nce and Rebirth
was held as Truth by many of the Early Fathers of the Church, and that
the doctrine was finally condemned by the dominant majority in Church
Councils only by means of the most severe methods and the exercise of
the most arbitrary authority, it may be seen that in the opinion of many
of the most eminent early authorities there was nothing "un-Christian"
about it, but that it was a proper doctrine of the Church. The doctrine
was simply "voted down," just as were many important doctrines revered
by some of the great minds of the early church, in some cases the
decision being made by a majority of one vote. And, again, there have
been many bright minds in the Christian Church who persisted in the
belief that the doctrine was far more consistent with the Inner
Teachings of Christianity than the prevailing conception, and based upon
quite as good authority.

So far as the charge that it is "derived from pagan and heathen sources"
is concerned, it must be answered that certainly the doctrine was
accepted by the "pagan and heathen" world centuries before the dawn of
Christianity, but, for that matter, so was the doctrine regarding the
soul's future generally accepted by orthodox Christianity--in fact,
nearly every doctrine or theory regarding the survival of the soul was
"derived from pagan and heathen sources." The "pagan and heathen" mind
had thought long and earnestly upon this great problem, and the field of
thought had been pretty well covered before the advent of Christianity.
In fact, Christianity added no new doctrine--invented no new theory--and
is far from being clear and explicit in its teachings on the subject,
the result being that the early Christians were divided among themselves
on the matter, different sects and schools favoring different doctrines,
each and all of which had been "derived from pagan and heathen sources."
If all the doctrines regarding the immortality of the soul are to be
judged by the test of their having been, or not been, "derived from
pagan and heathen sources," then the entire body of doctrine and thought
on the subject must be thrown out of the Christian mind, which must then
endeavor to create or invent an entirely new doctrine which has never
been thought of by a "pagan or heathen"--a very difficult task, by the
way, considering the activity of the pagan and heathen mind in that
respect. It must be remembered that there is no authoritative teaching
on this subject--none