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The Spiritist Review - Journal of Psychological Studies - 1863 > August > Questions and Issues
Questions and Issues
A letter from Locarmo contains the following passage:
“…To me the doubt would be impossible considering that I have a daughter that is a very good, all-around medium and my own son is a medium that writes.But ah! He received suchterrible mystifications that his discouragement contaminated me a little without, however, disturbing our belief in this so pure and reassuring doctrine, despite the displeasures that we have when we see ourselves deceived by disappointing answers. Why then would God allow individuals in good faith be deceived by the ones who were supposed to teach them?...”
Answer:
The physical world spills over into thespiritual world by death while the spiritual world spills over the physical one through incarnation. As a result, the normal population that surrounds the planet Earth is composed of Spirits that come from the earthly humanity. Since the latter figures among the most imperfect humanities it can only produce imperfect fruits. That is why the bad Spirits elbow around it. For the same reason, in the more advanced worlds,where good reigns sovereignly, there is only good Spirits. One can now understand why there is so much frequent meddling of inferior Spirits; it is based on the the mediumistic relationships that is inherent to the inferiority of our globe. We take the risk that we could fall victim to deceiving Spirits just as someone on this physical planet can be robbed in a country of thieves.
Isn’t this also the case of asking why would God would allow honest people to be mugged by thieves, victims of wickedness and exposed to all sorts of miseries? Ask before why you are here on Earth and the answer will be that you do not deserve a better place, with the exception of the Spirits that are here on a mission. It is then necessary to endure the consequences and strive to leave it as soon as possible. While waiting, it is necessary to make efforts in order to be protected from the assault of the bad Spirits something that can only be achieved by closing all doors that may give them access to our soul, imposing ourselves by moral superiority, courage, perseverance and by an unshakable faith in God’s protection and that of the good Spirits, and in the future that is everything whereas the present is nothing. However, since nobody is perfect on Earth nobody can be proud of being sheltered from their malice in absolute terms.
There is no doubt that purity of intentions means a lot. It is the path to perfection but it is not perfection and there can still be some old yeast at the bottom of the soul. That is why he is not the only medium that has been more or less deceived.
Simple commonsense tells us that the good Spirits can only do good, otherwise they would not be good, and that evil can only come from imperfect Spirits. Hence mystification can only be made by frivolous or lying Spirits that abuse people’s beliefs and that frequently exploit pride, vanity and other passions. Such mystifications aim at testing perseverance and the firmness of faith and also exercise judgment. If the good Spirits allow them on certain occasions is not for impotence on their side but to allow us the merit of the fight. Considering that the experience that is acquired in such situations is the most valuable if courage fails us it is a proof of weakness that leaves us defenseless before the bad Spirits.
The good Spirits watch us, assist and help us but with the condition that we help ourselves. Man is on Earth for the fight. It is necessary to succeed to leave it behind otherwise hewill stay here.
“…To me the doubt would be impossible considering that I have a daughter that is a very good, all-around medium and my own son is a medium that writes.But ah! He received suchterrible mystifications that his discouragement contaminated me a little without, however, disturbing our belief in this so pure and reassuring doctrine, despite the displeasures that we have when we see ourselves deceived by disappointing answers. Why then would God allow individuals in good faith be deceived by the ones who were supposed to teach them?...”
Answer:
The physical world spills over into thespiritual world by death while the spiritual world spills over the physical one through incarnation. As a result, the normal population that surrounds the planet Earth is composed of Spirits that come from the earthly humanity. Since the latter figures among the most imperfect humanities it can only produce imperfect fruits. That is why the bad Spirits elbow around it. For the same reason, in the more advanced worlds,where good reigns sovereignly, there is only good Spirits. One can now understand why there is so much frequent meddling of inferior Spirits; it is based on the the mediumistic relationships that is inherent to the inferiority of our globe. We take the risk that we could fall victim to deceiving Spirits just as someone on this physical planet can be robbed in a country of thieves.
Isn’t this also the case of asking why would God would allow honest people to be mugged by thieves, victims of wickedness and exposed to all sorts of miseries? Ask before why you are here on Earth and the answer will be that you do not deserve a better place, with the exception of the Spirits that are here on a mission. It is then necessary to endure the consequences and strive to leave it as soon as possible. While waiting, it is necessary to make efforts in order to be protected from the assault of the bad Spirits something that can only be achieved by closing all doors that may give them access to our soul, imposing ourselves by moral superiority, courage, perseverance and by an unshakable faith in God’s protection and that of the good Spirits, and in the future that is everything whereas the present is nothing. However, since nobody is perfect on Earth nobody can be proud of being sheltered from their malice in absolute terms.
There is no doubt that purity of intentions means a lot. It is the path to perfection but it is not perfection and there can still be some old yeast at the bottom of the soul. That is why he is not the only medium that has been more or less deceived.
Simple commonsense tells us that the good Spirits can only do good, otherwise they would not be good, and that evil can only come from imperfect Spirits. Hence mystification can only be made by frivolous or lying Spirits that abuse people’s beliefs and that frequently exploit pride, vanity and other passions. Such mystifications aim at testing perseverance and the firmness of faith and also exercise judgment. If the good Spirits allow them on certain occasions is not for impotence on their side but to allow us the merit of the fight. Considering that the experience that is acquired in such situations is the most valuable if courage fails us it is a proof of weakness that leaves us defenseless before the bad Spirits.
The good Spirits watch us, assist and help us but with the condition that we help ourselves. Man is on Earth for the fight. It is necessary to succeed to leave it behind otherwise hewill stay here.
The following letter was sent to us from St. Petersburg on July 1st:
“…In The Spirits’ Book, book I, Chap. I, #2, I noticed the proposition: Everything that is unknown is infinite. It seems to me that many things are unknown to us but that does not imply that they are infinite. Since the word is found in all editions I requested an explanation to my guide that answered: “The word infinite here is a mistake. It should read indefinite. What should one think about it? ...
Response:
The two words although synonyms in their general sense, have each a special meaning. Here is how the Academy define them:
Indefinite, whose end and limits are not or cannot be determined. Indefinite time. Indefinite number. Indefinite line. Indefinite space.
Infinite that has no beginning or end that has no boundaries or limits. The space is infinite. God is infinite. The mercy of God is infinite. By extension it is said of something that cannot be delimited, the term and by exaggeration, both in the physical as in the moral sense, that everything that is much considered in its kind. It is said particularly for the uncountable. An infinite duration. The infinite contemplation of the elected ones. Globes situated at an infinite distance. My appreciation to you is infinite. An infinite variety of objects. Infinite penalties. There is an infinite number of authors that wrote about this subject.
It results that the word indefinite has a more particular meaning while the word infinite has a more general one; that the first one is preferably used about material things whereas the second about abstract things, hence the former is vaguer than the latter.
The more general sense of the word infinite allows its application in certain cases in which it is not but indefinite while the opposite cannot occur. One can equally say: an infinite duration or an indefinite duration but one could not say God is indefinite, God’s mercy is indefinite.
From that point of view the use of the word infinite in the above mentioned phrase is not abusive and it is not an error. We say more that the word indefinite would not express the same idea. From the time that something is unknown it presents to our mind the vagueness of the infinite, if not absolute at least relative.
For example: You don’t know what is going to happen to you tomorrow hence your thoughts wander in the infinite; the events are the ones that are indefinite. You don’t know the number of stars hence the number is indefinite but it is also infinite to imagination. In the issue in question, it was then adequate to use the word that generalizes the idea, preferably the one that would give it a restrictive meaning.
“…In The Spirits’ Book, book I, Chap. I, #2, I noticed the proposition: Everything that is unknown is infinite. It seems to me that many things are unknown to us but that does not imply that they are infinite. Since the word is found in all editions I requested an explanation to my guide that answered: “The word infinite here is a mistake. It should read indefinite. What should one think about it? ...
Response:
The two words although synonyms in their general sense, have each a special meaning. Here is how the Academy define them:
Indefinite, whose end and limits are not or cannot be determined. Indefinite time. Indefinite number. Indefinite line. Indefinite space.
Infinite that has no beginning or end that has no boundaries or limits. The space is infinite. God is infinite. The mercy of God is infinite. By extension it is said of something that cannot be delimited, the term and by exaggeration, both in the physical as in the moral sense, that everything that is much considered in its kind. It is said particularly for the uncountable. An infinite duration. The infinite contemplation of the elected ones. Globes situated at an infinite distance. My appreciation to you is infinite. An infinite variety of objects. Infinite penalties. There is an infinite number of authors that wrote about this subject.
It results that the word indefinite has a more particular meaning while the word infinite has a more general one; that the first one is preferably used about material things whereas the second about abstract things, hence the former is vaguer than the latter.
The more general sense of the word infinite allows its application in certain cases in which it is not but indefinite while the opposite cannot occur. One can equally say: an infinite duration or an indefinite duration but one could not say God is indefinite, God’s mercy is indefinite.
From that point of view the use of the word infinite in the above mentioned phrase is not abusive and it is not an error. We say more that the word indefinite would not express the same idea. From the time that something is unknown it presents to our mind the vagueness of the infinite, if not absolute at least relative.
For example: You don’t know what is going to happen to you tomorrow hence your thoughts wander in the infinite; the events are the ones that are indefinite. You don’t know the number of stars hence the number is indefinite but it is also infinite to imagination. In the issue in question, it was then adequate to use the word that generalizes the idea, preferably the one that would give it a restrictive meaning.