burden of guilt of man's sin, and a victory wrought for us upon the Cross.

 

Nevertheless, it is clearly true that the recognition of the nearness of our friends who have died, and of their progress in the spiritual life, and of their continuing concern for us, cannot do otherwise, for those who have experienced it, than add a new immediacy and richness to their belief in the Communion of Saints.

 

There seems to be no reason at all why the Church should regard this vital and personal enrichment of one of her central doctrines with disfavour, so long as it does not distract Christians from their fundamental gladness that they may come, when they will, into the presence of their Lord and Master, Jesus Christ Himself, or weaken their sense that their fellowship is fellowship in Him.

 

It is claimed by Spiritualists that the character of many events in the Christian revelation, as recorded in the Gospels, is precisely that of psychic phenomena, and that the evidence for the paranormal occurrences which Spiritualism has adduced strongly confirms the historicity of the Gospel records, in the sense that they also are records of paranormal occurrences, including instances for example, of clairvoyance (in the story of Nathaniel) and of materialisation (in the feeding of the five thousand, and above all in the narrative of the Resurrection appearances).

The miracles of healing are acclaimed as closely parallel to the healings performed through mediums. It is strongly urged that if we do not accept the evidence for modern psychical happenings, we should not, apart from long tradition, accept the Gospel records either.

 

It is certainly true that there are quite clear parallels between the miraculous events recorded in the Gospel and modern phenomena attested by Spiritualists. And if we assert that the latter must be doubted because they have not yet proved capable of scientific statement and verification, we must add that the miracles, and the Resurrection itself, are not capable of such verification either.

 

We must therefore ask what the proper Christian grounds of belief in these central truths of Christianity are.

 

The answer to this question is clearly that we believe upon a basis of faith, and not of demonstrable scientific knowledge.

 

Our grounds for this faith are to be found either in a direct mystical assurance that Jesus of Nazareth, as we have received Him, is indeed God's word to us, or, more broadly, in the apprehension of ethical and spiritual values.

 

We do not accept the Gospels because they record wonders, but because they ring true to the deepest powers of spiritual apprehension which we possess.