WHY EVEN SPIRITUALISTS MIGHT TAKE THE KNOCK TALE WITH A TINY PINCH OF SALT
Daniel Dunglas Home, Spiritualist Medium, “Light is the single test necessary and it is a test which can and must be given”.
Meaning: spiritualist demonstrations such as materialisation of spirits and levitation for example must take place in daylight to deserve investigation and credence. This an excellent rule of thumb in all cases. I wonder how often Jesus supposedly appeared in daylight?
Home himself was guilty of fraud and did work in the dark at times and there
are things that are too easily explained by trickery. But some say he did manage
what seem to be verified paranormal supernatural feats.
Christians wish that the resurrection of Jesus could be the best supported
miracle. But that is not true. Witnesses to an event may be lying and many times
you cannot prove it or show it. There are cases of witnesses like that who say
rival miracles have happened. And we can speak to those people which
automatically gives them an advantage over and more credence than dead apostles.
Jesus' most important appearances to the apostles when he gave them the Holy Spirit and when Thomas supposedly inspected the hands and side may have happened in the dark.
The Christian claim, "If we trust human nature at all we will trust the
resurrection accounts" is a crafty over-simplification. They mistrust
better accounts of miracles they don't want to believe in. It is serious
if the miracle of Jesus coming back to live forever and heal us of evil is not
as credible as say a Muslim having stigmata like Muhammad as a sign that
Muhammad was right that Jesus never died on a cross at all. It is serious
if Jesus curing a bleed a woman suffers from rises higher on the evidence scale
than his resurrection.
What can we glean from Home anyway if it is the case that real wonder workers
may cheat at times?
It would warn us that we should not be founding religions on people with
supposed powers. There is no evidence that such powers make them any more
reliable than somebody without them. Home would still surpass the gospel
standard of evidence.
And what if supposed powers work well enough at times to make
people think they have met a man raised gloriously from the dead?
You can use the powers to trick with.
David Hume said reports of magical events and miracles may be true but they
cannot get over the suspicion that untruths or lies or errors are involved. Here
we show that even if they are true, they are to be regarded as interesting but
they remain warnings to keep away from those who do them. Don’t follow that
person as a religious leader. Don’t give money.
What has this to do with Knock? The evidence is that most
trickery happens in the dark. We should listen to Home.