By Lionel Fanthorpe

Many religious people – especially those who describe themselves as conservative traditionalists and fundamentalists – seem to be very nervous when anything paranormal or supernatural comes along.  They suspect that anything appertaining to ghosts, poltergeists, UFOs and the like is somehow connected with Satan, demons, evil spirits or imps.  Consequently, they feel they must have nothing to do with it. 

Unfortunately, this irrational prejudice against paranormal phenomena prevents them from taking part in the kind of open-minded, objective research which is both fascinating to carry out and informative to conclude.

I’m an ordained Anglican Priest, and a liberal, modernist theologian. The God I believe in is the all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving ruler of as many universes as exist. I also believe in the unique mission of Jesus of Nazareth, and in another life that follows this one, where we shall be happily reunited forever with those who have gone ahead of us. 

I deplore the ecclesiastical rules, regulations, church hierarchies, creeds, liturgies and rituals that ruin spiritual life. Love, kindness and generosity are the best forms of worship.

However strange certain paranormal phenomena may seem to us, however far outside the limits of our 21^st century natural sciences they may go, they are all well within such a God’s control.

The many gifts that God has bestowed upon us include freedom of choice and curiosity – the very healthy intellectual desire to find out as much as we can about the cosmos in which we live.  Exploring and researching are among the most enjoyable things we can do, and God has given us a marvellous environment to explore.  From the credible reports of many reliable and sensible witnesses, our cosmos seems to include ghosts, poltergeists, werebeasts, cryptozoological specimens, UFOs, extra-terrestrials – and a great many more inexplicable phenomena.  Investigating them is just as religiously acceptable as analysing chemical compounds in a laboratory, studying the stars in an observatory, or writing exciting new programs for a computer.

Religion should be based on rational thought and logical deduction – and so should all worthwhile science.  The scientific method starts with observation of the data; it then goes on to categorise what’s been observed. Next, it puts forward an explanation and tests it repeatedly.  If the hypothesis stands up to every test the scientist can think of, it gets promoted to the rank of a scientific law – but that doesn’t make it immune from subsequent re-testing.   Religion should use a similar process to reach spiritual conclusions.    

This suggests that we would be wise to be on our guard against any religion that forbids us to explore the unknown. The unknown is there to be explored, and the more vigorously and fearlessly we explore it, the greater the sum-total of human knowledge will become.  Knowledge is power, and wisdom is a very valuable treasure. Religious taboos and prohibitions do humanity a grave disservice.  God gave us our minds – and the right to use them to think and explore all the wonders that surround us: including the paranormal wonders.

The Rev Lionel Fanthorpe is a man of many parts. Following an early career as a writer of sci-fi and supernatural novels, he has also been a management consultant and a head teacher at a comprehensive school, as well as an Anglican priest. He is a well-known lecturer, writer and broadcaster who, together with his wife Patricia, specialises in investigating unsolved mysteries. Lionel is president of both ASSAP (The Association for the Scientific Study of Anomalous Phenomena) and the British UFO Association.

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