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In the works that comment on Bible verses, there are
often some differences due to the translations adopted
in the various versions of the Bible.
When elaborating The Gospel According to Spiritism,
Allan Kardec adopted the translation made by Lemaistre
de Sacy, known for his translation of the Vulgate (Bible
in Latin) into French. This translation became the most
widespread in France since the 18th century.
Through the psychography of Francisco Candido Xavier,
his advisor Emmanuel elaborated thousands of texts
performing interpretations of the New Testament verses.
Emmanuel is the spiritual author of nine books
containing comments on the New Testament verses: Caminho,
Verdade e Vida (Path, truth and life); Pao Nosso
(Our bread); Vinha de luz (Vine of light); Fonte viva
(Living fountain); Ceifa de luz (Light harvest), edited
by FEB; Segue-me (Follow me) (O Clarim);
Palavras de vida eternal (Words of eternal life) and Livro
da Esperanca (Book of hope (CEC); Bencao de paz (Peace
blessing) (GEEM).
At first, the spiritual author explained the use of the
expression “in a necklace of pearls”, in the
presentation entitled “Interpretation of the Sacred
Texts”, in Path, truth and life, for us to
understand his studies on the verses: “In certain
passages, we extract from there only very short phrases,
providing them with a special appearance and, in certain
circumstances, our worthless considerations seem to
contradict the provisions of the chapter in which they
are inspired. This is how we proceed, however,
considering that, in a pearl necklace, each one has a
specific value and that, in the immense set of teachings
of the Good News, each concept of Christ or His direct
collaborators adapts to a certain situation of the
Spirit, on the roads of life.”1
This can be seen in a work elaborated with the
participation of several authors launched during the
celebrations of the 150 years of The Gospel According
to Spiritism in which there is a chapter that
presents the “List of comments made by Emmanuel, not
extensive, dealing only with the enumeration of some of
his constant messages in works psychographed by the
medium Francisco Candido Xavier.2
An important record is that in the original editions of
the books mentioned by Emmanuel, he uses New Testament
verses adopting the traditional “revised and corrected”
translation by Joao Ferreira de Almeida, which was
widespread in Brazil at the time. The epigraphs
(selected verses) at the beginning of each chapter set
the tone for Emmanuel's dissertations. This highlight is
important because the language of the spiritual author
was developed around the cited translation and,
eventually, verses from other translations may not be
consistent with Emmanuel's texts.
Respect for this criterion guided us in the
transcriptions and studies done in books of our
authorship related to Emmanuel’s bibliography and
released by Casa Editora O Clarim: Epistles of Paul
in the light of Spiritism (2016); Christianity in
the early centuries. Historical analysis and Spiritist
vision (2018); Emmanuel. Spiritual trajectory and
performance with Chico Xavier (2020) .3,4,5
In lectures and even in the “Seminar on the study of The
Gospel According to Spiritism” held by USE-SP on
10/29/2017, at the Center for Culture, Documentation and
Spiritist Research, in Sao Paulo, the issue regarding
biblical translations arose when the questions were
made. The answer to the question was based on the
clarifications that we presented in previous paragraphs
of this article.6
Emmanuel wrote works honoring the basic works of
Codification. In the Book of Hope, he focuses on
the Gospel According to Spiritism and at the
beginning of each chapter, he puts an epigraph of the
New Testament linked to the transcription of a passage
of comments on the aforementioned work by Allan Kardec.
In the presentation, the spiritual author salutes:
“In the luminous centenary of “The Gospel According
to Spiritism, in vain we tried to articulate, before
you, our joyful gratitude!”7
As an example of the differences in translations of some
biblical versions, which, due to the fact of the key
word of the verse selected by Emmanuel, may create a
dissonance with the spiritual author's own text.
Let us see the epigraph of chapter 134 of the Vine of
light: "On that day, whoever is on the roof, having
their utensils at home, do not go down to take them." -
Jesus (LUCAS, 17:31).8
The keyword "utensils" has many meanings: utensils,
furniture or any object, for domestic or personal use.
Object used as an ornament, adornment; bijouterie,
ornament, jewel. Church ornament or ornament. In the
liturgy of some churches, it can mean: object used for
personal decoration, adornment, jewelry, ornament; or
even: the vestments are small fabrics that, embroidered,
take on a very special function within the liturgical
context. In Freemasonry, implements are the vestments
used by its members in the meeting environment.
The mentioned keyword, thus appears in some more recent
translations: in the Jerusalem Bible: "utensils"; in The
Bible. Ecumenical translation (TEB): "objects".
Thus, when reading excerpts from Emmanuel's
interpretation of the aforementioned epigraph, and in
view of the different translations, we understand that
the traditional word “utensils” is more consistent with
the thought of the spiritual author: “They do not know
how to separate adornment implements from essential
vessels, the frivolities of righteous duties and suffer
painful shakes in the heart. [...] A home does not live
simply because of the implements that are there,
temporarily, but because of the spiritual foundations
that built its bases. A man will not be superior because
he satisfies fleeting opinions, but because he knows how
to fulfill God's plans in everything.”8
Regarding translations, there is a historical fact in
the area of the Spiritist literature. The work “At
the time of the testimony”, a partnership between
Herculano Pires and Chico Xavier, pointed to a sad
incident: the adulteration of The Gospel According to
Spiritism, using updated and simplified words in
translation published by the FEESP editor, in July 1974.
In the mentioned book there are messages, chronicles,
poems and letters, which Herculano Pires and Chico
Xavier chose to document their positions regarding the
importance of defending Kardec's work against attempts
of adulteration. It is a mandatory reading for
Spiritists to prevent against simple stagnation in the
belief and the acceptance of “mentors” from this and the
other world, who by typical pharisaic means easily link
the naive and the vain to the fantasy carriage of their
pretensions. The famous psychographer marked a firm
position and Herculano Pires pointed out: “The medium
Francisco Candido Xavier, despite his usual exemption
from doctrinal controversies, ended up speaking out
against the adulteration and took a firm and clear
position in the defense of Kardec's texts. Most of the
so-called Spiritist leaders did not speak up. The time
of the testimony was bad, revealing the lack of
conviction of the absolute, and therefore overwhelming,
majority of the so-called Brazilian Spiritist movement.
But the results were manifested later, with a growing
interest of the Spiritist medium for the works of Kardec
in unsuspected editions.”9 It is known that
the Publisher stopped editing the altered translation.
This firm position of Herculano Pires and Chico Xavier,
respectively marked by Emmanuel as: “the meter that best
measured Kardec” and “faithfullness to Jesus and
Kardec”, is consistent with the designations /
guidelines of the aforementioned spiritual mentor and
with the message from Saint Luis:
“If a person's
imperfections only harm him, there will be no use ever
in making them public. If, however, they can cause
damage to third parties, the interest of the largest
number should be taken into account. According to the
circumstances, unmasking hypocrisy and lying can be a
duty, since it is better for a man to fall, than many
people become his victims. In such a case, the sum of
advantages and disadvantages must be weighed”.10
As we live moments of many fads in literature and in the
Spiritist exposure, we hereby copy excerpts of messages
from Emmanuel himself:
“The believers and
workers of the Gospel use different means to fix their
advantages, but they rarely open the doors of life.
[...] Others receive the warnings and evangelical
lights, in the manner of ambitious traders, seeking to
convert them into major economic sources. Still others
seek divine warnings, enforcing egolatric principles, in
laborious and fruitless polemics. In the immense
conflict of interpretations, however, Paul de Tarsus's
request in his second letter to the Corinthians should
be heeded. The apostle of kindness pleads for him and
his companions in ministry to be received in their
hearts.” And then we highlight the epigraph of the text:
“Receive us into your hearts.” Paul (II Corinthians, 7:
2) .8
Another timely comment:
“Indeed, for successive
centuries, we have carried out the transliteration of
the Gospel in all cultural environments. [...] However,
it is not enough to dwell on the brilliant phraseology,
the subtle gesture or the praiseworthy appearances to
demonstrate assimilation of the transformative teaching.
Christianity is not only the form of civilization that
we propose to build with Jesus. [...] Therefore, it is
urgent to configure revelation not only in the
verbalistic treasure that supports the philosophical and
artistic conquests of almost two millennia. [...] We are
all facing trial, for the crime of injuring conscience,
since we have tampered with the message of the Divine
Benefactor in a thousand ways, in every pilgrimage in
the world. Jesus, however, tolerates us compassionately
and reforms us to borrow time and new values ... But
if it is true that none of us are in a position to throw
the first stone at the brother on the way, it is up to
us all to hear the Unforgettable Master in his loving
and sure warning: - 'Go and sin no more'.”11
Concluding the
suggestions for studies and reflections, we highlight
the unforgettable Leon Denis: “Spiritism will be what
men do, Simila similibus! When humankind comes in
contact, the highest truths are sometimes denatured and
obscured. They can be a source of abuse. The raindrop,
depending on where it falls, remains a pearl or becomes
mud.”12
References:
1. Xavier, Francisco Cândido. By the
Spirit Emmanuel. Path, truth and life. 1st ed.
esp. Chap. Interpretation of sacred texts. Brasilia:
FEB. 2005.
2. Carvalho, Flavio Rey. Indications
of comments made by Emmanuel about excerpts from the New
Testament mentioned in The Gospel According to Spiritism. In:
Carvalho, Antonio Cesar Perri; Carvalho,
Celia Maria Rey (Org.). The
Gospel According to Spiritism: guidelines for study. 1st ed.
Chap. 13. Brasilia: FEB. 2014.
3. Carvalho, Antonio Cesar Perri. Epistles
of Paul in the Light of Spiritism. 1st ed.
Chap. 2. Matao: O Clarim. 2016.
4. Carvalho, Antonio Cesar Perri. Christianity
in the early centuries. Historical analysis and
Spiritist vision. 1sr ed. Presentation
chap. Matao: O Clarim, 2018.
5. Carvalho, Antonio Cesar Perri.
Emmanuel. Spiritual
trajectory and acting with Chico Xavier. 1st ed.
Chap. 13. Matao: O Clarim. 2020.
6. Seminar on the study of The Gospel
According to Spiritism. Biblical text used in the
original books of Emmanuel. Link: click here (Access on
28/09/2020).
7. Xavier, Francisco Cândido. By the
Spirit Emmanuel. Book of Hope. 17th ed.
Chap. Thank you, sir! Uberaba: CEC. 2002.
8. Xavier, Francisco Cândido. By the
Spirit Emmanuel. Light came. 1st ed.
esp.Cap. 134 and 147. Brasilia: FEB. 2005.
9. Xavier, Francisco Cândido; Pires, Jose
Herculano. At
the time of testimony. 1st ed.
Sao Paulo: Paideia. 1974. 120p.
10. Kardec, Allan. Trad. Ribeiro, Guillon. The
Gospel According to Spiritism. 131st ed.
Cap. X. Item 21. Brasilia: FEB. 2013.
11. Xavier, Francisco Cândido. By the
Spirit Emmanuel. Construction of love. 17th ed.
Chap. Before the Gospel. Sao Paulo: CEU. 2002.
12. Denis, Léon. Translation by Cirne,
Leopoldo. In the invisible. 26th ed.
Introduction. Brasilia: FEB. 2014.
The author was president of USE-SP and
FEB.
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