Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - Sidor ...
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
12
One thing is certain: no Reformation could have
occurred if the Church of Rome had retained possession
of the Sacred Gnosis. Knowledge of the esoteric
signification of the Mysteries was in ancient times
called "the Power of the Keys" (potestas clomcwm).
This power has long ago ceased to be the appanage
of Orthodox Christianity.
During the first centuries of the Christian era this
knowledge remained in the hands of different Secret
Societies, which were on this account terribly persecuted
by the Orthodox Priesthood. In our days the Church
has lost the faculty of inflicting bodily injury to those
who do not share her views, but the " Odiv/m Theo-
logicwm" still subsists Christians are still
requested to " detest, abhor, and condemn " certain
opinions, which are declared to be " wicked heresies."
Luther styled those who denied the efiicacy of
Baptism administered to unconscious infants, " Demons
possessed by worse demons " ! ! ! Such vehemence of
language meets scant approbation in our days. The
Spirit of Intolerance is gradually vanishing, and it is
to be hoped that, in coming ages, men and women will
be judged according to their acts, and not according
to their more or less strict adherence to certain forms
of belief
It is a remarkable fact, that nearly all the Sectarians
who have been persecuted on account of their heterodox
opinions were men of a deeply religious turn of mind.
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
