The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1898-09-22
The Immortality of the Soul.

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pounded by the London Society of
Physical Research, and it is claimed
that the evidence collected by the soci-
ETY. is such that the question may now
be answered in the affirmative. With
a great many people, seeing, is only
believing, hence it is that Christianity
fails to remove their doubts about ar
other existence. The Bible tells them
of the resurrection, but they are not
sure that the apostles were no. labor
ing under delusion, and perhaps the
higher criticism has shaken their faith
in the entire genuiness Of the biblical
record. We do not undertake to ex-
plain why doubt exists today, or to
give any justification for it. We know,
however, that it exists.
It is doubt that sends thousands of
people to the vulgar impostors who
call themselves spiritual mediums, but
science, we believe, recognizes the ex-
istence of the "sensative," and it is by
no means scientific to condemn all So
called spiritual manifestations" as
fraudulent, without investigation.
There are some excellent Christian
people, troubled with no doubts them
selves, who have an absolute hatred of
spiritualism, though the pages of the
Bible are filled with instances of the
appearances of spirits, angels or what
you will. If it can be scientifically
demonstrated that the spirits of a single
person has come back to earth and
Communicated" with his friends, life
after death is established, and "the
longing for Immortality" satisfied.
That there are many arguments to be
adduced in favor of further existence
is true but it cannot be claimed that
they are equivalent to demonstration,
hence it is that while an intelligent
man may say that the inference of i'm
mortality is reasonable, he can also af-
firm that it is not certain.
A vast amount of truly remarkable
evidence has been collected by the So
ciety of Psychical research. This soci-
ETY. is not made up Of cranks and freaks
and hystericals, but of men who have
had scientific training and who have
gone about the collection of their evil
dence in thoroughly scientific man
ner There can be no doubt that vast
amount of evidence has been collected
which bears significantly on the sub
iect of spiritual as distinguished from
material life. We feel, in examining it,
that we are standing on a mysterious
borderland between the known and the
unknown. The phenomena of mind
reading are no longer phenomena. and
there are many we'll authenticated in
stances where persons at the time of
their death have appeared as visions to
distant friends. Yet these appearances
have not been regarded as conclusive
demonstrations of existence after death.
A recent paper in the Forum calls at
tention to some truly wonderful phe
nomena brought out in Boston by a
spiritualistie medium by the name of
Mrs. Piper. OF course, the easiest So
luton of the case is to dismiss her as q
humbug and pay no more attention to
it. But it appears that the tests to
which Mrs. Piper has submitted have
satisfied some Of the ablest investiga-
tors of the Immortality of the soul.
Prof. James, Of Harvard University is
perhaps the leading scientific psycholo-
gist-if we may be allowed the term
in America. DR.. Hodgson of the Lon
don Society Of Psychical Research is
the man who exposed Madame Blavat-
sky. These men have subjected the
manifestation" of Mrs. Piper to rigid
scientific scrutiny, and have taken
every precaution against fraud. The
Communications received under these
circumstances we're of character to
convince the skeptical and dispassion-
ate Hodgson. SO much SO that he
does not hesitateto affirm that the facts
have but one meaning, and that is sur
vival after death.
We have not the space to go into the
evidence adduced. 1t is claimed with
apparent reason that there can be no
doubt as to the genuineness of the
psychic phenomena; and it is said that
if genuine, they demonstrate scientific
ally the immortality of the soul. DR..
Hodgson affirms this, and he and Prof.
James assert that the phenomena were
certainly genuine. Prof. Hyslop OF
Harvard, who writes the paper in the
Forum reviewing the experiments, is
more cautious, but he is evidently i'm
pressed with the value of the investi-
cations. In concluding his paper he
says: "What strikes the reader with
anazement, if fraud of any kind is ex.
eluded from the account, is the as
tounding character of the theories re
quired to escape the conviction that th,
immortality of the soul has received I
scientific demonstration. II fraud b.
eliminated and it is an easy matter u
prove it if it exists-the amount and Sc
lective power OF the mind-readiug nee
essary to cover the facts are SO enor
:, nous that the supposition seems abso