THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO SPIRITISM

11. In order to be profitable, faith must be active; it must not become benumbed. Mother of all the virtues which lead to God, it has a duty to attentively keep watch over the development of the children it generates. Hope and charity are inferences of faith and all three together form an inseparable trinity. Is it not faith which helps us to have hope in the realisation of God's promises? If there was no faith what would there be to hope for? Is it not faith which gives love? If you do not have faith, what would be your worth and what quality would your love have?

Faith, that divine inspiration which awakens all those noble instincts which lead Man towards goodness, is the base of all regeneration. Therefore it is necessary that this base be strong and durable, as even the smallest doubt will cause it to shake, and what then of the edifice constructed upon it? Consequently, this edifice must be raised upon immovable foundations. Your faith must be stronger than the sophisms and mockery of the incredulous, seeing that faith which cannot stand up to ridicule is not true faith.

Sincere faith is gripping and contagious; it communicates itself to those who have none or who do not even desire it. It finds persuasive words which touch the soul, whereas apparent faith only uses high sounding words which leave those who hear cold and indifferent. Preach through the example of your faith, so as to transmit it to mankind. Preach through the example of your works, so as to demonstrate the merit of faith. Preach through the firmness of your hope, so they may see the confidence which fortifies and puts one in condition to confront all life's vicissitudes.

So then, have faith with all that it contains of beauty and goodness, with its pureness and rationality. Do not accept a faith that cannot be substantiated. Love God knowing why you love Him. Believe in His promises knowing why you believe in them. Follow our counsel convinced of the end to which we direct you and the ways by which we take you in order to achieve it. Believe and wait without losing heart; miracles are the works of faith - JOSEPH, a Protecting Spirit (Bordeaux, 1862).



HUMAN AND DIVINE FAITH



12. In Man, faith is the inherent sentiment of his future destiny; it is the consciousness he has of the immense faculties implanted in his inner-self, a source in latent state, which it is his duty to make blossom forth and grow by the action of his will.

Till today faith has only been understood in its religious sense because Christ exalted it as a powerful lever, and because He has been seen only as the Head of a religion. However, Christ, Who performed material miracles, showed us through these same miracles what Man can do when he has faith, that is to say, the will to desire and the certainty that this wish maybe achieved.

Did not the apostles also perform miracles by following ~ example? Moreover, what were these miracles if not natural effects whose causes were not understood at that time, but which can be explained in great part today, and which by the study of Spiritism and magnetism will become totally comprehensible?

Faith is either human or divine, according to how Man applies his faculties, to the satisfaction of terrestrial needs or to celestial and future aspirations. A man of genius who throws himself into the realisation of a great undertaking will triumph if he has faith, because he feels sure of succeeding and that he is bound to reach the end envisaged. This certainly puts an immense force at his disposal. A good man, believing in his celestial future, desiring to fill his existence with beautiful and noble actions in the certainty of the happiness which awaits him, draws on his faith for the necessary force and so accomplishes miracles of charity, devotion, and abnegation. Finally, there are no evil tendencies which cannot be combated by faith.

Magnetism is one of the greatest proofs of the power of faith when put into action. It is through faith that it cures and produces those singular phenomena in other times called miracles.

I repeat: faith is both human and divine. If all incarnates could be persuaded of the force which they carry within themselves, and if they wished to place their will at the service of this force, they would be capable of producing these so called miracles that are nothing more than the development of a human faculty. - A Protecting Spirit (Paris, 1863).