Antonio Cesar Perri de Carvalho

Rethinking Spiritist Centers From Paul to the present

We have recently worked on content relating to the actions of early Christianity and Spiritism, and we have prepared two books: Paul's Epistles in the light of Spiritism ⁽¹⁾ and Spiritist Center. Spiritist and Christian practice ⁽²⁾.

As the author of the mentioned books, we can say that both complete themselves. While we were working on the text of Paul's Epistles, we were already thinking of a more specific work directed to the reality of Spiritist centers. As reinforcement, in the subtitle of the second book, we adopted a redundancy: "Spiritist and Christian", and in the development we always sought for a support in the verses of the New Testament, and, more specifically, in the texts of the Apostle Paul.

In the first book we highlight the moral essence of Paul's Epistles, with interpretations grounded in the works of Allan Kardec and the Spirit Emmanuel. In our opinion, the ponderings of Allan Kardec's works about Christianity should deserve our attention, study and motivate inspiration. Among others, there is the statement of the Spirit of Truth: "In Christianity all truths are found; the errors that are rooted in it were caused by man” ⁽³⁾.

Paul is a landmark reference as a trajectory of life and due to his historical writings. In fact, the first epistles came before the full disclosure of each of the Gospels. In the early days there were only scattered manuscripts of the evangelists.

The moral teachings contained in the Epistles and the simplicity of the early Christians can contribute to the necessary reflections that must be done in the centers and the Spiritist movement. The basic content of the 14 Epistles of Paul is adequate to the Spiritist movement, when relating it to Kardec’s Codification and to messages psycho-graphed by Chico Xavier. 

Traces of Spiritist Principles in Paul's Letters

In these conditions, the book Epistles of Paul in the light of the Spiritism is unprecedented in the scope of the Spiritist literature.

In Paul’s texts there are preliminary traces of the principles of the Spiritist Doctrine. To the Romans, as in other letters, he emphasizes the understanding of God, as Father of all, regardless of nationalities. The Christ is defended as the Messiah announced by the prophets, although he was not recognized and accepted by the Jews. In the Epistles to the Corinthians, Paul highlights the spiritual gifts, refers to the "spiritual body" and relates his experience of entering the "third Heaven". He defends the excellence of "Charity", best translated by several biblical scholars as "love". In addressing Philemon, Paul points out forgiveness, mercy, and reparation. The Epistle to the Galatians is strongly suggestive for the broadest reflection and evaluation on the "marks of Christ" - in the ethical, moral, and spiritual sense - in our lives. Finally, Paul adopts the ethics and morality proclaimed by Christ, besides acting as a medium, and guiding psychic practices. Hence the reason Emmanuel considered him "[...] the human farmer who managed to adjust the divine flower of the Gospel on the world"⁽⁴⁾.

Following, reflecting on the conditions of the emergence of the first Christian groups, and based on historical records, we remember the obstacles and insertions in texts and practices that began to occur in the first three centuries, even before the religious organizations established from the Council of Nicaea (year 325 AD).

Here it is opportune to read Wallace Leal Valentim Rodrigues's The Corner Stone (Publisher: Clarim, 1975), which focuses on those early moments of the development of Christianity by considering the "corner stone", "the corner head" and the “precious corner stone” ⁽⁵⁾, and mentions the passage recorded in Acts: "This is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which was set as the corner stone”. ⁽⁶⁾  

Paul and his disagreement with the
"Judaizing proposals" 

A few years after his conversion, Paul, the previous doctor of the Law, visited and chose to leave the pioneer Jerusalem’s House of the Path, disagreeing with the "Judaizing" proposals, and began his great task of spreading the Gospel among the "gentiles". That is, he did not accept the "prerequisites" necessary for the conversion to Christianity.

It is interesting that almost two millennia later Chico Xavier chose to leave the well-organized Christian Spiritist Communion, of Uberaba, of which he was one of the founders, and began a new, small and simple point of reference: the Spiritist Group of Prayer in Uberaba.

From these reflections, we worked on the elaboration of the new book on the Spiritist Center, based on the Encoder Allan Kardec and the New Testament, but blending with our own experiences and observations obtained during 52 years of activities in the Spiritist movement in the cities of Araçatuba, São Paulo and Brasília, working in the Spiritist Centers, in the Union of Spiritist Societies of the State of Sao Paulo, in the Brazilian Spiritist Federation and in the International Spiritist Council.

Considering our Spiritist path, beginning at the Spiritist Center - the base of the Movement - and with a vision of union experienced from the State of São Paulo, within the framework provided by USE-SP, and having the opportunity to know and live the reality of the Spiritist movement of all the regions of our country - of continental dimensions -, with a great diversity of situations and practices, we thought of contributing with subsidies for the functioning of the Spiritist Centers, evoking basic premises that should support the Spiritist work. 

The excessive formalization and schooling
in the Spiritist Center  

We now understand that there is a need to rethink many recommendations that are being spread and practiced in order to better adapt Spiritist Centers to the diversity of situations in which they are inserted and to their target audiences.

It is necessary to support the Spiritist Centers reaching the different areas of the country and taking into consideration that, for the most part, they are simple and of small to medium size.

One of the most important issues is to create space for the genuine welcome of the people, who arrive at the Centers.

There is a need to analyze, discuss and review issues such as the excessive formalization and schooling that occur in Spiritist Centers; the inadequacy of the proposals for children, teenagers, and young people; a certain "plastering" of mediumship...

By way of illustration and highlighting texts from Emmanuel: "The institution of Antioch was then much more seductive than the Church itself in Jerusalem. There one lived in an environment of pure simplicity, with no concern regarding the rigorous dispositions of Judaism”. In another text, the spiritual author states: “The union of thoughts on a single objective gave rise to beautiful manifestations of spirituality. On certain evenings, there were phenomena of 'direct voices'. The institution of Antioch was one of the few apostolic centers where such manifestations reached an indefinable culmination. This gift of Heaven was justified by the existing fraternity”. ⁽⁷⁾  

The proposal and the experience of
Mario da Costa Barbosa 

In The Gospel According to Spiritism there is a recommendation of the Spirit of Truth to be understood and practiced in the order in which it was recorded: "Spiritists, love each other, behold the first commandment; educate yourselves behold the second".⁽⁸⁾

 We have noticed that sometimes, in practice, there has been an inversion of this recommendation.

Thus, we do not propose organizational structures and activities that could be characterized as typical of a more complex administrative and doctrinal organization. We are well aware that many of the centers do not have so-called "departments" and do not have the human resources to assemble them.

Spiritist Centers, being less formal and more focused on fraternal solidarity, should have concerns regarding the workers and the reception to the beginners and interested parties.

The essential thing is to open spaces for "in-service training" and for employee integration actions, with an overall view of the Spiritist Center itself.

There are many interesting practices in the Brazilian Spiritist Movement, but we chose to highlight the proposal and experience of Mario da Costa Barbosa (1936-1990), who we knew personally. The aforementioned book presents a Spiritist foundation on the methodology of coexistence, creativity and education, and we understand that the backbone of the proposal is not limited to one area of ​​activity, because it permeates and is applicable to all activities of the Spiritist Center. His experience is recorded in the book Live to Love and Serve ⁽⁹⁾, edited by FEB, during our time as president of the institution. 

The role of the "promised Comforter" in our days 

In our days, there is a great need for deep reflection and analysis on the Spiritist Movement's directions, and the illustrations of the "corner stone" are suggestive, the break with Paul's self-righteousness and the option for the simplicity of Chico Xavier.

These ideas are present in our book about the Spiritist Center, which deals with matters such as historical antecedents, foundations for Spiritist action, scenery of Spiritists and of  Spiritist Centers in the country, Spiritist study, Spiritist practice, diffusion of Spiritism and the union of Spiritists.

Finally, besides meditating on the role of the "promised Comforter" in the context of our days, we have a record that should guide our reflections in order to rethink the Spiritist Centers:
 

"I have made myself weak for the weak, to gain the weak: I made myself all for the all, to - by all means – try and save some. And I do this because of the Gospel so that I also participate of it" - Paul ⁽¹⁰⁾. "The banner that we unfurl very high is the one of the Christian and humanitarian Spiritism, around which we are already fortunate to see, in all parts of the globe, so many men gathered, because they understand that the anchor of salvation is there, the protection of the public order, the sign of a new era for Humanity" - Allan Kardec. ⁽¹¹⁾ 

References: 

1) Carvalho, Antonio Cesar Perri. Epistles of Paul in the light of the Spiritism. Matao: O Clarim.

2) Carvalho, Antonio Cesar Perri. Spiritist Center. Spiritist and Christian practice. Sao Paulo: USE.

3) Kardec, Allan. Trad. Ribeiro, Guillon. The Gospel According to Spiritism. Chapter 6. Item 5. Brasilia: FEB.

4) Tavares, Clovis. Love and Wisdom of Emmanuel. Chapter 4 and 5. Sao Paulo: Publisher: Calvario. 1970.

5) Rodrigues, Wallace Leal V. The corner stone. Chapter XIII. Matao: Publisher: O Clarim.

6) Acts, 4.11.

7) Xavier, Francisco Candido. By the Spirit of Emmanuel. Paul and Stephen. Special edition 2nd  part, Chapter 4. Brasilia: FEB.

8) Kardec, Allan. Trad. Ribeiro, Guillon. The Gospel According to Spiritism. Chapter VI, Item 5. Brasilia: FEB.

9) Sarmento, Helder Boska de Moraes et al (Orgs.) Live to love and serve. Brasilia: FEB.

10) Corinthians, 9.22-23.

11) Kardec, Allan. Trad. Ribeiro, Guillon. The Book of Mediums. Item 350. Brasilia: FEB. 

Antonio Cesar Perri de Carvalho was ex-president of USE-SP and ex-member of the CEI Executive Commission, and was President of the Brazilian Spiritist Federation.