Spiritist Review - Journal of Psychological Studies - 1869

We reproduce, according to the New Orleans Salut, the declaration of principles set out in the Fifth National Convention,or Assembly of Delegates of the Spiritists of the various parts of the United States. The comparison of beliefs on these subjects between the so-called American school and the European school is something of great importance, as everyone will be able to convince themselves.

“Statement of Principles.

Spiritualism teaches us:

1. That man has a spiritual nature as well as a corporeal nature; or rather that the true man is a Spirit, having an organic form, composed of sublimated materials, that represents a structure corresponding to that of the material body.

2. That man, like a Spirit, is immortal. Having recognized that he survives this change called death, it can reasonably be assumed that he will survive all future vicissitudes.

3. That there is a spiritual world or state, with its substantial, objective as well as subjective realities.

4. That the process of physical death does not in any way essentially transform the mental constitution or moral character of the one who experiences it, for if it were otherwise, his identity would be destroyed.

5. That happiness or unhappiness, both in the spiritual state and in this one, does not depend on an arbitrary decree or a special law, but on the character, aspirations and degree of harmony or conformity of the individual with the divine and universal law.

6. It follows that the experience and knowledge acquired from this life become the foundations on which the new life begins.

7. Since growth, in some respects, is the law of the human being in the present life, and since what is called death is only the birth to another condition of existence, which retains all the advantages gained in the experience of this life, it can be inferred that growth, development, expansion or progression is the infinite destiny of the human Spirit.

8. That the spiritual world is not far from us, but it is near, that it surrounds us, or that it is intertwined with our present state of existence; and therefore, that we are constantly under the surveillance of spiritual beings.

9. That since individuals constantly move from earthly to spiritual life in all degrees of intellectual and moral development, the spiritual state includes all levels of character, from the lowest to the highest.

10. That, since heaven and hell, or happiness and unhappiness, depend more on intimate feelings than on external circumstances, there are as many gradations for each as there are nuances of characters, each individual gravitating on his own place by a natural law of affinity. They can be divided into seven general degrees or spheres; but these must include the indefinite varieties, or an "infinity of dwellings," corresponding to the diverse characteristics of individuals, each creature enjoying as much happiness as allowed by his character.

11. That the communications of the spiritual world, whether received by mental impression, inspiration, or in any other way, are not, by necessity, infallible truths, but on the contrary they inevitably feel the imperfections of the intelligence from which they emanate and the way by which they come; and that, moreover, they are susceptible to be misinterpreted by those to whom they are addressed.

12. It follows that no inspired communication, in the present time or in the past (whatever claims may or may have been put forward as to its source), has a broader authority than that of representing truth to the individual conscience, the latter being the final standard to which one must refer for the judgment of all inspired or spiritual teachings.

13. That inspiration, or the influx of ideas and suggestions from the spiritual world, is not a miracle of past times, but a perpetual fact, the constant method of the divine organization for the elevation of humanity.

14. That all angelic or diabolical beings who manifested themselves or mingled in the affairs of men in the past, were simply disembodied human Spirits, in different degrees of progression.

15. That all the authentic miracles (so called) of past times, such as the resurrection of those who had died in appearance, the healing of diseases by the laying on of hands or other such simple means, harmless contact with poisons, the movement of material objects without visible support, etc., etc., were produced in harmony with universal laws, and therefore can be repeated at any time under favorable conditions.


16. That the causes of every phenomenon - the sources of life, intelligence, and love – must be sought in the inner and spiritual realm, and not in the outer and material realm.

17. That the chain of causes inevitably tends to rise and advance towards an infinite Spirit, that is not only a formative principle (wisdom), but a source of affection (love), - thus supporting the double relationship of kinship, father, and mother, of all finite intelligences, that are therefore united by filial bonds.

18. That man, as the child of this infinite Father, is his highest representation on this sphere of beings, the perfect man being the most complete personification of the "plenitude of the Father" that we can contemplate, and that every man, by virtue of this kinship, is or has in his intimate folds, a seed of divinity, an incorruptible portion of the divine essence that constantly carries him to the good, and that, over time, will overcome all the imperfections inherent in the rudimentary or earthly condition, and triumph over all evil.

19. That evil is the greater or lesser defect of harmony with that intimate or divine principle; and therefore, be it called Christianity, Spiritualism, Religion, Philosophy; whether one recognizes the "Holy Spirit," the Bible, or spiritual and heavenly inspiration, all that helps man to submit to his inner nature what is most external in him, and to make him harmonious with that, is a means of triumphing over evil.

***

This is the basis of belief of the American Spiritists; if not that of the totality, it is at least that of the majority. Such belief is no more the result of a preconceived system in that country, than Spiritism in Europe; no one imagined it; they saw, observed, and conclusions were drawn. There, no more than here, we did not start from the hypothesis of the Spirits to explain the phenomena; but from the phenomena, as an effect, one arrived by observation at the Spirits as cause. This is a momentous circumstance that the critics persist in ignoring. Because they carry with them, in their thoughts, the idea of not finding the Spirits, they figured that the Spiritists must have taken their starting point from the preconceived idea of the Spirits, and that imagination has made them see them everywhere. How is it then that so many people who did not believe in them have surrendered to the evidence? There are thousands of examples, in America as well as here. Many, on the contrary, went through the hypothesis that Mr. Chevillard believes to have invented, and they did not give it up until they recognized its impotence to explain everything. Again, one only came to the affirmation of the Spirits after trying all the other solutions.

We have already noticed the relationships and differences that exist between the two schools, and for those who are not attached to words, but who go to the bottom line of the ideas, the difference is reduced to very little. Since these two schools have not supported one another, this coincidence is a very remarkable fact. Thus, here we have on both sides of the Atlantic, millions of people who observe a phenomenon, and who arrive at the same result. It is true that Mr. Chevillard had not yet gone there to oppose with his veto and say to those millions of individuals, many of whom do not go by fools: "You have all been wrong; only I have the key to these strange phenomena, and I will give the world the definitive solution.”

To make the comparison easier, we will take the American profession of faith, article by article, and put in parallel what the doctrine of The Spirits’ Book, published in 1857 and developed in other fundamental books, says about each of the proposals formulated there.

A more complete summary can be found in Chapter II of the book What Is Spiritism?

1. Man possesses a soul or Spirit, an intelligent principle, in which the thought, the will, and the moral sense reside, and whose body is only the material envelope. The Spirit is the main being, pre-existing and surviving to the body, which is only a temporary accessory.

The Spirit, either during the bodily life or after leaving it, is clothed with a fluidic body or perispirit, that reproduces the form of the material body.

2. The Spirit is immortal; the body alone is perishable.

3. Spirits, freed from the carnal body, constitute the invisible or spiritual world, that surrounds us and in whose midst we live. Fluidic transformations produce images and objects as real to Spirits, which are themselves fluidic, as are earthly images and objects to men, which are material. Everything is relative in each of these two worlds. (See Genesis according to Spiritism, chapter of fluids and fluidic creations.)

4. The death of the body does not change the nature of the Spirit, that retains the intellectual and moral aptitudes acquired during the earthly life.

5. The Spirit carries within himself the elements of his happiness or unhappiness; he is happy or unhappy due to the degree of his moral depuration; he suffers from his own imperfections, the natural consequences of which he endures, without the punishment being the result of a special and individual condemnation. Man's misfortune on Earth comes from the non-observance of God's laws; when he conforms his actions and social institutions to these laws, he will be as happy as his bodily nature entails.

6. Nothing that man acquires during his earthly life in knowledge and moral perfections is lost for him; he is, in the future life, what he has done in the present life.

7. Progress is the universal law; under this law, the Spirit progresses indefinitely.

8. The Spirits are in our midst; they surround us, see us, hear us, and participate, to some extent, to the actions of men.

9. Since the Spirits are just the souls of men, one finds among them all the degrees of knowledge and ignorance, goodness and perversity that exist on Earth.

10. Heaven and hell, according to vulgar belief, are circumscribed places of rewards and punishments. According to Spiritism, Spirits, carrying within themselves the elements of their bliss or suffering, are happy or unhappy wherever they are; the words heaven and hell are only images that characterize a state of happiness or unhappiness.

There are, so to speak, as many degrees among the Spirits as there are nuances in intellectual and moral aptitudes; nevertheless, if we consider the most clear-cut characters, we can group them into nine main classes or categories that can be infinitely subdivided, without such classification having anything of absolute. (The Spirits’ Book, item 100, Spiritist scale).

As the Spirits advance in perfection, they inhabit worlds that are more and more advanced physically and morally. This is probably what Jesus meant by these words: "There are several dwellings in my father's house." (See Gospel According to Spiritism, chap. III).

11. The Spirits can manifest themselves to men in various ways: through inspiration, speech, sight, writing, etc.

It is a mistake to believe that the Spirits have infused science; their knowledge, in space as on Earth, is subordinated to their degree of advancement, and there are some who, on certain things, know less than men. Their communications are in relation to their knowledge, and by the same token cannot be infallible. The thought of the Spirit can, moreover, be altered by the medium it passes through to manifest itself.

To those who ask what are the communications of the Spirits for, since they know no more than men, we answer that they serve, first of all, to prove that the Spirits exist, and consequently, the immortality of the soul; second, to teach us where they are, what they are, what they do, and under what conditions we are happy or unhappy in a future life; third, to destroy vulgar prejudices about the nature of the Spirits and the state of the souls after death, all things that one would not know without communications with the invisible world.

12. The communications of the Spirits are personal opinions that should not be accepted blindly. Man must not, under any circumstances, sacrifice his judgment and free will. It would be ignorance and lightheartedness to accept all that comes from the Spirits as absolute truths; they say what they know; it is up to us to submit their teachings to the control of logic and reason.

13. Since the manifestations are the consequence of the incessant contact between Spirits and men, they have always happened; they are in the natural order of things and have nothing miraculous, regardless of the form in which they appear. These manifestations, relating the material world and the spiritual world, tend to the elevation of man, proving to him that the Earth for him is neither the beginning nor the end of all things, and that he has other destinies.

14. Beings called angels or demons are not special creations, distinct from humanity; angels are Spirits who have come out of humanity and gotten to perfection; demons are Spirits that are still imperfect but who will improve. It would be contrary to the justice and goodness of God the creation of beings perpetually doomed to evil, unable to return to good, and others privileged, exempt from any work to achieve perfection and happiness. According to Spiritism, God has no favors or privileges for any of His creatures; all Spirits have the same starting point and the same road to travel; through their work, they will arrive at perfection and happiness. Some have already arrived: these are the angels or pure Spirits; the others are still behind: they are the imperfect Spirits. (See Genesis, chapters on Angels and Demons).^[1]

15. Spiritism does not admit miracles in the theological sense of the word, for it does not admit anything accomplished outside the laws of nature. Some facts, assuming them to be authentic, were deemed miraculous only because their natural causes were unknown. The character of the miracle is to be exceptional and unusual; when a fact occurs spontaneously or optionally, it is because it is subject to a law, and therefore it is no longer a miracle. The phenomena of double sight, apparitions, prescience, healings by the laying on of hands, and all the effects referred to as physical manifestations are in that case. (See, for the full development of this issue, the second part of Genesis, the miracles, and predictions according to Spiritism).

16. All intellectual and moral faculties have their source in the spiritual principle, and not in the material principle.

17. The Spirit of man, in purifying himself, tends to draw closer to divinity, the principle and end of all things.

18. The human soul, a divine emanation, carries with it the germ or principle of good that is its final goal, and must make it triumph over the imperfections inherent in its state of inferiority on Earth.

19. Everything that tends to elevate man, to free his soul from the shackles of matter, whether in philosophical or religious form, is an element of progress that brings him closer to the good, helping him to triumph over his bad instincts.

All religions lead to this goal, by more or lesser effective and rational means, according to the degree of advancement of the men for whose use they were made.

***

So how does American Spiritism differ from European Spiritism? Could it be because one is called Spiritualism and the other Spiritism? Puerile question of words on which it would be superfluous to insist. On both sides the thing is seen from too high a point for such futility. Perhaps they still differ on some points of form and detail, just as insignificant, and which have more to do with the mores and customs of each country than with the substance of the doctrine. The main thing is that there is agreement on the fundamental points, which is what is evident from the comparison above.

Both recognize the indefinite progress of the soul as the essential law of the future; both admit the plurality of successive existences in increasingly advanced worlds; the only difference is that European Spiritism admits this plurality of existences on earth, until the Spirit has acquired the degree of intellectual and moral advancement that this globe entails, after which he leaves it for other worlds, where he acquires new qualities and new knowledge. Agreeing on the main idea, they only differ on one of the modes of application. Can this be a cause of antagonism between people who pursue a great humanitarian goal?

Besides, the principle of reincarnation on Earth is not unique to European Spiritism; it was a fundamental point of the Druidic doctrine; nowadays, it was proclaimed before Spiritism by illustrious philosophers such as Dupont de Nemours, Charles Fourier, Jean Reynaud, etc. We could make an endless list of writers from all nations, poets, novelists, and others who have affirmed this in their works; in the United States we will quote Benjamin Franklin, and Mrs. Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom's Cabin.

Therefore, we are neither its creator nor its inventor. Today it tends to take place in modern philosophy, outside of Spiritism, as the only possible and rational solution to a host of psychological and moral problems hitherto inexplicable. This is not the place to discuss this question, whose development we refer to the introduction of The Spirits’ Book, and to chapter IV of the Gospel According to Spiritism. It is one of two things: either this principle is true, or it is not; if it is true, it is a law, and like any law of nature, it is not the contrary opinions of a few men that will prevent it from being a truth and from being accepted.

We have already explained many times the causes that had opposed its introduction into American Spiritism; these causes disappear every day, and we have learned that it already finds many supporters in that country. Moreover, the above program does not mention it; if it is not proclaimed there, it is not contested either; it can even be said that it emerges implicitly, as a forced consequence of certain assertions. In short, as we see, the greatest barrier that separates the Spiritists of the two continents is the Ocean, through which they can perfectly join hands.

What the United States lacked was a center of action to coordinate the principles; there isn’t, strictly speaking, any methodical body of doctrine; there are, as we must acknowledge, very correct ideas of great significance, but without connection. That is the opinion of all Americans that we have had the opportunity to see, and it is confirmed by a report made in of the conventions held in Cleveland, in 1867, from which we extracted the following passages:

“In the opinion of your commission, what is now called Spiritualism is a chaos where the purest truth is constantly mixed with the most gross errors. One of the things that will serve the most in the advancement of the new philosophy will be the habit of using good methods of observation. We recommend to our brothers and sisters a thorough attention, taken to the scruple, in this whole part of Spiritualism. We also urge them to defy appearances and not always take for an ecstatic state or for an agitation from the spiritual world, dispositions of the soul that can originate from a disorder of the organs, and particularly in diseases of the nerves or liver, or in any other excitement completely independent from the action of the Spirits.

Each member of the commission already had a very long experience of these phenomena; for ten to fifteen years, we all had witnessed facts whose extraterrestrial origin could not have been disputed, and that were imposed on reason. But we were all equally convinced that much of what is given to the crowd as spiritualist manifestations, are simply dexterity of hand, to a greater or lesser degree skillfully performed by impostors who use them to exploit public credulity.

The remarks we have just made about juggling qualified as manifestations, apply in their entirety to all the so-called mediums who refuse to experiment anywhere but in a darkroom: the Davenports, Fays, Eddies, Ferrises, Church, Ms. Vanwie and others, who claim to do physically impossible things, portraying themselves as instruments of the Spirits, without providing any evidence to support their operations.

After a careful investigation of the matter, we are obliged to declare that darkness is not an indispensable condition to produce the phenomena; that it is claimed as such only by deceitful people, and that it has no other use than to favor their deceptions. We therefore urge those who deal with Spiritualism to renounce to evoking Spirits in the dark.

By criticizing a practice that can be easily replaced by infinitely more convincing modes of experimentation, we do not intend to inflict blame on mediums who use it in good faith, but to denounce to the public the charlatans who exploit something worthy of every respect. We want to defend the true mediums and spare our glorious cause from the impostors who dishonor it. We believe in physical manifestations; they are indispensable to the progress of Spiritualism. These are simple and clear proofs that strike, from the outset, those who are not blinded by prejudice; they are a starting point for arriving at the understanding of manifestations of a higher order, the path that has led most American spiritualists from atheism or doubt to the knowledge of the immortality of the soul. (Excerpt from the New York Herald, September 10^th, 1867).