New-York tribune., 1920-09-26
Can We Speak With the Dead2
Effect of Spiritualism Upon Religious Faitt
Hotly Debated in Several Works

man, and survives tire death Of the NOR.
tai body"
Mn Tweedale evidently has made a
most exhaustive study Of spirit;st;c
phenomena. His work is crowded with
accounts Of supernatural appesrances
before and after death, Of Fremont.
tions, Of clairvoyance and elairaud,-
ence' OF telepathy and hypnotism.
Many OF his examples are drawn from
the archives Of the Society for Psy-
chical Research. He always returns to
the religious Implications involved in
'he reality Of psychic phenomena. He
sharply criticizes the modern churches
Tor cutting themselves off from free
communion with the spirit world.
THE churches have gradually be-
come estranged, and now deliberately
maintain estrangcment, from all con-
scious touch with the spirit world.
and therefore from all psychic and
supernatural experiences. Constant
ly invoking the Holy Spirit their at
titude is such as to completely cut
them off from those good or holy
spiritual manifestations which were
the privilege and constant experience
Of the early Christian Church."
Testimony Of the Spirits
The Rev. Professor Henslow sets
out to report the religion of the spirit
world "as written by the spirits them
selves" His work purports to be q
compilation Of communications re-
ceived directly from the other side of
the grave. According to the testimony
OF Professor Henslow's spirits, there
is no hell, in the old-fashioned, literal,
roasting sense Of the word. He thus
sums up the information which he has
received from supernatural sources:
There is no judgment in the popu-
lar sense of the word, but exactly what
Christ taught, namely, natural re-
suits, as shown in the parable of Dives
and Lazarus and in the imaginary
scene Of the last day. 1t is clear
that those whom the King separates
as sheep from those as goats have
become so by their own habits of life
character and conduct-so that they
are 'self-judged' by their own con-
sciences"
Later the author quotes the spirit
OF a certain "Private Dowding" as
making the following report upon the
regions to which souls are consigned
after death:
"All the thoughts Of lust and passion,
greed, hatred. envy, and above all self
ishness, passing through the minds of
men and women, generate the 'condi-
ton called hell Purgatory and hell
are different states. We all must needs
pass through a purging, purifying proc
ess after leaving earth life l am still
in purgatory; some day I shall rise
above it. The majority who come over
here rise above, or rather through, pur-
gatory into higher conditions. A mi
nority refuse to relinquish their thoughts
and beliefs in the pleasures of sin and
the reality of the sense life. They sink
by the weight of their own thoughts.
No outside power can attract a man
against his will.'
A stern warning against suicide is
issued by Professor Henslows spirit
correspondents. Apparently the man
who takes his own life can only hope to
attain an exalted position in the next
world through painful process of ex-
piation. The doctrine of the Atonement
is somewhat revised in the theology of
the spirits. 1t is transformed into a
belief in "at-one-ment," of reconcilia-
tion of man to God on his sincere re-
pentance.
Any one who accepts the credentials
Of Professor Henslow's rather unusual
correspondents will derive a large
amount Of interesting information from
the book.
There is a remarkable change of in
tellectual atmosphere when we turn from
Mr.. Tweedale and Professor Henslow
to Mr.. Baxter and DR.. Haldeman. In
stead Of warm, unquestioning faith, we
find frigid doubt and passionate denun-
citation. Mr.. Baxter considers spirit
uahsm product of ignorance and su-
perstition; Mr.. Haldeman looks upon it
as an invention of the evil one.