We might think the above lines are from the Bible. But C.W. Leadbeater traces them to an Egyptian ritual thousands of years before Jesus lived. Such surprises are plentiful in this new edition of Leadbeater's profound introduction to esoteric Christianity, as timely now as when the famed clairvoyant began writing it in the early 1900s. Calling Christianity ôthe one true religion,ö he says it emerged at the very birth of humanity. He presents what he says are its original teachings and decodes them as a guide to direct knowledge (Gr: gnosis) of the Divine. His authority is that of both a scientist and a mystic in exploring such topics as the birth of Christ in one's heart, God's love, divine grace, angelic help, the true meaning of salvation, reincarnation, and the evolution of the soul. With a new introduction by Richard Smoley, former editor of Gnosis and author of Inner Christianity, and the original 1983 foreword by Sten von Krusenstierna, then presiding bishop of the Liberal Catholic Church, the book is a treasure of spiritual insight. Book jacket.