In this issue, we continue the study of the book, Spiritism in its simplest expression, published in 1862 by Allan Kardec. The present work is based on the translation into Portuguese made by Salvador Gentile. 

Preliminary issues 

A. From the religious point of view, what does Spiritism teach us?

It reiterates the fundamental truths of all religions: God, the soul, immortality, atonement and future rewards, though it is independent of any particular worship. Its purpose is to prove, to those who deny or doubt, that the soul exists, that it survives the body; that it bears, after death, the consequences of the good and the evil it did during its bodily life. Such a purpose is common to all religions.  (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

B. Can the souls of those, who died, communicate with the living?

Yes. Spiritism affirms and proves it by means of irrefutable material facts, because it is not a system, nor a theory, but a Law of Nature. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

C. What are Spirits?

Spirits are individual beings; they have an ethereal, imponderable casing called perispirit, a kind of fluidic body, endowed with the human form. They populate the spaces, and move through them with the speed of lightning, and form the invisible world. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism). 

Text for reading 

65. Man, convinced of the greatness and importance of his future life, which is eternal, compares it to the uncertainty of earthly life, which is so short, and rises, through thought, above petty human considerations. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).  

66. Knowing the cause and purpose of his miseries, he supports them with patience and resignation, for he knows that they are a means to reach a better state. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

67. The example of those - who come from beyond the grave to describe their joys and their pains in proving the reality of the future life - at the same time proves that the righteousness of God leaves no evil without punishment, no virtue without reward. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

68. Finally, let us add the communications with the departed loved ones, which provide a sweet consolation proving not only that they exist, but that one is less separated from them than if they were alive and in a foreign country. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

69. In short, Spiritism eases the bitterness of the heartbreaks of life; it calms the despair and agitation of the soul; it clears the uncertainties or terrors regarding the future; it fights the thought of shortening life through suicide; for this very reason, it makes happy those who follow it. This is why it spreads so quickly. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

70. From a religious point of view, Spiritism is based on the fundamental truths of all religions: God, soul, immortality, penalties and future rewards; but it is independent of any particular cult. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

71. Its purpose is to prove, to those who deny or doubt, that the soul exists, that it survives the body; that it bears, after death, the consequences of the good and the evil it did during its bodily life. Such a purpose is common to all religions. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

72. In the same manner, the belief in Spirits is found in all religions and in all peoples, because wherever there are men, there are souls or Spirits, since manifestations were seen in all times, and they are recorded in all religions with no exceptions. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

73. One can therefore be Catholic, Greek or Roman, Protestant, Jewish or Muslim, and believe in the manifestations of the Spirits, and, therefore, be a Spiritist; the proof is that Spiritism has followers in all sects. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

74. 74. As moral, Spiritism is essentially Christian, because its moral is based on the development and application of the teachings of Christ, the purest of all, and nobody contests His Mastery, an evident proof that it is in the Law of God. Moreover, morality is to be used by the whole world. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

75. Spiritism, being independent of all forms of worship, does not define any of them, and does not deal with particular dogmas. Nor is it a special religion, because it has neither priests nor temples. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

76. To those who asked him whether it is right to follow such or such a practice, he replied: If you believe, your conscience will lead you, so do it; God always takes into account the intention.  (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

77. In a word, it imposes itself on no one; it is not addressed to those who have faith, and to whom this faith suffices, but to the numerous categories of the uncertain and unbelieving.  (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

78. Spiritism fights, indeed, certain beliefs, such as the eternity of penalties, the material fire of Hell, the image of the devil, etc. Now, such beliefs, when imposed as absolute, at all times have made unbelievers and do so every day. If Spiritism, giving these dogmas and some others a rational interpretation, leads to faith those who have deserted it, does it not render a service to religion? (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

79. In this regard, a venerable ecclesiastic said: "Spiritism makes one believe something, but it is better to believe in something than to believe in nothing at all." (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

80. If the Spirits are the souls of human beings, we cannot deny them without denying the soul. Accepting the souls, or the Spirits, the matter is reduced to its simplest expression: Can the souls of those who die communicate with the living? (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

81. Spiritism proves this statement through material facts; what proof is there that this is not possible? If so, all the denials of the world will not prevent it from being true, for it is neither a system nor a theory, but a Law of Nature. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

82. Now, against the Laws of Nature, man's will is powerless; it is necessary, through good or evil, to accept the consequences and their beliefs and habits. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

83. In the following items, we shall see a summary of the teachings of the Spirits, as Kardec wrote them. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

84. God is the Supreme Intelligence, the first cause of all things. God is eternal, unique, immaterial, immutable, all-powerful, sovereignly just and good. It must be infinite in all its perfections, because, supposing only one of His attributes is imperfect, He would then no longer be God. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

85. God created the matter that forms the worlds; He also created intelligent beings that we call Spirits, responsible for the administration of the material worlds, according to the immutable Laws of Creation, and which are perfectible by their nature. In becoming perfect, they approach divinity.  (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

86. The Spirit, itself, is the intelligent principle; its nature is unknown to us; for us, it is immaterial, because it has no analogy with what we call matter. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

87. Spirits are individual beings; they have an ethereal, imponderable casing called perispirit, a kind of fluidic body, with the shape of a human body. They populate the spaces, and move through it with the speed of lightning, and form the invisible world. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism).

88. We do not know how the Spirits are created; we only know that they were created simple and ignorant, i.e., with no knowledge and unaware of the difference between good and evil, but with equal aptitude for everything, because God, in his justice, could not exempt some of the work that He imposed on others to reach perfection. In the beginning, they are in a kind of childhood, without self-will, and without perfect consciousness of their existence.  (Spiritism in its simplest expression – The History of Spiritism). (To be continued on the next issue).