Heaven and Hell (Allan Kardec)
Encyclopedia
Heaven and Hell is a book published in 1865 by Allan Kardec
, the fourth tome of the fundamental works of Spiritism
. Its name was intentionally taken from a previous book by Swedenborg, it was also subtitled "Divine Justice According to Spiritism".
It is divided into two parts named "The Doctrine" and "The Examples".
The first part explains the different view Spiritism has on the subject, stating that both "Heaven
" (happiness in the after-life) and "Hell
" (punishment in the after-life) are misconcepts, that the state of the spirits after their death is not definitive and that there is always hope, even for the crudest criminal. This is also where Kardec explains in detail why and how "good people" are doomed to suffer and why one should not take one's own life.
The second part is a series of interview with spirit
s of deceased people, thus exemplifying the working truth of the doctrine previously detailed. Most of the examples cited are of people now long forgotten and have become quite useless. The books is most cherished, however, for the profound morality expressed in the first part.
Heaven and Hell is the second most popular book among the Fundamental Works of Spiritism.
Allan Kardec
Allan Kardec is the pen name of the French teacher and educator Hippolyte Léon Denizard Rivail . He is known today as the systematizer of Spiritism for which he laid the foundation with the five books of the Spiritist Codification.-Early life:Rivail was born in Lyon in 1804...
, the fourth tome of the fundamental works of Spiritism
Spiritism
Spiritism is a loose corpus of religious faiths having in common the general belief in the survival of a spirit after death. In a stricter sense, it is the religion, beliefs and practices of the people affiliated to the International Spiritist Union, based on the works of Allan Kardec and others...
. Its name was intentionally taken from a previous book by Swedenborg, it was also subtitled "Divine Justice According to Spiritism".
It is divided into two parts named "The Doctrine" and "The Examples".
The first part explains the different view Spiritism has on the subject, stating that both "Heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
" (happiness in the after-life) and "Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
" (punishment in the after-life) are misconcepts, that the state of the spirits after their death is not definitive and that there is always hope, even for the crudest criminal. This is also where Kardec explains in detail why and how "good people" are doomed to suffer and why one should not take one's own life.
The second part is a series of interview with spirit
Spirit
The English word spirit has many differing meanings and connotations, most of them relating to a non-corporeal substance contrasted with the material body.The spirit of a living thing usually refers to or explains its consciousness.The notions of a person's "spirit" and "soul" often also overlap,...
s of deceased people, thus exemplifying the working truth of the doctrine previously detailed. Most of the examples cited are of people now long forgotten and have become quite useless. The books is most cherished, however, for the profound morality expressed in the first part.
Heaven and Hell is the second most popular book among the Fundamental Works of Spiritism.
See also
- SpiritismSpiritismSpiritism is a loose corpus of religious faiths having in common the general belief in the survival of a spirit after death. In a stricter sense, it is the religion, beliefs and practices of the people affiliated to the International Spiritist Union, based on the works of Allan Kardec and others...
- The Spirits' BookThe Spirits BookThe Spirits' Book is part of the Spiritist Codification, and is regarded as one of the five fundamental works of Spiritism. It was published by the French educator Allan Kardec on April 18, 1857...
- The Gospel According to SpiritismThe Gospel According to SpiritismThe Gospel According to Spiritism , by Allan Kardec is a book published in 1864 that relates the teachings of Jesus to Kardecist Spiritism, the moral and religious philosophy that Kardec had been publishing. It is intended to demonstrate that Spiritism clarifies and extends the most important...
- The Genesis According to SpiritismThe Genesis According to SpiritismThe Genesis, Miracles and Premonition According to Spiritism was the last book published by Allan Kardec, just before his death...
- The Book on MediumsThe Book on MediumsThe Book on Mediums or Mediums and Evokers' Handbook , is a book by Allan Kardec published in 1861, second of the five Fundamental Works of Spiritism — the spiritualist philosophy Kardec had been publishing — being the tome in which the experimental and investigative features of the doctrine were...
External links
- Heaven and Hell by Allan Kardec (PDF file, use Adobe Reader)