I AM HERE. Francis Bacon.

I have been with you tonight as you have read, and was somewhat interested in what James Hyslop had to say in his article on Christianity and Spiritualism. Many things that he puts forth are true, and explain very satisfactorily why many of the miracles, so-called, of the Bible, may be believed. As he says, they are not different in the nature of their operations, or in the exercise of the law that produced them, from the physical phenomena which are manifesting themselves at this time among the investigators of Spiritualism; and if, today, the same law in its force that was brought into operation by Jesus and the disciples could be called into operation, the same or similar phenomena would be produced. Of course, a great deal depends upon the medium and the amount of rapport that may be created by the communicating, or, rather, operating spirit. For it must be understood that all the supposed miracles were the results of the work of spirits who, by reason of the harmony existing between themselves and the mortals, were able to call into operation the laws which were necessary to produce the results called miracles.

At the present time, there may not be persons who have sufficient development of these psychic powers, which were possessed by Jesus and the others, to produce such phenomena as they produced. But there have been many mortals since his time sufficiently gifted with these powers to cause manifestations very similar to those of the primitive Christian times, especially as regards healing and the like. And, today, much healing is being performed by mortals, and which is attributed to various causes, such as mental healing and faith cures, but which is really due to the exercise of spirit powers by spirits whose duties are to perform that kind of work.

Mortals, of themselves, cannot bring into operation any of these laws, either of mind or soul, but are dependent upon the cooperation of spirits who use some of the properties possessed by these mortals to bring into exercise the laws which only can produce the healing.

And, here, I desire to state that it is not necessary that the mortal be of a highly spiritual development in order that the powers of the spirit world may effect and change the conditions of the material of earth. For the laws which control the material are sufficient, ordinarily, to bring about the healing of the physical or mental diseases of men. Therefore, you will find many mediums, and others not recognized as mediums, having this power of healing.

The healing of the body and the healing of the soul require the workings of different laws. And while spirits, not having very much soul development, may successfully cooperate with mortals in like condition in healing bodily ills, yet, such spirits are impotent to heal the diseased soul, or the purely spiritual condition of men. But spirits who have the power to produce the latter healing may also heal the body. And this you must know: that no spirit who is not what may be called physically whole or sound can cause the healing of a physically diseased mortal. For power of this kind can be possessed by, and proceed from, only those spirits who are perfectly healthy and sound in their material nature. These spirits, while they have cast off the gross, physical material of the mortal, are still material so far as the spirit body and form and the properties which compose the same are concerned.

The material of the universe is not confined to, or entirely comprised of, what mortals may suppose to be the only material—that is, that which may be sensed by their five senses or some of them. What is of itself material is always material, no matter what form it may assume, and whether or not it is visible or invisible to mortals. The larger portion of the material of the universe is in the invisible world, though subject to transformation into the visible and re-transformation into the invisible. And the laws governing and controlling the material are the same, whether that material be visible and knowable to men or not.

This material has its quality of persistence after supposed death or destruction, although the form of its manifestation be changed. And, from this, you will see that he who is known as the materialist, with his supposed want of belief in immortality or the continuity of existence, is in error even as to the material world of which he assumes to have special knowledge. And, being in error as to this, how can he claim to be right when he asserts that the purely spiritual has no possibility of continuity of existence, or, as some understand, of immortality?

Well, I have written enough, and feel that you will pardon my intrusion. But I also feel somewhat justified in writing as I have done.

With best wishes, I am

Your friend,

FRANCIS BACON.