and
the miracles, has been worked out in an interesting fashion by Dr.
Abraham Wallace, in his little pamphlet "Jesus of Nazareth."[6]
Certainly, no miracle or wonder working, save that of exorcism, is
recorded in any of the Evangelists until after the time when Christ
began to assemble His circle. Of this circle the three who would
appear to have been the most psychic were Peter and the two
fellow-fishermen, sons of Zebedee, John and James. These were the
three who were summoned when an ideal atmosphere was needed. It will
be remembered that when the daughter of Jairus was raised from the dead
it was in the presence, and possibly, with the co-operation, of these
three assistants. Again, in the case of the Transfiguration, it is
impossible to read the account of that wonderful manifestation without
being reminded at every turn of one's own spiritual experiences. Here,
again, the points are admirably made in "Jesus of Nazareth," and it
would be well if that little book, with its scholarly tone, its breadth
of treatment and its psychic knowledge, was in the hands of every
Biblical student. Dr. Wallace points out that the place, the summit of
a hill, was the ideal one for such a manifestation, in its pure air and
freedom from interruption; that the drowsy state of the Apostles is
paralleled by the members of any circle who are contributing psychic
power; that the transfiguring of the face and the shining raiment are
known phenomena; above all, that the erection of three altars is
meaningless, but that the alternate reading, the erection of three
booths or cabinets, one for the medium and one for each materialised
form, would absolutely fulfil the most perfect conditions for getting
results. This explanation of Wallace's is a remarkable example of a
modern brain, with modern knowledge, throwing a clear searchlight
across all the centuries and illuminating an incident which has always
been obscure.
When we translate Bible language into the terms of modern psychic
religion the correspondence becomes evident. It does not take much
alteration. Thus for "Lo, a miracle!" we say "This is a
manifestation." "The angel of the Lord" becomes "a high spirit."
Where we talked of "a voice from heaven," we say "the direct voice."
"His eyes were opened and he saw a vision" means "he became
clairvoyant." It is only the occultist who can possibly understand the
Scriptures as being a real exact record of events.
There are many
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