The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-05-11

THE true theme of religion is not
the future life but the higher life :
knowledge OF God, not OF the methods
OF His working but Of the conscious
ness OF His presence. Is what Is meant
by religion. From this point of view
1t is obvious spiritualism Is not and
cannot be a religion. which rests es-
senially upon those higher instincts
| OF the soul we call faith"
Which seems to mean that the au-
thor considers that demonstration of
survival Of death Is little more Of a
divine revelation" than was the I'M
covering and description Of the life on
earth before man.
Mediumship an Endowment.
And now what are the supernormal
occurrences considered by believers to
, prove that the dead survive, and how
Is the alleged communication carried
on?
Taking these questions up cart be-
fore horse, the alleged communication
Is carried on through or in the pres
ence OF a medium, who is a person
possessing what are known as psychic
powers. Mediums may occur any
where in the best or worst regulated
families. Education haa nothing to
do with 1t, and neither has consc!en-
, uousness nor any previous knowledge
! Of spiritualism or belief in spirits.
Mediumship Is an endowment; 1t can't
be acquired by any one devoid OF
psychic power, though II 1t exists IL
can be developed.
To illustrate: Many people, having
read something about spiritualistic
seances, have amused themselves
by sitting around a table. with
hands touching upon its top in
dim light. to see IL the table
would not make mysterious movements
for them. For some OF them It has,
when usually they have found that II
some one Of them was not present the
table would not move. That member
would be called more or less Of a
physical medium. BY medical men she
or somebody else would perhaps be
pronounced a hysteric.
Believers consider a medium a sort
or earthly conductor, through or near
whom the spirits of the dead can
manifest themselves. as electricity does
through copper wire. Physical me-
diums are rarer than those through
whom writing or speech purporting to
be messages are obtained. A very few
have powers Of both kinds. More me-
diums taken seriously have been
women than men, and Conan Doyle
suggests that nearly every woman Is
an undeveloped medium. But a man.
d. d. Home (if -fiftieth of the
spectacular things reported of him by
honorable witnesses were genuine) was
the greatest medium of modern times
A highly cultivated mind has been
exceptional among the famous medi-
ums One possessing It was the Rev.
stanton Moses. scholarly English
clergyman, whose honesty no digni-
fled sceptic informed about him mas
questioned. 1t Is said however. that
his head was hurt in a fall before he
became aware OF his supernormal
powers. As head injuries often fea-
ture the histories OF sufferers from
double personality" sceptical psychol-
ogtsts have accounted for Mr.. Moses's
case In that way. Some Spiritualists
aver that double personality" as In
Dr. Morton Princes celebrated case of
Miss Beauchamp. is really the WORK
OF spirits!
The one thing all the mediums have
In common. according TO both believers
and sceptics, is an abnormal earthly
constitution. DR.. Hyslop told the
writer he thinks 1t probable that they
are all more or less hysterical. Now.
what physicians mean by hysteria is
a definite nervous, or psychological,
affiiction, to which a particular human
makeup lis susceptible. Even the
physicians vary in explaining what
this makeup is-and to describe In
plain English how the affiiction works
out is rather a hard Job for a layman
reporter.
typical hysteric. after some great
fright or profound humiliation, would
express his suffering. not primarily