In this issue, we continue the study of the book, What is Spiritism, launched in Paris in July 1859. This study will be divided into 19 parts. The pages cited in the text and suggested for reading refer to the 20th edition published by the Brazilian Spiritist Federation (Federação Espírita Brasileira). The answers to the questions suggested for discussion can be found at the end of this text.
Questions for discussion
A. Many people say that if reincarnation existed, we would remember our past lives. Why, then, do we not remember who we were, or what we did?
B. Allan Kardec says that there are two parts in Spiritism. What are they and what do they represent?
C. We naturally say: Plato’s philosophy, Marx’s teachings, and Hegel's conception. Can we also call Spiritism, the Kardecist Doctrine, or Kardecism?
Reading text
83. The source of Spiritism does not come from man; it is the work of Spirits, and therefore there is no use in burning them or banning their publication. If they came to destroy all the Spiritist books, the Spirits would dictate them all over again. (Chapter I, Second Dialogue, page 122).
84. Spiritism is intended to fight unbelief and its dire consequences, providing evidence of the existence of the soul and afterlife. It is directed to those who believe in nothing or doubt everything. (Chapter I, Third Dialogue, page 123).
85. Spiritism is not imposed on any person and does not come to force any conviction. In its view, all beliefs, which are honest and do not allow man to do evil to others, are to be respected, even if wrong. (Chapter I, Third Dialogue, page 123).
86. Injury and slander were launched against the Doctrine and the Spiritists since its very beginning. From the pulpit, the Spiritists were described as enemies of society and public order, condemned and rejected by the Church, and they were persecuted even in their affective and professional relationships. And this occurred worldwide. (Chapter I, Third Dialogue, pages 124 and 125).
87. Spiritism was just a simple philosophical doctrine; the Church was the one who gave it greater proportions, considering it a formidable enemy; it was the Church who proclaimed it as a new religion. (Chapter I, Third Dialogue, page 126).
88. The belief in life after death, therefore showing the continuity of relationships between men, establishes among them a solidarity that is not destroyed in the grave; this is the reason why this belief changes the course of ideas. (Chapter I, Third Dialogue, page 127).
89. If religion teaches enough, why are there so many unbelievers? It preaches; this is true; it tells us to believe, but there are many people who do not believe based on a simple statement. Spiritism proves and makes you see what religion teaches in theory. (Chapter I, Third Dialogue, page 127).
90. The Spirits announce one God, supremely just and good; they say that man is free and responsible for his actions, rewarded or punished for the good or evil he has done. They consider above all virtues, the evangelical charity and the following sublime rule taught by Christ: do unto others as we want it to be done to us. (Chapter I, Third Dialogue, page 128).
91. Spiritism is above all a science, and does not consider the dogmatic issues. It is based on the existence of an invisible world, formed by incorporeal beings that populate the space and are the souls of those who lived on Earth, or other worlds. They are the beings we call Spirits, which surround us and have a great and constant influence over men, and play a very active role in the moral world and to some degree in the physical world too. Spiritism is therefore in Nature. (Chapter I, Third Dialogue, page 129).
92. It is therefore supported by principles that are independent of dogmatic issues. Its moral consequences are all in the sense of Christianity, because of all doctrines this is the most enlightened and purer. (Chapter I, Third Dialogue, page 130). (Continued in the next issue).
Answers to the proposed questions
A. Many people say that if reincarnation existed, we would remember our past lives. Why, then, do we not remember who we were, or what we did?
The temporary forgetfulness of the past is a benefit that Providence grants to the human being. Experience, many times, is only acquired through rude and terrible atonement, the memory of which would be too painful and would increase anxiety and hardships. Free from past memories, which would annoy him, man can live more freely, whereas if he remembered, it would affect his social relationships and it would be an obstacle to his progress. (What is Spiritism, Chapter I, Second Dialogue, pages 115-117).
B. Allan Kardec says that there are two parts in Spiritism. What are they and what do they represent?
One is the experimental part, which is related with the phenomenon. The other is the philosophical doctrine. There are people who saw nothing and yet believe in Spiritism only by their study of the philosophical part. For them, the phenomenon of the manifestation is accessory. The fundamental is the doctrine, the science, the one that best solves a multitude of problems previously considered unsolvable. (Ibid, Chapter I, Second Dialogue, page 119).
C. We naturally say: Plato’s philosophy, Marx’s teachings, and Hegel's conception. Can we also call Spiritism, the Kardecist Doctrine, or Kardecism?
There is between Spiritism and other philosophical systems one major difference: the latter is formed by works that are all authored by more or less enlightened men, while Spiritism is the work of the Spirits. Therefore, Kardec has no merit regarding the invention of a single principle. We can therefore say, the philosophy of Plato, Descartes, Leibnitz, but one can never say, the doctrine of Allan Kardec, which makes the word Kardecism, unsuitable and inadequate to express the Kardecist doctrine. (Ibid, Chapter I, Second Dialogue, pages 119 and 120).
