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April 25th, 1918.
Received by James Padgett
Washington D.C.
Let me write a line - Luke.
I was with you tonight at the church and listened to what the preacher
(Gordon) said in reference to religions and their point of contact,
and was somewhat surprised at his declarations as to the analogy
which he drew between the believers in the various so-called Christian
religions.
While, as you know, there is implanted in the souls of men, a longing
for that which tends to elevate and spiritualize them, even though
this longing may not be consciously present with a large number
of them; yet the beliefs as to the ways in which this longing may
be made manifest, and develop the spiritual nature of the soul,
are very different among those professing these various religions,
and the ways are not equally efficacious in causing their spiritual
development.
Religion is a matter of soul and not of intellect, and the greater
the development of the soul in the right direction, the higher will
be the spiritual state or condition of the soul. Mere intellectual
belief, no matter how intense and undoubting, will not tend to bring
about this spiritual development, for "religion is really nothing
but the relationship and harmony of men's souls with the Soul of
God." The mind will not be sufficient to create this state
because the mind of man cannot possibly bring into harmony the Soul
of the Creator and that of the creature. Mind in its exercise may
tend to awaken the soul to this possibility of relationship, but
only the workings of the soul can effectuate the complete unity
of the Creator and the created. Only soul can speak to soul, and
mind is only a helper, provided the soul is alive in its longings.
So it is apparent that that form of belief which is wholly of the
intellect can have no common meeting place with that belief which
is the result of the development of the soul; and hence, to say
that men of all the various religions, just because they are what
are called Christians, are in an equal relationship to the Father,
is erroneous and misleading.
As regards the condition of man as the perfect man, these several
religions may tend to bring about this state of perfection, if the
moral precepts which they teach are observed and practiced by men.
But as regards man as the Divine Angel; that is, as a spirit having
in itself the Essence of the Divine, only that religion which teaches
the true way to acquire this Divinity can lead men to the at-onement
with the Father in His very nature. There can be, in this respect,
only one true religion, and only one way in which that religion
can be practiced and possessed; and to say that all religions have
a common point of approach, is misleading and deceiving.
I know that among these various religions there are individuals
who have found the way to the method of becoming transformed into
the Divine nature of the Father, and this notwithstanding that the
teachings and creeds of the several churches do not show the way
to this soul development into the spiritual of the Divine. But in
these churches there is wanting, in their dogmas and doctrines,
that which will help men to this true religion.
Because it may be found that in the churches there are some who
have, to a degree, this Divine spirituality, there is no justification
in saying that there is any common place of meeting in these several
religions. Of course the moral precepts may be and are taught by
all the Christian churches, and when observed will ultimately lead
all men to the condition of the perfect natural man, and only to
this extent can it be said that they may have a common ground of
religion arising from the belief in the moral teachings.
And the church which declares and teaches as its religion with
great exactness and more enlarged comprehension is the church in
which this, as I may call it, natural religion exists; and the more
dissimilar these churches are in these teachings the farther apart
is their approach (sic). If a preacher of one church knows, with
the conviction that arises from his sincere and honest investigation
of the moral laws, that some other church is not teaching or insisting
on the observation on the part of its members of these great moral
truths, then he has no right to conclude and say this latter church
is the possessor of religion, as is the church in which these moral
truths are taught and followed by its adherents.
It is a mistake for a preacher to say that because there may be
good and spiritual men in all churches, therefore, one church is
as good and religious in its teachings as another church. Truth
is of such a nature that it cannot be compromised, and the man or
preacher who would compromise the truth is not fulfilling his duty
to God or man.
The church which teaches that there is nothing greater than morality,
and that man can become no more transcendent than the perfect man,
is devoid of the truth and would not be accepted as a teacher of
the full truth, as should the church which knows and teaches the
way by which man may become a Divine Angel.
That the preachers of the various churches should accept as equal
and the possessors of the true religion whenever these moral lessons
are alike taught by these churches and have a common point of approach,
is not to be wondered at, because these preachers do not know the
higher religion, or are able to teach the way to the same. And when
it is understood that a moral truth is a truth no matter where it
may appear and by whom taught, there is some justification in declaring
that all churches which teach the moral truths are on a plane of
equality, and that one is entitled to as much respect and freedom
from criticism as another. And further, as the great truth of the
rebestowal of the potentiality of receiving the Divine Love, and
the effect on men's souls, was never known and taught until the
coming of the Master, it is not surprising that none of the churches
can or do teach this great spiritual truth, and the only true religion
arising there from. The knowledge of this truth perished from the
earth a short time after the passing of the Master, and hence no
church can teach this religion of the soul that transforms the mortal
into the Divine.
The religion of the perfect man may exist in varying degrees in
all the Christian churches, but the religion of the Divine Angel
exists in none, although some individuals of these churches, to
some extent, have received in their souls the great truth - the
Divine Love - even though they have no intellectual knowledge of
the same.
I thought it advisable to make these few remarks on the declaration
of the preacher, as showing that his broad assertion that the religions
mentioned, which to him is all embracing, may have a common meeting
point with every religion. When he learns the truth, he will realize
the errors of his human and brotherly declarations. I will not write
more. Good night, and God bless you.
Your brother in Christ,
Luke
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