Messages from Beyond Spiritualism and Spiritualists in Melbourne's Golden Age 1870–1890

by Gabay, Al

• ISBN13: 9780522849103
• ISBN10: 0522849105
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1997-03-11
• Publisher: Melbourne University Press

Summary

History of the spiritualist movement in Melbourne during the period 1870 to 1890. Explores the origins of the spiritualist movement and relates its rise and fall to the wider intellectual and religious currents in colonial Australian society. Demonstrates that for most believers the seance was not a scientific enterprise but a religious and highly ritualised event. Includes photographs, appendix, notes, bibliography and index. Author is Senior Lecturer in History and Religious Studies at La Trobe University, Bendigo Campus. He has published numerous articles in scholarly journals on aspects of the spiritualist movement in Australia. Previous title is 'The Mystic Life of Alfred Deakin'.

Author Biography

Al Gabay is Senior Lecturer in History and Religious Studies in the School of Arts and Education at La Trobe University (Bendigo campus).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Introduction: A New Dispensation?	p. 1
The Organization of the Cause	p. 14
A Rational Religion	p. 43
Mediums, Speakers and Prophets	p. 71
William H. Terry and the Harbinger of Light	p. 92
Schismatics, Secularists and Sabbatarians	p. 130
The Seance as Ritual Event	p. 175
Conclusion: A Spiritual Science	p. 206
Appendix	p. 218
Notes	p. 220
Bibliography	p. 234
Index	p. 242
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