that the prie t would look favorably upon us, and undoubtedly would hav us vi,it the \vorship room of the gods.
Wh n we cam in, we were introduced to a coupl of per.ons ' v e had not m t before, then began to chat with a few peopl who came to wish us a good e ening. Shortl afterward the priest entered. Shaking people's hands and speaking a fevv words to them, he slowly moved in our direction. Wh n he reached us George said, "R verend, I
\••.'ould lik you to me Ia coupl otfine g ntl III n."
We con er ed with him tor a while, dunng which he surprised us both by some of the thmgs he said. For in.••tance,. wh n George comm nted that we had been In the merchant nav .jhe priest m ntioued the names of the ships we had been on, plus a coupl of details known to no one else. I must admit that it made quite an impre sion on us. He then excused himself and, as he did, stated that he would appreciate having a short talk with us 80m tim during the evening.
ot only his words but his very pr sene reflected an air of mysterious secrecy. He had piercing e es, a bald head, and a d ep, low voice which he accompanied byan occasional chuckle as he talked. His physical size alone overwh lmed one. I would sa r that he was equal in size to the late gen ral Charles de Gaull .
After quite a lengthy testimonial session to the gods. the prie t again joined us in friendly conversation. He informed us that the spirits had acquainted him with much concerning u and had manifest d their d ire to benefit our Iiv s by be towing great gifts upon us.
Wh n most of the peopl had I ft he Invited us to vi It the worship room of the gods.
For you to understand better 110Wstartling and almost shocking the revelations were that I would soon receiv , I must describe the mental image my Catholic upbringing had established in my mind about the devil and his fallen angels. Adult had taught me during my childhood that the devil and his ang Is are in hellfir in the middle ofthe earth, at! nding to the never-ending task of Imposing various typ s of tortures upon the souls of tho who died in a state of mortal sin. Th adults r pr s nted demons to u children as being half human and half animal. having horns and hoofs and br athing out tire. As I ent red my t us, I concluded that the whole idea was ridiculous, that it was most lik ly an invention of sorn overactive mmd during centuries past who wanted to exploit the
superstitious and uneducated. I eventually questioned the existence of such beings as the devil and his angels. We proce ded downstairs with the priest, who seem d delighted to tak us on a tour of their sanctuary. As we went along he kept telling us how a spirit had drawn the architectural d igns tor the place.
He point d out the intricate \•..orks of great. beauty along the grand staircas .Even today I still remember the carvings adorning its massive banister, the splendid wall decorations, and the huge chandelier over the first landing.
The paCious sanctuary struck me with awe. An air of mysterious seer cy tilled the place, giving the impr sion that gr at intelligenc had b en at work to fascinate the human nund so ilwould re pond in reverence and submission without asking questions.
The rooms were sumptuous and magnificent. Gold was everywhere. TIlt? lighting fixtures and many other objects were plated or trimm d in the metal. The priest said that sorn things were even of solid gold. Although the place was not brightly lit, it was done In a way that the gold n objects seem d to glow with great splendor.
But I believ that the abundanc ofb .autiful oil paintings arre ted my attention mo t. About 75 paintings of about 48 by 30 inch hung on the walls.
The Satanisl priest mentioned that if we had any questions he would be happy to answer them. "Who are the noble-looking individuals portrayed in thos pamtings?" I asked.
"Th y are the god you have heard folks talk about In the testimonial session. The chi fcounselors, they rule over legion of spirits. After the materialized to lei u photograph them, we had painting made or them. Becau e they deserve such gr al honors, we hav placed right below each painting a small altar, making itpossible tor people in their devotions to bum candles and incense and to perform uch rituals as the spirits request."
As we slowly moved along we came to an altar upon which rested a staff' with a brass serpent coiled around il. The priest mentioned that the altar was d dicated to the god Nehushtan, whose power the physician we had heard
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on our first visit had put wend rfully to work. He commented about the great miracl s performed by the god of brass for the children of Israel wh n the rburned mcense before the brazen serpent that Moses had made centuries
earlier {see 1Kings 18:4,.
At the end of the room stood a large altar with a life-size pamting of a majestic -Iooking individual above it.To my fnend's inquiry, the priest reph d, "II ISdedicated to the master of u all."
"What do you call him'!" Iasked.
His face took on an expression of prid ."God with u ."
Toda ,as Irecall that painting, having many times admired it, Imu tsar that the individual portrayed had features that reflected a superior int llect. He had a high forehead, piercing e es, and a posture that gave one the impression of his being aperson of action. possessing gr at dignity.
The priest's answ r was not what Ihad expected. and itwas not really clear. Surely he could not be referring to Christ Jesus. 0, itcouId notbe. But cou Iditbe ... '.)
"Do you mean to sa that this painting isa true Imag of Satan'!" Imanaged to sa rat last.
"Yes, it is,and you probabl wonder wher the hideous arumal-Iike characteristics have gone." Chuckling, he add d, "Pardon me for laughing abit. Please believe me. I am not laughing at you gentlem n over your bewildered state of mind. In reality Iam delighted and amu ed at the thought that the demon spirits hav been so clever in concealing their true Identity, that even in this age of scientific advancement and great learning, a vast majority of Christians still believe in the horn-and-hoof theory."
Then his facial expression changed to reflect an air of deep concern as he said. "It is most solemnly Important today that the up-and-coming generation be lead to believe that the master and hi. spirit associates do not really
exist Only in this way will they be abl to rule the inhabitants of thrs planet successfully lor the decades ju: t before us."
An expression of confidence crossed his face. "Notlung so mtrigues the spirits as to devise way to make humans into members of Satan's coming kingdom."
Whil we were looking at the various altars and painting, the high priest explained that demon spirits are in reality speciahsts in various tieIds of activity. Having a background of experience measured m mill nniums, the are engaged in a ti rc conflict tor the control of men's minds. a conflict agamst the forces from above.
Wh n Roland wonder d wh the spirits were spendmg so much effort to deceive humanity, the priest staled that everyon the rcould make to disqualify lurnself from being a member of Christ's kingdom automatically became a member of Satan's great kingdom that he would before long establish on earth. Those who went down into the grave under Satan's leading he would sorn day restore to life. Christ and Hi follow rs, he said. intended to end the intense truggle between the two gr at fore sby raining tire from heaven up on Satan's follower ,but itwould not hurt them, because demon spirits could nov •••.control tire so it had l10power to bur nhuman beings. And he add d that if I doubted whal he was sa ing, I could go to India or other area ofthe world that had perfected black magic to a science and I would behold tire walkers stepping across abed of coals without so much as sing mg a hair of their legs.
As we left the wor hip room I staled that Ifelt quite confu d about Satan and hi angels. My Catholic upbringing had taught me that Satan and ln angels were m hellfire with the souls of people who had died III the state of mortal sin. What was the truth')
The Satanist priest agre d to ta time to give uswhat h called a true picture of things. "Gentlemen, Irealize that your visit to our worship room has••raised question. in your minds. First, let me tell you that we. the members of our. ecret society here in Montreal, are the elite of spirit wor hipers. When the struggle between the forces from above and those of our gr at master comes to an end and h perrnan ntly establishes his kingdom on this planet.
we will rec iv high positions of authority and honor. We will be nchl rrewarded tor having Sided with what now app ars to be the underdog-if you get what Imean.
"Millenniums ago our gr at mast r had jurisdiction over countle numbers of beings m avast universe. H became rrusund r tood and wa, fore d to f1 his domain along with the other spirits who ympathized with him.
''The inhabitants of this planet welcomed our master kindly. But as the result of hi superior intell ct. he becam the ngbtful possessor of the planet bycausmg the original owners to forfeit their right to it by believing something that he said wass m reality factual. Som people ma rcall this deception, but he was merely following the law of
.elf-survival, a natural instinct in all gr at leaders.
"When itbecam known that hi rival Christ would come to earth after assuming the nature of man to attract humanity to Himself. our master and his chi f counselors decided to tallow a .trategy similar to the one thai
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originally had enabled them to acquire their new donuruon.
"This plann d course of action would require all demon spirits to careful] rcounsel humans tolive in a "vay that
\•••'ould disqualify themselves from becoming members of Christ's kingdom. The spirits would encourag peopl to list n totheir feelings instead of theword of Christ andHis prophets. In no sur r way could the spirits obtain control of people's liveswithout the individuals realizing what was happening. TIle spirits would suggest allkinds
of erroneous doctrine and ideas. and humanity would readily accept them because they feltstrongly about them."
The high priest, hisfaceradiating hi. fascination with what he hadjust told us,asked lor permission to takea few additional minutes of our time toillustrate what hehad talked about. When weassured him of our deep interest. of our desire to know moreabout the activities of the spirits, hecontinued.
"If you recall. gentl men. Solomon, theking ofIsrael, had b engifted with greatwisdom and had attracted the
attention of anumber of powerful ruler. Atthe same time. our great master became concerned over Solomon's getting 311that attention and decided that he should make a supreme effort to control the entire world. Up to then he hadsucceeded inestablishing Idolatry inevery pan of the world. except in the nationof Israel. Soitwas decided thatcertain spiritcounselor' should fir tcause Solomon tothink highl of himself. Second, thershould lead him to feelstrongly that itwould be in thebestinterest ofhis nation to formalliances with thesurrounding nations, even though manyof hisadvisors would urge him not todoso.
"Our master's plan was a huge success. When theday came that bySolomon's example Israelworshiped Ashtorcth, thegoddess of theZidonians: Cherne h. the god of the Moabites: and Mi\com, the god ofthe children of Ammon
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I Kings I 1:33J
when thepeopl prostrated themselv sbefore idols representing demon spirits our master felt that his triumph ,vas cornplet .He had reached his great objective. The whole \••'orld wa. s in reality at his command."G ntlemen, I b Iievethat bynovvyou realize themaster's great wisdom and c1 verness in concealing histrue identity. It assures his dedicated agents that their diligence will berewarded some daywh n the see the
generations ofearth standing before them in humble obedienc .acknowledging that their master I in realit agreat
god."
''Th great master." hecontinued. "leaves nothing to chance. With well-matured plans and great car he layshi
snares tocaptivate theminds of millions ofthewisest mortals and thu secure their all giance both in this present lifeand toreternity."
Vibrant with enthusiasm tor Satan's cause. theman proceeded to tell usabout what he called "the most
awesome assembl of spirit beings ever to converge inone place on the face of thisplanet."
"At thebeginning of th eight enth century." he said. "Satan and hi. spiritcounselors heldagreat general
council to prepare tor the industrial age that would soon break upon theworld, Satan foresaw that an age of scientific discov ry and int llectual enlightenment \••·ould• immediately follow upon its heels. It would usher in the
end-times. the clos of the struggle between the forces ofgood and eVIL
"Since Satan had been stud ingtheprophecie of the Bible, heunderstood themeaning of Daniel I ~:4 that described thetime of the end, how manyshall run to and fro,and how knowledge would be increased. He
recognized it asan ideal time toseparat human from their Creator. thus leading earth's multitudes to perdition. It offered a sure wayto build up hi coming kingdom to uch an extent that few peopl will be left toleave this
planet wh nChrist comes tor them In3 eeret rapture at theclos of theChristian Era."
In an aside the priest boasted that Christ would not really return to Earth in power and glory. but would abdicate allclaims to the planet, knowing that itwas legall and rightfully Satan' .''Then the great master will re urrect our people from their graves, and establish his own unending kingdom here.
"After lengthy deliberations." he said, returmng to thesubject of Satan's general council. "it closed after having produced plans tor deceptions that would disqualify vast numbers of peopl from Chri t's kingdom. They would then automatically become part of Satan's kingdom. The executive committee had adopted a three-pan plan.
'TIlefirst pan would be toconvince human being. that Satan and his ang I. did not really exist.
"Th second pan sought to obtain totalcontrol over peopl by introducing hypnotism asa new and beneficial
science. Men ofgreat learning," theprie texplain d, "would. under thedirection of friendly spirits. perpetuate the
doctrin of the Immortal soul by causmg people under their hypnotic spell to supposedly regress in time to former
lives. Such indi viduals would vividly describe historical events that the otherwise knew nothing about when not
inatranc .
"And to add power to thed ception," the piritist pri :tcontinu d..."at times the spirits would cause the
hypnotized person tospeak fluentl raforeign language he or she had not previously known. This would help Satan
A Trip Into
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Roger J
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de-Christianize the West m world through the avenue of mysticism.
The third part of Satan's plan would d tro rthe Bible without actually domg away with it. Satan would drive the
thought of God out of the minds of millions through thetheory ofevolution."
The priest claimed that Satan had selected individuals of great intellect to advance his plan. "Hechose an Austrian phy ician named Franz Mesmer to trans form hypnotism from a pla thing of the occult into a new science. Mesmer originated a theory called animal magn tism. pirits led him to believ that a mysterious fluid penetrates the human body and allows certain persons to have a powerful influence over others.
"Bythe time he died in 1815 hypnotism as an ane: thetic had begun to acquire an aura of respectability among many European physicians. TIleydiscovered that their medical practice now. eerned moreeffective than ever before."
Pausing, a big smile on his fac ,thepriest added. "Th yhad no Idea that the were actually being energized by friendly spirits.
"Satan's plan to destroy the Bible without actually getting rid of IIhas to be the most clever thing I hav ever heard or." he laugh d. "Charles Darwin, bornin 1809, and Thomas Henry Huxle ,born in 1825. both came under the influence of spirits at an earlyage because medical doctors used hypnonsm as a form of anesthetic.
''Th spirits decided that wh n the two children becam adults, the rwould be the instruments to advance the religion that we know as the theory of evolution. Br tying II In with the scientific revolution breaking across the world most people would n v r even recognize that it was a religion a religion that crossed all denominational boundaries and even caught up the nonreligious.
To myshock and amazement, the priest thenclaimed that "the spirits consid r anyone who teaches the theory of evolution to be a minister of that great religious system and the individual will receive a special unction from Satan himself. Satan gives him gf at power to induce spiritual blindnes ,to convince. and to convert. In tact. he
holds such peopl In such high regard that he assigns a special retinue ofangel to accompan rhim or her all hi or
her life. It is the greatest honor that Satan can bestow up{)na person In the pres nee of the galaxy."
The priest explained that Satan and his counselors had concluded that they could use the theory of evolution to
destro rthevery foundation of the Bible. "They could turn it again t theCreation week. the Fall, and the plan of
redemption. The stakes were so high here that the spirits tell us that Satan himself tutored Charles Darwin in
setting up the principles of his scientific concepts."
With obviou prid the pries t next explained how spirits can take a person of seemingly no importance and
elevate him or her to positions of honor and respect. This person's name can even become immortal. "A good example," he said, "is Thomas Henry Huxle ,who. until the spirits Intervened, was nothing more than a surgeon in the British nav '.They enabled him to become famous asa zoologist. lecturer. and writer. He accomplished
marv Is in making Darn-in's theory acceptable to the public even though heintroduced the idea that man is a descendant of apes.
"Having one b en a Catholic priest," our guide concluded, "I sar that it i Impossible torsomeone to believ In
the biblical Creation week, the Fall, and the plan of redemption. and at the sametime hold to evolution. Such a
hodgepodg ofideas has to be the gr at st form of blas ph mr known to the Creator." (By the way. I should
mention that this soci ty of piritists nev r referred to God as such. but always to the Creator. They spoke only of
Satan and his angels as gods.)
By now sorn thing puzzled me. "How in the world can anyon consider evolution as a religicu doctrin '!" I asked. "Everybod r knows It'sjust a theory, something assumed because It seems the b twayof explaining how
life apparently originated on earth."
The man's eyes gleamed with additional excitement ash replied, "A religiou doctrin is anything that brings a person closer to hi god. It ma be a concept. an activity, or even something that marappear totall unrelated to religion. But if it serves to promote the Ideals of Satan, the great god of this world, it is indeed a religious doctrine in the full st sense of the word. In tact, I got this definition directly from a spirit counselor."
After I accepted Jesus as my SaVIOur,I began studying the Bible to se how a belief in evolution might
disqualify a person from God's kingdom. I began to understand why as I considered Jesus' words about blasphem
against the Holy Spirit Is e Matt. I:!:31. 3:!).
You se ,wh n sorn one declares that he or she can nolonger believe in God' creation, that we cannot take the
concept of the Fall of the human rac seriously. and that human beings are little mol' than highly evolved animals.
then that individual isin a very r al sens accusing the Holy Spirit of being alying spirit. Since the Bible was writt n under the direct in.piration of the HolySpirit. h or she IScharging that the Spirit isuntrustworthy.
