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The Spiritist
view of cures
and healing in
Judeo-Christian
tradition
The imposition
of hands
frequently used
by Jesus,
although there
are no reports
of healing
(moving hands),
and the
obsessions that
were
dealt almost
entirely with
dialogue
established with
the
Spirits that
Jesus dealt with
authority
(Part 1)
The books of the
Bible are a
great cultural
reference to
civilization as
a whole.
Affirmed or
contradicted by
contemporary
philosophical
systems,
sometimes used
as the knowledge
that was true
one day,
supported by
ardent believers
and confidents
in faith, the
Bible postulates
are still
present in our
daily life.
Kardec
encouraged
spiritists to
study Bible in
the light of the
Spiritism,
saying, "Spiritism
is present
throughout the
ancient times
and at different
times of
mankind.
Everywhere we
can find its
remains: In
writings,
beliefs and
monuments. That
is why, while
ripping new
horizons for the
future, it
projects light
no less vivid on
the new
mysteries of the
past. "(Kardec,
1978, p. 27)
Were diseases
treated or cured
with some
similar practice
to healing in
the Bible
writings? How
was it
interpreted in
the context of
Old and New
Testament of
cure practices
from imposition
of hands? How
Spiritism
codified by
Allan Kardec is
affected by the
Christian
tradition of
imposition of
hands?
Sickness and sin
In the
introduction of
"The Gospel
according to
Spiritism",
Kardec advocates
the need of
understanding
the meaning of
words found in
Hebrew and
Christian
writings in
their time
because they
"characterize
the state of
affairs of
customs and
Jewish society
in that epoch,
and today it has
a different
signification,
making it
difficult to
understand. He
proposes that a
hermeneutic
study is done;
in order to
differentiate
myths and
legends from
historical
phenomena and
that some
passages can be
explained, even
nowadays
understood by
faith as
miracles or
action of God,
from the
principles of
spiritist
phenomenology.
A comprehensive
study of the Old
Testament will
find in
descendants of
Moses an
understanding of
disease as a
divine
punishment for
sins of the
person or their
ancestors.
Moses, in the
Pentateuch,
established, on
behalf of
Yahweh, a rite
that was to
feature
recognition and
purification of
sins.
Originally, the
forgiveness of
sins was
associated with
sacrifice of
animals,
especially
calves, lambs
and goats (hence
the term
scapegoat).
The priestly
rites and
sacrifices had a
mediating role
between man and
divinity; in
other
words, they made
public and
exterior the
belief and
acceptance
before society
of laws
attributed to
God.
The illness of
Job
The association
between disease
and divine
punishment is
very clear in
the book of Job.
In this possible
biblical myth,
Job is a man who
acts in careful
manner, not to
say obsessive,
of the behaviour
prescribed by
God, to prevent
evil and
sickness in his
life. He has
many wives,
children, herds
and wealth,
which signals
the reader that
he received
prosperity in
exchange for
faith, the
promise of the
Old Testament.
Unusually, in a
divine field,
Satan would
question God if,
contrary to what
he said, faith
is not the fruit
of prosperity.
Without Job
having
conscience of
this, God, in
this story, test
his faith,
allowing that
all his assets
(including his
own family) were
“taken" from him
and, later, that
his health was
affected. The
biblical text is
developed in an
intimate
dialogue between
Job and three
friends who came
to console him,
and it becomes a
kind of
reflection of
the weakness and
human
incomprehension
of the desires
of divine.
One issue in
particular
bothers Job: he
was faithful to
what God had
asked him
through the
Mosaic law, and
he didn’t
understand why
he suffered all
those losses and
illnesses, as it
can be read in
the book of Job,
chapter 27: "
As surely as God
lives, who has
denied me
justice, the
Almighty, who
has made me
taste bitterness
of soul as long
as I have life
within me, the
breath of God in
my nostrils, my
lips will not
speak
wickedness, and
my tongue will
utter no deceit.
I will never
admit you are in
the right; till
I die, I will
not deny my
integrity. I
will maintain my
righteousness
and never let go
of it; my
conscience will
not reproach me
as long as I
live. (…)
It is evident
that the man of
the Old
Testament, which
meets “the
ritual agreement
with God”, does
not understand
the illness that
does not give
abandon the
rudimentary
medicine Hebrew
or the
sacrifices, if
you have not
committed any
sin. The disease
that resists to
time and drugs
is seen as
punishment from
God. In Job, the
disease is a
proof of faith
that the hero of
the Old
Testament is not
able to
understand.
Even in the Old
Testament there
is other
evidence of the
disease is a
sign of divine
action.
Spiritism does
not defend the
existence of a
god of evil. In
the myth of Job,
Satan does not
personify a bad
spirit, but the
precariousness
of the world and
life, which
allows that any
man pass tests,
being them
religious or
not. Shaddai,
according to the
Bible of
Jerusalem, is a
“former name of
the patriarchal
epoch, kept
especially for
the priestly
tradition”. The
sense of the
word could be
"God's
Mountain," if
was originally
from Acadia
Shadû, or "God
of the steppe,"
if it was from
the Hebrew Sadeh.
Elijah, the "Man
of God"
Elias is another
legendary
biblical hero
who defends the
faith in Yahweh
and opposes
himself other
beliefs, like
the God Baal. In
the first book
of Kings,
chapter 17,
Elijah goes to
the city of
Sarepta,
ordained by God,
and he stays at
a widow’s place
with her sick
son. After an
episode similar
to the
multiplication
of the loaves of
the New
Testament, the
son of the widow
"fell ill, and
his illness was
so severe that
he died."
For our study,
it is
interesting the
mother of the
boy comment, she
says: "What is
between me and
you, man of God?
You came to my
house to revive
the memory of my
sins and to
cause the death
of my son! "
The widow does
not question,
she verbally
states her
belief in the
association
between her sins
and death of the
child. She also
believes that
Elijah is a man
of God, because
of his ability
to punish the
sins with death
or disease is a
divine power.
Elijah
takes the boy,
he stretches
above him
three times, and
asks Yahweh that
returns the
boy’s soul,
making him
relive.
Immediately, the
widow says: "Now
I know that
you're a man of
God and that
Yahweh really
speaks through
your mouth!"
Myth or reality,
history or
legend, is
already in the
Old Testament a
practice similar
to the magnetic
healing, but in
the cultural
context of that
time, which
explains the
understanding of
its outcome by
means of a
divine action.
The Messiah of
Isaiah
The book of
Isaiah, in the
group of the Old
Testament, on
top of the
political
aspect, in which
he encourages
his people to
abandon
political
alliances with
the Assyrians
and Egyptians to
trust in God,
denouncing the
corruption of
customs and
announces the
coming of the
Messiah. The
intention of the
Messiah in
Isaiah is
complex and it
is beyond the
scope of this
text,
interesting us
one of his
divine
characteristics:
the ability to
cure diseases,
relieving men of
ritual sacrifice
to God.
Isaiah writes
thus: "... and
yet, surely he
took up our
infirmities and
carried our
sorrows, (Isaiah
53:4).
Yahweh,
according to the
Bible of
Jerusalem, is
the name that
God gave to
Moses to be
taught to
people, when he
is in the
mountain. There
is an
etymological
discussion about
his name, but
the word is
related to the
verb to be and
can be
translated as
“who is" and
brings in itself
the meaning of
existence, in
other words, he
presents himself
as the only one
that actually
exists.
Baal, as
Houaiss, is the
name of a
Canaanite and
Phoenician
divinity,
worshiped by
other people of
Near East in
antiquity. This
passage led the
evangelist
Matthew to
recognize in
Jesus, after the
expulsion of
spirits and
healing of sick
people in the
house of Peter’s
mother-in law,
the person of
the Messiah is
preached by
Isaiah (Matthew
8:17).
The healings of
Jesus
Significant part
of the Gospels
deals with cures
performed by
Jesus. Kardec
avoids
discussing them
in "The Gospel
according to
Spiritism", but
devotes an
entire section
of "The Genesis"
explaining them
with help of the
Spiritist
Doctrine.
Kardec
understands that
Jesus didn’t act
as medium in
that cures that
he performed,
because he
didn’t need
assistance, he
"acted by
himself, because
of his personal
power, as in
some cases, the
incarnated also
can do it, in
the measure of
their forces.
(Kardec, 1973,
p. 311.)
The descriptions
of the Gospels
Cures including
imposition of
hands, touch,
application of
clay on the
affected organ,
distance
healing, among
others:
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a) Imposition
of hands -
There are many
passages in
which Jesus
heals imposing
hands on the
sick person. For
example, Matthew
narrates the
request of
Jairus to Jesus,
to impose his
hands on
Jairus’s child,
considered dead
(Mt 9:18 and Mk
5:21) and Mark
reports that
Jesus healed
sick people
imposing his
hands (Mc. 6:5).
This ability, in
Jewish culture,
as has been said
before, was
typical of
prophets. It was
after an episode
of cures that
Matthew
identifies Jesus
as the Messiah
(Mt 8:17), when
transcribing a
speech for a
person that
repeats the
prophecy of
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Isaiah.
The
concept
of
health
is not
separated
from the
influence
of
demons.
There
are many
passages
where
Jesus
talks to
demons
or cast
them out
of
people.
Lucas
(Luke.
13:11)
tells
about
the
healing
of a
possessed
bent
person
through
imposition
of
hands.
The
imposition
of hands
seems to
have a
different
meaning,
maybe a
blessing
or, in
contemporary
medical
language,
a
prophylactic
role.
In
another gospel
passage,
Matthew (Mt
19:14 and 15)
reports Jesus
imposing his
hands on the
boys who wanted
to see him but
the apostles had
disallowed them.
They were not
sick, and it
seems that they
just wanted to
meet Jesus.
Besides the
imposition of
hands, other
forms of
treatment are
described in the
Gospels. |
b) Touch of
hands -
Jesus healed the
mother-in-law of
Peter touching
her with his
hands (Mt 8:15).
Also the
bleeding woman
had cured her
disease, but she
was the one who
touched the
garment of Jesus
(Mt 9: 20-22),
who said:
"Courage, my
daughter, your
faith saved
you." Three of
the evangelists
(Mt 9: 18-26, Mk
5:21-43 and Luke
8:40-56) narrate
the healing of
the Jairus‘s
daughter and he
was the
synagogue
leader. She was
considered dead,
but Jesus said
that she had not
died she was
only sleeping.
“He took her by
the hand and she
stood up”.
c) Distance
healing or by
means of
dialogue -
Jesus healed the
ten lepers (Mt
17:11-19)
sending them
back to the
city. The cure
was made in the
way and one of
them came to say
thank you. Jesus
asks him about
the other nine
and says, "Get
up and go. Your
faith saved
you”. Jesus
heals the
paralytic of
Capernaum,
according to
Matthew (Mt
8:1-8), saying
only: "Be brave,
my son, your
sins are
forgiven” and
then “Get up,
take your bed
and go home”. In
the temple (Mk
3:1-5) Jesus
only asked that
a man extends
his hand
Shrunken and it
was cured. Jesus
(Mc. 1:23-28)
says to an
“impure spirit"
in a synagogue,
which subdued a
man, ordering
him: "shut up
and get out of
him." Also
talking, Jesus
heals the two
possessed
men
of the region of
the Gadarenes
considered
violent (Mt
8:28-33),
casting the
demons out of
them. Marcos
(Mc. 9:14-29)
describes the
expulsion of a
demon that
tormented a
child with signs
of epilepsy
(“When he takes
the child, he
throw the kid on
the floor. And
the child foam,
range the teeth
and is dried
out). Jesus
talked with the
impure spirit:
Deaf and dumb
spirit, I
command thee:
let him go and
never enter in
him again."
The boy
was like dead
and Jesus took
him by hand,
lifting him. The
son of a widow
in the city of
Naim (Luke.
7:11-17) and
Lazarus (John.
11:1-43),
considered dead,
wake up from
their dreams
sleep by the
sonorous voice
of Jesus that
calls them back.
d) Healing
with saliva and
clay - Mark
(Mk 8:22-26)
narrates the
healing of blind
man of Bethsaida
where Jesus puts
saliva on his
eyes and Jesus
imposes his
hands. This cure
is commented by
Kardec in "The
Genesis"
(Chapter 15).
John (Jo.
9:1-41) relates
the healing of a
blind from
birth, to which
Jesus mixed
saliva to clay,
and passes it
over his eyes
and ordered that
he washes that
mixture in the
tank of Siloam.
The beggar, now
cured, go to the
temple and
faces, Pharisees
and priests,
confirming the
healing of Jesus
and considering
him a prophet.
These citations
are far from
exhausting all
the narratives
of healing found
in the Gospels.
Kardec
highlights the
lack of diseases
that were taken
as action of
demons and
impure spirits,
such as
epilepsy, states
of coma and
mutes, diseases
that the
Spiritism
contemporary
would not
confuse with
spiritual
obsession,
although it may
present an
obsessive
component.
The imposition
of hands was
extremely used
by Jesus,
although there
are no reports
of healing
(movement of
hands). The
obsessions were
almost entirely
treated with
dialogue
established with
the spirits that
Jesus dealt with
authority,
authority that
we are far from
acquiring today.
Kardec maintains
the idea that
Jesus had a
superior
capacity, but we
cannot forget to
analyse the
trajectory of
the apostles.
They also have
capacity to heal
and they use for
it the
imposition of
hands. (Read the
conclusion of
this article in
next issue of
this magazine.)
Bibliographic
sources:
The Bible of
Jerusalem. São
Paulo: Paulinas,
1985.
GOMES, Mauro.
The touch of the
hands of the
king.
Available
in http://www.pulmonar.org.br/blog/tuberculose/o-toque-das-maos-do-rei/.
Accessed on
01/12 / 2007.
Kardec, Allan.
The Gospel
According to
Spiritism. Rio
de Janeiro: FEB,
1978. [Popular
Edition] Rio de
Janeiro: FEB,
1973.
MICHAELUS.
Spiritual
Magnetism. Rio
de Janeiro: FEB,
1983.
OLIVEIRA, Maria
Izabel B. Morais.
The miracle
regal and the
legendary cycle
in favour of
strengthening
the power, in
the circle of
France Charles V
(1364-1380),
Journal of
History and
Cultural
Studies, v.3, n.
1, Jan / Mar
2006.
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