ESOTERIC CHRISTIANITY – By Annie Besant — 1st U.S. Edition / 1st Printing, 1902 — Theosophy Christian Mysticism Publisher: John Lane, New York (1902)
In well preserved condition. The boards and binding are solid and tight, save for light shelfwear. The pages are crisp and clean. 404 pages, with book advertisements at end (for more Besant works). "
Early
Christianity held secrets equal to those of other great religions, says Annie
Besant. Its first followers guarded them as priceless treasures. After an
increasingly rigid hierarchy began to bury these truths in the early centuries
A.D., they were known only to a few initiates, who communicated them privately,
often in obscure language. In Esoteric Christianity, Besant's aim is to restore
the secret truths underlying Christian doctrine." [Amazon] Please see below for more information on Annie Besant.Biography
E. Annie Besant, (1 October 1847 – 20 September 1933) was a British socialist,
theosophist, women's rights activist, writer and orator and supporter of Irish
and Indian self-rule.
In 1867 at the
age of twenty, she became a prominent speaker for the National Secular Society
(NSS) and writer and a close friend of Charles Bradlaugh. In 1877 they were
prosecuted for publishing a book by birth control campaigner Charles Knowlton.
The scandal made them famous, and Bradlaugh was elected M.P. for Northampton in
1880.
She became
involved with union actions including the Bloody Sunday demonstration and the
London matchgirls strike of 1888. She was a leading speaker for the Fabian
Society and the Marxist Social Democratic Federation (SDF). She was elected to
the London School Board for Tower Hamlets, topping the poll even though few
women were qualified to vote at that time.
In 1890 Besant
met Helena Blavatsky and over the next few years her interest in theosophy grew
while her interest in secular matters waned. She became a member of the
Theosophical Society and a prominent lecturer on the subject. As part of her
theosophy-related work, she travelled to India. In 1898 she helped establish
the Central Hindu College and in 1922 she helped establish the Hyderabad (Sind)
National Collegiate Board in Mumbai, India. In 1902, she established the first
overseas Lodge of the International Order of Co-Freemasonry, Le Droit Humain.
Over the next few years she established lodges in many parts of the British
Empire. In 1907 she became president of the Theosophical Society, whose
international headquarters were in Adyar, Madras, (Chennai).... [Wikipedia]
