Download or read book Christian School of Esoteric Wisdom Philosophy and Theological Beliefs written by Henry Epps and published by . This book was released on 2013-10-24 with total page 590 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: So, why a school of esoteric ministry? With so many schools of ministry on the internet and in the community why another school of ministry? Well I have studied under several ministries and they have provided some good teachings, but there are still many questions I have found unanswered? When I read about the ministry of Jesus Christ I am amazed at the wonderful awesome work that Jesus did when he walked the earth. I am amazed at the signs, wonders and miracles that our Lord perform, so why don't we see these same signs and wonders today? Well I believe that the true disciple of Jesus Christ desires a deeper walk with the Lord, and a deeper understanding of spiritual things. Well I believe to receive the deeper knowledge of the spirit we must learn how to communicate in the spirit. This school of esoteric wisdom is not a religious school of ministry. The first year of training is a year of purging, self-discipline and self-discover phase, and the second year is for advance studies of Christian and esoteric teachings. So much we understand today is past down from the traditions of religious dogma and beliefs, and these beliefs are in conflict with each other, these beliefs such as " Saved by grace, faith alone, saved by works, the trinity, Jesus alone operating in three offices of the father, son and Holy Spirit, and on and on, and on?" Yet the original teachings of the church have been cast away such as Faith, hope, love service to others, altruism, humility, feeding the poor or helping the needy, where have these teaching have gone?

Download or read book Hidden Wisdom written by Gedaliahu A. Guy Stroumsa and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2005 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book investigates the problem of esoteric traditions in early Christianity, their origin and their transformation in Patristic hermeneutics, in the West as well as in the East. It argues that these traditions eventually formed the basis of nascent Christian mysticism in Late Antiquity. These esoteric traditions do not reflect the influence of Greek Mystery religions, as has often been claimed, but rather seem to stem from the Jewish background of Christianity. They were adopted by various Gnostic teachings, a fact which helps explaining their eventual disappearance from Patristic literature. The eleven chapters study each a different aspect of the problem, including the questions of Gnostic and Manichaean esotericism. This book will be of interest to all students of religious history in Late Antiquity. Revised and extended paperback edition. Originally published in 1996. Please click here for details.

Download or read book A Theology of Love written by Richard Smoley and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2019-11-05 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A spirituality based on love, not fear • Shares key, inspiring teachings from A Course in Miracles as well as Hinduism, Buddhism, Gnosticism, and the Sefer Yetzirah, the oldest known Kabbalistic text • Cites philosophical wisdom from Kant, Blake, Jung, and Gurdjieff, alongside cognitive science, to reveal how the world is not difficult and flawed, but our fear-based mind-sets lead us to see it that way • Offers a path to help you regenerate from the “fallen” state and experience God as infinite love and light In the West, theology has almost always meant Christian theology--a hodgepodge of beliefs that are hard to make sense of. Why, for example, should an all-loving, merciful God have gotten mad at the human race because someone ate a piece of fruit six thousand years ago? And why would he send part of himself down to earth to be tortured to death? These beliefs, stated baldly, are nonsensical. Millions of people are realizing this and losing their faith. The time has come to reenvision Christian theology without contradictory teachings laced with fear. It is time for a theology of love and miracles. Richard Smoley reframes Christian theology using logical, consistent, and easy-to-understand teachings of unconditional love and forgiveness. He draws inspiration not only from the Bible, but also from Hinduism, Buddhism, Gnosticism, and from esoteric and mystical teachings, such as A Course in Miracles and the Sefer Yetzirah, the oldest known Kabbalistic text. He explains how the “fallen” state of the human condition, not one of sin but of oblivion, leads us to experience the world as flawed and problematic--not wholly evil, but not wholly good. Citing philosophical wisdom from Kant, Blake, Jung, and Gurdjieff, alongside cognitive science, Smoley reveals how it is not the world that is flawed, but the way we see the world. Sharing key teachings from A Course in Miracles, he shows that our fear-based mind-sets--often filled with anxiety, suffering, and shame--lead us to feel separated from God when, in fact, we are all extensions of a God of infinite love and light. Offering a path to help you regenerate from the “fallen” state and see the real spiritual world and loving God that lies behind it, the author provides ways for each of us to craft our own self-consistent theology. He also lays out a vision for the future of spirituality, a path for present-day religion to transform into something higher and more universal.

Download or read book Theosophia Inner Wisdom written by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, et al. and published by Philaletheians UK. This book was released on 2019-03-10 with total page 49 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Theosophy is the renaissance of ancient spiritualism. Theosophy is Archaic Wisdom-Religion, as taught by Masters and Magi, Sages and Hierophants, Prophets and Philosophers, to the Elect — undisguised by symbols. It is Spiritual Knowledge, reasoned out and corroborated by personal experience. Diogenes Laërtius traces Theosophy to an epoch antedating the dynasty of the Ptolemies. But, in fact, Theosophy is much older: It is the parent stem of Archaic Wisdom. The term was revived in the 3rd century AD by Ammonius Saccas, the Alexandrian Socrates of Neo-Platonism, teacher of Plotinus, and founder of the Eclectic Theosophical System. Briefly, Eclectic Theosophy asserts that: 1. Humanity is a periodic emanation from a single noetic essence and, 2. When by exertion and merit, a mortal soul activates its latent faculties and potencies, it can be re-connected with its immortal noetic origin and source. Hence, the Buddhistic, Vedantic, and Magian or Zoroastrian systems were taught in the Eclectic Theosophical School along with all the philosophies of Greece. It was Theosophy which prompted such men as Hegel, Fichte, and Spinoza, to take up the labours of the old Grecian philosophers and speculate upon the One Substance — the Deity, the Divine All, proceeding from Divine Wisdom. And it was Theosophy that made it possible for great thinkers such as Plotinus, Schelling, and Emerson, to reflect upon man’s divine ancestry. What Theosophy is and is not. By looking inwards at the noumenal worlds and causes, Theosophy is Esoteric Science, par excellence. Exact Science is only concerned with phenomenal worlds and effects. Esoteric Science corroborates Nature’s metaphysics and Divine Laws; Exact Science, Its physics and natural laws. In Its fruition, Theosophy is Inner Knowledge about the divinity of Cosmos and Man, and a noetic progression from the known and knowable, to the unknown and, otherwise, unknowable. And, as such, It lies at the root of every moral philosophy, religion, and science. Theosophy is the world’s tree of knowledge and sum total of all sciences. Sophia is the accumulated wisdom of Divine Beings from the beginning of time, who have willingly accepted the harshness and drudgery of sentient life to help their toiling brothers. Theosophy is not a religion. It is but an analytical science, the ally of every honest religion. Being the culmination and practical demonstration of the Truths underlying every creed, Theosophy is compatible with every religion. It believes in no miracle, whether divine or devilish, and cherishes no anthropomorphic concepts, whether gods or demons. Theosophy discriminates between finite animal man, and Infinite Divine Man, and differs from the Vedantin doctrines. It is not even “esoteric” religion! Every old religion is but a chapter or two of the entire volume of archaic primeval mysteries — Eastern Occultism alone being able to boast that it is in possession of the full secret, with its seven keys. In other words, Theosophy is Religion itself! Loyalty to Truth is Its creed, Brotherhood of all beings, not just men, Its noble aim. Theosophy is Inner Wisdom or Divine Knowledge. It is at the heart of all religions and philosophies from the earliest time to the present day, embracing all domains of mundane knowledge and human endeavour. Yet, It is a practical, and an ethical philosophy, ever transcending self-imposed boundaries to expand consciousness, and to dispel lingering doubts. In short, Theosophy is Supernal Philosophy, Wisdom’s True Love, not mere verbiage. It is a philosophy to live by. Metaphysically, Theosophy is the accumulated testimony and wisdom of the ages. Theosophy is not knowledge of a “God,” It is knowledge of gods, Celestial Knowledge: a shoreless ocean of Everlasting Truth, Love, and Impartiality, monistic through and through. By seeking the One Truth, its allied with the ideals of every seeker of Truth. To fully define Theosophy, we must consider it under all its aspects. By means of Its Golden Precepts, those who are intellectually and ethically fit might gain insights of the inner world of being. There, mystics can see past, present, and future as in a mirror. Theosophy wakes up and frees the Heavenly Man from the clutches of Its outer shadow, so that He can live for others, here on Earth, unconstrained by his earthly jailer, forgetting himself in the midst of the many selves, in the words of a Philaletheian. Ethically, Theosophy is unconditioned love for humanity and for all that lives. Theosophy is philanthropy, par excellence, unconditioned and unreserved love for our fellow human beings and for all that lives, in thought and deed. It alone can restore hope and instil responsibility in a world suffocating from ignorance and its own misdeeds, by mediating between egotism and altruism. Even the great Law of Harmony depends on altruism! Theosophy’s aim and noble mission is to establish a community of spiritual thinkers who, by studying Its precepts and enriching everyday life with Its exalted ethics, can bring about a peaceful realignment of mainstream thought, as a matter of urgency! Warnings to aspirants. Those who do not enter inner life in the Spirit of Brotherhood; Those who try to degrade a noble philosophy into a den for immorality; Those who are ignorant of the dangers of psychic powers; And specially those who have already pledged to live for the World, Beware! Only purity of deed and thought can raise you to the company of your Divine Self.

Download or read book The Inner Church is the Hope of the World written by Nicholas Laccetti and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2018-08-09 with total page 126 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Throughout history, Western esoteric movements have provided meaning and power for what the Rosicrucians of the early modern period called the quest for "Universal Reformation"--the utopian restructuring of religion, science, the arts, and human society. Yet Western esotericism has been roundly ignored as a source of reflection in mainstream Christian theology, including the radical theologies of liberation that might otherwise see in esotericism a kindred spirit to their commitment to radical social change. In The Inner Church is the Hope of the World, guided by his work in contemporary movements for social change, Nicholas Laccetti puts Western esotericism in dialogue with liberation theology, treating esotericism as a legitimate source of spiritual and theological insight. If, as Gustavo Gutierrez writes, "God is revealed in history," then we will also encounter God within the particular history of human religious expression that is Western esotericism. And from these theological reflections, the Inner Church of the esotericists, occultists, and mystics is revealed to be the true ekklesia of all who have conformed themselves to God's vision of freedom and liberation, and who struggle to enact that vision in human society. The Inner Church is truly the hope of the world.

Download or read book Esoteric Christianity Or the Lesser Mysteries written by Annie Wood Besant and published by Echo Library. This book was released on 2009-01 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Annie Wood Besant (1847-1933) was a prominent Theosophist, women's rights activist, writer and orator and supporter of Irish and Indian self rule. For a time she undertook part-time study at the Birkbeck Literary and Scientific Institution, where her religious and political activities were to cause alarm. She was earning a small weekly wage by writing a column for the National Reformer, the newspaper of the National Secular Society. For many years Annie was a friend of the Society's leader, Charles Bradlaugh. Both of them became household names in 1877 when they published a book by the American birthcontrol campaigner Charles Knowlton. After joining the Marxists, Annie stood for election to the London School Board. In 1889, she was asked to write a review for the Pall Mall Gazette on The Secret Doctrine, a book by H. P. Blavatsky. After reading it, she sought an interview with its author and in this way she was converted to Theosophy. Her works include: The Political Status of Women (1874), The Law of Population (1877), Autobiographical Sketches (1885), Reincarnation (1892), Seven Principles of Man (1892), Death - And After? (1893), Karma (1895) and Esoteric Christianity; or, The Lesser Mysteries (1901/05).

Download or read book Eastern Occult Philosophy is the science of effects known by their causes and vice versa written by Alexander Wilder, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and published by Philaletheians UK. This book was released on 2023-09-27 with total page 41 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Against Ecclesiastical Christianity and Religious Dogmatism written by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and published by Philaletheians UK. This book was released on 2019-02-01 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Part 1. What is truth? Where is it to be searched for amid this multitude of warring sects? Each claims to be based upon divine revelation, and each to have the keys of the celestial gates. Society seems to have been ever balancing itself upon one leg, on an unseen tightrope stretched from our visible universe into the invisible one; uncertain whether the end hooked on faith in the latter might not suddenly break, and hurl it into final annihilation. Christian symbols have been pervaded by heathen phallicism. Neither Catholics nor Protestants have a right to talk of the “indecent forms” of heathen monuments so long as they ornament their own churches with the symbols of the Lingam and Yoni, and even write the laws of their God upon them. The torrents of human blood shed by the Vatican are unparalleled in the annals of Paganism. Christians were the first to make the existence of a fictitious devil a dogma of their Church. But what is the use of a Pope, if there is no devil? Paganism was converted wholesale and applied to Popery. The Romish Church has two far mightier enemies than the “heretics” and the “infidels” — Comparative Mythology and Philology. The voice of Truth is stronger than the voice of the mightiest thunder. When the Theurgists of the third Neo-platonic school, deprived of their ancient Mysteries, strove to blend the doctrines of Plato with those of Aristotle, and by combining the two philosophies added to their theosophy the primeval doctrines of the Oriental Kabbalah, then the Christians from rivals became persecutors. For once the metaphysical allegories of Plato were to be discussed in public, all the elaborate system of the Christian trinity would be unravelled and the divine prestige completely upset. Paganism was modified by Christianity, and vice versa. Either the Pagan worship and the Neo-platonic theurgy, with all ceremonial of magic, must be crushed out forever, or the Christians become Neo-Platonists. The original and pure forms of the most important ecclesiastical doctrines of Christianity are to be found only in the teachings of Plato. Part 2. Poor fools, hysterical women, and idiots were roasted alive, without mercy, for the crime of so-called “magic.” Yet magic and sorcery are rife among popes, bishops, and priests. In the latter part of the sixteenth century there was hardly a parish to be found in which the priests did not study magic and alchemy. Benedict IX, John XX, and Gregories VI and VII, are known magicians. The papal government realized much money by selling to the rich dispensations to secure them from the Inquisition. What room is there in a theology which exacts such holocausts as these to appease the bloody appetites of its priests? It has been admitted that the elimination of devil from theology would be fatal to the perpetuity of the Church. But this is only partially true. The Prince of Sin would be gone, but the sin itself would survive. If the devil were annihilated, the Articles of Faith and the Bible would remain. Vulgar magic in India is the work of the lowest clergy; in Rome, that of the highest Pontiffs. It is designed to hold the populace in a perpetual state of fear. The devil, asserts a Jesuit Father, is forced to submission before the holy minister of God — he dares not lie. Christianity being pure heathenism, and Catholicism with its fetish-worshipping, are far worse and more pernicious than Hinduism in its most idolatrous aspect. When the Roman Church is no longer able to deny that there have been fake relics, she resorts to sophistry, and replies that if false relics have wrought miracles it is “because of the good intentions of the believers, who thus obtained from God a reward of their good faith!” Pope fraternizing with Islam for his Church feels more sympathy for the Moslem than the schismatic. The identical evocations and incantations of the Pagan and Jewish Kabbalist are now repeated by the Christian exorcist, and the theurgy of Iamblichus is adopted word for word. The Latin Church despoiled Kabbalists and Theurgists of their magical rites and ceremonies, and hurled anathemas upon their devoted heads. Long before the sign of the Cross was adopted as a Christian symbol, it was employed as a secret sign of recognition among neophytes and adepts. The sign is absolutely and magnificently kabbalistic: it represents the perpetual opposition and quaternary equilibrium of the elements. Paul and Peter compared and contrasted. By Simon Magus we must understand apostle Paul, whose Epistles were secretly as well as openly calumniated by Peter, and charged with containing dysnoëtic learning. The Apostle of the Gentiles was brave, outspoken, sincere, and very learned; the Apostle of Circumcision, cowardly, cautious, insincere, and very ignorant. The ceremonial dress of the Christian clergy is identical with that of the old Babylonians, Assyrians, Phœnicians, Egyptians, and other Pagans of the hoary antiquity. The nimbus and tonsure of the Catholic priest and monk are solar emblems. The “Black Virgins,” so highly reverenced in certain French cathedrals during the Middle Ages, were basalt figures of Isis. The Catholic bells were imported from Buddhist pagodas. Beads and rosaries were imported directly from the Buddhist Thibetans and Chinese. Donned in the despoiled garments of the victim, the Christian priest anathematizes the latter with rites and ceremonies learned from the Theurgists themselves. Underlying every ancient popular religion was the same Wisdom-doctrine, one and identical, professed and practiced by the initiates of every country, who alone were aware of its existence and importance. The Mysteries were instituted pure, and proposed the noblest ends by the worthiest means. The whispered secrets of initiation, when divulged, were punished with death. The final part of the mystic rites reveals the friendship and interior communion with God. The Lunar Pitris are our progenitors. They are identical with the Seven Elohim of the Hebrew Bible. They are not the ancestors of the present living men but those of the primitive races of mankind, the spirits of the early human races which preceded ours but which were physically, as well as spiritually, far superior to the modern pigmies. The Pitris must be included with the good genii, the daimons of the Greeks, or the inferior gods of the invisible world. The doctrine of the planetary and terrestrial Pitris was revealed entirely in ancient India, as well as now, only at the last moment of initiation, and to the adepts of superior degrees. The splendid imagery employed by Proclus and Apuleius in narrating the small portion of the final initiation, throws completely into the shade the plagiaristic tales of the Christian ascetics. AUM is the trinity of mortal man on his way to become immortal through the union of his outer self with his inner triune Self. When this trinity, in anticipation of the final triumphant reunion beyond the gates of corporeal death becomes a Unity, then the candidate is allowed, at the moment of initiation, to behold his future Self. Man cannot perceive, touch, and converse with pure spirit through any of his bodily senses. Only spirit alone can talk to and see spirit. Man’s highest duty (religion) is to acquire the knowledge of his universal self (paramatman) and then, by the annihilation of his worldly self (atman), to experience the infinity of happiness prevalent in Unconscious Immateriality. A deep longing toward our true and real home is legitimate; abuse of it is sorcery, witchcraft, black magic. He who fully recognizes the power of his immortal spirit, and never doubted for one moment its omnipotent protection, has naught to fear. It is not alone for the esoteric philosophy that we fight; nor for any modern system of moral philosophy, but for the inalienable right of private judgment, and especially for the ennobling idea of a future life of activity and accountability. True philosophy and divine truth are convertible terms. A religion which dreads the light cannot be a religion based on either truth or philosophy, hence, it must be false. As the dogmas of every religion and sect often differ radically, they cannot be true. And if untrue, what are they? Part 3. Gnostic Basilides was a philosopher devoted to the contemplation of divine things. On the other hand, the unintelligible dogmas, enforced by Irenæus, Tertullian, and others, are far more heretical than those they accused of apostasy. The Church of Rome was consistent in choosing as her titular founder the apostle who thrice denied his master at the moment of danger; and the only one, except Judas, who provoked Christ in such a way as to be addressed as the “Enemy.” When frightened at the accusation of the servant of the high priest, Peter thrice denied his master. Whosoever else might have built the Church of Rome it was not Peter. He invented a burning hell and threatened everyone with it; promised miracles, but worked none. The only thing absolutely necessary for man is Truth; and to that, and that alone, must our moral consciousness adapt itself. Zoro-Aster was the Nazar of Ishtar. There is another hypothesis possible, which is that Zoro-Ishtar was the high priest of the Chaldæan worship, a Magian hierophant. The Jewish Scriptures indicate two distinct religions: that of Bacchus-worship under the mask of Jehovah; and that of the Chaldæan initiates to whom belonged some of the Nazars, the Theurgists, and a few of the prophets. Nazarenes, a term nearly synonymous with Galileans, were a class of Chaldæan Theurgists that existed long ages before Christ. Jesus was a true reforming Nazarene. The Essenes were the converts of Buddhist missionaries who had overrun Egypt, Greece, and even Judæa at one time, since the reign of Ashoka. Jesus cannot strictly be called an Essene. Neither was he a Nazar, or Nazaria of the older sect. Jesus was inspired by the genius of Mercury. He preached the philosophy of Buddha-Shakyamuni. His motive was evidently like that of Gautama-Buddha: to benefit humanity at large by producing a religious reform which should give it a religion of pure ethics. The early plebeian Israelites were Canaanites and Phœnicians, with the same worship of the Phallic gods: Bacchus, Baal or Adon, Iacchos — Iao or Jehovah; but even among them there had always been a class of initiated adepts. Baptismal water, fire, and spirit, or Holy Ghost, have all their origin in India. If baptism is the sign of regeneration, and an ordinance instituted by Jesus, why do not Christians now baptize as Jesus did, with the Holy Ghost and with fire, instead of following the custom of the Nazarenes? From time immemorial the prophets of old had been thundering against the baptism of fire as practiced by their neighbours, which imparted the “spirit of prophecy,” or the Holy Ghost. The true, original Christianity, such as was preached by Jesus, is to be found only in the so-called Syrian heresies. Such also was the faith of Paul. The secret doctrines of the Magi, of the pre-Vedic Buddhists, of the hierophants of the Egyptian Thoth or Hermes, and of the adepts of whatever age and nationality, including the Chaldæan Kabbalists and the Jewish Nazars, were identical from the beginning. Zarathustra and his followers had been settled in India before they immigrated into Persia. The old gods, whether Zoroastrian or Vedic, are personifications of the occult powers of nature, the faithful servants of the adepts of secret wisdom. Buddhism is the doctrine of wisdom-religion, which by many ages antedates the metaphysical philosophy of Siddhartha Shakyamuni. By analogy and a close study of the hidden meaning of their rites and customs, we can now trace the kinship of the Pagan worshippers of Adonis, their neighbours, the Nazarenes, and the Pythagorean Essenes, the healing Therapeutai, the Ebionites, and other followers of the ancient theurgic Mysteries. The chiefs of the Essene communities were Kabbalists and Theurgists. The Essenes were Pythagoreans in all their doctrine and habits. Jesus expressed his thoughts in purely Pythagorean sentences. The descent to Hades signified the inevitable fate of each soul to be united for a time with a terrestrial body. This union, a dark prospect for the soul to find itself imprisoned within the bleak tenement of a body, was considered by all the ancient philosophers, and even by the modern Buddhists, as a punishment. In common with Pythagoras and other hierophant reformers, Jesus divided his teachings into exoteric and esoteric. He also divided his followers into “neophytes,” “brethren,” and the “perfect.” The civilized portion of the Pagans, who knew of Jesus and honoured him as a philosopher-adept, placed him on the same level with Pythagoras and Apollonius. If Jesus did wear his hair long, like Samson, parted in the middle of the forehead after the fashion of the Nazarenes, he must have belonged to the sect of the Nazarenes and been called Nazaria for this reason, and not because he was an inhabitant of Nazareth. The full significance of Christos and its mystic meaning revealed. Christos suffered spiritually for us, and far more acutely than did the illusionary Jesus while his body was being tortured on the cross. Hence, the meaning of the Gnostics who, by saying that “Christos” suffered spiritually for humanity, implied that his Divine Spirit suffered mostly. It was Ephesus, with her numerous collateral branches of the great college of the Essenes, which proved to be the hotbed of all the kabbalistic speculations brought by the Tannaïm from the captivity. Tertullian and Epiphanius vehemently reproach Marcion by erasing passages from the Gospel of Luke, which never were in Luke at all. What the Fathers fought for was not truth, but their own interpretations and unwarranted assertions. In the days of Marcion two factions divided the primitive Church: The one considering Christianity a mere continuation of the Law, and dwarfing it into an Israelitish institution, a narrow sect of Judaism; the other, representing the glad tidings as the introduction of a new system, applicable to all, and supplanting the Mosaic dispensation of the Law by a universal dispensation of grace. Marcion maintained that the mission of Jesus was to abrogate the Jewish “Lord,” who was opposed to the God and Father of Jesus Christ as matter is to spirit, and impurity to purity. In what particular does the jealous, wrathful, revengeful God of Israel resemble the unknown deity, the God of mercy preached by Jesus? The “Father who is in secret” alone is the God of spirit and purity. It is only through the doctrines of Pythagoras, Confucius, and Plato, that we can comprehend the idea which underlies the term “Father” in the New Testament. To compare Him with the subordinate and capricious Sinaitic Deity is an error. The divine injunctions of Matthew, the living up to which would purify and exalt humanity, are identical with the Ordinances of Manu. The Hindus taught to return good for evil, but the Jehovistic command was “an eye for an eye” and “a tooth for a tooth.” Jehovah and Bacchus are one the same. Would Christians still maintain the identity of the “Father” of Jesus and Jehovah, if evidence sufficiently clear could be adduced that the “Lord God” was no other than the Pagan Bacchus, Dionysos? Part 4. Ageless Wisdom is the only religion of reason and free thought, of truth and impartiality, not authority. The sorely-abused communities compared with the Christian sects, and the Secret Science, its students and champions defended against unjust imputation. We will begin with a quick glance at the Ophites and Nazareans, their scions in Syria and Palestine that still exist today under the name of Druzes of Mount Lebanon, and near Basra under that of Mandæans or Disciples of St. John. And we will conclude with a brief survey of the Jesuits, and of that venerable nightmare of the Roman Catholic Church, modern Freemasonry. The work of Buddhistic proselytism began in Nepal. Not only did they make their way to the Mesopotamian Valley, but they even went so far west as Ireland. The encircled cross came from the far East with the Phœnician colonists, who erected the Round Towers as symbols of the life-giving and preserving power of man and nature, and of universal life that is produced through suffering and death. For Ireland, like every other nation, once listened to the proponents of Siddhartha-Buddha. The scheme of the Ophites varies from the description given by the Fathers, inasmuch as it makes Bythos or depth a female emanation, and assigns her a place answering to that of Pleroma, only in a far superior region; whereas, the Fathers assure us that the Gnostics gave the name of Bythos to the First Cause. The Ophite Serpent, emblem of wisdom and eternity, is androgyne manifesting itself as the double Principle of Good and Evil. The Serpent, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and the Tree of Life, are all symbols transplanted from the soil of India. The Nazarene and Gnostic-Ophite Cosmogonies are one and the same. Neither King David nor Solomon recognized either Moses or the law of Moses. IAO is a title of the Supreme Being and belongs partially to the Ineffable Name; but it neither originated with, nor was it the sole property, of the Jews. The First Cause is manifesting itself in its creatures as a hermaphrodite deity: the male principle is the vivifying invisible spirit; the female, mother nature. The two are the Alpha and Omega, moved by the Hierarchy of Compassion, making IAO the trilateral name of the mystery-God, a breath of life. But Yaho IAO, the supreme deity of the Semites, is not the Lord God of other nations. The numerals of Pythagoras are hieroglyphical symbols, by means whereof he explained ideas concerning the nature of things. The first is I, and the final O-mega. It is only by associating Yaho with the Masoretic points that the later Rabbins succeeded in making Jehovah read Adonai, or “Lord.” The future Deity of the sons of Israel calls out from the burning bush, gives His name as “I am that I am,” and specifies carefully that He is the “Lord God of the Hebrews,” not of the other nations. The scapegoat of Israel was a sacrificial martyr, symbol of the greatest mystery in heaven and on earth, the “fall” into generation. Eusebius, Irenæus, Theophilus, Cyril, Athanasius, and a host of other canonized “saints,” were followed by an army of pious assassins who had improved upon the system of deceit by proclaiming that it was lawful even to kill, when by murder they could enforce the new religion. Constantine, the Emperor of Darkness, drowned his wife in boiling water, butchered his little nephew, murdered with his own pious hand two of his brothers-in-law, killed his own son Crispus, bled to death several men and women, and smothered in a well an old monk. What a record! How determined Irenæus was to crush Truth and build up a Church of his own on the mangled remains of the seven primitive churches mentioned in the Revelation, may be inferred from his quarrel with Ptolemæus. Neither falsehood, nor sophistry, was too much for the bishop of Lugdunum. The mystic Magian religion, also known as Machagistia, is the most uncorrupted form of worship in things divine. Later, the mysteries of the Chaldæan sanctuaries were added to it by one of the Zoroasters and Darius Hystaspes, a hierophant and initiated Magian himself. Secrecy was preserved by the one and supreme great lodge as well as other sub-lodges. The mysterious Druzes of Mount Lebanon are the descendants of all these. Well over 80,000 Syrian Druzes are scattered from the plain east of Damascus to the western coast. There never was a case of an initiated Druze becoming a Christian. These people do not accept the name of Druzes but regard the appellation as an insult. They call themselves the “disciples of H’amsa,” their Messiah, who came to them in the eleventh century from the “Land of the Word of God.” The characteristic dogma of the Druzes is absolute unity with God. He is the essence of life and, although incomprehensible and invisible, He is to be known through occasional manifestations in human form. Chastity, honesty, meekness, and mercy, are the four theological virtues of all Druzes. Murder, theft, cruelty, covetousness, and slander are the five main sins. H’amsa, like Jesus, was a mortal man, and yet H’amsa and Christos are synonymous terms as to their inner meaning: they stand for Nous, the divine and higher soul of man, his Spirit. Buddhistic philosophy does not teach annihilation. Nirvana implies impersonal life-eternal in Spirit, not in Soul. But even this actionless state is maya-illusion. It was the Christian missionaries in China and India, who first started this falsehood about Nirvana. Students of Esoteric Philosophy see in the Nazarene Sage a Bodhisattva with the spirit of Buddha Himself in Him. Gautama Buddha was moved by that generous feeling which locks the whole humanity within one embrace, inviting the poor, the lame, and the blind to the King’s festival table, from which he excluded those who had hitherto sat alone, in haughty seclusion. All this he did six centuries before another reformer, as noble and as loving, though less favoured by opportunity, in another land. If both, aware of the great danger of furnishing an uncultivated populace with the double-edged weapon of knowledge which gives power, left the innermost corner of the sanctuary in the profoundest shade, who that is acquainted with human nature can blame them for it? But while one was actuated by prudence, the other was forced into such a course. While the mythical birth and life of Jesus are a faithful copy of those of the Brahmanical Krishna, his historical character of a religious reformer in Palestine is the true type of Buddha in India. What the Nazarene did as a consequence of his humble birth and position, Buddha did as a voluntary penance. The most important element of Buddhist reform has always been its social and moral code, one of the most perfect which the world has ever known, not just its metaphysical theories. It is curious that three dissenting and inimical religions, Brahmanism, Buddhism, and Jainism, should agree so perfectly in their traditions and chronology, as to Buddhism. There is a perfect identity of philosophical thought and popular rites between the Jainas and the Buddhists. Christianity is fraudulent through and through. The myths of “miraculous,” immaculate conception are now debunked. Even the annunciation by an angel to Joseph “in a dream,” the Christians copied from the message of Apollo to Ariston, Perictione’s husband, that the child to be born from her was the offspring of that god. Times have changed now, and even the once all-powerful clergy have to either bridle their tongues, or prove their slanderous accusations. Irenæus did not furnish one single valid proof of the claims that he so audaciously advanced against every Gnostic sect which had the temerity to claim the right to think for itself, and who resorted to endless forgeries. He gives authority neither for his dates nor his assertions. This Smyrniote worthy has not even the brutal but sincere faith of Tertullian, for he contradicts himself at every step, and supports his claims solely on acute sophistry. Eusebius, another champion for the propagation of Apostolic Succession, was attacked by George Syncellus for falsifying the Egyptian chronology. Nine reasons for rejecting a preposterous incongruity by Josephus, supported by Renan are given. Rough, rude, and brutal was Tertullian, the patristic firebrand. Thus the whole pyramid of Roman Catholic dogmas rests not upon proof, but upon assumption. Nearly everything in Christianity is mere baggage brought from the Pagan Mysteries. But the Church can claim one invention as thoroughly original with her, namely, the doctrine of eternal damnation, and one custom — that of the anathema. Even primitive Christian art is nothing but Pagan art in its decay, or in its lower departments. Forcing upon Jesus four gospels, in which there is not a single narrative, sentence, or peculiar expression, whose parallel may not be found in some older doctrine or philosophy, is a poor compliment paid to the Supreme. Drop out from Christianity the personality of Jesus, so sublime, because of its unparalleled simplicity, and what remains? History and comparative theology echo back the melancholy answer, “A crumbling skeleton formed of the oldest Pagan myths!” Apollonius was the friend of kings and moved with the aristocracy, while Jesus, representing the people, “had nowhere to lay his head.” But like Buddha and Jesus, Apollonius was the uncompromising enemy of all outward show of piety, all display of useless religious ceremonies and hypocrisy. The calumnies set afloat against him, were as numerous as they were false. Gautama Buddha is the perfect model of all the virtues he preaches: his abnegation, his charity, his unalterable sweetness of disposition, do not fail him for one instant. He who lives for humanity does even more than him who dies for it. The groundwork of the Eclectic School was identical with the doctrines of the Yogins, the Hindu mystics, and the earlier Buddhism of the disciples of Gautama.

Download or read book Finding Enlightenment written by J. Gordon Melton and published by Beyond Words/Atria Books. This book was released on 1998-02 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Finding Enlightenment, J. Gordon Melton, a respected scholar of traditional modern religions, chronicles the life of JZ Knight, her extraordinary experiences as the channel for the ancient warrior teacher Ramtha, and the school whose teachings are based on the ancient wisdom of Gnosticism. Located in Yelm, Washington, this esoteric mystery school was founded by Knight in 1988. Melton presents the Gnostic teachings of Ramtha and shows how the inner path of wisdom and knowledge is accessible to students today.

Download or read book The Esoteric School of Jesus written by Pekka Ervast and published by Blue Dolphin Publishing. This book was released on 1999 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The Esoteric School of Jesus" offers the keys to understanding the teachings of Jesus and seeing our spiritual perfection as a lifelong process. "The Esoteric School of Jesus" is a detailed investigation of the teachings of Jesus, including the Sermon on the Mount, and the 'Our Father' prayer. As a theosophist and esoteric Christian Pekka Ervast interprets the inner meaning of the teachings and their importance for those who follow the true way of Jesus.

Download or read book The Secret Doctrine Vol 1 3 written by Helena Blavatsky and published by Good Press. This book was released on 2023-12-03 with total page 1600 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Helena Blavatsky's 'The Secret Doctrine' is a seminal work in the realm of esoteric and spiritual literature. Published in three volumes, this book delves into the ancient wisdom teachings of theosophy, touching on subjects such as cosmogony, anthropology, and metaphysics. Blavatsky's writing style is complex and intellectual, reflecting her deep knowledge of Eastern and Western philosophies. The text is rich in symbolism and allegory, inviting readers to engage with its deeper meanings and uncover profound truths about the nature of reality. 'The Secret Doctrine' is a valuable contribution to theosophical literature, offering insight into the mysteries of the universe and the spiritual evolution of humankind. Blavatsky's extensive research and profound spiritual experiences influenced her writing, making this work a testament to her visionary insights and metaphysical exploration. Recommended for readers interested in esoteric philosophy, comparative religion, and the mystical traditions of the East.

Download or read book The Voice of Isis written by Harriette Augusta Curtiss and published by Forgotten Books. This book was released on 2015-06-26 with total page 458 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from The Voice of Isis: By the Teacher of the Order of Christian Mystics The first edition of The Voice of Isis was put forth in the nature of an experiment to determine whether or not occult students of today would appreciate a new interpretation of the world-old esoteric principles of the Wisdom Religion couched in simple language, recognizing the occult and mystical side of the Christian scriptures and embracing the scientific advances of the twentieth century. The speedy sale of that edition answered the above question in a most positive manner. It also supported our claim that the Wisdom Religion is the one World-religion back of all and, being a systematized expression of cosmic verities, can be interpreted in terms of the most advanced thought, and meet the spiritual needs, of any age; for it comprehends and anticipates in the principles of its philosophy all the discoveries, advances and attainments of which man is capable in this world-period. The hearty reception accorded this volume of spiritual philosophy, among all classes of readers also shows that in spite of the scientific, materialistic, and godless education of the day, there is a great spiritual and psychic awakening taking place; that the human heart is as hungry as ever for direct communion with the super-physical planes of consciousness as a personal experience, and that the human mind is as unsatisfied as ever with purely mechanistic and materialistic conceptions of the universe, and reaches out as eagerly for, and is more than ever ready to accept, a spiritual philosophy which includes all that materialistic science can reveal, and which is presented in a rational and common sense manner. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Download or read book Doing Philosophy as a Christian written by Garrett J. DeWeese and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2011-08-30 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Garrett J. DeWeese's contribution to the Christian Worldview Integration series addresses the fundamental questions of metaphysics, epistemology, ethics and aesthetics, philosophy of mind and philosophy of science from a Christian perspective. The discussion concludes with an identification of philosophy with Christian spiritual formation.

Download or read book The True Church of Christ written by J. W. Brodie-Innes and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2017-01-16 with total page 136 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This papers were originally intended for those specially familiar with Oriental philosophies and modes of thought, an attempt has therefore been made to translate the language of Western Christian teaching as to the origin and functions of the Church into Eastern phraseology. In republishing the papers with a view, it is hoped, to a wider circulation, it became necessary to explain somewhat of this phraseology. Therefore a paper by the same author on the Seven Prtnctples of Man as understood by the Eastern schools (a conception which has been largely used as an analogy in these papers) has been added as an appendix, and a glossary of the Sanskrit and other Theosophical terms used in the work has been appended, which it is hoped will make the papers quite clear to the average Western mind. First, then, I write not for those who have been truly trained in the faith and doctrines of the Church, for to them all the knowledge I can impart has come in a far more perfect as well as easier way than any we could suggest. I would emphasize the word truly, for I mean the esoteric members of the Church, whose faith is not a blind faith, but a deep and genuine spiritual knowledge. We write not for the indifferent, having no desire to propose, least of all to gain those who have no backbone.

Download or read book God s Ambiance written by William John Meegan and published by Outskirts Press. This book was released on 2016-10-03 with total page 347 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The MATRIX OF WISDOM is all about God’s Ambiance residing in the soul of the individual. This volume is about unraveling the deep mysteries of God esoterically codified into the world’s sacred scriptures, literature, artworks, monuments and architecture in all times and climes via the ESOTERIC SCIENCE: i.e. the harmonious integration of the Seven Liberal Arts: Quadrivium (Four Mathematical Sciences) and the Trivium (Three Grammatical Arts) that are the foundations of the ancient Mystery Schools. The MATRIX OF WISDOM is a 10 x 10 matrix that is the original source material that wrote the sacred scriptures in all religious cultures around the world. From the mystical depths of this 10 x 10 matrix China created the I Ching and the Tao te Ching, Buddhism created their Stupas, Hinduism and Christianity builds their temples, cathedrals and churches, numerous cultures around the world built their pyramids based upon it schematics and the Native American Indians knew of it, Astrology and the Game of Chess were developed from it, and Pythagoras developed his mathematical theorems from it, and Freemasonry is founded upon it and the city of Washington DC is built on its esoteric design and this latter is provided for in the United States Constitution, Article 1, Section 8; however, this matrix is never-ever discussed explicitly to the general public. Throughout this volume there will be a continuous tsunami of demonstrable evidence directly and indirectly challenging the status quo of academia and the orthodoxy of all religions around the world. The WORD OF GOD will be discussed mainly from the perspective of the Judaeo Christian Scriptures, the secret teachings of the Roman Catholic Church’s literature, artwork, monuments and architecture and Freemasonry symbolism designed into the landscape of Washington DC. The MATRIX OF WISDOM (spiritual waters of creation: i.e. sum total or all knowledge) is inherent in the psyche of every human being. The MATRIX OF WISDOM is a commentary or the MONAD, which is the soul’s raison d’être: i.e. God/Man Christ (Tao, Krishna, Buddha, Horus. etc.). When the soul comes into the world it splits into a two-part psyche: ego-consciousness and the unconscious mind and this knowledge is esoterically codified into the mythoi of the Judaeo Christian Scriptures; thus, the sacred scriptures of the world are all about explaining to the worthy initiate the dynamics of the soul and its psyche. The sacred scriptures are written first and foremost for the Born Again initiate; though, the average member of the laity has direct access to both its exoteric writings (REVEALED) and its secret esoteric teachings (COVERED). The inexplicable WORD OF GOD (HIDDEN): however, cannot be explained to another in the vernacular. The initiate can know of the ESOTERIC SCIENCE; however that does not avail him or her of the true understanding of the WORD OF GOD. Only God can communicate that unfathomable and inexplicable knowledge to the individual The ESOTERIC SCIENCE can somewhat prepare the worthy initiate for the spiritual Initiatic Visionary Experience, which is gifted only to those that are worthy and truly DESIRE to know the WORD OF GOD. The sacred scriptures around the world are written to explain the spiritual Initiatic Visionary Experience; furthermore, the sacred scriptures in their indigenous languages are the most scientific instruments on the face of the Earth; though, modernity will most likely dispute that fact ad nauseam.

Download or read book Behold the Spirit written by Alan Watts and published by Pantheon. This book was released on 1971 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A discussion of contemporary Christianity which emphasizes the importance of union with God rather than a knowledge of doctrine.

Download or read book Fundamentals of the Esoteric Philosophy written by Gottfried Purucker and published by . This book was released on 1979 with total page 682 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From 1924 to 1927 Katherine Tingley sponsored a series of private studies in The Secret Doctrine, with G de Purucker as lecturer. This record of the meetings provides an excellent introduction to H P Blavatsky's masterwork, yet it stands on its own as a clear restatement of the philosophy expounded by all great thinkers and sages. Beginning with the three fundamental postulates of the SD, the presentation moves to cosmic and human evolution, with emphasis on the interconnectedness of all beings. Other topics include man's nature and destiny; avataras and buddhas; initiation, the Mysteries, and ethical values.