The Incarnate Purpose: Essays on the Spiritual Unity of Life — John Shaqi
The Incarnate Purpose: Essays on the Spiritual Unity of LifePercival, G. H.
Religion
The Incarnate Purpose: Essays on the Spiritual Unity of Life
Percival, G. H.
Christianity; Spiritual life
"The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost,
whom the Father will send in my name, he
shall teach you all things, and bring all things
to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said
unto you" (St John xiv. 26).
"When the Comforter is come, whom I
will send unto you from the Father, even the
Spirit of truth which proceedeth from the
Father, he shall testify of me" (St John
xv. 26).
"I have yet many things to say unto you,
but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit
when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will
guide you into all truth: for he shall not
speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear,
that shall he speak: and he will show you
things to come. He shall glorify me; for he[110]
shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto
you" (St John xvi. 12).
In these sayings, among very many others,
we have a declaration that the Spirit of Truth,
inherent in knowledge and proceeding from
God, the supreme Spirit of Life, accompanies
intellectual and spiritual evolution. Christ's
doctrine was not intended only for His
immediate followers and men of His own race
and time. Much that was to them incomprehensible,
much that by reason of their intellectual
limitations He could only teach by
implication, He referred to future generations
of men who might discover and appreciate by
the clearer light of after-days the intrinsic
truth of His doctrine of spiritual unity. How
has His appeal to posterity been answered?
How has His recommendation to test His
words by the Spirit of Truth been obeyed?
It is part of the function of scientific criticism
to examine emotional apprehension, and
to corroborate or disprove by means of evidential
testimony the truth in spiritual sup[111]positions.
The modern view of the universe,
which recognises for the elements of matter
an essential correlation of principle, may
thus be regarded as the rational endorsement
of Christ's spiritual apprehension of the intercommunion
and oneness of all forms of life.
That the bodies of men are reared upon and
sustained by innumerable other forms of life;
that every individual is in reality an aggregate
of others; that Nature rests upon the continued
intercommunion of all its parts; that
no one part has power and meaning save in
conjunction with others; that correlation is
the perpetuating principle of life; that the
very universe depends upon the mutual support
of its component parts—are scientific facts
that have their psychical counterparts in the
spiritual ideals contained in Christ's gospel of
love, and are emphasised in the symbolic
summary of His teaching—the rite of communion.
Let us now take the actual words supposed
to have been used on the occasion of the[112]
inauguration of this rite, and examine them
by the light of attested scientific facts:—
"Take eat, this is my body which is given
for you."
"This cup is the New Testament of my
blood which is shed for you."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account