CHRIST ANDHISMISSION 373
demanded with no positive assurance ofany reward. Surely
it is much to the credit of humanity that so much altruism is
practiced and that it is constantly increasing. The wise
Leaders, knowing the frailness of the spirit to cope with the
selfish instincts of the body, and the dangers of despondency
in the face of such standards of conduct, gave another
uplifting impulse when they incorporated in the new religion
the doctrine of “vicarious Atonement.”
This idea is scouted by some very advanced
philosophers, and the Law of Consequence made paramount.
If it so happens that the reader agrees with these
philosophers, we request that he await the explanation herein
set forth, showing howboth are part of the scheme of
upliftment. Suffice it to say, for the present, that this
doctrine of atonement gives many an earnest soul the
strength to strive and, in spite of repeated failures, to bring
the lower nature under subjection. Let it be remembered
that, for reasons given when the laws of Rebirth and
Consequence were discussed, western humanity knew
practically nothing of these laws. With such a great ideal
before them as the Christ, and believing they had but a few
short years in which to attain to such a high degree of
development as this, would it not have been the greatest
imaginable cruelty to leave them without help? Therefore,
theGREAT SACRIFICE on Calvary—while it also served
other purposes, as will be shown—became rightfully the
Beacon of Hope for every earnest soul who is striving to
achieve the impossible; to attain, in one short life, to the
perfection demanded by the Christian religion.