Spiritism WA Spiritist Centre
4. Without Charity There is no Salvation
Unbelievers! You can laugh at the spirits, mock in the face of those who believe in their manifestations. Laugh then, if you dare, at this maxim which they have just stated and which keeps you alive since, if charity disappeared from earth, people would destroy themselves and you would probably be among the first victims. The time is coming when this principle, fully proclaimed in the name of the spirits, will constitute a safe guarantee and a title of the trustfulness of those who have brought it recorded on their own hearts.
A spirit said: ''They mocked at the turning tables, but they will never laughed at their resulting philosophy and ethics''. In fact, after a couple of years, we are far from these first phenomena which entertained curious and lazy for a short while. You say that these ethics is old fashioned: ''The spirits should be clever enough to give us something new'' (A witty phrase of several critics). So be it! If it is old fashioned, it is ageless and people are no less guilty for having practiced it so sparingly. Only real truths are eternal. Spiritism comes to remember it, and it do so not through a revelation of a sole person, but through the voices of the spirits which, as a last trumpet proclaim: ''Believe that all those whom you call dead are more alive than yourselves, since they can see and listen to what is hidden to you. Admit them, who come to talk to you, your relatives, friends and all those whom you once loved on earth and that you believed forever lost.'' Unhappy are those who believe everything finishes with the body, since they will be fiercely undeceived. Unhappy are those who are uncharitable, for they will suffer what they had done to others. Listen to the voices of the suffering who have came to say: ''We suffer because we did not recognize God's power and doubt his infinite mercy. We suffer because of our pride, our selfishness, greed and all bad passions which we had not restrained. We suffer for all evil we did to our fellow beings through the lack of charit.
Unbelievers! Say if this doctrine which teaches such things is worth laughing at, if it is good or not! From the point of view of the social order, say if we could be happy or not, better or not if we practiced it!
My children, within the sentence: Without charity there is no salvation, is enclosed the destiny of mankind, both on Earth and in Heaven. On Earth, because beneath the shadow of this banner all may live in peace, and in Heaven, because those who have practised it will find grace in God's eyes. This phrase is the celestial beacon, the luminous column, which will guide mankind in life's desert, putting all on the right path to the Promised Land. It shines in Heaven as a saintly halo on the brows of the chosen ones, and on Earth it is engraved on the hearts of those to whom Jesus has said: "Go to the right and receive the blessing of My Father". You will recognise them when they come by the aroma of charity that spreads around them. Nothing can indicate with more exactitude nor summarize so well mankind's obligations, as this divine maxim. Spiritism could not better prove its origin than present it as its rule, because it is a reflection of the most pure Christianity. Humanity will never go astray if it takes this as its guide.
So then, my dear friends, dedicate yourselves to the understanding of the deep meaning behind these words and the consequences of their application and then discover for yourselves all the many ways in which they may be applied. Submit all your activities to be administered by charity and your conscience will respond. Not only will it cause you to avoid practising evil, but it will also make you practise goodness, in as much as a negative virtue is not enough; it is necessary to possess an active virtue. Therefore in order to do good there is always the need for the action of willpower, whereas in order to not practise evil it is sufficient to be inert or unconcerned.
My friends, give thanks to God for having permitted you to enjoy the enlightenment of Spiritism. Not that those who possess this enlightenment are the only ones who will be saved, but because it helps you to understand the teachings of Christ, so making you into better Christians. Therefore make every effort so that your fellow beings, on observing you, are induced to recognise that the true Spiritist and the true Christian are one and the same, given that all those who practise charity are the disciples of Jesus, without putting any embargo on whatever sect they may belong to.
- PAUL, the Apostle (Paris, 1860).
[Extracted from The Gospel According to Spiritism, by Allan Kardec -- chapter 15, item 10.]
Sources: Allan Kardec Spiritist Group of New Zealand - AKSGNZ