The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1907-07-27
SPIRIT PHENOMENA AND SPIRITISM
NO PROOF OF THE IMMORTAL
ITY OF THE SOUL.

Mr. Godfrey Raupert, author of Modern Spir-
itism' and distinguished English convert to the
Catholic church, is of the opinion that splrltlsm
makes for the immortality of the soul. To our
great surprise, writer in the Catholic World, re-
viewing Father Searle's latest work spirit phe-
nomena seems to lean to Mr.. Raupert's views on
this contention of spiritsts Followers OF this
dangerous and occult heresy of spiritism have been
insisting upon this Immortality point since Robert
Dale Owen wrote his "Footfalls the Boundary
of Another World" and the "Debatable Land"
This was Daniel Homes defense when accused
of holding communication with devils and is today
repeated iterated and reiterated by spiritists IN
their literature, lectures and conversations, until
it be proved that the spirits which hold converse
with human beings are disembodied souls and not
companions of those who asked our Blessed Lord,
"What have we to do with thee Jesus, son of GodF
This claim on behalf of communication with the
dead does not appeal to logical minds or even to
the average intellect. If the immortality of the
soul tested on no better authority than the
statements of those whom Paul denOunces as
lying spirits" the belief in its actuality would
long ago have disappeared from the minds of men.
Fo4sy years ago. M. Joseph Bizouard, the au
thor of a historical and philosophic work spir-
itism, arranged for seance at precisely the same
hour, absolute time in Rome, Paris, London and
New York. At each sitting the spirit of Benjamin
Franklin was summoned and was present. The
same questions were asked and replies received BY
the mediums presiding over the seances in different
cities. That is to say at the same absolute time
at almost the moment in four cities thousands
of miles apart the spirit of Benjamin Franklin was
present and communicated with men and women.
And yet thousands believe in the possibility Of
this impossibiity who refuse to accept the resur-
rection of Christ on the testimony of men who
were eye witnesses to the erucifxion of the Son
of God, who spoke to him after he rose from the
dead and we're positive and satisfied that it
''the Christ" that they suffered martyrdom for
their convictions. So true is it that no reasoning
create faith in those who have it not, for faith
is the gift of God The fact is faith in our Divine
Lord and his teachings is dead in the hearts of
these people, they as the brothers of Dives,
''Neither will they believe if one rise again from
the dead" They are like unto the apostates of the
church of Ephesus of whom ST. Paul said, "They
have departed from the faith, giving heed to spirits
of error and doctrines of devils" Concedhg to be
true the phenomena and communications alleged
by spiritsts in favor of their cult, there is abso
lutely no proof that the spirits which respond to
the questions asked by the mediums or those which
materialize and appear at the seances are the
souls of diseased persons. Spirtism them contrary
to the pretensions of its votaries proves neither
that the dead live again, nor that the soul sur
wives the body 1t does not even prove that there Is
in a soul distinct from the body. We call the
special attention of readers to this statement
which merits more consideration than it has NTH
erto received.
We need no ghost from hell or elsewhere to-
convince that the immortality of the soul fol
lows necessarily from the immateriality of tine
soul, for that is demonstrabe from reason and was
understood by nearly all heather philosophers,
What was not believed by the heather, and is not
provable from reason, is the Christian doctrine of
the resurrection. This, the supernatural life and
the incarnation the spirits do not teach and do
not pretend to teach We are on fairly intimate
familiarity with Italian, French and English liter
allure of the three broad divisions of oecutsm and
spiritism, but have nowhere found in that lit
erature statement of belief in the resurrection
of the body" and the "life everlasting" of the
apostles creed.