A Lawyer Presents the Evidence for the Afterlife

When I was working on my own book Survival in the early 1980s, my chapter on evidence considered the topic both from a scientific and legal point of view, and I consulted the then authoritative book on the subject, namely On Evidence, by Sir Rupert Cross. This is very significant for a case history approach as one-off events cannot be repeated in a laboratory so that one is trying to ascertain what is actually the case and whether it has been reliably reported and indicates proof beyond reasonable doubt. The doubt of what Zammit calls the closed-minded sceptic is far from reasonable and rejects any evidence on a priori grounds. This never entails looking at the evidence or actually trying to disprove it, but rather ignoring it altogether. In this book, the Zammits present a compendium of evidence not only about the afterlife, but about psychic faculties more generally. It is not a question of belief, but rather about weighing the evidence, of which a great deal has accumulated over the last 140 years. When sceptics are cross-examined, they usually come up short because they simply don't know what they are talking about. I remember a TV programme where a studio member said that reincarnation was impossible, but he had read nothing, including Ian Stevenson. His opinion was therefore uninformed and consequently invalid.

The impressive bibliography lists all the main sources, while the topics covered in the 32 chapters include mediums, near death experiences, out of body experiences, deathbed visions, remote viewing, mediums, xenoglossy, past life memories and instrumental trans-communication. In my view, some areas of evidence are much stronger than others, but the whole historical accumulation has been sufficient to convince the vast majority of open-minded sceptics who previously knew nothing about the topic. Sir William Barrett is correctly quoted as saying that 'I have failed to find that a single person who ridicules the evidence for the afterlife has given to the subject any serious and patient consideration.' The final chapter contains what I think is an excellent summary of points gleaned from the afterlife literature that can be repeatedly observed. Even taking this short section on board would be helpful to people unfamiliar with the field. A combative and courageous book on a vital topic.