The following letter, written to an orthodox minister of the Protestant faith, explains Esq. Padgett's experience and beliefs at the time of receiving the automatic writings.
Dec. 28, 1915.
DR. GEORGE H. GILBERT, Ph.D., D.D., Dorset, Vermont.
DEAR SIR:
I hope that you will pardon me for writing you as I herein shall, for your evident voluntary interest in a certain subject matter and my involuntary interest in the same, furnish the only excuse. I have read your article, "Christianizing the Bible," in the November issue of the Biblical World, and am much impressed with the same, not only because of its inherent merits but because its demands and suggestions are very similar to those which have been made through me in a way and manner which I can scarcely expect you to give credence to; nevertheless, I shall submit the matter to you recognizing your right to consider what it may say unworthy of your serious attention.
First permit me to state that I am a practical lawyer of 35 years experience and as such not inclined to accept allegations of fact as true without evidencing proof. I was born and reared in an orthodox Protestant church and until quite recently remained orthodox in my beliefs; that a little more than a year ago, upon the suggestion being made to me that I was a psychic, I commenced to receive by way of automatic writing messages from what was said to be messages from the spirit world and since that time I have received nearly 1500 such messages upon many subjects but mostly as to things of a spiritual and religious nature, not orthodox, as to the errancy of the Bible.
I have not space to name nor would you probably be interested in the great number of the writers of these messages, but among the writers is Jesus of Nazareth, from whom I have received more than 100 messages. I will frankly say, that I refused for a long time to believe that these messages came from Jesus, because God, while He had the power as I believed, would not engage in doing such a thing. But the evidence of the truth of the origin of these messages became so convincing not only from the great number and positiveness of the witnesses, but from the inherent and unusual merits of the contents of the messages that I was forced to believe, and now say to you that I believe in the truth of these communications with as little doubt as I ever believed in the truth of a fact established by the most positive evidence in court. I wish further to say, that to my own consciousness I did no thinking in writing the messages. I did not know what was to be written nor what was written at the time except the word that the pencil was writing.
The great object of these messages from Jesus as he wrote is to make a revelation of the truths of his Father. He asserts that the Bible does not contain his real teachings as he disclosed them while on earth; that many things that he said are not therein contained, and many things that are ascribed to him therein he did not say at all. And he wants the truths made known to mankind. And I must say that many of these truths which he has already written, I have never before heard of, and I have studied the Bible to some extent. One thing in particular impressed me and that is what the truth is of his bringing "life and immortality to light". The Bible does not state it, and I have not been able to find in any commentaries on the Bible an explanation of it. But enough of this: I merely wrote this to assure you that I am serious in submitting for your perusal the enclosed copy of a message; and I would not do this were it not for the fact that the message comments upon your article and also upon another article in the same issue of the Biblical World.
On the night of December 24, 1915, I read your article and on the next night, Christmas night, I received a writing of which the enclosed is a copy. You will observe that a portion of the message is personal, but I thought it best to send it as it came to me. And though you may not believe the origin of the message, yet you may find some thoughts therein for your consideration.
Trusting that you will pardon my intrusion, I will subscribe myself
Very respectfully,
(s.) JAMES E. PADGETT