The Mahdi Times The Mahdi Times Issue #26 January 2015 | Page 71

And still more presumptuous
are those who attempt to
ascribe to THE ALL the
personality, qualities,
properties, characteristics and
attributes of themselves,
ascribing to THE ALL the
human emotions, feelings and
characteristics, even down to
the pettiest qualities of
mankind, such as jealousy,
susceptibility to flattery and
praise, desire for offerings
and worship and all the other
survivals from the days of the
childhood of the race. Such
ideas are not worthy of grown
men and women and are
rapidly being discarded.
(At this point, it may be proper
for me to state that we make a
distinction between Religion
and Theology - between
Philosophy and Metaphysics.
Religion, to us, means that
intuitional realization of the
existence of THE ALL and one's
relationship to it; while
Theology means the attempts
of men to ascribe personality,
qualities and characteristics to
it; their theories regarding its
affairs, will, desires, plans and
designs and their assumption
of the office of '' middle-men''
between THE ALL and the

people. Philosophy, to us,
means the inquiry after
knowledge of things knowable
and thinkable; while
Metaphysics means the
attempt to carry the inquiry
over and beyond the
boundaries and into regions
unknowable and unthinkable
and with the same tendency as
that of Theology. And
consequently, both Religion
and Philosophy mean to us
things having roots in Reality,
while Theology and
Metaphysics seem like broken
reeds, rooted in the
quicksands of ignorance and
affording naught but the most
insecure support for the mind
or soul of Man. We do not
insist upon our students
accepting these definitions we mention them merely to
show our position. At any rate,
you shall hear very little about
Theology and Metaphysics in
these lessons.)
But while the essential nature
of THE ALL is Unknowable,
there are certain truths
connected with its existence
which the human mind finds
itself compelled to accept. And
an examination of these
reports form a proper subject