Theos-Talk Archives (July 2001 Message tt00324)

Dear Gregory,

Can you remind us how the fraud was said to have been carried out in the
case of the Cottingly Fairies.

...Peter

> -----Original Message-----
> From: gregory@zeta.org.au [mailto:gregory@zeta.org.au]
> Sent: 27 July 2001 20:46
> To: theos-talk@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: Theos-World Huizen, Apostles and clairvoyance
>
>
> John Beer's posting (24/7/02) requires some comments.
>
> 1. Leadbeater and the Apostles
>
> There is no evidence that Leadbeater accepted or even considered
> seriously Arundale's claims about the "Twelve Apostles", and substantial
> evidence (including material from those present at the time) that he
> positively rejected all the "Huizen Revelations". Incidentally, Rukmini
> Arundale denied (in an interview with me) that her husband had "brought
> through" any "revelations" at all in Huizen in 1925, let alone
> "revelations" about the "Twelve Apostles". This was in spite of published
> transcripts of the announcements of the "revelations". Of course, the
> whole "Huizen" drama is omitted from official Adyar histories. According
> to Dick Balfour Clarke (who was with him at the time he received news of
> the "revelations") Leadbeater was horrified by them all and considered
> them to be madness. In his usual fashion, Leadbeater said nothing in
> public to bring the "revelations" into question.
>
> 2. Dora Kunz as clairvoyant
>
> The assertion that Mrs Kunz is a clairvoyant (whatever that may mean) is
> based on her claims to be such. Evidence? Well, she has published a book
> describing (a la Hodson) clairvoyant visions of fairies. It is worth
> recalling the Hodson also published an account of the "Cottingley
> Fairies", now known to have been a fraud (albeit probably an innocent
> one) by the girls who originally claimed to have photograph the fairies
> concerned. Hodson, apparently, clairvoyantly observed the fairies whose
> pictures had been fraudulently fabricated by the girls who "introduced"
> him to them. His clairvoyance apparently did not extent to recognizing
> the fraud. It is probably worth stating (this should arouse some
> controversy!) that there is not a single published statement by any
> Theosophical "clairvoyant" that has been supported by scientific
> evidence. Either the claims were so vague and untestable as to be
> meaningless, or they have been positively disproved by subsequent
> scientific data. One might note Leadbeater's claims about life forms on
> Mars .... It would seem a relatively simple matter to demonstrate by
> clairvoyance (if such a power exists) some knowledge which could not have
> been known by the clairvoyant at the time and is subsequently (contrary
> to the received wisdom of the time) proved to have been true. Might I
> enquire whether anyone can produce a single example of such a test being
> successfully met? Hodson's laughable "clairvoyant" claims in his work on
> the origins of Christianity made pathetic reading in the light of
> contemporary archaeology.
>
> Dr Gregory Tillett
>
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>
>