Communication With the Spirit World (1932)
Download: PDF — Communication With the Spirit World (1932)
Greber - Communication with the Spirit World
COMMUNICATION WITH THE SPIRIT WORLD ITS LAWS AND PURPOSE
Personal Experiences of a Catholic Priest
by JOHANNES GREBER
Fight for the truth until death and God will fight for you! Sirach 4:28
Translated from the German Second Edition
Translation corrected and revised by Joseph F. Greber and Elsa Lattey (2006) Greber - Communication with the Spirit World
Copyright of German original
Der Verkehr mit der Geisterwelt
by
JOHANNES GREBER
Copyright extended 1960 by Elizabeth Greber
Copyright of this revised English translation: Elsa Lattey 2007 Editors' note:
The Bible quotes in this English translation have been translated directly from those given in the German text. As there are many different English Bible translations and these do not necessarily match existing German Bible translations (in the case of the German Bible quotes in this text sometimes one English translation is closer and sometimes others), we chose to treat the Bible quotes in the same way as the remainder of the text - we have sought to render as careful a translation into English as possible of Johannes Greber's German text (including the Bible quotes). We took the English translation done by George Knoblauch in 1937 as our base and corrected it, with respect to both content and style, to more accurately represent the German second edition of Johannes Greber's Der Verkehr mit der Geisterwelt.
Any translation encounters language-specific restrictions. Several shall be mentioned here because they are significant throughout this work.
The German word "Mensch", plural "Menschen", is a masculine noun that refers to human beings, irrespective of their gender. It is not always possible to smoothly capture this gender neutrality in English and so the nouns "Mensch" and "Menschen" have been translated in various ways in our text, including "man", "mankind", "people", "human beings", "mortals", in an attempt to produce natural-sounding English and yet allow for inclusion of both genders.
A similar language-specific structural difficulty lies in the fact that German pronoun reference is governed by the gender of the common noun that is the pronoun's antecedent, not by the gender of the person or persons referred to. So, for example, "die Person" is a feminine noun meaning 'the person' and would be textually referred to with the pronoun "sie" ('she'); "der Mensch" is a masculine noun meaning 'the human being' and would be referred to with the pronoun "er" ('he'); "das Medium" is a neuter noun meaning 'the medium' and would be referred to with the pronoun "es" ('it') - although each of these nouns could be referring to men or women. This text-cohesive distinguishing of antecedents by noun gender is not possible in English pronouns, and we have opted for the simpler generic "he" where both men and women are meant, which is generally the case throughout the book. For the word "Geist" ('spirit'), which is masculine in German, we have generally used the pronoun "it", as it is sometimes necessary to distinguish "der Geist" Greber - Communication with the Spirit World
from "das Medium" (a neuter noun) in passages where both are continually referred to.
Where the spirits speaking to Johannes Greber through the mediums refer to his "bisherige Kirche" or "bisherige Religion", we have inserted "[Catholic]" * to identify the denomination being referred to.
JFG and EL, July 2006
Joseph F. Greber died July 22, 2006, shortly after completion of our work on this translation of his father's book.
EL Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
1-10
Spiritism as judged by public opinion, by the church, and by the Bible
2-6
How and why this book was written
7-8
What should be considered in judging it
8-10
PART ONE
Personal Experiences in the Field of Spirit Manifestations
11-58
My First Step Toward Communication with the Spirit World
12-20
A challenge to investigate spirit communication
My reservations
My acquiescence
The first séance
A surprising communication
15-19
The Decision
21-26
I am taught about spirit communication as reported in the Bible
22-24
I am told to test all spirit communication
24-25
My decision
The Corroboration of the Truth
27-58
Experiences in my parish and explanation thereof
27-38
A tour of my parish church with a medium
38-42
A member of a monastic order attends spiritist meetings
42-43
Predictions about personal matters come true
43-46
Greber - Communication with the Spirit World
A medium imparts a message in a train compartment
44-45
An important document is sent to me by someone I do not know
46-47
Experiences during my stay in America
47-50
The death of my friend is foretold and comes to pass
50-52
The tombs of Egyptian princes
52-58
Evaluation of my experiences
PART TWO
The Laws Governing Spirit Communication with Material Creation
59-160
Introductory Remarks
60-61
All of God's Creation underlies laws
60-61
The Law of Odic Force (Life Force)
62-86
"Od" as the spiritual life force
62-64
Matter as condensed od
64-65
The growth of living beings
64-65
The odic radiation of heavenly bodies
65-66
The process of odic condensation
Strengthening and weakening of odic force
68-69
The healing power of od
69-70
The odic aura
Odic vibrations
70-72
Od as the bearer of physical sensations
72-73
The odor of od
73-74
Od as the reflection of destiny
74-76
Human destiny
75-76
Greber - Communication with the Spirit World
Od and clairvoyance
76-78
The color of od
78-79
The capacity of od to take on shape
79-80
Odic currents as power currents
80-81
Invisible provision of nourishment(odic feeding)
81-82
Sources of od for spirit communication
82-85
How od is employed in spirit communication
84-85
God as the source of all odic force
85-86
Biblical References to the Use of Odic Force in Spirit Communication
87-96
Od as flame and cloud
87-88
Odic power currents on Mt.Sinai
88-89
The cloud of od in the New Testament
Sacrificial offerings in the Old Testament as the od source for God's speaking
90-95
The Tabernacle in the light of preparation of the od
92-95
The nature of the sacrifices
95-96
Mediums
97-109
Table mediums
98-99
Writing mediums
99-100
Planchette mediums
100-101
The high priest's breastplate
Speaking mediums
101-102
Apport mediums
102-103
Materialization mediums
103-104
Physical mediums
104-105
Greber - Communication with the Spirit World
Clairvoyance, Clairaudience and Clairsentience
105-109
The Development of Mediums
110-126
The purpose of medium development
110-113
Liberation and cleansing of od
111-112
The medium's own spirit leaves its body
112-113
The "spiritistic séance"
114-122
Spiritistic churches
122-123
Individual spiritistic Divine worship
123-124
When is spiritism harmful?
124-125
Biblical Accounts of Mediums and Schools for Mediums
127-142
True and false prophets
127-128
Abraham and Moses as mediums
129-130
Samuel and his school for mediums
130-131
The dangers for mediums as related in the Old Testament
132-134
The development of mediums in antiquity
133-136
The mediums of the early Christians
136-137
What the Apostle Paul has to say about spirit communication and mediums
137-142
Inquiring of God as Recorded in the Holy Writ
143-148
Inquiring of God was established custom among His people
143-144
Inquiring of God in the days of Moses, Joshua and David
143-146
God's answers
147-148
Greber - Communication with the Spirit World
What is Meant in the Bible by "Inquiring of the Dead"
149-160
The concepts "death" and "the dead" as used in the Bible
149-150
Idolatry is a form of inquiring of the dead
150-154
Saul and the conjurer in Endor
155-159
PART THREE Spirit Communication in the Post-Apostolic Age and in Modern Times
161-234
Introductory Remarks
Spirit Communication in the Post-Apostolic Age
163-175
Communications from the demons in pagan idol worship
163-165
The speaking of idols
165-167
The work of God's spirits
167-169
The trance state in the Christian mediums
169-171
How to distinguish the spirits
171-172
The clairvoyance, clairaudience and clairsentience of the mediums in the Post-Apostolic age
172-173
The development of mediums in the Post-Apostolic age
173-174
The later "Church" forbids spirit communication
174-175
The Part Played by the Spirits in the Lives of a Protestant and a Catholic Clergyman in the Nineteenth Century
176-204
The experiences of the Protestant Minister Blumhardt
176-196
The experiences of the Catholic Priest Vianey
196-204
Spiritism in the Light of Modern Science
205-234
Introductory Remarks
205-206
The medium Kluski in Warsaw
206-218
Description of the phenomena observed with the medium Kluski
207-213
Greber - Communication with the Spirit World
Explanation of the phenomena
213-218
The Brasilian medium Mirabelli
218-228
Mirabelli as a speaking and writing medium
218-221
Mirabelli as a physical medium
221-222
Mirabelli as an apport medium
222-223
Mirabelli as a materialization medium
223-227
Explanation of the phenomena
227-228
Clairvoyance at a deathbed and explanation of the observations
229-232
Special instances of clairvoyance and clairsentience and their explanation
232-234
PART FOUR
Messages from the Good Spirit World Concerning the Questions of Religion
235-393
Introductory Remarks
236-237
God
238-244
God's personality
239-240
God's omnipresence
240-241
What God knows
240-243
Misconceptions about God held by different creeds
243-244
God's Creation and its Fate
245-257
The creation of the spirit world
245-247
The unity of the created spirits
247-248
The revolution of a part of the spirit world
249-250
Punishment of the rebels
250-252
Paradise as a spiritual sphere
253-253
Greber - Communication with the Spirit World
Testing the spirits in paradise
253-255
The spirits' course of action and its consequences
254-257
God's Plan of Salvation
258-275
Stages of progress for the ascent of the fallen spirits
258-260
Erroneousness of the Biblical story of Creation
261-265
The truth about the creation of the first pair of human beings
262-267
Procreation of the human race
267-268
The spirit spheres, created after the Redemption
268-270
Deliverance of the fallen spirits by a Redeemer
270-274
Christ-His Life and His Work
276-324
My questions about Christ
Christ as the guide of mankind
277-278
Christ seeks bearers of the faith
Abraham's loyalty to God is tested
Moses and the exodus from Egypt
280-282
The dangers of idolatry
283-285
The human birth of Jesus
287-290
The mother of Jesus
290-291
The brothers and sisters of Jesus
291-292
Jesus' childhood
293-295
Jesus' human weaknesses
295-297
Jesus first becomes aware that he is the Son of God
297-298
The temptation of Jesus in the wilderness
298-301
Jesus' mission
301-304
Christ is not God but God's emissary
304-314
Greber - Communication with the Spirit World
Christ as judged by those about him
308-309
Christ's connection with the spirit world
309-313
Earlier emissaries of God and the spirit world
313-314
Christ's sufferings and their significance for the Redemption
315-319
The mother of Jesus was not present at the Crucifixion
319-320
No resurrection of the dead from their graves on Good Friday
320-321
Christ's descent into hell and his victory
321-322
The path of the redeemed back to God
322-324
Christ's Teachings and Today's Christianity
325-393
God's spirit world as the bearers of the truth
326-328
Today's Christianity no longer accesses this source
329-330
The results of this are erroneous doctrines
331 ff.
There is no infallible papacy as a source of truth
331-335
There is no triune God
335-343
Falsifications in the Bible to support this erroneous belief
337-342
All of Creation will return to God
345-347
There is no eternal hell
347-350
The origin of the spirits of humans and"original sin"
350-352
The concept of sin
352-353
Resurrection of the dead is not a resurrection of their bodies
353-356
The significance of baptism
357-359
The sending of the spirit (Confirmation)
359-361
The significance of the Lord's Supper (Communion)
361-371
The false doctrine of transubstantiation
363-369
Penance – Confession – Absolution
371-374
Greber - Communication with the Spirit World
Penitential exercises-Celibacy
374-376
Poverty-Chastity in the form of celibacy-Obedience to human superiors as"ideals of perfection"
376-383
Indulgences-Saints-Veneration of saints
383-388
The significance of anointing the sick(last rites)
388-389
The priesthood in the days of the early Christians and today
389-393
Conclusion
394-396
The force of habit
Habit as the greatest enemy of the truth
The truth as a personal experience
394-396
The law of cause and effect as the basis for testing spiritism
394-396
The only way to learn the truth: communication with the good spirit world
Truth is a treasure
Introduction
These people scoff at anything they do not understand. (Jude:10)
Is there for mankind a life after death? Is there a Beyond? Is there a world of spirits, into which the spirits of human beings are received after leaving the body? And how shall we picture life in that other world? What fate is in store for us there?
Or does everything come to an end within the cemetery walls? When we bury the body there, do we inter the spirit also, and is nothing left of man, of all his hopes and fears, of all his struggles and cares, of all his joys and sorrows, of all his good deeds and bad, but a skull or a handful of ashes?
Again and again, these questions assail us. In the silent hours of serious illness they bear heavily upon the weary human heart. At every deathbed at which we stand, behind every coffin we follow, they tug at our soul. They arise from the mound above each grave, and are cut deeply into every tombstone.
Who will solve for us the great puzzle of the Beyond? To whom shall we carry our doubts that we may learn the real truth? Shall we ask the various religions and their ministers? They teach us to believe in a hereafter and in the survival of the spirit of man, it is true, but they weaken the force of their own teachings by denying the living on of the spirits of animals. For if animals do not live on, for what particular reason should the human race? Mankind and animals have the same destiny. Both are conceived and born in the same way. Both experience pleasure and pain, right and wrong, and one dies as does the other. This is confirmed by the Bible in the words: "The fate of man and the fate of the animals is one and the same. As one dies, so does the other; the same breath is in them all. Man is no better than the animals. Both are bound for the same end; both sprang from the dust, and to the dust they both return. Who can tell if the life breath of man goes upward, while the life breath of an animal goes down into the earth?" (Ecclesiastes 3:19-21)
Moreover, the various churches hold conflicting views on the most important questions of religion. We can, therefore, not look to them for a conclusive answer. Man, being fallible, is not a reliable guide in these matters.
To reach the truth concerning these questions there is but one way: if there is a Beyond, peopled by a world of spirits, we can obtain conclusive proof only if those spirits themselves will visit and enlighten us, for they alone can tell us the truth about the great questions relating to an afterlife. As long as the gap between the spirit world and our own remains unbridged, we shall remain in the darkness of uncertainty and endure the pangs of gnawing doubt.
But today, people laugh at those who merely mention the possibility of communication between spirits and the world of man; they laugh and ridicule, just as people have always ridiculed any views that conflicted with the popular beliefs of their time.
When Galileo taught that the earth revolves and the sun stands still, his contemporaries regarded him as mentally disturbed. The Church looked upon him as a heretic and excommunicated him. He was thrown into prison, and was able to put an end to his sufferings and persecution only by retracting what he had proclaimed.
When the first telephone was demonstrated at the Academy of Sciences in Paris, one of the most eminent professors of that institution called the whole thing a hoax, carried out by means of ventriloquy.
The same thing happened to all proclaimers of a new truth. Their contemporaries ridiculed, disdained, insulted, burned or crucified them.
So the world today laughs at those who seek to prove to mankind that there is a spirit world that is not barred to mankind, but with which we can communicate if we go about it in the right way and if we observe the necessary requirements. For there are laws governing the spirit world as immutable as any in force in the world of matter.
The doctrine regarding communication between the spirit world and man has been given the name of "spiritism". Today this word is in poor repute among the masses, although very few people really know what it means. "Spiritism" is regarded as a ludicrous fantasy of ill-balanced minds. People speak of "those spiritistic fools" with a sneer. — "These people scoff at anything they do not understand." (Jude:10)
In this battle against spiritism, the churches are fighting in the front lines. This is indeed difficult to explain, for those self-same churches teach that they have received their religious truths through communication with the spirit world. Judaism and Christianity are based upon the testimony of the Old and the New Testaments and hence rest entirely upon spiritism, for of all spiritist works, the greatest is the Bible, the larger part of whose contents hinges upon messages sent hither from the Beyond.
At every turn in the Scriptures we read of communication between the spirit world and our own.
The churches are therefore in no position to deny the communication with the spirit world that is reported in the Bible, unless they are prepared to saw off the limb upon which they themselves are seated. They try to defend their battle against spiritism by asserting that attempts to communicate with the spirit world are forbidden by the Bible, citing the injunction: "You shall not question the dead."
Just what does the Bible mean by "questioning the dead"? When the Bible speaks of the "dead", it does not mean those spirits that have become separated from the body by mortal death, but those who are spiritually dead. "Death", according to the Scriptures, is the separation of the spirit from God. The "dead" are therefore those who have been separated from God because of their unbelief and defection. They are the spirits of darkness. The "kingdom of the dead" is the kingdom of Lucifer, the realm of the opponents of God, the realm of lies and disaster.
According to the Scriptures there is a kingdom of the "dead" and a kingdom of the "living". It is within our power to communicate with spirits in either of these kingdoms. We can seek counsel of the "spiritually dead" in which case we would be consulting evil spirits, or, as the Bible terms it, "questioning the dead". Or, we may turn to the "living" in the Beyond, which would be seeking counsel from the good spirit world, or, as the Bible puts it: "inquiring of God".
To seek counsel from the "dead", that is, from the world of spirits separated from God, would be the greatest possible affront to God. It would be idolatry, which consists of communicating with evil spirits.
The necromancers of old were generally recognized as being knowingly and deliberately, in communication with the Powers of Darkness the demons. Hence God's stringent command voiced in the Old Testament, to root out the necromancers from among the people.
There is, therefore, only one clearly defined kind of communication with spirits that the Scriptures forbid, namely: communication with the evil spirits. On the other hand it is the duty of mankind to seek communion with God and with the good spirit world. "When someone tells you to consult 'necromancers', ask them if a people should not rather consult their God. Why should they consult the dead on behalf of the living?" (Isaiah 8:19) - "Ask me about things to come!" (Isaiah 45:11) The invitation to "inquire of God" was enthusiastically accepted by the faithful of all ages.
Among the Israelites it was a matter of daily occurrence. "Everyone who wanted to inquire of the Lord went out into the tabernacle of the congregation." (Exodus 33:7) God gave his answer in an endless variety of ways. His spirit messengers were in constant touch with the faithful. We find references to them throughout the Old and New Testaments.
If, therefore, we, as faithful servants of God, or, at least, as honest seekers after the truth, try to get into touch with the good spirit world, we are committing no sin, but rather obeying one of God's commandments. It is an important commandment, for only through contact with the good spirit world can we arrive at the truth. There is no other way.
For this reason, nowhere in the entire Scriptures are the seekers after truth told to go for guidance to their fellowman, but always to God and His spirits. This holds true also for the New Testament. At the time of his departure from the earth, there were many things which Christ still wanted to tell his followers and which they did as yet not understand. These matters were to be more fully explained to them later, however not by any human agency, but through God's spirits, which Christ would send them as messengers of the truth, whose actions would be discernible by the human senses. "You shall see God's spirits ascending and descending." (John 1: 51)
This ascent and descent of God's messengers was witnessed by the early Christians at their gatherings, whence the exhortation of the Apostle Paul to all Christians: "Endeavor to communicate with the spirits." (I Corinthians 14:12)
It is fundamental for the religious life of mankind that the truth about the great questions of life and the Beyond be sought not of men or in their interpretations, but by direct communication with God's spirit realm, which is the source of all truth. So God teaches us in the Old Testament, and Christ in the New. So, also, we are taught by the Apostles, and these teachings were obeyed by God's people before the birth of Christ and by the Christians of the early centuries.
As time went on, this fundamental doctrine was blotted out. Erring men usurped God's place and that of His spirit messengers as prophets of the truth. The preaching of the word of God became a "trade", to use the Apostle Paul's expression. Religion was imparted by human teachers, just like any worldly knowledge. And so it has remained down to the present day.
The spiritual leaders of the people became absolute lords in all matters pertaining to religion, and in this way accumulated ever-increasing worldly power. Ever more numerous grew the man-made ordinances laid upon the shoulders of believers in the name of religion. The one-time liberty of God's children was converted into religious serfdom. Whoever rebelled and tried to live according to his own convictions was punished with death. The blood of millions flowed in the name of religion.
The genuine texts of the New Testament disappeared and were succeeded by copies that differed in important points from their originals. Willful forgery was resorted to in order to lend the authority of the Bible to the man-made opinions and strictures that had been introduced in the course of time. It was a repetition of that state of things which God complained about so bitterly in the Old Testament through His prophets: "How can you say: We are wise; we are in possession of God's law? Lo, the pen of the falsifying copyists has converted it into lie. The wise men must therefore be ashamed and dismayed. They have thrown away the word of the Lord. What wisdom do they possess then?" (Jeremiah 8:9)
Modern scientific research has disclosed the fact that these forgeries extended like a devastating plague to all of the ancient documents. The Bible, the Church Fathers, the writings of Jewish and pagan authors, all of them were altered, to support the false religious doctrines that were current at the time.
This was all done out of sight of the common people, who accepted unquestioningly the so-called religious "truths" and interpretations presented to them by their spiritual leaders, and bequeathed them to their children and their children's children. And so it is to the present day. Religion is a legacy which all of us inherited from our parents and teachers, without stopping to use our own judgment as to its truth. Most people, it might be added, are not in a position to do so. For this reason, most of us who today are Christians would have been equally zealous followers of the Jewish or Mohammedan faith, if our parents had been Hebrews or Muslims.
This was not so in the days when men were in communication with the good spirit world. Then they could ask: "What is truth?" - and they received an answer. It was for this reason that Paul exhorted the early Christians to seek counsel of God, if their views on any point differed from his own. "And if in any matter you are of a different opinion, God will make it clear to you." (Philippians 3:15)
So plain a reference to the only way to arrive at the truth as that given in the foregoing passage by the greatest Christian apostle would have been impossible a few centuries later.
Whoever disbelieved the doctrines taught by the "Church", or whoever tried to arrive at the truth by inquiring of God, after the custom of the old Israelites or the early Christians, fell under the ban of the church and not infrequently perished at the stake. It is true that the unorthodox are no longer consigned to the flames, because today the "Church" has lost the power to ignite them, but the ban remains, and it would fall upon the greatest of the early Church Fathers if they were alive today and taught those doctrines which in their time they preached to the Christian people.
The path that led to God's spirit world has been blocked with rubble, and with it the road leading to the truth. Man-made opinions and rules have been used to erect religious structures in which mankind is invited to have a seat. Hundreds of creeds claim to be the dispensers of truth, one destroying what the other adores, one proclaiming as the unvarnished truth what the other condemns as abominable heresy.
Mankind can be freed from these fetters of error only if God will again today send us His spirits as heralds of the truth, as He did in the earlier millenniums.
It is not the "dead" or the "Kingdom of Darkness" or fallible men to whom we must turn, but to God. He is the same God today that He was then. He is no respecter of persons. He loves the people of today as dearly as He loved those of past ages. And as then He revealed himself to mankind through His messengers, so will He today.
It is to be expected that the "churches" will do their utmost to obstruct this road to the truth. This they must, since they will be fighting for their very existence. They consider themselves the infallible disseminators of truth.. Every one of them has its pope, whether or not he wears a tiara. Any instruction through God's messengers would be looked upon as destructive competition that endangers the continued existence of the church, since it is to be feared that the truths revealed by God's spirits will not be in agreement with the tenets held by the churches.
Obviously, there can be only one truth. Either this is in the possession of one of the many creeds, in which case all other creeds are in error, or else the truth is not to be found in any of them. When all is said, these words from Goethe's Faust apply to all religions without exception: "In gaudy pictures there is little clarity, a wealth of error and a grain of truth."
For twenty-five years I was a Catholic priest. I believed that mine was the true religion; was it not, indeed, the faith of my parents, my teachers and my spiritual advisers? Even if the proofs of its veracity did not completely convince me, I had no reason for refusing to accept that which was accepted as true by all of my fellow Catholics.
Furthermore, any voluntary doubt as to the truth of the tenets of my church would have been mortal sin according to its teachings.
I knew nothing of the possibility of communicating with the spirit world. My acquaintance with "spiritism" was confined to reading about it in the daily papers. I regarded it as a swindle and as self-deception.
Then came the day on which I took, involuntarily, my first step towards contact with the spirit world. I experienced things that moved me to the depths of my soul.
Once this step had been taken, I could not, dared not stop. I was compelled to go on in my search for clarity. Cautiously I advanced, keeping in mind the words of the Apostle Paul: "Put to the test all spirit communication; hold fast only to that which is good." (I Thessalonians 5: 21)
It was only "that which is good" that I wanted. I was seeking the truth, ready to accept it, whatever the cost. I knew that God does not desert the sincere, unselfish seeker, and that, as Christ said, He will not give a stone to those who humbly ask for bread.
I was also clearly aware of the serious consequences of my actions. I saw my position as an ordained minister, my entire material existence, my future here on earth destroyed, if I persisted. I knew that insults, persecution and suffering in immense abundance would be my lot.
But the truth was more than worth it.
I found the truth on the new road I had taken. It brought me inner freedom and happiness. The outward troubles that I suffered in consequence and that persist until today cannot disturb the inner peace that I have won.
It is the purpose of this book to describe the path that brought me into communication with the spirit world and laid the truth open to me. The book has been written in a spirit of love for my fellowman, regardless of their creed or outlook on life.
It is intended for all seekers after the truth, as a guide for all those who desire to communicate with the good spirit world in order to reach the truth and God by the shortest path.
Guidebooks for those who travel about the earth are written by persons who have visited the places that they describe in the texts of their works.
Such books are not written for people who expect to stay at home, but for those who want to get to know places hitherto unfamiliar to them.
This book of mine is meant to be a guidebook of that sort. It is designed to direct the reader to that bridge on which the spirit messengers from the Beyond meet us. Whoever, in the light of what is herein set out, steps upon that spirit bridge will find every statement that appears in this book fully confirmed.
I do not, therefore, expect any of my readers to accept at face value the statements contained in this book, without subjecting them to further proof. If they did, they would be basing their beliefs regarding the most important questions of life on the dictum of a fallible human being. This they must not do, for my assertion that the truths I have set down in my book derive not from me and my own thinking but from communication with the good spirit world in the Beyond could be deliberate misleading or selfdeception on my part.
I, as a weak, fallible and sinful man, can claim no greater trustworthiness than any of my fellowmen. I therefore do not ask to be believed blindly. But one thing I do ask: That the truth that was revealed to me be verified by the same road by which I found it. This road has been accurately described by me so that no one may fail to find it. The educated and uneducated, the rich and poor alike, all can travel it. No preparation, no special training, is required. No tolls are collected. Only one thing is indispensable: the desire for the truth. Those who seek it must be ready to accept the truth the moment it is presented to them in a convincing way, and they must be willing to model their lives accordingly. This book is not written for those who will not accept these terms. For them, no way leads to the truth, for God manifests His truth only to those who are of good will.
Those who do not have the desire for truth, who are not ready to explore the road that I am pointing out, thereby forfeit the right to pass judgment on my book. If, for instance, a chemist were to announce to the world that he had found a method of making gold by combining certain substances, and if he were to describe his process minutely, only those would be capable of expressing an intelligent opinion as to his claims who themselves had performed the experiments described by the chemist, and who had faithfully followed all of his directions.
I am certain that this book contains the truth. "For I know whom I have believed." (II Timothy 1:12)
I need not fear that those who follow the path indicated by me will find anything to conflict with what I found. Everyone who has heretofore followed my advice and has sought to enter into communication with the good spirit world has had experiences precisely like my own.
Nevertheless, my book is sure to encounter many bitter opponents. Not so much among the great mass of the people as in those circles for which the acceptance of the truth would mean heavy material sacrifices, the clergy of the various religious denominations. The creed they have been preaching to their congregations has provided them with a livelihood. If, now, in consequence of a change in their way of seeing the truth, they are compelled to make alterations in the things they profess, they will cease to be clergy of their respective creeds and lose their daily bread, which their position has hitherto guaranteed them. To give up a life position and to go out into the uncertainties of the world poor and beset by enemies is one of the greatest sacrifices a person can make. Not many will make it. They would sooner do without the truth.
It was for this reason that the Jewish priests waged so bitter a war on Christ and his doctrines. Their livelihood was in danger. They did not study Christ's teachings to enable them to say whether these were right or wrong, but unloosed their deadly hatred upon him whose words threatened to alienate the people from them and thus to undermine their influence with the masses. This is why he had to die. The curse of being the most relentless opponent of the truth, of those who sought it and of those who proclaimed it, rests to the present day on the priesthood of all religions. With fire and the sword, the priesthood has slain millions under the outward flag of battling against heresy, just as the Jewish priests in condemning Christ hid behind the accusation: "He has blasphemed God." But the real reason, then as in later ages, was their fear of the total or partial loss of temporal influence, worldly honors, offices and revenues. Of course there have been and still are exceptions. Today perhaps more than before. But these latter-day Nicodemuses can no more prevent the spiritual leaders of today from passing the death sentence upon the truth than could the first Nicodemus.
The clergy of today will therefore not only repudiate my book, but will refuse to test the veracity of the statements it contains in the way herein described. And yet, it is a path that everyone can take with a clear conscience. Or is it perhaps reprehensible for a clergyman or a layman to sit down, alone or in company with others, to worship God in the privacy of his home, turning to Him with song and prayer, and begging of Him the fulfillment of Christ's promise: "If you, then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Heavenly Father give a holy spirit to them that ask Him?" (Luke 11:13) Is it by any possibility a sin to study the truths of the Holy Scriptures at such a service, to discuss them with others and to pray for true insight?
Is it a sin to join hands on such an occasion after the manner of the early Christians and with inner composure to concentrate one's thoughts on higher things, repenting of human mistakes, forgiving one another and beseeching God to help us and to send us the Spirit of Truth that Christ promised to his followers? Is there anyone who cannot do these things with a clear conscience? More than this I do not ask, for this road, and no other, was the one I traveled when I experienced what my book relates. No special privileges were extended to me; I received only that which any sincere searcher will receive. Indeed, many who follow my trail may receive far greater revelations than I did.
The fact that the things we learn in this way seem so incredible is no reason for refusing to set out upon the path indicated, for God expressly promises to show us the unbelievable in the words:
"Ask me, and I will answer you, and show you great and incredible things which you did not know." (Jeremiah 33:3)
The Author.
Easter, 1932.
Greber - Communication with the Spirit World
PART ONE
Personal Experiences in the Field of Spirit Manifestations My First Step Toward Communication with the Spirit World
So I thought about it, trying to understand, but it was too hard for me, until I entered into communication with the spirit world of God. (Psalm 73:16-17)
It was late in the summer of 1923. At that time, I was the Catholic priest of a small rural community. In addition to my clerical duties, I was in charge of a charitable association, whose headquarters lay in a nearby city. I made two trips a week to the office of this association in order to attend to the charitable activities.
It happened one day while I was at the office that a man came in and asked me: "What is your opinion of spiritism?" Before I could answer, he went on to tell me of his own experiences, relating that he was in the habit of attending a sort of divine service held once a week by a small group, the members of which would pray, read the Scriptures, and afterwards discuss the passages they had read. Among those who attended these gatherings was a young boy of about 16 or 17. He was from an unpretentious family, had only an average education, and was an apprentice in a private firm. At the séances this boy would frequently fall over forward as though dead, but would be immediately pushed back into an upright position in a series of jerks as though by an invisible force, after which he would sit with his eyes closed and impart wonderful teachings to his hearers. He would also answer the questions addressed to him, refusing to answer, however, all queries of a purely materialistic nature. At the conclusion of his teachings he would again fall forward and instantly regain full consciousness. Of what had happened and what he had spoken he had not the least recollection. The boy, said my informant, was healthy and bright and felt no discomfort, headache, or any similar symptoms as a result of these occurrences.
The man ended his story with the words: "Now, I am anxious to hear from you what you think of it all. But before you express an opinion, please attend one of our meetings, so that you may see for yourself what goes on there. You will have the opportunity to address questions of your own to the boy."
I had been listening to him with the closest attention. What was I to say? I neither knew nor understood anything about so-called "spiritism".. True, I had occasionally read accounts in the daily papers about the exposing of mediums and about similar spiritistic swindles, nothing at all favorable.
But now I, a serious minded individual and a clergyman into the bargain, was being asked to enter upon this ground and to run the risk of making myself ridiculous. That was out of the question. I was, it is true, tempted by the idea of testing from a scientific point of view the phenomena that had been related to me, if this were possible when I was alone and in the privacy of my own study. But visit the homes of others and expose myself to gossip, that I did not want to do.
I therefore told my visitor frankly that I had had no personal experience with "spiritism" and that I was in no position to express an opinion on the things he had witnessed. I said, furthermore, that I had grave doubts as to the propriety of my accepting his invitation to attend one of the meetings he had described, that I owed consideration to my cassock and could not run the risk of being branded openly as a "spiritist", for my presence at these gatherings would undoubtedly soon become generally known.
The man would not accept these reasons, but replied: "This is a most important matter, about which you, as a clergyman and a man holding a public position, should be informed. At any rate I consider it your duty to investigate the matter and, after having done so, carefully and impartially, to form an opinion. This will probably not be the only time you are asked about these matters in your life, for to whom should we laymen look for clarification but to our spiritual leaders, whom we trust to tell us the whole truth. This subject can no longer be disposed of by ignoring it. Right here in Germany the number of spiritist circles is growing daily. They can be found in almost every town of any size. I am well aware that the churches want to brush spiritism aside as a fraud or as the Devil's work, but the issue will not be settled in that way.
"If it is unpleasant consequences that you fear, you need not worry on that score. The public will not learn of your presence at our meetings, for the few participants are people of discretion and will avoid doing anything that might harm you. So you needn't worry about agreeing to come!"
"I could not deny the force of his arguments: he was right. If we clergymen who aspire to teach and guide the people refuse to make a personal investigation of the truth of such manifestations as he had described, who else is there to make it? Who could be more vitally interested in these matters than the clergy of all creeds? For if spiritism were to prove to be true, it would be of utmost significance for every religious community.
Consequently, after some hesitation, I agreed to go to the meeting that was to be held on the following Sunday evening.
For the next few days my mind was constantly busy with the subject. At times I regretted having accepted the invitation, as the unpleasant consequences that my action might bring upon me loomed ever larger in my imagination, the more I thought about them.
Anxiously I awaited the coming Sunday.
After the conclusion of the afternoon Divine service, I went to the city, intending to take care of a few pressing matters at the office of the charitable organization before going to the meeting. In my coat pocket I carried a slip of paper on which I had jotted down the questions I intended to ask the boy that evening; being of a theological nature, they would require rather lengthy answers. I myself was unable to answer them and merely wanted to find out what explanation the boy would have to offer.
On arriving at the office, I found a letter from the man who had invited me to the meeting. In it he said that the meeting would be held, not, as originally planned, at his home, but at that of another family whose address he gave. It had been so ordered.
This unexpected change surprised me and aroused my suspicions. Was I being trifled with? The family to whose residence the meeting had been transferred I did not know even by name. Should I risk embarrassment among utter strangers? Perhaps, after all, the whole thing was a trap set for me. I made up my mind not to go.
In order not to keep the gathering waiting for me in vain, I sent a messenger to the man with a note stating that I would not attend the meeting.
It was not long before he appeared at the office in person, asking me to reconsider. He said that the change in the place of meeting had been no doing of his, but had been ordered from a source that must be obeyed, and that perhaps the reason for the change lay in the fact that the meeting would be less likely to attract attention at the other house than it would at his own. In the end, I went.
It was half past seven when we arrived. I was cordially greeted by the family and could see that they were pleased at my coming. Since the meeting was not to begin until eight, I had ample opportunity to talk with the boy, who had also arrived beforehand. I asked him a number of questions to enable me to judge the extent of his learning, and found that in this respect he was no different from the average youth of his age.
The séance began at eight o'clock. There very only a few of us, and I was surprised to find that the gathering was not to be held in the dark, as I had supposed was customary at séances, but that the room was left brightly lighted.
The opening consisted of a short prayer offered with great reverence by one of those in attendance. In fact, all the participants appeared to be deeply in earnest and inwardly composed.
No sooner had the prayer ended than the boy fell over forward with such a sudden jerk and loud exhalation of breath that I was startled. Had he not been supported by the arm of the chair in which he was seated, he would have fallen to the floor. After only a few seconds he was pushed upright in a series of jerks as though by an invisible hand, and remained sitting with his eyes closed. I could feel my heart beating faster in anticipation of what was about to happen.
"Gruess Gott [God's greeting]," he began, and immediately turned to me with the question: "Why have you come here?" He used the familiar form "du", which took me aback, as under ordinary circumstances the boy would never have dared to take this liberty.
"I came in search of the truth," I replied. "I heard of what takes place at these meetings and want to satisfy myself personally whether these things are true or false."
"Do you believe in God?" he went on and added, without waiting for an answer, "I know you do, but I want to ask you another question: Why do you believe in God?"
This question was so unexpected that I scarcely knew what to say. I had a feeling, too, of being confused, and consequently answered so inadequately that I was myself thoroughly dissatisfied with my answer.
"I had expected something better of you," he responded calmly, a remark which hit me like a slap in the face. I had come with the idea of exposing a piece of charlatanism, but in the first minutes I had been put to shame.
"The question that you have answered so unsatisfactorily we will return to later," he said gently, "and now it is your turn to ask me questions. I will answer them as far as I am permitted. You have with you a written list of the questions you want to put to me. Take out the slip on which you wrote them!"
The others looked at me with amazement, for no one had known of my list. My first question read: "Why is it that Christianity seems no longer to exert any influence upon the people of today?"
Without a moment's reflection or hesitation he began his reply. Incidental questions put to him or objections raised by others of his hearers he answered with amazing simplicity and clarity. According to my shorthand notes his statement ran as follows:
"The teachings of Christ in the documents that have come down to you are no longer complete nor are they in their original purity and clarity. In what is called the New Testament, a number of important sections have been omitted; indeed, entire chapters have been removed. What you have now are mutilated copies. Not knowing the originals, you are unable to determine what those mutilations are. Those who were guilty of these mutilations have been severely punished by God."
One of those present asked who it was that had thus mutilated the Holy Scriptures.
"That does not concern you," was the curt answer. "It is sufficient for you to know that it happened and that God has punished the culprits. What would it profit you to learn their names? You would only use the information to pass judgment upon them, and you know that you shall not judge your fellowmen. God judges. That is enough!
"Even a letter written by the Apostle Paul to all the Christian congregations has been destroyed. In it he had carefully explained those passages in his earlier writings that had given rise to misunderstandings. But his explanations were not in accord with many erroneous doctrines that had subsequently crept into the Christian faith."
At this point I asked him when it was that the first views that conflict with the true teachings had found their way into the Christian religion, to which he replied:
"To a small extent as early as the first century A.D. As you know, even during the lifetime of the apostles there were more than a few differences of opinion among the Christian congregations. Later, many erroneous human opinions and dogmas that do not agree with Christ's teachings were introduced. If you had the complete and unadulterated text of Christ's doctrines, many a load imposed by man in the name of religion and Christianity would be taken from your shoulders. Many a doctrine that you are expected to believe, even though it seems out of all reason, would be discarded because it would be recognized as being wrong, and you, as God's children, could again breathe freely.
As it is, millions of people feel that much of what is being taught today as a part of the Christian faith cannot be true. From force of habit, they may conform outwardly, but there is no inner effect, for they lack true conviction.
"There are many today who do not profess even outward adherence to Christianity. Instead of rejecting only those parts of it that are untrue, they discard altogether their belief in Christianity and in God, because they think that these things are all of one piece. And that is terrible.
"But the time will come when the teachings of Christ will be restored to mankind in their full purity and truth. In what way this will happen, you need not know for the present.
"Moreover, the originals of the documents of the New Testament, even where they have been preserved, have been altered in more than a few places. The copyists substituted words and whole phrases, left out a word here or inserted one there, thus altering the sense of the text to suit their purposes. In most cases they were trying to create passages in the Bible that would lend support to the religious views of their times, and to that end they falsified its text. They were not always conscious of the magnitude of their offense, but believed, rather, that they were serving the cause of religion. In this way the people were misled, and many of them feel in their hearts that they are not on the right path, even if they do not have the opportunity for clarification. The necessary consequence is that a religion so deprived of its roots can no longer exert any fruitful influence. Every doubting of the truth reduces its effect."
"May I ask you," I interposed with a feeling of apprehension, "to point out a place in the New Testament in which a word has been changed or omitted thus falsifying the sense of the text?"
"While this is not the right moment," he replied, "for me to go into the subject of these falsifications - I shall do that later when I come to explain the Bible as a whole - I will grant your request and name two places: one in which a word has been replaced by another, and one where a word has been omitted entirely.
"You are familiar with the exclamation of the Apostle Thomas, as rendered by your modern Bible: 'My Lord and my God!' (John 20:28) As a matter of fact, however, Thomas used the form of address always employed by the apostles toward Christ: 'My Lord and Master!' The word 'Master' was later altered into 'God'. Why this was done, I shall explain on a later occasion.
"A phrase from which a word was omitted and thereby its whole meaning changed should be of great interest to you personally, since you are a Catholic priest and believe that you have the power, as such, to pardon sins. What passage in the New Testament do you cite to support the claim that such power was conferred upon priests?"
I recited the following passage: "Whomever you forgive their sins, they are forgiven them." (John 20:23) He corrected me, quoting the passage verbatim: "If you forgive the sins of others, they will be forgiven them," and went on:
"The Greek word which you translate as 'them' also has the meaning of 'selves'. Now, in the original text the word 'your' stood before the word 'selves'. What today is rendered as 'them' was actually 'yourselves'. So in the original the passage reads: 'If you forgive the sins of others, they are forgiven to yourselves.' You can see how the sense of this passage has been distorted by the omission of the word 'your'. Christ here said nothing but what he had said repeatedly elsewhere, namely: 'You must in your hearts forgive your fellowmen the failings and sins which they have committed against you, so that you may obtain forgiveness from God for your own sins.' 'Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us'! Forgiveness is the hardest task in your lives, and it is for this reason that God gives you His special aid for the purpose. Christ, as you know, says in the same place: 'Receive a holy spirit! If you forgive the sins of others, your sins shall be forgiven you. If, however, you retain them - that is, in your hearts - then your sins will be retained by God.' Do you understand?"
Greatly abashed and pensive, I answered with a quiet "Yes", adding immediately: "So you think it is of no value for me, as a priest, to receive the confessions of others, seeing that I cannot grant them absolution? Are you saying that I should discontinue the practice entirely?"
"That is not necessary," he replied. "Since the Christians of your Church believe that they must confess to a priest in order that their sins may be forgiven them, you may continue to take their confessions, with a good conscience, as your office requires. It is not evil or forbidden by God to reveal one's sins to a fellowman. But do not think that you can forgive the sins of your confessants in God's stead. Your duty is confined to removing sinful thoughts from their hearts through advice, admonition and words of comfort and encouragement, so that they may return home as better men and women, and give evidence of their change of heart by their conduct.
Perfunctory confession and absolution is not only purposeless, but a desecration of the idea of a reconciliation with God.
"These questions which you have raised have led me away from my subject, to which I shall now return.
"Even though portions of Christ's teachings as contained in the copies of the old manuscripts that have come down to you have been purposely omitted or falsified to distort their meaning, enough of the true material still remains to enable people, by using it as a guide, to draw nearer to their God. Unfortunately, they cannot distinguish the true from the false.
"The foundation of Christ's teachings is, in his own words: 'Love God above all things and love your neighbor as you love yourselves.' Whoever obeys this command, fulfills the whole of Christian law. All other truths are merely supplements to this fundamental truth and helpful guides to the observance of the law in the life of each individual.
"And now I come to the last, but no less important reason why Christianity seems to have so little influence on the people of today.
"They do not find in their spiritual leaders any great observance, in practice, of the teachings of Christianity or of what these leaders themselves preach. That is true of the clergy of all Christian creeds. There are exceptions, but these are comparatively rare. Where can you find clergymen who could stand beside Christ without blushing? How many are there who share suffering, poverty and want with their brothers and sisters, for is that not what the members of their congregations are? Do they serve them as Christ directs, or do they not, in fact, dominate and exploit them? Will they do anything for nothing? Are there not clergymen who even take payment for the prayers they offer?
"As to the lives they lead, of that I shall say nothing now. It is a matter of which I should like to speak to you some day in private."
With these words he turned to me and continued:
"You plan to visit your family tomorrow. There is no need of such haste. Stay another day and come back here tomorrow evening at half past seven. Then we two can talk in private. So tell this boy through whom I am speaking, as soon as he comes to himself again, to be here at that time."
In conclusion he offered a prayer in a language strange to me and, raising his hands in an attitude of benediction, uttered the words:
"Blessed be you in the name of God! Gruess Gott!"
After this salutation the boy again fell forward as he had at the beginning of the meeting, opened his eyes and gazed about in astonishment. He could not understand why the hour was so late.. Of what had occurred, he knew nothing. He said he felt as though he had slept long and restfully and that he felt refreshed and perfectly well.
When I asked him to come back the next evening at 7:30, he declared that that was impossible. They had some urgent work to finish at his shop, he said, and he would most likely not get home before nine o'clock. His employer had already notified him of this.
Nevertheless, I decided to postpone my trip and come back the next evening at the time that had been specified.
As I walked back to my lodgings after the meeting I felt as though I had awakened from a heavy dream. The moon shed its silvery light on the rooftops and the stars shone peacefully in the clear night sky, but in me the fires of my thoughts blazed fiercely, and I knew that their flames were already licking at the beams on which the whole structure of my faith had heretofore rested.
Which told the truth: the creed of which I was a priest, or the voice that had spoken through that boy? Or had he concocted it all out of his own head and staged a farce at our expense?
Out of his own head? That boy? No, that was impossible. Rather would I accept any other explanation, however unlikely. I had, of course, here and there read about "clairvoyance", "the subconscious" and "telepathy", but none of these seemed to fit the case at hand. I therefore decided to carry my investigation further. I found the subject too important to ignore. For me, there was no turning back; I had to have total clarification. Perhaps the next meeting would carry me another step forward.
The Decision
I have chosen the way of the truth; thy judgments have I laid before me. (Psalm 119:30)
After a rather sleepless night I tried on the following day to relieve my tortured thoughts by strenuous application to work at the office of the charitable association.
Shortly before half past seven that evening I was back at the apartment at which the previous evening's meeting had been held. To my great surprise, the boy was there before me. He told me that at four o'clock that afternoon his employer had come to him with the announcement that he had changed his mind, and that the work that he had intended to have finished in overtime that evening would be put off until the next morning.
I was alone with the boy. As the clock struck half past seven he again fell forward as he had the day before into that state inexplicable to me, again greeted me with the salutation "Gruess Gott!", took my hand and said: "I am glad that you have stayed, for I have much to tell you. First of all, however, I must finish the last point of which I was speaking yesterday. You remember that I told you we would speak of that when we were by ourselves."
He now drew a picture of the lives led by a great part of the clergy. I listened, shaken and painfully moved.
Then, however, he said to me in the most kindly way: "Now talk to me openly and with complete confidence, for I know that since yesterday you have been in turmoil and that you feel lost."
In a voice trembling with inner emotion I answered: "You are right, my thoughts are in a whirl. I do not know what to think of it all. Please instruct me in everything, but above all tell me who you are, and how you are able to speak to me through this boy."
"You are right to ask me first who I am, for it is your duty to test the spirits that speak to you and to assure yourself that they were sent by God, since otherwise you might become the victim of evil spirits that would ruin you, body and soul, and that would not tell you the truth, but by lies would guide you to the path that leads over the edge of the precipice. - I swear to you before God that I am one of His good spirits, indeed one of His highest spirits, but my name keep to yourself."
…