Modern spiritism; its science and religion - SpiritArchive.org

SPIRITISM AND CHRISTIANITY 209
"one unpardonable sin" (!); and there is punishment
for all sin. Spiritism thus becomes daily less
and less of a scientific research, and more and more
of a religion and a rival to Christianity.
It is found, practically, that a true Spiritist soon
ceases to be, if indeed he ever was, in any ordinary
sense of the word, a Christian.
Spiritists
Non-Christians
Spiritism uncompromisingly rejects the leading
doctrines of the Christian faith, including the "fall
of man."
It is exultingly predicted that in ten years 50 per
cent, of the civilised world will be Spiritist, a
prospect which most will regard with very mixed
feelings, and possibly some incredulity.
Spiritists exalt their lofty claims and aims, and
declare that if the lacter are really high and noble,
they only attract high and noble spirits. It is somewhat
remarkable, if there be any truth in this, that
the reverse is what is generally observed. If one
wants to see what is fraudulent, ignoble, and debased,
it is, I fear, in a Spiritist seance that they may be
most surely met with.
The Perispirit
Dr. Marcel Viollet, in 1910, says that "The
Spiritist doctrine is that the soul in life is attached
to the body by four or seven principles: one of
which, called the 'perispirit' (astral body), clothes
the soul after death. Later on the perispirit is
re-incarnated (at any -rate, in France) according to
the Py'-.hagorean theory. These souls (with their