30. Spiritism, taking its starting-point at the words of Christ, as Christ has taken his from Moses, is a direct consequence of his doctrine.
To the vague ideas of the future life it adds a revelation of the existence of the invisible world which surrounds us and occupies all space; thus defining the belief, by giving it body, consistence, and a reality to the idea.
It defines the connection between the soul and the body, and raises the veil which conceals from men the mysteries of life and death.
By Spiritism man knows whence he comes, where he goes, why he is upon the Earth, why he suffers temporarily, and can see, above all, the justice of God.
He learns that souls progress unceasingly through a series of progressive existences until they shall have attained to that degree of perfection in which God only reigns.
He learns that all souls, having the same starting-point, are created equal, with the same opportunity to progress in virtue of their own free will, that all are of the same essence, and that there is between them only a difference of accomplished progress; that all have the same destiny, and will attain the same end more or less promptly according to their labor and desire to progress.
He learns that there are no disinherited ones, no lost souls, neither one more favored than another; that God has not created some favored ones who are excused from the work which is imposed upon others to facilitate their progression; that there are no creatures perpetually condemned to unhappiness and suffering; that those designated under the name of demons are spirits yet undeveloped and imperfect, who do wrong in the world of spirits as they did here upon Earth, but who will advance and improve their condition; that the angels are not beings distinct from the rest of creation, but spirits who have attained that height through the same earthly sufferings and temptations as others undergo; that thus there are not varied creations of different classes among intelligent humanity, but that all creation springs from the great law of unity which rules the universe, and that all beings gravitate towards a common end, which is perfection, without one being favored at the expense of the others, all holding the thread of their destiny in their own hands.
