We have talked a lot about the great distance between Spiritism, or spiritist science, and what the Spiritist Movement learns and disseminates in Brazil, each day more contaminated by distortions and mysticism. I do not believe it necessary to repeat the facts in this regard. We limit ourselves to recommending the reader to articles The distance between Spiritism and the Spiritist Movement, Prophecy of the Spirit of Truth, The Spiritist Channel and Spiritism, The boy and the oasis: a fable of hope, an interesting dialogue, An invitation to self-criticism of the Spiritist Movement, among others.

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, 23^The 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

The fact is that Spiritism has already been established in Brazil, adulterated by the fledgling Spiritist Movement ((facts amply presented in 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?

Here, finally, we come to another criticism from certain people: "To say there was adulteration would be to throw mud at Kardec, to incite disbelief in Spiritism." "Besides," they say, "what Doctrine is this that the Spirits allow such a thing, without warning?" It's a completely illogical thought.

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.

To the idea that “the Spirits would not have permitted adulterations,” we oppose the strong recommendation to study the Doctrine, which evidently was not done by these people. The Spirits warned several times about the plots of the enemies of the Doctrine, as we demonstrated in Prophecy of the Spirit of Truth. Based on the warnings and evidence, Kardec also predicted the future of Spiritism, as highlighted in the Spiritist Magazine of December 1863, in the article “Period of Struggles”:

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.

We cannot fail to recommend how essential reading The work Autonomy – The Untold Story of Spiritism, by Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo.

Be part of this journey, which is collective and will only happen through the collaboration of many.

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

Note, also, the following excerpt from The Spirits' Book (emphasis added):

399. Being the vicissitudes of bodily life expiation of past faults and, at the same time, trials with a view to the future, it will follow that from the nature of such vicissitudes it can be inferred what kind of existence was the previous one?

" Very often this is possible , since each one is punished for what he sinned. However, there is no absolute rule to be drawn from this.. Instinctive tendencies constitute a more reliable indication, since the tests that the Spirit goes through are determined both by what concerns the past and by what concerns the future.”

This is very important. Kardec, in his works, always builds on the foundations, repeatedly repeating what was already understood as fact in Spiritist science. When he needed to contradict a point, to correct his understanding, he was very clear about it. Thus, "out of nowhere," Kardec would have contradicted the Doctrine to say the following, establishing a rule:

“By the nature of the sufferings and vicissitudes endured in corporeal life , one can judge the nature of the faults committed in a previous existence, and the imperfections that are their cause.” (Allan Kardec, Heaven and Hell, 4th edition, adulterated).

Do you see how inconsistent this is with Kardec's understanding of Spiritism and his approach? He would have done the same in the paragraph preceding this one, which is impossible, since he would later contradict these erroneous opinions again in Genesis. This is crucial, as this idea is directly linked to the Roustainguist influence in the adulteration of this work, in the chapter that is essentially the core, the foundation of Spiritist moral theory.

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.

25. 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?

NETTO, Henri. In search of doubt: where is the truth? Published on the Espiritismo com Kardec – ECK website, on 12/24/2023. Available in comkardec.net.br/a-procura-da-duvida-onde-esta-a-verdade-por-henri-netto

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.

Continuation of the article Prophecy of the Spirit of Truth. Spiritism develops the Idea of Jesus.

For a time, they despised Kardec's message, bringing false ideas into their doctrine. His concluding works had their best adulterated ideas. A persistent disclosure of false principles by refractors (( “22. Alongside the materialists strictly speaking, there is a third class of unbelievers who, although spiritualists, at least in name, are no less refractory to Spiritism: they are the unwilling unbelievers. These do not want to believe, because it gives them it would disturb the enjoyment of pleasures. They fear finding condemnation of their ambition, their selfishness and the human vanities in which they delight. They close their eyes so as not to see and cover their ears so as not to hear them. .” A. Kardec, The Books of Mediums, Preliminary Notions, chapter III Method)), implanted the lie among many spiritists, causing division.

However, in an increasing sequence, Allan Kardec's original documents, facts and ideas returned to light. His works were recovered, like the works Heaven and hell from 1865 and The Genesis of 1868 in their translations of their original versions. The contents presented are extremely important, as they are ideas that are much more in-depth by Kardec.

New times are already upon us, reforming ideas are spreading around the world. It is interesting to note how through study enlightened by sincere and disinterested dedication, the spiritist message, which is that of Jesus, will reach everyone. And the
Spiritism will be the lever of the moral revolution, which will regenerate humanity, paving the way for a happy world.

Evil in the world represents the false mentality, which divides the world in order to justify the pride and selfishness of those who consider themselves superior and privileged. In this way, they manage to dominate and, even worse, abuse the masses. They consider her inferior and impure.
The good, the good news or true mentality aims to awaken duty through reason and freedom, choosing solidarity through cooperation and mutual support, aiming for the happiness of all humanity, at all levels. By the guidance and direction of the good spirits, who are ministers of God. Everyone follows the path of good that leads to God.
Spiritism, finally, explains and develops the idea of Jesus, a true mentality or good news. Like all revelations, it faces opposition from the proud and selfish who defend the false mentality.

This article was prepared based on a lecture given by Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo. Click here for more details Continue on The True Mindset and the False Idea

The Prophecy of the Spirit of Truth has happened.

When the elaboration of the Spiritist Doctrine through dialogue with the spirits was yet to begin, Allan Kardec in 1856 talked to the Spirit of Truth, who presented him with the following Prophecy for Spiritism:

Do not suppose that it is enough for you to publish one book, two books, ten books, and then stay quietly at home.
You have to expose yourself. You will stir up terrible hatred against you; bitter enemies will be conjured for your loss; you will see yourself in arms with malevolence, with slander, with treachery even of those who seem to you the most dedicated; your best instructions will be despised and falsified; for more than once you will succumb under the weight of fatigue; in a word: you will have to sustain an almost continuous struggle, with the sacrifice of your rest, your tranquillity, your health and even your life, because without it, you would live much longer. (Posthumous works, pag. 344)

From 1858 to 1869, when Kardec published his books and the Spiritist Magazine spreading Spiritism, there were offences, slanders and defamations. He defended his ideas and the Spirits tooth and nail. After his death in 1869, the series of adulterations in his works, . Furthermore, countless false ideas were spread about the doctrine. Read the article our position where we explain our conclusions.

Unfortunately, major revelations always face these characteristics as consequences: hatred, betrayal, contempt and false ideas. If Spiritism is of great importance, it is natural for it to happen.

The other revelations, such as that of Moses and Christ, had the same resistance that the Spirit of Truth mentioned.

Overcoming the false idea of the Egyptians, Moses led to the people who followed him the idea of the one God, and the solidary destiny of humanity. Moses did not speak only to the Hebrew people: he called people from all classes of Egypt. And that’s what made the Egyptian priests bother: it was the imminent danger of a social revolution. Hatred and betrayals began.

And the Jews, who were among those who adopted his thought, deviated from the proposal of universal harmony. They elaborated the exclusivist beliefs and practices, separating pure and impure, those who would be from God and those dominated by the devil. were the false ideas that were far from what Moses proposed. The idea of God, devil, heaven and hell, pure and impure, is not part of this revelation. And that’s what Jesus came to do by putting things in his way.

Jesus came among the Jews to bring the true mentality and denounce the false idea. His good news represented the arrival of the full divine law for mankind. Jesus predicted that his ideas would be distorted. If Jesus predicted this with his own teaching, why would it not occur with the Spiritist Revelation?

26. Meanwhile, Christ adds: "Many of the things I say to you cannot yet understand, and many more I would have to say, but you would not understand; therefore I speak to you in parables; but later I will send you the Comforter, the Spirit Truth who will restore all things and explain them all.

Allan Kardec. GENESIS – Miracles and Predictions According to Spiritism

If Jesus announced that it would be necessary to restore the lost teachings, we clearly deduced that something was abandoned, both in the teachings of Moses, in Jesus and in Spiritism.

And Kardec undertook a fight that actually ended up taking away his health, as was the prophecy of the Spirit of Truth. From studies we know that the best instructions of the Spiritist Doctrine were disregarded in many cases, and worse, falsified in others. We need to recover these lost teachings! ((text drawn from the lecture given by Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo, Click here for more details ))

Below is the complete communication of the Spirit of Truth of 1856:

June 12, 1856 (At Mr. C...; medium: Ms. Aline C...)
My mission
Question (to the Truth) - Good Spirit, I wanted to know what you think of the mission that some Spirits signed me.
Tell me, I beg you if it’s evidence of my self-love. I have, as you know, the greatest desire to contribute to the propagation of the truth, but from the role of the simple worker to that of missionary in chief, the distance is great and I do not understand what can justify in me such grace, preferably to so many others who have talent and qualities that I do not have.
Answer - I confirm what was said, but I recommend you a lot of discretion if you want to do well. You will later learn things that will explain what surprises you. Do not forget that you can triumph, how you can fail. In the latter case, another would replace you, for God’s designs do not rest on a man’s head. Never, therefore, speak of your mission; it would be the way to make it fail. It can only be justified by the work done and you have done nothing yet. If you fulfill it, men will know how to recognize it, sooner or later, since the quality of the tree is verified by the fruits.
P. - I certainly have no desire to boast of a mission I hardly believe in. If I am destined to serve as an instrument for Providence, may it dispose of me. In that case, I claim your assistance and that of the good spirits, in the send

A. - Our assistance will not be lacking, but it will be useless if you do not do what is necessary. You have your free will, which you can use as you see fit. No man is constrained to do anything.
Q. - What causes could determine my failure? Would it be the insufficiency of my abilities?
A. - No; but the mission of the reformers is pregnant with obstacles and dangers. I warn you that yours is rude because it is about shaking and transforming the whole world. Do not suppose that it is enough to publish a book, two books, ten books, and then be quietly at home. You have to expose yourself. You will stir up terrible hatred against you; bitter enemies will be conjured for your loss; you will see yourself in arms with malevolence, with slander, with treachery even of those who seem to you the most dedicated; your best instructions will be despised and falsified; for more than once you will succumb under the weight of fatigue; in a word: you will have to sustain an almost continuous struggle, with a sacrifice of your rest, your tranquillity, your health and even your life, because without it, you would live much longer. Well! not a few retreat when, instead of a flowery road, only see under the steps heathers, sharp stones and snakes. Intelligence is not enough for such missions. It is necessary, first, to please God, with humility, modesty and disinterest, since He slaughters the proud, the presumptuous and the ambitious. Courage, perseverance and unwavering firmness are indispensable to fight men. Prudence and tact are also necessary in order to conduct things properly and not to compromise their success with untimely words or measures. Finally, devotion, self-denial and willingness to all sacrifices are required. You see, thus, that your mission is subordinate to conditions that depend on you.
Spirit of Truth

I - Spirit of Truth, thank your wise counsel. I accept everything, without restriction and without preconceived ideas.

Posthumous Works, pg. 343-5

In Posthumous Works, follows an interesting note made by Allan Kardec more than 10 years later:

NOTE - I write this note on January 1, 1867, ten and a half years after I was given the above communication and I attest that it took place at all points, as I experienced all the vicissitudes that were predicted to me. I fought with hatred of hardened enemies, with slander, slander, envy and jealousy; infamous libels were published against me; my best instructions were falsified; those whom I trusted most betrayed me, I was paid with ingratitude by those to whom I served. The Paris Society was the focus of continuous intrigues against me by those who declared themselves in my favour and who, in good face in my presence, hit me in the back. They said that those who kept me faithful were my soldiers and that I paid them with the money I earned from Spiritism. I was never given to know what rest is; more than once I succumbed to overwork, had shaken health and compromised existence.
Thanks, however, to the protection and assistance of the good spirits who incessantly gave me manifest proofs of solicitude,
I have the fortune to recognize that I have never felt the slightest faintness or discouragement and that I have continued, always with the same ardour, in the performance of my task, without worrying about the wickedness of which I was the object. According to the communication of the Spirit of Truth, I had to rely on all this and everything was verified. But also, along with these vicissitudes, which I experienced of satisfaction, seeing the work grow so prodigiously!
I am fortunate to recognize that I never felt the slightest weakness or discouragement and that I continued, always with the same ardor, in the performance of my task, without worrying about the wickedness of which I was the object. According to the communication of the Spirit of Truth, I had to rely on all this and everything was checked. But also, along with these vicissitudes, which I experienced of satisfactions, seeing the work grow so prodigiously!

(Posthumous works, pag. 344)

Continued in article Spiritism: The Idea of Jesus

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.

Fabric softener ruins clothes.

Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo's lecture explains exactly what this statement has to do with a change in mindset. Click below to listen to it:

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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

Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo – 28 and 29 Oct 2023

• Every revelation of truth faces hatred, betrayal, contempt and falsehood
• Prophecy of the Spirit of Truth
• Spiritism will be the lever of the moral revolution
• Spiritism develops the idea of Jesus
• The true mentality and the false idea
• Passive obedience and blind faith
• The truth about evil and punishment
• Dominion through lies and violence
• the truth that sets free
• The double concept of good and evil
• Evil in Civilizations
• The intellectual-moral evolution of the spirit
• The understanding of evil and the choice of good
• The imperfections and the moral suffering
• the false idea
• The false idea in the spiritual world
• 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

The belief in punishment, even within Spiritism (or the Spiritist Movement) and the belief in nothingness lead man into two very complicated situations. Let's see:

When you believe in nothingness, you focus on enjoying the present at any cost. This is what Kardec shows us in Heaven and Hell (FEAL):

Is there anything more desperate than the idea of absolute destruction? Sacred affections, intelligence, progress, knowledge laboriously acquired, all would be undone, all would be lost! What is the need for the effort to become better, to repress passions, to enrich our spirit, if we are not to reap any fruit from it, especially given the idea that tomorrow, perhaps, it will no longer serve us for anything? If that were so, man's lot would be a hundred times worse than that of the savage, who lives entirely in the present, in the satisfaction of his material appetites, without aspirations for the future. A secret intuition tells us that this is not possible.

By believing in nothingness, man inevitably focuses his thoughts on the present life. In fact, there would be no need to worry about a future from which nothing is expected. This exclusive concern with the present naturally leads you to think about yourself before everything else; It is, therefore, the most powerful stimulus to selfishness. The unbeliever is coherent when he reaches the conclusion: “Let us enjoy while we are here, let us enjoy as much as possible, because after us, everything will be over; let us enjoy quickly, because we don’t know how long it will last”, as well as this other one, much more serious for society: “Let us enjoy, no matter at whose expense; every man for himself; Happiness, down here, is the most cunning.” If religious scruple restricts the actions of some, what restraint will there be for those who believe in nothing? For these, human law only reaches fools, and that is why they dedicate their talent to ways of dodging it. If there is a harmful and anti-social doctrine, it is certainly that of neantism ((Doctrine of nothingness, nihilism)), because it breaks the true bonds of solidarity and fraternity, the foundation of social relations.”

KARDEC, Allan. Heaven and Hell, Editora FEAL.

Something diametrically opposed to the nihilistic thinking glorified by Nietzsche:

The discovery of Christian morality is an unparalleled event, a true catastrophe. The sacred pretext of making humanity better appears as the cunning to exhaust life itself, to make it anemic. The concept of the afterlife was invented to devalue the only world that exists - to strip our earthly reality of all purpose, all reason, all purpose! The concept of the soul, of the spirit, and finally of the immortal soul, was invented to despise the body. Finally - and this is the most terrible thing - in the concept of the good man, one sides with everything that is weak, sick, a failure, everything that is passive in itself, everything that must perish - the law of natural selection is contradicted, and an ideal is made out of the opposition to the haughty and successful man, the man who says yes, the man who guarantees and is certain of the future - this now becomes the bad man... And all of this was believed to be moral.

NIETZSCHE, 2008, p. 99-100

On the other hand, when man believes in the idea of the fall through sin or in human life as a way of “paying debts”; in other words: when he believes in the idea of divine punishment, he becomes unable to proactively deal with his problems. A woman who, for example, lives with a bad partner, who attacks her, physically or morally, may believe (and many tell her this) that she is living a “recovery” from past lives. He must, therefore, submit to inhumane conditions, in order, as they say, to “pay off his debts”.

This way of thinking is often taught from a child's earliest days, when they are subjected to punishment instead of being encouraged to develop their own rational autonomy. We've already dealt with this in the article "Punishment irritates and imposes. Don't educate for reason.“

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The fanaticism of credulity creates unbelievers, because it answers nothing. It takes the individual out of control of their responsibility: if they do evil, it's the devil's fault; if they do good, it's divine grace.

The fanaticism of unbelief, on the other hand, goes in the same direction and produces the same thing as the first: the individual, whether he does evil or good, is because of his DNA.

Both turn people into automatons who are left with nothing but worldly pleasures and the prospect of nothingness or eternal damnation. The middle way, in its rational excellence, is Rational Spiritualism and Spiritism (in its origin). See this study: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCD2_iAQySw.

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We recommend the following study to everyone:

We would love to create a network with other groups, of all languagesaround the world. If you are part of a Spiritism study group or know of a group, please help us with this initiative, by registering through our form.

Help form this important chain, please.

The following article, dealing with the principle of the non-retrogradation of the Spirit and eliminating the idea of reincarnation as a punishment, was obtained from the article “On the principle of the non-retrogradation of the Spirit”, from the Spiritist Magazine of June 1863. It contradicts what was included in the adulteration of Heaven and Hell, as we demonstrated “The strongest evidence of tampering with Allan Kardec's Heaven and Hell“".

Since questions have been raised several times about the principle of the non-retrogression of spirits, a principle that has been interpreted differently, we will try to resolve them. Spiritism wants to be clear to everyone and not leave its future followers any reason to argue about words, so all points susceptible to interpretation will be elucidated successively.

Spirits do not retrograde, in the sense that they lose nothing of the progress they have made. They may remain momentarily stationary, but they cannot become evil from being good, nor ignorant from being wise. This is the general principle, which only applies to the moral state and not to the material situation, which from good can become bad, if the Spirit has deserved it.

Let's make a comparison. Suppose a man of the world, educated, but guilty of a crime that leads him to Wales. Certainly there is for him a great decline as a social position and as a material well-being. Appreciation and consideration were followed by contempt and abjection. Meanwhile, he has lost nothing in terms of the development of intelligence. He will take his faculties, his talents, his knowledge to prison. He is a fallen man, and this is how fallen spirits must be understood. God can therefore, after a certain time of trial, withdraw from a world where they have not advanced morally, those who have not known him, who have rebelled against his laws, ordering them to atone for their errors and their hardening in a lower world, among even less advanced beings. There they will be as they were before, morally and intellectually, but in an infinitely more painful condition, by the very nature of the globe, and above all by the environment in which they are. In a word, you will be in the position of a civilized man forced to live among the savages, or a polite man condemned to the society of the forced. They have lost their position and their advantages, but have not regressed to the primitive state. From adults, they didn't become children. This is what you mean by regression. Al no have taken advantage of their time, it is up to them to start again. In his goodness, God does not want to leave them more time among the good, whose peace disturb, and therefore sends them to live among men whose mission will be to make them progress teaching them what they know. Through this work they will be able to advance and regenerate themselves, atoning for past faults, like the slave who saves little by little to buy a day of his freedom. But, like the slave, many only save money instead of accumulating virtues, the only ones that can pay for their ransom.

This has so far been the situation on our Earth, a world of atonement and trials, where the Adamic race, an intelligent race, was exiled among the inferior primitive races that inhabited it before it. That is why there is so much bitterness here, bitterness that is far from being felt to the same degree by savage peoples.

There is certainly a retrogression of the Spirit in the sense that it slows down its progress, but not from the point of view of its acquisitions, because of which and the development of its intelligence, its social degradation is more painful. This is why the man of the world suffers more in an abject environment than someone who has always lived in the mud.

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.

Incarnation is therefore a necessity for the Spirit who, in carrying out its providential mission, works for its own advancement through the activity and intelligence it must develop in order to provide for its life and well-being.

But incarnation becomes a punishment when, having not done what it should, the Spirit is forced to start again and multiplies its painful corporeal existences through its own fault. A student only graduates after having passed all the classes. Are these classes a punishment? No. They are a necessity, an indispensable condition for their progress. But if, due to laziness, you are forced to repeat them, then it is a punishment. Passing some of them is a merit. What is certain, therefore, is that incarnation on Earth is a punishment for many who inhabit it, because they could have avoided it, whereas they may have doubled, tripled, centupled it, through their own fault, thus delaying their entry into better worlds. What is wrong is to admit, in principle, the incarnation as a punishment.

Another question that is often discussed is this: Since the Spirit was created simple and ignorant, with the freedom to do good or evil, wouldn't it have a moral fall when it takes the wrong path, considering that it ends up doing evil that it didn't do before?

This proposition is no more tenable than the previous one. There is only a fall when passing from a relatively good state to a worse one. Now, created simple and ignorant, the Spirit is, in its origin, in a state of moral and intellectual nullity, like the child that has just been born. If it hasn't done evil, it hasn't done good either; it is neither happy nor unhappy; it acts without conscience and without responsibility. Since it has nothing, it can lose nothing and cannot retrograde. Its responsibility only begins when its free will develops. Its primitive state is therefore not one of intelligent, reasoned innocence. Consequently, the evil it does later on, by breaking God's laws and abusing the faculties it has been given, is not a return from good to evil, but the consequence of the bad path it entered on.

This brings us to another question. Could Nero, for example, while incarnated as Nero, have committed more evil than in his previous incarnation? To this we answer "yes", which does not imply that in the existence in which he had done less evil he would have been better. To begin with, evil can change form without being a greater or lesser evil. Nero's position as emperor, having put him in the spotlight, allowed his actions to be noticed more. In an obscure existence, he may have committed equally reprehensible acts, albeit on a smaller scale, which went unnoticed. As a ruler, he could have ordered the burning of a city. As an ordinary person, he could burn down a house and cause his family to perish. An ordinary murderer who kills a few travelers to dispossess them, if he were on the throne, would be a bloodthirsty tyrant, doing on a large scale what his position only allows him to do on a small scale.

Looking at the question from another point of view, we can say that a man can do more evil in one existence than in the previous one, show vices that he didn't have, without this implying moral degeneration. It is often the occasions that are lacking to do evil. When the principle exists in a latent state, the occasion comes and the bad instincts are revealed.

Ordinary life offers us numerous examples of this: A man who was thought to be good suddenly reveals vices that no one suspected, and which cause admiration. It's simply because he knew how to conceal it, or because a cause provoked the development of a bad germ. It is quite certain that those in whom good feelings are strongly rooted do not even have the thought of evil. When such a thought exists, the germ exists. Often all that is missing is the execution.

Then, as we said, evil, even in different forms, is still evil. The same vicious principle can be the source of many different acts stemming from the same cause. Pride, for example, can cause a great number of faults to be committed, to which one is exposed as long as the radical principle is not extirpated. A person can therefore have faults in one life which he would not have shown in another, and which are nothing more than the various consequences of the same vicious principle.

For us, Nero is a monster because he committed atrocities. But is it believable that these perfidious, hypocritical men, real vipers who sow the poison of slander, despoil families through cunning and abuse of trust, who cover their misdeeds with the mask of virtue in order to reach their ends more safely and receive praise when they only deserve execration, is it believable, we said, that they are better than Nero? Certainly not. Being reincarnated in a Nero would not be a regression for them, but an opportunity to show themselves in a new light. In this condition, they will display the vices they used to hide. They will dare to do by force what they used to do by cunning - that's all the difference. But this new trial will only make their punishment more terrible if, instead of taking advantage of the means given to them to make amends, they use them for evil. However, every existence, no matter how bad, is an opportunity for the Spirit to progress. It develops its intelligence and acquires experience and knowledge that will later help it to progress morally.

Allan Kardec still has a very important role in Spiritism. Let's see:

“It requires our reflection so that we can increasingly understand more and better the role that Spiritist Philosophy plays in our days and how we will interpret its postulates and proposals in light of the reality presented to us by the times in which we live, accompanied by technological progress and advancement. intellectual and moral that characterize this century.

Since the founding of Spiritism, with the publication of “The Book of Spirits” on April 18, 1857, and as a clear expression of the logical and rational thought of its systematizer, it has been recorded that: “Spiritism is, at the same time, a science of observation and a philosophical doctrine. As a practical science, it consists of the relationships that can be established with the Spirits; as a philosophical doctrine, it encompasses all the moral consequences that arise from such relationships.”

In this way, supported by the experience developed by Allan Kardec in the classification, evaluation and characterization of the mediumistic phenomenon as the main axis and effective means to develop and specify the spiritualist principles and theoretical bases, the Spiritist Philosophy is established as a Doctrine of scientific, philosophical and moral character.

The systematic and continuous publication of his basic and complementary works allowed the dissemination of spiritist teaching to increase; in them we read: “The strength of Spiritism resides in its philosophy, in the appeal it makes to reason and common sense”; “Spiritism, under penalty of suicide, cannot close the doors to any progress”; “Spiritism, advancing with progress, will never be surpassed, because if new discoveries demonstrate that it is wrong at some point, it will change at that point and if a new truth reveals itself, it will accept it.”

The clear expression of Kardecist thought in these lines presents us with an Evolutionary Doctrine, placing us before an open, dynamic, rational, coherent and, above all, practical Philosophy. It encourages us, as followers, to embrace a proposal of free thought and humanism, in which, through continuous study and deep understanding, the result of long reflections and conscious and serious experiments, we are led to the clear and logical identification of our be like immortal Spirits. We are linked to the reincarnation present in this world as a result of countless evolutionary journeys that we have already experienced and that constitute our current situation. We are Spirits who are conscious and responsible for this entire spiritual collection of successes and mistakes, achievements and failures that we have experienced and which are essential for our evolution, progress and deeper understanding of our true spiritual situation.

Thus, we find in the Kardecist exhortations, which form the basis and starting point of Spiritist Philosophy, an excellent guide, an experimental and rational plan that can greatly facilitate our vision and conscious understanding of the great Universal Truths.

However, to preserve and update the understanding of the “Kardecian Legacy”, it is necessary to contextualize each of its concepts, points of view and fundamental ideas. These principles derive from the scientific, philosophical and ethical foundations that characterized the second half of the 19th century in France.

The set of spiritist teachings, as well as the precise exposition of their principles and foundations, maintains their indisputable relevance in the face of technological advances, scientific discoveries and proposals for humanist and solidary integration of philosophies and religions. However, some thoughts, procedures and conceptions found in spiritist works also reflect the personal vision and points of view expressed by its founder and by the disembodied Spirits who advised him in his work. These aspects need to be valued, analyzed, compared and contextualized, following the exhortation of Spiritism itself, for the benefit of the Spiritist Doctrine itself. This ensures that it continues to be the clear, logical and rational expression of the principles and postulates that are based on the objective and real manifestation of Natural Laws, which regulate the functioning of the Universe and the stability of our individualities.

It is the duty of every Spiritist scholar, of every adherent committed to the fidelity and preservation of Spiritist Philosophy, to adopt an open, dialectical stance, free from dogmas and prejudices, away from sectarian positions and parallel radical movements in their thoughts and conceptions. This allows the study, promotion and dissemination of spiritist doctrines as they were manifested in their foundational works, but in accordance with the necessary evolution and conceptual updating and in the expressive language of the Doctrine, which current times demand. In this way, the Doctrine is free from ambiguities and harmful interpretations that could affect its adequate interpretation and its indispensable dissemination.

The thought of the founder of Spiritism must be exposed exactly as it was expressed, reflected, studied, analyzed, valued and adapted to current times, as, given the undeniable relevance of this thought, it requires a more in-depth study and assimilation on the part of Spiritist followers. It should be considered as a guide for the introduction to the knowledge of Spiritist Science, seeking deeper insights, but never as the expression of definitive truths or unquestionable revelations.

The guarantee for the preservation of Spiritist Thought for new generations is in our hands and largely depends on the attitude that each one of us takes towards it, with individual responsibility.

Walter Pérez

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The text above was submitted by Walter Pérez, from the group CEEAK — Centro de Estudios Espiritas Allan Kardec — from Cuba. We can add nothing to it. It contains the clarity transmitted by Kardec's rational and scientific thinking and attitude, responsible for the birth of the Spiritist Doctrine and necessary for its development. We could just highlight that the title of “founder” of Spiritism belongs to the part of the Spiritist science developed “on this side”, but it would not fit to Spiritism as a science of Nature, which exists from eternity and encompasses everything we can understand.

Kardec, in the article “Exams of the mediumistic communications that they send us”, from the Spiritist Magazine of May 1863, demonstrates the care and seriousness that the Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies had with the mediumistic communications that were sent to it. It is a true lesson in seriousness regarding spiritual science, which is why we reproduce it in full:…

“Many communications were sent to us by different groups, already asking for advice and judgment on their trends, already, like a few, in the hope of publication in Magazine. They were all sent to us with the right to dispose of them as we saw fit for the good of the cause. We have examined and classified them, and do not be surprised at the impossibility of publishing them all, when you know that in addition to those already published, there are more than three thousand and six hundred which, by themselves, would have absorbed five years complete from the Magazine, not counting a certain number of more or less voluminous manuscripts that we will talk about later. The summary of this exam will provide us with a topic for some reflections, which everyone can benefit from.

Among them we find some notoriously bad, in substance and in form, evidently the product of ignorant, obsessive or mystifying Spirits who swear by the more or less pompous names with which they sign them. Publishing them would have been giving weapons to critics. A noteworthy circumstance is that almost all communications in this category emanate from isolated individuals and not from groups. Only fascination could lead them to be taken seriously, and prevent them from seeing the ridiculous side. As we know, isolation favors fascination, while meetings find control in the plurality of opinions.

We recognize, however, with pleasure, that communications of this nature form, in the mass, a small minority. Most of the others contain good thoughts and excellent advice, but do not deny that they are all good for publication, for the reasons we will explain.

Good Spirits teach more or less the same thing everywhere, because everywhere there are the same vices to reform and the same virtues to preach, and this is one of the distinctive characteristics of Spiritism, as generally the difference is only in the greater or minor correction and elegance of style.

To appreciate communications aimed at advertising, you cannot analyze them from your point of view, but from the public's point of view. We understand the satisfaction one experiences when obtaining something good, especially when starting out, but beyond the fact that certain people may have illusions regarding intrinsic merit, one does not think that there are hundreds of other places where similar things can be obtained, and what is of powerful individual interest can be banality for the masses.

Furthermore, it is necessary to consider that over some time now communications have acquired, in all aspects, proportions and qualities that leave far behind those obtained a few years ago. What was admired then appears pale and mean next to what is obtained today. In most really serious centers, the teaching of Spirits grew with the understanding of Spiritism. Considering that more or less identical instructions are received everywhere, its publication may be of interest only on condition that it presents special qualities, both in form and instructive scope. It would therefore be an illusion to believe that every message must find numerous and enthusiastic readers. In the past, the smallest spiritist conversation was new and attracted attention. Today, when spiritists and mediums are countless, what was a rarity is an almost banal and habitual fact, and which has been distanced by the breadth and reach of current communications, just as school duties are by the work of adults.

We have before us the collection of a newspaper published at the beginning of the demonstrations, under the title of La Table Parlante, characteristic title of the time. It is said that the newspaper had 1,500 to 1,800 subscribers, an enormous figure for that time. It contained a lot of small family conversations and mediumistic facts that then had the enormous attraction of curiosity. Then we look in vain for something to reproduce in our Magazine. Whatever we had chosen, today it would be childish, of no interest. If this newspaper had not disappeared, due to circumstances that are irrelevant, it could only have lived with the condition of following the progress of Science, and if it reappeared now under the same conditions, it would not have fifty subscribers. Spiritists are immensely more numerous than then, it is true, but they are more enlightened and want more substantial teachings.

If communications emanated from a single center, readers would undoubtedly multiply due to the number of followers, but we must not lose sight of the fact that the sources that produce them number in the thousands, and that everywhere they are Once superior things are obtained, there can be no interest in what is weak and mediocre.

What we say is not to discourage publications. Far from it. But to show the need for rigorous choice, condition sine qua non of success. By elevating their teachings, the Spirits made them more difficult and even demanding for us. Local publications can be immensely useful, under a double aspect, that of spreading the teaching given in private to the masses, and then of showing the agreement that exists in this teaching on various points. We will always applaud this, and we will encourage you every time they are done under good conditions.

To begin with, it is worth discarding everything that, being of private interest, is of interest only to those who are interested in it, and then, everything that is vulgar in style and ideas, or puerile in subject matter.

A thing may be excellent in itself and very good for personal instruction, but what must be delivered to the public requires special conditions. Unfortunately, man is inclined to assume that whatever pleases him must please others. The most skillful can make a mistake. The essential thing is to make as little mistakes as possible. There are Spirits who take pleasure in feeding this illusion in certain mediums, so it would never be too much to recommend them not to trust their own judgment. This is where groups are useful, due to the multiplicity of opinions that can be collected. Anyone who, in this case, would reject the opinion of the majority, considering himself more enlightened than everyone else, would clearly prove the bad influence under which he finds himself.

Applying these principles of eclecticism to the communications sent to us, we will say that out of 3,600, there are more than 3,000 who are of irreproachable morality, and excellent as a background, but that of that number there are not 300 for publicity, and only one hundred of unquestionable merit. Considering that these communications came from many different points, we infer that the proportion must be more or less general. From this we can judge the need not to recklessly publish everything that comes from the Spirits, if we want to achieve the objective we propose, both from a material point of view and from the moral effect and the opinion that indifferent people may have about Spiritism.

It remains for us to say a few words about the manuscripts or impressive works that they sent us, among which, out of thirty, we found five or six of real value.

In the invisible world, as on Earth, there is no shortage of writers, but good ones are rare. Such a Spirit is able to dictate good isolated communication; to give excellent private advice, but is incapable of complete work that can stand an examination, whatever his intentions. On the other hand, the name with which he takes pleasure in disguising himself is not a guarantee. The louder the name, the more obliging. Now, it is easier to take a name than to justify it. This is why, alongside some good thoughts, there are sometimes eccentric ideas and the less equivocal traces of the most profound ignorance. It is in these types of mediumistic works that we have noticed more signs of obsession, of which one of the most frequent is the injunction on the part of the Spirit to have them printed, and more than one mistakenly thinks that such a recommendation is enough to find a publisher interested in the business. .

It is especially in such a case that a scrupulous examination becomes necessary, if we do not want to expose ourselves to learning at our own expense. Furthermore, it is the best way to ward off presumptuous and pseudo-wise Spirits, who invariably withdraw when they do not find docile instruments to make them accept their words as articles of faith. The intrusion of these Spirits into communications is ─ and this is a known fact ─ Spiritism's greatest obstacle. There are few precautions to avoid regrettable publications. In such cases, it is better to err on the side of caution, in the interests of the cause.

In short, by publishing communications worthy of interest, you do a useful thing. By publishing those that are weak, insignificant or bad, you do more harm than good.

A no less important consideration is that of opportunity. There are some whose publication is untimely, and therefore harmful. Each thing must come in its own time. Several of them addressed to us are in this case and, although very good, should be postponed. As for the others, they will find their place according to the circumstances and their objective.”