Love in Plural

Área da Família da AME/JF

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
(I John 4:7)

In his first letter, the apostle John exhorts us to love one another, clarifying that the original source of all love is God. Using the word “love” in its Greek translation agape, or caritas in Latin, the beloved disciple refers to fraternal, inclusive love that promotes communion and does not exclude. Paul, in his well-known first letter to the Corinthians (13:1-13), also refers to this love: “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.”¹

When we talk about welcoming others, we are referring to that love/charity which defines our divine filiation. It is no different from welcoming groups that suffer some kind of exclusion, whether social, cultural, or religious. In the book The Genesis, Kardec points out that Spiritism is the doctrine most suited for the movement of regeneration, precisely because of its moralizing power, by its progressive tendencies.

It is not Spiritism which creates social renovation; it is the maturity of humanity which makes this renovation a necessity. By its moralizing power, by its progressive tendencies, by the liberality of its views, by the generality of the questions which it embraces, Spiritism is, more than any other doctrine, qualified to second the regenerative movement ²

By understanding that Spiritism is the revival of Christianity, we return to the Good News to embrace the welcoming of all without distinction, as exemplified by Jesus and His disciples. In the “Acts of the Apostles’, there is a very interesting narrative about the welcoming of the so-called Gentiles into the doctrine of Christ. This episode involves the apostle Philip and a eunuch he meets along the way:

[…] So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.”

So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. The place in the Scripture which he read was this:

“He was led as a sheep to the slaughter;

And as a lamb before its shearer is silent,

So He opened not His mouth. In His humiliation His justice was taken away,

And who will declare His generation?

For His life is taken from the earth.”

So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?”

Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. 36 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.”

And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.³

This passage is highly enlightening regarding Philip’s welcoming attitude, conveying through the symbolism of baptism the Christian message of love for one’s neighbor. If we don’t understand the social context of the time regarding a eunuch, the episode might seem simple. However, when we delve deeper into the prejudices related to sexual issues, we can truly grasp the greatness of Philip’s act.

In the Jewish context in which Jesus lived, there was a very explicit expectation regarding the male role— to father children. These expectations were of a creational nature, so a man who did not have children was an outcast, someone who did not belong to God. In the Talmudic treatise Jebamoth, Rabbi Eliezer says that “Any man who does not have a wife is not a man, as it is stated: “Male and female He created them…and called their name Adam” (Gen 5.2 – Jeb. 63a). Later in the same treatise, Rabbi Eliezer says that anyone who does not engage in procreation is “lis considered as though he sheds blood”, and is answered by Rabbi Jacob, who says that such a man “diminishes the Divine Image” (Jeb. 63b). We thus understand what it meant to be a eunuch at the time of Jesus, someone excluded and that even testified against divine perfection. This argument is still used today when people want to defame or violate a fellow member of the LGBTQIAP+ community.

Understanding the issues that have always surrounded the topic of sexuality, let us draw a parallel between the passage from Acts of the Apostles and the welcoming of members of the LGBTQIAP+ community, as well as their families, within Spiritist houses. In the Spiritist Review of 1868, Kardec addresses what a Spiritist society should be:

(…) Thus, by the communion of thoughts, men assist one another, and at the same time they assist the Spirits and are assisted by them. The relations between the visible world and the invisible world are no longer individual, they are collective, and therefore more powerful for the benefit of the masses, as for that of individuals; in short, it establishes solidarity, that is the basis of fraternity. Nobody works for oneself, but for all, and by working for all each one is accounted for; this is what selfishness does not understand.⁴

The Codifier thus advises that a Spiritist center must have, as the foundation of its functioning, the fraternal welcoming of all—understanding that it is through working alongside differences that individual and collective growth takes place, leading to moral and social development, which is the ultimate goal of Spiritist doctrine.

“The Spiritist Doctrine, better than any other, highlights the necessity of individual improvement […] It does not limit itself to preparing humankind for the future, it also shapes them for the present, for society. By improving themselves morally, people will prepare on Earth the reign of peace and fraternity.” (our translation)⁵

With this understanding, the Family Area of the Municipal Spiritist Alliance of Juiz de Fora (AME/JF) is developing the project “Amores + Diversos”, aiming to open a dialogue within Spiritist centers about how we have been welcoming the LGBTQIAP+ community. This dialog seeks to provide materials and tools to address the topic with respect and dignity, ensuring that no attendee or their family experiences any kind of discomfort when seeking support in our centers.

We are aware that the subject calls for deep and sincere reflection. Therefore, this article serves only as an initial spark for the project, with the intention of igniting a much larger movement of welcoming and care in our Spiritist homes.

1 1 Corinthians 13:1 (Bible, New Testament)

2 KARDEC, Allan. The Times Have Come. In: The Genesis, Chapter XVIII, Item 25. 1868.

3 Acts of the Apostles 8:27-38 (Bible, New Testament)

4 KARDEC, Allan. Annual Commemorative Session of the Dead. Opening Speech by Mr. Allan Kardec: Is Spiritism a Religion? In: Spiritist Magazine. December 1868.

5 KARDEC, Allan. Spiritist Creed. In: Posthumous Works, Preamble. 1869.