Spiritism's Teachings about God

        God's Existence  |  God's Attributes

 

 GOD’S  EXISTENCE

     In the first question of The Spirits’ Book,  Allan Kardec asks the Superior Spirits, “What is God?” The answer given is that  “God is the Supreme Intelligence, the First Cause of all things.” He then proceeds to ask, “What are the proofs of God’s existence?”, to which the Superior Spirits answer, “An axiom in science states that there is no effect without a cause.  Look for the cause of things which are not the work of human beings, and your reason will provide the answer.”

    In the opening to his chapter on the “Profession of a Rationalized, Spiritist Faith”, in the book “Obras Póstumas ” (Posthumous Works) , Kardec repeats the Spirits’ definition of God, as stated above, and the axiom to which they made reference, adding the following comments.

"We constantly see an immensity of effects, whose cause is not in Humanity, since Humanity is incapable of producing them. The cause is above Humanity. It is that cause we call God, Jehovah, Allah, Brahma, Fo-hi, Great Spirit, etc. Such effects are absolutely not produced by chance, by accident, or without order. From the organization of the smallest insect and the most insignificant seed, to the laws that govern the worlds that circulate through Space, everything gives proof of one guiding idea, a scheme, a foresight, a thoroughness in care, all of which surpass any human creations."

The instinctual belief in a supreme force, a higher creator or governing power(s) has been with humanity throughout all of time. It can be witnessed in even the most primitive of cultures, which demonstrates, as the Superior Spirits tell Kardec, that such a belief can not be the result of education and the assimilation of cultural ideas.  Though the details regarding a specific nature have been described with great differences across various belief systems, the fact that such an instinctive notion has been found universally, among all groups and generations of people is evidence of its basis in reality.

This instinctive belief is an extension, an unconscious recognition, of the axiom that there is no effect without a cause.  Having developed (through the evolution of humanity) our abilities to analyze and reason, we can find proof of God’s existence in the rational extension of that axiom as well.  It is here that we extend the very reasoning of that axiom to deduce that every intelligent effect must have an intelligent cause.   To recognize such intelligent effects, we need only to look around and observe the natural environment in which we live and are a part of.  When we “stop to smell the roses”, so to speak, to observe and admire the physical complexity and perfection of all living and non-living things that make up our natural world; the way each piece has its purpose and fits so harmoniously into the bigger puzzle; the harmonious and consistent workings of the laws of nature discovered thus far, our logic will tell us that all of this must be caused by an Intelligent Power, greater than all else. 

A simple example of the above reasoning is found in the story dictated by the Spirit Meimei (through the medium, Francisco Candido Xavier) in “Ideas and Illustrations”,  in which an old, illiterate Arab was asked by his rich master why he prayed every night with so much faith, and how he knew that God existed.  The old man explained that just as one recognizes the origin of a letter by the handwriting on the envelope, the origin of jewel by the mark of the jeweler, or whether a camel or a dog has passed by from the tracks left on the ground, one can know the existence of God by his signs.   He pointed to the sky, where the moon shined, surrounded by a multitude of brilliant stars and explained that such stars could not be the work of men who could never have put them there, whereas they must be the work of God, and that that was how he knew that God existed.

The instinctive belief in God that was found in primitive cultures stemmed greatly from their inability to explain the workings of nature, whereby all that was inexplicable was attributed to a higher power or powers, greatly respected, often feared.  However, over time, man has discovered a great deal about his environment and has discovered many natural laws.  We have even learned how to reproduce many of the effects we find in nature.  The result of such discoveries is that they have lead many scientists to believe that in matter itself, they will find the all keys to unlocking, and in many cases reproducing, the secrets of the universe, which they believe will eventually be explicable without the inclusion of any spiritual or divine aspect.  However, turning again to our rational deductions, as mentioned above, we will recognize that even the greatest discoveries of modern science will all be the discoveries of effects, and not of the First Cause, whereby such discoveries should only lead us to a greater admiration of the Intelligence of that First cause. 

You may be thinking by now that the above arguments are not really new, and wondering what, if anything, can Spiritism add to all of this?  Well, very similar to the idea of an intelligent cause having an intelligent effect is the statement made by the philosopher, Descartes, when he said that that “the more we conceive of perfection in something, the more we should believe that its cause is even more perfect.”  The Doctrine of Spiritism gives us a better idea about the perfection in the cause of all things by helping us to understand what we don’t immediately conceive of, or perceive with our five, material senses.  Spiritism does not offer merely a sound, theoretical argument as to the existence of spirits.  Through physical demonstration and in the results of the direct observation of spiritual phenomena (all carefully studied, analyzed and cross-examined), we are given undeniable proof as to the existence and survival of the soul beyond the death of the physical body.  Proof of the soul’s existence and survival is more evidence of an Intelligent Cause or Creator.  Not only that, but through the revelations or explanations of  Superior Spirits regarding the existence of reincarnation, and through the experiences shared by Spirits of varying degrees who come to tell us  to tell about life in the spiritual realms and the conditions (positive and negative) they find themselves in as a result of their actions on Earth,  we are better able to understand, to conceive of  God’s justice and love for all of his children, of his perfection.

In the end, what helps lead us to a belief in the existence of God are humility, reasoning, and a clean heart.  Humility opens our eyes to the perfection and beauty of nature and the recognition of an Intelligent Cause outside of matter and above all else that exists.  Through the exercise of reasoning (aided by the teachings of Spiritism), we are able to understand God, not in an anthropomorphic sense, in which his image is paralleled to our own and he is seen as one who rules under the inspiration of passions typical of our inferior humanity (such as vengeance or selfishness),  but as a God that is all-powerful, as well as sovereignly just and good, and with whom we can have an intimate relationship without the intervention of other so-called “appointed” persons.  Lastly, a pure heart will help us to see God.  Jesus said, “Blessed are those with clean hearts, for they will see God.” In other words, we can rationalize or deduce by intuition the existence of God, but we will never truly know him until we free ourselves from our ties to material things, from our vices and negative passions, thereby not only cleaning, but opening our hearts to God and his truths.

 GOD'S ATTRIBUTES

Just as it would be impossible to explain light to a man who was born blind, or to explain chemistry to an infant, we humans are not yet able to understand the true, complete nature of our creator.  Our spirits have not yet acquired the proper level of intellectual and moral advancement.  However, we are able to rationalize some of the qualities of perfection attributed to this Supreme Being.

Allan Kardec, in the Spirit’s Book intelligently inquired about our creator, asking not “Who is God”, but rather “What is God”.  The question of “Who” would imply inquiries as to God’s origin, age, and intimate nature.  “What” however define God’s activity, condition, and qualifications, which are more in tune with what we are able to comprehend, and what we are able to express in terms of the extent our current languages.

As mentioned above, in answer to this first question of  “The Spirits’ Book”, the spirits replied that we should understand God as the “Supreme Intelligence, the First Cause of all things.  Questions 10-13 are related to inquiries pertaining to God’s attributes, those characteristics that we are able to understand at present.  Below are the referenced questions and the answers given by the Superior Spirits.

Can any individual understand the essential nature of God? 
"No, human beings lack the capability for such understanding."

Will we ever be able to comprehend the mystery of God? 
"When human beings have advanced sufficiently- that is, when they have overcome the yoke of matter- they will be more capable of comprehending God."

Comments added here by Kardec: The limited nature of our human faculties prevents us from having a complete understanding of God’s nature.  As a result, in the early stages of human development, we often confused the Creator with the creation and attributed to the former the qualities of the latter.  However, as we progress spiritually, we will be able to penetrate the nature of things, more deeply and form a more just and rational idea of God, though our ideas will always be incomplete.

If we cannot understand the essential nature of God, can we at least have some idea of God's perfections? 
"Yes, some of them. You will understand them better as you raise yourself above matter and master your own minds."

When we say that God is eternal, infinite, unchangeable, immaterial, unique, all-powerful, sovereignly just and good, aren't we expressing a complete idea of the qualities of the Dine? 
"Yes, from your point of view. But don't think that you sum up everything in these terms. You must understand that there are things that transcend the capacity of even the most intelligent person and that outstrip the power of language to expres. However, your reason tells you correctly that God must possess the perfections you mention in the supreme degree. Lacking on of them or having less thean the absolute degree in any of them, God would be less than perfect; and in order to be above all things, to be almight, God must have no imperfections."

Following this last question, Kardec adds the following discussion, explaining the reasoning behind the qualities listed as part of that question.

 
        God is infinite and eternal.  If we assume a being to God’s existence, we must mean that God either sprang from nothing or was created by some other being.  Our realization that this is not true leads us to our ideas of Infinity and Eternity.
        God is unchangeable.  If this were otherwise, universal laws would have no stability.

        God is immaterial and by nature differs from everything we call matter. Without this quality, God would not be unchangeable and would be subject to the transformations of matter.
        God is unique.  If there were more than one God, there would be neither unity of plan nor unity of power in the ordering of the universe.
        God is all-powerful.  The possession of anything less than sovereign power would indicate the existence of something more powerful than or equally powerful to God.  Without sovereign power, God would not have created all things, and those things that have not been created by one God would be the work of another God.
        God is sovereignly just and good. The wisdom of the divine laws is revealed as clearly in the smallest things as in the greatest.  This wisdom makes it impossible to doubt either God’s justice or goodness.

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The information contained above relates to God, our Creator. If you would like to read more about his Creation, we recommend you check out the Spirit's Book. 
   For Creation, in terms of the origin or actual creation of universal elements: 
- Chapter II deals with "The General Elements of the Universe" and has the subheadings of "The Beginning of Things" "Spirit and Matter" "Properties of Matter" and "Universal Space." 
- Chapter III deals with "Creation" and has the subheadings of "The Formation of the Planets", "The Creation of Living Beings". 
- If you read Portuguese, Spanish, or French, you can find the above subjects in greater detail in the book, "Genesis
For Creation, in terms of universal element and laws as we currently witness and experience them, the other chapters of "The Spirits' Book" and Genesis are, again, excellent resources.

Kardec, Allan. "God." The Spirits' Book.  Trans. Allan Kardec Educational Society (translated from 2nd edition in French). Philadelphia, PA. Allan Kardec Educational Society. 1996. 1-5.

Barbosa, Pedro Franco. "Principios Basicos Da Doutrina Espirita" [Basic Principles of the Spiritist Doctrine]. Espiritismo Basico [Basic Spiritism]. 3rd ed. Rio de Janeiro-RJ, Brazil: Federação Espírita Brasileira [Brazilian Spiritist Federation].1987. 129-132.

Simonetti, Richard.  A Presença de Deus [God's Presence].2nd ed. Baru-SP, Brazil: Centro Espírita Amor e Cardidade [Love and Charity Spiritist Center]. 1999. 

Kardec, Allan. "Chapter Title" Obras Póstumas  [Posthumous Works]. 8th ed. Trans. Salvador Gentile. Ed (of translation). Elias Barbosa. (translated from 6th edition in French). Araras-SP, Brazil. Instituto de Difusão Espírita [Institute for Spiritist Dissemination].1993. 29-30.

Palhano Jr., Lamartine. "Deus" [God]. Teología Espírita [Spiritist Theology]. Rio de Janeiro: Centro Espírita Léon Denis [Leon Denis Spiritist Center]. 2001. 39-50.