LUCIFER V
ol.
I.
“ LET
LONDON, NOVEMBER EVERY
M AN
PROVE
15TH ,
H IS
18 8 7.
OWN
No.
3.
W O R K .”
U C H is th e title o f a le tte r r e c e iv e d b y th e E d ito rs o f LU CIFER .
It
is o f so serio u s a n a tu re th a t it seem s w e ll to m a k e it th e su b je c t o f th is m o n th ’s ed ito ria l.
C o n s id e rin g th e tru th s u ttere d in its
few lin es, its im p o rta n c e an d th e b e a rin g it h as u pon th e m u ch o b scu rcd su b je c t o f T h e o s o p h y , an d its v isib le a g e n t o r v e h ic le — th e S o c ie ty o f th a t n a m e — th e
le tte r
is c e r ta in ly w o r th y o f th e
m o st co n sid e ra te
a nsw er. “ F i a t j u s l i l i a , r u a t c c e lu m ! ” J u stic e w ill b e d o n e to b o th sid es
in
th e d i s p u t e ;
n a m e ly , T h e o
so p h ists a n d th e m em b ers o f th e T h e o so p h ic a l S o c ie ty * on th e on e h a n d , an d th e fo llo w ers o f th e D i v i n e W o r d (o r C h risto s), an d th e so -ca lled C h ristia n s, on th e other. W e r e p ro d u c e th e l e t t e r : “ T o t h e E d i t o r s o f LU CIFER.
“ W h a t a g ra n d ch an ce is n ow open in th is c o u n try , to th e e x p o n e n ts of a
n o b le an d a d v a n c e d religio n ( i f
su ch th is T h e o s o p h y
b e f ) for
p r o v in g its stre n g th , rig h teo u sn ess an d v e r ity to th e W e s te rn w orld , b y
0 Not all the members of the Theosophical Society are Theosophists ; nor are the members of the so-called Christian Churches all Christians, by any means. True Theosophists, as true Christians, are very, very few; and there are practical Theoso phists in the fold of Christianity, as there are practical Christians in the Theosophical Society, outside all ritualistic Christianity. “ Not every one that saith unto me ‘ Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father.” (Matthew, vii. 21.) “ Believe not in Me, but in the truths 1 utter.” (Buddha’s Aphorisms.)
t “ This ” Theosophy is not a religion, but rather the religion — if one. So far, we prefer to call it a philosophy; one, moreover, which contains every religion, as it is the essence and the foundation of all Rule 111, of the Theos. Body says : “ The Society represents no particular religious creed, is entirely unsectarian, and includes professors o f all faiths.” ■