Like all victories based on lies, lower passions and violence, terrorism will elapse too, because only love bears continuity. (Vianna de Carvalho, psychographic by Divaldo Franco, in January 2015.)

 
In October 2012,I wrote an article for the International Magazine of Spiritism(RIE) about the Planetary Transition, which is still commented by some Spiritist friends and supporters. And more recently, with the outbreak of violent terrorist  actions of the so called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) with the beheading and burning of prisoners alive, the in doctrination of children to hate and many other things.

Here in Europe, where I live with my family, the subject is on the agenda, because many future and potential terrorists go from here to increase ISIS’ ranks. And many Spiritist colleagues question if the Earth is really in a transition towards Regeneration, where love will speak louder than hatred, where the common goodwill prevail over the individual, in short a better world. These same colleagues tell me that we are still very far from it, because if this transition were true, the outbreak of these terrorist acts so abominable would not be allowed by the Superior Spirituality. After all, they say, it is said that a new generation prone to well has already arrived and is still arriving to replace those Spirits still devoted to evil. If so, why is it that such an intense wave of evil overwhelms the world, invading our homes through internet and television?

Of course, these arguments are valid and the questions arising from them are even more. In the same manner as I answered these friends of mine here in Europe, I will try to do the same regarding my readers.

Along the centuries, those who held the power used some passages of their holy books to justify their acts of savagery, seeking wealth and the maintenance of their own power. The sacred books of any religion include passages and chapters about sanctions and punishments for those who do not follow the teachings and fulfill the obligations of the spiritual leader or "the God", who wrote these teachings. Unfortunately, here in the West much has been written and has been posted on the Internet about evil, cruel and discriminatory teachings of the Koran, the sacred book of the Muslims, as if these guidelines were only found in Islamism and as if this religion would therefore be the birthplace of the antichrist. And this causes a spread of misconceptions and an "Islamophobia" invades our lives, causing prejudices and stereotypes, which are disseminated linking any act of terrorism to Islamism.

It is very important to emphasize that strict guidelines, punishments and discrimination are also clearly taught in the sacred books of the Jews - the Torah, and the Christians, the Bible, particularly in the Old Testament. These books have been written for millennia and therefore contained its nuances and characteristics of the time, the customs where they came from, and the guidelines of the regimes of the then existing governments. 

Violence in the Christians’ Holy Book

The Christians’ Old Testament, which is basically the Torah of the Jews, has very harsh punishments for those who violate its teachings.

Let's look at some of these passages.

Deuteronomy (22: 22-24):

If a man is caught sleeping with a married woman, both shall die;

If a maiden, a virgin, is a bride to a man, and if another man, finding this woman in the city, lives together with her, both shall be taken to the city gate and they shall be stoned to death…

(Deuteronomy28:15-28):

However, if you do not listen to the Lord’s voice and do not keep His commandments and rules, which I command you today, then all these curses shall fall on you: cursed you shall be in the city, cursed you shall be in the field. Cursed shall be the fruit of your body, and the fruit of your ground, and the offspring of your cows, and your sheep. The Lord will send curse upon you, confusion and defeat in all that you put your hand to do; until you are destroyed and suddenly perish, because of the wickedness of what you do, and for which you left me. The Lord will send you the plague until you are destroyed and taken from the land you are to possess. The Lord will hurt you with consumption, fever, inflammation, fiery heat, dryness, scorching, and rust; and they shall pursue you until you die. And your body shall be food for all the birds in the sky, and all the beasts of Earth, and nobody will scare them.

The Lord will hurt you with the ulcers of Egypt, with tumors, scab, and itch, from which you will not heal;

The Lord will affect you with madness, blindness, and astonishment of heart.

It is also interesting to point out that slavery was approved by "God." Let's see what it says in Leviticus chapter 25, verses 44-45: And as for the male or female slaves you may have, they will come from the nations around you; from them you shall buy male and female slaves. You shall also buy them from the sons of the foreigners that wander among you, from them and from their families that are with you, who have procreated in your land; and they will be your property.

We could continue with many other violent and controversial parts but let's look at another two last facts to complete our argument. One is the violence of the Crusades by the Catholic Church against Muslims infidels. In 1095, Pope Urban II instituted the Holy War or Just War against Muslims because "God wants it so." He promised to all Catholics, who entered this war, a plenary indulgence, i.e., the forgiveness of all sins. A few years later, he legalized the killing of infidels, and it was no longer a sin, not considered a murder, but is instead it became righteous because it is killing an evil (malecídio). This word was coined by St. Bernard of Clairvaux in 1128 to refer to a murder blessed by God, applicable to heretics and Muslims in the name of God.

Another historical fact of great violence against non-Christians (heretics) was the Inquisition, instituted in 1232 by Pope Gregory IX. For centuries - since the Inquisition was abolished only in 1834 - torture was defended as a mercy mechanism to force heretics to repent and gain God's forgiveness.

The Manual of the Inquisitors, written by the Dominican Friar Nicholas Eymerich in 1376, became a vade-mécum for the methods of torture. St. Thomas Aquinas, one of the most important philosophers of the Catholic Church in its religious monumental treatise Summa Theologica wrote that heretics deserve to be separated from the world by death.

We do not know exactly the number of deaths by the Inquisition along those over 600 years, but the numbers turn to hundreds of thousands of people. Heretics were all those, who were not Christians, as well as those who were Christian, but behaved as non-Christians, according to the ecclesiastical authorities. 

Violence in Islamism

All the above mentioned is very sad, but they are facts. Religious fanaticism, fundamentalism, is born of the literal interpretation of some religious texts, which are read separately from the context from which they are extracted, leading to intolerance and violence. Today, this is what we see in the terrorism practiced by the fundamentalists of the so called Islamic State. To justify their actions, they use the term Jihad, or as traditionally translated by the Westerners: Holy War. Unfortunately Islamic fundamentalists justify their criminal acts saying that their Prophet Muhammad preached the Holy War, or Jihad. Below there are two verses of the Quran that mention procedures to be put into practice in Holy Wars:

Sura (Surah or chapter) 47, verse 4:

And, when you meet the Unbelievers (in battle), slash their necks, until you have dominated them, and take (the survivors) as prisoners ... Deliver them, then, as a deed of generosity or let them pay ransom when the war has finished. Such is the order.

Sura 2 verses 191-193:

In the cause of Allah fight those who fight you; but do not go beyond limits, for Allah does not love aggressors ... But if they give up, know that Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

Other passages are also referenced by extremists to justify their acts of extreme violence. They again are based on radical interpretations of specific verses of some suras, or surahs (chapters) of the Quran.

One is the Sura 5, verse 33, which says: the punishment for those who make war against Allah and His Prophet ... should be killed and hanged.

These fundamentalists do not complete the reading of the verses, because it does not interest them, since this would undermine their desire for violence. If we continue to read verse 33, it says: ... or be banished from the region. So we see that there is already an alternative to death, which is banishment. But if we go to the next verse, number 34, we will read: ... unless they repent because God is all love and forgiveness.

For some scholars the Qur'an has several passages in which the Prophet Muhammad preaches tolerance and peace, which unfortunately are forgotten or unknown by the terrorists as it opposes everything that concerns the punishments and murder in the name of God:

•Sura5,verse32:He, who kills a human being, is as if he killed all mankind, and he, who saves a human being, is as if he has saved all mankind

•Sura2, verse190:And in your path to God, fight against those who fight you; however, do not provoke hostilities, because God does not love aggressors.

•Sura8verses61-62:And if they incline to peace, incline thou also to it and trust in God. He is the one hears and knows. And if they fool you, you know that God is Enough for you. It is He, who sustains with His help, and with the believers’. 

Does the word Jihad really means Holy War?

The Western world uses the word Jihad as Holy War and the terrorist attacks are called Jihadists attacks. In fact the literal term Jihad in Arabic has a far more comprehensive meaning, in three different aspects of the struggle:

1) An internal spiritual struggle of every man to become a better person

2) A fight to create a more just Muslim society

3) A fight to defend Islam, with the use of force if necessary.

Many modern Muslim scholars understand Jihad as being an inner spiritual struggle that the believers have to undertake continually to tame their evil tendencies. Despite some controversy, there seems to be a consensus among the majority that Muhammad taught that there were two types of Jihad, a greater one - that inner spiritual one to fight the evil tendencies of the internal unfaithful side of each one of us and the other, the smaller one - the one against the enemies of Islamism. To achieve the first one is much more difficult than the second.

The Planetary Transition

All that was said up to now makes us think about the teachings of Jesus about the end of times, and the teachings of Kardec, especially those of the book Genesis, enlightening everything that is going on. Jesus told us in Matthew XVIII, verse 7: Woe unto the world because of offenses. It is necessary that scandals occur, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes. In this context, the scandals are these terrorist attacks and all that denigrates Humanity, such as corruption, prejudice and intolerance of any sort. Causers of scandals are also those who sell weapons, with which the wars are supplied, as well as those companies that buy oil from organizations linked to terrorism, for example, the oil placed on the market at low prices and that comes from areas taken by ISIS. The purchase of this oil funds terrorist acts around the world!

The need of scandals is part of our moral growth, because the outrage grows worldwide, and is spread through social networks and causes a worldwide shock, thus altering the vibration of the planet, and forms of thought - not directed to fix what is wrong – are spread to a great extent.

But Jesus' teachings go further when He adds: but woe to that man by whom the offense comes. Jesus here already anticipated the teachings of Kardec in Genesis, Chapter XVIII, item 27, about the suffering and purge that these hardened Spirits would suffer due to their own choices when they disembodied: When the time comes, a massive emigration will occur of those who live here: of those, who do evil for evil, who were not yet touched by the feeling of practicing goodness, and who are no longer worthy of living in the transformed planet; these will be excluded, because if not, they will cause a new disorder and confusion and would be an obstacle to progress . They will atone the hardening of their hearts, some of them in lower worlds, other sin still backward earthly races, equivalent to worlds of that order, to which they will take the knowledge they have acquired, with the mission to make them progress. Better Spirits will replace them, who will make justice, peace and brotherhood reign amongst them.

Kardec goes on teaching us that there is a new generation arriving replacing those, who can no longer be reincarnated on Earth. He tell us in item 20 of Genesis: The generation that disappears will take with them their mistakes and losses; the rising generation, refreshed in purer sources, with healthier ideas, will mark the world with an upward movement in the sense of moral progress, which will mark a new phase of human evolution. But Kardec warns that these reluctant Spirits, which he calls the latecomers for failing to learn about kindness and benevolence, will fight against this state of affairs. In item 26 he says: ... they will defend every inch of the ground. Therefore, there will be an unavoidable fight, but an unequal fight, because it is between the decrepit past, falling to pieces, against the youthful future. It will be the fight of stagnation against progress, of the creature against the Creator’s will, since the time determined by Him has arrived. 

Conclusions

Our first conclusion is that these terrorist movements and their creators are experiencing their last gasps. They are fighting inch by inch, obtaining the so called victories of Pyrrhus, when in fact the times have come when they will no longer reincarnate here as the Planetary Transition follows its divine planning and it is increasingly accelerated.

The second conclusion is that it is not the religions that are good or bad, nor their holy books. What is incriminating is the interpretation that is given to passages and texts by isolating them from their full context, which includes the time they were written, the form of the then existing power, and the interests of those who detained power and who ordered the translations with the convenient interpretations in accordance with the reigning political situations. And this justifies their offending terrorist actions.

The third conclusion is that the greater Jihad - an inner spiritual struggle to fight the evil tendencies of the internal unfaithful side of each one of us - is very similar to Kardec's teachings when he says the true Spiritist is recognized by his continuous and daily effort to fight his evil tendencies, trying to be better today than yesterday and tomorrow better than today.

References:

The Holy Bible

The Holy Quran

The True Meaning of Jihad -Tarik Ramadan

Summa Theologica - San Thomas Aquinas

La Inquisicion - Ricardo Garcia Carcel