(Editor's note: During modern times there has been much argument
concerning the authenticity of the Bible. Material science has
been taught in our high schools and colleges, and there has arisen
in the minds of inquiring students a demand for some correlation
between orthodox Biblical teachings and the discoveries of science.
The casual observer can find no satisfactory reconciliation, but
to the deeper student, there is possible a logical correlation
between the findings of science and the Holy Scriptures. This
is the first of a series of articles in which the Rays will present
such a correlation. The information has been compiled from the
writings of Max Heindel, a trained clairvoyant and investigator
of the invisible worlds. He did not claim to give all of the truth
concerning any of the subjects treated, it being generally accepted
that there are seven valid interpretations for every universal
truth. He simply offered certain explanations and interpretations
which will stand the test of logic and unbiased investigation,
as well as provide a basis for a broader understanding and deeper
appreciation of the Scriptures. It is incumbent on us to present
them to the public, believing that they will fill a real need
in bridging the gap between science and religion. This information
is available in a more extended format, including questions and
answers, through an online correspondence course, found on this website, which is available to
anyone who desires it.)
There was a time, even as late as Greece, when Religion, Art, and
Science were taught together in the Mystery Temples, but it was
necessary to the better development of each that they should separate
for a time.
Religion held sole sway in the so-called "dark ages."
During that time it bound both Science and Art hand and foot.
Then came the period of the Renaissance and Art came to the fore
in all its branches. Religion was strong as yet, however, and
Art was only too often confined solely to the service of Religion.
Last came the wave of modern Science, and with an iron hand it
subjugated Religion.
It was a detriment to the world when Religion shackled Science.
Ignorance and superstition caused untold woe; nevertheless, man
then cherished a lofty spiritual ideal. He hoped for a higher
and better life. Therefore, a state of agnosticism and materialism
could not continue. Reaction must set in, for if it should not,
anarchy would rend the Cosmos. To avert such a calamity, Religion,
Science, and Art must reunite in a higher expression of the Good,
the True, and the Beautiful than had been achieved before the
separation.
A spiritual religion, however, cannot blend with a materialistic
science any more than oil can mix with water. Therefore, Science
must be spiritualized and Religion made scientific.
In order to study the Bible intelligently, it is essential that
one approach it with an open mind. Fixed, preconceived views of
the Scriptures in their generally accepted versions as being the
only true and inspired Word of God, infallible, etc., are clouds
which at the outset blind one to the real illumination that may
come from careful, unprejudiced study. There are, however, hidden
beneath the interpolations, mistranslations, and other errors,
pearls of truth for which it behooves every earnest student of
life and being to seek, and if certain important facts are kept
in mind as one studies, new light and understanding will be the
reward.
In the first place let us remember that the words of the Hebrew
language, particularly the old style, run into one another and
are not divided as are those of our language. Add to this that
there is a custom of leaving out vowels from the writing, so that
in reading much depends upon where and how they are inserted,
and it will be seen how great were the difficulties to be surmounted
in ascertaining the original meaning. A slight change may entirely
alter the significance of almost any sentence.
ln addition to these great difficulties, we must also bear in
mind that of the forty-seven translators of the King James version
(that most commonly used in England and America), only three were
Hebrew scholars, and of those three, two died before the Psalms
had been translated! We must still further take into consideration
that the Act which authorized the translation prohibited the translators
from any rendition that would greatly deviate from or tend to
disturb the already existing belief. It is evident, therefore,
that the chances of getting a correct translation were very small
indeed.
Nor were conditions much more favorable in Germany, for there
Martin Luther was the chief translator and even he did not translate
from the original Hebrew, but mainly from a Latin text. Many of
the versions used in Continental Protestant countries today are
simply translations, into different languages, of Luther's translation.
True, there have been revisions, but they have not greatly improved
matters. Moreover, there are a large number of people in this
country who insist that the English text of the King James version
is absolutely correct from cover to cover, as though the Bible
had been originally written in English, and the King James version
was a certified copy of the original manuscript. So the old mistakes
are still there, in spite of the efforts which have been made
to eradicate them.
lt must also be noted that those who originally wrote the Bible
did not intend to give out the truth in such plain form that he
who ran might read. Nothing was farther from their thoughts than
to write an "open Book of God." The great seers who
wrote the Zohar* are very emphatic upon this point. The secrets
of the Thorah were not to be understood by all, as the following
quotation will show:
"Woe to the man who sees in the Thorah [the law] only simple
recitals and ordinary words! Because, if in truth it contained
only these, we would even today be able to compose a Thorah much
more worthy of admiration. But it is not so. Each word of the
Thorah contains an elevated meaning and a sublime mystery. ...The
recitals of the Thorah are the vestments of the Thorah. Woe to
him who takes this vestment of the Thorah for the Thorah itself!...The
simple take notice of the garments and recitals of the Thorah
alone. They know no other thing. They see not that which is concealed
under the vestment. The more instructed men do not pay attention
to the vestment, but to the body which it envelops."
ln the preceding words the allegorical meanings are plainly implied.
Paul also unequivocally says that the story of Abraham and the
two sons whom he had by Sarah and Hagar is purely allegorical
(Gal. 4:22-26). Many passages are veiled; others are to be taken
verbatim. As in a field sown with potatoes there are not only
these vegetables, but also the soil in which they are hidden,
so in the Bible the pearls of occult truth are hidden in what
are often hideous garments.
The occultist who has fitted himself to possess these pearls has
received the key, and sees them plainly. To others they remain
obscure until they also have worked for that key. Thus, while
the story of the wanderings of the children of lsrael and the
dealings of a certain God with them is partially true, there is
also a spiritual significance that is far more important than
that material history. Even though the Gospels contain the great
outlines of the life of an individual called Jesus, they are formulas
of initiation showing the experiences which everyone must eventually
pass through on the way to the truth and the life.
The secrecy regarding these deep matters and the invariable use
of allegories where the mass of the people were permitted to come
in contact with occult truths will also be apparent from the practice
of Christ, who always spoke to the multitude in parables, afterward
privately explaining to His disciples the deeper meaning contained
therein. On several occasions He imposed secrecy upon them in
regard to such private teachings.
Paul's methods are also in harmony with this, for he gives "milk,"
or the more elementary teachings, to the "babes" in
the faith, reserving the "meat," or deeper teachings,
for the "strong"-those who had qualified themselves
to understand and receive them (1 Cor. 3:1-3)
The Jewish Bible was originally written in Hebrew, but we do not
possess one single line of the original writings. As early as
280 B.C. the Septuagint, a translation into Greek, was brought
forth. Even in the time of Christ there was already the utmost
confusion and diversity of opinion regarding what was to be admitted
as original and what had been interpolated.
It was not until the return from the Babylonian exile that the
scribes began to piece together the different writings, and not
until about 500 A.D. did the Talmud appear, giving the first text
resembling the present one, which, in view of the foregoing facts,
cannot be perfect.
The Talmud was then taken in hand by the Masoretic School, which
from 590 to about 800 A.D. was principally in Tiberias. With great
and painstaking labor, a Hebrew Old Testament was produced which
is the nearest to the original we have at the present time.
Thus, though we may not contend for the divinity of the Bible,
or hold that it is the Word of God from cover to cover, we recognize
the fact that it is a poor translation of the originals and that
there are many interpolations which have been inserted at different
times to support various ideas; nevertheless, the very fact that
so much truth has been massed into such a small volume is a source
of constant wonder to the occultist, who knows what the Book really
is and has the key to its meaning. Let us then remember that truth
is many-sided and eternal; the quest for truth must also be all-embracing
and never-ending.
We may liken truth to a mountain, and the various interpretations
of that truth to different paths leading up to the summit. Many
people are traveling along all of these paths and every one, while
he is at the bottom, thinks his path is the only one; he sees
only a small part of the mountain, and may therefore be justified
in crying to his brothers, "You are wrong! Come over to my
path; this is the only one that leads to the top." But as
all these people progress upward, they will see that the paths
converge at the top and that they are all one in the ultimate.
It may be said most emphatically that no system of thought which
has ever been able to attract and hold the attention of a large
number of people for a considerable time has been without its
truth; and whether we perceive it or not, there is in every sect
the kernel of divine teachings which is gradually bringing them
upward toward the top of the mountain. Therefore we should practice
the utmost tolerance for every belief.
(To be continued)
— Rays from the Rose Cross Magazine, January/February, 1996
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