The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1919-03-29
is SIR CONAN DOYLE IN COMMU-
NlCATiON WITH THE SPIRITS
OF THE DEAD? AN ExAMlNA-
TON OF VARIOUS EFFECTS OF
THIS SYSTEM.
(By J. Godfrey Raupert, X. S. g.

(By J. Godfrey Raupert, X. S. G.
ARTICLE III.
The third fallacy contained in Sir
Conan Doyle's reasoning is his con-
fident assertion that spirit-inter-
course, by means of mediumship, will
prove OF immense benefit to mankind,
especially at time Of exceptional dis
tress such as the present. This note
of confidence pervades all his recent
writings. He speaks of miracles in
the form of psychic phenomena hap
pening every day" and of the It'd
ings of great joy" which they are
proving to many. These statements
will no doubt lead many reader to
conclude that these phenomena are
dropping down from heaven as gifts
from God upon distracted world and
at a time of it's bitter need. But
greater misconception of the real
facts of the case cannot be imagined.
The phenomena spoken of never oc-
cur spontaneously, but they are in
vited and invoked and for their occur
renee the initiative has to be taken
on the human side-by means of the
entranced medium, the passive mind,
| the circle properly constituted, ETC.
They have, therefore, nothing what
ever in common with the miracles
| recorded in the Gospels. And there
are high scientific authorities who are
| not at all convinced that the beings
responding to these invitations are at
any time the spirits of the dead.
But l will assume, for arguments
sake, that this is really the case
| that occasionally at least the spirits
of departed human beings manifest
| by these means. We are then, how
| ever, inevitably forced to the conclu-
sion that they must be spirits of the
lowest and most debased order
cheats and liars and hypocrites, from
| contact with whom every right-mind-
| ed man should abstain. Readers Of
the preceding article will have seen
that it is, under the most favorable
conditions, impossible to be certain Of
|
and that, in countless instances, end
less misery, disappointment and dis
illusionment await the enquirer. Ex-
perienced spiritists tell us that "even
where the most convincing proofs
have been given we must be cautious"
81 gained the distinct impression"
writes Dr. Hereward Darlington, a
purely scientific investigator, instead
of the spirits of the personages who
claimed to be present, l was dealing
with an exceedingly sly, cunning,
| tricky and deceitful intelligence which
| threw out chance remarks, fishing
guesses, and shrew inference, leaving
rate them if he would. If anything
could make me believe in the doctrine
of evil and lying spirits it would be
the sittings with Mrs. Piper"
Physical Effects.
But apart from the question as to
| the real nature of these spirits,
around which a fierce controversy will
| beyond doubt be- turning shortly, l
ing who has preserved his moral and
| intellectual integrity in the other
world would adopt means so disas-
| trous to the living as modern medium
| ship is known to be-purely for the
purpose of conveying the most trivial
messages to surviving friends. 1t is
here where the real difficulty lies and
| where deluded scientists are most
certainly not telling the whole truth
to the public. For what are the actual
facts Of the case? / will, lest / be
suspected of religious bias, let expe-
rienced and well-known authorities
speak. Respecting the physical eff
fects of the practice of mediumship
Sir VIM. Crookes writes: HAfter wit
Messing the painful state of nervous
and bodily prostration in which some
of these experiments have left Mr.
Home-after seeing him lying in al
most fainting condition on the f1oor
pale and speeches., l could scarcely
doubt that the evolution of psychic
force Is accompanied by correspond
ing drain on vital force" Mr.. Stain
ton Moses, claimed by the spiritists
all over the world as the highest au-
thority on the subject, wrote of him
self as follows: "The hand tingled
and the arm throbbed and I was con-
scious of waves of force surging
through me. When the message was
done was PROSTATE with exhaustion
and suffered from violent headache