Christ in the Souls of Men

1916

By A. B. Beresford in the Universalist Leader

Christ is in the souls of men — his ideas, motives, hopes, principles, actual spirit — is daily present, and really at work in the multifarious deeds of the world. There are hosts of business men who are transacting business just as Christ would do — honor and humanity being their watchword. Millions of fathers, mothers, sisters and brothers are making "home" and "heaven" synonymous — Christ would have done just this!

Men of the professions are doing likewise. Said a great surgeon to a colleague: "Remember that there is a man at the other end of that foot. Anyone can amputate a foot — to save one is our business as surgeons" — were not these words Christlike?

A patient recently spoke of a surgeon who operated in the spirit of Christ: "Never before have I seen so Christ-like a look upon any human countenance; he touches the scalpel as he would a sacrament; to him the human body is the temple of the living God, and his work is worship therein." Christ is present at the operating table — thus in the deeds of humans — obscure, unknown save to few — is Christ present.

Christ's Descent to Earth

1901

If high intelligences looked down and saw what was going on, they must have prophesied extermination, complete extermination, of these offenders of Jehovah.

But no! Who is that coming out of the throne room of heaven? Who is that coming out of the palaces of the eternal? It is the Son of the Emperor of the universe. Down the stairs of the high heavens he comes till he reaches the cold air of a December night in Palestine and amid the bleatings of sheep and the lowing of cattle and the moaning of camels and the banter of the herdsmen takes his first sleep on earth and for 33 years invites the wandering race to return to God and happiness and heaven.

They were the longest 33 years ever known in heaven. Among many high intelligences, what impatience to get him back! The Infinite Father looked down and saw his Son slapped and spit on and supperless and homeless, and then, amid horrors that made the noonday heavens turn black in the face, his body and soul parted.

And all for what? Why allow the Crown Prince to come on such an errand and endure such sorrows and die such a death? It was to invite the human race to put down its antipathies and resistance. It was because "God is love." — Dr. Talmage


Card Parties

When church people call for a donation for a poor family a woman is hard pressed if she can't find some prize she won at a card party to give away.

Pleads For World Evangelization at Students Meet

1914

Preacher Says It Must be Done in This Generation

Appeal From World

Kansas City, Jan. 2. — "The evangelization of the world must be accomplished in this generation," declared Rev. Dr. Robert E. Speer of New York in an address to the Student Volunteer convention. L. L. Kinsolving of South Brazil, bishop of the Episcopal church, emphasized the needs of Latin-America for more missionaries.

Previously 8,000 students and visitors listened to impassioned appeals from natives of China and Japan and from missionaries returned from India and South America for help in meeting what was characterized as the greatest opportunity Christianity ever has faced.

"A new era of world life," said Rev. Dr. Speer, "has broken upon us revealing the essential unity of the problems of personal salvation and national character and of racial relationships across the world. It is soon realized that for us the only world that there is is not the world of thousand-year-old trees or century old brutes, but of a single generation of men."

Dr. K. Kato of Japan, now of the University of Chicago, told of the progress of Japanese thought.

"The educated classes are dominating every department of Japanese life today," he said, "but among these upper classes atheism and agnosticism are growing."

J. H. Si of Yale university, a native of China, appealed to his hearers for help in the work of Christianizing China and for greater consideration of foreign students in North America.

Baptist Sermons on Conversion, Winning Souls

Ohio, 1909

Rev. Bauer occupied the pulpit again in the special services in the Baptist church and preached a stirring sermon on "The Necessity of the Church Getting in Earnest in Regard to Christian Living and Sincere Efforts in Winning Souls." The interest is manifested in the meetings and will be kept up from time to time. The theme of Rev. Bauer's sermon, this evening, is "Remarkable Conversion." Come out and hear him. Service of song, at seven p.m. Preaching, at seven-thirty p.m.

—The Van Wert Daily Bulletin, Van Wert, Ohio, Jan. 19, 1909, p. 3.


A good congregation greeted Rev. Bauer, last night, and he preached an earnest, practical sermon on the "Conversion of Zacchaeus the Publican." He emphasized the need of a life changed by God, and the earnest attention given the speaker, throughout the discourse clearly indicated that the congregation was being led to think of the heinous effects of sin on the soul and man's responsibility to God. Rev. Bauer will speak, tonight, on "Confessing Christ." The theme is a vital one and will be ably handled by the speaker. Come and hear the glad tidings.

—The Van Wert Daily Bulletin, Van Wert, Ohio, Jan. 20, 1909, p. 3.

Note: The article had a multiple typo pile-up, giving the name in the sermon title as "Lyacclieus."

Theosophy in Butte

Montana, 1902

Theosophy and its revival of occultism is establishing a firm footing in the philosophy and religion of the western world. Its teachings have been the recent occasion of extended newspaper discussion and very serious attention from the pulpit. The church is almost a unit against it, while writers are divided in opinion as to whether its influence is good or baneful. Even in Butte, where the society has one of its most active branches, theosophy has been the subject of sermons and public discussions. The advocates of the cult claim that those who attack it are actuated by a misconception of its doctrine and purpose, and by a mistaken idea that it is a new religion and antagonistic to Christianity, when in fact it is neither. Wide public attention has been called to the growth of the society by the extended reviews and notice given the new book, "Esoteric Christianity," by Annie Besant, the society's most prolific writer, in which she antagonizes the church by the declaration that there is a hidden side to religion, and that religion in its fullness is not free to all, but that it is handed out in measures as it can be received, or as man is prepared for its understanding and comprehension.

The Theosophical society now girdles the earth, and branches have been established in every country. Its headquarters are at Adyar, India, while the head of the American section is in New York, Alexander Fullerton, formerly an Episcopal clergyman, being its secretary.

Some Eminent Theosophists.

The society counts its membership among all races and in all countries, some very noted men and women being among its leaders. Camille Flammarion, the great French astronomer, is one of them. Thomas A. Edison and Professor Crookes, the eminent chemist of London, are ardent theosophists, and so was Max Mueller during his lifetime. J. C. Chattopadhyaya, a high caste Brahmin of India, is one of the converts to theosophy, and spent some time in the United States, where he delivered lectures on the subject. Annie Besant, the authoress, is a sister-in-law of the late Walter Besant, and her husband was a dean of the English church; A. P. Sinnett was for years on the editorial staff of the London Times until he received a commission in the army in India, where he met Madame Blavatsky, one of the founders of the modern society. C. W. Leadbeater, another prominent teacher and writer, was formerly a clergyman in the English church, and G. R. S. Mead, who has written some fine books on many subjects, is regarded as one of the most learned men in the world.

Origin of the Word.

The word "theosophy" is from the Greek and means "divine wisdom." The latter term is many thousand years old. The name theosophy dates from the third century of the Christian era and was applied by Ammonius Saccas, who started the electric theosophical system. Prof. Alexander Wilder, in his new Platonism, says the followers of that school were so called because of their practice of interpreting all sacred legends and narratives, myths and mysteries, by rule or principle of analogy and correspondence, so that events which were related as having occurred in the external world were regarded as expressing operations and experiences of the human soul. The object of this system was, first of all, to inculcate certain great moral truths upon its disciples, hence also the motto adopted by the theosophical society, "There Is No Religion Higher Than Truth." The chief aim of the founders of the ancient electric theosophical school was one of the three objects of its modern successor, the theosophical society of to-day, namely, to reconcile all religious sects and nations under a common system of ethics, based on eternal verities. The theosophists of olden times were large bodies and, like the modern, belonged to various religious philosophies. The mistake is often made that theosophy is a separate religion and antagonistic to other religions. This is not so, according to the claims made by the society. It is antagonistic to no religion. It teaches that all religions are streamlets of the one universal fountain of truth. Theosophy is a religious philosophy, universal in its scope and teaching and all inclusive. Its fundamental objects are: "To form a nucleus of the universal brotherhood of humanity, without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste or color; to encourage the study of comparative religion, philosophy and science; to investigate unexplained laws of nature and the power latent in man."

Basis of Theosophy.

The doctrine of the brotherhood of man is based on the belief that all men spring from the one spiritual source, and all bodies are from the one mother earth, but theosophy differs from other beliefs as to all men being born equal. Theosophy holds that the true evolution is the unfolding, the growth of intelligence or consciousness through physical forms. Consequently all men are not at the same grade of mental development or evolution, hence all are not equal. For instance, to compare the low intellect of an Australian bushman with the mind of an Emerson illustrates that idea of the difference of unfoldment and development. Spiritually all men are brothers and are from the same spiritual parent. In its study of comparative religions theosophy teaches that each religion has its own mission in the world, is suited to the nation to which it is given, and the type of civilization which it is to permeate. The failure to see these leads to unjust criticism, for an ideally perfect religion would not be suitable to imperfect and partially evolved men. Every religion in the course of time suffers from accretions due to ignorance. It is found in comparative religions that at base they are all one. In all ages of the world there have been great spiritual teachers — Christs or Buddhas — who gave out the truth essential to the demand of the stage of evolution and environment of the people of different nations. Christ was the latest teacher and Christianity the youngest religion. He came to the western world and gave out in a form suitable to the western mind the religion of Christianity. All religions are found to be clothed in parable, allegory, symbol and figure, and when once the key to those symbols and allegories is understood it will be found that there is no disagreement at all in the teachings of the religions of the world. The study of comparative religions naturally leads to a study of comparative mythology, in which it is found that the gods of the ancients are not the mere figures of weird and extravagant tales, but are the personification of forces of nature and intelligences, and that the stories themselves clothe great truths.

Miracles Not Supernatural.

The latent forces in man open a wide and deep subject for study. It is claimed that when once the latent forces are understood the so-called miracles of Christ will be seen not to be supernatural, but the result of the development of powers within the man that enabled him to overcome material forces external to himself. Man is an epitome of the universe, and all forces, powers and laws of the universe are centered in him. It is claimed that lying within the physical senses are senses still finer, more subtle, and that if man is made in the image of God he must possess spiritual faculties that are the root and base of all other faculties. Theosophy holds that the seeming miracles performed by the disciples of Jesus, who were only ordinary men, prior to the awakening of their spiritual faculties, were possible by reason of the development of these faculties by knowledge imparted to them by their master, Jesus. Intuition, it is claimed, is the sixth sense, now being developed to a greater or less extent by men of to-day. The surprises in store for the races are not so much in discoveries of the finer forces of nature, marvelous as they will be, but rather what man is going to find within himself, for there lies in man possibilities undreamed of by the western world. By a method of mental and spiritual training called yoga the Hindoos have developed powers that enable them to control physical forces, and which has caused them to be looked upon as miracle workers. The orientals have always studied these latent powers, while the westerners have studied everything else but themselves. If Bible statements are true men in olden times exhibited powers far beyond the comprehension of undeveloped spiritual man. Witness the statements of St. Paul and St. John, and the story of Daniel in the lion's den, and of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace.

What It Teaches.

Theosophy teaches the doctrine of reincarnation and karma. Karma is the law of retribution, the law of cause and effect, the power that controls all things, the resultant of moral action. It is the sowing and reaping, for as a man sows so shall he also reap. All thoughts and acts committed while here on earth are seeds which will produce a harvest for which the sower must return and reap. Reincarnation is the return of the soul time and time again into physical bodies until it has learned the lesson that earth can teach. It learns from experience. Hence the teaching of karma and reincarnation establishes justice in the world and exonerates God of partiality, and shows why one man is born in a palace and another in the slum, why one is born a genius and another a fool, why one is a saint and the other a sinner. It is held that man is the creator of his own destiny. To quote Sir Edwin Arnold, a believer in reincarnation:

"He cometh, reaper of the things he sow'd,
Sesamum, corn, so much cast in past birth;
And so much weed and poison-stuff, which mar
Him and the aching earth.

"If he shall labor rightly, rooting these,
And planting wholesome seedlings
where they grew,
Fruitful and fair and clean the ground shall be,
And rich the harvest due."

—The Anaconda Standard, Anaconda, Montana, Feb. 16, 1902, p. 19.

The Power of Faith - Phillips Brooks

1905

The man who accomplishes anything in this world is and must be a man of faith. Strong men, forcible men, virile men are men of faith. It may be a low type of faith — faith in self — but it is faith. Beaxendale says: "Weak faith makes weak men." How much stronger should be the man who has faith in God, the faith that says: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthened me." This is faith of the highest type.

Be done with saying what you don't believe, and find in your soul the divinest, truest thing in which you do believe, and work that out. Be the noblest man that your present faith, poor and weak and imperfect as it is can make you to be. So, and so only as you take the next step forward, as you stand where you are now, so only as you think the curtain will draw back, there will be revealed to you what lies beyond. — Phillips Brooks.

—The Ada Evening News, Ada, Oklahoma, January 21, 1905, page 2.

Krisnamurti Heralds New Civilization, Says Annie Besant

Oakland, California, 1926

HINDU HERALDS NEW CIVILIZATION, SAYS MRS. BESANT

Theosophists' Head Speaking in Oakland Says Krishnamurti Is Vehicle

Predicting a new civilization to be founded on the truths to be expounded by her ward, Krishnamurti, Mrs. Annie Besant, president of the International Theosophical society, spoke on "The Coming of the World Teacher" last night at the Auditorium theater. A large portion of the audience which had expected the young Hindu to come here to attend the lecture were disappointed.

Krishnamurti, according to Mrs. Besant, is the chosen vehicle through which the spirit of Christ is to return to the world.

"Since our race, the Aryan, was cradled in Central Asia," said Mrs. Besant, "there have been five manifestations of the Christ spirit on earth.

WARNS HEARERS

"Last December at the great world convention of theosophists at Adyar, India, Krishnamurti was speaking before an audience of 5000 persons, warning his hearers of the imminent coming of the Messiah. Hardly had he said the words, when he added, 'He is here!' Krishnamurti gave a sudden start, then his lips moved, but the voice was not Krishnamurti's. It was the softest, sweetest voice imaginable. The Messiah spoke briefly and closed with these words: 'I come not to tear down but to reform; not to destroy but to build.' Immediately afterward Krishnamurti sought his couch where I found him. He seemed to be coming out of a deep sleep.

"Since that time," Mrs. Besant continued, "the spirit of Christ has returned to Krishnamurti's body, each time remaining longer than the last."

TELLS OF DISCOVERY

The theosophist head recounted her discovery of Krishnamurti in 1909, when she became his legal guardian. "At that time," she says, "I was assured that if he proved worthy in his manhood, then the Christ would use him on His next visit to the world. He grew up without formal education. He never attended public school or university, although some persons assert he was at Oxford. He never touches meat, never drinks alcohol, nor smokes."

Mrs. Besant closed her address with the prediction that another great war will wipe out civilization. "It will mean the suicide of the world. The world has come to a fork in the road. One leads upward to brotherhood and cooperation, the other downward to dissension, war and destruction. The world must take its choice. It may be that the coming of the world teacher will put an end to all wars."

—Oakland Tribune, Oakland, California, September 28, 1926, page 12.