The Press Debate

The currents beyond the Society itself can be found in the public reception of its work, illustrating these conflicting currents of thought. A Press article about the ‘Parade of Old Contemptibles’ Service in Christchurch Cathedral, relates the sermon of Anglican Archbishop West-Watson, who said that the shift of civilisation away from Christianity ‘has met with a rise in dictatorships and perverse worldly states’. A subsequent letter from a certain ‘ELMS’ agreed with the majority of the sermon, but claims that it is not a turning away from Christ, but the corruption of ‘Master Jesus’ by Pauline theology. The original, pure Christianity was in agreement with ‘Psychic science’, and a favourable report was recently made by Anglican authorities, who subsequently declined to let it be published. These workings showed cracks of acceptance in the orthodox establishment, but unease about their public reception.

This acceptance quickly drew detractors. A letter from ‘PERTINENS’, on July 30, 1949, ridicules spiritualism as ‘fluffy-mindedness’ which blended Old Testament miracles with scientific pretence. More scientific methods were needed than recourse to mediums. Pertinens then suggested that the ‘psychic cult’ had gone underground, because their previous church building had been demolished many years before. Here we have the voice of an articulate scepticism, suggesting a much wider public opinion.

Coming to the rescue of the Spiritualist cause, ‘O. G. Moody’ answered that the Church used by Spiritualists was previously Lutheran, in decline and given to them, before the First World War, but returned to Lutheran use after around 1920. Spiritualist services could currently be found at 272 Madras St. In the previous year, 1948, there was a service attended by nine hundred at the Civic Theatre. Pertinens was still not convinced, claiming that ‘meetings in mean rooms’ suggested a decline. Against this hostility, ‘R.C. Munro’ insisted that Psychic Research ‘was non spiritualist affiliated, and is non-sectarian’. it was part of an international federation. Contradictions have begun to accumulate, added to by ‘J.S. Mander’ who argued that the purpose was a merger of spiritualist societies, according to the former Lutheran Minister. All ‘E.L.M.S.’ could say, known to be Edgar Lovell-Smith, was that ‘stones and mortar’ were less important than the ongoing work of healing.

Others attacked the expense of such undertakings. ‘Old Dom’ complained that the truly spiritual gave their money to the poor – recommending the Sisters of Nazareth on Brougham Street for their work for the needy – instead of extravagant whims and ‘hoarding.’ Agreement was found from ‘Inasmuch’, comparing the practicality of giving to the frivolity of séances. Critics of the Spiritualists were many, but they too had to keep a low profile in their attacks.

Nevertheless, supporters of the Spiritualist cause could be heard also.  A disgruntled ‘I Listen’, who complained that while Christ and his disciples often spoke to the dead, most modern churches were too suffocated in doctrine to be of any help to the seeker of the age? Another ‘Spiritualist’ called for a full-blown spiritualist temple, with a red lamp in memory of the dead - non-practising believers should not criticise those who did their best. Of course, the disunity and bickering of the Spiritualists themselves were to blame for any decline. In this public environment, defences were much needed. Obviously, you took your chances by supporting Spiritualism under your own name. Anonymity allowed more freedom.

However, more striking is the letter from ‘Astrology’, who in the midst of this fray, asked whether Rosicrucians could be found in Christchurch. What does thswwwwwwis suggest? In the midst of a very public dispute, the curious could anonymously explore their secret questions in plain sight. There were no Rosicrucian groups in Christchurch which we know of, but was this the first step to finding the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn in Havelock North? The questions of the motivations behind the pseudonyms show how buried feelings could very quickly rise to the surface of public discourse.

The public reception of Spiritualism was a prickly affair, thriving on questions of the paranormal, yet vulnerable in the face of public common-sense. With the aid of a false persona, however, opinions could surface in the public sphere, bringing the spirits of the darkened room into the light of day.

Scrapbook of the Christchurch Psychical Research Society Inc., Macmillan Brown Library, University of Canterbury Manuscript 165, 61-62