The Spiritist Review - Journal of Psychological Studies - 1862

Allan Kardec

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Letter from Mr. Dombre to a preacher

Having the Dominican Friar F… preached in Marmande in the last month of May he decided to throw some stones against Spiritism in one of his last sermons. Mr. Dombre would like to have the opportunity to discuss the subject in a broader way and that instead of having Friar F… attacking with banalities that he should touch matters of substance. Fearing that his name would not have the necessary prestige to convince the Friar he then sent him the letter below, signing with the pseudo name A Catholic.


Dear Mr. Preacher,


I follow closely your dogmatic instructions every evening. Given a deplorable fatality I arrived later than usual on Friday and learned after leaving the Church that you had started with a harsh attack against Spiritism. I feel happy for that in the name of every devout Catholic.


If I learned right, these are the points that were discussed:

  1. Spiritism is a new religion, from the XIX century;
  2. It is unquestionable that there are communications with the Spirits;
  3. In the well-established and attested communications with the Spirits you have demonstrated, after long and serious studies about Spiritism, that the Spirits who give communications are nothing else but the devil;
  4. Finally that it would be dangerous, from the point of view of salvation of the soul, to deal with Spiritism before the Church pronounces about it.
I do appreciate this fourth item but if one recognizes beforehand that it is the devil then the Church has nothing else to do.*



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* Since the Church has not yet pronounced the issue of the devil, it is no more than a matter of personal o
pinion without legal support and that is so much so that not all priests share that opinion. We know many in that group. Until ampler information is available the doubt is allowed and one can already see that the doctrine of the devil has little influence over the masses. If the Church officially proclaimed it, one could fear the same result as that of the declaration of heresy and condemnation formerly applied to the movement of Earth, like in our days the anathemas against science with respect to the six periods of creation. We believe that it would be wiser and more prudent that the cleric did no rush into liquidating the matter by affirming something that provokes more smiles and disbelief than fear these days and in which – we can attest – many priests believe no more than us for the fact that it is illogical. By exposing the Church to a contradiction in the future having to confess the mistake will harm the moral authority of the Church that proclaims the infallibility of its teachings. It would be better to abstain. As a matter of fact regardless of what is said about Spiritism experience is here to demonstrate that its march is irresistible. It is an idea that spreads everywhere with a remarkable speed since it simultaneously satisfies reason and heart. In order to stop it one would have to oppose another doctrine that would giv octrine of the devil and the eternal penalties. Allan Kardec



There we have four important questions that I would like to see resolved at once, to confound pseudo Catholics and Spiritists who neither believes in the devil nor in the eternal penalties but who admit God and the immortality of the soul, as well as the materialists who believe in nothing.

With respect to the first question – Is Spiritism a religion? – The Spiritists respond: No, Spiritism is not a religion and does not wish to be. Spiritism is based on the existence of an invisible world, formed by incorporeal entities who populate the space and who are just the souls of those who have lived on Earth or on other planets. Those beings surround us incessantly and, regardless, exert a great influence upon us humans. They represent a very active role in the moral world and, to a certain extent, in the physical world too. Spiritism is part of nature and one can even say that to a certain order of things it is a force of nature like electricity and gravitation are from another point of view. Spiritism unveils the invisible world to us and that is not news since the history of all peoples shows that. Spiritism is founded on general principles, independent of any dogmatic issue. It has moral consequences, that are true with respect to Christianity, but it has no cult, temples or ministers. Anybody can transform his or her opinions in a religion but there is a great distance from that to the constitution of a new church. Hence, Spiritism is not a new religion. Here is what the Spiritists say, Mr. Preacher, about this issue:


“The false Catholic and materialists laugh at this question. The former, if among the fortunate ones of this world, laugh with a pale smile since the doctrine that incorporates the plurality of existences or reincarnations harm their pleasures and their pride. It is horrible to think about a return perhaps in inferior conditions! The Spiritists tell them: That is real justice, true equality. But such equality is not convenient to them. The materialists, strong Spirits formed by pseudo wise men, laugh out loud because they do not believe in the future. Their deaths are absolutely the same thing and they prefer that way.

With respect to the second question: Is there communication with the Spirits, the Spiritists and us, the devout Catholics, are in agreement. The false Catholics and the materialists bear the smile of disbelief.

The third question: It is only the devil that communicates, the Spiritists laugh in turn; the materialists also laugh, mocking the ones who believe in the communication and those who attribute them to the devil. The false Catholics go quiet seemingly saying: You deserve each other.

Regarding the fourth question: Is necessary to wait for the Church to pronounce, the Spiritists say: “It is certain that a day will come when the belief in Spiritism will be so much spread that the Church will be forced to follow the flow, unless it decides to remain isolated. Spiritism and Catholicism will then melt.” The materialist say to this question: Who cares! The false Catholic feels a sort of spite. As I said before, this one will not be able to accept such doctrine. It shocks their pride and selfishness. It rejects the possibility of such a fusion and says: It is impossible. Spiritism is a pure utopia that will not walk four steps in the world. **

Respectfully, etc.

A devout Catholic”

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** There are true and false Catholics and materialists that use this language. It would be understandable to have it said some years ago. However in the last four or five years Spiritism has walked so many steps and it does so every day that it will soon achieve its objective. Given this unprecedented result of propagation, against which all the attacks and mockery are shattered and that grows in proportion to the violence of the attacks, it is really very naïve to say that Spiritism is just a fad. If that is the case why so much anger? Let it fade away by itself. We are the ones standing at the vanguard, watching it moving ahead, following along troubles and developments and foreseeing its conclusion. It is then our turn to laugh. AK



Mr. Dobre then sent the following letter to Bordeaux:


Friar F… sought to know who was the Spiritist and not the devout Catholic who had sent him that letter. His envoys came to me and said:

Friar F… would need seven or eight sermons to respond but he lacks the time. He then wanted to know who you were. Here is how I responded: I guarantee that the author of the letter will show himself in case he wants to respond.

It seems over here that the more people speak against Spiritism the more proselytes happen so that they preferred to remain quiet for Friar F… left without returning to the subject.

You will certainly say that it is somewhat dangerous to enter into such a debate. I know this place well: noise is needed.

The systematic or interested adversaries of Spiritism just want mutes and I want to make them deaf with the debate. There are always indifferent people or people interested in learning around the non-believers and those take advantage of the struggle to learn about Spiritism.

You may perhaps say: - But do you expect to leave such polemic debates honorably?

Oh God! When someone is a subscriber to the Spiritist Review and has read all the books of the doctrine; when completely in line with the argumentation and the teachings of the Spirits, we are like Minerva, fearlessly armed form head to toe.


OBSERVATION: They say: You believe in reincarnation but the plurality of existences is contrary to the dogmas that only admit one. That is why you are out of the Church.

We respond to that with what we have said hundreds of times:


- You formerly expelled from the Church, said anathema, excommunicated, and condemned as heretic those who believed in the movement of Earth.

They will then respond:

- That was in times of ignorance.

- Be it. But if the Church is infallible it should have been in the past as it is today and its infallibility cannot be subjected to the fluctuations of mundane science. Hasn’t the Church lately and in this century of lights condemned scientific recoveries with respect to the formation of the planet? What happened there? And what would happen if the Church persisted in expelling from its core all those who believed in these things? There would be no more Catholics or the Pope. Why then had the Church to give in? Because the movement of the planets and their formation are part of nature and because against the laws of nature there cannot be a sustained opinion.


As for the reincarnation it either does exist or it does not. There is no compromise. If it does exist it is because it is in the laws of nature. If a dogma says otherwise then we need to know if reason follows the dogma or nature that is the works of God.


Reincarnation then is not a matter of opinion, or a system like a political or social opinion that we can admit or reject. It is a fact or it is not. If it is a fact then regardless of how much it goes against people’s taste there is nothing that they can say that will change the fact.

We firmly believe that reincarnation, far from being contrary to the dogmas, provides a logical explanation to the successive lives that makes them acceptable to the majority of those who rejected them because they did not understand. The proof of that is the large number of people brought into religious beliefs through Spiritism.


Let us admit the incompatibility though if you wish to do so. We then present the following question: When the plurality of the existences is acknowledged – and that will not be long

– as a natural law; when everybody recognizes that law as the only one compatible with God’s justice and as the only one capable of explaining what was inexplicable, what are you going to do?


You will do what you did with the movement of Earth and the six days of creation and it will not be difficult to conciliate the dogma with the law.

Allan Kardec


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