CHAPTER X.

BELIEF AND HOPE.

According to the Christian religion belief is the
fundamental principal of salvation. The blood of
Christ affects no one who does not believe.

If this is true, it is a fact in the nature of man and
will apply to all the walks of life. Belief is the work
of the sinner ; he alone can " believe unto salvation ; "
no one can believe for him, consequently he saves
himself. " The saving grace," — that which saves, —
must enter into the sinner and transform his nature,
in order that he can be saved. — Saved ? From
what. From darkness, — from the ignorance in our-
selves ? No one does wrong who knows the future
and its penalties. It is the uncertainties of the fu-
ture which cause unbelief on the one hand and
belief on the other : and the experiences of life dem-
onstrate that ills and misfortunes come from the
mismanagement of ignorance, while right management
is itself a providence flowing from effort of the will,
the will being urged to action by belief or confidence
in self power to overcome difficulties and misfortunes.
We are tempted into wrong doing by belief and we
do right from the same impulse : so belief is the guide

BELIEF AND HOPE. 113

in whichever course we take. It expands the soul
and is an invitation for that which is believed in to
enter and become part of us. In this manner do we
become as we believe, and inasmuch as the Christ
spirit is light, those who really believe in him, re-
ceive that spirit into their souls, to become illumi-
nated and quickened by life and light to the overcoming
of darkness, and the utter destruction of disease and
death. " And these signs shall follow those that
believe " etc. (see Mark for the last words of Jesus,
uttered after his crucifixion).

But this doctrine of Belief is not accepted since
none believe. Belief is but one side of the mind, —
the light side ; the dark side being unbelief. Light
impinging upon darkness produces another light — a
twilight — in which truth and error are strangely
mingled, in which the mind lacks luminosity, and the
body lacks the life that Jesus referred to, as being
deathless. Men pretend to believe but they do not.
Pure belief has no shadow of Doubt in it. It contains
no disturbing elements. It is a rest of the soul be-
yond all comparison. It is the " Samadhi " of the
Buddhistic cult, which is a state of calm tranquillity
of mind that cannot be disturbed. This state is
reached by belief in, and persistent practice of cer-
tain rites — exercises or want or exercises — both
mental and physical.

Jesus based salvation upon belief and action, this
action consisting of the giving of one's property and
spirit to one's enemies and to the poor and the sick.

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Said He : — " give to every one that asks of thee,
and he that would borrow of thee, turn not thou
away : " and, " go sell what thou hast and give it to
the poor and come and follow me," These are His
guides of action, but who believes in them. More-
over, He warned His apostles against public prayer
and ostentatious giving of alms ; but who pays any
attention to these sayings. Yet they are the very
vitals of the Christian cult, the means whereby one
may reach the Kingdom of Heaven, and God within
the human soul, and demonstrate one's presence there
by healing the sick, casting out Devils and raising
the dead.

The fact is plain enough. The people do not
believe these things : then who is able to judge of the
power of Belief.

Belief is the dividing line between right and wrong
action. Wrong action is that of retaliation or of
force — that of " an eye for an eye and a tooth for a
tooth," — " blood for blood," not that of returning
good for evil or of non-resistance.

He who believes in the right way, walks therein,
and his way is the upward way, the way in which
Spirit needs neither bibles nor text-books.

Leaving Christianity out of the question and tak-
ing a materialistic view of ourselves, we find that we
are involved in experiences from the dawn to the end
of our mundane career, and must perforce travel up
or down ; and, whichever way it is, it is the ego
which suffers and enjoys. There is no certainty in

BELIEF AND HOPE. 1 1 5

knowledge of any kind. We do not actually know
ourselves, we only think so, and the nearest we can
approach thereto, is a belief in ourselves.

We believe in the uncertain and the unknown. If
we knew, actually knew, anything, we would have no
belief at all, since knowledge would fill the whole
soul and the end would be. Knowledge, absolute
and certain, does not admit of a future, but Belief
does, thus giving rise to Hope, which anchors the
soul.

The experience of pleasure causes belief in life,
but pain makes one doubtful, wavering and uncertain,
destroying hope.

Belief is of the soul, the mother of confidence and
repose ; but doubt arises from a failure to understand,
which is of the mind, the principle of unrest, dissatis-
faction and pain. Belief leads to truth which all
love.

That a man cannot believe except from evidence,
is true ; but one man receives evidence from without,
while another feels it within. We cannot accept a
thing as true except it be in harmony with our inmost
feelings. He who really believes in God believes in
his own power to become Godlike ; but he who
believes in the devil knows of him, for he feels him
within.

We all instinctively believe in that which we love.
Mental assent is no belief ; it may be forced out by
fear, or love of appearance, or popularity, or gain, but
the real belief is what we live. In view of this, Paul

Il6 THE TEMPLE OF THE ROSY CROSS.

says, "As a man thinketh, so is he." Belief is the
fundamental principle of soul-growth. The credulous
man stands higher spiritually than the incredulous.
Why ? Because all growth and real power depend
upon the absorption of Divine fire, and belief opens
the pores.

All magnetizers are aware that belief and fear
cause receptiveness. Fear is based upon belief. The
belief in the " harmful Gods " has diseased mankind
through the cold, malarial influence of fear. We do
not fear that which we know ; it is the unknown we
dread. True belief also gives hope, and hope casts
out fear and imparts cheerfulness. Belief in that
which we fear is not a belief, but an apprehension
that the thing threatened, though unknown, may be
true. This apprehension or fear creates a trembling
and quaking as of an ague. It is disease.

He who believes in himself reposes in himself, and
achieves success ; but he who doubts himself is afraid
of his shadow, and achieves nothing. Achievement
is the acquirement of knowledge — as riches. But
he who achieves nothing, knows nothing, and is poor ;
hence, he is dissatisfied with himself and others. He
who knows least of himself trusts himself the least,
and is afraid and doubtful. As of himself, so of
others. We judge others by ourselves.

He who has the most trust and confidence in
others has the best and highest knowledge — first
of himself, secondly of others. He who knows the
most of money knows the least of mankind. He

BELIEF AND HOPE. 1 1 7

trusts money, but not manhood, for his knowledge
leads him to distrust mankind. Knowledge gives
confidence or destroys it. Woe be to him whose
knowledge diminishes his trust. Remove the little
confidence we have in each other, and all friendship
and sociability would cease. Nations and governments
could not exist, and progress would be at an end.
Confidence is the diviner part of us. It is the child-
nature — that which is " of the kingdom of heaven."

Woe to him who has little or no confidence in
mankind, for he has none in God. Sleep is sweet to
the trustful soul, for God dwells within, and bars the
door of darkness through which devils creep when
we are off our guard. I have heard men boast of
their doubts, of their unbelief and incredulity. But
to me it is an evidence of smallness of mind. Reli-
gion has become the laugh and grimace of the world,
by reason of the want of comprehension of its vota-
ries, and of the unbelievers.

He who worships symbols is an idolator, and rightly
provokes the mirth of others ; but there is something
sublime in principles which always commands respect.
The underlying principle of all religion is the same,
and is as old as humanity. True, out of this principle
— this fire-faith of the olden time — have grown up
dwarfed and hideous forms of religion, at war one
with the other, as man wars with man, or nation
against nation. But the principle is still Divine, and
universally breathes of the brotherhood of man, and
the Fatherhood of God.

Il8 THE TEMPLE OF THE ROSY CROSS.

Who is there who, in contemplating the wonders
of creation, has not felt the leaping of flame thoughts,
as if in rapture — the kindling of a divine fire within
that leaped and glowed with a fervent heat, melting
our hardness of nature, our skepticism and unbelief
in the wisdom of creative genius ? Ah ! who has not
gone hence from this closet of worship feeling like a
coward, humbled and weak as the publican and sinner
who smote upon his breast, and cried, " Father, for-
give me, a sinner ! "■ I repeat, it is the small-minded,
weak man, who quenches the fires of his own soul
by his doubt and skepticism.

To gaze aloft at the stars and rear not out of your
own soul a spiritual temple of principles for the guid-
ance of life's actions — for the use of mankind — and
instead, only spend our time in tearing down the
house wherein our neighbor worships, is unworthy of
manhood. Power is that which builds anew— not
that which destroys. It takes genius to build an
edifice, but a rat might undermine and topple it to
the ground.

In proportion as we know a person to be truthful
do we trust ; the love for truth is natural ; and it is
our nature to believe in truth ; and whenever we find
it, we trust it, and hope for its increase and per-
petuity ; and when we know of it we love it, and
will its spirit to be ours. Belief, hope, knowledge,
trust, love and will, are all of kin to truth, and he
who cultivates these graces shall yet be filled with
righteousness.

BELIEF AND HOPE. 119

In proportion as I believe a thing do I hope for
its truth. In proportion as I believe in others do I
hope for their health and prosperity. We rest in
our hopes. The grave looks less desolate to the
hopeful soul. Cheerfulness and smiles are hope's
children. The unbelieving are the hopeless and the
dissatisfied, he who believes in nothing, hopes noth-
ing ; the hopeless are the desperate. Which road
will you follow, dear reader, for the truest knowl-
edge ? Do doubts and skepticism stand in your way,
and choke and strangle belief ? Destroy them, then,
by not paying attention to their croaking. Forget
your doubt by keeping in your mind and constantly
before your eyes that which you love, or that which
you would like to believe in and be. It is by the
attention we bestow upon little things in the mind
that makes impassable mountains of them ; forget, or
refuse to behold them, and they become mole hills.
\ Have you an enemy — one whom you can scarce
endure ? You know no good of him. This feeling
does not make you happy — better destroy it speedily.
Visit him in his prosperity and in his affliction fre-
quently ; talk with him ; interchange ideas with him ;
enter into his life-plans and hopes. In process of
time you will find some weakness in him that will
arouse your pity, which is not far from friendship.
The ingredients necessary for success in this is, first,
a desire on your part to bring about the result, if for
nothing else than your own peace of soul ; second, a
belief in your ability to accomplish what you under-

120 THE TEMPLE OF THE ROSY CROSS.

take ; third, a cheerful hope of success ; fourth, a true
knowledge of yourself — of yourself and psychological
power, and of extraneous means to affect him physi-
cally, such as gifts, or good and unobtrusive acts.
My word for it, before you are done with your man
you will be surprised at the amount of good feeling
and friendship that will be developed between you.
Perhaps he fancies you have done him a wrong. If
you can possibly find some flaw in yourself, go and
accuse yourself to him, and beg his pardon ; accuse
yourself for the very things you know he is guilty of,
but never accuse or upbraid him. But if you do this
with doubt and unbelief in your heart of any good in
him, your eyes will look your distrust, and he will be
driven away from you as from a reptile. Control
begins at home.
* Consider the value of friendship, and the evils
growing out of enmity. Meditate upon your enemy,
and when thus wrapped in thought, with your atten-
tion fixed upon him, lo ! your spirit flashes like the
lightnings to him, and mingles with his spirit, thus
leaving an impression for either good or evil, just as
you feel. Your belief in yourself is of importance
here, for if you doubt yourself, and the Good God
who dwells alike in you and your enemy, your
prayers fall far short of the mark, and you will find
your will weak and your mind scattering. Know you
not that the same creative power called him into
existence that did you ? Dare you question the pur-
poses and wisdom of the Creator ? Why do you hate

BELIEF AND HOPE. 1 2 1

or dislike him ? Because he does different than you
wish him to ! Because he is not as you wish him to
be ! Ah ! It is the same old story, " Great I and
little you." Better by far " pluck the motes out of
your own eyes " before you essay to sit in judgment
upon your neighbor. When you judge others you
are judging God, and yourself, for God is in all and
is all. Then ponder these things well, my friend,
for " Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain
mercy." Woe to him who thinks wrathfully of
others. There is no divinity in wrath. God could
not be Infinite if all things were alike ! If you are
good show your goodness by increasing the good.
That is our work. Believe in all things, because they
are of the Father — you know not but your enemy
was given to try you ! Can you stand the test ?
Wrath piles up wrath as wood piled on a fire, but
"gentle blows kill the devil/'

Which road will you follow, reader, belief or un-
belief— in order to make the most of yourself?
Which leads to power?

122 THE TEMPLE OF THE ROSY CROSS.