Summary of Key Points in Spiritism

 

Summary of Key Points in Spiritism

 

The topics and comments presented below are based on item VI - Introduction, from The Spirits' Book (by Allan Kardec)

  

1) God is the Supreme Intelligence and Primary Cause of all things. God is eternal, immutable, immaterial, unique, all-powerful, sovereignly just and good.

 

2) As the primary cause, God created the Universe, which comprises only two elements: spiritual and material.

 

Note: The dualism (spirit vs. matter) is highlighted, and it is emphasized that God is not confused with His works, as He is not an element of the Whole. The pantheistic view, where everything would be part of God, is rejected.

 

3) The spirit world, constituted by immaterial beings, is the world that preexists and survives everything. The material world (or corporal world) is secondary and could cease to exist or never have existed without altering the essence of the spirit world.

 

Note: The independence of the invisible world from the visible world is reinforced, thus acknowledging the existence of interconnection and interaction, but with the material world being secondary. Physical theories such as the Big Bang do not explain the emergence of the invisible world, as it is independent of the corporeal.

 

4) The incarnate human being is composed of: a) body; b) soul or immaterial being; and c) perispirit or the bond that connects the soul to the body.

 

5) The Spirit is not an abstract being, as seen in the general elements of the Universe, and presents itself in different evolutionary classes, ranging from the most primitive to those formed by Spirits who have already reached the perfection of which they are susceptible.

 

6) To attain perfection, the Spirit must undergo various incarnations on Earth and other worlds. The speed of progress depends on their efforts. The soul had its individuality before reincarnation and retains it after the separation from the body. The Spirit never regresses, so it could not reincarnate in the bodies of irrational animals, for example.

 

7) Wandering Spirits do not occupy a specific and circumscribed region; they are everywhere.

 

8) Spirits exert an incessant action on the moral and physical worlds. They act upon matter and thought, constituting one of the forces of Nature, the efficient cause of numerous phenomena that the laws of matter cannot explain, and Spiritism provides a rational explanation.

 

9) The relationship between Spirits and humans is constant. Good Spirits assist and motivate us towards good deeds, while evil Spirits incite us towards evil.

 

10) Communications from Spirits to humans can be hidden or ostensive and can be either good or bad.

 

11) Spirits manifest spontaneously or through evocation. All Spirits can be evoked, but they are attracted based on their sympathy for the moral nature of the environment that evokes them.

 

12) The morality of superior Spirits can be summarized, like Christ's, in the maxim "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

 

13) Selfishness, pride, and sensuality are passions that bring us closer to animal nature and keep us tied to matter.

 

14) There are no unforgivable sins that cannot be expiated. In different existences, man finds the means that allow him to progress according to his desires and efforts on the path of progress and towards the perfection that is his ultimate goal.