tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37338586968201557742024-03-14T12:06:18.634-07:00Spirit CommunionThe religion, philosophy and science of SpiritualismDavid H. Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103428561618712158noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733858696820155774.post-54721963921163537422014-08-25T20:46:00.000-07:002014-08-25T20:46:18.720-07:00Old Newspapers and Spiritual Abuse
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">On Sunday, Aug. 10, I was out working in my shop when I
decided to take a short break from my project and the heat. I sat down next to
an old cedar chest that needs some repair; that's the next project!</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The chest used to belong to an aunt who passed away decades
ago. My wife and I unloaded it earlier this summer and noticed that some old
newspapers were lining the bottom of the chest so during my break I decided to
gently pull the papers out and read them. To my surprise, they were on that Sunday
exactly 80 years old. The yellowed pages were part of the Aug. 10, 1934,
edition of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Oregon Daily Journal</i>
newspaper (Portland).</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As a retired journalist I found many of the stories interesting
but two in particular caught my attention. I'm going to try to reproduce scans
of these articles here because readers should find them intriguing as well.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5SQ_8GWBtP6cIMCuUxxZLY4-zGMIWgDHyGwYkqYMWPNWsdWBqQe2KE3LkGme9MGHM0gWpXIPWCJBk5uJIr5XOLm8REYFnbsWo3XWOQBIjCEnPRi73l1zA6QDtMXaL4v9IAA9UP-I8dfM/s1600/SCAN1554.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5SQ_8GWBtP6cIMCuUxxZLY4-zGMIWgDHyGwYkqYMWPNWsdWBqQe2KE3LkGme9MGHM0gWpXIPWCJBk5uJIr5XOLm8REYFnbsWo3XWOQBIjCEnPRi73l1zA6QDtMXaL4v9IAA9UP-I8dfM/s1600/SCAN1554.JPG" height="256" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The first story was a short bit on page 1 about Catholic
bishops in Belgium decrying the rampant promiscuity on European beaches. The
swim suits of 1934 apparently were more than the pure bishops could cope with
so they issued an order that none of the priests under their care should be
exposed to them. All priests were to stay far away from the public beaches so
as to remain undefiled. One wonders, however, how the good bishops learned
about the licentious swimwear </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">‒</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
perhaps some of them had been frolicking at the beach? The article did not
answer this question.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfdvJPHptmSToVoJJsP_VnZwIf8T4SxdggkoTRt1CKp4w6o6MgfYaeBKbDubqLiW5V-7tpKcGsMfnfpmXLo8LS4qUquJM7BBqnIzydu1Cf0AnIDZgR3-5xI4Oje0PDYcur1jdDKfONKJM/s1600/swimsuit3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfdvJPHptmSToVoJJsP_VnZwIf8T4SxdggkoTRt1CKp4w6o6MgfYaeBKbDubqLiW5V-7tpKcGsMfnfpmXLo8LS4qUquJM7BBqnIzydu1Cf0AnIDZgR3-5xI4Oje0PDYcur1jdDKfONKJM/s1600/swimsuit3.jpg" height="255" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now, as the accompanying photo plainly shows, female
swimming attire of the 1930s was far from revealing, especially by today's
standards. Sex has always been a slippery issue for the church and historically
leaders in many religions have used restrictive rules governing sexual behavior
as a control mechanism. This 1934 news article, though humorous now, is a good
illustration of how religious leaders have tried to control their flocks by
controlling their behavior.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This issue
is explored in depth by German Catholic theologian Uta Ranke-Heinemann in her
epic study, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Eunuchs for the Kingdom of
Heaven: Women, Sexuality and the Catholic Church</i> (1988, English translation
1990). The church, according to Ranke-Heinemann, has constantly insisted that
sex was only for procreation; sex for enjoyment, even within marriage, has
always been suspect. The result over the ages has been a general negativity
toward sexuality which religious leaders have often taken advantage of. Don't
think that this is a problem only for Roman Catholics; it is a culture-wide
issue in the Western world.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwnu6OCapXvFxcMCMdDAtRLyKmUaDWF6PCONLzXjoC5TFM5vy0HVzZLSHeRY1S3trHj3hh7LEZapahMzRqWkvEctYKAoETO_GCAl4wBDBfsAa8htuYOR1cH6ONfeWQBwnGRsnTWk4I5e4/s1600/SCAN1553.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwnu6OCapXvFxcMCMdDAtRLyKmUaDWF6PCONLzXjoC5TFM5vy0HVzZLSHeRY1S3trHj3hh7LEZapahMzRqWkvEctYKAoETO_GCAl4wBDBfsAa8htuYOR1cH6ONfeWQBwnGRsnTWk4I5e4/s1600/SCAN1553.JPG" height="325" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The second article catching my eye in the old newspaper
concerned a minister in a fundamentalist Christian snake handling church being
bitten during a religious service. Most of us have never been to a snake
handling church; the few congregations that still follow this bizarre practice
are mainly in the back country of Southern states (USA). Followers in these
churches take to heart the verse in Mark 16 that says believers will not be
harmed by poisonous snakes when they are picked up. In order to demonstrate the
so-called "truth" of the Bible these believers incorporate snake
handling in their worship. Ironically, the verse they revere has been shown not
to exist in the earliest manuscripts; it was added much later, probably by some
over-zealous copyist. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Read the story in the scan and you'll see a picture of a
poor misguided person who, first, foolishly tests his God by doing something ridiculous
and then, second, refuses medical help because to do so would cause him to lose
face. </span><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtFs_u455xjPUEsmSAYalycpJ3AbOw_exmChWBTCA6veEbMr57J96vn_otWEFyaNk7l9lXtD_DEzJrc8xiOuJVHKhO8UxedwSWBCNNMtSYWBu5LSw4X4wJheZjPPff_qztUbJMurcCVaI/s1600/snakehandler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtFs_u455xjPUEsmSAYalycpJ3AbOw_exmChWBTCA6veEbMr57J96vn_otWEFyaNk7l9lXtD_DEzJrc8xiOuJVHKhO8UxedwSWBCNNMtSYWBu5LSw4X4wJheZjPPff_qztUbJMurcCVaI/s1600/snakehandler.jpg" height="238" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Snake handling still goes on in some Southern churches.</em></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I'd like to postulate that this is an extreme example of
something a lot of folks do all the time </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">‒</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
they hold onto an unfounded belief then refuse to abandon or modify it when
confronted with valid evidence that they are wrong. This is certainly a
description of naysayers who refuse to examine evidence for the paranormal and
for life after so-called death. I see such folks figuratively sitting in the same
pews as the snake handlers; their minds are made up so you can almost hear them
saying, "don't confuse me with the facts." But the "facts"
are here and eventually everyone is going to have to respond to them.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Believe it or not, there is a theological point where these
snake handlers and the Catholic bishops in the articles see eye to eye. They
all share the belief in a literal lake of fire and brimstone (aka sulphur) where
unbelievers and sinners are tortured ("punished") by God for ever and
ever in the life hereafter. Never mind the after-death communication evidence
that has been around for 160 years saying that this lake of fire is a very
cruel myth fabricated by church leaders in order to hold power over
parishioners </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">‒</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> the
Bible allegedly says there is such a place so it must be!</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But does the Bible actually teach eternal torture inflicted
by a loving, just God? Absolutely not. Verses used by eternal punishment
preachers are to be interpreted metaphorically according to a fascinating and
insightful book I finished reading this past weekend and in some cases, its
author contends, our English versions are horribly mistranslated.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbAwyBw1WReZwN_t5qDy2XWHaDkR1M1EsYMaFz4d-WXZ2YmbN1Ub0fslXNzG0oles2CY7w4z5ZdB-VBAA_ri8aZvpJU7rBHHHOXYLOrSe9irPTFZ-cyMat7dj9MXyuKKPUr_oGj0a5gGU/s1600/spiritual+terrorism.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbAwyBw1WReZwN_t5qDy2XWHaDkR1M1EsYMaFz4d-WXZ2YmbN1Ub0fslXNzG0oles2CY7w4z5ZdB-VBAA_ri8aZvpJU7rBHHHOXYLOrSe9irPTFZ-cyMat7dj9MXyuKKPUr_oGj0a5gGU/s1600/spiritual+terrorism.jpg" height="200" width="138" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The book is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Spiritual
Terrorism: Spiritual Abuse From Womb to Tomb</i> by Boyd C. Purcell, Ph.D. Dr.
Purcell is uniquely qualified to discuss this topic because for 20 years he was
pastor in an evangelical church, he has a bachelor of divinity degree, is
proficient in New Testament Greek, has his doctorate in counseling, teaches
counseling classes at the graduate level, served for many years as a hospice
chaplain and much more.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Purcell's book is more than 500 interesting pages long! On
those pages he thoroughly examines the lake of fire teachings, discounts them
as metaphorical statements and proves this by examining the verses in Greek and
various English translations, then he goes on to catalog the tragic
psychological results of such doctrines in the lives of believers. His account
is peppered with personal stories of patients he encountered in the hospice
setting who were in anguish as they faced their dying experience because of the
false hell teachings. These folks, Purcell contends, had all been subjected to
spiritual abuse and terrorism at the hands of misinformed clergy who teach
hellfire in order to coerce conversions.</span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge4htsCSSziAHNzDCe3VreTmWXVTy639ngqMUJ7wcya6sY5c4NAGloxXPP15IYftf-ABOgqjvcL7xpgOF6HdLHsXfrziDHtjyLOJJiFYiLkoI6bYrKDEKBowt2flxW2_FyUrsLWb_fekQ/s1600/boyd+purcell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge4htsCSSziAHNzDCe3VreTmWXVTy639ngqMUJ7wcya6sY5c4NAGloxXPP15IYftf-ABOgqjvcL7xpgOF6HdLHsXfrziDHtjyLOJJiFYiLkoI6bYrKDEKBowt2flxW2_FyUrsLWb_fekQ/s1600/boyd+purcell.jpg" height="200" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Dr. Boyd C. Purcell</em></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Dr. Purcell's biographical comments throughout the book
reveal a sensitive man who grappled personally with his evangelical upbringing.
That intellectual and spiritual struggle led him to the well-founded conviction
that Christianity originally taught Universalism </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">‒</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
the doctrine that everyone will eventually be "saved." This teaching,
of course, is central to spiritualism and after death communications have
always revealed that humankind is on an eternal evolutionary journey toward perfection.
Some of us are farther behind than others but eventually all will "arrive."
</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I gather that Dr. Purcell is still committed to a
drastically reformed version of evangelical teaching but, nonetheless, he has
contributed greatly to my understanding of the traditional Christian punishment
doctrine while he offers a rational way out of the torturous lifestyle it has
created for believers. Hearing a Christian pastor call a core (albeit false) Christian
doctrine "abusive" and "torturous" is liberating in itself
and seeing how that viewpoint led to a conviction of universal
"salvation" is beautiful! We truly are living in a transforming age.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">After reading this book it occurred to me that some people
who have left traditional Christianity because of exposure to spiritualism may
still be harboring effects of the abuse they suffered during their time within
the church. I know that my youthful exposure to evangelical Christianity left
many imprints on my mind which still pop up 50 years later. I frankly doubt
that I was much of a believer in hellfire when I attended my mother's Baptist
church but I did at least pay lip service to the doctrine. One had to in that
environment or else you weren't considered a true Christian! </span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This last observation is something Dr. Purcell had to
contend with in his own life. He had been a preacher in an evangelical
denomination for 20 years when his study convinced him that hellfire was not
literal and that a God of love was not going to torture his own children
eternally. When his denomination found out that Purcell's understanding of this
doctrine had changed, he was summarily discharged. Independent thinking
certainly comes with a high price for the clergy. Fortunately, Purcell made the
most of the difficult situation and got into counseling. He still preaches at
various churches who welcome his message and he is on the board of trustees of
the Christian Universalist Association.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">All I can say is that it's too bad we don't have more Boyd
Purcells in the world, people who will not be afraid to poke deep into their
beliefs, weigh evidence, and change their minds if that is warranted.
Unfortunately, we still have too many snake handlers, priests and other
religious people who refuse to even consider they might be on the wrong path. Fortunately,
spiritual truth is readily available in today's world; it is well documented
and waiting to be examined. Thanks to the internet and a steady stream of new
books many people are being drawn to the light. And exposure to the light tends
to erase scars of spiritual abuse as individuals discover who they really are </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">‒</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> spirits manifested
within a world of matter in order to spiritually grow and flourish.</span>David H. Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103428561618712158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733858696820155774.post-77369245768109964722014-05-18T14:08:00.000-07:002014-05-18T14:08:33.391-07:00Lawyer Makes Closing Arguments for Life After 'Death'
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">While taking
flights over the past few years I've found myself trying to fight off envy of
other passengers who were passing the time reading books on a Kindle, Nook or
other portable electronic device. Being a voracious reader, I, too, was engaged
in the same activity but ‒ not being able to justify the steep price for the
e-device ‒ I was packing around a fat, cumbersome and heavy printed book.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Recently,
however, Amazon "invited" me to purchase a Kindle for nearly 50% off
the regular price. I couldn't resist so now I am one with the airport crowd I
once looked upon with jealousy!<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The first
book I downloaded and read on my new Kindle was Victor Zammit's newly revised edition
of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Lawyer Presents the Evidence for the
Afterlife</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlMi5z9vcxG_oO5EDSEjg1P9Q-BLFm1YPUMuLfIf85MtPcFKs5yxitZUWPTinh6lHTHUewmUYyn43BGmA-dj0ujTtwHu5DRcDBJ1jRjVzHi9MNjnbZ7oqOLSFxdKKFGVWgcLr791LWT4Y/s1600/cover30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlMi5z9vcxG_oO5EDSEjg1P9Q-BLFm1YPUMuLfIf85MtPcFKs5yxitZUWPTinh6lHTHUewmUYyn43BGmA-dj0ujTtwHu5DRcDBJ1jRjVzHi9MNjnbZ7oqOLSFxdKKFGVWgcLr791LWT4Y/s1600/cover30.jpg" height="200" width="136" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Victor is a
man I've admired for a long time. A retired attorney in Australia, for more
than 20 years he and his wife have dedicated themselves to afterlife research
and communication of their findings worldwide via the Internet. I had read the earlier
edition of his book some time ago and was very impressed with his clear, attorney-like
technique of laying out the evidence for the afterlife. The new book retains
that approach, of course, and the information he shares is up to date, grounded
in science and convincing.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">He starts
off in his opening statements as any attorney would do, by emphasizing the
weight of the evidence he is going to present throughout his case. "When
the evidence ‒ from mediumship, near-death experiences, out-of-body
experiences, after-death contacts, voices on tape, psychic laboratory
experiments, the Cross-Correspondences, the Scole Experiment, proxy sittings,
poltergeists and all of the other evidence contained n this work ‒ is seen
collectively, the case for survival after death is absolutely stunning and
irrefutable," he writes. "As a matter of fact, any judge would agree
that this list of topics establishes a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">prima
facie</i> (on the face of it) case."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Unfortunately,
though, there are a great many of those within the halls of science </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">who,
without examining the evidence, pooh-pooh all of the above topics of
investigation. They simply cannot accept that anything whatsoever can exist
that would bring their dogmatic materialistic world view into question so if
something smacks of the paranormal it is summarily tossed out as being fake,
"unscientific" or simply non-existent. Theirs is the prevailing voice
of most of the scientific world so the public ‒ which has high respect for
scientists ‒ is lulled into believing the same things.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">That widespread attitude makes it difficult for serious
investigators to discover the truth and even more difficult to share their
findings. Victor Zammit in this book has done a marvelous job of discussing all
the fields of research that touch on the afterlife and presenting some of the
best resources for learning about each one. As he points out, perhaps on their
own each one of these fields of interest<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>is incapable of "proving" the existence of an afterlife but
taken all together the only unifying explanation that makes any sense is the presence
of spirit and the continuance of life beyond earthly death.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiATJ0RDNbB749g4mIK1q5tiBJ9neEtjoFPminkkBXUC64fg_mifB9ixayh67GXKDiwY_A65e0r7g5I-aOFAxKlCBgHaJgsemvxwwbwBXB3Xk-5sAcuQCWNP5HptoL6CwKW8L8U0dRe4-0/s1600/victor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiATJ0RDNbB749g4mIK1q5tiBJ9neEtjoFPminkkBXUC64fg_mifB9ixayh67GXKDiwY_A65e0r7g5I-aOFAxKlCBgHaJgsemvxwwbwBXB3Xk-5sAcuQCWNP5HptoL6CwKW8L8U0dRe4-0/s1600/victor.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Victor Zammit</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I find that one thing in particular makes this book most
useful ‒ Victor Zammit is no dummy! Skeptics cannot point to his book and
criticize it because it was written by someone who cannot be trusted or,
because of a lack of credentials, is not a reliable author. Rather, Victor has
the background and degrees that place him as an equal to any critic. Besides
his B.A. in psychology, he earned an M.A. in history, a bachelors in law and a
Ph.D. Add to that his many years as a practicing attorney who daily had to
weigh evidence and you have someone with the perfect background for presenting
the case for the afterlife.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I recommend study of this book and using it when discussing
the afterlife with friends. Zammit's reasoned and well documented approach
along with his revelation of the best evidence is quite persuasive. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The book is <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>available as an inexpensive e-book or you can
purchase the more useable print edition. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I also highly recommend Victor's website (link at the top of
our links on the left of this page). For several years I've received and read
his weekly Afterlife Report (which he calls "Friday Afterlife
Reports" but they arrive here in North America on Thursday afternoons
thanks to the International Dateline). This free weekly report presents
interesting information in each quickly read edition and one can sign up for it
on Victor's website (click the link for Friday Afterlife Report on the left of
the home page). Receiving this weekly email will help you stay connected with
what's happening worldwide in afterlife research. (Reports for the past 10
years can be accessed from the site.)<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Victor and his wife Wendy have performed a tremendous
service by tying together all of us who share an interest in the afterlife. And
this new edition of Victor's book will go a long way toward helping countless
others learn the truth about our eternal nature. Thank you, Victor, for making
this available.</span></span></div>
David H. Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103428561618712158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733858696820155774.post-17447565368423512272014-03-31T13:52:00.000-07:002014-03-31T13:52:00.516-07:00A God for Atheists<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
Recently the Huffington Post online news site featured in
their religion section a wonderful essay entitled "A God for
Atheists." I was drawn to it immediately when I noticed that it was
written by Dr. Stafford Betty, a longtime professor of religious studies at <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>California State University Bakersfield. It's
an honor to acknowledge that Dr. Betty (pictured below) has been a follower of this blog and his
occasional comments have been welcome.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span>While definitions of God (or as I prefer, Divine Source) are
not necessarily central to this blog's mission, I do want to share a few
thoughts about Professor Betty's provocative article because his comments do run
parallel with what we've considered here before. I think he is right on mark
when he singles out present-day Christianity (especially its evangelical wing)
and its 13th century theology for causing many to explore the more rational
alternatives atheism offers. "...[T]<span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">he roots of atheism are often found in primitive,
narrow views of the Divine picked up in preteen years," Dr. Betty writes. "Waking
up to the absurdity of God condemning non-Christians to hell is enough to blow
into smithereens the childhood faith of many a thoughtful adolescent. A God who
created the universe a few thousand years ago by merely wishing it into
existence out of nothing is almost as fatal. For others ‒ and this goes for
older people too ‒ it's the belief that God will bless us with what we pray for
if we pray hard enough, or that everything that happens to us is supposed to
happen. Or that God inspired everything found in the Bible, or the Qur'an, or
the Vedas, or the Book of Mormon. To believe in such a God is to fly in the
face of reason and evidence."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhjfeksYtbwExX3VeBm2pc9KDFdXvuZmNpDwa4v1UVKahY_YLlEJ0clm_2wjMH2t2AiZv1d5lI_iNDsEPmZH_XJpySw_Z-3MVXb766cHxo4GaqIGaig8Od-Fx8criha18K2EqX780k4eI/s1600/untitled.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhjfeksYtbwExX3VeBm2pc9KDFdXvuZmNpDwa4v1UVKahY_YLlEJ0clm_2wjMH2t2AiZv1d5lI_iNDsEPmZH_XJpySw_Z-3MVXb766cHxo4GaqIGaig8Od-Fx8criha18K2EqX780k4eI/s1600/untitled.png" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr. Stafford Betty</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span>Like many of you, I can personally relate to this. Entering
college as a staunch evangelical I was suddenly exposed to numerous realities
about my faith that had previously been hidden from me (hidden by my church
intentionally in order to "protect" followers from being "led
astray.")<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These realities, of
course, are the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>many problems of
Christianity that have been uncovered over the past 300 years by academic
religious scholarship. Most atheists are well versed in this field and the
findings of scholars give them much ammunition when they choose to attack the
predominant religion of the West. Most Christians, however, are largely
ignorant of what scholars have discovered about their religion.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span>Add to this the childish, superstitious and out of touch
picture of God present in most churches and it's a wonder that in this day of
increased education the pews are as full as they are. As an alternative, Dr. Betty
offers a portrait of God that seems to reflect quite well what we as
spiritualists have heard from the other side over and over again. Gone are the anthropomorphic
qualities as are the vengeance, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>jealousy
and desire to punish that so often tarnish Christian teachings. The essay is a
good read and as of this writing it is still available online at <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stafford-betty/a-god-for-atheists_b_4870627.html">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stafford-betty/a-god-for-atheists_b_4870627.html</a>.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span>I see, however, that at least one atheist has already tried
online to shoot holes in Dr. Betty's argument which really doesn't surprise me.
As an alternative to the antiquated world view offered by traditional orthodox Christianity,
atheists buy into a materialistic world view that holds matter as we now know
it as the full extent of reality. They dogmatically assert that what we see is
all we get; there simply cannot be other worlds, other realities, other forces.
But as we've pointed out here before, there is an abundance of evidence showing
that other forces DO exist. We acknowledge that these discoveries do not prove
the existence of God but I propose, "who really cares at this point in
time?" Our Source, if he/she/it actually exists, is no doubt far beyond
our comprehension so it is probably useless to argue either for or against its
existence. Instead, let's proceed in a direction where we can make some discernible
headway and in order to do that we will need to somehow release our researchers
from their materialistic mindset so they can move on unencumbered.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span>This blog is primarily focused on after death communication
and this has also been an area receiving a lot of attention by Dr. Betty over
the years. He is on the board for the <span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Academy of <st1:placename u1:st="on">Spirituality</st1:placename>
and Paranormal Studies and his 2011 book <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Afterlife Unveiled</i> is a superb collection of descriptions of the afterlife
revealed through mediumship. Professor Betty acknowledges that there is a "massive
amount of evidence that points to an afterlife" and this book presents
some of the most compelling accounts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">"The
literature written by doctors and psychologists on the near-death experience,
the books written by hospice personnel about the extraordinary visions that
dying people who are not doped up with painkillers commonly report, and the
reports of spirits speaking through mediums, such as we've examined here,
points to a mysterious dimension that exists alongside ours" he writes in
the book's conclusion. "One needs no faith to appreciate and weigh this
evidence, only an open mind uncontaminated<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>by materialist presuppositions."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">My
favorite descriptions of the afterlife came through the mediumship of Anthony
Borgia who died in 1989 and the communicator who worked through Borgia was none
other than the Catholic priest and later Monsignor Robert Hugh Benson
(1871-1914). Fr. Benson's messages were published in several books during the
1950s and, thankfully, they are available free online. Dr. Betty's book,
however, masterfully condenses Benson's descriptions. In summarizing his
chapter on Benson's message, Betty says that "The spirit world according
to Benson is a place of endless variety spread out in virtually infinite space ‒
with every individual spirit residing in a realm suitable to his or her
spiritual maturity." This is the essential message of all afterlife <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>communicators when they try to put into
language their world that is so much more expansive than our own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Harkening
back to Betty's essay about A God for Atheists, we need to remember that 160
years of psychical research has amassed a ton of evidence that points toward
life after death and the probable existence of an ultimate source for all that
is. Ignorance and stubbornness have led people to shelve all this and consider
it to be unimportant, irrelevant, unscientific or even evil. Thanks to Dr.
Betty and a growing number of other leaders in education, research and science,
information is slowly going out that shows the bigger picture. At some time the
outcome of this expansion of awareness, I feel, will be an increased
willingness to investigate our true spiritual nature in more depth. Then I'm
sure we will be able to count on willing communicators from the "other
side" who will be glad to help us advance our understanding.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Dr.
Stafford Betty's book, The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Afterlife
Unveiled</i>, is available through Amazon.com in both print and Kindle formats.</span></div>
</div>
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
David H. Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103428561618712158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733858696820155774.post-92003070651340344982013-07-31T09:04:00.000-07:002013-07-31T20:26:00.405-07:00The Remedy for Grief<span style="font-family: Calibri;">One day last July I was reading headlines on the Google News
site when I had an urge to do a search of the news for
"spiritualism." I'd never tried that before and I don't think I've
done it since but on this day a year ago my experiment struck pay dirt. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The news story my search turned up had appeared in a
Kalamazoo, Michigan, newspaper just a couple of days prior and it concerned an
author who was doing a book signing at a local bookstore. The author, Dr. Mary
Leiker, was a former superintendant of schools for a district in Michigan state
and her book, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Just Behind the Door</i>,
had recently been released. I subsequently purchased the book through Amazon
and found it intriguing.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2DUQHrTz3L4DfOovCrWnQj5BZWkuvMl-vfkvwP54CHcuZzYSDA5NVhp3n2_vXQ9EQxNCztlWhpb3qWsI87fuevkWWBkc67uOpJV38P98mMS4MBNtaVbYRfHzfnhvvvqYM5WkrpA-E4f0/s1600/11276238-large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2DUQHrTz3L4DfOovCrWnQj5BZWkuvMl-vfkvwP54CHcuZzYSDA5NVhp3n2_vXQ9EQxNCztlWhpb3qWsI87fuevkWWBkc67uOpJV38P98mMS4MBNtaVbYRfHzfnhvvvqYM5WkrpA-E4f0/s200/11276238-large.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Mary Leiker</em></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Elsewhere on this blog we've commented about the many people
who find spiritualism after the loss of a loved one. Grief drives them in the
quest to find answers about survival after death and when they investigate they
discover that evidence clearly and convincingly shows that this life is not all
there is.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Mary Leiker's experience of grief, while similar to that of many
others, is unique in its intensity. As superintendant of schools, Dr. Leiker
was always "on duty" whenever there was a crisis situation involving
students in her district. One Saturday she was alerted about a horrible automobile
accident involving five seniors in the district's high school and she spun into
action. She was present at the hospital, consoled family members and put into
place services that would provide support and counseling for traumatized
student friends. She explains in the book that the students "need hugs
from their<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>peers to give them
strength" when facing such a crisis. "They look to the adults for
answers. When there are no answers forthcoming to explain the terrible events
and the probable outcomes, they feel vulnerable and frightened. In essence,
they look to the adults to 'fix it.' Death, however, doesn't get fixed."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Two of the students had died in the accident and the others
were seriously injured. It was a gut-wrenching day for Leiker and when she
returned home late that evening she wanted to go to bed undisturbed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, shortly after returning home she
received a telephone call that would change her life forever ‒ her adult son
in Colorado had been killed in a construction accident that very day.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In the book Mary shares her innermost feelings in detail and
reveals how she coped with these multiple tragic losses. More than a personal
story, the book also serves as a guide to dealing with grief because her
detailed individual account can be instructional to anyone coping with a loss.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXR1Z3nPJi_ivewtrbFSzSIzmXKaIJh1F6v5WSFJEI9v4MK0d4BrMrbdkZDrrkBOkKTGDOpDAAEDHT2Fu40ZHdbJEOkpg6SDA_KyXA-ZeoNnV4OQst_RhzJMfwwdeORMLKidEUIG1fxzg/s1600/just+behind+the+door.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXR1Z3nPJi_ivewtrbFSzSIzmXKaIJh1F6v5WSFJEI9v4MK0d4BrMrbdkZDrrkBOkKTGDOpDAAEDHT2Fu40ZHdbJEOkpg6SDA_KyXA-ZeoNnV4OQst_RhzJMfwwdeORMLKidEUIG1fxzg/s200/just+behind+the+door.jpg" width="133" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Her quest for answers eventually led Mary to a talented
medium who put her in direct touch with deceased members of her family
including her recently passed son. The evidential and comforting messages that
came through provided immense relief while it confirmed her belief that the
so-called dead live on and are able to communicate with those of us remaining
on this side.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This medium lived a considerable distance from Mary's home
and she longed for the ability to communicate directly. Her grandmother, though
not an acknowledged medium, nonetheless had psychic abilities and Mary
apparently had them as well. Over time, she relates, she has been able to
receive messages herself from family members on the other side which has
enriched her life tremendously.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Mary Leiker's book is a sensitive, personal account with a
vital message to those attempting to handle the loss of loved ones. Its author
is an intelligent, well-educated individual whose approach to this topic is informed
and rational.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The reader can easily
profit from her experiences and perhaps even achieve what Mary herself did ‒
direct, personal contact with family and friends who still live "just
behind the door."</span></div>
David H. Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103428561618712158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733858696820155774.post-85889645852501416932013-05-19T20:45:00.000-07:002013-05-19T20:45:02.149-07:00Was There a Séance on the Day of Pentecost?
May
19 was Pentecost Sunday on the Church Liturgical Calendar, a day for
traditional Christians to recall the strange events occurring <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>on the Feast of Pentecost shortly after the crucifixion
of Jesus. But for those of us who see things through the spectacles of spiritualism,
that day of Pentecost long ago takes on a meaning much different from the one
expounded from pulpits around the world on this Sunday.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjf99gchrNrmBn7XStFQR143uiZLsLb5WCoCr2cReMvoNMqwWKyb9ZATWaUma8KHZrFssDhiqdRZIm8eaPuL9E5_lXddLM6k_jPNcorUM17kkw_v3JIwAWRQt0OO69bKRpyOa8tsPKsSM/s1600/4360485489_40757404e9_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjf99gchrNrmBn7XStFQR143uiZLsLb5WCoCr2cReMvoNMqwWKyb9ZATWaUma8KHZrFssDhiqdRZIm8eaPuL9E5_lXddLM6k_jPNcorUM17kkw_v3JIwAWRQt0OO69bKRpyOa8tsPKsSM/s200/4360485489_40757404e9_o.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
Our
only source of information about what happened with the disciples that day is
the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Acts of the Apostles</i>, a book in
the Christian New Testament. Bear in mind that this account was written perhaps
100 years later with the unknown author (Luke by name but not the apostle Luke)
acknowledging that he relies on oral tradition. Nonetheless, there are enough
clues in the account to convince spiritualists that the disciples on the day of
Pentecost were holding a séance!</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
Remember
that prior to their gathering on Pentecost the disciples allegedly had been
seeing materializations (apparitions) of Jesus for some time and that he had
promised a spiritual event in the near future. So with this expectation in
mind, they got together in a home to await the appearance of what they called
the Holy Spirit (or Holy Ghost) -- this term being used, according to Arthur
Findlay, to describe the spirit control of a medium. Over the centuries that
followed, the term was appropriated to designate one of the beings in the
concocted Christian trinity.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
In
Acts we read, "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all
with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of
a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And
there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each
of them." (Acts 2: 1-3)</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
The
phenomena just described are often experienced in a physical mediumship circle.
I myself have felt slight breezes and temperature changes in circles and I'm
told that these can be much more pronounced within experienced circles sitting
for physical phenomena. Botanist and Church of England clergyman George Henslow
points out in his book <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Religion of
the Spirit World Written by the Spirits Themselves</i> that similar winds
accompanied spirit communication in the Old Testament (1920, page 203):
"Behold the Lord [no doubt referring to a spirit control] passed by and a
great and strong wind rent the mountain;" and "The Lord answered Job
out of a whirlwind." </div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_wejrbvyaN3OxPZszEX9GY_TKdXfx_HG1dgnkbDbOm6IbUC6smK5DhrUgcT70Tlq5tt6EfYRTX9clD3RD1NCYn__yU1s8RpML9ZPMecSGTe7GeqmGt83FHLENOwGEQJWjOiWJib50_OU/s1600/pentecost1.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_wejrbvyaN3OxPZszEX9GY_TKdXfx_HG1dgnkbDbOm6IbUC6smK5DhrUgcT70Tlq5tt6EfYRTX9clD3RD1NCYn__yU1s8RpML9ZPMecSGTe7GeqmGt83FHLENOwGEQJWjOiWJib50_OU/s200/pentecost1.gif" width="200" /></a></div>
Spirit
lights are also common in séances and in some cases they could be described as
fiery lights atop the heads of sitters.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
Another
thing happened on the Day of Pentecost long ago that has fostered a whole
movement within Christendom -- Pentecostalism. We are told that in the midst of
this séance some of the disciples began "speaking in tongues," or
talking in various languages. There were many present, the account explains, who
were from different regions and they heard the entranced Christians speaking in
their home languages -- much to their amazement.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
In
my youth I spent a couple of years attending a Pentecostal church and I heard
many parishioners <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"speaking in tongues"
but I'm quite certain none of those utterances were genuine foreign languages
-- instead they were merely babbling gibberish pouring out of an ecstatic
worshiper. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, on the Day of
Pentecost we're told that foreign languages were heard. As any student of the
history of mediumship knows, there have been many monolingual mediums who have
fluently spoken in trance both modern and ancient languages with which they
have no acquaintance. These communications have been transcribed or recorded and
verified as genuine. Perhaps the disciples did the same.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
A
long-passed Greek Bible scholar, Dr. T.J. McCrosson, observed many years ago
that, yes, on the Day of Pentecost there were those in attendance who were from
distant lands and they heard messages in their native languages. McCrosson
noted, however, that those from the local area were there also so they would
have heard messages in a language commonly used by both the mediums and the
listeners. So, not everyone in trance used a foreign language that day - - just
some of them. Others spoke messages from spirit in their every-day language
(most likely Aramaic).</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
So,
could it be that mediumship was common in the early church? Most definitely,
according to Arthur Findlay who thoroughly discussed the topic in his massive
history of religion, The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Psychic Stream</i>.
"Mediums are the primary cause of religion, which in time grows into a
form of belief comprising doctrines, dogmas and rites requiring priests to
protect and perform," Findlay writes (page 605). "Mediums always
created the original idea, and thus Moses, the medium, was the cause behind
Judaism, and Paul, the medium, the cause behind Christianity."</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
In
the Old Testament we read of many prophets who allegedly uttered statements
from the "Lord" (which Findlay feels always signifies the medium's spirit
control). But few Christians realize that prophets were present in the
apostolic church as well. Several are named in the New Testament and in Ephesians
we read that in each church there was to be a prophet (along with an apostle,
pastor, teacher, etc.). </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
Findlay
makes a strong argument that these prophets were the same as today's mediums.
"In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Encyclopedia Britannica</i>
we find that 'Prophet is a word taken from the vocabulary of the ancient Greek
religion which passed into the language of Christianity, and so into the modern
tongues of Europe, because it was adopted by the Hellenistic Jews as the
rendering of the Hebrew <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">n</i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">ā</span>bi</i>.
The word, therefore, as we use it is meant to convey an idea which belongs to
Hebrew and not to Hellenic belief.' Thus the word prophet, meaning a medium,
was adopted by Christians, but its meaning was forgotten when they lost touch
with the etheric world. In the fourth century mediumship was abolished and
priests took the place of mediums. Since that time no Christian theologian has
understood what Paul and other early Christians meant when using the words
prophet and prophesy. The foregoing, however, makes it clear that a prophet was
a medium, that a seer was also a medium, and that a prophet and seer referred
to the same individual, namely a medium."</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
Thus<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in the Old Testament we read, "When a
man went to enquire of God, thus he spake, Come and let us go to the seer: for
he that is now called a prophet was beforetime called a seer;" (I Sam. 9:
9) and "The spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, and thou shalt
prophesy... and shalt be turned into another man." (I Sam. 10: 6) Findlay
remarks, "Nothing could describe in fewer words what occurs to a medium
when he enters the trance state."</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
The
fact that mediums were common and accepted in the early church is clinched by
an extensive quote from the very early Christian leader and theologian Tertullian
(c. 160–c. 225 AD). Since few are aware of this information, I want to quote it
in its entirety. Tertullian wrote this in his work <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">De Anima</i> and Findlay quotes it in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Psychic Stream</i> (page 1039-1040):</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">For
seeing that we acknowledge spiritual charismata, or gifts, we too have merited
the attainment of the prophetic gift. We have now amongst us a sister whose lot
it has been<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to be favored with sundry
gifts of revelation, which she experiences in the spirit by ecstatic vision
amidst the sacred rites of the Lord's Day in the church. She converses with the
angels, and sometimes even with the Lord; she both sees and hears mysterious
communications; some men's hearts she understands, and to them who are in need
she distributes remedies. Whether it be in the reading of the Scriptures, or in
the chanting of psalms, or in the preaching of sermons, or in the offering up
of prayers, in all these religious services, matter and opportunity are
afforded her of seeing visions. It may possibly have happened to us, whilst
this sister of ours was wrapt in the spirit, that we had discoursed in some
ineffable way about the soul. After the people are dismissed at the conclusion
of the sacred services, she is in the regular habit of reporting to us whatever
things she may have seen in vision;<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>for
all her communications are examined with the most scrupulous care, in order
that their truth may be probed, 'amongst other things' says she, 'there has
been shewn to me a soul in bodily shape, and a spirit has been in the habit of
appearing to me; not, however, a void and empty illusion but such as would
offer itself to be even grasped by the hand, soft and transparent and of an
ethereal color, and in form resembling that of a human being in every respect.'
This was her vision, and for her witness there was God; and the apostle Paul
most assuredly foretold that there were to be spiritual gifts in the Church.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
And
Findlay acknowledges this report by saying, "Here we have an account of a
great medium who was treated by an outstanding early Christian with the respect
which was due her, in such contrast to the way mediums have been treated since
the Church organization became controlled by the priests. This information,
which has come down to us from the hand of Tertullian, proves that mediums were
employed in Christian churches in the third century, as what he tells us was
written in the year 211."</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
At
this point it is quite easy to say that there is MUCH that has been kept hidden
from us and much that has been altered over the years. It's my wish that from
now on Pentecost Sunday can become a time when all humankind will acknowledge
the existence of natural mediumistic gifts and encourage their use.</div>
David H. Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103428561618712158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733858696820155774.post-10694608243346137252013-03-14T18:29:00.000-07:002013-03-14T18:29:14.129-07:00True Religion is This....<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pure
and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans
and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. </i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">‒</span>
James 1:27</i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
With
all the hubbub surrounding the resignation and replacement of the pope, it
seems like a good time to revisit a theme I've covered here briefly before,
namely, the purpose and role of religion as seen by spiritualists and those
friends who have communicated with us from the other side of that boundary we
call death. </div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNVAKgQ_gadnagWdhV7MoWtvLL0RfWhRqA5u1AeWrBE4XN_A4lrVhvmwEWV_7oVxujG3EqWbEhBrgNINPTdzXND2jnB0JOB8lXpVPxRz6mViYzHGnLVHfb25SWTekuZItKaCwxu0779JM/s1600/pope.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNVAKgQ_gadnagWdhV7MoWtvLL0RfWhRqA5u1AeWrBE4XN_A4lrVhvmwEWV_7oVxujG3EqWbEhBrgNINPTdzXND2jnB0JOB8lXpVPxRz6mViYzHGnLVHfb25SWTekuZItKaCwxu0779JM/s200/pope.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
While
I'm generally not one given to quoting the Bible, the verse above, disregarded
by many in organized religion, seems to be pertinent to a discussion about the
role of religion and it's a definition with which I heartily agree. Note that
there is no mention in the verse of rituals or ceremonies, nothing about being cleansed
of sin, nothing about sacrifice, the Eucharist or baptism, no requirement that
one should hold certain beliefs, and absolutely no reference to a pope or any
ecclesiastical structure whatsoever. Religion in this definition is confined to
service and the individual pursuit of virtue (or building of character). In our
verse, caring for widows and orphans is a metaphor for all types of service
rendered to others.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim19-dmtejlDVuoYXTOQhK4evfRxPlu0nJYOf67FdguxjUqhUlk-15WEgzit0lrE4mkFgJ8uaZym-fzSO9vOe-gE4cBsbS9vCWQmTUh1cbY0OZgD3FFY_0tt_pS3NqrMtMPJL0gdE0RPo/s1600/Coptic-Christians-at-fune-005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim19-dmtejlDVuoYXTOQhK4evfRxPlu0nJYOf67FdguxjUqhUlk-15WEgzit0lrE4mkFgJ8uaZym-fzSO9vOe-gE4cBsbS9vCWQmTUh1cbY0OZgD3FFY_0tt_pS3NqrMtMPJL0gdE0RPo/s200/Coptic-Christians-at-fune-005.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
It
should be noted here that over the past 160 years of modern spiritualism this simple
outlook on religion has consistently been the message from the other side.
Spirit in message after message has repeatedly stressed the personal quest for
truth and righteousness and downplayed the role of ceremony and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>all activities and doctrines associated with
organized religion. Service to others is seen by spirit as the single <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>most effective means of assuring one's
spiritual growth. In other words, religion is conduct and nothing more as noted
by scientist and clergyman George Henslow in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Religion of the Spirit World</i> (1920).</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzTbmmA8Qs3547LeAhBsoPFCY0Ky66yRDAdgXnd2aWwWBlu_YeCkVpMbO3sKgJ8bdUkqJBjqieRoC1H_gf-oAOpoPmweiOhyEGU4gBSl2ZsTi_2rBHEnPgNM4K4vt37yy32qiDz-S18oo/s1600/baptismRichard.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
In
his voluminous writings on history spiritualist author Arthur Findlay shows how
this "natural religion" as he calls it was corrupted over the
centuries by both ignorance and deliberate manipulation from the priestly
class. Rites and dogmas were added until nowadays almost everyone equates
religion with these formal institutional-based practices and beliefs. The whole
story is interestingly told in Findlay's 2,000-page masterwork <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Psychic Stream</i> (1939).</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSCJW2afND2PZpBTFhXJs2v28-amZ-xHo1SDPQWRmnWis2HnnAOXUpO5fTTxvWvaepAEjrJwDFF3tvetQRty2vEy0_M5cjfuL3aBfobqDWmcGKCueYncXjDmD_DUr6Seg1glCuwXCG4vw/s1600/saving-woman-from-water.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSCJW2afND2PZpBTFhXJs2v28-amZ-xHo1SDPQWRmnWis2HnnAOXUpO5fTTxvWvaepAEjrJwDFF3tvetQRty2vEy0_M5cjfuL3aBfobqDWmcGKCueYncXjDmD_DUr6Seg1glCuwXCG4vw/s200/saving-woman-from-water.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
Put
another way, scholar Karen Armstrong says that religion isn't about adherence
to doctrines as literal truth <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">‒</span>
it's about living one's life a certain way from hour to hour and day to day.
And the remarkable spirit guide Silver Birch said, "Religion is living in
a way that brings you closer to the Great Spirit. Religion is when the Great
Spirit is expressed in your actions. Religion is service."</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
Spiritualism
and New Thought have both taught that before each action there always is
thought. The thought of unenlightened minds is usually rooted in self-service
and only with spiritual growth does one emerge from this selfish frame of mind.
Ignorant and undisciplined people who have not yet begun to look beyond self
generally do what is wrong with wrong actions, according to Findlay, being
those which "upset the harmony and aspirations of life." (Note the
absence of the word "sin!")</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
"Wrong-doing
comes from unbalanced and undeveloped minds, and, in its final analysis, can be
reduced to selfishness, to the consideration of only our own wishes and the
ignoring of those with whom we come in contact," Findlay elaborated in his
two-volume history of the world, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Curse of Ignorance</i> (Vol. 1, Chapter XI). "...The finer or enlightened
mind could not find peace and harmony if others suffered from actions produced
by its thoughts. The enlightened mind is so telepathically in touch with the
minds of other people that it is upset if it produces disharmony in other
minds. As the mind develops it becomes ever more sensitive to the thoughts of
others, and adjusts itself to prevent the disharmony which leads to quarrels
and unhappiness."</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
History,
Findlay says, is the story of unfolding minds. Over much of mankind's past
undeveloped minds constituted the majority of the population but during the
past few centuries steady progress has been made and now there is less cruelty
while efforts to help the less fortunate are abundant. </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
Our
institutional religious dogmas and traditions, however, are products of an age
when cruelty was the norm and ignorance reigned supreme. In assessing the
impact of Christianity on the world's people, Findlay asks, "What, then,
was the ethical standard of instruction in those days [when<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Christianity was being formed], and how
exactly did the people look upon life? They had their own crude ideas of right
and wrong, just as a savage has, but they had no incentive to strive for
something better, as they were taught and believed that their wickedness had
been forgiven by God, because 'By the righteousness of one [Jesus] the free
gift [of salvation] came upon all men... so by the obedience of one shall many
be made righteous.' (Romans 5: 18) This being so, they had no reason to worry
over their shortcomings."</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzpNNNCHg_ukeCJei9kDzlrBh1IlvxiiYvfD88TDGBeEomfqiNBvY7hLc09ldu67hCSlnyJo-khh7I3r4oRMm_aJH8YF9wLBEGj9vg_rC0J1dnF85jXwVqa6OpKu6gtIpTyOqhbJ7XVrQ/s1600/eucharist.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzpNNNCHg_ukeCJei9kDzlrBh1IlvxiiYvfD88TDGBeEomfqiNBvY7hLc09ldu67hCSlnyJo-khh7I3r4oRMm_aJH8YF9wLBEGj9vg_rC0J1dnF85jXwVqa6OpKu6gtIpTyOqhbJ7XVrQ/s200/eucharist.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
This
outlook, of course, persisted from the fall of the Roman Empire right up to the
Renaissance and is still being promoted by many within organized Christianity.
Nowadays parishioners are exhorted to secure their salvation primarily by
endorsing certain beliefs followed by regular church attendance, tithing,
baptism, partaking of the Eucharist, and any number of other things espoused by
various denominations. And, oh, you should also clean up your act along the way
but, don't worry, do these things the church asks and you're saved and won't go
to eternal punishment in hell. Those who distance themselves from the church
are looked upon with suspicion because, the preacher says, how can anybody be
truly "good" outside of the "body of Christ" (code name for
the so-called universal church)?</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
That's
a lot of baggage wrapped up in religious clothes and, according to our verse at
the top of this post, entirely unnecessary baggage at that. Since its emergence
160 years ago, modern spiritualism has attempted to lead people back to the
important but simple foundations of living: Practice the Golden Rule, serve one
another, love in abundance,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and
recognize who you really are <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">‒</span>
a self-conscious manifestation of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the
Universal Life Force that is destined to live forever. That realization alone
(which is proven over and over again through spirit communications)
automatically alters one's behavior away from selfishness and toward a full,
rich and loving relationship with All Life.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
So,
don't hold your breath that the new pope or any other leader in organized
religion will usher in our New Age <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">‒</span>
that task is just not one that has been assigned to any religious institution.
Instead, look to enlightened science and to the prompting from within for the
transformations we are longing for. As science edges closer and closer to
discovery of spirit and as mankind as a collective realizes who he/she really
is, then the resolve will be there to change our own world for the better. Then
will our New Age truly be here.</div>
David H. Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103428561618712158noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733858696820155774.post-38148129471864970032012-12-22T12:03:00.002-08:002012-12-22T12:03:48.679-08:00Prophecies – Old and New<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yes, I know there has been a long gap on this blog from the
last post to this. I apologize for that but go on to offer some explanation
and, hopefully, some insight to those who identify with Spirit as I do.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span> </span>I've previously
mentioned the demand of various chores that have kept me away from my keyboard
and that has truly been the case. But beyond that, at a much deeper level, was
a feeling of "waiting" that kept me silent. "Waiting for
what?" you ask.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well, I'm not too sure! "Changes" would perhaps be
the best word to answer that question. A general anticipation that
"things" were afoot that would affect me and my family.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Throughout the ages there have been prophesies about
transformations that would result in ushering in of a new and golden time of
peace and joy - complete with widespread recognition of our spirit nature. An
age that would see an end to dogged materialism. Many have believed (and channeled
messages supported this) that this month would be THE time for entering the new
dispensation of peace. I admit that I have been one of those who felt humanity
was on the cusp of a transformation the likes of which we've never witnessed
before on our planet. Even after an uneventful winter solstice and end of the
Mayan calendar cycle I still think there is evidence that this is so.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As spiritualists we have to acknowledge that within our
movement this expectation of a worldwide transformation has always been there.
Those voices from beyond that we highly trust have told us that the ancient
prophesies are, in fact, at least partially true. Our evolution has rapidly
brought us to our contemporary tipping point where things just have to change
for the better.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the nineteenth century Imperator, through the medium
Stainton Moses said we were entering a “New Dispensation:” "What you are
now witnessing are the signs and wonders that prelude the opening of a new
dispensation, the advent of the Lord, not as man has fancied and as your
teachers have vainly taught, in bodily presence to judge an arisen humanity,
but in His new mission (the fullness of the old), through us, His messengers
and ministers, in the declaration of a new evangel to your world.” (<i>More Spirit
Teachings</i>)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The sage voice of Silver Birch through medium Maurice
Barbenall went further in his explanation. “Like many others, I have come
nearer to the earth vibrations to help push forward that great new world which
waits just round the corner. I come to teach you the laws of the Great Spirit
and to show you how, if you live according to them, the bounty of the Great
Spirit can be poured into your hearts and minds.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2FB_nQHfC4f2vKAtJuQQgMyPwu8Cv4D1yIOdWGmmFXyfF7V_MVAgGhzEWNZEYPT-CW4IfbNqaySHCKPYV4870c2ck5-Pf5T4xngbWxrRamZlqSNrbulYP9GL3PlnEC9tEJ5NQGpHqRdE/s1600/teachingsofsilverbirch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2FB_nQHfC4f2vKAtJuQQgMyPwu8Cv4D1yIOdWGmmFXyfF7V_MVAgGhzEWNZEYPT-CW4IfbNqaySHCKPYV4870c2ck5-Pf5T4xngbWxrRamZlqSNrbulYP9GL3PlnEC9tEJ5NQGpHqRdE/s200/teachingsofsilverbirch.jpg" width="138" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He continues with a further explanation: “The <st1:place w:st="on">New World</st1:place> is born, born in agony of birth, with a baptism
of tears and misery and sadness. But the <st1:place w:st="on">New World</st1:place>
is here. Its rays are beginning to pierce the fog of your world. But even in
this <st1:place w:st="on">New World</st1:place> all will not have been
achieved. There will be plenty to remedy, to improve, to strengthen. There will
still be weakness to be overcome, there will still be troubles to be
eradicated. But there will be a new basis for life. Much of the needless
misery, much of the needless deprivation, much of the needless starvation and
sadness will have gone. The basis of life will be changed, for gradually
selfishness will be overthrown and service will reign in its place.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The <st1:place w:st="on">New World</st1:place> will come
more quickly or more slowly, as more of you help us or hinder us in our efforts
to co-operate with you. You will not get more than you deserve or less than you
deserve, for so perfect is natural law in its expression that its scales are
always evenly balanced. They are weighted down neither on one side nor the
other. I tell you of conditions that are operating and, as they continue to
operate, what will be changed. Do not forget that you will reap in your world
the harvest of countless generations of labour wrought by many pioneers,
idealists and reformers, who made sacrifices to advance the lot of mankind.”
(<i>Philosophy of Silver Birch</i>)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I could quote more -- there have been numerous instances of
messages from spirit predicting a dramatic entrance into a wondrous New Age.
But the point here is not to go through a tedious laundry list of predictions
but to try to figure out what we as individuals need to do with all these
utterances.<span> </span>Given the fact that those in
spirit predict a positive change for humanity, how should that affect our
current-day thinking and actions?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Probably the best initial advice would be not to set dates
or presume to know the finer details about how changes will be manifested.<span> </span>The "non-events" of Dec. 21,<span> </span>2012, should reinforce that point. Our human
impatience makes us want to figure all this out and become "all
knowing" about the "when" and "how" details. This is,
unfortunately, a tendency that is all too prevalent in our spiritualist
movement. How often have you heard someone say, "spirit told me thus and
so" with the speaker glowing with pride and all-knowingness? It just
shouldn't be this way. Instead, we need to hold certain expectations and leave
the details up in the air.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Regarding widespread anticipation that Dec. 21 would
usher in the New Age, I can only say that perhaps it did, perhaps it didn't.
With our limited vision we can be certain that our evolution will continue and
that we are in an amazing period of time. It is most likely that many of us chose
to be here this lifetime in order to experience those things that we
anticipate. When and how still remains a mystery but like any good suspense
movie, the joy comes at the end when all is revealed at last.</span>David H. Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103428561618712158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733858696820155774.post-13087338314875977592012-10-07T08:42:00.000-07:002013-03-29T15:35:25.319-07:00Spirit Communion Within The Anglican Communion<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
While
we are on the topic of Episcopalians and others in the worldwide Anglican
Communion (see our last blog post), I’d like to say a few words about two
additional avant-garde clergymen and post a copy of a long-suppressed church
report that admitted mediumship is valid.</div>
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<br /></div>
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By
focusing again on the Anglican Communion I am not endorsing this Christian
denomination but merely acknowledging that several prominent
Anglican/Episcopalian clergy have “seen the light” and moved away from some of
the spurious teaching common to all Christian groups. I’m sure there are many
more. Last time we considered the work of Episcopal Bishop John Shelby Spong
and the Rev. Stainton Moses; in this post we will look at another bishop and a
parish priest who openly declared their interest and belief in mediumship.</div>
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<br /></div>
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But
first, let me paste in a humorous piece by popular comic actor Robin Williams
that I found on my old Episcopal parish’s website. The number-one reason
Williams sees for being an Episcopalian is really true in this liberal
denomination and it is undoubtedly the reason why many parishioners “dabble” in
psychic interests….</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b><i>Top
10 Reasons for Being an Episcopalian</i></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; text-align: center;">
(According
to the comedian Robin Williams, who is an Episcopalian)</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiqjytTZNyFZOP0ghcikE2m8WkDyxFZ3gedM7UPN1pi_l_P_K6J9RR-lLG1h4WO_v_WqFgDBraoG4tdG_3wQRtsLDTJbFA953pvx_elQHy_3iWYRRAX2P_iIZ85yHemQTinxNxjpGG0KM/s1600/robin_williams.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiqjytTZNyFZOP0ghcikE2m8WkDyxFZ3gedM7UPN1pi_l_P_K6J9RR-lLG1h4WO_v_WqFgDBraoG4tdG_3wQRtsLDTJbFA953pvx_elQHy_3iWYRRAX2P_iIZ85yHemQTinxNxjpGG0KM/s200/robin_williams.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Robin Williams</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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10.
No snake handling.</div>
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9. You can believe in dinosaurs.</div>
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8. Male and female, God created them; male and
female, we ordain them.</div>
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7. You don’t have to check your brains at the
door.</div>
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6 Pew aerobics.</div>
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5. Church year is color coded!</div>
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4. Free wine on Sunday.</div>
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3. All of the pageantry and none of the guilt.</div>
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2. You don’t have to know how to swim to get
baptized.</div>
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<em>And the number one reason for being an
Episcopalian:</em> No matter what you believe, there’s bound to be
at least one other Episcopalian who agrees with you.</div>
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<br /></div>
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For our non-USA followers, let me explain that the Episcopal
Church in this country is part of the worldwide Anglican Communion that originates
with the Church of England. Churches in other countries adhering to the Church
of England teachings and practices are also autonomous members of that Anglican
Communion much the same as Roman Catholic churches in individual countries have
a certain autonomy and self-government, yet they are all affiliated with the
Vatican.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>A bishop visits mediums</b></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtxaxN7ycBZ7PNz2QxQ9BW61pTL_L6gQro4RmcuR69ZHu3ycxX-dk6vzAgh-UwTIKJTMY_nFtd3LArMPQ-LpQ2iq25n84_vAYc4arcmgb7EeIb1jVxSu1HiuAQ9AToU1yNSbwBgNnsmFM/s1600/bishop+pike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtxaxN7ycBZ7PNz2QxQ9BW61pTL_L6gQro4RmcuR69ZHu3ycxX-dk6vzAgh-UwTIKJTMY_nFtd3LArMPQ-LpQ2iq25n84_vAYc4arcmgb7EeIb1jVxSu1HiuAQ9AToU1yNSbwBgNnsmFM/s200/bishop+pike.jpg" width="138" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Bishop James Pike</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Our first look today will be at the late Episcopal Bishop of
California, the Rt. Rev. James A. Pike (1913-1969). I’ve chatted with two
people who were acquainted with this controversial clergyman and both described
him demonstratively as “interesting.” Non-Episcopalians (as well as a good
number of those belonging to that denomination) felt he was way out in left
field and his rejection, like Bishop Spong, of core Christian dogmas led in his
case to commencement of heresy proceedings several times during his career.
While the heresy charges were never finalized, Pike was censured by fellow
bishops in 1966 after which he resigned his post. He is especially remembered
for his advocacy of ordination of women, civil rights and acceptance of
gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender individuals.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Pike is also remembered for his interest in psychic
phenomena and spirit communication.
During the year of his censure and resignation from the diocese, his son
committed suicide in New York City. After the death James Pike began noticing
strange things happening around his house such as items being moved or
disappearing altogether or clothes in the closet being disturbed and put out of
order. He was convinced those occurrences were being perpetrated by his late
son and this sparked an interest in the possibility of communicating with him
through mediumship. Much to the embarrassment of the church, the bishop went
about his investigations in a public manner, even agreeing to have one séance
televised. He consulted well known medium Arthur Ford who was himself an
ordained clergyman (Disciples of Christ) and later recorded the details of his
quest for afterlife communication in a widely read book, <i>The Other Side</i>.</div>
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<br /></div>
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In 1969 Bishop Pike and his wife were traveling in Israel
when the bishop became lost in the desert. Before his body was found but a full
24 hours after his death, British medium Ena Twigg received a message from Pike
during a sitting attended by her husband and a Church of England clergyman,
Canon John Pierce-Higgins. The voice claiming to be Pike was tape recorded and
a full transcript of his message was published in Twigg’s autobiography, <i>Ena Twigg: Medium</i>. </div>
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<br /></div>
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In passing, I should note that the late Canon Pierce-Higgins
who was present for the Pike communication also had a strong interest in the
paranormal and he wrote an influential paper on the church and psychical
research.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Anglican
priest talks with Bible hero</b></div>
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On
the other side of the globe, down in New Zealand, lives an open-minded,
inquisitive retired Anglican parish priest who has done a lot to advance
knowledge of ourselves, our purpose and destiny. Additionally, he has made a
major contribution to our understanding of communication with those on the
“other side.”</div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDKbG1aIqKwreKyudkX7ZqYMt8f7sgAo4w3QEXeH951pnK4MlT91_hyphenhyphenn0ZdtCBPC07tN-nPrFO8kdl0yovfGvCe9U4myL6O02nTKay9F3sUpQ1A7eTx56fK_6RXq3XzVsEK2JxXZNQAy0/s1600/michael_cocks_sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDKbG1aIqKwreKyudkX7ZqYMt8f7sgAo4w3QEXeH951pnK4MlT91_hyphenhyphenn0ZdtCBPC07tN-nPrFO8kdl0yovfGvCe9U4myL6O02nTKay9F3sUpQ1A7eTx56fK_6RXq3XzVsEK2JxXZNQAy0/s200/michael_cocks_sm.jpg" width="163" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The
Rev. Michael Cocks, who is a follower of this blog, is a fourth generation
Anglican priest who is not afraid to explore new ideas. He is editor of a
wonderful online journal, <i>The Ground of
Faith</i>, and at the left of this page we have a link to that. The publication
fearlessly and seriously examines life after so-called death, consciousness
research and other cutting edge topics. I recommend it highly.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Another
major contribution from this clergyman is his recent book detailing a series of
afterlife communications he had with an entity claiming to be Stephen the
Martyr, mentioned in the Book of Acts in the Christian Bible. During the 1970s
Michael was a participant in a series of mediumship circles in New Zealand
where Stephen communicated a large body of in-depth teachings that were
recorded and later compiled in Cocks’s book, <i>Afterlife Teaching From Stephen the Martyr</i> (published last year by
White Crow Books; available through amazon.com). I am currently reading this
book and find Stephen’s insight to be compelling and helpful.</div>
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<br /></div>
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One
of the book’s outstanding features is Michael’s scholarly examination of data
from the sittings, especially those few instances where Stephen spoke in a form
of Greek that was used in the location and time occupied by the Stephen we know
from the Bible. The resulting analysis is a very convincing argument for the entity
being who he says he was and this information provides yet another instance
where information from mediumship can be seen as strong verification of life
after death.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYMAdLsDLgJ7M1Ra0RsCmKcFBc_bSOBXkIJTa2NmBtGlGTdqJqnwEQrpFTdBHM7Kx6X5AF_AwlpESuznuTkrCuxyd8bY5vop6zLjIl9MSmp4EGYz930zChb9j4Xp1nV9E2fBJx7Z_pcbk/s1600/afterlife_teaching_from_stephen_the_martyr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYMAdLsDLgJ7M1Ra0RsCmKcFBc_bSOBXkIJTa2NmBtGlGTdqJqnwEQrpFTdBHM7Kx6X5AF_AwlpESuznuTkrCuxyd8bY5vop6zLjIl9MSmp4EGYz930zChb9j4Xp1nV9E2fBJx7Z_pcbk/s200/afterlife_teaching_from_stephen_the_martyr.jpg" width="130" /></a></div>
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There
is another major contribution that Cocks’s book makes and that is the nature of
the questions he asked Stephen and Stephen’s in-depth responses. Being a
clergyman, Cocks brought a lot of theological inquiries to the Stephen circles
and therefore this book contains a great deal of explanation from the spirit
side of life about scripture and various Christian doctrines. Only an
individual with a theology background could have inspired this collection of
valuable material and we are fortunate that the Rev. Michael Cocks made the
effort to put this together and get it published. For those seekers still struggling
with pet doctrines, a thorough study of this book would be helpful.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The
question naturally arises, “why is this cutting edge stuff happening in the
Anglican Communion?” Well, I’m really not convinced there is a lot of it going
on, but outspoken clergy such as Spong and Pike have attracted a lot of attention.
I suppose Robin Williams’ list above might really provide the clue about why
those in the Anglican Communion are less likely to fear “coming out” with
questions (as in the case of Spong) or investigating the paranormal as did
Pike. Within the Anglican Communion there is a great divergence of opinion and
this is usually thought of as healthy (but it also creates schisms as it is now
doing with increased acceptance of gay clergy in the U.S.A.).</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
But
the bottom line for Anglicans/Episcopalians and those in most other churches is
still this – orthodox Christian church doctrine is not open (yet) to paranormal
topics, especially after-death communication. A stark reminder of this attitude
is the history of a report issued by a Church of England committee assigned the
task to investigate claims made by spiritualists. The majority report came back
positive about mediumship so what was the church to do? It filed the report
away and kept it secret until it was “leaked” to the <i>Psychic News</i> many years later. With the notable exception of a few
bold, outspoken clergymen such as those we’ve been examining, this is what
usually happens within the church – either psychic phenomena is denounced
outright or ignored or, in this case, it is investigated and when the messengers
come back with the “wrong” report, their findings are summarily suppressed.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
Even
though this report appeared in the press 50 years ago and is now available
several places online, it is still generally unknown. Its importance cannot be
overstated so I’ve chosen to reprint it below in its entirety. The text I’ve
used here comes from Victor Zammit’s site (link at left) and the report is
prefaced by a statement written by A.W. Austin, then editor of <i>Psychic News</i> when the document was
originally published in his newspaper. Seven of the ten committee members
signed this majority report; the other three signed a minority report. I do not
fully support some of their conclusions about the nature of spiritualism or the
committee’s belief that there is no scientific evidence of phenomena because,
to be honest, they were approaching this topic with a great deal of church
baggage. Remember, too, that this report was written in the 1930s; much has
changed since then. Nevertheless, what follows is Austen’s preface and the
unabridged report; it deserves to be more widely known -- </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<b>WHY THIS REPORT WAS PUBLISHED</b></div>
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by A. W. AUSTEN.</div>
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The Committee appointed in 1937 by the Archbishops to investigate Spiritualism carefully studied the subject for two years and handed in its report. It was expected by the Committee and by the general public that the guidance contained therein would be made available to the rank and file of the Church of England who, up to then, had been given no official lead whatsoever regarding communication with the dead.</div>
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<br /></div>
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When a decent interval had elapsed and no statement had yet been made, enquiries were instituted and it was learned that the House of Bishops had taken the surprising step of pigeon-holing the Reports.</div>
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<br /></div>
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For nine years the reports were kept secret, then one morning there mysteriously appeared on my office desk what purported to be a typed copy of the Majority Report.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I got in touch with a member of the Committee I knew was in favour of the report being published, though he was bound by his loyalty to the Church to keep its secrets.</div>
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<br /></div>
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"I have a copy of the Majority Report, and I am going to print it, "I told him. "There are one or two phrases that are obscure, because of the careless typing, but I would rather print a slightly inaccurate version than none at all. However, if in the interests of truth you will read what I have and correct it where necessary, then you will be rendering a service to everyone concerned.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The purported copy was re-typed, a reporter was sent to the member concerned. What the reporter brought back was a carefully corrected type-script, with every comma marked in, missing lines written in the margins, and complete in every detail.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The report was printed in its entirety in "Psychic News" and with the co-operation of the Press Association extracts from it appeared in newspapers all over the world.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
Still the Church preserved a stony silence. Copies of the paper containing the report were sent to all the bishops and the two Archbishops. No comment came except for a protest from the Archbishop of Canterbury.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
My printing of the report gave to the rank and file of the Church of England the guidance that had been denied them by the House of Bishops. To Christians all over the world it broke the news that a Committee of influential Churchman, examining Spiritualism on behalf of the Church and at the request of the Archbishops had found that it was true and could be a valuable addition to the Christian ministry.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
A. W. AUSTEN.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>The C H U R C H of E N G L A N D</b></div>
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<b>and S P I R I T U A L I S M</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Below is the full text of the Majority Report submitted to the House of Bishops by the committee of Anglicans appointed by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York to investigate Spiritualism.</div>
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=========================================</div>
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THE SIGNATORIES:</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
Dr. Francis Underhill, Bishop of Bath and Wells;</div>
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Dr. W. R. Mathews, Dean of St. Pauls;</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
Canon Harold Anson, Master of the Temple;</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
Canon L. W. Grensted, Nolloth Professor of the Christian Religion at Oxford;</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
Dr. William Brown, Celebrated Harley Street Psychologist;</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
Mr. P. E. Sandlands, Q.C., Barrister -at-Law;</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
Lady (Gwendolan) Stephenson</div>
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<br /></div>
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=======================================</div>
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In interpreting our evidence it is important to take into account the theories, prevalent among the more experienced and careful Spiritualists, as to the nature and value of the alleged messages delivered through the agency of mediums.</div>
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<br /></div>
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It is pointed out, on the evidence of the "communicators" themselves, that the communicators and guides are themselves at very different levels of spiritual development and of very partial knowledge, and that the "controls" of which they make use may often be very undeveloped personalities who are capable of this particular service because they are closely linked with temporarily disassociated portions of the personalities of the mediums concerned.</div>
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<br /></div>
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There are thus at least three factors which would render messages, especially those of a high order of spiritual or metaphysical value, liable to disturbance, and which lead to the difficulties, generally recognised by spiritualists, which the communicators would in any case find in transmitting messages which do not already lie within the general conditions of our knowledge.</div>
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There is, however, nothing inherently contradictory, or necessarily improbable in this account of the conditions involved in such communications. It is, however, no more than an hypothesis, incapable of scientific proof, nor does it assist us in determining the authenticity of the communications themselves.</div>
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The verification of these, if it is possible at all, must rest upon ordinary tests. To say this is not, however, to deny that the communications may sometimes be held to be convincing upon other than scientific grounds.</div>
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In any case it seems necessary to distinguish between the sense of contact with departed friends or with "guides", and the assurance that messages have necessarily any high value because they come through this unusual channel.</div>
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It is perhaps of some importance to notice that there is general agreement in the communications that time has not the same rigid character as a "time-series" in the life that lies beyond death. </div>
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This is in any case probable on other grounds, but it is of interest as indicating a possible reason why communicators are frequently confused or mistaken as to exact indications of time.</div>
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This may not be a failure in their own apprehension of the real significance of events so much as in their power of conveying that apprehension in a form which can be adapted to the mentality of the medium and to the understanding of those to whom the message is directed.</div>
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It is often urged as of great significance that Spiritualism in many respects re-affirms the highest convictions of religious people, and that it has brought many to a new assurance of the truth of teaching which had ceased to have any meaning to them.</div>
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It is a point of some difficulty, since assurance seems to come along different and even conflicting lines. We cannot ignore the fact that at least one considerable Spiritualist organisation is definitely Anti-Christian in character. This divergence of testimony is explained by Spiritualists as due to the continuance of spirits, at least for a period, within the system of beliefs which they have held in this life.</div>
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It is held that even though the whole development of the personality is being raised from level to level, the attitudes to truth and goodness taken up in this life persist in the next, and that this somewhat divergent testimony to the truth of Christianity must be explained in this way.</div>
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We should add that whatever be the value of this supposed confirmation of the truth of religion, Spiritualism does not seem to have added anything except perhaps a practical emphasis to our understanding of those truths.</div>
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Many alleged communications seem, indeed, to fall below the highest Christian standards of understanding and spiritual insight, and indeed below the level of spiritual insight and mental capacity shown by the communicators while still in this life.</div>
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While there is insistence upon the supremacy of love comparable with the New Testament assertion that "God is Love" the accounts sometimes given of the mediatorial work of Christ frequently fall very far below the full teaching of the Christian Gospel, seeming to depend rather upon some power of working a miracle of materialisation (in the Resurrection appearances) than upon a radical and final acceptance of the burden of guilt of man's sin, and a victory wrought for us upon the Cross.</div>
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Nevertheless, it is clearly true that the recognition of the nearness of our friends who have died, and of their progress in the spiritual life, and of their continuing concern for us, cannot do otherwise, for those who experience it, than add a new immediacy and richness to their belief in the Communion of Saints.</div>
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There seems to be no reason at all why the Church should regard this vital and personal enrichment of one of her central doctrines with disfavour, so long as it does not distract Christians from their fundamental gladness that they may come, when they will, into the presence of their Lord and Master, Jesus Christ Himself, or weaken their sense that their fellowship is fellowship in Him.</div>
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It is claimed by Spiritualists that the character of many events in the Christian revelation, as recorded in the Gospels, is precisely that of psychic phenomena, and that the evidence for the paranormal occurrences which Spiritualism has adduced strongly confirms the historicity of the Gospel records, in the sense that they also are records of paranormal occurrences, including instances for example, of clairvoyance (in the story of Nathaniel) and of materialisation (in the feeding of the five thousand, and above all the narrative of the Resurrection appearances).</div>
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The miracles of Healing are acclaimed as closely parallel to the healings performed through mediums. It is strongly urged that if we do not accept the evidence for modern psychic happenings, we should not, apart from long tradition, accept the Gospel records either.</div>
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It is certainly true that there are quite clear parallels between the miraculous events recorded in the Gospel and modern phenomena attested by Spiritualists. And if we assert that the latter must be doubted because they have not yet proved capable of scientific statement and verification, we must add that the miracles, and the Resurrection itself, are not capable of such verification either.</div>
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We must therefore ask what the proper Christian grounds of belief in these central truths of Christianity are. The answer to this question is clearly that we believe upon a basis of faith, and not of demonstrable scientific knowledge.</div>
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Our grounds for this faith are to be found either in a direct mystical assurance that Jesus of Nazareth, as we have received Him, is indeed God's word to us, or, more broadly, in the apprehension of ethical and spiritual values.</div>
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We do not accept the Gospel's because they record wonders, but because they ring true to the deepest powers of spiritual apprehension which we possess.</div>
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But if this is so, we must clearly apply similar criteria to the claims of Spiritualists, and this means that while we regard some part of these claims as matter proper to the scientist, we regard some other parts of these claims as not properly capable of scientific verification or dispute, but at the same time, as deserving the consideration of Christians upon grounds of another kind.</div>
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It has been seen, in the account of the evidence submitted to our Committee, that as far as rigid scientific tests are concerned very little if anything remains both verifiable and inexplicable out of the whole mass of paranormal phenomena.</div>
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Modern psychological knowledge has revealed a wide range of powers and of possible sources of misunderstanding in our subconscious or unconscious mind. When these are combined with the possibility of thought-transference, of telepathy, many communications delivered through mediums seen capable of explanation.</div>
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We have to notice that no good evidence for telepathy itself is yet forthcoming, but probably a majority of scientists would accept it as a fact without pretending to offer an explanation of it. If telepathy is denied, the evidence that these communications do come from discarnate spirits is greatly strengthened on the scientific side.</div>
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But the tests applied by scientists as such are in their very nature experimental, objective and impersonal. It is necessary to ask whether such tests do not in themselves invalidate an inquiry into values which are in essence personal and spiritual.</div>
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The experiences which many people have found most convincing are of a kind which could hardly occur in the atmosphere of scientific investigation. They are sporadic, occasional and highly individual. They could not possibly be repeated or submitted to statistical analysis.</div>
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It is worthwhile to notice in this connection that in the ordinary affairs and beliefs of human life we do not ask for scientific verification of this kind. We accept many things as certain in the realm of personal relationships upon the basis of direct insight.</div>
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When we say that we know our friends, we mean something very different from saying that we can give a scientific and verifiable account of them. But we are none the less sure of our knowledge. Similar certainties are to be found in the sphere of mystical experience.</div>
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It may well be that in this matter of the evidence of the survival of the human personality after death, we are dependent exactly upon this same kind of insight, and that a scientific verification, though valuable where it can be obtained, is of secondary importance, and only partially relevant.</div>
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And this is precisely the situation in which we find ourselves in our assurance of Christianity itself.</div>
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"We walk by faith, and not by sight."</div>
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It is thus a weakness, rather than a strength, in the Spiritualist position that it has been represented as resting upon scientific verification. If rigid scientific methods are applied it is probable that verification will never be attained.</div>
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We may sum up the position from the point of view of science as follows :</div>
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There is no satisfactory scientific evidence in favour of any paranormal physical phenomena (materialisations, apports, telekinesis, etc, ). All the available scientific evidence is against the occurrence of such phenomena.</div>
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Further, the hypothesis of unconscious mental activity in the mind of mediums or sensitive is a strong alternative hypothesis to that of the action of a discarnate entity in cases of mental mediumship.</div>
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Thus the strictly scientific verdict on the matter of personal survival can only be one of non-proven. Again the whole question of Extra Sensory Perception is still a matter of scientific subjudice.</div>
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<b>On the other hand certain outstanding psychic experiences of individuals, including certain experiences with mediums, make a strong prima facie case for survival and for the possibility of spirit communications while philosophical, ethical and religious considerations may be held to weigh heavily on the same side.</b></div>
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When every possible explanation of these communications has been given, and all doubtful evidence set aside, it is generally agreed that there remains some element as yet unexplained.</div>
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<b>We think that it is probable that the hypothesis that they proceed in some cases from discarnate spirits is the true one.</b></div>
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That so much can be said, even in so cautious a form, involves very important consequences, and makes necessary certain warnings.</div>
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It is abundantly clear, as Spiritualists themselves admit, that an easy credulity in these matters opens the door to self-deception and to a very great amount of fraud.</div>
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We are greatly impressed by the evidence of this which we received, and desire to place on record a most emphatic warning to those who might become interested in Spiritualism from motives of mere curiosity or as a way of escaping from their responsibility of making their own decisions as Christians under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.</div>
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<b>It is legitimate for Christians who are scientifically qualified to make these matters a subject of scientific inquiry, though, as we have already said, such inquiry has its necessary limitations.</b></div>
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But it is not legitimate, and it is unquestionably dangerous, to allow an interest in Spiritualism, at a low level of spiritual value, to replace that deeper religion which rests fundamentally upon the right relation of the soul to God Himself.</div>
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It is necessary to keep clearly in mind that none of the fundamental Christian obligations or values is in any way changed by our acceptance of the possibility of communication with discarnate spirits.</div>
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Where these essential principles are borne in mind, those who have the assurance that they have been in touch with their departed friends may rightly accept the sense of enlargement and of unbroken fellowship which it brings.</div>
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It is important to distinguish between assurance of this personal contact and assurance of the accuracy and authority of the messages received. As we have seen, and as many Spiritualists admit, there is every probability that even authentic messages would be liable to distortion.</div>
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There is a very great danger of misdirection if such messages are accepted as giving authoritative guidance unless they are checked by our own human reason under guidance of the Holy Spirit received through prayer.</div>
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But there is no reason why we should not accept gladly the assurance that we are still in closest contact with those who have been dear to us in this life, who are going forward, as we seek to do ourselves, in the understanding and fulfilment of the purpose of God.</div>
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We cannot avoid the impression that a great deal of Spiritualism as organised has its centre in man rather than God, and is, indeed, materialistic in character. To this extent it is a substitute for religion, and is not in itself religious at all.</div>
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We are impressed by the unsatisfactory answers received from practising Spiritualists to such questions as, "Has your prayer life, your sense of God, been strengthened by your Spiritualistic experiences?" This explains in great part the hesitancy of many Christians to have anything to do with it.</div>
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But if Spiritualism does, in fact, make so strong an appeal to some, it is at least in part because the Church has not proclaimed and practised its faith with sufficient conviction.</div>
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There is frequently little real fellowship even between the living, and the full and intimate reality of the Communion of Saints is often a dead letter.</div>
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Spiritualism claims, in fact, to be making accessible a reality which the Church has proclaimed but of which it has seemed only to offer a shadow. This is, of course, only a part of the truth.</div>
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For many the appeal of Spiritualism rests upon much lower motives. It may stimulate curiosity in the bizarre. It may offer consolation upon terms which are too easy.</div>
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It may afford men the opportunity of escaping the challenge of faith which, when truly proclaimed, makes so absolute a claim upon men's lives that they will not face it but turn aside to some easier way.</div>
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It is often held that the practice of Spiritualism is dangerous to the mental balance as well as to the spiritual condition, of those who take part in it, and it is clearly true that there are some cases where it has become obsessional in character.</div>
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But it is very difficult to judge in these cases whether the uncritical and unwise type of temperament which does show itself in certain Spiritualists is a result or a cause of their addiction to these practices.</div>
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Psychologically it is probable that persons in the condition of mental disturbance, or lack of balance, would very naturally use the obvious opportunities afforded by Spiritualism as a means of expressing the repressed emotions which have caused their disorder.</div>
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This is true of Christianity itself, which frequently becomes the outlet, not only for cranks, but for persons who are definitely of unstable mentality.</div>
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It should be noticed that Spiritualists themselves are very much alive to the danger to those who are already unstable, and even to those who are stable, where the motives are wrong and precautions as to sincerity inadequate.</div>
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Whatever else is clear in a matter where the evidence is difficult to interpret, it is certain that Spiritualism has every need of the high standards of Christianity and of its witness to a life which rests by faith upon God, and which is thereby freed from the conflicts of desire and of purpose to which all lives not so grounded are liable.</div>
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The view has been held with some degree of Church authority, that psychic phenomena are real but that they proceed from evil spirits. The possibility that spirits of a low order may seek to influence us in this way cannot be excluded as inherently illogical or absurd, but it would be extremely unlikely if there were not also the possibility of contact with good spirits. The belief in Anglican guardians or guides has been very general in Christianity.</div>
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But in any case the Christian life is grounded upon God, and its fundamental activities are prayer and worship, which issue in loving worship of mankind. A life so grounded has nothing to fear from evil influences or powers of any kind.</div>
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The Church of England, for reasons of past controversy, has been altogether too cautious in its references to the departed. Anglican prayers for the departed do not satisfy people's needs, because the prayers are so careful in their language that it is not always evident that the departed are being prayed for, as contrasted with the living.</div>
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In general we need much more freedom in our recognition of the living unity of the whole Church, in this world and in that which lies beyond death. But detailed suggestions on this point should be matters of dispute, and lie beyond the main purpose of this report.</div>
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If Spiritualism, with all aberrations set aside and with every care taken to present it humbly and accurately, contains a truth, it is important to see that truth not as a new religion, but only as filling up certain gaps in our knowledge, so that where we already walked by faith, we may now have some measure of sight as well.</div>
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It is, in our opinion, important that representatives of the Church should keep in touch with groups of intelligent persons who believe in Spiritualism. We must leave practical guidance in this matter to the Church itself. </div>
David H. Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103428561618712158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733858696820155774.post-34299459168816550452012-09-10T09:00:00.001-07:002012-09-12T14:14:07.420-07:00Christianity: ‘Change or die?’<br />
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Our leading spiritualist scholar J. Arthur Findlay observed
in 1951 that “Theology never makes any advance, and holds to the creeds and
dogmas of an ignorant past. The people must free themselves of these. The
Church of the future must free itself of these ancient crutches and shackles,
and, casting aside ancient and false tradition, tell the people the truth. It
must strike out on a new path or ultimately perish.” (<i>Where Two Worlds Meet</i>, page 457)</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKRTf1dQZ3WUHXiLful2ngQyIvXdarAXbM4AjRiPjnyL390dLdqiXT7i9qJW_xQfN6xzPtJQiCBTzPwOxUgM2eihMPJzJ7q_lhRN65FA8VsMNTYbrWEWxlCALDqTIeuel-RSLmH1tfdHw/s1600/spong.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKRTf1dQZ3WUHXiLful2ngQyIvXdarAXbM4AjRiPjnyL390dLdqiXT7i9qJW_xQfN6xzPtJQiCBTzPwOxUgM2eihMPJzJ7q_lhRN65FA8VsMNTYbrWEWxlCALDqTIeuel-RSLmH1tfdHw/s200/spong.jpg" width="145" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Rev. John Shelby Spong</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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That last sentence just slightly rephrased came into play
again in 1998 as the title for a controversial book by a controversial
clergyman – <i>Why Christianity Must Change
or Die</i> by retired U.S. Episcopal (Anglican) Bishop John Shelby Spong.</div>
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As far as I know, the good bishop knows nothing of Arthur
Findlay and there’s no hint in his writings that he has any interest in psychic
science or mediumship but aside from this there is much that appeals to us
spiritualists in this book of his and its sequel, <i>A New Christianity for a New</i> World (2001, both books published by
Harper). Although he’s criticized by the orthodox, Spong has an immense following
worldwide. This July he was again a week-long speaker at the fabled Chautauqua
Institution in western New York state before SRO crowds – an accomplishment few
achieve there. A couple of years ago he also was keynote speaker at the annual
congress of the International New Thought Alliance and he lectures around the world
before groups of all kinds. His website is also an important vehicle for his
ideas. (<a href="http://www.johnshelbyspong.com/">www.johnshelbyspong.com</a>)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWCE3lyuba-JMhZ4enm8V0Ka1gPAnfv5pO9_vJ4oUcP-sJvaIL_3ohWQgje1NcWbgCyREUXnnyd0mK8eKDUQtS72OXwPM_BAEFQb69nmCz9HpqBAnMwlVE_x4IK8SWNNiH8EjSzC6EEAk/s1600/600full-why-christianity-must-change-or-die%253A-a-bishop-speaks-to-believers-in-exile-cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWCE3lyuba-JMhZ4enm8V0Ka1gPAnfv5pO9_vJ4oUcP-sJvaIL_3ohWQgje1NcWbgCyREUXnnyd0mK8eKDUQtS72OXwPM_BAEFQb69nmCz9HpqBAnMwlVE_x4IK8SWNNiH8EjSzC6EEAk/s200/600full-why-christianity-must-change-or-die%253A-a-bishop-speaks-to-believers-in-exile-cover.jpg" width="133" /></a>In our last blog post I pointed out that spiritualism,
because of its rejection of cardinal dogmas of the organized churches, is not
to be considered as part of Christianity. We looked at other movements such as
Unitarianism and New Thought that are technically in the same boat although, to
be honest, none of these groups goes around broadcasting this fact. Spong
shares a great deal with these other groups with one exception – he’s still
operating within the confines of a very orthodox Christian body, the Episcopal
Church which he served as a priest and bishop.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJlw2t2anQsk18qUa7vsLk4qha14526mukbyyLGKmWggBDYnypiVy8BWnYYyhH4MZnK9CjUZNboBj-DgrLKy6E2gse45Z544ReEw7dpHyLJG5wtNY_7UiH167AIsKE12eSOBeE8gEMk3E/s1600/a+new+christianity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJlw2t2anQsk18qUa7vsLk4qha14526mukbyyLGKmWggBDYnypiVy8BWnYYyhH4MZnK9CjUZNboBj-DgrLKy6E2gse45Z544ReEw7dpHyLJG5wtNY_7UiH167AIsKE12eSOBeE8gEMk3E/s200/a+new+christianity.jpg" width="149" /></a>It behooves us to look at some of the things this forward-looking
clergyman is saying because, I suspect, he is the tip of a gigantic iceberg
that is beginning to make its presence known in churchly circles. “Religion is… not what we have always thought it to be,”
Spong writes in the epilogue of <i>Why
Christianity Must Change or Die</i> (page 225). “Religion is not a system of
belief. It is not a catalogue of revealed truth. It is not an activity designed
to control behavior, to reward virtue, and to punish vice. Religion is, rather,
a human attempt to process the God experience, which breaks forth from our own
depths and wells up constantly within us. We must lay down, therefore, the
primitive claims we have made for our religious traditions. None of them is
drawn from otherworldly revelations. None of them is inerrant or infallible.
None of them represents the only way to God. None of them can be used
legitimately to coerce or compel another to belief. All evangelical and
missionary activities designed to convert the heathen are base born. They are
the expressions of our sense of superiority and our hostility toward those who
are different. The only divine mission in life that the church of the future
could possibly have is to open people to
a recognition that the ground of their very being is holy and that when
they are in touch with that holy Ground of Being, they can share in God’s
creation by giving life, love, and being to others. That is the task of those
who claim to be God bearers. The Christians of the world are not here to build
institutions, to convert other people, or even to claim that we can speak for
God. Those aspects of our religious heritage must be sacrificed as the
premodern misunderstandings of our primitive history.”</div>
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Wow! That could have been written by a modern-day Findlay or
channeled by Silver Birch!</div>
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Spong presents his new vision of Christianity in a manner
similar to that employed ages ago by Martin Luther – with a list of proposals
that define where he stands theologically. Spong’s twelve points are as
follows:</div>
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<ul>
<li>Theism, as a way of defining God, is dead. So most
theological God-talk is today meaningless. A new way to speak of God must be found.</li>
<li>Since God can no longer be conceived in theistic terms, it
becomes nonsensical to seek to understand Jesus as the incarnation of the
theistic deity. So the Christology of the ages is bankrupt.</li>
<li>The Biblical story of the perfect and finished creation from
which human beings fell into sin is pre-Darwinian mythology and post-Darwinian
nonsense.</li>
<li>The virgin birth, understood as literal biology, makes
Christ's divinity, as traditionally understood, impossible.</li>
<li>The miracle stories of the New Testament can no longer be
interpreted in a post-Newtonian world as supernatural events performed by an
incarnate deity.</li>
<li>The view of the cross as the sacrifice for the sins of the
world is a barbarian idea based on primitive concepts of God and must be
dismissed.</li>
<li>Resurrection is an action of God. Jesus was raised into the
meaning of God. It therefore cannot be a physical resuscitation occurring
inside human history.</li>
<li>The story of the Ascension assumed a three-tiered universe
and is therefore not capable of being translated into the concepts of a
post-Copernican space age.</li>
<li>There is no external, objective, revealed standard written
in scripture or on tablets of stone that will govern our ethical behavior for
all time.</li>
<li>Prayer cannot be a request made to a theistic deity to act
in human history in a particular way.</li>
<li>The hope for life after death must be separated forever from
the behavior control mentality of reward and punishment. The Church must
abandon, therefore, its reliance on guilt as a motivator of behavior.</li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">All human beings bear God's image and must be respected for what each
person is. Therefore, no external description of one's being, whether based on
race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation, can properly be used as the
basis for either rejection or discrimination.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBz46X90BKY_6vZ_SWWgiiRC1bw3DwGTowyHVubCtNTgVgzC6kT5rBq3-__zTqp_QrDT0Aa1uQF1tarwsUoulUcwGSWclE_IUMshn0o-OFX8LcIeMfjv1l9GKIMehonFZtKiJGDsJPIfw/s1600/stainton+moses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBz46X90BKY_6vZ_SWWgiiRC1bw3DwGTowyHVubCtNTgVgzC6kT5rBq3-__zTqp_QrDT0Aa1uQF1tarwsUoulUcwGSWclE_IUMshn0o-OFX8LcIeMfjv1l9GKIMehonFZtKiJGDsJPIfw/s200/stainton+moses.jpg" width="159" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Rev. Stainton Moses</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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As I read these 12 theses, I am reminded of another Anglican
clergyman who lived 1839-1892 in England. The Rev. Stainton Moses became a
medium and as such a proponent of spiritualism despite his affiliation with the
Church of England. Two of his books, <i>Spirit
Teachings</i> and <i>More Spirit Teachings</i>
(available online) have come as close as possible to being considered the
“Bible of spiritualism” as any other title. In this quote we read the words of
Moses’ control Imperator (taken from <i>More
Spirit Teachings</i>) where he uses words similar to Spong’s: “You are living in one of the remarkable epochs of the earth. The old creed must die before the new can be received; but it will die hard, as round it still linger the associations of many ages; but it is fast dying out, never to live again. Happy are ye, living in this age, and learning these new truths, if ye rightly appreciate and use the blessing.” The difference between Imperator’s statement and the road recommended by Spong, however, lies in the fact that Imperator makes reference to the truths of spiritualism that should replace the abandonment of outdated creeds. Spong, on the other hand, admits that he has no idea where the church of the future should end up after it makes its shift away from creeds and dogmas that sound pagan and silly to rational thinkers today.<br />
<br />
Medium Charlotte Dresser revealed, with the help of her spirit control Mary Bosworth, that the Christian churches would eventually be transformed. “The time is coming,
and coming fast, when there will be a reconstruction of the religion of the
churches. Creeds will largely go, and love and service take their place.” <i> (Life
Here and Hereafter, </i>1927.) This,
too, tends to confirm Imperator’s prophecy given years before.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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So here we have a modern-day clergyman with all the orthodox
credentials saying much the same thing as church break-aways such as
spiritualists. While I find myself in general agreement with the Reverend
Spong, I tend to view his outlook for the future of the church as a rather
bleak and uninteresting one. He talks of revising the prayer book to reflect
his ideas but we’ve been told over and over from those on the other side that
recitation of printed prayers is of no benefit whatsoever. Likewise, Spong sees
a restructured liturgy as having a central role in the new church he envisions.
Ceremonial and liturgy have also been cited by spirit sources as largely a waste
of time.<o:p></o:p></div>
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To be frank, while Spong’s exposure of primitive creeds and his call
for their abandonment are laudable, after introducing his reforms I can’t see
much remaining that would attract a crowd on Sunday mornings. Here spiritualism
offers a wonderful alternative. With our knowledge of the eternal nature of our
consciousness – backed up by scientific evidence – we bring a vitalizing energy
to those who have walked away from creed-based organized religions. And the
ability to communicate with those on the other side adds an exceptional element
of excitement as well. Spiritualists (and spiritists) can catch a glimpse of
their role in the universe, grasp onto that and do whatever is necessary to
advance spiritually. They then find themselves on a road to somewhere – not remaining
stuck in some church building repeating endless prepared prayers and taking
part in liturgical exercises. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Gep7nfk39DtbEoj24oFxKLYqh9xidSQpfPIZlf2hV2T_8s3S9bbd70bVC6N0KHYNBY1OBWOBHuYNL1JhT1k_HJGc5VI_2C_WjT0zMBWwXbAX_mxiBclpIUIqA_mpwhsfTeepDIJjXIA/s1600/cathedral+spokane.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Gep7nfk39DtbEoj24oFxKLYqh9xidSQpfPIZlf2hV2T_8s3S9bbd70bVC6N0KHYNBY1OBWOBHuYNL1JhT1k_HJGc5VI_2C_WjT0zMBWwXbAX_mxiBclpIUIqA_mpwhsfTeepDIJjXIA/s200/cathedral+spokane.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I was an active participant<br />at the Episcopal Cathedral of<br />St. John the Evangelist<br /> in Spokane, Washington (above).</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b><i>Afterword -</i> </b>While some of my remarks above about liturgical
religion may sound somewhat like diatribes coming from evangelical Christians,
such is not the case. My personal organized religious history includes
membership in the Episcopal Church – the Rev. Spong’s church – and after
graduation from college I was enrolled to attend the Episcopal Theological
School whose campus adjoins Harvard University. This would have led me into the
Episcopal clergy just like Spong. Just weeks before I was to leave for
Cambridge, Massachusetts, to begin theological studies I withdrew and pursued
other educational opportunities.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Why did I abandon my lifelong (at that point) ambition to become a
clergyman? In the 1960s I had made the discovery that historically and
rationally there was no basis for the positions outlined in Christian creeds.
When I revealed my doubts to the dean of our diocesan cathedral he responded,
“Don’t worry about those things. Most of us in the clergy doubt them, too.”
While that is no doubt true, I couldn’t bring myself to enter a career where I
was expected to teach things that I couldn’t subscribe to. So, the Episcopal
Church lost a potential priest but 46 years later I have absolutely no regrets
about that.</div>
David H. Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103428561618712158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733858696820155774.post-20930081665032034262012-08-02T08:58:00.001-07:002012-08-03T22:46:23.445-07:00A New Religious Paradigm<br />
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In
our last blog I quoted <st1:personname w:st="on">Art</st1:personname>hur
Findlay copiously. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Findlay</st1:place></st1:city>
(1883-1954), you’ll recall, is spiritualism’s foremost scholar, historian,
philosopher and writer. One of those quotations, the one that distanced
spiritualism completely from Christianity, was probably no surprise to seasoned
spiritualists but for newcomers it might have been a shocker. And for those
outside the movement <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Findlay</st1:place></st1:city>’s
pronouncement of separation from the Western World’s predominant religion
merely reinforces what evangelical Christians have been saying about us for
more than 100 years.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0pt;">
It’s
important to note that when modern spiritualism was born in the mid-nineteenth
century it was not the first religious movement to raise doubts about
Christianity. The role played by Deists in founding of the United States of
America is well known and Deists openly denied many of the traditional
doctrines of Christianity such as the trinity, virgin birth and so on –
doctrines that conservative Christians insist must be believed if one is to
avoid the wrath of God in the form of hellfire in the life hereafter.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0pt;">
Concurrent
with Deism was the spread of Unitarianism and Universalism, Ralph Waldo Emerson
being one of Unitarianism’s most outstanding spokespersons. Unitarians, as
their name discloses, deny the trinity and a whole lot more. It’s safe to say
that those in most Unitarian congregations nowadays never mention the
atonement, salvation, heaven and hell, inspiration of the Bible or a host of
other teachings that are bread and butter for traditional churches.
Universalism, of course, teaches that all religions are valid, each being a
separate path to God – something that is anathema to orthodox Christians. (In
the United States the Unitarians and Universalists merged into one denomination
in 1961.)</div>
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<br /></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXK5h0_x5c4fREeUZ-OoXK2aU6Xi0Ns8EfmtIpmU703d-BQbay1uBBtc_JouujsNiQ8OIoCYX9yFoxjaoz0gnvE8kCrt-ui__qnj0nJFqZtl60_uja4DYZdphXsSJh86CJQ3tJ_wplAlo/s1600/Unity+Church+Spokane.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="159" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXK5h0_x5c4fREeUZ-OoXK2aU6Xi0Ns8EfmtIpmU703d-BQbay1uBBtc_JouujsNiQ8OIoCYX9yFoxjaoz0gnvE8kCrt-ui__qnj0nJFqZtl60_uja4DYZdphXsSJh86CJQ3tJ_wplAlo/s200/Unity+Church+Spokane.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Unity Church, Spokane, Washington</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Then
about the same time spiritualism was getting its start came New Thought.
While spiritualism shares many points in common with Unitarianism and
Universalism, New Thought teachings seem to be omnipresent in spiritualism.
(Note: to read a summary of New Thought teachings, refer to the documents on
our sister website at <a href="http://mozumdar.org/what_is_new_thought.html" title="http://mozumdar.org/what_is_new_thought.html">http://mozumdar.org/what_is_new_thought.html</a>)
I’ve met many spiritualists who, when they don’t have a spiritualist church
nearby to attend, frequent a New Thought church regularly. The two largest New
Thought denominations are Unity organized by Charles and Myrtle Fillmore and
Religious Science started by Earnest Holmes. While most New Thought folks
recognize Christian Science (formed by Mary Baker Eddy) as similar, they do not
consider that denomination as part of the traditional New Thought movement. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0pt;">
Like
Spiritualism, Unitarianism, Deism and Universalism, New Thought was an early
break-away from orthodox Christianity. New Thought does not officially
endorse the findings of spiritualism although those in the movement do expect
an afterlife similar to what is revealed by spiritualists. Reincarnation is
also generally accepted as well and a great many New Thought folks would, I
believe, espouse most of what spiritualism reveals if they only knew what it
was. Over the years I’ve worked with Unity congregations, teaching classes and
occasionally lecturing for Sunday services so I feel very comfortable with
these churches.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0pt;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFYEUzoobI-ZCIiodNMPZyu3XNL5SRpPdNqd2rYn4XhJP_frnp6gCUlieycN6UbaMXp4Y__8yTxtRAhyKd7xwMn1Jf8OsgLjtq5JfUDxcU8qhAF4pDfeneLNl2Al1iKgVMd6cA8ZrxmpE/s1600/WmWalkerAtkinson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFYEUzoobI-ZCIiodNMPZyu3XNL5SRpPdNqd2rYn4XhJP_frnp6gCUlieycN6UbaMXp4Y__8yTxtRAhyKd7xwMn1Jf8OsgLjtq5JfUDxcU8qhAF4pDfeneLNl2Al1iKgVMd6cA8ZrxmpE/s200/WmWalkerAtkinson.jpg" width="198" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>William Walker Atkinson</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Interestingly,
one of New Thought’s early pioneers, William Walker Atkinson (1862-1932), was also
quite familiar and comfortable with spiritualism. A prolific writer about New
Thought, he also wrote and published (under various pseudonyms) some
spiritualist and psychic titles that have remained in print for decades – most
notably <i>Genuine Mediumship </i>under the pen name Swami Bhakta Vishita.
Atkinson also served as president of the International New Thought
Alliance, an organization that is still very much alive. So those in New
Thought cannot deny many similarities (and a similar history) between their
movement and spiritualism.</div>
<div class="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0pt;">
All
of the movements we’ve been looking at have been denounced over and over again
by orthodox Christians, primarily because of what the groups refuse to accept
as truth. Members of each of these groups have at times experienced acts of
unkindness and in some instances actual persecution simply because they did not
believe dogmas that the Christians thought essential. And each of these groups
has repeatedly been denounced by clergy as being <i>non-Christian</i>.</div>
<div class="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0pt;">
So
is it surprising that <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Findlay</st1:place></st1:city>
says what he does about spiritualism – “Spiritualism and Christianity have no
connection whatever”? The other religious movements above can legitimately say
the same thing.</div>
<div class="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0pt;">
My
point in going through all this church history is to show that over the past
couple hundred years there have been many who have discovered the same thing
spiritualists did – that most of the core teachings of Christianity are,
indeed, not worthy of acceptance. When one examines the earliest church history
– the first through the third centuries – it becomes obvious that most of the
earliest Christians knew nothing of the dogmas that are seen nowadays as core
beliefs. (<st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Findlay</st1:place></st1:city>
covered this early church history and the evolution of dogma in his book <i>The
Psychic Stream</i>.)</div>
<div class="msolistparagraphcxsplast" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">In the next blog I will
examine a famous modern-day clergyman who is leading a large pack of Christians
in a new movement that also says it’s time to abandon superstitions of the past
that have left their mark within the church in the form of doctrines that
simply are not acceptable to a rational person. All this refutes, I believe,
the assertion that spiritualists are unique in their approach to orthodox
Christianity. Furthermore, many still within the churches are questioning
deeply what they’ve been told. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Findlay</st1:place></st1:city>’s
call for a new Reformation may well see fruition just around the corner!</span></div>David H. Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103428561618712158noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733858696820155774.post-7249883197655773912012-07-08T09:18:00.000-07:002012-07-08T09:18:30.483-07:00Is Spiritualism a Religion?<div class="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0pt;">
The
nameplate above for this site contains the well-known statement – “The
religion, philosophy and science of spiritualism.” Few of us would argue about
the presence of philosophy in the spiritualist movement nor would we quibble
about the fact that for 160 years spiritualist phenomena has inspired a lot of
scientific research. But when it comes to calling spiritualism a religion we
have to acknowledge that among spiritualists there those who are comfortable
with that and many who are not. At the outset I’m certain my contribution to
the topic will not calm the waters but I’m determined nevertheless to do my
share of stirring.</div>
<div class="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0pt;">
The
always quotable J. <st1:personname w:st="on">Art</st1:personname>hur Findlay
wrote that religion is associated in our minds with “saviours, creeds,
ceremonials, rituals, churches, mosques, temples, priests and sacred
books…. Without knowledge of the truth [people] rely for their salvation
on forms and ceremonies, on the repetition of formulae and creeds, on acts of
worship, on baptism, eucharists, the last rites and such like, until their
church or temple becomes a sacred shrine, and the purveyors of the dogmas and
doctrines are considered holy men set apart by God from the rest of mankind.” (<i>The
Way of Life</i>, p. 207-8)</div>
<div class="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0pt;">
Some
spiritualists have their church buildings but I doubt there are many who
consider it a “sacred shrine” as <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Findlay</st1:place></st1:city>
states it. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Findlay</st1:place></st1:city>’s
creeds, rituals, sacred books, saviors and such, however, are rejected by most
all spiritualists outright. So that makes spiritualism a non-religion? Let’s
not be too hasty in coming to a conclusion!</div>
<div class="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0pt;">
Dr.
Charles T. Tart’s recently-published book <i>The End of Materialism: How
Evidence of the Paranormal is Bringing Science and Spirit Together</i> is an
amazing read and it will no doubt spark some future blogs on this site. But for
now let me quote (page 315) Tart’s observation about organized religions –
“Religions start from the way of experience: a founder has profound spiritual
or psychic experiences, or both. While there are small numbers of people in all
religious traditions who try to work from this basis, by themselves having and
expanding the basic kinds of experiences that started it all, their efforts are
swamped by the theoreticians, the people who make some kind of intellectual and
emotional ‘sense’ of the experiences. These people too often have had no direct
experiences themselves, but they’re smart people, capable organizers, creative
theorizers.” </div>
<div class="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0pt;">
<st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Findlay</st1:place></st1:city>, our foremost
spiritualist scholar and historian, agrees 100% with Tart’s analysis as far as
it goes. In fact, <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Findlay</st1:place></st1:city>
wrote a complete book of nearly 1,200 pages providing historical detail
amplifying Tart’s first sentence above (The <i>Psychic Stream</i> first
published in 1939). “Religion is based on the interaction between the two
worlds [the material world that we are aware of now and the world of spirit or
etheric world], which is appreciated by those sensitive people called mediums,”
<st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Findlay</st1:place></st1:city> wrote
in <i>The Psychic Stream</i>, page 27. “Because of them man has become aware
that surrounding him is another order of life, and another order of beings. In
his ignorance he believed that these beings were the cause of all the phenomena
of nature, and that on their whims and caprices his welfare on earth, and his
destiny hereafter, depended. Because he failed to appreciate his true
relationship towards them he produced those beliefs which make up the various
world religions. From what was true and real, he erected a mass of speculation
which in many cases has hidden the truth from view.”</div>
<div class="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0pt;">
In
a nutshell, then, here is the origin of organized religions and the
superstitions surrounding them according to spiritualist thinking. Such a view
can be verified by scholarship as <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Findlay</st1:place></st1:city>
so ably proves in his books. </div>
<div class="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0pt;">
“…[S]uperstition
and religion are often mixed up and confused,” Findlay points out in <i>Rock of
Truth </i>(page 160-161) "People think, for instance, that they are
religious if they go to church; if they attend Holy Communion; if they cease
from doing certain things on holy days; if they read the Bible; if they repeat
prayers, and if they believe certain words and certain documents to be inspired
by God. Less civilized people believe in offering up sacrifices, or beating
tom-toms, or worshipping images. Those outward forms and ceremonies have,
however, nothing whatever to do with real religion. They are the draperies, the
superstition which surrounds it. Real religion does not consist in believing
that God, the maker of this immense universe, which no human mind is capable of
fathoming, came down to earth and lived for two years wandering about <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Palestine</st1:place></st1:city>. Neither is it
religion to consider a certain book is holy and inspired by God. It is not
religion to repeat certain words either by yourself or after a parson, or to
partake of Holy Communion, whether you consider that what you eat and drink is
part of God, or the service is only one of remembrance. These things are only
the clothes that have been put on to religion; religion is the something
underneath the outward drapery.”</div>
<div class="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0pt;">
Furthermore,
<st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Findlay</st1:place></st1:city> goes on
to say that “Superstition is that which has accumulated around religion.
Religion is a central truth in man’s life, which has always been and always
will be. One might say that superstitions come and go but religion goes on for
ever.”</div>
<div class="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0pt;">
Victor
Zammit on his fabulous after-life site (link at the left) recently made the
same point as <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Findlay</st1:place></st1:city>.
“BEING 'RELIGIOUS' IS NOT BEING SPIRITUAL. There are those who believe that
being 'religious' is the same as being 'spiritual'. NO, they are NOT the same
thing,” he wrote. “Being 'SPIRITUAL' has absolutely nothing to do with being
religious or anything to do with any Church or <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Temple</st1:place></st1:city> or Mosque or organized religious
activities. It has nothing to do with being atheist or agnostic or whether one
is a medium or psychic. Being spiritual is all about expanding your
consciousness and unselfishly helping others.” This is a point made over and
over again by teaching guides such as Silver Birch.</div>
<div class="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0pt;">
Now,
from the above it seems apparent that it may prove difficult to classify
spiritualism. But let’s move on a bit further before we try. In rejecting the
cardinal tenets of Christianity and going so far as to label them as
“superstitions,” spiritualism has distanced itself from the chief religion of
the Western world. “Spiritualism and Christianity have no connection whatever,”
<st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Findlay</st1:place></st1:city> wrote
in The <i>Torch of Knowledge</i> (page 15). “They are as far apart as the
poles. Spiritualism is a philosophy of life and claims that life after death
has been proved, that those who die live on in a world much the same as this,
with the same characteristics as they had on earth, and that given suitable
conditions they can communicate with us on earth. Christianity on the other
hand, is a sacrificial religion and the Christian Church is an organisation, to
keep alive a belief in a sacrifice for sins, and for the performance of the
rites and ceremonials connected with this belief. For this reason Spiritualism
and Christianity will never join, and no Spiritualist who thinks deeply desires
such a fusion.”</div>
<div class="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0pt;">
I
must interject here, though, that there are some congregations of spiritualists
that classify themselves as so-called “Christian spiritualists.” I understand
that they do accept certain aspects of organized Christianity in addition to
their traditional spiritualist teaching. Also, Spiritists whose churches are
most numerous in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Brazil</st1:place></st1:country-region>
seem to be more closely aligned with Christianity than are most spiritualists.
Obviously, <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Findlay</st1:place></st1:city>
would have none of that!</div>
<div class="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0pt;">
So,
where does all this lead us as we attempt to answer the question, “Is
Spiritualism a Religion?” Organized spiritualism does maintain many of the
outward trappings of the Christian church (being much more Protestant in
organization and practice, borrowing little if anything from liturgical
churches such as the Roman Catholic). But its teachings are definitely not
Christian nor are they borrowed from any other organized religion. In my view,
spiritualist churches are more like educational institutions than “houses of
worship.” There the findings of spirit communication are discussed and
parishioners are encouraged to deepen their spiritual life. </div>
<div class="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="msolistparagraphcxsplast" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
At the core of genuine spiritualist
activity is the quest for knowledge and a deeper understanding about who we are
and the nature of our ultimate destiny. Coupled with that should be the
response of each seeker to go into the world and do good (i.e., service to
others). According to <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Findlay</st1:place></st1:city>,
this would constitute a legitimate religious quest. Seen this way, does that
make spiritualism a “religion” without superstition? Yes, I believe it does.
And if spiritualism is, indeed, a religion, then it is the only one that has <i>any</i> empirical evidence that what it says
is true.</div>
David H. Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103428561618712158noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733858696820155774.post-17366861310730765922012-06-20T12:30:00.000-07:002012-06-20T12:30:49.334-07:00Apology & Postscript<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I apologize to my readers for more than a month of silence
on this blog. Summer is our busiest time because of travel and home/farm
chores. The usual pace of twice-monthly posts may be interrupted because of
these responsibilities during the summer but I do have several articles in the
works nonetheless. One is posted today (next entry below) and it requires a
short explanation. The post concerns our experience with some physical
mediumship several years ago and each segment of the account was written the
day after the occurrences described, while memory was still fresh. The separate
accounts were later compiled into the unified whole that is presented here. We
are quite convinced the manifestations were genuine and that there was no
possibility of fraud. This also is the opinion shared by all our friends who
participated in these circles.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now, I want to provide an appropriate quote to accompany my
May 9 blog about confusion experienced by some recent arrivals to the spirit
world due to erroneous expectations about life after so-called death. This is
taken from Sir <st1:personname w:st="on">Art</st1:personname>hur Findlay’s
fascinating <i>Where Two Worlds Meet</i>
(page 398) wherein he reproduces verbatim transcripts of direct voice séances
conducted with the medium John Sloan in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Glasgow</st1:city>,
<st1:country-region w:st="on">Scotland</st1:country-region></st1:place>,
during the early 1940s. Speaking is a Mr. Hardman who died believing there was
no afterlife –</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“…I was very much in the land of wonder for some time
[immediately after passing over]. I will explain it to you, and I hope you will
forgive me for taking up so much of your time. You see, I did not believe in
the after-life, and when I came here I was bewildered with the wonder of the
knowledge that it was all true. I did not deserve the kindness showered upon me
by those who came to help me. I knew then that I had made a mistake…. I know
what it is to be lonely. That is how I felt when I first came over, until some
friends took me in hand and led me kindly along….”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are several other similar recollections shared in the
book and each stresses the importance of becoming aware of the facts of the
afterlife before bodily death takes us there.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now, please proceed to read the new post below and thank you
for your patience this summer.</div>David H. Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103428561618712158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733858696820155774.post-34000307184356852952012-06-20T12:28:00.000-07:002012-06-22T18:57:43.942-07:00Spirit Painting & Billet Reading<br />
<div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On
January 16, 2010, my wife, Georgetta, and I attended a circle at the Church of
the Living Spirit in <st1:city w:st="on">Glendale</st1:city>, <st1:state w:st="on">Arizona</st1:state>
(a suburb of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Phoenix</st1:place></st1:city>).
The medium was the Rev. Hoyt Robinette from the spiritualist center at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Camp Chesterfield</st1:city>, <st1:state w:st="on">Indiana</st1:state></st1:place>.
The circle had been limited to 25 individuals.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Upon
entering the church we were each handed a quarter-sheet paper (called a billet)
with instructions to do the following:</div>
<div class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal;">
• Write down complete names of family or friends who were in
spirit;</div>
<div class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal;">
• Write down a question to be answered by spirit; and</div>
<div class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal;">
• Write down our complete name at the bottom of the billet.</div>
<div class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
These slips were completed and folded by
each of us and eventually collected in a basket by Rev. Janet Tisdale, minister
of the church. They were in full view for the complete evening and were not
given to the medium until after he was blindfolded as explained below.</div>
<div class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0pt; text-indent: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
Rev. Robinette then proceeded to explain for
the group the process for the spirit paintings. He had a tightly-woven wicker
basket (with a lid) like those made in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mexico</st1:place></st1:country-region> to be used for serving rolls
or hot tortillas. He took everything out and showed us the empty interior.
Since it was thin and woven from reeds there could be no “secret compartment.”
After showing us the basket he had a member of the audience open a brand new
pack of plain blank, unruled 3x5 cards. She pulled off the shrink wrap and
fanned the cards to ascertain that nothing appeared on any of them (and we were
each witness to this). He then picked up big bunches of assorted colored pens
and markers that had previously been in the basket, each with its cap in place.
These were tossed into the basket a handful at a time with about a quarter or
fifth of the cards thrown in between layers of pens. He continued to do this
until the basket was entirely full and the lid was placed on it. The full
basket was then positioned on a small table in front of the lectern where it
remained untouched and in full view of us all until it was opened at the end of
the evening.</div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZuIoUVpSoZEk1J4JLiwMbGgJScunUGIzIR67eLag7Io9qu4FWWEk363DBQMh_WcoIVjW-PJ81zLiClZHAicF_-Z0-bfYaZ42Wcn8W5KUtDEKMgs8SF_LeDQxE1nIljnoIADhf0tH8GpU/s1600/IMG_0424.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZuIoUVpSoZEk1J4JLiwMbGgJScunUGIzIR67eLag7Io9qu4FWWEk363DBQMh_WcoIVjW-PJ81zLiClZHAicF_-Z0-bfYaZ42Wcn8W5KUtDEKMgs8SF_LeDQxE1nIljnoIADhf0tH8GpU/s320/IMG_0424.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Medium Hoyt Robinette (right) with Dave &<br />Georgetta Howard in Tucson, March 2010</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Next, the medium gave a short talk about
billet reading, stating that he would pick up impressions by using the gift of
psychometry. Following that explanation he applied several strips of adhesive
tape to each eye so there was no possibility of peeking out. He then put a
blindfold over his bandaged eyes. His eyes were completely useless.</div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
Rev. Tisdale handed Robinette the basket
with the billets which he proceeded to unfold and hold altogether in his hand while
pacing back and forth behind the lectern. The billets remained in his hands,
usually at waist level. For the next hour or so he called out one-by-one, first
names, in most cases, of those of us in the circle. Sometimes, though, he gave
a last name and at other times he made contact with one of us by first calling
out the name of one of our deceased friends or loved ones. Each person in the
circle was spoken to at length and from the verbal acknowledgements it was
obvious the other people’s information was as accurate and revealing as was
ours. (This was later confirmed by me in conversations with several
participants.)</div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
We will now describe the messages given to
us.</div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
I was alerted that it was my turn when I
heard the medium say “Does someone here recognize ‘Prince’?” I had written this
name at the top of his billet – “Prince” is the nickname given to my lifelong
teacher/mentor A.K. Mozumdar. I acknowledged my recognition of the name and
Rev. Robniette continued by saying others in spirit were present with me that
evening. Each person he next named were those below which I had written on the
billet: </div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">
• Eric (Eric Poole, a college friend)</div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">
• Hal (Hal Howard, Dave’s father)</div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">
• Annie (Annie Howard, Dave’s paternal
grandmother)</div>
<div align="left" class="NormalParagraphStyle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="NormalParagraphStyle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
I was called “David” by the medium even though I had
written “Dave” on the billet. Neither one of us had ever met or seen Rev.
Robinette before and had not been introduced on this evening.</div>
<div align="left" class="NormalParagraphStyle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="NormalParagraphStyle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
The medium continued by naming several of my spirit
guides who were present as well:</div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">
• Sister Fernanda (a healer who would help
heal through me; but the name on the back of the card turned out to be “Sister
Mary Celeste” – explanation below)</div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">
• Dr. Roberts</div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">
• Dr. Rink (who would be pictured on the
card)</div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">
• The master Obadiah (“look him up – he was a
powerful figure in history, in the Bible”)</div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
This list of names was in answer to my
written question, “who are my guides and others in spirit who are helping me.”</div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
When it was Georgetta’s turn the medium
summoned her attention by calling out the name “George,” who was Georgetta’s
father (one of the names she put on her billet). He then said, “is your name
Georgette or Georgetta?” Other names given that matched those Georgetta had
written on her billet were:</div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
• <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Alice</st1:city></st1:place> (her grandmother;
the medium also gave her last name as ‘Ware’ which was correct <i>but that surname had not been written on the
billet</i>)</div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">
• Lavelle (Lavelle Cooper, Georgetta’s mother)</div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">
• Pat (Pat Kene, a friend who passed over the
previous year)</div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
Guides named were Dr. Ballinger (who would
be pictured on the card) and Chief Anadarko. Georgetta’s written question
concerned our cat Lucy who had disappeared a month previous. Robinette said,
“Someone will pick up where you left off,” and that we apparently had lost
something – an object or a pet. He proceeded to say the animal would be safe
and be given a good, new home – spirits said “we will make sure that happens.”</div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
That evening we were sitting with a friend
who received an exceptionally accurate statement from the medium regarding her
home situation – all in response to her question written on the billet.</div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ9FxGZM_HGaIerL6N0Yde7U9iR81kmj_QXl49AhPHS2nqnc0kdEVNlyixqLDlUetiDMUve3XksI-sch8BoOqMfrrVZgjjKh8s-im4oXZoteXxxzepWfk-OhrWZP7UnVKcj3tO_yIfiXM/s1600/D_001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ9FxGZM_HGaIerL6N0Yde7U9iR81kmj_QXl49AhPHS2nqnc0kdEVNlyixqLDlUetiDMUve3XksI-sch8BoOqMfrrVZgjjKh8s-im4oXZoteXxxzepWfk-OhrWZP7UnVKcj3tO_yIfiXM/s320/D_001.jpg" width="192" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The front of my painting<br /> appears above. It depicts<br />Dr. Sara Rink, M.D.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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When all the billet reading was complete,
the medium removed the hoodwink and tape. He then opened the basket and pulled
out all the 3x5 cards. Many were still blank but those that were painted were
separated and there was one for each person in the circle. On the back of each
card was the name of the person in the circle for whom the card was created as
well as the name of the person pictured on the reverse and names of other
spirit guides. On Georgetta’s card appeared her name, Chief Anadarko, Dr.
Ballinger and Sister Silvia. Georgetta recognized the face of Dr. Ballinger
from dreams. Names on the back of my card included Sky Hawk Chief, Master
Obadiah, Sara Rink, M.D., and Sister Mary Celeste. (The paintings and
signatures are pictured here. The face on each picture has photographic
qualities. When holding the paintings up to the light there are several other
facial images that become visible, almost like watermarks. These do not show up
in the scan.) </div>
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<br /></div>
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The following day (January 17) we returned
to the church along with our friend of 30 years, Pat. Rev. Robinette did
another demonstration of billet reading which was as impressive and conducted
in a manner identical to that of the previous evening. There was a large crowd
and apparently everyone had filled out a billet but some obviously were not
addressed as there was not ample time to speak to each individual. Pat and I were
two of the lucky ones, however.</div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcIf9iwmxrX6upCVQ7kCWxJljnFa3kl3JXHIlxqYDVn8-0_My4G_w0PARY6GGaOgaMwkzGpWThlh6l7WvEFkw5u_MPX9GJCHMPb1kSxVpXDy5SJtAsHWVcuBfkJXqcfls634RZDSUp-Z4/s1600/D_002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcIf9iwmxrX6upCVQ7kCWxJljnFa3kl3JXHIlxqYDVn8-0_My4G_w0PARY6GGaOgaMwkzGpWThlh6l7WvEFkw5u_MPX9GJCHMPb1kSxVpXDy5SJtAsHWVcuBfkJXqcfls634RZDSUp-Z4/s320/D_002.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The back of my card.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
Curiously, the blindfolded medium addressed
individuals in the row in front of us one at a time, starting on the left and
proceeding to the right. Then he moved to our row, going in the same direction.
Each individual was singled out either by their own name or by calling out the
name of a loved one. The precision of this demonstration for our two rows in
and of itself further strengthened its evidential nature. Billets were in a
random order, not arranged by row. Furthermore, the medium did not know any of
us in our party – perhaps he could have recognized Georgetta and me from the
previous night but he had never seen Pat before.</div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizlsy5DPvz_BNMB0vzOUOYLioiffUxpZ8qqfxZb9WBNWhH9ze2nlGnz80w26sWltJCWFNmkUmj2zPO_II3jQF2upyKTUelKnhUOSj-7s3b-m9Jv-XSf2neDs9gDHkcX9JpbzR3w1-uqYw/s1600/G_001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizlsy5DPvz_BNMB0vzOUOYLioiffUxpZ8qqfxZb9WBNWhH9ze2nlGnz80w26sWltJCWFNmkUmj2zPO_II3jQF2upyKTUelKnhUOSj-7s3b-m9Jv-XSf2neDs9gDHkcX9JpbzR3w1-uqYw/s320/G_001.jpg" width="192" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The front of Georgetta's<br />card.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
Coming to Pat, Robinette started by saying
“I feel there’s a Day here – O’Day” which is Pat’s last name. After she
responded he asked, “Is your name Pat?” He proceeded to name off several loved
ones on her list including her mother May and another relative named Mary.
There was also an obscure reference to a car (apparently referring to Mae’s
last name which was “Dodge”).</div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
Georgetta was not given a message, perhaps
because she wrote on the billet her wish that Pat be singled out instead.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
When he finished responding to Pat’s
question on the billet he called out the name “Vera,” which was Dave’s mother’s
name that was on the billet. He went on to name others who were on the list as
well –</div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
•
Ruth (Ruth Snoderly, Dave’s aunt, whose role the night previous in an
exceptionally vivid dream was still fresh in Dave’s mind)</div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
•
Joe (Joe Burchell, Dave’s maternal great-grandfather who has been the elusive
subject of Dave’s genealogical research)</div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">
• Louise (Louise Bond, Dave’s maternal
grandmother) </div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHjxV3TfixXFoq54DgBJhNrX8bM62yQbZtsLWSwGjV3Zz48c3aCgIy9MgkSOL2GaYwa0YpnNYh-4MCF04TkLRO2QFRvLTP_m2hdFC3NcUY0iVt9FSB-JOwO2YqzSPwhRry58JCIC8t4vg/s1600/G_002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHjxV3TfixXFoq54DgBJhNrX8bM62yQbZtsLWSwGjV3Zz48c3aCgIy9MgkSOL2GaYwa0YpnNYh-4MCF04TkLRO2QFRvLTP_m2hdFC3NcUY0iVt9FSB-JOwO2YqzSPwhRry58JCIC8t4vg/s320/G_002.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Reverse of Georgetta's card.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
Robinette then said, “There are many others
with you, too many to count.” In answer to his written question seeking
explanation of his future work, ministry or role, Dave was told it was to help
people to know what their need was. “It will help you to know that your best
gift is to help or lead people.”</div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
A week after the experiences above several
of us who were present at the Robinette circles got together and discussed the
event. While portions of our cards resembled photographs or engravings, some
friends had completely different images. A couple even looked like they had
been painted from scratch. The name “Sister Fernanda” named by Robinette turned
out to be not the guide for me but, rather, for a friend who was sitting
directly behind me. Sister Fernanda’s name appeared on this friend’s card. This
“bleed-through” or mixing up of messages for people who are in close proximity
is not uncommon for mediums and in this instance it was very evidential. The
blindfolded Robinette could not have “arranged” the mix-up for two individuals
unknown to him who happened to be sitting close together any more than
circumstance could account for the Sunday morning string of readings that went
down one row of people in order then down ours as well.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
On March 9, 2010, we had another
opportunity to witness some remarkable physical mediumship through Rev. Hoyt
Robinette, this time in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Tucson</st1:city></st1:place>.
Robinette was in <st1:city w:st="on">Tucson</st1:city> for two weeks working
with the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">Temple</st1:placetype>
of <st1:placename w:st="on">Universality</st1:placename></st1:place> and we
participated in a circle of 11 who were sitting for silk paintings and billet
reading.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
We arrived at the location and met the
other sitters shortly before Robinette got there. The séance room was a small
one in an apartment of one of the church’s ministers. The procedure followed by
the medium was similar to the events we’d experienced before but the target was
six-inch squares of silk instead of the 3x5 cards.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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When Robinette began he brought out the
materials to be used – the silk pieces, several bottles of artist’s ink, a
red-lens flashlight and 8½x11” pieces of construction paper. He showed us the
blank, white silks and they were in our view throughout the evening. The ink
bottles were opened but left on the small table in the center of our circle. We
were each given a piece of construction paper.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
Previous to his arrival, everyone received
a billet identical to those used in the demonstrations in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Glendale</st1:place></st1:city>. Georgetta and I had previously
written down a list of names of those in spirit and a question so we would be
prepared this time. We filled out our billets and folded them. Just before the
circle began these were collected by the Rev. Kristine Fossatti of the <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Temple</st1:place></st1:city> and they were in
our view at all times. Rev. Robinette taped his eyes as before and put on the
blindfold, then proceeded to unfold the billets and give messages. Again, each
person in the circle received evidential messages.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
Georgetta was singled out before me this
evening and was alerted that it was her turn when the medium said “There is
someone here by the name of <st1:place w:st="on">Adams</st1:place>” which
prompted Georgetta’s acknowledgement. This was the name of one of those listed
on her billet – David Adams who was a friend of nearly 30 years before passing
several years ago. Our home in the <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Phoenix</st1:place></st1:city>
area was purchased from his widow three years before and we have felt his
presence with us numerous times.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
A humorous incident occurred next: the
medium said there also was a George here but he felt his name should have been
mentioned first. This was extremely evidential. George was, of course,
Georgetta’s father (George Cooper) who passed in 1988. When Georgetta was
filling out her billet she was writing down the names from the list she had
brought but decided at the last moment to add the name of her father even
though he was not on the list. She started to write “George” at the bottom of
the names on the billet but then she mentally heard the instruction to put it
at the top of the billet. She crossed out what she had written at the bottom
and then re-wrote it at the top. So when the message came through from George
that he should have been named first it was a surprising but pleasing
confirmation that this was, indeed, a true manifestation of spirit.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
Other names of spirits present as given by
the medium were Edith (McCullom-Grenz), a teacher’s aid who worked with
Georgetta prior to her death, and James (Linhart), a social worker with whom
she had worked many years ago. Jim was also a friend of mine – and a whole lot
of other people as well (there were more than 700 people at his funeral several
years ago in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Albany</st1:city>, <st1:state w:st="on">Oregon</st1:state></st1:place>). Robinette also said there was a
Margaret present – “that’s with an ‘O’ – she will know where it goes,” the
message continued. At the time this was puzzling because there shouldn’t be an
“O” in “Margaret” but after the circle we reflected and realized it was
referring to Margaret’s last name which was “O’Day.” She was the previous
mother-in-law of our friend Pat who is mentioned above and her manner of
reference to the “O” was quite characteristic of her way of talking and sense
of humor. Also mentioned by the medium as present was “Pat” and this referred
not to our friend Pat but to another of Georgetta’s friends, Pat Keen, who was
named in a previous circle (see above). Each of these names was on the billet.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
Georgetta’s question written on the billet
was “are there any suggestions for me to develop mediumship skills?” The answer
was precise. Without repeating the question, the message was “we are working in
that direction already. Ask and you shall receive.”</div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
My message was the last in the circle and
it began with the name “Tony” being mentioned by the medium. This corresponded
to the name on the billet of my friend Tony Milewski of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Olympia</st1:city>, <st1:state w:st="on">Washington</st1:state></st1:place>,
who had passed over just a few weeks previous. Also named were Ethel (Ethel
Miller – my aunt), Cecil (the Rev. C.A. Brown who I knew in <st1:city w:st="on">Spokane</st1:city>
during college years), and <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Austin</st1:place></st1:city>
(Austin Bond – my maternal grandfather who died in an accident in 1919). The
name “Anita” was also given but this was not written on the billet (as were all
of the other names). After the circle I realized this must refer to Anita
Berry, a woman who worked with me in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Seattle</st1:place></st1:city>
for nearly seven years during the 1980s. The medium fumbled with another name –
it sounded like “Lavada” – no doubt a misunderstanding of the name “Lavelle,”
Georgetta’s mother. (Her name was not on my billet but her face appeared on
Georgetta’s silk – see below.)</div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeLPEY3-SOiQec3vATffBbuBiCLjWGC4Pzubt-JZyFYn1s0Gxdgf5LnIuTIFF67DG7KE0jaHqrYPd-72htAzzhqxXj0NKGH2Ol9PHC3ug26DNxjm0eh4DOrEa-4aCMmGTjOs-SpGeF87Y/s1600/daves_silk_B002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeLPEY3-SOiQec3vATffBbuBiCLjWGC4Pzubt-JZyFYn1s0Gxdgf5LnIuTIFF67DG7KE0jaHqrYPd-72htAzzhqxXj0NKGH2Ol9PHC3ug26DNxjm0eh4DOrEa-4aCMmGTjOs-SpGeF87Y/s320/daves_silk_B002.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Dave's silk.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
Now, the answer to my question was quite
remarkable. I had written on the billet the following: “Are we supposed to be
preparing for 2012 and, if so, what preparations should we make?” This refers
to countless psychic warnings we have received since the 1970s about pending
earth changes and recently there have been many books and TV programs about the
correlation between the year 2012 and the Mayan calendar that ends at Dec. 21,
2012. It is thought by many that 2012 will see many drastic earth changes that
may seriously disrupt civilization. The answer was: “You are doing it (making
preparations) every day – not just one day or next week. Don’t wait until
year-after-next. It is at your own behest because Spirit has given you that
direction. Many people will be left wondering why they aren’t warned. You will
be ready.”</div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIrNbLpUUBtyPIJuOlMWkIj8QgAI0XkGSSRXlIV6i1bfvh-ACVZHint582hjdAq29k-OTz7S-yAgbNN65IGoB2MHZB9EKypQTD1rpCCBAAnA8e3GpqDkSE7FCd2-v_e_g1V4VHNDzyTU4/s1600/georgetta_silk001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIrNbLpUUBtyPIJuOlMWkIj8QgAI0XkGSSRXlIV6i1bfvh-ACVZHint582hjdAq29k-OTz7S-yAgbNN65IGoB2MHZB9EKypQTD1rpCCBAAnA8e3GpqDkSE7FCd2-v_e_g1V4VHNDzyTU4/s320/georgetta_silk001.jpg" width="288" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Georgetta's silk. Because the images appear<br />on rough fabric, they are faint and<br />difficult to capture in a scan. They<br />are much more clear than the scan shows.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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After the billet readings were complete
Robinette proceeded to explain the silk paintings. This had to be accomplished
in total darkness (this is a requirement for many spirit manifestations
because, as they explain, light tends to disrupt the energy needed to perform
physical phenomena). When the lights were out we were to have our piece of
construction paper on our lap. The medium would walk around the circle holding
the stack of silk squares and as he approached each one of us he would speak to
that person (saying “who is next?”). With the response the seated individual
was to raise his/her hand to meet his (remember this is in total darkness) then
direct his hand to the construction paper where he would place the square of
silk, making sure it was securely being held before going on to the next
person. We were to hold the silk on the construction paper with our thumbs
grasping two corners so the silk would not slip off the paper onto the floor.
After the silks had been distributed Robinette continued with a few more
messages for individuals in the circle. I received one of these but since it
was dark I was unable to take notes. One part of the message concerned the
Ascended Master whose portrait would appear on his silk – “It will be the
biggest one there” is a paraphrase of what was said. Another part of the
message emphasized again the importance of the preparations for 2012.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
We had been told that some would feel
energy in their fingers as they held the silk during the painting process.
Georgetta later reported that she felt intense heat in her fingers, emanating
from the silk.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
Coincidentally, some were told in the
darkness how many faces would appear on their silk and after the red light
examination mentioned below it was determined that not everyone had the same
number of portraits.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
When the medium was told by spirit that the
painting was complete he went around the circle with the red-lens flashlight
(red light does not disrupt spirit manifestation as badly as does white light),
shining it upon the silks. We could clearly see that images of faces had
appeared on our silks while we were holding them in the darkness. After each
individual looked at his/her silk in the red light, the silk was rolled up in
the construction paper and secured by a rubber band given by the medium. We
were told to leave them rolled up in this fashion for a minimum of 12 hours so
the images could “develop” properly and be set firmly on the silk.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
We were anxious to see the images in
daylight and in our hotel room we carefully unrolled them around 9 a.m. the
next morning. Each one had several portraits painted on the cloth – large ones,
small ones, in color or black and white. They were faint but most had amazing
detail. All of the faces (except for two) are of people unfamiliar to us at
this time but further study may result in some identification. One of the faces
on Georgetta’s silk is strikingly similar to her mother’s appearance (a
presumption subsequently confirmed by her sister without prompting) and another
resembles Dave’s father. Since our spirit cards shown here have several
almost-hidden images on them, we will need to compare those with the silk
portraits to see if there are duplicates.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="HangingIndent" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
The manifestations we witnessed on March 9,
2010, are further evidence that there is continuity of life after death and
that those on the “other side” are still very much in our presence.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 120%;">Postscript...</span></div>
<div align="left" class="NormalParagraphStyle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
There is a sequel to the above story. The portrait on my
card is of Sara Rink, M.D. At a trance séance in the spring of 2011 I asked the
spirit control if “Dr. Rink” was present. The guide working through the medium
said (and I paraphrase) “Yes, Dr. Rink is here and HE is happy to see you.” </div>
<div align="left" class="NormalParagraphStyle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="NormalParagraphStyle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
I then commented that the Dr. Rink on the card was a
woman. The guide suddenly left the medium and she came out of trance
immediately but then she heard (clairaudiently) the guide inquiring about this
discrepancy and learned that there were actually two Dr. Rinks – the male
physician, Charles, was present that evening. The mention of the name “Charles”
did not register with any of us in the circle as it was said softly and
quickly. It was only later when I was feeding the recording of the session into
a PC from the voice recorder that it was heard.</div>
<div align="left" class="NormalParagraphStyle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="NormalParagraphStyle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
I later did some Internet genealogical searches and
found record of a Charles Rink, M.D., who practiced in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Pennsylvania</st1:place></st1:state> prior to World War I. A page
was printed from the Pennsylvania Medical Journal for which this Dr. Rink
served as a correspondent. The search continues for confirmation of Dr. Sara
Rink.</div>
<div align="left" class="NormalParagraphStyle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="NormalParagraphStyle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0pt;">
To us, the casual dropping of the name “Charles” in
association with the unusual surname “Rink” was very evidential when coupled
with the Internet data that was later unearthed. No other Rink was found online
who had been a physician although there are one or two now living and
practicing medicine.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPS-ItalicMT;">Rev.
Hoyt Robinette has a bachelor’s in business administration from the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Kentucky</st1:placename></st1:place> and a master’s in clinical
psychology.</span></i><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>David H. Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103428561618712158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733858696820155774.post-30329251112996287942012-05-09T07:37:00.000-07:002012-05-09T07:37:38.710-07:00Lost on the ‘Other Side’<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
There were only five of us last Wednesday evening for our
regular spiritualist circle. It was a fairly quiet evening with no one going
into trance, the trumpet did not fly about but there were a few messages
delivered to various ones via mental mediumship.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just a few days before, one of the sitters had lost a sister
in a distant state after a lengthy illness. The older sister had been a
life-long Baptist, committed to her church and its doctrines which included
certain expectations about life after bodily death. The sister in our circle is
sometimes blessed with clairvoyant vision and last Wednesday she saw her older sister
“over there,” confused, alone, and very puzzled. She had not been met by Jesus
– or anyone else that she could see for that matter – and everything was
different from what she had been told on earth.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our sitter reported this to the circle and we all
immediately went into meditation and attempted to send help to the lost sister.
Within a few minutes her vision cleared up a bit, some of the clouds of
confusion apparently lifted and another spirit was finally able to get her
attention and lead her away for rest and help. This was seen clairvoyantly.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This personal incident brought home a tremendous problem
that a lifetime of misinformation creates for our friends and family members
when they first encounter the afterlife. Even when individuals are fully aware
that they are “dead” and separate from the physical body, they may be so
confused and disoriented that they find themselves unable to fully comprehend
their surroundings. Misguided religious teachings are the most often cited
culprit for this painful confusion.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We are told that the majority of folks upon passing over
soon realize they have left their physical body. Perhaps they can see their
body lying there, family members mourning, etc., and soon they begin looking about
to determine where they are now. With this attitude their awareness sharpens
and they often see others who came to greet and help them – usually friends or
family members who have already passed over.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some people – even some with religious convictions – cannot
accept that life continues after so-called death. When these individuals pass
over, the confusion sets in immediately as they realize they are still alive
and not annihilated through the death experience. Or perhaps they deny their
death and insist they are still in a physical body despite the fact that nobody
seems to hear or see them. They wander about their familiar surroundings
attempting to continue with normal activities of work and interaction with
others but find it all impossible.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A variation of this is the individual who has been taught
that when one dies he/she goes to an intermediate spot and “sleeps” until the
alleged final resurrection of the body. Sometimes their expectation plays
itself out in reality and they go into something similar to a coma where they
remain unreachable by helping spirits. This is perhaps the most devastating
outcome of Christian religious teachings concerning life after death.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Still others, we are told, have such preconceived notions
about life after death they expect that to be dead in the body is to be alive
with Jesus. Perhaps they are met on the other side by a spirit they assume to
be Jesus but often it is simply family members in “Etheria*” who try to align
the new arrival’s ideas with reality. If they refuse to understand what spirit
life is really like, they may have an option to join others of like mind who
gather at a church similar to those back home where they conduct familiar
religious services. This continues until they finally “see the light” and move
on.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are many different experiences that those passing over
undergo but what they find is dictated by the life they lived here in the
material world AND their beliefs and understanding. By beliefs and
understanding I mean that their belief and conception of what life after
“death” is like shapes their experience. If they have ideas that are totally
out of sync with the way it really is, then their entrance to Etheria probably
will be bumpy and confusing. If, however, they have studied some of the vast
material describing our spirit life after bodily death, then the transition is
smooth and pleasant.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Unfortunately, most people never get a clear conception of
what spirit life is like and, instead, rely upon the fuzzy and inaccurate
descriptions provided by mainstream religion. We are told over and over again
by spirit communicators that spirits are kept busy over there trying to help
new arrivals – and the overwhelming majority of the newly arrived desperately
need help because they have not been adequately prepared. The books by Anthony
Borgia provide an excellent and accurate description of what these new arrivals
have to work through. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I make it a practice to hold a mental conversation with
spirits of those I know shortly after I learn of their passing. We are told
that these messages are usually heard by the ones we address them to. I make it
simple and after expressing my love I encourage them to look about if they have
not done so already because there are other spirits anxious to greet and assist
them. Sometimes you can actually sense a response.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Countering misinformation about the afterlife was a principal
reason for renewing spirit communication according to messages received after
the beginning of modern spiritualism. Helping lost spirits find their way to
their proper spiritual home is also the function of many circles (called
“rescue circles”). Last Wednesday evening we apparently were able to assist one
of our sitter’s relatives who had just passed over in a state of confusion.
This is important work that highlights one of the many contributions modern
spiritualism makes.</div>
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<o:p>- - - - - - </o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
* “Etheria” is the term coined by J. Arthur Findlay to
identify the realm of spirit life where we go following physical death. He also
liked to refer to residents there as “Etherians.”</div>David H. Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103428561618712158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733858696820155774.post-66904728699703447792012-04-24T12:32:00.000-07:002012-04-24T12:32:56.253-07:00Automatic Writing Champions<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
April 15 was the centenary of the sinking of the Titanic and
here at Spirit Communion we joined the commemoration by taking note of Michael
Tymn’s interesting new book on spirit communications from some of the ship’s
victims (March 25 post). As noted in the blog, one of the principal
communicators was William T. Stead, a British journalist, reformer and
well-known spiritualist who went down that night with more than 1,500 others.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What we didn’t mention about Stead was the fact that he was
a gifted automatic writer (automatist) who had given the world important
messages from the world of spirit. <i>After
Death or Letters from Julia</i> was a slim volume of observations from the
other side dictated to Stead by his friend Julia who had passed over to spirit
in 1891. The messages provide Julia’s interpretations of what happens upon
death of the physical body and awakening in the realm of spirit. After being
available for more than 100 years the letters are still captivating reading and
nowadays can be downloaded from the Internet.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Automatic writing, I may explain for those unfamiliar with
the term, is writing that is written by the hand of a person which is not under
control of his conscious mind,” Stead explained in the book’s introduction.
“The hand apparently writes of itself, the person to whom the hand belongs
having no knowledge of what it is about to write. It is a very familiar and
simple form of mediumship, which in no way impairs the writer's faculties or
places his personality under the control of any other intelligence. This
writing may proceed from his sub-conscious mind, or it may be due to the direct
action of independent, invisible intelligences. What is certain is that it does
not emanate from the conscious mind of the writer, who often receives messages
containing information as to past events of which he has never heard, and
sometimes perfectly accurate predictions as to events which have not yet
happened. It was in this way that I began to receive the communications, some
few of which are collected in this little volume. All the ‘Letters from Julia’
were received by me in the same manner. Sitting alone with a tranquil mind, I
consciously placed my right hand, with the pen held in the ordinary way, at the
disposal of Julia, and watched with keen and skeptical interest to see what it
would write.”</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Stead was certainly not the only medium in those days who
was being given information via automatic writing. Early spiritualist
literature is full of messages that were conveyed that way with some mediums,
like Stead, fully conscious and aware during delivery and others who practiced
their talent while in a trance state.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvGkhsPdPXVA-JizL7pudDqkRECLdQn115cloSSUHnr_P-nJq3TI2dWlRQ1SCj6sbty0x_F700rylPsYs-dxpcjwFZHMIJGl-l6CTycMMTxFG62xtbMMzQGW7ahuMutzolPJ1t6Ai5ArU/s1600/Frederick_bligh_bond_1921.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvGkhsPdPXVA-JizL7pudDqkRECLdQn115cloSSUHnr_P-nJq3TI2dWlRQ1SCj6sbty0x_F700rylPsYs-dxpcjwFZHMIJGl-l6CTycMMTxFG62xtbMMzQGW7ahuMutzolPJ1t6Ai5ArU/s200/Frederick_bligh_bond_1921.jpg" width="134" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frederick Bligh Bond</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Certainly one of the most novel uses of automatic writing
was during excavation of the buildings at Glastonbury Abbey in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.K.</st1:place></st1:country-region> An
architect, Frederick Bligh Bond, was hired by the Church of England to
supervise archeological investigations of the ancient abbey in 1908 and he
remained in that capacity until 1921. Throughout the project Bond consulted an
automatic writing medium, Captain John Allan Bartlett, who wrote down detailed
instructions and maps allegedly dictated by deceased <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Glastonbury</st1:place></st1:city> monks. Bond even recorded that he
usually read out loud unrelated literature to Bartlett while the automatic
writing was in process in order to make certain that the medium’s conscious
mind was occupied with things other than what was being written by his hand.
Messages – written in Middle English, Low Latin and modern English – often had
to be deciphered or translated but they were always on target which resulted in
amazing finds at the site. Bond recorded the experience in his book <i>The Gate of Remembrance</i> (available for
download on the Internet). Another Bond book which reveals even more about <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Glastonbury</st1:place></st1:city> and automatic
writing predictions of World War I is <i>The
Hill of Vision</i>, also available online.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtUhU5n9rQXyYiYtFPP2CyhQtf2y3Y1L95j_HGf__BSE_0UwkAwEgOfsNj1Mb-IczmyMbzQ7CySXhkvwIVgEnfkASCyIFdhKQxJCoinz9sKJzmDZ9FRD9xPXJnWTvmkssgsGQ9H3GE9Tw/s1600/pearl+curran.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtUhU5n9rQXyYiYtFPP2CyhQtf2y3Y1L95j_HGf__BSE_0UwkAwEgOfsNj1Mb-IczmyMbzQ7CySXhkvwIVgEnfkASCyIFdhKQxJCoinz9sKJzmDZ9FRD9xPXJnWTvmkssgsGQ9H3GE9Tw/s200/pearl+curran.jpg" width="158" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pearl Curran</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perhaps the most remarkable automatist in North America was Pearl
Leonore Curran, a poorly educated woman who lived in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">St. Louis</st1:city>, <st1:state w:st="on">Missouri</st1:state></st1:place>.
In 1913 while passing time with the Ouija board she made contact with a
seventeenth century Englishwoman named Patience Worth. Over a period of several
years Patience Worth dictated to Curran a string of literary masterpieces
including complete novels, poetry and plays, each being far beyond Curran’s
capability. For example, in a compilation of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s best poetry of 1917
appeared five of Patience Worth’s creations alongside fewer compositions each
by other acclaimed poets such as Amy Lowell, Vachel Lindsay and Edgar Lee
Masters. Some of the Patience Worth titles are still in print nearly 100 years
later and scholars continue to marvel at the quality of the material Curran
received. Also, several in-depth studies of Curran’s career have been
published.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A modern-day Pearl Curran would be Stella Horrocks, a
retired teacher in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.K.</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
who has in longhand written down complete novels under the pen names of several
well-known deceased authors. She claims the material is given automatically and
that she breathlessly awaits unfolding of the plot just as any reader
would.<span> </span>There is an interesting British
TV video of Stella available on youtube (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TTmIibV30s">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TTmIibV30s</a>)
but, unlike Pearl Curran, I cannot find that any of the books dictated through
Stella Harrocks have been published.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhki13KmbJ3DdaqdDy96hHxFBlZENYDX02NopGCciaLq9xZjZJvomvw0mAFrgKF2ND2K2IBvSNdZSgiEO-V8tAYtGcbJS4SThxZJFrjkvt5x2KGPvczj55cKYh2MW0L3ky3GPVY6NVZ4hU/s1600/chico_xavier.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhki13KmbJ3DdaqdDy96hHxFBlZENYDX02NopGCciaLq9xZjZJvomvw0mAFrgKF2ND2K2IBvSNdZSgiEO-V8tAYtGcbJS4SThxZJFrjkvt5x2KGPvczj55cKYh2MW0L3ky3GPVY6NVZ4hU/s200/chico_xavier.jpg" width="199" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chico Xavier</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The all-time champion of automatic writing title will have
to be given to a man who never wrote a word of English and who is largely
unknown in North America or <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place> – Chico
Xavier (1910-2002). This humble, slightly educated Brazilian holds the record
as being the second most prolific author in the Portuguese language and every
word of it, he claimed, was dictated by spirit guides. His output was greater
than 458 published books which combined by 2010 had sold more than 50 million
copies.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Chico</st1:place></st1:city>’s
books cover a wide range of literary fields from historical novels, poems, and religious
teachings to philosophy and medicine. He took no payment for any of the books,
donating all proceeds to charity which, in part, earned him a nomination in
1982 for the Nobel Peace Prize. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“When I am writing automatically,” he said, “I can see, hear
and I have often registered the presence of the communicator without knowing
anything about the subject matter on which he is writing.” Indeed, most of what
came through Xavier’s pen was beyond his capability and understanding.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Chico Xavier (born Francisco de Paula Cândido) was a Spiritist,
the philosophy and religion very similar to spiritualism that emanates from the
teachings of Frenchman Allan Kardec. Spiritism is very prominent in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Brazil</st1:place></st1:country-region> and
followers make “a clear distinction between…automatic writing and what they
call <i>psicogr afia</i>. The former is held
to be no more than the manifestation of one’s subconscious, while the latter –
‘psychography’ – is that of a separate entity, presumably a spirit.” (Quoted
from the amazing biography and analysis of Xavier, <st1:city w:st="on"><i>Chico</i></st1:city><i> Xavier, Medium of the Century</i> by Guy Lyon Playfair; published in
2010 in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">U.K.</st1:country-region></st1:place>
by Roundtable and the International Spiritist Council.)</div>
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Regrettably, few of Chico Xavier’s works have been
translated into English.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">* * * *<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Finally, I want to share one
last thing this week, a communication from W.T. Stead who was referred to above
(in the first few paragraphs). He was, of course, a Titanic victim who returned
through mediums within hours of his tragic demise on the ship and he continued
to reappear for decades. The transcript below comes from the book <i>My 4,000 Ghosts</i> by Australian actor
Edwin Stanley Brookes published first in 1968. In addition to a few Titanic
comments, Stead shares some profound thoughts about the importance of sitters
in circles to focus upon their spirituality. These truths relate directly to
posts on this blog concerning the current state of the spiritualist movement (several
posts, actually, but especially the one of Feb. 2). This transcript from the
book was courtesy of Richard Rowley who posted it on the Yahoo Spiritualist
group. Thank you Richard. <span> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">“Spiritualists and others,
when they arrive here from the earth, are surprised to find how hard and rare
it is to have direct and true spiritual communication with those they have left
behind. Often you people sitting in circles on the earth are victims
of lower spirits, but this happens only when the spirituality of the sitters is
on a low plane. Like attracts like. When sitters have progressed to a
higher spiritual plane, it is almost impossible for deception by lower orders
of spirits, or for impersonation to take place. People have visions that
are positively misleading , because they are in low grade of spiritual
development, and actually believe all they are told – and many want to be directed
in practically all they do. <br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">“These people are not
Spiritualists, they are ‘Egyptian mummies!’<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">“In the Bible we are told to
“Try the spirits and prove them.” Too few do this. We should ever
be at the door to check those spirits who come through who claim to speak with
such positive authority. I think our Spiritualism is scoffed at so often
because of those who TRADE on it, and it becomes mixed up with outright
fortune-telling, which certainly is not any part of our religion and
philosophy. What we know as fortune-telling must be completely separated
from our movement, if we are to expect a greater degree of respect from the
people at large. People get one or two correct messages, and they believe
that they must forever be guided by those who conveyed the messages. This is
wrong – terribly wrong and stupid. But those who seek truth and honesty,
will receive guidance from the Beyond according to their entitlement. To
watch the ordinary low type of uninformed and irresponsible Spiritualist
meeting is enough to make the angels weep. Not by sitting in circles and
ever seeking “tests” will man develop spiritually, but he can do this only by
growing closer, day by day, to the Giver of all Light. Each man must be
his own savior – there is no other way – and we all more or less have the power
within us to do this. Even angels are powerless to raise up a spirit –
every man is spirit, here and now. We must first learn to do this
ourselves.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">“As your father told you
years ago, soon after he found himself in the Beyond, spiritual advancement comes
from trying to lift others to something higher – and there it is. When
you on earth become sufficiently civilized to do away with war, then and then
only, will you begin to evolve out of the slimy mess that, to our vision here,
covers your earth. Your world is filled with men in high places who want war.
War is the greatest cause of all the troubles on your earth. If your
warmongers could see the millions of lives here blasted by wars, some from wars
fought hundreds of years ago, they would freeze with horror. For some reason or
other, I had to tell you of these heartbreaking things. Now we will end
on a brighter note.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">“Materialized forms on the
earth are more common than is known. Many spirits walk your streets and would
not be distinguished from an ordinary person. Photos of these have been taken,
as you know … without a camera. The ordinary mind would not understand this,
because it would try to understand a spiritual thing, with a material
mind. Man makes the mistake of looking for spiritual realities in
material things. This is the answer to a question asked at your last sitting, I
am informed.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>David H. Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103428561618712158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733858696820155774.post-89132192179200193482012-04-12T10:05:00.000-07:002012-05-04T14:34:52.575-07:00Are Spiritualist Groups Really Necessary?<br />
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Our last blog focused on research that shows aging of the
organized religious spiritualist movement in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.A.</st1:place></st1:country-region> This trend bodes poorly for
the movement unless younger blood is attracted to keep things advancing. However,
it also should be noted that many new “converts” <i>are</i> joining – but the vast majority of those are at least in middle
age.</div>
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It is a sad reality, though, that in many parts of the
nation (<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.A.</st1:place></st1:country-region>
again) there are no spiritualist congregations any more and in others their
numbers have been drastically reduced.</div>
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In light of this decline, one could ask, “Why bother? Maybe
organized spiritualism has seen its day and eventually all the congregations
will be gone. So what?”</div>
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Before we get to possible answers to those questions, let’s
first try to pin down what spiritualism is. As I see it, the core of modern
spiritualism can be summed up in two statements: (1) Every human is more than a
physical body – each individual is a spirit occupying a physical body and when
that physical body dies, we live on in the etheric world; and (2) Those in the
etheric world can, under certain conditions, communicate with us who are
residing on earth.</div>
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These ideas were central to the movement that began in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">New York</st1:state></st1:place> state in 1848
with the rappings in the Fox home. After the rappings became public there was
rapid emergence of mediumship and investigations by people from all walks of
life who confirmed over and over again those two fundamental principles of
spiritualism. In a short time there were folks around the world who were
convinced and they flocked to those who apparently possessed mediumistic
skills. Unfortunately, many charlatans were ready to take advantage of the
situation so spiritualists got together, formed associations and churches.
These evolved into centers where spiritualists could get together and, just as
important, they were able to set some standards that tended to expose the
fraudulent mediums while at the same time provided a ready-made audience for
the genuine ones.</div>
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Since most of these new spiritualists had emerged from other
Christian churches, they brought to their new groups the familiar trappings
from those traditional orthodox bodies. These included hymns, structure of
services, and the tendency to codify or reduce their new religion to a set of
doctrines, albeit a shortened and very liberal collection of doctrines.</div>
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I am not aware that any organized spiritualist denomination
(with the possible exception of Spiritism launched by Allan Kardec) that were
established after clear instructions to do so from those on the other side so I
will step out on a limb and contend that they were all man-made institutions – but,
nevertheless, spirit has worked mightily within those institutions. Hundreds of
thousands of individuals have received proof of survival and had their grief abated
by it. A massive amount of evidence for survival has been accumulated as well,
much of it probably due in large part to the existence of organized
spiritualism. Those churches have also been channels for healing and education,
touching the lives of many over the past 160 years.</div>
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So, in looking at what spiritualism is and at what its
organized groups have accomplished in the past we can begin to sense why it is
still hanging around and why a particular subset of our population finds it so
attractive and helpful. One of the reader comments posted for our last blog
made some very good points about the type and age of people attracted to
spiritualism. Let me quote: “…the loss of a loved one tends to spur a person to
seek explanations and possible hope. In effect, one needs to have lived a while
before becoming cognizant of one's physical mortality. In that sense, there is
a natural selection in which people who are motivated to understand their
relationship with the greater reality are more attracted to Spiritualism than
are the idle curious.” This certainly provides an understandable and rational
explanation about why spiritualism tends to attract older folks as well as
those of all ages who are looking for a deeper understanding of spiritual
realities. It has no doubt always been so.</div>
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Coincidentally, on the Psychic News website there are two recent
articles discussing the so-called “failure” of modern organized spiritualism.
The first is rather negative but the second, while acknowledging problems,
provides some hope. Lis Warwood’s rebuttal makes the valid point that spirit
communication was initiated by the “other side” with the express desire to
prove to humankind that there is life after so-called death. That message is
still vitally needed and apparently spirit has been successful in impressing a
vast majority of the human race that life does continue indefinitely. Polls
indicate belief in life after death is still entrenched and, furthermore, those
believing that communication with the spirit world is possible far outnumber the members of
spiritualist congregations. Television programs featuring mediums are common
nowadays and several popular dramatic series have afterlife communication as
part of their plot line. While these statistics and trends dismay the
materialistic skeptics, they are somewhat encouraging to the rest of us because
of the possibilities they present. The central message that we are spirit and
that those beyond the grave can communicate is still interesting to many people
worldwide. If our spiritualist churches and associations are finding an eager
audience with this message then they are bound to continue. If their
presentation of this message is not receiving much notice, then eventually
there will come a time when either a change or a termination will be necessary.
</div>
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I encourage my readers to peruse the Psychic News articles
and the many comments that were posted there by readers. They can be accessed
at <a href="http://psychicnews.subhub.com/content/hydesville-debate">http://psychicnews.subhub.com/content/hydesville-debate</a>
.</div>
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A couple of blogs back I made the comment that it is
difficult if not impossible to be a solitary practicing spiritualist – the very
heart of spiritualism is communication with the spirit world and communication
by definition requires two or more individuals. Also, the New Testament promise
stating that spirit will be present where two or more are gathered together in
spiritual agreement is very true. That premise is the working framework for
each and every spiritualist circle and it also holds true for other
spiritualist gatherings as well – both religious and secular. This all leads me
to believe that there will always be spiritualist groups of some sort. The
message is there, the need is there and the interest is there. Those gatherings
may or may not resemble traditional spiritualist church services – I tend to
think the churchlike structure will probably continue to diminish over time.
But get-togethers of like-minded folks are still helpful and necessary. What
form they may take we can only guess at this point. But if we ask spirit for
guidance and direction I’m sure it will be gladly given.</div>David H. Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103428561618712158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733858696820155774.post-42764803120678003842012-04-06T10:48:00.000-07:002012-04-07T08:19:22.534-07:00Spiritualism – A ‘Graying Religion?’<br />
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A few days ago the Annual Proceedings for The Association
for the Scientific Study of Religion – Southwest appeared on the Internet and
it was refreshing to see one of the papers presented at their March 9-11
symposium concerned organized spiritualism.</div>
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Titled “Messages from Heaven: A Research Study on
Spiritualist Ministers and Their ‘Calling’ to Serve Spirit,” the paper was
written by Dr. Todd Jay Leonard, a professor at Fukuoka University of Education
in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Japan</st1:country-region></st1:place>.
I read one of his books shortly after it was published in 2005 – <i>Talking to the Other Side: A History of
Modern Spiritualism and Mediumship</i> and he promises that this current
research paper will later appear as part of another book he is writing on
spiritualism.</div>
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While I found the entire paper very interesting, by far the
most intriguing paragraphs were those where Leonard talked about the
relationship between spiritualism and the New Age movement. This, of course,
was the topic of my March 3 blog and it’s flattering to see that Leonard and I
largely agree about this topic. After going through all the demographic
discoveries his research dug up (which I’ll summarize below), Leonard concedes
that “in many ways, Spiritualism has become a part of the ‘mainstream’ over the
years, adopting a system that is still on the fringes of the more traditional
belief systems but ‘churchified’ enough to be considered somewhat mainstream.
Many younger people currently prefer more freedom of choice and flexibility in
their religious proclivities, choosing belief systems that offer even less
structure and dogma than Spiritualism.”</div>
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Coincidentally, Victor Zammit’s weekly Afterlife Report
opens today with some similar remarks about today’s young people. “Youth around
the world in the twenty-first century has become more questioning and cynical
than ever before – demanding proof for the ancient religious beliefs they are
asked to accept blindly, without questioning. Youth is rebelling against some
of the most obscene beliefs in religious writings none of which can be
independently supported. The Old Testament for example makes God an ethnic
cleanser, a cause of genocide, inspiring murder of thousands of innocent men,
women and children. This God is viciously against women – and is described as a
'God of War', a 'jealous' God, and an 'Envious God'. That is NOT spirituality.
That is not inspirational. That is not acceptable. Youth – and others – are
protesting with their feet, abandoning the Churches and causing a serious
crisis to religion around the world. Youth is rejecting the traditional beliefs
created by a few men in ancient times who gave themselves AUTHORITY and POWER
to control the minds and hearts of people using horrific fear.”</div>
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Absence of structure and dogma has drawn many of these young
people out of mainstream Christianity to the so-called New Age movement,
Leonard notes. Spiritualism, of course, is a “creedless” religion like the
far-flung New Age movement, but the difference according to Leonard is that the
New Age is still a “trend” while spiritualism has set itself apart as a
religion. (Spiritualism is much more than a religion, but for this discussion
we need to limit ourselves to its religious aspect.) Spiritualism is, like most
religions and Christian denominations, a “group thing.” To be a spiritualist,
one usually belongs to a spiritualist community of some sort such as a church
or perhaps only a small home circle. That requires some commitment such as
attending meetings, contributing money, reading and study. None of these
traditional “churchly” activities are associated with the New Age because that
“trend” has not coalesced into structures comparable to churches. Yes, there
are meditation groups, yoga groups, and similar organizations out there working
loosely under the New Age banner, but each only represents a small part of what
is considered “New Age.” Spiritualist churches, on the other hand, try to
incorporate it all under one roof. Unlike spiritualism, Leonard says New Age
“is more culturally than religiously based, focusing on spirituality as it
pertains to various peoples and traditions, rather than to a singular belief
system.” </div>
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I might add that one can consider him/herself a “New Ager”
and never participate in anything outside of the home. To be a spiritualist,
however, is to interact in some way with others sharing that belief system.
Leonard hints at this by saying that “Spiritualism requires a certain degree of
dedication and perseverance, and not mere dabbling.”</div>
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Eleven years ago Dr. Robert Putnam, a professor at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Harvard</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place>, wrote a compelling book, <i>Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of
American Community</i>. The strange title comes from research that showed the
number of lines bowled in American bowling allies was going up but that the
number of lines bowled by league players was dropping drastically. This
launched Putnam’s research that concluded that Americans were withdrawing in
droves from group activities and staying at home or doing things outside the
home on an informal basis with only close friends or family members. In other
words, institutions such as churches, lodges, bowling leagues, Boy and Girl Scouts, and many
more, were hurting for members – especially active and engaged members. In the
back of Putnam’s book is a listing of many membership and volunteer groups with
statistics showing declines in participation, many of them drastic, over the previous
two decades.</div>
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This research relates directly to our current discussion
about spiritualism and the New Age movement. My generation and those before it
grew up with parents and other relatives or neighbors who were generally
involved in one or more organization. Today’s youth as a rule has missed that
experience and, hence, they do not flock to organizations themselves. Instead,
they “hang out” in commercial locations – shopping malls, night spots,
theaters, school activities, etc. If they think about such things, the New Age
is appealing but it is pretty much of a solitary activity requiring nothing. </div>
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This leads me to the title of this posting – “Spiritualism,
a ‘Graying’ Religion?” Leonard’s demographic research points quite clearly to
the fact that leadership in spiritualist communions is held almost entirely by
middle-age and, predominantly, elderly individuals. In his study sample of
ordained spiritualist ministers, none were under the age of 35 and only 3% were
between the ages of 35 and 44. A whopping 39% were aged 55 to 64 and 35% were
older than that. What’s more, these ministers also provided revealing
statistics about when they became a spiritualist. Only 12% were raised in a
spiritualist church while 11% more became involved as a “young adult.” A huge
majority (70% of the total) became spiritualists in middle age.</div>
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These numbers indicate two things: First, the majority of
those sitting in the pews at a spiritualist church are sporting a lot of gray
hair and, second, those in charge are even older because they were attracted to
spiritualism at an older age and then began their long development of
mediumship plus additional years of study for ordination. “Spiritualist
mediumship and the ministry as we know it may eventually reach a state of
extreme crisis if more younger people do not begin to pursue studies toward
ordination,” Leonard summarizes. This, I contend, will be difficult to resolve
given the downward trend of the general population in all organizations.</div>
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As I’ve indicated here before, and Victor Zammit apparently
feels the same way, young people today in the Western world are generally
educated enough and shrewd enough to reject the religious status quo. Many of
them drift toward the New Age ideas because they long for spiritual fulfillment
without the church trappings. Somehow we need to draw their attention and
enlist their involvement and support – for their good as well as ours.
“Spiritualist churches must work to devise a way to attract these ‘spirituality
seekers’ if they are to survive the current crisis of being a ‘graying
religion,’” Leonard says.</div>
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Some of the other demographics Leonard outlines are equally
interesting. Although his focus was entirely on ordained spiritualist
ministers, we can probably be comfortable in extending these figures to the
entire congregation but further research would be necessary to determine if
that is fitting. Leonard’s sample showed that 70% of spiritualist ministers
were female and this he attributes to two factors: (1) Unlike most other
churches, organized spiritualism since its inception has been totally open to
female participation and, indeed, its presence today is no doubt due largely to
efforts of women; and (2) the majority of those with mediumship abilities are
female. Leonard also discovered that 28% of responding clergy were gay, lesbian
or bisexual and this, too, illustrates positively the open attitude of
spiritualists concerning gender issues. He also theorizes that mediumship tends
to function best when the medium possesses an abundance of “feminine energy”
but quickly adds that he does not suggest the gay mediums and clergy “are
‘feminine,’ but that perhaps the spiritual aspect and vibratory energy needed
to make spirit contact is somehow feminine in nature.” He then goes on to quote
a male heterosexual spiritualist minister: “When you do this kind of work, we
are all electromagnetic, and we all have male/female energy – which is not
sexual. When you do mediumship, you use the ‘feminine’ energy more than the
‘male’ energy. Many straight men are uncomfortable with tapping into this
female energy. Gay men are more comfortable tapping into it, so more male
mediums tend to be ‘gay.’ Straight men are often conditioned from childhood to
deny their feminine energy side, so they do not tap into it very much. Society
tends to emphasize to men that they are not supposed to ‘feel,’ for instance,
‘real men don’t cry.’ You can’t be a medium without being able to feel deeply.”
This, I feel, is an excellent description.</div>
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Another finding in Leonard’s study reveals a great deal
about the religious background of spiritualists and their quest for spiritual
understanding. Remember that only 12% were raised in the faith meaning that 88%
converted to spiritualism – most in their middle-age years. Almost all of those
had previous experience in other Christian denominations and went searching for
something that would meet their spiritual needs (implying that their previous
church home was not doing so). Thirty-nine percent of those came from
Catholicism with the second highest group being Methodists at 24%. Baptists
came in third at 17%. Nearly 13% identified themselves as former atheists or
agnostics and many other groups were also represented including Judaism and
Buddhism.</div>
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The link to this important study appears at the end of this
post.</div>
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Another research paper in the Proceedings also caught my eye
and it has some relevance to the current discussion – “Jesus at Disneyland or
Spiritual Innovation: The Enmeshment of Consumer Culture and U.S. Evangelical
Religious Practices” by two sociologists at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Stephen</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">F.</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Austin</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">State</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place>, J.B. Watson
Jr., Ph.D., and Walt Scalen, Ed.D. They identify our current culture as being
predominantly consumerist in nature and point to the rise of the so-called
“mega-churches” as evangelicalism’s answer to the shopping mall. I’ve been to
one of these “new paradigm” churches complete with its coffee and snack bar, soda
machines, gym and so forth. On Sunday morning most of the parishioners stand
around in this food area, chatting and munching, many not even bothering to
enter the assembly hall to hear the sermon. When they do, they are treated to a
pretty bland presentation devoid of the fire and brimstone and altar calls
common in traditional evangelical churches. Down the hall is the office of the
staff psychologist and on the calendar board are listings for various support
groups meeting at the building through the week. All in all, I found the
experience to be very much like a friendly shopping mall! </div>
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This seems to be evangelicalism’s answer to today’s
spiritual needs. These huge mega-churches with membership in each reaching into
the thousands are to be found in most large cities. In no way would I criticize
bringing friends and neighbors together in a social venue and these churches do
that. But for what purpose? Helping families with problems and presenting good
ethical standards to live by is wonderful, but for many of us that isn’t nearly
enough. There’s much more to learn on this walk through life on earth and, for
me and many others, spiritualism and afterlife research fills the bill much
better than a coffee bar in a church. That reality makes examination of Leonard’s
findings even more important – spiritualism has a great deal to offer today’s
spiritual searchers but the organizational arm of the spiritualist religion and
philosophy is suffering. Let’s put our heads together, listen to spirit, then
come up with some answers. It would be wonderful in a few years to read a
scholarly report on how spiritualism has rebounded again! Let it be so!!!</div>
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The Proceedings in which these research papers can be read
in full are located online at <a href="http://www.envirecon.com/assrproceedings2012.pdf">www.envirecon.com/assrproceedings2012.pdf</a>
.</div>David H. Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103428561618712158noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733858696820155774.post-1889775123623996252012-03-25T14:44:00.000-07:002012-03-25T14:44:13.530-07:00The Message of the Titanic<br />
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It seems we humans relish celebrations and anniversaries.
Most are happy events but some, such as Memorial Day and 9/11, cause us to
remember sad or tragic moments in our past.</div>
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Such a day is coming up on April 15 which will be the 100th
anniversary of the sinking of the luxury liner Titanic.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBxGYtypNYFnHlS4K2E1lENnvR5s2xD8hNqGfufvtwPDVddncJLZd2OrYpx2pH1y_TYhRK90TWIM-MvwgWIsSCN-FsJLC2WHhXxPOT_UH0hG_bT6K2ze5_s6LwuzxW1O9-RvpY9qupls0/s1600/tymnphoto.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBxGYtypNYFnHlS4K2E1lENnvR5s2xD8hNqGfufvtwPDVddncJLZd2OrYpx2pH1y_TYhRK90TWIM-MvwgWIsSCN-FsJLC2WHhXxPOT_UH0hG_bT6K2ze5_s6LwuzxW1O9-RvpY9qupls0/s200/tymnphoto.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Michael Tymn</td></tr>
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Just in time for the centennial comes a new and unusual book
by our friend Michael Tymn – <i>Transcending
the Titanic: Beyond Death’s Door</i>, released last month by White Crow Books.
Mike is the foremost historian of afterlife research today and this new title
helps makes certain that he will retain that honored spot in the future. Tymn
and his various books have been proudly mentioned on this blog several times
already.</div>
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As Mike points out, the Titanic tragedy is etched into our
memory like no other (with the exception of the more recent 9/11 attacks). For
100 years now people have been talking about the “unsinkable” ship that went
down on its first voyage, carrying 1,517 passengers and crew to their death.
There have been disasters with more casualties but for some reason the Titanic
is the one most people think of first when large loss-of-life events are
discussed.</div>
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<i>Transcending the
Titanic</i> briefly covers the well-known facts of the case – the events of
that fateful night, the body count, memories of survivors. But after the stage
is set, Mike taps his amazing wealth of knowledge about afterlife
communications and takes his book where none other about the Titanic has
ventured. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Reading</st1:place></st1:city>
almost like fiction, Tymn lays out the mostly unknown story of how several
Titanic victims returned and recalled their death experience through various
mediums.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVBYtr-sgef1CLdd21WRFhEHa_yNOjgP0B5o7PIelzPdn89XZW2tUfffC2vh310PSnrpy5Es77X93iUT17LVIocHa1f5zK4A4V0t7TKmomwATHL_HjWXodv_lFobWVmTgf-qzBS5xnQgM/s1600/WT+Stead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVBYtr-sgef1CLdd21WRFhEHa_yNOjgP0B5o7PIelzPdn89XZW2tUfffC2vh310PSnrpy5Es77X93iUT17LVIocHa1f5zK4A4V0t7TKmomwATHL_HjWXodv_lFobWVmTgf-qzBS5xnQgM/s200/WT+Stead.jpg" width="132" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">W.T. Stead</td></tr>
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Among those victims was renowned British journalist and
spiritualist William T. Stead. With his background in spiritualism it was only
natural that he immediately comprehended his fate and set about observing what
was going on around him and helping as he could. Within days after the disaster
he was communicating, showing up at séances on both sides of the <st1:place w:st="on">Atlantic</st1:place> to prove to those present that he still lived
and could continue conversations with his old friends. </div>
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“The whole scene was indescribably pathetic,” Stead told
sitters in one séance. “Many [victims], knowing what had occurred, were in
agony of doubt as to their people left behind and as to their own future state.
What would it hold for them? Would they be taken to see Him? What would their
sentence be? Others were almost mental wrecks. They knew nothing. They seemed
to be uninterested in everything, their minds were paralyzed. A strange crew
indeed, of human souls waiting their ratings in the new land. A matter of a few minutes in time only, and here were
hundreds of bodies floating in the water – dead – hundreds of souls carried
through the air, alive; very much alive, some were. Many, realizing their death
had come, were enraged at their own powerlessness to save their valuables. They
fought to save what they had on earth prized so much.”</div>
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<br /></div>
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W.T. Stead, in the passage above, describes what many spirit
communicators have indicated is the case when individuals pass over. Some, like
Stead, are prepared for the event and the transition is relatively smooth;
others are still grasping for material things left behind while even more are
stunned and unable to function at all without help. What makes Stead’s
observations so relevant is his reputation when alive and the fact that he was
describing a massive movement of souls from the realms of matter to the
etheric. At one glance he was able to see all manner of folks attempting to
cope with their sudden transition.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEHRyCt8VK4RKUpq4tv9iQVluBSfS4dPXdz7AJIV11Is_ND5QOxo-lsiAlp8Y8sJQTxLrlaImKJWNh4Da1vPlL8Qq9q47Z0I9J_2yS7KqP3v0whjgAiW2eqzmpn-bjX1L14UnnNnBLZzk/s1600/titanic+book.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEHRyCt8VK4RKUpq4tv9iQVluBSfS4dPXdz7AJIV11Is_ND5QOxo-lsiAlp8Y8sJQTxLrlaImKJWNh4Da1vPlL8Qq9q47Z0I9J_2yS7KqP3v0whjgAiW2eqzmpn-bjX1L14UnnNnBLZzk/s200/titanic+book.jpg" width="199" /></a></div>
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“Many of those who passed into eternity with me do not know
where they are,” Stead continued. “It was a stunning blow and a terrific
reversal of all their ideas and plans. Few there were who entertained thoughts
of this life. Many were full of hopes of what was in store for them in the
immediate future on earth; life was bright to many of them. Others were
faithfully discharging duties when the call came with tragic swiftness. I was
surprised, appalled, and yet assured. When the end came, it was merciful,
painless….”</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tymn records all of Stead’s communications about the Titanic
and also tells of his several materializations. There were other victims who
attempted communication after the sinking and these are gathered together in
the book as well.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As interesting as these messages are, their chief value to
us 100 years later is the light they shed upon the moment of transition to the
“other side” and the importance of spiritual insight here and now that will
make that changeover go smoothly. In his afterword, Mike provides an excellent
summary of the facts about the afterlife that mediumship over the past 160
years has revealed. That one page outline and his accompanying analysis make <i>Transcending the Titanic</i> much more than
the story of a tragic event. They transform the book into a valuable volume of
instruction that may help others when they are faced with their own transition. </div>David H. Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103428561618712158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733858696820155774.post-44758990783750995992012-03-12T08:28:00.000-07:002012-03-12T08:44:59.628-07:00Recent Materialization Séances in Los Angeles<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDDW4AFC0XcDn_lw8CqqE0HaujZAuNTrsRhJ2-NCigmvXoM0umsqWHnseyli9M4Ui8EFSEw-D3l1vMS435HbT1nScBhNayRADMdNGKABdZPuvpFuhyphenhyphenCc21bkjIwFuMTZ3q23XmIxu1wm4/s1600/Dr_Jan_W_Vandersande.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDDW4AFC0XcDn_lw8CqqE0HaujZAuNTrsRhJ2-NCigmvXoM0umsqWHnseyli9M4Ui8EFSEw-D3l1vMS435HbT1nScBhNayRADMdNGKABdZPuvpFuhyphenhyphenCc21bkjIwFuMTZ3q23XmIxu1wm4/s200/Dr_Jan_W_Vandersande.jpg" width="146" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr. Jan W. Vandersande</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
A few days ago Dr. Jan W. Vandersande sent me his report of
three materialization séances he arranged and attended in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Los Angeles</st1:city></st1:place> area during the month of February.
The medium was Australian David Thompson. I’ve known Dr. Vandersande for a
couple of years and his background as a physicist and longtime observer of
spirit manifestation is beyond question. I’ve recommended his book – <i>Life After Death: Some of the Best Evidence
–</i> on this blog several times because it is, like the report below, a
description of recent physical mediumship given by a scientist who actually
observed the phenomena.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Dr. Vandersande’s full report is reproduced below with his
permission. It proves that spirit is far from finished with us and that there
is still need for manifestation of a spectacular nature in order to counter the
effects of dogmatic materialism. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b>Three Materialization Séances with David Thompson<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b>By Jan W. Vandersande, Ph. D</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
I was very fortunate to have the
well-known Australian materialization medium David Thompson and his partner
Christine Morgan, a spiritual medium, accept my invitation to come to the Los
Angeles area for three séances on February 9, 11 and 13, 2012. Marisa Ryan, a
psychic-medium, helped organize the event with me and her large garage was used
for the séances. This article will provide a brief background on
materializations and describe in detail the amazing events of our three
séances. I will describe the events of a
séance from beginning to end with events from of the three nights overlapping. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
Materialization, especially
full-body materialization, is the rarest of all reported paranormal physical
phenomena. Portions of human bodies, such as hands, which move, grasp, carry
things, etc., or entire bodies which speak, breath and walk like living beings
materialize (i.e. form) from ectoplasm. Ectoplasm is a whitish substance which
comes from the medium’s body through one or more orifices such as the nose, ears,
mouth and/or the solar plexus. When
ectoplasm is initially expelled from the medium it looks transparent, like fine
silk. This silk-like looking ectoplasm then solidifies into partial or full
materializations of spirit entities or into a rod-like shape that moves the
trumpet (a megaphone typically one to two feet long). The ectoplasm always
returns to the medium’s body after the materializations are finished. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioQPJLRHQTY4hcceo-sGvAKMQzt_FfgZcPmfY07WE3b2PVs3NI16wvPK9t-_ycXxmknXBQnQuCx3sPM8dDT7BXmV0Lbznek5vtKy3o3xE5MuAWD_xeWpNCW4tXo_FVdQBLgmHq0fW-q-w/s1600/life-after-death-some-best-evidence-jan-w-vandersande-paperback-cover-art.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioQPJLRHQTY4hcceo-sGvAKMQzt_FfgZcPmfY07WE3b2PVs3NI16wvPK9t-_ycXxmknXBQnQuCx3sPM8dDT7BXmV0Lbznek5vtKy3o3xE5MuAWD_xeWpNCW4tXo_FVdQBLgmHq0fW-q-w/s200/life-after-death-some-best-evidence-jan-w-vandersande-paperback-cover-art.jpg" width="129" /></a></div>
Ectoplasm was given its name by
Professor Charles Richet in 1905, when he was president of the Society for
Psychical Research. He derived the name from the Greek word meaning
“exteriorized substance”. The German authority Baron von Schenk-Notzing, who
called it “teleplasma” produced a chemical analysis (around 1913) as follows:
“colorless, slightly cloudy fluid with slightly alkaline reaction, traces of
sputum, mucous membrane granules, potash, cell detritus, skin discs and minute
particles of flesh”. His analysis was similar to that done by Dr. Dombrowski of
the Polish Society for Psychical Research in 1916. Because those analyses were
done in 1913 and 1916 they could not be as sophisticated and advanced as you
would find nowadays. These analyses do however support the fact that ectoplasm
actually does come from the body of the medium. I have documented a large
number of reports of materializations and these as well as some photographs of
ectoplasm can be found in my book titled <i>Life
After Death: Some of the Best Evidence</i> (Outskirts Press, 2008).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
Ectoplasm can be very sensitive
to unexpected touching or by being exposed to white light. There have been a
few reported cases of serious injury to the medium when a sitter in a séance
grabbed or shone white light on the ectoplasm. This has typically happened when
a skeptic tried to unsuccessfully expose the medium for being fraudulent. Some
of the best materialization mediums have produced full-body materializations in
red light (which is of lower energy than white light) and a rare few have even
produced materializations in white light (for examples see my book). <br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicaOuW9dmr0FkAx2SxAs1zoTrxX7ypLwJcBqGF9hpWGFhBUdDOI_2TqJ5m55dR3-2mtTLsjU9GZya_F57-S4_Z-7X6Wi3Wa0LwHov3Onh547jj6Lf2v5919CTRyKF2ZPo51K3dLtfoODw/s1600/david_thompson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicaOuW9dmr0FkAx2SxAs1zoTrxX7ypLwJcBqGF9hpWGFhBUdDOI_2TqJ5m55dR3-2mtTLsjU9GZya_F57-S4_Z-7X6Wi3Wa0LwHov3Onh547jj6Lf2v5919CTRyKF2ZPo51K3dLtfoODw/s1600/david_thompson.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Medium David Thompson</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
David Thompson has been doing
materialization séances for approximately 15 years. Most of his séances are
done in total darkness but, occasionally, he will produce ectoplasm with red
light on. Some of those instances have been photographed showing a sheet of
ectoplasm stretching from his face across his chest, and down over his lap down
to nearly his feet. Those séances when the red light is turned on are usually
only when small groups are involved like at his home circle in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Sydney</st1:place></st1:city>. Full materializations are only
produced in total darkness and therefore cannot be photographed. Hopefully one
day he will have developed enough so that red light can be used in all his
séances.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
Given that a materialization
medium can be seriously hurt during a séance means that precautions need to be
taken to ensure that no sitter grabs the ectoplasm or shines white light on it.
During our séances sitters were warned before the séance that under no
circumstances could they touch the ectoplasm or full materialization unless the
spirit entity allowed it. Also, all sitters were searched before entering the
séance room. During the séance all the
sitters had to hold hands in order to remove the temptation for any sitter to
grab at a materialization.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
Similarly, precautions were taken
to make sure that fraud on the part of the medium could be completely ruled
out. A female and male sitter (called independent “checkers”) were randomly
chosen from amongst the sitters to help ensure that all the necessary
precautions were taken. David was searched by myself before each séance and
before the second séance he even stripped down to his underpants and his
clothes were searched by myself and the male independent checker. David sat on
a chair (a firm wooden chair) in the corner of the garage and from 24 to 27
chairs were positioned in a circle with the sitters facing the corner where he
sat. A curtain rod with two black curtains was situated so that the two
curtains could be pulled closed together in front of David (this area behind
the curtain is known as the cabinet). David’s arms were tied tightly to the
arms of the chair by means of two leather straps. To ensure that the straps
could not be undone, plastic zip ties (also known as cable ties or tree ties)
were pulled through the holes of the strap so that the strap could only be
undone by cutting the zip tie. I checked that David could not pull his hands
out from the straps (I found it to be impossible). On one of the evenings one
of the independent checkers asked for an additional zip tie to be tied around
each of David’s wrists about an inch from the strap. This was done and then an
additional zip tie was pulled through the strap and the zip tie around his
wrist. It was now totally impossible for him to get his arms loose (only by
cutting the zip ties could his arms be released). His legs were tied to the
legs of the chair by means of straps. David wore a cardigan sweater during the
séances that had five buttons that were buttoned. Five zip ties were used near
the button holes to ensure that the only way he could get out of the cardigan
was for the zip ties to be cut. The two independent checkers and I searched the
garage, especially in and near where David was sitting, for anything that might
be used to get out of the bindings and enable him to see in the dark. Nothing
was found. The independent checkers and I were convinced that there was no way
that David could get out of his chair. Finally, a black gag was secured around
his head and through his open mouth so that he could not talk (at least not
recognizable speech).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
With David securely seated behind
the curtains and all the sitters seated, the lights were turned off and the
door locked and taped with black tape so no light at all could come into the
garage. Christine, the circle leader, now started the séance with a short
prayer and then asked me to start the music. I had a CD player next to me on a
small table and started the music (I had practiced to be able to operate the CD
player in total darkness). Several familiar songs were played and the sitters
were urged to sing along to increase the energy and vibrations. All sitters
were told to hold hands to increase the energy and to ensure that no one tried
to touch the ectoplasm without permission. After three to four songs Christine
told me to stop the music because William, David’s main spirit guide (also
called his control), had materialized and had spoken to Christine.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
David has a band of spirit
entities many of whom regularly materialize at his séances. His main spirit
control is William Cadwell (who died in 1897) who materializes first at all his
séances and appears to control what happens during the séance. After
materializing, William started talking to the sitters while walking around. He
spoke loudly and in a distinctive British accent that I found difficult to
understand at times. William stepped on the piece of plywood (approximately two
feet wide by three feet long), that we had taped to the floor at the center of
the circle, making a distinct sound indicating that he was wearing heavy-soled
boots (meanwhile David was wearing sneakers). He then started to answer
questions of a general nature about the spirit world and about life asked by
some of the sitters. After answering each question he would walk over to the
sitter who had asked the question and asked if he could touch them. After the
sitter said that he could, he put his hand on their head. The sitters who had
that experience (about 8-10 per sitting) described a very large hand (David has
very small hands). Some sitters were also touched on the shoulder and in some
cases he put his foot gently on the toes of the sitter (everyone had taken
their shoes off) to show that he was a full materialization. I had William put his hand on my head (I
agree it was a big hand) and tap me on the shoulder three times. In the first
séance a female sitter asked William if her dead husband could come through and
possibly materialize, to which William said they would try (he did come and it
is described below). During the second séance I asked William if his
materialized body had a pulse. He came over to me, took two of my fingers with
his hand and put them up against what I assumed was the carotid artery in his
neck area. It felt like cold rough skin I was touching and I could feel a very,
very vague pulse. After he had answered approximately 8-10 questions in each of
the three sittings he walked back to the cabinet. During the first sitting
while walking back to the cabinet (I was sitting approximately two yards to the
left of the cabinet) he said to me: “Dr. Vandersande, you will now get the
materializations you have been waiting for so long”. The last time I
experienced materializations was back in the mid 1970s as described in my book.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
The next materialization, in each
séance, was Timmy (Timothy Booth), a Cockney youth claiming to be nine years
old, who had a very characteristic young voice. Christine gave him the trumpet,
a megaphone approximately a foot and a half long with a luminous band
(approximately half an inch wide) around the bottom so that it could be seen in
the dark. Timmy took the trumpet and, according to him, he manipulated the
ectoplasm, which had come from David and from which he had formed, to move the
trumpet. (Photographs of how the ectoplasm is typically attached to the trumpet
can be seen in my book.) The trumpet flew at great speed and with considerable
precision, performing aerobatic patterns such as large and small circles,
flying to the ceiling and to the floor and all around the garage while I had
the CD player play an Irish jig. Occasionally it slowed to a stop and gently
tapped a sitter deliberately on the head, the shoulder, or the knee. It did
that to several sitters. Never at any time did the trumpet bump into any sitter
or anything else in the garage. In the second séance Timmy was given two
drumsticks by Christine, after the trumpet had finished flying around the room.
The sticks were approximately one and a half feet long and had luminous paint
on their tips so they could be seen in the dark. The two sticks flew around the
room just like the trumpet did. At one point both sticks went up to the ceiling
(which was approximately nine feet high) and stayed there motionless for a few
seconds and then resumed flying around and gently touching a few sitters. There
is absolutely no way any human, assuming they could see in total darkness,
could move the trumpet (and the drum sticks) in those random patterns, that
fast and at that those heights, as all the sitters observed in the three
séances. My wife, Marlene, and I saw similar trumpet movements in a large
number of séances over an eight year period in the 1970s. In the second séance
Timmy also rang a bell that Christine had given him for about 30 seconds.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
Next in the first two séances,
Christine gave Timmy a small tablet (approximately three inches square) that
was covered with luminous paint so it could be seen in the dark. Timmy would
put two or three fingers over the tablet and walked around the circle so that
each sitter could see the outline of his small fingers. After that he walked
around the circle touching some sitters on their hands so that they could feel
his small hands. In the second séance he ran from the cabinet to sitters in the
circle across from the cabinet (approximately 30 feet away) and asked a young lady
her name. She told him her name was Emily and he said “what a lovely name”. He
then touched her hand and the hand of her father (remember all sitters were
holding hands during the séance) and both commented how small the fingers felt.
In the third séance, when Timmy was near me I asked him when he died and he
replied 1902. I then asked where he lived and he replied Stepney Green (in <st1:place w:st="on">East London</st1:place>). I did not understand what he said so asked
him to spell it. Instead of spelling the name he came over to me and put his
hands on the arms of my chair (a plastic garden chair) and shook my chair
forwards and backwards three times. A few minutes later he came back and shook
my chair sideways a few times. I weigh 200 pounds so he showed a lot of
strength in shaking my chair. He obviously was not happy about me asking him to
spell Stepney Green. After the séance I told David what had happened and he
said that Timmy was illiterate during his earth life, which could explain why
he was not happy and did what he did.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
Another one of David’s regular
spirit entities, Louis Armstrong (the famous trumpet player who died in 1971),
materialized in all three séances. He sang to one of his well-known songs
(Hello Dolly) which I played on the CD player. His voice sounded exactly like
the very characteristic voice so often heard when he was alive on earth (a deep
distinctive gravelly voice). Christine then handed him a harmonica and he
played it for several minutes while tapping on the plywood on the floor. You
could hear him take a deep breath occasionally while playing. After that he
left. I always get skeptical and nervous when famous people materialize but now
have a better understanding why they do it. To prove survival after death it
makes more sense that someone who is well-known, has a characteristic voice
and/or mannerisms, that just about everyone can recognize, materializes rather
than an anonymous person.</div>
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A few of the other regular spirit
entities materialized during the three séances. During the first séance May, a
women with a strong Southern accent, materialized. When asked where she came
from she replied she came from <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Louisiana</st1:place></st1:state>.
She only spoke for a few minutes and then left. During the second séance a
person called Harold Bloomsbury materialized and sang a song and then left.
Christine and David know very little about him except that he apparently lived
in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Kentucky</st1:place></st1:state>
and occasionally materializes to sing. During the third séance Quentin Crisp,
the British writer, actor and gay icon (who died in 1999), materialized. He had
a flamboyant personality and a theatrical voice. He said he had come to prove
that your sexual preference doesn’t affect what happens to you when you go to
the spirit world (contrary to what many may believe today in our society) but
how you live your life. He was asked if believed in gay marriage and replied
that he did not believe in marriage of any kind.</div>
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During the second séance Maurice
Barbanell briefly materialized. It sounded like he never left the cabinet
because the voice appeared to come from behind the curtain. Barbanell was an
author, editor (of the Spiritualist newspaper “Psychic News”) and medium who
died in 1981. He was the trance medium for the very well-known spirit guide
Silver Birch, who apparently was an old soul who took on the guise of a humble
American Indian. Barbanell said that Silver Birch would materialize at the end
of the séance. A short time later there was a large whoosh sound as if the
curtains of the cabinet were blown outward. A cold breeze was felt by many
sitters. I and others got the impression that someone special had arrived.
Silver Birch had materialized and he spoke briefly about the Great White Spirit
from the center of the circle. He then sang an Indian incantation or chant
(blessing?) and then left. Christine told me afterwards that Silver Birch had
come to two previous séances and that in both cases there was that whoosh sound
and the breeze of cold air.</div>
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During each séance a friend or
relative of one of the sitters materialized. During the first séance Ken, the
husband of one of the sitters, materialized and spoke to his wife briefly. He
said he had been a bad husband but his wife said that he had not been one. He
kissed her and then left. Next a man materialized calling for his granddaughter
Marlene. He turned out to be the grandfather of my wife Marlene, on her
mother’s side. He said he had brought her mother. A weak women’s voice then
spoke from inside or near the cabinet and said “I love you” and then she
disappeared. It appeared that there just wasn’t enough energy for her to
materialize. Actually, the energy in the first séance was the weakest of the
three séances. This was evident by how the trumpet flew around the garage.
During the first séance the trumpet did perform its aerobatics but it was not
as energetic as in the other séances. Also, it stayed close to the cabinet
while during the second séance the trumpet flew all over the garage and also
the drumsticks flew around (which only happened during the second séance).
Next, a man materialized right in front of me and said he was Alec Harris, one
of the most well-known materialization mediums to have lived (see my book for
detailed descriptions of his séances). He had come to thank me for writing
about his mediumship in my book and talking about his mediumship. He also said
that our two medium friends were there. He was referring to Mickey and Sara
Wolf<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3733858696820155774" name="_GoBack"></a>, who Marlene and I sat with over an eight year
period in the 1970s and who themselves sat with Alec. I said “Thank you, you
were a great medium” and he then left.</div>
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During the second séance Leslie
Flint, one of the best independent direct voice mediums ever (who died in
1994), materialized and walked over to the sitter Brian Hurst, a medium
himself, and started talking to him. <st1:city w:st="on">Flint</st1:city> and
Brian were friends in the late 1980s and early 1990s when <st1:city w:st="on">Flint</st1:city>
stayed in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Los Angeles</st1:place></st1:city>.
<st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Flint</st1:place></st1:city> referred
to a séance where he got very irritable because Brian went into trance and he
(Leslie) got no direct voice. Leslie eventually apologized. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Flint</st1:place></st1:city> also referred to a Mr. Fisher, Brian’s
speech coach when he was in school. Brian told me that <st1:city w:st="on">Flint</st1:city>
used the expression “Dear Boy” several times and that when they were friends, <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Flint</st1:place></st1:city> always called him
that. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Flint</st1:place></st1:city>
said a few other things to Brian, which Brian confirmed were accurate to me a
few days later. What <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Flint</st1:place></st1:city>
said was very good survival evidence (names and addresses) that was confirmed
by Brian. There is no way David could have known some or any of it.</div>
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During the third séance a man
materialized and called out for his mother and father, who called him Jay-Jay
and asked him to come to them. He walked over to them, touched them both and
kissed them. After saying a few words to each other he left.</div>
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At the end of each of the
séances, after all the materializations had returned to the cabinet, William
said good-bye and asked me to play some music. After a few minutes everyone
heard a large thud in the center of the circle (approximately 15 feet in front
of the curtain). A light was turned on after the tape on the door had been
removed and the door opened. We all saw David sitting in his chair, tied up
exactly as he was at the beginning of the séance except for the fact that his
cardigan had been reversed. The cardigan was still buttoned and the five
zip-ties were still in place exactly as when we placed them there. There is no
way that David could have reversed the cardigan. In the third séance the
cardigan was dropped in the lap of the male independent checker before David in
his chair was moved (it sounded like he was dropped) in the center of the circle.
The movement of David in his chair for a distance of at least 15 feet shows
that the spirit entities/materialized spirit forms have tremendous strength (I
just don’t know if it was the materialized entities or power from the spirit
world that moved David and his chair). While the reversal/removal of the
cardigan shows a de-materialization/re-materialization capability (or whatever
technology the spirits used) that is way beyond the current laws of physics as
we know them. It was truly an amazing phenomenon to have observed.</div>
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The male independent checker then
gave Christine the cutters, which he had in his pocket throughout the séance
(in all three séances), so that the zip ties could be cut loose and David
untied from the chair. I carefully examined how David was tied into the chair
and I am absolutely sure that there was no way he was able to remove himself
from the chair during the séance and then return to the chair and tie himself
back to the chair. There is no doubt in my mind he produced the materializations
and the other physical phenomena while tied in the chair in the cabinet.</div>
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A friend of mine and his daughter
came to the second séance. Neither had been to a séance before and I told them
in advance that it could be a life changing experience. I spoke to him a few
days after the séance and he said that he spent a few hours analyzing what he
had experienced (he has two university degrees). His conclusion was that even
if David could have untied himself and could have seen in the dark (both of
which he thought was extremely unlikely if not impossible) then he still could
never have produced the trumpet, drum stick and small and large hand touching
phenomena. His only conclusion could be that what he experienced was real and
that he experienced something paranormal and it was very likely communication
with the spirit world. Both he and his daughter agreed with me that the
experience was life changing.</div>David H. Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103428561618712158noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733858696820155774.post-46424934061121435822012-03-03T08:13:00.002-08:002012-03-13T10:12:44.356-07:00The ‘New Age’ & Spiritualism<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0pt;">
Recently we returned to Phoenix after spending several days in fabled Sedona, Arizona – dubbed the “New Age” Capital of the U.S.A., if not the whole world. Nestled in its canyon surrounded by magnificent red rock cliffs and formations is this little town that attracts tourists from around the globe in search of enlightenment while they enjoy the grand scenery.</div>
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As we drove up and down Sedona’s streets we saw numerous shops and businesses focused on New Age activities – more in this town of 10,000 residents than we are aware of in nearby <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Phoenix</place></city> with its population of more than 4 million. There are at least a couple of New Age book stores, signs were out for psychic readings, plus shops selling crystals and imported Hindu and Buddhist figurines, aura photography studios, and a Reiki center I’ll talk about in a moment.</div>
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While I’m certain Sedona draws outstanding psychic talent, it’s obvious there are some wanna-be’s and flakes mixed in. Recent headlines just four months ago revealed that self-help guru James <personname w:st="on">Art</personname>hur <personname w:st="on">Ray</personname> was convicted of three counts of negligent homicide in the deaths of followers engaged in his sweat lodge ceremony near Sedona in 2009. The victims and other participants, I suspect, were genuine in their desire for inspiration and enlightenment but found themselves caught up in something that ended tragically. Incidents such as this reinforce the scriptural admonition to “try the spirits.” They also cause us to remember another injunction that says “by their fruits shall you know them.”</div>
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Curiously, in Sedona’s book stores I failed to see even one volume of the many available that discuss spirit communication. There were plenty on hand describing the effects of gemstones and crystals but none about the efforts of those in spirit to guide us. With the proliferation of teachers like James <personname w:st="on">Art</personname>hur <personname w:st="on">Ray</personname> it is evident that we could all use some guidance from the other side and in <country-region w:st="on">America</country-region>’s New Age “<city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Mecca</place></city>” one would think materials telling us how to tap those resources would be available. Apparently not.</div>
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On the other hand, our <state w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Oregon</place></state> friends who were traveling with us made arrangements for the four of us to participate in a Reiki healing circle one evening and that experience was a refreshing alternative to the bustling New Age Industry on Sedona’s main street. Although my wife had participated in Reiki work previously, it was new territory for me. I’ve enjoyed other healing circles in the past that are similar and the group of about 25 who gathered in Sedona impressed me. The group was composed of both men and women of all ages and we out-of-towners were lovingly welcomed by the locals. We took turns sending and receiving healing energy and the thing that impressed me most was the obvious motivation to serve shared by all present. No fees were charged; everyone there was present because they wanted to help and share. To me, that was a manifestation of what spirit guide Silver Birch called service to mankind that is the overall goal of life in matter and in the hereafter.</div>
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While we were in Sedona I kept thinking about the possible meaning of the label “New Age” and wondering how it differed from concepts I’ve become familiar with in spiritualism. In the 1967 musical <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hair</i> the opening song “Aquarius” told us “This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius,” i.e., the shifting from the astrological age of Pisces to a new era of peace and spiritual enlightenment. Since the 1960s those who describe themselves as “New Agers” have been expecting this dawning much as orthodox Christians await the return of their savior. All of the current hubbub about the Mayan calendar ending on Dec. 21, 2012, is much the same sort of rapture expectation. In my mind there’s no doubt that things are going to happen that will change our level of consciousness and it was the appearance of the so-called New Age in the ’60s that originally brought much of this to our attention.</div>
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Another feature of the loosely connected New Age movement is its emphasis upon various sources of energy and how they impact the individual. Appearance of crystals in Sedona’s stores is evidence of this interest and I was amazed at how much these beautiful gems fetched in the marketplace. Another Sedona attraction that relates to New Age energy is the location of various vortices that are described as the earth’s energy “hot spots” where people can feel the vibrations and achieve healing or enlightenment. We hiked to a couple of these spots during our visit. They are in scenic locations so whether or not you are standing at an actual vortex almost seems immaterial – the beauty surrounding you there is inspiring. I happen to believe that traveling to some special location for an infilling of energy is usually unnecessary; we can tap the energy of the universe no matter where we are. But that being said, we did enjoy our trek to Sedona’s vortices and found the experience to be exhilarating. </div>
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Channeling is a New Age phenomenon that confuses some of us old-time spiritualists. On this blog I provide a link to Ken Carey whose channeled writings in the 1970s and thereafter helped define much of the New Age movement. I have found his work to be highly elevated and inspiring with the key message being identification of who we are as spirits with bodies rather than bodies with spirits. This is a key teaching of spiritualism, too.</div>
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Back in the 1970s my wife and I attended several events featuring British occultist and artist Benjamin Creame. During these he went into trance and assumed the personality of the ascended master Maitreya. We have also seen video of JZ Knight channel her guide Ramtha and in both cases it is impossible to discern the difference between what we observed and other experiences with trance mediums. Channelers, however, usually deny that they are mediums – I think it is probably a matter of semantics. With Ken Carey the literary output can be attributed to automatic writing; Benjamin Creame, JZ Knight and the late Jane Roberts (Seth material) are most likely trance mediums.</div>
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So, how do we define “New Age” and how does it relate to spiritualism? There are many similarities between the two movements – Each moves us away from dogmatic materialism by emphasizing the realm of spirit; each acknowledges subtle energies that impact us; each tries to blend spiritual teachings from both the East and the West; each is non-dogmatic and liberal in its teachings; each is Unitarian in its “theology.” Unlike spiritualism, however, most New Age teachers do not have much interest in the afterlife and the importance of proving the continuity of life after so-called death. New Age folks almost universally accept reincarnation as a fact (something that’s still being debated in spiritualist circles) but it seems to me that their movement would be strengthened and made more vital if they went one step further and incorporated the expanding evidence of life after death that mediumship and scientific research reveal.</div>
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Regardless, it’s my opinion that the New Agers have preformed a marvelous service to humanity and to spiritualism by helping millions of folks walk away from the confusion and bondage of religious authoritarianism into a freer atmosphere that emphasizes connections with nature and one another. It may well be that most New Agers are totally unaware of the deeper discoveries of spiritualism and afterlife research. It’s up to us to find ways to spread the word so both of these movements can help one another.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikUhtsD9fs-8LYpdWI3uGPw_f5Pg9LHmIu1T3psXnFUwQTzYoGS4OJLarxtPQptMkk00YMM7Mi3PN1RLJALDGgPcVMNiY0fICAPmhy-hCCVkPj61gHTt83ho7LWLI_KTRo888pFGbpApY/s1600/IMG_0215_sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikUhtsD9fs-8LYpdWI3uGPw_f5Pg9LHmIu1T3psXnFUwQTzYoGS4OJLarxtPQptMkk00YMM7Mi3PN1RLJALDGgPcVMNiY0fICAPmhy-hCCVkPj61gHTt83ho7LWLI_KTRo888pFGbpApY/s1600/IMG_0215_sm.jpg" uda="true" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dave & Georgetta Howard at one of the vortices in Sedona, Arizona.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>David H. Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103428561618712158noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733858696820155774.post-86366134991941820672012-02-19T17:48:00.000-08:002012-02-19T17:48:39.372-08:00Spiritualism – A Democratic ‘Faith’<br />
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One of the greatest strengths of spiritualism is its
democratic nature. Traditional orthodox Christianity is mostly about coming
into the church building, sitting down and being passively “entertained” by
music, sermon or homily, ritual and so forth. Organized spiritualism has this aspect
as well but, beyond that, spiritualism is primarily a “take home” religion
where participants can actually be part of the action. There’s no need for
priest or parson; a harmonious group can gather and discover the mysteries of
the universe on their own with help from the “other side.”</div>
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Back in 1848 modern spiritualism began in a home with the
Fox sisters hearing raps that evolved into two-way communication with the
etheric world. Through the years there have been public gatherings for the
purpose of education and demonstrating the reality of spirit communication; the
spiritualist church, of course, retains this function. But always the best
results are to be found in home circles where mediums are developed and
everyone present receives spiritual instruction and uplift.</div>
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Contrary to the pronouncements of some self-proclaimed
experts and other naysayers, the home circle is thriving worldwide and
remarkable results are being seen in many of them. Perhaps the most visible of
all home circles in recent years was the Scole Experimental Group that
functioned in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">United
Kingdom</st1:country-region></st1:place> during the 1990s. Led by Robin Foy,
some of the group’s accomplishments are detailed in his book <i>In Pursuit of Physical Mediumship</i>. Individuals
seeking to form a home circle should study the book because Foy takes the
reader through all the years of trying to come up with a compatible, harmonious
group of sitters who were dedicated to the long-range goal of developing
quality spirit manifestation. There were several predecessors to the Scole
Experimental Group and Foy quite candidly assesses the strengths and weakness
of each of them. His discussion provides great insight into what is necessary
for success.</div>
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Among the required qualities contributing to a thriving home
circle is patience. Results generally do not come immediately and some circles
sit week after week for months without anything overt happening. That patience
needs to be coupled with a dedication to the circle and a determination to let
spirit work. Harmony between sitters who share common aspirations is an
essential component as well; where there is discord or skepticism results are
bound to be delayed or totally blocked.</div>
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Robin’s book is available through amazon.com and he has an
interesting website containing further information ( <a href="http://robinsphysicalphenomena.webs.com/">http://robinsphysicalphenomena.webs.com</a>
). Other good sites pop up when you Google Scole Experimental Group.</div>
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Robin’s child that continues to inspire spiritualists
worldwide is his fabulous interactive forum on the Internet, Physical Mediumship
4U (a link to the forum is on this blog’s left-hand column). First of all, I
recommend anyone interested in getting involved with spiritualism –
particularly physical mediumship – become a member of this forum. It’s free and
very lively. You’ll meet folks from around the world who are, with Robin Foy,
pursuing physical phenomena and spirit communication in general. On the forum
you will read about how circles everywhere are obtaining results as those on
the other side reach out to help and visit with us. </div>
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Secondly, there is on the Physical Mediumship 4U forum a most
valuable resource for those who contemplate forming their own home circle, the <i>Basic Guide for Developing Energy Based
Physical Mediumship</i>. This manual was transmitted by spirit friends to the
Scole Experimental Group and it contains a wealth of step-by-step instructions
that will make organization of a home circle easier. Following this advice will
also facilitate more rapid development. I encourage purchase of the book (a
link for it is in the right-hand column of the Physical Mediumship 4U home page
or click here – <a href="http://robinsphysicalphenomena.webs.com/howtositforphenomena.htm">http://robinsphysicalphenomena.webs.com/howtositforphenomena.htm</a>
). Each sitter in the home circle my wife and I belong to has read the manual
and it has helped us immensely. The cost is 10 euros which translates into
about $13 <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region>
Place your order online then you receive a link to download an electronic
version which can be printed out.</div>
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The Scole Experimental Group proved that a dedicated group
of sitters can form a harmonious home circle and obtain results that equal or
exceed those from spiritualism’s early days. On the Physical Mediumship 4U site
are reports from other circles and here I mention just one – the Felix
Experimental Group in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Germany</st1:place></st1:country-region>.
Reading the contents of their online blog ( <a href="http://felixcircle.blogspot.com/">http://felixcircle.blogspot.com</a> )
will convince you that their perseverance has paid off big time. The circle has
achieved materialization along with other physical phenomena and, in doing so,
attracted the attention of researchers worldwide. The site is translated into
rather good English but wording gets a bit bumpy in spots. Nevertheless, the
blog’s content is amazing and photos of ectoplasm are sure to fascinate those
who have had no experience with it.</div>
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As I’ve said here before, the glory days of spiritualism are
<i>FAR</i> from over! But as medium Stewart
Alexander implied in a quote below in my last blog, the home circle is where
the real action is. People receive the best evidence there, they mature
spiritually there, and they develop the best mediums there. May those who truly
want to deepen their spiritual life and commune with the spirit world form
circles in their homes and commit themselves to stick with it. The results are
bound to be wonderful.</div>David H. Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103428561618712158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733858696820155774.post-55793489939267314152012-02-02T19:54:00.000-08:002012-02-02T19:58:20.410-08:00What Happened to the Coming World Religion?In our last post an important question remained unanswered,
viz. what has happened to Arthur Findlay’s grand vision that saw spiritualism
replacing superstition-based mythologies which dominate the religious scene yet
today. In this post we’ll initiate a discussion that hopefully will provide
some answers.<br />
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When Dr. Jan W. Vandersande wrote his outstanding 2008 book <i>Life After Death: Some of the Best Evidence</i>
he described astounding mediumship that convinced him – a physicist – that
there is, indeed, life after “death” and that those on the “other side” can,
when conditions are right, return and converse with us here. Part of the séance
room evidence that convinced him and his wife was materializations of spirits
who visited the Vandersandes and others gathered for regular circles over a
period of eight years. Vandersande was not the only scientist involved – he
also mentions Jack Allen, professor of anatomy at the University of the
Witwatersrand’s medical school in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Johannesburg</st1:city>,
<st1:country-region w:st="on">South Africa</st1:country-region></st1:place>.
“Skeptics will say that all materializations are fraud and point at the many
mediums who have been caught cheating,” Vandersande writes. “There are,
however, too many cases that appear genuine (conducted under strict test
conditions by reliable researchers) that eliminate the notion that it is all
fraud.”</div>
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The materializations he witnessed were of spirit children
who attended an annual Christmas party held especially for them by the mediums.
At other sittings Vandersande experienced ectoplasm forming a voice box that
was used by spirits to produce voices heard in the séance room far distant from
the medium. This is called direct voice mediumship and often the sound of
voices is amplified by spirit use of an aluminum megaphone-like instrument
called a trumpet. The trumpet moves around the séance room unassisted by the medium
or the sitters, swishing about and gently touching them in total darkness.</div>
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In 2010 I talked with Dr. Jan Vandersande and he said that
his scientific training helped him to objectively examine the séance evidence
he and his wife experienced. After meticulously ruling out all possibilities of
fraud or deception he had to reach the remaining conclusion, that the voices
were truly who they claimed to be – spirits of departed individuals. He added
that he could not doubt the existence of ectoplasm because he had actually felt
and seen it. </div>
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Furthermore, Vandersande concluded his book by reporting a
conversation between him and Victor Zammit, the Australian attorney who has
spent more than 20 years researching evidence of the afterlife (see the link to
his website at the left). Zammit asked Vandersande what he considered the best
evidence for survival after death. “After giving it some thought I replied that
I thought that the trumpets flying around the room in the complete dark was the
best evidence I experienced,” Vandersande replied. “He [Zammit] was surprised
and asked me why. I replied that the only explanation for the trumpets flying
around the room, without hitting anything and gently touching the sitters on
the head and other places, had to be due to an intelligence, other than that of
the medium, directing the trumpet to move using ectoplasm from the medium. This
directing intelligence would imply that there is another dimension where this
intelligence/spirit resides and that is in the ‘hereafter.’ The subconscious of
the medium cannot be responsible for the trumpet moving since the medium was in
trance and the room was completely dark.”</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This physical mediumship that includes materialization and
direct voice to Dr. Vandersande was convincing. However, he acknowledges that
nowadays it is rare with so-called “mental mediumship” being the most often
seen. In spiritualist church services there is usually a time set aside for a
medium to speak from the platform and direct alleged messages from spirits to
members of the congregation. There is no outward manifestation – the medium
merely says what he/she reportedly hears from the spirits. This is also the
form of mediumship that is popular on television where audiences gather to get
spirit messages from mediums such as John Edward or James Van Praagh. Less well
known psychics gather at public events such as psychic fairs and offer to do a
“reading” in exchange, usually, for some cash.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Speaking of mental mediums he sat with, Vandersande admitted,
“I would have to say that of all my sittings probably a large majority (say
about 75%) were a waste of time. Very little, if any, correct information was
given in those cases and what was correct was very general, like ‘you are
married.’ Those ‘psychics’ were either not very good, had an ‘off day’ or were
total frauds just out there for the money.”</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here I’m reminded of two dear friends – married to one
another but both are now on the other side – who felt they were constantly in
touch with spirits who were continuously giving them information about the most
trivial things such as the color to paint a room or when to change the
sprinkler on the front lawn. After awhile it became tedious to here, “Spirit is
telling me this…” or “I am picking up such and such….” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Many believe the proliferation of those self-proclaimed
“psychics” who deliver less than desirable information has given spiritualism a
black eye. I hasten to add that there are good mental mediums and, for example,
John Edward is one who has been rigorously tested by Dr. Gary Schwartz and
found to score above 90% in accuracy. (See Schwartz’s <i>The Afterlife Experiments</i> mentioned below in my Commentary on our
Links post) </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Physical medium Stewart Alexander in his 2010 autobiography <i>An Extraordinary Journey: The Memoirs of a
Physical Medium</i> matter-of-factly states that overall, “mediumship, the very bedrock of the
[spiritualist] Movement upon which it was established and built, and on which
it rests or falls, has, in recent years, mainly transmuted into mediocrity. As
a direct result, Spiritualism has paid a heavy price so that today it bears
little comparison to what it once was, when the grave held no fear for its
adherents who understood and accepted that under certain circumstances
communication between the living and the dead was possible. Sadly, the days
when its leading mediums could command vast audiences at large demonstrations,
because the evidence of survival they consistently presented was startling in
its accuracy, have long gone. And, although not commonplace, back then there
existed trance mediums who channeled philosophy and the so-called ‘higher
teachings’ which left little doubt as to their spiritual source. Yet today,
with precious few exceptions, there are few who are capable of doing either. Evidence
of survival has largely given way to ‘cold reading’, counseling, fortune
telling or a mixture of them all. Profound philosophical communications are new
rarely transmitted and in their place alleged communications are generally poor
and can only be described as confusing at best, and at worst an insult to
intelligence. Indeed, so often I have regrettably found myself bewildered by what
I have considered to be incoherent and mystifying nonsense delivered from the
Spiritualist platform.”</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Alexander points to spiritualism’s better days when small
home circles sat regularly. “It was a time when thousands of people sat in
impassioned silence in an effort to develop the gifts of the Spirit and commune
with the spiritual world. It was a time when Spiritualists listened intently to
the inner voice of their own convictions, thus enabling the process of
development to commence and expand in an atmosphere of harmonious aspiration.
It was a time when wonderful mediums, both mental and physical, emerged from
the obscurity of their circles to work publicly.”</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Alexander proposes several actions which should help salvage
the movement over time, beginning first with a call for different groups,
organizations and splinter movements to unite “for the sake of the greater
good.” Next, he urges spiritualists to become “clear-sighted and free from
egotism.” With this change of heart in place, adherents next need to focus
their attention on the spirit world and hear what their message to us might be.
Too often, perhaps, spiritualists have mistaken their own prideful imaginings
for messages from beyond; turning this around is essential.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lastly, Alexander has few kind words for commercialization
of mediumship training. Perhaps some commercial courses have value but,
Alexander stresses, the key to developing mediumship is to be found in the home
circle. Instead of taking a glitzy and expensive course, he says, “Spiritualists
interested in development should rather be encouraged to sit in, or to form,
their own home circles. As previously stated – once, these were the very
bedrock of the Spiritualist Movement, and it is from them – a whole new
generation of such circles – that tomorrow’s good mediums could well emerge.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perhaps with such a turnabout within the ranks of those who
believe in survival after so-called death we, with Arthur Findlay, could yet
see spiritualism emerge as the “coming world religion.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>[Note: All books
mentioned above are all in print and available online through amazon.com. I
personally recommend each title.] <o:p></o:p></i></div>David H. Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103428561618712158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733858696820155774.post-17692408578496715282012-01-23T16:07:00.000-08:002012-01-26T17:54:27.613-08:00The Legacy of J. Arthur FindlayWhen renowned British physical medium Stewart Alexander
wrote his 2010 autobiography* he began by confessing that as a young man he had
no knowledge of spiritualism and had given little thought to life after
so-called death. Reading one book changed all that for him, however, and
launched him on what he labeled “an extraordinary journey.” <span style="font-size: 9pt;">* Stewart Alexander, <i>An Extraordinary Journey: The Memoirs of a Physical Medium</i> (2010),
Saturday Night Press Publications (</span><a href="http://www.snppbooks.com/">http://www.snppbooks.com</a>)<br />
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<br /></div>
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That one book was <i>On the
Edge of the Etheric</i> by <st1:personname w:st="on">Art</st1:personname>hur
Findlay.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As Alexander began reading <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Findlay</st1:place></st1:city>’s best-selling book he recalled that
“I did not suspect that my life was about to be changed forever…. [I]t had a
profound effect upon the way that I had previously viewed such matters by
making the implausible plausible.”</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While <i>On the Edge of
the Etheric</i> moved Alexander into a spiritual quest that would last a
lifetime, the book was a springboard for its author as well. Now in print
continuously for 81 years, <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Findlay</st1:place></st1:city>’s
first book led to many other titles that are revolutionary in their scope and
impact. The man, his writings and his former home are still making a huge
difference in the lives of many worldwide 50 years following his death.<br />
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga8ZWYfGzqQIKYqxnoIG7-KW8u4uH_fdK_qJzAbbIG4VaguseBUKEeAUqaUh2wUaYaWnZWm_0lCyoMts_6noeo6RtMyboomjcI7H_3-Uc8c-GCvuqgE-UDJPwT2wliV20-0te19U8bFXo/s1600/findlay_sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga8ZWYfGzqQIKYqxnoIG7-KW8u4uH_fdK_qJzAbbIG4VaguseBUKEeAUqaUh2wUaYaWnZWm_0lCyoMts_6noeo6RtMyboomjcI7H_3-Uc8c-GCvuqgE-UDJPwT2wliV20-0te19U8bFXo/s320/findlay_sm.jpg" width="201" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J. Arthur Findlay</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Born into privilege in <st1:city w:st="on">Glasgow</st1:city>,
<st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Findlay</st1:place></st1:city> was
raised in a strict Calvinist home. Like Alexander, as a young man he was also
incredulous about claims of spiritualists but a singular experience changed all
that. In 1918 he attended his first direct voice séance with <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Glasgow</st1:place></st1:city> medium John C. Sloan and during that
session his deceased father and uncle both spoke with Findlay revealing
particulars that only the three of them were aware of. Indeed, <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Findlay</st1:place></st1:city> had shared his name with neither the
medium nor other sitters and no one there knew who he was. Over time Findlay
was given proof after proof that convinced him Sloan was a genuine medium, that
the voices that appeared in his séances were indeed those from departed
friends, and that there truly is life after death. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Findlay</st1:city></st1:place> walks the reader through his doubts
and experiments step by step in <i>On the
Edge of the Etheric</i>.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But this book was not only a testimonial to the mediumship
of John Sloan – it still stands today as a basic guide to mediumship by
explaining spirit communication and providing scientific explanations for it.
What’s more, Findlay goes on to share an outline of what spirits have taught
concerning the nature of the afterlife, the purpose of life on material earth,
what happens when one dies and why all of this should matter to us. In its 80s
the book remains as one of the best introductions to spiritualism that has ever
been produced.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Findlay</st1:place></st1:city>
provides common sense explanations for spirit phenomena that make no appeal to
the “supernatural” or “miraculous.” Everything in this world and the next is controlled by natural law, he says, and there’s nothing happening that bridges
that law. He sums up the process as follows:</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“… I am told that the whole universe is made up of substance
of various degrees of density and vibratory activity, that this fills all
space, in which life exists in varying degrees of development. What we sense
here on earth is only matter vibrating within certain fixed limits.
Surrounding, interpenetrating, attached to, and moving with our earth, is
another world of etheric matter in a higher state of vibration. Consequently it
is unperceived by our senses. In our physical world the real, or enduring, body
is an etheric body, which, at the moment of our conception, commences to gather
round it, or, in other words, clothes itself with physical matter slow in
vibration. The etheric body is the framework on to which physical matter is
attached. This etheric body is composed of substance quite in tune with the
etheric matter of the next plane, but so long as it is attached to physical
matter it is limited by the limitations of such matter.<br />
<br />
“At death, however, the etheric body is released from its physical covering,
and continues functioning quite naturally in the etheric world, where
everything is as real to it as it was when in the physical. The etheric body
is, in every particular, a duplicate of our physical body, and so it can be
understood how, if conditions are given for an etherian to re-materialise his
organs of speech, it is possible to vibrate again our atmosphere and make his
voice heard. The mind, which controls the etheric duplicate carries over
with it, I am told, everything but the physical covering. Character, memory,
affection, personality, etc., go with the mind, because they relate to the mind
and not to the physical body. The etheric world is, in many respects, similar
to this world. Our senses there respond as they do here, but, owing to the
finer structure of etheric substance, the mind can work on it in a way it
cannot do here. Hence it is in this sense a mental world, but our present world
is also a mental world as I tried to show in Chapter <st1:stockticker w:st="on">III</st1:stockticker>.<br />
<br />
“In this next state of consciousness, the inhabitants find themselves in
surroundings much the same as we experience here. There grow trees and flowers,
but there is no death such as we understand it, all vegetable life, instead of
decaying, dematerializes and disappears from sight. The surroundings of the
inhabitants are greatly conditioned by their thoughts, and so their houses and
mode of life are much their own making. This, I am told, does not constitute
the next state to be one purely of mental projections, because its inhabitants
have the same sensations as we have, as they can feel, touch and smell the flowers,
they can gather them, and, when walking in the fields, they meet and talk with
their friends.<br />
<br />
“All on the same plane, I am told, can see and touch the same things. This is
the reply I invariably received, when trying to find out whether this state was
objective or subjective. There are many planes, but only those on the same plane
experience the same sensations. I have, myself, experienced etherians present
who talked to me, but they could not see each other, though they were in the
same room, the explanation given being that they were in different planes of
existence. These etherians are men and women, not vaporous spirits, but real, vital
and tangible people, such as we mix with every day. Theirs is not a dream
world, but one of objective reality, intensely real – everything, music, art
and all constructive work, being at a higher pitch than we can possibly
understand.”</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Findlay</st1:place></st1:city>
also describes several séance room incidents that constitute excellent proof of
survival. He classes the best cases as “A1” and the next best as “A2.” All of
them are remarkable and when taken together they are difficult to refute.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<i>On the Edge of the
Etheric</i> is still in print and available here in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region></st1:place> through Amazon.com (Amazon
also has a Kindle edition). Used copies of previous editions are generally
available as well and online sources for free e-editions include <a href="http://www.ghostcircle.com/">www.ghostcircle.com</a> and <a href="http://thegreatquestion.com/">http://thegreatquestion.com</a>, both being
links we have provided on this blog. The ghostcircle edition is in MS Word
(doc) format and the second link offers the more desirable pdf format.
Unfortunately, neither of the e-copies provides the illustrations which make a
printed copy more useful.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Twenty years after publishing <i>On the Edge of the Etheric</i> <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Findlay</st1:place></st1:city>
went on to issue a massive 600+ page book containing verbatim transcripts of 19
séances with John Sloan. That book is <i>Where
Two Worlds Meet </i>and like other <st1:city w:st="on">Findlay</st1:city>
titles it is still available, I understand, in the <st1:country-region w:st="on">U.K.</st1:country-region>,
but over here in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region>
it is almost impossible to find. I purchased my used copy online through <a href="http://www.bookfinder.com/">www.bookfinder.com</a> . At this writing an
MS Word copy is available for download online at <a href="http://www.rait.airclima.ru/books/Where_Two_Worlds_Meet.doc">www.rait.airclima.ru/books/Where_Two_Worlds_Meet.doc</a>
.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Throughout his lifetime <st1:personname w:st="on">Art</st1:personname>hur
Findlay spoke of <i>On the Edge of the
Etheric</i> as the first in his spiritualist “trilogy.” The three books in the
series need to be taken together in order to fully comprehend his description
of spiritualism along with the science and philosophy that is behind it.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The second volume in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Findlay</st1:place></st1:city>’s
trilogy is <i>Rock of Truth</i> and it
mainly covers the religious aspect. Before discussing this book I want to point
out that elsewhere on this blog I’ve indicated that in my younger years I was a
candidate for the clergy. I suspect I may write more about it later but for now
let me state that I abandoned that career path primarily because of academic
scholarship over the past couple of centuries that brings into doubt many of
the cardinal teachings and traditions of Christianity. In other words, much of
what we’ve been told simply isn’t true – it’s the invention of churchmen
centuries ago who were attempting to manufacture a durable institution. They
succeeded and we have been stuck with the fallout ever since.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Over the decades I read much of this obscure information
about Christian origins and I had to admit it was on target. I also knew from
personal experience as well as reading that we live in a spiritual universe and
that this life on earth is just a tiny part of reality. Reconciling the
rejection of religious teaching with my understanding of spiritual realities
was initially difficult but I breathed a sigh of relief when I read <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Findlay</st1:city></st1:place>’s take on the
topic in <i>Rock of Truth</i>. He doesn’t
mince any words as he delves into the history of the Christian religion and
describes how it was molded by a bunch of church leaders back in the fourth
century. He then goes on to reconstruct what we know about the <i>actual</i> teachings of Jesus before they
were carved up by the churchmen.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the second part of the 325-page <i>Rock of Truth</i> <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Findlay</st1:place></st1:city>
more thoroughly outlines the basics of spiritualism. “Spiritualism is not the
faith of a sect or a cult,” he writes; “it does not rest on tradition, nor on
writings, ancient or modern. It has no ecclesiastical organization claiming to
interpret God’s purpose towards mankind. It has no forms and ceremonies, pomp
or circumstance. What Spiritualism stands for is a fact of the same nature as
the fact that we exist. It is the only revelation that has ever come to man
from a higher level of intelligence than exists on earth. It does not depend on
the sayings or teachings of a past age, nor on inspired writings. It rests
fundamentally on the fact that communication takes place between the
inhabitants of this world and the inhabitants of the Etheric World. This is a
scientifically established fact, and, once it is accepted, what follows is
natural.”<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Findlay</st1:place></st1:city>
goes on to elaborate further: “Those who call themselves Spiritualists believe
that it can be accepted as scientifically proved that (1) The universe is
governed by Mind, commonly called God. That all we have sensed, do sense, or
will sense, is but Mind expressing itself in some form or another. (2) The
existence and identity of the individual continues after the changed called
death. (3) Communication under suitable conditions takes place between us here
on earth and the inhabitants of the Etheric World, into which we shall all pass
at death.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He continues with what is known as the Seven Principles of
Spiritualism: “On these three fundamental principles, which Spiritualists
believe are scientifically proved, the following logical deductions are
naturally drawn from the information which comes to us from those who have
passed on to this larger life: (4) That our ethical conduct should be guided by
the golden rule, given first to the world by the great Confucius, “Whatsoever
you would that others would do to you, do it also unto them.” (5) That each
individual is his own Savior, and that he cannot look to someone else to bear
his sins and suffer for his mistakes. (6) That each individual reaps as he
sows, and that he makes his happiness or unhappiness just as he harmonizes with
his surroundings. That he gravitates naturally to the place in the Etheric
World in harmony with his desires, as there desires can be gratified more
easily than here on earth. And finally, (7) that the path of progress is never
closed, and that there is no known end to the advancement of the individual.”</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
These seven principles can easily be accepted by many
whether they call themselves “capital S” spiritualists or not. The sub-title of
<i>The Rock of Truth</i>, however, brings up
another topic that I hope to explore more thoroughly on this blog sometime
later. The full title Findlay gave to this book is <i>The Rock of Truth Or Spiritualism, The Coming World Religion</i> and
this not only reveals Findlay’s expectations when he penned it in the 1930s but
it also raises a contemporary question, “what happened between then and now?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Stewart Alexander, the medium mentioned at the top of this
post, has spent a lifetime asking that same question and he’s come up with some
answers in his autobiography. I think he’s right on target and we will explore
this topic fully sometime soon on this blog.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This book is currently in print in the <st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region> and the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.K.</st1:place></st1:country-region></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The final book in <st1:personname w:st="on">Art</st1:personname>hur
Findlay’s trilogy is <i>The Unfolding
Universe</i> and my personal first edition is more than 450 pages long. In it
he continues discussion of the superstitions inherent in all religions and his
vision for the future when the truths of man’s spirit nature become more widely
accepted. Like <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Findlay</st1:place></st1:city>’s
other books in the series, it is easy but enlightening to read and my opinion is
that if the titles were more readily available they would be impacting people
much as they did when first released nearly 80 years ago.<br />
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMYBlbYufPJj89S0pJrVxOtDiCn_B21gYPI3QPRvRQDpOC4-4-dD67SeTj8xonguY4GbAbHlqNAUvtCV-O70c78y_3NJnv4Fv6etV5QgHOx7newmt6JzL677-bcr4BonOGwnbS4wXbceY/s1600/stanstead+hall_sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMYBlbYufPJj89S0pJrVxOtDiCn_B21gYPI3QPRvRQDpOC4-4-dD67SeTj8xonguY4GbAbHlqNAUvtCV-O70c78y_3NJnv4Fv6etV5QgHOx7newmt6JzL677-bcr4BonOGwnbS4wXbceY/s1600/stanstead+hall_sm.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stansted Hall</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
J. <st1:personname w:st="on">Art</st1:personname>hur Findlay
(“Sir” <st1:personname w:st="on">Art</st1:personname>hur Findlay – he was made
a Member of the <st1:place w:st="on">British Empire</st1:place>) no doubt
inherited a great deal of his fortune but he also was a skilled business man
and stock broker. He retired early and bought a palatial estate, Stansted Hall,
which is pictured here. Upon his death he bequeathed Stansted Hall to the
Spiritualist National Union for the express purpose of establishing a college
of psychic science. This was done and the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on"><st1:personname w:st="on">Art</st1:personname>hur</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Findlay</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">College</st1:placetype></st1:place>
continues to offer coursework to students who travel there from around the
world.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It should be obvious by now to my readers that <st1:personname w:st="on">Art</st1:personname>hur Findlay the man and his books rank very high
in my list of topics to promote on this blog. He wrote several others
which I will talk about later; each fills an important niche in spiritualism
and each provides <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Findlay</st1:place></st1:city>’s
unique insight which is very much applicable to today. My hope is that these
books will again enjoy broader circulation, especially here in <st1:place w:st="on">North America</st1:place> where the materialistic philosophy is so
prevalent. It’s my understanding that a provision of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Findlay</st1:place></st1:city>’s bequest to the SNU bound the
organization to keep all his books in print – hopefully forever. Some titles have
entered public domain hence the reprints issued by publishers other than the
SNU. Online free e-books are marvelous but they are often, unfortunately,
filled with distracting typos. Google e-books are scans that are much better
but sometimes I’ve been reading these and find that their scanner skipped a
couple of pages. </div>
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If any readers have positive things to say about J. <st1:personname w:st="on">Art</st1:personname>hur Findlay, his books or the college, please
chime in. As promised, this topic will be continued later….</div>David H. Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103428561618712158noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733858696820155774.post-7493221413428077522012-01-16T19:04:00.000-08:002012-01-17T11:44:47.459-08:00Commentary On Our Links<br />
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The growth of the Internet has meant that students of the
afterlife have an ever-expanding batch of resources available right at home –
most of them for no cost. While there is some junk out there, we have been
blessed with a wide range of quality websites that provide excellent
information. I have provided on this blog (left-hand column) a list of my favorites.
It is by no means complete but many of the sites in the list have additional
links that can lead to even more information.</div>
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At the top of the list are two sites that I <i>HIGHLY</i> recommend because I use them
myself on a weekly basis. The first is a site maintained by retired Australian
attorney Victor Zammit who has arguably done more for proliferation of information about afterlife studies over the years than anyone else since the advent of the
Internet. His site is chock full of valuable information and I urge anyone
approaching these studies to read his book, <i>A
Lawyer Presents the Case for the Afterlife</i>. You can join his e-list and get
an electronic copy of the book free but it is also available in a print
edition. Also consider subscribing to Victor’s fascinating free weekly email
“Afterlife Report” and check out his online videos.</div>
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The next link is for my second highly-recommended site –
Michael Tymn’s fortnightly blog. Mike comes very close to matching Victor’s
output and I’ve always found his posts to be instructive and enjoyable to read.
His specialty is the history of spiritualism and mediumship and there’s no
doubt that no one alive knows more about these topics than Mike. We’ve
exchanged many emails over the years and I never hesitate to refer someone his
way. He also has two marvelous books out on these topics with a third on the
way. Those titles are, in order of publication, <i>The <st1:personname w:st="on">Art</st1:personname>iculate Dead</i>
(2008 – a fun-to-read history of many pioneers in mediumship) and <i>The Afterlife Revealed </i>(2011 – answering
the question “what happens after we die” by quoting communications received
from the spirit world). His new book due out in February 2012 will be <i>Transcending the Titanic: Beyond Death's
Door</i>. It promises to be another insightful title.</div>
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Dr. Gary Schwartz (the next link) is Professor of
Psychology, Medicine, Neurology, Psychiatry and Surgery at the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Arizona</st1:placename></st1:place> and his website describes
several of his books. As a scientist he has been unafraid to do research on
mediumship and his 2003 book <i>The
Afterlife Experiments: Breakthrough Scientific Evidence of Life After Death</i>
details some of his amazing experiments. Those studies continue at the
university and everyone interested in life-after-so-called-death owes Dr.
Schwartz a great deal for his pioneering work.</div>
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Another Ph.D. who has contributed a lot is Dr. R. Craig
Hogan and his website is next in our links list. His amazing book <i>Your Eternal Self</i> (2008) could change
the world if more and more people would read it. It is described on Craig’s
website and portions of the book can be read online. In it Dr. Hogan has
described much scientific research that supports the notion of continuance of
life after so-called death.</div>
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The next blog in our list – Ken Carey’s Blog – may seem to
be out of place here and perhaps it is. However, I’ve read many of Ken’s
incredible channeled books that have been kept in print for decades by Harper
and his central message is that we are spirit incarnated into matter with a
high purpose to fulfill. This is, by the way, identical to the message received
through mediumship over the past 150 years. Ken’s blog, however, focuses on
prophesies about the 2011-2012 time period. Various mediums over the past 100
years have also predicted dynamic changes ahead for our earth and humankind –
and don’t forget all the predictions that emanated from Edgar Cayce’s work.
Soooo, I drop Ken’s blog in here in case someone might be interested. I believe
it to be the only one in the list that is not spirit communication in
orientation. It has been interesting for me to read.</div>
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Listed next is Spirituality and Paranormal Studies, the
website for the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">Academy</st1:placetype>
of <st1:placename w:st="on">Spirituality</st1:placename></st1:place> and
Paranormal Studies. This is a prestigious organization that has on its list of
leaders a great many Ph.D.s including R. Craig Hogan listed above and
university professor Dr. L. Stafford Betty (author of <i>The Afterlife Unveiled,</i> published in 2011). Michael Tymn is editor
of their quarterly Journal of Spirituality and Paranormal Studies as well as
their magazine, The Searchlight. This organization and those that follow are
doing important work in the field of afterlife studies and serious students
should belong to as many as possible.</div>
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The Campaign for Philosophical Freedom’s website has many
good articles and features concerning mediumship and afterlife communication.
The next website, sponsored by the International Association of Near Death
Studies, concentrates on near death experiences and what they tell us
concerning who we are and what we might expect following this life. IANDS is
led by a group of highly educated individuals who are dedicated to research
into near death studies.</div>
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“Evidence for Survival,” next in our list, is a shortened title
for the website’s sponsor, The Association for Evaluation and Communication of
Evidence for Survival. Mike Tymn’s name appears again on this site as one of
AECES’s officers. An especially helpful feature of the site is their Afterlife
Guide which taps many sources for short quotes from spirit concerning what we
all have to look forward to on the “other side.”</div>
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The website I’ve named “Electronic Spirit Communication” is
maintained by Association TransCommunication, a group doing research into the
emerging field of spirit communication by means of tape recorders, computers
and similar devices. I think you’ll find their information of interest because
this process has the potential of making spirit contact easier and more
widespread.</div>
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The next several links are resources for connecting with
others and obtaining electronic copies of spiritualist books. The first is
“Spiritualist Resources,” a site from <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Seattle</st1:place></st1:city>
that makes it easy to find spiritualist churches, online books and blogs,
mediums, etc. Next comes a favorite of mine, “Spirit Writings” that has free
downloadable files of dozens and dozens of fantastic spiritualist books. Next
is “Esoteric Books” that also has many books online. The following four links –
“Survival Books,” “Ghost Circle Books,”
“Magick Spells Books” and “The Great Question” each contain many online
books for your reading pleasure. The latter site contains several from my
favorite vintage spiritualist author, <st1:personname w:st="on">Art</st1:personname>hur
Findlay; you’ll read about him in later posts on this blog. The “Magick Spells”
book list includes a fascinating read on independent voice and trumpet
mediumship, <i>Broadcasting from Beyond</i>
by A.E. Perriman.</div>
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An outstanding feature of the next link, sponsored by the
Forever Family Foundation, is numerous audio files archived under the heading
“Signs of Life Radio.”</div>
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“The Voice Box” is a site that has a lot of good information
and it is followed by another favorite of mine – “Physical Mediumship 4U.” This
is the brain-child of Robin Foy who now lives in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Spain</st1:place></st1:country-region> where he conducts regular
workshops and other events to spread the word about physical mediumship. He
also was the leader of the Scole Group in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">England</st1:place></st1:country-region> that made a lasting
contribution to afterlife research in the 1990s. Physical Mediumship 4U is a
membership site (free) and a very active and interesting one at that. Join in
and follow the chatter; you’ll learn a lot about this one rare branch of
mediumship.</div>
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“Ground of Faith” is an online magazine about afterlife
topics written by convinced clergy and other capable individuals. Archived
copies are available. Next comes an “Afterlife Database” containing a large
amount of information about this topic.</div>
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The last site in my current listing, “Debunking Skeptics
Site,” was, I believe, the brain child of Victor Zammit. A number of convinced
scientists have joined with him to help clear up confusion about the afterlife
created by close-minded skeptics who refuse to examine the evidence. The site’s
sponsoring group is known officially as the Scientific Committee to Evaluate
Pseudoskeptical Criticism of the Paranormal. Spend some time here and you’ll
learn a lot!</div>David H. Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103428561618712158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733858696820155774.post-23106403696682339872012-01-15T17:41:00.000-08:002012-03-16T08:11:32.017-07:00Three Amazing Books<br />
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Unless you have the good fortune to be part of a regular circle or group sitting for psychic phenomena, then the best way to learn about spirit is to read, read, read. Luckily, many of the older classics of the spiritualist movement are available free online and we will cover some of those in future posts. But recently there have also appeared a large number of outstanding books on the topic that are extremely enlightening and wonderful to read. Below I reproduce three reviews that I have written and posted on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/">www.amazon.com</a>. Each of these books can, of course, be obtained through Amazon.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Set aside that skepticism</b></span></div>
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Skepticism is always useful, especially when one confronts
stories such as this one told eloquently by Tom Harrison in <i>Life After Death: Living Proof.</i> After
all, Harrison himself warns his readers about frauds in the psychic world. But
there comes a time when one must lay aside the skeptical attitude, think
rationally with an open mind, and evaluate the source and motives of the
writer. When I did that with Tom Harrison’s account there was only one logical
conclusion – <st1:place w:st="on">Harrison</st1:place> is telling the truth!</div>
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I had the good fortune more than 30 years ago to sit in a
séance with a good medium and my wife and I went away from that with a feeling
of wonder. While that experience came nowhere close to those recounted by <st1:place w:st="on">Harrison</st1:place>, we were provided with precise information that
nobody else in the room had any access to (in fact we had never met any of
those folks before). On top of that, the “spirit” voice accurately described a
unique antique clock that was ticking away on our mantle some 80 miles away and
he proceeded to say he was going to “fix” it for us. When we returned home, it
was fixed all right! It had stopped running and it has not resumed since.
Harrison recounts a similar experience of psychic tinkering with clocks and
watches but <st1:place w:st="on">Harrison</st1:place>’s spirit was much more
skilled with clocks than ours was.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwZA-7i2DXSAjEP8MvDMm7Gqk8I-XsScUK_Irjzslocd8do5JkYZMeeYIQdSmC0Eq0D89bafQS5OBLOgQzec8L-UG2bIljXyKQMmbDvy-TisD8RQbf1svNpOluGSPJvzlYjAnU3OnxAnk/s1600/harrison_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwZA-7i2DXSAjEP8MvDMm7Gqk8I-XsScUK_Irjzslocd8do5JkYZMeeYIQdSmC0Eq0D89bafQS5OBLOgQzec8L-UG2bIljXyKQMmbDvy-TisD8RQbf1svNpOluGSPJvzlYjAnU3OnxAnk/s200/harrison_cover.jpg" width="132" /></a></div>
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As I examined <st1:place w:st="on">Harrison</st1:place>’s
claims it became abundantly clear to me that he has absolutely no motive for
fabricating even the slightest minor detail in this book. He does not gain
financially from his work (profits are donated to cancer victims); he does not
have any personal program or organization that he’s pushing; nor is he drumming
up an audience for future lectures. He is an old man wanting to leave for
everyone an accurate description of wonderful experiences dating back some 60
years.</div>
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Likewise, those séances Harrison sat in so long ago in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">England</st1:country-region></st1:place>
were not public affairs and the motive for having them was as pure as any could
be. Those folks were fascinated with the ability to contact their departed
loved ones. They were not conjuring up the spirits of Napoleon, Jesus or
Shakespeare – these were common, every-day spiritualists visiting with their
departed friends and relatives. As Michael Tymn says in his review on this
site, “there is no reason to assume that the author is trying to put one over
on us or that his mother, the medium, was making a fool of him and her friends
for many years.” To think otherwise is ludicrous.</div>
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It’s time for all of us, including our scientists and
academicians, to wake up and realize that over the past 150 years an amazing
record of communications with the spirit world has been accumulated. Some of
the most credible has been conducted under rigorous test conditions but I would
quickly place the mediumship of Minnie Harrison in that same category. This
book is an amazing read and I felt last night as I completed it I felt that I was
saying good-bye to dear friends – both living and “dead.”</div>
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[Note: Tom Harrison passed over in 2010.]</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>A scientist explores spirit communication</b></span></div>
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The French astronomer Camille Flammarion wrote, “I do not
hesitate to affirm my conviction, based on personal examination of the subject,
that any man who declares the phenomena [of spirit communication] to be
impossible is one who speaks without knowing what he is talking about; and,
also that any man accustomed to scientific observation – provided that his mind
is not biased by preconceived opinions – may acquire a radical and absolute
certainty of the reality of the facts alluded to.” He added elsewhere, “It is
by the scientific method alone that we may make progress in the search for
truth. Religious belief must not take the place of impartial analysis. We must
be constantly on our guard against illusions.”</div>
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These words are particularly meaningful when examining the
book by Dr. Jan W. Vandersande, <i>Life
After Death: Some of the Best Evidence</i>. Even though Flammarion was a
scientist who spoke professionally about the reality of spirit communication,
he lived long ago and the tendency by many today is to discount earlier
scientists as being too gullible and not in possession of the latest
technology. Flammarion was not the lone spiritualist in scientific circles of
his day, of course, but it is refreshing to find scientists today who are
unafraid to speak out in defense of phenomenon they have rigorously tested with
the use of the scientific method. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTs0K0o9hTbkAHScYjzJFIMgEFHQvIOzSCnplbXbPreg9dc9e_nMg2EKozWwqDKv7CQr9qaXRv37ybwKWRow4-5y3e60DQ-P3J8YHpofzxN7x1xkCBF90TbAXqLhD-_h1QCfjZBkivkFs/s1600/life-after-death-some-best-evidence-jan-w-vandersande-paperback-cover-art.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTs0K0o9hTbkAHScYjzJFIMgEFHQvIOzSCnplbXbPreg9dc9e_nMg2EKozWwqDKv7CQr9qaXRv37ybwKWRow4-5y3e60DQ-P3J8YHpofzxN7x1xkCBF90TbAXqLhD-_h1QCfjZBkivkFs/s200/life-after-death-some-best-evidence-jan-w-vandersande-paperback-cover-art.jpg" width="129" /></a></div>
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Vandersande is such a person and his book lays out quite
clearly his personal experiences with spirit communication and materialization along
with his evaluation of it. A reader cannot escape the fact that he, because of
his education and training, is a qualified observer – someone who would not be
duped by chicanery. Here is a physicist with an impressive resume who went far
beyond almost all of his colleagues by investigating the phenomenon first-hand.
Most scientists discount survival after death straight away and refuse to look
at any evidence whatsoever. Vandersande’s approach is reasonable as well as
scientific; his account carries weight and deserves to be taken seriously.
Frankly, his conclusions seem to be the only ones possible.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Mediumship is Still Alive</b></span></div>
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<i>Alec Harris: The Full
Story of his Remarkable Physical Mediumship<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6aDLJLMkjrlwnl1DlJXuNCCiaIbLrem0-jyWoIN5i8BMatJgIZ4Y3IbIDEjsv8rqyfibnnziBWBsQNAg83flGA3nvg032Ja9jp6NwyzOXXwzDmdzNbW9TwFn0RoL91OT4z_uV038oewY/s1600/Alec+Harris+Book.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6aDLJLMkjrlwnl1DlJXuNCCiaIbLrem0-jyWoIN5i8BMatJgIZ4Y3IbIDEjsv8rqyfibnnziBWBsQNAg83flGA3nvg032Ja9jp6NwyzOXXwzDmdzNbW9TwFn0RoL91OT4z_uV038oewY/s200/Alec+Harris+Book.jpg" width="128" /></a></div>
<span style="color: black;">This is a remarkable book about
the amazing materialization mediumship of Alec Harris, beautifully written by
his wife Louie. The reader is treated to page after page of interesting
recollections of a lifetime of service by this couple, most of it given freely
to those who were grieving or in need of physical healing. It is a good
companion book to Tom Harrison's <i>Life
After Death: Living Proof.</i> Both volumes present excellent descriptions of
materializations in comparatively recent years which proves that the glory days
of spiritualist phenomena are far from past as naysayers often allege. The
section of the book that appealed most to me was near the beginning where Louie
described their introduction to spiritualism and the process of development of
their mediumship gifts. This shows that there are still those who are
"called" to serve in this capacity and that the road to development
can still be taken. Reading further one will discover the immense satisfaction
mediums can enjoy when they see how their unselfish service helps those in
need. I heartily recommend this book. It is a fascinating account, well written
and beautifully produced.</span></div>David H. Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103428561618712158noreply@blogger.com2