Interesting you should bring this up today, as I just read this last night.....
http://www.blavatsky.net/blavatsky/arts/EsotericCharacterOfTheGospels.htm
Many and many a time the warning about the "false Christs" and prophets who shall lead people astray has been interpreted by charitable Christians, the worshippers of the dead-letter of their scripture, as applying to mystics generally, and Theosophists most especially. The recent work by Mr. Pember, "Earth's Earliest Ages," is a proof of it. Nevertheless, it seems very evident that the words in Matthew's Gospel and others can hardly apply to Theosophists. For these were never found saying that Christ is "Here" or "There," in wilderness or city, and least of all in the "inner chamber" behind the altar of any modern church. Whether Heathen or Christian by birth, they refuse to materialise and thus degrade that which is the purest and grandest ideal--the symbol of symbols--namely, the immortal Divine Spirit in man, whether it be called Horus, Krishna, Buddha, or Christ. None of them has ever yet said: "I am the Christ"; for those born in the West feel themselves, so far, only Chréstians, 7 however much they may strive to become Christians in Spirit. It is to those, who in their great conceit and pride refuse to win the right of such appellation by first leading the life of Chrestos; 8 to those who haughtily proclaim themselves Christians (the glorified, the anointed) by sole virtue of baptism when but a few days old--that the above-quoted words of Jesus apply most forcibly. Can the prophetic insight of him who uttered this remarkable warning be doubted by any one who sees the numerous "false prophets" and pseudo-apostles (of Christ), nowroaming over the world? These have split the one divine Truth into fragments, and broken, in the camp of the Protestants alone, the rock of the Eternal Verity into three hundred and fifty odd pieces, which now represent the bulk of their Dissenting sects. Accepting the number in round figures as 350, and admitting, for argument's sake, that, at least, one of these may have the approximate truth, still 349 must be necessarily false. 9 Each of these claims to have Christ exclusively in its "inner chamber," and denies him to all others, while, in truth, the great majority of their respective followers daily put Christ to death on the cruciform tree of matter--the "tree of infamy" of the old Romans--indeed!
The worship of the dead-letter in the Bible is but one more form of idolatry,nothing better. A fundamental dogma of faith cannot exist under a double-faced Janus form. "Justification" by Christ cannot be achieved at one's choice and fancy, either by "faith" or by "works" and James, therefore (ii., 25), contradicting Paul (Heb. xi., 31), and vice versa, 10 one of them must be wrong. Hence, the Bible is not the "Word of God," but contains at best the words of fallible men and imperfect teachers. Yet read esoterically,it does contain, if not the whole truth, still, "nothing but the truth,"under whatever allegorical garb. Only: Quot homines tot sententiœ.
The "Christ principle," the awakened and glorified Spirit of Truth, being universal and eternal, the true Christos cannot be monopolized by any one person, even though that person has chosen to arrogate to himself the title of the "Vicar of Christ," or of the "Head" of that or another State-religion. The spirits of "Chrest" and "Christ" cannot be confined to any creed or sect, only because that sect chooses to exalt itself above the heads of all other religions or sects. The name has been used in a manner so intolerant and dogmatic, especially in our day, that Christianity is now the religion of arrogance par excellence,a stepping-stone for ambition, a sinecure for wealth, sham and power; a convenient screen for hypocrisy. The noble epithet of old, the one that made Justin Martyr say that "from the mere name,which is imputed to us as a crime, we are the mostexcellent," 11 is now degraded. The missionary prides himself with the so-called conversion of a heathen, who makes of Christianity ever a profession,but rarely a religion, a source of income from the missionary fund, and a pretext, since the blood of Jesus has washed them all by anticipation, for every petty crime, from drunkenness and lying up to theft. That same missionary, however, would not hesitate to publicly condemn the greatest saint to eternal perdition and hell fires if that holy man has only neglected to pass through the fruitless and meaningless form of baptism by water with accompaniment of lip prayers and vain ritualism.
