| Year 16 | Number 93 | 2008 | March 15th, 2008 |
| "Unshakable
faith is only that which can face reason face to
face in every Humankind epoch." Allan Kardec |
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"Members and representatives of the churches of this world, hear and engrave it on your memories. Above the earth, in the vast fields of space, there lives, thinks, and acts, an Invisible Church, which watches over mankind. It is composed of the Apostles, the disciples of Christ, and of all the wise men of Christian times, but with them you would find also the high spirits of every race, of all religions, all the great souls who have lived in this world according to the law of love and charity. For the judgments of heaven are not as the judgments of earth. In the ethereal spaces, the souls of men are not asked for an account of their race or their religion, but of their deeds and of the good they have done. That is the universal Church; it is not limited as are the conventional churches of this world; it is a union of the spirits of all those who have suffered for the truth." Excerpt from Leon Denis' Christianity and Spiritualism
[Chapter XI - Renovation - p. 229-230]
"If
a man die
shall he live again? This is the question which in all ages has
troubled the souls of men; the prophets and the wise men of antiquity
were in doubt as to the answer to be given it. Philosophy has always
discussed it as one of the unsolved problems of humanity, while
modern science instead of clearing up the difficulty and giving us
renewed hope, either ignores the question altogether or advances
powerful arguments against the affirmative reply. Yet the ultimate
decision arrived at, whether in the negative or affirmative, is not
only of vital interest to each of us individually, but is calculated,
I believe, to determine the future welfare or misery of mankind.
"If the question should be finally decided in the negative, if all men without exception ever come to believe that there is no life beyond this life, if children were all brought up to believe that the only happiness they can ever enjoy will be upon earth, then it seems to me that the condition of man would be altogether hopeless, because there would cease to be any adequate motive for justice, for truth, for unselfishness, and no sufficient reason could be given to the poor man, to the bad man, or to the selfish man, why he should not seek his own personal welfare at the cost of others." Alfred
Russel Wallace
An "Interview" by Mike Tymn
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| °EDITORIAL
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| AS TIME GOES BY... |
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| ° THE CODIFICATION
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| THE
MEDIUMS' BOOK - CHAPTER I - Do Spirits Exist? |
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| CHRISTIANITY AND SPIRITUALISM by Leon Denis | |||
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| ABORTION |
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| THE LIGHT OF GOD'S LOVE |
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THE PAST LIFE MEMORIES OF JAMES
LEININGER
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2nd U. S. SPIRITIST SYMPOSIUM
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| SEMINAR "REFLECTIONS ON SPIRIT ATTACHEMENT" | |||
| 25 YEARS OF THE SPIRITIST MOVEMENT IN THE UK |
| ° EDITORIAL |
There is a famous song from a classic American movie that refers to the passage of time. The song says that the fundamental aspects of humanity do not change as time goes by. What is fundamental for beings is also lasting, no matter what comes and goes at men's whim. What actually changes is our comprehension about life as we realize what is really fundamental to ourselves.
In these times of turbulence that we now live, the old conceptions about the world are put to test as men build new ones more attuned with reality. Therefore, we slowly realize that we depend one upon the other, and that we are interconnected with the whole universe. In order for us to love our neighbors as ourselves, an understanding about this interconnection will be required, as well as an attitude of responsibility in the actions we take, whose consequences affect those that surround us.
Consequently, we will notice that concepts such as sustainability and social responsibility start taking part in economics discussions. We also realize that science, reluctantly but slowly leaves behind the ingenuous positivist approach of the nineteenth century, to perceive that there are other realities beyond those that are object of analysis in a laboratory. There will come a day when scientists will perceive that the basic functioning of the physical body depends upon its spiritual mold [see the topic below - Do Spirits Exist?], which acts since the process of the formation of the fetus to the processes which maintain the human being living throughout his entire life. They will understand that essentially death is simply the moment in which this mold or spiritual body [perispirit, in the spiritist terminology] stops sustaining the physical body, when the real being frees itself to enter into another life, the spiritual life.
The epoch in which we live is a great one, for immense opportunities are open for us to participate in the construction of a new civilization. We find ourselves in the time predicted by Jesus, and if evil is yet intermixed with goodness, the process of separation is already in course.
As
time goes by, it
becomes clearer to those who pursue the knowledge on the matters of
hereafter, about what is really fundamental and what is solely
accessory to the human being's ascension towards a true spiritual
life. Jesus told us that the heavens and the earth would pass, but
that his teachings would remain. It is exactly what we see happening
now. As men transform themselves spiritually, they will begin to
comprehend that there is nothing more fundamental to them than "To
love God beyond anything and the neighbor as thyself” anything
else is accessory. [Translation by Antonio Leite]
Carlos A. Iglesia Bernardo
Editor GEAE
Back to Content
| ° THE CODIFICATION |
THE MEDIUMS' BOOK
Translation By Anna Blackwell
[Federação Espírita Brasileira, 1986]
CHAPTER I
Do Spirits Exist?
Whatever ideas we may hold in regard to spirits, the belief in their existence is necessarily founded on that of the existence of an intelligent principle distinct from matter; this belief is therefore incompatible with an absolute negation of such a principle.
We assume then, as the ground-work of our belief, the existence, survival, and individuality of the soul, of which spiritualism is the theoretic and doctrinal demonstration, and spiritism the practical proof. Let us then, for a moment, leave out of sight the fact of spirit-manifestations, properly so called, and let us see to what conclusions we are led by inductive reasoning.
2. If we admit the existence of the soul and its individuality after death, we must necessarily also admit, 1st, that it is of a nature different from that of the body, since, when separated from the body, it enters upon a phase of existence distinct from the destiny of the body; 2d, that the soul retains, after death, its individuality and self-consciousness, and the capacity of feeling happiness and unhappiness, as otherwise it would be an inert being, and its existence would be equivalent to non-existence. These points being admitted, it follows that the soul goes somewhere; but what becomes of it, and whither does it go? According to the ordinary belief it goes to heaven or to hell; but where is heaven, and where is hell? People used formerly to say that heaven was ''up on high," and hell, '' down below;" but what is "up," and what is "down," in the Universe, since we have learned that the earth is round, and that, through the movement of all the stellar bodies, what is "up" now, will be "down" twelve hours hence, and this throughout the immeasurable extent of infinite space? It is true that, by "below," we may likewise understand the "deep places of the earth;" but what has become of those "deep places," since geologists have begun to dig into the interior of the globe?
What has become of those concentric spheres called the "heaven of fire," the "heaven of stars," etc., since we have found out that the earth is not the center of the universe, and that our sun is only one of the countless myriads of suns which shine in space, and each of which is the center of a planetary system of its own? Where is now the earth's importance, lost as it is in this immensity? And by what unjustifiable privilege shall we assume that this imperceptible grain of sand, distinguished neither by its bulk, its position, nor any peculiarity of attribute, is the only sphere peopled by intelligent creatures? Reason refuses to admit such an inutility of infinitude; and common sense declares that all the other worlds of the universe must be inhabited, and that, being inhabited, they, too, must furnish their contingent to the realm of souls.
But what, it may next be asked, becomes of the souls thus multiplied to infinity by the theory of the plurality of worlds, now that astronomy and geology have annihilated their ancient habitations?
To this question we reply that, the doctrine which formerly localized souls being opposed to the data of modern science, another and more logical doctrine assigns to then, as their domain, not any fixed and circumscribed localities, but universal space itself which is thus seen to be one grand system, in the midst of which we live, which environs us unceasingly, and touches us at every point. Is there anything inadmissible in such a theory, anything repugnant to our reason? Assuredly not; on the contrary, our reason tells us that it cannot be otherwise. But, it may next be asked, what becomes of the doctrine of future rewards and punishments, if we rob them of their special localities? In replying to this objection, we must pause to remark that incredulity, in regard to those rewards and punishments, is ordinarily provoked by the fact of their being presented under inadmissible conditions; and that, - if instead of such conditions, we assume that souls carry their happiness or their misery in themselves, that their lot is always determined by their moral state, that the union of good and sympathetic souls is a source of felicity, and that, according to their degree of purity, is their power of penetrating and discerning things that are still dark to souls of lower degree - all difficulties disappear, and the grand idea of our continuous existence becomes comprehensible and acceptable. Let us assume, still farther, that the degree of each soul's elevation depends on the efforts it makes for its own amelioration during series of existences that serve as the means and tests of its progressive purification, that "angels" are only the souls of men who have attained to the highest degree of excellence; that all can attain to that degree by effort and determination; that those who have attained to that degree are God's messengers, charged to superintend the execution of His designs throughout the universe, and finding their happiness in these glorious missions,-and we surely attribute to the idea of our future felicity an end more useful and more attractive than that of a perpetual state of contemplation which would be only a perpetual state of inutility. Let us assume, yet farther, that "demons" also are no other than the souls of wicked men, not yet purified, but who have the power to purify themselves like the others, and it must surely be admitted that such a theory is more in conformity with the justice and goodness of God than the assumption that they were created for evil, and predestined to a perpetuity of misery. Is there, we ask, in such a theory, anything opposed to reason, anything, in a word, that the most rigorous logic, or plain common sense, can find any difficulty in admitting?
The souls, then, that people space, are what we call spirits: and spirits are nothing but the souls of men stripped of their envelope of gross terrestrial matter. If spirits were beings apart from ourselves, their existence would be merely hypothetical; but, if we admit that souls exist, we must also admit that spirits are nothing else than souls, and, if we admit that universal space is peopled by souls, we must equally admit that spirits are everywhere. We cannot deny the existence of spirits without denying the existence of souls.
3. All this, it is true, is only a theory, though one that is more rational than other theories; but it is something to possess a theory that is not in contradiction with reason or science, and if, moreover, this theory is corroborated by facts, it must be admitted that our position has the double sanction of reason and experience. Such corroborating facts we assert to be furnished by the phenomena of spirit-manifestation, which constitute the irrefragable proofs of the existence and the survival of the soul. With many persons, however, belief ends here; they readily admit the existence of souls, and consequently that of spirits, but they deny the possibility of holding communication with them, "because," they say, "immaterial beings cannot act upon matter." This denial proceeds from ignorance of the real nature of spirits, about which the world in general holds exceedingly false ideas, erroneously regarding them as abstract beings, as something vague and indefinite; which is a great mistake.
Let us, in the first place, consider the spirit in reference to its union with the body. The spirit is the principal being, because it is that which thinks, and which survives the body, the latter being only an envelope, a vestment, of gross matter, that the spirit throws off when it is worn out but, besides this material envelope, the spirit has a second envelope, which is semi-material, and which unites it to the first at death, the spirit casts off the first, but retains the second, to which we give the name perispirit.
This semi-material envelope, which has the human form, constitutes, for the spirit, a vaporous, fluidic body, which, though invisible to us in its normal state, nevertheless possesses some of the properties of matter. A spirit is therefore not a mathematical point, an abstraction, but is a real being, limited and circumscribed, and lacking only the qualities of visibility and palpability to show its resemblance to human beings. Why then should it not act on matter? Is it because its body is fluidic? But is it not among the most rarified fluids, those which we call "imponderable," as electricity, for example, that man finds his most powerful motors? Does not imponderable light exercise a chemical action on ponderable matter? We do not understand the precise nature of the perispirit but, supposing it to be formed of electrical matter, or of something else equally subtle, why should it not have the same property of action as electricity, when under the direction of a will?
4. The existence of the soul and the existence of God, as consequences of each other, being the basis of the edifice of spiritism, it is necessary, before entering on the discussion of this subject, to ascertain whether our reader admits that basis. If to the questions: -
Do you believe in God?
Do you believe you have a soul?
Do you believe in the survival of the soul after death? He responds with a negative, or even if he simply says: -
"I do not know; I should be glad if it were so, but I do not feel sure of it" (a reply that would be usually equivalent to a polite negation, disguised under a gentler form to avoid wounding what he may regard as respectable prejudices), it would be as useless to continue our present argument with such a one, as it would be to demonstrate the properties of light to a blind man who did not believe in the existence of light: because, spirit-manifestations being neither more nor less than effects of the soul's peculiar qualities, it would be useless to reason thereupon with one who denies the soul's existence, and who would require a totally different line of argument from that of the present work. We therefore take it for granted that those who read this book admit the existence and survival of the soul; and if this basis be admitted, not as a mere probability,
but as an acknowledged and incontestable fact, the existence of spirits follows as a natural consequence.
5. There still remains the question whether spirits can communicate with men; in other words, whether they can exchange thoughts with us? But why should they not do so? What is a man, if not a spirit imprisoned in a body? And why should not a free spirit be able to hold converse with a spirit in prison, just as a free man can converse with another who is bound in chains? If you admit the survival of the soul, is it rational not to admit the survival of the soul's affections? Since souls are everywhere, is it not natural to believe that the soul of one who has loved us during life should come near to us, should desire to communicate with us, and should, for that purpose, make use of the means in his power for doing so? Did not his soul, during his earth-life, act upon the matter of which his body was composed? Was it not his soul that directed the movements of his body? Why then, after death, if in sympathy with another spirit still bound to an earthly body, should he not borrow an earthly body in order to manifest his
thoughts, just as a dumb man makes use of a man who can speak to express his wishes?
6. But let us leave out of sight, for the moment, the phenomena which, for us, render this fact incontestable, and let us admit its reality simply as an hypothesis; and considering the question from this point of view, let us ask the incredulous to prove to us, not by mere negation - for their personal opinion is no law - but by arguments based on reason, that such communications can not take place. We will place ourselves on their
own ground; and, since they insist on judging of spiritist facts by the laws of matter, we invite them to draw, from the arsenal of physical science, some demonstration, mathematical, chemical, or physiological, and to prove by a plus b (always, however, keeping in mind the principle acknowledged, viz., that of the existence and survival of the soul), -
1st. That the being who thinks in us during life will no longer think after death;
2d. That, if it thinks, it will not think of those whom it has loved;
3d. That, if it thinks of those whom it has loved, it will not desire to communicate with them;
4th. That, if it has the power of being everywhere, it will not have the power of visiting us;
5th. That, if it can visit us, it will not have the power of communicating with us;
6th. That it will not be able to act upon inert matter by means of its fluidic envelope;
7th. That, if able to act upon inert matter, it will not be able to act upon an animated being;
8th. That, if able to act upon an animated being, it will not direct his hand, and make it write;
9th. That, being able to guide a human hand in writing, it will not be able to answer questions, and transmit its own thoughts to the questioner.
When the adversaries of spiritism shall have proved all this, by reasoning as incontrovertible as that by which Galileo proved that the sun does not turn round the earth, we will admit that their doubts are founded. But as, up to the present time, their whole argument may be summed up in words such as these "I do not believe these things, therefore they are impossible," they will doubtless tell us that it is for us to prove the reality of the manifestations; to which we reply, that we prove them both by facts and by reasoning, and that, if they admit neither the one nor the other, if they deny even what they see themselves, it is for them to prove that our reasoning is false, and that the facts we adduce are impossible.
| ° ELECTRONIC BOOKS |
CHRISTIANITY AND SPIRITUALISM
The History of the Gospels
The Secret Doctrine of Christianity
Intercourse with the Spirits of the Dead
The New Revelation
Vitam Impendere Vero
By
LÉON DENIS
Author of
"Après La Mort, "Dans L'Invisible," ETC.
Translated from the French by
HELEN DRAPER SPEAKMAN
LONDON
PHILIP WELLBY
6 Henrietta Street Covent Garden
1904
This book is out of print indefinitely
1st Electronic Edition by
the
Advanced
Study Group of Spiritism
(GEAE)
2006
Jesus was not a founder of dogmas, a creator of symbols; He was the initiator of the world to the religion of love. Some have based belief on the idea of justice. Justice does not suffice; charity is required, love for men, patience, gentleness, simplicity. It is through this that Christianity is superior and imperishable, and all those who love mankind may call themselves Christian, even those who separate themselves from the traditions of the Churches.
Te religion of Jesus is not exclusive. It unites all believing souls by one common bond, all those who think, feel, love, and suffer, in one great communion of love. It is a simple and sublime form which goes straight to the heart. It is and ideal of fraternity and love, which has required nineteen centuries to be understood, to penetrate the human conscience.
By affirming the right of every one to enter into the kingdom of God, that is to say, into truth and light, Jesus prepared the regeneration of mankind and smoothed the way for the future revelation.
The Christ did even more. By the manifestations of which He was the center and which continued after His death, He brought nearer together the two humanities, the visible and the invisible. The Church separated them anew, she broke the chain which united the dead to the living. The thought of Jesus became veiled; shadow brooded over the world, that heavy shadow of the Middle Ages, whose influence still weighs on us.
But, after centuries of comparative silence, the invisible world opens once more, and is lighted to its very depths. Christ and His legions are at work. The hour of the new dispensation has come.
This dispensation is modern spiritualism. It comes with its treasures of discoveries, with the multitude of its testimonies, with the teachings of its spirits. The columns of the temple it rears to thought are rising ever higher and higher. Thirty years ago it was but an insignificant structure. Behold it now! It is a great moral edifice under whose roof thousands of souls have found an asylum from the storms of life. The eyes of those who suffer and struggle are turned towards it. All those to whom life is a heaven burden, who are assailed by dark fears and for whom despair lies in wait, will find in it help and comfort. Under its influence they will learn to fight with courage, to defy death, to conquer a better future.
The thinkers, the noble spirits who work for mankind, will find therein the means of realizing their ideal of peace and harmony. For it is only a powerful faith, a firm belief, knitting together the souls of men, which can lead to universal harmony.
Already we can see that it is modern spiritualism which will realize this ideal. It has done more towards it in fifty years than Catholicism in many centuries. At the present moment, it has spread to all quarters of the globe. Its adepts, whose number is countless, salute each other by the name of brother. A large and ever-growing literature, hundreds of papers and reviews, of groups, of federations, show its abundant vitality.
Strong in its far-distant past, which is that of humanity itself, and sure of its future, spiritualism rears itself boldly before doctrines without foundation, ans wavering skepticism. It advances resolutely along the way open before it, in spite of obstacles and interested opposition, certain of its final triumph, for it has on its side science and truth.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Let us say in conclusion, that modern spiritualism does not offer us a new system to be added to other systems, nor an assembly of vain theories. It brings us the real secret of our elevation and regeneration. It is a solemn act of the drama of human evolution which is commencing; it is a revelation which illumines at once the past and the future, which brings out of the dust of ages sleeping beliefs, animates them with a new flame, and gives them new life by completing them.
It is a powerful breath which descends from space and passes over the world; under its action all the great truths stand revealed. Majestic, they emerge from the obscurity of the ages to play the part assigned to them by the divine thought. These great things are strengthened in the abodes of silence. In the apparent forgetfulness of the centuries, they have been drawing in renewed energies and have prepared themselves for the great tasks of the future. Above the ruins of temples, of extinct civilizations, and fallen empires, above the ebb and flow of the human tides, a great voice is raised, and this voice cries: The time has come, the time has come!
From out the starry heights, legions of Spirits descend on earth to fight the fight of light against darkness. It is not man, it is not the sages or the philosophers, who bring a new doctrine. It is the spirits of space who come among us and whisper to our thoughts the teachings which are to regenerate the world. They are the spirits of God! All those who possess the gift of clairvoyance see them, hovering over us, assisting in our work, fighting at our side for the redemption and ascension of the human soul.
Great things are preparing. Let the thought-workers arise, if they would participate in the mission which God offers to all those who love and serve the truth.
Note # 1
ON THE AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE AND THE ORIGINS OF
THE OLD TESTAMENT
To the greater number of Christian Churches, the Bible is the supreme authority, the sixty-six books composing the Old and New Testaments being the "Word of God."
We inquisitive children of the twentieth century ask ourselves: Why are these exactly sixty-six? Why neither more nor less?
The books of the Old Testament were selected, from among many others, by unknown Jewish rabbis. These books are of very unequal value.
The same may be said of the New Testament, composed according to a rule unknown to the Christians of the first century. The Apocalypse was written in the year 68 after Christ. The fourth Gospel only appeared at the end of the first century (some say in the year 140), and both books bear the name of St. John; but they are animated by a very different spirit. The first is the work of a Christian Jew; the other was written by a Christian of the philosophical school of Alexandria, who not only had broken with the Jewish dogma, but had set to work to combat it.
We can easily understand that the Protestant Reformers, starting from the principle that the Bible constitutes the "Word of God," should have encountered many insurmountable difficulties. It is principally they who have lent to the Bible that absolute authority which has led to so many abuses; but we must not judge them only by the results of the theology which they built up. The needs of the times constrained them to oppose to the authority of the Roman Church, to the abuse of indulgences, to the worship of the saints, to the dead works of a religion where vain practices had replaced living faith, the sovereignty of God and the authority of His word, as expressed in the Bible.
In spite of the inequality of the elements which compose this work, its great importance and its occasionally high inspiration cannot be gainsaid. A rapid examination will however show us that it cannot have the origin claimed for it.
Genesis - If we read attentively the first chapters of Genesis, we shall see that they contain two distinct accounts of the Creation. Chapters I and II, verses 1-3, contain one version; but in chapter II, verse 4 another narration is given; these two accounts reveal to us the thoughts of two different authors. One, speaking of God, calls Him "Elohim," the other uses the name of Jehovah. (Javé, according to the modern orientalists) name peculiar to the God of Israel. This difference is constantly found throughout the whole book, to such an extent that exegists have come to distinguish these two authors apart, and designate them by the names of author Elohite and author Jehovite.
These two authors have their particular and distinct views, the application of which sometimes leads to grave consequences. For example, the author of Genesis I and II verse 3 has endeavored to give a divine sanction to the Sabbath by alleging that God rested the seventh day. The author of the following chapter explains the problem of human suffering. It comes, he says, from sin, and sin results from the fall of Adam. He starts a terrible chain of dogmatic consequences, which were to weigh heavily on the human mind and arrest its development. Renan proclaimed this author to be the greatest of philosophers. It is a curious opinion! We cannot deny that his views undoubtedly influenced St Paul, St Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Pascal; but into whaat a fearful labyrinth they have led human reason!
Deuteronomy. Let us consider this, the fifth book of the Old Testament. It is said, chap. I. 1, that Moses was its author. This is an early example of those pious frauds which consist in publishing a work under the name of a venerated author to give it greater authority. We are informed of the true origin of this book by the narrative in 2 Kings XXII. 8-10. It was found in the temple during the reign of Josiah, one of the last kings of Judah, five centuries after Moses, at a time when the dynasty of Judah was already beginning to decline. The true author had evidently placed it in the temple, that it might be discovered and presented to the king, a pious man, who took the book very seriously, believed Moses to be its author, and used his authority to apply to reforms therein recommended. The Jews were at that time plunged in idolatry; the precepts of Moses were so utterly forgotten that the author of Deuteronomy, a well-intentioned reformer, having attempted to bring them once more to mind, provoked a veritable terror among the people and his book was accepted as a new revelation.
It may be remarked that in Deuteronomy XXVIII., all the seductive promises and fearful menaces by which the author endeavors to restore the worship of Jehovah related exclusively to this earthly life. The author seems to have no idea of immortality.
It is also thus with the Pentateuch as a whole, attributed to Moses. Nowhere does the great Jewish law-giver mention the soul as an entity surviving the body. According to him, the life of man, an ephemeral creature, was confined to the restricted circle of the earth, with no perspective open towards heaven, no hope and no future.
The other books of the Bible speak of the future of man with the same doubt, the same feeling of despairing sadness.
Solomon says, Eccles. III. 19: "That which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them; as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they all have one breath; so that a man hath no pre-eminence above the beast; for all is vanity."
Is this the "Word of God"? Can we suppose that He would allow His chosen people to remain in ignorance of the destiny of the soul and of the future life, when this essential principle of all spiritualistic doctrine had long been familiar to India, Egypt, Greece, and Gaul.
The Bible affirms the most absolute monotheism. There is no question of the Trinity. "Javé" reigns alone in the heavens, solitary and jealous. The angels, of whom no mention is made in Genesis, only appear from time to time as messengers of the Eternal. There is no place for the souls of men in that empty and gloomy heaven. From a moral pint of view, God is presented in the Bible under multiple and contradictory aspects. He is said to be the best of fathers; and He is shown to be without pity for His guilty children. He is called all-powerful; infinite goodness and sovereign justice are attributed to Him; and He is brought down to the level of human passions, when He is represented as terrible, partial, implacable. He is the Creator of all things, He has pre-knowledge, and nevertheless He repents Him of His work. "And it repented the Lord that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart, and the Lord said, I will destroy man, whom I have created, from the face of the earth; both man and beast, and the creeping thing and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth Me that I have made them" (Gen. VI. 6,7). Only Noah and his family found grace before the Lord. What becomes, after this narrative, of the divine power and forethought? What becomes of His wisdom and goodness after the words of Ezekiel XX. 25, which made the Lord say: "Wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live"!
We cannot pass in review here all the works which compose the Old Testament. It would require an extensive study; tedious and fatiguing to the reader. From a general examination, it results that the Bible cannot be considered as the "Word of Good," or as a supernatural revelation.
It is a collection of historical and legendary narratives, the teachings of which are sometimes vulgar, bordering on obscenity, but at other times of an elevated character; narratives useful to preserve and containing many grand things. The Bible is the work of men, a witness to their faith, their aspirations, their knowledge, as well as to their superstitions and their errors. The prophets have introduced into it the lofty words with which they were inspired, seers have told of the visions of the invisible realities which had appeared to them; writers introduced into it descriptions of scenes of social life and the customs of the epoch.
It was to give to these widely varied teachings more weight and authority that they were presented as emanating from the divine power which rules the worlds.
Next: Complementary Notes #
2 and the Following
| ° SPIRIT
MESSAGES |
ABORTION
This message was extracted from the homepage of
The Mercian Order of St. George
A recent debate in the House of Commons, suggesting changes in the Abortion Bill, once again highlights a social problem that is uppermost in many people’s minds. Abortion is so commonplace that very few people in the Occidental World can say that they have not come across it, either in their family circle, or within the circle of their personal friendships.
Currently, in the United Kingdom, an unwanted pregnancy can be terminated up to 28 weeks, or seven months. Abortions are performed upon demand, and for the most simple of reasons. If a couple are anxious to have a son and find out their expected child is going to be a girl, then abortion is the answer to their problems. If they were to discover that their future child was going to have brown eyes, and they wanted a blue-eyed child, then they have the simple answer right there at their fingertips.
Even in Europe, where in many countries Abortion is illegal, this is merely a paper-exercise, because the expectant mother, by buying a plane or boat ticket to England, can still get that Abortion. This wholesale slaughter of human life accounts for the destruction of hundreds of thousands of human victims a year. And yet it is regarded by the majority as a perfectly acceptable means of solving individual problems. More lives have been ended in the United Kingdom by the surgeon’s knife since the introduction of abortion than the whole of the British casualty figures for the First and Second World Wars combined.
In a recent Parliamentary debate, the most strong case put forward against Abortion was submitted by Jill Knight M.P., when she said that a woman had the right to determine whether she would become pregnant or not, but that once the child had been conceived, then no person had the right to end that life. But what do Spirit say? Do They agree that a six month-old foetus, which if born prematurely would stand a very good chance of survival, could be disposed of simply because it had a physical defect, was of the wrong sex, or just wasn’t wanted? Their answer was:-
“The rules on Abortion are simple - “Thou shalt not kill”. The body is so made that if a conception is to be aborted, then it will be aborted naturally. This applies to all living beings. When Man takes things into his own hands, that is when trouble arises.
“When a life has been started, as in conception, then that life is there for a purpose, a purpose must be lived and worked out. Many times this purpose is interfered with, causing anguish to the spirit of the unborn child, who has come through a certain process to return to this Plane.
“Many times you speak of the mentally handicapped. There is a reason for even this kind of condition, for when the mentally handicapped return to the Earth Plane, it is known that this was going to happen and the experience has been provided for the individual’s progression, and for those that care for them. Everything is according to a plan and there is no need for Man to interfere. Interference is only by Man’s own selfishness and his fear of not being able to do what he wishes”.
The Light of
God’s Love is all about you, yet you do not see it and you do not feel
it. Why? Because you let your sorrows, your trials, your doubts, your
worries, your impatience, your fears, your pride, and your anger blind
you. You go around earth as if in a dense fog. Material
life is full of difficulties, disappointments, trials, and tests but
serve a Divine Purpose. Little by little as your soul progresses and
purifies itself through these, your soul will be able to see more
clearly that Divine Light that shines forever brightly all around you.
Only when you are cleansed of your impurities can you truly see it in
all its Magnificent Glory. Nevertheless,
even in your current imperfect state, if you would but open your heart
and soul more, and contemplate truthfully upon that Light full of
Divine Love, you could catch glimpses of it. You would then feel
fortified by its brilliant rays. You would find a certain inner peace
in its gentle warmth. You would feel emotionally uplifted from that
radiating Perfect Love that constantly surrounds you. God is All
Love. Look Upward to the Light towards that Grand Immensity when you
are feeling so downcast! If you have done your very best, your soul
will feel less burdened if you then sincerely surrender all the rest in
your life…to that Infinite Love and Perfect Wisdom of the Creator.
| ° ARTICLES |
boy possibly remember a plane crash that occurred
By Wes Milligan
“When a child speaks of a
past life memory, the effects ripple far.
At the center is the child, who is directly healed and changed. The
parents standing close by are rocked by the truth of the experience – a
truth powerful enough to dislodge deeply entrenched beliefs. For
observers removed from the actual event – even those just reading about
it – reports of a child’s past life memory can jostle the soul toward
new understanding. Children’s past life memories have the power to
change lives.”
– Carol Bowman, author of Children’s Past Lives
Parents are usually quite concerned when
their children have nightmares. The tears alone on the face of a child
are enough to tug at the heart. Eventually, after the parents comfort
their children and allay their fears, the children close their eyes and
fall back asleep. Things return to normal, and the nightmares are
forgotten.
However,
when the nightmares began four
years ago for 6-year-old James Leininger of Lafayette, his parents,
Bruce and Andrea Leininger, were troubled. The nightmares were coming
as much as four times a week, and James would violently kick and scream
with his feet up in the air. It appeared as though he was fighting with
something or buried in a box, trying to get out. The only way he could
escape the nightmares was for his parents to shake him awake. The
nightmares were out of control.
Above, left: James, at age 6, enjoys a moment at the controls of a plane. Above, right:
James Huston Jr., whose tragic death during World War II is remembered in detail
by young James Leininger, pauses for a picture sometime in 1944, the year before he
was shot down.
But it was what James would utter during
his thrashing nightmares that would make the hair on the back of his
mom’s neck stand up.
“He would say, ‘Airplane crash on fire, little
man can’t get out,’” Andrea says.
Bruce and Andrea began to rack their brains
about the source of the disturbing information, which they believed was
fueling these nightmares. An educated couple, Bruce and Andrea had
always tried to create a “Mozart for the mind” atmosphere for their
child and had strenuously kept violence away from his sight. So they
began to analyze their dinner conversations, what James was watching on
television, and other things that could influence him. Bruce and Andrea
weren’t involved in aviation, and their 2-year-old boy couldn’t read
yet. There had to be a logical explanation.
Looking for answers, Andrea began to seek
help outside of their home. The nightmares weren’t going away, and the
Leiningers didn’t know what they could do to stop them. The possible
cures seemed few, and it even crossed Bruce’s mind that an exorcism
might be necessary if the nightmares didn’t end.
Then Andrea’s mother, Barbara Scoggin,
suggested an explanation that later seemed to be the right answer:
James might be experiencing a past life memory.
After reading about a counselor by the name
of Carol Bowman from Pennsylvania, Ms. Scoggin explained how Ms. Bowman
was an expert on a child phenomenon that was similar to what James was
experiencing. Ms. Bowman had also authored a book, Children’s Past
Lives: How Past Life Memories Affect Your Child, after her own son
had similar problems with nightmares and strange recollections.
Andrea called her immediately. Then after
several discussions with Ms. Bowman, Andrea took her advice and began
to talk to James about his nightmares right after they happened. As a
result, Andrea says, the nightmares decreased drastically.
“When we are dreaming, our conscious minds
are not filtering material as when we are in a waking state, so
unconscious material, including past life memories, emerge,” Ms. Bowman
explains. “It is not uncommon for young children to dream of their
previous lives. We tend to notice the nightmares, because they disturb
the sleep and are often dramatic, realistic stories, as in James’ case.
They are often recurring, as the child relives the same dramatic events
over and over. On some level, they are seeking resolution to these
disturbing memories. When Andrea acknowledged what James was
remembering in his dreams – his plane crashing – it helped him move
through the trauma.”
But the side effect, which Ms. Bowman
expected, was that James’ statements about the crashing airplane and
the man who couldn’t get out became more detailed, more real to him.
Now, during the day, James began to
consciously mention how “his” plane took off from the water and the
Japanese shot down his plane. He even began to be more specific with
plane designations and the name of an aircraft carrier that was
stationed near Japan during World War II. The eerie and specific
details caused Bruce to take up a research quest with Andrea’s help to
disprove all of James’ “facts.”
Through all of their research, spanning
nearly five years with thousands of declassified documents, personal
interviews and military resources, Bruce and Andrea Leininger say they
are now finally sure of one thing: Their son is linked with the spirit
of a World War II Navy pilot by the name of James M. Huston Jr., who
died in 1945.
Bruce and Andrea Leininger pose for
parents say they believe their son has
been touched by the spirit of a World
War II pilot named James Huston Jr.
observed from the beginning
Bruce and Andrea say they began to see signs of a spirit linked with their son when James was 20 months old. While moving from Richardson, Texas, to Lafayette in February of 2000, Bruce took James to the Cavanaugh Flight Museum in Addison, Texas. Andrea says planes had always been his fixation: He spent hours playing with toy planes and he would yell when he saw a real plane in the air.
Bruce recalls his son being mesmerized with the planes at the museum; the boy kept wandering back to the World War II section of the museum. When he tried to take James away from the exhibit, after being there for nearly three hours, James put up a fuss and started to cry. To satisfy his curiosity and to calm him, Bruce bought him a Navy Blue Angels flight demonstration videotape at the museum. James played it so much that he practically wore it out.
In April of 2000, after getting settled
in
their new home in Lafayette, James’ nightmares began. Bruce and Andrea
at first attributed their son’s nightmares to being in a new home with
unfamiliar sounds. But when they didn’t stop, the parents’ interest
went to a whole new level.
Meanwhile, the furniture suffered
from
James’ toy plane collection. James would crash his toy planes into
tables and chairs, Andrea recalls with laughter as she points to the
numerous nicks on the living room table. The table served as a landing
strip for his planes. Crashing became such an obsession to James that
whenever someone mentioned flying, James would blurt out, “Plane crash
on fire,” which Andrea says unnerved her.
James Leininger
signed his drawings
“James 3” before his father knew
about James
Huston Jr.
But still, Bruce and Andrea admitted, these
actions were similar to those of any child growing up – that is, until
James became really specific with details of his nightmarish crash.
From July to September of 2000, James began
to tell his parents that the plane in his nightmares was shot down by
the Japanese after it had taken off from a ship on the water. When
James was asked if he knew who the pilot was, he simply replied
“James.”
1235292-2000895
Andrea asked James what type of plane he
was flying in his dreams, and he said it was a “Corsair.” Then, after
repeated attempts to push for more information right after the
nightmares, Bruce and Andrea got the word “Natoma.”
On a whim to try and make sense of it all,
Bruce did a simple Internet search for the word Natoma. The result:
there existed an aircraft carrier by the name of U.S.S. Natoma Bay,
stationed in the Pacific Ocean during World War II. Bruce thought then
it was just a coincidence.
In October of 2000, another piece of the
puzzle came clear. After another nightmare, James gave his parents the
name of Jack Larsen, and he said it was Larsen who flew with James.
The next month, James relinquished another
piece of information, which floored his already-skeptical father. Bruce
was thumbing through a book, The Battle For Iwo Jima, by
Derrick Wright, which he had recently received from a history book
club. While Bruce was inspecting the book, James jumped into his lap to
watch cartoons. While waiting for the cartoons to come on, James looked
at the book with his dad. Suddenly, James pointed to a map of Iwo Jima
near Chichi Jima and said, “Daddy, that is where my plane was shot
down.” Bruce says he almost keeled over.
Weeks later, after several more Internet
searches, Bruce stumbled upon a website that referred to the Natoma Bay
Association. He contacted a Leo Pyatt, who later said he was a radioman
on an Avenger fighter plane with the VC-81 squadron.
James Huston Jr., a World War II
fighter pilot, as he appeared on
Feb. 7, 1945, about one month
before he was killed in action.
Bruce couldn’t hold in the questions. He
asked Pyatt if there were any Corsairs flown on the Natoma Bay. Pyatt
said no – only Avengers and Wildcats. Bruce then asked if he had flown
any missions near Iwo Jima, and Pyatt said he had been a part of 36
missions there. Finally came the real question, about the existence of
Jack Larsen. Pyatt said he knew Larsen, but he never knew what happened
to him.
After realizing so many details from a
2-year-old boy were somehow realistic in nature, Bruce became a man
possessed, trying to disprove all of these “coincidences.” He began to
track down military records from across the nation. His ultimate goal
was to disprove these “coincidences” and to end the silly idea, once
and for all, that a supposed spirit was affecting his son.
Consequently, he needed to find Jack Larsen.
begin to come together
Bruce couldn’t find anything on a Jack Larsen – anywhere – in military records after his son mentioned the name. He searched every list he could find from the U.S. National Archives on the men who died who were stationed on the Natoma Bay and all carriers during World War II. There were several Larsens and Larsons who had died, but no Jack Larsen of the Natoma Bay. He searched for more than a year, with nothing to show for it. He almost gave up.
The problem was Bruce was looking for a dead man. After attending a Natoma Bay Association Reunion in September of 2002, Bruce found out that Jack Larsen was alive and well in Springdale, Ark.
But the reunion unearthed something far more important to his son’s puzzling nightmares. After speaking with veterans from the carrier and their families, never mentioning the motivation of his son’s unexplainable behavior, Bruce learned there were 21 men who were lost from the Natoma Bay.
James Huston Jr. was a fighter
pilot in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Above, left:
Huston
poses with his Corsair plane – the same type of aircraft that James
Leininger
mentioned by name during his earliest nightmares. Above, right:
The
U.S.S. Natoma
Bay is the carrier from which Huston flew for some five
months before he was
shot down. The carrier lost 21 men during its
campaign in the Pacific.
One of those men was a Lt. James McCready
Huston Jr. from the VC-81 fighter squadron, who was shot down at the
age of 21 on a special strike mission against shipping in Futami Ko
Harbor at Chichi Jima, according to declassified aircraft action
reports. Huston had volunteered for the mission, the last mission he
would have flown before returning to the United States. He was the only
pilot from the Natoma Bay who was shot down at Chichi Jima.
The name stuck out even more in Bruce’s
mind because the Leiningers had noticed that James had been signing his
name as “James 3” on his crayon drawings of World War II planes. He was
even saying he was “James 3” – months before the reunion – implying
that perhaps since Huston was named after his father, James Leininger
was the third.
At this point, Bruce says he became
frustrated because his quest to disprove the possibility that his son
was experiencing a past life was going in the wrong direction.
“All he ever draws are planes fighting,
and he knows the type of planes. I mean he even draws the red sun for
the Japanese,” Bruce says. “But after he drew ‘James 3’ for the first
time, I asked him why he did that. James said, ‘I’m the third. I’m
James 3.’ He’s been calling himself that ever since he was 3 years old.
I think he is struggling with something unresolved or he just wouldn’t
be still drawing those images, like a needle stuck on a record.”
Determined to fill in the missing pieces of
the puzzle, Bruce visited Larsen in Arkansas in September of 2002 and
asked him about Huston. Larsen said he couldn’t remember what happened
to Huston, but he was sure his plane had been hit by anti-aircraft fire
on March 3, 1945 – the day Huston failed to return from his mission and
was then pronounced missing in action. Larsen had been Huston’s wingman
during the day’s run to Chichi Jima.
However, Bruce still had hope that all of
this talk about spirits was wrong. After vigorously checking into the
squadron’s aircraft action records, he found out that Huston was shot
down in a FM2 Wildcat fighter plane – not a Corsair – and no one at the
reunion mentioned anything about Corsairs taking off from the Natoma
Bay. Bruce says this apparent inaccuracy gave him hope that all of this
was just a series of coincidences.
Just to make sure, Bruce tried to find
members of Huston’s family. In February of 2003 he made contact with
Anne Huston Barron, Huston’s sister, who now lives in Los Gatos, Calif.
Through several phone conversations, the Leiningers and Ms. Barron
became friends, and she agreed to send Bruce photos of her brother
during his military service. The packages of photos arrived in February
and March of 2003.
In one of the packages was a photo of
Huston standing in front of a Corsair fighter plane – the same kind of
plane James had mentioned over and over. According to Bruce, interviews
with past servicemen and declassified U.S. military records, before
Huston joined up with the Natoma Bay and VC-81, he was part of an elite
special squadron, the VF-301 Devil’s Disciples, from January to August
of 1944.
The elite squadron test-flew Corsairs for
carrier use, and only 20 pilots were selected for this assignment.
However, the VF-301 squadron was disbanded after eight months and
Huston was then transferred to VC-81 on Oct. 8, 1944.
When he learned this, Bruce says, all of his
skepticism vanished.
“I don’t have an answer for this, so I
can’t explain it either,” Bruce says. “Through it all, there has to be
an element of faith. There could still be the coincidence of dreaming
this all up, but there are odd factors you have to calculate. Lightning
can strike once, but when it strikes eight or nine times, you can’t say
it’s a coincidence.”
Bruce didn’t tell Ms. Barron about his
son’s supernatural story until later that fall, in October of 2003.
When he finally told her about the possibility of her brother’s spirit
being a part of James, she says she was stunned at first and had to let
it all sink in. Then on Oct. 15, 2003, Bruce and Andrea received a
letter from her, along with several of Huston’s personal effects, that
not only said she felt James should have the belongings, but that she
truly believed the story.
“This child couldn’t know the things he
does – he just couldn’t – so I believe he is somehow a part of my
brother,” Ms. Barron says. “These are the things you read about. There
must be a reason for it, but I have no hint of what it could be. It’s
some phenomenon that I don’t understand. It all happened nearly 60
years ago. There must be a reason.”
Despite not knowing the reason for these
coincidences, Ms. Barron is convinced that James Leininger is somehow
linked to her lost brother. She now calls the 6-year-old boy “James 3.”
In turn, he refers to Ms. Barron, who is 86 years old, as his sister.
As Bruce would uncover more information
about Huston, without telling James about any of it, the Leiningers
would notice more about their son’s actions. James had three G.I. Joe
dolls and named them Leon, Walter and Billie – names of three pilots
who coincidently served with Huston.
According to U.S. Pacific Fleet records,
Lt. Leon Stevens Conner, Ensign Walter John Devlin and Ensign Billie
Rufus Peeler were among the 21 fatalities from the Natoma Bay. They
were also members of the VC-81 air squadron with Huston. When asked why
he named the dolls the way he did, Bruce says James answered, “Because
they greeted me when I went to heaven.’”
After James said that, Bruce could only leave
the room in stunned silence.
James also explained to his father how
Corsairs would frequently have flat tires and would always tend to turn
to the left. After checking with military historians at the Lone Star
Flight Museum in Galveston, Texas, the statement was verified.
Andrea recalls the first time she cooked
meatloaf for James, who had never had the meal in his life. After
Andrea told him they were having meatloaf for dinner, James said he
hadn’t had meatloaf since he was on the Natoma Bay. So, Bruce and
Andrea contacted several veterans from the carrier, and they learned
that meatloaf was a regular meal for the crew.
plane went down
After discovering the Corsair connection was real, there was one significant detail from James’ dreams that needed to be explained: exactly how the plane was shot down. After another wave of nightmares, Bruce and Andrea recall how James would say his plane was shot in the engine, and he would repeatedly check and make sure fire extinguishers were available and marked wherever they went.
However, none of Huston’s wingmen – Jack Larsen, Bob Greenwalt or William Mathson Jr. – from the VC-81 squadron saw his plane shot down on March 3, 1945, mostly because his plane was the last to dive in the strafing run, according to VC-81 military war diaries. Greenwalt, who also served with Huston as a Devil’s Disciple, says when the squadron realized that Huston’s plane was no longer in the air, their planes took a second run to look for debris. They found nothing. With no eyewitnesses, the Leiningers could only “believe” that Huston had been shot down near Futami Ko Harbor at Chichi Jima.
As luck would have it, in June of 2003, another veteran helped Bruce with his research. An Internet posting left by him on the Natoma Bay Association website nearly a year earlier caught the attention of a veteran by the name of Jack Durham. Durham turned out to be a member of the VC-83 torpedo-bomber medium (TBM) squad from the U.S.S. Sargent Bay that had run parallel to Huston’s squadron on the day he was shot down. According to U.S.S. Natoma Bay aircraft action reports, the VC-81 squadron covered the TBMs during the Futami Ko Harbor strike. Without a doubt, Durham says, he saw Huston’s plane shot down by anti-aircraft fire – a fact confirmed by VC-83 aircraft action reports.
Pulling up more records on the bomber squad and reading their military war diaries, Bruce then contacted other VC-83 crew members – John Richardson, Bob Skelton and Ralph Clarbour – and they all confirmed that not only had Huston’s plane been shot down, but they saw it get hit in the engine, causing an explosion in the front of the plane. It then crashed into Futami Ko Harbor, the same place James pointed to in the history book with his father in November of 2000.
Every detail of James’ dreams have been verified to the Leiningers’ satisfaction, whether through eyewitness accounts, personal interviews or military records. Bruce and Andrea say they are absolutely convinced that Huston’s spirit has touched James. They just can’t figure out why or how exactly.
“If a soul reincarnates with ‘unfinished business,’ or dies a traumatic death, these memories are more likely to carry over into another life,” says Ms. Bowman, the author and expert on such metaphysical phenomena. “In James’ case, he died a traumatic death as a young man. There was still much emotion and energy that may have propelled these memories forward. … As I see it, a part of James Huston’s consciousness survived death and is a part of James Leininger’s soul consciousness. The present incarnation is not a carbon copy of the last, but contains aspects of James Huston’s personality and experience.”
James continues to recall his past life memories, even today. But Bowman says children usually lose their abilities to remember past life memories by the age of 7. With time running out, what could be the final piece to the puzzle is the crash site itself, and if the cockpit were jammed shut, it would explain the first nightmares. But due to U.S. military regulations concerning downed aircraft in foreign waters, Bruce says diving on the site and disturbing the remains of the pilot would be prohibited.
Note from the Editor: See this incredible ABC's video about this true story on the Youtube - Part I & Part II.
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July 1 of this year will mark the 150th anniversary of the reading of the famous Darwin-Wallace paper to The Linnean Society of London, a forum for discussions on genetics, natural history, systematics, biology, and the history of plant and animal taxonomy. It was this paper - or combination of papers prepared individually by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace - that announced the natural selection theory to the world.
While history has recorded that Wallace (1823-1913) was co-originator with Darwin of the theory of natural selection, usually referred to simply as evolution, most people seem to credit the whole idea to Darwin. That may be because Darwin's book, On the Origin of Species, published in 1859, gave it more widespread recognition. However, a secondary reason may be that Wallace's reputation among scientists was tainted somewhat by the fact that he became a champion of spiritualism.
Wallace's conclusions concerning natural selection were arrived at after years of travel in wilderness areas, including the Amazon and the Malay Archipelago. According to one biographer, by the turn of the century, Wallace was very likely Britain's best known naturalist and one of the world's most recognized names, as he lectured extensively on Darwinism. He was awarded honorary doctorates by the University of Dublin and Oxford University.
Below is my "interview" with Wallace. This "interview" is based on many of his papers, including those assembled in Miracles and Modern Spiritualism, published in 1896 by George Redway, London. All responses below are verbatim from the various papers, except for the Americanization of such words as skeptic (sceptic) and color (colour). The questions have been tailored and arranged to fit the answers.
Dr. Wallace, what were your early views relative to spiritual matters?
"Up to the time when I first became acquainted with the facts of Spiritualism, I was a confirmed philosophical skeptic, rejoicing in the works of Voltaire, Strauss, and Carl Vogt, and an ardent admirer (as I still am) of Herbert Spencer. I was so thorough and confirmed a materialist that I could not at that time find a place in my mind for the conception of spiritual existence, or for any other agencies in the universe than matter and force."
So what changed your mind?
"My curiosity was at first excited by some slight but inexplicable phenomena occurring in a friend's family, and my desire for knowledge and love of truth forced me to continue the inquiry. The facts became more and more assured, more and more varied, more and more removed from anything that modern science taught or modern philosophy speculated on. The facts beat me. They compelled me to accept them as facts long before I could accept the spiritual explanation of them; there was at that time no place in my fabric of thought into which it could be fitted. By slow degrees a place was made; but it was made, not by any preconceived or theoretical opinions, but by the continuous action of fact after fact, which could not be got rid of in any other way."
Would you mind elaborating on that occurrence with the friend's family?
"It was in the summer of 1865 that I first witnessed any of the phenomena of what is called Spiritualism, in the house of a friend - a skeptic, a man of science, and a lawyer, with none but members of his own family present. Sitting at a good-sized round table, with our hands placed upon it, after a short time slight movements would commence, and not often ‘turnings' or tiltings,' but a gentle intermittent movement like steps, which after a time would bring the table quite across the room. Slight but distinct tapping sounds were also heard. They gradually increased; the taps became very distinct, and the table moved considerably, obliging us all to shift our chairs."
What did you make of that?
"That there is an unknown power developed from the bodies of a number of persons placed in connection by sitting around a table with all their hands upon it. And the fact that we often sat half an hour in one position without a single sound, and that the phenomena never progressed further than I have related, weighs I think very strongly against the supposition that a family of four highly intelligent and well-educated persons should occupy themselves for so many weary hours in carrying out what would be so poor and unmeaning a deception."
Did you witness other phenomena after that?
"In September 1865, I began a series of visits to Mrs. Marshall (a London medium), generally accompanied by a friend - a good chemist and mechanic, and of a thoroughly skeptical mind. What we witnessed may be divided into two classes of phenomena - physical and mental. Both were very numerous and varied."
I gather from your various writings that you gradually came to accept the spirit hypothesis? Would you mind explaining that?
"Perhaps the most important characteristic of these phenomena [is that] they are from beginning to end essentially human. They come to us with human ideas; they make use of human speech, of writing and drawing; they manifest wit and logic, humor, and pathos, that we can all appreciate and enjoy; the communications vary in character as those of human beings; some rank with the lowest, some with the highest, but all are essentially human. When the spirits speak audibly, the voice is a human voice; when they appear visible, the hands and the faces are absolutely human; when we can touch the forms and examine them closely we find them human in character, not those of any other kind of being. The photographs are always the photographs of our fellow creatures; never those of demons or angels and animals. When hands, feet or faces are produced in paraffin moulds they are all in minutest details those of men and women, though not those of the medium. All of these various phenomena are of this human character.
"The spiritual theory is the logical outcome of the whole of the facts. Those who deny it, in every instance with which I am acquainted, either from ignorance or disbelief, leave half the facts out of view. That theory is most scientific which best explains the whole series of phenomena; and I therefore claim that the spirit hypothesis is the most scientific, since even those who oppose it most strenuously often admit that it does explain all the facts, which cannot be said of any other hypothesis."
What about the theory holding that medium has a secondary personality which is somehow giving rise to all the phenomena?
"But is this so-called explanation any real explanation, or anything more than a juggle of words which creates more difficulties than it solves? The conception of such a double personality in each of us, a second-self, which in most cases remains unknown to us all our lives, which is said to live an independent mental life, to have means of acquiring knowledge our normal self does not possess, to exhibit all the characteristics of a distinct individuality with a different character from our own, is surely a conception more ponderously difficult, more truly supernatural than that of a spirit world, composed of beings who have lived, and learned, and suffered on earth, and whose mental nature still subsists after its separation from the earthly body. On the second-self theory, we have to suppose that this recondite but worser half of ourselves, while possessing some knowledge we have not, does not know that it is part of us, or, if it knows, is a persistent liar, for in most cases it adopts a distinct name, and persists in speaking of us, its better half, in the third person.
"There is yet another and I think a more fundamental objection to this view, in the impossibility of conceiving how or why this second-self was developed in us under the law of survival of the fittest.
"This cumbrous and unintelligible hypothesis finds great favor with those who have always been accustomed to regard the belief in a spirit-world, and more particularly a belief that the spirits of our dead friends can and do sometimes communicate with us, as unscientific, unphilosophical, and superstitious."
So you feel the spirit hypothesis is definitely a scientific one?
"Why it should be unscientific more than any other hypothesis which alone serves to explain intelligibly a great body of facts has never been explained. The antagonism which it excites seems to be mainly due to the fact that it is, and has long been in some form or other, the belief of the religious world and of the ignorant and superstitious of all ages, while a total disbelief in spiritual existence has been the distinctive badge of modern scientific skepticism."
Do you feel there is as much evidence for survival as there is for biological evolution?
"My position is that the phenomena of Spiritualism in their entirety do not require further confirmation. They are proved quite as well as facts are proved in other sciences."
The skeptics often point to the trivial nature of mediumistic messages. Do you have any thoughts on that?
"The trivial and fantastic nature of the acts of some of these disembodied spirits is not to be wondered at when we consider the myriads of trivial and fantastic human beings who are daily becoming spirits, and who retain, for a time at least, their human natures in their new condition. So if we realize to ourselves the fact that spirits can in most cases only communicate with us in certain very limited modes, we shall see that the true ‘triviality' consists in objecting to any mode of mental converse as being trivial or undignified."
Materialists often say that you believe what you do simply because there is a will or need to believe. Can you objectively say that is not the case with you?
"For 25 years I had been an utter skeptic as to the existence of any preter-human or super-human intelligence, and that I never for a moment contemplated the possibility that the marvels related by Spiritualism could literally be true. If I have now changed my opinion, it is simply by the force of evidence. It is from no dread of annihilation that I have gone into this subject; it is from no inordinate longing for eternal existence that I have come to believe in facts which render this highly probable, if they do not actually prove it. At least three times during my travels I have had to face death as imminent or probable within a few hours, and what I felt on those occasions was at most a gentle melancholy at the thought of quitting this wonderful and beautiful earth to enter on a sleep which might know no waking. In a state of ordinary health I did not feel even this. I knew that the great problem of conscious existence was one beyond man's grasp, and this fact alone gave some hope that existence might be independent of the organized body. I came to the inquiry, therefore, utterly unbiased by hopes or fears, because I knew that my belief could not affect the reality, and with an ingrained prejudice against even such a word as ‘spirit,' which I have hardly yet overcome."
What do you say to those members of orthodox religion who seem to be satisfied with faith alone and ask what the use of spirit communication is?
"It substitutes a definite, real, and practical conviction for a vague, theoretical, and unsatisfying faith. It furnishes actual knowledge on a matter of vital importance to all men and most advanced thinkers have held, and still hold, that no knowledge was attainable."
Thank you, Dr. Wallace. Any parting thoughts?
"If a man die shall he live again? This is the question which in all ages has troubled the souls of men; the prophets and the wise men of antiquity were in doubt as to the answer to be given it. Philosophy has always discussed it as one of the unsolved problems of humanity, while modern science instead of clearing up the difficulty and giving us renewed hope, either ignores the question altogether or advances powerful arguments against the affirmative reply. Yet the ultimate decision arrived at, whether in the negative or affirmative, is not only of vital interest to each of us individually, but is calculated, I believe, to determine the future welfare or misery of mankind.
"If the question should be finally decided in the negative, if all men without exception ever come to believe that there is no life beyond this life, if children were all brought up to believe that the only happiness they can ever enjoy will be upon earth, then it seems to me that the condition of man would be altogether hopeless, because there would cease to be any adequate motive for justice, for truth, for unselfishness, and no sufficient reason could be given to the poor man, to the bad man, or to the selfish man, why he should not seek his own personal welfare at the cost of others."
For more on Wallace, read my article appearing in the March/April issue of Atlantis Rising Magazine. See http://www.atlantisrising.com/index.shtml
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| ° NEWS,
EVENTS AND MISCELLANEOUS |
Twenty four Spiritist organizations in the U.S. are sponsoring the event that has two main
purposes: (1) to promote the English-speaking Spiritist Movement, and (2) to strengthen and value the efforts of all Spiritist organizations that promote Spiritism in the English language, while propelling unity among them and providing common grounds for the exchange of ideas and insights in regard to Spiritism and its dissemination. This national event promises to be the largest national Spiritist event in the English language of the North American history. The 2nd Symposium is a continuation of what began on April 14, 2008 in Baltimore, MD in celebration of the 150th Anniversary of Spiritism.
If you have not registered, hurry up because seats are limited! A petty fee of $20 is required for registration in order to cover the costs of museum entrance, lunch and refreshments. For registration and other information on the event, please go to www.spiritistsymposium.org
11AM – OPENING CEREMONY
Art, Spirituality & Therapeutic Moment
12PM – INTRODUCTORY LECTURE
The Spiritual Laws of the Spiritist Practice -
Vanessa Anseloni (SSB, MD)
2:45PM–Lunch Break & visit to the museum
collection (optional)
1:45PM – PANEL DISCUSSION:
Immune Surveillance of the Soul
- Photography of the Thought - Nahur Fonseca (AKSS, MA)
- Mediumship and its therapeutic features - Susana Simoes (CLSG, FL)
- Christ consciousness and its miracles - Anisio Resem (SSSD, CA)
2:30PM – INSPIRATION MOMENT:
The role of the spiritist therapy in my life
Paula Schmidt (SSB, MD) and Edith Martinez (SGNY)
3:00PM – POSTER SESSSION:
The Spiritist Foundation and Its Therapeutics
Main principles of Spiritism:
1) Existence of God – Eduardo Guimaraes (IESS, NY)
2) Immortality of the soul – Addison Cornwell and Dulce Story (LISS, NY)
3) Reincarnation - Carolina Strosnider (SSB, MD)
4) Multitude of the Inhabited Planets – Andreia Marshall (CSSC, FL)
5) Communicability of the Spirits – Brian Vosberg (LLSC, NJ)
The Basic Books of Spiritism:
6) The Spirits’ Book – Elmo Delandes (SGNY, NY)
7) The Mediums’ Book - Eliana Preda (Blossom)
8) The Gospel According to Spiritism – Leonardo Vieira (SSB, MD)
9) Heaven and Hell – Fernando Flores (AKSS, CT)
10) Genesis – Gustavo Pinto (CSSC, FL)
The Spiritist Therapeutics:
11) Passes – Livia Trevisani (AKCSCO, FL)
12) Spiritually magnetized water – Ovande Furtado Jr. (JASS, PA)
13) Obsession & Disobsession – Ricardo Mastroleo (AKSEC, TX)
14) Prayer – Junara Araujo (SGNY, NY)
15) Intelligent Sleep – Fernanda Ferreira (AKSS, MA)
16) Fraternal Counseling – Julio Carvalho (SCDL, NJ)
17) God at Home – Felipe Bucalo (LISS, NY)
18) Spirituality for Children and Youth – Hugo Melo (IESS, NY)
19) The therapeutics of Charity – Gilberto Neves (AKSS, MA)
20) Inner Transformation – Ligia Carvalho (SCDL, NY)
3:45PM – Coffee Break
4:00PM– ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION:
Why American Spirituality needs Spiritism
- Amy Biank (Angel Center, IL), Gloria Coelho (CSC, CO), and
Mauricio Cisneiro (CSSC, FL)
4:45PM– FINAL LECTURE:
Genesis: Kardec’s masterpiece - Jussara Korngold
(SGNY,NY)
5:30PM– CLOSING CEREMONY
A Lecture by Julio Carvalho
Julio Carvalho is a B.S. in Biology and Psychology by Kean University. Currently, he is a Mental Health Worker in the Psychiatric Department at Trinitas Hospital Union County Jail. Mr. Carvalho is also the founder and current general coordinator of the Divine Light Spiritist Center in New Jersey.
10:30 AM- 12:00 PM
“Spiritism’s Contribution towards the
Integral Development of Humanity”
it consists of the interactions that can be established with spirits; as a philosophical
doctrine, it comprehends all the moral consequences
derived from such a relationship."
Allan Kardec
During June 4th through the 8th of 2008, Spiritists and those
interested will meet at in
Information and education will revolve around three main
themes: Spiritism as a Tool towards Spirituality, as
well as Moral Ethics, and Social Ethics-
in these Modern Times.
There will be panel discussions, specific lectures, and speakers on open topics relating to the Spiritist Doctrine. The Congress will end with a closing ceremony, as well as a dinner and dance.
Anyone interested in obtaining more information may visit the following website: www.conocenos.org/CEPA2008
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SEMINAR "REFLECTIONS ON SPIRIT ATTACHEMENT"
On Saturday, 29th March 2008, the seminar "Reflections on Spirit Attachment" by Dr. Alan Sanderson & Professor Raul Teixeira will be held at a venue in Central London - Quakers Friends Meeting House - Small Hall - Euston Rd NW1 London from 2pm to 5pm
Dr. Alan Sanderson is Founder and Vice-chair of the Spirit Release Foundation M.B., B.S. (London), M.R.C.P., D.P.M., M.R.C. Psychiatrist, is a consultant psychiatrist, hypnotherapist and spiritrelease therapist.
Theme: "Spirit Attachment throught the eyes of an English Psychistrist".
Professor Jose Raul Teixeira is A Professor of Physics, Raul Teixeira also holds a Ph.D. in Education is one of the greatest names on Spiritism today. Through his extraordinary mediumship professor Teixeira has published 23 books and has spoken in more than 40 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas.
Theme: "Spiritist view on Spirit Attachment.
BUSS secretary
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ADVANCED STUDY GROUP OF SPIRITISM
Electronic weekly report in Portuguese - Boletim do GEAE
(Free) subscriptions http://www.geae.inf.br/
Send your comments to editor-en@geae.inf.br
or to inscricao-en@geae.inf.br with the subject "unsubscribe"
Editorial
Council - mailto:editor@geae.inf.br
Collection in Portuguese (Boletim do GEAE)
Collection in English (The Spiritist Messenger)
Collection in Spanish (El Mensajero Espírita)