The Spiritist Review - Journal of Psychological Studies - 1862

The following letter was published in the Debates on July 06th, 1862:

“To the chief-editor,

Neuilly, July 2nd 1862

Dear Sir,

Allow me to respond to two accusations made by Mr. Franck in today’s paper, accusing me of being a follower of pantheism and metempsychosis. I not only deny such accusations wholeheartedly but those who have honored me by reading my book entitled Earth and Heavens could see that my ideas are totally in opposition to the ideas found in my accusations. With respect to pantheism I will only say that the principle of God’s personality is the starting point of my ideas and that not giving importance to what the Jews may think I believe like the Christians that creations proceeds from the whole trinity as I indicated on page 226 of the mentioned book; even better, I cite the actual text of St. Augustine whose authority I respect and I add: - If by staying away from the Middle Ages, with respect to the age of the world I had the minor chance of falling into the abyss of those who confuse God and the universe in some sort of unity with respect to eternity, I would stop. However, can I have the slightest doubt about it? Regarding the second accusation and with no concern if I think differently or share the ideas of Mr. Salvador, I will simply say that metempsychosis in how it is understood, in its vulgar sense, is the doctrine that exposes humanity to inhabit the body of animals after death. I deny it as the daughter of pantheism as I deny pantheism itself. I do believe that our future destiny is essentially based on the permanence of our personality. The feeling of such permanence may be temporarily eclipsed but never lost and the plentiful enjoyment is the first character of that blessed life to which all of us are continuously invited to in the more or lengthy course of our trials. Human’s personality stems out very naturally from that of God.”

“On page 258 of that book one is asked: - How come God would not have created to his own image what he wanted to create at the plenitude of his love? And still in this point I refer to St. Augustine whose beautiful words I cite textually: - Considering then that we were created to the image of our Creator and like the prodigious son of the Gospels let us return to him after having stayed away from him through our sins.”

If the book Earth and Heavens distances itself from the ideas accepted by the Church it is not by the thesis of substance as intended by Mr. Franck, but only and if one can say so in a matter of time. It is taught that the duration of creation is proportional to its extension so that infinity reigns equally in both directions. It is also taught that our present life instead of representing the summation of the trials through which we are empowered to participate plentifully of the blessed life, being just one of the terms of a more or less lengthy series of analogous existences.”

“There you have, Sir, what can lead Mr. Franck to mistakes and whose criticism seemed to me the more fearful the more his character of loyalty is known by everyone.”

“Yours sincerely, etc…

Jean Reynaud”

We can see that we were neither the only ones nor the first ones to promote the doctrine of plurality of the existences or the reincarnation. The book Earth and Heavens was published before The Spirits’ Book.

The same principle may be explicitly found in a brilliant brochure written by Mr. Louis Jourdan entitled Les Prières de Ludovic, whose first edition was published in 1849 by the Livrarie-Nouvelle, Boulevard des Italiens.

Fact is that the idea of reincarnation is not new. It is as old as the world and it is found in old as well as modern authors. To those who say that it is contrary to the dogmas of the Church we respond that it must be either one: reincarnation does exist or does not. There is no alternative. If it does exist it is a law of nature. Now if a dogma is contrary to one natural law we need to know which one is right, the dogma or the law. When the Church said anathema and expelled the ones guilty for the heresy of believing in the movement of Earth, it did not preclude Earth from moving and that everybody believe in that today. The same will happen to reincarnation. Then it is not a question of opinion but a question of fact. If the fact is a reality whatever people may do or say about it will not impede its existence and sooner or later the most skeptical will accept it. God does not ask about inconveniences to regulate the order of things and the future will prove who is right and who is wrong.