The Spiritist Review - Journal of Psychological Studies - 1863

Allan Kardec

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Moulins, July 8th 1863

Dear and venerable master,

I want to bring to your attention a question that was discussed in our small group and we could not have resolved with our insights and knowledge. The Spirits that we consulted did not respond in a way that we could understand. . I wrote a short note that I take the liberty of sending to you in which I put together the points of my personal opinion which are different from the other colleagues. In their opinion, atonement takes place effectively during incarnation. This isbased on the fact that these assertions have been used in many communication, including in The Spirits’ Book.

I then ask for your extreme kindness in giving us your opinion about this issue. Your decision will have the force of law to us and in good will each one will sacrifice their own way of seeing it to hold the flag that you have planted and hold in such a wise and firm way.

Yours sincerely…etc.”

T. T.

Several communications given by different Spirits qualify atonements and trials indistinctly, pains and tribulations that account for the share of each one of us during the incarnation on Earth. The application of the same idea to two words that have very different applications results in some confusion undoubtedly without importance to the dematerialized Spirits but that give rise to discussions among the incarnate ones, therefore it would be recommended to stop that by a clear and accurate definition and explanations given by the superior Spirits that would irrevocably determine that point of the doctrine.

To begin with and taking the two words in their absolute meaning, it seems that atonement would be the punishment, the imposed punishment to compensate for a fault with the perfect knowledge from the part of the punished person of the cause of the punishment, that is the fault to be atoned. Inthat sense it is understandable that the atonement is always imposed by God. The trial carries no idea of reparation. It can be voluntary or imposed but strictly speaking it is not the immediate consequence of perpetrated errors. The trial is a means of assessing that state of something, to acknowledge its quality. That is how a rope, a bridge, a piece of armory are tested to verify if they are adequate for the function that they should perform and it is not related to their previous condition. By extension people call trials of life the set of moral or physical means that reveal the existence or absence of qualities of the soul that establish its perfection or the progress it has achieved in search of that final perfection.

It seems then logical to admit that atonement, properly saying and in the absolute sense of the word, takes place in the spiritual life, after discarnation or corporeal death; that it may be more or less lengthy, more or less painful, according to the severity of the faults, complete in the other world, always terminating with an eager desire to have another incarnation during which the chosen or imposed trials will allow the soul to make progress towards perfection that was not achieved due to previous faults. Hence it would not be adequate to admit that there is atonement on Earth even exceptionally because there would then be the need to admit the knowledge of the faults that are punished. Such knowledge only exist in the life beyond the grave. Atonement without that knowledge would be a useless barbarism and it would not conform to God’s justice or goodness.

During the incarnation one can only conceive trials because whatever the pains and tribulations on Earth it is impossible to consider them sufficient atonement for faults of any gravity. Would you believe that when a condemned person is delivered to the justice of men that person would be well punished if condemned to live with the most unfortunate among us?

Let us then not exaggerate the troubles of Earth to assign us with the merit of having endured them. The trial is more associated to the way that the troubles are endured than on their intensity that, like earthly happiness, is always relative to each individual.

The distinct characters of atonement and trial are that the first is always imposed and its cause must be known by the one that endures it whereas the second may be voluntary that is chosen by the Spirit or even imposed by God in the absence of a choice. Besides, it may well be conceived without a known cause for it is not necessarily the consequence of committed faults.

Simply put: the atonement covers the past; the trial opens up the future.

The July issue of the Spiritist Review contains an article entitled Earthly atonement that would seem contrary to the opinion above. However, reading it carefully one can see that the true atonement took place in the spiritual life and that the position that Max had in his last incarnation in reality is nothing more than the kind of trials that he chose or that were imposed to him and from which he rose victorious but during that whole life he could not benefit from an aimless atonement since he did not know his previous position.

This may perhaps be more of an issue of words than principles. In fact, it has been said many times: “Don’t stay at the level of the words; look for the meaning of the thought.” In any case for us that understand one another through words it is important that we understand well the meaning that is given to them.”

Answer: The distinction established by the author of the note above between the character of the atonement and trials is perfectly just. However, we cannot share his opinion with respect the application of that theory to the situation of mankind on Earth.

Atonement implies the idea of a more or less painful punishment, result of fault that was committed. The trial always implies a real or presumable inferiority because the one that arrived at the aspired summit no longer needs trials. In certain cases the trial is confused with atonement, that is, the atonement may serve as a trial and vice versa. The candidate that shows up to graduate needs to go through a test. If he fails he will have to restart a painful work. This new work is the punishment for the negligence in the first one. The second trial then becomes an atonement.

A condemned person that awaits a reduction or a commutation in sentencing, after good behavior, the penalty is at the same time an atonement for the fault and a trial for the future life. If the person is not better when leaving prison then the trial is null and a new punishment will lead her to a new trial.

Now, taking into account humans on Earth, we will see that we endure troubles of all kinds and sometimes cruel. These troubles have a cause. Unless we attribute them to a caprice of the Creator, we are forced to admit that the cause is in us and that the miseries that we experience cannot be the result of our virtues. Hence its source is in our imperfections.

If a Spirit incarnates on Earth amidst fortune, honor and all material pleasures one can say that the Spirit endures the trial of being hauled. The one that falls in disgrace by conduct or improvidence it is the atonement of their current faults and it can be said that it is the punishment by the sins. However, what can we say about someone that was born in need and deprivation; that drags along a miserable and hopeless life; that succumbs to the weight of congenital diseases not having ostensibly done anything to deserve such a fate? Be it a trial or an atonement the position is not less painful and would not be less just from the point of view of our correspondent because if the person does not remember the fault he or she don’t remember having done wrong either. Hence the solution to the issue must be found somewhere else.

Since every effect has a cause human miseries are effects that must have a cause. If the cause is not in this life it must be in the preceding one. Besides, admitting God’s justice, the effects must have a more or less close relationship with preceding actions from which they are at the same time punishment for the past and trial for the future. They are atonements in the sense that they are consequence of a fault and trials with respect to the benefit that is taken from that. Reason tells us that God cannot harm the innocent. Hence if we are hurt and if we are not innocents the troubles we face is the punishment and the way we endure them is the trial.

However it frequently happens that the fault is not in this life. People then accuse God’s justice, deny his goodness and even doubt his existence. That is precisely the toughest trial. Whoever admits a sovereignly good and just God, even in things that we don’t understand, and that we suffer a punishment is that we deserve it. That is then an atonement.

By the great law of the plurality of the existences Spiritism completely raises the veil that kept our vision in darkness. It teaches us that if the fault was not committed in this life it was then done in the previous one and for that matter God’s justice follow its course pushing us where we were in error.

Then comes the serious question of forgetting that, according to our correspondent, subtracts the character of atonement from the troubles of life. It is a mistake. Give it any name you like but you will not preclude it from being the consequence of a fault. If you ignore that which Spiritism teaches you. As for not remembering the faults this does not have the consequences that you attribute. We demonstrated elsewhere that the precise memory of those faults would have extremely serious consequences because that would disturb and humiliate us before our own eyes and before the eyes of our fellow human beings; it would create disturbance in the social relationships and for that very reason would block our free-will.

On another hand the obliviousness is not as absolute as people suppose. It only happens in our exterior life of relationship for the interest of humanity but in the spiritual life there is no solution of continuity. Both in errant spiritual life as well as at moments of emancipation of the soul the Spirit remembers perfectly well and that memory leaves an intuition that is translated into the voice of the conscience that adverts the person of what must or must not be done. If the person does not listen to that it is the person’s fault.



In addition Spiritism gives people a means to go back to the past if not accurately in the actions at least in the general characters of those actions that remain more or less faded away in the present life. By the endured tribulations, atonements or trials, the person must conclude that was guilty. By the nature of the tribulations helped by the study of the instinctive tendencies and supported by the principle that the most just punishment is the consequence of the fault, the person can deduce about her moral past. The bad tendencies teach about what is left in terms of imperfection to be corrected. Current life becomes a new starting point. The person gets at this life rich or poor of moral qualities being then enough to study oneself to see what is missing and say to oneself: “If I am punished it is because I sinned.” The punishment itself will tell about the sin.

Let’s conduct a comparison.

Suppose a man that was condemned to forced labor and to suffer a special punishment there more or less severe according to the fault; suppose further that when he gets to prison he loses the memory of his past actions that led him to that place; couldn’t he say to himself: “If I am in prison it if for being guilty because righteous people are not condemned; hence I must become good right away so that I don’t come back here after I leave.” Does he want to know what he did? Studying the criminal law, he will understand what type of crime leads to that situation because someone is not place on shackles for something silly; from the time and severity of the sentence he will conclude about the kind of crime that was committed. To have a more accurate idea, he will only have to study those to which he feels more instinctively attracted. He will then know what he will have to avoid thereafter in order to keep his freedom and for that he will also be stimulated by good people assigned with the mission of educating and guiding him in the good path. If he does not take advantage of that he will suffer the consequences. That is the situation of the man on Earth where, like the shackles, could not have been placed on him for his perfection since his is unfortunate and forced to work. God multiplies the teachings that are proportional to his advancement. He is incessantly warned and even hurt in order to wake up from the numbness. The one that persists by turning blind eyes cannot be justified by ignorance. In short if certain situations of human life have more particularly the character of a trial others will unquestionably have that of punishment and every punishment may serve as a trial.

It is a mistake to think that the essential character of an atonement is that of its imposition. We daily see voluntary atonements not to mention the monks that hurt and punish themselves with discipline and cilice. Thus there is nothing of irrational in admitting that a Spirit, in trying to better and better, chooses or requests an earthly existence that lead him to make up for his past mistakes. If such an existence had been imposed on him it would not have been less fair, despite the momentary absence of memory, by the reasons that were developed above. The miseries here are then atonements on their effective and material side, and trials on their moral consequences. Whatever the name that they may be given the result must be the same: the betterment. In the presence of such an important objective it would be foolish to transform a question of words into an issue of principle. This would demonstrate that one gives more importance to words than to the thing itself.

It gives us great pleasure to respond and clarify serious questions, whenever possible. The discussion is even more useful to people of good faith that have studied and want to analyze things further because that is work towards the progress of the science as it is useless to those who judge without knowledge and want to know without carrying the burden of studying.

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