The Gospel According to Spiritism, chapter 11: loving one's neighbor and the golden rule

Asked by a Pharisee which was the greatest commandment, Jesus gave two: to love God with all one's heart, and to love one's neighbor as oneself. Chapter 11 of The Gospel According to Spiritism, by Allan Kardec, published in 1864, takes that answer as its starting point to address love of neighbor as the center of Christian morality, and charity as its fullest expression.

The chapter mixes Kardec's commentary with messages attributed to spirits. Communication with spirits and reincarnation are teachings of Spiritist doctrine and are not presented here as proven facts. The moral rule it highlights, however, treating others as one wishes to be treated, has a history far broader than the doctrine itself.

Two commandments

The two principles, in Kardec's reading, contain the divine law in full. Whoever loves already fulfills, with no extra effort, justice, charity, forgiveness, and moral duty. To these is added the rule of treating others as one wishes to be treated, which the chapter presents as the antidote to selfishness and the foundation of peace. If everyone practiced it, the chapter claims, there would be no hatred and no wars.

A rule found in many traditions

This rule, known as the golden rule or the ethic of reciprocity, appears in some form in nearly every religion. Wikipedia points to one of its oldest formulations in the story of the “Eloquent Peasant,” from Egypt's Middle Kingdom, around 2040 to 1650 BCE. In the Mahabharata, the Indian epic dated between 400 BCE and 400 CE, Vyasa says that not doing to others what one does not want for oneself is the whole of Dharma. The rule is also attributed to Buddhism and Confucianism.

Kardec places it at the center of Christian morality without denying that kinship. For him, what the Gospel adds is the requirement to act this way always, without exception for any person, not only toward those close to us.

The unforgiving servant and Caesar's tax

In the parable of the unforgiving servant, a man forgiven a large debt refuses to forgive a companion who owes him little. The lesson, for Kardec, is that mercy received should be imitated, and that whoever demands justice from others while ignoring their own moral debt will be held to account harshly.

The line “render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and unto God what is God's” appears as a lesson in balance. One respects authorities and civil duties, such as taxes, without compromising spiritual duties.

Lessons from the spirits

In a message attributed to Lazarus (Paris, 1862), love is said to be the highest feeling, the synthesis of Jesus's teaching. It would turn instincts into feelings and, later, into virtues, and whoever loves deeply would live beyond themselves.

Fénelon, in words attributed to him, sees in love a divine essence: even the hardest man would keep a spark of affection. Selfishness limits love, and reincarnation would widen the soul's bonds. To practice the law as God intends it, he says, one must love everyone without distinction.

Emmanuel (Paris, 1861) calls selfishness humanity's wound, born of pride and a denial of charity, and assigns Spiritism the mission of fighting it. In his comparison, Jesus is the example of charity and Pilate the example of selfishness. Pascal speaks of breaking through the armor of pride, since without charity there is neither safety nor social harmony, and of a charity that renounces, consoles, and welcomes.

Charity even for the guilty

Elizabeth of France, another spirit cited, extends charity to criminals. We should pray for those who err rather than condemn them outright, since repentance can come in the final seconds of life. To help the guilty, she says, is to help a spirit still working out its own redemption.

What the chapter proposes

The conclusion is that love, practiced with courage, renunciation, and humility, would renew the Earth and raise humanity to a “regenerated world,” a phrase from the doctrine. The chapter closes with a call to love as children of the same Father, and with the promise that the Earth would then become a new Elysium.