SPIRITUALISM

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 81, 31 December 1919, Page 7

SPIRITUALISM

35,000 "MEDIUMS" IN PARIS

SERMON BY THE REV. A. V. MAGEE

The Rev. A. V. Mageo, son of the lato Archbishop Magee, preached in St. Mary's, Soho (Charing Cross Road), recently, on tho Dangers of _ Spiritualism. The congregation gathered in the dimlylit chinch was not large, am? ladies predominated. But, having given close attention to tho subject, his words deserved a larger atuliciice than that which assembled for the occasion (says the "Westminster Gazette"). At tho outset Mr. Magee remarked that it was impossible for him within the limits of his sermon to deal adequately with the question, but ho hoped to stimulate its siuily and to suggest lines of thought in these anxious ami desperate The# perils uf spiritualism, he declared, were not imaginary. Thero were' in Paris 35,000 mediums and in Kensington there wore 118, and those two facts showed that the peril* wero widespread. The danger first of all was not merely on this side. There were dangers on the other side. The seance, at any rate some of thorii, had itu immoral aspects and .risks. There wqre fraudulent and honest mediums—mediums of good life and mediums whose lives would not bear inspection. He mentioned one seance which had been described to him at first hand, where the gramophone was playing "Nearer my God to Thee." and the medium came round and kissed each person present on both cheeks. ' Thero was the peril of the fraud. All spiritualists would agree that the spirits beyond had the power of personating various personalities. "With their knowledge and low moral cunningi and cruelty they had the power of infinite -fraud in tho world beyond, for they could represent themselves to be someone else. They not only represented themselves to be superior intelligences, but to be the departed friends of tliosa who sought tho aid of spirits. When people thought they were getting messages from one of their loved ones in tjie Unseen they wero getting'a message from an "immoral personage. That was tho tragedy and cruelty of tho wholo thing. Let them dispose ■\f the idea that it was all fraud. If thero was a great deal of fraud on this side there was a great deal of tragedy on the other. It was not on tho part of the medium, but on tho evil intelligence whiM) was trying to return from the next world. Air. Magee dealt with the effects of sniri'tualism on those who dabbled with it. He was astounded that certain eminent reople in tho spiritualist world .should attempt to deny that insanity ensued front tho practice of spiritualism. A doctor had told him of a man and his wife who had gone hopelessly insane from dabbling in it. He gave an instance of a woman who had .stood on a kerbstone waiting for a long time for a cab to pass her with a particular number beoauso she had been ordered to do so by a superior intelligence. She had taken lontr iottrnevs to Ihe north and back on similar instructions They would h'nrdIv believe it. but that superior intelligence purported to be tho Apostle St. .Tohn. < If thev wanted greater authority. Mr. Maw. referi""' them to the statement of Dr. Forbes Winslow. who in 1877 stji.ted that there were 10.000 people in lunatic asvlums as a result. JTe noticed that Sir Arthur Conen Doyle had denied this, j and said that Dr. Forbes Winslow had recanted this assertion. A priest, a friend, of hip. said Mr. Magee, bud offered J?SA for fho production of tho reenn- | tfttion but he had net yet been called upon to nav the Not onlv insanitv, but immoral influence* were associated with spivilttalI ism. He had received statements which I ho could implicitly trust concerning undwrradnntes who had originally done brilliantly in the collects. His friend who 'related the oircumstan'cs told him of an undercrnduatc whom he. knew intiinatclv rushing one night into his room at college and asking in great distress for brandv, He ministered it to him. and (rot lps sto-v This young -man and t"'o friends had been playing wi l h plaochctte. and in tho. course of the process lie had felt a force pressing hint n.Tainst vhe wall. He l°oVed afterward* info a saucer on the table and saw the reduction of a most horrible face, and fled in terror from the room. That von-tir ntan. who had done so brilliantly, onlv took n third-class, and fell laW into di«i"it?d hnbitsi Mr. Magee noin W out other evils. siHt as the surrender of the reason and the wnaiceniinr of the spiritual faeulf'-. and illustrated bis points by some effective illustrations.