New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-12-29
Ghost Hunters and Divines
A Comparison Between Speculation'
OF the Two

.
comotion,' no doubt gsyO many reader
quiet laugh. The cock.uro altitude OF suen
/ eeers does not quite comport with the men
/ tai attitude Of tho average man toward the
subject Bat le, mo ask seriously, az the
gravity Of the subject really demGnd'' Is ths
attitude Of the Christian seeti IN any &C.
gree superior?
For all Christians say that life in heaven
IS 10 be the reward of faith. Literally they
assert that felicity in the future Ire IS "
be earned by credulity. Many Of them very
sincerely say that lack Of eredulity Is 70
be punished with eternal torment. Tie that
doubteth is damned already
When candidly examined the creed OF inc
Christian makes him assume that iaitn 10
matter of volition and not the cold se-
ceptance of trustworthy evidence. We are
! required by the rule Of the Chureh 10 De
. lieve something for which there IS no e'i-
dencc that would be admitted in rt.oi
| common pleas.
Which Is the More Absurd
/ 10 not mean to be irreyerent when | ask,
/ L not that mental attitude more absurd than
/ Sir Arthur's acceptance OF the evidence OF
his own senses?
When rightly considered, tho attitude Of
/ the whole world toward death and the hope
| Of life beyond the tomb is most pathetic.
The average man may pass away as calmly
as he goes to his rest at night. Many, hay
ing great souls. do now, in these days OF
Hun aggression, 60 clear-eyed into battle and
i tI.s.. 4T,.N hi. my
live free from the damnaton of utter DESC
ation. They show forth the precise spirit
of self-sacrifcc which the Christians wor-
ship in the person of their Master.
But where are the mother and the father
who can look thus calmly upon the death Of
} their child? Who that stands by the grave
OF the lost ones can do aught but grasp at
even the notes in the sunlight if doing so
gives even the faintest hope OF life be-
yond the tomb? Why. in the despair Of
grief we accept the tale that heaven is a
cube-shaped city made OF gold and silver and
paved with precious stones, Shall we then
/ jeer at the ancents who dreamed Of life
on some sunlit isles of the sea, or at the
red Americans who, looking into the clouds
above the setting sun, thought they saw
there the pathway Of the soul? And if we
/ ought not to jeer at them shall we then hold
the Doyles in contempt?
Candor compels u5, 7 fancy, to grant that
II anybody ever sought or now seeks for
demonstrated truth-if any one tries 20 put
/ the question to a laboratory test-it is the
one who makes q personal investigation, as
Sir Arthur did. do not mean 10 assert
that lie or any other investigator has as yet
proved anything in the case. But they GER
tainly do try to produce evidence that viii
appeal 10 n sane mind, and they continue to
work in spite of jeering of the public.
Consider the attitude of the public a bit
further Intelligent men, as a rule, no long
err believe the doctrine Of the vcarious
atonement. Such men class the myths Of the
Hebrews with the poetic imaginingJ OF other
, early peoples. But,men are hired to preach
the truth Of tho doctrine OF the ycarious
atonement and the literal truth Of the He
brew myths in every town and in many Il
countryside. Why is that done? II is be-
cause men think such preaching has a re-
straining influence upou the evil-minded and
that it removes some Of the terrors Of death
some, but not all. II is a fact, bluntly
speaking. that men proclaim an unbeliev-
able doctrine because it seems to be matter
Of policy 10 do so.
Face the Truth.
But is preaching an untruth ever good
policy? II so, how long must we wait for
universal PRONUNCIATION of the truth
/ Would it not be better to face the problem
now? Would it not be better TO continue
( the Investigations which Doyle and Willis
have tried to make?
Certainly such investigations do 10 harm
mentally or physically, but can as much be
said for the Christian creeds? | do not
mean 10 give pain TO sincere people by that
/ question, but only TO ask for candid state
ment of the fact Does a belief in an over
ruling Providence lead men to think that
a death from typhoid fever is an act Of
Deity? Does such a belief ever inhibt
sanitary precautions? Supposing Sir Arthur
| has been deceived, is his mistake TO be COM
pared with the indescribablc folly Of the
absent treatment" or any other treatment
OF the Christian Scientists?
/ This running after ghosts is as old the
race. II rightly seen its age is interesting
! and significant. The Hebrews tell how the
! soul of the prophet Samuel was materialzed
+ by medium. The early Christians left
many tales of visible spirits. The modern
Christian accepts these ghost stories, but
when told that a modern man he's seen z
/ spirit from the tomb he jeers because, for
/ sooth lie never had such an experience and
| he knows many other men who never did
! see one. Because many men never saw a
| spirit Sir Arthur is Joke.
/ Such an attitude toward any sincere in
vestigator is not quite fair. ] will venture
| 20 say that holding such an attitude is bad
/ policy. For these Investigators ghost hunt
/ ers, If you will-are concededly normal
/ in all other respects and it is therefore pos
/ sible that widespread investigation of the
/ phenomena they describe might lead to re-
suits more comforting than the blind faith
/ in myths which now sustans such a vast
| proportion Of the population.
JOHN Z. SPEARS.
Little Falls, " Y. Dec. %, 1917.
Parties and the War
To the Editor of The Tribune.