Post by Mr. Jon Donnis on Feb 5, 2011 17:15:12 GMT
Victor Zammit Claims Alan Crossley Returned. But Where Is The Evidence?
Modern day physical mediumship is at something of a crossroads. From the halcyon days of Helen Duncan and Alex Harris where evidence was the 'golden fruit' of the Spiritualist tree, the intervening years have brought something of a famine to the soil of modern, public, physical mediumship. Many explanations for this have been offered and discussed through the psychic press and public chat forums over the years.
It is not my intention in this article to offer my own views on the mechanics of why this has happened. Suffice it to say that unless the standard of evidence is improved in public seances the future of physical mediumship is under threat of extinction.
Simon Forsyth offers a "One Thousand Pounds Challenge To Victor Zammit" to prove David Thompson can bring back Alan Crossley in a seance.
By Simon Forsyth
The following article was originally published on The Psychic Times website, and is republished here with full permission.
Usually we would not support such a site, however editor Simon Forsyth has in recent times taken a much more sceptical stance against physical mediumship, having grown a lot in recent years, he is now demanding that physical mediumship is taken out of the dark ages and into the 21st century.
Although we may disagree on many aspects of spiritualism and mediumship, I do agree with Simon with his stance against Victor Zammitt and David Thompson, and wholeheartdely support this challenge he has made.
Admin - Jon Donni
Victor Zammit has long been one of physical mediumship's most vociferous supporters. For several years now he has championed the Australian based medium, David Thompson. Through his weekly Afterlife Report, Zammit updates his readers on the latest seances given by Thompson; seances which regularly witness the alleged communications from personalities such as Harry Houdini, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Winston Churchill. While I applaud Victor's passion and wholehearted support of physical mediumship, I question his investigative methodology and his stated qualifications as an unbiased judge of physical mediumship.
On his website Victor describes himself as "a full time writer and researcher on empirical evidence for the afterlife." This is rather an ambiguous description since 'empirical' can mean 'relying on experience or observation alone often without due regard for system and theory'. A central concept in science and the scientific method is that all evidence must be empirical, or empirically based, that is, dependent on evidence or consequences that are observable by the senses. And since most, if not all, of David Thompson's phenomena is produced in the dark then the primary sense Victor is relying upon during these seances is his hearing. Hardly scientific, is it? Moreover, in the cases of Houdini, Churchill and Doyle the voices sound nothing like they did on earth and do not provide any audible evidence whatsoever in order to substantiate their validity.
So, upon what exact evidence is Victor basing his assumptions upon? A voice in the dark claiming to be Harry Houdini or Conan Doyle? As 'evidence', this is totally unscientific and can only be dismissed as ridiculous.
As a lawyer, Victor claims he is "an expert in the admissibility of evidence" and I also has "qualifications in scientific method". Then Victor should know that only relevant evidence is admissible. Admissible evidence, in a court of law, is any testimonial, documentary, or tangible evidence that may be introduced to a judge or jury in order to establish or to bolster a point put forth by a party to the proceeding. In order for evidence to be admissible, it must be relevant, without being prejudicial, and it must have some indicia of reliability. It must also tend to prove or disprove some fact that is at issue in the proceeding.
Non of the recordings of alleged deceased personalities 'prove or disprove' anything.
As to Victor's reference to the scientific method, let us look firstly at what the scientific method is:
The scientific method is the process by which scientists, collectively and over time, endeavour to construct an accurate (that is, reliable, consistent and non-arbitrary) representation of the world. It has 4 steps:
1. Observation and description of a phenomenon or group of phenomena. 2. Formulation of an hypothesis to explain the phenomena. 3. Use of the hypothesis to predict the existence of other phenomena, or to predict quantitatively the results of new observations. 4. Performance of experimental tests of the predictions by several independent experimenters and properly performed experiments.
Victor Zammit has not produced any evidence whatsoever by means of the full scientific method.
Now let me focus upon a recent claim of Victor's that the well known Spiritualist Alan Crossley communicated through the mediumship of David Thompson. I was fortunate to be a close friend of Alan's. I was a member of his home circle and he was the Features Editor of Psychic World while I was editor. I knew him intimately. In the April 4th Afterlife Report - Victor states:
Last Sunday night we had a most fantastic materialization session with medium David Thompson. The Circle of the Silver Cord has been working quietly to build the energy and it was one of the very best we’ve ever had. Three brilliant British mediums, Gordon Higginson, and for a very short time Helen Duncan, and one dedicated investigator of physical mediumship Allan Crossley materialized to pass information on to us.
A link is given to a short recording of 'Allan': Alan Crossley (Page opens in new window so please disable any pop up blockers.)
Once you have listened to this recording, watch the following video of Alan and compare the two voices:
Upon comparing the two voices it will be clear to the objective observer that there is not the slightest similarity between them. They do not sound alike in any way. The intonation, tone, accent, rhythm, stress and pitch contour of the two voices are completely different. Another important consideration is that at one point in the seance recording 'Alan' addresses Victor by his surname only - something Alan never did when talking to people. This is completely out of character.
The argument could be given that it is not always possible for the voice of the communicator to exactly match the voice as it was on earth. This may indeed be the case, and this is why in such instances it is extremely important that the evidence provided by 'non matching' voices is credible and verifiable.
So, let us examine the actual evidence that 'Alan' proffers as to his authenticity. Well, in the short clip we have heard 'Alan' provides no corroborative evidence whatsoever! Moreover, Victor Zammit or any of the other circle members present did not know Alan and are therefore unqualified to state (as Victor does) that it is Alan Crossley.
To recap: Victor Zammit claims that the voice heard in the seance recording is that of the deceased Spiritualist, Alan Crossley. The communicator does not sound like Alan Crossley, nor does the communicator provide one iota of evidence to support his contention. Yet Victor Zammit is quite happy to offer up this seance recording as 'evidence' of life after death! Remember, this is the man who states he is a "researcher on empirical evidence for the afterlife" and has "qualifications in scientific method"! There is nothing scientific about the 'evidence' Victor offers in support of his contention that the communicator is Alan Crossley for the simple reason that there is NO supporting evidence offered whatsoever! Remember, this is the man who claims to be "an expert in the admissibility of evidence". Hmmm....
At the beginning of this article I stated that unless the standard of evidence provided in seances was improved physical mediumship was under threat. By providing the above example of contemporary 'evidence', I hope the reader now understands what I mean and can appreciate the situation. To put this bluntly, Victor Zammit - despite his good intentions - is making a complete mockery of physical mediumship. We are expected to believe that voices recorded in the dark are of deceased people merely because Victor Zammit says they are. He provides no scientific research or scientific evidence in support of these claims.
I will now make the following request of Victor in order to give him the chance to substantiate his claims and provide actual evidence to support his contention that the voice in the seance recording is Alan Crossley.
One Thousand Pounds Challenge To Victor Zammit!
I request Victor Zammit to ask the personality claiming to be Alan Crossley 5 questions which I will provide. These questions will be posted on this website before the seance. I will then record a YouTube video detailing the answers to these questions but will not disclose its web address until Victor has uploaded a YouTube video which provide the answers. At a prearranged time, we will email each other the web address of each video - both of which will be posted immediately on this site at a given time.
Will Victor accede to this request? Maybe. More importantly, however, will the alleged spirit of Alan Crossley provide the correct answers to the questions? I do not think so. In fact, I will give one thousand English pounds to the charity of Victor's choice if this alleged communicator gives just three correct answers out of the five.
It is now time for Victor Zammit to demonstrate to the world that there is substance behind his rhetoric. He makes outstanding claims for David Thompson's mediumship. Well, let us see if he can provide some credible evidence - for without evidence his words are but sails without wind....
Stay tuned, I'll keep you posted on Victor's response.
By Simon Forsyth
Copyright: www.thepsychictimes.com
The views and opinions in the above article may or may not correspond with the views and opinions of BadPsychics.com. Full credit and copyright sits firmly with By Simon Forsyth
Modern day physical mediumship is at something of a crossroads. From the halcyon days of Helen Duncan and Alex Harris where evidence was the 'golden fruit' of the Spiritualist tree, the intervening years have brought something of a famine to the soil of modern, public, physical mediumship. Many explanations for this have been offered and discussed through the psychic press and public chat forums over the years.
It is not my intention in this article to offer my own views on the mechanics of why this has happened. Suffice it to say that unless the standard of evidence is improved in public seances the future of physical mediumship is under threat of extinction.
Simon Forsyth offers a "One Thousand Pounds Challenge To Victor Zammit" to prove David Thompson can bring back Alan Crossley in a seance.
By Simon Forsyth
The following article was originally published on The Psychic Times website, and is republished here with full permission.
Usually we would not support such a site, however editor Simon Forsyth has in recent times taken a much more sceptical stance against physical mediumship, having grown a lot in recent years, he is now demanding that physical mediumship is taken out of the dark ages and into the 21st century.
Although we may disagree on many aspects of spiritualism and mediumship, I do agree with Simon with his stance against Victor Zammitt and David Thompson, and wholeheartdely support this challenge he has made.
Admin - Jon Donni
Victor Zammit has long been one of physical mediumship's most vociferous supporters. For several years now he has championed the Australian based medium, David Thompson. Through his weekly Afterlife Report, Zammit updates his readers on the latest seances given by Thompson; seances which regularly witness the alleged communications from personalities such as Harry Houdini, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Winston Churchill. While I applaud Victor's passion and wholehearted support of physical mediumship, I question his investigative methodology and his stated qualifications as an unbiased judge of physical mediumship.
On his website Victor describes himself as "a full time writer and researcher on empirical evidence for the afterlife." This is rather an ambiguous description since 'empirical' can mean 'relying on experience or observation alone often without due regard for system and theory'. A central concept in science and the scientific method is that all evidence must be empirical, or empirically based, that is, dependent on evidence or consequences that are observable by the senses. And since most, if not all, of David Thompson's phenomena is produced in the dark then the primary sense Victor is relying upon during these seances is his hearing. Hardly scientific, is it? Moreover, in the cases of Houdini, Churchill and Doyle the voices sound nothing like they did on earth and do not provide any audible evidence whatsoever in order to substantiate their validity.
So, upon what exact evidence is Victor basing his assumptions upon? A voice in the dark claiming to be Harry Houdini or Conan Doyle? As 'evidence', this is totally unscientific and can only be dismissed as ridiculous.
As a lawyer, Victor claims he is "an expert in the admissibility of evidence" and I also has "qualifications in scientific method". Then Victor should know that only relevant evidence is admissible. Admissible evidence, in a court of law, is any testimonial, documentary, or tangible evidence that may be introduced to a judge or jury in order to establish or to bolster a point put forth by a party to the proceeding. In order for evidence to be admissible, it must be relevant, without being prejudicial, and it must have some indicia of reliability. It must also tend to prove or disprove some fact that is at issue in the proceeding.
Non of the recordings of alleged deceased personalities 'prove or disprove' anything.
As to Victor's reference to the scientific method, let us look firstly at what the scientific method is:
The scientific method is the process by which scientists, collectively and over time, endeavour to construct an accurate (that is, reliable, consistent and non-arbitrary) representation of the world. It has 4 steps:
1. Observation and description of a phenomenon or group of phenomena. 2. Formulation of an hypothesis to explain the phenomena. 3. Use of the hypothesis to predict the existence of other phenomena, or to predict quantitatively the results of new observations. 4. Performance of experimental tests of the predictions by several independent experimenters and properly performed experiments.
Victor Zammit has not produced any evidence whatsoever by means of the full scientific method.
Now let me focus upon a recent claim of Victor's that the well known Spiritualist Alan Crossley communicated through the mediumship of David Thompson. I was fortunate to be a close friend of Alan's. I was a member of his home circle and he was the Features Editor of Psychic World while I was editor. I knew him intimately. In the April 4th Afterlife Report - Victor states:
Last Sunday night we had a most fantastic materialization session with medium David Thompson. The Circle of the Silver Cord has been working quietly to build the energy and it was one of the very best we’ve ever had. Three brilliant British mediums, Gordon Higginson, and for a very short time Helen Duncan, and one dedicated investigator of physical mediumship Allan Crossley materialized to pass information on to us.
A link is given to a short recording of 'Allan': Alan Crossley (Page opens in new window so please disable any pop up blockers.)
Once you have listened to this recording, watch the following video of Alan and compare the two voices:
Upon comparing the two voices it will be clear to the objective observer that there is not the slightest similarity between them. They do not sound alike in any way. The intonation, tone, accent, rhythm, stress and pitch contour of the two voices are completely different. Another important consideration is that at one point in the seance recording 'Alan' addresses Victor by his surname only - something Alan never did when talking to people. This is completely out of character.
The argument could be given that it is not always possible for the voice of the communicator to exactly match the voice as it was on earth. This may indeed be the case, and this is why in such instances it is extremely important that the evidence provided by 'non matching' voices is credible and verifiable.
So, let us examine the actual evidence that 'Alan' proffers as to his authenticity. Well, in the short clip we have heard 'Alan' provides no corroborative evidence whatsoever! Moreover, Victor Zammit or any of the other circle members present did not know Alan and are therefore unqualified to state (as Victor does) that it is Alan Crossley.
To recap: Victor Zammit claims that the voice heard in the seance recording is that of the deceased Spiritualist, Alan Crossley. The communicator does not sound like Alan Crossley, nor does the communicator provide one iota of evidence to support his contention. Yet Victor Zammit is quite happy to offer up this seance recording as 'evidence' of life after death! Remember, this is the man who states he is a "researcher on empirical evidence for the afterlife" and has "qualifications in scientific method"! There is nothing scientific about the 'evidence' Victor offers in support of his contention that the communicator is Alan Crossley for the simple reason that there is NO supporting evidence offered whatsoever! Remember, this is the man who claims to be "an expert in the admissibility of evidence". Hmmm....
At the beginning of this article I stated that unless the standard of evidence provided in seances was improved physical mediumship was under threat. By providing the above example of contemporary 'evidence', I hope the reader now understands what I mean and can appreciate the situation. To put this bluntly, Victor Zammit - despite his good intentions - is making a complete mockery of physical mediumship. We are expected to believe that voices recorded in the dark are of deceased people merely because Victor Zammit says they are. He provides no scientific research or scientific evidence in support of these claims.
I will now make the following request of Victor in order to give him the chance to substantiate his claims and provide actual evidence to support his contention that the voice in the seance recording is Alan Crossley.
One Thousand Pounds Challenge To Victor Zammit!
I request Victor Zammit to ask the personality claiming to be Alan Crossley 5 questions which I will provide. These questions will be posted on this website before the seance. I will then record a YouTube video detailing the answers to these questions but will not disclose its web address until Victor has uploaded a YouTube video which provide the answers. At a prearranged time, we will email each other the web address of each video - both of which will be posted immediately on this site at a given time.
Will Victor accede to this request? Maybe. More importantly, however, will the alleged spirit of Alan Crossley provide the correct answers to the questions? I do not think so. In fact, I will give one thousand English pounds to the charity of Victor's choice if this alleged communicator gives just three correct answers out of the five.
It is now time for Victor Zammit to demonstrate to the world that there is substance behind his rhetoric. He makes outstanding claims for David Thompson's mediumship. Well, let us see if he can provide some credible evidence - for without evidence his words are but sails without wind....
Stay tuned, I'll keep you posted on Victor's response.
By Simon Forsyth
Copyright: www.thepsychictimes.com
The views and opinions in the above article may or may not correspond with the views and opinions of BadPsychics.com. Full credit and copyright sits firmly with By Simon Forsyth