Religion is the outer expression of the divine reality. Therefore it must
be living, vitalized, moving and progressive. If it be without motion and
non-progressive it is without the divine life; it is dead. The divine
institutes are continuously active and evolutionary; therefore the
revelation of them must be progressive and continuous. All things are
subject to re-formation. This is a century of life and renewal. Sciences
and arts, industry and invention have been reformed. Law and ethics have
been reconstituted, reorganized. The world of thought has been
regenerated. Sciences of former ages and philosophies of the past are
useless today. Present exigencies demand new methods of solution; world
problems are without precedent. Old ideas and modes of thought are fast
becoming obsolete. Ancient laws and archaic ethical systems will not meet
the requirements of modern conditions, for this is clearly the century of
a new life, the century of the revelation of the reality and therefore the
greatest of all centuries. Consider how the scientific developments of
fifty years have surpassed and eclipsed the knowledge and achievements of
all the former ages combined. Would the announcements and theories of
ancient astronomers explain our present knowledge of the sun-worlds and
planetary systems? Would the mask of obscurity which beclouded mediaeval
centuries meet the demand for clear-eyed vision and understanding which
characterizes the world today? Will the despotism of former governments
answer the call for freedom which has risen from the heart of humanity in
this cycle of illumination? It is evident that no vital results are now
forthcoming from the customs, institutions and standpoints of the past. In
view of this, shall blind imitations of ancestral forms and theological
interpretations continue to guide and control the religious life and
spiritual development of humanity today? Shall man gifted with the power
of reason unthinkingly follow and adhere to dogma, creeds and hereditary
beliefs which will not bear the analysis of reason in this century of
effulgent reality? Unquestionably this will not satisfy men of science,
for when they find premise or conclusion contrary to present standards of
proof and without real foundation, they reject that which has been
formerly accepted as standard and correct and move forward from new
foundations.
The divine prophets have revealed and founded religion. They have laid
down certain laws and heavenly principles for the guidance of mankind.
They have taught and promulgated the knowledge of God, established
praiseworthy ethical ideals and inculcated the highest standards of
virtues in the human world. Gradually these heavenly teachings and
foundations of reality have been beclouded by human interpretations and
dogmatic imitations of ancestral beliefs. The essential realities which
the prophets labored so hard to establish in human hearts and minds while
undergoing ordeals and suffering tortures of persecution, have now well
nigh vanished. Some of these heavenly messengers have been killed, some
imprisoned; all of them despised and rejected while proclaiming the
reality of divinity. Soon after their departure from this world, the
essential truth of their teachings was lost sight of and dogmatic
imitations adhered to.
Inasmuch as human interpretations and blind imitations differ widely,
religious strife and disagreement have arisen among mankind, the light of
true religion has been extinguished and the unity of the world of humanity
destroyed. The prophets of God voiced the spirit of unity and agreement.
They have been the founders of divine reality. Therefore if the nations of
the world forsake imitations and investigate the reality underlying the
revealed Word of God they will agree and become reconciled. For reality is
one and not multiple.
The nations and religions are steeped in blind and bigoted imitations. A
man is a Jew because his father was a Jew. The Muhammadan follows
implicitly the footsteps of his ancestors in belief and observance. The
Buddhist is true to his heredity as a Buddhist. That is to say they
profess religious belief blindly and without investigation, making unity
and agreement impossible. It is evident therefore that this condition will
not be remedied without a reformation in the world of religion. In other
words the fundamental reality of the divine religions must be renewed,
reformed, revoiced to mankind.
From the seed of reality, religion has grown into a tree which has put
forth leaves and branches, blossoms and fruit. After a time this tree has
fallen into a condition of decay. The leaves and blossoms have withered
and perished; the tree has become stricken and fruitless. It is not
reasonable that man should hold to the old tree, claiming that its life
forces are undiminished, its fruit unequalled, its existence eternal. The
seed of reality must be sown again in human hearts in order that a new
tree may grow therefrom and new divine fruits refresh the world. By this
means the nations and peoples now divergent in religion will be brought
into unity, imitations will be forsaken and a universal brotherhood in the
reality itself will be established. Warfare and strife will cease among
mankind; all will be reconciled as servants of God. For all are sheltered
beneath the tree of His providence and mercy. God is kind to all; He is
the giver of bounty to all alike, even as His Holiness Jesus Christ has
declared that God "sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust"; that is to
say, the mercy of God is universal. All humanity is under the protection
of His love and favor, and unto all He has pointed the way of guidance and
progress.
Progress is of two kinds, material and spiritual. The former is attained
through observation of the surrounding existence and constitutes the
foundation of civilization. Spiritual progress is through the breaths of
the Holy Spirit and is the awakening of the conscious soul of man to
perceive the reality of divinity. Material progress insures the happiness
of the human world. Spiritual progress insures the happiness and eternal
continuance of the soul. The prophets of God have founded the laws of
divine civilization. They have been the root and fundamental source of all
knowledge. They have established the principles of human brotherhood or
fraternity which is of various kinds, such as the fraternity of family, of
race, of nation and of ethical motives. These forms of fraternity, these
bonds of brotherhood are merely temporal and transient in association.
They do not insure harmony and are usually productive of disagreement.
They do not prevent warfare and strife; on the contrary they are selfish,
restricted and fruitful causes of enmity and hatred among mankind. The
spiritual brotherhood which is enkindled and established through the
breaths of the Holy Spirit unites nations and removes the cause of warfare
and strife. It transforms mankind into one great family and establishes
the foundations of the oneness of humanity. It promulgates the spirit of
international agreement and insures Universal Peace. Therefore we must
investigate the foundation reality of this heavenly fraternity. We must
forsake all imitations and promote the reality of the divine teachings. In
accordance with these principles and actions and by the assistance of the
Holy Spirit, both material and spiritual happiness shall become realized.
Until all nations and peoples become united by the bonds of the Holy
Spirit in this real fraternity, until national and international
prejudices are effaced in the reality of this spiritual brotherhood, true
progress, prosperity and lasting happiness will not be attained by man.
This is the century of new and universal nationhood. Sciences have
advanced, industries have progressed, politics have been reformed, liberty
has been proclaimed, justice is awakening. This is the century of motion,
divine stimulus and accomplishment; the century of human solidarity and
altruistic service; the century of Universal Peace and the reality of the
divine kingdom.