All expressions of nature are phenomenal. Man is of all the most
wonderful. A tiny spark of spirit encased in matter, by the
irresistible law of progress evolving powers of brain, thought,
consciousness, reason, intuition; unfolding, expanding; realizing
finally his at-one-ment with his source, the cause of him--God--man
immortal, illimitable. At certain points of unfoldment seemingly lost,
great hue and cry from many--pin heads--who think they have discovered
God, a failure. Watch out and see. Give the Lord a chance. Nothing
is done with yet. In a very old hook of Hebrew history, there are
recorded well-attested accounts of phenomena, which are so distinctly
outside of the ordinary happenings of this material existence, that
they were always recognized as being of a purely spiritual origin,
method and purpose. Within the last century the same experiences have
been vouchsafed to present humanity. Millions of people have attested
the truth of a continuance of these same phenomena; they having taken
place within the range of their own personal experience. And why not?
The Creator knows what his children need in this, as well as in other
ages. That human souls, the lives of human beings, persist after
physical death, does not prove their eternal existence along the lines
of highest soul evolution. The greatest possible unfoldment is not a
gift of God. It is held only by the individual soul as the result of
age-long study, and toil, through manifold embodiments, long-continued
self renunciation, and sacrifices not yet known or understood. Its
initiations are endless; its revelations of the infinite law are, at
times, too seemingly trifling for recognition; but as the lapidary
leaves no facet of the jewel uncut and unpolished, so the
guardians--the guides and teachers of the candidates for spiritual
unfoldment--omit no least lesson or discipline that can aid in
perfecting the individual soul.
It is the meanest kind of bosh teaching people that there will be
eternal punishment for ignorant wrong-doings in this short kindergarten
experience of life, making them believe their last chance for anything
better is gone forever. Half the sins that are committed here anyway
are either sins against the conventionalities, or they have been
hatched up by some unsext priests and have nothing to do with the case.
Besides, the sins of the body in many a poor mortal are left with the
body in the grave.
The ages, the aeons required for the perfecting of any given soul, are
known only to its Creator, or how great must be the accumulation of
ages ere the whole human family--the children of God--will respond to
the eternal roll-call that shall usher in the redeemed of every land
and clime, not one "Lost," or gone astray. Those who have stepped
forth into the arena of this present manifestation of life on this
planet, have, each in their place, their responsibility and task, to
keep alight the beacons of reason, and intelligence, as guides to
truth, and to pander never to the powers of ignorance and superstition,
however manifested by Church or State.