''The Gospel According to Spiritism'' (''L'Évangile Selon le Spiritisme'' in French), by

Allan Kardec Allan Kardec () is the pen name of the French educator, translator, and author Hippolyte Léon Denizard Rivail (; 3 October 1804 – 31 March 1869). He is the author of the five books known as the Spiritist Codification, and the founder of ...

, is a book published in 1864 that relates the teachings of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

to Kardecist Spiritism, the moral and religious philosophy that Kardec had been publishing. It is intended to demonstrate that Spiritism clarifies and extends the most important teachings of Jesus. It is one of the five fundamental works of Kardecist Spiritism. The book attracted a lot of reaction from the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and was indexed (added to the ''List of Prohibited Books''). The first edition had been titled ''Imitation de l'Évangile'' (An Imitation of the Gospels), but the third, and definitive edition (1865) had the book renamed and profusely corrected (mostly typos or supposed mistakes in channeling), edited and expanded. Evangile selon le spiritisme

The book, the best documented and the most organised of the five fundamental works of Kardecist Spiritism, contains one introductory part and 28 chapters. The first 27 are each dedicated to dissecting one particular verse of the Gospels and the last one is a collection of prayers inspired by elevated spirits. Kardec was a devoted

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and a dedicated teacher (disciple of Pestalozzi before his contact with Spiritism). He looked forward to basing his teachings in solid biblical knowledge, as well as the messages he received from his guiding spirits. Therefore, the first part of the ''Gospel According to Spiritism'' is dedicated to a series of observations and clarifications intended to situate its arguments and

doctrine Doctrine (from la, doctrina, meaning "teaching, instruction") is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a belief syste ...

so that those more familiar with

exegesis Exegesis ( ; from the Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Biblical works. In modern usage, exegesis can involve critical interpretation ...

would find their way throughout it more easily.

Introduction

The first item of the introduction argues that the currently existing

translation Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

s of the Gospels were imperfect and were effectively unintelligible without proper relation to scholarly research about the culture and the customs of the peoples of the

Middle-East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

. As the entirety of the message of

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

cannot be easily grasped from the existing texts about his life, Kardec argues that ''instead of handpicking the details, we should pay more attention to his teachings and more significant deeds''. This is what he tries to do in this book. The second item argues that

Spiritism Spiritism (French: ''spiritisme''; Portuguese: ''espiritismo'') is a spiritualist, religious, and philosophical doctrine established in France in the 1850s by the French teacher, educational writer, and translator Hippolyte Léon Denizard Riv ...

is based on the highest and truer Christian morality: that it descends directly from the key teaching of

. Kardec also argues that what makes the spiritist doctrine reliable is that it is not self-contradictory: the elevated spirits, channeled by

medium Medium may refer to: Science and technology Aviation *Medium bomber, a class of war plane *Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Communication * Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data * Medium of ...

s of goodwill all gave the same message and this message is logically consistent both internally and with what Christ taught. The third part is a rough guide to the Gospels, explaining the meaning of foreign concepts and new words only found there. The fourth part explains that even before Christ theories similar to Spiritism could be found in the

Greek philosophy Ancient Greek philosophy arose in the 6th century BC, marking the end of the Greek Dark Ages. Greek philosophy continued throughout the Hellenistic period and the period in which Greece and most Greek-inhabited lands were part of the Roman Empi ...

, notably in

Socrates Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no te ...

and

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

(Spiritists have both philosophers in high esteem and consider them as precursors of Christ).

Chapters

These observations are followed by 27 doctrinal chapters which are comments on quotes of

. The last chapter is a collection of prayers channeled by elevated spirits, intended as examples of how we are supposed to pray.

Doctrinal Principles

The key aspects of the ''Gospel According to Spiritism'' are: * The

revelation In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities. Background Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on the ...

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

is continuous because mankind is slowly evolving to a higher level, making it necessary to perfect the doctrine. The first revelation was through Moses, the second through

(modern Spiritists argue that it was previously tried in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

with

but failed), and the third one was from God himself through his messengers, the several spirits that worked on the Codification (

). * Spirits are immortal and live several lives (

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is ...

s) to perfect their moral and their intelligence until they are able to be in the presence of God. * Every revelation elaborates on the previous, instead of revoking it. * Morality is mostly based on love (spiritual love, that is, not carnal love) for everyone and anyone. * Love must be put to practice. * Charity (the practice of love) must not seek retribution. * Religion must be free. *

Marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

is not indissoluble, if there is no agreement, nor fidelity to the former love anymore, this proves that the couple is no longer bounded, so the divorce would be the final and natural act of separation for those who choose it. * Outside charity there is no salvation. This is the main motto of Spiritism. * Everyone will eventually be saved, though it may take an unimaginably long time for some (see

universal reconciliation In Christian theology, universal reconciliation (also called universal salvation, Christian universalism, or in context simply universalism) is the doctrine that all sinful and alienated human souls—because of divine love and mercy—will ul ...

External links

''The Gospel According to Spiritism''
by Allan Kardec
Spiritist Gospel
by Fausto Machado {{DEFAULTSORT:Spiritist Gospel Spiritism Books about spirituality

Contents

Introduction

Chapters

Doctrinal Principles

See also

External links