The Debatable Land between this World and the Next

An examination of spiritualist phenomena and an argument of the belief's importance by one of its leading nineteenth-century proponents.

An examination of the phenomena of spiritualism and a consideration of where it sits in relation to Christianity, this work was written by Robert Dale Owen (1801–1877) who left Scotland for the US and became a prominent American politician and social reform campaigner.Robert Dale Owen (1801–1877) left Scotland at the age of twenty-four to help run an experimental colony in New Harmony, Indiana, established by this father Robert Owen, the social reformer. While in the United States, he became a prominent proponent of slave emancipation and public education, eventually joining the Indiana legislature before moving on to become a member of the United States Congress, which led to his posting as a diplomat in Naples. In addition to his political interests, Owen was fascinated with the world of spiritualism. In this work, published in 1871, he assesses Protestantism and Catholicism and considers how spiritualism can 'confirm the truths and assure the progress of Christianity'. He goes on to explain at length the characteristics of spiritualism, including the physical manifestations and identity of spirits, as well as his own experience of apparitions.