Earlier text: The Promising Punjab CountryForesaw the Papacy Casting Down the Truth
By Jean Vuilleumier
Tradition Supplanting the Word of the Living God—Frank Admissions from Within—Cunning Bishops In his studies on the eighth and ninth chapters of Daniel, Mr. Vuilleumier devotes three articles to the papacy as it is foretold in that prophecy. The article this week shows that the Bible was set aside and tradition was offered in its place. Next week his article will tell of the papal persecutions as admitted and taught in Catholic writings; while the third article of the series will consider the papal claims to divine prerogatives, in which the pope assumes the position of the vicar of Jesus Christ. EDITOR. As we have seen, the symbolic horn of Daniel 8 represented the Roman power in both its phases, the pagan and the papal. The same description and the same prophetic delineations must therefore apply to both. We have seen how well they were met in the history of the Roman Empire, and it remains for us to inquire whether they were also fulfilled by the history of the papal power. Let us therefore reread the verses which describe the character and doings of the horn: “And it cast down truth to the ground, and it did its pleasure and prospered.” “A king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper and do his pleasure; and he shall destroy the mighty ones and the holy people. And through his policy he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and in their security shall he destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes, but he shall be broken without hand.” Verses 12, 23–25. If we sum up this description, we have the following three leading features, to which we will confine our study: 1. making war upon the truth through craft and deception; 2. persecution of God’s people; 3. claims to divine attributes. As we endeavor to demonstrate that these features are all to be found in the doctrine and history of the papacy, we do this without any ill feeling toward our Catholic readers. On the contrary, we long to see them enjoying the liberty to be found in Jesus Christ approached without any intermediates; the sweetness and peace received through salvation by faith without any human merits; and the power for holy living which this salvation brings to the human soul. To this effect, we pray God that what follows may open their eyes to the real character, as God reveals it through prophecy, of the great papal domination which holds so many millions of souls in bondage. The prophecy says that he “shall magnify himself in his heart,” that he “shall be mighty” and “do his pleasure,” and “cast down truth”; but he shall succeed “not by his own power,” but by means of “craft” and through “dark sentences,” which may refer to the use of an unknown language. The twofold character of deception and antagonism to the truth is confessed in a curious document written centuries ago by the Catholic clergy. We do not reproduce it because it contains anything new or unknown, but because it is a candid confession made by high dignitaries in the Roman Church. Soon after the Reformation, Julius III, who had been, while he was cardinal, a leading member of the Council of Trent, finding that persecution in Catholic lands was not succeeding in destroying the new faith, called together, in 1553, in the city of Bologna, in Italy, a gathering of bishops to study the matter and make suggestions as to whether a new policy should be adopted or the old one retained. The result of the consultation was the document which we shall now quote at length. It was addressed to the pope, and was meant to remain absolutely secret, but somehow the hand of God has disclosed it for the benefit of the people. It was published in 1829 in a Protestant paper of Paris, France, Les Archives du Christianisme, pages 29–40, and reproduced in the Signal in 1890. The document is Latin, and bears the following title: “Concilium quorundam Episcoporum Bononiae congregatorum quod de ratione stabiliendæ Romanæ Ecclesiæ, Julio III. Pont. Max. datum est, etc. Bononiæ 20 Oct. 1553.” Here are the signatures: Vincentius de Durantibus, Episc. Thermularum Britannis; Egidius Falceta, Episc. Caprolanus; et Gerhardus Busdragus, Episc. Thessalonicensis. Following is a portion of this document: “It is perfectly true that Lutherans admit all the articles of the symbols of the apostles, of Nice and of Athanasius; for we should not deny (especially among ourselves) what we know to be true. These same Lutherans will admit no other doctrine than that taught by the prophets, by Christ, and by the apostles, and they desire that we all should confine ourselves to that extremely limited number of truths and practices which were accepted in the very time of the apostles or soon after them; they wish us to follow the example of those ancient churches, and to reject all the traditions of which it cannot be demonstrated as clear as day that they were given and taught by Jesus Christ or by the apostles themselves. Such are the errors held by our opponents. As for us, on the contrary, in harmony with the opinion of your holiness, we desire that all should believe and consider necessary to salvation all doctrines, traditions, constitutions, rules and ceremonies which have been up to this day successively introduced into our churches, be it through the fathers or the councils, or even by any individuals animated by holy zeal. . . . And although we cannot give any certain proof for it (for, between ourselves, we have no hesitation in confessing that we cannot prove what we believe and teach on traditions, and that we have on this point only a few conjectures), yet we recognize them as truth because the Roman Church so teaches. . . .” “This is not a trifling question, but a matter which concerns the prosperity and even the preservation of your see, and the preservation of us all who are members and creatures of this see. For in the days of the apostles (we must confess it here without disguise, but it must rest secret among us), and even several years after the apostles, there was no question of popes or of cardinals; it is a certain fact that the immense revenues appropriated for bishops and priests did not exist; temples were not built in such costly style; there were no monasteries and no abbots; much less were our doctrines, our laws, our present customs recognized; but on the other hand, this domination which we now exercise over the nations was unknown; yea, the ministers of all the churches, without excepting the Roman Church, cheerfully submitted to kings, princes, and magistrates. Let your holiness imagine what would become of us, if by some misfortune we should find ourselves thrown back into this first condition of poverty, humiliation, and slavery, and obliged to obey an authority foreign to that of the church. The question, then, as we have stated, is one of the highest importance. . . .” “By looking into this question closely, we see that the church has acquired the glory, the authority, and the power which it now possesses, only when it was led by bishops full of cunning and astuteness, who, under all circumstances, pressed the Cæsars to use486 their authority and their power to confer upon the Roman see the primacy and sovereignty over all the other churches. It seems that Boniface III, among others, obtained this privilege from Emperor Phocas. We see, furthermore, that the church took a greater development from the time when cardinals were created, when the number of bishops was increased, and when our numerous orders of monks and nuns were instituted. There is no doubt but that these popes, these cardinals, these bishops, these monks, these nuns, have by their cunning, by their additions to the teachings of the ancients, and by their practices and ceremonies, caused the church to deviate from the primitive doctrine which held it in poverty and humility, and have thereby acquired for it the credit and authority which she now enjoys. It is therefore necessary, in order to maintain the church in the same condition, to use the same means which placed it there. That is to say, we must use much shrewdness and astuteness, we must increase the number of cardinals, of bishops, of monks, and of nuns. . . .” “Your holiness must see to it that cardinals and bishops will grant ecclesiastical revenue to many laymen’s children. For this is a marvelous way, and the best of them all, to keep them in the faith. There are many among your people that would long ago have embraced the Lutheran doctrine, if they had not been held back solely through the motive that either they themselves, or their brothers, their sons, or their relatives receive revenue from the church. . . .” “This book [the bishops mention a certain book entitled Decretum, written by a Catholic, and beg of the pope to prohibit it] is indeed very dangerous and very damaging to your authority, although in a few places it seems to exalt it; for instance, it denies in several places that the pope has the right of adding the least thing to the doctrine Christ Himself has revealed to us, and which the apostles have taught. Thus it says in the section (canon) ‘Transfertum,’ etc.: ‘Those who preach anything else than what the apostles believed, put falsehood in the place of truth.’ Now this is an entirely Lutheran principle. What is it indeed that our opponents repeat unceasingly, except that it is not allowable to depart, not even by a hair’s breadth, from what used to be in the time of the apostles? And who is there among us who does not depart from it every day? Scarcely have we preserved in our churches any shade of the doctrine and of the discipline which were accepted in the time of the apostles; we have substituted for them a doctrine and a discipline entirely different.” (Certe vix umbram quandam retinemus in nostris ecclesiis ejus doctrinæ et disciplinæ quæ Apostolorum temporibus floruerunt, et prorsus aliam accersivimus.) The above frank and authoritative statement of facts by Catholic prelates to a pope, seems to us fully and absolutely to justify the application to the papacy of the prophetic charge that it did “cast down truth to the ground,” and that it should “cause craft to prosper in his hand.” The True Israel of God
By Clarence Santee
Personal Heart Work—The Great Temptations When Alone—The Invisible Companions The true Israel embraces all true Christians. The names “Israel” and “Christian” distinguish one class from all others. Men may call themselves either name, or both; but the fact, the experience, remains alone with the ones whom God has cleansed. This brings us to the heart experience as the basis of all Christian attainments. Church duties may become formal, and the family altar may lose its significance; but personal seeking of God alone can never be a form. As long as it lives in the experience, it is genuine. The child who, though angry and passionate through the day, turns on his pillow at night, as taught by a religious parent, and says a simple prayer, if he keeps up that custom through the short sixty or seventy years of his life, will see his sun set in a cloudless sky. Many years ago, I covenanted with a friend to repeat a verse of Scripture and repeat a prayer every day. I saw that person five years ago, and he told me that, though he had forgotten at times, the custom or habit had held him to the truth he believed. Without personal communion with God, no person can be kept from the plague spots of formalism, if he outwardly bears the name of a Christian. The experience when alone with God, is the experience written in the books of heaven. A recognition of His companionship, and a proper appreciation of it, will hold a man or a woman in the true course of obedience under all circumstances. That which we may not notice, the little things that we may not mark in our own experience, will form the basis for acceptance or rejection. The righteous will ask in surprise, When did we do these good things? Matt. 25:37, 38. On the other hand, the wicked will point to their deeds that were apparent to the world—great things—as reasons why they should command the favor of God. Matt. 7:22. He who recognizes and appreciates the presence of the angels of God as constant companions, will have such an exalted association that contact with fellow men will not change his outward life. It has been conformed to that of his angel companions, and the weaker contact cannot break the self-chosen chain that binds him. This companionship is the experience of every true Christian. “Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit? or whither shall I flee from Thy presence? . . . If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from Thee; . . . the darkness and the light are both alike to Thee. . . . When I awake, I am still with Thee.” Ps. 139:7, 11, 12, 18. There is strong assurance to the Christian in these verses, but they bring no encouragement to the one who changes his conduct according to the visible company that surrounds him. “The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them.” Ps. 34:7. “Thou God seest me,” is the strength of the Christian. It will hold his steps wherever he may go. SEVERE TEMPTATIONS WHEN ALONE
Christ endured His most severe temptations when alone. He was firm to principle, and gained eternal victory. To-day, some of the most subtle, and for this reason, the most overpowering temptations, come to men when they consider themselves alone, or where they will be free from detection. Satan presents a process of reasoning that seems plausible; and instead of gaining the victory, they allow the sophistry to take the place of calm judgment, and fall into the snare that they would not think of considering for a moment if some true, loyal church member were present. The decisions of conduct when swerved by no human influence, when entered into by the personal will and choice, will form the basis of the Judgment that all must meet. Eternal as Well as Moral
By J. W. McComas
“MASTER, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. . . . And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Matt. 22: 36-40. It would seem impossible for a man to hold to these two commandments,—love to God and love to man,—without holding to the law. Moral duties and precepts are such as grow out of the attributes of God; and says the Book, 1 John 4:8, “God is love.” Creative power is the distinguishing attribute of the living God; and as soon as there was a creature formed by hands of love, there sprang into existence a relation between the creature and the Creator, which was indicated in the words, “If ye love Me, keep My commandments.” John 14:15. The first table of the law points out our relation to God in love, and is moral, for it pertains to those intentions and actions of which right and wrong are predicated. The second table of the law, which points out our duty to man, sprang into existence as soon as Eve was created; for says Jesus, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Morally, then, we are bound to serve God, because He created us, and all the blessings we enjoy. He says, “If a man love Me, he will keep My words,” and “in him verily is the love of God perfected.” John 14:23; 1 John 2:5. In that life which has no end, man continues his love toward God; for “there shall be no more curse” there. Man lost this love by his own act of disobedience; but each may, by his own choice, through Christ be brought back into harmony487 with God's will, and again this love will come into his heart. Then his peace will be “as a river,” and his righteousness “as the waves of the sea.” Man is a candidate for a holy land (2 Peter 3:13), with a holy law in his heart (Rom. 7:12; Heb. 8:10), to worship a holy King (Isa. 6:3), to dwell with a righteous people (Isa. 60:21), in a kingdom of peace which shall have no end” (Isa. 9:7). Man's continued stay in the Garden of Eden depended upon his obedience and love to God. So man's return to that happy home will depend upon his obedience; for says the Word, “Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” Rev. 22:14. Christ Came to Save the Lost
“As Christ came to save man, high or low, rich or poor, white or black, are any to be treated with contempt? Satan has studied to lay in ruins the image of God, and through intemperance and sin obliterate all trace of His character in man. Christ came, clothing His divinity with humanity, that He might meet humanity and not extinguish humanity by divinity. He came to save the lost sheep, and became a servant in lowly ministry to lift up the lowly.” Will Not Fail to Deliver
By T. E. Bowen
SHALL we put trust for deliverance in the armies of the nations? The child of God is not pointed to this source for deliverance, although it may sometimes please the Lord to use an army to deliver His people from trouble. The psalmist wrote: “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright.” “The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee; send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion.” Ps. 20: 7, 8, 1, 2. The mighty God of Jacob is above armed forces of earth. He is not dependent upon the arm of flesh. Jacob was safer alone, that night of wrestling by the brook, than was his brother Esau surrounded by his band of horsemen with spears and weapons of war. Some trust in horses, David said, but he the rather chose to “remember the name of the Lord” as his refuge. T. E. BOWEN. The Focal Points of Prophecy
By George W. Reaser
Two Great Commissions in God's Eternal Purpose — Message of Glory Enlightens the Earth — The All-Comprehensive Theme For the full accomplishment of God's eternal purpose, two general commissions were given. The first, as we have seen in former articles of this series, was to Adam and Eve, and was repeated to Noah,—“Multiply, and replenish the earth.” The second was foreshadowed in the first gospel promise, Gen. 3:15, and finally, after the triumph of the cross, crystallized in these spirit-filled words: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” Mark 16:15, 16. The history of the human family has been written for nearly six millenniums since the giving of the first commission, and for nearly nineteen centuries since the second commission, laden with creative power, went forth from the lips of the Master. Since the fall, to accomplish the original purpose, all things must be re-created, including human beings and the earth itself. Of the members of the race who by development of character will fit into the eternal purpose, it is written, “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10); and of the restoration of the “first dominion”—the earth as given to Adam—it is foretold, “Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind” (Isa. 65:17). To complete the original plan of God for our world under the adverse conditions of sin, is a superhuman task. But the Creator is behind the scheme; and His word, His honor, and His ability to fashion all things according to the counsel of His own will, are at stake until His eternal purpose becomes an accomplished reality. Thus it is written, “He will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.” Rom. 9:28. In the carrying out of the gospel commission for the replenishing of the earth, men may become discouraged, and the Lord may bury many of His workmen; but He has laid help upon One who is “mighty to save.” “He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till He have set judgment in the earth.” Isa. 42:4. THE FOCAL POINT OF PROPHECY
If, since the fall of man, Jehovah has ever borne upon His heart the steadfast purpose of replenishing the earth with characters of righteousness, notwithstanding the counteracting influences of sin and rebellion, then the accomplishment of this very thing ought to be the chief theme, the focal point, of Bible prophecy. Doubtless all Bible students will agree that there are just two preeminent focal points of Bible prophecy,—one of these, the first advent of the Son of God, to make the completion of the eternal purpose possible; the other, the second coming of the Lord, to gather the entire redeemed family for the completed plan. All His holy prophets since the world began have foretold the second advent of “the last Adam”—the Head of the godly line—and the restitution of all things. Acts 3:19, 20. PROPHECIES ARE CONVERGING
Our understanding of Jehovah's prophetic word compels the conclusion that all lines of prophecy which reach their focal point this side of the actual appearing of the Son of man at His first advent, either have been fulfilled in the past, or are in actual process of fulfillment now, or will reach their climax within a very few years. This fact most emphatically declares that the Lord is about to complete His eternal purpose, in so far as the gathering of the subjects, by the preaching of the everlasting gospel, for the replenishing of the earth, is concerned. The completion of this work has apparently been long deferred. The enemy has repeatedly tried to defeat it altogether; but he can do no more than to annoy and delay. Thank God, he cannot defeat it. Even now, in our day, the living God has undertaken the superhuman task of finishing His eternal purpose, and the work will quickly be accomplished. “THE EARTH WAS LIGHTENED”
The prophetic description of the very last agency ordained of Heaven to complete the proclamation of the gospel, the final Pentecostal movement, is thus recorded: “I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.” Rev. 18:1. The world has never experienced a period of missionary activity to compare with our day. “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” Matt. 24:14. AN ALL-COMPREHENSIVE THEME
Upon the mind of the student who secures a mental grasp of God's eternal purpose, the fact gradually dawns that the theme is so comprehensive as to hold within its embrace all features, all essentials, and all details of the plan of salvation, as well as everything revealed concerning Jehovah's dealings with mankind, explaining all, clarifying all, wholly justifying God in all. His acts and words toward the righteous are all for the development of righteousness of character and of hope in them, and thus tend toward the completion of the plan. All of His dealings with the ungodly are either to persuade them to forsake unrighteousness and join the godly line, or—His drastic acts—to prevent them from defeating or too long deferring the completion of the plan. No true gospel sermon can get outside of or beyond this eternal purpose. All sacred history, and much of the secular history of the race, shows the grand, triumphal march of events toward its final, glorious triumph. All fulfilled prophecy, as well as the hand of God in history, should strengthen faith in the final completion of the great eternal scheme of Jehovah for our world. The fulfillment of all such prophecy as embraces the sum total of all that the human heart can long for beyond this mortal life, will be but the realization of this great divine plan, conceived by our heavenly Father before He formed the earth and created man. This mystery was kept secret from ages and from generations, “but now is made manifest, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith: to God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever.” Rom. 16:25-27. “Men Ought Always to Pray, and Not to Faint”
By Mrs. H. W. Cottrell
THESE words were spoken by Jesus, the divine Son of God, and written by Luke, the inspired evangelist and physician. Jesus Christ taught the importance of prayer, both by example and by precept. First by example. “And it came to pass, that, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, one of His disciples said unto Him, Lord, teach us to pray.” Luke 11:1. Doubtless the “one” who made this request was the speaker for the twelve disciples, who were almost constantly with Jesus; for when He responded, He taught “them” the beautiful prayer “Our Father,” which has come down through the ages as the model from which the human family, from the lisping child to the gray-haired sire, have taken their first lessons in prayer. The Man of prayer left an example of “all night” prayers and “a great while before day” prayers, which were offered in the secrecy of the mountain, the wilderness, or other solitary place, the sound of which was not for mortal ears. He prayed in the hearing of the people for those who believed on Him through His words, and also for those who should believe on Him through their words, to the end of time. He prayed for the sorely tempted and tried, as in the case of Peter. “And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.” Luke 22:31, 32. He prayed in Gethsemane in the hour of death, when His heart was breaking with the weight of our sins; and He prayed alone, because those who professed to love Him most were sleeping, although He had twice entreated them to watch with Him. One of our Saviour’s last audible prayers was for His betrayers and murderers, as He was fastened to the cross. It is said of Him who taught His children to pray, that “His ears are open unto their prayers.” 1 Peter 3:12. And He not only hears them, but “the prayer of the upright is His delight.” Prov. 15:8. So interested is the Lord in the prayers of His children that an angel, who said to Zacharias, “I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God,” was sent from that exalted position to answer the prayers of different individuals. The Lord has honored a number of His followers by having prayers that were offered by them recorded in His holy word. Not only the prayers of prophets, priests, kings,8 and ambassadors are in the list, but the one-sentence prayer of the poor, despised publican has a place among them. These, with the many wonderful accounts of answers to prayer, are among the “whatsoever things were written aforetime,” which “were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” Rom. 15:4. Of Him who spoke these words, the prophet says, “He shall not fail nor be discouraged”; and again, He “fainteth not, neither is weary.” Isa. 42:4; 40:28. Though the Son of God left the courts of heaven, clothed His divinity with humanity, and came to this earth to suffer, “the just for the unjust,” and “to give His life a ransom for many,” He knew no defeat. Each step of the way was victory-crowned, till He triumphed over death and the grave, and in the words of inspiration, “was caught up unto God, and to His throne.” Rev. 12:5. Now we hear the mighty Conqueror speak through the “angel unto His servant John,” saying, “I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” Rev. 1:18. “And let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Gal. 6:9. Vedantic Philosophy of India and Christian Science
By George F. Enoch
Striking Identity of the Two Religious Systems—Have We a Personality? This is the third article by Elder Enoch based upon that striking prophecy in the second of Isaiah which tells us that in the last days the people would “be replenished from the East” and become “soothsayers” and “please themselves in the children of strangers.” The replenishing in the religious field that is coming from the Oriental religions, the soothsaying that is entering into the religious life of this time, is truly remarkable. The article this week is particularly striking and very valuable in showing the entire identity between the old Vedantic philosophies of India and the modern claims of Christian Science. The teachings of the Vedas are a matter of record, and cannot be denied; and the absurdity of the claim of Christian Science to being something new in the world should be apparent to any one. EDITOR. PERHAPS the most striking and so far successful invasion of the West by the principles of the Vedantic philosophy of India is in the guise of Christian Science. It is true that this cult takes the name of Christ, and denies its identity with Vedantic philosophy; but a careful and unbiased examination of the two side by side will convince one that they have the same character and source. In this investigation, we must not confuse modern, degenerate, polytheistic Hinduism with the pure pantheistic philosophy of the Vedas and the Upanishads. The careful student of both philosophies must recognize that at bottom they are identical. That the readers of the SIGNS may compare these two systems, I will give a summary of each. The following are the fundamental principles of the Vedas. The famous Sanskrit formula which summarizes the philosophy in two words is, ekam advitiyam; that is, one without a second. This does not approximate the Christian monotheistic idea, but means that God is all, and that nothing really exists but God. The neuter Brahma is the only symbol that can express God, impersonal, destitute of qualities, the only Reality. All else, including the phenomenal world of which we are a part, is maya, or illusion; that is, does not really exist, is but as the dream of a disordered mind. There is in reality no such thing as evil, and sickness or disease, or death. India’s reverence is for pure spirit, an abstraction, and not anything material. We must not say “ourselves”—this is erroneous—but “myself.” “The highest knowledge is to find and know my inner and highest self; and that self is God—not a part of God, but God all-inclusive. When I have returned completely to this world soul—the highest self—then I regain my identity with it, and cease my round of births and rebirths, and am absorbed back into God.” The Upanishad says, “The jar is broken, and the ether that was in it, is one with the one and undivided ether from which the jar once seemed to separate it.” Each soul is the complete, indivisible Brahma. The universe does not exist. To know is to be. It is all I, I, I. These statements, and pages of others similar, can be found in Max Müller’s monumental works on the Upanishads, the commentaries on the Vedas, which have developed the Vedantic philosophy. CHRISTIAN SCIENCE JUST LIKE IT
Any one at all familiar with Christian Science and Mrs. Eddy’s “Science and Health,” on reading these principles, recognizes at once their identity. As the Vedas and the Upanishads were written from 1300 B.C. to 500 B.C., it is evident which one has the precedence. But lest some might not think this is so, I subjoin a few quotations taken from “Science and Health,” edition 1904, giving page and line: “Spirit, God is all.”—425 (20). “He is the only spirit.”—73 (11, 12). “God is the only mind.”—469 (13). “Man has no mind, but God.”—319 (19). “God is all, there is no matter.”—421 (17, 18). “Spirit—the synonym of mind—Soul, God is substance, that is, the only real substance.”—468 (24, 21). “God is all and there is no other consciousness.”—492 (25), 586 (9). “In reality there is no evil.”—311 (6). “All that we term sin, sickness, death, is comprised in a belief in matter.”—278 (28). “Matter is unknown.”—250 (7). “Mortal existence is a dream. It has no real entity.”—250 (7). “There is no reality in death.”—487 (8). “Objects cognized by the physical senses have not the reality of substance.”—311, (26, 27). “Sin is belief in matter.”—278 (28). “God is not a person.”—1891, page 605. On the flyleaf of the early editions of “Science and Health,” the following was found: “I, I, I, I, itself I,
The inside, the outside, the what and the why,
The when and the where, the low and the high,
All I, I, I, I, itself I.”
Who will deny the absolute identity of the foregoing principles of Christian Science with the Vedantic philosophy? How, then, are we to meet these subtle philosophies of the East? The writer has two suggestions. First, it is quite necessary to understand the difference between the pantheism of India and other pantheistic beliefs. The ordinary pantheism identifies the universe with God, or God with the universe, making every visible thing, God manifested, and the conception of God is that He is the sum of all. But Indian pantheism is spiritual, saying that every atom of the phenomenal universe is unreal, but an illusion, the real foundation of which is a divine, spiritual essence behind it. This divine essence, unseen, unknowable, impersonal, is God. For illustration, take a beautiful flower. First we have the bud, then the flower, with its illusive beauty and fragrance, then the ripened fruit. These are not God, or even a part of God, but are the sport or play of a great Conjurer that is the substratum of all. This substratum is called, by the Vedantist, God or thought or mind. ASSUMPTIONS AND ILLUSORY REASONING
The only way to overthrow this system is, not to grant the premises. The whole structure is based on false premises, assumption and illusory analogies. Grant either the Vedantist or the Christian Scientist his premises, and accept his false analogies, and you must go the entire way with him; for the reasoning from that point is the masterpiece of the great deceiver of the human mind. The entire argument centers in the idea of personality. Have we a personality? Has God a personality? If this is so, the argument is ours, and this “replenishing from the East” is seen to have its foundation on shifting sand.489 To discover the fallacy in the reasoning, we must hold the propagators of such doctrines to correct reasoning when they try to pass from the personal to the impersonal. There is no process of correct reasoning by which their absurd assumptions can be maintained. Personality, self-consciousness, is the highest conception of the human mind. It is the highest phenomenon known to us, and is the point from which we must pass to the infinite beyond, if we are to pass at all. Revelation comes in right at this point, and leads us upward, beyond the created universe to the most high God, who is still the highest personality. Here the source of all being reveals Himself by His name, I AM. This divine intelligence has in infinite perfection the qualities we find in our own heart, a living, personal, holy, loving God; one who sympathizes with us, to whom we can come in the hour of perplexity or grief, to whom we can cast every anxiety; a loving personality, who surrounds us with His personal solicitude and care, and in whose presence we shall eventually find eternal rest.