The Conditionalist Faith of Our Fathers, vol. 2

III. African Newspaper Symposium Champions Spiritualism

Agitation on the popular level breaks out frequently, even in faraway places. For example: The Salisbury (Rhodesia) Sunday Mail of April 8, 1962, carried a front-page feature story quoting the Anglican Dean of Salisbury, the Very Reverend G. A. ffrench-Beytagh, as declaring that he “did not believe in spirit existence after death,” or in “life after death for the nonbaptized.” He asserted, furthermore, that “there was no spirit body that would go drifting up to heaven.” And he stated flatly that he “did not believe in Spiritualism,” and did not think that there were “any Anglican bishops who believe in Spiritualism.” ⁵¹ The declaration caused quite a furor, with a wave of dissent resulting. CFF2 1241.1

PREPONDERANT VIEW FOR SPIRIT SURVIVAL AND SPIRITUALISM

The next week the Sunday Mail (April 15) presented a clerical symposium headed, “Now the Churches Answer the Dean,” referring to his assertions of the previous week. Methodist, Anglican, Roman Catholic, and Presbyterian clergymen, as well as the Salvation Army leader, together with the three Spiritualist representatives, answered the Dean. Without exception they all held to continuing life after death. One Spiritualist cited the British “Churches Fellowship for Psychical Study,” with the bishop of Southwark as vice-president, and twelve other bishops among its patrons. These were enumerated, as of Bath, Wells, Birmingham, Carlisle, Chichester, Exeter, Peterborough, Sheffield, Truro, Wakefield, Worcester, Pittsburgh (U.S.A.), and London. CFF2 1241.2

Another Spiritualist referred to the Church of England Report on Spiritualism, and stated that the late Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Cosmos Lang, at a seance after his death, allegedly appeared and expressed his personal belief in Spiritualism. And the third Spiritualist claimed to be “the reincarnation of an Egyptian Priestess of 4500 years ago.” ⁵² These voices were from “religious leaders.” CFF2 1241.3

The following week, upon invitation, Sunday Mail readers took up the “Big Debate”—with more than one hundred responses. One held that “reincarnation” is the “most likely theory” of continuing life. Two others told of having received “spirit messages,” one being “convinced we all live again in another world.” Another wrote that “messages... through Spiritualism have helped me a great deal.” Still another asserted that “psychic research” has proved the case for “immortality.” ⁵³ So the debate continued. The preponderant view was that of continued life after death—with approval of Spiritualism. Thus the majority newspaper view, in Salisbury is Immortal-Soulist—with Spiritualism sanctioned. CFF2 1242.1