<Untitled> (Jonathan Robers, of Bulington, N. J.)
Jonathan Robers, of Bulington, N. J. ...
...
Unproved Speculations
All that Spiritualists have asked of disbelievers for years is a fair hearing and the full publication in opposition journals of our proved facts, without our necessarily insisting upon the reception of our theory. This desired fair hearing which the outside world has not had the honesty or love of truth to give to Spiritualists, we have willingly awarded to Theosophists. Nay, more; when they have given us columns upon columns of speculation—all words, words, words—without one single fact to substantiate them, we have accepted their plan of putting the cart before the horse, the theory before the evidence that the theory is true, so now think that our Theosophical friends should spare us from further speculations, and briefly give cumulative evidence, if they have it, in support of any one of the points of their doctrine. What proof have they of the alleged conditional immortality of man? What proof of the existence of sub-human spirits? What proof that men by will-power can produce any of the manifestations called spiritual?
The latter field of research seems likely to be more profitable in its results than the others, for if spirits out of the body can produce certain phenomena, those in the body ought to be able to do so in the same way. We saw this long ago. and in The Spiritualist of September 15th, 1871, published a long article showing the desirability of experimental research in this direction, and recommending the promoters of the Psychological Society to undertake the work. But such research belongs to Spiritualism proper, and necessitates no “new departure.”
The chief claim of the Theosophical Society originally lay in quite a different direction. It set forth that the great majority of the phenomena were not produced by human spirits, and, in the words of the president, Theosophists recognised “in most of the physical phenomena called spiritual, the agency of elementary spirits, who often falsely personated persons not communing with the circles.” Colonel Olcott, in his opening presidential address, further said —“Our Vice-President [Mr. Felt] promises, by simple chemical appliances, to exhibit to us, as he has to others before [Who?], the races of beings which, invisible to us, people the elements .... What will the Spiritualists say, when through the column of saturated vapour flit the dreadful shapes of beings whom, in their blindness, they have in a thousand cases revered and babbled to as the returning shades of their relatives and friends? Alas! Poor Spiritualists!” Naturally, after this programme, an official communication from the Theosophical Society was expected by us, telling how—
A thing with horny eyes was there, |
But, sad to say, the dreadful shapes have not yet been seen in the column of saturated vapour. The smoke may have been there in abundance, but no imps.
Of late there seems to have been a change of front among the Theosophists. Instead of their original elementary “black spirits and white, blue spirits and gray,” much is now said about unfortunate human beings who have “lost their trinity,” who are perishable; and a doctrine of conditional human immortality has been launched, unaccompanied by any evidence of its truth.
If disbelievers said to Spiritualists—“We desire to witness your facts, and to examine your evidence, but as yet do not care to give attention to your conclusions,” the position would be universally felt to be an honest one. But the position of English Spiritualists to Theosophists has been much fairer, for they have listened to speculations and doctrines set forth at great length, without as yet an atom of experimental or produced evidence in their support. It is now high time to cease endless and profitless talk about matters of doctrine, and to bring the facts and experiments to the front.
A few Spiritualists whose minds are not strong enough to appreciate the value of the free discussion of all subjects whatever, and who base their opinions upon the speculations of men, rather than upon facts, have had their minds disturbed by the free spirit of inquiry abroad. Such may take heart, for the well-established phenomena 'of haunted houses are amply strong enough in themselves, to establish the Spiritualistic doctrine of the occasional return to earth of the spirits of the departed. No spirit-of-the-medium theory will cover the ground, for, as a rule, no medium is there. No elementary-spirit theory meets the facts, for it will scarcely be argued that one set of spirits takes the trouble to manufacture a sham spirit—the spirit of the departed person who visibly haunts the house.
Editor's notes
- ↑ Jonathan Robers, of Bulington, N. J. by unknown author, Spiritual Scientist, March, 1878
- ↑ "Occultism" vs. Spiritualism by J. M. Roberts, SB vol. 1, pp. 200-202.
- ↑ Unproved Speculations by unknown author, London Spiritualist, No. 287, February 22, 1878, p. 97
London Spiritualist, No. 287, February 22, 1878, p. 97