SPIRITUAL WARFARE       Rev. E. E. IUNGERICH       1939


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LIX      JANUARY, 1939          No. 1
     "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." (Matthew 6:13.)

     The thought that our Heavenly Father might lead His children into temptations, and that one must beseech Him not to do so, has been perplexing to many who would think of Him as a good Father who would impart only good gifts to them. If told that temptation, because it is here contrasted with evil, must therefore denote falsity, and that this prayer is in reality a petition to be withheld from falsity, as well as from evil, to the end that one may come into truth and good, and thus into heaven and peace, the concern is allayed only in part, since the question at once arises: Why ask Him not to lead us, be it into temptation or into falsity, if He has no desire to do this?

     Among those who are familiar with the doctrine that men cannot be saved without bearing their cross or undergoing temptation, and who are also aware of the teaching that Christians have not been admitted into spiritual temptations for centuries, because they would have succumbed therein, there are those who ask why one must pray to the Lord to be spared that which is essential or indispensable to one's salvation.

     The difficulties in this matter seem to involve that one group is fixing its attention upon a condition of good apart from truth, and the other upon a condition of truth without good. Both should first realize that an understanding as to why this prayer is made depends upon the knowledge that the human race on our earth is now born with a perverted heredity that makes it prone to favor falsity and evil of every sort. A long-sustained series of combats against this tendency is therefore necessary, if one is to overcome it and thereby win a heavenly state of peace as a result. During this prolonged spiritual warfare it is the Lord Alone who is potent to conquer. Men are the victors therein only so far as they pray the Lord to lead them, and at the same time struggle under a strict military discipline to obey His orders. Because of the vital importance of such an alliance, the Word, from beginning to end, acclaims the Lord as a God of armies, as a Hero, and as a Man of War, and depicts the faithful as sturdy warriors enrolled under His banner.

     The perplexity with both groups may perhaps be lessened if one consider that we are praying to the Lord to lead us throughout the course of this struggle to the desired end of peace. We are not praying Him to take us into the middle of the strife and leave us there; nor do we pray that He bring us to the goal by any avoidance of the preliminary stages, or by our being spared contact with the means to it. Let us note, also, that sorrow, pain, suffering and temptation do not by themselves secure for men the certainty of a future peace as a merited recompense.

     When we pray, "Lead us not into temptation," we are really asking not to be led into any suffering that is barren of heavenly results, which can be attained only by deliverance from evil. As to our loves of self and the world, and our lust for pleasure, we should be willing to suffer even to the pangs that ensure their death, if needs be. But why should we suffer so, if heavenly loves are not strengthened in us by the ordeal? The Lord desires no needless suffering on our part. That is why some men are spared the necessity of undergoing spiritual temptations, because the Lord foresees that they will not want to be saved. "They flee before the sword and the heaviness of war," as we read in Isaiah 21:13, 14, which means that "being no longer in good, they are unwilling to sustain the combats of temptations." (A. C. 3268.)

     The Word denounces such as faint-hearted or cowards. On the other hand, those who come under the military leadership of the Lord are applauded as heroes who say:

3


"He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms " (Psalm 18:34); "Blessed be the Lord, my strength, who teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight; my goodness and my fortress; my high tower and my deliverer; my shield, and He in whom I trust; who subdueth my people under me." (Psalm 144:1, 2.)

     But though the Lord spares cowardly spiritual pacifists all spiritual anxieties with regard to matters of conscience, and all agony as to the possible reception of falsity and evil in place of truth and good, He will not necessarily spare them the natural effects upon the body and in the world which are in correspondence with spiritual turmoil. Indeed, with those who shrink from all courageous warfare on the spiritual plane, disease and warfare on earth are more likely to cause anxiety; for these natural afflictions will at least assume more threatening proportions with them, while the same afflictions will be regarded as relatively trivial by those who are spiritual warriors under the Lord.

     As to why men are bidden in the Word to learn how to fight in warfare, and why they undergo temptations, "there are," says Swedenborg in the Spiritual Diary, "very many causes why the faithful must undergo persecutions and temptations. But let me mention only one which it was given me to know. It is because there is so great a multitude of evil spirits, especially in the interior sphere [of the world of spirits], thus in order that the faithful may learn that such spirits are there, and because the Lord wills to govern each and everything according to order, so that the faithful may be in a state to resist them, and so that there may be an equilibrium. For the evil continually assail, but the faithful resist, not from themselves, but from the Lord." (S. D. 2576.) "The cause of temptations is that they may learn to resist evils, and this is from the Lord." (S. D. Index at no. 2576 under Pugna, Tentatio.)

     II.

     All life, and all power flowing thence, are from the Lord. To inculcate this truth, the Word ascribes to Him even the perverted activities of evil spirits who have misused the currents of life inflowing into them. The Lord's life, misapplied by them, causes them to assail the faithful.

4


But His life, properly applied as resistance thereto by the faithful, is the means of quelling the evil spirits, and of producing an equilibrium in which the ends of the Divine Order are continually promoted. If the faithful resisted from themselves, and not from the Lord, they would be resisting from what is evil in themselves, which is not resistance but assault, and will not subdue evil, since the "power of Beelzebub" will not cast out the evil. All these considerations are involved in the prayer, "Lead us not into temptation." It is offered by warriors who are desirous of resisting from the Lord, and not engaging in the conflict by misapplying His influx, so that it is turned into an acting from self. They are happy to serve as elements in his operation to resist against that perverted influx which assails His Order. They pray to be able to resist falsities, in order that they may be delivered from all infection arising from the evil that operates through falsities. "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."

     Spiritual turmoils in the world of spirits, in which world every man already lives as to his inner or subconscious mind, will also produce corresponding scourges on earth. "But when, in the end of days," declared Swedenborg, who was witnessing disturbances leading up to the Last Judgment in the spiritual world, "this ultimate heaven is purged of such furies or spirits, then the kingdom of God Messiah arises. At this day something similar occurs in the nature of the world, as well as in that of man, in that all things of both are troubled and confounded; as it were, before they are rendered serene, which may be evident from many signs, namely, that a chaos of the world exists before a heaven is separated." (Schmidius Marginalia at Ezekiel 10.)

     On other earths, however, where the human race has not fallen, and where men live in an innocence like that of Eden, there are no spiritual conflicts or temptations like those which the faithful on our earth undergo as a means of subduing their loves of self and the world; nor are there corresponding effects upon the body or in the nature of the world about them, as scourges betokening a failure to do one's duty on the plane of conscience. Such an innocent state, we are told, prevails on the planet Jupiter, and when their spirits were told that "on our earth there are wars, depredations, and slaughters, they turned themselves away, and were averse to hearing it." (A. C. 8117.)

5




     Those who are still in the infancy of the race meditate continually upon the Lord, and as to how they may best serve His ends at all times. The heavenly love of making others happy so binds the loves of self and the world with them that little attention is paid to those material concerns which might arouse those loves. They live separately, family by family, with little intercourse beyond the family relationship, in the spiritual improvement of which their lives are continually engaged.

     But when evil arose on our earth, and fewer and fewer cared to restrain the loves of self and the world in themselves, and so menaced more and more the happiness of those who conscientiously willed that heavenly interests should rule, then human society was obliged to band itself into communities in the form of villages, cities, states and kingdoms, in order that they might secure protection against the outlaws whom no conscience could check, and who quailed only before a show of force or a threat to curtail their insatiable lust for power, for wealth, and for the possessions of others.

     III.

     In our so-called Christian civilization, few know anything about temptations or the combats on the plane of the spirit, being still less qualified to enter with success into this spiritual warfare. We may well ask whether it can hope, by means of bodily medicaments, to minimize the spread of disease, or, by friendly arbitrations among nations of diversified interests, to suppress all outbreaks of war. The usual apathy of a man as to his own spiritual state begets a disinclination to instruct his children, not only in spiritual matters, but also as to the principles of honorable citizenship; he will even convince himself that this is a responsibility belonging, not to himself, but to the city, the state, or the kingdom in which he dwells. The virus which thus forms, in the bosom of one who shrinks from self-examination in preparation for the spiritual warfare that is necessary for individual salvation, adds its drop to the collective virus which infects the mass-sentiment in a nation.

6


Where the individual may be curbed from a fear of public opinion which brands certain acts as shameful, the group-sentiment, with its collective virus, not being confronted by a superior public viewpoint, abets selfish moves to aggrandize a kingdom at the expense of another as a noble and patriotic duty.

     Where many, and perhaps all, nations are in such unstable ethical conditions, it needs but a spark to produce some violent explosions. At times, also, it may be of Providence that war, with all its horrors, is useful to the general state. If nothing else, it lays bare the wickedness of human hearts. Men are thus obliged to recognize their own evils and falses as drops in the caldron, and a few may thus be led to the thought that the only way to contribute towards a better world is by an individual shunning of the evils in one's own heart as sins against God. It is only by a decrease in the multitude of evil spirits who are flocking into the spiritual world every moment that one can count upon any noteworthy diminution in the causes of the scourges that afflict the body and the nature of this world.

     It is the teaching of our Doctrine that wars are not of the Divine Providence, but that they cannot but be permitted as lesser evils than those which exist or might otherwise arise. (D. P. 251.) Something of the operations of Providence during the course of a war may also be seen in the fact that it comes rapidly to an end whenever there is danger that one of the opposing nations will be obliterated. And we are told that thoughts are insinuated in the minds of the commanders-in-chief, which may lead to a signal disaster, or may, on the other hand, lead to success. The Word refers to such influxes when it speaks of the sending of a lying spirit from God to lead a prophet or a chieftain to his fall. (I Samuel 18:10.) Homer likewise speaks of this, and Virgil in the same strain remarks that "whom the gods would destroy they first make mad."

     Because spiritual warfare is a requisite, and inasmuch as the corresponding scourges on earth are well-nigh inevitable, the Word of God, far from advocating any misleading peace without honor, or any cowardly pacifism; enjoins that one be strong and of a good courage under both ordeals, natural and spiritual. One who is called to defend his country must not shrink from his duty, or expect someone else to take his place. In this, a New Churchman, enlightened and strengthened by the Heavenly Doctrine, has better cause for courage than others. And, being well instructed as to the nature of the spiritual world, he has the less reason to fear death.

7




     The New Churchman, of course, will strive with utmost energy to convince his fellow men that nations should be brethren, and dwell together in unity, as also that the semblance of external order and outward peace should be maintained as long as this is possible with- out subjecting men to some intolerable tyranny. But once a war has begun, and he is called to take his part in it, he will be fortified by such teachings of the Doctrine as these:

     "Wars which have as an end the protection of one's country, and of the church, are not contrary to charity. The end for which the war is waged declares whether it is charity or not." (T. C. R. 407.) "The commander of an army does not love war, but peace. He does not go to war except for the protection of his country, and thus is not an aggressor, but a defender. Afterwards, when the war has begun, he is also an aggressor when aggression is defense. In battle he is brave and valiant; after the battle he is mild and merciful." Similarly the private in the ranks. (Doctrine of Charity 164-166.) "Who does not remember and love one who, from the zeal of love for his country, fights against an enemy even to death, that he may thereby deliver it from the yoke of bondage?" (T. C. R. 710.)

     In the spirit of these truths the men of the church neither seek conflict nor avoid it when it arises, but meet it with the courage born of faith in the Lord and His Providence. In both the natural and the spiritual life they pray to the Lord, "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." Amen.

     LESSONS: Isaiah 21. Revelation l9. A. C. 2768.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 511, 583, 564, 682.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 97, 100.

8


GROWTH-INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL 1939

GROWTH-INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL        GEORGE DE CHARMS       1939

     (Delivered extemporaneously before the Second General Assembly of the South African Native Mission, September 7, 1938.)

     This is an Assembly, an occasion for great rejoicing, when men come together to express their thankfulness to the Lord for all the mercies of His Providence in protecting the beginnings of His Church on earth.

     The General Church holds General Assemblies about every three years in America. It is impossible to hold them as frequently in Africa, because of the great distance that separates you from your Bishop. It is therefore a great occasion for your Bishop, as well as for you, when he can be present with you at an Assembly. Nine years have passed since the First Mission Assembly, and during that time many changes have taken place. Bishop Pendleton, who was with you at that time, has been called by the Lord to the spiritual world. With his passing, the Church lost a dearly loved leader. Some of those who were here at that time, and who met Bishop Pendleton, have also been called into the other world. I know that Bishop Pendleton loved your people, although he could be here so seldom to see you. I have no doubt that he wishes to see those of you who have gone into the other world, and that he may indeed be present at an assembly in that world. But his work on earth is finished, and it is necessary that this work should go on.

     For this reason a successor to his office has been called, and the Bishop of the General Church has now come to see you, in order that he may know you as Bishop Pendleton did, and that you also may come to know your Bishop.

     During the nine years since your last General Assembly there has been a steady growth and development of the New Church in South Africa. There has been an increase in the number of the members of the Church, and there has also been an increase in the number of the societies and schools in the Church.

9


This growth has been due in large measure to the untiring efforts of your Superintendent, who represents the Bishop, and who labors among you for the success of the New Church in your midst. He has done many things, but that which has been of the greatest importance is his work in training your ministers and leaders in the Theological School, so that they may learn the truths of the Heavenly Doctrines, and be able to convey those truths to your people.

     The growth of the Mission has also been due to the faithful work of your ministers and leaders, who, having received the training in the school, have gone forth to carry the message of the New Church to your people. I wish to express to your Superintendent my own gratitude, and that of the Church, for all his work in the Mission, and to the ministers and leaders who have gone forth to carry the message of the New Church among your people.

     Yet we know that the Church cannot be built by men. It is the Lord alone who can build the Church, and men are but servants of the Lord. So in thinking of the growth that has taken place since the last Assembly, we lift up our hearts with our hands in confession to the Lord, who has given a Divine Revelation of Himself, and who has brought us to know the truth of that Revelation, and who has placed the sacred books in our hands as precious things to guard and protect. We thank Him because He has given us intelligence to receive and understand that Divine teaching, and that He has enabled us to establish the beginnings of that Church in His Name.

     And now I have been thinking what it is that I could say to you that would be of most value for the continued growth of the Church amongst you. It has appeared to me that there is nothing of greater importance than for you to realize that the Church must grow in two different ways. The Church must grow externally. It must grow in numbers, and be extended to more and more people. But at the same time the Church must grow internally. The love of the Church, and the understanding of its truth, must increase year by year in the minds of all its members. These two kinds of growth must go together. Sometimes we must emphasize the one kind, and sometimes the other.

     In the very beginning of the Church in a new country, the first way by which the Church grows is that the Doctrines of the Church are carried to the people.

10


Thus many people receive the Church, are brought into it and baptized, and may be organized into societies, with ministers to teach them. But when that has been done, then it is necessary to turn our attention to the internal growth of the Church; and even while we are trying to have the Church extend to more people, we must see that it is growing in the hearts and minds of those who already have the Church. It appears to me that at this time the state of the Church requires that we think of this kind of growth, and of what we can do to increase the understanding of the truth with those who have already joined our body. We must realize that the Lord must find a place in the mind of every member of the Church, and that He must be in the minds of our people at all times; that they must go to Him directly to ask the way of life, that the Lord Himself may guide their steps in the way of peace. Leaders and teachers will merely lead the people to the Lord, to help them open their minds to the Lord, and to show them how they may go to Him for an answer to the questions of their life.

     When we are baptized, that is to make a confession that we believe in the Lord. It is a declaration of our faith in Him. But faith, by itself, will not establish the Church with us. Religion is of life, and it ought to enter into all things of our life. Our faith is but a means, showing us how to live according to the Lord's will. Thus baptism is only the beginning, from which point we must begin to journey nearer and nearer to the Lord. And we do this by learning more and more of His Truth, and coming to realize, more and more, how to apply that truth to our lives, so that we may be changed in spirit from one who knows not the Lord, and does not love Him, to one whose whole life is guided by the truths of the Lord's Word. This is the way the Church is established in every one of us. It is therefore not enough that we should be baptized. It is not even enough that, having been baptized, we should go to church and worship the Lord on Sunday. If the Church is to be established in our minds, the Lord must be with us in our homes, and in our homes we must turn our minds to Him every day.

     In every New Church home there should be a holy place in which the Lord abides with us. Let it be very simple, if only a little chest or box made of wood, such as we would use to keep precious things in-jewels or things we value very deeply.

11


There should be in every home such a box or chest, which we call a repository. In it there should be a copy of the Bible, or the Lord's Word, and also a copy of some of the Writings of the Church in your own language. For by means of His Word, and His Divine Revelation to the Church, the Lord can be present with us, to teach us and protect us from evil, and lead us to good-to impart to us blessing and happiness in this life and after death. Nothing could be more precious than those books in which the Lord is seen. I believe that the minister should come into every home and dedicate each repository, placing those precious books in it. And when it is dedicated, it should be treated as most holy and with the greatest reverence.

     It is not enough that the Word should there be closed in a box or a repository. The Lord must be present with us in our minds. And I believe that in every home where there is such a holy place for the Lord to be, the family should gather around that holy place every day, that the repository should be opened, and the Word opened, and that there should be worship-kneeling before the Lord, praying to Him for strength to fight against the evils that would destroy the Church. There should be prayer to Him to teach and lead in the way of truth, and a giving of thanks to Him for all the protection of His mercy. Where it is possible, something should be read from the Word. If the people cannot read it, the minister should go from time to time and read it with them. But where the people can read, let them read it together. If it is only a very little every day, let them learn something of what the Lord teaches them in their Revelation, and let them think of what they have learned, and try to see how it applies to their own problems, and how it will help them to live the life of the New Church, which is a life in the service of the Lord, seeking to do His will.

     I believe, my friends, that nothing could do more to make the Church grow internally with you than to make every home a place in which to worship the Lord every day. For when our minds are opened to the Lord we are protected against evil spirits; and if evil spirits enter into our minds, and tempt us to do what is evil and what is wrong, we can flee to the Lord for help, turning to Him in His Word, asking forgiveness for the wrong that we have done, and praying to Him to help fight these evil spirits in the future. That is the way that religion becomes of life, so that it is not simply having faith in the Lord, but trying every day to live according to His Will.

12


That is the path of religion which leads to heaven.

     Every home should be a center of spiritual life, and then, when those who live in such homes come together on Sundays to worship the Lord, their minds will be ready to receive what the minister has to teach. They will understand more; they will enter more deeply into the things of the Lord's Word; so that the Church will be growing more deeply every year, even while the Church is also growing externally. But unless it is growing internally at the same time, its external growth will not be permanent. That is the reason why I think it is so important at this time that we take steps to look towards the internal growth of those who are already members.

     And now let me express to you in a few words my great love for your people, and my great desire that the Lord may be with you; that His kingdom may be established in your hearts, and that all the blessings of His Church may be received by you, with ever increasing joy and gladness in the years to come. That is the wish of my heart, my friends. It is the reason why I have come to you, and it is the reason why I have spoken to you the words which I have spoken this morning. It is because I believe with all my heart that, by your doing what I have suggested, the strength and power of the New Church with you will be greatly increased. May the Lord bring that to pass! And may the continued protection of His mercy guard and protect the growth of the Church with you in the future, as it has in the past!
EDITORIAL NOTE 1939

EDITORIAL NOTE       Editor       1939

     Discussion.-A record of the speeches made in discussing the above Address will be found on pages 28-35.

     Pictures.-The original photographs of the Durban and Hurstville groups, reproduced on pages 14 and 18, were kindly loaned to us for the purpose by Mrs. George de Charms. The photographs of the Mission groups (pages 25, 37) were taken by the Superintendent, the Rev. F. W. Elphick, who therefore does not appear in them. He and Mrs. Elphick are in the Durban Assembly group, seated at the left of Bishop de Charms.

13


FOURTH SOUTH AFRICAN ASSEMBLY 1939

FOURTH SOUTH AFRICAN ASSEMBLY       PHILIP N. ODHNER       1939

     DURBAN, NATAL, AUGUST 9-14, 1938.

     Held in the Hall at 125 Musgrave Road, Tuesday, August 9, to Sunday, August 14, inclusive, the Assembly enjoyed the very great pleasure of having Bishop George de Charms preside over its meetings for the first time. We cannot express in words the thanks we feel for all that he gave us of inspiration and instruction during the sessions, and also in the many informal meetings held during the week. To Mrs. de Charms, also, we owe a debt of gratitude for the spirit and cheer which she lent to the informal side of our gatherings. To the Bishop and his wife is due much of the extraordinary interest and success of this Fourth Assembly.

     Besides our two visitors from overseas we had the pleasure of having with us Miss Taylor, of Vrede, O. F. S.; Mr. and Mrs. Norman Ridgway, and Mr. E. J. Waters, of Alpha; Mr. and Mrs. W. N. Ridgway of Kent Manor, Zululand; and for part of the time the Rev. and Mrs. Edwin Fieldhouse, of Johannesburg. Many friends and relatives of the members of the Durban Society also attended.

     The four formal sessions of the Assembly were all held in the evening, which was partly responsible for the record attendances, 98, 68, 68, 70, for the four meetings, respectively. In spite of the heroic efforts of the committee on the Roll, only 93 signatures were obtained, although it is estimated that well over 110 persons attended the formal sessions at one time or another.

     The four addresses were very long, the shortest being just five minutes less than an hour, but they were of such interest that the discussions following them lasted well over another hour each evening. Then tea was served under the able and experienced direction of Mrs. J. J. Forfar, and it can well be imagined how popular these refreshments were after so much talking. Informal discussions continued indefinitely after every meeting, and on no single occasion did the gathering break up before midnight.

14




     [Photo of FOURTH SOUTH AFRICAN ASSEMBLY. DURBAN, NATAL, AUGUST 9-14, 1938.]

15




     First Session: Tuesday, August 9, 8:00 p.m.

     Bishop de Charms opened the Assembly with prayer and the reading of the 45th Psalm.

     After the usual business had been transacted, the Bishop extended to the Assembly affectionate greetings from Bryn Athyn, Montreal, Colchester and London.

     The Bishop then addressed the Assembly upon "The Preservation of the Church," dealing with the subject of internal and external unity, the distinctive doctrine of the General Church, and the necessity of preserving in our midst the First Principle of the Academy, the free and direct approach to the Writings,-in order that our uses may survive. It is hoped that this address may be printed for all to read.

     An interesting discussion followed the address, which, for lack of space and accurate reporting, we cannot give here. Those taking part in the discussion were the Rev. Philip N. Odhner, Bishop de Charms, Messrs. E. J. Waters, J. H. Ridgway, and the Rev. F. W. Elphick.

     Second Session, Wednesday Evening.

     The meeting opened with prayer and the reading of the 104th Psalm.

     Mr. R. Melville Ridgway then addressed the Assembly on "Some Problems Concerning the Soul." This paper was an interesting and thoughtful presentation of the teachings of the Writings respecting man's soul, with particular reference to the relation of the Divine Providence and of the freedom of the earthly parents in its production.

     Those taking part in the discussion were Bishop de Charms, E. J. Waters, J. H. Ridgway, Mrs. Levine, N. Edley, R. M. Ridgway, J. J. Forfar, Ivan Ridgway, and Mrs. Mansfield.

     Mr. R. M. Ridgway is the first layman to address our Assembly in a formal session. We hope that the brilliant example which he has set will be followed by many more of our laymen in the future.

16




     Third Session, Thursday Evening.

     The meeting opened with prayer and the reading of the 55th Chapter of Isaiah.

     The Rev. Philip N. Odhner then addressed the Assembly on "The Sense of the Letter of the Word." This paper dealt with the nature and the purpose of the sense of the Letter of the Word, with some reflections concerning the Writings, considered as the sense of the Letter. Those participating in the discussion were Bishop de Charms, Rev. Philip N. Odhner, H. Scott Forfar, E. J. Waters, and R. A. Mansfield.

     Fourth Session, Friday Evening.
The meeting opened with prayer and the reading of Psalms 132 and 133.

     The Rev. F. W. Elphick then addressed the Assembly on "Divine Revelation: Its Unity, Correlation and Balance."

     The address was a masterly and sweeping treatment of the continuity of Divine Revelation in all its parts. The subject was presented in all its beauty, and finished on a fine note of charity and unity.

     The paper was discussed by Bishop de Charms, R. M. Ridgway, Rev. Edwin Fieldhouse, J. H. Ridgway, P. D. Ridgway, W. N. Ridgway, H. Scott Forfar, and Ivan Ridgway.

     The Assembly Banquet-Saturday, August 13.

     One hundred and eighteen people gathered in the Hall for the Assembly Banquet. A delicious feast had been prepared by the Women's Guild. The Rev. Philip N. Odhner was toastmaster. Mr. J. J. Ball responded to the toast to the Church, speaking on "Evangelization." Mr. Ball is a comparatively recent convert to the Church, and this was his first speech before a New Church audience. Following a toast to "The Priesthood," Mr. H. Scott Forfar gave us an address on that ever timely subject. Mr. Norman Ridgway, in reply to a toast to "All New Churchmen," addressed us on "A Federation for all Bodies of the New Church," and Mr. E. J. Waters spoke on "The Obligations of the Laymen in reference to the Doctrine of the Church."

17


After the discussion, Bishop de Charms delivered an inspiring talk upon the promise of continued growth, both internally and externally, of the Church in South Africa.

     Telegrams of greeting were read from Mrs. E. J. Waters, of Alpha, and from Mr. and Mrs. Martin Buss, of Springs, Transvaal. Greetings from the British Assembly, held just before our own, were also read.

     A thoroughly delightful evening closed with the singing of "Alma Mater" and "Our Own Academy."

     Sunday, August 14.

     About sixty children and adults attended the Children's Service on Sunday morning. Bishop de Charms addressed the children on "Courage." This was one of a series on the Virtues, of which our children had the privilege of hearing three.

     At the Holy Supper Service, in the morning, the Bishop delivered an inspiring sermon on "The Upper Room." About ninety-three people were in-the congregation, and seventy-four partook of the communion.

     In the afternoon, about seventy persons attended the Assembly tea, held in the beautiful garden of Mr. and Mrs. W. G. Lowe. The Bougainvillea and flowers made an appropriate setting for this delightful occasion.

     In the evening we again gathered in the church for a Service of Praise. Bishop de Charms preached on the spiritual meaning of "Walking on the Sea." About sixty-five persons were present.

     This Service brought to a close our Assembly events. The program was unusually long, for South Africa, but it was also of exceptional interest and importance. Once again has the great use of Assembly amongst us been thoroughly demonstrated. May it advance from strength to strength as the years go by!
     PHILIP N. ODHNER,
          Secretary.

18


HURSTVILLE, AUSTRALIA 1939

HURSTVILLE, AUSTRALIA       W. CAIRNS HENDERSON       1939

[Photo of Hurstville, Australia congregation]

19




     Episcopal Visit.

     Long and keenly anticipated by every member of the congregation, the first, though not, we venture to insist, the last episcopal visit to Australia, is now a matter of record in the annals of the Church. But its effects will remain with us for long, and we are deeply grateful to all who made possible the most memorable event in our history since our establishment as a society of the General Church. There was urgent need of the visit just concluded, and it was surely justified by the lasting benefits it conferred. While Bishop de Charms was as yet unknown personally to most of us, we had given our love and loyalty to the episcopal office as vested in him,-an offering we gladly extended to his wife also. And now that we have met and talked with them, and come to know them as friends, we have renewed our pledges to them as individuals, but with deeper meaning than before, and through them we have become more conscious than before of our essential unity with the rest of the General Church.

     As always, one regrets the sheer inadequacy of words to express the real gains that come to a society through such a visit as that of Bishop and Mrs. de Charms. No mere record of events can contain and transmit the spirit that was born of our crowded week of meetings. But it was a spirit that is familiar to all who have attended assemblies of any kind, and if the intensification thereof which naturally arises when the society visited is so remote and has never been so visited before can be imagined, then the spirit that animated, and still animates us, can be conceived. Nor is it wise, so soon after the event, to attempt to foretell the permanent results of this visit. We can record only certain visible signs,-a marked increase in love for the Church and in deep enthusiasm for its uses, a stronger feeling of unity with the Church at large, and a greater unity within the society itself.

20


It is our belief that the Hurstville Society was ready to enter upon a new state, and it is our hope and prayer that it has entered thereon through the inspired leading of our Bishop during his short stay among us; and that if we are steadfast now in carrying into our normal uses the leading given us, it will continue to advance in an upward and forward direction. That, we believe, is the real benefit we have derived,-one that could have come to us in no other way.

     After some delay and considerable uncertainty, Bishop and Mrs. de Charms arrived in Sydney at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, October 9, and two hours later the Bishop, assisted by the pastor, had begun to conduct a service at which forty-three persons were present. Preaching on the text, "And he shall show you a large upper room furnished " (Luke 22:12), the Bishop stated that the end of all religion is the conjunction of man with the Lord, a conjunction that can be attained in the Holy Supper, for which sacrament the whole of worship is a preparation; and he traced, through an exposition of the context, the successive steps whereby man is led from his spiritual "day of unleavened bread" to this conjunction, which is the climax of all religious experience. After the sermon, the Bishop, assisted by the pastor, administered the Holy Supper to twenty-five communicants. Before we dispersed, a group photograph was taken on the lawn at "Baringa," the residence of Mr. Morse. (See p. 18.)

     At a children's service held in the afternoon, with a total attendance of fifty-five, the Bishop gave a most interesting address on "Patience," and this service was followed by a much appreciated and most illuminating talk on the Tabernacle and its furniture, illustrated by the models he brought from Bryn Athyn. In the evening, nearly half the members of the society met the Bishop and his wife at the hospitable Heldon home.

     A banquet attended by thirty-one members and friends was held in the church on Monday evening, the committee rising splendidly to the occasion, and Mr. Ossian Heldon, as toastmaster, providing a fine program of toasts and songs. The main event was the Bishop's lucid and informative address on "The Uses of the General Church," which led to an interesting discussion in which there was a notable affectional sphere.

21


Toasts to "The Church," "Our Guests," "The Academy," and "The Ladies," were proposed by the pastor, by the Rev. Richard Morse, and Messrs. Fred. Fletcher and Alfred Kirschstein, and there were several impromptu toasts. A fine spirit animated this gathering, which will long live in our memories as an outstanding banquet.

     On the following evening an important and most useful joint meeting of the Pastor's Council and the Business Committee was held with the Bishop. While this meeting was in progress, the ladies met at the home of Mrs. Fletcher to hear a talk from Mrs. de Charms on the events of their journey. In the course of this meeting the ladies presented Mrs. de Charms with an unmounted black opal as a token of their affection and esteem. The men joined the ladies for supper, and there was a happy, informal gathering.

     Two addresses were given by the Bishop on the Wednesday, one on the Tabernacle to the Ladies' Guild in the afternoon, and the other, on the History and Uses of the Sons of the Academy, to the local Chapter of the Sons in the evening. This address, invaluable to our infant Chapter, was heard also by the ladies, who then went to the pastor's residence, where they were later joined by the men in another happy, informal gathering, The Sons meeting was chosen as an appropriate occasion on which to present Bishop de Charms with a tobacco jar fashioned in Australian wood, a token of affection and loyalty from the men of the society.

     Thursday, October 13, was the last day of this all too brief episcopal visit. In the morning, Bishop and Mrs. de Charms were present as guests and witnesses at a marriage solemnized privately between the Rev. Richard Morse and Miss Annie Taylor, the pastor officiating. This ceremony, which carried a most affecting sphere, and which was marked by a beautiful simplicity, was followed by a happy luncheon party, at which toasts to the Church and to the bride and bridegroom were honored in speech and song.

     Our last meeting was held in the Church that evening, the Bishop, to our delight, showing three films, one of the Pittsburgh General Assembly in 1937, and two of Bryn Athyn, the most notable features of these being the Charter Day and Commencement processions. In no other way could Bryn Athyn have been made more real to us, or brought so close; and some of our young men are already involved in financial calculations, with a view to ascertaining how soon they can see these things for themselves.

22


When the pastor had spoken of the society's appreciation of this visit, and both the Bishop and Mrs. de Charms had replied, all the members present adjourned to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, where a delicious supper was served. Toasts to the Church and to our guests were proposed for the last time, and the Bishop's response to the latter touched us deeply. A final presentation was made from the young people,-a boomerang,-the aboriginal weapon which has the canny knack of doing its work and then returning to the hand that despatched it, all ready for future use. As a parting gift to our Bishop it symbolizes a wish that the recipient may come back!

     That, indeed, was the wish of all. Our only regret was that the visit was necessarily so short, and we all wished that, like the movie operator, we might turn the film back at will. We had the most crowded week in our history, but we discovered that, in the language of our visitors, we can "take it." Some fears were expressed that we might be ruined by so much activity, but if this is being ruined, we like it, and are all in favor of frequent bankruptcies. About half the members of the society journeyed to Darling Harbor on Friday morning to see Bishop and Mrs. de Charms leave our shores in the A.M.S. Mariposa. We were loath to see them go; but as the widening gulf between ship and wharf parted the streamers that still bound us to them, we felt that lasting, if invisible, bonds had been forged that will reach all the way to Bryn Athyn, and unite us with our friends in a covenant of mutual love for the Church that time and space cannot break.

     This is but a brief record of what took place. We cannot express what is in our hearts and minds; but we would close on a note of deep gratitude to the Divine Providence which has given Bishop and Mrs. de Charms to the Church, and has given us, the General Church's farthest outpost, to know them as we came to know them through their first visit to Australia.
     W. CAIRNS HENDERSON.

23


SOUTH AFRICAN MISSION 1939

SOUTH AFRICAN MISSION       Editor       1939

     A VISIT TO MISSION CENTERS.

     Prior to the Second General Assembly, held at Alpha, September 6-11, arrangements were made for an Episcopal Visit to as many of the Mission centers as possible. The following brief account will note the chief incidents of the tour, including several Ordinations by the Bishop.

     Mayville, Durban.-On Sunday, August 7, at 3 p.m., a service of worship at Mayville was conducted by Bishop de Charms, assisted by the Revs. F. W. Elphick and Moffat Mcanyana, the attendance representing several local societies. The Rev. Philip Stole, of the Turner's Avenue Society, was ordained into the Second Degree of the Priesthood. The Bishop's sermon, which was interpreted by the Rev. M. B. Mcanyana, was followed by the administration of the Communion, the Revs. Moffat Mcanyana and Philip Stole assisting the Bishop as Celebrant.

     A Concert was given in the evening, the program including many Zulu and English songs. The Rev. B. Ngiba presided as chairman, and gifts were presented by the Mayville, Turner's Avenue and Tongaat Societies to Bishop and Mrs. de Charms, who both responded. And in appreciation of the concert they were joined by Mr. and Mrs. Odhner in the singing of several Academy and Assembly songs. Thus came into being what was henceforth known on the tour as "Mrs. de Charms' Choir." After the singing of the Native National Anthem, the Bishop closed the proceedings with the Benediction.

     Tongaat.-On Thursday, August 18, en route to Zululand, a visit was paid to the Tongaat Day School, where the Bishop exhibited part of the model of the Tabernacle which he had brought from Bryn Athyn, and the pupils rendered songs and recitations.

     Entumeni, Zululand.-Arriving at "Kent Manor" in the evening of the 18th, Bishop and Mrs. de Charms, the Rev. and Mrs. Philip N. Odhner, and the Rev. and Mrs. Elphick were guests of Mr. and Mrs. Wm. N. Ridgway, with whom several days were enjoyably spent as we attended to the uses of the Mission.

24


On Friday we met the Leaders and Teachers, and discussed with them some of the problems in connection with the church and school at "Kent Manor." Saturday afternoon was devoted to a Concert, at which presentations were made to Bishop and Mrs. de Charms. The Rev. M. B. Mcanyana was spokesman, and explained the use and historic significance of the gifts. A suitable response was made by "Mrs. de Charms' Choir."

     A large congregation attended the service on Sunday morning. The Bishop was assisted by the Revs. Philip N. Odhner, Moffat Mcanyana, and Philip Stole. Four Candidates were ordained into the First Degree of the Priesthood: Solomon Mkize, Benjamin Nzimande, Peter Sabela, and Aaron Zungu. The service closed with the administration of the Communion.

     In the afternoon the visitors witnessed a "Zulu Dance," given by members of a neighboring group. The entertainment was characteristic and pleasing-a remnant of old Zulu customs which still persist on special occasions.

     Greylingstad, Transvaal.-On Saturday evening, August 27, Bishop and Mrs. de Charms arrived at Heidelberg, Transvaal, coming from National Park (Natal) in company with Mr. and Mrs. W. G. Lowe. They were met by Mr. and Mrs. Elphick, motoring from Durban. Mr. and Mrs. Lowe continued their journey to Johannesburg, while the De Charms and Elphicks went to Greylingstad, where they were joined by Mr. and Mrs. Odhner on Sunday.

     The service on Sunday morning was conducted by the Bishop, assisted by the Revs. Elphick, Odhner and Jonas Motsi. Candidate Timothy Matshinini, who has been in the service of the Mission for many years, was ordained into the First Degree of the Priesthood. The Bishop delivered the Sermon, and the Communion was administered. After the service, presentations were made to Bishop and Mrs. de Charms on behalf of the two Societies,-Alexandra Township and Greylingstad.

25




     [Photos at Kent manor, Zululand and at Luka's Village, Basutoland.]

26




     Springs, Transvaal.-After a pleasant evening motor trip, the Bishop's party arrived at Park Hotel, where Mr. and Mrs. Martin Buss had arranged for an evening service for the benefit of a number of our isolated members. Those present, besides Mr. and Mrs. Buss, were Mr. and Mrs. Basil Braby, Mr. Morgan Gardiner, and Mr. John Gardiner. The Bishop officiated, delivering the sermon and administering the Holy Supper. The remainder of the evening was devoted to conversation on church and doctrinal matters.

     Vereeniging, Transvaal.-On Monday afternoon, Bishop and Mrs. de Charms, the Gardiner brothers, and the Elphicks motored to Vereeniging to visit Mrs. Gardiner and Mrs. Hunt, who could not attend the meeting at Springs. Mrs. Hunt received Baptism, after which the Bishop officiated at a private communion. Returning to Springs, a second evening was spent at Park Hotel with Mr. and Mrs. Basil Braby and Mr. and Mrs. Martin Buss.

     Greylingstad, Transvaal.-On Tuesday, Rev. and Mrs. Odhner left Springs for Alpha by car. Bishop and Mrs. de Charms and the Elphicks, en route to North Natal, called at Greylingstad to visit the Day School. The Bishop gave a short address to the children, and was enabled to see the every-day surroundings of the very elementary nature of mission-school work.

     Kalabasi, North Natal.-Mr. and Mrs. Matthews at Kalabasi, Dannhauser, near the coal mines, were visited on Wednesday. A call was made at the Mission Church, but the Leader had left for the meeting to be held with Rev. John Jiyana the following day. We endeavored to reach Mr. Shuttleworth's farm by sundown, but a car bearing broke, and our course was diverted to Ladysmith.

     Ladysmith, Natal.-Thursday, September 1, while the car was being repaired, the Elphicks visited Mr. Shuttleworth and the Rev. John Jiyana. The latter, with Leader Buthelezi, visited the Bishop that evening.

     Lusitania, Cundycleugh, North Natal.-The next day, Bishop and Mrs. de Charms and the Elphicks motored forty miles to the Society of which the Rev. John Jiyana is pastor. The Bishop addressed the group, and a presentation was made by the three North Natal Societies,-Esididini, Hambrook and Lusitania.

     "Alpha," Ladybrand, O. F. S.-Arriving here on September 3, Bishop and Mrs. de Charms were the guests of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Ridgway, joining Mr. and Mrs. Odhner, while Mr. and Mrs. Elphick were guests at the home of Mr. and Mrs. E. J. Waters.

27




     Luka's Village, Basutoland.-Owing to a slight indisposition, the Bishop unfortunately had to forego his visit to Basutoland, as arranged; but Mrs. de Charms, together with the Rev. F. W. Elphick, Rev. and Mrs. Odhner, and Revs. Twentyman Mofokeng and John Jiyana, motored to Lukas, where a service was held on Sunday, September 4. Mr. Odhnerderivered the sermon, and the Communion was administered by the Revs. Elphick, Mofokeng and Jiyana.

     SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

     The Second General Assembly of the South African Mission of the General Church of the New Jerusalem was held at Alpha, Ladybrand, Orange Free State, September 6-11, 1938, Bishop George de Charms presiding. The meetings were well attended, culminating on Sunday, September 11, in a gathering of about 400 people, including the following members and friends of the General Church: Mrs. George de Charms, Rev. and Mrs. F. W. Elphick, Rev. and Mrs. Philip N. Odhner, Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Ridgway, Mr. and Mrs. Norman A. Ridgway, Mr. W. W. Richards, Miss van Niekirk and Mrs. E. J. Waters, whose husband was unfortunately prevented from attending by illness.

     The majority of the Ministers, Leaders and Teachers of the Mission were present. As the Bishop was slightly indisposed, some changes in the program became necessary.

     FIRST OPEN SESSION.

     On Wednesday, September 7, at 10.00 a.m., the Assembly opened with prayer and the reading of the 125th Psalm.

     The Superintendent of the Mission, Rev. F. W. Elphick, was in the chair. After the Minutes of the First General Assembly, held in 1929, had been approved, the Secretary, Rev. Philip N. Odhner, read a Message of Greeting from the Thirty-first British Assembly, held in London, July 31 to August 2, 1938. The good wishes expressed were heartily received, and it was requested that a suitable reply be sent to England.

     Bishop George de Charms, speaking extemporaneously, then delivered his Address to the Assembly on the subject of "The Growth of the Church, Internal and External."

28


It was interpreted into the Sesuto language by the Rev. Twentyman Mofokeng. (The text was recorded by Mrs. Elphick and Mr. Odhner, and is published on pages 8-12 of the present issue of NEW CHURCH LIFE.)

     DISCUSSION OF THE BISHOP'S ADDRESS.

      Rev. Jonas Motsi.-I would like to give my greatest appreciation for the address the Bishop has given this morning. He spoke some of the greatest words amongst us,-words which we hope will remain forever among us-will remain even after he has left. It is quite true that there should be internal and external growth. Each has its own use. The internal has its daily use, exactly in the same way as the external. The Europeans have come to us, and through them the Divine Providence descended among us and the Writings have come to us. Having been brought through a European, it is thought that a European has a more open mind than an African. It appears that the Africans have only the externals. Our uses, compared with Europeans, are rather insignificant; but this is still through the order of the Divine Providence. I am not going to speak for long, but I am going to say that Moses was chosen to represent the Israelites. But before he was given the duty he was trained for it, and became learned in the laws of the Egyptians. And before we can understand the Writings it is essential that we should have education. We have to start teaching the child things around him, after which he learns deeper things. We thank the Bishop and everyone across the seas for all the uses they have brought to us, because there is an "end" to every use. Everything created has its own use. I hope we will not get discouraged when we see how very small our attainments are. We cannot attain to the same uses that you can. (Spoken in Sesuto: Interpreted by C. H. Mofokeng.)

     Rev. Nathaniel Mphetse.-We appreciate very much the address by the Bishop. It is as if this address is new to us, because although we have read in the Writings, we are still little children as to our knowledge of them. May God help the Africans in the future, and give us more understanding! The New Church has great uses which sometimes are not seen at a glance, because it appears that we still look upon the external uses of the Church only, whereas we have been told that the internal and external should grow side by side. We hope we will be able to follow this in future, and have the internal and external side by side. (Spoken in Sesuto: interpreted by Rev. T. Mofokeng.)

     Rev. Aaron B. Zungu.-At the Ministers' Meeting yesterday the Rev. John Jiyana showed us that our forefathers worshipped spirits, and that the Old Church brought the Christian religion, and that the Christian religion taught our fathers that the worship of spirits was evil, and so destroyed everything of it. The kraal head filled the office of the priest in the home, and every home had a sort of family worship. Now it seems that our Bishop is meaning to restore what we have lost through a false religion. From what we have heard this morning we hear that family worship can be restored, but it is to be in a genuine form. It is possible to bring back the office of the father or kraal head to its place of spreading the doctrine and instructing the people in the home. The Bishop's speech has pleased me very much.

29


(Spoken in English: Interpreted into Sesuto by Rev. T. Mofokeng.)

     Rev. Philip J. Stole.-I stand up to say how I appreciated what the Bishop has said, teaching what is in the Lord's Revelation. Also for the opportunity for this Assembly and for the meetings at "Rent Manor." I hope and pray that the Lord may prepare a place to have this instruction abide in my mind and give strength for family worship. It is necessary for the Word,-the Lord's Truth, or Revelation,-to be in every home, that the Lord may teach and be worshiped in His holy place. It is the only way we can be strengthened, so the Lord can make a Holy Tabernacle in our minds, and we can worship Him in truth and life. Therefore I thank the Bishop very much for his address. He has expressed his deep love for us in this country. His love can be felt when he speaks, and that it is truly from the heart. We hope the Lord will protect and lead him in his duties. (Spoken in English: Interpreted into Sesuto.)

     Rev. John Jiyana.-I am only getting up to thank the Bishop for what he has given us this morning; but being very short of words, I do not think I will have much to say. This is the first time we have had a visit of the Bishop to go round to several places. I was informed that he was to visit "Kent Manor" and several places on the coast, and we invited him to visit Lusitania. When we were ready to receive him, we heard that he was sick. I went direct to Ladysmith to visit the Bishop, I found him sick in bed. He was greatly distressed. I even thought he could not be well enough to hold these meetings, and now we thank the Lord that he is better, and has given a very good discourse. I give a chance to the mouthpiece of the Mission to give our appreciation of the speech of the Bishop, because he is more eloquent than us all. I mean Rev. Moffat Mcanyana. (Spoken in English. Translated into Sesuto by Fred Shangase.)

     Rev. Moffat Mcanyana.-In the first place I have just learned that I am a speaker and eloquent. Because of our appreciation and joy that we have heard our Bishop's address,-an address that is constructing something in our minds, and aims at putting into action that teaching, I thought that if I was to get up, my mind would be in confusion. I desire to study and to remember his address. I have been trying to construct a little shrine in my mind, and only as far as that shrine am I going to speak. We come across many things about this shrine when we read the Writings, but those things today seem to be vividly portrayed and living in our minds. I am very thankful for the two matters that the Bishop mentioned,-the internal and the external way.

     We did not hear anything of the Bishop being sick. But the Divine Providence has so worked that, in spite of the cold, he has succeeded in giving us more instruction. Thank you very much. That is all I want to say. It was a mistake to call me a speaker. (Spoken in Zulu: Translated into English by Aaron Zungu, and into Sesuto by Twentyman Mofokeng.)

     Rev. Julius Jiyana.-I am full of thanks for the Bishop's address and the greeting that came from our friends overseas.

30


We received a message of the passing of our beloved Father, Bishop N. D. Pendleton. Although we fully hope to meet the departed in the other world, still we feel pain at parting. I was particularly glad when the Bishop touched on the growth of the Church in its internal and also its external. That which we can do is by Divine aid alone, for as a matter of fact the Church can be built by no one but the Lord. As we receive the Divine of the Lord in His Second Coming, in that measure can we build the church within us. There is something else that this address touched in me. I remember my old days, before I heard of the New Church. In those days, when I thought of God, I thought of God as an animal,-an animal which did not love its creatures, because I was told that God saved whom He favored, and did not save whom He did not favor. Also that the devil was his brother, whom, because of a certain dispute, he cast upon the earth. And it occurred to my mind that this God must have favored the angels, and the human race was in disfavor, because it is said, "Be glad, ye heavens, because the devil has been cast down upon the earth; and woe unto the earth, because the cruel devil has been cast among you." All that criticism of man about God was taken away by the New Church. The New Church is a helper amongst us. The New Church teaches the salvation of the Lord, that the Lord loves all men alike. The Bishop says that he loves very much that our people should receive the blessings from the Lord, and we believe that he speaks these words from his heart, and that he himself loves our people. It is my belief that every one of us loves that one who teaches us, as much as he loves the teachings that he conveys to us. May the Lord make His Church to grow! (Spoken in Zulu. Translated into English by Rev. A. B. Zungu.)

     Candidate S. Buthelezi.-The response has shown us all that the address was appreciated. I would therefore ask one short question. May I ask whether this repository, or box, has any design in the Bishop's mind? I feel that an ordinary box would not do for such a thing. And should it be put aside for a holy use? And by whom? If I am not mistaken, I understand that, besides the Bible and the Writings, other things should be put in this repository. May I know what these things are? (Spoken in English. Interpreted by F. Shangase into Sesuto.)

     Bishop de Charms.-I had no design for such a repository in my mind, because I do not know enough about your homes, and what should be the kind of box to suit the needs of your people. But I can tell you what we do in our country. We hang a little case on the wall. It has doors that open. It has a shelf in it on which the Word is placed. We have that shelf covered with a gold cloth, and we have in the Word a red ribbon or marker. In some houses they have the repository beautifully carved, and sometimes have a whole room for the repository. But it does not matter what the form of the repository is. It may be very simple. The important thing is that it should be kept holy and regarded with great reverence, that it should be kept closed, except when there is worship, and that other things should not be placed upon it. If you cannot have it on the wall of your house, perhaps you can have a little shelf with the repository resting upon it like the altar on the chancel, and keep that separate from everything else in the house, so that it is like the chancel where the Lord is kept holy.

31




     I did not mean that anything else should be kept in the repository besides the Word and the Writings. I was merely comparing a repository to a box where you keep things that are most precious to you. All of you have things that you regard as precious, and you have to protect them, and keep them so they do not get lost; but here is something more precious than anything else that you have, and it is precious in a different way. It is precious because it represents and is the presence of the Lord with you, so that it should be kept apart from everything else. If I knew more about your people and your homes, I might suggest more exactly how you could make such a repository, but I think that your ministers can discuss this matter with your Superintendent, and you can come to a decision as to the best way to make such a repository, and then you can teach your people, and help them to have a repository in their homes. (Interpreted by Rev. Twentyman Mofokeng into Sesuto.)

     Rev. Benjamin Nzimande.-I would like to express my joy in seeing for the first time the Bishop of our Church. I have longed to see him, and I am well pleased to see him, also for what he has given us in his address. I hope we shall follow the useful advice given. Our societies are waiting for our return to tell them about the Bishop, and I hope they will be pleased with the news we shall give them.

     Mrs. Catherine Letele.-(Head Mistress, Alpha Day School.) Bishop, Superintendent and Members. I have much appreciated the Bishop's address. It has been very touching, especially the closing words of the address. This is because some of us have read some of the Bishop's words at different times. The love of the Bishop and the love of the Church has shown itself all along. Some of us have thought that already we knew the Bishop from reading his words. We have been much encouraged by what he said, and I have only to express the wish that the love which he has for our baby churches will grow more and more. We wish him success in the work as our Bishop. I have just one question to ask about the repository-about the evening worship especially. Should it be given immediately after the evening meal, before people go to their pleasures or duty, or should the family gather at some later time. In what room should the repository be? (Spoken in English: interpreted into Sesuto.)

     Bishop de Charms.-We have to consider in these matters what is most practical. The exact time when we have worship is not in itself essential. The essential thing is that we have worship every day. The conditions in homes are different, and it might be possible for one family to have it at a time when other families could not. Possibly the most practical time for you would be immediately after the evening meal, before the family scatters to other things. All the children come in to get something to eat, and then they are together. Most of our people have their worship immediately after the evening meal, although some have it in the morning, immediately after breakfast.

     Rev. S. Mkize.-Does the opening of the Word bring the presence of the Lord, and the closing of the Word the absence of the Lord?

32


Is the Lord ever absent? Why, then, is the Word not kept open?

     Bishop de Charms.-Every man has two minds-an internal mind and an external mind. The Lord is always present in the internal mind, and from there He confirms the things of the external mind. When we open the Word, we turn away from the things of the external mind, and open our internal mind to the Lord, so that He may teach us. And when He has taught us, we remember what He has said, but we go back into our external mind to do the things the Lord has said. The repository in our home represents the Lord's presence in our internal mind. He is always present, even when the repository is closed. But because the Word is so holy, and so precious, it must be protected when we are doing other things in our external minds. Thus we have an alternation or change from one state to another. First, the opening of our mind to the Lord, and receiving teaching from Him, and then closing that mind, so as to keep it protected when we go back into our external mind to do what the Lord says. But the Lord is still with us, even when the repository is closed.

     Rev. Peter Sabela.-I get up to appreciate the Bishop's address and the explanation he has given about the repository. I remember our Superintendent spoke about it, and that it should be used in our homes and dedicated to the service of the Lord, as our Bishop has said. The Bishop has said that he does not know the conditions of our homes. Not all our families conduct family worship, but it should be done, because the Lord says, "Where two or three are gathered together, there am I in the midst of them." When two partners are joined together in married life, they will introduce their children into the worship of the Lord, and start having this repository. The Lord will be with them always, so that when they get children, they will introduce their children into the worship of the Lord. (Spoken in Zulu. Interpreted into English by J. Jiyana; into Sesuto by Twentyman Mofokeng.)

     Rev. M. B. Mcanyana.-I wish that the discussion was more on the usefulness of this shrine. As Mr. Sabela has said, there is difficulty which arises before every minister. We go along the streets and meet people who have never heard about the New Church. You tell him what you believe. Then he is convinced that what you say is the truth which he did not have before. He says I wish to be baptized in your Church. He is baptized. He is a member of the Church. I wonder whether this shrine will arouse his interest. Sometimes he cannot read English, and you try to find books which he can read. But if you speak to him afterwards, and find out what he has got from the books, you will find that he has not got very much. I have been with some in their homes, and asked to see the books they bought, and they have not even read them. They were covered with dust. The discussion has been very interesting to me, and I wish something could be said about the usefulness of the repository. It may even be in our ministers' homes. They (the ministers) may not have the same interest in their own homes. Sometimes the wife is busy with other things. She does not care, and I wonder whether perhaps this might help her. (Spoken in English. Interpreted into Sesuto.)

33




     Rev. Jonas Motsi.-I follow what has been said by Rev. Moffat Mcanyana, but there seem to be two points. The Bishop has described how things are done in his home. It will not be the same with us here. Our custom is always to ring a bell, that everyone should go to the place appointed. Some go in the morning, some in the evening. The place is the church. Our people do not have worship in the home, but in the church, They are not satisfied unless it is in the church, which is used for the reading of the Word and the Writings. Sometimes a man goes away to another place, and then he forgets all about the New Church. When you meet him again, he knows nothing about the New Church. Those who have been properly trained have family worship in their home every Sunday.

     Rev. Twentyman Mofokeng.-I have heard of this repository several times, and have seen one. I would like to know whether this repository has originated with the New Church?

     Bishop de Charms.-I think the repository, as it is now used, is distinctive of the New Church, but the origin is very ancient. It was used in the Ancient Church, when all worship was family worship, before there were any churches, and when men gathered together in the tent of the head of the family. You will find that described in the Writings in connection with the visit of Swedenborg to the Ancient Heavens. But the Lord commanded that such a repository be used by the children of Israel. It was the Ark in which the tables of stone were placed when the Lord gave the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. You know what the ark was like. It was a box made of cedar wood, and it was covered with gold, inside and out, and it had a cover made of pure gold on which were the cherubim to guard it. In it were kept only the tables of stone with the Ten Commandments, which were the covenant between God and His people. We are told in the Writings that this is a picture of the way in which the Lord should be present with every man, and it is from that teaching of the Writings that there has developed in the New Church a repository that is placed in every home. For if that represents the way in which the Lord has to be with every man, then it must be in his home.

     I believe that there will be a great power in having such a holy place in every home. It keeps the church with us wherever we are. And I believe that, even when we live where there is a church, it is of great value-even if we can read very little, and even if we understand very little. If a man will go to the Writings, and read just a little, if he does not understand he can ask what it means. He will know that the Lord is saying something to him, and that is very important. If he does not understand it, then when he comes to the church he will speak to his Minister, and will receive instruction that otherwise would not occur to him.

     You have said that the African people have very little education, and it is indeed very important that you should have education. It is important that you have education to understand the Writings. That is true. But let us remember this, that there is a kind of education that leads away from the Lord, that makes it harder to receive what the Lord teaches in His Word, that makes a man doubt all teaching of spiritual things.

34


The world is full of that kind of education to-day. And much of the education which has come to you from our European people is of a kind that may lead away from a knowledge of the Lord. I believe that the greatest of education will come from trying to understand what the Writings teach, and trying to understand everything else we learn in the light of what we learn from the Writings. So while it is true that it is necessary to have education to understand the Writings, it is also true that if we have the Writings we will have a much better education. Having the Writings present in a holy place in the home will encourage your people to try to understand them. When first we look at them, and we do not understand, we are apt to get discouraged, and think that we cannot understand them, and so we do not try. That is the case when, as Mr. Mcanyana points out, we find the books all covered with dust. We need to encourage our people not to give up when first they read and do not understand. We want to encourage them to begin again and try to understand. And after a while they will begin to understand, and will understand more from day to day. Finally, they will so love to go to the Writings that they will love them more than anything else in the world. They begin by loving them because they are holy and from the Lord, but after that they will get to love them because they find wonderful things to help them in their lives. And then the Church will be established permanently with them. And no matter where they go, they will not join another Church, because they have found the Lord and understood something of what He says.

     No one understands everything the Writings teach. Even the wisest man in the world understands only a little; and the more we learn, the more we realize there is much we do not understand. The difference between you, who have very little education, and the Europeans who have much education. is not so great when compared with the angels. We are all like little children going to school and trying to understand what the Lord says. And only after we have had a lifetime of learning in this school can we be prepared to come into the wisdom of heaven. The work of the Church, the work of the ministers of the Church, is to help people find the wonderful things in the Writings, and when they get discouraged, to encourage them to go back and try again. And when they say there is something they do not understand, to explain it to them in a simple way, so that they can begin to understand. And little by little, as they begin to understand a few things, they will come to understand more and more, and it will mean more and more to them; for that is the way that the Church is established in our minds. As we struggle, and try to understand, the Lord opens our minds and teaches us. If we do not struggle, our minds will never be opened. Everything that is of great value to us means that we must struggle to attain it, and it is so with the things of the Church. We must help our people to struggle, encourage them when they would give up, and help them when they come into difficulties. One way to encourage and help them is to teach them that they should go to the Writings every day and try to understand, little by little. That is the use of the repository as I understand it, for then the Lord enters from that repository into the minds of those who go to it to worship, and He gives them enlightenment and under standing and wisdom, little by little and day by day, if only they will struggle for it.

35


(Interpreted into Sesuto by Rev. T. Mofokeng.)

     After the Benediction the meeting adjourned.
COUNCIL MEETINGS 1939

COUNCIL MEETINGS       FREDERICK W. ELPHICK       1939

     MINISTERS AND LEADERS.

     Four times during the Assembly week, the Bishop met in Council with the Ministers and Leaders of the Mission. There were present, besides Superintendent Elphick and Assistant Superintendent Odhner, twenty-two Native Ministers and Leaders, coming from Basutoland, Cape Province, Natal, Orange Free State, Transvaal, and Zululand. Addresses were delivered as follows:

     TUESDAY: "The Christian Churches and the New Church," Rev. John M. Jiyana. THURSDAY: "How are the Africans to Understand the Writings!" Rev. Moffat Mcanyana. FRIDAY: "Providence and Foresight," Rev. Philip J. Stole. SATURDAY: "The Spiritual Sense of the Word," Rev. Twentyman Mofokeng.

     These papers were of a high standard, and they were fruitful in bringing happy and instructive discussions.

     MINISTERS, LEADERS AND TEACHERS.

     According to the principle that there should be coordination of ministerial and educational uses, two afternoons were devoted to joint meetings, the forty-one present including seventeen teachers from the Mission Schools in various districts. Animated discussions followed the reading of papers on these subjects:

     THURSDAY: "The Growth of the Church from Within," Rev. Aaron B. Zungu. FRIDAY: 1) "Education in the Light of the Writings," Mr. C. Herman Mofokeng; 2) " Home Education Away From Church Schools," by Mrs. Carita Pendleton de Charms (July NEW CHURCH LIFE), presented by the Rev. Jonas Motsi, read by the Superintendent, and interpreted in Sesuto by the Rev. Twentyman Mofokeng; 3) "What Policy is to be Followed in Regard to Distinctive New Church Schools? " Rev. F. W. Elphick.

36




     SUPERINTENDENT'S COUNCIL.

     This Council, inaugurated in 1927, and patterned after the order of the General Church Consistory, met on Wednesday, September 7, the Bishop presiding. Those present were: Revs. Elphick and Odhner; Revs. Jonas Mphatse and Nathaniel Mphatse (Basutoland); Rev. Twentyman Mofokeng (O. F. S.); Revs. P. J. Stole and John Jiyana (Natal); Rev. Jonas Motsi (Transvaal); Rev. Moffat B. Mcanyana (Zululand).

     On Friday morning, September 9, the Bishop gave a most useful and instructive talk to the Ministers and Teachers on the subject of "The Tabernacle," illustrated by the model which he had brought from Bryn Athyn. In the evening of the same day a Concert, with Leader Wilfred Mkize presiding, featured many Basuto and Zulu choral selections, which kept an appreciative audience happily occupied until nearly eleven o'clock.

     DIVINE WORSHIP.

     On Sunday, September 11, at 11.00 a.m., an exceptionally full Service was held at the Alpha Church. The Order of Worship included two Lessons, the Ordination of six Candidates into the First Degree of the Priesthood, a Sermon, and the Administration of the Holy Supper. Bishop de Charms officiated, and was assisted by the Revs. F. W. Elphick, Twentyman Mofokeng and Jonas Motsi. Those ordained were: Candidates S. Buthelezi, J. Kandisa, J. Lunga, A. Mphatse, W. Mkize, and George Nteso. Each had composed and each read his Confession of Faith and Statement of Purpose. The Rev. Jonas Motsi interpreted the proceedings into Sesuto. The Bishop then delivered an inspiring sermon on "The Upbuilding of the New Church from Within and Without." It was interpreted by the Rev. Twentyman Mofokeng. The Sacrament of the Holy Supper was then administered.

     SECOND OPEN SESSION.

     After luncheon, the Assembly met at 3.00 p.m., the Superintendent presiding.

37


The Bishop again addressed the Assembly, briefly summarizing the proceedings of the week, and noting the need of the internal growth of the Church. He also expressed the good will of those in America who are interested in the development of the Church in South Africa.

     Following this, a deputation of Ministers and Teachers, representing the five societies in Basutoland and the Native Staff at Alpha, with Rev. Twentyman Mofokeng as spokesman, gave an address of welcome to Bishop and Mrs. de Charms, and each society in turn laid presents on the table,-gifts artistic and domestic of Basuto way and custom. The recipients responded amidst much applause, and songs were sung by the Basutos and Zulus, respectively. "Mrs. de Charms' Choir" then rendered a new version of "Friends Across the Sea," with verses that included all the Mission Societies in South Africa. This brought to a close an exceedingly pleasant afternoon. After the singing of the Native National Anthem, the Bishop pronounced the Benediction, concluding the Assembly.
     FREDERICK W. ELPHICK.

     [Photo of the GROUP AT ALPHA.]

38


DIRECTORY 1939

DIRECTORY              1939

     GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM.

     Officials and Councils.
Bishop: Right Rev. George de Charms
Secretary: Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner
Treasurer: Mr. Hubert Hyatt

     CONSISTORY.
Bishop George de Charms
Right Rev. Alfred Acton                    Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal
Rev. Karl R. Alden                     Rev. E. E. Iungerich
Rev. Gustaf Baeckstrom                    Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner
Rev. W. B. Caldwell                    Rev. Gilbert H. Smith
Rev. C. E. Doering, Secretary           Rev. Homer Synnestvedt
Rev. F. W. Elphick                     Right Rev. R. J. Tilson
Rev. F. E. Waelchli

     
     EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.
Bishop George de Charms, President
Mr. Edward H. Davis, Secretary
Mr. Hubert Hyatt, Treasurer

Mr. Kesniel C. Acton                    Mr. Charles G. Merrell
Mr. Edward C. Bostock                    Mr. Hubert Nelson
Mr. C. Raynor Brown                         Mr. Seymour G. Nelson
Mr. Geoffrey S. Childs                    Mr. Philip C. Pendleton
Mr. Randolph W. Childs                    Mr. Harold F. Pitcairn
Mr. David Gladish                         Mr. Raymond Pitcairn
Dr. Marlin W. Heilman                    Mr. Colley Pryke
Mr. Walter Horigan                    Mr. Rudolph Roschman
Mr. Alexander P. Lindsay                Mr. Paul Synnestvedt
Mr. Nils E. Loven                         Mr. Victor Tilson
Mr. Frank Wilson

     Honorary Member.
Mr. Samuel S. Lindsay, Sr.

39




     The Clergy.

     Bishops.

     DE CHARMS, GEORGE. Ordained, June 28, 1914; 2d Degree, June 19, 1916; 3d Degree, March 11, 1928. Bishop of the General Church. Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church. President, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     TILSON, ROBERT JAMES. Ordained, August 23d, 1882; 2d Degree, June 19, 1892; 3d Degree, August 5, 1928. Address: 7 Templar Street, Camberwell, S. E. 5, London, England.

     ACTON, ALFRED. Ordained, June 4, 1893; 2d Degree, January 10, 1897; 3d Degree, April 5, 1936. Pastor of the Society in Washington, D. C. Dean of the Theological School, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     Pastors.

     ACTON, A. WYNNE. Ordained, June 19, 1932; 2d Degree, March 25, 1934. Pastor of Michael Church, London. Address: 113 Knatchbull Road, Camberwell, S. E. 5, London, England.

     ACTON, ELMO CARMAN. Ordained, June 14, 1925; 2d Degree, August 5, 1928. Assistant Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church. Visiting Pastor, Advent Church, Philadelphia, Pa., and Circles in Camden and Newark, N. J. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     ALDEN, KARL RICHARDSON. Ordained, June 19, 1917; 2d Degree, October 12, 1919. Principal of the Boys' Academy and Housemaster of Stuart Hall, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     BAECKSTROM, GUSTAF. Ordained, June 6, 1915; 2d Degree, June 27, 1920. Pastor of the Society in Stockholm, Sweden. Address: Svedjevlgen 20, Appelviken, Stockholm, Sweden.

     CALDWELL, WILLIAM BEEBE. Ordained, October 19, 1902; 2d Degree, October 23, 1904. Editor of New Church Life. Professor of Theology, Academy of the New Church. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     CRONLUND, EMIL ROBERT. Ordained, December 31, 1899; 2d Degree, May 18, 1902. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     DAVID, LLEWELLYN WARREN TOWNE. Ordained, June 28, 1914; 2d Degree, June 19, 1916. Instructor, Academy of the New Church. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     DOERING, CHARLES EMIL. Ordained, June 7, 1896; 2d Degree, January 29, 1899. Dean of Faculties, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     ELPHICK, FREDERICK WILLIAM. Ordained, February 7, 1926; 2d Degree, June 19, 1926. Superintendent of the South African Mission. Pastor of the Alpha Circle. Address: 44 Toledo Avenue, Durban, Natal, South Africa.

     GILL, ALAN. Ordained, June 14, 1925; 2d Degree, June 19, 1926. Pastor of Carmel Church, Kitchener, Ontario. Address: 37 John St., E., Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.

40




     GLADISH, VICTOR JEREMIAH. Ordained, June 17, 1928; 2d Degree, August 5, 1928. Pastor of the Colchester Society. Address: 67 Lexden Road, Colchester, England.

     GLADISH, WILLIS LENDSAY. Ordained, 1st and 2d Degrees, June 3, 1894. Address: Glenview, Ill.

     GYLLENHAAL, FREDERICK EDMUND. Ordained, June 23, 1907; 2d Degree, June 19, 1919. Pastor of Olivet Church, Toronto, Ontario. Address: 2 Elm Grove Ave., Toronto 3, Ontario, Canada.

     HARRIS, THOMAS STARK. Ordained, 1st and 2d Degrees, April 8, 1897. Address: 855 Boulevard, Westfield, New Jersey.

     HEINRICHS, HENRY. Ordained, June 24, 1923; 2d Degree, February 8, 1925. Address: R. R. 3, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.

     HENDERSON, WILLIAM CAIRNS. Ordained, June 19, 1934; 2d Degree, April 14, 1935. Pastor of the Hurstville Society. Address: 153 Laycock Road, Hurstville, Australia.

     IUNGERICH, ELDRED EDWARD. Ordained, June 13, 1909; 2d Degree, May 26, 1912. Pastor of the Societies at Paris, France, and The Hague, Holland. Address: 149 Hanenburg laan, The Hague, Holland.

     LEONARDOS, HENRY. Ordained, 1st and 2d Degrees, August 5, 1928. Pastor of the Rio de Janeiro Society. Address: 42 Prc Eugenio Jardim, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

     LIMA, JOAO DE MENDONCA. Ordained, 1st and 2d Degrees, August 5, 1928. Pastor of the Rio de Janeiro Society. Address: 83 Julio Castilhos, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

     MORSE, RICHARD. Ordained, 1st and 2d Degrees, October 12, 1919. Address: Dudley Street, Hurstville, Australia.                                        

     ODHNER, HUGO LJUNGRERG. Ordained, June 23, 1914; 2d Degree, June 24, 1917. Secretary of the General Church. Assistant faster of the Bryn Athyn Church. Professor, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     ODHNER, PHILIP NATHANIEL. Ordained, June 19, 1932; 2d Degree, June 17, 1934. Pastor of the Durban Society. Assistant Superintendent of the South African Mission. Address: 129 Musgrave Road, Durban, Natal, South Africa.

     PENDLETON, WILLARD DANDRIDGE. Ordained, June 18, 1933; 2d Degree, September 12, 1934. Pastor of the Pittsburgh Society. Address: 299 Le Roi Road, Pittsburgh, Pa.

     REUTER, NORMAN HAROLD. Ordained, June 17, 1925; 2d Degree, June 15, 1930. Pastor of the Wyoming Circle. Visiting Pastor of the General Church. Address: 123 Springfield Pike, Wyoming, Ohio.

     ROSENQVIST, JOSEPH ELIAS. Ordained, June 19, 1891; 2d Degree, June 23, 1895. Address: Koopmansgatan 3-11, Gothenburg, Sweden.

     SANDSTROM, ERIK. Ordained, June 10, 1934; 2d Degree, August 4, 1935. Pastor of the Jonkoping Society. Address: Lundsberg 3, Kortebo, Sweden.

     SMITH, GILBERT HAVEN. Ordained, June 25, 1911; 2d Degree, June 19, 1913. Pastor of the Immanuel Church, Glenview, Illinois.

     STARKEY, GEORGE GODDARD. Ordained, June 3, 1894; 2d Degree, October 19, 1902. Address: Glenview, Illinois.

41




     SYNNESTVEDT, HOMER. Ordained, June 19, 1891; 2d Degree, January 13, 1895. Visiting Pastor, Advent Church, Philadelphia, Pa. Professor, Academy of the New Church. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     WAELCHLI, FRED EDWIN. Ordained, June 10, 1888; 2d Degree, June 19, 1891. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     WHITEHEAD, WILLIAM. Ordained, June 19, 1922; 2d Degree, June 19, 1926. Secretary, Council of the Clergy. Visiting Pastor, New York Society. Professor, Academy of the New Church. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     Pastor, Pending Ordination.

     ALGERNON, HENRY. Address: 351 Cummings Street, Georgetown, Demerara, British Guiana.

     Ministers.

     CRANCH, RAYMOND GREENLEAF. Ordained, June 19, 1922. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     ODHNER, VINCENT CARMOND. Ordained, June 17, 1928. Address: 58 Wayne Place, Nutley, New Jersey.

     RICH, MORLEY DYCKMAN. Ordained, June 19, 1938. Minister of Sharon Church, Chicago, Illinois. Address: 5220 Wayne Avenue, Chicago, Ill.

     ROGERS, NORBERT HENRY. Ordained, June 19, 1938. Assistant to the Pastor of Carmel Church, Kitchener, Ontario. Address: 491 Park Street, Kitchener, Ont., Canada.

     South African Mission.

     Besuto.

     MOFOKENG, TWENTYMAN. Ordained, September 29, 1929; 2d Degree, October 6, 1929. Pastor of the Alpha Mission. Address: P. O. Box 78, Ladybrand, O. F. S., South Africa.

     MOTSI, JONAS. Ordained, September 29, 1929; 2d Degree, September 30, 1929. Pastor of the Greylingstad Society. Address: P. O. Box 13, Greylingstad, Transvaal, South Africa.

     MPHATSE, AARON. Ordained, September 11, 1938. Minister of Luka's Society, Basutoland. Address: Ha Luka, P. O. Upper Qeme, Maseru, Basutoland, South Africa.

     MPHATSE, JONAS. Ordained, September 29, 1929. Minister to the Qopo Society, Basutoland. Abdress Qopot P. O. Majara, via Maseru, Basutoland.

     MPHATSE, NATHANIEL. Ordained, September 29, 1929. Minister at Mafika-Lisiu, Basutoland. Address: P.O . Thaba Bosigo, Maseru, Basutoland.

     MOSOANG, SOFONIA. Ordained, October 6, 1929. Minister at Khopane, Basutoland. Address: P. O. Majara, via Maseru, Basutoland.

42




     NTESO, GEORGE. Ordained, September 11, 1938. Minister in the Machacha District, Basutoland. Address: Sequnyane, Ha Thababosiu, P. O. Mapoteng, Basutoland (via Ficksburg: O. F. S.), South Africa.

     Xosa.

     KANDISA, JOHNSON. Ordained, September 11, 1938. Minister of the Sterkstroom Society, Cape Province. Address: P. O. Sterkstroom, C. P., South Africa.

     Zulu.

     BUTHELEZI, STEPHEN EPHRAIM. Ordained, September 11, 1938. Minister of Hambrook District. Address: Hambrook, P. O. Acton Homes, Ladysmith, Natal, South Africa.

     JIYANA, JOHN MOSES. Ordained, September 29, 1929; 2d Degree, September 30, 1929. Pastor at Lusitania and Esididini. Address: Lusitania School P. O., Cundycleugh, via Pesters Rail, Natal, South Africa.

     JIYANA, JULIUS S. M. Ordained, September 29, 1929. Minister to the Tongaat Society. Address: Tongaat P. O., Natal, South Africa.

     LUNGA, JOHANNES. Ordained, September 11, 1938. Minister of the Esididini Society. Address: Esididini, P. O. Kalabasi, Dannhauser, Natal, South Africa.

     MATSHININI, TIMOTHY. Ordained, August 28, 1938. Minister of the Society at Alexandra Township, Johannesburg. Address: 165 11 Avenue, Alexandra Township, Johannesburg, South Africa.

     MCANYANA, MOFFAT. Ordained, August 12, 1928; 2d Degree, September 30, 1929. Pastor of the Rent Manor Society. Address: "Kent Manor," P. Post Bag, Entumeni, Zululand, via Durban, Natal, South Africa.

     MKIZE, SOLOMON. Ordained, August 21, 1938. Assistant Minister to Kent Manor Society. Address: "Kent Manor," P. O. Entumeni, Zululand, South Africa.

     MKIZE, WILFRED. Ordained, September 11, 1938. Missionary in the Indulinde District. Address: Indulinde M. S., P. O. Indulinde, Inyoni Rail, Zululand, South Africa.

     NGIRA, BENJAMIN THOMAS. Ordained, October 6, 1929. Minister to the Mayville Society, Durban. Address: 67 Chancellor Avenue, Mayville, Durban, Natal, South Africa.

     NZIMANDE, BENJAMIN ISHMAEL. Ordained, August 21, 1938. Minister in the Deepdale and Bulwer Districts, Natal. Address: P. O. Deepdale, Marittburg, Natal.

     SABELA, PETER. Ordained, August 21, 1938. Missionary. Address: "Kent Manor," P. O. Entumeni, Zululand, South Africa.

     STOLE, PHILIP JONANNES. Ordained, September 29, 1929; 2d Degree, August 7, 1938. Pastor of the Turner's Avenue Society. Address: 19, Turner's Avenue, off Berea Road, Durban, Natal, South Africa.

     ZUNGU, AARON. Ordained, August 21, 1938. Appointment pending. Address: 104, Oakleigh Drive, Ridge Road, Durban, Natal, South Africa.

43


Church News 1939

Church News       Various       1939

     THE HAGUE, HOLLAND.

     Dr. and Mrs. Iungerich are now completely settled in their comfortably furnished house by the sea and the dunes. A little garden in the rear provides a nice playground for their two children. It has been arranged that Phita Bulthuis will keep Mrs. Iungerich company on the weekends when our pastor is visiting Paris and Brussels.

     In order that Dr. Iungerich may become quickly and thoroughly acquainted with the Dutch language, he goes once a week to Mr. Rijkee, who has kindly offered to help him with lessons in grammar.

     At the service in our place of worship on October 9, the sermon explained how the two tables of the Decalogue represented the minds of the celestial and spiritual angels, as portrayed by the inscriptions thereon and their mutual position. Following this very interesting discourse, the Holy Supper was administered to eleven communicants.

     A New Periodical.

     The Annual Meeting of our Society was held at the Francis home on November 8, twelve persons attending. Mr. Francis first read a paper on man's initiation into good and truth, with quotations from the Arcana Celestia. After refreshments, Mr. Francis took the chair, as our pastor would have difficulties conducting a meeting in the Dutch language.

     The Annual Meeting unanimously accepted the suggestion of the Executive Committee to undertake the publication of a monthly periodical in Dutch. Dr. Iungerich will be the editor, and Mr. Francis will act as business manager. At first the magazine will have eight pages, two of which are to feature a continued story for children, written by the editor, and two pages are to be devoted to doctrinal articles from his pen. The four remaining pages are to be kept free for papers by our members or translated sermons and addresses by ministers of the General Church. The first issue will appear about Christmas time, and the periodical will be known as De Nieuwe Bedeeling [The New Dispensation?] this title being inspired by the Memorable Relation in the True Christian Religion, no. 508, where we find the account of the Nunc Licet temple. On the cover, therefore, there will be a temple surrounded by twelve trumpets with flames in the background,-a design drawn by a nephew of Mr. Happee, a student of painting who is interested in the New Church.

     It is a matter of happiness and satisfaction to our society that we can manage to publish this little magazine, which is also due to the fact that we were fortunate in finding a printer who is willing to furnish a specimen in cyclostyled form at a very moderate cost.

     It was also decided that the pastor will conduct a doctrinal class for adults every fortnight, to be held on invitation in the homes of our members.

     Dr. Iungerich is also holding a class for the two Bulthuis girls on Wednesday afternoons.

     The Sunday service on November 13 was attended by thirteen members and five friends. The pastor's sermon was on the subject of "Spiritual Warfare," and made clear that disasters in the natural world are due to spiritual causes, as is the case with the warfare of spiritual temptation in the minds of men.

44




     We had a very nice Sunday morning meeting on November 20 at the home of the Happee family, and it added to the sphere to have Miss Hetty Engeltjes with us after an absence of some weeks, during which she underwent an operation.
     LAMBERTINE FRANCIS.

     WEST AFRICA.

     Rev. Africanus Mensah.

     We have before noted the beginnings of the New Church in Nigeria through the missionary zeal of Mr. Africanus Mensah. We now learn from The New-Church Herald that Mr. Mensah visited England last summer and, after taking examinations in Theology, was ordained as a Minister of the New Church on June 22 during a meeting of the General Conference, held at Camberwell, London. How he became a receiver and teacher of the Heavenly Doctrines is described in a brief biography, published in The Herald for June 18, 1938.

     He was born at Ellmina, Gold Coast, in 1875, and was educated in a Wesleyan school. After serving as an officer in the customs department, he became a trader, and with some friends formed a little town called Mensah-Town. He introduced Methodism into the district, and built a church and school. He is known as the founder of Methodism on the east of the Niger River. Seeing an advertisement of Swedenborg's books, he procured Warren's Compendium, and being greatly impressed, he ordered Swedenborg's books to sell in his store. He was then a Methodist preacher and teacher. Later, through introducing New Church ideas into his teaching, he was reported, tried, and found guilty of heresy. This severed all his connections with Methodism.

     Going to Port Harcourt, Nigeria, he sold New Church pamphlets and labored in spreading the Doctrines, which were received with delight by many. He was then invited to Owo to establish the Church there. He went there and worked with great success. Today more than 400 people are present at Sunday services, and there are 220 children in the school. There is little opposition to the New Church there. Though three other religious organizations have been established there for about twelve years, the New Church has the most influence. Before Mr. Mensah's work began, Swedenborg and his teachings were unknown in West Africa.

     This winter, under the auspices of the British Conference, the Rev. and Mrs. Arthur Clapham will spend six months in the West African field. Mr. Clapham, who is Minister of the Flodden Road Church, London, visited West Africa five years ago.

     CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

     With somewhat mixed feelings, Sharon Church resumed its part in the work of the church this Fall. Much regret was expressed over the loss of the services of our loved pastor and leader, the Rev. Willis L. Gladish, due to his retirement. But there was also a confidence felt for the continuance of the work under the guidance of the new minister, the Rev. Morley D. Rich. In his first sermon, Mr. Rich treated of the state of a new beginning, showing how it is necessary for us to remember and cherish the benefits of the past, even while looking forward with hope to the future.

     Shortly after the resumption of services a special meeting of the society was called for the purpose of meeting and talking with the new minister. In the course of the evening, he spoke of the relationship which ought to exist between the clergy and laity and expressed his pleasure at being called to serve the society. He also stated that he would announce no definite policies, but would follow the principle and custom of the General Church, which is, not to enunciate policies binding the future, but to meet contemporary needs and uses as they appear, with common sense guided by the truths of the Word and the Writings.

45


There followed an informal discussion of present problems.

     Friday suppers and doctrinal classes were resumed on October 7. In a series of classes, Mr. Rich has presented the subject of the Holy Spirit,-its influx, mediate and immediate, the way in which it operates, and the agencies through which it comes to men. He has also been holding a class at which our young people have enjoyed meeting with the young people of the Immanuel Church. A great deal of lively discussion and many questions have been the rule. Problems of daily and church life have also been discussed, both formally in the class, and informally in groups afterwards. These classes are meeting a need which is always present.

     On December 3, the Ladies' Guild held a Bazaar for the purpose of aiding the Building Fund. A turkey supper was enjoyed by all, after which the booths of needlework, Christmas cards, pastries and candies were opened for the sale. Much enjoyment was furnished by Mr. Will Cooper's game of Wibbly Wabbly, and also the game of Chinese Checkers. Socially and financially, the Bazaar proved to be a success.

     Mr. Rich has begun a series of Christmas sermons on the words of Zacharias concerning John the Baptist, Luke 1:76-78. And we are planning for the regular Children's Christmas Service, which is to be held on Saturday afternoon, December 24, and to be followed by a light supper for both adults and children.

     PITTSBURGH, PA.

     The celebration of Thanksgiving Day by a special children's service was the outstanding event of the month. The children bore gifts of fruit and sang a Bach Chorale and a selection from the Psalmody. The pastor gave a fine address on "The Necessity of Worship," and told us that we should all be grateful for our opportunities. We were pleased to welcome many visitors at this time.

     The eighth grade and high school pupils are being instructed in social dancing by Miss Eleanor Ebert.

     Doctrinal classes are being conducted in Tarentum, Pa., at the homes of various members.
     E. R. D.

     GLENVIEW, ILL.

     The calendar says it's less than three weeks until Christmas, but so far we've had little Winter weather. However, our regular round of Winter activities is in full swing,-Friday suppers and lectures, council meetings, and school meetings.

     A Bazaar on November 12 was one of the most successful social occasions of the season. A delightful supper was served, followed by the selling of the many articles on display. Several hundred dollars was realized, even after all expenses had been paid. The evening continued with the playing of games.

     On November 26 a committee "put on" one of those informal dances which always prove so enjoyable. The music was supplied by a mechanical device which played records, switching from one record to the next with a smoothness of operation worthy of watching. This fine machine has been loaned us by the Cole brothers, sons of Mr. Louis S. Cole, Sr.

     About eighteen years ago a member of the Immanuel Church got the idea that he would like to meet once a week with a few friends for the purpose of reading New Church Life and other periodicals of the New Church. He issued a limited number of invitations, and on a certain Tuesday evening they met for the first time at the home of Mr. George A. McQueen, the founder of what has long since become known as the "Life Class." Several weeks ago the (approximately) five hundred and fiftieth meeting of the "Life Class" was held, ushering in the 1938-39 season of meetings.

46


At the meeting on December 6, the excellent paper by the Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner on "Religion in the Home" was read and thoroughly appreciated.

     A class in religion for young people has recently been started by the energetic Minister of Sharon Church, Chicago,-the Rev. Morley D. Rich. These classes are held every Tuesday, alternately in Chicago and Glenview, and the average attendance has been thirty-five. "The Internal and External Church" was the subject of one meeting, and "Regeneration" of another. An open forum is arranged for about once a month. Besides receiving religious instruction, excellently delivered, these meetings are having the very beneficial effect of bringing the members of the Chicago and Glenview societies closer together.

     And so to Christmas!-Girls and mothers dressing dolls to be presented to little children at oar Christmas morning service. Men and women meeting to practice songs of praise. And soon the erecting of "The Scene," beautiful for young and old. All firm, but gentle, reminders of the coming of Him to whom we must look, if we are to have "peace on earth and good will towards men."
     HAROLD P. MCQUEEN.

     KITCHENER, ONT.

     The highlight of the autumn season was the very delightful meeting of the Ontario District Assembly, held here October 8-10. Our society uses have been actively carried on, with regular monthly meetings of the Women's Guild, Men's Club, Sons of the Academy, and Theta Alpha. A picnic was arranged for the children by Theta Alpha, and the chapter held its annual banquet on October 26.

     At the Friday classes, preceded by a supper every second week, Mr. Gill has been giving us most interesting instruction on the subject of "Divine Providence." Mr. Rogers conducts a weekly class for the young people, followed by a social hour. These are held in the homes, but sometimes at the school, as the attendance of 25 cannot be accommodated in some of the homes. There is also a group of young men that meets every second Thursday for instruction in doctrinal subjects and informal discussion.

     There has been plenty of social life for all. A society social on November 25 produced a lot of amusement, as everyone came representing a book, the titles of some being quite obvious, others very subtle and hard to guess.

     A number of our men motored to Toronto on November 19, and were guests of the Forward-Sons Club there. An exchange of such invitations has become an excellent annual custom.
     D. K.

     ONTARIO ASSEMBLY.

     The Twenty-fifth Ontario District Assembly, held at Kitchener, October 8-10, 1938, was a notable one, inasmuch as it marked the Fiftieth Anniversary of the establishment of distinctive New Church education in Kitchener.

     The Right Rev. Alfred Acton presided as representative of the Bishop of the General Church, and his Address on "Our Idea of God," heard with appreciation by the 155 persons who attended the opening session, outlined in masterly fashion the history of men's ideas of God from the Golden Age to the present, when, for the first time, and in the Revelation of the Lord's Second Advent, it is possible to have a true conception of the Lord as God-Man.

     At the service on Sunday morning, attended by 147 persons, Bishop Acton preached a moving sermon on the theme, "Judge Not!" The first pastor of Carmel Church, the Rev. F. E. Waelchli, and the present pastor, the Rev. Alan Gill, were also on the chancel, and assisted in the administration of the Holy Supper to 113 communicants. The 48th Psalm and other selections were sung with much feeling by the congregation, and the inspiring sphere was greatly enhanced by interludes of beautiful instrumental numbers.

47




     At the Second Session, on Sunday evening, the Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal delivered an Address on "The State of the Church." He began by showing that we must not depend upon experience as a mirror in which to view the state of the church, but upon the Word and the teaching of the Writings, from which he quoted many striking passages on the decline of former churches and the prospects of the spread of the New Church. The paper brought a realization of the dangers of an attitude of complacency, and in the lively discussion which ensued both optimistic and pessimistic views were expressed.

     We were fortunate indeed to have among our guests the Rev. F. E. Waelchli, chief protagonist in the fight to establish New Church education in Kitchener fifty years ago, and first Headmaster of the school which was then opened, largely as the result of his efforts. He was but twenty-two years of age, assistant to the Rev. F. W. Tuerk, pastor of the Berlin Society, when he addressed that society on the aims and purposes of the proposed school, and on the reasons for such a pioneer step. This Address, published in The New Church Tidings of 1888, Mr. Waelchli most appropriately read again at the Third Session of the Assembly, with many interesting comments, as well as sidelights on the lively controversy which followed its publication. Its reading aroused much useful reflection upon our present standards of New Church education, as compared with those of half a century ago, and it is to be hoped that the fundamental principles there set forth, and plainly stated in the Writings, will forever remain unchanged, even though certain applications, methods and instrumentalities will necessarily change.

     The Assembly closed with a banquet, the appetizing supper being prepared by a group of the ladies and efficiently served by the young people of the society. Miss Korene Schnarr and a group of the older children had tastefully decorated the room in a way altogether in keeping with the double event of our Thanksgiving and the Golden Anniversary of the School, and each lady was presented with a beautiful chrysanthemum, Mr. Clarence Schnarr being the generous donor.

     The program was largely informal and spontaneous, "arranged" by the toastmaster, the Rev. Alan Gill. Numerous greetings from former teachers, ex-pupils, and others were read, and a number of songs and poems prepared for the occasion were presented, Mrs. Alec Sargeant and Miss Dorothy Kuhl, we understand, being the authors. The highlight of the evening was the inspiring speech made by Father Waelchli when the toastmaster presented him with the original school bell, cracked from hard usage, and ready to be retired after fifty years of uninterrupted service.

     It was not a speech of acceptance, however, because he who was the first to ring the bell, and who now rang it for the last time, felt that it belonged in Kitchener. And so, at the request of the toastmaster, he dedicated a new bell by ringing it with due formality and expressing his wish for the continued progress of the school.

     Another guest whom all were delighted to welcome was Mr. Ernest J. Stebbing, who voiced the affection with which he looked back upon the years of his work in the school in its early days, and his delight in attending this reunion.

     Bishop Acton brought the banquet to a fitting close by pointing the direction in which to look, that the school may prosper for another fifty years.
     ALAN GILL,
          Secretary.

48


ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS 1939

ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS       WILLIAM WHITEHEAD       1939




     Announcements.



     The Annual Meetings of the Councils of the General Church of the New Jerusalem will be held at Bryn Athyn, Pa., March 27 to April 2, 1939.
     WILLIAM WHITEHEAD,
          Secretary,
               Council of the Clergy.

49


ENLIGHTENMENT FROM THE WORD 1939

ENLIGHTENMENT FROM THE WORD        GEORGE DE CHARMS       1939


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LIX FEBRUARY, 1939          No. 2
     "And Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord wherewith He had Sent him." (Exodus 4:28.)

     A living church exists only in the measure that men receive spiritual enlightenment. The one source of such enlightenment is the Divine Word; and it follows that without the Word there can be no church. Yet the mere presence of the Word does not make the church, but a true vision of God, and the worship of Him from the heart. To see God is spiritually to understand the Divine Truth which the Word teaches; and to worship God is to will that truth, and from will to live according to it. Spiritual understanding and will are attributes of the human mind. They can exist only in man. Wherefore it is written, "The kingdom of heaven is within you." The church is the kingdom of heaven on earth, and like heaven it is-as the Writings state-"where man is, and in no way removed from him." The Word indeed exists outside of man; but the church comes into being only within him. The means by which the Word so affects man as to form the church within him is what is called spiritual enlightenment.

     It is of the highest importance, therefore, to understand what is meant by spiritual enlightenment, and how it may be received. It is not an erudite knowledge of the Scriptures, nor yet a logical grasp of doctrines based thereon, even if these doctrines be true. It is not the product of native intellectual acumen, nor of trained thinking on religious subjects, nor of assiduous study.

50


It cannot be achieved by any human effort. It may be imparted to the simple as truly as to the learned. Its giving is ever a miracle of the Lord's mercy. Yet, that it may be given, certain conditions are necessary, involving conscious endeavor on the part of man. As these conditions are fulfilled, enlightenment follows spontaneously; not, perhaps, at the time, or in the way of man's seeking, but as the Lord provides. The Lord has in view man's eternal welfare, and so far as enlightenment can be given in accord with this welfare, He seeks-by all the operation of His Providence-to impart it. Truth is powerful. It can be used either for good or for evil. Understanding of truth, in an evil mind, becomes a weapon of destruction. To understand the spiritual truth of the Word, and at the same time to use it for an evil purpose, is what is called "profanation." This destroys all spiritual life. It is the unforgivable sin, from which there is no redemption. If man is to be saved, he must not only be enlightened, but at the same time he must be protected from profanation. For this reason the Lord retains the power of enlightenment altogether in His own hands, and He exercises that power in His own way, as Infinite Wisdom dictates.

     Yet, only as enlightenment is given can heaven and the church be established with man. Genuine enlightenment is that perceptive understanding of spiritual truth which alone can impart the true wisdom of life. This is what makes religion vital. This is what brings the teaching of the Word to bear upon the actual needs of man's spirit, that it may reform the mind and regenerate the heart. So far as this takes place, the church with man is living. But when there is no enlightenment, the church dies. Then, though the Word remains, it becomes the book of all heresies. False doctrines, based upon it, accumulate, and with increasing power hold the minds of men in bondage to a blind faith of tradition. This is permitted lest, if the truth were seen, it should be profaned. But from this state of spiritual bondage there is no escape until the Lord brings liberation by giving a new Word, a new revealing of the inner truth that has been lost. By means of such a new Word a living church can be reestablished. But note well, this Word also can be read without enlightenment. Its giving restores the possibility of a perceptive understanding of spiritual truth, but whether or not it produces such an understanding depends upon man's fulfilling the required conditions thereof.

51


And only in this degree can a new church come into actual being.

     The mode by which enlightenment is given is representatively described in the story of Exodus concerning the deliverance of the sons of Israel from the bondage of Egypt. It is recorded that when the Lord appeared to Moses in the burning bush, and commissioned him to undertake this task, Moses objected, saying, "O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore nor since Thou hast spoken unto Thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue." To this the Lord replied, "Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that be can speak well. And also he cometh forth to meet thee; and when he seeth thee, he will he glad in his heart. And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth; and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do. And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt he to him instead of God." And it came to pass, as Moses drew near unto Egypt, that Aaron "went and met him in the mount of God, and kissed him. And Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord wherewith He had sent him."

     II.

     The deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage represents the liberation of the human mind from the traditional falsities and evils of a vastate church. This liberation is effected solely by means of a new Divine Word. But it should be noted that the Word itself has a dual operation. It operates simultaneously from within and from without. And these two operations of the Word are represented respectively by Moses and Aaron.

      The Word, in its essence, is Divine Truth proceeding from God. But this Truth proceeds in two distinct ways-immediately and mediately. The Truth that proceeds immediately is incomprehensible to any finite mind. It is the Law Divine, the Wisdom of God, according to which the universe was at first created; according to which it is continually preserved in being and existence; and according to which it is ordered and governed eternally. This it is that is described in the opening verses of the Gospel of John: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

52


The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men."

     This Word is God Himself, wholly Infinite, within, above, and before all creation. Yet it is said to "proceed from God," because it is none the less omnipresent throughout creation, vivifying, ordering, and directing all things. It is about us everywhere, producing all the innumerable miracles of life. Yet it remains invisible. We see its effects, but its true nature and quality are hidden from our view, as something surpassing all human understanding. Merely from the operation of this Law Divine-as known by our sense-experience of its effects in nature-no man could attain to a true vision of God. This alone cannot establish the church. It cannot deliver man from the bonds of falsity and evil. It cannot impart to a man a perceptive understanding of spiritual truth. For this reason, Moses, who represents this Law Divine, could not alone become the savior of Israel. He was said to be "slow of speech, and of a slow tongue."

     But Aaron, his brother, represents the written Word. This is Divine Truth proceeding mediately from God. It is mediated by passing through the angelic heavens, and through the minds of inspired prophets and revelators. In this transflux it takes on finite coverings. It adjoins to itself the words and ideas of human language. It becomes at last fixed in the material containants of printed books. These books are called the Word, not because of what they are, but because of what they contain. In themselves they are not the Infinite Truth of God. Their language is but the speech of men; its origin lies in the sense-experience of the race. This is most evident in the Old and New Testaments, which for the most part describe, in outward form, material things,-historic persons, and places, and events. But even the language of the Writings, while openly setting forth conditions in the spiritual world, or explaining in rational terms spiritual laws of influx, and of Providence, still is inseparably associated with ideas of time and space. Unless these are removed, unless the mind is elevated into the light of heaven, the ideas derived from the Writings may be far from the Truth. This, because every written Revelation-regarded from without-is altogether finite. When so regarded, only the covering appears, and this by itself is but a dead and lifeless thing. It imparts no vision of God, even when it tells about Him.

53


Wherefore, in the story, Aaron by himself could not lead the children of Israel out of Egypt.

     Yet the language of Revelation-unlike all other speech and writing-is Divinely ordered. And by this ordination it possesses a unique power,-the power to bring Divine Truth within the range of man's finite comprehension. By this ordination it has the power to speak to man the words of the Lord, that through it the Lord Himself may teach him, giving understanding, enlightenment, and illustration in things spiritual and eternal. This power results from the ordered arrangement of the language, by virtue of which it becomes translucent to the light of heaven; and this in a way that ordinary human speech can never be. The purpose for which Revelation is given is that it may teach spiritual truth. This is the function of the written Word. And for this reason Aaron was appointed to act for Moses as a spokesman unto the people. Of him it is said: "He shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth." On this account Aaron is said-in the Writings-to represent doctrine from the Word. But it is the doctrine, or teaching of the Word itself that is referred to, for we read: "By doctrine is meant the Word such as it is in its literal sense, thus as it is on earth."

     III.

     Let us emphasize the fact that, while the written Word potentially possesses this power to teach Divine Truth, and to impart a perceptive understanding thereof, yet it does so only when the mind is at the same time affected by the operation of what is called the "Law Divine" from within. Enlightenment follows only when Aaron meets with Moses in the mount of God. The Law Divine must meet and be conjoined with the written Word. This meeting takes place in the human mind, and then first the very truth of heaven shines forth from the sacred page. Then does "Moses tell Aaron all the words of the Lord, wherewith He had sent him." If we would learn the secret of enlightenment, we would know what brings to pass this meeting "in the mount of God."

     The Law Divine,-the immediate operation of God in His universe,-cannot be grasped by man's understanding, but it can affect and move his will. And this it does by descending through the heavens, and by putting on accommodations there.

54


It operates through spirits and angels who are present with man. It operates to kindle a love of truth, a longing to understand, by touching man's heart with the heavenly delights of the angels when they perceive the truth of the Word. It insinuates these affections so subtly that man supposes them to be his own, when yet they are but loaned to him by his spiritual associates. These affections, then, the Law Divine secretly orders, operating in the microcosm of the human mind, even as it operates in the macrocosm of the universe, to prepare all things for the accomplishment of the Divine end, which is man's salvation. This operation of the Word from within is what gives enlightenment. It is this that is called the Holy Spirit, the "Spirit of Truth that leadeth into all truth."

     Enlightenment can be given, however, only so far as man can be protected from profanation; only so far as he is willing to obey the truth; only so far as he can freely be led to resist evil. This can be brought about, but slowly. Enlightenment does not impart knowledge from within. It merely gives light to see truth, to understand spiritually the knowledges from the Word already present in the mind by reading and experience. If these be few, the understanding imparted is correspondingly vague and general. Only as knowledges are multiplied by conscious labor and study is the possibility opened for increased enlightenment. If the mind is filled with false ideas, imbibed by instruction and accepted as true, enlightenment may come only as a momentary flash of insight, which is quickly obliterated by doubts and questions that arise like clouds to obscure it. Only by degrees, and by conscious striving, can these clouds be removed. The struggle to remove them is the conflict of temptation.

     Before regeneration, enlightenment can be given only occasionally, because the whole tendency of our proprial affections is to separate Moses and Aaron-to drive them apart, so that the written Word is seen only in its outward form. Perpetually we gravitate into this state, which has its origin in the love of self and a consequent unwillingness to be taught and led by the Lord; an unwillingness to recognize or acknowledge truth, because it opposes our natural loves and ambitions. This state of unwillingness mercifully closes the door, and bars the way to enlightenment. If it were not so, we would profane the truth, studying only how we might use it for the attainment of our selfish ends.

55


Only when this unwillingness is temporarily dispelled by borrowed affections insinuated from heaven can enlightenment be given. When we come into a state of worship; when we spiritually enter the house of God; when we approach the Word in humility, sincerely desiring instruction from the Lord; then does Aaron go to meet Moses in the mountain of God. And then does "Moses tell Aaron all the words of the Lord, wherewith He had sent him."

     This meeting must be repeated many times. The spiritual truth then perceived must be held and cherished in the heart, after the state of enlightenment has passed. The love of that truth must lead man to fight against the falsities and evils that are opposed to it. It must lead him to read and study the Word, filling his mind with knowledges, without which further enlightenment cannot be given. And after the conflict and the labor, it must lead him back, again and again, to the mount of God, where alone Moses and Aaron can meet. This is the only way of spiritual progress.

     Enlightenment, then, is a miraculous gift from God. He alone has power to impart it. He provides the written Word. He creates the human mind, with its ability to read and naturally to understand the Word. He brings that mind into association with the angels, that it may be affected by their heavenly delights. He orders these affections by the secret operation of His Providence, and by means of them brings Aaron to meet with Moses in the mount of God. If man will but do his little part, and at the same time acknowledge the Divine work which the Lord is doing, receiving with glad thanksgiving the spiritual gifts of His mercy, and steadfastly resisting the evils and falsities that would destroy them, then the Lord will surely give him enlightenment sufficient unto the day, and progressively will establish the living church within him. Amen.

     LESSONS: Exodus 3:1-12. Exodus 4:10-16, 27-31. A. C. 7058.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 509, 576, 543. Psalmody, page 10.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 62, 173.

56


EASY YOKE 1939

EASY YOKE       Rev. ALAN GILL       1939

     "For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:30.)

     When the Lord made His advent into the world, He gave men His Divine assurance that "His yoke is easy, and His burden light." When He came the second time, as the Spirit of Truth, He reassured us, saying, that "it is not so difficult to live the life which leads to heaven as is believed." (H. H. 528.) The assurance and the reassurance make one, the latter being involved in the former.

     The assurance that "His yoke is easy and His burden light" was given by the Lord at the conclusion of His invitation, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are burdened," and is addressed to the as yet unregenerate man of the church,-that is, to those who are desirous of entering heaven when life on earth is ended, but who labor and are burdened in spirit on account of the resistance set up against all real progress in the regenerate life by the proprial loves of self and of the world, which loves seem hopelessly irresistible in their strength. It is addressed to those who are overwhelmed by the consciousness of their manifold spiritual weaknesses and shortcomings, or who labor under the false impression that the Lord imposes upon those who would follow Him a yoke which is difficult to submit to, and a burden that is greater than can be borne by frail humanity; who feel that the Lord asks too much of man, and that the odds against the successful attainment of the heavenly life are too great.

     In his heart, the as yet unregenerate man doubts the truth of the Divinely revealed teaching that man, throughout his life in this world, is kept in a state of perfect equilibrium between heaven and hell and their respective influences upon him. He questions in his mind whether it is a fact that every man's faculty of free decision in spiritual things is kept absolutely inviolate. And In support of his doubt he may even go to the Doctrine of the Church, and find what is to him confirmation of his doubt, in the teaching that during the consummation of a church, as at this day, few besides those who die as infants attain to heaven.

57


He fails to realize that this is not because of any impairment of men's freedom, due to the consummated state of the church, but that the church comes into a state of consummation because men, in their freedom, choose evil rather than good.

     Another common cause of discouragement, and of states of utter hopelessness, when viewing the possibility of being saved, is the supposition that the life that leads to heaven involves the giving up of all bodily and worldly pleasures, whereas the truth is that this is by no means necessary. It is only required that such pleasures be made subservient to spiritual uses. In their proper place and time they are useful, indeed essential. It is only when they are abused by being indulged to excess that they become disorderly, and block the road to heaven.

     It is the same with all proprial loves. None of these is evil in itself. The danger lies in man's proneness to overindulge them. Man is not called upon to expel them altogether from his mind and heart, but to subordinate them to higher loves,-to the loves of the Lord and the neighbor.

     Yet another cause of bewilderment with the would-be angel of heaven lies in what seems to him the stringent nature of the Lord's yoke and burden, which, as the Lord Himself indicates, must be borne. The Lord declares that "His yoke is easy, and His burden light." But even so, the statement clearly implies that there is a yoke, and that there is a burden that must be borne. Is the Lord's yoke easy! Is His burden light? What of all the teachings contained in the letter of the Word and in the Heavenly Doctrine? Thousands upon thousands of pages are filled with instructions as to what we must do and what we must not do. Is it easy to study and apply to life all these multitudinous teachings! Is this a light task? Does not the very fact that so many books are needed to contain all the rules of life imply that the process of repentance, reformation, and regeneration is a long and exacting one?

     The answer is that, no matter how many years may be occupied in undertaking this process-and it is a life-long work-yet it does not seem long, and is not regarded as a task imposed upon a man, if he truly desires to take up the work and see it fulfilled.

58


If we really want to live the life that leads to heaven, we shall find that it is not difficult to do so. We shall find that we have such a thirst for the truths which show the way to heaven that all the Divine teachings available to us are not more than enough to satisfy our craving for them.

     That this is the case, even the brief history of the New Church bears ample testimony. For who cannot call to mind at least a few examples of members who, having once embraced the Heavenly Doctrine in mind and heart, obviously loved nothing more than to read and reflect upon its teachings! Who finds difficulty in applying himself to anything that he really loves! And if, in so applying himself, one meets obstacles,-trials and temptations,-do these deter him, or turn him aside from the determination of his life's love! Do they not rather add zest to his purpose of accomplishing the end he has in view? If we but reflect for a moment upon the fact that virtually whatever we really want to accomplish, we can achieve, despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles, then we must also acknowledge that, in so far as we truly desire to regenerate, we can become regenerated.

     In connection with this point, it is interesting to note what is said in a Memorable Relation. Swedenborg writes:

     "I was in a state of sadness, but did not know the cause. I then heard that a vast number was being let down out of heaven towards the lower places. The reason having been sought out, it was said that they were those who rejoiced that they possess the heavenly doctrine, saying that they wished to embrace it, because they believe all the things which are in it. . . . But as soon as they heard that that doctrine was not only a doctrine of faith, thus that the things which were therein were not only to be known and acknowledged, but that it was also a doctrine of life, and that the things in it were to be willed and done; also that doctrine effects nothing with those who merely know and affirm it, but only with those who at the same time do it; (for these, from the heart, love it and embrace it); then they became sorrowful, and all rejected it, not wanting it. Hence my sadness, and hence were they sent down into the lower place towards the north, where there was little communication with heaven. . . .

     "Those who were let down inquired of me how much must be done, whether all the things which are in that doctrine must be done; adding that they could by no means do this.

59


It was granted me to tell them that it is not grievous and difficult; since it is only intended that a man should live sincerely, both in his calling and outside of his calling, with everyone, and in every matter, because if he does otherwise, it is a sin, that is, against God and against the neighbor. They said that they wish this, namely, to live sincerely, and to think in that way. But, on examination, it was found that they do not wish this, inasmuch as they desired to act with fraud, cunning, and deceit against others for the sake of themselves, and also to injure them in many ways; which things they did not reckon to be evils. Wherefore, they were sent away; for to live sincerely includes all such things: as, for example, that one ought not to steal, not to commit adultery, not to injure, not to cheat, and all other things taught by the doctrine of charity towards the neighbor." (S. D. 5540, 5541.)

     But it may be said that the question still remains as to how one can acquire a genuine desire to live according to the teachings of Divine Revelation. For we have an innate love for corporeal and worldly things, and none for spiritual things. Is not this unfair?

     It is true that inherently man has only corporeal and worldly loves. But this does not mean that there is in him no counterbalancing incentive to acquire what is spiritual and heavenly. For, during infancy and childhood, angels are assigned to man, by whom he is kept in a state of receiving faith in the Lord, which state remains in him until he grows up and comes into the exercise of his own right and reason. And this state, or these "remains," heretofore hidden, when they become active in adult life, initiate an inclination and willingness to turn to the Lord and to the things of heaven, and thus, as was said, serve as an adequate counterbalance to the downward drag of corporeal and worldly loves. Nothing is wanting, therefore, so far as man's ability to choose the heavenly life is concerned. Herein every man enjoys the fullest liberty.

     "That it is not so difficult to live the life that leads to heaven as some believe," is demonstrated in the Writings as follows:

     "Who cannot live a civil and moral life? For everyone from his childhood is initiated into that life, and learns what it is by living in the world.

60


Moreover, everyone, whether evil or good, lives that life; for who does not wish to be called honest, and who does not wish to be called just! Almost every one practices honesty and justice outwardly, so far as to seem to be honest and just at heart, or to seem to act from real honesty and justice. The spiritual man ought to live in like manner, and can do so as easily as the natural man can, with this difference only, that the spiritual man believes in the Divine, and acts honestly and justly, not solely because to act so is in accord with civil and moral laws, but also because it is in accord with Divine laws." (H. H. 530.) In other words, "Think as you talk, in favor of God and religion, and justice and sincerity, and you will be a man." (D. P. 311.)

     "Then, when any thing presents itself to the mind which one knows to be dishonest and unjust, but to which the mind inclines, it is only necessary to think that it ought not to be done because it is opposed to the Divine precepts. If a man accustoms himself so to think, and from so doing establishes a habit of so thinking, he is gradually conjoined to heaven; and so far as he is conjoined to heaven, the higher regions of his mind are opened; and so far as these are opened, he sees whatever is dishonest and unjust, and so far as he sees these evils, they can be dispersed. . . . And when man has made a beginning, the Lord quickens all that is good in him, and causes him not only to see evils to be evils, but also to refrain from willing them, and finally to turn away from them." (H. H. 533.)

     "The sole difficulty," as we are also taught in the Writings, "lies in being able to prevent the loves of self and of the world from becoming dominant." (H. H. 359.) In considering this one and only real difficulty, with a view to overcoming it, we should realize that freedom,-that freedom which every man treasures and fights for as his inalienable right, realizing that his happiness and his very life depends upon its preservation,-is not a freedom from all domination and subordination, but is a state in which both of these are rightly ordered and preserved.

     The unthinking man supposes that he would enjoy the acme of freedom or liberty if he could come into a state wherein he would be under no leadership of any kind, but free to "do as he pleases." How utterly erroneous is such an idea! No man can ever do as he pleases, either in this world or the next. No man, no devil, no angel, can even think as he pleases.

61


Any man who supposes that he can or does is much deceived, and is, in fact, the most abject slave. For with every man, whether he would wish it so or not, all his thoughts and affections come to him from without,-from the other world, by influx; so much so that, if influx were cut off, man would cease to think and will at all. Every man is altogether led, either by evil spirits and devils, or by good spirits and angels, and, through them, by the Lord. Liberty, or the faculty of free decision, gives man the ability to choose by whom he shall be led,-that, and nothing more. And true freedom, heavenly freedom,-the freedom of love,-consists in a willingness to be led by the Lord alone. In His leading alone is freedom.

     To lead oneself is an appearance and an impossibility, because the only "self" we possess is the proprium,-the natural mind or animus. And nothing whatever originates therein. No thoughts or affections spring thence as from their source. It is simply a plane of the mind which is irremediably perverted, and through which merely corporeal and worldly thoughts and affections inflow from hell through the world of spirits, together with the desire that such thoughts and affections shall dominate in the life of the man. Hence it is that he who is unaware that the case with him is as described, but supposes that he thinks and acts as he pleases, is, more than all others, a slave in bondage to others. And the fact that he is not aware of this makes his slavery so abject and complete. Not knowing that evil spirits, who breathe his destruction, are the inciting cause of his thoughts and affections, but supposing them to be his own, he can offer no effective resistance to their suggestions; and they can lead him on to think, will and act virtually as they please.

     How different is the leading of the Lord! This leading, it is true, is described in our text as a "yoke" and a "burden," but only for the reason that the Lord is here addressing the as yet unregenerate man, who regards all leading, and all subordination to leadership, as a yoke and a burden. To him,-to the merely natural man,-the Divine laws of order are a yoke, confining the ultimations of his life's loves to such a degree that, despite the immoral cravings of his proprium, he is compelled to live an orderly moral and civil life. Such a man is indeed under the yoke of the law. And to him it seems a burden,-a yoke and a burden arbitrarily imposed upon him by the Lord.

62


The only kind of freedom he can conceive of is a freedom to think and do evil; and this, in reality, is bondage. But with the regenerate man it is just the reverse. He is averse to evils, and shuns them; so that, with him, to think and do evil is to be under a yoke. And the only kind of freedom he knows is the freedom not to think and will evil, but good; the only kind of freedom he knows is freedom to be led by the Lord. This is true freedom, and the only genuine freedom there is.

     This state of being led by the Lord is what is called in our text the Lord's "yoke," and, because of its accompanying sensation of complete freedom, it is termed "easy." Indeed, so "easy" is it that, to him who willingly submits to it, the Lord's yoke, so called, seems anything but a yoke. In other words, the merely natural man may be said to labor under the yoke of the law, and under the yoke of evil spirits; whereas the regenerate man is under no yoke, as such.

     To quote from our Doctrine: "The more present the Lord is, the more free the man; that is, the more a man is in the love of good and truth, the more freely he acts. Such is the influx of the Lord through the angels. On the other hand, the influx of hell through evil spirits is forcible, and impetuous, striving to dominate; for such spirits breathe nothing but the utter subjection of the man, so that he may be nothing, and that they may be everything; and when they are everything, the man is one of them, and scarcely even that, for in their eyes he is a mere nobody. Therefore, when the Lord is liberating the man from their dominion, and from their yoke, there arises a combat; but when the man has been liberated, that is, regenerated, then, through the ministry of angels, he is led by the Lord so gently that there is nothing whatever of yoke or of dominion; for he is led by means of his delights and his happiness, and is loved and esteemed. This is what the Lord teaches in Matthew, 'My yoke is easy, and my burden is light,' and is the reverse of a man's state when under the yoke of evil spirits, who, as just said, account the man as nothing, and, if they were able, would torment him every moment." (A. C. 905.)

     In the light of the teachings which have been brought out by our text, we may see how foolish is the man that chooses not accept the Lord's invitation to "come unto Him," but chooses to persist in going, as he thinks, his own way, which in reality is the way in which evil spirits lead him-the way of destruction! Before every one of us lies the choice.

63


May the Lord grant us the faith and the light to see which is the better choice, and strength to make the wise decision!

"Our eyes see dimly till by faith anointed,
     And our blind choosing brings us grief and pain;
Through Him alone who hath our way appointed
     We find our peace again.

Choose for us, Lord! nor let our weak preferring
     Cheat our poor souls of good Thou hast designed;
Choose for us, Lord! Thy wisdom is unerring,
     And we are fools and blind."
                              Amen.

     LESSONS: Joshua 24:1-25; Matthew 11:1-30; Spiritual Diary 5793-5797, or H. H. 533.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 529, 644, 682, 551.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 52, 59.
USES OF THE MEN OF THE CHURCH 1939

USES OF THE MEN OF THE CHURCH       SYDNEY E. LEE       1939

     (A Paper read at the Chicago District Assembly, 1938.)

     Reflecting upon the uses of the church, the thought comes to mind that men are uses. And so I am moved to speculate on the uses of the men of the church, to wonder whether some day, as we approach the order of heaven, there will not be a closer relation between spiritual uses and external ones, so that the latter may be suitable garments and genuine ultimates.

     Over a year ago I wrote a reflective essay on "The Universal Law Regarding Use." By reflection I mean that process which attempts to draw from one's mind the thoughts which have entered it in many ways and at different times, and which lie jumbled up or stored away. In reflection there is an endeavor to arrange them in some sort of sequence, and so to discover what one thinks. Having written that paper, I put it aside with a strength of mind that now surprises me. But I have discovered that reflection is, so to speak, cumulative.

64


One reflection leads to another; and after a while thoughts come to mind that were not there before. Ideas formulate themselves, and one discovers new thoughts. Of course, such new thoughts often turn out to be quite old stuff to other minds. Even so, the process does the individual a world of good.

     While it is the after-thought that I would present to you, a digest of those first reflections is necessary.

     The universal law regarding use is the law of marriage. We like to think of marriage as that delightful union of two souls which, drawn together by mutual inclination, God makes one. We also like to imagine that, for every man or woman who desires it, there is provided, somewhere in this world, a counterpart. We find in this belief a protection. For the vision of felicity that may be ours furnishes an objective that will cause us to guard ourselves, lest we impair its fulfilment.

     Is this but a dream, built upon the romantic musing of the poet's thought? Or an institution fostered by rulers, who see in the family an order easily maintained, and, in the fruit of it, soldiers to fight their wars! This is no idle question, for the world around us has largely judged it so to be. Plato, that wise Greek of ancient days, declared it so. He planned his great Republic on this doctrine, and therefore, though he set forth a scheme of education,-a model that has survived and is a pattern still,-his plan was doomed before it could begin. He had reasoned from a false premise.

     In later years, Rousseau espoused the same idea. And in the world today, fast going pagan, marriage has lost its sanctity, and men, neglecting revealed truth, rely upon natural science, and the whole world flounders. Though we are well aware of this, our natural thought is bound to be affected by the thought of the world around us.

     The greatest scientists the world has known trace life itself back through the ages to something they call primeval force,-first cause! And then they're through. For natural thought has thus reached its limit. Facts and analysis can go no further; and yet they must and do admit this something which is the great creative cause itself, and recognize a marvelous order in all things. What is this order that is present everywhere, but cannot be defined! They have no knowledge of it; empirical research is unavailing. Only through Revelation can men know the inner workings of the universe.

65


Although, once given the key, it is amazing how reason can disclose the evidence that proves the thesis, and unfold to view confirmations in things both great and small.

     For marriage is the order of the universe, the order of creation, of all law. It is the first, and therefore the foundation of all law, in time and to eternity. For the Divine proceeds through marriage. God is Love and God is Wisdom, united. Use goes forth, and we perceive the trinity. And we see an image of this trine in everything.

     The law of marriage is so universal that to disregard it, or to transgress against its laws on any plane, is fatal. Chaos results; grief and misery abound. Nations disintegrate and disappear.

     Since love united to its wisdom is the motivating force of all creation, the order thence ensuing is the picture of all order everywhere, and may be seen in operation in everything, on every plane. It is exemplified in the very process of finition, and the pattern of creation always follows the same order.

     On the plane of nature it is seen in the vegetable kingdom: (1) the seed, the truth; (2) the earth, the good; (3) the tree, the plant, the herb,-the use proceeding. For in the seed is typified eternal truth, waiting for affection to enfold it, that use may blossom forth and live again.

     In the mind of man, this process, exalted as a prototype of God, continues; and in its functioning, through finite truth united to affection, it produces use. Think of the Pyramids, the Roman Coliseum! Visualize a city, its house, and its roads, the cars upon its streets! What made them? They were evolved within the mind of man. There was a marriage! They were born.

     All the external things we see around us everywhere, before they came to be just what they are, were first ideas,-spiritual things,-with neither shape nor form that could be measured. They had not then the dimensions of space and time, but they were real; for they existed in the world of mind, which antedates the natural forms we see around us. Even in matter at rest, in things inanimate, the law holds good. For Truth is Form Itself, and Good is Activity and Substance Itself. Brought together-in ultimate forms-Use is apparent. It was their marriage in the mind of man that made them.

66




     II.

     The new idea of marriage which proclaims religion as the basis, and then, in no uncertain voice, declares a common faith as requisite; which visions the joys of mutual thought resulting from a unique of minds; which pictures in connubial bliss life's greatest treasure, and in the resulting family life duties and affections that are the highest privilege men can have;-such an ideal men could not receive except through revelation. It is God's gift, a jewel rare and fine, which He gave to His Church, called by us the First Christian. This thought is startling; yet surely this is conjugial love,-the marriage of one man and one wife, which has God's blessing, which never could be restored to men until He came on earth, the Bridegroom and Husband of the Church.

     Within this form of Christian marriage, and by His Second Coming, the higher planes have now been opened, and this pearl of great price is offered unto us. Surely it will be the privilege of New Churchmen to help to bring to each succeeding generation in fuller measure a greater, broader concept of this love, which will advance through education, as it does in heaven. For the form of mind is the foundation of it. Just as the first men on this earth lived and breathed the sphere of the conjugial, loaned them by the Lord, so will New Churchmen of the future live in the wisdom of this love. It is for us to prepare the way. First, we must learn the Divine philosophy of marriage, and then endeavor to think from it, even until we can judge everything as right or wrong, almost unconsciously, by the degree in which it measures up to this universal law of life.

     We must think of marriage first in generals. We must comprehend the soul, which must be more than a poetic image with us. Else how can we picture, must less be, souls united? For wisdom in man is the measure of the angel, though it is the part of wisdom to remember that knowledge becomes wisdom only through partnership with love.

     Reflecting upon this universal law, one is brought to realize Something of the very modus operandi of the miracle of creation. It is as though, in the revelation given to the New Church, God has offered men His confidence, allowing them to see from afar the Divine Mind in operation.

67


Through the Doctrine of this Church one is able to see this universal law demonstrated in creation itself, and on a spiritual plane in the founding of the Church,-to picture the Doctrines as the Holy Seed of Truth, which must be married to affection within the hearts of men, must be conceived and cherished, that the Church may grow and have its being; to discern in the universal church throughout the world the human form that represents the Bride; to see in the groups within the organized church an order, with specific uses, functioning as the brain, the heart, the lungs, of the Gorand Man of the Church on earth, and so to visualize the uses that it may perform,-uses so far-reaching that the mind is filled with wonder at so great a concept.

     III.

     New Churchmen of the present day would seem to be in a key position of immense importance to the future of the Church,-a unique position. For they are dedicated to a service which they did not seek, but to which they were born. Some have been prepared through three, four and five generations for some special use which even yet is hardly recognized. Is it not amazing that we can go about our little affairs with scarce a thought as to why we are, or for what purpose we exist? We know from doctrine that every man is born in a particular family and nation, at a particular time, and with an individual genius for a special use. We seem satisfied to think that some day each one will find this use, in the future life. But is this consistent with all that we know of the progressive order of creation, both natural and spiritual?

     We know from revelation that each of us is unconsciously present in some society in the other world, and that we are in the very life of that society. And we know that each man is a use, and that those who are born within the church have already been assigned uses in the New Heaven, if they will have it so. We are assured that uses on earth can be related to those of heaven. For we are now given to know the order of creation, the laws governing influx, the order of the human form, the very operations of Providence. It would seem only rational to suppose that the marriage of those truths within the mind of men-within the mind of the church-would produce uses,-uses very similar to those of heaven, uses which, in their fulfilment, will be the logical means by which the Lord's kingdom is to be established on earth.

68


It might even be that, from the generals of use so discovered, the individual might find his place, or be assisted in doing so.

     In fact, with all the knowledge which we now possess concerning the orderly progress and development of use, which is through the operation of the universal law of marriage,-the mating of affection with its own particular truth,-does it not seem that it should be possible to guide the youth of each generation toward uses that are consistent with the purposes for which they are born? We prepare them up to a point, and then cast them adrift. And some of them do drift!

     Should we not first consider the general use of that body of the church to which we are attached! Should we not rather expect to find our use, vocation, employment, and greatest delight, within the sphere of use belonging to that group? For, deep in our hearts, there dwells the hope that some day we may find ourselves a part of that same group in the other world, and join hands with those who have gone before, to live and work with them in the sphere of the use they represent.

     The General Church of the New Jerusalem has discovered one particular use, and has declared in no uncertain voice that it is Education. In fact, we may well believe that the Academy and its work is an ultimate basis upon which the use of education in the other world rests, and that, because of this, it is in the inner sphere of that use, and can, through affection for the truths of doctrine, draw into this use on earth an influx from the vast reservoir of heavenly love and wisdom.

     Thinking from these truths of doctrine, is it not rational to suppose that those who are born within the church are of that genius which can find its best expression in the uses of education? Is it not obviously true that, if they enter into such uses, they will open their minds to influx of a power and character never before present in the world? Is it not also true that, recognizing that everyone is born for a special use, it is invaluable to have such a general indication,-to know that, whatever special abilities children brought up within the church may exhibit, it is likely that there is allied to those abilities something of the genius of teaching, or of serving the teaching use?

69




     Obviously, for several generations this use might find its place largely in the world, rather than in the church; but it would still be the prime use of education. It might even lead to the fulfilment of Swedenborg's prophecy that the church is to grow through the universities.

     Human judgment would protest that many are unsuited for the teaching use. There are, among my friends, New Churchmen whom I love and respect, but whom I cannot visualize as teachers or professors. Possibly the field of use is much wider than it seems at first sight, involving instruction of many varieties. And since I feel quite sure that these good friends will continue to belong to the General Church, and have no doubt as to the prime use of that Church, and that in some form all will have a part in it as their use to eternity, I conclude that human judgment is of little consequence, and that it is far better to accept rational thought based on doctrine.

     But is this idea based only on imaginative thinking? Is the attempt to think from doctrine incomplete? Is some important factor overlooked! If this thought-that the genius of those born within a group is likely to correspond with the use of the group-is even partly true, what a guide it might be,-veritably a spiritual sign pointing the way, so that those who follow it would find themselves, in the stream of Providence, endeavoring in freedom to bend their lives toward the use for which they were born.

     The universal law of the marriage of affection to its own particular truth; the very law by which everything that is-is; the law of individual genius,-endowment for a particular use; the acknowledged use of the Church of which we find ourselves a part; the doctrine of the human form, which leads one to suppose that such a central use might serve the whole world, and the whole heaven;-do they add up, and give the answer which I think I see? I almost fear to state them; for I fear to see a picture that gives me great delight dissolving like a mirage across the desert sands. Yet, at the risk of losing this concept, and in the possibility that there may be some truth in it, I think it should be presented, and I have done so.

70


INVENTING CORRESPONDENCES 1939

INVENTING CORRESPONDENCES       Editor       1939


NEW CHURCH LIFE
Office a Publication, Lancaster, Pa.
Published Monthly By
THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM
BRYN ATHYN, PA.

Editor               Rev. W. B. Caldwell, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager          Mr. H. Hyatt, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     All literary contributions should be sent to the Editor. Subscriptions, change of address and business communications should be sent to the Business Manager.

     TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$3.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single Copy, 30 cents.
     BETHLEHEM.

     Mr. A. L. Kip, well known in the New Church for the books in which he has boldly set forth the correspondences or spiritual significations of present-day nations and regions of the earth, has recently come forward with an explanation as to why the Lord was born in Bethlehem in the Land of Canaan, his reasoning being based upon a correspondence which is a pure invention, and which ignores what is plainly revealed in the Writings on the subject. His communication to THE NEW-CHURCH MESSENGER of December 7, 1938, reads as follows:

To the Editor of the Messenger:
     Referring to your editorial of October 26th on Bethlehem, I would say that several years ago I studied the correspondence of Bethlehem and came to the conclusion that it corresponds to reverence of anyone as divine. A city having such a correspondence would certainly be a fitting place for the birth of Jesus, the Divine Man, and it was no doubt chosen for this event on account of its correspondence.

71


Bethlehem, whose very name means "the house of bread," was a most appropriate birthplace for Him Who was Himself "the bread of life" (John vi. 35, 48, 51). Swedenborg's statement that "the Lord willed to be born there because He is the Word" agrees with the foregoing definition, because the churches are all formed from the Word, and the Word is God, and through the Word the Lord is the sustenance of His followers.

     Swedenborg states that the land of Canaan or Palestine was the seat of the Church from most ancient times, but he does not give the reason why this was so. The reason is (as shown in my Psychology of the Nations, pp. 63-65), that Palestine corresponds to the faculty of veneration or reverence in the human mind, and thus its territory became a fit theater for the display of religious activities, and a most suitable setting for the establishment of the Church in ancient times.
     A. L. Kip.

     It is quite true that "the Lord willed to be born in Bethlehem because He is the Word." The complete statement is: "Ephratah is Bethlehem where the Lord was born, and by 'Ephratah' is signified the Word as to its natural sense, and by 'Bethlehem' the Word as to its spiritual sense, and the Lord willed to be born there because He is the Word." (A. E. 700:9.) It is also true that this is involved in the Hebrew meaning of "Bethlehem"-the house of bread; for the Word is the place of man's spiritual instruction or nourishment, and the Lord comes to manifest Himself there, and to instruct man.

     This, however, is a very general explanation, and we find more specific teaching on the subject elsewhere in the Writings, from which we learn that the Lord was born in Bethlehem because He was born with truth conjoined to good in the natural, otherwise than any man. We read:

     "As 'Bethlehem' signifies truth conjoined to good in the natural man, therefore David was born there, and was also anointed king there; for David as king represented the Lord as to truth from good, and this a 'king' also signifies. For the same reason the Lord was born in Bethlehem, because He was born a King, and with Him truth was conjoined to good from birth. With all men, the natural is ignorant of truth and desiring evil, but with the Lord alone the natural had a longing for good and a desire for truth." (A. E. 449:9.)

     To say that the Lord was born Divine Truth from Good is the same as to say that He was born as the Word, which is the Divine Truth from the Divine Good.

72




     And we are further told that the Lord was born in Bethlehem because He was born a Spiritual Celestial Man, which is indeed the same as to say that He was born Divine Truth conjoined to Divine Good. "Jehovah God descended as the Divine Truth, which is the Word, and nevertheless He did not separate the Divine Good." (T. C. R. 85.) The teaching is:

     "In the original language, Benjamin (who was born in Bethlehem) means c son of the right hand, and by a son of the right hand is signified spiritual truth which is from celestial good, and the power thence. . . . All men whatsoever are born natural, with the power to become either celestial or spiritual, but the Lord alone was born spiritual celestial; and because He was so born, He was born in Bethlehem, where was the boundary of the land of Benjamin; for by 'Bethlehem' is signified the spiritual of the celestial, and by 'Benjamin' is represented the spiritual of the celestial. That the Lord alone was born celestial spiritual, was because the Divine was in Him." (A. C. 4592.)

     "That Rachel bare Benjamin in Bethlehem, and that David was born and afterwards anointed king there, and finally that the Lord was born there, is an arcanum which has not yet been revealed, nor could be revealed to anyone who did not know what was signified by Ephratah and by Bethlehem, and what was represented by Benjamin and by David; especially who did not know what the spiritual of the celestial is; for this is signified by those places and represented by those persons. That the Lord was born there, and not elsewhere, was because He alone was born a Spiritual Celestial Man, but all others with the faculty or power to become celestial or spiritual through regeneration by the Lord. . . . He who cannot grasp these things can never comprehend, through any revelation whatsoever, why the Lord was born in Bethlehem. For Ephratah, from the most ancient time, signified the spiritual of the celestial, hence afterwards Bethlehem." (A. C. 4594.)

     Thus Bethlehem, as the place of the Lord's birth, represented His state at birth, as now revealed in the Heavenly Doctrine for those who are willing to receive it. In the face of such wonderful revelations as these, what need have New Churchmen to invent correspondences by their own reasoning and imagination!

73




     To suppose that Bethlehem means "reverence of anyone as divine" implies that the inhabitants of that place received the Lord when born, whereas only Mary and Joseph did so, and for them "there was no room in the inn"-the vastate church (A. E. 706:12)-and they were soon obliged to flee into Egypt. The shepherds of Judea who said, "Let us now go, even unto Bethlehem," and the wise men from the East who journeyed thither to worship the newborn King, indeed manifested this reverence for the Lord as Divine, but such a state in men is not what is represented by the place and name of "Bethlehem." In the Lord alone at birth was there a union of Truth and Good-the Spiritual Celestial-signified by "Bethlehem." "When the Lord came into the world, the human race had so far removed itself, and was therefore so remote, that not even with one was there natural good from a spiritual origin." (Ath. Cr. 49; A. C. 2854, 2905, 33984.) With a small remnant among men was there a knowledge of the Word, of the prophecies of the Lord's coming, and a capacity to be led by the Lord's angels to the place of His birth.

     THE LAND OF CANAAN.

     In the second paragraph of his letter, Mr. Kip states that Swedenborg "does not give the reason why the Land of Canaan was the seat of the Church from most ancient times," and so he undertakes to supply the supposed deficiency with a correspondence of his own, namely, that "Palestine corresponds to the faculty of veneration or reverence in the human mind, and thus its territory became a fit theater for the display of religious activities, and a most suitable setting for the establishment of the Church in ancient times." This, again, substitutes what is at best a limited meaning for a wealth of revealed teaching on the subject in the Heavenly Doctrines, which furnish abundant reasons that should be quite satisfying to the New Churchman.

     Christians, since the Middle Ages, have venerated Palestine as the "Holy Land," chiefly because of the Lord's life there as recorded in the Gospels, but also because that Land was the scene of Old Testament history. Yet such a veneration for this Land has become idolatrous with many. It is the Land of Canaan in the Word that may rightly be termed the "Holy Land," because of its representation. For we are told (A. C. 6516) that it "was not more holy than other lands," but that its physical features and places were "made representative" in the Most Ancient Church, when the names of places were given from heaven, and afterwards preserved for the later Churches, and especially for the sake of the Word, wherein the persons, places and incidents form a holy ultimate for the Divine Truth, there embodied by correspondence, signification and representation.

74




     We may recall that the boundaries of that Land, in its widest extent, were the Nile and Euphrates Rivers, and that the Garden of Eden was there. (Genesis 15:18; A. C. 567, 1866, etc.) In a strict sense, however, it extended from the Mediterranean on the west to the plains of Jordan on the east, and from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south. Its physical features, and the names given them, were such that they could represent the Human Form. In a comprehensive view, therefore, that Land in the Word is representative of the Lord Himself in His Divine Human, and of His kingdom in heaven and the church, thus of the mind of angel and man. In the opposite sense, it takes on the representation of the Lord's infirm human, of the vastate church, of evil and falsity in the mind of man, and so of the hells. These things are taught in the Writings throughout, and they provide a spiritual meaning of very much broader significance than "the faculty of veneration or reverence in the human mind."

     That the Writings do "give the reason why the Land of Canaan was the seat of the Church from most ancient times," may be evident from such statements as the following:

     "That by the Land of Canaan in the Word is signified the church, is because the church had been there from the most ancient time, first the Most Ancient Church which was before the flood, next the Ancient Church which was after the flood, afterwards the Second Ancient Church, which was called the Hebrew Church, and at length the Jewish Church. . . . Hence it is that by land (earth) in the Word is signified the church, and by the 'whole earth,' so often mentioned, the universal church. . . . The reason why the church was continued there from the most ancient time, was because the man of the Most Ancient Church, who was celestial, was such that in each and everything in the world and upon the earth he saw a representative of the Lord's kingdom; the objects of the world and of the earth were to him the means of thinking concerning heavenly things.

75


From this it was that all the representatives and significatives which were afterwards known in the Ancient Church took their rise; for they were collected by those who are meant by Enoch, and preserved for the use of posterity, n. 519, 521, 2896. Hence it came to pass that the single places, and also the single mountains and rivers in the Land of Canaan, where the Most Ancients dwelt, were made representative, and also all the kingdoms round about. And because the Word could not be written otherwise than by representatives and significatives, even of places, therefore, for the sake of that end, the church was successively preserved in the Land of Canaan. But after the Advent of the Lord it was transferred elsewhere, because then representatives were abolished." (A. C. 5136.)

     "From the most ancient times the Lord's church had been there, and therefore Abraham was commanded to go thither, and the posterity of Jacob were introduced into it; and this, not because that land was more holy than other lands, but because from the most ancient times all the places there, as well provinces as cities, and also mountains and rivers, were representative of such things as are of the Lord's kingdom, and the names themselves, which were given to them, involved such things; for every name which is given from heaven to any place, and also to any person, involves what is celestial and spiritual; and when it is given from heaven, it is then perceived there; and it was the Most Ancient Church, which was celestial, and had communication with heaven, that gave the names. The reason, therefore, why the church was again to be established there, was because the Word was to be given, in which all and single things were to be representative and significative of spiritual and celestial things, and thus the Word might be understood in heaven as well as on earth; which could not possibly have been the case unless the names of persons and places were also significative." (A. C. 6516).

     "Because such merchandise, or goods and truths, are in the church and kingdom of the Lord, the Land of Canaan, by which is signified the church and kingdom of the Lord, was so named from the most ancient times from merchandise or tradings; for Canaan means that in the original language." (A. C. 4453.)

76


Hebrew: Kana-to acquire, buy.)

     These statements of Revelation give plainly the origin of the correspondences of the Land of Canaan, thus the "reason" why the church was there from most ancient times.

     And if we should wish to inquire further as to why that region of the earth should have been chosen for the home of the churches, and for the sacred drama of the Word, need we doubt that the Creator so formed that land in the beginning that it might fulfill the ends of His Divine Providence? When "God saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good," could it be otherwise than that He had impressed His representative image upon the very earth in the first Paradise? How else could the men of the celestial church perceive the correspondences of Divine and heavenly things in the world around them, when "the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there put the man whom He had formed."

     "The Land of Canaan represented and thence signified the church; for that Land was in the middle of the whole of our globe; in front it looked toward Europe, on the left towards Africa, and behind and on the right hand to Asia." (Coronis 52.)
Arcana Class 1939

Arcana Class              1939

     Twenty years ago, Miss Serena K. Dandridge, of Shepherdstown, West Virginia, was instrumental in starting a movement to encourage the reading of the Arcana Celestia by New Church people and others. At one time the "Arcana Class," thus initiated and formed, had five hundred members in all parts of the world, and many were led to read the work in its entirety. The Swedenborg Student, a periodical edited by the Rev. John Whitehead, furnished a guide to the readers. After his death, the Swedenborg Foundation, New York, continued the publication of the Student, and now, under the editorship of the Rev. Arthur Wilde, it is still the Monthly Bulletin of the Arcana Class.

     We understand that Miss Dandridge has recently inaugurated a new class for the purpose. It began on Christmas Day, and plans to read about a page and a half a day, preferably every morning regularly.

77


PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED 1939

PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED              1939

     All the Year Round. Daily Readings for the New Church. Compiled by the Rev. H. Gordon Drummond. London: British New Church Federation, September, 1938. Volume 6. Cloth, pocket-size, pp. 416. Price, 1/6.

     This latest volume of a series which has proved its value to many in the Church has been prepared for use in 1939, but may be used in any year, as was the case with the preceding volumes. Each contains a different collection of passages from the Writings. The purpose of the publication is thus restated in the Foreword: "The chief object of the publication is the provision of a means whereby those seeking to conform their lives to the way of the Lord Jesus Christ, the one God of heaven and earth, may unitedly devote a few minutes daily to the contemplation of His Word and Doctrine; thus that there may be a unity of influx from the Lord into and through the spiritual world for the lasting benefit of the natural world. Just so far as the passages appointed for each day are thus devoutly read will the object be achieved, and added power received to contribute towards bringing the life of the natural world more directly and fully under the government of the Lord."

     New-Church Manual of Daily Readings from the Bible and the Heavenly Doctrines. Vol. V, No. 2, January, February, March, 1939, 68 pages. Published quarterly at 94 Arlington Avenue, Hawthorne, N. J. Subscription, 50 cents a year; 15 cents a copy.

     Scripture assignments for each day and a brief passage from the Writings are provided in these pocket-size booklets.

     The Word of God. A Series of Quotations from the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg. Selected by the Rev. Clifford Harley. London: Swedenborg Society (Incorporated), 1938. Paper, 48 pages, 6d.

     Intended to interest the stranger in the "unique and enlightening doctrine of the Sacred Scriptures, which is presented in its fullness in the Writings of the great seer, who humbly and truthfully subscribed himself, 'A servant of the Lord Jesus Christ.'"

78




     The Worship of the Divine Human. A Sermon by Bishop George de Charms. Delivered in South Africa, and now published in a neat, 8-page pamphlet, by General Church friends there for private distribution. The discourse appeared in the October, 1938, issue of NEW CHURCH LIFE.

     Religion. A Digest. Edited by Jerome T. Gaspard, 2401 Military Road, Arlington, Virginia. Published monthly, 96 pages. $3.00 the year.

     We have received the first number of this new periodical, which undertakes to present a digest of Protestant, Catholic and Jewish thought in the form of brief articles quoted or condensed from various journals. For those who wish to keep informed of the trends of opinion in the world today, this new publication offers a broad selection of views. It may be consulted in the Academy Library.

     Selected Papers and Addresses. By Nathaniel Dandridge Pendleton. A Memorial Volume with Portrait. Preface, Biographical Sketch, and Bibliography by the Rev. Dr. William Whitehead. Bryn Athyn: The Academy of the New Church, 1938. Buckram, 8vo, pp. 251, $2.00.

     The Cerebrum. By Emanuel Swedenborg. Three Transactions, translated and edited from a photostat copy by Alfred Acton, M.A., D.Th. Philadelphia, Pa.: Swedenborg Scientific Association, 1938. Cloth, 8vo, pp. xxxiii+731. Price, with Book of Anatomical Plates, $10.00.

     The New Orthodoxy. Twenty-five Essays on Heavenly Doctrine. By Rev. Richard H. Teed. Melbourne: Published by the Author, 4 Hepburn Street, Hawthorn, E. 2, Victoria, Australia, 1938. Pp.166. 2/-.

     De Nieuwe Bedeeling. Vol. 1, No. 1, of a Monthly Periodical, eight pages mimeographed. with illustrated cover. Editor: Rev. Dr. E. E. Iungerich. Business Manager: Mr. E. Francis, Emmastraat 26, Rijswijk (7,-H), Holland. To be reviewed next month.

79


INTRODUCING THE WRITINGS 1939

INTRODUCING THE WRITINGS       WILLIAM R. COOPER       1939

     What Work Would You Give!

Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:
     I was much interested in the communication from the Rev. W. Cairns Henderson in your November issue on the subject of "Introducing the Writings," with a subtitle, "Which work would you give?"

     By virtue of my office, as Curator of the Cathedral, it is to me an ever-present and pressing question, a solution of which I have to attempt to find many times every week, and I welcome the opportunity for an exchange of ideas on the subject with other men who have also been faced with the problem.

     The Cathedral attracts a great many visitors,-many thousands of them in the course of a year,-and we have so arranged it that they all enter the buildings through the Cathedral Book Room, where we have a complete set of the Writings prominently displayed in a repository by itself; also a great deal of collateral literature, pocket editions of such of the Writings as are available in that form, and practically all of Swedenborg's Scientific and Philosophical Works. In addition, we have as many of the Writings in Braille as are available in that medium for the benefit of the blind. And visitors are encouraged to sit down and read as much as they like, or to discuss with us such topics as may interest them.

     For the present I am inclined to lean toward the view that no fixed order in presenting the Writings to strangers can be established, and this for the reason suggested by Mr. Henderson in his letter, namely, that human states, mental qualities, backgrounds, aims and capacities are so widely different.

80




     Many New Churchmen with whom I have discussed the matter regard Heaven and Hell as the most useful work to place first in the hands of inquiring strangers. And there is much to be said in favor of that view, because that work deals exhaustively with a subject upon which every sincere man or woman who has any belief in a God or a life after death is deeply interested. But whether the details revealed there will impress the average non-New Church reader, as being essentially different in authority from those that might be expressed by other writers, is another question.

     For myself, after many years' experience with this work, I have come-for the present at least-to have a preference for three of the Writings for the purpose of initiating strangers into a knowledge of the Heavenly Doctrines. These three are: The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine (preferably an edition from which the Arcana references have been omitted); A Summary Exposition of the Doctrine of the New Church; and The Four Doctrines. In regard to each of these three there is a specific reason for my preference for the purpose in question.

     Because of the differing states, mental qualities, backgrounds, aims and capacities above mentioned, regarding which we are unable at first contact to form any but the vaguest idea, generally speaking I feel it is useful to give as broad a general summary of the Doctrines as is possible to begin with, leaving the future trend of study to be determined by the specific interests of the individual involved. For this reason, in a great many cases, when asked for a recommendation, I place in the hands of the inquirer a copy of The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine.

     Many clergymen and theological students of every conceivable denomination are among our visitors, and in answer to inquiries from many of these I frequently give The Summary Exposition, principally for the reason that in this work the doctrines of the Roman Catholic and the Reformed Churches are so clearly contrasted with those of the New Church, and their differences set forth.

     We must not lose sight of the fact that to our visitors the Writings have absolutely no authority whatsoever. If they accept any authority-and unfortunately even that is rapidly diminishing every year-it is vested in the Letter of the Word,-the Bible. And it is because of the voluminous quotations from the Letter of the Word, in confirmation of each point set forth in The Four Doctrines, that I feel that this work of the Writings is a particularly valuable one for missionary purposes.

81



     WILLIAM R. COOPER.
          The Cathedral-Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa., November 27, 1938.
Arcana Celestia 1939

Arcana Celestia       Editor       1939

     It would be interesting to know what success New Churchmen have had in giving the first volume of the Arcana Celestia to strangers. In a marvellous manner that volume opens the mind of the novitiate reader to a knowledge of the fact that there is an internal sense in the Scriptures, and introduces him, step by step, into the spiritual sense of the Book of Genesis. It would seem to be an especially suitable book of the Writings to give to a Christian who manifests a longing to understand the Bible.

     Moreover, this first volume of the Arcana furnishes an introduction to a knowledge of the spiritual world. As a preface to the exposition of the 2d chapter of Genesis, we read:

     "Because, by the Divine mercy of the Lord, it has been given me to know the internal sense of the Word, and in that sense are contained the most arcane things, which have never before come to the knowledge of anyone, nor can come unless they know how things are in the other life-for the greater part of what is contained in the internal sense regards, describes and involves these things-it has been granted me to disclose what I have heard and seen during the several years in which it has been given me to be in the company of spirits and angels."

     Accordingly, at the close of the second and following chapters of Genesis, the subject of the spiritual world is treated under these heads: "The Resuscitation of Man from the Dead, and his Entrance into Eternal Life"; "What the Life of the Soul or Spirit is Like"; "On Heaven and Heavenly Joy"; "On the Societies which Constitute Heaven"; "Concerning Hell."
     EDITOR.

82


Church News 1939

Church News       Various       1939

     NORTHERN OHIO.

     Our little group is, we trust, still progressing,-spiritually, naturally, and intellectually.

     When our pastor, the Rev. Norman Reuter, arrived in Akron for the regular bimonthly service on December 4, he found us all anxiously awaiting him. Through the efforts of Randolph Norris, who has business interests at the Portage Hotel, we have leased the large banquet hall for services on the first Sunday of every alternate month. The hall is admirably suited to our uses, being spacious and quiet; and the small stage at one end can be beautifully transformed into a chancel. The red lighting effects, together with our new chancel furniture, create a most pleasant sphere for our worship. Owing to our growth in numbers, the former quarters had become inadequate. We enjoyed the new location so much that everyone seemed loath to depart after the service. There was quite a large attendance, and we all journeyed out into the country to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Wiedinger, where the customary "get-together" dinner was served. Our members are so scattered that we always hold a feast of thanksgiving before departing for the various distant points. Needless to say, the after-dinner speeches and discussions add much to the delightfulness of these occasions.

     Mr. Reuter left Wyoming (Cincinnati) Friday morning, and drove the 260 miles to Niles, where he conducted a very interesting class at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Williamson, the contingent from Youngstown being present. On Saturday, December 3, he motored to Akron, and held a class for the children in the afternoon.

     There was a time, not very long ago, when Youngstown had the most receivers, but recently there has been quite an influx toward Akron, which now seems the logical center of our activities. Within the last month, four of the Renkenberger family have migrated from Columbiana to Akron. We are all looking forward to the time when we can build a little chapel near our geographical center, and possibly establish a little community of our own. The modern days of good roads and auto transportation enable one to transform such a dream into a reality, when the proper time arrives.

     Our next service will be held at Akron on Sunday, February 5.
     W. C. N.

     NORWAY.

     Parts of Norway, and especially the city of Oslo, seem to be the most promising missionary field in Scandinavia at present. I used to visit Oslo twice a year. Last November my trip was extended to Bergen and Stavanger on the west coast. The Oxford Movement has awakened a religious interest there, and I was asked to speak on the necessity of repentance. In conformity therewith I spoke at all three places on the following subjects: 1. Why are we not happy? (Based on the story of Paradise Lost.) 2. The Paradise that is found again. (Based on the last two chapters of the Book of Revelation.) Curiously enough, the attendance was about the same in all three places, or 55 persons on an average.

     The last time I gave lectures in these three places, three years ago, the attendance was no less than 173 persons on an average, and all these people were willing to pay about 25 cents admission, which covered all the costs in connection with five lectures, as well as my own traveling expenses.

83


Not a cent did that missionary trip cost the church. Instead, there was an income from books sold.

     This time I was not so fortunate. I think that much depends upon the choice of subjects. There is in general a larger audience at a lecture on the life after death than at one on the necessity of repentance. Yet it is not so bad when 55 persons are willing to pay 25 cents to learn about the necessity of repenting. These people were really interested, as you can see from the sale of books: $15.00 in Stavanger, $12.00 in Bergen, and $25.00 in Oslo,-a total of $52.00. In addition, I sold a set of the Arcana Celestia to a business man in Oslo. This man is so interested that "he reads Swedenborg day and night," says his wife. "If I wake up at half past three in the morning, he is still reading Swedenborg."

     In Stavanger, Mr. M. Eckhoff is a very earnest receiver. He has translated Heaven and Hell and The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine into Norwegian, and these works have been published with the assistance of the Swedenborg Society in London. Mr. Eckhoff is now working on a translation of the Apocalypse Revealed. His wife and two daughters are also interested, especially his eldest daughter, who has given a number of our books to a lending library in Stavanger. For this group and a lady who is also quite interested I conducted a private service at which the Holy Supper was administered.

     The group in Oslo is much larger. Some of them meet every Sunday to read sermons which I send to them after preaching in Stockholm. I think that this is a very important part of following up missionary work. There is now quite a number of people in Sweden and Norway,-groups or isolated,-who receive these sermons. It is a very useful thing to do. The group in Oslo also meets every third week in the evening, and others join them on these occasions.

     It is my custom at the lectures in Oslo to announce that there will be a service the following Sunday. Before the Holy Supper is administered at the service I give a brief, informal explanation of what is involved in the administration of this sacrament, and this is much appreciated. This time, two young men, and an older man who had attended the lectures, but whom I had not seen before, partook of the Holy Supper. The latter wanted to speak with me at his home in the evening, and told me that he could not accept the doctrine of the Trinity and of salvation by faith alone in the Old Church, and this certainly provided a common platform upon which we could meet.

     The same day, another man, an engineer who has recently become interested, wanted to speak to me, and also the business man whom I have mentioned before, who reads day and night. So I went to see them in the evening, going around by car from one to the other. All were eager to discuss. The engineer had a note book and pencil to write down the main points. This man has a friend, also an engineer, who is interested, and a third engineer has the whole of the Arcana. So there is no lack of engineers interested in the Church in Oslo! Yea, I almost forgot a fourth engineer who came to me at one of the lectures with Conjugial Love in his hand, and wanted to have questions answered with regard to its second part.

     As you see, they keep me busy in Oslo. There is a lively interest there, full of promise and hope for the future. If we could have a man living there, giving his time to the church, it would not be difficult to build up a society. We have six children in the Circle, most of them boys, who need to be instructed.

     I do not know whether the Norwegians are more receptive than others, but there has been less resistance there from the Old Church than in Sweden, where we have suffered very much from the effects of internal strife in the Convention Society at Stockholm, as this has found its way into the daily papers. There has been nothing of this kind in Norway.
     GUSTAF BAECKSTROM.

84




     LONDON, ENGLAND.

     Michael Church.

     There is no event in the church's calendar more colorfully significant of our gratitude for Divine and earthly blessings than the Harvest Festival. This year, on September 25, our eyes dwelt as usual upon the autumn tints massed on the chancel, to which Mr. Cooper had devoted his unfailing care. Yet it was difficult to feel attuned to feelings of thanksgiving whilst upon our hearts lay the shadow of impending war. And when gifts of fruit and flowers were offered during the singing of the Harvest Hymn, this simple and touching ceremony showed in bleaker contrast the lavish abundance which Providence bestows on man and the rapacity that both covets and destroys. But our thoughts were bidden to direct themselves to those blessings which are none the less real when they come in the guise of disaster and temptation. The pastor's sermon emphasized those spiritual blessings for which we should make our thank-offerings, that trials and tribulations may lead us to realize more deeply the all-loving care of the Divine Providence.

     Our new season of church activities commenced on Sunday, October 3, with a general meeting in the evening, preceded by a tea, for the very edible edibles of which we were indebted to Mrs. Stanley Wainscot. It was matter of regret that the attendance was so small, and in his address Mr. Acton spoke of the need for cooperation in the uses of the church, one essential manifestation of this being regular attendance at meetings. After a brief resume of the year's work and events, touching upon the visit of Bishop and Mrs. de Charms and Bishop Tilson's retirement, the pastor voiced his hopes for the future of the society, and noted the necessity for reviewing our traditions in the light of their present use, that we may grow as a church by looking forward to the future as well as backward to the past. It was an address befitting the occasion, as marking not only the opening of a new year of work, but also the first year of Mr. Acton's pastorate. And the stimulating vigor of his remarks drew a like response from those who spoke later, when many practical problems relating to our uses were discussed.

     The weekly theological class is devoting its meetings to the study of the Divine Love and Wisdom. The group formed last year for the younger people-a somewhat elastic term, providing for the admission of quite a number of apparent Peter Pans-meets again at the hospitable home of Miss Lewin. At the October meeting Mr. Acton gave a paper on "Organization," and in November an address on "Ritual," which drew forth an animated discussion. The young people also meet for table tennis, and our new program is to include a social evening every four to six weeks instead of every two months.

     The sudden passing of Mr. Roderick Whittington Anderson on October 23 took from among us an old friend whose smiling face and unfailing loyalty encouraged us at many a church meeting. Since his retirement from business several years ago, Mr. Anderson had been closely associated with the Colchester Society, but we in London, and especially those who cherish memories of Peckham Rye days, think of him as one of our own members; and the loss of his genial presence is keenly felt. A beautiful and moving sermon was delivered by Bishop Tilson at a Memorial Service in Michael Church on October 30.

     To mark the 200th meeting of the New Church Club, the annual Ladies' Night was combined with this celebration at a dinner held in the Old Bell Restaurant, when the addition of Colchester friends made a happy gathering of forty-seven at the tables. Some old friends were unavoidably absent. Bishop Tilson was suffering from a bronchial attack, but we had the satisfaction of seeing Mrs. Tilson in his place. Mr. Acton was in the chair, and, after the opening toasts, read a paper which called forth a very sincere measure of appreciation.

85


It was a happy and wise inspiration which led him to choose the subject of "Hope," of which, as he said, there is so little appearance in the world at the present time. In the face of terrible events, he pointed out, men are apt to be disturbed by the results of evil rather than by the evils themselves; but we may be uplifted with a hope for the establishment of the New Church,-a hope that is founded upon a faith in the Lord and His Providence, not upon our own natural desires, which we too often interpret as spiritual desires. That he who fails is in doubt, and entertains a negative attitude, but he who overcomes will affirm and hope,-this was the keynote of a tranquil but stimulating address, which was warmly approved by the speakers who followed.
     EDITH ELPHICK.

     HURSTVILLE, AUSTRALIA.

     A special report dealing with the Episcopal Visit to Australia has already appeared in the January issue. The following notes record the events falling within the three months ending in November, with the exception of those related in that report.

     Several of these events call for particular mention, the first three-in chronological order-being of a social character. On September 21, a concert was given by the children of the Sunday School and the members of the Young People's Club. The first half of the program was contributed by the children, the members of each class, from the kindergarten up, appearing in a group of action songs, a sketch, or a little play; and, in the second half, members of the Club presented a one act play by A. A. Milne, "The Man in the Bowler Hat," and a gently satirical sketch entitled, "If Men Played Cards as Women Do." Our hall was filled to capacity by a very appreciative audience, and the result was a nice increase in Sunday School funds. October 31 saw the children of the Sunday School gathered together again for their annual fancy dress party, which was, once again, a very successful affair; the children, or perhaps their parents, showing their usual ingenuity in the conception and design of costumes. The hall was nicely decorated by Mrs. Fletcher, and Miss Murray arranged a program of games. A social was held on November 9, and although rather meagerly attended was enjoyed by those who were able to be present.

     Our quarterly Feast of Charity was held on Sunday, November 20, and took the form of a question evening. This innovation followed discussion in the Pastor's Council, and the result would seem to indicate that an occasional meeting of this nature meets a definite need. Members of the congregation had been invited to submit questions to the pastor in writing at least a week beforehand, and eleven questions were received,-all good and interesting questions, covering a very wide field. The task of dealing with them at the close of the social supper kept the pastor fully occupied for about an hour and a half, and, as might be expected, his replies led to other questions. As usual at these gatherings, a number of songs were sung, and an opportunity provided for social intercourse. Unfortunately, a message of greeting and a paper from the Rev. Dr. Hugo Lj. Odhner did not arrive in time for this Feast; but his letter was read to appreciative listeners the following Sunday, and his paper on "Religion in the Home" is now being circulated among the members of the congregation.

     It is with pleasure we record that, in the course of the service on Sunday, October 23, Mr. Norman Heldon made his confession of faith. Mr. Heldon was received into membership in the General Church by Bishop de Charms during his recent visit, and will shortly become a member of the Society. Mrs. Heldon, his mother, thus sees the fulfilment of what we know has been her dearest wish,-the introduction of her youngest son into the Church in which the rest of her family are active and valued members. This is the real work of parents,-the giving of children to the Church, to the Lord: and those who know the high quality of this family can but reflect that her work has indeed been well done, and give to her without reserve the credit that is due to men and women for their part in this work.

86




     Throughout this period, of course, our regular Sunday morning services, Sunday School sessions, and monthly evening services have been held as usual. At these last the sermons delivered have dealt with the teaching of the Writings concerning dignities, honors, and wealth; with the Divine Providence and the state of the world; and with the difference between Divine and human leading. On the second Sunday evening in September the pastor commenced a series of doctrinal classes on the Writings. The nature and quality of the Writings, the interior degrees of truth therein, their chronological development, the canon of the Writings, have all been studied in successive classes, and three evenings were devoted to a brief analysis of the contents of all the works of the Writings, arranged into groups under headings suggested by subject-matter. A class on the connection and series of doctrines in the Writings, and a final class in which various topics will be discussed, will close the series which, it is hoped, will serve as a general introduction to those sacred works in which the Lord has made His Second Advent.

     The Young People's Class has continued to meet every second Thursday, and the Club has held its monthly meeting, the policy of alternating meetings at the hall with those for outside entertainments having been continued. Club members were invited to attend the final dance of the season, held by the Young People's Club of the Sydney Conference Society on November 18, and those who were able to accept spent a most enjoyable evening.

     The Ladies' Guild and the local Chapter of the Sons have also been active. At the September meeting of the latter body the pastor gave an informal talk on Bryn Athyn; and at the November meeting, the last of the season, Mr. Alfred Kirschstein presented a condensation of the Rev. Willard D. Pendleton's paper on the "The Spiritual Sun," prefaced by some observations of his own on the importance of a right idea of God. The Pastor's Council and the various committees of the Society have met regularly. So it will be seen that, while this period has been one of preparation, climax, and aftermath, we have yet been securely anchored to our regular uses.
     W. C. H.

     JOHN D. FOGLE.

     After a brief illness, Mr. John Daniel Fogle passed into the higher life at his home in Redmond, Oregon, on December 14, 1938, at the age of seventy, and his many friends in this frontier neighborhood gathered to hear an inspiring talk by the Rev. Wm. Reese, pastor of the Convention Society at Portland. Burial took place at Bourbon, Indiana, where a service was conducted by the Rev. Gilbert H. Smith, of Glenview, Ill., at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Clarence
Tyrrell.

     Mr. Fogle and his wife, Louise Tyrrell, have long been members of the General Church, keenly interested in the Heavenly Doctrine and endeavoring to interest others. The Fogies and Tyrrells are old Indiana families residing in the vicinity of Warsaw and Bourbon, where they were regularly visited by the Rev. John E. Bowers for many years. In 1926, Mr. and Mrs. Fogle found a delightful place to live in Redmond, Oregon, and from a small beginning worked together to build up considerable business as wholesale bakers. Quite recently they attended the Chicago District Assembly, and established enduring friendships with the members in Chicago and Glenview.

     In and around Bourbon, John Fogle had many friends who had known him for forty years as an ardent New Churchman, and a man who had drawn many to him by his engaging talk and personality. His geniality and open mind were reflected in his face and conversation, and his last days were spent in an exalted state of calmness and trust in what was before him in the spiritual world.

87


This gives an insight into his character. It is a pleasure to speak in memory of a man of so excellent a spirit, and also to recall the kind reception accorded the officiating minister among his relatives and friends in Bourbon.
     GILBERT H. SMITH.

     PITTSBURGH, PA.

     Mr. Samuel S. Lindsay passed into the spiritual world on Sunday, December 18. There is much that might be said about this most beloved member of the society, but for the present we shall be satisfied to quote these words of Scripture, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant!" An obituary will appear later, and pay the tribute which he so richly deserves.

     In this connection, however, it is interesting to note that Mr. Lindsay was one of the contributors to the new pipe organ which is now installed in our church. This organ was designed for the building, and has added greatly to our music. Needless to say, the society is duly grateful for the generous gift.

     But the month of December saw other alterations within the church. A second group of men completed the architect's original plan for the inner chancel. What was once bare wall is now completely paneled in old English oak, a change which has added a quiet dignity and a warmth noticeably lacking heretofore. This gift also was deeply appreciated by the society.

     The spirit of change, having taken root, has inspired another much needed alteration. At the present time a third group is engaged in the installation of a new set of lighting fixtures throughout the building. If this spirit continues, it will not be long before all our plans are completed, and the work which commenced with the laying of the corner stone in 1929 will be finished.

     Our Christmas celebrations this year were similar to those of previous years. Once again we enjoyed the tableaux created by Mr. and Mrs. Roy Jansen. We use the term "created," because we believe that, in their presentations of the Christmas scenes, Mr. and Mrs. Jansen have set something of a standard within the Church.

     During the Christmas week we enjoyed the presence of many visitors from other centers of the Church, among them our old friend and pastor, the Rev. Homer Synnestvedt, who conducted our New Year's service and paid his usual calls throughout the society. It is always like old times when Mr. Synnestvedt comes to town.
     E. R. D.

     KITCHENER, ONT.

     Our Christmas program began with the showing of Tableaux on Sunday evening, December 18, when the Christmas story was depicted in eight scenes: The Annunciation; Mary and Joseph being turned away from the Inn; the Shepherds hearing the Announcement of the Birth of Christ; the Adoration of the Shepherds; the Wise Men from the East following the Star; the Wise Men at the Court of Herod; the Wise Men Offering their Gifts; and the Presentation in the Temple. Choir singing added greatly to the impressiveness and beauty of the scenes.

     The Children's Festival Service was held on Christmas eve. The chancel looked lovely with plants and evergreens and candles, and the church was filled to capacity, with extra chairs placed in the aisle. It is our custom on this occasion to present all the children over two years of age with a gift of nuts and fruit from the society. Sixty-six children received packages this year. This little ceremony followed immediately after the service, and was introduced by a few remarks addressed to the children by the pastor, explaining why they bring offerings and receive gifts. The children marched out singing, passing around by the back of the chapel, so that they might view the very fine Christmas Representation which was placed in the alcove near the rear.

88




     On December 31 we danced out the old year, the school room being most attractively decorated in a way suggestive of the winter season. Of necessity this social broke up soon after midnight, as it was then Sunday, and we stayed only long enough to exchange wishes for the New Year.

     On Sunday morning, January 1, Mr. Gill delivered a most interesting sermon, explaining the words, "This do in remembrance of me." Following this, the Sacrament of the Holy Supper was administered.
     D. K.

     DURBAN, NATAL.

     Episcopal Visit.

     Sunday, July 31, when Bishop and Mrs. George de Charms arrived in Durban, was an eventful and much anticipated day for us all. Those of us who had known them were eager to renew acquaintance, and the others were eager to become acquainted. Landing at Cape Town on Friday, they had taken the Johannesburg boat train, but during the night the engine broke down, and they missed connections with the Durban train. However, a special South Coast train was held for them, and a number of us rushed out to Booth Junction, five miles from Durban, to welcome them. What a happy, exciting moment as we dashed along the railroad tracks to greet them! And what a procession it was, as we made our way back to the waiting autos, each with a piece of luggage in hand-everything from a camera to a cabin trunk!

     Our visitors were just in time to attend the service that morning, after which they were affectionately greeted by all present. Then to dinner at the home of the Rev. and Mrs. Philip Odhner, with whom they stayed for the following ten days. Mr. and Mrs. Braby entertained them at tea in the afternoon, and in the evening a service was held in the church, the Bishop preaching on the subject of "Alternation of States." This was followed by an informal reception at the home of Mr. and Mrs. J. J. Forfar, where Mr. Forfar welcomed the Bishop and Mrs. de Charms in the name of the society, expressing the enthusiasm felt by the members, and their gratitude that this episcopal visit had become possible. In response, the Bishop voiced his thanks for the hearty welcome which he and Mrs. de Charms had received, and his desire that the visit might be beneficial to the society.

     On Monday evening the Bishop addressed a meeting of the local chapter of the Sons of the Academy on "New Church Education," while Mrs. de Charms attended a joint meeting of Theta Alpha and Eta Kappa Pi, where she spoke on some "General Educational Practices in Bryn Athyn" and also showed and explained the model of the Tabernacle. Both the women and the men were enthusiastic at having spent so instructive and enjoyable an evening.

     During the week prior to the District Assembly the Bishop and Mrs. de Charms were kept very busy. The Bishop addressed the school children several times, and spoke to the Ladies' Class on the subject of "Spiritual Charity." Mrs. de Charms undertook some jaunts to town for shopping, and both were invited to practically every home in the society, either for tea, luncheon or dinner.

     At the Wednesday evening doctrinal class on August 3, the Bishop gave his first address to the society, speaking on "The State of the Church," and giving a most clear and interesting explanation of the crisis through which the General Church had recently passed The lively discussion and questions showed plainly the interest taken in the subject by the members of the society, and the meeting lasted until nearly midnight.

     The Children's 19th of June Banquet, which had been postponed until the Bishop's arrival, was held on Friday, August 5, at six p.m. A very enjoyable supper had been prepared by Theta Alpha, and after it three or four papers were read by the older children. A group of little children recited from the Word, and there were musical numbers. Responding to the pastor's welcome on behalf of the children, the Bishop first won their hearts by a few witty remarks, and then went on to speak to them about their good fortune in having the benefits of a New Church education.

89


The evening closed with the singing of appropriate songs.

     On Sunday, August 7, the Bishop conducted the children's service and spoke on the subject of "Patience." The number of children present was most gratifying. After the service, Mrs. de Charms took moving pictures of the children. She took similar pictures of our members on many occasions during her stay. At the adult service which followed, the Bishop's sermon was on the subject of "Enlightenment from the Word." During the ensuing week the District Assembly was held, a report of which has already been printed. (See January issue.)

     After the Assembly Bishop and Mrs. de Charms spent some days at the home of Mr. and Mrs. H. Scott Forfar, interrupted by a trip to Zululand, August 15-22, and during this time we were favored by addresses on a number of interesting subjects: A talk to the Ladies' Class on "The Pre-School Child"; a doctrinal class on "Human Good and Truth" an address on "The Holy Spirit" at an open meeting of the Sons of the Academy; another talk to the Ladies' Class on "The Psychology of Fear"; and a doctrinal class on "The Tabernacle," illustrated by the model.

     At the conclusion of this class, Mr. J. J. Forfar congratulated the Bishop on the occasion of his birthday, expressing our admiration and esteem, and our loyalty to his guidance, and presenting a Persian rug as a token of the society's affection. Mr. and Mrs. Odhner were also presented with a Persian rug in appreciation of the splendid and faithful uses which both of them so readily perform among us. Tea was then served by Mrs. J. T. Forfar, who had done this at every evening meeting, and there was a special birthday cake with forty-nine candles upon it. With happy but sad hearts we said good-night to Bishop s and Mrs. de Charms, as they were leaving next morning to visit the Mission Stations in Orange Free State, Transvaal and Basutoland.

     They returned to Durban on September 13, and were the guests of Mr. and Mrs. J. J. Forfar. Demands were again made upon the Bishop, as the members wished to avail themselves of every opportunity for his instruction. He complied by addressing the Ladies' Class at the home of Mrs. W. G. Lowe on the subject of "Predestination," and the same evening conducted a doctrinal class in which he presented the subject of "Action, Reaction and Cooperation."

     A farewell social gathering on Saturday, September 17, took the form of a bioscope evening at which Mrs. de Charms showed some interesting moving pictures of the General Assembly at Pittsburgh, taken by Mr. Michael Pitcairn, and also some European films. In addition, two excellent films of the South African Game Reserve were shown. During the evening Mrs. de Charms received a cloisonne vase from the Women's Guild as a parting gift of esteem and affection.

     On Sunday, September 18, the Bishop spoke at the children's service on the subject of "Honesty," and at the adult service, attended by seventy-eight persons, he delivered a very fine sermon on "The Worship of the Divine Human." At the evening service the subject of his sermon was "Dwelling at Capernaum."

     Later in the evening we gathered at the home of Mr. and Mrs. J. J. Forfar, where some of the films taken by Mrs. de Charms during her stay in South Africa were shown. It was great fun to see ourselves in these pictures, and those taken of the children were of special interest. In brief speech, Mr. Melville Ridgway, as President of the Durban Chapter of the Sons of the Academy, expressed to Bishop and Mrs. de Charms the deep gratitude and pleasure we have felt at their being able to pay us this visit. The society and every individual had received a wealth of instruction, and had derived a feeling of nearness to the Bishop which they could have received in no other way.

90


Mr. Ridgway then presented a case of pipes to the Bishop as a parting gift from the Sons.

     This last Sunday had been made possible by a postponement of the sailing date of the boat for Australia. Over sixty people, old and young, were at the dock to wish our visitors a fond farewell, and stood waving and singing until the ship was out of sight. The Bishop and Mrs. de Charms are whole-heartedly respected and loved by our people, and it is our hope that before many years have passed they will repeat their visit, and for a longer period, if possible.

     A few days later, about forty-five people were at the dock to bid goodbye to Mrs. Irene Robinson as she sailed for her home in Bryn Athyn by way of England. She has left many warm friends in Durban, who have learned to know and love her during her long stay, and who will miss her very much.

     The Durban Society has now returned to its normal round of activities. A number of happy social evenings have been enjoyed of late, and our semi-annual bazaar took place on November 12. A great deal of work for this had been done by the women, and there was an attractive display of articles for sale, the proceeds of L40 being quite satisfactory.

     The engagement of Miss Lavender Findlay to Mr. Rex Ridgway has been announced. Lavender has quickly taken her place in our hearts. We are very happy to welcome her as one of us, and to wish them all happiness.
     B. R. F.

     ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS.

     How fitting and proper that, with the beginning of a new year, we should be able to announce in the pages of New Church Life the forming of a Rockford Circle! Though its members have been meeting for many years to study and discuss the Writings, it is only recently that steps have been taken to organize the members into a distinct Circle of the General Church. Doctrinal classes are held weekly on Friday evenings, and formal worship on the 2d Sunday of each month.

     But to begin at the very first. Every Circle has a beginning-and ours had such an unusual one! It may be of interest to note the part played by the Divine Providence in placing Theodore Gladish, Warren Reuter and later Richard Gladish in Rockford to earn their livelihood. Here were three young men, not long out of the Bryn Athyn Academy, in a city with no known New Church members. Often after their day of work was over, they would meet in a restaurant and discuss their isolated state. One day Warren inadvertently left a brochure telling of a missionary meeting of the General Church in Wyoming, Ohio. The proprietor of the cafe, a Mr. Axel Eklund, picked it up. Having glanced at it, and being interested, he inquired of the young men about the booklet the next time they came in. He and his wife had been members of a very active New Church (Convention) group in this city, which had disbanded some years before. It was only natural that Mrs. Eklund should be called to their table. She knew of another family which was interested in the Doctrines. Immediately plans were made to have the first doctrinal class at the Eklund home on May 8, 1935. Twelve were present. It was so successful, and the desire to continue the meetings weekly was so heartfelt, that such meetings have continued ever since.

     During the summers we have met in the lovely gardens of Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Winchester for picnics and pot-luck. Meetings have also been held in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Gladish. Often we have gone to Glenview to attend some important function of the Church, and to get acquainted with the many friends there.

     We have been visited at various times by the Revs. W. L. Gladish, Norman Reuter and Morley Rich, who have given much instruction and enlightenment. Rev. Gilbert Smith has sent us sermons which have been read and discussed.

91




     So passed the years.

     When Bishop Acton attended the Chicago District Assembly last October, we extended an invitation to him and Mrs. Acton to visit us. He accepted, and on Tuesday evening, November 1, we celebrated the occasion by a "smorgasbord" at Eklund's Cafe. Many friends from Chicago and Glenview came also. Then everyone (26 in all) drove out to the Gladish home to hear the Bishop talk on the history of the New Church. He pointed out the advantages of forming a regular society of the General Church, and having a definite visiting pastor for formal instruction and church services. At the very next weekly meeting there was tall; of acting upon his recommendation. Plans were made to petition Bishop George de Charms to recognize our group, and to appoint the Rev. Morley Rich as our visiting minister.

     Our request was granted, and it was with pleasure that our first service was held on Sunday evening, December 11, at the Eklund home, 415 South Gardiner Avenue. Mr. Rich chose for his sermon the subject of Creation. There were twenty in attendance, including visitors from Glenview. After the service we gathered together to honor the occasion with toasts and songs to the Church and to the Rockford Circle. Mr. Sydney Lee, of Glenview, gave a little talk in which he pointed out that the number who organized the very first New Church society was smaller than ours, and he hoped our Circle would grow and be successful.

     During the Christmas holidays we were delighted to have the Rev. and Mrs. Norman Reuter visit us. Mr. Reuter talked informally on the nature of the spiritual world, which subject was received with much enthusiasm. We were pleased to have several Glenview friends present, as well as Miss Jane Scalbom, home from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where she is teaching.

     One occasion, I almost forgot to mention, was the baptizing of five members of our group by the Rev. W. L. Gladish on April 28, 1938, and their subsequent acceptance as members of the General Church.

     By the time this is published, we will have had our second service of worship-a long step from the time three young men gathered at Eklund's Cafe.
     MRS. THEODORE GLADISH.

     GLENVIEW, ILL.

     When two papers on the same subject appear simultaneously in two periodicals of the Church, written by men as able as the Rev. F. E. Waelchli and the Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner, it's probably a sign that this subject is worthy of more than ordinary notice. (See "For the Isolated-and Others," December Parent-Teacher Journal, and "Religion in the Home," December New Church Life.) On Friday evening, December 9, our pastor reviewed these two excellent papers, and once more we were reminded of the importance of family worship.

     As is usual with us in December, the sermons on the 11th and 18th were instruction in the spiritual significance of the events preceding the coming of the Lord. At our Christmas morning service-to a congregation of 292 persons-our pastor spoke with simple tenderness of the wonders of the birth of the Lord. Singing "From the Eastern Mountains," the entire congregation moved forward to make their offerings, and this was followed by the children's recitations, singing by the school and choir, and the usual presentation of Rifts from the Immanuel Church to every child. The Nativity Representation-more beautiful than ever-brought to our natural vision the picture of that "Holy Night."

     Our New Year's party went off with a bang. Decorations, arrangement of supper tables, lighting effects-all were new, and proved most satisfactory. At 10 p.m. Saturday, December 31, one hundred and sixty-eight people piled into the buildings,-to eat, to be entertained, and to entertain. No one was disappointed. Concert music, and singing and reciting, made pleasant entertainment during and after the meal.

92


Then dancing-and the first thing we knew it was 1939!

     What could be more fitting than that the first meeting of the New Year should be a Sunday service! Our pastor was assisted by the Rev. Morley Rich of Chicago and the Rev. Norman Reuter of Wyoming, Ohio. On January 8, the sacrament of the Holy Supper was administered. Also, the first baptism of the year was solemnized-Michael Snowden, infant son of Mr. and Mrs. David Cole.

     A number of our members went to Rockford, Illinois, about eighty miles from Glenview, to attend the Sunday service on December 11, conducted by the Rev. Morley Rich, visiting minister of the newly formed Circle there. It is also our pleasure to welcome the Rockford members when they not infrequently visit Glenview. Our heartfelt wishes for the development and expansion of their uses is extended to our friends in Rockford.

     Mrs. Selma Lindrooth has recently moved into her new home in the Park, next to the residence of her sister, Mrs. Thomas Pollock, and we are very glad to welcome this addition to our society. Dr. Donald Gladish and family have just moved into the home previously occupied by Mr. G. A. McQueen and family, and we are pleased to be able to report that the Gladish clan now living in The Park numbers TEN!

     It's several years since we've had an unpremeditated pyrotechnic display, but the spell was broken when fire broke out at the Coffin residence several days ago. As usual, it was a night affair. Considerable damage resulted, but our efficient volunteer fire department took care of things nicely, and no one was hurt, except Mr. Bernard Holmes, who was overcome with smoke, but is now up and around again.

     A manual training class has been started for sixteen of the younger boys of the school. They meet once a week in the basement workroom of one of our members. Mr. Ray Kuhn, a landscape architect with the Swain Nelson & Sons Co., is their instructor, who offered his services in the interest of our school work. The boys like him-and he them! Mr. Kuhn and his wife have been attending our church meetings regularly for some time.
     HAROLD P. MCQUEEN.

     DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

     During the two months that have intervened since our last report, the Group at Detroit, Saginaw and points West has been quite active. The Rev. Norman Reuter has been with us on two occasions, and several informal meetings have been held at the homes of Detroit members. We hope to continue these enjoyable social affairs during the winter.

     Preceding a service held on Sunday, November 13, Mr. Reuter conducted a children's class on Saturday afternoon, and a doctrinal class in the evening, with an attendance of eleven members. At the Sunday service we had an attendance of 32, including seven children and one visitor, Miss Phyllis Tyrrell, of Bourbon, Indiana. The sermon subject was appropriate to the approaching season of Thanksgiving, and the text, "O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good."

     Our Christmas service was held on Sunday, December 18, and was grand occasion, particularly for the children, for whom, of course, it had been especially arranged. They were all seated together in front, and at a given point in the service arose and recited the words from Isaiah 9:2-8, "The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light.'' The pastor addressed the children with a clear and interesting explanation of the words "Light" and "Darkness. During the interlude, Miss Freda Cook sang "The Lord's Prayer" to music by Malotte. The attendance was 39, including ten children.

     At the luncheon which followed, the tables were arranged in a square around the Christmas tree. Appropriate table decorations and a large stack of presents under the tree gave the right Christmas touch and put us all in the holiday spirit.

93


After gifts had been distributed to all of the children, Mr. Harold French arose and, on behalf of the group presented to Pastor Reuter a leather pocket-secretary, and to his hard-working assistant, Mr. Norman Synnestvedt, a copy of the Liturgy, new edition.

     Music followed, rendered by ladies trio, a mixed quartet and a trumpet soloist, consisting mainly of members of the Cook family, who have all been trained as musicians by their talented father. A Christmas carol, sung lustily by the entire group, brought to a close our very enjoyable Christmas program. Twenty persons remained for a doctrinal class and business session.

     Mrs. Violet Day, our oldest member and most faithful attendant, was greatly missed by all present. She has been seriously ill for several weeks, but is slowly improving at this time.
     W. W. W.

     TORONTO, CANADA.

     Our Christmas services and festivities were particularly enjoyable. On the Sunday evening preceding Christmas, the tableaux delighted us with the beautiful stories they depicted:-Isaiah's Prophecy to Ahaz; the Star in the East; the Nativity; the Wise Men's Adoration; and a group of Angel Children singing Hosannas. The last was perhaps the most delightful of the series. The Christmas Day service, one of the most beautiful of the year, with its joyous music, its happy sphere, and helpful readings and sermon,-was attended by a large     congregation. During the week the little children had a merry Christmas party, dancing around a tree, playing games and enjoying their refreshments.

     The Old Year was rung out, and the New Year rung in, by a large group of people in a fitting manner. The good attendance, bright music, and gay decorations, all contributed to make the evening a success. The final touch, and one which won the approval of all, was a breakfast of quality and quantity.

     On December 7, the marriage of Mr. Orville Carter and Miss Emily Wilson was an event of outstanding importance. Many friends and relatives came to witness the lovely service, around which great interest has been centered for some time; for both Emily and Orville have grown up in our midst. A reception was held in the social room, which was tastefully arranged and appropriate toasts were honored. Unfortunately this happy couple are not to reside in Toronto, but in Carleton Place, until such time as they return to our fold.

     And now we have just had the pleasure of participating in the celebration of another wedding, that of Miss Edith Craigie and Mr. Joseph Knight. The very simple but heart-felt ceremony took place at the church on January 7, a reception following at the Craigie home. Prior to the wedding, many parties were arranged in honor of this well-known couple, including a shower for the bride by the Ladies' Circle, and a stag for the groom. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Knight have left Toronto for a trip across the Dominion to Vancouver, to return home via the Panama Canal.

     Speaking of "showers," we are reminded that the pastor, his wife and his daughter were "snowed in" during a visit to Bryn Athyn late in November, and the Rev. Alan Gill conducted our Sunday morning service on November 21.

     The Ladies' Circle and the Forward-Sons continue to be active in their respective fields. The former group energetically arranged for and held a Cafeteria-Bridge, which proved to be lots of fun as well as a financial success. The president of the Sons, Mr. Sydney Parker, after an absence of three months in Winnipeg, has returned to take over his duties as such, and presided at the December meeting, when Robert Scott gave a carefully prepared paper on "Evolution and Heredity," after a good supper prepared by Ray Brown.
     M. S. P.

94




     BRYN ATHYN.

     During the Fall season in the Bryn Athyn Society the doctrinal classes following the Friday evening suppers in the Assembly Hall were conducted by the Rev. Hugo Lj Odhner, who gave a series of six talks on the subject of Self-Examination. Bishop de Charms has now begun a series of classes in which he will present the Doctrine of Reception. On Tuesday evenings, the Rev. Elmo C. Acton conducts the Young People's Class, which meets in the various homes.

     The Rev. Karl R. Alden has been giving instruction in the General Doctrines of the Church to an adult class that meets at his home in Stuart Hall, with an attendance of forty at some of these gatherings.

     Christmas was celebrated by inspiring worship in the Cathedral, the service for the children, with its customary overflow congregating, being held on Saturday afternoon, December 24, Bishop de Charms giving the Address. At the service for adults on Sunday morning, the Rev. Elmo Acton preached on "The Presence and Coming of the Lord." Two groups of carolers went the rounds of the community on Christmas Eve. But our Christmas observance really began on Friday, December 23, when an evening concert and song festival was given in the great hall at Glencairn, for which an invitation to old and young was extended by Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Pitcairn. In homelike and festive atmosphere, the large number who attended were treated to a fine program of choral and instrumental selections, the organizations taking part being the Cathedral Choir, the Whittington Chorus, the Bryn Athyn Orchestra and the Elementary School Orchestra. At the conclusion of the program, the audience entered joyously into the singing of the well-loved Christmas songs. And everyone brought away a handsome souvenir of the occasion in the form of a beautiful Christmas card,-the reproduction of a mural painting of the Cathedral.

     The holidays were marked by many happy social gatherings in the homes, and the New Year was ushered in with a gala dance in the Assembly Hall under the auspices of the Civic and Social Club, the program featuring many novel forms of entertainment.

     Heard in Bryn Athyn.

     A letter by Hector Waylen, appearing in The New-Church Herald of January 7, 1939, says:

     "I have no wish to diminish a sense of the immense debt we are under to Swedenborg for his life and labors, and for the many deep things which he was a means of unfolding to us. But I regard the view taken of his writings by many in past times as a hindrance, on more than one subject, to the spiritual progress of the New Church. There are people who delight in telling you that they believe in the Bible from cover to cover, and they regard every sentence in it as of equal inspiration. If Paul asked, Timothy to bring the cloak he had left at Troas, that is as deeply inspired as when he said so wisely and well that we should speak the truth in love. But a similar view of the voluminous writings of Swedenborg were equally unwise. True Christianity delivers us from hero worship. At Bryn Athyn I have heard tobacco smoking defended on the ground that Swedenborg took snuff. And in all sections of New Church people there have been those who were ready to quote from him as if every expression of opinion in his writings were final, oracular, and beyond criticism."

95


ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS 1939

ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS       WILLIAM WHITEHEAD       1939




     Announcements.




     The Annual Meetings of the Councils of the General Church of the New Jerusalem will be held at Bryn Athyn, Pa., from Monday, March 27, to Sunday, April 2, 1939. The Program will be published in the March issue of NEW CHURCH LIFE.
     WILLIAM WHITEHEAD,
          Secretary,
Council of the Clergy.
NEW LITURGY 1939

NEW LITURGY              1939

     Owing to the illness of the music typographer and other similar complications, the progress of the printing of the new Liturgy has been unexpectedly slowed up. It is now anticipated that the volume will not be finished before Easter, although every effort will be made to avoid further delays.

97


NEW-CHURCHMANSHIP 1939

NEW-CHURCHMANSHIP       Rev. GILBERT H. SMITH       1939


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LIX          MARCH, 1939          No. 3
     THE NEW CHURCH WILL GROW IF WE WANT IT TO.

     The most obvious and urgent need of the New Church is for men and women who are willing to support the work of the priesthood, spiritually, morally, and materially.

     Spiritually, this support may take the form of reading the Writings of the New Church and reflecting upon what is read. For this purpose, the various books can be procured, if they are not already owned or available, so that there will always be some book at hand for regular study, or enough of them to provide material on some chosen subject. Even though one's time for such reading be limited, real spiritual support requires a reasonable amount of it. Without it, the meaning and import of the various sacraments and rites of the New Church cannot be fully appreciated, and to that extent will fail of their appointed purpose and benefit; nor can there be intelligent response to the instruction offered. At present the sale of New Church books is very small. Yet the Writings furnish a liberal education, in addition to spiritual intelligence.

     The reading of NEW CHURCH LIFE, if nothing else, would help in the spiritual support of the priesthood. It is the official organ of the General Church. The number of readers are comparatively few.

     Moral support of the priesthood, in terms of action, would consist in full attendance, regular attendance, and prompt attendance, on the part of adults and children of sufficient age.

98


At present, such moral support may be estimated by any observer who pays attention to it.

     Effective moral support means that everyone, as a matter of conscience, attends worship and classes for instruction, at all times when it is reasonably possible to attend. The acceptance of this principle is the first fundamental of the success of the church organization, and is the most powerful means of promoting its growth. The failure to accept it will do most to retard its growth. The New Church will grow if we want it to.

     Moral support involves promptness of attendance, especially on the part of those who take any part in the services of worship, or perform some duty in connection with church activities,-a singer in the choir, an usher, or a caretaker of properties. A doer of any service for the church gives full moral support only when he is present in time to perform his duties. Sometimes it may be impossible to avoid lateness, and better late than never. No one is authorized to demand an explanation. But habitual tardiness is usually avoidable, if people will only start to get ready in ample time. Beyond question, such tardiness is a serious transgression against the order and sphere of worship, and it is a careless offense against the proper approach to the Divine Presence. Tardiness is a blot upon the attempt at fitting worship, and it is the most discouraging thing with which the clergy have to contend. When churchmen recognize the truth of this, and avoid lateness from conscience, a second fundamental of success will be added to the first.

     Moral support includes also the training of children to attend as the normal thing to do, and to sit through services and sermons of reasonable length; let us say children over seven years of age, if they are of normal health. They should not be encouraged to absent themselves from the sphere of worship, which is a most valuable thing for children.

     But moral and spiritual support of the church, interpreted in terms of action, involves responsible membership in the organization of the church, even though one may be able to do very little in the matter of financial support. If one is of mature age, and sincerely believes the doctrine of the New Church, he should by all means unite with the organization also, for the sake of taking part in the uses of the church. And this also should be a matter of conscience, and not of mere feeling.

99


Aside from the fact that there are some things a non-member cannot do, because he is a non-member, there is the more important fact that, unless he is desirous of entering the church according to order, which is by baptism and confession, his spirit is not fully associated with the New Church in the other world. For such a spiritual association, we are assured, is one of the effects of the sacraments and rites of the church.

     The only valid reason for remaining outside the organization would be if the organization were considered to be promotive of heresy, or in a state of manifest disorder.

     Regarding the material support of the New Church, that may always be given acceptably in service, if not in money, and in moral support, if not in financial contributions. The material support of our New Church is extremely good from the fewer and, for the most part, the older members; and it is extremely poor from the larger number, and not necessarily the younger members and adherents. There are few cases indeed in which some little cannot be regularly given. A large percentage of the funds by which our church and our schools operate is at present contributed by comparatively few members. It is a fact, however, that our priesthood and our teachers are not well paid.

     Let everyone accept the principle of giving as much as he is reasonably able to the church from conscience, and with affection, if the affection is there. Then the third fundamental of the success of the New Church will exist,-the ultimate fundamental without which it cannot possibly succeed. If a man is willing to give to the Church of the Lord all he reasonably can, and to do this from conscience, even when affection may not be strongly evident, it is more than possible that he will be blessed with a greater success in business and in other respects. This is not an inducement, but a statement of what one may well believe, and may prove for himself, if he is willing to try it, and if he really accepts the principle of it.

     For the Lord can certainly bless those the more, and in other ways, who give of their means as they are able to give, as a return blessing, or offering, or acknowledgment of the Lord's Divine blessings. The principle is true that he who blesses the Lord will himself in turn be the more blessed, just as there is good ground for believing that he who steals money offered to a Divine use will usually find that it will work to his disadvantage, and that he who withholds from the Lord's Church what he might give to it with reason deprives himself of what might be a source of great delight and satisfaction.

100




     At present our Church is materially very poor, but it is even more seriously in need of the support which has been described as moral and spiritual. They who know anything of the New Jerusalem will pray that it may come. (A. C. 956.) But certainly prayer is nothing unless interpreted in terms of action.
GOD'S PEOPLE 1939

GOD'S PEOPLE       Rev. HUGO LJ. ODHNER       1939

     "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people." (Revelation 21:3.)

     The Lord came in the flesh to fight our unseen battles, to redeem us from the spiritual dangers to which flesh is heir. He glorified His Human, His Tabernacle of flesh, and has now-in His Second Advent-revealed it in the daylight of Revelation, revealed it as the Divine Human, the Source of every truth, God of heaven and earth,-that He might dwell with men.

     "To the end that the Lord might be constantly present, He has disclosed the spiritual sense of His Word, in which Divine Truth is in its light, and in this He is continually present; for His presence in the Word is only by means of the spiritual sense." (T. C. R. 780.)

     The Lord, when glorified, rose with His body from the grave,-a Body made Divine, its Flesh being the Divine Good Itself, its Blood and Bones the Divine Truth; a Body, not material, but of infinite and "Divine substantial" essence; omnipresent; all-powerful in the government of His universe in ultimates as well as in firsts.

     His presence in the universe of nature is universal. It is He who causes growth and motion, and gives to the coursing storms an appearance as if all things were alive. Yet He is not seen in nature as GOD-MAN, or as the Divine Human. He is seen as omnipotent LAW.

     Though present intimately everywhere, it is "with men" only that the Tabernacle of God may be. In the living affections and the conscious perceptions of men the Lord may dwell as in a Tabernacle.

101


With men-in the living world of human affections-God can be seen as the Divine Human,-the Source of all human virtues. There He can enter in His glorified Manhood; there He can be worshiped and loved, and through this can regenerate us, and create a new heart and a new spirit within us. With man, and with man alone, He can be received as the Revealer of Truth and the Giver of Good, as the Teacher of the purposes of life, as the Spirit of the Word which is its internal sense.

     "And they shall be His people." It is of those who are of the New Jerusalem that these words of promise are spoken. There was a people, in ancient times, that was singled out as a chosen nation, as a "peculiar people," with whom the Lord of all the earth was to dwell in a unique and special manner, and bless with worldly blessings in proportion to their loyalty and by reason of their representative prophetic worship. Israel was thus called the "People of God." And now, after ages, this remarkable title was to be reassigned, and given to those who are to dwell in the New Jerusalem. They are to be "His people, and He Himself shall be with them, their God."

     This new people of God is not to be a family or a chosen race, as were the Jews; nor is the New Jerusalem to be an earthly city, as was the old. No such outward accidents as being born in any special family, or being educated in any particular schools, or even the fact of outward membership in the assembly or "Church" of the New Jerusalem, warrants the claim by any man to belong to this People of God. Neither must the New Jerusalem be mistaken for any "society of friendship," such as those which exist in the world of spirits for the satisfaction of social instincts and delights. It is not any imaginary heaven for mutual self-congratulations or the gratification of natural affections. However men may abound with the milk of human kindness, however people may evince sincerity and good works, however they excel in the human virtues, and even in external affections that are acceptable in the sight of God, these things do not indicate that they are within the New Jerusalem, as God's people, with whom He dwells.

     The New Jerusalem is neither vague nor indefinite. It is four-square, of given dimensions. It never changes. Its gates are always open. The walls are high, built of firm, clear, jasper-stone.

102


It is built by the Lord alone; man has no part in its building. It descends out of heaven-from God. It is a definite structure of truth-for man's salvation-for his spiritual safety. Until he enters that city, with its walls of salvation, he is not safe-not yet saved.

     This structure of truths revealed descended into the world of spirits. It exists there now for all who, after death, may Seek the only real safety from evil assault. It exists there as organized institutions of teaching and of leading; and every spirit from earth that is heavenward bound will be furnished with that teaching, henceforth and forever. "Blessed, therefore, are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth."

     The Holy City descended also to earth-in a most definite form: It came as the "Heavenly Doctrine" revealed through Emanuel Swedenborg. And an organized Church exists, in Providence, for the preservation and the presentation of the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem-the City of spiritual refuge. The New Church stands for the whole doctrinal system so revealed; and so long as the New Church does not add to it or subtract from it, that Church has a right to bear that holy name,-the "assembly" of the New Jerusalem.

     Individuals signifying their intention to profit by that Doctrine, and to seek in it for the path to the heavenly city of salvation-the path of spiritual charity and regenerate faith-and indeed to suffer the Lord to build up in their very minds the walls of salvation-these belong, and these alone, to the visible Church of the New Jerusalem on earth, and are intromitted by baptism, in the given assurance that such a sacrament will signify and fix that intention, and introduce them into the company of spiritual guides and instructors in both worlds.

     Baptism is therefore the sign of safety,-a sign of the possibility, of the near presence, of salvation; a sign that man's spirit is then, and as long as he pleases, in the very shadow of the towering walls of the Heavenly New Jerusalem itself; and that when he finally awakens and becomes aware of the dangers which threaten his soul, he may take refuge within the mighty bulwarks whose gates have always remained open, except for what is tainted with ill purpose.

     In the sphere of the Church which teaches the doctrine of heaven, there is the continual opportunity of finding salvation, or what is the same, spiritual safety.

103


Yet this does not come except to those who seek to "work the Lord's work while there is day"-who will, with resolution, throw away the latent prides that forbid them to repent, and who, in regarding the Church, will see beyond the material structure of the church, beyond the human organization composed of men dedicated to support the uses of worship and instruction. Indeed, that state of spiritual salvation does not come except to such as see within the Church the Tabernacle of God, and feel His presence, and His guardianship-know that He dwells with them.

     Not until then could they be said to be the Lord's People. None except such have actually taken up their residence in the New Jerusalem. All others are sojourners. But these of whom we speak have the faith of charity. Their faith is proved, for they have accepted it because it is the truth given by God. They do not test the truth by their own feelings, or moods, or states. And therefore hell has no part in them, and no power over them. They do not resist the hells by reasonings of their own inventing; the Lord fights for them as they go forward; and they hold their peace; for they challenge Satan first to overcome the walls of the City of God.

     II.

     The place in which we worship was set apart and consecrated as a House of God, instrumental in the purposes of regeneration, in bringing the heavenly New Jerusalem into the hearts and minds of men on earth, and thus as a means of conjunction with God-in order that He might dwell with us, and that we might be prepared to become His People. The House of God is a holy place-a gateway to heaven. But it will remain holy only so long as its sanctity is kept, only so far as we, continually, season by season, state by state, rededicate ourselves to the service of that use for which it stands. Nor can we be satisfied that we have kept the trust of that sanctity unless we may, each one, feel that our faith in its purpose, and in the promise of redemption that it carries with it, has suffered no eclipse-that our love of the heavenly city of doctrine, our search for the truth, has not slackened in zeal; that our performance of loyal duties formerly regarded sacred is still kept up, with the joy of a lighter spirit in the doing.

     To us Providence has been gracious beyond our deserts.

104


For while to most men few if any indications are given as to their expected service to humanity,-a service that may dignify their lives and endow them with some meaning,-there has been thrust upon us the marvellous responsibility of that Everlasting Gospel which shall be the means of molding the new civilization of the future. We are called upon to be pioneers-unworthy, awkward, forerunners of that great and holy Cause of the Future. To us the Lord has spoken-spoken in the Revelation of the Secret Things of the Word-spoken with overwhelming conviction which puts doubt to shame-spoken, not with words of harsh command, but with the loving patience which reasons and explains and confides the purpose in every provision. So He speaks each time we read in the Doctrine-speaks, and waits patiently for us to be roused to further willing progress.

     But, alas, so often we hold back! We would go along this path of regeneration which the Lord holds forth-if only others would go with us. We have not the faith to go alone-to lead on. Our instinct is to want to convert the world-to convince them-to force others to think with us, even though they be not ready to accept the Divine Message! Yet charity forbids undue insistence, for this is not the Lord's way. He guards the freedom of each man's mind and spirit, even from us and our wisdom. And must we not bow before His Providence, which has ordained that none shall be led to the interior acknowledgment of spiritual truth unless they can be kept in the same to the end of their lives? (D. P. 221.) Must we not also bow before the will of God-of which He has told us beforehand-that the New Church must undergo its first states in the wilderness of unpopularity?

     It is for our sakes also, and not alone by reason of the world's unreceptiveness of the truth, that the "time, and times, and half a time" are prolonged. Never will that state end unless we learn its lesson, and our faith becomes purified in the fires of temptation, and our consciousness of the distinctive Message of the New Revelation becomes sure and strong! The strength of our love and faith is not yet to be tested by the flatteries of unusual acclaim, or by intoxicating successes; but it is first to be molded by adversity, by victories over ourselves, and tested by a wearing upon our patience. For only such love can stand success. Only such faith can carry conviction,-a faith that can face isolation, and continue when the world forsakes it-continue to offer its daily sacrifices, and be led by the Comforter, "the Spirit of Truth, which the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him," but which dwelleth with us, and, pray God, shall be in us!

105




     We read in the Heavenly Doctrine concerning the spiritual equilibrium existing in the world of spirits-a balance of the opposed influences (influxes) from heaven and from hell-the powers of good and the powers of evil. Our spirits are, even now, held in that intermediate world. Below our spirits yawn the hells, and their flames at times scorch our souls with passions impure and hateful. Above our spirits stretch the benign heavens, instilling into our souls their peace, their patience, their humble selfless zeal and charity, when our state allows their influx.

     But let us not think that we can wander in the world of spirits only; for we are as yet on earth, and our states are determined very powerfully by the environment in which we are; for power resides in ultimates. Even here stand the symbols of the same equilibrium of influences-the WORLD, on the one hand, appealing to our native inclinations, our love of sensual tranquillity and pleasure, our tendency to partake of its fickle prejudices and passions, and share in its impatient and ever-changing moods, and to thrill with a sense of the common dangers and the turbulent, uncertain successes of the world's progress,-that world which always whispers alluringly to us to place it first, to let it determine our road, let it build our conscience and make our standards within easier reaching distance.

     On the other side stands the HOUSE OF GOD. To the hearts of those who truly love, its presence speaks of comfort received in bereavement, of strength given in weakness, of delights which are safe-guarded nowhere else, of heights of tenderness and faith and inward beauty, and things beyond price,-the tokens of humanity's final redemption, the highest use of all. But those who are already in bonds to the loves of the world, even though tentatively, cannot so see the House of God. For necessarily the Church stands in the world in an oppositional role. It creates a balance. It represents a world unacknowledged. It cannot be the Church of God, speaking with the voice of prophecy, and yet be silent against the flagrant lie that its children can become God's people, and attain to true loves whose delights can be freely satisfied, without first learning self-discipline!

106




     Those who are touched-as are all on earth at times-by the love of the world or the love of self, see in the House of God, at such times, a somber and forbidding master who encroaches upon their freedom by restraining their conscience, by creating tasks, and demanding of them an attention which they only half-heartedly can give. In such states, also, the human aspect of the Church begins to obtrude itself upon us. We begin to forget that the Church of God is worthy of the first fruits of our time and thought and effort, because its uses are Divine, irrespective of the failings of the men who uphold them. Long after those are dead whom we knew upon the earth, the work done through them for the upholding of the New Jerusalem will go on. Every stone now laid and sanctified to God's service will have grown into a wall. And the work which we neglect will mean a visiting of our iniquity upon the innocent; for, humanly speaking, we make posterity suffer for our moods and omissions.

     The most commendable use born from the co-operation of men is that of building a House of God-building it in the warm, living hearts of men, as a Tabernacle of Faith. For God lives not in stone, but in love to the Lord and to the neighbor, and in the faith which is sustained, not from mere persuasion and reasoning, but from the charity of mutual love.

     And the House of God is not a thing that can take a second place in our lives, and still remain-for us-God's House. Nothing must come between it and God, or between it and ourselves. "Behold, the Tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, their God." Amen.

     LESSONS: Ezekiel 40:1-5; 43:1-9. Revelation 21. T. C. R. 374.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 532, 543, 570.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 53, 93.

107


MRS. WILLIAM FREDERIC PENDLETON 1939

MRS. WILLIAM FREDERIC PENDLETON        GEORGE DE CHARMS       1939

     FUNERAL ADDRESS

     Readings from the Word.

     "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? . . . One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple." (Psalm 27:1, 4.)

     "O send out Thy light and Thy truth; let them lead me; let them bring me unto Thy holy hill, and to Thy tabernacles. Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy; yea, upon the harp will I praise Thee, O God, my God. Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me! Hope thou in God; for I shall yet praise Him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God." (Psalm 43:3-5.)

     "Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the Lord. There be many that say, Who will show us any good? Lord, lift Thou up the light of Thy countenance upon us. Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased. I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep; for Thou, Lord, only makest me to dwell in safety." (Psalm 4:5-8.)

     "Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; and Thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds. Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; Thy judgments are a great deep; O Lord, Thou preservest man and beast. How excellent is Thy lovingkindness, O God; therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Thy wings. They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of Thy house; and Thou shalt make them drink of the river of Thy pleasures. For with Thee is the fountain of life; in Thy light shall we see light. O continue Thy lovingkindness unto them that know Thee; and Thy righteousness to the upright in heart." (Psalm 36:5-10.)

108




     Readings from the Writings.

     "Old age is mentioned in various places in the Word, as also that men died; but in the internal sense no old age or death, such as those of the body, are ever perceived; . . . for in the other life old age and death are unknown." (A. C. 2198.)

     "When mention is made in the Word of advancement in age, and of old age, the angels who are with man have no other idea than that they thus successively put off what is human, and put on what is heavenly. For human life, from infancy to old age, is nothing else than a progression from the world to heaven; and the last age, which is death, is the transition itself. Therefore burial is resurrection, because it is a complete putting off." (A. C. 3016.)

     "When first born, man is introduced into a state of innocence, in order that this may be a plane for all succeeding states, and be the inmost in them. The last state, signified by 'old man,' is the state of wisdom, in which is the innocence of infancy. Thus the first state and the last are united; and man, when old, being again a little child, but wise, is introduced into the Lord's kingdom." (A. C. 3183.)

     "In the Word, old age signifies both the putting off of a former state and the putting on of a new one; and this for the reason that old age is the last of age, when corporeal things begin to be put off, and with them the loves of the preceding age, thus when the interiors begin to be enlightened, for these are enlightened when corporeal things are removed; and also because the angels have no longer an idea of any old age, but instead of it, an idea of new life." (A. C. 3492.)

     "During his life in the body, man has a distinct sensation of what takes place in his body, but a very obscure one of what takes place in his spirit, because, while man is in the body, worldly cares act as a hindrance, and where these cares exist the blessedness of the affections cannot flow so far as into the bodily sense unless natural and sensuous things have been reduced to agreement with inward ones, and even then only obscurely as tranquillity from contentment of mind. But after departure from this life, it manifests itself, and is perceived as something blessed and happy, and then it affects both the interiors and the exteriors. In a word, the blessedness of the celestial affections is that of the soul or spirit itself, flowing in by an internal way and penetrating toward the body, where it is received so far as the delights of natural and sensual loves do not stand in the way." (A. C. 6408.)

109




     "One who is in love to God and in love towards the neighbor does not perceive, while he lives in the body, any distinct sense of delight from these loves, or from the good affections derived from them, but only a blessedness that is hardly perceptible, because it is hidden away in his interiors, and veiled by the exteriors pertaining to the body and dulled by the cares of the world. But after death these states are entirely changed. The obscure delight and almost imperceptible blessedness of those who, while in the world, had been in love to God and in love to the neighbor are then turned into the delight of heaven, and become in every way perceived and felt; for the blessedness that lay hidden and unrecognized in their interiors while they lived in the world is then revealed and brought forth into evident sensation, because such had been the delight of their spirit." (H. H. 401.)

     Address.

     "I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord." (Psalm 122:1.)

     Departure from this life is ever accompanied by sadness, because of the suffering that precedes it and the sense of loss that comes with separation from those we love. But entrance into the spiritual world is always attended with complete tranquillity and joy of heart. This is because the resurrection is under the immediate auspices of the Lord, who, from infinite love, draws the spirit out of its corporeal coverings, and infuses into it new life from Himself. During this process-which takes place within three days after the body dies-the spirit lies as in a dreamless sleep, surrounded by celestial angels. And as consciousness gradually returns, these angels hold the awakening spirit in a state of perfect peace, from which all sense of care, anxiety, and pain is banished. As soon as the power of reflection is restored, the mind is lifted up, as it were on a wave of joy that comes with the realization of life renewed. In this way the Lord provides in mercy that, as He opens the gates of eternity, it may be truly said of every human soul that enters, "I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord."

110




     It cannot, indeed, be otherwise; for man was created to live in the spiritual world. He is created to perceive spiritual things, to find delight in the discriminating sense of those imponderable qualities which have their source in the love and wisdom of the Lord. The ability to do this is the distinguishing characteristic of the human mind. In the exercise of this ability lies the very essence of human life, as distinct from that which is enjoyed by the lower orders of creation. Man is not a man because he possesses a material body, but because, within the body as in a matrix, a mind sensitive to the touch of things eternal and Divine is being formed successively. The formation of this mind is under the ceaseless care and intimate direction of the Lord through all man's earthly life, with a view to its preparation for an everlasting use in heaven. The period of formative existence in the body may be compared to a prenatal state of the spirit, prior to its birth into its own proper world. Its life in the body is relatively obscure. The perception of its true happiness-the sensation of its real delight-is relatively vague and dull, because of material encasements that hamper and obstruct the full expression of its life.

     Natural growth, from infancy through childhood and youth to adult life and thence to old age, is, in the sight of the Lord, but a gradual progression toward the enjoyment of more and more internal things. From corporeal delights, the mind advances to those of the imagination, and is introduced successively to those of reason, of rational judgment, of spiritual understanding, and at last to the wisdom born of lifelong experience. In this process there is a separation-step by step-from the things of earth, as the spirit becomes aware of deeper and more lasting values. And through it all the Lord has regard to that eternal life which first begins when, with death, this preparatory existence reaches its appointed culmination. He alone knows the inmost quality of each individual soul. He knows the use for which it is intended. He knows the measure of earthly experience that is necessary to supply an eternal basis for the highest realization of that use. And when, in His infinite wisdom, He sees that the contribution of essential materials from the natural world is at last complete, He draws the spirit forth from its corporeal coverings, that it may he introduced into the full enjoyment of its spiritual faculties, set free from every binding embodiment of matter.

111




     Death, therefore, is but a continuation of life. It is an ineffable exaltation of life, It is the crowning achievement toward which all life in the body strives, and for the sake of which our earthly existence is provided, in the infinite mercy of the Lord. It merely marks a transition from one world to another; from a world in which the spirit is but a sojourner, and wherein it can know but a partial-a labored and an obscure perception of its real delights-to one in which those delights will have free play, with unutterable increase of keen sensation and enjoyment. To know this-as it is now so fully revealed by the Lord in His Second Coming-is a blessing indeed to those who suffer the bereavement of one beloved. It cannot but soften the grief of parting, and enable us to lift up our hearts in praise and thanksgiving to the Lord because He has opened the door of His house, that our friend may enter in, there to receive everlasting increase of happiness and blessing at His hand. It cannot but empower us to say, with the awakening spirit: "I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord."

     One whom we knew with deep affection as "Mother Pendleton" stands even now at the threshold of this new life, for which, through long years of earthly trial, of steadfast devotion to the Truth of the Word, and of quiet, self-effacing service to the New Church, she was being steadily prepared. Of all who belonged to the old Academy, she is one of the last to go. Side by side with her husband, she took an active part in all the early struggles for the establishment of a body dedicated to the complete acknowledgment of the Heavenly Doctrine as the Word of the Lord, and to a faithful adherence to its precepts in all things. She went through the trying temptations that accompanied the final dissolution of the Academy, and was the first to join the General Church, organized under the leadership of Bishop W. F. Pendleton, and committed to the task of preserving every essential principle of the former body.

     She saw the Church grow under the leading of Providence from its first beginning, through the establishment of the Academy Schools in Bryn Athyn, the erection of the Cathedral, the spread of its societies to many countries of the world. But through all the vicissitudes of these pioneer days she looked ever to the internal development of spiritual faith and genuine charity, as those qualities revealed by the Lord in His Word which alone can build a living Church.

112


Her mind was keenly perceptive of spiritual truth, and she was characterized by great strength of will to maintain that truth in every application to life. Yet she was singularly gentle in spirit, understanding of others, sympathetic with their trials, and truly a Mother to the Church. Her life has left a profound and lasting impress upon all who knew her.

     We would express the deepest gratitude to the Lord for all the uses to the Church performed by means of her, through a long life of loving service. We know that her loss will be keenly felt by all, and especially by those who were most closely associated with her in the closing years of her life. Yet the separation is only an apparent one, and the work she did on earth does not really end with death. She will be close to the hearts of her people, and in invisible ways will labor for their spiritual welfare with immeasurable increase of power from that other world to which she has gone. There many dear friends await her. Reunion with her husband, who had preceded her by many years, will be the occasion for untold joy. With strength renewed, she will enter upon all the uses of the Lord's Kingdom which she loved so deeply, and in which she there will find a happiness far exceeding any she could know on earth. Surely we may see in this the mercy and loving-kindness of the Lord, and put our trust under the shadow of His wings, that we may join with the welcoming angels in saying of this friend, awakening to the joys of heaven: "I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord." Amen.

     BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH.

     Mary Lawson Young was born in Thomas County, Georgia, September 27, 1851, the daughter of Remer and Mary (Wyche) Young. Her father and grandfather had extensive plantations. After her early education by governesses, she attended the Valdosta Institute, where she proved an apt pupil, being especially interested in mathematics. The old professor who was head of the school took her through calculus, and she afterwards went surveying with the class.

     It was at this school that she met William Frederic Pendleton, a fellow student, to whom she became engaged.

113


They were married some years later, on May 27, 1872, coming North immediately afterwards, in order that he might enter the Convention Theological School at Waltham, Massachusetts. During his career in the ministry, first as pastor at Wilmington, Delaware, then at Philadelphia and Chicago, and again at Philadelphia and Bryn Athyn, as Bishop they became affectionately known in the Church as Father and Mother Pendleton.

     Early in their acquaintance he gave her a copy of Heaven anal Hell, and from then on she became a constant reader of the Writings. She was also a student of Swedenborg's Philosophical Works, and was widely read in general literature. While living in Chicago, as an aid in the education of her children, she attended a kindergarten school which was the first established in the United States.

     Bishop Pendleton preceded her to the spiritual world on November 5, 1927. After a long illness, she passed to the other world on December 31, 1938, in her eighty-eighth year. She is survived by her nine daughters, their only son, Alan, having died in 1937. There are fifteen grandchildren, and seven great grandchildren.
SAMUEL S. LINDSAY 1939

SAMUEL S. LINDSAY       Rev. WILLARD D. PENDLETON       1939

     To all earthly appearances, death is the end of life. When the spirit leaves the body, the one whom we have known is seen no more among men. But the appearance belies the fact, even as the Lord said unto Nicodemus, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth; so is every one that is born of the Spirit." (John 3:6-8.) In other words, the essential man is not the body which is born of the flesh, but the mind which is "born of the Spirit." Unlike the body, which, according to the laws of nature, must return unto the dust from whence it came, the mind of man survives the fall. For the human mind is not a material creation; it is a living vessel, formed and fashioned from those spiritual substances which are beyond the reach of death.

114




     So it is that death is not the end of conscious existence. True, the man is no longer aware of the things of this world; for the body, which is the means of contact with material creation, is dead. But the body is not the man. It is only a natural vestment with which the human mind is enclothed during its sojourn upon earth. This having been cast off, a new abode is prepared, which, being composed of spiritual substances, grants conscious existence in the world of the spirit. Here is a marvelous thing, yet in itself so natural that the Lord said unto Nicodemus, "Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again."

     With this thought in mind, it is evident that death is not a thing to be feared. It is nothing more than a normal process by means of which the Divine purpose in creation is realized. Like a door, it is the gateway into the life which has been ordained from the beginning,-that life which is the end and purpose of the Divine intent. Through this door all men must pass, each in the Lord's own time. So death is not what the materialist would have us believe; it is not the conclusion of life. Nor are we to think of it in terms of the superstitions that men have cast about it. Death is not the entrance to some vague and mysterious world, where disembodied spirits dwell like hidden shadows. The world of the spirit is a vital world,-a state which is human in every sense of that word.

     In their ignorance, men speak of the life after death as "the great unknown." But here is nothing that is not known. The yielding up of the earthly body involves no sudden change, no rude awakening into circumstances which are foreign to our daily lives. Indeed, the man himself is not conscious of any change whatsoever. All that happens is effected while the spirit sleeps; a new body is given, and the plane of consciousness shifts from the natural to the spiritual. Beyond this nothing takes place; and when the man awakens, all things appear even as they appeared on earth. It is as if the one who has gone had fallen into a healing slumber, and risen again in the world of men. And in one sense of the word this is true; for the Lord's kingdom in the heavens is the world of men,-the world of those men and women who, having fulfilled their destiny upon earth, have entered into their just reward.

     Thus it is that, when we think of those who have left us, we are not to think of them in the light of those meaningless superstitions with which the mystic enshrouds the other world.

115


We are to think of them as we knew them here on earth, as vital beings who enjoyed the rights and privileges of human existence. All that was the man on earth is the man in the life after death,-his loves, his hopes, his humor, his pleasures. Nothing has been altered. There he lives as lie lived here, serving his neighbor in daily pursuits, living as he always lived, except with far greater freedom and far greater delight. Even as the Lord indicated in the parable of the talents, the kingdom of heaven is a kingdom of uses, that is to say, a state of spiritual responsibilities which are ultimated in various occupations, vocations, and labors. In all this it is not different from the world of men.

     In looking upon death as nothing more than a gateway to a reestablishment of life as we know it, we cannot feel that here is any cause for concern. We do not fear that which we know, and the new life does not involve any strange circumstances that call for readjustment. Things being what they were, we simply take up the thread of life where it was momentarily broken. Those who die as children awake as children, and those who die as adults awake in the vigor of their early manhood. What could be more natural than this? What could give greater promise? The gift of life, once given, is never withdrawn. To all eternity it is perpetually renewed.

     In so many words, this is the faith of the New Church, and this was the faith of Samuel S. Lindsay. I well recall his pleasure when these things were discussed, and I know that to him the thought of death was a promise of renewal. Ever a man of exceptional vitality, a man who found keen delight in the simple things of daily existence, the limitations that increasing years placed upon him were not easy to bear. His was the spirit of youth,-a spirit that was inhibited as the body leaned towards its fall. So it was that, in these last few years, he looked forward with expectation to the day when he could once again resume the normal course of his existence. Today this blessing has been granted. We see him now, as we knew him in the past, a man actively engaged in the performance of those uses which be loved. In this we may rejoice with him.

     Yet, despite the joy which we find in the knowledge that Mr. Lindsay has once again returned to those things in which he found so much happiness, we cannot avoid that underlying sense of sorrow which the death of those whom we love always induces.

116


Nor would we if we could, for such sorrow is a silent tribute to the memory of the one who has gone. Indeed, it is the only fitting tribute that we can offer. The words which we speak are so inadequate. The monuments which we might raise say little. Only in sorrow do we find a living testimonial to the love which we bore the man, and this because it is measured by our sense of loss. Now that he has gone we realize more than ever what he meant to us, and our sense of loss is great. Under the circumstances, it is fitting that this should be so.

     While he was still with us, we were not unmindful of what he had done. I merely state the simple truth when I say that throughout the Church he was deeply loved by young and old. In all my experience I never met a single man who did not entertain a genuine affection for Mr. Lindsay. With the passing years he became something more than an individual among us. He became, as it were, a symbol of that type of spiritual loyalty which is the spirit of the Lord's New Church. Hence his passing is not merely a matter of local interest; it is an act of the Divine Providence that will inspire spiritual reflections in the hearts of all who were his companions in faith.

     Although he was universally loved when he was with us, it is now that we are permitted to appreciate his true genius. In retrospect we see much that we did not see before. Our sense of loss brings added illustration. Today we see him, not as a man engaged in external things, not as a mere personality, but as a spiritual brother, who, while he lived among us, served his God and his neighbor in the establishment of the Lord's New Church. This was the essential love of his life,-a love which he served with a heart that was ever mindful of the privileges which had been bestowed upon him.

     It is not for us to consider his character. It is not for us to estimate his spiritual worth. But this much is evident, that Samuel S. Lindsay never withheld his hand when there was a use to be served; never was he known to fail in his duty. To him every responsibility which life imposed upon him was a trust,-a trust which he discharged without complaint or question. Nor did he ever seek to impress others with what he accomplished. These things were expected of him by the Lord, and this was sufficient for him. Truly it is no small wonder that we loved him, for in his gentle humility lay the seed of that which is great; not that greatness which is born of worldly accomplishment, but that nobility of spirit which comes of devotion to use and simplicity of heart. Amen.

117




     BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH.

     Samuel Stewart Lindsay was born in the city of Pittsburgh in the year 1856. As a young man he became interested in the Heavenly Doctrines, and in the year 1881 was baptized into the New Church by the Right Rev. William H. Benade. The following year he married Helen Pitcairn, and a few months later they moved to Creighton, Pennsylvania, where he began an association with the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company which continued until his retirement from active duty a few years ago. In this connection, it is interesting to note that he introduced the first system of cost accounting used by this company.

     In 1899, Mr. Lindsay was transferred to Pittsburgh, and it was then that he became active in the Pittsburgh Society, in which he served as treasurer for over thirty years. There is much that might be said concerning Mr. Lindsay's activities within the Church, but his record speaks for itself:-Treasurer of the Society, member of the Executive Committee, member of all Pastor's Councils, and member of the Executive Committee of the General Church. Truly he served long and faithfully. Indeed, his loyally to his Church will serve this generation as an inspiration in the work which lies ahead. On December 18, 1938, Mr. Lindsay passed into the spiritual world at the age of eighty-two years. He is survived by his widow, Helen Pitcairn Lindsay, six sons, and thirteen grandchildren.

118


NOTES AND REVIEWS. 1939

NOTES AND REVIEWS.              1939


NEW CHURCH LIFE
Office a Publication, Lancaster, Pa.
Published Monthly By
THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM
BRYN ATHYN, PA.

Editor               Rev. W. B. Caldwell, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager          Mr. H. Hyatt, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     All literary contributions should be sent to the Editor. Subscriptions, change of address and business communications should be sent to the Business Manager.

     TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$3.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single Copy, 30 cents.
     A DISTINCTION OF TERMS.

     "Make" and "Constitute."

     Wherever the Writings make a careful distinction of terms to mark a distinction in spiritual idea or fact, this should be strictly observed in translating the Latin terms into other languages. An incorrect version may give rise to errors, or may be used to confirm false doctrines.

     Such a distinction of terms, for example, is found in the work on Heaven and Hell, no. 7, as follows:

     "THAT THE DIVINE OF THE LORD MAKES HEAVEN."

     "The angels taken together are called heaven, because they constitute (constituunt) it; but still it is the Divine proceeding from the Lord, which inflows with the angels, and which is received by them, that makes (facit) heaven in general and in part. . . ." (H. H. 7.)

119




     Thus the Divine of the Lord makes heaven, but the recipient angels constitute heaven.

     Where this subject is treated in the Arcana Celestia, no. 10151, we find these statements, translated literally:

     "The Divine proceeding from the Lord received by the angels makes heaven. The angels themselves, as to their proprium, do not make heaven, but as to the Divine which they receive from the Lord. . . . The case is similar with the church. The men there, as to their proprium, do not make the church, but as to the Divine which they receive from the Lord. For everyone there who does not acknowledge and believe that all the good of love and truth of faith is from God are not of the church; for he wishes to love God from self, and to believe in God from self, which nevertheless no one can do. From this also it is evident that the Divine of the Lord makes the church, as it makes heaven." (A. C. 10151:2, 3.)

     In one edition of the Arcana the word "makes" (facit) in this passage is translated "constitutes," thus: "The men of the church do not constitute it as to their proprium, but as to the Divine which they receive from the Lord. . . . It is therefore evident that the Divine of the Lord constitutes the church, just as it constitutes heaven." Such an incorrect rendering fails to note the distinction between "makes" and "constitutes" in the definition given in Heaven and Hell, no. 7, cited above.

     And we have seen this incorrect translation of A. C. 10151 quoted in confirmation of the idea that "the Church is Divine," which phrase gives a forbidden twist to the real teaching of the Doctrine.

     In a nearby number of the Arcana we find this: "Men in whom the church is constitute the church in general, and the angels in whom heaven is constitute heaven in general; but still men themselves, regarded in themselves, do not constitute the church, but the Lord with them; neither do the angels, regarded in themselves, constitute heaven, but the Lord with them. For the Lord does not dwell in any proprium of man and angel, but in His own with them. Hence it is that when we say the church and heaven, it means the Divine of the Lord with those who are there; from which it is evident how it should be comprehended that the Lord is the All in all things of heaven and the church, and that the Lord Himself is heaven and the church." (A. C. 10125.)

120




     Now while it is quite proper to say that "the Lord is heaven and the church," it is quite another thing to say that "heaven and the church are Divine," especially when this ascribes Divinity to angels and men. For angels and men, who constitute heaven and the church, are recipients of the Divine,-not recipients as to the proprium of the love of sell and the world, not as to those forms of the natural with them which are in opposition to the Divine, but as to the receptive and reactive forms of the spiritual mind, in which the Divine can be "with them,"-present by adjunction and operating by influx, by which presence and operation the Divine of the Lord "makes" heaven and the church. It is by this means that the good of love and the truth of faith with the angels of heaven and the men of the church inflow from the Lord, and by the reception of which they constitute heaven and the church. (See A. E. 220:1.)

     The vessels of the spiritual mind are finite forms, and being finite, they have nothing of life in themselves, but are made living by the adjunction, presence and influx of the Infinite Divine. And those finite forms of the spiritual mind are forms of order,-finite images and receptacles of Divine order, made eternally living in heaven by the perpetual Presence and operation of the Divine Life. But those finite forms never become Divine; if they did, the angel would lose his identity and individuality. And since those finite forms never become Divine, they are never to be called Divine. To do so is to ascribe to them something that belongs to the Lord alone. In the Lord alone, in the glorification of His Human, were the organic receptacles made Divine. "Nothing there is closed as in finites, but all things formed to the idea of an infinite heaven." (S. D. 4845.)

     "Adjunction," "Conjunction," and "Union."

     The truth just stated,-that the Lord as to the glorified Human also is Life Itself,-is meant by the Lord's own words in the Gospel:

     "As the Father hath life in Himself, so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself." (John 5:26.) And as further regards the presence and influx of the Divine Human with angels and men, we read: "Man is not Life in himself, as the Lord is even as to the Human (John 5:26), but he is a receptacle of life; and Life Itself is what is adjoined to man, but is not conjoined." (T. C. R. 718.)

121


In the Writings, therefore, a careful distinction is made between the terms "adjunction," "conjunction," and "union," and an observance of this distinction is necessary to a true understanding of the nature of the Lord's presence and influx with men and angels.

     The conjunction of the Human and the Divine in the Lord was properly a union, whereby the Human also was made Divine or Life Itself. Thus, strictly speaking, the Divine Human is hot united to man, nor even conjoined, but only adjoined. So we read: "The conjunction of the Lord with man is by means of His Divine Truth, and this in man is the Lord's, thus is the Lord, and is not at all man's, thus is not the man. Man indeed feels it as his own, but still it is not his, for it is not united to him, but adjoined. It is otherwise with the Divine of the Father; this is not adjoined but united to the Human of the Lord as a Soul to its Body." (A. R. 222:2.) And we read in the Arcana:

     "In order that a more distinct idea may be had concerning the union of the Lord's Divine Essence with the Human Essence, and concerning the Lord's conjunction with the human race by means of the faith of charity, it is allowable, both here and in what follows, to call the former union, but the latter conjunction; for there was union of the Lord's Divine Essence with the Human Essence, but there is conjunction of the Lord with the human race by means of the faith of charity; as is evident from this, that Jehovah, or the Lord, is Life, Whose Human Essence also was made Life; and there is a union of Life with Life. Man, however, is not Life, but a recipient of Life, and when Life inflows into a recipient of Life, there is conjunction; for the former is adapted to the latter as what is active to what is passive, or as what is living in itself to what is dead in itself, which lives therefrom. The principal and the instrumental, as they are called, do indeed appear conjoined, as if they were one, but still they are not one; for the former is by itself, and the latter is by itself. Man does not live from himself, but the Lord out of mercy adjoins him to Himself, and thus makes him live to eternity; and because they are thus distinct, the term conjunction is used." (A. C. 2021; see 2004:9.)

     Here we have clear distinctions between the terms "adjunction," "conjunction," and "union," and such statements must be regarded as governing in the interpretation of the Writings throughout.

122


There we find frequent mention of the "conjunction of the Lord with the human race," the "conjunction of God with man, and of man with God." (A. C. 2034; D. P. 326.) Yet this conjunction of the Divine with man is, strictly speaking, not a "conjunction," but an "adjunction." Still less is it a "union" of the Divine with man, of the Infinite with the finite; for by such a "union," man would become Divine, the finite would become Infinite; but such a "union" was effected in the Lord alone, in His Divine Human. Therefore we are told:

     "Because the Lord is Love Itself and Wisdom Itself, man has the faculty of conjoining himself to the Lord, and the Lord to him, forever; but still, because man is finite, the Divine Itself of the Lord cannot be conjoined to him, but only adjoined; as, for illustration, the light of the sun cannot be conjoined to the eye, nor can the sound of the air be conjoined to the ear, but only adjoined to them, and thus give the faculty of seeing and hearing. For man is not Life in himself, as the Lord is even as to the Human, but he is a receptacle of life; and Life Itself is what is adjoined to man, but is not conjoined." (T. C. R. 718.)

     "Because Life is God, the Divine cannot be appropriated to man who is finite and created, but it can inflow and be adjoined to a receptacle; just as the eye is not light in itself, but can receive light; nor is the ear hearing in itself, but it is a receptacle. So with the rest of the senses; so also the mind and its interior senses." (Doctrine of Charity, no. 102.)

     That the Divine is adjoined to man by contiguity or contact, but not by man's appropriating the Divine, is evident from the teaching:

     "Because the finite has not anything of the Divine in itself, therefore there is not anything such, not even the least, in man or angel as his; for the man and angel is finite, and only a receptacle, in itself dead; its living is from the Divine proceeding conjoined to it by contiguity, which appears to him as his." (D. P. 57e.)

     "The angels sensibly perceive the presence, influx, and conjunction of the Divine, but they notice also that there is no other conjunction than what can be called adjunction." (D. P. 58e; see 285e.)

123


NEW MAGAZINE IN HOLLAND. 1939

NEW MAGAZINE IN HOLLAND.              1939

     The members of the General Church Society at The Hague have entered the journalistic field with the publication of the January, 1939, issue of a monthly periodical in the Dutch language, entitled DE NIEUWE BEDEELING ("The New Dispensation"). The Rev. Dr. E. E. Iungerich is Editor, and the Business Manager is Mr. E. Francis, Emmastraat 26, Rijswijk, Z-H, Holland. Yearly subscription, F. 2.50 (Buitenland F. 3.-); single numbers, F. O. 25.

     The eight mimeographed pages of this first number present three articles, and there are statements of doctrine on the inside pages of the cover, the front of which is of ornate design,-a sketch by Heer van den Berg illustrating the temple described in True Christian Religion, no. 508, surrounded by twelve trumpets, with flames in the background, and below the inscription: Nunc Licet Intrare Intellectualiter in Arcane Fidei. Beneath this is the statement: The Second Coming of Jesus Christ, manifested in the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg. "For as the lightning cometh out of the East, and shineth even unto the West, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be." (Matt. 24:27.) Organ of the General Church of the New Jerusalem in Great Netherland.

     As it is the hope that the magazine will serve a missionary purpose in Holland, each issue will have on the inside cover-pages a series of brief statements of the principal doctrines of the New Church, providing the means to a basic understanding of the contents of the number for those who have not before known anything about the New Church. The doctrinal statements are as follows:

     1. Concerning God.

     Jesus Christ is the Only God.

     "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." (Matt. 28:18.)

     "In Jesus Christ dwelleth all the fulness of the Codhead bodily." (Colossians 2:19.)

     2. The Religion and Life of Heavenly Beings,

     "All religion is of life, and the life of religion is to do good."

     "If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them." (John 13:17.)

     "And be ye doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves." (James 1:22.)

124




     3. The Word.

     The series of Divine media to teach mankind from without were in successive order: 1. Nature, which in ancient times was an image of God. 2. An ancient Word, hidden in China. 3. The Old Testament. 4. The New Testament. 5. The Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg, which are the Crown of Revelations.

     The Divine media 1 and 5 give the internal sense of the Doctrine of Genuine Truth, everywhere openly.

     The Divine media 2, 3, and 4, however, were as a man fully clothed, whose face and hands only are uncovered.

     4. The Series of Ecclesiastical Dispensations.

     1. The Most Ancient Church, represented by the Garden of Eden. 2. The Ancient Church, represented by Noah. 3. The Israelitish or Jewish Church. 4. The Christian Church. 5. The Church of the New Jerusalem, the Crown of Churches, which will remain to eternity without ever becoming false.

     "And the God of heaven shall set up a Kingdom, and it shall stand forever." (Dan. 2:44; 7:27.)

     5. The Life after death.

     All beings there were created previously on some earth in the natural world. Three days after death one feels oneself to be in every respect a normal living being, the man a man, and the woman a woman. The character, which is determined on earth, remains to eternity, and can never be altered. One comes first into the in-between world, "the great gulf" of Luke xvi, where everything that does not agree with the character is removed. (Matt. 13:12.) The heavens consist of those who have kept the Lord's Commandments; the hells of those who have not kept them. (Matt. 5: 19.) Both those in the heavens and those in the hells perform uses, the former freely and from the heart, the latter only under compulsion and fear of punishment. All those who die as children, or before coming of age, are instructed after death, so that they may enter heaven. The angels are all married couples, living man and wife to eternity. Though their marriages are spiritual, and no children are born thence, they appear outwardly in all respects similar to those on earth.

     6. The Principle of the General Church of the New Jerusalem.

     This Church is founded on the Lord's Word in His Second Coming, as manifested in the Writings of Swedenborg, which are the internal sense of all Revelations, or the Doctrine of Genuine Truth, now openly set forth for all men.

     Then follows a list of the General Church Societies and Centers throughout the world.

     The first article in the present issue is by Mr. Francis, and is entitled "The New Dispensation a Necessity."

125


Describing the four previous dispensations or churches, and their gradual decline by falsifications of doctrine and man's opposition to the order instituted by the Lord, the writer demonstrates the need for a fifth and last dispensation, which is the Church of the New Jerusalem, with its plain doctrines of genuine truth for the salvation of mankind, this being the cause of the Lord's Second Coming in our present age.

     This article is followed by the sermon delivered by Dr. Iungerich on Christmas Day, the text being, "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us," explaining that New Churchmen, in celebrating this Day, differ from others in thinking also of the Lord's Second Coming, and of His advent in the mind of the individual, who regards heaven, not only as a hope of the future, but also as something to be brought down to earth in the everyday life of the New Churchman.

     Lastly, we find a first instalment of the Memorable Relation describing "A Visit to an Angelic Society " (C. L. 1-25), which is to be continued in subsequent issues.

     We take pleasure in welcoming this latest arrival among the journalistic enterprises of the General Church, and extend to its publishers our cordial wishes for the success of their undertaking, and for the magazine a career of usefulness in disseminating the truths of the New Jerusalem.

     OUR COUNTRY AND THE DIVINE KINGDOM.

     From A Novy Jeruzalem, Prague, 1938.

     A violent tempest has broken over the fresh and hopeful verdure of our land, bringing many trials, violent changes, and great anxiety. What now? This question comes not only from the lips of worldly people, but also from those in the churches. Will the injury fall upon a few or upon the whole nation?

     The natural man is prone to make God responsible for every injustice, but this leads to the denial of God and a turning away from holy things. This we saw at the time of the World War. When it was over, we rejoiced, but our enemies were sad and crushed. What was our good fortune was their ill fortune. Today the tables are turned.

126


The enemy is rejoicing, and we are sad. Success and gain for them is failure and loss for us. The wheels of fate are turning around, in the manner known to old time philosophers. He who is on top today will be down tomorrow; and he who was down will be up. So it goes in this world; nor will it be otherwise until men turn whole-heartedly to the kingdom of God and His commandments.

     The causes of the everlasting heavenly kingdom are in the spiritual world. Men deceive themselves when they look only upon the natural world, being blind to what is spiritual. Hence the many disappointments, struggles, war, anger, and suicide. But these things come upon men and nations to make them realize that there is something higher than the natural world and its material things. Even a man who is in spiritual truth may come to deny his vision of the spiritual world unless he is willing to be forgetful of natural things, and to hold more in dignity what is spiritual.

     Let us do this! We are crushed by the ill fate of our dear country. But are we equally cast down by the fate of the heavenly kingdom, which is perishing in the world today in a deluge of sin and falsity, and constantly suffers violence? How few they are to whom the heavenly kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ is above all earthly interest! Do we hold the kingdom of this world to be of far more importance than the kingdom of God? The Heavenly Doctrine teaches that "the neighbor is not only man singly, but also man collectively, as a less or greater society, our country, the church, the Lord's kingdom, and, above all, the Lord Himself. These ascending degrees are like the steps of a ladder, at the top of which is the Lord." (N. J. H. D. 91.)

     Would that all true Christians might accord the Kingdom of God the place which belongs to it! As we love our country, and feel its pain, so let us work toward that end! In our sorrow let us turn to the Holy Word, and to the Writings of His new Revelation, and fix our eyes upon the spiritual world, into which we shall all eventually come, and where, as to our spirits, we already are. For that is the eternal, imperishable abode of all.-Janacek. (Translated by Anton Sellner.)

127


GLEANINGS FROM NEW CHURCH HISTORY. 1939

GLEANINGS FROM NEW CHURCH HISTORY.              1939

     SPIRITISTIC INFESTATIONS.

     A wave of spiritism invaded the New Church during the forties and fifties of the last century, claiming not a few receivers of the Doctrines as its victims, among them the celebrated James John Garth Wilkinson, afterwards repentantly delivered from it. In America it became focused in a terrible way in the career of Thomas Lake Harris, a Universalist preacher who embraced the Doctrines and sadly perverted the society in New Orleans by spiritistic practices, as he later did in monstrous form in his communities on Lake Erie and in California. He is thus portrayed in NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1900:

     "There suddenly arose upon the horizon the seemingly gigantic figure of a pivotal man, a young Universalist preacher from New Orleans, Thomas Lake Harris by name, a man of extraordinary talents, eloquence, brilliancy, and magnetic power of persuasion. Fired by the love of dominion over the spirits of men, wrapped in stupendous self-conceit, and armed cap-a-pie with cunning, this man became the willing medium through whom the magical spirits now sought 'to deceive, if possible, the very elect.' Deeply versed in all the arts of Spiritism, he became acquainted, through some means or other, with the Writings of the New Church. As the cobra sips the dew of heaven and distils it into poison, so Harris absorbed the Doctrines of the New Jerusalem, arrayed himself without in Heavenly light, and now began a comet-like wandering across the intellectual firmament of America and Europe, a glittering course of nearly fifty years, which has but lately ended in disgrace and nameless scandal on the Pacific coast.

     "Appearing first in New York, Harris insinuated himself among the members of the New Church in that city as a receiver and prophet of an advanced type.

128


Announcing himself as a successor of Swedenborg, he came with offers of new revelations, the opening of the 'celestial' degree, the unfolding of the 'celestial' sense of the Word, the restoration of 'internal respiration' and communion, not with mere spirits, but with guaranteed angels of light. Having attracted a number of devotees, after creating a vast amount of turmoil and trouble, he next flitted across the Atlantic, lectured to enormous audiences in London and other cities in England, had a phenomenal success wherever he appeared, attached men of intellect, position and wealth to his triumphant chariot, and so fascinated many of the most prominent members of the New Church that they lost the possession of their common sense, their reason and their faith. Among these hypnotized victims we find our beloved friend, Dr. Wilkinson." (Page 204.)

     The Davis "Revelations."

     For our present purpose we would note that, in 1848, Harris became Pastor of the Independent Christian Congregation of New York. It was in 1847 that a peculiar phenomenon arose on the American scene in the person of one Andrew Jackson Davis, the "Poughkeepsie Seer" and "Clairvoyant," whose books created a great stir at the time, running into many editions. Copies, with portraits of the author, are available in the Academy Library. The chief one bore the title: The Principles of Nature, Her Divine Revelations, and a Voice to Mankind. And among the "Witnesses" of the so-called "Revelations" we find the name of the Rev. T. L. Harris. Another volume is entitled: The Great Harmonia; Being a Philosophical Revelation of the Natural, Spiritual, and Celestial Universe. Referring to this work, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, a devotee of "Spiritualism," wrote in 1924: "Swedenborg's visions have been paralleled and largely confirmed by other observers in our ranks. Many look upon A. J. Davis' Harmonial Philosophy as not inferior to Swedenborg's Arcana, and, indeed, according to Davis, it was the spirit of Swedenborg which dictated the ideas." (NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1924, p. 355.) A casual reading of The Great Harmonia is sufficient to show what utter bosh Doyle's comparison was.

129




     Prior to the publication of the Davis books, his "revelations" took the form of "lectures," and as he frequently referred to Swedenborg, he gained the interest of Prof. George Bush, who wrote a book entitled Mesmer and Swedenborg; or, The Relation of the Developments of Mesmerism to the Doctrines and Disclosures of Swedenborg, in which he devotes a chapter to "The Revelations of A. J. Davis," with a measure of credulity which called forth condemnation from New Church reviewers of the time, since he failed to make a radical distinction between Mesmerism and the unique character of Swedenborg's case. (See THE NEW CHURCH QUARTERLY REVIEW (London), 1847, p. 165.)

     Prof. Bush had become a receiver of the Doctrines but two years before he published his book on Mesmerism. Concerning him we read in the Annals: "September 27, 1845.-Professor George Bush, the eminent Orientalist and Biblical Expositor, comes out openly in favor of the New Church, in a public lecture on 'The Future Life according to the Disclosures of Swedenborg.' He had for some time been teaching a doctrine concerning the resurrection somewhat similar to that of the New Church, and this similarity had been called to his notice. This led to his examining and openly embracing the Heavenly Doctrines." (Page 512.) Three years later, the New York Society engaged him as pastor when the Rev. B. F. Barrett resigned to take charge of the Cincinnati Society. And the Annals further records: "August 20, 1848.-Rev. Lewis Beers, at the request of the First Society of New York, ordains Prof. George Bush to perform 'all the functions of the three several grades' of the Ministry. Mr. Bush, being opposed to the regulations of the General Convention in respect to the Ministry, does not seek recognition from that body." (Page 546.)

     When Davis began to manifest his clairvoyant powers in the so-called "lectures," he was a young man of twenty, a shoemaker's apprentice of slight education, quite incapable of such learned and high-sounding utterances, except in his states of "trance." Then he quoted Hebrew, Greek, Latin and French with accuracy, as attested by Prof. Bush. He referred to Swedenborg's Philosophical and Theological Works by title, and even quoted passages which bear considerable resemblance to the originals. Yet he wrote Prof. Bush that he had never read a line of Swedenborg.

     It is really surprising that the fantastic philosophy set forth in the published "Revelations" should have been considered worthy of any favorable notice by Prof. Bush, a man of great learning who afterwards made valuable contributions to the literature of the New Church, notably when he collaborated in the English translation of four volumes of the Spiritual Diary.

130


But after he published his book on Mesmerism he soon had a change of heart, and in the same year, 1847, published a pamphlet entitled, Davis' Revelations Revealed; Being A Critical Examination of the Character and Claims of that Work in its Relations to the Teaching of Swedenborg, by George Bush and B. F. Barrett.

     This work was accorded a more favorable review than the book on Mesmerism. We read: "Though we cannot subscribe to everything contained in the pamphlet, especially in regard to the value and importance of Davis's philosophy, we feel highly gratified that Prof. Bush has not only opened his eyes to the `monstrous errors' of Davis, but also that he does not hesitate to declare the book to be wholly unworthy of any confidence whatever. He also refuses to acknowledge any other relationship between the disclosures of Davis and those of Swedenborg, except what may arise from the fact that Swedenborg has unfolded the true nature of Davis's delusions, and supplied the requisite safeguards against their evil influence." (THE NEW JERUSALEM MAGAZINE (Boston), 1847, p. 108.)

     We have briefly recalled this unsavory page of history to provide the setting for a newspaper account of the time, recently called to our attention, which indicates the public reaction to what was going on in New Church circles. The effect of this publicity upon sincere and sound New Churchmen may easily be imagined. The editorial writer quoted below prefers to be somewhat mysterious himself, for I)avis is the only one mentioned by name, leaving the reader to guess the identity of the others, perhaps because they were well known to the newspaper readers of the day. "The reverend gentleman of undoubted learning and talents" fits the case of Prof. Bush.

     The following is quoted in LITTELL'S LIVING AGE (December 11, 1847, p. 527) from the New York COMMERCIAL ADVERTISER. We venture to give it our own cumbersome title, in the manner of that day: "Posthumous Revisions by Authors Residing in that Bourne from which no Traveler Returns."

131




     Newspaper Account

     "Sharp Practice.-Readers of the COMMERCIAL ADVERTISER are aware that we have not been uninterested or silent observers of certain infidel movements carried on under the specious garb of clairvoyant revelations, and by other false pretences. Perhaps we should not have again adverted to the subject, at present at least, had we not met with a key to an unexpected counter movement, which for the moment puzzled ourselves and others who were not behind the scenes. It is pretty well known that a recent ponderous volume of these misnamed 'revelations' savored strongly of Swedenborgian mysteries and was on that account endorsed and defended by a reverend gentleman of undoubted learning and talents, who within the past two or three years has become a professed follower of that mystic philosopher.

     "In common with many of the learned gentleman's friends, we grieved no less than we marvelled at the course which he pursued. Knowing his high reputation for honesty of purpose, we sought, and thought we had found, the key to his erratic course, in the fact that, being bewitched by the mysteries of his new studies, he saw not the rank infidelity which others discerned in every page of the book; and was but too eager to seize the hand of any man, however inferior to himself in learning and moral sentiments, who might seem to favor the mystic school to which he had given in his adhesion. Indeed, we supposed that a mutual veneration for and submission to the authority of Swedenborg had made the rhapsodical clairvoyant and the mystified professor sworn friends and allies.

     "Great was our surprise, consequently, a few days ago, to find that the latter had taken up cudgels against the former, in a large pamphlet in behalf of Swedenborg and his speculations-the train of argument, by the way, being altogether unworthy of the author, who is evidently hampered by the endorsement already given to the book over his own signature. We pondered over the matter until a lurking suspicion arose that the learned professor anticipated trouble in the camp, and had had his eyes opened to the possibility that Davis was about to supplant Swedenborg in the estimation of the lovers of the vague and mysterious. The idea was unpleasant because of the inconsistency it implied in the professor, to say nothing of the inferior motives which it necessarily supposed.

132


But there stood the glaring contradiction of the endorsement and repudiation, and it was difficult to put any other construction upon the eccentric or reverse movement which the last publication displayed.

     "Since then, however, in conversation with an intelligent gentleman, we have learned a curious fact which throws some light upon the matter, and reveals some sharp practice on the part of some of the disciples of the clairvoyant school who profess to be accepted visitors at the chambers of the 'focal light.' They are plotting to overthrow the horse and his rider-Swedenborg and his ardent follower. It is now contended that a clairvoyant, resident we understand in the city of Brooklyn, has had interviews with the spirit of Emanuel Swedenborg, and that that gentleman-we beg pardon, gentle-spirit--has declared that he is very much dissatisfied with the works he left behind, that they are altogether imperfect, and that could he again handle a goose quill he would remodel them, making them more after the fashion of recent revelations. Swedenborg's particular friend in New York has taken the alarm and-the 'revelations' are declared to be far from so wondrously perfect as they were at first held to be.

     "It is a very pretty quarrel as it stands, and we have nothing to say about it. We can afford to wait for the last act, having seen the end from the beginning. But why not issue a new edition of Swedenborg's writings corrected by the author? Assuming the truth of what has been asserted by the clairvoyants, there can be no difficulty in the matter. Mr. Swedenborg, having opened a communication with the denizens of this world, and so unequivocally expressed his dissatisfaction with previous editions of his works can, without let or hindrance, inform his friends what emendations and corrections he desires, and would doubtless correct the proofs as they went through the press. All that the public would require would be indisputable evidence that the old dreamer himself actually had a hand in the business, and the sale of the edition would then be unlimited.

     "But why not go a little further? There are many disputed passages in even the best edition of Shakespeare's writings; Pollock's Course of Time, lofty as are many of its conceptions, is nevertheless rather crude and faulty in some passages, and lacks general euphoniousness and finish; the Iliad wants Homer's autograph, and even Virgil's Georgics would be none the worse for the author's latest emendations; possibly Addison himself would like to give the finishing touch to some of his essays, and Dr. Johnson would substitute an autobiography for Boswell's gossiping reminiscences.

133


We expect shortly to see announced a new edition of Smollett's History of England, 'revised and brought down to the present time by the author.

     "Seriously, we put this and that together, and the conclusion is almost unavoidable, that Davis is trying to supplant Swedenborg, and that Swedenborg's friends are afraid he will succeed."

     One is tempted to enlarge upon the engaging possibility of post mortem revisions by authors in the beyond. Music lovers might rejoice if Schubert were thus to complete his B minor Symphony. We have read of a "psychic" boy who, when hypnotized, could paint in the true Turner style,-"landscape foreground golden dirt, sunshine painted with a squirt." But such things could only be done in the forbidden way.

     With regard to books, we may recall Swedenborg's statement: "I saw books with writing in them just like those in the world; and I was informed that they were taken from the memory of their authors, and that not one word contained in the book written by the same person in the world was wanting there, and that thus the most minute circumstances may be called forth from the memory of another, even those which the man himself had forgotten in the world." (H. H. 463.)

     Occasionally spirits of a low order, lusting to return to the natural world, find an avenue through a willing subject or "medium" on earth, and they are then able to inject passages from books in the spirit world. The Writings are there, and "enthusiastic" spirits undoubtedly possessed the clairvoyant Davis when, in his "trances," he referred to them and quoted them, albeit in garbled form. Here is a sample from his "Revelations":

     "A mind was sufficiently illumined to have an actual knowledge of the relation and affinity existing between the natural and spiritual Spheres, and of the Spheres to one another, and this was Emanuel Swedenborg.

134


He, however, employed terms to express the same things that I have endeavored to impress by terms of a different and more congenial character. He put forth the truth that there were different degrees of goodness, and that the lowest was So imperfect when compared with the highest that the one seemed evil and the other good; the one perfect and the other imperfect. Hence he describes the first three Spheres as three hells, inhabited by lower spirits and angels; while the three higher Spheres were the three heavens in which the higher spirits and angels dwelt. He represented the first Spheres as being under the disapprobation of the all-wise Judge, yet as being loved with an unfailing affection; while the higher Spheres were near the Great Spiritual Sun, and their inhabitants dwelt under the smile of Divine approval. And he also related the truth that the inhabitants of these Spheres could not approach each other, because of the dissimilitude in their positions and degrees of refinement-any more than evil can approach good- ness, or darkness can approach light." (Page 674.)

     It will be observed that Davis begins his description from below-with the three hells,-an indication of the kind of spirits under whose influence he was. This inverted approach characterizes his book throughout, as is evident from the title, Principles of Nature, Her Divine Revelations. Contemporary New Church reviewers saw through his subtle perversions, and gauged the work at its true value. One of the best reviews was by Sabin Hough, Minister of the New Church, whose Remarks on the "Revelations" of A. J. Davis, published at Columbus, Ohio, in 1847, are commended in THE NEW JERUSALEM MAGAZINE (Boston), December, 1847, as follows:

     "In regard to the infernal origin of these revelations of Davis, Mr. Hough convicts him on his own admissions. This may at first appear incredible; yet it is most just and true. It is to be recollected, however, that in Davis's view there are no opposites; evil being only undeveloped good, and good the perfection of evil. Consequently, so far as he has any faith in the spiritual world, the heavens and hells do not correspond by opposites, but constitute one continuous whole, the former being only the fuller development of the latter; so that every devil or evil spirit has only to develop, and act out his life and character more fully, in order to become an angel.

135


It seems that Davis had so far developed himself as to come, according to his own statement, into association with the spirits of the second hell, or to receive his 'impressions' from them. In which direction his future progress is to be, whether toward the first hell or the lowest, he does not inform us; but, judging from the complete inversion of the man's mind, there is but too much reason to apprehend the most fearful results.

     "Mr. Hough takes up successively the doctrines concerning the Lord, the Word, miracles, the mutual relation and dependence of the spiritual and natural worlds, hereditary evil and sin, good and evil, and shows most clearly and forcibly the opposition between the Writings of Swedenborg and Davis in regard to them all. And in conclusion he asserts that 'to say that these "Revelations" are subversive of Christianity, even in its lowest forms, is to say much less than the truth. Atheism is the end at which they aim.' We hope that the remarks of Mr. Hough will be extensively circulated, and feel confident that they will do much to clear the New Church from the false imputation of favoring the worst of abominations, so cunningly put forth by Davis under the title of ' Revelations.'" (Pages 112, 113.)

     Another review of the Davis book, properly denouncing it, appeared in THE INTELLECTUAL REPOSITORY (London) for January, 1848, from which we quote in part:

     "Now, of all cases in Mesmerism, the case of A. J. Davis, the American clairvoyant, or as he is called, the Poughkeepsie Seer; is the most remarkable. The facts are simply these. A young man: twenty years of age, of scarcely any education, illiterate, assiduously employed during the years of his apprenticeship at his craft as a shoemaker, with scarcely any opportunities of mental culture by extensive reading, or the study of the mathematical and physical sciences,-this youth became highly susceptible of the Mesmeric state; until at length, during the period of about eighteen months prior to the publication of the extraordinary volume at the head of this paper, he began, when in the Mesmeric state, to dictate the lectures of which this volume consists; being totally unconscious when he came to himself, that is, to his normal or natural state, what he had been dictating when he was in his abnormal or preternatural state.

136


And yet the subjects upon which he descanted were most diverse, embracing nearly the whole range of the sciences, together with views on cosmogony and the philosophy of mind, expressed in language of a bold, fervid, high-sounding eloquence, extremely verbose and magniloquent, such as he could by no means employ in his natural state.

     "As to the nature of the ideas on the various subjects of science expressed in the volume, it is admitted by all who have examined the effusions that, although wonderful, they are for the most part unsound, and to a great extent empty declamations. The work consists of more than 800 pages, and as far as we have had opportunity and patience to investigate it, we have found this to be the case. There is, however, another portion of the work, which may be considered as belonging to a higher or spiritual ground of information. Here much is said about spirit and spiritual spheres, and an acknowledgment of the spiritual world seems to pervade the whole tenor of the observations. But there is nothing of the Divine Human, no acknowledgment of the Lord, and the expressions we meet with in reference to the Word, which, being so profane and abominable, stamp the book with the image and superscription of the powers of darkness. The Divinity of the Word is denied, and it is declared that 'The Bible has even darkened the pathway that once was illumined by the spiritual promptings of mankind.' Numerous passages might be quoted to the same effect, which, as they would shock the pious and enlightened feelings of our readers, we forebear to transfer to our pages.

     "Professor Bush, who has taken great pains in examining this remarkable phenomenon, has pronounced the effusions, so far as the statements concerning the Bible are concerned, as a 'great enormity'; and a very able writer in the Boston MAGAZINE has denounced it in still stronger terms. However sublime, therefore, the effusions and utterances in some cases are in respect to cosmogony and philosophy, what is said respecting the Word and the essential doctrines of Christianity is extremely profane, partaking of the spirit of Volney, Paine, and other infidels, and endeavoring to bring out the objects of those infidel writers in the boldest and most prominent manner." (Page 68.)

137


Church News 1939

Church News       Various       1939

     VISITING PASTOR.

     A Southern Trip.

     During January I made a three weeks' auto tour through the Southern States, in the course of which I conducted 3 Sunday services, 15 doctrinal classes, 16 special classes for children and young people, and led family worship 7 times. The Holy Supper was administered three times, and twelve Baptisms were performed. Eighty-two different persons were ministered to, 17 of whom were General Church members, 11 were young people or adults who were baptized but not members, 22 were baptized children, 27 were friends of members, and 5 were children of friends.

     It had been five years since a regular pastoral visit had been paid to most of these people; yet their eager welcome, and their desire to have doctrinal classes-three, four, and five days in a row-shows how they hunger for instruction. This affection for the truths of the church is not confined to the adults, but was also manifested in special classes for young people and children. One little boy begged for "one more class" early in the morning of the day we were to leave for the next place.

     In several places there is evidence of the heroic and generally successful efforts of parents to instill the love and knowledge of the things of the church in the hearts and minds of the young, and this in spite of the adverse sphere of the world and their isolation from any large center with its regular ministrations of the church. Perhaps most touching was the eager anticipation of one group of children in looking forward to the coming of the minister, who, it had been promised, would tell them "God stories" and conduct family worship "in place of daddy." In a number of homes family worship is a regular feature, and among the children and adolescents are some who do their private reading from the Word and the Writings of their own volition. Members of societies can scarcely imagine the difficulties of maintaining and growing in New Churchmanship under conditions of such complete isolation.

     On Friday afternoon, January 6, Mrs. Reuter and I arrived in Birmingham, Alabama, at the home of Mr. and Mrs. A. M. Echols, Jr., where we stayed until the following Wednesday morning. Here, as elsewhere, the program included visiting and children's classes during the day, doctrinal classes in the evenings, and a service on Sunday morning. Beside the infant son of our hosts, two young men, who became interested through contact with the elder Echols family, were baptized. The ceremony at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Louis Kendig, in which these young men added their strength to the tiny group, was most impressive, and cause for real rejoicing.

     Wednesday, January 11, we arrived at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Barnitz in Atlanta. This city has the largest group of members, children and friends of the General Church in the South. In all, 32 persons from Atlanta attended one or more of the classes and services there held. In addition, 9 persons came from a distance for the Sunday service, the Richard de Charms coming over 300 miles from Savannah. A more detailed account of this encouraging group is given in a separate report elsewhere in this issue of the Life.

138




     On Monday, January 16, we arrived at the home of Mrs. George Nottingham (nee Zera Pendleton) in Macon, Ga., whose two children had been baptized on the previous day in Atlanta. Here we enjoyed so pleasant a visit before, during, and after the noonday meal that a scheduled two-hour stopover on our way to Savannah extended to almost four hours. The only thing that marred this delightful interlude was the fact that professional duties prevented our meeting Mr. Nottingham, but we hope to have this pleasure at some future date.

     Arriving at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Richard de Charms in Savannah, the evening, after family worship and a short talk to the children, was spent in conversation, mostly on the prospects of future growth of the Church in the South. The next morning, Mrs. de Charms took Mrs. Reuter and me around Savannah to see the points of interest, including the house in which the late Bishop W. F. Pendleton was born. In the afternoon a class for the two children was held. and in the evening, after family worship and a brief talk to the children, a doctrinal class was conducted, followed by earnest conversation on doctrinal and church matters, extending well toward midnight.

     The following afternoon found us in Brunswick, Ga., calling on Mrs. H. R. Wade (nee Dorothy Echols). Into the twenty-four hours spent there were crowded the baptism of their infant son, a doctrinal class, long conversations about mutual friends in Bryn Athyn and elsewhere, beside some sight-seeing on St. Simons and Sea Islands. There Mrs. Reuter and I came fully to appreciate the beauty of the live oaks draped in Spanish moss, made famous in the poetry of Sidney Lanier.

     On Friday, January 20, we arrived in Oak Hill, Florida, where we were warmly welcomed by all the Hilldales. Here again stories to the little children, instruction for Peggy, age If, doctrinal classes in the evening, and a service on Sunday, with a baptism and the Holy Supper, were hungrily received, and appreciated with a genuine affection for the things of the church. This whole program was carried out in spite of the illness of Mr. Hilldale during the entire period of our visit. Indicative of the thoroughly General Church background of this isolated family was the sphere of love for home worship among the children, and also the fact that, although only six adults were present at the Sunday worship, we were able to carry a complete order of service, including singing with no piano accompaniment, even to a four-part rendition of the prayer on the knees, which had been joyously practiced the previous evening.

     Leaving Oak Hill on January 24, the next two days provided the only disappointments of the trip. On our return journey to Atlanta we had hoped to call for a few hours on Mr. and Mrs. Myron Near, who live a short distance out of De Land, Fla., but we found them away for the day. In Valdosta, Ga., the same evening, we also failed to meet a young man who has recently become much interested in the Doctrines. Business had unexpectedly taken him out of town the previous day. At Albany, Ga., the next noon, we found that Mr. Howe, an isolated member of long standing, likewise was out of town, much to our sorrow and also that of his wife, with whom we had a most pleasant visit.

     That evening we arrived in Atlanta in time for supper at the Crocketts and a final doctrinal class. The sphere of this gathering was perhaps the most delightful one held in Atlanta, for this time it seemed like a reunion of old friends.

     Our last stop was made at Knoxville, Tenn., where, in the afternoon of January 26, the three children of Mr. and Mrs. Carl Mayo were baptized at their home. Mrs. Mayo is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. T. D. Crockett of Atlanta. For supper, nine adults and two children gathered in a private room at a restaurant. After the meal I addressed the group on some of the distinctive doctrines of the church, and on the need for spiritual fortitude among the isolated, if small groups are to develop into societies.

139


Following this occasion we went home with Mr. and Mrs. R. S. Hutchinson, and spent the rest of the evening "talking church."

     So ended my first pastoral visit to the South. In retrospect; I am impressed with the struggling bravery of these people, with their hunger for more ministrations of the church, and with the wondrous way they opened to us, not only their homes, but also their hearts. Although as we met in most places, we were strangers, when we left we always felt the sorrow as of the parting of true friends. And everywhere, sometimes with tears, the parting plea was that it might not be so long before we come again.
     NORMAN H. REUTER.

     WASHINGTON, D. C.

     The Washington Society now numbers 13 active members, 3 non-resident members, and 12 children. All but three of the members are ex-students of the Academy of the New Church, and half of them are young married pairs with their first babies. It may properly be called a "young folk's society," of the "third posterity" of the Academy.

     In the long interval since our last report, the first thing is to tell of a doctrinal class and supper held last Spring at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Ellison Boatman, on the occasion of their wedding anniversary. Dr. Acton explained the internal difference between man and woman, and in the lively discussion that followed the question was raised: Is it allowable for a lover to make a marriage proposal, or a beloved to accept one, with the proviso, "I will marry you if you join the Church?" Some took the stand that such a restriction would take away the other's free determination in spiritual things, and is therefore contrary to order; but our pastor said it would be unwise to lay down a law in such a matter, leaving everyone in freedom to make such a restriction if he or she so willed. The wife of one member had been a Roman Catholic, and the wife of another member a Presbyterian, and their husbands openly confessed that they had not attached such a proviso to their proposals of marriage. The happy outcome was, that both wives received the rite of New Church baptism at their own request, and are now sincere and active members of our society, taking as much interest in the doctrines and life of the church as their husbands. Thus two farm girls, one from Iowa and the other from North Carolina, coming to Washington to promote their worldly fortunes, found husbands, happy homes, and-the New Church.

     Another member has resigned from the society. Although Academy born and educated, he impressed his friends as one who found the General Church way of doing things rather irksome, and we surmise that in his wife's church, the Methodist, he finds a friendly and enthusiastic sphere that is more congenial. Our sincere good wishes go with him, and we trust that in the exercise of his God-given freedom he will enter into states that will promote his eternal welfare.     
     R. T.

     ATLANTA, GEORGIA.

     Regular pastoral visits to the Southern States were instituted by the Rev. F. E. Waelchli in 1925, and continued by him for a number of years. Now, after a lapse of several years, visits by the Visiting Pastor of the General Church have been resumed with the coming of the Rev. Norman H. Reuter during January,-the first visit to the Atlanta Circle since Mr. Waelchli's last, except for a brief stay by the Rev. Willard Pendleton last Spring. Mr. Reuter has added the Southern field to his scattered pastorate in the Middle West, and it is our hope that he will come to us at stated intervals hereafter.

     Accompanied by his charming wife, he arrived in Atlanta on Wednesday, January 11, and met the members of the Circle, many of them for the first time. He remained with us until the following Monday, and during this time conducted four most instructive doctrinal classes and a service of worship on Sunday.

140


The meetings, we believe, were more in number and more largely attended than ever before in Atlanta. The interest shown by several of the visitors was indicative of more than idle curiosity, and we are confident this will bear fruit. Mr. Reuter was especially impressed by the sphere of affection in two classes he held with four young ladies, and in three talks to children.

     We cannot here give a full account of the topics so ably dealt with in the classes, which opened with the subject of "The Lord as God-Man, and How we Are to Approach Him." The first class, held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Barnitz, was attended by 14 adults and 3 children. The next evening, at the home of Mr. and Mrs. T. D. Crockett, there were 12 adults and 3 children present. On Friday evening we met at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Lechner, eight adults and one child attending. The final class, on Saturday, was preceded by a lovely dinner, prepared by Mrs. Crockett, the attendance being 13 adults and 4 children.

     A congregation of thirty, including children, met for worship on Sunday at the Crockett home, and there were eight communicants at the sacrament of the Holy Supper. Following the service, a buffet dinner was served by Mr. and Mrs. Barnitz, the festive social time concluding with a toast to "The Church" and the singing of "Our Glorious Church" by young and old. We were most happy to have with us on Sunday the following visitors: Mr. and Mrs. Richard de Charms and two children, of Savannah; Mrs. Nottingham and two children, and Mr. Charles Gyllenhaal of Macon; and Miss Amelia Burkhart, of the Ferry Schools, Mount Berry, Georgia.

     The same day, at the Barnitz home, Mr. Reuter performed four baptisms: two children of Mr. and Mrs. Nottingham, and two children of Mr. and Mrs. Barnitz.

     The delight experienced by this visit of Mr. and Mrs. Reuter was renewed on their return from Florida on January 24, when a final meeting was held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Crockett, ten adults and 3 children attending. The doctrinal class dealt with the subject of "Self-Compulsion," and the beautiful sphere of this occasion proved a fitting climax to the whole series of meetings. We feel encouraged in the hope that our Circle will increase in the love of the Heavenly Doctrine and in the performance of our daily uses.
     HENRY BARNITZ.

     GLENVIEW, ILLINOIS.

     After Friday supper on January 13, our pastor reviewed the account of the Bishop's Foreign Journey. We hope it will not be long before we are privileged to see the motion pictures which the Bishop and Mrs. de Charms took while on this trip. Last year, Mr. Louis S. Cole was appointed toastmaster of our Swedenborg's Birthday celebration, and made such a splendid job of it that he was asked to take charge again this year. He accepted, and the result was highly successful. Dr. Alfred Acton, the Rev. Gilbert Smith, and Mr. Warren Reuter were the three gentlemen who contributed papers. Dr. Acton's was written especially for our celebration, and was excellently read by Mr. David Gladish. In order of reading, Mr. Smith's came first, and his subject was "The Significance of Swedenborg." Mr. Reuter's paper was really good, except that it had no title. However, he spoke of Swedenborg's preparation and the successive spiritual states through which he passed. I refrain from commenting on Dr. Acton's paper for fear of not doing it justice. We expected it to be fine, and it was. It was the kind of paper which makes you feel inclined to say to all of your friends, "You ought to read it!"

     The presence of our friends from Sharon Church and the Rockford Circle added much to a very enjoyable banquet.
     H. P. McQ.

141




     DURBAN, NATAL.

     The "Sons" Banquet on November 26 was an outstanding feature of the month. The members of the committee in charge proved themselves competent organizers and hard workers, and the dinner and decorations were most satisfactory. Mr. Melville Ridgway as toastmaster had arranged a very interesting series of subjects and songs. We had the pleasure of hearing some new speakers, and hope to hear from them again before long. The subjects presented were: "The Origin of Evil," Mr. William Schuurman; "Permissions," Mr. Walter G. Lowe; "Heredity," Mr. Colin Owen Ridgway; and "Predestination," Mr. Neville Edley. We also had the pleasure of hearing two vocal quartet numbers, rendered by Miss Jessie Attersoll, Mrs. Lowe, Mrs. McClean and Miss Rhona Ridgway.

     Kainon High School brought its semester to a close on December 9 with a service at 3.30 p.m. Mr. Odhner gave a very interesting address on that which distinguishes a New Church School from all others,-the love of instructing children concerning the Lord, and of leading them to the worship of the Lord. Miss Champion then gave her annual report on the year's activities, and made special mention of the visit of Bishop de Charms, and of its good effect upon the school. At the close of her report, Barbara Forfar, on behalf of the school, presented Miss Champion with a handsome bunch of roses, in token of their deep appreciation of their Headmistress. Prizes were then awarded to a number of pupils for scholastic standing, and Mr. Melville Ridgway, on behalf of the Sons of the Academy, presented a copy of the Writings to Miss Shirley Cockerell.

     On Sunday, December 18, a very enjoyable evening was spent by a large gathering at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Schuurman, who had invited the members of the society to sing Christmas songs. After a refreshing cup of tea, Mr. Schuurman entertained the guests by showing two excellent bioscope reels in color which he had taken, one showing Bishop and Mrs. de Charms, and the other the National Game Reserve, which he had recently visited.

     Theta Alpha entertained the children up to the age of ten at a Christmas Tree Party on December 19. A large Christmas tree, effectively decorated, occupied the center of the floor, while a quantity of bright colored balloons hung from the ceiling. After dancing and singing around the tree, the children had supper on the stage, the one long table being suitably decorated and adorned. After supper, a very jolly Father Christmas made his appearance and presented a gift to each child with a pleasant word or two. The tiny tots especially had the time of their lives, and greatly enjoyed their noisy musical toys and their balloons.

     A brief service was conducted by the pastor on December 23 for children too small to stay up for the regular Children's Service and Tableaux. The little ones were very much interested in the Representation shown and explained to them by the pastor. The same evening, Mrs. Mansfield led the young people in a round of caroling, to the enjoyment of those who took part and those who were visited.

     The Children's Christmas Service was held in the church at 7.00 p.m. on December 24. The church was prettily decorated with evergreens and large pink dahlias, and it was a very lovely and effective service. Unfortunately, quite a number of our members go away for the Christmas season, and the services are not as well attended as they would otherwise be. The Tableaux which followed the service were more beautiful than ever. The grouping and light-effects had been changed, and the spontaneous enthusiasm of the children spoke for itself. On leaving, the children were presented with bags of fruit and sweets, and on their way out stopped in the vestibule of the church for a last look at the Representation.

142




     The adult Christmas Service was held at 9.15 o'clock on Christmas morning, about 90 persons being present. Mr. Odhner led in a very beautiful service, and the subject of the sermon was "Simeon's Prophecy." Gathering outside afterwards there was an exchange of greetings of good cheer between relatives and friends, after which all departed to celebrate the remainder of the day with their families.

     The marriage of Mr. Oliver Braby and Miss Eileen Rudder was solemnized in our church on December 31 at 3.30 p.m., our pastor officiating at this very beautiful and impressive wedding service. The bride was most becomingly attired in a shell pink satin gown with a long trailing veil, and carried a bouquet of pale pink roses. The maid of honor, a friend of the bride, was dressed in delphinium chiffon with a pink picture hat adorned with an ostrich feather. Mr. Horace Braby was best man. The bride was given away by her father, Mr. H. B. Rudder. During the signing of the register, Mrs. Garth Pemberton sang very beautifully the song, "Love's Garden of Roses."

     Our New Year's Service was held at 9.15 o'clock on New Year's morning, about sixty being present. The sermon was an outstanding one, the subject being "The Meaning of the Word 'New.'" The sacrament of the Holy Supper was administered to forty communicants.

     During January, according to our custom, the school has been closed for vacation, the activities of the society in the form of classes and other meetings have been suspended, and many of the members have gone away for their summer holidays. Sunday worship, however, has been maintained, though the pastor has been unable to officiate by reason of illness. Mr. Scott Forfar conducted the service on January 8, and Mr. Melville Ridgway on January 15. The members of the society were distressed to learn of Mr. Odhner's sickness, and we are delighted to hear that he has recovered, and will soon be with us again.
     B. R. F.

     THE HAGUE, HOLLAND.

     Our society has recently received from Mr. Happee a beautiful and valuable gift in the form of a magnificent antique Bible for use in our services of worship. The volume was published under the protection of the State, is of exceptionally large size, and is illustrated with several pictures in color. Needless to say, we feel very much indebted to the kind donor.

     On Christmas Day, from five to eleven o'clock in the evening, a party of twelve gathered around the Christmas tree at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Engeltjes, who bountifully distributed gifts to all present. What with musical entertainment in the form of piano selections and songs, the signing of post cards addressed to Bishop de Charms and Bishop Acton, and a repairing to the dinner table, the evening passed very pleasantly indeed.

     The following day, the Iungerich family were invited to take part in the home celebration around the Christmas tree at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Bulthuis.

     Things are going nicely in our society uses, and we are all finding enjoyment in the publication of our magazine, De Nieuwe Bedeeling, the February number of which has now been issued. This second number of the periodical contains two articles by the editor, Dr. Iungerich, one entitled "God in One Person," the other on "The Internal Sense of the Word." The contents close with a second instalment from the Memorable Relation in Conjugial Love describing "A Visit to An Angelic Society." (C. L. 1-25.)
     L. F.

143


ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS 1939

ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS              1939




     Announcements.




     Program.

     ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS

     of the

     General Church of the New Jerusalem.

     BRYN ATHYN, PA., MARCH 27-APRIL 2, 1939.

Monday, March 27.
     8.00 p.m. Consistory.

Tuesday, March 28.
     10.00 a.m. Council of the Clergy.
          Statement by Bishop de Charms.
          Subject: "The Present Needs of the General Church."
     3.30 p.m. Conference of Elementary School Teachers and Headmasters

Wednesday, March 29.
     10.00 a.m. Council of the Clergy.
     3.30 p.m. Council of the Clergy (Conference on Pastoral Questions).

Thursday, March 30.
     10.00 a.m. Council of the Clergy.
     3.30 p.m. Council of the Clergy and General Faculty.
          Address: Mr. Wilfred Howard.
          Subject: "The Confirming Power of Scientific Truth."

Friday, March 31.
     10.00 a.m. Council of the Clergy.
     3.30 p.m. Executive Committee.
     7.00 p.m. Friday Supper in the Assembly Hall, followed by
          Open Session of the Council of the Clergy.
          Address: The Rev. Karl R. Alden.
          Subject: "The Growth of the Church."

Saturday, April 1.
     10.00 a.m. Joint Council.
     3.30 p.m. Joint Council (if needed).
     8.00 p.m. Operetta.

Sunday, April 2.
     11.00 a.m. Divine Worship.
     9.30 a.m. Children's Service.

145


CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE 1939

CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE       Rev. PHILIP N. ODHNER       1939


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LIX          APRIL, 1939           No. 4
     A Talk to Children.

     Today we shall hear how the Lord cleansed the temple at Jerusalem, by driving out those who changed money and those who sold doves.

     Twice, when the Lord came to Jerusalem and entered His temple, He found there many people who used the house of the Lord as a place of business, buying and selling sheep, and oxen, and doves. They treated the Lord's house as though it were a common market place, and had even set up tables for the moneychangers, because they had so much business there.

     Now this shows how evil the people of Jerusalem had become. The temple of the Lord had been built and set aside as a holy place. It was to be used only for the worship of the Lord. But the people were so evil that they used the temple as a place in which to get gain for themselves. The very land and the building which had been set apart as the Lord's, they now used for their own good. To buy and sell, to do business, is not evil, because men must do their work, or else all would starve to death; and the Lord wants men to do business. But to take what is the Lord's and use it for themselves, as these people took the temple and used it for themselves, was very wrong. And we shall see today just why that is so evil.

146




     The first time the Lord came and purged the temple was shortly after the marriage feast at Cana, where He changed the water into wine by a great miracle. The Lord then went to Jerusalem to keep the passover,-the day on which the Jews celebrated their deliverance from Egypt. And He came to the temple, and found men selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting at their tables. And when the Lord had taken some small ropes and made a scourge, or a whip, He drove them all out of the temple, together with the sheep and oxen they were selling. And the Lord poured out all their money on the floor, and overturned their tables, and said to them, "Take these things away! Make not my Father's house a house of merchandise!" (John 2:13-17.)

     And the Jews asked Him how He had the power to do such things; and they wanted Him to give them a sign of His power. But the Lord said to them, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it up in three days." Now it had taken forty-six years to build the temple, and they could not understand what the Lord meant by these words. But later the disciples learned that by the temple the Lord meant His own body, which the Jews would destroy, but which the Lord would raise again on the third day. Every temple and church is like the Lord's body, because there the Lord dwells, just as we dwell in our bodies.

     The second time the Lord cleansed the temple was after He had made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. This was on what we call Palm Sunday,-the day when the Lord entered Jerusalem as a king, riding on an ass, and the people laid down their garments and palm branches before Him, as a sign that He was their king. The Lord then entered the temple, and again He saw those who defiled the temple by making it a place of business. And the next day He came and drove out those who bought and sold, and overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of them that sold doves. And He said, "It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves."

     And after this the blind and lame came to the Lord in His temple, and He healed them. And the little children came into the temple and sang, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" In this way the Lord purified His temple, by driving out those who defiled it, and by restoring it to its use as a holy place, where men could worship Him, and where He could heal men and save them from their sins.

147




     We may wonder how the Lord, who loves all men, could show such anger and wrath toward those who were selling and buying in the temple, and even take a whip and drive them out, and overturn all their tables and drive out their animals. The Lord did not act in this way because He hated men, or just because they had taken something which belonged to Him. The Lord loves all men, even the evil, but He loves the evil by punishing them and restraining them, and driving them away when they try to harm the good. He does this from His great love and zeal for their welfare. So a just judge must put criminals in prison, where they cannot do harm to the good, and where they may be reformed and become good, if they are willing to do so. The only way He can save the good is to deliver them from evil spirits, who must be driven away, that they may not prevent the good from going to heaven.

     This is why the Lord drove out the evil men who made a wrong use of His temple, and prevented good men from worshiping there. He did this because He loved both the evil and the good, and because it was the only way in which He could save those who believed in Him and wanted to worship Him in the temple.

     We must always remember that the Lord's love was to save men and make them happy. Everything He did was from this love of saving men. The temple was the place where men could come before the Lord and learn how to worship Him, and how to live a good life by keeping His commandments. This is the way the Lord saves men,-to have them learn from Him how to live, and to have them worship Him. And because those people who cluttered up the temple with their business kept people from worshipping the Lord and learning from Him, they had to be driven out, so that the Lord might save His people. The Lord was not angry with them because they had taken what was His, but because they had taken away something which the Lord had given for men's salvation.

     When we go to church we are worshipping in the Lord's house. There the Lord dwells, even as He dwelt in the temple at Jerusalem. And the Lord has given us His temple for our salvation. It is a holy place, where the Lord can instruct us and lead us to heaven. But you can imagine how little we could learn, or how little we could worship the Lord, if all around there were people buying and selling, and changing money.

148


Of course, we do not allow such things in a church. But there are other things just as bad that we must watch for. Anything that makes a disturbance, and takes our attention away from our worship, is destroying the use of the Lord's house.

     And there is another thing that we must think about when hearing of how the Lord cleansed His temple. The Lord wants to live in each one of us, just as He lives in His temple. He wants to build a temple in our minds, where He can dwell, and where He can teach and lead us always on the way to heaven. This is what is meant by the Lord's saving men,-that He can be with them all the time to tell them what is good and true, and keep them from hell. The Lord is preparing this temple within us all the time, and when we grow up we can live and worship in it.

     But while we are young, there are two things we must do to prepare ourselves to worship the Lord in that temple. One of these things is not to make up excuses for ourselves when we know we have done something wrong. If we try to excuse ourselves for our evils, then, when we grow up, we will use the Lord's Word to excuse our evils, and then the Lord will not be able to save us, because His Word is given to tell us what is evil and what is good, not to excuse evils. This sounds like a strange lesson to draw from the cleansing of the temple, but in the other world those who try to excuse their faults are seen like moneychangers in the temple, because they take the truth of the Lord's Word, which is the money of heaven, and use it for their own gain.

     And the second thing we must not do, in order that we may prepare ourselves for the temple of the Lord within us, is not to do good to others just so they will do good to us. If we make friends with people, and do things for them just because we want them to do something for us, this is to buy and sell our goods. All good things are the Lord's, and when we try to buy and sell goods for ourselves, we take away what is the Lord's, and use it for our own pleasure and gain. In the other world, people who do that are seen as those who buy and sell oxen and sheep and doves in the temple of the Lord.

     If we can keep ourselves from excusing our evils, and if we can do good to others without wanting them to give us something for it, then when the Lord comes to dwell in His temple with us, He will not find there a den of thieves, and will not cast us out, as He cast out the moneychangers and those that sold doves.

149


And then He can lead us into heaven, and we can be happy with Him there forever.

     LESSON: Matthew 21:1-16.
     MUSIC: Hymnal, 88, 91, 96, 129, 196 (122).
LORD'S RESURRECTION 1939

LORD'S RESURRECTION       Rev. W. CAIRNS HENDERSON       1939

     "And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye; for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead; and, behold, He goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see Him; lo, I have told you. And they departed quickly from the sepulcher with fear and great joy; and did run to bring His disciples word." (Matthew 28:5-8.)

     The Lord is risen. To those who seek Him in affection, even where He is not, there is ever an answer of peace. Were He not with them, though unseen, they could not, in truth, seek to find Him. And He sends the peace of His unknown Presence through His angel. Such was the experience of certain women the first Easter morn.

     It was His angel who announced to Mary the first glad tidings of the Savior's birth, before it was told to the shepherds; and it was His angel who told another of her name the wondrous fact of His resurrection, before it was made known to the disciples. Both annunciations-the one of earthly birth, the other of heavenly nativity-were charged with holy joy that burned to the very heart of heaven. For both announced-the one in end, the other in time-the fulfilment of the Lord's work of redemption and glorification. Man had been brought back to God, and united with Him in the Human. A new way of salvation had been opened in that Human and permanently secured against obstruction. The Lord had broken the chain of human evil. He had conquered hell and burst the bonds of death. And in so doing He had risen clear above the mental and physical vestment of His earthly birth into unqualified union with the Divine, to reign in His spiritual kingdom, from which He might henceforth extend to all who believe in His name the power to become regenerate.

150


The Lord was risen indeed.

     His going down to the tomb in the evening of the sixth day of the week, and His remaining therein on the Sabbath, had been deeply symbolic of the end of those temptation combats which were inmostly represented by the six days of creation, and of His entrance thereafter into the Sabbath of His rest in the Father. His resurrection on the first day of the week-henceforth to be the Christian Sabbath-implied the beginning of a new state, both of the Human and of worship, with those who approach Him therein. And His rising on the third day after the crucifixion was prophetic of the opening, in the consummation of the age, of the internal sense of the Word as it had been known in the Ancient Church. In this the angels rejoiced,-that the Lord had made His Human Divine, redeemed His creation, and become the eternal Savior; and that His resurrection carried the promise that, in the fulness of time, His Human would He revealed to spiritual vision and understanding as well as objectively, so that in the end men might truly worship Him "in spirit and in truth." This was the deep cause of the joy that filled the heavens that Easter morn.

     The angel said, "He is not here; for He is risen, as He said." Not yet were Mary and her sisters, or the disciples in Jerusalem, able to enter into the joy of that announcement. While Me was yet with them the Lord had said, "I am the resurrection and the life." (John 11:25.) To the Jewish Church He had given representatives of His resurrection, and had explained them in the flesh, first in parables, and finally with increasing openness. But they were unable to understand His teaching because the internal sense of the Word, in which is the unfolding of prophecy, was not yet revealed; and the spiritual world was unknown to them. And in consequence, they had misunderstood Him and the nature of His work on earth. Also, they were ignorant of the resurrection. "For as yet they knew not the scripture, that He must rise again from the dead." (John 20:9.)

     They had indeed witnessed the raising of Lazarus (John 11:43, 44); and they had seen the revival of the widow's son (Luke 7:11-15); and they themselves had been given power to raise the dead. But these dead had been restored to life in this world.

151


Consequently, when the Lord went down to the grave, they were filled with despair. His assurance that He would rise again was forgotten, because it had never been understood. In the death on the cross they saw the failure of His work and kingdom; and with His body they laid in the tomb their faith in the past and their hope for the future.

     When Mary and her sisters went to the tomb, they were looking for the body taken down from the cross. That body was to them the Lord; and believing Him dead, they were come in tender love to perform a final ritual,-to embalm the body with spices, and so at least to preserve from decay all that seemingly remained to them of the Lord. Great was their consternation to find His body vanished. The angel said, "Come, see the place where the Lord lay." They came, and found nothing save only the discarded cerements. But the next words of the angel were a solvent for this added grief and final distress. "Go quickly, and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead; and, behold, He goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see Him." A privileged office was laid upon them,-that of preparing the disciples to receive the Lord who would shortly appear to them, and this in enactment of a higher representation than they knew. "And they departed quickly from the sepulcher in fear and great joy; and did run to bring His disciples word."

     It is said that the Lord's glorification laid down the mode of human regeneration. Involved in that teaching is this important truth: By glorification the Lord became the Redeemer and Savior; but between His acts of redemption and the work of salvation there is a vital difference. The work of redemption was completed while He was in the world. Before His resurrection the Lord had redeemed all men forever, even all those as yet unborn. But the work of salvation continues with every man, and is eternal. The Lord comes to man as the Truth, and in relation to the mind of every man who is saved the Truth must undergo processes analogous to the Lord's incarnation, death, resurrection, appearance, and final ascension above the heavens. The Truth in man must, as it were, be glorified. It must have its birth in the mind, and there increase in wisdom and stature; must walk its earth, teaching and healing thereon; must suffer apparent death and burial; must rise from its tomb, and again be seen; and finally must ascend into the heavens of the mind. And only thereafter does it become the saving truth of spiritual faith.

152




     Under this teaching, the story of the Lord's resurrection becomes pregnant with meaning for the man of the church, shedding light upon a vital phase of regeneration. But that phase must be rightly defined, if its meaning is to become clear. While there is a sense in which the resurgence of truth is implicit in the end of every temptation combat, we believe that the full application is to the interim period between the fulfilment of purification, which is regeneration, and the completion of conjunction with the Lord, which is renewal of life. And to appreciate the significance of the apparent death and the subsequent resurrection of truth in the mind, it is necessary to recall this teaching of our Doctrine.

     Before regeneration, it is said, man looks at the Lord from truth, but after regeneration he looks at truth from the Lord. Thus, after regeneration, there is a complete reordering of the mind around a new center. Now we believe that the regenerating man's imperfect vision and conception of the Lord from truth, prior to the completion of regeneration, is comparable to the aspect of Him that was granted the disciples before the passion; and that the regenerated sight of truth from the Lord is represented by the spiritual seeing given to the disciples after the resurrection; and thus that the state of the disciples between the crucifixion and the Lord's resurrection images the state of the mind that is passing through a final period of desolation before its entire reorientation.

     The world's materia, and everything of man's proprium, is dead. Divine Substance, and its derivative, the spiritual, alone is life. Natural thought, however, ascribes life and reality only to what is man's own. The spiritual is invisible to it, and in its estimate is dead and unreal. When the truth first comes to the mind, man is in a natural, though a repentant, state. And just as the Lord, coming into the natural world which had been prepared through the gospel of repentance, was compelled to clothe His Divinity in a body of flesh and blood, that He might become visible, so spiritual truth at first can be seen in the mind only because it vests itself in the dead things of man's proprium. Thus the truth is heavily conditioned in reception, and the result is that man's view of the Lord from qualified truth, his estimate of the nature of truth,-the Lord with him,-and his conception of the regenerate life,-the Lord's kingdom,-are imperfect, and must be radically changed. The faculties of his mind have been "called," even as were the disciples.

153


Like them, he believes that he understands what doctrine teaches. Yet his understanding is mistaken, because it is from himself, and not yet from the Lord.

     Outwardly the Lord was Man, and inwardly God. The disciples saw His Manhood, and confused the outward appearance with the inward reality; for they saw Him with their bodily eyes, and could not perceive His Godhood until their spiritual sight was opened after His resurrection. And in consequence they suffered hard things. Even so, man first sees in the new birth in his mind a generation of what is his own. The sight of his spiritual mind is not yet opened; and with the eyes of the natural mind he sees, not the truth itself, but the dead covering it has taken from his own thoughts and affections. Mistaking these visible vestments for the truth itself, he regards the truth of faith as his own; and before he can see that it is the Lord's, that there is in it nothing of his own, he must pass through states similar to those experienced by the disciples between the crucifixion and the Lord's appearances after His resurrection.

     Unknown to His disciples, the Lord was successively putting off the Mary-human. He indeed prepared them for its evanishment, showing them His Resurrection Body when He was transfigured before their spiritual eyes; but the teaching was forgotten, and the memory of the vision erased. That was their last temptation; and such is the last temptation of the regenerating man. In the mind, also, the truth gradually disengages itself from the proprial swathings that first made it visible. Man knows from doctrine what the fate of those coverings will be. From time to time the veil is parted, and a temporary opening of the spiritual mind brings the vision of the truth as it is in itself. But at other times the truth remains inbound in its dead coverings; for it is still the object of the natural mind's sight, and it remains so until he is capable of sustaining a permanent opening of the spiritual mind. And in the conditions of that opening is his last temptation.

     When the truth of faith has freed itself from the last proprial veiling, it vanishes from the sight of the natural mind. The truth itself does not die, but the truth as man saw it is dead. For that of himself which enabled him to see it, which appeared to give it life, and which he confused with the truth itself, has fallen away, has vanished in the tomb, and with it his every conception of the Lord's purpose in him, and of his final destiny.

154


And in that death and evanishment is utter despair. The doctrine yields no comfort. The transfiguration vision has faded beyond recall. But this evening of desolation gives way to the dawn of a new state, in which the Lord, present though unseen, prepares the mind through its deepest affections for the spiritual vision of truth. Even as Mary and her sisters went to the sepulcher with spices, to preserve the body that was to them the Lord, so man is then moved to return to the Word, to seek in its pages his former faith, and to preserve it from decay by pouring upon it his highest affections. And even as Mary, he finds that body of faith vanished. He cannot return to his former state, to his former aspect of truth. The Word does not speak to his affections as it did before. His Lord has been taken away, and he knows not where they have laid Him. Yet, if this discovery appears to lead him into deeper distress of mind, it is the means of his elevation into a truer and lasting conception of the truth. For if the sepulchre no longer holds the body of his former faith, it contains the angel of the Lord, who is, in truth, the Lord Himself. Divine Truth speaks to those deep, tender affections, and returns them an answer of peace. "He is not here; for He is risen as He said."

     The angel said, "Go quickly, and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead; and, behold, He goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see Him." After His resurrection, the Lord appeared first to Mary Magdalene and was known by her in His calling and naming. She saw Him with her spiritual eyes, and was commanded to prepare His disciples for His appearance before them in Galilee. So the opening of man's spiritual mind is first as to his deepest affections. It is to them that the new truth of spiritual faith appears first, quickening them by drawing out their quality to itself, which is indeed the Lord's blessing and naming. And a high office is laid upon them,-that of disposing the rational things of the natural mind for the appearing of a new concept of faith and life in the natural, and for the reception in faith thereof;-the preparation of the disciples, sons of Galilee, for the appearing of the Lord in their midst and in their own country.

     In this submission of the rational and the natural to the Lord as He appears in the natural in the truth of spiritual faith, the same truth that was with man from the beginning, but parted from the coverings from his proprium, is the completion of regeneration,-the appearance of the Divine Human to man after its resurrection in the mind.

155


A new faith is born of a heavenly nativity, and it is indeed the Lord with man, but qualified by his state, since it is the object of his spiritual senses. Only it is not yet in its final state. Doubts in the rational are yet to be resolved; the identity of the new truth must be established. And then it must ascend from the natural into the spiritual mind; for in that ascension is the possibility of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

     LESSONS: John 12:20-50. Matthew 28. A. C. 3212.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 534, 536, 594, 658, 664.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 110, 179.
RISEN LORD AND MARY 1939

RISEN LORD AND MARY       Rev. KARL R. ALDEN       1939

     An Easter Address.

     There is no more glorious day in the year than Easter, with its vision of the risen Lord, with its picture of the conquest of death by life, with its atmosphere of angel voices and heavenly spheres. Easter was the starting point of the Christian Church and its belief in the resurrection; for as the Lord rose on the third day, victorious over death, so likewise we know that each one of us will rise again on the third day to live in the spiritual world forever. The simple message of Easter is Life! As the angels said to the women who came to anoint the body of Jesus, "Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here; He is risen."

     Many things may die, and then rise again into glorious life. Each winter, with its cold and sullen frost, the earth seems to die; the leaves fall, the grass withers; but in the spring new life comes pouring in. The buds swell on the trees, the grass turns green, flowers bloom. There is a resurrection,-new life, new hope.

     Churches may die, but the Church never dies! The Lord always raises up a New Church, breathing His Spirit into it and making it a living Church.

156


So it was in the past with the Most Ancient Church, the Ancient, the Jewish, and the Christian Churches. All went down into the night and death of evil and falsity. But there was always an Easter morning in the Church that followed. So now, amid the ruins of a devastated Christianity, the Lord is raising up the New Church, to give light, and hope, and comfort, to mankind.

     Even in our passing moods death comes and then new life. "With every breath we breathe out," says Swedenborg, "we as it were die, and with every breath we inhale there is a new birth, a resurrection." Each night, tired and worn, we sink to sleep, but each morning there is a new awakening to life and its joys. Each new dawn may, in a sense, be thought of as an Easter morn.

     But the most important resurrection that may come to each one of us is when we awake from the night of sin, when there is a resurrection from evil, and the dawn of truth and goodness of life floods the mind. To lie, to steal, to turn the mind to impure thoughts, to covet, to be filled with envy, to be jealous of our neighbor, to be unkind to our brothers and sisters, and ungrateful to our parents-these are the death of sin. They are inspired by the same evil forces that crucified our Lord. But to turn from lying to sincerity, from theft to honor, from impurity to purity, from selfishness to generosity-this is life; this is Easter morning for us; this is the resurrection!

     On that first great Easter morning Mary Magdalene "stood without at the sepulchre weeping; and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, and seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou! She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid Him. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou! whom seekest thou? She, supposing Him to be the gardener, saith unto Him, Sir, if thou have borne Him hence, tell me where thou hast laid Him, and I will take Him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto Him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master."

157




     Thus it was to Mary Magdalene that the Lord first appeared after He was risen from the dead, and there was a deep and spiritual reason why He first showed Himself to this Mary. There were other Marys, but He chose to manifest Himself first to that Mary out of whom He had cast seven devils, and who had thereafter become such a devoted follower.

     All names in the Word signify qualities. In the spiritual world everyone has a name that corresponds to his state and quality. And so, when we die and go to heaven, we will be given a new name which exactly expresses the sort of person we are.

     Now the name "Mary" has a very interesting meaning. It means bitterness, and also exaltation. There are two great acts in life that lead to heaven. Mary represents them both. First, there is the bitterness of sorrow for the evil that we have done. There is repentance, and the determination to do better in the future. It is this bitterness, this grief of heart, this determination to do better in the future, that brings the Lord to us. We have only to turn ourselves back-turn ourselves back from the folly and wickedness that we have thought or done, turn ourselves back from the empty sepulcher, to see Jesus standing there. It is then that bitterness turns itself to exaltation. "Rabboni!"-"Master!" Mary cried with joy as she recognized the risen Lord.

     Let us recall that it was through another Mary that Jesus was born into the world, whose name also meant bitterness and exaltation. She represented the bitterness of heart that fills all those within a dying Church who see its evils and its decay, but who know not where to turn for hope. She represents the supreme act of repentance, whereby alone the Lord may be born in our lives. Mary must be the mother of the infant Lord. But when this great event, foretold by prophets of old, had taken place; when the Spirit of the Most High had overshadowed her; then her state changed from bitterness to supreme exaltation: "My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit doth rejoice in God my Savior; for He hath regarded the low estate of His handmaiden." Thus the Lord at His birth, and the Lord in His glory, was first manifested to women named "Mary."

     Another interesting comparison between the birth and the resurrection of the Lord compels our attention. When the Lord was born, Mary was espoused to a man named "Joseph," and the reason for this was the quality signified by the name Joseph, for he represented the celestial-spiritual in the natural; and the Lord, unlike any other man, was born celestial-spiritual, which is the same as to say that the union of good and truth was in Him at birth; for good is celestial and truth is spiritual. (A. C. 5307, 5417, 4592.)

158




     Consider our amazement, then, when we turn to the closing scenes of His life, to find that as His body hung upon the cross, after He had given up the spirit, not one of the twelve disciples had remained to take it down. They had all forsaken Him and fled. Only the women remained, and a man named Joseph! This was not the Joseph of the birth story, any more than it was the Mary of the birth story to whom the Lord first appeared after His resurrection. It was another Joseph-Joseph of Arimathaea-who went and begged the body from Pilate, and who buried it in his own new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. Here again, Joseph was chosen because of the meaning of his name, the heavenly Joseph-the celestial-spiritual in the natural,-but now the union of the Divine Celestial and the Divine Spiritual in the Divine Natural,-the Divine Human.

     The Lord had come into the world that He might become the Last, even as He was the First, that He might glorify even the natural degree of His mind and body. What more beautiful, then, than that the final act of burial should be accomplished by one named Joseph,-the celestial-spiritual in the natural. The final miracle, the greatest of all miracles, whereby God became Man, and man God; whereby the Lord glorified His body, even to the flesh and bones;-that final mystic operation which took place between the burial on Friday and the resurrection on Sunday morning; was initiated by one whose name signifies the celestial-spiritual in the natural,-the union of Divine Good and Divine Truth in the Lord's Divine Substantial Body,-the Human made Divine on all planes, Celestial, Spiritual, and Natural.

     We cannot think of the holy subjects of the birth and resurrection of our Lord without opening our minds to the softening influences of heaven. At birth, at death, the unseen world comes very close to men. How much more must this be the case with the birth and resurrection of our Lord! At His birth, the heavens broke forth in song, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

159


And when Mary came to the sepulcher, she also saw a vision of angels. "And she stooped down, and looked into the sepulcher, and seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain." The high purport of the event, the intensity of the moment, seemed in both cases to have effaced the veil between the two worlds. Earth must hear the heavenly rejoicing at the loftiest events of the ages.

     But who was it that first sought out the Lord on the occasion of His birth, and on the occasion of His resurrection?

     At His birth, it was the shepherds of Judea,-noble symbols of innocence and love; for they said: "Let us now go, even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us." It must ever be in a state of love that the Lord first comes. The shepherds saw Him in their hearts; the wise men, who came later, recognized Him in the star,-that star which represented knowledge and wisdom concerning the Divine.

     Love must ever outrun truth, even as John outran Peter on that Easter morn and came first to the sepulcher. The celestial comes first, and forms and shapes the spiritual in the natural, even as man's love of growing wise leads to the wisdom which he acquires. This is true of the Lord's birth as a babe; it is also true of His second birth,-His rising in the glorified Human. Here, too, love will lead, and faith will follow. Therefore it is that we read not a word of any of the disciples planning to visit the sepulcher early in the morning. That office was left to the tender love of those women who had followed Jesus, who prepared sweet spices, and arose early on the first day of the week, that they might testify their love by anointing Him.

     We can do nothing unless we love to do it; and if we love to do it, we will learn how to do it. The women who were early at the sepulcher will run to tell the disciples. So love leads and faith follows. But in the end the two make one. Peter and John come at the call of Mary, and soon the Lord appeared to them also, even to doubting Thomas, to whom He showed His hands and His side, and enjoined upon him that he be not doubting, but believing.

     In the New Church there must be a perpetual Easter celebration. When we partake of the Holy Supper, we do it in remembrance of Him,-in remembrance of the passion of the cross, in remembrance of the risen Lord.

160


In the commencement of every state in which the Lord touches our lives anew with Divine Love, there is Mary,-the bitterness of sorrow for our evils, and the exaltation that comes from the thought that, with the Divine help, they may be subdued.

     And then there is the ingathering of all the disciples, as that little band was drawn together by the tidings, "He is not dead; He is living!" The wealth of Divine wisdom revealed to us in the Writings comes to us anew when we are inspired by love. The women ran to tell the disciples. Just so a new state of love in the church leads us to the Writings with a renewed thirst for the truth.

     The seals of the Book have been opened; the Lord has risen in Divine majesty and power from that tomb of literal interpretation of Scripture where man has laid Him. "He is not there; He is risen as He said." He stands before the New Church,-one Father, one God, one Lord,-the sole object of our adoration, the sale recipient of our prayers. The Church that worships Him can never die-will never die; for its state will be continually renewed on Easter morns with new visions of unending truth,-the mighty walls, the pearly gates, the golden streets of the New Jerusalem! Amen.
APPEARING IN THE GLORIFIED HUMAN 1939

APPEARING IN THE GLORIFIED HUMAN              1939

     Since the Lord's ascension into heaven He is in the glorified Human, and in this He cannot appear to any man unless He first open the eyes of his spirit. Wherefore, when He manifested Himself to the disciples, He first opened their eyes, as we read, "And their eyes were opened, and they knew Him, and He became invisible to them." (Luke 24:31.) A like thing took place with the women at the sepulchre after the resurrection; wherefore also they then saw angels sitting in the sepulchre and speaking with them, and no man can see angels with the material eye. Neither did the apostles, before the resurrection, see the Lord in the glorified Human with the eyes of the body, but in spirit, as is evident from His transfiguration before Peter, James and John. (T. C. R. 777.)

161


MEETING CATHEDRAL VISITORS 1939

MEETING CATHEDRAL VISITORS       WILLIAM R. COOPER       1939

     (An Address to the Ushers' Organization.)

     You have asked me to speak to you on the subject of meeting and entertaining visitors at the Cathedral. And I suppose that what you want is not a talk about what has happened in the past, but rather a few opinions as to the best method of approach on the part of an usher in his contacts with strangers after services in the Cathedral.

     It has been my privilege to serve in the capacity of Curator at the Cathedral for more than eighteen years, and during that time one of my principal duties has been the entertainment of visitors, of whom there have been many thousands. Personal contact with a great many of these has naturally qualified and modified our ideas as to how we can be of greatest use to the church in our method of solving this problem. The information sought by our visitors covers the widest possible range of subjects, and there is room for many and varied approaches. Opinions as to the best attitude to adopt toward our visitors will be widely divergent. And each individual will determine for himself the best approach, which will probably not be exactly the same in any two cases. However, the lessons of the past should furnish some valuable hints, and therefore I propose to speak from the standpoint of the lessons that I have learned during the years I have devoted to this work.

     When I first took over the work at the Cathedral, I was thrilled and optimistic at the prospect of converting many of the visitors, but after eighteen years at it, and still being unable to point to a single member of the New Church whom I can claim as "my convert," I am not as optimistic as I once was; although proclaiming the Doctrines of the New Church loses none of its thrill with the passing of the years. That, doubtless, is due to the fact that the Doctrines are living and ever new in themselves, which cannot be said of the doctrines of any other church. This, indeed, is the central idea which we should seek to impart to our visitors.

162


Whether the subject under discussion is the Cathedral building or the Doctrines of the New Church, we want them to go away with the distinct impression that here is something "different." Most of them are under the impression that the New Church is just one of the sects of Protestantism. The general outline of the Cathedral from an architectural standpoint suggests many of the cathedrals and churches that they have seen elsewhere, and few visitors call detect the essential differences without aid on our part. And the same is true of the Doctrines. Give the average visitor a copy of our creed to read, and he will exclaim, "That's just about what we believe!"

     In my own case I have adopted a general policy of confining myself strictly to such topics as the visitors themselves introduce. If they are interested only in the architectural features, then I discuss these alone. But in so doing I seek to impress upon them the fact that in certain vital respects this building is like no other on earth. It is true that we have used the Gothic and the Romanesque and other types as a basis for the design, but we have infilled these things with something deeper and far more significant. None of the traditional Christian symbolism will be found here. Instead, a new system is being developed, taken entirely from the Sacred Scripture, and applied according to the science of correspondences as revealed in the Theological Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg.

     Architectural Features.

     The church building as a whole is symbolic of the God we worship,-the Lord Jesus Christ, the Divine Human Glorified. And since the finite human is an image and likeness of the Divine, therefore the three main divisions of the church represent the three degrees of the human mind,-the nave the external mind, the chancel the internal mind, and the sanctuary the inmost. And since the Lord is the Word, that also is pictured in the building, in chronological order from west to east. In general, the nave represents the Old Testament, the chancel the New Testament, and the sanctuary the Heavenly Doctrine as prophesied in the Apocalypse.

     A summary of the outstanding stories of the Scripture is recorded in the windows, beginning at the west end of the north clerestory, and finishing at the east window in the sanctuary.

163


The clerestory windows of the nave have for their general subject a series of the manifestations of the Lord as the "Angel of Jehovah." There are five of these on either side of the nave, and each one is divided into three lights. In each case the center light has a figure of the angel of the story, and on either side one of the two principal characters involved. Then, in the medallions underneath the large figures, there are smaller scenes, depicting either some of the events leading up to the manifestation or the results attained by it, or both. In most cases, the names of the principal characters are recorded in Hebrew; This series begins with the story of Adam and Eve at the west end of the north clerestory, and continues along to the tower, and then returns to the west end on the south side, and finishes at the tower on that side with the story of Solomon's Choice.

     Then the narrative is taken up by the two lancet windows in the south transept. Each of these windows is divided into three principal medallions, with a smaller one in the top of each window, and with half-circles between the medallions, and quarter-circles at the bottom corners. In each of these windows the medallions are devoted to the stories of the Major Prophets, the half-circles to the Minor Prophets, and the quarter-circles to the four Cherubim of Ezekiel I,-the lion, the ox, the man, and the eagle.

     The chancel clerestory has six windows, each of which will have for its central theme one of the Lord's visits to Jerusalem, the first being the occasion of the presentation in the temple, the second when, at the age of twelve, He was found by Joseph and Mary talking with the doctors, and the third when He drove out the money-changers. These three will be on the north side. Then, on the south side, there will be, first, the story of the healing of the infirm man at the Pool of Bethesda, second, the story of the woman taken in adultery, and lastly, the story of the Ascension. At present only the first of this series is in place, and I am not sure that it is a permanent one. In the sanctuary, the east window has for its theme the Twelve Apostles, taken in this case from the Book of Revelation. And, in the medallion in the tracery at the top of the window, the Lord is pictured on the throne, surrounded by a rainbow of an emerald hue, as recorded in Revelation 4:3.

     In addition to this consecutive series, there are in the tower lantern two little windows on each wall, one of which has in it the figure of a priest, and the other a prophet.

164


Let me quote from Bishop de Charms' "Notes on the Symbolism":

     "A tower, in a good sense, signifies the love of dominion from the love of use, or, inmostly, the love of the Lord from doctrine. This love is represented by the priestly function. A tower also carries with it the idea of guard and protection by means of watchmen who give warning of impending danger. This was the function of the prophets. Priests and prophets are mentioned together throughout the Word and the Writings, as representing the good and the truth of the church, respectively. It is fitting, therefore, that they should both appear on each side of the tower.

     "On the south wall of the tower, representing the Mosaic Word, appear Aaron and Moses; Aaron on a background of red in the full garments of the high priest, distinguished by the breastplate, the miter, and the almond rod; Moses on a background of blue as the "Prophet of Jehovah" with the rod of miracles. On the west wall, representing the Prophetic Word, are Phinehas and Elijah; Phinehas on a background of red, also in the garments of the high priest, but without the almond rod; and Elijah on a background of blue, clothed with a mantle or cloak and a girdle of skins. On the north wall, representing the New Testament, is Zacharias on a background of red, in priestly garments, but with no mitre or breastplate, and John the Baptist on a background of blue, clothed in a coat of camel's hair with leathern girdle, and with the cross as a symbol of repentance and temptation. And on the east wall, representing the Heavenly Doctrines, the angel of the Book of Revelation on a background of red, clothed with a robe that streamed out behind him as he flew, and girt about with a girdle, flashing as it were with rubies and sapphires, and with a trumpet to his lips, signifying the manifestation of the Lord in His Second Coming; and John the revelator on a background of blue, as the prophet of the Second Advent."

     In the chancel aisles, the two windows represent the two Testaments. On the north side appears Moses with the two tables of the law in one hand and the rod of miracles in the other, and the inscription in Hebrew, "The Law of Moses." In the medallion underneath are two angels with flaming swords, "keeping the way of the tree of life." On the south side appears John the revelator with the "book sealed with seven seals" in his hand; in the medallion below is the white horse of the Apocalypse with its rider, and the inscription in Creek, "Behold a White Horse!"

165




     Visitors are often interested to learn the significance of the chancel. The setting in the sanctuary is taken from the first chapter of the Apocalypse, with its description of the Son of Man in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks. The Son of Man is represented by the Word on the altar. The altar itself represents the throne there mentioned, and the seven candlesticks the seven churches. The light over the altar is in the form of a crown with twelve stars, mentioned in connection with the "woman clothed with the sun" (Rev. 12), who represents the New Church. The metal candlesticks on the steps of the sanctuary represent the " two witnesses." (Rev. 11:4.)

     There are three divisions of the chancel, representing the three degrees of the internal mind and also the three heavens. Each division is reached by an elevation of three steps, and the great altar, being similarly elevated three steps above the floor of the sanctuary, is twelve steps above the floor of the nave.

     Many visitors will also be interested if their attention is drawn to the many points of similarity between our chancel and the Tabernacle of Israel. In place of the holy of holies, with the ark and the tables of the Law, we have the sanctuary as a repository for the Word. That is its sole use, as was also that of the holy of holies. Instead of the holy place, where there were the table of shew bread, the seven-branched candlestick, and the altar of incense, we have the inner chancel with the altars for the two sacraments, the Holy Supper and Baptism. And where they had the outer court, which was the place where the priests and the people met for the offering of sacrifices, we have the outer chancel, which we use for the reading of the Word and preaching.

     Religious Topics.

     And now a few words about discussing the Doctrines with visitors. Here, too, it seems to me of the greatest importance that we should seek to make it perfectly clear to our visitors that the New Church is not a sect of the former Christian Church, but is an entirely new dispensation, based upon an entirely new revelation, and that it is just as distinct from the old Christian churches as they are from the Jews.

166




     Also, I feel that it is important to impress upon them that the revelation given to the New Church was given in the same way as all former revelations were given. No revelation has ever been given to men except through the instrumentality of a man living on earth at the time. The revelation to the New Church was not given by means of an angel descending to the earth and proclaiming a new doctrine, but it was given by the opening of, the spiritual sight of a man, and introducing him into the spiritual world. Instances of this can be cited, as Moses, the Prophets, and John on the Isle of Patmos.

     A favorite illustration of mine, showing that the Lord has at times opened the spiritual sight of an ordinary man, and showed him things in the spiritual world, is the story of Gehazi, the servant of Elisha. (II Kings 6.) You will remember how the Syrians were trying to destroy Elisha, because he had frustrated them by continually revealing their plans to the Israelites. Elisha and his servant were in Dothan, and the King of the Syrians sent a mighty host to surround the city and take Elisha. The terror of Gehazi is recorded, and how Elisha prayed to the Lord to open the eyes of the young man. And it is recorded that "the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw: and behold, the mountain was full of chariots and horses of fire round about Elisha." The point to be brought out is the fact that when the Lord so wills, He does open the spiritual sight of a man, and that if He could do it in the time of Elisha, and in the time of John, He could just as easily do it in the time of Swedenborg.

     The importance of a thorough knowledge of the letter of the Word cannot be overemphasized. There is a marvelous power in the correct and timely quoting of the Letter of the Word. Do not forget that, to your visitor, the Writings have no authority. To us they have supreme authority; but your task is to show your audience that the truth is taught in the revelation which they accept as having Divine authority. Point out to them that it is not sound logic to base an opinion on one or two isolated statements in the Letter of the Word. One must seek the broad general teaching of the whole of Scripture. And if you really know your Letter of the Word, you can demonstrate that the great weight of evidence is against the doctrines of the Old Church.

     As an example, take the tripersonal god idea. That is universally held in the old Christian churches, and yet nowhere in the whole of the Letter of the Word can it be found stated in so many words.

167


But you can produce scores of statements that tell us in so many words that there is but one God. Furthermore, it is a significant fact that every one of the Old Testament prophecies of the Coming of the Messiah makes it perfectly plain that He is Jehovah Himself. Your problem is to show from the Letter of the Word that Jehovah, the Creator of the universe, and the Lord Jesus Christ are one and the same Person. Point out to them that the Lord, when He was on earth, said, "Search the Scriptures, . . . for they are they which testify of me!" And then ask them what were the Scriptures to which He referred. Many of them will reply, "The Bible." They forget that the New Testament had not yet been written, and therefore that the Lord referred to the Old Testament Scriptures as being "they which testify of me." And that could not be the case unless the Lord and Jehovah were identical.

     Take another doctrine,-salvation by faith. All the evidence is in favor of your side of the argument, if you know where to find it. The Lord says, "By their fruits ye shall know them." Also, "Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven." And whenever judgment is spoken of, it is always said that man will be judged "according to his works." Your Old Church visitor will then probably quote to you from Paul, "By grace are ye saved through faith, and not by works, lest any man should boast." To him, of course, the Epistles have the same authority as the Gospels, but he will hardly have the effrontery to maintain that where the teachings of the Lord and those of Paul conflict, that Paul is the higher authority.

     One of the most difficult points to meet is the question of the eternity of marriage. The verse which they will quote to you, to prove that there is no marriage in heaven, is very definite, and was spoken by the Lord Himself,-"In the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage." Probably only that much of the verse will be quoted, but in order to meet it effectively you must know the rest of it. I have often heard New Churchmen explain that to strangers on the basis of the teaching in the Writings that, unless the marriage of good and truth in the individual is begun on earth, he cannot come into spiritual marriage in the other world.

168


That, of course, is perfectly true, but in my estimation is entirely above the grasp of the average Old Churchman.

     This issue, I believe, must be met on a more natural plane, and I generally go about it in this way: Somewhere in your Bible you will find an injunction to "speak to a wise man according to his wisdom, and to a fool according to his folly." In other words, adapt your conversation to the mental capacity of your audience. That was exactly what the Lord did on that occasion. Do you remember the circumstances under which it occurred? The Sadducees, a sect of the Jews who had no belief in the resurrection in the first place, and so were not sincere in their questioning, were trying to entrap the Lord into an open and public denial of the letter of the Law of Moses, in order that they might have an excuse to crucify Him. To accomplish their end, they put forth a hypothetical question. To quote:

     "The same day came to Him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked Him, saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. Now there were with us seven brethren; and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother; likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. And last of all the woman died also. Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven!. for they all had her. Jesus answered, and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven."

     Had they known the Scriptures, they would have known that, when the Lord instituted marriage, He said, "For this cause shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh." It is significant that the Lord never qualified that statement, by saying "Till death do them part." That was done later by men. In fact, the Lord, in quoting that statement from the second chapter of Genesis, amplified and extended it by adding "no more twain." So when He said, "but are as the angels of God in heaven," He unquestionably meant that husband and wife would dwell together as the two halves of a perfect whole.

169


And since He was speaking to a group whom He had called "a wicked and adulterous generation," whose only conception of marriage was of something unclean, He told them, in language which they could understand, that in heaven there would be no such marriage.

     I might cite many more examples of the religious topics which I am called upon to discuss with visitors, but those I have given will serve as illustrations.

     In conclusion, I would, like to point out that the study necessary to equip one for this use will prove of incalculable benefit to the individual who undertakes it, even if it results in no noticeable increase in the membership of the New Church.
TREATISE ON THE BRAIN 1939

TREATISE ON THE BRAIN       Rev. E. E. IUNGERICH       1939

Three Transactions on the Cerebrum. By Emanuel Swedenborg. Volume I. Now first translated and edited from a photostat copy of the original manuscript by Alfred Acton, M.A., D.Th. Philadelphia, Pa.: Swedenborg Scientific Association, 1938. Cloth, octavo, pp. 731. Price, with Book of Anatomical Plates (pp. 180), $10.00.

     As announced at the opening of the volume, "the Swedenborg Scientific Association here presents the first of the Physiological Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg, Philosopher and Seer, in Commemoration of the 250th Anniversary of his Birth."

     According to the translator's Preface, the present work, which is to be concluded shortly in a second volume, was composed by Swedenborg between April 19 and August 9, 1738, during his sojourn in Venice. In preparation for it, he had attended the School of Chirurgery in Paris, during his stay of eighteen months in that city. The translation into English is based upon a photostat copy of Codex 65 of the Swedenborg Manuscripts preserved in the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm. Small portions of it had already appeared in the two volumes on The Brain, edited by the Rev. R. L. Tafel, the main part of which, however, was from Codex 55, of which about one half was translated by Dr. Tafel.

170




     In addition to Codex 65 and Codex 55 of 1742, which Bishop Acton terms, respectively, the Venice and Stockholm Works, there are two others: The 1740 Amsterdam Additions to the former, which will be contained in the second volume thereof; and the 1744 London Additions to the Stockholm Work, which Dr. Tafel published in The Brain.

     It is hoped that, in the future, Codex 55 in full, with the London Additions to it, may see the light in an edition as handsome as the volume before us, instead of continuing to exist merely in part in a hodgepodge of extracts from other treatises in which the brain is referred to. I am especially desirous of seeing in print its concluding part on Diseases of the Brain, which parallels the Diseases of the Fibre in the work on The Fibre, in order that New Church physicians and students of psychiatry may have a guiding light in fields in which the information is exclusively of an empiric nature.

     Of great value, not only to the reader of The Cerebrum, but also to the student of the other Physiological Works of Swedenborg is the Book of Anatomical Plates, a companion volume of the one under review, in which the Plates are referred to as illustrating the text. Of these fine, clear engravings, 102 are photographic reproductions of the anatomical plates in works, mainly on the Brain, by Bartholin, Bianchi, Bidloo, Duverney, Eustachius, Heister, Lancisi, Leeuwenhoek, Lower, Malpighi, Morgagni, Ortlob, Pacchioni, Ridley, Ruysch, Vallisnieri, Valsalva, Verheyen, Vieussens, Wepfer, and Willis.

     Truly amazing is the scholarship shown by the translator of The Cerebrum, not only in regard to Swedenborg's contemporary anatomists, but also in respect to the author's history; also in meeting textual difficulties, including the supplying or analysis of the presumable contents of missing parts. We may account for this in part by the existence of Room 17 in the Academy Library, where one can see 2000 volumes of the works of Swedenborg's time,-a collection that was made possible by the indefatigable enterprise of Bishop Acton. But even though the mystery of his insight is thus partially explained, his remarkable familiarity with these works remains to astound us. His English version of The Cerebrum is therefore enriched with an abundance of precise comments on matters of Swedenborg's time, and these should prove invaluable to a future chronicler of Swedenborg's life.

171




     In all points the translation is faithful, clear, and pleasingly readable; and the anatomical plates make clear the various configurations of cerebral organs that are referred to. In this age of mechanical wonders we may express the hope that some one will eventually build a large model of a brain in transparent but colored glassware, so that the operation of the various organs of the brain can be seen objectively. Unless this is done, the valuable analyses of Swedenborg in a domain which is basic to the systematizations of our doctrines concerning the Gorand Man will remain unknown, except to a few learned professors.

     As to the contents of the work, it treats in order of the substance of the cortical glands and of the fibres thence proceeding, of the three enfolding membranes of the brains, of the arteries that supply it and the various sinuses that convey the venous blood away from it, and finally of the uses of the various organs concerned in the formation or the resolution of the animal spirit or spirituous fluid within the smallest fibres, of the spirituous juice around them in a fascicle thereof, and of yet grosser juices in order down to the endolymph in the spinal cord.

     In the course of the work we find illuminating references to the four auras of the Principia, to the animal spirit, to the organic bases of the difference between men and animals, to the need of a mathematical philosophy of universals, and, in a number of instances, to the state of the celestial man who is guided purely by the soul, and to the City of God of which he is a member.

     In his Psychologica (no. 17, page 24), Swedenborg presents a diagram and makes this comment: "RS are the spirals or helices of the supremely subtle [membrane] of the soul. Within them are actives of the first finite. But I is the first element, where [the membrane] has not been attached." In connection with what is here said I would cite the following interesting statements from The Cerebrum:

     "But the inmost organic substance, or last organism, does not seem to put forth any fibrils,-and this for various reasons, to wit.: Because it is the last thing, which, when conceived, at once flows into the recipient and ambient fibres; and being dispersed and disseminated into the whole corporeal system by means of the fibers and blood, is called animal spirit; from which, and also from the veriest unique and universal substance, is composed all else that is subject to the soul and its government.

172


Hence, also, since the soul is in these, the soul is everywhere in its body. Again, the unconnected modes of the other parts do not allow that it shall fix its roots in fibers as do all other substances; and if it be so fixed, besides the fact that it can then no longer enter into the fluids of the animal, the larger compound cannot be inspired by it, as by the first, to becoming like it or a likeness of it." (No. 83.)

     "The soul is not material, that is, she cannot be said to be fixed to her organs by a continuous connection; but she is the force of their forces, or the beginning of all their potencies. . . . The soul desires nothing more earnestly than that the organs whereby she can be present in the grosser world may be so qualified, or their qualities so perfected, that in them, thus rightly disposed and cultivated, she may exercise her power. . . . These ends [the lower organs] could never have existed unless the soul's provident end had looked thitherward and continued so to look, even though the embryo and infant may seem to be wholly ignorant of the fact." (No. 698.)

     "The purely animal spirit is nothing else than the uttermost degree of the cortical or cineritious substance which, when released from its matrix, flows in the purest fibres of the nerves, and also in the blood, of which it constitutes the inmost and genuine essence. . . . It was proved. . . that the cortex. . . contains the most active substances of the animal kingdom, and, in smaller effigy, resembles little brains, one enclosing the other by the order of succession; and that the last of these is an organ adequate to the purest forces of the soul.

     "Therefore, this substance [the animal spirit] cannot be accounted for unless it is conceived and matured in the uttermost place, is released and is ever reborn in copious abundance, and continually accomplishes the same circle; and conceived principally in the cerebral cortex where the organic parts are expanded above all other, and from whence is brought forth an immense abundance of fibres. The soul, however, . . . which is the active force or potency of this substance, cannot be said to be born and reborn; or, the membranes and organs cannot be said to be perfected by degrees, and so to be purified even to the height of the soul. Therefore, I would have you conceive of the soul as being distinct, and in no way confound it with its organs and substantiates.

173




     "When the above mentioned substance [the animal spirit] is released, and at the point where the release takes place, it must needs slip down between the fibres of the second degree, this being the only opening for its exit; and from thence, by means of an urging force, into the nerves, and so into the structure of the whole body. It is probable, therefore, that no fibrils are put forth by these purest organs of the first universality, but that when formed they at once flow down within the surface of a somewhat larger compound.* For if they produced fibrils also from themselves, they would not be deciduous every moment, and man, being thus woven of them, would live as the most perfect of beings. Hence, since they are at once received within their own little channels, they do not fly off into the auras, but are straightway determined to their goals." (Nos. 725, 726.)
     * These are obviously the limbus of T. C. R. 102, the cutaneous envelope of D. L. W. 257, the finest things of nature of D. P. 220.

     "What animates the cortical substances is most highly pure; what animates the lungs is the grossest atmosphere; all else is in the region of intermediates." (No. 464.)

     "Universal perception lies in the soul herself, on whose organs must be impressed by degrees those things which come under her universal light for distinct examination." (No. 229.)

     "The soul is the most universal substance and force of the whole corporeal system; and its characteristic is to live principally, while the characteristic of the other bloods is to live by its means, that is to say, to draw their life from it." (No. 596.)

     "For nothing seems to be impenetrable to the soul as she tends from an end to an end. Obedient to her will, as it were, stands nature with the substances of its world, it being for this purpose that nature was so perfectly created." (No. 687.)

     "The causes from which proceed the varieties . . . are that all things may be disposed to that end which the soul intends. . . . Such is the case when the soul first comes into the ovum, and to the end that her organism may be proximately formed conformably with her faculty of acting; and, consequently that, in the organism of her brain, the human soul may be able to regard further ends." (No. 1197.)

174




     "If the whole organic subject is ruled principally by the soul, which is extremely rare, [and not mainly by body, physical organism, or the mind], then we are actuated by her providence as though we were unaware of effects; and she does not consult the reasoning mind save when necessity requires, in that we live in society and subject to its laws. For the world and its kingdoms are perfectly formed, so that all things may be subject and submissive to the purer judgment of this entity. . . . Were we to live the paradisiacal life, and were the soul alone to have empire over her subject organs, we would possess every science as a natural gift, nor would anything stand in the way, provided only we are intent on an end in harmony with the order of nature; and the physical world, being most abundantly provided with all means, would prosper every effect." (No. 1198.)

     In perusing this work I was eager to find what was meant by the statement that the cerebrum animates synchronously with the breathing of the lungs. Dr. Wilkinson and also Dr. Tafel held that when the lungs contracted, the brain expanded; but there are passages in the Economy which favor the idea that both expand simultaneously and contract simultaneously. At present I am inclined to think that both statements are true, that the former applies to the cerebellum, the latter to the cerebrum, and that in sleep the cerebrum synchronizes with the cerebellum. I should like to see this problem solved, for as Swedenborg says in concluding this magnificently translated work, I, too, would like to say, " Whether what has now been brought forward is in harmony with the nature of things, this I pray you to search into. Not the glory of the finding, but the truth found is what gladdens me, and it is to the friends of truth alone that I appeal. All others, a later age, if not the present, will laugh at." (No. 1203.)

175


BRAIN AND THE HEAVENLY FORM 1939

BRAIN AND THE HEAVENLY FORM              1939

A. C. 4040. When the brain is denuded of the skull and the teguments which encompass it, there appear in it wonderful circumvolutions and gyres, in which are situated what are called the cortical substances. From these run forth the fibers which constitute the medulla of the brain. These fibers proceed thence through the nerves into the body, and there perform functions according to the bidding and orders of the brain. All these things are exactly according to the heavenly form; for such a form is impressed upon the heavens by the Lord, and thence upon the things which are in man, and especially on his cerebrum and cerebellum.

     4041. The heavenly form is stupendous, and altogether exceeds all human intelligence, for it is far above the ideas of the forms which man can possibly conceive from worldly things, even by analytic means. All the heavenly societies are arranged according to this form, and, what is wonderful, there is a gyration according to the forms, of which gyration angels and spirits are not sensible. This is circumstanced like the rotation (fluxus) of the earth about its axis daily, and about the sun yearly, which the inhabitants do not apperceive. The quality of the heavenly form in the lowest sphere has been shown me. It was like the form of the circumvolutions which appear in human brains, and it was given me to see perceptibly that flux or those gyrations; this continued for some days. From this it was made manifest to me that the brain is formed according to the form of the fluxion of heaven. But the interior things which are therein, and which do not appear to the eye, are according to the interior forms of heaven, which are quite incomprehensible; and it has been said by the angels that from this circumstance it may be seen that man is created according to the forms of the three heavens, and that thus there is impressed on him the image of heaven, so that man is a little heaven in the least form, and that hence comes his correspondence with the heavens.

     4042. Hence then it is that through man alone there is a descent from the heavens into the world, and an ascent from the world into the heavens.

176


The brain and its interiors are the means by which the descent and ascent are effected, for there are the very beginnings, or the first and last ends, from which all things in general and particular that are in the body flow forth and are derived; it is from thence also that the thoughts which are of the understanding, and the affections which are of the will, proceed.
PHYSIOLOGICAL CONFIRMATIONS 1939

PHYSIOLOGICAL CONFIRMATIONS              1939

S. D. 1145. Certain spirits affected me with their own distaste when I was treating of interior things unknown to them, such as philosophical things and those which relate to the interior viscera of the human body. And as these things are true, they are consequently not to be passed over in silence, merely because there is scarcely one in a thousand that understands them, as those things which have this day been seen and heard by me concerning the cistern of the chyle. But inasmuch as the state of spirits and angels cannot otherwise be made evident, they are not to be passed over in silence. For there are those who perceive and love these things, and others who, although they do not understand them, admit them when they see that they confirm universal truths; wherefore these things are written only for such persons, and not for others. For I can testify that the angels exquisitely understand things of this kind, whereof the confirmation is deduced from anatomical and philosophical truths.

     11451/2. Moreover, the states of spirits and angels, with all their variety, can never be grasped without a knowledge of the human body. For the Kingdom of the Lord is like a Man; and without such a Kingdom, which is likened to a true Man because the Lord is the only Man, and is His own Kingdom, no man can live; for all things in heaven conspire to the conservation of the single parts in the body. And if you are willing to hear things still more arcane, unless there were innumerable worlds or earths, which together constitute such a Man, the souls of one world or earth would never suffice, because there must be endless varieties, and innumerable individuals in every part, to confirm the whole.

177


NOTES AND REVIEWS. 1939

NOTES AND REVIEWS.              1939


NEW CHURCH LIFE
Office a Publication, Lancaster, Pa.
Published Monthly By
THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM
BRYN ATHYN, PA.
Editor               Rev. W. B. Caldwell, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager          Mr. H. Hyatt, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     All literary contributions should be sent to the Editor. Subscriptions, change of address and business communications should be sent to the Business Manager.

     TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$3.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single Copy, 30 cents.
     A COMMENTARY ON THE DOCTRINES.

     The New Orthodoxy. Twenty-five Essays on Heavenly Doctrine. By the Rev. Richard H. Teed, 4 Hepburn Street, Hawthorn, E. 2, Victoria, Australia. Published by the Author, 1938. Paper, stiff cover; 16mo; pp. 166; price, 2 shillings.

     The titles of the twenty-five chapters comprising this booklet are the same as those found in The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine, since the essays are commentaries upon the contents of that work. As stated in the Foreword, "they were originally written as articles for THE NEW AGE, and with slight alterations they appear now as they did when first printed." The editor of that journal now publishes them in book form in the hope that "this small contribution of constructive comment may serve some use and find a niche of its own in our New Church collateral literature."

     We have no doubt that this hope will be realized. Mr. Teed here furnishes much wholesome and practical instruction for members of the New Church, as will be evident from a few brief quotations:

178




     On Piety.-By no means does the New Church reject the pious life. To think so is, I believe, a grave error into which some have fallen. This rejection is the swing of the pendulum against abuse, and it is the natural inclination of the merely natural man . . . . It is for the man of the Church to receive revealed truth in regard to it, and to be able to explain what real piety is. (Page 63.)

     On Freedom.-It is the ceaseless endeavor of the Divine leading to bring a man to the love of the good and the true; so only does he receive the life that flows from heaven. Here again do many fail to see the implications of this teaching. Some talk, for instance, glibly about all certainly entering heaven at the last. Now if heaven is the state of freely receiving and reflecting the Divine Love and Wisdom, is it not manifest that there can be none there who have no desire for such a life? To be forced into heaven would be the utmost and agonizing cruelty; and because of God's infinite love and compassion, He has provided another state and place to meet the needs of those who have no desire for heaven; this other state and place we call hell. It cannot be till we get a real grip of this teaching of freedom that we can see how it revolutionizes all our outlook and upsets all our traditional theology. All who have freely chosen to reject the good and the true could not endure the life of heaven, and so they voluntarily keep out of it. It is not that heaven is closed to them, but they themselves turn from the golden gates. (Pages 79: 80.)

     The Children.-We have, in fact, lacked the positive outlook. We have not been sufficiently sure that what we have in the Writings is a revelation from heaven; and we have proceeded all the while to weigh all in the balances. Is it surprising, then, that our children have not been drawn to remain in such an atmosphere? We have lost our children, because as a Church we have not "mothered" them. And, mark you, these children of ours who have drifted from the Church have not taken the intellectual acceptance of the heavenly doctrines with them. In the vast majority of such cases, the New Church doctrines are regarded with either a mild contempt or else a keen opposition. We need to set our own house in order, and build up the Church from within. (Page 108.)

     The author's position with respect to the state of the Christian world and the distinctiveness of the New Church may be gathered from these statements:

     It is to be feared that the modern movement towards what is termed Reunion in the churches does not partake wholly of the essential qualities of this Doctrine of Charity. Let an illustration indicate what I mean. It has been the writer's lot to be called to minister in the same pastorate for two different periods. During the first period, which is now some many years ago, my Christian brethren in the town left me severely alone, and no room was to be found for me upon any of the general Christian bodies and institutions, which were quite interdenominational in their composition. When, after an interval of ten years, I returned to this same town, I was welcomed on to every board and council and "fraternal" I cared to make application to.

179


An old Presbyterian minister, who had been in the town during the earlier ministry and throughout the intervening time, said: "You know, Mr. Teed, I fear it is not our increased broad mindedness, and still less our increasing love of your doctrines, that make us welcome you now, but rather that none of us quite know where we as a Church stand today, and we none of us are so sure of ourselves as we were. It is seeing the weakness of the entire Christian front that makes us willing to rally together for defensive purposes." That has always seemed to me on reflection a very fair summing up of the modern situation. True broad mindedness, which is consistent with genuine Charity, has its own definite convictions, but knows how to be tolerant and courteous towards others who differ.

     Modern broadmindedness, as evidenced in the churches as a whole, is so because it knows not what to believe about spiritual matters. Uncertainty has taken the place of definite doctrinal tenets. A mere agnostic toleration towards all must not be mistaken for the genuine Doctrine of Charity as taught in the New Church.

     True Charity should have its convictions, and when called upon, or when opportune, should be prepared to state these for the help and guidance of others. It never forces itself upon others, and is ever respectful towards another's point of view. It condemns no man; and seeks for what is true and like its own concept in the views of another; yet it is not forgetful of its trust in being a custodian of truth. It will tell the truth in simple and fearless language, lest falsity should prevail and seem to be consented to-for silence often seems to mean consent. (Pages 16, 17.)

     Why does the New Church stand at the top of all religions, and justly claim to be the illuminated exponent of the Word? Because she preaches the glorified Jesus Christ as the One Only God of heaven and earth, and He is the all-sufficient. The promise of His Second Coming was chiefly this, that He would come in "power and great glory." Well, there is no more adequate fulfilment of this prophecy than the revelation of Himself as God-the One Object of human adoration and love. Till He is accepted as "Master and Lord" and the only God, He has not been seen in His "power and great glory." The Church, then, according to our definition, is "where the Lord is acknowledged and where the Word exists." He is, of course, "acknowledged" in a measure in the whole of Christendom, and from this it is that Christendom enjoys the light it has. But nowhere is He so completely "acknowledged" as in the New Church. It is from this fact that the New Church makes the mighty claim that it is specifically the Church of this now dawning new age. (Page 136.)

     Yet we fear that the author yields at times to what we may call "Protestant prejudice," as in his aversion to the term "priest." Where the Writings state that " governors in ecclesiastical matters are called priests (sacerdotes), and their function the priesthood" (N. J. H. D. 314), Mr. Teed would substitute "ministers" and "ministry," his reason being:

180




     The word "priest" has been "writ large" upon the pages of history, and it has unfortunately come to be associated with much that is unpleasing and contrary to the true order of that holy office. The very word "priest" now suggests to the minds of many devoted Christians the thought of the claim of "power over the souls of men," also "the power of opening and shutting heaven" (316), both of which are monstrous perversions of the truth. Perhaps, then, it is just as well that under Providence the very use of the word "priest" is disappearing in His New Church.

     But if we are to eliminate the word "priest" from the Writings, what are we to do with passages where both "priest" and "minister" occur? For example, in the explanation of Isaiah 65:6, "'Ye shall be called the priests of Jehovah, ministers of our God,' where celestial men are called 'priests of Jehovah,' and spiritual men 'ministers of God.'" (A. C. 1097.) If the Writings are a Divine Revelation, provided by the Lord for the permanent use of the New Church, and the terms there employed are Divinely chosen, are we to make substitutions to meet the changing sense or implication of words from age to age! And if the word "priest" carries with it a suggestion of the abuse of priestly power, may not a like thing be said of many other terms in the Writings, as also in the Old and New Testaments? But abuse does not take away use, as Mr. Teed observes in his chapter on "Piety," cited above.

     His willingness to make such a substitution as "minister" for "priest" may be explained in part by his general position in respect to the Writings. He indeed regards the Heavenly Doctrines as a Divine Revelation, but would subordinate this Revelation to the Bible, which alone he regards as the Word of the Lord. His view is thus set forth:

     This brings us to a consideration of the difference between doctrine and the Word. Many, it would seem, confuse the two. Divine doctrine is of the Word, and has been drawn forth therefrom for our enlightenment. But the Word Itself remains of course as that which is greater than all doctrine. It is an unfathomable well, whence we can drink, and drink again, to eternity. Doctrine, true doctrine, has been of the Mercy of the Lord drawn forth from the Word for our enlightenment, yet solely with the purpose that we might thereby understand the Word and be drawn more closely to it. Herein lies the great mistake of those who speak of the Writings as the Word. They are less than the Word, though they are divinely given.

181


Their purpose is not to give a substitute for the Word, but to open and re-establish the Word in the affections and lives of men. You may search from one end of Swedenborg's Writings to the other for any suggestion that his Writings are to be the Word of the New Church, and your search will prove vain. He ever exalts only the One Book as the Word, and directs all veneration to it. His Writings are to act as handmaiden to that Mistress.

     'Tis true we read, "What the Divine has revealed is with us the Word." (H. D. 251.) But only a few sentences further on we read, "there is in the Word an internal sense, which is spiritual for the angels, and an external sense which is natural for men. Hence it is that the conjunction of heaven with man is by means of the Word." (H. D. 252.) It is obvious to every unbiased reader that in the latter reference Swedenborg is referring to the Bible-and only the Bible. It is clear, therefore, by the ordinary process of reasoning, that where he uses the term, "The Word," just above, as we have quoted, there is no justification whatever for us to deem that the term has a different connotation. Whatever is revealed is of course of the Word, and the Writings of Swedenborg are without doubt a revelation. But what distinguishes them from the Word Itself is that they are not the Word in fulness: they tell of the Word and point to the Word. But the Word Itself remains a perfect Unity in Itself. We might put it thus:-The Word infolds the Writings; the Writings unfold the Word. (Pages 142, 143.)

     May we suggest that this is hardly "constructive comment "upon the New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine. For if the teachings in that work are subordinate to those in the Bible, how are they to be regarded as the guide to correct doctrine or straight teaching, "The New Orthodoxy"?

     The reasoning here employed by Mr. Teed, and the conclusion reached-that the Writings are to be subordinated to the Bible, which means that the spiritual sense of the Word, "which is the same as the doctrine which is in heaven" (N. J. H. D. 7) is to be subordinated to the natural sense, for that is logical-such a reasoning and such a conclusion seem to satisfy many in the New Church today. In a recent article on "Swedenborg's Writings and the Word of God," the Rev. H. C. Small goes so far as to say (italics his): "In following Swedenborg, we do so tentatively until his agreement with the Word is demonstrated. No good New-Churchman ever subordinates the Word to Swedenborg's dictum." (NEW-CHURCH MESSENGER, November 16, 1938, p.328.)

     In the General Church it has long been seen and taught that the Divine Truth revealed in the Writings as Divine Doctrine is the Word of the Lord for the New Church, and that the Scriptures are to be expounded in the light of this new Doctrinal Word.

182


Nor is it necessary to search far in the Writings to establish that view, as has been abundantly demonstrated in the booklet, Testimony of the Writings of the New Church concerning Themselves. How else are we to understand such statements as this: "Unless the Lord come again into the world in Divine Truth, which is the Word, no one can be saved." (T. C. R. 3.)

     Mr. Teed, with the editorial fairness for which he is distinguished, has published in THE NEW AGE (December, 1938) a review of The New Orthodoxy by Mr. W. R. Horner, who speaks most approvingly of the book as a whole, but objects to the author's view of the Writings. We trust that Mr. Teed will respond to these objections, which read as follows:

     The only place where the author's logic seems to fail is in the chapter on the Word. Dealing with the relations of the Writings to the Sacred Scriptures, he says: "They are less than the Word, though they are divinely given. . . . The Word infolds the Writings; the Writings unfold the Word." In other words, the Writings constitute what the Lord has revealed to us of the inner content of the Word. This is the spiritual sense, and the spiritual sense is infolded by the Word. What infolds is external; what is infolded is internal. The one is the body, the other the spirit. How then can the spirit be less than the body, the Writings less than the Word?

     "You may search," writes Mr. Teed, "from one end of Swedenborg's Writings to the other for any suggestion that his Writings are to be the Word of the New Church, and your search will prove vain." This is not convincing, for, as those who hold that the Writings are the Word point out, there is also no such claim to be found in the New Testament, and a very long period elapsed after the New Testament was written before it was regarded as part of the Word. To the early Christians all mention of the Word in the New Testament conveyed only the idea of the Old Testament. Whatever we mean by the Word, or however we differentiate between the Bible and the Writings, all those of us who regard the Writings as constituting the Second Coming really, in practice, regard the Writings as the Word for the New Church. If we want to settle a dispute on a matter of truth, we turn to the Writings. It is our final appeal. If we turn to the Bible we have to turn afterwards to the Writings, in order to find out what the Bible means. "To the Law and to the Testimony!" (Isaiah 8:20.) That means for us a reference to the Writings. And this, if I am not mistaken, holds good for Mr. Teed as well as for others who accept the Writings as the revelation of the Second Advent. (Page 459, 460.)

183


HOME INFLUENCE. 1939

HOME INFLUENCE.              1939

Family, School, Church. By the Rev. Frank F. Coulson. Manchester: New Church Sunday School Union, 34 John Dalton Street, 1938. Paper, 12 pages.

     In this Address to a Conference of the New-Church Sunday School Union, held at Kearsley, May 4, 1938, Mr. Coulson makes a strong appeal for the preservation of the children for the Church, and emphasizes the parental influence as the primary and most effective means to that end.

     He begins on high ground: "As a Being of Infinite Love the tender mercies of the Lord our Father are over all His works, and He is constantly exercised to promote the eternal welfare of all His children throughout the universe. He creates every single one of them. . . . He alone guides and guards the conception and birth of each infant; and no child is born who is not capable of being led to heaven." He then speaks of the two universal spheres which proceed from Him, which make one with the sphere of conjugial love and the sphere of the love of children (C. L. 385), and avers that "it is the aim of Providence that these two most general spheres should be the chief influences in the life of a child as it grows from infancy to adolescence; and this purpose is achieved most effectively through a family sphere in which the Lord and His kingdom are chiefly in view."

     He then proceeds to picture the results when the home sphere is lacking, and when it becomes necessary for the school to make its effort to atone for this handicap. But let us quote further from this excellent pamphlet:

     "You will notice that I am talking of spheres of influence and of love, rather than of matters of knowledge. I do so advisedly. The affectional sphere in and through which a child learns is far more important, and affects the child far more deeply and interiorly, than the actual knowledge imparted. This is not to say that the quality or quantity of knowledge is unimportant, and truth unnecessary. Far from it! But a little knowledge in which truth is vaguely and obscurely perceived, while yet there is an affirmative attitude to Divine things, and an inmost reverence, is far better than much worldly wisdom received in a competitive or negative sphere, with no innocent ascription of all good to the Lord and to parents as His deputies.

184




     "For this reason the family sphere is a far more potent factor in the development of the child mind than any other influence whatever. Little children, we are taught, 'know nothing and do nothing from themselves, but from others, especially from father and mother.' (C. L. 399.) Though they come gradually into a state of self-reliance, they are at first dependent chiefly upon parents or guardians. Next to these come brothers and sisters, though they, too, depend for their whole attitude to life on the parents in the first instance. . . ."

     "The question must now occur to us, `Have we in any measure, as a Sunday School Union, or in our own separate schools and Societies, acquiesced in the view of the unnatural parents of a decadent age that schools are a substitute for parental responsibility? May not such an outlook, which takes no active steps to counteract an adverse, or at least negative, parental influence, be to blame for the loss of so many scholars to the Church as we are fast becoming accustomed to? How can a child really learn to honor father and mother, when its parents fail, by neglecting the Lord and the Church, to keep the Fourth Commandment in its inward senses? On every hand in this age we see the Word of God made of none effect by the traditions and customs of men. Family life languishes, fails, is disrupted; the Lord's most potent means of influence in the world is destroyed. . . ."

     "The New Churchman cannot with impunity acquiesce in the disorderly conditions that are accepted in the world around. He cannot afford to dispense with family worship, a daily gathering of father and mother and children before the Lord, simply because it is not fashionable, or he finds it inconvenient. Nor can he with impunity seek the material success of his children at the expense of their true spiritual training in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. If he sends them to a secular school where they are taught in a sphere of agnosticism or even atheism, or in the religious backwash of Protestant fatalism or Catholic superstition, with or without the old dogmas of tripersonalism or faith alone, and does not warn them against it (at the least!); or if he sends them to a Sunday School, and looks upon it as a substitute for, and not merely an aid to, his own religious training of the children the Lord has given him; he must not be surprised if, when his children reach maturer years, they are alienated from the Church to which he gives lip service, but which has not entered into his home life as its radiant center.

185




     "We deplore the fact that children of New Church parents are frequently lost to the Church. We deplore also, though it is less surprising, that the scholars who come to us from non-New Church homes, or homes with a mixed religious sphere, mostly leave us in adolescence. But if the parents seldom, if ever, attend a church, let alone bring a sphere of heaven and the church into the home, how can we expect the children to do better! That occasionally they do, is surely a tribute to the magnificent work which Sunday Schools have accomplished, and to the Lord's power to make good use of secondary influences when the more essential parental sphere has failed to serve Him. Yet this condition is not one we should desire or accept without an attempt to enlist the full power of parental influence on the side of the Lord."
MARCHANT FUND. 1939

MARCHANT FUND.              1939

     We are informed that Mr. George Marchant, of Australia, has withdrawn the fund which he provided for the production of a New Church Version of the Word, and that work on this undertaking will cease when the balance of the income now on hand is exhausted. (NEW-CHURCH MESSENGER, February 15, p. 108.)

     It was in the year 1920 that Mr. Marchant offered to set aside a fund of f12,000 (about $60,000) for this purpose. A few years later the offer was accepted by the General Conference and General Convention, and committees appointed by those bodies have devoted themselves to the task ever since. Accounts of the project have appeared from time to time in NEW CHURCH LIFE, notably in 1922 (p. 581), 1923 (p. 565), and 1925 (p. 621).

     We understand that the withdrawal of the fund was due to the adverse exchange, which entailed considerable loss in remitting to England and America, on which account Mr. Marchant decided to spend the money in Australia, devoting it to the building of churches for the New Church societies there.

186


Church News 1939

Church News       Various       1939

     ACADEMY SCHOOLS.

     In the course of the present school-year, the monthly meetings of the General Faculty have considered a variety of subjects in the field of education, involving both theory and practice. These were presented by members of the Faculty, and followed by fruitful discussions. The topics were as follows:

     "New Church Education Through Physical Education," by Miss Jeannette P. Caldwell. (October 4.)

     "An Analysis of the Contributions of Bishop N. D. Pendleton to the Furtherance of New Church Education," by the Rev. Dr. William Whitehead. (November 1.)

     "Report on the Meetings of the Middle Atlantic States' Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools." These meetings were held in Atlantic City, N. J., and were attended by the Rev. Karl R. Alden, who gave the Faculty an account of the deliberations. (November 29.)

     "Some Thoughts on the Teaching of Geometry," by the Rev. Dr. C. E. Doering, who dealt especially with the application of the truths of the New Church to the minds of the students in the teaching of Geometry and other subjects. (January 10.)

     "Personality of the Parts of Speech," by the Rev. Karl R. Alden. (February 7.)

     "The Use of the Term Infinite in Mathematics," by Mr. Edward F. Allen. (March 7.)

     Founders' Day.

     On the evening of January 12, the anniversary of Founders' Day was marked by an informal gathering of the members of the Board and Faculty with their wives and a few invited guests. Mr. and Mrs. Harold F. Pitcairn were our host and hostess on this occasion.          

     On the invitation of Bishop de Charms, who was in the chair, Dr. Doering gave a resume of his General Faculty paper, "Some Thoughts on the Teaching of Geometry," in which he dwelt upon the idea of bringing the spiritual light of the Writings into all the courses of the curriculum, and urged the need of a unity of thought and purpose in all our teaching, this to be brought about by ad emphasis upon the great essentials of the Doctrines, in respect to which all minds are in agreement.

     The subject thus presented was discussed in serious vein by a number of speakers. It was recognized that varying views and interpretations of Revelation and its application in the fields of knowledge are inevitable, and that harmonizing and adjustment calls for a united effort on the part of those who are engaged in that "conflict of the ages" whereby the New Church is to be established in an alien world. The meeting closed in an atmosphere of confidence and optimism, as we recalled in toast and song the valiant stand taken by the Founders of the Academy for a development of the New Church by means of a distinctive education of the young.

     THE HAGUE, HOLLAND.

     Members and friends of our society to the number of twenty gathered in the Francis home on February 13 for a social evening in commemoration of the sixtieth birthday of Mr. Francis. We were all in a gay mood, and after the reading of a poetical effort by one of the guests, which disclosed many tricks of the jubilarian in his early youth, and the collective singing of an appropriate refrain, Dr. Iungerich proposed the toast in honor of our host.

187


As representative of those over sixty-the "age of wisdom"-he welcomed Mr. Francis "among the other wisemen in the society!" Mr. Beyerinck also gave a very nice speech. We were further occupied with games, and it was close to midnight when we parted.

     On the following Sunday morning we enjoyed an instructive meeting in the home of Miss van Trigt under the leadership of Mr. Beyerinck. He read his translation from the Latin of a chapter of The Worship and Love of God, which explained the birth of the first man in paradise. And the remarks on this theme induced very interesting questions. Mr. Beyerinck hopes to continue with other phases of the same subject at future meetings.

     For the time being the weekly doctrinal class will be held on Friday evenings in the Engeltjes home.
     LAMBERTINE FRANCIS.

     LONDON, ENGLAND.

     Michael Church.

     Christmas Week in England 1938! Well, the less said about it the better if you do not enjoy frozen pipes, dislocated train service and abandoned cars. Lovely and picturesque-"just like a Christmas card," everyone said; but it did not facilitate traveling, and I am afraid the two special services held,-one for the children, the other on Christmas Day-suffered somewhat in their attendance. For both occasions the church was decorated with evergreen, and Mr. Cooper also arranged for the children's delight a Christmas Representation, showing the Shepherd's approach to the Manger. The Pastor gave a special address to the little ones-about 20 were present -explaining how the Lord came to make all happy, but that our happiness depends upon our obedience to what He teaches us.

     After Christmas week, with its dedication to home festivities, followed the church parties. Miss Mary Lewin took charge of the children's party on January 5, at which games and good things to eat contributed to the fun of 25 little people. The New Year's Party for the older folk was an energetic affair of games and competitions. Mentally and physically we were kept jumping. We were even lined up for a spelling bee and were "gonged" after the B. B. C. manner; and though perhaps not quite under such exacting standards as demanded by the Trans-Atlantic bees, still we deported ourselves with credit-but alas, the men won! No less a person than the Pastor himself provided the party with a recitation. We knew that Mr. Acton liked traveling, and does quite a lot of it, but were unprepared for the gusto and evident sympathy he showed for the Gentlemen of the Road when he gave us a Highwayman Ballad.

     The Young People's meeting had the pleasure of listening to a paper on "The African," read by Miss Richards, a visitor from South Africa. Michael Church has been happy to welcome her as one of its own members during her stay in London.

     On Sunday, January 29, the Communion was administered at the morning service. In the evening, after an ample tea provided by Mrs. and Miss Cooper, addresses were given by the Revs. Victor J. Gladish, W. H. Acton and A. W. Acton. Bishop Tilson was to have spoken, but owing to illness, his place was taken at short notice by the Rev. W. H. Acton. We were glad to welcome some Colchester friends and Mr. Owen Pryke from Chelmaford. The papers, as one member suggested, were witness to that never failing wonder that there is always something new to discover in the theme of Swedenborg's Birthday. Much of the discussion revolved around the Rev. W. H. Acton's suggestion that the future man of the church will be a conscious inhabitant of both worlds, almost as Swedenborg was. Several interpretations were put forward on the phrase quoted, and it was finally left as an amiable point of difference.

188




     Interesting Reading Meetings are held from time to time by the Wembly Group,-the little scattering of friends outside London. A lantern lecture on Somerset, by Mr. Sam Lewin of Bath, and a paper by Mr. pike on "The Responsibilities of the Layman," should be mentioned among our activities.

     Our busy Pastor finds his way by road and rail to the many scattered New Church homesteads where he is welcomed. It is a happy thought to feel that there are a number of little stars twinkling in the expanse of our Church in England; but what a big and bright sun we should make, were we all gathered to the one central spot! We do our best to radiate light, and if we feel sometimes a little as if the fog obscures us, yet we have our clear and cloudless days.

     The winter, more severe than usual, has proved distressingly so for such old campaigners as Bishop Tilson, and a severe attack of bronchial pleurisy has deprived us of his presence at meetings during the last few weeks. Mrs. Tilson, unhappily, has had her share of illness too, and it will be a bright day when we can welcome them back. We are happy to say that latest reports give more reassuring accounts of their health.

     To speak of an event of which our friends over the water need not be told, our Pastor announced his engagement to Miss Rachel Kendig, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. R. Kendig, of Kenovo, Pa. Along with the congratulations from the society there seemed to be quite few felicitations upon his having been able to keep the event so profoundly secret until its official announcement. Here's happiness to them! And may Michael Church be permitted to extend a very warm welcome to Miss Kendig what times she comes to England!

     One innovation we would record before closing this report. It is the custom of many churches in England to place what is called a "Wayside Pulpit" outside the building, bearing a quotation that may arrest the attention of passers-by. Michael Church now shows such a board with a frequently renewed quotation from the Writings prominently displayed.
     E. E.

     TORONTO, CANADA.

     Our Swedenborg's Birthday celebration this year took a rather simpler form than usual, but one conceded by many to be a very pleasant change. On the evening of January 29, quite a group of people gathered in the social room for an informal evening of speeches, songs and refreshments. Interspersed with suitable songs were three papers on the subjects of "Swedenborg the Man," "Swedenborg the Scientist," and "Swedenborg the Servant of the Lord," presented by Mrs. Sydney Parker, Messrs. David Richardson and George Baker, respectively. A charmingly laid table, emphasizing the Swedish colors, presided over by the even more charming Mrs. Gyllenhaal, who poured tea, attracted considerable attention, as did the gay and colorful Swedish lassies who waited upon the birthday guests most attentively. This pleasant celebration was under the direction of Mr. and Mrs. Ray Brown.

     Owing to whooping cough and other illnesses the children's celebration was postponed twice and finally canceled.

     Meanwhile the other church functions have been maintained, though with a slimmer and more uncertain attendance than usual, owing to the afore-mentioned ailments.

     Among the social activities there have been: a St. Valentine Dance, "put on" by the young people; a ladies bridge at the home of Mrs. George Baker, primarily to raise money for the Ladies Circle, and secondly providing opportunity for an enjoyable social evening; a meeting of the Sons at which Mr. John Parker presented a paper on "Anxiety meetings of the Alpha Pi, the recently organized club for the Toronto Young folk; and a weekly dancing class for a group of six "young-people-in-the making," under the auspices of Theta Alpha and very ably conducted by Miss Zoe Gyllenhaal and assistants.

189




     An interesting series of sermons dealing with portions of the Sermon on the Mount has been delivered by the pastor at several Sunday services during the past two months.
     M. S. P.

     KITCHENER, ONTARIO.

     Swedenborg's Birthday was celebrated by the children at a luncheon on Friday, January 27. Members of the older grades read compositions dealing with different phases of Swedenborg's life. After the luncheon games were played.

     Mr. Norbert Rogers made a very able toastmaster at the society banquet on Sunday evening, January 29. There were toasts and songs, and the paper of the evening was presented by the Rev. Henry Heinrichs, who treated the subject of "Swedenborg the Philosopher." After the tables had been removed we had the great pleasure of seeing the moving pictures taken by Bishop and Mrs. de Charms on their journey to South Africa and Australia, as Mr. Rogers identified the Durban members for us. These were followed by some Bryn Athyn pictures. Mr. Wilfred Schnarr of Toronto very kindly assisted in the showing of the pictures. We now have young women's and young men's study groups, the former meeting at the Pastor's home every second Thursday, and the young men on the alternate Thursdays. These meetings are very informal, with a general discussion of a subject chosen for the occasion or any subject which may come up. They have proven very interesting and useful gatherings.
     D. K.

     ARBUTUS, MARYLAND.

     Since taking over Father Waelchli's assignment of quarterly visits to the Arbutus Circle, I have been helped by having either Mr. Ariel Gunther or Mr. and Mrs. Donald Fitzpatrick drive me down from Bryn Athyn in time to make a call or two on Saturday before the evening class, which is sometimes held at Laurel, accompanied by a supper. Twice the Washington group has joined us there. The Sunday morning service, closing with the Holy Supper, is always held in the Arbutus chapel, which used to serve for the kindergarten maintained by Mother Coffin, and for classes in which the Principia was taught by Pastor Iungerich. But Arbutus did not grow, owing largely to the absence later of either a priest or a teacher; and when the Rev. T. S. Harris began his long and most faithful service in Arbutus, there were only about five resident New Church families.

     The town of Halethorpe, with its station on the Pennsylvania Railroad, had outgrown the dream-village on the hill overlooking it, and Father Harris was not able to reassemble the scattered society. Even the attractive parsonage was sold. As usual in such cases, however, most of those who left found their way to other General Church centers. When Father Waelchli, after his first official "retirement" as Visiting Pastor, was induced, for old affection's sake, to undertake the quarterly visits above referred to, he was sustained by the unfailing loyalty and appreciation of three of the Gunther families, and enough others to make the attendance average about twelve adults, together with all four of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Rowland Trimble of Laurel.

     The place was looking run down, weed-grown and unpainted, and after a struggle the good old organ wheezed to a full stop, and we had to fall back on Mr. Herman Gunther's cornet, which he had not used for years. Even the silver-toned school bell, cast in 1757 by Paul Revere, had been chained fast against unauthorized ringing. Last winter, however, two things occurred that seemed to start us again on the way back to some active life. First, the revival of a real District Assembly at Bryn Athyn last Spring gave new hope and confidence to several of the Arbutus members who attended. (We hope this year that more will come on May 6th and 7th.)

190


The members arranged to have the organ reconditioned (good as new) and to recondition the chapel also. Then, by a little steady calling, and by the help of one or two cars, our attendance went up to twenty. So you see, all that remains is to get our friends who can make it to come to our class at Laurel on Saturday evening, or at least to the service at Arbutus on Sunday, April 16, one week after Easter.

     As a final news note I would record that our oldest pioneer, Mr. Henry Crebe, died last winter in his 95th year, and that Mrs. Roscoe Coffin passed away on March 1st. Her wonderful voice was a great help to the Calvert Street choir in earlier years and later to us, after she had married Mr. Coffin, who is still our faithful organist. Mrs. Coffin died while visiting her daughter, Mrs. August Troutman, and was buried near Pittsburgh, a memorial service being held later in Baltimore.
     HOMER SYNNESTVEDT.

     EUROPE.

     Czechoslovakia.

     "New Church people who have followed recent developments in Czechoslovakia will be relieved to know that only a few members of the Church there have been separated from the main body, so that the Rev. Janecek's flock remains largely the same as before.

     "Mr. Janecek's translation work goes on without interruption. Quite recently the Czech edition of the Doctrine of the Lord was issued from the press, this being the eleventh volume of the Writings that has been published. The Doctrine of Life will follow shortly."

     Germany.

     "Last autumn, for the first time in history, members of the New Church from all parts of what is known as 'Greater Germany' met together in Berlin, and 65 persons took part in the sacramental service. A new reading circle, meeting once a week, has been constituted at Darmstadt, a short distance from Frankfort on the Main.

     "For no less than tour years there has been in Berlin an isolated student of Swedenborg, studying his works in the State Library, and desiring to get into contact with other persons similarly interested. Recently, before delivering a lecture on Swedenborg to the Occult Sciences Society, he got in touch with the Rev. Eric L. G. Reissner, pastor of the Berlin Society, in order to show him his manuscript. And then, to the great surprise of them both, it was discovered that all the time he had been studying the Writings he had, without knowing it, been living in the same street in which the meeting hall of the Berlin Society is situated, and only a few minutes walk from the hall!" (New-Church Herald, February 18, 1939.)

     PHILADELPHIA, PA.

     If you want to find out something, end a student around with a notebook and pencil! Miss Esther Nilson has been interviewing me, and also other old members of the Advent Church, and what a procession of vicissitudes we recall! It is enough for our present purpose to recall the latest Phoenix rise, as it were, from the ashes, which began a few years ago under the inspiring leadership of the Rev. Philip Odhner, who had charge of the West Side group, while the present writer had the North Side group, each of which maintained a weekly meeting that was very much
alive, although never very large.

     "Phil," as we affectionately call him, prodded by a pushing set of younger men, started biweekly services in a hotel parlor. His group seemed to be all eager for it, but the older men of my group, aware that overanxious young bloods are not the best supporters of a society in the long run, were skeptical. However, I attended their services, and was so impressed by the sphere of worship that I offered to help, and in the end we found an ideal hall at 1714 Chestnut Street for a nominal rent, and the Bishop arranged that Mr. Odhner and I should officiate there on alternate Sundays, the two groups continuing distinct as before.

191




     Several banquets each year and a joint picnic each summer helped to restore a stronger sense of basic unity, without which a General Church society does not thrive. Also, the care of the children must not be neglected. After Philip left for South Africa, and I conducted all the biweekly services, it developed that I had not the strength to hold the children's service each time. So we arranged with Miss Anne Waiters to take the younger children out during the Interlude for instruction. She has done such excellent work that several families who live at a distance are able to attend our services regularly. Miss Esther Grote also helped for two years by teaching the children to sing the Christmas and Easter songs. We had ten such children, but removals have reduced that to six. The same cause has reduced the attendance at services from the maximum of forty to about twenty-five.

     The Rev. Elmo C. Acton is in charge of the West Side group, while I have continued with the North Side. Our task is to maintain the strong sphere of worship in which the two join, and in the classes to sustain interest in the study of the Heavenly Doctrines and at the same time instruct newcomers. It is likely that we shall always be losing members who move to Bryn Athyn, where they can have so many advantages, especially for their children.

     With this view of the situation, it will be clear why we are more concerned with a strong and affirmative sphere of worship, interest in the doctrines, and mutual friendliness, than in the tidal fluctuations of numbers. Two advantages arise from the very smallness of our two groups,-the opportunity to enjoy the warm atmosphere of several homes, and a chance to welcome newcomers and meet their specific needs.

     To see and appreciate all this, one need only attend a Sunday service or a joint meeting of the two classes such as the one held at my house in Huntingdon Valley last week. Thirty-five members assembled, two cars meeting bus and street cars at Fox Chase, other cars bringing members and their neighbors. How can one describe feelings, not of merely ordinary friendliness and festivity, but such as warm the hearts that are drawn together in the sphere of a great cause, in this case the greatest of all!

     The Rev. and Mrs. Elmo Acton were there to help greet the guests, and the commodious parlor, with its blazing hearth, and the amiable hostess, known to all as "Marie Lou," prepared us for the arrival of Dr. and Mrs. Hugo Odhner. The announcement cards had promised that Dr. Odhner would provide the spiritual treat, and surely he outdid himself with his talk on the unity of the two worlds in our minds, the spiritual world being seen in everything of endeavor or urge, and the natural world, while limiting our range, being so necessary to bring the spiritual down into our lives here, where exists all that is basic to reception and usefulness, both to ourselves and the other world, which has no other ultimate basis.

     Such questioning and discussion as followed are unknown, and probably unattainable, in a large company or more public place. At ten o'clock I had to interrupt, lest we injure the use by allowing these occasions to run too late. So a toast to the Advent Church, with the loving cup passed around, concluded this very happy meeting.
     HOMER SYNNESTVEDT.

192


PHILADELPHIA DISTRICT ASSEMBLY 1939

PHILADELPHIA DISTRICT ASSEMBLY              1939




     Announcements.


     Members and friends of the General Church of the New Jerusalem are invited to attend the Philadelphia District Assembly, which will be held at Bryn Athyn, Pa., Saturday and Sunday, May 6 and 7, 1939.

     Program.

     Saturday, May 6 at 3 p.m.-Session of the Assembly, with Address by Bishop George de Charms.

     Saturday, May 6 at 7 p.m.-Banquet in the Assembly Hall. Toastmaster, Mr. Francis L. Frost.

     Sunday, May 7 at 11 a.m.-Divine Worship.

     Those expecting to attend the Assembly are requested to notify the Secretary to the Bishop, Bryn Athyn, Pa., in order that provision may be made for their entertainment.
     GEORGE DE CHARMS,
          Bishop.
MIDDLE WEST ASSEMBLY 1939

MIDDLE WEST ASSEMBLY       GEORGE DE CHARMS       1939

     Members and friends of the General Church of the New Jerusalem are invited to attend an Assembly which will be held at Detroit, Michigan, on Saturday and Sunday, May 13 and 14, 1939.

     For full particulars and reservations, please communicate with Mr. J. E. Lindrooth, Y. M. C. A. Building, 220 North Michigan Avenue, Saginaw, Michigan.
     GEORGE DE CHARMS,
          Bishop.

193


DISCARDING ANONYMITY 1939

DISCARDING ANONYMITY       ALFRED ACTON       1939


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LIX          MAY, 1939           No. 5
     "By Emanuel Swedenborg, a Swede.

     The words quoted above are translated from the title-page of the original edition of Conjugial Love, published by Swedenborg in 1768. New Churchmen have sometimes wondered why Swedenborg here added the words, "A Swede"; and there have not been wanting some curious explanations. Thus, it has been thought that he wished thereby to emphasize that the work was not a theological work, and so had not the same authority as those works which were theological; therefore he published the book with a caution as to its value! Another explanation has been that Swedenborg intended to indicate that the work was specially intended for the Swedish nation-presumably because they needed it more than others!

     Yet the reason for the title "Emanuel Swedenborg, a Swede" is obvious. Swedenborg published the Arcana Celestia and other works, such as Heaven and Hell, the Last Judgment, etc., anonymously, from 1749 to 1758. During these years he was careful to preserve this anonymity. But in 1760 the secret began to leak out, and was known to many persons. (2 Doc., p. 395.) It did not come out in public print, however, and Swedenborg determined to maintain his anonymity. (2 Doc., p. 231.) He therefore continued to publish his theological works anonymously, namely, the Four Doctrines, the Continuation concerning the Last Judgment, and Divine Love and Wisdom in 1763, Divine Providence in 1764, and Apocalypse Revealed in 1766.

     After this, however, Swedenborg's name was too well known to make anonymity anything but a mere form.

194


For his teachings in the Apocalypse Revealed were already being widely talked of in the diocese of Gothenburg. His next work, therefore, Conjugial Love, published in 1768, bore on its title-page the name of the author, Emanuel Swedenborg. The word "Suecus" (a Swede) was added because the Latin language was common to the learned of all the countries of Europe, and it was not unusual for an author to add his nationality, and even, in some cases, the name of his native city. Thus Harvey's epoch-making works, such as The Circulation of the Blood and Generation, were inscribed "Autore Gulielmo Harveo, Angle" (by William Harvey, an Englishman). Today this is entirely unnecessary, since the language itself in which a book is written announces the nationality of its author.

     The next work published by Swedenborg was the Brief Exposition of the Doctrine of the New Church (1769), which was also inscribed, "By Emanuel Swedenborg, a Swede." In the same year, he printed (rather than published, for the little work bears no publisher's imprint) the "intercourse between the Soul and Body, . . . by Emanuel Swedenborg," and this was followed, in 1771, by his last published work, " The True Christian Religion, by Emanuel Swedenborg, Servant of the Lord Jesus Christ."

     Reasons for Anonymity.

     All the Writings of the New Church are so closely associated with the name of Emanuel Swedenborg-there being not a single reprint of those Writings which does not bear that name on its title-page-that it would hardly occur to the modern reader that those Writings were, for the most part, published anonymously by Swedenborg himself.

     The first volume of the Arcana was published in London in September, 1749, and, like all the subsequent works published by Swedenborg, it appeared without the imprint of a publisher's name. Moreover, Swedenborg gave strict injunctions to the printer not to divulge the name of its author (2 Doc. 232 note, 494). After seeing this volume through the press, Swedenborg went to Aix-la-Chapelle, and, apparently with the purpose of more closely preserving his anonymity, instead of communicating his new address to Mr. Lewis, the printer of the Arcana, he had his letters sent to a Mr. Wretman, a Swedish friend in Amsterdam, by whom they were forwarded on to his address in Aix-la-Chapelle.

195


By this means Swedenborg received several letters from Mr. Lewis, and it is to one of these that he refers in the Spiritual Diary, no. 4422, when he writes, toward the end of November, 1749,* "I received a letter [stating] that in two months, no more than four copies [of the Arcana] have been sold."
     * See 2 Doc. 223.

     Swedenborg remained in Aix-la-Chapelle for over a year, during which time he wrote volume II of the Arcana, sending the MS. to London, probably through Mr. Wenngren. The third and subsequent volumes, together with Earths in the Universe, Heaven and Hell, the Last Judgment, etc., he wrote in Stockholm, from 1751 to 1758, in which latter year he commenced the Apocalypse Explained.

     Up till then, no one had any suspicions as to the identity of the author of these writings. But, in the Spring of 1760, it became known in certain higher circles in Stockholm that they were the work of Swedenborg.* The result was that the latter received visits from Count Tessin and others who eagerly questioned him concerning his spiritual experiences (2 Doc. 398). He spoke to these gentlemen with the utmost frankness, and without the slightest attempt to disguise the fact that he was the author of the works in question (2 Doc. 396).
     * It is very probable that Swedenborg himself was the original cause of his identity becoming known, for it was characteristic of him to speak without reserve to all who showed any interest in spiritual questions.

     Despite this, however, he had no idea of publicly avowing himself as their author. For in the autumn of 1760, in answer to a letter from his friend Count Bonde, requesting permission to disclose his name to a Dutch gentleman who had read the theological works with great interest, and, having heard that their author was a Swede, wished to learn the name of that author, Swedenborg wrote that, while he ought himself to send a reply to the Dutch gentleman, whose letter the Baron had enclosed, yet "as it concerns the writings which were lately published in England, and which appeared without my name, I must not enter into any literary connection with any one abroad, and thereby acknowledge myself as their author.

196


But it is different in my own country. Those abroad, however, may be answered through the medium of others, and I therefore humbly beg that you will remember me kindly to him, and excuse my not being able to give him an answer with my own hand. You will express to him also my pleasure at his having derived satisfaction and light from the perusal of my writings, which is a sign of his having been in a state of enlightenment from heaven" (2 Doc. 231-32).

     Here Swedenborg plainly gives Count Bonde permission to disclose an identity which he himself did not feel free to disclose-at any rate, to foreigners.

     The words "it is different in my own country" may seem to imply that Swedenborg was willing to proclaim his authorship to his fellow Swedes. The known facts, however, suggest another interpretation, namely, that since his identity was already known to a select circle of his fellow countrymen, being those who had heard it from men who had themselves visited Swedenborg, he would have no hesitation in admitting the truth of what they had heard, should they make inquiry of him in person. His whole character precluded him from doing otherwise. But to make a public declaration, to be spread to the world, was another matter.

     For this reason, Swedenborg continued to publish the Writings anonymously. Thus, the Four Doctrines, Continuation concerning the Last Judgment, and Divine Love and Wisdom, appeared in 1763, Divine Providence in 1764, and Apocalypse Revealed in 1766. After this, however, Swedenborg had become so widely known as the author of these works that further anonymity would be nothing but an empty form. His works were already read by many persons in Stockholm and Gothenburg, and their authorship was so well known in Europe that Cuno, in 1768, when noting his first meeting with Swedenborg, takes it for granted that all knew him to be the writer of the new revelations.

     Therefore, in 1768, when Swedenborg published his next work, Conjugial Love, he wrote on the title-page "By Emanuel Swedenborg, a Swede." With this, his anonymity ceased, for all his subsequent published works carried the name of their author on their title-page.

     What was the reason for this anonymity, so long and so consistently observed?

197


That it was inspired by any fear of attack or persecution is out of the question, for on all occasions, and at all times, Swedenborg freely acknowledged his identity. Moreover, on many occasions, as, for instance, during the whole of the Gothenburg persecution, he showed himself to be without any fear. So deep was his conviction that the Lord had commissioned him, so profound his belief in the power of the truth thus revealed from heaven, that he never hesitated openly to speak of it, and boldly to resist any attempt to infringe on his right to publish it and to spread it abroad-as witness his bold conduct in appealing against the confiscation of copies of Conjugial Love by the Swedish ecclesiastical authorities.

     For the same reason, it cannot be supposed that, in preserving his anonymity, Swedenborg was influenced by fear of contradiction or ridicule; for there is abundant testimony as to his willingness to speak of his visions. Thus Cuno, who saw much of him in Amsterdam in 1768 and 1770, says: "I have often heard him relate similar things in large parties consisting of ladies and gentlemen, among whom I knew very well were persons given to mockery; but to my great astonishment, no one thought of laughing. As long as he speaks, it is as if every person who hears him was charmed, and compelled to believe him. . . . If any one is curious to see him, he has no great difficulty; all that is necessary for him to do is to go to his house, where he admits every one " (2 Doc. 485).

     Two answers are suggested to the question which has thus been raised:

     First: That in publishing his works anonymously, Swedenborg was obeying a direct command given him by the Lord; and that in 1768 the command was changed. There might seem to be some support for this, in the answer which Swedenborg is reported (by Bank Commissioner Sandels) to have made to Count von Rijpken, when the latter suggested the omission of the Memorabilia. The answer was that he had been "commanded by the Lord to write and publish them"; and Swedenborg adds: "Do not suppose that without such a positive order I should have thought of publishing things which I well knew many would regard as falsehoods, and which would bring ridicule upon myself" (1 Doc. 66).

     A second answer as to the reason why Swedenborg observed anonymity is, that he profoundly acknowledged and perceived (perhaps this may be interpreted as being the same as a command by the Lord), that, unlike his previous works, his theological writings were an "immediate revelation" (H. H. 1), and that for this reason they were not to be published or to be read as the works or speculation of a man-especially of a man who had been so prominent in the eyes of the learned world.

198


This reasoning may also have been confirmed by the thought that the reviews of his later philosophical works had been couched in language expressing somewhat of disdainful contempt. He was unwilling that the reading of the new revelation should be colored by impressions thus obtained, that is to say, that the reputation of a man should bias the mind of the reader of Divine Revelation, whether for good or for ill. He desired that the Lord alone should speak, and alone should influence and teach. This would make it easy to understand why, when his anonymity became so widely disclosed, Swedenborg was willing to give it up. The Revelation had been before the world for nearly twenty years. The Writings had been widely read and discussed, apart from any influence that might be exercised by the name of their author, and they had already received acceptance by some. And now that the name of their author was so well known, anonymity became a mere artifice without use or meaning.

     For myself, I hold to the second of these alternative answers, if there is any essential difference between them. But here the matter must be left. Perhaps another man or a future age will have greater light on the subject.
     ALFRED ACTON.

199


SEEKING THE KINGDOM OF GOD 1939

SEEKING THE KINGDOM OF GOD       Rev. NORBERT H. ROGERS       1939

     "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:33.)

     The lesson of our text is both exalted and practical. It has to do with the supreme ends which are to govern man's life, to which all mediate things are to be subordinated. It teaches that man is to dedicate his life to a seeking after spiritual treasures with singleness of purpose. And it demands of man a trust in the Divine Providence for the necessaries of life,-a trust which is in itself a treasure of inestimable value. The confidence in the Divine that is demanded is such that it is, as it were, a test by which is disclosed how actual spiritual ends are with man. It is a gateway through which man must pass, in order that he may realize his spiritual aspirations.

     The "kingdom of God" and the "righteousness" which man is exhorted to seek after as the chief of all desirable things are not nebulous entities. They are not mere generalities whose vagueness prohibits their attainment. They are not sublimities which are to be merely spoken of and alluded to with awe and hollow reverence. God's kingdom and righteousness are real, actual and specific things, which can and must be seen as such. They can and must be sought after and attained by man. They can and must pass beyond the plane of thoughts and words into that of intentions and acts. This is shown in our Doctrines, where we read:

     "That 'the kingdom of the Lord' means the reception of Divine Good and Divine Truth, thus with those who receive, can be seen from this, that with the angels of heaven and with the men of the church the Lord reigns through that which proceeds from Him, which is commonly called Divine Good and Divine Truth, also justice (or righteousness) and judgment, and also love and faith. It is through these that the Lord reigns; consequently these are properly the Lord's kingdom with those who receive them; for when these reign with angels and men, the Lord Himself reigns." (A. E. 683.)

200


More specifically in the same number we read: "In the spiritual sense, by 'kingdom' is meant Divine Truth, and by 'righteousness' Divine Good. . . . But in the supreme sense 'the kingdom' means the Lord, since He is the all of His kingdom, and in the same sense 'righteousness' signifies the Lord's merit."

     Aligning this teaching with what is taught concerning repentance, reformation and regeneration, we can see the practicality of our text. For in the exhortation to "Seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness," there is implied the necessity of shunning specific evils as sins against God, of acquiring particular truths of faith, and of making particular goods actual in our lives, that He may reign in us.

     More than a superficial examination of the subject of our text is needed to grasp the full import of its teaching. "Take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matt. 6:31, 33.) From a natural point of view these words would lead us to imagine that providing for our natural needs is forbidden us. Or they seem to demand of us a trust in the Divine Providence of the Lord which is unnatural. And the trust demanded is indeed unnatural. It is of the kind that is wholly beyond the ability of the merely natural man. For it is a spiritual trust that is asked for,-a trust based upon the understanding of the internal sense of the Word, and upon a true concept of the laws governing the operation of the Divine Providence.

     Be it understood that the Divine Providence of the Lord looks perpetually to the eternal welfare of mankind, and that it provides for this end in every least detail of the individual's life. Be it understood further that the two fundamental laws under which the Divine Providence operates are: that man is to be maintained as a free agent in spiritual matters, and that his regeneration is to be effected as if from himself. These laws of the Divine Providence may be recast in another form, revealing more directly their application to our subject. It is necessary that man desire to improve his lot, and that he expend energy in progressing toward the attainment of that end. Thus, notwithstanding his inclinations to the contrary, he must exert himself.

201


This is a spiritual law which also obtains in the natural world. Thus man must be both spiritually and naturally active and provident. He, therefore, who sees in our text a teaching justifying his improvidence is sadly mistaken. It behooves him to make a more thorough investigation of what is involved.

     That man is not to remain inactive, awaiting a miraculous dispensation of the necessaries of life, but that he should attend to their acquisition himself, is not only taught by implication in the laws of the Divine Providence; we are also taught directly in the Word that it is the part of wisdom to be prudent,-that provisions are to be made for the continued sustenance of life. We are commanded to "lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven," by means of which our spiritual life is maintained. And also the doctrine of uses and of charity, as well as the other doctrines, proclaim the necessity of attending to the needs of our natural life. The sum of these teachings is, that man is to provide the necessaries of life for himself and his family, to the end that he may be in a fit position to perform uses. And in one respect to perform uses may be rightly defined as being to relieve want and to supply that which is needed. Thus to provide one's self with the necessities of life is in itself a use.

     Love to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor are exercised in the performance of uses. It is for this reason that heaven, where these two loves rule supreme, is called the kingdom of uses. And in so far as uses are performed here on earth, so far does the order of heaven descend into natural things and prevail over them. This bringing heaven down into the world-into the ultimate acts of our lives-is the prime purpose of our natural existence. By it we ourselves come into the order of heaven, and are receptive of heavenly influxes; or, what is the same, by it heaven is established in us. For this reason we have the teaching that regeneration is attained through the performance of uses, and not apart from it.

     If we grasp what is involved in this teaching, we are able to see clearly that all the activities in which we engage are opportunities to perform uses. Every least incident confronting us in our daily life, which requires the exercise of choice, offers us a chance to ultimate our love and charity, and thus is an opportunity Divinely provided to be the means for our regeneration.

202


Indeed, every least incident of our life is a challenge to our willingness to "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness."

     From these considerations it might seem that human prudence actually plays the dominant role in our life of regeneration. And from these considerations alone it would seem that the Divine Providence exerts at most but a slight influence upon the course and tenor of our lives, and therefore that what is actually required is but a nominal trust in Providence. Yet this is not the case, as is well known to us. The part taken by human prudence in our life of regeneration is as nothing when compared with that of the Divine Providence. The trust that is demanded of us is a real trust,-an absolute confidence in the truth of the statement: "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." And to make sure that we shall not misconstrue the meaning of these words, the verse that follows reads: "Take therefore no thought for the morrow; for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." (Matt. 6:34.)

     We read in the Writings that he who seeks the kingdom of God is given "all things that tend to his salvation, according to his desire." (A. E. 683.) This is not a meaningless statement. For the Lord provides us with a multitude of goods and truths, which are the food, drink and clothing of our spirit, in order that we may not lack spiritually. And His munificence is not confined to what is spiritual. If we look about us, we see on all sides the bountiful way in which the Lord has provided for our natural needs. He created and sustains the world and all things in it, to the end that man may have food, clothing and shelter for his body. These means of subsistence, both spiritual and natural, man cannot create or provide for himself. He is dependent upon the Lord for them. And yet, although they are freely provided, man cannot rest idle. If he does, he will starve, both spiritually and naturally, in the midst of plenty. Man must go out to gather for himself the things he needs for the life of his body and for the life of his spirit. He must make that effort. And in having to make that effort man is given the opportunity to perform uses, both spiritual and natural. This fact, concerning the Lord's bountifulness in respect to mankind in general, holds true also in respect to every individual human being.

203


Each individual is given in full measure all that is necessary for his life.

     All that pertains to man is qualified by his motives, or, what is the same, by the end which he has in mind. This is so because the end is the first in every series, entering inmostly into everything that follows from it, even to ultimate effects. Man, therefore, irrespective of outward appearances, is evil if his ends are evil; but he is good if his ends are good.

     With man, ends may be spiritual or they may be natural, depending upon whether his ruling love is spiritual or natural. Spiritual ends are those that have to do with good and truth, while natural ends are those that have to do with natural and corporeal things, and thus with evil and falsity. He whose primary end is natural is a natural and corporeal man. He is concerned about natural and corporeal things. All his acts are directed toward the satisfaction of his natural lusts and appetites, which can never be satisfied. His mind is shut off from the influx of heavenly life and happiness. But he whose primary end is spiritual is a spiritual man. He is concerned about spiritual things, and not about natural and corporeal ones. His acts are the ultimation of his love to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor. His mind is open to receive the influx of heavenly life and happiness. His state is incomparably better than that of the merely natural man. Therefore, in our text, we are exhorted to seek after truth and good-the kingdom of God and His righteousness-and to make these our primary ends. We are exhorted not to be unduly concerned about natural things, nor to make them the all-important focusing point of our lives.

     Before beginning his regeneration, man is merely natural. He has to choose whether to confirm the natural ends that are with him or to supplant them with high spiritual ends. And he is given the opportunity to exercise this choice in every occurrence of his life. Before the natural man lies the task of becoming spiritual, and of subordinating his natural man to his spiritual. He accomplishes this task if he endeavors to seek after the kingdom of God and His righteousness, that is, if he strives to make the truths and goods of the Word paramount in his life. It is only then that man's spiritual rules over and enters into his natural, and he as it were finds the kingdom of God.

204




     Even though he may recognize the need of uplifting himself, and from this recognition sets the kingdom of God as his goal, man is at first far from actually making this his primary end. As long as man remains natural, something of that natural will taint all that he does. He will retain a natural point of view. Thus, when the natural man looks to the kingdom of God, he looks to it, not as an end, but as a means to the gratification of natural ends. He seeks to attain heaven for the sake of the happiness he is convinced is to be found there. That is to say, he does good and performs uses for the sake of himself. In short, he tries to conjoin a spiritual truth with a natural affection. And this is disorderly.

     As long as man remains natural, he cannot but do this. Yet if he perseveres in his effort to learn truths, and to apply them to the acts of his life, a change will take place in him. His spiritual will be opened. And with the opening of his spiritual, man will cease to regard heaven as a means; the mere attainment of heaven will scarcely affect him. He will cease to care about the natural man, or to regard things from a natural and selfish point of view, but will regard them from a new spiritual viewpoint. His primary end will be spiritual, having to do with goods and truths, and with uses for their own sake. And since his concern will no longer be about his own happiness, but about that of others, he will be given happiness in abundance. And concerning this we read in the Doctrines:

     "In a spiritual sense, an unlawful conjunction is the conjunction of truth with an affection from the delight of gain or from the delight of being honored. In such an affection are they who learn the truths of the church for the sake of those delights. But this conjunction does no harm to those who are afterwards regenerated by the Lord; for although these affections remain with them, they are subordinated under the affection of truth for the sake of the good of use and of life, and they also are of service; for they are in the last place, although at first they seemed to be in the first place. . . . The external man relishes only those things which belong to the world and to self, and which are the delights arising from gains and honors. But when the internal man has been opened by means of regeneration, then good from the Lord flows in through it, and adopts and conjoins with itself the truths of faith which have entered through the external man; and according to this conjunction the order is inverted. . . .

205


The Lord then draws to Himself all things in the man which belong to life, so that they may look upward. The man then regards as ends those things which belong to the Lord and to heaven, and the Lord Himself as the end for the sake of which are all things; and the former things, which art the delights of gain and of honors, he regards as means to this end. It is known that means derive their life solely from the end, and that apart from the end they have no life. Thus, when the delights of gain and of honors have become means, they then have their life from the life which comes from heaven, that is, through heaven from the Lord. . . . When man is in such an order of life, gains and honors are then a blessing to him." (A. C. 9184.)

     Let us, therefore, heed the Lord's injunction, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Amen.

     LESSONS: Psalm 37. Matthew 6:16-34. A. C. 8478.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 505, 533, 551, 760.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 107, 116.
PRECIOUS TO THE ANGELS 1939

PRECIOUS TO THE ANGELS              1939

     "The reason why so much is said in the internal sense concerning the perception which the Lord had in the Human, and concerning His thought respecting the rational in the doctrine of faith, is because it is angelic to think various things distinctly concerning the Lord's life in the world, and how He put off the human rational, and made the rational Divine by His own proper power. . . .These things appear to be of slight value, and possibly as of no benefit and advantage, to the man in whose care and heart are worldly and bodily things; but to the angels, in whose care and heart are things celestial and spiritual, they are precious. Their ideas and perceptions respecting these things are ineffable. From this it is evident that very many things which are lightly valued by man, because they transcend his apprehension, are most highly esteemed by the angels, because they enter into the light of their wisdom; while, on the other hand, things which are highly esteemed by man, because they are worldly, and thus come within his grasp, are of slight value to the angels, being outside the light of their wisdom." (A. C. 2540.)

206


PERCEPTION 1939

PERCEPTION       STANLEY WAINSCOT       1939

     The Human Reaction to Affluent Stimuli.

     (A Paper read at the New Church Club, London, January, 1939.)

     The aim of this paper is to outline an argument that perception, in all its degrees, is nothing but the changes of the state of the substances, and the variations of the forms, of created and finite organs, when these are impinged upon by homogeneous stimuli flowing in from without. In the light of the teaching that touch is the external perceptive, we shall hope to show that as physical objects are touched, tasted, smelt, heard and seen by means of the corporeal sensories, so spiritual and celestial objects, which are goods and truths, impinge upon and modify the substances and forms of spiritual and celestial sensories. The soul's vision, as it were, of these modifications, in all cases and degrees, is bounded, first, by the limitations of finition, and second, by the proportion of true order present in each and all of the sensory organs.

     Without a fully balanced, though not necessarily complete, range of sensibility to affluent stimuli, and a capacity for choosing and cultivating those which appear harmonious, man would have no freedom; thus he would not be man. Confined within biased, rigid, or narrow limits, and distracted by ill-balanced sense-responses, he would be forced into channels that would inhibit a loving reciprocity of the Lord's Good and Truth. True reciprocity, it is well known, can only exist in freedom coupled with true rationality, affording him the power of choice.

     Man is a created and finite organic unit, an image of his Creator, but so spiritually constituted that he may also become a likeness of Him. In conformity with Divine Order, myriad things lie hidden within that unit; discrete degree within discrete degree, consisting of forms of- use sustained by the ever-present Divine Love in continual potency towards effects by means of the Divine Wisdom.

207


Among the myriad forms of use within the human organic are certain organs which exist for the sole purpose of registering affluent vibrations, contacts, or stimuli. Their structures and forms undergo modifications and changes whenever the stimuli or vibrations meet with them. These alterations of state and form are as it were "seen" by the soul, which, as the active, living principle within all forms, recognizes them as being either harmonious or inharmonious, delightful or distasteful.

     That this is so, is only too patently evident from our everyday knowledge and experience; but generally we are apt to confine this phenomenon within the limits of the natural body,-the field of the corporeal senses. We do not, for example, fully realize the existence of the spiritual body within the natural one, and visualize this, too, as a unit containing innumerable things organized for use in the spiritual world. Upon reflection, we can appreciate the fact that man, in order to act, as well as to think, speak, love, and possess freedom and rationality in the other life, must have a balanced sensibility of affluent stimuli by means of created and finite organs of sense. By this we mean a harmonious concordance of intensities to which all sensory organs can respond, so that no one or two are able to introduce disorder by undue prominence of activity. We are acquainted with the fact that some sensories of man, such as those of the body, are much less responsive than the equivalent ones in, say, a dog; yet both man and dog possess balanced sensibilities of affluent stimuli within their respective limits. The bodily senses of spirits and angels, although exquisite in comparison with those of men on earth, preserve an orderly and harmoniously subordinate place, and, together with all the interior organs of sense relating to things of love and wisdom, exhibit a balanced range of reactional intensities.

     PERCEPTION AND SENSATION.

     In general discussion we discern between two distinct forms of the same thing by the terms "Perception" and "Sensation," the former appertaining to the mind, and the latter to the body. For man, who is created to be the image and likeness of God, and destined to dwell in eternal and ineffable happiness in a life of use in heaven, perception has by far the greatest importance and the most profound consequences.

208


As will be seen later on, perception arises, as it were a voluntary activity in response to the stimulation applied, from permanent substance changes of the sense organ itself. Mere bodily sensation is, for man, a means to a higher end, a truly human one. Animals, although they are capable of being affected with something approaching mental conditions, are forms of use for this world only; and thus their bodily senses are, for them, of greater importance and value; consequently they are generally much more acute and responsive to corporeal and material stimuli.

     These two general terms, Perception and Sensation, are shown to be interrelated in the Arcana, where we read: "All the varieties of sensation have reference to the sense of touch as the one universal and common sense; the sense of touch also is the external perceptive, and the perceptive is the internal sensitive." (A. C. 3528.)

     Obviously, if a sensation is to be such in any degree whatsoever, from the outermost cuticle to the celestial perceptive, there must be an appropriate organ, so created and formed that it may be affected by homogeneous vibrations inflowing from without. The bodies of spirits and angels, however we may speculate as to certain particulars of their subsistence, are composed of spiritual and natural substances which are the spiritual correspondences of the internals within them. (See D. L. W. 87.)

     Among these substances and forms are those which are organs of sensation attuned to the vibrations, as it were, of the spiritual world. Further, the internals themselves of angels, spirits, and in a lesser degree of man on earth, possess created organs of sense which respond to spiritual and celestial good and truth. We are told in so many words that angels, equally with men, have an internal and an external, and that the internal thinks and understands, wills and loves (thus is affected by goods and truths). There are teachings of pro found import respecting this matter.

     Divine Love and Wisdom, nos. 41, 42, in describing the five senses, points out that the sense is not in the things that are applied, but in the substance and form of the subject; i.e., the sense organ; and that the sense itself lies only in the disposition of the subject to the things applied. Then follows the statement: "It is the same with love and wisdom, with this difference only, that substances and forms which are love and wisdom are not visible directly to the eyes. Yet no one can deny that those things of love and wisdom which are called thoughts, perceptions, and affections are substances and forms, and that they are not volatile entities flowing out of nothing or abstracted from a real and actual substance and form which are subjects."

209


Again, we read: "Affections which are of the will are mere changes of the state of the purely organic substances of the mind, and thoughts which are of the understanding are mere changes and variations of the form of those substances." (D. P. 279.)

     It is important that we carefully note the duality here expressed; for in the light of this teaching we might profitably explore the whole question of the post-diluvial human reception of the Divine, and the process of qualification of the latter by the finite substances and forms which so receive and react. The following passage from the Apocalypse Explained is forceful and clear: "None of the senses of man are in man, but they are excited and produced from influx. In man there are only the organic forms which are the recipients, which have no sense until something adapted flows in from without. It is the like with the internal sensories which are of thought and affection, and which receive influx from the spiritual world, as with the external sensories, which receive influx from the natural world." (A. E. 349.)

     In his reply to the discussion of his paper on "The As Of Oneself," the Rev. Erik Sandstrom said: "We are apt to think that only that which comes through the five bodily senses comes from without; but the spirit has also a 'without.' And the spirit has five senses,-the understanding, the will, and three degrees of perception corresponding to touch, taste, and smell. Those are actually five senses, so that we sensate spiritual objects just as we sensate natural objects. Both kinds of objects are actual things, the sole difference being that the former are spiritual and the latter natural." (News Letter, September, 1938.)

     Sufficient has been said to justify the position taken so far, that there are both internal and external organs of sensation, which are attuned to their particular degree of inflowing stimuli.

     Returning now to the consideration of the duality of reaction of these sense organs, let us note the following teaching: "It is to be observed that every degree is distinct from the others through coverings of its own; and all the degrees together are distinct by means of a general covering. Also that the general covering communicates with the interiors and with the inmosts in their order.

210


Hence arises conjunction of all and unanimous action." (D. L. W. 194.) These coverings, we suggest identifying with the "forms" referred to above in D. P. 279,-the subjects of what Dr. Iungerich calls "surface trembling," in that they represent the variation of form classed as intellectual, in contradistinction to the state-changes of the substances termed voluntary. Writing in NEW CHURCH LIFE for July, 1927, the Doctor says: "This triplicate organism (the brain) is sensory, motory, and secretory. Its surface tremblings or variations of form, in each of its degrees or throughout all three, are what is called its sensory or intellectory part. Its animations or changes of state, which are alternately diastolic, expansile, inhalatory, and systolic, contractile, exhalatory, are the motor or voluntary part in each degree or in all."

     It would be difficult to find a paragraph containing more illimitable and profound possibilities of research and reflection. Even a few moments of thought will lead to the realization that the Doctor's statement may be cogently applied to the entire range of human sensories, from the corporeal to the celestial. Our rather loose employment of the terms "perception" and "sensation " may undergo some clarification in our minds when we reflect upon the teaching that true perception is from the will or voluntary, and that mere sensation is only first in time. It really means that a stimulus may impinge upon a sensory organ, and induce "surface trembling. For example, a series of words on a printed page might be visible to the eye, and the optic nerve and the cortical glandules will register the phenomena in a form. But until what is termed attention is drawn to the sense of the words, that is, until the surface trembling is felt as delightful through the activity of an affection of a love, making a permanent impress upon the substance of the organ itself, the significance of the visualized objects is not perceived. The meaning of the words seen then presents itself as an idea to the sensory organs of the understanding, and the process is repeated in a discretely higher degree. It is clear that the quality of the life's love essentially determines the direction taken by the attention toward all affluent stimuli, even, may we say, in the case of merely corporeal sensations.

     It is of great value to keep in mind this duality of form variation, surface trembling, and state change or animation.

211


It will be found to assist in the comprehension of the reaction to good and truth of all degrees by every sense organ, and will throw light upon the phenomena of the temporary elevation of the intellect apart from the will before regeneration, and also upon the determinations to act from the will according to the things seen in the understanding.

     MODERN PSYCHOLOGY.

     Scientific research has produced an enormous mass of material in connection with the activities of the human nervous system, and in latter years Psychology has contributed no little to the knowledge of the functioning of the sensual degree of the mind. The New Churchman, however, is aware of the need for the light of Revelation in his excursions into the disclosures of science; for although the, modern scientist is quite a different person from his predecessor of the late nineteenth century, in that he has relinquished that characteristically downright atheism, his conclusions are impregnated with such nebulousness and indecision with regard to causes as to make him a dangerous guide.

     It was said above that the soul as it were "sees" the various mutations of the forms and substances of the organs of sense. As it is desirable that we should steer clear of any notion of influx from lower things to higher, let us note the following teachings: "Through the internal from the Lord comes all sensation. It appears that sensation comes from influx from the external, but this is a fallacy. It is the internal which sensates through the external." (A. C. 5779.) "For all the external sensations derive their origin from the internal sensations which are of the understanding and will, thus in man from truths of faith and the good of love. . . ." (A. C. 10199.)

     Thus it is from the activities of the higher and more interior sense organs that sensory phenomena are capable of being perceived. And according to the quality of the disposition to receive the Lord's Good and Truth, such are the delights and desires which animate and give direction to the conscious responses of each sensory organ.

     Robert S. Woodworth, professor of Psychology at Columbia University, writes on Sensation as follows: "Sensation is a response; it does not come to us, but is aroused in us by the stimulus.

212


It is the stimulus that comes to us, and the sensation is our own act, aroused by the stimulus. Sensation means the activity of the receiving organ, of the sensory nerves of certain parts of the brain called the sensory centers."

     This is a fair example of the modern scientific attitude towards the subject, and while it obviously lacks in knowledges of interior truths, it is fairly correct as an external survey. Of great interest is the professor's clarity of distinction between mere "sense impression" and what he calls "sense perception." The latter, he says, is a secondary response to the stimulus, which enables the individual to know the meaning and significance of the stimulus. Sense impressions are continually being experienced by the corporeal senses, but only a few are perceived. We might point out here that this is the case in all the degrees of perception; and we justifiably may infer that it is due to the condition and state of the interior organs of sense, causing the animatory or voluntary activity of the particular sense organ, corresponding to the surface trembling set up by certain of the stimuli.

     CONTRASTS.

     With regard to man's capacity to choose and cultivate those stimuli which appear to him harmonious, this element exists in all degrees of perception as a result of the use by man of the faculty of choice, and by reason of the extremely varied and even opposite qualities of the affluent stimuli. Without relatives and opposites there would be no basis for the operation of the perceptive. Comparison between relative qualities of natural, spiritual and celestial objects belongs to the rational faculty, which is qualified by the life's love. In fact, we are repeatedly taught that man actually is nothing but his life's love in form, which love interpenetrates and animates all things below, and sets the seal of its quality thereon. Delight is experienced when the love, by means of affections, draws to itself those stimuli which correspond to its quality. The stimuli thus drawn are "sensed" as being harmonious or delightful. When the stimulus is cultivated by the affection of an inferior love, such as a love of reputation or gain, the perception, as such, is but transitory and extraneous to the man himself, and is eventually distorted into a fantastic travesty. We read in the Rational Psychology 22:

213




     "The soul naturally apprehends and is conscious of every thing harmonious or inharmonious which occurs to any sense. Thence it comes that those whose minds are more healthy, and who are imbued with some knowledge, apprehend natural truths at once, and lend them their approval; but that the same truths are opposed is the result of a vicious state of their mind. In order that there be a sense, there must be the harmonious mixed with the inharmonious from the difference of these and their connections and their situation arises sensation. In the same way, from commingled truths, fallacies, and falsehoods arise ratiocination, thoughts, discourse, controversy, opinions. Without these there would be very little speech, and neither schools nor sciences; and the shelves of the libraries would remain empty."

     We cannot here enter into a detailed study of many vital particulars, including a comparison of the teachings contained in the Rational Psychology with those in the Writings upon the subject, and a treatment of the nervous system seen in spiritual light, valuable as all these might be. We would draw attention, however, to the use of the term "imagination" in nos. 91 and 92 of the Rational Psychology, where it states: "Words which are heard are as it were instantly seen; for words represent so many forms, quantities, qualities, movements, accidents, which are usually objects of vision. But whatever is seen is also taken in by a certain interior sight or imagination; that is, it is perceived. The imagination is therefore an internal sight, which corresponds to the external; for the eye is only the organ and instrument of vision, the genuine vision itself residing in the brain, or in the common sensory. When this is injured or disturbed or obstructed, the eye no longer sees; while on the other hand the image itself, which was present by daylight, is resuscitated when the eyes are shut or during sleep, as though it existed in the eye itself." We would here interpolate that, according to the state of health of the eye, such is the vision which reaches the common sensory; this circumstance, we maintain, exists in all the degrees of perception.

     Now, we shall identify the "imagination" referred to above with the variations of the forms of the natural perceptive, which, when animated by an affection of love, or, in other words, when a substantial change of the natural perceptive takes place, produces the perception of the natural man which is termed "apperception." (See A. C. 3525, 3549.)

214


We read: "The natural man is indeed able to know and also to perceive what is good and true, but only natural and civil good and truth; but he cannot know and perceive spiritual good and truth, for this must be from revelation, consequently from the Word. For example, a man, by virtue of the rational that is common to all, may know that the neighbor ought to be loved, and that God ought to be worshipped; but how the neighbor is to be loved, and how God is to be worshipped, cannot be known except from the Word; thus what spiritual good and truth are can only be known thence." (A. C. 3768.)

     Here we have a more interior sensation than that of the body, but one which possesses the same series of influx, excitation, attention, and response that exists in the lower degree. In other words, sensory organs of both spiritual and natural substances are affected by stimuli homogeneous to them, and which consist of natural and civil ideas. These ideas flow in through the media of the corporeal senses of sight and hearing, and impinge upon and vary the form of the interior sight or imagination, and thus are "seen" in a certain light. Those which are in accord with the principles governing the life, or with the quality of the life's love, are claimed as "true," and delight is felt, and the man is said to perceive. Again, we note the same duality of "surface trembling" and state-change which obtained in the lower degree. In evil men this phenomenon shows itself as phantasy; the ideas may and indeed do flow in and vary the forms of the sensory, but the evil loves within distort and destroy the rational faculty, causing them to acclaim falsities as truths and truths as falsities, thereby producing the unholy alliance of evil and falsity instead of the marriage of good and truth.

     Pursuing our argument a stage further, we may conclude that, just as the eye registers and passes on to the brain the images and forms which reflect and modify light waves, so does the apperception register and pass on mental images and forms which reflect and modify spiritual light. The apperception of mental visions concerning natural and civil matters are in their turn applied to yet a higher range of sensories, termed the "spiritual perceptive," or conscience.

215


That is to say, the still more interior truths contained within those perceived by the natural perceptive flow in and affect a still more interior sensory, which registers, is excited, and responds thereto similarly to those of the two lower degrees.

     In the Arcana, where it treats of the differences characterizing spiritual and celestial perception, we read: "In place of perception there succeeded conscience, which also is a kind of perception; for to act against conscience, and according to conscience, is nothing else than to perceive thence whether it is so or not so, and whether it is to be done or not; but the perception of conscience is not from the good which flows in, but from the truth which has been implanted in the rational from infancy according to what is holy of their worship. . . Hence conscience is a kind of perception, but from such truth; and when charity and innocence are insinuated into it by the Lord, there comes forth the good of that conscience." (A. C. 2144.)

     An unusually interesting passage this, pointing out, as it does, that only when the Lord's influx into the truths learned (the formal aspect of the sensory) takes place, does the good (the state change of the substance) manifest itself.

     Again we read: "Interior perception is predicated of the spiritual, and is otherwise called conscience; this conscience is formed from the truths of the church when they have become of the life, and are so impressed in the interior memory that they are exhibited in the actions and in the very gestures and looks without premeditation." (A. C. 7935.)

     There are hundreds of passages in the Writings which deal with this profound subject, and which particularize and discriminate between several aspects of it, but time does not allow of further reference to them here. Sufficient may have been quoted to demonstrate the fact that this degree of the human perceptive possesses the same dual nature as the lower two. The Divinely veiled statements of the Word, together with expositions thereof, are here the affluent stimuli which flow in and vary the forms of the receiving organs; and when, and only when, they are allowed to influence the life, does the substantial change take place through the power and activity of the love of truth for truth's sake. The "spiritual," we are told, must acquire good by truth in which they are to be instructed; for they have a perception of civil and moral truth (these being in agreement with things of the world), but not of spiritual truth and good. (See A. C. 7977.)

216


We are further taught that the spiritual man, in contrast with the celestial, can only apprehend common or general truths, and can only know when he learns; he can have a conscience which dictates, and which is formed from knowledges derived externally. We repeat: As material objects are seen by virtue of their reflecting natural light, and thus modify the optical organs, so do spiritual objects, reflecting spiritual light, or Divine Truth, impinge upon and modify the organs of internal sight.

     CELESTIAL PERCEPTION.

     Let us now consider briefly one of the most difficult of all subjects,-celestial perception. What is it that distinguishes this degree from all the others? It is the fact that it comes from good, and not from truth, except secondarily. (A. C. 3528.) All the lower degrees of perception appear as though their activities are aroused, first, by the stimuli flowing to and varying the forms of the sense organs, and second, by the means of inflowing good or affection, by which the existence and the significance of the stimuli are perceived. Can we carry our argument concerning the human perceptive into this exalted celestial degree also? Can we postulate still more interior sense organs which possess that duality of form-and-substance response to which we have already referred, and may we rightly conclude that their reaction to stimuli is similar?

     We suggest that we can do so only in a modified way, for the main reasons that the celestial is above or within the exterior rational faculty of concluding, and also, that even the lower degrees really possess all their power and ability from good, though in time it appears that truth is first. Let us not be confused here. Perception could not exist in any degree whatsoever without the affluent stimulus, but the activity of perception itself comes from the power of the affection of good in all cases. Understanding, we are told, is predicated of the intellectual part alone; belief of the intellectual part and the voluntary part together; perception of the voluntary part alone. (See A. C. 10155.) The celestial man, we read, apprehends from perception the particulars which enter into general truths, and the singulars of particulars. (See A. C. 865.)

     In the celestial degree, which is above the exterior rational, where the true significance of all stimuli is weighed and judged, the temporal factor of truth, apparently first varying the form of the sensory and presenting the phenomena in form, is left behind.

217


The celestial and spiritual things of good and truth which inflow from the Lord, and from the spiritual and natural worlds, are instantly perceived as to their essential quality. The substances of the celestial organs of sensation are permanently in such a state of order that there is no need of the peculiarly spiritual faculty of judgment and conclusion; it is as it were instinctive; for there exists in the mind a marriage of the will and understanding, and a vivified proprium through which the Lord operates from the celestial to the corporeal without hindrance or distortion.

     It is to be noted that the mind of a celestial man in the world is still only conscious in the natural degree, but this is illuminated by the light of the two higher degrees, which are open in him. This is not the case when he enters his eternal home. However ineffable the perception he there enjoys, it is only by virtue of the existence in him of appropriate finite and created organs of sensation. In man and angel all degrees are finite; but the degrees in the Lord alone are infinite. (See D. L. W. 235.)

     Certain passages in A. C. 8685 and 8694 seem to suggest that a duality of the celestial perceptive organs exists, for they refer to illustration by the light of heaven as being the cause of perception, in that it affects the internal sight. That these passages refer to the celestial, may be deduced from the fact that in their contexts they apply to "those who are in good." Also, no. 8694 goes on to say: "Through heaven from the Lord there is light, which surrounds and enlightens the understanding, which is the eye of the internal sight; and the things which appear in that light are truths; for that light itself is the Divine Truth which proceeds from the Lord, and that this is light in heaven has been frequently shown."

     Illustration by the light of heaven being termed the "cause" of perception should not be understood to negative the essential truth that all perception arises from good, although the appearance that it is caused by the illuminated truths flowing in is manifest in all degrees below the celestial. We may assume, however, that the celestial man or angel possesses a celestial will and a celestial understanding, the one a receptacle of good, and the other a receptacle of truth,-a substance and its form.

218




     In the Spiritual Diary, no. 5730, where it treats of the instruction of boys and maidens of the celestial kingdom by a speaker from the spiritual kingdom, this striking passage occurs: "He himself (the speaker), too, is thence instructed; for those things which he hears (from the celestial) are insinuated into his sight, and thus he knows things he previously did not. The former are just as much perfected by the spiritual as the spiritual by the celestial; for if the latter do not hear truths, and thus see them, they are dull, for they cannot think." And in A. E. 739 we read: "The third or inmost degree is opened with those who immediately apply Divine Truths to life, and do not first reason from the memory about them, and thus bring them into doubt; this degree is called celestial."

     To try to set forth adequately even a few general doctrines concerning this illimitable theme within the limits of a paper such as this is impossible, especially to a layman. The greatest temptation is to be led away into the myriads of particulars, but we have tried to keep within hailing distance of our main argument. We set out to suggest that the entire range of the human perception of and response to all the forms of affluent stimuli is similarly circumstanced, from the corporeal to the celestial. We postulated created and finite sensory organs on each plane, each reacting in a similar dual manner to homogeneous stimuli from without. From the outermost cuticle, through the five senses, to thoughts and ideas, and to perceptions of more and more interior truths, the Lord has provided so many points of contact, as it were, with Himself, to the end that man, when he truly lives, may "sensate" his Creator in the kingdoms of both worlds, as well as in His most ineffable spheres of Love and Wisdom.

219


MEMORIAL BOOK 1939

MEMORIAL BOOK       Rev. WILLIS L. GLADISH       1939

     Selected Papers and Addresses. By Nathaniel Dandridge Pendleton. A Memorial Volume with Portrait, Biographical Sketch and Bibliography. Bryn Athyn, Pa.: The Academy of the New Church, 1938. Buckram, 8vo, pp. 251, $2.00.

     The Academy is to be congratulated upon the publication of this book, which is calculated to rejoice the hearts of all New Churchmen. For the contents comprise a selection of nineteen of the papers and addresses delivered by Bishop Pendleton during a period of over thirty years (1901-1934), including a few which have not hitherto appeared in print. They present an invaluable and fascinating treatment of a wide range of subjects, doctrinal, philosophical and historical, now fortunately made available to all in the Church.

     The Rev. Dr. William Whitehead was in charge of the undertaking for the Academy Publication Committee, and the purpose is stated by him in the Preface in these words: "The papers and addresses brought together in this book are presented in order to sustain the affectionate remembrances of the late Bishop Nathaniel Dandridge Pendleton, held by his numerous friends and admirers. The selections rest on the ground that they are, perhaps, fairly characteristic of his mind and its varied interests and moods, over a lengthy portion of his life. If they help to strengthen the memory of what he tried to do and teach, that is a sufficient reason for the work."

     An interesting and valuable Biographical Sketch has been supplied by Dr. Whitehead, who has also rendered a signal service to the future student by providing a Bibliography of Principal Papers, Addresses and Sermons, both published and unpublished, and now available for reference in the Academy Library.

     We can only speak in superlatives of the papers of Bishop Pendleton brought together in this volume, their selection and arrangement, and the external appearance of the book in paper, type and binding.

220


All are as they should be as a fitting memorial to our great leader.

     Bishop Pendleton had an original and daring mind;-daring in the sense that he was willing to follow the teachings of the Writings wherever they led; and original, in that he was able to see more fully than others what they do teach. He was never content with a superficial view, but pursued any subject which interested him until he got to the heart of it, and afterwards followed its external ramifications until he saw where it ended and gave place to related subjects. In his doctrinal studies he was never content with a thorough and exhaustive search of Revelation alone, in the Writings and the letter of the Word in the Old and New Testaments, but he also consulted the commentators of the Christian Church and such historical writers as were available, to see what light they might throw upon a given problem. Yet he never thought it necessary to reveal the extent of his studies, except by his grasp of his subject.

     Every one of these nineteen papers is therefore a gem upon which it would be a pleasure to comment, but I shall confine myself to one or two subjects. First, the doctrine concerning the Lord's Glorification, which was the great study to which he devoted his life, and to which he returned again and again. The book furnishes the text of two addresses on this subject,-one on "The Divine Human, Organic and Visible," delivered at the General Assembly in 1910; the other, fifteen years later, an address to the Philadelphia District Assembly on "Humanizing the Divine." The first treats of making the Human Divine, the second of making the Divine Human. Each is complete in itself, yet each completes and supplements the other, so that the result is a logical whole, standing forth as a rational presentation without a parallel in New Church literature.

     I venture to predict that in the future ages of the Church the fame of Bishop Pendleton will rest upon his presentation of this doctrine of the Lord,-his making the Lord's Divine Human stand forth as visible and organic to the rational mind of the New Churchman. And since the New Church is to worship the Divine Human,-the visible God,-and the quality of the Church is determined by its worship, it may be seen how important is the service of him who, as it were, brings to view the God of our worship:

     The Lord has been good to the Academy movement.

221


He has given it three great leaders: Bishop Benade, who established the doctrine of the Divine Authority of the Writings; Bishop William Frederic Pendleton, who, beside establishing freedom in the Church, established the doctrine of the Exposition of the Word; and third, Bishop N. D. Pendleton, who brought forth in clear light the outlines of the Divine Human, the God of our worship.

     To the hard logic of the natural mind, the name "Divine Human" is a contradiction. The Divine is infinite, the human is finite; a Divine Man, or a God Man, is a contradiction in terms. Therefore, many New Churchmen who have accepted the doctrine of the Incarnation, that the Father was in the Lord as the soul is in the body, and have even accepted the doctrine of the glorification of the assumed human, admitting that when He rose from the tomb His Human was wholly Divine, even they have not seen that His Divine was therefore made Human. Yet this is demanded by all the logic of the case, by the laws of order and reciprocality. Can we not see that every step and advance of the Human to union with the Divine was at the same time a step and advance in the Humanizing of the Divine? That as the Human was exalted to the heavens, the Divine was brought down to the earth? That if Man was made God, God was also made Man? And that since what God does is forever done, it thenceforth Is, and needs no repeating; and that therefore the one process is as permanent as the other. If the Divine Human was exalted above all the heavens, it became at the same time to the eye of enlightened faith the visible God to the man of the church on earth.

     To this doctrine the uninstructed natural man answers: The Infinite changes not, but is the same yesterday, today and forever. But no, says Bishop Pendleton; although the Infinite is forever the same, yet there have been two notable changes. The first was when the will to create led Him to finite His own substance, that He might have substances and matters of which to create vessels to be animated with His own life,-thus children of His love to whom He might give delights eternal. The second change in the Infinite was when He, to save the human race, came by virgin birth into the universe which He had created, that He might become a Savior and Redeemer. And He thus as it were finited His Infinity, that He might have a Human of His own in which to meet and conquer the infernals, and might become the visible God, both to angels and spirits, and to men who by faith can have their eyes opened.

222


To the enlightened mind, the instructed mind, the idea that the Infinite Divine is forever the same without shadow of change means that in Him Divine Love, Divine Wisdom and Divine Use, always exist in equal degree, thus Father, Son and Holy Spirit, though they may manifest themselves successively in time in the finite realm. But let us quote from the Address:

     "To say that the Infinite Divine finited Itself, or, what is the same, enclosed Itself within limits, has an impossible sound to natural modes of thought. Yet that it did so, is not only the central doctrine of Christianity, but also the primary truth of creation.

     "The Divine finited Itself in the beginning in order to bring forth the created universe, and the process has been in continual operation ever since for the sake of maintenance and renewal. Again, in the fulness of time, the Divine finited Itself in an individual man, only in this case it is called an assumption of the flesh. This latter mode of finiting differed from the first, or creative process, in that a full return was given. The Human assumed was Glorified. The finite form of the man became Divine and one with the Infinite. This second finition, with its consequence, may be regarded as the crowning act of the original work of creation, in that by it an ultimate Divine bond was instituted whereby creation was held bound to the Lord from without, even as it was always held from within. The inner bond was sufficient for a time, but not for all time. It was not sufficient after the 'base of heaven had fallen away,' owing to the accumulated drag of evil. (H. H. 101.) In establishing this outer bond as a lasting support to the heavens, it was required that the Divine should come into the world of nature by the assumption of a Human there. The Human thus assumed was finite-a miniature creation. It was made Divine and one with the Infinite by Glorification, and as so made it is called in the Word of the final revelation the Divine Human.

     "Two things are predicated concerning the Human made Divine. First, that it is Divine and therefore Infinite as to all and every part. Second, that it is visible to the eyes of angels and to the spiritual eyes of men. (A. C. 9310; T. C. R. 777.) But let us observe that it is not the Divine Human as Infinite that is visible, but as finite. The moment Infinity is predicated of anything, that thing is at once raised above the mental horizon. (A. C. 5110.)

     "The marvel of the Human assumed and Glorified is that it put on Infinity, and pet retained the finite form and appearance of a man: retained the power of finiting, or of accommodating Itself within finite limits, in order that it might be visible." (Pp. 65, 66.)

     Note especially this last sentence, for it contains the sum of the matter: "The marvel of the Human assumed and Glorified is that it put on Infinity, and yet retained the finite form of a man: retained the power of finiting or accommodating Itself within finite limits, in order that it might be visible."

223


And concerning the necessity of this, if we, with our finite minds, are to know God and love Him, and be conjoined to Him by faith and love, we read further:

     "All true thought of any subject is thought from its essence. Even as we are taught to think of a man from his characteristic love and wisdom, rather than from his outward form and bodily presence. Love and wisdom become nothing if entirely dissociated from a subject body, which is man; and, on the other hand, when such a body is separated from its essence it dies.

     "As there pertain to all things both a body and an essence, so also there are two modes of thought, each necessary to the other. There is thought from the essence of a thing;-this is called abstract, or spiritual. And there is thought from the body or subject;-this is called concrete or natural. These two modes are not only allowable but, as said, necessary, even in our thought concerning the Divine. For thought purely abstract lacks determination; it vanishes into nothing. While thought merely concrete is as something stillborn. It is dead, and falls into the lowest things of nature. Wherefore all abstract spiritual thought must be determined to some subject. It must have some concrete basis, or, as the Writings say, to it `something natural' must always be added. It is a human necessity, or, what is the same, it is according to order, that even the Divine should be thus thought of-both spiritually and naturally. Abstract spiritual thought perceives the Divine as an Essence, which is Love and Wisdom. Concrete natural thought can only see the Divine as a Man, not differing from other men as to form and appearance, but only as to essence. (A. E. 1124:2.)" (Page 68.)

     Again: "As long as men were capable of dwelling in abstract thought, of confiding in internal perception, they could see this Divine Human from eternity-see that it was Divine and Human. But when abstract or spiritual thought no longer sufficed for faith, concrete images were demanded. Then the Divine Human from eternity assumed a Human in the world, to meet this demand. Then an actual Divine Man in ultimates stood forth-Who in His Person rectified all the failures of creation, and in so doing entered into full union with the Divine from eternity. This Man became Divine-and Infinite, and this, as said, without the loss of the power of making, as it were, a finite presentation of Himself before the eyes of the angels. . . . It is an actual presentation of Himself in His own Divine Person." (Page 77.)

     There is more, much more, that ought to be quoted from the address in illustration and confirmation of this great subject, but there is not space to do so in this review. Nor am I willing to try to summarize in my own words what he has stated in a better way than I can do.

224




     And now let me cite a few sentences from the Address on "Humanizing the Divine:"

     "It should be clearly seen that if glorification was effected by a single process,-a simple upward movement to a Divine status by a mere elimination, whereby the finite put off its parts and became infinite;-if, in such manner only, the human became Divine, then there could be no other result than an unqualified return to the status quo ante; that is, to the abstract Infinite, to the invisible Divine, aforetime seen only through finite representatives. But if, on the other hand, a counter process in glorification be recognized, if the Divine becoming Human be perceived in the way described, then may we see that a new and different conditionment of the Divine was provided for by the glorification, which gives us that which is so aptly called in the Writings the 'Divine Human,'-the God become and remaining Man." (Page 166.)

     "The process in question was indeed one of elimination and vestoral, so far as the body was concerned. The result in the end, however, was not a mere relapse into the abstract Infinite, but an outstanding Divine Human, maintained as one with the Infinite, though this oneness was not a simple identity or sameness. This oneness was that of a body in perfect correspondence with its soul; only in this case there was an infinitely perfect correspondence (A. C. 1414), as of an Infinite Soul with a Body made Divine. This was a correspondence such as had never existed between the soul and body of any man or any thing, but only in the case of our Lord: for such an infinite and perfect correspondence could be given only between an Infinite Soul and a Divine Body." (Page 172.)

     And finally: "This Divine Human is Infinite, because of its union with the Father. It is Human, because of its formation in the Person of the Lord. It is Divine, because of its pure derivation, its clear out-drawing from the unknowable Infinite. It is Human, because this derivation fell into the Human of Christ the Man. This Divine Human, both by virtue of its derivation and its conformation, presents itself upon all the planes of the human organic in creation, thereby making the Divine adaptable, visible, approachable and conjoinable, to and with the human race, and therefore competent to racial salvation." (Page 177.)

     And now, having given so much time to the one subject, I fear to take up any other, lest I exceed the available space. I had thought to review the paper on "Life and Its Recipients" (page 224),-the Bishop's answer to a question lately agitating the General Church. But I shall content myself with saying that the book should be in every General Church home, and each one of its papers should be read. There is not a subject which the Bishop considers that does not receive new light from his treatment of it.

225




     In Mr. McQueen's Glenview "Life" Class, which meets every Tuesday, we have been reading one of these papers every week, and always with a feeling of the greatest satisfaction. At our last meeting, one member remarked: "Why is it that we get so much more out of these addresses than when we heard Dandridge deliver them? Is it necessary for a man to die before we can get the best out of his teachings?" Whatever the answer may be, it is certainly a happy thing for the Church that this well-selected group of papers has been published, gathering up, as it does, Bishop N. D. Pendleton's wisdom on every important doctrine which has been considered in the Church since the beginning of the century. For thus the ground we have gained through one great leader will be so well defined and defended that the Lord may, under a new leader, establish the Church more fully in the land.

     A Correction.

     A typographical error on page 170, seven lines from the bottom, should be noted. The sentence, "To me this latter is unbelievable," should read: "To me this latter is believable." The error occurred when the Address on "Humanizing the Divine" was originally published in NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1925 (p. 389), from which the text was taken for publication in the book.     
     WILLIS L. GLADISH.
GOAL OF LIFE 1939

GOAL OF LIFE              1939

     That eternal life, or the life after death, is the end.

     I spoke with spirits about the fact that in the life of the body the end of all human thoughts and actions ought to be for the sake of the life after death, or eternal life. For that which is eternal is; and that which is in the life of the body indeed is not, unless it be for the sake of the end of eternal life. Therefore all the thoughts of man ought to be directed thither. This truth, because it was perceived in a spiritual idea, and pronounced with a spiritual idea, was confirmed by the spirits as an established verity. (Spiritual Diary 2809.)

226


USE AND FRUIT OF THE SACRAMENTS 1939

USE AND FRUIT OF THE SACRAMENTS              1939


NEW CHURCH LIFE
Office a Publication, Lancaster, Pa.
Published Monthly By
THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM
BRYN ATHYN, PA.
Editor               Rev. W. B. Caldwell, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager          Mr. H. Hyatt, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     All literary contributions should be sent to the Editor. Subscriptions, change of address and business communications should be sent to the Business Manager.

     TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$3.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single Copy, 30 cents.
     The Holy Supper.

     "Because the New Church, which is meant by the New Jerusalem in the Apocalypse, is now being raised up, it has pleased the Lord to reveal the spiritual sense of the Word, to the end that this Church may come into the very use and fruit of the Sacraments of Baptism and the Holy Supper, which takes place when men, with the eyes of their spirit, that is, with the understanding, see the holiness that lies hidden therein, and apply it to themselves by the means which the Lord has taught in His Word." (T. C. R. 700e.)

     It is a universal truth, frequently declared in the Scriptures, that the Lord alone is holy, and that there is no holiness in any created thing except from His presence therein. The Lord is Divine, and the Divine is infinitely perfect, while every created thing is relatively imperfect. It is encumbent upon human creatures, therefore, to revere the Lord, and humbly to adore Him as the only perfect and holy One.

     The Holy Supper is called "Holy" because it is the Lord's Supper, because the Lord is present in it, and imparts holiness of state to the humble worshiper.

227


The holiness, however, lies not in the merely external act of worship; but the act is holy when there is in the mind and spirit of the worshipper a state of faith in the Lord and love to Him; for in this state of the mind or spirit the Divine can be present, and only in this presence is there holiness with men.

     There are many who only consider the sacraments holy because they were instituted by Divine command, not seeing or feeling the holiness that lies within them. But an act of worship performed only because commanded is an act of the body, and not of the mind and heart. It is outward adoration of the Lord without internal acknowledgment and love; it is hypocritical and insincere; it is impure and unholy. The Lord, from whom is all holiness, can only enter to inspire and animate the heart and mind that are humbled before Him. "For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite." (Isaiah 57:15.)

     It is now made possible in the New Church for men to come into the full use and benefit of the Holy Supper, which they do by "seeing the holiness that lies therein,"-seeing this in the light of the Divine Truth now revealed in the Heavenly Doctrine,-not, however, by the mere seeing that there is holiness in the sacrament, but also by "applying that holiness to themselves by the means which the Lord has taught in His Word." Briefly stated, these means are: Humbling one's self before the Lord; learning the truths of His Word; receiving them in faith; and applying them to life in repentance, and in doing the goods of use and charity. These are the means of man's regeneration,-his entering into the spiritual life of the church,-preparing him to partake worthily of the Lord's Supper, to be in a holy internal state then by reception of the Lord's presence, preparing him to receive the holy gift of the Lord's life as the nourishment of the soul, and thus to experience actually the use and fruit of the sacrament.

     This, then, is how men are to "apply the holiness therein to themselves by the means which the Lord has taught in His Word." Merely to see and understand that there is holiness in the sacrament, without the other means, cannot introduce men into the uses of the Supper.

228


But as men in the Christian Church have not before seen and understood in rational and spiritual light how the sacraments are holy, on which account the sacraments have, for the most part, become empty ceremonies, it is first of all essential that the men of the New Church should understand this,-that they should, "with the eyes of their spirit, that is, with the understanding, see the holiness that lies concealed therein," and thereafter apply themselves to the means whereby they may become partakers of it.

     The New Church, therefore, is to come into the very use and fruit of the sacraments by understanding them,-understanding them in the light of the Divine Truth which has been revealed in the Heavenly Doctrine, by suffering the eyes of the spirit, or the understanding, to be enlightened by this Truth.

     Now there are two things most essential to understand concerning the Holy Supper, that the holiness therein may be seen: (1) How the Lord is present there; and (2) How man is spiritually benefitted by the partaking of the bread and wine. This latter is explained, in general, by the correspondence there is between natural and spiritual nourishment; and the Lord's presence may be understood from the teachings of our Doctrine concerning the omnipresence of the Glorified Body of our Lord,-the omnipresence of the Divine Human in heaven and the church.

     The omnipresence of the Lord in the Holy Supper has indeed been acknowledged in the Christian Church. That Church is held to be the body of Christ, and its members are said to be in that body.

     But because this has not been rationally seen, or grasped in a spiritual idea, two errors have crept in, among others,-the error of transubstantiation, according to which the material bread and wine, after consecration, are actually the body and blood of the Lord; and the error that the elements are merely symbols, so that the supper is only a ceremony, to be performed merely as a representation of spiritual gifts from the Lord, but effecting little or nothing at the time. One of these concepts makes the Lord's presence sensual, carnal, and material (T. C. R. 709); the other makes that presence merely ideal.

     In a rational and spiritual idea, it may now be grasped that the Lord's presence in the Holy Supper is real and actual, because His Body is Divine substantial; that this Divine substance is infinite, and thus everywhere present in the spiritual and the natural worlds, though distinct from every finite form; that this Divine substance, which is meant in Scripture by His "flesh and blood," is adjoined to the finite mind or spirit of man, even as light to the eye or sound to the ear, never becoming part of man, yet entering into him, and operating in him according to his state of reception (T. C. R. 718); that this Divine substance is Life Itself, imparting life to created forms in the measure of reception; that its operation in regenerating minds is called the virtue of the Holy Spirit, enlightening with truth, inspiring good, thus spiritually feeding and nourishing the spirit of man.

229


For the Divine substance is Good Itself and Truth Itself, and all the good of love in man's will, and all the truth of wisdom in his understanding, thus all the life of his mind or spirit, is from the presence of the Divine Good and Truth with him.

     When, therefore, we gain some comprehension of the Divine omnipresence, as clearly set forth to the rational view in our Doctrines; when we think of this as the actual presence of the Divine substance, in all space, but distinct from it; and when we understand that the Lord's Human Body is not finite and material, but infinite and Divine; then can we perceive in a spiritual idea how He is omnipresent in the Holy Supper; how He enters every prepared mind to quicken with spiritual life, to nourish with the bread and wine of heavenly good and truth, to gift with eternal life; how this is represented and confirmed in the partaking of the sacramental bread and wine; how there is actually then a spiritual reception of the Lord in fulness, holiness, and power, and thus actually a spiritual use and benefit to man in this most holy act of worship.

     The actuality of the Lord's presence in the partaking of the sacrament is thus described in the Doctrine:

     "That the Holy Supper, to those who come worthily, is a signing and seal that they are the sons of God, is because the Lord is then present, and intromits into heaven those who are born of Him, that is, the regenerate. That the Holy Supper does this, is because the Lord is then also present as to His Human; for the whole of the Lord is Present in the Holy Supper, and the whole of His redemption. . . When man is being regenerated, the Lord is indeed present, and by His Divine operation prepares man for heaven; but that He may actually enter, man must actually present himself to the Lord; and because the Lord actually presents Himself to man, man must actually receive Him, not, indeed, as He hung on the cross, but as He is in His glorified Human, in which He is present, the Body of which is the Divine Good, and its blood the Divine Truth.

230


These are given to man, and by means of them man is regenerated, and is in the Lord and the Lord in him; for the eating which is exhibited in the Holy Supper is a spiritual eating." (T. C. R. 728.)

     Some grasp of the reality and actuality of the Divine omnipresence is the first thing necessary to an understanding of the holiness of the sacrament; for wherever the Divine is present, there is holiness.

     The second thing necessary is to understand how man is nourished spiritually in the partaking of the bread and wine. For this purpose the spiritual sense of the Word is now disclosed in the Heavenly Doctrine, and with this the science and law of correspondences, according to which everything in the natural sense of the Word corresponds to something in the spiritual sense; according to which everything in nature corresponds to something in the spiritual world, and everything in the body of man to something in his mind or spirit; according to which there is a correspondence of the nourishment of the body with the nourishment of the spirit. Because of the holy state of the spirit of man in the act of the Holy Supper, there is then a spiritual reception of the Lord, and a spiritual nourishment,-an actual reception of Divine Good and Truth from Him, of His Divine "flesh and blood," to which the bread and wine correspond. Thus the body and the spirit are then nourished simultaneously and in correspondence; and there is power in this correspondence, not in the mere symbolism, but in the actual, living conjunction of the finest essences of the material bread and wine with the good and truth inflowing from the Lord into the mind and spirit of man.

     "The correspondences by which the Word has been written possess such a force and virtue that it can be called the force and virtue of Divine omnipotence. For by them the natural is conjoined with the spiritual, and the spiritual acts with the natural, thus everything of heaven with everything of the world. Hence it is that the two Sacraments are correspondences of spiritual things with natural, and hence their virtue and power." (Invitation 45; see 59.)

     Such a correspondence, indeed, is livingly operative in every act of the man of the church, when his heart and soul, and mind and strength, are unanimously in it.

231


It is so, for example, with the custom of shaking hands, when there is good-will and brotherly love in it. The ultimate act of the body reacts upon the minds and hearts of those who are thus conjoined, and there is a living correspondence of the act with the state of charity within. This is true of every ceremony and custom, and in a higher degree of holy ceremonials of worship, wherein the Divine is immediately present in holiness and power, wherein the act of humble adoration before the Lord is at the same time an opening of the mind and heart to receive Him.

     When, therefore, the regenerating man draws near to the Lord's Table in humble prayer for the Divine gifts, and when he actually partakes of the correspondential bread and wine, he actually receives both the food of the spirit and the food of the body, thus natural and spiritual life, from the Lord. For the Lord is present with everyone, and enters every mind and heart that is opened to receive Him. "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." (Rev. 3:20.)
BELIEF IN THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST 1939

BELIEF IN THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST              1939

     There are those in the Christian world who say that they would believe that the Human of the Lord is Divine, if it could be shown them how it was effected. It is to be doubted, however, whether many of these would believe if the process of glorification were made known to them; for this has been done in the Heavenly Doctrines, and few accept it. The same is to be said of those who claim that they would believe in the existence of another life, if one of the departed were to return and inform them. The Lord's own answer to this state is familiar to us: "If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead." (Luke 16:31.) In other words, if men have not acquired a measure of faith in eternal life from the Scriptures, they will not be convinced by other means. And similarly, if men have not a faith in the Divinity of Christ from the Gospels, they will not be brought to it by a knowledge of the process of glorification. There must be some beginnings of a belief in Revelation,-a belief that it is true because God has revealed it,-a belief in the Divinity of the Lord because He declared and manifested it by doctrine and act when He was in the world.

232


To the unbelieving of that time He said: "For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?" (John 5:46, 47.)

     The Heavenly Doctrines, and their revelation of the Lord and His kingdom, have been received by a remnant among Christians who had a measure of faith in former Revelations. We are not to assume that all of the remnant have received the Doctrines; for every new generation among Christians must include a potential remnant, or a few who are capable of accepting the Revelation of the Second Coming,-after death, if not during their life in the world. And it is doubtless better for some among Christians in this world to remain in their simple faith, and in ignorance of the New Church, until after death, when they will be enlightened.

     But it would seem that those who have been brought to the New Church in this world are such as could be enlightened in the spiritual things of the Word without a loss of their first faith in the Lord and the Scriptures. For without something of faith in the former Revelations, they could not have received the new Revelation. They were of an inquiring mind, and characterized by a willingness and a longing to be instructed by the Lord, and so they could be enriched in faith and love by a knowledge and understanding of heavenly mysteries. Thus their belief in another life was strengthened and confirmed by what was revealed through Swedenborg, and their faith in the Lord as God,-in the Divinity of Christ,-and their adoration from love, is continually exalted by the knowledge of the actual mode of the glorification, now disclosed in the Heavenly Doctrines.

     These thoughts have been suggested by the following statement in the Arcana Celestia, where it is describing how the Rational of the Lord was made Divine:

     "Some may suppose that to know these things is little conducive to faith, if only it be known that the Lord's Human Essence was made Divine, and that the Lord is God as to both.

233


The case, however, is thus: They who believe this in simplicity have no need to know how it was done, for the knowledge of how it was done is only for the end that they may believe that it is so. There are many at this day who believe nothing unless they know by reason that it is so, as is manifestly evident from the fact that few believe in the Lord, although they confess Him with the mouth because it is according to the doctrine of faith. But still they say within themselves, and among themselves, that if they knew that it could be so, they would believe. The reason why they thus speak, and yet do not believe, is because the Lord was born like another man, and was like another in external form. Such persons can never receive any faith unless they first grasp in some measure how it can be so; therefore these things are made manifest. But those who believe the Word in simplicity have no need to know all these things, because they are in the end, to which the former cannot attain except through the knowledge of such things Moreover, these are the things that are contained in the internal sense, and the internal sense is the Word of the Lord in the heavens, and those who are in the heavens perceive it so." (A. C. 2094.)

     A strange paradox! They who believe have no need to know how; for they who wish to know how would not believe if it were revealed to them; and yet this knowledge is of the internal sense, and is of supreme delight to the angels. May we not reconcile the apparent contradiction by saying: It is better to believe in simplicity than to be enlightened, only to fall into doubts and denial; it is still better to believe in enlightened faith,-a faith enlarged, enriched and exalted interiorly by the spiritual truths now revealed concerning the way in which the Human of the Lord was glorified. Such ever pray: "Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief!"
PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED 1939

PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED              1939

     Peace and War. A Series of Quotations from the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg. Selected by the Rev. Eric A. Sutton, M.A. London: Swedenborg Society (Incorporated), 21 Bloomsbury Way, 1939. Paper, 16mo; pp. 56; sixpence, or 3/- a dozen. In a well-chosen series of passages from the Writings, this booklet brings the light of Divine Revelation to bear upon a subject that is prominently before the world at this time.

234


Church News 1939

Church News       Various       1939

     OBITUARY.

     Rev. J. E. Rosenqvist.

     Born in Stockholm, Sweden, on March 8, 1862, the Rev. Joseph Elias Rosenqvist passed into the spiritual world at Gothenburg on March 27, 1939, in his seventy-seventh year. His parents were of the New Church, his father possessing one of the earliest editions of the Arcana Coelestia.

     Among his boyhood friends was Carl Hjalmar Asplundh, whom he introduced to the New Church. As very young men, these two, together with Carl Theophilus Odhner, organized the "Immanuel League," concerning which Mr. Odhner wrote in 1903: "Mr. Rosenqvist wanted the society to be distinctly religious, Mr. Odhner wanted it to have a somewhat literary flavor, and Mr. Asplundh wanted us to 'do something'!"

     At the age of twenty-two, Mr. Rosenqvist married Anna Beata Sydow, of Stockholm, and their union was blest with nine children. In 1885, soon after their marriage, they came to America, in order that he might enter the Theological School of the Academy, from which he graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Theology in June, 1890. Ordained the following year, he accepted a call to Berlin (now Kitchener), Ontario, as minister to the society of which the Rev. F. E. Waelchli was pastor. Owing to his knowledge of German, he was able to preach and teach in that language.

     Ordained into the second degree in June, 1895, Mr. Rosenqvist spent the Summer ministering to New Churchmen at Rockford, Ill. In the Fall he became pastor at Kitchener, but in 1898 resigned and returned to Stockholm, where he organized the South Stockholm Mission. A few years later he was called to Gothenburg to succeed Pastor Manby. In 1903 he returned to America, and was pastor of the Advent Society in Philadelphia until 1910, when he again went to Gothenburg, where he organized an Academy Circle. In 1918, on the urging of his family, he came to Bryn Athyn, where he accepted a position as night watchman at the Cathedral and afterwards at the Academy.

     His last crossing to Sweden was in 1923, when he again ministered to a small circle of Academy friends at Gothenburg, until illness forced him into retirement. During recent years, and until the time of his death, he was engaged in translating the Writings into Swedish. He was ever animated by a zeal for the cause of the New Church, and will be remembered for his sincerity and earnestness in the uses of the priesthood.
     V. R.

     A Tribute.

     Together with Mr. Edward Sandstrom, Mr. Rosenqvist was the founder of the "Providentia Fund" to promote New Church education in Sweden. Begun in an extremely modest way, this fund has now grown to be quite a useful factor in the work of the Stockholm Society.

     During 1910-12 a sharp controversy broke out in Mr. Manby's society, and finally caused a split on the doctrinal issue of the Writings being the Word. At that time Mr. Rosenqvist was pastor of quite a flourishing society in Gothenburg. Pastor Manby refused certain members of his own congregation the right of "re-baptism," holding that the sacraments of the former Church were sufficient for the New.

235


In the face of strong authoritative pressure, Mr. Rosenqvist, led by his firm conviction and sense of duty, "rebaptised" certain members of the Stockholm congregation, although his support of the Academy principles lost him the greater part Of his own congregation.

     Mr. Alfred Stroh later engaged Mr. Rosenqvist to work on the transcription and translation of the Documents regarding the Gothenburg Controversy, a work which he faithfully kept up for years after the financial support had failed.

     These facts reveal the character of Mr. Rosenqvist as to his intense loyalty and devotion to the Lord's New Church in deeds that speak louder than words.
     SIGRID O. SIGSTEDT.

     HURSTVILLE, AUSTRALIA.

     We go back, in this report, to the beginning of December, which was a month of gradually decreasing activity in the society. The Young People's Club held its final meeting on the first Thursday in the month. Our last evangelical service was held on Sunday, the 4th, the subject of the address being, "Divine Omnipotence and Human Responsibility." In the Young People's Class on the following Thursday was concluded systematic course in general doctrine commenced nearly three and a half years ago. On Thursday, the 15th, the Ladies' Guild met also for the last time in 1938,-the study and business sessions being followed by an enjoyable little Christmas party. And at the last doctrinal class of the year on the following Sunday a short series of classes on the Writings was brought to a close.

     Sunday the 18th also marked the beginning of our Christmas observances. At a pre-Advent service in the morning the pastor preached on the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55); and at the children's Christmas service held in the afternoon the address was based on the words, "because there was no room for them in the inn." (Luke 2:7.) Mrs. Fletcher's careful training of the children in the music enhanced this always beautiful service, which was attended by 22 children and 17 adults; and a fine representation prepared by Mrs. Henderson left the children with a visual image of the sacred scene.

     Between that Sunday and Christmas itself two very enjoyable parties were held, one for the children on Monday, the 19th, and another for the adults on Wednesday, the 21st. At the children's party three tableaux were presented:-the Annunciation, the Announcement to Joseph, and the Manger Scene. And that reliable old gentleman, Father Christmas, made his annual visit to delight the little ones with his gifts. Miss Dorothy Wellington and Mr. Lindthman Heldon were responsible for the adult party, and our enjoyment was full tribute to the thoroughness and originality of their preparations.

     On Christmas morning we gathered in our little church to praise the Lord in the way of His own appointment for His Divine condescension, the occasion of our rejoicings being expressed in the text of the sermon, "Unto us a Child is Born!" (Isa. 9:6.) This service was the climax of our celebrations, which were rounded off on the social side by a delightful Picnic held on Boxing Day.

     During the quiet months of January and February our main activities have been confined to the sessions of the Sunday School and the weekly evening service. A series of talks to the children on the five ages of man were interrupted January 29th, on which Sunday a talk on the life of Swedenborg, illustrated by many photographs, was given after an open school session; and the children are now hearing a series of addresses on the twelve disciples. At the first service of the year the subject of the sermon was, "Encouragements to the Spiritual Life" (Matt. 7:13, 14); the remaining Sundays in January and February being devoted to serial exposition of the Lord's Prayer.

236


On Saturday, January 28, the Rev. Richard and Mrs. Morse entertained the members of the congregation at a 2 picnic tea. This necessarily belated celebration of their marriage last year was very much enjoyed by all who were present; and the occasion, which very appropriately centered our affections and thoughts in the Church, will long remain among our most pleasant memories.

     Swedenborg's Birthday was celebrated by a banquet of the high standard we have come to expect of the Social Committee, the date being Monday, January 30. Twenty-one members and friends were present at this feast, at which Mr. Lindthman Heldon was the capable toastmaster. The toast to the Church was proposed by Mr. Alfred Kirschstein, and was honored in wine and song. Bishop Acton responded generously to the pastor's invitation to send some message to the banquet with a short paper which was heard with keen interest and appreciation. Although this address was untitled, we think it might perhaps be styled, "An Evaluation of Swedenborg's Genius, together with some Thoughts on the Importance of his Scientific and Philosophical Writings." We thank Bishop Acton again sincerely, as we did then in the toast proposed by Mr. Sydney Heldon, and responded to by the hearty singing of "Here's to our Friend!" An address entitled "Some Backgrounds of Swedenborg's Thought" was then given by the pastor, and was followed by a toast to the memory of Swedenborg. Discussion of the address, and the singing of "Then Together Let us Stand, ended the meeting, which closed with the Benediction.

     The Sunday School picnic, held at a nearby beach on Saturday, February 4, was the usual happy and successful affair. It had been decided by the members that the Ladies' Guild should in future have an additional monthly meeting, entirely of a social nature, and under this new scheme the Guild met on the second and fourth Thursdays in February, thus entering on another year of activity. A meeting of unusual interest was held on Monday, February 20, when Miss Dorothy Wellington and Mr. Ossian Heldon,-whose betrothal was solemnized privately on New Year's Day,-were the guests of honor of the society. On behalf of the society, the pastor presented them with two framed pictures, and attempted to express the affection and esteem in which they are held by all who know them, and which they would take with them into their union. The marriage itself was celebrated on the following Saturday, and is reported by another.

     With this our summer came to an end. March will witness the resumption of all our activities, on which we enter with the hope that by laboring faithfully through the year we may be given to establish yet more firmly the Church in our midst.
     W. C. H.

     On Saturday afternoon, February 25, we witnessed a very beautiful wedding between two young and popular members of our society, Miss Dorothy Wellington and Mr. Ossian Heldon. Our small church, beautifully decorated,-a floral arch with a wedding bell being the main feature,-was filled to capacity with relatives and friends.

     As the Wedding March was played, the bridal party entered and marched up to the altar. The bride, carrying a bouquet of frangipanni, looked lovely in a figured satin dress with tulle veil and pearl coronet. She was attended by her cousin, Miss Madge Starling, and her younger sister, Audrey, dressed in blue and carrying red roses. The bridegroom's attendants were his brothers, Lindthman and Norman; and little Elsa Brown and Hugo Henderson, in white satin, were the train-bearers. The beautiful and always impressive ceremony was conducted by the pastor; and when, at its dose, the beautiful bride and the smiling bridegroom left the church, they carried with them the heartfelt wishes of their friends for the fulfilment of all their hopes.

     The service was followed by a wedding breakfast, which was served in a public hall. It was a happy meal interspersed with toasts and singing, and a photographer darting here and there taking candid camera shots of all and sundry!

237


The speech of the bridegroom in reply to the toast to the bride and himself was so fine as to call for special mention. At the end of the breakfast the hall was cleared, and the rest of the evening was spent in dancing. We left with regret that an occasion so long looked forward to was so quickly over, but happy in the thought that there has been added to our society what will surely be a true home of the church.
     E. H.

     NORWAY.

     Early in March I paid another visit to Oslo, and delivered two public lectures, the subjects being: 1. The Book of Life when it is Opened; 2. Is God one, two or three Persons? The Doctrine of the Atonement Analyzed. At the first lecture the attendance was 160 persons,-the largest number there for years,-and 95 persons at the second. The interest manifested was seemingly very good, and books were sold to the value of almost $25.00.

     On the following Sunday I first held a class for the children,-four boys. One girl, who would have attended, was prevented by illness from so doing. The children were interested, and I was favorably impressed by this first class with them. Later a public service of worship was held, attended by about 35 persons, and 25 partook of the sacrament of the Holy Supper.
     GUSTAF BAECKSTROM.

     GLENVIEW, ILL.

     The two months of February and March have slowly but surely pushed Winter into the background. For us they've been a series of eventful weeks: A dance; a concert by the school orchestra; an evening of songs and the playing of stringed instruments, not the least of these being our excellent grand piano, recently acquired. These events, and others like them, have enlivened the long evenings.

     On a Sunday afternoon, Mrs. Ralph Synnestvedt invited to a concert the parents and other friends of the children who learn from her the art of piano playing. An inspiring time this! Little tots stepping forward, announcing their piece, climbing onto the bench-and playing real music with innocent abandon. Older children performing with the poise and dexterity one expects only from adults, and usually on the professional stage. Theta Alpha; Sons of the Academy; Women's Guild; Men's Assembly: all having meetings to help carry on the natural-plane activities of our society-definite examples of the pleasant necessity of working together.

     But what of the important work of religion and education, the responsibility of which rests on the shoulders of the head of our society? As for education, we are thankful for the Immanuel Church School! For the sterling worth of the work being done by our staff of teachers. For the affection they have for our children-and our children for them. And religion?-We are getting it in full measure-in sermon and Friday supper lectures and classes for the young.

     In gradual preparation for Easter, Mr. Smith read a paper to us on Friday evening, March 24, about "The Greater Importance of Divine and Sacred Things." Here are some of the things he said to us:

     "Let us learn to lift our minds to the thought of Divine and sacred things, in the midst of our other interests in life, and to the only source from which our minds can be so lifted up, clear above the concerns of our natural existence. Wise are they who devote a reasonable amount of time to the study of Divine and sacred things. Far from being an impractical thing to do, it will give him a keener and truer understanding of the things that make up his natural life in the world. He will be led to see the things that are the most useful for him to do, and so will be directed to his proper use in the world."

     "All that the Lord requires of us is to make our minds vessels of Divine Truth in our finite and limited way.

238


In this way we acquire a continually changing view and attitude towards the things of our natural existence. We learn how to evaluate truly the things which are merely natural and those which are spiritual and Divine."

     And on Sunday morning, March 26, came more simply stated reminders of the individual responsibility of the layman to study and thereby make his own the doctrines of the New Church. For those who would like a taste of this sermon, here are a few quotations:

     "And the truth is that, although false Christs, false teachings, are everywhere to be heard, as the Lord has said, yet every man has something to teach, and may be a leader in his own sphere. And every person in the Church ought to have a mission,-a purpose in life; and that means that he should be zealous in the reception and propagation of the Divine Truth of the New Church."

     "There is a resurrection and glorification of the Lord from day to day in the minds of those who confess that claim-the claim of the Lord to His own Divinity-and are willing to be instructed, and to observe whatsoever He has taught for the firm establishment of the true Christian religion in the world. This is the end, the Divine purpose, that shines forth from the Lord's last words, 'Go forth, and baptize all nations into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; and lo, I am with you all the days, even to the consummation of the age.'"

     Solemn and impressive, as becomes the contemplation of the Crucifixion, the sermon preceding the Holy Supper at our evening service on Good Friday told us of the spiritual significance of the Passion of the Cross. These are some of the truths we listened to:

     "We know that, as they treated the Lord, so do men treat the Divine Truth which goes forth from Him. For Divine Truth is what is meant by the Son of Man. Divine Truth descends from heaven, and then, when it is received by men in their hearts, it is said to ascend into heaven again. We expect to receive the influx of Divine Truth out of heaven, or to have the Son of Man descend to us. We expect to receive a Divine influx from the Lord, by approaching Him in the Holy Supper."

     "As the Lord laid down His natural life fully, so that He might ascend unto Divine life, so are we to lay down that life which is merely natural, in order that we may receive from Him life which is spiritual. We must believe that all spiritual life is life in obedience to the Divine Truth which descends from Him. This is what is meant by the Lord's words, that we must be 'born again.' Or more truly, that we must be born from above. 'Unless a man is born from above, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.'"

     "Therefore,-in thinking of the Lord's crucifixion, and remembering His suffering at the hands of men, we should make it our chief concern that the Divine Truth may not be crucified by us, thus repeating the Divine tragedy. We should pray only that we may know the doctrine of heaven and be faithful to it."

     "For remember, and be fully assured, that we may today draw nearer to the Lord, and know His love and mercy better, even than those who saw Him in the flesh, and heard the words that came from His lips."

     Easter Sunday brought clear skies and bright sunshine, and, in the hearts and minds of young and old, thoughts of the blessed occasion-that "The Lord has risen." Our house of worship was full to overflowing, with people who had come to sing and learn, to read and recite, and to pray to Him Whose simple salutation, "All hail!" opened the eyes of the two Marys-to the realization that "with God all things are possible." And the teachings we received were truths of encouragement. Would you like to read one or two of them? Here they are:

     "In all people the Lord is resurrected again from the dead when that which calls forth their affections towards others is that which is in them from the Lord.

239


And He is glorified in them when they come to see the Lord really as their only Guide and Master."

     "The Writings of the New Church reveal to us the Lord as He is risen and glorified. The Lord rises from the dead with all those who are willing to believe the Divine Truth that is in those Writings. And to receive this truth with willingness is to have the Lord resurrected in our minds everyday and every hour."
     HAROLD P. MCQUEEN.

     THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH.

     The Annual Joint Meeting of the Corporation and Faculty of the Academy of the New Church will be held in the chapel of Benade Hall, Bryn Athyn, Pa., on Saturday, June 10, 1939, at 8.00 p.m. The public is cordially invited to attend.

     After opportunity has been given for the presentation and discussion of the Annual Reports of the Officers of the Academy, an Address will be delivered by Professor Otho W. Heilman.
     EDWARD F. ALLEN,
          Secretary.
ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS 1939

ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS              1939

     A REPORT of the sessions and deliberations of the Annual Council Meetings of the General Church, held at Bryn Athyn, Pa., March 27 to April 2, 1939, will appear in the June issue of NEW CHURCH LIFE, together with the Annual Reports of Officials and Councils.
1940 General Assembly 1939

1940 General Assembly              1939

     Among the actions taken at the recent meeting of the Joint Council, it was voted to hold the Seventeenth General Assembly of the General Church of the New Jerusalem next year, and to accept the invitation of the Pittsburgh Society to hold the Assembly on the grounds of the Shadyside Academy, where the Sixteenth General Assembly met in 1937.
BISHOP'S FOREIGN JOURNEY 1939

BISHOP'S FOREIGN JOURNEY              1939

     Bishop de Charms plans to pay an episcopal visit to Europe during the coming Summer. Unless world conditions prevent, he will sail about the middle of July, and after visiting General Church centers will preside at the British Assembly.

240


PHILADELPHIA DISTRICT ASSEMBLY 1939

PHILADELPHIA DISTRICT ASSEMBLY       GEORGE DE CHARMS       1939




     Announcements.



     Members and friends of the General Church of the New Jerusalem are invited to attend the Philadelphia District Assembly, which will be held at Bryn Athyn, Pa., Saturday and Sunday, May 6 and 8, 1939.

     Program.

     Saturday, May 6 at 3 p.m.-Session of the Assembly, with Address by Bishop George de Charms.

     Saturday, May 6 at 7 p.m.-Banquet in the Assembly Hall. Toastmaster, Mr. Francis L. Frost.

     Sunday, May 7 at 11 a.m.-Divine Worship.

     Those expecting to attend the Assembly are requested to notify the Secretary to the Bishop, Bryn Athyn, Pa., in order that provision may be made for their entertainment.
     GEORGE DE CHARMS,
          Bishop.
MIDDLE WEST ASSEMBLY 1939

MIDDLE WEST ASSEMBLY       GEORGE DE CHARMS       1939

     Members and friends of the General Church of the New Jerusalem are invited to attend an Assembly which will be held at the Fort Shelby Hotel, 525 Lafayette Boulevard, Detroit, Michigan, on Saturday and Sunday, May 13 and 14, 1939.

     For full particulars and reservations, please communicate with Mr. J. E. Lindrooth, Y. M. C. A. Building, 220 North Michigan Avenue, Saginaw, Michigan.
     GEORGE DE CHARMS,
          Bishop.

241


DIVINE HUMAN 1939

DIVINE HUMAN       Rev. ALFRED ACTON       1939


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LIX          JUNE, 1939           No. 6
     "Why are ye troubled and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have." (Luke 24:38-39.)

     Among the arcana revealed to the New Church is the truth that the Lord rules all things from firsts through ultimates (A. E. 41), or, what is the same, that He never acts from within unless at the same time from without (D. P. 124). This law is a law of Divine Mercy, in order that life as of itself may be imparted to created things, and with life, freedom. An image of this is seen in the vegetable kingdom, where plants turn as of themselves to the light and heat of the sun, and extend their roots in search of nourishment. The image is more complete in animals, in that they seek as of themselves to satisfy their instincts. But the supreme testimony to this law of Divine Mercy exists in man, for thereby he is given freedom to turn to the Lord or away from Him.

     Owing to this law it is that revelation must ever be made on the plane of ultimates. The first revelation to man was the book of nature. But in that book, being the theater wherein Divine Love and Wisdom displays itself in imaged form, the men of primitive times saw, not so much the material forms before their eyes, but the life that was thereby manifested. They were little concerned with the material flesh and bones by which the Divine Life was imaged forth. They lived in a world of life rather than of matter.

242




     This was the ultimate basis whereby, in dreams and visions, they could be instructed by God Himself concerning the Fount of Life. There was nothing to hinder the reception of this instruction; and as generation succeeded generation, these men of a Golden Age of innocence became more and more conscious of the presence of God Man revealed to their spiritual eyes as the animating Life of the flesh and bones of nature. This presence was the Divine Human, the Divine Proceeding presented as a Man, but a Man in conatus, as it were, and not in ultimate reality (S. D. 4847). This was the Son of God and the Word which was afterwards made flesh.

     This revelation of the Divine Human was given to the men of the Golden Age by the general influx of heaven into their minds when they contemplated the things of nature. But when innocence declined, men could no longer be led by general influx; for hindrances arising from the love of self prevented its reception. Particular influx was then necessary; that is to say, it was necessary that the perceptional knowledge of the correspondences of natural things with spiritual should be put in fixed and permanent form, that it might serve as the basis in men's minds for communication with angelic societies, even when the internal way to heaven was closed. Visions still continued, though in ever restricted number; for until the Lord came on earth the opening of the inner senses to awareness of the spiritual world was the only means by which revelation could be, given. In these visions the Lord appeared, not as before by general influx, but by means of an angel whom He filled with His presence. Then also was given the promise that the Divine Human thus speaking through an angel would in time be born into the world, and would teach men immediately,-a promise, the echo of which was uttered by the woman of Samaria when she said: "I know that the Messiah cometh which is called Christ; when He is come, He will tell us all things " (John 4:25).

     Given through an angel, Divine Revelation could come to the natural mind only in the language of representatives; and as the knowledge of this language declined, the voice of the Lord became more faintly heard, and His power to enlighten men became weakened. Yet, even then, spiritual-moral truths remained ever the heritage of the past, to serve as vessels whereby the message of salvation could be received.

243


Even in the darkest ages of the Israelitish Church, there was still heard the Divine exhortation to remove evils from the heart and to love God and the neighbor. But the darkness grew apace, and the danger lay at the door that all knowledge of God would disappear, and with it the happiness of the human race. After the Golden Age, the one hope of the Church was that the Lord would come in the flesh and teach men in the language of natural truth. This was the morning to which the declining churches looked when their evening should be past.

     When the darkness had reached its height, the Lord came on earth. The Word became flesh, that Word which was in the beginning and was the light of men, a light which finally shone in a darkness that comprehended it not.

     That it was the Divine Human in the heavens that was born into the world, was taught by the Lord when He said: "Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and was glad." It is also the clear teaching of the Writings: "The Divine in heaven, we read,-(that Divine which the Most Ancients had worshiped)-is nothing else than the Divine itself, but in heaven as a Divine Man. This Man it is that the Lord took on and made Divine in Himself " (A. C. 5663).

     This Divine Human in the heavens was the Divine Heredity which was the Inmost of the natural of Him who was born into the world, the Divine Seed which molded the body taken from Mary. Hence, He who was born in Bethlehem was truly the Son of God; and even in the Infant Child the Divine Heredity was manifested in a sphere of holiness that caused the wise men to bow down and adore.

     The paternal heredity with mortal man looks downward, and must ever be held up by the truths of the Word; but the heredity of the Lord was "inclined to good and desirous of truth," or, to continue the language of the Writings, "the Lord from birth was Good conjoined to Truth " (E. 449). It was this Divine Human, thus born into the world, that was now to be revealed before the natural mind of men, in order that He who had been seen in vision by the men of the Golden Age might now be seen openly.

     Born into the world as the Son of God, the Lord, by the gateway of human senses and a human brain, took to Himself the representatives of nature, and also the representative Word by which His presence had formerly been clothed.

244


These representative forms were subject to the attack of evil men and evil spirits, the subtlety of whose deadly malice could be perceived by the Lord alone; men and spirits whose inmost end was to destroy the Divine Truth born into the world, lest it bring deliverance to their prisoners and bondage to themselves. By the process of glorification the Lord fought against the assaulting hells, and conquered them. At the same time, and by the same means, He enlightened men, and even the angels of heaven, revealing Himself as the Divine Human from eternity, now united to the Human Essence born in time. This could be done only by birth into the world, whereby a human essence or a human presence could be formed and made one with the Divine Essence from eternity.

     Revelation teaches us that prior to the Advent, "the Divine Human was not Divine even to ultimates, these ultimates being what are called flesh and bones. When the Lord was in the world, these also were made Divine. This was an accessory; and this now is the Divine Human" (E. 1112). Elsewhere the Human Essence is called "an addition to the Divine Essence which was from eternity " (E. 1087). Yet it was not an addition or an accessory in the sense that anything was added to the Divine, or that any material thing was transmuted. It was an extension of the Divine, that so it might be actually present in ultimates, when formerly it had been representatively present. The Lord took on the flesh and bones of the world that He might reveal Himself openly as the Life of those flesh and bones.

     Of the means by which the Lord united His Human Essence with His Divine,-thus of His early life,-we are taught little in the Word, and this, perhaps, that we may be held to the seeing of Him as a Divine Man. At any rate, we know little concerning the Lord's life on earth until the days when He taught the people; and then, as we are repeatedly taught in the Writings, He was in the state of glorification. The Glorified Lord, however, was not the body that was seen on the streets of Jerusalem by the good and the evil alike. It was the Lord as a Divine Man, seen in His words and in His deeds. Verily, also, there were moments in which the disciples, in a state of illustration, saw this Divine Man, as when Peter exclaimed, "Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matt. 16:16). But, for the most part, their eyes were dimmed, and they saw the Lord but faintly.

245




     After the resurrection, however, He appeared to them openly in His Glorified Human. It was thus that He appeared to Mary; thus that He appeared to Cleopas on the way to Emmaus; and thus that He appeared to the eleven when, in answer to their affright at the sight of Him whom they had thought dead, He said, "Why are ye troubled? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have."

     The testimony of the Gospels clearly shows that, when the disciples and others thus saw the Lord, their spiritual eyes were opened. How else could Mary, who so well knew His face, mistake Him for the gardener of Gethsemane? How else could Cleopas talk with Him as with a stranger? Indeed, this opening of the spiritual sight is implicit in the words of Cleopas himself, when he said that "certain women were early at the sepulcher, and when they found not his body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels " (Luke 24:22-23).

     In a passage in the Writings, explaining the words of our text, we read: "The Lord showed to His disciples that He glorified or made Divine the whole of His Human, even to the natural and sensual thereof. This is signified by the hands and the feet, and the flesh and bones which they saw and touched. . . . By this touching, the Lord showed and confirmed that He had glorified the whole of His Human even to its ultimates " (E. 619, 513).

     Note here the statement that the disciples "saw and touched" the hands and feet and the flesh and bones. Yet the Gospels clearly indicate that there was no touching by their material hands, but rather that the Lord's words alone brought them conviction that He was indeed the risen Lord. Thus we read in Luke: "And when He had then spoken, He shewed them His hands and feet; and while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered," He spoke unto them. (Luke 24:40-41.) It was the joy and wonder of certainty that made them hardly believe.

     What, then, was that Divine Human which they saw and touched, as declared by the Writings? Clearly it was the same Divine Human which they saw many centuries later, when, on the Nineteenth day of June, they received the Divine Command to proclaim the everlasting Gospel. Here on earth their spiritual eyes were opened; they were thus admitted into an angelic society, and saw the Lord's presence there as a Divine Man,-seeing Him, not in representative form as in the Golden Age, but as the Divine Man who had actually revealed Himself to the sight of their understanding, that is to say, of their spirit, when teaching in their midst.

246




     When the Lord said, "A spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have," He taught that He was not as other men, who rise as to their spirit, but cast off the body, but was a complete Man-but Divine and Infinite; that the Divine, which before had been represented in the flesh and bones of ultimate nature, was now revealed as the Divine Love and Wisdom of God Man actually present in ultimate form.

     Unlike spirits, the Lord is Perfect Man. Spirits alone are not even complete images of the Lord, it being spirits and men together, or heaven and earth together, that constitute that Gorand Man which is a complete image of the Lord (E. 1112).

     When man dies, he necessarily leaves behind the ultimate flesh and bones. And with these he also leaves behind that corporeal and sensual life which manifested itself by sensations and actions. But be it noted that the esse of man is to receive life, and what he leaves in the sepulcher are merely receptive organs, and hence his life as manifested therein. But the Lord is Life Itself, even in ultimates; and by the glorification He revealed Himself as immediately present and operative in ultimates. Here we have the understanding of a teaching which otherwise might seem obscure,-the teaching, namely, that "The Lord glorified the whole body; thus that that of the body which is rejected by those born of men, and which rots away, with Him was glorified and made Divine from the Divine in Himself; and with this He rose, leaving nothing in the sepulchre " (J. Post. 87).

     But though the disciples, when their spiritual eyes were opened, saw the Glorified Lord, yet there remained with them something of the material idea of flesh and bones. They saw, and did not see; they saw when their minds were lifted up, but their sight became obscure when they thought more closely. At sight of Him they had been filled with joy-but they also wondered. Hence the Lord could not long remain present with them as the glorified Man, even before the eyes of their spirit. "He was parted from them, and was carried into heaven." It is for the same reason that the Lord, appearing to Mary after He had risen, said: "Touch me not!" (John 20:17.) The time was not ripe.

247




     Thus the disciples and those who followed them lived in hopes of clearer vision; they looked to the fulfillment of the Lord's promise that in time He would send the Spirit of Truth which would lead them into all truth. The Divine Promise, however, could not be fulfilled until the work of the First Coming had been accomplished, and men had thereby been prepared fully to see the Lord in His Glorified Human.

     That preparation was made possible by the spiritual freedom which was the gift of the First Coming. Men could now think freely concerning spiritual truths, and from this freedom came also the freedom whereby investigation into the truths of nature was also made possible. With this preparation completed, the Lord made His Second Coming. This coming was not a new glorification. It was a Revelation of the Glorified Lord; a Revelation which gives to men the motto: "Now it is permitted"; a Revelation in which the Lord is seen in fullness as the very Life of the flesh and bones of nature, the Divine Flesh and Bones. This is the presence of the Glorified Lord, now made manifest in the Writings of His Second Coming, even as formerly His presence in His Glorified Human, so far as it could be received, was made manifest in the Gospels. In both cases, this manifestation was in lasts, that is to say, in the sense of the letter. Let me here quote from the Lesson read this morning: "Because the Lord, by the assumption of a natural Human, made Himself Divine Truth in ultimates, therefore He is called the Word, and it is said that the Word was made flesh; and the Divine Truth in ultimates is the Word as to the sense of the letter" (W. 221). It is here that the Lord shows His hands and feet, and invites men spiritually to touch Him and see; "for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have."

     But that man, while seeing the Lord's presence in ultimates, might also see Him as the Divine Man, He also taught: "God is a spirit, and they that worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24).

     Men are indeed to see Him in ultimates; yet they are to see and acknowledge Him as the Divine Man. They are indeed to see His actual presence in the laws of nature, but they are to see Him there as the Divine Love and Wisdom with power to enlighten man and to deliver him from the yoke of hell.

248


To see otherwise is merely to see a machine in motion, and such sight is ever accompanied with the ascription of Divine Truth to oneself, and the use of that Truth to inflate the pride of self-intelligence. The Lord is revealed as a Man, but He must be seen and acknowledged and worshipped as a Divine Man. Nor can others do this save those who humble themselves before Him as their Lord, who love Him from their heart, and strive to obey His commands. It is these who worship Him in spirit and in truth. Amen.

     LESSONS: Numbers 21:1-9. Luke 24:13-48. D. L. W. 221.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 509, 531, 594.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 96, 110.
PRESENT NEEDS OF THE GENERAL CHURCH 1939

PRESENT NEEDS OF THE GENERAL CHURCH        GEORGE DE CHARMS       1939

     (Address to the Council of the Clergy, March 28, 1939.)

     The unusual stress of the past eight years, resulting from a combination of spiritual conflict and severe economic depression, has given rise to certain needs which it is important that we should consider at this time. We have no desire to recall the painful memories associated with the recent controversy. We would rather rejoice that the Church has been restored to a state of peace, and direct attention to the Lord's mercy in providing, by means of the temptations through which we have passed, benefits of lasting value which could not otherwise have been given. Certainly the individual reading and study of the Writings has been stimulated, especially among the young people of the Church. And with all our members, the necessity to re-examine the teachings of Revelation with reference to the fundamental principles of our faith has, we believe, led to a more sharply delineated understanding of certain essential doctrines. A plane has thus been laid for interior development, and we are convinced that the General Church has been spiritually strengthened by the struggle.

249




     Yet we cannot ignore the other side of the picture. Warfare is by its very nature destructive; and this is pre-eminently the case with civil conflict. It inevitably brings casualties, and leaves wounds that are long in healing. This is no less true of spiritual warfare, on its own plane. It cannot but produce serious consequences to the tender beginnings of the Church, with our children, and indeed with ourselves. It brings to light unsuspected weaknesses, to which it is of great importance that we should give serious attention. While the energies of the Church, over a long period, have been concentrated upon the immediate task of self-defense, our forces have necessarily been diverted from their normal channels. It was inevitable that important activities should either be greatly reduced or perhaps completely interrupted. For this reason, when the conflict is over, a period of reconstruction is called for. Uses too long neglected must be re-established; indeed, they must be accelerated, if the damage wrought by their discontinuance is to be remedied. And also, because of changed conditions, new uses must be inaugurated, if we are to provide what is essential to the progress of the Church. It is, in fact, by a recognition of these pressing needs, and by increased devotion to them, more than in any other way, that an order is restored which invites influx from heaven, and brings the Church into the stream of Providence, that it may receive a renewal of its spiritual health and strength from the Lord.

     These needs have been greatly accentuated by those economic ills that have attacked our whole Western civilization. The income of the Church has been reduced, and the resources of its members greatly depleted. The necessity for retrenchment has been so severe and so long continued that it is producing effects which are in some respects alarming. Our inability to maintain many of the uses of the General Church has become a matter of increasing concern. These uses are the most important of all. They constitute the heart from which the life-blood goes forth to feed and sustain the organs and tissues of the ecclesiastical body. They are the uses of circulation, nourishment, purification, and metabolism, throughout the system. And when these uses are interrupted, the whole Church is weakened.

     As you know, the size of NEW CHURCH LIFE was materially reduced; the publication of NEW CHURCH SERMONS was discontinued; ministrations to the isolated were drastically decreased; and in other ways the normal flow of affection and thought was seriously hindered. In consequence, we have seen a steady falling off in the number of young people sent to the Academy Schools,-a falling off which, we are convinced, is not entirely accounted for by financial distress.

250


Many isolated families have received practically no help from the General Church in their effort to implant in their children a love for the Church and a desire to attend its schools. Some, while believing in the principles of our body, have felt compelled to take advantage of assistance made available by the Convention.

     Nor have the effects of this decrease in our uses been confined to the isolated; they are also distinctly observable in our established societies. Here the struggle to maintain local uses has been so all-engrossing that, to many of the younger generation, the activities of the General Church are scarcely known and little realized. The vital importance of these activities has never been deeply impressed upon them. And we realize how serious is the need to remedy this situation when we reflect that these young people are now coming to the age when the Church must look to them to assume responsibility for the continuance of its work. It is of the utmost importance that they should understand what the General Church is, how it has been organized, and why its uses are essential to the maintenance of the Church in every society, circle, and isolated family. Without such understanding they cannot cooperate intelligently to promote the welfare of the Church.

     We believe, therefore, that the great need of the time is that the uses of the general body shall be restored where they have been discontinued, strengthened where they have been curtailed, and extended to meet the requirements of growth. But this cannot be done unless or until the membership of the Church as a whole has been aroused to a realization of this need. Our people must be given a vision of the uses waiting to be performed. They must be inspired with an affection for those uses and a determination that they shall be sustained. To this end, it is first essential that these uses shall be presented, and this in such a way that they may be rationally understood and clearly visualized. And while we fully recognize the financial difficulties that have stood, and still stand, in the way of extending our work, we are profoundly convinced that, if the uses are adequately presented, financial support sufficient to meet every essential requirement will follow.

251


We are assured that a basis of affection for the Church has been deeply instilled in the hearts of those who have received the benefits of our education. It needs only that this should be stimulated by an intelligent realization of the uses to be performed, and a widespread sense of responsibility for the support of those uses will assert itself. Above all, we believe that the Lord is watching over our Church, and that, if we do our full part, if we put ourselves in the stream of His Providence,-He will provide for its protection and development.

     We are aware that the work of presenting the uses of the Church is a primary function of the Priesthood. Indeed, with reference to the General Church, it is an episcopal function. Yet the extent of the task is such that many must participate in it, if it is to be adequately done. The Bishop must indeed inaugurate the work and organize its agencies. He must coordinate it with other uses, indicating its scope and its limitations. He must direct its policies, and guard thereby against an unwise or a premature dissemination of knowledge that would be injurious. But there are certain phases of this use which can only be performed by the Pastors of societies in close cooperation with the Bishop. They are officers of the General Church, and upon them devolves the primary responsibility of educating their people to understand and appreciate the true relation of the society to the general body, and to love the uses of that body. They are intimately aware of the changing states of their society, and their judgment as to how best to impart instruction in regard to the uses of the Church is indispensable.

     There are other aspects of the work in which the assistance of laymen is invaluable. This is true even in societies, where men's organizations and other lay instrumentalities need to be enlisted in the cause. But it is especially true in relation to the isolated, where more effective means must be devised for spreading information, not only by the press, but by personal contacts and individual inter-communication. This also needs to be organized, if it is to be truly effective, and it must be done in close cooperation with the episcopal office.

     What we are here facing is an urgent need for increased facilities of adult education.

252


The principles of the General Church were well known and deeply loved by the older generation. This, because they were instrumental in formulating them. They were in intimate touch with those who drew forth these principles from the Writings. In many cases they came into the General Church from other bodies of the New Church because they saw the importance of these principles. They knew at first hand the conditions which obtained where these principles were not recognized. The acceptance of General Church doctrine involved for them a keen personal struggle, which produced profound conviction of its truth.

     But it is well to remember that this is by no means the case with the present generation. For the most part, the young people to whom we refer have been raised in the General Church. They are unacquainted with conditions existing elsewhere. By education, both in the Academy Schools and at home, they have received these principles ready-made from teachers and parents. This teaching was received at a time when their minds were still immature, and when they had no experience of the practical conditions to which it was intended to apply. The teaching itself was of necessity confined to the broadest generals, and much of it has been obscured by time, or entirely forgotten in the years intervening between school days and the opportunity for application. I am afraid that we have relied too heavily upon such early instruction, and have not provided sufficiently for its extension beyond the period of formal training. We must find ways in which to supplement it by more mature teaching in adult age, at the time when the mind is prepared to realize its significance, and when the actual problems of the Church become an immediate personal responsibility.

     For this reason, we seek to provide for adult education in the basic principles on which the General Church is founded. This not merely in the form of abstract doctrine, but as a direct means of practical guidance in the work of the Church. Nor should this be done as a temporary or sporadic effort to meet the immediate situation, but by setting up appropriate machinery designed to perform this use continually, increasingly, and in ways adjustable to the growing requirements of the Church.

     We have already taken certain preliminary steps in this direction. In consultation with both the Consistory and with the Executive Committee, and with their consent and approval, we have proposed the appointment of a special committee to study the problem, and to devise means of carrying out the work.

253


Through the generosity of Mr. Carl Asplundh, a gift of $1000.00 has been made to the Church for the inauguration of this use, and the Committee is now in process of formation. According to our plan, it will consist of both ministers and laymen, with the Bishop as Chairman. It will include several from various parts of the Church, but with a working nucleus situated in Bryn Athyn. While the Committee itself must be restricted in numbers for the sake of efficiency, it is anticipated that, from time to time, opportunity to take part in the work will be offered to many others, in connection with special projects.

     We cannot describe in detail the means we have in mind to adopt, partly for lack of time, and partly because they are still in a state of incipient formation. Among them, however, is the intention to organize our District and Local Assemblies more definitely to serve as agencies for this use. Also to utilize the pages of the NEW CHURCH LIFE in a systematic way for publishing information, both of historic importance and of present interest to the General Church. And finally, we propose to develop various instrumentalities for reaching regularly the entire membership of the Church, not merely by the printed page, but by organized efforts and personal contacts, so far as the widely scattered situation of our members may permit.

     The supreme end in all our efforts will be to provide that the uses of the General Church may become known to all its members, wherever they may be; that they may come to understand its principles of faith, of organization, and of government; that they may see why it has been organized, and why it operates in a specific way, based directly on the teaching of the Writings. Our purpose is that every generation may feel itself a part of the General Church, responsible for its protection and for its growth, and may thus be prepared and inspired to participate intelligently in the support, the direction, and the development of its work. In the measure that this is accomplished, we believe that the bonds of affection uniting us will be greatly strengthened, and that at the same time the spirit of the General Church,-the spirit of looking to the Writings alone, and thus to the Lord Himself, for guidance and instruction,-will be stimulated. If so, then the uses of the Church, both general and local, will surely be sustained.

254


ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS 1939

ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS       WILLIAM WHITEHEAD       1939

     BRYN ATHYN, PA., MARCH 27 TO APRIL 1, 1939.

     COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY.

     The Forty-second regular Annual Meeting of the Council of the Clergy of the General Church was held in the Council Hall of the Bryn Athyn Cathedral-Church, March 27 to April 1, 1939, Bishop George de Charms presiding. Besides the Bishop of the General Church and Bishop Alfred Acton, there were present sixteen members of the pastoral degree, three members of the first degree and one authorized candidate, as follows: The Revs. Elmo C. Acton, Karl R. Alden, Wm. B. Caldwell, L. W. T. David, Chas. E. Doering, Alan Gill (Kitchener, Ont., Can.), Willis L. Gladish (Glenview), Fred. E. Gyllenhaal (Toronto, Ont., Can.), Thos. S. Harris (Westfield, N. J.), Hugo Lj. Odhner, Willard D. Pendleton (Pittsburgh), Norman H. Reuter (Wyoming, Ohio), Gilbert H. Smith (Glenview), Homer Synnestvedt, Fred E. Waelchli, Wm. Whitehead, Raymond G. Cranch, Morley D. Rich (Chicago), Norbert H. Rogers (Kitchener); and Mr. Bjorn Boyesen (a total attendance of twenty-two).

     After the meeting of the Bishop's Consistory on Monday, March 27, the Council held four regular morning sessions; one special afternoon Conference on Pastoral Problems; one public session; and a joint session with the members of the Academy Faculty and of the teaching staffs of other Elementary Schools; also two joint sessions with the Executive Committee (see Minutes of the Joint Council in this issue).

     At the morning sessions, besides the customary consideration of annual reports, the following papers were presented and fully discussed:

     "The Present Needs of the General Church," by Bishop de Charms.

255




     "Disturbance and Freedom," by Pastor Philip N. Odhner (Durban, South Africa).

     "The Holy," by Pastor Willard D. Pendleton (Pittsburgh).

     "The Word the Divine Limbus," by Pastor Willis L. Gladish.

     We understand that the Bishop's masterly address on the needs of the General Church is to appear in the pages of NEW CHURCH LIFE.

     Highly profitable discussions of a number of other subjects took place in these meetings, characterized by a spirit of candor and freedom, as well as a sphere of vigorous hopefulness. Indeed the docket was crowded this year, and several able papers by ministers had to remain unread.

     A memorial resolution in appreciation of the loyal and faithful labors for the New Church of the late Rev. Joseph Elias Rosenqvist, of Gothenburg, Sweden, was passed by a rising vote, and ordered sent to members of the family.

     The greetings of the Council, together with individual reports of the sessions, were sent by individual ministers in informal letters to all others unable to be present.

     On Friday evening, March 31, after the Bryn Athyn Society's customary "Friday Supper," the Rev. Karl R. Alden delivered an address on "The Growth of the New Church" at a Public Session of the Council. Illustrated by unique diagrams, this eloquent exposition of missionary and educational evangelism aroused considerable discussion. We trust that its arguments will be made available to a wider public for further consideration.

     At the single joint session with the members of the Faculties of our various schools, held on Thursday afternoon, March 30, Dr. Chas. R. Pendleton presented a profound yet intensely interesting paper on "Vortices." Especially the historical approach involved in the paper was brilliantly done; and we are pleased to announce that it will appear in the pages of THE NEW PHILOSOPHY.

     This year, in response to a need felt for some years, three regular sessions of the Elementary School teachers of the General Church were held on March 28, 29, and 31, under the chairmanship of Bishop de Charms and Professor Otho W. Heilman. At one of these sessions, several pastors who are also headmasters took part. A full report of these highly successful meetings is given in the May issue of PARENT-TEACHER JOURNAL (pages 219-224).

256




     During the week, the ministers met informally at various luncheon and dinner parties; and "off the record" discussions waged incessantly in accord with the Academy tradition of full and unqualified freedom of debate. Two such events warrant distinct mention in our annals. First, a supper at the home of Dr. and Mrs. Chas. E. Doering, on Wednesday evening, March 29, at which all the ministers were present. The unpremeditated theme of the evening proved to be "Missionary Work"; and a very delightful occasion came to an end only just on the safe side of midnight. The second event was a dinner on Thursday evening, March 30, at "Cairncrest," the home of Mr. and Mrs. Harold F. Pitcairn, at which ministers and their wives, and most of the members of the Executive Committee and their wives, enjoyed a really old-fashioned Academy feast of song, tale, speech, and many other things provided with the never-failing graciousness and kindly thought characteristic of our hosts.

     All in all, the 1939 meetings revealed states and attitudes full of promise for the near future,-promise of vigorous use,-a deeper spiritual life,-and the presence of a sphere that may answer our prayers for the "peace of Jerusalem."
     WILLIAM WHITEHEAD,
          Secretary, Council of the Clergy.
JOINT COUNCIL GROUP 1939

JOINT COUNCIL GROUP              1939

     LEFT TO RIGHT Standing: Raymond G. Cranch, Hugo Lj. Odhner, Charles G. Merrell, William Whitehead, Norman H. Reuter, Randolph W. Childs, Kesniel C. Acton, Gilbert H. Smith, Harold F. Pitcairn, Karl R. Alden, Willard D. Pendleton, Elmo C. Acton, C. Raynor Brown, Hubert Hyatt, Geoffrey S. Childs, Edward H. Davis, L. W. T. David, Morley D. Rich, Norbert H. Rogers, Alan Gill, Philip C. Pendleton. Seated: Homer Synnestvedt, Paul Synnestvedt, Fred E. Gyllenhaal, Bishop Acton, Bishop de Charms, Charles E. Doering, William B. Caldwell, Willis L. Gladish, Raymond Pitcairn, Fred E. Waelchli.
     Photograph by Michael Pitcairn.

257




     [Photo of JOINT COUNCIL GROUP.]

258


JOINT COUNCIL 1939

JOINT COUNCIL       Various       1939

     Forty-Fifth Annual Joint Meeting of the Council of the Clergy and the Executive Committee of the General Church of the New Jerusalem.

     BRYN ATHYN, PENNSYLVANIA, APRIL 1, 1939.

     1. Bishop de Charms opened the meeting at 10 a.m. with prayers and reading from the Word.

     2. The attendance was as follows:

     The Right Reverend George de Charms (presiding); the Right Reverend Alfred Acton; the Rev. Messrs. E. C. Acton, K. R. Alden, W. B. Caldwell, R. G. Cranch, L. W. T. David, C. E. Doering, Alan Gill, W. L. Gladish, F. E. Gyllenhaal, H. L. Odhner (Secretary), W. D. Pendleton, N. H. Reuter, Morley Rich, N. H. Rogers, G. H. Smith, Homer Synnestvedt, F. E. Waelchli, William Whitehead.

     Messrs. K. C. Acton, E. C. Bostock, C. R. Brown, G. S. Childs, R. W. Childs, E. H. Davis, Walter Horigan, Hubert Hyatt, A. P. Lindsay, C. G. Merrell, P. C. Pendleton, H. F. Pitcairn, Raymond Pitcairn, Paul Synnestvedt.

     3. The Minutes of the Forty-fourth Annual Meeting, held on April 2, 1938, were adopted without reading as printed in NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1938, Pages 253-259.

     4. The Rev. William Whitehead read his Report as SECRETARY OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY. The Report was commended and approved. (See page 271.)

     5. The Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner read his Report as SECRETARY OF THE GENERAL CHURCH. The Report was accepted and filed. (See page 268.)

     6. Mr. Hubert Hyatt submitted, as already printed and distributed, his annual Report as TREASURER OF THE GENERAL CHURCH. Verbally, he added that he was willing, if called on, to explain to any society the finances of the church and their relation to our uses. He believed that agents should be appointed in local societies, where the collection of funds for the General Church should be established as a society use.

259


He offered his cooperation to the mixed Committee on Information on the Uses and Needs of the General Church, which is being formed under the Bishop's direction, and which he regarded as a most important step.

     Mr. Horigan spoke of the Treasurer's Report as being widely appreciated and very informatory.

     It was moved and unanimously resolved, that the Report be accepted with appreciation, and filed.

     7. The Report of the EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE was read by its Secretary, Mr. Edward H. Davis, and unanimously adopted. (See page 282.)

     8. The Rev. W. B. Caldwell, as EDITOR OF NEW CHURCH LIFE, read the following Report:

     REPORT OF THE EDITOR OF NEW CHURCH LIFE.

     The enlargement of our monthly issue to 48 pages, which has now been in effect for over a year, has been greatly appreciated by members of the General Church, a number of whom have written to express their pleasure in having more to read each month, and a greater variety of matter than could be published in the 32-page issue.

     When the publication of New Church Sermons was discontinued in October, 1937, copies of the LIFE for October, November and December of that year were sent to most of those who had been receiving the Sermons pamphlets, and they were invited to subscribe to NEW CHURCH LIFE, in which they would find sermons and other material suited to the uses performed by the pamphlets. Through this and other means, fifty new subscribers were added to the list during 1938.

     In keeping with our promise, I have endeavored to provide each month something suited to the needs of the isolated who had been depending upon the Sermons for their Sunday worship and devotional reading. With that in mind, I have occasionally printed two sermons in one number, as well as a Talk to Children. This, of course, is far from providing for every Sunday in the year, as is done by the weekly periodicals of the other bodies of the New Church. Some time, I trust, we shall be able to do that.

     In addition to meeting such specific needs as I have just mentioned, it is also desirable that each issue of the LIFE should present a well-balanced variety of subjects and authors. Within the 48 pages available this means a number of short articles, preferably not longer than eight pages, since a 16-page article would occupy one-third of the issue, throwing it out of balance. Formerly, in the 64-page issue, it was possible to publish regularly such papers as represented an extended study or a treatise on doctrinal and other subjects, such as our worship, our education, and historical matters.

260




     Now I am aware that many of our readers prefer shorter articles, and may not undertake to read one that looks formidable in length. Yet there is definite need for the publication of the more exhaustive studies which our ministers and others make, and which cannot be confined within the limits of a short magazine article. These would be especially welcomed by our ministers all over the world, and by the more studiously inclined among our members, both men and women. And so I trust that the time is not too far distant when we shall be able to provide room for such material.
     Respectfully submitted,
          W. B. CALDWELL.

     Dr. Caldwell then added a plea for an open discussion of various problems of editorial policy, especially growing out of strictures of space. Over against the desire of some for more lively discussions, we must consider the many readers who are weary of the airing of differences and desire solid instruction.

     The ensuing discussion was filled with variant opinions as to the objects and uses of the journal. We can but select a few of the suggestions:

     The time had come to restore our curtailed uses fearlessly. Making the LIFE a sixty-four page issue would be a wise investment.

     Gratis distribution of the LIFE to all our members might repay itself in wider contributions to the Treasury. Pastors could do much to stimulate the reading of the LIFE by calling attention to articles therein or taking them up in reading circles.

     Short, three-hundred word articles should be encouraged. The kind of material published in the "Parent-Teacher Journal" should vitalize the LIFE. Young People's classes might be reviewed in its pages. Laymen could help by calling the Editor's attention to valuable papers by their Pastors.

     To reflect the state of the Church, the real studies of priests and educators should find a place in the LIFE.

     The Editor need not be much concerned as to the effect of free discussions. The LIFE Started as a Young People's magazine, and traditionally pursued vigorous and aggressive lines. Form and balance are unimportant. Whole issues might occasionally be given over to long articles, and thus restore the balance.

     Possibly two magazines are called for, one to serve as an intellectual forum, another for pastoral uses, to re-educate the General Church-our isolated, our younger members-in fundamental doctrines, and in the principles of the Academy movement.

261


The need is to feed the state of to-day with material similar to that of earlier days.

     Again, it was maintained, such division would tend to isolate the "intellectuals" into a special category. The LIFE was the mirror and mouthpiece of the entire Church, through which its uses, its life, its real thought, are vigorously to be expressed. We need to know what other bodies of the church are doing, and examine the thought of the world. The need is for strong contrasts, and no challenge should be passed by without editorial treatment that might serve to guide and strengthen the thoughts of our readers. No fallacy is dangerous when seen in contrast with plain truth.

     We have no sympathy with the "academic freedom" of the moderns, who in their self-indulgence wander off into a Babel of conflicting views, from lack of any standard of truth. But concern must be had for the freedom of minorities. The value of democratic freedom of expression lies in the fact that it encourages a common perception which sees through false positions. To preserve freedom, we need "guns as well as umbrellas."

     The danger lies in suppression more than in freedom. Readers of the LIFE are not children. Certain foreign New Church periodicals allow discussions and controversies, and only in extreme cases should we ask whether a disturbance will be caused.

     It was clear that the LIFE must be under ecclesiastical guidance. The use of occasional consultations in the Executive Committee on the subject was left in abeyance. Editorial boards were not successful.

     The opinion was expressed that, from the lay point of view, the policy on the Hague controversy was well handled.

     The Bishop noted that, while he frequently had consultations with the Editor, and his advice was given if asked, the Editor was given full decision and judgment. The feeling had grown that an encouragement of the LIFE as an open forum might now be useful. We must not forget, however, that people are looking to the LIFE for guidance, and that new generations need to be informed on fundamental doctrines and principles. Let us have an atmosphere of freedom to send to the NEW CHURCH LIFE what we believe to be good for the Church; but let the Editor have his free decision and his judgment.

262




     The discussion also brought out that our love of freedom implies also occasional toleration of license, but that when this works an injustice, there is the right to impose supervision to prevent harm done to the Church. Some pride themselves on always speaking their minds; but we must also mind our speech.

     The Editor stated his policy as one of seeking balanced variety, not balanced monotony. There was a difference between the official journal of the Church and a free-lance magazine. His concept of proper discussion, as opposed to undesirable controversy, was stated in the LIFE in 1922 (page 268). The discussions in the gymnasia of the other world indicated that the governing desire in discussion should be to find the truth, not to beat down someone, nor to force one's opinions upon others. In the editorial policy there was no autocratic idea, nor was he under any dictation from the Bishop. He welcomed communications, and felt that there was a state of greater freedom. Short articles were especially invited.

     9. On motion, the Editor's Report was unanimously accepted and filed.

     10. The special Report of the ORPHANAGE COMMITTEE was offered by Mr. Edward H. Davis. On motion, discussion was postponed to the afternoon session. See paragraph 15 below.

     11. The question of holding a General Assembly was introduced by the Bishop, who stated that if the usual interval of three years were observed, the next assembly would fall in 1940.

     In the discussion, it was brought out that an assembly had been held in 1930, the next had been delayed until 1935, and another was held, for the election of a Bishop, in 1937.

     The difficulty of not being able to foresee possible changes during the next year was overruled by the general desire to observe no more than a three-year interval between general assemblies, The 1937 Assembly met for a special purpose. The Church now needed to get out of the sphere of the recent controversy, was ready to press forward; and there was much to be done. The recognition of the need-so forcefully stressed by the Rev. K. R. Alden's Address-to educate our children upon whom the forces of the world were continually working; the need of feeding the people in smaller groups and societies, pointed by the fact that not one new lasting society had been formed on this continent since the century opened; and the uncertainty as to any financial improvement in the near future;-all pointed to the advisability of holding an assembly in 1940.

263




     One speaker expressed the need for frequent consultations in the Church. The needs of the Church should not merely be filled, but be anticipated. In three years a whole new group of young people are ready to be initiated.

     Some speakers felt that, by an assembly held in Bryn Athyn, the young people and the younger married group might become acquainted with our school facilities. It was the episcopal seat, and its cathedral and schools carried a certain memorable meaning which no other place could bring.

     On behalf of the Council of the Pittsburgh Society, the Rev. Willard D. Pendleton invited the Church to hold its Seventeenth General Assembly at Shady Side Academy in 1940. The present authorities of this institution were anxious to have us again, and the same committees from the Pittsburgh Society were willing to handle the work again. The cost to the General Church would be about three hundred dollars.

     12. The meeting adjourned for lunch at 12:42 p.m.

     Afternoon Session.

     13. Resuming the discussion at 3:34 p.m., it was moved, seconded and unanimously resolved, that the next General Assembly should be held in the year 1940.

     The feeling that assemblies should alternate between Bryn Athyn and other places affected several speakers. Toronto was not unanimous at present as to their being able to carry an assembly. It was noted that no representative from Glenview was present at the afternoon session; but the members were satisfied that Pittsburgh was central to most of the societies, and convenient to many of the smaller groups. Whereas the Bryn Athyn assembly hall was already taxed by a large banquet, the equipment and accommodation at Shady Side left little to be desired. There were no distractions, and we could have opportunity for real contact, as we gratefully recalled from 1937.

264




     14. On motion, it was resolved, that the invitation from the Council of the Pittsburgh Society to hold the 1940 General Assembly of the General Church of the New Jerusalem at Shady Side Academy, Pittsburgh, be accepted with deep appreciation.

     15. The Report of the Executive Committee's sub-committee on the ORPHANAGE was referred back to the Joint Council for action. (See paragraph 10.) The Report was a result of proposals advanced and discussed at the 1938 meeting of the Joint Council. (See NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1938, pages 255, 256.) We here cite certain essential parts of the Report:

     "That plan which has been proposed and approved, and which is now recommended for adoption, can best be stated in substance by a statement of the three premises on which it is based. These three premises are: First, that where Church aid to orphans is necessary and advisable, this aid is primarily the responsibility of the Church society with which the orphan's family is affiliated, and only secondarily the responsibility of the remainder of the General Church; second, that where the Church Society is unable to provide sufficient aid, the balance of the necessary aid becomes the responsibility of the General Church; and third, that where Church aid to orphans is necessary and advisable, and the orphan's family is isolated from Society affiliation, then, and only then, the aid becomes the responsibility of the General Church as a whole. . . ."

     It is intended, if the plan be adopted, that for the time being, all General Church orphanage questions be placed directly before the General Church Executive Committee for determination; that the gifting of contributions at any and all times be not discouraged, but instead be definitely encouraged; and that all contributions received for orphanage purposes be used for no other purpose.

     "The recommended plan . . . contemplates the continuance of the General Church Orphanage Fund, the continued receipt by the General Church of contributions, gifts, and bequests for the purpose, and the proper continued solicitation of the same. It also contemplates the continued expenditure by the General Church of funds for the purpose whenever aid is necessary and advisable in two kinds of orphanage cases. The first kind is that of an orphan whose family is affiliated with one of our Church Societies, but the Society by itself is unable to provide sufficient aid. In this event, it is proposed that the General Church be prepared to provide the balance of the aid, and that the administration of all the aid be by the Society. The second kind is that of an orphan whose family is not affiliated with one of our Church Societies. In this event, it is proposed that the General Church be prepared both to provide and administer all the aid which is necessary and advisable. In this latter case, decentralization does not appear to be practical at present. In both kinds of cases the whole of the General Church takes responsibility, and it is proposed that funds for the purpose be solicited and obtained from the whole of the General Church. . . .

265




     "It is of course to be observed that the proposed plan is for the administration of General Church Orphanage Funds, of funds solicited by the General Church from all General Church members. It is therefore also to be recognized that the adoption of the proposed plan will not and is not intended to determine the orphanage policy of any of the Societies of the General Church. Nevertheless, if the plan be adopted, it is recommended and urged as advisable that each of the Societies of the General Church take such steps as they see fit, whereby such orphanage cases as may occur in their own localities in the future receive that attention which the plan contemplates. Such attention as is necessary and advisable for each case will be most effective if given promptly. Therefore, it may be advisable in some Societies to arrange for the selection of one or more persons to act as a Committee so that prompt action may be taken when the necessity arises. But this and similar matters are entirely for determination by and for each Society as may there be deemed best."

     The Rev. F. E. Waelchli expressed the fear that what was in effect the establishment of a number of Orphanages would tend to discourage this vital use. He gave instances of the difficulty of merely local support for local cases. The administration of the central fund by the Treasurer of the General Church, who makes appeals for so many uses, is also not ideal.

     Bishop Acton, agreeing with Mr. Waelchli, pointed to the distinction between "debts of charity," such as we pay to the Executive Committee, and "benefactions of charity," which are not duties, but extra acts which are done at one's liberty and pleasure (T. C. R. 425). He could not accept the idea that the primary responsibility for orphans belonged to local societies. He felt that the Bishop might appoint an Orphanage Committee to represent the desire of this Church to perform such benefactions of charity.

     It was explained that the Executive Committee was to take direct charge of the use only "for the time being." One speaker regarded this work of charity as principally a lay use.

     After some discussion about the relation of state aid to the practical use of the Orphanage Fund, and the need of knowledge such as local committees could best obtain, it was suggested that, since much time had elapsed, and much thought had been given the proposal, which was an adjustment to conditions different from those in the past, it was well to try the new plan.

266




     16. It was therefore unanimously resolved, that the Report be received and filed.

     The Bishop commented that the reason for a year's delay in acting on this matter had been the desire for unanimity in our important decision. Deep convictions had been manifested. But a unanimity of spirit had been shown in giving this plan a chance to operate.

     17. On motion of the Rev. W. B. Caldwell, it was unanimously resolved by rising vote, that,

     "Whereas, since the last meeting of this Joint Council, Mr. Samuel Stewart Lindsay, Honorary Member of the Executive Committee, has passed into the spiritual world,

     "We desire to record our affectionate memory of his long and faithful attendance and his wise counsel at these annual meetings, his sterling Newchurchmanship, and his loyal spirit as a member of the General Church; and that our sympathetic sentiments be extended to Mrs. Lindsay and the family."

     18. The Council adjourned at 5:22 p.m.
          HUGO LJ. ODHNER,
               Secretary.

267


Title Unspecified 1939

Title Unspecified              1939

     [Photograph of Samuel Stewart Lindsay]

268


ANNUAL REPORTS 1939

ANNUAL REPORTS       HUGO LJ. ODHNER       1939

     REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF THE GENERAL CHURCH.

     The roll of the General Church of the New Jerusalem on January 1, 1939, includes 2199 members, a net increase of nineteen members in the calendar year of 1938. Sixty-six new members were received, forty-three deaths and four resignations were reported during the year.

Membership, January 1, 1938           2180
New members received during 1938      66
                                                  2246
Deaths                     43
Resignations                     4     47
Total membership, January 1, 1939          2199

     DISTRIBUTION.

     It may be useful to record that the membership of the General Church is distributed as follows:

     United States                          1257
Other Countries                     942
                                              2199

     NATIVE MISSION.

     The headquarters of the General Church Mission in South Africa reports an estimated membership of 1058 baptized adults, which are not included in the above figures.

     
NEW MEMBERS.

     January 1 to December 31, 1938.

     A. THE UNITED STATES.

     Chicago, Illinois.
Mr. Burwood George Kitzelman

     Rockford, Illinois.
Mr. Axel Eklund
Mrs. Axel (Hildur Anderson) Eklund
Miss Myrtle O. Hedberg
Mr. Clarence Wilton Winchester
Mrs. C. W. (Hildur Hedberg) Winchester

269




     Glenview, Illinois.
Miss Virginia Mary Cole
Mr. Arnold Mather Smith

     Bourbon, Indiana.
Miss Phyllis Ann Tyrrell

     Hazel Park, Michigan.
Miss Beatrice Elsie Cook
Miss Edith Olivia Cook

     Walled Lake, Michigan.
Mr. Arthur William French

     Buffalo, New York.
Mr. Karel Stephen Acton
Mrs. K. S. (Phoebe Maria Baxter) Acton

     Akron, Ohio.
Mr. Randolph Carlyle Norris

     Cincinnati, Ohio.
Mrs. Richard (June Alberta Rotert) Waelchli

     Wyoming, Ohio.
Mrs. Irene Wagner Cowing

     Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Harry Douglas MacMaster

     Ardmore, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Albert Lewis Sharp

     Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Gideon Tufts Alden
Miss Edith Walton Childs
Miss Doreen Cooper
Miss Shirley Elizabeth Cracraft
Miss Joan Davis
Mr. Albert Alfred De Nio, Jr.
Mrs. A. A. (Irma Louise Scheuerle) De Nio, Jr.
Miss Jane Dorothy May Kintner
Miss Eunice Nelson, now Mrs. John Howard
Miss Muriel Rose
Mr. Oliver Smith
Mrs. Oliver (Hope F. Dimond) Smith

     Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania.
Mr. John Ferdinand Yerkes
Mrs. J. F. (Helen E. Dever) Yerkes

     Lincoln Park, Perks County, Pa.
Mr. George Otto Martz

     Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Eldred Iungerich Coffin
Miss Arlene Glenn
Mr. Curtis Rau Glenn
Miss Helen Marie Hoover

     Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Daniel Laughlin Conn
Mr. Theodore Null Glenn
Miss Esther Augusta Grote
Mr. Elmer Gerald Horigan
Mr. Robert Morrison Kendig
Mr. Frederic Boggess Lechner
Mr. Edward Brown Lee, Jr.
Mr. James Thayer York

     Rockledge, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Albert Robert Blickle

     Tarentum, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Joseph Arthur Thomas
Mrs. J. A. (Lorena Bowman) Thomas

     B. CANADA.

     Blair, Ontario.
Mrs. William Carl (Jannie E. Walton) Evens

     Toronto, Ontario.
Miss Zoe Olive Gyllenhaal

     Montreal, Quebec.
Miss Wilma June Izzard

     C. ERIE.

     Dublin, Eire.
Miss Elizabeth Graves

     D. ENGLAND.

     New Moston, Manchester.
Mr. Percy Dawson
Mrs. Percy (Elizabeth Pell) Dawson

     E. FRANCE.

     Paris, France.
Mr. Emeric Lorand

     F. SWEDEN.

     Gothenburg.
Miss Esther Mathilda Carlson
Mr. Eric Sieben Walter Johansson

     Jonkoping.
Miss Marta Ulrika Fatima Nilsson

270




     G. SOUTH AFRICA.

     Durban, Natal.
Miss Betty Mary Lavender Findlay
Mrs. Violet Mary Robinson McClean
Mrs. Hjordis Stephanie Elise (Meydell) McClean.

     Springs, Transvaal.
Mr. James Martin Buss
Mr. Morgan Walter Gardiner

     Impapala, Zululand.
Mrs. W. N. (Mary Eleanor Owen) Ridgway

     H. AUSTRALIA.

     Hurstville, N. S. W.
Mr. Norman Wattle Heldon

     DEATHS.

     Recorded in 1938.

Anderson, Mr. Roderick, Colchester, Essex, Oct. 23, 1938.
Bauman, Mr. Emil, Brunner, Ont., date unknown.
Becker, Mrs. Henry (Mary J. Sutherland), Toronto, Ont., Sept. 17, 1938.
Bellinger, Mrs. Emma, Toronto, Ont., Oct. 18, 1938.
Boyesen, Dr. Joseph Emanuel, Stockholm, Sweden, March 21, 1938.
Caldwell, Mr. Robert Benton, Bryn Athyn, Pa., Aug. 21, 1938.
Childs, Mr. Harold P., New York, N. Y., Dec. 27, 1938.
Cleare, Mr. Troland, Washington, D. C., 1935.
Coffin, Mr. Frank K., Roland Park, Md., date unknown.
Cowley, Mr. David McCandless, Bryn Athyn, Pa., Nov. 14, 1938.
Craigie, Mrs. Edward (Elizabeth D. Donaldson), Toronto, Ont., Oct. 10, 1938.
Daniel, Sir John, Toronto, Ont., Nov. 1, 1938.
Drinkwater, Mrs. Charlotte, Denver, Colo., Feb. 22, 1936.
Fogle, Mr. John D., Redmond, Oregon, Dec. 14, 1938.
Glenn, Mrs. Cara Starkey, Bryn Athyn, Pa., Apr. 6, 1938.
Gnocchi, Signorina Eden G., Rome, Italy, March 16, 1938.
Grebe, Mr. Henry F., Halethorpe, Md., Oct. 26, 1938.
Hussenet, Mme. Stephanie, St. Cloud, France, Nov. 21, 1938.
Karlsson, Mrs. Gustava S., Jonkoping, Sweden, Aug. 4, 1938.                    
Laughead, Mr A. H., Uniontown, Pa., Sept. 4, 1938.
Lechner, Mrs. Harvey L. (Lorene Venetta), Bryn Athyn, Pa., May 17, 1938.
Lindsay, Mr. Samuel Stewart, Pittsburgh, Pa., Dec. 18, 1938.
Loomis, Mr. Lyman Stevens, East Aurora, N. Y., June 17, 1934.
Maat, Mr. Edward Jacobus, Wolveg, Holland, Jan, 26, 1938.
McKenney, Miss Ida H., Abington, Mass., Oct. 1, 1938.
Mueller, Prof. Kurt, Los Angeles, Calif., March 8, 1938.
Orchard, Mrs. Charles (Eloise Gilmore), Pittsburgh, Pa., July 6, 1938.
Orff, Mr. Christian John, Glendale, Calif., March 17, 1938.
Pendleton, Mrs. Charles R. (Sallie Peeples), Macon, Ga., March 8, 1938.
Pendleton, Right Rev. Nathaniel Dandridge, Bryn Athyn, Pa., Dec. 29, 1937.     
Pendleton, Mrs. W. F. (Mary Lawson Young), Bryn Athyn, Pa., Dec. 31, 1938.
Richardson, Dr. Edwin K., Toronto, Ont., Jan. 4, 1938.

271



Rieck, Miss Fannie Veronica, Waterloo, Ont., March 21, 1938.
Robinson, Mrs. J. K. (Carrie Collier), Camden, N. J., June 22, 1938.
Roschman, Mrs. Rudolf (Mary Rothaermel), Kitchener, Ont., Aug. 7, 1938.
Rosenquist, Mrs. J. E. (Anna Beata Sydow), Hatboro, Pa., Jan. 6, 1938.
Sanner, Mrs. Lydia Augusta (Grant), Abington, Pa., July 31, 1938.
Schnarr, Mrs. George (Laura W. Stroh), Kitchener, Ont., Apr. 29, 1938.
Skinner, Mrs. Helen E., Rutland, Ohio, Aug. 21, 1938.
Stamps, Mr. Henry, Toronto, Ont., date unknown.
Stroh, Mr. Emanuel, Waterloo, Ont., Feb. 20, 1938.
Summerhayes, Mr. John Llewellyn, Street, Somerset, England, June 14, 1938.
Zeppenfeld, Mrs. Mary Etta (Frey), Philadelphia, Pa., Apr. 15, 1938.

     RESIGNATIONS.

Davis, Mr. Charles F., Middleport, O.
Hicks, Mr. Ralph W., Washington, D. C.
Nelson, Miss Gertrude, Glenview, Ill.
Toutain, Mrs. A. R. (Gretha Hilldale), Millerton, N. Y.

     HUGO LJ. ODHNER,
          Secretary.
REPORT OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY. 1939

REPORT OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY.              1939

     The Bishop of the General Church has received reports for the year 1938 from all members of the clergy except the Rev. Messrs. Henry Heinrichs (Kitchener, Ontario), Henry Leonardos and J. de M. Lima (Brazil), George G. Starkey (Glenview, Illinois), and Vincent C. Odhner (Bryn Athyn). The essential information conveyed in these reports appears in the following pages, together with such facts culled from the statistical reports as appear to be useful for record or of general interest.

     This report has, this year, been compiled on the basis of the uses performed in various parts of the General Church, in order to give a clearer picture of the uses and whereabouts of the members of the clergy than was possible under the former alphabetical arrangement.

     The RITES AND SACRAMENTS of the Church have been administered as follows:

Baptisms                     101(+14)
Confessions of Faith           32 (+14)
Betrothals                     19 (+ 7)
Marriages                     27(+ 5)
Funeral Services                35 (+ 8)
Holy Supper                167 (- 2)
Ordinations                14 (+ 13)
Dedications                5 (+ 2)

     (Note: The figures in parentheses indicate a comparison with last year's report.)

272


REPORT OF THE BISHOP. 1939

REPORT OF THE BISHOP.       Various       1939

     On June 28 I left Bryn Athyn for an episcopal visit to South Africa and Australia, arranging to be in England for a few days on the way. In England I addressed both the Colchester and London societies, presided at a meeting of the General Church priests, and a meeting of the British Finance Committee.

     I spent seven weeks in South Africa, dividing the time between the Durban Society and the Mission Field. I presided at the Fourth South African Assembly (European), held at Durban August 9 to 14, preaching and conducting classes in the Society there, both before and after the Assembly. Groups of New Church people were visited at Kent Manor, Springs, Vereeniging, Dannhauser and Alpha. The Holy Supper was administered at Springs and at Vereeniging, and two people were baptized, one living at Vereeniging and the other at Rent Manor. The Holy Supper was also administered at Durban.

     I visited Mission Centers at Mayville, Tongaat, Entumeni (Rent Manor), Greylingstad, Kalabasi, Lusitania and Alpha. Twelve natives were ordained into the priesthood-eleven into the first degree, and one into the second degree. The Second General Assembly of the South African Mission of the General Church was held at Alpha, O. F. S., September 6 to 11. The Holy Supper was administered to the natives at Mayville, Entumeni, Greylingstad and Alpha. In Australia I was cordially received by the Conference Society in Perth, and by the ministers in Adelaide and Melbourne. Conversations were held with the Rev. Richard Teed concerning the relation between the General Church and the General Conference of the New Church in Australia. I spent five days in Hurstville, N. S. W., preaching there on October 9, and administering the Holy Supper. In addition to meetings with the Society, at which I delivered addresses on doctrinal subjects, I was present at a joint meeting of the Pastor's Council and the Business Committee.

     On my way home from Australia, I met with groups of General Church members and others in Los Angeles, and in Denver.

     On June 19 I ordained Norbert Henry Rogers and Morley Dyckman Rich into the first degree of the Priesthood; and on February 1 I authorized Bjorn Boyesen as a candidate for the ministry.

     Before leaving Bryn Athyn on my episcopal trip, I completed the revision of the Liturgy, and placed the MSS. in the hands of Dr. Hugo Lj. Odhner, under whose direction it has been put through the press, for which I wish to express sincere appreciation. The musical revision has been effected under the direction of Miss Creda Glenn, with able assistance from Mr. Francis G. Bostock and Mrs. C. R. Pendleton. Mrs. Besse E. Smith has revised the Hebrew anthems, Prepared the MSS. for printing, and has given valuable advice in musical matters. During my absence abroad, Bishop Acton gave valued assistance in presiding over the District Assemblies. While I was in Bryn Athyn I performed all the duties pertaining to the episcopal office.
     GEORGE DE CHARMS.
          January, 1939.

273




     UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

     DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

     Washington (D. C.) Society: The statistical report of the Society, of which the Rt. Rev. Alfred Acton is Visiting Pastor, shows that the Sunday morning services held once, and sometimes twice, each month, have an average attendance of 21. There are 16 regular members. A general doctrinal class is held on each pastoral visit.

     ILLINOIS.

     Chicago Society ("Sharon Church"): Rev. Willis L. Gladish reports that he retired as Pastor on June 30, 1938. Since his retirement, he has officiated at three baptisms, and at two doctrinal classes at Rockford, Ill. He is now living at Glenview, Ill., near the Immanuel Church. In his report he takes the opportunity to thank the ministry and laity of the General Church for the provisions which have made his retirement possible.

     Rev. Morley D. Rich reports that, in September, 1938, he assumed the duties of minister to the Sharon Church. He has also twice visited the Rockford Circle, of which he has been received as minister. Formal Divine Worship was instituted in December. Monthly visits, which will include a service and a class, are planned. Following the Rev. Gilbert H. Smith's suggestion, and with his cooperation, he has commenced a Young People's Class, composed of younger members of both Sharon and Immanuel Churches. The class meets weekly, with an average attendance of 35. Its members are from 20 to 35 years of age.

     Glenview Society ("Immanuel Church"): Rev. Gilbert H. Smith reports that, in addition to his regular duties as Pastor, he preached once at Linden Hills (Covert) Michigan; and also conducted a ten-day camp for boys in that place, using the church building for that purpose with the consent of the Trustees. A similar camp for girls was conducted afterwards by three ladies of the Immanuel Church. As Headmaster of the day school, he reports 12 pupils in nine grades and a kindergarten. Four full-time and one half-time teachers are employed.

     Rockford Circle: Rev. Morley D. Rich, as Visiting Minister, reports that formal Divine Worship was instituted in December. He has twice visited the Circle; and monthly visits, which will include a service and a class, are planned.

     MARYLAND.

     Arbutus Circle: Rev. Homer Synnestvedt reports that he conducted four quarterly services, administering the Holy Communion on each occasion.

     MASSACHUSETTS.

     Abington Circle: No report has been received concerning this circle.

274




     MICHIGAN.

     Rev. Norman H. Reuter, as Visiting Pastor of the General Church, reports that in the Michigan district he has made 7 visits, which represent: in Detroit, 7 services, 11 doctrinal classes, and 7 children's classes; in Saginaw, 2 doctrinal classes and 3 children's classes; in Walled Lake, 1 doctrinal class; and in Riverside (Ontario), 6 doctrinal classes, 6 classes for a young person, and 8 children's classes.

     NEW JERSEY.

     Newark ("North Jersey") Circle: Rev. Elmo Acton, as Visiting Pastor, reports a congregation of about 34. There are also 10 children. The average attendance at the fortnightly Sunday morning services in Newark is 20. A general doctrinal class is held once a month; average attendance 10. A Sunday School instructs 10 pupils, with average attendance of 6.

     NEW YORK.

     New York Society: Rev. William Whitehead reports, as Visiting Pastor, that he conducted 6 Sunday morning services, which are now held at Steinway Hall, 113 West 57th Street. Beginning in October, services are now held monthly instead of quarterly. The Holy Supper was administered 4 times.

     OHIO.

     Wyoming Circle: Rev. Fred E. Waelchli reports that, since retiring from the temporary pastorate of the Circle, on June 19, he conducted Sunday services four times for a family at Saginaw, Mich.; preached twice at Bryn Athyn; and taught doctrinal class once for the North Philadelphia group.

     Rev. Norman H. Reuter reports that in September he officially took up the work of the Visiting Pastor of the General Church. As such, he ministered to the Wyoming Circle from September to the end of the year, conducting 9 adult services, 9 children's services, 11 doctrinal classes, 10 young people's classes, and 20 children's classes. There are 11 members, and 14 children and young persons.

     In the North Ohio District he made 4 visits, which represent 2 services, 5 doctrinal classes, and 5 children's classes in Akron; 1 service and 2 doctrinal classes in Youngstown; 2 doctrinal classes and 3 children's classes in Niles; and 4 doctrinal classes and 4 children's classes in Cleveland.

     A visit to Middleport included 1 service and 2 doctrinal classes, and one period of instruction for young people.

     PENNSYLVANIA.

     Bryn Athyn Society: The Rt. Rev. George de Charms, as Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church, reports as follows:

     "I preached 6 times to adults, and 11 times to the children, and conducted 9 doctrinal classes, during the year. At the semi-annual meeting of the Society, the Rev. Elmo C. Acton, on my nomination, was elected Assistant Pastor.

275


During the Fall months, the Rev. K. R. Alden has been conducting a group class in the Doctrines of the New Church, which has filled a long-felt need.

     This service is given gratuitously, and I wish to record my grateful acknowledgment of it. I wish also to express my appreciation of the assistance given by Dr. Hugo Lj. Odhner, who, at my request, took charge of the Society pastoral work during my absence; and to acknowledge the assistance of other ministers who filled the pulpit from time to time."

     Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner, as Assistant Pastor, reports: "I ministered at 41 adult services, preaching 12 times. I also gave 3 children's addresses and 10 general doctrinal classes. I presided, in the Pastor's absence, over 2 Society meetings and a Men's Meeting. I had supervision over the work of the Chancel Guild, and, up to September 1st, of the Ushers' organization."

     Rev. Elmo C. Acton, as Assistant Pastor, reports: "I have preached 12 times, conducted children's service 8 times, conducted the general doctrinal class once, conducted a weekly young people's class with an average attendance of 35 or 40, conducted a fortnightly private doctrinal class, and taught Religion to the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. I was also given charge of the Ushers' organization and have conducted their meetings."

     Bryn Athyn: ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH.

     The Rt. Rev. George de Charms, as President of the Academy, reports that "during the year I presided at the meetings of the Board of Directors and of the Faculties of the Academy of the New Church. I have taught 2 periods a week in the Theological School, and the same number in the College, and performed all the duties of the President. I wish to acknowledge my indebtedness to the Rev. Dr. C. E. Doering, who kindly took charge of the work while I was away."

     The Rt. Rev. Alfred Acton reports that, in addition to the regular duties of Dean of the Theological School, "at the request of the Bishop, and during his absence from America, I presided over the District Assemblies at Pittsburgh, Kitchener, and Glenview. I also presided over meetings at Detroit, Cleveland, Akron, Youngstown, Chicago, Rockford, and Cincinnati."

     Rev. K. R. Alden reports that, in addition to his regular duties as Principal of the Boys' Academy and Housemaster of Stuart Hall, he has preached 3 times in Bryn Athyn, conducted 1 children's service, officiated at 17 baptisms, 4 funerals, 1 wedding, and 1 confirmation. Ten missionary doctrinal classes were conducted at his house: 5 on "The Trinity," 3 on Swedenborg, and 2 on the Christmas story. Ninety-eight pastoral calls were made on 53 individuals. During the summer he alternated with the Rev. Homer Synnestvedt in preaching each Sunday to a group at Wallenpaupak, Pa., with an average attendance of 35.

     Rev. William B. Caldwell reports that during the past year he has been engaged as Editor of the NEW CHURCH LIFE, and as Professor of Theology. He has officiated as assistant in administering the Holy Supper 3 times.

     Rev. Llewellyn W. T. David reports that during the past year, in addition to his duties as a secretary in the Academy, he preached and conducted service 3 times in Bryn Athyn.

276


In the Schools he has also been teaching Hebrew and Greek in the Theological School and College, and (since September) Latin in the College.

     Rev. Charles E. Doering reports that during the year, in addition to his duties as Dean of Faculties, he has taught Religion and Mathematics, and conducted the morning services of the Schools. During the Bishop's visit to South Africa he had charge of the educational work of the Academy.

     Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner reports that, in addition to his duties as Professor of Theology (carrying five regular courses in the Theological School, College, and High School), and as Assistant Pastor to the Bryn Athyn Society, he has performed the duties of Secretary of the General Church. Since June he has devoted his remaining energies to the work of editing the forthcoming Liturgy of the General Church-a work demanding an unexpected amount of time. During the year he gave three major addresses; and participated in a local broadcast (KYW) in celebration of Swedenborg's 250th birthday.

     Rev. Homer Synnestvedt reports that, in addition to his duties as Professor, as Acting Pastor of the Philadelphia ("Advent") Society, and Visiting Pastor of the Arbutus Circle, he conducted five or six summer services (mainly for children) at Lake Wallenpaupak, Pa He also substituted once or twice for the Pastor of the Pittsburgh Society and once at Youngstown, Ohio.

     Rev. William Whitehead reports that, in addition to his duties as Professor, and as Visiting Pastor of the New York Society, he performed the duties of Secretary of the Council of the Clergy. He preached 3 times at Bryn Athyn; conducted 1 service at Glen Tonche, New York; on January 23d addressed the Orange (New Jersey) (Convention) Society; and took part in a radio broadcast (KYW) in connection with the Swedenborg anniversary. On December 23d he completed work, as editor, on a Memorial Volume in honor of the late Bishop N. D. Pendleton.

Erie Circle: Rev. Norman H. Reuter, as Visiting Pastor, reports holding 1 evening service and 2 doctrinal classes. The congregation numbered 22 of whom 11 are members. There are nine children under 14 years of age.

Philadelphia Society ("Advent Church"): Rev. Homer Synnestvedt reports that, by appointment of the Bishop, he has conducted bi-weekly services at 1714 Chestnut Street, and weekly doctrinal classes at the homes of those members living in the northern part of Philadelphia. He also has cooperated with the Rev. Elmo C. Acton in the conduct of a regular weekly class in West Philadelphia. There are about 47 members connected with the Advent Church.

Pittsburgh Society: Rev. Willard D. Pendleton reports that, besides his regular duties as Pastor of the society, he has continued his extension work in Tarentum, Pa. This year the work resulted in 4 baptisms. This promising field had, to date, been the means by which 9 persons had been admitted into the Church. During the spring of the year, he paid a pastoral visit to the group in Atlanta, Ga. While in that city he conducted Divine worship, gave doctrinal instruction, and administered the sacrament of the Holy Supper.

277




     CANADA.

Hamilton (Ontario) Circle: Rev. Frederick E. Gyllenhaal reports that in January, 1938, he organized a circle at Hamilton, which he visited 8 times, meetings being held on Tuesday evenings. A short service was followed by a doctrinal class, followed by refreshments and general conversation. There are 4 regular members, but an attendance of 15 persons.

Kitchener (Ontario) Society ("Carmel Church"): Rev. Alan Gill, Pastor of the Society; reports that, due to the able assistance of the Rev. Norbert H. Rogers, who teaches Religion in the school, and conducts the young people's classes and many of the adult and children's services, he had been able to meet what had for some time seemed to be a need in the Society, namely, the organization of two study groups. These groups are comprised of the younger adult ladies and the younger adult men, who met with him fortnightly for the purpose of studying the Doctrines in an informal sphere. This sphere was more conducive to free questioning and discussion than prevails at the Friday doctrinal classes or at the meetings of the Men's Club and Women's Guild. The organization of these two new groups has not noticeably affected the attendance at the other adult classes and meetings. On the contrary, it is the hope and belief that it will stimulate a keener interest in them, and so promote the spiritual growth of the Society.

     Rev. Norman H. Reuter reports that, before discontinuing last July his duties as assistant to the Pastor of the Carmel Church and Headmaster of the Carmel School, he conducted adult services and preached there 15 times, conducted 10 children's services, 2 doctrinal classes, 30 young peoples' classes, and taught all the Religion in the local school.

     Rev. Norbert H. Rogers reports that during the first half of the year he was engaged in completing his studies in the Academy Theological School, also acting as a teacher of Religion in the Boys' Academy. Following his ordination on Sunday, June 19th, he relieved Rev. W. D. Pendleton in the Pittsburgh Society for a part of the summer. In September he moved to the Kitchener Society as Assistant to the Pastor there. During the year he preached 20 times: once in Washington, once in Toronto, twice in Bryn Athyn, seven times in Pittsburgh, and nine times in Kitchener. He also conducted 11 children's services, two doctrinal classes, and one informal service in Youngstown, Ohio.

Montreal (Quebec) Circle: Rev. Frederick E. Gyllenhaal, Pastor of the Olivet Church, reports that he visited the Circle six times. There are 18 adults, 8 of them members of the General Church, and 8 children. The Holy Supper was administered once to 13 adults. One Confirmation took place. The outstanding event of the year was the visit of Bishop and Mrs. de Charms and Mr. and Mrs. Harold Pitcairn, on June 30, when a social evening was enjoyed at Mr. and Mrs. Izzard's.

Toronto Society ("Olivet Church"): Rev. Frederick E. Gyllenhaal, Pastor of the Olivet Church, reports that he preached 51 times (Toronto 41, Montreal 5, England 5).

278


Besides his duties as Pastor of the Olivet Church, he reports that, by appointment of the Bishop, he Presided over the British Assembly. He also preached in Colchester, London, and New Moston; addressed the Colchester Day School at its closing exercises; and visited many of the members of the General Church in various parts of England. As Headmaster of the Day School, he continued the conduct of the opening worship, and taught Religion and Hebrew three Periods each day. During his absence from Toronto, Candidate Bjorn Boyesen carried on his work acceptably to all the members.

     REPORT OF THE VISITING PASTOR OF THE GENERAL CHURCH.

     Rev. Norman H. Reuter reports that, in September last, he officially took up the work of the Visiting pastor of the General Church. For detailed accounts of the visits made, see elsewhere in this report (Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania of the work done in the Wyoming, Ohio, Circle, of which he is Pastor, this totals 21 adult services, 9 children's services, 51 doctrinal classes, 17 classes for young people, and 50 classes for children, in 13 different places.

     He adds that, in the visiting pastoral field, Bishop Acton made an episcopal tour, during which he preached once each in Akron and Wyoming, addressed the groups in Detroit, Wyoming and Akron each twice, and addressed the groups in Cleveland and Youngstown each once.

     OTHER REPORTS.

     Rev. Emil R. Cronlund, now engaged in secular work, reports that he preached twice in Bryn Athyn, and officiated at one baptism.

     Rev. Raymond G. Cranch, now engaged in secular work, reports that he has preached once each in London and Colchester, and visited some isolated members in England.

     Rev. Bjorn A. H. Boyesen, Authorized Candidate for the ministry, reports that, in addition to his work as a senior student in the Academy Theological School, he conducted services and preached 8 times in Toronto; also preached in Bryn Athyn, Newark, and Kitchener. He taught some Hebrew and Swedenborg's Latin in the schools at Bryn Athyn.

     SOUTH AMERICA.

BRAZIL: Rio de Janeiro Society: No reports have been received from the Rev. Messrs. Henry Leonardos and J. de M. Lima.

BRITISH GUIANA: Tebor Mission: Rev. Henry Algeunon, Pastor pending ordination, reports a congregation of 24, with 5 members. There are 12 young people and children. Forty-one Sunday services and 52 children's services were held. He officiated at 3 baptisms and 2 celebrations of the Holy Supper. In addition he spoke over Radio Station VP3BG at 9 a.m. on Sunday, January 30, 1938, in the name of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, on "Emanuel Swedenborg and the 17th Century." Locally, this address seemed to have been received with interest, judging from the number of comments received afterwards.

279


This was followed by an article on Swedenborg in the Daily Chronicle of January 31. On December 11 he gave a lecture on, "The Need, Nature, Purpose and Effect of the Lord's Second Coming."

     ENGLAND.

Colchester Society: Rev. Victor J. Gladish reports that the outstanding events of the year were the visits of Bishop de Charms and the Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal. An effort inaugurated at the annual meeting in January, 1938, to increase promised subscriptions, has proved successful. There remains, however, the greater proportion of the deficit accumulated during the three previous years. The responsibilities of the Society fall on a younger group than has been the case for many years.

London Society ("Michael Church"): The Rt. Rev. Robert J. Tilson reports that on Sunday, June 26, 1938, he retired from the pastorate of the Michael Church, Brixton, London, after being its Pastor from its original formation. This concluded a pastoral service in the Lord's New Church of 58 years and eight months, commencing at Liverpool in 1879, and continuing in London from 1886. On June 26 he installed the Rev. A. Wynne Acton as Pastor of the Michael Church.

     Rev. A. Wynne Acton, as present Pastor, reports that, in addition to customary duties, he has acted as editor of the "Monthly News-Letter"-a magazine circulated to all the members and friends of the General Church in Great Britain. He has continued as a member of the British Finance Committee of the General Church. He has been much engaged in visiting the isolated members. He has also served as a member of the Council of the Swedenborg Society, as Secretary of its Advisory and Revision Board, and as a member of the Library Committee.

     SWEDEN.

Gothenburg Circle: Rev. Erik Sandstrom reports that, on April 24, he organized the isolated members of the Jonkoping Society, living in Gothenburg into a semi-formal Circle, and initiated regular activity there under his supervision. He has visited the Gothenburg Circle five times, preached four sermons, given five doctrinal classes, also one public missionary lecture-attended by about 50 persons. The Holy Supper was administered three times.

Jonkoping Society: Rev. Erik Sandstrom, as Pastor, reports that early in 1938 the "Nykyrkliga Foreningen," formerly the instrument for General Church activity in Jonkoping, was dissolved, owing to the formation of the Jonkoping Society of the General Church. From October on, the Society has held public services. Two public missionary lectures were held in connection with the Swedenborg Anniversary, with an average attendance of 75. The average attendance at services has increased by 450/0 since public services began. The increase is largely made up of strangers.

280


He preached once to the Stockholm Society, and gave a paper at the First Stockholm District Assembly. He read an address at the British Assembly, preaching at Colchester on the following Sunday.

Stockholm Society ("Nya Kyrkans Forsamling"): Rev. Gustaf Baeckstrom reports that, in addition to the other duties, he gave five public lectures in Stockholm, with an average attendance of 61 persons. Besides the general doctrinal classes, he had a class of young people study The Infinite in English, with an attendance of 9.

     NORWAY.

Oslo: Rev. Gustaf Baeckstrom reports that he has given 4 public lectures in Oslo, 2 in Bergen, and 2 in Stavanger, with an average attendance of 61 persons. In Oslo, 2 public services and 2 doctrinal classes were held, with 2 administrations of the Holy Supper.

     HOLLAND.

The Hague Society: Rev. Eldred E. Iungerich reports that, in addition to the regular duties of the Hague Society, he has organized a New Dutch monthly, "De Nieuwe Bedeeling," of which the first issue was published on Christmas Day, 1938. The editorial staff consists of the Pastor and Mr. Emanuel Francis as business manager. News notes of the Pastor's activities here and in Brussels (where a group of our members exists) have appeared in NEW CHURCH LIFE.

     FRANCE.

Paris Society: Rev. Eldred E. Iungerich, as Visiting Pastor, reports that monthly visits are now made to Paris on the third Sunday of each month, when he holds a children's service at St. Cloud, conducting the afternoon service in Paris. Mr. Louis Lucas, vice-president of the society, conducts the service on the first Sunday of each month. The outstanding events of the year were: The joint celebration of June 19 between the General Church group and the Rev. N. Mayer and his Federation group; the decease of Mme. Stephanie Hussenet, widow of Rev. Ferdinand Hussenet, on November 21, 1938; and the removal of the Pastor and his family to the Hague on June 30, 1938.

     AUSTRALIA.

Hurstville (N. S. W.) Society: Rev. W. Cairns Henderson, Pastor, reports that, in addition to the Sunday morning and evening services, and weekly doctrinal classes, a Sunday School with a total roll of 33 pupils and 6 teachers is carried. At present there is no Day School.

     Rev. Richard Morse reports that he conducted Divine service seven times during the year.

281




     SOUTH AFRICA.

Alpha (O. F. S.) Circle: Rev. Frederick W. Elphick reports that virtually all of his time has been occupied by his duties as Superintendent of the General Church Mission in South Africa. No services have been held in the Alpha Circle during the year. The Pastor reports that, on invitation of the Rev. P. N. Odhner, he conducted the service in the Durban Society 7 times, and the children's service 6 times. He also accompanied the Bishop in his tour of the Mission Stations.

Durban (Natal) Society: Rev. Philip N. Odhner reports, as Pastor, that the memorable event of the year was the episcopal visit. During the seven weeks' stay of Bishop and Mrs. de Charms, they had the benefit of the Bishop's instruction at five services, three children's services, three doctrinal classes, and numerous other official and private gatherings. As Headmaster of the Day School he reports: 3 teachers and Headmaster, 15 pupils, grades 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, and 2nd High School. He also performed the duties of Assistant Superintendent of the South African Native Mission.

South African Native Mission: Rev. Frederick W. Elphick, Superintendent of the Mission (comprising 25 mission stations), reports 22 ministers in the Mission: 5 in the Second Degree, 17 in the First Degree. During 1938 there were two Zulu theological students, both of whom were ordained by Bishop de Charms. In addition to sustaining, as far as possible, the consecutive teaching for the theological school held in Durban, he visited the following mission stations, where we have societies and day schools: Alpha, O. F. S. (6 visits); Esididini, Natal (l); Lusitania. Natal (1); Greylingstad, Transvaal (2); Lukas, Basutoland (1); Tongaat, Natal (1); Turner's Avenue, Durban (1); Hambrook, Natal (1); Mayville, Durban (2); "Kent Manor," Zululand (2). He also reports 22 teachers in the day schools (11 male, 11 female); day scholars about 300 to 350; night scholars about 50 to 60; night teachers 2; and one instructor of printing. He has continued the editorship and publication of "Tlhahiso-Umcazi," a journal printed in English, Basuto, and Zulu, and issued six times a year. The total number (estimated) of baptized members for 1938 in the entire Mission (covering Orange Free State, Basutoland, Transvaal, Cape, Natal, and Zululand) was 1058. This included an addition of 35 adult baptisms for 1938. Infant baptisms are not counted (48 in 1938). He remarks: "The figure 1058 does not represent full, real, and live membership; that is, every member paying the contribution of 5s 6d per year. Those who are conscientious in paying are very few."

     Reports of a statistical nature were received from nine native ministers, as follows: Rev. Messrs. John M. Jiyana, Julius S. M. Jiyana, Moffat Mcanyana, Sofonie Mosoang, J. Motsi, Jonas Mphatse, Nathaniel Mphalse, Benjamin I. Nzimande, and Philip J. Stole.
     Respectfully submitted,
          WILLIAM WHITEHEAD,
               Secretary of the Council.

282


REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 1939

REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE       EDWARD H. DAVIS       1939

     Since the last report on April 2, 1938, two members have joined the General Church, Incorporated, and two have died. The total membership is, therefore, the same-142. One of the members who died was Mr. S. S. Lindsay, an honorary member of the Executive Committee.

     Since the last meeting of the Joint Council the Executive Committee, up to the date of preparation of this report (March 29, 1939) has held four meetings. As usual, the financial affairs of the Church have taken much of the time and attention of the committee; and as to these, the Treasurer's report is so comprehensive that little further need be said.

     At the meeting of the Joint Council on April 2, 1938, the matter of the administration of General Church orphanage funds was referred to the Executive Committee for action. In order to have thorough consideration given to the various Problems involved, a sub-committee was appointed by Bishop de Charms to study the whole matter de novo, and to report its recommendations to the Executive Committee. The sub-committee consisted of Edward H. Davis, chairman, and Edward C. Bostock, Hubert Hyatt and Philip C. Pendleton. This committee held a number of meetings and formulated a report of their conclusions and recommendations which was submitted to the Executive Committee. The report recommended reorganization on the basis unanimously approved at the 1938 Joint Council, and was discussed at length by the Executive Committee.

     Following the discussion, it was decided that the proposed reorganization plan be referred back to the Joint Council with the unanimous recommendation of the Executive Committee that it be approved and adopted. The recommendations of the Executive Committee have been set forth in a memorandum which has been mimeographed and will be submitted to the 1939 Joint Council.

     Bishop de Charms also asked the same sub-committee to study the matter of General Church pensions and pension funds. The sub-committee has considered the question at several meetings, but has not yet reported.

     The attorney for the group which resigned from the General Church in 1937 reported to our attorneys that the group proposed to use as a name for their corporate organization, "The Lord's New Church which is Nova Hierosolyma," and for the unincorporated body, "Nova Domini Ecclesia quae est Nova Hierosolyma, The Lord's New Church which is Nova Hierosolyma." The Executive Committee decided that, in view of the changes which had been made in the proposed name, no further action in opposition would be taken.

     A committee, with Bishop de Charms as chairman, to acquaint the entire membership of the Church with the needs and uses of the General Church is being appointed by the Bishop. This is referred to in more detail in the Treasurer's report.
     Respectfully submitted,
          EDWARD H. DAVIS,
               Secretary.

283


Church News 1939

Church News       Various       1939

     STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN.

     The 251st Anniversary of the birth of Emanuel Swedenborg was celebrated in our General Church Society by a Social meeting at the church after the service on Sunday, January 29, 1939. Among the specially invited guests were Mr. and Mrs. Erik Hjerpe. He is the librarian of the Swedenborgian Library in Stockholm, and also the head of the Book Room which has published most of the Writings in the Swedish language. As representatives of the Swedenborg family, Captain Emanuel Swedenborg, with a daughter and two other ladies, were also present. Among the speeches there was one by Captain Swedenborg, who spoke appreciatively of his great namesake.

     On the evening of March 3, at the invitation of Mr. Hjerpe, a social meeting took place at the Swedenborgian Library, attended by the members of the General Church Society and a great number of others who had been especially invited, and whom Mr. Hjerpe hoped to interest in the New Church. Among them was a Mrs. Margit Lagerheim-Romare, who is a descendant of Emanuel Swedenborg's brother Jesper.

     In March I undertook to journey to Norway, visiting Oslo, as described in the May issue of the Life. The prospects for the New Church in Oslo seem to be very good, and the interested people there look forward to the day when they can form a society and have a minister of their own. This is one bright ray of sunshine in contrast with the uncertain conditions in Europe which are casting their shadows in sinister menace over all.
     GUSTAF BAECKSTROM.

     THE HAGUE, HOLLAND.

     The service held in our place of worship on Easter Sunday was attended by 16 adults and 2 children. The Lessons from Daniel vii, Luke xxiv, John xxi and T. C. R. 109 preceded the reciting of the Ten Commandments. The sermon pointed out that, when the Risen Lord received the piece of broiled fish and the honeycomb from His disciples, and later gave them bread and fish to eat by the Sea of Galilee, it involves that we offer Him natural things, while He imparts spiritual gifts in return. In the course of the sermon the modes of men's seeing into the Spiritual world were set forth, and also how the Lord's assumption of a Divine Natural meant the extension of the instrumentalities or temperings by which He operates, so as to enable Him to have eternally the means of entering upon the ultimate plane of men. At the close of the service 14 persons partook of the sacrament of the Holy Supper.

     From a New Church group in Latvia we have recently received a letter in German, enclosing a copy of the New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine in the Latvian language, and also asking us to send them our periodical, De Nieuwe Bedeeling, regularly. It was with a warm feeling that we received this visible token of the international activities of the New Church, proving once more that there is a strong bond between New Church people all over the world. We have greatly appreciated this friendly gesture on the part of our friends in Latvia.

     Mrs. Iungerich gave her birthday party on April 18, inviting all the ladies of the society. It was a very enjoyable event.

284


We all had a good time playing games. Miss Helderman recited a New Church poem, and our hostess danced some Spanish dances in national costume. This delightful social evening came to a close about midnight.
     LAMBERTINE FRANCIS.

     PITTSBURGH, PA.

     To take up the thread of events where it was last broken we must go all the way back to Swedenborg's Birthday. This occasion is now only memory, but owing to the character of the celebration it is still quite vivid in our minds. As in the past, we were honored by the presence of a visiting speaker. This time it was Dr. Hugo Odhner, who addressed us on the subject of "Swedenborg's Antecedents,"-a brilliant consideration of those influences which were brought to bear upon the mind of Emanuel Swedenborg Here was the hand of Providence, as it prepared the way through the darkness of the Christian era. Indeed, we felt as if we had been granted a brief glimpse of that inner current which bears human affairs on to the fulfillment of Divine uses. Our only regret is that the paper is not available for wider publication.

     On the following evening, Dr. Odhner met with the New Philosophy Club. For an hour and a half the speaker held his audience to the subject of "The Principles of Swedenborg's philosophy." Again his efforts were enthusiastically received. We know that Dr Odhner was somewhat concerned when he learned of the time consumed, but his concern was not shared by others. For our part we would have continued.

     Social Life.

     In this society, social life has been something of a problem. It is no small matter to interest some hundred or more people of various disposition and temperaments Also, there was always the collector at the door-a chilling performance, if ever there was one. So we hit upon a plan that gave promise of a more spontaneous approach to the problem. Instead of deciding upon some form of social life, and placing the responsibility for the occasion in the hands of a duly appointed committee, we established a standing committee which has encouraged individuals or groups of individuals to invite the society to parties at the church. The idea was most appealing. Various groups organized and entertained the entire society. It is no longer a question of who will be appointed to manage this affair, or how much we must charge to cover the cost of this function. The individuals assume the entire responsibility.

     In December, the Rev. and Mrs. Willard D. Pendleton and Mr. and Mrs. Charles Ebert invited the society to a formal dance. The occasion will long be remembered. In January a group of young married couples entertained the society at a card party. This was another successful event. Then, in March, the bachelors of the society, some five in all, aroused the members of the congregation various times of the day, requesting their presence at a "Come as You Are Party." To this we merely add that there were some strange get-ups." Everything from formal dress to shirt sleeves appeared on the scene. At by this affair the bachelors challenged the unmarried ladies to do better. The answer is already under way. So from the "Bachelor's Ball" we turn to the "Spinster's Frolic," at which we are supposed to arrive in a regalia that will represent some well-known novel. Thus the social life proceeds,-a merry round of unique parties.

     Seventeenth General Assembly

     There are many other aspects of our work which we could consider at this time, but that which is engaging our attention at the moment is the future rather than the past. Once again it is to be our privilege to entertain the General Church at Shady Side Academy.

285


Already the Pastor has gone into session with various individuals. Old plans are being reconsidered and new ideas are being formulated. After all, this is an opportunity to perfect some of the plans we had for the last Assembly which the lack of time did not permit us to carry out. This year we have ample notice, and it is a pleasure to be back on the old job again. So here is looking forward to June 19.40 and another happy occasion!
     E. R. D.

     TORONTO, CANADA.

     In the spring of each year we are reminded once again in sermon and lessons of the joyous privilege of the New Churchman, in that he can worship the Risen Lord in His Divine Human. The Easter services-Good Friday and Easter Sunday-again proved to be stimulating to the affections and thoughts. Due to the Pastor's absence at the Ministers' Meetings in Bryn Athyn, there was no service on Palm Sunday, which was probably most keenly felt by the children, who, under ordinary circumstances, bring their floral offering to the Lord on that day.

     For several months there have been indications that a drama of some sort was afoot. At long last the date was set and the play given. The title?-"Hands Up!" The producer and cast?-Mr. Lawrence Izzard and members of the Alpha Pi. The reception?-Most appreciative, and deserving of it.

     For the ladies to be guests of the gentlemen is always a much anticipated event of the year. So it was with delight that some twenty-five accepted the invitation of the Forward-Sons to an evening's entertainment. A fine dinner, an excellent talk on "Elocution" by Mr. Archibald Swan, a radio speech by Lord Baldwin, and an "Information Please" program! It was voted by one and all of the guests that "Ladies' Night of 1939" was a great success. On a recent trip Eastward our Pastor conducted the betrothal service for Miss Wilma Izzard and Mr. Robert Glenn in Montreal. A doctrinal class and a service were also held there. From Montreal Mr. Gyllenhaal visited Ottawa, Carleton Place and Brockville, thus meeting most of the New Church people in this Eastern Ontario circuit.
     M. S. P.

     PHILADELPHIA DISTRICT ASSEMBLY.

     May 6-7, 1939.

     Revived last year in a form calculated to emphasize the uses and needs of the district, and to bring its members into closer spiritual unity and brotherhood, the Assembly this year was another delightful and inspiring occasion. A new feature of the program proved to be a useful addition, which it is hoped will be continued in the future,-a public session held on Saturday afternoon at 3 o'clock in the choir hall of the Cathedral, thus in the sphere of the uses of the Church.

     Bishop de Charms presided, and opened the meeting with prayer and a reading from the New Testament. He then welcomed the visitors to Bryn Athyn, saying that they would find our hearts, as well as our homes, opened to them. He spoke of the session as being an innovation in this district, and hoped it would be found a useful one. He invited all present to enter into a free and open discussion of any problems they might wish to place before the meeting. The Bishop announced that he had asked the Rev. Elmo Acton to act as Secretary of the Assembly.

     Then followed an Address by the Bishop on "The Uses of the Church," a timely and inspiring one, greatly enjoyed by all present, as evidenced by the remarks following it. Dwelling upon the uses of the Church, as being both spiritual and natural, the Bishop showed that ii the natural functions, offices and organized activities are performed from a genuine love of the goods and truths of the Church itself, then they have that which is spiritual and living within them.

286


As the text of the Address is to be published in a future issue of NEW CHURCH LIFE, we refrain from further description here. The subject was discussed appreciatively by the Revs. T. S. Harris and Homer Synnestvedt, Messrs. Rowland Trimble, Sydney Childs, J. J. Kintner, and Paul Synnestvedt. The meeting closed with the Benediction at 4.55 p.m.

     The Banquet.

     At seven o'clock, in the Assembly Hall, 342 people sat down to a delicious supper provided by the women of the society, who managed somehow to save enough out of the charge of 65 cents to serve wine for the toasts. Mr. Francis L. Frost presided as toastmaster, and succeeded in giving us a real spiritual treat, served up in an attractive style, and interspersed with bits of delightful humor.

     The general theme of the evening was "Unity," and this was illustrated by a banner immediately behind the speakers' table, inscribed with the words, "All Religion has Relation to Life." On each side of this were two other banners, with the following inscriptions: "The Life of the Child"; "The Life of Students"; "The Life of Adults "The Life of the Church." These were the subjects of the four speeches.

     In addition, a long streamer on the wall behind the toastmaster tabulated the number of members in the eight groups of the district: Arbutus, Bryn Athyn, Camden, Northern New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, and Others. Totals: Adults 730; Children 431.

     The toastmaster opened his program by explaining the meaning of the banners and the general subject of the evening, interjecting many humorous comments. In response to the first toast, "To the Children," he read three most interesting letters treating of problems in the education of children, especially those under high school age. These had been received by him from lady members of the General Church in Cincinnati, Toronto and Washington, and their contents were warmly appreciated by all present.

     Dr. Philip Stebbing, speaking on "The Life of Students," dwelt upon the problems of the high school and college age, especially with those living away from Bryn Athyn. He testified to his belief in New Church education, but felt that the advantages were sometimes outweighed by the sacrifices, because those who attend other high schools form associations that are afterwards of value in their profession or business. We were glad to hear this frank statement of a problem that some parents may be called upon to face.

     As an "Interlude, Mr. Frost brought up the subject of the percentage of contributors to the General Church treasury,-500 out of a potential 1500. Deploring this fact, he pointed out the spiritual value of a 100 percent contribution from the members, however small the individual contribution might be. At his request, Mr. Acton read from Chapter IX of the Doctrine of Charity on "The Benefactions of Charity." The toastmaster then announced that the Northern New Jersey group wished to present to the Assembly a silver bowl inscribed with the words, "The Benefactions of Charity," and would propose that it be given at the Assembly each year to the society or circle showing the greatest increase in the number of contributors to the General Church. Mr. Curtis Hicks, in a happy speech, then presented the bowl to Mr. Fred Grant, in recognition of the 100 percent record of the Washington Society. In equally happy vein, Mr. Grant accepted the bowl, and expressed the hope that he would be able to give it to Mr. Hicks next year!

     The next speaker, Mr. Sydney Childs, was introduced as one who had consented a few hours before to the substitute of a substitute of a substitute, who had been excused on account of illness. His subject was "The Life of the Adult," and he spoke in a very interesting and thoughtful way on three subtopics which had been selected by the others: "The Jury in its Relation to the New Church"; "Hell"; and "Heaven."

287


A vivid description of his own experience in serving on a jury pictured the problem of the New Churchman in his effort to maintain the ideals of his conscience in deciding the issues of a case in court. Hell, he thought, was rather a "broad" subject for treatment in a banquet speech. He liked to think of heaven as not far off, but very near to those of the church, who are engaged in common uses, and may well be reunited in those uses in the world to come.

     The Bishop, treating of "The Life of the Church," lifted our minds above the perplexities of present-day conditions in the world to thoughts of the Lord in His Second Coming. He said that the speeches had been a panorama of the life of the church. The ideals of the Writings are above all ends in the world; we must be willing to fight for those ideals at all costs. We must not give way to a sense of fear; for the most wonderful thing in all history has taken place,-the promise of all the ages that the Lord would come, and that He would establish a heavenly kingdom upon the earth,-a kingdom that would not come to an end. It is true that we are few in number and weak, that we have faults and failings yet we have the Heavenly Doctrine, in which there is the infinite power of the Lord to accomplish His ends. The forces of our own shortcomings and fears should not weigh against the power of the Lord and heaven, to receive which we must elevate our thoughts and aims; for nothing in the world can stand in the way of the development of the New Church. We must look at these things from within, and see that they will go forward in spite of us. Hardships, trials, and difficulties will be overcome, if we have courage and faith in the Lord. And so it is necessary, from time to time, to pause and reflect where we are going, asking ourselves, Are we fulfilling our trust? We must meet our problems as they present themselves, with trust in the Lord to provide, if we do our part. And our part is to let the Writings lead, and be willing to follow.

     A most delightful banquet closed with the singing of "Our Glorious Church." The toastmaster is to be congratulated upon a well-prepared, thoughtful and entertaining program.

     On Sunday we met in worship, and the sermon was delivered by the Rev. William Whitehead, whose text was from Isaiah 26:12-19, "Lord, Thou wilt ordain peace for us," etc., forcefully placing before us the need of thinking in all things from the Heavenly Doctrine, from which we shall have the "truth of peace," if we overcome the evils of the ancient Rephaim, still reigning in the world today, and forming part of our own inheritance. At the conclusion of the service, the Assembly was most fittingly brought to a close with the celebration of the greatest of all feasts, the Lord's Supper.
     ELMO C. ACTON,
          Secretary.

     THIRTY-SECOND BRITISH ASSEMBLY.

     The members and friends of the General Church of the New Jerusalem are cordially invited to attend the Thirty-second British Assembly, which will be held at Colchester, England, on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, August 5-7, 1939, Bishop George de Charms presiding.

     Those expecting to be present are requested to notify the Secretary as soon as possible, or to communicate with Mr. Owen Pryke, 142 Broomfield Road, Chelmsford, England, who has charge of the housing accommodation.
     REV. VICTOR J. GLADISH,
          Secretary.
67 Lexden Road,
Colchester, England.

288


ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH 1939

ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH       EDWARD F. ALLEN       1939




     Announcements.



     The Annual Joint Meeting of the Corporation and Faculty of the Academy of the New Church will be held in the chapel of Benade Hall, Bryn Athyn, Pa., on Saturday, June 10, 1939, at 8.00 p.m. The public is cordially invited to attend.

     After opportunity has been given for the presentation and discussion of the Annual Reports of the Officers of the Academy an Address will be delivered by Professor Otho W. Heilman.
     EDWARD F. ALLEN,
          Secretary.
SONS OF THE ACADEMY 1939

SONS OF THE ACADEMY              1939

     The Annual Meetings of the Sons of the Academy will be held at Toronto, Ontario, Canada, from Friday, June 30, to Sunday, July 2, 1939. Those planning to attend are requested to communicate with Mr. C. R. Brown, 182 Indian Road, Toronto, Canada. For further information, consult the secretary of your local chapter, or, if isolated, write to Mr. Brown at the above address.

289


POSSIBLE AND IMPOSSIBLE THINGS 1939

POSSIBLE AND IMPOSSIBLE THINGS       Rev. F. E. GYLLENHAAL       1939


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LIX          JULY, 1939 No. 7
     "And Jesus said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God." (Luke 18:27.)

     A certain ruler, or rich young man, had asked the Lord what he should do to inherit eternal life. On being told that he must give away his wealth and follow the Lord, the ruler departed sorrowing, "for he was very rich." The Lord then taught that it is impossible for a rich man to enter heaven; and, in reply to His listeners' amazement and exclamation, "Who then can be saved!" He added, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God."

     The evident meaning of the Lord's teaching is that the love of wealth for its own sake, and also the love of knowledges for selfish and other unworthy purposes, make salvation and introduction into heaven impossible. The surrender and removal of all things of the proprium and of self-intelligence are required, because these things are without saving power. The Greek word translated "impossible" is the same as that translated "power" in the Lord's Prayer, but with a prefix meaning "without," "without power." The things from a man's proprium and self-intelligence are without power, or without saving power, or without power to regenerate man and introduce him into heaven. It is impossible for any man to save himself from hell and its evil, and to introduce himself into heaven, or make himself an angel of heaven. Not even a life of piety, the keeping of the commandments, a moral life, will save a man from hell; for salvation is of the Lord alone.

290


The same knowledges and deeds that are powerless to effect salvation,-the "things which are impossible with men,"-become powerful when honestly acknowledged to be from the Lord, thus " are possible with God."

     In Matthew's account of this incident the Lord gives a more inclusive reply: "With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible" (19:26). Luke also relates that the angel Gabriel said to Mary, when asked how the Lord should be born of her, "With God nothing shall be impossible." (1:37.) Mark records that in Gethsemane the Lord prayed, saying, "Abba, Father, all things are possible unto Thee. Take away this cup from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but what Thou wilt." (Mark 14:36.) In the Old Testament we read that, when Sarah laughed at hearing that she, ninety years old, would give birth to a son, the angel asked, "Is anything too hard for the Lord!" (Genesis 18:14); also that Jeremiah, when told by the Lord of the Jews' captivity, in pleading for their final release and return to Jerusalem, prayed, "Ah Lord God! behold, Thou hast made the heaven and the earth by Thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for Thee." (32:17.)

     These passages, and others to the same effect, have been interpreted to mean that God can do anything, and that He can do it as well without means as with means. He is said to have created the universe without means, and out of nothing. Such ideas are not founded upon truth, and are irrational. Those who believe such things have no true knowledge of God, of Divine things, and of the order which God introduced into the universe when He created it. Apparently they take for granted that God can oppose Himself, and even can act directly against Himself. They seem to think that God can do anything which any man can think out for Him to do. But all such passages in the Word state what is the appearance to the merely natural man, to the ignorant, undeveloped, and irrational mind. They are general truths, such as children and the simple must learn first, in order that they may afterwards advance by gradual steps to intelligence and wisdom. In order that children and the simple may have complete confidence in God, they must believe that God is able to do anything whatsoever, because to them this is the meaning of omnipotence, which is one of the three essential attributes of God.

291


Especially should little children be well grounded in the basic truth that the Lord is present everywhere, knows everything, and can do anything He wills. But parents and teachers should constantly guard them against absurd applications of this basic truth, and also should gradually teach them other truths, which will prepare them for a spiritual-rational understanding of the Lord's omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence.

     The absurdities which men think concerning omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence come from ignorance of the order in which God created the universe. (T. C. R. 52.) Therefore it is necessary to know and understand how God created the universe, His purposes and ends, and the order He introduced into the universe, before we can understand His omnipotence. We must know and understand the laws of nature, the laws of human nature, and the laws of regeneration. These laws are God's, for He has made them. No man has made them. But God grants men the ability, as of themselves, to discover and understand the laws of nature, and reveals His laws of human nature and of regeneration; for no man can discover these of himself, although he can as of himself understand them.

     For the sake of understanding God's omnipotence, it is also necessary to know and realize that it is not like the power of an absolute monarch; thus that it is not absolute for doing evil as well as good, or absolute for acting according to His own laws or against them as He pleases. All such capricious action is from neither love nor wisdom; it does not regard any man's freedom and rationality; it has no regard for any man's eternal life. But as God is love itself and wisdom itself, whatever He does is from love and wisdom; it fosters and protects every man's freedom and rationality, and has respect to every man's eternal life.

     To understand God's omnipotence, it is also most necessary to know and understand that man has been so created as to permit of his voluntary opposition to God's omnipotence, or opposition of a kind and power often seemingly successful in overcoming God's omnipotence. Freedom of will, free choice, the as-of-itself with man, is not possible without this ability to oppose God, even to the extent of defeating the Divine purpose of an angelic being.

292


For God predestines every man to heaven; yet many men never go there, because they freely choose not to go, or freely choose a life opposite to the life of heaven.

     Nevertheless, we read in the Arcana Celestia that "the Lord could, through angels, lead man into good ends by omnipotent force; but this would be to take away the man's life; for his life consists in entirely contrary loves. Therefore the Divine law is inviolable, that man shall be in freedom, and that good and truth, or charity and faith, shall be implanted in his freedom, and by no means in compulsion; because what is received in a state of compulsion does not remain, but is dissipated. . . . It was said that the Lord could, through angels, lead man into good ends by omnipotent force; for evil spirits can be driven away in an instant, even if there should be myriads about a man, and this indeed by means of one angel; but then the man would come into such torment, and into such a hell, that he could not possibly endure it, for he would be miserably deprived of his life." (A. C. 5854.)

     Here we are taught that "omnipotent force" could make an evil man become a good man against his will. This could be done by the removal of all evil spirits from the man, and by the association of angels alone with him. The result, however, would be torment, which is hell, because the loves and delights of the evil man would remain, and would have no outlet, and the man would have no congenial company. The proprium of every man, since the fall, is such that it cannot endure good alone, or heaven. A new proprium has to be acquired gradually, and a man's enjoyment of life has to be from this new proprium, before he can endure the removal of all evil spirits and evil men from him, and can enjoy only the company of good men and angels. It would be possible, for example, forcibly to take a man out of his company of idle, drunken, foul-mouthed, and generally immoral people, and put him among only moral, cultured, industrious, and clean-minded people; but, if he were really bad, he would be miserable in his new company. Therefore, though the Lord can do things by "omnipotent force," He nevertheless can not do them, if they are contrary to order. He has, indeed, the power, but a man must avail himself of this power as of himself, or freely, otherwise the Lord's power has no means with the man of doing that which the Lord wills.

293


His infinite love respects, above all things, every man's own freedom and its delights, and provides for every man's preservation, even in a life directly contrary to His will and purpose in creating him.

     It is true, therefore, that "with God all things are possible," and it is also true that there are things impossible even for God to do. We read in the Writings: "As it is impossible for God to condemn anyone who lives well and believes aright, so, on the other hand, it is impossible for God to save anyone who lives wickedly and believes falses." (T. C. R. 341.) Again we read: "To accomplish the work of redemption without the Human was as impossible for God as it is for man to subjugate the Indies without transporting soldiers thither by means of ships, or as it is to make trees grow only by the heat and light of the sun, unless the air had been created, through which the heat and light might pass, and unless the earth had been created, out of which they might be produced; . . . for Jehovah, as He is in Himself, cannot, by His omnipotence, touch any devil in hell, nor any devil on earth, and repress him and his fury, and subdue his violence, unless He be in the lasts, as He is in firsts; for He is in the lasts in His Human." (T. C. R. 84.)

     In the lesson read from the Arcana Celestia, no. 8700, we learned that "in the other life everything is possible that is in conformity with order," and that everything contrary to order is impossible. This is also true on earth. Here it is impossible to rescue the miserable from their misery suddenly, and without their co-operation, because it is contrary to order to work without means and by compulsion, unless it is self-compulsion. We have the means to make human life of a heavenly character, and therefore it is possible to do so, but only according to the Divine order that provides for every man's spiritual freedom, and protects him in his choice, whatever it may be. Even those who are in miserable conditions against their will can be rescued only by the provided means according to the Divine order.

     But when we consider the outward appearances of life in the world, or the existing conditions, we often have difficulty in thinking straight and truly, because we usually think from them as well as about them. Sight from the eye alone, and thought from this sight, will close the understanding; but sight and thought from the understanding of spiritual principles, and especially of Divine Truths, will open the eyes to the real nature of the conditions, their true causes, and the true means for their betterment.

294




     Undoubtedly, for the purpose of helping us to think truly of worldly conditions, and of the possibilities of their improvement, we are given many examples of things impossible on a higher plane than the material. For example, we are told that "to believe in a Divine and to love a Divine that cannot be thought of under any form is impossible." (A. E. 200e) "It is impossible to derive a single genuine theological truth from any other source than from the Lord alone; . . . to derive it from any other source is as impossible as it is to sail from England or Holland to the Pleiades, or to ride on horseback from Germany to Orion in the sky." (B. E. 98e.) "It is impossible for those who are in the love of self to know what their ruling love is, because they love what is their own, and call their evils goods; and the falsities that they incline to, and by which they confirm their evils, they call truths. And yet, if they were willing, they might know it from others who are wise, and who see what they themselves do not see. This, however, is impossible with those who are so filled up with self love that they spurn all teaching of the wise." (N. H. 487.)

     The truth is, that the Lord has all power, and also that in human affairs He uses His power by means of men. Men alone are ever to blame for the evil conditions in which they are. And as long as they try to save themselves by their own intelligence and contriving, they will be trying the impossible. This is as true of natural conditions as of spiritual ones, as true of their subjection to other men as of their subjection to evil spirits. For the Lord's means of redemption and salvation are the doctrines of religion,-the doctrines of His Word,-and religion has relation to everything of human life. Only as men learn to apply truly Christian principles in everything of human life, as they make the doctrines of the Word the order of their lives, will they come into order, into the order of heaven; and only as they come into this order will they realize that "the things which are impossible with men are possible with God." Amen.

     LESSONS: Exodus l8. Luke 18:1-30. A. C. 8700.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 505, 528, 564.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 128, 132.

295


CORRESPONDENCE AND THE GORAND MAN 1939

CORRESPONDENCE AND THE GORAND MAN       Rev. GILBERT H. SMITH       1939

     The heavenly form, or the very form of heaven, is to be seen in the form of the brain. This is a form of most wonderful foldings and circumgyrations in the substances of the brain. And the manner in which the cortical substances of the brain continue through the medulla into the nerves, and through the nerves into the body, is a picture of the organization of the heavens and their functions in the world. (See H. H. 212.)

     The form of heaven itself is most amazing. The societies of heaven are arranged into a marvelous order, quite surpassing human imagination. Yet that order is represented, and may be seen in a general way, in the form and organization of the brain, though the interior forms of the brain cannot be seen with the eye, even when aided by the microscope.

     The heavens descend into the world through man alone, or through the brain of man and its wonderful form. For the interior things of the brain are the very seat of the thoughts of the understanding, and of the affections of the will. The thoughts and affections which men receive, therefore, are the life of heaven flowing down into the world.

     Whatever flows into the heavens and through the heavens from the Lord looks to the salvation of the human race. This end or purpose may be said to dwell in the inmost of the brain. There is therefore an inmost purpose within the brain, but entirely above our consciousness, and it seeks to preserve the health of the whole body, that the body may serve the soul, and that the soul may be happy to eternity.

     For a man to feel the happiness of the Divine life in himself as his own,-this is the Lord's greatest gift. And it is the very reason why He has created the human brain in the form in which it is, that it may receive life from Him through the heavens, because its form corresponds to the form of heaven.

     The correspondence of the heavens with the organs of sense in man is of the greatest interest.

296


Influx from heaven into the cerebellum,-the involuntary,-manifests itself especially in the face. Affections therefore appear in the face which are for the most part involuntary, such as fear, joy, gladness, love and friendship. But the influx of the heavens through the cerebrum is of another character. It descends into the conscious thought. (A. C. 4325-4327.)

     The correspondence of the eye is with the internal sight of the understanding, which is the sight of the mind. If a man had no understanding, he would also be without physical sight.

     The spirits or societies in the other world which correspond to the sense of hearing in man constitute the province of the ear in the Gorand Man. They are in a life of simple obedience. They do not reason as to whether a thing is true or not, but believe it because it has been so said or commanded by others. They may be called "obediences." But in the ear, as in the eye, there are several parts, the interior chambers of the ear being more wonderful than the external ear. So there are more interior and more wonderful heavens corresponding to the interior organs of hearing.

     Our Writings frequently remind us that the spirit of man is in the whole and in every part of the body. The body is the material part only, which is everywhere annexed to the spirit, and adapted to life in the world in which we live. So it is said that man is essentially a spirit, but having a body also for the sake of uses in the world, in which body the spirit lives, and through which it acts.

     The Lord's kingdom is as one man, and therefore heaven is called the Greatest Man (Maximus Homo). The Lord dwells in heaven as a man's spirit dwells in his body. The Lord rules heaven as one man. All those who belong to this Greatest Man have a constant situation, which is determined by their relation to the Lord. Their situation does not change, although they may appear to be in other places. (A. C. 1273-1277.) The universal heaven is so formed as to correspond to the Divine Human of the Lord. And man is formed to correspond to heaven. This is the reason why man is said to have been created in the image of God. It is said here and there in the Writings that such and such angels belong to some particular province of the Greatest Man, or of heaven, some to the head, others to the breast, others to the feet, the arms, and so on.

297




     It is a wonderful thing that Swedenborg, when he was examining or writing about some part of the human anatomy, found that the angels knew the most hidden things concerning the uses and structure of that part. They knew its structure, and its manner of acting, and its use. And they knew this from their understanding of the order of heaven.

     Not only the things pertaining to the human mind correspond to heaven; that is, not only thoughts and affections; but the whole man. There is not the smallest part of the human body that does not correspond to something in heaven. It even exists and is maintained from heaven. This is indeed a remarkable teaching, and it is peculiar to the New Church. In the light of this teaching we may see that, without such a connection with the Lord through the heavens, the human body would be dissolved or fall into disorder. We are very curiously and wonderfully made, according to the familiar words of the Psalm. It may be said that the Lord sees all our parts and members, even before they are made and fashioned. (Psalm 139.) It may be seen also that all the uses and functions of the various members and parts of the human body are in a sense holy, because they have a heavenly use.

     This opens up a new thought. We all know that there is an atmospheric pressure exerted against the entire body of man, and that by it the body is held in order and form. The air keeps the lungs, and also the ear, in their order and functions. It is not so well known, however,-although it is the truth,-that the ether maintains the interior things of the human body in their proper connection and order. It keeps the eye in its health and use. The eye is formed to function in the ether. But the new thought is this: that there are higher atmospheres still which act from within. These higher atmospheres are superior forces acting upon man, and within these forces there is life. So the general rule is this: Unless there were an active force which is of life itself, acting upon man from within, to which correspond the forces of nature operating upon us from without, there could be no activity of the body or of any of its parts. There must be a living force operating from within upon every organ and member of the body, and even upon every cell. This active force is life from heaven.

     To every organ of sensation or of motion there are corresponding and distinct societies in heaven; and from these societies spiritual things, spiritual forces, now in.

298


Thus there are distinct societies in the other world whose life flows into the face, into the lips, the tongue, the eyes, the ears. And so it is said that those who pass into heaven take their places in some province of the Greatest Man. It is also said that heaven is never shut. And the greater the number there, the stronger is the endeavor, the stronger the force and action of the heavens upon the human race. The order and the life of heaven terminates in man, that is, in the human organism. And human life is the terminus of the life of heaven.

     The Lord when He was on earth was under the necessity of glorifying His Human, in order that He might restore the order of the heavens, and that the whole of heaven might correspond to Him as the only Man. How great is the meaning, therefore, of the saying that the heavens are as it were the body of the Lord, or that those who are in heaven are in His body. For His life rules in them.

     But all those who are not in heaven are outside the Greatest Man. Still they are governed by it and kept in order. The entire brain is, in fact, an internal organ of sensation, and it receives all its sensation from heaven. All thought flows into our minds, and nothing of thought originates with us. An evil man indeed receives the life of his understanding from heaven, but this life is perverted and twisted by passing through the hells on its way to him.

     Another wonderful thing to be known is this: that they who come into the other world from our earth would not by any means be sufficient to make up the form of the Greatest Man of heaven; but there must be those of other planets also to complete the form of heaven. Different earths therefore contribute those who are to enter into different provinces of the Greatest Man. Those who come into heaven from our earth enter into those parts of the Greatest Man that belong to the natural and bodily senses.

     We can now see why it is said that men on earth are led by the Lord by the heavens and through them. (D. P. 162.) This is because the Lord is in the heavens as the soul is in the body. We have the remarkable teaching, also, that every man is introduced into this Greatest Man from his infancy. His soul is there. He may not reach his intended destination, but may be cast out, as the unsuitable elements in food are cast out in the process of digestion. But if he finds his way into his place in the Greatest Man, it will be through many changes of state, very much as the food which we eat is taken into the body, is carried away to enter the chyle, is mixed with the blood, and finally deposited in the living tissue.

299




     The blood and the various fluids of the body do not belong to the body actually. But the blood in the body corresponds to the Lord's own life in man.

     This idea of heaven as being like a larger human form gives us something definite to think about when we think of heaven. If asked, What is your idea of heaven? you can make no better reply than that it is like the human body with its great variety of forms and uses and functions, from the simplest cells of the skin to the most pure and tender vessels of the brain.

     These are in truth the real mansions of heaven; for each part of the body is for a definite use, and the use of each part exists in the spiritual world before the body is formed in the natural world. The life of heaven is to feel the Divine life, just as each part of the human body finds its health and its happiness from responding to the life of the soul in man.

     We often admire the order and power of a body of men that is well organized for some particular purpose, each one doing his part in harmony with the rest. The scientist admires the wonderful order and marvelous structure of living things. But these things are as nothing compared to the marvelous order and beauty of heaven, as conceived from a knowledge of the doctrine of the New Church.

     There are four general points of influx into the human body from the spiritual world, or four general operations of the spiritual world upon man. The first is into the brain,-into the cerebrum. It is an influx into the organs of reason. The second influx or operation is into the lungs, by which they operate as if of themselves. The third is into the heart; it can be seen with the eye and felt with the hand. And the fourth is into the organs beneath the heart, especially the kidneys; for by these there is maintained a general control over the composition of the blood, etc. Thus it is that the life of heaven flows into the human form, and the idea of influx is thus made very definite. The most astonishing thing is that it gives us a definite idea of what life is, and of how we are only vessels receiving life. We live from heaven; and heaven lives from the Lord.

     Man is also ruled by the Lord through the world of spirits, which is below the heavens.

300


He cannot live unless he is in society with spirits there. Through that world he has connection with the Greatest Man. Without this connection with the world of spirits, no truth or good could be communicated to us. Thus we should be unable to think from heaven, or even to think rationally. We would not be men in any true sense. Hence the world of spirits is also in the form of man, or is like an individual on a larger scale.

     As food and nourishment correspond to spiritual food and nourishment, so the sense of taste corresponds to perception, and to the affection for those things which nourish spiritual life. Spiritual food is knowledge, intelligence, and wisdom. Angels and spirits live from these, and have appetite for them, just as men have appetite for food and drink. All those parts of the body which are devoted to the sense of taste correspond to those societies in the other life which have perception and the affection of truth, to know, understand, and be wise. Hence human appetite corresponds to the desire for spiritual food and drink. We often say that we have or have not a taste for such and such a thing. And it is said of the Lord that He hungered. And it is said, "Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after justice."

     But very few among men, our Doctrine tells us, will believe that there are societies of spirits and angels to which all things in man correspond; also that the more societies there are, the stronger is the influx into man from them; for in numbers there is strength when they are of one mind and character. But in order that Swedenborg might know that this is the case, it was shown him how they acted. He was permitted to feel how they act into such parts as the muscles of the face and of the throat. Those who belonged to these provinces in the Greatest Man were permitted to flow into those parts with him, and he was permitted to see their manner of influx and operation. But this is a thing to be well remembered: those in the other life do not know to what province they belong; although the angels do know this. Spirits do not know it, but angels do know it.

     They in the other life who correspond to the hands, arms, and shoulders are they who have unusual power by means of truth from good. And they have this power, the more they attribute this power to the Lord, and none to themselves. Swedenborg speaks of the appearance before the sight of evil spirits of a mighty arm which strikes terror into all who see it, because it is an appearance or representation of the power of the Lord.

301




     Such are some of the remarkable teachings in our Doctrine about the form and organization of heaven, and its operation into and upon the human body.
LOUIS BEAUREGARD PENDLETON 1939

LOUIS BEAUREGARD PENDLETON       Rev. HUGO LJ. ODHNER       1939

     It is the privilege of New Churchmen to know something of the spiritual world, which stretches out wide and free behind the dark portals of death. This knowledge comes not to us through personal experience. For it is of the Providence of God that the two worlds shall be separate in appearance, even though the very consciousness of spiritual beings and of men cooperate and merge in common uses, which yet to each appear quite separate and distinct.

     This is provided to safeguard the freedom of men. We would be overwhelmed with a false sense of futility, and thus deprived of the feeling of individual responsibility, if we should be sensibly aware of the marvelous ways in which the spiritual world inflows and with its forces permeates and empowers the good and the ill which we believe to be ours alone,-that world into which the spirits of all men, the spirits of babes called in their innocency, the spirits of veterans of long life, seasoned by persistent struggle and sometimes mellowed by wisdom, are inevitably gathered up.

     The apparent barrier between the two worlds is also required for the protection of spirits and angels, required for the maintenance of their discrete perfections, lest their thoughts be again imprisoned or entangled in the gross network of natural time and space, or lest the affections of spiritual beings be sullied by the states of the past, over which they have gained a measure of victory.

     We cannot entertain the wish to remove the veil that so guards the lives of angels and men from mutual interference. Nor can we reasonably desire either to hasten or to stay the unfolding purposes of God, who provides earthly uses for men, and, in the fulness of His time, calls them on to enter more fully into the uses which are of eternal worth.

302




     But although it is not of order to seek by any artificial modes to part the curtains of the eternal life, yet the knowledge about the spiritual world is essential to mankind. It is therefore given in the form of doctrine,-a doctrine suggestively outlined even in the letter of the Sacred Scriptures of Jews and of Christians. So essential was the faith in the many mansions of the after-life, that it had ever been a spontaneous part of the heritage of mankind's thought. If that faith were false, the human race were living in a lie. So cruel a deception could not be tolerated by a merciful God. Wherefore the Lord assured His disciples, "If it were not so, I would have told you."

     But it was not until the time of His Second Advent that the Lord could present before men the clear and defined order of the spiritual world, the relations of the various heavens, and the reasons therefor. In the Writings we are allowed to enter the mind of God-to see the rational scheme of things entire, to understand some of the laws by which Providence in its wisdom operates, and what is the heavenly fruit of this, its operation. Eye had not seen, nor ear heard, neither had entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. (Isa. 64:4.) This now became revealed, that men might see and adore; that they might be convinced by the self-evidencing reason of love, which can recognize beyond any doubt the hand and the image of its Lord in the order of His heaven, and in loving this heavenly order, and entering into its sphere of spiritual uses, may thus love the Lord and be conjoined with Him,-conjoined, not merely by external obedience and blind acquiescence, such as that of the servant, but by free conviction and the full sense of responsibility which only an understanding heart can offer. "Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth; but I have called you friends."

     How few there be who can see the Lord as His mind, His heart, is reflected in the many provisions of the after-life, now revealed in the Writings! Yet how many whose faith in heaven is tottering before the awful and compelling fact of physical death!

     Louis Pendleton gave of his time and talent as a writer, that the waning faith of such might be fortified. He had briefly attended the Theological School of the Academy of the New Church.

303


He had marked how, in the memorable relations of the Writings, the skeletal frame-work of their abstract doctrine becomes as if clothed with warm and living flesh; how spirits and angels there take on personalities most convincingly human, and are shown as characters more and more unified and integrated. He did not see the spiritual world (into which he now has entered, humbly but without fear) as any strange land. But he saw it as a continuation of life-the selfsame spiritual world in which the mind and personality of man is inbuilt in fact and actuality during life on earth.

     His published stories of the after-death life were no doubt designed to strengthen that common perception which causes men vaguely to affirm the soul's immortality, and he did this by showing how spontaneously the conditions after death encourage the revelation of the inner character of the spirit. He found in the World of Spirits a proper stage for the final romance of human life. There are seen the process of shedding the inhibitions of merely social conventions, the discarding of the pretenses of prudence, the successive outcroppings of man's ruling love and the search for its real delights. There comes the eventual crisis of the last judgment-the struggle between the essential truth of God and the blatant and foolish illusions by which the love of self seeks to conquer the human spirit. There is made the final choice at the last cross-roads of human destiny,-a choice there made inevitable, because the spirit has already confirmed its inner bent while on earth. There, at last, dawn the belated blessings, fresh every morning,-blessings born of innocence and self-denial, of love of truth and charity,-the final rewards of love and fidelity, the opening of the gates of heaven, and the reunion of the twain whom the Lord had secretly reared to become an angelic one.

     Several generations, within and without the church, have been charmed by the tales of Louis Pendleton. But we speak here especially of those of his stories which seek to bring the other life within the grasp of the heart and the imagination. For with his fictional characters the author's own spirit walked by anticipation on the firm soil of the world which he now inhabits in very truth.

     We knew Mr. Pendleton as a man graced by the dignity of culture and wide knowledge, a writer and journalist of honesty and insight, trenchant in criticism and liberal in his sympathies; a man of retiring disposition, friendly, modest, but of firm convictions; sensitive to his obligations.

304


As a New Churchman he delighted to read the Writings, and was imbued with a deep reverence and loyalty. He was associated with the Academy movement since near its beginnings. He was the last of a generation of worthy, notable men of that family who served the New Church with a distinction which it is as yet beyond men to try to measure.

     But this service is not at an end, except, to some extent, in appearance. The works of a man live after him, and give to him a certain natural immortality. The worthy man does not seek this kind of immortality; he knows that it is in the spiritual world that the real uses are performed,-uses to other spiritual beings, uses which serve to bring to the pattern of a heavenly society that fulness of content, that sphere of happiness and meaning, and that sense of fulfilment, which natural words cannot describe; uses also to novitiate spirits who need the guidance of wise counsel and instruction in the truths of life and of faith; uses-finally-to men, whose minds require the consociation of angels, without which no good affection, nor any perception of spiritual truth, can pass to man, to give charity and enlightenment.

     New heavens are therefore needed for the consociation with the New Church on earth,-heavens of angels whose states here on earth were sufficiently similar to meet our needs. It is chiefly the angels of these heavens who, by their presence and influx, turn away what is evil and unworthy from our minds, as we seek in varied ways to labor for the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is with these that our thoughts may be actually consociated, so far as we read the Heavenly Doctrine in spiritual light and apart from the glory of pride and self-intelligence.

     There is a call for "many mansions" in the Heavenly Father's house. Yet the Lord added, "I go to prepare a place for you, that where I am, there ye may be also."

     Even so, the Second Advent of the Lord calls for new heavens, with special functions, special preparations. By the truths of His Second Advent was the judgment performed in the spiritual world, a judgment which liberated human minds from doubts and falsities, and from the grip of unperceived evils. And everlastingly, the Lord is present in the Writings to labor to prepare the new mansions whence spheres of Spiritual faith will continually go forth to meet and dispel the stifling spheres of consummated Christendom.

305




     As yet the spheres of spiritual truths are few, because only from the new heavens, and from those under heaven who are separated from the spirits of false religions, can they go forth in power. The societies of the New Church, which, from the Writings, are in some Knowledge of the Divine Human, are but few. The societies of the new heavens, which can give illustration to judge the spiritual issues of today, are as yet few. The two, in their progressive growth, are bound together in interdependence; and this is in the mercy of Providence, lest truth come prematurely to such as are not yet prepared.

     Heaven is ever built upon the church. The Lord will not rest "till He establish, and till He make Jerusalem a praise in the earth." It is here, in the courts of Jerusalem, that the Lord weaves for each true man the wedding-garments of spiritual faith, which admit to the New Christian Heaven, to the marriage supper of the Lord.

     In addition to the active uses of charity, can any better sign be given of the assumption of those wedding-garments than an effort, while here on earth, to understand the life of heaven, to walk upon the firm ground of faith with open eyes and understanding heart; to picture the real uses of heaven, and, in thought, exalt the conjugial life of partners there from the dress of merely earthly affections?

     If so, our brother was himself prepared to be received in the heaven of his faith, to enter now, beyond the imagery of the spiritual world and the external forms of its uses, into the essentials of the love and the long-harvested wisdom of his use. And we shall rejoice that his spirit, now called by a new name, shall eat of the hidden manna, and be given that crown of life which sums up the blessings of all the precious things of heaven.

306




     [Photo of Louis Pendleton]

307




     BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH.

     Louis Beauregard Pendleton was born in Tebeauville, Georgia, on April 21, 1861, the son of Major Philip Coleman Pendleton and Catherine Sarah Melissa Tebeau Pendleton. At the time of his death on May 13, 1939, he was the last surviving member of their family of nine children, all of whom espoused the faith of the New Church. Two sons entered the priesthood,-Bishop William Frederic Pendleton and Bishop Nathaniel Dandridge Pendleton. The Hen. Charles Rittenhouse Pendleton, of Macon, and Alexander S. Pendleton, of Valdosta, were staunch members of the General Church. Major Pendleton had become a receiver of the Heavenly Doctrines during the Civil War, as described in NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1929, p. 292.

     After his early education, Louis attended college for two years, and then spent four summers at the Sorbonne in Paris. He was a student in the Theological School of the Academy of the New Church 1881-1882, and 1892-1894, and for a brief period was associate editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE.

     For fifteen years, beginning in 1899, he was an editorial writer for the Macon DAILY TELEGRAPH, Of which his brother Charles was editor and owner. Later he established a syndicated editorial service, through which his writing on a great variety of subjects went to newspapers all over the country. In the course of a literary career that covered the last forty years, he also published many books, of which we shall speak below. He was a member of the Authors League of America, the Virginia Historical Society, Franklin Inn Club of Philadelphia, and an honorary member of the Societe Academique d'Histoire Internationale.

     Mr. Pendleton made his home in Bryn Athyn for many years. He was a devoted participant in the activities of the local society and of the General Church, and gave liberally of his means to the financial support of their uses. We may here recall some of his outstanding contributions to religious and secular literature.

     Tales of the Life to Come.

     Louis Pendleton wrote three different stories of the other life, based accurately upon the phenomena of the spiritual world as revealed in the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg.

     The Wedding Garment, copyrighted by the author, was first published in NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1892-1893. The following year (1894), it was brought out in book form by Roberts Brothers, Boston. A few years ago, the author gave the plates into the hands of the Academy Book Room, which printed 1000 copies, half of these, by special arrangement, bearing the imprint of The New-Church Press, New York.

308


In 1935, the author sold the rights of publication for the British Empire (except Canada) to the New-Church Press, Ltd., London, which published a popular priced edition in 1936. The Wedding Garment has also been translated into Swedish, German and French, and is available in Braille. The work has thus enjoyed a wide reading by young and old in the New Church, and has also performed a use in the mission field.

     The Great Crossing, a short story that featured the sinking of an Atlantic liner and the first experience of the passengers in the other world, was published in the CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR WORLD, and reprinted by permission in NEW CHURCH LIFE, December, 1918. Mr. Pendleton's treatment of this theme antedated Sutton Vane's Outward Bound by a number of years.

     The Invisible Police, in a more modern style and setting than the Wedding Garment, was published in 1932 by The New-Church Press, New York, and in 1936 by the New-Church Press, Ltd., London. It is also available in Braille. (See NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1933, pp. 59, 372.)

     Biblical Stories.

     Lost Prince Almon, recounting the imagined experiences of little King Jehoash, who was "hid in the house of the Lord six years, and was seven years old when he began to reign." (II Kings 11.)

     In Assyrian Tents, a story of Judah in the reign of Hezekiah, at the time of the invasion by Sennacherib, culminating in the destruction of 185,000 Assyrians by the angel of the Lord. (II Kings 18 and 19.)

     These tales provide useful collateral reading in connection with the Scripture text, giving a colorful picture of the period. They were published in 1898 and 1904, respectively, by The Jewish Publication Society of America, Philadelphia, Pa. In more recent editions, they are available at the Academy Book Room.

     Ismi-Dagon, An Assyrian Tale of the time of Sennacherib, appeared in NEW CHURCH LIFE for 1888, pp. 121, 136.

     The Princess Lilitu, a tale of ancient Babylon, was published in a magazine, but not, so far as we know, in book form.

     In the Secular Field.

     The Life of Alexander Stevens, published in 1908, was the product of extensive research among original documents. It is not only a biography, but also a treatment of the national issues of the period, and is a recognized textbook and reference work among the colleges of the United States and other countries.

     Of his many juvenile tales of adventure, perhaps the best known are King Tom and the Runaways (1890), In the Okefinokee (1895), and Kidnapping Clarence (1922). The last of his novels, Echo of Drums, was published in 1937.
     W. B. C.

309


WHAT I BELIEVE AND SOME REASONS WHY 1939

WHAT I BELIEVE AND SOME REASONS WHY       CONRAD HOWARD       1939

     (A Paper read at The New Church Club, London, 1938.)

     In view of the many and varied outlooks that exist among professing New Churchmen at this day, also of certain doctrinal misunderstandings that have arisen inside our own Organization of the General Church towards other views and concepts of doctrine, some of which, as you know, I have accepted now for a number of years, this Statement that I wish to present to you tonight is, I feel, long overdue. The object, however, is not to convince you that I am right, and that those who differ are wrong, but rather for my own satisfaction to clear up various wrong impressions that five-minute speeches so often give. I know that some regard me as a sort of New Church Communist, while others think I am never so happy as when I am burning my boats. Well, maybe there is some truth in both these extremes, as is often the case.

     And now a word regarding the above title. This has been stimulated by events that have happened inside our own Organization, all of which are familiar to you. Forgetting the unpleasant aspects of the case with the passing of time, now that human Councils and judgment have finished, let us gladly turn to those more important things that have emerged from this long-drawn-out controversy.

     To me, the one bright spot, and the thing that matters, so far as laymen are concerned, rests in the fact that we have had to do a lot of hard and independent thinking from both angles, in order to understand something of the significance of the various important doctrinal views that this controversy has forced upon us, all of which, in my opinion, are fundamental and distinctive to the New Church Faith.

     As you know, for example, there is at the present time considerable diversity of opinion among our leaders of thought on the question of the Infinite in the finite, and how the Lord dwells in that which is His Own with man.

310


The endeavor with some is to find a certain relationship and kind of bridge which they believe must exist in order to connect these two extremes, while others, it would seem, can see no valid reason for such a line of thought. To this latter group, the Infinite and the finite dwell quite apart, and can never be conjoined.

     However, for obvious reasons, it is not my intention to traverse any further so exalted a subject. I cannot pretend to have any settled convictions, one way or the other, and for this reason I am forced to keep an open mind, and show a willingness to review whatever teaching or doctrinal instruction happens to come my way. This, however, is clear to me-and before leaving this subject, let me make this one observation-in view of these various attitudes that exist concerning the above subject, I would venture to suggest that, in the interests of humility, we are forced to the conclusion that the arcana of so heavenly a Doctrine still remain hidden, and that it is only by a deeper understanding of the literal sense of the Writings themselves that our hope lies for further enlightenment. This, at any rate, is my position; and although I accept, and share in common with other professing New Churchmen, the statement that the Lord does dwell in man, because the Writings tell me so, yet you will agree that it is one thing to accept one's belief in this simple manner, and quite another to enter intellectually into the particulars that underlie so profound a Doctrine.

     Having said this much, let us now turn our attention to other and possibly more intimate phases of New Church belief which this controversy has been the means of stimulating. I refer to the question regarding the Status of the Writings, and, secondly, the other pertinent question of what we mean by the Doctrine of the Church. On these two questions alone, the diversity of opinion that exists among New Churchmen is amazing. Needless to say, even if I could, it is not my intention to marshal so colossal a battalion of theories for your serious consideration tonight, but rather to confine our attention to the three major schools of thought that exist, and with which every New Churchman is familiar.

     However, let us forget for the moment our own dominating point of view, in order to see something of the other man's outlook. This, I submit, is the whole endeavor of this paper,-to seek a better sense of proportion in relation to that corporate understanding which New Churchmen should have on fundamentals.

311




     So with contemplative detachment let us survey, as best we can, some of the outstanding differences, in the order of their historical development.

     First-That the Theological Works of Swedenborg are a commentary on the Old and New Testaments, and in no sense can the quality of Divine Authority be ascribed to them. (In some aspects, there is a good deal to be said for the logic of this simple belief.)

     Secondly, with the advent of the Academy a new concept came into being, namely, that the Writings are Divinely inspired, and speak to us with Authority; that they are the Internal Sense of the Old and New Testaments, plainly revealed to the understanding of man.

     And, thirdly, in our own time, we have a minority who are making still greater claims, elevating them to the highest possible peak, namely, that the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg are the third Testament, the Word of the Lord.-That the whole body of teaching contained in the Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture must be applied to all three Testaments alike.

     Here, then, are the major differences, sharply defined, concerning the nature and status of the Writings. What, if at all, do they share in common with each other? That is the next question to ask ourselves. Well, only this, I should say: They agree that, for a member of the New Church, it is certainly necessary to have a correct estimate of the Writings. Seeing that we are all agreed on this, then it must be a question of relative values and appearances of truth in these matters that concern our human understanding of Divine Truth. Is it not true, and a common failing with most of us, to regard one's beliefs and convictions as though they were the Divine Truth itself, while in reality, at best, it is only Truth accommodated to the human understanding!

     Let us take the case of the New Churchman who changes from the first state to the second of our series already mentioned-that is, from the broad and liberal Conference position to that of the Academy. His former beliefs he now regards more in the nature of appearances rather than the truth itself. Obviously, the belief that the Writings are the Word of the Lord, and the Crowning Revelation that speaks to us with Authority, is a very different concept in comparison with his former belief.

312




     How each man arrived at this conclusion, and what is involved in support of so remarkable a belief, would be a long story, and is a slow process of development. However, it will be well to keep in mind at this point that although, to the casual observer, there appears to be a unity of thought on this keystone of our faith in the General Church, yet in reality this is far from being the case. On the contrary, there is, as we well know, quite a number of varying outlooks that differ very considerably when it comes to the question of entering into the particulars of so unique a belief.

     The newcomer amongst us discovers this sooner or later, and laments that, even on fundamentals of Doctrine, there is what may be called a lack of corporate understanding among us. In other words, the term "Divine Authority" means one thing to one group of people, and quite another to others. A recent example of this you will remember was experienced at the last Assembly held at Colchester. Bishop Tilson represented one group of opinion, and Bishop Acton quite another; and yet a third opinion was expressed by some of the laity who hold the Hague position. The task now before us is to pick out the highlights of these three major positions, and arrange them in their order of contrast.

     Bishop Tilson's position, expressed as an article of faith, is as follows: That the Writings are Divinely inspired, and speak to us with Authority; that they are the internal sense of the Old and New Testaments plainly revealed to the understanding of man. By the literal sense of the Word is to be understood the Old and New Testaments. Here we have in essence the early Academy belief-one that has been proclaimed to an indifferent world for the last three generations.

     Against this, you will remember, Bishop Acton was clear in his conviction that the Writings have both a spiritual and a literal sense, a Crowning Revelation given to us in literal form, but with this great difference, the veil is lifted. Divine Truth now comes to us no longer veiled and concealed, but so set forth in the clear language of rational thought that all who will may see.

     To this I must add yet another opinion of greater contrast and significance.

313


I refer to the Rev. E. S. Hyatt's conviction that the Writings are not the Light itself, but that which testifies concerning the Light.

     Here, then, we have diverse examples of what one can draw from the literal sense of the Writings,-a literal sense in which it is claimed the truth is set forth in clear language. And while not doubting the sincerity of these men, yet, at the same time, let us not overlook the difficult situation the layman is now faced with. Here we have leaders of thought on fundamentals, all Academy men, presenting for our serious consideration totally different outlooks in relation to the Holy Status of the Writings. Seeing that these differences are fundamental, therefore it is no great assumption on my part if I suggest that, as far as our theologians are concerned, they have failed so far in their endeavor to establish in the Church a corporate opinion among the people, even in respect to the key-stone of our faith.

     The term "Divine Authority" is all very well, as far as it goes, and does undoubtedly embody a spiritual vision of truth vaguely seen; but surely this, in itself, is not enough. Our present duty, and the duty of each succeeding generation, is to revise and develop it from time to time, in much the same way as the modern scientist, who, in the interests of scientific truth, is willing to change his whole outlook over night in the fresh light of modern knowledge and discovery. Why theologians cannot follow this noble example, and enter by means of enlightened reason into fresh fields of spiritual discovery, I fail to understand. The attitude of wanting to fix for all time this or that human understanding is not the way to build up the Doctrine of the New Church. This, to my mind, is following a legacy of Old Church traditions, with the result that in the end, instead of a Doctrine continually made new, we have in its place dogma and stagnation.

     Because our fathers saw a vision of great spiritual significance, something more than a loyal acceptance of the vision is required of all professing New Churchmen, if development and perfection of Doctrine is to be maintained. And it is here that we must of necessity be willing to burn our boats from time to time; and never for long, it would seem, are we allowed to rest on the oars of tradition. In other words, and as the Writings so often remind us, it is not merely the acceptance of the Word that makes the Church, but rather our enlightened understanding of the Word that matters.

314




     Truths of Divine Revelation are, of course, fixed in its letter, but human understanding of Divine Truth is ever transitory. And by virtue of this law I prefer to regard these changing opinions now going on amongst us as natural, desirable, and inevitable developments. And the question of heresy should never come into the picture at all. Although the liberal Conference position regarding the status of the Writings is of little service to me, yet I must know and still believe that, to a large number of professing New Churchmen, this doctrinal position is vital; and of great service; and so long as they leave me in freedom, I have no quarrel with them. I even have no right to feel sorry for them. To adopt this superior attitude would be damaging to myself. And when my children ask me, as they sometimes do, "Why is it that New Churchmen do not all think alike!" I suggest to them, as best I can, this doctrine of accommodation,-how the Lord in His mercy allows men to dwell in the appearances of truth for the sake of salvation.

     But to return to recent events in our own Organization-let us first admit that, in every healthy movement, whether political or ecclesiastical, it must of necessity have its progressive element. So also in the General Church we have our progressive element, that is, those who show an impatience, if you like, with what they now begin to regard as traditional concepts, and show strong inclination for new presentations or revisions regarding these doctrinals of our Faith. The desire to call the Writings the Latin Word or Third Testament is a very good example of this. Quite a number regard this as the next step and the logical sequence of the early Academy position. Much of this, as you know, has met with considerable opposition, and would make a long and unpleasant story to relate; so, rather than upset our philosophical detachment, it need not concern us now.

     Seeing that I, in common with others, share this desire to proclaim to the world, not only our belief in the Authority of the Writings, but also a sincere and in every way reasonable conviction that they are the Third or Latin Testament, the Crowning revelation to the New Church, let me therefore state, as briefly as I can, good reasons for this distinction-one that I regard as of utmost importance, and one that is long overdue.

315




     The best way to achieve this, I think, is to state my reactions to a recent unpublished article by the Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner, entitled "Our New Church Language," for here, amongst other, things, he directs our attention to early Academy beliefs. To quote: "When the Academy stated that the Writings were 'the Word,' that term referred to the common elements within all the things which the Writings call 'the Word,' and this common element is a Divine origin, from the mouth of the Lord alone; Divine Authority; Divine Inspiration; a Revelation of the Divine Human."

     Against this article of faith concerning the character and Authority of the Writings, a further claim is made, which to me very definitely contradicts the above position. To quote Dr. Odhner further: "In Swedenborg's mind there was plainly no intention to teach concerning the character of the Writings, when he obviously talks about the Old and New Testaments. What is there said, in such connections, about these Biblical Testaments, is of direct Authority which no one in the New Church can dispute. But if we afterwards desire to prove that the same teaching applies also to the Writings in a more or less restricted way, this must be a separate process of thought, and must rest on our own rational authority, as a more or less rational conclusion; it has no Divine Authority from the Doctrine."

     If this is really so, then one may well ask, How was the first position arrived at? Is not this a more or less rational Conclusion, in fact, a spiritual rational conclusion, one that has become, in a visionary sort of way, the doctrine of the Church! In the light of this position, it matters little to us what was in Swedenborg's mind, if to us the Revelation is of Divine origin.

     I wonder what was in the Revelator's mind when he wrote: "What the Divine has revealed is with us the Word"? Obviously this is no human claim, but words of Infinite Wisdom, revealing a Divine and universal law that can and must be applied without reserve to the Revelation of the Second Advent itself. (See also T. C. R. No. 3.)

     So herein lies our authority for the next progressive step,-substituting for the term "Writings" "The Latin Word" or "The Third Testament."

316




     In his sermons and doctrinal studies of the Word, we find the Rev. E. S. Hyatt frequently referring to the Writings as; the Evangel of the Second Advent, showing an evident desire to break away from the common practice of his time. To the average New Churchman, however, the importance of these studies, although written over forty years ago, centers around the teaching concerning the character of the Writings, revealing, as they do, new doctrinal standards which challenge many of our orthodox conceptions, i.e., "that the Writings are not the Light, but that which testifies concerning the Light." To quote further: "At first we only see John the Baptist, not the true Light, not the Lord Himself. Thus it is in regard to the Revelation in which the Lord has effected His Second Advent. At first in the literal sense we only see a man speaking about the Lord. While we are in this state, we do not see the Light of the Lord's New Advent, but at most only the testimony concerning the Light. Mere testification concerning the Light cannot establish the New Church. If the Church is to be really formed with us, it must be from the Light Itself, proceeding from the Lord's Divine Human: 'The internal sense is the very doctrine of the Church.' Therefore the Word of the Second Advent, when only seen in the external sense, is not the Light which enlightens every man coming into the world."

     These few quotations, chosen from the John the Baptist sermon, I think you will agree contain much that is new, much that challenges our present-day opinion and orthodox Academy belief.

     I am fully conscious that some of my New Church friends, for various reasons, may not accept certain doctrinal ideas which have been outlined in this paper. But this, in itself, is of minor importance. All I ask, speaking as one layman to another, is that we preserve among us those good democratic traditions of being able to reason together, and, if necessary, agree to differ on the various questions that are distinctive to our New Church faith. This, it would seem, can only be achieved by allowing the greatest possible freedom in these matters to each and all, and so cultivating that spirit of "toleration" which, as I understand it, is the "First of the Church."

317


Or do I misinterpret the teaching of A. C. 3451?

     I wonder how my fellow laymen react to that number: Surely, Mr. Editor, a column in the LIFE that would encourage such a discussion would be well worth-while. Or is such a suggestion out of date in these modern times? Are we, like the world in general, becoming indifferent to these matters that concern the Doctrine of the Church? Or, on the other hand, is it that we are willing to leave these questions to our theological experts to settle for us?
THIRST 1939

THIRST       K. R. A       1939

     What is it that enables the truth of God to touch the hearts of men? Truth that does not touch the heart may be as beautiful as the icebergs floating in the Northern seas, and iridescent with all the sunset colors, yet powerless to move men's lives. To cause a change in the ways of men, it must touch the heart.

     Truth that touches the heart comes in answer to the prayer to be delivered from thirst. When Hagar thirsted in the wilderness, an angel brought the answer. When the Children of Israel thirsted, Moses smote the rock, and waters gushed forth. Water was a necessity; it met the crying need of the body.

     Now that which creates a thirst for natural truth is the performance of uses. If a man is to manufacture an automobile, he longs to know every process by which it can be successfully accomplished. There is no fact too trivial, no truth too recondite, to engage his attention. Because of his use, he thirsts to know the truth. It is this thirst that drives every professional man onward in the study of his chosen subject.

     The same law holds good on the spiritual plane. When men have uses to perform, they thirst for the knowledge that will enable them to do their part in every undertaking. If, then, by self-examination, man discovers a definite evil in himself-an evil which he recognizes must be shunned as a sin against God-this knowledge will give him a thirst to know the truths by means of which it may be extirpated. When he goes to the Writings with this thirst, the truth of God will touch his heart.
     K. R. A.

318


RECENT DUTCH TRANSLATIONS 1939

RECENT DUTCH TRANSLATIONS       E. E. IUNGERICH       1939

     Prior to the year 1920, the Dutch versions of the Writings were chiefly the work of the late Mr. Gerrit Barger. The translations are faithful to the original, rendering it into clear, readable Dutch, and can be loaned to an outsider without awakening ridicule or a disinclination to read further.

     The same may be said of the first versions produced by the Swedenborg Genootschap at The Hague. Barring occasional peculiar words, the True Christian Religion (1932) and Volumes I-IV of the Arcana Celestia (1927-1930) are very creditable translations, though a regrettable feature of the latter is that they have on the cover the portrait of a lady who is readily identifiable,-an objectionable form of illustration upon the books of Divine Revelation.

     Recently the Swedenborg Genootschap has published Dutch versions of De Verbo ("De Gewijde Schrift," etc., 1934) and the Divine Love and Wisdom ("De Engellijke Wijsheid," etc., 1936).

     These translations represent an effort to preserve the Latin word-order and the roots of the single Latin words, but they have so flagrantly violated the rules of Dutch syntax, good style and the plain, literal meaning of the original text, that a strong protest must be registered in the name of common sense, and in the interests of the dignity of the New Church.

     The two works in question were recently submitted to Captain Beyerinck, and I have his permission to quote from his written opinion. He says in part:

     "The translations of Divine Love and Wisdom and De Verbo strive for a too great and quite unsuitable accuracy. The literal following of the Latin order-a language built up so differently from ours-is carried out everywhere in so exaggerated a manner, with such a painful precision and at times manufactured artificiality, that it has produced literally a jargon and an unreadable Dutch.

319


The translator maintains long sentences which could easily have been broken into several, and this adds to the reader's perplexity. In such a translation, these works are unfit to propagate the doctrines given by the Lord therein. Their language and style repel any earnest and well-disposed reader from making any further effort to become acquainted with these doctrines. Two competent and thorough students of Dutch, in whose hands I placed this version of the Divine Love and Wisdom, have told me that they found it incomprehensible, unreadable, and not Dutch, and had therefore put the book aside. To make these works available for normal Dutchmen, they must be retranslated, and made to conform to the principles that have been indicated."

     These principles are: (1) to express clearly the obvious meaning of each sentence, and with words in good usage; (2) to avoid constructions peculiar to the Latin and foreign to the modern tongue.

     An example of the latter is not to say, "That all religion is of life," but, "All religion is of life." Although Swedenborg was aware from personal experience that the angels thought in a manner that cannot be expressed in a language on earth, yet he invariably used good, simple Latin, with no violation of its syntax, and (except for an occasional word from the Swedish) no infusion of foreign or manufactured words, thus with no effort to give a reader the impression that something mysteriously deeper than the obvious sense was involved.

     From the score of examples cited by Captain Beyerinck I note the following, some of which occur on nearly every page:

     1.-Similis, similitudo are rendered by the vulgar eender and eenderheid, in place of the respectable gelijk, gelijkheid, for "like, likeness."

     2.-Influxus by invloed-"influence"-instead of invloeiing.

     3.-Mens by gemoed-"animus"-instead of geest-"mind."

     4-7.-As examples of manufactured words, we find: Cogitatio, communicatio, consociatio, perceptio translated respectively by denking instead of gedacltte; vergemeenschapping in place of gemeenschap; vergezelschapping for verbindins; and doorvatting in place of innerlijke gewaarwording.

     8.-Adaequatus is rendered by geevenredigd, a manufactured past participle from a word which means "proportional."

320




     The "painful precision" in the effort to use words that shall express their root meanings, even including the prepositions that enter into Latin compounds, is shown in example no. 7 above, where the per in perceptio is rendered by the door in doorvatting, and also in the following examples:

     9.-Patet-"is evident"-is rendered open liggen-"to lie open"-instead of by blijken.

     10.-Manifeste, readily rendered by duidelijk, is translated handtastelijk, which means "touchable to the hand." In the Divine Love and Wisdom, no. 52, the Latin words, "Ex his manifeste patet angelis"-"From these things it is manifestly evident to the angels"-would mean to the Dutch reader of the Genootschap version: "From these things it lies open handtouchably to the angels that the created universe is a representative Picture of God-Man."

     11, 12, 13.-Quilibet, ubivis, unusquivis-"'each," "everywhere," "everyone"-are translated to bring out the meaning of libet-"it pleases"-and vis-"your wish." In D. L. W. 52, instead of a simple word meaning "everyone," we find ieder willekeurige, which not only means "everyone that you wish," but also "every capricious one. In D. L. W. 60, we find these words modifying zaad-"seed"; and elk coupled to the manufactured word believelijk, meaning "everyone that it pleases," modifying dier-"animal."

     It is evident from these and other examples that the translator is working under the theory that there is a Divine order in the sequence of words in the Latin of the Writings, and perhaps even in the sequence of the letters. If this were so, it should be the effort of the Swedenborg Genootschap to get its members to read the Writings in the Latin, instead of mutilating half a dozen words on every page of their Dutch version. One fails to see how anybody can be uplifted into a deeper sense by the mere trick of saying: "It lies open, hand touchably to the angels," or noting what is said with regard to "every capricious seed," or "every animal that it pleases."

     14.-It would appear that the translator feels obliged to translate every Latin preposition invariably by the same Dutch preposition. This, of course, violates the Latin sense, as where a or ab is rendered uit, meaning "from," in the cases where it should be rendered by door-"by." In De Verbo 2, "Cum Verbum legitu ab homine, qui illud sanctum habet " is rendered "Wanner het
Woord wordt gelezen uit een mensch die dat heilig heeft,"-a sad Dutch construction which in English would mean: "When the Word is read from a man who holds that holy." We note here, too, that he was obliged to translate illud by dat, and thus to ignore the fact that illud is at times used as a personal pronoun. In other cases he is obliged to disregard the fact that hoc means "the latter" and illud "the former."

321




     15.-Another instance of this faulty rendering of a or ab, coupled with an unhappy Dutch construction, is given in D. L. W. 68: "Omni create a Deo inest reactio," meaning: "There is a reaction in everything created by God." This could have been easily and properly rendered, "In al het door God geschapene is reactie" (or better "terugwerking"), but is mangled so as to read, "Al het geschapene uit God is reactie in." Here "created by God" is rendered "created from God."

     16.-The word Engellijke has been manufactured to mean "Angelic" in the title of the work, Angelic Wisdom concerning the Divine Love and Wisdom. The correct Dutch would be Engelen followed by a hyphen. It is reported that Engellijke was deliberately coined to signify that "Angelic Wisdom" is not a finite wisdom, such as De Verbo 26 declares it to be, but a Divine thing.

     17.-Dutch usage in regard to inanimate or abstract objects holds that one should say "therein," "whereto," etc., instead of "in it," "to it," etc. Well-nigh a dozen violations of this principle occur on every page of the Divine Love and Wisdom, in the "painful precision" with which an effort is made to follow the Latin word-order by using a Dutch equivalent for each word.

     18.-Alluo (from ad and luo), as used by Swedenborg, means "to arrive." But instead of the usual aankomen or aanlanden, the translator, in order to safeguard the meaning of luo-"to flow"-invariably employs aanspoelen, which is used to describe corpses "washed up" against a shore. This ridiculous expression even vitiated the earlier and otherwise excellent translation of the True Christian Religion, wherein I have noted about a dozen occurrences of the term. Accordingly we read that not only Calvin, but even Luther, was "washed up" into the spiritual world! (See T. C. R. 796, 798.)

     In the articles now appearing in the monthly issues of the magazine, DE HEMELSCHE LEER, We find the same sad corruptions of the Dutch literary style, with frequent use of the expressions, handtastelijk, ieder willekeurige, elk believelijk, and aanspoelen. It is inevitable that forthcoming editions of the Writings, translated and published under the same auspices, will be distasteful to all Dutch readers who are not enraptured by the theories underlying the translations we have described.
     E. E. IUNGERICH.

322


INTRODUCING THE WRITINGS 1939

INTRODUCING THE WRITINGS       Various       1939

To the Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:
     It was with much interest that I read the communication from the Rev. W. Cairns Henderson, printed in your issue for November of last year, asking "which of the Writings provides the most satisfactory introduction to our sacred theology?" I had thought at the time of contributing to the discussion, but put it off, supposing there would be many contributors It appears, however, that Mr. Henderson's question has elicited only one response,-that of Mr. William R. Cooper, published in your issue of February, 1939.

     I read Mr. Cooper's letter with appreciation of the wide experience which gave birth to the views he expresses. With these I sympathize; but during later years I have inclined to the thought that the inquirer should himself be the judge of what he might most probably read. In other words, instead of recommending any specific work, I prefer now to describe the nature of the various works, and let the inquirer himself choose which he thinks would best suit his needs.

     Thus I might say the True Christian Religion is a large treatise, giving in detail the doctrines of the New Church, and proving them from the Word; the Brief Exposition is a smaller treatise contrasting the doctrines of the New Church with those of the orthodox churches; the New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine presents the doctrines of the New Church in a summary form, but without many Scriptural references; the Divine Love and Wisdom is a philosophical treatise, describing the nature of God, the creation of the world, and the operation of God upon man the Divine Providence describes the laws of the government of the universe under the varying conditions of human life-wars, poverty, misery, the apparent success of the wicked, etc.; Heaven and Hell is a book descriptive of life in the other world, etc., etc.

323




     I have usually found that my hearer very quickly decides which of these works he would wish to read. And, if he cannot or does not wish to decide, then I would proceed along the lines laid down by Mr. Cooper.
     ALFRED ACTON.
          May 20, 1939.
     
     Anonymity of the Writings.

     P.S. May I take this occasion to add something to my article on Reasons for the Anonymity of the Writings, which appeared in your May issue. It supplies an added reason why, in 1768, Swedenborg decided to discontinue his anonymity. What I refer to is the publication by Alnander, in 1763, of Anvisining til ett Utvaldt Theologiskt Bibliothek (Guide to the Select Theological Library). This work made public for the first time the fact that the author of the Arcana Coelestia and the five works which were published up to 1758 was Emanuel Swedenborg. Swedenborg probably did not see Alnander's book in the year of its publication; at any rate, in the same year he preserved his anonymity when publishing the Four Doctrines. But it is not improbable that the public notice of his authorship, given by Alnander, did later influence him to publish his next work, Conjugial Love, under his own name.
     A. A.
SPIRITUAL TEMPTATION 1939

SPIRITUAL TEMPTATION              1939

     "Few know what temptation is, because few at this day undergo any temptation. Only those who are in the good of faith, that is, in charity towards the neighbor, can be tempted. If they who are not in such charity were tempted, they would instantly succumb; and they who succumb in temptation come into a confirmation of evil, and into a persuasion of falsity; for then the evil spirits who are with them conquer, and with these spirits they are thereby associated. This is the reason why few at this day are admitted into any spiritual temptation, but only into some natural anxieties, to the end that they may thus be withdrawn from the loves of self and the world, into which they would otherwise rush headlong without restraint." (A. C. 4274.)

324


DISCUSSION OR CONTROVERSY? 1939

DISCUSSION OR CONTROVERSY?       Editor       1939


NEW CHURCH LIFE
Office a Publication, Lancaster, Pa.
Published Monthly By
THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM
BRYN ATHYN, PA.
Editor               Rev. W. B. Caldwell, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager          Mr. H. Hyatt, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     All literary contributions should be sent to the Editor. Subscriptions, change of address and business communications should be sent to the Business Manager.

     TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$3.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single Copy, 30 cents.
     We would take this occasion to draw a contrast between a "controversy" and what may be termed in modern usage a "discussion," having in mind that interchange of views on all doctrinal matters which we would like to see in our pages.

     The Heavenly Doctrine furnishes abundant instruction that shows the futility of mere disputation, depicting its evil results in an increase of obscurity rather than an increase of light. No advance is made toward a clearer understanding of Divine Revelation by a violent clash of opposing interpretations. They do but jar the sensibilities of many who are sincerely looking for greater light upon teachings that are as yet obscure to them. To such, the very word "controversy" has a grating sound suggestive of the "gnashing of teeth," which, as we know, is correspondential. (H. H. 575.)

     It is true that the individual, within the precincts of his own mind, must wage a defensive warfare on behalf of the truth against the phalanxes of falsity, and that the Church itself must be militant against the assaults upon its treasured Revelation of Truth. We are not now referring to these wholly legitimate conflicts, without which the Church cannot be established.

325


But we would here deal more particularly with those exchanges of opinion within the Church which are apt to take on the form of battle, banishing the reign of charity.

     There can be, and should be, in the Church a free, full and frank interchange of thought among those who are mutually seeking enlightenment. For this often proves most instructive to others, stimulating interest and clarifying all minds. But it is rather to be styled a discussion or ventilation of a subject than a controversy, contention, or dispute. In the Latin of the Writings, we find the words ventibatio and dissertatio used in a good sense to describe that interchange of thought which we today would call a "discussion," as in our church assemblies and councils, in conversations, or in written and printed form. (See Concordance under "Discuss.") The word "debate" is sometimes used by us in this good sense, but more often otherwise, being derived from the French debattre-"to beat," and meaning " to engage in strife and combat." To describe such conflicts, the Writings employ the Latin words altercatio, contentio, controversia, disceptatio, disputatio, and litigatio. (See Concordance under "Contend," "Controversy," "Debate," "Dispute," "Reason," "Ratiocinate.")

     A "discussion" which has for its end the ventilation of a subject,-a reasoning together by the presentation of arguments for and against a certain interpretation of doctrine, even though it may require a thorough sifting of the false from the true,-this, if engaged in by those who are animated by a spirit of search for truth, is not only beneficial, but may be regarded as essential to the intellectual growth of the Church. Wordy contentions, on the other hand, having no other end than the dominance of an individual view and the defeat of others, is destructive in itself of that state of harmony and peace which alone is receptive of interior light. The angels themselves converse about truths, noting their varieties and shades of difference, but always with an end of reconciling them under universal views. Of this, we read: "When there is a conversation among the angels about two truths, between which there is discrepancy, then two spirits are presented below who debate (disceptant), who are the subjects of many societies; all things of one truth appear with one of the spirits, and all things of the other truth with the other spirit; and hence it is perceived how those two truths can be conjoined." (A. C. 9166.)

326




     The angelic desire is for union, not division. It is a desire and end that two apparently divergent truths be conjoined;-reconciled as brother to brother, each being given its proper place under a more general or universal view. For the angels well know that any discrepancy among truths is but apparent; that diversity and opposition lie only between truth and falsity. Men of the Church find this apparent discrepancy of truths in Divine Revelation itself, but in the degree that they are possessed of a measure of the angelic attitude, they will strive to conjoin two apparently contradictory truths in the light of general doctrine, acknowledging, above all, that "there is no contradiction in the Word when regarded in its own light." (S. S. 51.) To this state, however, we can only come by shunning that vain inclination of the proprium which delights primarily in combat, which finds satisfaction in emphasizing differences of view and interpretation, which rejoices in violent controversy, and scorns reasonable discussion. In short, we can only come to something of that angelic state which "seeks peace, and pursues it," by shunning those states of the natural rational which "breathe nothing but combat, and glory in victory," while at the same time we strive to cultivate the virtues that belong to the spiritual rational, which "never fights, even when attacked; which is mild and clement, patient and yielding; which, though it never fights, conquers all, yet glories not in victory." (A. C. 1950.)

     It would seem that the distinctions we have drawn between the uses of "discussion" and the evils of "controversy" need only to be stated to be acknowledged by all New Churchmen, who cannot but recognize the clear teaching of the Writings on the subject, even though at times, under the incitements of the proprium, they lapse into states of disputation and fruitless argument, which only arrest progress toward a fuller grasp of truth, and confirm opinions already formed and fixed. And certainly, when we are concerned with the supreme and holiest doctrine of the Church, we would not wish to be as the soldiers who parted the Lord's garments, and cast lots upon His vesture,-soldiers who ought to defend the Divine Truth, as revealed in the letter and the internal sense of the Word, signified by the outer and inner garments of our Lord, and not strive among themselves, parting truths asunder and thus dissipating them, while setting up their own opinions and interpretations. (John 19:23, 24. A. E. 38, 64.)

327




     [Reprinted from NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1922, pp. 269-271.]
ALTAR COPY OF THE WORD 1939

ALTAR COPY OF THE WORD              1939

     The Pittsburgh Society of the General Church has recently been provided with a large-size copy of the Word in English for use on the altar of its church. The undertaking has been in charge of Mr. J. Edmund Blair, a member of the society, who has sent us a description of the volume, and generously offers to furnish a similar one at cost to any society or individual who would like to obtain it. The supply is limited to fifteen copies.

     By special arrangement with the publishers, this volume of the Sacred Scripture, King James Version, contains only the Books of the Word according to New Church canon, as listed in A. C. 10325. Like the Academy Edition, which is specially prepared at Oxford, England, in such a way as to eliminate the non-canonical books of the Bible, this new volume has been prepared through the cooperation of the A. J. Holman Company, Philadelphia, Pa., using its No. 76 Pulpit Bible, which involved the reprinting of about ten pages. Fifteen extra sets were made.

     The text is printed in large type (12 point) on extra heavy coated paper, and is without marginal notes or cross references. The size of the page is 11-1/2 x 13-1/2 inches, and the size of the book when open is 14-1/2 x 24 inches. The binding is light red Turkey Morocco, plain sides, heavy cushion betel, round corners, carmine under gold edge.

     Anyone interested in obtaining a copy at an approximate cost of $35.00 is invited to correspond with Mr. J. Edmund Blair, 421 Seventh Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pa.

328


Church News 1939

Church News       Various       1939

     DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

     With the grand and glorious Middle West Assembly still fresh in memory, it is difficult to write about the ordinary affairs of our group, which in retrospect seem relatively so unimportant. But, for the purpose of keeping the record complete, this must be done, and our memorable Assembly meetings will be reported by our Pastor.

     Since our last report, in the February NEW CHURCH LIFE, two regularly scheduled pastoral visits have occurred, one on February 18 and 19, the other April 15 and 16. On both of these occasions the Rev. Norman Reuter conducted Sunday services, one of them including the sacrament of the Holy Supper. He also held classes for the children on Saturday afternoon, and adult doctrinal classes on Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon. Our good attendance records are being maintained, only absence from the city or sickness keeping anyone away.

     Between pastoral visits, we are continuing to hold informal meetings for doctrinal reading and discussion. Refreshments and a happy social hour feature these affairs, which are greatly enjoyed and serve a real use in promoting good fellowship and friendly intercourse among us.

     On Sunday, May 21, our group journeyed to Saginaw, where we had been invited to meet at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Geoffrey S. Childs. The Rev. F. E. Waelchli was visiting the Childs, and had consented once again to come out of his retirement to conduct a service for us. This was enough to ensure the attendance of every member who could possibly come. A total of 35 responded, and to most of them it meant a drive of 200 miles or more.

     Your reporter's reaction to this service was, that a man who can preach such an enlightening and inspiring sermon as Mr. Waelchli gave us should never be allowed to retire. The entire service was beautiful and most helpful, and we are very grateful to our former pastor and friend, Father Waelchli, for the spiritual feast he gave us.

     There followed a feast of another kind, provided by Mr. and Mrs. Childs, most delicious and abundant, after which, with Mr. Childs as toastmaster, an hour of toasts, songs and impromptu speeches was heartily entered into and greatly enjoyed. The singing of "Our Own Academy" appropriately brought to a close one of the best meetings our group has ever held.

     A thought that had for some time been in the minds of a number of us was expressed at this meeting by Mr. Wm. F. Cook, and is worthy of mention here. We greatly need, and should have at the earliest possible date, a modest little building where we can hold our services and other meetings in privacy, undisturbed by noises from other meetings being held simultaneously nearby. Conditions where we now meet have become almost unbearable in this regard.

     We hope to be able to secure d plot of ground near the outskirts of Detroit at a very nominal price, and let those of our members who are handy with tools do much of the work, while the rest of us provide the materials. So well was this idea received that it was decided to start a building fund, and Mr. Cook was our unanimous choice for treasurer of this fund.

329


It may take considerable time, but already we are looking forward to meeting in our own quarters, and we have every confidence of being successful in our efforts. In case any of our friends should be interested, Mr. Cook's address is: 150 Elza Ave., Hazel Park, Mich.

     Once more the U. S. Navy has stepped in and taken one of our members. Arthur French recently completed his training course at Norfolk, Va., and is now on board the battleship Texas. With Howells Walker on the destroyer Cassin, and Marvin Walker on the airplane carrier Lexington, we are well represented in the naval forces, though regretting the loss of these members from our meetings. We are following their careers with much interest.
     W. W. W.

     HURSTVILLE, AUSTRALIA.

     Our last report chronicled the happenings of the summer months, during which-after Christmas-there is a lull in most of our church activities. The month of March witnessed the gradual resumption of our uses, and before its close the work of the society was again in full swing. Morning services were recommenced on the first Sunday, and at the first Evangelical Service of the year, held in the evening, there was given the first of a series of sermons on the topics suggested by the reasons advanced in the Prologue to the Canons for the dearth of real religion in the world. This dealt with the subject of the One Infinite God, while the second sermon, delivered in April, treated of the Lord the Redeemer. On the second Sunday evening the general doctrinal class was resumed, the pastor giving the first of a series of lectures on the doctrine of conjugial love. Both the Young People's Club and Class resumed their activities during the month, the latter commencing course of study in the correspondences of the human body; and the class has been thrown open to older members of the society as auditors. The Ladies' Guild, which now meets twice monthly, on the second occasion for a purely social gathering, took up its activities once more, as also did the local Chapter of the Sons.

     At the annual meeting of the Sons, held in March, Mr. Ossian Heldon was elected President, Mr. Alfred Kirsten and Mr. Sydney Heldon were reelected as Vice-President and Secretary-Treasurer, respectively, and the pastor was chosen to serve with these officers as an executive committee.

     An informal address on the art of studying out and preparing doctrinal papers was given by the pastor at this meeting, and at the April meeting a thought-provoking paper on "The Sensual Man" was read by Mr. Kirsten.

     The first of a projected series of parent-teacher meetings was held on Wednesday, March 29, the pastor giving a brief address on the essentials of the New Church and its aims in Sunday School teaching.

     As part of our preparation for entering into the spirit of the Easter season, the sermon on Palm Sunday dealt with the signification of the Lord's being named "the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee" when He entered Jerusalem, a designation used only on that occasion; and a talk to the children in the afternoon explained the name of the day and the meaning of the palm branches from which it is named. A service was held on Good Friday evening, the sermon dealing with the meaning of the fact that not a bone of the Lord's material body was broken. (John 19:36.) The Holy Supper was administered on Easter morning after a sermon appropriate to the day. At the children's service in the afternoon the pastor spoke about the walk to Emmaus, explaining in a simple way its general meaning. A Feast of Charity was held in the evening, when a study by the late Bishop N. D. Pendleton entitled "Humanizing the Divine" was read by Mr. Ossian Heldon to a most appreciative audience. This study, drawing attention to a most important but sometimes overlooked aspect of the supreme doctrine, led to a most interesting and useful discussion. Preceded by a social meal enlivened by toast and song, this provided a memorable occasion.

330




     The Easter Monday picnic was again held on the river, and although not attended by as many as last year it was much enjoyed by those who were able to be present. A second picnic was held at one of the ocean beaches near Hurstville on April 25, another public holiday and saw larger company gathered together, and left us with another stone to add to our String of happy social memories.

     The holding in Sydney at Eastertime of the triennial Conference of "The New Church in Australia" brought several friends out to Hurstville, all of whom we were glad to welcome at services or classes. Especially notable was a reception given to the Rev. C. Douglas Brock, of Adelaide, after doctrinal class on April 16, and attended also by Miss Darwin, a member of his society and a Conference visitor. Mr. Brock favored us with a splendid address, and we look forward to another visit from him at some future time.

     During the two months under review the Pastor's Council and the Business and Social Committees have all met regularly to confer on matters relating to their various spheres, and to plan their future operations. Another year's work is now fairly under way, and our minds, ever forward looking, are already anticipating the events of yet another New Church Day.
     W. C. H.

     CHICAGO, ILL.

     Since the beginning of the year, Sunday services have been held regularly in Sharon Church, except during the Ministers' Meetings in Bryn Athyn. On one Sunday in January the Rev. Willis L. Gladish assisted the Rev. Morley Rich and administered the Holy Supper, and on one Sunday after Easter, Mr. Rich exchanged pulpits with the Rev. Gilbert Smith, who also administered the sacrament.

     Our biweekly Friday supper and doctrinal classes have been well attended, considering the distance many of our members have to travel to get to them.

     Classes have been held for the seven children of Sunday School age, and also a special Easter Service at which the chancel was decorated with blooming plants.

     At our Annual Meeting in April, Mr. John Pollock was re-elected Treasurer, and Mr. Charles Lindrooth was elected Secretary to succeed Mr. Charles Sturnfield, who wished to retire in favor of a younger man after many years of faithful service.

     Mrs. Alvin Lindrooth has moved to her new home in the Park at Glenview, and Miss Laura Renkenberger has returned to the Akron Circle. Mr. and Mrs. Marshall Fuller, Mr. Percy Staddon, and Mr. Robert Riefstahl have become members of Sharon Church.

     The Young People's Class conducted by Mr. Rich, which is made up of members from both Sharon and Immanuel Church, has concluded the season's activities with a banquet.

     Among the coming events to which we are looking forward we may mention the picnic that is to be held at the summer home of Mr. and Mrs. John Anderson, and the joint celebration of New Church Day in Glenview.
     D. M. F.

     GLENVIEW, ILL.

     It's quite a job keeping up with events these days-they happen so fast. What with Friday Suppers, Teas, Concert, Operetta, Banquet, I feel like a newspaper reporter working overtime. Here are a few items that will give some idea of life in the Immanuel Church during the last eight weeks:

     On Saturday evening, April 22, came a Cowboy dance, with costumes and decorations appropriate. Refreshments were obtained by the gentlemen bidding for boxes of food supplied by the ladies. One ambitious cowboy bought four boxes, which meant that he had the pleasure of the undivided attention of four ladies during supper!

331




     During the afternoon of Sunday, May 14, many fathers had their entire families turned over to them for safe-keeping, as their better halves were celebrating Mother's Day in the parish hall. We're always glad to bear they have had a very enjoyable tea-and more than glad to see them homeward bound!

     The annual installation banquet of the Glenview Chapter of the Sons-one of the highspots of the year-was held on May 20. Our past-president, Mr. George S. Alan, was toastmaster, and rounded out his three years of faithful service by handling the meeting beautifully. Mr. Crebert Burnham installed the new officers with appropriate remarks. Geoffrey Blackman is our new president; Gerald Nelson, vice president; Leslie Holmes, secretary; and Alan Fuller, treasurer. The Rev. Morley Rich was our guest speaker, and read an excellent paper on "Contrast, Freedom and Strength." Here are his closing remarks:

     "Every monthly meeting of the Sons could be devoted to adult education-to papers designed to bring out such contrasts as we have described. Instead of constantly talking about New Church education. we could be an agency for actual New Church education with ourselves. It may be said that this is a work primarily of the priesthood, and that is true. But what of the 'secondarily'? If each man is to see these contrasts for himself before he can really grasp and apply to life the principles of the Heavenly Doctrines, then that sight, when presented by his fellowmen, will be of use; and this, because every man sees contrasts in a little different way, and there are indefinite variations of what appears on the surface as the same thing. This is true whether the man is a minister or a layman. In this way, the Sons will be truly directing their efforts to the center,-to the essentials of New Church education in its broadest sense. And they will become powerful aids of the work of the priesthood in a most effective way."

     Our School Orchestra gave us another concert on June 1, and again we marvel at the work Prof. Jesse Stevens is doing with our boys and girls. These children-there must be at least 25 of them-produce music that's really worth listening to! On Monday evening, June 5, the School presented the operetta, "Days O'Kerry Dancing." Miss Volita Wells is to be congratulated upon the excellent singing and dancing throughout this performance.

     Three families have been made especially happy during the last two weeks: To Mr. and Mrs. Carl Fuller, a baby girl; to Mr. and Mrs. Alan Fuller, a boy; and to Mr. and Mrs. Archibald Price, a girl. The Alan Fuller's baby makes Mr. G. A. McQueen a greatgrandfather!

     They say you can't keep a good man down, and just to prove this, Archie Price was no sooner relieved of the duties of treasurer of the Glenview Sons than he started newspaper! So now we have "The Park News." Arnold Smith is Archie's able assistant. And what a boon this paper is! Delivered every week, it tells us all the news, and also gives us a calendar of coming events. The price is whatever you can afford to pay-and it's worth it!

     Mr. Smith's sermons and Friday Supper papers, and Mr. Rich's young people's classes, keep us well supplied with spiritual food. Here is a sample, taken from a sermon on "The Doctrine of the New Church":

     "When we awake in the morning and prepare for another day's work, with a clean slate on which no record has as yet been written, it is good to turn our thoughts first to the Lord, looking above ourselves to that knowledge of that Truth which is the Divine from the Lord. And of all the things we propose doing, let us consider how, they are to be done, saying in our spirit that we want to do everything from the Lord, and nothing from ourselves. And in the evening, it is good to turn our thoughts again to the Lord, and check up on the day's work, to see how nearly we have done our work, and blest our associates, by unselfish thought and service.

332


If we can put ourselves at the disposal of the Lord, the very end for which all Doctrine is given,-we shall be delighted with the clearness of thought through which our doubts and difficulties and anxieties-sometimes very great-will be met and dissolved away. And we shall find renewed interest in life and religion, where they may have grown a little dull and dry. The parched places, as spoken of in the Scriptures, will be watered, and the desert places will become pools and streams of water. The Doctrine of the New Church is living, when we really enter into it with the endeavor to find a new and better way of life."
     HAROLD P. MCQUEEN.

     TORONTO, CANADA.

     The outstanding event of the year, and one that will long be remembered, has been the visit of their Majesties, King George and Queen Elizabeth, to the Dominion of Canada. To the New Churchman, the uses of the office of King hold a special significance; and so it was with delight that the large congregation on Sunday, May 201 participated in the beautiful service that centered about this memorable occasion. One point in the pastor's sermon held particular appeal to parents, namely, that they should instill by example and precept a respect and love for those who hold office in the government of the country; for love of the Lord and His Kingdom has a solid foundation in the love of one's country and its rulers.

     The children had their own special celebration on the preceding Friday, when a Patriotic Party, complete with suitable decorations, games, souvenirs and refreshments, together with speech by Mr. Ted Bellinger, made a lasting impression upon the minds of the children.

     One fine Saturday in May saw many of the Toronto "stalwarts" planting trees out at the community property in Weston. The job does not appear to have been a particularly strenuous one, for the "trees" are very young ones. However, the afternoon's activity was just a foretaste of the fun and work that lie ahead before the community project really materializes.

     Theta Alpha once again held its closing meeting at "Floradene," the country home of the Misses Carswell. When we had dined well, and noted the estate's progress since last year, we held the last class of the season, conducted by Mr. Gyllenhaal, who has been reading Introduction to the Study of the Hebrew Word with us, not so much as a study in grammar as a means of our becoming acquainted with Hebrew as a language. These classes have been most interesting, and are to be continued next year, if possible.

     Last Sunday's service was of unusual interest, in that five adults were baptized into the faith of the New Church.

     Our society is now "ahumming" with preparations, that we may have our best foot forward" when the Sons pour into our homes at the end of the month.
     M. S. P.

     SWEDENBORG SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION.

     Seventy members and friends attended the 42nd Annual Meeting of the Swedenborg Scientific Association, held at Bryn Athyn, Pa., on Wednesday, May 24, 1939, Dr. Leonard I. Tafel presiding.

     Dr. Tafel was reelected President for the coming year, together with all members of the Board of Directors. During the discussion of the Treasurer's report, presented by Dr. C. E. Doering, members were urged to help defray an annual deficit of approximately $150.00, by adding whatever they could afford to their annual dues.

     In publishing Swedenborg's work on The Cerebrum, together with a Volume of Plates, 600 copies had been printed, and 400 of these had been bound. Individuals had purchased 141 copies, and various bodies of the New Church had ordered 206 copies, a total sale to date of 347, leaving 53 bound copies on hand.

333




     The fine engravings in the Book of Plates are a valuable addition to the work itself, of use to students of all the Philosophical Works. The two volumes sell for $10.00.

     Dr. Alfred Acton, as Literary Editor of the Association, read his report. The President, in accepting the report, called for a rising vote as an expression of the Association's appreciation of the valuable work Dr. Acton is doing for the Association and the New Church.

     The address of the evening was presented by Dr. Charles R. Pendleton, the subject being "The Size of Swedenborg's Finites."

     Opening the discussion of the paper, Dr, Tafel expressed his appreciation and thanks to Dr. Pendleton for his able presentation of many of the problems that confront the student of Swedenborg's philosophy. In the course of an exchange of views in which a number of speakers took part, some of the questions raised were as follows: Ratios and degrees in relation to the infinite and the finite. The nature of chemical theory at the time of Swedenborg, in relation to modern chemical knowledge. The nature of Swedenborg's blood corpuscle. Is it wise to attempt to fit the so-called facts of Swedenborg's day into the facts of modern science? That the facts used by Swedenborg which are at variance with the facts of today should not cause disturbance, as they do not necessarily invalidate his philosophy.

     In conclusion, Dr. Acton spoke of the value to the Association in having such papers as Dr. Pendleton had presented. Whilst disagreeing with his method of reconciling the facts of Swedenborg's day with those of modern science, he was convinced that differences of viewpoint and opinion in philosophical matters are a progressive sign. What we must stress is a positive looking to the philosophy of Swedenborg, rather than to allow our minds to be greatly disturbed over Swedenborg's scientific errors; for this state of mind will in the end cloud the greatness of his philosophy.
     WILFRED HOWARD.

     KITCHENER, ONT.

     Our society has enjoyed a very busy and interesting Spring season. During the absence of Mr. Gill and Mr. Rogers at the Annual Council Meetings in Bryn Athyn, the Rev. Henry Heinrichs conducted the Sunday service on April 2. On their return, they presented a resume of the meetings at a society supper on April 3, bringing us all something of the inspiration they had enjoyed, the benefits of which will be of lasting value in the society.

     At an evening service on Good Friday the Holy Supper was administered, and the children's service on Easter Sunday was marked by their floral offerings. The season was also observed in a social way on Monday evening, when we gathered for cards, entertainment and dancing.

     One of the happiest events that has come our way in a long time was the reception in honor of the Rev. and Mrs. Norbert Rogers On their arrival from Bryn Athyn. We have not had a wedding in the society for some time, and so we made this welcome as much as possible like a wedding celebration. The room was most festive with flowers, and hundreds of bluebirds fluttered from a bower of apple blossoms. As the bride and groom entered and took their places, the wedding march was played, and we all had an opportunity to offer them our good wishes. Then came toasts and responses, with appropriate songs. The bride cut the cake, and a presentation was made to the happy couple. There was more music, and singing by a mixed chorus, followed by dancing. We are very happy to welcome our new member, Mrs. Rogers, to the Kitchener Society, and we feel fortunate indeed in having this newly married pair with us.

     Fifteen of our members attended the Middle West Assembly, held in Detroit on May 13 and 14, and felt it a rare privilege to take part in such an inspiring meeting. The lucky fifteen returned with a feeling of uplift, and with the hope that there will be many more of these fine assemblies in Detroit.

334




     Our 24th of May picnic, held on the school grounds, is the big event of the year with the children. This year we were favored with a warm and sunshiny day, and the affair was a grand success, with sports, supper out of doors, a bonfire, and a fine display of fireworks.

     Mrs. John Heinrichs passed into the spiritual world on May 25, in her sixty-seventh year. She moved here from Morden, Manitoba, five years ago, and although she was seldom able to be out of doors, having been an invalid for many years, she was well known and loved among us, and we rejoice with her that she has now awakened to the fuller life of the spiritual world.

     On Sunday, June 4, a memorial service was held for Mrs. Elsie Evens Buckingham, who passed away at her home in Penetang, Ontario, on May 25, at the age of fifty-one years.
     D. K.

     NORTHERN OHIO.

     "Round and round he goes, and where he stops everyone knows." (With apologies to Major Bowes.)

     About the busiest man on this side of the moon is our friend and pastor, the Rev. Norman Reuter. He burns up the gas from burg to burg, and everywhere he stops he leaves a trail of happiness and satisfaction. Without a doubt his instruction has benefitted us far more than we realize. Heretofore we have been scattered around like a lot of stray sheep; but now, when Mr. Reuter comes, we are drawn together in a common bond of love and affection to enjoy in unity the sphere of Sunday worship and the benefits of religious instruction, to say nothing of the happy contact with one another. He seems to have lifted us out of a dark abyss into a world of spiritual light.

     To link up the chain of events since our last report, we must turn back the pages of time to the cold days of February. If one link in these glorious events is missing, your correspondent is liable to lose his job. The Northern Ohio circle includes the loop around through Cleveland, Akron, Niles and Youngstown, with classes in each place. A service was held in Youngstown on February 5 at the home of Mrs. McElroy. Then, after an interval of about six weeks, our pastor began a ten-day roundup of the various centers.

     On March 16 a doctrinal class was held at the genial home of Randy Norris in Akron. Twenty were present, including five of our Convention friends, whom we cordially welcomed. The class dealt with the subject of "The Last Judgment," and the discussion was so animated that it lasted until midnight. Then a week-end in Erie, and on March 20-21 classes in Cleveland. The next day another at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Brown in Barberton (a suburb of Akron), 13 attending. Next on the list was a class at Niles on March 23, the Youngstown contingent driving over. After class we practiced singing, to familiarize ourselves with the music for the Sunday service. Arthur Williamson was at the piano, and so it went pretty well, with 14 present. Another class the following day at the residence of Mrs. McElroy in Youngstown.

     Thirty-four attended the Sunday service in the Portage Hotel, Akron, on March 26. The infant daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Chester Stroemple (Jeannette Smith) was baptized, and in honor of the event a party was given for a group at the Stroemple residence, while others went to the Wiedinger home in the wilderness. After dinner we all gathered at the Wiedinger's for a meeting, at which it was decided that the Sunday services would thereafter be held at Akron, since the majority of the members reside in the vicinity and the place of worship is satisfactory. It was also decided, however, that once a year a service will be held at the pavilion in Mill Creek Park, Youngstown, this to be followed by a big park dinner, to which others are to be invited from Pittsburgh, Bryn Athyn, South Africa and way stations-any of the friends we can induce to join us.

335




     Last Roundup,-first week in June. Mr. Reuter landed in Cleveland on June 2, a class being held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Norman. Mr. Brown captured the doctrinal class next day for Barberton, and again made the Akronites hike over there. The subject was "The Lot of the Gentiles After Death."

     At the Sunday service in Akron on June 4, attendance 35, the pastor delivered a sermon on "Human Spheres." For the first time we made use of the beautiful Hymn Board made and so kindly donated by Dr. Renkenberger and Mrs. Harrold. Someone is always donating something, but all we need now is a church property and building.

     On Monday Mr. Reuter journeyed to Niles for a visit with the Williamsons and instruction to their daughter Mary Lou. Wherever he goes these instructive sessions for the children are provided. On Monday evening, June 5, a class was held at the residence of Mr. and Mrs. William Norris in Youngstown, the usual thirteen being on hand.

     Apparently our little group is getting closer day by day to the ultimate goal of a resident pastor and more frequent gatherings. In Akron they are already holding very useful Readings every second Sunday morning at the Portage Hotel. An offering is made to cover expenses, and the balance goes into our treasury to swell the funds that may some day enable us to support a pastor.-Another sign of advancement is our forthcoming "Get Together" meeting for a large Family Worship in the Park pavilion at Youngstown on Sunday, June 18. Everyone is looking forward to this event with great interest, and a large attendance is expected. W. C. N.

     A Report of the Middle West Assembly, held in Detroit, May 13-14, will appear in the next issue of New Church Life.-EDITOR.

     BRYN ATHYN.

     The Rev. A. Wynne Acton, pastor of Michael Church, London, paid a three weeks' visit to Bryn Athyn during the month of May, and we had the pleasure of hearing from him on several public occasions. Addressing a meeting of the local chapter of the Sons of the Academy, he gave a very interesting account of the activities of the Church in England. Later he spoke on the same subject to the students of the Academy Schools assembled in the chapel of Benade Hall. And on Sunday, May 28, he delivered the sermon in the cathedral, his subject being The First Great Commandment. (Matt. 22:37, 38.)

     On Monday evening, May 29, Mr. Acton was united in marriage to Miss Rachel Kendig, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph R. Kendig, of Renovo, Pa., the ceremony being performed by Bishop Acton before a large congregation in the cathedral. A reception on the lawn followed, and gave opportunity to a host of friends to offer their good wishes and bon voyage to the bride and groom, who sailed for England on May 31.

     THIRTY-SECOND BRITISH ASSEMBLY.

     The members and friends of the General Church of the New Jerusalem are cordially invited to attend the Thirty-second British Assembly, which will be held at Colchester, England, on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, August 5-7, 1939, Bishop George de Charms presiding.

     Those expecting to be present are requested to notify the Secretary as soon as possible, or to communicate with Mr. Owen Pryke, 142 Broomfield Road, Chelmsford, England, who has charge of the housing accommodation.
     REV. VICTOR J. GLADISH,
          Secretary. 67 Lexden Road,
Colchester, England.

336


ORDINATIONS 1939

ORDINATIONS              1939




     Announcements.


     Boyesen.-At Bryn Athyn, Pa., June 19, 1939, Mr. Bjorn Adolph Hildemar Boyesen, into the First Degree of the Priesthood, Bishop George de Charms officiating.
PITTSBURGH ASSEMBLY 1939

PITTSBURGH ASSEMBLY              1939

     The Pittsburgh District Assembly will be held at the Church of the Pittsburgh Society, 299 Le Roi Road, September 23 and 24, 1939. Members and friends of the General Church are cordially invited to attend.
WANTED 1939

WANTED              1939

     We would like to correspond with anyone having for sale one or more copies of the work entitled Swedenborg's Cosmology, by Lillian G. Beekman. Address: The Academy Book Room, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

337


USES OF THE CHURCH 1939

USES OF THE CHURCH        GEORGE DE CHARMS       1939


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LIX          AUGUST, 1939          No. 8
     (Delivered at the Philadelphia District Assembly, May 6, 1939, and at other District Assemblies.)

     I. What is the Church in its Essence?
     II. The Church must be Organized for Use.
     III. Individual Uses.
     IV. Society Uses.
     V. The Uses of the General Church.

     I. What is the Church in its Essence!

     By uses are meant instrumentalities that contribute to the accomplishment of a desired end. The uses of the Church are the various functions, offices, and organized activities that are associated with religion. It is well known that these activities, regarded in themselves, do not make the Church. They are but external acts which may be inspired by a great variety of motives. If the motives are worldly, then the performance of such uses-even if it be with great zeal and efficiency-serves merely to maintain the external body of a church, within which there is no spiritual life. In this case the uses cannot truly be said to be uses of the Church, but rather instrumentalities for the attainment of the natural ends that are loved. If, however, the love within them is the love of the Church itself, then, although they remain natural in form, they become spiritual in quality, being exalted by the spirit that animates them.

338


In considering the uses of the Church, it is therefore of first importance to have before us a clear idea of what the Church is in its essence; what the love of the Church is; and how external uses can be made to promote the ends for the sake of which the Church exists.

     In itself, the Church is purely spiritual. Indeed, as to its origin, it may be said to be Divine; for we are taught that the Lord Himself is the Church. He alone is the All-in-All thereof. (A. C. 768.) "It is the Divine of the Lord which makes the Church with man; for nothing is called the Church that is not the Lord's own; for it is the good which is of love and charity, and it is the truth which is of faith, which make that which is called the Church. That all good is from the Lord, and that all truth is from Him, is well known; good and truth that are from man are not good and truth." (A. C. 2966.)

     This number teaches that the Word, in which the Lord appears that He may be seen and known, is the source of all genuine good and all genuine truth with man. It is good and truth derived from the Word that make the Church. In the case of the New Church, the Word-whence all good and truth is to be derived-is the Divine Revelation given through Emanuel Swedenborg. In this revelation everything that makes the New Church pre-exists in Divine fulness and perfection. In the supreme sense, the Heavenly Doctrine is itself the Holy City, New Jerusalem, now come down from God out of heaven. Here are the walls of jasper, the gates of pearl, and the streets of gold; here are goods and truths adequate to the regeneration of men through countless ages, ordered by the Lord Himself, and presented in a form adapted to man's finite comprehension. Here is a pattern, infinitely perfect, of the Church as it exists in the mind elf God. To love the Church, therefore, in the highest sense, is to love the Lord-to love the truth of the Heavenly Doctrine; and to desire above all things to receive that truth into our minds with understanding, and into our hearts with glad thanksgiving.

     The New Church, therefore, regarded in its essence, is the reception of the Divine Truth of the Writings. This reception can take place only in that finite vessel which we call the human mind. And because the vessel is finite, the reception is limited and forever imperfect.

339


This is clear from the Parable of the Sower, in which the Word is compared to seed, and the mind of man to the soil in which the seed is planted. The quality of the Church depends upon the character of the soil. The seed may fall by the wayside, where birds of the air devour it; or it may fall upon stony ground, where it finds no root, and withers away; or again, it may fall among thorns that spring up and choke it. By this is meant that the truth of the Word may be rejected by man, in which case the Church is not established with him. But if the seed falls into good ground, "it springs up, and brings forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, and some thirtyfold."

     Even where the truth is received, the Church varies in its perfection according to the degree of reception. It may, with some, become celestial, with others spiritual, and with others natural; and with all it may be perfected to eternity. But never does it become Divine. This it is important to realize, because it means that the true love of the Church does not cease in the love of that which has been received, but ever looks beyond this to the Word itself, to the Lord as He reveals His Divine and infinite qualities therein, seeking continually to perfect our reception, that the Church with us may approach more nearly the Divine pattern.

     Thus conceived, the Church-like the kingdom of heaven-is within you. Because love to the Lord and charity can be received only in the mind, the Church is strictly individual. What, then, is the need for an external organization, with its ultimate uses? Must not every man go immediately to the pages of Revelation, and by reading and reflection derive therefrom the heavenly truths and goods that are to make the Church with him!

     This is indeed the case. Yet, taken by itself, it is not enough; for we are taught: "The Church cannot exist in man unless its internal be spiritual and its external natural, as a Church purely spiritual does not exist, nor a Church merely natural." (Coronis 19.) A living Church must have a spiritual soul of faith and love, whence its life is derived. But it must also have a body in which that soul may dwell. It cannot exist as a disembodied spirit. The love of the Church-if it is to live and grow-must go forth into speech and act. This is the very nature of love. It is the nature of Divine Love, and because of this the Lord created the universe, that there might be a heaven from the human race, that there might be creatures outside of Himself to whom His love might go forth.

340


So also it is the nature of the Lord's love in man; it must go forth to others outside of himself. In this is its very life. By this it increases in perfection. In this it finds satisfaction and fulfillment. The love of the Church in man can go forth only by means of uses-the activities of functions and offices. And for this reason the Church, like heaven, is a kingdom of uses.

     (To be Continued.)
PROTECTION OF INNOCENCE 1939

PROTECTION OF INNOCENCE       Rev. F. E. WAELCHLI       1939

     "The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them." (Isaiah 11:6.)

     All animals mentioned in the Word signify affections,-the evil and useless, evil affections; the gentle and useful, good affections. In our text, the evil are the wolf, the leopard and the young lion; the good, the lamb, the kid,-the calf and the fatling (or heifer). In each case the good are the young of their kind; as such, they signify innocence, and the affections pertaining to innocence. To destroy these good affections is the lust of the evil affections, or of the evil animals. But this they cannot do, because all states of innocence are defended and protected by the Lord. Powerless, the wolf must dwell with the lamb, the leopard lie down with the kid, and likewise the young lion with the calf and the fatling.

     All innocence is from the Lord, and is the Lord's, because He is Innocence Itself. From Him it proceeds, and is the esse of all good in heaven and in the church. In so far as innocence is received by the angels, they are angels; and in so far as it is received by those in the church, they are of the church. The Lord was Innocence Itself as to His Human, when He was in the world (A. C. 10132); and in His glorified Human He is the same, now and forever. Because of it, He is called "The Lamb" in the Word. And they among angels and men who receive innocence from Him in most exalted degree are called "lambs," as is the case in our text.

341




     There are in the heavens degrees of innocence, and in the hells degrees of the lust of destroying innocence. In our text, the lamb signifies innocence of the inmost or third degree, of which the opposite is the wolf; the kid, innocence of the second degree, of which the opposite is the leopard; the calf, innocence of the first or ultimate degree, of which the opposite is the young lion. The innocence of the inmost degree is that of those who are in the third or inmost heaven, the good of which is called celestial good, which is love to the Lord; the innocence of the second degree is that of those who are in the second or middle heaven, the good whereof is called spiritual good, which is love towards the neighbor, or charity, done in accordance with spiritual, or interior, truth; and the innocence of the first degree is that of those who are in the first or ultimate heaven, and the good thereof is called spiritual-natural good, which is the good of doing the things of love to the Lord and of love to the neighbor, in obedience to the truths of faith in their more general form. Of all these goods of innocence, in three degrees, it is said that "a little child shall lead them," by which "little child" is meant the innocence of wisdom; for wisdom is inherent in all angelic innocence. The essence of that wisdom is to be led by the Lord alone, and in nowise by self.

     So it is in heaven; and so it is to be in the church. Indeed, so it is in the church with those who are regenerating. For in everyone who is regenerating there is heaven, according to the measure of his progress; and heaven being in him, there is also innocence. It is this innocence which makes possible his entrance into heaven on departure from this world. For our Doctrines teach that "no one can enter heaven unless he have somewhat of innocence, according to the Lord's words, 'Except ye become as infants, ye cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven.'" (Mark 10:15. A. C. 4797.) So there must be this "somewhat of innocence." It may be little; but "somewhat" of it there must be.

     In order that a man may have innocence, he must first of all will to be in the good that makes one with it. From the Word he learns what is necessary for the fulfillment of this will, namely, that he examine himself, see in himself the evils that are opposed to that good, and shun them as sins against the Lord.

342


In so far as he shuns them, the Lord removes them, and imparts good to him in their stead; and this good, since it is from the Lord, is heaven in him, and, being heaven, is innocence.

     Every regenerating man is an image of the heavens in their three degrees. He cannot be an image of only one of them, even though specifically his state is that of some one degree. There must pertain to him the celestial, or inmost, which is love to the Lord; the spiritual, or interior, which is charity towards the neighbor; and the natural, or exterior, which is good works. No one of the three can exist by itself alone. Love to the Lord must pass through charity into good works. Charity must have within it love to the Lord, and go forth into good works. And good works must have within them charity, or good-will towards the neighbor, and within this love to the Lord. The three, from highest to lowest, are as end, cause, and effect, no one of which can possibly exist without the other two. And as a beginning is always in an end (purpose), so the beginning of heavenly life must be in love to the Lord. Unless there be this love, there can be no charity, nor good works, thus no heaven. It is this love-love to the Lord-that is supremely and essentially innocence, even as the celestial heaven is supremely the heaven of innocence. From that supreme love, and from it only, can there be innocence in charity and thence in good works; even as only by influx from the celestial heaven can there be innocence in the spiritual and thence in the natural heavens. So, with every regenerating man there must be the degrees of innocence, signified respectively by the lamb, the kid, and the calf.

     So long as the regenerating man remains in this world, the three loves will be infested by the hells, which hate the innocence of those loves and seek to destroy it. Those hells are signified by the wolf, the leopard, and the young lion. Man, as of himself, though looking to the Lord for help and strength, must contend against them. And so he comes into the combats of temptation. All temptation is a struggle to preserve a good love from destruction by hell. He who has no good love knows no temptation. It was so also with the Lord when on earth; for His temptations were His combats with the hells which sought to destroy His love of saving mankind.

     In the regenerating man, the wolf seeks to destroy the lamb, to destroy love to the Lord.

343


The wolf is a beast ferocious and cunning, which seeks to seize the lamb and carry it away to tear to pieces and devour. Even so do the hells, signified by the wolf, insinuate direful falsities destructive of love to the Lord. Among the falsities injected is that this love calls for a self-denial too grievous and heavy to be borne; that it is a love devoid of any joy of life; and that therefore it would be far better to enjoy to the full the opposite, which is the love of self. And yet this falsity, and others similar to it, the wolves do not insinuate in their manifest diabolic form, well knowing that thus they would meet with instant rejection. In their cunning they apply themselves to the truths concerning love to the Lord that are in the man's mind, weaken their force, pervert them, and yet in such a manner that they seem to be truths; and thus they seek to lead the man into a state wherein seemingly he is still in love to the Lord, and yet harbors the idea that in some measure, under certain circumstances, what is of self-love can be cherished and lived. It is against these wolves that the Lord warns when He says, "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves." (Matthew 7:15.) Of these wolves let him "beware" who would have preserved with himself the lamb of love to the Lord.

     On the spiritual plane, the leopard would destroy the kid,-destroy the innocence pertaining to the good of charity, which is love of the neighbor as oneself. The spiritual plane is distinguished from the celestial, in that truth with the spiritual is not so much a thing of perception, but rather is first received into the memory, then reflected and meditated upon, and thereafter applied to life. So the leopard's attack is primarily upon truth so received and lived, though in the attack the end is that of destroying charity and its innocence. Like the wolf, it is a ferocious beast; but even more than the wolf it exercises cunning in injecting falsity under the guise of truth.

     In appearance the leopard is not unbeautiful, and is characterized by its black and white spots; the black signifying falsities, and the white intermingled with the black signifying truths. So the leopard signifies the lust of falsifying truth by reasonings which are discordant and yet appear to be coherent and true. Accordingly, this leopard says: "Indeed it is true that you should love your neighbor as yourself; but does not charity begin at home!

344


Must you not, in the first place, have regard to your own interests, even though in so doing harm may be done to the neighbor's welfare?" Or again it says: "True it is that men would be happy if they kept the Golden Rule, by not doing to others what they would not have others do to them. And it is indeed unfortunate that so many considerations prevent the keeping of this Golden Rule!" By such and similar insinuations the leopard seeks to pervert the truths of charity, and thus to destroy charity and its innocence, and to entice man to favor instead what is of the love of the world's possessions, without at heart having regard to justice and right for one's fellow men. Of the leopard, as of the wolf, must the regenerating man beware,-beware of the cunning of its black spots intermingled with the white-ever mindful of the prophet's question: "Can the leopard change his spots?" (Jeremiah 13:23.)

     On the spiritual-natural plane, the young lion would destroy the calf,-destroy the innocence of the love of the good of faith, which is the love of doing what is of love to the Lord and of love to the neighbor, in accordance with the truths concerning such doing, as given in the natural sense of the Word,-the natural sense in its wider scope, as, for example, we find it given in the explanation of the natural sense of the Ten Commandments in the Heavenly Doctrines.

     On this natural plane, what is celestial and spiritual ultimates itself in moral, civil and natural good. Here is the ultimate, firm basis, foundation and support of the higher degrees. And should this be destroyed, all that is higher would at the same time be destroyed. Therefore hell, in its endeavor to destroy innocence, here makes its most powerful attack. Consequently, the most powerful of all beasts, the lion, is the enemy of this good. Indeed, the Doctrines tell us that all hell is as a huge lion. (T. C. R. 123.)

     In the Word, the lion has various significations, good and evil, and on various planes. In our text it signifies the power of falsity from evil, by which all that is good, and thus all innocence, is destroyed and devastated. In its great power it seeks to ravage and to tear to pieces. Yet, similarly as the wolf and the leopard, there is cunning in its attack, described in the Word by "the young lion lurking in secret places." (Psalm 17:12; Lamentations 3:10.) In order that it may pounce upon and destroy its prey, it first perverts the meaning of the spiritual-natural truths of the Word.

345


While so lurking, its power increases according to its hunger to devour, that is, the power of its lust to adulterate and falsify truths, as more and more it exercises the faculty of cunning reasoning. Well known to everyone who has suffered from its attacks is the manner in which it does this. Because there is active in man the desire towards some evil, there Bows from that evil the perversion of truth, and thence the falsity of excusing, justifying and confirming that evil, so that he may be persuaded that it is good. Here again, let the regenerating man beware! And let his prayer be the words of the Psalm: "O Lord, my God, in Thee do I put my trust; save me from them that persecute me, and deliver me; lest he tear my soul like a lion, rending in pieces, while there is none to deliver."

     Severe are the trials which the regenerating man must endure because of the attacks of hell upon the innocence pertaining to his good loves. Yet, as he gains victory after victory in the combat, there comes into ever increasing fulfillment the state wherein, powerless, "the wolf dwells with the lamb, the leopard lies down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together, and a little child leads them." Throughout life will there be this progress, even though it may often seem that this is not so, because of the severity of temptation endured. But on entrance into heaven will come the happy enjoyment of the state here attained, free from all fear and anxiety.

     Man has his part to do in the protection and guarding of his good loves and their innocence, though he must ever acknowledge that this protection and guarding is the Lord's alone. As to this we read in the Heavenly Doctrines:

     "The hells continually endeavor to infest; but the Lord continually protects." (A. C. 9278.)

     "If the Lord did not protect man every moment, he would perish." (A. C. 59.)

     "Nothing can hurt those whom the Lord protects, even though they should be encompassed by all hell, both within and without." (A. C. 968.)

     "A sphere of the Lord's Divine is around those whom He protects." (S. D. 5898.)

     Such is the Divine Providence, which, in its Infinite Love by its Infinite Wisdom, seeks every moment the salvation of all.

346


May we with willing hearts place ourselves in the stream of that Providence, and in its current be borne into the blessedness of life eternal. Amen.

     LESSONS: Isaiah 11. Mark 10:13-31. H. H. 278.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 575, 571, 593.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 33, 147.
PERCEPTION 1939

PERCEPTION       Rev. W. L. GLADISH       1939

     We are taught by the Lord in the Writings that the men of the Most Ancient Church had an inerrant perception of truth and of falsity, enabling them at the first hearing to say either "Yea" or "Nay." They needed not to consult doctrine, or reason, or weigh probabilities, but knew from an inner dictate whether the case were so or not. With the Fall, however, this faculty of perception vanished from the earth. Will it ever be restored? Or was it only a gift of the Lord to the innocence of infancy, which can never come again!

     Our answer is that perception will again be given when conditions are similar. It will not be the same, just as the innocence of old age is not the same as the innocence of infancy; yet there is an innocence of old age possible to those who fulfill the conditions; and there is a perception given to the celestial angel, or to the man regenerated to the celestial degree.

     There is nothing mysterious about perception. The word-from the Latin per and capio-means literally "to seize through, to possess thoroughly, to understand entirely." In this literal meaning it may be used with reference to all planes of the mind.

     On the plane of heaven and the church, perception is a gift from the Lord, offered freely to all, but, like all Divine gifts, to be enjoyed only by those who meet the conditions. Perception involves innocence, and the opening by regeneration of the celestial degree, thus an inmost conjunction with the Lord, so that by influx from Him man perceives what flows in from the Lord, and what from others.

347


The ground of perception is good in the will; and from that state of good man sees from the Lord all truth in harmony therewith; and all falsity of evil he recognizes by its disharmony. It is therefore evident that, with the passing of this inmost conjunction with the Lord, perception ceased.

     But-mark this, and note it well-only those who were in good knew of the failure of perception; they groped in darkness, seeking light. The evil still saw, or thought they saw, in clear light. They boasted of their perception. They had no doubt whatever that what they saw as truth was veritably the truth. So certain were they that they were right, that the sphere of persuasion which poured forth around them took away all the possibility of independent thought from those who were about them. The reason was, that these men were surrounded by infernal spirits, instead of celestial angels; their conjunction was with hell instead of the Lord; and, having no understanding separate from their will, it was impossible for them to distinguish the source of influx. Hence the Nephilim of the Most Ancient Church, hoodwinked by the infernals, having no standard of truth outside of themselves, no written Word, could not but think that they spoke the truth of God. And so has it been with celestialism throughout the ages. There are none so positive that they speak from the Lord as they who have been deceived by evil spirits.

     Perception and Conscience.

     Perception is from good in the will; Conscience is from truth in the understanding.

     After the Fall and the Flood, "in place of perception there succeeded conscience, which is also a kind of perception; for to act against conscience and according to conscience is nothing else than to apperceive thence whether it is so or not so, and whether it is to be done or not done. But the perception of conscience is not from good which flows in, but it is from the truth which has been implanted in the rational from infancy, according to what is holy in their worship, and afterwards confirmed. . . . Hence it is that conscience is a kind of perception, but from such truth; and when charity and innocence are insinuated into it by the Lord, there comes forth the good of that conscience." (A. C. 2144:2.)

348




     From good in the will, and from an inmost conjunction with the Lord there, the celestial man could be given a perception of all truth adequate to his love, and also a perception of all falsity contrary to that love. But after the Fall, man's perception from his love was rather to call falsity truth, and truth falsity. His only chance for salvation lay in rejecting the guidance of perception, and accepting instead the guidance of truth,-truth revealed from heaven. The Lord provided a new approach to man,-from without, instead of within, from the understanding instead of the will, from truth instead of good. He promised to come into the world and present Himself to man as a Redeemer and Savior; He gave a written Word, teaching man his true relation to his God and his neighbor. As man learned these truths, reverenced them as holy, and conformed his life to them, the Lord conjoined Himself to them, and so to the man. Through these truths the Lord built up with man conscience instead of perception, as a guide from heaven.

     In his conscience the Lord gives to the man who lives in charity toward his neighbor a kind of perception of his duty to God and man. "They who have conscience, from conscience have a certain dictate, but no other than that a thing is true because they have so heard and learned. This forms their conscience, as is evident from those who have a conscience of what is false." (A. C. 895.)

     Here are clear indications of the limits of conscience as a safe guide for new truths. Conscience is a wonderful provision for the salvation of men of the spiritual or external church; but since all perception now to be given to man must be in conscience, it is evident that, if perception is to be a safe guide, not only must his truth be pure, but he must also be in genuine good,-must be as to his will in the company of good spirits and angels, and must not be influenced by the loves of self and the world.

     Perception, Persuasion, Phantasy.

     No one is born with perception, just as no one is born with rationality. Both are to be acquired by education. Perception is the crown of rationality,-the gift of the Lord to him who is regenerated to the celestial degree.

     The infant is born with no ideas, no mind. The very senses of the body are in the greatest obscurity, and from this obscurity infants work their way out successively by means of objects.

349


They learn to prattle words without at first any idea of meaning. Gradually something obscure belonging to fancy arises; and as this grows clearer, something of imagination appears, and hence of thought; and thought grows by instruction. (T. C. R. 335:7.) Thus fancy, or phantasy, reigns at first in every mind, and must be corrected by education. This was true even of the children of the Most Ancient Church. It was true of our Lord Himself in His infancy. Hence the written Word was required, which was open to Him from the Father. From all these things it is evident that every man is born into error, and must at first, by the nature of things, think from phantasy, must have his sense impressions corrected by science and by reason, that he may become a natural-rational man, and by Revelation if he is to become a spiritual man.

     Even if man were born without hereditary evil, it would appear that the way to perception of the deeper matters of theology were a long and arduous one, beset with many difficulties and perils; for "the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth." (Genesis 8:21.) This evil affection, both hereditary and acquired, attracts evil spirits, who cloud the light of truth and powerfully persuade man that falsity is truth, and truth is falsity.

     Many persons imagine that it is possible to be neutral, to be convinced solely by facts. Not so. Only he who is led by the Lord, who is therefore in the love of truth from Him, can see the facts of life aright. Love is the life of man. Some affection of the life's love must open the door of the understanding to every truth accepted there. Therefore persuasion plays an important part in education. Persuasion may be either good or bad, from the Lord or from the infernals. But since all life flows in, and such as the life is, such are the surrounding spirits which make the sphere whence man thinks, it is evident that man sees all facts as colored by his life's love. (S. D. 2947, 2988.)

     Let the man of the church therefore beware of his perceptions of doctrinal truths. Let him always hold them subject to correction. Let him be sure that they are plainly stated in the letter of the Writings, not only once, but several times; for "in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established."

350




     Perception in the New Jerusalem.

     All truth is given to man by the Lord. It is given as perception. Perception is the first of thought; it pertains to the spiritual mind; it is the inmost of the rational. But perception, like salvation, depends upon man as well as upon the Lord. The Lord cannot come in where the devil rules. Perception requires a pure spirit in the will and true faith in the understanding; and man must acquire these as of himself.

     The infancy and childhood of the church are past, and it now stands upon the verge of mature rational life. The Lord has come, not only once, but twice; has not only given His Word, but has opened its spiritual sense and true doctrine. "Now it is permitted to enter intellectually into the mysteries of faith." Now He can but stand at the door and knock. The man of the church must open the door. This involves two things-filling the understanding with truths; and shunning all evils as sins. The two are equally important. The will must be right, that man may be inserted into heaven; the understanding must be true, that he may think in heavenly light.

     Again, perception is above thought. Thought is in the natural; and unless there are appropriate truths in the natural, perceptions are not received in the thought, do not descend below the spiritual mind. (A. C. 10551.) In the Church of the New Jerusalem it will not be sufficient to see truths by an obscure perception in the spiritual mind. They must be seen rationally, confirmed by Scripture and reason, and also by science. For "the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations."

     Let us take, for example, the truth which is at once the gate of entrance and the foundation stone of the New Jerusalem,-the truth that the Lord Jesus Christ is the God of heaven and earth. This was given as a perception to Simon Peter, and to all of the first Christian Church who could be saved. "Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona; for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 16:17.) But it awaited full revealment until certain natural, physiological and philosophical truths could be given to the Revelator of the Second Coming, who, as it were, worked them out himself.

351


Today the supreme truth of the Lord in His glorified Divine Human as the only God is so fully confirmed by the threefold Word, by rational arguments, and by science, that no doubt remains. And yet, as was the case with Peter, the Father in heaven must reveal it to everyone who accepts it. First and last, it must be received as a perception from the living God. So is it with every truth of the church. Man must, as it were, find it out for himself, and yet must acknowledge that the Lord revealed it unto him.

     In conclusion, it is well to remember that the path bf the Church is strewn with the wrecks of those who thought to lead her into celestial perception.
HOLY 1939

HOLY       Rev. WILLARD D. PENDLETON       1939

     (Delivered at the Council of the Clergy, 1939.)

     1. The Divine Proceeding.

     We read in the Writings that "the Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord is what in the Word is called 'the Holy,'" (N. 219.) This definition is important, because it establishes the exact denotation of the word. We have, therefore, a specific term which creates a distinction between the Divine in Itself and the Divine Proceeding. Moreover, the Writings support this definition in many passages. To quote: "The Divine Truth is what is called 'the Holy,' because it proceeds from the Divine Good of the Lord's Divine Love." (A. 9596.) Again, "The Holy' is especially predicated of Divine Truth; for the Divine is in the Lord, and Divine Truth proceeds from Him, and is called 'the Holy.'" (A. 4580.) Also, "All 'the Holy' in heaven proceeds from the Lord's Divine Human, and therefore all 'the Holy' of the church." (A. 4735.) (See also n. 8302, 9419, 10359; H. 140; R. 173.)

     From this definition we may conclude that all revelation is holy; for the Word of God is the Divine as it proceeds through, or is made manifest by, the agency of a human medium. In ancient times the human of an angel served in this capacity, and is called in the Old Testament "the Spirit of Holiness," or "the Angel of Jehovah."

352


It was thus by means of the heavens that the Divine was first presented to man. To be accurate, we should say re-presented, in that the manifestation was effected by means of an agent which was not Divine.

     Thus it is that in the Old Testament we have what is known as a representative revelation. Unlike the Word of God as it was revealed in later days, the Holy was not made manifest. It was sensed, but it was not seen. It was known to be present, but it was not visible. All contact with God was effected through that which was not God. The Holy was inclosed, but it was not disclosed. That which was seen was the Angel of Jehovah, who, having been infilled with the Divine, was, as it were, God, from the standpoint of authority, but not from the standpoint of fact.

     In course of time this mode of humanizing the Divine proved insufficient to the spiritual needs of men. The human race, having descended into a purely natural state, could not be sustained by a revelation which did not afford direct contact with God. If mankind was to be saved, a new revealment was necessary-one that would establish the Lord's Divinity in the natural. So it came to pass, in the days of Herod the king, that "the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a virgin (whose) name was Mary. And the angel said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore also that Holy Thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." By the "Holy Thing" is here meant the Divine Human, for this is the Son of God.

     By this most Divine act, "the scepter was removed from Judah." (See Genesis 49:10.) The human of the heavens was no longer the means by which God evinced His Divinity. In the Glorified Human a new Medium had been given-One which in Itself was Divine. Thus it was that the Holy was no longer represented in the natural, for God Himself forthstood in ultimates. Here was a revelation indeed, that is to say, in fact.

     From that day forth, the Holy was no longer inhibited by the limitations imposed by the infirm human of an angel. Operating through the medium of the Divine Human, it was in its Own in ultimates. So we differentiate between the Spirit of Holiness and the Holy Spirit.

353


The one is the Divine as it proceeded through the heavens; the other is the Divine as it proceeds through the Human made Divine. The distinction is most important, for it involves the essential difference between those two revelations, known as the Old Testament and the New Testament. The one was indirect, the other direct; the one re-presented the Holy, the other was the Holy Itself.

     The end, however, was not yet; there was that which was not yet revealed. Even as the Lord said to His disciples, "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth." (John 16:13.) The Spirit of truth, that is to say, Spiritual truth, or Rational truth, this it was which as yet had not been made known. The revelation given to the Christian Church was restricted to the Divine Natural. The essential truth was indeed revealed, namely, that the Lord Jesus Christ is God, but it was veiled in those misleading appearances which enshroud the ultimate plane of life.

     Now the appearance was that the Lord had risen from the tomb in the Mary body. Even the disciples,-those chosen few who witnessed the resurrection,-did not know otherwise. This was the faith of the Christian Church, and this was the faith which in time was challenged. For the spirit of skepticism reared its head; men openly denied the possibility of the resurrection. There was only one other solution,-the Lord was not God, but merely the son of Joseph. So the Church was caught upon the horns of a dilemma. On the one hand was the underlying faith that the Lord was God, as demonstrated beyond all reason for doubt in the miracle of the resurrection. On the other was the indisputable claim of the skeptic,-that the material body must ever return unto the dust from whence it comes. The outcome is a matter of historical record. Slowly, but surely, the Word of God as revealed in the New Testament was discredited. If the human race was to be saved from utter Godlessness, another revelation was necessary.

     In the Lord's own time this revelation was given. Unlike the Word of the Old Testament, it was not a representative revelation. Unlike the Word of the New Testament, it was free from those fallacious appearances which are inherent in the natural.

354


Indeed, it stands supreme; for it is the revealment of the Lord's Divine Rational. It is the Spirit of truth-that truth which leadeth into all truth, or what is the same, the Divine as it proceeds from and through the Glorified Human in its highest degree. Here is the Holy made manifest in all its glory. Surely we cannot doubt, for this is the end and purpose of all revelation-that in which all that preceded is fulfilled.

     2. The Holiness of the Writings.

     With these thoughts in mind, it is evident that each successive revelation has afforded a more interior vision of holiness. In this sense of the word, therefore, it may be said that one revelation is more holy than another. In so speaking, however, we bear in mind the fact that inmostly we cannot differentiate between them, for in God all things are an Infinite One. But man does not look upon the Word from within. We cannot see God except as He is presented in finite appearances. In the Word of the Old Testament the Spirit of Holiness is heavily veiled in the sensual imagery of a primitive people. In the Word of the New Testament the Holy Spirit is presented by means of the moral persuasions of the day. In the Writings the Spirit of truth comes to us in the form of rational conceptions. In these appearances the Holy resides, and in so far as one revelation grants a more interior vision of the Divine, in that sense can it be said to be more holy than another.

     In this connection we note with interest the following passage, "They who are in the most holy idea concerning the Lord . . . are conjoined with the Lord in reflect to His Divine Rational. But they who are not in such holiness . . . are conjoined with the Lord in respect to His Divine Natural. They who have a holiness of a still grosser kind are conjoined with the Lord in respect to His Divine Sensuous." (A 4211.) In other words, the Writings, which are the Divine Rational, allow for a more intimate conjunction with the Holy Itself. In this sense they are supreme. They are the Holy in its highest manifestation. They are the Holy of Holies-the innermost shrine of the Divine Tabernacle.

     Now it is maintained by some students that the Writings, although more Divine than the Old and New Testaments, are less holy.

355


In this we cannot concur. We do not believe that any such differentiation can be made. That which is most Divine is at the same time most holy, as is evident from the definition of the term. Nor does the above quoted passage permit this distinction, in that where the Divine is in its highest manifestation, there is the most holy. The two things cannot be separated. The only distinction which can be drawn is that holiness is Divinity in ultimates. If the letter of the Word is more holy than the Writings, then they are also more Divine. Such a conclusion could hardly be accepted in the General Church. Indeed, here is the very reason why the Academy separated from the General Convention

     It is nowhere stated that the earlier revelations are more holy than the Writings. The idea that they are is an inference drawn from certain passages where it is taught that the ultimate is more holy than the interior things which it sustains. There is the well-known passage concerning the ephod, where we read, "That what is most external is more holy than the internal things, is because the external holds all the interior things in their order, and in their form and connection, insomuch that if the external were removed, the internal things would be dispersed; for internal things not only cease in the external, but they are also together in it. That this is so, can be known to those who know how it is with things successive and things simultaneous; namely, that successive things, which proceed and follow one another in their order, are nevertheless presented together in the ultimate things." (A. 9824.) Also we read: "Divine Truth is what is called holy, but it is not holy until it is in its ultimate, and its ultimate is the Word in the sense of the letter. There the Divine Truth is holy, and may be called the sanctuary, because that sense contains and includes all the holy things of heaven and the church. It appears as if Divine Truths in the heavens . . . are more holy than Divine Truths in the sense of the letter of the Word. . . . But. . . ," and the passage continues to demonstrate that they are not. (E. 1088.)

     Of a surety, the Writings have their own ultimate-a sense of the letter peculiar to themselves. If this were not so, the Divine Rational could not have been revealed. The Writings could not stand forth in the sensual appearances of the Old Testament, nor in the natural appearances of the New Testament.

356


This revelation required ultimate containants which would reflect, rather than veil, the Spirit of truth. We cannot believe that the above quoted passages in any wise imply that the Writings, when compared with the earlier revealments, are less holy. In one sense, the implication is the reverse; for although it is true that holiness is in lasts, as is evident from the fact that, apart from an external containant, the Divine could not proceed, it does not follow that the grosser the ultimate the greater the holiness.

     While it is true that the eye is as ultimate as the hand, and that an intellectual perception is as ultimate as a sensual image, they are constructed so as to serve higher and lower uses respectively. We may, therefore, distinguish between termini on the same plane of life. Due to the difference in the arrangement and composition of the spiritual substances involved, a sensual image is relatively gross, while a rational abstraction is highly refined. Whereas one enshrouds the Divine as it proceeds, the other reflects the Holy. Nevertheless, they are both ultimates of the same essential degree-they both belong to the plane of the human mind. As such, the one is as sufficient as the other when it comes to serving as a basis for the Divine inflowing. Hence the Writings, even as the Old and New Testaments, are an ultimate revelation.

     It is, then, our contention that, although holiness is predicated of the ultimate, the more perfect the ultimate the greater the holiness. The higher the angel, the more holy he is said to be. The more regenerate the man, the more holy he is. In the ancient tabernacle, the inmost was called the Holy of Holies. In other words, so far as the vessel is concerned, holiness is according to reception. The rational ideas in which the Writings are couched are said to be more holy because they are more adequate receptacles for the Divine Proceeding. The same is true of higher angels and more regenerate man.

     So it is that the Writings, as a distinct revelation, are more holy than the Old and New Testaments. Moreover, they are distinct, as is evident from four considerations. In the first place, they are a revelation of the Lord's Divine Rational. In the second place, they are the Spirit of truth which leadeth into all truth. In the third place, they are presented by means of rational appearances. Finally, they are a specific revelation to the Lord's New Church.

357


Yet, despite the fact that the Writings are distinct, they are in no wise separate from that which preceded. Distinction does not imply separation. Although the Writings are the revelation given to the New Church, they are not by themselves the Word of God within the Church. In this day, the Word of God is comprised of those three revelations, which, taken together, form an indivisible One.

     3. The Holiness of the Letter.

     The fact that the Writings have an ultimate of their own does not imply that they do not rest upon that which is even more ultimate. Unless a rational thought is grounded in a sensual image it cannot be retained. That which is abstract must take root in sense experience. This is why Thomas, the doubting disciple, who represents the sensual degree of the human mind, put forth his hand and touched the Lord. Upon this act the faith of future generations depended. Our acknowledgment of the Lord's Divinity cannot rest solely upon a rational apperception. Of necessity it must be confirmed in the natural and bound in the sensual. For this reason three revelations are given, each one directly addressed to a specific plane of the human mind. In their entirety they are the Word of God. Take one away, and the others will not suffice. The Writings, although a distinct revelation, are not independent of the Old and New Testaments. Without them they become so abstract that they vanish.

     Here, in the Scriptures, is the basis of all spiritual thought. Because it is the basis, we are not aware of its presence when thinking on the rational plane. Nevertheless it is there, upholding and sustaining our vision of the Lord's Divine Human, and, if we may say so, granting this vision a fixity which it otherwise would not possess. True, we do not see the Lord as the Disciples saw Him. Nevertheless, the substructure of our thought is that same vision which was granted to the first Christian Church. We could not enter into the mysteries of faith unless this were so-unless we could first see the Lord as a man in the flesh-unless we could visualize His Humanity as presented in natural imagery of the Gospels.

358




     Hence it is that the teaching that the Writings are more holy than the Word in the letter in no wise implies that they may stand by themselves as the Word of God. Nor does it tend to depreciate the status of the former revealments. It simply means that the Writings, when compared with the Old and New Testaments, are a more perfect manifestation of the Divine Proceeding. But, and this is important, the Writings are not to be compared with the former Testaments, except in so far as such comparisons enable us to see that Divine unity which is the Word of God. Beyond this we must not go, lest, like the Jews, "we part His garments."

     In our desire to establish the Writings as the supreme authority within the Church, we must beware that we do no injury to the foundations upon which they rest. Nor is this a remote likelihood; for in the zeal aroused by new-found truth man is apt to underestimate the veiled implications of prior revelations. Even the Writings themselves at times seem to abrogate the letter. But the Lord does not come to destroy; in His own words He comes "to fulfill." True, the light of His Coming disperses the shadows in which the pre-existing revelation is enshrouded; however, the essential truth of the lower plane is sustained. Let us not forget, therefore, that even as the Writings, so the Word of God revealed to the prophets, and the Word of God as revealed to the Evangelists, are holy. And in one sense of the word, although it may appear contradictory, there is a sense in which it may be said that they are more holy than the Writings.

     It would appear that we have before us a direct contradiction. On the one hand, we have attributed greater holiness to the Writings, and on the other, to the Word in the letter. Yet in reality there is no contradiction; for it depends upon what we mean when we predicate holiness of one revelation or another. As the Crown of all revelations the Writings are indeed the most holy. It is here that we find the Divine Proceeding in its highest manifestation, and all holiness is from within. In this sense, that which is interior supersedes that which is exterior. But when the interior is given,-that is to say, made manifest on its own plane and in its own ultimates,-then it may be seen in that which is external to it. The Spirit of truth, which is holiness in its highest manifestation, having been fully revealed, now stands forth in the letter, fulfilling and infilling, and there it resides in its sanctuary.

359


As the Divine sanctuary of the spiritual sense of the Word on earth, the Old and New Testaments may in turn be said to be more holy, because they embrace the Divine as it proceeds through the Writings, and also the Divine as it proceeds through their own medium.

     We believe that all students of the Writings are agreed that holiness is from within, but that it resides in the letter. This is the plain teaching of revelation. There is, however, some difference of opinion as to what is meant by "the letter" in those passages where this teaching is set forth. By way of illustration, note the passages already quoted, namely, A. C. 9824, and A. E. 1088. Here it is stated "that what is most external is more holy than internal things." (A. 9824.) Also, that " Divine Truth is what is called holy, but it is not holy until it is in its ultimate, and its ultimate is the Word in the sense of the letter." (E. 1088.) As already considered, the Writings have their external or ultimate-a sense of the letter in which holiness resides. But the same passages may also be applied to the three revelations in their relation to one another. The Word of the New Testament, being more ultimate than the Writings, contains within itself all that is involved in the higher revelation. In this sense, and in this sense alone, can it be said to be more holy. Yet note carefully that its greatest source of holiness is not from itself, but from the internal, that is, from the higher degree.

     So it is that, when we compare the various revelations, when we look upon them as distinct manifestations of the Divine Proceeding, we see the Writings as supreme. But when we view the Word of God in its entirety, then that holiness which is the Writings descends into the former revelations and resides there in its fullness. This is the new power of the letter-a power which was not granted prior to the Second Coming. Before the Writings were given, the Scriptures lacked the rational conviction that must infill the natural idea. Consequently, the faith of the Christian Church, which was founded upon a natural acknowledgment of the Lord's Divinity, could not endure. But now the natural, being infilled with the spiritual, is in its fullness; for the holiness which it veiled has been made manifest therein.

     As a distinct revelation, therefore, the Writings are the Holy within the Church, but in their relation to the whole they give of their holiness to the lower degrees.

360


Here holiness may be found in a fullness which cannot be predicated of the Writings as a revelation apart. Here, in the first verse of the first chapter of the Book of Genesis, is the all-in-all of the Word: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." When seen in the light of the Spirit of truth, this most fundamental of all Divine teachings will lead us into all truth. It is the containant, the vessel, the God-given repository, of all Divine utterance. As such, nothing could be more holy. So it is that this term "holy," although it has only one meaning, namely, the Divine as It proceeds, has two distinct usages. The one refers to the Divine as it is disclosed by means of finite appearances; the other refers to the Divine as it is inclosed by means of finite appearances. According to the first usage, the Writings are the most holy; according to the second, the letter is most holy. Like all other terms, its implication depends upon the context. In the Writings of the Lord's New Church we find the Holy as it is revealed in no other revelation; for it is here that it is made manifest in the clouds of heaven-those clouds which reflect the light of truth in all its splendor. But at the same time these Writings are not given apart from the letter of the Old and New Testaments, and it is here that that same Holy resides in the fullness of its power. Not in the letter as a revelation apart from the Writings, but in the letter as the containant, the repository, the Divine sanctuary of all that is GOD.
REGULARITY 1939

REGULARITY              1939

     "I spoke with those who are in the lowest heaven concerning their state. They said that there are various kinds of men among them, but that they are distinguished in this manner: They who walk about constantly in their own proper clothing, except on stated days, and with whom the house and its prospect within and without do not vary much, are esteemed. The reason is, that these act determinately, and turn themselves constantly to their own loves. But when they see certain ones changed as to their clothing, and as to their faces, they know that it is not well with them. They call those phantoms who thus change their garments and their faces according to the regions in which they are, and who turn themselves without determination Such appear there sometimes, but after a brief time they vanish." (Spiritual Diary 5172.)

361


ACADEMY COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS 1939

ACADEMY COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS       RICHARD KINTNER       1939

     The Remains a Student Takes From the Academy.

     It is indeed an honor to have the opportunity to give the graduation address to you this year. It takes me back twenty years to the day when I, as a shy and bashful boy, delivered the graduation essay for my class. Ever since that experience, the boy called upon for this honor has had my deepest sympathy. I found it much harder than the toughest football game we ever played.

     However, twenty years gives a boy some assurance and confidence; and so on this occasion I have not the nervous, empty feeling that comes back to me so vividly in memory.

     It so happens that I am president of the Sons of the Academy,-a group of New Churchmen who believe in the education of our children within the church. In the past twenty years this organization has given to the Academy over forty-six thousand dollars to enable students to come to the Academy Schools. I am going to take this opportunity, therefore, to tell you why we as adults are interested in this unique educational institution, and what we hope will be the results of the education you have received here.

     The General Church is still a very small organization; in fact, it is probably the smallest church denomination in the United States, or in any other country. If we looked back a hundred years, we would find more New Churchmen in this country than there are at the present time. Many people came to the New Church in that day, but experience proved that, in the majority of cases, parents were unable to pass the church on to their children.

     Even as far back as the period to which I have just referred, there were a few men who saw that, if the church was to grow and prosper, they must educate their children within the church. One of these men was the Rev. Richard de Charms, the grandfather of our Bishop.

362


He not only believed in this vision, but from his meager means he deposited a sum of money in a Cincinnati bank as a trust fund toward the eventual establishment of a New Church school.

     The idea grew, until finally the Academy came into being under the leadership of Bishop Benade. The experiment has now continued well over fifty years, and I believe that most New Churchmen will agree that it has proven a successful instrument in helping to promote the growth of the General Church.

     In the Writings, much is said about "remains." In childhood and in youth, you acquire certain "remains" which are stored up in your minds by the Lord for your eternal welfare. These "remains" you gather by means of your parents, teachers and associates. Although you now possess them in varying degrees, they are in reality only loaned to you in your adult life, which will soon begin, the opportunity will be given you, either to claim your "remains," and make them your own, or else to reject them.

     One reason I am so much interested in the work which the Sons of the Academy is doing today is because of the "remains" given to me by the Academy. To illustrate my point, I will give you an example of how it worked in my particular case.

     At the beginning of my sophomore year, I was a boy in an isolated New Church family living at Lock Haven in central Pennsylvania. Although my family received occasional visits from the late Rev. J. E. Bowers, the New Church meant nothing to me. I went to various Old Church Sunday Schools with my friends, more for the associations than for anything else. At the local high school, I was having a very good time, playing football and not studying any harder than necessary. Right at that time, Robert Caldwell, who was then President of the Sons of the Academy, came to Lock Haven on a visit. Before he left, he had persuaded my parents to send me to the Academy, if a scholarship could be provided. So a few weeks later, on a bright Fall day, I was put on a train bound for Bryn Athyn, much against my own inclinations. The thought of going to a church school where I would be thrown in with a group of pious, sanctimonious boys just didn't appeal to me.

     My first impressions of Bryn Athyn were none too good. The football team was terrible. To me the first Hebrew class was such a joke that my learned professor, Don Rose, promptly threw me out.

363


Nor did I like the idea of being forced to go to church. In other words, I was just a plain rebel.

     But in the three years that I remained as a student my resistance grew less, and a few "remains" began to sink in. In our classes we gained a brief glimpse of the Writings from the works on Heaven and Hell, True Christian Religion, Divine Providence and Conjugial Love. Certain things in these works impressed me, and remained with me after I had graduated. That is why I am here today, and why I am so enthusiastic about New Church education. I have always felt that what it did for me, it might do for countless other boys and girls, if they can only be brought to the Academy.

     So much for personal experiences, which all too easily creep into a graduation address. Let us now analyze the "remains" which I believe all of you are about to take with you from the Academy. You must bear in mind that this is the only school of higher education that can give you these precious jewels. If they are not precious to you now, it is our fondest hope that in time they will be.

     First, you leave here with some idea of the Lord and His Creation. At your age this may still be a very vague and uncertain idea, but if you are fortunate enough to become regenerating men and women, you will learn more and more about the Lord to eternity. You will truly learn to "love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul." You will see the marvelous order of His Creation, which is only marred by the evils of man.

     Second, you leave here with a knowledge of the other life, and you are aware that your life on earth is your preparation for the life to come. You have some knowledge of the joys of heaven and the sorrows of hell. With this definite knowledge, your interior life in the world you are about to enter should be different from that of the millions of other students who are this month going forth with but one idea,-natural success. We hope that you will be successful, both spiritually and naturally, but our first concern is that you be a spiritual success.

     Third, you leave here with the New Church idea of use, as that is the only medium through which we can express our love to the Lord and to the neighbor. The world does not hold the idea of use that we possess.

364


The general idea in the world today is to do the least work possible for the greatest amount of money that one can obtain. There are some who will not follow this idea; yet their idea will be to achieve success because of the wealth and honor that will come with it. If, in adult life, you become lazy and indifferent toward your use, you will be repudiating that New Church idea of use which we hope you are taking away from the Academy as one of your "remains."

     Fourth, you leave here with the New Church idea of marriage, which has been given to us by the Lord as Divine Revelation in the book, Conjugial Love. To many of you, this may be the hardest of the remains to retain, since the old saying, "Love is blind," often is quite true. In the world, the precious doctrine concerning marriage is not known. As you look around in the world, I doubt if you will find any church that can boast as many truly happy marriages as we have in the New Church. Our wish is that as many of you as possible may find a happy marriage within the church. We hope that one of the first remains that you will accept of your own free will is the Divine mandate set forth in Conjugial Love.

     Fifth, you leave here with some knowledge of the state of the world. As you go through life, and reflect on what the Writings say about the state of the world, you will find a confirmation of what is there said. The present disturbed state of the world only illustrates the states of men collectively. The love of dominion and the love of self rule the world today. The only salvation for the race lies in the acceptance of the truths revealed to the New Church.     

     You are now about to leave the Academy, carrying with you the above mentioned five "remains" among others, plus the memories of happy school days Each of you has hopes and aspirations for the future.

     Perhaps the first thing you long for is your freedom. At this very moment you no doubt crave to be free from the restrictions of the school, of your teachers, and of your parents. This is a normal feeling at your age. But when this freedom is gained, we hope that with it will come the realization that now for the first time you are directly responsible to the Lord for your thoughts and actions.

     The first ten years that you are out of school will become the most important years of your life. Even in the world it is generally recognized that a man's character is usually established by the time he reaches the age of thirty.

365




     In this period you will be fighting to establish yourself in the world. There will be plenty of joys and sorrows. You will be swayed, first one way and then another, and eventually you will adopt a philosophy of life which you will feel meets your particular requirements.

     Many older people would like to help you through this period, but it is one which the individual has to work out for himself. It is like being thrown into the water, where one has either to sink or swim.

     It is during this period that we hope you will turn to the Writings, and gradually make your own the "remains" which have been given you. One never really becomes a New Churchman until, from his own studies and explorations of the Writings, he has accepted them in his own mind as Divine Revelation. Once he comes to this conviction, then his reformation and regeneration begins. Some of you may find accepting the Writings as Divine Revelation a battle, but if you come to an affirmative viewpoint, nothing will ever take this position away from you. On the other hand, some of you may accept the New Church because your parents desire it. If you make such a decision, you may care little to learn more about the Doctrines, being content to coast through life on the "remains" you now possess. We might label such a person as "New Church by environment," not by conviction.

     What the General Church of the future needs is men and women who read and study the Writings with but one thought, and that is to bring these Truths down into the ultimates of their everyday lives. That is the only way this old world of ours is going to be brought back to the state which the Lord desires of us.

     Each generation of the church must do its part in bringing this corrupt planet back to the Lord. As evil has increased from a small beginning, generation after generation, so can the Lord's New Church start turning the tide the other way. In this task that lies before us, the character and quality of the individuals that make up the church are important. At no time will the quality of the church be better than the collective persons who compose it.

     That is why we of the older generation look to you of the coming generations. We know that we in our own lifetime have not accomplished as much as we desire.

366


Our hopes are that you will join us and do more and more, and then that your children will exceed what you have done. In Providence you have been given precious "remains." Your parents, your teachers, and the organization that I represent, now hope that you will use these "remains" to their fullest advantage, and that in time you will become worthy of the term "a true New Churchman" in the sight of the Lord.
MIDDLE WEST ASSEMBLY 1939

MIDDLE WEST ASSEMBLY       NORMAN H. REUTER       1939

     DETROIT, MAY 13-14, 1939.

     Originated with the idea of bringing together the small groups and scattered members of the General Church in the Middle West, so that they might come to know each other, and might confer with the Bishop on their mutual problems of developing the Church in their midst, this assembly proved by every measure to be a greater success, and of more use, than had been expected. It met a need which has been increasingly felt among the widely dispersed members in this area, by establishing a more organized relation with the General Church and with the Bishop, its leader; and thereby providing opportunity for episcopal instruction and guidance, and for a reciprocal awakening and coordination of the things for which the General Church stands.

     In a spirit of rejoicing over new beginnings, mingled with the delight of reviving old friendships and of making new ones, 100 members and friends of the General Church gathered at the Fort Shelby Hotel in Detroit, coming from Michigan (41), Ohio (26), Ontario (19), Illinois (10), and Pennsylvania (4). Of this total, 72 came from the various units of the Visiting Pastor's congregation, and 28 members of organized societies greatly increased the heartening sphere by their presence.

     In what was, we believe, the first attempt at holding an assembly in a hotel, the verdict of all seemed to be that the care and foresight of the assembly committee-Norman Synnestvedt, Jack Lindrooth, and Geoffrey Childs-had provided for the perfect comfort and convenience of all, and had so well anticipated each detail of arrangement that the whole program ran smoothly.

367




     Preceding the announced program, at the home of the Norman Synnestvedt's on Friday, May 12, members of the Detroit group enjoyed a social evening with thirteen members from Wyoming, Ohio, and Chicago, Ill., who arrived ahead of the rest. This was a most delightful preliminary, both for the Detroit hosts and the visitors. On Saturday the hotel lobby and coffee shop were echoing the voices of arriving New Churchmen, as they were greeted by those who had preceded them. The joy of meeting friends, old and new, which is typical of General Church assemblies, reached its fulness in the Shelby Room between three and four o'clock, as the latest arrivals put in their appearance, and about 75 people then gathered in preparation for the business session of the assembly.

     Business Session.

     Bishop de Charms presided, and opened the meeting with prayer and a reading from the Word. He then addressed the assembly in substance as follows:

     This occasion is historic, being the first new development in the General Church for some time. No new societies have been formed for a long while. During much of this period the scattered groups and isolated families have come to feel very much alone,-on the sides of the stream of organized life and activities of the General Church. But such an assembly as this makes possible a coming together of these, and may provide the basis for a more intimate relation with the Church as a whole, and with the Bishop. A Bishop, too, can feel isolated,-separated from groups by insufficient contact with them, and by the lack of a knowledge of their real problems. You and I both need these contacts. There must be a reciprocal feeling between the Bishop and his people. Hence the great need of assemblies for mutual understanding, unification, and growth.

     The principle and practice of assemblies, as established by Bishop W. F. Pendleton, largely account for the early real growth of the Church. Of late years, however, district assemblies have lost much of their original character, often being little more than society meetings with a few visitors. But the General Church is everyone's church, and assemblies are the means of establishing this common bond, of developing this sense of unity, and of providing the Bishop with an opportunity to come close to the problems of the people.

     For these reasons, the Bishop was delighted to see the large attendance at this Middle West Assembly. He had not anticipated such a gathering when he encouraged the holding of it. He realized that in holding this assembly we were breaking precedents, but he believed in breaking precedents where a use is served. When there is a desire which represents an obvious need, it should be encouraged. Developments from this assembly may involve recognizing new district.

368


But the Bishop hoped that this would not detract from the Pittsburgh and Chicago Districts, saying it should not interfere with attendance there, but stimulate it; for there is a great use in members of small groups attending assemblies held in the sphere of large societies.

     Then the Bishop spoke of the state of the General Church at large. There comes a time for new beginnings, a need to analyze what we are doing and why. In order to keep a living spirit in an organization, it is imperative from time to time to revisualize what brought it into being, to examine these principles in the light of the Writings, and then to take stock of the present and see where we are going. We in the General Church are at such a time. An older generation is going, a new one is here,-one that has not been in the battle for the establishment of the Church. Others fought, and became strong in the contest with their problems. Now we, the present generation, must think out our present problems, solve them, and not drift, separated as little groups, thinking our own thoughts. Our best thought must be addressed to the solving of our problems.

     This Mid-West Assembly is a spontaneous effort to face your problems and seek a solution. And so this movement is a hopeful sign; and we trust that this spirit will not stop here, but spread elsewhere. We hope that it will help to bring a reawakening of the General Church and of the Academy spirit,-a revival of the realization of what is involved in the fact that the Writings are from the Lord, and that they are in our midst as our responsibility. May we unite with firm determination to develop the Lord's New Church as the Kingdom of God upon earth!

     Your Bishop wishes to do everything in his power to help in this, realizing that we must not rest upon the past, and talk of it, but go forward and accept the responsibilities which are ours, that our children shall not find us wanting. Often we make the mistake of thinking that, because the fathers started things, the thrill is over. There is no greater mistake. If we note well the past, and become fully aware of the vision of the early fathers, we will see that the thing which they held as a goal is far in the future, and that there is very much to be done before it can be gained. So we need to think together, and work together, and come to love together the same ends and purposes, and so be able to work effectively. I welcome you with all the promise of growth which this movement holds.

     Following Bishop de Charms, Father Waelchli spoke, giving a brief history of the development of the church in the Middle West, and then saying:

     "Other men have labored, and ye have entered into their labors." Yet this is not true of us alone, but of the whole General Church. Upon each individual, and thus upon the entire Church, rests the responsibility, in order that the New Church may become what it is destined to be-the Crown of all Churches. The great end of our labors should be that the General Church may become a spiritual brotherhood, conjoined in spiritual affections and thoughts, and in mutual love and church uses.

369


In the Ancient and Christian Churches it is said that in such gatherings they were glad to be together, and that they belonged one to another. Each must belong to all, and all to each. Our thought needs to extend beyond the Middle West to the whole General Church, and thus bring about a spiritual brotherhood, and the fulfillment of the promise given of spiritual peace and blessedness.

     The Visiting Pastor then spoke of the need of individual approach to the Lord in His Revelation, if the church is to make interior advancement, and be built on a sure foundation. He said:

     Such a regular approach is vital to every New Churchman, and especially among the small groups and isolated members, who enjoy but infrequent instruction by a minister. Unless we do this, we will be spiritually underfed.

     There should be no isolated home without a set of the Writings, and all should be receiving NEW CHURCH LIFE and the Parent-Teacher Journal. The acquisition of these should be the urgent goal of every home. The yearly expense involved is small when compared with the financial support given by members of organized societies. And yet these means are of utmost importance, and can be so used as to offset in part the lack of a resident minister. By conscientious reading of the Writings and of church publications, and by the application to life of the truths thus seen, our societies have been formed, and only in this way tan small groups develop into societies. If we look to interior advancement in the things of the church, external growth will inevitably result.

     A general discussion followed. After many had spoken on the question of a second Middle West Assembly next year, the decision was left to the Bishop and the Visiting Pastor, in view of the General Assembly called for next summer. Members from Akron, Detroit, and Wyoming reported the holding of lay services or classes between the Visiting Pastor's calls. A plea was made for contemporaneous sermons, to be supplied by the Visiting Pastor, in order that all the groups and families might be under pastoral guidance and held in the same sphere. One speaker expressed the view that in the General Church there is need of decentralization, of sending out our young people to find new frontiers in the small centers. Another said there was need for the young, even among Academy ex-students, to learn what the General Church stands for. A reminder was given that we must feed our pastor, as well as be fed by him. What is needed is a willingness to sacrifice. Those contributing to the discussion were: Rev. F. E. Waelchli, Messrs. Geoffrey Childs, Charles G. Merrell, Donald Merrell, Norman Synnestvedt, Arthur Wiedinger, and Richard Waelchli.

370




     Banquet.

     At seven o'clock, 86 people gathered in the beautiful ballroom of the hotel for a splendid natural and spiritual repast. The Rev. Norman H. Reuter, as toastmaster, introduced the program by asking the question: "What is it that brings the assembled group together tonight-that holds us together all the time!" The threefold answer was given in the responses to the toasts to "The General Church," "The Academy Schools," and "Father Waelchli." Three excellent speeches were given by Messrs. Geoffrey Childs, Donald Merrell, and Randolph Norris, representatives of the three largest groups in the Mid-West area. They aroused our affections for the principles of the church, the value of the schools, and the work of the priesthood, and culminated in the presentation of a set of seven exquisitely matched pipes to Father Waelchli, as a token of the appreciation of those whom he had visited for many years, and of the affection and esteem in which he is held by all.

     Bishop de Charms then arose and gave us a marvelous address on "The Uses of the General Church." We shall not attempt to give an outline of this timely and clarifying paper, as we understand it will soon be published in NEW CHURCH LIFE. (See page 337.) The response it aroused lasted until late in the evening. Among those who spoke were Messrs. Geoffrey Childs, Rudolph Schnarr, Sidney Lee, Richard Waelchli, George Fiske, Alec McQueen, and Mrs. Geoffrey Childs.

     Sunday Service.

     At ten o'clock Sunday morning, 96 people joined in worship, and heard the Rev. F. E. Waelchli preach on "The Holiness of the Holy Supper," the text being taken from the record of the institution of the Lord's Supper in Matthew 26:26-28. With all minds thus fittingly prepared, the Assembly came to a close when 76 communicants partook of this most holy of all the acts of worship.
     NORMAN H. REUTER,
          Secretary.

     In the Photograph on the opposite page, Bishop de Charms and the Revs. F. E. Waelchli and Norman H. Reuter are seated at the speakers' table in front of the stage.

371




     [Photograph]

372


NOTES AND REVIEWS 1939

NOTES AND REVIEWS              1939


NEW CHURCH LIFE
Office a Publication, Lancaster, Pa.
Published Monthly By
THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM
BRYN ATHYN, PA.
Editor               Rev. W. B. Caldwell, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager          Mr. H. Hyatt, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     All literary contributions should be sent to the Editor. Subscriptions, change of address and business communications should be sent to the Business Manager.

     TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$3.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single Copy, 30 cents.
     INTRODUCING THE WRITINGS.

     What Work Would You Give!

     Answering the question proposed by the Rev. W. Cairns Henderson in our November, 1938, issue, Prof. F. C. Martin, until recently a resident of Hong Kong and active in spreading the Heavenly Doctrines in China, but now living in Melbourne, has this to say in THE NEW AGE for March, 1939:

     "As this is a question that has been on my mind for some time, I wish to answer through this magazine so as to stimulate others to think and act in this way. Probably no better book to start with would be a pocket New Testament, or preferably the four Gospels. Could we not have a Pocket Gospels League amongst New Church people? I believe that such books could be produced, perhaps including the Revelation, for three-pence a piece, and inside there could be a statement of our creed and the essentials of the Church of the New Jerusalem, and a list of the Writings, stating where they can be obtained, and last, but by no means least, a form to be signed for the recipient to state that he accepts the Lord Jesus Christ as his God and Saviour, and pledges, by His help, to shun evils as sins against Him, and regularly to read His Word and pray to Him to enlighten him through His Holy Spirit of truth, and to lead him to His love and to Heaven. . . .

373




     "In regard to the main question about introducing the Writings, may I say that I feel that The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine would be the best to give a thinker. This should be followed by Heaven and its Wonders, which perhaps should be given first to the ordinary person. The Divine Providence and Divine Love and Wisdom should be given to those who are scientists or philosophers. I would say that the Four Doctrines or the Brief Exposition of the Doctrine of the New Church ARE NOT suited in the early stages, but separately The Doctrine of Faith and The Doctrine of Life are suitable. For a 'churchy' person or clergyman, The True Christian Religion would be good, and for a Bible student, The Apocalypse Revealed would be excellent, and so would Heavenly Arcana, say, Vol. I.

     "There is a need for pocket compendiums on the Writings, such as those compiled by Barrett in The Swedenborg Library. I am in the hopes that this will meet the eyes of some of the executives of the Tract and Missionary Societies. Someone said to me that the pamphlets now being issued would not convert anyone, and I agree that it is unfortunately true; but they are improving, and the new translations of the Writings are very good in some ways, but those who have tasted the earliest translations are not happy to leave their first love for them!

     "Has anyone thought how powerful a gift of a book of the Liturgy may be? There, if anywhere, the heart of things should be depicted, and even old worn out copies will do-never throw away such when buying new issues! A copy of The Liturgy of the General Church was sent to me from America, and inside was the name written, 'W. Cairns Henderson.' I gave it to a worker in China.-F. C. M."
BOOKS RECEIVED. 1939

BOOKS RECEIVED.              1939

     Heavenly Arcana. From the Latin of Emanuel Swedenborg. Volume III: nos. 1521-2134; Genesis xiii-xvii. London: Swedenborg Society (Incorporated), 1939. 18mo; pp. 520. Paper, 6d; cloth, 1/-; leather, 3/6.

     As noted in our pages (January, 1935, p. 20, and August, 1936, p. 245), this edition is uniform in size with the volumes of the Everyman's Library, and makes the Arcana Celestia available to the English reader in convenient pocket-size at the low price of six-pence per volume. The text is that of the Standard Edition, and has the subdivisions provided by the Potts Concordance. The revision of this third volume of the series is the work of H. Goyder Smith, with the Rev. C. Newall, R.A., as Consultant.

374


DISTRIBUTING THE WRITINGS. 1939

DISTRIBUTING THE WRITINGS.              1939

     Since the time of its incorporation in 1850, the Swedenborg Foundation, Inc., 51 East 42d Street, New York, has given away nearly a million volumes of the Writings-963, 858, to be exact-donations to libraries and other public institutions, to ministers, theological students and individuals.

     This we learn from the Foundation's Annual Report for 1938-1939, the contents of which furnish an engaging picture of its widespread distribution of the Writings, chiefly in the United States and Canada, during the year ending April 1, 1939. The tabulated figures given in the Report show the number of volumes disposed of by gift or sale:

     Missionary Edition.

Heaven and Hell                          9,582
Divine Love and Wisdom                    3,020
Divine Providence                     2,155
The Four Doctrines                     2,176
Arcana Celestia, Genesis i-vii           1,141
Total                               18,074

     Mode of Distribution.

Regular Sales                          3,569
Heaven and Hell at 5c                     5,470
Donated to Colporteurs                7,075
Other Donations                          1,960
Total                               18,074

     In addition to the above, 45 public and college libraries were supplied 467 copies of the Writings-sets or parts of sets-including in many cases a copy of George Trobridge's Swedenborg, Life and Teaching. Sets of the Writings were given to a number of New Church theological students; and 201 volumes were sent as Gift Books to ministers and students, some of these being provided by the Iungerich Publication Fund.

375




     The Foundation maintains a staff of eighteen paid and volunteer colporteurs. During the year, they distributed 6500 copies of the Missionary Editions of the Writings and over 11,000 pieces of free literature. The colporteur in Louisville, Kentucky, reported his surprise and pleasure in finding that a small group had organized there, without his immediate knowledge, as the result of leaving a copy of Divine Providence with a bereaved person. Encouraging reports come from Berkeley and San Francisco, California, and from Kansas City. The Rev. Samuel O. Weems completed a missionary trip in the South, and accumulated a list of about 2000 names and addresses, principally of teachers and students in Negro colleges.

     Vigorous follow-up work takes the form of letters sent to those purchasing books through advertising. To this group 2147 letters were mailed, the direct response being 282, and of this number 229 indicated the book purchased had interested the reader and prompted a desire for additional printed matter or correspondence.

     Talking Books.

     For some years the Foundation has provided Braille editions of some of the books of the Writings, but this touch system of reading by the blind has been largely superseded in the libraries by Talking Books. These are played on special machines made by the American Foundation for the Blind, which has distributed 22,000 of them. The Swedenborg Foundation has published one Talking Book, entitled "Why God Created Man," consisting of three disks. In the Fall it expects to publish in this form an Introduction to the True Christian Religion. It will be in twelve parts on six disks, and is to be read by the Rev. Arthur Wilde. It is estimated that it would take thirty-five hours to listen to the entire True Christian Religion.

     When we add to these worthy accomplishments of the Swedenborg Foundation what is being done by other publishing agencies of the New Church, and notably by the Swedenborg Society, London, through its versions of the Writings in many languages, we are brought to realize that a knowledge of the Heavenly Doctrine is being extended to the far corners of the earth. As yet the fruits of these laudable endeavors are few, so far as we may view them in a numerical increase of the New Church. "It must be left to the Providence of the Lord," said the angels to Swedenborg. (S. D. 4422.)

376


"Cast thy read upon the waters; for thou shalt find it alter many days." (Ecclesiastes XI:1.) When the Nile overflows its banks, the weeds perish and the soil is disintegrated. The rice seed, being cast into the water, takes root and is found in due time growing in healthful vigor.

     May we not see in this simile a picture of the way in which judgment and vastation in the former church make ready the minds of a few to receive the seeds of newly revealed Truth!

     Distribution by Individuals.

     Many novel methods of distributing the Writings have been employed by New Churchmen. Johnny Appleseed, in his wanderings through the Middle West, would leave a few pages of a book until his next visit. In this way he maintained a kind of circulating library.

     William Schlatter (1783-1827), a wholesale dry goods merchant of early 19th century Philadelphia, was indefatigable in his efforts to promote the New Church. As we learn from a recent biography, kindly sent to us by Mr. Raymond Pitcairn, he "Published at his own expense thousands of copies of Swedenborg's small doctrinal works, and through the medium of his regular business he sent in his packing cases nearly two thousand books, large and small, to his customers all over the country, and even to India and the Emperor of Hayti." One convert gained in this manner was a Dr. William Brazier of South Carolina, formerly a Methodist minister. (Annals, p. 240.)

     It was in 1815-1816 that Mr. Schlatter published The Four Doctrines in separate volumes for gratuitous distribution. They were translated by Lydia Railey, and were the Second American Edition of these works. (Annals, pp. 248, 253.)

     Mr. Schlatter lived in a fine mansion on .the southeast corner of 12th and Chestnut Streets, and it was on the adjacent property at the corner of 12th and Sansom Streets that he erected the first New Church Temple in Philadelphia, which was dedicated on January 1, 1817. (Picture in the Annals, p. 256.)

377


Church News 1939

Church News       Various       1939

     BRYN ATHYN.

     The Nineteenth of June.

     During the past few years, it has been the endeavor of the Bryn Athyn Society to lay greater stress upon the birthday anniversary of the New Church, as a means of establishing a firmer foundation with children and the young for the building of a strong and genuine belief in the newness and distinctiveness of the Church founded by the Lord in His Second Advent.

     Our celebration this year began with the Sunday morning service on the 18th of June and the administration of the Holy Supper, which must always be the central feature of every celebration of an Advent of the Lord; for in it is fulfilled the end to which the Advent looks.

     At this service the revised Liturgy was used for the first time, and although the music of the Holy Supper office is not yet well known to the congregation, the service went smoothly and gives promise that it will be a beautiful and impressive one, when it has become more familiar to the worshipers.

     On Monday, the 19th, we again gathered in the cathedral to give thanks to the Lord for His Advent. During this service the Rite of Ordination was performed by Bishop de Charms for Candidate Bjorn Boyesen, who made his declaration of faith and purpose, and was introduced into the first degree of the Priesthood and acknowledged by the Bishop as priest in the General Church of the New Jerusalem. Bishop Acton delivered the sermon, taking as his text these words from the Writings: "Dignity and honor ought to be paid to priests, on account of the holiness of their calling; but they who are wise ascribe all such honor to the Lord." (N. J. H. D. 317.) It was an interesting and inspiring discourse, giving us a vision of the beauty of the Holy City, and of the preparation for its descent upon earth, which was begun on this Day in the spiritual world one hundred and sixty-nine years ago.

     For the afternoon we had planned to reproduce out-of-doors a pageant written by the Rev. Gilbert H. Smith, picturing the sending out of the Twelve Apostles, but weather conditions prevented. In its place we had a gathering of the children in the Choir Hall, which they entered in procession. After the singing of a hymn, Bishop de Charms gave an address on the significance of the day, concluding with an explanation of the Banner which was used at this celebration for the first time. In gold upon a brilliant red background, it bears the seal of the General Church, which includes the Greek words for "Behold, I make all things new." He said that it had been so designed to the end that whenever the children saw it they would be reminded of the Church. And he hoped they would come to love this banner, and to regard it with reverence, as a representation of that which is most holy with us,-the New Church.

     Banquet.

     In the evening, about 400 people sat down to a banquet in the Assembly Hall, which was adorned for the occasion with beautiful floral decorations. Mr. Sterling Smith and his committee had prepared an excellent feast, and yet had reduced the price to 50 cents, which we believe is a step in the right direction.

378




     Mr. Edward C. Bostock genially and efficiently presided as toastmaster, and the formal program opened with the singing of the hymn," The Lord God Jesus Christ Doth Reign." Mr. Bostock then spoke briefly on the significance of the Day, reading and commenting upon statements he had collected from the Writings in which Swedenborg speaks of the books of the Word and of the Writings in the spiritual world. After this we joined in singing "Our Glorious Church."

     The Rev. Dr. William Whitehead then gave a stirring and timely address on the subject of "The Church on Earth." in which he brought forth the teachings of the Writings on the nature of the First Christian Church and the reasons for its fall, illustrated by significant events in its history.

     Dwelling upon the true character of the New Christian Church, he described the new freedom in matters of faith which has been brought about by the Last Judgment, and warned of the dangers that must be avoided if the New Church is to be established with us.

     The toastmaster then expressed our good wishes to Mr. Boyesen in the work he is about to begin, assuring him of our warm desire for his success. All joined in singing "Here's to Our Friend." Responding in a brief speech of thanks, Mr. Boyesen expressed the hope that our wishes would be fulfilled, and assured us that he would receive power and courage from knowing that so many people desired his success.

     At the request of the toastmaster, Bishop de Charms spoke in conclusion, lifting our thoughts to the Idea of God that should reign in the church. The vision of God existing with a church characterizes its spiritual quality. What makes the New Church new is the idea of God now revealed by the Lord in His Second Coming. And only in so far as the individuals of the church receive that idea by the reading and study of the new Revelation, and by a life in accordance therewith, does the Church become the New Church, the Bride and Wife of the Lamb.

     A very delightful evening closed with the singing of "Our Own Academy," followed by the Benediction pronounced by the Bishop.
     ELMO C. ACTON.

     ACADEMY SCHOOLS.

     Favored with a pleasantly cool evening on Saturday, June 10, the Joint Meeting of the Corporation and Faculty of the Academy of the New Church was very well attended.

     In his summary of the Annual Reports, the Secretary, Mr. Edward F. Allen, brought before the meeting an admirable review of the year's accomplishments in all departments of the Academy. The Reports are to be published in an early issue of rite Journal of Education.

     Professor Otho W. Heilman delivered the Address, his subject being "The Confusion in Modern Educational Philosophy." Quoting the views of numerous present-day writers on Education, and showing how, from a lack of spiritual aims and spiritual light, they are largely groping in the dark, he presented a vivid contrast of clarity by reading also from the pages of the Writings. Here he found the principles of a Divine philosophy to illuminate and guide the educator of the New Church. All present were very much interested in this useful paper.

     School Closings.

     At the closing exercises of the Bryn Athyn Elementary School on June 15, Certificates of Graduation were presented to 22 pupils,-14 girls and 8 boys.

     The Academy Commencement on June 16 brought with it the powerful sphere of a promise for the future growth of the Church by means of a year of progress in educational endeavor. The service was conducted by Bishop Acton, and Dean Doering read the Lessons from Psalm 72 and A. C. 1050. The students sang Hebrew and Greek selections, and also the 24th and 47th Psalms from the Psalmody.

379




     The Commencement Address by Mr. Richard Kintner, in its simple and direct application of the doctrine of "Remains;" found a warm response with all present, young and old. The text appears on another page.

     Bishop de Charms, with words of kindly counsel and good wishes, presented the diplomas to the graduates, a valedictorian of each class making suitable acknowledgment. The Bishop also announced the honors and presented the prizes. The list of Awards follows:

     Degrees.

     BACHELOR OF THEOLOGY: Bjorn Adolf Hildemar Boyesen.
     BACHELOR OF ARTS: Phyllis Schnarr.
     BACHELOR OF SCIENCE: Mary Howard.

     Graduations.

     JUNIOR COLLEGE: Theodore Starkey Alden, Gustaf Michael Baeckstrom, Rey Waters Cooper, John Clark Echols, Nancy Corinne Horigan, Michael Pitcairn, David Restyn Simons, Renee Smith.

     BOYS ACADEMY: Gunnar Baeckstrom, Dandridge MacFarlan Cole, Theodore Edward Cooper, Jean Daly, Philip James Finkeldey, Anthony Ward Heilman, Philip Coleman Pendleton, Joel Pitcairn, Walter Smith Schoenberger, Paul Synnestvedt, Robert Emanuel Walter.

     GIRLS SEMINARY: Virginia Blair, Yvonne Bostock, Elizabeth Howard, Barbara Leonard, Esther Allfrida Nilson, Eleora Serene Odhner, Bethel Pitcairn.

     Honors.

     Deka Gold Medal: Esther Allfrida Nilson.

     Sons of the Academy Silver Medal: Walter Smith Schoenberger.

     Oratorical Prize Silver Cup: Joel Pitcairn.

     Theta Alpha Scholarship: Joan Nanette Kuhl.

     DURBAN, NATAL.

     The Durban Society Adviser of May 5 contains the following interesting announcement:

     "Mr. W. M. Buss recently presented to the Society the historic volumes of the Writings which were brought to this country in 1850 by Mr. and Mrs. James Ridgway, and which were so miraculously spared from the ravages of white ants. Mr. Buss received these volumes from his father, the Rev. J. F. Buss, who in turn received them from Mrs. Visick. Among them are some valuable First Editions. The Society wishes to extend its thanks to Mr. Buss for these volumes, and for the care he has given them in the past."

     Accompanied with portraits of Mr. and Mrs. James Ridgway, an account of the remarkable occurrence noted above was given in NEW CHURCH LIFE for June, 1930. Several boxes of books, brought with them from England, were not opened for some time after their arrival in South Africa, and it was found that white ants had eaten up most of the books, but that not a volume of the Writings had thus been destroyed. In some cases the bindings had been nibbled, but not a letter of the print had been touched.

     MONTREAL, CANADA.

     The activities of the Circle here have seldom been reported in NEW CHURCH LIFE, but our uses have been maintained, and in September will begin the tenth year.

     We have had Baptisms, the Holy Supper, a Confession of Faith, a Betrothal, and now a Wedding.

     On Tuesday, June to, at the residence of Mr. and Mrs. E. W. R. Izzard, their daughter Wilma was married to Mr. Robert Gurth Glenn, of Bryn Athyn, the Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal officiating. To this marriage came our greatest influx of visitors, among whom were: Mrs. Gerald S. Glenn, mother of the bridegroom, Miss Creda Glenn, Mr. and Mrs. Edmund Glenn, Mr. Bruce Glenn, of Bryn Athyn; Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Glenn and infant daughter from Pittsburgh; the Rev. and Mrs. Norbert H. Rogers, of Kitchener; Miss Zoe Gyllenhaal, and Mr. Laurence Izzard, who was best man, from Toronto.

380


There were eighty guests at the wedding and the reception which followed.

     The next evening a service of worship was held at the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Felix Duquesne, after which we had an informal celebration of New Church Day.

     The families of the Circle are: Mr. and Mrs. Duquesne and their son Nicholas; Mr. and Mrs. R. F. Dykes, and their daughter, Miss Margaret Dykes; Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Dykes and their infant son; Mr. and Mrs. E. W. R. Izzard, Miss Barbara Izzard, Grant and Ruth Izzard; Mr. and Mrs. W. W. Timmins and their children, James, Donald, Joan, and Anne; Mr. and Mrs. Ernest W. Zorn and their daughter Joyce; and Mr. A. Hergeir. During the past year, the Circle has lost two of its most regular and active members: Miss Edith Craigie, now Mrs. Joseph Knight, of Toronto; and Miss Wilma Izzard, now Mrs. Robert G. Glenn, of Bryn Athyn.
     F. E. G.

     PITTSBURGH, PA.

     The semi-annual meeting of the Pittsburgh Society was held in the auditorium after the Friday supper on May 19. Reports of the various uses were presented. Mr. J. E. Blair was unanimously elected treasurer of the society. Mr. George P. Brown gave a statistical report covering two years. A few of the figures may be of interest here. The society has 100 members on the roll,-a 30 per cent increase in four years,- there is an average attendance of 59 at church services.

     Mr. A. P. Lindsay, chairman of the mortgage committee, made his report in motion pictures, showing the progress of the society during the past ten years. This, he said, demonstrates the material growth in numbers and the spiritual growth in unity of purpose. The plan is to underwrite the amount still owing on the mortgage over a period of five years. Our hope is to celebrate the pastor's tenth year with us by burning the mortgage.

     Mr. Pendleton announced that we have received two handsome gifts,-a new crystal communion service, and an especially prepared copy of the Word for this high altar, the latter being the gift of Mrs. Willard Pendleton, for which we are indeed grateful. A description of the volume appears in NEW CHURCH LIFE for July, 1939, p. 327.

     The Pittsburgh Chapter of the Sons of the Academy held a banquet in the auditorium on Sunday evening, June 11. There were several fine speeches, and it was unanimously acclaimed a successful occasion. The ladies, not to be outdone, met at the home of Mrs. Frank L. Doering.

     A Wedding.

     The marriage of Miss Helen Lindsay, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. A. P. Lindsay, to Mr. Edward B. Lee, Jr., was solemnized in the Le Roi Road Church on Saturday evening, June 17, the pastor officiating. The bride was attended by her sister, Miss Anne Lindsay, as maid of honor, and the Misses Harriet Gyllenhaal and Harriet Bannentine as bridesmaids. Mr. Alexander H. Lindsay was best man. The service was followed by a delightful reception at the University Club. We were pleased to welcome Bryn Athyn friends, and all were most happy that Mrs. S. S. Lindsay, who had been ill, was able to be present at the first marriage of a grandchild.

     The School.

     School closing this year was in two installments. On the evening of June 13, the pupils presented Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream" in the auditorium. Each actor did his part well, and much credit is due Miss Marion Cranch and those who assisted her. The graduation exercises were held the following evening. The graduates-Patty Horigan, Phyllis Schoenberger, Nancy Stein, Robert Blair and Lee Horigan,-read splendid papers, each treating of one of the Five Churches.

381


The pastor announced awards for various merits, presented the certificates of graduation, and gave an excellent address. He also read a telegram from Miss Jennie Gaskill and the graduates' message sent to her. We all regretted that she was unable to be present.

     Nineteenth of June.

     On Sunday morning, June 18, the Holy Supper was administered to the congregation, and in the afternoon a special children's service was held in the church. The children made offerings of cut flowers. The pastor delivered a sermon on "What the Nineteenth of June Means to Us." A supper for the graduates, sponsored by the Pittsburgh Chapter of Theta Alpha, followed the service. Some forty-seven were present. Robert Schoenberger was toastmaster, and speeches were given by Mr. Julian H. Kendig, Mr. Ormond de C. Odhner and the Rev. Willard Pendleton.

     As a new feature this year, a service was held on Monday evening, the pastor being assisted by Candidate Ormond Odhner. We all felt that this service was a fitting prelude to the banquet which followed, at which Mr. Walter L. Horigan was toastmaster. Mr. Julian H. Kendig spoke on "The Spiritual State of the World at the Time of the Last Judgment," and Mr. Ormond Odhner on "The Message of the Twelve Disciples in the Spiritual World," stressing two points: (1) The Lord God Jesus Christ shall reign for ages and ages; (2) Those are blessed who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. The Rev. Willard Pendleton gave us "Some Reflections on the Nineteenth of June," saying that our lives should be motivated by a vision of the future, and that we should be filled with great hope and a sense of privilege; for we are the disciples of this day. We should disregard personalities and think of use. Songs interspersed the speeches, and a group sang several selections. Mr. Thomas sang a solo at the service, and also at the banquet. The supper was ably prepared by Mrs. D. H. Shoemaker and her efficient committee.

     During the Summer the pastor will be traveling in the Far West, and will visit members of the General Church in that region. In his absence the Sunday services will be conducted by Candidate Ormond Odhner, whom we are happy to welcome to Pittsburgh.
     E. R. D.

     CHICAGO, ILL.

     In spite of cold weather and threatened rain, we left right after the service on Sunday, June 11, for our annual picnic at the Anderson's summer home at Forest Lake. The basket lunches were eaten indoors, but soon afterwards we were enjoying the great outdoors. Several of the men took their small boys to sail boats on the lake, but those who had anticipated swimming were disappointed. There was a lively soft-ball game in which the ladies and older men played, and then several games in which the young men "really went to town." Other groups pitched horse shoes, walked about among the flower beds or played Chinese checkers on the porch. We felt that it had been a big success.

     Sunday, June 18, was a memorable day, the members of Sharon Church being entertained by the friends in Glenview, and uniting with them in the celebration of the Festival of the Second Advent. The Rev. Morley Rich assisted the Rev. Gilbert Smith with the morning service in Immanuel Church, at which the Holy Supper was administered.

     At four o'clock in the afternoon, on the church lawn, there was a beautiful pageant representing the calling of the Twelve Apostles and their being sent throughout the spiritual world to preach that the Lord God Jesus Christ reigns. In the evening there was a banquet at which the papers carried on and developed the theme of New Church Day.

     We are delighted with the sermons Mr. Rich is giving us. In a series on the Parable of the Sower, recently delivered, it was shown that, although the parable is so plain in its implications that it has probably been the subject of more sermons and discourses in the Christian Church than any other passage in the Word, its full significance has never been grasped.

382


Its literal sense has indeed been seen to portray four different classes of people, but there has been no general recognition of the internal truth involved,-that the four types here depicted are also representative of four states through which the individual man passes progressively in the process of regeneration.

     We also find Mr. Rich a capable leader in the temporal affairs of the society, as witnessed by the alterations and repairs that are being made on the church building this summer.
     D. M. F.

     GLENVIEW, ILL.

     Once more we were impressed with the fact that splendid music can be produced by children of grade-school age when a delightful recital was given in the parish hall on June 10, under the able direction of Mrs. Ralph Synnestvedt.

     The closing exercises of the Immanuel Church School were held on Saturday, June 17, and another excellent graduating class was in evidence: Gloria Smith, Gloria Asplundh, Dorothy Zent, Charles Heimgaertner, James Barry, Kenneth Holmes, and Muriel McQueen. Each pupil read a paper, and then, as a class, they presented gifts to their pastor, Mr. Smith, and their principal, Miss Gladys Blackman. A great deal of sentiment attached to this little ceremony-and there was the use of handkerchiefs in the audience. Thus were seven young people severed from the school of their childhood, soon to go to those waiting teachers who will give them their higher education.

     As a preparation for our celebration of June Nineteenth, our pastor spoke at the last Friday supper of the season on the subject of New Church Day. And on Sunday, June 11, his sermon dealt with the Descent of the New Jerusalem. Our friends of Sharon Church joined us for a delightful service on Sunday, June 18, when the Rev. Morley Rich assisted the pastor and preached a sermon entitled "The Trumpet of God." The Holy Supper was administered as the conclusion of the service.

     In the afternoon, an outdoor Pageant brought to our eyes and ears the significant events which transpired in the spiritual world on the 19th of June in the year 1770. In the presence of two angels, Swedenborg is seen finishing the writing of a book-The True Christian Religion. The Twelve Apostles appear, and are sent forth with their message. There are groups of gentiles; little children dancing. A priest speaks-and is spoken to, in turn, by a prince, an army officer, a merchant, a workman. Music; the blowing of trumpets; colorful costumes; motion-a sphere of awe and holiness-as the action closes with the singing of "Jerusalem the Golden." This is the impression of one who witnessed this most remarkable presentation, originated in the imaginative mind of our pastor, and worked out by him to a beautiful conclusion. The difficult task of outfitting sixty actors with costumes was in charge of Miss Dorothy Cole, and well did she acquit herself.

     The Banquet in the evening was in the capable hands of Mr. George Fiske as toastmaster. Three short papers on appropriate themes were contributed by Messrs. Arnold Smith, Neville Wright, and Donald Merrill (the last read by Mr. David Gladish). And there were extemporaneous speeches, interspersed with toasts and songs. One of the delightful happenings at this banquet was the presentation of a silver gift to Mr. and Mrs. Birger Holmes from the members and friends of the Immanuel Church in commemoration of their Silver Wedding Anniversary.

     Not many days after, on July 8 we were all invited to a reception at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Geoffrey Blackman to join in the celebration of the Golden Wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Blackman.

383


The society presented them with a radio, and a group of boys who work with Mr. Blackman in The Park presented a chair which they themselves had made.

     As a notable feature of our observance of July 4, following the long parade around the park, we assembled in the parish hall to witness a series of Patriotic Tableaux, which had been prepared under the supervision of Miss Helen Maynard, and which were impressive to all.
     H. P. McQ.

     COLCHESTER, ENGLAND.

     At a special dancing class on May 18 a "shower" was given for Miss Mildred Leaman and Mr. Alan Boozer, who are soon to be married. The following week we held a special whist drive to raise funds for the forthcoming Assembly Social. The response was gratifying.

     On June 17 an Open Meeting of the "Sons" was held to hear a paper by Mr. Colley Pryke on "Beauty." The paper covered a very comprehensive range, and included amongst other points the appreciation of beauty in art, literature, music, odor and touch. An interesting discussion followed, and the speakers did not all agree with some of the essayist's remarks concerning modern beauty in its various forms.

     As this was our first opportunity to welcome Mrs. Wynne Acton, we took occasion to give a "shower" for her and Mr. Acton. This was introduced by some appropriate remarks from our pastor.

     The evening of Sunday the 18th was devoted to our celebration of New Church Day, the function opening with a supper followed by toasts and responses as follows: "The Church," Rev. A. Wynne Acton; "Freedom and Order," Mr. A. J. Appleton Uses," Mr. Alan Boozer; and "Conjugial Love," Mr. Alan Waters. These were followed by informal toasts, which included one to Mr. and Mrs. Gladish, who were celebrating their twelfth wedding anniversary that day, to Mr. and Mrs. Acton, and several others. It was generally agreed that a very enjoyable evening had been spent by the 46 present. The week-end seemed like a young Assembly, with so many activities.

     The children's 19th of June celebration was held at the church on June 23. Before sitting down to the tables, which had been prettily decorated with delphiniums and roses, and partaking of the "strawberry and cream" tea which the Committee for Children's Socials had provided, all present gathered around the piano and sang "June the 19th Day of Days." After the meal, the pastor introduced the program of papers: "The Churches Which Prepared for the New Church," Marion Appleton; "The Importance of June 19th," Alvin Motum; and "Evangelization," Garth Cooper. All were very interesting, and it was encouraging to realize how much thought had been given to these "first papers" of the young essayists. The formal program closed with the singing of "The Lord God Jesus Christ Doth Reign." Games were then played in the garden. The Social was concluded by all singing "Our Glorious Church" and "Alma Mater." Altogether a very happy and satisfying Social!

     On Sunday, June 25, a large congregation witnessed the baptism of Colin Wheaten Pryke, infant son of Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Pryke, of Wallasey, Cheshire, who remain members of our society in spite of the distance at which they have taken up their residence.
     D. P. AND M. C.

384


USES OF THE CHURCH 1939

USES OF THE CHURCH        GEORGE DE CHARMS       1939




     Announcements.





NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LIX SEPTEMBER, 1939          No. 9
     II. The Church must be Organized for Use.

     We have said that uses are all the means that contribute to the accomplishment of an end. The end of the Church-the inmost purpose of its existence-is that the truth and good of the Word may be received with ever increasing fulness. This is indeed the end of all creation; and therefore, in the sight of the Lord, everything that He has made, everything that He maintains by His Providence in being and existence, is formed to promote this end. In His sight all uses may be said to be the uses of the Church. But these uses, for the most part, are performed by the Lord alone, in hidden ways beyond all human comprehension. That which the Lord does in secret is too wonderful for us; we cannot attain unto it. But those things which specifically we call "ecclesiastical uses" consist of activities in which man can take part. They are instrumentalities by which man's own love to the Lord, his love of the Church, may find expression and fulfillment through conscious participation in the Lord's work.

     Such uses require organization. They consist in the exchange of heavenly gifts received from the Lord by means of the Word-in the sharing of these gifts with others. Organization is nothing but an ordering of the relations between men to the intent that their gifts may be shared. Such an ordering is of the Divine Providence, because by means of it each gives of his own for the enrichment of all the others, and receives in return abundant increase of heavenly gifts.

386


The more perfect the organization; the more manifold its uses; the wider its extent; the more fully it can operate to bless each individual with a more complete reception of the truth and good of the Word.

     Heaven itself, bringing into such a mutual relation all those who have received the Lord, from every age and dime, is the greatest organization of all. It is-in the sight of the Lord-a Gorand Man in whom every part and every organ performs its appointed use, and contributes thereby to the well-being of the whole. Indeed, the Heavenly Doctrine itself is a Divine organization in which all the truths and all the goods required to reveal the Divine Human of the Lord in perfect image are so ordered that each truth complements, modifies, and exalts the others-being indispensable to a full understanding and realization of all the others. So also must the Church on earth be organized, that those who receive the Heavenly Doctrine, wherever they may be, may come into spiritual association-may attain to mutual understanding and sympathy, and by common endeavor may share with one another the blessings of the Lord's merciful giving.

     The Lord alone can form the hearts of men together. The uses by which they are brought into harmonious association are of His Divine provision. And for this reason, the knowledge of these uses-the knowledge of the way in which they are to be performed, and the nature of the organization necessary for their effective performance, must be learned from the Word. If we would understand how the Church is to be organized, we must search the Heavenly Doctrine, and draw out thence-under the Lord's own guidance-the principles that are to direct our endeavors. All the functions, the offices, and the activities of the Church must be ordered in accord with these principles. Nor does it suffice that this should be done in the beginning, and that afterward the established order should be followed merely as a matter of custom and tradition. Every generation must go to the Writings, must see these principles therein for itself, and must apply them anew to the changing conditions that arise as the Church grows.

     In no other way can the spiritual life of the Church be perpetuated. For that life consists not merely in the performance of external uses, but in performing them from the Lord, from the Word, from a perception of their inner and spiritual purpose, which is that the Word itself may be more perfectly received.

387


This end must be universally present in our work for the Church, perpetually animating the uses of the Church, if they are to perform their intended function. For the sake of this end the uses of the Church are to be loved. For the sake of this end the organized body of the Church, with all its agencies, is to be loved. So far as this is the case, the uses of the Church will have within them a living soul, and by means of them the Lord will be present to build His Kingdom in our hearts.

     (To be Continued.)
WAY TO LIVING PEACE 1939

WAY TO LIVING PEACE       Rev. WILLIAM WHITEHEAD       1939

     "Lord, Thou wilt ordain peace for us, for Thou also hast wrought all our works in us.

     "O Lord our God, other lords beside Thee have had dominion over us: but by Thee only will we make mention of Thy name.

     "They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast Thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish. . . .

     "Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead." (Isaiah 26:12-14, 19)

     In the inmost bosom of this chapter of prophecy lie both glorification and judgment. Life and death are both imaged. Life in the herb, glistening with morning dew, reaching out for the light and heat of the rising sun. Death is imaged in the dust, out of which the lowly herb seeks to rise.

     Singularly, the appearance in the letter is, that this text teaches the doctrine of the physical resurrection of the body. And it has been so construed, in the Old Church.

388


The earth is said to cast out its dead; the dead men whose lodging is in the dust are to arise into life. The Authorized Version says: "Together with my dead body shall they arise."

     But Swedenborg points out, even as early as in his marginal notes in the Schmidius Bible, and afterwards in several places in the Writings, that the word "men," and the other words "together with," are unwarranted interpolations. The passage simply reads: "Thy dead shall live: my dead body, they shall arise."

     Furthermore, in the last clause in the text,-"The earth shall cast out the dead,"-the passage should read: "The earth shall cast out the Rephaim." Indeed, in the 14th verse of this same chapter we read of the Rephaim that "they shall not rise" again, because "Thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish."

     In the purely historical sense, the Rephaim have been held by scholars to be the giant race of Bashan troglodytes. But in the internal historical sense it is now revealed that the Rephaim were the dreadful, surviving vanguard of the perverted celestial men still lingering in the Ancient Church,-descendants of the direful Nephilim-spirits under the very heels of hell. (A. C. 581, 607, 805, 1120),-hopelessly fallen spirits in such states as, the Writings say, "had never been before, nor ever shall be again." (A. C. 7686.) The very name of the Rephaim was a fearful word, even to the Phoenicians;-and from their memory rose the Titans of ancient myth and drama.

     But in this prophecy of Isaiah, the dark name of the Rephaim is invoked by the prophet to symbolize the Assyrians and Babylonians who have lorded it over the land;-and he uses the name to arouse the memory of ancient terrors in the minds of the Children of Israel, so that they may wish to be delivered from the death that threatened their life and land.

     The judgment which is here promised, however, strikes infinitely deeper than the historical appearances. It involves afar higher deliverance than the resurrection of the political hopes of the Jews, or the resurrection of a man's body from the dust and ashes of physical death.

     Brushing aside the crude and superficial guesses of the Old Theology, we perceive, from the internal sense, that here we are really dealing with the giant forms of falsity and evil that confront the New Church in this day of the Lord's Second Coming.

389


These are the enemies to be cast out,-the Children of the Dead,-the leaders and warriors of doomed states, of civilizations and institutions ordained and marked for ultimate extinction.

     We learn from the Writings that, in this text, by the Rephaim "those were signified who were in the love of self above others, and therefore to the fullest extent natural, and from a persuasion of their eminence over others were in falsities of every kind." (A. E. 163. Cf. A. C. 581, 1268, 1270, 1271, 1673, 7686.)

     These most direful persuasions, with the early men who outraged the created order of their nature, resulted in the final self-destruction of all men in whom conscience could not be fashioned; and the very humanity of the race at length was only saved by the Coming of the Lord. The cumulative evil of the ancient world could only thus be met. We read in the Arcana that "the Lord in His earliest childhood conquered the persuasions of falsity of all kinds, including those signified by the Rephaim." (A. C. 1654.) And we are also told elsewhere that, in the abstract sense, our text signifies "the combats of the Lord in His Human against the hells of the Antediluvians, and His victories over them." (A. C. 581.)

     But although it is true that the Lord has provided that mankind should not again be inundated by a persuasiveness that is able to murder all power of thought in others, and fill the world with unrestrainable evil, yet the same essential persuasions ever strive to flow through the loves of self, and so to dominate the lives and possessions of others. The Rephaim have passed; but the spirit of their striving operates on other planes. That they now operate in a different way, and that their power to destroy all civilization is limited, has not abolished the love of self, or its urgency to dominate the neighbor's life. It is still true that "Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the Rephaim for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth." (Isaiah 14:9)

     For this is a major fact which confronts the man of the New Church,-especially in these, its early days,-that of his own strength he cannot cast out the states of spiritual death, the sleeping in the dust, the unreal, phantasy-driven feverish life of the natural man who can scarcely be awakened to spiritual things, let alone be stirred into celestial song.

390


The loves of self and of the world are as giants that have come from the hereditary past, and have stalked into the environment of man's will and understanding to intimidate or persuade him into continuing loyalty to a kingdom of the dead. For both by means of exterior truths and exterior goods men are so held and bound to "other lords" besides the Lord our God.

     Man is able, by virtue of his freedom, to take the Divine Laws of order as to truth and separate them from the Divine Laws of order as to good. Hence the kingdom of man's mind has been divided and defeated,-dragged down from the life of the spirit,-down to the lower planes of which the natural man is most conscious, namely, the planes of physical, civil, or moral truth and good. Such subordinate truths and goods, by being elevated and made more than they really are, have been made the universals of what the modern man is still willing to think about religion.

     The very concept of the kingdom of heaven, and of the church, has thus been literally brought down to the earth,-a thing of the dust,-a merely sociological institution of the natural man, not established from within, but from without, based on external elements which, viewed in themselves, only, would exclude spiritual vision, and cut off the light of the Lord's Word and genuine doctrine derived thence.

     This is why a genuine spiritual church is necessarily ever at war with the tyranny of the natural man. And this regardless of the forms of truth in which the tyranny of the merely natural is dressed. For all purely man-made doctrines, whether in religion or philosophy, tend to conform with the prevailing loves of natural men. Their ideas are borne out of the state in which they are conceived. They partake of its life, its heredity, its potencies; and so they are wonderfully suited to that state.

     And this, too, is of Divine Providence; that the food of the evil-like the food of the angels-is suited to their state. This is why, among natural men, it has come to be recognized that there is no ultimate authority, even in religion (as religion is today understood), other than the law of state, with all its mutations, shiftings, ever changing and drifting like grains of sand or dust, with nothing cohesive, or enduring, able to withstand the shock of change or time.

391




     Thus the inevitable effect of regarding only one's own self-intelligence as the ultimate and only authority of truth is the spiritual starvation of the soul and its highest uses. Nay, when there is no spiritual life, all uses-uses that should be conceived in living and spontaneous love to the neighbor and love to the Lord-finally fall under the slavery of mere necessity, and are developed in the deadly sphere of restraint or fear, which is the sphere of hell. The state of the world today is a startling confirmation of this doctrine.

     Indeed, one temptation for the man of the New Church-especially in this its day of beginnings-is that we may be persuaded by the appearances of good that flourish by Divine permission for the promotion of man's external cultures, and for the sake of the uses which must needs be done for hell as well as for heaven. And especially that we should confuse these appearances with genuine good; and thus form a spurious or false conscience in forming our philosophy of life.

     For the truth is, that the love of self reaches out in a myriad subtle ways to persuade us to remain in spiritual ignorance,-to avoid the travailing pains of a spiritual birth,-to remain content with the comfortable darkness that links us with the familiar dust of this world's ways and things,-ever urging us not to break with the night, with its artificial lights and allures.

     Regeneration is never easy. And especially because the chief power of evil is exercised through the spheres that surround the will rather than the understanding. It is in the exploitation of the will that the love of self finds its power. This is the power of natural men over the natural man,-of society against the individual,-the collective force of persuasive spheres exercised against the freedom of the single mind. To murder the power of thought in others, to prevent its expression in speech and writing, is by no means a thing of the past. Nay, in its threat to the intellect, it is more effective than ever. For man is disposed to obey those who have discovered his ruling loves,-to follow those who have discovered how to capture the will of a man, or the will of a people. All false leaders, whether in the Church or in the civil State, do not enter through the door of the understanding, but through persuasions.

392


The false shepherds climb into the sheepfold through another way. Indeed it is still true that "Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the Rephaim for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth."

     Yet, despite all the ingenuity of evil, judgment on things of the night comes with every dawn; and the dawn comes inexorably at the behest of that Divine Power which creates still another day. In the long run, evil is inevitably doomed to its underworld. Falsity will, at long last, melt as mist before the sun. For the ultimate effect of all false doctrine derived from evil,-whether in the Church or in the State,-is that it must at last try to save itself by binding the consciences of men, and by putting fetters on the freedom of the mind, in order to maintain the power of false leaders. Then it imposes a burden that finally becomes too grievous to be borne. And its leadership-the leadership of Caesar in the State, or of the Pharisee in the Church,-is cast off in a convulsion of human society. For man was created that he should be free,-both in the Church and in the State.

     It will be observed, however, that the more vital element of this text-indeed of the entire chapter-is not merely the judgment of the Old Order of Religion, but the glorification of the Lord on account of the doctrine of truth, as received worthily and in reverence in a New Order of Religion. Spiritual death overtakes us, primarily, because of a deficiency of genuine spiritual truth,-the living truth of spiritual and celestial things as well as of natural things.

     The scientific and rational truths of the natural man, even when applied to an intellectual grasp of the doctrinals of the church, are insufficient to ward off spiritual death. The "herbs" alone, considered in themselves, are the lowest form of nourishment for the mind. All natural knowledges that are true and suitable as a matrix for a spiritual education must meet with a corresponding hunger and thirst for the nourishment of a spiritual life. This alone affords a New Education looking to life eternal,-the life of heaven,-the life of the Divine Human glorified.

     Men and women, youths and maidens, must desire to live out in uses those truths "which have not become perverted by application to falsities and to evils by others or by one's self, for these unfortunately remain when once impressed on any knowledge." (A. C. 6112.)

393


Indeed, this is how much of modern education has become spiritually introvert, and its subjects the victims of an egocentric process. In the fierce flame of the love of self, the organization of truth melts into incohesive and fiercely competitive schools and groupings, without any recognition of the unity of universal laws, each on its own corresponding plane. So the world of man's mind, every little while, is resolved, as it were, into dust that will not cohere. The so-called truths of today are quickly seen as the fallacies of yesterday,-only relatively truth, with nothing immortal, abiding or dependable.

     And it may be acknowledged that a similar state may seem to prevail at times in the early life of the New Church. Truths will sometimes seem to fail because a state of shade comes. Spiritual life is distressed as simpler concepts give way to deeper considerations. And we may, in temptation, be let back in some measure into our proprial life. The world beckons us to go back. The love of self whispers, "Why not let go? How can we live according to this high and abstract standard of spiritual idealism, when so much of our life must be lived amidst natural realities?" The image of spiritual death sometimes stands before us, pretending to offer us more life. And we are tempted to cry with the people of Egypt, who came to Joseph and said, "Give us bread, for why should we die in thy presence, for silver faileth?" That is, spiritual truth seems to fail. There seems to be a deficiency of satisfying truth. Orare we tempted to stress our lack of ability to receive truth? Or are we tempted to escape from the conflict of the spiritual life, because it does not give us an uninterrupted sense of personal happiness and peace?

     For such states and moments of yielding there comes this Divine Word: "Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust!" That is, do away with the fantasies and dreams of a merely natural state. Awake from the somnolence of a lifeless worship, lifeless rituals, a lifeless intellectual and social life, in which certain spiritual stars that have shone for us since childhood, and have preserved for us something of spiritual vision, come into danger of extinguishment. Awake! Awake out of the unnatural sleep of selfishness,-of self-love,-and be watchful, lest we be steeped in the current persuasions of spiritual death!

394




     Even if spiritual awakening be so slow as to be almost imperceptible, if we are sufficiently awake to the duties and loyalties of use that Providence places before us, enough of the Divine Truth will be given to us for our needs; a sufficiency of spiritual food will be provided. Indeed, there come states when even to seem to stand still is better than to give way. So that we do not open the gate to the enemy,-that is the use of external loyalties. For only they are conquered who are driven from the field, or who yield up to the foe the keys of the city.

     The victory over the foes of spiritual life is not man's, but the Lord's. This is why we are bidden to care nothing for the appearance of terrific odds against us,-the environing falsity that arises from the unreligious philosophies of life, as against our feeble perceptions of the truth as it appears to us in the first faint dawn of a spiritual day. It is not our day that is beginning. It is the Lord's Day that is beginning. The Lord has come again into His world. The truths of His Word again may appear in their morning light to all men who will learn them and live them. The men and women of the church are to open their eyes to this light and be steadfast to it, with all that little strength which Providence will preserve for them. And, in the end, song shall arise, even from the midst of the dust on that short road which we call life.

     Thus it is that, in the very beginnings of the states of the church,-a state of general truths,-a state of general perceptions,-this promise is given in the ineffable language of Sacred Scripture: "Thy dew shall be as the dew of herbs."

     The dew, we are told in the beautiful simplicity of the Arcana, signifies the truth of peace, because "in the morning it comes down from heaven, and appears upon the herbage like fine rain, and has also stored up in it something of sweetness and enjoyment more than the rain has, whereby the grass and crops of the field are gladdened, and the morning is a state of peace."

     This is the day-dawn on earth of a new state to gladden mankind in future ages. And this is also how truth is to be instilled,-not by dictation, nor by dogmatic forcing;-not in the arrogant confidence of natural self-intelligence, whose enjoyments but counterfeit peace of mind, and invariably end in restless and unhappy controversy and war among those who should be brethren.

395


But the truth of peace that we are to seek is "the Divine Truth from the Lord going forth in heaven, which, since it is inmost, instills itself into the truth which is beneath, and vivifies it, as the dew vivifies the grass or growing crop upon which it falls."

     Thus, when this truth has been so vivified in the life of the church, the truth of peace arises; even as the morning dew is drawn like incense to the rising sun. And the truth which had so received life, itself rises and comes into view; even as the herbs rise in their beauty and fragrance and usefulness.

     The Writings teach us that the genuine truth of faith is thus born. (A. C. 8456.) No mere doctrinal scientific this;-no mere ingenious system of dogmas, arising from the mere states of men, howsoever regenerate. We read in the Arcana: "For no truth of doctrine or of the Word becomes truth with man, until it has received life from the Divine, and it receives life by the instilling of the truth which proceeds from the Lord, which is called the truth of peace. This truth is not the truth of faith, but it is the life or soul of the truth of faith, and arranges all truth into heavenly form, and also afterwards the truths themselves, one with another."

     This is how the earth shall cast out spiritual death in all its forms. The very Divine Truth of heaven descends,-to bring peace to those who seek peace, and war to those who will war!

     And in this truth of peace there is confidence in the Lord, that He governs all things, and provides all, and that He leads to a good end. When we are in this faith, we can fear nothing, either for the future of the church or for ourselves. We shall have no solicitude about things to come, to render us unquiet. For, in the vital language of the Psalmist, it is the Lord "who putteth our soul among the living." (Psalm 66:9.) Those alone are "living" who are in faith in the Lord. (A. C. 290.) And those who receive this faith are "made alive." (Hosea 6:2.)

     Today, admittedly, we are living in a strange interlude in the history of religion,-in a world of fear and anxiety,-a world of great cares for the morrow. And multitudes are dying as to the spirit; and many are blind; and many know not which way to go. Yet a new resurrection of the human soul may now come to pass; and is offered to all men and women, in whatsoever state.

396


For, from high above this confused scene of spiritual misery, there comes once again the Voice of One who spake as never man spake:

     "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

     "Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live." (John 5: 24, 25.) Amen.

     LESSONS: Isaiah 26. John 5:17-31. A. R. 157-158.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 526, 557, 570. Revised Liturgy, pages 454, 510, 482.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 111, 115.
SWEDENBORG AND THE EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHICS 1939

SWEDENBORG AND THE EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHICS       Rev. ALFRED ACTON       1939

     In a letter entitled Appendix to the Treatise on the White Horse, published in the Miscellaneous Theological Works, Swedenborg, after quoting a number of Scripture passages showing the signification of a horse, continues:

     "It is well known that in Egypt there were hieroglyphics, and that these were inscribed on the columns and walls of temples, etc.; and that at this day no one knows what is signified by them. They were nothing else than the correspondences of natural things with spiritual, to which the Egyptians at that time gave their study more than any other people in Asia, and according to which the oldest authors in Greece wrote their fables. This, and no other, was the most ancient style of writing. . . . From that time the science of correspondences was gradually obliterated, and so greatly obliterated that at this day it is hardly known that it ever existed, or that it is anything.

     "Now because the New Church which is to be established by the Lord is to be founded upon the Word, . . . it has pleased the Lord to reveal that science, and so to open the Word such as it is interiorly in its bosom, that is, in its spiritual sense. This has been done through me in the Arcana Coelestia, published in London, and later in the Apocalypse Revealed, published in Amsterdam. Since, with the Ancients, this science of correspondences was the science of sciences, and was their wisdom, it is a matter of importance that some one from your Academy devote his labor to this science, which can be done more especially from the correspondences disclosed in the Apocalypse Revealed, and there demonstrated from the Word.

397


If this be desired, I am willing to unfold the Egyptian hieroglyphics, which are nothing but correspondences, and to give them to the public, which can be done by no other person."

     My particular attention was called to these last words, italicized by Swedenborg himself, when I was reading an extremely interesting book by Professor Sundelin on the History of Swedenborgianism in Sweden,* which, indeed, is the cause of the present writing. Professor Sundelin interprets the words "your Academy" to refer to the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences, of which Swedenborg was one of the earliest members; and, discerning the incongruity of a scientific body embarking upon any such investigation of the Egyptian hieroglyphics as is suggested in Swedenborg's letter, he does not fail to refer to the latter with more or less of sarcasm. He speaks of it as "a proof of Swedenborg's tireless zeal for the outspreading of his doctrines." In this document (he adds), Swedenborg "tried to interest the Academy in the question of a right interpretation of the hieroglyphics." Then, after quoting that part of the letter with which this article commences, he goes on to say:

     "The Royal Academy paid no attention to this request, and even in our own days a distinguished member of the Swedish Academy, in his memorial address on Swedenborg,** has complained of this, because he supposed that the Seer, with his new point of view, would have been able to throw an entirely new light on the language of hieroglyphics; It is an even greater honor for the Academy's memory that it answered the daring offer with eloquent silence. For, aside from the fact that the introduction of the above-mentioned communication interprets the signification of a horse in opposition to all scientific methods, the communication itself intimates that, on the ground of revelation, Swedenborg had already supplied the key to the explanation of hieroglyphics. . . . Under such conditions, it is hard to comprehend how the Royal Academy could have embarked upon any undertaking with Swedenborg in this question without stultifying itself. For the rest, science, after his time, has succeeded in solving the great problem of reading and understanding the hieroglyphics of Egypt in a way wholly different from that of divination, and without any help from the Swedenborg doctrine of correspondences.

398


And yet he thought himself able to assert that no one but he would be able to do this. We do not deny, however, that, had not Swedenborg explained the puzzle as being already solved by himself, it would not have astonished us if his offer had won greater respect. For it was not unlikely that one might have expected new and great discoveries from a man of whom it was generally imagined that he had made many epochal discoveries in the field of the exact sciences-as it was not until a later time that one had the testimony of learned men that, in his so-called scientific works, he had indeed frequently put forward many proposals and suppositions inspired by genius, but that he never gave himself the time carefully to examine into their practicability."
     * Swedenborgianismens historia i Sverige, af Rob. Sundelin, E. O. Theologie Professor vid Upsala Universitet. Upsala, 1886. See pp. 54-57.
     ** Baron von Beskow, in his Minne ofver Emanuel Swedenborg, Stockholm. 1860.

     Professor Sundelin's tone of irony might have been justified, if the suppositions which he took for facts had been actually such. I refer, first, to the supposition that Swedenborg addressed his letter to the Royal Academy of Sciences, and second, that what he had in mind was the deciphering and translating of the hieroglyphic language. I will take up these two points separately.     

     The Autograph possessed by Mr. Hartley.

     The first public appearance of the Appendix to the White Horse was in an English translation by C. A. Tulk, published in London in 1824.* In the advertisement prefixed to this edition, Mr. Tulk says: "This little work was originally written in Latin, and sent by the author. . .to the Reverend Thomas Hartley. By this gentleman a copy was sent to Doctor Messiter. . . . After his decease, it came into the possession of his eldest daughter, along with his other papers; and I am indebted to her kindness for the copy from which this translation has been made." Then follows the translation itself, which agrees in every respect with the Stockholm manuscript, of which we shall speak presently, excepting that, instead of the words vestra academia (your academy) are the words vestra societas (your society).
     * This translation, together with the Appendix and part of the "Advertisement," was reprinted in full in the New Jerusalem Magazine, Boston, August, 1840, pp. 562-67.

399




     Further information concerning the manuscript of this work is given by the Rev. Thomas Hartley in a letter to Dr. Messiter of London, dated "East Malling, near Maidstone, Kent, Sept. 17, 1769," which is printed as an appendix to the translation. There Mr. Hartley says: "I suppose that our Honorable Friend [Swedenborg] set sail about the time he proposed;* but I have not heard anything concerning him since I saw you; only about a week ago, there was brought from Maidstone, directed for me, a little basket, stuffed with hay, and in it a sheet of paper, in Mr. Swedenborg's hand, in a cover directed to me, but not in his own handwriting. In the sheet of his writing, neither you nor I are mentioned; it is superscribed thus: 'Appendix ad Codicilllum de Equo Albo,' and contains. . .some observations on the Egyptian Hieroglyphics towards the end, concluding thus:' Nune quia a Domino,' etc., An. 1769, Mens. Aug.** To whose care the Appendix was committed, or how it was so long in coming to hand, I know not, but think it proper to send you this notice, and would have sent you the original, could I have trusted anything so valuable as what comes from the Author to the hazard of a post letter; however, I shall bring it with me when I come to town. . . . By 'Aliquis e vestra societate' [some one from your society], he certainly means you, or me, or both. Accordingly, I am ready to join with you in this work, which he seems to lay upon us, to the best of my power, and to concur with you in the expense as well as pains, if so be we may in any degree be useful in preparing the minds of some for the New Jerusalem state, shortly to be opened. I shall be glad to settle our parts with you in this work when we meet, and in the meantime desire you will make such collection of remarks on the correspondences in the Apoc. Rev. as may suit with your time and inclinations, and be subservient to the Author's plan. You will find abundant references in his treatise De Equo Albo. I wish we could pick up any useful books on Hieroglyphical learning. I lately met with the following title: 'Ellis's Knowledge of Divine Things from Natural,' or to that purport; as the title promises something, suppose you make enquiry for it."
     * Namely, August 30; see below.
     ** Now because the New Church to be established by the Lord . . . Aug. 1769.

     It will be noted from the above letter that Swedenborg wrote the Appendix in London, some time in August, 1769.

400


On August 2d, Hartley had addressed a letter to him, in answer to which he wrote the well-known Autobiography, a modified copy of which, dated August 5th, he sent to Dr. Messiter in London.* Hartley wrote to him again on August 14th, while he was still in London. (1 Docu. 11.) It was doubtless a few days after this that Swedenborg wrote the letter, entitled Appendix to the White Horse, which Hartley received about September 10th. It would seem that Swedenborg did not know or had forgotten the latter's address, further than that he lived near Maidstone, some thirty miles southeast of London. He appears, therefore, to have sent his letter to Maidstone, perhaps by a carrier, with instructions to have it sent on from there. At any rate, Hartley had expected Swedenborg to leave for Sweden at the end of August, whereas he did not leave until about September 18th, arriving in Stockholm on the 23d, after a remarkably short voyage.**
     * The original of this letter to Hartley is lost, though the text has been printed. The original of the letter to Dr. Messiter is still preserved; see New Church Life, 1930, p. 129.
     ** The authority for these dates lies in the letters and diary of J. H. Liden, which are preserved in the Library of the Upsala University. Copies of them may be consulted in the Library of The Academy of the New Church.

     Subsequent to Mr. Tulk's translation of the copy of Swedenborg's letter sent to Dr. Messiter by Mr. Hartley, that copy (together with other important papers left by Dr Messiter-including the original MS of the Coronis) disappeared; nor has it ever come to light. Completely lost, also, is the original letter owned by Mr. Hartley. And since the Latin text of this letter was never published, the English translation by Tulk is the only evidence of its contents that is now available.

     The Stockholm Autograph.

     At the time Tulk's translation was published, it was not known that there was preserved in Stockholm an identical autograph; identical, that is to say, save in three respects, to wit: (1) It had no title; (2) nor any date; and (3) instead of vestra societate, it had vestra academia.

401




     The first public intimation* of the existence of the Stockholm document is given in a letter from Doctor Im. Tafel, published in the New Jerusalem Magazine, Boston, November, 1759, giving an account of his visit to Stockholm in the summer of that year. In the course of his letter (p. 287), Dr. Tafel, alluding to the recent publication by Mr. Klemming of Swedenborg's Drommar, says: "On pages 73-77 of this book there is inserted a sheet in quarto, written by Swedenborg himself, and existing in the Library of His Excellency Lars von Engestrom.** It is a Latin answer to a question of Count Rudenskold, and must be considered as an appendix to the little work Concerning the White Horse, as it gives further confirmation of the signification of the horse, and of the value of the hieroglyphics; which, if requested, Swedenborg was ready to explain, because, as he said, no other could do it."
     * That is, the first intimation that came to the attention of New Churchmen; for in Part 9 of Handlingar rorande Skandinaviens Historia, published in 1821 (p. 354), the last few lines of the Latin text of the Appendix to the White Horse were printed, together with a facsimile reproduction of the last two lines and Swedenborg's signature. The Editor announced that the document was preserved in the Engestram Collection.
     ** A word may here be added as to how this MS cme into thepossession of Count Engestrom. It is not included in the list of papers drawn up by Swedenborg's "heirs," being a list of the books and documents shipped from London to Stockholm shortly after Swedenborg's death. Presumably, then, it was found in Swedenborg's residence in Hornsgatan, Stockholm, and thus came into the possession of the "two bishops who were Swedenborg's heirs," and to whom therefore, had been consigned the books and MSS sent from London. (3 Doc. 790.) These two Bishops were: C. J. Benzelius, the son of Eric Benzelius and Anna, Swedenborg's sister; and Lars Benzelstierna, the son of Eric's brother Lars and Hedvig, another of Swedenborg's sisters. It was through the latter that this, and perhaps other Swedenborg documents, came finally into the possession of Count von Engestrom, who had married Beata Sophia, a daughter of Bishop Lars Benzelstierna. Subsequently it was given to the Royal Library of Stockholm, where it is now preserved.

     Dr. Im. Tafel gives no reason for his statement that the document is an answer to a question by Count Rudenskold, nor is there any evidence supporting this statement. It would seem to have been merely a conjecture by some of the learned gentlemen who were with Dr. Tafel at the time. Count Carl Rudenskold (1698-1783) was elected a member of the Royal Academy, January 25th, 1769, and became its president from October to December, 1771. Neither Dr. Tafel nor the gentlemen who were with him knew the date of the "Appendix" found in Count von Engestrom's library, and it is not improbable that they assigned it to 1771, when Count Rudenskold was President of the Royal Academy.

402




     Earlier in the same year that Dr. Im. Tafel announced the existence of the Stockholm copy of the letter, M. le Boys des Guays published in Paris the Latin text of what he supposed was a copy of the Messiter document sent him by the Rev. H. Wrightson, the well-known New Church Collector. But in a Note Supplementaire, he explains that the copy he had received from Mr. Wrightson was not Messiter's copy, but was a copy of a transcript of a Stockholm MS made by Mr. Kahl, and that this MS was shortly to be published by Mr. Klemming in "a Fragment of Swedenborg's Diary " (the Drammar). He gives a French translation of Mr. Hartley's letter of September 17th, 1769, and adds that Mr. Wrightson did not know what had become of the autograph received by Mr. Hartley.

     To Whom was the Letter Addressed!

     I think it has been clearly established that the letter received by Mr. Hartley, entitled "Appendix to the Treatise concerning the White Horse," was written in London in the middle of August, 1769, and was specifically intended for Mr. Hartley himself. Therefore, by the words e vestra societate (from your society), Swedenborg undoubtedly meant Mr. Hartley, and probably Dr. Messiter also. This was also the general opinion of the early members of the New Church, many of whom were personally acquainted with Mr. Hartley and Dr. Messiter. And it should be remembered that both of these gentlemen met Swedenborg several times after 1769, and had the opportunity of confirming or correcting their impression as to what he had meant by "your society." Thus, in the "Advertisement" already referred to, Mr. Tulk writes: "Adopting, then, nearly the words of the Author of this Appendix, and addressing, to the general body of the Church, the exhortation which he addressed to the small social circle of his day: 'It would surely be of importance for some member of your Societies to devote his attention to the principles of Correspondency,' that, by a clear elucidation of those principles, it may be emancipated from the servile condition of an art, and allowed to take its regal seat among the most noble of the sciences."

403




     And here I call to mind Swedenborg's words to Doctor Beyer in 1767, in answer to the question, How soon the New Church may be expected: "The universities in Christendom (he answered) are now first being instructed, whence will come new ministers." (2 Doc. 261.) What did Swedenborg mean by these words? Did he refer to the fact that he had sent copies of his works to various universities? Or that learned men, like Beyer, Rosen, and Oetinger, were showing sympathy for his writings? I cannot tell. Certainly, if Swedenborg had any hopes that the contemporary universities of Europe were preparing "new ministers," those hopes were not fulfilled. But it seems to me that the universal idea underlying his words was, that the New Church would begin with learned men, who could enter into the Doctrines intellectually, as well as from the heart. Actually the New Church did begin with just such men:-Doctors Beyer and Rosen, the Lectors at the Gothenburg Gymnasium; Doctor Messiter, a learned Swedish physician long resident in London; Doctor Chastanier, a French scholar of high rank; the surgeon, Henry Peckett, deeply versed in letters; Robert Hindmarsh, the printer and Latin scholar; the learned divine, Thomas Hartley; not to mention others. Moreover, the subsequent history of the New Church has shown that the Church has grown from the "universities," if by universities are understood bodies of men devoted to the study of the Writings, and able by their learning to promote such studies.

     I feel justified, therefore, in concluding that in the Rev. Hartley and Dr. Messiter, whose knowledge of the Writings and zeal in their study and promotion he himself had witnessed, Swedenborg saw the nucleus of a true university; and that he had this in mind when he wrote, "It is a matter of import that some one from your society devote his labor to this science." At the same time, he realized that he alone could truly unfold those hieroglyphics, and therefore he offered to unfold them, "if this be desired." This does not mean that such would be forever the case. It was the case then; but the letter itself indicates the means by which others also can unfold these mysteries. But more of this later.

     But admitting that by "your society" Swedenborg meant the Rev. Hartley and Dr. Messiter, the questions may be raised: Did Swedenborg intend to send the same letter to the Royal Swedish Academy?

404


And did he, therefore, make another copy, in which he altered society to academy The supposition is prima facie untenable. Swedenborg was a man of common sense, and he knew that the Royal Academy was devoted to the study, not of theology, but of science. It would be strange indeed if a man of his cosmopolitan experience and native sense of propriety should address to a learned scientific Academy a letter consisting mainly of passages from the Scriptures. The only communications which Swedenborg specifically addressed to the Royal Academy were his article on the inlaying of Tables, and the last edition of his work on the Longitude. The former was duly published in the Society's Transactions, and the latter, which was a printed book, was accompanied by a letter opening with the words: "I consider it my duty to, present to the Royal Academy the accompanying Method."

     That Swedenborg did not write the Stockholm MS on Hieroglyphics to the Royal Swedish Academy, is shown, moreover, by the MS itself. First: The MS is without title. Second: It is entirely devoid of those formal words which both courtesy and custom demanded in a communication addressed to a learned society or its president. Third: It is plainly a first draft, containing several corrections and one addition written in the margin. Furthermore, Swedenborg crossed out a whole line, which he afterwards restored by stet marks, at the same time writing above the line some Swedish words which I am unable to decipher. Fourth: There is no record that the Royal Swedish Academy ever received this letter. Fifth: But even more significant is the fact that in the middle of the letter he has drawn a vertical line between two of the words, and two vertical lines in the opposite margin. Now in cases where two of Swedenborg's autographs exist, one of which was copied from the other, it is just these marks that Swedenborg entered on the sheet from which he was copying, to indicate that he had come to the end of the page on which he was writing the copy, and that the word after the vertical line was to be the first word on the next page of the copy. Were the original letter sent to Mr. Hartley available for comparison, it would probably be found to consist of two folio or large quarto pages, the second page beginning with the word after the vertical line just alluded to. And it may here be noted that the Autobiography addressed to Dr. Messiter on August 5th, to which reference has already been made, was written on just such folio paper.

405




     Every indication, then, seems plainly to indicate that the Stockholm MS is the first draft of the letter written to Mr. Hartley. The change in the Hartley letter, of Academy to society, might have been caused by the thought that while Rev. Hartley and Dr. Messiter might constitute a "society," they were hardly an "academy" as that word was understood by the learned world.*
     * This would also account for the fact that, in the first draft, Swedenborg wrote "that some one be chosen from your academy." In the Hartley letter he changed this to " that some one from your academy devote his labor."

     Any other supposition than the one here advanced would involve that Swedenborg addressed his request for the study of Hieroglyphics in the light of the doctrine of correspondences to two separate bodies, one to a "society" consisting of the Rev. Hartley and Dr. Messiter, who were highly interested in the doctrine, and the other to the members of the Royal Academy of Sciences, who had not the least inkling of what correspondences were.

     The Interpretation of the Hieroglyphics.

     There remains the question on which Professor Sundelin allows himself to indulge in some pleasant raillery at Swedenborg's expense. When Swedenborg wrote, " If this be desired, I am willing to unfold the Egyptian Hieroglyphics," Professor Sundelin interprets him as meaning that he undertook to translate the hieroglyphic language into one or other of the European tongues. Such an interpretation is manifestly both unfair and unjustified. I say once again, Swedenborg was a man of common sense; he was also a highly learned man, fully acquainted with the difficulties of deciphering and translating unknown tongues. To suppose that he thought that by the knowledge of correspondences he could interpret the actual meaning of the words of an unknown language, is to suppose the ridiculous-and doubly ridiculous when it concerns a man of Swedenborg's scholarship. With such a supposition, it is easy to poke fun, but the poking reflects little credit on the poker. In saying this, I do not mean to cast any slur on Professor Sundelin, for his work manifests his desire to be fair in his judgment of Swedenborg.

406


But, by attaching to the word hieroglyphics, as used in the eighteenth century, the same meaning that is attached to that word in modern times as the result of years of laborious research, Professor Sundelin has entirely failed to grasp what Swedenborg meant when he undertook "to unfold the Egyptian Hieroglyphics."

     At the time Swedenborg wrote, the word "hieroglyphics" meant, not a language in the modern sense of the word, but a representation of sacred mysteries portrayed in emblematic form, that they might be hidden from the knowledge of the vulgar. Thus, in Chambers' Cyclopaedia, published in 1751, Hieroglyphic is defined as "a symbol, or mystic figure, used among the ancient Egyptians to cover, or conceal, the secrets of their theology; it being the custom to have the walls, doors, etc., of their temples, obelisks, etc., engraven with such figures. . . . Hermes Trismegistus is commonly esteemed the inventor of hieroglyphics.* . . . Hieroglyphics are a kind of real characters, which not only denote, but in some measure express the things. Thus . . . a lion is the hieroglyphic of strength; . . .a bullock, of agriculture; a horse, of liberty; a sphinx, of subtility, etc."
     * Confer S. D. 6083.

     The third edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, published in 1792, shows little if any advance on this definition. Hieroglyphics is there defined as "mystical characters, or symbols, in use among the Egyptians, and that as well in their writings as inscriptions; being the figures of various animals, the parts of human bodies, of mechanical instruments." After quoting in substance from Chambers' Cyclopaedia, the article then continues: "Bishop Warburton hath . . . endeavored to show that this account is erroneous." According to him, we are told, "the first kind of hieroglyphics were mere pictures"; but those "invented by the Egyptians were an improvement," and made "both pictures and characters. In order to effect this improvement, they were obliged to proceed gradually . . . ; as in the hieroglyphics of Horapollo, which represent a battle of two armies in array by two hands, one holding a shield and the other a bow," etc.

     As regards Swedenborg himself, that by hieroglyphics he understood nothing more than pictorial representations, is indicated in his posthumous work, A Hieroglyphic Key to Spiritual and Natural Arcana by way of Representations and Correspondences, where he interprets the phenomena or picture-writing of nature in the light of the doctrine of correspondences.

407


In this work (n. 53), he says: "The Egyptians seem to have cultivated this doctrine, and to have signified these correspondences by hieroglyphic characters of the utmost diversity, whereby they expressed, not only natural things [i.e., natural figures], but also, and at the same time, spiritual things." And in this connection he refers to the pseudo-Aristotelian work,-Divine Wisdom according to the Egyptians,-a metaphysical treatise dealing with the correspondences between the intellectual world and the physical.

     It is still more plainly indicated in several of Swedenborg's theological works, written many years before he wrote the Appendix now under discussion. Thus he speaks of hieroglyphics as being the expression "of the sensations of the mind by means of images of beasts." (S. D. 6083.) Again he says: "The science of correspondences was especially cultivated in Egypt. Hence their hieroglyphics. From this science they knew what animals of every kind signified. . . . Therefore they made engravings of horses, oxen, calves, lambs (etc.), and these they placed in the house and elsewhere, in an order according with the spiritual things which they represented." (D. P. 255.)

     It is clear, therefore, that by "Egyptian Hieroglyphics" Swedenborg did not mean a language in the ordinary acceptance of the term,-that is, a language which can be translated word for word into another language. What he meant was the pictorial representations "inscribed on the columns and walls of temples, etc."; and all that he undertook to do was to interpret these representations in the light of the doctrine of correspondences.

     Had he lived in a later age, I have no doubt that he would have admired the genius of Champollion, the interpreter of the Rosetta Stone. But what he aimed at was not the interpretation of one language in the words of another. What he aimed at was the interpretation of the thoughts of the Egyptians,-thoughts which they expressed, not only in the characters of a written language, but also in pictorial representations. Modern scholars, by painstaking labor, have indeed succeeded in interpreting a dead language, the deciphering and interpretation of which offered seemingly unconquerable obstacles. But even so, what then is known of the real knowledge of the Egyptians!

408


Science has read the text of the Book of the Dead-to give a single instance; but does it know the underlying thought and doctrine which the Egyptians sought to express in that Book? Science has succeeded in reading the words, but it is only in the light of the doctrine of correspondences that the thoughts can be interpreted which lay within the words. Prof. C. Th. Odhner, in his Correspondences of Egypt,* has made the beginning of the study of Egyptian thought, of Egyptian theology; and it is only by the pursuit of studies along the road which this New Church pioneer was the first to enter that we shall realize what Swedenborg meant when he undertook to evolve the Egyptian Hieroglyphics.
     * NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1913, pp. 253, 337, 387, with Illustrations. Also in book form, but out of print.
ANGELIC WISDOM AND DIVINE WISDOM 1939

ANGELIC WISDOM AND DIVINE WISDOM              1939

     "It has been made evident to me by experience that the intelligence of the angels of the spiritual kingdom is ineffable and incomprehensible to those who are in the natural kingdom, and that the wisdom of the angels of the celestial kingdom is incomprehensible and ineffable to those who are in the spiritual kingdom. But as regards the Divine Wisdom of the Lord, this so transcends all wisdom that no ratio is given; for all the intelligence and wisdom of the angels is finite, but the Divine Wisdom of the Lord is infinite; and there is no ratio between the finite and the infinite. The intelligence and wisdom of the angels is finite, because angels are recipients, and all recipients are created, and hence also finite." (De Verbo XXIV:2.)

409


TORONTO COMMUNITY PROJECT 1939

TORONTO COMMUNITY PROJECT       SYDNEY E. LEE       1939

Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:
     During the Sons of the Academy meetings at Toronto the guests were invited to inspect the property that is being acquired for the purpose of founding another New Church community. We had all heard of this new venture, and had looked forward to this visit, but it was not until we were on the spot that the significance of the undertaking fully dawned upon us.

     We knew that our friends had realized the importance of the step they were taking, for they were making great sacrifices to bring it about. And they recognize that in thus dwelling together the uses of the church and the education of the children will be facilitated. Still I think that, with the gathering together of their brothers in the church from far and near, a sphere of affection for them in the use they are undertaking was so apparent that renewed strength and determination were in the very air. And this might well be, for Providence has led them to a spot that is almost a paradise. And more than one of their guests were reminded of descriptions in the Memorabilia, and perhaps shared with the angels a joy of heart in this good work.

     As we gathered together in the meadow that is to be their recreation field, on the edge of which a gentle creek winds through a ravine, broadening out into what may become a delightful bathing pool, we saw children at play, already exploring the possibilities of future fun and happiness. And as we climbed the banks of the ravine to the plateau thirty feet above, we discovered the site of the building lots where the future homes are to be. Admiring the charming view across the ravine, we took stock of the massive oaks, the stately elms, and the abundant shrubbery.

410


Future landscaping can mean little more than a slight rearrangement and the addition of winding paths.

     The discovery of some slight trace of poison ivy amidst all this beauty might possibly be considered as a warning,-that even in so ideal a spot the proprium will-crop out! That they will subdue this-poison ivy-we have no doubt.

     The delightful site reserved for the church, school and manse, centrally located, was pointed out, and we felt that only a brief time will intervene before we shall see the fulfilment of this so much to be desired project.

     None of us may know the future; nor can we tell just what this effort, conceived for uses just ahead, may play in its development; but we may well pause to wonder whether those whose good fortune it is to have a part in this work are not preparing the soil and planting the seed from which will grow the beginnings of that New Civilization toward which we look. For it must have an ultimate; and mutual love, which is its basis, may be expected to flourish in such a setting and with such an inspiration. Certainly this was the feeling of those who gathered together on a beautiful Sunday afternoon in July. And if some small part of the delight we felt can be shared by your readers throughout the world, then, Mr. Editor, this letter will have served its purpose.
     SYDNEY E. LEE.
          Glenview, Ill., July 11, 1939.
STATUS OF THE WRITINGS 1939

STATUS OF THE WRITINGS       HAROLD F. PITCAIRN       1939

     INCONSISTENCY.

Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:
     It seems that Mr. Conrad Howard's Address, appearing in the July issue of the LIFE, contains a serious inconsistency. In the first paragraph on p. 313, he says: "And while not doubting the sincerity of these men, yet, at the same time, let us not overlook the difficult situation the layman is now faced with. Here we have leaders of thought on fundamentals, all Academy men, presenting for our serious consideration totally different outlooks in relation to the Holy Status of the Writings."

411


The implication is that the ministers should get together and determine just exactly what Doctrine the members of the Church should accept.

     On the other hand, he complains that the members of the Church have not been free to have independent views; for in the following paragraph he states: "The attitude of wanting to fix for all time this or that human understanding is not the way to build up the Doctrine of the New Church."
     HAROLD F. PITCAIRN.
          Bryn Athyn, Pa., July 11, 1939.
REV. E. S. HYATT'S VIEW OF THE WRITINGS 1939

REV. E. S. HYATT'S VIEW OF THE WRITINGS       HUGO LJ. ODHNER       1939

Editor of the NEW CHURCH LIFE:
     For the sake of the record, I ask the privilege, first, of dissenting from Mr. Conrad Howard's presentation, in your July issue, of the teachings of the late Rev. E. S. Hyatt, as to the Writings; and secondly, of answering one of Mr. Howard's several queries.

     In the General Church, we regard the Writings as the Word of the Lord to His New Church, because they testify that they come from the Lord's own mouth, and that they contain and present the internal sense of the Sacred Scriptures. As to their spiritual contents and doctrine, the Writings are like the two Testaments. But as to their external formulation they are very different.

     This difference is clearly described in the Apocalypse Explained, n. 1061, and was well noted by the luminous mind of the Rev. E. S. Hyatt, whose theology was quite "scientific," and entirely accords with "orthodox Academy belief," if by this is meant a general opinion.

     Mr. Hyatt did not look for any hidden or mystical sense within the Writings. In them, the internal sense, he said, "is comparatively on the surface." (N. C. TIDINGS, 1892, p. 72.) The New Church, he writes, has "a Divine Revelation of the Word in which the covering is more transparent than that of the two preceding forms of the Word." (Sermons, p. 37.) "The glory of the spiritual is never given to man, nor to angel, uncovered, though in one Revelation it may be regarded as comparatively uncovered . . ." (Ibid., p. 32).

412


"But though each Revelation has a literal sense, they have not the same literal sense; that of the Writings is relatively near to the spiritual sense" (Ibid., p. 33). The Writings thus "are spiritual or rational in the external form as well as internally" (Ibid., p. 18). In His new Advent, the Lord "has come clothed in the kind of appearances which compose the rational degree of the natural mind" (Ibid., p. 33). These appearances "do not even apparently contradict their internal, as the correspondential appearances of the sensual plane often do". . . . "To man, therefore, they are the internal sense of the Word, and enable man to receive the spirit and life of the Word into his rational mind, without any limit except those limits which belong to the finite states of his receptivity." (N. C. TIDINGS, 1894, P. 118.)

     Mr. Hyatt calls this external of the Writings "the natural sense from the spiritual" (A. E. 1061, cited on pp. 87, 88, 100 of the TIDINGS), and likens it to the body of an angel. Never, as Mr. Howard states, does Mr. Hyatt say "that the Writings are not the Light itself. " (LIFE, JULY, 1939, PP. 313, 316). This is a misquotation. But he compares the words of their "human language," and "the sense which we naturally learn to associate with those words," to a literal sense. He maintained that those who read the Writings from self-intelligence and patronizing worldliness could only see the natural rational ideas and terms, and were blind to the Light itself. (Sermons, p. 32.)

     Mr. Hyatt felt no need to use such terms as the "Latin Word" or the "Third Testament," although these and similar appellations had already been used by Mr. Cone, a Tulkite with partisans in Toronto. Still less did Mr. Hyatt mentally substitute the term "Writings" wherever the Doctrine teaches about the "Word." But he said: " The laws with regard to ultimates, and to the letter of the Word, apply to the letter of each form of the Word, although with discrimination between the ultimate and the most ultimate". . . "thus with an especial, but not exclusive, force to that form of the Word which is most ultimate,-the Word of the Old Testament." (N. C. TIDINGS, pp. 87, 68.) 'L All laws concerning the nature and use of the natural sense, unless they are otherwise limited by the context in which they occur, have application to the sense of the Word which the Writings ultimately present." (Ibid., p. 87.)

413


In order to develop the uses of the New Church, "it is necessary for us to learn from the Writings to know the relation which these several forms of the Word bear towards each other, and the particular use for which each is given . . ." (Ibid., p. 68).

     As an illustration of this principle, he shows that, in such a passage as A. E. 1061, the expression "the Word in the letter" is limited to "the merely natural sense"-and thus to the Old and New Testaments; while the language of the Writings is "the natural sense from the spiritual." "The Writings," he comments, "are a rational form of the Word; and a recognition of the rational connection of the statements used therein is everywhere essential to the reception of any true understanding of them." (Ibid., p. 87.)

     These teachings were the logical conclusions from the Academy's premise. A neglect to observe Mr. Hyatt's reservations would be quite contrary to the scientific method of inquiry so warmly advocated by Mr. Howard, and might reduce the study of the Writings to some sort of theological palmistry. It is implicit in the rational mind not to be averse to making distinctions and reservations. To do away with discriminations, and to make the Divine quality of the Writings dependent on their resemblances to the Old and New Testaments, which are written in "a sense merely natural," would hardly be "elevating them to the highest possible peak."

     II.

     The position of the Academy-that in the Writings "is contained the very essential Word, which is the Lord," and that "from them the Lord speaks to His Church," which "acknowledges no other Authority, and no other Law"-is a permanent safeguard that in the General Church no doctrinal interpretations shall be regarded "as though they were the Divine Truth itself" or sufficient for all time. Commenting upon an unpublished paper of mine, Mr. Howard assumes that this primal acknowledgment is also an interpretive doctrine,-"a more or less rational conclusion" devoid of any but our own rational authority.

     I do not so regard it. For it involves a disposing of the rational mind to be wrought upon by the Divine Truth. Such an attitude of innocent affirmation may appear as the result of providential processes of preparatory reasonings; but actually it is a renunciation of our own opinions, and an acknowledgment of the limitations of the conscious reasonings of our mind; and it is itself not qualified by how much or how little we understand.

414


It is an affirmation of the Writings as a whole, even of things not yet grasped. And this attitude is a one with the love of spiritual truth for its own sake, and is the soul, not alone of the Academy, but of the New Church!

     The Academy's platform is not a sectarian loyalty to formulas. It transcends all formulas. It is an a priori acceptance of the testimony of the Writings concerning themselves. What this testimony is, and what it implies, will give occasion to varying theories which must be tested and modified in the light of new evidence from the Writings. Even such a statement as "That which the Divine has revealed is with us the Word " (A. C. 10320), might be variously interpreted. An unbiased reading of the context suggests that the Old and New Testaments are referred to; and the section closes with a list of those Biblical books which are "books of the Word." We find in this passage no "authority" for segregating the phrase from its context, and making the teachings of the series apply "without reserve" to the Writings. At some point in the context the application must cease, since the listed books of the Scriptures are certainly not identical with the Writings. It thus becomes a matter of "a more or less rational conclusion" as to where the parallel breaks down. To determine this, we must, as Mr. Hyatt made clear, seek enlightenment from other teachings which more clearly refer to the Writings.

     While sympathizing with Mr. Howard's concern lest our progressive understanding of the Writings be arrested by the compelling forces of tradition, I do not see how this fear can be consistent with his regrets that different Academy men have presented the nature of the Writings from "totally different outlooks," and that we still lack "a corporate opinion" on the subject. As a matter of fact, these "totally different outlooks" have all essentials in common. Yet no interpretive doctrine can be final, even as no scientific theory, though of much practical usefulness, can convey a complete description of the inner reality. But the Word of God standeth forever.     
     HUGO LJ. ODHNER.

415


ACADEMY VIEW 1939

ACADEMY VIEW       EDWARD C. BOSTOCK       1939

     The Academy Teaches that the "Writings" are the "Word."     

     The Writings are Divine Revelation; therefore the Writings are The Word of God. They bear witness of themselves that they are the internal or spiritual sense of the Word,-a final and crowning Revelation, different from any Revelation heretofore given. The Academy teaches this.

     Apparently a misunderstanding has arisen with some regarding the position held by the Academy and by the General Church as to the above fundamental doctrine; for Mr. Conrad Howard, in an Address entitled "What I Believe and Some Reasons Why," published in NEW CHURCH LIFE for July, 1939, sets forth the Academy's position as follows: "Secondly, with the advent of the Academy a new concept came into being, namely, that the Writings are Divinely inspired, and speak to s with Authority; that they are the Internal Sense of the Old and New Testaments, plainly revealed to the understanding of man." (Page 311.)

     It is quite possible that some of the early members of the Academy may have gone no farther than the statement by Mr. Howard, quoted above, but it is an historical fact that the Academy very soon recognized the Writings as the Word of God. This doctrine has been taught in the Academy and the General Church without equivocation, and no discussion of the present position held by these bodies would be complete without it.

     It is interesting to note that, id stating his own position, Mr. Howard says: "We have a minority who are making still greater claims, elevating them to the highest possible peak, namely, that the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg are the third Testament, the Word of the Lord." Leaving aside the question as to whether the word "Testament" is a better term than "Writings," it is clear that a new name will not elevate the Writings above the position they already hold with the Academy and the General Church as the Word of God.

416




     It is quite true, as Mr. Howard points out, that our ministers differ in opinion as to whether the Writings are the "clouds" or the "glory in the clouds," that is, whether they bear witness of the Internal Sense of the Word, or whether they are the Internal Sense. However, there is nothing in these two positions that contradicts the belief that the Writings are the Word of God.

     The Hague position apparently holds that the Writings are not only the "clouds," but that they are written according to correspondences, similarly to the Old and New Testaments. While we believe that this position leads to very erroneous conclusions, we do not in the least think that it alters the belief of its proponents that the Writings are the Word of God.

     In studying any subject from the Word, our mental approach is very important. Why is it, for instance, that the Writings say in De Verbo XIV:7 that "the Word of our world is the one most full of Divine Wisdom, and hence it is more holy than the Words of the heavens," also that "that which proceeds from the Lord is the Lord" (L. 2); whilst against this it appears that " the sense of the Word which is called the sense of the letter, in it's ultimates corresponds to the hairs of the head." (De Verbo X:7.)

     Although the answers to apparently conflicting statements are given in the Writings, they are not always easy to reconcile; and furthermore, we may at times speak from one aspect, and then again from another. A continuation of the last quotation may be of some assistance; "In other respects it (the sense of the letter) corresponds to various parts in man; as to his head, breast, loins and feet; but where there are these correspondences in that sense, the Word is as it were clothed, and thence it corresponds to the garments of those parts; for garments in general signify truths, and also actually correspond to them. But still many things in the sense of the letter of the Word are naked, as it were without garments, and these things correspond to the face of man, and also to his hands, which parts are naked." (De Verbo X:7.)

     Although, from its context, the above quotation is evidently written with respect to the Old and New Testaments, there is no reason why it cannot be applied to the Writings; for it is quite evident that a great deal shines through in the Writings that is naked, as the face and hands; and it is also apparent that, as the Writings contain great parts of the Old and New Testaments, the original correspondences must exist for those parts.

417




     With respect to the Writings themselves, the following passage from the Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture is very enlightening: "Therefore, in order to remove all doubt as to such things being the character of the Word, the Lord has revealed to me the Word's internal sense. In its essence this sense is spiritual, and in relation to the external sense, which is natural, is as soul is to body. This sense is the spirit that gives life to the letter." (S. S. 4.)

     We think there should be no great difficulty in understanding the difference between the external vehicle and the internal soul; for the relationship always exists between what is written or spoken and what is spoken about. But in the descriptive vehicle itself there is a great difference as to whether it describes a natural thing, a correspondential or representative thing, or a spiritual thing. For how else could these things ever be presented to man? All written revelation uses the same vehicle of ideas translated into words which represent speech, but the ideas may be merely natural, or they may be correspondential, or they may be spiritual.

     In the Arcana we find the following statements:

     The Lord in all the degrees of the universe, even to the ultimates, is the Word. "That Divine Truth is the Lord Himself, is evident from the fact that whatever proceeds from anyone is himself; just as that which proceeds from a man while speaking or acting is from his will and understanding; and the will and understanding make the man's life, thus the man himself. . . .From this it can be seen that that which proceeds from the Lord is the Lord. That this is Divine Truth, has frequently been shown in what has gone before. But he who does not know the arcana of heaven may suppose that the case with the Divine Truth that proceeds from the Lord is no different from that of the speech which proceeds from man. But Divine Truth is not speech, but is the Divine filling the heavens, just as light and heat from the sun fill the world. (A. C. 9407:12.)

     The above quotation, coupled with the statement in the Writings that Swedenborg "was not allowed to take anything from the mouth of any spirit, nor from the mouth of any angel, but from the mouth of the Lord alone," would seem to make it quite clear that the Writings are Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord, consequently that they are the Word of God.

     As to whether the Writings are the "Word" or the "Internal Sense of the Word," they openly claim for themselves the latter position, as shown by the following quotations:

418




     "It has now pleased the Lord to reveal many arcana of heaven, especially the internal or spiritual sense of the Word, which has hitherto been entirely unknown; and with that He has taught the genuine truths of doctrine; which revelation is understood by the "advent of the Lord' in Matthew 24:3, 30, 37." (A. E. 641:3.)

     Also, "By 'the Lord's coming in the clouds of heaven with glory' is signified the revelation of Him in the sense of the letter of the Word, from its spiritual sense." (A. E. 594:3.)

     "That at this day the spiritual sense of the Word has been revealed from the Lord, is because the doctrine of genuine truth has now been revealed, which doctrine is partly contained in The New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrine, and now in the little works which are being given to the public [The Four Doctrines, concerning the Lord, the Sacred Scripture, Life and Faith, 1763]; and because that doctrine, and no other, agrees with the spiritual sense of the Word, therefore that sense, together with the science of correspondences, has now for the first time been disclosed." (De Verbo VII:8.)

     In the above quotation it is quite plainly stated that both the internal or spiritual sense of the Word and the doctrine of genuine truth have been revealed (not hidden) in the Writings. In calling the Writings "the Internal Sense of the Word," we are uniting the soul with the body, and acknowledging the presence of the spiritual sense embodied in them.

     II.

     There remains the question of the form in which the Writings are written. Certainly there is much that is different from the form of the Old and New Testaments. Swedenborg himself says, in the opening of the Arcana Celestia: "From the mere letter of the Word of the Old Testament no one would ever discern the fact that this part of the Word contains deep secrets of heaven, and that everything within it, both in general and in particular, bears reference to the Lord, to His heaven, to the church, to religious belief, and to all things connected therewith." And in his own Table of Contents he writes as follows: "The Heavenly Arcana which have been unfolded in the Holy Scripture or Word of the Lord are contained in the Explication, which is the Internal Sense of the Word."

419




     Had this Explication been written according to correspondences, in the manner in which the Old Testament was written, no more would be known now than was known before the Writings were written.

     The Academy and the General Church have always taught that the internal sense of the Word is a spiritual thing, existing in the heavens and in the minds of men so far as they are able to receive enlightenment from the Lord. The Word and the Writings are obviously both revelations given on a natural plane; that is, in terms of natural language and thought. But the Writings themselves clearly teach that there is a difference in the form of the revelation given in the Ancient Word, the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the Writings. And we believe that it can be shown that the Writings are on the plane of the Word as it exists in the lowest or Spiritual-Natural Heaven; not, indeed, in spiritual language, but in rational language, which, if comprehended by a man seeking the truth and enlightened by the Lord, yields the internal sense to him in so far as a man can understand the internal sense while in this world.

     We have no objection to the claim made by the "progressive minority,"-that everything that is said about the Word in the Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture and elsewhere in the Writings applies equally to the Writings themselves, it by this is meant the application of all the Divine laws of order and the principles laid down therein. But if it is meant that, because the Sacred Scripture, for instance, refers to the form of the Ancient Word as being written in remote correspondences, and that therefore the Writings are similarly written, we cannot agree that the Writings themselves even suggest this, or that such a conclusion would be rational.

     Let us examine the claim, made in the first volume of DE HEMELSCHE LEER, that the Writings have to be unfolded by correspondences, similarly to the Old and New Testaments, and that the internal sense does not stand forth in plain language. First, we must see what the Writings say about the Word in both worlds, and then we must find out if possible what is meant by the spiritual or internal sense, and how it is to be obtained by man.

     The Writings teach that a common bond between men on earth and spirits and angels are the objective things of nature. That is, that in representations and appearances, lands, waters, cattle, plants, cities, atmospheres, and the like, form the basis of these things.

420


In the natural world they are understood naturally, but in the spiritual world spiritually.

     Each heaven has a written Word. (S. S. 70.)

     The Writing of the Word in heaven is according to spiritual speech, "which has nothing in common with natural speech." . . ."By such writing are expressed the affections which are of love; wherefore it involves more arcana than the angels themselves are able to utter. These unutterable arcana, which they perceive from their Word, they express by means of representations." (De Verbo XIV:4.)

     "Exploration was made as to the manner in which the spiritual angels utter the words of their speech, and it was found that they utter or pronounce them according to ideas, and from the ideas of the things which they signify. Thus, when they utter or pronounce the words 'horse and carriage,' they express these by a word which is significative, as 'horse' from ideas concerning 'understanding,' and 'carriage' from ideas concerning 'doctrine from the Word.' In like manner all other words. They speak, therefore, of those things which they see, from their correspondence, just as men do. In a word, they give names to things from correspondence."

     "It was asked how they write the words 'horses harnessed to a carriage.' They replied that they write only `L,' and that this letter expresses that idea. It was then asked how they write 'the understanding of doctrine,' and they replied that they write it similarly by the letter 'L,' but that they are then in superior thought." (De Verbo XXVI.)

     In other words, they write from spiritual language and thought in their own characters, which are different in the various heavens, but representatively or correspondentially in objective terms similarly to our earth. We are also told that in reading their Word they do not realize that it is any different from the Word they had while on earth.

     Swedenborg was among the angels of the middle and highest heavens, and heard ineffable things:

     "And when I was let into the perception and understanding of the things which these angels spoke, they were full of arcana respecting the Lord, redemption, regeneration, Providence and other such things; and afterwards it was given me to understand that I would not be able to utter and describe them by any spiritual and celestial word, but that still they could be described by words of natural language, even to a rational apprehension. It was said, moreover, that there are no Divine arcana that may not be perceived and expressed also in a natural manner, although in a more general and imperfect way; and that they who from the affection of truth perceive these things naturally by their rational understanding, afterwards, when they become spirits, can both perceive and express these same things in a spiritual manner, and in a celestial manner when they become angels; but others cannot." (De Verbo III:4).

421




     From the above and other similar passages, it would seem quite clear that spirits and angels think and speak in spiritual and celestial terms, which man cannot understand or utter until after death, when he becomes a spirit himself. Hence it is impossible for that spiritual sense to be imparted to man while on earth, either by revelation or by any rational understanding of it. Also, their Word is correspondential, as ours is; and these correspondences we cannot know or understand.

     What, then, does it mean when it is said in the Writings that the Word is written in correspondences, and that in the Writings themselves the spiritual sense is revealed?

     In De Verbo VII, paragraph 2, it is said: "What, further, correspondences are, may be seen in the Arcana Celestia, in which the correspondences which are in Genesis and in Exodus are explained. . . . The Spiritual or Internal Sense of the Word is nothing else than the sense of the Letter evolved according to correspondences, for it teaches the spiritual which is perceived by the angels in the heavens, while a man in the world thinks naturally that which he reads in the Word."

     We think these statements clearly refer to what might be called the Spiritual-Natural plane, i.e., the manner in which the Divine Truths are presented in human speech.

     In the case of the Ancient Word, this Word was given in remote correspondences, because many of the people understood such things. In the case of the Old Testament, every jot and tittle could have a meaning, because there were some who were enlightened and understood such things, even though the Jewish Church was an external representative church, and in it these things were not regarded. Similarly, when we consider the Writings, we find the state of the Christian world has changed, and a different form is needed; consequently the Divine rational form is embodied in the human language employed.

     Swedenborg was taught by the Lord by means of the Word, and by intromission into the spiritual world.

422


But he could not utter or write a single thought in spiritual language or in the spiritual manner of understanding, but had to use the speech of his day and the knowledge he had acquired from scientifics as the ultimate basis or vehicle.

     Before leaving this subject, something should be said regarding the form revelation takes and the understanding of it.

     "Those who have the Word are few compared with those who do not have it. The Word is only in Europe, among the Christians who are called Reformed. It exists, indeed, also among the Roman Catholics, but is not read, in the kingdoms adhering to that religion, such as France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, more than half of Germany and Hungary, as also Poland. In Russia the Word is read but little, but still it is believed to be holy. . . . But, lest the Word should be destroyed, it was provided by the Lord that the Jewish nation, which has the Word of the Old Testament in its original tongue, should survive and dwell dispersed throughout a great part of the earth." (De Verbo XVI.)

     The Jews were an external nation, and did not understand anything about the real meaning or internal sense of the Word. Nevertheless, they not only perpetuated it among the nations, but "by means of the Word those also have light who are out of the Church, and have not the Word." (De Verbo XVII.) Incidentally, it is interesting to note that the Old Testament is specifically referred to.

     Man, on his part, must acquire memory knowledges of the natural and spiritual truths taught in the Word, as a basis for illustration, which is the beginning of spiritual understanding.

     "Every man who is in a spiritual affection of truth, that is, who loves truth itself because it is truth, is illustrated by the Lord when he reads the Word. Not so the man who reads the Word from the mere natural affection of truth which is called the desire of knowing. Such a one sees nothing but what agrees with his own love or with those principles which he has either taken up himself or which he has derived from others by hearing or reading. It shall therefore be told whence and with whom there is illustration by means of the Word. That man has illustration who shuns evils because they are sins and because they are against the Lord and against His Divine law. With him, and with none other, the spiritual mind is opened, and so far as it is opened, so far the light of heaven enters; and all illustration in the Word is from the light of heaven, for the man has then a will of good. That will, when it is determined to this use, becomes in the understanding first the affection of truth, then the perception of truth; afterwards, by means of rational light, it becomes the thought of truth, thus decision and conclusion; and as this passes thence into the memory, it passes also at the same time into the life, and thus it remains.

423


This is the way of all illustration in the Word, and it is also the way of the reformation and regeneration of man. But first of all it is necessary that there be in the memory knowledges of spiritual as well as of natural things, for these are the storehouses into which the Lord operates, by means of the light of heaven, and the fuller these are, and the freer from confirmed falses, the more is there an enlightened perception and a certain conclusion.

     "For the Divine operation does not fall into an empty and inane man; for instance, into one who does not know that the Lord is pure love and pure mercy, good itself and truth itself, also that love itself and good itself in its essence is such that it cannot do evil to anyone nor be angry and revengeful; nor does the Divine operation fall into one who does not know that the Word in the sense of the letter in many passages is spoken from appearances." (De Verbo XII.)

     In conclusion, we summarize our understanding of the subject as follows:

     The Writings are the Word of God.

     All written revelation, whether in the Ancient Word, the Old Testament, the New Testament, or the Writings, corresponds to spiritual forms which originate in the spiritual world.

     Human speech may express natural ideas or spiritual ideas. They may be expressed as historical representations, as parables, as direct statements of truth, as scientifics, or as descriptions of the most sublime Divine things.

     The Writings are a revelation on the rational plane descriptive of spiritual things in the language of men adapted to their understanding. These spiritual truths, if regarded by man, and adjoined to him by affection and a good life, become truly spiritual truths, understood as the angels understand them when he enters the other life, but not before.

     The Writings are a final and crowning revelation that reveals to man the internal sense, in terms that do not need further correspondential interpretation. Man on his part, however, must open his mind to the teachings of the Writings, with affection and the co-operation of a good life, or they will appear heavily veiled to him.

424


Church News 1939

Church News       Various       1939

     THE HAGUE, HOLLAND.

     On June 19 the hospitable home of our pastor was the center for the celebration of New Church Day. Dr. Iungerich started with the reading of several extracts from the Gospels, to set forth the Lord's instruction to His apostles. He also read part of A. C. 2077 to show the Lord's love of saving the human race. He then spoke about the sending forth of the apostles on June 19, 1770, while he explained that the fact that the New Church is called "New" means its perpetual renewing of itself.

     This part of the program was followed by social entertainment. Mrs. Iungerich and Annie Bulthuis, daintily costumed, favored us with several aesthetic dances. Dr. Iungerich demonstrated that he had hidden stage-talents in giving a monologue of Mr. Neville Chamberlain confidentially talking to his trusty friend, his umbrella, thereby arousing a lot of amusement. As a musical interlude, several gramophone records were played, including two of Mrs. Engeltjes, in which we heard her own voice from the record. A grand march followed, after which the guests sat down to partake of refreshments, while various toasts to the New Church, present and future, were honored. The evening came to a conclusion with a general dance, and the visitors went home well satisfied.

     On Sunday, July 2, the Annual Meeting of the society was held, in the Francis home. After a short introduction by Mr. Francis, who as Vice-President had hitherto presided at the public meetings, on account of the pastor's difficulties with the Dutch language, he yielded the chair to Dr. Iungerich, who is now able to preside. With friendly words in response, the pastor thanked Mr. Francis for his services to the church for many years. Then came the reading of the annual report, which was unanimously accepted.

     In the election of officers, Mr. Francis, Mr. Bulthuis and Mr. Engeltjes were chosen, respectively, as Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer. Our esteemed friend, Mr. Beyerinck, had signified his wish not to be reelected as secretary. His scrupulous accuracy in every detail of his labor has always been a matter of admiration to us all, and we are very thankful for what Mr. Beyerinck has done for our society during the years of its organization. Mr. Bulthuis, who has been elected to the secretaryship, will strive to keep up this fine tradition.

     After the essential part of the meeting was over, refreshments were served, and a good spirit prevailed during the whole afternoon.

     We have received the happy message from Bryn Athyn, that the Right Rev. George de Charms, now on his European trip, may come over to Holland. We hope to have the Bishop among us at the beginning of August, and we are eagerly looking forward to his visit.
     LAMBERTINE FRANCIS.

     JONKOPING, SWEDEN.

     Having recently celebrated New Church Day, thereby concluding the regular activity until next September, we in Jonkoping are looking back at our first year of public services and classes. The appearing in public naturally increased the responsibility of the society, from which it has doubtless benefitted internally.

425


Perhaps the addition of two new members may be regarded as a visible sign of such benefit, seeing that these persons were inspired to take the full step after having long belonged to our group. There has been a good attendance at the services, the average, raised b, the presence of one or two strangers every Sunday, being just two less than the number of our group. Also, the added economical burden has been borne with a willingness which might rather be called enthusiasm.

     As for the strangers, the only manifest result so far is favorable comment by all those who have given any evidence of their reaction. Knowing that at least a few of these strangers have carried the report to others, we are encouraged by the thought that a number of outsiders in the town are beginning to know something of what the New Church actually does teach, having before (particularly in connection with the Swedenborg anniversary) read and heard many things which have spread very erroneous concept concerning the Church.

     An announcement board posted by the entrance door, on which board selected passages from the Writings are displayed, also aims at propagating a correct knowledge of the central doctrines of the Church. Many people have been seen reading these extracts, which are varied from time to time. In this connection it may be pointed out that the religious sphere in Jonkoping and vicinity appears to be unusually intolerant, owing to the powerful influence of several sectarian churches, which have a veritable stronghold here. The consequent lack of freedom of thought produces pharisaic minds, and puts up strong barrier to the New Church. A sign of the intolerant spirit appeared the other day, when it was discovered that the glass of our announcement board had been broken.

     A brief description of the hall itself might be in order here. It is very centrally located, and attractive looking, though no bigger than a large sitting-room. A drawback is that the only entrance is through a kitchen, but this trouble is in part eliminated by a curtain passageway. The altar furniture, including an altar rail, was made by our own people, as also the pulpit. The altar, raised on a three-step platform, is cubic, and covered with a golden silk cloth. The Word rests on crimson silk velvet, and around it in a semicircle are placed seven small candlesticks. A blue drapery forms the background. The altar rail is red and white, and the pulpit white, with a crimson, gold-fringed cloth hanging down the front.

     New Church Day.

     On Sunday, June 18, the Holy Supper was administered, with special reference to the "Marriage Supper of the Lamb." In the afternoon of the same day, all gathered in the pastor's home for the social celebration of New Church Day. The first few hours were spent under the large fruit trees in the garden. The pastor read a deeply appreciated message of greeting from the Bishop, and then we listened to delightful singing by the Young People's League, and one of their members read a poem. Before tea was served-still in the garden-the pastor read a collection of passages from the Writings, built up as a connected whole around the various phrases in T. C. R. 791.

     After tea all moved indoors, first to listen to a talk by the pastor on "Our Church and our Bishop." Here the history of the Academy and the General Church was briefly reviewed, the theme being particularly the succession of Bishops and the special things each has stood for in the step-by-step development of the Church. The talk ended with an account of our present leader, Bishop de Charms, and told of his immediate aims, as outlined in his address on "The Present Needs of the General Church." It is believed that this talk served to awaken a keener appreciation of the very special things which the General Church represents in the world.

426


And the hearts of the listeners seemed to be turned to harmony with them.

     Wine and a beautifully decorated cake were served, and toasts to the New Church, to the General Church, and to our Society were briefly introduced by the pastor, Mr. Sidney Dahl, and Mr. Thorvald Berggren, respectively. Mr. Berggren spoke to the society as our latest male member. In connection with his remarks, Mr. Dahl presented the amount thus far contributed by the members to the General Church, and handed it over, symbolically, to the pastor. According to his plan, Mr. Dahl, as the local Treasury Agent of the General Church, reports to the Treasurer of the General Church semi-annually in connection with the two greatest Festivals of the Church,-the Festivals of the First and Second Advents.

     We were now ready for a series of tableaux which had been arranged by Mrs. Sandstrom. The curtain opened upon a scene representing John the Revelator and Swedenborg sitting in the foreground reading, the one from a roll and the other from a book. These two servants of the Lord read in turn declarations of their Divine commissions. (Rev. 1:9-11; T. C. R. 770.) Then another curtain was drawn, back of the readers, and the Woman clothed with the Sun, a crown of stars on her head and the moon under her feet, appeared. The Apocalyptic description of the scene was first read by "John," and then the Writings' explanation thereof by "Swedenborg" (Rev. 12:1, 14; A. R. 532-34, 561), the curtain falling, first on the vision, then on the seers. The second "vision" was that of the Descent of the Holy City, against a dark blue background. The only illumination was upon the revelators and the City itself, which was a brilliantly illuminated gold-colored painting by Mrs. Sandstrom, fixed on a square box with light inside. The commentaries read were taken from Rev. 21:1-3 and from A. R. 879, 881-83. The final scene portrayed the Angel testifying in the Churches, as described in Rev. 22:16, 17, and explained in A. R. 953-55.-These beautiful tableaux left the spectators in a meditative silence. Our gathering then ended with the singing of the Doxology.

     This celebration concluded a period of activity which may be described as one of peace and consolidation. In regard to this period itself, special mention may be made of a promising missionary effort, which has been carried on since November at the initiative of Mr. Sidney Dahl. He invited a number of his friends to meet with himself, another of our laymen, and the pastor, with a view to forming a discussion circle where all would meet on an equal basis. According to Mr. Dahl's plan, meetings have been held about every third week in the homes of the various members, each taking his turn in introducing the evening's subject. It is understood that any subject may be chosen, but it is to be approached in the light of the Bible. The result has been a series of mostly very encouraging evenings. The other men, totaling eight in number, with a regular nucleus of five, have for the most part quite obviously been influenced by the New Church Doctrines. Thus, when the suggestion was made at the last meeting to refer to God by the name of "the Lord," the response, so far as it was manifested, was like that over a new and delightful discovery. The group is continuing, and promises to go on for a long time to come.

     In the summer period the intention is to hold services only about every third Sunday,-outdoors at some neighboring place, if the weather permits. Last Sunday (this is the beginning of July) we went to "the Boys'" sport cabin, which is beautifully situated on the cliffs by a lake. ("The Boys" are three young men, who are much together.) Rain made the attendance small, but we had a most enjoyable time, making a full day of it. An informal service ended the day. The address treated of "Worshiping God or Mammon," with particular reference to the Arcana definition of "care for the morrow" (the worship of Mammon), as being to be discontented with one's lot; to trust in oneself, and not in the Divine; and to regard only earthly and worldly things, instead of heavenly things. (A. C. 8478.)

427




     Gothenburg.

     The Gothenburg Circle is about to suffer the loss of the presence of Mr. and Mrs. Fornander and their family, whose home has been the center of the Gothenburg members. Mr. Fornander has been the driving force, and has acted as secretary of the Circle. He has already taken up a new position in another town, and his family will follow shortly. Plans are being made, however, to continue the Circle's activities. Since June of last year, six pastoral visits have been paid to the Circle, and on three of these occasions the Holy Supper was administered.
     E. S.

     DURBAN, NATAL.

     June 13, 1939.-During the hot months of Summer the church and social activities were few, but from January 1 to the end of March the Sunday services were maintained, and Mr. Odhner delivered a very interesting series of sermons on the subject of "Self-Exploration."

     The first organization to commence meetings in the new season was the Durban Chapter of the Sons of the Academy, which held its annual general meeting on March 6 at the home of Mr. H. Scott Forfar. After the election of officers for the coming year and the completion of the business of the evening, Mr. P. D. Ridgway read an excellent paper on "The History of the Durban Society."

     On March 5, Mrs. Garth Pemberton, accompanied by her daughters Peggy and Sonia, sailed for England, where Peggy will take an extended course in music. We wish her every success in her studies, and trust that they all will have a happy visit. Miss Sheila Braby returned from a holiday overseas on March 30. She had a delightful time, and met a number of our New Church friends in London.

     A Bioscope Evening was arranged by the social committee, and held in the church hall on March 31. There was a good turnout, and the films shown were excellent. Some had been taken by Mr. Billy Schuurman; and one of National Park, which was outstanding for its beauty and color, was taken by Mr. Rex Ridgway.

     Theta Alpha entertained the children of the society, from the very small to the age of twelve years, at two Easter parties on April 4, from 3 to 6 p.m. The small children up to kindergarten age were entertained in Mrs. Odhner's garden, where they spent happy afternoon playing games, hunting eggs, and partaking of a splendid party supper. Mrs. W. G. Lowe kindly entertained the older group in her garden at Brynbreezy, where the children enjoyed a swim in the pool before joining in the games.

     During Easter week we had the pleasure of attending several very beautiful services. On Palm Sunday the children carried palm leaves up the aisle, which was very impressive. Their offerings were left as decorations for the adult service, at which the pastor preached an excellent sermon on "The Lord's Entry into Jerusalem."

     Services were held on Good Friday morning, and again on Easter Sunday. At the children's service the children carried bunches of flowers which added to the beauty of the occasion, and the flowers were placed in vases on the chancel. At the service on Good Friday, Mr. Odhner preached on the "Lord's Bearing of Iniquities," and at the Easter service on "The Glorified Body of the Lord." At the latter service the Holy Supper was administered.

     The weekly Ladies' Classes were resumed early in March. These are very popular classes, well attended, and much interest is shown. Mr. Odhner devoted a few classes to finishing the reading of the Divine Love and Wisdom, and is now reading the Divine Providence.

     The first doctrinal class of the season was held in the church hall on Wednesday evening, March 29, and has been continued ever since.

428




     A small Church Bazaar was held in the hall on Saturday evening, May 6. It was not an outstanding one, but about L27 was made, which is fairly good, considering that it was not the big bazaar of the year.

     The Rev. and Mrs. Edwin Fieldhouse and their two daughters have been visiting in Durban for some weeks. Mr. Fieldhouse is in charge of the Conference Native Mission in the Transvaal and in the Orange Free State. He Preached in our church on one occasion, and after a doctrinal class one evening, he showed us films of the Conference Mission work in South Africa, also films of the National Game Reserve and some local scenery. On May 12, Mr. and Mrs. Fieldhouse sailed for England to attend the Conference meetings. We extend to them our wishes for a successful and happy trip home, and a safe return to South Africa in August.
     B. R. F.

     LONDON, ENGLAND

     Michael Church.

     To deal with events in chronological order is perhaps a more orderly method of procedure, but since it is not every day that a pastor of the Church travels 3000 miles to bring home his bride, it seems excusable to plunge into an account of that interesting occasion. Since as yet neither Bryn Athyn nor Michael Church possesses the facilities of television, to visualize the wedding we had to focus our imagination upon Bryn Athyn,-a fact at which I imagine many New Church societies have become quite adept.

     Tuesday, June 8, was earmarked for our reception of the newly wedded pair, and it was in the pleasant warmth of a short heat-wave that we all gathered to sit at tables fragrant with sweet peas, to talk with one another, and to offer toasts to our Pastor and his wife. We found her all that we had hoped-and more-and any natural speculation as to why Mr. Acton must travel those 3000 miles was certainly settled then and there. First in the happy business of the evening was the presentation of a large bouquet of red and white carnations to Mrs. Acton. After a short musical program, provided by Miss Edith Cooper and Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Wainscot, the event of the evening was ushered in by Mr. Victor Tilson, who presented to the Pastor a substantial cheque. Contributions towards it had been made by members of Michael Church and friends, though 109 signatures did not represent all his well-wishers, since some preferred to give a more personal gift. Mr. Acton's happy little speech of thanks was followed by various speeches, most of which in light vein congratulated Mr. Acton and ourselves upon the choice he had made.

     From South Kensington came the Rev. and Mrs. F. F. Coulson, whilst later in the evening we were joined by the Rev. and Mrs. Arthur Clapham from Flodden Road. Mr. Fred Chadwick, Secretary of the Swedenborg Society, was also present. And these three associates of Mr. Acton's in uses of the Church in its wider field gave warm little speeches, voicing their pleasure at Mr. Acton's return with his charming bride. Now we shall look forward to making Mrs. Acton's acquaintance more thoroughly, and we hope that by the time this comes into print she will have found that the slow and painful process of piercing the English reserve is not as formidable as is commonly supposed!

     On March 12 a meeting was held, arising out of a proposal of Bishop de Charms to consider the advisability of a third priest officiating in this country. There appears amongst the isolated members and small groups a fruitful field for development, to which Mr. Gladish and Mr. Acton cannot give their undivided attention. It is a serious problem, and the matter will be again discussed with Bishop de Charms at the forthcoming Assembly.

     During the Pastor's absence in America many activities had to be discontinued, but the regular Sunday morning services were conducted by Bishop Tilson with the assistance of the Rev. William Acton.

429


Some fine and thought-provoking sermons were a given, one of which was in the nature of a memorial service to the memory of an earnest worker in the Church, Mr. Wilfred Pike. His sudden death on May 23, leaving a widow and two young children, has deprived Michael Church of a loyal New Churchman. It was during the Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal's pastorate at Peckham Rye that Mr. Pike left the Conference body and became a member of the General Church. His love for the Doctrines showed itself in earnest study of the Writings, and in regular attendance at doctrinal classes, whilst he gave invaluable services as secretary to the society. Michael Church will sadly miss his presence, and in the departure of Mrs. Pike to her old home at Colchester we will be losing yet another friend.

     Another passing into the spiritual world was that of Mrs. Louisa Elphick on April 6 last. She was a member of the General Church from its first beginnings in England, and some of the early London Assemblies were held in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Elphick. Though of late years frail health precluded her from regular attendance at Burton Road, she will be remembered for her wise and ardent love for the Church, in the Writings of which she delved with constant and deep delight.

     A fair attendance on Sunday, June 28, marked the celebration of New Church Day, on which occasion Mr. Acton read a letter from Bishop de Charms, and all listened with serious attention to his words of counsel and encouragement. Responding to the toast, "The Church and New Church Day," the Rev. Victor Gladish traced the history of the Universal Church in ancient lands, and briefly through the various dispensations to the present day, marking the need for an organized form, and the power in order and discipline. An interesting point raised was the significance of the lack of the precise dates of Easter and Christmas, as against the specific mention of the date, June 19th, 1770. After the singing of "Our Glorious Church," the Rev W H. Acton spoke on "Conjugial Love." Then Miss Spalding, breaking an (apparent) unspoken tradition that women do not speak at Michael Church, made an eloquent appeal for greater study and better understanding of the work on Conjugial Love, and alongside of this gave a brief, intensely interesting survey of the historical development of woman and her place in the Church. Several members were lively contributors to the discussion that followed.
     E. E.

     HURSTVILLE, AUSTRALIA.

     The main events of the past two months have been those connected with the observance of New Church Day. Assisted by the calendar, we planned this year a celebration that extended over three consecutive days; and, looking as we do, to each Nineteenth of June to reach a new high level, we could see no reason for disappointment with the results when it was over.

     As in previous years, the celebrations commenced with the children's banquet, which was held during the afternoon on Saturday, June 17. The hall and the tables had been tastefully and appropriately decorated by the lady teachers, who also planned and prepared the attractive and generous meal which more than satisfied the healthiest juvenile appetite present. To the children sitting round the tables the story of New Church Day was told in two excellent papers read by Ruth Fletcher and Alwyn Kirsten, two of the older pupils. Toasts and the singing of songs added those other features which go to complete the banquet as we understand it. We find that the children look forward eagerly to this annual gathering, and believe that it is of use, both in stressing the importance of the occasion and in initiating them into a form of social life which the General Church has found to be one of the most delightful.

     A special service held in the church the following morning was well attended, the congregation being the largest ever assembled there for worship, except on the memorable occasion of the Bishop's visit last year.

430


At services on the previous Sundays in June, preparatory sermons on "The Lord's Eternal Covenant," and on "The Church as the Lord's with Man," had been preached, and on this occasion the subject was "The Church's Final Glory." At the children's service in the afternoon, which was also well attended, the address, based on the glorification of the Lord by the angels, because His marriage with the Church was come, told very simply the story of the gradual fall of the Christian Church, the Second Coming of the Lord, the Last Judgment, and the formation and establishment of the New Heaven and the New Church. The representation used at this service last year was set up again and shown to the children as they left the church.

     Exactly thirty people sat down to the banquet held that Sunday evening, in the preparation of which the ladies of the Social Committee, as ever, rose splendidly to the occasion. Mr. Fred. W. Fletcher, making an impressive debut as toastmaster, had prepared an interesting and inspiring program. Greetings from Bishop and Mrs. de Charms were received with an enthusiasm that would surely have touched them, had they been present in the flesh as we know they were in spirit; and other messages also evoked spontaneous applause. The program provided for three addresses,-on the birth, progress, and future prospects of the New Church,-and these topics were dealt with in the order mentioned by Mr. Ossian Helden, Mr. Fletcher, and the Pastor. Toasts, formal and impromptu, were proposed, and honored, both in wine and song; and when we at last dispersed, it was with the feeling that our affections had been quickened by an evening of happy, useful, and stimulating intercourse, the effects of which will long remain with us.

     An evening service of praise on New Church Day itself, at which the sermon was on "The Coming of the Son of Man," ended a delightful week-end of celebrations. A sermon the following Sunday on "The Worship of the Divine Human" served as a climax to which our thought had been ascending throughout the month.

     During these two months all the uses of the society have been well maintained. Continuing the series begun in March, the Pastor has preached on the Holy Spirit and the Divine Trinity at the two evangelical services held. In June a new series of doctrinal classes on "The Church and its Uses" was commenced. The earlier classes have dealt with the Church as a spiritual communion and an organized body, and the relation between them; the church specific and the church universal; the internal and external church. In the remaining classes the various uses of the church will be studied.

     The meetings of the young people's club and class, the Ladies' Guild, and the local Chapter of the Sons, have been held. Mr. Sydney Heldon's paper to the Sons in May on "The General Church as I find It" was perhaps one of the most stimulating yet given to that body,-full of appreciation, loyalty, and zeal, but modestly offering, too, some constructive criticism which led to one of the most animated discussions we have yet had. Mr. Lindthman Heldon's paper on "Freedom" in June, though perhaps less unusual, was appreciated for its clear presentation of doctrine and of the major problems that may arise in connection with the understanding of it. We are coming to expect a great deal from our local "Sons," perhaps because we get it, and much more should be heard of them in future reports.
     W. C. H.

     WASHINGTON, D. C.

     A frequent attendant at our services and classes during the past Winter and Spring has been Mr. Oscar Mattsson, a native of Sweden and a member of the Gothenburg Circle of the General Church. For eight years Mr. Mattsson lived in Chicago, where he heard of Swedenborg through an article on Astrology which mentioned the Earths in the Universe.

431


His reading began with Heaven and Hell, and a further study of the Writings gave him not only his faith in their Divine Truth, but also a mastery of the English language, which he had previously lacked. His extensive vocabulary and good pronunciation indicate that the Writings are excellent textbooks for language study.

     This tall, urbane gentleman informs us that he is engaged to marry Miss Esther Carlson, also of Sweden; and that they are to make their home in Gothenburg. Last winter, he and his fiancee were employed on the Swedish-American liner "Gripsholm" during a tour of South America; he as a steward, and she as a stewardess. The route was through the Panama Canal, down the west coast, through the Straits of Magellan, and up the east coast. He went armed with New Church literature in Spanish.

     A Visit to Brazil.

     The only New Churchmen he met were in Rio de Janeiro, where he and Miss Carlson received a cordial welcome. Here Mr. Mattsson took a micro-film movie which he exhibited to us after a doctrinal class. It gave us a vivid idea of the tropical forest beyond Rio, through which winds the road to Petropolis, 2000 feet above sea level, and the home of some of the New Church group during the hot season. Best of all, it gave us a living picture of the fine, old New Church patriarch, the Rev. Henry Leonardos, showing him walking with Mr. Mattsson on the deck of the "Gripsholm." He appeared to us as a sprightly, grey-headed gentleman, of medium stature, wearing glasses, and looking the part of the versatile man that he is. In civil life, he is Consul General for Chile, and was recently decorated by the Polish Government for helpful services as President of the Brazilian Chamber of Commerce. The children and grandchildren of Mr. Leonardos constitute the largest family group in the Rio de Janeiro Society of the General Church.

     Mr. Mattsson and Miss Carlson attended Divine Worship at the Rio Society's meeting place. The Rev. Joao de Mendonca Lima preached a sermon by the Rev. Gilbert H. Smith which had been translated into Portuguese. Mr. de Lima alternates with Mr. Leonardos in conducting services, and Mrs. de Lima is the organist for the society. Although Mr. de Lima is a cabinet officer corresponding to our Postmaster General, having supervision over all the mail, railroads and telegraphs of Brazil, which often takes him to distant parts, nevertheless he always comes back to Rio when it is his turn to preach.

     Miss Sophie Falk, of Glenview, informs us that "Gripsholm" is the name of an ancient and historic castle of Sweden, and that in it is one of the best oil portraits of Emanuel Swedenborg.

     During the Spring season we have had the pleasure of visits from Candidates Bjorn Boyesen and Martin Pryke, who conducted doctrinal classes and Sunday services, met our members socially, and went sight-seeing in and around Washington.
     R. T.

432


PITTSBURGH ASSEMBLY 1939

PITTSBURGH ASSEMBLY              1939




     Announcements.



     The Pittsburgh District Assembly of the General Church of the New Jerusalem will be held at the Church of the Pittsburgh Society, 299 Le Roi Road, from Friday, September 29, to Sunday, October 1, 1939. Members and friends of the General Church are cordially invited to attend.
ONTARIO ASSEMBLY 1939

ONTARIO ASSEMBLY       Rev. Alan Gill       1939

     Members and friends of the General Church of the New Jerusalem are cordially invited to attend the Twenty-sixth Ontario District Assembly, to be held at the Olivet Church, Toronto, from Saturday, October 7, to Monday, October 9, 1939.
     Rev. Alan Gill,
          Secretary.
CHARTER DAY 1939

              1939

     All ex-students of the Academy of the New Church are cordially invited to attend the Charter Day Exercises, to be held at Bryn Athyn, Pa., on Friday and Saturday, October 20 and 21, 1939.
     At the Cathedral Service on Friday at 11.00 a.m., the Rev. Dr C. E. Doering will deliver the Address.

     On Friday afternoon there will be a Football Game, and on Friday evening a Dance.

     This year, the Banquet will be held on Saturday evening-in the Assembly Hall at 7.00 p.m.-and Mr. Ralph Klein will be toastmaster.

433


SPIRITUAL AND NATURAL THINKING 1939

SPIRITUAL AND NATURAL THINKING       H. W. BULTHUIS       1939


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LIX      OCTOBER, 1939 No. 10
     (Adapted from the Dutch by the Rev. E. E. Iungerich.)

     Man was created to be in both worlds, the spiritual and the natural, at the same time. He has, therefore, an internal and an external, called the "internal man" and the "external man."

     With the good, the internal man is in heaven and its light, and the external man in the world and its light; the latter, however, is illumined from the light of heaven, and therefore accords with the internal man as an effect with its cause. But with the wicked, both planes are in the natural world and its light; for the things of heaven are as darkness to them, and only the things of the world are luminous. The seeming good in their external man is merely a slave to the evil inclinations and thoughts within. We may therefore say that with the good both planes are spiritual, and that with the evil both are natural; for whither the internal man turns itself, thither the external man turns itself also.

     There are inclinations and thoughts which appertain to each of the two planes. This may be seen from the fact that interior intentions are often belied by contrary actions, due to the circumstances that one meets in the world; also that an outward politeness often disguises one's real attitude towards another individual.

     With hypocrites, who feign an interest in the things of religion which they do not possess, this contrariety between the two planes springs from an end of deceit. This contrariety endures as long as they live in the world, unless they repent.

434




     With the angels, the two planes are in correspondence in their turning towards heaven, having realized the end for which they were created. For the angels have no need to conceal anything, even as a measure of prudence, seeing that they intend and think only what is good, and desire nothing for themselves that they do not desire still more for others. (A. C. 5695.)

     The thoughts which are under the light of the world not illumined by heavenly light are dwarfed within the limited concerns of time, place, personality and matter. Entangled in such sensual things, they are as if dragged downward by heavy weights. (A. C. 6210.) But with the influx of heavenly light into the light of the world, the thoughts of the lower plane are inspired to model all things on earth according to the heavenly pattern set forth in the Word, while acknowledging God as Creator and Ruler, and obeying His will at all times. The things of time, place, personality and matter are then regarded constantly from the standpoint of their essence and use.

     Now these two kinds of thoughts, existing on two different planes, and called respectively spiritual-rational with the good, and sensual-natural with the evil, clearly betoken that it is not the body which thinks, but an eternal spirit within the body. In one case this spirit is entangled in the sense-impressions of the body, and is a slave to these; in the other, it can analyze the laws that govern nature so as to make suitable applications to civil, moral, and rational affairs, and can even rise into an appreciation of celestial and spiritual things which are above nature, or eternal goods and truths which reveal the essence of God to be Divine Love and Wisdom. This spirit within the body then sees and affirms that the Divine, albeit omnipresent in time and space, is yet not of time and space. But in a sensual-natural state of thought this spirit within the body ascribes all to nature, and does not will to rise above it, even though it can.

     The light of the world, under which all things in the memory are represented just as we saw the objects in the world about us when these affected our sensories, has not the power to make these living, nor to make us apprehend their rational essence, unless this light be illumined by the light of good and truth flowing from the sun of heaven and purveying life from God.

435


When the light of the world falls upon objects in time, place, and matter, it furnishes concepts for us that are a finite basis for the thinking of finite beings such as we are. But when the light of heaven then illumines these concepts, as takes place with the angels of heaven, we can rise into a wisdom that is called ineffable, inasmuch as it goes beyond the ideas and verbal expressions that are limited by time and space.

     In the measure that thoughts are elevated, they are also extended. A merely sensual-natural thinking is so low that it has little extension beyond the person who confines himself to it, inasmuch as he fears to arouse disgust and aversion in others, if they should become aware that he remains from preference in such a low state. Thoughts extend themselves when they reach out to others who in like manner desire to be lifted above a merely sensual-natural thinking. The individual thoughts are then said to be more extended, in that they are being infilled with particulars, and these with singulars, which betoken their diversities of application to the multiplicity of beings to whom they are being communicated. The extensiveness of such thoughts may be likened to the myriad things taken in by a view from a mountain top, in comparison with the few that meet the gaze of a pedestrian in a dark jungle. (A. C. 2572.)

     Telepathy is but the rare witness to the spiritual fact that thoughts elevated above time and space are communicated far and wide, and affect minds striving to be similarly elevated. This is of universal application among the angels in the spiritual world, and also between the angels and men who are angels on earth in respect to their elevated inclinations and thoughts.

     Indeed, no one could either will or think unless there were an extension and communication of inclinations and thoughts through others to him. (H. H. 203.) The cause of this is that there is one only life, which inflows from the Lord into human minds, and then propels itself further by the reactions which it arouses therein, just as a stone falling into a pool sends forth ripples that travel out into ever widening circles. For the Lord inflows with His Divine Love, which is such that it wills to impart all its own to others.

     But the influx of the Lord's life with the wicked, and with those who are in sensual-natural thought, is like that of light which falls upon somber objects that absorb it and do not transmit it further.

436


But we see in this a merciful provision of the Lord to prevent the reactions of the wicked from extending themselves to others. Were it not so, the good would be infested thereby, and the wicked stimulated to a greater intensity in their evil. For as is the man, so also is his reception of life.

     The Lord's influx flows immediately into a man's will and its state as to good, and thereupon into his thinking and its form as to truth. Truths that have been taken up from without by the senses are not living until they have been appropriated and united to the will. (H. H. 26; A. C. 6326.) The inclinations of a man's love are thus the cause of the ideas of thought which manifest them,-another indication that what is living comes from the spiritual world, and that thoughts appertain to the spirit within the body. Those changes of state which are called the inclinations of the will, as also those variations of form which are called the ideas of the thought, take place in the subtlest organics of the human brain. They are thus inscribed on man's inmost tissues, consequently upon his entire body, which has been woven of them. The inclinations of the will and the concordant ideas of thought compose the man's internal memory, called his "book of life." Outside of it lies the external memory or man, wherein are stored things that are not of the man's life so long as the internal and the external man have not yet been brought into correspondence. The man's character is that of his internal, and not of an external separated from it. But the nature of his internal appears at times before the world in his external, that is, whenever this external is freed from all outward constraint and can freely express the man's will. And in this we see again that in reality the external depends upon the internal.

     We may here add that the difference between men and beasts is not in the ability to think; for beasts have also a sort of external man or memory in which a kind of thinking takes place; but the difference lies in man's ability to think about what is good and true, which appertains to the internal man or the spirit which lives after death. This ability and such a spirit the beasts do not possess at all. Therefore men whose internal has been perverted so as to will what is evil and think what is false have within them a fiendish urge that makes them worse than the most savage beasts, which only destroy life when under the pangs of hunger or when repelling an attack made upon them.

437




     The man whose internal is turned towards heaven sees his external man as a world unrolled below him, and he can cooperate with the Lord to rid it of all impulses towards the evil and the false, which prevent the external man from coming into correspondence with the internal. To aid him in this effort, the Lord gave His Word. The external sense of the Word is on the same plane as the man's external thinking, but in so exact a correspondence with the elevated thinking of the angels as to their internal man that, whenever anyone reads the Word devoutly, the angels gather about him, in order that they may be further nourished by the internal sense which is evolved out of his reading. This presence of the angels with the man stimulates the inclinations of his affections to make one with theirs, and so aids the man in his quest of an angelic will.

     A man on earth is never conscious as to his having a wisdom such as that of the angels, inasmuch as all things of his natural memory, termed "scientifics," are connected immediately with the sensuals of his body. (H. H. 355.) Yet the rational things which he has elicited from these scientifics during his life in the body are in agreement with the light of the spiritual world. Accordingly, after his final separation from the body, he remains rational in the measure that he had made use of cognitions and scientifics to become rational; for the man is still the same Spirit which had thought in his body. Freed from his connection with the body, he no longer thinks naturally, but spiritually. His thinking then becomes incomprehensibly and ineffably above the grasp of the natural man, and he becomes as wise as other angels.

438


SPIRITUAL TEMPTATION 1939

SPIRITUAL TEMPTATION       Rev. A. WYNNE ACTON       1939

     "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." (Matthew 6:13.)

     The central thought of the text is that the Lord is present with man in temptation, guiding him to the end that, by victory over evil, he may arise from the death of his selfish loves to a life of heavenly love. The Lord also controls every temptation, so that it may not be more severe than the man can bear. And the Lord alone conquers for man, and delivers him from evil.

     When, therefore, it is said in the Word that the Lord tempts man, and that He leads man into temptation, it is speaking according to the appearance. For it is evil spirits who tempt us, by exciting our evils and bringing them into conflict with the truth in our minds. And so, when we pray not to be led into temptation, it should be said in all humility, and with the realization that we cannot of ourselves conquer evil, but that the Lord alone can do this for us.

     Let us examine this teaching more fully.

     Today, little is known concerning spiritual temptation, because, as we are frequently told in the Writings, few at this day undergo spiritual temptations. What is generally thought of as temptation is little more than natural anxiety at the deprivation of some natural loves. It is of the Lord's mercy, therefore, that few are permitted to enter into spiritual temptation, since at the end of a church there is with man no spiritual truth by means of which he may conquer evil, or the Lord conquer for him. For the Divine Truth alone can resist and conquer the hells.

     There must be some knowledge and love of spiritual truths before man can be tempted. As he learns about spiritual truths from affection, these truths begin to reform his mind internally. The internal man then begins to be formed by the Lord into a heavenly order.

439


There must be this reformation, or the beginning of it, before there can be any temptation. As the internal of man is thus reformed, he begins to apply the heavenly order to his natural life,-that is, to live according to the Divine Truths which he has received in his understanding with affection. Then it is that the natural man resists; for our hereditary inclination, which resides in the natural man, is opposed to the life of heaven. The natural man then sees that all its so-called delights and loves are threatened, and it seems as though its very life is about to be taken away. For this reason it resists with all its power.

     This, then, is spiritual temptation,-the conflict between a reformed internal and an unreformed external. Actually it is a struggle between the angels and the devils. For the angels, and through them the whole Divine power, are present in man's reformed internal; and the devils, with all the force of hell, are present in his unreformed external, seeking to keep that under their control. This conflict is felt in man as the anxiety of temptation.

     The strife between angels and devils is also felt in man as very bitter, because it is a fight for his very life. Yet man, in his freedom, ordains whether the angels or the devils are to conquer,-whether the reformed internal man is to descend and form the external after its heavenly order, or whether the presence of the angels is to be repelled, and man is to dwell only with the devils who are present in his external man and its loves.

     Thus the origin of temptation is not in reality from the Lord, but from the devils who excite our evil tendencies. They stir up our evil loves and passions; they confirm us in laziness and indifference in spiritual things; and in a myriad different ways which we cannot realize they are continually seeking to lead us away from the life of heaven. Indeed, the more deeply we enter into a knowledge and affection of the Divine Truth, the more sorely do they tempt us, for in our acceptance of that Truth they see that their possession and domination of the external man is threatened. As they see the prize (which is the possession of man) slipping away from them, they fight the more fiercely for it. This they do, not primarily by exciting us to actual evils, although they also do this, but rather by flattering our self-conceit, and inducing in us a state of indifference in which we trust in our own intelligence and power.

440




     And so it is the devils who cause temptation with man, though they cannot do so until truths by which he can resist them are implanted in his internal man. The Lord permits man to be tempted only when there are truths with him through which he can resist. And the Lord's permitting of temptation, with all its distress and despair, is not of His will, but rather of permission for the sake of the end, which is salvation. Hear what is revealed in the Heavenly Doctrine:

     "By its being said that 'God did tempt Abraham' is according to the sense of the letter, in which temptation and many other things are attributed to God. According to the internal sense, God tempts no one, but in the time of temptations is continually liberating from them, as far as possible, or as far as the liberation does not do harm; and He is continually looking to the good into which He is leading him who is in the temptation. For God never concurs with temptations in any other way. And although it is predicated of Him that He permits, still it is not according to the idea which man has of permission, namely, that by permitting He concurs. Man cannot comprehend it in any other manner than that he who permits also wills. But it is the evil with man which causes temptation, and which also leads into temptation, and no cause of this is in God, as the cause is not in a king or in a judge when a man does evil and suffers punishment for it." (A. C. 2768.)

     God permits temptation for the sake of the end. Let us now consider what the end or use of temptation is.

     The general use of temptation is that the evil desires and false imaginings of the natural man may be dispersed, and that the life of heaven may be implanted in their place. Temptations are recorded as being "the Divine means of removing falsities." (A. C. 4256.) As we grow into our adult natural life, we learn to have confidence in ourselves; we come to call that good which agrees with our natural desires; we think that we can govern all things of ourselves. This is a state of evil which only outwardly appears good, and we are confirmed in it by the devil.

     This persuasive state can only be broken by temptation, and by the despair of temptation, in which we are brought to see the evil that is within what we had called good. In this state we may be led to see that it is only the Divine Truth which can protect us, and which can give us heavenly delight.

441


We fall into despair because our natural loves are being subjugated, and we have not yet felt the delight of the spiritual loves which are to take their place. But as the apparent goods and truths of our natural lives are dispersed through temptation, we gradually receive the comfort and delight of spiritual goods and truths from the Lord. And it is only in this way that we can receive heaven; for heaven and the Lord's presence cannot be commingled with evils in which the devils dwell, which is the state of our natural mind before reformation.

     Note particularly that temptation is according to our loves. Temptation comes about when we fear to lose that which we love. Spiritual temptation can only take place when there is some beginning of a love of spiritual truth which we fear may be lost. Thus temptation and anxiety become the greater as men enter more spiritually into the church. Before this, they suffer only natural anxieties, within which are only natural loves. Men feel distress in resisting certain evils, because they fear the consequence,-the loss of honor and reputation. The evil man as well as the good suffers such anxiety. But the good man, or he who is being regenerated, feels the real temptation of his own unworthiness, and the great power that the hells have over him. He sees himself as unworthy of receiving the Divine Love and Mercy, some glimpse of which has been granted him.

     Now while the Lord permits temptation, even to despair, He does not suffer any man to be tempted more than he can bear. Of this the Apostle wrote: "Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." (I Corinthians 10:12, 13.) And in the Heavenly Doctrine we are told that the Lord, by means of angels, protects man, and prohibits the evil spirits and genii from ranging beyond bounds and inundating the man beyond what he is able to bear. (A. C. 741.)

     Why, then, should we pray to be kept from temptation, since it is the means of our receiving the heavenly life? The answer is simple,-namely, that by this prayer we humbly confess that we cannot of ourselves resist evils in temptation, but that the Lord alone can do this.

442


If we prayed to be led into temptation, it would be as if we were boasting that we of ourselves can conquer all the hells. And so we should not seek to enter into temptation, for this would be to strive to conquer from ourselves, and then we would fall. But we know that if the Lord permits us to be tempted, He is present with us to protect and guide us; and that finally, as we resist the evil as if from ourselves, He will conquer the hells which inspire that evil. Our thought, therefore, should be one of the deepest humility before the Lord.

     For it is the Lord alone who can conquer the hells. And we must remember that in temptation the full force of the hells is present. One particular evil as it were forms a basis and fulcrum into which the whole power of hell can inflow. Of this we read in the Doctrine, where it is describing the great cunning and malice of evil spirits, that "these infernals are of such a nature that they cannot possibly be resisted by any man, nor even by any angel, but by the Lord alone." (A. C. 6666.) And again: "Man, from his own power, can effect nothing at all against the evil or infernal spirits, for they are so connected with the hells that, if one were overcome, another would rush in, and so on forever. They are like the sea which presses upon every part of a dike; and if the dike should be broken through by a cleft or a crack, the sea would never cease to burst through and overflow, until nothing was left standing. So would it be with man unless the Lord alone sustained him in the combats of temptation." (A. C. 1692.)

     Finally, let us hear the angelic idea concerning the words of our text: "It was granted me to have a perception of angelic ideas about these words in the Lord's Prayer, 'Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.' 'Temptation' and 'evil' were rejected by the nearest good spirits, by a certain idea perceptible within me, and this even until there remained what is purely angelic, namely, good, without any idea of temptation and evil; the literal sense thus perishing altogether. In the first rejection, innumerable ideas were being formed respecting this good-how good may come from man's affliction, while the affliction still is from the man and his evil, in which there is punishment, and this with a kind of indignation joined with it, that it should be thought that temptation and its evil come from any other source, and that anyone should have any thought of evil in thinking of the Lord.

443


These ideas were purified in the degree of their ascent. These ascents were represented by rejections, which were made with a rapidity and in a manner that were inexpressible until they passed into the shade of my thought. They were then in heaven, where there are only ineffable angelic ideas concerning the Lord's good." (A. C. 1875.)

     We cannot fully enter into the angelic idea, but let us always seek to approach it in repeating the words of the Lord's Prayer which form our text, namely, that the Lord always wills our good, and is always operating with us to the end that we may enter into heaven, no matter how hard and despairing the means may appear to us; that He permits us to be tempted only to a degree in which we can resist evil, and to the degree which will be for our eternal benefit. For is He not ever present, leading and guiding us, protecting and delivering us from the machinations of the hells? In this spirit,-the spirit expressed in the Divine words, "Not my will, but Thy will be done,"-may we always pray, "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." Amen.

     LESSONS: Isaiah 43:1-13. Luke 22:24-46. A. C. 42991-3.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 505, 510, 633. Revised Liturgy, pages 428, 490, 500.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 88, 90.
CURIOSITY 1939

CURIOSITY              1939

     "The avidity with which the spirits of the planet Mercury acquire knowledges for themselves was made evident to me by the following incident. Once while I was writing about things to come, and those spirits were at such a distance that they could not look into those things from my memory, because I was not willing to read them in their presence, they were exceedingly indignant, and, contrary to their usual behavior, wished to inveigh against me, saying that I was the worst of men, and other like things. And, to show their resentment, they induced a species of contraction of the right side of my head as far as the ear, attended with pain; although such things do me no harm. As, however, they had done evil, they removed themselves to an even greater distance, but presently stood still again, wanting to know what I had written concerning the future. Such is their eager desire for knowledge." (Arcana Celestia 6811.)

444


USES OF THE CHURCH 1939

USES OF THE CHURCH        GEORGE DE CHARMS       1939

     III. Individual Uses.

     The uses of the Church may be divided into three distinct classes,-namely, those that may be performed only by individuals; those that may be performed only by circles or societies; and those that can be performed only by a general body of the Church. Individual uses are those that have direct or immediate bearing upon the task of regeneration. These are the most important of all. Only by means of these uses can the Church come into existence, because only thus can the truth of the Word be received in mind and heart. Other uses are entirely secondary to these, being designed merely to assist them, to prepare the way for them, to provide the conditions under which they can best be performed. If the work of regeneration is not regarded as the highest objective, and if every individual does not do those things which are essential to it, then all the other uses of the Church will be in vain.

     The first in time is the reading and study of the Writings. This everyone must do for himself, if the Lord is to build the Church within him. For the Writings are the Lord speaking to us through the medium of printed language, Divinely inspired. In them He is immediately present with everyone who will approach Him there with humility of heart, seeking instruction in the truth of eternal life.

     That use which is first of all essential to the building of the Church is to commune daily with the Lord as He reveals Himself in the Heavenly Doctrine, with prayer for enlightenment and understanding. It may be necessary at first to do this from self-compulsion, from the acknowledgment of a duty, and thus from conscience. But if it is established as a habit, it will become an increasing delight. We will find in it the only satisfaction of a growing hunger of the soul. For our mind is created to receive heavenly truth.

445


This is the nourishment of the spirit, essential to its happiness and well-being. And so far as we overcome the evils of self and the world, and thus bring our minds into the order of heaven, we will become conscious of an instinctive craving for instruction and guidance from the Word.

     That this effect may follow, however, it is necessary not only to read, but to read with understanding. We must reflect upon what we read, seeking to derive from it its true meaning. Especially must we reflect with a view to learning how the truth of the Writings applies to our own life; how it is to correct our thoughts and govern our actions; how it is to mold our conduct, and modify the crucial decisions with which we are confronted in our daily experience. When we have this end in view as we read, and when we are not satisfied until we are attaining this end in some measure, then will our minds be open to receive influx out of heaven, and illustration thence.

     Nothing will produce this attitude of mind except a continual prayer of the heart that we may be led by the Lord, and not by ourselves-a prayer that must be strengthened, confirmed, and renewed by the actual prayer of the lips, that is, by individual worship. This, combined with self-examination-the acknowledgment of evil tendencies within ourselves, and active resistance to them by temptation combat-this is the very-essential of all the uses of the Church. For only as evil is seen, acknowledged, and removed by mental combat, can the door of the mind be opened to the reception of the Lord.

     The Church comes into being only with those who perform these individual uses faithfully, day by day. The desire to be led by the Lord-which is one with love to Him-cannot live unless it go forth into these ultimate acts, in which alone it finds soil suitable to its growth. And only as this desire lives and grows can the Lord inflow to impart heavenly enlightenment, spiritual understanding, and an increase of affection for the things of the Word. Individual uses of the Church, therefore, include the formation of habits of reading, of reflection, of prayer and worship, established by personal effort through persistent endeavor. There is no other way in which a living Church can he established in our hearts.

     (To be Continued.)

446


USES OF WORSHIP 1939

USES OF WORSHIP       Rev. GILBERT H. SMITH       1939

     An Appreciation of the Revised Liturgy.

     In the modern world, religion is not taken seriously by multitudes of men who are capable of being made by religion into truly spiritual men. On the other hand, there are those to whom the religion of the New Church is a magnificent obsession, and for whom the services of worship are a series of new and delightful experiences. To them, every opportunity to meet with others in the Lord's name is a thing of moment. For they believe that there is always something new and valuable to be gained by so doing.

     But can one expect such a thing to keep up? Can worship, repeated so often, continue to be a valuable experience, and not lose its power to inspire and instruct us? We think it can. At least we may be sure that some new point of doctrine will appear to the open mind, if nothing more. Every service of worship should open up new visions of the truth that lies in the spiritual sense of the Word. That can never be exhausted. And, when seen, the spiritual sense of the Word is powerful.

     For the advancement of the power of Divine worship, we now have in use a new book of worship,-the revised Liturgy,-which is the product of much labor and careful thought for the proper performance of a use that is most important,-the keeping alive of the Divine among men. The first use of this new Liturgy should not be allowed to pass without some comment of appreciation. Here is a new book devoted to the service of worship, expressing the highest of our religious thought and taste. As such, may the Lord bless its use, and approve its form, and give its substance a favorable acceptance!

     May our daily lives be constantly in tune with its words, and our thoughts sincerely accord with the Divine Wisdom and Love which its words express, that they may be heard and repeated by us from the heart! For they are the words of piety and devotion.

447


And, as we see upon reflection, worship consists almost entirely of words,-of words spoken or sung, of words taken from the Lord's Word for the enlightening of our minds and the salvation of our souls. Let them not be mere words, but the true faces of our thought, and the meaning of our loves. It is the Lord who puts these words into our mouth, as the means of bringing forth our hearts and minds into expressions suitable to the worship of Him for our own sakes.

     Let us think intently of the words we speak in worship, of the meaning of the thing that is said, and not allow the words to escape our lips uncomprehended. Let them sink into our ears. Their meaning should be our meaning. Thus can the offices of worship open up new communication with those in heaven.

     And what a wealth of angelic wisdom this Liturgy contains in each department, and especially in its presentation of Doctrine! There is in this book a full, complete, and effective outline of the Doctrine of the New Church. If this were the only book in one's possession, he could still make himself a man of the New Church well indoctrinated.

     There is also new and original music in this book-especially antiphonal music-for which we shall be increasingly grateful. Let us recall the teaching about the ideas within the words spoken in chants and songs, and note what is said in the Spiritual Diary concerning The Harmonic Hymns of the Angels:

     "This day I heard angels of the interior heaven, many of whom, in concert, were forming a hymn . . . They clearly perceived those hymns . . . They proceeded in a heavenly gyre, and were at the same time both saying and chanting, and representing the same thing . . . They were forming, by their hymns, the representation of a golden crown with diamonds around the head of our Savior, which was done both by celestial representations and by distinct ideas, which are the beginnings of human words. It is wonderful that very many together can say or chant this hymn, and represent it at the same time." (S. D. 489.)

     "I have again heard the angels hymning or chanting the praise of our Savior, and indeed several choirs together. . . . One choir, consisting of very many, and acting at the same time as one, did so without confusion from one another. . . .

448


It is in this manner that the universal angelic heaven is accustomed to devote itself to the praise and glory of the Saviour. Hence musical harmony and singing are so delightful to the angels, when the thoughts of man are concordant with their ideas." (S. D. 491.)

     We are here told that distinct ideas are the beginnings or principles of human words, and further that the ideas within the words of angelic singing are often beyond man's conscious thought. But they are delightful to the angels, who make representations at the same time that they are singing or chanting,-thus "forming" their hymns, as it is said.

     Men in the world, from the words they speak or sing in worship, should be able to gain distinct ideas from the internal sense,-ideas which are the beginnings of human words. From worship repeated, no matter how often, we should receive new ideas, should see clearly some new portion of the spiritual sense of the Scriptures, and thus receive a new experience. Thus it should be with the people of the New Church; so that worship might never grow stale or distasteful, but should be filled with delight in new truth and new leading from the Lord.

     But what if it should appear to us that the ideas we get from worship do not seem to fit at once into our present needs, or to be of immediate value to us in our present states? Perhaps it may seem that the instruction given or the words spoken do not meet our problems; and it may seem a matter of chance whether one hears what he thinks he needs to hear. Must we be content, then, with merely saving up the knowledge of doctrine until we happen to see how we can use it? Does worship serve no other use than to inform us of truth?

     Of course, if we clearly know what our problems are, we can seek the answer by looking for it in the Writings. But it more often happens that when people come to worship they are not aware of their religious problems, or may be unaware of their having any problems,-may come without a distinct question in their minds. But if the question is there, the answer is always to be had. Besides, it is good affections we want, to receive, quite as much as, or even more than specific truths to meet our every-day problems. And good affections one can receive when he enters voluntarily into states of worship. These states are aroused by hearing the Word and its internal doctrine.

449


Thus worship is the means of forming the church in man, building or forming a living charity and faith in him.

     And so it is by the words spoken from the Lord to the Lord, by thinking of what the internal meaning of these words is, and by knowing that the Lord is within His own words, that a man is led as to the direction of his thought in worship. And if one sets his mind to receive such ideas as the Lord wants him to receive, not going to worship with a predetermined idea of what he wants to hear, this, it would seem, is the true spirit of worship.
APATHY AND INDIFFERENCE 1939

APATHY AND INDIFFERENCE       STANLEY WAINSCOT       1939

     It would not be surprising if most of you should think within yourselves, "What an extraordinary subject for a New Church paper!" Maybe, on the face of it, this subject does not seem to promise very much that would appear useful or even mildly interesting, when investigated in the light of Revelation. "What," says the staunch New Churchman, "has either apathy or indifference to do with the establishment of the Lord's New Church, which we know is to be the Crown of all Churches?"

     True, in a sense. What have apathy and indifference to do with the truly staunch member of the Church! But how many of us can, by searching the innermost of our affections, by probing the dark and hidden depths of our secret motives, truly asseverate that we are staunch members of the Church! The results of these investigations are, for most of us, rather humiliating experiences. We do not feel so confident that all is well with the church within us, and we begin to have misgivings as to the health of the Church to which, outwardly at least, we belong.

     Let our thoughts go back to those halcyon days when, like a flash of dazzling lightning, the truths of the Second Advent first burst upon our minds. The enthusiasm and zeal we felt then seemed to us to be so powerful that it was impossible to conceive that the blank stare of worldly incredulity would never give way to an intelligent and welcoming smile. We loved nothing better than to attend Divine Worship within the New Church, to listen attentively to sermons and papers, to read the Writings of the Second Advent, to discuss innumerable doctrinal subjects with our friends, in the Church and outside of it, and to enter vigorously into the external uses and exercises of charity within our immediate societies.

450


Worldly ties and interests were definitely in a secondary place. No sacrifice of time, trouble, or inconvenience was considered too great to prevent our pulling our full weight in the life of the church. Both affectionally and intellectually we were conscious of a clear line of demarcation between the evils and falses of the proprium and the goods and truths of this momentous Final Revelation.

     This initial flush of enthusiasm and virile intelligent activity are characteristic of the early states of the church as an organized body of men, as well as of the early states of the church within us as individuals. History speaks eloquently of the amazing trials through which the handful of receivers of the Heavenly Doctrine passed, from the time of Robert Hindmarsh onwards. Those few who clearly perceived that God Himself had again spoken to man through the instrumentality of Emanuel Swedenborg, and who recognized these Writings as the veritable Word of God to His New Church, suffered mentally, as the early Christian Fathers suffered physically. The world today, while perhaps deploring the lack of conviction which is rampant in religious thought, would call it fanaticism and sectarian bigotry, just as the world of yesterday stigmatized the early Christian martyrs as narrow-minded visionaries.

     The scene of the rise, progress, decline, and fall of the Churches, from the Most Ancient to the First Christian, is delineated on a large canvas. The age-long conflict of light with darkness, of the powers good and evil, with the alternate ascendancy of now one and then the other, is shown in bold and sweeping outline. Both secular history and the letter of Revelation furnish copious information as to the external circumstances and internal causes of the strife; but the picture is a vitally living one by reason of the glowing colors of Divine Good and Truth which interpenetrate the black and livid tints of unregenerate human minds, warming and enlightening the whole scene.               

     Mere size of canvas, however, is no criterion of a picture's excellence; for, on a much smaller one, we are shown the rise, progress, and trials of the Crowning Church of this earth; the only one that will never pass away.

451


It is the culmination of all the Providential leadings of mankind since the Fall, and within it will dwell those, in the innocence of wisdom, who will constitute the end of creation. The same conflict between the powers of darkness and light is still depicted, although with a subtlety that is not so evident in the larger picture. The scene is not laid so much amid the clash of worldly powers with the growing organizations of the Churches as amid the hidden warfare between evil lusts and heavenly loves, and between falsities and truths, within the human mind itself.

     The Revelation of the Second Advent is the only true source of knowledge regarding the details and methods of this warfare. In this respect alone, the picture of the rise and progress of the New Church is unique. Never before has it been possible for man to know what goes on in his mind, and to understand its form and constitution. The adolescent state of the corporate human mind, with its remarkable excursions into both scientific investigation and abstract speculation, requires a balancing weight of Divine Truth, accommodated to the intellectual plane. This use, the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg can and will ever increasingly perform;

     All this may sound somewhat distant from the title of the paper, and it will no doubt be asked, "What have apathy and indifference to do with it all?" We have not far to go for the answer.

     Speaking generally, it may be said that each resurgent phase of the church on earth showed a more or less clear cut distinction between evil and good, falsity and truth. Each church attracted to itself active forces of opposition,-forces that came out into the open, as it were, and deliberately engaged the proponents of good conduct and true belief. There is no need to labor this point, as history affords abundant evidence. Further, we will recall, in our own early states of reception, the obvious evils and falses were the first to be up in arms, and they were clearly seen and recognized by us.

     Now, in these days of the commencement of the final upward rise of the Church on earth in the form of the New Jerusalem, we are faced with a disturbing and somewhat ominous set of circumstances. The First Christian Church is perceived by many people to be an effete ecclesiasticism, half strangled by its own dogmas which it vainly tries to loosen so as to march with the times. In matters of external charity and morals we see great activity, and an increasing tendency to enter the realm of politics.

452


Each sect of the Church, with its head in the ground, ostrich-like, is vaguely convinced that its own interpretation of Holy Writ is the only true one, whilst trying not to think too hardly of those of differing beliefs or of none at all. The priesthood is divided against itself, containing many conflicting schools of thought and practice, and even admits within its ranks those who do their level best to destroy the foundations upon which the whole edifice rests,-the Word of God. Their congregations are largely made up of elderly women, with a sprinkling of young girls, elderly men, and indefinite young ones. In "fashionable" churches a greater balance is observed, but the regretful conclusion is reached that in a great many cases attendance at worship springs from external and somewhat unworthy motives. Preachers of outstanding personality still draw large congregations from time to time, but the attraction is mostly due either to sentimental attachment, impressive or provocative oratory, or reputation. Other Churches than the Christian display marked violence in combining a lowly form of religious fervor with fanatical nationalism; and their consequent intolerance and contempt towards systems other than their own, especially the Christian, is constituting a major problem in world affairs.

     Turning to the world of secular thought and action, we will find more than enough to convince us that conditions are subtly different from what they were a hundred or even fifty years ago. The intellectual curiosity, which prompted earlier generations to seek for truth along other paths than those prescribed by the dogmas of the Church, has been far from satisfied. It is not too much to say that this inborn desire for truth is in danger of dying from sheer thirst.

     As a natural consequence, a sense of futility is creeping into men's minds, breeding apathy and indifference to spiritual things. It is perfectly true that, ever since the Fall, some proportion of the human race has displayed something of these qualities; but if we reflect, we will see that in past ages these qualities arose chiefly from active antagonism to spiritual things. Today it is clearly evident that they arise from a species of mental lethargy.

     Let us pause for a moment, and consider the implications of these two terms,-"apathy" and "indifference." The dictionary points out that the word Apathy comes from two Latin roots meaning "without" and "suffering," and it denotes want of feeling, privation of passion, emotion or excitement; insensibility, and indifference.

453


Regarding Indifference, we are told that the word arises from two Latin roots meaning "not" and "to differ." It means "not inclined to one side more than another; impartial; unbiassed; feeling no interest, anxiety or care; unconcerned; careless; neither very good nor very bad, but rather bad than good." From this we may infer that Apathy is a state chiefly of the will, while Indifference is a symptom pertaining more to the understanding.

     Do we realize sufficiently the dreadful nature of these states of mind? A man who is apathetic and indifferent to spiritual things is so depraved that he has no concern as to Who or What caused him to live, to experience affections of love, and to be capable of understanding. He is just not interested in Who or What provides the necessities for his continued well-being, or Who or What caused everything that exists, including his own selfish soul. He is interested in nothing but reaping some pleasurable satisfaction through getting what is called "the most out of life." It simply means that the Infinite Divine Creator gives to that man freely of His boundless Love and Wisdom, whereupon the man merely shrugs his shoulders, turns away, and hurries to his selfish and worldly occupations. Between man and man, such conduct is hardly forgivable; at least it is considered most impolite. And yet this man so treats his God! Would not an honest and downright antagonism be much more preferable? While there is enough intellectual vitality to cause a man to be upstanding, and voice his opposition, surely there are sufficient grounds left into which seeds of truth may yet be sown.

     The political world is reflecting in no uncertain manner the fact that the bulk of humanity has lost its sheet anchor, and is drifting in a sea of emotional and unreasoned nationalisms littered with the deadly icebergs of intolerance. Those nations which retain something of the profession of religious ideas within their constitutions are bewilderingly agile in their attempts to steer a fairly safe course. Through lack of fundamental principles, however, they often do as much harm as good. Some nations, infused with fervent but misplaced national pride, fed by unscrupulous and atheistic propaganda, are forcibly tightening their frontiers, in the mistaken idea that full race segregation is the perfect solution, ignoring the word "cooperation" in regard to world affairs.

454




     In almost all nations there are men of two general classes. First, what may be termed the Intellectuals, embracing all who engage in any productive or creative profession, art, or science. Second, those who, collectively, may be called "the man in the street."

     The first and smaller class is tolerably articulate. It speaks-indeed, it often lecture-very fiercely to the world via the press and the radio. We are familiar with its myriad "ologies" and "isms," which fill our libraries, and we are tempted to be captivated by the literary excellence in which many of them are arrayed. At the same time we are sadly impressed by their utter failure to supply reasonably adequate answers to our questions; at the most they unearth more and more bewildering masses of facts and opinions.

     Few, very few, attempt the impossible by stoutly pinning their wavering faith to what is now looked upon as an isolated record of the religious self-development of an obscure oriental tribe, while trying to prove its veracity and apply it to modern conditions. A recent example of this is Beverley Nichols' The Fool Hath Said. Whilst the attempt is most praiseworthy, in that his peculiarly intimate and chatty style is very persuasive, he fails in his object through lack of data which can only be sought for in the Writings of the Second Advent. Some emotional enthusiasts attract to themselves small bodies of disciples which are definitely in revolt against the agnostic spirit of the times; but lacking, again, the forming elements of Divine Truth, their desires and aspirations possess neither logical weight nor influence. The work of the Buchman Movement, for instance, has its appealing side for those who are disgusted with the intellectual snobbery that goes hand in hand with the loss of spiritual love. The movement, however, being chiefly based upon mass emotion devoid of rationality, does not offer any intellectual satisfaction.

     The second class,-"the man in the street,"-by far the larger and more inert mass of human beings, is perforce the most inarticulate. Letters to the press, after-dinner speeches, memoirs, etc.,-all fail to disclose the general state of mind of this mass, against whose mental inertia all schools of thought, both secular and ecclesiastical, have always striven.

455




     However, there are indications given by us which we can estimate roughly the attitude toward matters concerning God and spiritual things adopted by this huge number of people. The pressure of the minority of intellectuals must, and really does, have some effect upon the mass of "men in the street," who, being sheep-like, would rather follow than lead, and who prefer to stand and watch rather than participate. By studying the literary works and spoken words of the intellectuals, and by reading between the lines, as it were, we may discern within them the presence or absence of a sincere love of God and spiritual things. From the small and partial study made by the writer it seems that there is little if any of this love in evidence.

     By far the larger proportion of "men in the street" look upon the daily newspaper as their textbook. They eagerly absorb and adopt editorially tinted opinions, all nicely prepared for them by the press magnates whose eyes are mainly upon the sales returns. Modern novels, with which the "little man" is surrounded in ever increasing floods, are, for the most part, brilliantly cynical about sacred subjects, witty and provocative, as well as irrational, concerning normal human experiences, and either sickly sentimental or sadistically vulgar in matters of love and marriage. The cinema, with few exceptions, presents lukewarm drama, feeble humor, and a great deal of sensationalism. The radio, however, is as yet much less sensational, and, in England at least, is sincerely trying to cater to all tastes. Still, it is contributing much towards this insidious tendency to save people the trouble of thinking. Everything is handed to the man in the street nice and neatly on a plate, in a semidigested condition, and as such it is hastily swallowed and forgotten, hardly ever masticated, while the appetite for more of it increases continually.

     Small wonder, then, that the man in the street, vaguely disappointed with the "stone" which the Church hands him, and led into tortuous intellectual paths, and left to find his way out as best he can, is sinking into an apathetic state of mind towards vital and fundamental matters. This is no trivial and quickly passing phase; it is a highly significant danger which the New Church will have to face. It is typical of this age of the corporate human mind, and is comparable to the cynical self-assurance of an untried adolescent.

456




     Lacking the knowledges of spiritual things, and, more important still, displaying but the slightest interest in them, most ordinary men and women are conscious of something missing in their mental life, but to which they cannot put a name. If their tastes do not lead them into the comparative harmlessness of some artistic or intellectual pursuit, they seek, in desperation, the meretricious stimulation of a life of external pleasure and entertainment, which acts upon their minds like a powerful drug.

     The organizations of the New Church are placed in the middle of all this. Dotted over the face of the earth are small groups of people who profess membership in the New Jerusalem now descending out of heaven from God. They are the providential centers from which the light and warmth of a veritable New Day will radiate. Meanwhile, they are ringed round and influenced by the myriad minds of those who have no concern with this momentous event which is gradually taking place. They are living amid the death-throes of a consummated church. Hereditary tendencies make their presence felt by more insidious and subtle means than ever before, and this problem is most serious where it affects the coming generation in the New Church. Most of the older generation have been through the testing crucible of temptation within living memory. As a consequence, they show more spiritual vigor and steadfastness of purpose than others. Most of these men and women underwent the never-to-be-forgotten experience of parting company with tradition and upbringing, and entering into a totally new country. But what is the attitude of those younger ones who have since been born, brought up, and, partially at least, educated within the New Church? How often is the regretful comment voiced: "I wish so-and-so would take a bit more interest in the Church! What can I do about it?"

     It is a human failing to take for granted those things which are associated with early childhood. The truths of the New Church, instilled by loving parents and teachers, while laying the foundations of necessary Remains, are yet, in adolescence and early manhood, not always seen in correct perspective. In these days, many and raucous are the distracting voices from the world, and flatteringly attractive do they seem to the young man or woman born within the New Church.

457


They display an intriguing "difference"; they spell "modernity," "progress," "achievement," and other resounding labels. It is not apparent to the young New Churchman that, unless he clings tenaciously to those very truths he was taught in his childhood, he is in the gravest danger. He often does not fully realize the magnitude of the Gospel of the Second Coming; neither does he attach sufficient importance to its teaching. He does not see those spheres of apathy and indifference which permeate throughout our modern civilization; neither does he realize the fact that careless contacts with the world may lead to his being gradually penetrated by them. Not having been through the profound mental experience of a rational conversion, he is tempted to observe the insignificance and apparent impotence of the Church's organizations, and to make invidious comparisons; and his intellect is inclined to be intrigued by the glittering evidences of modern artistic and scientific achievements.

     A merely superficial glance at these latter fields will indeed give what is really a false impression. Until one digs below the surface, by taking some trouble to study contemporary literature and scientific treatises, as well as the productions of art and craftsmanship, for more serious reasons than a search after pure entertainment, one easily fails to detect the existence of those deadly evils of spiritual apathy and indifference. It is understandable in a way, for quite a large number of obviously atheistic or agnostical works blaze with literary gems, and these offset and cover up that dank and frigid atmosphere which spells the absence of love to God and the neighbor.

     The older elements within the organizations of the New Church are also far from being immune. The danger signs are: a gradual lessening of interest in the study of the Doctrines; paying more attention to personal relations between members; the stressing of personal differences within the priesthood; and the increasing in attendance at worship, due to the pressure of worldly and personal considerations.

     What would be the effect if spiritual apathy and indifference were allowed to percolate within the New Church unchecked? It would produce nothing less than that horrible state of Faith Alone which is awe-inspiringly described in the Apocalypse: "I know thy works, that thou are neither cold nor hot. I would thou wert cold or hot.

458


So then, because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." (Rev. 3:15, 16.)

     The study and the proper assessment of current thought and literature is vitally necessary to the New Church today. It is as vital as the acquiring of a full knowledge and appreciation of the causes and history of the New Church itself. Years ago it was our habit to shut ourselves away in a sort of mental hermitage. Actually, we are in the midst of a spiritual enemy's country, and even the humblest soldier understands the need for the fullest information of the dispositions of the opposing forces.

     In conclusion, many of you will be thinking that, in view of the fact that the Church is not our own, but is the Lord's Church, and that its development is under His Divine Providence, the points of this paper have been rather heavily labored and overemphasized. Please recall the teaching that, while the Lord has no need of man or of human organizations in performing His Divine Uses, yet these uses all have as their end the salvation of the human race, and mankind has a definite need to participate in them from freedom and rationality. The human "as of itself " reaction to the Lord's influx ultimates itself, and thus substantially exists, in uses; and when these uses have to do with the establishment of the Crowning Church on our earth, the responsibility for their efficient performance, which is laid upon us who profess to belong to it, is of the gravest possible moment. Let us all, then, become alive to the danger which threatens, and reorganize our defenses, so that they will withstand the assaults of these most insidious enemies of the Church,-Apathy and Indifference.
RESISTING THE DRAGONISTS 1939

RESISTING THE DRAGONISTS              1939

     "The reasonings of those who are meant by the 'dragon' are all from fallacies and appearances; which, if confirmed, appear outwardly as truths, but inwardly store up falsities in abundance. This I can relate: That those in the church who hereafter confirm themselves in faith alone cannot recede from it except by serious repentance, because they conjoin themselves with the dragonists who are now in the world of spirits, and who are greatly excited, and from hatred against the New Church are infesting all there whom they meet; and because they are conjoined with men on earth, as shown above, no. 558, they do not suffer those to recede from them who have once been captivated by their reasonings; for they hold them as if they were bound with chains, and then shut their eyes, so that they can no longer see any truth in light." (A. R. 563.)

459


NOTES AND REVIEWS. 1939

NOTES AND REVIEWS.              1939


NEW CHURCH LIFE
Office a Publication, Lancaster, Pa.
Published Monthly By
THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM
BRYN ATHYN, PA.
Editor               Rev. W. B. Caldwell, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager          Mr. H. Hyatt, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     All literary contributions should be sent to the Editor. Subscriptions, change of address and business communications should be sent to the Business Manager.

     TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$3.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single Copy, 30 cents.
     Gleanings from the Journals of the Church.

     Many of our readers have not access to the periodicals published today in the New Church. Yet they are vitally interested in the developments of the Church everywhere, and especially in the trend of thought among New Churchmen upon doctrinal and practical matters. We here bring together a few selections from recent issues, believing that they will prove informative and instructive to members of the General Church.

     GENERAL CONVENTION.

     A full Report of the 118th Annual Session of the General Convention, written by the Rev. William H. Beales, appears in THE NEW-CHURCH MESSENGER of June 28 and following numbers. The Convention was held in Philadelphia, Pa., June 17-20, and was preceded by a meeting of the Council of Ministers at Wilmington, Delaware. The theme of the Convention was "The Bible in Daily Life," and the topic selected by the Council of Ministers was "Encouraging the Reading of the Word," several Addresses on various phases of the subject of the Word being delivered, some of them dealing with the Literal Sense and others with the Spiritual Sense.

460


The Council also considered the relations of the General Convention with the General Church, as appears from the following statement in the Report of the Convention:

     "The question of encouraging closer friendly relations with the General Church, with headquarters in Bryn Athyn, was discussed at a special meeting of the Council, held in Philadelphia on Friday evening. There was a marked feeling among the members that whatever causes may have existed in the past, giving rise to misunderstandings and lack of closer co-operation, these should not be permitted to influence Unduly the members of the Church as it exists today. The Church is looking forward, not back, and anything which stands in the way of real progress to the Church as a whole should be carefully examined, and put aside if possible. The hand of fellowship should be extended to the sister branch of the Church in sincerity and the desire for true understanding. As a result of the discussion, the Chairman of the Council was instructed to appoint a special committee of three, to visit Bryn Athyn and consider with the leaders of the General Church the possibility and grounds for this desired closer co-operation, the committee to report at the next meeting of the Council. The initiation of this step came through the Rev. Antony Regamey of Boston." (Messenger, June 28, p. 409.)

     This year the Convention observed New Church Day on Monday, June 19th, and an appropriate Address on "The New Evangel" was delivered at noon by the Rev. Louis G. Hoeck. (MESSENGER, July 26, p. 55.) In the evening the Convention was addressed by the Rev. Joseph Fort Newton, D.D., Episcopal clergyman of Philadelphia, and a nationally known speaker and writer, who gave eloquent testimony to his love for the teachings of the New Church. "I want to tell you," he said, "of the many ways in which Swedenborg helped me in trying to interpret the Christian faith. There are three books which stand out like three stars, and which helped guide me in the understanding of the realities of life: the True Christian Religion, the Divine Love and Wisdom, and Heaven and Hell. They helped me interpret the doctrines of our Christian faith as nothing else has ever done." After describing how his old doubts on the subject of the Deity had been swept away by the New Church Doctrine of the Lord, he turned to the subject of the spiritual world, and we quote from his concluding remarks:

461




     "His visions of the spiritual world helped me beyond all power to express. He taught the continuity of life with a depth which surpasses the teaching of any other writer. As a boy, I was terrified by what I had been taught. The old theology gave me a vision of God which frightened the soul of a sensitive boy. The preachers of that day seemed to delight in preaching sermons on hell, which kept me awake at night. Hell was a mortal hurt that lingered long. There seemed some hope in the Roman Catholic teaching regarding Purgatory; a person could some time come out of that state; but there was no hope in the Protestant teaching. All the evil were swept into the terrors of hell, to remain there forever and ever. I remember one preacher who undertook to show what 'forever and ever' meant. He said: `Suppose a bird Were to take away one single grain of sand from an island-one grain every ten thousand years. Well, by the time it had carried away that whole island, that would be only one summer in forever and ever.' You laugh. But I assure you that it was not funny to our forefathers. It was an awful thought, that of eternal punishment. It cast the shadow of fear over the children, and made cringers and creepers of men. What a wonder it was, then, to learn of Swedenborg's teaching of the ineffable love of God, even in this. . . ."

     "Can you make the teachings of Swedenborg intelligible to our generation? You have been trained in them-I have not, although I love them. The knowledge of the spiritual world is the most basic idea, next to the vision of God, which the world possesses. The substantiality of that world is the very foundation of our belief in the continuation of life. But can you make that seem real to the present generation? The younger generation seems to be under a spiritual anesthetic-to be in a sort of spiritual coma. If you speak to the young people, they listen patiently, but with courteous incomprehension. Oh, no, they are not dull. They are quite bright-and serious-minded-about germs, and economics and other similar subjects, but they are not losing any sleep over the question of spiritual things.

     "Do they understand the vocabulary of your church? They do not understand that of mine. I do not try to talk to them in the vocabulary of mine. And even when I simplify what I try to tell them to the point where I scarcely recognize it myself-even then they do not seem to understand. We are told to begin with the young people on their own level. It seems to me that they are spiritually illiterate. . . .The Bible is an unknown book to them. And yet it is they who must, in time, take over the Church.

     "Imperceptibly there is growing up a new type of mind. It is harder, and not in tune with the spiritual world. Science is making wonderful advances. In twelve years it has increased the span of life by five years. And there are other achievements. But unfortunately, as far as spiritual values are concerned, it seems to be against the true value of the human soul. And mankind is growing up in the sphere of natural science. His mind is impervious to the doctrines of your church and mine. It takes unusual strategy and appeal to make the unseen world seem real. Yet the knowledge of that world is what is needed today. The future of the race depends upon men and women who will believe in the truth of the spiritual world.

462


When that vision grows dim, then civilization rots and falls to pieces.

     "But the time will come when these things will be believed, when the teachings of Swedenborg as to the reality of the spiritual world will be as bread and milk and food to souls who cannot live without it."
PLEA FOR UNITY IN THE NEW CHURCH 1939

PLEA FOR UNITY IN THE NEW CHURCH       Rev. RICHARD H. TEED       1939

     From an Editorial in The New Age, May, 1939.

     There has been an effort to drive the Church to the acceptance of the Writings as the Word of the Lord comparable with or even superior to the Sacred Scriptures. But such effort has been easily withstood on the score that nowhere in these same Writings can it be shown that it is declared that they are to be so regarded. As the Rev. George Henry Dole, writing in a recent issue of THE NEW AGE, wisely remarks: "The question, Are the Writings the Word? . . . need not be disturbing, for this belief seems but a mere intellectual error that cannot much injure the soul when the Writings are held with such sacred veneration. But the doctrine that the Writings are not of Divine origin leads to the destruction of the Church and all things holy." (THE NEW AGE, April, 1938.) In our opinion this is one of the wisest sayings that has been uttered for a very long time. We subscribe to it with all our heart, and thank our veteran minister for such a helpful declaration. If only we New Church folk could unite in such an attitude of wise tolerance and mutual respect, what great things could we do for our Lord and His Church-instead of concentrating on finding fault with our coreligionist because he does not see things quite as we do.

     To us New Church folk is entrusted the mission to uphold and proclaim the Writings as the Second Advent of our Lord. It is this that unites us, and should unite us yet more and more. For in these Writings, and only in these Writings, is there set forth the unique doctrine of the sole Deity of our Lord and His redemptive work, and how it is that the Scriptures are "they that testify of Him." Those out of touch with these Writings cannot truly accept the Lord in His Second Coming, even though some of their teachings seem to approximate to what is taught in the New Church.

463




     We will give an illustration. In Scotland there was, during our time there, a custom at weddings for the bridegroom's minister to assist. Usually we asked the visiting minister to read from the Word. On one occasion, however, the minister was not satisfied with this, and insisted that he wished to offer prayer. Our reply was that there would be no objection to this, provided he addressed his prayer to the Lord Jesus Christ, as He alone was worshiped in this building. Somewhat impatiently our visitor consented to comply with our request. When the time came, in obedience to his promise, he addressed our Lord in prayer, but in the course of his prayer he made reference to "Thy dear Son's passion upon the Cross." Afterwards, in a spirit of amused tolerance for what he considered a bit of crankyism, he remarked, "Well," and were we satisfied? His astonishment and confusion knew no bounds when we pointed out the inconsistency of his remarks. Many, we find, are prepared to say they accept Deity in the Lord Jesus Christ, and think they see and accept the New Church teaching, but upon closer questioning one finds that God the Father is still regarded as the One greater than all,

     Has not the time come then, we submit, for the organized New Church to ask herself whether she is doing right in inclining towards any union with those who really still hold to the old teachings, or even worse, who are rejecting what truth there was in orthodoxy? Is it not manifest that the call to the New Church of today is to mend the cleavages within itself, and to recognize that what we have allowed to separate us in the past is unworthy of the prominence we have given it, compared with what we hold in common, and what contrasts us with every other faith on the face of the earth? So long as we accept the Writings as given under Divine direction, what matters it whether we call them by one name or another? Such a matter is one for individual decision. So long as we unitedly and humbly look to the Lord as our High Priest, are not matters of ecclesiastical government relatively minor, and that which should be left for local societies or combinations of societies to decide for themselves?

     For ourselves we repeat, we will recognize no essential separation between any who call themselves New Churchmen. We have lost all patience with these artificial and man-made barriers, which we do not believe ever received their inspiration from heaven.

464


Whether it be Melbourne or Manchester, Bryn Athyn or Brisbane, Hurstville or The Hague, we can see only the New Church there, and thus our spiritual home. Interiorly, whether we recognize it or not, the New Church is one. Shall we not do well then to come to this recognition, and ask the Lord to forgive us all our follies, and help us henceforth to walk more humbly with Him and unitedly do the works belonging to our spiritual calling? Edwin Markham has some lovely lines which tell how-He drew a circle that shut me out drew a circle which took him in.

     We conclude with the words of a recent utterance of the President of our British Conference: "I stretch out my hand to all who are prepared to affirm the two essential 'witnesses' of the Church as revealed to us in the Word and in the Writings, namely, the acknowledgment of the Lord and a life according to His commandments-and call them brethren."
     RICHARD H. TEED.
TO "THE NEW CHURCH IN AUSTRALIA." 1939

TO "THE NEW CHURCH IN AUSTRALIA."       W. CAIRNS HENDERSON       1939

Brethren:
     The cordial greetings of the recent Conference of "The New Church in Australia," conveyed by your Vice-President to the Minister, members, and friends of the Hurstville Society of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, were duly presented to that Society at a special meeting, and in its name I would thank you sincerely for that expression of friendship, assure you of our friendship, and express a heartfelt wish for the prosperity of the New Church within and among you.

     Your desire for a better understanding and a more intimate and friendly relation between your body of the Church and ours, and your hope that we in Australia may give some lead in this direction, are fully shared by a Society which has been, and is, genuinely desirous of effecting the same things. We therefore reciprocate Your wish, assuring you that this is no mere gesture, but a goal to which we will strive to attain. As you observe, we belong to different bodies, distinguished by different understandings of certain teachings in the Writings.

465


We, on our part, cherish our distinctive faith, as we know you do yours, and it is neither our thought and desire, nor yours, that we should surrender these and aim at corporate unity. But where there is essential unity in charity, differences in the understanding of doctrine will not divide; and it is our conviction that the effort toward such unity-which will leave us still in our distinct and distinctive organizations-is demanded by charity.

     It is our belief that the New Church exists in every body organized in its name, and that each must have a high regard for the freedom of the others; and we believe that in the measure that we so regard each other's freedom, look upward to the Lord, and forward rather than to the past, a state will be reached in which our distinct Churches will not be divided, but be as so many jewels in the crown of a king.
     Fraternally yours,
          W. CAIRNS HENDERSON,
               Pastor.
BISHOP PENDLETON'S PAPERS AND ADDRESSES 1939

BISHOP PENDLETON'S PAPERS AND ADDRESSES       MARGUERITE BLOCK       1939

     (This review of Selected Papers and Addresses, by Nathaniel Dandridge Pendleton, is reprinted from The New Christianity, Summer, 1939. Mrs. Block is the author of the book, The New Church in the New World, 1932.)

     To a student of the history of the New Church these collected works of the late Bishop of the General Church are especially interesting because they are so completely in line with the best traditions of Academy scholarship, and yet at the same time are so completely individual. That is one of the mysteries of the Academy,-that preservation of the individual characteristics in the midst of a rigid orthodoxy. In the early days the Academy group was made up of strong, highly original, sometimes even eccentric men, such as Richard de Charms and Bishop Benade, and the individual flavor is by no means lacking today. The men of the Academy are not types, but individuals. The personality which meets us in the pages of this book is that of a gentleman of the old school, aristocratic, aloof, introverted, and yet urbane and far-reaching in his thought. His interest and wide study in the fields of anthropology and comparative religion broadened his outlook, saving him from the narrow exclusiveness of all too many New-Church scholars. But in his attitude toward biblical criticism and science, he maintained the fundamentalist viewpoint of the old Academy leaders.

466


Where modern research and scholarship differ from Swedenborg, so much the worse for modern research and scholarship!

     The paper on Bishop Benade is particularly valuable as a chapter in New-Church history, shedding light on one of the most obscure and least understood chapters in that history. It is to be hoped that it will be widely read in Convention circles, where that particular chapter is veiled in a cloud of inherited prejudice. Bishop Pendleton wisely leaves the matter of judgment on Bishop Benade to the far distant future, which is the safest place for all judgments, but the facts of the case are fairly stated, and one may form one's own opinion from them.

     In the two addresses, "On the Use and Development of Ritual" and "The Ministry of Blessing," Bishop Pendleton reveals himself as a churchman per se; one might almost say, a Catholic churchman, in his profound belief in the efficacy of the Church as a mediator of spiritual blessings. His viewpoint is so similar to that of the "High Church" Anglican as to be a bit startling. One feels that he would not have been unhappy in the atmosphere of St. John the Divine's! It is in this matter of ritual that the General Church is so different from the Convention, the former being akin to the Episcopal, the latter to the Congregational forms of worship. His conception of the function of the priesthood borders on the mystical; witness the following statement: "The mediated passing of the Holy Spirit through the priesthood, by virtue of its ordainment, its consecration, its power of representation, and its exercise of charity in teaching truth, is in keeping with the ancient significance of the priesthood as the spiritually first-born, or the ministry of charity." It is through the priestly blessing that the Paraclete is able to shed His peace and joy upon the faithful. This is in complete accord with the Roman and Anglican views.

     Many members of the Convention will be surprised to find that in matters of theology this Academy Bishop is not so far apart from them as they may have supposed, since the doctrinal differences between the two bodies of the New Church have been exaggerated by both sides. It is only the modernists who will find cause for serious disagreement. It has always seemed to at least one student of New-Church history that the barriers between the two bodies are no more serious in reality than those between the Presbyterian and Episcopal Churches, which are now at work on a plan of union which will leave both parties free to continue with their own forms of organization and worship while enjoying the strength and mutual comfort of unity on, at least, the essentials of Christian doctrine.

467


It would be a happy day if such a union could be brought about in the New Church, and perhaps a careful study of Bishop Pendleton's doctrinal essays might be useful to this end. At least they prove that there is nothing so very dreadful about the "Academy viewpoint"!

     On the inspirational side the book deserves high praise. Even one who is not a New Churchman may derive considerable benefit from it. In this connection the three short essays, "The Evil of Hatred," "The Avoidance of Temptation" and "On Providence," are especially appealing, breathing, as they do, a genuine "New-Church sphere" of serenity, charity, and faith. In his extemporaneous remarks at the Eleventh Ontario District Assembly, 1916, the Bishop says: "Keep the spirit of hatred out of your hearts! Do justice to your enemies; even if you have to fight them, yet do them justice. The biggest thing a man can do is not to besmirch his enemies. Preserve the spiritual ideals and spiritual standards of the New Churchman. Remember that the Lord has placed these people here. They all have their uses. Discipline must come to the evil. But when discipline has been administered, then let each man go ahead to perform his true, destined uses." One cannot help but think how different a world we would be living in today if the Treaty of Versailles had been framed in such a spirit!
BOOKS RECEIVED 1939

BOOKS RECEIVED              1939

     Was lehrt die Neue Kirche? ("What Does the New Church Teach?") A Brief Survey of the Doctrine of the New Church and the Life of Emanuel Swedenborg. By Ad. L. Goerwitz. Zurich: Swedenborg-Verlag. Paper, 120 pages. Illustrated.

     The New Church and Its Teachings. By the Rev. Charles Newall, B.A. London: New Church Missionary and Tract Society, 1939. Paper, 26 pages, threepence.

468


STATUS OF THE WRITINGS 1939

STATUS OF THE WRITINGS       ERIK SANDSTROM       1939

     UNITY OF THOUGHT IN THE GENERAL CHURCH.

Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:
     Upon reading Mr. Conrad Howard's sincere paper on "What I Believe and Some Reasons Why," published in your July issue of this year, I feel moved to stress the unity of thought in the General Church in regard to essentials. The paper, however, referring to the status of the Writings, speaks of "totally different outlooks" and "differences which are fundamental" within the Church (p. 313); and on p. 312 we find the remark that "to the casual observer, there appears to be a unity of thought on this keystone of our faith in the General Church, yet in reality this is far from being the case." The author then cites certain leaders of thought for illustration of this remark.

     Let us not, however, commingle inessential varieties of interpretation with fundamental differences. Not only "the casual observer," but also the careful investigator, may See that all in the General Church are united in the faith that the truths of the Writings are set forth directly in the literal language itself, and that these truths are, singly and collectively, from the Lord's own mouth; wherefore the Writings everywhere speak with Divine Authority. On this essential all are agreed; and, among men who hold to it together, there can logically be no fundamental differences on this matter. For beneath essentials there are not other essentials, but particulars, or varieties. An examination of the opinions cited by the author will illustrate this matter. There is variety of interpretation, but all are agreed on the essential thing.

469




     In this connection it may be pointed out, for the sake of comparison, that the Conference-Convention attitude and the Hague position do differ fundamentally from the faith of the General Church in regard to the status of the Writings, for neither of the first-mentioned bodies would subscribe to this faith, such as it is essentially.

     I would suggest, too, that the generally known varieties of interpretation are all allowed by the Divine Providence for the sake of the good of the Church. For there are some minds who will be guarded from fatal misapplications by the assertion that the Writings are only to be regarded as the Internal Sense of the Word, whereas others will be better helped by being told that the Writings do have a literal sense, in which, however, the light of heaven, or the spiritual sense, everywhere plainly shines forth. And so with other inessential differences of opinion. It may be that these differences will gradually be gathered up in one dominating view; but so long as they exist side by side in a number, and there are followers, it may be believed that they are of service, and not to be regretted.

     Finally, if I may take this opportunity to say that, whereas it is proper and right that truth and the intellect should dominate so long as struggle and controversy last, so it is proper that the emphasis should afterwards be shifted over to the application of truth to life. This is what grants the truth of peace. Moreover, there is no better way, and indeed in the end no other way, of confirming with oneself a true understanding of what is meant by the Writings having Divine Authority than to submit one's thinking and doing under the authority of their sacred teachings.
     ERIK SANDSTROM.
          Kortebo, Sweden, August 9, 1939.
DISTRIBUTION OF THE BIBLE 1939

DISTRIBUTION OF THE BIBLE              1939

     During the past year the British and Foreign Bible Society has added nine new versions to the list of languages and dialects in which the Society issues the Sacred Scriptures in whole or in part. The total now is 732. Of the nine added, three are for Asia, five for Africa, and one for the West Arctic Eskimos of North America. In the last twelve months the Society has distributed 11,000,000 copies of its editions of the Bible.

470


Church News 1939

Church News       Various       1939

     BRYN ATHYN.

     The Bishop's Return.

     Arriving from abroad on August 29, Bishop de Charms was warmly welcomed by a large gathering of Bryn Athyn members on the following evening, when they were privileged to hear from the Bishop a most interesting and entertaining account of his activities in Europe.

     He had presided at a highly successful British Assembly, a Report of which appears on pp. 476-478 of this issue. In addition to his stay of some days in London and Colchester, he visited many of the isolated members and groups of the General Church in England. Later he spent several days with the Society at The Hague, and afterwards, in the company of Dr. Iungerich, went to Paris and met our members there.

     THE HAGUE, HOLLAND.

     Visit by the Bishop.

     During the week following the British Assembly, held at Colchester August 5-7, Bishop de Charms made the voyage to Holland in the company of Dr. Iungerich, who was returning from the Assembly. They arrived at The Hague on Friday, August 11th.

     After an early breakfast with Mr. and Mrs. Bulthuis and a call on Miss Helderman, the Bishop was welcomed at the pastor's home with a luncheon at which Miss Francis was glad to be present. The afternoon was reserved for those who wished to see the Bishop at his hotel, and Mr. Beijerinck took the opportunity to pay him a visit. The Francis family was happy to have our guest for dinner, which they took in a hotel in Rijswijk near their house.

     In the evening, an official reception was tendered the Bishop at the Francis home, and thirteen persons attended. Recalling the former visit of the Bishop, Mr. Francis gave a brief review of the history of our society, after which Bishop de Charms favored us with a talk on the subject of his Presidential Address to the British Assembly, to which we listened with intense interest. He spoke on "The Uses of the Church," comparing the uses of the individual, of a group, and of the church as a whole. The first uses, being the most important, regard the establishing of the church in man, and consist of reading the Word, worshipping the Lord, and applying the doctrines of the church in every day life. But, in addition to the uses of the individual, of which he is conscious, and for which he is responsible, there are thousands of uses performed by the Lord, of which man is not conscious, and for which he is not responsible. Thus the uses of men, though necessary to the Lord's operation, cannot build the Church; the Lord alone can do this. The Bishop then developed the remaining phases of his subject, and his clear explanations and systematic treatment impressed us all, and not the least two visiting friends who were present.

     At the conclusion of this splendid address, wine was served and a toast was offered to Bishop and Mrs. de Charms. Then Dr. Iungerich gave us a full account of his visit to England, and we greatly enjoyed hearing about this big overseas event. And so came to an end an evening which had been very instructive to all.

     The next day, Mr. Engeltjes took the two priests on a sight seeing tour, and they visited Kijkduin, a suburb of The Hague at the seaside, where the morning passed very pleasantly in beautiful weather.

471


In the afternoon, the Bishop received a friend newly interested in the New Church, and in the evening we were guests of the Bishop at an excellent dinner, seventeen being present, each one finding at his place a card which had been appropriately decorated by Mrs. Iungerich.

     An animated mood prevailed, and at the conclusion of the dinner our pastor spoke an opening word, to be followed by a speech from the Bishop, who dealt with the importance of having a visiting head of the Church, not a mystical, faraway person, but a friend with whom the members of the Church can discuss their problems, and to whom their minds are thus made known. The Bishop was followed by Mr. Francis and Mr. Engeltjes. Other speakers were Mrs. Francis and Mrs. Engeltjes, and Miss Helderman read to us a passage of the Apocalypse Explained in English with a later Dutch translation. Miss Hetty Engeltjes kindly provided for a musical interlude, and standing around the table we sang to her piano accompaniment the American and Dutch national anthems. Coffee was then served, and with the singing of "Our Glorious Church" this fine evening came to a close. We are very thankful to the Bishop for his warm and gracious hospitality.

     On Sunday a very solemn and beautiful service of worship awaited us, with the Bishop and Dr. Iungerich on the chancel. First, we were most pleasantly surprised by the baptism of Miss Vincent, who had wished to keep her entrance into the Church a secret until the last moment. The Bishop officiated in this sacrament of baptism. Our pastor read the three Lessons: Psalm 25, John 10, and the Laws of Providence from the Apocalypse Explained. The sermon was delivered by the Bishop, and an attentive congregation listened with deep interest to his explanation of the words of Psalm 25:5; "Lead me in Thy truth, and teach me; for Thou art the God of my salvation; on Thee do I wait all the day," which treat of the internal desire to be led by the Lord which man must have, and his careful observation of the indications of Providence, which must be followed, even if they go contrary to our own will. The Holy Supper was administered to 13 communicants. We departed from this service much strengthened and moved.

     The Bishop had luncheon at the Francis home, and there was a lively discussion of a number of subjects relative to the life and doctrines of the church, this preceding the council meeting in the afternoon. At 5.30, a taxi took the Bishop to the home of Mr. Engeltjes, our treasurer, where a tasty dinner awaited them, served amidst lovely floral decorations, and everyone had a very nice time. Later some pictures were taken in the garden, and a social evening followed.

     And so came the end of the, for us, delightful visit of the Bishop, which will be kept in our remembrance and in the annals of the society always.
     LAMBERTINE FRANCIS.

     KITCHENER, ONTARIO.

     Last season's activities closed in June with the celebration of New Church Day. The Holy Supper was administered on Sunday, June 18, and on Monday, June 19, a luncheon was provided for the children on the school grounds and followed by out-door games.

     In the evening a banquet was held. Mr. Gill, as toastmaster, spoke first of feasts of charity and their use, and pointed out that man, being ruled by his understanding, may come into an attitude of criticism; there is a great use, therefore, in coming together to share our thoughts and affections with others, especially when these pertain to things of the church. In concluding his remarks he reminded us that we must be firm in internals, but yielding in externals. He then introduced in turn six speakers. The first five spoke on the subject: "What is my idea of the Church, and what does the Church mean to me?"

472


In each case the thoughts expressed were the speakers' own ideas, given without reference to the Writings. Starting with some of our young folk, and working up in age, we finally heard one of our older members speak on the subject of the General Church. The idea and thoughts expressed were most interesting, and caused us all to reflect on the meaning which the Church has to us as individuals.

     In the last week of June we had the great pleasure of a visit from the Rev. Norman Reuter. It was not quite a year since we bade Mr. and Mrs. Reuter adieu. We regretted he had not been able to bring Mrs. Reuter with him, but we were very glad to see his own smiling face again. He stayed with us for three days, and then proceeded to Toronto to attend the Sons' Meetings. A society picnic was held on the school grounds, providing an opportunity for all, old and young, to greet our good friend.

     During the summer we have had visitors from various centers of the church, and there were quite a few teas and get-togethers, especially for the ladies. From the greatest distance came Miss Muriel Gill, of Colchester, England. Five of our young people are leaving shortly for Bryn Athyn to attend school.

     Our Day School opened again on September 5th. Owing to the resignation of Miss Anna Heinrichs from our teaching staff, Miss Phyllis Schnarr has been appointed to take over the work. Miss Schnarr completed her training for teacher in Bryn Athyn last June. Knowing Phyllis, as we do, we are certain that she will bring plenty of enthusiasm and interest to her job. Miss Phillis Cooper has charge of grades 1, 2, 4, 5, and Miss Schnarr has grades 6 and 8, there being no pupils for grades 3 and 7. Religious instruction is given by Mr. Gill to all grades, and he also has classes in Civics with some grades. Mr. Rogers will have a physical training class with the older boys. Four pupils graduated from our school in June, and with the opening of this term three new pupils have started, bringing the enrollment to 39.

     There is a general stir of activity in the society with the opening of the Fall season, and we look forward to a happy and useful Winter.
     D. K.

     TORONTO, CANADA.

     The months of June and July were surprisingly busy ones. Foremostly, about seventy men from all the surrounding centers arrived on June 30, to attend the annual Sons of the Academy meetings held here. From such glimmerings of the meetings as met the feminine ear and eye, they were most successful in attendance, purpose and result. However, a more detailed report of them appears elsewhere,

     A wedding is always the occasion for glad festivity, and so it was with delight that we attended the marriage ceremony of Mr. Beverley Carter and Miss Dorothy McCracken, and wished them joy and happiness at a brief reception in the social hall. Two weeks previously, Dorothy was the recipient of many pretty and useful gifts when she found a "pot of gold" at the foot of the rainbow; for such was the plan of the shower given her by the Ladies' Circle. Dorothy and Beverley are making their home in Toronto.

     The school closing in June was simple but delightful. The thirteen pupils contributed individually and collectively in song and story to a short program. Regret was felt and expressed that Miss Doris Raymond, our teacher, was unable to be present due to illness. In the emergency, Miss Zoe Gyllenhaal has given most generously of her time, particularly since Easter, to the little school, and it is the hope of one and all that Miss Doris will make a speedy and complete recovery. The pupils presented bouquets of flowers to Miss Zoe, Mrs. Joseph Pritchard, and Miss Edina Carswell, as a token of appreciation of their time and talent, the two latter ladies helping with the singing.

     June Nineteenth was suitably celebrated with a lovely Sunday morning service, and in the evening of the same day a banquet was attended by a large group of people.

473


After partaking of an excellently provided repast, there followed a formal program of toasts, songs and speeches, the latter being ably delivered by Messrs. Lawrence Izzard and John Parker and Mrs. Frank Longstaff.

     In the absence of our pastor who, with Mr. Otho Heilman, is visiting the isolated members of the General Church in the Canadian Northwest, it is again our pleasure to have the Rev. Bjorn Boyesen ministering to us during the Summer months. Mr. Boyesen, who was here last Summer, has soon "fallen into the stride," and is a welcome visitor in all our homes.
     M. S. P.

     SONS OF THE ACADEMY.

     In Retrospect.

     As in former years, the Annual Meeting of the Sons of the Academy proved to be a source of real inspiration. Besides the details of thoughts and events-of which there is an excellent record in the last issue of The Bulletin-a sense of responsibility is what primarily remains. Within it reside that affection of the Church, and that incitement to individual and communal progress in her affairs, which it is the first purpose of the Sons to encourage and sustain.

     The various addresses delivered in the course of the meetings afforded an opportunity to restate and reconsider the purpose and work of the Academy as the educational arm of the General Church.

     Of special interest were the presentation and discussion of the "Tuition Saving Stamp Plan" and the "Parent Loan Plan," which represented two novel suggestions for extending the benefits of New Church education to a larger number of young people within the Church. Although only the first of these was received favorably and accepted, it was clear that the latter plan also represents a sincere endeavor in the right direction. If the spirit behind it is allowed to grow and be perfected, the inevitable result will be that of assuring and increasing the efficacy of the Academy and the Church.

     With reference to the social high-lights it is difficult to say whether the Saturday luncheon or the banquet in the evening of the same day left the stronger impression. At the former, the entertainment was entirely of the lighter sort, creating that congenial sphere which stimulates cooperation in more serious affairs. At the latter, we had the added attraction of the ladies' presence. Mr. Theodore Bellinger as toastmaster created a sphere of unusual spontaneity by calling unexpectedly upon some of the Sons to propose and respond to various toasts. Interesting and thoughtful speeches were delivered by Messrs. Robert Brown, Wilfred Howard, and the Rev. Norman Reuter, who spoke on various phases of the subject of education.

     Another welcome feature was few hours' relaxation on Sunday afternoon at the Toronto Community Property, which was duly inspected and admired. Here the happy faces of the sons and daughters of the Academy were perpetuated in both living and motionless pictures under the able supervision of Mr. Michael Pitcairn and other enthusiastic photographers.

     The hosts and hostesses of the Toronto Society are still commenting upon their great pleasure at having the opportunity to entertain in their homes their spiritual relatives from various centers of the Church.

     A fitting climax to the meetings was provided by the Bishop's address on "The Relation of the General Church and the Academy."

     The essential use and pleasure of the Sons' Meetings may be summed up in these words from the Bishop's remarks which closed the banquet on Saturday night: "And so it seems to me that the greatest use of these annual gatherings is to bring together people from various centers of the Church, to meet one another, to face together the problems of the Church and our Academy, and to learn by free and open discussion to think together and to live together.

474


If we do that, through our reception of the all-uniting Truth of God, then, I say, our Church will grow in strength and in unity under the Providence of the Lord."
     B. A. H. B.

     DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

     The campaign in the Middle West, temporarily halted during the Summer, was actively resumed on Saturday, August 26, when the Rev. Norman Reuter, Visiting Pastor, arrived in Detroit to inaugurate the Fall and Winter season. An attendance of 32 at the service on Sunday included three visitors whom we were very happy to have with us: Mr. and Mrs. Daric Acton and Mr. Ed. Bostock, guests of Mr. and Mrs. Geoffrey Childs at Saginaw. The sermon theme was "Divine Omniscience," the text being Psalm 139:1, 2. The sacrament of the Holy Supper was administered to 23 communicants.

     During this service we were again greatly disturbed by street noises, and by loud voices in an adjoining room. This gave added impetus to the movement to acquire or erect a building suitable for the present needs of our activities. In the meantime we are changing the hour of meeting from 12:00 to 2:00 o'clock. For the present this will necessitate eliminating the collation which has been a feature of all our Sunday meetings. Our pastor spent much of the following day driving around Detroit and environs in a fruitless search for more suitable quarters. We then decided upon the change of hour as being the best way of solving the problem until we can acquire our own building.

     Well-attended doctrinal classes were conducted by Mr. Reuter on the evenings of Saturday and Tuesday. He also visited the Bellinger family at Riverside, Ontario, and held a class for children at Detroit.

     In the marriage of Miss Muriel Childs, of Saginaw, to Mr. Leon S. Rose of New York City, which was solemnized at the Bryn Athyn Cathedral on July 20, our group suffered the loss of a valued member. This, of course, we regret, but our very best wishes are extended for the future happiness of this popular couple, whom we hope to have as visitors to our meetings in the not far distant future.

     And now we hear rumors of plans for another wedding to take place in our group before very long. This time we are not going to lose a member; in fact, we are hoping to gain one. More news of this happy event when we are permitted to give particulars. In the meantime there are no restrictions on guessing.
     W. W. W.

     GLENVIEW, ILLINOIS.

     July and August have been very active months with us, bringing many welcome visitors to our Park. Here is a partial list-impartially compiled: Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Wiedinger of Akron, Ohio; Miss Creda Glenn; Mr. Otho Heilman; Miss Dorothy Burnham; Miss Vida Gyllenhaal; Mr. And Mrs. Richard Gladish; Mr. Ormond Odhner; Mr. Nathan Pitcairn-all of Bryn Athyn; the Misses Clara, Helena and Johanna Boericke, of Philadelphia; Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal, of Toronto; and Mr. and Mrs. Robert Blackman, of Irvington, New Jersey.

     On the evening of July 14 we held a summer Friday Supper, and after the meal Miss Creda Glenn gave us a most interesting talk on the revised Liturgy. And at the service on Sunday the 23rd we used this book for the first time. We like the new Liturgy.

     The Immanuel Church deeply appreciates the gift of thirty-five copies of this Liturgy from the son of a former pastor of this church, the late Bishop Bostock. This gift is a fitting memorial of his services as pastor, and will always be so treasured.

     About one hundred people came to an old-fashioned Corn Supper, held outside the buildings on Saturday, August 5th. After dark, around a huge log fire, Mr. Jesse Stevens entertained us with his violin, playing many of the old songs-with much vocal accompaniment!

475




     The Rev. Frederick Gyllenhaal preached for us on Sunday, August 20, and Candidate Ormond Odhner on the two following Sundays, our pastor, Mr. Smith, taking this opportunity to enjoy a vacation.

     The Glenview Sons of the Academy entertained Mr. Gyllenhaal at their regular supper on August 20. After the tables had been removed, and the ladies had arrived, Mr. Gyllenhaal gave us an account of his pastoral visits in the Canadian Northwest. His account was followed by interesting sidelights from Mr. Otho Heilman. We got the impression from Mr. Gyllenhaal that he was exceedingly fortunate in having Otho as a traveling companion!

     On August 27, the Sons held a special supper meeting in honor of Mr. Richard Gladish, who read us a paper on certain phases of Education. We thought it so excellent that a motion was made and carried "instructing" the editor of the Bulletin to publish, it!

     A new house is going up in the Park. Mr. John Gyllenhaal is building on a fine lot between the old Burnham residence and the Manse. We wish him and his family many happy years in their new home.

     And lest you think we've been living on social life alone here are extracts from recent sermons by our pastor, for whose spiritual guidance we have profound respect:

     On Regeneration: "But let us remember this, as our concluding thought-that the states of regeneration are happy. A man is indefinitely more happy in the effort to do what he thinks the Lord's will to be than at any other time. In fact, this is the happiness of heaven, which men in the world cannot even imagine, because the Lord's life produces it, but of which He sometimes gives us a foretaste when we are truly forgetful of ourselves from the love of some use. This is the 'bread of heaven.' The Lord grant that we may progress more and more in regeneration,-though how far we can never know. But the life of regeneration is the happy life; this we can know, for the Lord has said so, and His Word is truth."

     On the building of a true church in the proprium of man: "Whether it is the planning and preparing for a career or occupation, or in managing a business, or keeping a house, or rearing and caring for a family, or in studying a subject, or teaching a subject, or reading a book, or taking a vacation, or engaging in some sport or recreation, or in buying or selling, in making things for use, in ministering to the health of our bodies, or in doing any of the countless things, great or small, which take up our time,-none of these is good unless the Lord is in them; that is, unless there is on our part the attitude and purpose to fulfill His will, and not merely our own. He who consults his own will alone, without thought of the Lord, is spiritually in a deep sleep. His life is like a lifeless bone or rib in his slumbering breast, which must be taken out and built into a woman."
     H. P. McQ.

     DURBAN, NATAL.

     At this time of year our Society enjoys a very busy and interesting series of church and social events. In July the School has a month's holiday, but services and doctrinal classes are maintained.

     Unfortunately our pastor was indisposed for several weeks, but has now fully recovered. During his absence we had the pleasure of hearing the Rev. F. W. Elphick at services on two Sunday mornings and one evening. He delivered two sermons on the text, "The kingdom of God is within you," and one on the words, "Come unto me, all ye that labor."

     In the absence of the pastor, the Ladies Class read articles from the Parents and Teachers Journal. These proved extremely interesting, and aroused a great deal of discussion. The classes are well attended, and Mr. Odhner is now reading from the Divine Providence.

476


The classes for young people are also well attended and thoroughly enjoyed.     

     It is a pleasure to record that the attendance at the Wednesday doctrinal classes is improving. For some weeks the pastor has been giving lectures from Bishop W. F. Pendleton's h work, The Science of Exposition. The question of adopting the revised Liturgy has also been discussed, and a special meeting has been called to consider whether it will be advisable to do so. A generous offer to provide forty copies for society use has been received.

     Mrs. Rouillard, an active member of the New Church in Mauritius, has come to visit her daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. X. Gersigney, and we are very happy to have her with us once more.
     B. R. F.

     32d BRITISH ASSEMBLY.

     Colchester, August 5-7, 1939.

     To the great benefit of the Church in this country, the Bishop of the General Church was able to make the long voyage and preside over our Assembly. In more ways than we shall detail here his presence was a source of sure guidance and deep inspiration to all present, and his visits to various places in England brought help to many not able to attend. Many times during and after the Assembly the thought was expressed that it was one of the best we have ever had.

     In addition to a large attendance from this country, there were visitors from abroad, among whom were: Dr. Iungerich from The Hague; the Rev. Gustaf Baeckstrom, Stockholm; Mrs. Viola Ridgway, on her way from Bryn Athyn to South Africa; Mr. Alexander Lindsay, Jr., Pittsburgh; Mr. and Mrs. Fred Cooper, Mrs. E. S. Hyatt, and the Misses Ora and Nancy Pendleton and Florence Potts, of Bryn Athyn.

     When the President had opened the First Session, and the Minutes had been accepted, the Assembly welcomed with hearty applause the reading of the Messages of greeting and encouragement which had been received from societies, groups and individuals in Sweden, France, Holland, Canada, Australia, the United States, and England.

     Bishop de Charms then delivered his Presidential Address on "The Uses of the Church," which is to appear serially in NEW CHURCH LIFE. The Address was discussed by Rev. E. E. Iungerich, Right Rev. R. J. Tilson, Messrs. Fred Cooper and James Pryke, Rev. Gustaf Baeckstrom, Miss E. H. Spalding, Messrs. Fred Waters and Conrad Howard, and Rev. A. Wynne Acton. The Bishop made a brief but telling reply.

     The Service on Sunday morning included the Holy Supper, with Bishop de Charms as celebrant. The Rev. A. Wynne Acton preached the sermon, Bishop Tilson read the first two Lessons, and the Rev. V. J. Gladish assisted in the service. The sermon was an instructive and living exhortation on Revelation 3:20, and the sphere of worship throughout was deeply moving. The attendance was 140, with nearly 100 communicants.     

     At the Second Session, on Sunday evening, the Rev. Gustaf Baeckstrom gave an address on "The Lost Paradise and The One That is Found." Before delivering the address, Mr. Baeckstrom thanked the British Assembly for bringing him out of his isolation, which he said was "not a splendid one." One after another, in a long line, the hearers rose to express the delight they had experienced in listening to the beautiful and eloquent address, and to thank the essayist for the pearls of wisdom which they had gained from the unfolding of correspondences in a historic sweep. In his reply, Mr. Baeckstrom spoke in explanation of the object of his paper, and in feeling appreciation of the response which it had elicited.

     The Third Session, on Monday morning, was a special meeting to consider the growth and progress of the General Church in Great Britain, and the steps needed to further its interests.

477


After opening remarks by the President, a Report on the "Extension Work" was read by the pro tem Chairman of the British Finance Committee of the General Church, the Rev. V. J. Gladish. Then followed a report by the Editor of the "Monthly News Letter," the Rev. A. Wynne Acton. On motion, these were received and filed. The Treasurer of the British Finance Committee, Mr. Colley Pryke, read his Report, which had been sent before the Assembly to members of the Church and specific contributors to "Extension Uses." On motion, the Secretary cast a unanimous ballot that this report be accepted. There was an appreciative discussion of the reports, the first two of which will be published in the "News Letter," copies of which are sent to every Society of the General Church.

     The General Church in England.

     Bishop de Charms then addressed the Assembly on the present situation of the General Church in England, the immediate steps desirable for its welfare and progress, and the indications of Providence which he saw for the development of a wider and more inclusive attitude, and a more unified direction of the work in this country. He set forth three indications for a new step, with more direct and unified control of the work in England: (1) The signs of strengthening and growth manifested by the ministrations to those distant from the London and Colchester Societies performed by the Rev. W. Cairns Henderson before his urgent call to Australia; (2) The retirement of Bishop Tilson; (3) The bequest left by Mr. R. W. Anderson for the support of the work of the General Church as a whole in this country. These three indications had led him last March to send to the members of the Church here the letter in which he had laid before them a proposal that he appoint a priest to come to England as his "Representative in Charge of Extension Work." Recently it had developed that the man whom the Bishop had found suitable for such an appointment, the Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal, was not at present available, because of the immediate needs of the Toronto Society. The Bishop therefore proposed that he send the Rev. Bjorn Boyesen to carry on extension work for a period of one year, after which he would go to Norway and Sweden where he was greatly needed, language requirements making him the only man available for that field. The plan was that Mr. Boyesen should work in cooperation with the Pastors of the London and Colchester Societies, and be supported by the funds received and administered by the British Finance Committee.

     But the Bishop asked the Church in Great Britain to look beyond this temporary arrangement for the ensuing year to the fulfilment of the larger and more progressive Plan which he had heretofore suggested and had now explained in greater detail. That is, that the Church look forward to the hope and prospect of receiving and supporting in every sense a man whose chief responsibility would be the overseeing and coordinating of the whole work of the General Church in this country. Such a step was not calculated to lessen the freedom of any priest or layman, but was designed to increase both freedom and order, and should effect a closer cooperation in England with the government of the Executive Bishop of the Church. Successive steps or order and proper subordination in the priesthood led to these desirable things, because they belonged to the trinal order which is of Divine Law. If the people of England agreed with the conception the Bishop had expressed, and the successive steps which is he had outlined, he would do his best to fulfill them at the first opportunity, according to the indications of Providence. If they disagreed, he wished them to say so freely. He had no intention to force that which they did not wish, nor hurry that for which they were not prepared. He could not now be certain whether Mr. Gyllenhaal would be available at the end of this year for appointment as the Bishop's Representative, nor whether some other man would be available, but he wished also to look forward to and plan for the fulfilment of such a progressive step as soon as Providence opened to us an avenue.

478




     First, he asked for an expression on his proposal to send the Rev. Bjorn Boyesen for a period of one year. Then he desired expression on how far the coordination and supervision of the work after a year would be welcomed. Also, he would like to hear whether they would welcome the appointment of Mr. Gyllenhaal to such a use, if he can come.

     The Bishop's presentation and proposals were fully and frankly discussed over a considerable period of time by more than a dozen speakers, some of whom spoke more than once. The consensus was that the appointment of the Rev. Mr. Boyesen to assist in the work here during the coming year would be heartily welcomed. The conception set forth of the need for greater cooperation and unity was likewise accepted, and the wisdom of the Bishop's proposals for the future coordination of the work was admitted. There were differences of opinion as to how far and how fast this coordination and centralization should proceed. There were also differences of opinion as to who could best fulfill the post envisaged. But all spoke in appreciation of the Bishop's clear delineation of the situation and the orderly means of strengthening the arm of the Church in this country. Even those who spoke for careful and deliberate measures, so that susceptibilities might not be injured and states hastened, yet offered cooperation with his plans and agreed to support any priest who might be appointed to represent the Bishop. Thus the final session closed on a note of active and sincere response to the Bishop's leadership.

     An outing was held on Monday afternoon at Dobson's Meadow, which was actively enjoyed by the children and a very large proportion of the adults. This picnic was in the nature of an experiment, since nothing similar had been done for many years, although it had long been talked of and asked for. In spite of the finish in a downpour of rain, it would appear that the vigorous labors of the outing committee were crowned with success, not only because each of the children got a prize, but also because of the hearty fun and the sphere of New Church good fellowship which reigned.

     The Social on Monday evening was a huge success. The ardently working committee had secured the active cooperation of nearly all the young people in the Society, and had drafted gifted entertainers from other parts of the Church. Space does not allow for a full account of the performers and their delightful entertainment.

     The toast list with which the Assembly concluded was presided over by Mr. John Cooper, whose program brought forth a deeply moving address by Bishop de Charms, a masterly paper by Mr. Baeckstrom, and a delightful talk by Mr. Fred Cooper making real the stages by which one may grow into the life of the Church.

     On the day before the Assembly opened the "Assembly Club" met in London,-a men's meeting of New Church Club members and their guests who had come for the Assembly. The Rev. Dr. Iungerich delivered an address on "Truth Alone is Finite and Condemns," which was at once challenging and stimulating, and aroused a most interesting discussion.

     The British Chapter of the Sons of the Academy met on Sunday afternoon, with Mr. J. S. Pryke presiding, and heard from Mr. Fred J. Cooper an interesting account of the Sons' Meetings at Toronto. This led to an active discussion of the question as to how funds can be raised for scholarships.
     VICTOR J. GLADISH,
          Secretary.

479


ONTARIO DISTRICT ASSEMBLY 1939

ONTARIO DISTRICT ASSEMBLY       Rev. ALAN GILL       1939




     Announcements.




     Members and friends of the General Church of the New Jerusalem are cordially invited to attend the Twenty-sixth Ontario District Assembly, to be held at the Olivet Church, Toronto, from Saturday, October 7, to Monday, October 9, 1939, Bishop Acton presiding.

     Intending visitors are requested to communicate with Mrs. J. Knight, 177 Parkside Drive, Toronto, Canada.
     REV. ALAN GILL,
          Secretary.
CHICAGO DISTRICT ASSEMBLY 1939

CHICAGO DISTRICT ASSEMBLY              1939

     GLENVIEW, ILL., OCTOBER 13-15, 1939.

Friday, October 13.-Banquet. Mr. Sydney E. Lee, toastmaster.

Saturday, October 14.
     3.30 p.m.-A Talk on Education by Bishop de Charms.
     8.00 p.m.-Session: "Civil Good and Truth," by Rev. Gilbert H. Smith; "Intellectual Truth," by Rev. Morley D. Rich.

Sunday, October 15.
     11.00 a.m.-Divine Worship and the Holy Supper.
     8.00 p.m.-Episcopal Address by Bishop George de Charms. Accommodations gladly provided for all visitors.
CHARTER DAY 1939

              1939

     All ex-students of the Academy of the New Church are cordially invited to attend the Charter Day Exercises, to be held at Bryn Athyn, Pa., on Friday and Saturday, October 20 and 21, 1939.
     At the Cathedral Service on Friday at 11.00 a.m., the Rev. Dr. C. E. Doering will deliver the Address.

     On Friday afternoon there will be a Football Game, and on Friday evening a Dance.

     This year, the Banquet will be held on Saturday evening-in the Assembly Hall at 7.00 p.m.-and Mr. Ralph Klein will be toastmaster.

     Those expecting to attend are requested to communicate with Miss Celia Bellinger, Bryn Athyn, Pa., in order that arrangements may be made for their entertainment.

481


USES OF THE CHURCH 1939

USES OF THE CHURCH        GEORGE DE CHARMS       1939


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LIX      NOVEMBER, 1939          No. 11
     IV. Society Uses.

     Individual uses, essential as they are, cannot permanently be maintained, nor can they find adequate expression and fulfillment, unless they are supplemented by society uses. The gifts that we receive immediately from the Lord by individual reading and study are given to the end that they may be shared with others. The Lord's love is a love of all mankind; and this love, when received by man, cannot but produce in him charity, or love toward the neighbor. Charity is the desire to give of ourselves for the benefit of others, to seek to impart happiness to others, and to rejoice in their happiness. The joy of receiving heavenly gifts of truth and good from the Lord lies not in keeping these things for ourselves, but in using them to promote the end of the Lord's love-the end of a heaven from the human race. It lies in using these gifts for spiritual service to the neighbor. This is the joy of heaven, and it requires association with others.

     Furthermore, illustration is received through the medium of spirits and angels present with us in the other world. And the degree of this illustration depends upon our contact with various societies in that world. It depends upon the extension of our thoughts and affections to those who perceive different facets of the many-sided truth set forth in the Writings. And such extension is increased according to the variety of our associations in this world, since each individual here is surrounded by different spirits, according to his state and his personality.

482




     One who reads the Word in isolation, brooding over its meaning within himself, judging of its content from his own limited experience alone, cannot but derive from it a one-sided concept. Nor can this be corrected except by contact with others-by comparison of his own conclusions with theirs, and thus by modifications that produce a more balanced view. The hermit almost invariably becomes a crank, possessed of one idea which dominates all others, and which assumes a position in his mind out of all proportion to other concepts that are necessary to modify it in accord with a deeper truth.

     Our individual understanding of the Word, our individual attainment of heavenly intelligence and wisdom, therefore requires association with others, both in this world and in the life beyond. And to bring about such an association as makes possible this interchange of gifts from the Lord, society uses are necessary.

     What are these uses? They begin with the uses of the family-the relation of husband and wife, of parents and children. The Church must be in the home. The desire to use our knowledge of heavenly truth for the benefit of those dependent upon us, the desire to give of that which the Lord has given to us to those whom we love-this is the essence of the Church in the home. It leads to family worship, to reading the Word together, to conversation and discussion of spiritual subjects, to the instruction and training of children in the things of religion before they can acquire them for themselves. It leads to the application of the principles of the Writings to all things of family life, from a desire that the Lord shall be present in the home, that His truth shall govern there, and His love prevail.

     There is no genuine love of the Church in the individual that will not spontaneously express itself in this endeavor to provide for the spiritual welfare of those we love. Nor can it stop with our natural kin, but it must go forth beyond the confines of the home to all who are spiritually related to us by a common love of the Heavenly Doctrine-to all who, like ourselves, are striving to establish the New Church in their own hearts. With these we have spiritual affinity. They are our brethren, looking to the Lord as the Father of us all. With them, as with no others, we can share the thoughts that are most precious to us. From them we can receive enrichment of spiritual blessings.

483


If we love these things, we will desire to associate with others who love them, with others who will understand and respond to our approach with affection.

     An organized circle or society of the Church is nothing but an instrumentality by which the opportunity for such association is given-the opportunity for mutual help and service in the common task of strengthening the tender beginnings of the Church with us. Such an organization provides not only that we may meet with one another, but that we may work together to accomplish ends of use to the Church that cannot be accomplished by ourselves.

     It provides for public worship, in which we derive great increase of strength and inspiration from a more intense sphere. It makes possible public instruction, and discussion of the Writings among a wider circle, such as produces a more general meeting of minds, and a broader outlook. It opens the way for the education of our children under the auspices of the Church, when their intellectual needs are greater than can be supplied effectively in the home. It provides for social contacts in the sphere of the Church, and the strengthening of the bonds of friendship and affection based on community of spiritual faith and purpose; and this, both for ourselves and for our children.

     And in order that these ends may be accomplished, it places before us work to be done,-uses to be performed, inspired by a love of the Church and the desire to give from the abundant store of gifts we ourselves receive from the Lord for the spiritual enrichment of others. In the performance of these uses-if that love is dominant therein-the Lord can immeasurably increase our own capacity to receive love and wisdom from Him.

     All these society uses have reference to those dwelling in a common locality. The organization of the Church with them is but a means by which the essential end and purpose of the Church itself-that is, the individual reception of good and truth from the Word-may be promoted in ways beyond the power of any individual. Wherever there is a genuine love to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor, it cannot but express itself in the support of such an organization, and in the participation of all in its various uses, each according to his ability.

     (To be Concluded.)

484


HARVEST SHEAF 1939

HARVEST SHEAF       Rev. F. E. GYLLENHAAL       1939

     "And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest unto the priest; and he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted for you. On the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it." (Leviticus 23:9-11.)

     Our worship of the Lord today is in remembrance of His blessings, and especially of this year's harvest of the produce of the fields. It is entirely fitting that the fruits of the field are before us in this House of the Lord, for they represent to us the indispensable means by which life from the Lord comes to sustain our physical life, to the end that in sound and vigorous bodies we may prepare mind and spirit for uses in the world and eternal life in heaven. We have offered these fruits to the Lord in humble and grateful acknowledgment of His blessing.

     Think of the wonderful Way in which these fruits have been produced! Men have worked hard in sowing, cultivating, reaping and gathering them. Yet the life in them,-the life which has made them grow,-has come from the Lord alone. And it is that life in them which makes them food for our bodies, coming to us by them for our good, without which we could not live. We have every reason to be thankful to the countless men and women who have produced these fruits with toil and care, but above all should we be thankful to Him who has made them grow.

     Are we not apt to be thoughtless about this, especially in this age when harvests of the earth are brought to us through so many agencies which have no direct part in their production? When every man produced all the food he required for his family and himself, then men, women and children realized more fully than perhaps we can do the truth that their food came from the Lord.

485


But if we take time to think about the production of food now, and its distribution, we surely must feel even greater gratitude to the Lord and to men for our daily bread than does the man who raises all his own food; for the more work and care required deserves our greater gratitude, and especially our deeper awe at the marvelous Providence of the Lord.

     We must not limit our thoughts to the work of men in the production of food. Their work, indeed, should never be forgotten and unappreciated, for it deserves our unstinted gratitude and praise, but it is only a means to the end or purpose of feeding men. Their work is indispensable, it is true, but it would be in vain, if the Lord did not give the life which actually produces the fruits and if He did not give other means for their production. He created the earth and all things on it. He perpetually sustains the earth and its kingdoms. He provides the light and heat and the rains, without which there would be no harvests. It is to Him, then, that our gratitude is supremely due for the fruits of the earth, as well as for all our blessings. Therefore it is altogether fitting that we should acknowledge, at least once a year, our debt to Him for His blessings, so that we may have Him perpetually in our thoughts, and submit to Him in all things of life.

     How is it that people have offered thanks to God for His blessings, even from the most ancient times? What moved the first people to do so, and what has moved people ever since to do so? Did they of themselves think of doing it? How is it with children now? Are they grateful for anything, without being taught and trained to feel and express gratitude? If parents do not require gratitude from their children, and no one else teaches them to express it, will the children themselves ever think of it? Experience teaches us that they will not, parents know that they must begin very early in a child's life to teach him to say "please" and "thank you."

     But why should parents require gratitude? For their own sakes? No, for the child's sake, for his good, to make his character truly noble. An ungrateful child is utterly selfish, and selfishness is destructive of all human associations, and of all contentment and happiness. If this is true of children now, has it not always been true of them, and of adults?

486


We may be sure, then, that people would never have thought of giving thanks to God for His blessings, unless He had taught them to do so, unless He had required it of them, not for His own sake, that He might glory in it, but for their sakes, as a means of making them unselfish, noble characters, fit to associate with one another, and contented and happy.

     And so we should expect to find in all the records of mankind an evidence of the worship of God, and of feasts of thanksgiving for His blessings, as well as for the uses rendered by men to men. We should expect to find this evidence especially in His Word, by which He has made Himself known to men, and has revealed to them the laws which must ever rule their conduct in order that they may have eternal life, and even continue as a human race on the earth. And do we find this evidence?

     The text is one of many examples of it. While the children of Israel were still in the wilderness, God taught Moses that, when they were settled in the land of Canaan, they must go up to Jerusalem at least three times every year to offer up to Him in gratitude for their deliverance from Egypt and for the fruits of the land. And they were to take up with them a harvest offering. "The first of the first-fruits of the land thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord thy God." (Exodus 23:19.)

     There were to be three feasts every year. These feasts were to be, not only worship of God by prayer, song and sacrifice, but also occasions for festal gatherings,-for living, eating, singing, dancing, talking and walking together, that they might learn to know and love one another, and so preserve that charity and good will without which their worship of God would be a vain show and mockery, and their association as a nation and church like a rope of sand. Such mutual love and charity has ever been the only strong and enduring bond of human associations of all kinds, and it has served this purpose only when it has been made living by an acknowledgment and worship of a Supreme Being.

     The priest's waving of the harvest sheaf before the Lord represented the flowing in of life from the Lord with those who by their offering had acknowledged Him as their God, the Source of all life, and their Savior. The Israelites were commanded to offer a harvest sheaf, which the priest was enjoined to wave before the Lord. The same ritual is not required of us, but what it represented is required of us.

487


It represented the acknowledgment of God, and of the life from Him which can be received only in such a state. A like acknowledgment is required of us, but we must acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ as the One God from whom come all our blessings, because the One God showed Himself in the person of Jesus Christ, and has revealed to us plainly that Jesus Christ was, and is, and always will be, the One God.

     This acknowledgment of the Divinity and Deity of Jesus Christ is the Rock on which the true Christian religion and church is founded, and it is the corner stone over which so many people fall, because they are unwilling to make this acknowledgment. Only those who sincerely and genuinely make this acknowledgment can receive life from the Lord in all things of their life. It is the only foundation on which can be built the eternal marriage of a man and a woman, a contented and happy family life, a living church and the kingdom of God.

     This was represented in the Jewish harvest feast, and it has been represented more or less remotely in all harvest religious rituals, because there is no other natural occasion which corresponds as ultimately and powerfully with it. This is made clearer by the fact that the one hundred and forty-four thousand who stood with the Lamb on Mount Zion, as related in the 14th chapter of Revelation, were the first-fruits unto God and the Lamb, and they signify, not so limited a number of souls, but all souls who, as men in the world on earth, acknowledged the Lord Jesus Christ as the One God and thereby are made spiritually alive.

     The fruits of the harvest are among the natural means by which the body is sustained as an organism receptive of life from the Lord. The spiritual things to which they correspond form and sustain the spiritual organism, which consists of soul, spirit and mind, and after death is clothed with its own spiritual body. Hence the Lord said to the tempter, who wanted Him to make bread of stones, "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:3, 4.)

     We must have food for the body, for otherwise we could not live, but such food alone is not enough, even for preserving the natural life of men. The human race would utterly perish, if there were not always at least a few people who believe in God and live by the words from His mouth.

488


Death is concealed in all worldliness and selfishness. We can see how true this is in the world about us, and in our own hearts. Life comes from the Lord alone, but to be worthy of it we must do spiritually a work that is like unto that which the men and women who produced these fruits of the harvest did naturally. And just as these fruits grew and ripened by the inflowing life from the Lord, while men slept or while they were unconscious of the hidden movement, so do the spiritual fruits of a man's life grow and ripen under the auspices of the Lord while we are unconscious of the fact.

     Let us, then, offer our thanks to the Lord Jesus Christ, the One God of heaven and earth, our Creator, Redeemer and Savior, for all the natural and spiritual blessings which He showers upon us; acknowledging Him with a humble heart and spirit as the Source of life, the Sower and Reaper; feeling and expressing our sincere gratitude from love for Him and our fellowmen. And let us count this as one of our chief remembrance days, one of our principal festivals, because it commemorates the Lord as Creator and Provider, and affords us the opportunity, unitedly in charity and good will, to acknowledge Him as such, to confess our great indebtedness to Him, and to make mention also of the services of our fellowmen in producing the fruits of the harvest.

     In so doing, we shall know the spiritual meaning of the Lord's command to the children of Israel, "And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the Lord thy God with a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto the Lord thy God, according as the Lord thy God hath blessed thee. And thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God in the place which the Lord thy God hath chosen to place His name there." (Deuteronomy 16:10, 11) Amen.

     LESSONS: Leviticus 23:1-14; Matthew 13:24-30; A. C. 9296:1-3.
     MUSIC: Hymnal, pages 91, 104, 171, 177. Liturgy, pages 535, 596, 627, 668. Revised Liturgy, pages 560-570.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 87, 116, 201, 205.

489


THANKSGIVING 1939

THANKSGIVING       Rev. F. E. WAELCHLI       1939

     A TALK TO CHILDREN.

     "O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy is forever." (Psalm 107:1; Psalm 136.)

     In several places in the Psalms the Lord gives us these words to be used in worshiping Him.

     In most of your homes you say these words every day before beginning a meal, thanking the Lord for the food which He gives you. When you say those words, do you think of what you are saying and mean it? Are you really thanking the Lord? You yourselves tell why you should thank Him when you say "for He is good." "O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good." His goodness to you is that He gives you your food. If He did not give it, you would not have it. If He did not give it, you would starve. So, indeed, you should thank Him for His goodness to you.

     Why is the Lord so good to you? This you tell when you say "for His mercy is forever." Many things are meant by the Lord's mercy. First of all, it means His love. He is good to you, and gives you your food, because He loves you. Another meaning of His mercy is His pity. He gives you your food because He pities you. He knows that you do not deserve the food, because in so many ways every day you do what is bad and wrong, and in so many ways break His commandments, especially when you disobey your parents, or do what you know they would not want you to do. So you do not deserve that the Lord should give you food. But He pities you, and in His pity and kindness He gives it to you. So this is what the words, "for His mercy is forever," should mean for you.

     In your home the Lord is good to you and merciful not only in giving you your food. He gives you your clothes. He gives you your house.

490


He gives you all things that are in your house. But above all, He gives you your parents. Perhaps someone might think that we should say that the Lord gives you to your parents. That is true. But because that is true, we can also say that the Lord gives your parents to you. And what a great goodness and mercy of the Lord this is! The Lord gives you parents, into whose hearts He puts a love for you. And your parents' love for you is the Lord's love for you coming through your parents. They are in the Lord's place for you. And so for the Lord they provide you with food, and clothes, and all that makes a happy home. And more than this, they teach you the things of the Lord's Word, and lead you to love and worship the Lord, so that you may grow up to be good men and women, and afterwards angels of heaven. So, for everything of your home you should say, "O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy is forever."

     On Thanksgiving Day each year we are to think, not only of the Lord's goodness and mercy to us in each of our homes, but also of His goodness to all people of the country in which we live. All the people of the country are asked to have a special day once a year for giving thanks to the Lord for His goodness to the country. This day comes in the autumn, when the things which are for food have been gathered in from the fields, orchards, vineyards and gardens.

     Now these things which provide food for all the people of the country are given by the Lord. He also gives them everything else they need for comfort, protection, freedom and peace. The Lord makes it to be so that our country is like a parent to its people. For this reason our country is often called the "fatherland"; and sometimes also the "mother country." And our doctrines tell us that one meaning of the commandment, "Honor thy father and thy mother," is that all should love their country; and that when those who have truly loved their country come into the other world, they will then love the Lord's heavenly kingdom. So, thinking of all the good that the Lord in His mercy does to our country, we should say, "O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy is forever."

     But, great as should be our love of our country, there is a love that is greater still. This is love of the church. And for us this means love of the New Church. As the Lord gives food to the country, so does He give food to the church.

491


But it is a higher kind of food. It is not food for the body, but food for our minds and souls. It is food which, if we will receive it from Him, can make us to become angels of heaven. We receive this food from the Lord when we learn from His Word, and then do what we learn. This food the Lord gives because "His mercy is forever." He gives it in His love. Also He gives it in His pity. For He well knows that we do not deserve it. But when He sees that we are trying to live as He wishes us to live, then can He in His mercy give it. And always will He continue to give it, here and afterwards in heaven. And this is meant by the word "forever." "His mercy is forever." Amen.

     LESSON: Psalm 107:1-9.
PEACE OF THE GOLDEN AGE 1939

PEACE OF THE GOLDEN AGE              1939

     "When I wanted to tell the spirits of the planet Jupiter that on this earth there are wars, depredations, and murders, they turned away and were unwilling to hear. It was told me by the angels that the most ancient people on this earth lived like the inhabitants of Jupiter, divided into nations, families, and houses, and that all were content with their own possessions. To grow rich from the goods of others, and to rule from the love of self, were altogether unknown. And for this reason the ancient times, and especially the most ancient, were more acceptable to the Lord than those that followed. And because such was the state of man, innocence also then reigned, and with it wisdom. Everyone did what was good from good, and what was just from justice. They did not know what it was to do good and justice for the sake of honor to self, or for the sake of gain.

     "That these times were happy, was because it never entered anyone's mind to invade another's inheritance, and so to acquire for himself wealth and dominion. Self-love and love of the world were then far removed; everyone rejoiced in his own good, and not less in that of his neighbor.

     "But in the succeeding ages this scene was changed, and turned into the opposite, when' the lust of dominion and of large possessions invaded the mind. Then mankind, for the sake of self-defense, gathered into kingdoms and empires; and as the laws of charity and of conscience, which had been inscribed on the hearts, then ceased to operate, it became necessary to enact laws, in order to restrain violence, under which honors and gains became rewards, and privations of them punishments. When the state of the world was thus changed, heaven removed itself from man, and this more and more even to this age, when it is either unknown or denied that there is a heaven and a hell." (E. U. 49; A. C. 8117, 8118.)

492


LOST PARADISE AND THE ONE THAT IS FOUND 1939

LOST PARADISE AND THE ONE THAT IS FOUND       Rev. GUSTAF BAECKSTROM       1939

     (Delivered at the 32d British Assembly, August 6, 1939.)

     The story of the lost paradise in the beginning of our Bible is the story of how men on our earth ceased to be happy. And the vision of a new paradise that is given us at the end of the Bible is a promise of a new happiness.

     What is it, then, to be happy? In general, people think that they will be happy if they get everything they wish. There will, however, never be a limit to human desires. It may be true that in every certain moment there is a limit to what we want, but as soon as our wishes begin to be fulfilled, new wishes arise, and new ones again. We ask more and more when we ask for ourselves.

     But there is never any happiness in the possession of anything for our own sake, because there is no happiness in selfishness. There is, instead, happiness in giving to others. There is more happiness in giving than in receiving. We become happy only so far as we try to make others happy. And then the more we give the more we receive.

     Everything is really owned by God. All that we have and receive is only a gift from God. God gives to us from His Infinite Love to make us happy. He therefore wants us to make use of His gifts in an unselfish way.

     Thus we are all created for happiness. But happiness is not possible without love, and love is not possible without freedom. Therefore it was necessary that man, in order that he might be able to be happy, should also have free will, free choice, and thus himself be responsible for his own destiny. But such a free choice involved, of necessity, a possibility of abusing the freedom, as well as of using it rightly.

493


God showed man what was best for him, but no man can be compelled to heaven.

     In the old story of the Fall we see how man abused his freedom and went his own ways instead of following the Lord. As in a mirror, we also see ourselves,-our own sad story. We see ourselves in the innocence of childhood, and we see it fade away.

     So once upon a time man lived happy in the present like a child, without any grief for the past or any anxiety for the future. God was then in the center of his life. His mind was as a Paradise in which the Lord made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, and the tree of life in the midst of this garden. This tree of life is the influx of love and wisdom from God, from which are the inmost powers of light and life in the mind of him who is created anew by the Lord. It is the source and cause of all he thinks and does.

     Such a man is in the true order of life. He looks to the Lord in everything; even as the plant, which is chained with its root to the earth, yet turns its face to the sun. Then love from the Lord takes shape in the soul of this man as fully and really as the rays of the sun in the form of a tree,-in its branches, leaves, flowers and fruit, when it receives the heat and the light of the sun.

     As the sun with its heat is thus in the tree, so the Lord with His love will be in the man who looks to Him. The tree has no life of its own; its life and existence depend upon the continually inflowing power. So also it is with us. In ourselves we have no life, no ability to think, to love, to act, to grow. All is a gift from God, which He imparts to us every moment of our life. But it does not seem to us to be so. It seems to be our own, and it becomes as our own.

     As the tree seems to grow by its own activity, so we have to act as of ourselves, and seem to co-operate with the inflowing powers of love and wisdom from the Lord. Then our minds, like the tree that points upwards, will be lifted above the earth and look towards heaven. As the leaves are little lungs which breathe the air around them, so our minds will then be opened to the pure atmosphere of heaven. As the buds swell, and the flowers open fragrant cups, so a heavenly life begins in the soul of man when he opens it to God.

494


"The pure in heart shall see God." And he will bear fruit in a life of charity, a life in obedience to the commandments of God.

     Such was the state of man that is described as a paradise. He was happy and free. But a change began to take place in the garden of his mind, when he began to reason and doubt. Then the tree of life was no longer in the midst of the garden. Then he no longer looked to the Lord in everything, and completely relied upon what the Lord had said. The Lord's word had begun to lose its absolute authority for him. Instead there was now in the midst of the garden of his mind another tree,-the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,-the impressions from the five senses.

     After this change had been made in man's mind, he permitted the serpent, the very lowest in his nature, the sensual, to seduce him to take the appearances from the sense impressions for the real thing, and allowed the lower things in his nature to have dominion over the higher things, thus to pervert the right order which God had made. Instead of harmony there could now be nothing else than disharmony; instead of peace there must be strife. Joy was turned to sorrow, health into sickness. The ground was cursed for man's sake, and in sorrow he had to eat of it all the days of his life.

     Thus human nature was perverted. Therefore we feel oppressed. It is as if we had a load that lies heavy upon us. Every one of us has a burden to carry, a burden of some kind, because all of us have sinned. It is strange to think that every one we meet has something that oppresses him.

     We have all come here this day with our burdens of one kind or another, or of several kinds,-heavy laden more or less. Even those who do not show any outward sign of it have their troubles that worry them-troubles, perhaps, which no man knows. But the Lord sees them; He knows them all. And He has compassion on us, and says to everyone, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matt. 11:28.)

     The Lord is calling us to Himself. He is giving us an especial call in these, our days of trouble. He has given us to see a vision in which there is something of a new paradise. In these times of tribulation He: has given us to see peace. But we may not only behold it at a distance, like a fata morgana that will fade away from us. We may also come into it; it must be as if our own.

495


And therefore we must become in a way as children again and leave behind us all doubts and all fears, and trust in the Lord, our Heavenly Father. The Lord says, "Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." (Matt. 18:3.)

     We must be humble as little children; and we become humble when we have learned to know ourselves. Then we bow our knees and clasp our hands as little children in the feeling of our complete dependence upon our Heavenly Father, who has all power. We open His Word, where He speaks to us, and we listen as little children listen to the voice of their Father, He knows all; He understands everything; and it is for us only to try to understand rightly what He says, and try to act accordingly. Then we come into a relation to God which is the most beautiful, the sweetest, the most quiet, the most sure, the most happy of all; and we need not have any anxiety, need not raise anxious questions; and we have no room for doubt and criticism. We have learned that our Father knows best. It was the great lesson of our lives.

     We feel our weakness. We know that we cannot do what we should like to do, and cannot be what we should like to be. And our minds are troubled; the clouds are heavy upon us. Yet we know whose hand it is that rules,-that it is the hand of our Almighty Father, and that He who knows all knows what we do not know, and understands what we do not understand. That is the only thing that is perfectly sure. Everything else is uncertain. But this is the firm rock on which we can stand when everything else fails.

     The New Paradise.

     The powers of this world seem to be overwhelming. But this is only an appearance. Everything that has not its foundation in God is unreal; but what He says, and what He gives, and what is done from Him, that is real,-the only true reality in this world of appearances. How much that man owns who really has found that it is so! This is the wealth of the poor, which he does not want to exchange for all that the world has to give. And he is happy.

     This is the happiness that is revealed to us in the closing chapters of the Apocalypse, and in the Heavenly Doctrines which open them to our minds. In a vision we behold a new paradise,-a paradise that is different from the one we have lost, as different as the innocence of one who has overcome is different from the innocence of a little child.

496


Yet there is some resemblance.

     The paradise described in the very beginning of our Bible is rather different from the one described at the end of the Book. The former paradise is a garden eastward in Eden. The word "Eden" means delight,-a description of the nature of the undefiled mind, the highest thing in God's creation, which does not yet know from its own experience what evil is, and a description of the state of happiness which such a mind enjoys.

     In the new paradise there is something of this left, and it is the most important thing. The tree of life, which was originally in the midst of the garden, is also in the midst of the new paradise, but it is now spoken of as a tree that bears fruit, not only once, but twelve times, yielding her fruit every month. And "the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations."

     In the lost paradise a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it was parted and became into four heads. This river we find again in the new paradise, where it is described as "a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal." This tree of life and this river of water of life are what are left of the lost paradise, and are, as was said, in the midst of the new paradise. They are the inmost of it, but otherwise all is changed. The nature of the lost paradise is changed into a city which is holy, and which also is as a "bride adorned for her Husband." It has the glory of God, and her light is like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. And it has a wall great and high, with twelve gates which are twelve pearls. Each gate is of one pearl. And the building of the wall is of jasper, and the city is pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the street of the city is also pure gold, as it were transparent glass. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day, for there shall be no night there.

     This is rather a different description from that of the lost paradise. Much of the latter is taken away, though the inmost of it is left. And around this there is now a whole city,-a city very different from any city in the world. For this city is not built by the hands of man, but has descended from God out of heaven, and is thus, as also was the first paradise, a creation of God. It is a work of God in human minds.

497


It is called a "New Jerusalem," and the Lord said at its descending from Him, "Behold, I make all things new!"

     Why must all things be made new? Because the former things have passed away,-the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place. (Matt. 24:15.) The Book of Revelation, where this abomination of desolation is fully described, is, as we know, a continuation of the four Gospels,-the four heads into which the river of the water of life is parted in the New Testament. The four Gospels are the Word of the Lord in His First Coming with light and life. The Book of Revelation, being a prophetic part of that Word, refers to the Lord in His Second Coming with new light and new life.

     The Lord comes with new light, with new truths. That which from the beginning was the cause of the fall of man, and still is the cause of the fall of every man, has, in the Lord's mercy, become the means of restoration. Man was tempted by his knowledges. By new knowledges the restoration will take place. Knowledges seen in the light of the world caused his fall; knowledges seen in the light of heaven will lift him up again.

     These knowledges, in an orderly arrangement-in the order itself of heaven, as Heavenly Doctrines revealed by the Lord Himself to suffering mankind-are spoken of as the New Jerusalem, which is called "Holy," because it contains Holy Truths from the Lord. In ancient times the place where the city Jerusalem stood was called Salem, derived from a Hebrew word that means peace. Later the place received the name Jebus, which means one that is scoffing. But when its name is changed again, it is called Jerusalem, which indicates a restoration, a new view of peace. In these changes of name we can see pictured the story of man,-his life from the paradise of the innocence of childhood unto the time when he is a scoffer, but finally humbly bows down before Him who is the Prince of Peace.

     The Old Jerusalem which crucified its Savior was a scoffer. In the Apocalypse we see another old city described, which also is a scoffer, and is called Babylon. It is spoken of as a mystery, as the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth. And one cried out with a strong voice, saying, "Babylon the Great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird."

498


These are strong words, but they are not my words. They are the Lord's own words,-His words about the doctrines of the Old Christian Church. All New Church people know this, but some seem easily to forget it. We should remember them, not to condemn others or boast ourselves, for we have nothing to boast of, but to appreciate more fully by contrast what we have in the Heavenly Doctrines described as the New Jerusalem, the Holy City, descending from God out of heaven.

     In the Heavenly Doctrines there is no mystery, no contradiction, no uncertainty, as in the old city that is fallen-fallen as man fell in sin. The Holy City of pure gold reveals to us our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as the one and only God in heaven and on earth,-reveals Him to us as Love Itself, always and unvarying Love; and everything in the Heavenly Doctrines refers to Him as Love. Therefore it is said that the Holy City is of pure gold, and it speaks of its streets as if they were only one,-a street of pure gold; and not only of gold, but also at the same time as transparent glass, because of its clearness, free from every mystery.

     But the city is also said to be of jasper stone, referring to the sense of the letter, which is translucent from the Divine Truth in the spiritual sense. It is said to be clear as crystal, as the most precious stone. Clothed in an earthly dress in human language, accommodated to our finite understanding, these doctrines are yet so distinct and clear that the heavenly light that is revealed to us in them is a radiant light that shines in great brightness.

     The Gates of Pearl.

     And yet most men do not see it. A great and high wall surrounds the Holy City, and this wall is also said to be of jasper stone. For the internal or spiritual sense of the Word, which is contained and revealed in the Heavenly Doctrines, is encompassed by the letter of the Word, and protected by it, as the wall surrounds the city and is a protection for it. The letter is a protection for the internal sense, because what people cannot see they cannot misinterpret and profane. They who really see it are only those who enter the city through the gates. These gates in the wall of the Holy City are the knowledges of good and truth which open our eyes to the truths of the doctrines. These gates are twelve, and signify all the different states in which those are who can receive the new light,-men who live in different spiritual quarters.

499




     In whatever spiritual quarter we live, there are three gates through which we may enter into the Holy City,-three gates referring to love, faith and life. But let us strictly observe that each gate is a pearl. What pearl is this if not that pearl of which the Lord spoke when He said, "The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls, the, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it." (Matt. 13:45.) This pearl,-the most precious of all pearls,-is the acknowledgment of the Lord Jesus Christ as the one only God. Through whatever gate we may enter into the Holy City, it must be an acknowledgment of the Lord as the one only God.

     The pearl, as we know, is from the shell of a living mussel. It is the result of suffering. It is formed by the mussel around a strange substance that has squeezed into it, hurts it, and irritates it. Day after day the secretion grows, and finally becomes a precious pearl; but continually it has within it that strange substance which was the cause of the suffering.

     So, within us also, there is something that is foreign to the nature that God wants to give us,-the evil within us; and when we become conscious of this evil as an evil, yea, painfully conscious of it, then we can also experience the Lord's endeavor to protect and keep us from that evil. Day after day our perception of this endeavor of the Lord to save us grows, as the pearl grows. And yet within us there is still the consciousness of the evil, from which we have to be protected. It cannot be entirely removed from our nature, leaving us altogether pure, but it can be covered over, as the strange substance in the mussel is covered over by the secretion, produced by the irritation.

     It is as if there were something more soft in the structure of a pearl than in a precious stone; and it may be so, because the pearl is produced by suffering. It is similar with the precious pearl which is the gate into the Holy City,-the acknowledgment of the Lord as God and His power to save us,-an acknowledgment from the heart which is the result of our own experience of life, an experience which begins with a painful consciousness of evil. And this experience grows, and becomes more beautiful, the more we give ourselves up to the Lord, and permit Him to protect us from the evil.

500


"Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered." (Psalm 32:1.)

     We are all born with inclinations to evil, inherited from a fallen generation. These inclinations are such substances as cause suffering, but we are also brought thereby to a humble acknowledgment of our own littleness, an acknowledgment that we in ourselves are nothing, and that it is the Lord alone who does all that is good, and gives us everything; for without Him we can do nothing.

     If we were not conscious of any evil within us, we would not feel any need of being saved from it, and would not turn ourselves to the Lord. When we suffer from the evil within us, it is a great comfort to know that the very fact that we suffer is what forms the heavenly pearl within us, which opens the entrance to the Holy City. The gates are many, but each gate is a pearl. Though there are many ways in which the Lord leads us to a true knowledge of the eternal life, yet they are all included in one thing,-the acknowledgment of the Lord as God, and of His power to save us, and this from a humble heart.

     In such an acknowledgment there is always something of innocence. We come to the Lord as children to their father. Something of the innocence of the child has been preserved with him who has overcome; and therefore we see something of the paradise of innocence inmostly in the Holy City. There is the tree of life,-the influx of love and wisdom from the Lord, from which is all the life and light in the mind of him who is created anew by the Lord in an image of God.

     In him who has entered the Holy City all perceptions have their fountain in the truths which the Lord has revealed. It is therefore said that John saw "a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God, and flowing in the midst of the street of the city; and on both sides of the river the tree of life." In its essence it is the same river as that in the Garden of Eden, but now in another form. For the revelation from God, in its essence, is always the same. Truth in itself is always the same; but it clothes itself for us in different ways in different periods of development.

     This tree of life in the Holy City is very different from the fig tree which was cursed by the Lord, which had only leaves, and bore no fruit.

501


The tree of life is not faith alone. It is perception from faith united with love, and therefore it bears fruit, much fruit. It bears fruit in us when we live a life of charity. Then the good works we do are not our own works, but the Lord's. It is He who brings forth that fruit from the tree of life, because the whole tree is from Him.

     And it brings forth, not only one harvest, but many harvests, even twelve harvests, as many as there are months or revolutions of the moon. When love to the Lord is the sun in our life,-"the Sun of Righteousness with healing in His wings" (Mal. 4:2), then the moon that reflects the rays of the sun is the faith which shines from the life of love within us from the Lord. Every new state of faith is then a new revolution of the moon. When the tree of life bears fruit in twelve harvests, then each state of faith is such that it bears fruit in a life of charity, in an earnest endeavor to exercise one's own calling faithfully, and to live according to the golden rule, "All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." (Matt. 7:12.)

     Healing of the Nations.

     "And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations." Yea, are not the nations sick? Are we not living in the days spoken of by the Lord, "Ye shall hear of wars and rumors of war"-threats of war? "For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. . . . And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold." It does not seem to us as if the Lord Jesus Christ reigns. It seems instead as if worldly power rules. If we had not the revelation of the Lord in His Second Coming, showing us that, in spite of all, the Lord Jesus Christ, God Almighty, reigneth, and that His kingdom will come, and be for ages of ages, should we then be far from despair? As in a vision, we have seen the great city Babylon doomed and fallen, and we can understand that what we must witness and go through now is the result of that old great city falling into pieces, and the war-clouds the smoke from its ruins.

     What is the remedy? What will cure the sickness of the nations? Men have tried their own ways. Peace has been proclaimed, and meetings have been held at which resolutions have been made that there will be no more war.

502


But the Word of the Lord says, "They have healed the hurt of my people slightly, saying, Peace, Peace, when there is no peace." (Jer. 6:14.) There is no use proclaiming peace on earth as long as the minds of men are filled with fear and hatred. There will not be peace as long as those who have power want to abuse it for selfish purposes, or by violence promote the gain and vainglory of their own nation. The only way to peace is the one given us by the Lord Himself,-the leaves of the tree which are for the healing of the nations.

     In the paradise that was lost those who fell sewed fig leaves together to hide their nakedness. But the leaves of the tree of life in the new paradise will expose it. They will show men the real state in which they are, and the necessity of actual repentance. To man, who has lost his rationality, rational truths are now revealed. The vanity of human prudence is proved. The unknown God is revealed in clear light, an unknown world is made known, and man is able to learn to know himself, and see in great clearness that all religion has relation to life, and that the life of religion is to do good.

     When we see the truths revealed to us in the Heavenly Doctrine in clear light, and actually try to live according to them from the Lord's strength, then the tree of life bears fruit, and there will be twelve harvests,-a harvest for each revolution of the moon. Then the leaves of the tree will be for the healing of the nations.

     And as every one of these truths is from the Lord, and leads to Him, and interiorly is a principle of life in His Divine Human, we shall then be conjoined to Him in love and faith, and be created anew in His image. It is as if the city were changed and became living, clothed with flesh and blood. The walls will be changed into beautiful garments; the gates become living sense impressions; the streets are roads on which feelings and thoughts stand forth in speech and act. The burden of sin is lifted; the mind is purified; and the soul is filled with innocence and peace from the very fountain of happiness, from Him who alone was without sin and is therefore called the Lamb. A new man stands forth in heavenly beauty. There are bones and flesh and nerves, giving the consciousness of a new life, when the doctrines received have been filled with love and have become living in actual life. Thus the city has been changed into a heavenly bride adorned for her husband.

503




     The Holy City is thus the means by which the Lord conjoins Himself to us. It is through the Heavenly Doctrines, which reveal to us the internal sense of the Word, and are the Word Itself in the Lord's Second Coming, that the broken connection with God is finally restored. So far as we receive and apply to life these truths from a love of them, that is, from a love of being of use, we will be prepared for the state described as a bride adorned for her husband.

     It is because the New Church sees the invisible God in the Lord, and adores Him alone, that in the Apocalypse it is spoken of as the fulfilment of all things. The New Church is able to know the Lord in such a way as He was never known before, because it sees Him in His Word. Therefore it cannot doubt, as others do who do not see Him there. Therefore it is able to become a bride adorned for her husband.

     The truths are given in order that they may bring us nearer and nearer to God. The Lord wants us to come nearer and nearer to Him. It is His infinite desire and continual endeavor to give Himself to us, to give us all of His own life, and make all of us in the highest degree eternally happy. He gives us all. We only receive. But He is a Giver who never shows Himself. There never was a more considerate giver. He asks no more from us than love, and this not for His own sake, but for our sakes, because He knows that only then are we able to receive the best gift He bestows on us, and become happy.

     Therefore He hides Himself, in order that we may not be compelled to see and acknowledge that it is He who gives all. And He leads us to transmit to others the visible expressions of our love. He brings two and two of us together, in order that we may give to another, and lavish on him or her, all the proffers of the love of which a human heart is capable,-and which He Himself inspires. The more we love each other with a high, deep, warm, sincere, pure, and unselfish love, two and two, and also all others mutually, the more fully all that He works for is accomplished. But for His own sake He asks nothing.

     No earthly love can in any way be compared to that Love which is Life. But the more our love here on earth is purified, the more it is cleansed from selfishness and vanity, the more of heaven there may be in it, and the more the human heart has a feeling of what the Lord's love is; yet without understanding it, only feeling in a still awe, such as that of the modest Virgin when she goes to meet the loved one of her soul as a bride adorned for her husband.

504




     It is something of heaven we see when there is presented before our internal sight this picture of what will come to be. It is good for us to look towards heaven, when the clouds gather and it is darkening around us, and the shadows fall, and we are depressed by the agony and woe of earthly life. It is good for us to know that the troubles will have an end, and that after the night a new day will come.

     The New Jerusalem,-this new vision of peace,-is not only a promise of something that some time will be. It is something that can be realized even now, and become so with everyone more and more fully. It is not a vision only at a distance. It is descending from heaven, and comes down to us, and becomes a reality within us, so far as we go to the Lord and turn our minds to Him as the one only God in heaven and on earth, and give up everything for Him, receiving strength and power from Him to shun evils as sins. So the kingdom of God will come.

     And when, finally, the angel of death comes to us, and takes our hands to bring us over to the land from which no man returns, we need not fear. When the day of eternity dawns for the soul, it is good for us if He who is the King of Peace is not as it were a stranger to us. It is good for us, if we have already come to Him here,-come unto Him with all our sorrows and cares, and He has become to us something more than life itself, the Omnipresent and Almighty, before whom our thought becomes giddy and our heart is frightened.

     It is good for us, if we have permitted Him to be our best friend, to whom we can come in everything, in joy and in distress, in fortune and in want,-our Father who is in the heavens.
PHOTOGRAPH. 1939

              1939

     A Group Picture of the Thirty-second British Assembly appears on the opposite page. The photograph was taken at the church of the Colchester Society during the meetings held there from August 5th to 7th, 1939.

505




     [Photograph.]

506


SPIRITUAL ORIGINS OF WARFARE 1939

SPIRITUAL ORIGINS OF WARFARE       Editor       1939


NEW CHURCH LIFE
Office a Publication, Lancaster, Pa.
Published Monthly By
THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM
BRYN ATHYN, PA.
Editor               Rev. W. B. Caldwell, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager          Mr. H. Hyatt, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     All literary contributions should be sent to the Editor. Subscriptions, change of address and business communications should be sent to the Business Manager.

     TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$3.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single Copy, 30 cents.
     "It is not from the Divine Providence that wars exist, because they are united with homicides, plunderings, violence, cruelty, and other enormous evils, which are diametrically contrary to Christian charity. But still they cannot but be permitted, because the life's love of men, since the most ancient times, has become such that man wills to dominate over others, and at length over all, and that he wills to possess the wealth of the world, and at length all wealth. These two loves cannot be held in bonds, since it is according to Divine Providence that everyone is allowed to act from freedom according to reason; and without permissions men cannot be led from evil by the Lord, and so cannot be reformed and saved. For unless evils were permitted to break out, man would not see them, thus would not acknowledge them, and so could not be led to resist them. Hence it is that evils cannot be inhibited by any Providence, for so they would remain shut in, and would spread like the diseases called cancer and gangrene, and so consume all that is vital in man. For man from birth is like a little hell, between which and heaven there is perpetual disagreement. No man can be withdrawn from his hell by the Lord unless he sees that he is there, and unless he wills to be led out; and this cannot be done without permissions, the causes of which are laws of the Divine Providence.

     "It is from this cause that there are wars, lesser and greater; the lesser between possessors of estates and their neighbors, and the greater between the monarchs of kingdoms and their neighbors. Whether lesser or greater makes no difference, except that a lesser one is kept within bounds by the laws of the nation, and the greater by the laws of nations; and that, while both the lesser and greater want to transgress their laws, the lesser cannot, and the greater can do so, though not beyond the limits of its ability.

507




     "There are many other causes, stored in the treasury of Divine Wisdom, why the greater wars, united as they are with homicides, plunderings, violence, and cruelty, are not inhibited by the Lord with kings and commanders; neither in the beginning (of the war), nor in its progress, but only at the end, when the power of one or the other has become so reduced that he is in danger of destruction. Some of these causes have been revealed to me, and among them is this,-that all wars, however much they may belong to civil affairs, are representative of the states of the church in heaven, and are correspondences. Such were all the wars described in the Word, and such also are all the wars at this day." (D. P. 251.)

     The laws of Divine Wisdom, according to which the Lord operates all things in the universe, are now made known to men in the revelation of heavenly secrets given to the New Church. And this unveiling of a knowledge hitherto hidden from men has for its end that the man of the church may have a universal view of things, and thus a rational belief and trust in Divine Providence,-in a Divine government that is ever leading toward the fulfilment of Divine ends of mercy toward the whole human race.

     The teachings of the Heavenly Doctrines which bear directly upon the subject of the Divine Providence in its relation to wars are given that their Divine Truth may enter the rational mind with spiritual light, affording the man of the New Church some perception of the spiritual causes and effects of such grave events in human society. We are taught that those causes are in the spiritual world, and have to do with the states of the church in heaven, on which account it is not given men in the world to know just what the causes are in any particular instance. But we are given a knowledge of the ways of Providence in general, of the laws of order that operate in all the affairs of men and nations; and by this the individual understanding may be enlightened, and its judgment guided by a universal view which cannot be attained apart from Divine Revelation. Especially is this given to strengthen and confirm our faith in the all-wise government of the Lord in the spiritual and natural affairs of mankind. And by this enlightened faith we may be led to adjust our thought and our life to the ways of Divine Wisdom, which is to be led by the Lord in the stream of His Providence.

508




     The teaching we have quoted from the Writings reveals the general spiritual cause and use of wars at this day. Because of the "enormous evils" that attend them, it is said that they are "not from the Divine Providence," thus not in any sense provided by the Lord, but only permitted,-permitted for the same cause that outbreaks of evil with the individual man are permitted, to the end that he may be made aware of his evil, and be led out of evil into good, and thus be saved; or, if he is not willing to repent, that he may be punished for his evil, that his evil may be checked, and that by this he may be saved from a worse state of evil, and perhaps outwardly amended and reformed.

     The same is said of the outbreaks of evil and violence among nations and churches. They are permitted to the end that their hidden evils may be made known to them, that their evils may be checked by the punishment that resides in all evil, and that a new state of peace and order,-external, if not internal,-may be brought about.

     The case with groups or societies of men, such as nations, is the same as with individuals. The evils of men break forth into act when the hells break their restraining bonds and inflow with men, exciting and fomenting evil loves. The hells are able to do this, and are permitted to do this, when the evils with men in the world reach a limit beyond which they cannot go without grave peril to the race. In the spiritual world, such an outbreak of hell takes the form of an attack upon the heavens, and disturbs the equilibrium or balance of forces in the world of spirits. And because the angels of heaven resist, a conflict ensues there between good and evil, during which the evil spirits of hell are punished, subjugated, and thus brought back into external order, while the world of spirits and heaven itself are purified. Thus the general result is order, peace, and good for all in the spiritual world.

     Twenty-year Periods.

     Such outbreaks of hell occur at intervals, when imaginary heavens have been formed by the evil in the world of spirits, as they are in the world, and when their hypocritical states must be brought to judgment.

509


At the present day these false heavens are not permitted to last longer than twenty years, to prevent an accumulation of unjudged spirits from one generation to another, as was the case in former ages. (A. R. 866:2.)

     The judgment upon such fictitious heavens, and upon their counterparts on earth, begins with an increase of the Divine influx in heaven, bringing about a change of state with the angels,-an uplifting and exaltation with them; but when this influx descends into the world of spirits, it produces a disturbance and fermentation, and in hell a reaction and opposition, with a consequent violent outbreak of evil. The forces of good and evil are then arrayed, the one against the other. Essentially it is a combat of the Lord against the evil of hell,-a conflict which can have one only issue in the triumph of the Divine power, with a final result of purification, restored order and peace, thus good and use to all.

     This, then, is what is meant by the teaching that a conflict of states in the spiritual world is involved in all wars upon earth, that "the states of the church in heaven" are the real causes of wars upon earth. For the state of spiritual conflict in that world always has its companion state among men, and indeed is brought about by the increased number of evil men going into the spiritual world. And when judgment is to be performed by the Lord in both worlds, it is manifested among men in various forms of disturbance. With the spiritual man of the church, it takes the form of infestation and temptation. With the natural man it occasions various forms of mental and physical distress,-natural temptations. In nature it produces calamities; among nations, wars.

     But it should be noted that the evil of the conflict is never as great as the evil that is thereby brought to judgment. The hells are never permitted to break their bonds, and to inflow with men, unless an ultimate end of good is foreseen by the Lord, and indeed provided by the removal of some evil. The Lord permits evil, that He may afterwards provide good,-a greater good than could otherwise be given. He permits no evil that cannot be the indirect means to good. And the Lord, by His omnipotence, controls all the evil of punishment in both worlds,-controls and moderates all judgments among men, and all temptations with the man of the church. So also the Lord rules on both sides in a war of nations, to the end that good, and not evil, may be the final product.

510




     Effects of the Last Judgment.

     Now while the universal laws of order with respect to the causes of all conflicts are now revealed to us, it is evident from the teaching of the Doctrine that there are limitations placed upon our vision while we live in the world. Whatever the natural causes of the wars of nations may be, it is not given men in the world to discern with any clearness the spiritual states in particular that are manifested in any earthly conflict; only the fact that a spiritual conflict between good and evil is the essential matter at stake,-the essential cause and origin,-and that some spiritual good to mankind is the ultimate end to be provided. "The justice of a cause is spiritual in heaven, and natural in the world, and the two are conjoined by a connection of things past and future which are known to the Lord alone." (D. P. 252.)

     We know from Revelation, however, that the Lord's Providence is now operating directly and indirectly for the raising up and establishment of a true spiritual church in this world, because the Christian Church has been consummated. We know also that Providence is preparing for this New Church by a gradual vastation of the old state, which cannot be accomplished in a single year, as was the case with the Last Judgment in the spiritual world, but only by frequent judgments among men and in the world of spirits, involving at times disturbances and changes of state more or less violent, according to the degree of evil to be judged.

     The Last Judgment prepared the way for the New Church by restoring spiritual free-choice to men, at least the beginning of it. It must be the first end of Providence to preserve this freedom, to extend it in the world, and to lead men in that freedom to embrace the new light. And this requires a continuation of the judgment,-lesser judgments in both worlds, which occur as often as the end in view is endangered. Of this Providence we need have no doubt. The falsities of the former state must be removed before the truths of the new can enter. (A. R. 547.)

     But another result of the great judgment and the restoring of spiritual freedom is a greater light of common sense in the minds of men,-a natural light of science and reason which on the material plane has produced wonderful things, and on the mental plane a greater common perception of justice, and a greater desire to compose the differences that arise between men and nations in the light of reason and with good feeling;-in short, to bring the passions of men under the control of rationality and common sense.

511


This effort may, to a large extent, be inspired by self-interest, but carries with it at least the appearance of Christian charity. It is at least a natural good, and must be regarded as one beneficial result of the Last Judgment,-a means of Divine mercy to palliate and mitigate the miseries of mankind, though it cannot remove the essential causes of those miseries,-the evil remaining in the unregenerate natural of men.

     This evil can only be radically cured by spiritual repentance, by individual resistance to evil in one's self from obedience to the revealed laws of God, by the triumph of the spiritual rational over the follies of the natural rational, and over the masses of evil and falsity heaped up and condensed in the heredity of every man born at this day. If men were waging this internal warfare, and waging it successfully, there would be no other wars. "He that ruleth his spirit is greater than he that taketh a city."

     The evils of men, therefore, are the causes and the occasions of wars. Nor will these causes be removed except by the regeneration of the individual men who come to the light of Truth, and who, with the Lord's help, conquer their evil in the warfare of spiritual temptation. By this means alone shall there be a restoration of the heavenly order of mutual love in the world. As the spiritual church grows in the ages to come, nations, like individual men, will come into a relationship of charity toward one another. Then, indeed, will a universal peace, genuine and permanent, come among the kingdoms of men. When "the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ, He shall reign forever and ever." And then shall He "make wars to cease unto the ends of the earth."

     REFERENCES.

     For teachings of the Writings on this subject the reader may consult the following passages: Last Judgment 73, 74; Divine Providence 251, 252; Doctrine of charity 164-166; True Christian Religion 407.

512


GLEANINGS FROM THE JOURNALS 1939

GLEANINGS FROM THE JOURNALS       Rev. ARTHUR CLAPHAM       1939

     ADDRESS TO THEOLOGICAL STUDENTS.

     (Delivered at the closing service of The New Church College at Woodford, England. July 13, 1939. Reprinted from The New-Church Herald of August 19, 1939.)

     The Principal has invited me to say a few words to you today, and I very gladly and willingly avail myself of the privilege. In what I now say I have in mind not only those of you who are about to leave this pleasant place and go out to serve the Lord in the field of the Church, but all of you. For I am sure that whatever delight you may have in the life of study which you lead here, you all look forward with a measure of eagerness to your work as ministers of the New Church.

     The ministry of the New Church is a vital necessity in the world, and will always be so. The office and duty of a minister is to provide that there shall be what is Divine among men, and to preserve the Divine among them. The Divine of the Lord which is to be provided and preserved through (not by) the minister is the good of love and faith from the Lord. This is that Divine of the Lord which makes heaven, and which makes men angelic.

     The minister therefore is concerned with heaven and the things of heaven. It is his especial and particular duty to administer and preserve among men the things of heaven from the Lord. In no right or virtue of his own, but in the true exercise of his function, the minister is set apart from the world. You will not misunderstand me if I say that he must stand, as it were, between heaven and earth, not to bar the way against those who come, but to lead and draw men by Divine Truths into the heavenly sphere. And never must the minister forget his function. He must not, on the one hand, immerse himself in earthly concerns, however excellent and necessary they may seem. Not even in the earthly concerns of his church. His ministry is not a ministry of church organization, nor a ministry of moral and social amelioration.

513


These things may be good, desirable and necessary, but the minister's chief function is to administer the heavenly and Divine things of charity and faith from the Lord. On the other hand, the minister must not become so absorbed in the contemplation and study of Divine things as to forget that his function is to administer these things in the world. The minister is to be neither the busy official nor the impractical dreamer. His function is the gracious and beautiful one of administering on earth the things of heaven.

     It is possible, and even likely, that your ministry will be in very difficult times. The strain and tension of the present day will probably relax, but it is very likely that they will recur in some form or other. The vastation of the old church, and of the ideas born of that church, will not be accomplished in a year or two. Almost certainly there will be further upheavals-spiritual earthquakes. Great changes in men's outlook cannot be accomplished without them. When new truths begin to make their way among men there is certain to be violent resistance from those who love the old falsities. The Lord has foreseen and foretold these things. We do not know when or how they will occur,-these crises,-but we must be prepared for them. Whether they be moral, political or economic, or all three, they will be times of strain.

     In such times it is most vital that the ministers of the Lord's New Church should preserve among men the Divine of the Lord. The Divine of the Lord, you will remember, is charity and faith from the Lord. These it is your task to maintain in your people.

     In times of stress, particularly, we are all apt to let the natural man get out of control. It seems so right, even so good. When our ideals are flouted, the things we hold sacred scorned, the principles that we believe to be vital misrepresented and despised; when the strong and violent oppress the weak, and threaten to trample every principle of humanity in the dust beneath their iron heel; then we are liable to let our own feelings run high, forgetting perhaps that the Lord is over all, and that He neither slumbers nor sleeps.

     The first thing is to remember these things within oneself, to draw apart and rise above these natural and worldly upheavals,-to get above them, as you may, and look down upon them, so that you may see them in the heavenly light. Then you will be able to teach and preach the Divine Truth from the Lord concerning them, and not the truth as it appears to yourself.

514


That, of course, is essential to the work of a minister. He must preach Divine Truth from the Lord and not from himself.

     But your ministry is not only a preaching and teaching ministry. It is your duty also to lead men, by Divine Truths, to the good of life. And here, if you are faithful to your trust, you will have great opportunities. It is your task, not only in the pulpit, but also in private conversation and in all your dealings with others, to lead them to see the Divine truths relating to their life and conduct. But in this aspect of Your work you will lead; you will not drive. You will not be the petty censor of other people's morals and actions, the man before whom people hide their feelings and in whose presence they assume an unnatural manner. You will be, rather, the friend in whose conversation they find themselves led almost imperceptibly to a contemplation of the spiritual issues of life, the friend who helps them to see their own life as a spiritual journey, who reminds them of the things that will bring the light and warmth of the heavenly sphere into their lives. You will not find this easy at first, neither will you find great opportunity at once. It is needful that relations confidence be established between Your people and you before they will readily be led by you. But as you prove yourself a pastor according to the Lord's heart, so will your use be increased.

     Especially in times of strain will you find opportunities to maintain the Divine among the people. Then, more than ever, is there need that you should remind them of the requirements of true charity and genuine faith, that you should lead them by Divine truths away from the thoughts and feelings of the natural man, and towards the heavenly ideal. If the natural is indulged, if its passions and hatreds are encouraged, even under the plea of righteous indignation, it will destroy the spiritual, and take away everything that is from heaven and the Lord. Yours is the duty and the privilege to preserve the Divine among men, and to lead them constantly towards the things of charity and faith from the Lord.

     These things that I have said, I have said not to instruct you, for I am sure that you have been taught them well, but to remind you. I expect that you will sometimes be discouraged, disappointed with yourself and with your people, disappointed most of all with yourself. I wish that I could offer you a sovereign specific against disappointment and discouragement.

515


But the priesthood is a warfare, and in the midst of battle there is no remedy for disappointment except to fight on and fight harder.

     Yet it is not all disappointment. There will doubtless be times when you are given to know something of the great use of your ministry, and the great help it has been to some of the Lord's people. In such times you may rejoice, but see that you rejoice with trembling and give unto the Lord the glory and the honor of your function. For in whatever success you may achieve it is He who fights for you, and it is He who gives you power to minister in His Name. That which brings blessing to men is not what comes from you, but from the Lord in those Divine things that you are privileged to administer. In the measure in which you realize that, in that measure will you be successful, and in that measure will yours be a powerful ministry. Pray constantly to be kept in the realization of that truth. And the Lord go with you.
SLOW GROWTH OF THE CHURCH 1939

SLOW GROWTH OF THE CHURCH       Rev. LEWIS F. HITE       1939

     (Extract from a Paper on "The State of the Church," read to the New Church Club of Boston, and published in The New-Church Messenger of July 5, 1939.)

     Swedenborg defines naturalism as the view that everything comes from nature, and nothing from God. He, furthermore, steadily maintains that this view prevailed in his day. Since that time, naturalism has been strengthened and extended by the marvelous growth of the natural sciences, and by evolutionistic philosophy, which has acquired almost complete dominance over the field of biology. Mechanical inventions have revolutionized the daily living of the civilized world, and the everyday thinking of men has been immersed in the new ways of living. Men have come to look for reality and authority to the teachings of science. Under these influences the Christian mind has become distracted and perverted to a naturalistic philosophy of life, and to the abandonment of the fundamental principles of its religion, although it has preserved the religious instinct, which survives in the longing for a revival of Christianity, as witnessed by the language of the Oxford and Edinburgh conferences.

516


There is a desperate and blind looking to Christ as the influence to bring the revival. But the sense of sin and the need of salvation are no longer vital forces in the common experience of men; consequently, there is no felt need for a Savior; so the Christian system of dogma collapses, and with it traditional Christianity. Such is the state of the orthodox Christian world, and the state of the modern mind.

     We may have more or less satisfaction in the belief that the New Church doctrines act as a leaven in the body of present-day Christian thought, and that the rejection by Christians of their natural-minded religious doctrines favors this leavening. So far the evidences are meager and questionable. It is true that our New Church doctrines throw a new light on the problems of life and thought, especially religious life and thought. But we must bear constantly in mind that the body of New Churchmen live habitually in the scientific, moral, and religious atmosphere of the day; we use habitually the language and the ideas of the day; we are immersed in this atmosphere, with all its confusions and distractions. This atmosphere is distinctly different from the atmosphere of the New Church doctrines, and this is hard for us to realize; for to pass from one atmosphere to the other means passing from the natural level to the spiritual, or from the level of orthodox Christianity to the level of the New Jerusalem; and it requires extraordinary effort of will and thought to pass from one level to the other. We must recognize that New Church people as a body have made little progress in this effort; this is made evident by a glance at our history and a survey of our present condition.

     The essence of New Church thought and life is the well-grounded belief that the Lord has made His Second Coming in the spiritual sense of His Word. It is therefore the highest privilege and the ever-present task of New Church people to make every effort to learn this spiritual sense, to understand it, and to convey the knowledge and understanding of it to those who need it, want it, and are ready to receive it. What has the Church done to fulfill this obligation and to accomplish this task? If we turn to history, we find that much has been done in the way of proclaiming to the world our belief that the Lord has made His Second Coming in the spiritual sense of the Word, but only a small beginning has been made in learning and understanding this spiritual sense.

517


If this statement is felt to be shocking and questionable, let anyone read the books, the essays, and the sermons that have been written, from the beginning, with the steady purpose of seeing just how much spiritual sense in detail is to be found in this body of literature. If he begins with anticipations of help and satisfaction, he will be grievously disappointed. If anyone is disposed to deny the truth of this assertion, let him cite cases to the contrary.

     The failure of the Church to accomplish this task is the fundamental reason for its slow growth. The Church grew more rapidly in its early stages than it has since. The reason is that, in the early days, New Church people were inspired with a doctrinal interest, and their purpose and effort was to proclaim the doctrines effectively. There was a response, because the doctrinal interest prevailed in the community. But when, under the influence of naturalism, the religious doctrines of traditional Christianity were neglected and abandoned, doctrinal interest gave way to the demands of practical life and common morality, to the interests of social well-being. Under these conditions, doctrinal religious teaching became ineffective and tiresome, repugnant to the interest and spirit of the times.

     It has been thought and urged that the rejection of the false doctrines of traditional Christianity was evidence of progress, and of preparation for the reception of the new doctrines, but these doctrines were rejected, not so much because they were seen to be false, but because they were unintelligible; they were professed mysteries. When, therefore, New Church writers, teachers, and preachers insistently proclaimed the doctrine that the Lord was making His Second Coming in the spiritual sense of His Word, their readers and listeners were right in expecting that the understanding and exposition of the doctrines would follow; and since understanding and exposition did not follow, interest flagged, with disappointment and resentment. This is the obvious and sufficient reason for the subsequent disappointingly slow growth of the Church, both from within and from without.

518


STATUS OF THE WRITINGS 1939

STATUS OF THE WRITINGS       CONRAD HOWARD       1939

     "INCONSISTENCY"

     A Reply to Mr. Harold F. Pitcairn.

Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:
     Permit me to add a few thoughts regarding the "serious inconsistency" which Mr. Harold Pitcairn briefly indicated in his letter published in the September LIFE With reference to my article on "What I Believe and Some Reasons Why," which appeared in your July issue.

     As far as I see, and although I may be wrong, his letter suggests that he does not expect our ministers to present a united and corporate understanding on matters of Doctrine, especially that understanding which goes to support the "Divine Authority" position.-If this is so, then, Sir, in my opinion this is just what we laymen have the right to expect from them.

     Surely, inside an organization, there must be unity on essentials, not diversity,-"unity with variety." This, however, does not mean that a corporate belief is one that must forever remain fixed. I thought this was made clear in my article, where I speak of human understanding of Divine Truth,-how this, of necessity, must forever be transitory. (July, p. 314.)

     Architecture which has not become traditionalized is a good example of what I mean. At all periods of its growth and development, it always expresses a corporate and harmonious unit; yet at the same time we find it has been changing from age to age. So, in my opinion, the same law is involved with respect to the doctrine of the Church; this must always develop to ever greater perfection and understanding.

519


If it ceases to change from generation to generation, then surely something is wrong somewhere.

     I do not happen to know just what Mr. Pitcairn's private opinion is, when he speaks of the Divine Authority of the Writings. Nor do I know what he means when he speaks of the "Internal Sense of the Word." But, speaking generally, I do know that there is little or no unity in the New Church at the moment on either of these questions, although we cannot deny there is much variety of opinion, and it is always an attractive subject in all present New Church organizations.

     Of course, I agree that if one is not willing to accept without reserve the testimony of the Writings themselves, namely, "What the Divine has revealed is with us the Word," then he and I will never arrive at a corporate understanding in relation to this vital doctrine of the Church.

     I sincerely trust that in a measure these few observations may help to lessen some of our doctrinal differences. Failing this, then let us hope we have sufficient charity so that we can still agree to differ.
     Yours very sincerely,
          CONRAD HOWARD.
ADVANCE AND CONSOLIDATION 1939

ADVANCE AND CONSOLIDATION       E. E. IUNGERICH       1939

Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:
     Commenting upon Mr. Conrad Howard's article which appeared in the LIFE for July, a correspondent in your September issue points out an inconsistency between asserting that our Church failed to encourage independent studies that might alter long-established views, while at the same time deploring the existence of a variety of opinions in regard to the nature of the Writings and the lack of an official attitude as to their status. The inconsistency seems to me to have arisen more from a literary oversight on the part of the writer than from any intellectual muddling, inasmuch as both standpoints are continually confronting an advancing Church. The case is like that of an advancing army which at one moment forges ahead into new territory, and is then for a time apparently inactive while consolidating the positions taken.

520


The Church, which is a militant spiritual force, if it were to advance without pausing to consolidate, would at times come into untenable positions; on the other hand, it would stagnate, and cease to attract active-minded persons, if it merely abode in the affirmations of a bygone generation.

     Part of the merit of Mr. Howard's article, aside from the frank statement of his own preferred view and the value of his characterization of the present state of our Church as seen by an isolated and unbiased observer, lies in the very fact of his calling attention to these two requirements for an advancing Church. It is, indeed, a tribute to the strength of a Church that it welcomes such constructive criticisms, and that, instead of indignantly characterizing them as disloyal aspersions, it regards them as a sort of self-examination that may lead to a gradual improvement of its state.

     It would seem that the responsibility for the forward movements by means of independent studies rests primarily with the clergy, and secondarily with those laymen whose philosophical and scientific attainments enable them to render the necessary help; whereas the appeal to stop for awhile and consolidate comes largely from the laymen who wish to be assured that the new positions are tenable and sound. It comes under the wisdom of the episcopal function to coordinate these two activities.

     Mr. Howard's article points to the fact that we, as a Church, have recently had to pass judgment as to the soundness of new positions which the studies of a few clergymen had favored. But the responsibility for such a judgment, with the resulting separations, rests squarely upon the shoulders of the proponents of the new positions. Clergymen who have the ability to make incursions into unexplored intellectual territory should also be patient with the rest of the members of the Church, who may not as yet be able to accept rationally the results of their findings, and then they should be willing to defer to the episcopal judgment as to what had best be done under the circumstances.

     Fervid propagandism, with pointed reflections upon the low mental states of those not in sympathy with the new positions, while it may win recruits from among those who are affected by appeals to the animus, will not help the general state of the Church, nor even be of help to the new positions by winning for them the approval of calm and rational thinkers.

521


A clergyman, therefore, who has been led to approve of new positions not as yet endorsed generally in the Church, has the responsibility to see that the state of the Church be not harmfully troubled by their presentation, and at the same time the duty so to protect those new positions that, when and if they can be seen to be true, they may not be so associated with disfavor that many generations will have to pass before the odium with which they have been coupled can be dispelled.

     The onlooker, be he clergyman or layman, should be affirmative toward the presentation of new views, and at the same time careful to see that they are submitted to the necessary rational tests. There is no harm in waiting and in postponing decisions, one way or another. The recommendations of the Apostle John in his Epistle (4:1, 2)-"not to believe every spirit, but to try the spirits whether they are of God, because many false prophets are gone out into the world,"-may be taken as cogent advice in these situations that confront the New Jerusalem which he, at a distance of seventeen hundred years, was given to see in his vision of the Apocalypse.
     Respectfully submitted,
          E. E. IUNGERICH.
PARENT-TEACHER JOURNAL 1939

PARENT-TEACHER JOURNAL              1939

     Continuing its career of usefulness in the field of education, this periodical enters its fourth year of publication with the issue for October, 1939. The value of the material here made available to our homes and schools may be gauged by the titles of the articles appearing in this number: "The Pre-School Child," by Bishop George de Charms; "An Address to Young People," by Otho W. Heilman; "An Australian Problem," by Rev. W. Cairns Henderson; "Physical Education in New Church Schools," by F. A. Finkeldey; and "The Ten Commandments for Children," by Richard de Charms III, the first of a series by this writer.

     The JOURNAL is edited by Mrs. Besse E. Smith, assisted by Miss Celia Bellinger and others, and the eight issues for 1939-1940 may be obtained by remitting $1.00 to Miss Morna Hyatt, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

522


Church News 1939

Church News       Various       1939

     A PASTORAL TOUR THROUGH THE WEST.

     Although the General Church has enjoyed an appreciable growth in its well-established centers in the Eastern States, it has never taken firm root west of the Mississippi. In two instances, promising centers have been established, the one in Denver and the other in Los Angeles, but today these two societies, which once claimed the services of full-time pastors, are isolated groups. It is not for us to enter into the reasons; we merely note the unfortunate fact.

     During the past Summer it was my privilege to visit this part of the country. With my traveling companion, Mr. Michael Pitcairn, I took the train to Denver, and proceeded from that point by car to the following centers: Spokane, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and back again to Denver. There is much that I could say about the scenic beauty of the West. Our route took us north through the Rocky Mountains, then south along the Columbia River basin and the giant redwood forests of California. From San Francisco we followed the Pacific coast to Monterey, then turned northeast to Yosemite, and from here southward across the Sierras into the Mohave Desert. The last trek took us along the well-known Santa Fe Trail into the canyon country of the Southwest, through the rich mountains of southern Colorado, and back to Denver. However, these things are a matter of personal interest rather than a subject to be discussed in these pages.

     It is to be noted that the trip was so arranged as to allow us a full weekend in each of the centers mentioned above. This was done not only because of the desirability of holding services on Sundays, but also to allow those who live within driving distance of the cities an opportunity to attend.

     The first week-end, that of July 8-9, was spent in Spokane, Washington. Here we received a most cordial reception from that little group which has so bravely maintained itself through the years under the leadership of that stalwart New Churchman, Mr. Emil Hansen. On Saturday evening we held a doctrinal class. On Sunday we held a service and partook of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. That evening we sat out on the porch of Mr. William Hansen's home and discussed the doctrines for several hours. It was not easy to leave this little group of some fifteen souls. They are eager to learn, and are most deserving of all that the Church can do for them. Unfortunately, it is all too little under the present circumstances.

     In San Francisco, the General Church group is confined to two families,-Mr. and Mrs. A. E. Bundsen, their children and grandchildren, and the Fred Merrell family. All told, we have here a group of about twelve. We enjoyed some pleasant hours in Mrs. Bundsen's garden, and will long remember the sphere of the Church which pervades that home. On the Sunday of that weekend a service was held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Merrell, and the Sacrament was administered. Again we would have delayed our departure, but we were due that evening at Carmel, some one hundred and fifty miles down the coast.

     Arriving at the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mays in Carmel, we were disappointed to find that they were not at home.

523


We learned later that our letter, written from San Francisco, had not arrived. So we turned eastward toward the Mohave Desert, and two days later arrived at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Royal Davis in Trona. Well-informed of the climatic conditions, we were prepared for the worst, but 115 in the shade was a new experience. To say the least, we had a warm reception! However, both Mr. Pitcairn and I wish to go on record as being anxious to return to Trona at any time under any conditions.

     According to our itinerary, we had expected to spend four full days in Los Angeles. Arriving on a Thursday, we spent two days calling on the remnant of our once growing society. This was extremely difficult, as our people are widely scattered over a large cosmopolitan area. Yet we did succeed in finding most of the group. As matters developed, it became apparent that we would not be able to hold the Sunday service in the city. It was therefore arranged to have church at the summer home of Mr. and Mrs. Lawson Cooper at Palboa Beach. The service was deeply appreciated by all who were able to attend, but we note the sad fact that there were many who, for one reason or another, could not be with us.

     From Balboa Beach on the Pacific we began the long journey to Denver, Colorado. Traveling on schedule, we arrived at Durango, some three hundred miles from Denver, on the Thursday of that week. Here we spent an evening with Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Fiedler (nee Marion Allen), and I baptized their infant son. Proceeding to Denver, we arrived at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Bergstrom, where we spent a delightful and busy weekend. Saturday was devoted to pastoral calls and a doctrinal class. On Sunday I conducted a service and administered the Sacrament. There is much that I would like to say about this visit, but the people in Denver know that their hospitality was deeply appreciated, and words would add little to the occasion.

     While traveling through the West I became increasingly convinced of the need for regular ministrations to these widely scattered centers of the Church. In retrospect I become even more confirmed in this view. It is true that in the past we have not enjoyed much success from a numerical standpoint. But who is to judge? As long as there are a few small groups of loyal New Church men and women, there is a nucleus around which the Lord may build His Church.
     WILLARD D. PENDLETON.

     HURSTVILLE, AUSTRALIA.

     Although July comes to us as a period of comparative quiet after busy weeks in June, it is, for those to whom has been entrusted the direction of our civil and social uses, the month in which activities must be reviewed for presentation to the Annual General Meeting of the Society, and therefore the time at which secretaries and treasurers assume a careworn expression.

     The Social Committee, however, despite its pre-occupation with its report, contrived to give us a very enjoyable social evening. If an experiment to be made by the new committee is successful, this will prove to have been the last "social" held in Hurstville. There have been obstacles here in the way of developing social life in the homes, and of late our socials have not been too well attended; and we are hoping to build up a more vigorous social life by using the committee as a central agency for inviting families and groups to give parties in the church hall,-an idea for which we make full acknowledgment to the Pittsburgh Society.

     The Annual General Meeting, always looked forward to as presenting a detailed picture of the workings of the society, was held on Thursday, August 3; and once again we learned from reports of a year of intensive and sustained activity. It was stated that the membership of the society is again 25, while in the Sunday School there has been a slight decrease in the number of children on the permanent roll.

524


A further general improvement in attendance at services and classes was reported, and the Treasurer was again able to assure us that a progressive policy had left a surplus in the treasury. There being no term issue in Hurstville, Mr. Ossian Heldon and Mr. Fred. W. Fletcher were re-elected for a fifth term as Secretary and Treasurer, respectively; and the society is to be congratulated upon again securing the services of these capable officers. As usual, there were very few changes in the list of office holders and personnel of committees when elections were over.

     On Sunday, August 13, prize-giving day was observed in the Sunday School. After the opening worship, Mr. Fletcher gave a short but very useful address to the children, and then presented the prizes.     

     The quarterly Feast of Charity was held the following Sunday evening. At the request of the pastor, the program for this event was arranged by the local Chapter of the Sons of the Academy, as a means of bringing before the Society the uses of the general body and the activities of local Sons. Under the chairmanship of the Chapter President, Mr. Ossian Heldon, a most useful and enjoyable evening was spent The President's own remarks, together with an inspiring address generously contributed by the Rev. Dr. William Whitehead, and an excellent paper, by the Chapter Secretary, Mr. Sydney Heldon, on the history and uses of the Sons, brought the ideals and objectives of that body very clearly before all those who were present. And the discussion showed that, in an active desire on the part of the society for local school when its establishment becomes possible, the local Sons have fertile ground in which to work.

     It should also be mentioned that during the month of August,-on the 7th, to be exact,-our Pastor Emeritus, the Rev. Richard Morse, celebrated his eightieth birthday,-an event on which he has received many congratulations.

     During the two months under review all our uses have been maintained. The series of doctrinal classes on "The Church and its Uses" having been concluded recently, the pastor has now commenced a new series on the general doctrine of the Word.

     Of particular interest to the men of the society have been the papers read at the last two Sons' meetings, since they represent the first departure from strictly theological or doctrinal subjects. In July, Mr. Norman Heldon presented for our consideration a review of Man the Unknown, by Alexis Carrel; and in August we heard a most informative talk on "Radio" by our youngest member, Mr. T. D. Taylor, who is studying to qualify as a radio operator.

     The ladies continue to enjoy their bi-weekly meetings; and our new committees are now getting down to work with an earnestness that promises well for the ensuing year.
     W. C. H.

     TORONTO, CANADA.

     These busy Fall days find many of our groups, including the Ladies' Circle and Forward-Sons, attacking with renewed vigor their several uses in the church. The weekly suppers and doctrinal classes have recommenced with an excellent attendance, and this, it is hoped, will be sustained throughout the year.

     The Day School has once again opened its doors to eager pupils, eleven in number this term, with Mrs. Frank Longstaff, Jr., as teacher, substituting in the prolonged absence of Miss Doris Raymond. The pastor is again giving generously of his time and energy to the teaching of several to subjects in the school.

     This year we have four Bryn Athyn students: The Misses Grace Longstaff, Jean Bellinger and Zoe Gyllenhaal, and Mr. Robert Scott. Grace and Jean, who are attending the Academy Schools for the first time, were well "showered" by the ladies, and Bob was given a "send-off" and a bag by the men.

525




     Shortly after Mr. Gyllenhaal's return from his trip to Western Canada, he gave a short account of his very interesting and useful journey. During his absence, the Rev. Bjorn Boyesen ministered to the spiritual wants of the society in a very competent manner.

     Our pastor, in several impressive sermons, has pointed out some of the uses of war, terrible as these events are on an external plane. These discourses have given us many thoughts to dwell upon under the trying circumstances in which we of the British Empire find ourselves today.

     One of the most useful members of the Olivet Society, Mr. Theodore P. Bellinger, passed into the other world on September 20. By all who knew him, Ted was loved and admired for his great love of the church and all its uses,-a love which found whole-hearted expression in every activity of the society, and in all his social and business life. While his departure to a higher use will be keenly felt by his wife, his young family, and his many friends, his sphere of use cannot but have a real effect upon those still here.

     Now we are in the threes of preparing for the Ontario District Assembly, which is to be held in Toronto, October 7-9, and we are anticipating a useful and interesting session.
     M. S. P.

     PITTSBURGH, PA.

     We sincerely enjoyed Candidate Ormond Odhner's visit. He preached fine sermons, had record summer attendance at Sunday services, and stimulated interest among the young people. During Mrs. Besse Smith's stay here, a helpful and pleasant evening was spent studying the revised Liturgy. It is now in use in school and Sunday services, and we are gradually becoming familiar with it. A group who are more musically inclined are working up a choir. This, we feel, will help the congregational singing.

     School Opening.

     With an enrollment of seventeen pupils in six grades, our day school opened on Monday, September 11. Miss Jennie Gaskill, Miss Marion Cranch, and the Rev. Willard Pendleton form the main teaching staff. Mrs. A. P. Lindsay is giving a course in nature study to the upper grades, and Miss Elinor Ebert is giving an extra-curriculum course in social dancing to the first and second year high-school students. The pastor, in his address at the opening exercises, said we should be grateful that we are in America, and not prevented by war conditions from opening the school. He explained that wars are started by evil spirits, and ultimated in the world. The Lord permits wars so that something more terrible will not result, and He is constantly protecting all men to lead them to heaven. A parent-teacher meeting was held on September 19, at which time Mr. Pendleton outlined the courses in Religion and pointed out their interrelation with the other courses.

     The annual meeting of the Women's Guild was held at the home of Mrs. A. O. Lechner, and the following officers were elected: Mrs. A. O. Lechner, president; Mrs. E. G. Horigan, vice president; Mrs. J. J. Schoenberger, secretary; Mrs. M. E. Good, treasurer; Mrs. D. H. Shoemaker, housekeeper; Miss Marion Cranch, representative of the day school. It was decided at this meeting to hold semi-annual meetings of the Guild, and to devote the monthly meetings to a Class on "Creation."

     The first Friday Supper and congregational singing practice of the season preceded the annual meeting of the society. The secretary reported a membership of 101, and the treasurer's report was encouraging. The pastor outlined the program for classes. This year we are to stress adult education. In addition to the regular doctrinal class, the Tarentum class (now beginning its fifth year), the Philosophy Club, which is studying the Principia, and the Woman's Guild class on "Creation," he plans two study groups,-one in the fundamental doctrines of the Church based on the True Christian Religion, and the other, the doctrine of glorification based on the Arcana Celestia.

526




     The Holy Supper was administered to the congregation on Sunday, September 24th. The new communion service, which is the gift of Mr. and Mrs. Chas. H. Ebert, Jr., was used on this occasion;

     Pittsburgh District Assembly.

     The Assembly opened on Friday evening, September 29, with an attendance of ninety-four. Bishop de Charms delivered a masterly address on "Spiritual Creation." On Saturday afternoon, the Bishop was guest of honor at a tea in the home of Mrs. A. P. Lindsay. In the evening, about 120 members and visitors attended the banquet in the church auditorium, the Rev. Willard Pendleton presiding as toastmaster. The subject of the evening was the "General Church," and he pointed out the need of all appreciating the relationship of a society to the general body. We welcomed Bishop de Charms in his first appearance at a District Assembly here. We are indeed grateful for the present administration, and all expressed loyalty to the Bishop in a toast and song.

     Mr. Hubert Hyatt, treasurer of the General Church, spoke on "The Uses of the General Church," stressing the uses of administration and education. Mr. John J. Schoenberger spoke on "The Spirit of the General Church." He reviewed the historical background of the Church, and said, "The Spirit of the New Church, which is now in its infancy, will in the future become the universal spirit of mankind." Mr. George Woodard spoke on "Unity in the General Church." This, he said, requires enlightenment, and preservation of unity demands a single head.

     The toastmaster thanked the speakers for bringing us a true vision of the General Church, and invited the Bishop to speak on the subject. The Bishop pointed Out the necessity of a vision of the future, and a vision of the New Church as presented in the Writings, as essential to the establishment and growth of the Church. We all must be alert and ready to bring the vision of our fathers to fulfilment. He spoke briefly of the 1940 General Assembly, and feels it will be a momentous one for the growth of the General Church. The singing of "Our Own Academy" closed the program of the banquet.

     At the service on Sunday morning, the Bishop delivered a sermon on the text: "And, behold, the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden." (Genesis 2:8.) The Assembly closed with a special meeting of the Pastor's Council on Sunday evening. We were happy to welcome many members of the district to the Assembly.
     E. R. D.

     SOUTH AFRICAN MISSION.

     Since the episcopal visit of Bishop de Charms last year, the Mission has been following its normal routine, more or less. We make such a qualification because, in reality, our work has not been entirely normal. Services and classes have been continued much the same in our two-dozen centers, widely scattered throughout South Africa. The Day-School work continues as before in eight centers, and the Night School in Durban still exists; but there has been no Theological School during 1939. It has been felt that we have at present a sufficient number of Mission groups to care for.

     In the place of the Theological School, however, and in addition to the usual visiting, the Superintendent, by request, has been giving lectures on those doctrines of the Church which have received so much attention during the recent controversy. Accordingly, lectures have been given, with ample opportunity for free discussion, and notes are being supplied for study purposes. These lectures were delivered at Alpha, Ladybrand, O. F. S. (December and May); "Kent Manor," Zululand (February); Kalabasi, near Ladysmith, Natal (March); Durhan (March) and at Sterkstroom, C. P. (June). Our Transvaal and Basutoland groups were represented at the April meetings at Alpha.

527




     The Ministers and Leaders, therefore, have been afforded the opportunity to try to understand the differences which have given rise to the recent division in the church. It should be remembered that the doctrines and the applications of doctrine to which attention has been drawn are not by any means easy for Native people to follow. Yet the more intelligent, and especially those who have had training in the theology of the New Church, can appreciate the difficulties. The lectures referred to were necessary, for the reason that those holding the "New Position" sent their literature to the Native Ministers and, in some instances, encouraged correspondence with them.

     June 19th was celebrated at the majority of our centers, and the Bishop's message of greeting was sent to all the Ministers of the Mission to be read on that occasion. Rev. M. B. Mcanyana presided over the Transvaal group at Alexandra Location, Johannesburg; Rev. J. M. Jiyana presided over the North Natal Group, with Rev. J. Motsi as visitor; Rev. P. J. Stole officiated in Durban; Rev. P. Sabela at "Kent Manor," Zululand, and the Superintendent at Sterkstroom, C. P. The four Basutoland societies and the Alpha Society met at Luka's Village, near Maseru, under the leadership of the Rev. Twentyman Mofokeng.

     The Rev. Philip N. Odhner has visited "Kent Manor," Zululand, Deepdale, Tongaat and Chakas' Kraal (Natal), on several occasions during the last year.

     Death of Mrs. Letele.

     It is with much regret that we have to report the death of the Head Mistress of the Alpha Mission Day School,-Mrs. Catherine Letele. During the early part of August she was in ill health and entered the Ladybrand Hospital for observation; but she did not recover, and passed away on the 14th of that month. In consequence, the Mission has lost a good teacher, a conscientious member of the church, and one who had an understanding interest in the New Church Doctrines, and in the issues of the recent controversy.

     Mrs. Letele was associated with the Mission in its early Basutoland days, and became intimately connected with the work in 1921 at Maseru, under the supervision of the Rev. Theodore Pitcairn. In 1925 she was moved to the Alpha School, and has remained as Head Mistress ever since that time. For some good reason of Providence she has now been taken in her 55th year, and her work here has ended. The Superintendent and the Rev. Twentyman Mofokeng conducted the funeral service at Alpha on August 16th. Many people attended, and several public tributes were paid at the ceremony, all testifying to the high character of the deceased.

     Mrs. Letele leaves two sons,-Gladstone and Arthur. Both are confirmed in the New Church faith. Gladstone is preparing for his M.A. Degree at Cape Town University; Arthur is completing his final year in medical work at the McCord Zulu Hospital, Durban. Their mother seemed to have a premonition that she would never return to Alpha, and with that thought in mind she wrote to each of her sons a day or two before her death. Her last message-in Native custom-was delivered at the burial service by the one who saw her last, her brother-in-law. In this she expressed the hope that her sons and her people would walk in the way of God.
     F. E. ELPHICK.
September 1, 1939.

528


BRYN ATHYN ACCOMMODATIONS 1939

BRYN ATHYN ACCOMMODATIONS              1939




     ANNOUNCEMENTS.



     For the information of those desiring to visit Bryn Athyn, the Hospitality Committee of the Bryn Athyn Church wishes to state that Rooms are available at moderate rates, and that meals can be arranged for, if desired. Write to MISS CELIA BELLINGER, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
ACADEMY SCHOOLS 1939

ACADEMY SCHOOLS              1939

     Enrollment for 1939-1940.

Theological School          4
College                    29
Boys Academy               56
Girls Seminary               69
Elementary School               175
Total                         333
Enrollment Last Year          318
GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1939

GENERAL ASSEMBLY              1939

     The Seventeenth General Assembly of the General Church of the New Jerusalem will be held at Shadyside Academy, June 25-30, 1940.

     Applications for reservations should be addressed to The Assembly Committee, 299 Le Roi Road, Pittsburgh, Pa.

529


BORN IN A MANGER 1939

BORN IN A MANGER       Rev. GILBERT H. SMITH       1939


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LIX DECEMBER, 1939          No. 12
     "And this shall be a sign unto you, Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." (Luke 2:12.)

     It is impossible to express the full meaning of that which the Lord God accomplished by His coming into the world, but we can express and acknowledge the great fact that, by His coming into the world, God Himself became Man, and so redeemed and saved the human race, which otherwise would have perished in eternal death.

     There is an important lesson to be learned from the fact that He was born in a lowly stable and laid in a manger. It is that the Lord can only be received by men when they are in a state of humility, when selfish and worldly things are not permitted to crowd out those things which are Divine and holy. The Lord can be received only when men make room for Him, that is, when they put aside worldly cares and selfish ambitions far enough to consider in a reflective mind, in a receptive mind, the things which are written in the Word about the Lord. Such humility means nothing else than to be in a teachable attitude, which is exemplified in the Story of the Nativity by the shepherds and wise men alike. This teachable spirit makes room for the Lord; it stirs up the thought to a sense of Divine mercies, and fills the mind with charity and good will and gratitude, and with the glories of truth.

     Bethlehem was the birthplace of our Lord because of the spiritual significance of that little town. The name means "house of bread," and represents the state in which good is hungered for, and in which there is a desire for truth.

530


Men are not born with a hunger for good and a desire for truth; but the Lord was born so, because His Soul was Divine. It was also because Bethlehem was the city of David, the royal city, and the Lord was to be born a king, which spiritually is the Word of Divine Truth by which He governs all things.

     The star which arose out of the east signifies ancient wisdom. It was the knowledge of this ancient wisdom which led the wise men from the east to seek the Lord at Bethlehem This star is more excellent than all the stars of the firmament, because it signifies the knowledge of heavenly good and truth, and in the highest sense the doctrine concerning the Lord. They who know and receive the knowledge of the things concerning the Lord are the wise men of today who follow this star of the east. Even today the star that leads to Bethlehem and to the Lord is that knowledge of Divine things which comes down from heaven in the Word of Divine Revelation. In prophecy of this day He said: "I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright and morning star." (Rev. 22:16.)

     The gold which the wise men brought signifies love to the Lord,-the highest gift that men can render to Him. The frankincense is the love of Divine Truth for the sake of doing good to the neighbor, and this is the next most precious gift,-the love of truth, which is conscience. And the myrrh signifies the external things of life which are in heavenly order, or, as we may say, right living, with conscience and the love of the Lord as the inward motive. These are the gifts, and these alone, which the Lord receives from man with graciousness and love. It is the same if we say that the three gifts signify celestial, spiritual, and natural good, which, when they are with men, are well-pleasing to the Lord.

     The sign by which the shepherds were to know the Lord was the fact that He would be wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. The swaddling clothes represent the very first and simplest truths, which are called the truths of innocence, and which are also to be called the truths of Divine Love. But what are the truths of innocence?-In general, the truth that nothing but evil comes from man himself, and that all good comes from the Lord. Men who succeed in finding the Lord find Him in acknowledging this truth. Such is the first truth of innocence,-the swaddling clothes. He who knows this has made his first approach to the Lord, finding Him wrapped in swaddling clothes.

531




     The Lord was born in a stable and in a manger because the horse, with which the manger is associated in thought, corresponds to the understanding of truth, and thus to the understanding of the Word. The manger, where horses are fed, therefore denotes the doctrine of truth from the Word. If it had pleased the Lord, He could have been born in the most splendid palace, and in a bed adorned with the most precious stones; but it was not so to happen, for the reason that all things connected with His birth were to be representative. Here again the Lord is to be found, that is, in the understanding of the Word. The Word is the manger in which the Lord is to be found. It is vain to seek the Lord without seeking to understand His Word. But the Lord is to be found in His Word, which is as a manger from which the mind may be fed in the doctrine of truth.

     The meaning of the manger and of the swaddling clothes is very simple, but it is exceedingly important. For they who seek to understand the Word of the Lord, and who see the truth that all things from man himself are evil, and that all good is from the Lord, will find the Lord, as it were, in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. The Lord grant that, whether we may be counted as among the learned or among the simple, among the wise men or among the shepherds, we may all so find the Savior!

     We have spoken of several of the chief features in the record of the coming of the Child who was to save the world. We have seen what is meant by the star and the following of it, by the town of Bethlehem, by the three gifts of the wise men, by the swaddling clothes and the manger. But all of these features of the familiar story in which we delight from year to year would lose their brightness as a star grown dim, if there were no recognition of the great underlying truth, that with the Lord in His conception there was no human father, and thus that His Soul was Divine. And because the Divine cannot be divided and separated from Itself, as the soul of a mortal son is separated from the soul of his father, therefore Jesus the Messiah, although called the Son of God, was really God Himself. Nothing is more explicit and certain in all the Scripture than that the Lord was born differently from any man, in the fact that there was no human father, and hence that He was God in a human form accommodated to life on earth with men, that He might meet temptation as men do, and overcome, and so deliver all men.

532




     This is the great secret of all the ages,-the deep wisdom of the ancients,-that God the Creator of the world would become Man. And this is the great truth upon which all the wisdom and blessing of the future ages is to be founded,-the fact that God has become Man, and that Jesus, the Babe born at Bethlehem, is that God and the Only One. To know this is what makes the Word of the Lord intelligible. It is the key through which alone one may enter into the deep interior things of the Word and grow wise. The significance of the birth of Jesus at Bethlehem, and under the circumstances so well known to us, is that man may thus be blessed with a knowledge of God, and through that sure knowledge may be blessed with a sense of the reality and presence of God the Lord.

     The seeing of the Lord as Divine, and the Only Divine, gives us to see the truth of the Revelation which He has made to the New Church. And this Revelation is the thing in our modern day which is just as much to be sought and venerated as ever was the infant Jesus in the manger; because, in fact, that Revelation is the Lord's own Spirit, for the sake of which He came upon earth as an infant. Let us praise the Lord, and be happy for His coming, because it meant the beginning of the redemption of all mankind; but let us regard this Infant as perpetually symbolic, or representative of the Truth of heaven which the Lord sends for the salvation of all in the Revelation which we call the Heavenly Doctrine. Let us love and reverence this Doctrine as the wise men and shepherds did the Child Himself. It, too, lies in a manger, in the sense that it is contained in the letter of the Word; and it is wrapped in swaddling clothes, in the sense that inmostly encompassing this Doctrine there is innocence, the inmost cause of all happiness and joy. Amen.

     LESSONS: Matthew 2:1-15. Luke 2:1-20. A. R. 954.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 540, 580, 589, 591, 650. Revised Liturgy, pages 511-543.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 127, 128.

533


ANGEL GABRIEL 1939

ANGEL GABRIEL       Rev. PHILIP N. ODHNER       1939

     A TALK TO CHILDREN.

     Christmas is the time when we celebrate the Lord's birth into the world. It is a time when we rejoice and are glad, because we know that the Lord came into the world to save men from the power of hell, and to lead them to the happiness of heaven.

     We begin our celebration every year by gathering together to worship the Lord, and to hear again how our Lord and Savior was born as a little babe in Bethlehem, and to be told about the many wonderful and sacred things that took place at the time of His birth. This year I want to tell you about the angel Gabriel, and about what the angels of heaven did for the Lord when He was born.

     We know from the Lord's Word that His coming into the world had been foretold and promised thousands of years before He was born. In fact, it was foretold from the time when Adam and Eve disobeyed the Lord and were driven out of the Garden of Eden. It was known then that it would be necessary for the Lord to come into the world to save men, and to bring them back to order and obedience for the sake of their happiness in this world and in the world to come.

     The Lord told men in His Word that He was going to come, and for a long while many men looked forward to His birth with the greatest wonder and delight. But as men became more and more evil, and the power of hell grew greater and greater, men forgot about the Lord's coming, all except a very few.

     But the angels of heaven did not forget. They knew that the Lord was coming, and their whole love and desire was for Him to come, that He might tell men again about Himself and about His heavenly kingdom. And as time went on there were more and more angels whose hearts burned with a desire to tell men that Jehovah their God was to be born into the world, and that His name was to be Jesus Christ, which means Savior and King.

534




     The angels who wanted so much to teach men that the Lord was coming were therefore appointed by the Lord to do as they desired. And the Lord formed them into a society of heaven, in order that they might do that work of telling men. And the Lord called that society by the name "Gabriel." This is the name of every angel in that society, because that name means "God is a Hero," and they wished to tell men how the Lord would be their Mighty Hero in fighting against evil spirits and conquering them, that He might deliver men from the powers of evil, and lead them to Himself in heaven.

     And then the time came for the Lord to be born, and the Gabriel angels were ready to do their work. For we read in the Word that, first of all, an angel appeared to Zacharias in the temple, to tell him that John the Baptist was to be born, and that John would prepare the way of the Lord. And then we read that the Lord sent the angel Gabriel to a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, and the virgin's name was Mary. And Mary was afraid when the angel appeared to her, but Gabriel said unto her, "Fear not, Mary; for thou hast found favor with God." And then he told her that she would have a son, and that His name was to be called "Jesus," because He would save His people from their sins. And the same angel also appeared to Joseph in a dream, to tell him that Mary was to be the mother of the Lord.

     To Zacharias, and to Mary and Joseph, Gabriel appeared as one angel, even though the Lord had appointed a whole society of angels to do this work, and called the whole society "Gabriel." Why, then, did only one angel appear? The reason is, that when a society of angels wishes to tell a man anything, one of them is selected to be a messenger. All of their thoughts and loves are centered on one of their number, who speaks for them, and gives their message to men. This is the way things are done in this world, too, whenever a large number of people want to say what they think. They select one of their group to speak for them. In heaven the one chosen to do this for a society of angels is called a "subject spirit," because he can only speak what the whole society inspires into him and wants him to say.

535


Even if he tried to say something different, he could not do so.

     Now, some time after the angel Gabriel appeared to announce that the Lord was to be born, Mary and Joseph went to the city of Bethlehem to pay their taxes in that city of David, because they were of the family of King David. And when they came to Bethlehem, the city was full of people, and they could not find a place to stay. There was no room in the inn, and they had to go to a stable to spend the night. And there, in a manger where horses feed, the Lord of all the earth and heaven was born as a little baby. And Mary his mother wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in the manger.

     As soon as the Lord was born, and had come into the world as He had promised, the angels of heaven were ready to tell this to all men who looked for His coming and were ready to worship Him. And you would think that very many would be glad to hear the message of the angels, and go to worship the Lord and Savior. But there were very few. Most men would not have believed the angels; or, if they had believed, they would have tried to injure the newborn Babe, as Herod did. Because so many men at that time loved evil more than good, they hated the Lord. And so the angels did not appear to many, but only to certain poor shepherds, who were watching their docks on the hillsides of Judea near the city of Bethlehem.

     It was night time, and suddenly the angel of the Lord came upon them and "the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid." And the angel said, "Fear not; for I bring you good tidings of great joy. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you, Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger." And then the shepherds saw the whole society of angels which had sent one angel as their messenger. "Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." And the shepherds went to Bethlehem, and found the Lord, and fell down and worshiped Him.

     So it is with us today. The Lord sends His angels to us in the Word, telling us that He will come to all who love Him and want to worship Him.

536


And He tells us many things about Himself in the Word, that we may learn to believe in Him and to obey Him and follow Him all our days, that He may deliver us from the powers of evil and lead us into all good, and bring us to Himself in heaven, where He will make us happy forever. Amen.

     LESSONS: Matthew 1:18-25. Luke 1:5-23. Luke 1:26-38.
     MUSIC: Hymnal, pp. 110-126. Liturgy, pages 540, 580, 589, 591, 650. Revised Liturgy, pages 511-543.
     PRAYERS: Hymnal, nos. 16, 19, 20. Liturgy, nos. 55, 56.
USES OF THE CHURCH 1939

USES OF THE CHURCH        GEORGE DE CHARMS       1939

     V. The Uses of the General Church.

     The uses of circles and societies require the organization of a general body of the Church in order that they may be maintained. There are uses essential to the formation, the organization, the ordering and government of societies that cannot be performed by the societies themselves. And in addition to this, there must be provided some instrumentality by which local groups, widely scattered over the earth, may be brought into cooperative relation with one another, that together they may form a united Church. This is the function of a general body.

     Foremost among the uses that can be performed by such a body is the establishment of the Priesthood. Men must be called, ordained, and set apart to devote their lives to the priestly use. The Priesthood is the first instrumentality for the building of the organized Church. Without it there could be no public worship, no public instruction, no ordering or government of societies for the performance of their local uses. But the Doctrines of the revealed Word must be interpreted and accommodated to the varying states and needs of men. Principles are to be drawn forth from the Writings by those trained and equipped for the work, that abstract teachings may be brought down to the plane of application.

     It is by no means intended, however, that the priestly office should, in this matter of accommodation, stand between the Word and the people. It is not to take the place of individual study and application of the Writings.

537


It is to supplement this. It is to assist the lay members of the Church in their efforts to understand the Writings, by calling to their attention the relation and bearing of one set of teachings to another, and thus leading them to the interiors of the Word.

     The Priesthood, if it is to perform this function, must be trained and educated. And for this reason, the first use of a general body of the Church is the establishment and support of a theological school. This use cannot be performed by individual societies. It requires the cooperative effort of all the societies and all the individuals in the entire Church.

     This is the reason why a Priesthood is, of necessity, the first instrumentality of the Church. For only through such a medium can individuals be ordered into societies, and societies in turn ordered into a general body, that all may work together for a common purpose. To this end, the Priesthood must first come into existence, and must be organized, that there may be order and subordination, cooperation and unity of action, among ministers themselves. The nucleus of the Church-by which it is formed in the beginning and is afterward maintained in orderly existence-is therefore a Council of the Clergy, organized as a distinct unit. It must have its own government. It must have its chosen governor, who, with us, is called the Bishop; and, under him, pastors and ministers, with their appropriate functions. (See Coronis 17; T. C. R. 106; A. R. 744; A. C. 10017.)

     In our form of government, the Bishop is as a General Pastor to the entire Church or diocese over which he presides. Every member of the Church, wherever he may be, has a direct relation to the Bishop, regardless of local residence or of society affiliation. In order that the Church may be a unit, this universal relation to one head is regarded as primary. And application to the Bishop for membership in the General Church, and acceptance by him, is held as prerequisite to membership in any circle or society.

     The Bishop is to have regard, in the first place, to the pastors and ministers who together make up the Council of the Clergy. With these he must take counsel in reference to the spiritual development of the Church, the protection of its purity of Doctrine, the formulation of its policies, the coordination of its uses.

538


And, secondly, he is to have regard to the needs of all the members of the Church. These he must study, weigh, and balance, with a view to determining their relative importance at any given time. From his knowledge-both of the men and of the uses-he must nominate pastors for societies and ministers for their respective functions, out of consideration for the general or universal needs of the entire body. Without these provisions there could be no unity, no possibility of mutual cooperation, no strength of common endeavor, but only diversity of thought and action having regard merely to local needs and conflicting desires.

     Closely connected with the need for a Priesthood is the need for teachers. If teachers are to be prepared, there must be schools devoted to this use. And the training of ministers and teachers implies the higher education of all the young people of the Church.

     Education in the Church should be continuous; that is, it should not cease at the end of the elementary school period, and later, after a long break, provide only for those seeking theological and normal training. There must be high schools and colleges, equipped to take care of all the young men and young women of the Church.

     To support such a continuous system of New Church education, there must be a general organization. With us, this need is provided by a distinct body called the Academy, which is, however, but a specialized branch of the General Church, specifically organized to perform this educational use. It is distinct, in that it holds a legal Charter from the State, and is equipped with an independent financial organization such as is necessary to its special function. But it is one with the General Church in its ultimate purpose of promoting the establishment of the Lord's Kingdom on the earth.

     We acknowledge education to be inmostly for the sake of man's spiritual life, thus for the sake of the Church, and secondarily for the sake of his life on earth and his function to human society. Because of this, at the present time the Bishop of the General Church is recognized by choice and election as the President of the Academy, in order that the ends of education may be coordinated most perfectly with those of the Church itself.

     There are many other uses, each having a vital bearing upon the development of the Church, which can be performed only by a general body.

539


Among these we may mention the translation, publication and dissemination of the Writings; the publication and distribution of collateral literature; and the maintenance of the NEW CHURCH LIFE. All these are indispensable means by which there may be a continual circulation of the life-blood of spiritual thought and affection throughout the ecclesiastical body-a universal sharing of gifts received from the Lord.

     There must also be provision for the extension of the Church; the fostering of new beginnings; the giving of aid to small and struggling groups, that they may grow, under the leading of Providence, into circles and societies capable of supporting their own uses. To this end there must be visiting pastors to work among the isolated; to study their needs, to encourage their efforts, to order them for spiritual uses, that the seeds being planted in widely scattered fields may be nourished and brought to fruition.

     Again, there is the use of Assemblies, by which the strength and inspiration of the entire Church may be imparted to all its members. These include episcopal visits to isolated families and circles from time to time; local Assemblies held in particular societies; District Assemblies, in which the individuals, groups and societies of a larger area unite; national Assemblies, bringing together all who reside in a given country; and finally, General Assemblies, where are gathered the members of the Church from all parts of the world. All these are of tremendous value in fostering mutual charity and understanding, and in bringing a powerful influx from the New Heaven for the refreshment and uplifting of the Church. Nor would they be possible without a general organization.

     Lastly, it is necessary to develop common forms of worship. By means of a Liturgy, harmonious yet flexible rituals must be provided. They must be formulated in accord with the Doctrine of the New Church. As they are perfected, they must become more and more expressive of the inner spirit of the New Church. Such rituals afford a common basis upon which the entire Church-even though its societies are widely scattered-may worship together. They make it possible for the members of the Church to find-in whatever society they may visit-services in which they can participate, and can feel at home. Because such a Liturgy must have in view provision for the conditions that exist in many parts of the Church, its development is, of necessity, an episcopal function.

540


It is a use of the General Church.

     Many other uses not here mentioned are equally important in the establishment of the Church. All of them-whether individual, local, or general in character-should enlist our affectionate loyalty and support. They are all necessary, each in its own field being essential to the highest development of all the others.

     If we love the Church as to its Divine origin and its spiritual essence; if w-e love the Lord: and the reception of truth and good from the Word, surely we will seek to promote the external instrumentalities, without which that supreme end cannot be accomplished. We plead for no external loyalty, no traditional adherence to the forms and customs of our fathers. But we submit that, if the spiritual life of the Church is to be preserved, then-generation by generation-we must attain to a spirit of devotion to all the uses of the Church. We must assume individual responsibility for their support. We must each be prepared to participate in their duties and functions, as the need may arise. This we must do, not for the sake of these outward acts, nor from any worldly consideration, but because we love the Church itself, and are inspired to seek, by every possible means, to promote its internal growth.

     So far as this is the case, even the most external uses of the Church will be filled with life from the Lord. He will be present in them, continually renewing the spiritual life of the Church in us by means of them. He will be present in all our work, strengthening the bonds of charity among us. He will establish our abode, not merely in the external organization of the Church, but in the Holy City which is the spiritual Kingdom of God on earth, that in very truth our feet may stand within the gates of Jerusalem. (Psalm 122:2.)

541


MORALITY IN THE MAKING 1939

MORALITY IN THE MAKING       Rev. HUGO LJ. ODHNER       1939

     (Given before the Bryn Athyn Women's Guild, October 10, 1939.)

     To pose as a moralist is to invite disaster. The word brings to mind an old-fashioned fogy of a gentleman with black top-hat whose recipe for the world's salvation is a crusade against the joys that he himself was too timid to harvest in his youth. A moralist is usually viewed as a censorious and unsympathetic fanatic, continually "preaching" at other people, a man who is devoid of tact and aggressively condemnatory of any modification of the straight-laced customs of the past.

     But such a man is not a moralist. He is simply a man whom Time has defeated, but who will not accept its verdicts. Customs are not morals. Morals cannot be propagated by legislation. Nor are the joys of life immoral by virtue of being delightful. The Son of Man came eating and drinking. The children of the bride-chamber cannot fast while the Bridegroom is with them.

     Whether we like it or not, our children, our pupils, or the young people with whom we adults come in contact, will almost inevitably compel us to become moralists. The younger generation makes its own morals; but its recognition of moral truths depends upon our own success in the fine art of living. Parents sooner or later have to realize that, although they can shape the habits of their children to some extent, and make them conform to certain customs essential to their social future, yet the exercise of parental authority is not sufficient to create a sense of moral responsibility in a child or youth. For morality involves self-government, not mere obedience. It implies that man controls and balances his impulses, shapes his behavior, and selects his habits according to rational judgment.

     The Writings give three distinct planes of life for men in the world, three levels of motives. The first is based on force, and on the external compulsions of the laws of society. This is the civil plane of life, where the motive is obedience to authority,-an authority which is feared and respected for its power.

542




     The Jewish Church was founded upon such obedience. It was a Theocracy rather than a Church; the State and the Church were a one. And the conformity of the individual to prescribed actions was the only requirement of which the people were conscious. This was a state such as that of children who believe that a literal obedience to a command is all that is necessary. In vain did the prophets of Jehovah preach a moral reformation in Jewry. They killed the prophets, but they built and garnished their sepulchres.

     The Christian Church was founded on an appeal to the moral sense of men, and today, in the wreck of Christian doctrine, and after the decay of the Christian brotherhood into a sentimental mockery, there still survive an interest in, and a zeal for, a practical morality,-a sight of the need of moral truths and moral virtues which shall, it is believed, save society, even though the religious conscience is passing away. Some one recently called the younger generation "spiritually illiterate." But, although, in some countries, Paganism has openly returned, and dictators have demanded that civil obedience and the economic welfare of the State be put above any moral questions of right and wrong, there are still nations which, for very shame, cannot evade the challenge to morality, and are willing to give of their life's blood to preserve the freedom of the individual, the rights of others, and the sanctity of open treaties.

     The New Church, as the Crown of the Churches, has been given a Revelation which is couched, not as civil truth, not as moral truth, but as spiritual truth,-truth directly speaking of spiritual issues, spiritual states. And yet the New Churchman does not live on some ecstatic spiritual plane. His head should be in heaven, indeed, but his feet must rest solidly on the earth. And therefore he is obliged to work out a moral philosophy which is to serve him as he strives to carry out the spiritual charity which the Writings teach him. He must, for himself and for his own house, prepare himself to meet the moral obligations under which his place among men puts him; this, in addition to his spiritual duties, which his faith and conscience dictate, and to the civil duties which a willing obedience to the laws of the State impose.

     This middle plane of life-the field of moral life-is the characteristic plane of human activity. For, to quote the Doctrine of Life, "Moral good is what a man does from the law of reason; by this good, and according to it, he is a man. . . ." (Life 12.)

543


"Moral good . . . is the human good itself, for it is the rational good according to which man lives with man as a brother and associate. . . ." (C. 57.) It makes man a citizen of this world; it does not make him an angel: it is human good, not angelic good.

     Yet it is in this field of moral life that the spiritual and the natural meet. Morals sensitively reflect both spiritual and natural states. We cannot simply adopt a set of morals! We, as New Churchmen, cannot adopt the morals of the world. This does not mean that we cannot learn moral truths, even from the world around us. There is much to admire, even in the virtues of the pagan past; and in present-day society we observe these human goods at closer range. They are there. If they were to perish, society would decay.

     But still we cannot but discern in the morals of the world the revealing features which show that they are inspired and shaped by a false theology, by a hypocritical religion, by a spurious conscience, and ofttimes by no conscience at all. We cannot adopt such morals. We feel as if we had many reservations.

     The New Churchman must develop a moral life which is formed from and guided by the rational principles of his faith, and by the judgment which this gives him as to the real values in his life.

     The popular, and unreflecting, idea of morality is that of various virtues, each opposed to some vice. A man is called "moral" according as he possesses these virtues, most of them hereditary and natural to him, others the result of his training or environment. If he does not commit any crimes, and is not in the grip of any vices he is called a "moral man."

     But all who reflect can see that even many animals are quite harmless and innocuous, and free from any vice, especially if domesticated and trained, and as long as they are fed and cared for. Yet they are without morals. They are amoral, not immoral. Even our children, and gentiles, and the simple good, so far as they are in ignorance of moral truths, or unable to take moral responsibility, are not to be called immoral, but non-moral; just as children are never unchaste but non-chaste, and are not to be called irrational because they are as yet non-rational.

     Morality implies more than a collection of oddly assorted hereditary virtues, or natural goods; more than merely social training.

544


It implies rational discrimination, a sight of relative values, a controlled balance of one's impulses (and even inherited virtues are only impulses) according to rational decision. It implies self-government. It gives a proper place to spontaneous impulse; it allows proper freedom to joy, to the display of the emotions, and to the satisfaction of the bodily appetites. It is tolerant of the ignorance and mistakes of others. But it is not weak, not sentimental. It is governed by the laws of reason, and subordinates all things according to their recognized value in the pursuance of the accepted aims of a life in human society.

     Charity and faith are spiritual virtues, from which there is salvation. But the Writings amply show that charity cannot be exercised except through judgment. The fruits of charity, or the goods of charity, are, with the regenerating man, identical with moral goods. (D. Wis. xi. 8: 5 (2). The evils which must be shunned as sins against God very largely have to do with man's relation to the neighbor, and thus with the immoralities of injustice, unfairness, insincerity and fraud, lasciviousness, intemperance, imprudence, lying, cunning, enmity, envy, hatred and revenge, and malevolence. Thus "a moral life, when it is at the same time spiritual, is charity" (T. C. R. 443); that is, "a life according to human and Divine laws at the same time." (T. C. R. 445.)

     Swedenborg, speaking at an assembly of novitiate spirits, therefore said, "My opinion is, that Charity is to act from the love of Justice with Judgment, in every work and office, but from a love from no other source than from the Lord God the Savior." (T. C. R. 459.)

     Notice the simplicity of the Ten Commandments. They were given as civil laws, and forbade certain acts. But, through the exercise of judgment, these laws are enlarged in scope. A rational man comes to see, if he has any moral feeling, that it is theft for an employee to waste time while on a job, or for an employer to oppress a laborer who has no recourse but to comply with impossible conditions; that it is immoral-nay, murder,-to attack the reputation of another, and thus destroy his social usefulness.

     In the Writings this field of moral truths is to some extent stressed. There is need, in the church, for a greater emphasis upon such truths, for the teaching of moral truths, and especially in the homes of the church; for the home is the moral nursery of the coming generation, and its atmosphere gives, unconsciously, a sense of moral values to the child.

545


Our Present literature is very deficient, and can give little aid to the parents.*
     * The only extant book which aims to stress this phase is the Catechism on the Ten Commandments, prepared by the Rev. C. T. Odhner a year before he died. This is very well adapted for children between the ages of twelve and fifteen or sixteen. (The Academy Book Room, 50 cents.)

     Parent and Child.

     The field of moral truth is a study, a science. It is also a philosophy, for adult education. But instruction alone does not educate. Especially is it impossible to impart morals to the young merely by "preaching" at them. Neither can we make children moral by threats and punishments. We can make them "civil," but not moral.

     Now it is true that the plane of civility,-the habits of courtesy and good behavior, of obedience to their elders,-must be the basis of later attitudes. It is most unwise and unjust to expect small children to take full responsibility for their self-discipline. Therefore we do not leave them in freedom to make their own decisions at all times; certainly not in anything essential. We substitute our will for theirs. They must learn to obey, and we try to make them see that it is better to obey-that what the parents propose is better than what the children desire to do from impulse or cupidity; so that a confidence in the judgment of the parents is established. That is why it is so important that parents consult together-agree on common policies-that they may not appear to differ before the children. Obedience from fear must be transmuted as soon as possible into obedience from confidence. It is also important that parents and teachers should not have too great diversity of viewpoint. And in social policies, the mothers within a community such as ours have a unique opportunity to shape common points of view as to the needs of their children. Where all the parents are united in standing for some requirement, the children will not question their ruling. And under such circumstances the self-confidence of the child is broken, and soon replaced by confidence in his parents. A year will pass, and he will be quite ready before a younger brother to show contempt for the project from which his parents steered him away twelve months before.

546


He feels that the little boy who was called by his name a year ago was not he at all. That is the blessing of growth.

     Civility and obedience are the fundaments. Good habits of considerate action must be inculcated; bad habits must be broken, if needs be by punishments. We all know that punishments and criticism must be offset by rewards and encouragement. To bribe a child to be good is equally an unwise method; it breeds smugness and selfishness. To require too high a standard, or to give continual scoldings for failure, will break a child's spirit of initiative, and will create in him unsocial tendencies.

     Every child is different from every other. We cannot expect to find the same skills, natural goods, abilities, or virtues, latent in every child. And while we must endeavor to correct and compensate faults of character, we cannot supply missing traits all of a sudden. But one tendency can be balanced by the encouragement of another compensating trait. These natural goods must be drawn out, patiently. And it requires more than human wisdom to do it, and more time and attention than parents today can give. Few of us have the sensitive perception. We use guesswork-slap-dash methods-in analyzing our children's passing states. When provocation increases, we turn to the fatal use of sarcasm, which digs a mote of bitter waters between the parent and the child. We attribute adult motives to the child, as if the child had acted from a confirmed state instead of from weakness, blindness, and impulse. We react to his states from impatience, instead of from considered judgment. We give up in desperation-relying, finally, upon the fact that the children will grow up some day in spite of us.

     And the normal processes of growth do cover up many of our educational mistakes. They do grow up. And, as they advance beyond puberty, we find that we can increasingly rely upon their understanding to correct and rule their will with its fickle impulses; provided there is some help and guidance and instruction; and provided that some orderly habits have been established, so that the moral effort is not so difficult for the child.

     Moral life then begins, with the clearer rational sight of moral truths. An adult attitude begins gradually to form on moral questions. The time for physical punishment is past; the time for a rational appeal, and moral suasion, has begun.

547


Principles are beginning to be grasped. And hope springs up anew in the breasts of the parents. It is a wise parent who knows when to cease insisting upon mere obedience, and to let the child's own moral sense take responsibility. It is easy to over-train; and equally easy to allow the growing child to take too much responsibility. If this happens, tragedies may come, or at least grave disillusionments,-mistakes hard to remedy afterwards. The best way of training is to let freedom, with its responsibility, come by degrees, and not too suddenly.

     There is no greater reward to parenthood than that which is found when the child or youth, in a state of free decision and thought, surprises one with some moral judgment that shows clear insight-that penetrates the sham and imaginary joys which satisfy more childish or more typically "adolescent" states; a moral judgment that recognizes the justice in some situation, or puts him on guard against his own nature. When that comes, the end of education, which is that the child shall become rational and moral, is in sight.

     The New Church Home.

     How can we, in our homes, prepare for that end? I cannot attempt to outline the essentials of New Church education. The point I would stress this evening is that, from infancy on, the teaching of moral truths must be accompanied by the insinuation of moral good, adapted to the age of the child.

     There can be no effective preaching of moral abstractions to a child. His perception of moral issues must come from the light which love sheds into his life. It comes by contact with loved personalities, which represent to him what is good and true and just. He learns from the way people around him talk and act. He learns through stories that he is told, or which he reads. The letter of the Word is focused about beloved characters, and centrally about the Lord. History and literature-fiction and drama-amplify his judgment of good conduct and bad. At first the contrast must be sharply drawn and the moral contours clear. Later-in the literature which interests the older children-the heroes and the villains become harder to distinguish, the motives being complicated and hard to analyze. But it is well, I believe, that while evil must be known through representative characters, yet the evil itself should not be more than suggested-never dwelt upon until it becomes a subject of the child's meditation, or until it recurs to disturb his dreams or poison his fancies.

548


Drama is an accepted entertainment, produced at the outskirts of heaven. But note that "it is established by law that nothing of the opposite shall be exhibited, which is called dishonorable or unseemly, except figuratively, and, as it were remotely." (C. L. 18:5.)

     We do not live in heaven. Yet something of common sense tells us that a child's state is injured, his heart calloused and embittered, his mind's perception blunted, by too realistic contacts with war and crime and sordid tragedy, by pictures of domestic infidelity and cold-blooded calculation, by radio voices screaming threats and abuses and unkindly wit, or by stories which delight in the horrible details of cruelty and deception. Even the classical fairy stories are not all fit for the ears and imaginations of a young child. The proprium is fed by morbid things. In the Word, the sphere of holiness protects the child from certain evils that are depicted, because the angelic spheres are about the reader. No such protection is present elsewhere, except it be supplied by the parents, or by the fortunate ignorance of the child. Yet too much reliance should not be placed upon his ignorance; for he often "senses" things to be evil, even if he does not quite understand.

     The child receives Remains of moral good and truth, as from a parable, through symbolic truth and symbolic act. But he also receives, by similar methods, the insidious beginnings of evil delights and of false ideas. We must not forget to guard the gates of the child's mind.

     I have said that we, of the New Church, cannot simply adopt the morals of the world. Our moral life is not intended as an end in itself. It is meant to be a servant of a spiritual conscience, formed by revealed truths about the Lord and heaven; an intermediate through which spiritual charity can be adapted to the uses of civil society, and to the home and the community of the Church. More and more, our people will form distinctive moral attitudes, as well as customs that will express our reasoned convictions, and convey our spiritual philosophy of life.

     Moral truths, in their abstract, are acknowledged the world over, for they are instinct in rational thinking.

549


But the New Churchman must act from spiritual reasons, as well as from moral and civil motives. His problem is to regenerate the natural affections, which are at the base of all his moral virtues and skills, by deliberately disciplining these affections by his reason, so that they can become of use to the neighbor, and thus to the Lord's heavenly kingdom. Spiritual truths must form his spiritual loves. Moral truths must balance and govern his natural loves.

     This does not mean that a New Churchman must continually distrust all that is spontaneous and joyful, and condemn it as belonging to impulse and sentimentalism. Benevolence, friendship, generosity and alertness are moral virtues just as great as temperance, prudence and modesty. The goal of the New Church is the conjunction of charity and faith. Our moral ideal is not one who is so principled, so controlled, that he is afraid ever to let his affections show; any more than it is one who from sentimental impulses embarrasses even his friends. But the affections which we by degrees make rational are the measure of our real moral advance.

     There is so much need in the world for true friendship which neither fawns nor betrays, for true love of liberty which respects that of others, for true benevolence which measures its object for what it is worth-by considering the relative values of the uses it supports. There is a need for a true courtesy which is not mere convention, not mere polite training, but has in it a sincere modesty, yet also a faith in others, an understanding of what they feel.

     To make our moral habits into rationally significant acts of neighborly love is a slow and patient process. But in a New Church community there is the soul from which this can develop, not from insistence upon set standards, or by mixing in a general whirl of social contacts which weaken our home interests and pile up our social obligations to the detriment of other uses, but from the simple confidence in each other's sincerity and in our common and continual inspiration from the Heavenly Doctrines, where the Lord is present to guide us.

     It is in the family sphere that the moral qualities of a society are formed. A community is such as are its homes. And the first moral precept was, "Honor thy father and thy mother." As we stand watching a world aflame with strife, and we fear lest human society, like a tower built precariously against the Architect's designs, may topple into self-destruction, let us go back to the fundamental of all the human social relations, and let us build anew, from the beginnings, according to the original specifications for love is the only cement that can hold us together.

550


And this must begin in the home.

     Moral abstractions can do little without this. A little timely tenderness can change the color of the skies. A friendly arm around you can dispel the hells, where preaching would but strengthen their hold. Love is the most rational and the most direct of all solvents Difficulties disappear, nerve strain melts away, when two partners kiss. The little child knows this. But we-in our busy concern about external things-often forget that which involves the very end and purpose of life.

     And the tenderness we mean does not involve a mere sentimental impulse. But it is the sincere and deliberate offering of strength and understanding-the putting aside of pride, the leveling of the barriers behind which our real selves seek ineffectually to hide. We have so many high walls around us which need to be leveled; walls of sensitiveness and vanity and self-consciousness; walls of undue prudence; defensive artifices which reason indeed dictates for us to erect, and which protect us from unwise impulses and premature confidences, and allow us time to use the reflective thought that makes us human; walls behind which we can marshal the principles and moral truths which our wisdom-such as it may be-has garnered.

     But these walls were never meant to be eternal. Truth was not meant merely as a defense, but as a tool of peaceful usefulness. There comes a time when the walls have to be razed, and when spirit meets spirit, to be united in true understanding for common strength. Love alone can level these wails of prudence. And only so can come the fulfilment of the moral life.

551


OUR PART IN ESTABLISHING THE CHURCH 1939

OUR PART IN ESTABLISHING THE CHURCH       Rev. F. E. GYLLENHAAL       1939

     (An Address to the Olivet Society, Toronto, March, 1939.)

     The Church is the Lord's, because He makes it by good and truth, and all good and truth is from Him alone. We can easily comprehend that the Lord made the former Christian Church, for His First Advent and the Word of the New Testament show this to have been true. It is equally evident that He made, and continues to make, the New Church; for without the Second Advent and the Writings, which claim and prove themselves to be a Divine Revelation, this Church would not be.

     But the Lord's Church only has existence when His Word is received by men and women, who then produce an external organization according to the pattern revealed, and call this organization also "The Church," earnestly hoping that it corresponds truly with the internal church, which they think and speak of as the "Lord's Church."

     The Church as made by the Lord is spiritually organized, but not outwardly, except in a most general way. The Writings call this Church the "Church Specific," and declare that it is wherever the Word is received, acknowledged and lived. The general and particular doctrine of the Writings show that the Word of the Old and New Testaments, and of the Heavenly Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, is the Word that makes the present Church Specific, which is the Church of the New Jerusalem. The Lord alone knows who are actually members of this Church, but men know the nominal members to be all who enter by the gate of baptism. For this purpose there is a priesthood, and ordination into the priesthood is apart from any general or particular organization by men, as also is baptism. After ordination a priest is recognized as a priest in an organization, and after baptism the one baptized may become, and should become, a member of an organization.

552




     The organizations within the Church Specific, which now is the Church of the New Jerusalem, are for the purpose of performing the uses taught by the Word which makes the Church. Such organizations are the products of the reactions of men to the Lord, who, by His Word, makes the Church, and, with the co-operation of men, establishes and extends it among men. These organizations correspond nearly or remotely to the Church which is the Lord's alone; and by the Lord's authority they are called "churches."

     The purpose of the organizations of the Church is to provide the human means for the Lord's salvation of men. These human means are innumerable, but they should all contribute to the teaching of the truth, that men may be led thereby to the good of life, and thus be prepared for heaven.

     A society or particular church is such an organization within the Church Specific. Its first and universal use,-universal, because it enters into and operates by all the uses,-is to provide the human means for the Lord's salvation of men; in the first place, for the salvation of its constituent members, but also for the extension of such means to others. For a society or particular church is like a man; and a man, though he must provide first for his own life, in order that he may serve others, is created to perform uses to other men. The societies of heaven have their uses within themselves, but also perform uses to other societies, or to angels, spirits, men, and even to the hells. No society of heaven is self-centered. Every society of heaven looks constantly upward to the Lord and outward to other societies. The societies of the Church must also constantly look upward and outward,-outward to those who do not know the Lord, and who have not His Word.

     Even though a society should expect its growth to be from within, by its children, yet it has uses to perform to those outside its borders. The first of these uses is to make known to others the Lord, His Word, and the means of salvation. In the doing of these uses the society should function as a whole, but also by the activities of all its members. The way has been indicated by the manner in which the Lord made known His Second Advent and His New Church, namely, by the publication of His Word,-the Writings. The continued publication of the Scriptures and the Writings, and the continued distribution of them, that the Lord through them may speak to men and establish His Church with them, is ever a chief use of general and particular organizations.

553


The means are to be of human devising. But the use should be performed. In this the Lord can act only by man's co-operation.

     A society can perform this use by providing for the advertisement and sale of the Writings, and for other forms of distribution. And every member can perform this use separately. The use should be done in both ways. And it should be done whenever there is a keen realization of the importance of the use.

     The purpose of such a use, however, is not primarily to gain members. Its primary purpose should be to make the Lord known, and to make known His kingdom, which He wills shall be on earth for the sake of man's salvation and eternal happiness. But, just as the angels rejoice over receiving a new member in a society, so will the members of the Church rejoice over new members. And they will be strengthened and encouraged in all the uses of the Society as its membership increases.

     It may seem to us that we are doing all the uses that are within our present means and abilities. But when there is the love of a use, and a clear recognition of its need, there will be found ways and means of doing it. Difficulties will be overcome; the use initiated will open the way for its gradual development; the love of it will grow; and the delights experienced in doing it will be a plentiful reward. Whether the time has come for us to initiate this use depends largely on the love for it and the recognition of it. But it should not be lost sight of, or simply ignored. It is possible that it would be the means of a spiritual revival among us, of a spiritual awakening to the means by which we can more widely, and even more interiorly, serve the Lord and the neighbor, and thus help in the extension of the Divine power for the redemption and salvation of mankind.

554


TRULY HUMAN 1939

TRULY HUMAN       Editor       1939


NEW CHURCH LIFE
Office a Publication, Lancaster, Pa.
Published Monthly By
THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM
BRYN ATHYN, PA.
Editor               Rev. W. B. Caldwell, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager          Mr. H. Hyatt, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     All literary contributions should be sent to the Editor. Subscriptions, change of address and business communications should be sent to the Business Manager.

     TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$3.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single Copy, 30 cents.
     The Lord came into the world to restore the fallen race of men to conjunction with Himself, that the race might not perish, but might fulfill the purpose of its creation in the formation and eternal increase of a heaven peopled by angelic men from the church on earth,-angelic men reciprocating the love of the Creator, and receiving the gifts of eternal life, wisdom and joy as their own from Him. Thus the Lord came to restore the church as the seminary of heaven. This He accomplished by manifesting Himself as the Divine Man, and by the glorification of His Human even to ultimates, taking unto Himself an abiding presence in His Divine Human, revealed to the church in the Word of His Divine Truth, whereby men might know their God, and follow Him in the way of regeneration and salvation,-the way of restoration to conjunction with Him and everlasting life. This is what we mean when we say that the Lord came into the world to redeem and save the human race.

     In the earliest church the human of man had been formed by regeneration into the finite image and likeness of his Creator-his understanding and will becoming forms of celestial truth and good by the reception of the Divine Truth and Good.

555


The man was formed "dust from the ground, and Jehovah God breathed into his nostrils the breath of lives" (Genesis 2:7)-the "two lives" of the understanding and the will as the heart and lungs of man's spirit, made eternally living by perpetual reception of the Divine Good and Truth from the Lord.

     Literally, this formation of man "dust from the ground" pictures the creation of man's body from the substance of the material world, and his physical life by the breathing of the air or the respiration of the lungs. But in a broader sense it involves the creation of man on all planes, from inmost to outmost,-soul, mind and body,-out of the finite substances of the universe, spiritual and natural, whereby he became a microcosm in the macrocosm. (D. L. W. 319-326.) "Breathing into his nostrils the breath of lives" involved the presence and influx of the Divine Spirit of Life Itself, by which alone man lives, or "becomes a living soul,"-an "animated " being having a pulse and respiration in the atmospheres of the spiritual and natural suns; possessing in himself an individual human soul, immortal, and the attributes of the human or man, distinguished from all other forms of animal creation, being in the image and likeness of God Man.

     Because man was so created from the substance of the finite universe, therefore he was called "Adam," which in the Hebrew means ground, and in the Latin homo from humus, the ground. Hence also the term "human"-the human race.

     As the universe was created by the Divine, Who is uncreate,-created, not out of nothing, but out of the substance of the Divine by the process of the finiting of the Infinite,-so the created universe, once formed, became forever distinct from the Divine-"from God, but not God " (D. L. W. 283)-a receptacle of the Divine, living by the perpetual presence and influx of the Divine, or Life Itself, the Only Life. Such presence by adjunction is the nature of the conjunction of God the Creator with the universe, of the Lord with the human race, which also is forever distinct from the Divine, though a receptacle of the Divine.

     But in the spiritual sense of Genesis the creation of man in the image and likeness of the Creator describes the formation of an angelic mind in him, with its faculties of intelligence and wisdom, spiritual and celestial, which are characteristics of the truly human, or regenerate man in the finite image and likeness of Infinite God Man.

556


Of this character were the men of the Most Ancient Church in its days of integrity. It was because the Lord revealed Himself to them as Man that they knew the truly human to which they might attain by regeneration, by suffering themselves to be taught and led by Him as their Divine Exemplar. Of this we read:

     By 'man' is meant the Most Ancient Church. For in the supreme sense the Lord Himself is the only Man. Hence the celestial church is called 'man,' because it is a likeness, and afterwards the spiritual church, because it is an image. In a general sense, everyone is called man who has a human intellect, because it is from the intellect that man is man; and according to this one person is more a man than another, although the distinction of one man from another should be made according to a faith of love to the Lord. The Most Ancient Church, and every true church, and therefore those who are of the church, or who are in love and faith towards the Lord, are principally called 'man' in the Word." (A. C. 477.)

     "It is from the Esse of Jehovah, or of the Lord, that every man is a man; and it is thence also that he is called a man. The celestial, which makes him a man, is that he loves the Lord and loves the neighbor; thus he is a man because he is an image of the Lord, and because he has that celestial from the Lord; otherwise he is a wild beast. That Jehovah, or the Lord, is the only Man, and that men have from Him that they are called men, and that one is more a man than another, may be seen above, nos. 49, 288, 477, 566. Moreover, it may be evident from this, that Jehovah, or the Lord, appeared to the fathers of the Most Ancient Church as Man, afterwards also to Abraham, and likewise to the Prophets. Wherefore, also, the Lord deigned, when there was no longer any man upon earth, or nothing celestial and spiritual any longer remaining with man, to assume the human nature by being born like another man, and making it Divine, thus also the only Man. (A. C. 1894.)

     Definitions of the "truly human."

     The term "truly human" is used in the Writings to mark the distinction between man and the animal, over which he was to "have dominion." But it is also used to describe the faculties and qualities of the regenerate or angelic man, in contrast with those of the unregenerate man, who becomes worse than the beasts. Let us cite a few of the passages in which the term occurs:

     Loves.

     "If man were born into the love into which he was created, he would not be in any evil; yea, neither would he know what evil is; for he who has not been in evil, and thus is not in evil, cannot know what evil is; if he were told that this or that is evil, he would not believe that it could be possible.

557


This is the state of innocence in which were Adam and Eve his wife; the nakedness of which they were not ashamed signified that state. . . . The love into which man was created is the love of the neighbor, that he wishes as well to him as to himself, and better; and that he may be in the delight of that love when he does well to the neighbor, scarcely otherwise than as it is with a parent towards his children. This love is truly human; for in it there is what is spiritual, by which it is distinguished from natural love, which brute animals have. . . . But when the love of the neighbor was turned into the love of self, and this love increased, then human love was turned into animal love, and man, from being a man, became a beast." (D. P. 275, 276.)

     "From conjugial love the angels have all their beauty, which each angel has according to that love. For all the angels are forms of their affections, because it is not permitted in heaven to counterfeit with the face the things which are not of one's affection, on which account their faces are types of their minds. When, therefore, they have conjugial love, love to the Lord, mutual love, the love of good and the love of truth, and the love of wisdom, these loves with them form their faces, and present themselves like the fires of life in their eyes; to which innocence and peace also add themselves and complete their beauty. Such forms are the forms of the inmost angelic heaven, and they are truly human forms." (A. E. 1001.)

     Liberty and Rationality.

     "The truly human is with everyone from Rationality, that he is able to see and to know, if he is willing, what is true and what is good; and also that, from Liberty, he is able to will, think, speak and do it. But this Liberty, with its Rationality, has been destroyed with those who have commingled good with evil in themselves. . . ." (D. P. 227:9.)

     "He who believes that all things which he thinks and does are from himself is not unlike a beast; for he thinks only from the natural mind, which is common to man and beast, and not from the spiritual rational mind, which is the truly human mind. For this mind acknowledges that God Alone thinks from Himself, and that man thinks from God. . . ." (D. P. 321:2.)

     Life According to the Commandments from Religion.

     "He who does not live according to the Commandments as a spiritual man is neither a civil man, nor a moral man, nor a natural man; for he is destitute of justice, of honesty, and even of the human, because the Divine is not in these. For there is no good in itself and from itself except that which is from God, and unless the Divine is in it. Consider whether anyone who has hell in himself, or who is a devil, can do what is just from justice, or what is honest, or what is truly human. The truly human is that which is from order and according to order, and that which is from sound reason; and God is order, and from God is sound reason. In a word, he who does not shun evils as sins is not a man." (A. E. 948:4.)

     The perversion of the truly human or man, and the need of its restoration to order, was the cause of the advent of the Lord into the world, foretold when the celestial church began its decline.

558


The beginning of this decline is pictured in the Word as the fall of Adam and Eve and their ejection from the Garden. But it is now revealed to us that the decline was gradual, not with the men of that church in its finest state, but with their posterity or succeeding generations. (A. C. 54, 161.)

     The perversion that took place was a gradual abuse of human freedom, of that liberty and rationality which are the human itself, given and preserved with every man, provided for the end that there might be a being distinct from the Divine, but conjoined to the Divine by reciprocal love. If the regenerate man or angel were to become one with the Divine, and thus be Divine, it would destroy the end of creation. The glorified Human of the Lord,-this alone is one with the Divine, and is Divine. And this Human the Lord put on from His own Divine by the process of glorification in the world. It was done for the eternal salvation of the human race, which is fulfilled in those who worship the Lord as the only God and the only Man, the only Object of human adoration and love.

     To this worship the regenerate of the church are now drawn by the Lord's love, inspired as the "breath of lives" into the receptive vessels of human hearts and minds by the Lord Himself, and for their sakes, that they may become truly human in His image and likeness, and receive the eternal blessing of those who acknowledge the Lord in His Divine Human. " No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him; and I will raise him up at the last day." (John 6:44.)
SONS OF THE EAST 1939

SONS OF THE EAST              1939

     Because the Syrians or the "sons of the east" signified those who were in the knowledges of good and truth, these were called "wise" more than the rest, as in the First Book of Kings, speaking of Solomon: "The wisdom of Solomon was multiplied above the wisdom of all the sons of the east" (4:30); and in Matthew, concerning those who came to Jesus when He was born: "Wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, Where is He that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east, and are come to worship Him." (2:1, 2) For in Syria were the last remains of the Ancient Church; wherefore there was still a residue of the knowledges of good and truth there. (A. C. 3249.)

559


NOTES AND REVIEWS. 1939

NOTES AND REVIEWS.       H. L. O       1939

     THE ACADEMY SPIRIT IN SWEDEN.

     As an organ of the Jonkoping Society of the General Church, a monthly periodical called TRO OCH LIF ("Faith and Life") has been launched in Sweden on what we hope will be a long and useful voyage. It is issued in a dignified form-twelve multigraphed pages of text within printed covers. The Editor, the Rev. Erik Sandstrom, sets forth his purposes in succinct and uncompromising language. The little magazine-and the size, we trust, will increase with age-proposes to be a medium, first of all, for the study of the Writings as the basis and source of all applied doctrines; secondly, for presenting the principles, methods, and history of the General Church, and news of its doings; and thirdly, for the examination of the constitution and development of the mind, especially with reference to the education of children and to the principles of spiritual guidance and growth. A "question department" will also be conducted, in line with the angelic suggestion recorded in Conjugial Love, n. 183.

     The first department is headed "Our Doctrines," and presents forcefully the principle that the Writings are the Word of the Lord, centering the attention on the statement in Ecclesiastical History that those books were written by the Lord through Swedenborg-"a Domino per me"-and on the need and privilege of our seeing the Writings as a revelation of the Divine Human.

     The second department is entitled "Our Little Ones." In an excellent article, appealing for the recognition that the most immediate field of missionary work is among our own children, the Editor cites the saying of the angels concerning the future of the New Church,-that they have slender hope for the men of the Christian Church, but much for some nation far distant from the Christian world, and therefore removed from infesters. (L. J. 74.) This, it is pointed out, should guide our efforts for church-extension. Our hope lies with those of the remnant within the Christian world who, from choice or circumstances, are more isolated from the broad currents of falsity and evil; and thus particularly with our own children, so far as they can be shielded from the perverse spiritual spheres of a consummated world. This spiritual isolation is necessary for our children.

560


The article also shows the work that lies before the distinctive New Church, especially in following revealed teachings anent education. It recounts what the Academy and the General Church have attempted in this direction, and looks forward to the time when a New Church school may be established also in Sweden.

     Another department head is "Our Church." Under this title are given extracts from the "Order and Organization" of the General Church, Lastly are appended News Notes and acknowledgments of gifts, among the latter specifically a multigraph machine. Well-chosen passages from the Writings are interspersed between articles. The last one reads, "To give from the heart is to receive spiritually from the Lord,"-which is a paraphrase from A. C. 9938.

     This modest monthly stresses the effort to build the church on sure foundations. By its direct challenge to thought, it compares in spirit with some of the early publications of the Academy. If it holds to its distinct purpose and character, it will neither displace nor compete with NOVA ECCLESIA, the excellent pastoral periodical of the Stockholm Society. And the subscription price is less than seventy cents a year.
     H. L. O.
SEEDS OF SERENITY AND HAPPINESS. 1939

SEEDS OF SERENITY AND HAPPINESS.              1939

     Most of the articles and books that have been written about Jonathan Chapman, better known as Johnny Appleseed, have had little to say about his novel method of disseminating the seeds of heavenly truth, more precious than those which bore fruit in the orchards of the Middle West. But, here is an exception, kindly sent to us by Mr. Donald Rose:

     "A harmless enough fellow, the Indians treated him with respect. Even during the War of 1812, while other white settlers were being slaughtered by these native allies of the British, Johnny Appleseed passed unmolested. There was a reason for their reluctance to harm him. He was a religious man after the Swedenborgian persuasion, a type of faith that seems to impart serenity and happiness to its followers." (From a book entitled Gorandfather Was Queer, by Richardson Wright, published recently by the J. B. Lippincott Co., Philadelphia, $3.00.)

561


MAN A RECEPTACLE 1939

MAN A RECEPTACLE       Rev. E. E. IUNGERICH       1939

     Man is a Receptacle of Life, and on No Plane is he Life Itself.

     It is essential that the Church should acknowledge that "all good is the Divine with man, because it is from the Divine " (A. C. 10618), and that "all truth which is truth is Divine" (A. E. 34); for good and truth proceed as radiations from the Lord, just as do heat and light from the sun. But it is no less important to recognize that all the organic vessels in man, as well as the activities therein, which the radiations of good and truth or of their opposites arouse when they impinge upon the man, are created things, and therefore finite.

     For "the affections of the will are changes and variations of the state of the purely organic substances of the mind, and the thoughts of the understanding are changes and variations of the forms of those substances; and those changes and variations in the organics of the mind are infinitely more perfect than in the organics of the body. . . . Memory is nothing else than the permanent state of these." (D. P. 279.) Note in this connection that the spiritual atmospheres whereby good and truth from the Lord pass, so as to excite such affections and thoughts in a man, "produce heat, . . . which in its essence is love,. . . whenever they are actuated generally [or as a whole volume], and light, which in its essence is wisdom, . . . when modified singly. These, together with the auras, which also are spiritual, are called the Divine Proceeding." (A. E. 726.)

     Still, the affections and thoughts in man's mental organism, albeit thus aroused by the Divine Proceeding, are not thereby transmuted into something Divine. Even the change in their gyrations, which we call regeneration, is nevertheless called a spiritual creation, and what is created is always finite.

562


For the Lord's "Divine cannot be conjoined to man, but only adjoined; as light and sound cannot be conjoined to the eye and the ear, but only adjoined to them; . . . [for] Life itself is adjoined to man, not conjoined." (T. C. R. 718.) "What is Divine cannot be appropriated to man as his, but can be adjoined to him, and so appear as if it were his." (D. P. 285.) "The Divine is not in man, but adjoined to him." (D. L. W. 60.) "The Lord's presence with man is adjunction, thus a conjunction by contiguity." (A. R. 35.)

     The fact that human beings can, like the auras, be used to transmit goods and truths that shall affect others by contiguity, and even, when the Lord so wills it, to record in writing a permanent testimony that becomes itself also a vehicle to do this, does not change any of these instrumentalities into something that has ceased to be finite. In Canons we are told that the Holy Spirit proceeds by the Word, by the Holy Supper, and by means of man to man, and especially by the priesthood to the laity. The vehicles do not in any of these cases undergo a transubstantiation.

     But men are prone at all times to fall into idolatry, and to worship the instrument as Divine. Literalists, therefore, misinterpret the fact that the Word often assigns to the vehicle the name of something Divinely superior to it, and take this to mean that it is in itself this higher thing. The Psalms declare with regard to men, "Ye are gods"; the Gospels call the consecrated elements in the Holy Supper the Lord's "body" and "blood"; and the Writings of Swedenborg declare at times that the sun of heaven is the Lord. Even the finite activities of the mind, or affections and thoughts, are respectively termed goods and truths, as in the statement, which parallels the one from D. P. 279 cited above, that " goods and truth are indeed changes and variations of state in the forms of the mind." (D. P.195.)

     In other passages, however, the Writings give explanations as to what is meant in each of these four cases where the instrument is called by the name of a higher agency. Evidently this is done in order to dispel any misunderstanding that might lead to grievous errors. To prevent our regarding changes and variations in the mind as Divine, from the fact that elsewhere they have been called goods and truths without any qualifications, we are therefore instructed in other passages that they must be considered there as having been rendered finite, created, and human.

563


We accordingly read about "angelic and human truths that are of three degrees" (A. C. 3362), of "rational or human good" (A. C. 3387), of "a real natural human good" (A. C. 3408), and as to how "human good" surpasses "the good with animals." (A. C. 3175.) The obvious intent of such explanations is to warn us against any idolatrous veneration of the instrument. In the particular case under consideration, we must be safeguarded from falling into the error that there can be purely Divine changes and variations of state bottled up somewhere in the forms of the mind of man, who was created to be a receptacle of life, and never Life Itself.

     In a recent article, however, the Rev. Theodore Pitcairn voices the opinion that whenever goods and truths are mentioned they must invariably betoken purely Divine activities. Perhaps this explains why a few who take the same literalistic attitude as to the invariableness of Swedenborg's terminology have insisted that, whenever the term "Word" is mentioned by Swedenborg, his own Writings are also designated thereby, even when characteristics that are obviously peculiar to other Divine Revelations are being set forth. To the writer of the article referred to, the fact that the activities of mental organisms have once been termed goods and truths is evidently final. "The Church as a whole," he charges, "has come in fact to the veneration of human goods and truths, in which the Lord is not universally regnant. . . . A faith in merely human goods and truths is a faith in goods and truths in which the Lord is not present as the All in all thereof." (DE HEMELSCHE LEER, Aug.-Sept, 1939, pp. 201, 205.)

     Again he writes: "Men have striven to remove the Divine to a distance, . . . in order that they may feel free in their human affairs. For this reason the Christian Church separated the Lord's Divine from His Human, . . .assigning to themselves the power of the Human as keys given to Peter. For the same reason the General Church has made the goods and truths of the Church to be human; for when the Divine was separated from the human things of the Church, they could remain free in their human things. . . These human goods and truths are then graven images, likenesses of things from the Divine which they venerate." (DE HEMELSCHE LEER, October, 1939, p. 236.)

564




     Such a charge falls of itself. No one venerates and still less worships the affections and thoughts in a human brain, the so-called human goods and truths, but only the Lord, whose radiations impinge upon a man by adjunction and contiguity. If, however, these activities of mental organisms are considered "Divine," it would seem logical that they are to be venerated and worshiped.

     It would be interesting to ask this writer if he recognizes that all organisms within the human frame, from the inmost soul to the ultimate skins and bones thereof, are finite; or whether he considers that, somewhere among the successive planes therein, there are some activities that are not finite, created, and human variations of state and form. Does he, for instance, regard the activities of the soul above to be finite and unperverted, while those of the proprium far below as likewise finite, but perverted? Does he then hold that somewhere, intermediate between these two sets of finite activities, there is a bottled-up or enclosed plane in the mind of some men wherein purely Divine changes of state and variations of form exist! Can this he his understanding as to what is meant by that Own of the Lord with a man, with which alone He conjoins Himself?

     Now the statement (John 1:11) that the Lord "came unto His own, and His own received Him not" (referring to truths from the Word which men had known, but had not made of their life), shows clearly that the Word call have with a man an own which yet rejects Him. Such an own is obviously not some enclosed Divine plane with that man.

     The statement that the Lord does not conjoin Himself with a man's proprium, but with His Own with the man, may be paralleled with the teaching that one should love the neighbor, not according to his person, but according to the good with him. No reference in either case is being made to a plane within some one's mind in which there is to be found a purely Divine Own for the sake of conjunction with the Lord, or else a purely Divine Good for the sake of attracting some other person's love.

     The basic teaching in regard to the conjunction of the Lord with man is that the Lord is within man to the extent that man is within the Lord. The same teaching as to a disciple is, that his love should desire to go out to all beings, but should favor association with individuals only to the extent that they enter heart and soul into the Lord's kingdom, thus into the Lord.

565


Entrance into the Lord's kingdom of uses is what is meant by His Own with man wherewith the Lord conjoins Himself.

     If the object of the Lord's love, or that with which He conjoins Himself, were not man's effort to enter the kingdom of uses, but some enclosed plane within his brain, supposedly the seat of something mysteriously Divine, the Lord would not be acting according to the law that what one is to love is not oneself with another, but what is of the other with oneself. (D. L. W. 47, 49.) He would be like Narcissus, enraptured exclusively with his own image which the watery surface of a pool reflected to his eyes. Such a love is self-love, and cannot exist with the Lord. (Ibid.)

     The fact that the Lord, by means of the allurements of the loves of honor, fame, and gain, and by the goods of fear and punishment, induces the infernals to perform some useful work and so to enter as to a least part (Matt. 5:19) into His kingdom of uses, is another indication that His Own with a man refers to the man's sustained effort to enter into such uses. For the Lord conjoins Himself even with the infernals, though only externally, and not internally, as we are told. Obviously, the infernals have not in their minds any enclosed plane of which the activities are Divine. For what the Lord loves with men, whom He wishes to make happy by His conjunction with them, is the sustained effort of each to perform a heavenly use. So when men do not want to have such an Own of the Lord, He yet, in His love for these, His enemies, supplies them with an Own which would reject Him if the man were not pricked by the allurements and goods just referred to.

     To suppose that there is some Divine plane in one's brain is what the serpent wished Eve to believe when it said to her: "In the day ye eat thereof, ye shall be as gods." To suppose, further, that one can have a consciousness as to what is going on there in respect to its improvement in quality or quantity is what is meant by the subsequent words, "knowing good and evil." Although a man can be affected by the Divine Proceeding as it impinges upon his senses by contiguity or adjunction, (which is meant by the Lord's words as to one's hearing the sound of the Holy Spirit, compared to a wind blowing upon His disciples), yet he can have no consciousness as to its operations within himself, or by transmission out of himself and upon others.

566


"They canst not tell," said the Lord, "whence it cometh and whither it goeth."

     For a New Churchman to countenance such errors is for him to open the portals to the dire persuasions of the Nephilim who lived before the flood. "They were of such a genius as to imbue direful persuasions, and not recede from them, supposing themselves to be as gods, and that whatever they thought was Divine." (A. C. 562.) They are seen in the spiritual world under a misty rock, a portrayal of the uncertain whereabouts in the human mind where they supposed an Own of the Lord or a pure Divinity resides. Their adoration of it eventually destroyed all belief that God could be anywhere else than there. For they said to Swedenborg "that they had persuaded themselves there is no God, but that men are gods, thus that they were gods, and had confirmed themselves in this by their dreams." (S. D. 3580.)

     The articles referred to seem to indicate a tendency in this direction. Aside from decrying that there could be any human goods and truths, and by that token implying that there must be Divine goods and truths in some Divine precinct within the mind, he proceeds as well to minimize the importance of a Divine presence anywhere else. For the purport of the following declarations seems to me to involve this: "The doctrine that truths of faith from the Word are Divine with man, yea, the Lord Himself with the man, was for the first time brought before the attention of the Church in DE HEMELSCHE LEER." (Aug.-Sept., 1939, p. 200.) "The first hand touchable presence of the Lord must be in the man's natural world, in his natural life. To perceive the Lord as continually present in our life, bestowing good and truth, and withholding from evil and the false, is to acknowledge the Divine Human. Every other acknowledgment of the Divine Human is a formality, a thing of the life, a habit, a tradition, and not from the heart." (Ibid., p. 198.)

567


Church News 1939

Church News       Various       1939

     CHICAGO DISTRICT ASSEMBLY.

     The Thirty-fourth Chicago District Assembly, presided over by Bishop George de Charms, met at the Immanuel Church, Glenview, and opened with a banquet on Friday, October 13. (No ill luck!) Toastmaster Sydney E. Lee, first calling upon the Bishop to open the Assembly, introduced the speakers. The Rev. Morley Rich presented a paper having for its theme, "That intellectual truth is the only hope of salvation,"-a phrase quoted from the Writings. Mr. Warren Reuter spoke on the importance and necessity of cultivating intellectual truth, further developing and illustrating the theme. A third paper, by Mr. Charles Cole, Jr., dealt in clear outlines with the development of the mind from infancy, and with the intellectual truth then implanted.

     The Rev. Gilbert Smith, speaking extemporaneously, gave a few examples of what intellectual truths are, and spoke of the delight of such a meeting as this to the clergy. He then welcomed the guests, and drew attention to the wise and able leadership of the Bishop.

     Mr. Lee then presented Bishop de Charms, whose speech, he pointed out had been purposely reserved for the close and climax of the program. The Bishop fulfilled all expectations as the concluding speaker, giving the difference between a simple faith and a deeply intellectual one. The banquet attendance was 175.

     At the session on Saturday afternoon, October 14, Bishop de Charms gave an educational paper on the differences between boys and girls, men and women, in education, bringing forth an interesting and lively discussion. Attendance 103.

     Another session of the Assembly was held on Saturday evening, the Rev. Gilbert Smith presenting a paper on "Civil Truth and Good." It had some bearing upon the state of war, and suggested the importance to individual well-being and character of making right judgments, or thinking justly on national policies, current events, and civil and political problems in general. The paper was discussed by Bishop de Charms, Rev. Morley Rich, Mr. G. A. McQueen, Dr. Harvey Farrington, and Messrs. Harold P. McQueen, Sydney Lee, and George Fiske.

     On motion by Mr. G. A. McQueen, the Assembly sent its affectionate greetings to Mr. Seymour Nelson and Mrs. W. H. Junge, who were absent by reason of illness. Attendance at this session was 125.

     The Service of Worship on Sunday, October 15, was followed by the administration of the Holt Sacrament to 148 communicants, the total attendance being 196. Bishop de Charms preached; the Rev. Gilbert Smith assisted in the administration of the Holy Supper; the Rev. Morley Rich took part in the service and read the Lessons.

     On Sunday afternoon, the Immanuel Church Orchestra, a school project fostered and ably trained by Prof. Jesse V. Stevens, gave a concert which was much enjoyed by a large number of residents and Assembly guests.

     In the evening, a buffet supper was managed by the ladies of Sharon Church, taxing our table room. It made an unusually enjoyable prelude to the last session of the Assembly, at which, according to plan, the Bishop delivered his Annual Address before an audience of 215 persons. The subject, "Spiritual Creation," was simply presented and very much enjoyed.

568


The theory and nature of spiritual substance was outlined, namely, that it consists of finite and passive forms of love. The dependence of created forms in the spiritual world upon the minds of angels and spirits, and upon the organics acquired by virtue of birth in the natural world, was shown.

     Many expressed high gratification with a profitable and smooth-running Assembly.
     GILBERT H. SMITH,
          Secretary.

     NORTHERN OHIO.

     Bishop de Charms enriched our little group by his presence at a wonderful banquet in his honor on October 18. This elaborate convivium was held in Akron at the genial home of Dr. and Mrs. Philip de Maine, who are the latest addition to the North Ohio Group. How very welcome they are may be guessed from the fact that at the first meeting after their arrival we promptly made Mrs. de Maine our secretary. So as soon as the news of the Bishop's coming was received our secretary bustled off to the post office to secure post cards, gave them the proper etching, and dispatched them to the four winds. All the ladies visited the "Five and Dime" and bought the necessary knick-knacks; also tested their cooking abilities with pies, cakes and the like, until we can truthfully say that the food, in conjunction with the fine port wine, was a feast fit for a king.

     To add to our pleasure, Mr. Ed Bostock and his good wife, from the metropolis of Bryn Athyn, popped into the room to grace the occasion. And who else should blow into our midst but our much beloved Willard Pendleton from the city of smoke, driving that day to be present at the banquet, and to take the Bishop back with him to Pittsburgh. And among those who came from Cleveland and vicinity there were some new faces from among our Convention friends there. In all there were 35 present,-not so bad for our little circle.

     Our pastor was the efficient toastmaster. After the toast to the Church, to which all responded from the heart in song, Mr. Edwin Asplundh happily expressed our welcome to the Bishop. The third toast was to the General Church, in whose name we were gathered. Our esteemed friend and helper, the Pittsburgh pastor, spoke on this subject, pointing out that there are really no districts in the hearts and minds of genuine General Church members, for they are all bound in the unity of love and loyalty to the Lord and His Word as He reveals it to us in His Second Coming. The last toast was to New Church living, to which Mr. Arthur Wiedinger responded most feelingly, this being a pet subject of his. Then followed the Bishop's address, and, believe me, it was a dandy! Amongst other things he brought out most vividly the great use of collective activity, the importance of getting together in a body for general discussion and the exchange of individual interpretations of the Writings as they apply to our daily lives. He also stressed the value of trying to help one another, saying that we need each other. I suppose now that some of us, after that speech, will forget to help ourselves!

     The Bishop's presence created a most profound sphere of brotherly love, and the whole evening reminded the writer vividly of similar occasions back in the early nineties when Bishop Benade, John Pitcairn and Walter Childs were so active in establishing the New Church sphere of unity, which has left its fruitful impressions amongst us to this very day. It was one of the most beneficial and enjoyable occasions we have had for many a moon.

     Mr. Reuter then made some able remarks on the progress of our group, and expressed a hope that it would not be long before we came into the General Church in a body as a new society. And well might we add the desire for Mr. Reuter as our permanent pastor. We all think he is about the finest fellow on this side of the moon. We love him for the work he is doing, and this expression was demonstrated in a "very able" speech by your correspondent during the course of the meeting.

569




     One pronounced feature of the evening was the rendition of many new songs, in which everyone enthusiastically joined. Art Wiedinger was concertmeister, with Eddie Asplundh directing with the baton (his finger). Now comes the unanswered interrogation as to whether these two artists were taught this extraordinary talent in Bryn Athyn. If so, it should be heralded to the seven seas as a distinct advertisement for the Academy Schools.

     Additional speeches were made by Mr. Norman, Mr. Asplundh, Mr. Wiedinger (who was so filled with the New Church spirit that he couldn't keep off his feet), and Mr. Ben Fuller. The last named, who is fast approaching the eightieth milestone, and who justly claims to be the oldest "new" Son of the Academy, enlivened the meeting with a good old Irish piece of poetry. We never knew before how much Irish Ben Fuller had in him. Wonders never cease. We learn something every day.

     During the evening, Mr. Pendleton gently reminded us that we are supposed to be part of the Pittsburgh District, at which point the Bishop asked why the Pittsburgh District Assembly could not be held next time in Akron. Now wasn't that an idea! Willard seconded the Bishop's suggestion (as did all others present) signified his intention of bringing the matter at an early date to the attention of the Pittsburgh Society for their "ratification." So it seems quite likely that the next Pittsburgh District Assembly will be slated for Akron, presumably next Fall, which will allow ample time for all to recover from the big doings in Pittsburgh next June. We hope that every one in Pittsburgh will come, and invitations will be sent to Bryn Athyn, Australia, Saskatchewan, and every quarter of the globe. We will figure on an attendance of about 200, and Arthur Wiedinger is already preparing to enlarge the barn on his farm to accommodate the overflow of bachelors.

     At this meeting Mr. Reuter also spoke of the advisability of gatherings between pastoral visits for enlarged family worship and the reading of a sermon to be prepared by him for the occasion. This was tried out very successfully a few months ago at a pavilion in Mill Creek Park at Youngstown, and we hope it will become a regular part of our group activities.

     Our little group is growing, and we now have enrolled about 43 1/2 people, counting Mr. Brown's baby. Since my last report to the Life, Mr. Reuter has made two visits throughout the area. On each trip he goes to Cleveland, where he holds children's classes and at least one doctrinal class, at which gatherings, we understand, a number of Convention friends have been present. Some time he plans to stop off at Brecksville. You never heard of Brecksville? Well, it was in this little hamlet that we found Mr. Zeppenfeld, a fine bi-product of the early Academy Schools, and now a very active member of our group.

     Always our travelling pastor spends one day at the Williamsons in Niles, where a doctrinal class is held, to which the Youngstown contingent comes. Then a day or two is spent in Youngstown, where classes are alternately held at the residence of Mrs. McElroy and Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Norris. In Akron, Mr. Reuter gives instruction to our growing list of children, and holds one or more doctrinal classes, either in Akron or Barberton. The Sunday services, attended by all the North Ohio Group, are held at the Portage Hotel, where Randy Norris is official janitor and proviso-extraordinary.

     On Sunday, October 22, Mr. Reuter conducted a service which was followed by the Holy Supper, attended by 29 people. At each service the number of new faces is quite noticeable.

     Our next service will be held at Akron on December 10, and will take the form of a Christmas celebration. Everyone is looking forward to this, and it is very difficult to wait the eight weeks between the pastor's visits.

570


With a determined bunch like ours we feel it will not be long before the period is shortened to once month, then bi-weekly, and eventually to every Sunday, when we find the means to build our little chapel in the wilderness. Of course, there is nothing like having visions, and this group is becoming quite distinguished in this respect.
     W. C. NORRIS.

     CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

     When we came back to Sharon Church after the summer vacation, it was to a greatly improved building. The exterior is now covered with white asbestos shingles, the steps at the front entrance are repaired, and the rear entrance is entirely remodeled. A new sign, bearing the name of the Church, is suspended from the beam supporting the front porch roof above the steps. It was made and presented by Mr. Anderson.

     In the kitchen, the ancient and worn out appointments have been replaced by those of a modern, stream lined type which very much lessens the labors of the Friday supper committees. Everything is delightfully new and clean.

     Sunday services and doctrinal classes are being held regularly, and also the Young Peoples' Class.

     Our regular Sharon Church meeting with the Bishop during the Chicago District Assembly took place on Monday evening, October 16. He chose to speak on the subject of the Divine Providence in connection with war, and showed how we can get a perception of the working of Providence by first going to the Word and the Writings and then studying history.

     The rest of the evening was given over to social entertainment. Toasts were honored to Mr. and Mrs. John Pollock, on the occasion of their wedding anniversary, and to Mrs. Rich on her birthday.

     We are listening to a series of doctrinal classes devoted to the proposition: "Man call now see the Divine Human of the Lord." In his treatment of the subject, Mr. Rich is explaining from the Writings: What is man; What is sight; What is meant by the word "now": and What is the Divine Human? One of the conclusions drawn is, that "Man is an organ receptive of life, and this organ of life, with its ability to choose good or evil, and its faculties of understanding and willing, can now perceive and understand the Divine Human of the Lord."

     On Monday, October 30, many of us attended the funeral of Mrs. Louis Rich, mother of our minister.

     At a very beautiful service on Sunday, November 5, the subject of the Lessons and the Sermon was Baptism, the occasion being the baptism of the infant daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Marshall Fuller.

     The next event on the program is the customary Bazaar to be held Saturday evening, November 11.
     D. M. F.

     PITTSBURGH, PA.

     Educational Program.

     In response to the pastor's plea for a more intensive study of the Writings and Philosophical Works, two new doctrinal classes have been introduced and several have been reorganized. We believe the following educational program will be of interest to the readers of the Life. The classes are conducted by the pastor, and the figures indicate the average attendance.

     1. Divine Worship. Weekly sermon. Attendance 60. 2. Friday Doctrinal Class. (48) 3. Tarentum Doctrinal Class. Held monthly at Tarentum, Pa. A missionary effort now in its fifth year. (20)

     4. Philosophy Club. Under the auspices of the Sons of the Academy. Present subject, The Principia. (32) This group meets monthly.

     5. Ladies' Doctrinal Class, meeting monthly, under the auspices of the Women's Guild. Present subject, The Doctrine of Creation. (22)

     6. Growth of the Mind. A group of young married women, now studying this work for the second time. All references being considered. Membership ten. Meets every fortnight.

     7. T. C. R. Study Group, devoted to the study of the fundamental doctrines of the Church as set forth in the True Christian Religion.

571


Membership twenty-five. Monthly meeting.

     8. Arcana Group, studying the doctrine of the glorification as set forth in the Arcana Celestia. Membership nineteen. Monthly meeting.

     Children.

     1. Children's Service. Average attendance (children only) 25.

     2. High School Group. For children not yet in the Academy Schools. Every week. Conducted by Mr. Quentin Ebert. Average attendance 9.

     3. Regular instruction in the Day School. Mr. Pendleton, Miss Gaskill, Miss Cranch.

     This, we feel, represents a well-rounded educational program. Considering the fact that the society lists 101 members, the attendance figures speak for the interest that is being demonstrated in the spiritual activities of the church. The real criterion, however, is not in the actual attendance at classes, but rather in the individual study which these classes inspire. We cannot speak on this aspect of the work with any authority, nor would we if we could. But we do believe that we find an increasing interest in, and affection for, the spiritual truths of the church.

     The Rev. and Mrs. Willard Pendleton are being congratulated upon the birth of a second son on October 10.

     The Pittsburgh Chapter of Theta Alpha held its annual meeting at the home of Mrs. G. P. Brown on October 26. The following officers were elected: Elizabeth R. Doering, president; Margaret Kendig Carr, secretary; and Beatrice Ebert Goerwitz, treasurer. The chief use of the chapter is cooperation with the Day School. The project this year is transportation of groups to places of educational interest.

     The Friday Supper on October 27 was a Hallowe'en supper. The grade and high school children were entertained in groups at various homes on the previous Sunday evening. These occasions gave all a feeling of general festivity.

     Mr. and Mrs. Edward B. Lee, Jr., were "at home" to the society in their charming apartment in Edgewood, a suburb of Pittsburgh, on Sunday, October 29.
     E. R. D.

     GLENVIEW, ILLINOIS.

     September and October are always months of new beginnings in the Immanuel Church. Vacations come to an end; Summer begins to show signs of giving way to Autumn; and everyone seems to realize that once more the time has arrived to settle down to the more serious (but no less pleasant) duties of New Church community life.

     Our school opened on September 18 with an enrollment of 70 pupils,-seventy children who, under the able guidance of our staff of teachers, will receive another year of thorough New Church education. Besides this, sixteen of our young people have left for the Academy Schools in Bryn Athyn.

     Our semi-annual meeting was held on October 6, following our first Friday supper of the season. Various reports were made, and our pastor spoke of the work for the coming year.

     The Chicago District Assembly, held October 13-15, was a real inspiration to all the members of the General Church who attended. A description of the meetings will be found elsewhere in this issue. Here is a short quotation from the paper entitled "The Intellectual as Man's Sole Hope of Salvation," presented by the Rev. Morley Rich at the banquet on Friday evening:

     "Left to Itself, our conscious mind naturally and hereditarily revolts against the mental exercise of arranging and ordering the knowledges of spiritual things into orderly series and progressions. Yet we know that only thereby can orderly pathways be carved out of the wilderness of our helter-skelter thoughts,-a 'highway for our God,' down which the spiritual mind can speed without hindrance to bring us those perceptive messages, those intuitional feelings, which show us in a flash the truth or falsity of a proposition, the good or evil of a projected action."

572




     The young people's classes have been resumed under the leadership of Mr. Rich. And Mr. G. A. McQueen's "Life" class is again holding weekly meetings at the hospitable home of Mr. Louis S. Cole.

     On Saturday, November 4, our good friend and Son of the Academy, George S. Alan, passed into the spiritual world. We find delight in thinking of him as a loyal and reliable worker on the various committees in our society. As custodian of our buildings, his work was outstanding. And as President of the Glenview Chapter of the Sons of the Academy he demonstrated his ability to serve well the cause of New Church education.

     So prone are we to take our Sunday services as a matter of course that possibly it is useful to speak of them from time to time. We might liken them to pools of living waters to which we come every seventh day to draw fresh supplies of goods and truths. They are our unfailing source of inspiration! This all-important work is being carried on with unstinting devotion to the proposition that "The seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God." Here are quotations from two recent sermons:

     "The person who grows spiritually responds to the Word of the Lord; that is, he undertakes responsibility in the doing of natural works and services which the Lord suggests to him in his internal mind. He is not idle, nor does he waste time with useless things; but he wants to take his full part in a normal life of usefulness in the world. By uses in the world, according to his opportunity and under the Lord's guidance, he wants to pre pare himself for some eternal use in the world to come.

     "When will the world be safe from harm, and peace return, and men live secure from the invasion of many evils under which society suffers? It will be when men return to the genuine state of worship of the Lord, and when there is a more living purpose to fight against the evils spoken of in the Ten Precepts as sins against the Lord. This is the only internal worship. This is the way by which the Lord can make Himself known to us and lead us."
     H. P. MCQUEEN.

     DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

     With the deadline for "copy" rapidly approaching, we find ourselves badly pressed for time. Yet we must not allow the December New Church Life to go to press without a word about the visit of Bishop de Charms, which occurred on October 12. On his way to Chicago, the Bishop graciously made a stopover at Detroit to be our guest at a dinner in his honor. Arriving in the morning, he was met and taken to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Norman P. Synnestvedt, where he spent the day. Almost our entire adult membership attended the dinner in the evening to greet the Bishop and to hear his inspirational address on "Divine Providence," which was much enjoyed and highly appreciated. These occasional visits of our Bishop are most stimulating and helpful to our spiritual state. They serve to make us realize more than ever that we are a part of the main body of the General Church, and not merely an isolated group. Come again, Bishop de Charms, and please make it soon!

     Mr. Geoffrey Childs acted as toastmaster at the dinner, which insured the success of the preliminaries, consisting of toasts, songs and impromptu talks. It was a very delightful evening.

     Our pastor, Rev. Norman Reuter, arrived on Thursday, October 26, for his regular visit, and remained over the weekend. He held the usual doctrinal and children's classes, and paid a visit to the Bellinger family at Riverside, Ont.

     The Sunday service, at which the attendance was 32, was held at 2:00 p.m., for the reason outlined in our last report. The change served to eliminate the disturbing noises, but is somewhat inconvenient for our out-of-town members; so another plan is now being considered.

573




     A long business meeting followed with much debate on matters of great interest to the Group. Plans for our Christmas service were made, and committees appointed.

     On Saturday evening, October 28, a very enjoyable Hallowe'en Party was given by Mr. and Mrs. William F. Cook at their home. A crowd which well filled the house turned out to enjoy the fun, and none were observed to leave before the bountiful refreshments were served. Lots of good-fellowship and plenty to eat always feature our Group's social affairs, and the Cook party fully measured up to our highest standards.

     Mr. Reuter's next visit will be December 14 to 17, inclusive, and will bring us our Christmas service, with distribution of gifts to the children. This is sure to be a most impressive and beautiful service, and adults as well as children are looking forward to it with keen anticipation.
     W. W. W.

     KITCHENER, ONT.

     Once again our weekly calendar is filled to capacity with the uses and functions of the various organizations, and our building is the center of great activity.

     Rev. Norbert Rogers has been conducting the Friday doctrinal classes on the general subject of "Order." These have been very interesting, and the attendance has been gratifying. And special mention should be made of the class which Mr. Gill has started for those women connected with the society who have come to the Church in adult life. These meetings are held at the pastor's home every second Thursday.

     We have commenced the use of the revised Liturgy in our services, and although the singing is a bit weak in spots we have hopes of improvement ere long as regular society singing practice is held every Friday following the doctrinal class, and we hope soon to become more familiar with the new arrangements.

     The week-end of October 7-9 found many of our members at the Ontario Assembly in Toronto. Although most of us arrived home early Tuesday morning very tired after the dance, it was, all the same, an enjoyable occasion, and renewed our strength in carrying on the uses of the Church we love. The Rev. Henry Heinrichs conducted our service on October 8, as Mr. Gill and Mr. Rogers were in attendance at the Assembly.

     The following Wednesday, Bishop Acton, with Mr. and Mrs. Kesniel Acton, visited our society. A supper was provided, after which Bishop Acton addressed the gathering. A number of other speakers made remarks, and after the tables were cleared away the remainder of the evening was spent informally in conversation and dancing. On Thursday morning, Bishop Acton visited the school and spoke to the children, and Mr. Kesniel Acton took pictures with his movie camera. We look forward to seeing our school children on the screen at some later date.     

     Early in the autumn, the Theta Alpha Chapter sponsored a picnic for the school children, and from all accounts it was a huge success.

     Our young people took charge of a very successful Hallowe'en dance on Friday, November 3. Most of the guests came in fancy-dress, which afforded the usual fun, although we are all so well known to each other that it is almost impossible to fool anyone as to one's identity, even in fancy costume and mask. We were delighted to have a group of our Toronto friends join us for the fun. One of the highlights of the evening was the little skit put on by some of the young people. The room was appropriately decorated with orange and black streamers, forming a spider's web overhead, with bats and black cats much in evidence. A light lunch was served during the evening, refreshing the dancers, and it was a late hour when the party broke up.
      D. K.
Title Unspecified 1939

Title Unspecified              1939

     The Academy Book Room will be glad to mail you a Selected List of Gift Suggestions upon receipt of your request for it.

574


CHURH NEWS 1939

CHURH NEWS       Various       1939


     MONTREAL, QUEBEC.

     On October 14th and 15th, the Montreal Circle was extremely happy to be honored by a visit from Bishop and Mrs. Alfred Acton, accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. Kesniel C. Acton.

     A meeting was held on Saturday evening, October 14, at the home of Mr. and Mrs. F. Duquesne, at which Bishop Acton gave a very interesting talk on the subject of "The Growth of the New Church." This was followed by some very enlightening discussions on various subjects pertaining to the Writings.

     On Sunday morning, at the home of Mr. and Mrs. R. F. Dykes, Bishop Acton conducted communion service and administered the Holy Supper to fifteen communicants. In all, twenty-one persons, including children, attended the service,-one of the largest gatherings the Montreal Circle has enjoyed. We greatly appreciate this visit, and it was a source of regret that our distinguished visitors could not have remained longer with us.
     E. W. R. IZZARD.

     COLCHESTER, ENGLAND.

     An Obituary.

     By the passing of Mr. Edward G. T. Boozer to the spiritual world on July 1st, the Colchester Society lost an earnest and active member who for many years gave of his best to further the uses of the church, and we have all parted from a personal friend.

     Born at Maidstone, Kent, in 1886, Mr. Boozer departed this life at the age of fifty-four years. It was his mother who instilled in him an affection for the Heavenly Doctrines. On his visits to London he attended the Holland Road Society during the ministrations of the Rev. Andrew Czerny, and in 1909 became member of that society, and was received as a member of the General Church. In 1912 he married Miss E. M. Appleton of Colchester, and three sons were born to them.

     From 1912 to 1925, Mr. Boozer carried on the business of tobacconist in Maidstone, and then, following the indications of Providence, he and his wife decided to make Colchester their home, that they might secure for themselves and their children the spiritual benefits that would accrue.

     Here he has always been very active in the life of the society, ready always to do anything to further the work of the church. He was chairman of the school committee for a considerable time, and for a period was chairman of the local chapter of the Sons of the Academy. For some years, also, and until his health would no longer permit, he was our faithful choirmaster, and did good work in that capacity.
     F. R. COOPER.

     CHARTER DAY.

     On the bright, summer like morning of Friday, October 20th, the celebration of Charter Day this year began with the long procession of the Academy Schools to the Cathedral, and the congregation which there assembled for worship filled the available seats. Dr. C. E. Doering delivered a very interesting and appropriate Address, the text of which will appear in the next issue of New Church Life.

     In the afternoon, a football victory for the Academy team was an exhilarating preparation for the dance in the evening.

     The Banquet on Saturday evening scintillated with brilliant ideas, voiced to the accompaniment of thunder and lightning out-of-doors. Mr. Ralph Klein, as toastmaster, ably conducted an excellent program which gained the rapt attention of all present.

     As a preliminary to the prepared addresses of the evening, Mr. Richard Kintner, President of the Sons of the Academy, explained the novel Scholarship Saving Stamp Plan now being put into operation by that body. He exhibited one of the Stamp Books, and also read a letter which he had received from Mr. Geoffrey S. Blackman, of Glenview, Ill., describing the way in which he had originated the Plan.

     Three speakers then presented papers of exceptional interest and value.

575


Mr. Richard Gladish dealt in a thoroughgoing manner with many past and present problems of the Academy Faculty in the field of New Church education, noting our traditions and those changes which are inevitable in a growing institution. Mr. Philip Cooper, of Merchantville, N. J., advocated an adult education in the scientifics of the world, not only as necessary means to the performance of uses, but especially as the source of the confirmations of the truths of the Writings in the field of natural truth. Mr. John Schoenberger, of Pittsburgh, voiced his conviction that our education can only accomplish its purpose in promoting the growth of the Church when the individual is moved to take on his full responsibility in its uses, and becomes a student of the Writings, not expecting others to do for him what he should do for himself.

     SWEDENBORG INVENTIONS.

     During the present month, the Swedenborg Scientific Association will publish a little work of some forty or fifty pages, entitled The Mechanical Inventions of Emanuel Swedenborg.

     It has long been known that Swedenborg exercised his genius in contriving many inventions, but so little has been known as to the exact nature of those inventions, and so much misunderstanding has existed concerning them, that this publication will be a welcome addition to that growing body of literature which is designed to give a true picture of the life and work of Emanuel Swedenborg.
NEW GIFT FOR CHILDREN. 1939

NEW GIFT FOR CHILDREN.       PUBLICITY COMMITTEE       1939

     Christmas gifts for children are sometimes a problem. This year the Sons of the Academy offer a novel gift for children,-one that will help the child eventually to enjoy the benefits of a New Church education in the Academy Schools at Bryn Athyn.

     What gift could be more appropriate than Scholarship Saving Stamps placed in a Scholarship Stamp Book? The stamps cost 25 cents each. Enough stamps to complete a Stamp Book, $10.00.

     Such a gift, presented by parents, uncles, aunts or grandparents, will be the first step toward getting another boy or girl looking forward to the day when he or she will be an Academy student.

     Stamps and Stamp Books can be obtained from the Treasurer of the local chapter of the Sons of the Academy, or by writing to Mr. Harry C. Walter, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
     THE PUBLICITY COMMITTEE,
          Sons of the Academy.

576


ALL THE YEAR ROUND 1939

ALL THE YEAR ROUND              1939




     Announcements.



     VOLUME VII, the 1940 edition of this useful collection of Readings from the Word and the Writings for every day in the year, has been published, and we hope to receive a supply from England during the present month in time for Christmas delivery. We shall be glad to receive orders, which will be filled as soon as possible.

     Pocket size, printed on Bible paper, cloth binding, 60 cents.
          Academy Book Room,
               Bryn Athyn, Pa.