Spiritualism versus Spiritism - Addendum

29 The eyes of science have been temporarily blinded by this surprise at this point in time. They will however recover from this shock and absorb the things that have been incomprehensible so far. * * * * * * * January 1966 An interview in regards to the theme of Spiritualism Question : It seems as if Spiritualism stands in the background compared to all other religions. What do you say to this? Circle leader: All major religions are certainly preferred . But all of these other religions are frivolous in regards to their assurances and promises. All of them offer people a place in heaven without them having to work on themselves from the bottom up. People always look for the path of least resistance. People do indeed find it with all of these religions. Spiritualism doesn’t make this kind of promise of salvation . To simply believe in it or to ask for forgiveness is not enough. People must make an effort to better themselves . They must be brought up to apply healthy self-criticism and they must change from the ground up. This is an uncomfortable path to take. It demands the renouncement of many vices, like smoking for instance. Other confessions do not demand this. One’s faith alone is supposed to endow one with eternal bliss. All of the sins people commit are supposed to be forgiven, if they are prepared to confess them. They are allegedly forgiven by CHRIST or even GOD himself. This is a very silly attitude when taking all the experiences of Spiritualism into consideration. Question : Do you believe that our members and readers will prefer the more difficult path? Circle leader : There wouldn’t be any spiritualists if this was not so. But there are naturally fewer numbers of disciples than with other religious denominations. We found that most people immediately recoil when confronted with the truth. Most of them openly admitted: “This means that I have to change completely. – No, this is out of the question. I find this eerie.” – This may seem ridiculous, but this has unfortunately been our experience over the years. Question : Why is Spiritualism so difficult to believe? Circle leader : Spiritualism depends on certain provisos. It is only faultlessly practised by people with a solid character . This is the reason why circles are very selective and usually very small . Mass meetings hardly ever lead to genuine convictions. Only a small circle is able to convince its members. Besides, the word “Spiritualism” is often abused. A lot of people call themselves spiritualists, but they are nothing of the kind . They are not even familiar with its basic concepts! Only their curiosity, fanaticism or a guilty conscience turned them into “spiritualists”. They turn to the realm of the spirit because they hope to receive Lotto numbers or because they hope that the otherworldly entities can unmask a thief etc.

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