What is telepathy? Telepathy is the interaction of one subject with another without any external sensory medium or the perception of what is happening in someone else's soul (feelings, ideas) in a supersensible and direct way.
Telepathy embraces a vast field of facts, which includes the so-called transference or reading of thoughts and mental suggestion, when one (the agent) conceives, for example, a card, number, figure or other (mental suggestion on the one hand), and the other (percipient) guesses what was conceived, being in another room (reading thoughts from the other side, that is, transferring thoughts, mental suggestion plus reading thoughts. It should be noted that the precisely established terminology has not yet been observed.
The term telepathy itself means perception or feeling at a distance, perception of the distant. The phenomena of telepathy have been known since ancient times. There are countless attempts to explain them scientifically. Here is some of them. The famous scientist Mesmer explained the magnetising effect of the gaze by the outflow of a special weightless "magnetic fluid" from the body of magnetozers, obeying mechanical laws. The famous Baron Reichenbach taught about the widespread distribution in the universe of a special odic or odyllic force, which is in close relationship with the forces of the physical world. It was to this force that he attributed the phenomena of organic magnetism.
In modern times, they have already begun to talk about certain nerve impulses. The process of telepathic transmission of thought occurs as a special type of movement (brain waves), transmitted through "ether". There is nothing surprising in attempts at a purely physical explanation of the phenomenon of telepathy. These attempts are very natural and legitimate, although they should be treated with an excessive degree of caution. It is necessary to note the other - the mental side of telepathic action. The facts force us to assume that, in addition to the external senses, such communication can be established between two or more persons, that all acts of mental activity of one of them will be reflected in the mental sphere (in the brain) of the other - the perceptor or medium. This kind of communication can also be called telepathy.
The telepathic possibility of cognition can be viewed as a simple special case of another transcendent ability of cognition - absolute or direct clairvoyance. The following theories (telepathic hypotheses) can also be assumed. Interactions occur directly between the higher nerve centers (brains) of the persons involved. It is also likely that in acts of this kind there is a direct interaction between the spiritual principles of people. There is a possible point of view that stands between these hypotheses that there is some kind of spiritual perception, and the brain receives information. What is the significance of telepathy for the Christian religion?
In the facts of telepathy, the theologian finds for himself the positive psychological foundations of Christian doctrine or the concept of religion itself, which is thought of as a relationship between God and man. Telepathy tells us that the human soul is able to reflect on itself some external influences without the help of any visible sensitive organs, namely, the influence of another soul on it. Consequently, we have on face a fact quite similar to that which underlies the religious relationship between God and man. In view of such graphic evidence, there is no reason to reject the possibility and reality of religion in the sense of an effective union of God and man.
In addition, in the facts of telepathy, other positions of the Christian teaching are justified. For example, about the connection of the visible with the invisible, the teaching about angels, saints and their intercession for people, communication of the living with the dead through prayer. This is the positive significance of the study of telepathy for the theology of Christianity. But the facts of telepathic actions, when abused, can receive a completely opposite attitude. So, unbelief will not hesitate to look for support in them in the struggle against Christianity. The facts of such phenomena can serve as a popular "negative criticism" of faith and the formation in society of a rationalistic theory of subjective visions (if we are talking about clairvoyance, the phenomenon of the dead). In addition, a person may face the effect of various dark forces on his consciousness. Sometimes it is demons that are the source from which we receive knowledge on the spiritual level. There is a possibility that black is being replaced by white. A person who is fond of mediumship, clairvoyance becomes open to the action of dark forces on himself. Therefore, the Church does not favor extrasensory perception. This knowledge takes a person away from God and ideas about the world, its existence.
If mental perception tells us about the area in which there is no God, then this is evidence of the influence of forces that displease God's existence. We find confirmation of this in the statement of an apologist of the first centuries of Christianity that the human soul is by nature a Christian. It is to the extent of this that a person, as a being not only purely material, and strives for all sorts of mystical, mysterious knowledge. That which can be hidden from us in the empirical world. It is very important not to confuse the source and not fall under the influence of things and forces that are unacceptable to Christianity.
