The judged mediums

Here Kardec discusses a case that occurred in which an institution determined the payment of a premium to those who could prove some spiritist phenomena, which none of the subscribers was able to attend, although, outside of there, many of them obtained such phenomena easily, as it happened, he recalls. Kardec, ten years earlier, with some magnetized sleepwalkers, in France, who, in other circumstances, “read closed books and deciphered an entire letter, sitting on it or placing it well folded and closed on their stomach”. 

We've seen this recently, too. It is important to understand, with this approach, that spirituality is not at our command and is not interested in such shows, especially when aiming, through this, obtain material gains of any gender. In fact, it is interesting to note how this repulses both the superior and inferior spirits, which gives rise to a great discussion about mediums who launch themselves, for example, to read fortune.

It also brings to mind the various controversial cases in which several "Spiritists" have already been involved, as happened to Leymarie himself, in what became known as "The Process of the Spiritists", a fact that caused great shame to the Spiritist Movement at the time, and the well-known case of the controversial spiritual materialization, in which Chico Xavier participated. We cannot judge whether they are expensive out of sheer levity or not, but they are quite complicated cases, which do not deny the possibility and even the veracity of such phenomena, but which serve to call our attention to some points:

1. Spiritism conquers many more adepts through its consoling and enlightening philosophy than through phenomena, before which, whoever is decidedly skeptical, will not become less convinced;
2. Human beings are fallible, most of the time more out of vigilance than malice. We can not deify anyone, especially when we remember that mediums they are, in general, Spirits who have been quite faulty in the past, who receive mediumship as a grateful opportunity to correct their deviations;
3. Spirits do not attend to us when we we want, but when they want him;
4. Spirits do not lend themselves to answering trivial things that are within our reach, nor do they lend themselves to proving what is easily verifiable by our intelligence, as much as a man of great knowledge does not lend himself to answering questions already answered, to which many don't dare to search out of sheer laziness.

The scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus, “Teacher, we would very much like you to show us a wonder.” Jesus replied, “This wicked and adulterous generation asks for a wonder, but none other than that of Jonah will be given to them.”

(Matthew, 12:38 and 39.)