By putting aside this external
and accidental moment, it placed the metaphysical and purely spiritual
core of Christianity, the fundamental conviction of the divinity of the
soul, and the will to eternal life, within the centre of religious
consciousness, and by so doing put itself beyond the reach of historical
criticism and scepticism, Eckhart, more than any other teacher, was
profoundly convinced of the freedom and eternal value of the soul. "I,
as the Son, am the same as my Heavenly Father." He taught that Christ is
born in the soul, that the divine spark is continuously re-kindled in
the soul: "It is the quality of eternity that life and youth are one,"
and that man must become more and more divine, more and more free from
all that is unessential and accidental until he no longer differs from
God. It is only a logical conclusion to say that a perfect man,
mystically speaking, is God; his being and his will are in nothing
differentiated from absolute, universal, divine will--German mysticism
agrees in this with the Upanishads.
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