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JAINISM, CHRISTIANITY & SCIENCE
Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless what saith the scripture ? Cast out the bond woman and her son : for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free."--Gal. iv. 21-31.
As for the actual explanation of this interesting allegory, we must first of all remember what St. Paul says about genealogies in 1 Timothy i. 4, namely: "Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith ...." There are two personalities of the embodied soul, namely, firstly, it has a bodily personality, and, secondly, an inner Self. Of these, the bodily ego is the progeny of impure spirit, which, being involved in the bondage of sin, is described as a bondwoman. The bondwoman's son, therefore, is the man that has a label, by way of a name, and has a date and place of birth and a local residence in a town or place. The freewoman, on the other hand, is the spiritual substance in its natural state of purity--which is fully Divine and therefore also free by nature. This Spirit substance is promised, by Religion, on the condition of the acceptance of Right Faith, that she will give birth. in her old age (for she is as old as time) to the purified Self that shall be heir to Divine inheritance. Hence, is the Spiritual Ego born of promise, the other being after the flesh. Purity of Spiritual nature is described as a barren woman, for the same reason; for she has had: no 'Son' thus far (throughout the eternity of time. known as the past). Jerusalem which now is, is descriptive of the present condition of the soul-substance in bondage with her children, that is to say, with its. natural attributes all held in check. But Jerusalem
