Isaiah, Harry Houdini, and Scooby Doo
In my opinion, the ‘90s was the peak of children’s television shows. In Australia, many kids (including me) loved racing home from school to turn on the TV and watch cartoons. One of the popular cartoons was “Scooby Doo Where are You?” Who didn’t love to solve the problem that the Mystery Inc. encountered in each episode? A group of teenagers solving crimes with a wacky talking dog sounds like a ridiculous concept on paper. But it worked.
Each episode was an investigation of a spooky mystery posing a challenge for the Mystery Gang. At the beginning of the episode, a ghost or a monster would be menacing people or causing a crime. By the end of each episode these phantoms or boogiemen would be exposed as merely well-disguised criminals masquerading as their spooky counterparts. It was comical to watch Scooby Doo petrified in every episode leaping into the arms of Shaggy. Even more enjoyable was finding out how the Mystery Inc. detectives exposed the lie.
Paranormal activity, communicating with the dead, and existence beyond the grave, has intrigued people for millennia. In times of grief and loss of loved ones, people seek answers to what is happening to their dearly departed. Where there has been suffering, there has never been a shortage of individuals ready to communicate on behalf of the dead.
“To the Law and Testimony”
The civil war between the northern kingdom of Israel and the smaller southern kingdom of Judah continues. King Ahaz is a weak and indecisive leader. In the middle of impending war and conflict, Isaiah’s wife gives birth to a child. It takes confidence and trust in God to be focused on family planning in the middle of a siege.
God instructs Isaiah while two witnesses watch what he is writing. God tells Isaiah to name his child “Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.” That’s quite a mouthful for Isaiah’s second son that means "Quick to the Plunder, Swift to the Spoils." It is a time in the book of Isaiah that we hear of the writing of this book we now have in our Bible. This chapter is the compilation of the two sayings God directed Isaiah to record and recite.
Isaiah writes about Judah’s rejection of God by trusting in other political allies. God describes himself to Isaiah as a gentle brook. Now, their choice to abandon God will invoke an enemy that will overwhelm them. Judah did not realise they were so afraid of the enemies before them, they didn’t see the bigger enemy and they couldn’t see God at work.
Isaiah’s resolute faith shines through in this chapter. When the darkness of war and the fear of an uncertain future threaten Judah, Isaiah stands boldly. He, and his family, are a statement visible to all Israel.
“I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him. Behold, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are signs and portents in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion” (Isaiah 8:17-18).
It is never easy to be the one standing alone for God. Isaiah’s commitment to obey God became a public act showing all of Israel what they needed to do. God was working through Isaiah. Connected to this bold statement of trust and reliance on God comes a warning:
“Someone may say to you, “Let’s ask the mediums and those who consult the spirits of the dead. With their whisperings and mutterings, they will tell us what to do” (Isaiah 8:19). It is not a new temptation to seek comfort from spiritualists during intense suffering. Receiving guidance from the dead now, is after all, more immediately gratifying than patient trust in when God will raise the dead.
Isaiah strongly rejects the counsels of those who claim such ability: “But shouldn’t people ask God for guidance? Should the living seek guidance from the dead. Look to God’s instructions and teachings” (Isaiah 8:19-20). Isaiah is convinced that only in God do we have truth and clarity of what will happen in the future. The living God speaks, and Isaiah is calling Israel to listen to Him.
But why is Isaiah so insistent to state that only the Law and Testimony are the basis of guidance for life? Why is Isaiah against consulting the dead? It can’t be that bad, surely.
Rattling Bones
Duering the 1840s, Maggie and Kate Fox became a nation-wide sensation across the USA with their ability to communicate with the dead. The “rappings” as they were described promised to reconnect the living with the dead. People shared about how they were stunned to silence as they listened to words of lost loved ones. Many were thoroughly convinced of the communications the Fox Sisters were providing. People found encouragement in times of great distress.
As the years rolled by the spiritualist movement grew in intensity. Mediums, palm readers, astrologers grew in numbers. All promised to reveal the future, commune with the dead, or give supernatural guidance. Over the next few decades after the Fox Sisters “rappings,” spiritualist churches formed all over the United States, England, and Australia. So compelling were these experiences with the dead, seances began to be held by the first lady Mary Todd Lincoln in the White House. Queen Victoria of England also held a séance after her husband passed away in 1861.
It came as a real shock to the public when Maggie Fox confessed publicly that it was all a hoax. In 1888, the New York World records a statement made to a crowd:
“When I began this deception, I was too young to know right from wrong. That I have been mainly instrumental in perpetuating the fraud of Spiritualism upon a too-confiding public, many of you already know. It is the greatest sorrow of my life.”
It is not only that the Bible speaks directly against communing with the dead. There is a serious problem if we accept and believe everything we are told. It is frightening how quickly people will embrace and believe what they see or hear. Of greatest importance is cultivating the practice of using logic and reason to analyse and critique what is presented.
Like in the book of Isaiah, other books in the Bible condemn spiritualism. Direct commands from God forbid astrology, seances, and other mystic arts. At numerous times and places in the Bible God condemns consulting with witches and mediums (Lev. 19:31; 20:6; Deut. 18:10-12). The downfall of Saul is attributed in the Bible to his rejection of God’s word and listening to the guidance of a medium (1 Chron. 10:13). They read how the Bible describes the dead knowing nothing (Ecc. 9:5-6). Jesus’ own words were to describe death as a sleep (John 11:11-14).
Private Investigators of Psychic Phenomena
Around the time of the height of the Fox Sisters fame, Erik Weisz was born to Hungarian parents March 24, 1874. His father Mayer Samuel Weisz was a Jewish rabbi. Harry’s mother, whom he deeply loved was Cecilia. The family moved to America, but never learnt English, choosing to minister to immigrants who spoke Hungarian. As Erik got older, he developed an interest in learning magic tricks and testing the boundaries of the human body. Erik was a charismatic individual and a natural born entertainer. He began travelling and running shows, adopting the stage name of a French magician he admired: Harry Houdini.
Harry is known for his death-defying acts of escape, his career as an actor, and work as an entertainer. When it all began though, his amazing stunts and tricks were not what put the Houdini’s on the map. His show became a real sensation when alongside his wife Bess they created a segment where they would consult with the deceased. Secretly before the show, Harry and Bess would stop in to the town cemeteries and noted down the recently deceased. During the show Bess would “channel” the individuals and would speak to the crowds. The people would be amazed and spellbound.
Over his career Houdini formed a close friendship with well-known author Arthur Conan Doyle. Famous for his short stories following the sleuth with an almost supernatural sense for finding the facts relating to crimes: Sherlock Holmes. After Arthur’s son died in World War I, he and his wife turned to spiritualism. Doyle became close friends with Houdini convinced of his supernatural powers because of the illusions and tricks he could perform. Around the same time Arthur lost his son, Houdini lost his mother who he deeply loved.
Jean, Arthur’s wife, offered Houdini the chance to talk to his deceased mother through a séance. The three met together and Jean began to go into her trance-like state. Arthur Conan Doyle always was convinced by these moments. As she convulsed her hand began scribbling a letter. She wrote page after page to Houdini from Cecila, his mother. When she was finished, Houdini began reading the letter. Houdini read the letter to himself and immediately realised this was not his mother.
Firstly, his mother never learnt English. Yet the letter was entirely written in English. She mentioned using crosses and there were numerous Christian references. His mum was a devout Jew until the day she died.
This began a new trajectory for the famous entertainer, becoming fiercely critical of anyone claiming to be able to communicate with the dead. Houdini’s mission and calling was to expose mediums, astrologers, and every spiritualist as fraud.
In 1926 Houdini appeared before congress to testify in support of a bill to criminalise fortune tellers and fraudulent mediumship. He introduced himself:
"My name is Harry Houdini. I am an author and an investigator of psychic phenomena as well as a professional magician and exposer of fraudulent mediums."
Houdini developed an alliance with Rose Mackenberg and began exposing phony spiritualists in undercover operations. Often her investigations would collect evidence of fraud and in the six years they worked together they exposed hundreds of fraudulent mediums. At the hearings, Houdini told these stories and even offered $10,000 cash to any medium who could definitively consult the dead and reveal what was written on the note of paper in his pocket. No one was able to claim it.
Together Rose and Harry’s testimony in favour of this bill was ultimately not enough to pass the bill due to bad terminology and language in its wording. What it did produce was a vehement reaction from spiritualists all over the country, many pronouncing that Houdini’s death was imminent.
Don't Believe Everything You See
Houdini’s concern was that people did not use reason and logic when they saw his tricks of illusion. Many people believed he was doing spiritualist practices and consulting with the other side. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who wrote short stories about a detective who deciphered the evidence, is purported to have believed Houdini had supernatural powers. This should concern us how easily we can be convinced and how often we suspend logic and believe what we see or feel.
Houdini was concerned with manipulative spiritualist practices that steal people’s money. He also felt people should not suspend their reason even if they see something amazing. It is an important reminder today that not everything we see should be believed. Everything must be filtered through God’s word and the testimony of facts. A Christian must cultivate the mind, logic, and reason through reliance on God’s word. All experiences need to be filtered through the lenses of the Bible. As Isaiah said: “To the Law and to the Testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isaiah 8:20).
