Unión Espiritista Cristiana de Filipinas, Inc.

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Unión Espiritista Cristiana de Filipinas, Inc. is a religious organization with about a thousand affiliated local centers (churches) with more than a million members and believers in the Philippines.^{[citation needed]} There are also affiliated local centers in other locations, such as California, Canada, Hong Kong and Hawaii where there are large Filipino communities. Union members are called "Union Spiritists" and are affiliated with the International Spiritualist Federation.^[1] There are many centers in Union, however, they do not want to be famous and be called as "chosen" like others. The original spiritist doctrines can be studied and further researched by knowing the original and true Spiritist Doctrines given through Allan Kardec by Holy Spirits. Due to different levels of wisdom and understanding, the Union is now having its turmoil. Moreover, the greatest foe of all mankind is the "self" that seeks its own honor and fame.

Contents 1 History 2 Aims 3 Dissimilar Beliefs and Practices 4 Center Tagumpay ng Katotohanan (Triumph of Truth)[11] 4.1 Beliefs of Centro Tagumpay members 4.1.1 Sources of Beliefs: 4.1.1.1 From Direct revelation of the Holy Spirit[13] 4.1.1.2 Guiding Principles of Centro Tagumpay Members (excluding other centers)on Direct Revelation of the Holy Spirit 4.1.1.3 The Holy Scriptures[41] 4.1.1.4 The Short Spiritist Doctrine[43] 4.1.1.5 Various Experiences of the Believers[49] 4.2 Members believe in spirit' s salvation and progress 4.2.1 spirit's salvation from the "Lake of Fire" (beliefs only by Centro Tagumpay excluding other centers who believe in the original doctrines) 4.2.2 spirit's advancement and purification 5 Notes

[edit] History

Union Spiritism^[2] had been practiced in the Philippines before it had been "discovered" by Ferdinand Magellan in 1521. ^[3] The Unión Espiritista Cristiana de Filipinas was founded on 19 February 1905 when a group of spiritists in Pangasinan, Philippines joined another group in Manila intending to organize a congregation uniting all spiritists in the Philippines. On 19 February 1909, the founders executed the Escritura social (articles of incorporation) and named the religious association “Unión Espiritista Cristiana de Filipinas, Inc.”

[edit] Aims

Unión Espiritista Cristiana de Filipinas, Inc. adopted “Hacia Dios por la ciencia y el amor” (Towards God through Wisdom and Love) as its Lemma, “Sin caridad y el amor no hay salvación posible” (Without Charity and Love there is no Salvation) as its Doctrine, and “Uno para todos, todos para uno” (One for All, All for One) as its motto.^{[4] [5]}

The aims of the Union are as follows^{[citation needed]}:^[6]

• To propagate the evangelical morality, belief and faith in God and teachings of the Holy Spirit and the Ministering Spirits within the confines of Christian Spiritual Science;
• To propagate the Direct revelations/ teachings, governance, administration and guidance of the Holy Spirit (Jesus the Christ) and the Ministering Spirits;
• To inculcate into the minds of the human society the knowledge and belief that all men are spiritually brothers under the Fatherhood of only one Spiritual Father, and in oneness of one and the same God; the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit;
• To inculcate into the minds of the human society the meaning of soul/ spirit’s salvation and progress for the triumph of peace, brotherhood and justice among all men;
• To help the destitute who may be found on the mundane and passional path, so that they may see the light, which will lead them towards moral and spiritual progress.;
• To foster the moral and spiritual culture of mankind and its sacred mission(s); thus, promoting the knowledge of oneself and the sentiment of love and kindness towards one’s neighbors;
• To promote social and spiritual progress for the triumph of peace, brotherhood and justice among all men;
• To apply the remedy – “A drop of affection is better than a glass of coercion.”;
• To work for the upliftment of the ailing humanity;
• To disseminate the principles of liberty, equality and brotherhood among mankind without distinction as to race, sex, social standing, religious beliefs, or political affiliation and to accept all as brothers;
• To inculcate in the minds of men that this is a non-stock, non-sectarian and non-political, but Religious (Spiritual) Association;
• To establish centers, schools, healing centers, asylums, libraries, cooperatives and,
• To own and acquire real or personal properties by purchase, donations, lease, usufruct or in any manner authorized by law for the establishment of its centers and other facilities that shall be for the betterment of the Union.

The Filipino (Christian)/ "Union Spiritists" claimed as the first organization of Asian Christian spiritists, under the tutelage of the Holy Spirit. From the beginning, the Organization was deeply rooted in the admonition of Jesus and interpreted the Spiritist Doctrine^[7] of Allan Kardec in a religious context and marked the formal commencement of worship in Spirit and in Truth ^[8] based from the Direct revelation of the Holy Spirit (Sacred ministering Spirits) and paved the way for the emergence of Modern (Christian) Spiritism .^[9]

[edit] Dissimilar Beliefs and Practices

Members and believers coined as “Union Spiritists” were called in different ways and are receiving dissimilar spiritual gifts, ^[10] blessings and rewards from the Holy Spirit/ Sacred ministering Spirits, according to their level of faith, degree of understanding, learning and works resulting to acquisition of a comprehensive knowledge and wisdom in:

• Different understanding of the Hoy Spirit;
• Disparate practices in holding Spiritual Sessions.
• Dissimilar acceptance of the “Messengers/ Ministering Spirits”
• Different degree of understanding of the messages.
• Various level/ classification of Mediums.
• Diverse references of studies.

Although, the Union spiritists have dissimilarities in perceptions and practices, a common understanding in the belief and faith in the "Spirit of Truth" bonded themselves, thus various centers in different parts of the Country are continuously affiliating to the Union, strengthened by individual’s gained knowledge and experiences.

[edit] Center Tagumpay ng Katotohanan (Triumph of Truth)^[11]

One of the Union's affiliated Centers, Center Tagumpay ng Katotohanan ("Center"), was established in a manner similar to the establishment of some other spiritist centers that exist today in other parts of the Philippines. The officers and members of the Unión Espiritista Cristiana de Filipinas, Inc. ("Union"), began holding sessions in the residence of Sis. Filomena Romulo. After several months, the attending members of the congregation agreed that regular weekly sessions be held and Bro. Juan Marquez, was believed to be the one responsible in introducing Spiritism in Baliwag, Bulacan. The congregation, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, was formally organized as The Center Tagumpay ng Katotohanan (Triumph of Truth). The Center was formally inaugurated in 1927, through the encouragement and support from the officers of the Union attending the séances since 1925.

In the later part of 1945, by the benevolence and grace of God, an unexpected member and medium of the "Union" from Malabon, Rizal visited the Center and performed his mediumship. The Spirit communicant first introduced himself as Archangel Michael and said that he was sent by God to the congregation to deliver a message and offered to whoever have the interest, faith and determination to further strengthen their belief and trust in the wisdom of spiritism as the true and reliable way of worshipping God. The members claimed that God initially coursed through the “Center”another method of mediumship, which is “direct mediumship”, to receive direct revelation from the Holy Spirit/ Sacred ministering Spirits, where the medium is totally and completely unconscious through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Brought about by recent direct revelations through "direct mediumship", the members of Center Tagumpay ng Katotohanan and in its established "Centers" in various locations, distinctively manifest the subsequent beliefs, principles and practices which may differ and run counter to those accepted beliefs by other Spiritists, Spiritualists and other Union members, nevertheless an open mind may consider all views and subject them to further examination, remembering that many roads lead to God.

[edit] Beliefs of Centro Tagumpay members

Members believe an incarnating spirit (the immortal breath of life from God),^[12] manifests its physical existence into human beings, also known as a "living soul":

• 1. To fulfill the promised mission on earth, either for expiation, reparation,^[13] sacred mission or to bring progress on earth;
• 2. To learn and gain experiences in earth-lives for advancement and purification;
• 3. To return safely to the original point of origin, but to a higher degree of destiny in the Kingdom of Heavens (Planets, Stars and the Universe)

[edit] Sources of Beliefs:

[edit] From Direct revelation of the Holy Spirit[13]

Through the Holy Spirit, (the power of God), ^{[14] [15] [16]} the Blessed ministering Spirits ^[17] communicate and make revelations, through selected and gifted individuals called communicating Spirit's medium,^[18] of various level and classification, the latest of which, is called Direct medium, gifted with the ability to conduct a one- on-one discourse with the Sacred Spirits and perform public revelations, with opened spiritual faculties, the natural attributes of a spirit, who could directly talk, see (discern),^[19] feel, smell and hear the Blessed ministering Spirits, believed to be the highest degree of mediumistic qift given to a chosen medium. The direct procedure (i.e. the Sacred Spirits themselves) was initially coursed through the Center Tagumpay ng Katotohanan (Triumph of Truth) ^[20]. Regular Spirit Communication is being practiced by all affiliated centers concerning religious/ moral values, elucidation of the Holy Bible, philosophy and things that have not seen, the unexpected things, the secrets of life and the hidden depths of God,^[21] thus, the believers are gratified and confident in living with the myriad of challenges of the diverse and constantly intensifying human technology.

• Revelation on the existence of the "Lake of Fire"/ "Hades"
  • The existence of the Bible- written “Lake of Fire”,^[22] and the “flaming sword”,^[23] the God's power heat-barrier into the Kingdom of Heavens, was confirmed by the Sacred Spirits, a divisive issue among church scholars regarding its truthfulness and location, regarded as a “blind faith leading to salvation” in the works of Allan Kardec, “Heaven and Hell” ^[24], henceforth, the Blessed Spirits explained and pointed out the location of the so- called "Hades"/ "Lake of Fire" at the space/ atmosphere that envelops the earth, where impure spirits are destined, suffering in pain and as if tormented in flames.^[25]
  • The existence of the flaming sword was described by the Blessed Spirits as a "heat- barrier" positioned through the power of God, similar to a dragon- blown fire.

• Relation to Cosmic Rays
  • Relative to these significant revelations, the question of the undetected source of the so- called “cosmic rays” ^[26] which remains a mystery was illuminated by the Blessed Spirits as tail- enders from the God- positioned heat barrier into the Kingdom and far beyond from man- discovered “Van Allen belts”^[27].
  • Science tells the existence of continuous bombardment of cosmic rays[22] from outer space into the earth's atmosphere; Cosmic Rays are the atomic nuclei (mostly protons) and electrons that are observed to strike the Earth's atmosphere with exceedingly high energies. Cosmic rays can be over 10/21eV, which is a billion times more energetic than high energy particles created on earth in the most powerful particle accelerators. They are moving at nearly the speed of light.
    • The big question is how and where normal protons and electrons accelerated to these tremendous energies are.
    • The origin of the really high energy cosmic rays is a mystery. Nobody knows exactly where they are produced and a source has yet to be precisely detected.
    • They are hard to pin down, since at such high energies there are so few of them that it is hard to tell exactly where they come from.

[edit] Guiding Principles of Centro Tagumpay Members (excluding other centers)on Direct Revelation of the Holy Spirit

Members believe:

• 1. That God is Spirit;^[28]
• 2. In Oneness of One and the same God: God, the Father; God, the Son (Jesus); God, the Holy Spirit;^[29]
• 3. In the Direct teaching,^[30] (through the use of chosen/ selected and gifted mediums,^[31] guidance and governance of the Holy Spirit and the Ministering Spirits;
• 4. That only the Holy Spirit and the Ministering Spirits knew and can reveal and make known the secrets of life and hidden depths of God, particularly things that no one ever saw or heard, things no one ever thought could happen and all things prepared by God; and can open the individual’ s spiritual faculties^[32] and give different spiritual gifts to each person;^[33]
• 5. That the destiny of soul/ spirit is commensurate on the extent and ways of good works/ deeds;^[34] And on the extent and kind of learning/ knowledge (wisdom) gained in physical life;^[35]
• 6. That the spirit world of impure/ imprisoned individual spirits is distinct and apart from the true Kingdom of God,^[36] separated by God- positioned barrier into the Kingdom^[37][38]
• 7. Impure individual/ familiar spirits exists^[39] and destined within the spheres of this material world and just around the Globe have neither access nor knowledge about the true Kingdom of Heavens.^[40]

[edit] The Holy Scriptures^[41]

The primary written reference used by the members, of which the Blessed Spirits normally referred to in their revelations and teachings, providing deeper enlightenment to the written words of God.^[42]

[edit] The Short Spiritist Doctrine^[43]

• Authored by one of its Founders, Juan Alvear, the first textbook of the Union, on the cover page of the Doctrina were the words “Adopted from the writings of the first Apostle of Spiritism, Allan Kardec and the result of thorough research by the author on True or Christian Spiritism, described in the beginning of the Book of Mediums ^[44] by Allan Kardec as “Those who are not content with admiring the morality of spiritist doctrine, but who accept it practically, with all its consequences”.^[45]
• The question of the missing context was then believed as being commonly held by such widely divergent movements as Spiritualism, Spiritism, the Charismatic Renewal, and the Pentecostal Movement. The book, Short Spiritist Doctrine is the first to explore this missing context, which is nothing less than the Coming of the Holy Spirit.^[46],^[47]
• The Filipinos highly regarded the Spiritist Doctrine of Allan Kardec for its eloquent articulation of their own deeply held indigenous beliefs about the existence of the spiritual realm and gained an unprecedented understanding of the most profound mysteries of the Bible, and asserted their unfolding relationship with the Holy Spirit since the sixteen century, perhaps even at the earlier times,when Magellan first landed in Cebu.^[48]

[edit] Various Experiences of the Believers^[49]

As part- takers of dissimilar spiritual gifts, ^[50] blessings and rewards given according to the degree of faith, good works, gained experiences, understanding, wisdom, culture and level of spiritual learning, each individual convey, share and testify the works of the Blessed Spirits, thus fortify their conviction on the direct revelations and teachings of the Holy Spirit. The gift of healing, the most renowned character of Christian Spiritism , through medium- healers or the so- called spiritual healing draw more empathize rs to the Organization.

• A significant development is the Direct healing, (i. e. without the use of human medium), where Archangel Raphael and Archangel Michael actually perform the operation, treatment and consultation of the sick- believers residing in and out of the country, the care being enjoyed by one of its affiliated centers, Center Tagumpay ng Katotohanan (Triumph of Truth), ^[51] aside from the regular Sunday spiritual session where Lord Jesus; Archangels Michael, Raphael, Gabriel, Saraquiel; the Sacred Spirits of John the Baptist; Grand Aaron; Saint Peter; John the Apostle; Paul the Apostle; Judas Iscariot; Virgin Mary; Mary Magdalene; Saint Veronica and Salome the disciple, alternatively provide wisdom, counseling, guidance on matters affecting the daily existence, personal/ family problems, travel, job/ professions, businesses, safety, studies and other things to come. ^[52] through a direct medium, while the Holy Spirit, the power of God, is in total possession and control of the mind and body of the said medium.
• Concerned Union members initiated in setting up a Discussion forum ^[53] ) in English and Filipino languages open to all spiritists and students spread out all over the world, to manifest their views, studies and testimonies.

[edit] Members believe in spirit' s salvation and progress

• Spirit’s salvation from the Lake of Fire/ Hades and the opportunity to cross- over the God's power positioned encircling heat- barrier (flaming sword) into the Kingdom;
• Spirit’s advancement and purification through the process of multiple incarnation/ reincarnation under the power and direction of the Holy Spirit.

[edit] spirit's salvation from the "Lake of Fire" (beliefs only by Centro Tagumpay excluding other centers who believe in the original doctrines)

• The Blessed Spirits revealed the hardships of spirits that are roaming around mankind and within the Earth’s atmosphere, referred in the Bible as Hades/ Lake of Fire, (also considered as the second death of a spirit) ^[54], because of wrongdoings and evil deeds, ^[55] locked up by the power of God and imprisoned suffering in pain and as if tormented in flames. ^[56] According to the Blessed Spirits, by nature, spirits are not used to Earth's atmosphere if not in flesh, until such time allowed by God to be born again in human flesh ,[57] ”,^[57] for expiation and reparation ^[58] to progress; also, the Holy Spirit confirmed that no one could- cross over the heat- barrier unless accompanied by the assigned spirit- protector or by Archangel Michael.

[edit] spirit's advancement and purification

• The Blessed Spirits revealed that spirits could only attain advancement through various earth- life experiences,^[59]] and for the true believers and workers of God, in thoughts and in acts, ^[60] the assigned spirit- protector or Archangel Michael shall immediately lift- up the dis carnate spirit ^[61] to protect from ill- behaved spirits and will be guided in travelling this material world and within the earth’s atmosphere for forty (40) earth- days, ^[62] after which, the spirit- protector will help out in crossing over the God positioned heat- barrier up to its destined location in the True Realm of God, (the planets, stars, the whole universe) ^[63] where no other physical matter could ever exist, only spirits inhabit the Kingdom of Heavens.

The Holy Scriptures states:

• John 14 : 2 "In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And where I go you know, and the way you know.” I Corinthians 15: 40 "There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory."
• The Blessed Spirits elucidated what is written in the Bible as precious stones,^[64] which represent the different characteristics of the planets in the Kingdom and revealed the opportunity of a spirit to be destined to a planet of higher degree and may go from one planet to another, teaching the lower level spirit- inhabitant planets and studying further to overcome indistinct flesh- weaknesses and preparing for another opportunity to incarnate and attain complete purification or to perform an assigned noble mission for earth- life consumption and/ or new technology, depending on the will of God.

Basic references for a higher- degree of destiny in the Kingdom of Heavens..^[65]

• the level/ degree and quality of accomplished mission on earth;
• the level/ degree and quality of life lived on earth;
• the level/ degree and quality of charity works with love done on earth;
• the level/ degree of faith and understanding;
• the level/ degree of wisdom and spiritual knowledge gained on earth

[edit] Notes