AND SPIRITUAL PHILOSOPHER. "THE THINGS WHICH ARE SEEN ARE TEMPORAL; BUT THE THINGS WHICH ARE NOT SEEN ARE ETERNAL." VOL. III. NEW-YORK, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1848. The Principles of Nature. THE THEOLOGICAL CONCEPTION; WRITTEN FOR THE UNIVER CELUM, THE RELATION OF JESUS TO THE HUMAN RACE. NO. 1. lution, or of convergence and divergence, of the same materials according to the same original principles, afford a sure foundation for the doctrine of a universal CORRESPONDENCE, as running in an unbroken manner through all creation, from the most ponderous globe which circulates through the veins and arteries of the great Universe, to the microscopic globe of blood which circulates through the veins and arteries of that lesser universe, the human system. All existing things that have attained to perfect organisms, together with their laws of movement and operation, are but reproductions of things which previously existed on a lower plane of development, and therefore IN VIEW of what has already been said, with some additional in all general principles correspond to them; and the same may considerations relative to first principles, we may clearly and be said of all things which ever have existed or ever will exist. philosophically determine the true relations in which Jesus We can not now farther dwell upon these points by way of stands to the Human Race. That our conclusions upon this illustration, nor is it absolutely necessary that we should do so, subject may have a broad and reliable basis, and may comport in order to establish the main position we have in view. Suffice with the teachings of universal Nature, it would be well for us it to say that the science of Geology teaches, to an absolute certo glance cursorily at the general order and system of progres-tainty, that previous to the introduction of man upon the earth, sive development manifested in all departments of the divine there were several distinct cycles or systems of material develcreations and operations. The laws governing the progressive opment. The first of these occurring after the solidification of unfolding of the Human Race will then be distinctly obvious, the earth's surface, was Crystalization, or the Mineral Kingdom. and the great lights of the world, of which Jesus was a special Succeeding this, and formed by a unity of its refined and diverexample, will assume in our minds their natural positions in the gent particles, was the Vegetable Kingdom. Next in the order, system of human affairs. It is especially necessary that we and formed on the same principle, was the Animal Kingdom, should pursue the independent course of inquiry which we have ascending progressively from the lower radiata, or plant-like proposed to ourself, in order that our conclusions upon the sub- animals, to the highest animal forms, or those faintly resembling ject before us may be unbiassed by the multifarious and con- Man. At the very apex of this whole system of formation, a flicting, and therefore, for the most part, necessarily erroneous being was unfolded, (no matter at present by what process,) theories on the same subject, existing in the theological world. uniting and generalizing within himself all the instincts, faculLet it be observed, then, that all material creation presents a ties, loves, perceptions and other qualities, which the whole progressive series of divergences and convergences. The inductive Animal Kingdom, in its progressive unfolding, had developed. mind will readily assent to the idea that in the beginning of the This being was MAN. Man was therefore the convergence or present system of universal formations, there was one infinite unity of the refined essenses of the whole Animal Kingdom, so Fount of chaotic materials. This was one undistinguishable, indi- widely divergent in its progressive growth from its parent and visible UNITY, containing the materials from which all creations, predecessor, the Vegetable Kingdom. By this harmonious comfrom the most stupendous to the most minute, were subsequently bination, preceding instincts become REASON, and human performed. That the all-wise and infinite Mind who acted upon sonal identity, being the ultimate of all material development, a this mighty mass of chaotic substance to unfold it into forms, combination of all essences and forces existing in the whole Uniwas (and is) also an indivisible UNITY, is an idea equally sanction. verse, and therefore not exposed to absorption by foreign essened by the intuitions of the expanded mind. Whatever complete ces, to enter into the composition of new entities,—is rendered creation, or system of creations, therefore, has been or will be capable of endless perpetuity, as it passes through its progressive subsequently unfolded, being an embodiment of the Love and spheres or cycles of refinement and expansion. Wisdom of the infinite and indivisible Mind which prompted and directed it, and being formed from the materials of the united mass, must necessarily of itself form a corresponding unity. But from the first Unity there was necessarily a divergence of parts that they might converge in other forms and relations, to form the second Unity, and so on through all subsequent movements. From the remotest depths of eternity, these progressive divergences and convergences, or these cycles of material formations and dissolutions, have ascended, until Man was formed as the Ultimate of all material creation, embodying within himself the refined essences and forces elaborated by all previous operations, and being physically an epitome of the whole Universe, which may be said to be his Mother, and spiritually of the Deity, who is his Father. These progressive cycles of formation and disso*Continued from page 388; VOL. II The materials of his being thus coming up through the progressive cycles of formation and re-formation, from the great chaotic Fount containing all materials, Man is not only the Head of the Animal Kingdom, but the Head of all material things. It is thus that God has placed him over the works of His hands; and being the ultimate of creation-the convergence of all diver. gences---it follows that whilst he is physically a child and image of the Universe, he is spiritually a child and image of the Deity. Moreover, it is obvious that as Man, or the great Human Kingdom, is the ultimate and highest of all material development, there can be no room for that diversity of species, or of the essential elements of individual constitutions, which is found in the inferior Kingdoms. One individual, therefore, is a general and true representative of the whole Race; and the individuals of the whole Race, mutually related as they are by parallel fa culties, loves, and interests, and therefore necessarily dependent tainty that these diverging elements would, after being duly upon each other, are as ONE INDIVIDUAL MAN. We have now refined and perfected, again converge, and form a more glorious discovered and established the basis upon which we must rest Unity, which would be a resurrection of Humanity from the all our reasonings relative to the position of the Human Race death which had befallen it. And as each individual, in his esamid other systems of creation, and respecting all things per-sential elements of spiritual constitution, represented the whole taining to the cycles of its progress. As we find the same material essences in the human race that we find in all subordinate and previous developments, so we find that the same law of convergence and divergence is here manifested---the only difference consisting in the superior degrees of refinement. When the Human Race, (which we have shown to be in principle one grand Man,) was a child, it manifested within itself all the interior unity which is manifested among the elements of material and spiritual constitution in the individual child. All the members of the social body were at peace with each other, and deliberate contention was a thing unknown. Thus united as a single Man, Humanity was allegorically named ADAM; and its interior unity and innocency were represented by the peaceful abodes of a garden called EDEN. But the unity of the race at this period, was only a unity of instincts and affections: it was not a unity of well developed faculties, for such did not then exist. But as the Race began to emerge from the period of infancy into adolescence, the intellectual faculties became gradually unfolded, and there was a corresponding desire to partake of the fruit of the tree of Knowledge. This desire sprang from the love or impulse principle of the human spiritual constitution, which is represented in the allegory by the figure of a woman called Eve. This desire to partake of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, is represented as being awakened to action by the promptings of a serpent, a figure generally used by oriental and prophetic writers, to represent wisdom perverted to subserve the purposes of selfish and spiritual pride, and its corresponding illegitimate domination. And now the process of divergence and disunity first commenced in the human brotherhood, before peacefully united. Owing to a difference of inherent constitutions and a diversity of local circumstances, the intellectual faculties in individuals and families take different directions in their progressive unfoldings. Different, and in a greater or less degree, necessarily antagonistic, conceptions of the Deity, of human duty and human interests, arose as a natural consequence. In the conflicting desires of each to have his own views prevail, and his own interests advanced, knowledge took the form of mere cunning, and was used as an instrument of deceit and oppression. Thus man lost the peaceful Eden of unity and love in whose fragrant bowers he had spent the days of his childhood, and wandered forth in the innumerable paths of progress, whose frequent intersections were necessarily the scene of discord and strife. This divergence of the Race, like the divergence or dissolution of parts or particles in all other bodies, is called a death. Thus Adam, or the infant Race, is represented as being told, "in the day thou eatest of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt surely die." For the consolation of Race, and individuals all differed from each other in their spe- In due time, therefore, a ran appeared in Jerusalem, answering all these prophetic expectations. This man was Jesus of Nazareth. In him, as we have already seen, the elements of humanity were perfectly united and harmonious, even as they had been in the great social Man, or Adam, in the Eden state. He is therefore called the second Adam, (1 Cor. xv: 45–47.) He stood at the very apex of the Human Race, uniting and harmonizing within himself all the superior qualities which the race had developed at that particular stage of its progress, and adding specific developments peculiar to himself besides,- -even as the first Adam stood at the apex of the Animal Kingdom, uniting and harmonizing within himself all the superior qualities which the Animal Kingdom had developed in its progressive unfolding, and adding other developments which distinguished him as MAN. As in Adam, the Animal Kingdom in its highest branch, had grown to Reason and Humanhood, so in Christ the Human Kingdom in its highest "BRANCH," (Zachariah vi: 12,) grew to Intuition and Heavenhood. As it was the office of Adam to subdue the Animal Kingdom, and make it subservient to the rule of Man: (Gen. 1: 26-28,) so it was the office of Christ to subdue the Human Kingdom, and make it subservient to the rule of Heaven; (1 Cor. xv: 24-28; Phil. 11: 9-11.) As in Adam, the elements of humanity dissolved, diverged, or died, so in Christ those elements converged, re-united and lived. Having thus personally transcended all mental and spiritual disunity or death, by coming into conjunction with the invisible and eternal realities of a higher world; and having thus the kingdom of heaven within him, as he promised that it should be within others, (Luke xvII: 20, 21,) he said on one occasion, "I am the But this death, as are all other deaths, dissolutions, or diver-resurrection and the life," (John x1: 25.) Standing at the highest gences of particles, throughout Nature, was absolutely necessary to a higher state of existence. Had not man partaken of the tree of knowledge, he would, it is true, have remained in his infantile innocency and unity, but at the same time in infantile ignorance, not knowing good from evil, as the allegory clearly implies. In reality, therefore, this death or divergence was not a fall of man, as a theology destitute of philosophy has represented it to be; but it was merely incident to the efforts of component parts of the Race to ascend to higher planes of individual and social life, which efforts, not being directed by a duly devel- a oped Wisdom, were thus widely divergent. And according to universal and eternal laws which we have seen exemplified in all departments of inferior creation, there was an absolute cer point of Humanity, he marked the extreme growth of Humanity at that particular stage of its progress. Humanity, whose gestative processes commenced when the fruit of the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil" was first eaten, and extended through all subsequent stages of development to full completion, had given him birth. He was therefore the "seed of the woman," and the "Son of Man," i. e., of Humanity, the latter being his Mother. And as in him the Earthy and the Heavenly were united, he is also called the "Son of God," the latter being thus in peculiar sense his Father; and "to as many as received him gave he power to become the sons of God," even as he was himself, (John 1: 12.) This manifests the only sense in which he could properly be called "the Son of God." As we have shown that the Human Race forms a united Kingdom in Nature, and that being composed of mutually dependent individuals of an identical species, it therefore forms, in principle, one grand Man, it is manifest that Christ, who was the highest member of the great Body, uniting in himself all the refined essences ascending from its other parts, was the Head, or Sensorium, or Mind, capable of taking cognizance of the condition of all other parts, and gradually pervading and controlling them by the subduing influence of a wise volition. See again the evidence that Paul understood these ideas, in his Epistles to the Romans, Chap. xii: 4, 5; 1 Cor. xu: 12-27; Eph. 1: 22; Iv: 8-16, and many other places. But this "Head" of Humanity had grown to the spiritual, heavenly, and therefore eternal, while still connected with the Body: therefore he will continue to be connected with the Body, (or the Race) and to exercise a subduing and directing influence over it, while passing through all spheres of future being, or until the whole Body is entirely subdued and united. This he will do by pervading and directing susceptible and suitable minds in this sphere, as shown in our chapter on the "theology of Jesus." He will therefore be the spiritual father of every subsequent Christ or Messiah that will appear upon the earth, and one of which, according to principles which we have laid down, will inevitably appear, either in the person of an individual or in a group, at the close of every great cycle of human change; and the close of one cycle we trust will occur in the nineteenth century. Whether Isaiah had this view of the Messiah's paternity when he prophetically called him the "everlasting father," (Isaiah Ix: 6,) we can not now take it upon ourself to say. We have thus given the views which have irresistibly flown into our mind, even, as we may say, when we were not seeking for them, concerning the true relation in which Christ stands to the MR. EDITOR: IMMORTALITY. My principal object in subscribing for the Rationalist, was to get some light, if I could, on the subject of immortality; but thus far, I am as much in doubt as ever. I can discover no evidence of its truth, from anything I have read in your paper, and I am confident I read attentively and with a sincere desire to solve a problem, which, the more I look into it, the further I am from a solution. Now you, Br. Fernald, are evidently a believer in immortality. I make no doubt of it. But why am not I? It is not because I do not wish to be, for I do wish it; but it is solely because I see no rational and satisfactory evidence of its truth. Let me give you, very briefly, my philosophy upon the mind, and if you will show me wherein it is wrong, you will remove my doubts, and at the same time make me your debtor for life. I regard the mind, or soul, if you prefer the term, as necessarily and absolutely dependent on our organization, and that without it, there is no mind or soul;-that as organization takes precedence of the mind in point of existence, the latter is the effect of the former-that as we have never known any manifestation of mind independent of organization, there is no good reason for supposing that the mind will exist beyond the organization, or after it is destroyed. Can you explain away these difficulties? If you can, do set about it, for it is not in my power to clear them up. Don't tell me, however, as Theodore Parker does, that the belief of immortality is natural, or innate, and therefore true. I know better. If it be innate, I ought to have it as well as he; but I have not got it, while he has. Then, again, if it was natural, every body would have it; but I am not, by a great many, the only DOUBTER. Human Race. The evidence which has led us to these conclusions has not consisted in the authority of any thing that has In answer to the above, we would say, that the difficulty here been written or believed concerning Christ, save those reliable statements exhibiting the spiritual unity and heavenliness of his presented is probably that which is most formidable in all minds character. All the evidence aside from this, upon which we tion of the doubter is, simply, that mind and soul are dependent who think philosophically of the soul's immortality. The posihave relied, has consisted in the eternal principles of Nature, or the law of convergence and divergence, representing life and tion is destroyed, the mind and soul are destroyed. Now, the on the material organization; consequently, when the organizadeath, manifested in all things. It is seen, however, that the conclusions derived from this independent process of reasoning, distinction between the material organization and the spiritual error in this reasoning is simply this. It is in not making any are precisely parallel to all the essential things that were prophe-organization. They are both material, of course, but one is so sied concerning Christ, and which were spoken of him by his most enlightened apostles, whom we may rationally suppose he taught, so far as possible, the true idea concerning his mission. The conclusions thus undesignedly harmonizing with the essential teachings of the prophets and apostles, are therefore, we think, doubly reliable. much finer than the other, that the terms spiritual and material prefer the terms inner and outer, we have no objection, though, seem necessary in order clearly to distinguish the two. If any from association, spiritual and material seem most appropriate, after once being clearly defined. the latter being the effect of the former. 3. We have never known any manifestation of mind, independent of organization, consequently, there is no good reason for supposing that mind will exist beyond the organization, or after it is destroyed. Now, then, we have several admissions to make with "DoubtAll great prominent doctrines that have ever prevailed in the er." 1. Mind and soul are dependent on organization. 2. Orworld, have had a germ of truth in them, and this is all that hasganization takes precedence of the mind, in point of existence, sustained their existence for any length of time. By the foregoing remarks it may be seen how much truth there is in the doctrines grossly and imperfectly named the "fall" through Adam, and the "regeneration" through Christ. The grosser accompaniments of those doctrines, such as the placating of the wrath of the "Father," who is "kind to the unthankful and the evil," by the vicarious sacrifice of a good and even Divine man, will scarcely need a formal refutation in the mind of any intelligent person, free from hereditary theological bias. [TO BE CONTINUED.] REFORMERS Whose lives are clothed with an aspiring enthusiasm, wonder why men do not come into their ideas of right sooner; and believers in progress are often puzzled by seeing men retrograding; but they have not learned that in the eternity a day and a thousand years are alike. Nor have they made use of the lesson taught by the decomposition of matter, in its passage from one development to another. CHARLES WORTH. is the great fact on which we predicate the immortality of the But, fourthly, the organization never is destroyed! And this soul. The outer and material organization is destroyed, but the inner and spiritual never. And it is for the want of this distinction that men-earnest and sincere men, are continually overlooking the great ground of future, individual existence. But now comes a great point of proof. Are there two organizations? and if so, what proof have we that one is destroyed, and the other is not? I cannot promise to make this so logically clear to doubters, as to free them from all doubt, because it is a fact which is not put forth in presumption, that the mind must grow up to something of an appreciation of its immortality, before it can fully comprehend the argument put forth to sustain No philosophical mind can object to this requirement it. |