When you want to do good, action is undoubtedly essential, without forgetting that what really counts is the intention. Not because God is writing down intentions, but because it is what counts for the individual's learning or attachment. But we cannot forget that the ideal is to know what to do, so as not to do it wrong. Let's talk about Charity and Spiritism.

Speaking of the Spiritist Movement, we unfortunately have the practice of some who place themselves in judgment. On the one hand, some who limit themselves to accumulating knowledge for themselves criticize those who focus on practice. On the other hand, some, who limit themselves to action, unwilling to seek knowledge, they judge those who seek knowledge, as if knowledge were not useful. I'm here to show you that both extremes are wrong.

Hell is full of good intentions

There is a popular saying that says: “hell is paved with good intentions”. This means: wanting to do good, but not knowing what to do, one can produce evil. It is clear, of course, that there is no condemnation except by one's own conscience and that the individual who makes a mistake in wanting to do good will feel much less moral suffering than one who makes a mistake in wanting to do evil. But the fact that I highlight is that, to do good, the ideal is to know what you are doing, and that is why understanding Spiritism is so important for the real understanding of what charity is.

Some time ago, a group of young people got together to fulfill a friend's dream: jumping from bungee jump, which consists of attaching yourself to ropes and jumping from a high place. They got the ropes, tied their friend, who then jumped off a cliff, only to fall to the ground and die. The problem? They didn't know the science of what they were doing and didn't calculate the size of the rope well. I think about the guilt that each of them must carry even today.

Accumulating knowledge without doing anything

There are also individuals who focus on accumulating knowledge. But they apply this knowledge neither to themselves nor to the good of others: they only keep it for themselves, so that, whenever possible, they can prove that they know more than others. It is the height of pride and selfishness, but, one day, this knowledge will be useful for you to act when you regret your mistakes.

Report: elderly, poor and with eight children to look after

As a personal story, I can tell you about a spiritist center that I attended for many years. For as long as I can remember, the practice there has been focused on good, but according to the ideas that shape the current spiritist movement, as if it were a religion: attend the weekly “spiritist house” meeting, listen to the lecture, take a pass and leave . Once a month there is a mediumistic meeting to assist suffering Spirits. Outside of there, we don't talk about Spiritism, much less practice it. The Center is empty, because there is no greater interest. With much effort and overcoming enormous difficulties, the participants of the house promote a monthly event to deliver basic food baskets to families in need. And that's it. These families do not participate in household activities and do not know the real beauty of Spiritism. Leaving there, they go to other institutions and churches to look for more necessary items.

Once, when I happened to be present on that food basket delivery day, we noticed a lady who had been there for over two years. She was extremely sad. His situation: at almost 70 years old, he lost two of his children in different accidents. These children left her with a total of eight children, who she tried to support by collecting rubbish and counting on some help she got from here and there.

Disgusted with God

That day, this lady was desperate and angry with God. I couldn't accept this situation. He asked himself: “What God is this that allows such things?” Noticing this, my mother and I started talking to her especially. We managed to make her understand that these things happen, as part of the tests. What maybe whether it was something previously chosen or not, but, in any case, she was playing such an important role in the lives of these children, teaching them the example of love, dedication and, above all, giving them such important moral values. I told him: “these Spirits will be very grateful for your efforts”, which brought a new sparkle to his eyes.

Furthermore, we organized ourselves in different ways and obtained various donations, including mattresses, as the children slept on the floor.

From that day on, we saw a new energy dominate your Spirit. A new determination to face these difficulties dominated his being. She put aside her revolt, because something clear and simple met her reasoning.

The real face of Spiritism

This “something”, clear and simple, is Spiritism in its essence. Not this “spiritualism” with a small “e”, removed from Kardec's scientific studies and trapped by the most diverse errors born from the blind acceptance of the Spirits' opinions, almost always in mediumistic romances. No: the spiritism, philosophical doctrine, developed by the scientific method. “Spiritism is not a work that marches in the shadows. He is known; its principles are formulated clearly, precisely and without ambiguity” (Revista Espírita, March 1863).

Others could wrongly say that this lady would be “paying off” debts from past lives, which is fake ((Although she may have had past connections with these Spirits and, feeling indebted for something, chose to help them in this life, it is not about “paying off” something, but rather learning by helping.)) or Furthermore, these children were born in that environment to pay off their debts. They forget or are unaware that the Spirit also choose such situations for learning, and not just for expiations (the choices of Spirits who seek to detach themselves from an acquired imperfection). Furthermore, they do not reflect on what such words can do to an already disturbed mind.

The point here is not to say that one does more than the other or that one is better than the other. The point is: the Spiritist Movement, without the knowledge of Spiritism, became lame, incomplete, incapable of giving the true face of the Promised Comforter. Without knowledge, charity becomes mere welfare. Who knows, if in that opportunity given by God, we hadn't paid attention to that lady or hadn't been in a position to say something better, she might have continued to be angry or become even more bitter, perhaps taking regrettable actions, shaken by our words?

Without charity there is no salvation

When Kardec stipulated this standard of Spiritism, “outside of charity there is no salvation”, she was creating a counterbalance to the phrase of the Catholic Church, which said that “outside the Church there is no salvation”. But not only that: he exactly defined the principle of charity through Spiritism, as a means of salvation, being one's own effort to do good or return to it.

What is charity for Spiritism? And the moral duty. It is action for good, which does not expect rewards. And doing good is wanting to be useful to others, helping and being helped, learning and teaching. Now, how can you be really useful without knowing what you are doing? We could, wishing to be useful, tie ropes to someone else's legs, to push them off a cliff, without measuring the size of that rope.

I have always highlighted, because I went through this myself, as that lady also went through and as many others also went through: in the most difficult moments of our lives, in the most overwhelming ones, our conscience seeks rational answers to what we go through. And faith, as Kardec said, when it cannot face reason, weakens. Many move away from religion and any spirituality when it happens.

I repeat what Kardec said about Spiritism: “its principles are formulated clearly, precisely and without ambiguity“. It was the knowledge of these principles, acquired only after thirty three years living in the Spiritist Movement, which allowed me to give clear, simple and rational words to that lady. It was this knowledge that allowed me to get out of depression, through long and uninterrupted work of study.

Conclusion

What I intend to demonstrate, finally, is that Spiritism is a scientific doctrine that gives us the knowledge to make much less mistakes, doing good with more assertiveness and transmitting fewer wrong ideas. Today, I look back and see countless examples of people who moved away from the Spiritist Movement due to the false ideas that dominate this environment, which became a religion like all others.

Warm up a being that is cold; give him food so he doesn't succumb to hunger; water to quench your thirst: all are necessary and urgent acts of charity. But what about helping you change your inner dispositions through understanding, something that Spiritism achieves with unparalleled clarity? What about welcoming him, listening to his complaints, his pain, and then giving him an idea of a philosophy that allows him to see life in another way, clear and rational, as well as simple? After all, many who are in these conditions lack the will, often precisely because they believe they are like this because of punishment.

The original idea of Spiritism is much clearer, rational and forgiving. It reflects the goodness of divine justice. Charity, according to Spiritism, is something simple and profound: it consists of doing good without expecting a return. Moving away from this knowledge has made us unhelpful or even harmful in our speech and actions, even when we aspire to do good.

Many followers of the Spiritist movement use the term "Kardecism" or "Kardecist" to refer to their "religion" or "belief." In just one sentence, we already have three errors, which we can start with.

spiritism is science

Firstly, it is important to highlight that Spiritism is a science. As such, it is one. It could have branches of study areas, such as Physics, Quantum Physics, Mechanics, Optics, etc. But Physics is one, just as Spiritism is one. Talking about “kardecism” would be like stopping talking about Physics to talking about Newtonism or Einsteinism, which would be a mistake, since Newton and Einstein were researchers who, using the scientific method, studied Physics and generated their ideas. scientific theories. Allan Kardec did the same.

To say “kardecism” is to give a personality to spiritist science, reducing it to the expression of Kardec’s ideas, which is false. Kardec was the researcher responsible for centralizing the studies, yes, and it is his works that form the Spiritist Doctrine as it is known. But it is necessary to remember that his works are the result of collective and collaborative work. Kardec never gave himself the right to dominate the truth.

The other mistakes would be treating Spiritism as a religion, what is not true, or as belief, which would be to demote it from the level of science and transform it into mere belief. It is necessary to distinguish what is born from blind belief in what someone says, from the “belief” born from scientific reasoning. They are different things.

Spiritist Movement became religion

Unfortunately, it is important to highlight that what became the Spiritist Movement became beliefs and religion. For most modern spiritists, Kardec has the same weight as Jesus in religions linked to the Old Testament: his name is spoken of, to give credibility, but only the surface is known, preferring to stay with the distortions.

Conclusion

When asked about my religion, do not say that you are a spiritist, Kardecist, etc. If you have a religion, say your religion and say that, in addition, you study Spiritism. If you have no religion and study spiritist science, say: “I have no religion: I study spiritist science”.

The "Spirit Box" is a much-discussed device these days, especially because of "ghost-hunting" channels. Even..., with many mistakes, The "Spiritist Channel" has already addressed this issue, as I demonstrate. in this video. But the subject is not new: for a long time, researchers in instrumental transcommunication (ICT) have said that they use electronic devices to communicate with Spirits. Allan Bispo describes the following curious fact:

We could say that the first case of a recorded paranormal voice took place in the experimental physics laboratory of the Catholic University of Milan, on September 17, 1952.

There, Fathers Gemelli and Ernetti carried out experiments with Gregorian chants to eliminate harmonics. At that time there were no recorders with tapes, only with wires. This thread broke frequently, so it was necessary to tie a very fine knot to avoid damaging the sound.

That day, the thread had just broken once again and Father Gemelli, upset, exclaimed: “oh, daddy, help me”, as he had been in the habit of saying for many years, since the death of his father.

Once the repair was done, they began to listen to the recorded material, however, instead of the expected Gregorian chant, they heard their father's voice in amazement: “of course I help you and I am always with you”.

BISPO, Allan. “Instrumental Transcommunication”. Available at https://www.harmoniaespiritual.com.br/2011/09/transcomunicacao-instrumental.html. Accessed October 19, 2023.

Based on these and other facts, we can see that instrumental transcommunication, even through the "Spirit Box," is not impossible. In fact, it seems quite feasible. The question, always, when dealing with science, will be knowing how to analyze everything coldly and methodically, separating things...

Interests

The greatest difficulty, always, will be knowing how to analyze and separate what is true and serious from what is not. The problem is not new: in Kardec's time, charlatans already used all sorts of tricks and artifices to gain fame and, almost always, money. Therefore, Kardec always recommended a cool head in the analysis of these supposed phenomena, never accepting anything hastily. The articles "The Forest of Dodona and the Statue of Memnon," from the Spiritist Review of February 1858, "Spiritist Frauds," from April 1859, and "The Creaking Muscle," from June 1859, are recommended in this regard ((The entire study of the Spiritist Review is important, of course)).

This problem, of the interests behind the supposed phenomena, is not restricted to communication through instruments alone. It also covers mediumistic communications, unfortunately. But, currently, a new (bad) contribution has added in this sense: the emergence of applications that, supposedly, allow communication with Spirits.

It is not in our position to say whether or not Spirits can interact through a cell phone application, simply because there is no methodological study on this. Since Spiritism is a science, this is clear: what is not developed by scientific methodology it cannot be admitted, nor summarily dismissed. But there is a relevant point: the Spirits do not interact directly on matter, that is, not without a medium of physical effects that allow them to obtain the animalized perispiritual fluid (ectoplasm) to carry out any action on matter. Having this medium at his disposal — often without the medium even knowing — the Spirit acts, so to speak, directly on the subject. Therefore, we can safely say that communication via objects (instrumental transcommunication) is just another option and, perhaps, the most limited of them.

be admitted, nor summarily dismissed. The point here is to point out the fact that, armed with such applications and false ideas, video channels on YouTube have become gigantic sources of profits and misinformation. Many of these channels, with hundreds of thousands of followers, generate monthly sums of thousands of dollars for their owners, who seem to find Spirits “trapped” in every abandoned property. Furthermore, we have the device and application market itself, which lives off the advertising carried out through these channels. It is a true pyramid of interests, where charity has no place.

False assumptions

Spirits preferably frequent the ruins

Due to lack of knowledge of Spiritism, the false idea is that suffering Spirits would be especially located in certain places, such as abandoned houses and cemeteries. This is false. As what is contained in The Book of Mediums in this regard is excellent in itself, I recommend reading the article “Haunted places“"From which I highlight the following excerpt:"

4th. Is there any basis for the belief that Spirits preferably frequent ruins?

"None. Spirits go to such places, like everyone else. Men's imagination, awakened by the gloomy appearance of certain places, attributes to the presence of Spirits what is, almost always, a very natural effect. How many times has fear caused the shadow of a tree to be mistaken for a ghost and the cry of an animal, or the breath of the wind, for ghosts? Spirits like the presence of men; hence they prefer inhabited places to deserted places.”

This does not mean that there are no Spirits who remain attached to places, especially when it comes to their former homes. Sad reality, which causes suffering to the Spirit with attachment to materialistic ideas.

Only suffering spirits communicate

A fixed idea among “ghostbusters” is that only dark or suffering Spirits communicate. This is false. Inferior Spirits communicate through physical manifestations, but this does not mean that they are malicious or that their intentions are bad. Many times they just want to get attention or even thank you. The Revista Espírita is full of facts like these, one of them being the one told in the article “An old carter“December 1859.

Talking to suffering spirits causes obsession

This is another very false idea that reigns in the spiritist movement in general. What causes obsession is the free acceptance of the influence of another Spirit, incarnate or disembodied. As long as this influence is not allowed, by a greater moral force, it will not occur. We cannot, however, support the jokes and nonsense made through the evocations of Spirits, which can only attract frivolous or even malicious Spirits (who, once again, will only find room for influence if they find resonance in the ideas and actions of individuals ).

A strange fact is that one of the biggest factors in the installation of an obsession is the blind acceptance of what the Spirits say, something that most of the modern Spiritist Movement does. We have already discussed this in the article “Obsessed and Subdued: the dangers of Spiritism“".

One more fact: It is not the evocation that attracts the Spirits, but the thought.

The spirits that communicate are "bound" to Earth.

Yet another oft-repeated idea, and false, The misconception is that Spirits need "redemption" and that, if this doesn't happen, they will remain "trapped" on Earth. Even a large channel like the "Spiritist Channel" spreads this false idea, based on opinions. As demonstrated in The Book of Mediums (and the entire Spiritist Doctrine), Spirits move through their will. Due to their will, and because of limited understanding and attachments, they can cling to people, situations, or places. The more elevated and detached from materialistic ideas they are—something that Spiritism substantially favors—the more easily they detach themselves from matter.

It is a fact that a large part of the Spirits that leave matter, here on Earth, are still poorly developed Spirits who remain concerned and involved with worldly interests. But it's not like that for everyone. Again, the study of the Revista Espírita (1858 – 1869) proves this principle.

Summoning Spirits causes them to become Earthbound

This idea, repeated by Luiz Fernando, on Canal Espírita, also has no basis in Spiritism. In fact, it contradicts everything that years of serious research have demonstrated. Evoking Spirits (in a serious way and with good purposes) is useful and natural and, in the case of suffering Spirits, it helps them to reason and to detach themselves from matter. It is the opposite of what those who claim such things say.

Futility

In addition to uselessness and interests, we also have futility. In the same way that happened with the games with the compass and the moving glasses, the frivolous and futile evocation of Spirits can only attract frivolous and futile Spirits. Sometimes, an evil spirit seeks to play a trick or scare you. Other times, if there is resonance of ideas, you can find someone to obsess over.

Absence of usefulness

Assuming that some of these events are genuine communications and allowing for the possibility that they may occur, we need to ask what is the use of them, given that can only be performed by inferior Spirits? Now, it is a fact that these manifestations had their reason for being, in the past, in order to draw attention to spiritist facts, but would they be necessary today (except for very particular cases)? We ask: why not use mediums, which are much better and more complete tools for these communications?

It is also important to remember that Spirits cannot interact with matter directly, without the assistance of a medium, even if unconscious of it. This is evidenced in The Book of Mediums or guide for mediums and evokers > Second part — Spiritist manifestations > Chapter V — Spontaneous physical manifestations > Throwing objects. Thus, we reflect: since the medium is indispensable, wouldn't it be more logical to make them good tools, through study, instead of referring the Spirits to physical manifestations?

Furthermore, we must highlight that, apart from errors and charlatanism, there are genuine material phenomena of Spirits attached to materialistic ideas who, therefore, cannot find a better direction after leaving the body. Still here, it is noted that, due to the lack of knowledge of Spiritism, well-intentioned individuals, equipped with their “Spirit Box”, are no longer much more useful, as they do not know how to deal with this fact. They are based on current false ideas and add very little or nothing to help change that Spirit's thoughts.

Importance of Spiritism

Spiritism, as a scientific doctrine, is the result of years of serious and methodological research into the manifestations of Spirits. It is not something that someone has taken from their own ideas and said “I say it is so”. On the contrary: this study led, on several occasions, to individuals, including Kardec, being contradicted in their hypotheses.

For this reason, studying it is essential for anyone who wants to do good with fewer mistakes and practice healthy and useful communication with Spirits as it should be.

This article brings, in full, the chapter from The Book of Mediums that deals with haunted places. It is excellent and clear in itself, so that we do not find it necessary to make further comments.

The article in question was raised by the topic of Spirit Boxes, discussed in homonymous article is at recent video.

The Mediums' Book — Part Two — Of Spiritist Manifestations > Chapter IX — Of Haunted Places

132. The spontaneous manifestations, which have occurred at all times, and the persistence of some Spirits in showing ostentatiously their presence in certain locations, constitute the source of origin of the belief in the existence of haunted places. The following answers were given to questions asked on this subject:

1st. Do Spirits attach themselves only to people, or also to things?

“It depends on their elevation. Some Spirits can become attached to earthly objects. The miserly, for example, who have hidden their treasures and who are not yet dematerialized enough, often persist in watching and guarding them.”

2nd. Do wandering Spirits ((A wandering Spirit is the Spirit between one life and another)) have favorite places?

“The principle is still the same here. Spirits who no longer feel attached to the Earth go wherever they have the opportunity to practice love. They are attracted more to people than to material objects. However, it may happen that some of them have, for a certain period of time, a preference for certain places. These, however, are always inferior Spirits.”

3rd. Does the attachment of Spirits to a location, being a sign of inferiority, also constitute proof of their being evil?

"Certainly not. A Spirit can be little advanced, without being bad. Isn’t the same observed among men?”

4th. Is there any basis for the belief that Spirits preferably frequent ruins?

"None. Spirits go to such places, like everyone else. Men's imagination, awakened by the gloomy appearance of certain places, attributes to the presence of Spirits what is, almost always, a very natural effect. How many times has fear caused the shadow of a tree to be mistaken for a ghost and the cry of an animal, or the breath of the wind, for ghosts? Spirits like the presence of men; hence they prefer inhabited places to deserted places.”

a) However, based on what we know about the diversity of characters among Spirits, we can infer the existence of misanthropic Spirits, who prefer solitude.

“That's why I didn't answer the question absolutely. He said they can come to deserted places, like everywhere. It is evident that, if some remain insulated, it is because they like it. This, however, does not constitute a reason for them to necessarily have a predilection for ruins. There are far greater numbers of them in cities and palaces than in the interior of the forests.”

5th. In general, popular beliefs contain a grain of truth. What was the origin of the belief in haunted places?

“The truth lies in the manifestation of Spirits, in which man has instinctively believed since all time. But, as I said above, the gloomy aspect of certain places hurts his imagination and this naturally leads him to place beings in those places that he considers supernatural. Furthermore, to entertain this superstitious belief, there are the poetic narratives and fantastic tales that comforted him in childhood.”

6th. Are there, for Spirits who usually meet, days and times when they prefer to do so?

"No. Days and hours are measures of time for the use of men and for corporeal life, of which Spirits feel no need and take no notice.”

7th Where did the idea that Spirits preferably come during the night come from?

“From the impression that silence and darkness produce on the imagination. All these beliefs are superstitions that the rational knowledge of Spiritism will destroy. The same goes for the days and hours that many believe are most favorable to them. It is certain that the influence of midnight never existed, except in the stories.”

a) Therefore, why do some Spirits announce their coming and their manifestations for certain specific days, such as Friday, for example?

“This is what Spirits do who take advantage of men's gullibility to have fun. For the same reason, there are those who call themselves the devil, or give themselves infernal names. Show them that you are not deceived and they will not come back.”

8th. Do spirits prefer to visit the tombs where their bodies rest?

“The body was a simple garment. In the same way that the prisoner feels no attraction for the chains that bind him, the Spirits feel no attraction for the envelope that made them suffer. The memory of the people who are dear to them is the only thing that has value for them.”

a) Are the prayers that are said for them at the tombs of their bodies more pleasant than any other?

“Prayer, you know, is an evocation that attracts the Spirits. The greater the action, the more fervent and sincere it is. Now, next to a venerated tomb, one is always more collected than elsewhere, and the conservation of cherished relics is a testimony of affection given to the Spirit and which never fails to touch him. What acts on the Spirit is always thought and not material objects. These objects exert more influence than on the Spirit on the one who prays, because they focus his attention.”

9th. In view of this, does it seem that belief in haunted places should not be considered absolutely false?

“We said that certain Spirits can feel attracted to material things. They can do so in certain places, where they seem to establish domicile, until the circumstances that made them seek out those places disappear.”

a) What circumstances might induce them to seek such places?

“The sympathy for some of the people who frequent them, or the desire to communicate with them. However, they do not always have laudable intentions. When they are bad spirits, they may intend to take revenge on people they have complaints about. Staying in a certain place can also be, for some, a punishment inflicted on them, especially if they have committed a crime there, so that they have it constantly before their eyes*.”

10th. Are places always haunted by their former inhabitants?

"Always no; — sometimes, because, if the former inhabitant of one of these places is a high Spirit, he will worry as little about his earthly home as he will about his body. The Spirits that haunt certain places often have no reason for doing so other than simple whim, unless they are attracted there by the sympathy that certain people inspire in them.”

a) Can they establish themselves in such a place with the aim of protecting a person, or their own family?

“Certainly, if they are good Spirits; however, in this case, they never manifest their presence through unpleasant means.”

11th. Is there anything real in the story of the White Lady?

“Mere tale, extracted from a thousand true facts.”

12th. Is it rational to fear places haunted by Spirits?

"No. The Spirits that frequent certain places, causing disorders in them, rather want to have fun at the expense of men's credulity and armchairs, than to harm them. In fact, you must remember that there are Spirits everywhere and that, wherever you are, you will have them by your side, even in the most peaceful rooms. Almost always, they only haunt certain houses, because they find an opportunity to manifest their presence there.”

13th. Will there be ways to expel them?

"There is; What they often do for this, however, attracts them, instead of pushing them away. The best way to expel bad Spirits is to attract good ones. Therefore, attract the good Spirits, doing all the good you can, and the bad ones will disappear, since good and evil are incompatible. Always be good and you will only have good Spirits with you.”

a) There are, however, very kind people who live with the mischief of evil Spirits. Why?

“If these people are really good, this perhaps happens as proof, to exercise their patience and encourage them to become even better. Be certain, however, that it is not those who continually talk about virtues who possess them the most. He who is possessed of real qualities almost always ignores them, or never speaks of them.”

14th. What should we think about the effectiveness of exorcisms to expel evil spirits from haunted places?

“Have you had the opportunity to verify the effectiveness of this process? Have you not seen, on the contrary, the troubles redouble in intensity, after the exorcism ceremonies? It's just that the Spirits that cause them enjoy being taken over by the devil.

“Also, those who do not present themselves with malevolent intentions can manifest their presence through noise and even by becoming visible, but they never commit disorder or nuisance. They are often suffering Spirits, whose suffering you can alleviate by praying for them. Other times, they are even benevolent Spirits, who want to prove that they are with you, or, rather, frivolous Spirits who play. As those who disturb the rest are almost always Spirits who are having fun, the best thing for those who find themselves persecuted to do is to laugh at what happens to them. Disturbers get tired, finding that they cannot be afraid or impatient.” (See chapter V above: On spontaneous manifestations.)

It follows from the explanations above that there are Spirits that attach themselves to certain places, preferring to remain there, without, however, having the need to manifest their presence through sensitive effects. Any place can be the obligatory or favorite home of a Spirit, however bad, without any manifestation ever taking place. Those who attach themselves to certain locations, or to certain material things, are never superior Spirits. However, even if they do not belong to this category, it may be that they are not bad and have no bad intentions. Often, they are even more useful than harmful commensals, because, as long as they are interested in people, they can protect them.

• See Revue spirite, from February 1860: “Story of a Damned Man”.

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.. This is how we see channels like “Root Spiritism“, for a time the largest Brazilian channel called “spiritist”, stating and teaching, among other errors, that Spirits incarnate only for expiations, which would be, according to him, debt payments — a complete doctrinal distortion that leads to several effects negative, as I demonstrated in this article. Eduardo Sabbag, owner of this channel, recently made appearances on the channel House Prayer Platform, where the main “speaker” states, supposedly mediated, that he would be the reincarnation of Allan Kardec and in several moments compares himself to Jesus, to then bring up themes linked to ufology and the 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.

Here is where we find the greatest difficulty that currently plagues Spiritism and hides the doctrine under a thick layer of false ideas: when people, so-called spiritists, forget to (or refuse to) study Kardec's works and pass by to admit “news” that were born from indispensable scientific method. We have already addressed this issue several times, with the articles “The role of the researcher and the medium in communications with the Spirits" and "Should we publish everything that the Spirits say?” the most interesting of them.

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.

Another idea that reigns in the Spiritist world: mediums would be indebted Spirits who are born to redeem debts from past lives.

I would like people who repeat these ideas to show where they appear in Allan Kardec's work. It will be a difficult task, as they will not find it. Mediumship is a choice, often aiming to lead the individual to the study of Spiritism, but many end up stumbling along the paths of vanity and pride and waste this opportunity.

This idea comes from false ideas linked to karma, as always. We've dealt with this several times.

We don't have much to say about this, because the idea is easily overcome. We just want to say that, to be a good medium, it is important to know how to deal well with this true science that allows us to communicate with Spirits. Allan Kardec's studies, organized by the Spirit of Truth, provided the basis for this science and were the only ones to approach, with scientific methodology, mediumistic phenomena. Don't leave this study aside if you want to be really useful.

You need to be very careful. It is not that outside of Kardec there is no truth: it is that, without a scientific method in communicating with Spirits, lies, illusions and truths are admitted, blindly and indiscriminately.

It is very clear to observe that Ramatis (or every Spirit that identifies with this name) transmits rational and scientific absurdities, many of which have already been refuted by elementary science.

These Spirits start from the wrong idea of the fall through sin, and thus teach, because they believe or because they want to mystify, false ideas linked to a punishing God, who punishes error. It is exactly the principle of errors in religions and, in this sense, there is nothing about Spiritism there – just study Heaven and Hell, Genesis and the Spiritist Magazine, from 1858 to 1869, to make sure of this.

Through a medium, any Spirit can speak. If, on our side, we believe blindly, we will be easily fascinated by mystifying Spirits.

Read the article “The role of the researcher and the medium in communications with the Spirits“".

“Canal Espírita”, by Luiz Fernando Amaral, on YouTube, is a channel that already has almost eight hundred thousand followers, with thousands of views. Due to its size and the expressiveness it has in this environment, it is worrying to see, there, the circulation and dissemination of certain ideas that are even contrary to the Spiritist Doctrine. In a way…

In no way do I doubt Luiz Fernando's good intentions. I just don't understand why there is resistance to studying and promoting Spiritism as it really is, since this knowledge helps us make fewer mistakes and be more useful.

By leaving Kardec, we leave aside the efforts of the Spirit of Truth himself

Many do not think that, by leaving Kardec aside to focus on “news” that do not come from the scientific method, they leave aside the efforts of superior Spirits and the Spirit of Truth himself, who coordinated the initiative for the birth of the Spiritist Doctrine. This is not about the opinion of one man, but about the Comforter promised by Jesus. Kardec did not end up in his position by chance: it was planned by a superior effort. The method he developed — universal agreement submitted to the criterion of reason — is required and cannot be abandoned!

Now, do we want to treat Spiritism as something lesser? As a minor “effort”, surpassed by the mere ideas of anyone who comes to give their opinion? Now, spiritists, let us put our hands on our conscience!

I am not of the opinion, because it is not a fact, that Spiritism was ended with Kardec; however, because it is a science, to be continued, it necessarily lacks the scientific method, so that we cannot simply accept any ideas and communications as if they were true, no matter which medium they are given or what name the Spirit presents.

In the same way, we cannot simply discard communications from Spirits outside of coding. Once again: we need a scientific and rational method, not just blind acceptance or denial.

False ideas, arising from isolated opinions

Luiz Fernando, on Canal Espírita, among some videos in which he returns to Kardec, frequently makes videos promoting and reinforcing false ideas that have infiltrated the Spiritist milieu. We count, among them, those linked to karma or even the “exile” of Spirits, in addition to the ideas linked to Umbral, unverified generic psychographics, spiritual animal colonies, etc. Ideas that the study of Spiritism quickly demonstrates as uncertain or misleading. And what's the problem with that?

The problem is that, slowly and persistently, blindly accepted ideas are undermining Spiritism and increasingly hindering its progress and its real potential to advance humanity. Due to a lack of knowledge and commitment to science born from the efforts of elevated Spirits, but also due to an attachment to ideas born in novels, slightly inferior, or even imperfect, Spirits are allowed to spread their harmful ideas in the Spiritist environment.

Allan Kardec was emphatic in demonstrating, as a result of his long years of studies, that the Spirits, after leaving the body, continue to be who they were. Many, the vast majority, continue to carry false ideas and attachments. They do not gain full knowledge of the world of Spirits simply by leaving the body. Others are declared enemies of Spiritism, because they find in it the demolition of the ideas they cling to, out of ignorance. This is the reason why many of them present ideas contrary to what has been demonstrated by the study of thousands of evocations and communications from thousands of Spirits, by thousands of mediums, everywhere.

Reluctance to study

But Luiz Fernando, on Canal Espírita, unfortunately seems to choose only to be reluctant, and I say this because of the way he has already responded to me by highlighting inconsistencies between Spiritism and certain ideas disseminated by him, born from isolated opinions. He recently recorded a video criticizing anyone who recommends returning to Kardec, because it seems to be more pleasant to disseminate ideas born from novels and supposed unverified psychographics. Instead of deciding to open Revista Espírita and study, he chooses to affectively refute criticism of his videos with ideas contrary to Spiritism and believes that, being a medium, he would only be guided by good Spirits. Furthermore, he tries to form the idea that criticizing him is giving rise to “low vibrations”.

Yes, we need to resume the development of spiritist science. But, to do so, we first need to revisit it as a science, understanding its principles and methods, developed at the expense of Kardec's health and resources, for years on end. Today, due to the reluctance to study, people make mistakes in the most insignificant, most absurd things, while so simple they could be avoided with a more careful study of Spiritism.

Once again, we recommend everyone to return to study the Spiritist Magazine and Kardec's other works, especially when speaking to many. Even when we study, sometimes we make mistakes, but at least we won't have our conscience accusing us of not having sought to know the knowledge that we insistently used to knock on our door and which, today, is three clicks away.

I hope that my colleague is touched on his conscience as soon as possible. You have huge potential on your channel. All that remains is to use this potential to spread real Spiritism, away from false ideas. Furthermore, I hope he stops taking these issues personally, especially when it comes to science. I myself receive a lot of criticism and I am grateful for it, as there are frequent opportunities to consult my conscience about what I do, never believing that I would be free from mistakes because I believed that only good Spirits would be around me.

“You want to do good, I have no doubt. He wants to talk about Spiritism, because he believes it is good content. But the Spiritism you know is that of the novels, and not the original. It thus reproduces ideas born from the isolated opinions of certain Spirits, which are often incomplete, misleading and even contrary to Spiritism and reason. The effect is the opposite: far from helping people climb steps, it often keeps them away from the stairs.

Spiritism exists in the works of Kardec, well described in Revista Espírita, and was developed based on the scientific method. It has not been completed, but, to be developed, it needs the same method.”

Paulo Degering R. Junior

If spiritists knew what the Spiritist Center is, what its function and significance really are, Spiritism would be the most important cultural and spiritual movement on Earth today. We have in Brazil – and this is a universal consensus – the largest, most active and productive spiritist movement on the planet. The expansion of Spiritism in our land is incessant and continues at an accelerated pace. But what we do, throughout this vast spiritist continent, is an immense effort to churchify Spiritism, to pair it with decadent and outdated religions, forming mystical and, therefore, fanatical nuclei everywhere, disconnected from immediate reality.

José Herculano Pires — The Spiritist Center

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The Luz Espírita portal, supported by biased surveys Carlos Seth and others, continues to wage a "weird campaign" ((I take the liberty of using the same term they use against those they disagree with)) against those who conclude differently from them, based on reams of evidence they choose to disregard. It's worth noting that, "on this side," far from dismissing the evidence they found, we merely verify that it doesn't prove the impossibility of the tampering having occurred. All they have is evidence that Kardec had begun producing new editions of Heaven and Hell and Genesis, but not that he completed them, nor that the works printed after his death were unchanged. Furthermore, they fail to address the most important issue: explaining the absurd, unannounced, and even contradictory differences between one edition and another.

The point is that we do not want to obtain a monopoly on common sense and truth, thing they insist on doing, without trying to do what matters most: explain the reason for the grotesque differences between the editions in question. We highlight, for example, some differences between the fourth edition of Heaven and Hell, recorded after Kardec's death, and the third edition (same as the first). Respectively:

Fourth edition of Heaven and Hell

Registered after Kardec's death.

• Chapter VIII became chapter VII;
• Most of the philosophical rhetoric with which Kardec opened the chapter was removed
• The title “Future punishments according to Spiritism” became “Criminal code of the future life“".

7th — The Spirit suffers for the evil he has done, so that his attention is incessantly focused on the consequences of that evil, he better understands its inconveniences and is motivated to correct himself.

8th — Since God's justice is infinite, a rigorous account of good and evil is kept; if there is not a single bad action, a single bad thought that does not have its fatal consequences, there is not a single good action, a single good movement of the soul, the slightest merit, in a word, that is lost, even in the most perverse, because it is a beginning of progress.

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, 4th edition.

Item 10 is, perhaps, the biggest proof of tampering (click to read the article).

Third edition of Heaven and Hell

Published and registered by Allan Kardec.

Chapter VIII — Future penalties according to Spiritism

7. God's justice being infinite, a strict account of good and evil is kept; if there is not a single bad action, a single bad thought that does not have its fatal consequences, there is not a single good action, not a single good movement of the soul – in short, the simplest merit – that is lost, even in the most perverse , because it is a beginning of progress.

8. The duration of the punishment is subject to the perfection of the guilty spirit. No sentence for a fixed time is pronounced against him. What God requires to put an end to suffering is repentance, atonement and reparation — in short: a serious, effective improvement, as well as a sincere return to goodness.

The spirit is thus always the arbiter of its own destiny; he can prolong his sufferings by his hardening in evil, alleviate them or abbreviate them by his efforts to do good. A sentence for any given period of time would have the double disadvantage of either continuing to affect the spirit that had been perfected, or ending while it was still in evil. God, who is just, punishes evil while it exists; and ends punishment when evil no longer exists. Thus this expression is confirmed: I do not want the sinner to die, but for him to live, and I will accuse him UNTIL HE REPENTS.

9. Since the duration of the punishment is subordinated to repentance, it follows that the guilty spirit that did not repent and never perfected itself would always suffer, and that, for it, the punishment would be eternal. The eternity of punishment must then be understood in a relative sense, and not in an absolute sense.

Heaven and Hell, 1st to 3rd editions.

We can notice a stark difference between the editions. Likewise, the fifth edition of A Gênesis contains inexplicable changes between the edition published by Allan Kardec and the edition recorded almost three years after his death.

We spare no effort

We have already addressed the topic several times. Those mentioned above do not spare words and derogatory terms to try to discredit those who conclude differently from them. We, therefore, do our part, based on abundant evidence, and with the certainty that the other party never took the time to read and calmly reflect on all of it. We do not say: “this is the final truth”, but we say: “do not be guided by anyone who tries to take a monopoly on the truth”.

It is interesting to note how the other party's texts are always in love, that is, they carry a great note of emotion and apparent anger or envy. This already denotes an urgency to provoke belief by means other than those of reason. In fact, in his desire to dominate the truth, Carlos Seth has already committed gaffes as banal as wanting to say that Talking about Rational Spiritualism would be bringing a division to the spiritist environment.

It is even more interesting to note that they Never they mention the name of Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo, nor do they bring their evidence and arguments to the discussion. They just say that they have already refuted everything — which we profoundly disagree with. They do the same with Simoni Privato, although they still mention its name.

Well, without trying to prolong this subject in a tiring manner, we are always grateful for the free propaganda that they themselves carry out against ideas that they cannot accept.

It is not my custom to address groups or individuals in particular. In this case, in relation to the group “Casa Plataforma de Pração”, I think this is essential, since it uses the name of Spiritism.

I want to start by reminding you that the Mediumship is not exclusive to any religion, nor to Spiritism. Everyone can practice it, good or bad. The problem is when you put aside a science and its knowledge, obtained through hard research work, while, lightly, using the name and terms of that science to give yourself credibility. Amazingly: the main character of this sect claims to be Kardec himself and constantly compares himself to Jesus, lowering the Master to the level of a lowly worldly man.

Even more serious is when, putting aside this science, but using its name, allow yourself to deceive and be deceived precisely because of the errors that would be avoided by the real knowledge it brings.

Spiritism, as we know from our studies, does not cast anathema. Rather it says: to each according to his works. In fact, in no way do I come to judge the intentions of this group, which may be commendable... But I think it is up to us to point out and defend Spiritism when others launch false ideas in its name.

What we unfortunately see, on the aforementioned group's channel, is a great danger that they themselves run: mediums who have given themselves over to blind belief in what the Spirits say, if they say so. They give in to fascination and obsession and lightly, without knowledge, they cite Spiritism, only to deny it.

I do not believe it is necessary to go back to the countless points where spiritist science demonstrated the serious problems into which the practices adopted there throw them. We have some articles that talk about this, like The role of the researcher and the medium in communications with the Spirits, Obsessed and Subjugated — The Dangers of Spiritism and The fight against an obsessive spirit.

There, on the channel of the Casa Plataforma de Oração group, we see not only a persistent action of Spirits who use venerable names to launch the most complete absurdities, which should not happen among people who study Spiritism. We also see frequent reference to Spiritism, but not as sources of studies.

Refer only in name and terms, but only disseminate ideas contrary to the Spiritist Doctrine and they attack the defenders of spiritist science, calling them “impressed spiritists”, for demonstrating that Spiritism contradicts what they say.

The position they adopted is regrettable, much more so for them, who will have a lot to atone for in the future, but also for those who listen to them. Many neophytes may fall into one of their videos, believing that they are talking about Spiritism, and thus accepting the most absurd and even harmful things.

That's just what I want to highlight, adding: it's a shame that, instead of seeking healthy mediumship, offering to cooperate, they choose to fall into the most terrible mistakes, so often found by Kardec in the study of Spiritism. They go so far as to admit the absurd ideas that were born from the book “Letters of Christ”, where it is stated that Jesus, before “awakening” to his mission, would have been a braggart, a drunkard and a womanizer. But it doesn’t stop there: the main “medium” there even compares himself to Jesus Christ!

Let this serve as a warning to those who have doubts: what is practiced there is mediumship, practiced without any care, and not Spiritism. If Spiritism were present, through the study of Kardec's works, born of serious scientific methodology, we would not see regrettable mistakes, completely absurd ideas and attacks on reason in their meetings, recorded on video.

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