The March 2020 meeting moved into the realm of
spiritualism and parapsychology as we looked into works of nonfiction and
fiction which pondered the possibility of a spirit world and its ability to
commune with our own. Some works were
lighthearted while others took seriously matters of a spirit life after death,
the ability to communicate with the spirits of loved ones who had passed, and abnormal
or unexplained phenomena attributed to the presence or intervention of
spirits.
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| Arthur Conan Doyle's "Behind the Veil of Death" |
Doyle, Arthur Conan. "Behind the Veil of Death." If I Could Preach Just Once (New York:
Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1929): 159-180. In this anthology, thirteen prominent figures
of the time respond to the query: If you could preach just once, what would
your message be? These eminent laity
respond with essays which "cover the essentials of religious
experience." A. C. Doyle offers an
indictment of the Christian church for its "apathy and ignorance
concerning [the] spiritual knowledge" of those who identify as
spiritualists, and complains of the church's treatment, "nothing but the
coldest of receptions has been accorded us." While Doyle wrote prolifically about
spiritualism, "Behind the Veil of Death" was penned specifically for
this anthology and seems never to have been reprinted or published elsewhere.
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| Life After Life and Making Sense of Nonsense |
Raymond Moody, Jr. is a philosopher, psychologist,
physician and author known for his books about life after death and near-death
experiences (NDE). Commentators note
that several elements and features of the NDE appear to be similar across
cultures, but the details of and interpretations of those experiences vary among
cultures.
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| Title pages signed by Raymond A. Moody, Jr. |
Moody, Raymond, Jr. Life After Life: The Investigation of a
Phenomenon – Survival of Bodily Death.
Marietta, GA: Mockingbird Books, 1993. Reprint of the first edition published by
Guideposts in 1975. Second
printing. Signed by the author on the
title page.
Moody, Raymond, Jr. Making Sense of Nonsense: The Logical
Bridge between Science & Spirituality.
Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 2020. First edition. Signed by the author on the half title page.
