In this issue, we continue the study of the book, Spiritism in its simplest expression, published in 1862 by Allan Kardec. The present work is based on the translation into Portuguese made by Salvador Gentile.
Preliminary issues
A. How does Spiritism define good and evil?
Good is everything that is in accordance to the Law of God and evil is everything that is contrary to that same Law. Thus, it is evident that God did not create evil. He established laws, and these laws are always good, because he is sovereignly good; the one who follows them faithfully is perfectly happy; but the Spirits, having their free will, did not always follow them, and this caused evil was a result of their disobedience. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – Summary of the Spirits’ Teachings).
B. What is the state of the Spirit in the periods in between its corporeal lives?
In the interval of its corporeal existences, the Spirit is errant, that is, it finds itself erratic. Erraticity has no fixed duration. In this state, the Spirit is happy or unhappy, according to its good or bad deeds during its last life. The Spirit studies the causes that have hastened or delayed its advance, it decides what it will do in its next life, and it chooses the tests, which it believes are best suited to its advance. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – Summary of the Spirits’ Teachings).
C. Does God forgive the guilty Spirit?
Yes. God forgives, but it is required that the Spirit regrets, repairs what it did, and goes back to good. Thus, the punishment period is proportionate to the persistence of the Spirit in evil. But as long as a flash of repentance enters the heart of the guilty Spirit, God extends His mercy upon it. Being sovereignly just and good, He does not condemn His creatures to perpetual punishments for transient faults, but He offers them, at all times, means of advancement and reparation for the evil they have done. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – Summary of the Spirits’ Teachings).
Text for reading
89. Free will and ideas develop in the Spirits at the same time, and God said to them: "You may all claim supreme happiness, when you have acquired the knowledge that you lack, and fulfilled the task that I impose on you. Therefore, work for your advancement, i.e., for your purpose and you will reach it by following the Laws that I recorded in your conscience”. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – Summary of the Spirits’ Teachings).
90. As a result of their free will, some take the shortest path, which is that of good, others the longest, which is that of evil. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – Summary of the Spirits’ Teachings).
91. God did not create evil; He established laws, and these laws are always good, because he is sovereignly good; the one who follows them faithfully is perfectly happy; but since the Spirits have their free will, they did not always follow these laws, and evil was caused by their disobedience. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – Summary of the Spirits’ Teachings).
92. We can say that good is everything that is in accordance with the Law of God, and evil is everything that is contrary to the same Law. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – Summary of the Spirits’ Teachings).
93. To assist in the work of the material worlds as agents of the Divine Power, the Spirits take a material body for a while. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – Summary of the Spirits’ Teachings).
94. By means of the work that their bodily existence requires, they improve their intelligence and acquire, by following the Law of God, the merits which shall lead them to eternal happiness. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – Summary of the Spirits’ Teachings).
95. Incarnation is not imposed on the Spirit at first as a punishment; it is necessary for its development and to accomplish the works of God, and all must endure it, whether they follow the path of good or evil; only those, who chose the path of good, advance faster, are closer to reach their goal and arrive there under less painful conditions. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – Summary of the Spirits’ Teachings).
96. The incarnated Spirits form Mankind; it is not limited to Earth, but populates all the worlds throughout space. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – Summary of the Spirits’ Teachings).
97. A man’s soul is an incarnate Spirit. To assist him in the accomplishment of his task, God - to help him - gave him the animals that are submissive to him and whose intelligence and character are proportional to his needs. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – Summary of the Spirits’ Teachings).
98. The Spirit improves according to its own work; since it cannot - in a single bodily life - acquire all the moral and intellectual qualities that lead it to its goal, it has to live several lives, and in each one it gives a few steps forward to progress. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – Summary of the Spirits’ Teachings).
99. In every corporeal existence, the Spirit must provide a task in accordance with its development; the more coarse and hard-working it is it will have more merit in accomplishing it. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – Summary of the Spirits’ Teachings).
100. Therefore, each life is a test that brings the Spirit closer to its goal. The number of these lives is indefinite. It is up to the Spirit's will to shorten it by actively working for its moral perfection; in the same way that it depends on the will of the worker, who through his work shortens the number of days he uses in doing so. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – Summary of the Spirits’ Teachings).
101. When a life has been badly employed, it has no use for the Spirit, who must start all over again in more or less painful conditions due to its negligence and grudge; this is why in life we may be forced to do on the following day what we did not do on the previous day, or redo what was done wrongly. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – Summary of the Spirits’ Teachings).
102. The spiritual life is the normal life of the Spirit: it is eternal; the corporeal life is transitory and fleeting: it is but an instant in eternity. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – Summary of the Spirits’ Teachings).
103. In the period between its corporeal existences, the Spirit is errant, i.e., it is in erraticity. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – Summary of the Spirits’ Teachings).
104. Erraticity has no fixed duration; in this state, the Spirit is happy or unhappy, according to the good or bad use it made of its previous life; it studies the causes that have hastened or retarded its furtherance; it makes the resolutions that it intends to put into practice in its next incarnation, and it chooses the tests it believes are best suited for its improvement. However, sometimes it deceives its own self, or gives in, because as a man it does not follow the resolutions it made as a Spirit. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – Summary of the Spirits’ Teachings).
105. The guilty Spirit is punished by moral sufferings in the spiritual world, and by physical penalties in bodily life. Its afflictions are the consequence of its faults, i.e., of its violation of the Law of God; therefore, they are at the same time an atonement of the past and a test for the future. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – Summary of the Spirits’ Teachings).
106. This is the reason why the proud may live a life of humiliation, the tyrant one of bondage, and the evil rich a life of misery. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – Summary of the Spirits’ Teachings).
107. There are worlds suitable to the different degrees of advancement of the Spirits, and where the corporeal existence is in very different conditions. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – Summary of the Spirits’ Teachings).
108. The less the Spirit is advanced, the more the physical wraps he uses are heavy and material; as it cleanses itself, it goes to higher moral and physical worlds. The Earth is neither the first nor the last, but it is one of the most backward. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – Summary of the Spirits’ Teachings).
109. Guilty Spirits are incarnated in less advanced worlds, where they atone for their faults caused by the tribulations of a material life. These worlds are, for them, true purgatories, and it is up to them to leave them, by working for their moral improvement. Earth is one of these worlds. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – Summary of the Spirits’ Teachings).
110. God, being sovereignly just and good, does not condemn His creatures to perpetual punishments for transient faults; He offers them, at all times, the means to progress and to repair the evil that they did. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – Summary of the Spirits’ Teachings).
111. God forgives, but requires repentance, reparation and return to the good, so that the punishment is proportionate to the persistence of the Spirit in evil. But as long as a flash of repentance enters the heart of the guilty, God extends His mercy upon him. (Spiritism in its simplest expression – Summary of the Spirits’ Teachings). (To be continued on the next issue).
