See the issue of July, 1863
Father, ,
In my previous letter I gave you the reasons that led me to not respond to your brochure article per article. I will not remind them, limiting myself to transcribe some passages.
You say: “We must conclude from all that that Spiritism must be limited to combat materialism, give people material proof of their immortality through well attested manifestations from beyond the grave; that beyond that point everything else is uncertainty, thick darkness, illusions, a true chaos; that as a philosophical-religious doctrine it is just a true utopia as many others found in history and to which time will do justice despite the spiritual army that you were made the commander-in-chief.”
To begin with,Father, , you must agree that your forecasts did not materialize and that time is in no hurry to do justice to Spiritism. If it did not succumb, one cannot blame the indifference and negligence of the clergy and its followers for there has been no lack of attacks: brochures, journals, sermons and excommunications fired in all directions; nothing was missed not even the indisputable talent and merit of some champions. If even under such a formidable artillery,the ranks of the Spiritists increased instead of diminishing, it is because the fire turned into smoke. Still once more a rule of elemental logic tells us that a force is judged by its effects. You could not stop Spiritism asit continues to move faster than you do and the reason for that is that it is ahead while you push from the back as the century advances.
Upon examining the several attacks directed against Spiritism, some serious and important teachings stand out. Those that come from the skeptical and materialistic party are characterized by the denial, a more or less witty mockery, the generally silly and banal jokes while – this is unfortunate to say – it is from the religious side that come the most uncivilized injuries, the personal attacks and the calumnies. It is from the cathedra that the most offensive words fall. It is in the name of the Church that the ignoble and lying pamphlet about the pretense balance of Spiritism. Despite that, I provided you with some data fromthe Spiritist Review. In addition, I did not say everything out of deference as I know that all the elements of the clergy are far from approving such things. It is useful, however, that later on people will know the kind of weapons that were used against Spiritism. Unfortunately, the journal articles are evading like the pages that they carry; the brochures themselves have a short life and in a few years the names of the most eager and bellicose antagonists will probably be forgotten.
There is only one way of preventing against this effect of time: it is to collect all the diatribes, from wherever side they come, and create an archive that will not be the least illustrative of the history of Spiritism. I have no lack of documents for such a work and I am sorry to say that it is the publications in the name of religion that, up until now Ihave provided the strongest contingent. I attest with pleasure that your brochure at least constitutes exception with respect to its civility but by the force of the arguments.
According to you, Father, everything in Spiritism is just uncertainty, thick darkness, illusions, chaos and utopias. You must then acknowledge that it is not very dangerous since nobody will understand it. What is it that the Church has to fear of something that is so absurd? If that is the case why such an exhibition of power? Based on these mismatches one can say that the Church is afraid. In general nobody fires a canon shot against a fly. Isn’t that a contradiction to say on one side that Spiritism is a threat to religion when on the other side they say that it is nothing?
In the above mentioned passage I notice, in passing, a certainly involuntary error for I don’t suppose that you would deliberately alter the truth like some of your colleagues, to serve your cause. You say: “despite the spiritual army that you were made the commander-in-chief.” To begin with, I ask you about what you understand by spiritual army. Is that the army of the Spirits or the Spiritists? The first interpretation would lead you to say an absurd; the second a falsehood because it is notorious that I have never made myself chief of anything. If the Spiritists give me that title it is out of a spontaneous feeling from their part given the trust they kindly have in me while you give the impression that I imposed myself and took the initiative, something that I formally deny.
As a matter of fact the successes of the doctrine that I profess give me certain authority upon the followers, a purely moral authority that I do not use but to recommend calm, moderation and abstention from any reprisal against those that treat them dishonorably, in a word to remind that about the practice of charity even against their enemies.
The most important part of that paragraph is the one in which you say that “Spiritism must be limited to combat materialism, give people material proof of their immortality through well attested manifestations from beyond the grave.” Spiritism is then good for something. If the manifestations from beyond the grave are useful to destroy materialism and demonstrate the immortality of the soul it is not the devil that is manifesting.
To get to that proof that according to you sticks out from those manifestations it is necessary to recognize parents and friends in them; thus, the communicating Spirits are the souls of those who had lived. Hence, Father you are in contradiction with the doctrine professed by several of your illustrious comrades, meaning that it is only the devil that can communicate. Is that a point of a doctrine or is it a personal opinion? In the second case one does not bear more value than the other. In the first case you attest the heresy.
There is more. Considering that the communications from beyond the grave are useful to fight against disbelief with respect to the fundamental basis of the religion: the existence and immortality of the soul; considering that Spiritism must be useful to that objective then each person is free to seek in the evocation the remedy to cure the doubt that religion alone could not resolve. Consequently every believer and even every good Catholic and priest is allowed to use it to lead the lost sheep to the pen. If Spiritism has the means of clearing the fog of doubt that religion could not destroy then it offers the resources that religion does not have otherwise there wouldn’t be a single unbeliever in the Catholic religion. Why then it rejects such an efficient way of saving the souls?
On another hand how to conciliate the utility that you acknowledge the communications from beyond the grave have with the formal prohibition set by the Church to evoke the dead? Considering that it is a strict principle that one cannot be a Catholic if not scrupulously conform to the precepts of the Church; that the least deviation from its commandments is a heresy, there you are Father,well and duly heretical since you declared to be good what the Church condemns.
You say that Spiritism is only chaos and uncertainty; are you much more clearer there? Where is the orthodoxy in that point since some think in a way and others in another way? How to you want people to agree when you yourself are in contradiction with your words? Your brochure is entitled: Complete Refutation of the Spiritist Doctrine from a Religious Point of View. If you say complete,you say absolute. If the refutation is complete it must not leave anything out. And now from a religious point of view you do acknowledge a huge utility to something that is prohibited by the Church! Is there a greater utility than leading that of leading the unbelievers to God? You brochure would have been better entitled: Refutation of the demoniac doctrine of the Church. In fact that is not the only contradiction that I could point out. Be relax you are not the only one dissident. I know very well a good number of ecclesiastics that do not believe more than you do on the exclusive communication of the devil; that deal with evocations safely and with conscience; that don’t believe more than I do in the irresistible penalties and in the absolute eternal condemnation and that in agreement with more than one father of the Church as it will be demonstrated to you later. Yes, many more ecclesiastics than people think look at Spiritism from a more elevated standpoint. Stunned by the universality of the manifestations and with the great spectacle of its irresistible march they see the dawn of a new era in all that and a sign of God’s will before which they bow in reverence.
Mr. Priest you say that Spiritism should stop at a given point and not go beyond. One must be consistent with oneself in everything. To have these souls convincing the unbelievers about their own existence it is necessary that they speak. Well, is it possible to preclude them from saying what they wish? Is it my fault if they come to us do describe their condition, fortunate or not, differently from what is taught by the Church? And if they come to say that they have already lived and that they will live again physically? That God is neither cruel nor vindictive nor inflexible as he is presented but good and merciful? If in all corners of the world where they are called to convince about the future life they say the same thing?
Finally, is that my fault if the picture that they paint of the future that is reserved to mankind is more seducing than the one you offer? If people prefer mercy to damnation?
Who made the Spiritist Doctrine? It was their words and not my imagination; it was the actors of the invisible world themselves, the eye witnesses of the things from beyond the grave that dictated them and it was only established upon the agreement of the immense majority of revelations made in all places and to thousands of people that I have never met. All I did in all that was to methodically coordinate the teachings given by the Spirits. Without taking into account isolated opinions I adopted those from the larger number, keeping away every systematic, individual, eccentric or contradictory idea with the positive data of science.
From those teachings and from their agreement, as well as from the careful observation of the facts, it turns out that there isn’t anything of supernatural in the Spiritist manifestations but, on the contrary, they are the result of a natural law that was unknown up until now, as were for a long time the law of gravitation, of the movement of the globes, the formation of Earth, the electricity, etc.
Considering that this law is in nature it is then the works of God unless someone says that nature is the work of the devil. Such a law that explains a number of things that would remain unexplained without it, converted as many unbelievers as did the fact of manifestations themselves and the proof of that is in the large number of materialistic persons redirected to God just by the reading of the books and without having seen anything. Would it be better if they remained as unbelievers taking the risk that they would not even accept the Catholic orthodoxy?
The Spiritist Doctrine then is not my work but that of the Spirits. If those Spirits are the souls of people it cannot be the works of the devil. If it were my personal conception I should congratulate myself for its prodigious success but I could not take the credit for something that is not mine. No, it is not the work of one person or even one Spirit, whoever they may be because they could not have given the doctrine a sufficient sanction, but it is the works of the Spirits and that is what constitutes its strength because anyone may receive their own confirmation.
Will time do it justice, as you say? For that it would be necessary to have it blocked from being taught, that is, the Spirits would have to stop existing and communicating all over the world. Besides, it would be necessary that it would no longer be logical and satisfying people’s aspirations.
You add that you hope I will acknowledge my mistake. I don’t think about that and frankly speaking it is not the argumentation found in your brochure that will make me change my opinion or desert from the position where I was placed by the Providence in which I find every moral happiness that one can find on Earth by seeing the fruits of what was sowed by God. It is a great and kind joy I assure you to see the people that became happy through the doctrine, so many people enrooted from despair, suicide, the brutality of passions and been redirected to good. Only one of its blessings is a plentiful compensation to me for the fatigue and the insults.
Nobody has the power to take such happiness away from me. You don’t recognize that because you wanted to do that. I wish you the same happiness from all my heart. Try it and you will see.
Father, I give you ten years to see what your opinion about the doctrine.
Yours sincerely,
Allan Kardec
