The Spiritist PartyOne of our correspondents from Sens sent us the following observations, on the qualification of a party given to Spiritism, in connection with our July article on the same subject.
“In an article in the last number of the Spiritist Review, entitled: The Spiritist Party, you say that since Spiritism is given this name, it accepts it. But should it accept it? It perhaps deserves serious consideration. Do not all religions, as well as Spiritism, teach that all men are brothers, that they are all children of a common father who is God? Now, should there be parties among the children of God? Isn't that an offense to the Creator? Since the peculiarity of parties is to arm men against each other; and can the imagination conceive a greater crime than to arm the children of God one against another? Such are, sir, the reflections that I thought to be right to submit to your appreciation; perhaps it would be advisable to submit them also to that of the benevolent Spirits who guide the work of Spiritism, to know their opinion. This question is perhaps more serious than it appears at first glance; for my part, I would be loath to belong to a party; I believe that Spiritism should consider parties as an offense against God."
We fully agree with our honorable correspondent, whose intention we can only praise; we believe, however, his scruples a little exaggerated in the case in question, no doubt for not having sufficiently examined the question.
The word party implies, by its etymology, the idea of division, scission, and consequently, that of struggle, aggression, violence, intolerance, hatred, animosity, vindication, all things contrary to the spirit of Spiritism. Spiritism having none of these characteristics since it repudiates them, by its very tendencies is not a party in the vulgar meaning of the word, and our correspondent is very much right to reject this qualification, from this point of view.
But to the denomination of party, it is also attached the idea of a force, physical or moral, strong enough to weigh in the balance, preponderant enough to be counted on; by applying it to Spiritism, little known or misunderstood, was to attest its notorious existence, a rank among opinions, to note its importance, and consequently provoke its examination, that it asks constantly. In this respect, it should not repudiate this qualification, while making its reservations about the meaning to be attached to it, since starting from above, it gave an official denial to those who claim that Spiritism is a myth without consistency, that they had flattered themselves that they had it buried twenty times. We could judge the reach of this word by the clumsy ardor with which certain organs of the press seized it to make a scarecrow of it.
It is by this consideration, and in this sense, that we have said that Spiritism accepts the title of party, since it was given, because it meant to grow it in the eyes of the public; but we did not intend to make it lose its essential quality, that of moralizing philosophical doctrine, that constitutes its glory and its strength; far from us therefore the thought of transforming followers of a doctrine of peace, tolerance, charity and fraternity into partisans. The word party, moreover, does not always imply the idea of struggle, of hostile feelings; do we not say: the party of peace, the party of honest people? Spiritism has already proven and will always prove that it belongs to this category.
Besides, whatever it does, Spiritism cannot help being a party. What, in fact, is a party, apart from the idea of struggle? It is an opinion that is shared only by a part of the population; but this qualification is only given to opinions that have a given number of followers, large enough to attract attention and play a role. However, the Spiritist opinion not being yet that of everyone, is necessarily a party in relation to the contrary opinions that oppose it, until it has rallied them all. By virtue of its principles, it is not aggressive; it does not impose itself; it does not subjugate; it only asks for the freedom to think its own way, yes; but from the moment it is attacked, treated as a pariah, it must defend itself, and claim what is common law; it must, it is its duty, or pay the price of being accused of denying its own cause, that is of all its brothers in belief, that it could not abandon without cowardice. It therefore necessarily enters into a struggle, whatever repugnance it feels from it; it is nobody's enemy, it is true; but it has enemies who seek to have it crushed: it is by its firmness, its perseverance and its courage that it will impose on them; its weapons are quite different from those of its adversaries, it is still true; but nonetheless to them, and in spite of itself, it is a party, for they would not have given it this title if they had not judged it strong enough to counterbalance them.
These are the reasons for which we believed that Spiritism could accept the qualification of party, that was given by its antagonists, without it having taken it itself, because it was to raise the glove that was thrown at it; we thought it could do so without repudiating its principles.
