born of
conterpartal union.

Let those who would cling to the idea of an individual man, born in a
city called "Bethlehem" as the saviour of the world, remember that
even so, the city derived its name from the word, "bethel," meaning a
pure white stone, rounded at the top, in exact imitation of the
omphalos of Apollo, in the temple of Delphi. And when the shock of his
discovery has somewhat subsided, and his prejudices have been
swallowed up in a desire for the whole Truth, let him remember also
that this central idea has been the foundation of all religious rites
since time began; and instead of feeling that the whole fabric of
Christianity has been rent by the light of scientific discovery, he
will see that it has merely been _revealed_, and the revelation will
prove to him that Truth is the most beautiful, the most spiritual and
the most satisfying thing in life, because the Truth is that Perfect
Love is the only passport to immortal bliss. No one can withhold
Heaven from us, if we have this perfect love.

Thus the essentials of Christianity are the essentials of every other
religious system; and the essentials are: Love is the One true and
only God; and Sex is the form in which this Bi-une God appears;
according to our individual and collective reverence for this bi-une
God, will be our spiritual development.

We do not reverence sex when we cheapen it by dissipation; or when we
abandon it as unclean and unworthy and unholy; both attitudes are
abnormal, and unbalanced.

Spiritual consciousness aims at equilibrium. The perfectly balanced
person is equally developed on all planes; the perfectly balanced
individual, in sufficient numbers, will produce a balanced and
therefore a healthy social organization; and a balanced and
healthy-minded race of beings will result in a balanced sphere; this
fact is foreshadowed by the postulate which Science is now
considering, to wit: the earth's axis may be straightened, and, if so,
a uniform temperature will prevail on this globe.

Returning to a consideration of the subjects which head this chapter,
we find it necessary to clear the ground a little, in regard to a
definition of words.

The word continence should apply to the act of self-restraint in the
matter of the emotions, desires, and passions, whether of the
sex-passion or the passion of anger, avarice, or gluttony. The word
has come to mean, in many cases, the total abstinence from the
sex-relation, because of the