The Washington herald., 1914-06-14
EACHMANCAEIl1ll
Ms0N Of GOD
Theosophist, Treating. with
The Atonement," Tells Of
New Doctrine.
"opEN DOOR OF SOUL"
10 Lead christ-like Life. 1t Is Nee
essary to Let the
Light In,
"0PEN DOOR OF SOUL"
B,-pn. w. WEAKER.

-
By DR. w. w.sBAKER. hrs 6
There is profound spiritual truth un-
DERIVING the, various doctrines of atone
ment that have been put forth from time
to time by Christian churches. In all
of them Jesus the Christ has been the
central figure, and the atonement has
been wrought by him.
In the early days Of the Christian
church the death of Jesus was regard
ed as q payment made to Satan for the
the ransoming Of mankind from his
power. Mankind was in thrall to the
devil in consequence OF the fall, and
man was the .''bondsman of the devil, "
To redeem that unhappy, bondsn1an, God
gave His own Son, the ransom paid be-
ing his agonizing death. The debt of
man being thus discharged, he was lib
Grated from the kingdom Of darkness.
and become the free man of him who
paid his debt. - ....-...... ....
In later phases of Christian thought on
this subject, a far darker doctrine arose.
The sacrifice Of suffering and death Of
fered UP BY. God the Son, incarnated as
man. was declared to be offered to God
the Father to sppease his wrath and to
/ expiate vicariously the sins. of men,r HUI
man ingenuity devised the idea OF q
contract entered into in heavenly places
between two persons in the Godhead for
the redemption of fallen men, and then
followed all the painful presentations of
divine wrath on one side and divine
agony on the other, against which the
conscience .of more spiritually minded
Christians has 'revolted in our own day.
school of Thinkers.
Many of the noblest Christian clergy
have headed an ever-increasing school of
thinkers which Indignantly repudiates
this harsh form of medieval doctrine
as at once blasphemous towards God,
dishonoring to justice, and profoundly
erroneous as to the relation between God
and man.
They see that the Office Of a divine man
is not to create a new relationship be-
tween GOD and man, but 10 make mani
fest and vindicate a relationship already
existing. Many devout persons have been
so disgusted with these legal quibblings,
in which one divine person is angry and
another propitiatory. one demanding and
another paying, have felt il all to be so
unreal, so unspiritual that they have
flung aside the whole doctrine of atone
ment with fmpatience, forgetting that
even under the veil of repellent errors e
truth may lie hidden that we cannot af-
ford to lose. Such a truth there is in
this doctrine of atonement and IL is this
truth which has given the doctrine its
hold over the hearts of men. Is it not
strange, when We come to think of it,
| that a doctrine so narrow. unfair, and
mistaken, has yet afforded an impulse to
noble living to some of the purest- and
most self-denying among the children of
men?
Find Strong StimuIas.
In this very doctrine that seems 20 us
so repellent, many loving and gentle
christian souls have found their strongest
stimulus to self-sacrifice, their surest
foundation for sanity lives of wide
spreading benefcience. Where we find
such inconsruity between the verbal
statement and the effect produced by it
on high types of soul. We may be sure
that such souls, by spiritual insight, have
caught a glimpse of a truth which is
veiled by the crude and erroneous pre-
sentation. What is this truth?
AS the human soul evolves, il con-
tinually enlarges its limits, the limits of
the individualized consciousness, en-
bracing more and more within its bounds.
The narrow and unevolved soul shows
lack of embracing sympathy. and this
lack proves that the spiritual evolution
has not yet begun. As we study human
evolution We see the consciousness ex-
panding and taking more within its
scope; first limited to the physical, il
expands to include the astral; expand
ing further, ii includes the mental. In
process OF time the man passes through
the first great initiation. and in Christian
phrase the Christ is born in him., in |
theosophical terminology, the conscious
ness begins TO function on the buddhic |
plane. the plane of love-. and bliss, and |
unity, the lower spiritual plane.
Slowly "Christr Grows.
Slowly the Christ grows, the con-
seriousness works more and more in the |
spiritual world, and a new attitude be- |
comes habitual. The man feels himself !
TO be one with all around him, one with !
all that lives. He no longer feels him |
gelf to be separate, but to be one with |
all the lives amid which he moves He |
does not lose hold of his own center of |
consciousness. but in some strange, SUBJ
tie way he interpenetrates all other con-
seriousness and feels them as his own 1
He expands to contain all others, and 4
makes no difference between himself
and them In that spiritual realm he
feels as others feel. thinks as they think,
suffers as they suffer. joys as they joy:
verify, there are no Others" but all is
himself.
Every child of man is part of the life
Of this man. they do not stand outside
him to be sympathized with: they are
forms of him; he is living. SHINING, fear
Ing, hoping. struggling, in every one of
them. When that consciousness is def
nitely established the Christ has grown
20 manhood, and the conservation of the
true baptism marks him as a manifested !
Son OF God. Then he comes to the
knowledge of his place in the world, his
in nature-to be a Saviour and
to make atonement for the sins of the
people. He stands in the inner heart /,
Of the world. the sanctury of Buddhi,
as High Priest of humanity. He is
one with all his brethren. not by vica-
rious substitution, but by the unity OF
a common life. Are any sinful? He is
sinful in them that his purity may purge
them. : 800 =. -. Ersr- -
Shares Joy and Grief.
Are any sorrowfuIe In: them he is the
man of sorrows; every broken heart is
broken In his. every pierced heart In his
heart is pierced. Are any glad? In them
he is joyous and pours out his bliss. 1
Are any craving? In them he is feeling !,
want that he may fill them with his
utter satisfaction. He has everything,
and because ii is his, it is theirs. He
s. Derfaff fhepS they irerfacf with i