Paul and Stephen’s
input and how the book was assigned by Emmanuel
In addition to being the main biography of the convert
from Damascus and also a fundamental historical record
of early Christianity1, the account
in Paul and Stephen contains, in detail, the
appreciation that the apostle of the Gentiles gave to
women in Christian communities, something that Holzner
(2008, p. 199-201) and Wright (2018, p. 101-102) pointed
out in opposition to the machismo widely attributed to
him. It should be said that the Polish university
professor and Jesuit priest Norbert Baumert (1932-2019)
also addressed the issue of women in Paul's missionary
journey through extensive research published in Germany
in 1992 on Pauline epistles, including mistakes in their
translation (Baumert, 1999). In addition to highlighting
female dignity, the book –apsychographic by Chico Xavier
also brings in a note the most succinct and clear
definition about something very important in the Bible
and in the worldwide Christian segment:
No one should ignore the fact that the Holy Spirit
designates the legion of sanctified spirits in light and
love, who have cooperated with Christ since the earliest
times of mankind.
(Xavier; Emmanuel, 2013, p. 7)
I believe that the present reflection on the veracity of
the report in such a book also fits, in some way, as to
the similar works of Emmanuel, also called by the FEB
and the spiritist movement "historical novels". In this
sense, let us see what its author says in the three
introductory texts of them, respectively: Cinquenta
anos depois (Fifty years later) (2004) [1940]; Renunciam (They
resign) (2015) [1944] 2; and Ave
Cristo (2015) [1953].
If you read the simple pages of ‘Two thousand years ago’
it is possible that you will look here for the
continuation of the intense struggles experienced by
its real
characters in
the arena of Earth’s redemptive struggles. It is for
this reason that I feel obliged to explain something to
you, regarding the unfolding of this new
story [emphasis
added].
(Xavier; Emmanuel, 2004, p. 7)
For sincere souls, who are still solved in the bonds of
discouragement and disappointment, the
story of Alcyone [my
emphasis] is a comforting balm”.
(Xavier; Emmanuel, 2015, p. 8)
Aligning, therefore, the reminiscences of this book, we
do not propose
to romance, to make fiction literature,
but to bring to our companions of redivivious
Christianity, in the spiritist field, a
brief page of the sublime history of the pioneers of the
faith [emphasis
added]
(Xavier; Emmanuel, 2015, p. 8)
It can be seen that in the introduction of the three
works, the spiritual author uses the word history,
instead of romance, this being categorical and
explicit in the last one, published in 1953. Finally, we
must see how he referred specifically to Paul and
Stephen. The first time, on February 18, 1941, in a
psychographed message by Chico Xavier during a domestic
meeting at the home of his boss, Romulo Joviano, at
Fazenda Modelo - place where the work was transcribed to
paper for eight months - Emmanuel uses the referenced
term.
May Jesus reward everyone for their cooperation in the
humble effort in the story [my emphasis] of the great
apostle of the Gentiles.
(Xavier; Emmanuel, 2014, p. 153)
However, four months later and exactly thirteen days
before signing the introductory text of Paul and
Stephen, Chico Xavier's mentor did not use the word history to
refer to the work:
The finishing touches to the book of Paul of Tarsus
romanticized biography can be concluded in a few days.
(Xavier; Emmanuel, 2014, p. 159)
The use of the expression “romanticized biography”3 does
not refer to a fictitious biography, but to something
written with literary beauty, which does not mean
written with omission or smoothing out, sometimes
violent, facts. And this is explained, once again, by
Emmanuel himself, also in the introductory text of the
work:
We will clarify, further, that it is not our purpose to
raise only a romanticized biography (...) The
contribution of Stephen and other characters of this
real story [my emphasis] confirms the necessity and
universality of the law of cooperation.
(Xavier; Emmanuel, 2013, p. 7; 9)
Due to the spiritual writings reproduced above and
because of everything that has already been said in this
short article, I argue that such works should be
reclassified by the FEB no longer as "historical
novels", but as historical books by Emmanuel, which they
really are. I also believe that a glossary at the end of
each of them, containing the meaning of the words absent
from our daily lives in this phase of the 21st century
would help a lot to spread its important reading in the
less intellectualized segments, in other words, it would
make them more popular. And I am very hopeful that Paul
and Stephen will become a beautiful Spiritist film.
Conclusion
Objectively exposed in this simple text were the reasons
why we can recognize the veracity of the story narrated
in the book Paul and Stephen. In addition to
doing this based on them, it is a matter of considering
- without any trace of idolatry - the missionary
testimony of Chico Xavier together with Emmanuel and
guided by him in his psychographic works and in life
practice. There are several videos available on Youtube
of public lectures mentioning the fact that the
protagonists of the story narrated in the book have
became visible to the medium, very moved in tears, when
the psychographic of the book is finished, to thank the
loyalty with which it had been transcribed.
At that time, an undertaking that had started with a
meeting in the spiritual world to deal with the
elaboration of this literary work, supervised by Paul of
Tarsus himself, as reported by Arnaldo Rocha, who was a
close friend of Chico Xavier, and told directly to me by
the medium Wagner Gomes da Paixao, also from the state
of Minas Gerais. In turn, another friend of Chico, in
addition to the editor of part of his books and also a
native of Minas Gerais, Geraldo Lemos Neto, complements
in this sense by stating that Emmanuel was a kind of
“medium of the history of Paul and Stephen through
those who lived this story”4. He
supports this statement in a message from Emmanuel
psychographed at the home of Romulo Joviano on
06/25/1941:
Paul's biography has brought many kind and precious
memories of former comrades in struggle. If it were to
record all the requests of friends of the great apostle,
it would be difficult for the book to come to an end.
They are Colossian merchants, owners of Laudiceia,
former workers from Thessalonica, figures from all over
Asia, former children of the captivity and patriciate of
Rome, who bring me subsidies to illuminate the picture
in which the unforgettable apostle lived. But the
relationship becomes impractical, however, whatever I
can bring you pleasantly I will not fail to do so.
Xavier; Emmanuel, 2014, p. 155)
Finally, to say the purpose through this text,5 it
is worth recalling the reason why Emmanuel dictated the
book to Chico Xavier:
Our best and most sincere wish is to remember the harsh
struggles and harsh testimonies of an extraordinary
heart, which arose from human struggles to follow in the
Master's footsteps, in an unremitting effort. Today's
weakened Churches and the false desires of believers, in
the different sectors of Christianity, justify our
intentions [emphasis
added, remembering that “churches”, of course, means
Christian communities in general, including spiritist
communities].
(Xavier; Emmanuel, 2014, p. 7)
The author seems to have intended with his work, to blow
the embers of real fraternal love in the spiritist
houses so that they seek, truly, to be inspired in the
authentic Christian communities, according to the record
in Acts of the Apostles (2: 44-47), in the
description from Casa do Caminho until the arrest of
Stephen, as well as from the community led by Barnabas
and Paulo in Antioch and also, I would say, from the
Italian medieval Porciuncula, led by Francis of Assis.
And to close this simple article in favor of recognizing
the veracity of the story narrated by Emmanuel, I leave
here part of the final words of Our Lord Jesus Christ in
the work by recommending Paul of Tarsus (Xavier;
Emmanuel, 2013, p. 378) to send letters to the
communities formed by him: "You will be able to solve
the problem by writing to all the brothers in my name;
those of good will be able to understand".
Bibliographic referencies:
BAUMERT, Norbert. Mulher e homem em
Paul (Man and Woman in Paul). Sao Paulo, Loyola,
1999.
HOLZNER, Josef. Paul
of Tarsus. 2nd edition.
Sao Paulo, Quadrante, 2008.
XAVIER, Francisco Candido. Paul and
Stephen. By
the Spirit of Emmanuel. 45th edition.
Brasilia, FEB, 2013.
_______. Cinquenta anos depois (Fifty
years later). 32nd edition. Rio de
Janeiro. FEB, 2004.
_______. Surrender. 36th edition.
Brasilia. FEB, 2015.
_______. Ave
Cristo!. 24th edition.
Brasilia. FEB,
2015.
_______. Deus
conosco (God with us). 4th edition. Belo
Horizonte. Vinha de Luz (Light Vine), 2014.
WRIGHT, Nicholas Thomas. Paulo: uma
biografia.(Paul: a biography) Rio de Janeiro,
Thomas Nelson Brasil, 2018.
1 Emmanuel
chose the term nascent Christianity instead of primitive
Christianity. This makes us think, since ‘primitive’
refers to ‘backward’, and the prominent pioneer
Christian communities are, in fact, a reference for
contemporary ones.
2 This
book was object of investigation, as for the historical
veracity, of the chemist and spiritist researcher, with
a doctorate in the environmental area, Gilmar Trivelato,
with videos about him on YouTube.
3 Something
that also appears in the introduction of the book and
that perhaps contributed to FEB to classify it as a
historical novel, just as it had done with the previous
two.
4 Link-1 Accessed
on: 03/27/2021.
5 Remembering
the law of cooperation - mentioned by Emmanuel in
his work, as seen above - I want to thank the people who
spoke to me, at some point, or sent their contributions
to the elaboration of this modest article: Aila Pinheiro
Andrade, Almir Del Prette, Altino Mageste, Cesar Perri,
Flavio Mussa Tavares, Geraldo Lemos, Gilmar Trivelato,
Júlio Corradi, Tales Argolo, Wagner Paixão and my wife
Margareth Cecoti de Souza.
André Ricardo de Souza is PhD in Sociology at the
University of Sao Paulo, Associate Professor II at the
Department of Sociology at the Federal University of Sao
Carlos and organizer of the books: Spirituality and
Spiritism: Reflections beyond religiosity (Porto de
Ideias, 2017) and Identity and assistance dimensions of
Spiritism (Appris, 2020). He is a member of the Sao
Paulo Spiritist Heart of Jesus group from São Paulo.
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