Freedom of Conscience and Reasoned Faith: The Necessary Relationship

 

Freedom of Conscience and Reasoned Faith: The Necessary Relationship

Marco Milani

Text published in the Spiritist Leader Magazine – Ed. Sep/Oct 2022, p. 40-41

  

Allan Kardec, in the third dialogue described in Chapter I of the book "What is Spiritism," states that "freedom of conscience is a consequence of freedom of thought, which is one of man's attributes; and Spiritism, if it did not respect it, would be in contradiction with its principles of freedom and tolerance."

 

Respecting individual rights and choices therefore characterizes the most advanced situation in the scenario of human coexistence, even though the antagonism of opinions and positions on various controversial issues from a dialectical perspective is entirely understandable. The sincere and fraternal clash of ideas, not of people, fosters the progress of knowledge, ultimately influencing laws and customs.

 

According to the United Nations [i], freedom of conscience encompasses all ethics and values that a human being cherishes, whether of a religious nature or not. There are no acceptable limitations to this freedom, provided that personal convictions are neither imposed on others nor detrimental to them. Although it might seem evident, respect for freedom of conscience is difficult to achieve since there is a tendency to criticize others' convictions rather than defend everyone's right to their own convictions.

 

Science is called upon to actively participate in human development, even though it does not constitute a homogeneous body. On the contrary, numerous research groups compete with each other, aiming to produce knowledge by using more objective methods without claiming absolute truth. The scientist, in turn, carries personal beliefs and values.

 

Structured under a rational method aimed at the universality of teachings obtained through different mediumistic sources and converging in their essential content, Spiritist doctrine presents remarkable internal consistency. Spiritist principles express the conceptual guideline that sustains logical and coherent arguments about the nature, origin, and destiny of Spirits and their relationships with the corporal world.

 

Departing from the formalism and hierarchical structure of traditional Christian churches, which rely on unquestionable articles of faith and impose practices and behaviors on their followers to standardize considered appropriate behavior, the faith proposed by Spiritism aligns with reason. It invites followers to question, know, ponder, and finally believe, without stagnating but continuously advancing knowledge.

 

In this sense, the true Spiritist does not have their will subordinated to leaders or institutions because they have the freedom to choose and act according to their own conscience, not out of guilt or constraint but rationally directed to meet their interests and the need for moral and intellectual improvement.

 

The cultural panorama of Spiritism, however, presents singularities. While Spiritism flourished in Brazilian lands and garnered respect and popularity, it also faces the expected challenges of an environment marked by strong religious syncretism, given that a significant portion of followers carries habits and concepts that are not promptly refined.

 

The different pace of participants in the national Spiritist movement is perfectly understandable, although the disparity in doctrinal maturity may create obstacles to understanding and practicing the teachings of the Spirits.

 

The combat against materialism and moral relativism underpins the essence of the doctrinal proposal, aiming at shaping the well-intentioned man and, specifically, the good Spiritists.

 

The doctrinal unity, so valued by Kardec for the future of Spiritism without schisms or fragmentation into personalist sects, can only be achieved, however, through proper understanding of Spiritist principles and values, grounded in reasoned faith. It is not enough to intend to love; one must know and effectively love. Hence, the guidance of the Spirit of Truth for us to love and equally instruct ourselves.

 

The Spiritist principles, validated by the universality of teachings, do not present contradictions, and therefore, cannot be understood by mixing them with fallacious or fanciful concepts. Freedom of conscience guides the individual along the path they can tread, but it does not give them the right to distort Spiritist doctrine according to their interests and limitations to accommodate their personal convictions.

 

There are, therefore, no different "Spiritisms," only one. What varies is the understanding and practice of Spiritism. Thus, there is only one Spiritist doctrine, but different levels of doctrinal maturity, and each individual will express themselves according to their own conscience.

 

Certainly, a coherent stance should guide the conduct of the Spiritist towards any fact or information, remaining open to the examination of the contradictory and the acceptance of what is, in fact, proven.

 

Reasoned faith, properly experienced, leads the adherent to recognize and value the doctrinal teachings presented by Kardec and validated by the criterion of universality, instead of precipitately assuming as truth opinions from incarnates or discarnates lacking methodological foundation and evidence.

 

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[i] https://www.ohchr.org/en/faith-for-rights/faith4rights-toolkit/module-1-freedom-conscience

 

Source: https://usesp.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/DE191.pdf

 

Opinion and Reason

Opinion and Reason

Marco Milani

Text published in the Spiritist Leader Magazine, ed. 192, Nov/Dec 2022, p. 16-17

Allan Kardec, highlighting that discarnate Spirits often only express their own opinions on many points [1] and that these opinions may differ among themselves, underscores a fundamental methodological question for the validation of Spiritist knowledge: the agreement of information obtained from independent sources that do not mutually influence each other.

Currently, considering the speed at which information spreads in the electronic environment, it is hardly conceivable that mediumistic groups and their members are unaware of what is disseminated in different media. When it comes to information that clashes with the doctrinal teachings presented in Allan Kardec's works, accepting it implies hastily and thoughtlessly abandoning or ignoring established knowledge.

Certainly, Spiritism is dynamic and foresees the advancement of this knowledge, but under specific conditions that allow validation based on objective, rational, and logical elements. If robust evidence is lacking, new information should be regarded only as hypotheses, subject to future validation and open to questioning regarding their veracity.

Prudence in scientific attitude marks the expected seriousness of researchers. Blind acceptance of hypotheses, often due to emotional aspects and personal interests, diverges from the pursuit of true knowledge. In contrast, irresponsible relativism that flexibilizes reason in the absence of corroborative facts and uses fallacious arguments to disguise reality does a disservice to the search for truth.

Regarding information produced through mediumship, prudence demands that the content be analyzed through the lens of reason, without prior acceptance or refutation based on the supposed Spirit communicator's signature or the intermediary incarnate.

There is no argument from mediumistic authority, meaning the validity of the message's content is independent of the sympathy or affection one might have for the messenger. If it were otherwise, Kardec would not have rejected various communications bearing venerable signatures obtained by the same mediums who collaborated in the Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies and mediated lofty teachings from noble Spirits [2].

Incarnates must undergo the same scrutiny. When taking a platform or expressing themselves in writing as a Spiritist representative, the manifested content demands careful analysis, using the corpus of knowledge presented by Allan Kardec as a comparative reference. As José Herculano Pires asserts in his work "The Stone and the Tares," in Spiritism, Kardec's work is the touchstone.

By revolutionizing the proposal for generating knowledge about spiritual reality, Spiritism causes a cultural rupture with the dogmatism assumed by the church, which was supposed to be the monopolist of faith based on sacred mysteries, approaching instead scientific investigation grounded in its investigative method.

The centrality of Spiritist epistemology lies in critical analysis and the agreement of information revealed through mediumistic exchange, capable of promoting the internal consistency of its doctrinal-theoretical framework, which differs from any other explanatory proposal of spiritual reality presented to humanity.

The moral consequences arising from this spiritual knowledge, encompassing fundamental philosophical questions, represent the guiding aspect of personal conduct and provide enlightenment regarding the meaning of existence.

The cultural baggage of adherents varies significantly, leading to an uneven understanding of doctrinal principles and values. Thus, despite there being only one Spiritism, there are different levels of doctrinal maturity among those who self-declare as Spiritists, leading an external observer to erroneously assume that the interpretative diversity of concepts and practices stems from a fragmented theoretical body.

By assuming doctrinally disconnected information as Spiritist, without any logical foundation based on facts or universal agreement, individuals ignore the necessary methodological coherence to validate knowledge. This occurs when they incorporate their own opinions or those of others, including those of mediumistic origin, as sufficient arguments to oppose the teachings of the Spirits presented by Kardec.

Admiration and emotional attachment to mediums and speakers cause adherents trapped in attitudes and practices typical of traditional religions to place the validity of information in their incarnate idols, as if these were legitimate links to the sacred. Blind faith finds no support in Spiritist doctrinal foundations but can manifest in those who are still in the process of adapting to Spiritist culture.

Opinions on any subject are perfectly understandable in light of freedom of expression and conscience, but their recognition as part of Spiritist knowledge depends on a rational, analytical, and coherent attitude in line with the validation method and established Spiritist principles.

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[1] See chapter II, item 99, of the work "What is Spiritism," by Allan Kardec. [2] See chapter XXXI of "The Mediums' Book," by Allan Kardec.

 

Jesus: guide and model

 Jesus: guide and model

 

Marco Milani

 

Text published in the Spiritist Leader Magazine, ed. 198, Nov/Dec 2023, p. 17-18

 

In question 625 of The Spirits' Book, Jesus is indicated as the most perfect type that man can have as a guide and moral model on Earth. This indication was not the result of an opinion but arises from the universal agreement of the Spirits' teachings, characterizing Jesus as the one who expressed the divine laws with the greatest purity.

At no time was man devoid of access to the knowledge of these laws since they are in Nature, but the effective understanding of reality depends on the evolutionary process of the being.

Before Jesus, different individuals proposed to reveal the truth according to the interests and cultural limitations inherent to each one. A common mistake was to confuse the laws that govern the life of the soul with those that govern the life of the body or to consider as divine what was nothing more than a transient human law to serve passions and domination.

Even though Jesus brought the purest explanations and guidance aligned with natural laws while incarnated, he often taught through parables and allegories, respecting the cognitive capacity of the people of his time. He also emphasized that he did not intend to teach everything, which is why he announced the coming of the Comforter for that purpose, in addition to reminding of his teachings that would be forgotten or misinterpreted.

Fulfilling this role, Spiritism expands the understanding of reality directly, without symbolism and without exclusive messages to a small group of initiates, shedding light where the darkness of ignorance and superstition prevented the understanding of the nature, origin, and destiny of Spirits, as well as their relationships with the corporeal world.

By signaling Christian morality as an integral part of its own doctrinal principles and values, Spiritism thus expresses the Good News in its essence, interpreted and explained directly by the Spirits, but not limited to the historical records attributed to Jesus. The moral consequences that Spiritism points out in view of the current knowledge of the reality of being and universal relations are more objective and comprehensive, typical of the progressive process of human knowledge. It is inappropriate, therefore, to treat Spiritist doctrine and Christian moral essence as separate elements, since the latter is already considered in the theoretical body of Spiritism.

The examples and teachings of Jesus permeate all the basic works of Spiritism, not being confined to one book or another. Certainly, there is a greater number of citations about him in the work that develops his moral teachings. In The Gospel According to Spiritism, there are 274 mentions of Jesus in the text elaborated by Allan Kardec. The second book, with almost as many citations, is The Genesis, with 261. Following with a lower concentration of mentions are: The Spirits' Book (44), Heaven and Hell (36), and The Mediums' Book (20).

Since Jesus and superior Spirits participated in the structuring of Spiritism, Christian morality remained in development, and new clarifications were provided about spiritual reality.

Kardec's method to legitimize the teachings of the Spirits through universality is what guarantees the internal consistency of the Spiritist theoretical body.

To assume Jesus as a guide and model, one must understand and practice doctrinal teaching, achieving moral and intellectual improvement. As the Spirit of Truth has already affirmed: Spiritists, love one another and instruct yourselves.

 

Source:https://usesp.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/reDE-198-novembro-dezembro-2023.pdf