SPIRITUALISM.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 49, 7 June 1910, Page 3

SPIRITUALISM.

: To the Editor. Sir,—Being restricted to space, I _>ar.not enter fuily into the question raised by the E«v. John Laircl in the "Sund.-v-Reading" column-of <yo ur issue of the 4th inst, At the outset, 1 will ask, does Mr. LSifd realise that "half the truth is ■worstf i?han a falsehood?" He has unjustifiably. associated spiritualism with sorely, witchcraft, et genus omne. One is <p;k'e, loving and educative. The otheWaii attempt to foist the unknowable; on the ignorant and credulous iby prerJfvdipg; to read from the entrails of animals aird birds what the seeker wishes' 1 to 'know. The familiar spirits <i«nsultsl- were either mis-shapen or I s'tftijige aiiirtiak,. etc., or fearsome sliap- i eel idols or g'ods, divination by the posi- J tion and conjunction of ,planets at the i birth of individuals or at the time of | seeking information, and the various' other methods in vogue. In his quota-' tions, Mr. Laird has culled such as serve his own ends, ignoring instances where not only voices have been heard but angels (spirits) have manifested for a divine 'purpose, id est., to Adam and Eve, Moses, Abraham, Sa;nr"l. Lot, and in- i numerable Biblical ipera:.. in more recent times, to Mary at ;r>rnb, the Ascension, or the speaking wuii many tongues at Pentecost. The Bible is teeming with spiritualism, and as »ach is taught by the present-day exponents. Xeed I mention the names of Sir Oliver Lodge, or Sir William Crookes, two of the foremost thinkers of the day, who do not discredit the possibility of communication with :the .spirit world? I would ask Mr. Laird whether he has (or dare to) read Campbell's "Mew Theology," a work endorsed by the leading minds of the day? The present-day trend of thought is the outcome of education and consequent ability 01 ttie many to study subjects that have been preached at them from the pulpit for a,-ges past, viz., giving the Supreme Being all the attributes of man, including anger and jealousy, then consigning mankind in their ignorance to an ever/listing punishment, a conception quite at variance with holiness. Will the Rev. •I. Laird investigate at first .hand for himself, or send an accredited envoy, with an open mind, to one of our Samday evening services, where, I think, his eyes will be opened, and the conscience quickened in matters concerning the spiritual welfare of mankind? "Magna est veritas et prelavabit."—i am, etc.,

A. MOFFLIX, President N.P. -Society of Spiritual Progress. CORRECTION'. ' To the Editor. Sir, —My attention lias just been druwn to the fact that the letter re ''uncertificated teachers," which appeared in your issue of 30th was signed '•Uncertificated Teacher." This would tend to create an impression that the writer was attempting to mitigate his own shortcomings, whereas the letter was written by one who is a "CERT I V ICATED TEACHER."