VIII
Some ask whether spirits teach us anything new in relation to morality, anything greater than what Christ taught. If the Spiritist moral code is none other than that of the Scriptures, does it serve any purpose? This method of reasoning is like that of Caliph Omar, in speaking of the Library of Alexandria, “If,” he said, “it contains only what is found in the Quran, it is useless, and in that case it must be burned. If it contains anything that is not found in the Quran, it is bad, and in that case, it also must be burned.” No, Spiritism does not preach a moral code that is different from that of Jesus. In turn, haven’t the law of God already been given by Moses to humanity before the time of Christ? Is the doctrine embodied by the Ten Commandments not the same as Christ’s? Has it ever been proposed that Jesus’ moral teachings are useless because of this? To those who deny the usefulness of Spiritism, we ask the following question: why it is that Christ’s moral teachings are so rarely practiced, and why is it that those who rightly praise their value are the first to violate his paramount law of universal charity? Not only do the spirits now confirm it, but they also show us its practical utility. They make clear and intelligible the truths that were previously taught as allegories, and alongside with the eternal truths of morality they also provide us with the solution to the most abstract psychological problems.
Jesus came to show humanity the road to true goodness. Since God sent him to remind human beings of the Divine law they had forgotten, why should God not send spirits to remind them again, with greater precision, now that they are forgetting it because they have sacrificed everything for pride and greed? Who would dare to take it upon oneself to limit God’s power, or to dictate Divine ways? Who can say that the appointed time has not arrived, as declared by the spirits, when previously unknown or misunderstood truths must be openly made known to hasten humanity’s advancement? Isn’t there something evidently Divine in the fact that spirit manifestations are occurring in every corner of the globe? It is not the case that a single person or prophet comes to enlighten us, but instead, it is the case that light is breaking all around and a new world is being unfurled right before our eyes. In the same manner that the invention of the microscope revealed an infinitely small world, the existence of which was unsuspected until then. Similarly, the telescope revealed thousands of worlds, the existence of which we never suspected, spirit communications today are revealing the existence of an invisible world surrounding us. A world that is incessantly in contact with us and that takes part in everything we do, completely unbeknownst to us. Soon the existence of that world, which is the ultimate destiny for all of us, will be as indisputable as the existence of both the microscopic world and the infinity of the universe. Is the revelation of a new world worth nothing? Is the introduction of the mysteries of life beyond the grave worthless? Granted, it is also true that these revelations, if they can be called such, conflict with certain established notions that we had, but haven’t all great scientific discoveries changed and even rescinded ideas that were fully accepted worldwide? Were our pride not forced to yield to evidence? The same will happen with Spiritism, which will soon assume its place among the other branches of human knowledge.
Our communications with the beings from the world beyond the grave enables us to see and understand our future life. They gives us a taste of both the joys and sorrows that await us depending on our merits, and brings Spiritualism back to those who had reduced humanity to the status of an organized machine. We are therefore justified in asserting that the facts of Spiritism have effectively killed materialism. Had Spiritism done nothing more than this, it would be entitled to recognition, but it has done much more because it has shown the inevitable results of wrongdoings, and, consequently, the necessity of goodness. The number of people Spiritism has brought back to a propensity of goodness, whose bad inclinations were neutralized, and whom it has turned away from wrongdoing, is already larger than assumed, and continues to grow every day. The future is a fact, the reality of which is felt and understood when we see and hear those who have left us mourning or celebrating what they did when they were on Earth. It is no longer vague or a mere hope. Everyone who witnesses these communications begins to reflect and feel the need for self-examination, self-judgment and self-improvement.
