Ernest P. Moyer  717-633-6705
P. O. Box 1206
Hanover, PA 17331

October 6, 1995

LETTER #3

SPIRIT ENTRY INTO HUMAN MIND

THE FREEDOM OF THE PRINCE

Caligastia, your apostate Planetary Prince, is still free on Urantia to prosecute his  nefarious designs, but he has absolutely no power to enter the minds of men, neither  can he draw near to their souls to tempt or corrupt them unless they really desire to  be cursed with his wicked presence.  The Urantia Papers, Page 610.

I know a man who did not like the heavy portent of this statement. It truly disturbed him that spirits might enter the human mind. He solved his perplexity by interpreting the text differently. He stated that there was no comma after the phrase "corrupt them." Thus the last phrases were isolated from the former. He separated the thoughts. He then had the devil limited to drawing near to our souls to tempt and corrupt. Thus he reverted to the traditional and time-honored view of the actions of this apostate Prince.

I had developed a close personal relationship with this man, or thought I had, but my insistence on the literal significance of the statement caused him to deny that relationship. He drew cool and distant. Often since, I have wanted to ask if he ever heard of jots and tittles. He followed that old worn path of refusing truth by the smallest graphical notation, a habit practiced from long before Jesus.

Another man asked me if I could draw out biblical parallels for this statement. I replied that I could not do it with any one passage, but that several biblical passages showed the same revelation, as in John 14:30. Historically, we do not have a similar revelation stated so clearly and succinctly.

Our ability to recognize truth is not dependent on the source of the revelation. It matters not how we may hang clauses and phrases, dependent or independent, associated or unassociated. What we recognize as truth depends on that Spirit which dwells within us, the Spirit of the Father, and on our response to his Spirit. Throughout our lives we may have learned to listen or we may have learned to reject. Or we may have learned to twist recognition into intellectually convenient forms.

The difficulty for that man was his dilemma between the recognition of truth and his fleshly fears. He was an intelligent man. He understood fully what the statement meant. He felt within himself the significance of the revelation. But he could not deal with the possibility that a spirit personality a real, living being might be able to enter our minds to tempt and corrupt. It scared him. He knew if such entry were taking place on a wide scale we were destined for true tribulation. He was intelligent but he lacked courage. It was easier to reject the truth.

If this rebel can enter our minds, can other spirit entities enter our minds? Is this a power possessed by all spirit beings or entities?

THE SPIRIT OF THE FATHER

Consider statements by the New Testament writers.

Rom 8:11 - If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit which dwells in you.

The one who raised Jesus from the dead was the Father. His Spirit dwells in us. Is this the Holy Spirit, recognized as separate personality, a person of the Trinity, whom the Father sends? Or is this a spirit unique to the Father, his Spirit? Few Christians have made this distinction because spirit entities and beings are lumped together indistinguishably.

1 Cor 3:16 - Do you not know that you are God's sanctuary and that God's Spirit dwells in you?

Paul's remark shows that God, the Father, has a distinct Spirit which actually dwells within us. It is not a "force" that imposes a spirit attitude or feeling upon us, nor merely a "spiritual" influence. It is a spirit entity, a gift portion from the Father. He comes to live with us, and be with us. He actually dwells within us.

1 Cor 6:19 - Do you not know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own.

This verse illustrates the confusion in our historic record. Here we could believe that the Holy Spirit, with personality distinct from the Father, but ultimately originating within the Father, comes to dwell within us.

I do not wish to engage in debate of this possible difference, something we could never ultimately prove or disprove. Here I wish to develop thoughts which can lead us into better understanding of the actual entry of spirit entities into human mind. I shall break down some of the elements of this problem.

If the Spirit of the Father actually dwells within us does he dwell in our kidneys, liver, stomach or physical heart? I Cor 6:19 states that he dwells within our bodies. Paul was not intending that the Spirit dwelt within the physical mechanism. He meant that God's Spirit dwells within our minds. He lives where we have cognitive ability. This is really where the "heart" is, but "heart" means purpose and will according to God's purpose and will. It means a desire to know more of what God wants of us. It means a love for God. It is all those things which are centered around that Spirit which dwells within us.

Did God ask our permission to come into us? Would he ask an immature and primitive creature if he could come in? His Spirit is a free gift, bestowed upon us for the mere fact that we exist, that he created us. It is his way of drawing near to the lowly material beings of time and space.

The Father is not a respecter of persons.

Acts 10:34-35 - Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, "Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons but in every nation he that fears him, and works righteousness, is accepted by him."

Would God deny us his spirit merely because we are less intelligent than another person? Or that we were born into one family and not another? Or that we are of a different race?

Therefore, we can conclude that he invaded us; he did not ask our permission. He came in without us knowing it. He did not invade to take advantage of us, but that he might help in our earthly struggles. If he speaks to us, and we obey, we draw closer to him and to his purpose. He does not violate our will, nor our thoughts. He is resident quiescently, fully compliant to our choices. His gift of life includes the privilege to do our own choosing. This he respects because his Spirit is a gift. And then, when we become more fully attuned to his presence, as we learn to adjust our thoughts to his thoughts, we begin to develop a closer relationship with God.

I Jn 3:24 - All who keep his commandments abide in him, and he in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit which he has given us.

When we keep his commandments we bring our hearts and our minds in line with his will and his purpose. We want to do what God wants. It is our will to do his will. If we have this purpose he works with us to bring our thinking around to his thinking. We can oppose or we can attune. That is our choice.

Eph 3:14-17 - For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with might through his Spirit in the inner man, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love . . .

Here Paul distinguishes between the Spirit of the Father who dwells within us, and that spirit of Jesus, one mind and one purpose with him, through an attitude of faith in our hearts, which gives us love for him and for our fellows.

The Bible evidence demonstrates that the Spirit of the Father invades the human mind, a Spirit entity of high holy origin, the highest possible in existence.

THE SPIRIT OF DEMONS

Demon possession has a specific mechanism. The New Testament record testifies to that phenomenon.

1. Demons recognized Jesus as a divine Son of God, Luke 4:33-35. In one case he rebuked them; he did not want them to reveal who he was, Luke 4:41. They understood his status in the heavenly realms, and acknowledged his power and authority, James 2:19.

2. They knew he could judge them, and asked why he was here now, ahead of "the time," Matt 8:29. They did not want Jesus to send them "out of the country," meaning to celestial internment, Mark 5:10.

3. Jesus had the power to order them about, Matt 8:16, 9:32, Mark 1:27.

4. The New Testament writers believed they had degrees of wickedness, Matt 12:45.

5. Demons could control all mechanisms of the human body, including hearing and vision, Matt 12:22. In another case, after the demon had been cast out, a person who was held dumb could speak, Matt 9:32-33. Sometimes they were fierce in their possession, Matt 8:28, Mark 5:2-10.

6. An explicit remark shows that demons possessed human mind, Mark 5:15. The human mortals who were subject to them expressed the mind and thought of the demon, Luke 8:28. The demon took over the mind of the human.

>From this evidence we can deduce several important characteristics of the rebel spirits:

1. They had personality, cognitive thought, purpose, objectives, and ability to exercise their power, even if evil.

2. They seized control of human mortals; they used methods which permitted them to usurp the personal volition of their human victims.

3. The New Testament reports show the demons actually took up residence within their human victims.

4. Their possession of human beings was recognized as sordid. They engaged in activity which violated the integrity and will of human mortals. They did not respect human kind. They fell prey to a depraved temptation to subvert the minds and bodies of those persons.

This behavior can be brought into better grasp by picturing human power to enter into animals, and to control their behavior. If we had such power, what human mortal would engage in such activities, except the most debased?

5. The demons were limited in the type of human mortals they could possess. Since they were not inhibited in behavior they would have randomly entered all persons if everyone had been subject to their entry.

6. They entered only mortals who were weak. This weakness was not physical; it was mental. Either the persons were mentally retarded, or had weak wills.

7. If their entry was strictly physical they could have controlled all humans, since that control would have bypassed human mind. This shows they entered human mortals through the mind. They assumed body control by control of mental currents.

All biblical evidence shows they possessed human mortals through entry into mind. They controlled mind to engage in their sordid activities.

But even so, no fallen spirit ever did have the power to invade the minds or to harass the souls of the children of God. Neither Satan nor Caligastia could ever touch or approach the faith sons of God; faith is an effective armor against sin and iniquity. It is true: "He who is born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one touches him not." The Urantia Papers, Page 610.

No true child of God was ever subject to fallen spirits. There is no danger even today of such invasion of human mind for those who are truly dedicated to God, and born of the Father. Only those who are not born of the Father stand in such danger.

This was the heart of the dire warning given by Jesus, John 16:2. Indeed, the hour would come when those who did not know him or the Father would offer a service to God by killing his people a service to their "God."

An important question before us is the functional status of these rebel demon spirits. What role did they serve in creation?

1. The evidence shows that they did not travel to and fro between the celestial realms and this world, as do the angels. One of those rebels specifically asked Jesus not to be taken "out of this country." They were bound to this planet. (The word translated as "country" is from Greek chora with the idea of empty expanse or large open region. The word is a feminine derivative of Greek chasma, from whence English chasm. Chasma in Greek meant a vacancy, gulf, or impassable interval, hence space in modern terminology. The Greeks used chora to denote the world, or the planet. This word is contrasted with Greek topos which we know in English topography.)

2. If the demons did not travel to and fro between heaven and earth, and if they did not wish to be taken out of this "earth," at "the time," i.e. the Judgment, the implication is that they were residents of this world. If they were residents of this world they had origin on this world. They did not have origin in the celestial realms. But the transactions giving "birth" to the demon personalities are lost to our planetary record. We have hints of such transactions when the Sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, Gen 6:1-4, but the significance of those transactions is now viewed only in mythological terms.

3. They were not confused with angels by the ancients; those olden people recognized them as different. Neither did the ancients describe these episodes as "angelic possession."

4. If the demons were from this world, not the celestial realms, and if the ancients recognized them as less than angels, we could say they were designed by God for service in creation somewhere between human mortals and angels. We might designate them as "midway" creatures.

We should remember that at one time they were respected beings; before the rebellion they were assigned responsible tasks on this world.

The entire group of rebel midwayers is at present held prisoner by order of the Most Highs of Edentia. No more do they roam this world on mischief bent. Regardless of the presence of the Spirit of the Father, the pouring out of the Spirit of Truth upon all flesh forever made it impossible for disloyal spirits of any sort or description ever again to invade even the most feeble of human minds. Since the day of Pentecost there never again can be such a thing as demoniacal possession. The Urantia Papers, Page 864.

This revelation has several crucial components.

1. "Demons" no longer are on our world. Activities of fallen spirits is now limited to the Devil our fallen Prince. He is still free on our world to prosecute his nefarious designs.

2. Disloyal spirits could and did invade the minds of some human mortals prior to the pouring out of the Spirit of Truth upon all flesh at the time of Pentecost.

3. The pouring out of the Spirit of Truth upon all flesh made it forever impossible for disloyal spirits to invade even the most feeble of human minds.

4. This is the definition of demoniacal possession: invasion of human mind without permission of the human host. No longer can any fallen spirit take involuntary possession of human mind. All spirit entry into human mind can now be done only through invitation and per- mission of the human mortal. If all "demons" have been interred, and only the fallen Prince remains, his entry into human mind is only through conscious invitation, not through involuntary possession.

5. The life of Jesus upon this world altered the conditions of spirit operation. When he poured out his Spirit of Truth he made it impossible for a true faith son or daughter to ever again be invaded by rebel spirit beings.

I have now offered discussion on three types of spirit beings or entities: the fallen Prince, the Spirit of the Father, and "midwayers," known in our historic record as "demons." The Spirit of the Father is the highest form of spirit entity in creation. The "midwayers" are the lowest, since they are next to human mortals in status. Both could invade the human mind. Therefore, it seems natural to infer that all other intervening orders of spirit beings or entities could also invade the human mind.

SANCTITY OF THE HUMAN MIND

Angels do not invade the sanctity of the human mind; they do not manipulate the will of mortals; neither do they directly contact with the indwelling Spirit of the Father. The guardian of destiny influences you in every possible manner consistent with the dignity of your personality; under no circumstances do these angels interfere with the free action of the human will. Neither angels nor any other order of universe personality have power or authority to curtail or abridge the prerogatives of human choosing. The Urantia Papers, Page 756. The human mind has sanctity to all orders of loyal celestial personalities. It is respected. Only disloyal spirit beings would invade the sanctity of human mind. And only disloyal spirit beings would enter human mind at invitation. Angels would not engage in such sordid performances.

However, angels influence us in every possible manner consistent with the dignity of our personality. They are subject to the free action of human will. Nevertheless,

"The urge to prey so often experienced by God-conscious mortals very often arises as a result of seraphic influence."

Another crucial question now looms before us. If angels would invade our minds, or enter with our invitation, would there be a conflict between the personality-will of the mortal and the personality-will of the angel? The same question applies to any other celestial personality who might come into human mind. When the fallen Prince enters does his personality-will interfere with the personality-will of the human mortal?

It is the personality-will of the human mortal which gives sanctity to the human mind, and dignity to the human mortal. God gave us personality as distinct beings in his vast creation, and he gave us will. That is what we are. That is the way God created us. That is what he wants us to exercise and to be. Our personality molds our will. Thus we determine for ourselves our future eternal potentials. That is the dignity the Father gave to us as a free gift.

The technical question is this: Can spirit entities enter human mind without interfering with the personality-will of the human mortal? In order to enter human mind they must, in some manner, exercise power which makes their presence known. If they would come in and not act it would not be entry into human mind. They do not merely come in to passively page through the book of mind; the Devil already knows what is in our mind. He wants to go beyond that; he wants to control our minds. He wants to manipulate. He wants to use human mind for his evil purposes.

The many spirit communications going on about our world today depend upon "channeling" through human mind. The Devil can offer those communications only by manipulating the neural currents of the human mortal. Thus he takes over the tongue and the expression of that person. The content of the human mind becomes subject to his control. He alters the mind currents. When he produces these changes within the human mortal he violates their dignity. He imposes his personality-will over theirs.

Scott Foerster, one of those individuals I personally know, postulated that the phenomena he experienced in his mind were "projections" from the "spirit" who was his personal "guide." He recognized that if the "spirit" was manipulating his mental currents he had submitted himself to the personality-will of that "spirit." He fully understood that condition and did not want to admit that he might have submitted himself to it.

With this explanation an undefined "spirit" force is causing the projections. But this is not adequate to avoid the fact that the human mind is being manipulated from the spirit realms. Whether we see it as a "projection" of the spirit, or as an actual spirit presence, the effect is the same. Furthermore, for the "spirit" it may be merely a projection of his mind into the human mind.

But he can do so only if his human servants "stand aside," if they make their personality-will subservient to his. Note the remarks by Mark Farley that he had to resign his will in order to let the spirit produce effects through him to let the spirit "through." (Refer to Letter #1.)

I personally know several persons who have subjected themselves to this spirit entry into their minds. At the time of this writing they would deny that the Devil has assumed control in their minds, just as Scott Foerster devised an explanation to remove the sting of the reality. They believe they have full control. They would vigorously deny it is the Devil. The phenomena they experience in their minds is viewed as strictly benevolent. They believe the phenomena come from benign spirit beings who have only their interests at heart. The Devil has conditioned them to believe they are the pioneers of a new world era, and that they serve important roles in the accomplishment of that new world.

In the present form of the phenomenon the fallen Prince is exceedingly subtle. He does not forcibly push his way around; he is much too careful for that. If he did so he would lose the voluntary contribution of the human subject; he would then enter upon the level of spirit possession. Many of the individuals who have invited him in today are highly intelligent, well educated, middle class professionals. They are much too smart to be forced into actions. If he tried to force them they would reject him. Therefore, he deceives them. He gives them attractive reasons why they should continue in their acceptance of his presence within their minds. Only after he has well established himself, and knows their minds thoroughly, does he assert such control that they become totally subservient to his master commands. He then will truly take possession of them. He will engage such power when his hour comes to strike.

For the moment, at the writing of this paper, he is preparing his cadre.

In order to permit the reader to obtain a better understanding of the operations of this evil spirit I shall now offer detailed examples gathered from "spiritualist" performances. I shall then go on to an examination of the more recent techniques he employs to accomplish his truly diabolical, and devastating scheme.

SORDID SPIRITUALISM

    "But it should be made clear that the midway creatures are not involved in the sordid performances taking place under the general designation of "spiritualism."  The midwayers at present on Urantia, all of whom are of honorable standing, are not connected with the phenomena of so-called "mediumship"; and they do not, ordinarily, permit humans to witness their sometimes necessary physical activities or other contacts with the material world, as they are perceived by human senses."  The Urantia Papers, Page 865.

On the evening of October 19, 1994, PBS, the Public Broadcasting System, ran a television program on Spiritualism.  The program reviewed the history of spiritualism in the nineteenth century, noting the sudden rise in popular interest after the phenomenon of the Fox sisters in Hydesville, NY in 1848. Public interest became avid.  Abraham Lincoln did not espouse a religion nor attend church.  His wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, after the loss of three sons, sought out mediums in attempt to "communicate" with those sons.  Other outstanding individuals who became deeply interested, and believers, included Sir Oliver Lodge, English physicist and author, Dr. Ozora S. Davis, president of Chicago Theological Seminary, A. Conan Doyle, famous for his Sherlock Holmes stories, and Sir William Crooks, inventor of the Crooks' tube and discoverer of thallium.  Others famous believers included James Fenimore Cooper, William Cullen Bryant, Daniel Webster, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and Horace Greeley.  The intellectual world of those days was rapt with intense attention to spirit communications and psychic performances.

Unfortunately, the television program was self-serving.  It presented Margaret Fox as fraudulent, recanting her psychic performances after converting to Roman Catholicism and publishing an expose in New York World. The program did not say that before Margaret died she reversed herself and insisted that undefiled communication with the spirits was and would ever be the only explanation for what she, her sister Katie, and other mediums demonstrated.  In spite of the witness of many scientific minds and objective investigators, the program concentrated on the fraudulent without considering the evidence which indicated a real phenomenon.  Many outstanding personalities gave testimony to a vivid reality.  Obviously motivated to debunk spiritist phenomena, the program was not designed to present the truth about spiritism.  It failed to discuss the continuation of spiritualism to the present day, as well as the general phenomena of "spirit" communications, and the widespread activities which now absorb the interest of so many people.

In order to show the deadly nature of spiritist phenomena, and the impact upon our decisions, I shall illustrate several case histories.  These will run the gamut from pure spiritualism to the more recent "spirit' communications which have now become the basis of religious belief for so many people.  I shall begin with Marcus Bach and his investigations into the "cults."

CASE HISTORY, #1

     MARCUS BACH AND THEY HAVE FOUND A FAITH

Bach was born in 1906 and raised in a mildly divided, but religious, Wisconsin family.  His father was a member of the Presbyterian church; his mother of the Reformed faith, (now United Church of Christ).  Bach's father had an interest in fundamental religionists and their soul-filled worship practices.  He would take young Bach with him to holy-roller tent revivals and camp meetings in the years following World War I.  With the strong interest of his parents in religious life Bach was initially persuaded to attend Mission House College and Seminary near Sheboygan, Wisconsin.  At the end of his third year he devised means to leave and moved on to the secular environment of a state university.  He obtained a graduate fellowship which took him to various parts of the country and encounters with a wide spectrum of religious faiths.  Bach received a Ph.D. degree and went on to make a study, not, as he said, "in the theological or doctrinal sense, but what religion is and what it does in the lives of people."  He later wrote a number of books on the religious practices of people, including They Have Found A Faith, Bobbs-Merrill Company, New York, 1946, Major Religions of the World, 1959, Strange Sects and Cults, 1961, and Spiritual Breakthroughs For Our Time, 1965.

I use Bach as a source because of his clear objectivity, his fine sense of balance in treating religious issues, and his plain honesty.  Furthermore, he is an excellent writer; it is a pleasure to read his materials.  By the time of World War II he had experience with many different religions and contacts with widely assorted cults and sects.  Those contacts led him to Ralph G. Pressing, then editor of the Psychic Observer.  After attending a seance and mind-reading session in Hollywood, which was obviously fraudulent, he expressed a strong desire to learn more about true spiritualist performances.  Pressing suggested they travel to Chesterfield, Indiana and the spiritualist center located in that town.  The center is still operating today.  Bach found a bucolic vacation land, with two large hotels and cottages looking out on a grass-carpeted amphitheater and a grotto in a "garden of prayer."

After registering at the Sunflower Hotel Bach found himself surrounded by an astonishing assortment of about two hundred students of spiritualist science.  They were a mixture of young and old, with qualities distinctively different from the shifty, evasive types he had found behind curtained rooms in office buildings and in metropolitan areas.  They did not have the gleam of the cults in their eyes which he had experienced in so many different religious settings.  "The hefty double-cheeked medium with bulging bosom and a dab of rouge on her cheeks was conspicuously absent.  The students at Camp Chesterfield could have passed as delegates of any professional convention."

In conversation with one woman, a school superintendent from suburban Milwaukee, he found the religious justifications which spiritualists placed on their practices.  She was a medium who received messages through spirit voices, but her chief interest was in the theology of spiritualism.  She felt that people were losing the deeper meaning and truths of the science because of the spectacular aspects of the phenomena.  It was the relation of spiritualism to Christianity which seemed so wonderful to her.

She went on to a long list of quotations from Genesis to Revelation which she felt proved her views.  The voice from heaven in Matt 3:16-17 was a "spirit" voice.  Daniel was a medium.  Of course, Jesus was the greatest medium of all.  He was clairvoyant and clairaudient.  From John 4:17-19 she demonstrated that Jesus was telepathic.  From Luke 9:28-30 she was convinced that Jesus "materialized" Moses and Elijah.

In the following days Bach attended three different performances at the Chesterfield center.  The first was a private session which only he and Pressing had with a trumpet medium, a slightly built young man about thirty years of age.  The second was a meeting with a male mind-reader attended by a large audience.  The third was with a materializing medium, a diminutive, refined and genteel woman, and a circle of seven observers.  I quote in full from Bach for the first and last performances.

The first was in a bare room in a small cottage, containing only a desk and chair for the medium, two chairs for Bach and Pressing, and two aluminum tubes, one about four feet in length made up of sections, and the other about two feet in length made up of a single piece.  The tubes were flared slightly at one end to form the trumpet shape.  Both were standing upright on the flared end and placed between the medium and the observers.  A door leading elsewhere to the cottage was locked.  Two windows in the room were shaded with blinds.

The third was in a basement room surrounded by cement block walls.  Again, a door led to another part of the basement but Bach requested that it be locked during the performance.  Other than the circle of chairs for the observers, there was a spotlight and a small curtained section against one wall, about three by four feet, containing only a chair for the medium. Overhead lights were turned off during the performance, while a red spotlight was turned on.  It was dim but bright enough to see the room, objects and people.  The medium sat behind the curtain.

     Seance #1

    The moments passed.  My eyes became accustomed to the dark and I could make out the vague outline of Pressing next to me.  He leaned over and whispered somberly, "Well, when's something going to happen?"  Before I could answer   "How do you do, Dr. Bach!  How do you do, Mr. Pressing!" came to us out of the darkness.  It was a tantalizing, childish voice with a slightly roguish touch.  It might have been a winsome little prodigy stepping out in debut. It might have been a tiny actress in a puppet show.  "Good afternoon," responded Mr. Pressing.  "Who are you?" I asked.  With a friendly lilt the answer came.  "I'm Sylvia.  . . . We are glad you are here, Dr. Bach," she said with a neat curtsy in her voice.  "This is going to be a good seance.  There are good vibrations.  Look!"  The small trumpet was slowly rising from the floor.  It stopped slightly above the larger one and hovered uncertainly . . .  "But who are you?" I insisted.  "Sylvia!" said the voice emphatically.  "Didn't I tell you?  I am Sylvia?  . . . I can get other spirits for you, if you want me to."  "How?" I demanded.  "With millions of spirits in the spirit world, how do you get them?  Call Bob Whitehand for me."  "Bob Whitehand?"  The voice seemed to drift from us for a moment.  "Bob Whitehand?" it returned reflectively.  "I'll try.  It is done by vibrations . . .  I'll try to get Bob Whitehand after while.  But look at the trumpet now, Dr. Bach!"  It had risen to five or six feet above the floor and was slowly floating in space . . .  "Where would you like the trumpet to go?" asked Sylvia  "Bring it close to me," I told her.  Outlined by the luminous bands, the trumpet floated toward me.  It stopped close to my right ear.  "Put it in my hands, Sylvia,"  I said.  "Hold them out!"  I extended my hands and the trumpet came to rest in them.  Now, I thought, here's my chance to find those strings.  Balancing the feather-like tube in my left hand, I passed my right hand completely around it.  No strings.  "Put your hands on each end of the trumpet," Sylvia directed.  I did, holding the trumpet about elbow's length from my body.  "Now I'll talk to you from inside the trumpet."  A whispered voice Sylvia's came from within the trumpet.  I put it to my right ear   the voice was there; to my left ear   Sylvia speaking.  "Well," I admitted, "that's interesting."  Then I withdrew both hands quickly.  Unaided, the trumpet remained fixed in space.  A conversation between Sylvia and Pressing was lost in my amazement upon seeing the other trumpet begin a slow take-off.  Without stopping, it ascended to a point near the ceiling.  It hung there, then started a slow swinging motion, round and round, like the retarded movement of a helicopter.

Bach goes on to describe a fifteen or twenty-minute conversation with Dr. William James, famous philosopher and scholar, then deceased, who had been conjured up by the medium.  At the end of the conversation the large trumpet crashed into the wall behind him.  Then

    "I think I have Bob Whitehand for you."  "Good!" I said, in a tone of co-operation.  "Bob? Bob? Can you hear me?"  A luminous head appeared levitated about four feet from the floor.  It was not materialized in the way that materializations are usually described.  It simply appeared out of nothingness.  It was like a blurred flashlight reflected on a human face.  I made out the unmistakable features of my friend who had been killed in France.  This apparition hovered in the room for only a few seconds and then blacked out.  How should I explain it?  If it were actually a human face illuminated by a flashlight, it must have been shrouded in a curtain in the center of the room.  But I knew there had been no curtain.  Besides, why would the flashlight diffuse over no other single part of the room, curtain or apparatus   if apparatus were used?  And if it were someone impersonating Bob Whitehand, how could he make up such a marked resemblance to Bob, inasmuch as no one knew that I would request Bob's appearance?  It was an inexplicable happening and remained the most vivid of the afternoon's demonstration.

Before going on to Bach's report of the third performance (2nd seance) it may be helpful to consider aspects of the one just described.

1.   The voice appears out of nowhere.  Although Bach does not tell us, trance mediums are usually oblivious to the performance going on.  The voice certainly did not come from the medium's mouth or lips.

2.   The voice has the timbre and tone of a young girl which leaves a distinct impression of the actual presence of the "girl" within the room, although no form is visible.

3.   The voice reflects a personality.  It had a "roguish touch."  It was given "with a neat curtsy."  The implication is that the personality behind the performance recognizes Bach's personality and is responding to it in playful interchange.

4.   The voice relocates within the room.  It could emanate from the trumpet.  Important to our understanding is the fact that, for Bach to hear a voice, modulation of the air must take place.  Physical control of a gaseous substance is required.

5.   The source of the voice takes a momentary pause, while it apparently searches memory.  It returns reflectively.

6.   The voice states that the presentation of an image of the dead friend is done through vibrations.  The source of the voice then produces visual images, apparently out of nothing.  In order for Bach to perceive those images optical vibrations had to be created.  Even more significantly, the images were manipulated as though they were an actual face.  The source was able to create incorporeal images that resembled Bach's dead friend.

7.   The mechanical movement of the trumpets was levitation, manipulation of physical matter against gravity, and with control of physical position. Bach could detect no mechanical connections to the trumpets.

These elements summarize to highly significant information.

If we were to propose that the voice came from the medium, however skillfully modulated to imitate that of a young girl, and however adroitly projected around the room, even to location within the trumpet, two other phenomena go far beyond proposed origin within the medium.  How were the two aluminum tubes manipulated to defy gravity and with no visible propulsive mechanism?  How was the image of a dead friend conjured into a visible image?  By someone who never heard of him, never had seen him, and did not know who Bach would request?

No ordinary, familiar, or "scientific" explanations exist.  We naturally seek "scientific" answers because we have become accustomed to recourse in methods which can provide reliable answers.  We feel safe in an environment which can be trusted to repeat time after time, ad infinitum.  But these phenomena are beyond the pale of "scientific" investigative techniques.

1.   They cannot be repeated through laboratory control.  "Objective science" does not know the parameters necessary to establish such control.

2.   An "objective" environment would destroy the conditions necessary for their existence.  Their production is conditioned by the "friendly" environment of those who "believe."

3.   They depend upon personality interaction, not upon the reaction of inanimate physical substance subject to clinical conditions.  The personality on one side is human; on the other it is "spirit."

Therefore, "objective science" is not adequate to an evaluation of these performances.  These phenomena are beyond the realm of safe and trustworthy human affairs; they deserve extraordinary explanations.

However, if we assume origin in a spirit personality who is invisible we arrive at unnerving dimensions to the query.  It would mean that

1.   Some invisible source of power is responsible for the production of "spiritualist" phenomena.

2.   That invisible source exhibits personality.  If reacts with human beings in personality interplay.  It expresses personal will and choice in the conduct and exhibition of the performances.

3.   It can fully interact with and produce results in the physical world.

4.   The invisible personality knows each and everyone of us intimately.  A "roguish touch" and "neat curtsy" indicated reaction to the presence and personality of Bach.

5.   The "spirit" has tremendous memory, of the kind which knows every moment of every human life which ever existed within the purview of its existence.  If it was able to reproduce an image of Bach's friend, from a distant moment familiar to Bach, it had to retain the memory of that human being and know the relationship between the two.  Bach's random request had to be a surprise to even that personality.  The delay in bringing the memory into focus, displayed by "drifting for a moment" shows a search within its memory files.  Then, again, a moments hesitation of reflection in bringing the image into play shows an effort at assembling the elements of the image necessary to impress Bach.  Both personalities were able to remember the friend, in intimate detail, one human and one "spirit."

6.   The range of physical control appears to be limited to the "seance." There must be a condition imposed on the performance which prevents such phenomena from occurring randomly or unexpectedly in our everyday lives. This means that the spirit personality cannot arbitrarily manipulate the physical world.  The spirit personality is under undefined constraint.

7.   The required condition is that the "spirit" must work through a human medium.

8.   Although this seance was with a "trumpet medium" the performance included a "materialization."  The next seance will show this phenomenon in greater detail.

Bach inquired as to the reason for the placement of the medium behind a curtain.

     Seance #2

    "The reason for concealing the medium," I was informed, "is because a red light is used during a materialization seance.  Even a dim light interferes with the generation of the ectoplasm necessary in building spirit forms.  The cabinet shields the medium during the time this force is being assembled and then, when complete, the form can stand the light rays long enough to be seen outside the cabinet by the sitters from thirty seconds to three or four minutes.  The medium entranced is also sometimes disturbing to the spectators.  It is not a pleasingly aesthetic sight especially during the materialization, for ectoplasm exudes from her mouth and body in the nature of a gauzy, foggy, smokelike substance from which figures are formed by the spirit chemists."

Since there was no way for anyone to enter or leave the cabinet without coming through the room, I accepted it as part of the required setting.

"But what about the light?" I inquired.

"The bright lights will be turned off," we were told.  "Ectoplasm, with its quality of luminosity, shows up best in dark or semidarkness.  The seance will take place in a red light, which will not detract from the materialized forms.  It will be bright enough for you to discern one another all the while and to see me standing near the cabinet."

About this time Mrs. Harwood rapped at the inside door and was admitted. The door was relocked. Mrs. Harwood was diminutive, gentle, and refined. She greeted us in a cordial, forthright manner.  But as she stepped inside the cabinet, I reminded myself that "true art is the ability to conceal art." The assistant took her place beside the cabinet.

"Let us enter the seance reverently," she instructed, and there followed a brief word of prayer.  Then she continued: "I have these requests to make. Be sincere.  You can assist very much in the success of the seance.  Please do not speak among yourselves.  If however, a spirit appears and indicates he wants to speak to you, if he calls you by name or motions to you to come, get up and speak to him.  I only ask that you will please not touch the spirits.  Are there any questions.

"Why shouldn't we touch the spirits?"  I asked.  "There is a connection between the spirits and the medium," the assistant explained.  "When you touch the spirit you are really touching the medium and disturbing the conditions of the trance.  Do you remember the words of Jesus when He said to Mary in the garden after His resurrection, "Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my Father?"

I had further questions but, convinced that the success of the seance depended as much on us who sat in the circle as upon the medium, I put myself in a receptive though not credulous state of mind.  I was determined today to fight against hallucinations or hypnotism or whatever might intrude under the guise of psychical demonstration.  When the assistance turned out the bright lights, the room was illuminated with a deep red glow which came from a spot light directly over my shoulder. I turned to examine it.  It was a theatrical spotlight covered by a thickness of gelatin.  In its light I could easily see Pressing at my left and the doctor from Texas at my right.  The others in the group, sitting in a half circle on folding chairs, were also always discernible.  After perhaps five minutes of silent waiting, the assistant suggested we sing a song.  Someone started, "I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say."  We sang one verse and were about to begin another when a voice spoke.  How are you, everyone?"  It sounded like Sylvia.  But I knew that Clifford Bias was at this same hour giving his demonstration of trumpet mediumship.  "I am Twilight," said the voice.  At this everyone responded, "Hello, Twilight.  How are you?"  "I'm just fine," said Twilight, "and how are you Dr. Bach?"  "I'm fine, too," I replied, piqued at having been singled out just because I hadn't chimed in with the others.  It struck me that a spirit should think of something more profound in the way of getting attention than the old earth-worn phrases.  Twilight was chatty.  "Everybody happy?  You happy, Mr. Pressing?  You happy, Mrs. Daiches?  I think this will be a good seance.  Oh, a very good seance, I think for sure.  It is a good circle.  Oh, it's a good day for a seance.  Nice and sunny.  Atmospheric conditions have a lot to do with seances.  When the atmosphere is heavy, it is hard for the spirits to manifest.  Materialization is hard then.  Oh, yes it is.  And we must have materializations!  We just must have!"  This last was said with an ironic twist.  "All religions must have phenomen how do you say it phenomena or phenomenon or phenomenons!  I never can pronounce it."  Twilight laughed.  A good seance?  I wondered.  A light flickered near the floor, close to where the assistant stood.  It was a luminous glow, like the quick beam of a flashlight shining up through a cloth.  It came suddenly, tarried a moment, and faded reluctantly. Twilight's disconnected talk persisted as the mirage of light loomed again. This time it mounted higher like silver smoke curling around a light bulb. Then the light went out, but the silver smoke continued to hover.  I can describe it best as a bright, shimmering vapor, struggling for expression. Slowly it began to take form.  Something like shoulders then a face appeared.  It developed into a bodily form and spoke.   It called for Mrs. Daiches.  She got up, took a few steps, and said, "Yes, Mother?"  "How are you?" the figure asked in a low, hushed whisper.  "I'm fine, Mother.  Why didn't you bring Father with you?"  Immediately a man's voice spoke.  "She did."  And hovering beside the figure of a little woman was a somewhat larger figure of a man.  They had form and masklike features.  For a moment I thought they might be two actors dressed in luminescent costumes and wearing paper-mache masks.  Where had they come from?  How had they entered the room?  I felt sure I would know before the seance was over.  Houdini once said that he could duplicate any such manifestation.  Then a third figure appeared.  Let us say, "materialized," for it is the best description.  It seemed to come out of the floor an inchoate mass of ectoplasmic stuff growing, taking form, speaking.  I made out the semblance of a young boy.  "Mother," he said, "do you remember the walks we used to take?"  "I sure do," said the mother.  He took his mother's arm and they moved back and forth across the room, coming so close to where I sat that I pulled back my feet.  Throughout these doings the whisperings continued sometimes simultaneously. Twilight was still chatting.  And there was spirit laughter, low and pleased.  I was seeing the raison d' etre of spiritualism: demonstration and proof of the continuity of life, coupled with the comforting assurance that that life is good.  Here was the reunion of a family- a son telling his mother that life "over there" was just a continuation of life on earth.  There were not two worlds at all; there was but one interblended world closely interwoven by memory and the love of life.  Consciousness could not die.  Personality could not be destroyed.  The spirit of man was, indeed, eternal.  I drew my attention from the Daiches' reunion and touched Pressing's arm.  "What do you think?" I asked.  "I have been to many seances," he replied.  "This promises to be one of the very best.  I analyzed the possibilities of fraud and deception.  The room was sufficiently illuminated that I would have seen holes in the floor, or shifting walls.  And if it were "done with mirrors" how would one explain three figures speaking at once, gliding across the room, touching "arms," brushing past my feet?  This was the seance.  The implausibility injected into the first ten minutes carried through the entire demonstration.  For an hour new figures materialized and disappeared.  Once Twilight cautioned, "It is getting very bright.  Too bright to see.  Fix the read light."  "I will, Twilight," said the assistant, coming over to put another thin sheet of gelatin over the spotlight.  I was making minute mental notations of all that was happening   the hovering, swaying motion of the "spirits," the rhythm of life, like the rise and fall of a tide, as many as four speaking simultaneously in whispered voices, excited, hurried, persuasive.  Suddenly the galaxy of spirits melted away.  For a long still moment nothing happened.  Then the swirling ectoplasmic effluvia glowed from the floor and quickly took on the form of a girl.  Before the figure was complete, it spoke.  "Marc, dear   Marc, dear   Marc, dear."  Those who know me well call me Marc; those who know me better call me Marc, dear. so I knew this must be a "familiar spirit."  I got up and walked over until there was a space of less than four feet between us.  "Yes?" I said, "Who are you"  The answer was fraught with disappointment.  "Don't you know me?"  I did not.  I had no idea who this might be.  I had really been too absorbed to think very much about personal contact with the spirits.  . . . Nor did I propose to offer any hint of whom I thought she might represent.  No leads, I determined.  "I do not know you.  Who are you?"  "Paula," came the answer.  The name and soft manner in which it was uttered brought the sudden unfolding of a forgotten drama.  Twenty years ago my sister Paula had died at the age of twenty-three.  Her child Janette had died shortly before. These deaths had been among the deep sorrows of our family, but time and travel reduce the past into forgetfulness.  No medium or spirit had plucked this name out of my mind because I wasn't thinking of Paula.  I had not thought of her even once during the seance.  I looked at the presence before me closely.  "How do I look?" she asked.  "You look fine," I replied.  "The right height?" she whispered.  "Do you think I should be taller?"  "No.  You are about the height I remember."  "I wanted to do a good job," she told me earnestly.  "Do I look all right?"  "Yes," I assured her, recalling that one theory of materialization is that the spirit "takes" the ectoplasm and fashions according to its memory the human form which clothed it on earth.  . . . Did this form and these features resemble Paula?  I must admit they did.  Very much.  The outline of the figure was recognizable and convincing.  It was like a "false front," a flat, two-dimensional body with the semblance of arms clothed in a shadowy gray-white film.  The face, though typically masklike, was strikingly reminiscent.  There was an illusion of long blond hair.  I cannot say whether the voice was Paula's or not.  After twenty years I would not remember.  Just now, however, it was Paula returned.  But why shouldn't it be?  I asked myself as I stood there.  The spiritualists at Chesterfield knew I was coming.  If, as some people say, they have a well-laid system of espionage they could easily have traced my family and got Paula's description.  If this was someone "dressed up," play-acting, if this was a marionette using the voice of ventriloquist, naturally it would be constructed as to represent Paula.  This thought haunted me more than the presence.  I wished I could convince myself some way.  The impulse to reach out and touch the figure became stronger.  I moved closer,  I moved slightly to one side so that the red light would strike the spirit's face more directly.  We were about three feet apart now. Paula was talking about life in the spirit world.  I was asking hasty questions: Have you seen Jesus?  What is heaven like?  What about the element of time?  Can you be everywhere at once?  Are terms like Methodist, Reformed, Presbyterian, Catholic ever used where you are?  Her voice seemed to laugh.  She answered, "No, no," to all questions save the one about heaven.  It was like speaking to a living person secretly, clandestinely, knowing that time was running out.  Her features seemed to become clearer.  Perhaps it was my mind playing tricks.  And then the thought came to me.  "Paula," I said, "do you remember the catechism we learned at home?"  "Of course."  "Paula, do you remember the first question in that catechism?"  "I remember."  "What was it," I asked almost fearfully.  The answer came at once.  "'What is your chief comfort in life and in death?'"  "Go on," I urged. " "That I, with body and soul, both in life and in death am not my own- " " She interrupted herself.  "Here where we are the words have a greater meaning!"  Then quickly, breathlessly, she told me that serving God meant personal development.  Life on the spirit plane is an evolvement.  Like the breaking of a chrysalis.  Like the ascent in a spiral.  Like the growth of moral affection to higher and higher "heavens."  Several times she interrupted herself with "Do you understand?  Is that clear?" as if she felt her message was vital, all-absorbing.  Death, she insisted, was not a violent result of sin.  It has no sting.  It was neither friend nor enemy.  It was part of the divine purpose, a purpose without beginning or end. The whisper grew fainter.  "I can stay no longer, I must go now."  "Paula, one more thing.  Can you put your arms around me?"  "I'll give you a kiss," she said.  "Come closer."  "You come closer to me."  I wanted her to come nearer the red light.  She did.  There was now scarcely a foot between us.  The face was luminous, seemingly transparent, and without depth.  I leaned forward and lowered my head.  The weblike texture of ectoplasmic arms encircled my neck.  Something soft and flaxen brushed my forehead. Then Paula vanished   into the floor, it seemed.  I walked back to my chair and sat down.    "Was that all right," Twilight was asking.  "What do you think."  I did not reply.  What did I think? A few minutes later the lights were turned on.  The cabinet assistant called to Mrs. Harwood, "Are you alright?"  From within the curtain the medium announced that she was. The seance was ended.

DISCUSSION

This seance offers greater insights into the performances of the "spirit," and the limitations he certainly must feel.

1.   The gauze-like, foggy substance called ectoplasm has no specific definition.  No human mortal knows exactly what composes ectoplasm.

2.   It has similarity to the substance which formed the head of Bob Whitehand.  However, the full deployment demonstrated in this seance indicates attachment to the medium as a necessary condition for formulation. The "creation" of Bob Whitehand without connection to a medium was momentary.

3.   A phenomenon of "light" is associated with the formation of the ectoplasm.

4.   The formation of ectoplasm from the body of the medium is repulsive to most people.  It is truly sordid.

5.   Again we find the playfulness demonstrated at the first seance.  Here "Twilight" will not let Bach remain silent; "she" pulls him into the activity.  The "spirit" knows Bach's skeptical reluctance to greet a "spirit entity," or a possible "stage" personality.

6.   The "spirit" turns a point of sarcasm, in derision of human kind who must have "materializations."  It fully recognizes that many human minds do not have true spiritual sensitivity; they must have phenomena which convince them of the validity of their faith.

7.   The "spirit" could produce sound vibrations which imitated multiple voices, as many as four speaking simultaneously whispering, excited, hurried, persuasive.

8.   The "spirit" was able to form multiple figures.  Mrs. Daiches "saw" both her father and mother, and a dead son.  She had no trouble believing they were those specific dead relatives.

9.   The "spirit" was able to produce multiple human personalities simultaneously.  This ability demonstrates a broad spectrum of "memory," and provides clues to the vast gamut of his abilities.

10.  For those who believe, the performances are convincing evidence that the dead are not dead, that they can return to demonstrate their life "on the other side."  But since the images, the voices, and the behavior are nothing more than reproductions from this "spirit's" memory the deception is exceedingly cruel.  It shows a complete disregard for human values.  It also shows the extreme depth to which the "spirit" is reduced to gain attention. The "spirit" will resort to any device.  How very debased, indeed!

11.  In conversing with human beings he must resort to familiar human personality traits to communicate his own feelings or emotions.  He is reduced to the human level to carry on this cross-personality interchange. His response is "fraught with disappointment," or he "wanted to do a good job."  He was concerned that he make a favorable impression.

12.  The "spirit" is truly debased to resort to imitation of human images, feelings, thoughts, and expressions.  How degrading it must truly be to such "spirit," to be conditioned by the limitations of human perception, or belief, in order to carry on such inter- course.  This is vividly illustrated when "Paula" quickly and breathlessly goes into a discourse of the "other side," and the purpose of life.  Not only does the spirit introduce an urgency in the message; he is also frustrated by these techniques.

13.  The "spirit" knew the importance of making an impression upon Bach; he singles him out in both sessions.  Bach would record the sessions and publish them to the world.

14.  Note how the "spirit" is concerned that its reproduction of Paula be faithful to the original.  It expressed a strong desire, not only to win acceptance from Bach, but that its performance be "authentic."

15.  The technical human explanation of such close resemblance to the long-dead sister is given as the ectoplasmic memory from the dead sister. Apparently no one, in all the millennia of apparitions, recognized that the visible faithfulness to reproduction of the dead person came out of the memory banks of that despicable "spirit."

16.  Could Bach have been more convinced when he was able to devise a memory incident in the catechism that only he and his dead sister knew?

An essential argument is the ability of the "spirit" to remember all persons who ever lived on this planet in intimate detail.  Would the Prince of this World have such powers?  Not only form and appearance at different, and arbitrary, stages of life, but also in personality, experience, and expression.

Even more, if there are many seance sessions going on all around our planet simultaneously, at any odd hour of the day and night, how could he create such performances simultaneously?  It boggles the mind.

It also offers some estimate of what is meant in the Bible about the power of God.  We have used the phrases in mystical attitude without delineating what that power might mean.

We are about to find out.  God certainly has tremendous power; that loathsome Prince does also.

CASE HISTORY, #2

JOHN BALLOU NEWBROUGH AND OAHSPE

The first edition of Oahspe, an immense "Revelation," was printed in 1882 in New York City. It had 856 pages, on 7 X 9 inch page, double column, with approximately 730 words per page, for nearly 625,000 words. My copy is a photo reprint of the first 1882 edition published by Ray Palmer in Amherst, Wisconsin in 1960.

The title page is styled thus:

OAHSPE  A NEW BIBLE  IN THE  WORDS OF JEHOVIH  AND HIS  ANGEL AMBASSADORS

The title page continues with:

A Sacred History of the Dominions of the Higher and Lower Heavens on the Earth for the past TWENTY FOUR THOUSAND YEARS, together with a synopsis of the cosmogony of the universe; the creation of the planets; the creation of man; the unseen worlds; the labor and glory of gods and goddesses in the etherean heaven with new commandments of Jehovih to man of the present day. With revelations from the second resurrection, formed in words in the thirty-third year of the Kosmon Era.

The date of publication is given as Anno Kosmon 34 for 1882, with a suggestive implication of association with the 34th year of Jesus.

The book has no table of contents but carries a publishers synopsis which lists the sections:

1. Book of Jehovih  2. Book of Sethantes, Son of Jehovih  3. First Book of the First Lords  4. Book of Ah'shong, Son of Jehovih  5. Second Book of Lords  6. Synopsis of Sixteen Cycles  7. Book of Aph, Son of Jehovih  8. The Five Lords' First Book  9. Book of Sue, Son of Jehovih  10. Book of Appollo, Son of Jehovih  11. The Lords' Third Book  12. Book of Thor, Son of Jehovih  13. The Lords' Fourth Book  14. The Lords' Fifth Book  15. Book of Osiris, Son of Jehovih  16. Book of God's Word  17. Book of Fragapati, Son of Jehovih  18. Book of Divinity, the Divan Laws  19. Book of Spenta-Armij, Daughter of Jehovih  20. Book of Wars Against Jehovih  21. Book of Lika, Son of Jehovih  22. Book of the Arc of Bon  23. God's Book of Bon  24. God's Book of Ben  25. Book of Cosmogony and Prophecy  26. Book of Saphah  27. Book of Praise  28. God's Book of Eskra  29. Book of Es, Daughter of Jehovih  30. Book of Judgment  31. Book of Inspiration  32. Book of Jehovih's Kingdom on Earth

Note that this list contains a mixture of names from the Bible, from pagan mythology, and invented (neologisms): Jehovih, Ben, Osiris, Thor, Appollo, Aph, Fragapati, and Es.

Each book is divided into verses with an obvious attempt to imitate the Bible. The first verse reads:

After the creation of man, the Creator, Jehovih, said unto him: That thou shalt know thou art the works of My hands, I have given thee capacity for knowledge, power and dominion. This was the first era.

The book is filled with dark illustrations, and contains numerous strange symbols in scripts which are a blend of Chinese, Egyptian hieratic, ancient Semitic, and fanciful. There appears to be no sensible thread behind these various symbolic presentations, except to influence ignorant minds with seeming erudition. All illustrations could have come directly out of the unassisted mind of Newbrough.

Throughout the book insidious statements are made to denigrate God, pervert religious teaching, or otherwise misguide the reader. For example, on page 8 the chief of angels is named God. Sethantes is the first God of the earth and her heavens. These are revelations from the second resurrection. And so on.

As can be seen from the above list, the book contains sections which denote "Sons of Jehovih," implying the concept of divine Sons of God. The fact of multiple Sons of God is plainly indicated in the Bible but is not part of Jewish or Christian theology. The possibility is roundly denounced by Christian fundamentalists, since everyone knows there is only one Son of God, Jesus. This central conflict in understanding is well illustrated by the Sons of God who came into the daughters of men in Genesis 6:1-4. The remarks show that the Nephilim (Giants) were on the earth in those days, "mighty men of old, men of renown." No one knows exactly what this means. The text cannot be read with sense except to view it as a fragmentary description of very ancient planetary transactions whose meaning has been lost, but which involves heavenly "Sons of God" breeding with earth women. Part of the difficulty is that these heavenly "Sons of God" apparently are physical in form, since they can produce offspring with earthly women.

On the other hand, the "Sons of God" who gathered in heavenly assembly before the LORD, Job 1:6, 2:1, apparently were celestial, not material, since Satan, the Adversary, a spirit being, included himself without welcome among that heavenly group. Then again, there was a time, at the dawn of creation, and before the foundations of the earth, when the "Morning Stars" sang together, and all the "Sons of God" shouted for joy, Job 38:7, obviously divine spirit personalities. Furthermore, the heavenly beings designated as benai Elim (Sons of God) in Ps 29:1 were asked to give the LORD his proper acclaim. In Ps 89:6 these heavenly benai Elim are compared with the LORD; there is none like him. Again, obviously, they are less than the one in the Old Testament most often regarded by Christians as Jesus in his heavenly glory, honor and power.

The presentations in Oahspe were intended to anticipate such expositions and to degrade and pervert such revelation.

Another perversion is in the time perspectives covering many thousands of years, again an attempt to anticipate exposition and revelation on long evolutionary human history.

Yet again, it attempts to anticipate exposition of the divine administrative structure in the space realms, as I briefly discussed in my previous letters. This last includes a cosmogony to explain the origins of creation. Although not explicitly or clearly discussed, it carries ideas of destiny in its presentations of Prophecy, of Judgment, and of God's Kingdom on Earth.

It is not my purpose here to discuss in depth these teachings of Oahspe, nor how they were intended to anticipate and pervert true revelation. I merely provide examples to indicate how the "Dark One" has been at work. Sample quotations of section Synopses provide examples of the darkness of the Oahspe teachings, a reflection of the darkness of the origins.

Book of Cosmogony and Prophecy

The plans of the corporeal worlds; overthrow of the doctrine of attraction of gravitation; no force existing from one planet to another; neither light nor heat comes from the sun to the earth; the atmospherean vortices; the solar vortex; the great serpent (phalanx); defection of man's measurements of heavenly bodies; defections of the observations; magnifying power of vortices; cause of the photosphere, polar lights, velocities, magnetism, life, growth; meteors, nebula, clouds, wind and wind currents; ocean currents; how to regulate the temperature of the earth by man; how to bring rain showers; cause of tornadoes, waterspouts, famines, epidemics, and how to prophesy by astronomical knowledge.

Book of Judgment

God's judgment upon the Brahmins, Buddhists, Christians, Mohammedans, Confucians and Jews; the numbers of judgment, in the words of God; of the Jews; of resurrections; a day of judgment; God decreeth against infidelity; of the Father's kingdom on earth; God showeth how to judge the angels that minister to mortals; of the second resurrection; of ascetics; God judgeth charities; God showeth how to do charity; God judgeth the missionaries; God judgeth dominions; judgment against the man of promise; against war; God judgeth of exclusiveness; China and Japan thrown open; God declares against the government of man.

Obviously, the text is conditioned by Newbrough's personal psychology and range of knowledge. Much of Oahspe could be ascribed to nothing more than his personal expression.

John Ballou Newbrough was born on June 5, 1828, on a Springfield, Ohio farm. He grew up to be a big man, powerful, vigorous and adventurous. After college he went to the goldfields of California and Australia. He settled in New York City where he became a dentist. He married and became the father of a son and a daughter. A second marriage gave him another daughter. He had an interest in spiritualism from early manhood. Together with a friend, Edwin Augustus Davis, he interviewed many mediums, even entertaining them in his home in an effort to learn all he could of the occult. Davis was a photographer and cooperated with Newbrough in taking pictures of spiritual phenomena; many unusual pictures were obtained. However both men were dissatisfied with the calibre of spirit communications being received and Newbrough particularly felt that there must be something more interesting and practical. He earnestly desired to know how the angels lived, the plan of the universe, and the true facts of spiritual existence. He believed that if he purified himself he might establish higher contacts.

As we proceed into the details of spiritist communication the reader will perceive how those productions are conditioned by the psychology and mental attitudes of the human mediums. That vile Prince is limited by human intellectual orientations. The communications, and his approach to individuals, reflect this human limitation.

Two different accounts exist of the origins of Oahspe. I offer both to provide a more thorough examination of the performances of Caligastia. In addition, I offer a description of another sordid spiritualist event to obtain a broader view of how the Devil operated a century ago.

The first account came from a diary of the grandson of Edwin Augustus Davis. Following is that account. It has obviously been edited to reflect good literary style. Ray Palmer included this account as an ADDENDUM in his photo reprint of Oahspe.

THE ORIGIN OF OAHSPE, VERSION #1

One morning in 1870, Newbrough went to the home of his friend Davis who lived on Sixth Avenue, near the old Hay Market, and said "I've come for your advice. I had quite an experience about 4 a.m. this morning. I was sleeping nicely when I felt a hand on my shoulder." A voice said, 'Wake up doctor. Everything is all right. I only want to ask you a question and we will go.'

"I sat up and answered, 'Yes, if I can'. The voice said, 'Would you like to perform a mission for Jehovih?"

"I rubbed my eyes and saw that the room was lit up with pillars of a soft light so pleasing to the eyes that it was indescribable. I saw great numbers of beautiful spirits, or angels. They did not have wings. I spoke, 'What is the mission, so that I may know whether to say yes or no.' The answer came back, "Jehovih would like you to live spiritually for ten years and at the end of that time we will come back and tell you what it is that we desire, for your body and mind are not sufficiently perceptible now. You must be pure.

"What do you mean by living spiritually?"

"'We want you never to kill anything, or eat anything that breathes; meat, fish, birds, reptiles, etcetera. Live on nuts, fruit, vegetables. You don't need so much food, as you are too heavy now; you need to lose weight. One other thing is very important: you must help people; give your services to people who need dental help, without pay, if they cannot pay. Do charity work; by individual charity you change the person's thoughts. They will think of you as a good man, and will send out good thoughts to you. You will need all the good will you can get.'

"I answered, 'This will be quite a change of living for me. I will let you know.'

"We already know your answer; it will be yes!' the voice said, and then the lights dimmed and went out, and the atmosphere changed back to its normal darkness. I got up and wrote down everything that had happened, then I drank a glass of milk and came over to talk to you."

Davis and Newbrough discussed the matter for hours, and during the conversation Newbrough revealed that he thought he had recognized three of the spirits, although he had not had a good look at them. He asked Davis if he thought the adventure was real, or only a dream.

"John," said Davis "I don't believe it was a dream." I'd say, go ahead. I myself don't like meat or fish and would have no objection to going on the same diet so that you will have assistance in keeping to it, as it will certainly be hard on you to be so different in public eating habits. Perhaps the ten year wait will be worth it when you find out what it is that you are to do."

At 4 a.m. one morning late in 1880, Newbrough was awakened from his slumber to find the same mysterious and beautiful lights filling his room. He sat up and demanded: "Am I worthy?" The same voice spoke, "You have done well. You have passed our test. We know that you feel more healthy. Now we want you to buy a typewriter and place it on this table. We will thereafter awaken you one hour before dawn each morning and you will sit in this chair before the typewriter and put your hands on the keys. You will buy plenty of paper and keep it always ready to use"

"I don't know how to use a typewriter."

"We will control your hands and arms, and perform the task for you, so don't worry. You must not look at what is written until it is finished."

There was further discussion and instruction, then the pillars of light dimmed and went out.

On the morning of January 1, 1881, having followed all instructions, the first writing session began at 4 a.m. As Newbrough later told it to his friend, Davis: "To my amazement as I sat in the chair, my hands went up and started to pound at the keys. It seemed to me that I was half asleep but I saw everything I was doing. I saw no spirits but I knew they were using my body and thought. I looked at my hands and fingers; they were going like mad. Then it occurred to me that it was fantastic.

"The papers seemed to pile up fast on the right side of the typewriter. As the days went by, I was doing more and more. At first I was thinking what am I writing about? My mind seemed blank, but I had never felt better in my life. I always locked my door after me and it was locked when I came back. I noticed, though, that there was a blank paper over the pile I had finished and a paperweight on top. It was oblong in shape. As I left my room the next morning I took particular notice of how the paperweight lay on the stack of finished work. When I returned that evening I wanted to see if it had been moved but it had not. But to my surprise my bed had been made. Everything had been dusted and cleaned. I said to myself: 'The spirits are certainly working hard around here.' I heard a loud laugh and the voice said, 'We are. We don't want you to worry about a thing. We are taking care of you, and no harm can come to you. Remember this!'"

Every morning, before sunrise, until December 15, 1881, Newbrough wrote at his Sholes typewriter, at a speed physically almost impossible, considering the crudity of this first typewriter. Finally the manuscript was complete.

In 1882 the book was published. Newbrough kept the very first copy off the press and presented the second copy to his friend Edwin Augustus Davis in appreciation for his assistance over the years.

HOW OAHSPE WAS WRITTEN, VERSION #2

The following account was addressed as a personal letter from John Newbrough to the editor of The Banner of Light in Boston Massachusetts. It was placed as a detached insert within the pages of the photocopy version of the 1882 edition printed by Ray Palmer, Amherst, Wisconsin, 1960.

Some two years ago, Oahspe was mechanically written through my hands by some intelligence other than my own. Many Spiritualists are acquainted with this automatic movement of the hands, independent of one's own volition. There are thousands and thousands of persons who have this quality. It can also be educated, or rather, the susceptibility to external power can be increased. In my own case I discovered, many years ago, in sitting in circles to obtain spiritual manifestations, that my hands could not lie on the table without flying off into these "tantrums." Often they would write messages, left or right, backward or forward; nor could I control them any other way than by withdrawing from the table. Sometimes the power thus baffled would attack my tongue, or my eyes, or my ears, and I talked and saw and heard differently from my normal state. Then I went to work in earnest to investigate spiritualism and I investigated over 200 mediums, traveling hundreds of miles for this purpose. Often I took them to my own house and experimented with them to my heart's content. I found that nearly all of them were subject to this involuntary movement of the hands, or to entrancement. They told me it was angels controlling them. In the course of time, about ten or fifteen years, I began to believe in spiritualism. But I was not satisfied with the communications; I was craving for the light of heaven. I did not desire communications from friends or relatives, or information about earthly things; I wished to learn something about the spirit world; what the angels did, how they traveled, and the general plan of the universe. So after a while I took it into my head that wise and exalted angels would commune better with us if we purified ourselves physically and spiritually. Then I gave up eating flesh and fish, milk and butter, and took to rising before day, bathing twice a day, and occupying a small room alone, where I sat every morning half an hour before sunrise, recounting daily to my Creator my short comings in governing myself in thought and deed. In six years training I reduced myself from two hundred and fifty pounds down to one hundred and eighty; my rheumatism was all gone and I had no more headaches. I became limber and sprightly. A new lease on life came over me.

Then a new condition of control came upon my hands; instead of the angels holding my hands as formerly, they held their hands over my head, (and they were enclothed with sufficient materiality for me to see them), and a light fell upon my own hands as they lay on the table. In the mean time, I had attained to hear audible angel voices near me. I was directed to get a typewriter which writes by keys like a piano. This I did, and applied myself vigorously to learn it, but with only indifferent success. For two years more the angels propounded to me questions relative to heaven and earth, which no mortal could answer very intelligently. I always look back on these two years as an enigma. Perhaps it was to show me that man is but an ignoramus at best; perhaps I was waiting for constitutional growth to be good. Well, one morning the light struck both hands on the back and they went for the typewriter, for some fifteen minutes, very vigorously. I was told not to read what was printed, and I had worked myself into such a religious fear of losing this new power that I obeyed reverently. The next morning, also before sunrise, the same power came and wrote (or printed rather) again. Again I laid the matter away very religiously, saying little about it to anybody. One morning I accidentally (seemed accidental to me) looked out of the window and beheld the line of light that rested on my hands extending heavenward like a telegraph wire toward the sky. Over my head were three pairs of hands fully materialized; behind me stood another angel with her hand on my shoulders. My looking did not disturb the scene; my hands kept right on, printing - printing.

For fifty weeks this continued every morning, half an hour or so before sunrise, and then it ceased, and I was told to read and publish the book Oahspe. The peculiar drawings in Oahspe were made with pencil in the same way. A few of the drawings I was told to copy from other books, such as Saturn, the Egyptian ceremonies, etc.

Now during all the while I have pursued my vocation (dentistry), nor has this matter nor my diet (vegetables, fruits, and farinaceous food), detracted any from my health or strength, although I have continued this discipline for upward of ten or more years. I am firmly convinced that there are numberless persons who might attain to marvelous development if they would thus train themselves. A strict integrity to one's highest light is essential to development. Self-abnegation and purity should be the motto and discipline of every one capable of angel communion.

J. B. NEWBROUGH New York, January 21, 1883

The differences between the two accounts are obvious. Either the grandson of Davis did not have a good record of the conversation between Newbrough and his grandfather, or Newbrough is styling his report to condition the response of his audience.

These descriptions broaden our view of "spirit" performances. He not only comes as "an angel of light," he can come as multiple "angels." He can create beams of light and, seemingly, mechanical effects, although the making of a bed and cleaning of a bedroom does not seem the kind of task a spirit being would engage himself in. These, and the placing of a paper weight upon a stack of papers, may have been from Newbrough's imagination, given his intense concentration.

The intensity of Newbrough is obvious. He was dedicated. How truly unfortunate he did not understand the source of these "miracles."

A SORDID SPIRITUALIST ACCOUNT

The following account was presented by Newbrough as part of the Commentary at the end of Oahspe. The first introductory statement is his. The remaining paragraphs are those of the reporter.

I have myself seen angels take on corporeal forms, to all appearance, by the side of mortals. But, rather than boast of my own experience, I here introduce two well-known men of indisputable integrity, Rev. Francis Monck, a natural sar'gis, and the Rev. Archbishop Thomas Colley, M. A, (formerly of the Royal Navy, England). Mr. Colley says:

"Standing forth thus plainly before us, the psychic or spirit-form was seen to grow out of his left side. First, several faces, one after another, of great beauty appeared, and in amazement we saw, and as I was suffered to stand close up to the medium, even touching him, I saw most plainly, several times, a perfect face and form of exquisite womanhood partially issue from Dr. Monck about the region of the heart. Then, after several attempts, a full-formed figure in a nebulous condition at first, but growing solider as it issued from the medium left Dr. Monck and stood, a separate individuality, two or three feet off, bound to him by a slender attachment as of gossamer, which at my request, 'Samuel,' in control, severed with the medium's left hand; and there stood embodied a spirit-form of unutterable loveliness, robed in attire, spirit-spun, a meshy web-work from no mortal loom, of a fleeciness inimitable, and of transfiguration whiteness, truly glistening.

"But Dr. Kennedy was now invited to draw equally near and realize more closely with me the marvel of the separate identity of the spirit-form from the medium, and as we stood, looking with all our soul upon the mighty fact of spirit-birth from mortal man, Dr. Monck, still entranced, placed the lovely visitant from the inner world between us, and affording it the support, each of an arm, we advanced with our sweet spirit-companion some steps further into the room. Meanwhile, holding the hand of the spirit-arm that rested on mine, I felt the wrist, palm, fingers and finger nails; it was in every respect a living hand, answering to my touch, yielding to pressure, having nature, weight and substance, and all things pertaining to humanity, but it was damp and stone-cold; and the thought passed through my mind, how, like steam, first invisible, congealed, is then seen as cloudy vapor, which precipitated, may finally take solid form in ice, this figure at my side and, by a somewhat analogous process, been rendered visible and tangible from the vital force, viewless and imponderable of the medium, being, under the chemistry, not yet understood of the higher life, congealed into the nebulous condition instanced of the form's first appearance, further to solidify into the lovely creature we supported and wistfully beheld.

"Then, after a few minutes further stay, sliding back into the medium, the angel gradually disappeared.

"The next form was none other than Dr. Monck's old earth-friend, fellow-student, brother minister and chief spirit-control, 'Samuel Wheeler.' When he, in like manner issuing forth, first stepped from the medium into separate being, Dr. Monck was unconscious, under control of 'Lily,' and her voice through him contrasted very markedly with the voice of the materialized form it, to the very syllable, being the voice of 'Samuel' as when speaking through the medium. But this did not satisfy our spirit friend, for the marvel of the nights effort had yet to culminate. Conditions being so good, 'Samuel' thought he might dematerialize and awake Dr. Monck, and then be able to rematerialize with the medium in his normal state, fully alive to all that transpired, and conscious of the astounding fact we were to witness; and successful, beyond all conception of the mystery, was this most unique experiment, for, after the first alarm, Dr. Monck had passed away, and after the pain and nervous snatchings he felt in the process of his friend's evolution from himself had subsided, medium and spirit-form conversed naturally together, and the astonishment and glee of the former was only equaled by our profound sense of inability adequately to grasp at first the vast significance of this amazing demonstration of occult power. Equally with the child-form did 'Samuel Wheeler' show all the attributes of humanity; and, in his case, reason and ripe manhood, as in hers, girlishness and simplicity. He was not unlike the medium in stature, form and bearing; and one of our company having intimately known 'Samuel' in the earth-life (being frequently one of his congregation when our spirit-friend was, as our medium also was, a Baptist minister), unhesitatingly declared that this 'Samuel Wheeler' was that Samuel Wheeler, and none other .

"And now a new sensation was in store for us. A spirit-form, eight inches taller than Dr. Monck, grew from him by degrees, and building itself up into giant proportions, with muscular limbs developed like statuary of bronze, and of the color, there came into disconnected, independent, vigorous life, apart from the medium, an ancient Egyptian. From its general aspect, dress and manner, I addressed it as such at once without a moment's doubt or hesitation. For Ancient Egypt has been a favorite study with me, and in modern Egyptians I have, when in the East, endeavored to trace the ancient masters of Israel and the sciences, and have dreamed amid the ruins of the Temple of Isis, and sketched the blue tuniced and turbined descendant of the Pharaohs, and have pleasant recollections of an Egyptian Fellah, Zozab, who used to accompany me through the bazaars, and pioneer me through the intricacies of the Suez; and, if ever Bulwer's Arbaces the Egyptian, in the 'Last Days of Pompeii,' had existence other that in the mind of the author, it was here embodied in the materialized form I handled and closely scrutinized last night.

"The vitality and power of the spirit were remarkable; it walked with manly step and dignified carriage round and about the room, before and behind us, without fear or hesitation; appeared curious about, and leisurely inspected, the furniture and ornaments of the room; took up a chair and placed it on the table; brought us books and other things, and then, taking the chair from the table, placed it close to mine and sat down at my side. Meanwhile, I closely introspected it, and felt its anatomy, the medium standing at my left side while 'Mahedi' (the Egyptian) was seated at my right. I now got the spirit to measure hands, placing its palm on mine. The hand (stone-cold, while the medium's was burning hot) was small, like all Easterns, and the wrist was also small, but the arm was massive, muscular, bronzed and hairy. Its eyes were black and piercing, but not unkindly; its hair lank and jet, and moustaches and beard long and drooping; its features full of life and expression, yet Sphinx-like. Its head-dress was very peculiar, a sort of metal skullcap with an emblem in front, overhanging the brow, which trembled and quivered and glistened. I was suffered to feel it, but, as I did so, it seemed to melt away like a snow-flake under my touch, to grow solid again the moment after."

This report adds to our catalog of "spirit" performances. Here the apparitions are in more intimate "physical" contact. They also are in finer "definition." Was this the result of a more experienced medium? Was it due to greater belief on the part of the audience?

The contradictions encountered in this report shows a lack of reliable witness on important details. Those contradictions do not deny the validity of the phenomena.

Several questions arise about these sordid performances.

1. The "spirit" voice of a young woman was used in all three spiritualist sessions: Sylvia, Twilight, and Lily. The purpose of this practice by Caligastia is to set a friendly tone for the meeting. Most individuals in our social order do not perceive a threat from a playful, roguish young woman, or one who exhibits "girlish simplicity."

2. There is an obvious concern for severing the ectoplasmic connection to the medium. When Mrs. Daiches walked up and down the room with her ectoplasmic "mother," "father," and "son," did the connection trail behind them? Did Mr. Colley provide a true report of such severing, or did he attempt to confirm the validity of the "spirit" presence of the ectoplasmic forms?

3. If strict instructions are given to not touch the ectoplasmic forms, since they emanate from the body (mind) of the medium, and touching will disturb the medium, did those "spirit" forms lay their hands upon Mrs. Daiches' arms without her touching them? If so, did Mr. Colley once again distort his report to demonstrate the validity of those forms? If he reached for the emblem on the skullcap of the Egyptian to find it fade beneath his touch, why would the hands of the "spirit" forms possess such solidity? Were the fingers and nails, "cold to the touch," mere elaboration to once again support the phenomenon he witnessed? Is the ectoplasmic substance part of the "mental" substance of the medium?

4. The condition of the spiritualist performance depends upon the trance state of the medium. The medium must release control of his mind to be possessed by the "spirits." Therefore, it is not probable that Dr. Monck was able to produce "Samuel Wheeler" in a fully conscious state and to converse freely with his own "mental" production.

Many puzzles confront us in our attempts to obtain a tighter grip on the power of this fallen Prince. I shall postpone further discussion to the end of this letter.

AN ANGEL OF LIGHT

2 Cor 11:14-15  And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is not strange if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.

ILLUSTRATION #1

EDGAR CAYCE

Edgar Cayce was born on a farm near Hopkinsville, Kentucky on March 18, 1877. He died in Virginia Beach, Virginia on January 3, 1945. In between he was an agent for Caligastia.

When a young boy, not more than seven or eight years of age, he came home from a walk one day to report that he had seen a vision. It was his habit to take his Bible with him on walks in the fields and woods. This day he was reading the vision of Manoah, Judges 13, in a secluded nook when the experience took place.

"Suddenly there was a humming sound, and a bright light filled the glade where he usually hid to read the wonderful stories. As he looked up, he saw a figure in white, bright as the noonday light, and heard a voice: 'Your prayers have been heard. What would you ask of me, that I can give it to you?' The boy was not startled. Even then it seemed natural to see visions. 'Just that I may be helpful to others,' he replied, 'especially to children who are ill, and that I may love my fellow man.' It seemed almost as if somebody besides himself were speaking. The figure silently disappeared."

His parents received the report with extreme skepticism; they assigned it to the influence of strong revivalist fervor then going on around the countryside.

The next day his extraordinary experience pre- vented him from attending to his class work. He bungled his spelling lesson and was ordered to write the word "cabin" five hundred times on the blackboard. That evening he was so distracted he could not concentrate on his lessons. There seemed to be an invisible barrier between his eyes and the book. His father told him he would have to stay up until he had his lessons completed. As the evening wore on, long past his bedtime, he began to nod over his books. He heard a voice, the same one he had heard in the woods, say "Sleep, and we may help you." He fell asleep for a few minutes and awoke to discover that he knew every word in his spelling book by rote.

Soon thereafter, when struck by a baseball, he suffered a bad head injury. In a semi-stupor he told his parents to prepare a poultice which, when applied to the base of his brain, astonishingly cured him by the next morning.

This was the beginning of a life career of devising "psychic cures" for people. As an adult his technique was to loosen his tie and collar, lie down on a couch, fold his hands across his stomach, and prepare to go into a "trance." At a certain point a "bright light" would flash across his closed eyes, and his eye lids would flutter. If, at that point, someone asked him a question about the health problem of another person, regardless of geographical distance, he would pronounce "cures." He could often describe their personal circumstances and private affairs. He had amazing success with this technique. During his life he gave over 14,000 "readings" for more than 6,000 people. If no questions or problems were posed when he saw the "light" he would fall into a natural sleep state, and would not awaken until he was ready. Later, curious individuals posed many other kinds of questions to him, about ancient history, about their concerns for the future, about Jesus, and about an afterlife. This led to his prediction of great geophysical events, and his nickname of the "Sleeping Prophet."

But his "psychic" powers were not limited to the "sleep state." Hugh Lynn Cayce, his son, reported that one time he named correctly the sequence of a deck of fifty-two playing cards, sight unseen.

He continued to have "visions" at various periods in his life.

"One bright summer day in June, 1936 he was hoeing in his garden, when he heard a noise like a swarming of bees. He looked up, startled, and there in the sky saw a chariot, drawn by four white horses. He heard a voice saying, 'Look behind you.' He turned and saw a man, with a shield and helmet, knee-guards and a cape, but no weapon of any kind. His countenance was like the light, his armor of burnished silver. He raised his hand in salute, and said, 'The Chariot of the Lord and thy horsemen thereof.' Then he disappeared."

Many of us might take these reports and conclude that Cayce was a true prophet, that his experiences were from God. And, indeed, they were from "God," the god of this age. He can appear as an angel of light. He can present himself in many different forms. But only to those who are open to him. Cayce was suited to such contact; otherwise it would not have occurred. The "psychic" constitution of Cayce made it possible for this god to appear to Cayce. His is not an isolated case.

Part of Cayce's many "readings" dwelt on the theme of reincarnation. Those remarks denigrated Jesus. Cayce might have been a Bible-totin' man, but his trance statements were blasphemous.

"He, our Lord, was the first of those who put on mortality that there might be the opportunity for those forces that had erred in spiritual things . . . He came, this soul we know as Jesus, in many different ages, as a spokesman to 'manifest the first idea.' These incarnations (or those of the incarnations mentioned in the Bible) were given as Melchizedek, Joseph, Joshua, Jeshua, and finally Jesus."

Consider the blasphemy of this statement. Jesus was the first to reincarnate. He came in many previous ages, because of "those forces that had erred in spiritual things." In other words Jesus had erred spiritually. To provide Jesus an opportunity to correct his errors he lived other lives. Thus in previous lives he was Melchizedek, Joseph, etc.

Another phase of Cayce's pronouncements which enchanted many people were his predictions of great earth changes. He stated that California would slide into the ocean "in '68." If this was meant to be 1968 his prediction was a gross failure. In a reading dated 1932 he stated that world political turmoil would result

". . . from the shifting of the equilibrium of the earth itself in space, with those consequential effects on various portions of the world." "The wars, the upheavals in the interior of the earth, and the shifting of the earth by the change in the axis as respecting the portions from the polaris center."

In addition to his other "powers" Cayce sometimes spoke in foreign languages while in trance.

How did Cayce possess such powers? The "powers" displayed by Cayce did not originate in his unaided mind. They came from another mind which entered his mind. Thus he "knew" the circumstances and conditions of distant persons.

"Through merging his own subconscious, his followers felt, with that of a Universal Consciousness that had existed since the beginning of time, recording everything that had ever happened. And he remembered so well, his followers insisted, because he had lived in all these ages, his soul ever recurring in a new body."

The "Universal Consciousness" was none other than the devil's consciousness, a mind that has meticulous memory of every human mortal, of every moment, of all planetary time since he arrived here to rule this world. He could easily describe other people in other places, either living at the moment, or at any time or place in the past. He could diagnose their condition, and prescribe "cures" because he is so thoroughly familiar with human ailments and their causes. He knows all world languages inside out and could speak them through Cayce's body when he usurped mind control. He could estimate great earth changes because he is intimately familiar with the past cataclysmic upheavals of the earth; he knows the weak points of the earth's crust. Furthermore, he has a sickness about past lives. He greatly desires to capture a time when he was still loyal to God. He would love to return to that time. But he made an irrevocable decision. He brought trouble and woe to untold millennia of time. And he cannot forgive his Creator for the sentence pronounced upon him. He has vengeance in his heart. He will do anything, regard- less of cost, and with the utmost cost he can devise, to ruin the plans of his Creator. Cayce was only one of his many attempts.

Contrary to the common notion of a mild-mannered Bible-totin' Christian, Cayce was a chain smoker, with a volatile temperament. In many fits of rage he fired his personal secretary, only to reinstate her hours later. He also was unable to maintain himself financially throughout his life. When his boys were small the family had no income. In one case they had no wood to heat their home; electric lines-men sawed up a line pole and gave it to them. Around that time they had accumulated an $86 bill at the local grocer, who stopped supplying them. Someone gave them the money, but Cayce went out and bought fishing gear. At another time Cayce was arrested in New York for fortune telling.

At one period in his life he received considerable attention. A New York financier gave him the funds to build a hospital in Virginian Beach. But the man lost his wealth in the 1929 stock market crash, and Cayce had to close the hospital.

During World War II, fueled by the fervor of national crisis, Cayce intensified his efforts to help others. He would give several "readings" a day, thus exhausting his personal reserves. During this period he often entered into a state of involuntary trance; the "spirit" source would take over without Cayce's conscious permission.

With faith in such a man, and with such performances, many foolish and ignorant individuals committed their eternal careers.

ILLUSTRATION #2

SUN MYUNG MOON

"On Easter morning in 1936, Sun Myung Moon was deep in prayer on a Korean mountainside when Jesus Christ appeared to him and told him that he had an important mission to accomplish in the fulfillment of God's providence. He was then sixteen years old . . ."

The Holy Spirit Association of the Unification of World Christianity, (HSA-UWC), has produced several books showing the teachings of Sun Myung Moon. Moon does no writing of his own; his spoken words are recorded by his disciples and then put into printed form.

Moon was converted to Christianity as a youth and studied the Bible intensively until Korea was liberated from the Japanese at the end of World War II. At that time he began a public ministry, teaching those principles he had gleaned from his deep study, and as revealed to him from his "psychic" and "visionary" experiences. Korea was soon partitioned into north and south, with the Communists taking over in the north where Moon was then ministering. The Communists were determined to stamp out the "opium of the people." Because of Moon's aggressive evangelism and his large following he came to the attention of the Communist authorities. He was arrested and thrown into jail, where he was beaten and left for dead. He survived but was soon placed into a forced labor camp at Hung-nam, of such strenuous physical labor and with little food, that most inmates died. He again survived, bolstered by his belief that he was a special emissary to the world, and, after two years and ten months, was even give an award for his outstanding work record.

When the Korean war began Moon survived bombardment of Hung-nam and was freed by United Nations forces on October 14, 1950. He became part of a large exodus over mountain trails to South Korea where he formally began the Unification Church in 1954. He engaged in many preaching tours, and was soon traveling around the world. The church grew by leaps and bounds until, in 1975, there were headquarters in more than forty countries, and centers in more than 120 cities in the United States. His fame was sufficient, and his public statements on morality and the values of family life of such merit, that he came to the attention of many world leaders and was given audience by President Eisenhower. His more notable public events were mass marriages. In 1968 he married 430 couples in one ceremony in Seoul. In 1970 he married 777 couples from ten different countries and later married as many as 2,000 couples in one ceremony. He emphasized the value of the present industrial age, and the physical aspects of the coming "Kingdom of God." He believed the United States was God's instrument to save the world, and that Communism was the true Antichrist of this age.

Meanwhile Moon accumulated considerable personal wealth. His church engaged in massive financial and real estate investments, including such enterprises as the Washington Times newspaper and Insight magazine. After great controversy over his recruiting techniques in the late 1970's, and his arrest for income tax evasion in the early 1980's, the church experienced a steady decline.

Moon's teachings show the origin of his "psychic" and "visionary" experiences.

"Moses performed even greater miracles than Jesus did."

"If God had wanted His son to be crucified, He did not need 4,000 years to prepare the chosen people. He could have sent Jesus to a tribe of barbarians, where he could have been killed even faster."

"John the Baptist unconsciously witnessed to Jesus when he was moved by the spirit, but he did not dream of Jesus really becoming the Lord or savior."

"Jesus was less than John in many ways. John was highly educated. Jesus was a carpenter's assistant. John was highly esteemed, and was recognized as a great prophet. Jesus was ignorant of academic knowledge."

Moon believed himself as the "Lord of the Second Advent" because Jesus failed his mission. Moon was to be the "physical" Messiah while Jesus, because of his failure, was the "spiritual" Messiah.

"Jesus came to establish a perfect world in his lifetime, not over a period of centuries. The Second Coming was made necessary only by lack of fulfillment at the time of the first coming."

Moon believed he held a status equal to that of Jesus.

"Just as Jesus revealed himself with the new truth, the Lord of the Second Advent will reveal himself with God's new truth in our time."

He also believed he might suffer crucifixion as did Jesus.

"At the same time they may be in the process of trying to crucify the Lord of the Second Advent himself if he appears in a manner different from their own experiences.

"Then, may I ask, what would you do if the Lord returned to earth as a man of the flesh? What would you do? I am telling you, the Lord of the Second Advent will in fact appear as a son of man with flesh and bones."

Thus we see the high status he held for himself.

These "revelations" came out of his "visionary" experiences.

"I learned them from Jesus. Yes, I learned them from God."

"I am going to speak about some new revelations from God which are very vital to the understanding of all Christians . . . I am only bearing witness to the truth. Sometimes testimony to the truth is a painful task. Yet it is my duty to fulfill.

"You may ask again, 'With what authority do you say these things?' I spoke with Jesus Christ in the spirit world. And I spoke also with John the Baptist. This is my authority."

"The mission of the Messiah is a physical, realistic one. As a man he must come up from the bottom of human misery. He must come from the most miserable nation and lift the human status from the slave position, to the servant position, to the adopted child position and to the direct child position by physically putting together the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth. That is the mission of the Messiah."

Moon's perversions are a blend of his visionary experiences, and their driving influence upon him, his handicapped recognition of New Testament teaching, his lack of perception of Old Testament prophecy, and his concentration on the physical rather than the spiritual. He is unable to recognize the true Kingdom of Heaven. And that lack of perception is rooted in his experience of Caligastia as an angel of light.

Jesus warned us that many would come in his name, claiming to be the Messiah. Moon is only one of many who make such claims today.

But how are we to judge between visions provided by the rebel Prince, and those which come from God? What is the essential difference between Paul's experience on the road to Damascus, and those of Cayce or Moon?

We are now in a position to answer those questions more precisely. The difference lies between those phenomena which do not enter human mind, and those which do. When Jesus appeared to Paul he came external to Paul, presenting himself upon Paul's exterior senses. The appearance of Caligastia depends on the manipulation of neural currents, invading the mind of his human targets.

Without question those experiences had profound effects on those men. Both Cayce and Moon were driven to extraordinary lengths by their psychic experiences. And both fell prey to the diabolical enticements of a spirit entity who did not have their well being as his concern.

These are examples of the types of phenomena which will shortly break out upon our world in more amazing display.

DEVIL POSSESSION

JANE ROBERTS A