In this issue, we end the study of the book, Posthumous Works, published after Allan Kardec disembodied and containing texts written by him. The present work is based on the translation made by Dr. Guillon Ribeiro, published by the Brazilian Spiritist Federation.
Questions for discussion
218. The Form of Principles – mentioned by Kardec – what would it be like?
219. Is the Spiritist Creed similar to the Catholic Creed?
220. What are these considerations about?
221. Kardec mentioned at the end of the Preamble to the Spiritist Creed the points which, according to him, constitute the program of Spiritist beliefs, but this work does not relate them. Why did this happen?
Answers to the proposed questions
218. The Form of Principles – mentioned by Kardec – what would it be like?
It should summarize the status of the present knowledge that comes out of observation, sanctioned by the general teaching of the Spirits, and each one would be free to join it or not. The constitution of Spiritism would thus have, as a necessary complement, a program of principles defined with regard to belief, without which it would be a work of no importance and without future. This program, as a result of the experience gained, would be the sign indicating the path.
But this program cannot and should not chain the future otherwise it would collapse sooner or later under the oppression of progress. Created for the present status of knowledge, it should be modified and supplemented as new observations prove its insufficiency or mistakes. However, these modifications should not be made lightly or hastily. They would be the work of the organic congresses that, in the periodic revision of the constitutive statutes, would also review the form of principles. Constitution and Creed, constantly walking according to progress, would survive in the sequence of times. (Posthumous Works – Part Two – Constitution of Spiritism).
219. Is the Spiritist Creed similar to the Catholic Creed?
No. It is not a breviary in which the constituent parts of a belief are aligned. The text written by Kardec is, in fact, the preamble of what would be the Spiritist Creed, a preamble consisting of doctrinal considerations on different points that range from the so-called social question to the moralistic role of Spiritism. (Posthumous Works – Part Two – Preamble of the Spiritist Creed).
220. What are these considerations about?
Here is a summary of the main points:
1. The social question does not have its starting point in the form of such or such an institution; it is entirely in the moral perfection of individuals and the masses. Therein lies the principle, the true key to the happiness of Humanity, for then men will no longer think of harming one another. It is not enough to put a layer of varnish on corruption; it is corruption that must be extinguished.
2. The principle of perfection lies in the nature of beliefs, because beliefs are the reason of actions and they modify feelings; it is also in the ideas set from childhood and identified with the Spirit, and in the ideas which the further development of intelligence and reason can fortify, not destroy. It will be by education, even more than by instruction, that Humanity will be transformed.
3. The man, who works earnestly for his own improvement, ensures his happiness on this life; besides the satisfaction of his conscience, he frees himself from the material and moral miseries, which are the unavoidable consequences of his imperfections. He will be calm because difficulties will only touch him lightly; he will be healthy because he will not use his body for excesses; he will be rich, because he is always rich when he knows how to be satisfied with what is necessary; he will have peace of mind, because he will not have unreal needs; he will no longer be tormented by the thirst of honors and the superfluous, by the fever of ambition, envy and jealousy; he will be forgiving regarding others’ imperfections and, therefore, we will suffer less; they will stir his pity instead of his anger; he will avoid anything that can harm his neighbor, in words and deeds, seeking, on the contrary, all that can be useful and pleasing to others, no one will suffer with his relationship.
4. Overall progress results from all individual progress; but individual progress consists not only in the development of intelligence, in the acquisition of some knowledge; this is but a part of progress, and it does not necessarily lead to being good, since men are seen to misuse their knowledge. It consists, above all, of moral perfection, of the purification of the Spirit, of removing the evil germs that exist in us; this is the true progress, the only one that can guarantee the happiness of Humanity, because it is the very denial of evil. The most advanced man in intelligence can be very evil; the one, who is morally advanced, will only do what is good. Therefore, we all are interested in the moral progress of Humanity.
5. With faith in the future life, the circle of ideas widens and personal progress has an objective, an effective utility. Solidarity is originated from the continuity of the relationship between men; fraternity is founded on a natural law and on the interest of all. Belief in the future life, therefore, is an element of progress, because it is the stimulant of the Spirit: it is the belief that gives us courage in the tests, because it provides reasoning, and perseverance in the fight against evil, because it has a purpose. Therefore, our purpose is to strengthen this belief within the spirit of the masses.
6. For the doctrine of the future life to produce henceforth the fruits to be expected from it, it is necessary, first of all, that it completely satisfies reasoning; that it answers the idea we have of God's wisdom, justice and goodness; that it cannot be in any way denied by Science; it is necessary that the future life does not leave in the Spirit neither doubt nor uncertainty; that it is as positive as the present life, of which it is the continuation, as the day of tomorrow is the continuation of the previous day; it is necessary that they see it, that they understand it, that they touch it, so to speak, with their finger; finally, it is necessary that the solidarity of the past, the present and the future be evident through the different existences.
7. This is the idea that Spiritism offers about the future life and this is precisely what strengthens it, because it is not a human conception, which would have only the merit of being more rational, but with no more assurance than the others. It is the result of studies focused on examples provided by different categories of Spirits that appear in the manifestations, and this allowed us to explore the extracorporeal life in all its phases, from the top to the bottom of the scale of the beings. The facts of the future life are therefore no longer a theory or a more or less probable hypothesis, but it is based on comments, since it is the inhabitants of the invisible world themselves, who come to describe their status.
8. The Spiritist Doctrine is thus the most powerful moral element, because it is directed at the same time to the heart, intelligence and to the well-understood personal interest. (Posthumous Works – Part Two – Preamble of the Spiritist Creed).
221. Kardec mentioned at the end of the Preamble to the Spiritist Creed the points which, according to him, constitute the program of Spiritist beliefs, but this work does not relate them. Why did this happen?
It was Kardec's bodily death that prevented him from drafting the points that would constitute, according to his words, the program of Spiritist beliefs, that is, the Spiritist Creed itself. (Posthumous Works – Part Two – Basic Principles of the Spiritist Doctrine recognized as acquired truths).
The End
