CHAPTER VIII.

THE ADVENT OF JESUS.

The

The

The Third Great Step in the Evolution of the Spiritual Man. God which Jesus Proclaimed. - Intellectual Prodigies. Intuitional Powers of Jesus. — His Psychical Powers.- His Perfect Knowledge of the Laws of the Soul.- Modern Confirmations of the Truth of his Philosophy. — The Psychic Methods of Jesus. His Reason always in the Ascendant. His Perfect Moral and Religious Character. — Psychic Phenomena the Evidence of his Divine Mission. - Paley's Views. The Divine Heritage. — The Vitality of the Christian Religion.

THE

'HE third great epoch in the evolution of the spiritual man was inaugurated by Jesus of Nazareth. In discussing this branch of the subject, I shall not enter the field of controversial argument respecting his alleged miraculous birth or his resurrection from the dead. I leave that to the theologian who regards those questions as possessing vital importance from his point of view. From my standpoint they cannot be considered. Miracles can have no place in science; for they can neither be scientifically verified nor experimentally reproduced. I have thus far confined my observations to the records of such psychic phenomena as can be verified by experimental reproduction; and I shall continue to do so wherever the nature of the phenomena will admit of such demonstration. In the history of Jesus, however, there is much that cannot be specifically verified by experiment. His character and inherent attributes cannot be reproduced. We are not, however, without means

of scientifically verifying his history in that regard, as will be seen later in this work.

The phenomena which we are now called upon to consider differ in many essential particulars from those recorded in the Old Testament. The older prophets, as we have seen, were psychics who believed that they had the power to enter at will into tangible communion with God, and to receive from Him direct verbal communications. These phenomena, as I have pointed out, were identical with the phenomena of modern spiritism, differing only in the suggestion which gave character to the supposed communications. The God of the old prophets was, therefore, necessarily a reflection of their own personal characteristics. On the other hand, the God whom Jesus revealed to mankind was a conception so grand and lofty, as compared with that of the old prophets, that credulity has, in all the ages, been taxed in vain to identify the God of Abraham with the God of Jesus. This fact has been a stumbling-block to the sceptic or heretic for eighteen hundred years; whereas, when the facts are understood, they will be found to present the strongest possible internal evidence of the substantial truth of the essential portions of the historical part of both the Old and the New Testaments. Viewed as a series of psychic manifestations, the gradual improvement in the God of Israel corresponds exactly with the natural progress of that race towards civilization, and the consequent evolution of the human mind and soul. That there was a sudden step in advance, of infinite magnitude and importance, does not militate against the theory of the evolution of the spiritual man through psychic phenomena. On the contrary, it will be found to confirm and emphasize that hypothesis. The great step in advance which Jesus made was the result, not of a cessation of psychic manifestations, but of a radical change in their character. The conception of God which he evolved was not the result of verbal communications from

God, after the manner of the prophets, but was the result of the fact that he was endowed with the faculty of intuitive perception of the laws of the human soul.

In order to understand fully the position which Jesus occupied in the psycho-religious world, it will be necessary briefly to discuss the above proposition. In "The Law of Pyschic Phenomena " I have discussed it at some length, and space can be given here for but a brief outline.

History shows that from time to time there have been born into this world persons so exceptionally endowed by nature with intellectual powers in certain directions that they can be appropriately designated by no other term than that of "prodigies." The phenomenal manifestations of these prodigies, however, are usually confined to some one sphere of mental activity. Thus, there are musical prodigies, prodigies in art, in poetry, in mathematics, etc., but seldom has one of them been known to be exceptionally endowed in more than one direction. The salient characteristic which is common to all is that each one appears to be endowed with an intuitive perception of the laws of nature which pertain to his specialty. Thus, the musical prodigy intuitively perceives the laws pertaining to the harmony of sounds; the artistic prodigy intuitively perceives the laws of harmony of colors; the mathematical prodigy perceives by intuition the laws of numbers. This faculty when once developed absolutely transcends reason or objective education. Neither the one nor the other has any part or lot in the production of the phenomenal results. Fortunately we have the means of verifying this proposition. Thus, one of the most phenomenal musical prodigies the world has ever known was both blind and idiotic from birth.1 Obviously, therefore, neither objective reason nor objective education could have played any part in his musical development. Yet he was able when a mere child to improvise 1 Blind Tom.

excellent harmonies, and to reproduce a piece of music, once heard, with remarkable accuracy. Thus the proposition is scientifically verified that he had the power of perception of the laws of nature which governed his specialty; for there is no other way of accounting for the phenomena.

Again, the mathematical prodigy, Zerah Colburn, mentioned at length in "The Law of Psychic Phenomena,"1 before he was objectively able to understand the powers of the nine digits could instantaneously solve intricate arithmetical problems. He was investigated and scientifically tested by the ablest scientists of Europe, who bear testimony to his prodigious powers. His answers were given so promptly that calculation was out of the question, even if he had been educated in the rules of arithmetic, which was not the case. Again we have a scientific verification of the facts related of him, and of the proposition that his powers were the result of intuition, in this, that (1) he developed his powers before he had studied arithmetic; (2) his answers were instantaneously given; (3) his answers were always correct. The last was, of course, the supreme test, for the reason that if they had not been correct they would not have been remarkable.

Many other mathematical prodigies might be mentioned in this connection did space permit. Their phenomena are no more remarkable than those of prodigies in other sciences; but they are more valuable for purposes of generalization than any others, for the reason that they carry with them their own verification. Their answers, being accurate, demonstrate their powers of intuition; and they also demonstrate the general proposition that the soul of man possesses the inherent power, under certain psychic conditions not yet clearly understood, to perceive by intuition the laws of Nature.

This proposition conceded, it is easy to account for the 1 See also "Memoir of Zerah Colburn."

knowledge which Jesus possessed of those laws of Nature which pertain to the functions, powers, and destiny of the human soul. He had an intuitive perception of those laws, and his knowledge of them was undoubtedly as accurate as if it had been susceptible of mathematical verification.

At this point it will be asked: "What evidence have we that Jesus was endowed with that power of intuition?" This is a most pertinent question, and, could it not be clearly and logically answered, we should be compelled at this point to abandon all scientific methods of inquiry into this subject. Fortunately the proofs are at hand which will settle that question beyond all possibility of reasonable doubt.

In the first place, it must be remembered that Jesus was born and reared among a people who believed in and worshipped the God of Abraham and of Moses. Their ideas of God were based upon the purely anthropomorphic conceptions of the Deity which had dominated the race from Abraham down. His education, therefore, other things being equal, was calculated to inspire him with the beliefs of his ancestors. But other things were not equal. He was exceptionally endowed, morally, as he was intellectually and psychically. He was infinitely above his race in every attribute which contributes towards human perfection. He may or he may not have entered the psychic state in order to hold communion with God, as did the prophets before him. It does not seem probable that he so acted, for there is nothing in his history that points to that conclusion. the age of twelve he was able to dispute with the doctors in the Temple in his normal condition. But, even if he had entered the psychic condition for such a purpose, his conception of God would have been infinitely above that of the older prophets, and would still have constituted a mighty step in the evolution of spiritual humanity.

At