- 36 - 5. 0 Spiritism in the Light of Modern Science Prior to when I became acquainted with communication with the spirit world, I had had no knowledge of the possibility of such communication, having read neither books nor journals dealing with the subject. Similarly, throughout the time in which I was receiving from my guides in the Beyond the teachings recorded in this book, I had no contact with other spiritistic circles nor did I consult any spiritistic literature. As a clergyman, I devoted my full attention to the truths that were imparted to me week by week through the mediums and that, more than anything else, caused a fundamental change in my religious views. My hours of study were devoted to the Scriptures, as I was eager to learn whether the new truths that were demolishing the structure of my previously held beliefs agreed with the teachings of the Bible. • The Holy Writ was my criterion. • Moreover, the spirit world was constantly urging me to compare my newly acquired knowledge with what is in the Bible. At our religious meetings, the spirit that manifested itself regularly took up the Bible and explained its contents. However, after a certain time, when I had absorbed the new picture of the truth, and it had become my firm conviction, I was told to acquaint myself with present-day spiritistic phenomena. This would give me the opportunity of testing and interpreting these phenomena in the light of the laws imparted to me. Should I witness anything that I could not understand, I could obtain the desired explanation by asking for it at one of the séances I attended. From the outset I resolved to test only those phenomena of whose genuineness there could be no question. At about that time, early in 1928, I heard of a scientific journal published with the cooperation of eminent professors from almost all countries, and devoted to the discussion of occurrences that cannot be explained by any known natural laws. This periodical is entitled: Zeitschrift für Parapsychologie4 (Journal of Parapsychology). “Parapsychology” is the science of things beyond the scope of the familiar laws governing the psyche. I used the 1926 and 1927 volumes of this journal, the earliest published, as the material for my comparative studies. The facts related therein are so thoroughly substantiated as to leave no room for doubt regarding their authenticity, and they embrace all phenomena observed in the realm of spirit communication. To be sure, the periodical confines itself to reporting the facts. Opinions differ widely on how these facts are to be explained. Modern science refuses to recognize the existence of a spirit world responsible for these phenomena, and it is only very occasionally and with the greatest 4 Zeitschrift für Parapsychologie, Oswald Mutze Publishers, Leipzig.
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