Religion Defined.

Religion is the conduct of life, the science of theology reduced to the art of living. Theology is of the intellect—is masculine; Religion is of the love principle—feminine. Knowledge goes before, with his lamp, and discovers the path; whilst Love, with her warm admonitions and aspirations, urges forward in the prosecution of it. Their twin influence in harmonious action is wisdom, and the religious life the result.

In this life and throughout eternity, man is and will be surrounded with innumerable relationships, which it will be to his eternal advantage to properly maintain. He has also got a certain journey to pursue and object to achieve, which is the life-work assigned to him. In other words, man possesses a number of powers and faculties, each having a certain definite natural function; and the proper exercise of these, and their infinite development, constitutes religion and duty. Man, therefore, serves God by serving himself, and helping his brother to do the same. What, then, is our guide in matters of religion? Why, theology, or a knowledge of man and everything else in the universe, as far as can be ascertained, and of the proper relations that should subsist between man and every thing and condition. The very elements exist religiously or irreligiously, and it will be to man's safety and happiness to maintain a proper relation between one form of matter and another.

But man's knowledge is not perfect, nor is his organisation harmonious; consequently, he neither knows what is right in all cases, nor has he the desire or power to achieve it. This accounts for man's present religious state. He commenced at the foot of the ladder of human existence. The creative power has been trying to page 46 make man from the time the atoms first congregated themselves into the prophecy of a future world which we now inhabit, and a perfect man has not yet been made. A lower form or manifestation of life preceded a higher, till organisation became adapted to the unfolding of those principles which constitute the human mind. Some of these are only latent now, whilst others monopolise all life's powers and energies. Religion, civilisation, and other forms of mental action are, and have been at all times, in exact harmony with the development of the brain and physical temperaments. The base of the brain was developed first: man lived between his ears and behind his eyes, hence to defend himself, provide for himself, and look out for gratifications and dangers, was all he did, or could be expected of him. But the mental tree grew, in accordance with its inherent capabilities, and in course of time the social nature came into action, the perceptive brain collected and treasured up experiences, the constructive principle manipulated and applied. Rude ornaments were the work of the lateral brain, and thus through many ages and successions of tribes, the steady growth of brain and refinement of texture prepared the way for the religious life long before it was possible for such to exist. The same law holds good at the present day. Man's consciousness of things seen and unseen, and their infinite adaptations, is gradually increasing, and differs in every two individuals. There can be no harmony of action without harmony of organisation, and no happiness either; hence this view of man's religious position not only accounts for the diversities in the religious history of the human race, but offers the highest inducement to a well-regulated and progressive life, and visits with certain penalty every deviation from the normal rule of functional action. There is no vicarious atonement, no mysterious and special means of salvation. If you would improve your spiritual circumstances, you must adopt the means within the reach of all, of improving the conditions upon which a higher life depends. Our religion, then, is one of every-day life; its Argus eyes penetrate deep into the motive and use of every act; it is the effort of the human mind to find out the will of God respecting all things, and the resolute and loving determination to live in accordance therewith.

The angel element in man comes through his coronal brain. When that is well represented, the moral and spiritual elements exist in the man, and he is capable of actions and experiences that constitute the religious life. Man is therefore naturally a moral, spiritual, and religious being; and instead of having fallen from that state, has all the time been approaching nearer to it. Blunders and shortcomings are a necessity in man's existence; it is through these that we by experience improve. Evil is comparative good, and the page 47 greatest good possible under the circumstances. Necessity is the parent of genius. Reaction of animal excess often turns the face of the soul towards repentance, and under the guidance of other faculties. Extremes gradually exhaust themselves, and religion consists in reducing to their proper limits all excesses and perversions, and giving those powers the lead that ensure progress and harmony. True religion must, then, be the death blow to existing rites and ceremonies. True religion is not a mystic rite, but a stern reality, based in science and regulated by intelligence. The human soul can be incarnated and successfully matured, even as the gardener improves his fruits and the farmer developes commendable qualities in his stock. The means of salvation and success are amply within the reach of man, if he had only the wisdom to apply them. This wisdom, and this application of it, constitutes the only redeemer, and the only salvation that can shield the human race from the consequences of disobedience.

But Faith, it will be said, is an element of religion. True, and Hope, her sister also, with Veneration as their chieftain and leader. These are the highest faculties of the mind; and when wedded to intelligence, and cultivated in harmony therewith, constitute the strongest intellect, and give the greatest harmony of life, certain progress and permanent happiness. But look at the uncultivated and perverted action of this portion of the mind. How strongly it manifests itself throughout the whole human family, from the fetish worshipper to the fashionable churchgoer. Without intelligence to direct these holy sentiments, their possessors are led to suppose that God desires worship in the form of personal attentions; that faith is a credulous belief in old cabalistic records and traditional stories, and that Hope must, in orthodox fashion, look out for a future inheritance replete with gold-gems and precious stones.

But in spite of man's perversions, the purposes of the Creator have been so far carried out, and this same moral brain has been instrumental in raising man hitherto. Even granting that it originates nothing, yet it gives us a consciousness of what exists. Veneration gives a consciousness of the sacred, the holy, and the superior in position and condition. Under the mellowing influence of this sentiment, the exercise of every function is sacred—all created for holy purposes, and every act is one of worship; the law of use governs the desires and passions, and a deathless aspiration exists for the sacred, holy, and pure; and the cry of the devout soul is, "Nearer, my God, to thee." Through this glorious faculty all men feel the universal fatherhood of God, and through it, the Almighty Parent leads all his children to himself.

And faith is necessary too. The intellect explores the arcana of page 48 the future and firmly lays hold of the eternal principles that satisfy the logical reason; but these are not proved by external evidences; hence, there is a moral eye, which from the faint glimmerings of partially developed truths, waits in trust for the result in the future. How beautiful are the adaptations of man to his spiritual condition, and what sublime causes for gratitude are found, the more deeply the mercies of Divine providence are investigated!

But what of prayer? It has been assumed by the religious world, that constant personal prayer is compatible with man's duty; but from our remarks on theology, it will be perceived, that to make any special effort on any one's behalf, so as to answer prayer, is incompatible with the nature of God. Man has got faculties which enable him to perform prayer after a thousand different fashions, chiefly dictated by his policy, cupidity, and selfishness; and in some temperaments, by a pure desire and aspiration after supreme conditions. It cannot be denied that many minds get into the habit of prayer, and derive pleasure and benefit therefrom, for there is at all times pleasure in the exercise of a faculty; but experience on this and other spheres, affirms that the highest exercise of the spiritual nature, is in the thirsting aspiration for the better things of which it makes the possessor conscious, and a desire to use the right means to accomplish the end. It must be borne in mind that the ignorant and superstitious derive equal satisfaction, comparatively, from their rude and idolatrous worship, with their more cultivated brethren who use a more refined ceremonial; hence, the fact that there is a pleasure in it, is no argument as to its being a normal and ultimate act of the mind. But persons will come forward and declare that prayer has been answered. Yes, truly it has, and let us explain how. These glorious faculties are the "Jacob's ladder" upon which angels ascend and descend to the human soul, and it is through them that all inspirations are received, and communion carried on with the spiritual world and its inhabitants. The action of the spiritual brain is a telegraph message to the inner life, the same as the eyes send a querying glance towards the external world. In families of spiritualists it is quite common for even the unexpressed questionings and desires of individuals to be answered by guardian spirits, through the medium present; and I believe that many noted individuals who have been engaged in benevolent works, and had their prayers answered in furtherance of their aims, were merely instrumentalities carrying out the schemes and purposes of higher intelligences; hence prayer, though directed to God, was a means of communication with them. This higher dome of the living temple of God in the human soul, is the greatest of all blessings vouchsafed by a loving parent to his children; and the greatest and grandest page break mission that could be inaugurated amongst men would be to make them conscious of the privileges they thus enjoy, and teach them to use the same aright. May we all as individuals often repair to this upper sanctuary, and ensure that mental harmony and influx of wisdom which is essential to the spiritual growth and well-being of all; and, as a practical suggestion, there is no better method than the old one of two or three meeting together in the name of truth, forming circles of love and wisdom, recipients of blessings from the higher Brotherhoods.

We will dismiss the subject of Religion with a few controversial remarks. Religion is not a bribe whereby to purchase God's favour, as artificial religionists seem to imply, but the legitimate exercise of man's powers for his own development. Man is naturally a religious being, and it is his nature to manifest it more and more. Hence, he is not a child of darkness, wrath, or of "the Devil," but of the Divine Father, and his upward struggles from the beginning prove his pedigree. Man may for a time be lost to his own interests, but when he returns to himself and his own interests, he returns to God. God saves man through man, as each brother and sister is a missionary to the lower grades. Our joint capacity through eternity is that of student and teacher, quick to learn, apt to impart. Self-reliance, or the use of those powers within us, is duty to God and our highest service. Compared with God's simple and efficient method, the monstrous and impudent demands and postulates of priestcraft appear in all their hoary deformity. We need not dwell on a subject the details of which must be exceedingly annoying to our brothers who feed their souls on ashes from the altar of traditions and superstitions. Heaven speed the day when all such misdirected religious effort shall cease, and when humanity will be recognised as one great religious body, with a unity of aim and object, to the encouragement and education of all, and the exclusion of none.