What is the belief of Spiritism?
And how does the philosophy of Spiritism work?
Keep reading to discover everything you need to know about this doctrine…
Table of Contents
What is Spiritism?
Spiritism is a doctrine that was established in the mid-nineteenth century in France.
The whole philosophy is based on books that were written by an educator called Hypolite Leon Denizard Rivail. He wrote his texts under the pen name Allan Kardec.
He reports on a number of seances where he observed several instances of phenomena which he attributed to intelligent spirits.
These instances were validated by several contemporaries.
These included philosophers and scientists alike who had all studied and attended seances and the associated paranormal happenings.
His work was eventually extended by many well-known and respected artists, including:
- Arthur Conan Doyle
- Chico Xavier
- Leon Denis
- Camille Flammarion
- Ernesto Bozzano
- And many more
Many religions are based on the Bible – Christianity being the most notable.
However, Christians are quite different from members of Spiritism. Spiritism has members and adherents all over the world.
It is present in Spain, Japan Germany, the United States, England, France, Argentina, Portugal, and especially Brazil. Brazil has the largest amount of Spiritism members.
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The Character of Spiritism
Those who are a member of Spiritism don’t see themselves as adhering to any specific religion, but more of a philosophy. One with both scientific and moral implications.
In fact, some followers call Spiritism a religion itself.
While it is different from Christianity, and in fact, any other religion, Spritisits still pray to God. They see Him as the ultimate source and cause of all beings and things.
Their doctrine states that they perceive God as a natural and necessary element within their paradigm. This means that God does not require religious reasoning.
Spiritism has a set of moral principles that are taken from many religious leaders throughout time.
This includes Jesus, Paul the Apostle, Francis of Assisi, Gandhi, and Buddha. They tend to agree with everything taught by these leaders and use the morals from these teachings to guide their beliefs.
Their studies go beyond these moral teachings, however, into the concept of eternal life. They look at their moral beliefs in the context of eternal life through reincarnation. They believe that spirits reveal this process.
Principles of Spiritism
In addition to their belief in reincarnation and the teachings of many religious leaders, Spiritism operates under several principles:
God
God is seen as the supreme intelligence and the original cause of everything.
He is eternal, omnipotent, and extremely just and good.
They do believe that the universe is God’s creation.
All laws of nature are Divine laws as they were created by God and God is their author. This applies to both moral and physical laws.
Immortality of the Soul
They believe that there is a corporeal world that is inhabited by human beings – also known as incarnate spirits. They also believe in a spiritual realm that contains discarnate spirits.
Essentially, a human being is an incarnated spirit living in a material body.
The spirit connects to the physical body by a semi-material body called a perispirit.
Spiritism believes that spirits are at the basis of creation. They are what makeup everything. The world of spirits has always existed and will outlive everything.
In this world, spirits are ignorant and simply by creation. They can then evolve both morally and intellectually.
The spirits themselves are immortal, passing from existence to existence, always striving to become better. With enough time and effort, a spirit can attain perfection.
At this time, they receive a blessing of permanent and unchanging bliss.
The speed at which they progress through these levels of morality and intellect will depend solely on the amount of effort they put in. It’s possible to become stationary for a time, but they will never go backward.
Spirits are always in connection with human beings. Good spirits lead us towards goodness and keep us going through hard times. Imperfect spirits can encourage you to make errors and take the wrong path.
The Multitude of Inhabited Planets
Spiritism believes that there are other planets and worlds within the universe that also contain intelligent life.
The beings that inhabit these places are at all different levels of evolution – some less, some more, and some equal to the human beings that reside on Earth.
Mediumship
Mediumship is what allows spirits to communicate with Humans. This ability is granted to human beings at birth, regardless of the religion or set of beliefs they may take on later in life.
Within Spiritism, mediumship is done only with their own principles and they always follow the examples of Jesus.
Jesus is Our Model
Spiritists see Jesus as the model and guide for all of mankind.
The things he taught and himself exemplified are the purest forms of God’s own law.
Jesus exhibits a beautiful example of morality within the gospels. This is the guide for the proper progress for anyone.
They turn to this for guidance in solving human problems and strive to achieve this level of morality in themselves.
Free Will
Their stance on free will is simple.
All human beings have the free will to act and behave as they please, but they still must answer for their actions and face the consequences.
They believe that future life will award humans with either penalties or pleasures based on their actions and behavior.
Prayer
Spiritists see prayer as their way of expressing adoration to God. Prayer makes us better human beings, and it makes us strong and capable of dealing with negative and evil temptations.
God sends good spirits to assist those who pray.
What are the Practices of Spiritism?
What does a day in the life of a Spiritist look like? Overall, they believe in goodness, kindness, and equality. They adhere to several practices that keep them in alignment with their beliefs.
Spiritists practice gratuity, which is exemplified in the gospel when it says: “give for free what you receive for free.” They live to follow this to the best of their ability.
They also believe in the power of simplicity. They believe in worshipping without too much external goings-on. Spiritists worship God in truth and in spirit.
Following the practice of simplicity, Spiritism operates with no clergy. It does conduct meetings but doesn’t use anything fancy, pretentious, or symbolic. This includes:
- Candles
- Altars
- Images
- Processions
- Religious vestments
- Incense
- Sacraments
- Talismans
- Horoscopes
- Crystals
- Amulets
- Or anything else like these things.
In addition, Spiritism never imposes its principles. This relates back to the idea of free will. They simply invite those who are interested to submit to the sound teachings and to the test of reason. This is how one is accepted into Spiritism.
Lastly, Spiritism strives to respect all other religions and doctrines. They place value on all efforts towards being good, regardless of religious affiliation. They strive to attain peace and fellowship for all people and across all nations.
It doesn’t care about race, color, nationality, or social standing. They love and accept everyone as would Jesus Himself.
Spirits’ Teachings
While the teachings of Spiritism are based on the teachings and morals of many others before them, they have created their own, unique set of teachings for the followers to live by:
- God is the ultimate and supreme intelligence – He is the original cause of everything. He is eternal, unique, and all-powerful.
- God created the matter that makes up the worlds. He created the intelligent beings known as spirits.
- The deepest nature of a spirit is unknown because to us, it bears no resembles what we know as matter.
- Spirits are individual beings and are house in perispirits – a fluid type of body that is similar to a human body.
- The origin of the spirit is unknown. They are simple and ignorant at creation. They must work to improve themselves.
- All have free will, but all must answer for their actions.
- God did not create evil. Evil comes as a consequence of the spirits being unwilling to follow His laws and guidance.
- Spirits temporarily inhabit a human body. Reincarnation allows them to live in multiple bodies as they work to improve themselves.
- Inhabiting bodies is not a punishment but rather a way for which God’s work’s to be completed.
- Multiple planets are inhabited by imbodied spirits, not just Earth.
- An imbodied spirit is a human soul.
- A spirit’s improvement depends on the effort they put in.
- During each life of a human they experience, they are to fulfill a mission that is in proportion to their current level of development.
- When an existence is not used well, there is no consequence, but the life must be repeated.
- Spiritual life is eternal. Corporeal existence is temporary.
- The intervals between corporeal experiences are unknown and always different. How a spirit feels during this time will depend on how they lived their previous life.
- Earth is one of the less developed planets.
- A guilty spirit will be punished in both the spirit world and the physical one.
- Guilty spirits are also incarnated into less advanced places to atone for their faults.
- God does not give endless punishments but corrects and helps repair.
- Spirits bring qualities they develop from one life into the next – social skills, personalities, etc.
- Humans will not remember their previous life. In this way, it protects them from bad and painful memories.
- A soul that does not previously exist will be created at the same time as the body.
- Inborn aptitudes for morality and intelligence are a sign the spirit has lived before.
- God does not leave people alone for their atonements but stays to offer guidance.
- Evil on earth is caused by human selfishness.
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General Rules From the Spirit’s Teaching
- The biggest goal of Spiritism is human improvement.
- A Spiritist strives to profit from the teachings given to them.
- Charity and humbleness will cleanse you of selfishness, greed, vanity, and hate.
- Spiritism is only useful for those who are willing to improve themselves.
- Spiritists should not doubt their future.
- When you are suffering, keep in mind those who suffer more.
- Despair is natural.
- Prayer is an act of worship.
- Without charity, there is no salvation.
Spiritism – Myths and Misconceptions
Spiritism is a unique and interesting set of beliefs and morals. With it, comes several myths and misconceptions:
- Spiritism is part of the occult. Those who don’t understand Spiritism may think it’s part of the occult.
In reality, Spiritism only strives to help humans better themselves and to study and explain the link between humans and spirits. It has nothing to do with the occult and their practices. - Spiritism is pagan. This is another common mistake. By definition, paganism is something that doesn’t acknowledge God.
Spiritism loves, adores, and prays to God as their creator. In this way, it cannot be pagan. - Spiritism is all about ghosts. “Ghosts” are the spirits of dead people who remain on Earth in “spirit form.”
Rather, Spiritism studies and acknowledges the relationship between intelligent spirits and human beings and the way the spirit will temporarily inhabit human bodies.
FAQs:
What is Spiritism?
Spiritism is a doctrine based on the philosophical writings and teachings of a nineteenth-century educator who studied the link between spirits and humans.
Today, adherents to Spiritism believe in betterment, improvement, kindness, and charity while on earth.
They also believe in the existence of intelligent spirits. These spirits reincarnate many many times in order to improve themselves and work towards perfection.
What does the bible say about spiritism?
Many parts of the Bible prohibit communication with spirits. This is to protect people from the evils and horrors that can come from unhealthy and inappropriate communication with spirits.
The Bible teaches that all things are done for Glory of God, and not to recognize our own power or greatness.
In general, the Bible acts as a guide for humans, containing lots of enlightenment and empowerment. It offers hope of a better world.
What are the Doctrines of Spiritism?
The doctrines of Spiritism come from a combination of concepts from Positivism, Platonism, and Christianity.
They link their beliefs to the teachings of Jesus, as well as the ideas of evolution and karma. They believe in regular communication with the spirit world.
What is Mediumship?
A medium is someone who has access to the spirit world in any way they wish. This is something you are born with and you can’t learn it. You can only practice it if you have it.
In spiritism, a medium is someone who’s spiritual awareness is at insurmountable levels. Communication with the spirit world is easy and seamless for them.
They are, however, only the messenger and not the author of messages from the spiritual realm.
