Has Allan Kardec's book Genesis really been adulterated?
A few days ago, the channel Grupo Espírita Educare published a video very well produced, by the way, with great care and an aesthetic appearance to be envied. This video, entitled "WAS THE BOOK "THE GENESIS" REALLY ADULTERATED?", provides, despite so much care, half-baked information, leaving out details that are so indispensable for the legitimate discussion of the case about Allan Kardec's ultimate work.
In the video, they quote the following passage from a psychograph to Kardec, about the changes he wanted to make to Genesis:
"Allow me to give you some personal advice about your work Genesis. I think, like you, that it should undergo certain modifications that will make it more valuable from a methodical point of view; [...] this revision is a serious job, and I ask you not to wait too long before carrying it out."
There is, however, something substantial in the passage they omitted (in the ellipsis in brackets) which, not by chance, leads the viewer to the wrong conclusion: the communicating Spirit's repeated recommendation that Kardec should not change anything about the Doctrine and the ideas that were appearing for the first time:
Advice on Genesis
February 22, 1868. Medium M. Desliens.
Allow me to give you some personal advice about your book Genesis. I think that, as you do, it should undergo a rearrangement that will make it gain value in methodical terms; but I would also advise you to review certain comparisons in the first chapters, which, without being inaccurate, can be ambiguous, and which can be used against you in the finishing of words. I don't want to point them out in any particular way, but by carefully analyzing the second and third chapters, they will certainly surprise you. We'll take care of your research. It's only a matter of detail, no doubt, but details sometimes have their importance; that's why I thought it useful to draw your attention to this side.
Question. In the reprint we're going to do, I'd like to add a few things, without increasing the volume. Do you think there are parts that could be removed without inconvenience?
Answer. My opinion is that there is absolutely nothing to take away as doctrine; everything is useful and satisfactory in every respect; but I also believe that you could, without inconvenience, further condense certain ideas that don't need development to be understood, having already been outlined elsewhere; in your reorganization work, you will easily achieve this.
We should leave intact all the theories that appear for the first time in the public eye; don't remove anything as ideas, I repeat, but just cut out, here and there, developments that add nothing to clarity
You will be more concise, no doubt, but just as understandable, and it is the ground thus gained that you may have to add new and urgent elements. It's a serious job for this revision, and I urge you not to wait too late to do it, it's better to be prepared ahead of time than if I had to wait after you. Above all, don't rush it. Despite the apparent contradiction of my words, you undoubtedly understand me. Start working promptly, but don't stay too long. Take your time; your ideas will be clearer and your body will be less fatigued.
You can download the original content of this letter by clicking on here.
Did Kardec go against the Spirit's wise advice?
Now, the adulteration of Genesis produced exactly that: it removed important passages that compromise understanding, leaving out doctrinal ideas and leading the reader to an understanding that is sometimes contrary to the previous version - the same thing they did with the adulteration of Heaven and Hell.
He quotes Henri Netto, in the article “In search of doubt: where is the truth?”:
The "new" texts, even if they appear to be true (because the intelligent hands that handled the editions posthumously picked out texts contained in the issues of the "Revue Spirite" (published from January 1858 to April 1869 by Kardec himself), sought the "appearance of truth" when put together with the others, with no basis in any of Kardec's publications. There are absurd passages that contradict not only other theses presented and reinforced by Kardec throughout his coherent and sequential literary production, but also the doctrinal body itself (principles and foundations). The biggest of these, without a shadow of a doubt, was to create a doubt, which didn't exist in the original version (first to fourth editions of "Genesis"), about the physical, material nature of Jesus' body. In this sense, the elimination of item 67 from Chapter XV of the aforementioned work, and the renumbering of item 68 as if it were 67, hides the logical assessment (albeit in terms of suppositions) about the fate of Yeshua's body envelope after his burial. What would be Kardec's reason, after repelling the docetist thesis ("fluidic body" of Jesus), and affirming his human nature, for suppressing his judicious considerations on the subject?
He also quotes Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo in “Autonomia”:
There is an initial question from Allan Kardec, which is quite objective:
Question. In the reprint we're going to do, I'd like to add a few things, without increasing the volume. Do you think there are parts that could be removed without inconvenience?
In other words, it was Allan Kardec's initiative to make a change to his work, but which one? He wanted to add a few more things! Not take away. And he wanted to do this without increasing the volume of the book. The reason for your question to Demeure is to find out whether it would be possible to do this, according to the Spirit's vision. And the answer is quite objective and decisive. He answered, through the medium, while Kardec wrote it down:
Answer. My opinion is that there is absolutely nothing to take away as doctrine; everything is useful and satisfactory in every respect; but I also believe that you could, without inconvenience, further condense certain ideas that don't need development to be understood, having already been outlined elsewhere; in your reorganization work, you will easily achieve this.
Take anything away? Nothing about the Doctrine. Demeure was quite clear, but he went on to detail his proposal:
– We should leave intact all the theories that appear for the first time in the public eye; don't remove anything as ideas, I repeat, but just cut out, here and there, developments that add nothing to clarity. You'll be more concise, no doubt, but just as understandable, and it's on the ground thus acquired that you may have to add new and urgent elements.
This is definitely not what we find in the adulterated version of the 1872 work! There were hundreds of deletions. Words, phrases, paragraphs and even entire sections were removed, some of which altered the meaning of the rest of the text. Suffice it to say that the theory about the progressive conquest of free will, after the Spirit has developed self-awareness over hundreds of lives, was removed after being carefully elaborated by Kardec over many years in the Spiritist Review and finally presented in Genesis. Before, instinct dominated alone, but intelligence begins to develop, and little by little instinct weakens, so Kardec originally wrote: "With rational intelligence, free will is born, which man uses at will: then only, for him, does responsibility for his actions begin" (KARDEC, [1868] 2018, p. 100). This important passage, fundamental to Spiritist Moral Theory, was deliberately removed, against Kardec's wishes and the recommendations of the Spirits, a fact that we have now verified! In the pages of this book we detail several of these infamous and criminal forgeries.
FIGUEIREDO, Paulo Henrique de. Autonomy: the untold story of Spiritism. FEAL publisher.
Not only that, there is an extensive piece of research produced by Marco Milani, demonstrating the fact that the adulteration removed several important doctrinal ideas, as well as adding some exquisite ones, compromising the understanding of the work as a whole and in detail:
As can be seen, various doctrinal ideas have been removed, even though the recommendation of the Spirit, who communicated to Kardec on the subject of the new edition, was not to remove anything related to these issues.
They don't want dialog to get to the truth, but imposition
When Leymarie created the book Obras Póstumas, he inserted into it the psychography presented earlier, but adulterated, removing precisely the Spirit's advice so that nothing concerning the Doctrine would be removed. All to give credit to his version, the fifth edition of Genesis was actually produced by Allan Kardec. Now, in the video mentioned above, the Grupo Espírita Educare channel does the same, but it doesn't stop there.
For Leymarie, the facts and the discussion about them didn't matter. In order to maintain his version of events, he sought to dominate the truth with various subterfuges. He tried to take control of Spiritist opinion and hid anything that might contradict his ideas. This is also how those who contradict the facts of the adulteration act with the "siren song", as Marcelo Henrique would say. That's how they finally hid my comments on that video from the public:
It's no coincidence that my comments don't appear to anyone else, as I was hidden on the channel. Apparently, they do not wish to discuss the facts and evidence, which they say are “summarily declassified”.
We can see, therefore, that the animated play is just another attempt to lead the public to the conclusion they want, even if they have to omit important information and make shallow statements. For our part, after encouraging the reader to study The Legacy of Allan Kardec, by Simoni Privato (link below), we can only hope that everyone comes to their own conclusions, in the face of the facts and evidence, of which there is plenty, despite the fallacy of the Spiritism CSI group that all the opposing arguments have been overturned (sic).
Live: Adulterated Genesis – doctrinal analysis of changes between editions
Our Home and the Spiritist Doctrine
How can Our Home? How would it be possible, given the doctrinal knowledge brought to light with so much care, with appropriate methodology, gathered from the study of a multitude of Spirits, of all evolutionary degrees, to communicate everywhere? Does not make sense.
Segundo diz o Espírito de André Luiz, o próprio Governador da “cidade astral” assevera:
Somos, em “Nosso Lar”, mais de um milhão de criaturas devotadas aos desígnios superiores e ao melhoramento moral de nós mesmos.
How can we reconcile, however, the idea of millions of “creatures”, devoted to superior designs, but still so absurdly attached to earthly materialism? Does not make sense. We do not object to the idea that inferior Spirits, attached to materialism, when leaving the body, remain attached to false needs and false ideas of the earthly personality. In fact, this is abundantly demonstrated by the Spiritist Doctrine. Here, however — in theory — we speak of Spirits devoted to superior designs.
I ask: how can we admit a hierarchical organization of supposedly superior Spirits devoting themselves to the systematization and cultivation of false ideas? Bonus hours? After all, doesn't the Spiritist Doctrine teach us that charity is a moral duty, which is practiced without waiting for a return? In Nosso Lar, according to André Luiz, Narcisa's Spirit worked out of obligation, to earn the right to reincarnate:
I need to find some beloved spirits on Earth for joint upliftment services. For much time, due to my past deviations, I prayed, in vain, for the possibility necessary for my ends. She was disturbed, distressed. They advised me, however, to turn to Minister Veneranda, and our benefactor of Regeneration promised that he would endorse my purposes in the Ministry of Aid, but demanded ten consecutive years of work here, so that I can correct certain imbalances of feeling. At first, I wanted to refuse, considering the demand too much; later, I recognized that she was right. After all, the advice was not aimed at her interests but rather my own benefit. And I gained a lot by accepting his opinion. I feel more balanced and more human and I believe I will live my future experience on Earth with spiritual dignity.
Now, in addition to a superior Spirit interfering with the free will of that Spirit, demanded, against his will, the fulfillment of a “sentence”, so that she could later reincarnate. I wonder where Nosso Lar or any other spiritual colony would be, which did not interfere with the choice of Spirits like that of the Assassin Lemaire (Revista Espírita, March 1858) who thought he was strong enough to challenge himself in a type of test in the face of which succumbed. And what about the Spirit of Charles Dupont (The Spirit of Castelnaudary, RE60), who, having previously lived among savages, in another world, chose to incarnate on Earth, where, without yet having control over his instincts and emotions, he ended up killing his brother and his wife?
Não, não é possível. Nosso Lar, com suas grandes muralhas, reproduz fielmente as falsas ideias terrenas, onde os não “eleitos” são mantidos para fora dos muros. Nosso Lar, com sua plêiade de milhões de Espíritos “devotados aos desígnios superiores”, seria o retrato do egoísmo distraído pelo materialismo pujante.
What a difference with the communications frequently presented by Kardec from superior Spirits! There is no attachment to materiality in his descriptions: his occupations are working for infinite Space, acting in Creation:
What are your palaces and your golden halls before the aerial abodes, the vast field of space variegated with colors that would make the rainbow pale? What are your step-by-step walks in the parks, compared to journeys through the immensity, faster than lightning? What are your limited and cloud-laden horizons, given the grand spectacle of the worlds moving in the limitless universe, under the powerful hand of the Almighty?
How are your most melodious concerts sad and noisy, in the face of this harmony that makes the fluids of the ether and all the fibers of the soul vibrate? How sad and insipid your great joys are compared to the ineffable sensation of happiness that incessantly saturates our being in the form of a beneficent effluvium, without any mixture of restlessness, any worry, any suffering! Here everything breathes love and trust and sincerity. Everywhere loving hearts, everywhere we see friends, no envious and jealous. This is the world I find myself in, my friend, and you will all reach it infallibly by following the right path.
However, uniform happiness would soon become boring. Do not think that our happiness is free from vicissitudes. This is not a perpetual concert, nor an endless party, nor of beatific contemplation through eternity. No. It is movement, life, activity. The occupations, although free from fatigue, present an incessant variety of aspects and emotions, due to the thousand incidents that contain them. Each one has their mission to fulfill, their protégés to assist, friends from Earth to visit, Nature's processes to direct, suffering souls to console. There is a back and forth, not from one street to another, but from one world to another. Creatures come together, separate to come together again; they meet here and there, they talk about what they do, they congratulate each other on their successes; They understand each other and assist each other in difficult cases. Anyway, I assure you that no one has a second of time to get bored.
Spirit of Countess Paula, Heaven and Hell
Careful reading is enough to realize that this Spirit figuratively uses the term “aerial dwellings”. What beauty, what a completely different scenario from that world of material attachment and false physiological needs presented by André Luiz in his first work, whose logical disparity with the Doctrine and common sense we cannot explain until Kardec's methodology, with the use of evocations, be recovered.
By changing our mentality, we will leave our attachment to materialism to be useful, acting, according to our possibilities, in the Good, in Divine Creation. We can learn and teach, ever. Detached, in the world of Spirits, we do not attach ourselves to things, nor to forms. The universal divine creation itself is enough for us: the Universes to travel through, the processes of Nature to participate in, the planets to visit, the souls to help and those to learn from. But the idea of Our Home is a place where we need to work to earn “spiritual money” so that we can then buy a small house, where we can have “utilities”, such as a comfortable bed, a beautiful table with spiritual mahogany chairs, where we can sit comfortably to drink a fluidic soup (sic). Sorry for the sarcasm.
As on Earth, property here is relative. Our purchases are made based on working hours. The hourly bonus, in essence, is our money. Any utilities are purchased with these coupons, obtained by ourselves, through effort and dedication.
Our home
Now, why have a house, if infinite Space serves as our Home? Why have a house if the Spirit does not feel any material need? Why protection if you don't feel fear or pain? Why soup or water if the Spirit doesn't feel thirsty? For what "aerobus“, oh, meu Deus, se o Espírito se transporta pelo pensamento — mesmo os menos elevados?
No, Spirits do not need any of this, and only Spirits who are still very disturbed, very attached to earthly ideas, are confused with the body they left behind and believe they need rest, food, protection, etc.
39. Could you tell us what your occupations are?
– R. I have them like you; I first try to educate myself and, therefore, I mix with better societies than I am; as leisure I do good, and my life is spent in the hope of achieving greater happiness. We have no material needs to satisfy and therefore all our activity is directed towards our moral progress.
Spirit of Mrs Reynaud, RE59
There are sensations that have as their source the state of our organs. Now, the needs inherent to the body cannot be verified as long as there is no longer a body. Thus, the Spirit does not experience fatigue, nor the need for rest or food, because it has no loss to repair. He is not affected by any of our illnesses. The needs of the body determine social needs, which for them do not exist. Thus, there are no longer the worries of business, the discord, the thousand and one tribulations of the world and the torments to which we surrender to meet our needs or the superfluities of life. They feel sorry for the effort we make because of frivolities. However, the happier the elevated Spirits are, the more the lower ones suffer, but these sufferings are mainly anguish that, although they have nothing physical, are no less poignant.
KARDEC, ibid.
The case here is not to accuse Chico of lack of care. Chico was the communication tool, like a pencil in a writer's hand. No, we would have questioned the Spirit that communicated, in possession of the knowledge of all the problems and all the care that revolve around mediumship and the communication of Spirits. That's not what we did: simply accepting, placing on Chico Xavier's account the weight of responsibility for communications that we should have evaluated.
Knowing True Spiritism
I am always emphatic in demonstrating that the Spiritist Movement is considerably far from true Spiritism. We almost always find the Spiritist Movement, represented by the Spiritist Centers, the FEB, the USE and the speakers and representatives of these institutions, surrounded by atavisms, trapped in systems of ideas built on distortions and spiritist romances, attached to their own opinions gradually formed over decades. of a teaching distanced from Kardec and full of Roustaing, or supported on the false ideas born by adulteration of Heaven and Hell. As a result, the Spiritist Movement distanced itself from the logical and clear face of spiritual science and became a new religious variant, something that Spiritism has never been (nor will it ever be).
In the last almost four years (I write in February 2024), what I thought I knew about Spiritism has suffered a huge shock. It started with reading Allan Kardec's Legacy, followed by the reading of “Nem Heaven, Nor Hell: the laws of the soul according to Spiritism” and then went deeper with the inauguration of our Study Group, where we began to study the Spiritist Magazine and also with the reading of the works of Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo, dealing both with Rational Spiritualism, a scientific-philosophical movement of the 19th century that gave basis to the emergence of Spiritism, and with the true face of Spiritism.
I am, therefore, interested in summarizing, in this article, some recommendations for the Spiritist student, wishing to free themselves from the webs of the stagnant and dogmatic Spiritist Movement, to get to know and experience true Spiritism in their lives. Let's go in order:
We can, however, add Kardec's thoughts, in The Book of Mediums:
Finally, there are exalted spiritists. The human species would be perfect if it always preferred the bright side of things. Exaggeration is harmful in everything. In Spiritism it produces a blind and often childish trust in the manifestations of the invisible world, making people accept very easily and without control what reflection and examination would demonstrate to be absurd or impossible, as enthusiasm does not clarify, it obfuscates. This type of followers is more harmful than useful to the cause of Spiritism. They are the least capable of convincing, because their judgment is rightly suspicious. They are easily deceived by mystifying spirits or by people who seek to exploit their gullibility. If only they had to suffer the consequences, the harm would be less, but the worst thing is that they offer, although unintentionally, reasons to unbelievers who seek to mock rather than convince themselves and never fail to impute to everyone the ridiculousness of some. This is not fair or rational, without a doubt, but the opponents of Spiritism, as we know, only recognize their reason as good and do not care to know in depth what they are talking about.
KARDEC, Allan. The Book of Mediums, Lake, 23The Edition. Emphasis added.
Their position is clear: careless people who, with enthusiasm (and vanity) blindly believe in everything, do more harm than good to the Doctrine.
Exaggerations, some say
It is the opinion of some that we have exaggerated. According to them, we must “respect” each person’s faith, limiting ourselves to carrying out our work. Firstly, we need to demonstrate that there is no disrespect to anyone's faith. Everyone has free will and the right to believe whatever they want, rationally or not. But, here, we are dealing with spiritist science, and this is where the biggest problem with these people's ideas arises: the lack of knowledge of this science. Just read the Revista Espírita and other works by Kardec and you will see not only him, but also the good Spirits, often highlighting the need to expose the errors and, above all, the charlatans and enemies of the Spiritist Doctrine who, dressing their ideas under the guise of Spiritism, voluntarily or not promote the error that feeds the general discredit in Spiritism, as if it were another religion born of someone's ideas. We have already sufficiently demonstrated why Spiritism is a science, and not a religion.
Spiritism arrived in Brazil distorted
O fato é que o Espiritismo já se instalou no Brasil adulterado pelo Movimento Espírita iniciante ((fatos fartamente apresentados em Endand, in the FEB (Brazilian Spiritist Federation), the self-styled “home mater” of Brazilian Spiritism, far from finding ground for its restoration, it was replaced by the doctrine of Roustaing, completely based on old religious dogmas. This institution, which ended up dictating the direction of Brazilian Spiritism for a long time, never dedicated itself to recovering Spiritist science and the method necessary for the continuity of the Doctrine, with private evocations (and even in Spiritist centers), an essential tool for the scientific study, were abandoned. Without Kardec's method, and due to the interest in printing and selling mediumistic works, any idea coming from any Spirit began to be conveyed and, thus, slowly formed the general belief of the Spiritist Movement, today completely lost in ideas that, in fact, , are fundamentally anti-doctrinal.
We need to recognize, of course, that part of these ideas were founded even before the arrival of Spiritism in Brazil, with the adulteration of the works Heaven and Hell (mainly) and A Gênesis, after Kardec's death. Unfortunately, FEB is the first to defend the idea that these works have not been tampered with, a fact that, especially in relation to Heaven and Hell, is sufficiently evidenced and irrefutable.
Is talking about adulteration creating disbelief?
Aqui, enfim, chegamos a outra crítica de certas pessoas: “dizer que houve adulteração seria jogar lama em Kardec, suscitar descrença no Espiritismo”. “Aliás”, dizem elas, “que Doutrina é essa que os Espíritos permitem tal coisa, sem aviso?”. É um pensamento completamente ilógico.
We begin by remembering that the words of Christ himself were adulterated and distorted in favor of religious dogmas, and this fact was precisely what led to countless people's disbelief in Christianity. Voltaire was one of the most evident exponents of this disbelief, which still prevails today. We ask: would it be “throwing mud” at Jesus to highlight the adulterations? Would it “raise disbelief” in Christianity, highlighting distortions, while demonstrating original ideas? Obviously not. If the problem has occurred, we need to face it head on (a scientific and truly Kardecian attitude), and not sweep it under the rug while its overwhelming effects persist.
À ideia de que “os Espíritos não teriam permitido as adulterações”, opomos a forte recomendação de estudo da Doutrina, o que evidentemente não foi realizado por essas pessoas. Os Espíritos alertaram several times about the plots of the enemies of the Doctrine, as we demonstrated in Prophecy of the Spirit of Truth. Baseado nos alertas e nas evidências, Kardec também previa o futuro do Espiritismo, conforme destacou na Revista Espírita de dezembro de 1863, no artigo “Período de Lutas”:
The struggle will determine a new phase of Spiritism and will lead to the fourth period, which will be the religious period. Then the fifth will come, the intermediate period, natural consequence of the precedent and which, later, will receive its characteristic name. The sixth and final period will be the social renewal, which will open the era of the twentieth century. At that time, all obstacles to the new order of things desired by God for the transformation of the Earth will have disappeared. The generation that emerges, imbued with new ideas, will be in all its strength and will prepare the way for what must inaugurate the definitive victory of union, peace and fraternity among men, united in the same belief, through the practice of the evangelical law.
KARDEC, Allan. Spiritist Magazine, December 1863.
Unfortunately, the forecast for the sixth period is delayed by more than a century, due to several unpredictable facts at that time, such as the abandonment of Rational Spiritualism and Spiritist Science, in addition to the adulteration of the works cited. Then, the wars, the forgetfulness of the Doctrine in France and Europe and its installation in Brazil, completely distorted.
Spirits do not impede human free will
We remember, to finish, that the core of the Spiritist Doctrine, always demonstrated by the Spirits, is free will, which the Spirits cannot interfere with. They can advise, but they cannot hinder the human will. They did so: they advised extensively on the need for care that, unfortunately, was lacking from those who should take care of the master's legacy. It seems that the French Spiritist Movement was very comfortable with Kardec's direction and, when this was supposed to change, from mid-1869 (as exposed in the Spiritist Magazine of December 1868, “Transitional Constitution of Spiritism”) Kardec died, and all they were left aimless. Leymarie assuming the direction of the Spiritist Society, distorted the purpose of the Spiritist Magazine, admitting the Roustainuist doctrine in exchange for money, and the reader can find out the rest by reading the works Allan Kardec's Legacy, by Simoni Privato, Neither Heaven nor Hell, by Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo and End, by Wilson Garcia.
Good in the midst of mistakes
Many say: “the Spiritist Movement, in the midst of many mistakes, still produces good. It’s not wrong at all.” We couldn't disagree with that. We do not say that there is error or mistake in everything and that no good is produced. A mediumistic romance, even though it is full of wrong ideas, can be the gateway to the questioning individual go after more information, ending up getting to know Kardec's works, in short. But, we ask: wouldn't it be better if Spiritism were presented as it is, simple and rational, without the absurdities that produce so many setbacks and that very often lead to disbelief? We cannot fail to highlight that, when space is created for a mistake, within a science, and this mistake is not remedied by theory and doctrinal facts, it gives rise to many others. That's what has happened.
Restoration
The time has come to restore Spiritism, which has already begun in Brazil and will spread throughout the world. The first step is to learn Spiritism as it truly is, moving away from errors. Those who, called “spiritists”, do not wish to do so, will join a new religion, if they wish, as dogmatic as the others. Let's let time take care of them, but that doesn't mean we stop doing our part, presenting the errors, in the face of the Spiritist Doctrine, without personalism. Then, the time will come to restore Kardec's method. These two steps will give rise to the possibility of the sixth period foreseen by Kardec: that of social renewal.
Be part of this journey, which is collective and will only happen through the collaboration of many.
The strongest evidence of tampering with Allan Kardec's Heaven and Hell
They are undisputed legal facts at tampering of A Gênesis and O Céu e o Inferno, for the mere reason that editions were released, with changes, after the death of the author and without legal deposit – this is what at least four specialized legal operators say: Simoni Private, Julio Nogueira, Lucas Sampaio and Marcelo Henrique. That cool fact it is above of any consideration and, because of this, spiritist federations from other countries, respecting the law, returned to the third edition of the work. Unfortunately, the Brazilian Spiritist Federation, having a lot to recapitulate when taking this attitude (since the original text of A Gênesis contradicts a multitude of errors that populate most of the publications edited and printed by it) still resists these facts, basing itself in layman arguments on copyright matters.
In addition to the legal fact and the necessary respect for the law, through the study we have just identified another piece of evidence, perhaps the most decisive of all, of the adulteration of Heaven and Hell, the work of Allan Kardec, precisely in the part that expressed the doctrinal philosophy in its clearest and purest face.
In The Spirits' Book, Kardec deals with the issue of spirits who have always chosen the path of good (we also dealt with this in the article "Intimate Reform and Spiritism“:
There are spirits who have always chosen the path of good
121. Why do some Spirits follow the path of good and others the path of evil?
“Don’t they have free will? God did not create evil spirits; He created them simple and ignorant, that is, having as much aptitude for good as for evil. Those who are evil became so of their own free will.”
133. The Spirits who From the beginning they followed the path of good?
“All are created simple and ignorant and are instructed in the struggles and tribulations of bodily life. God, who is just, could not make some happy, without toil and work, therefore without merit.”
The) - But, then, what is the use of spirits to have followed the path of good, if this does not exempt them from the sufferings of bodily life?
"They reach the end faster. Furthermore, the afflictions of life are often the consequence of the imperfection of the Spirit. The fewer imperfections, the less torment. He who is not envious, nor jealous, nor avaricious, nor ambitious, will not suffer the tortures that originate from these defects.”
The Spirits' Book. Emphasis added.
Confirmed by the Spirits, there are those who have always chosen the path of goodness, which does not free them from the need to incarnate for their development. Thus, they have nothing to atone for, since atonement is the conscious choice of tests and opportunities that help them to let go of imperfections they have consciously acquired (remembering that merely making a mistake is not acquiring imperfections, as long as the mistake is overcome through learning. What generates imperfections is the conscious repetition of the mistake).
Furthermore, it is only logical that those who have overcome an acquired imperfection through atonement have nothing more to atone for, except if they develop new imperfections. Even so, they may need to be born on a planet like Earth, simply because their current needs demand it or because they choose to incarnate on a mission. Jesus Christ himself is the ultimate example of the latter, and even though he was a pure Spirit, he still faced the vicissitudes of matter without having anything to atone for. Look where admitting these false ideas leads: to the dogma of Spirits created apart and who have never actually been among us (a dogma supported by Roustaing)!
Strong evidence of tampering with Heaven and Hell
And here we come to the proof of the adulteration of Heaven and Hell, which, in the edition released after Kardec's death, introduced two items in chapter VIII (which became chapter VII):
9th — Every fault committed, every evil done, is a debt contracted that must be paid; If it is not so in one existence, it will be so in the next or subsequent ones, because all existences are in solidarity with each other. Whoever pays it off in the present existence will not have to pay a second time.
10 - The Spirit suffers the penalty of its imperfections, whether in the spirit world or in the corporeal world. All the miseries, all the vicissitudes we endure in corporeal life are the result of our imperfections, expiations of faults committed, whether in the present existence or in previous ones.
Heaven and Hell, fourth edition. FEB. My emphasis.
These two items, I repeat, did not exist in the third edition of the work, released and printed by Kardec during his lifetime. To admit that Kardec included these items in that edition, especially item 10, would be to admit that Kardec contradicted everything he had developed up to that point.
To support this false idea, the following paragraphs were removed in the adulteration, in chapter IX (formerly chapter X):
In the first stages of their existence, spirits are subject to material incarnation, which is necessary for their development, until they have reached a certain level. The number of incarnations is indeterminate and is subordinate to the speed of progress, which occurs in direct proportion to the work and good will of the spirit, who always acts according to their free will. Those who, due to their carelessness, negligence, obstinacy or bad will, remain in the lower classes for longer, suffer the consequences, and the habit of evil makes it difficult for them to get out of this state. One day, however, they get tired of this painful existence and the suffering that comes with it. Then, when they compare their situation to that of the good spirits, they realize that their interest lies in doing good and they try to improve themselves, but they do so of their own free will, without being forced to do so. They are subject to the law of progress because of their ability to progress, but they don't do it against their will. God constantly provides them with the means to progress, but they are free to take advantage of them or not. If progress were obligatory, spirits would have no merit, and God wants everyone to have the merit of their works, privileging no one with the first place, a position granted to all, but which they achieve only through their own efforts. The highest angels earned their position by traveling the same route as everyone else. Everyone, from the top to the bottom, has belonged or still belongs to humanity.
Men are therefore more or less advanced incarnate spirits, and spirits are the souls of men who have left their material shell. Spiritual life is the normal life of the spirit. The body is nothing more than a temporary garment, appropriate to the functions it must perform on Earth, just as a warrior puts on his armor and chain mail for the moment of combat, then takes them off after the battle, only to put them on again when the time comes for a new fight. Corporeal life is the battle that spirits must face in order to advance, so they put on this armor which is both an instrument of action and an embarrassment.
When they incarnate, spirits bring with them their inherent qualities. Imperfect spirits therefore make up imperfect people; those who are more advanced, good, intelligent, educated, are instinctively good, intelligent people who can easily acquire new knowledge. In the same way, when people die, they provide the spirit world with good or bad, advanced or backward spirits. The corporeal world and the spiritual world thus constantly supply each other.
Among the evil spirits there are those who have all the perversity of demons, to whom we can perfectly apply the image we have of the latter. When they are incarnate, they are perverse and cunning men who delight in evil, seemingly created for the misfortune of all those who are drawn into their intimacy, and of whom it can be said - without it being offensive - that they are demons incarnate.
Having reached a certain degree of purification, spirits are given missions compatible with their advancement, thus performing all the functions attributed to angels of different orders. As God has always created, there have always been enough spirits to meet all the needs of the government of the Universe. A single species of intelligent beings, subject to the law of progress, is therefore sufficient for everything. This unity in creation, together with the idea that everyone has the same common origin, the same path to follow, and that they all rise by their own merit, corresponds much better to God's justice than the creation of different species, more or less favored by natural gifts, equivalent to privileges.
Heaven and Hell – Editora FEAL
More evidence of the original idea
Below are some more excerpts from Kardec's work that show the true understanding of the subject (incarnation is not exclusively the result of atonement):
According to a system that is somewhat specious at first glance, spirits were not created to incarnate and incarnation would only be the result of their lack. Such a system is undermined by the mere fact that if no spirit had failed, there would be no human beings on Earth or on other worlds. Now, since man's presence is necessary for the material improvement of the worlds; since he contributes by his intelligence and activity to the general work, he is one of the essential cogs in Creation. God could not subordinate the accomplishment of this part of his work to the eventual fall of his creatures, unless he counted on an ever-sufficient number of guilty people to provide laborers for the worlds created and yet to be created. Common sense rejects such an idea.
KARDEC. Spiritist Review - 1863 > June > On the principle of the non-retrogradation of the Spirit. Emphases added.
In this article, in this passage, Kardec is evidently firmly refuting the same idea conveyed in Roustaing's Four Gospels (which would only be released in 1865), that incarnation would only take place for atonement, that is, when the Spirit is "guilty":
The idea of incarnation as punishment, we said, is an idea totally linked to Roustaing's dogmas:
N. 59. Which is what we should think of the opinion that goes like this: "In the same way that, for the Spirit in a state of formation, materialization in the mineral and vegetable kingdoms and in the intermediate species, and likewise incarnation in the animal kingdom and in the intermediate species, is a necessity and not a punishment resulting from a fault committed, so, too, for the formed Spirit, which already has independent intelligence, awareness of its faculties, awareness and freedom of its actions, free will and is in a state of innocence and ignorance, incarnation, first in primitive lands, then in the lower and higher worlds, until it has reached perfection, is a necessity and not a punishment"?
"No, human incarnation is not a necessity, it's a punishment, we've already said that. And punishment cannot precede guilt."
The Spirit is not humanized, we have already explained this, before the first lack subjected it to human incarnation. Only then is he prepared, as we have already shown, to suffer the consequences.
ROUSTAING, Jean B. Four Gospels, Tome I, item 59
It's easy to see the similarity between this idea and the one introduced in the 4th edition of Heaven and Hell: that incarnation only takes place when the Spirit is guilty of a previous error.
Let's continue with the evidence of Kardec's original idea and the Doctrine:
132. What is the purpose of the incarnation of spirits?
"God imposes the incarnation on them in order to bring them to perfection. For some, it is an atonement; for others, it is a mission. But in order to reach this perfection, they have to suffer all the vicissitudes of bodily existence: that's the atonement [...].
The Book of Spirits
For some, it's atonement; for others, it's a mission. "In order to achieve this perfection, they have to suffer all the vicissitudes of bodily existence: that is what the atonement is," in other words, the atonement, treated in the religious world as a process of remission of sins by divine punishment, here, for Spiritism, is just the process of learning and development of the Spirit.
However, fatality is not an empty word. It exists in the position man occupies on Earth and in the functions he performs there, as a result of the kind of life his Spirit has chosen as a test, atonement or mission. He fatally suffers all the vicissitudes of this existence and all the good or bad tendencies that are inherent to it.
The Book of Spirits
The Spirit suffers the vicissitudes of the existence chosen by the Spirit, as a test, atonement or mission.
Is incarnation a punishment and are only guilty spirits subject to it?
Spirits' passage through corporeal life is necessary so that they can fulfill, through material action, the designs that God has entrusted to them. It is necessary for their own sake, since the activity they are obliged to carry out helps them to develop their intelligence. Being sovereignly just, God has to distribute everything equally to all his children; that's why he has established for everyone the same starting point, the same aptitude, the same obligations to fulfill and the same freedom to proceed. Any privilege would be a preference, an injustice. But incarnation is only a temporary state for all spirits. It is a task that God imposes on them when they begin life, as their first experience of the use they will make of their free will. Those who perform this task with zeal quickly and less painfully pass through the first stages of initiation and enjoy the fruits of their labors sooner. On the other hand, those who misuse the freedom that God has given them slow down their progress and, no matter how obstinate they are, they can prolong the need for reincarnation indefinitely, in which case it becomes a punishment. - St. Louis (Paris, 1859)
KARDEC. The Gospel according to Spiritism > Chapter IV - No one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again > Instructions from the Spirits. > Necessities of incarnation. > 25. Our emphasis.
Of course, the Spirits show that incarnation is necessary for everyone, so that while they develop, they play their part in Creation.
Examples of immediate punishment are less rare than you might think. If we were to go back to the source of all the vicissitudes of life, we would almost always see the natural consequence of some fault committed. Man receives terrible lessons at every moment, which unfortunately he makes very little use of.
The Spiritist Review, 1864
Almost always the sources of all the vicissitudes of life go back to the natural consequence of some fault committed.
[The good man] Knows that all the vicissitudes of life, all the pain, all the disappointments, are trials or atonements, and accepts them without murmuring.
The Gospel According to Spiritism
All the vicissitudes of life are trials or atonements. Trial: everything that helps us learn, all of life's difficulties. Atonement: certain types of trials, chosen to exercise detachment from an acquired imperfection.
"The disciples' question 'Is this man's sin the cause of his being born blind' indicates an intuition of a previous existence. Otherwise, it wouldn't make sense, because the sin that would be the cause of a birth defect would have to have been committed before birth and, consequently, in a previous existence. If Jesus had seen a false idea there, he would have said: "How could this man have sinned before he was among us?" Instead, he told them that if the man is blind, it doesn't mean that he has sinned, but in order for God's power to shine in him; it's like saying that he should be the instrument of a manifestation of God's power. If this was not an atonement for the past, it was a test that should serve his progress, because God, who is just, could not impose suffering on him without compensation."
KARDEC, Allan. The Genesis. 4th edition. “Blind from Birth”. Emphasis added.
In this passage, where Kardec deals with Jesus' healing of blindness, he makes the following observation: "If this was not an atonement for the past, it is proof that it should serve your progress". This means that for him, and in accordance with Spiritism, vicissitudes are not only an atonement, but also a learning tool. This passage even appears in the 5th edition of Genesis (the adulterated edition), and Kardec cannot have contradicted himself in his ideas in each of his works. This is not the Kardec we know.
Reason for adulteration
Anyone who is seriously investigating the subject, and who has also investigated the adulteration of Genesis, will notice something in common between the two adulterations: the principle of the dogma of incarnation as the result of punishment for sin - a strongly limiting and imprisoning dogma, echoed by Roustaing and taught by the mystifying spirits who communicated with him through the medium Emilie Collignon. Contra a sua teoria, existe um simples detalhe: Jesus.
Jesus, the most evolved Spirit ever to incarnate among us, had nothing to "pay", since he was a pure Spirit. How can this problem be solved? By saying that Jesus didn't incarnate, but was in fact an agenere, that is, a materialized Spirit, who simply deceived us throughout his trajectory.
The point is that, in Heaven and Hell, the doctrinal ideas that showed incarnation as necessary for everyone, good and bad, were removed, and the idea that everything we go through is the result of atonement for mistakes in past lives was added (item 10, chapter 7, Penal Code of the Future Life); in the adulteration of Genesis, not by chance, item 67 of chapter XV was removed and, as Henri Netto demonstrates,
[…] the renumbering of item 68 as if it were item 67 hides the logical assessment (albeit in terms of suppositions) of the fate of Yeshua's bodily envelope after his burial. What would be Kardec's reason, after repelling the docetist thesis ("fluidic body" of Jesus), and affirming his human nature, for suppressing his judicious considerations on the subject?
In other words: in Genesis, in order to support the adulterations of Heaven and Hell, the idea that demonstrates, by unequivocal example, that incarnation is not just for atonement (adding here that atonement is the conscious act of choosing trials with the aim of returning to goodness, for those Spirits who, in the minority, chose to be attached to error and thus developed imperfections) was attacked. A doctrinal idea has been removed, even though the recommendation of the Spirit who communicated to Kardec on the subject of the new edition was not to remove anything related to doctrinal ideas.
Conclusion
Either Kardec made this change, or he didn't make this change. If he made this change himself, then he contradicted his entire previous understanding and, furthermore, he demonstrates an altered state of mental health, since he contradicted this idea in A Gênese, including in its fifth edition, as we demonstrated above.
Now, knowing that Kardec makes his understanding very clear that incarnation cannot be the exclusive result of atonement, and knowing his state of sound mental health up until the day of his death, we can only come to one conclusion: this work has been tampered with.
The change is very clear: "All the miseries, all the vicissitudes that we endure in corporeal life are the result of our imperfections, expiations of faults committed." This is clearly Roustaing's idea. This is clearly Roustaing's idea, and the essence of this chapter has been lost with the alteration, in order to implement the same dogmas that this gentleman accepted and defended:
"No, human incarnation is not a necessity, it's a punishment, we've already said that. And punishment cannot precede guilt."
ROUSTAING, Jean B. Four Gospels, Tome I, item 59
Many will say that item 16 of chapter VII of Heaven and Hell (the adulterated version) contains the same principle removed from the original item 8:
16 - Repentance is the first step towards perfection; but it alone is not enough; atonement and reparation are still needed.
Repentance, atonement and reparation are the three conditions necessary to erase the traces of a fault and its consequences.
El arrepentimiento suaviza el dolor de la expiación, dando esperanza y preparando el camino para la rehabilitación; pero sólo la reparación puede anular el efecto destruyendo la causa; el perdón sería una gracia, no una anulación.
However, we ask: what do repentance, atonement and reparation become, when subjected to the ideas inserted by adulteration, if not the fulfillment of a sentence or a punishment? What does error, part of learning, become if not a condemnation? And, looking at it from this angle, we ask: the individual who is led to think this way, how does he act towards life? Does he or she act austerely, trying to overcome the mistake, or, believing himself or herself condemned, does he or she submit to inaction or, worse, slip into even more mistakes? What about your neighbor, who is suffering the vicissitudes of life? Do you see in them a brother or sister who needs our support, a being capable of overcoming their difficulties through learning, or do you see in them another condemned person, about whom nothing can be done, since they are serving their sentence? Finally: does all this lead to a state of cooperation, in search of progress, or does it lead to materialism and selfishness?
These are questions that everyone has to ask themselves, in possession of the knowledge that, for me, took three years to clarify and establish. Maybe, with all this, I can help to shorten that time for you.
Enemies of good strive to delay it
It is very clear that the most important chapter of Heaven and Hell, precisely the one that contained the essence of the doctrinal philosophy, was deliberately adulterated. The ideas originally established were completely remodeled according to dogmas linked to the idea of the fall through sin, delaying the development of Spiritism on the face of the Earth by more than 150 years. Enough. Now it's time to recover and study. We recommend reading our Recommended Works.
The efforts of those who try to master the truth are linked to old-world conceptions. They are spirits who are still incapable of understanding the essence of Spiritism and who, consciously or not, are fighting against its ideas of autonomy and freedom. As Kardec would say, let time take care of them.
They claim to have summarily proved that there was no tampering and thus refuted all evidence to the contrary. I therefore ask these individuals to explain this illogical and contradictory alteration to the whole doctrine.
How priests act
For Leymarie, the facts and the discussion about them did not matter. To maintain his version, he aimed to dominate the truth with various subterfuges. He tried to take control of spiritualist opinion and hid everything he could testify against his ideas. Those who contradict the facts of adulteration with a “siren song”, as Marcelo Henrique would say, also act in this way.
A few days ago, I commented on the video “Was the Book of Genesis really tampered with?”, published on the Grupo Espírita Revelare channel, on YouTube:
It's no coincidence that my comments don't appear to anyone else, as I'm hidden on the channel.
Allan Kardec and the moral revolution of humanity
The following article contains content kindly made available by Centro Espírita Nosso Lar – Casas André Luiz, and corresponds to the event recently held by Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo on the highlighted topic.
The presentation can be easily downloaded through from this link and can also be heard on Podcast, the audio of which we provide below.
The following are the topics of the lecture, which can be checked in the presentation provided and in the audio exposed above.
ENCOUNTER WITH SPIRITIST CULTURE – Allan Kardec and the moral revolution of humanity
Passages suppressed in the adulteration of Genesis
Double principle of good and evil
Zoroaster and the Zoroastrian
The original text of Zoroaster: the true mentality
The deviation from the original teachings of Zoroaster: the false mentality
Moses and the one God
Jehovah and Satan
Jesus and the true mentality
The adulteration of Heaven and Hell
The incarnation is a necessity
Should we expose the enemies of Spiritism?
A question that always comes to my mind and I believe that comes to the minds of many is: what to do in the face of the enemies of Spiritism? Should we expose them or would doing so be uncharitable?
Many recommend that we continue on our way, doing our part, without even mentioning these individuals. Certainly, spending precious time just refuting or criticizing the enemies of the Spiritist Doctrine would be spending precious time in an endless war. No, I don't see that as useful. However, I think from another side: what about those who hear them?
Who are the enemies of Spiritism
Here it is necessary to make an important distinction: Spiritism has its declared enemies, but it also has them in its ranks. The first are those who openly criticize the Spiritist Doctrine and, almost always without even knowing what they are talking about, attack it from all sides. These are the any less dangerous. The second type of enemies are those who call themselves spiritists, study the surface of the Doctrine, but, voluntarily or not, attack it from within with the dissemination of the most false ideas, arising from the blind acceptance of spiritist communications. These are the most fearful enemies, and Spiritism has them among incarnate and discarnate people.
It will be very difficult and inadvisable to summarily judge the intentions of others. In some, they may be quite apparent and even declared; in others, they may even be good, but, as the individual is prone to pride and vanity, among other imperfections, they become null or even harmful due to the effects they produce. Even here, we have another problem, as these effects are often not directly noticeable, but are built up by a series of factors, over time, idea after idea, always originating from the blind acceptance of the isolated opinions of incarnated and disembodied Spirits.
A very simple way to see what I say, for the spiritualist who studies Kardec's works, is to do a search for “Spiritism” on YouTube and you will very easily find large channels that, claiming to speak of Spiritism, teach and support absurd and harmful ideas. to Spiritism, among some successes. Most of the time they are not enemies of Spiritism and even wish to do good, but, due to their resistance to studying the science they claim to embrace, they serve to disseminate ideas that are contrary to the Doctrine.. É assim que vemos canais como o “Root Spiritism“, por um tempo o maior canal brasileiro dito “espírita”, afirmando e ensinando, dentre outros erros, que os Espíritos encarnam apenas para expiações, que seriam, segundo ele diz, pagamentos de débitos — uma completa distorção doutrinária que leva a diversos efeitos negativos, como demonstrei in this article. Eduardo Sabbag, owner of this channel, recently made appearances on the channel House Prayer Platform, onde o principal “palestrante” afirma, supostamente mediunizado, que ele seria a reencarnação de Allan Kardec e em vários momentos se compara a Jesus, para então trazer temas ligados à ufologia e às ramatissista ideas, supported and disseminated especially by the medium Hercílio Maes. He also participated in the Spiritist Channel, by Luiz Fernando Amaral (who presents himself as a “teacher” on this channel) who, among some successes (when Kardec resumes) makes several mistakes, when starting from the blind acceptance of communications from Spirits, mainly given via novels.
All these mistakes would be easily avoided by studying the Revista Espírita and other works by Kardec.
Spirits linked to evil, enemies of Spiritism, use individuals who do not study spiritist science and who accept and publish everything, to hinder the advancement of this doctrine whose philosophy has the potential to transform the world. Due to the vanity of believing themselves full of wisdom because, invariably, they believe themselves to be surrounded only by Spirits of the highest evolution, they serve the purpose of mystifying Spirits.
So, what to do if they don't want to study? What can we do if they respond with resistance and brutality when we point out that something they disclose is not in accordance with Spiritism?
We certainly cannot force them to an understanding that they do not want to acquire, and it will be up to time and the punishment offered by their own consciences to pay for the harm they have done by diverting or delaying many with their ideas and their resistance to studying. Unfortunately, these people find, in digital media, a means of controlling their ideologies, simply by removing comments or blocking users who disagree with them.
They are great channels. They have hundreds of thousands of followers. There are certainly, among these, a large number of people who just want to believe and who do not make an effort to reason, perhaps even due to lack of knowledge (which they could be helping to reduce). But, sooner or later, their consciences will awaken and then they will start looking for answers.
I think the best we can do is produce material pointing to true doctrinal understanding. This way we can give people the chance to search for a certain subject, or even through these channels, to find content from spiritist science. Let us learn to demonstrate our errors, without falling into a greater error, which would be to take derogatory accusations to a personal level. We can disagree and point out the error in your ideas, like Kardec did, based on Spiritism for this, as Kardec recommends in the Spiritist Magazine of 1863:
“This is how the detractors of Spiritism proceed: through their slander they show the weaknesses of their own cause and discredit it, showing what regrettable extremes they are forced to resort to in order to support it. What weight can an opinion based on manifest errors have? One of two: either the errors are voluntary and then bad faith is seen; or they are involuntary and the author proves their inconsequentiality by speaking about what he does not know. In one case, as in the other, you lose your right to trust.
Spiritism is not a work that marches in the shadows. He is known; its principles are formulated clearly, precisely and without ambiguity. The slander could not, therefore, affect him. To convince her of imposture, just say: read and see. Without a doubt, it is useful to debunk it. But it must be done calmly, without bitterness or recrimination, limiting oneself to opposing, without superfluous words, what is to what is not. Leave the anger and insults to your adversaries, and keep to yourself the role of true strength: that of dignity and moderation.”
Spiritist Magazine, March 1863. Emphasis mine.
So, let's not waste time on personal attacks. Of course, these people will victimize themselves, aiming to manipulate their target audience. faithful. Let's not make the same mistake. Let us act like a good researcher, a good scientist, who discusses facts and evidence, and not about opinions, much less about the people who issue them. That's what Kardec has always done.
“You will have to fight not only against the proud, the selfish, the materialists and all those unfortunate people who are imbued with the spirit of the century, but also, and above all, against the mob of deceiving Spirits who, finding in your midst a rare gathering of mediums, as in this regard you are the most fortunate, will soon come to assault you, some with wisely combined dissertations, in which, thanks to pious tirades, they will insinuate the heresy or some dissolving principle; others with communications openly hostile to the teachings given by true missionaries of the Spirit of Truth. Oh! Believe me, do not be afraid to unmask the deceivers who, new Tartuffes, would introduce themselves among you under the guise of religion.”
Spirit of Erastus, Spiritist Magazine of 1861. Emphasis mine.
The War between Israel and Palestine and Spiritism
There are elderly people, children and babies being murdered or captured by the terrorist group Hamas, currently generating a war between Israel and Palestine. And what will Spiritism say? Why does God allow such a thing? Would these people be paying off debts from past lives with this suffering?
Amazingly: there are judges on duty who want to say that the massacre of young people at the rave was related to divine punishment, for having a party, supposedly with drugs, in the “Holy Land”. A complete is evil nonsense!!
Once again we need to remember: to speak according to Spiritism, it is necessary to look for what exists developed by the necessary scientific method, something that, to this day, has been done just by Kardec. And here's a golden tip:
Se alguém disser falar do Espiritismo, mas diz que as vítimas de quaisquer calamidades ou crimes estão “pagando” por dívidas de vidas passadas, ou que é efeito do “karma“, or who are repaying debts from past lives, stop following them and go look for what spiritist science says. We are here stating, emphatically: this is not Spiritism! Spiritism can be found in the recommended works at the end of the text.
Spiritism does not talk about karma, nor about paying debts for incarnation
It is a never-ending struggle, and every time any critical event occurs that shakes the population, we have to return to the same subject, in the name of true Spiritism. Now there is war in Israel. Last year, it was the terrorist attacks to Brazilian schools. Before, a climate disaster or cataclysm like the one who undermined Petrópolis or the sad accident with the Chapecoense team. And frivolous individuals always appear, who have never studied Spiritism, saying truly absurd things that do not correspond to the Spiritist Doctrine or claiming to have received psychographs from the victims, stating that they were “evil soldiers who committed cruelty in the past” (sic! ).
We are obliged to do our part, remembering that we are alive in dense matter, subject to the laws of matter and also to the criminal decisions of other people, which never, ever, under any circumstances, serves to “redeem debts from past lives”!!
Apart from the tests imposed by the choices of others or by the force of nature, or even those that result from the present actions of the individual himself, there are also types of tests that the Spirit may have chosen to go through, but not to “pay” for anything:
The Spirit can choose trials simply to learn and progress.
You can also choose certain tests because you understand that you have overcome a certain imperfection, choosing then go through challenges and opportunities with a view to letting go of this imperfection, which makes you suffer.
Talking about the destructive scourges, we can apply part of the understanding to these events as well:
738.
The) - But both the good and the wicked man succumb to these scourges. Will this be fair?
“During life, man refers everything to his body; however, he thinks differently after death. Now, as we have said, the life of the body is very little. A century in your world is nothing more than a lightning in eternity. Therefore, nothing is the suffering of a few days or a few months, about which you complain so much. They represent teaching that is given to you and that will serve you in the future. Spirits, which pre-exist and survive everything, form the real world (85). These are the children of God and the object of all their solicitude. Bodies are mere disguises with which they appear in the world. On the occasion of great calamities that decimate men, the spectacle is similar to that of an army whose soldiers, during the war, had their uniforms damaged, torn, or lost. The general cares more about his soldiers than about their uniforms.”
B) - But that doesn't mean they are no longer victims of these scourges.
“If you considered life for what it is, and how little it represents in relation to infinity, you would give less importance to it. In another life, these victims will find ample compensation for their sufferings, if they know how to bear them without murmuring.”
We also recommend caution with these theories that are events related to the planetary transition, as they are theories that do not find support in Spiritism.
Let's return to Kardec. Is important. Enough opinions. Spiritism is a science! If more people were defending the Doctrine, others would have a better chance of finding good content, not content based on false ideas.
It is worth recalling what appears in The Spirits' Book about wars:
742. What drives man to war?
“The predominance of the animal nature over the spiritual nature and the overflow of passions. In the state of barbarism, peoples only know one right: that of the strongest. That is why, for such peoples, war is a normal state. As man progresses, war becomes less frequent, because he avoids its causes. And when it becomes necessary, he knows how to do it with humanity.”
743. From the face of the earth, will war ever disappear?
“Yes, when men understand justice and do the law of God. At that time, all peoples will be brothers.”
744. What did Providence aim at, making war necessary?
“Freedom and Progress.”
The) - If war must have the advent of freedom as its effect, how can it often aim and result in subjugation?
“Temporary subjugation, for press peoples, in order to make them progress more quickly.”
745. What is to be thought of him who stirs up war for his own benefit?
“This is the big culprit and many stocks will be necessary for him to atone for all the murders he has caused, as he will answer for all the men whose death he has caused to satisfy his ambition ((Which means: when this Spirit understands the evil he has caused, his conscience will accuse him of height to which your imperfections have reached. This is the reason for demanding many incarnations in atonement, choosing proofs that can help you to rescue yourself of their deviations. It doesn’t mean that he will have to reincarnate with each of his victims, even though most of them don’t get attached to the fact and follow their path of evolution (Our notes))).”
The Book of Spirits
Our condolences to the victims of this sad war between Israel and Palestine. Let us pray that these Spirits do not get attached to the evil of others and can move on. This is one of the best effects of Spiritism, which, unfortunately, they probably did not know about.
Curiosities
Kardec several times performed evocations of Spirits killed in wars, from simple soldiers to officers. We have, for example:
My mission in this article is to provoke you about the subject: can you practice mediumship at home? I want you to not be able to contain yourself, clicking on the button at the end of it to download a PDF talking about the issue of communications with Spirits. Happy studying!
So does this mean that it is not dangerous to call Spirits into homes?
Another fallacy that has spread, and we want to believe that it is more due to ignorance than the malice of those who defend it, is the danger of communicating with Spirits in homes. Now, if it is possible to communicate with them even in prisons, it is even more possible to call loved ones in homes.
It is not the evocation that attracts the Spirits
Another important point to be considered, in the light of Spiritism, is that Spirits are not attracted by the direct call of men, that is, by evocation. Many of those who have suffered or are suffering from an obsession have never evoked the Spirits and do not even know that this would be possible. All the cures for obsessions that were published by Allan Kardec in his Magazine were from this issue. We were able to see this fact in relation to those who suffered from obsessions today, and who were cured.
Children at spiritist meetings
Many people may wonder: can children participate in spiritist meetings at home? We could answer this question with another: are children part of the family? No one could say no, or say that to be a member of the family you need to be a minimum age. Now, what are children? Aren't they incarnated Spirits, to whom the spiritist world is not strange? Aren't children familiar with their Angels, who are also Spirits, from the cradle, and even before they are born?
Excerpts from an article about mediumship in animals, obtained from the Revista Espírita of August 1861.
To begin with, let's understand our facts. What is a medium? It is the being, the individual that serves the Spirits as a link, so that they can easily communicate with men, incarnated Spirits. Consequently, without a medium, no tangible communications, mental, written, physical, or of any kind.
Today I address the problem of animal mediumship, raised and supported by one of your most fervent followers. By virtue of the axiom who can do the most can do the least, he claims that we can mediate birds and other animals, using them in our communications with the human species. It is what, in Philosophy, or rather, in Logic, you call purely and simply a sophistry.
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Men are always willing to exaggerate everything. Some ─ and I'm not talking about materialists here ─ refuse animals a soul and others want to grant them one, so to speak, similar to ours. Why would you want to confuse the perfectible with the imperfectible? No no. Be well convinced that the fire that animates animals, the breath that makes them act, move and speak their language has, until now, no ability to mix, to unite, to merge with the divine breath, the ethereal soul, the Spirit, in a word, that animates the essentially perfectible being, man, this king of Creation. Now, isn’t what marks the superiority of the human species over other earthly species this essential condition of perfectibility? Then! Recognize, therefore, that it is not possible to assimilate to man, the only person perfectible in himself and in his works, any individual of the other living races on Earth.
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Certainly the Spirits can become visible and tangible by animals, often suddenly taken by that fear that seems unfounded to you, and which is caused by the sight of one or more of these Spirits with malicious intentions towards the individuals present or towards the owners of these animals. You often find horses that don't want to move forward or backward or that stall when faced with an imaginary obstacle. Well done! Be sure that the imaginary obstacle is often a Spirit or a group of Spirits who have fun preventing them from advancing. Remember Balaam's donkey, which saw an angel in front of him and, fearing his flaming sword, insisted on not moving forward. Before becoming visible to Balaam, the angel wanted to show himself only to the animal. But, I repeat, we do not directly mediumize animals or inert matter. We always need the conscious or unconscious assistance of a human medium, because we need the union of similar fluids, which we do not find in animals or in gross matter.
He says Mr. Thiry magnetized his dog. What happened? He killed him, because this unfortunate animal later fell into a kind of atony, of languor, as a result of the magnetization. In effect, flooding him with a fluid drawn from an essence superior to the special essence of his nature, it crushed him and acted upon him, albeit more slowly, in the manner of lightning. Thus, as there is no possible identification between our perispirit and the fluidic envelope of the animals themselves, we would crush them instantly if we were to mediumize them.
Having said that, I fully recognize that animals have different abilities; that certain feelings; that certain passions identical with human passions develop in them; who are sensitive and recognized, vengeful and hateful, depending on whether one acts well or badly towards them. It is because God, who makes nothing incomplete, gave animals companions or servants of man, qualities of sociability that are entirely lacking in wild animals that inhabit solitudes.
In short: mediumistic facts cannot manifest themselves without the conscious or unconscious assistance of the medium, and only among the incarnated, Spirits like us, can we find those who can serve us as mediums. As for educating dogs, birds or other animals to do such and such exercises, that is your business and not ours.
ERASTO.
Spiritist Magazine, August 1861 – The medium animals
