Category: Audio Books

To the limited, finite vision, natural selection may appear to be the sole factor in the achievement of this end; but above and beyond this incidental fact of individual choice, which the intellect is able to detect, the omnipresent Spirit is all the while making for ends quite unperceived by the near-sighted, analytical mind. Nor does this universal order of manifestation cease when the human plane is reached. Evolution (evolution, the unfolding process) does not terminate in the conglomerate of disorderly elements at present recognized as “society.” There is a…

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In this simple act of renouncing personal self-interest for a more inclusive life lies the essence of growth and the key to the eternal life. The law of growth, then, is revealed in the tendency to open out, to expand, to abandon the old for the new, to cut loose from all that binds, restricts, hampers, contracts, enslaves, or limits, and to realize the free life of the Spirit. “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the voice thereof, but knowest not whence it cometh, and whither it…

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8.THE GROWTH OF SOCIETY. Undoubtedly the most important contribution of the nineteenth century to the store of human knowledge is the doctrine of evolution. We know now that from time immemorial the hidden things of the spiritual world have been coming forth into manifestation in the visible universe through an orderly process of unfolding. From a finite standpoint, everything appears to grow, to evolve, in accordance with absolutely exact, universal laws. The life of the individual is a growth.The life of the race is a growth.Our world seems to be…

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The most unchristian motives and sentiments freely masquerade under the guise of Christianity and the sanction of professed Christians. Murder, theft, revenge, lust, assume forms quite generally countenanced by civilized people. Their spirit in disguise permeates respectable society, although operating so insidiously that men are often led, almost unawares, into attitudes which they would abhor, were the exact nature of the principle involved more clearly evident. Society is far more seriously threatened by the spirit of anti-christ arrayed, like a “wolf in sheep’s clothing,” in the garb of conventional piety,…

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Is not the simple, undisguised principle of Christianity just as applicable today as when first presented? Why should not scholars, teachers, mechanics, business men and laborers, now manifest the spirit of Jesus and fulfil his command to make known the new life “and heal the sick”? Direct contact with men is necessary to successfully demonstrate the spiritual Principle. No individual can rightfully delegate his personal responsibility to ministers or charitable associations. The early Christians enjoyed practical immunity from disease; for the disciples then possessed the gift of healing. That power…

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Jesus declared: “The hour cometh, and now is, when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall ye worship the Father;” but “the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth: for such doth the Father seek to be his worshippers.” “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thine inner chamber, and having shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret.” “The Almighty dwelleth not in temples made with hands.” Yet we now have edifices, often stately and magnificent, consecrated exclusively to religious purposes; and…

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The whole attitude of Jesus was so remarkable that men have always been disposed to regard his life as apart from the world of actual human influences, an admirable ideal, indeed, but quite beyond the range of human attainments at any time. Yet he instructed his followers to conform in all particulars to his standard, and to realize in the concrete the very things he did. He taught them to love their enemies, and to exhibit that attitude in all their dealings with men; to “resist not him that is…

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But although we have no clear or complete account of the verbal teaching of Jesus, even the meager, fragmentary outline of his public career, given in the four Gospels, furnishes unquestionable testimony regarding the spiritual aspect of his life; on that point the story leaves little to be desired. If we seek to understand his recorded words in the light of the revelations of his life, we shall find it a sufficient commentary on them. He recognized and appealed to the Absolute or Infinite Self of every man, not its…

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It is far more profitable to cultivate his spirit of life than to try to ascertain the exact meaning he intended to convey in certain utterances which seem to us obscure, because of our unfamiliarity with the conditions under which they were spoken. As it was not his aim to establish intellectual beliefs, the terms he chose in which to illustrate spiritual principles, were such as came to hand most naturally. Whenever his hearers held traditional beliefs that did not involve moral wrong or conduce to hypocrisy, instead of entering…

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But the whole life of Jesus demonstrated the absolute freedom of Spirit and the impossibility of making it subject to forms.Jesus did not estimate men by their deeds, but by their motives and their receptivity to spiritual truth. The poor widow who cast a mite into the treasury, gave more than the rich who contributed liberally. Although the polished counterfeit outsparkles the rough gem, it does not deceive the connoisseur. Jesus saw in the uncouth peasant fishermen, Peter and John, and the detested tax-gatherer, Matthew, the crude material of divine…

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In seeking to impose forms of belief or action upon others, we are violating the spirit of Christianity, which insures absolute freedom of choice to every individual. In past ages multitudes were imprisoned or tortured for refusing to accept dogmas which have long since been discarded by all intelligent people; and while today, in civilized communities, such drastic measures are not resorted to as a means of suppressing heresy, there are still evidences of the same spirit at work in milder ways, seeking to restrain or define the scope of…

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Christianity is a spontaneous expression of the vital, creative Spirit, which cannot be confined in forms of any kind. As human consciousness develops, there is a steady progression from purely external, toward purely internal conceptions of truth. The untutored mind associates it largely with the exterior aspect of things facts, events and appearances. The educated mind of the conventional type commonly identifies it with opinions, beliefs, thoughts; but even those are only semblances of truth, not its absolute Substance. Manifestations of the Truth are not restricted to the Biblical record,…

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For centuries men have wasted their efforts in sectarian strife, because of the assumption that Jesus intended to inculcate a theological system or scheme of intellectual beliefs in some way essential to a realization of the spiritual life. Had his intention been such, he would most assuredly have taken care to deliver to the world the doctrines of this scheme in some definite, unmistakable form, so that they would have been intelligible to all men alike, beyond the peradventure of a doubt, instead of clothing his ideas, as he did,…

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Even the desire to prolong his earthly career until the precepts he had been inculcating in his disciples had become more firmly established in their lives as the spirit of prudence and policy, which too often dictates the course of moral and religious endeavors, would have suggested, did not induce him to abandon his sublime purpose. Instead of encountering the opposition of the Jews by publicly teaching in Judaea, he could easily have retired to some less frequented locality where, unmolested by his enemies, he might have instructed his disciples…

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7.CHRISTIANITY. As the light of this nineteenth century is reflected back over the historical narrative of the New Testament, the fragmentary incidents there recorded grow luminous with a suggestiveness which enables us now to restore, in its original perfection, the Christian philosophy of life, after it has reposed for centuries beneath the surface debris of traditional interpretations; just as the paleontologist is able to reproduce the complete likeness of some extinct species, by the aid of a few scattered fossil impressions. It was impossible for men to be conscious of…

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One finds in his orchard a wild, gnarly apple tree producing sour, unpalatable fruit. He cuts off the top, and grafts shoots of some choice variety on to the old trunk. The whole appearance of the tree is thereby altered. Henceforth it yields foliage and fruit of a new order. The wild variety does not develop into the cultivated, neither does the material consciousness grow into the spiritual; they are quite independent of each other. Not until one assumes the spiritual view-point, and begins life anew from its level, will…

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If, then, one is to satisfactorily determine or control his experiences, he must have access to the key to all experience, the basis of all that is thought or perceived the spiritual consciousness; for all definite mental states and thoughts are evolved from it, as are forms of matter from the ether. It is only from this subjective viewpoint that we are able to perceive the unity and true relations of objective phenomena. In proportion to the degree in which we realize this consciousness, are we able to work changes…

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The world in general still continues to assiduously pursue the clumsy, crude, roundabout, cart before the horse method of realizing ends, in spite of the magnificent example of Jesus and the early Christians, and the marvelous achievements that attended their adoption of the reverse method. “Narrow is the gate and straightened the way [spiritual consciousness] that leadeth unto life, and few be they that find it.” Jesus rejected the objective method in toto. He healed only such as were inwardly receptive to the Truth in a degree sufficient to enable…

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It is not sufficient to hold in mind and emphasize specific thoughts of good, definite personal ends, or objects of selfish desire. That is why so many who long to attain to the higher life go faltering, stumbling, and halting along, beset by all kinds of perplexing problems, apprehensive lest they shall fail to reach the goal. The spiritual consciousness is a soul atmosphere not one of many states of mind to be sought after, but the very mind substance itself, out of which grow all subjective states and their…

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In the spiritual consciousness lies the potency of the fulfilment of one’s desire, not only subjectively, but also objectively; for the subjective and objective factors in the case are blended together. “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” “All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye have received them, and ye shall have them.” To be actuated by this Spirit, is to…

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