The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1912-11-17

The late Professor James. or mar
ward university, wrote a treatise on
Varieties OF Religious Experience
and he was a leader in the American
( Society for Psychological Research.
( His mind, strangely disposed with rel
erenee 10 both the natural and the
! superna tural, after the manner OF
certain class OF intellects. was inclined
! in his later years to adopt species
of spiritualism. Accordingly, il was
I understood between him and certain
of HIS friends. who might surViv"
him, that he would endeavor to COM
! municate with them from the spirit
world. He has been dead nearly TWO
years. and during that period ms
friends have had their ears cooked 1--WE
cannot gay they have had their ears
to tbs, ground) to catch the first ac-
cents that he might drop upon them.
Recently they claim TO have received
his first message, which came TO them
through a boy who has developed me-
dl,ltpIstic powers. The message con-
Germs "A service which he desires rem
dered to Professor Hyslop, the secre-
tary of the American Society lot
psy Geological Research and is as fol-
lows: II want you 10 give dyslop
two pairs of pink ajamas and black
necktie for Christmas"
Now. that rs a most interesting
revelation II Is no wonder that two
years have been required for Protes-
aor James to make 1t up, ana get ii
through. II carries with It, as any
one can see, the most interesting con-
seduenees. We now know that pink
ranks high in the spirit world as the
proper colcr for paiamas, and that
black IL the modish thing there in the
matter of neckties. This is far more
important than any communication
concerning the prevailing or prospec-
tive styles In Paris, II is not quite
clear whether In the district from
which professor James speaks, in I'M
earthly but kindly tones to his friends.
gentlemen wear any other appaIei
than pink pajamas and black neck
ties: or IL he desires professor Hysiop
tn limit his raiment 10 tnat amount
Of apparel in the latitude or Boston
at she merry season of Christmas. But
~ ia evident that Christmas is cele-
hrated where Professor James IL. ana
that presents are sent To friends az
me, are won't to do here below. Let
lnsa hone thar Ii IL celebrated in
Y,erfectly sane" way, with nothing
INDUCED more dangerous 10 heaith
than pink pajamas and black neck
ties"
What a pitiful outcome is all this
I r;ate,1o,is stufrt And this is the last
| discovery of the Society for Psycno-
| logical Research---its latest variety
| of religious experience. Inc hsuFs
! or the mountain laboring TO give DIX In
| tn a mouse In scarcely adequate 10
, EXPRESS the case of pretentious CIR
! Gle. too scientific to accept WITHOUT
onai,fication the Holy Scriptures, ana
ACCEPT Will
| ont question this puerfe request as a
| communication from the spiritual
! world.
| r. 10 the tuvariable characteristic
nf the skeptical age that it runs to
| credulity. Such was the case IN
I trranca when all sorts of infideiity
were ripe In that land. Jesus and the
| apostles were rejected by multitudes
/ who ran wildly after the Saciilan I'M
| uostor, Cagiiastro. and the GerHiai
irickster. Mesmer. Sir Edward Bull
/ wer-I.ytton has pointed out WIN
! great cIearness and force how thai,
| during that age OF doubt ana reVolu-
| tion In France. the leaders or ATHEISM
became the victims of SUPERSTITION;
| Such liz always the case. When Saui
loses his hold on Jehovah, he runs
| eagerly 10 the witch Of Endor.
| II has been supposed that our DAY
| Is n nerioi of doubt, and beyond ques-
ton there is much rationalism preVa-
! lent In the land. Some pulpfs even
have been submerged by the waves OF
| skepticism which have swept over
the world. 1t IL not surprising. there
fore, that we see the attendant credu-
lity which always goes along with
| such currents.
In and about Harvard university
there has been much skeptfcism OF
| one sort and another. 1t Will be re-
| membered that the emeritus presi-
dent, pr Eliot, made a deliverance
! a few years ago concerning the re-
| lIgion Of the future. in which he
, showed that he had virtually re-
nounce3 rncst OF the distinctive teach
| ings OF Christianity, and had taken
UP with the vague sort of system
| which was less Christian than Uni
! tarianism even. He is fair ex-
ponent of the state of things about
! Cambridge. and we see what that
condition brings forth in the end
| messages purporting To be from the
! spirit world and containing nothing
| better than a request that pink
| paiamas and black necktie be the
Christmas present of Professor Hy-
slop,
II these conditions were as wide as
our whole country. what sort of a
religious life would prevail all over
tho land? Could such "A state supply
the moral force required to preserve
the spiritual life OF the nation? Can
such q state impel or qualify one man
TO go az "A foreign missionary to the
heather? Neither superstitious ra-
tionalism nor ratIonalistic supersti-
ton has power enough to strengthen
men for the serious task of modern
life. We must look TO something
more solid and sensible.
A certain class of people have been
| taken of their feet by the specious
Probabilities Of Some rationalists and
| they should be warned In time before
| they are delivered hopeiessly into the
pits and quagmlres of superstition.
| Indeed. II is to be feared that some
| have already become as superstitious
as Professors James and Hyslop.
| What IN the meaning Of tho horde of
! palmists. gyp'sies. and fortune-telIers,
| whose advertisements fiji the newspa-
| rers and whose tents infest the cities
They are reaping "a revenue from men
and women. who. having lost faith In
Christ, are ready to accept any fable.
whether cunningly or clumsily devils
ed. Their deiuded patrons cannot do
! otherwise. for an invincible necessity
forces them to seek some light out
side and about themselves. They can
not rid themselves Of the disposition
to lem on the spiritual Warldt and.