Reply to a question about Spiritism

– The question that follows was sent to us by a person from Bordeaux, whom we do not have the honor of knowing, and its reply will be given through the Review, with a view to the instruction of all.

“I read in one of your works: “Spiritism does not address itself to those who have a religious faith of any kind, with a view to dissuading them, and for whom that faith suffices for their reason and their conscience, but to the numerous category of the undecided, the unbelievers, etc.”

“And why not? Should not Spiritism, which is the truth, address itself to all? to all who are in error? Now, are not those who believe in any religion whatever – Protestant, Jewish, Catholic, or any other – in error? Undoubtedly, because the various religions professed today give as incontestable truths, and oblige us to believe in, things that are completely false, or, at the very least, things that may even come from true sources, but falsified in their interpretation. If it is proven that the penalties are only temporary – and God knows whether it is a slight error to confuse the temporary with the eternal – that the fire of hell is a fiction, and that, instead of a creation in six days, it is a matter of millions of centuries, etc.; if all this is proven, I say, starting from the principle that truth is one, the beliefs arising from so false an interpretation of these dogmas are neither more nor less than false, for a thing either is or is not; there is no middle ground.

“Why, then, does Spiritism not address itself also to all those who believe in absurdities, in order to dissuade them, as it does to those who believe in nothing or who doubt, etc.?”

– We take advantage of this letter, from which we have extracted the passages above, to recall, once more, the essential aim of Spiritism, about which the author of the letter does not seem sufficiently enlightened.

By the manifest proofs it gives of the existence of the soul and of the future life, the foundation of all religions, Spiritism is the negation of materialism and, consequently, addresses itself to those who deny or doubt. It is quite evident that those who do not believe in God and in the soul are neither Catholics, nor Jews, nor Protestants, whatever the religion into which they may have been born; they would not even be Mohammedans or Buddhists. Now, through the evidence of the facts, they are led to believe in the future life, with all its moral consequences; they are free to adopt, later on, the form of worship that best suits their reason or their conscience. But there the role of Spiritism stops; it is responsible for three quarters of the road; it helps to take the most difficult step – that of unbelief. It is for others to do the rest.

“But” – the author of the letter might say – “what if no form of worship suits me?” Very well! then remain as you are. There Spiritism can do nothing. It does not undertake to make you embrace a form of worship by force, nor to discuss for you the intrinsic value of the dogmas of each one: it leaves that to your conscience. If what Spiritism gives does not suffice for you, seek, among all the existing philosophies, a doctrine that better satisfies your aspirations.

– The unbelievers and the undecided form a very numerous category. When Spiritism says that it does not address itself to those who have a faith of any kind, and for whom this is enough, it means that it imposes itself on no one and does no violence to any conscience. Addressing itself to the unbelievers, it succeeds in convincing them by its own means, by the reasonings that it knows have access to their reason, since the others were powerless. In a word, it has its method, with which it obtains, daily, the most beautiful results; but it has no secret doctrine. It does not say to some: open your ears, and to others: close them. To all it speaks through its writings, and each one is free to adopt or reject its way of viewing things. In this way, it makes fervent believers of those who were unbelievers. That is all it wants. To him who might say: “I have my faith and do not wish to change it; I believe in the absolute eternity of the penalties, in the flames of hell, and in the demons; I even continue to believe that it is the Sun that revolves, because the Bible says so, and I believe this to be the price of my salvation,” Spiritism replies: “Keep your beliefs, since they suit you; no one is seeking to impose another on you; I do not address myself to you, since you want nothing from me.” And in this it is faithful to its principle of respecting freedom of conscience. If some judge themselves to be in error, they are free to seek the light, which shines for all; those who judge themselves to be right are free to turn their gaze away. Once again, Spiritism has an aim, from which it neither wishes nor ought to deviate; it knows the road that must lead to it, and it will follow that road, without being diverted by the suggestions of the impatient. Each thing comes in its time; to wish to go too fast is, often, to retreat instead of to advance.

– Two more words to the author of the letter. It seems to us that he made a false application of the principle that truth is one, concluding from it that certain dogmas, such as that of the future penalties and of the Creation, received a wrong interpretation, and that, therefore, everything in religion must be false. Do we not see, every day, the positive sciences themselves recognize certain errors of detail, without Science being, on that account, radically wrong? Has the Church not aligned itself with Science with regard to certain beliefs of which it formerly made articles of faith? Does it not today recognize the law of the movement of the Earth and the geological periods of the Creation, which it had condemned as heresies? As for the flames of hell, all high theology recognizes that it is an image, and that by it one must understand a moral and not a material fire. On several other points the doctrines are also less absolute than formerly, from which it may be concluded that one day, yielding to the evidence of facts and of material proofs, it will understand the necessity of an interpretation in harmony with the laws of Nature, on some points still in dispute; for no belief could rationally prevail against those laws. God cannot contradict himself by establishing dogmas contrary to his eternal and immutable laws, and man cannot claim to place himself above God, decreeing the nullity of those laws. Now, the Church, which understands this truth for certain things, will understand it also for the others, notably with regard to Spiritism, founded on every point upon the laws of Nature, still poorly understood, but which are understood better and better as the days pass. One ought not be in a hurry to reject everything, merely because certain parts are obscure or defective; in this connection, we believe it useful to recall the fable: The She-Monkey, the Monkey, and the Nut.