The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1907-06-07
The UNSEEN WORLD.
Remarkable Utterancss of Paul
LIST Father.

Says Science Has Proved the Exist
enco of Spirits.-Thcy Should Be
Let Alone.
George M. Searie, rector of the
Paulist Fathers Catholic church New
York, caused a sensation by his SER
mon last Sunday morning in which
he declared his belief in spiritism.
Thursday he consented to elaborate
his views, as follows:
What | wished my audience to
understand is, in the first place, that
though there will, of course. be
found here and there in spiritistic
seances some attempts at freud or
trickery, particularly where there is
money to be made by it, phenomena
often occur in them which cannot be
accounted for in this way.
These have been carefully exam
ined by scientific men, and those who
have done SO agree that those phe-
nomena indicate forces entirely be-
You'd u normal powers and it is
practically certain that these forces
are directed by intelligence which
are not Of this world. The only cues
ton is, what are these intelligences?
They pretend to be deceased hui
man souls, and support their preten-
sions by what are called proofs of
Identity That is they know many
events in the earthly life of those
whom they represent which could not
naturally be known to the medium
or others who had not been acquaint-
ed with them personally. But they
fail in other points which ought to
be as we'll known, if they really were
what they pretend.
Furthermore, they fail to agree
in their description Of their present
state, n their teachings about God,
about Christ, and religious matters
generally. Truth should agree with
itself; falsehood, whether coming
from ignorance or malice, will dis
agree. It,, therefore, appears that
these intelligences are not what they
claim to be; and it seems more prob
able that they arc deceitful than that
they are ignorant.
Besides, their control of a medi-
UNI, when habitual, has been known
to eliminate in what is called diabol-
ic possession; and in no case does it
seem to have had a good moral eff
feet.
"Also, the spirits communicating
seem to have a dread Of spirits and
of the rites Of the Catholic church. |
know specially Of one Ease in which
a priest, going incognito to a seance
for investigation, was requested by
them not use holy water.
"On account of all these reasons.
as we'll as of the distinct prohibition
in Scripture (Deut. xviii: q of such
performances, which are by no means
merely modern, the church is abso-
lutely opposed to them, and considers
them as extremely dangerous to our
salvation"
DR.. Searle is a man of high scien-
tific attainments, and his name is as
sociated with astronomical research
and discovery among savants all over
the world He was formerly a Con-
gregational minister in Boston and
has been connected with Harvard
observatory and with the observa-
tory at Georgetown college. He as
serts positively that spirits can be
communicated with through medi-
ums, and believes that these spirits
are evil ones--fallen angels---who
have never inhabited a human body.
DR.. Searle said that in his sermon
that only ignorant persons now deny
the existence Of spirits and the pos
sibility of human communication
with them. He is a member of the
Society for Physical Research and a
friend of Father Paupert, who show
cd the Spirit pictures" in his lee
ture before the Catholic club last
week.
'"The overwhelming probability"
said the preacher, els that the spirits
communication are either devils or
lost human souls subject to devils in
hell. These devils are not confined
IN their operation to a local hell. Such
may be the case after general judg-
ment, but not now.
Warning his hearers against exper-
imenting in this field, DR.. Searle
said in his sermon that endeavor to
ascertain the truth about the depart
ed by means of scances is not only a
waste of time, but extremely dan
gcrous. 1t is prohibited by Divine
command, he said.