Mystic Christianity; or, The Inner Teachings of the MasterTheosophy / New ThoughtMystical / EsotericEnglishShareMystic Christianity; or, The Inner Teachings of the Master 32Project Gutenberg #13143 - EnglishMoreVersion - 1 availableProject Gutenberg #13143LanguageEnglishEspañol‹Mystic Christianity; or, The Inner Teachings of the Master 4Mystic Christianity; or, The Inner Teachings of the Master 5Mystic Christianity; or, The Inner Teachings of the Master 6Mystic Christianity; or, The Inner Teachings of the Master 7Mystic Christianity; or, The Inner Teachings of the Master 9Mystic Christianity; or, The Inner Teachings of the Master 11Mystic Christianity; or, The Inner Teachings of the Master 1Mystic Christianity; or, The Inner Teachings of the Master 13Mystic Christianity; or, The Inner Teachings of the Master 15Mystic Christianity; or, The Inner Teachings of the Master 17Mystic Christianity; or, The Inner Teachings of the Master 18Mystic Christianity; or, The Inner Teachings of the Master 19Mystic Christianity; or, The Inner Teachings of the Master 21Mystic Christianity; or, The Inner Teachings of the Master 23Mystic Christianity; or, The Inner Teachings of the Master 24Mystic Christianity; or, The Inner Teachings of the Master 26Mystic Christianity; or, The Inner Teachings of the Master 28Mystic Christianity; or, The Inner Teachings of the Master 30Mystic Christianity; or, The Inner Teachings of the Master 31Mystic Christianity; or, The Inner Teachings of the Master 32Mystic Christianity; or, The Inner Teachings of the Master 33Mystic Christianity; or, The Inner Teachings of the Master 35Mystic Christianity; or, The Inner Teachings of the Master 36Mystic Christianity; or, The Inner Teachings of the Master 38Mystic Christianity; or, The Inner Teachings of the Master 40Mystic Christianity; or, The Inner Teachings of the Master 41Mystic Christianity; or, The Inner Teachings of the Master 42Mystic Christianity; or, The Inner Teachings of the Master 43Mystic Christianity; or, The Inner Teachings of the Master 44Mystic Christianity; or, The Inner Teachings of the Master 47Mystic Christianity; or, The Inner Teachings of the Master 51Mystic Christianity; or, The Inner Teachings of the Master 52›The Christian Creed.Mystic Christianity; or, The Inner Teachings of the Master 32ListenPlay this chapter in spoken English.Save chapterListen to chapter1There are three creeds recognized by the Christian Church--the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. Of these, the first two are commonly used, the third being not so well known and being seldom used. 2The Apostles' Creed, which is the most commonly used, is believed (in its present form) to be of later origin than the Nicene Creed, and many authorities believe it to be a corrupted rendering of the original declaration of faith of the Early Christians. It is as follows: 3"I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he arose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting." 4The Nicene Creed was drawn up and adopted by the Council of Nice in the year A.D. 325. As originally adopted it ended with the words "I believe in the Holy Ghost," the present concluding clauses being added by the Council of Constantinople in A.D. 381, excepting the words "and the Son," which were inserted by the Council of Toledo, A.D. 589. It is as follows: 5"I believe in one God, the Father, Almighty, Maker of Heaven and earth, and all things visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of his Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made; who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man, and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; he suffered and was buried and the third day he rose again according to the scriptures and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father; and he shall come again with glory to judge both the quick and the dead, whose kingdom shall have no end. And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life, who proceedeth from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and Son is worshipped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets; and I believe in one catholic and apostolic church; I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins, and I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come." 6Let us now briefly examine the principal statements of these creeds, which were compiled centuries after Jesus' death, viewing them by the light of Mystic Christianity. 7"I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and all things visible and invisible."--(Nicene Creed.) 8The form of the above fundamental principle of Christian belief is taken from the Nicene Creed, which is somewhat fuller than the similar declaration in the Apostles' Creed. It requires no comment. It is a statement of belief in a One Creative Power, from which all things have proceeded. There is no attempt made to "explain" the nature of the Absolute, or to endow it with any of the human attributes which theologians have delighted in bestowing upon the One. It merely asserts a belief in the existence of One Supreme Being--which is all that is possible to man--all else is ignorant impertinence. 9"And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost."--(Apostles' Creed.) 10"And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of his Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father."--(Nicene Creed.) 11In this declaration, the belief in the Divinity of Jesus is made. The Apostles' Creed shows the cruder conception, rather inclining toward the perverted idea of the conception of the Virgin by the aid of the Holy Ghost, similar to the origin of the hero-gods of the different religions in which the father was one of the gods and the mother a woman. But the Nicene creed gives at least a strong hint of the mystic teachings. It speaks of Him as "begotten of his Father"--"begotten, not made." The expressions, "God of God; Light of Light; very God of very God," show the idea of identical spiritual substance in the Spirit. And then the remarkable expression, "being of one substance with the Father," shows a wonderful understanding of the Mystery of The Christ. For, as the mystic teachings show, Jesus was a pure Spirit, free from the entangling desires and clogging Karma of the world. Identical in substance with the Father. "The Father and I are one," as He said. Is there anything in the Orthodox Theology that throws such light on this subject as is shed by Mystic Christianity's teaching regarding the nature of the soul of Jesus? 12"Born of the Virgin Mary."--(Apostles' Creed.) 13"Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man."--(Nicene Creed.) 14The Nicene Creed here gives a surprisingly clear statement of the Mystic teachings. "Who for us men and our salvation came down from heaven" shows the purpose of the incarnation. "Came down from heaven" shows pre-existence in the bosom of the Absolute. "And was incarnate" shows the descent of the Spirit into the flesh in the womb of Mary. "And was made man" shows the taking on of the physical body of the infant in the womb. Does not the Mystic teaching give a clearer light on this statement of the Creed? 15"Was crucified, dead and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead."--(Apostles' Creed.) 16"He suffered and was buried, and the third day he rose again according to the scriptures, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father."--(Nicene Creed.) 17The "descent into hell" of the Apostles' Creed of course meant the passing to the place of disembodied souls--the lower Astral Plane. Even the orthodox teachers do not now pretend that the term "hell" meant the place of torture presided over by the Devil, which theology has invented to frighten people into the churches. "The third day he arose from the dead" (and the corresponding passage in the Nicene Creed) refers to the appearance in the Astral Body--the return from the Astral Plane in which He had sojourned for the three days following the crucifixion. "And ascended into heaven"--this passage shows the belief that He returned to the place from which He came, for the Nicene Creed has stated that he "came down from heaven and was incarnate ... and was made man." 18The passage in both creeds stating that He then took his place "on the right hand of the Father" is intended to show that He took the place of the highest honor in the gift of the Father. The mystic teachings explain this by showing that The Christ is separated from The Father by but the most ethereal intervening of spiritual substance, and that He is a Cosmic Principle second in importance only to the Father. Truly this is the place of honor on "the right hand of the Father." 19"He shall come to fudge the quick and the dead." 20In this passage we see the intimation that not only with the "quick" or living people is The Christ concerned, but also with the "dead," that is, with those who "passed out" before and after His time and who have passed on to the Astral World, as we have explained in this ‹Previous chapterMystic Christianity; or, The Inner Teachings of the Master 31Next chapterMystic Christianity; or, The Inner Teachings of the Master 33›Similar passagesBy tradition and source labelFind similarCompare selectedCompare with similarAsk Deep ThoughtSelect passages to search for parallels.Tap any verse to select it, then compare selected passages or ask Deep Thought. Public domain in the USA