Life after life

Veja magazine, one of most admired periodical in our country has lost an excellent opportunity to show their respect for the truth when it chose the journalist André Petry, its correspondent in New York, to address the issue that is the title of this text, its issue was dated 15.2.2012, in an extensive report that begins, however, with at least one unfortunate statement: "Over 50,000 years of human history on Earth, ever arose proof that death is not the end of line, but we never stop believing in this possibility. "

What proof the journalist was referring to?

Does not The Bible serve you?

If it suits, we could quote here from memory, the appearance of Samuel to King Saul, the visit of Elijah and Moses to Jesus and the very appearance of Christ to his disciples, hours after being declared dead and buried.

Does it serve the communications received by Chico Xavier?

The hundreds of messages from parents who have rediscovered their children, are worth nothing?

Have some value to the journalist reports from the Dr. Raymond Moody Jr. or of Dr. Elisabeth Kübler Ross?

It is not for him, perhaps, the testimony of Father François Brune expressed in works in which he attests, based on facts that the dead speak to us?

Of course none of this serves to Mr. André Petry, who certainly understands, as many people like to say that only science can give in this subject the final verdict.

But what science does he refer to?

Is physics, biology, chemistry, medicine?

These so-called scientific disciplines have ever really been interested in researching the phenomenon of death and survival post-mortem?

Where are the published results of these surveys?

The reader knows, however, that to believe that life continues beyond the grave is not necessary science to tell us. This is another folly of one who writes on the subject do not know.

How many people have acquired this conviction - not merely faith - because of a trivial occurrence!

Lombroso was skeptical, but did not stand it when he saw the Spirit of his own mother to embrace him.

In Londrina, a well-known and respected doctor in Mathematics, atheist and materialist, has transformed himself when he saw his own father-in-law materialized in the room of his house three times, until the third time he walked and hugged him. There disappeared the materialist, was born a new spirit.

Regarding the issue, it's always good to remember the wise words of Allan Kardec:

"It is usually said that it does not prescribe faith, with the result that many people claim it is to blame for not having faith. Without doubt, faith is not prescribed, or, what is still more certain, imposed. No, it acquires and no one is unable to possess it, even among the most refractory. We discuss the basic spiritual truths and not this or that particular belief. It is the faith responsible looking for them, fulfills them is that going to meet it, and if you seek it sincerely, not fail to find it." (The Gospel According to Spiritism, chap. XIX, Section 7.)

To this Science can help indeed, and Philosophy and Religion can also, given that many - as with Lombroso and the mathematician that we refer to - came to it through the facts, no one had exerted influence for this.

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The journalist of Veja repeats, in fact, a buzzword that is very dear to materialistic in general, but the repetition of ideas so merely reveals ignorance of research and work that in the field of psychic phenomena were performed in the last two centuries, especially in Europe.

In his book entitled Why I believe in the immortality of the soul, work of 1929, translated into our language by Francisco Klörs Werneck, Sir Oliver Lodge makes observations on the behavior of those who deny the facts based simply on prejudice. According to him, men of science have only a "partial and imperfect knowledge of the facts" from which derives their disbelief.

Born in June 12, 1851 in Penkhull, Sttafordshire, England, Lodge passed away in August 22, 1940, at 89 years old, in Amesbury, Wiltshire, in his native country. His life can be divided into two distinct parts. Up to 56 years old, had earned worldwide fame as a teacher and inventor, notably in the field of radiotelegraphy. Educated at Grammar School, Newport, and at University College, London, he specialized in physics. Professor emeritus, was knighted by King Edward VII in 1902, and received degree of Doctor of Science by seven Universities.

Inventor of the "coherer", the first wave detector to be used in important role in wireless telegraphy, he was the first scientist to send messages by wireless telegraphy, in 1894, before Marconi have dealt with the matter. And one of his greatest glories was the discovery of hertz waves and how to detect them, the discovery that was made almost simultaneously by Hertz, which is why they became associated with the name Hertz.

From 1901 to 1903, as student of spirits phenomena, chaired the Society for Psychical Research in London, having performed numerous experiments with mediums Leonora Piper and Verrall and assisted in 1894, with Charles Richet, some of the famous physical effects sessions of Eusápia Paladino.

The evidence obtained from Oliver Lodge survival and communication of his son Raymond were the most robust, and so evident, giving rise to Raymond book, translated into Portuguese by writer Monteiro Lobato.

Convinced and scholar in psyche, Oliver Lodge, like many other lovers of Transcendental Psyche, admitted the existence of the soul, its pre-existence or survival and spirit phenomenology.

Stating his belief in immortality in several works such as The Human Survival, The Formation of Man and Raymond, Lodge said, quite clearly, in the last mentioned: "I never hide my belief that the personality not only persists, as still more knit to our daily lives than generally supposed, that there is no continuity solution between the living and the dead."

In the introduction to the book Why I believe in the immortality of the soul, Lodge said: "I know the weight of the word 'fact' in science and I say without hesitation that the individual and personal continuity to me is a demonstrated fact."

If to the journalist Andrew Petry the testimony of Oliver Lodge has no greater importance, let’s examine the experiences of another British physicist - Sir William Crookes - who weighed, listened, photographed the materialized spirit of Katie King and presented the report of his research to the Association British of Science, on which, twenty years later, said: "I never had to change my mind in this regard. I am perfectly satisfied of what I said in the early days. It is very certain that a contact was established between this world and another."

In response to the question if Spiritism had not settled the old materialism of the scientists, said: "I think so. At least he convinced most people that know something concerning the existence of another world". (The International Psychic Gazette, December, 1917, 61-2)

Not satisfied with the two British scholars, Veja magazine could at least see the book History of Spiritism, written by Arthur Conan Doyle, in which the reader free from bias will see the phenomena corroborative of the immortality of the soul were the object of attention of many world renowned scholars, such as Gully, Elliotson, Challis, Morgan Wallace, Varley, Lombroso, Zoellner, Carl du Prel, Charles Richet, Aksakof, Rocks and many others, as well as Crookes and Lodge.

In the preface to the book Researches in the phenomena of spiritualism, 1874, Oscar D'Argonell wrote: "The existence of the soul, which was presented as an article of faith for all religions and philosophy show us in words, is now thanks to Spiritism, a scientific truth. Currently, the sages say that the soul exists because they see and touch, talk to it and take its picture. The scientific proof of the existence of the soul and its communication with us is the brightest legacy the present century leaves to come."

Too bad Veja magazine is not aware of it.

Note:

This editorial is almost literal reproduction of the letter sent on February 13 to the direction of Veja magazine. We serve to copy it as suggestion made by many readers who, thanks to the Internet, learned of the alluded letter.