Norman Vincent Peale
DEAR JEANETTE: I have been an ardent follower of Dr. Norman Vincent Peale and his “positive thinking” theories for many years. Recently I have been introduced to many of the ideas of mysticism and feel that there is a great deal of similarity between some of these ideas and Dr. Peale’s teachings. Do you know how he believes about the psychic ideas? MV., Boston, MA.
DEAR M.V.: Many years ago (1944, to be exact), I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Peale in person. He was already one of the best known ministers in America. We were a group of about twenty young people who were interested in becoming social workers and were in New York City exploring the needs and the resources to meet those needs.
Our leaders arranged a private interview for our group with Dr. Peale and it has remained one of the high-lights of a full and varied summer. I can even remember some of the specific questions and the answers which he gave; his dynamic personality and breadth of knowledge were very impressive. However, as far as I can recall, the subject of mysticism did not come up for discussion.
For many years, I have received much of the literature put out by the Foundation for Christian Living and 'Guideposts' magazine (both are connected with the Peales). I do not remember seeing anything specifically referring to the psychic in that either. Many of the experiences reported in 'Guideposts' however would fit my definition of psychic experiences.
While I cannot tell you specifically about Dr. Peale and his attitude toward the mystic (psychic), I would like to point out that there are many ministers today who because of their own experiences and/or training do understand much of what we refer to as psychic. After all, many of the most revered leaders of the churches (Christian and others) including Jesus, Himself, were psychics and seem to have come to prominence partly because of their psychic talents.
More recently, the admission of belief in the psychic would bring down the charge of witchcraft. Many of you reading this will know from experience that it is not always comfortable to talk about your beliefs.
Because of this, many ministers find it wise not to discuss such beliefs. They should not be ridiculed for this attitude because they have jobs to do and the great good that they can do would often be jeopardized if this ‘far-out’ side of their beliefs became generally known.
Hopefully persons such as you who see and can accept both sides, and perhaps even the publication of this column, will be helpful in changing the general opinion enough to keep people from feeling afraid to admit their honest beliefs.