The Revue
Spirite of
1861
Part 3
We continue in
this issue the study
of the Revue
Spirite of
1861, a monthly
newspaper
focused on the
divulgation of
Spiritism,
founded and
directed by
Allan Kardec.
This study is
based on the
translation into
the Portuguese
language made by
Julio Abreu
Filho and
published by
EDICEL. The
answers to the
proposed issues
are at the end
of the text for
reading.
Issues for discussion
A. How did Kardec understand the issue belief?
B. What is the mission of the Christian evangelical
morality?
C. Regarding social issues, what is the role of faith?
Text for reading
37. Kardec declares: "Materialism states: There is
nothing outside matter. Spiritualism says: There is
something, but it does not prove it. Spiritism says:
There is something, and proves it. And, aided by its
lever, it explains what until now was not explained.
This is what causes Spiritism to redirect so many
unbelievers back to Spiritualism". (Page 76)
38. In the Spiritist Society of Paris, on November 30,
1860, Andre Chenier (Spirit) wrote: "Do not be anxious
about what the world can write against Spiritism. It is
not you that the unbelievers attack, but it is God
Himself. But God is more powerful than they are. "St.
Louis had previously said that such articles only harm
those who write them; they do no harm to Spiritism,
which they help to spread. (Pages 78 and 79)
39. In a letter to Mr. Deschanel, Kardec tells him that
belief is obtained only through serious studies, carried
out with no prevention, with no preconceived ideas and
through numerous observations, made with patience and
perseverance. (Page 80)
40. Contesting that Spiritism is a materialist doctrine,
Kardec tells Mr. Deschanel that Spiritism has - as its
essential basis - the existence of God, of the soul, its
immortality, its future penalties and rewards. (Page 81)
41. Kardec comments on a letter from Dr. Riboli, who
examined Garibaldi’s brain from the phrenological point
of view. (Page 81)
42. In his study, Kardec says that Gall’s disciples form
two schools: that of the materialists and that of the
spiritualists. The former attribute the faculties to the
organs, which is contested by the spiritualists. (Pages
82 and 83)
43. Explaining the case of the assassination of Mr.
Poinsot, Saint Louis says that the Spirits have the
mission to teach us to follow a life of goodness, and
not to make our path smooth. Not to understand this is
to be exposed to serious misunderstandings. (Pages 84
and 85)
44. The Revue brings a message from Mrs.
Bertrand, who died in 1861 and was evoked eight days
later. "I saw my body taken away, but I soon turned
away", said his Spirit. "Spiritism dematerializes by
anticipation and makes the passage from the terrestrial
world to the spiritual world faster" (Pages 87 and 88)
45. The Spirit of Miss. Pauline M ... said that she felt
a disturbance at the moment of death; she thought she
was not dead, and it lasted for six weeks.
(Page 91)
46. In Mulhouse, a Spirit wrote: "Christ was Who began
one of the purest and most sublime moral: the Christian
evangelical morality, which is to renew the world, to
reconnect men and make them all brothers; the morality
that should make charity and love of the neighbor
overflow from our hearts; which must create a common
solidarity among all men; the morality that must change
the Earth and make it an abode for Higher Spirits..."
(Page 96)
47. Then the Spirit explained: "God is one and only, and
Moses is the Spirit that God sent on a mission to make
Himself known not only to the Hebrews, but also to pagan
peoples". (Page 97)
48. Affirming that the Commandments given by Moses bring
the germ of the purest Christian morality, the Spirit
concluded: "It was Moses who opened the way; Jesus
continued the work; Spiritism will end it". (Page 97)
49. Mentioning the social question, one Spirit said in
Warsaw that the systems that rest only in material
interests are unstable. They need to be based on
personal detachment, but for this it is necessary to
have faith. "Without faith - which gives the certainty
of the compensations of the future life – detachment is
a fake in the eyes of the selfish." (Page 99)
50. The same Spirit also said, "The harmony of the
material world is the beautiful". And it remarked: "The
harmony of the spiritual world is love, divine emanation
that fills the spaces and leads the creature to its
Creator". (Page 100)
51. The Revue copies the message of Adolphe,
bishop of Alger, who talks about the mission of those
who leave their homeland and family to evangelize
ignorant and ferocious tribes. This he calls Spiritism
and adds: "Do not fear this word. Above all, do not
laugh, because it is the symbol of the Universal Law,
which governs the living beings of Creation". (Pages 100
and 101)
52. Speaking about ingratitude, Socrates teaches: "Know
that if the one you favor forgets the benefit, God will
give you more consideration than if you had already been
rewarded by the gratitude of the one you favored." (Page
103)
53. The Revue publishes the opinion of Louis
Jourdan on "The Book of Spirits," in which the writer
says that, considering all answers of the Book of
Spirits, they constitute a Doctrine, a morality, perhaps
a religion. (Page 109)
54. Next, Kardec comments on the French writer's
opinion. (Pages 113 to 116)
(Continued on next
issue.)
Answers to the proposed issues
A. How did Kardec understand the issue belief?
Kardec said that belief is only obtained through serious
studies, carried out with no prevention, no preconceived
ideas and through numerous observations, made with
patience and perseverance. Belief, therefore, is neither
transferred nor taught: belief is acquired. (Revue
Spirite, 1861, page 80).
B. What is the mission of the Christian evangelical
morality?
According to a message conveyed at Mulhouse, Christian
evangelical morality must renew the world, bring men
closer together and make them all brothers, making the
Earth an abode for Higher Spirits. (Revue Spirite,
1861, page 96).
C. Regarding social issues, what is the role of faith?
In a message transmitted in Warsaw, a Spirit said that
systems resting solely on material interests are
unstable. They need to be based on personal detachment,
but for this it is necessary to have faith. Without
faith, which gives the certainty of the compensations of
the future life, detachment is false. The role of faith
is therefore essential to the stability of systems that
aim to solve social issues. (Revue Spirite, 1861,
pages 99 and 100).