Nueva Idea, La.
Las leyes de Dios se manifiestan en la naturaleza humana por tendencias universales e invencibles. La Filosofia tiene por objeto su estudio, la Politica su realizacion progresiva, la Relijion su respecto--C. Richard
1873 Semimonthly
Bogata, Colombia.
Language: Spanish.
Editor: Jose Benito Gaitan?.
Publisher: Imprenta de Gaitan.
Succeeds: Psychis o Estudios del Alma Humana
1/1, 1873. 16pp.

This was the second spiritualist journal in Colombia, following its predecessor Psychis. It was part of the radical progressive and anticlerical political movements of the period and sought to create, as it were, a secular altruistic morality by opposing materialism with spiritualism, with its scientific proof of the existence of spirit and the central role given to morality (charity) and the "naturalness" of God. While it embraced the moral principles of the Gospels it actively opposed Catholicism as materialistic. The basic scientific postulates of this philosophy were: "The spirit pre-exists and survives the body and reincarnates indefinitely," and man the spirit should live according to these precepts: "1. Adore God in spirit and truth; 2. Do all possible good to his creatures; 3. Don't do to another, or want to do what you don't want for yourself."

The journal was the work of Jose Benito Gaitan (1827-1916), a long-time publisher of liberal journals and later head of the Liberal Party in Colombia. His first shot in trying to introduce spiritualism and oppose Catholicism was a pamphlet "Parte Moral del Evanjelio esplicado por los espiritus perfectos" in 1868, followed in 1870-1871 by his first spiritualist journal, Psychis o Estudios del Alma Humana, which published long excerpts from Allan Kardec and C. Flammarion. This journal followed in 1873. The journal published long extracts from Kardec, exchanges of letters from opponents of Catholicism, a variety of historical "Spirit Manifestations" in Colombia earlier in the century, and serialized Federico Herrenschneider's 1867 "Doctrine espiritista-christiana, o Mi profesion de fe moral i relijosa."

On the journal and its role, see Ana Maria Mancera Rodriguez, "Las imprentas, el liberalismo radical y comunicacion con espiritus," online. Biblioteca Nacional de Colombia.

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