|
About truth,
charity and
salvation
according to
Jesus
|
Davilson
Silva |
“Even if I spoke
the language of
men and the
language of the
angels
themselves, if I
don’t posses
charity, I’d be
just like that
bronze that
sounds and a
cymbal that
resonates.”
1 –
This is how Paul
of Tarsus began
one of the most
admirable and
coherent letters
to the community
of Corinth in
Greece of his
time.
As far as this
virtue is
concerned, the
organized
priesthood that
took over the
absolute truth,
from the fourth
century on, has
also produced
letters. In one
of the pontific
circulars, dated
7th
of July, 2009,
the Caritas
in Veritate
(Charity in the
Truth), in
the 1st
paragraph it
becomes visible
the odd doctrine
of “redemption
by the blood of
Christ”, that,
at first,
states:
Charity, in the
truth, that
Jesus Christ
witnessed with
his earthly life
and, above all,
with his death
and
resurrection, is
the main driving
force for the
true development
of each person
and the whole of
mankind.
Their truth
In another
excerpt of this
encyclical, in
the 2nd
paragraph,
it states that
“charity must be
understood and
practiced in
light of the
truth”. Whoever
reads it, will
soon understand
that this
“truth”,
obviously, is
the organized
priesthood’s.
That is to say:
who does not
adhere to the
truth of
salvation
through faith,
cannot be saved.
(the referred
encyclical is
available on the
Internet.)
Concerning the
concept of
“salvation”,
Jesus himself
never stated, or
even implied
such nonsense.
His doctrine is
about the
highest of all
commandments2
and nothing
more. To save
oneself,
according to
Jesus, means to
fulfill the
order of the
Higher Law,
which is about
the love of all
creatures, your
neighbor and the
nearest to you.
Without the
higher moral
commitment that
recommends “love
God above all
else and your
neighbor as
yourself”, the
incarnated
creature (and
disincarnated!)
will never hold
the kingdom of
God. Let’s
remind ourselves
that that
kingdom does not
belong to this
world nor
possesses an
exterior form,
being
essentially a
state of peace,
of tranquil
consciousness.
Such state of
well-being,
sublimates him
the accomplished
duty by the
generous action
towards some or
many.
Nothing but a
liar
The good to
others, to your
neighbor, and
finally, to what
that surrounds
or involves all
living creatures
and nature,
provides this
state of spirit
and makes the
benefactor the
happiest of the
beings even in
the face of the
ungrateful, the
jealous, the
slanderers and
all the trials
and tribulations
of existence. It
is
unconceivable!
If anyone claims
to have within
him this one
kingdom, and at
the same time
disrespects
other people’s
beliefs, he
builds barriers
such as
prejudice and
unwillingness,
thus judging
condemning and
denigrating
respectable
institutions. He
is nothing but a
liar.
One more thing
religious
intolerance and
prejudice have
produced is
injustice and
cruelty. The
actions of the
Holy Tribunal
Office, the Holy
Wars and not to
mention Jesus
making it very
clear the second
commandment,
besides loving
God with all
your heart and
soul: “(…) You
shall love your
neighbor like
yourself”
(Mathew, 13,
30-40).
However,
Christian
religions and
sects take
Paul’s mistake
referring to
charity and
faith, placing
one in front of
the other, in
order to keep
the dogma of
“grace and
salvation
through faith”,
in contrast with
the moral of the
Gospel. For this
and other points
of doctrine,
foreign to the
thought of the
Master of
Nazareth, they
even defined the
Church as “the
only bastion of
the truth”,
based on the
first epistle by
the same Apostle
(Timothy, 3,15).
For these and
other reasons
that this
sentencing
Christianity
collides with
“now these three
virtues: faith,
hope and charity
linger on,
charity being
the most
excellent”, from
Paul himself
(Corinthians,
13, 13); with
“as well as
faith, without
work, is dead in
itself” from
James the
Apostle (James,
2, 17).
Charity, and not
the truth of a,
b or c
Charity, as
understood by
Jesus, and
confirmed by the
Spiritualistic
Doctrine, is and
will always be
the only path to
salvation, and
not according to
the truth of
a, b
or c. By
the way, modern
biblical
editions wisely
substituted the
term charity
by love,
overshadowing
the brightness
of the sense
given by the
Master. Hence,
according to
Spiritualism, it
is not limited
to giving to the
poor material
things; from the
spiritualistic
viewpoint,
charity goes
from donating
“one coin” to
“forgiving the
enemy”. To
forgive the
enemy is about
moral charity
for having as
principle
Humility, the
highest of
virtues, hence
Jesus placing it
as the first
item of
beatitudes,
during the
Sermon of the
Mount (Mt.,
5,3).
3
Salvation,
according to the
Doctrine, does
not have to do
with “eternal
punishment” not
even to the
salvation from
temptations of
infernal beings,
and not with
hell itself.
Paul – not the
one from the
letter to the
Ephesians (Ef.,
2,8) when he
wrote: “by grace
you shall be
saved through
faith”, but Paul
when he wrote to
the Romans
(Rom., 2,6) “God
shall reward
each and every
one according to
your deeds” –
understood that
salvation occurs
by practicing
the good, by
actions that
stem from the
charitable
feeling.
“Works”, in this
case, is the
same as we
understand as
charity, that is
to say, the sum
of all the
virtues of the
soul, because
from it comes
the benevolence
towards all
creatures, and
is within
everyone’s
reach: from the
ignorant to the
scholar, from
the poor to the
rich, regardless
of any
particular
belief.
4
No philosophy,
religion or sect
has the
privilege of
absolute truth.
Salvation means
evolution; and
it only has to
do with
ourselves;
without it, we
get stuck in
error and
suffering. If we
don’t fight our
bad tendencies,
if we don’t
overcome
addictions and
flaws, we shall
never evolve
and, therefore,
it will become
harder to see
the Kingdom of
Heaven in us,
beatitudes or
perfect
happiness. This
is only achieved
through a deep
reform of
temperament, and
Jesus has
already done his
part; He taught
us well how to
do it.
So let us leave
with this
beautiful
illation by the
Spirit Emmanuel:
(…) To save, in
the true meaning
of the word, is
to “get rid of
ruin or danger”,
to “conserve”,
“defend”
yourself, to
“take shelter”,
and none of
these terms
exempts the
person the
responsibility
of conducting
himself and
improve. A ship
saved from
imminent risk is
not free from
the journey,
during which she
will encounter
new dangers. And
a sick man
spared from
death is not
allowed to
continue
existing,
outsmarting
trials and
temptations. (…)
Peter, saved
from indecision,
is compelled to
work until
exhaustion.
Paul, saved from
cruelty, is
constrained to
the maximum
effort, for his
own renovation,
until the
ultimate
sacrifice.
5
References:
1
KARDEC, Allan. O
Evangelho
segundo o
Espiritismo.
Tradução
Herculano Pires.
62. ed. São
Paulo: Lake
—
Livraria Allan
Kardec Editora,
2001. Cap. 15,
do item 1 ao 3,
p. 197.
2
Idem, ibidem.
Item 4 e 5, p.
199.
3
Idem, ibidem.
Cap. 7.o,
item 1 ao 13, p.
105.
4
Idem. O Livro
dos Espíritos.
Tradução
Herculano Pires.
62. Ed. São
Paulo: Lake
—
Livraria Allan
Kardec Editora,
2001. Cap. 11,
questão 886, p.
292.
5
XAVIER,
Francisco C.
Palavras de Vida
Eterna (Espírito
Emmanuel). 13.
ed. Rio de
Janeiro:
Federação
Espírita
Brasileira (FEB),
1989. Tema 153,
p. 322.
Visit
Pensamento&Espiritualidade:
http://pensesp.blogspot.com
|