BEHA 'U'LLAH {The Glory of God) BY Ibrahim George Kheiralla ASSISTXD BY Howard MacNutt ^ Ye are My witnesses, saith the Lord, and My servant whom I have chosen ; that ye mav know and bdieve Me, and understand that X am He : Wore Me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after Me." "I, even I am the Lord, and beside Me there is no Savioi^.** /ftf. zliii, 10,11.. ^And why even of yomselves, judge ye not what is 1900 I. G. KHBIRALLA, PUBLISHBB 4001 GKAND BLVD. CHICAGO Copyrighted 1899 By Ibrahim George Kheiralla. AU Right* ReMTTMi. ' ^ tlOLUSTBX BBOTHXKS, PRIimRS, OIICAGQl DEDICATORY. We say unto you, as Philip said unto Nathanid, — **We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets did write ; " of whom our Great Master, Jesus of Nazareth did prophesy. "The Everlasting Father,'^ **The Prince of Peace,'* " The lyord of the Vineyard " has come to His people. To the Believers of the United States of America, this book is cordially dedicated by the author. PREFACE. Over seven years ago, I began to preach the fulfillment of the truth which Christ and the prophets foretold; the message of the establish- ment of the Kingdom of God upon earth. Since then, thousands of the people of this country have believed and accepted the glad tidings of the appearance of the Lord of Hosts, the Everlasting Father, the Incarnation of Deity, and this glorious message is rapidly spreading^ throughout the United States. I now consider it necessary to publish these teachings which have hitherto been restricted to oral delivery. In many cases, through failure to remember them correctly, they have been misrepresented and misquoted. This volume will, I hope, annul such error, re- strict antagonism to facts, prevent further mis- understanding of the truth of God, and benefit souls who seek true salvation, by proving to them this great message of the Manifestation of the Father. Concerning myself, be it said that I was bom in Mount Lebanon, Syria, and am now a citizen of the United States, In Cairo, Egypt, where I lived twenty-one years, I met my teacher, Abd-el-Karim Bfiendi Teharani, who delivered to me the message of this great truth and proved it from the Moham- medan standpoint, which is not sufficient to con- vince one grounded as I was in Christian doctrine viii Preface. and belief. His earnestness however, commanded my deepest attention and respect After receiving from him the announcement of the Manifestation of God, I commenced studying this question from a scientific and biblical standpoint, at the same time praying fervently to God for enlightenment and guidance to the truth. My prayers were answered and my researches proved fruitful, for I discovered that all Spiritual truths are reasonable and capable of clearer demon- stration than material facts. God is One. Prom Him, proceed all things which exist, and all His laws spiritual and ma- terial are in perfect harmony. Therefore, any proposition or principle not capable of proof by all the laws bearing upon it, or which in any way falsifies or sets aside known laws, cannot be ac- cepted as truth which leads to a knowledge of God. For this reason, every point of these teach- ings, is proved step by step, from the ground of science, logic and common sense ; by laws natural and spiritual and by utterances of the prophets throughout all ages. In discovering these proofs, I was convinced thoroughly that what I had been taught concerning the Manifestation of the Ever- lasting Father, was an evident reality. From this conviction of the truth, I began to teach it, utiliz- ing the proofs and demonstrations which I had originated for my own enlightenment. These are the teachings I have brought to this country. The lessons are delivered according to the system followed in this book. Preface. ix My purpose is to prove to the world, from a biblical as well as from a scientific standpoint, that spiritual facts can be demonstrated logically and scientifically and that the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, has appeared in the human form as Behd 'U'Udh and established His Kingdom upon earth. Behd 'U'Udh, of whom I preach, is the One mentioned by an American missionary, the Rev. Henry H. Jessup, D. D. of Bejo-out, Syria, in an address delivered before the "Parliament of Religions" in Chicago, 1893. In "Parliament of Religions" page 640, he says: "In the palace of Behjeh, or Delight, just outside the fortress of Acre on the Syrian coast, there died a few months since, a femous Persian sage —the Babi Saint named Behd 'U'lldh, the * Glory of God,' the head of that vast reform party of Persian Moslems who accept the New Testament as the word of God, and Christ as the deliverer of men ; who regard all nations as one and all men as brothers. Three years ago he was visited by a Cambridge scholar, and gave utterance to senti- ments so noble, so Christlike, that we repeat them as our closing words. " That all nations should become one in faith, and all men as brothers ; that the bonds of affec- tion and unity between the sons of men should be strengthened ; that diversity of religion should cease, and differences of race be annulled ; what harm is there in this ? Yet so it shall be ; these fruitless strifes, these ruinous wars shall pass away and the * most great peace ' shall come. Do not X Preface. you in Europe need this also ? Let not a man glory in this that he loves his country ; let him rather glory in this, that he loves hiBkind." Each prophet of God* brought to humanity a cup of the wine of Truth. . The followers of the prophets however, did not consider the wine in the cup, but devoted their attention to the quality and color of the cup itself; that is to say, they respected the individuality of their particular pro- phet, rather than the Truth he brought them. For this reason, although God's messages to hu- manity have always been one and the same in their teaching, yet religious beliefs of mankind have differed on account of the color of the cup which held them. The purpose of this new religion is to destroy these diflferences and put the wine of God's Truth into His cup; to spread the religion of God's teaching, in place of the teachings bearing the name of this or that prophet By receiving this, all races of mankind will merge into one great human family, realizing that they are one people, one kindred, and unite^ in religious belief. Before presenting the evidences and arguments which follow, the atteution.of the reader is directed to an important point which demands careful con- sideration, and which, if followed to its legitimate conclusion, will reveal the t^ut^l. The point is this : — ^before attempting, to consider this subject, all religious bias and prejudi<9e should be set aside as completely as possible, in order that reason and judgment may have free exercise. Without a clear, Preface. ^ nntrammeled and sincerely receptive condition of mind, it will be a waste of time to read this book. The reason is obvious. We seldom encounter a person who is ready to read or discuss a religious idea or doctrine, without prejudice, particularly if that idea or doctrine concerns a fundamental point of creed or Church. People often reject the truth, although it is as clearly proven to them as the light of the sun. This arises from the &Lct that they hold their religious ideas as truths beyond question, hav- ing either depended upon somebody else to think for them or treasured their belief from childhood. Beliefe implanted in childhood are particularly difficult to change or eradicate in later years. We must therefore be careful to lay aside everything which savors of pride of intellect, religious an- tagonism, intolerance and bigotry, in order that comprehension of the truth may not escape us. Comprehension is the dobr or gate by which Truth enters the soul and it frequently happens that pride nails the sign of ** no admittance " over that gate- way while the Truth, not comprehended, passes by without entering. God the Almighty has made man higher than the brute creation, and endowed him with superior faculties collectively called Mind. These faculties enable us to judge between good and evil, dis- tinguish truth from falsehood. Mind is therefore the lamp or light by which our walk in life must be guided. Man is created perfect in his limita- tion. Upon him alone, God has bestowed the god- power of independence, the will to choose good or xii Preface. evil as he pleases. It follows therefore, that the record of our lives must be good or bad, according to the use we make of this talent, and that we must be judged according to our record, otherwise we would not be responsible for our actions, but would exist under the same blameless conditions as animals and inanimate matter ; no higher, no greater than they. In view of this fact, all doctrines, laws and commandments given by God through his prophets and Apostles for our spiritual welfare, must be in strict harmony and accord with Mind, our only light and guide. If we find that commands and teachings said to be from God, are not in harmony with this light, we may be sure that they are in- ventions and teachings of man and not of Qod* It is then our duty to reject them as spurious. Under such conditions, we are justified in declar- ing that they are not from God, for He never would give and never has given us unjust or un- reasonable commands. As God is just, He will not hold us responsible for violation of laws which we can- not comprehend, particularly when upon investiga- tion of those laws, we find them in direct opposi- tion to the light of reason, which He has bestowed upon us as our guide toward Him. There would be no evidence of His Love, Justice, and Mercy, in this. Therefore whenever we encounter teach- ings which violate Reason, we are justified in con- cluding that they are not from God, but have had their origin in the ignorance or purpose of men, and should be vigorously rejected. Preface, xiii God the Almighty is Infinite Justice. His Truth must be conformable to Reason, and within the limits of our comprehension. There is no higher utterance predicated of Him than **Come now and let us reason together.'' The attitude of "seeking" Truth, is, after all, the most necessary factor in finding it. Christ and all the God-inspired men urged this continually. People who are so slothful and careless spiritually that they make no effort to understand Gods laws and commands, must take the inevitable conse- quences. Christ likened them to the man whose Lord gave unto him one talent which he hid in the earth. As a punishment for his negligence, the talent was taken from him and given "unto him which hath ten talents"; i. e. to the diligent and earnest seeking, who prefers the world to come, rather than this present and short-lived existence. May the Light of the Truth now spreading from the Kingdom of God upon earth, illtmiine all who seek and knock earnestly at the door of Sal- vation; who lay aside pride and antagonism of belief and have the courage to think for them- selves. Ibrahim G. Khbiralla. January ist, 1900. CONTENTS CHAPTSB. I. PAOB Proof of the Ezittence and Immortality of the Sotd, from a Scientific and ]>>gical Standpoint 15 Description and Analysis of the Nine Faculties Chaptsr n. Mind . . Chaptbr III. Life Sleep Breathing and the Involuntary Motions Insanity 64 Chaptbr IV. The Identity of God 67 Chaptbr V. The Oneness and Single- ness of God ... 91 Chaptbr VI. Miracles 105 The Bnsh of Moses . 1 11 The Stick of Moses and Aaron . . . 112 Jonah and the Whale 114 Joshna Commanding the Sun to Stand Still 115 The Tower of Bab-el 115 The Apostles Speak- ing Many Lan- guages .... 117 Christ Changing Water into Wine .' . . 118 The Loaves and Fishes 1 19 The Devils and Swine 120 Raising of Lazarus 121 The Star of Bethlehem 122 Chaptbr VII. pagb The Return of the Soul 125 What is Death ... 140 Chaptbr VIII. Evolution . Chaptbr IX. The Purpose of Our Coming Here, Ac cording to Other Religions .... Judaism fnd the Teachings of Moses 158 Hindoo Religions 160 Christianity . . . 162 Mohammedanism 163 Theosophy . . . 165 Christian Science 166 Spiritism .... 167 Chaptbr X. Xht Vicarious Atone- ment 169 Chaptbr XI. Christ and Hi^ Mission 189 CHAPTEli XII. Salvation . 209 Chaptbr XIII.* » The Necessities of the . Soul 223 Chaptbr XIV. Prayer . . 233 Chaptbr XV. Adam 249 Chaptbr XVI. ^ Adam (Cain and Abel) 275 jdv BEHA ^U^LLAH CHAPTER I. PROOF OF THE EXISTENCE AND IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL; F^OM A SCIENTIFIC AND LOGICAL STANDPOINT. Ages have passed since the dawn of hnman his- tory. Civilizations have followed pivilizations, in continuously higher development, and the religious beliefs of mankind have risen with them, from rude barbarism of worship; to the high and varied theo- logical forms of the Nineteenth Century. Through- out all times, human interest and longing have centered in "Know thyself.'* The learned and philosophical of every race, have sought along the line of this inquiry, to prove conclusively the ex- istence of the soul and its immortality, but, as yet, no solution of this momentous question has been reached from a scientific and logical standpoint On the contrary, the outcome of all, or nearly all investigation of soul phenomena, has been, that soul existence and immortality cannpt be scientifi- cally and logically shown, and human hopes, in consequence, have inclined toward the J)elief that through occultism, we may, in the future, discover the hidden way to a certainty of proof concerning the life hereafter. X5 1 6 Immortality of the Soul. The Rev. Philip Moxom, in his paper, "The Proof of the Immortality of the Soul," read by him before the Parliament of Religions, in Chicago in 1893, page 170, says: "A third consideration is, that a scientific proof of immortality, is, at present, impossible, in the ordinary sense of the phrase * scientific proof.' " A well-known divine of the Church of England (in his book, " The Great Secret, " page 4) says : " I venture to claim a hearing, first of all on account of the gravity of my subject Can Immortality be proved by occult science ? Is the survival of the entire personality after the temporary shock of dissolution through death, in any degree demon- strable ? It is the supreme question which every- one must ask, the single great secret in the solution of which we are all equally interested ; and I claim the right, too, because I have devoted so many years of my life to that solution. In the nature of things, I must soon solve the question for myself; and I should like, before I pass out into darkness, to leave on record, as completely as may be, my gropings toward the lighf On account of this uncertainty, many of our fellow creatures have been led astray and have renounced their belief in an existence after the dissolution of the body; religious teachings have been discarded; the sacred books cast away and ridiculed. Men have professed agnosticism and followed materialistic theories, saying '* There is no God, neither is there a hereafter;" that **the life of man is confined solely to the duration of his ex- Immortality of the Soul. 1 7 istehce here upon earth ; " that his body is ^'simply a combination of material elements, like a machinep and intellectuality is the result of *that combina- tion;** that when the "diflferent parts of that machine are perfect^ we see the motion which we call life, but when that machine is broken, motion ceases, and there ensues a* Cessation of its normal functions." "In like manner," they say, "life ceases with the death of the body and there is no further existence." • Independent of these materialistic views, there is a universal feeling of unrest and absolute imcer- tainty amongst the peoples and religions of the world, concerning immortality. Men believe in God, yet fear death ; hold fEist to religion and the promise of eternity, yet tremble in diiead at the approach ^f the grim destroyer. Even the highest exponents of religion, who spend their lives teach- ing and preaching of God, the soul, and immor- tality, are found- to shriiik under the stress of bereavement, #hen death claims those near and dear to them; their Vekkness proving, beyond doubt, that faith in the soul's hereafter, when not founded upon knowledge, is of little value in time of need. So long as we do not know and cannot prove the existence of the soul and its immortality, we can- not take sufficient or vital interest in our eternal destiny. We fail to search the holy books and know the truth for ourselves, but depend upon some teacher to think and know for us. This teacher is depending upon the testimony of some other teacher, alive or dead. Everywhere we find flocks i8 Immortality of the SouL and their shepherds, relying in blindness of faith upon creeds they cannot comprehend, professing beliefs they cannot reconcile with the fietct and truth of existence. In order to have proper and sufficient interest in spiritual teachings, we must be sure that the soul is immortal; and this certainty, we cannot attain, unless we prove it as conclusively as we prove ma- terial facts. Knowledge of the soul's immortality arouses within us anxiety to know something about our life hereafter; to learn of our relationship to our Creator, especially when we realize that our life here, is but an atom of time in Eternity. We then comprehend that there is an all-wise intention in connection with our life upon the earth ; that God would not allow us to pass through this earth-life of trial and suffering, without purpose. This brings to us the realization, that our sojourn here, em- bodies some great privilege, a greater purpose than mere existence; which purpose, we must under- stand, in order to perform our duties and accom- plish that for which we came. With this enlight- enment of knowledge, we may be ready and happy, when the moment of summons comes to cast aside the body and pass into the spiritual realms. As scientific demonstration must have its funda- mental principles, and as no building can stand without foundation, so, the foundation of all true spiritual teachings, must be knowledge that the soul exists and is immortal. Prom this foundation, we are enabled to build into the light of higher truths, and reach spiritual elevations, otherwise un- Immortality of the Soul. 19 attainable. Without stairs, we cannot ceach the top floor; without the alphabet, we cannot read Shake- speare ; without knowledge and surety of immor- tality, we cannot live in proper preparation for the summons of death. Socrates defined philosophy to be ^' a meditation upon and a preparation for death." He who does not know how to prove immortality, is not qualified to preach it, nor can he teach with power, spiritual truth, which is necessarily founded upon the souPs purpose and destiny; although he may be learned, highly cultured, and possess great ability in teaching ethics and moralities. As the Causer of all causes, the Creator, is One ; as He created all things after the absolute perfec- tion of His divine knowledge and wisdom; and as He cannot make a mistake, everything created by Him, must be perfect in its limitation. Therefore, all His laws, spiritual and material, are in harmony. Under these laws, we find that spiritual fact can be proved more certainly and plainly than material fadi and that each line of proof confirms the other, as will be shown later. We do not need to wait for occultism to prove soul-existence and immortality, nor to heed those who claim that scientific proof of this question is impossible ; for the time of solving the difficulty is at hand, and the remedy for unrest and uncertainty of belief, is within the reach of all who will seek it The existence and immortality of the soul, can be proved from a logical and scientific standpoint, more surely than the existence and indestructibility of iron can be shown by a scientist or philosopher. 20 Immortality of the Soul. As it is one of onr fundamental principles, not to believe in anything unless we have sufficient evidence and proof of its being a fact, we must prove the life hereafter, or otherwise we cannot have that certainty of belief in it, necessary for the basis of true spiritual teachings. Science teaches us that the earth, air, water, the v^etable kingdom, and animal bodies, are compo- sitions of different material elements. By an element, we mean a simple substance or material essence, whidh is, so far as we know, not composed. The elements are between seventy and eighty in number, most of them solids, some liquids, some gases. Air is a composition of the two elements nitrogen and oxygen; water, of hydrogen and oxygen ; the earth, and living forms upon it, repre- sent various compositions of all the elements. The body of a man is a composition of about thirty* three of these elements. Let us prove the existence of matter, — for in- stance, a rod of iron. If a scientist is asked, ^'Does this rod of iron exist?" his reply will be : "Cer- tainly." We then ask him : " What is iron ? " He will reply: "Iron is a mineral element, having certain qualities which distinguish it from all other elemen- tary substances, and human intelligence has named it * Iron,* to express this distinction." " What is the essence of iron ? " "Of what is iron made ? " " We do not know what the essence of iron is, neither do we know what is the essence of any other material element" This is beyond human knowledge, and transcends science. Human knowledge and science Immortality of the Soul. 21 stop at this point, hecause man, although endowed with many great faculties and powers, has not the creative power. Essence is a creative secret Hu- man knowledge has never created an elementary substance. But although we do not and cannot know what the essence of iron is, we can scien- tifically prove that it exists. The proof is this ; that iron possesses attributes or qualities which we sense. It has form, weight and density ; it occu- pies space, it is rough or smooth, malleable, ductile; it can be changed into a liquid or a gas. These qualities prove its existence. That which has no existence, has no qualities, and vice versa, that which has no qualities, has no existence. *' Noth- ing" does not exist, therefore it has no qualities. "Nothing" has no qualities, therefore "nothing** has no existence. Science teaches us that no qual- ity or attribute exists, unless there is an essence back of it ; neither can essence exist, unless it has qualities. Therefore we prove the existence of iron by the existence of its qualities, which we cognize through the action of our five senses. The next step of proof, is to show that matter is indestructible ; that nothing is lost in the economy of the material universe. Everything in existence is indestructible, for the reason, that although its conditions may be changed and modi^ed in differ- ent ways, yet it has inseparable attributes, which are always present, qualifying it, and proving its existence. The rod of iron has form and weight, which are two of its inseparable qualities. If, through the agency of heat, we change the rod into 22 Immortality of the Soul. a ball or cube, both form and weight remain. In- crease the heat, and the iron becomes liquid, still possessing those two qualities. Under heat suffi- ciently intense, the liquid iron becomes a gas, but neither form nor weight have been taken away from it. They are qualities which cannot be sepa- rated from the essence which we call iron. No matter how its conditions are modified or changed, this essence always occupies space, and possesses weight, and the same fact applies to the other inseparable qualities, which cling to the essence wherever it goes. Therefore essence is always in existence, and cannot be destroyed. Scientists concede, after a wide range of exhaustive experi- ments, that there is no waste in nature, and that the essence of matter is indestructible. Recapitu- lating this line of proof, — we do not know the essence of matter, — yet we know that it has quali- ties. Back of these qualities, must be the essence to which they belong. These qualities are insepa- rable from tbe essence; they cling to the essence wherever it goes, proving its existence and inde- structibility. This is the very strongest scientific proof that could be demanded. In this way, we can prove the existence and indestructibility of all the material elements, and by the same process of logical de- duction, we prove the fact of the surrounding ma- terial existence. It necessarily follows, that there is no waste in nature, although there is constant change, involving endless varieties of conditions and modifications. Immortality of the Soul. 23 As we have already shown, all laws of the uni- verse, whether material or spiritual, must work together in harmony, and support each other. All phenomena, therefore, whether material or spiritual, must lie within the same general line of proof. Let us take for our great subject, — Man, who comprises in himself, both material and spiritual being. Man, therefore, is the link or bridge of connection be- tween the proof of matter and proof of soul, since he is the embodiment of both. We can prove the existence of his material body, and the indestructi- bility of the elements which compose it, exactly as we proved the existence and indestructibility of iron, but, if we examine him more closely, we find evidence of the existence of nine great powers or faculties, which do not belong to, nor proceed from any of these material elements or from their com- positions. These faculties have no relationship whatever with matter. They are nine, viz: — Per- ception, Memory, Abstraction, Imagination, Reason, Judgment, Mental Taste, Will and Consciousness. JHas iron, memory, reason, will, or any of these high qualities ? Do any of the material elements or their compositions possess these thinking attri- butes ? Unquestionably No ! Nor can they or their compounds, ever possess them. It is known, that the body of man is a com- position of about thirty-three of the material ele- ments. This is proved by the fact that when the body is cremated, the residue of ashes, gases, etc., is the exact equivalent of what once composed it When death comes, we find this inanimate material 24 Immortality of the Soul. body without a trace of intellectuality, although it is still a composition of the same thirty-three ele- ments, just as it was before death. Can we find any of these nine great attributes in that lifeless body ? There is no longer perception in it ; neither memory, reason, will, etc, etc Why? Because these intellectual qualities do not belong to matter, the dull essence, but belong to that intelligent essence which we call soul. If, as the materialists claim, these intelligent qualities were the result of the combination of material elements, it would follow that all of them qualified material elements, and were inseparable from them, a^d that every combination of these material, elements, should produce the same results. On the contrary, we find, that intellectuality is not the result of the combination of material elements, because the com- position of the body is precisely the same before and after death; that is to say, the body, after death, is simply minus the nine intellectual faculties or powers, which were in evidence before the moment of death. To what did these nine powers belong? What was it that controlled and exercised them? It was that intelligent essence we call Soul. We found, that back of every material attribute or quality, must be material essence. Similarly, back of every intellectual faculty or power, must be an intelligent or spiritual essence. Something cannot come from nothing. Back of intelligence, is something that is in^li- gent ; back of memory, something that remembers ; back of perception, something that .sees, hears, Immortality of the Soul. 25 feds, smells and tartes; back of thought — a, thinker. It is an essence. We do not know what that essence is. We call it the **Soul." AH terms are arbitrary; and we use " Soul," as it is the term tmiversally adopted. As these intellectual faculties or powers belong to the soul, and are inseparable from it, it follows, that when the soul is summoned to leave this house of clay, this body, the nine powers go with it, leaving the body with its inseparable material qualities, behind. For this reason, we cannot find any of the nine intellectual faculties in the body, after death, for they belong to the soul and cling to it wherever it goes. The existence of these nine faculties which qualify the intellectual essence, therefore, prove, according to science and logical reasoning, the existence of the soul. As these faculties are inseparable from their essence, the soul, and cling to it wherever it goes, proving its existence, — and as it is a scientific fact, thkt essence *is indestructible, we^rove the immor- tality of the soul ; for immortality and indestructi- bility are one and the same thing, except, that we use the term indestructibility to apply to matter, and immortality, to the soul. Recapitulating this proof; — ^we possess nine in- tellectual faculties. They cannot be the result of the combination of piaterial elements, which com- pose the body. Back of them must be an intel- lig^it essence, which possesses and exercises these nine faculties, and which they qualify. Something cannot come from nothing. This proves the ex- istence of the soul. 26 Immortality of the Soul. These faculties are inseparable from the souL They follow it wherever it goes. Bsseuce is indestructible. The soul essence exists. It is immortal. In addition to the proof already shown, that the soul and its nine faculties cannot be the result of the combination of the material elements of the body, as materialists claim, we may add,that, accord- ing to science, every substance or essence, possesses qualities which are necessary for the existence of tibat substance or essence. Soul faculties are not necessary for the existence of matter, consequently they are not properties of the essence of matter. We must, therefore, conclude that the essence back of these faculties, is an essence differ- ing entirely from the essence of matter. As matter is entirely devoid of thinking qualities, and as it is an established scientific fact, that a combination or modification, is always produced by the qualities of the substance combined or modified, therefore, intelligent faculties cannot be the result of the composition of material elements. The combination of material elements invariably produces material composition, which must partake of the qualities of those material elements. Furthermore, if mentality is the result of material combination, it necessarily follows, that the larger the combination is, the stronger most be the mentality. We are then forced to the con- clusion, that the larger the man, the wiser he is ; and that the elephant, on account of its size, has more mentality than man. Immortality of the Soul. 27 Having proved the existence of material essence and of soul essence, it follows, that the attributes and essence of soul, are infinitely higher than the qualities and essence of matter. Soul attributes subordinate matter. They cognize and dominate matter. It is through the attributes of the soul, that we have discovered iron, and the other ele- mentary substances ; that we have recognized their different qualities; named them; proved their existence and indestructibility; analyzed their existing combinations and formed new combina- tions of them. No one would deny, that the fiiculty of perception is superior to and higher than the quality of weight, or that reason and memory are greater than the attributes of roughness and density, which qualify matter. The soul perceives the rod of iron, remembers its form, imagines its weight, reasons as to its density, and is conscious of its existence. It classifies and distinguishes iron, by its attributes, from all the other elements. More than that, the soul not only knows matter exists, but knows that it knows ; while matter is entirely devoid of knowledge about itself or the existence outside of it This proves material essence to be inferior to soul essence. If the soul is able to prove, that matter, the inferior essence, exists, and is indestructible, how much stronger is the proof, that the soul itsdf exists and is immortal. Several questions arise : — How do we know that the soul or intellectual essence is one simple essence ? Is it not a composition of different intel- 28 Immortality of the Soul. lectual essences, just as the body is a composition of various material elements ? How do we know that the soul will not be deomiposed at death, and each of its ingredient essences return to its original state, just as the iron, carbon, sodium, etc, in the body, return into the dust of earth ? To answer these points, we must show that the sOvd is a simple essence, and that it cannot be a composition. Scientifically speaking, we must prove that the soul is homogeneous, just as the material essence, iron, is homogeneous. First: — ^The soul is simple essence, and not composed, because, every part of a composition performs its special function toward a special pur- pose, independent of every other part Thus, in a tree, the functions of the leaves are independent of the functions of the roots ; in the human body, the eye performs its particular duty toward objects with which the heart and stomach have nothing to da The faculties of the soul, however, perfohn their functions collectively, toward every single impres- sion received. They always work in union, and never work separately. The soul is therefore homo- geneous. One atom of the soul, so to speak, would possess the same attributes as the whole soul, just as one atom of pure iron, possesses the same qual- ities as all the rest of the iron in the world. Essence, whether material or spiritual, is homo- geneous. Homogeneity evidences the perfection of creative jwwer. From this inductive reasoning, we prove conclusively that the soul is a simple essence, and not a composition. Immortality of the Soul. 29 Second: — ^We know that man^ the soul, is an individual ; that is to say, an identity undivided ; because, if the nine intellectual faculties belonged to different essences which compose the soul, the loss of some of these essences would not impair the rest We find, however, that if it were possible to destroy the essence which controlled the faculty of perception, all the remaining faculties would be tendered useless, for if we could not perceive, the other faculties would have no capital with which to work, and the individuality of the soul would be destroyed. If we could destroy the essence of memory or consciousness, the soul would be crippled in its other powers, and so on. That is to say, the loss or ' impairment of one faculty, would mean the destructipn of individuality, and this is against the scientific principle that nothing in existence can be destroyed. Therefore, the fact that the individuality of the soul cannot be destroyed, proves it to be a simple essence. Third: — We know, that as God has created many different material es5en9es, so also, he has created many different spiritual essences, namely, living soub. The soul of man is not of the same essence as that of a dog. ; They differ in some attributes, and in the degree of their attributes. The soul of a dog differs from the soul of a horse, and so - on through every class or race of souls in existence. Bach of them possesses attributes of intelligence, which differentiate and distinguish them firom all the others, just as the various elements of matter differ from each other. By comparison of these 30 Immortality of the SouL varying essences of sonl, we prove the soul to be a simple and homogeneous essence, not composed ; just as simple essences of matter cannot be com- positions. Fourth: — We know that soul growth is not like the growth of matter, because material growth is accomplished by the addition of other material substance, that is to say, material growth is in size, while growth of the soul is in knowledge, and not in size. The body of a child becomes the body of a man, by the addition to it, of material food. It simply grows in size, whereas the soul grows in power of comprehension. Therefore, as the growth of the soul is not in size, but in knowledge, nothing can be added to its size, and if nothing can be added to its size, nothing can be taken from it For this reason, the soul must be a simple essence and undivided, and after death of the body, it must remain with its inseparable faculties, indestruct- ible, immortal. To many, the existence of iron is'proved, because we can see it, but belief in the existence of soul, is difficult, or impossible, because the soul cannot be seen. There are two points of consideration in connection with this objection.— First: — ^We do not see the air, nor the gases, yet we know and prove their existence, because we ex- perience the effects they produce. Second : — We can see the soul more clearly than we can see the iron, if we understand the real meaning of "sight" To "see" is to perceive, Immortality of the Soul. 31 that is, to receive impressions through the organs of sight, by the souPs faculty of perception. When impressions reach this faculty, we have the concep- tion of objects outside of us. The soul ** sees " by the power of this faculty, for the material eye has no power to "see" by itself. At the same time, the action of any of our soul faculties, is perceived or seen by the soul, in a stronger and more certain way, than it can see outside objects through the material eye. For instance, memory is perceived or seen by the soul, more surely than a material form the image of which we receive through the eye, for that material form is outside of us, and we can perceive only its qualities. We cannot perceive its essence. In like manner, we can perceive more surely the soul faculties, because they are inherent with us, and inseparable from us, while the impres- sions of outside objects are only transitory. In this way, we " see ** our souls, with more proof and cer- tainty, than we. see outside objects. The soul is the individual, the man. We do not have souls. We are souls. ^^ Has the soul form?" It must have form. Al- though invisible, it is an essence. Every essence must occupy space, and everjrthing occupying space, must have form and body. The essence of matter composes the body of matter, and there is no mate- rial body without form ; so also, the spiritual essence composes the spiritual body, and it necessarily must have form. The soul form is unchangeable, and the highest in the universe, for God created man after His own image. This will be shown in sub- sequent chapters. 32 Immortality of the Soul. DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS OF THE NINE FACULTIES. Although our subject is not psychology, it will not be out of place, to describe and show, in abbre- viation, the action and duty of each faculty of the soul. 'These faculties, as already stated, are nine in number. They border suid ^impinge closely upon eacho^her, working and interworking in perfect harmo|iy ; each one possessing distinctly separate functions. There are b^ranches and subdivisions of these faculties, mentioned in books on mental philosophy, yet, ds these nine are the principal and most important, 'it will be advisable to describe them, and leave the others, excepting the ^wer of life, which will be considered later. Perception : The soul, during our brief stay upon this earth, is confined to the body ; imprisoned in this mold of clay, for a great purpose. The Crea- tor has provided five ways or means, by which the soul-prisoner may communicate with the existence outside of itself. .These cominunications or Im- pressions, travel firoin outside to inside, and from inside to outside, through the five senses of sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste. .Every commnni- cation we receive through the. senses, must first reach th? faculty of perception, because this is Jhc faculty through which we receive impressions, an^ become cognizant of the surroux^ding existence. For instance, a friend is' sitting, beside you. The rays of light which fall upon his body, are reflected to your eye. These ray3 penetrate the transparent Immortality of the Soul. 33 coatings of the eye, pass through the crystalline lens, and imprint a picture or image of your friend, upon the retina or coating over which the optic nerve is spread. The impression of this picture, is then taken by the power of life, which is a power of the soul, running to and £ro through the whole nervous system, carrying all communications from the outside to the inside, and from the inside to the outside. The power of life delivers this impression to the soul, through the faculty of perception. The soul then perceives that there is in existence, outside itself, a human being, with certain charac- teristics of size, figure and complexion. Perception, therefore, is that faculty of the soul, by which the soul receives knowledge of the surrounding exist- ence. This knowledge may be received through the senses of hearing, taste, touch and smell, as well as through sight Metnary : The impression in the foregoing illus- . tration, would not only be delivered to the faculty of perception, but would also be carried by the power of life, to the faculty of memory, where it is registered and preserved. Upon this sensitive tab- let of record, it remains recorded, until, in time of need, after a short or long period, the same im- pression is called up, apd carried by the i>ower of life to the other intellectual faculties. In this way, we re-collect past events ; re-call past impressions. Memory is the storehouse, not only of impressions from the outside to the inside, and inside to the outside, but also from inside to inside, for, upon its tablet, all the interworkings of the nine faculties 34 Immortality of the Soul. are recorded. The medium of all actiou aud iuter- actiou of the uiue faculties, is the power of life. Memory furnishes the capital of the soul. Abstraction is the soul faculty which classifies every impression carried to it, puts it into its class or chain, and joins it with its race or kind. When sure of the character of the impression, the faculty of abstraction classifies it at once, but if not quite sure, it will relegate the impression temporarily to the nearest chain, pending further investigation and assurance. Thus, we look upon a man, and the impression of his appearance reaches the fiic- ulty of abstraction. Although we have never seen him before, this faculty will at once identify the man with other impressions of men, and without hesitation, the soul knows that he is a man and not a tree. When we see a tree, we know it is not a mountain; when we see a mountain, we know instantly it is not a horse, etc. Why? Because the faculty of abstraction has classified the im- pression received, and put it into its particular chain or kind, without further investigation. Sometimes, however, not being sure of the subdi- vision of an impression, the faculty of abstraction will put it temporarily into the nearest chain, until sufficient evidence is acquired to classify it in its proper subdivision. For instance, the impression of the man was at once classified as man, but we were not able to abstract it into a subdivision, as poet, artist, musician, etc. The faculty of abstraction has a great deal to do with intuition or fine perception, especially when Immortality of the Soul. 35 it is highly developed. Suppose three persons pass a thief in the street, each one noting his furtive glances, and suspicious actions. One of the three, owing to the weakness of his faculty of abstraction, will have very little idea of the thief *s character ; the second will have a strong suspicion that he is a thief; while the third, on account of the very strong development of this faculty, will know at once, and believe positively, that the man is a thief. This is intuition or fine perception. ImaginaHan : — ^This is the faculty which takes the capital of knowledge already gained, whether external or internal, and constructs or originates from it, new conditions, combinations or forms. Upon this faculty, we mostly depend for improve- ments, inventions, and discoveries in science and art If the product of imagination is in harmony and accordance with reason and natural laws, it generally proves to be practical and useful, but if not, it is, as a rule, the exact reverse. For instance, a mechanical invention, to be practical, must be a combination of difierent parts which work in harmony with each other and with natural laws. Likewise, a spiritual theory or hypothesis constructed by the imagination, must accord with the laws which govern spiritual phenomena, in order that it may be true. Natural law is the highway by which we travel toward the truth of materiid and spiritual phenomena. Violation of natural law, invariably results in error and mis- take. We find, therefore, that the outcome of imagination is frequently grotesque, fanciful. 36 Immortality of the Soul. extravagant and impossible, when it is exercised incorrectly, in connection with the various phenom- ena of existence. Suppose we imagine an animal with the head of a man, neck of a camel, body of a horse, and tail of a bird. This animal does not, and could not exist, although its different parts are practical, and in existence. If there were no man in existence, we could not, in imagination, con- struct the head ; if no camel, we could not imagine the neck, etc This shows us plainly, that the faculty of imagination is imitative, not creative. It has i>ower, either to combine existing things into useful, practical productions such as the machine, or to produce something of no practical value and possibility whatever, such as the animal mentioned. Imagination is frequently the forerunner of fact, and the door to ciertainty of knowledge. From the ground and standpoint of demonstrable truth, this faculty may project itself forward into the realm of the hidden and unknown, invent theories or poe his body out of danger ; and throughout the whole occurrence, he was conscious of his own action, as well as the action outside of himsel£ Thus we see, that in reality, all nine of his soul faculties acted in unison ; exercised themselves collectively in the performance of what seemed to be a simple action. So, if we analyze each mental or physical action of our existence, we will find the same evi- dence that the nine powers of the soul are behind that action, and that they always operate collec- tively. They never work alone or separately. The failure or refusal of one faculty to act, cripples the action of all the rest Had memory failed to sup- ply your friend with the knowledge that the ap- proaching object was a danger, abstraction, reason, judgment, and all the other faculties, would have been unable to perform their various mental duties, and, most probably, he would have been killed or injured. In a similar way, the various functions of a fort, work collectively during an attack or si^e. If the ammunition fails, there can be no defense ; if the soldiers refuse to act, the guns and weapons are without power to destroy or repel. The functions of the fort must necessarily be col- lectively employed. No one of them can act alone ; no one of them can fail to act without crippling the collective whole. As these faculties or powers are inseparable from the soul, and as soul essence is immortal, it Mind. 49 follows, that mind must be immortal, for these nine powers follow the soul, and ding to it wher- ever it goes. We must condudi^ also, that the mind cannot be divided as subjective and objective, although its action is sometimes subjective, and sometimes objective. As each human being is an iu4ividual, a soul, entirdy separated from other individuals, other souls; and as each soul has its own faculties or powers, distinct from those of other souls, there- fore each individual mind is separated entirdy from the mind of all others, and it is an error to claim that mind is universal, for each mind must, by necessity, be separate, distinct, and individual. No one can think for another ; each must think for himsdf. It is likewise incorrect to claim, as some do, that mind is the ag^egate of thoughts, ideas and feel- ings, for, in reality, the mind itself is the performer of these results or actions. They are mental prod- ucts, of which mind is the cause. That which is caused, cannot be the causer. The building is not the builder, the invention not the inventor; the sensation of joy cannot be that which rejoices. We have shown that mind, like a fort, is con- tinually occupied in warring with the surround- ing existence; protecting us from the assault of injurious physical or mental forces ; defending us against moral, mental and physical harm, and, at the same time, receiving and retaining whatever we deem useful or benefidal. All the nine facul- ties are thus actively employed, except during the 50 Mind. period of sleepy and even then, they sometimes work, as in dreams and visions. In addition to this general similarity between mind and fort^ there is a strong and individual parallelism between the duties of the soul fiEumlties, and the functions of the various parts and belong- ings of the fort. Perception, for instance, may be likened to the structure or building of the fort, for, unless we receive impressions of the external world, which can only come to us through this faculty, there will be no capital for the other faculties to work upon ; that is to say, there will be no mind, for all the other faculties must remain inactive and in- operative, from lack of the capital of knowledge. Without this structure, or building, mind catmot exist The proof of this is, that if it were possible to keep a child from the time of its birth, in a dark room, where not one of its five senses could act (granted for sake of the illustration, that its life could be sustained under these conditions for a long period), we would find, at the end of years, a human being perfectly equipped physically; a human soul with nine faculties, inhabiting this physical body, yet without a trace of mind, with- out a ray of thought ; because the faculty of per- ception had not been able to gather a single im- pression from the outside world. Similarly, with- out the walls or structure of a fort, the other essential requisites of the fort, could not perform their various functions, and the fort would not be in existence. Mind. 51 Memory represents the intelligence office of a fort. It is the repository of records and data ; the department in which the details of past happen- ings are preserved ; for upon the tablet of memory^ every mental action, external or internal, is regis- tered, so that in time of need, we may refer to it, re-cognize and re-collect events of the past Abstraction resembles the military system and arrangement of the fort; the division into groups and bodies, in order that action, when necessary, may be effective. Imagination is similar to the drill and prepara- tion for possible emergencies ; the combination of various parties and groups, in readiness for sur- prises or unexpected plan of assault Reason may be compared to the officers of the fort, who must be thoroughly versed in all the various methods of military action, and competent to decide between the right and wrong plan, in order to accomplish the most successful result Judgment is the commander-in-chief of the fort, who issues final orders as to what is or is not to be done. Mental Taste may be likened to the engineers, whose duties are to examine the condition of the fort and its various component bodies; supervise the equipment of armor, minister to the comfort and necessities of all within the fort, and to correct and improve all details. Will is represented by the soldiers, who do the fighting and perform the voluntary action of de- fense, by making use of the various weapons against the enemy. 5« Mind. Consdousness is the official staff, whose business it is to keenly observe and report all the move- ments and actions of the enemy, as well as the internal actions of the fort, so that the conditions inside and ontside, may be under thorough scrutiny and perfectly understood. By this line of comparison, we show clearly, that mind is a collective name given to the nine facul- ties of the soul, when they are united' in action, for a specific purpose. The question arises — *'What is the difference between the soul, spirit and mind?'*- Soul and spirit are often used synonymously, although soul is the intelligent essence, and spirit is the measure of its comprehension. The equivalents of the two terms are found in the oriental languages. In the Hebrew, "nephesh" means breath and is translated " soul ; '* while " ruach '* means " air," and is translated " spirit '* The Orientals sometimes term the intellectual essence **nephesh '* and sometimes " ruach,** because it is fine and inyisible. In an- cient times, before the lighter gases had been dis- covered, they could not find more appropriate terms to represent the intelligent essence in its fineness and invisibility. Undoubtedly also, they associated the soul with the breath, since the action of the soul faculties begins when the breath first enters the physical body, and ceases with its going out at the moment of death. Mind is sometimes used figuratively to mean the soul, as for instance, in the expression *^his mind is at rest;'* exactly as we say the "king has Mind, 53 commanded,^^ "the czar has arrived,** thus using their titles instead of mentioning their personalities. When a man dies, we say **His soul has departed,** **His soul is at rest'* We do not say that his ^hnind** has departed. In the figurative expression, *'£yes have they but they see not ; ears have they but they hear not,** the meaning is, that there are souls who do not utilize their faculties in the right way, to get understanding. Thought is simply the action of the soul facul- ties. Intellect, in one sense, is mind; in another sense, it is the knbwing power of the soul. The human soul, endowed \if ith the nine great faculties or powers, stands next to God in rank and degree, the only difference between God and ourselves^ being the essential fact, that He knows more than we are capable of knowing. God is Infinite, and His intelligence is ]the aggregate of Infinite powers of soul, while we are of finite essence, limited in this existence, to knowledge derived from col- lective action of the nine powers of that essence which powers, when in action, we term Mind. CHAPTER in. LIFE. Life is that power or activity inherent in the soul, which enables the soul faculties to work together in union and affinity. It is the means by which the soul connects itself with its body, and estab- lishes communication with the outside material and spiritual existence. It carries all impressions and messages from the outside to the inside, from the inside to the outside, and from the inside to the inside, and runs to and fro throughout the nervous system, performing all the voluntary motions of man, in harmony with the power of will. The word " life ** is used in a general sense, to express a great variety of meanings. The life of anything denotes its state of existence. For in- stance, the condition in which a tree, or the body of an animal, has the capability of exercising its natural functions, is termed the life of a tree or the life of an animal body. In reality, however, that power of chemical affinity and mechanical opera- tion which governs the development and maintains the existence of a tree or body, is the power of growth, and not the power of life. The power of life is therefore specifically restricted to the soul, since it is inherent in the soul. The human body, which is but the souPs temporary residence, pos- sesses, like the tree, the power of growth only. 55 56 Life. Man, the combination or partnership of a living soul and a material body, therefore possesses both the power of life and the power of growth ; the former controlling his voluntary motions, the latter exercising control over his motions and functions which are involuntary. A farther analysis of the power of life, necessi- tates more extended explanation of its peculiar du- ties and action. By it, every impression from the outside to the inside, every communication from the inside to the outside, every introspection from the inside to the inside, is delivered to the faculties of the soul, enabling each one of them to perform its characteristic function toward the thing cog- nized, and, at the same time, to work in union and aflSnity with the others. The power of life is there- fore the current or medium of cognition. For in- stance, if we see a horse running wildly toward us, the power of life delivers the impression of the condition of the horse, to the faculty of perception, and to all the other faculties as well, so that each one of them may be able to perform its special function concerning the impression, and prepare the mental action by which we may escape from a position of danger. The power of life is also the carrier of the action of each faculty to the other faculties, constituting the medium of introspection or inter-action of the faculties. For example, the action of memory is carried by it to all the other faculties ; the action of the other faculties is carried by it to the memory, and so on throughout. This exquisite and har- Life. 57 monious interweaving or introspection, this trans- fer of action and flow of intelligence from inside to inside, is accomplished through that current of soul activity, the power of life. By it, the soul kens itself It is the means by which the soul connects itself with its body, for it carries the changes and experiences of the body, to the soul and its faculties, along the afferent or sensory nerves. By it, the soul controls and performs all the voluntary motions of the body, sending com- munications from the inside to the outside, along the efferent or motor nerves. Through this cir- cuit of the power of life along the nerves, therefore, the soul is made aware of the conditions of its bodily residence, and exercises its intelligence to protect that residence from injury, and keep it in good condition. If you put your hand unintentionally in hot water, you draw it out instantly, to save it from being scalded. The impression of heat has been carried by the power of life, through the sensory nerves, to the soul faculties. Bach faculty has performed its function toward that impression of heat, until the decision of judgment was reached and issued to the power of life, ordering the hand drawn away from its dangerous position. The power of life then executed this command of the soul, utilizing the motor nerves, and the hand was drawn away voluntarily, by the muscles of the arm. In the sensations of cold, hunger, thirst, sickness, pain, etc., the power of life acts in the same way, by canying these impressions to the 58 Life. soul) and executing the soul's commands to modify, as much as possible, the injury or danger of these inharmonious conditions and changes. It controls speech and song ; the souls of the sculptor, painter and musician find expression through it ; by it, the actor portrays emotions, and the orator thrills with impassioned eloquence. All our thoughts and feelings are conveyed by its mysterious sensi- tiveness; the wishes, hopes, longings and aspira- tions of our souls, flow in its subtle current As the power of life is the means by which the soul connects itself with its body; the activity by which the soul uses, controls and protects its body; and, as it runs to and fro throughout the nervous system, we prove that the nerves are the instru- ments through which the soul faculties manifest their functions. For, if the sensory nerves of the hand are cut or paralyzed, the impressions of the sense of touch, will no longer be carried to the thinking faculties, and the hand may be injured or destroyed, without the soul's knowledge of it; yet, at the same time, if the motor nerves are perfect, the hand may be drawn away at the souPs command. If, vice versa, the motor nerves of the hand are injured or destroyed, while the sensory nerves are perfect, the impression of pain, from an injury to the hand, would reach the soul, but the soul's command to draw away the hand, could not be executed by the muscles, and the impression of pain would continue, until the other hand or some agency, was used to carry out the command of the soul, and remove the injured member from its position. Life. 59 This proves plainly, that the soul faculties per- form their functions through the fine part of the material body called the nervous system, for, al- though the paralyzed hand may still be in its normal healthy condition of combination, with the exception of its sensory or motor nerves, yet we find that the power of life does not perform its function in that combination, outside of the nerves. If any member of the body is destroyed, the soul endeavors, by the power of life, to restore the loss entailed, by giving to some other member of the body, the equivalent of the destroyed function* For example, if an arm be destroyed by amputa- tion, the power of life manifests its energy and activity to strengthen the other arm, and, after a time, we find that the remaining arm is more pow- erful than it had been before the loss of the other, and, to a certain extent, is able to accomplish the function of both. If sight is destroyed, the hearing becomes keener, and touch is rendered more sensi- tive, so that, in a measure, these two senses will reidace the function of the destroyed one, enabling the sightless person to read with the fingers, walk confidently in the street, etc If the theory of the materialists is correct, that intellectuality is the result of the composition of the material elements, the loss of one member of that composition, must necessarily cause a propor- tionate loss of intellectuality; but facts prove the contrary of this to be the case, for we find that when a member of that material composition, the body, is lost, the intellectuality displays more 6o Life. energy and vigor, endeavoring to restore to the body, the equivalent of the loss sustained. We cannot show that the loss of an arm or a leg, diminishes mentality. If it were possible, we might reduce the body, member by member, until little else remained beside the heart and brain, yet still there would be no diminution of the mental action, no decrease in the intellectuality, so long as the brain was maintained in its normal condition. And, farther, it is a well known fady that when the body is wasted and reduced by sickness, to an extreme extent, the mental action is frequently found to be keener and abnormally acute. . SLEEP. Sleep is the period or duration in which the power of life temporarily ceases to perform its function, in order that that fine part of the material composition, the nervous system, through which the soul faculties manifest themselves, may rest and recupemte from the wear and tear of action. Without this rest or cessation from action, .the nervous system would be worn out and destroyed; death would ensue, thus preventing us from reach- ing our maturity of understanding, and accomplish- ing the purpose of the soul's residence in its body. For this reason, the Almighty, our Creator has laid a wise and natural law, that the power of life must normally cease its action a certain period or dura- tion in the twenty-four hours, in order to preserve the body. Life. 6i If the materialists are right, the action of the power of life along the nerves, would be a contin- nons and unvarjdng one ; for the material composi- tion is the same during sleep, as when we are awake, and consequently there would be no sleep, forthe same action cannot produce two such dif- ferent and contradictory conditions. The necessity of sleep being evident, the materialistic theory is absolutely disproved. If, however, the tnaterialist should hold, that both the conditions of sleep and wakefulness, are the results of material composi** tion, theiclaim is illogical, because the condition of being awake, is an activity and the result of some action, while j^Ieep is the absence of activity, or passiveness. Sleep cannot be a result, as it is impossible for no activity to produce a result A restdt is the consequence of action, ^Further than this, we know that although a man is asleep, he may be awakened by a loud voice. The voice cannot change his material composition and pro* duce another result As sleep is the period during which the power of life ceases to perform its func- tion, it follows that there is no mental action what- ever, when sleep is normal and healthy. The phenomena of dreams and visions, lead us into farther understanding of the subtle sensitiveness of function possessed by the power of life. Not only does it connect the soul with the outside' material existence, but also with the outside spirittial exist- ence, for it is the medium of connection between the souls of the htmian race, and carries communi- cations from one to another. Mental actions or 62 Life. ideas are carried througli the five senses by the power of life, from outside souls to the thinking fac- ultieSf for consideration, and, by this means, human beings gain knowledge and understanding from each other. This connection and intercourse is not con- fined to the souls which inhabit material bodies, but extends also to the invisible. The power of life carries to the soul, communications from the invisible realm, through revelations, dreams and visions. In this way, the prophets and holy mes- sengers sent from God to teach us the truth, received their knowledge and inspiration. Through revelation, Daniel, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jesus, and many others received from God, the knowledge of His truth and the power of prophetic utterance. Not only have the souls of the great prophets and holy men, by their susceptibility to divine communica- tions, proved* this function of the power of life, but countless proofs of it exist in the record of dreams and visions which have foretold coming events, and in the revelations of knowledge which human souls are constantly receiving from spiritual and invisible sources. Dreams, in the ordinary sense, are mere halluci- nations or mental actions, due to disordered func- tions of the body producing excitement of the nervous system, which is communicated to the brain, causing subjective action of the thinking faculties. These differ entirely from dreams or visions which are mental actions caused by the power of life carrying to the thinking faculties, impressions from spiritual sources outside of us. Life. 63 This phenomenon of the soul faculties, is a strong evidence of immortality, which materialists cannot reasonably deny, for, as these faculties are insepa- rable from the immortal soul essence, and as the power of life which qualifies the soul, is the means by which communications are carried to the soul essence, the power of life must therefore be the means or tie which connects the soul with the out- side spiritual existence, now and hereafter. BREATHING AND THE INVOLUNTARY MOTIONS. Breathing, circulation of the blood, and all the involuntary motions of man, are the results of the power of growth, which has already been defined. In a tree, we find no evidence of intelligent essence, yet the circulation of sap, by which it maintains its existence, is precisely similar to the circulation of blood in a human body wherein we find a soul has its residence. Both the flow of sap and flow of blood, are purely mechanical operations. The tree breathes through the pores of its leaves, extracting carbonic acid gas from the atmosphere, while the lungs of the human body, are performing the same function, by utilizing oxygen. These conditions or functions, in both tree and human body, are ac- complished by the chemical affinity of the material dements, and do not depend at all upon the exist- ence of intelligent essence. If the tree is in need of water, it cannot realize that need by mental action, nor can it get water by voluntary efibrt Unless nature supplies it with water, it must die. 64 Life. It cannot supply itself. Possessing, as it does, the power of growth only, it is limited in its existence, to involuntary motions, such as breathing, circula- tion of sap, etc As soon as we find evidence of intelligent essence in an organism, we find the power of voluntary action exists, for the power of life always accompanies the intelligent essence we call soul, and wherever the power of life is, there must be voluntary action. INSANITY. We have found, by progressive diagnosis of man, that the body, a material composition, is occupied by the soul, an intelligent essence, which, through its power of life, is enabled to exercise its Bsumlties; and that the power of life runs to and fro upon an intricate system of nerve wiring, which ramifies and extends to every portion of the soul's habita- tion. All these wires or nerves are connected with the brain, which may be compared to a switch- board, regulating the action of the soul faculties. That the brain is a material instrument, is proved by the fact that we can resolve it into the material elements of which it is composed. We are certain that it is the instrument through which the soul acts, because, if it is destroyed, injured or tampered with, we instantly find a corresponding cessation or fault of mental action. For illustra- tion, let us suppose a house to be thoroughly wired and equipped with electricity, which is to be utilized for nine di£krent purposes, such as light- Life. • 65 lag, heating, bells, eta Somewhere in the house, is the battery which generates the electric current If we trace the wiring back, however, we will find that there is no direct connection between the bat- tery and the points at which the current is utilized, but that all the wires lead to and center in a switch-board, from which a main supply wire leads to the battery itself. If we destroy the switch- board, there can be no lighting, the bells will not ring, etc; tampering with the switch-board, gives faulty action at the extremities of the wires. If the switch-board is insufficiently insulated or worn out, we find a corresponding loss or distortion of the electrical action. Just so we find that injury to the brain, prevents the soul from utilizing its body. The soul is the battery, the power of life is the electric current, the nerves are the wires, and the brain, the switch-board. If we destroy the brain, we destroy mental action; if we tamper with it or with the nerve wires, we produce faulty mental action. From this, we prove that insanity is a certain abnormal or unhealthy condition of the brain or nervous system, which causes the soul faculties to manifest themselves incorrectly, or prevents them from full performance of their func- tions. By this, we prove also, that each of the soul faculties manifests itself in some particular part of the brain, for an injury to one part of the brain will sometimes cause defect of memory, an injury to another part will entail defect in the power of abstraction, and so on. When the soul fitculties cannot, on this account, exercise their 66 Life. fanctions normally, they cannot work in hannony with each other, nor with the outside existencCi and this erratic, imperfect, or distorted mental action, is termed insanity. Insanity, therefore, is caused by the unfitness of the instrument of mental action, that is, by the imperfection of the brain. It is not the loss of the soul faculties; it is the loss of their power to act A man goes into a forest to cut down trees. If his axe is kept sharp and keen, he can cut down the same number of trees each day, but as soon as the axe becomes dull or defect- ive, the results of his work are less. The cause lies in the instrument of cutting, the axe. We cannot say that the man is losing his strength, because his axe is defective; neither can we say a man has lost his faculties, because he is insane. CHAPTER IV. THE IDENTITY OF GOD, The Identity, Individuality and Infinite Person- ality of God, the Almighty Creator, is the great underlying, fundamental truth of all truths; the only basis of religious belief which can be estab- lished by thorough analysis in the light of scien- tific, logical and scriptural demonstration. If we refer to our reason, the question, — " What is the Creator, the Causer of all causes?" we cannot form any conclusion or idea outside of these five, — viz. : He must be either the Universe, a Power, a Law, a Principle, or an Identity. To these, may be added the hjrpothesis that He is non-existent ; that is to say, ** there is no God." We strictly be- lieve and teach, that God is an Identity, an Indi- viduality, and Infinite Personality; this is otir positive point That He is neither the Universe, a Power, a Law, a Principle, nor non-existent, forms our negative point. We will first take each division of the negative point separately, and prove its impossibility, after which, the positive point will be considered, and proved conclusively. God, the Alighty Creator, is not the Universe, for the following five reasons, viz.: — First The Universe is not God, because no par- ticipation of qualities common to the whole, is •7 68 The Identity of God- found in it ; that is to say, if we take the various parts of that huge body which is supposed to be God, we will find that each part of it diflfers from the others, in some qualities. For example, the sun differs from the moon ; the earth from the comets. If we examine the various substances of which our planet is composed, the material elements which we can perceive and analyze by our senses, we dis- cover that each element varies from all the other elements, in its qualities; also that in each terres- trial division or kingdom, are found many points which differentiate it from the others. Man does not possess the qualities of a tree ; the apple those of gold ; nor iron those of a horse. If it be a true supposition, that the Universe is the body of God, the natural and rational conclusion must be, that each particle of that body, possesses all the attri- butes of the whole, otherwise He cannot be abso- lu^ perfection. God is absolute perfection, and every part of Him must possess all His qualities. A drop from the ocean, will be found to contain all the qualities of the waters of the ocean. As God is perfection, He must be homogeneous, hence the Universe, which is not homogeneous, cannot be God. Those who teach that everything in existence is a spark of God, or a part of Him, and that this spark requires a '4ong procession of ages and cycles to accomplish its Karma, in order that it may regain its original condition," ignore reality, and do not reason deeply enough to reach the truth. But suppose we admit this theory, tak* The Identity of God. 69 ing man, the highest among known creatures, as an example. We must conclude, that, if man is a spark of God or a part of Him, man must neces- sarily have all the qualities of God. If we take a small piece from a large lump of salt, we find that the small piece has all the qualities of the large lump, and does not require a '4ong procession of years and ages " of development, to accomplish its return to the nature of the large lump. Thus we see, that this process is ridiculous and unreasonable, for it is neither necessary nor possible to resalt the salt If we make the same proposition concerning the lower animals, the vegetables and minerals, en- deavoring to show that they are a part of the essence of the Great Being who is absolute perfec- tion in knowledge and wisdom, the conclusion must be still more ridiculous and impossible. Prom this reasonable basis, we are obliged to reject the theory that God is the Universe, or the Universe God. Second. Where there is division, there can be no perfection. There is, for instance, an entire separation and distinction between the essences of soul and matter. Therefore, if the Universe be God, He is divided, and, as division implies weak- ness in essence and power, it necessarily proves, that He is not the Universe, since He is perfection and cannot be divided. We must remember, that to perfection, nothing can be added, nor can any- thing be taken from it Many who claim to be ad- vanced thinkers, have left the orthodox church, renouncing its doctrine of the Trinity. They 70 The Identity of God. reason correctly, that God cannot be divided and that Three cannot be One, yet, at the same time, are willing to believe that there is a germ of Deity in every soul, thus dividing God into millions of atoms, while refusing to believe that He can be divided into three personalities. Their case is similar to that of the individual, who, finding him- self standing under a leak in the roof, moved outside and stood cheerfully under a waterspout Third. Where there are degrees, there is defi- ciency, and no perfection. A cursory examination of the surrounding existence, will suffice to show us plainly, that the Universe is composed of things varying in degree. The mineral and vegetable kingdoms are dull and inanimate; the animal kingdom, in its wide classification of species, from lower to higher, possesses varying proportion of in- tellect and power of understanding ; while human beings, the highest intelligent form of which we have knowledge, are endowed with soul faculties for great purposes and possibilities. God cannot be partly dull and partly intelligent ; partly ani- mate and partly inanimate. If this were true, He would not be perfection ; consequently the proposi- tion that God is the Universe, is utterly untenable. Fourth. If the totality of the Universe be God, there necessarily must be an affinity of sensation connecting the different component members of that whole. It is impossible, however, from obser- vation of objects around us, to find any such con- necting sensation, between either the various classes and divisions of these objects, or between the dif- The Identity of God. 71 ferent members of these classes and divisions. There is evidently no connection of feeling or sensation, between a man and a horse or dog, or even between two men; for, while the first man may be thinking of America, the thought of the second may be centered upon Africa, and neither cognizant of the mind of the other. This shows that they are not members of a universal God. Admitting such a supposition, we must conclude that every thought, idea, movement, action and change, must be felt by every member throughout the entire Universe. An injury to the finger, af- fects, through sympathetic nerve fibres, the whole body, so, also, if the Universe be God, every object therein would participate in the sensation which follows the injury to the finger. Fifth. The strongest, most convincing proof in opposition to this belief, is, that from nothing, nothing can come. According to all logic, science and natural law, there must be a Causer for every- thing, and, as the Universe includes everything, there must be a Causer for the Universe, and that is the Causer of all causes, — the Almighty Creator. Who will say that man, although the highest of creation, created his own soul, or put that soul into existence ? Admitting even the possibility of this, we know, that however he may desire to remain here, it cannot be; he may not delay his departure, but must inevitably obey the summons of death, plainly showing that his existence here, is not in his own hands. If the highest of creatures cannot control this, it is evident that the lowest cannot 72 The Identity of God. As that which is caused, cannot itself be the cause, so the Universe cannot be God. Prom the fore- going statements, the thinker will be led to con- sider the three following points: I. Some occult and mental teachers claim, that when man attains perfection, — ^the point of highest intelligent development, — his strength of mentality can keep his body from decay, and hold it thus for thousands of years, as they say the Mahatmas can do; that a time will come when his body will not die, but live forever. To this, it is sufficient to reply, that the claims of these theorists have never been practically proved, nor can they, be. ' This theory is in direct opposition to fact, reason and natural law. The animal kingdom is shorter lived than the vegetable, for the reason that there is mentality in the body of the member of the animal kingdom. As this body is a mere tent or residence for the mentality, intelligence or soul which inhabits it, the more that intelligence or soul uses its tent, the sooner the latter is liable to decay and destruction; and the stronger and more active this intelligence, and the more effective its manifestations, the more destructive will be the effect upon the tent Take, for instance, two men of similarly strong constitutions, but of widely different temperaments; the one nervous and active, the other, quiet and deliberate. At the age of forty, the one will appear to be old, and far in advance of his years, while the other will seem to be in the prime ^ life. The Identity of God. 73 Again, take a representative from each 6f the two kingdoms, — anipial and vegetable, — a man and a cedar tree. IJowever strongly the man may be constituted^ it is scarcely possible for him to live a hundred years, while the cedar tree may flourish for thousands. Thus, comparing the two kingdoms in a corresponding degree we find, that existence without mentality, is more enduring, and that where the mentMity is active, the sands of life are more quickly run out * This clearly proves that these occult claims are not founded upon* truth. This theory is als9 directly opposed to the laws of nature, for we know,' that the body of man is a composition of a number of elements, and it is a scientific fact, that a composition is a modification of the nature of the elements of which it is composed. As these elements were in existence before they were formed into that composition, it follows, that the law governing every composition, is, that it shall be decomposed and resolved again into its com- ponent elements. Man's body, as we have said, is a composition ; therefore man's body, in accordance with the perfection of law, must be decomposed, that is to say, it must die, for decomposition is what we call " death." Those who imagine that they can destroy or overcome perfect natural laws, when they become perfect in mentality, would change their belief, if they could reach that exalted state, for then they would realize, that instead of setting natural laws aside, they would be in perfect karmony with the action of those laws. a. Some may ask: — '* If nothing can come from 74 The Identity of God. nothing, whence came God ?' ' The question is not logical, because, as the universe is a creation, there must of necessity, be a Creator or Causer thereof, and that Causer is called the Almighty Creator — God. But we cannot say whence God came, because He is a Being, existent through all eternity, and, since He is the Great First Causer of all things, there logically is no place nor cause from whence He could come. If we say He was created by another God, and continue backward to a third, fourth and fifth, or any number of Gods, we must finally exhaust the imagination in an endeavor to discover a time when, and a place where, there was not a God. And if God were not there, what would we find? Nothing 1 But, from nothing, nothing comes, and we are back at our starting point Having reached the end of the chain, we are obliged to admit a first Causer of all other causes ; a self-existent, eternal Being, God, the Creator ; the manifestation of whose creative power, brought the universe into existence. 3. A superficial thinker may ask: **If the uni- verse and everything in existence, is the mani- festation of God's creative power, must they not have come from God, and of necessity be a part of Him?'' According to science, and to natural and rational laws, this is incorrect reasoning, for that which is manifested, cannot possibly be a part of the manifestor, nor a part of his power, in either matter or mentality. The power of steam is mani- fested in the motion of an engine, but the motion is not a part of the steam, nor of its power, but is The Identity of God. 75 a result or product of the power of the steam. A magnet may magnetize a piece of iron, but does not thereby lose a portion of its essence or of its power. This shows, that that which is manifested, is not a part of its manifestor, nor a part of its manifestor's power. So, although God created the universe, still the universe is not a part of God, nor of His power of creation, but simply a mani- festation of that power. If I say, "I am glad to see you,** this statement produces in your mind, a certain understanding or idea, but neither the statement nor your understanding of it, is a part of me nor of my power of speech, but is a manifestation of that power. If you teach me a science, I will gain knowledge, but the knowledge I receive, is not a part of your essence nor of your knowledge, be- cause you lose neither a part of yourself nor of your knowledge, by teaching me. You simply manifest your power and I receive the knowledge which you manifest. Thus we prove, that the manifested is not a part of the manifestor, nor of his power, and it therefore follows, that the uni- verse is not a part of God nor of His power, but is a manifestation thereof. Many thinkers are struggling with incessant effort, to know and realize how the Creator, by His creative power, has produced the essences of the universe, and how He has endowed them with qualities which are necessary for their existence and indestructibility. This knowledge is beyond our limitation in the present existence, for man, the soul, although endowed with many faculties 7^ The Identity of God. and powers, does not possess the creative power, nor knowledge of it. This is the creative secret which lies beyond the ken of our understanding, but by earnest search to know God, to become His chil- dren, and be grafted into the Tree of Life, we may attain the privilege of living with Him eternally and understanding His creative laws. What has been stated thus far, is sufficient to show the fallacy and unreasonableness of atheism, yet the following facts deserve attention, viz.: — " Nothing " cannot be the Causer of all causes, for the reason that ^^ Nothing " has neither powers nor qualities to manifest, and by which to bring any- thing into existence. Besides this, there remains the indisputable fact, that from ^* nothing,'' nothing can come ; therefore, the Causer of the Universe necessarily exists, and atheistical argument is an- nihilated. The belief that everything in existence is self- existent, without beginning, without end, and without a cause to bring it into existence, is like- wise founded upon lack of knowledge and upon sophistical reasoning, for, upon reflection, it will clearly be seen, that there is no class or race in ex- istence, from the highest to the lowest, any member of which is self-existent We know that man, the highest visible form in the universe, did not bring himself into existence ; that neither his coming upon the earth, nor his continuance here in- definitely, is under his control. In both, he is wholly dependent upon some other, higher power and is not self-existent There must therefore be The Identity of God. 77 One who is self-existent; One who caused man to exist; and that self-existent One, is the Great Causer, Being, Creator, God, The second article of our negative point, is the belief held by many, that God is an infinite Power, filling the whole universe. This cannot be true, for, although He is most powerful, possessing in- finite, perfect powers, and all-mighty, yet we cannot say that He is a Power, because power is a quality, a faculty, an attribute, or a force, which belongs to an identity or an essence. There is no power without an essence or an identity back of it Back of the pbwer of gravitation or magnetism, is the earth. Without the earth, there would be neither the one nor the other. Given a power, we prove the ex- istence of an identity. No power can exist alone or without an identity back bf it We ourselves are the possessors of many pollers and faculties, but back of them all, is our identity. We have the faculty of memory and of reason, but can we -say that we are a memory or a reason ? We have the power of speech, but are we the power of speech ? No ; but we are identities; and. even if unable to manifest all, or any of the various powers belong- ing to us as human beings, or if we lose those we have, we never lose our identity. The dumb man, although without the power of speech, never loses his identity or personality. So, we plainly see, that God is not a Power. He is greater than Power. He is the possessor of Infinite Power ; the identity behind it Some teach that God is I^aw, and if they teadi 78 The Identity of God. what they cannot prove, what is to prevent people from being led astray ? Law is the uniform rule, condition or method, by which, through the opera- tion of certain powers or faculties — spiritual, men- tal, chemical or mechanical,— certain definite re- sults are produced. Thus, if we chemically mix two diflFerent elements, the resulting compound will be a new substance, differing from either element composing it As the chemical affinities of these elements unfailingly operate to produce this definite result, the method by which it is accomplished, is termed a "law." The seasons of the year are produced by the motion of the earth in its orbit, in conformity with what is termed natural law. Two and two are four; this is the result of the operation of the mental faculties, in accordance with mathematical law, and so on. We therefore conclude, as above stated, that law is the rule or method by which certain powers or faculties operate to produce cer- tain effects or results. Back of a law must be an intelligence which laid that law, an identity con- trolling the action of that law. Therefore God cannot be a Law. Some who claim to be spiritual, teach that God is a Principle. They say: "God is Love, therefore Love is God." It is true that Principle is a foun- dation or basis laid by an intelligence, upon which to build, or a source from which to start a certain action for a definite purpose. Thus we say that Love, Mercy, Justice, Benevolence, Meekness, are principles upon which thef' mind bases its action The Identity of God. 79 for certain purposes. Then Love is a principle laid down by the intelligence. God created the human race according to the perfection of His knowledge and wisdom ; His intelligence appre- ciated His perfect action, and this appreciation of, or inclination towards His creatures, is the princi- ple Love. In the light of this meaning, God is Love, — that is to say. He is loving toward His creatures, but we cannot properly say that Love is God, because Love is a principle, a foundation, laid down by an Intelligence, and the foundation cannot be the Intelligence which laid it Back of Love there is Intelligence, and back of both is the Per- sonality. If we say, **Mr. Smith is good,'* we mean that he is a good man; but we cannot say "Good is Mr. Smith,'* because the quality or foun- dation principle cannot be the person who possesses the quality or laid the foundation. Back of his principle is his identity. Mr. Smith is a person, not a principle ; so, also, God is a Personality, not a principle. Besides, there are numerous princi- ples each differing in all respects from the others ; which of them is the God we ought to worship ? As God exists, and as He is neither the Universe, a Power, a Law nor a Principle, it necessarily fol- lows that He is an Identity. This is the positive point we believe and prove, as follows — viz. : I. God, being perfect in His powers and attri- butes, must, of necessity, be perfect in knowledge; hence He knows Himself. As He is known to Him- self, He is limited by Himself to Himself; for everything that is known, is limited, and as He is 8o The Identity of God- limited, the conclusion is inevitaMe that He is an Identity. True, the finite cannot limit the Infinite ; but the infinite knowledge of God extends as far as His other infinite powers and attributes, and thus His unlimited knowledge * limits His tmlimited powers, for the perfection of knowledge is a line of limit to the perfection of power. . To make this plain, let us illustrate God's per- fect knowledge, by .comparing it to an unlimited line extending in the same direction as the unlim- ited lines of His other attributes. . We will find, that, although every line is* unlimited, yet no one line can go beyond any other, because.every line is absolutely perfejct We must therefore conclude, that perfection is a limit to perfection, because whatever is perfect, cannot be more than perfi^ — perfection being its limit Therefore God, being known to Himself, is limited to Himself; and the unlimited is a limit to the unlipiitfed. This proves His Identity. 2. God is an Individuality, because He has powers and attributes. It is a scientific fact, that there is no power or attribute in the whole uni- verse, without an identity or an essence back of it, for every power or attribute is an inseparable quality, qualifying the identity or- the essence to which it belongs. There is no density without matter. *' Nothing'' does not have weight and does not occupy space. Were there no matter, there would be aio power of gravitation, no elec- trical force. Man has the powers of memory, of imagination, of speech; but can we find any of The Identity of God. «i thtae powers selfexistent? Is there not an indi- yidaality, a perKmality, an identity, back of each or all of them? Invariably I All attempts to dis- pnyve this scientific £sict are vain. Therefore, we only diqday ignorance, if we say that God is not an identity, sinee He is all-mighty, having powers aad attributes in the fullness of perfection. 3. As it is known and proved that the nnivetse is the manifestation of God's creative power, and as that which is manifested must possess more or less of the attribtttes of its manifestor, — so every^ thiag in existence having been created by God, has this similar quality of God, — Identity. A child has qttalities similar to its parents ; the young beast is qnaUfied by the attributes of its kind; a tree from the seed of a sweet orange, will bear sweet oranges, and from the seed of a bitter one, will bear bitter oranges. If we seardi the whole universe,- we will find that everything has its identity; no two men axe alike; no two trees are exactly like each other ; no two grains of sand are duplicates ; everything has its own peculiar identity, distinguishing it fixwn eversrthing else. Why is this ? It is because God is an Identity. His creatures are the mani- festations of His powers, and as the manifested has qualities and attributes similar to those of the manifestor, this fact of their invariable identity, proves to us that God also is an Identity. 4. It is a well-established principle that the manifestor is not the manifested ; the Creator is not the created ; the maker is not that which he has made. How can we distinguish the one from the 82 The Identity of God. other ? What are the means of distinction between them? Nothing whatever but identity or person- ality. There is no other distinction, either in heaven or upon earth ; and it is this Identity, this Personality of God, which distinguishes Him from His creatures, — His manifestations. As disbelief in the Personality of God, is a prom- inent characteristic of modem religious thinking, it would be well, at this point, to consider the most prevalent objections upon which this disbelief is founded. In the sea of knowledge, we find many swimmers, but few divers. Pew indeed are those who plunge into the depths and gather the pearls of truth, but many float upon the surface, imagin- ing they have discovered treasures in the light which scintillates feebly from the gems below. It is said that the Creator of the universe cannot be a personalized Being, dwelling in a localized heaven ; that such a belief is not consistent with the omnipresence, infinity and other qualities uni- versally attributed to Deity. Some deny His providence, asserting that if He is a personalized Being, man is not responsible for his actions, and would be deprived of his individuality. It is said: **God is Being, not a Being." To meet these ob- jections, it is necessary to have clear understanding as to what constitutes personality. According to science and natural law, the attributes of anything in existence, qualify its existence and distinguish it from all other things. This constitutes its identity. At the same time, when these attributes are intelligent attributes, qualifying intelligent The Identity of God. 83 existence, they constitute the individuality or per- sonality of that intelligent existence. Thus the powers or attributes of man, make and form the individuality or personality of man. Nothing ex- ists in the universe, without possessing attributes, either intelligent or non-intelligent Vice versa, no attributes can exist, without belonging to, and qualifying something in existence. Therefore, all intelligent powers or attributes must belong to and proceed from some intelligent identity; from some personality. The conclusion is irresistible, that God the Creator, the Causer, is a Personality, from the fact that His intelligent attributes and powers are clearly in evidence and existent The statement that belief in the Personality of God is a violation of His attributes, is therefore not logical, since the truth is, that He must be a Personality because he possesses attributes. Fur- thermore, it must be admitted that His attributes are Infinite Attributes. They qualify therefore a Personality which is likewise Infinite. Because His attributes are Infinite, we cannot say that He has no Personality, for these Infinite attributes logi- cally prove His Infinite Personality, which cannot be limited by finite creatures. But as He and all His powers are Infinite, He knows Himself and is limited to Himself, but not to us. It is not reason- able to say that the Almighty Creator has no Personality, because we cannot limit that Person- ality. The insect cannot comprehend or limit the personality of man. Shall we say, for this reason, that man has no personality ? 84 The Identity of God. We know, that, as finite creatures, we can never comprehend Infinite Personality, yet it is possible for that Infinite to make a way, through which the finite may go and comprehend Him. The way is this, that from eternity, the Infinite decided not to remain forever hidden, secluded from His creatures, and incomprehensible to them, but took unto Himself, an External Pace, Appearance, or Manifes- tation, by which He is interpreted to His finite creatures ; and this Form, this Personality of Mani- festation, is the One whom the finite creatures will comprehend, enjoy, and with whom they will live forever in the spiritual hereafter. Will this future spiritual state be a '* localized Heaven," against which at present, where is such strong opposition of belief? " Heaven " in correct sense of the term, must either imply a supreme condition or a locality. Manifestly there can be no condition or state without position or locality. Locality and state are inseparable and presuppose each other. In the whole Universe, there is no condition without position or place, and as Heaven is a state or condition of supremacy, it must neces- sarily have locality. As the intelligent attributes of man, the soul, constitute the personality of man, and prove him an intelligent identity or being, so, the existence of infinite intelligent attributes, constitute the In- finite Personality of God, and prove Him an Infinite Being. The personality of man is his highest possession. It is the outcome of his high- est powers. To deny the Infinite Personality of The Identity of God. 85 God therefore, is to deprive Him of His infinite at- tributes and place Him upon a lower level than ourselves. If God is Being, He is necessarily a Being, though infinite. We cannot speak of an existing human creature as man, not a man; of stone, not a stone. Neither is it possible to prove that "God is Being— not a Being." This state- ment has no meaning whatever. Incomprehensible statements are the surest evidence of weakness and error. 5. If we study the scriptural teachings of all ages and races, we will find the Identity and Per- sonality of God distinctly set forth. He appeared to Adam,. Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses and to nearly all of the prophets. Who of them did not see God and receive commands directly from Him, falling down upon their faces at the appearance of His majesty and glory ? Jesus taught clearly and unequivocally, the Personality of God. He said : " My Father." He taught us to pray " Our Father, Thy will be done.'* " God made man after His own image." An image is a form, an identity. There can be no speculation as to what was meant by it in Genesis. Image cannot be an abstract idea such as holiness, perfection, innocence or purity, as is sometimes taught Nothing could be plainer than the teachings of the Bible concerning the Person- ality of God. It is important to establish this point, for the reason that all the religious theories of the present day, are claimed to be proved from the Holy Book. ** Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen that ye 86 The Identity of God. may know and believe me and understand that I am He; before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.** — ^Isaiah 43-ia To some, the Infinite Personality of God, does not seem reconcilable with His Omnipresence. They reason, that a personality cannot occupy more than one place at the same time, conse- quently, as God is Omnipresent, He cannot be a Personality. To illustrate that God, although a Personality, is everywhere present, let us imagine the universe to be crystalline throughout ; everything in existence transparent; and that God, the Almighty, is a flame located in some certain place in the universe. We find, that, although the flame is an identity limited to itself, yet it fills the whole universe with its light, until it is impossible to find a place where there is no light from this flame. The light would also shine through everything in the universe, not a single atom existing, through which the light does not penetrate and interpenetrate. More than this ; the light will not be confined, but extend beyond the universe, surrounding it infinitely in every direction. Thus, the Personality of God the Almighty, like the flame, is filling the whole uni- verse with His powers ; penetrating and interpene- trating everything in existence. So we and every- thing in the universe, move and exist, filled and surrounded by His powers. The flame may be likened to His Identity, the light of the flame to His powers and the universe to His creation. Thus we see that the crystalline universe is not the The Identity of God. 87 flame, nor the light, nor a part of either of them. Neither can we be God, nor a part of His power. The scriptures teach that we are afforded the priv- ilege of being naturalized, by being bom of the spirit and becoming the adopted children of God. God will neither lose a part of His essence, nor of His powers, by that naturalization. We are taught plainly that man is not God. ** Put them in fear O Lord, that the nations may know themselves to be but men.** — Psalms 9-20. *^ Now the Egyptians are men and not God, and their horses, flesh and not spirit. When the Lord shall stretch out His hand, both he that helpeth shall fall and he that is holpen shall fall down and they all shall fail together.'* Isaiah 31-3. This same truth is continually stated in the Scriptures; that man is not God, nor a part of Him. It may be claimed, that, even according to the illustration of the flame, God is not omnipresent, because, as He is the flame, located in a certain part of the universe. He is not everywhere present ; for, as the flame is the identity ; and as it is the light of the flame, which penetrates everything, the flame itself which represents God, is not omni- present We must understand clearly what ** pres- ence '* means. We are in the presence of a person, so long as we are in position and condition to com- prehend that person, to know his thoughts, observe his actions, and come under the operation and in- fluence of his powers. It is not necessary that we must occupy the same space, to be in the presence of another. It is not necessary, therefore, that the 38 The Identity of God. Universe and God must occupy the same space ; it is sufficient that His powers penetrate and surround everything in the universe ; that His intelligence is all-comprehending. This constitutes His omni- presence. The whole universe is within the reach and under the control of His powers. The word "God" itself, is significant of the illustration given. It is derived, not from * * good, * ' as some suppose, but from the Persian or Indian word **Ghauda," or "Ghaud,'* meaning "the ab- solute and supreme govei:nor, whose power controls all that is." In this meaning, it strongly resem- bles the illustration of the flame. The words "Allah," **Elohim"and "Eal,'» in the Arabic, Hebraic and Syriac respectively, mean " the Sur- rounding Power, the Comprehensive " ; equivalent to the light surrounding and interpenetrating everything existing. All terms are arbitrary, and no term can give full significance to the Almighty; nor liken Him to that which has objective exist- ence. Since we are deficient in knowledge of Him, and in power of expression, the word **God" is used to denote His Infinity and Greatness, which are beyond our finite comprehension. The Bible teaches specifically, the Personality of God. " I have made the earth and created man upon it ; I, even my hands have stretched out the heavens, and all. their host have I commanded." Isaiah 45-1 a. ** In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind." Job i2-ia "Who hath measured the water in the hollow of His hand and meted out heaven with the span." Isaiah 40-1 a. The Identity of God. 89 The tmiveise is in the hollow of His mighty hand ; nothing can be hidden from His presence. The exaltation is to Him, the authority is to Him, and the greatness is to Him, forever and ever. Amen I CHAPTER V. THE ONENESS AND SINGLENESS OF GOD. Although the great religions which were founded upon the inspired utterances of the prophets, such as Zoroaster, Confucius, Moses, Buddha, Jesus and Mohammed, upheld the principle of Monotheism, yet we find in some of them, evidences of Ditheism and Tritheism. Zoroaster, for example, taught that the Supreme Being must necessarily be two,— one good and the other evil; this belief being founded upon ob- servation of human actions, which sometime in- cline toward good and sometime toward evil. As we are the creations of One Supreme God, endowed by Him with intellectual faculties and possessing the power of independence, which makes us responsible for our actions ; as by this gift of independence, we are elevated above all other visible creations, to resemble Him and be fitted for naturalization into His divinity; and as our independence enables us to incline either toward right or wrong doing, it is manifestly certain, that sin or evil is not caused by a Supreme Evil Being, but is the result of our own free will of action. Man is always inclined to lay the responsibility for his wrong doing upon some one else, and seek excuse for his failure to do right. For this reason, he has attributed his sins to the temptation of an 9« 92 The Oneness of God. evil Being, since God his Creator, who endowed man with facnlties and powers, could not reason- ably be charged with causing him to misuse them. God created man perfect Evil is the consequence of man's independent misuse of the weapon with which God endowed him. ** Behold, this only have I found, that God made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions." Ecclesiastes 7-29. Nearly all the great religions of the world, teach the Divine Triad. According to the Hindoos, ** Para-Brahm, the Supreme unrevealed Being, created the universe by self-contemplation ; as Siva, or Mahadeva, he destroyed it ; then, as Vishnu, restored it and sustains it" The Egyptians wor- shipped the trinity of "Isis, Osiris and Horns." The Greek triad was "the heavens above, the earth beneath and the ocean around all things." In the Orthic theology, we find ** Light, Life and Coun- cil." According to James Freeman Clark, Plato taught a three-fold God;' " First, as the profound, inscrutable substance and cause of all things ; next as manifesting Himself in the ideas, which are the roots in the spiritual world, of all that exists in the natural world ; and third as the life of the universe. " Pythagoras taught, likfe Plato, that the " first one was above all being, the second one contained the ideas x>f all being, the third one was the soul of all being." The Gnostics also held to the trinity of " the spirit in itself, the self-conscious spirit and the intelligent reason." In these and many other forms of religious belief. The Oneness of God. 93 living and dead, it is obvious that the triad really consists of three attributes of one central and Sux>reme Being, and not of three distinct gods. As we cannot call a man, ** nine men " because he has nine intellectual faculties, neither can we call God ** three,** because He has three powers or attributes. The doctrine of the Trinity, is much older than Christianity, and was grafted into the teachings of Jesus, from Egyptian sources. Quoting Clark's "Ten Great Religions," page 138: "There is no doubt that the Christian doctrine of the Trinity was derived from such forms of thought previously existing in Egypt and elsewhere. It grew out of a philosophical attempt to unite the monotheism of the Jews, with the profound tendencies of the Ori- ental and Grecian mind Philo had led the way in this attempt ; and Alexandria, where he lived and taught, was also the place where the Christian Trinity took its origin. The early Christian think- ers who followed Christ in their faith^ took Plato as their master in philosophy. Their object was to see the Divine, in the unity of things and also in their variety. The Supreme Being, One in Himself, is nevertheless the source and author of the infinitely varied world" Christianity has gone beyond the ground of be- lief of all other religions, by crystallizing the triad into three distinct personalities ; each a perfect God in Himself, equal to the others in power, glory and majesty; and by teaching that these three are one God. In this doctrine, the Church* has gone out* side the circle of Truth, and lost the ground upon which it stood, for the following reasons : — 94 The Oneness of God. First : It is an indisputable fact, that, according to science and reason, there is nothing in existence in the whole universe, without a cause ; and, as the universe is the collection of all these things, there- fore there must be a first cause for it As a first cause cannot be two causes or three, so also that first cause which we call God, cannot be three Gods. Second : As already shown in the previous chap- ter, God is an Individuality. According to logic and reason. He cannot be three Individualities; and, as Individuality is an Identity which cannot be divided, so God cannot be three persons or di- visions. Third : God is absolute Perfection; therefore He cannot be three persons; for nothing can be added to Him and nothing can be taken from Him. If each of the three persons is equal to the other. He cannot be perfect in Himself, because it is neces- sary for Him to be added to the other two persons, to make the One Absolute Perfect God ; therefore He cannot be three perfect gods and One Perfect God at the same time. Fourth: Three cannot be one and one cannot be three, although the three are equal to each other. Take, for instance, three twenty-five cent pieces. Although each piece is equal to the others in weight, shape, and value, we cannot say that the three are one piece, for it is against the light of reason which God gave us; the only ground we have to stand upon. Everything in a direct line against this light, is not true, because, if we admit The Oneness of God. 95 to be trne that which is in contradiction to our reason, we attribute to God, deception and in- justice, for giving us thinking faculties which see the wrong right and the right wrong. In support of the doctrine of the Trinity, it is sometimes held, that God the Father, to show His absolute perfection, created the Son to be His equal, and as there is no time to be considered, since we are all living in eternity, the Father and Son are equal in every respect This is illogical reasonii^, because it would be necessary for the Son to prove His perfection and equality, by creating a third God, and the third must create a fourth, and so on indefinitely, until there would be Gods innumerable. We believe in the Oneness and Singleness of God; that there is no other God beside Him. This is the teaching of the Old and New Testa- ments, and especially of Christ himself In •Ten Great Religions" page 147 — "Having thus seen Monotheism in philosophy, we now come to consider it in all the religions. It may surprise us to learn, that Monotheism has existed in all or nearly all religions, and that in the most highly developed Polytheism, there still remains, perhaps in an obscure form, a very real Monothe- ism.** In Isaiah 46-9, "Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me." Exodus 34-14 — "For them shalt worship no other God; for the Lord whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God." 9^ The Oneness of God. Deuteronomy 4-39 — "Know therefoie this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the Lord He is God in heaven above, and iipon the earth beneath; there is none else." Deuteronomy 6-4 — "Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God is one Lord." Deu- teronomy 10-17 — "For the Lord your God, is God of gods, and Lord of .lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons^ nor taketh reward." Jeremiah 10-6— "For as much as there is none like unto thee, O Lord; thou art great, and thy name is great in might" Also the i6th verse: *The por- tion of Jacob* is not like them; for he is the former o£ all things; an^ Israel is the rod of his inheritance; the Lord of hosts is His name;" Hosea 13-4 — "Vet I am. the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no God but me; for there is no Saviour beside me." Isaiah 42-5 — **7^hus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and .stretched them 6ut; he that spread forth the earth, and that which Cometh out of it, he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein." Isaiah 43-3-7 "For ^ *"^ ^^ Lord thy God, the Holy one of Israel, thy Saviour; I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee." Also loth verse: " Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe taie, and understand that I am He; befor^ me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me." Also nth verse: "I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no The Oneness of God. 97 Saviour." Also 14th and 15th verses: "Thus saith the Lord, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; for your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chal- deans, whose cry is in the ships." **I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.** Isaiah 44-6 — "Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer, the Lord of Hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.** Also the 8th verse: "Pear ye not, neither be afraid; have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my wit- nesses. Is there a God beside me? Yea, there is no God, I know not any.** Isaiah 45-5 — "I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me.** Also nth verse: *Thus saith the Lord, the Holy One of Israel and His maker. Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands, command ye me.** Also the i8th verse: "For thus saith the Lord that created ^^the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it; he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited; I am the Lord, and there is none else.** According to the teachings of Jesus, as recorded in the four gospels of the New Testament, he him- self made no claim to be God, or of equality with the Father. On the contrary, he taught the Unity of God, and the evidence is historically clear that the doctrine of the Trinity was introduced into Christianity by the Church fathers, centuries after the crucifixion of Jesus. John 14-28: **Yc have 98 The Oneness of God. heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved mfe, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father ; for my Father is greater than I. " John 15-1 — " I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman." Also 5th verse : " I am the vine, ye are the branches." Here is a clear ac- knowledgment by Christ, that God, the Lord of the Vineyard, is greater than Christ, the true vine. Mark 13-32 — "But of that day and that hour, knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the son, but the Father." Christ here confessed his own inferiority in knowledge, to that of the Father. If he then is not the equal of God, as he taught, it is impossible for God to be three persons equal to each other, as taught by the Trinitarians. Newman, " Phases of Faith," page 47 — " I rev- erenced the doctrine of the Trinity, as something vital to the soul; but felt, that to love the Fathers or the Athanasian Creed, more than the Gospel of John, would be a supremely miserable superstition. Now, in the 5th Chapter of John, when the Jews accuse Jesus 'of making himself equal to God,* by calling himself the Son of God, Jesus even hastens to protest against the inference as a misrepresenta- tion, — beginning with ' The Son can do nothing of himself,' and proceeds elaborately to ascribe all his greatness to the Father's will. **I at length saw, that the compiler of the Ath- anasian Creed did not understand his own words. If anyone speaks of three men, all that he means is The Oneness of God. 99 * three objects of thought, of whom each sepa- rately may be called man.' So also, all that could possibly be meant by three gods, is * three objects of thought, of whom each separately may be called God' Thus the Creed really teaches polytheism. " That there is nothing in the Scriptures about Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity, I had long observed. But in my study of John, I was now arrested by a text, which showed me how exceed- ingly far from a Tri-unity was the Trinity of the Gospel, — ^if Trinity it be, namely, in his last prayer, Jesus addresses to his Father the words — * This is life eternal, that they may know Thee, the only True God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent' **The thought crossed my mind, what if we, like Henry Martyn, were charged with polytheism by Mohammedans, and were forced to defend our- selves by explaining in detail, our doctrine of the Trinity ? Perhaps no two of us would explain it alike, and this would expose Christian doctrine to contempt Then, further, it came across me : How very remarkable it is, that the Jews, those strict Monotheists, never seem to have attacked the Apostles for polytheism. It would have been so plausible an imputation, if there has been any ex- terna! form of doctrine to countenance it Surely it is transparent that the Apostles did not teach as Dr. Waterland.'» It is a historical fact that St Athanasius intro- duced the doctrine of the Trinity into the Christian Church, three hundred and twenty-five years after Christ loo The Oneness of God- Christ, according to his own words, cannot be God, because he said, Luke 13-32: — that "in three days I will be perfected." God cannot need per- fecting. Throughout the Gospels, the record is evident, that according to Christ's own words and knowledge of himself, he was not God. No- where does he claim equality with God, but every- where, it is clearly evident, by his own confession of inferiority, that God the Father is greater than Christ, and is One God. The Unity of God is distinctly enunciated in the words of Christ, Mark 12-28 to 35: — "And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, which is the first commandment of all ? And Jesus answered him: The first of all commandments is. Hear O Israel ; The Lord our God is one Lord. And thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength ; this is the first commandment And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other com- mandment greater than these. And the scribe said unto Him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth ; for there is one God ; and there is none other but He. And to love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, He said unto him, Thou art The Oneness of God. loi not far from the Kingdom of God And no man after that, durst ask him any questions." Practically, the only support for the doctrine of the Trinity, is found in the First Epistle of John, 5th Chapter, 7th verse. According to the St. James Version of the New Testament, we read : " For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one.*' This verse does not appear in the Revised Version of Scripture, from the fact that it is known to be a spurious addition to the text Therefore, the only ground of claim for the doctrine of the Trinity, in the Bible, proves to be an interpolation, and upon revision of the original text, this verse has been stricken out According to the Gospel of John, loth Chapter, 29th-30th verses, Christ said, when speaking of his believers : — " My Father which gave them me, is greater than all ; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one." Christ cannot be said to have assumed equality with God in this statement, because, while assuming oneness of purpose with God, he still de- clares God to be greater than himself. By it, he meant that he was one with God in purpose and teachings ; the way to God, the truth of God, the Ufe in God, but not a part of God. Again in John 17-11 : — "And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom Thou hast given me, that they may be one. I02 The Oneness of God. From this, we understand that Christ was ask- ing God to keep his disciples in His name and to grant them the high position of oneness with Christ and with God, just as Christ was one with God the Father. Christ, therefore, did not mean by being "one with the Father," that he is equal to Him, for if that were so, it would follow that the answer to his petition, would make the disciples also equal with the Father, and so every follower of Christ would have the same position of equality with God. In John 14-8 to nth, Christ again acknowledges the infinite superiority of God, to himself "Philip saith unto Him, Lord, show us the Father and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, have I been so long time with you, and yet thou hast not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me, hath seen the Father ; and how sayest thou then. Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I* am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words I speak unto you, I speak not of myself; but the Father that dwelleth in me. He doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me ; or else believe me for the very work's sake." Christ's teaching here, was to show his disciples that the Father had manifested Himself in him. It seems that the disciples, Philip particularly, did not understand this great point Christ explains to them, that he spoke not the words of himself He did not claim that he spoke and taught from his own knowledge, but that God the Father spoke The Oneness of God. 103 through him; entirely separating himself from God, by the statement, '* I speak not of myself, but the Father that dwelleth in me, He doeth the works." Furthermore, in the nth verse, Christ admits that the works he performed, he could not perform unless the Father was manifest in him. It is a clear confession of his own helplessness, unless God spoke and wrought through him. If Christ was equal to the Father, he could have performed these works and spoken this truth from his own power and knowledge. On the contrary, he shows us plainly by his words, the distinction between his personality and the Infinite Personality of God, and also the diflFerence in his position and power. God the Father, the Lord of Hosts, has pian- ifested Himself to the human race, many times ; in Christ as well as in Abraham, Moses and the other prophets. The Spirit of God which spoke through Christ, spoke through all the other true prophets. Christ taught his disciples that God had manifested Himself in him. The whole groundwork of evi- dence from scriptural, logical and philosophical proof and consideration, is an overwhelming cer- tainty of knowledge, that God, the Almighty, the Omnipotent Creator, is One, and ''He spoke through the lips of His holy prophets, which have been since the world began.'* L. CHAPTEI^ VL MIRACLES. We do not accept the miracles of the Old and New Testaments in a literal sense^ as they ate commonly understood, but interpret and explain them as symbolical expressions of spiritual truth. Our reasons for differing from the belief of Christians, Jews and Mohammedans, in miracles, are as follows: First, — ^Although it is an estab- lished fact that everything is possible with God, and that God^can perform whatever He wills and chooses, yet we know that He cannot make a mis- take, nor will He perform an action contrary to the perfection of His knowledge and wisdom. As He created everything according to His perfection, it is a necessary sequence, that whatever He created, must be perfect in its limitation. If per- fect in its limitation, it must be governed by per- fect laws and attributes which are necessary for its existence. Therefore, whatever God does, must be in har- mony with everlasting law, which cannot be changed or annulled, having been laid by the per^ feet power of Ood. If He Himself should annul or violate His own laws, it would denote their weakness, and be an evidence that He did not ordain them after His perfection of knowledge and wisdom. 105 io6 Miracles. God, and the laws of God, are unchangeable. Therefore we cannot accept the literal perform- ance of miracles, which, being violations of His laws, are violations of the perfection of God Him- self. Second, — ^Where there is infinite power, theie is infinite justice, equally apportioned to the human race. Every human soul is therefore afforded the same privilege of development Every soul has, likewise, the same need of His mercy, His gifts and His blessings, and as all souls are weak and dependent upon Him, it would be injustice, if God should perform, at certain times, and for certain souls, miraculous actions intended to further their development, while depriving other souls, at other times, of that same privilege. As tliis would be a violation of His perfect and infinite justice, we do not believe in the literal performance of miracles ascribed to Him. Third, — God the Almighty has bestowed upon man, the God-power of will, that man might be independent in his actions, and responsible for his deeds. The function of this great weapon of in- dependence, is, that man shall, of his own choos- ing, seek God his Creator, accept Him and rise toward Him in knowledge and understanding. If God, by the performance of miracles and the dis- play of His almighty power, should force man to believe in and seek Him, this function of inde- pendence is annulled. Without independence, we could not be like Him, or worthy and fitted to become His children. Therefore, as we know we Miracles. 107 have independence to choose God, and as the pur- pose of miracles must be to influence our belief in Him, we cannot reconcile them with His infinite jostice. Fourth, — All or nearly all believers in miracles, believe in them from the fact that they are re- corded in the scriptures as the word of God. This is an acknowledgment that the word of God has power enough in itself, to influence the soul of man to believe in Him. As the function of miracles can be no other than that of influencing us toward God, the word of God does not require the assist- ance of these few unreasonable violations of natural law, to make us believe in Him. Therefore, we do not believe in miracles, because they are not necessary. Fifth,— If we admit, that God, the Almighty, through his prophets and messengers, has per- formed miracles for the purpose of persuading human belief in Him, it is an evident truth, that His intention has not been successfully accom- plished. The wicked, and those who do not seek God, have never been and will never be influenced toward God by miracles. . The scriptures teach this point plainly. — Luke, 16-31. ^* And he said unto him, if they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be per- suaded though one rose from the dead.^' Again in Mark 8-12. **And he sighed deeply in his spirit and saith, — why doth this generation seek after a sign ? Verily I say unto you, there shall no sign be given to this generation. '^ io8 Miracles. This is plain teaching by Christ, that there is no use of signs and miracles for the persuasion of peo- ple toward God As Christ said no sign would be given, we should believe him ; and if, as he said, miracles neither affect nor benefit those who do not wish to believe, and have no influence upon the wicked, the function of miracles is annulled* Sixth, — ^The scriptures say, " Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts.'' Zechariah 4-6. We must come to God by the spirit; that is, through our intelligence and understanding, and not influenced or forced by display of His power and strength. God will never force us through fear, to seek Him, since by fear of His power, he would deprive us of the exercise of our independence. What He has done is everlasting law. Our gift of independence is an eternal gift, and depriving us of it, would destroy the perfection of His law and action. Miracles, therefore, as displays of His power to force our wills, are impossible. Seventh, — Since the miracles, as they are com- monly understood and accepted, are diametrically opposed to the light of our power of reason ; as this power was given us to test all things according to its light, and as it is the only ground of surety upon which we stand, God would never perform actions which violate it The highest utterance predicated of Him, is "Come now and let us reason together." Shall we, at the same time, believe Him capable of per- forming unreasonable actions, and expecting us to believe in them ? Miracles. 109 Eighth) — God has taught us, through Christ, that *^He is spirit," and that we must worship Him ^4n spirit and in truth.'' ** Spirit" means ^' the intelligence and understanding." Therefore Christ taught us that God is intelligence, and must be worshiped intelligently. Belief in miracles which violate intelligence, cannot be intelligence of worship, and must be contrary to Christ's teadiings. Ninth, — If miracles are necessary to persuade our belief in God, have we not millions of miracles in the universe about us? Are we not surrounded, materially and spiritually, by the actions and evi- dences of our Almighty Creator, each one more wonderful and miraculous than the few unimpor- tant happenings in scripture? Do we need these few unreasonable miracles to persuade us toward that Omnipotent God? Tenth, — God, in creating the universe, estab- lished everlasting laws to govern it Everything accomplished, must be accomplished by those laws. Nothing can be accomplished otherwise. Violation of the action of these laws, would imply deficiency in the perfect action of God, and there can be no truth where there is deficiency or lack of perfection. Therefore, as miracles are founded upon violation of God's laws, and imply His deficiency or lack of perfection, we refuse to accept them. Eleventh, — ^The proof must be of the nature of the claim. The proof of a prophet must, neces- sarily, be a spiritual one. The teachings of a spiritual messenger are intended to lead the wicked no Miracles. unto righteousness. This is a full evidence of his true message, for it is of the nature of his claim. But to change water into wine, or a stick into a serpent, is not a suflGicient argument for his spiritual mission. By changing a knife into a bandage, a physician could not prove his ability to cure disease. Having shown the ground for disbelief in viola- tions of natural law, we come to consider the true nature and explanation of the miracles of scrip- tural record. We believe firmly in miracles which are accomplished in harmony and accord with God's created laws. For instance, if the normal power of a human arm, enables its possessor to write ten pages in an hour, an increase of that power which would produce twenty pages an hour, would be in the line of natural law, and justify our reason in accepting the action as miraculous. Many events in the Old and New Testaments, have been interpreted and arranged to appear as miracles, when they clearly were not ; the errors arising from misunderstanding or willful misinter- pretation of the text This has brought endless ridicule upon the Holy Book, subjecting it to venom of attack; and has been a prolific source of unbe- lief in the Word of God. If, however, we explain and understand the scriptural records of miracles rightly, discovering them to be reasonable and great spiritual lessons, instead of violations and impossi- bilities, the effect upon human souls, is precisely the reverse. This is the true power and purpose of the Word of God. The so called miracles are. Miracles "i in reality, spiritual teachings, simple and compre- hensible to human understanding, and intended to lead the soul which seeks knowledge, to God, the source of all knowledge. THE BUSH OF MOSBS. In the third Chapter of Exodus, it is recorded that God appeared to Moses in a bush, which, though burning, was not consumed. In the Mo- hammedan scriptures, God appears to Moses in a tree, which is neither above nor below, before nor behind, neither to the right nor to the left. Chris- tians and Mohammedans alike, explain this state- ment by saying ** Nothing is impossible with God, it was a miracle." The scriptures abound in parables, illustrations and symbols. At the time of Moses, symbolical writing was universal. In order to explain to the Israelites, how God had appeared to him, Moses used the ** bush '* as a figure of speech to represent his heart. The symbol is a perfect one. As many branches spring from the bush rooted in the earth, so, from the heart, spring the arteries and veins which run through the body. Therefore, God ap- peared to Moses in his heart, in the form of fire. " Fire " is the symbol of the spirit of God, and of His love toward His creatures ; and as every symbol has two points, positive and negative, so **fire" means sometimes " love " and sometimes " hatred.'* As it is written, " No one can see God and live,** because man cannot stand the glorious and majestic 112 Miracles. appearance of the Creator, it is therefore necessary that He, from His love and mercy toward ns, should give us, by that spirit of love, " fire,** — ^the power and strength to stand His majestic appearance and not die. We read throughout the Bible, that when God appeared to His prophets and messengers, Tsaiah, Bzekiel, Zechariah, Daniel and others, they fell upon their faces as if dead, until God, in His mercy, gave unto them the **fire," the spirit of love, to strengthen them before His presence. So the mean- ing of the appearance of God in the bush, to Moses, symbolizes the presence of God in the heart of Moses, which was strengthened by the fire of His loving spirit, and not consumed. The tree, in the Mohammedan scriptures, is the same symbol of the heart, for the heart is neither above nor below, be- hind nor before, neither to the right side, nor to the left. THB STICK OP MOSES AND AARON. In scripture, a prophet, messenger, or teacher of the truth, is often symbolized as a shepherd. As a shepherd of flocks must have a stick, so the teacher or prophet must have a rod or stick, to direct his flocks. The stick of the teacher is the **powcr of logic,'* the ^'power of conviction,*' be- stowed upon him by God, that he may be able to lead his flocks in the way of truth. When God appointed Moses as the prophet and spiritual shep- herd of Israel, He delivered to him the power or talent of proving the truth of his message Miracles. 113 to the people, that they might be convinced and turn to the face of theirGod and Creator. To show that "stick'* or **rod** symbolizes the power of proving the truth, we quote from Bzekiel 21, 9-iOy "a sword is sharpened, and also furbished; it is sharpened to make a sore slaughter ; it is fur- bished that it may glitter ; should we then make mirth? It contemneth the rod of my Son as every tree.*' The; original translation of this passage, reads **The rod of my Son, it contemneth every stick.'* The meaning conveyed by Bzekiel, is, that the power of argument and conviction, of the Son of God, is greater and higher than any other power of argument **Sword," or the "stick of iron," which is usually rendered into English as *^od of iron,'' denotes the power of argument and convic- tion of the teachings of God Himself, as we see in Revelations 1-16 "And He had in His right hand seven stars; and out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword." Also in Revelations 12-5 "And she brought forth a man-child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron." Thus we see that **stick," **rod" and "sword" are synonymous terms denoting the power of the truth, and therefore the **rod" or **stick" of Moses, was the power of ar- gument possessed by him to prove the truth of his message. God also gave Moses, purity of heart and love for his fellow-creatures. We read that God com- manded him to put his hand into his bosom, as a sign, and that when he withdrew it, the hand had Digitized by Google r "4 Miracles. become white, S3nnbolizin^ the purity of his heart Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh. ''Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and be- fore his servants, and it became a serpent" Pharaoh then summoned the wise men and sorcerers of his kingdom, that is to say, the priests, in order that they might argue the truth with Moses and Aaron. The wise men cast down their rods, which likewise became serpents, but the serpent of Aaron swallowed up their serpents. The rods or sticks symbolize the power of argu- ment, which, when laid down, became wisdom; for the symbol of a serpent is and always has been used to denote wisdom. Christ said "be ye wise as serpents." Before Pharaoh, Moses and Aaron displayed greater power of argument and wisdom, which swallowed up the wisdom of the priests of Egypt JONAH AND THB WHALB. The terms '^mountain" and **hill," are used in the scriptures, to symbolize a "ruler" or a "king." When the ruler or king is a tyrannous one, he is represented by a "whale." In Bzekid 35-3, we read, "Son of man, set thy face against Mount Seir and prophesy against it and say unto it,'' etc In the verses which follow, it is evident that Mount Seir denotes a ruler, for instance, the 5th verse, ''Because thou hast had a perpetual hatred and hast shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword." In Bzekid 33-3, the symbol of **whale" is used Miracles. 115 to designate the tyrannous Pharaoh. ''Son of man, take up the lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou art like a young lion of the nations, and thou art as a whale in the seas ; and thou camest forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers." The whale of Jonah was therefore a tjrrannous ruler who cast that prophet into prison, where he remained for a period of three days, which means three years'^ after which imprisonment, Jonah was liberated, and went out to deliver the message of God, to the people of Nineveh. JOSHUA COMMANDING THE SUN TO STAND STILL. It is the custom, particularly in Oriental coun- tries, to give leaders and high, personages, such titles as the "Sun," **Moon," "Shining Star," etc This is a prevalent custom in the Western nations as well, but the Oriental people sometimes give these titles to great men, as a proper name. When Joshua was engaged in battle against the Amorites, the commander of the Amorite forces bore the title of " The Sun." Joshua, by superior military force and skill, commanded " The Sun " to stand still, that is to say, checked his advance and attack, until the Israelites avenged themselves upon, and overthrew their enemies. THB TOWER OF BAB-EL. As the finite cannot comprehend the Infinite, we find throughout the history of the world, the cease- ii6 Miracles. less endeavor of man to comprehend and reach God from his own finite standpoint In these present years, many are striving to know God through con- centration, or by the performance of special actions, seeking him according to their own ideas and inventions. Christ taught us that we must come to God through "the way,*' "the door'* prepared for us, and that those who seek to come by the fences or windows, are as " thieves and robbers." The interpretation of the Tower of Bab-el narration is, therefore, that in those ancient days, as in these present times, men were trying to build a tower, a way, a spiritual structure, by which to reach God and save themselves ; but as they were not in the way of the truth, but filled with superstitions and imaginations, they were not able to agree in their thoughts and ideas regarding the method of finding God, and so confusion resulted. This confusion of ideas, opinions and imagina- tions concerning the way of God, is likened in the scriptures, to speaking in different tongues and not being able to understand each other. The name Bab-el means the " Gate of God." According to Andrew D. White in "The Warfare of Science with Theology" — ^page 170 — *'A11 modem scholars of note agree that this was the real significance of the name ; but the Hebrew verb which signifies * to confound,' resembles somewhat the word Bab^ so that, out of this resemblance, by one of the most common processes in myth formation, came to the Hebrew mind an indisputable proof that the tower was connected with the confusion of tongues, and this became a part of our theological heritage." Miracles. 117 THE APOSTLES SPEAKING MANY LANGUAGES. According to the 2d Chapter of the Book of Acts> the disciples of Christ were suddenly filled with the Holy Ghost, and ** began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance ;" every man in the multitude of listeners, hearing them speak in his own language. I^iteral belief in this record, is belief in the violation of all the natural laws which govern transmission of thought by the medium of language. Christ and his followers spoke the Aramaic, the language of Palestine. When these disciples received the spiritual power of truth and utterance, they spoke it so strongly and with such convincing force, in the universally understood Aramaic tongue, that every one who heard them, heard them according to his own understanding and conviction. The words and argument of the truth, appealed directly to all, and each one under- stood in his own language, that is to say, the language of his soul-needs and belief. How often we have heard truth in our own soul-language; eloquence of truth which seemed aimed at and exactly fitted to our own needs and condition. P. W. Newman in " Phases of Faith** — ^page 179, says ^'Is it credible that the Spirit should inspire one man to utter unintelligible sounds, and a second to interpret these, and then give the assem- bly endless trouble to find out whether the inter- pretation was pretense or reality, when the whole difficulty was gratuitous ? " ii8 Miracles. CHRIST CHANGING WATER INTO WINK. According to the second chapter of the Gospel of John, the mother of Jesus came to him at a wed- ding feast in Cana, Galilee, saying, *' They have no wine,'' suggesting the miracle which is said to have followed. If we accept this account literally, the reply of Jesus to Mary, his mother, " Woman what have I to do with thee ? " is a serious blow to our estimate of the Christ character. This appel- lation and style of address is, especially in Oriental countries, a most disrespectful one, and impossible to believe concerning Christ, whose reverence for his mother, in all other scriptural record, is partic- ularly marked. Again, Christ's statement, " mine hour is not yet come," bears further evidence of error in the record, for immediately afterward, it is said, he called the servants and changed water into wine, proving beyond question, that his time had come. Overlooking these significant points in the question of fact and authenticity of happening, however, and the certain evidence of addition to the text, let us explain the reputed miracle itsel£ It was the custom, in Oriental countries, at weddings, funerals and feasts, to invite spiritual teachers, who expounded scriptural texts and delivered addresses to the company present. This custom prevails to the present day, in Syria, Egypt and Turkey. Among the Moham- medans, texts and expositions from the Koran, are a part of the wedding festivities. Christ had been summoned by the master of the wedding feast at Miracles. "9 Cana, to entertain and instruct the assembly with his spiritual teaching. Other teachers and priests had been invited for the same purpose. " Water,'* "wine" and "blood," in Scriptural symbolism, denote spiritual teachings. After the teachers, who preceded him, had finished giving the wedding guests spiritual drink, sjrmbolized by the wine, Christ, the Great Master, gave them the strong wine of his truth, until the Governor of the feast "called the bridegroom and saith unto him, thou hast kept the good wine until now;'' referring by the comparison, to the weak wine of traditions and superstitions which the Hebrews believed and taught in those days. More than that, Christ not only gave them the strong wine of his truth, but took from the water of the other teachings, whatever of truth was to be found in them, and changed that water into wine. THE LdAVES AND FISHES. Christ declared that he was the " Bread of Wfc;" and "bread" is the sjrmbol of the truth he taught The fish likewise symbolized the truth and teach- ings of God. In some of the ancient religions, God was represented as half man, half fish. In the Cata- combs of Rome, rude sketches of the fish, may still be found, representing Christian truth. Christ taught the multitude, that is, he gave them spiritual food of bread and fishes, more than they could com- prehend or digest His twelve disciples, however, those near to him, able to receive and comprehend I20 Miracles. what the multitude could not, gathered up from the remains of the spiritual food, twelve baskets fuU. THE DBVII^ AND SWINB. Since no personalized power of evil, working against God the Creator, can exist, "devil'* or ^* Satan'' must be terms of expression for the wicked spirit, understanding, or intelligence within ourselves. According to the Epistle of James 1-13, ** Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God, for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth He any man ; but every man is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust and en- ticed." The miracle attributed to Christ, of casting out devils from the man, into a herd of two thousand swine, is, for several reasons, a doubtfril record. It is a well known fact that in the days of Christ, most of the inhabitants of Palestine, were Hebrews, who were forbidden to eat the flesh of swine. It was even considered a sin against their law, to raise swine. In the whole of Syria, to-day, we could scarcely find two thousand swine, and their number in the days of Christ, would be still less. Again, if Christ had destroyed a herd of two thousand swine, he would have been summoned to the courts, and punished for destruction of property. Literally, the record is far too incredible even for a miracle, whereas the real interpretation of Christ's action, is a strong spiritual lesson. The intention of the teaching, therefore, is to show that Christ, finding a man possessed with evil Miracles. 121 desires and the devils of his own wicked thinking, tanght him, set him straight, drove these devils out of his mind, and in their place, left the strength and peace of the Christ truth, until we find him sitting, ** Clothed and in his right mind.'' As those who are not believers, and who have not received spiritual teachings, were symbolized by Christ as '* swine," when he said ''Cast not your pearls before swine," so the evil spirits or devils which he had driven out of the man, by his words of truth, were left to the wicked and unbelieving and not to a real herd of two thousand swine. RAISING OF LAZARUS. It is obvious, that the messages delivered to us by the servants and prophets of God, were intended to teach us spiritually, not materially. This prin- ciple is particularly ignored in these days, by the increased tendency to give the scriptures material interpretation. If we study carefully, the words of Christ, we will find that he spoke of spiritual death continually, and seldom, if ever, spoke of death in a material sense. When one of his disciples begged permission from him to bury his fiither, Christ answered " Let the dead bury their dead," meaning, let those who are spiritually dead, those whose time is not occupied with their spiritual welfare, attend to the burial, and implying that the disciple, like Christ himself^ must devote his time to spreading the gospel In John 5-24, '' He that heareth my word and believeth on Him that sent me, hath eternal life, and cometh not into judgment, but hath 122 Miracles. passed out of death into life." Also in John 8-52, ** If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death. " These are teachings of Christ, concern- ing spiritual death. The unheliever, not being bom of the spirit, is dead, while the believer, like the disciple whom he prevented from burjring his father, is spiritually alive. From this we learn, that Christ has raised from death, all who believe in the truth he taught, and that he raised none from physical death. There can be no raising of a material body from death, for it is against all the natural laws of God,* which govern life and death. The correct interpretation of the record of Lazarus, is, that after receiving the teachings of. Jesus, he became a backslider, and talked bitterly against the truth. This is what is meant by his being dead, and in a state of corruption. It was spiritual death and corruption, not material, for Christ him- self said to the sister of Lazarus, *' He is not dead.'* Christ therefore went to him and taught him back to spiritual life in the true faith. Much of the accessory narration has been supplied to sup- port the idea that Christ performed a mirade. We know that he did perform some cases of physical healing, as, for instance, the daughter of Jairus. He said of her, as he said of Lazarus, that she was '* not dead," and therefore did not raise her from material death. THE STAR OF BBTHLBHBM. In the second Chapter of Matthew, it is stated that certain wise men, beholding a star appear in Miracles. 123 the Bast, traveled to Jerusalem, made inquiries there, then followed the star to Bethelem, where it stood over the infant Jesus. Here again we find a record which is, if taken literally, a violation of the laws of God, and an impossibility, as it neces- sitated the creation and extinction of a planet ; to say nothing of attendant incongruity of happening, such as the local movement of the newly created planet and its stopping over a stable. "Star'* de- notes a spiritual leader, a man of learning and renown, just as we say a "star" has 'appeared in this or that country. The **wise men'* were the disciples and followers of some noted spiritual leader or * *star. ' * These wise disciples learned from him, that a child of renown was to be bom in the land of Judea. They traveled to Jerusalem, the great center of Judea, where their master left them and sought from shepherds, the place of the child's birth. Shepherd means in scripture, a spiritual leader. God Himself said He is our "shepherd." Receiving from spiritual men or shepherds, in Jerusalem, the necessary information, the master returned to his disciples, led them to Bethlehem and stood over the place where Jesus lay. All the miracles of the Old and New Testaments, can be be similarly explained and interpreted, to teach us spiritual truth. The halo of supernatural and miraculous performance with which the records are invested, is the outcome of superstition and imagination, which, ever since the world began, have obscured the pure light of God's truth. Digitized by VjOOQlC CHAPTER Vn. THE RETURN OF THE SOX7L. Scripture, science and philosophy clearly prove the impossibility of the resurrection of the body. The souls return to earth in new and different bodies, however, is demonstrable from the light of all inquiry. Furthermore, it can be shown that this is the true resurrection of Scripture. Under no other hypothesis or belief, can soul conditions and environment be explained. Resurrection of the same body is impossible, for the following reasons: — FirsL It is against the law which governs the coming of souls upon the earth. Under this law, each soul must take for its habitation, a material body, formed through the natural process of repro- duction. This body, house, or tent, cannot be made otherwise, therefore, if the soul returns again to earth, it must take the flesh according to the law ordained for that purpose. It is unreasonable to believe that after a house has been destroyed by fire, it can be rebuilt with the same materials which once composed it By taking fresh materials and repeating the process of construction, another house resembling the original| can be built Similarly, after death, the body is decomposed by a slower process of combustion than the fire which destroyed the house, but it is just as M5 126 The Return of the Soul- impossible to reconstruct the body fSrom its original material ingredients^ as it is to duplicate the house from its original materials. Therefore, if the soul returns, as we are taught and can prove that it does, a new body must be provided for its occupancy. Second. According to the doctrine of the resur- rection of the body, we shall live eternally in the spiritual realms, as souls, re-occupying our material bodies. This belief is contrary to Scripture, I Corinthians 15-50. " Now this I say brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God ; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption." It is likewise contrary to science, which teaches us that material composition cannot be perfect, unless it can be decomposed ; and if our bodies, which we know to be material compositions, shall rise to live in a spiritual hereafter, they will be subject to decomposition. It follows, then, that according to scientific reasoning, there would be death and cor- ruption in Heaven. To meet this conclusion, the explanation is made that our bodies will be raised and spiritualized at the resurrection day, and so there will be no more decomposition or death. This is illogical and false doctrine, because it is an established fact that matter cannot be transformed into intelligent essence, for the unchangeable law of God, is, that every essence is endowed with inherent, inseparable and perpetual qualities which are necessary for its eternal existence. God is absolute perfection and unchangeable. Spiritual- izing our material bodies would be directly against His perfection and the perfection of His actions, which cannot be. The Return of the Soul. 127 Tkird. We know, that after the dissolution of the body, the material elements of which it is com- posed, return to the earth and atmosphere, from whence, by natural process of growth, they enter into the composition of other living forms such as grasses, grains, vegetables, etc These living forms, in turn, die and decompose.* Prom them, still other forms are nourished, and the process of assim- ilating these material elements is repeated. Animals feed upon these grasses and herbs; human beings subsist upon fruits, grains and the flesh of animals. We find, therefore, that the same atoms of material substances, in the course of time, have entered into and composed the bodies of different human beings. Now, if, at the day of resurrection, these bodies are to be raised in their original forms, it will be found that the same atoms have entered into the composition of many different bodies, and confusion must result, since there will be many claimants for the same atoms and there can be no possible solution of the question "to whom do these atoms belong?" The only precaution against this state of affsdrs, would be a law from the Cre- ative Mind, apportioning a certain amount of material substance to each human body, which, having been used in that body, would be set aside for its rehabilitation at the resurrection day, a sup- position manifestly ridiculous, impossible, and vio- lating all fact and reason. The resurrection mentioned in the Scriptures, is the return of the soul in new and different bodies. This is the true spirit and intention of Scriptural teaching, for the following reasons : — 128 The Return of the Soul. Firsi. As already shown in a preceding chapter, " soul " or " intellecftuality,'* is not the result of the composition of material elements, but is separate and distinct from the body in which it lives and manifests itself It is a scientific truth that the body, in its elementary ingredients, existed before it was formed into that material composition and connected with the souL We must therefore con- clude, that the soul likewise existed before it became connected with the body. If the soul existed before this connection, and as the mode of connection between soul and body is the natural and everlasting law of birth from parents, then the soul, in coming again to take a body, as the Scrip- tures teach, must come in the same way it first came, through the process of birth This is the true return, re-birth, re-embodiment, re-incarnation of the soul, or as the Scriptures designate it, ^^ The Resurrection of the Body.'* Second. As the actions of the Creator are founded upon infinitely wise purpose, therefore the existence of the human race upon this earth, em- bodies His wisdom of purpose. Where there is In- finite Wisdom, there must be Infinite Justice. It is therefore necessary, that all human souls must have sufficient time and opportunity for the accom- plishment of the purpose of their existence here. We know however, that under the workings of natural laws, many souls which take up their residence in bodies, are compelled to leave them before they have had sufficient opportunity to ac- complish their purpose, as in the cases of infants, the insane, idiots, etc. The Return of the SouL 129 It has been, and still is the belief of many, that the souls of children and infants, after death of the body, are cast into '^hell" or punishment It has been maintained that ''hell" is paved with the skulls of infants. Others believe and teach that the souls of infants and children pass into heaven or an eternal reward, after their short and irre- sponsible experience here. Neither of these views is reconcilable or consistent with the Infinite Justice of Grod, for, if God should otdain that the soul of an infant should pass into an eternity of reward. His action would be a gross injustice and wrong to souls which reach their maturity of ex- istence here. If Grod should so discriminate in &vor of the infant soul which departed before it had an opportunity to sin, other souls which He had allowed to remain a long time upon the earth, committng sins and iniquities, could protest against the injustice of God, for His unequal treat- ment of His creatures. If, on the other hand, God should commit an infant soul to punishment and doom, that infant soul would have the right to protest, since, not having reached its maturity of understanding, it had not been given the opportunity afforded to souls which lived here Icmger. Thus, we see that neither punishment nor reward of irresponsible souls such as infimts, idiots, insane, etc., is in ac- cord with the justice of God, which must be ad- mitted to exist in perfection. There is but one other course possible; it is necessary that such souls should remain in the spiritual realms, await* I30 The Return of the SouL ing another opportunity of coming to the earth, of taking new bodies, reaching their maturity of understanding and responsibility, and accomplish- ing or failing to accomplish the purpose of their earthly existence. God will, therefore, in His justice, give to infants, idiots, etc., other oppor- tunities, by allowing them to re-incarnate. Third. It is evident that the soul of man, dur- ing its imprisonment in this house of clay, has the liberty of ill-using the gifts Grod has bestowed upon it Influenced by the desires and temptations of the world, man forgets his duty toward his Creator, and passes into the spiritual realm without accom- plishing the great purpose of his coming here. Where there is Infinite Wisdom, there is Infinite Justice. Where there is Infinite Justice, there is Infinite Love and Infinite Mercy. Therefore, if God in His Love and Mercy, allows that soul an- other opportunity of coming again to earth, to re- trieve its wasted opportunity, it. is necessary for that soul to re-incarnate, re-embody itself in the natural process of birth. Fourth. Owing to the weakness and ignorance of man, and the various conditions of environment, our race has been divided into many nationalities and classes, difiering from each other in position, state of progress and opportunity of development, such as high and low, civilized and uncivilized, rich and poor, etc As the soul has not the liberty or power to choose for itself the place or condition of its coming into the body, it is necessary that the justice and mercy of our Almighty Creator, who The Return of the SouL 131 controls and apportions the soul's environment, shall regulate this difference in opportunity and soul conditions, by incarnating the soul at different times, and in different places, according to its just deserts. In this way,* and by His infinite wisdom, all souls enjoy equal and full privilege of develop- ment, according to the exercise of their own inde> pendence. As the soul succeeds or fails in its development during one incarnation, it is assisted or hampered by the opportunities or obstacles of its next environment ; upon the soul that has pro> gressed, God bestows advantages of time, place or condition ; upon the soul that retrogrades in prog-^ ress and understanding, the burden of its own record is laid in the corresponding difficulties of its next period of earthly existence. For the just dispensation of opportunities to all, the return of the soul is therefore necessary. Jn^ On account of the failure and neglect by man, of his own will and understanding, to seek God, and accomplish his purpose upon earth, God has sent,' at intervals, throughout all ages and races, holy souls, shepherds or prophets, to teach man, the Way, the Truth and the Life. These messengers of God, have been bom in the flesh, ac- cording to the natural law of all mankind, although it was not necessary for them, in some cases, to come again upon earth, they having fulfilled their duties, in a previous incarnation. Sixth. The return of the soul is taught through- out the Holy Scriptures. Numbers 24-17 — " I shall see Him but not now ; I shall behold Him but not 132 The Return of the Soul. nigh. There shall come a Star out of Jacob and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel and shidl smite the comers of Moab and destroy all the children of Sheth." This is an utterance by the prophet Balaam, the son of Beor, concerning the coming of Shilohy the incarnation of Deity; at which time, Balaam himself, will come upon the earth and be- hold Him. Job 19-25 to 27 : ** For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth ; and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God ; whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be con- sumed within me.'* This prophet also promised to be upon the earth in the flesh, at the time of the appearance of God the Redeemer of our race, and that with his own eyes, he should see Him. These are plain scriptu- ral teachings of the soul's return in new bodies. Psalms 90-3 : ^ * Thou tumest man to destruction ; and sayest Return, ye children of men." Psalms Z04-29, "Thou hidest Thy face, they are troubled; Thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust Thou sendest forth Thy spirit, they are created; and Thou renewest the face of the earth." Also Isaiah 26-19: ^^Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust ; for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead." All these are plain teachings of re- embodiment The Return of the Soul. 133 Isaiah 24-23 : *' Then the moon shall be con- founded and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem and before His ancients gloriously." Here is a clear prophecy that God is to appear in the flesh, as a man, and rule ^^ in Zion and in Jeru- salem before his ancients gloriously." Who are "his ancients '' ? They are the prophets and the saints who were promised to be present with Him in His appearance, as we have read in Job and in Num- bers. His ancients are His saints who are men- tioned in the epistle of Jude, 1-14: "And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these saying, behold the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints." This corresponds with what Christ prophesied in St Luke, 13-28: "There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and all the proph- ets in the Kingdom of God, and you, your- selves thrust out" Also the 29th verse, "And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the Kingdom of God." All these show plainly, that when God comes to establish His Kingdom upon the earth, all the prophets and saints are promised to be with Him. Christ, our Great Master, said that he would come and renew the cup with his disciples. Matthew, 26-29: ^^But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom." If God and His saints are to come upon the earth spiritually, 134 The Return of the Soul. as some people understand and explain, their com- ing will be of no use to humanity, for they will not be visible. Furthermore, it is illogical to say that God will come spiritually, when He is spiritually omnipresent If His kingdom is to be established upon earth, it must necessarily be a visible earthly kingdom. If otherwise, Christ would not have said *'they will come from the east and the west, from the north and from the south.'* There are no points of the compass in the spiritual reklms. Again, he would not have said that he would re> new, the cup with his disciples, since it 4s evident that there can be no eating or drinking in an ex- istence that is spiritual. It is clear, therefore, from the words of the prophets, and especially from those of Christ, that the Kingdom to come, is to be a visible Kingdom, and as they are to be present in it, their souls must return in the flesh. According to Daniel, 12-2: "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth, shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt ; " also 13th verse, " But go thou thy way till tiie end be ; for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days." Bzekiel 37-12: "Thus saith the Lord God: behold, oh my people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. " 13th verse, " And ye shall know that I am the Lord when I have opened your graves, oh my people, and brought you up out of your graves.'* 14th verse, "And shall put My spirit in you and ye shall live, and I shall place The Return of the Soul. 135 you in your own land ; then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord." Isaiah, 26-19: **Thy dead ;nen shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust ; for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead." According to the new trans- lation of Isaiah, by Prof. Cheyne, page 156, — in explanation of this verse, "The late Hebrew for the Resurrection, is * t'khiyyath hammethim,^ the * revival of the dead.' " This exactly expresses the fact, that resurrection, as taught in the Scriptures, means revival of the dead, that is to say, the return and subsequent incarnation of the soul. Seventh. The words of Christ, according to the Gospel of John, 8-58, were, " Verily, verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am.'' Whether we consider that he existed before Abraham, in the flesh or in the spirit, he had, according to his own claim, been in existence before he was bom of Mary, nineteen hundred years ago. Therefore, Christ, our example, fulfilled the natural laws of God, in being bom as we -were bom, and in his promised coming, must return according to the same laws. Eighth. The return of the soul to earth, in dif- ferent bodies, and subject to different environments, is a great blessing and justice to the human race, as it annuls entirely all racial inequality and levels pride of nationality, by majdng us all of one race and one £sunily. The question arises — ^^According to Scripture, 136 The Return of the SouL Christ rose from the dead upon the third day, and appeared to his disciples. If Christ is our great example, shall we not rise as he has risen, from the grave, in the flesh?'' Christ did not appear to his disciples in his material body. If we read the record of Luke, 24-13, he appeared to Cleophas and another, as they journeyed from Jerusalem to Bmmaus. Although he talked with them, they did not recognize him, and it was not until he parted from them, that they began to suspect he was Christ their Master. This shows plainly, that he did not appear to them in the flesh, but in a vision, in his spiritual body, for had he walked and talked with them in the same body they knew so well before his crucifixion, they must have recognized him instantly. It is clearly evident that he appeared to Paul and others as well, in a spiritual body. In '^ Phases of Faith," page 181, Newman says : **He (Paul) even recounts the appearance of Christ to him, years after his ascension, as evidence similar in kind to his appearance to Peter and to James, and to 500 brethren at once. — ^I Cor. 15-4 to 8 : And that he (Christ) yfss buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures ; and that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve. After that he was seen of about five hundred brethren at once ; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that he was seen of James ; then of all the apostles, and last of all he was seen of me also." Also I Cor. 9-1 : Paul asks " have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord ? " The Return of the Soul. 137 In the 20th Chapter of John, it is stated, that while the disciples were gathered together in an upper room, the windows and doors being shut, Christ appeared in their midst, saying ** Peace be unto you." This was likewise an appearance in his spiritual body, for it is an unchangeable law, that two material substances cannot occupy the same place at the same time, and Christ's entrance in his material form, through solid walls or doors, was an impossibility. The spiritual body, how- ever, can penetrate matter, as light passes through glass, and thus the appearance of the Master to his disciples, becomes a reasonable phenomenon. It is recorded, that at the time of his appearance to the disciples, Christ asked Thomas to put his fingers in the nail* holes and spear wound, to dispel his doubts as to the reality of Christ Before en- tering the explanation of th^ event, it is necessary to consider a fact concerning the resurrection of Christ As the highest exponent of our race, his resurrection would be the pattern and example of all bodies which are to rise from the dead, that is to say, we should rise, as he did, with the defects of the flesh. If Christ appeared with the nail holes in his hands and spear wound in his side, our bodies must rise minus those parts or portions of the flesh which are missing at Jthe time of death. This con- clusion is inevitable. If therefore, a man has lost an eye, he shall appear as a resurrected body with but one eye ; if an arm or leg is missing at the time of his death, he will be minus these members when raised from the dead. There can be no other con- 138 The Return of the Soul. dition than this, if resurrection of the body is to be accomplished. If, for instance, the leg and arm of a child be destroyed, and the child grow into ma- turity, its body must either stand at the resurrection day without its leg and arm, or as an adult body with the leg and arm of a child, both of which con- ditions are unreasonable, ridiculous and impossible. As it is evident that no human body will die with- out defects and imperfections^our resurrection would be a most nliserable one, and far from desirable. For this reason, we know th^t Christ's return was in his spiritual body and not in his material form. In addition to this potent argument, let us take the literal record of scripture, which if read aright and correctly understood, furnishes still further proof of this view of the question. In • the oriental coun- tries, the idiomatic expression ^*put your finger upon it," is widely us^ to denote absolute certainty of proof regarding anything. It is customary to say to any one doubting a statement, *'Come and put your finger upon it," which is equivalent to " Come and prove it for yourself." It was in this sense, " Come and prove it for yourself," that Christ spoke to Thomas, for Thomas, after the death of Christ, had begun to. doubt the truth, and Christ, reading his wavering thoughts, spoke thus to con- vince him that he had returned to them, though in his spiritual body. Upon the basis of the foregoing scientific, philo- sophical and scriptural reasoning, resurrection of the body is impossible, but the return or re-em- bodiment of the soul, is conclusively proved. The Return of the SouL 139 To some, admitting the necessity of the soul's return, belief in it, is difficult, from the fact that we have no memory of the soul's past history. "Why do we not remember our previous incarna- tions?" God, in His Infinite wisdom, has laid the law, that when the soul enters its. body, the tablet of memory is sealed and the soul cannot recall any of its previous history. This is necessary for a very evident reason. God has given 'us the faculty of will, the power of choice and independence, in order that we may be responsible for our actions while in the body and by the correct Use of which, we may be fitted to become Hi^ children. For this reason. He has b€;^towed upon us this great weapon, this supreme God-gift, will. Having en- dowed us with it, it; is necessary that He must grant us also the opportunity of exercising it If the tablet of memory was not sealed and cut oflF from the soul's past, each soul, remembering the circumstances of its coming upon earth, and the jmrpose of its being here, would frilfill that pur- pose without the exercise of its independence, for it would be influenced by its previous knowledge, and controlled by it to such an extent, that it would not deserve any credit or reward fqr its actions. Nor could it be fitted to become the child of God, for it woul<| not resemble Him in being independent For this reason, the tablet of memory is sealed when the soul enters the body. It is likewise a wise and mercifal provision of our Almighty Creator, in cutting oflF the memory of our previous existence, for the brain could not en- I40 The Return of the Soul. dure the strain of our accumulated experiences; we would be driven insane by the mental pressure^ and the soul's opportunity denied it WHAT IS DEATH ? The diflFerence between the death of the body, and what may be termed the death of the soul, must be clearly understood and explained. It is self-evident, that the earth is not our permanent place of residence ; no human creature will remain here ; all will pass away at the summons of death. We are sent upon the earth for a short time, to attain a great privilege in our eternal life. For this reason, our bodies, in which we make this short stay, are compositions of material elements, susceptible to the effects of the surrounding nature, and irrevocably destined to undergo decomposition or death. When decomposition ensues, the soul must leave its residence, and pass into the spiritual realms, exactly as one leaves a house that has become uninhabitable, deserts it, and moves to another place. As death of the body does not mean destruction of its material elements, sinee nothing in existence is destructible, it means the end of the partnership or connection between mat- ter and the soul. Death is the change of abode, the liberation of the soul from the body. There- fore death is not to be feared or dreaded, and we should be happy in the knowledge that the soul is being freed from its imprisonment. For this reason, instead of rejoicing at birth and lamenting The Return of the Soul. 14' at the time of death, these conditions should be exactly reversed ; joy should accompany the de- parture of the soul, and lamentations bewail its coming upon earth. The "death of the soul," or the "second death," as it is termed, resembles, in some respects, the death of the body. The soul which accomplishes the purpose of its coming upon earth, will be naturalized into Divinity and adopted as the child of God; while the soul failing to accomplish the purpose of its residence and environment here, will be cast out from the **face of God." This is the * 'death of the soul," or the "second death,*' which has no power over believers. It is the corruption of the soul, which, by its unworthiness, is prevented from being naturalized into Divinity, just as the corruption of the material body, renders it unfit as a residence for the soul. As the soul casts its worthless body aside, so the soul itself when cor- rupted, is cast aside to live in the spiritual realms, subject to its former limitations; its opportunity lost; its eternity, an endless regret This is the death of the souL CHAPTER Vm. EVOI.UTION. The theory of Mr. Darwin and his followers, who claim that a power of evolution has produced the human species, by slow and almost imperceptible stages, from the lowest form of animal existence, is contrary to natural laws and facts. The true evolution, however, which is the growth or progress, mentally and physically, of existing organisms, ac- cording to natural and spiritual laws which have been established by God for the necessity of their existence and development, is clearly demonstrable, and in harmony with all evidence and conditions. It is a scientific fact, that all the material elements possess chemical affinities and attributes, by which they evince a tendency to be compounded with each other, and sd produce other substances or combina* tions. For instance, equal parts of hydrogen and oxygen, unite freely, the result being a compound which we call water. Water is, therefore, the product of the chemical affinities of the two gases, hydrogen and oxygen. All material compositions in the animal and vege- table kingdoms, are similarly, a result of the chem- ical affinities of the various material elements. These chemical affinities produce all the modifica- tions and changes in material organisms, known as development or evolution. The laws by which 143 144 Evolution. this, the trae evolution, is accomplished, have been laid by the creative wisdom of Almighty God, who has given to material elements, their attributes and affinities, in harmony with His aU-wise intention and purpose. By partaking of material food, man develops from a state of infancy, into the perfection and fullness of his physical being. Chemical action, through the affinities of the material substances taken as nourishment, transforms this food into blood, which, by mechanical operation, is diffiised throughout the body. All parts of the body receive a portion of this blood nutrition, add it to their substance, and grow. In reality therefore, this development is the power of growth, or rather, in- volution, because growth always comes from the outside. The process of mental development is according to the same principle. The spiritual essence is endowed with intelligent qualities or &o- ulties, which, through the agency of the power of life, are exchanged and communicated from one soul to another. Thoughts, ideas, and understanding, are thus imprinted upon the tablet of memory, famishing the capital of knowledge. This is mental devel- opment, mental growth, evolution, or rather, invo- lution, for there is no development mentaUy, except from the outside ; the inside being endowed by God, with capacity to receive impressions from the out- side, and thus grow or evolve. If we admit the Darwinian theory, we must alio admit that man was not created by God, but that Evolution. 145 he is the result of mental and physical modifica- tionSy by " a power of evolution." That is to say, a ** Power of evolution " takes the place of a crea- tive Being. As it is an indisputable fact, that no power, force, or attribute can exist without an essence back of it, and, as back of the power of evolution, is the material essence, we must conclude that all the modifications in the animal and vege- table kingdoms, including man, the highest type and production of the former kingdom, are the out- come of the creative power of material essence. Then, as material essence must be the creative cause, and as a creative cause must be self-existent, self independent, and not created, it follows, that matter i^d all its modifications, whether of the mineral, vegetable or animal kingdoms, are sdf- existent; which is an untenable position, directly opposed to science and reason. This theory cannot be sustained for many reasons: — First: — ^Matter is entirely void of intellectual qualities. No trace of intelligence can be found in it, because every substance in the universe, pos- sesses qualities which ^e necessary for its existence, and intellectual qualities are manifestly not neces- sary for the existence of matter. As it is a scien- tific fact, that all material modifications or com- positions must partake of the nature of matter, and as matter is void of intelligence, we reach the con- clusion, that intelligent organisms, such as man and the animals, cannot be produced or evolved from material substance, which neither needs, possesses, nor is able to produce intelligence. 146 Evolution Second: — If matter is self-existent, it is neces- sarily self-independent We find, however, that every material element depends upon the other material elements, in all its modifications; for all its modifications are simply chemical actions, produced by the affinities of these elements for each other. All members and species of the vege- table and animal kingdoms, depend upon the sur- rounding elements, for their existence and support Man himself, whose body is the highest known modification of matter, is not fuUy independent He cannot appoint the time of his birth or death. At the summons of death, he must obey, however unwillingly. If man, therefore, the high- est modification, cannot claim self-independence, the horse, fish, and other lower modifications, cer- tainly cannot do so. According to this scientific reasoning, the theory of Darwin cannot be truth. Third: — Matter and its modifications cannot be self-existent, because it would then necessarily fol- low, that they must have thorough knowledge of themselves. Man does not possess this high degree of knowledge, for the essence of material and spiritual substance, transcends human understand- ing. Therefore, as man, animals, vegetables, etc, are not dependent upon themselves, but upon some- thing else, they cannot be sdf-existent; proving the truth, that back of all these modifications, lies the power of Almighty God, who has. ordained and systematized their existence. His creative hand and wisdom endowed every essence with qualities necessary for its existence, and the existence of its modifications. Evolution. 147 Fourth: — As already shown in the chapter upon "Return of the Soul," matter existed before its connection with the intellectual essence, in the being of man. It necessarily follows, that the intellectual essence existed before it united with matter. This union or connection between soul and matter, in the being of man, is a modification. As every modification is characterized by the qualities of its component substances, aud as mat- ter is entirely devoid of intelligent qualities, and cannot produce an intelligent combination, it is necessary that back of this connection between soul and body, there is an intelligent source from whence it came, and by which it was planned. This source is the All-wise, All-knowing and Self- existent Cause and Creator, God. This Creative Cause cannot be the ** power of evolution,'* which, as already shown, is without intelligence in itsel£ The definition of ** evolu- tion,** according to the high priest of this theory, Herbert Spencer, is as follows : — " Evolution is an integration of matter and concomitant dissipation of motion, during which the matter passes from an indefinite, incoherent homogeneity, to a definite, coherent heterogeneity, and during which the re- tained motion undergoes a parallel transformation. " Mr. Ruskin*s parody upon this definition, is " Evo- lution is a change from a knowhowish, untalka- boutable, allalikeness, to a somehowish and in general talkaboutable, not allalikeness, by continu- ous something elsefications, and sticktogetherap tions.'* 148 . Evolution. It has recently been announced, that Mr. Spencer, after relying for years upon an incomprehensible, undemonstrable " cause," has evolved into a sound believer in an Infinite and Btemal Being, from whom all things proceed. Fifth: — ^We know that our intellectual develop- ment depends entirely upon impressions received through the senses and delivered to the faculties of the souL If the soul is prevented from receiving these impressions or experiences, we can have no capital of knowledge for the exercise of the soul faculties. This has been demonstrated by an ex- periment made in Paris, where an infiant, artificially nourished, was confined in absolute seclusion for a long period. The proof is positive, that, under such conditions of confinement, a human being, although physically developed, would be minus knowledge, and after fifty years of existence, would possess only the intelligence of a new-bom babe. Intellectual growth must, therefore, come from the outside. If there is a "power of evolution,** as claimed, it would naturally perform its action or prove its existence by making the confined human creature know something at least Sixth: — If we study the development of the vegetable kingdom, we will find that seeds are pro- duced by the plant or tree, and that there is no seed unless a parent organism has produced it Like- wise, in the animd kingdom, there is no o&pring without a mother, no egg without a bird, etc As the theory of evolution claims that every organism originated from a germ, every tree from a seed, • Evolution. 149 every mother from a baby, every bird from an egg, etc, the facts would be reversed, which, we can see at a glance, is impossible. There is absolutely no proof that the egg was first ; that the seed pre- ceded the plant, etc. When proof of this is at- tempted, the connecting link of reason, is obscured in words and conglomeration of terms, and produc- tive of no sensible conclusion. Proof that the bird must precede the egg, is clearly demonstrable. As it must be admitted that neither the bird nor the tgg is self-existent, it follows that one or the other was created in the beginning. The egg is equally as wonderful as the bird, and the all-powerful Creator could have produced either according to His will. If the ^g was created first, we must conclude, according to the operation of natural laws, that there is not the evidence of His perfection of knowledge and wisdom in its production, since the egg could not incubate and evolve a bird of itsel£ The care and attention of a parent bird, is neces- sary for incubation. Bven if the egg, of itself, had produced a young bird, the attention and assistance of a parent bird, would be necessary to feed it and sustain its life, until it became able to provide for itself Therefore, if God created the egg, it was necessary that His providence should take the place of the parent bird's function, before and after incubation. This supposition is against the perfection of His wisdom, whereas the creation of the bird, which naturally produced the ISO Evolution. eggy cared for it, and reared its young, is in har- mony with natural laws and reason. By analogous reasoning, we must conclude that the mother preceded the babe; that the tree pre- ceded the seed, etc. When advocates of the theory of evolution are able to prove that the mother developed from the infant, then, and not till then, can their claims be admitted. Seventh: — ^There is absolute geological evidence, in the strata of the earth, that many species of the animal and vegetable kingdom, appeared after man. Furthermore, we know that many of the cereals, fruits and plants, require human cultiva- tion, without which they retrograde and disappear entirely; lacking, as they do, the power of self- propagation. This is a strong argument that such species were created for human needs, and be- stowed upon man by the wisdom and providence of God. Eighth: — ^According to the theory of evolution, we possessed at some remote period of the past, the same amount of intellectuality now possessed by the horse; that is to say, the horse, after passing through an equal experience of time and develop- ment, will evolve into, and attain our present con- dition of mentality and knowledge. If this theory is correct, it necessarily follows, that a baby must be superior in intelligence to the foal of a horse; but facts are plainly opposed to this conclusion. The foal, three days after birth, is greatly superior in intelligence to the baby at six months; a convincing evidence that a **power of evolution" cannot exist Evolution. 151 According to Professor Huxley, ** There is be- tween man and all lower animals^ even the highest, a difference so wide that it cannot be measured; an enormous gulf; divergence immeasureable; practi- cally infinite.'* Max Miiller says — *'Man alone employs lan- guage; he alone comprehends himself; alone possesses general ideas ; he alone believes in God." Ninth : — ^By study and comparison of the differ- ent genera of the animal kingdom, we determine, without doubt, that each species is distinct and separate from the others, and that no connection exists between them. If genera evolved frx>m genera, all would be of the same race, though sub- divided into species. Union between species, would therefore be productive and progressive, if evo- lution is a correct theory. We find, however, that as every race or genera has been created separate and distinct from all the others, union of different species, when it happens, is either non-productive, or results in o£&pring which is sterile. The mule is an illustration of this violation. This is the law which protects races or genera of the animal king- dom. This is Nature's safeguard against violation of natural law. This is the Creator's fiat against evolution. There can be, therefore, no link of con- nection or evolution, between genera. The failure to find the missing link between man and lower animals, lies in the simple fact that the missing link never did, and never could exist Darwin himself stopped at the question of the male and female and the link of connection between genera. 15^ Evolution. By comparison between the human race and the nearest approach to man among the lower animals, we discover many additional facts and conditions which fortify the proof that the theory of " evo- lution/' as formulated by Mr. Darwin and his associate thinkers, is an impossibility. The pre- ponderance of evidence supports the action of natural laws and creative wisdom, while socalled proof that man is the result of progressive develop- ment from the lowest forms of animal existence, violates these laws, antagonizes the supreme pur- pose of God, and is, according to the admissions of evolutionists themselves, simply hypothesis. The power of speech, consciousness, and religious instinct of man, are insurmountable obstacles in the path of the evolutionist, either one of which proves the reverse of his theory and annuls the question. In " Hours With the Bible," by Geikie, Mr. Wallace, a Darwinian, is quoted to show that evo- lution is not proved by science, as follows : " It is a curious circumstance, that, notwithstanding the attention that has been directed to the subject in every part of the world, and the numerous excava- tions connected with railways and mines which have ofifered such facilities for geological discov- eries, no advance whatever has been made for a . considerable number of years, in detecting the time or mode of man's origin * * and amid the countless relics of a former world that have been brought to light, no evidence of any one of the links that must have connected man with the Bvolutioti. 153 lower animals, has yet appeared. Professor Huxley said about one of the two skulls, supposed to be the oldest as yet found, that it may have belonged to a philosopher, or may have contained the thoughtless brain of a savage. Dr. Pruner Bey said about the other that it surpasses the average of modem European skulls. Heer says ^the doctrine of the transformation of species is most decidedly contradicted by facts ' — such is the testi- mony of one of the acutest observers and most accomplished geologists of the day." Hardwick says — " It is necessary to my argu- ment that certain other points shall be established. One of them has reference to the question touch- ing the unity of the human race. For if it be in any measure probable that all varieties of men originated in a single pair, I shall be pro tanto justified in urging this important fact, as one medium of accounting for traditions which were afterwards diffused through all the human family." In "Christ and Other Great Masters,'' by Hardwick, p. 40, "Psychological proof of the unity of the human race," quotes as follows: — "This argument depends entirely on the &ct that, notwithstanding every minor variation in feeling or capacity in taste or temperament, by which we are enabled to distinguish one people from another, there are certain moral, spiritual and mental elements, inherent in humanity itself and underlying all the national types and local charac- teristics. At first, indeed, when our attention is directed to the subject, a picture meets us not of unity but of diversity. 154 Evolution. We everywhere encounter groups of human beings, each betraying some peculiar tendencies, with manners as dissimilar as their physical con- formation ; with intellectual habits indicating all d^frees of power and culture ; with sentiments in one case harsh and barbarous, in the second, gentle, tender and refined ; a class of variations warrant- ing, as we might judge, the supposition that each separate group is radically independent and has always formed an independent species. But more thoughtful observation leads us to abandon this hjrpothesis as crude and superficial. It enables us to see that very many of these wide diversities exist at present and have long existed in the same country, being multiplied in homogeneous popula- tion or at least in populations where the races of men have been comparatively unafiected by foreign admixtures. Some diversity, therefore, is not utterly incompatible with unity of origin; and thus we are admonished to carry our analysis still deeper in the hope of separating what is merely special in the mind of man, or accidental in the phases of society, from broader and more funda- mental characteristics. To the latter class we shall more reasonably assign whatever has been held in common by the various families of nations, be their state of culture what it may ; those great specific properties of mankind, the aspirations, faculties and sentiments, which have in every period, been distinguishing the human from the brute creation. Men are like each other and unlike the rest of Evolution. 155 animated nature, not only as endowed with simi- lar feelings and affections or impelled by similar appetencies and aversions, but sus speaking, reason- ing and reflecting creatures. Wherever manis, there we find these marks of his superior dignity. If we grant that in so far as our domestic instincts are concerned, a parallel is found among the other orders of creation, it is no less obvious, that wher- ever such exist in man, their character is uniform, their operation is identical; while in that loftier province of his being, where he is immediately connected with the **God of the spirits of all flesh, * • the traces of a common nature are peculiarly dis- cernible. It is a &ct that all varieties of men ex- hibit the same kind of spiritual perceptions, much as these may vary, both in sensibility and clearness. But in urging facts like these to prove the radia- tion of the human family from one common point, we meet with some objections. It is said, for in- stance, that identity of disposition may exist with- out implying an identity of origin. Thus in the large group of cats, including the leopard, tiger, lion and other species, the same general tempera- ment and habits are everywhere observable, and yet it is alleged such animals were originally made to constitute distinct varieties. To this it is suf- ficient to reply, that man, as we may gather from the faculties of speech and reason, from his moral susceptibilities, his spiritual nature, and his vast capacity of progress, must be treated as a being sui generis; or at least, that where differences like these exist, we are not justified in reasoning so 156 Evolution. completely to his case from that of the inferior animals. It is not, of course, denied that with regard to what are called the animal appetencies and aversions of his nature and even to the class of sensuous habits, such analogy may be adduced with justice and pursued into its consequences. But in doing this we must not overlook the faxA that all varieties of men ate far more intimately related than the class of animals in question. The various species of the feline genus either intermingle very seldom, or evince a strong re- pugnance to such union. If hybrids be occasion- ally produced, and if they threaten by their propa- gation to commence an intermediate or d^nenerate race of animals, the wayward tendency is soon arrested by their absolute sterility, and thus the species do not lose their original characteristics. On the other hand, such intermixtures are both possible and permanent among the different families of man. The '^races'' which are thought to be peculiarly distinct from each other (the Caucasian and the Negro) are most ordinary examples of this law; alliances between them issuing in a fruitful progeny and what is especially worthy of remark, the nobler type ere long predominating and absorb' ing the d^;raded." CHAPTER IX. THB PU&POSB OP OUR OOMING HERB| ACCORDING ro OTHER RBUGIONS. The purpose of the soul's existence upon the earthy is a fundamental question in all religionSi the solution of which has given rise to a wide range of belie& and doctrines. As differences of belief exist, it is spiritually instructive to examine and compare those most widely accepted, and dis- cern by the light of reason, what percentage of truth each may contain. All the prophets, and especially our Great Mas- ter, Jesus Christ, taught plainly in the messages they bore to humanity, the purpose of the soul's coming upon the earth. This life of short dura- tion, less than the wink of an eye in comparison with the endless cycles of eternity, implies, by the very brevity of its continuance, a distinct purpose, bearing the sanction of our God and Creator, and intended for the accomplishment of some privilege by the soul. If we study the messages of the holy souls whom God has sent to open our spiritual eyes, we will find in them a unanimity of teaching upon this one particular point, and that they considered it to be a foundation truth of the very highest im- portance to the human race. Unfortunately for us however, in every case, misinterpretations, misquo- tations and additions to the original messages, in process of time, so obscured the truth they con- 157 i5« Other Religious Theories. tained, that the reality of the purpose of our life upon earth has been lost sight of. Confosion and contradiction of opinion therefore exist, in the maelstrom of which, the soul is overwhelmed, and seeks the simple truth vainly. We know that the All-Mighty never performs an action, unless it embodies an All- Wise purpose. Prom the lowest and least important of His crea- tions, to the highest and greatest, all proclaim an absolute certainty of purpose in their existence. Man, the highest visible form in the universe of God ; the exquisite combination of spiritual and material substance; man, the masterpiece of the Creative Hand, embodies in his being. Divine Wis- dom, and exists here for a supreme purpose. If we therefore, should remain thousands of years upon the earth, delving into the secrets of nature, accu- mulating knowledge of science, and progressing in civilization, yet not comprehending the great pur- pose of our coming and stay here, we would still be groping in darkness and ignorance, lacking the most essential of all truths. Without this knowl- edge, we could not follow the example of Christ^s teachings, for he said, ** I say the truth, because I know whence I came and where I am going.'* Through him and many others, God has sent this knowledge to us, and the soul's highest attainment is that of seeking and securing it JUDAISM AND THE TEACHINGS OF MOSBS. If we study the Pentateuch, to discern what Moses taught the Israelites, and what essential Other Religious Theories. 159 truth lies at the fouudatiou of Judaism, we learn that it consists solely of the promise of material re- wards and punishments for obedience or disobedi- ence to the commandments of God ; that the pur- pose of our being heie, is to obey these command- ments and live in hannony with each other. The teachings of Moses contain no mention whatever of an eternal existence. In the 28th Chapter of Deuteronomy, ist-i3th, it is recited that if the Israelites hearken unto and obey the commandments of God, they will be " blessed in the city,*' " in the field," " in the fruits of the cattle," ^•in the basket," **in the store," ** in coming in and going out," etc., etc Follow- ing this, is the recital of punishments for disobedi- ence to the commandments of God: . *' If thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God to obsesve to do all His commandments and His statutes, these curses shall come upon thee and overtake thee." ** Cursed shalt thou be in the city,'* in "the field," in ** thy basket," in **thy store," in the "fruit of thy body," in the ** fruit of thy land," the "increase of thy kine,*' in the " flocks of thy sheep," " the Lord will smite thee with the botch of Mgypt and with the emerods and with the scab, and with the itch," with " mad- ness, blindness, astonishment of heart," "op- pressed,'* "spoiled," and "no man shall save thee," etc., etc. If earthly reward and punishment comprise the purpose of our being here, man is no higher than the animals, and less enviably situated, since they obtain their food more easily and with i6o Other Religions Theories, less anxiety than we do. There would be no jus- tice in the action of God in allowing ns to come upon the earth, endowed with higher faculties and powers than the animals, yet rel^ated, as they are, to mere temporal accomplishment Under sudi conditions, although superior in endowment, we would be most miserable in destiny; subject to pain and suffering, both mental and phjrsical, from birth to death, and capable only of accomplishing an amelioration of the unfortunate circumstances by which we are surrounded. As these conditions would be directly against the justice of God, it is evident that our purpose in being here, is vastly more than the question of mere temporal rewards or punishments, and the fact of the soul's immor- tality proves and presupposes this belieif. HINDOO REUGIONS. Brahmanism and Buddhism agree generally, in the essential belief, that our purpose in being here, is to escape and be delivered from this world of sense and time ; to be absorbed into the rest of eter- nity, annihilated in the Supreme Existence, as a drop of water taken from the ocean, finds its way back and is absorbed. The difference between the two religious beliefs, lies in the method of attain* ing this desired deliverance and absorption into Deity, yet both concur in a total loss of personal identity, when " Nirvana" is reached. If God, the Supreme Existence, is perfection, no human soul can be added to Him, nor annihilated Other Religions Theories. i6i in Him If it is possible to be annihilated in Him, He is not perfection and cannot be God. Neither can He be a Supreme State' or Existence. If their God has no e^pstence, implying ^\the negation of action/' then* '' annihilation '' means destruction. But nothing in e^tence *can be .destroyed, and this position is likewise* untenable. If all our struggles and moral instinct to do Hght; if all gur development and prqgrtess,, merge into obliteration and the loss o( personal identity, 'every human creature would prefer to remain undeveloped. As ^the idealists believe that ao motive can be ascribed to the' Perfect, the Absolute, without rendering Hini imperfect, thcfir logical deduction must be that existence' is delusion, an^ our purpose in be- ing here, is the **play of the Infinite." The Brahmanists, in fact, dp not belieVe that their God Bra^afiia created the universe|*but that it was cre- ated by ** Avidya," ignorance. Therefore^ accord- ing to the Hipdoo philosophies, dur existence here is not a purpose or motive, but is " delusion " and '^play.'' This is a misunderstanding; and inver- sion of the true meaning of the Absolute Perfec- tion. Whereas, the Absolute Perfection denotes ' the All-Powerftil, All-Knowing, All- Activity, in- finite in attributes, they navesubverted . its mean- ing to be ^* Negation,*' wliich must imply* the Ab- solute Imperfection, powerless, unknowing, with- out attributes, and therefore without motive. ' If this construction be true, it follows, as they claim, that the creation of the universe, without motive, must be the " play of the Infinite." " Play,'* how- i62 Other Religious Theories. ever, is an important motive, and **Avidya'* — ^ig^ norance, the creator of the universe must be in- finitely superior to " Negation. " The true essence of the spiritual teachings of Brahama (Abraham) and Buddha, concerning annihilation in God, and the state of Nirvana, which h^ive been corrupted by philosophical interpretation, will be explained in the "Mission of Christ" **The etymological signification of the word ^annihilation* does sig- nify ^nothingness' or * extinction ; * not (Max Miiller says) annihilation of the individual, but a complete cessation of all pain and misery. Miiller shows that Siddartha used Nirvana as synonjrmous with Moksha, Niroritti, and other words, all desig- nating the highest state of spiritual liberty and bliss, but not annihilation." CHRISTIANITY. Christian theologians, although voluminous in their expositions of Christianity, have scarcely mentioned, specifically, the purpose of our coming upon the earth for such short duration. The light they furnish upon this particular question, may be condensed in the statement that we are here " to worship God atfd glorify Him forever." This consensus of expression, by comparison with other religious teachings, is unmistakably loftier in idea and nearer the truth, yet it does not need much reasoning to show that man's creation and existence, embody a purpose especially directed toward his own intrinsic and personal develop- Other Religious Theories. 163 ment It is our mauifest duty to worship God and glorify Him, not because He needs worship and glorification, but in order that we may be benefited and spiritually increased. It is thus that we obtain powers, blessings and gifts, and draw nigh unto Him, yet this cannot be the great aim of our existence. Wherever we may be, whether in this existence or in the hereafter, we have this same duty of worshiping God and may obtain spiritual growth in return; therefore our specific term of life upon the earth cannot be for that alone. We must conclude that our specific exist- ence implies a specific and not a general purpose. Furthermore, it would be cruelty on the part of God to send us here, subject to pain, suffering and death, for the purpose of worshiping and glorifying Him. As He is loving and merciful to an infinite d^;ree, this is impossible, for we could worship and glorify Him to much better advantage under conditions where pain and death do not exist Throughout the Old, and especially in the New Testament, from the lips of Christ, the purpose of our existence is clearly set forth, but dogma and doctrine have obscured the light of the simple truth he taught, and most of its benefit to the soul has been lost MOHAMMEDANISM. Mohammed, the prophet of Arabia, accepted and continued in the noble religion he taught, the es- sential truths of Judaism and Christianity. He recognized that Moses, Christ, and all the true i64 Other Religious Theories. prophets were messengers sent from God to teach the truth to the human race ; that there is but one God, to whom all must bow in submission ; and that good will toward others, is a necessary and practical religious duty. Unfortunately however, soon after his death, dissensions arose among his followers, the result of which was the adoption of a false Koran, and the rejection of the collec- tion of Mohammed^s teachings made by his son-in- law and cousin, Ali. Prom the history of this event, we know that the present Koran is a cor- ruption of the truth which Mohammed taught, and that the light of his utterance and teaching, is greatly obscured by interpolation and dogma. The Mohammedan religion as it exists today, teaches that Allah is the only Force in the uni- verse ; that He rales by arbitrary will ; that man is entirely under His control ; that belief in absolute predestination is essential ; that Allah is inclined to punish rather than to reward; to inflict pain rather than to bestow pleasures, and to ruin rather than to build. Mohammedanism therefore, instead of inculcating the foundation of sincere conviction in religious duty, as Mohammed taught, has become, through the incorporation of error and dogma, the instrument of worldly purpose, and temporal ac- complishment According to its exponents, the jpurpose of human existence, is ** predestination" orthe "will of Allah." Prom this standpoint of the souVs purpose upon earth, human responsibility ceases, and God alone is responsible for all human action, a deduction Other Religious Theories. 165 which the existence of the soul's iudepeudencey completely disproves. THEOSOPHY. Theosophy teaches that the pmpose of our coming here, is to accomplish our ^* Karma, *' by sufferings and experiences through successive re* incarnations^ until absorbed into Deity from whence we came. The foundation principle of this teach- ing, is, that the soul is a part of the essence of Diety, and has been separated from Him, as a spark from the sun. Furthermore, it is shown, that as soon as the soul was separated from Deity, it became dull and lifeless, necessitating its progress through a circle of life, consisting of seven divisions, in order to accomplish its development or Karma, and be absorbed into Deity from whence it was separated. These divisions are known as the cycle of Adam, the cycle of Jesus Christ etc., signifying, that at the time of Adam, the htmian soul was less developed than at the time of Christ, and formulating the idea of progressive develop* ment A reasonable consideration of theosophical teach- ing, shows its impossibility, for several reasons. We know that it is impossible for Deity to be divided or split up into the atdms or parts of Deity which are said to form souls, without destroying the perfection of Deity. Also, if we are a part of God, we are unchangeable, and do not need to come upon earth to become God again, just as there is no i66 Other Religious Theories. need of resalting salt Again, it is sophistry, to claim that when we are nearer to God, newly separated from Him, we become dull and unintelli- gent, and that by going far away from Him, we begin to develop, when we know that all develop- ment is accomplished by drawing near to Him. The purpose of our coming here, is, therefore, not to accomplish a ^' Karma '' of development toward Deity of which we are a part, for Deity and soul essence are forever separated and different CHRISTIAN SaENCB. Although Christian Scientists claim to follow the teachings of Christ, it is impossible to reconcile their statement of belief, with the truth Christ taught The central doctrine of this code of teaching, is the assumption, that the soul of man contains the germ of Divinity, and that our duty here, is to awaken and develop that germ, to the degree of perfection, in order that we may have no needs, disease or sickness; in short, that the pur- pose of man's existence, is to declare and awaken his Divinity. There is no need of repeating the fact that Divinity cannot be divided, but even tak- ing for granted that it is possible, we must admit, that it is a very poor Divinity which depends upon the effort of man to awaken and develop it Such a quality of Divine essence can be of no use to us, .since, under these conditions, we are superior to it Besides this, it is easily apparent that our purpose upon the earth, is vastly more than the attainment Other Religious Theories. 167 of a state of harmony with the surrounding con- ditions and existence. While Christian Science and other kindred psychic teachings, may accom- plish the amelioration of these conditions, and create a spiritual atmosphere, in whidi the soul subordinates bodily ills and ailments, they do not go deep enough to discover the soul's real and specific purpose while in the body. Christian Science may stimulate the soul toward a recogni- tion of its duty and purpose, but it does not deal directly with soul duty, soul purpose, or soul destiny, as Christ* taught SPIRITISM. According to^* tihe prophecies of Scripture, the Spirit of God will be poured abundantly upon the human race, in the latter days. As shown in the Chapter upon " Life," the soul is susceptible to messages and revelations from the invisible world, and the prophetic promise is given us, that God will, through this medium of communication, enlighten the human race with knowledge. In Joel 2-28, ^^ And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My spirit upon all flesh ; and your sons and your daughters shall prophecy; your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions." The purpose of these revelations and communications from the Infinite, will be to teach mankind the truth, and warn us against the error of seeking knowledge from other sources than God fiimsdf. As belief in Spiritism i68 Other Religious Theories. implies <:ommiinication wi.th the spirits of the dead, and dependence* for knowled^ upon the messages received from them, it follows, that according to its* claims, our ptjirpose in being here is to seek enlightenment from other sources than God Himself, which* is clearly wrong. -This, is expressly forbidden in Scripture,-^ Isaiah 8-19 *^ And when they shall say untd you, seek unto them that have fi^miliai: spirits, and unto wizards that peep and that mutter f should not a people seek unto their God for the living to the dead.^ If God, who is Infinite Knowledge, is accessible to the soul, and has promised t9 reveal Himsdf to us, what purpose or benefit can possibly be had. from^ finite souls like ourselves, with whom we shall soon be in eternal comteui\icati6ir? Unmistakably this cannot be the purpose of human existence. ^ Having shown brieiSy, what other religions and beliefs teach concerning tht purpose of our life upon earth, and realizing their insufficiency under the conditions ^hich surround us, the true purpose of the soul's environm'eiit in the» body, will be 'con- sidered and proved according to scripture, science and the light of reason, in the chapter upon Adam Imd the Garden of Eden. • Digitized by VjOOQIC CHAPTER X ' . THE VfCARIOUS ATONEMBNT. The purpose of this chapter, is to show con- dusively to all who have the disposition ^d courage to thidk for themselves, why the dogma of th^ church, which teaches that th«re is no sal- vation without the shedding of blood, no for- giveness of sins without the crucifixion of. our Great Master, Jesus, is not entitled to belief. Is it credible ? Is it in harmony with reason and in accord with justice?' Is it right to 'punish the innocent for the guilty, and, forgiving the latter, set him free? It is neither credible, reasonable, just nor right. Th^ teachings of* the Great Itf aster Himself, and of all* the prophets, proclaim that forgiveness of sin is from -the simple mercy of our loving God, and that He does not desire payment for His mercy, even had His creatures anything to give in return, which they have not' It ckn be'clear}y proved^ that vicarious atonement is* not the law of God, but that it is an idea or doctrine originated and accepted by misguided people ^ho have either established it for their per- sonal interests, or ignorantly and carelessly followed it, depending upon the statement of others, and not using their talent of reason. We believe thoroughly, that Jesus, our Great • X69 I70 The Vicarious Atonement Master, was sent to this world to teach the Mes- sage of God, through which, we may accomplish the purpose of our coming upon the earth. Christ, and all the other prophets, brought us the true knowledge of God our Creator, as He is, and as we ought to know Him. The death of Jesus Christ was the necessary sequence and proof of his life and mission ; his '^ at-one-ment " with the salvation and spiritual needs of humanity. The cross proved to the world his true and divine mission, the spirit and life of his teachings for the truth of which, millions and millions have followed him. Christ was the ** Way " to God. He came for the salva- tion of the world, but his death was not, and can- not be, the means of salvation. The dogma that his blood was a ransom paid to God for the sins of those who believe in his sacrifice, was not the teaching of Christ himself. It is historically and accurately evident^ that this doctrine of atonement, was borrowed from the religion of the Egyptians, through the connecting link of Greek philosophy, which first moulded the creed of Christianity. See darkens ** Ten Great Religions,*' vol. i, page 253 : ^^ In the spaoe which we have here at command, we are unable «to examine the question of doctrinal influences from Egypt upon orthodox Christianity. Four doctrines, however, are stated by a learned Eg3rptologist, Samuel Sharpe, to be common to Egyptian mjrtholgy and church orthodoxy. They are these : I. That the creation and government of the world is not the work of one simple and undivided The Vicarious Atonement 171 Being, but of One God, made up of several persons. 2. That salvation cannot be expected from the justice or mercy of the Supreme Judge, unless an atoning sacrifice is made to Him by a Divine being. 3. That among th^ persons that compose the godhead, one, though a god, could yet suffer pain and be put to death. 4« That a god or man, or a being half god and half a man once lived on earth, bom from an earthly mother without an earthly father. And again *' The death of Osiris, the supreme god of all Egypt, was a central fact in this mythology. He was killed by Typhon the Egyptian Satan and after the fragments of his body had t>een collected by the ^ sad Isis,' he returned to life as a king of the dead and their judge.** . " The earliest form of the Christian doctrine of the atonement, was that the Devil killed Jesus in ignorance of his divine nature. The Devil was thus deceived into doing what he had no right to do, consequently he was obliged to pay for this by giving up the souls of sinners to which he had a right The Osiris myth of the death of a God, which deeply colored the mysteries of Adonis and Eleusis took its last form in this peculiar doctrine of atonement'* Many of the reputed teachings of Christ, are simply inventions and interpolations by leaders and Church fathers, and therefore, not essential truths of Christianity. The doctrine of vicarious atone- 17^ The Vicarious AtonemenL ment is one of these erroneons additions, kad^ as * such) should be rejected by all true believers in Christ and Christ's truth. For a long time, the early Christian church be- lieved that {he blood V>f Jesus was a ransom paid to the devil for the souls of sinners.' This* belief was clearly an outqome of the religion of Zoiroasteri who taught that by natural inclination toward evil, the souls of men belonged to the god of evil, to whom a ransom or sacrifice must be paid in order to free them. In this form, the idea of vicacious atonement prevailed in the Church for about one thousand years, or during the period between St. irenaeus and St Anselm, iioo A. D. 3t' Anselm formulated and taUght the new.aud present doctride of atonement,* which holds that the blood of Christ is a ransom paid to Go4 for the ^ns of* mankind; that Christ's, death was a sacrifice necessary to satisfy the exacting justice o$ God the I'afher. Christ neither taught nor claimed this. It is.not the truth of God. It had it^ origin in the igno- rance and superstitious error of men, and violates the word ^nd teaching of Christ. Himself. F.'W. Farrar, Dean*of Canterbury, in his book **Thc Bible, Its Me^ng and Supremacy," pages fi and 12 of the introduction, says — ^^All Christians alike believe in the Atonement and the forgiveness of sins. Particular theories of the atonement, and of the manner in which sins are forgiven, have been prevalent in every age, and have sometimes united ' the suffices of ibost Christians. Y€t if they have The Vicarious Atonement. 173 been formally sanctioned they are opinions only, not matters of faith. Thus in • early days, some lead<^ ing Fathers and teachers seized upon the met&phor of .ransom, used in the Scripture to express the result of forgiyemess to guilty men, needlessly pressing the metaphor into splieres to which it was not intended to apply, and which transcend the ken of man's .reason, ahd asked to whom was the ransom paid? They decided, most erroneously and unwarrantably that it was paid to the devil. * That opinion prevailed in the Church all . but tlniversally fora thousand years, irom the days of St Irenaeus to the"days of St ^nselm. St, Anselm in his book •Cur Det^s Homo?' decisively re- jected ii, and though it had been held so long and so all but universally, yet, being an opinion only and not a doctrine of faith, it rapidly crumbled into dust; it now finds not one defender; and the fidth of Christians was left exactly where 'it was.'' The vicarious atonement by Christ for the sins and souls of men, is oppcftied to the jt&tice of God, for the following reasons: — First: — ^As God is the perfection of wisdom and justice, the idea that He should perform osiy action not in accord thetewith,. is wholly untenable. Wisdom and justice, in their pciHection^ are in- separable.* It is, therefore, a violation of reason to attribute injustice or oppresiiion to God, who is this perfection. The punishteent and. d^th of a sinless, innocent Christ, for the sins of humanity, would be a direct and evident injustice of God, which is impossible. 174 The Vicarious Atonement Second: — According to the claim of another church doctrine, Jesus Christ was not only a per- fect man, but also the perfect God Himself; that he appeared in human form, of his own free will, suffered voluntarily, and was crucified to show his love, justice and mercy toward men. The im- possibility of this position is apparent, in the fact that God, the exacting rulet, and Gq4 the victim, being one, God would be sacrificing Himself to Himsel£ To accept this as a spiritual truth, is unreasonable and impossible. According to Scripture, when the time of death drew near, Christ ^thdrew from his disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane, and prayed earnestly, saying, **Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from me, nevertheless, not my will but Thine be donei'* This shows plainly, that he did not will to drink the cup of death, and did not offer himself for it ^*And being in an agony, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was, as it were, great drops of blood falling down to the ground.'' If Christ was thus anxious to escape the death of atonement,* how can it be shown that of his own free will, he was crucified for the sins of mankind? The Church explains this by the statement, that '^Christ's prayer came from his human personality and not from his divine nature, for the latter could not su£kr paiai or crucifixion; that in the flesh he was weak at the crucial moment, just as we are weak.!' This doctrine is likewise untenable, for it repre^ The Vicarious Atonement. i75 sents Christ as weaker than many of his disciples, who o£fered themselves in triumphant martyrdom, wilHng and eager sacrifices to the truth Christ taught According to Church doctrine, Christ was of celestial parentage, while the disciples were of human paternity. By comparison, therefore, their glorification in death, makes the weakness of Christ in face of death, an apparent inconsistency; and if he was of divine paternity, this reflection of weakness is a serious stigma upon his nature and mission. Furthermore, if his coming upon the earth, was the salvation of millions of human souls, the must have known it Is it reasonable then, that when the great moment for the accom- plishment of his mission confronted him, he should shrink from it, beg with intense agony that the cup of death should pass from him, and his mission be not fulfilled ? If Christ, even from his human nature, was weak, and yielded to that weakness, we must conclude that he committed e graver sin thanours* All our sins and mistakes are the direct consequence of our human weakness. If Jesus possessed divine nature, which we do npt, he must have had more* help and strength than we have, and therefore, his sin in yielding to human weakness, proves him not a Savior of mankind. Furthermore, if he knew that he was to redeem sinners by his death, and rise, after the third day, into eternal glory, '* sitting at the right hand of God to judge the quick and the dead,'' can we be- lieve it possible that he wept and prayed to escape the death by which he would receive his eternal 176 The Vicarious Atonement. glory ? Did he regret h&ving oflfered himself as a sacrifice for hmnanity, and fe^ death, which he knew would only last three days? Impossrblel Without doubt, there are many men, any one of whom would be willing to undergo death upon the cross, for no grefat^ reward than fthat of knowing what death is, provided the assurance were given them, that in three days thereafter, they sfaquld re- turn to life in better physical conditioil than be- fore. How much greater this inducement, ijf he wlio suBfered • death, was assured that he would thereby become the Redeemer of the world, and be .destined, as the Son of God, to sit forever'at the right hand of God the Father. Fourth : — $. careful reading of the teachings of Jesus, as they appear In the four Gospels, does not show t^at the special object of his coming jnto the world, was the redemption of mankind by his death.. That his disciples were entirely ignorant of this teaching, is plainly shown in the record* of two of t^enl who asked Jesus that they might sit, the o|ie upoi} his right hand and the other upon his left, in his kingdom. Had Peter knbwn that his Meter's purpose was to die for sinners, he would not have drawn his sword in Chfist's defense, when he was suitounded in the garden. If redemption •wtus' the aim and- purpose of Christ's coming, he would cer- tainly have explained it to his followers, just ets all the prophets and messengers sent from God, taught their followers cleSwly and unequivocally, the pe- culiar character of .their missions. Jesus repeatedly The Vicarious Atonement. i77 announced his spedal purpose and mission, but it was not the redemption of mankind by his death. It is clear then, that neither Jesus nor his disciples knew that redemption was his mission, but, two centuries after his death, the Church fathers dis- covered it, for we know from absolutely sure his- torical evidence, that at that time, a new system of Christianity was invented, and a new plan of salvation adopted for the human race, which plan has no support whatever in the teachings of Christ himself. Fifth: — Some theologians furnish the explana- tion that Jesus, under the stress of approaching death, was overwhelmed by the great weight of punishment which fell upon him for the sins of the human race; that he felt he was separated from God, and cursed as the scapegoat; that this realization was sufficient to induce the agony, in which he begged that the cup might pass from him. This explanation cannot be accepted, for the following reasons : — (a) The doctrine that the weight of punishment fell upon Jesus when he suffered crucifixion, and that our sins were nailed to his cross, precludes the idea that it could have fallen upon him in Geth- semane, for had Jesus by any means been rescued from his captors and saved from death, his suffer- ings in the garden, would have availed nothing toward the redemption of humanity. (b) If the doctrine of redemption is true, the realization of approaching death could not have been a surprise to Jesus, and therefore, could not 1 78 The Vicarious Atonement. liave produced such an overwhelming effect upon him. He must have realized it long before, understood the nature of the sufferings he had voluntarily of- fered to undergo, and have come upon the earth for the very purpose of experiencing them. If his realization of these sufferings became apparent for the first time in Gethsemane, it would prove first, that his offer to save mankind was not genuine, having necessarily been made in ignorance, and without full or proper realization; and second, that he could not be divine, since God is perfect in knowledge of the future as well as of the past (c) If Jesus in reality felt that he was separated from the Father, the doctrine of redemption cannot be true, for, as the second person in the Godhead, he could not possibly be separated from God. If Christ is " One with God," they cannot be separated, and his feeling of separation was an er- ror of imagination. If his feeling arose from an actual separation,he cannot be ^^One with God," and the doctrine of the Trinity fails. Again, if by separation is meant the separation of his human from his divine nature, and that his sufferings were purely human sufferings, the con- clusion must be that they were valueless, since no one by ordinary human suffering, can save or be saved from everlasting punishment Jesus Christ wept in agony when his death drew nigh, but not on account of the weight of punish- ment about to fall upon him for the sins of the human race; nor under the weight of condemnation The Vicarious Atonement. 179 as the scapegoat He wept for a higher, more glorious and more Christlike reason. God the Father manifested Himself in Christ Christ said that the Father ^ 'abode in him,'' aud that the " Father who abode in him was doing the work." Christ kuew that his separation from the Father, was approaching, in the sense that God would not be manifest in Christ after his death. For this reason, he wept bitterly; for this reason, his soul poured out its plaint in tears of love to God the Father, while he bowed in submission to the divine will. Sixth: — It is a reasonable principle, that he who offisrs himself to redeem another, must take upon himself the sentence and punishment of the re- deemed. If the doom of sinners is everlasting punishment, we must conclude, as a matter of justice, that if Jesus really came to save sinners, he should have assumed that same punishment, in- stead of which, it is claimed he rose from the grave upon the third day and ascended into heaven to sit upon the right hand of God. Seventh: — If we give unprejudiced consideration to the doctrine that Jesus is *' Very God of Very God," and from his love for mankind, found no other means of saving us from sin than that of oflfering himself upon the cross as *'a curse" (Gala- tians 3-13), we must acknowledge that this plan of salvation is entirely inconsistent with reason. Ac- cording to it, God the Infinite is creditor, and human beings debtors, for whom God in His mercy, love and desire to forgive, could find no other plan i8o The Vicarious Atonement. than that of punishing and crucifying Himself, in order to release us from the condemnation of our indebtedness. The impossibility of this doctrine, must be ap- parent to ally and its very impossibility emphasizes the truth that salvation for the souls of men, can only be found in the exercise of the simple mercy of God. Eighth: — If Christ came to redeem us from eter- nal punishment for our sins, we must clearly under- stand the nature of those sins. Under the doctrine of redemption, Christ came to free us from the consequences of violating the commandments of Moses. These violations con- stitute sin. As already stated, the teachings and commandments of Moses, contain nothing what- ever concerning eternal reward or punishment, but are confined to temporal consequences for obedience or disobedience. This being the case, why was re- demption necessary ? Christ certainly did not come to relieve us from the calamities of this world, nor to save us from death of the body, nor to acquire for us, by his sacrifice, a plenteous store of flocks, herds and worldly possessions. The commandments of Moses, if obeyed, promise these rewards, and none other. If disobeyed, they threaten the lack and deprivip tion of the same things. Redemption implies sal- vation from eternal consequences of sin. If the punishment for sin is merely temporal deprivation, there is no need of redemption from eternal conse- quences. The Vicarious Atonement i8i Ninth: — ^Another fundamental doctrine, which in reality necessitated the origination of the doc- trine of redemption, is, that every human being is a sinner by heritage ; that from Adam, sin has de- scended to us, and the soul commences its existence here under the taint and incubus of a sin not its own. If this be true, it is necessarily true that Jesus was a sinner, like all the human race, for he was the son of Adam as well as of David, and by nature, inherited the same sin we inherit If Jesus was a sinner by hereditary taint, he could not be a Saviour. One false doctrine necessitates other doc- trines equally false, to support it The fathers of the Church, who fabricated the idea of inherited sin, found it necessary to deprive Jesus of an earthly father, in order to free him from this stain, but unfortunately for the credibility of their story, they left him a mother, through whom he must have inherited whatever sin Adam bequeathed to a helpless and innocent posterity. But the truth is, that no such thing as original or inherited sin ex- ists. The just God, through His prophets, has taught us that every soul is responsible for its own action and choosing; no soul can assume or accom- plish the responsibilities of another soul. Bzekiel 18-20, "The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son ; the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him." The same, in substance, is taught by the Mosaic Law, and by other prophets. Prom this, i82 The Vicarious Atonement the truth of God, we are forced to conclude that we cannot bear the sin of Adam, nor could the wick- edness of the wicked afflict the righteous Christ Tenth : — Suppose we take for granted that Jesus came to redeem the world ; that he who believes in Jesus, will attain salvation through his blood, and that he who does not believe, will be cast away into eternal punishment Allowing this, we arrive at the following conclusions: — (a) As salvation is only achieved by those having faith and leading a life of righteousness, the blood of Jesus does not save the whole world, but only a part of it (b) In itself alone, the blood of Jesus has no real value, and no one could possibly be saved by it, as salvation depends entirely upon belief and the per- formance of good deeds. Had the blood itself possessed the value attributed to it, all mankind, whether good or evil, would have been saved (c) Salvation could not be freely obtained by the blood of Jesus, because it wholly depends upon faith, and consequent good deeds. Faith being no more than a moral inclination, salvation depends entirely upon good deeds. God has promised us salvation gratuitously, and without price, yet under the doctrine of redemption, He claims two prices for it, — the blood of Jesus and our own good deeds. Salvation, under these conditions, is not free, and if not free, God has not fulfilled His promise to mankind. Likewise, God has not dealt justly or mercifully with His Son, for 'we must conclude that He required from Jesus the price of his blood The Vicarious Atonement. 183 for human salvation, and unpityingly offered him to death. Eleventh: — ^A prevailing doctrine of the Church, asserts that the Almighty God, in the form of the second personality of the Son, descended to earth and took the flesh as man, that He might sympa- thize with us, understand our conditions, gain the experience of our weakness and defects, and by suffering, learn obedience. This implies that God was not perfect in knowledge and mercy, since He came to gain this lesson of experience and ability to sympathize with us. Another inference we may properly draw from this teaching, is, that in learning obedience through suffering. He perfected Himself and became in reality a perfect God, as it is stated in the spurious Bpistle to the Hebrews, 5, 8-9, ** Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; and being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation.'^ Prom these verses, it appears that God was so much benefited and elevated by His coming to earth, that, after His departure. He merited a position higher in honor and degree than that of His servants, the angels — Heb. 1-4, "Being made so much better than the angels, as He hath by inher- itance obtained a more excellent name than they." The presumption must be that before coming to earth. He was disobedient, and in position lower than the angels. Twelfth: — To prove that Jesus died for the whole world, the Church teaches that we were crucified i84 The Vicarious Atonement. with him ; that his body was the nucleus of all the bodies of mankind, from the time of the creation to the day of judgment, and that " whosoever believeth on him, shall not perish, but have everlasting life.** They declare that Jesus was God and that God is in all, hence everybody was crucified with Jesus. From this theory, it appears that every in- dividual is a part, or member of the body of Jesus, and that all would have been saved, if all had be- lieved in him. But the Scriptures state that the greater part of mankind have failed to* believe in him, and therefore have perished. Hence we are forced to conclude that one part of the body of Jesus is saved in heaven, while a greater part of it has perished and is in an everlasting hell; that his death was ine£kctual and incomplete, inasmuch as he was unable to save all mankind (his own body). If it be true that Jesus is God, the Almighty ; that ^'He is in all and through all ;*' that he "came to this earth, took our flesh and suffered agony, even the bitter death, — the death of the cross,'* to save his body, L e., the whole human race, we must conclude, inasmuch as he saved but a small portion of it, that he undertook an enterprise greater than he could accomplish, and, after strug- gling earnestly to save his whole body, by his failure proved his weakness. Such doctrines and teachings are clearly the invention of man, and contrary to the record of Christ's teachings in the four gospels. Thirteenth: — It is claimed, that the sacrifice and The Vicarious Atonement. 185 ofiering of animals for the forgiveness of sins, as recorded in the Old Testament, were prophetic and typical of the sacrifice and death of Jesus for us. A careful study of the Bible, fails to show that God, through His prophets, ever commanded sac- rifices of animals or burnt offerings. On the contrary, He did command His prophets to teach that such oblations were not required; that they were not pleasing to Him and were for- bidden. The command and sanction for sacrifices, originated with the priesthood, and reflect other motives than the God-inspiration of the holy men whose teachings they were represented to be. Isa. I, 10-14 : ''Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah ; To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto Me ? saith the Lord ; I am full of the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he-goats. **When ye come to appear before Me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? Bring no more vain oblations ; incense is an abomination unto Me ; the new moons and sab- baths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with ; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting." "Your new moons and your appointed feasts My soul hateth; they are a trouble unto Me; I am weary to bear them.'* Psa. 4, 5: "Offer the sacrifice of righteousness and put your trust in the Lord." Psa. 40, 6 : "Sacrifice and offering Thou didst i86 The Vicarious Atonement. not desire, mine ears hast thou opened; burnt offering and sin offering hast Thou not required.** Psa. 51, 16-17: "For Thou desirest not sacrifice, else would I give it ; Thou delightest not in burnt offisrings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit ; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise." Psa. 107, 22: "And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare His works with rejoicing.'* Jer. 6, 20: "To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba and the sweet cane from a far country? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto me.** The history of Oriental nations, explains the in- troduction of sacrificial customs into religious cere* monies. Prom the earliest times, kings and rulers celebrated their victories and military achievements, by slaying their prisoners of war, upon entering the captured cities. These prisoners were ranged upon either side of the city gate, and were executed at the moment the conqueror put his foot within the walls. In time of peace, the arrival of a dis- tinguished person, was celebrated by the sacrifice of animals, which were afterward prepared for food, the visitor partaking of their flesh as a compact of peace with the city or house entertaining him. A trace of this ancient custom prevails in the Bast at the present time. When the Khedive of Egypt deigns to visit a city or some high personage, ani- mals are sacrificed in celebration of the occasion. History records the unending conflict between Monarchy and Priesthood, for the control of gov- The Vicarious Atonement. 187 ernment To advance and strengthen their power and craft over the lives and possessions of the peo- plC) the priests introduced sacrifices of animals into their religious observances. Not satisfied with sac- rifices of animals, as time progressed, they came to include the sacrifice of human beings. This en- dowed the priesthood with almost unlimited author- ity and absolute despotism over the lives of men, and farnished a means for the gratification of re- venge and the indulgence of personal hatred. The Gods were appeased by sacrifices of those opposed to the domination of the priesthood. Thus human sacrifice became the means of pro- pitiation for sin; the method of satisfying the demands of a wrathful and exacting deity. This mode of sacrifice and atonement clearly led up to and foreshadowed the doctrine of atonement, in which Jesus was the central figure and victim, the same idea having existed in pagan religions, thousands of years before Christ was bom. It is a condition, that those who are elected to herald the law and command of God to the human race, must be ready to sacrifice four things, namely, — life, family, wealth and pride. Many prophets and messengers of God, preceded Moses. Symbols and hieroglyphics were used to portray what lan- guage afterward expressed. The symbol of life was the heifer or bull; of wealth, the she-goat or cow ; of family, the ram ; and of pride, the peacock. The latter, on account of its scarcity, was afterward changed to the dove or pigeon, thus making it easier for the people to add to the priests* stores. The prophets unvaryingly taught that spiritual i88 The Vicarious Atonement sacrifice alone was potent with God, but the He- brews, like all the other races, corrupted this requirement into oblations of material significance, partly through desire for gain, and partly through misunderstanding of the sjrmbols. Thus it is that we find in the Old Testament, the continual record of material sacrifices, which God did not require, and which, by the mouths of His holy prophets, he stigmatized as vain oblations. The idea or doc- trine of sacrifice is therefore, erroneous, and a cor- ruption of the truth of God. It had its origin in priestcraft and misinterpretation. Reason repudi- ates it The Word of God condemns it Christ's assent to the words of the scribe, gives us dear comprehehsion of the true sacrifice which will benefit the soul. Mark 12, 33: "And to love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices." In "Right and Wrong Uses of the Bible," by Rev. Heber Newton, page 88, " In a cruise last summer we dropped anchor in a lovely little out-of* the- way harbor of Buzzards Bay, which proved to be near Pocasset; where, not long ago, a pious man, reading the Hebrew tradition of Abraham and Isaac, as a real command of the Most High^ and having this word of the Lord borne on his mind, as spoken to himself, murdered his child in sacrifice to God — ^no angel interfering to stay his knife: — He simply made a reductio ad absurdum of this use of the Bible." CHAPTER XI. CHRIST AND HIS MISSION. All the Truth is in the Bible, but all the Bible is not the Truth. In determining the mission of Jesus Christ, we have practically no other historical guidance than the record of the New Testament, which supple- ments in its form and narration, the scriptures of the Hebrews. The authenticity of biblical record is, therefore, pre-eminently the important question of investiga- tion and proof upon which we must decide; before code or creed, doctrine or belief can be securely founded. Truth need not fear the light, nor the analysis of human reason. Investigation and higher criticism, in the true sense of spiritual inquiry, cannot fail to fortifyr fact, and reveal the essence of inspiration which under- lies scriptural record. We have no higher duty than that of seeking the light of this inspiration, and probing, with merciless scrutiny, whatever savors of error and superstition. The claim of infallibility for th^ scriptures, can no longer be maintained. In ^^ Right and Wrong Uses of the Bible,*' page 82, Rev. Heber Newton says ^^ I want today to make more distinct, certain wrong uses of the Bible which grow out of the old view of it ; wrong uses from which great mischie& 189 I90 Christ and His Mission. have come to the cause of true religion, and gieat trouble to individual souls ; abuses which fall away in the light of a more reasonable understanding of the Bible. The Bible, viewed as a book let down from heaven, whose real * Author* is God, as the Westminster Catechism affirmed ; a book dictated to chosen penmen and written out by their amanu- enses under a direction which secured them against error on every subject on which they treated ; a book thus given to the world to be an authoritative and infallible oracle for human information on all the great problems of life, naturally calls for uses which, apart from this theory, are gross and super- stitious abuses." Also quotation on page i6i: ^^ Pew, if any, of the books of the Bible stand now as they came from the original authors. Nearly all have been re-edited ; most of them many times. Some of them have been worked over by so many hands, and have undergone so many and serious changes that the original writer would scarcely identify his work.'* According to the evidence of the Bible itself many of the sacred writings and prophecies be- queathed to us by the messengers of God, have been omitted from its pages or excluded as un- canonical. Joshua 10-13, '^ Is not this written in the book of Jashar ? ** ; also II Sam. 1,18 : " Be- hold, it is written in the book of Jashar." I Chron. 29, 29 : " Now the acts of David the King, behold, they are written in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer.'* II Chron. 9, 29 : "Now the Christ and His Mission. 191 rest of the acts of Solomon are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet and in the prophesy of Ahijah the Shilonite and in the visions of Iddo the seer, against Jeroboam the son of Nebat ? " and 12, 15 : " Now the acts of Reho- boam are they not written in the book of Shemaiah the prophet and of Iddo the seer con- cerning genealogies?" also 20, 34: ** Now the rest of the acts of Jehosaphat behold, they are written in the book of Jehu the son of Hanani," etc. Judel, 14-15 : (Revised Version) "And to these, also, Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied saying: ^Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand of His holy ones, to execute judgment upon all and to convict all the ungodly of all their works of ungodliness which they have ungodly wrought and of all the hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.'" We have plain testimony in the words of Christ, that at his time, dogma and error had been substituted in the scriptures, for the command- ments of God: Matt 15, 6-9. (Revised Version) "Ye have made void the word of God because of your tradition. Ye hypocrites 1 Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying : *This people honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me ; but in vain do they worship me, teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men ;' " and 22, 29 : * * Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.** Also in Mark 7, 9: "Pull well do ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your tradition.*' 192 Christ and His Mission. As Christianity is founded upon the assump- tion that Christ was the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Old Testament, the record of his life, mis- sion, and teachings, contained in the New Testa- ment, must be considered the focus of spiritual interest, and the battleground of conflicting opinion. Concerning the origin and authenticity of the books of the New Testament, Doellinger says: *'The first to narrate the life and teachings of Jesus, was St Matthew. He wrote his gospel in the Hebrew (L e. Aramaic) language — primarily for the Christians of Palestine.'' ^^This Aramaic original has long been lost Prom the second century at least, the Church knew and used only a Greek translation, the authorship of which was unknown even in ancient times; how far it is an exact or a firee rendering of the Aramaic text, it is impossible to say. The quotations £rom the Old Testament, firequently differ both from the Alexandrian version and the Hebrew text St Matthew is certainly the oldest gospel — ^that he wrote first and wrote in Hebrew, is the tradition of the ancient church — ^represented by a line of witnesses stretching far back into Apostolic time and commencing with Papias (who was a hearer of John and a companion of Polycarp), which was never questioned by any ancient authority. A quarter of a century passed from the Ascension, before anything was written at all, and those who then began to write, were led to do so firom special circumstances and had no idea of Christ and His Mission. 193 leaving behind them religious documents or full confession of faith. None of the apostles held it necessary to collect and put on record in one or more written documents, a summary of his oral teaching — nor have any done so; still less could there be any design of the writings of separate apostles being made to supplement each other and combine into a general statement of Christian doctrine, ^ery one wrote as particular circum- stance or local need required — ^to supply the want of personal intercourse, to confirm what he had taught already by word of mouth, to answer ques- tions, resolve doubts, denounce errors etc. St Paul attached greater weight to his oral teaching than to his writings. The apostles wrote to recall what had been orally taught, and Ihe contents of these epistles are chiefly practical. The writings which make up what afterward became the New Testament,' were composed between 54 and 98 A. D. The church, therefore, had been guided by oral teaching under the immediate [influence of Christ and the Apostles, for more than twenty years be- fore a word of it was written. It was nowhere said or assumed in these most ancient documents, that men were to take the writings of the apostles and their disciples, for the sole rule of faith and discipline and to seek in them alone, the knowl- edge of God*s revelations.*' ^^ Neither was it anywhere said or hinted that the Apostles had written down all that was essen- tial for believers or all that they had taught by word of mouth. At the end of his earthly course, 194 Christ and His Mission. St Paul referred to his disciple, Timothy, not to his epistles or the writings of the other Apostles, but to what he had heard him teach orally ; that teaching he was to hand on to trustworthy men to be faithfully preserved and imparted. II Timothy 2, 2 : ^' And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.'' It was then, this oral tradition which ap- peared to Paul the fittest means for securing Chris- tian doctrines pure and genuine, to after generations, when the first generation of disciples were passed away. Even when he referred to an earlier Bpistle, (II Thessalonians, «, 15: "Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word or our epistie*'), he did not forget to mention first what they had been taught by "word,'' as the richer source of informa- tion." The two great reasons which influenced the early Christians in corrupting the New Testament, were, first, — ^attributing the salvation of mankind to the shedding of Christ's blood, and, second, — mistaking his personality. It is clearly evident that many interpolations exist which were added to make the original text conform to the dogma that salvation is obtainable only through the blood of Jesus. According to John 3, 3: (Revised Version) Christ said^^Bxcept a man be bom again," etc In the 5th verse the addition is made, ** Except a man be bom of water and the spirit." Christ and His Mission. 195 John 6, 51 : (Revised Version) " I am the liv- ing bread which came down out of heaven; if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever; yea, and the bread which I will give, is my flesh, for the life of the world.** To any Reasonable mind, it is manifest that the last statement in this quotation, is an addition to the original text We know that the flesh of Jesus was matter, not spirit, and that it came from the earth, not from heaven. The real spiritual ^'bread'* is the truth which Jesus received from the Father, for the nourishment of our souls. By receiving and accepting it, we shall live for- ever. In the 63d verse of the same chapter, Jesus explained this fact to his disciples, by saying: ^^ It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing ; the words that I have spoken unto you, (they) are spirit and (they) are life.** The question is often asked, '^ Since both genu- ine and spurious teachings are found in the Gospel, sometimes side by side in the same verse, how are we to distinguish them?" As an appeal to the original utterance or record is impossible, there can be no other ^iray of separating the truth from error, than by the exercise of reason and common sense. Of two statements in exact opposition, we should accept the one which is in harmony with reason, and reject the other. The commandment of God unto Moses, in Deu- teronomy 18, 20-212, sanctions this, '^ But the prophet which shall presume to speak a word in my name which I have not commanded him to speak, or that 19^ Christ and' His Mission. shall speak in the name of other igods, eVen that prophet shall die.' And if thou say in thine heart, how shall we know the woM which the .Lord hath not Spoken? When a prophet speaketh- in the name of the Lord,* if the thing follow* not, noir come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet had spoken pre- sumptuously. Thou shalt not be afraid of 'hinb'* The second great reason* which led fo the cor- ruption of the New Testament scripture, was the endeavor to prove .that Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled' the prophecies of the Jews* that h^* wias the Messiah, Shiloh, The Bverjastin^ Father, The Prince of Peace, long ^romis^ and expected. In "Christ and Other; Masters," •page 91, Hardwick.says, "F. W." Newman informs us that the Christian church. has T>een crippled ever since the first century by its acquiescence, in the follow- ing propdsition, vi?. — ^that* the Jewish teacher Jesus, fulfilled the conditions requisite to constitute him the Messiah of the ancient Hebrew prophets.*' He adds — ^pj^ge 225 — " That the heavy .yokfe im- posed upon Christians of the present day, arises from our claiming Messiahs}ilp for Jesus.'* Also page 92, quoted from Newman p^e 194 — " One of the first passages in which both Je^ and Christians of all times have •recognized ^he proc^ise; of a personal Mes&iah, is t^en. 49, 8-16 (Shiloh prophecy). Whethet (he word means'^ Man of Rest,.* the Rest-Bringer corresf)onding to the Prince of Peace, in Isa. 9, 6, or the plain Shiloh, the fulfil- ment of Jacob's language, is in every case removed Christ and His Mission. ^97 into a distant future. . The same is equally true of. the next important prophecy mentioned in Numbers 24, 17, for whether the "Star Out of Jacob " be an image' of the Israelitish royalty in general^ or of an actual king. like David, or of Christ himself, the King of Israel, a mighty inter- val exists between the d^te of the prediction and ilie earliest fulfillment of it* Other instances are the • and and yand Psalms, ,the latter of which, Newman urges, **was never fulfilled by any his- torical king.'* Jesus Christ is the centriad figtire of history and I humanity. Had ordinate to the Father. While he lived, no claim that he was the Messiah, was made for him or by him. This assumption was a* later outcome. In the ** History Of Chris- tianity of the Apostolic Age,** by McGiffert;-*- ** There is no hint in pur original sources that John the Baptist'knew while he was &till preaching that the Messiah was already come, or that he had any idea when he would appear. It is significant that though, perhaps some of John*s disciples later became followers of Jesus, not all of them did. Indeed, they continued to maintain their ^epara^e and independent existence 9s a sort of Johannine sect for many years, and almost a generation after their leader's death, some of them at least werp still expecting the Messiah of whom he had spoken.'* And again, '^In fact, his thought re- specting the Me^iah and his work, move4 wholly along traditional lines. His conceptions were based apparently not upon a special revelation of his own, received directly from God, nor upon any personal knowledge that, he had of Jesus. This substantiates the record in the Book of Acts,- 19, i; Paul foundi certain disciples ^'and he said unto 202 Christ and His Mission. them, have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye be- lieved? And they said unto him, we have not so much as heard whether the Holy Ghost was given. And he said, into what then were ye baptized? and they said into John's baptism.'' It being clearly evident that Jesus was a prophet, we come now to consider his special mission upon the earth. If it wa$ not redemption, what was it? There is no stronger answer to this question than his own words — Luke 4, 43: (Revised Version) M But he said unto them, I must preach the good tidings of the Kingdom of God to the other* cities also, for therefore was I sent" His special mis- sion, therefore, was to proclaim the coming of the Kingdom of God upon the earth. At the very commencement of his ministry, he announced this — Matthew 4, 17:. **From that time, Jesus began to preach, and to say repent ! for the King- dom of Heaven is at hand." His function as a prophet sent to announce this great event, is enunciated in the Book of Revelations i, i: ••The revelations of Jesus Christ which God gave unto him, to show unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass." What are these /'things?" Unmistak- ably, the signs and events which shall precede and herald the coming of the Kingdom, and which are specified in prophetic detail throughout the whole book of Revelations. The Revelations of Jesus, are therefore, the prophecies of Jesus; the mes- sage sent through him to the world, by God, who is to come. Rev. 1,4: '^ Grace to you, and peace. Christ and His Mission. 203 from Him which is, and which was, and which is to come; (L e. God, the Pathet,) and from the seven spirits which are before His throne^ and from Jesns Christ, the Faithftd Witness.** Plainly, the One ''which is, was, and is to come,** is not the third party — Jesus, the Paithfril Witness, — but God, the Father, Himself. Abundant scriptural proof exists that Jesus pro- claimed this to be his special mission — Matt 4, 23: (Revised Version) "Jesus went about in all Gali- lee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom,*' etc., Matt 6,33: "Seek ye first His (God's) Kingdom, and His righteousness," etc. Matt 13, 11: "Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given." Matt 24, 14: ^^And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world, for a testimony to all the nations," etc Luke 8, i : " . . . He went about through cities and villages^ preaching and bringing the good tidings of the kingdom of God." Luke 9, 2 : "And he sent them forth to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick." Luke 9> II : "And he welcomed them, and spake to them of the kingdom of God.*' It may be contended that the Kingdom of God and that of Jesus, are identical ; that the Kingdom of God was established upon the earth by Jesus. Against this theory, there is the potent fact that Jesus in Matt 6, 10: taught his disciples to pray " Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." If the spiritual dominion of 204 Christ and His Mission. Jesus w^ identical with the Kingdom of -God, he would not hav^ uttered this prayer far its cpming. There cot|ld be no need of praying for that which had already come. Ag[ain in Matt 269 29 : ^^ But I say unto, you, I will not hendefortl; drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I *drink it new with you in my Father's Kingdom." Theie words, of Christ's, established .the addi- tional fact and truth, that the Kingdom of God should be i^et up on earth, for there can be no vines and no drinking in a spiritual Kingdom. Again in Luke 14, 15 : (Revised Version) "And when one of them that sat at pieat with him heard these words, he said unto him, blessed is he that shall eat bread in the Kingdom of God.'** Prom this - and other abundant testimony, we arrive at the conclusions, fiist, ^that the* Kingdom of J^us was not the promised Kmgdom of God; second, that the Kingdom of" God has not yet been established ; third, that the Kitigdom of God would not be a spiritual kingdom, but would be estab- lished upon the earth. ' Christ prophesied of ^he latter fact in Luke ai, 31: "So, likewise -ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the Kingdom of God is nigh at hand." By this prophetic utterance, he taught that the Kingdom of God would be estab- lished upon earth after certain signs had appeared^ and certain events had transpired; adding tiie warning, **lP7atch, therefore, for ye know not when the Lord of' the house cometh." Christ therefore clearly announced and explained Christ and His Mission. 205 liis mission^ which was to preach the glad tidings • of the coming of the Kingdom of God. His teach- ings and prophecies in i^atiotl to it^ are in direct harmony and conformity with the Old Testament prophecies which proclaim with absolute certainty, the Kingdom of God the Everlasting Father. Isaiah 9, 6: ^^Unto ns a Child ist bom, unto us a Son ib given, and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Won- derful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.*' By no possible meains, can it be shown or proved that Jesus was the Everlasting Father, the Mighty God. All prophecy is in harmony upon the point of announcement that God Himself was to come in His Kingdom. If Jesus failed to fulfil prophecy in any one.point, he failed in all ; and, since he re- peated the proclamation of prophets who preceded him, it is evident that he could not havQ b^en the . fulfillment of the prophecy Jic himself uttered. • In his parable of the vineyard, this is dearly proved; Mark 12, 1-9, (Revised Version) "And he began to speak unto them in parables: A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge about i( and digged a pit for the winepress -and built a tower and let it out to husbandmen and went into*another country. And at the season he sent to the hus- bandmen a servant, diat he. might receive, from the husbandmen,; of .the bruits of the vineyard. And they took hiin and beat him and sent, him away empty. ^And again he sent unto them another servant ; 2o6 Christ and His Mission. and him they wounded in the head and handled shamefully. And he sent another; and him they killed. And many others; beating some and kill- ing some. He had yet one, a beloved son; he sent him last unto them saying: they will rever- ence my son. But those husbandmen said among themselves: this is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours. And they took him and killed him and cast him forth out of the vineyard. What therefore will the Lord of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the hus- bandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others." In this inspired teaching, the vineyard symbol- izes the human race; the husbandmen are the priests and expositors of religion; the servants sent to receive the fruits of the vineyard, are the prophets and apostles ; the Son is Jesus Christ; and the Lord of the vineyard, is God the Almighty Father. This parable teaches us five important points: First: — ^The prophets and messengers whom God has sent to lead humanity to Him, have been har- assed and persecuted by the priesthood, symbol- ized by the wicked husbandmen. History shows this conclusively. They have been beaten, stoned, crucified and otherwise martyred for teaching the truth of God, which has always been at' variance with the superstitions of the priesthood. Second: — God sent Jesus, His Son, to the vine- yard, as a prophet, upon the same mission and purpose. Third: — ^The son was not sent to redeem the vineyard, therefore Jesus was not sent to redeem Christ and His Mission. 207 the world* By this parable, Jesus plainly confessed that his mission, like the missions of all the other prophets, had proved a failure. . The son of the Lord of the vineyard was not able to secure the fruit of the vineyard, or save it from the hands of the husbandmen, but like all the other messengers who preceded him, was killed, and, in addition, cast out of the vineyard. Fourth: — No one but God Himself, the Ever- lasting Father, the Lord and Creator of the vine- yard, has power to save it Shall we, after this confession by Jesus that his mission was a failure, dare to assume that he is the Saviour of the world, — the vineyard? Shall we not rather accept his own words and teaching, that God is the. Saviour of the vineyard? Jesus wa$, pot the Redeemer of the world, and did not, of his own jvill, oflFer hiitiself to die for the redemption of the world. The wicked husbandmen, the priests, killed him as ihey killed the other messengers of God. Fifth: — God the Father will come, destroy thes6 wicked husbandmen, and deliver the vineyard to others. In this way, God Himself will save His vineyard, because He is the only One who has the power to accomplish it, — the only One whose pur- poses never fail. God alone is the Saviour, of mankind. Isaiah 45, 15: ''OGod of Israel, the Saviour.^^ Isa. 45, aa: ^' Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God and there is none else." Isaiah 43, 11 : '^I, even I, am the Lord; and besides me there is no Saviour." We therefore are taught by God Himself, through 2o8 Christ and His Mission. Christ and all the other prophets, that He, the Everlasting Father, the Creator •and Lord, of the Vineyard is the Savionr of mankind, and shall * Himself come to save* us. God is therefore the Messiah, ShiFoh, Prince of Peace, .Redeemet; and Jesus Christ was the greatest qf His prophets. Digitized by VjOOQlC CHAPTER XIL SALVATION. What is salvation ? How shall we be saved, and what are the means whereby we may obtain for- giveness for our sins? These are questions which follow recognition of * the truth that Jesus -Christ was not the Saviour of the world Salvation is not escape or exemption from the everlasting torture of helL True salva- tion is the victory of accomplishment by the soul ; the attainment of a privilege afforded us by God, in allowing us to come upon the earth. Hell is eternal regret for the loss of that privi- lege ; hell is the soul's failure to accomplish. To understand this thoroughly, we must find out what sin is, and what particular sin will cause the loss of the opportunity granted us. In our earthly environment, from the weakness of our human nature, sin is inevitable. The Scriptures teach this — Psa. 14, 3 : " They are all gone aside ; they are all together become filthy ; there is none that doeth good, no not one." Sin is the performance of any action harmful to ourselves or to others. There are three kinds of sin. First: — Mistakes and ignorances. Second: — ^Violations of moral laws. Third. — ^Neglect of spiritual duties. ao9 2IO Salvation. To illustrate and make dear the distinction between these three kinds of sin, we will take for example, a gymnastic performer who walks from point to point upon a tightly stretched wire or rope. As he goes, we notice his wavering, his constant struggle to maintain his equilibrium, in spite of which he may, by persistent care and effort, reach the other side. So long as he main- tains his position upon the wire and persists in his progress forward, he will be successful. His jour- ney from point to point, symbolizes the accomplish- ment of our spiritual journey. We start at birth and finish at death, our journey to God. Failure, through ignorance, to make this journey, is the first kind of sin, which God, in His justice, cannot excuse. If we ignorantly neglect our opportunity to seek and reach God, we must bear the conse- quences of failure. The constant waverings of the performer, from side to side, which threaten to destroy his balance and cast him to the earth, represent our sinfal violations of moral laws. These sins continually threaten to overthrow our spiritual accomplish- ment When they do, they destroy our opportunity of reaching God, yet as we have seen, it is possible for us, in spite of them, to maintain our equilibrium and progress sufficiently to accomplish our spiritual journey and duty. Refusal to seek and reach God, is the sin of neglecting our spiritual duties ; the paramotmt sin of human independence, the consequences of which are final. This sin determines the conditions of Salvation. «" our existence in the hereafter. Violations of moralities are a continual drag and check upon our spiritual duties. The way toOod is a pure way, and the perfect Christ-journey is an unwavering, unfaltering progress from birth to death, toward God* Although moral violations are not neces- sarily final in their consequences; although we may reach God after mauy waverings and falls from uprightness, yet this fact does not allow us latitude in our obedience to moral laws. Christ is our pattern. In him, we find the per- fection of moral and spiritual accomplishment. No immoral man can be thoroughly spiritual. Our spiritual duties, therefore, exact the highest moralities. • Human n^^t^ire is weak, and our incess- ant violations of moral laws, are the drag upon our spiritual development They are the waver- ings which threaten to prevent us from reaching God. The Almighty Creator does not punish sinners upon this earth or hereafter. The sinner punishes himself; pays the penalty of the law he violates, and reaps what he has sown. The scriptures teach this continually. The reasons for it are as follows: First — No one can sin against God, be- cause Gqd cannot, as He is perfection, be affected by the sins of a finite creature. If our sins could afiect God, He would not be Infinite and Perfect Our i|ins, however, afiect us and tho^ who are finite like us. Second: — If we commit sin, we will be punished and suffer for it There is no escape from the 212 Salvatioh. consequences of violating mptal, physical or spirit* ual law. The law punishes, and the sinner suffers for his action. As we suffer for these yiolar tions, it is unreasonable to daim that God will inflict double punishment upon *us. . We cannot attribute cruelty to Him who iis infinite in mercy. Third: — ^It woul4 degrade God to torture us by punishment ' He is just as well as mercifuL His laws are everlasting laws. He has given us inde- pendence to attain a high privilege ot to reject it If we reject it, we must, under the ruling of HiS justice, lose that privilege eternally. This con- stitutes our punishment To many, this eternal loss of opportunity, would seem to savor of cruelty on the part of God. In reality, however, if God did not enforce this just punisHment upon the soul which rejects Him, He would be neither just nor firm, but changeable and unreliable, -and if He saved us today. He might refuse us tomorrow. For instance, suppose a father should promise each of his two children, a reward fo^ the per- formance of certain actions, and that one of them earns the reward, while the other forfeits it Would the father show himself just and reli- able if he* rewarded the two children equally? Likewise, God in His 'justice^ canno^ reward equally a soul which seeks Him and a soul which rejects Him. We read in the scrijptures, 'that the punishment of sin is severe, and in reality it, is so, biititis diyiuely just, and administered '^th the same impartiality as reward. We have seen,^in considering the " Return of the Soul," that the Salvatian. 213 justice of God affords to all souls an equal oppor- tunity of accomplishing the privilege of. reaching Him. I The Bible teaches us that salvation, entrance into the Kingdom, .of ^eaven, can only be obtained by coming to God, whose spirit, working in our souls, will naturalize them^ causing them to be bom anew. .This is the meaning of " bom again," "bom from above," " bom of the Spirit," " the new man," "baptisni," ".regeneration," etc, all of which are different expressions for .the same thing. John's Gospel, '3rd Chapter, 3rd verse, reads "Verily, y^nly I say unto you ; except a man be bom s^gain he cannot see the Kingdoni of God." Verse 6: "That "which is bom of the flesh, is flesh I and that, which . is bopi of the spirit is spirit." [ Matt 19, 28: " And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say jintp you that ye which have fol- lowed me — ^in the regen^ation, when the Son of man shall sit in the thrdne of his glory^ ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging, the twelve tribes of Israel." Thus iwe see that salvation, eternal happiness, or entrance into th!e Kingdom of God, cannot be gained by any means other than being bom of the spirit According to Christ's teaching, salvation is not through his death. Therefore the death of his body cannot save imy of the human race. From the words of Jesus, it is obvious that no man can be saved, unless bom anew of the spirit ; i^enerated ; otherwise he will not have the privi- l^;e of being one with Jesus* Now, let us ask, 214 Salvation. what is meant by regeneration ; — ^by being bom of the spirit? This condition is approached when a man, after honest and careful self-exaBiination, finding himself weak, ignorant, selfish in action^ and unjust in his dealings, having no real knowl- edge of his Creator, and fally realizing his miser- able condition, seeks a remedy that will give him permanent relief To gain this, he must seek with as much persistence, as the hungry and thirsty seek for food and drink. On finding, as he will, that in this respect, nobody can give him help (for every one is as needful as himself), he will be constrained to go to his Creator, realizing that He is the only Saviour ; the only source of all life, and of all spiritual gifts. God, the merciful Creator, the All-Bountiftil, the All-Generous one, will grant to each soul thus seeking Him, the grace of regeneration; which will naturalize that soul into a spiritual state. Thus the seeker is bom of the Spirit Until we know God in reality, we cannot claim to be His children. Those who do so claim, and yet, in reality, do not know God, are claiming that which is not trae ; their claim *being based upon an occasional feeling or emotion, the result of excitement of the nerves, produced by eloquence or fear, and usually soon passing away, leaving no permanent result Trae regeneration, as described above, is that of which Jesus taught; and through it, only, can we live with God and enjoy His Glori- ous Presence. This is the **Tree of Life" which is in the midst of the ** Paradise of God.»» Thus Salvation. 215 are we naturalized into the Divine State, by the power of the Spirit of God, as iron is magnetized by the power of the magnet This great gift from our Heavenly Father, is from His infinite bounty and beneficence. Since we are already indebted to Him for everything we have, what can we offer Him for His mercy? Suppose a rich and generous man should promise abundance to every needy person who would come and humbly beg for help. Could we truly say that the suppliant paid the value of the gift by coming to receive it? Shall we say that because he begged for and re- ceived assistance, that it was given to him because of his merit? So, also, if we come to God, we will be bom from above, our sins and iniquities will never be mentioned, and we will be forgiven freely. He has promised this in the words of His Holy Prophets and messengers. Hos. 14, 4: ^^I will heal their back -sliding, I will love them fi:eely.** Isa. 55-7: "Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him.** H Chron. 7,14: "If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble them- selves and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and forgive their sins, and will heal their land.*' Jer. 31, 34: " And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, say- ing, know the Lord ; for they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, 2i6 Salvation. saith the Lord; for I will forgive their iniqttity and I will remember their sin no more.*' Matt i8, 32-33: "Then his Lord, after that He had called him, said nnto him, thou wicked servant! I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst Me ; shouldst not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee?' Luke 6, 36-37 : " Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merdftil. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged; condemn not, and ye shall not be condenmed ; forgive and ye shall be forgiven.'* To understand this question more thoroughly, let us carefully consider the teachings of the Master, Jesus, in reference to it; his doctrines are our standard ; the ground upon which all true Chris- tians stand. Mark 11, 25: '^And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have aught against any; that your Father also which is in heaven, may for- give you your trespasses." Matt 6, 12: "And forgive us our debts as we also forgive our debtors. ' * Luke 1I9 4 : " And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us." Had salvation come through redemption, through the death of Jesus, he should have taught us to pray thus: "And forgive us our debts, through the death of Thy Son, as we forgive our debtors by killing our children and sacrificing them for our debtor's sakes." That salvation, forgiveness of sin, is wholly and entirely, a free gift from our loving Father, is plainly taught by Jesus and all the other prophets. Neither the blood of Jesus nor our meritorious Salvation. 217 deeds are reqtiired as a price thereof; and £rom this we learn, that we, also, should freely forgive those who have wronged us, — imitating the Father by not asking reward for forgiving others. From this we learn also, that not only is* salta- tion free, bu,t that whatever God grants to ns, ' whether forgiveness, grace, or eternal happiness, is granted freely. ' Were this not so, where would be His mercy? Can we properly call Him pierdful, if He demanded for His mercy, the sacrifice of Jes^ our elde^ brother ? ' To farther elucidate this condition, let ns liken the ^Imighty God — ^who is above any similitude — to a magnet ; and man to a piece of iron. When the piece ,of iron moves toward • the magnet, the magnet attracts it, drawing it nearer and nearer to itself. So, if we move one step toward God,' He will come toward us, miles and leagues. And^ as the iron, «whil/e approaching the magnet, gains more and more of the magnet's peculiar Qualities! tmtil, at the moment of contact, it becomes ff^Uy magnetized, so the s6ul, drawing, nearer unto God^ becomes inore and more imbued with His Spirit, until, reacliing the exalted state 6f soul-cbntact with Him, it is then fally born of tl^e spirit and r^ generated. When wc reach this Sstate of naturalization, we will be fitted to be grafted into God, the Ttee of Life, that is to say, ready to be adopted as His children and become like him. Then we shall have the right to slay that we are gods and the children of God ; exactly as the magnetized iron. «i8 Salvation, when fhlly naturalized into the nature of the mag- net, is itself a magnet So also, when we are fully naturalized into the Divine natufe, and grafted into Him by adoption, we will be like Him, and one with Him, as Christ taught us in St Jolm 17, ii-20-2t. "Holy Father, keep through Thine own name, those whom Thou hast given me, that they may )>e one as we are. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall be- lieve on me through their word ; that they all may be one ; as thou Father art in me« and I in Thee, that the world may believe that Thou hast sent me." This is the unity of which Christ taught ; that every believer will be one with God ; that is to say, every one who reaches this high condition^ will lose his finite nature with its defects and de* ficiencies, and will have the nature of God, which is perfect and without defects. Thia teaching corresponds with the teachings of all the other groat religions. Our religion teaches us, that our high elevation is "Al .fana bima indana wal backa bima inda Ullah ;'' which translated, is, *^ To die for what we have and live for what God has." It means that when we reach that exalted state, we will cast away our finite nature and have the Divine Nature; become like our Father, and be one with Him. " Fana,'' means annihilation or death, and when we attain the Divine Nature, our human nature will be annihilated. This is the meaning ot << Nirvana'' in the Brahamanical writings ; spirit- Salvation. 219 ual liberty and bliss. In Buddhism, ^^ annihila- tion in Nirvana," means the loss of all per- sonal consciousness and identity, which is con- trary to what Buddha himself taught We will never lose our identity ; we will never lose our personality. God gave them to us, and whatever He does is an everlasting law. He will never, therefore, regret what He has given us, and take if away from us. The Buddhists have corrupted the teachings of their master Buddha, just as other religions have been corrupted by interpretation and dogma. "Ten Great Religions,'* page 161-163-163. ^^ There has been much discussion amon^ scholars concerning the true meaning of Nirvana, the end of all Buddhist expectation. Is it annihilation? Or is it absorption in God? The weight of authority, no doubt, is in favor of the first view. Boumouf^' conclusion is, ^ For Buddha theists, it is the absorption of this individual life in the noth- ing. But for both it is deliverance from all evil, it is supreme affranchisement' In the opiilion that it is annihilation, agree Max Miiller, Tumour Schmidt and Hardy. And M. Saint-Hilaire, while calling it ^A hideous faith' nevertheless assigns to it a third part of the human race. But, on the other hand, scholars of the highest rank deny this view. In particular, Bunsen (Gott in der Geschichte), calls attention to the fact that in the oldest monument^ of this religion, the earliest Sutras, Nirvana is spoken of as a condition attained in the present life. How then, can it mean annihilation ? It is 220 Salvatibn. the state in which all' desiie? cease, all passions die. Bunsen believes that Bnddha never, denied or questioned God 6r ihimortaliity.", Bunsen was right, Buddha had too much wisdom to befieve and teach that the object of man's existence upon earth and his hope and aspiration to develop and progress to a high condition, could be lEumihilation. The teachings of Buddha reflected the same wisdom ^ those of Christ Both taught our unity with- God, by becoming ' naturalised into His Nature. This ds also the truth of the Old .Testament Psalms 82, I and 6, '(Revised Version) -"Ggd standeth-in the congregation of Ood; Hejtfdgetfa among the, gods." * . , '. ' . ^' I said ye are gods, and all of • you son5 of the Most High." The Egyptians taught plainly t|iat every humai^ soul, after death, must take the name ahd Symbpls of Osiris, and then all the souls* must coihe^to the under-world (or rather this earthy, to be judgfed by Wm. * \ 4 ' • . This corresponds with the teachings of Christ, npt only that we must become like God, and be nattu;alized into His qature, but al^ that the judg- liient of our race will take plac^ upon the earth. Matt 25, 31-^2-33: ** When the Son of Man shall come in £[is glory, and all the holy angels with Him,. then shall He*sit upon the throve df His glory. And before Him shalLbe gathered all na- tions: and He shall separate them one frem another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the gc^ts : Salvation. tai and He shall set the sheep on His right hand^ bnt the goats on the left" ^ By what means may we gain this great and high condition of salvation? . Although every spiritual man must necessarily be morely and although we have certain duties to- ward each other, yet these are not otir spiritual duties. Moralities affect ^spirituality ; they assist or retard us in t>ur spiritual dutie$,'but acre separate and distinct £rom' them. Only by the performance of spiritual .duties, can we attain 'a high .attitude before God, accomplish our* salvation, become His children and receive His blessings forever. Our spiritual duties are these-r First: — ^To Believe in all the manifestations of God, especially in His last and greatest appearance to us as Himself in Himself. . This is the real knowledge of God, that is required of us. We must know God as He is. Our own theories concerning Him, avail us nothing. Second: — To be characterized by His attributes and draw nearer to Him iQ being taught' by Him. All knowledge is from (iod. * Third: — ^To confess His oneness and singleness. If we attain these three requirements^ we will be fitted for adoption, and be grafted to the Tree of Life^as promised by Christ im Rev. 2, 7: ^'He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the chu^hes: to him that overcometh'will I givci to eat of the Trefe of Life which .is in the midst of the Paradise of God.*' To understand more clearly thisnatutalization 322 Salvation. into divinity, through the working of the Spirit ol God in our souls, we must know the diflference be> tween the Spirit of man, the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit of God. The Spirit of man is that intelli- gent essence called souL The Holjr Spirit, or the Holy Ghost, is that high d^;ree of knowle^^e and illumination possessed by souls which are in a nearer relationship with God, such as the soul of our Great Master, Jesus Christ Such also are the ^ Seven spirits before the throne," mentioned in Revelations. The Spirit of God is the God-power Itself which, working in our souls, will naturalize us into His Divinity. It is the power of the magnet, which magnetizes the iron into its o^^ nature. We fully believe in our Great Master, Jesus the Christ, and in all his teachings. He is the highest among all the creatures in the great Universe ; the first begotten Son of God, and His Agent; the Creator is his God, and he is His dearest Son. But we know that our salvation is not through his death, but through the great mercy of the Father. We also know that all the iniquities of mankind are as nothing .in comparison with the infinity of God's mercy, because the heavens of His charity and the oceans of His bounty, are so vast, that He has never rejected those who begged of Him, nor disappointed those who willed to come unto Him. To Him the majesty and the glory I And to His Son, the greatness and the exaltation, tor ever and everl Amen. CHAPTER XHL THB NBCBSSITIES OF THB SOUL. We know that the earth is not onr permanent place of abode. It is self evident that we cannot remain here. The -body is but the temporary residence of the soul. As a traveler crossing a desert or forest, man journeys from birth to death ; from the cradle to the grave. Generations preced- ing us have come and gone as we have come -and as we shall go. The summonis of death cannot be refrised. To it, all mankind is alike subject The dust of earth enshrines our weaknesses and our heroisms ; the splendor of kings and burdens of the slave lie mingled beneath its pall. Evicted t>y death, their habitations destroyed, all soul-tenants of these bodies must stand alone before God. Death levels all earthly distinctions, and in the presence of God, we are equal supplicants for His mercy. The life of man is but an atom of eternity. God would be unjust if He allowed us to come upon this earth so short a time and live here sub- ject to sorrow and suffering, without purpose. The nature of our existence here, the conditions to which we are subject, indicate the accomplishment of certaiu action for the attainment of a high privilege. The life of man, therefore, reflects the will of God, and human destiny is haloed by Divine solicitude. 224 The Necessities of the Soul. Our necessities here, are of two kinds, — ^material and spiritual Material necessities, or the needs of the body, ^e food, drink and protection. These bodily requirements do not affect the soul, exqept in the matter of condition kad repair of its material habitation, yet two points in connection with them, demand consideration. First: — Although soul nece^itie^ are of eternal consequence to us, and the nej^essities of the body are merely temporal requirements, yc find that the latter occupy most of our time and attention. After sleeping the body for the recuperation of its physical strength, We bathe it and prepare it£ir th^ work of the day; suppljr it with food, labor with it at our daily vocation^ again renew its vigor with food, then rest it in s^eep,^ completing the circle of twenty-fo;ir hours; A little reflection tdll show us that nearly all our (ime.is spent in caring fol: the body, while thjB soul's necessities receive little of no attention. .As the body is perishablci and the soul is immortal, should not this be exactly reversed? Should We not minister to the needs of the soul, shpply it with its food, devdop its spirituar j>ower to the very^limit of our time; only giving to the body th6 attention that is actually needful? Under the stress of human* conditions, bodily needs are mahy,. and necessarily make strong demands upon our time and attention, but the fact remains that the soul's welfare is, pre-emi- nently, our highest and greatest co&cehi,*and every moment spent in providing it with sustenance, is an eternal gain. Shall the immortal soul starve,. The Necessities of the Soul. 225 while the transitory residence in which it lives, is carefully nourished, ornamented and beautified, only to crumble into dust at the touch of death ? Second: — God in His All-Wisdom knew what the necessities of our bodies would be, before His Creative Hand fashioned us. Therefore, before the race of man came upon earth, He provided those necessities in limitless abundance. Having done this. He established natural laws which govern us, and under the operation of which we obtain the food, drink and protection, necessary for our material existence. Animals, grains, firuits, vegetables, etc, are provided in abundance for our food; watier is plentiful, and the materials and facilities for clothing, shelter and safety, are every- where about us. God has created the earth rich in resources, and endowed us with ability and intelli- gence to supply all our earthly needs, at a minimum expenditure of time. Man, however, by the inven- tion of his own laws, and for the gratification of his own sordid desires, has surrounded himself by conditions which debar the great mass of humanity from free access to these bounties of our Creator, hence the difficulty in supplying ourselves with material necessities. The urgency and stress of these conditions do not result from the action of God, but are entirely the consequences of man's violations of God's perfect laws. If we destroy the forests of our country, and drought and agricultural impoverishment follow, the calamity is due to us, not to God. If famine, pestilence and horrors fol- low in the wake of war, God cannot be justly criti- 226 The Necessities of the Soul. cized for it If the necessaries of life, such as wheat, coal, eta , are beyond the power of the poor to purchase, owing to combinations of capital and control of their output, such distress of conditions can only be attributed to man, and not to God. Under His laws, is clearly visible the Divine intention of making material necessities compara- tively easy to obtain, and so enabling us to devote the greater part of our time to spiritual development We see, then, that material necessities and the ability to obtain them, having been bountifully supplied us by our Creator, we have no further need of His help in that direction. Had He in- tended to continue to provide these things for us. He would not have endowed us with the power and strength to obtain them for ourselves. Shall we, therefore, kneel to Him and ask the gift of food or clothing, when He has already provided for us? The stress of material conditions, therefore; the thousand and one ills, woes and troubles which confront our lives; the numberless grievances . which spring from aggrandizement of wealth and residence in communities; the consequetices of greed and gain; practically all that makes the getting of our daily bread difficult and irksome,* can be directly traced to our violation and .misuse of the harmony of material conditions by which God has surrounded us. The luxury of civilization is an abnormal con* dition which brings its corresponding demands upon our time and effort The simple necessities of man, as a natural, normal creature, therefore, The Necessities of the Soul. 227 leflect our Creator's intention; our complex wants and surroundings which minister almost exclusively to bodily needs and starve the soul, are human inventions and demand the price of human fiulure to reach God. Christ taught diligence, but only to the limit of natural necessities. * When the tax gatherer came to him, he did not kneel down and ask God the Father to provide the money. He said at once to a disciple who was a fisherman, Matt 17, 27: ^^ Go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money; that take and give unto them for me and thee." By this he meant that when the fish was caught by a hook in its mouth, it could be sold, and the money used for paying the taxes. In this way, the disciple supplied the need. In the Sermon upon the Mount, Christ made material needs entirely subordinate to the necessities of the soul, summing up his magnificent exhortation by saying. Matt 6, 33: ^^Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you." As an intelligent, intellectual essence, the soul has its necessities and requires food of its own kind. No amount of material food can keep the soul from starvation. Those who teach that we progress or retrograde spiritually, according to the character .of our material food, are mistaken. The theory is advanced by them that the quality or character of food we eat, is transmitted to us ; 228 The Necessities of the SouL that by eating the flesh of animals we become like them. For this reason, abstinence from meat is commanded, and vegetable diet indicated. If we admit their theory to be tme, it is certainly better to eat the flesh of animals and gain somewhat of their intelligence, than to acquire the dull, inani- mate characteristics of fruits and vegetables. Any one must prefer being an ox to being a potata It is one of God's laws that animals shall subsist upon animals. Man is no exception to this law. If meats are forbidden, how would it be possible for people of the Arctic Zones to exist? Besides this, it is practically an impossibility to avoid eating and drinking microscopic animal life, even with the most extraordinary precautions. Millions of vegetarian Hindoos are governed by a handful of flesh-eating English. The negative ideas and physical weakness of the Hindoo people, constitute the chief obstacles to their development They are inferior morally, mentally and physically, to Americans and Eu- ropeans. Their country is swept by most terrible plagues, and progressive influences which amelio- rate human conditions in all other parts of the world, gain no impetus among them. Paul in Us First Epistle to Timothy 4, 1-2-3: says, "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times, some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to se> ducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy ; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; forbidding to marry, and command- ing to abstain from meats, which God hath created to The Necessities of the Soul, 229 be received with thanksgiving of them which be- lieve and know the truth." Knowledge is the food of the soul. It is the soul's first and greatest necessity. Learning and education are not Knowledge. They are mental acquisition of material fact and data, whereas Knowl- edge implies spiritual comprehension. Knowledge is the ken of the soul. Wisdom implies Knowledge in action and use. Knowledge is intuitive soul illumination. It is the only thing that will benefit the soul in eternity. By the measure of its posses- sion, the soul shall be judged. Learning and edu- cation, stored up statistics concerning material things, cannot benefit the soul in eternity, any more than remembering the dimensions of a dun- geon could benefit a prisoner after his release. Learning and education are of the earth, earthy. Knowledge is of God and concerning him. Secur- ing it, is development toward God. Specifically, Knowledge is knowing God, comprehending our relationship to Him, the purpose of our residence upon earth, and our destiny in eternity. Without Knowledge of God, our existence will be of no con- sequence, either here or hereafter. The second soul necessity is Faith. Material food produces thirst Soul Knowledge produces Faith. After we know, we have Faith. True Faith must be founded upon Knowledge ; if not, it is useless and of no value to the soul in eternity. Knowledge of the truth, produces conviction. If we know, and are convinced, we must believe. If we reject or disbelieve a truth after being con* 230 The Necessities of the Soul. vinced, our souls will die thirsty, because we have prevented them from quenching their thirst with Faith. Faith is the spiritual water of the souL If we wish to stand upon a sure religious foundation, we must believe only in that which is folly proven. Without proof, 'our belief would be as the house built upon sand, for when we reason over it, doubts must arise. True Faith does not admit of doubt Paul says Heb. ii, i: ''Now faith is the sub- stance (ground of confidence) of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.** By this he clearly shows that we must have the substance or confidence of Knowledge before we may have Faith. The third necessity of the soul is I/)ve. Knowl- edge is the souPs ''Food;*' Faith 'is "Water;" Love is " Protection.'* The soul's protection is to love God. Let us consider life as a journey through a forest Commencing at birth, it is our duty and privilege to reach God at death. As we cross the forest, difficulties and obstacles beset us ; sins divert us from a straight course, and delay our progress forward. Beautiful oases appear to the right and to the left of our path^ lovely vistas of world-pleasures beckon us to come aside, rest and recuperate, for the forest journey is difficult and our feet are weary. Here is temptation. If we have Love for God in our souls, we will press forward with renewed effort and stronger determi- nation to meet Him at the journey's end. With- out that Love for Him, we yield weakly to the worldly beckonings, turn aside from our path, lose The Necessities of the Soul. 231 precious time, and enjoy that which proves to be but wormwood and ashes, while the eternal reward escajpes us. To reach God, therefore, we must press continually onward through life's forest, with Love for Him as the soul impetus. Thus I/>ve is the souPs protection against the temptations which lie in the path of life and its impulse toward God. It must not be inferred that all worldly delights should be shunned, all pleasures avoided, all material impulse abnegated God created this world OS the scene of human action, the theater of human accomplishment Hie beautified it by the glory of His wisdom, aiid bestowed upon us the intelligence to enjoy its beauty. It is by making world delights obstacles to our spiritual journey, and by bestowing upon them all our time, that we fell into error and proceed contrary to His purpose. Instead of making the beauties and delights of earth, our temptations, they should repeat and em- phasize to us, the bounty of God and His infinite love for lis. * Finally, we must know God as He is, and as He wants us to know him. To many. He is unknown and unknowable, and therefore they have neither Knowledge, Faith nor I/) ve. If we are true seekers of God, we must follow the steps of the Great Master, Jesus, who said, ^^ Knock, knock, and the door will be opened to you; seek and ye shall find.'' By this, Christ njeant that our independ- ence must first bring us to seek God, and gain Knowledge of Him. From Knowledge of Him, we 232 The Necessities of the Soul. gain Faith ; then knowing Him, and believing in Him with strong Faith, we reach the exalted con- dition of loving Him. Christ said ^^Thon shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy sonl, with all thy heart and with all thy mind ; this is the greatest of all commandments." To Love Him therefore with all our intelligence, is our highest duty and accomplishment, but this Love must be founded upon Faith in Him, and Faith springs from Knowledge, which is the basis of all soul ac- complishment This progressive order cannot be reversed We cannot begin by loving God to establish Faith in Him, and then acquire Knowledge. This is unnatural, illogical and impossible. The dear logical order and progressive spiritual jour- ney to God, is — first, to Know Him ; second, to have Faith in what we Know; third, to Love Him in confidence and devotion. CHAPTER XIV. PRAYER. As God is the source of all Knowledge, and as Knowledge is the food of the soul, we must now consider the means of obtaining it There is no other medium than that of prayer, which may be comprehensively defined as the soul's attitude in seeking and asking God for its vital necessities. It is plainly our duty and privilege to pray, yet a characteristic of tliese present years, is a growing disbelief in the function and efficacy of prayer. Men do not pray with the faith and fervor of their fore&thers. To prove the error of this neglect, we must consider the various reasons advanced by those who deem prayer useless and unprofitable; after which we will show why prayer is necessary, and when it is productive of good to us. Men do not pray, for the following reasons, viz.: — First — ^They do not believe in the Personality of God. If they admit the existence of an Infinite Creative Cause, they believe it to be a Power^ Force, Energy or Law, to which, appeal by prayer is useless. In answer to this objection, it has been conclusively shown in a previous chapter, that the Creative Cause must exist, and that God must be an Infinite Personality. It is therefore necessary for us to ask Him to help us. Prayer to a Force, n$ *34 Prayer. Vibration or Energy, would be profitless. Prayer to the Infinite Personality of God, is a logical ont- come of His existeifce as God, and onr existence as His creatures. Second — Many believe that the soul of man is a germ of Divinity ; and therefore, as God is within us, we do not need to pray to Him. This view is sometimes supported by the statement that Christ said ** the Kingdom of God is within you,'* Concerning this objection to prayer, it is neces- sary to review the fact that the Divine Essence can- not be divided into innumerable germs constituting human souls, without destroying its Perfection. Nothing can be added to G^d, nothing can be taken from Hin|. . If the soul is a germ of the Divine Essence, it nmst possess the full powers of Divinity, for Divinity must be homogeneous. Although it is possible for the soul to reflect and to be illumined by the powers of God, it cannot partake of the intrinsic essence of God. According to revised versions of the New Testament, Luke 17, 21 is rendered **The Elingdom of (^od is among you'* or "in your midst" It would have ht€n unreasonable and inconsistent for Christ to say that the Kingdom of God is '* within you" and a^ the same time, teach us to pray for the coming of that Kingdom. The appliqation of this statemei^t to support belief that our souls are of the e^nce of Divinity, is so vague an^ general, that it demands littie attention. Third — Some ' believrf that God, having created the worlii, established sufficient laws to govern Prayer. 235 and sustain it ; and that all human accomplishment is subject to these laws, without further interest or interference upon the part of God Himself. For this reason, they deny His bounty and cease to pray. It must be admitted, in answer to this ob- jection, that God has ordained perfect laws to gov- ern us. Under these laws, however, we find that man is the highest visible creation, and the only creature possessing the power of independence. The function of independence is to choose knowl- edge of God. Choosing evil, refusing to seek God, is simply misuse or neglect of this high function. As finite creatures seeking knowledge of the In- finite, we must assume an attitude of will toward Him. To receive knowledge from Him, He must be accessible to us. A God inaccessible to creatures whom He has endowed with independence to seek Him, is a logical impossibility. A God bound and restricted in His attitude toward us, by His own laws, is not as high as an independent human being, nor is He our highest conception of Divinity. God is higher and greater than His own laws. Although we are amenable to them, they cannot render Him inaccessible to us, for He is the intelli- gence behind those laws. Our necessities are knowledge of Him ; our appeal is to Him and not to His laws. This is prayer, and prayer is a neces- sity. We must also conclude, in this connection, that the perfect laws of God are intended to help us, to assist our development, and reward the cor- rect use of our weapon of independence. The function of every law of God, is distinctly that of 236 Prayer. protection and assistance toward harmony widi Him. That they are obstacles to right attainment, is illogical, and a belief which violates the laws themselves. Fourth — It is sometimes stated in self-defence, by those who do not pray, that God the All-Mighty is All-Knowing, and cognizant of our condition, there- fore it is not necessary for us to mention our needs or ask Him to help us. The fact that He has given us independence to seek Him, disproves this argument completely. We cannot exercise that power of will to choose God, except by coming to Him and asking for help and guidance. He is rich ; we are poor. He has knowledge; we need it How shall we obtain it ? By no other means than that of asking. This use of our independence is our duty. Prajring to Him is acknowledgment of His power and appre> dation of His bounty. Prayer is therefore our duty. Fifth — ^The theory of the fatalists, is, that every- thing is predestined and beyond the possibility of change or alteration, therefore there is no need of prayer. To this it may be said that although the history and destiny of man lies written in the Mind of God, independent human action evolves and reveals it God's actions are arbitrary. Human actions, which govern human destiny, are free and untrammded. The fact that God is cognizant of human action, does not restrict human action in the least Pate and independence never meet Our use of the gift Prayer. 237 of independence, determines onr fate. Pate is the ontcome of our own action, which God never ham- pers. He apportions the soul's environment, but thereafter, the soul, subject to His perfect laws, accomplishes its own destiny. The Omniscience of God is nowhere shown in greater perfection than in this, — that although human action makes human history. He has all-knowledge of it beforehand. As His knowledge of our outcome does not restrict us, we must pray to Him, if we wish to attain the privi- legt He has granted us. Sixth — ^Many have abandoned prayer for the reason that their prayers have never been answered. They reason, therefore, that prayer is non-eflFective with God. Whatever degree of failure attends our petitions to the Infinite God, we may conclude with certainty that the fault is our own. Prayers innumerable have been answered. If our petitions £edl, it is well to consider some of the reasons which render prayer valueless and of no avail. It may be that we do not pray in the right spirit Christ said that we must worship God " in spirit and in truth.'* Prayer that is unintelligent and at variance with truth, can profit nothing. Remind- ing God of His duties ; dictating to Him ; impor- tuning Him with the egotism of our demands, preclude the possibility of answer. Again, it may be that we pray for things which God has already provided for us. Prayer for material necessities, worldly advancement, etc., come within the cate- gory of profitless petitions to our Creator. Not only do we pray for things which He has already 238 Prayer. provided, but we also voice our supplications to Him, in petitions for things, which, if we did receive, would prove to be of injury and disadvan- tage to us. Knowing this. His Infinite Wisdom denies the answer to our pfayer. In one of the Oriental legc;^ds, 'it is said that Moses (the ^^ Speaker with .God*') when passing through a desert region, stopped at the cave of a hermit, who recognized him and received him with much hos- pitality. In the evening, the hermit, who had prayed all his life for the power of raising the dead, begged Moses to intercede with God, in his behalf, and obtain this gift for him. When morning came, Mgses announced that God had refused to grant the hermit's prayer, for the reason that the power of raising the dead, instead of benefiting him, -^^ould bring him harm and injury. The hermit nevertheless insisted .that Moses should again ask God for it. Moses did so, and brought him the same answer upon the second morning. The hermit was not satisfied, and a third time be- sought Moses to urge God to grant him the power of raising the dead. Upon the third morning, Moses announced to the hermitythat the Almighty had answered his petition and granted unto him the power he desired After the departure of Moses, the hermit while walking in the desert, came to a place where a number of bones lay scat- tered upon the ground. Remembering that God had granted him the power of raising the dead, he stood over the dry bones, commanding that they gather themselves together and be restored to life. Prayer. 239 Immediately the bones were joined one with an- other, cldthed with flesh, and *there appeared an enor- mous'hungry lion; which devoured him. This illus- trates the uselessness of praying for things which, according to our limited judgment, are beneficial, yet are denied us *by the Qmniscient God, whose ways are higher than our ways, and whose thoughts are higher than our thoughts. There are many vitally im|)ortant reasons why we should pray. -First: — ^We are. living upon the earth, subject to efivironment and limitation, for the purpose of attaining a higher spiritual attitude in eternity. This reward, the gift of these higher blessings and powers, is not ours by right. We dp not deserve them ; they are offered to u^ by our Creator, from the boundless ocean of His love and mercy. We must therefore strive for them, and our first neces- sity toward their* accomplishment, is to seek them by prayer. If a •fellow man owes me a sum of money and I ask him for it, my request is founded upon my right and ownership to it ' If he is rich, and I, being poor and needy, ask him for money, I receive it from the impulse of his sympathy and generosity, without having any claim whatever upon it Where my right exists,'my demand is just, and must be recognized. Without my right, all voli- tipn rests with him. GcmI has knowledge and power; we need it, yet have no right to it. Prom His love and. mercy. He will endow us with these higher gifts and blessings, but we must show appreciation and acknowledge our need, by asking for them. This is a fundamental necessity of prayer. «4o Prayer. Second: — It is necessary that we should know God and come nearer to Him, in order that we may attain higher spiritual development^ and accomplish the purpose of our coming upon earth. If we fail in this, our lives are of no more conse- quence than the lives of animals. To know God, we must commune with Hinu By prayer we become acquainted with Him and attain knowledge of Him. If we pass a fellow- man in the street every day of the year, we obtain little or no knowledge of him. By conversii^ with him ; by acquaintance, we come to know him, understand his nature and estimate his intelligence. Likewise, knowledge of God demands acquaint- ance with God, through the medium of communion or prayer. Third: — ^We should pray in gratitude to God for His bounty, and in acknowledgment of His inex- haustible generosity to His creatures. He is the Creator of the Universe, the Supreme Source of all blessings and power. It is therefore our duty to confess His greatness, in prayer and praise to Him. As He has enriched us, it is sin and ingratitude upon our part, not to recognize and acknowledge His bounty. Fourth: — ^The privilege of prayer and communion with God, is the highest honor conferred upon us. By the use of this privilege, we are elevated in His esteem, and enjoy supreme importance in the eyes of the celestial hosts. The opportunity of con- verse with a King, Queen, Czar, or any high earthly ruler, is an honor. How much greater the Prayer. 241 hoiior and privilege of unlimited commuaien with the I^rd of I^rds and King of Kings, our Creator and Bverlasting Father. Fifth: — Prayer is worship. We w<»ship God aad petitilish as to suppose that Ood after the manner of a husbandman planted a paradise in Eden toward the Bast and placed in it a tree of life visible and palpable, so that one taking of the fruit by the bodily teeth, obtained Ufe? And if God is said to walk in the paradise in the evening and Adam to hide himself under a tree, I do not suppose that anyone doubts that these* things, figuratively, indicate certain mysteries, the his- tory having taken place in appearance and not literally. Cain also when going forth from the presence of God, certainly appeals to thoughtfiil men as likely to lead the reader to inquire what is the presence of God, and what is the meaning of going out from Him ? The Gospels are filled with the same kind of narratives. '^ One of the greatest difficulties in coming to a real knowledge of this lesson, is the misunder- standing of the location of Bden. Scholars and theologians confess the impossdbility of locating it accurately. Martin Luther said ^ No one knows.'* Geikie, " Hours with the Bible'» says: ** It would be wearisome to quote at length the widely con- trasted opinions which offer themselves in the long list of writings, more or less folly devoted to this subject for it embraces not fewer than 80 treatises; Palestine, Syria, Armenia, Mesopotamia, Persia^ the Delta of the Indus, Cashmere, one of the Sooth Sea Islands, the Canary Islands, St Gothardinthe Adam. 253 Alps and even the shores of the Baltic have been zealously advocated as the seat of Paradise.'' The consensus of learned opinion &vors the idea that its real locality was somewhere in Asia, near the great rivers Euphrates and Tigris, from the fact that the former is named in the Genesis narration, together with the Hiddekel which was the ancient name of the Tigris. The rivers Gihon and Pishon have never been found, nor is there any evidence past or present, of the existence of the great river from which these four proceeded, and of which they were the "heads" or "branches.*' In point of geographical existence, it is clearly evident that the Garden of Bden has never been, and could not be a spot or locality upon the earth's surface. Added to this, is the weight of scriptural demonstration that the story itself is symbolical of an existence in the spiritual realms ; that this is the true meaning of the location of the Paradise of God. Still further, in the light of physical science, it can be shown from the description of Eden, that an earthly location for it, is impos^ble. According to the biblical record, there grew " out of the ground, every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also, in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil." Prom a scientific standpoint, it is impossi- ble to admit that there grew from the soil of the earth, trees which produced fruits of "life" and fruits of the knowledge of "good" and "eviL " The material elements cannot nourish our souls with life and the 254 Adam. knowledge of good and evil ; they nonrish and sustain the body, which partakes of their nature and qualities. According to science, therefore, and upon the basis of literal facts, the Garden of Eden could not have existed upon the earth. In Reve- lations 2, 7, the symbolism and imagery of the Eden story is utilized to prove this point more clearly. ^' He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches ; to him that over- cometh, will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God." Here, Christ teaches us that by coming to this earth and accomplishing victoriously the purpose of our com- ing, we shall enter into the Paradise of God, eat of the Tree of Life and live forever with God. Prom this teaching, we learn that the Garden of Eden is the Paradise of God ; for the Tree of Life grew in Eden« We certainly do not understand that our eternity of reward for victory in this life, will be to live with God our Creator, between the two rivers Euphrates and Tigris. Christ taught also in the Gospels, that we came from our Father's house and that we shall return to Him. This will be thoroughly explained later. In the " Secrets of Enoch'' Chapter 8, we meet the same description of Eden, with slight change in the symbolism. ^^And these men took me from thence, and brought me to the third heaven, and placed me in the midst of a garden, a place such as has never been known before for the goodliness of its appear- ance and I saw all the trees of beautiful colors and their fruits ripe and fragrant, and all kinds of food Adam. 255 which they produced, springing up with delightful fragrance, and in their midst (there is) the tree of life, in that place, on which God rests when He comes into Pamdise, and this tree cannot be described for its excellence and sweet odour — and it is beautifol more than any created thing. And on all sides in appearance it is gold and crimson and transparent as fire and it covers everything. From its root in the garden there go forth four streams which pour honey and milk, oil and wine, and are separated in four directions, and go about with a soft course. And they go down to the Para- dise of Eden, between corruptibility and incor- ruptibility. And thence they go along the earth, and have a revolution in their circle like also the other elements. And there is another tree, an olive tree always distilling oil, and there is no tree there without any fruit, and every tree is blessed, and there are three hundred angels very glorious, who keep the garden and with never ceasing voices and blessed singing, they serve the Lord every day. And I said — * What a very blessed place this is.* " The " Tree of Life upon which God rests when He comes into Paradise," is the Manifestation of God the Infinite, to His creatures. *^Prom its root, there go forth four streams." The "olive tree always distilling oil*' is the Tree of Knowl- edge of Good and Evil, the cause of our leaving the Paradise of God and coming upon the earth. The other trees in Paradise, represent the souls of the human race. Christ used this symbolism when He said John 15, " I am the vine, ye are the 35^ Adam. brandies; my Father is the husbandman.** In the parable of the Vineyard, Luke ao, 9-16, Christ taught us the same truth ; that God *' planted a vineyard, and went into another country for a long time,** leaving it to the care of husbandmen. Human souls are therefore, the trees in the Garden of Bden, which are watered by the four rivers branching from God the Tree of Life or the Great River, in the midst of the Garden. The Tree of Knowledge is likewise a symbol of the Manifestation of God to His creatures. This teaching is not confined to the Bible, but is found in the scriptures of other religions. Wherever tiie symbols of the two trees are found, they represent the image of the Supreme God manifested to His creatures. Geikie "Hours with the Bible** page 98. " The trees of life and the knowledge of good and evil have been no less widely remembered. The Indian tradition speaks of the tree Kalpank- sham, whose fruit gave immortality; among the Persians a similar tree was called Hom ; among the Arabs the Tuba ; among the Greeks the Lohis. On the Assyrian sculptures the tree of life is con- stantly seen, and its high impcntance cannot be doubted. It sometimes appears alone, sometimes worshiped by royal figures, at other times guarded by winged forms in attitude of adoration ; but is always incontrovertibly one of the loftiest of re- ligious symbols, for we often se^ it surmounted by the winged disk, the symbolic image of the Supieme God, with occasionally a human bust above it. Alike on the bas-reliefs of Assyrian palaces, and an Adam. ^57 both Babylonian and Ass3rrian cylinders, it recurs with striking constancy.'' Also in the Book of Enoch, 25, 3 and 4 — *' And be answered me by saying — ^ This high mountain which thou hast seen, whose summit is like the throne of God, is the throne where the holy and great God of Glory, the Eternal King will sit when He shall descend to visit the earth with goodness.' And this tree of beautiful fragrance cannot be touched by any flesh until the time of the great judgment; when all things will be atoned for and consummated for eternity; this will be given to the just and humble." The same truth is found in the prophecies of Bzekiel 17, 22 and 23, — "Thus saith the Lord God ; I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar and will set it ; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon a high mountain and eminent. In the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it ; and it shall bring forth boughs and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar, and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell." If the location of the Garden of Eden is sym- bolical of a spiritual existence, what of the action recorded? It is evident that the souls in the Paradise of God, ate of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, knowingly. That is to say, they par- took of it independently. The inevitable deduction is that they received it by asking for it In the narration it is said that ^^the serpent" tempted 35^ Adam. them to eat, after which they were driven out of Paradise. As the Garden of Eden had no material existence, we must conclude that no actual serpent existed there. The serpent, since the most ancient times, has been and still is the sjrmbol of ^'wis- dom.'* Christ said, Matt lo, i6 — " Be ye therefore wise as serpents." Among the Chaldeans, Egyp- tians, Hebrews and Greeks, this significance of the serpent symbol was universal. The brazen serpent set up by Moses to represent wisdom, was destroyed by Hezekiah, when he found it had become an ob- ject of idolatry. Afterward it became the symbol of evil, and was incorporated into early Christian belief, to typify the devil or Satan. "Secrets of Enoch*' p. 14 (Note by R. H. Charles). " The serpent was anciently a symbol of wisdom and healing, among the Greeks, the Egyptians (Brugsch Rel. and Myth pp 103-4) and the He- brews, (Num. 21, 8-9; II Kings 18, 4; Matt 10, 16; John 3, 14); Hezekiah's destruction of the ** brazen serpent" as associated with idolatry may have caused the symbol to bear almost without exception an evil significance in later times, so that at last it became a designation of Satan.'' As the serpent symbolizes wisdom, and as the human race of souls existing in Paradise, asked for the knowledge of good and evil, we establiiUi the fact that their own knowledge or wisdom impdled them to take this great step, for which they were banished from Paradise to *^till the earth." The knowledge of good and evil is distinctly the power Adam. 259 of independence which is possessed only by God and Man. The function of independence is to choose good. Choosing evil is misuse and violation of its true function. We cannot possibly hold that the function of our independence is to choose evil. A horse grazing in a field, will eat of many herbs, leaves and grasses, but refuse others. The power of selection, the instinct which governs the horse in this discrimination between nutritious food and poisonous plants, was not given him for the pur- pose of enabling him to eat the poison. The func- tion of his power of selection is distinctly to choose that which is good and refuse that which is detrimental and injurious. Similarly, the power of independence, the knowledge of good and evil, possessed by man, is intended for his elevation and development We therefore came upon the earth to gain knowledge ; tempted or persuaded by the wisdom we already possessed, to take upon our- selves the process of earth life, in order to increase our knowledge. The real **fall of man" was, therefore, the consent and willingness of the race of human souls to undergo a process, a period of trial and testing in the environment of the flesh, in order to attain a higher attitude of knowledge before God our Creator. In the universe of God, tbese is no accomplishment without process. If we wish to reach the top floor of a building, we must climb the stairs; to read Shakespeare, we must study the alphabet. Process is inevitable, materially and spiritually. In "Chaldean Genesis'' G. G. Smith says 26o Adam. ^'Judging from the fragments discovered, it appears probable that there were in the royal library at Nineveh over ten thousand inscribed tablets, includ- ing almost every subject in ancient literature. By far the greater number of the tablets brought from Nineveh belonged to the age of Assurbanipal who reigned over Assyria B. C 670 and every copy of the Genesis l^ends yet found was inscribed during his reign. It is stated that these tablets are not the originals, but only copies from earlier texts. The date of the original copies is never preserved. The Assyrians acknowledged that this literature was borrowed from Babylonian sources. The Izdubar legends containing the story of the flood were probably written B. C. 2000. These l^[ends were, however, traditions before they were com- mitted to writing and were common in some form to all the country. It seems from the indications in the inscriptions that there happened in the interval B. C 2000 to B. C 1850 a general collect- ing and development of the various traditions of the Creation, Flood, Tower of Babel and other similar legends. The Ass3rrians state that these documents were copied from ancient Babylonian copies, and in some cases state that the old copies were partly illegible even in their days. ** There is nothing in the present fragments (p. 88) indicating a belief in the Garden of Eden or the Tree of Knowledge; there is only an obscure allu- sion in lines 16 and 22 to a thirst for knowledge having been a cause for man's fall.'' In "Book of Enoch" 32, 6,— "Then the holy Adam. 261 angel Rafael, who was with me, answered and said to me: * This is the tree of wisdom from which thy old father and thy aged mother, who were before thee; etc and they learned wisdom, and their eyes were opened and they learned that they were naked and were driven out of the garden.** We read in the Bible that after the expulsion from Paradise, God placed a " Flaming Sword " be- tween Adam and the Tree of Life, to prevent him from reaching it. It is obvious that God is willing that man shall eat of the Tree of Life, but not until he is fitted for and justly deserves it by the accomplishment of a certain process or purpose. This purpose must be accomplished and attained upon the earth, and, as it is a hardship, a difficulty, a state of pain and suffering, it resembles passing a ** flaming sword'* to reach the Tree of Life. The flaming sword symbolizes the place of suffer- ing, pain and death, which must be passed through before the privilege of eating the fruits of the Tree of Life can be attained. The earth is therefore the ^'flaming sword." Our race of souls came upon the earth from the Paradise of God, for a short duration of time, either to be fitted for everlasting life with God or to be cast out from His Pace, by rejecting Him. The idea and teaching of the "flaming sword," expressed in difierent symbolism, is found among the beliefs of nearly all the races of the world. In "Ten Great Religions** p. 320, James Freeman Clark says "We learn that the Greeks supposed that every soul must cross the river Styx in Charon*s 262 Adam. boat ; that the Persians thought the departed must cross above the abyss of woe on the arch of the rainbow; and that the Koran teaches that they must go over on the bridge El Sirat, whose blade is sharp as a cimitar ; and even Christians speak of passing over a mythical Jordan. '•The missionaries were told by the Hurons and Iroquois that the soul after death must cross a deep rapid river on a bridge made of a slender and ill- poised tree; another tribe believed in crossing a river in a stone canoe, another in going over a stream on a bridge made of an enormous serpent The Indians of Chili, the Aztecs and the Bsqui- ' maux had similar legends. All these notions sprang up naturally, among primitive people, be- fore bridges were built, the chief difficulty a trav- eler encountered was in crossing a river or a branch ' of the sea. They naturally thought that in the long journey from this world to the next, some similar difficulty would be found." It is a mistake to suppose that these difficulties are to be passed through after death. Only upon this earth can we accomplish the privilege of eating of the Tree of Life ; for this is the place appointed by God to be the testing-ground of human action. If it were possible to attain this privilege elsewhere, there would be no object in our existence here. Therefore, as we cannot attribute to God the All- wise, the performance of any action without pur- pose, especially this great action, the creation of this wonderful earth and the cpming of the highest race in the universe, upon it, we must conclude Adam. ^3 that the flaming sword, the bridge of Bl Sirat, the River Jordan and kindred symbols, represent ^^the eartf In order to understand and simplify the records of the book of Genesis, it is necessary to determine the meanings of the names Adam, Eve, Cain and AbeL Every pit>per name has a meaning or sig- nificance in the language which gave it origin. In all languages, proper names originate from common nouns and are founded upon some natural object, circumstance or event. By tracing a name back- ward, we find its natal source to be a language in which it has an intrinsic meaning. The words Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel have no significance in English, Hebrew, Egyptian, Arabic, etc It has been found, however, that they have a definite meaning in the Accadian language, which is spoken by the Kurds, a people of Kurdistan, in Asia Minor. This conclusively proves that the earliest language of which we have trace or record, is the Accadian or Kurdish. In this language, " Adam ** or " Adeem *' means " the cover of the thing," its " surface " or rather **skin;'* and as the body of a man is the "tent** or "cover'* in which the soul lives, it was called ** Adeem *' or the " skin.** Those who claim that it applies to the red color of soil or earth, are mis- taken. "Eve** or **Hhowaa,** is "Ufe** or a "living souL** The union or combination of "Adam** the "body** or "tent** and "Eve** the "living soul,'* which perfectly expresses the creation of man, is set forth in Genesis 2, 7 — "And the ^64 Adam. Lord God formed man of the dust of the grotmd and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life ; and man became a living souL" In Job 19, 26— The body of man, or " Adam '* is rendered as " skin *' — " And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.*' " Cain ** or " Ca-in " means ** earthly pos- session,'' *^ material," and sometimes a ^* mineral that is used for a spear head" In the latter sense we find Tubal-Cain, Gen. 4, 22, was " the forger of every cutting instrument of brass and iron." "Abel" or "Abed" means the "Son of God." With this knowledge of the true significance of these proper names, the interpretation of the sym- bolism thus far proves as follows: — Our race, or Adam (which is a term applied not only to our first earthly parents, but also to the whole human race, as we frequently find it used in the Bible), was in the Garden of Eden, or the Paradise of God ; a race of souls perfect in the limitation in which God had created them. In this spiritual plane, they existed without sorrow, pain or death ; without the knowl- edge of good and evil ; incapable of rising above their limitation, yet possessing knowledge or wis- dom which gave them thirst or desire to rise into a higher attitude before God than the limitation in which they had been created. The "serpent," that is to say, the wisdom they gained when they learned that God the Infinite, the Creator, had decided from eternity, to take unto himself a Form, an Image, in order that His finite creatures might comprehend the Invisible through the Visible Mani- Adam. 265 Testation; and that He had appointed this globe to be the place where He would manifest Himself in this Image: the "serpent" Wisdom urged them to ask their Creator that they might take an Image like His Own and rise higher toward the State of Divinity. In this, they sought to be like Him ; to attain His characteristics, knowing good from evil. This grafting into His Own Image, is eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge ; for if we were not made after His Image, we could not be fitted to live with Him and be adopted as His children. The horse is not fitted to live with man and partici- pate in human accomplishment, for the reason that the horse is not " after the image " of man. To live with God and be naturalized into Divinity, we must undergo the process of a life upon earth, in His Own Image. God granted this petition of our race of souls, upon the conditions to which we now, as human beings upon the earth, are subject Under these conditions, we must come here, im- prisoned in this mold of clay, which is the Image of God ; our tablets of memory sealed and locked, in order that we may not remember our previous existence and thus have free exercise of our power of independence, which is the knowledge and choice of good and evil ; our existence hampered and beset upon every side with earthly hindrances and trials, in order that through all our probation and testing, we may prove our worthiness for re- ward, by clinging with love to God, acknowledging Him in pain and sorrow as well as in earthly hap- piness, to be our God, Father and Almighty Creator. 266 Adam. The difficulty of these apparently simple conditions^ is realized by looking at humanity about us. To- day, millions are denying their Creator ; millions are entertaining false and ridiculous ideas as to how our race and all living creatures originated. The prophet Jeremiah 2, 27 says — "They say to a stock, Thou art my father, and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth ; for they have turned their back unto me and not their £ice ; but in the time of their trouble they will say. Arise and save us.'* God has bestowed upon us the gift of independ- ence, the God-power of will, that we may perform our duties toward Him and toward ourselves, from our own wish and accord. Those who fulfill these conditions, will be grafted into the Tree of Life and live with Him forever, while those who fail in their fulfillment, will be shut out from the Paradise of God, prevented from eating the food of that blessed Tree, and cast out from His Pace. This, as we shall see later, is the condition of Cain ^ in the land of Nod, to which land, souls not com- petent to fill the high position of reward as the Children of God, must go in punishment " Secrets of Enoch " 30, 15 — " And I gave him his will, and I showed him the two ways, the light and the darkness. And I said unto him * This is good and this is evil;' that I should know whether he has love for Me or hate ; that he should appear in his race as loving Me.*' Jesus taught the same point in Matt 12, 30—" He that is not with me is against me." We see, therefore, that God gave us our in- Adam. 267 dependence to choose or refnse Him, in order that we may be like Him, independent as He is in- dependent If we were not independent, we could not attain the attitude of Divinity. The fact that our tablet of memory is locked, proves that we shall be judged by the use we make of this God- power of independence, during our earth-life. We are being tested in its use or misuse, to show our fitness or unfitness for grafting into Him as His sons and childrem. For this reason, we are able to sin, while the angels, or other races of souls who are not so tested, who are without the power of independence, cannot commit sin. As they are not independent, they are not responsible. They are controlled by God, and He is responsible for them. Cyril of Jerusalem said ** A free agent alone can commit sin.'* Therefore the souls which show their standard by loving God while upon this earth, will pass the " Flaming Sword" victoriously, return to the Paradise of God, eat of the Tree of Life as Gods and the adopted Children of God forever. This is the cause of the coming of man upon earth, and the true meaning of the " Fall of Man." We did not " fall " by eating of the Tree of Knowl- edge ; we did not commit sin by partaking of that blessed fruit, but in reality performed an action highly beneficial to ourselves, by which we may accomplish an immeasurable "rise." The** Fall of Man " was therefore the passing out of our race of souls from the spiritual realms of the Garden of Eden, to attain a great privilege and be fitted to 268 Adam. become Gods. Eternal glory and gratitude to " Eve " the " woman," instead of the stigma of re- sponsibility laid upon her by those whose eyes are blinded to the trudi. The temptation of Adam (the race of souls in the Garden of Eden), by the serpent Wisdom, is further set forth and the scriptural truth clarified, in the sacred narrative in Genesis 3 3-5. ** But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman Ye shall not surely die ; for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof^ then your eyes shall be opened ; and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.'* This teaches that our race of souls, after arguing with the serpent and thinking over the opportunity for attaining a higher and supreme limitation be- fore God, realized the greatness of it, overcame hesitation, and consented willingly to undergo the process of trial in the body, the end whereof is death. And, although realizing that death was the culmination of this process, we knew also that by it, we should attain unto everlasting life as gods. Having taken this great step, by consenting will- ingly to undergo the process of life upon the earth, the souls of our race found themselves ^* naked '' in the Garden of Eden, that is to say, deprived of the privilege they sought by eating of the Tree of Knowledge, and unable to accomplish it through their own efforts. This condition of helplessness is symbolized by the efforts of Adam and Eve to cover their nakedness with fig leaves. Adam. 269 ** And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife, coats of skins, and clothed them." Genesis, God the merciful and loving Creator came to the assistance of these naked, helpless souls, and tailored by His Mighty Hand, two ** coats of skins,** one male and the other female; and into these two skins, bodies or " Adeems," entered, by His com- mand, the first two souls from Paradise. This wonderful body of man is a product of the creative wisdom of God. It is the material form, made after the Image of God Himself. ** And God said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness." Genesis i, 26. Thus Adam, by accepting God's conditions, left the Garden of Eden, " driven from it," and came upon the earth to accomplish the purpose of befitting himself for the higher position of a god; knowing beforehand, that he must endure sorrow, sufiering and death, for God had said unto him, " The day you eat, death you shall die." At the same time, God placed between him and the Tree of Life, a " Flaming Sword," the Bridge, the Sirat, this earth, with its hardships and diffi- culties, that he might learn to use rightly the weapon of independence which God gave him, and attain from his own free will, the great blessing of becoming a god. Concerning the scriptural record that God formed woman from a rib taken out of the man's body, we are taught by it, that as rib means a support, so God the Almighty, made Adam of two sexes, male 270 Adam. and female, to support each other dttring their ex- istence upon the earth. Upon each sex, he laid special duties and functions, through which other human bodies should be brought into existence. The sexes therefore are equal materially and spir- itually. Having created these human bodies or skins, one male, and the other female, He endowed them with the power of growth, the power of reproduction, like unto a factory composed of two parts, by which other tents or bodies should be woven, into which the rest of our race of souls might come, take the form after the image of God, and attain the same privilege. According to the same plan. He also made the races of beasts, birds, fishes and some species of the vegetable kingdom. In all these, God created the first pair, and endowed them with the power of reproduction. The child comes from the mother, the seed from the tree. It is not nec- essary, therefore, for God to create a new human body for each soul that comes upon the earth. Prom our first parents, came the whole human race. Likewise from a single tree, or in some cases from two trees, came all the forests of the earth. The third Adam or Adam the Man, received his name as a title of honor, for he bore the image of God His Creator, the Form of the mamfartatioa of the Supreme Being. Adam the Man was endowed with £au:ulties and powers which enabled him to understand the operation of natural laws and con- ditions of the surrounding existence. By this en- dowment of knowledge, he was made capable of Adam. «7i applying the material existence to his benefit We have suflScient evidence to believe that God the Creator revealed to our first parents, many things material and spiritual, to increase the capital of their knowledge and experience, thus enabling them to fulfill their material and spiritual duties and transmit their knowledge to their o&pring. As these revelations of intelligence came direct from God, Adam was a prophet We know that the cereals, many herbs, fruits, etc appeared upon the earth with the coming of man, for according to geological evidence, there are no traces of their existence before that period. Furthermore, we know that most of the above mentioned products of the earth, were distinctly intended for man's sustenance, since without human cultivation, they retrograde in quality and ultimately disappear. Our first parents, in the weakness of their human natures, sinned against the perfect laws of God. No human creature can live without committing sins and mistakes. Surrounded by the attractions of earthly existence, which tempted him to gratify his material desires, Adam, as a finite creature, £sdled to comprehend the will of God and neglected the way of knowing Him through human compre- hension. God promised him help, and revealed to him that through his o&pring should come one who would lift up the fallen race and guide men to the real knowledge of their Creator, the Infinite. God revealed His intention of mani- festing Himself to His creatures, in fulfillment of the promise our race of souls had received in the ^72 Adam. Garden of Bden; that He Himself would guide and teach men to know Him. Christ taught this truth in the parable of the *^ Prodigal Son," when He said the Father came to the help of His son. The sins and mistakes of Adam and Eve, the first human pair, did not cause the ^^ Fall of Man,'' the expulsion from the Garden of Bden, as is gen- erally taught and believed. Their sins were the consequence of imprisonment in this body of dust. This imprisonment is typified by the symbol of the serpent cursed, condemned to crawl upon the ground and eat dust all the days of its life. The interpretation of this symbol shows us that, as through the serpent wisdom, our own knowledge, we came from the spiritual realms to undergo a process of trial and suffering upon the earth, that same serpent or soul-knowledge was cursed or sent upon the earth, to undergo the process with us. As we were cast downward from a high plane of existence to the dust of an earthly environment, to live in this prison of day, so the serpent, our soul — ^wisdom, was sent with us, imprisoned as we are imprisoned and forced to communicate only through the material avenues of the five senses in gaining knowledge and understanding. In this way, the serpent should ^^ eat the dust of the earth all the days of its life." ** And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise its heel. " Genesis 3, 15. The meaning of this enmity between man and the serpent, is, that when we Adam* 273 perform good actions and make rightftil nse of the faculties given us during our earth life, the serpent ^sdom will have nothing to say against us, re- maining silent, without rebuke, as if its head were bruised; but if we ill-use these gifts and act wickedly, the serpent wisdom will "bruise our heel,'* that is condemn our transgressions. No man commits sin unless condemned by his reason and judgment, and as our life is likened to a jour- ney upon the road to eternity, so our actions form the steps of that journey. If we walk crookedly, the serpent wisdom by its reproach and condemna- tion, will bruise or bite our heels to straighten our steps, rebuking us, that we may correct our actions and do rightly. CHAPTER XVL ADAM (gain and ABEL). We read in the Fourth Chapter of Genesis, that the first children of Adam and Eve, were two sons, Cain and Abel ; that ^^ Cain was a tiller of the gronnd and Abel a keeper of sheep ; *' that *' Cain brought of the fruit of the ground, an offering unto the Lord, and Abel he also brought of the first- lings of his flock and of the fat tl^ereof ;" that ^* the Lord had respect unto Abel and his offer- ing, but unto Cain and to his oflfering He had not respecf On this account, the jealous Cain slew Abel and while God rebuked him, Cain expressed the fear that *' Whosoever findeth me shall slay me." To protect Cain from harm, God gave him a mark or sign, after which, Cain ^^ went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.*' ' The record of Cain probably contains more dif- ficulties of interpretation and contradictory state- ments, than any other narration of scripture. In the fourteenth verse of the fourth chapter of Genesis, it is said that Cain was '^ driven out from the face of the ground; "that he should be a "fugitive and a wanderer in the earth;" that he should be " hid from the face of God " and •** slain by whosoever found him." If Cain, after Ab^'s death, was the only human being upon the ealth a75 276 Adam (Cain and Abel). besides Adam and Eve, there could be no reason for Cain's fear, neither could Cain be ^^ driven out from the face of the ground " and still be a *^ fugi- tive in the earth ;'* nor could he be " hid from the face '* of the omnipresent God. Cain and Abel were figurative personages, and not literally two sons of Adam and Eve. Through this allegory, we understand that our race knew from God, what would be our condition if we did not " overcome " during the process of our earth life. The £au:t that we consented to undergo the process, notwithstanding this knowledge and warn- ing, shows that we acknowledged the justice of God's conditions. Therefore, in the earth life, mankind is to be divided into two great parties, the party of Cain and the party of AbeL The party of Cain is represented by those who set their hearts upon the possession of earthly things, n^lect their spiritual duties toward God, and worship Him with outward show and ostentation, instead of worship- ing Him in spirit and in truth, as Christ taught Cain is therefore a symbol of materially-minded humanity. The evidence of this is found in Cain's offering to God an o£kring of the *^ fruit of the ground," which God rejected. Abel was a "shepherd," the "Son of God»* or "he whose father is God." "Shepherd" is a symbol employed in the Bible, to designate a spirit- ual leader or spiritual man ; a shepherd of spiritual flocks and herds. The party of Abel therefore symbolizes the spiritually-minded division of hu- manity; those who worship God in spirit and in Adam (Cain and Abel). 277 trath. God Himself said " I am your shepherd." As Abel oflfered unto God ** an offering of the first- lings of his flocks,'' God had respect unto his spiritual offering and accepted it For thiS| it is said, Cain hated his brother Abel, and slew him. Since the beginning of human his- tory, the party of Cain has hated the party of AbeL The beliefs and actions of the spiritually-minded man have ever been a sting and rebuke to his ma- terially-minded brother. The hatred of the wicked and ungodly toward the good and righteous, has always been apparent, and the history of all ages shows that Cain has been the persecutor and mur- derer of his brother Abel. The lives of the proph- ets and messengers sent from God, testify to the violence of the Cain hatred. Persecuted, im- prisoned, stoned, beheaded, crucified, their martyr- dom in the cause of God has been the mart3rrdom of Abel, and the voice of their blood ^' crieth unto God from the ground,'' against the sin of Cain the murderer. The fear of Cain was not fear of people of the earth. Cain's fear of punishment was the symbol of his terror in the spiritual realms. As he said, he was ^* driven out from the face of the ground," therefore nobody upon the earth could do him harm. He was afraid of the inhabitants of the land of Nod, into which he was to be cast away for- ever. The land of Nod was " on the east of Eden," and therefore symbolizes a spiritual existence out- side the Paradise of God. It is an appointed place in the spiritual realms, for those of our race, who. 278 Adam (Cain and Abel). liaving come upon the earth with the opportunity of choosing God onr Creator, willingly reject Bjbl Their judgment, after their last opportunity has b^n thrown away and refused, will be to live eternally in the land of Nod, the land of aitnlpgg wandering, deprived forever of the privilege of being grafted into the Tree of Life and naturalized into Divinity. For their sin and failure, they will not be allowed to enter into the glorious existence where the Manifestation of God will live with His children, the Abels, forever and forever. This is the meaning of Cain being cast out from the Pace of Almighty God. The Cains will live through- out eternity, among other races of the hosts of heaven ; with those who have not had the privi- lege of becoming Divine and the adopted children ofGod. Of these hosts, Cain was afraid, realizing that they would know he had been afforded this high privilege and had willingly rejected it For this reason, he believed they would harm him, but God the Creator gave unto Cain a "sign" or "mark" of protection, "least any finding him should kiU him." That ** mark *' is the human form in which all our race of souls must be tested; the body of man, formed by God the Almighty "after Bis own Image. " God would not take away from Cain, the glory of that image, but gave him the ^^ mark " of it forever, and although the hosts of heaven knew that Cain, the party of darkness, had rejected the opportunity of becoming Divine, and deserved punishment, would not dare to harm him, out of Adam (Cain and Abel). 279 tespect for the mark or memory of God's Own Image which he bore. By this, we are also taught that God will neither punish Cain, nor allow him to be punished. Cain's rejection of God, will not aSkct the love and justice of God toward him. Cain punishes himself eternally by self-reproach . and r^;ret for the loss of his opportunity. God's rebuke to him expresses the judgment He will issue when man, of his own independence, rejects Him in the last opportunity offered. Abel, the son of God, the party of righteousness and light, sjrmbolizes those who fulfill their duty toward God and toward themselves. By this vic- tory of earthly existence, they will cross the *^ Flaming Sword " in triumph, enter the gates ci Heaven, and live in that glorious realm appointed to be the residence of the Manifestation of God, — the Pace of God. In His Presence, they will live forever, enjoying His Glory, Majesty, Powers and Blessings, divine in nature, and ruling the universe with Him. . From the lesson of Cain and Abel, we learn that the purpose of man's existence upon the earth, is to become the Son of God by adoption. Romans 8, 14, — " For as many as are led by the spirit of God, they are the sons of God. " 16—" The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God." 22 — "For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now." 23 — "And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the qnrit, even we ourselves groan within ourselvesi 28o Adam (Cain and Abel). waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of onr body." The last verse shows ns plainly that although they had the first fruits of the Spirit at the time of Christ, even they were groaning within themselves, ^^ waiting for adoption, to wit : the re> demption of the body." In the third chapter of the First Epistle of John, second verse, we are told that God shall appear; that we shall see Him as He is and be His adopted children. " Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be ; but we know that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." See also John 1, 12 — " But as many as received him, to them gave he the right to become children of God, even to them that believe in his name." It is evi- dent therefore, that we cannot be adopted as the children of God, until the time of His appearance upon earth, after the fulfillment of which, all who receive Him and believe in His name, can claim full adoption, for they have become in reality the Sons of God. Genesis 6, a — "The sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose." Job I, 6 — '' Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the lyord, and Satan came also among them." Psalms 8a, i and 6. — '^God standeth in the con- gr^[ation of the mighty ; he judgeth among the gods." " I have said ye are gods ; and all of jrou are children of the most High. " Adam (Cain and Abel). 281 Isaiah 45, 11 — "Thus saith the Lord, the Holy One of Israel) and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me?'* There are three symbols of Adam. The first Adam is the Tree of Knowledge and Wisdom, the first Manifestation of the Infinite. God the Creator of the universe, differs in the substance of His essence, from the substance of the material and spiritual essences which He created He is invisi- ble to and beyond the comprehension of His crea- tures ; forever outside the circle of their finite limi- tations. He alone is Infinite. All His creatures are finite. It is more possible for an insect to com- prehend a man, than for any of the highest crea- tures, angels or archangels, to comprehend the Mighty Infinite, Creator of the Universe. If we were of the same essence as God, we would possess the creative power of God, whereas we know that He alone is Creator. John i, 18—*^ No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath de- clared Him. '» In " Literal Translation " by Roth- erham, it reads ^^ No one hath seen God at any time; an Only-Begotten God, The One existing within the bosom of the Father. — ^He interpreted (Him)." This is the teaching of the highest authorities in the Christian Church. Origen, VoL i, page 16, " Invisibility of God," says — " Not as some sup- pose, that the nature of God is visible to some and invisible to others; for the apostle with unvarying 282 Adam (Cain and Abel). constancy, pronounced on the nature of God in these words : — ** The image of the Invisible God." ^^ Mo|;eover, John in his Gospel, when asserting that * No one hath seen God at any time,' manifestly declares to all who are capable of understandingi that there is no nature to which God is visible ; not as if He were a Being who was visible by na- ture and merely escaped or baffled the view of a frailer creature, but because by the nature of His Being, it is impossible for Him to be seen." As God is invisible to all His creatures, it is necessary that He should manifest Himself in a finite Image, in order that His finite qreatures may know the Invisible, through the visible Manifesta- tion. This Manifestation is called the *^ Pace of God," the "Image of God," the "Servant of the Being,'* the "Son to.be Given," the "Everlasting Father," the ** Prince of Peace," the "Lord of Hosts," "My Shepherd David," "The Man that is My Fellow," the ^' Tree of Life," and the " Tree of Knowledge." If God chose to remain hidden, secluded, unmanifested from His intellectual crea- tures in the material and spiritual realms. His creatures would not be able to know, love or wor- ship Him. • We would then be led to den^ His existence. Our life . here or hereaftet wpuld be of no conse- quence whatever, if we were to be deprived of knowing and enjoying Him and gaining powers, wis- dom, and knowledge from the, All-Knowing, the All-Wise. Furthermore, it would be cruelty and injustice on His part, to deny us His Manifestation. Adam (Cain and Abel). 283 Therrforc, from all eternity, He has that " Face,*' that "Begotten God," that "Image** or "Form** in His Bosom, through which He will manifest Him- self and appear to mterpret the Invisible Infinite. Isaiah 43, 10—" Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord and My Servant, whom I have chosen : that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am He: Before Me there was no God formed, (or nothing formed of God), neither shall there be after me." God has taught ns by His prophets, that we shall understand Him through that Form or Mani- festation. He has called that Form ^^ His Servant** Prof. Cheyne has pointed out that the *^ Chosen Servant ** mentioned in the 52d and 53d chapters of Isaiah, is the " Manifestation of the Being.** This is the *• Word** secluded behind the "Veils of Might,** which descended to earth, taking the .image in which man was created. This is the Tree of Knowledge or the First Adam, the symbol of our grafting into God by knowing good frc»n eviL This is the first Manifestation of God in Himself (in His Chosen Image), which appeared upon earth in the person of Melchisedek. It may be askbd why He is called the first Adam, when He appeared upon earth in the human form, long after the creation of man. He is called the first Adam because God the Almighty, from eternity, had determined to manifest Himself in this form and therefore as we are made after His Image, the design or pattern of this Image, which existed in the mind of God, must be considered as 284 Adam (Cain and Abel). first The human creature, moulded according to this pattern, must be second. Furthermore, as His appearance was to be a Manifestation of God to His creatures, He must appear after the creation of man, in order to be a Manifestation to our race. Other important questions arise, — as God is One, invisible and incomprehensible to His creatures, will not He the Infinite and His visible Manifesta- tion, be two Gods? If we are to consider both as the One God, is not the Infinite limited to His Manifestation? As God is omnipresent, how is it possible for the omnipresent Infinite to be thus limited, confined, and comprehensible to His crea- tures? The Manifestation of God in human form, is the Face of the Infinite which can be seen, but the Infinite is neither confined to the Face, nor separated from it Everything in existence has an appearance or face, which makes it known and visible, yet it cannot be confined to its face, nor can its face be separated from it They are one. Man is known by His face or external appear- ance. The real entity, the internal man is not known to us. As this entity or internal being cannot be termed one and his face another, so also the Infinite and the Manifestation or Face of the Infinite, are One and not two. Likewise the In- finite is not confined to His Manifestation. The Infinite is the internal Being back of the Mani- festation, not confined, not limited, not compre- hensible, but Almighty, Omnipresent and Illimita- ble, yet One with the Manifestation. The Infinite Adam (Cain and Abel). 285 may be likened to a light, and the focus of that light is the human form of His Manifestation, through which His Powers, Blessings, Gifts, and Greatness are revealed to His creatures. This lesson teaches us that the souls of our race were in existence before their coming to earth, and that from their will and accord, they undergo the hardships of environment in the flesh, in order to attain Divinity. Their coming is termed the " Fall of Man ; '' *^ cast downward ' ' from the Paradise of God. Origen, Vol. i, p. 256—" The Scriptures have called the Creation of the world, by a new and pe- culiar name terming it ^^Ka-ta-bon" which has been very improperly translated into Latin by ** consti- tutio" for in Greek *'Ka-ta-bon" signifies rather **dejicere** i. e. "to cast downward," a word which has been improperly translated into Latin by the phrase "constitutio mundi,'* as in the Gospel of St John where Jesus says — "And there will be tribulations in those days, such as was not since the beginning of the world" in which passage is rendered by beginning (constitutio) which is to be understood as above explained (L e. there will be tribulations such as was not since the world was cast downward). The Apostle also in the Bpistle to the Ephesians i, 4 — "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love," has employed the same Ian- guage. He calls foundation ^^Ka-ta-bon" to be understood in the samesense as before. I am of the 2S6 Adam (Cain and Abel> opinion that as the end and consummation of the saints will be in those (ages) which are not seen and are eternal, we must conclude that the rational creatures had also a similar beginning, they existed undoubtedly from the very beginning in those (ages) which are not seen and are eternal, and if this is so, then there has been a descent from a higher to a lower condition, and for the sake of those for whom the arrangement was necessary this visible world was also called into being. From this it follows that by the use of the word "Ka-ta-bon" a'descent from a higher to a lower con- dition, shared by aU in common, would seem to be pointed out We are, indeed, to suppose that the world was created of such quality and capacity as to contain not only all of those souls, but also all those powers which prepared to att^d and serve and assist them/' Pre-existence of the soul can be logically proved. Furthermore, it catl be shown that we came upon the earth by our own choice and consent God has given us the three ways of reason, revelation and record,* by which to convince ourselves of a truth. Reason is older than record. Jesus said — ^Luke I a, 57 — ''Yea and why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right ?• In "Conflict of Ages" Beecher says ''But there have been and still are those who think so much more of the verbal revela* tions of God than of any other, that they almost overlook the fact that the foundation of all possible knowledge has been laid by God in the conscious- ness and the intuitive perceptions of the mind Adam (Cain and AbelX 2^7 itsel£ Forgetful of this, fact, they have often, by unfounded interpretations of Scripture, done vio- lence to the mind and over-niled the decisions made by God Himself through it, and then sought shelter in faith and mystery. " Careful consideration of the question of soul pre- existence, and willingness to undergo the process of environment in the body, /will show that human life must come under one of three possible con- ditions. First: — ^That the soul, by its own choice and consent, came into the body from a previous state of existence. Second:-:— That the soul, without choice or con- sent, came into the body from a previous state of existence. Third: — ^That the soul, without Jcnowledge or choice of its own, was created and placed in the body at the time of birth. No other conditions are conceivable. The ques- tion, in reality centres upon the third named con- dition, since the other two imply pre^xistence. Was the soul created and placed in the body at the time of birth ; without knowledge or choice of its environment? The impossibility of this condition can be shown as follows : A — Man alonc^ of all visible creation, possesses the knowledge of good and evil. The function of this gift is unmistakably t6 enable him- to rise sifove his limitation. His existence upon- earth therefore, is to accomplish elevation to a higher attitude before God his Creator. As his earth life 288 Adam (Cain and Abel). is the process by which his victory or failure is determinedi man is clearly responsible for his actions. In this fact, he differs from all other crea- tures, which not possessing the knowledge of good and evil, are unable to rise above their limitations and therefore are not responsible. God the Creator is responsible for them. God is infinitely just As this earth life is a process of hardship and suffering, it is not reason- able to believe that He would force us against our wills or without choice, to undergo it The &ct that we are independent creatures, therefore proves that we were not created and placed in the body at the time of birth, but came from a previous exist- ence into the body, by our own choice. B — If souls were created and forced to come into the body at the time of birth, God has imposed upon us a process of suffering, pain, distress and death, which the greater part of humanity would refuse if they had the power of choosing, even though the purpose of this process is to rise to a higher attitude before Him. As we could not at- tribute to God, any action of injustice or cruelty toward His creatures, we cannot believe that He forced us to come here without the knowledge or choice of coming. C — ^The purpose of our existence here, being that of attaining Him, God would not force us to come helplessly, to accomplish that which He could accomplish for us by a word of His Almighty Com- mand. There would be no reason or justice in His action of condemning us to suffering and death. Adam (Cain and AbelX ^^9 when He could accomplish His purpose in us, with- out it D — If we were forced to come here or given no choice in our coming, God is responsible for all the sin, wickedness aud inhumanity of this world ; which is an impossible belief to sustain. Our in- dependence disproves it His Infinite Justice, Love and Mercy would be destroyed by such an assump- tion. As sin, suffering, and all ills which assail us, are consequences of our own actions, and as we are clearly responsible for them, there is no possible condition except that we existed before, and chose to undergo this difficult process, responsible for our actions and willing to be judged according to the "deeds done in the body." £ — ^As the material ingredients of that composi- tion known as the body, were in existence before the body was formed, and as birth is the tmion or partnership between soul and body, it is evident that the soul likewise must have existed before it was conjoined to make man. Furthermore, the soul must have possessed its powers or attributes before its environment in this house of material substance. Unquestionably it possessed the power of will, endowed by the creative hand. As ev«ry action of God is good, and a law of perfection, it follows that He would not violate His law by de- priving us of the power of will ; that is to say, forcing our souls to come upon the earth, either against our wills or without volition upon the question of coming. Prom the foregoing reasonable arguments, we 290 Adam (Cain and Abel). must logically conclude that in view of our intel- lectual endowment, which reflects God's purpose in human existence ; in view of the conditions which surround us in our earthly environment, and accord- ing to the administration of the Infinite Justice of God, which must be admitted to exist, our sonls were not created and placed in the body at the time of birth. Upon the same basis of consideration, it is clearly shown that the soul was not forced to come into the body against its wilL By elimina- tion, therefore, we reach the only remaining con- dition and prove its truth ; that the soul by its own choice and knowledge, came from a previous existence, to undergo the test and process of incar- nation. This conclusion explains all human conditions; establishes the independence of man, sustains his evident responsibility and is the only conceivable belief in harmony with the Wisdom and Justice of God. It supports Scriptural record, is the very strongest evidence of soul immortality, and proves that we shall be judged according to our use or misuse of the God power of independence, as worthy or unworthy of being grafted to Him and attaining knowledge of His creative secrets. Christ taught the pre-existence of the soul and its willingness to undergo probation upon earth, in the parable of the so-called " Prodigal Son. " Luke 15th. The ordinary incorrect understanding of this parable, arises from the error of its title. For this, we must thank our English translators. The original Greek has no title, and the word ^'prodi- Adam (Cain and Abel). 291 gal '' is not once used in the parable. On account of the term "prodigal," we have considered the younger son as a sinner, when in reality the Father preferred him in love and honor. In this divine revelation by Christ, the younger son represents Adam, our race. Every human soul is therefore a "younger son,'* and God is the Father^ from whose house the soul "journeyed into a far cotmtry *' taking its " portion ** or inheri- tance of goods. We read that the son asked for this portion, of his own accord, and received it This portion or share of inheritance, was the means or capital of endowment by which he meant to in- crease himself and become like his Father. After receiving it, he left his Father's house, exactly as Adam left the Garden of Eden, and journeyed into a far country, the earth, to accomplish his purpose. He failed. Being finite, he could not attain with- out the help of his Father. He committed sins, fell into mistakes and lived riotously, until we find him eating husks with swine, tjrpifying a soul's miserable existence and association with wicked- ness and spiritual depravity. When in this low state, he examined himself honestly, realized the poverty of his condition, his own helplessness, and understood that none could help him into a higher state, but his Father. " And he arose and came to his Father. But when he was yet a great way o£f, his Father saw him and had compassion and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him." When we realize our helpless condition and turn one step to God, He comes toward us miles and leagues. This 292 Adam (Cain and' Abel). teaches ns, howevet, that from our own independ- ence, we mnst take that first step. The Father commanded His servants to put " the best robe " upon His penitent son ; k ^^ring upon his hand^ " ^^ shoes upon his feet;" and ^^a fatted calf" to be killed The " robe " is the garment