The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1914-08-30
Occult Side of Christianity
REGENERATION
q A Cardinal Doctrine of Early Christianity.

and control undesirable impulses and in
huences.
The mental body. the third vehicle of
consciousness, through long experience
and training, becomes gradually organ
lied and eventually obeys the will Of the
Thinker. instead OF responding 10 the
multitude Of undesirable impacts reach
ing IL from the outside. What a differ
ence exists between the mind OF one
who can concentrate his thought on alb
struse metaphysical and psychological
problems, understanding them and sx-
planning them, and the mind Of one who,
unframed, cannot think consecutively on
any given idea for even one minute with
out having his mind revert to something
II possibly entirely foreign to the subject
# And so, In the study OF this subject,
there is evidently everything to satisfy
the reason Of the most hypercritical as TO
why Reincarnation, as a theory of the
| evolution OF the soul should be posted
, as a fundamental doctrine OF life: as eX-
planning the vast differences in races and
in individuals: and although there be no
j means of a satisfactory objective DEM
onstration to ALL one must admit there
has been no reasonable hypothesis sub
mitted in controversion of the evidently
well-grounded arguments in its favor.
Il Investigating you will find the theory
OF Reincarnation running as a thread
through all religions. You will ind that
in the writings Of the Jews Reincarna-
| ton was common; and you cannot ig-
more the relation Of Judaism 10 Chris
tianity. or fail to admit the light thrown
by Jewish teaching on the early days OF
| Christianity.
In the writings Of the early Bishops
! Of the Christian Church, you will md
one after another teaching the pre-ex-
istence OF the soul In Origen's writings
We have a line Of information on the
subject In the writings of St Clement
! OF Alexandria, OF whom Origen was a
| pupil. Ignatius and Polycarp. Bishop
Of Smyrna. and Pantaenus. who taught
| st. Clement. we ind the inner and sub
tier teachings OF the doctrines OF The
osophy.
Our Christian brethren may refer to
their Bible for the same teaching and
/ find that Theosophy throws a food Of
/ light on many texts. Turn to jeremiah
! &c. 5v). THE word OF the Lord came
unto me saying. before / formed thee I
knew thee: and before thou vast born I
sanctifed thee. and ordained thee a
prophet" Malachi &c. 5v), Behold, 7
send you Elijah. the Prophet, before the
| great and dreadful day OF the Lord"
/ Matthew Olc. l4v). wherein Jesus says:
/ And II We will receive II. this is Elias
which was for to come" and Matthew
! nc. 12&l5vD. wherein he reiterates as to
! Elias. But saw unto you. that Elias
has come already. and they knew him
/ not. but have done unto him whatso-
I ever they listed. Then the disciples I'M
derstood that he spake unto them OF
John the Baptist" Speaking as Jesus
/ did with his knowledge Of the past. GER
tainly outweiEhs the denial of John on
a point which he may not be expected to
/ remember
Elijah and John the Baptist.
Compare the character Of Elijah with
that OF John the Baptist and you find
/ repetition. Both were preachers OF
! righteousness, both Jealous. and brave
I in the rebuke Of evil in high places The
strong and vigorous character OF Elijah
reappearing in John: and then the sim
ilarity in appearance and popularity in
dress. Elijah "A hairy man. and Eirt
with Eirdle Of leather about his loins."
while John the Baptist had his raiment
OF camel's hair and a leather Eirdle
about his loins" Their home was the
solitude NJ the desert and in the wilder
ness. Elijah journeved forty DAYS and
forty nights unto Horeb. the mount Of
God in the wilderness Of Sinai. John
was in the wilderness ~ Judea beyond
Jordan. Each led a life Of exile-seIf-
from the haunts OF men
Turn 70 the incident Of the man born
blind, ST. John Cac 2&3v And the
disciples asked him. saying: Master.
who did sin, this man or his parents,
that he was horn blind Then the re-
ply comes straight and true, Neither
hath this man sinned nor his parents
but that the works OF God should be
made manifest in him" Those who de-
eli knTf D
the peculiar position that the man and
his parents were both sinless. But. 10
YOU do not twist the text 10 suit your
preconceived notions. YOU will not fail
TO see that Jesus himself Endorsed the
then prevalent belief OF the Jews in Re
incarnation.
As TO this belief Of the Jews refer
YOU to JosePhus. in the hook called DE
Bello Judaico'' C2c. svO-"They saw that
all souls are incorrurtible hut that the
souls Of good men are only removed into
other bodies" Again. Josephus. in de-
Tending the fortress Of Jotapata, with
forty Of the soldiers took refuge in a
cave. and the soldiers not desiring TO
fall into the hands Of the Romans
wished to kill themselves. JoSephus adj I
dressed them saying: DO We not re- /
member that all pure spirits who are
in conformity with the Divine DISPENSE
''''' i've OF IN inc lONellaSt heavenly ]
places, and in course Of time they are
again sent down to inhabit sinless
bodies: but that the souls Of those who
have committed self-destruction are
doomed to region in the darkness OF
the under world?" The fact that
Josephus addressed an argument such as
this to rough soldiers to prevent them
from self-destruction shows the wide |
prevalence Of the belief in ReincarnatIon
In the ordinary people Of his day.
In the writings Of Philo we find a dis
tinct recognition OF the doctrine Of Re-
incarnation. as one OF the bases Of the
Jewish Alexandrian School: so that as
far as the Jews were concerned the doc
trine was evidently generally accepted
Then referring to Malachi DC 3v.). and /
Romans. &c. 13vl. We find: Jacob have
loved, but Esau have I hated" Jerome
one Of the Christian authorities-says
In his Letter to Avitus." II We ex-
amino the case of Esau we find that he
was condemned because OF his ancient
sins in a worse course OF life" And
Origen says: TT is found not to be Nd
rigteous that even in the womb. Jacob
supplanted his brother" and AGAIN.
God. according to the previous grounds
Of merit"-shapes to honor or dishonor.
Those Born in Evil.
So. would you say that God makes one
soul good and one soul evil. Wherein
would be the justice of making a soul
evil and then Furnishing it for criminal