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The Spiritist Review - Journal of Psychological Studies - 1863 > January > Answer to a question about Spiritism from a religious point of view
Answer to a question about Spiritism from a religious point of view
Someone from Bordeaux whom we do not have the honor of knowing in person sent us the following question about Spiritism, a question that we prefer to answer in the Spiritist Review for the instruction of all:
“I read in one of your books: Spiritism does not address those who have any given faith that satisfies their reason and conscience with the objective of veering them off but the large number of those who are uncertain and the unbelievers, etc. “Now, why not? Shouldn’t Spiritism, the truth, address everybody? All those that are mistaken? The ones who profess any religion like the Protestant, the Catholic, the Jewish, aren’t them wrong? There is no doubt since the religions professed in our days pretend to have the incontestable truth and force us to believe in false things or at least things that could have come from trustworthy sources but that are wrongly interpreted. If it is demonstrated that the penalties are temporary only – and God knows if it is a slight mistake to confuse temporary with eternal – if the fire of hell is a work of fiction and if instead of a creation in six days it was, in actual fact, six millions of centuries, etc., if all that has been proven, say considering that there is one truth only, the beliefs that gave rise to such false interpretations of those dogmas are not less false since something is true or not. There is no middle ground. Why then would Spiritism not address also those who believe in absurd things to dissuade them like those who believe in nothing or have doubts, etc.?
We take the opportunity of this letter from which we extracted the above passage to remind us once more of the essential objective of Spiritism that the author of the letter does not seem to be totally convinced.
Through the positive proofs of the existence of the soul and a future life, which is the basis of all religions, Spiritism is the denial of materialism and consequently addresses those who deny or doubt. It is evident that someone who does not believe in God or in the soul is not a Catholic or a Jew or a Protestant, whatever their original religion, or even Muslim or Buddhist. The unbeliever is led to believe in a future life by the evidence of the facts with all their moral consequences. That person is then free to adopt any cult that satisfies their reason or conscience. The role of Spiritism ends there. It helps to walk three quarters of the way; to move over the hardest step of disbelief. The rest is up to the others.
However, the author of the letter may ask, if there is no convenient faith to that person? Well, in such a case stay where you are. Spiritism cannot do anything there. It is not up to Spiritism to force you to accept a cult nor to discuss the intrinsic value of the dogmas of each religion. That is left to your conscience. If what Spiritism gives you is not enough to seek among all other Philosophies a doctrine that can better satisfy your aspirations.
The unbelievers and the doubters form a very large class and when Spiritism says that it does not aim at a given faith and at those whose faith is good enough to them it is because Spiritism does not impose itself on anybody and does not violate any conscience. By addressing the unbelieversnonbelievers, it is able to convince them through its own means. As such, Spiritism grants access to their reason and considering that others were ineffective. In a word Spiritism has its own method that daily provides beautiful results. However, it does not count on any secret doctrine. Spiritism does not ask some to open their ears and to others to keep them shut. It speaks to everybody through the written messages and each one is free to adopt or reject its way of seeing things. Thus, it converts unbelievers into keen followers. That is all that is intended.
To someone that says: “I have my own faith and I do not wish to change it; I believe in the eternal penalties, in the flames of hell and in the devils; I even believe that it is the Sun that turn because that is in the Bible and I believe that it is the price of my salvation” Spiritism responds: “Keep your beliefs since they are convenient to you; nobody tries to impose you a different one. I don’t address you because you want nothing from me.”
In this Spiritism, it is truthful to the principle of respecting the freedom of conscience. If someone believes to be mistaken that person is free to seek the light that shines to all. Those who believe to be right have the freedom to turn the eyes. Once more, Spiritism has an objective from which it does not wish and must not veer off. It knows the path to be followed and will follow it without deviations by the suggestions of the impatient. There is a time for everything and the will to move faster is frequently cause of retreat instead of advancement.
Two words still to the author of the letter: It seems to us that there is a false application of the principle that there is one truth only, concluding that certain dogmas like the eternal penalties and the dogma of creation received wrong interpretation and that everything else must be false in religion. Don’t we see every day the positive sciences acknowledging certain errors of details without the Science being radically wrong? Hasn’t the Church come to agree with Science with respect to certain beliefs that in the past were articles of faith? Doesn’t Church recognize today the law of the movements of Earth and the geological periods of creation that were condemned in the past as heresies? As for the flames of hell the high theology today agrees that it is an image and that one must understand it as a moral and not material flame.
About several other points the doctrines are less absolute than in the past. It is possible to conclude from that that one day, and yielding to the evidence of the material facts, the Church will understand the need for an interpretation in harmony with the laws of nature, about still controversial points, since not one faith could rightfully and rationally prevail against those laws. God cannot contradict Himself by establishing dogmas that are contrary to His own eternal and immutable laws and man cannot pretend to elevate above God by decreeing the nullity of those laws.
Well, the Church that understands all these truths to certain things will equally understand them to the others, notably with matters related to Spiritism, in all points founded on the laws of nature and that are still misunderstood but that are more and more clarified every day.
We must not rush to reject the whole because certain parts are obscure or defective and we believe to be useful to remember, just as in the fable the Monkey and the Nut.
“I read in one of your books: Spiritism does not address those who have any given faith that satisfies their reason and conscience with the objective of veering them off but the large number of those who are uncertain and the unbelievers, etc. “Now, why not? Shouldn’t Spiritism, the truth, address everybody? All those that are mistaken? The ones who profess any religion like the Protestant, the Catholic, the Jewish, aren’t them wrong? There is no doubt since the religions professed in our days pretend to have the incontestable truth and force us to believe in false things or at least things that could have come from trustworthy sources but that are wrongly interpreted. If it is demonstrated that the penalties are temporary only – and God knows if it is a slight mistake to confuse temporary with eternal – if the fire of hell is a work of fiction and if instead of a creation in six days it was, in actual fact, six millions of centuries, etc., if all that has been proven, say considering that there is one truth only, the beliefs that gave rise to such false interpretations of those dogmas are not less false since something is true or not. There is no middle ground. Why then would Spiritism not address also those who believe in absurd things to dissuade them like those who believe in nothing or have doubts, etc.?
We take the opportunity of this letter from which we extracted the above passage to remind us once more of the essential objective of Spiritism that the author of the letter does not seem to be totally convinced.
Through the positive proofs of the existence of the soul and a future life, which is the basis of all religions, Spiritism is the denial of materialism and consequently addresses those who deny or doubt. It is evident that someone who does not believe in God or in the soul is not a Catholic or a Jew or a Protestant, whatever their original religion, or even Muslim or Buddhist. The unbeliever is led to believe in a future life by the evidence of the facts with all their moral consequences. That person is then free to adopt any cult that satisfies their reason or conscience. The role of Spiritism ends there. It helps to walk three quarters of the way; to move over the hardest step of disbelief. The rest is up to the others.
However, the author of the letter may ask, if there is no convenient faith to that person? Well, in such a case stay where you are. Spiritism cannot do anything there. It is not up to Spiritism to force you to accept a cult nor to discuss the intrinsic value of the dogmas of each religion. That is left to your conscience. If what Spiritism gives you is not enough to seek among all other Philosophies a doctrine that can better satisfy your aspirations.
The unbelievers and the doubters form a very large class and when Spiritism says that it does not aim at a given faith and at those whose faith is good enough to them it is because Spiritism does not impose itself on anybody and does not violate any conscience. By addressing the unbelieversnonbelievers, it is able to convince them through its own means. As such, Spiritism grants access to their reason and considering that others were ineffective. In a word Spiritism has its own method that daily provides beautiful results. However, it does not count on any secret doctrine. Spiritism does not ask some to open their ears and to others to keep them shut. It speaks to everybody through the written messages and each one is free to adopt or reject its way of seeing things. Thus, it converts unbelievers into keen followers. That is all that is intended.
To someone that says: “I have my own faith and I do not wish to change it; I believe in the eternal penalties, in the flames of hell and in the devils; I even believe that it is the Sun that turn because that is in the Bible and I believe that it is the price of my salvation” Spiritism responds: “Keep your beliefs since they are convenient to you; nobody tries to impose you a different one. I don’t address you because you want nothing from me.”
In this Spiritism, it is truthful to the principle of respecting the freedom of conscience. If someone believes to be mistaken that person is free to seek the light that shines to all. Those who believe to be right have the freedom to turn the eyes. Once more, Spiritism has an objective from which it does not wish and must not veer off. It knows the path to be followed and will follow it without deviations by the suggestions of the impatient. There is a time for everything and the will to move faster is frequently cause of retreat instead of advancement.
Two words still to the author of the letter: It seems to us that there is a false application of the principle that there is one truth only, concluding that certain dogmas like the eternal penalties and the dogma of creation received wrong interpretation and that everything else must be false in religion. Don’t we see every day the positive sciences acknowledging certain errors of details without the Science being radically wrong? Hasn’t the Church come to agree with Science with respect to certain beliefs that in the past were articles of faith? Doesn’t Church recognize today the law of the movements of Earth and the geological periods of creation that were condemned in the past as heresies? As for the flames of hell the high theology today agrees that it is an image and that one must understand it as a moral and not material flame.
About several other points the doctrines are less absolute than in the past. It is possible to conclude from that that one day, and yielding to the evidence of the material facts, the Church will understand the need for an interpretation in harmony with the laws of nature, about still controversial points, since not one faith could rightfully and rationally prevail against those laws. God cannot contradict Himself by establishing dogmas that are contrary to His own eternal and immutable laws and man cannot pretend to elevate above God by decreeing the nullity of those laws.
Well, the Church that understands all these truths to certain things will equally understand them to the others, notably with matters related to Spiritism, in all points founded on the laws of nature and that are still misunderstood but that are more and more clarified every day.
We must not rush to reject the whole because certain parts are obscure or defective and we believe to be useful to remember, just as in the fable the Monkey and the Nut.