Theos-Talk Archives (September 1995 Message tl00597)

I don't think that everyone should interpret the Bible for themselves. I
think we should listen to the opinions of others and determine for ourselves
who might be speaking from a vantage point. If you hear an opinion from
someone you respect, you might be more likely to accept their view as your
own in hopes that in other ways you could grow more like this person, too.

>and as to Matthew 24:5
>
>I guess I should start with verse 4.
>JESUS answered "Take heed that no one deceives you"

A man currently living in Great Britain has taken excerpts of all he could
find of HPB's commentaries on the New Testament. His name is Spierenburg and
his book is called THE NEW TESTAMENT COMMENTARIES OF H.P. BLAVATSKY. I read
this book and when I looked to see if she had commented upon Matthew 24 she
had. She calls this portion "The Eschatological Discourse." Alongside of
Matthew verses she places Mark 13:3-8 and Luke 21:7-11 (or let's see, I
guess this is Spierenburg's doing) then Mark 13:13-23 and Luke 21:17-24 and
Luke 17:37. The New Revised Standard Version says 23-27: Then if any one
says to you "Lo, here is the Christ!" or "There he is!" do not believe it...
So, if they say to you, "Lo, he is in the winderness", do not go out; if
they say, "Lo, he is in the inner rooms", do not believe it. For as the
lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the
coming of the Son of man."

My own interpretation of this makes me think Christ will return as a
presence evident in all of life. Don't look for him to occupy one space,
but all space.

HPB says "Two things become evident to all in the above passages, now that
their false rendering is corrected in the revision text: a) 'the coming of
Christ', means the presence of CHRISTOS in a regenerated world, and not at
all the actual coming in body of 'Christ' Jesus; b) this Christ is to be
sought neither in the wilderness nor 'in the inner chambers', nor in the
sanctuary of any temple or church built by man; for Christ - the true
esoteric SAVIOUR - is no man, but the Divine Principle in every human being.
He who strives to resurrect the Spirit crucified in him by his own
terrestrial passions, and buried deep in the 'sepulchre' of his sinful
flesh; he who has the strength to roll back the stone of matter from the
door of his own inner sanctuary, he has the risen Christ in him. The 'Son of
Man' is no child of the bond-woman - flesh, but verily of the free-woman -
Spirit, the child of man's own deeds, and the fruit of his own spiritual
labour."

>From this passage I might say that perhaps you are looking for Christ in the
"wilderness" and perhaps that other people here are looking for Christ in
"the inner chambers." Both of these methods are to be avoided. What HPB
and Matthew are hoping is that each one of us begin the pilgrimmage to
control sin and matter (or body) and by crucifying the lower passions,
perform loving deeds which is another side to what you are proposing.
Loving deeds being the reaching out to the destitute on the street. This is
also spiritual labor in my mind, but too often what you propose falls on
deaf ears because the gap between you and that man on the street is too
large. Isn't it more sensible that the third and fourth graders share their
experiences in a meaningful way than to expect the college student to assess
and rectify the position of the infant?

In another post Daniel wrote:
>The biggest problem with teens today is that they do not respect,
>they do not fear, they do not trust the LAW.

Daniel,

Tuesday night our neighborhood held a community meeting at one of the local
schools where a mother and father who had founded an organization called
MARC came to speak to the "block captains." MARC stands for Mad Against
Rising Crime and it was begun as a protest sometime after the couple's son
lost his life to a gang-related shooting. She has since studied the gangs,
their behavior, and their whereabouts in the city. The husband and wife
presented their findings by slide show and "show and tell," and were asking
for any interested neighbors to join them by forming MARC local groups who
could either 1) do public speaking on the issue or 2) promote greater
awareness of the need in their area for citizen support.

Is this the kind of information you are seeking here? Wouldn't it be better
and easier just to read a newspaper? Why choose theosophists to hear this
tale of woe? There's a great bond within the Christian community to provide
this type of charity, with greater funds, and greater manpower to produce
change. We're only 5000 in this country and while social service is one of
the areas which our Theosophical Order of Service does encourage active work
in, it isn't a very feasible growth activity for "writers" and "students"
who are participating on the Internet.

I don't feel that it is necessary to share every detail of my life with
people who participate here, just perhaps what I am studying and learning or
thinking.

>Wake up! The sea of humanity does not share these grand
>illusions of the spiritual. I'll bet 99% of those that follow
>theosophy are well educated, well nourished, and far above
>the poverty line.

What is the percent of impoverished in the U.S.? Isn't it close to 15%?
I'm sorry, I have to plead ignorance here. A great heart is one that feels
the suffering of his fellow man and does everything within his power to
"wipe the tear from the sufferer's eye." Suffering does not end when poverty
ends and we are fed and clothed. Suffering takes place in greater than 99%
of the people on earth unfortunately. We say it is the human condition, but
by promoting a "unified" and "holistic" way of living, perhaps we can lift a
little of the world's karma on a one-on-one basis. I wouldn't try to
restrict this one-on-one to the world's impoverished as other's have
apparent need as well. Any skills which can be acquired by dealing with my
neighbor, for instance, have a far greater range of application by the force
of sheer numbers, than what I might be able to learn and apply to the
homeless, lost, wanderer on the street.