Westcott and Hort - Were They Spiritualists?

Many, usually those who wish to have certain scriptures to support their pet doctrines, have been spreading a gossip-style rumor that Brooke Foss Westcott and Fenton John Anthony Hort were spiritualists. The accusations are often presented in such a manner to incite the emotions of the readers against Westcott & Hort, with the goal of discrediting their Greek text, which has been used by many modern Bible translators. We have examined the arguments and conclude that the actual historical documents do not support that Westcott & Hort were Spiritualists, Occultists, etc.

Once the ball of gossip gets rolling, falsehoods and misrepresentations spread much faster and by many more supporters than those who have sought to present the truth. And as the gossip spreads, many appear to add more imaginative assumptions along the way. Additionally, in response to the accusations being made against Westcott & Hort, supporters often have also been inaccurate in their counter-claims. It sometimes becomes difficult to know what is fact and what is theory being advanced as being fact. It is easy for various historical documents to be distorted, or inaccurate historical information may be presented as fact, and on the surface may appear to be fact.

Thus, one may use Google or another internet search engine that produces a thousand or more pages that contain the distortions or inaccuracies pertaining to Westcott and Hort. Satan is still deceiving the world, and it is still true that the lie is given greater prominence than truth. In the Biblical "age to come" (Isaiah 65:17; Mark 10:30; Luke 18:30; Hebrews 6:5; 2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1-5), Satan will have been abyssed so that he will not be able to deceive the nations. (Revelation 20:3) We may not be able to learn the whole truth about Westcott & Hort in this age, but in the age to come, after Satan is abyssed, all will be made known.

Likewise, regarding the Westcott & Hort text, we do not believe that their text is fully accurate, but it does appear to be more accurate than the Textus Receptus in many places. We do not expect a full restoration of the original inspired Bible text until the age to come, after Satan has been abyssed. Those who seek such in this age will probably be misled in some way by Satan. Satan is still active in trying to produce as much deception as he can among Christians.

We do not advocate King James Only theories, nor do we advocate the idea that we should only use the  Westcott & Hort text. We believe that there are possibly errors in both the Textus Receptus and the Westcott & Hort texts.  We believe the basic truths can be presented from either of these texts; even most variations still may be seen to agree with the basic truths presented in the Bible. Please note that we do not advocate either the Erasmian text (often called "Textus Receptus") nor the Westcott & Hort text as being free of scribal error.

We are presenting below links to works by authors who have endeavored to present the matter in favor of Westcott & Hort. Our presentation of the links below does not mean that we necessarily agree with all conclusions given by the authors.

Westcott and the Ghostlie Guild

Were B.F. Westcott and F.J.A. Hort Apostate New Agers?

Westcott, Hermes & the Occult

Frequently Assaulted Quotes

If anyone knows of any more links that would be beneficial here, please provide information in comments below.