Few subjects generate more controversy than does religion. It attracts believers and skeptics, honest searchers as well as nonbelievers, charlatans, crackpots, carpet baggers; and a host of “special” people who proclaim to have personal “pipelines in the sky” reaching straight to Heaven.  And so, who can you trust to be honest reporters of this subject? If you are a normal skeptic, the answer is “nobody.” Unless you are very careful and twice as skeptical. Then you might listen or read a little, but with a “jaundiced eye” and with your finger close to the “shut it down” switch.

I am neither an evangelist nor a proselytizer. I am not religious, nor do I consider myself to be a messenger with a mission. I am a social scientist with no religious affiliations. The following narrative is one that I stumbled upon, perhaps by chance, but maybe not. I am writing about these perceptions as I have learned about them. I’m still a skeptic about most ideas of an afterlife, but I found this evidence to be a lot more satisfying to contemplate than any of the sermons I’ve ever heard emanating from a pulpit—or anywhere else.

I was pleasantly surprised nearly 20 years ago to learn about Spiritism—a non-religious explanation about life on Earth (and elsewhere). It was far more enlightening and uplifting than were beliefs put forth by any religion that I had ever encountered. It had neither Bibles nor hymnals, and no prayers, choirs, or cathedrals as backdrops. It did proclaim that there is an afterlife, but it was one without judgments or punishments. Spiritism rejects the notion that such a place as hell exists, or that any spirit would ever be condemned to serve time in such a place.  Instead, it offers a setting and circumstances that should not be feared at all. It is a place of second, third, fourth, and virtually an unlimited number of chances to make things right in our lives. According to Spiritism, Heaven is a place that is kind, caring, understanding, merciful, tolerant, and forgiving—just as God intended it to be. 

Spiritism also has a completely different answer to the question, “Why are we here?” than any I have ever encountered.  Instead of spending time praying, or kissing rings, or singing hymns, or giving our money to provide private jet planes and lavish lifestyles for greedy tv preachers, God has something different for us to do. Earth is a testing ground for learning, doing, and improving.  God wants us to think, to learn, to do, to build, to protect, to take care of each other, while cultivating a better moral, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual well-being—individually and collectively. God does not want us to become weaklings or servants and give in to tyrants. He wants us to speak out against injustices, to help the poor and the downtrodden, and to lead productive worthy lives. He does not expect us to be passive onlookers. So far, so good.

Life on Earth has its glory moments, but it also can knock the stuffing’s out of us. Fires, famines, hurricanes, floods, death and destruction test our mettle to our bodily limits. Injustices abound. They wound and scar us, but they also teach us how to survive and to emerge with humility and to become stronger. No one gets to live in a perpetual bed of roses. At our bodily death, we leave as we came in—with little more than our honor intact. Our spirits are what matter. Life in the spirt is forever.

The most intense aspect of Heaven is a life-review that each of us must attend. In the presence of elders (wise and kind spirits), we each review every aspect of the life we just lived. It is complete in every detail. But its focus is on how our words and our actions affected others. We feel every emotion they felt, every joy and every pain, down to the tiniest act and sensation. We also experience how the flowers and the trees, the birds and the bees—the Earth itself—were made better or worse by us. The elders are not there to judge us, rather to point out our mistakes and our joyful actions, and how we can improve. Only after such a review can we begin the task of developing a plan for a new incarnation, one that we must design ourselves. When this new plan is completed, it must be approved by God before we are permitted to live in the body again, here, or on another planet somewhere in the universe. I can only imagine vaguely how such a review and countless new lives of atonement await all tyrants, and for a very long time. As it should.

Why reincarnation? Can’t we get our lives right in 40 60, or 90 years? The answer is “no.” We are mere infants in a universe that is vast—and far beyond our idle contemplations. Even the best and brightest among us might take 50,000 lifetimes to absorb, assimilate, learn by trial and error, and develop their minds and souls to a degree that is even approaching a state of enlightenment. Besides, Earth is but one of millions of habitable planets. We have a lot of experiencing to do, and lots of planets on which to do them. And there is no time in the afterlife, so a million Earth years are imperceptible to eternity. A heavenly clock is meaningless.

So, why are there great differences among us with respect to strength, looks, vitality, wealth, status, and abilities? The answer to that question is a bit more complex. Each of us has been here many times. Yes, reincarnation is real. Each time we return (here or on another Earth-like planet) our gender may change, or our color, our looks, our physical strength, our wealth, and many other variables that define us or our circumstances. In time we get to live many different lives, in different circumstances; yet we are still expected to think, to learn, to build, and to grow to the best of our abilities. If we abuse our wealth in one life, we could return in the next to live a life of poverty. This is how we atone, or how we are challenged to improve. It is as though we return again and again to progress on an exceptionally long incline—but always to live, and learn, and to grow a little more with each incarnation as we inch along, onward and upward. Ultimately, each of us must reach the pinnacle of our journey where we learn the true nature of God.  Only then are we worthy to move on to become one with God. That objective cannot be fully understood by us until we have experienced the trials and tribulations, the good and the bad, that this and other worlds confront us with. Wisdom and virtue come with much experience. Not in one lifetime, but in many lifetimes.

What about the Bible? Is it a pack of lies? The Bible was written at a time when few people could read, or write, or understand much about life. It has very little literal meaning except to convey very simple concepts. It may still be useful today for some, but it is not a substitute for learning how to think, and do, and to comprehend difficult subjects. The spirit life, science, and learning are all very compatible and subjects, but they are beyond the simple teachings of the Bible.

Who or what is God, and why did he or she devise this plan for us? Apparently, we only know as much as we are able to understand today about such matters. As we become wiser, with sharper minds, and more compassionate, with greater insights, these questions have less and less urgency. We will know more when we are able to understand more, not before.

What is the basis for believing any of this? It was revealed about 170 years ago to a French educator with a very long name (Hippolyte Léon Denizard Rivail), perhaps even earlier to others. Today, it is well-documented in a growing collection of books, papers, and experiences. There are also several websites that provide many more details. But the best evidence comes directly from thousands of those who lived through near-death experiences (NDEs), who also crossed-over, but who were given the choice to return. They each tell a similar tale as in the preceding outline.  Also, there are millions of communications that take place daily between those on the other side and those who are here—in dreams and by spirits who walk beside us--that also reveal a consistent portrait much as I’ve reported in this narrative. Some mediums are authentic intercessors; many others are not. We each also have a Guardian angel who is always with us—nudging and helping us along. Apparently, we are intended to know only as much as we can assimilate, and even then, we must impart considerable efforts in order to find it. Life would not be much of a testing ground if answers were too easy to grasp, to manage, and to put to good use.

What do I make from all this? Spiritism is internally consistent. There are no inherent contradictions, nor does it stretch credulity as most religious beliefs do.  In the 20 years since my first acquaintance with this subject, thousands of more NDE’s and communications all support it. God loves us, and science, and compassion. He/she wants us to learn, to think, to observe, to measure, to test, to evaluate, to gain in knowledge, in our understanding of the universe and everything in it. She is a great supporter of science and of education. Those clerics who say “science is bunk” are too focused on what was known 2,000 years ago. They are still “flat-earth” believers. Also, the notion that “We have all the answers to all questions that matter” is nonsense. Even those scientists who say that there is no evidence for the existence of God are locked into only what they can see, hear, feel, touch, smell or measure (i.e., the only real things are liquids, gases, and solids that have weight and occupy space). They are too short-sighted, and too hung up on verifiability by earthly standards. Are there more than the three dimensions? Time will tell. Are there multi-universes? Perhaps. Somebody needs to keep on asking those questions. And many people more need to keep science growing. We need to “keep on keeping on.”   When science stops, everything stops. We dare not let that happen. 

OK. That is enough for now. For those who are interested in learning more, do a Google search of Spiritism, and follow the many links and the leads. The sources are well-written, explanatory, not dogmatic, and quite different from those found in religions books and traditions. They comprise a growing collection of fascinating descriptions of a kinder, gentler Providence, but one that wants us to be a lot more active and self-reliant in improving this and other worlds. It isn’t enough to avoid certain activities such as that list in the 10 commandments. We need to be activists, not passengers. Those who see injustices and do nothing, are almost as guilty as those who commit injustices. In summary, God rarely, if ever, intercedes into the circumstances and challenges set out for us. Why should we want to challenge or change a Divine Plan that is perfect? 

Four downloadable PDF books on Spiritism