On the 24th of November, 1858, in London, 1250 copies of a new book presented a new scientific paradigm to humanity.The editor didn't believe at first the success of it, therefore its reduced number of copies. But he was wrong. The edition was quickly sold out, having the next editions in many languages the same faith. It would become one of the most famous books of the 19th century. Its concepts would revolutionize the scientific thought.
The author: Charles Darwin; the book: "The Origin of the Species." In it the British Naturalist presented a new theory developed on 30 exhaustive years of research, which explained that everything that lives is subject to constant mutations. The beginning of Humanity was the apogee of a slow process of evolution, started billions of years ago from a single original life form. Before the "Homo Sapiens", the simians anthropoids. Darwin's work had a tremendous impact on religious and scientific thought, having some of them alleging foolishness to say that humans descend from monkeys. Darwin would be for them a joker, a man without God.
We can admit the main reason for so numerous protest as being the terrible blow to our pride. People considered themselves as beings apart from Creation. The idea of being a close relative to a monkey would be the end. They were the kings of Creation - born ready and finished. Continued discussions persisted about the theory for decades. With time, it was gaining acceptance and other scientists start to confirm it as a valid scientific concept. Even the religious thought accepts it today, with the exception of a few orthodox segments, that the Theory of Evolution doesn't go against the biblical texts.
The writer Richard Simonetti, from Brasil, tells us that the Bible cannot be taken literally, which would be ridicule. The six days of Creation, according to Genesis, would be, in reality, millions of years in which God would be preparing the entrance of Humanity on the Earth. It is important to notice that Darwin was a contemporaneous of Allan Kardec and, the latter, in Paris, on the 18th of April, 1857, edited the first book, the well known "The Spirits' Book". After two other books, he wrote "The Genesis", where he introduces the evolution of the organic forms, as well as bolder concept, the spiritual evolution. The Spirit also comes from rudimentary forms and perfects itself, through millions of years in experiences, lived in several planes until it reaches perfection.
The Principle of Spiritual Evolution according to Kardec was as repelled as Darwin's ideas. Today, the different branches of researches affirm that the human spirit is not a finalized work from God. That evolution is constant and in a constant strive for improvements. If God spent billions of years perfecting the Intelligent Principle until it reaches the incarnation in the humanoid level, we can affirm that evolution is a constant on the Earth as it is in space.
For this reason, the Doctrine of the Spirits teaches us that Spirits go through lesser worlds and through simpler forms. From the simplest primitivism, as Intelligent Principle to Intelligent Being of Creation (what we are - incarnated or disincarnated) until reaching perfection. But to reach the so desired perfection, we need to work on our inner reform, as well as developing our charity, fraternity, and humanity, anywhere in this Planet.
These principles are the foundation of Jesus' teachings. We must love God, Its works, preserve Nature and ecology and to others as ourselves. For this reason Spiritism proclaims the evolution of Spirits through Love and through the knowledge of the Divine Laws which direct evolution, ridding humanity from selfishness and inferior tendencies, since with them takes longer to find the Divine Plenitude.