We start today our methodical study of Genesis - Miracles and predictions according to Spiritism by Allan Kardec. The first edition was published on January 6, 1868. The summarized text offered for reading here and the answers to proposed questions are based on the 2009 edition published by Edicei of America and copyright by International Spiritist Council, translated by Darrel W. Kimble and Ily Reis. This work is part of the Spiritist Pentateuch. The answers to the questions suggested for discussion are at the end of the text below.
Questions for discussion
A. What is the main characteristic of the Spiritist Faith?
B. What is the meaning of the word revelation?
C. What are geniuses and where do they come from?
Text for reading
1. Introduction to the first edition, published in January 1868. This new work is one more step forward regarding the consequences and applications of Spiritism. As its title indicates, its objective is the study of three areas that have until today been diversely interpreted and commented upon: Genesis, miracles and predictions, and how they relate to the new laws that have resulted from the observation of spirit phenomena.
2. Two elements, or, if you will, two forces govern the universe: the spiritual element and the material element. From the simultaneous action of these two principles special phenomena are born that would be inexplicable if one of these two elements were excluded, just as the formation of water would be inexplicable if we excluded one of its two constituent elements: oxygen and hydrogen.
3. By demonstrating the existence of the spirit world and its relations with the material world, Spiritism provides the key to a multitude of misunderstood phenomena.
4. This work is a supplement to the applications of Spiritism from a special point of view. Its contents have been ready, or at least prepared, for quite some time, but the time to publish them had not yet arrived. First, the ideas that were meant to form its basis had to reach maturity, while, on the other hand, the appropriateness of the circumstances had to be taken into account.
5. Spiritism harbors neither mysteries nor secret theories; everything about it must be clearly stated so that each person may judge it with a full knowledge of the facts. However, each thing must come in its own time in order to arrive securely.
6. In spite of the part that has fallen to human endeavor in the development of this Faith, the initiative belongs to the Spirits; however, it has not been formed by the personal opinion of any one of them in particular. It is not, nor can it be, other than the result of their collective and concordant teachings. Because of this unique condition, it may be said to be the Spirits’ Faith; otherwise, it would be only the faith of one spirit in particular, and thus would have only the worth of a personal opinion.
7. Universality and concordance in the teachings: such is the essential character of the Faith, the very condition of its existence. Consequently, any principle that has not received the consecration of the test of universality cannot be considered an integral part of such Faith, but simply an isolated opinion for which Spiritism cannot assume responsibility. Furthermore, it is this concordant collectivity of the Spirits ’ opinions, passed through the criterion of logic that accounts for the power of the Spiritist Faith and ensures its continuation. For it to change, it would be necessary for the universality of the Spirits to change their opinions and for them one day to contradict what they have said. Since the source of the Faith resides in the Spirits’ teachings, in order for it to succumb the Spirits would have to cease to exist. For the same reason, it will continue to prevail over personal theories, which, unlike Spiritism, do not have roots everywhere.
8. The Spirits’ Book has seen its credibility solidified only because it is the expression of a generalized collective thought. In April of 1867 it completed its first decade. During that time the fundamental principles on which its foundations were set were successively completed and developed as a result of the progressive teachings of the Spirits, but none were contradicted by experience; all, without exception, remained standing, more alive than ever, whereas, of all the opposing ideas that some tried to use against it, none prevailed, precisely because on all sides the opposite was taught.
9. Chapter I - Character of the Spiritist revelation - Can Spiritism be considered a revelation? If so, what is its character? On what is its authenticity founded? To whom and in what way has it been given? Is the Spiritist Faith a revelation in the theological sense of the word; that is, is it at all points the product of a secret teaching that has come from On High? Is it absolute or is it susceptible to modification? By bringing completely formulated truth to humans, would not such revelation have the effect of keeping them from making use of their own faculties, since it would spare them the work of investigation? What authority could the teaching of the Spirits have if they are neither infallible nor superior to human beings? What is the usefulness of the morality they proclaim if such morality is none other than that of Christ, a morality that is already known? What are the new truths that the Spirits have brought to us? Do humans have need of a revelation, and can they not find within themselves and within their own conscience everything that is necessary for their self-guidance?
10. Such are the questions on which we must focus our attention. Let us first define the meaning of the word revelation.
11. To reveal, from the Latin revelare, whose root is velum, veil, literally means to go out from under the veil, and figuratively it means to discover, to make something known that has been secret or unknown heretofore. In its popular and most general definition it means anything unknown that has been brought to light, any new idea that places one on the trail of what one does not know.
12. From this point of view, all the sciences that enable us to know the mysteries of nature are revelations, and one could say that there is for us an on-going revelation. Astronomy has revealed the sidereal world that was formerly unknown to us; geology, the formation of the earth; chemistry, the law of affinity; physiology, the functions of the organism, etc.; Copernicus , Galileo, Newton, Laplace, and Lavoisier were revelators.
13. The essential characteristic of any revelation must be the truth. To reveal a secret is to make known a fact; if the thing is false, it is not a fact at all, and, consequently, there is no revelation. Every revelation that is belied by the facts is no revelation at all.
14. Teachers teach only what they themselves have learned; they are revelators of a second order. Geniuses, on the other hand, teach what they have discovered firsthand: they are original revelators. They contribute the light that is gradually popularized. Where would humankind be without revelation by the geniuses that appear from time to time! But what are these geniuses? Why are they geniuses? Where do they come from? What becomes of them?
15. Let us note that, for the most part, they bring at birth transcendent faculties and innate knowledge, which a little effort is sufficient to develop. They very much belong to humankind since they are born, live and die like the rest of us. So, from where have they derived such knowledge, which they could not have acquired from their present existence? 16. Might one say, along with the materialists, that chance has given them a greater quantity and better quality of cerebral matter? If that were the case, they would have no more merit than a vegetable that is larger and tastier than another.
17. Might one say, along with certain spiritualists, that God has blessed them with a soul more highly endowed than that of ordinary individuals? That would be a completely illogical supposition since it would accuse God of being partial.
18. The only rational solution to the problem lies in the preexistence of the soul and the plurality of existences. Geniuses are spirits who have existed longer, and who, consequently, have acquired more and progressed further than those who are less advanced. Upon incarnating, they bring what they know, and since they know much more than others without having to learn it, they are called geniuses. But what they know is none other than the fruit of previous accomplishments and not the result of privilege. Before birth, they were already advanced spirits; they reincarnate either to enable others to benefit from what they know, or to acquire further knowledge for themselves.
19. Human beings progress by themselves and through the efforts of their intelligence, but left to their own devices such progress is very slow if they are not helped by more-advanced individuals, just as students are helped by their teachers. Such is the role of great geniuses.
20. These geniuses – appearing down through the centuries like shining stars, leaving behind them a long, luminous trail for humankind – are missionaries, or if you will, messiahs. The new things they teach to humankind, whether of a physical or of a philosophical order, are revelations. If God calls forth revelators to make known scientific truths, God can, with all the more reason, call them forth to make known moral truths, which are one of the essential elements of progress. Such are the philosophers whose ideas have traversed the centuries.
21. In the special sense of religious faith, revelation applies more particularly to spiritual matters, which humans cannot know by themselves, and which they cannot discover by means of their senses, the understanding of which is given to them by God or God’s messengers, whether by direct word or inspiration. In this case, revelation is always given to qualified individuals designated as prophets or messiahs; that is, messengers or missionaries on a mission to transmit revelation to humankind.
22. All religions have had their revelators, and although they were far from having known the truth in its entirety, they had their providential reason for being, because they were appropriate for the time and environment in which they lived, and for the particular character of the peoples to whom they spoke, and compared with whom they were relatively more highly evolved.
23. In spite of errors contained in their doctrines, they nevertheless stirred up people’s minds, thereby sowing the seeds of progress that would sprout and grow later on, or will blossom someday under the sun of Christianity.
24. Unfortunately, religions in all ages have been instruments of domination; the role of prophet has stirred up secondary ambitions, and we have seen multitudes of false revelators or messiahs emerge, who, thanks to the prestige of the label, have exploited people’s credulity to satisfy their pride, greed or indolence, finding it more convenient to live at the expense of their victims.
25. The Christian religion itself has not been sheltered from such parasites. In this regard, we ask that serious attention be paid to chapter XXI of The Gospel according to Spiritism: “There will be false Christs and false prophets.”
Answers to Proposed Questions
A. What is the main characteristic of the Spiritist Faith?
In spite of the part that has fallen to human endeavor in the development of this Faith, the initiative belongs to the Spirits; however, it has not been formed by the personal opinion of any one of them in particular. It is not, nor can it be, other than the result of their collective and concordant teachings. Because of this unique condition, it may be said to be the Spirits’ Faith; otherwise, it would be only the faith of one spirit in particular, and thus would have only the worth of a personal opinion. Universality and concordance in the teachings: such is the essential character of the Faith, the very condition of its existence. Consequently, any principle that has not received the consecration of the test of universality cannot be considered an integral part of such Faith, but simply an isolated opinion for which Spiritism cannot assume responsibility. Furthermore, it is this concordant collectivity of the Spirits ’ opinions, passed through the criterion of logic that accounts for the power of the Spiritist Faith and ensures its continuation. For it to change, it would be necessary for the universality of the Spirits to change their opinions and for them one day to contradict what they have said. Since the source of the Faith resides in the Spirits’ teachings, in order for it to succumb the Spirits would have to cease to exist. For the same reason, it will continue to prevail over personal theories, which, unlike Spiritism, do not have roots everywhere. (Genesis, Introduction)
B. What is the meaning of the word revelation?
To reveal, from the Latin revelare, whose root is velum, veil, literally means to go out from under the veil, and figuratively it means to discover, to make something known that has been secret or unknown heretofore. In its popular and most general definition it means anything unknown that has been brought to light, any new idea that places one on the trail of what one does not know. From this point of view, all the sciences that enable us to know the mysteries of nature are revelations, and one could say that there is for us an on-going revelation. Astronomy has revealed the sidereal world that was formerly unknown to us; geology, the formation of the earth; chemistry, the law of affinity; physiology, the functions of the organism, etc.; Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, Laplace, and Lavoisier were revelators. The essential characteristic of any revelation must be the truth. To reveal a secret is to make known a fact; if the thing is false, it is not a fact at all, and, consequently, there is no revelation. (Genesis, Chap. I, items 2 and 3)
C. What are geniuses and where do they come from?
Geniuses bring at birth transcendent faculties and innate knowledge, which a little effort is sufficient to develop. They very much belong to humankind since they are born, live and die like the rest of us. So, from where have they derived such knowledge, which they could not have acquired from their present existence? Might one say, along with the materialists, that chance has given them a greater quantity and better quality of cerebral matter? If that were the case, they would have no more merit than a vegetable that is larger and tastier than another. Might one say, along with certain spiritualists, that God has blessed them with a soul more highly endowed than that of ordinary individuals? That would be a completely illogical supposition since it would accuse God of being partial. The only rational solution to the problem lies in the preexistence of the soul and the plurality of existences. Geniuses are spirits who have existed longer, and who, consequently, have acquired more and progressed further than those who are less advanced. Upon incarnating, they bring what they know, and since they know much more than others without having to learn it, they are called geniuses. But what they know is none other than the fruit of previous accomplishments and not the result of privilege. Before birth, they were already advanced spirits; they reincarnate either to enable others to benefit from what they know, or to acquire further knowledge for themselves. (Genesis, Chap. I, item 5)
