FUTURE DECISIONS       Rev. LORENTZ R. SONESON       1971


Vol. XCI
January 1971
No. 1

NEW CHURCH LIFE

Future Decisions
     A Sermon on Isaiah 45: 15
          Lorentz Soneson     1
Swedenborg's Preparation as to the Will
     An address to the Bryn Athyn Society
          Erik Sandstrom     7
What's in a Laugh
     Stephen Gladish     18
John Pitcairn's Missionary Efforts in Renova, Pennsylvania, 1866-1869
     Richard Kintner     24
The Swedenborg Society: Twenty-Five Years of Achievement
A Presidential Address to the Swedenborg Society's Annual Meeting
     Roy H. Griffith     30
The Dedication of the Stockholm Society's New Church Building
     Senta Centervall     36
The As-of-Self (in Education)
     David R. Simons     39
Review
     The Coming of the City
          Norbert H. Rogers     42
Editorial Department
     An Assuring Teacher     43
     What of the Future     44
     Invitation to Learning     45
     Casting Burdens on the Lord     46
Announcements
Baptisms, Betrothals, Marriages, Deaths     47          
Annual Council Meetings     48

Vol. XCI
February 1971
No. 2

Rewards and Merit
     A Sermon on Matthew 20: 1-16
     Victor Gladish     49
To Fulfill All Righteousness.
     Frank F. Coulson     55
What's in a Laugh
     Stephen G. Gladish     64
What is the New Church
     E. S. Hyatt     70
College Chapel Talks
     Robert S. Junge     74
The Magicians Did Likewise
Borrowing from the Egyptians
The Golden Calf or the Tabernacle
Conjugial Love - I
     A Doctrinal Series
          Elmo C. Acton     80
Review
     Aqueduct Papers
          Bruce Henderson     87
Editorial Department
     The Church and Swedenborg     89
Church News     93
Announcements
     Baptisms, Confirmations, Betrothals, Marriages, Deaths     95

New Church Life
March 1971
No. 3

The Celestial Sense of the Word
     A Sermon on Matthew 6: 25, 26
          Willard D. Pendleton     97
The Origin of Masculine and Feminine in Creation
     Elmo C. Acton     102
Nationality and Race
     Robert S. Junge     109
On Translating the Writings
     Norbert H. Rogers     118
Second Love Preferred
     Richard R. Gladish     124
Editorial Department
     The Love of Heaven     132
Communication
     The Shining Name of Jesus
     Donald L. Rose     136
Church News     139
Announcements
     Baptisms, Betrothals, Marriages, Deaths     140

Vol. XCI
April 1971
No. 4

The Lord's Intercession
     A Sermon on Genesis 18: 32
          W. Cairns Henderson      141
The Lord on the Mountain
     An Easter Talk to Children
          Kenneth O. Stroh     146     
The Passion of the Cross
     Willard D. Pendleton     148
Conjugial Love
     III Similitudes
          Elmo C. Acton     152
Nationality and Race
     Robert S. Junge     158

     ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS

Council of the Clergy Sessions
     Norbert H. Rogers     168
Joint Session
     Norbert H. Rogers     170
Annual Reports
     Secretary of the General Church
          Norbert H. Rogers     180
     Treasurer of the General Church
          Leonard E. Gyllenhaal     184
     Corporation of the General Church
          Stephen Pitcairn     189
     Publication Committee
          Norbert H. Rogers     192
     Editor of New Church Life
          W. Cairns Henderson     192
     Religion Lessons Committee
          David R. Simons     193
     Translation Committee
          Norbert H. Rogers     197
     Sound Recording Committee
          W. Cairns Henderson     199

Editorial Department
     Except a Grain of Wheat     201
     A Unique Document     202
     An Everlasting Covenant     202
Church News     204
Announcements
     Canadian National Assembly - May 7-9, 1971 - Notice     206
     55th British Assembly - July 23-26, 1971 - Notice     206
     Swedenborg Scientific Association Annual Meeting, May 5, 1971     206
     Baptisms, Confirmations, Betrothal, Marriages, Deaths     206
     Academy of the New Church: Calendar 1971 - 1972     208

Vol. XCI
No. 5
May 1971

Resist Not Evil
     A Sermon on Matthew 5: 38, 39
          Martin Pryke     209
Conjugial Love
          IV. Marriage in the Church
               Elmo C. Acton     215
The Proper Use of Prudence
     Alfred Acton II     221
Nationality and Race
          Leading to the Question of Inter-Racial Marriage
               Robert S. Junge     225
Freedom
     Norbert H. Rogers          234
The Beginning of Wisdom     
     Kenneth O. Stroh     239
The Word of the Lord and the Mind of Swedenborg
     Theodore Pitcairn          245
Memorial Day
     Philip C. Pendleton     250
Review
          My Side of the Grave     253
Editorial Department
          Spiritual Renewal          254
          Listen to Your Heart     255
          The Intellectual of the Church     256
Church News     257
Announcements
          10th Pacific Northwest District Assembly - July 10-11, 1971     259
Baptisms, Confirmations, Betrothals, Marriages, Deaths     259

Vol. XCI
June, 1971
No. 6

The Hopes, the Policies and the Problems of the General Church
     Rt. Rev Willard Pendleton     261
Love of Reputation
     A Sermon on Matthew 6: 5.
          Rev. Lorentz R. Soneson     267
The Twelve Apostles of the Lamb
     A New Church Day Talk to Children
          Rev. Norbert Rogers     273
Conjugial Love
     V. Apparent Love, Friendship and Favor in Marriage
          Rt. Rev. Elmo C. Acton     276
In Search of the Ancient Word
     James S. Brush     282
The Necessity of Ignorance
     Rev. Donald L. Rose     286
Preparation for the Holy Supper
     Rt. Rev. George de Charms     290
Why Are We Afraid?
     John Moorhead     295
Editorial Department
     We Render Thanks, Academy!     298
     Change and The Church     299
     The Structure of the Church     300
Communications
     Faculty Orientation in the Academy
          Donald G. Barber          301
          Martin Pryke     302     
Church News     308
Announcements
     Educational Council - August 16-20, 1971     306
     Baptisms, Confirmations, Betrothals, Marriages, Deaths     306

Vol. XCI
No. 7
July, 1971

Safety As The Eagle's     
     A Sermon on Revelation 12: 14
          Rev. Kurt P. Nemitz     309
Conjugial Love
     The Conjunction of Conjugial Love with the Love of Infants
     Elmo C. Acton     314
Evangelization     
A Talk to a Class in the Academy of the New Church
          Sanfrid Odhner     320
The Laws of Providence
     Rev. Harold Cranch     327
The Blessed Mirth of Heaven
     Rev. Morley D. Rich     332
The Laying of the Cornerstone For The Durban Society of the General Church of the New Jerusalem
     Fred Parker     340
Ordination
Declaration of Faith and Purpose
     Erik E. Sandstrom     343
Editorial Department
     The Four Styles in the Word     344
     Be True to Yourself!     345
     The Responsibility of Knowing Truth     346
Church News     347
Announcements
     Ordinations, Baptisms, Confirmations, Betrothals, Marriages, Deaths     351

Vol. XCI
August, 1971
No. 8

Our Association with Others
A Sermon on Deuteronomy 23: 24, 25
     Kurt H. Asplundh          353
The Life of Religion: The Socio-Economic Life
Address to a College Convocation
     Daniel L. Horigan     359
The Urim and Thummim
     Frederick L. Schnarr     369
Correspondences in Marriage
     Ormond Odhner     375
First Canadian National Assembly     
Report on Proceedings
     Vivian Riepert     379
The Last Page of Divine Providence
     Theodore Pitcairn     384
Editorial Department
     "Lord, Teach Us to Pray"     386
     Spiritual Sauduceeism     387
     The Sun of Heaven     388
Communication
     A New Version
          Donald L. Rose     389
Church News     392
Announcements
     Baptisms, Confirmations, Betrothals, Marriages, Deaths          396

Vol. XCI
September, 1971
No. 9

The Living God
     Roy Franson     397
All things New
     Willard L. D. Heinrichs     403
Success and Its Abuse
     Dan Pendleton     413
Seeing Providence in Ultimates
     Dan Goodenough     418
Editorial Department
     Home and School     424
     "O Come, Let Us Worship and Bow Down"     425
     The Church and Social Concern     425
Communication
     Why We Are Not Afraid
          Warren David     427
Directory of the General Church     428
Church News     434
Announcements
     Baptisms, Confirmations, Betrothal, Marriages, Deaths          440

Vol. XCI
October, 1971
No. 10

The Traditions of Men
     A Sermon on Isaiah 22: 9, 11
          Geoffrey H. Howard     441
The Visible Divine Human
     Address to the Council of the Clergy
          Elmo C. Acton     447
The Doctrines of Discrete Degrees
     John White     460
Educational Council
     Report on Proceedings
          David R. Simons     466
Review
     Swedenborg Un Prophete Pour Notre Temps
          Norbert H. Rogers     469
Editorial Department
     Education or Indoctrination?     470
     When Doctrine Divides     471
     The Confirmation of Truth          472
Communication
     Time for an Evangelical Crusade?
          John Kane     473
Church News     475
Announcements
     Charter Day - October 21-23, 1971 - Notice and Program     479
     Ordination, Baptisms, Confirmations, Betrothal, Marriages, Deaths     479

Vol. XCI
November, 1971
No. 11

Church of the Durban Society - Frontspiece
Bless the Lord
     A Sermon on Psalm 103: 1, 2.
          Norbert H. Rogers     481
Thanking the Lord
     A Thanksgiving Talk to Children
          Christopher R. J. Smith     487
One Kingdom
     Address to the Council of the Clergy
          Erik Sandstrom     490
Dedication of the Durban Society's Complex of Buildings
     Denise Bongers     503
Commencement Address
     Kenneth P. Holmes     513
Editorial Department
Preparation for Thanksgiving     518
     Dedication to Durban     519
     Self-Compulsion     520
     The Truly Liberated Woman     521
Communications     
     Evangelization
          Harold P. McQueen     522
          Morna Hyatt     522
Local Schools Directory: 1971-1972     523
Church News     525
Announcements
     Baptisms, Confirmation, Betrothals, Marriages, Deaths     532

Vol. XCI
December, 1971
No. 12

The Uses of Messianic Prophesy
     A Sermon on Isaiah 7: 14
          Louis B. King     533
Happiness is Giving
     A Christmas Talk to Children
          Erik E. Sandstrom     538
Charter Day Address
     Lorenz R. Soneson     541
Influx
     Presidential Address to the Swedenborg Society
          Roy H. Griffith     546
Clergy Reports
     The Bishop of the General Church
          Willard D. Pendleton     552
     Council of the Clergy
          Norbert H. Rogers     556
How the Lord Governed the Universe While on Earth
     Douglas Taylor     562
Christmas, Children and Materialism
     Kurt Simons     566
Editorial Department
     Loyalty     571
     "And The World Was Made Flesh"     572
     Michael     573
Church News     574
Announcements
     Baptisms, Confirmations, Marriage, Deaths     579
     Annual Council Meetings - March 5-11, 1972 - Notice     580
     "Verily, Thou art a God that hidest Thyself, O God of Israel, the Savior." (Isaiah 45: 15)

     As we look forward to the coming year, many thoughts come to mind. Reflections on the past serve to recall moments of both joy and sadness. Our memories hold delightful events in which the sphere of heaven seemed close at hand. There have been occasions when we have been filled with ecstasy; periods that instilled feelings of peace and tranquility. There have been times, indeed, when manifold blessings have lifted our spirits in gratitude to the Lord, from whom all blessings flow.
     Past mistakes come to mind, too, when unfortunate words or deeds have come to pass, to be written in the book of life. They are permanently recorded, incidents that can never be erased. We wish that they had never happened, but they did. A careless word, or thoughtless deed, a moment of anger - actions happen in our lives that we wish could be forgotten.
     As we look forward to the future we resolve to do better, asking: How can we profit from our mistakes? What do we know now that we did not know before? How can we be better persons from our experiences? If faced with the same situation, what alternative will we take?
     Mature adults know, however, that they will neither face the identical situation again nor ever again be the same as they were in the past. Men change every moment of their lives. Experience is constantly presenting unique situations, never repeating itself. The New Church man recalls the teaching: "Every smallest moment of man's life involves a series of consequences extending to eternity, each moment being as a new beginning to those which follow; and so with all and each of the moments of his life, both of his understanding and of his will."*
     * AC 3854: 3.
     If the future, then, holds an endless series of moments, each of which plays a part in all future decisions, how does one prepare himself? If one desires to make wiser decisions tomorrow, what can one do today? Certainly, a mainstay in helping to decide tomorrow's choices is the Ten Commandments. If the Decalogue is heeded to the letter, there is a certain assurance that future decisions will be sound. Divine dictates that specify certain "Thou shalt nots" offer guidance in some of our choices.

     But life is often composed of choices that appear to be more subtle than those covered by the Decalogue. Frequently life presents alternatives that seem far removed from the guides given from Mount Sinai. Then what do we do? In such moments we seek help from some outside source, some indication that will influence the scales and assist in our choice. We pray that the Lord will tell us what to do when the time comes for action. We beseech God to reveal the hand of His providence and indicate which path we should follow.
     There are some who listen for an inner voice, a secret command from on high. Those who put their faith in the belief that the Lord will speak to them are prone to hear answers, relieving them of the responsibility of making the choice on their own. But there is no basis in the Writings for thinking that the Lord will speak to the undecided; making the choice absolving them of responsibility for the action taken.
     Others question the value of any religion. If revelation does not tell man what to do in the practical choices in life, of what use is it? Just when man needs assistance most, the voice of his God remains silent. Doctrines may provide rational theories of where man came from and where he is going, but how do they assist one in the immediate problem of what to do today? - right now?
     Man prides himself on having the ability to reason, on being superior to all else in creation. In addition, he longs for and will even fight for the exercise of his own rationality in freedom. Innately he resists outside pressures that might force him to do something against his own will. He treasures his freedom of choice.
     But, ironically, when the moment of decision comes face to face, man often seeks outside assistance in solving his quandary over which direction to take, especially when he knows he will be held responsible for his decision. He reaches out for counsel, advice from others, perhaps secretly hoping for relief from making up his mind.

3


He will delay, postponing action as long as possible, in hopes that some indication may appear that will make up his mind for him.
     One might suppose that the evil man would be excused from choice - automatically selecting the alternative that serves his own best interest most fully. But the Lord provides the selfish man with the opportunity to choose something better each time, even if the choice is between two evils. No, as long as man has the gift of freedom, he has the opportunity and the challenge of selection.

     The regenerating man, too, faces a series of choices. His will may be continually seeking to do well toward the neighbor, but his limited knowledge of truth always creates a doubt in his mind whether he has selected the best solution. Fear of harming others, and a desire to obey the Lord, force the regenerating man to seek and select the better choice.
     The man undergoing temptations feels this confrontation with great anguish. When such a man has made a decision toward what he felt was a good end, he senses doubt about it. When his hopes for achieving worthy goals are thwarted, when his dreams are dashed asunder by circumstances beyond his control, he is brought to his knees in despair. He even has doubts about God himself. Confidence in his own decisions is seriously questioned. Such is the nature of spiritual temptations.
     But the inescapable path of endless decisions facing each of us is not the workings of a cruel God. The inevitable choices that seem to challenge us to the point of despondency are not calculated by a heartless Divine Being to bring misery as an end in itself. Rather they are the result of there being an all-merciful Creator who has given us the remarkable gifts of rationality and freedom. These gifts may appear as tortuous curses, but they are the means of achieving the most wonderful kind of happiness and peace. We are given the opportunity of choosing our own permanent heaven.* We can make our eternal dwelling place, freely and rationally. The only requirement is that we alone must choose. No one can do it for us.
     * TCR 154: 4.
     The pain that comes from choosing in life is the result of conflicting loves. We inherit one set of loves, but the Lord, through our rationality, tells us about another set of loves that promises to be even more delightful. If we decide to ignore what our reason suggests, we have made a move, nevertheless. To remain ignorant of what revelation teaches to be the better way of life is to favor inherited loves. The alternatives are repeatedly offered, even when repeatedly declined.

4




     The nature of love, any love, is such that it needs fulfillment. If a desire is denied ultimation, we feel frustrated and unhappy. The closer a desire is to our heart, the harder it is to resist satisfying it. The central passion in all men from birth is the love of self. Like all other loves, it longs for ultimate forms in which it can express itself. Laws of society frequently prohibit the selfish from achieving all that their hearts yearn for. Out of fear of punishment or loss of reputation the self-centered guard against taking all that they inwardly seek. This creates unhappiness for them. The secret dream of every selfish man is the possession of all power or wealth in the universe.
     When such men hear, through revelation, of a happiness that will exceed their own thwarted lives they are tempted. But the rules of achieving the happiness of heaven appear to deny further satisfactions of their cherished love of self. They read: "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it, and whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it."*
     * Matthew 16: 24, 25.
     For many, the requirements for achieving a greater happiness are too great. Denial of self means to them giving up all future delights from their kind of happiness. What is closest to their hearts, their selfish loves, is their very life. Even when told that if they try to save and protect it, they will lose it, the selfish refuse to heed the warning.
     Such men protect themselves by reasonings. They place an infallible trust in their own prudence. Their potential of rationality decays into an understanding that will entertain only falsities instead of truths. Human prudence must then necessarily deny a Divine Providence. Their own reasoning becomes master; falsities that they call truths are the governing authority in all matters of choice and decision. A symptom of the love of self is an exaggerated trust in human prudence.
     Concerning this we read in the Writings: "Prudence itself appears to man to be his own; and he believes it to be his own as long as he keeps shut up within himself the deadliest enemy of God and of Divine Providence, the love of self. This has its abode in the interiors of every man from his birth; if you do not recognize it (for it does not wish to be recognized) it dwells securely, and guards the door lest men should open it and the Lord should thereby cast it out."*
     * DP 210.
     What hope is there, then, for the man who desires to make wise decisions in the coming year? He acknowledges that the deadly enemy, love of self, resides within him, resisting exposure. He knows he must exercise caution in making future choices, for the Lord will not make his choices for him.

5


What should he do, so that he can select prudently and at the same time be led by Divine Providence?

     The answer is given in the same number from Divine Providence: "If you wish to be led by the Divine Providence use prudence as a servant and minister who faithfully dispenses the goods of his master. This prudence is the talent given to the servants to trade with, of which they must render an account."*
     * Ibid.
     And how does man keep his prudence in the role of a servant and minister? He does this by "shunning evils as if from himself, with the acknowledgment that he does it from the Lord. This is the prudence with which the Divine Providence acts as one."*
     * Ibid.
     In other words, as long as our attention is centered upon one known evil as a sin against the Lord, and we sincerely try to shun it, yet acknowledge that it is the Lord who will actually remove it, then we can be confident that we are being led by the Divine Providence. This means that we need not be unduly concerned in the exercise of human prudence.
     Our relatively unimportant decisions based on human prudence are only the tools, the servant of a powerful Divine Providence. In fact, man's own prudence is nothing, it only appears to be something.*
     * DP 191.
     We are told that "there are thousands and thousands of arcana (i.e., mysterious things), of which scarcely a single one is known to man, whereby a man is led by the Lord out of the life of hell into the life of heaven."* And it is said also: "The truth is that the Lord's foresight and providence are in the very minutest of these veriest singulars connected with man, in things so very minute that it is impossible by any thought to comprehend as much as one out of a hundred million of them."**
     * AC 9336.
     ** AC 3854.
     So, as we look to the future, we recognize a responsibility to exercise prudence. It appears to be our own, and we are to use it. But we should also acknowledge that the Lord is secretly leading us in myriad ways, unseen and unfelt. He asks that we minimize the importance of our own prudence by trusting in His all-powerful Providence; and, secondly, that we examine motives in our freedom of choice, seeking out what is evil and shunning it.
     The future takes on a more comforting prospect when viewed in this light. We can cope with the many decisions ahead of us, as long as we sincerely trust that God's Providence is leading us every moment of our lives. By reducing the importance of our own prudence, and at the same time stressing the importance of shunning a known evil, we can face the future with confidence.

6


We can accept each day with its multiple decisions in proper perspective.
     Though the God of Israel may appear as a God that "hidest Thyself," we know that He has not forsaken us. He has withheld His hand of Providence from our vision; but it is there, guiding our every step. And we know, too, that these few steps of earthly life are as nothing compared to eternity. He asks only of those who love Him: "Keep My commandments." For those, a happy future is assured.     Amen.

     LESSONS: Isaiah 45: 5-15. Arcana Coelestia 9336: 2.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 425, 486, 503.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 80, 134.
PUBLICATION 1971

PUBLICATION       Editor       1971

     Have you noticed the difference in the new Publication? We are about to begin our third year, stabilized in the specific direction of affirmative communication among members of the Church. We have grown and matured as a magazine. We can now claim more than ever an important and distinctive role in the uses of the Church.

     Here is an energetic effort to bring new thought and life into the Church. It is completely unsubsidized and is the initiative of young people. It is a bridge across the generation gap; we have strengthened its weak planks and we ask you to walk across to meet us.

     For 1971, send $3.00 or a donation to:

The Publication
Box 203
Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009

7


SWEDENBORG'S PREPARATION AS TO THE WILL 1971

SWEDENBORG'S PREPARATION AS TO THE WILL       Rev. ERIK SANDSTROM       1971

     All New Church men agree that Swedenborg was specially prepared under the auspices of the Divine Providence for his call as "servant of the Lord Jesus Christ" in the Lord's second coming. We know of his peculiar gifts from early childhood, as, for instance, his introduction into what he called "internal breathing," and his ability to think and converse on religious subjects. We are also aware that he grew up into an ardent student of the sciences of his day, and that, building on the huge assembly of sciences he had gathered in his mind, he erected an astounding philosophical structure in which was housed both the philosophy of the creation of the universe and the philosophy of the nature of the human soul. In all this he combined knowledge with acknowledgment, intellectual achievement with humble worship. For to Swedenborg science was not a substitute for religion, but rather religion's handmaid; nor was philosophy thinkable except as a study of the presence and operation of the Creator both in the macrocosm and in man the microcosm, and of the reaction and response of creation to its Maker. His curt comment in the Principia, under the heading "The Means Leading to True Philosophy" is typical: "True philosophy and contempt of the Deity are two opposites."*
     * Prin. I, p. 38.
     Today, however, we will not pursue further the studies of many previous speakers and writers with reference to Swedenborg's intellectual preparation, but attend rather to his preparation as to the will. In my view the one preparation is not less important than the other. Rather does it seem to me certain that the Lord had continually prepared His chosen servant in both respects simultaneously.
     I would offer two reasons for this view. One is that Swedenborg as a person could not have been protected from profanation had his will lingered in the proprial loves of self and the world. It is true that the understanding may be raised temporarily to the height of heaven with any man, regardless of his will*; but Swedenborg was to contemplate matters of angelic wisdom constantly for twenty-seven years and to experience conscious citizenship in heaven as well as in this world.

8


Surely, if in his will he had aspired to his own glory, and if he had ascribed the discovery of interior truths to his own intelligence, there would have arisen within him an irreparable conflict of heaven and hell, and his soul would have been destroyed eternally. As an aside, but relevant to the issue, we would note here that while Swedenborg, in his own words, "enjoyed a perfect inspiration,"** he nevertheless at the same time thought and wrote as of himself. Such as-of-self on the part of the revelator is implied in a revelation that is couched in terms of the highest understanding. It would follow, therefore, that Swedenborg as a person was constantly in that same light of heaven which through him was to be communicated to other men. On this account it must be legitimate to apply also to himself what is revealed as a universal principle in the work, Divine Providence: "Man is not admitted interiorly into the truths of faith and into the goods of charity, except as far as he can be kept in them to the end of his life."***
     * AC 8443; DLW 243.
     ** See Docu. II, pp. 404, 405.
     *** DP 221
     The other reason, however, has wider ramifications and goes far beyond the person of Swedenborg. I am referring to the very nature of his inspiration, and consequently to the reason why we attribute complete Divine authority to the Writings of the New Church.
     It is my understanding that the difference between the inspiration enjoyed by Swedenborg and that of, say, an ordinary New Church man, is that in the case of the latter, that is, a man who is not called as a revelator, his own will is active in and qualifies everything that he writes or says: while in the case of Swedenborg his own will was laid aside - and this by his own unreserved consent; so that instead the Divine will itself might flow directly into his understanding and select there the ideas and knowledges that were to be woven into the pattern of a Divine communication to all mankind: a communication whose purpose it was to lay open the Divine arcana themselves that had been formerly reserved for angels only, because formerly hidden behind the veil of the letter of the Word.
     That Swedenborg's inspiration was of this nature seems to be supported by his testimony, as follows:

     "There was an influx like a most gentle and almost imperceptible stream, the current of which does not appear but still leads and draws. This, which flowed in from the Lord, led in this manner all the series of my thoughts into the consequent things, and although gently, powerfully, so that I could not possibly wander into other thoughts, which also I was allowed to attempt, but in vain."*
     * AC 6474.

     Another teaching - or set of teachings - may guide us into a fuller understanding of this matter, so that we might see not only that the Divine will made for itself a path directly into Swedenborg's understanding but also how this was done.

9


I am referring first to a very specific teaching with regard to the influx and operation of the Divine with an ordinary man; and it is that teaching, compared with the case of Swedenborg, which may help us to see the difference between the Lord's influx with the one and the other.
     Our first teaching is in the chapter on the Holy Spirit in True Christian Religion, and reads:

     "When the Word is in some fullness in the internal of man, then man speaks and acts out of himself from the Word, and not the Word through him. It is similar with the Lord, because He is the Word, that is, the Divine truth and the Divine good therein: the Lord out of Himself or out of the Word acts in man and into him, but not through him, because man acts and speaks freely from the Lord when he does so from the Word."*
     * TCR 154: 5.

     This, then, is the case with any man who would be led by the Lord's Holy Spirit. To repeat: man is led by the Lord speaking to him out of the Word, when the man has received the Word "in some fullness within himself." The important point is that the Lord does not act through man, but that man acts of his own free will from the strength and light of the Word as he receives that Word.
     In the case of Swedenborg, however - and we are not speaking here of Swedenborg prior to his call - the Lord did act through him. That appears to be the real difference and the crucial point in understanding the nature of the inspiration enjoyed by the last of the revelators.
     In supporting this concept of "through Swedenborg" as against "not through other men" we recall first the well-known passage in Sketch of an Ecclesiastical History of the New Church: "The books are to be enumerated which were written, from the beginning to the present day, by the Lord through me."* But this is not, as some people seem to have supposed, an isolated passage which may he explained away. On the contrary, there are numerous statements elsewhere in the body of the Writings bringing forth the same point, to wit, that the Writings are the Lord's works, and therefore written by the Lord, not by Swedenborg but only by means of him.
     * Ecc. Hist. 3.
     To illustrate this we offer the following examples. In the concluding memorable relation in True Christian Religion angels are quoted as asking, "What news from the earth?"; to which Swedenborg replied: "This is new, that the Lord has revealed arcana which in excellence exceed the arcana hitherto revealed since the beginning of the church."*

10


And in a little tract in answer to a bitter attack by Dr. Ernesti - a tract that Swedenborg caused to be printed for private circulation among his friends - he refers in the following terms to the arcana enumerated in the said memorable relation: "Read, if you please, what has been written concerning the arcana that have been revealed by the Lord through me in my latest work, entitled True Christian Religion, in nos. 846-851."** In the "Summary of the Coronis" we find: "The church knows nothing at all about this, its desolation and consummation, nor can it know, until the Divine truths revealed by the Lord in the work entitled True Christian Religion are seen in light and acknowledged."*** Heaven and Hell, in the introduction, gives us, after quoting the prophecy concerning the Lord's second advent in Matthew 24, the following: "By these words of the Lord is meant that in the end of the church, when there is no longer any love and consequently no faith, the Lord will open the Word in its internal sense and reveal arcana of heaven."**** The Preface to Apocalypse Revealed stresses the same point: "Anyone may see that the Apocalypse could not possibly be explained but by the Lord alone, since every word of it contains arcana which could never be known without some special enlightenment and consequent revelation, wherefore it has pleased the Lord to open the sight of my spirit and to teach me. Think not, therefore, that anything there given is from (ex) myself, or from (ex) any angel, but from the Lord alone (ex Domino Solo)."
     * TCR 846.
     ** Docu. I, p. 58.
     *** Coro. Summ. XLIX
     **** HH 1.

     Now, since it is the prepositions in these passages that hold the key to their essential message, we pause here to recall the prepositions in our opening passage, True Christian Religion 154, and to draw attention to those used in our later passages: this in brief only. The Latin, of course, is our authority, but if the Latin is translated consistently into corresponding English prepositions, the point will be borne out. Our True Christian Religion passage says that man (the ordinary enlightened man, not Swedenborg the revelator) is to act and speak "out of himself from the Word"; and that the Word, or the Lord, does not speak and act "through him," but rather that the Lord "out of Himself or out of the Word" acts "in" man and "into him," and not "through" him. These are the important prepositions; and it is because of them that other phrases become significant, like "by the Lord through me,' ". . . could not be explained but by the Lord alone," and "not out of myself, nor out of any angel, but out of the Lord alone."*
     * Other passages of great interest in this connection are SD 6101; AE 971: 5; inv. 44; TCR 508: 5; AR 5, 820; AE 641: 3, 948; DP 162. Lack of time prevents their being quoted.

11



     These things have been brought forward to suggest the view that Swedenborg could not have served in the second coming of the Lord, that is, in penning a revelation that was rational in its whole structure but without having a mortal man's mind as its essence, if it were not for his complete and total willingness to lay aside his own will, so that instead of it the Lord's will might operate in and through Swedenborg's understanding without the intervention of either man or angel. The operation of the Lord's will is the operation of the Holy Spirit. What we suggest, therefore, is that the Holy Spirit came upon the intellectual part of Swedenborg's mind and used it at its own discretion, giving birth in this manner to the "male child that was to tend all nations with a rod of iron," namely, the Divine Doctrine of the New Jerusalem. Is there not, then, a very full parallel between the Lord's first advent, which was in the flesh, and His second advent, in which He came as the Spirit of truth? It is almost as if we heard again - but with a new application - the words of Mary: "How can this be, seeing I know not a man?"*
     * Luke 1: 34.

     With these thoughts in mind we return to the man Swedenborg, and inquire into his own preparation so that the above might come to pass. The little work, The Journal of Dreams, which was found and published long after Swedenborg's death (about the middle of the Nineteenth Century), is our chief source of knowledge in this regard, for it was to the pages of his private journal that Swedenborg confided his deepest temptations and other experiences and his inmost prayers. It was written in 1744, in the time intermediate between his labors as a scientist and philosopher and his twenty-seven years in the special service of the Lord.
     In thus approaching him, as though disturbing him when he had expected to be alone, we must vest ourselves with the deepest respect that is owing to such a man, and venture upon our intrusion only because of a high purpose. However, let us bear these two things in mind: all temptation is an attack on that which a man loves; and the deeper is the love, the greater is the awareness of and the combat against sin.

     Swedenborg's Awareness of Sin. To be truly aware of sin is to be subject to humiliation. In other words, the quality of humility is impossible without a real sense of unworthiness. Swedenborg's Journal of Dreams makes it abundantly clear that he knew his sins and had a profound sense of unworthiness. He writes:

     "I perceived that I was unworthy above others and the greatest of sinners, for our Lord has granted me to go more deeply with my thoughts in certain matters than many others have done; and I perceived that here lies the very fountain of sin, viz., in the thoughts which are brought to the work; so that in this manner my sins come from a deeper source than in the case of many other persons.

12


Herein I perceived my unworthiness and my sins to be greater than those of others; for it is not enough to call oneself unworthy, for this may he done while yet the heart is far from it, and it may be pretense, but to perceive that one is such, this is of the grace of the Spirit."*
     * No. 74.

     Reflecting on a certain dream, and what it might mean, he later added: "Afterwards I saw all that was impure, and I acknowledged that I was impure from head to foot. I cried for the mercy of Jesus Christ."*
     * No. 85.
     In another entry he names his sins as being the love of self and pride:
"During the preceding day I had found myself unworthy of all the grace which God deigned to show me, because with me the love of self and the pride were so deeply rooted."*
     * No. 272.
     What he had in mind in reference to his pride is more clearly indicated in one of his published works, written a few years earlier, namely, the Economy of the Kingdom of the Soul (or Animal Kingdom, as it is commonly known). There he writes in connection with his decision to make use of the works of others in gathering materials for his philosophy, as follows:

     "On deeply considering the matter I deemed it best to make use of the facts supplied by others. Indeed there are some that seem born for experimental observation, and endowed with a sharper insight than others, as if they possessed naturally a finer acumen. . . . There are others again who enjoy a natural faculty for contemplating facts already discovered, the eliciting their causes. . . . Besides, I found, when intently occupied in exploring the secrets of the human body that as soon as I discovered anything that had not been observed before, I began (seduced probably by self-love) to grow blind to the most acute lucubrations and researches of others, and to originate the whole series of inductive arguments from my particular discovery alone."*
     * EAK 18.

     Humility, then, or the conquest of conceit, was what he strove for earnestly. To this effect he writes:

     "This much I have now learned in regard to what is spiritual, that there is nothing for it but to humble oneself, and not to ask for anything but the grace of Christ, and this in all humility. I had added what is of my own in order to obtain love [from others], but this is presumptuous, for when a person possesses the grace of God, he gives himself up to Christ's pleasure, and acts according to His pleasure. One is happiest when he is in the grace of God. I must most humbly pray for forgiveness before my conscience can he satisfied, for I was in temptation before this had been done. The Holy Spirit taught me this, but I in my stupid understanding had neglected humility which is the foundation of everything."
     * Journal of Dreams, no. 61.

13




     Swedenborg in Temptation. All these sentiments concerning his own sinfulness and unworthiness, and his deep quest for humility, were born of intense temptations. Some extracts from his Journal will indicate to us in what manner he suffered and fought.

     "I was also in this temptation, that thoughts invaded me which I could not control; and this indeed so severely as to keep away every other thought but the one that they should be given free reins for once to oppose the power of the Spirit, which leads in a different direction. The temptation was so severe that if the grace of God had not yet been stronger I must have fallen therein, or else become insane. . . . The movement and power of the Spirit came to me [to such an extent] that I felt that I would rather become insane [than to fall]."*
     * No. 65.

     A little later, also, he refers to the same kind of temptation, saying that he was "as it were forced to think what he did not want to think."*
     * No. 86.
     While being thus tempted he also learned of the conflict between the internal and the external man, concerning which so much was later written in the Writings themselves. At one time - it was Easter, and he had taken Communion - he felt "inwardly content, but still outwardly sad," and he adds: "I could not govern my fugitive thoughts so as to restrain some expressions opposed to my better knowledge; it was from the evil one, by permission." He prayed and read the Word, and entered the observation that this gave "some relief," and that "faith was present entirely, but the confidence and love seemed to be absent."*
     * No. 39.
     Tears were no strangers to him in these states; sometimes tears of sorrow, at other times tears of joy. Contemplating his own nature, "he fell aweeping because he had not been loving, but rather had offended Him who had led him and shown him the way even unto the kingdom of grace.* But his suffering was at times relieved by profound joy:

     "Every now and then I burst into tears, not of sorrow but of inmost joy that our Lord has been willing to show such great grace to so unworthy a sinner. For the sum and substance of all I found to be this that the one and only thing is to cast oneself in humility upon the grace of our Lord, to perceive one a own unworthiness, and to thank God in humility for His grace."**
     * No. 36.
     ** No. 71.

     The whole Journal gives evidence of the most profound piety, so that one senses how Swedenborg was constantly aware of the closeness of his Savior, prayers coming spontaneously to his lips, and reading and meditation on the Word being a daily diet that clearly far exceeded his meager requirements for natural food.*

14


He had a favorite hymn, too, from the authorized Swedish Hymnbook,** and he would every so often sing this to himself. It also came back to him in his dreams. An unrhymed, somewhat free translation from the Swedish, may be of some interest:

Jesus is my Friend, the Best One,
Ne'er an equal He shall have.
Should I then walk with the many,
And forsake Him in my life?
None shall have the might to tear me
From the One who loves me so.
His will and mine shall join together,
All days here and ever there.
     * Cf. Cuno: Memoirs on Swedenborg, pp. 11, 159, et al.
     ** No. 245, occurring earlier as No. 282, in his father's, Bishop Swedberg's, Hymn book.

     Swedenborg's Desire To Give Everything in Order that He Might Belong To the Lord. Temptations, however, are never an end in themselves, but serve only to prepare the mind for an uplifting into the peace that accompanies the reception of the Lord. This uplifting came at times to Swedenborg, apparently with almost unbearable power. At one time he refers to an experience through which it came to him that one must not love angels more than God, for "in comparison with our Lord no respect must be paid to them" - and apparently he had been tempted in this respect also. But afterwards he writes: "I found in me as it were a radiance, that the greatest happiness would be to become a martyr, for the consideration of the indescribable grace, combined with the love towards God, makes one desire to sustain that torture which is nothing compared with the eternal torment, and the least thing would be to sacrifice one's life."*
     * Journal of Dreams, 46, 47.
     He is increasingly aware of his calling; this is what is meant by the indescribable grace." But he is also aware of the dangers attached to it, to others and to himself, and in an outburst of zeal he even felt as though he might wish to inflict harm on harm, nay, even extreme harm, if this should be necessary to prevent that veneration be turned to himself rather than to the Lord. He writes:

     "While the thought occurred to me, as it often does, if it should happen that anyone took me for a holy man, and therefore made much of me; nay, as is done by some simple-minded folks, if they were not only to venerate me but even adore me as a supposed saint; I then perceived that in the zeal in which I then was, I would be willing to inflict upon him every evil, even to the extreme, rather than [to permit] anything of such a sin to cleave to him. And [I recognized] that I must entreat our Lord with earnest prayers, than I may not have any share in so damnable a sin, or that it should cleave to me."*
     * No. 72.

15




     The Lord Appears to Swedenborg. It was in this period of Swedenborg's life, that is, in the course of approximately seven months covered by the main body of his Journal, that the Lord appeared to him. To be more exact, this happened about Easter time in the year 1744. He commits an account of this event to the pages of his Journal, and as this is, perhaps, the only indisputable testimony to the Lord's having come in Person to His servant to call him, and is certainly the most full and vivid account, we shall quote somewhat at length here.

     "At ten o'clock I went to bed and felt somewhat better. Half an hour afterwards I heard a noise beneath my head, and I then thought that the tempter had departed. Immediately there came over me a powerful tremor, from the head and over the whole body, together with a resounding noise, and this occurred a number of times. I found that something holy had encompassed me. I then fell asleep, but about twelve, one, or two o'clock in the night there came over me a very powerful tremor from the head to the feet, accompanied with a booming sound as if many winds had clashed against one another. It was indescribable, and it shook me and prostrated me on my face. In the moment that I was prostrated I became wide awake, and I saw that I had been thrown down. I wondered what it meant, and I spoke as if I were awake, but still I found that the words were put into my mouth, and I said, 'Oh, Thou Almighty Jesus Christ, who of Thy great mercy deignest to come to so great a sinner, make me worthy of this grace!' I kept my hands folded and I prayed, and then there came forth a hand which strongly pressed my hands. I then continued my prayer, saying, `Thou hast promised to receive in grace all sinners; Thou canst not otherwise than keep Thy words! In the same moment I was sitting at His bosom, and beheld Him face to face. It was a countenance of a holy mien, and all was such that it cannot be expressed, and also smiling, so that I believe that His countenance was such also while He lived [in the world]. He spoke to me and asked if I had a bill of health. I answered, 'Thou knowest better than I.' He said, 'Well, then, do.' This I found in my spirit to signify, 'Love Me truly,' or, 'Do what thou hast promised.' O God, impart to me grace for this! I found it was not in my own power. I awoke, with tremors."*
     * Nos. 51-54.

     Swedenborg's Inmost Prayer. There is one recurring prayer, confided to the pages of his Journal, which seems to come forth as an inmost cry of his heart. He asks no greater favor than to be granted that he might give up his own will, and that so he might wholly belong to the Lord alone. But so great does he deem this favor, that he also asks forgiveness for desiring it.
     But let his journal speak for him on this point also: "And as I have my motto: 'Thy will be done; I am Thine and not my own;' and as I have given myself away from myself to the Lord, may He therefore do with me according to His good pleasure."* Yet something from his proprium, something from his body, seemed to resist. There was still something of combat.

16


He wrote: "In the body there seemed to be something of discontent, but in the spirit there was joy, for it is the grace of our Lord that effects this. May God strengthen me therein!"** In fact, the battle within him seemed unwilling to cease. "I was continually in a state of combat with double thoughts which were fighting one another. I pray Thee, O Almighty God, to grant me grace to be Thine, and not mine own! Forgive me if I have said that I am Thine and not mine own; this belongs not to me, but to God. I pray for the grace of being permitted to be Thine, and that I may not be left to myself."***
     * No. 117.
     ** Ibid.
     *** No. 118.
     At last he seems to have gained assurance that the Lord had wholly accepted him. There is triumph in these words: "I now arose, a whole God up. God be thanked and praised! I do not wish to be mine own; I am certain and believe that Thou, O God, wilt let me be Thine in all the days of my life and wilt not take away from me Thy Holy Spirit which strengthens and upholds me."*
     * No. 157.

     "Servant of the Lord Jesus Christ." In the Writings themselves there is evidence of continued temptations and recurring sufferings - perhaps because Swedenborg, still living on earth while at the same time a citizen of the Lord's internal kingdom, must be constantly lifted up, constantly drawn out of himself, lest he relapse. Perhaps also because Swedenborg, as representing the doctrines given through him, must suffer the attacks and the hatred that rose up from the hells against the doctrines themselves.
     Be that as it may; there is nothing in the Writings to cause us to think otherwise than that the will of Swedenborg was, from the beginning of the time of the new revelation itself, wholly and unreservedly given up to the Lord, so that nothing whatever from him would interfere with the operation of the Lord's Holy Spirit into his mind and through it.
     It was thus that his will gave itself up as a personal will, and became as it were permeated with the grace and mercy for which he prayed so earnestly; and it was thus that his understanding, with everything that was gathered there, could be taken into the Lord's own possession, and this for the purpose of giving to the world a revelation that the Writings themselves describe as "surpassing all the revelations that have hitherto been given since the creation of the world."*
     * Inv. 44.

17



     There is, therefore, a full and profound truth in the designation that Swedenborg assigned to himself on the title-page of some of the Writings, notably the True Christian Religion: "Emanuel Swedenborg, servant of the Lord Jesus Christ."
APPLICATIONS FOR ADMISSION TO THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH 1971

APPLICATIONS FOR ADMISSION TO THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH       Editor       1971

     Requests for application forms for admission to any of the Academy schools for the 1971-1972 school year should be made before January 15, 1971.

     Completed application forms and accompanying material should be received by the Admissions Office by March 15, 1971.

     Application for re-admission of students already in attendance should be made in writing by March 15, 1971. Please address all correspondence to the Director of Admissions, The Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania 19009.
FREDERICK EMANUEL DOERING TRUST 1971

FREDERICK EMANUEL DOERING TRUST       Editor       1971

     Applications for assistance from the above Fund to enable male Canadian students to attend the "Academy of the New Church" at Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., for the school year 1971-72 should be received by one of the undermentioned Pastors before March 15th, 1971.

     Before filing their applications, students should first obtain their acceptance by the Academy, which should be done immediately as dormitory space is limited.

     Any of the undermentioned Pastors will be happy to give any further information or help that may be necessary.

Rev. Harold C. Cranch
2 Lorraine Gardens
Islington, Ontario

Rev. Frank Rose
R. R. #3
Preston, Ontario

Rev. Willard Heinrichs
1108-96th Avenue
Dawson Creek, B. C.

18


WHAT'S IN A LAUGH? 1971

WHAT'S IN A LAUGH?       STEPHEN G. GLADISH       1971

     Many of us likely remember, from our childhood, the admonitory phrase, "Laughter comes from hell." For years, in the back of my mind, there remained a poignant curiosity. Finally, after reading psychological explanations on laughter, particularly those of Freud and his followers, and consulting the Writings of Swedenborg, I found a measure of truth in that statement.
     Swedenborg, in his sparse passages on laughter, based his treatment of it primarily on Isaac and his correspondence to the Divine rational (as to good), evident from the signification of "laughter" (of Abraham and Sarah) from which he was named - the affection of truth.* The affection of truth "belongs to the rational . . . laughter here signifies the Divine rational."** Further, the origin and essence of laughter is "nothing but the affection of truth, or else the affection of what is false."*** "The source of all laughter is the affection of truth or of falsity in the rational,"**** but (now we begin to see our topic emerge) "as long as this affection is here there is something corporeal and worldly, thus merely human." When God asked Abraham why Sarah laughed (at the thought of conceiving Isaac at the age of ninety) it showed that "the Lord perceived that in His rational there was still what was human."***** "Laughter, indeed, is a something external, which is of the body . . . in laughter there is something that is not good."******* Swedenborg explains through contrast: "Celestial good and spiritual good does not laugh, but brings out its delight and cheerfulness in a different way."******** Further, in explaining that the rational itself is in appearance which can affect it - because to the natural man there is delight in and affection for the appearances themselves; Swedenborg comments, "whereas heavenly affection is not in appearances but in good and truth itself."********* Evil spirits "laugh" in derision and denial of the "holy things of the church,"********** whereas angels "smiled" in other passages."***********

19


Then, as if to conclude the implications, Swedenborg states: "From whatever affections they are thinking, as from . . . a laugh . . . in that thing there may be hidden many things which are simultaneously in it, or present with it;************ and "in the unusual clamor there was something of laughter in it; within this there was something of indignation; and in this something of sadness."************* But the strongest and most specific judgment from the Writings, to correlate with my other sources, is: "There are very many things in laughter; for the most part, something of contempt, which although it does not appear still lies hidden."**************
     * AC 2658.
     ** AC 2083.
     *** AC 2072. Cf. AC 2201-03, 2207, 2640-41, 2658, 3392
     **** AC 2216.
     ***** AC 2216. Cf. AC 8247.
     ****** AC 2207.
     ******* AC 2072.
     ******** AC 2216.
     ********* AC 2203.
     ********** AC AR 421e.
     *********** CL 137: 2, 10: 2, et al.
     ************ SD 4140.
     ************* CL 207; TCR 694.
     ************** AC 2216. Cf. TCR 17: 2, 80: 5, 147 ,172: 2, 381: 3.

     From the above, we may summarize: 1) the origin and the essence of laughter is the affection of truth or of falsity; 2) this affection belongs to the rational; 3) it would then follow that the more rationality a person had, the stronger the affection; 4) this affection, however, is corporeal, worldly, human; 5) celestial and spiritual good does not laugh; 6) in laughter are many things, for the most part something of contempt; 7) in this contempt lies love of self and the absence of neighborly love; 8) too much self-love and hatred of the neighbor come from hell.
     Freud, certainly one of the most influential men of the Twentieth Century through his investigations, but more importantly his instigation of studies into human nature, appears to support the major contentions found in the Writings. He and his followers also enlarge upon, develop and render more specific the above passages.
     Freud began his study, "Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious," by explaining the origin of the comic: it comes from unintended discovery of human social relations - "people, their movements, forms, actions and traits."* Contrasting someone's mental process, or physical actions, with our own brings comic pleasure. A joke was, then, a form of a pleasure-producing process. Theodor Lipps defined it thus: "Every conscious and ingenious evocation of the comic is in general described as a joke."** Freud named two kinds of jokes: the innocent and harmless, and the purposive. The purposive he further divided: those to destroy - sarcasm, scandal, and satire; and those to expose, smash, and strip - obscenity, bawdry, and ribaldry. He felt that only those jokes with purpose can make people burst out in laughter. Innocent jokes don't pack much punch; we don't feel them so keenly; our need for them is not so great.

20


We want, Freud contended, unconsciously to attack and expose. Without aggression, the most common defense mechanism, much comedy cannot function. Eric Bentley put it this way: "In many forms of comedy, hostility enjoys itself."***
     * Freud, p. 401.
     ** Lipps, p. 393, "The Comical: General Attributes."
     *** Bentley, p. 302, "Farce."

     Many people consider wit a social asset. Yet Martin Grotjahn explained Freudian theory on wit: A witticism begins with an aggressive tendency or intent - an insulting, shocking thought. This is repressed, and disappears into the unconscious, which disguises the latent aggressive thought, and combines it with playful pleasure - repressed since childhood. The witticism reappears, and can be both acceptable and entertaining. However, the disguise must go far enough to avoid guilt, yet not so far that the thrill of aggression is lost. The skill of the disguise determines the quality of the witticism. Wit also saves energy by releasing the repression of the aggressive thought. If the disguise is unsuccessful, pleasure for all the parties involved (the jokester, the butt of the joke, the audience) changes to displeasure, embarrassment, shame and guilt about the aggressive and infantile indulgence in childhood pleasure.* Gilbert Murray agreed, feeling that catharsis is easy to apply to comedy, as well as tragedy: our psychic violence can be worked off in laughter. Impropriety is the essence of most comedy; Bentley stated: "Comedy often embodies the wish to damage the family, the marriage, the household gods."** Freud, too, felt that jokes are fundamentally cathartic: a release, not a stimulant.
     * Grotjahn, p. 270, "Beyond Laughter: A Summing Up"
     ** Bentley, p. 282, "Farce."

     Contrast seems to be a major component of comedy.* Aristotle, in his discussion of comedy, wrote: "It is impossible to set the limits of the ludicrous until what is serious can be defined and accepted."** Freud posited three types of comic contrast: 1) comparison of the other person and oneself (for example, perhaps the comedian would appear as a child to us); 2) the comparison lies entirely within the other person (the comedian might reduce himself to a child); 3) the comparison is entirely within oneself (we might discover the child within ourself). The first type can involve the comic of movement, form, mental function, or character.

21


A child has an inferior mental and moral development, which can be humorous in contrast; a stupid person may remind us of a lazy child, a "bad" person may remind us of a naughty child. The second kind of contrast depends on empathy. It has the most numerous possibilities: the comic of situation, exaggeration, caricature, mimicry, degradation and unmasking. The infantile point of view is most useful here. The comic of situation is based mostly on embarrassments, where we discover the child's helplessness, or it can be based on repetition, another childhood trait. Exaggeration is based upon a child's lack of a sense of proportion, ignorance of quantitative relations, and lack of moderation and restraint. Mimicry, too, is the child's best art, and the driving motivation of most of his games. The relation of the child to the adult is the basis of the comic of unmasking and degradation, which brings the adult down to the child's level, renouncing his oppressive authority. The third type of contrast would overlap the above; it would be an awareness in ourselves of the same contrasts we see in the comic person (or comedian in the loose sense of the word).
     * All essays referred to in this paper can be found in two books: Theories of Comedy, edited by Paul Lauter, New York, 1964; Comedy: Meaning and Form, edited by Robert Corrigan, San Francisco, 1965.
     ** The Poetics, Chap. 5.
     Freud's first type of comic contrast, the comic of movement, involves movements that are extravagant and inexpedient, with an energy expenditure too large and unnecessary, which we would spare ourselves if we were doing it. Exaggerated expressive movements and grimaces, which overemphasize the normal expression of the emotions would also be included. A funny face, even in imitation, or bugged eyes, misshapen nose, and other irregular features, produce comic effect only in that the movements are imagined which would be necessary to bring about these features, according to Freud.

      Supplementing Freud's comic of movement, Henri Bergson supplies the central image in his well-known theory of comedy: "something mechanical encrusted on the living." Any incident is comic that calls attention to the physical aspects of a person, when it is the moral side that is concerned. Again we have the basic denominator contrast: the stupidly monotonous body, obstructing everything with its machine-like obstinacy, and the moral personality with its intelligently varied energy. The more trivial and repetitious these bodily claims, the more contrast and the more laughter.* What further incites laughter is the momentary transformation of a person into a thing, giving the impression of mechanism, automatism, movement without life. Charlie Chaplin's walk was calculated for humorous effect, making him appear less than human - and worse off than all the poverty-stricken audiences of the thirties.
     * Bergson, "From Laugher," p. 476.

22



     The second type of contrast, the comic of situation, involves the placing of a person in situations where his actions are subject to comic conditions, for example, when a person becomes comical as a result of human dependence on external events, particularly social factors. You can trip someone, and make him appear to others as clumsy; or make him seem stupid by exploiting his credulity or trying to convince him of something nonsensical. Vaughan Meader made comical hay by imitating President Kennedy, putting him into demeaning situations - playing monopoly, squabbling with his wife, telling Caroline a bedtime story, which, she confides to the audience, "is such good therapy." (Degradation of the father or authority figure.)

     Other methods of making people comic include mimicry or ridicule by imitation, disguise, unmasking, caricature or exaggeration through ludicrous distortion of parts or characteristics, parody or ridiculous and grotesque imitation, and travesty or inferior imitation. Thousands employ themselves through these methods. Obviously, these techniques can be used to serve hostile and aggressive purposes; one can make a person comical to render him contemptible, to deprive him of his claim to dignity and authority. Even if this intention does habitually underlie making people comical, it does not need to be the surface meaning, or the meaning of what is comic spontaneously.* All these techniques are usually directed against people and objects which lay claim to authority and respect, which are, in some respect, sublime. Caricature brings about degradation by emphasizing (in the general impression given by an exalted subject) a single trait, comic in itself, bound to be overlooked in the general picture. Parody and travesty achieve degradation of something exalted by destroying the unity that exists between people's characters as we know them and their speeches and actions - by replacing the figures or their utterances with inferior ones. Unmasking occurs when, according to Freud, someone has seized dignity and authority by deception, and these must then be taken from him in reality. Whether the authority was seized by deception or not, unmasking implies it. Finally, one can always degrade the dignity of individuals by directing attention to the frailties they have in common with all humanity.
     * Freud, p. 402.
     To explain physiologically why we laugh, Freud posited his theory of expenditure of innervation: we compare a person's movement, or his intellectual functions, with our own. They must be judged by the same standards. We compare psychical expenditure while we are having a certain idea: (we also compare the content of the thing we are having the idea of).

23


We do not physically imitate the movement muscularly; we have an idea of it through the medium of memory traces of expenditures on similar movements. This "ideation" or thinking displaces much smaller cathectic energies, and holds back the main expenditure from discharge. In this process, innervations, however small, do run out to the muscles. So the idea of a larger movement or expression would in fact be the larger expenditure of energy, creating an unusable surplus - a form of pleasure energy, perhaps then discharged by laughter.
     The comic can also be found in intellectual functions and character traits of other people, with comic nonsense, or stupidity. In mental functioning, contrary to the comic of movement, the comic element comes from the subject sparing himself expenditure which we regard as necessary. This time he has taken too little trouble. Nonsense and stupidity are inefficiencies of mental functioning. So a person is comic when, in comparison to us, he makes too great an expenditure of bodily functions and too little of his mental functions. In these cases, our laughter expresses a pleasurable sense of the superiority we feel. Comic pleasure is known by its effect - laughter. But if the difference between the two expenditures is not capable of discharge, or must be utilized elsewhere, laughter will not occur (Freud).
     The comic process forms part of the preconscious mind, between the conscious and the unconscious; such a process, which runs its course in the preconscious, lacks the cathexis of attention linked with the conscious mind, and may be called automatic. Freud declared that expenditures must be automatic if comic pleasure is to be produced. Ernst Kris quoted Marcel Pagnel: "Laughter is not simple, it is the spectacular end of a complex process."* Kris believed laughter to betoken a sudden sense of superiority, that the source of laughter is in the subject who laughs, not in the object. He noted that Freud's favorite "gallows humor" was identified by Freud himself as "a catalyst for a vital feeling - a flash of self-assertion"; something akin to the feeling of superiority.
     * Kris, "Ego Development and the Comic."

     (To be continued.)

24


JOHN PITCAIRN'S MISSIONARY EFFORTS AT RENOVO, PENNSYLVANIA, 1866-1869 1971

JOHN PITCAIRN'S MISSIONARY EFFORTS AT RENOVO, PENNSYLVANIA, 1866-1869       RICHARD KINTNER       1971

     John Pitcairn was born at Johnstone, Scotland, on January 10, 1841, the sixth child of John and Agnes Pitcairn. His mother was a McEwan of Argyleshire. The parents of John Pitcairn first came to America in 1833, settling in Brooklyn, New York, and moving later to Paterson, New Jersey. But the ventures of John's father did not turn out well, so the family returned to Scotland. While they were in this country, one child, Janet, was born in 1833.
     In October, 1846, the family again emigrated to America. This time they settled in the Pittsburgh area, where the elder John Pitcairn's brothers, Alexander and Robert, had settled.
     When John Pitcairn was born, his parents knew nothing of the New Church. The family became interested in this new religion through brother Alexander. About 1849, the parents and their seven children were baptized into the New Church by the Rev. David Powell at Pittsburgh.
     The poor Scottish families of this period settled at Allegheny, on the north side of Pittsburgh. At the age of six, the boy John attended the New Church Sunday school conducted by "Auntie" Anna Aitken. Among others who attended this little school were young John's elder brother, Robert, and Andrew Carnegie. Robert Pitcairn later became an outstanding railroad man, and Andrew Carnegie the leading steel man of his time. Unfortunately, both of these men returned to the Presbyterian Church in later life.
     Young John Pitcairn received a grammar school education in the public schools of Allegheny, and, later, another year of formal education. However, his education never ceased. At the age of fourteen he had to go to work. His elder brother, Robert, was already working for the Pennsylvania Railroad at Altoona, Pennsylvania, and he got his younger brother a job with the railroad.
     Off to Altoona John went on his fourteenth birthday with a copy of the Word and the True Christian Religion carefully packed in his knapsack by his mother.

25


His first job with the railroad was that of office boy for the General Superintendent, Herbert J. Lombaert, who treated this young boy like a son. John's brother, Robert, was at this time a clerk and telegrapher for Mr. Lombaert. Like his brother, John learned the new art of telegraphy, in a period of thirty days.
     From an account of his life dictated to Miss Cyriel Odhner we find Mr. Pitcairn recalling his early years at Altoona. "Those were busy days for railroad men, there being no night forces and no limit to the hours in case of necessity. I slept upstairs above the office; there was an operating machine beside the bed, and one was liable to be called upon at any hour of the night to dispatch important messages. My regular office hours were from half past seven in the morning until nine o'clock in the evening, with an occasional evening off, and in emergencies I was called upon to be on duty all night. However, with the exception of an occasional message in the evening, I had little to do, and could devote the time to reading.*
     * NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1917, p. 80.

     From this humble beginning Mr. Pitcairn's progress was rapid, bringing him to the new railroad town of Renovo, in central Pennsylvania, as Superintendent of the Middle Division of the Philadelphia Division of the railroad at the age of twenty-four. In a company town like Renovo he was like the lord of the manor. The population of this new railroad town at that time was estimated at around ten thousand, all dependent upon the railroad for their livelihood.
     The West Branch of the Susquehanna River was sparsely populated until around 1834, when the West Branch Canal, built by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, was completed. This opened this wilderness to the outside world. The canal was extended from Northumberland to Farransville, a short distance above Lock Haven.
     Not long after the Pennsylvania canals were completed the railroad era began with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1825. In 1857 the young Pennsylvania Railroad bought the canal system from the state for $7,500,000. The objective of the railroad was to eliminate the system and replace it with the railroad. Another object was to extend the railroad from Harrisburg to Erie. This required a town to service the equipment, and the railroad picked the site of the present town of Renovo for this purpose. This was one of the few places in the West Branch gorge where there was enough flat bottom land between the river and the mountains for this purpose. Also, the land was cheap. By the end of the Civil War the project at Renovo was in operation.

26


The new town was considered a place of opportunity for the veterans of the Union Army and immigrating Irishmen.
     The new town attracted two future New Church men. One was Joseph R. Kendig, a veteran of the Union Army and an ex-school teacher from the Cumberland Valley, near Chambersburg; the other was Robert S. Caldwell, from Erie.

     Young John Pitcairn found his job at Renovo difficult because of the nature of the terrain. Annual floods, landslides and forest fires did not make railroading easy. "On assuming charge of this difficult line, he encountered a state of great demoralization in the organization, and it was here that his remarkable ability to detect weak spots in any system, and to correct and re-organize, was first called into play. Personal and rigorous inspection was his motto as Superintendent, and it was his habit to cover the entire line under his charge - over a hundred miles - twice annually on foot; looking over every foot of rails and ties, inspecting every detail, and coming in touch with every branch of the service, even taking an engine from the hands of the driver. By careful firing he was able to show the man how to reduce the coal consumption on his line to a degree considerably lower than the average. Far from becoming unpopular on account of strict regulations, Mr. Pitcairn succeeded in gaining not only the respect and confidence of his subordinates, but even their affection."*
     * NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1917, pp. 88-89
     On July 1, 1869, Mr. Pitcairn resigned his position. At that time over two hundred men gave him a parting testimonial and the gift of a gold watch and chain. He carried this watch to the end of his earthly life.

     In these years of isolation from the church the young superintendent turned more and more to the study of the Writings, as shown in his diaries for this period. Many "theological" talks with various associates were noted, with few if any encouraging results. Undaunted, Mr. Pitcairn, in March 1869, invited the Rev. N. C. Burnham to stop off at Renovo on his way to Erie to give two lectures, one on the Second Coming of the Lord, the other on the doctrine of the Trinity. "Between 60 and 70 of our most intelligent citizens assembled and listened with rapt attention for over two hours," according to Mr. Pitcairn.
     This meeting was where the New Church began for Joseph R. Kendig, chief clerk of the repair shops, and for Robert S. Caldwell, cashier of the First National Bank of Renovo. After attending these meetings, Mr. Kendig was reported to have said to his young wife: "If what that man says is true, then the whole world is wrong."*
     * NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1905, p. 121.

27



     A few months after this meeting, on July 1, 1869, Mr. Pitcairn left Renovo to become General Manager of the Oil Creek and Allegheny River Railroad. This railroad was in the heart of the new Pennsylvania oil fields, serving the towns of Oil City, Corry, Titusville, Petroleum Center and Oleopolis, with headquarters at Corry. The beginning of the Pitcairn fortune started with this move. The young bachelor was now twenty-eight years old. But more will be said about Mr. Pitcairn later.
     Not long after the lectures mentioned, Mr. Kendig was instrumental in getting the Robert S. Caldwells to join the church. Later the Caldwells moved to Toronto, where they became most active in the uses of the New Church in that Canadian city. Their sons, Robert B. Jr., and William B., on reaching their maturity also took a most active part in the uses of the church.
     Joseph R. Kendig remained in Renovo with the railroad until his death on January 7, 1905. In that same year Bishop William H. Benade entered the spiritual world on May 28; also, another well-known isolated Pennsylvania layman of Allentown, John Waelchli, on September 17.

     On Mr. Kendig's conversion to the New Church he became an ardent receiver, and in the little railroad town of Renovo he did not "hide his light under a bushel." In the community he became better known as "New Jerusalem Joe." In spite of this appellation he was respected by the town until the time of his death, because he lived the life that he preached. His greatest success as a missionary was within his own family, converting three of his sisters and one nephew to the New Church. His five sons and two daughters remained in the church until they passed on to the spiritual world. In addition to the Caldwells, he was instrumental in converting Dr. Kirk and his family, and the Van Sickle family, who lived on a farm along the Couldersport Pike.
     Of Mr. Kendig's family only one remained in Renovo, Joe Kendig, Jr. Young Joe, like his father, had a zeal for the New Church. He took up insurance as his career. It is not known whether young Joe converted others to the church, but, like his father, he converted all the members of his wife's family, which included his mother-in-law, Mrs. Rachel Adams, and her two daughters, Mrs. Helen Meisel and Mrs. Anna Spangler. The four daughters of the younger Joe Kendig and the three children of Mrs. Helen Meisel all attended the Academy schools and remained in the church.

28



     The elder Kendigs had seven children, five sons and two daughters, including Joe, Jr. There was also a nephew, Warren Creamer, who was raised by the Kendigs. All remained in the church until they passed on.
     Roscoe Kendig and Warren Creamer married women who did not share the beliefs of their husbands. These two men had fourteen children, and all of them were baptized into the church. None of them, however, attended the Academy schools.
     Of the six living members of the two families mentioned above, only one is a member of the New Church. Wilfred Kendig had two children, but he died at an early age and they never got to the Academy schools. As a result, they were lost to the church. Julian Kendig had two sons who attended the Academy schools. Both are living, and retain their belief in the New Church. The elder Joe Kendigs had two daughters, Florence, the mother of the writer, and Dorothy. Dorothy married Roland Smith and they had one daughter, Virginia S. Stoudt, now a member of the Academy's secretarial staff.
     My mother, Florence Kendig, married my father, J. J. Kintner, a young lawyer, at Renovo in 1898. My grandfather must have gone to work on him, because he also joined the church. To this couple were born nine children, eight of whom are still alive. All attended the Academy schools and only one, who married a Catholic, has been lost to the church. It is interesting to note that of the twenty-four grandchildren of Joseph R. Kendig, Sr., nineteen are still living, and fifteen are still members of the church.
     Thus ends the story of a missionary adventure of John Pitcairn in the little town of Renovo over a century ago.

     A sequel must be added to this story as it concerns Robert B. Caldwell, Jr., a son of one of the Renovo converts. Bob Caldwell, as he was affectionately known, organized the Sons of the Academy back in 1908. He became a friend of my father, Joseph J. Kintner, during his brief sojourn in Pittsburgh at the turn of the century. Later, Bob Caldwell, under the leadership of Bishop N. D. Pendleton in 1916 in expanding the scholarship program of the Academy, came to Lock Haven after the school term had begun. He told my parents that he could get scholarships from the Academy for my older sister and myself. A short time later we were put on a train, headed for Bryn Athyn.
     For myself, I did not want to go. I was starting my first year of high school football at Lock Haven High School and enjoying life. To be sent to a "holier than thou" religious school had no appeal. My first few weeks at Bryn Athyn were terrible. After playing at Lock Haven, the football team stank.

29


My first class was Hebrew, under Don Rose, and I was thrown out of the class as I saw no reason for studying Yiddish.
     However, when the writer graduated in 1919, subjects that I had been taught over a period of three years, such as Heaven and Hell, Divine Providence, Divine Love and Wisdom, and Conjugial Love, had dented my adolescent mind. New Church education at the high school level had converted a rebellious boy. If my reaction to that education had been negative, I doubt if my seven younger brothers and sisters would have made the journey to the Academy. Today I am eternally grateful for the aid the Academy and the Sons of the Academy gave me and the younger members of my family.
     In closing, I want to pay a tribute to the leading railroader of Renovo a century ago, John Pitcairn. I never saw or knew this man, but I have known many members of his family. To my mind, he was the greatest layman our little church has produced. With all the worldly wealth he acquired, his first love was the Writings, the Church and the Academy. We have had great spiritual leaders like the first Richard de Charms and Bishop Benade, but without the means and the lay support of John Pitcairn, the Academy movement would never have got off the ground. Here was a man of limited education by today's standards, who did so much to establish the New Church system of education. The reason was most apparent. He put the Writings first in his heart. It is an old saying that where your heart is, there goes your pocketbook.
     When I visit Bryn Athyn today and see the wonderful campus of the Academy and its modern buildings, also the beautiful cathedral, I cannot help but see the workings of the Divine Providence. The faculty of today, by worldly standards, is far superior to the faculty of half a century ago. However, I feel confident that the Academy educators of today are to the best of their ability trying to advance the only cure for the sordid ills of the world - the advancement of the Lord's New Church on earth.
     Young people of today often feel that history began with their birth. The history of the past is still important because the human race has developed as does a child. If all of us, both young and old, can go to the Writings for instruction and inspiration as young John Pitcairn did, we will make a slow but sure advance in bringing this troubled world back to sanity.

30


SWEDENBORG SOCIETY: TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF ACHIEVEMENT 1971

SWEDENBORG SOCIETY: TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF ACHIEVEMENT       ROY H. GRIFFITH       1971

      (Presidential Address delivered at the Annual Meeting of the Swedenborg Society, London, July 10, 1970. This address is re-printed here to focus attention on the important work of the Society.)

     This year the Council decided to defer the Annual General Meeting until today in the hope that members and friends from overseas and in London to attend the New Church World Assembly would join us in our meeting this evening. For the same reason, I decided to depart from precedent, and instead of reading an address on some philosophical or theological subject, to speak about the Society; to review briefly the activities and performances of the past twenty-five years, that is, since the end of the last war to the bi-centenary of the completion of the True Christian Religion.
     In the event, there are few overseas visitors with us; nevertheless I have the support of a distinguished predecessor and a founder member of the Society, who, 140 years ago, said, ". . . the past should only stimulate to new exertions." With that intent, I shall refer to the continuing activities of the Society, that is, continuing from the time of its formation; and also to some interesting and useful aspects of our work which we are apt to forget. Then I shall conclude with a word about our current work and refer to some difficult problems facing the Society in the near future.
     The prologue to this period lies in the hazards, difficulties and stringencies in a country devoting its entire efforts and resources to securing freedom in Europe and the Far East. It was reported of the Annual Meeting of 1944: "It was an evening of persistent air-raids and at the outset of the meeting it was announced that only formal business would be transacted and the President did not therefore read the address which he had prepared." That was a happy release for the President, but one cannot but admire the physical courage and the determination of those men and women who would not allow the dangers of war to interfere with the essential work of The Swedenborg Society. The late Sir Thomas Chadwick, presiding at the Annual Meeting in 1945, said: ". . . we should be proud and thankful that the Society had been able to continue its work in spite of the bombs; the Officers had not missed a single meeting through the last year."

31


Some of these brave people are now busy in the spiritual world, but others are happily with us and active today. There was that splendid decision made among great hazards, when the Council under the chairmanship of the late Sydney Goldsack had the inspiration and the confidence to proceed with preparations for the publication of the third Latin edition of the Arcana Coelestia. Another result of a different kind is to be seen in the varied shades of color in the pages of some of our books printed in the early post-war years: this was because the ration of paper was so small that it had to be saved until there was sufficient for a complete book.
     From this time on, the number of activities increased, and those which had continued even under war conditions were extended. But the severe conditions were not eased for a considerable time as we shall see.

     Let us first take a look at the situation twenty-five years ago compared with today. I should like you to consider with me some of the key figures. In so doing, having heard the figures, let us forget them and consider what they signify - you will understand that I am not using that word in a Swedenborgian sense associated with the science of correspondence!
     First, the membership in the Society. In 1945 it was 460; today it 899, an increase of 439 or 95%. Twenty-five years ago there were 58 overseas members; today there are 374, an increase of no less than 545%. One wishes that the figures for the United Kingdom were as satisfactory, for at home in the same period the increase is from 123 to 525, or 30.6%. What does this suggest? It appears to me that people overseas, and particularly in the U. S. A., are recognizing the unique nature and the quality of the work of the Society, and its importance as an aid to the extension of the New Church in the world at large. But what about the situation at home? Does it mean that there is only a limited recognition of the importance of the Society's main activities; and can it mean that here, the New Church is no longer a "reading church"? If that should be the case, the members of the Swedenborg Society will know the consequences to expect. At the present time rather less than 15% of the total membership of New Church organizations in this country are members of the Society. The Council from time to time has made special efforts to improve the home membership, but so far without much success.
     In the content of this address we can forget the monetary value of sales, for these in themselves are of little significance.

32


What matters is the number of books sold; and before I declare the figures, you should bear in mind that the value and effect of our books tend to be cumulative, they are not readily thrown away like a paper-back novel. We sold 3,021 books in 1945, and in this last year we more than doubled that number to 6,466; and again the greater proportion, some 80%, has gone abroad, mainly to America. Booklet sales vary considerably from year to year, and the increase from 657 to 956 is not so significant - two years ago the number was over 1,900. For the whole period we sold over 98,500 books, and over 32,000 booklets.
     Grants of books, excluding booklets, in the same period numbered 9,858. That is a total distribution of over 140,000 books and booklets.

     Ever since I have known the Society, and the tradition goes back very much longer than that, it has been the policy of successive Councils to realize its invested capital when it has been necessary to find cash to pay for those publications considered to be important; and which of the Writings is unimportant? I am sure it is this policy of making money work for the Society that has influenced generous benefactors to bequeath or make gifts of substantial sums to the Society. In the period of our review we received over 70,000 pounds in this way, but a substantial portion, some 25,000 pounds, was used to meet deficiencies arising from the Society's activities. The balance has enabled a satisfactory investment policy to be followed, so that investment income rose substantially in the period and in 1969 reached the unprecedented level of 4,276 pounds, which has enabled the Society to carry out its unremunerative and essential work without the necessity of realizing investments during the past year.
     In the same twenty-five years the increase in subscriptions from 554 pounds in 1945 to 987 pounds in 1969 reflects the increase in membership to which I have already referred.
     The varied pattern of activities continues from year to year, fulfilling the purposes for which the Society was formed 160 years ago. Grants of books are made each year and include gifts of Standard Works to University and Public Libraries, to theological students, to the wards of the New Church Orphanage when they come independent; and when it was appropriate, young New Church men and women were presented with a leather bound copy of the True Christian Religion on release from National Service. Typical of this activity, and the sort of thing we tend to overlook or forget, was the acceptance in 1957 and 1958 of Standard Works by University and State Libraries in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland. These were all English editions, and 196 volumes were distributed in this way to 28 libraries. (One can only hope that they will not rest on library shelves without being read!)

33



     Grants of books are always made on request by Public Libraries in Britain.
     The Library is extended year by year, so that it becomes increasingly a useful source of information to scholars seeking information on those subjects about which we are so well equipped to provide it.
     Each year lectures are given in this elegant Hall, and while in recent years the attendance has diminished, they are invariably enjoyed by those who do attend. To the lecturers there is the satisfaction that they can always assume a basic knowledge of the chosen subject, whether it is theological, philosophical, or some aspect of the life and work of Emanuel Swedenborg. While these lectures can be heard by those only who are able to visit Bloomsbury, in many cases they are reproduced and are thus available for all who wish to read them.
     Membership of the Society is a constantly recurring theme. In 1945 efforts were already being made to renew European contacts lost during the war. The first post-war upsurge in membership arose in 1948, when the Honorary Secretary visited the U. S. A. and Canada, and in consequence of explaining the nature of the Society's work established relations which in due course led to the enrichment of our membership and our funds, besides leading to substantial increase in the sale of books. There was also increased co-operation with libraries and publishing bodies in the U. S. A. A further small increase in membership came when in 1964 the Honorary Secretary and I visited America and for the first time, and I hope not the last, held a meeting of the Swedenborg Society outside Britain.
     As recently as 1967 a leaflet was distributed in New Church societies, inviting new members. The result was disappointing.
     Advantage has been taken of overseas book exhibitions arranged by the Publisher's Association and others. In the period under review, in addition to displays in this country, there have been displays of our books in Australia, when assistance from New Church societies was sought and willingly given; in Spain; at the University of Beirut; and in Hong Kong.

     All these activities referred to are ancillary to and in support of our main object, namely, the translating and publishing of the works of Emanuel Swedenborg. Publication of the scientific and literary works must be postponed until there are competent scholars to prepare them for the printer, and funds ample for the purpose. In the meantime, the Society has for a long time - and, in fact, from its earliest days - concentrated its efforts in publishing those books commonly referred to as "the Writings of the New Church."

34



     At the end of the war there were still many obstacles to publication, and in 1945 the Honorary Secretary ". . . referred to the difficulties which still hamper the work of the Society, paper shortage, slow printing and binding, and the impossibility of advertising. . . ." In the following year, in regard to the publication of the new Latin Edition of the Arcana Coelestia, there was reported: "Great difficulty is being experienced in finding a printer to undertake this work at the present time." Eventually a first-class printer was found, who is still competently handling this particularly difficult printing job to the satisfaction of the Editors and the Council. The post-war printing difficulties continued for some time, so that Mr. William C. Dick's translation of the True Christian Religion took three and a half years to print before it was ready for sale in 1951. It is that work which we have specially displayed in the Book-room during the period of the New Church World Assembly. At about the time his work was placed with the printer, the Council reported the difficulty "in printing editions of a reasonable economic size because of difficulties and the very long time needed for printing and binding." At this time, too, they referred to the "difficulty in finding enough scholars with the time." The problems of publishing were eventually solved. But the problem still continues of finding enough scholars with the special skills, abilities and the time to devote to the exacting and painstaking work required to produce satisfactory translations. Nevertheless, in each year's Report, there is recorded the work completed and work in various stages of progress. There was satisfaction in 1957, in commenting on the previous year's work that "little new printing has been done, the Society now having practically made up the shortages of the war years; only one Standard Edition is at present out of print."

     That, however, was no time for the Council to rest on its laurels. There was still much to be done. In furtherance of improved translations the Council in 1944 had laid down principles to be applied by translators. These were reviewed and re-affirmed in 1951. The Code of Practice requires:
     1. Faithfulness to the ideas, emphasis and style of the original.
     2. A general consistency in translation.
     3. Clarity in the presentation in English of the ideas.
     4. Ease and perfection of English, together with strict adherence to the code of special doctrinal terms used by Swedenborg.
     These rules were wrought out of 150 years of experience in translating the Writings.
     It would be tedious to give each year's progress of preparation and publication, but I have prepared a summary which shows that over the past twenty-five years there have been 37 new editions, translations, revisions and original works; and 35 reprints of new or former translations.

35



     The review of the past twenty-five years should not be concluded without reference to the celebrations in 1960 to commemorate 150 years of active work of publishing and distributing the works of Emanuel Swedenborg." A dinner was held in this Hall, attended by members and past members of the Advisory and Revision Board, together with their wives and a number of guests. Perhaps at some future meeting it might be interesting to hear part of the tape-recordings made at the time.

     What I have outlined is a remarkable achievement unsurpassed in any comparable period of the Society's 160 years of activity. It is all the more remarkable when it is remembered that the work has been implemented by the Officers of the Society, who are unpaid, and the translation work accomplished by part-time translators who have been able to devote only some of their spare time to this invaluable work; and for only a nominal financial reward far below the market rate for such work.
     To these few people the Society owes an inestimable debt of gratitude which can never be adequately paid!
     The work continues and must continue. English is a living and hence a changing language, so that in course of time it will be necessary to review, and if necessary revise, existing translations. The cost of printing and binding has increased enormously since 1945, and the continuing increases show no sign of abatement. Speaking from memory, I believe there are some 600 million people in the world who understand English, a far greater number than for any other language. Bearing in mind the high cost of publishing, and the limited money available, it seems that the Society should concentrate in the main on good English translations, well presented. Foreign translations should be initiated and the translation done in the country that requires them. In such cases the Society would as far as practicable make a grant, having first satisfied itself that the translation was of the required standard. One would hope that other publishing bodies would also assist financially.
     The third Latin edition of the Arcana Coelestia is obviously the base for a new English translation of this large and important work. But how is this to be done? We cannot wait for the translation to be done as a spare time job. We need a man young enough to see the job completed in his lifetime. Preferably, he should have time to make a study of Latin usage in Swedenborg's day. Such a translator must be suitably rewarded financially. I believe that difficulty could be overcome. But where do we find the man? There is no glamor, not even recognition of scholarship, in the work of translation for the Swedenborg Society.

36



     In the course of the next few years there is a need for young men with business and professional training to take responsibility for the considerable work of publication, property management, and insuring that invested funds are handled to the best advantage of the Society. I believe there are such young men, and I hope we shall see them here in the next year or so.
     One of the great attractions of the Society is that it has always done, and I hope always will do, things well; and has more regard for its main use of publishing the Writings than for conserving its funds.
     More members we must have. We want them as an indication of increasing interest in the Society's work and to shoulder the increasing responsibilities of the future. We also want their financial contributions to meet the ever-increasing cost of publication and of running the organization. We cannot always rely on voluntary service to maintain the pace and quality of our activities and that could be an expensive matter.
     These are some of the problems as I see them. I hope the achievements of the past twenty-five years will inspire others - especially younger members - to give of their time and talents and so continue far into the future the incomparably important uses of the Swedenborg Society.
DEDICATION OF THE STOCKHOLM SOCIETY'S NEW CHURCH BUILDING 1971

DEDICATION OF THE STOCKHOLM SOCIETY'S NEW CHURCH BUILDING              1971

     Ever since our society was granted its charter by the state, its few members have dreamed optimistically about the possibility of some time having their own place of worship. But the prospects of realizing these hopes seemed anything but bright. Things changed, however, during the 30's and 40's. The tragic reality of the First World War had brought about something of a religious revival with a number of people, and our pastor at that time, the Rev. Gustaf Baeckstrom, held lectures that gathered large groups of interested listeners in Stockholm as well as in the country-side. The discussions that followed them were often quite lively. Here and there a listener became convinced and joined with us. A schism within a New Church society that had been established in Stockholm much earlier, and whose point of view in certain theological matters we did not share, resulted in several of its members leaving it and coming over to us. They accepted consequently the doctrines recognized by us, as members of the General Church.

37


Significant donations strengthened our hopes of obtaining our own church building and our long debated plans seemed gradually to stand on firm ground. But the means we had at our disposal were yet far from adequate. It was to be some tens of years before additional contributions from several sides, among others from funds established by the Pitcairn and Asplundh families in the United States, filled out the required sum. (The sum required had become even larger because building costs rose greatly after the Second World War.) The members of the society also donated money to the best of their ability. Church "sales" and bazaars provided a steady dribble of contributions, not large amounts, to be sure, but nonetheless an evidence of good will.
     A successor to Pastor Baeckstrom, the Rev. Bjorn Boyesen, became with the support of his energetic wife, Lois, the one who finally pushed the project through so that the longed for place of worship could at last be a reality. In order that we might get permission to use a suitable building site, difficult negotiations between our building committee and the city were undertaken. When these seemed to have succeeded, they suddenly and unexpectedly threatened to break down. But thanks to an architect the building committee had consulted, who resolutely stepped in, talked to the city authorities, often called the "tyrants," and set them straight, we received the right to use the building site that we had wanted.
      A proposal that we build a beautiful building of brick had to be turned down because it would have been too expensive. The problem was solved by the choice of a church of wood, whose different parts were pre-fabricated to special order and delivered to the building site. A similar church had been built in Stockholm not far away. Those in the society who traveled there to pass judgment gave it their approval.
     Now our simple, wood church with its pointed roof is situated on a small, tree-covered knob of rock on the southern edge of Stockholm. It overlooks a shady park, small bungalows and an expansive, open field. To the west, on the crown of a long stretch of hills, rise tall modern apartments that threateningly seem to be nearing the yet untouched round.
     The date for the dedication was set for the 6th of September this fall. At that time two years ago Pastor Boyesen had taken up his appointment in Colchester, England, and had been succeeded by Pastor Kurt P. Nemitz.
     A welcome banquet for the participants in the formalities was arranged for the evening before the dedication at a centrally located restaurant. Mrs. Harriet Lidon served as the hostess. Over ninety guests attended, with the General Church's representative, Bishop Elmo Acton, in the lead. It was a delight for many to see Bjorn and Lois Boyesen again among the guests of honor.

38


It was also a pleasant gathering with distant friends, not only from America and England, but also from Jonkoping and southern Sweden, Denmark and Norway. During the course of the meal our energetic co-workers, Peter Areschoug, introduced a line of speakers; first and foremost Bishop Acton, next our former pastor and, of course, our present leader. Toward the end of the festivities the guests were amazed by an original contribution from the Bishop's side. He offered to let us hear a few songs from Africa, warning us in advance that he could not sing but could only produce a few noises. Whatever the case, his appearance brought forth enthusiastic cheers from his listeners, even though no one could understand a word of the Africans native tongue. The banquet lasted a good while, for there was much to eat and hear.
     The next day, Dedication Sunday, the church was packed. It seats about a hundred and thirty people, is square in form and the plain roof's four sides run-up together to a point. This makes the room feel larger and roomier than it really is. The interior decorating is gradually being completed. The narrow windows which run horizontally along the top of the walls lack the stained glass panels which have been planned for them (but which we cannot yet afford), however, the impression that the interior wants more color is disappearing as the furnishing is completed.
     The hymns, sung in unison, rang clear. The three priests officiated. And the liturgy with its exchanges between the priest at the altar and the congregation in their pews was strikingly living. The sermon, given by Pastor Boyesen, had for its subject, "Can God Dwell on Earth?" It was delivered after the rite of dedication, during which Bishop Acton on behalf of the General Church had received the key to the church.
     And so the Stockholm Society at last received a worthy and inviting church, that its members might together worship the Lord God Almighty, who in the body of Christ descended to earth to save mankind.
     After the dedication those present had the opportunity of meeting together, renewing old acquaintances and chatting over a cup of coffee before each went his way.
     But it was not yet time to close the church door. In the afternoon two baptisms were held. Per and Jane Fornander brought their firstborn, a daughter, Mahlin, to the baptismal font, where Pastor Nemitz officiated. Later came Alf and Karin (nee Loven) Bryntesson with their second child, and Pastor Boyesen christened her "Anna." On the father's as well as the mother's side this little one is a fourth generation descendant in the church. May she by her faith carry the tradition on.
     SENTA CENTERVALL

39


AS-OF-SELF (In Education) 1971

AS-OF-SELF (In Education)       DAVID R. SIMONS       1971

     Every man is born into the appearance that life is his very own. When the forces of life, originating from the Lord in heaven, flow in to the human body and mind they cause us to feel that life is in the body, that sensation is life, that what we feel is alone worthwhile, that external things are the only reality. Life flowing in through the back door, that is, through the hells, through hereditary evil, tells us that only that which relates to self and only that which relates to the world is of value, and backs this up by sensations of pleasure - the delights of the external man. This is the life of the natural man from which the Lord wishes to elevate and save each one of us. It is to enable us to see through this appearance of self-life that He has given His Word. All the forces of His Providence work to set man free from slavery to the loves of self and the world into which he is born. For this reason we are taught that all men are "predestined to heaven."*
     * DP 322.
     That man may make the transition from a mind which wills and thinks from the loves of self and the world to become a new mind which thinks and acts from heavenly loves, the Lord in His mercy and ever mindful of man's freedom - has provided what the Writings call "mediate goods," that is delights "which partake of both the affection of the world, and the affection of heaven."* Here we have Providence reaching out to meet man half-way, holding out the means of changing from the instinctive hereditary delights of the natural mind to the genuine delights of heaven. Mediate goods and their delights give man the full sense that life is his own, and yet at the same time serve to introduce him to introduce him to genuine delights.
     * AC 4063.
     As we read: "Seeing, then, that the man's states of life have to be so greatly changed, it must needs be that he is long kept in a kind of mediate good . . . and unless he is kept in this mediate good, he in no wise (will freely) admit heavenly goods and truths (into his life) . . . Every age has its delights, and by these delights (man) is introduced by successive steps into the age next following; and these (as-of-self) delights serve the purpose of bringing him (to the new states)*
     * AC 4063.

40



     However, the Lord in the processes of leading man to heaven does not suddenly uproot our former ways and replace them with what is new, for this would damage freedom - our sense that life is our own. But rather, in the process of transition, man is permitted to feel an enjoyment and pleasure, which, although not heavenly, can be the means of introducing him towards what is heavenly.
     An example of a mediate good, as used in the Writings, by which the Lord leads man - with every sense of life as-his-own - towards genuine states, is the love of excelling. The teaching is that "in man (prior to regeneration) there is no pure good, that is, good with which evil is not mingled . . . . (Yet) if anyone loves himself more than others, and from this love studies to excel others in moral and civil life, in (the acquisition) of knowledges and doctrinal things, and yet acknowledges and adores God, and performs kind offices to the neighbor from conscience the evil of this love of self is one with which good and truth can be mingled; for it is an evil that is man's own - (of his proprium) and that is born hereditarily; and to take it away from him suddenly would be to extinguish the fire of his first life, (that is, the life of the natural man before regeneration.)* Just as the enemy peoples in the land of Canaan were only driven out "little by little" as the children of Israel were ready to occupy the land, and this so they could continue to keep the land and dress it - till the soil, prune the trees, and keep the harmful animal population down - so in the transition from man's hereditary nature to new spiritual states, things are not changed in a moment, and the Lord provides "mediate goods," such as the love of excelling, which can serve to introduce genuine good.**
     * AC 3993 (9)
     ** See AC 9336.
     The competitive desire of doing better than others - of being more intelligent, smarter, more skillful than others - is a fundamental ingredient of the heredity-warped human heart in each one of us. In itself there is nothing good in this love. It is self-centered and self-seeking. It has the "hidden evils" of the love of dominion behind it which exert pressures towards the lowest hells.* Yet because the Lord only leads man through man's own loves, because He wills to protect and preserve man's sense of self-life, therefore such a love as the love of excelling, is mercifully tolerated, because it is used as a means by which man can be led to genuine loves. For in working to satisfy this love the mind reaches out to drink in knowledge and to develop skills which will bring superiority.

41


It strives for perfection which will lift self above others and in the very effort can be led in other directions and introduced to the delight of discovery and the satisfaction of doing something well.
     * AC 3993.
     The love of excelling can be conjoined with genuine good, since it leads the mind to seek out the raw materials of knowledge, to seek to understand from itself and become intelligent, and it works to gain and perfect itself in skills which later can be used by good loves in the performance of uses. For in the very process of acquiring knowledges for the sake of excelling, the forces of life working from within are seeking to instil loves of a higher order - the love of understanding, the love of wisdom, the love of use. The forces of spiritual life seek to raise man up the ladder of life from extrinsic rewards to intrinsic ones - from external values and rewards to what is internal.
     How the understanding is gradually raised step by step by the forces of life is clear from the following teaching in the Divine Love and Wisdom: "Every man has, after birth, an affection for knowing, and through this he acquires knowledge by which his understanding is gradually formed, enlarged and perfected . . . . (And) when man, from an affection of knowing, has become intelligent, he is led not so much by affection for knowing as by affection for reasoning and forming conclusions on subjects which he loves, whether economical or civil or moral. (And, most important, when this affection for understanding) is raised to spiritual things, it becomes an affection for spiritual truth. (The mind is then) affected by truths, (wishing from affection) to know them, and when found, to drink them in from the joy (and delight) of affection (and in this way is gradually led towards genuine wisdom.)*

     * DLW 404.
     The love of excelling even for the sake of self-centered goals - honor, reputation, and gain - can lead to the pursuit of knowledge and the rewards concentrated study bring. The delight of discovering what is interesting, new, and useful - of entering into things in depth and finding out more about them - leads to new freedom and pleasure. Absorption with knowledge brings a detachment from self, a getting away from self-consciousness, and for this reason brings a satisfaction and delight which is reward in itself. And when this love is directed to spiritual things, it can lead to the discovery of truth. It can awaken an affection for the truth and introduce the mind to the all important love of truth "for its own sake," spoken of so often in the Writings.*
     * AC 9210(3)
     The delight of discovery, the thrill of finding out for ones self is essential to education.

42


Once the growing mind can be introduced to this delight it becomes less and less moved by the love of excelling, less and less motivated by extrinsic rewards of praise and reputation and more and more absorbed in learning for its own sake, with the intrinsic rewards of study.
REVIEW 1971

REVIEW       NORBERT H. ROGERS       1971


     
THE COMING OF THE CITY. By S. P. Rosenquist. Published by the Author, 1970. Paper, pp. 93. Price, $2.0O.

     A thoughtful study seeking to apply the meaning - as given in the Writings, especially the Apocalypse Revealed and the Apocalypse Explained - of the messages to the seven churches in Asia to the trends and states discernible in modern Christianity. Both the things that have stifled its spiritual life and those which may serve as bases for spiritual progress and revivification are examined, and the need for the New Church to help that spiritual restoration is brought out. The need and presence of the positive "remains" in the New Church are touched upon, as is also the constant danger of the negative characteristics being allowed to be present and active in an organization of the New Church to circumvent its spiritual uses and threaten its continued existence.
     The book is not always easy to read or to follow, but sometimes there are very good examples of doctrinal applications and apt quotations from Christian writers. Applying doctrinal teachings to existing states in the world or to people is always a difficult thing to do properly and is always chancy. The book, then, is to be taken as an interesting study, suggesting possible applications of doctrine to contemporary religious situations, but not as an authoritative statement. The main thrust appears to be a plea that the New Church be more active and united in really establishing the New Church on earth.
          NORBERT H. ROGERS

43


ASSURING TEACHING 1971

ASSURING TEACHING              1971


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

Editor . . . . Rev. W. Cairns Henderson, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager . . . . Mr. L. E. Gyllenhaal, 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. Notifications of address changes should be received by the 15th of the month.

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$5.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy, 50 cents.
     One of the most comprehensive, far-reaching and assuring teachings of the Writings is that man is at home in the universe. He is neither an alien in a hostile or indifferent world, nor a cosmic accident. He is in the universe by design, and he is concerned with, as distinct from being concerned about, his destiny.
     The teaching that the uses of all created things ascend by degrees to man and through man to the Lord, and that the Divine end in the creation of the universe was an angelic heaven from the human race, establishes the relation between man and the universe and between man and the Creator. It shows that man is not alone, that he has a vital function to perform, and that he does count in the grand scheme of things. His mind is the connecting medium between the spiritual and the natural worlds, and is that through which creation responds to the Creator; and because the Lord who loves the end also loves the means, man is the center of the Lord's love and wisdom, the object of His constant care and solicitude.
     There is no need, then, for the New Church man to feel alienated, lost and alone; uncertain of the reason for his being; ignorant of the nature of the forces that play upon him. In the teachings given about the Divine Providence are to be found the answers to all the questions that plague man as a cosmic being. If he will but heed these teachings, and enter into the stream of the Divine Providence, he will be led to fulfill his destiny, and in so doing will come into the peace and happiness which the Lord gives to those who promote the ends of His love.

44




     WHAT OF THE FUTURE?

     As a new year begins it is natural for us to wonder what it may hold. Yet the desire to know the future, as distinct from wondering about it, is not wise and can only be frustrated. The knowledge of things to come belongs to the Lord alone. Even the angels do not know what is going to happen, and they are content that it should be so; their happiness depends on their not knowing, since the Lord looks out for them always.
     To those who rely only on human prudence it might seem that knowledge of the future would be invaluable. On the contrary, it would be most harmful. If man knew the future, he would try to change it, and thus, wittingly or not, would try to interfere with the order of the Divine Providence. Man does not know what is best for himself and for others, but this seldom prevents him from thinking that he does, and if he had foreknowledge of events he would try to arrange them into what seemed to him, with his view, phantasy and cupidities, to be a better order.
     We do not know the future, and this is of the Lord's mercy, for in the knowledge of things to come there would be much that would disturb us. The one thing we may know with reasonable certainty about any year is that in it there will he joy and sorrow, achievement and failure, reward and loss. But we are not yet ready to appreciate what will be prized when it is given, or to bear what will be endured when it comes; and if we did know what is to come, would be deprived of hope, expectancy and incentive.

     Certainly men should not be without interest in the future. The Writings tell us that everyone should provide for himself and his family so as to have, now and in the future, the necessaries of life and such other things as are properly needed in the kind of life he lives. Otherwise he cannot be in a state to exercise charity. In doing this, it is proper to try to form rational conclusions about the future which are based upon intelligent, searching analysis of the past; and in this age of technology these teachings extend into many fields and applications. Unless business and industry were constantly engaged in long-range forecasting and planning, their usefulness to society would be curtailed.
     Only, we should not be solicitous about the future, and we should not feel that in prudence is our only help. We must anticipate and prepare for the future as intelligently as possible; yet we must at the time realize that there is a point beyond which human foresight cannot go, and beyond which we can be carried safely only by trust in Providence.

45


If we do this, we can go forward with quiet confidence; making our best effort, but always saying, as do the angels, the Lord's will be done.

     INVITATION TO LEARNING

     Anyone who browses through the Memorabilia must be impressed by the frequency with which a spiritual experience is introduced in this way. Swedenborg relates that he observed at a distance a group of angels or spirits engaged in discussion, or else that he saw or heard strange sights and sounds; and then says that, being filled with a strong desire to know what was being talked about, or what was meant by these unusual happening, he drew near. The result was the imparting to him of some arcanum of angelic wisdom, or some enrichment of his knowledge and understanding of the laws, life and phenomena of the spiritual world.
     It may be trite to say that if Swedenborg had not possessed that intense interest in what was going on around him in the spiritual world those particular experiences would have passed him by; yet what is trite may nevertheless be true. Although he was indeed the servant of the Lord, Swedenborg observed, questioned, thought and wrote as if of himself; and one of the characteristics that fitted him for his unique use, and that was of inestimable help in preparing him for it, was an active and inquiring mind. His life in both worlds was marked by a lively interest in the realm of ideas, and a keen desire to understand the meaning of what he learned. This was far from being idle or restless curiosity. It was the ardent and sustained desire of a man who, dedicated to the search for truth, explored with eagerness and sagacity everything that held promise of leading to it.

     Those who would enter into the truth revealed by the Lord through Swedenborg may well ponder the necessity of cultivating the inquiring mind - of developing a lively interest in learning. There is no more effective impediment to the entrance of knowledge and truth into the mind than complete indifference to the opportunities for learning that present themselves. Where there is interest, obstacles will eventually be overcome; but an entire lack of interest is self-defeating.
     The Lord speaks to men continually in His Word, but unless they are moved by an ardent desire to draw near they will never hear what He is saying. He speaks to men also in the preaching and teaching of the Word, but they will never learn what the Word has to say to them if they do not have sufficient interest to find out by drawing near.

46


He speaks to them, too, through other men, but if they are indifferent to what others have learned and understood from the Writings, much that is of value will pass them by entirely. The invitation to learning is extended constantly by the Lord; but it is given to those who must act as of themselves, and is therefore accepted only by the inquiring mind.

     CASTING BURDENS ON THE LORD

     "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee" is the invitation and assurance given through the Psalmist. It may scarcely seem necessary to point out that what the Lord here promises is to support man, not to take up his burden for him; except in the sense that man can endure the spiritual burdens of life only as of himself from the Lord. Yet while some Christians have perceived this and have acted accordingly, others seem to feel that when they have laid a burden at the Lord's feet they are free from all responsibility for it. Henceforward it is His concern, and the responsibility for decision and action is entirely His.
     It is true that the Lord bears our spiritual burdens in that it is the Lord alone who fights for man against the hells. Yet He does not so carry them as to lift them entirely from our shoulders, but upholds by giving us the wisdom and the strength to endure. The Divine Providence never operates in such a way as to absolve men from the responsibility of exercising those faculties of rationality and liberty in which the human truly consists. Neither by immediate revelation nor by manifest indications of His providence will the Lord tell or show us what to do so directly and unmistakably that there is no need for thought, reflection, and decision on our part. Nor will He so dispose events that all our problems will be solved without vigorous and decisive action on our part.
     The Lord sustains us, not by lifting our burdens, but by bearing us up as we shoulder them as if of ourselves but in His strength. The influx of His sustaining power is into our efforts to learn, understand, and do the spiritual truth of His Word. That was what He meant when He said: "My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." When the burden thus becomes the Lord's it is easy to be borne. But there is still a yoke, and still a burden.

47


ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS 1971

ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS       Editor       1971



Announcements






     January 25-30, 1971

Monday, January 25
     11:00 a.m.     Headmasters' Meeting.
     2:30 p.m.          Worship.
     3:00 p.m.          Opening Session, Council of the Clergy.
     6:30 p.m.          Social Supper for the Ministers.
     8:00 p.m.          Evening Discussion.

Tuesday, January 26
     9:00 a.m.          New Program Committee Meeting.
     10:30 a.m.     Second Session, Council of the Clergy.
     12:45 p.m.     Pastors' Luncheon Meeting and small group luncheon.
     3:30 p.m.          Third Session, Council of the Clergy.
     8:30 p.m.          Informal Open House for ministers and wives.

Wednesday, January 27
     8:30 a.m.          Publication Committee Meeting.
     10:30 a.m.     Fourth Session, Council of the Clergy.
     12:45 p.m.     Small group luncheons.
     3:30 p.m.          Fifth Session, Council of the Clergy (Seminars).
     6:30 p.m.          Social Supper for Ministers.
     8:00 p.m.          Evening Discussion (Report of Seminars).

Thursday, January 28
     9:00 a.m.          Summer Study Groups organization meeting.
     10:30 a.m.     Sixth Session, Council of the Clergy.
     12:45 p.m.     Luncheon Meeting of Extension Committee.
     8:00 p.m.          Consistory.

Friday, January 29
     10:30 a.m.     Seventh Session, Council of the Clergy.
     3:00 p.m.          Board of Directors of the Corporation of the General Church.
     7:00 p.m.          Friday Supper.
     7:45 p.m.          Annual Meeting of the Corporation of the General Church.

Saturday, January 30
     10:00 a.m.     Joint Council of the General Church.
     3:00 p.m.          Corporation of the Academy of the New Church.
VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN 1971

VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN       Editor       1971

     Visitors to Bryn Athyn on any occasion who need assistance in finding accommodation please communicate with the Guest Committee, c/o Mrs. Leo Synnestvedt, 611 Waverly Lane, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009. Phone: (215) Wilson 7-3725.

49


REWARDS AND MERIT 1971

REWARDS AND MERIT       Rev. VICTOR J. GLADISH       1971


Vol. XCI
February 1971
No. 2
     "For the kingdom of the heavens is like to a man, an householder, who went out at daybreak to hire labourers into his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the labourers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And going out about the third hour, he saw others standing in the marketplace idle; and said unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is just I will give you. And they went their way. Again going forth about the sixth hour and ninth hour, he did likewise. But going out about the eleventh hour, he found others standing idle, and saith to them, why stand ye here all the day idle? They say unto him, Because no one hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is just ye shall receive. But when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them the hire, beginning from the last unto the first. And when they came that (were hired) about the eleventh hour, they received each a denarius. And receiving, they murmured against the householder: saying, These last have wrought one hour and thou hast made them equal unto us, who have borne the burden of the day and the heat. But he answering said to one of them, Companion, I do not treat thee unjustly; didst thou not agree with me for a denarius? Take thine own and go; but I am willing to give unto this last even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will in mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I (am) good? So the last shall be first, and the first last; for many are called but few chosen." (Matthew 20: 1-16.)

     The laborers from the first hour desired to claim reward for the work they had done; they wished to cherish the idea of personal merit for the good works of life; and it is against this meritoriousness that the principal teaching of the parable is directed, likewise the principal teaching of the Gospel account which precedes and follows.

50


The spirit of the laborers who had worked from the first hour even to the twelfth was similar to that of the rich young man who said, "All these things have I kept from my youth up; what lack I yet?"* It was like that of Peter when he said, "Behold we have left all and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?"** It was the spirit of James and John when they asked to sit on the Lord's right and left hand in his kingdom. But to all He gave answer according to the representative and the actual state of those dealt with; and the essence of all the answers was one with the leading theme of our parable, which doctrine He also put plainly into these words, "Whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant; even as the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister."***
     * Luke 18: 21.
     ** Matthew 19: 27.
     *** Matthew 20: 26-28.
     It is fundamental that no man can acquire for himself any merit, or be entitled to any reward; what appears like merit and desert is the Lord's will (His yearning) to grant man every good thing which he will receive - which the character of his life allows to flow in from above. This great truth is the essence of the parable before us, and of the other teaching to which we have referred. There is, it is true, the appearance of injustice, even of harshness, in some of the literal forms which are here used to teach the internal truth, but there must needs be, from time to time, this presenting of spiritual truths in natural pictures which appear out of harmony with truth and justice - just as to the natural view merit is achieved and reward deserved by the performance of good deeds; just as to the natural view external successes are so important, and external misfortunes so dreaded. The truth on all planes of these teachings of the Gospel can be demonstrated in the light of what is now revealed, but the light is seen clearly by the approach from essential and internal meaning rather than from purely literal and historical considerations. Thus, for example, in the case of the rich young man, one may be troubled because the Lord enjoined upon him the surrender of his wealth - something that is not required literally of all those who would enter the kingdom. If, however, we are full of the thought of the spiritual meaning - that we must put away the belief that we possess knowledge, or affection or merit of our own, put away trust in riches, whether physical or mental - we are apt to be convinced that, in the Lord's Providence, the young man took no harm from the literal teaching. Although the Lord's spiritual teaching herein is to millions of men in all times, there is plenty of evidence in the account that the rich Jew had need of such a rebuke as he received in the Lord's literal injunction; for he was confident of his integrity, and set great store by his worldly possessions.

51


It is not so difficult to see how this might have been the most valuable teaching which he was able to receive. And this whether he understood it with full literal force or not; for it was often evident to the Lord's hearers that His real meaning was other and higher than the literal statement.
     So likewise in the parable of the vineyard laborers; it teaches, first of all, that we are not to set a price on our service in the kingdom of God, but to receive gladly that which he provides; for He knows best what is good for us. With this in mind we shall look within the letter to the spirit of the story, and thus see many truths on all planes - external as well as internal. In this aspect the difficulties of the literal sense fall into their proper place and, as far as this is effected, cease to be difficulties. Of course, the matter at which the natural mind looks askance is that no higher value should be set on those who bore the burden and the heat of the day than on those who began to work at the eleventh hour. This is not true, we think at once, of either natural or spiritual labor - natural effort brings its proportionate results, and spiritual effort likewise, whether we call it reward or not. The point is that the parable does not teach an equality between those who labor long and those who begin at the last opportunity. The first-hired workers said, "Thou has made them equal to us," but they were mistaken. As a matter of fact, they were classed as inferior to the later workers, but this was for another reason which will appear as we go on. It is true that, other things being equal, the longer service brings the greater results, but in this case other things were not equal; neither in the natural situation nor in the spiritual state represented. The implication is that the eleventh-hour laborers were willing to work, but were idle through no fault of their own - "because no man had hired" them. On the other hand, the early workers are represented as driving a bargain with the lord of the vineyard and working for that reward rather than the joy of the labor and the use which they could perform. It must be remembered that this is a parable concerning spiritual service. It is stated at the outset that it is to illustrate the nature of the kingdom of the heavens. It does not necessarily set forth natural conditions just as they do or should exist, but takes pictures from the theater of human affairs which can contain the internal teaching. Moreover, it was a teaching addressed to that state which Peter had manifested a little before when he said, "Behold, we have forsaken all and followed Thee; what therefore shall we have?"
     Therefore we need to avoid such an over literalistic attitude as will ask how it was possible for the men to be unemployed until the final hour of the day through no fault of their own; it is enough that for the purposes of the parable they are so represented.

52


In the Word the natural situations are simply vessels to contain the spiritual truths; but they are vessels Divinely selected according to the states of the men among whom they are given. It is similar with the thought on which the natural mind is apt to stick: that there is nothing wrong in making a bargain for one's services. Certainly there is nothing wrong with it, but the point is that these men are represented as not being content with their just bargain - with working for the reward rather than the service, and murmuring against the generosity of the householder when he gave freely to those who had been more willing to serve, but had lacked the same opportunity.
     If we keep our thoughts on this parable as a natural-world situation and try thence to apply the teaching to various matters of life, our understanding of the truth involved will remain obscure. But if we transfer our thought to the spiritual states signified by the various words and phrases, we can plainly see the universal internal truth, and then can apply that with confidence to everyday problems.
     In the spiritual sense the householder is, of course, the Lord, the God of heaven and earth. The vineyard is His church on earth. Those who were hired at the first hour (that is at the beginning of the Jewish working day - 6 o'clock by our time) stand for those who have had the knowledges of the Word and the church from the beginning.
     The immediate historical reference was to the members of the Jewish Church, but, in general, the state of those is represented who have benefited by the knowledges and associations of the specific church of the Lord in any age. Now these who agreed with the householder for a set wage before entering into the work of his vineyard are such as practice the truths and goods of the church, but retain an idea of merit in so doing. Those hired at the third, the sixth, and the ninth hours all represent such as enter into the life of the church (or the life of regeneration) from a full state of truth; three, six and nine have a like signification, here standing for different qualities and degrees in that state of full membership in the Lord's internal church. They do not stand for people who begin the work of regeneration any later in life than those first mentioned - the literal sense has to depend on expressions of time, but it is solely state which is signified, and the internal sense has no concern with time. The others are said to have been first hired because of their idea of merit, which makes them think of themselves first. They are first, therefore, only in seeming; in reality they are last, and so it is shown in the conclusion of the parable. It is to be noted that all those who went at the third, sixth or ninth hours made no stipulations, but trusted to the justice of the Master.

53


They are internal men of various degrees who serve with heart and mind in the Lord's vineyard, and look to Him to give them what is needful. Those who were idle until the eleventh hour are, in general, those of the "gentile" state; that is such as are in comparative ignorance concerning the truths of the church, but are in a receptive and humble state, eager to learn spiritual truth and to practice good will toward God and the neighbor. The Lord teaches that the gentiles are first in the kingdom of heaven, though their ignorance makes them appear last, because in the Jewish Church and in the first Christian Church the state of love and charity never equalled that of the gentile races and nations as a whole. And such, we are taught, is the case at the present day; in spite of ignorance, falsities, and sometimes, more open evils, the peoples outside Christendom are to a far larger degree members of the Lord's Universal Church than those inside. Indeed, the teaching is that the New Church will never reach its period of noon-day growth until the time is ripe for the conversion of the gentiles.
     In passing we may mention that the elements of this parable (like all things in the Word) may have another, but corresponding, significance when taken in a different series. The Heavenly Doctrine specifically mentions another significance of the "eleventh-hour laborers," namely those who die in infancy, and who pass more readily into heaven than those who "have borne the burden and heat of the day."


     It has already been noted that the giving of a Roman penny, or denarius, to each of the laborers of all classes does not mean that the fruits of their labors were entirely the same. As we have seen, some were recognized as first, some intermediate and some last. But the silver penny was the standard wage for laborers, and therefore it here stands for the universal reward of labor in the Lord's vineyard. That is, it is the free gift from the Lord of just so much of the light and heat of heaven - of inflowing wisdom and love - as each man will receive. It is not, therefore, the same in degree and quality with any to men, but it is all that he has capacity and willingness to receive. Such is the nature of heavenly reward, and the explanation of this nature is the principal burden of the parable before us. All who are in the stream of Providence receive this reward, or this gift from God, with gladness, thankfulness and content, recognizing that it is the full outpouring of the Divine received according to the degree that they have opened their hearts and minds to it. Thus it is their all, their full reward, and their height of happiness. Their state of content is expressed by the words of Essau to Jacob, "I have enough, my brother, be that to thee that is thine"*; and by the words of Jacob, "God hath dealth graciously with me, and . . . I have all things."**
     * Genesis 33: 9.
     ** Genesis 33: 11.

54



     But just in so far as one does not put away the tendency of the natural man to seek reward for the sake of reward, he believes that he merits heaven by his own efforts, and perhaps the first place in heaven, murmuring against the Lord as did the laborers of the parable because His bounty goes forth to others, and desiring better things for themselves than others receive. To these the Lord says, "Is thine eye evil, because I (am) good?" That is, 'Is their lack of spiritual vision, their inability to receive, because His Divine good goes out to all alike?' Or, to put the truth as a statement, it is the evil with man which both shuts out the Divine influx and makes His free giving appear unjust.
     The desire for reward and the idea of self-merit are very often treated of in the Heavenly Doctrine, and the roots of the matter are explained. Here we shall add only a brief quotation from the Arcana Coelestia on the means by which the regenerating man is successively delivered from the idea of merit in the good works which he performs.

     "He who is being regenerated, at first believes . . . that he merits something; for he does not yet know . . . that good can inflow from another source. . . . Unless he believed this at first, he would never do what is good. But by this he is initiated . . . into knowledges concerning good and . . . merit; and when he has thus been brought into the affection of doing what is good, he begins to think and believe . . . that good inflows from the Lord, and that through the good which he does from proprium he merits nothing; and at last when he is in the affection of willing and doing what is good, he then completely rejects merit; nay, is averse to it; and is affected with good from good."*
     * AC 4145.

     In the whole of the Fifty-first Psalm we have coming forth into the letter this spirit of recognizing that the Lord alone is good - that we, of ourselves are wholly evil, and whatever we do that is good is from Him, done by power from Him - something to be thankful for, but not to ascribe to ourselves, not to dwell on and to make a matter of merit.
     "Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Thy lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions . . . O Lord, open Thou my lips, and my mouth shall show forth Thy praise." Amen.

     Lessons:      Matthew 19: 16-20: 16
               Genesis 33: 1-11

55


TO FULFILL ALL RIGHTEOUSNESS 1971

TO FULFILL ALL RIGHTEOUSNESS       Rev. BYREV. FRANK F. COULSON       1971

     (From a sermon preached at a special service at Colchester, England, on October 22, 1967, at which four adults and two children from the Letchworth Group were baptized by the Rev. Frank S. Rose.)

     When Mary the virgin called to visit Elisabeth who was six months pregnant, we are told that "when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit."*
     * Luke 1: 41.

     There is a sense in which this meeting of these cousins is a prototype of the only personal meeting of John the Baptist and Jesus. In it we discern a perfect and joyous response by what is external and natural, when it comes into the presence and under the influence of what is internal and spiritual and inmostly Divine. For at that first embryonic meeting the Lord Himself was present with the Infinite fullness of His Divinity. Though this presence was hidden, as is His presence with every single one of us in the life of our souls, its Order and Power was felt and responded to unconsciously by the as yet unborn and unnamed John. In a somewhat similar way the presence of the Lord's life in each of us elicits an unconscious response from all the external organs, members and viscera of our bodies. This invisible presence causes each part to leap up, as it were, to perform the use to which it is assigned in the economy of the soul's kingdom. The heart beats, the lungs breathe, the blood circulates, and all the parts cooperate in living and acting.
     We have only to read the Gospels, which all deal with the mission of the Baptist as the fore-runner, to realise that John is nothing without Jesus. The preparer of the Way is nothing unless there is the Way to prepare; and unless there is One "coming after" Who is "preferred before," and Who can say: "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life."*
     * John 1: 27; 14: 16.
     With these thoughts in mind we can surely see what a tremendous and dramatic event was the actual meeting of John and Jesus, when the Lord had journeyed south from Galilee to the wilderness of Judaea. There the Baptist had already baptized thousands upon thousands of the Jews who inhabited Jerusalem, the land of Judah and the region round about the Jordan.

56


John's preaching had led them to flee from the wrath to come, to repent of their sins and be baptized. In that way they received a sphere of angelic protection that would enable them, unworthy as they were, to bear the near presence of God as the Messiah among them without being stirred up by the hells to a blind rebellion against Him. If this had happened it would have led to their total destruction; and the Lord's mission of redemption and salvation could not have been accomplished.
     To the outward eye there was nothing as yet to distinguish Jesus from the crowds who had already submitted to this protective and cleansing rite of immersion in the waters of Jordan; but John, being the greatest and last of all the prophets of Judah and Israel, recognized Him immediately. He was now consciously aware that he was in the presence of the Mighty One for Whom he was preparing the way, Whose shoe-fastening he was not even worthy to stoop down and unloose.
     What a contrast there was in the mode of life of those two, related by kinship after the flesh but quite distinct in inward quality and origin! The one austere, an eremite or desert-dweller clad in rough hairy garments, preaching and practising self-denial, fasting and stern repentance, unsoftened by the easier life and habits of householders and city dwellers. The other, not yet engaged on any outward mission, but conforming in a general way to the lawful customs and traditions of the time; to all appearance an ordinary man of the world.
     In going to be baptized of John, the Lord Jesus was inaugurating His ministry among men. Although He had already accomplished much in the realms of inner psychological conflict; and had fought and won many battles with the hells, beginning even when He was an infant in Mary's arms; He had not as yet uttered one word of specific teaching or given any manifest sign of His Divinity. All that we know of Him is that in childhood He had been subject to Joseph and Mary, and that on at least one occasion He had listened to learned men in the temple and asked them questions. But now, after thirty patient years of inner preparation, He was taking a definite and irrevocable step, with its own outward sign, on the way that led to the cross and finally to His resurrection. He was henceforth to become known as a Prophet and Teacher, the Messiah, even the Son of God; and He was to bear witness, in outward as well as inward life, to the living Truth, the Word of God, which He forever is. He was associating Himself publicly with the new order of things of which John was the messenger before His face, and there could be no turning back! His baptism was followed immediately by an opening of the heavens, and a voice saying, "This is My beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased."*

57


Thus was the seal of Divine approval set on all He had done hitherto, as well as on the new ministry by which He would enter into His kingdom.
     * Matthew 3: 17.
     Baptism for the Lord was a sign of His mission on earth, to glorify His Human and unite it with the Divine from which it was. The immersion of His body in the river Jordan represented the purification of His Only-begotten Human from all the defilements that adhered to it by reason of its association with the human nature from Mary. This was eventually to be totally rejected and laid aside, even by the dissipation of its last material remnant in the sepulchre. This purification leading to glorification was, of course, a gradual process extending throughout the whole period of His incarnation, and attended with temptations of such severity that we can only have a very inadequate idea of them.

     The severity of any temptation is proportionate to the love that is assailed. The Lord's love was for the whole human race, past, present and future. This Love is the Strong Centre, the Very Substance of all creation, the Power that holds it in continued existence on all planes from innermost to outermost. In His Human this Love could be attacked by all the devils in hell; and they did attack it with their utmost fury. They could not attack the Love Itself without being utterly destroyed; but they could, and very subtly and craftily did, attack the Lord's Human manifestation of this Love in all the righteous acts that He performed according to order in the world. He was continually tempted to depart from the true Divine Order; but by doing always, as the Son or Divine Truth, those things only that were well pleasing to the Father or Divine Good, He brought about a Divinely Human union of Good and Truth by which He could conquer and subdue the hells to all eternity. This is the risen and glorified Divine Human Whom we now worship as the Lord Jesus Christ, Whose soul is the Very Love Itself that is the Father of all creation.
     The baptism by John in Jordan to which Jesus submitted was a sign of all this and much more. It was a necessary sign on the ultimate plane of creation, the plane of space and time, of His subsequent final victory in temptation and entry into glory; even as the baptism today of men, women and children in the true Christian Church is a sign for the sake of order of entry into the Church, and of the possibility of subsequently entering into the blessing of being regenerated or born again into the image and likeness of the glorified Divine Redeemer and Saviour.

58



     It is a familiar and accepted teaching in the New Church that, ever since the fall, men, women and children are by their hereditary nature opposed to Divine Order. Our feelings and thoughts tend all to easily to go in ways that are estranged from the real truth. And for this reason it seems to us rather strange and perhaps unnecessary that Jesus should have suffered John to baptize Him. After all, was He not Himself Order and the Source of all order? Could He not dispense with any outward sign of it? John evidently shared this view, for "he forbad Him, saying I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to me?"* This is ever the protest of those who, in an external state, think that internal things can be miraculously imparted without a first ordering of external things. But the Lord's answer and action stand as a witness for ever: "Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered Him."**
     * Matthew 3: 14.
     ** Matthew 3: 15.
     It was a requirement of the Divine Order, which the Lord came to restore among men, that His Human should go through this ceremonial right of bodily immersion in the Jordan. There was a power in the ultimate correspondential act which no mere thinking or talking about it could replace. And so John, in spite of his natural doubts, was led to obey Jesus and baptize Him; and this even though Jesus was the Son of God, and John had need to be baptized of Him, as all men have. By this act the Lord Jesus gave a Divine demonstration of the need "to fulfill all righteousness."
     What is 'righteousness'? It is the same thing as justice; and, indeed, in the sacred languages of Divine revelation one word is used for what we in English call sometimes 'justice' and sometimes 'righteousness.' In The True Christian Religion we are given a very clear and simple definition of what this is: -

     "Righteousness is to do all things according to Divine Order, and to restore to order whatever has departed from it; for true Divine Order is righteousness."*
     * TCR 95.

     It was imperative, for the sake of the salvation of the human race, that the whole of the Lord's life on earth should be according to the very Truth of the living Word of God, which is Order itself. So we learn that He fulfilled every jot and tittle of the Law. In His actions He wrought out livingly everything heavenly and spiritual that was embodied in the written Word of the Old Testament. In this way, in all His thoughts and deeds, in His miracles and sufferings, His teachings and temptations, He followed the prescribed plan of His Own Divine Order.

59


He fulfilled the words of Deuteronomy, "That which is altogether just shalt thou follow!"*
     * Deut. 16: 20.
     In the chapter on Baptism in The True Christian Religion we are taught that:-

     "The Lord was Himself baptized by John that He might not only institute Baptism for the future, and go before as an example, but also because He glorified His Human and made it Divine, as He regenerates a man and makes him spiritual."*
     * TCR 684

     Elsewhere we are taught:-

     "When the Lord is present, then all things are set in order by His very Presence. The Lord is Order itself; and therefore where He is present there is order, and where there is order He is present."*
     * AC 5703.

     In our second lesson (TCR 679, 680) there was a definite, and perhaps surprising, emphasis on the need for order and also for signs for the sake of order. Indeed this emphasis is as surprising in its own place as the Lord's own act of being baptized by John that He might fulfill all righteousness. So we have the words, "What is order without distinction, and what is distinction without evidences, and what are evidences without signs by which qualities are recognized?"* And various examples are given of what order is; as, e.g., the order, distinct yet harmonious, of the organs in the human body. Also we have been shown how distinct qualities and functions must have their appropriate testifications, witnesses or signs; as in empires or kingdoms, where various title of rank are signs or marks by which the powers of administration attached to them are defined, "Whence come subordinations, by means of which all are subordinated into one."**
     * TCR 680.
     ** TCR 680.
     We can think of ever so many examples of this in our own day and age. Think of a school! Could you possibly have a school that worked as an effective whole, unless the pupils were distinguished from the teachers, and unless there were a headmaster or mistress with teachers in subordinate ranks, and unless the scholars were divided up into classes, each with its own name or number and its own standard of achievement? Again, what about a ship at sea, with its owners on shore, and its captain, and the crew from the humblest deck-hands to the most skilled technicians, such as chief-engineer or radio officer? Or the ship of state, with monarch or president, and a whole host of subordinate and distinct officials from the chief minister to the policeman on his beat?

60


Without a proper order and its necessary distinctions and their signs, there would be complete chaos in every case.
     It is because of a wide-spread failure to recognize this law, and the Divine Order that lies behind and within, that the age in which we live is in such a chaotic and unregenerate state. On all sides we see people putting human disorder in place of such remnants of Divine order as exist. We see attempts to do away with all proper distinctions and their signs, and to bring everything to the level of an undistinguished sameness. In the name of various political and other '-isms,' and with an often hypocritical and selfish plea for the abolishment of all privileges, a classless society is aimed at in which all signs and distinctions are to be abolished. Whether this is a revolutionary levelling down or an envy-inspired endeavor to rise up, sometimes called 'keeping up with the Joneses,' the end-result is something quite out of harmony with the regenerative aims of Divine Order, something undistinguished and totally devoid of any spiritual values. It is a chaos in which it becomes ever more difficult to discern the Divine Presence.
     In complete contrast with all this; and for that reason all the more an occasion for joy and rejoicing; we have this morning participated in the celebration of the sacrament of Baptism in the New Church. It has been a sign, both here and in the spiritual world, for the sake of order, that those who have been baptized are now distinctly set apart and numbered among those who look to the Lord Jesus Christ in His new Coming to be led by Him in the orderly way of His regenerating power into His heavenly kingdom. As with the Lord Himself, this definite act of self-committal will in due course inevitably be followed by temptations. The Lord tells His followers of this, saying, "In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."*
     * John 16: 33.
     We have good reason to congratulate our friends on their courage in thus facing up to the requirements of Divine Order, and we welcome them among us in the Church on earth as the angels welcome every new addition to their distinct and ordered angelic societies. Despite the difficulties and temptations, the spiritual conflicts that we all have to face, we can indeed "be of good cheer." Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration, and in its celebration we contemplate the whole orderly course of regeneration, and the Divine Order of the Lord's Justice. Deep down in all human beings, through the provisions of Divine Mercy, there is a great longing for justice. This longing is behind every movement for the betterment of our fellow men, however misguided unregenerate human beings may be in their methods.

61


And so the Lord declares: "Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled," and again, "Blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness' sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."*
     * Matthew 5: 6, 10.
     The saying of Alexander Pope in his Essay on Man, that "order is heaven's first law," has become familiar to many. It gives expression to a profound truth. Yet the order of heaven, its distinctions and multifarious series of uses, the innumerable works of love performed by the angels with the Lord's inflowing power for the beneficial regeneration of men in time and to eternity, all these are beyond our detailed comprehension. We can only have a general idea that, above and within our comparatively simple external acts of obedience to Divine Teaching, the Lord can accomplish wonderful things. Because He has made Himself Righteousness, He can do all things according to Divine Order and can restore to order whatever has departed from it; for He has all power and authority to remove evils, and to substitute truth for untruth and order for disorder.
     We are taught that: "It is a law of Divine Providence that a man should as from himself remove evils as sins in the external man; and thus and not otherwise can the Lord remove the evils in the internal man, and at the same time in the external."*
     * DP 100 et seq.
     A man's freedom and reason are bound up with this law. The man who truly believes in the Lord will obey all His precepts and commandments in the external things of which he is aware in his daily life. He will endeavor, as of himself yet looking to the Lord into Whose Name he has been baptized, to flee from all evils under the guidance of the Ten Commandments. Unless he does this, there can be no purification of the internal things that are above his direct consciousness, of which in the world he is only dimly aware. External acts that are evil and disorderly form an obstruction to the operation of the Lord and the angels on all higher levels. Unless these things are set aside in a self-disciplined life of repentance and reformation, there can be no opening up and cleansing of the internal things through which there may be conjunction with the Lord in heaven.
     Both John the Baptist and the Lord Himself preached repentance. Indeed it is stated that, after His baptism and the immediately ensuing temptations in the wilderness, "From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of the heavens is at hand."* This is the whole burden of the Gospel; for as we are taught: "Repentance is the first thing of the Church in a man. . . . It is acts of repentance that cause the Church to be in him."**
     * Matthew 4: 17.
     ** TCR 510.

62



     Before the Church, and thus the kingdom of the heavens, can enter into a man, the man must approach the Church. This approach is recognized and accepted in an orderly way by the sacrament of Baptism. But the purpose of baptism is that he may be born again and become a new creature and be conjoined with the Lord in heaven. This is an internal conjunction, for which the Lord has also given us an outward sign and sacrament in the Holy Supper. And so we are taught that: "The Holy Supper was instituted by the Lord that through it there may be a conjunction of the Church with heaven, and thus with the Lord; and therefore it is the holiest act of worship."* The one sacrament and all it implies prepares the way for the other; and so we are taught near the beginning of the section on Baptism in The True Christian Religion:-

     "These two sacraments . . . may be compared to a double temple, one of which is below and the other above. In the lower one the gospel concerning the Lord's new coming is preached, and also concerning regeneration and consequent salvation by Him. From this temple, near the altar, is an ascent to the upper temple where the Holy Supper is celebrated; and from thence is a passage into heaven, where the worshippers are received by the Lord."**
     * HD 210.
     ** TCR 669.

     May the Lord, with His infinite love, understanding and patience, lead us all safely through these sacred temples, that we may finally be received by Himself and welcomed as sons and heirs of His kingdom.

63


WHAT'S IN A LAUGH? 1971

WHAT'S IN A LAUGH?       STEPHEN G. GLADISH       1971

     (concluded)

     Going from the first type of purposive wit - the hostile or aggressive, we come to the second type, the obscene or sexual. Dr. A. A. Brill, a contemporary practicing Neo-Freudian, continues with Freud's classification. The motive of a suggestive or smutty joke, to the Freudians, is exhibitionism - the pleasure of seeing the sexual displaced (the perversion of indecent exposure). One of the primitive components of the libido is the desire to see the sexual exposed (today's movies are increasingly gratifying this desire). "Showing off" is a sublimated activity of infantile exhibitionism. The primary pleasure is to touch the sexual, seeing the sexual is just a substitute. Libido for looking and touching is found in every person; they are intermediary sexual aims, leading to mating. But as ends in themselves they are perversions. Yet partial impulses, like exhibitionism, repressed, leave an amount of ungratified libido, which is then released through speech or smutty jokes. Whether the reaction of his audience is either laughter or embarrassment, it still gives the jokester pleasure. This wit enables the jokester to gratify his original lewd or hostile craving, drawing pleasure from an otherwise unacceptable source. The audience obtains pleasure from the easy gratification of its own libido through listening. There are always three people involved here: the jokester, the person taken as the object of the hostile or sexual attack, and the person(s) in whom the purpose of the wit to produce pleasure is fulfilled. Of course the jokester may have an honest desire to give cheer or pleasure. Or on the other hand, the smutty joke can have for its purpose general or specific seduction. Freudian theory deals primarily with the unconscious motivations, drives, and components; of course we can all think of surface rationalizations of why we laugh and what's in a laugh. Dr. Brill considers smutty jokes along the lines of a permission; position in society, he says, or physical or mental incapabilities may prevent some men from leading a normal love life; smutty jokes are then substitutes for natural marriage love, the repressions and compromises of the burden of civilization.*
     * Brill, "Basic Principles of Psychoanalysis," New York, 1960.

64




     In addition, Brill states that laughter often happens when society shows its resentment of conventional repression constantly forced upon it; jokes are often told representing the height of social violation - a woman swearing, a priest involved in less than ideal conditions, a child mouthing adult corruption. As soon as a new taboo comes into existence, many jokes follow. Society dislikes its rules and authoritarian ways (necessary but repressive), and sublimates its dislike of institutions such as church, government, and marriage through jokes. Examples may be found everywhere.
     According to the Freudians, of course the original repression for mankind and for almost every man is the Oedipus complex. Concerning the Oedipal pattern in humor, Robert Corrigan listed four universal characteristics of comedy in the theatre: 1) the presence of lovers, 2) the defeat of an imposter figure and his subsequent assimilation into the restored social factor, 3) an inverted Oedipal pattern in which the son triumphs over the father, 4) the presence of violence without its consequences.* The Oedipal theory, a salient feature of Freud's thought, should be enlarged upon to show its development of humor and humor's relationship to the unconscious. Grotjahn interpreted it thus: "The Oedipus situation is the gravestone on the lost paradise of our childhood and the cornerstone of all culture as we know it: after the repression of sexual longing for the mother (the incest taboo), cultural development took the place of physical, instinctual or biologic progress.** So comedy, in reversed Oedipal situation, relieves the Oedipal guilt and anxiety, by having the clown as the comic figure representing the impotent and ridiculed father, while the son plays the role of the victorious father with sexual freedom and achievement. This reversed situation in a general sense occurs in every man's life, when the younger generation grows up and slowly replaces the older. Comedy, then, helps the audience to work through their difficulties in the mastery of cultural discontent and collective repression - stemming from the fundamental Oedipus situation.***
     * Corrigan, p. 3 "Comedy and the Comic Spirit."
     ** Grotjahn, p. 273 "Beyond Laughter     
     *** Grotjahn, p. 273.
     Moliere's L'Avare exemplified the father and son in direct rivalry, with the father, this time it is he as the disturber of love, losing. The inverted world of turning the father into a son, or reducing the strength and dignity of the father, occurs in numerous plays, films, and television shows today. All other inversions of roles - the robber robbed, the cheater cheated, the actor upstaged, the lover outcast, authoritarian as lackey - all are variations on the inverted Oedipal situation.*

65


This primary inversion is the infantile fantasy of the father as the disturber of love; it is a projection of the son's own guilty wish to disturb the love of his parents. By displacing this fantasy on the father, endowing him with this filial attitude, the father is divested of his paternal attributes and degraded as a son. Unmasking in comedy has the same psychological motives, to degrade the father; comedies unleash a wide range of aggression, scorn, and derision against the father.** It is not hard to find examples of this.
     * Ludwig Jekels, p. 265, "On the Psychology of Comedy."
     ** Jekels, P. 268.
      Doing away with the father, and his dissolution into the son, represents      the withdrawal of the (society principle) super-ego, and its merging into the individual (reality coping principle) ego. The ego, liberated from the father-tyrant-symbol of the super-ego, uninhibitedly vents its humor and wit in an ecstasy of libinal yet socially accepted freedom.* Eric Bentley extended Jekel's theory further; he suggests that modern playwrights, in their treatment of the modern love triangle - husband, wife, lover, have not been obsessed with adultery: through displacement and disguise of the father, mother, and son, they have been obsessed with incest - the old Oedipal pattern! George Bernard Shaw's Candida, Mrs. Warren's Profession; Ibsen's Ghosts, Romersholm are classic examples for this theory.**
      * Jekels, P. 269.
      ** Bentley, p. 285.
     In contrast and in addition to the laughter of aggression, sexuality and obscenity, there is laughter on the more personal survival plane - representing defense mechanisms, feelings of mastery over previous anxiety, and feelings of release from anxiety. According to Ernst Kris, most comic phenomena seem to be bound up with past conflicts of the ego; they help it to repeat its victory, and in so doing once more overcome half-assimilated fear. The comic can be a defense mechanism, too, appearing in various guises to master and ward off emotions, above all anxiety. Once the mind has control over anxiety, however, the sense of the comic can come effectively into being, and combine a sense of mastery with a feeling of pleasure. What was feared yesterday is fated to appear funny when seen today, whether viewed from the individual or the national view: the Germans, feared in the 'forties, are joked about today; so are the childhood fears of yesterday. Thus the comic lies between pleasure and warding off emotion, especially fear.* So the sense of humor develops in stages; each step is connected with mastery of a new anxiety; each conflict mastered is marked by a new growth of the sense of humor.** This approach makes laughter sound a good deal healthier.
     * Kris, p. 447, "Ego Development and the Comic."
     ** Grotjahn, p. 272.
     If, then, laughter is a release, not a stimulant, then we can theorize that people full of anxiety and guilt need a sense of humor.

66


They have inhibited many of their strongest wishes; a sense of humor's aim is to gratify some of the forbidden wishes.* The most common and least artificial trick for eluding the anxiety and guilt which repress these wishes is the sense of humor. The joke allays our fears, lowers our resistance, and gratification of our forbidden wish slips in like a shock, before anxiety. and guilt can take action. Inhibitions are momentarily lifted, repressed thoughts are consciously experienced, resulting in elation - mixed power and pleasure.**
     * Bentley, p. 286.
     ** Bentley, p. 286
     A third less dangerous view of laughter utilizes regression in a pleasurable way this time. Through the humorous, we tap infantile sources of pleasure, becoming infants again, finding intensest satisfaction in the smallest things, the highest ecstasy in the lowest thoughts. Momentary return to childhood also brings the pleasure of nostalgia and a sense of regained innocence and libidinal freedom, heightened by the distance between the infancy returned to and the point from which the return journey (one's age) is undertaken.*
     * Bentley, p. 286.
     Nobody, I believe, can pass over the statement from Swedenborg that "there are very many things in laughter." The sense of humor has so much to do with social compatibility that it behooves us occasionally to examine our laughter to see what neighborliness, if any, there may be in it.     Next time we laugh, let us consider some of the alternatives: Do we laugh from delight in man's inhumanity to man (Al Capp's famous theory)? From an unspoken intention to humiliate and consequently to correct our neighbor (Mark Twain's theory)? From feeling secure because we are smarter and our station in life is more respectable? From contempt or aggression? From surprise and shock in seeing the incongruous and the ludicrous? From experiencing the regained "lost laughter of childhood"? From relief of the ego? From delight in exhibitionism? From delight in exposing and in degradation? If we admire wit, let us think of Grotjahn's definition: "The wit as a person is closely related to the sadist. Under his disguise of brilliance and charm and entertainment, he is sharp, quick, cold, aggressive and hostile-inclined to murder his victims in thought."* On the other hand, if we laugh little or not at all, the warning signs are just as bright (unless we have already become angelic).
     * Bentley, p. 286.
     There may be a number of final conclusions we can draw. Laughter a rational, therefore civilized, non-barbaric commodity. It conduces to socially acceptable behavior. The German nation under Hitler was noted for its lack of the sense of humor; some of its practices set back civilization two thousand years.

67


Radicals and fanatics today, be they conservative fanatics or liberal fanatics, religious fanatics or irreligious fanatics, have gone beyond laughter - and the prospect is not promising.
     Laughter, then can be an internal effort, conscious or unconscious, toward homeostasis and adaptation to the world, which certainty is forgivable. Grotjahn stated that laughter is a creative communication between the conscious and unconscious levels of the mind. Our need for free and episodic regression into the unconscious, to gain strength for living in the real world, can be effectively accomplished through humor. It is, furthermore, an anxiety-free communication, aiding imagination, intuition, and creativity, leading to insight into self and better accommodation to life, while at the same time releasing dangerous energy, prone to aggression, in a socially acceptable way.* Laughter, continued Grotjahn, can be taken as a sign of strength, freedom, health, beauty, youth, and happiness. And with such anxiety-free communication between our conscious and unconscious, we become essentially and incurably human, happily accommodated to life.**
     * Grotjahn, p. 270.
     ** Grotjahn, p. 275.
     Laughter, too, can be a form of self-assertion, which may be necessary for survival in various degrees with various individuals, though it could be overused and consequently abused. Yet laughter can emanate a humility and a feeling of humanness and togetherness with our fellow man, both of which are encouraged in the Two Great Commandments. Too often, we can admit, laughter involves, contempt, hostility, and aggression toward the neighbor, which may be all too natural, yet does not subscribe to the Two Great Commandments - on which hang all the law and the prophets. Laughter often centers around the obscene and the sensual - directly related to the love of self and the world. And laughter often smacks of anarchy and disregard for authority, contrary to the orderliness necessary in a useful and charitable society.
     Perhaps many of the uses of laughter, then, do come from hell. I am purposely leaving out some of the harmless and innocent uses, for fear people may grasp them and ignore those uses we would all like to overlook and shouldn't. A good part of laughter can be constructive and useful. It depends on the laughter. At the least, laughter may be impugned as a permission, not in Divine order, but necessary for man's salvation. I submit that we cannot expect to be much more that "merely human." Conditions on this earth are far (far) from ideal, far from being heavenly; we are confronted with evil and ugliness in ourselves every day; every person around us has varying degrees of visible or implicit evil in their speeches and in their actions; religious feeling is on the decline, governments are in a ferment, hedonism and sensation are more popular than reason and experience: and if we are really to face life, to confront reality, to see and acknowledge the evil in ourselves and the world so that we may correct it, then laughter may be our best shield.

68


Of course we can live in our sheltered communities and shut out the world, condemn and deny it, and many of us do. But to do something for the world, we must shoulder its burdens; to spread over the world, we must first stand up and be counted. To reach our fellow man today, we must speak some of his language, accept part of his life style, adopt a portion of his attitude. Idealism cannot be put to work in a vacuum. And, rather than denial of reality, and rejection of people, rather than overt aggression or disorderly behavior, the ability to laugh can bring us closer indeed to ourselves, closer to our neighbor, and closer to what is human, so that we may carry on the work of our human life with tolerance and charitable usefulness.

69


WHAT IS THE NEW CHURCH? 1971

WHAT IS THE NEW CHURCH?       Rev. E. S. HYATT       1971

     The fundamental distinction between the New Church and ALL other Churches is in THE OBJECT OF ITS WORSHIP.
     The New Church does not worship a GOD divided into three persons, as do modern Christian Churches, with whom is practically the worship of three Gods; nor does it worship an invisible and unknown God as do Unitarians; the New Church worships the LORD JESUS CHRIST, AS THE ONE AND ONLY GOD of Heaven and Earth; thus not as merely one of a Trinity of persons together forming the God-head, but as the very embodiment and incarnation of THE DIVINE TRINITY in all its fullness.* GOD is LOVE Itself and WISDOM ITSELF, and those who believe in GOOD and TRUTH for the sake of GOOD and TRUTH believe in HIM. Thus:
     The Father. . . . . . . . . . The Divine Love.
     The Son . . . . . . . . . . . The Divine Wisdom.
     The Holy Spirit . . . . . .      The Life thence proceeding.

     This was the Trinity as manifested before the Incarnation in the Old Testament times. It was JEHOVAH HIMSELF of the Old Testament, and not a son distinct from HIM ("I, even I, am Jehovah, and beside me there is no Savior."),** who manifested Himself to the world in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ - the Son being the Humanity then assumed; and thus the Divine Trinity was then manifested as follows:
     The Father . . . Jehovah, the Soul.          )Of the

     The Son . . . . . The Human, the Body.          )LORD
     The Holy Spirit . The Power thence proceeding.)JESUS CHRIST.
     * Coll. 2: 9.
     ** Isaiah 43: 11.

     The New Church Is Not a Sect

     It is not an addition to the already numerous sects of the Christian Church, but is emphatically a NEW CHURCH, founded on a new revelation from the LORD, and for which the previous Churches and previous revelations were but so many preparations.

69


There have been four such previous Churches in the world:

1.     The Most Ancient, or Adamic.
2.     The Ancient, or Noachic.
3.     The Jewish.
4.     The Christian.

     The New Church is the fifth, having a similar relation to the Christian as the Christian had to the Jewish; but also as absolutely distinct from the Christian as the Christian was from the Jewish.
     It is signified by the New Jerusalem in the last Chapter of the Book of Revelation, the internal sense of which book consists of a particular account of the end of the first Christian Church and the establishment of the New Church.

     The Lord's Second Advent

     The LORD when in the world prophesied that new revelation of Himself by which HE would effect His Second Coming, and on which He would establish His New Church, thus:- "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of me."* "When HE, the Spirit of Truth, is come, HE will guide you into all Truth."** "The time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father."*** This Revelation, then, of the Spirit of Truth or the spiritual sense of the Word, was to be the foundation of the New Church, which was, therefore, to be a spiritual or truly Christian Church; the former Christian Church being only a natural and preparatory Church, founded upon the natural revelation of the LORD in the Flesh. This natural revelation was also a necessary preparation and basis for the revelation of Himself in the Spirit; for until the Human, then assumed, was glorified, that is, made one with the in-dwelling soul, which was Jehovah, or the Father, the Holy Spirit or the promised revelation of the Spirit of Truth could not be."**** We are thus led to recognize a still clearer presentation of the Divine Trinity:
     The Father . . . . The LORD as revealed in the Old Testament - JEHOVAH.
     The Son . . . . . The LORD as in the First Advent, in the Flesh, in the New Testament.

71



     The Holy Spirit . . The LORD as in the Second Advent, in the Spirit, in the Internal Sense of both Testaments.
     * John 15: 26.
     ** John 16: 13.
     *** John 16: 25.
     **** John 7: 39

The LORD, therefore, has effected HIS SECOND ADVENT by revealing the Spiritual Sense of THE WORD.
     The LORD is the Word.* The Word interiorly is nothing but a revelation of Jesus Christ.** This revelation has been effected by successive steps, as men were able to bear it.*** Thus, the merely representative revelation in the letter of the Old Testament is adapted to the gross hopes and fears of the corporeal man. The clearer revelation in the letter of the New Testament, in which the LORD reveals Himself to the natural sight, appeals to the natural man.
     * John 1: 1.
     ** Revelations 1: 1; Luke 24: 27.
     *** John 16: 12.
     But, lastly, the same Word is now given to us stripped of these representative appearances of the letter, revealing the LORD not to the natural sight, but to the sight of the understanding, appealing to the truly rational faculties of man.
     This revelation constitutes the Second or Spiritual Advent of the LORD; and even as all previous revelations were effected by the instrumentality of various men - Moses, Malachi, Matthew, John, etc. - so has this been effected by the instrumentality of a man, Emanuel Swedenborg, who was prepared and commissioned by the LORD for this purpose. It is from this revelation that the substance of this answer has been drawn.
     This revelation, entirely based upon the letter of the Word, is the one source of teaching and the one authority in the New Church, recognized indeed as the very presence of the LORD in HIS Church, and by which HE becomes present in the understandings of those who reverently study it, and conjoined to those who act according to its teachings.
     This revelation is not an addition to the letter of the Word; it is an opening and disclosing of the soul and spirit dwelling in that letter, and therefore is the same Word interiorly seen. From it we learn that the teachings of previous revelations has been made of none effect by human traditions, as by the Jews formerly,* so now by the Christians; and that we have to come to the LORD as He has now revealed Himself, for all true explanations of the letter of the Word; that the Last Judgment was effected in the Spiritual World in the year 1757; that on the 19th of June, 1770, the LORD called together His twelve Apostles, who followed Him in the world, and the next day sent them forth into the universal Spiritual World to preach the Gospel that the LORD GOD JESUS CHRIST reigns, Whose kingdom shall be for ages of ages, according to the prediction in Daniel 7:13, 14 and in Revelations 11: 15; and "that blessed are they who approach the nuptial supper of the Lamb."**

72


This is understood by these words of the LORD: "HE shall send His Angels, and they shall gather together His elect, from the boundaries of the Heavens even to their boundaries."***
     * Matt. 15: 6.
     ** Rev. 19: 9.
     *** Matt. 24: 31.
     There is also given a particular account of the Spiritual World and of the state of man after death; from which we learn how evil states are there governed by the LORD, and how His will is done in the Heavens.
     Thus is the internal significance of the Word opened to us, and also grand examples of its application to life in the Heavens given, by following which the New Church may ultimately become what the LORD designs it to be - a realization of Heavenly Order upon earth.
     But there is not space here, even in a summary, to tell of the glory of this opened Word of GOD, and its infinitely extensive and harmonious teachings, fulfilling the LORD'S promises to "make all things new,"* to teach us plainly of the Father,** and to guide us into all truth.***
     * Rev. 21: 5.
     ** John 16: 25.
     *** John 16: 13.
     Let the reader, if willing to see the glory of the LORD'S Second Advent - even more different from what Christians have expected than was the First Advent from what the Jews had expected, and therefore alike rejected by both - let such a reader go to this revelation for himself and hear the LORD speak therefrom directly to his own mind and thus he will learn that the New Church worships the LORD not merely as HE revealed Himself in the Flesh, but as HE has now fully revealed Himself in the glories of His Second Advent - then will he see how truly the FATHER and JESUS CHRIST are one,* how absolutely the LORD JESUS CHRIST IS ALL IN ALL.
     * John 10: 30.

73


COLLEGE CHAPEL TALKS 1971

COLLEGE CHAPEL TALKS       Rev. ROBERT S. JUNGE       1971

     THE MAGICIANS DID LIKEWISE

Lesson:     Exodus 8: 5-19.

     Many people today feel oppressed, like slaves, turning out their tale of bricks for unseen and uncaring materialistic taskmasters. They are disillusioned in a pragmatic world laboring relentlessly for artificial values. They want to find a promised land, a place where happiness reaches beyond the transient, and touches the eternal. Yet they seem to be unable to rise above the dust and clay of making bricks. Like Israel enslaved in Egypt they need more than escape - they need to catch a hope and vision that is real and can turn them into men once more. But man can gain his humanity only when he sees his life in relation to the Divine Humanity. The Lord alone can give man purpose, yet lead him in freedom.
     But deliverance is no single miracle. Learning to follow the Word is a gradual process; hesitant at first, and only with time does it become a growing conviction. Moses, representing the Word, only gradually wins his place as leader of his people. Yet without Divine Truth leading to eternal life, mankind is leaderless, manipulated here and there by opportunists through its external desires.
     Now Ancient Egypt had performed architectural achievements almost beyond imagination. She maintained peace and national and cultural integrity over centuries. She was chosen of all the nations to represent the wealth of memory knowledge - scientifics - the benefits of experience. When Moses first stood before Pharaoh and performed wonders, it was no surprise then that the magicians did likewise.
     Picture the lure of the magic of Egypt as the magicians do likewise. It should not be hard for there are many today who strive to negate religious leadership accomplishing seemingly the same results without benefit of authoritative revelation. They achieve psychological adjustment without self-examination and repentance. They counsel marriages from experience, control birth with technology. They tamper here and there. They assert magic formulas for human relations. Their formulas, enthusiasms and positive attitudes are like the incantations of ancient priests. They awe and amaze us. Their results are immediate and spectacular - and frequently very useful. In themselves they are not evil.

74


Yet more and more they twist science into a cult. It becomes a false god, worshipped not so much for achievements as for its arrogant promises. Carried forward on an enthusiastic wave of self-intelligence many simply will not admit the limitations of the magicians.
     Yet in human terms of satisfaction, purpose and hope, experience fails wherever Divine Authority is not a basic premise. So from the world of experience we have those who strive to solve the problems of marriage - insoluble without the concept of eternal love. Behavioral psychologists assert that one day they will be able, through experiment, to predict and control human behavior. They predict man's animal behavior increasingly accurately. But human behavior from human freedom will always be unpredictable. Laboring long hours in their laboratories some claim that they are on the threshold of creating life in a test tube. But love is the life of man and love is uncreate.
     So there comes a time when the spiritually honest man must recognize that the magicians can only go so far. Some like the magicians of Egypt will recognize "This is the finger of God." Others like Pharaoh will harden their hearts.
     As in ancient times, the magic of the spell-binders is contagious and plays to the crowd - for they can do natural wonders. Through concentrated study they achieve expert knowledge in many fields. But without the Word they never achieve the truth - they never learn what it is to work in a world of cause and purpose. Factual knowledge should be a true servant. Yet if man fails to see the wonders of experience critically, in proper spiritual perspective, knowledge will become the master and humanity the slave. This is a supreme challenge to higher learning - to sift critically all the so-called miracles performed by those who ignore the most basic assumption of life - that the Lord is God and leads man.
     There is much to learn in Egypt - else in the early states of life we would not all find ourselves there. The ultimates of all life's uses are hammered out on the plane of experience. But the man struggling for answers cannot remain on the scientific plane of life alone. For those who seek, life is a continuous thread. It considers the "now" of life in the perspective of an eternal purpose. In the image of their God, we respond to a like call, "Out of Egypt have I called My Son."

     BORROWING FROM THE EGYPTIANS

Lessons: Ex. 12: 29-36; AC 7770: 3.

     The scientifics that Egypt represents even include knowledges of the literal stories of the Word. But for the sake of example we focus our attention on today's natural learning in general with all its innovations, predictions and promises.

75


Like Egypt holding Israel in slavery, a false use of facts and natural learning can so hold the thought of the Church to earth that the potential of the Lord's people is never developed.
     For example, our education can become a bondservant to fascinating new techniques. The understandable desire to meet the intellectual, social and moral challenges of our times can become so all consuming that we neglect our spiritual call. The desire of a small Church to keep up to worldly standards and to be beyond criticism from others can so absorb our energies that we forget the Lord's gifts which come through patiently following His Word.
     Is it not well then to be done with these things, to simply follow the Word out of Egypt, forget scientific techniques, forget the natural challenges and social issues, and work for spiritual ideals? But if we did this would do violence to the teaching of our lesson: "and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment."
     There is no question of the danger to our uses when external concerns become master. Yet Israel was specifically told to demand precious things from the Egyptians, and in fact to spoil them. In another place we are told that the scientifics they borrowed were to be "vessels."* Such vessels can be a containent for good and truth, and as such they serve in natural life the good and truth which they contain.
     * Cf. AC 7770; Ex. 11: 2.
     When we consider some new technique or social cause, the crucial question is: Can it be used to serve specific spiritual goods and truths? True borrowing from the Egyptians is not simply picking up the world's learning in total and putting a New Church label on it. For example, when we adopt an idea from a text book or course of study or teaching technique, we should see clearly if it can be used as a vessel to illustrate and confirm spiritual truth and thus serve good uses. The time of childhood's labors in Egypt without specific thought of use is to pass. As we approach the adult decisions of life, like Israel fleeing from Egypt, we can take with us only those things which promise to be of real value to our spiritual life. If we do not seek to discern how a knowledge or technique may fit into our spiritual thought we run a very real danger of trying to carry too much and bogging down in the journey. Being overloaded with unnecessary intellectual truck is no way to escape the materialistic thought which Egypt represents.
     Yet Israel definitely needed the silver, gold, and raiment that they borrowed from Egypt. They needed such wealth to build the tabernacle and to become a strong nation.

76



     Think for a moment of all the marvelous data man has uncovered concerning the human body in recent centuries. Yet some today in using this data become enslaved by the pride of their own intelligence. They talk of "genetic and fetal engineering" and ask "who should be permitted to have children and who should grant that permission?"* Not only of the beginning but of the end of life they arrogantly talk of which people should be chosen for freezing so that science can resurrect them in a future era.
     * Look, November 4, 1969, p. 83
     But the same facts can be employed for a different end. The human form can illustrate the true place of the individual in human society. Watching the circulation of the blood under a microscope, man can see an image of human freedom as he watches the individual blood cells find their unique place. The useful and purposeful relation of each organ and system, can help us see the spiritual order and eternal purpose in civil and social relations.
     Thus no aspect of life, no matter how insignificant, when properly understood is useless. But man must have the humility to acknowledge that only the Lord can see creation in such fullness.
     So the true man of the Church will not blindly flee the spiritual Egypt, cavalierly turning his back on natural learning, for this is the plane of ultimate decision and freedom. But when he demands jewels of that learning, he will anticipate the perils of the wilderness and take with him only those vessels which can serve on his spiritual journey.

     THE GOLDEN CALF OR THE TABERNACLE?

Lesson: Ex. 32: 1-6, 19-29.

     The Writings say that the calf-idols of Egypt mean `the arrogance of those who wish to enter from scientifics into the mysteries of faith, and who are not willing to acknowledge anything but that which they themselves hatch therefrom.* How often we hear that all the scientific evidence is against some doctrine taught in the Word. Attractive theories to espouse seem to spring spontaneously from experience alone. Yet the golden calf did not spring spontaneously from the fire as Aaron said. It was carefully fashioned with the graving tool, representing man's own intelligence.
     * AC 9391: 16.
     As Jeremiah said, Egypt is a "very beauteous she calf."* It is so easy for the man of the Church to confess with the mouth the proper use of learning - yet still bow down to a graven image of a false Egyptian god. All through the wanderings in the wilderness, whenever the way was hard, Israel longed for the flesh pots of Egypt - the easier way, even though that way had been one of spiritual slavery.
     * AC 9391: 10.

77



     After escape and a long journey, Moses went up into Mount Sinai. Of Moses, who represents the Word, Israel said, "We wot not what is become of him." How often does it seem as if the Word is above and beyond us - that it does not relate to the real concerns of the day, that it is abstract, outdated, and does not give clear answers!
     Then is when we are tempted not just with an intellectual choice, but by our external delights. Do not others admire us when we can step into the breach and rationalize from our own learning? Do they not look up to us as leaders when we fashion answers for today's problems that still give room for their natural pleasures?
     The people had torn off the golden earrings from their ears that Aaron might fashion the calf. Tearing off those earrings means drawing out of the letter of the Word those things which favor external loves. There is still a token allegiance in such a state, passages are still quoted, but the affectional context is changed to serve self rather than the Lord.
     It is not the noise of war, but the noise of them that sing and dance which Moses hears in the camp. There is great delight and seductive joy when human intelligence becomes a god. Is this why the man of the Church left making bricks in Egypt? Are these up-to-date human theories the road to freedom? Or in so neglecting the real meaning of the Word does man substitute spiritual death for spiritual slavery?
     The precious things brought out of Egypt were not intended to become a golden calf - rather they were to become a tabernacle - a beautiful and precious center of worship that would go with and sustain Israel, even perform miracles in Israel, no matter what trials lay before them.
     The ultimate treasure of the tabernacle was borrowed from Egypt - and men were inspired to build with it. Yet every least detail was shown to Moses on the Mount. The pattern was the Lord's not man's. Man responded by giving his offerings and fashioning the work exactly as the Lord indicated. The pattern of our thinking about any secular subject is developed as we bring revelation to bear upon it.
     For example, we value Shakespeare as we see in his works powerful illustrations of the profound truths of our religion. Some, on the other hand, seem to make it a compliment to the King James version that its style is so like Shakespeare's. When something accepted by the world seems to agree with our teachings, it is so easy to somehow feel flattered personally because the world seems to be complimenting the Church of which we are members. In just such states we are apt to thrill to the immediate applications we seem to see. These scientifics seem to us to be just what the Church needs to keep it from being outdated or abstract.

78


Yet such scientifics have frequently been uncovered as integral parts of foreign even idolatrous theories. Lest they become seductive man-made idols appealing to our personal external delights, they must be taken from the alien context and placed in an orderly pattern drawn from the Word. The delights on the side of the golden calf are more present, available now, and seem more real. But the hope and promise of Israel is in the vision of the tabernacle given by the Lord on the Mount. As Moses said when he came down, speaking as the Word, "Who is on the Lord's side, let him come unto me."*
     * Ex. 32: 26.
TEACHERCRAFT 1971

TEACHERCRAFT       E. P. ANSHUTZ       1971

     A FABLE

     A knot of boys at a certain University, needless to specify here, once took it into their heads to object to their teachers. "We do not," said they, "object to you as men, but to the principle of Teachercraft." They told the teacher of geometry that they had access to all the books that he could commend; that they were free boys; that they did not propose to have "any man" set over them, and that they intended to choose their own teacher from among themselves, "for," said they, "in reality we are all teachers." The teacher of geometry told them they could do as they pleased elsewheres, but in that University they must either obey the laws and rules or leave. They left. They didn't study much geometry; they spent most of their time talking against "enslaving" Teachercraft. An amiable logician tried to convince them that the only attempt at enslaving had been their own when they tried to break down the laws of the University and substitute their own ideas instead. Their reply to the logician's argument was: "Domineering! Cold! Arrogant! Superstitious! Unlovely! Effete!" and many other equally strong arguments.

79


CONJUGIAL LOVE 1971

CONJUGIAL LOVE       Rev. ELMO C. ACTON       1971

     A DOCTRINAL SERIES

     1

     Many of us are inclined to think we had studied Conjugial Love in the junior or senior year at the Academy and so it's been taken care of. However, while the ideals of marriage and preparation for marriage that should be established in youth are certainly treated of in the work, the essential part is for adults - those who are married and those who are seeking the conjugial in their lives. Conjugial love and the Church, as it says over and over again in the work, go hand in hand. The state of the Church is according to the state of conjugial love in the Church, meaning the state of conjugial love in the individual marriages of the Church and in the individual men and women of the Church. The conjugial can exist in a person whether he or she is married or not, since it exists in the marriage of good and truth; however, it can only exist fully with a married couple. It is a progressive love, acquired by man through life; and therefore, there is a continual increase of conjugial love. In other words, a husband is to become more and more a husband, and a wife is to become more and more a wife, and this to all eternity.
     Another reason for considering this subject is the teaching that conjugial love is to be restored because the truths concerning it are now revealed. Therefore, only where those truths are known, understood, and lived, can this love be restored and grow and develop in the Church. It is never a complete state; there is a continual advance to perfection, both in this world and in heaven. Conjugial love is the fundamental of all loves, as it is the most ultimate, and therefore, into it are gathered all joys and all delights from firsts to lasts. As angels said to Swedenborg, "Who cannot see that there is some love into which are gathered all the blessedness, happiness, and delight that can ever be conferred (on man) by the Lord?"*
     * C.L. 534
     Now as to the work itself. It was published in the year 1768, and it was signed on the title page, "Emanuel Swedenborg, a Swede." This is the first work of the Writings to which Swedenborg gave his name.

80


All works prior to Conjugial Love were published anonymously, and although Swedenborg was known as the author of these works from about 1760, this is the first one to which he signed his name, "Emanuel Swedenborg, a Swede." The reason for adding "a Swede" was that all the learned in those days wrote in Latin. Therefore, one's nationality was not known from the language, so it was quite common to sign one's nationality as well as one's name. The signing of the name in the last work of the Writings, True Christian Religion, was the only one signed, Emanuel Swedenborg, servant of the Lord Jesus Christ."
     In regard to the English translations, the first one was begun by the Rev. John Clowes in 1790 and came out serially in the New Jerusalem Magazine. There it was entitled, "The Delights of Wisdom Concerning Conjugial Love." Later in the year 1790 this magazine was discontinued for lack of funds; consequently, the whole work of Conjugial Love was not printed in English until 1794, when it was entitled, "Delights of Wisdom Concerning Conjugial Love." Mr. Clowes had noticed the use of the words conjugal and conjugial in C.L. 203, where it says that conjugial love is "sometimes (changed) into the opposite which is called the conjugal or connubial of evil and falsity," and later in the same number it says, "conjugial love is the fundamental of all loves."
     The word, conjugial, has become a New Church word, and it has been incorporated into the dictionary. However, there are still some that claim it is an incorrect translation, as Conjugial Love also speaks of the conjugial in hell and it says, "love truly conjugial." Therefore some people say that if it were a word meaning the spiritual marriage only, the work would not use the words, "truly conjugial." Mr. Wunsch in a translation of Conjugial Love some years ago, translated it "marital love." There are some today, as I say, who would prefer that translation to "conjugial." But I think that most of us are agreed that conjugial is a very happy translation as it conveys an idea peculiar to the New Church and that cannot be conveyed by any other word.
     In this opening class, I wish to present just some of the general teachings and ideals of conjugial love. "Conjugial love is not now on earth, but still it can be raised up with those who will be of the New Jerusalem."*
     * De Conjugio, 2nd Index.
     "The conjugial of one man with one wife is the precious jewel of human life and the repository of the Christian religion."* " . . . None will appropriate that love to themselves (but) those who are received by the Lord into the New Church, which is the New Jerusalem."** These numbers show this love is a love that is to be restored in the New Church.
     * C.L. 457.
     ** C.L. 43.

81



     It is important to get a true idea of what is meant by conjugial love. It is a love that can only be restored where the Lord is received in fullness in His Second Coming. We read, "Every step and every move made from religion and into religion is also a step and a move made from the conjugial which is peculiar and proper to the Christian, and into the conjugial.* And an angel in answer to the question "What is that conjugial?" said it is the desire to live with one wife alone; and a Christian has this desire according to his religion. Again, we read, "The origin of the Church and the origin of conjugial love are in one and the same seat and they are in continual embrace."** Two numbers from the Spiritual Diary say: "Conjugial love is the fundamental of all mutual love. Mutual love is to wish better for another than for one's self; but the tie of conjugial love is still closer. (And in mutual love) one wills to give all that is his to the other, except his own life, which last is what conjugial love wills to give."*** Therefore, conjugial love is the love where one wishes to enter into the life of the other. In mutual love one ever stands without, not to enter into the life of the other but to do every good to him; but in conjugial love there is the desire to enter into the life of the other. I believe this is very important in regard to many of the ideas expressed today of the independence of the husband and the wife in a marriage, in which there is no idea of the one entering into the life of the other and becoming one life. In other words, there is no idea that the true man, i.e., the "Adam" or "homo" is a married couple, man and wife, who in heaven appear at a distance as one man, so that the angel essentially is the married couple. In the Arcana Coelestia we read: " . . . (he) who is in love truly conjugial loves what the other thinks and what the other wills; thus he also loves to think as the other does, and he loves to will as the other does; consequently to be united to the other, and to become as one man."****
     * C.L. 80.
     ** C.L. 238.
     *** S.D. 4229, 4436.
     **** A.C. 10169.
     These teachings, especially what is given in this last number which is the whole basis of our principle of marriage in the Church, are neither mystical nor magical. Conjugial love is not a union reserved only for the initiates, that is, for those who have been baptized. It is a gift given to those in whom the Church is, and this, as said earlier, whether single or whether married. With the one it is potential; with the other it is actual. Thus the doctrine of marriage in the Church is not an external doctrine. It is one which contains the essential teaching that the married couple must become one and if there is not agreement as to the inmost things of life, which religion should be, then how can they become one?

82


So it was that with the formation of the Academy Movement, the work on Conjugal Love was closely studied. It had been neglected in the Church after an enthusiastic beginning, and this due a great deal, I think, to the teachings given in the second part.
     With the Academy the work was again closely studied, and the statement on Marriage in the Church in the Principles of the Academy is based on teachings of the Writings such as this: "Those who are born within the Church and from infancy have imbibed the principles of the truth of the Church ought not to enter into marriage with those who are out of the Church and have thereby imbibed such things as are not of the Church. The reason is because there is no conjunction between them in the spiritual world, for everyone in that world is consociated according to the goods and truths thence derived. And since there is no conjunction between them in the spiritual world, neither ought there to be any conjunction in the earth, for marriages regarded in themselves are conjunctions of minds, that is, animi, and of mens, the spiritual life of which is derived from the goods and truths of faith and charity. On this account marriages on earth between those who are of different religions are also accounted in heaven as heinous and especially between those who are of the Church with those who are out of the Church." The expression, heinous here used is expressed in Latin as "pro nefandis habentur." Nefandis is from nefari - not to mention; hence, impious, heinous, execrable, abominable. This particular subject of marriage in the Church will be considered later in the series, where we will take up the details of it. However, it is to be noted here, that the marriage meant is an internal marriage, not an external marriage. In other words, the marriage that is heinous in the sight of heaven is the internal, not necessarily the external marriage.
     Now a consideration of the work as a whole. Conjugial Love opens with a memorable relation showing the reality of the spiritual world and the truth that all delights are from use. In the Spiritual Diary it is said: "Unless eternity or eternal conjunction be thought of, a woman is not a wife, but a concubine; and from the lack of the idea of eternity, conjugial love perishes."* A passage in Conjugial Love tells of a worthless spirit, who took away the idea of eternity from a married couple in the other world, and of the great anguish they felt when that idea was removed, but when it was returned, then their happiness returned.** The work on Conjugial Love could not be given until the time of the Second Coming or until the time that the reality of the spiritual world was revealed.

83


Therefore, the fact of Swedenborg's being introduced into the spiritual world or being in both worlds at the same time, and the revelation of the reality of the spiritual world and the life after death are essential to the whole idea of conjugial love. That is why these memorable relations, which describe the reality of life after death, are the opening part of the work on Conjugial Love because the first thing in regard to any understanding of it must have the idea that it is eternal; it is a spiritual life, therefore.
     * A.C. 8998.
     ** S.D. 6110: 16.
     *** C.L. 216.
     We read: "It is now to be shown whether or not the conjugial covenant entered into in the world will continue after death and be enduring. This is not a matter of judgment but of experience, and since this experience has been granted me through consociation with angels and spirits, the question may be answered by me, but yet in such wise that reason also will assent."* This shows the necessity of the revelation of the life after death so the reality of spirits in conjugial love could be given. And then the end of the first part of Conjugial Love is a chapter concerning the conjunction of conjugial love with the love of offspring; this, being, the end, shows that the end and purpose of this love is offspring spiritual and natural offspring. That is true of all genuine loves. No genuine love wills to remain shut up within itself. All genuine love wills to go forth and communicate its delights to others. In marriage this can be done in a full way, for the children, by the parents, can, as it were be given life which appears in them entirely as their own. Consequently, man in a true marriage is most perfectly in the image and likeness of the Creator.
     * C.L. 45.
     The second part of Conjugial Love deals, in general, with the means by which conjugial love may be preserved in disorderly and evil states, and also treats of its perversions. It is interesting to note that this cannot be revealed until the first part is revealed, for evil can be known from good, but good cannot be known from evil. Consequently, anything said in the second part of Conjugial Love must be read and seen in the light of what is said in the first part. Then the whole work on Conjugial Love ends with a quotation from the Gospels: "Judge not, that ye be not judged."* This shows the interior quality of this love; it is not a love necessarily visible before the world. Consequently, the conclusion as to whether a man has or has not conjugial love must not be made from the appearance of marriage or of scortation, as it is essentially spiritual love. Finally, the last memorable relation concerning miracles ends with: "If you believe not Moses and the Prophets, that is, the Word of the Lord, you would no more believe from miracles than did the sons of Jacob in the wilderness, nor, indeed, more than they believed when they saw with their own eyes the miracles done by the Lord when He was in the world."**
     * Matt. 7: 1.
     ** C.L. 535.

84



     In our next class we will take up the origin of the distinction between the masculine and the feminine. However, I might add a word about monogamy. Sometimes I am asked, when was monogamy introduced? Was there ever any Divine command that there should be monogamy? That is not in the Genesis account for it merely says: "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh."* But when these words were quoted by the Lord, He added the word, two. In other words, "For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they two shall be one flesh."** Therefore, that is taken for the literal command for monogamy.
     * Gen. 2:24.
     ** Matt. 19: 5.
     I might also add where the false idea of marriage in the Christian Church arose. It seems to have arisen mainly from Paul's doctrine concerning marriage, which has prevailed and perverted the whole idea. "For I would that all men were [celibant] as I myself . . . But if they cannot . . . it is better to marry than to burn."* This teaching, obviously, is that marriage is for order in the world but the ideal is that man should not be married. It is from this, then, that arose the words included in the marriage service quite common to the Christian Church: "until death do us part." If marriage is only for life in the world, then it ceases with death. Probably the doctrine that perverted the idea of marriage in the Christian Church more than other is the comparison Paul made between the husband and wife and the Lord and the Church. He said: "For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the Church. . . . Therefore, as the Church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything."** From that came into the marriage ceremony, the words, "to love, honor, and obey." The clear teaching of the Writings is that in the marriage in this world, the husband does not represent the Lord, and the wife, the Church; but the husband and the wife together represent the Church. They are the Church, showing that the Church is the masculine and the feminine joined into one. It does say in one number that in marriages in heaven, i.e., the world of spirits, the husband represents the Lord, and the wife, the Church; but only for the day of the ceremony, it says.
     * Cor. 2: 24.
     ** Eph. 5: 23, 24.
     Many ask the question in regard to the Lord's parable when the Sadducees came to the Lord and gave the example:

85


If a man married a wife, and he dies, and then she married his brother, according to the Mosaic law, and even married seven brothers, whose wife would she be in the resurrection? Then the Lord said, "(In the resurrection) they . . . . neither marry nor are given in marriage . . . for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God."* It is quite obvious here that the whole idea of marriage presented by the Sadducees was a purely external, sensual, carnal marriage; such marriages are not in heaven. The essential marriage in heaven is a marriage of the spirit. There is a spiritual sense in which the marriage referred to in this parable is the marriage of good and truth. If the marriage of good and truth has not taken place in a man while he lives in the world, then there will not be a marriage of good and truth after death. In other words, as the tree falls, so shall it lie.
     * Luke 21: 27-33, 35, 36.

86


REVIEW 1971

REVIEW       BRUCE HENDERSON       1971

     AQUEDUCT PAPERS. By Brian Kingslake. Christopher Publishing House, North Quincy, Mass. Price $4.95.

     Aqueduct Papers is Heaven and Hell revisited, with a fanciful "You Are There" approach.
     The Rev. Brian Kingslake has sub-titled his book, "Twenty Interviews with an Angel Concerning Life After Death," and uses his angel - Aqueduct - to describe this life in rather vivid and imaginative terms.
     He admittedly takes liberties with the revelation made through Swedenborg, which may offend some doctrinal purists, but the intent is sincere and the book may well entice some readers to learn more about this revelation.
     Mr. Kingslake offers this bit of explanation before getting into his "interviews": "Swedenborg's works, written in Latin, are somewhat ponderous and repetitive, and many people find them difficult to read. My Aqueduct Papers are intended to present his basic teachings on the spiritual world in an attractive, even whimsical, style, more accessible to the general reader who is hungry for information about the Great Beyond.
     "The Angel Aqueduct, himself, is a product of my imagination, and I have taken liberties in working up some of the details of these interviews. But what I have written is not mere fiction. This book contains, I believe, a real and true account of the kind of thing everyone will experience sooner or later when he passes through the gateway of death. I hope these disclosures will be reassuring, and that the contemplation of them will prove spiritually invigorating to the reader, as they have been to me in writing them."
     It is possible though that rather than inspire unfamiliar readers to study Swedenborg's Writings for themselves, the book may discourage them. For one thing, those not familiar with Swedenborg may not realize that his books are available in English. And for another, the tone is so folksy that new readers might just write off the whole concept as too fantastic for serious consideration. Consequently, the book would seem more valuable as a supplement to Heaven and Hell, not an introduction to it.
     Nevertheless, the work stands as an enthusiastic, open declaration of faith and is an obviously sincere attempt to describe life after death in clear and readable language, thus making it more real to the reader.

87



     Aqueduct, the angel who serves as an informal guide, introduces himself with this explanation: "The Lord has made me a channel through which a trickle of His Divine Truth can penetrate to the bewildered and thirsty souls who have just come over from your world by the process called death. In other words, I am a Receptionist."
     "Am I an Angel? Well, if by angels you mean a special kind of superior being, with wings and feathers and harps, then I certainly am not an angel! . . . Here we are simply people - ordinary men and women.
     The "interviews" with Aqueduct include: Balance-Land (the world of spirits); Self-Judgment; Guardians and Wards; A Trip to Hell; Resuscitation; Predestination vs. Freedom; The Bible in Heaven; Nursery- Land; The Hospital (for psychosomatic disorders, not physical sickness); Music and the Arts; Angelic Choirs; Happiness and Marriage; and Communing with God.
     They are sprinkled with a mixture of doctrine, imagination and personal philosophy. Mr. Kingslake speaks about "the worthlessness of history" at one point, for instance, condemns the lust for wealth and power, and champions a dedication to order. At one point his angel says: "May you learn to think nothing of wealth and power, valuing only the riches of our Father's Love."
     It is all presented with a writing style that ranges from ingratiating whimsey to an unabashed fervor that might strike the sophisticated reader as just a bit too maudlin. For instance, almost every interview begins with "Greetings, dear friend from the other side!" and concludes with "Good-bye, and God bless you."
     And at one point Aqueduct says: "If I may say so without offense, you seem less spectral and ghostly today than you were before. Do you think you could sit on a chair, if I thought one up for you? There! We will recline at ease under this widespread tree outside the reception hall."
     But whether readers find it an appealing style or not, it is undeniably imaginative, lively and effervescent. It puts you there, and so may well give even those who are familiar with Heaven and Hell a new insight into life after death and a more personal feeling about it.
     BRUCE HENDERSON

88


CHURCH AND SWEDENBORG 1971

CHURCH AND SWEDENBORG              1971


NEW CHURCH LIFE
Office of Publication, Lancaster, Pa.
Published Monthly By
THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM BRYN ATHYN, PA.
Editor . . . . Rev. W. Cairns Henderson, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager . . . . Mr. L. E. Gyllenhaal, 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. Notifications of address changes should be received by the 15th of the month.

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$5.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy. 50 cents.
     (Reprinted from New Church Life, February, 1951

     The General Church is distinguished from other bodies in the New Church by its estimate of the status of the Writings. It accepts their own testimony that they were written by the Lord, and are in no sense the works of Swedenborg but the very Word of God. Yet from the beginning, the spirit of loyalty to this concept, - which gave birth to the Academy and to the General Church, - has inspired a more profound, scholarly, and accurate study and appraisal of Swedenborg's life and own works than has arisen anywhere else; and there is no other body of the Church in which the affectionate remembrance of him is so fully sustained, or in which he is held in more grateful love and high honor. This may seem to be inconsistent, so it might be useful to consider as his birth anniversary has just recurred the reasons why it has come to pass.
     Swedenborg's office was to receive with his understanding the Heavenly Doctrine of the New Church and to make it public by the press; and the testimony is, that he did not receive anything relating to the doctrines of the Church except from the Lord alone. Thus the Writings are not Swedenborg's works, for they are not the understanding of the Word at which he arrived by reading, study, and reflection. Nor are they the product of his fallible attempt to express a revelation made to him. They are a Divine revelation given through Swedenborg, and written by the Lord through him as an instrument; for while he indeed had to analyze, reflect upon what he heard and saw, and then formulate it in natural language as if of himself, his thoughts were so guided by the Lord that the doctrines could not have been written in any other words than those which were finally used.

89



     Thus it is clear that the New Church is not "Swedenborgian," except in the special sense in which Swedenborg himself defined the term as "the worship of the Lord our Savior." The teachings it was established to promulgate are not Swedenborg's but the Lord's. Nor was Swedenborg the founder of the New Church. Spiritually, of course, it was established by the Lord; naturally it was not organized until some years after his death. And it is not to Swedenborg that we look, either for the truth or as man's example. Yet the fact remains that we study his life and works, hold him in love and honor, and delight in sustaining the affectionate remembrance of him. There are many reasons why we may do so, and of these at least a few may be noted here.
     It is well known among us that the Divine Providence cannot be seen in, or before, the events in which it operates, but only after they have occurred; and in the case of Swedenborg, the Divine Providence can be seen in retrospect more clearly than in that of any other man because it has been revealed by the Lord Himself. Swedenborg was given to testify that all things of his life prior to the opening of his spiritual sight had been governed by the Lord; and that from 1710 until 1744, he was being prepared by the Lord to teach spiritual things naturally and rationally by being introduced into the natural sciences, and by the love of investigating and teaching natural truths, and afterwards, spiritual truths rationally. And as we study his life and his own writings, we can see more clearly than in the case of any other man the secret Divine leading which prepares for spiritual uses.
     As we read and reflect upon the story of his life, we can see how he was prepared in arcane ways for his office. We can see how he was prepared by the exacting discipline of the sciences to observe accurately and to criticize his own observations, by his studies in philosophy to analyze rationally what he had observed, by the truly simple life of a good Christian to think wisely about the results of his analyses, and by hard-won humility to submit his will to the Word and the leading of the Lord. And as we study his scientific and philosophical writings, we see another side of his preparation. We see how the Lord, by leading him first to investigate nature as if by his own efforts, and then to labor in the field of philosophy, so formed his mind that it could receive Divine inspiration. And that is, or should be, the supreme reason why we study Swedenborg; not that we may collect information about a man, but that we may see manifested in his life the wonders of the Lord's providence, and be moved to love more deeply the Lord who alone could work those wonders.

90



     Yet while the gratitude evoked by the name and memory of Swedenborg should be directed to the Lord who raised up and prepared His servant, and then gave him to perform his use, there is a place in the church for gratitude to Swedenborg himself. His part was that of an instrument in the hands of the Lord. But he was a human instrument; a man endowed with freedom like others, and having legitimate loves, ambitions, and desires. Although his consent was foreseen by the Lord, it was necessary that he should choose freely to perform his use; that he should be ready to submit his life to the Lord's will and call, and to follow the Divine leading. And if we consider this we cannot but feel gratitude to the man; especially when we remember that at an age when most men are contemplating retirement he laid aside the work his own inclinations bade him follow, and in which he was just beginning to achieve fame; and that not only was he unaware just what his use was to be, but that he was also required to suffer more than any other man. Furthermore, we must remember that while he was directly inspired, he had to work hard and as if of himself in setting forth the Heavenly Doctrine; and this, too, will surely call forth gratitude when we consider the magnitude of the task, and how justly and faithfully it was performed.
     There is reason, then, why we should feel gratitude for Swedenborg and gratitude to him. And it is quite fitting also that he should receive the affection of the church. Truly to love the neighbor is not to love the person, but those spiritual qualities which are in him from the Lord, and especially to love the use in the performance of which those qualities are employed. And in the case of Swedenborg we can do just this thing, - supported by the testimony of the Writings, - more certainly than in the case of any other man. For we find in him that content with a place of use and a modest competence, that desire to be of service and yet be self-effacing, which spring from the worship of the Lord and the love of use. We find in him an implicit trust in the Lord in the face of grave uncertainty as to the state to which he was being led; and a serene confidence in spiritual danger and suffering, - even in temptations so severe that without special protection he must have succumbed or become insane.
     In Swedenborg we find also a true humility. Although his outward life was blameless, he sincerely acknowledged himself to be a sinner and the least worthy of all. Intellectually he attained to the same humility; for we are told in the Writings of his perception that what he knew, understood, and was wise in was as a drop to the ocean compared with what he did not know and understand. It was for this reason that he could be given, as the Writings say he was, that spiritual love of truth which consists in loving it for its own sake.

91


And, finally, we find in him an unquenchable zeal, a tireless energy, and a thoroughgoing industry, employed successively for the advancement of his country, the good of mankind, and the glory of God.
     These are all qualities for which, as they existed in Swedenborg, we may properly feel a sincere affection. For in loving them we are loving the Lord, from whom they came, and a response which was Divinely inspired and empowered although humanly used; and we will not be moved to real appreciation of his character unless we have some love of the truths contained in the Writings. In the highest sense, the love we feel for Swedenborg is not a personal affection but the love of his use, the love of the interior truth of the Writings which it was his use to present before men.
     So in sustaining the affectionate remembrance of Emanuel Swedenborg we are actually keeping alive in the church the affection of love to the Lord. The revelation is the Lord's and it is to Him that our gratitude and love go forth on account of it. Yet we may, without transgressing any Divine law, be grateful to the man who submitted willingly to his call, and for twenty-seven years discharged justly and faithfully the arduous duties of his high office. We may also love him and cherish his memory. For what we love is not the man himself, who was born into evils as are all other men, but the spiritual qualities he appropriated through resistance of evil and manifested in his life. In loving these we truly love the neighbor because we love what is from the Lord. And in so doing, we love the Lord Himself who, as revealed through Swedenborg, will prepare and inspire men to see Him in the Word and in nature, and to love Him as the one only God of heaven and earth.
     There is, then, no contradiction between our intense interest in, and high regard for, Emanuel Swedenborg and our conception of the Writings given through him as the Word of the Lord for the New Church. When we gather again every year to pay tribute to his memory, the affection from which we do so may be that of love to the Lord and for "Our Glorious Church."

92


Church News 1971

Church News       Editor       1971

     ATLANTA, GEORGIA

     Atlanta group finally! Have you been waiting for a column from Atlanta; wondering why none appeared? We have not been so uncommunicative for lack of anything to report. The queen city of the south is still growing at a tremendous rate, and our little group is on an upswing, too.
     In the past two years we have been joined by five newcomers. Linda Wille moved to Atlanta two years ago, and later met and married Roger Carr, a Georgia man whom the group was happy to welcome. The summer of 1969 brought Terry Dunlap, just graduated from the University of Delaware, and Robert Leeper, known to some as Heather and April's grandfather. Mr. Leaper moved into the house next to his son Tom's and immediately began to help Tom and Judy with many of the group-hosting activities they generously undertake. In addition, Mr. Leeper took over the job of group secretary, keeping the widely scattered members notified of services and activities.
     Next on the list of new arrivals was Susan Gyllenhaal. Some members felt it was quite a feather in the group's cap to be able to say, "We have the treasurer's daughter." We are not sure whether or not this exempts us from contributing. Until we get a ruling, we suppose we should continue to contribute. (Ooops - just received a telegram from LEG: WHAT DO YOU MEAN CONTINUE, JUST START!)
     Our most recent arrival is Mrs. Jeunechamp, who has moved back to Atlanta to be near her family, the Jean Dalys. And now we are looking forward to two very special new arrivals, Baby Leeper and Baby Carr.
     But what of our activities? We have visits by Rev. Roy Franson of Miami every other month. These visits usually consist of class in the evening and church the next morning. We hold our services in Swedenborgian living rooms all over town, depending on taped music (and in between pastoral visits, taped services) to help provide an atmosphere of worship. Our attendance varies with the number of visitors in town but is about 10 for class and 20 for church.
     Special events have included showers for our three brides: Linda Wille, Lourdes Garcia, and Nancy Wheeler. Linda and Roger were married in Bryn Athyn, and Lourdes (Louie) and Cliff Bostock were married in a lovely ceremony here last Spring. Rev. Schnarr of Washington, D. C. conducted the ceremony and gave us church the next day. Later in the Spring we were happy to attend the wedding of Nancy and David Baker. Both weddings brought Bryn Athyn visitors.
     Christmas services are extra special. Christmas 1970 brought 17 people to dinner and doctrinal class at Kerry and Don Woodworth's cheerful home. The next day a record - 40 people attended church at Tom and Judy Leaper's. The 14 children saw slides of the Christmas story afterwards at Robert Leeper's house next door while Tom and Judy got their house ready for a Christmas party. It was almost a regional assembly with Marvin and Jo Wade and their two children from Birmingham, Alabama; Dorothy Wade from Butler, Alabama; Bob and Joan Marts and their five children from Montgomery, Alabama; Dr. and Mrs. James and their four children from Memphis, Tennessee all coming over for the weekend. The singing was the best it has ever been.

93



     And speaking of singing, we need you! Atlanta is a booming city. If you are looking for a new job, look here. Atlanta has a good climate. If you are looking for a place to retire, try Atlanta. Atlanta is fun. If you are still single, come see how long you will stay that way here. But most of all, if you are a New Church man who wants to help establish the church, please come help us try to do it in Atlanta. We really need you.
     TERRY DUNLAP

     THE CHURCH AT LARGE

General Convention.     The annual meeting of the General Convention of the Swedenborgian Churches will be held at Urbana College, June 24 - 27, 1971. Roger D. Paulson, Assistant to the President of Urbana College, has been named chairman of the planning committee. An attendance of about 500 persons is anticipated. A record enrollment of 661 students for the fall quarter at Urbana College has been reported. The Swedenborg School of Religion began its fall semester with one student in the Field Education Center in Bellevue, Washington, and two regular students and three special students at the academic center in Newton, Mass. The Rev. William R. Woofenden of St. Louis, who received a Doctor of Philosophy last fall, wrote his doctorial thesis on Swedenborg's Philosophy of Causality.

General Conference.     In addition to the usual service, the Kensington Society celebrated the Harvest Festival with a luncheon in the Church Hall, and afterwards the congregation broke up into small groups to discuss the parable of "The Sower and The Seed" which had been the subject of the morning sermon. Finally, the congregation reassembled In the Church to hear resumes of each groups thoughts and conclusions and a summing up by the minister, and for a short closing service. The Editor of The New-Church Herald invites readers to express their opinions of this type of Sabbath observance.

South Africa.     A letter to the Editor of The New Church Herald reveals that some New Church people in the Cape Town area formed themselves into a group last June and since then have been meeting regularly in members' homes. The meetings open and close with simple prayers and include readings from the Scriptures and the Writings followed by discussion. Much joy and appreciation are expressed for a visit to the group by the Rev. Peter M. Buss and for the Sacrament of the Holy Supper he administered on that occasion. From BAYOM HAHOO, which is the phonetic spelling of the Hebrew words, meaning In That Day, the quarterly magazine of the New Church in South Africa, formerly the Conference Mission there, we learn that their Annual Conference in 1970 had been held at Krugersdorp, with 65 ministers in attendance and many lay delegates. A new constitution had been adopted giving their church full legal independence and equal standing with all other churches in the Republic of South Africa. Announcement is made that a Liturgy for the New Church in Zulu was in the hands of the printer. This liturgy was similar to the liturgy in Sotho brought out by the Rev. J. O. Booth in 1966, except that it contained a Litany and about 100 fewer hymns.

94


VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN 1971

VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN       Editor       1971



     Announcements






     Visitors to Bryn Athyn on any occasion who need assistance in finding accommodation please communicate with the Guest Committee, c/o Mrs. Leo Synnestvedt, 611 Waverly Lane, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009. Phone: (215) Wilson 7-3725.

96


NOTE OF EXPLANATION 1971

NOTE OF EXPLANATION       NORBERT H. ROGERS       1971

     As the Editor has been ill, an Acting Editor, pro tem, saw the December and January issues through the press, has been responsible for this issue, and is also putting together the March issue. This will explain any differences noted and also the reprinting of editorials from 1951 issues, when Mr. Henderson first took over the editor's chair. We are glad to report that Mr. Henderson is better and is expected soon to resume charge of NEW CHURCH LIFE. We would also express appreciation for the cooperation and care shown by Lancaster Press, Inc., in general, and Mr. R. H. Mann, in particular.
     NORBERT H. ROGERS

97


CELESTIAL SENSE OF THE WORD 1971

CELESTIAL SENSE OF THE WORD       Rev. WILLARD D. PENDLETON       1971


New Church Life
March 1971
No. 3
     "Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink: nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?" (Matthew 6: 25, 26)
     It would seem as if the New Testament advocates an imprudent way of life. Our text is a point in instance. In speaking to His disciples of the Christian way of life, the Lord seemed to imply that man's preoccupation with the things of this world is due to a lack of faith in the Divine Providence. For if God provides for the beast of the field and the fowl of the air, will He not also provide, in even greater abundance, for man? "Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? Fear not, therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows."* "Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles seek."** "Be not ye. . . like unto them."***
     * Luke 12: 6, 7.
     ** Matthew 6: 31, 32.
     *** Matthew 6: 8.
     To all appearances, what is said here seems to imply that in seeking to provide for himself, man does but waste his strength; and "what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"* For as our text asks, "Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?" Surely this is true, but does it follow from this that if man takes no thought for these things that God will provide? It is here that reason takes exception to the text. All human experience testifies to the fact that man must provide for himself lest he be impoverished.

98


In this, therefore, the Writings seem to reverse the teaching of the Scriptures, for the Writings plainly teach that before a man can be of use to others he must first provide himself the necessities of life, not only for the present, but also for the future.**
     * Mark 8: 36.
     ** TCR 406.     
     This is but one of many instances in which the spiritual sense comes into apparent conflict with the sense of the letter, and in so doing, seems to render the letter of no effect. The question that is raised, therefore, is, does the letter mean what it says? If not, then we must assume that the former Testaments were accommodations of truth which were designed to meet the spiritual needs of the past, and at this day their use is confined to the instruction of children and of those who are as yet incapable of perceiving the spiritual sense of the Word.

     We must bear in mind, however, that there are not three Words; there is one Word. The fact that the Word has been given to man in the form of three Divine revelations does not detract from its unity. Indeed, it is essential to observe that in all unity there is a trinity, and apart from its trinity, the unity of a thing cannot be seen. This is true of God, of man, and of all created things. As applied to the Word, therefore, the doctrine of the trinity enables us to perceive wherein the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the Writings constitute one Word, for apart from the one, the others cannot be understood. That is why we are taught in the Writings that without doctrine, that is, apart from the spiritual sense of the Word, the Word in its letter is not understood. But the reverse also is true, for what meaning would the Writings have if divorced from the two prior Testaments upon which they rest? Hence it is stated in the Writings that "the sense of the letter of the Word is the basis, the containant, and the support of the spiritual and the celestial sense."*
     * SS 27; TCR 210.
     We would note here that in speaking of the sense of the letter as the containant of the spiritual sense, the Writings also state that it is the containant of the celestial sense.* Here is a remarkable thing, for if, as is frequently the case, the spiritual sense seems to reverse the meaning of the letter, the celestial sense restores it. The reason for this is that the celestial sense has an affinity with the letter of the Word that cannot be predicated of the spiritual sense. Being what it is, that is, truth in doctrinal form, the spiritual sense is addressed to the understanding. In this it differs from the celestial sense which appeals not so much to the understanding as to the self-evidencing reason of love.

99


That is why it is said in the Writings that the celestial sense "can with difficulty be made plain, because it does not fall so much into the thought of the understanding as into the affection of the will."*
     * SS 6: 19.
     ** SS 19.
     This was not always so. There was a day when man was born into the order of his life; that is, into the ability to perceive what is true from love. Thus the men of the Most Ancient Church had no need of doctrine, not even of a written Word. The Word of the Lord was inscribed upon their hearts, that is, upon their life's affection. From the will to do good they perceived what was true, and were therefore celestial men. But man did not maintain his celestial integrity. More and more he willed to be led by himself, until at length he fell into evil. Then it was that the Lord separated the will from the understanding in man, and this in order that a new will might be formed in the understanding.
     At this day, therefore, man cannot come into good except by way of truth, that is, by way of doctrine from the Word. To this end the Word was given, not only the Word in its letter, but also the spiritual sense of the Word. Hence the testimony of the Writings concerning themselves: "The spiritual sense of the Word has been at this day disclosed by the Lord (because) the doctrine of genuine truth has now been revealed; and this doctrine, and no other, is in accord with the spiritual sense of the Word." * Yet we are told that "there is a still more interior sense in the Word which is called celestial . . . (which) can with difficulty be made plain because it does not fall so much into the thought of the understanding as into the affection of the will."** Our text is an illustration of this.
     * SS 25.
     ** SS 19.

     As stated, our text seems to condemn human prudence. It says, "Take no thought for your life," that is, for those things which support life such as food, clothing and shelter. Yet as already considered, the Writings make it quite plain that man must provide for himself all the necessities of life, and this according to his station. To do this, man must act with prudence in human affairs, for in no other way can he provide for himself and for those who are in any way dependent upon him. Yet note that in this the Writings insist upon a pure motive. In providing for himself the things of this world, man is not to act for the sake of self, but for the sake of the use which self is intended to serve; that is, for the sake of the use that a man may be to others.
     In its insistence upon a pure motive, therefore, the spiritual sense elevates the thought of the mind and directs it from delight which self finds in the accumulation of the things of this world to the use that self, by means of these things, may be to others.

100


In so doing, the spiritual sense opens the way to the perception of the celestial sense, that is, to the perception of doctrine as it relates to life. In this connection we note with particular interest the teaching of the Writings that "in the other life truths . . . are never regarded from truths, but from the life which is in them; that is, from the celestial things that are of love and charity in the truths; from these . . . truths become celestial, and are called celestial truths."* "But it is to be noted that the Writings also state that "the spiritual sense and the celestial sense without the natural sense, which is the sense of the letter, are not the Word."**
     * AC 1496.
     ** SS 39.
     The Lord will provide. This is the teaching of our text. Yet it is stated in such a way as to imply that in this, man has no part, and that in seeking to provide for himself the necessities of life, he lacks faith in the Divine Providence. For "behold the fowls of the air . . . they sow not, neither do they reap . . . yet your heavenly Father feedeth them." Wherefore, then, does man "rise up early . . . (and) sit up late (and) eat the bread of sorrows?"* Will not the Lord provide?
     The truth is that the Lord will provide, but man is neither a fowl of the air nor a beast of the field. Unlike all other creatures, he is endowed with the unique ability to think and act as if from himself. Were this not so, man would not be in freedom, but would indeed be as the beast. In all things, therefore, man is to act from freedom in accordance with reason, that is, as if of himself. This is the first law of the Divine Providence.
     * Psalm 127: 2.

     To act from freedom in accordance with reason, therefore, is not a denial of the Lord's Divine Providence. It is to act according to the order which the Lord Himself has prescribed. Yet in so doing man is not to attribute the good which he does to his own prudence. All good is from the Lord, and the man who is truly prudent acknowledges this. "Therefore," the Writings state, "if . . . you wish to be led by the Divine Providence, use prudence as a servant and minister who faithfully dispenses the goods of his . . . (lord)."*
     * DP 210.
     Here, then, are two kinds of prudence, one which attributes all things to self, and the other which acknowledges that all good is the Lord's. In advocating a prudent way of life, therefore, the spiritual sense does not break with the letter, but explains how the letter is to be understood.

101


Here it is made clear that although man is to exercise prudence in the disposition of human affairs, it will avail nothing unless it is in agreement with the Divine Providence; that is, unless the man acts from an enlightened reason which comes from the perception that it is not the man, but the Lord through man, who provides.
     If, then, the spiritual sense seems to reverse the meaning of the letter, in reality it does not. What the spiritual sense does is to open the way to a more interior understanding of the Lord's Divine Providence. But the understanding of truth is one thing, and the perception of good is another. The one must necessarily precede, but the other does not necessarily follow. It is only when the truth of doctrine passes over into the will, that is, into the life's affection, that man can actually perceive what is meant by the teaching that it is the Lord alone who provides. This is what is known as the celestial confession, the confession from the heart that of himself man is evil, and the Lord alone is the giver of all that is good.* The Writings are not speaking here of merely rational acknowledgment that this is so, but of a genuine confession from life.
     * AC 3880.

     Does not, therefore, the celestial sense of the Word, that is, that sense which directly relates to the good of life, restore the sense of the letter? Is it not true that of himself man can avail nothing? While it is true that he should provide for himself in order that he may be of use to others, from whence comes his capacity to do so? What is more, in his performance of any use, from whence comes the good that man does? Let not man, therefore, in the imagination of his heart, attribute to himself that which is forever the Lord's. But let him confess that it is the Lord who provides, and that man is but "a servant" who, if he be wise, "dispenses the goods of his. . . (Lord)."*     
     * DP 210.
     He who perceives this enters not only with understanding into the spiritual sense of the Word, but also with perception into the celestial sense. For what is the celestial sense of the Word but the Divine doctrine as it relates to life - not to life in some remote or unobtainable sense, but to life as it is; that is, to a life that is filled with countless opportunities to be of use through relationships.
     "Take no thought (therefore) for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink: nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?" In other words, human prudence, essential as it is to a life of use, will in the end effect nothing unless man acknowledges, and in his heart truly believes, that it is not man, but the Lord who provides those goods in which the life of regeneration, and therefore the life of use, consists.

102


As the Psalmist said: "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want."* Herein we may see wherein the spiritual and the celestial sense of the Word are contained in the letter, and constitute not three, but one Word. Amen.
     * Psalm 23: 1.

     LESSONS: Deuteronomy 8: 1-20. Matthew 6: 10-34. SS 18: 119, 27, 32.
ORIGIN OF MASCULINE AND FEMININE IN CREATION 1971

ORIGIN OF MASCULINE AND FEMININE IN CREATION       Rev. E. C. ACTON       1971

     A DOCTRINAL SERIES

     II

     The subject of this class is, what is the origin of the masculine and feminine in creation? Is it from without by natural selection or some other means? And therefore, can it from without be adjusted so that the masculine and feminine can be the same? It is a remarkable thing that few of the philosophers or scientists have really considered the question of the origin of the masculine and feminine. Many have thought of the difference on the plane of effects, but few have given any thought as to how it arose - from where the masculine and the feminine came.
     In biology the effects have been noted and also the benefits resulting from two sexes, as in the following: "Asexual (meaning without sex) reproduction and self-fertilization produce organisms that may be very well adapted to the immediate environment but which lack the means to produce individuals which can best survive changed environment and thus through selection adapt the race to new problems."* Therefore, by the two sexes through recombination, there can be adaptation and the creation of new forms. It is noted that the fact there are two sexes has four advantages: (1) Sexual recombination is theorized to have existed as long as life; (2) It is selectively advantageous to the race; (3) It allows organisms to become adapted to new conditions; and (4) Sexual recombination brings hereditary material together from two distinct sources, i.e., from the parents, the result being that although the offspring is similar to the parents, it is also distinctly different from either of the parents.

103


Note that these are all effects and have nothing to do with the cause or origin of the masculine and feminine.
     * Notes by Dr. Grant Doering.
     In psychology it is the same. Freud says in his essay on the psychology of femininity or women: "You are now prepared for the conclusion that psychology cannot solve the riddle of femininity. The solution must, I think, come from somewhere else, and it cannot come until we have learned, in general, how the differentiation of living creatures into sexes came about. We know nothing whatsoever about the matter, and yet sex difference is the most remarkable characteristic in organic life, and one by which it is sharply cut off from inanimate nature."*
     * Freud, New Introductory Lectures on Psycho-Analysis, p. 158.
     Now we have the answer in the Writings as to the origin of the masculine and feminine, but as to the mechanical or physical means by which it was effected or created, we do not know. However, I think we may discover this or be enlightened in this if we examine the evidence in the light of the origin of the masculine and feminine as revealed in the Writings.

     I noted with interest a tentative statement by Dr. Grant Doering, made in some notes on the subject given to me when I sought information from him. He says: "The fact that some higher algae and fungi are without sexual reproduction definitely makes me, a superficial observer, feel that, as a quick generalization, one might say that the theory that all loss of sexuality is a reversion is not without some little foundation."
     From the Writings we learn that the origin is in God Himself, and this being so, we can learn of the origin only from Him through Divine revelation. We cannot discover the essential difference between man and woman from our own experience and from our own observation. We must therefore look to revelation; we must look to the Word; and we must use our own observation only in confirmation of what is there taught. All things in God are distinctly one; therefore, the masculine and feminine in God are one. They are Love and Wisdom, Good and Truth, Esse and Existere, Substance and Form. These, as you know, are stressed over and over again in the Writings as being the qualities of God.
     From Most Ancient times the question of how the masculine and feminine arose has been a problem, and this particularly with the fall of the Ancient Church. Therefore, with the fall of that Church, when representatives were made into actualities or the different qualities of God were made into images, the masculine and feminine were separated; and they created many gods, men and women.

104


In the Christian Church we have an attempt particularly in the Catholic Church, the rise of Mariolatry, i.e., the worship of Mary, somehow to try to meet this question of the feminine in the Divine. Christian Science, as you know, has the idea of Mary Baker Eddy as a counterpart of Jesus. And there has been in the Protestant Church, particularly when faith alone arose, the idea that God is masculine. From this has come the exalting of the understanding over the will and the enslavement of woman or, at least, the lack of the acknowledgment of her true place.
     God is Man, we say. We use that expression all the time, but God is Man, Homo. The masculine and feminine in God are one. Of course we are not to try to think of that from space and time, or else we can get nothing but fantastic ideas, but if we think of it as to the qualities of Divine Love and Divine Wisdom, Good and Truth, Esse and Existere, Substance and Form, as being one in Him; we can begin to get some conception of how God is fully Homo. Now in relation to creation God is masculine in the sense that He is active. Creation in this sense is feminine in that it is the reactive. Therefore, the Church is said to be feminine, the Bride and Wife of the Lamb; but it is strictly to be noted that this Bride and Wife of the Lamb is Homo. It is man and wife; it is those who are in or are coming into conjugial love.

     Now all creation took place from the Divine Love by means of the Divine Wisdom. In creation or in reception the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom were separated as active and reactive, as masculine and feminine, in order that in their reunion they might receive the blessedness of the sensation of self-life and the blessedness of performing uses as of themselves, which could not be done, as we shall see a little later, unless there were the two - masculine and feminine. This image of the masculine and the feminine or the active and the reactive is present in all things of creation, not only in man. Unless the active and the reactive are united as one, nothing can be produced, or nothing can exist. We see it in the mineral kingdom in the unition of substance and form. Without substance form has no esse, and without form substance has no existere. We see it in the vegetable kingdom with the union of the seeds with mother earth; in the animal kingdom as the love of sex and sexual unition; and in the human kingdom as conjugial love, as man and wife which is its highest image and through which it returns to the Divine from which it came.
     As taught in the Writings, the creation of masculine and feminine did not take place in parallel, separate lines; that is, the masculine did not go forth as one, and the feminine as another.

105


They did not proceed separately from God, but the one was created from the other, for the whole of the Divine is present in its every work. The Divine Love united to the Divine Wisdom is present in its every work. God is Good and Truth; He is Love and Wisdom; and they always proceed from God as one. They are divided only in reception. This is of great importance for as the Writings say, unless creation is seen as a continual chain of finition from God to the ultimates of creation and from the ultimates of creation returning to God, nothing but broken hypotheses can be conceived concerning creation. The Writings therefore teach that the feminine was created from the masculine, the reactive from the active, truth from good. This is confirmed, it would seem, by the fact that the feminine after creation is propagated from the masculine soul.
     It says in Conjugial Love: "When I asked how the feminine is propagated from a masculine soul, I received the answer that it is from intellectual good, this in its essence being truth; for the intellect can think that a thing is good, thus that it is a truth that the thing is good."* Now that is a very dark number, and I don't propose to explain it because I can't, but the essence of the point being made is, as the Writings teach, the feminine is from the masculine soul, which confirms the teaching that the feminine was created from the Lord by means of the masculine or the reactive by means of the active.
     * CL. 220: 3.

     In other words, the Divine first created a form for the reception of the love of wisdom and from this a form of the love of that wisdom or wisdom from that love. Now this is very important in regard to the idea of conjugial love - that man is a form of the wisdom of love, and woman is a form of the love of that wisdom of the man. This is not a question of man's being a form of truth and woman a form of good, or man a form of the understanding and woman a form of will, and conjoined along parallel lines. It is a question of an active and a reactive. In other words, as it says, and I repeat, man is a form of the wisdom of love, and a woman is a form of the love of that wisdom of the man. This is according to the description of creation of woman from the rib of man in the Book of Genesis.
     "And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept." I might say one of our difficulties is that we use Adam as if it were a proper name. It is said in the Arcana that Adam should be translated man, meaning the same as the Latin homo. I think possibly if we use this more, it might not hold our minds down in the letter.

106


"And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon (man) and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; and the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made He a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman (that is, Ishah in Hebrew), because she was taken out of Man (which is Ish). Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh."*
     * Gen. 2: 21-24.

     In the Arcana Coelestia, where this passage is explained, it says that it represents the beginning of the fall, introduced with the words: "Man was not content to be alone." The idea "to be alone" is to acknowledge fully that his wife was from the Lord alone, and therefore, he began to acquire proprium, which is the rib, and the Lord adapted this proprium. However, man continued to develop his proprium, which finally resulted in the eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which was the complete fall.
     Adam is man homo. Now this passage does not refer in any way whatsoever, as I feel, to the physical creation of woman. In the first chapter Adam was created; that is, it says: "And God created man" (Adam is the word used there). "God created man, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them."* Consequently, Adam is male and female, created on the sixth day. It refers to the creation of the conjugial, to the creation of man and wife, to the creation of the angel of heaven.
     * Gen. 1: 27.
     Adam or man here is love. The rib is natural truth, and the breast of Adam or the breast of man is wisdom. "And He created woman (Ishah)" signifies that the love of wisdom was taken from man and formed into woman so that man would not love his own wisdom and thus, as the Writings say, destroy himself but would love his wife. Therefore, the man alone is commanded to leave his father and mother. The wife is not commanded to leave her father and mother. The man is commanded to leave his father and mother. He is to shun the love of his own wisdom, and he is to love his wife. In this way the two become one flesh, a living Adam, an angel of heaven. And this is important. This was done while the man slept. The man does not form the wife, but the Lord through the man forms the wife, and this unbeknownst to the man - "while the man slept." Man is a form, therefore, of the wisdom of love and woman is a form of the affection or the love of that wisdom. Therefore, the wives in the Word represent the affection of truth, the love of truth.

107


Distinction is made frequently in Conjugial Love between the love of knowledge and the love of truth. Woman is not a form of the love of knowledge, but woman is a form of the love of truth. Man is a form of the wisdom of love, and the woman is a form of the love of that wisdom with the man. And this is conjugial love - the wisdom of the man to whom she is married, not of wisdom in an abstract sense.
     Now the difference between the correspondence, that is, how the correspondence changes between the celestial and the spiritual, I hope maybe to take up in another class. This distinction between man and woman begins in inmosts; it begins in the soul itself - with the result that man is masculine in soul, mind, and body; and woman is feminine in soul, mind and body. In every way they complement each other so that in conjugial love they can become one homo, one Adam. In other words, ish or vir is half a man, and ishah or femina is half a man, and together they make one man - homo, Adam - two united in conjugial love.

     Notice there is no idea here of predominance; no idea here of one ruling over the other, which idea destroys every conception of conjugial love. This is set forth in an image in all creation. Everywhere we have this duality which makes a one, particularly have we it in the human body, where we have two brains or two hemispheres of the brain, which make one mind. And we have the two eyes, which make one sight; and we have the two ears, which make one hearing, and so forth. In this as you can see, there is no idea of any predominance. There is no idea of which is the more important - the right or the left. The two form a one, and so it is important to stress this idea, for especially in youth the question often arises which is the more important. If it doesn't arise in speech, it often arises in mind. This leads to distorted and false ideas, for there is nothing that destroys conjugial love so much as the love of rule, so much as domination - the endeavor of one to dominate over the other, in which case the Writings say they both become slaves. Thus the whole idea is active and reactive, mutual action together, forming a one, action in which both are necessary.
     Because the reality of life after death was not known or not acknowledged, the difference between the masculine and the feminine as to soul, mind, and body could not be seen. There was a vague idea of life after death, but in the Christian Church, as you know, the angel was a sexless person. As a consequence, what could marriage be but an accommodation to man's life in the world, and what could the masculine and the feminine be but a difference as to body? But with the reality of the life after death, it can be seen how the masculine and the feminine complement each other from inmost to outmosts and can therefore be conjoined into one, for there can be no conjunction into one by two that are the same.

108


Conjunction into one is effected by each contributing his part, different from that of the other. Now the necessity for the division into masculine and feminine may be seen in that if one being were complete in himself (whether man or woman), he could not but turn his love inward and love himself and thus destroy himself, as the Writings say. This was the case with the man who ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for he there turned inward to himself, claimed his life as his own, claimed that he was as a god, knowing good and evil, and thereby destroyed himself. Therefore, the love of wisdom "was taken from (homo) lest it destroy him, and was transcribed into woman that it might become conjugial love which reintegrates him, and that this was foreseen from eternity . . ."* And we are taught that "a virgin becomes . . . a wife . . . because in (her) are things taken from the husband and thus acquired . . . A young man becomes . . . a husband . . . because, in (him) are things taken from the wife which . . . exalt his (faculty) of receiving love and wisdom . . . (Therefore, angelic wives said) `We are not females but wives . . . In the first days of marriage we were married women, but now we are wives.'"** This gives a very graphic description of the progression of conjugial love in a marriage.
     * CL 88: 2.
     * CL 199.

     Now there are three reasons given why man was created male and female. The first was that there may be propagation of offspring and of wisdom, that is, natural and spiritual offspring. Two, that it is from the Lord's love toward the whole human race to the end that man may become blessed; that is, that he may receive life in himself and feel it as his own and may put it forth in uses to others; and three, because otherwise, they would love themselves.
     The individual man or woman, it is true, is in the image and likeness of the Creator also, for God's image is in every one of His works; that is, man and woman individually have will and understanding. However, the Writings say that with the man the understanding predominates and with the woman the will predominates and that which predominates gives the name. Each is complete, in a sense, in himself or herself (that is, the spinster or the bachelor) and can be prepared for the reception of conjugial love. They can, as it were, almost receive it immediately, that is, meet their conjugial partner immediately on entering the other world. Through the general masculine sphere or through the general feminine sphere, each can be prepared for conjugial love while on this earth so they can receive it in fullness after death. Thus we see that man is blessed in the creation of homo (vir and femina) or of Adam (ish and ishah).

109




     I conclude with this quotation from the Writings: "There are married pairs (in heaven) in such conjugial love that the two can be one flesh, and are one whenever they wish, and they then appear as one man. I have seen and talked with such; and they said that they have one life, and are like the life of good in truth and the life of truth in good, and are like the pairs in man, that is, like the two hemispheres of the brain enclosed in one membrane . . . (thus) although they are two, yet (they) are one in regard to life and the activities of life, which are uses. They said that their life so conjoined is full of heaven, and is the very life of heaven with its infinite beatitudes, for the reason that Heaven also is such from the marriage of the Lord with it, for all the angels of heaven are in the Lord and the Lord (is) in them."*
     * AE 1004: 4.
NATIONALITY AND RACE (Leading to the Question of Inter-Racial Marriage) 1971

NATIONALITY AND RACE (Leading to the Question of Inter-Racial Marriage)       Rev. ROBERT S. JUNGE       1971

     (An address given at the Council of the Clergy Meetings, January, 1965)

     The Internal Fraternity of Man, and the Problem

     We read, "God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."*
     * Gen. 1: 27.
     In this passage, there is no mention of the difference between races. Certainly there is no concept of one man being superior to another. Over and over we read that "the Lord fought from love towards the universal human race."*
     * AC 1690: 2, et al.
     Men may differ as to color, nationality, social or economic status, even as to the genius or form of mind. But as an image of God, receiving love and wisdom from Him, all men are equals.*
     * AC 268.
     This teaching is very clear regarding every man, be he preadamite, of another planet, or of the divergent races of man on earth.*
     * HH 39.
     While we must acknowledge, then, that in inmost essentials all men are equal, nevertheless many questions disturb us regarding the differences between men. For example, why and how did the Lord make men of different races and nationalities? What of marriages which cross the national and racial barriers?

110



     In seeking to shed some light from the Writings upon the Race Question, I am intensely aware of the possibility of the difference of opinion. Nevertheless, in the times of racial and national turmoil in which we live, I am convinced that we as ministers must give serious consideration to the problem, making every effort to guide our thought and application from the teachings of the Heavenly Doctrine.
     Great caution must be exercised to try not to allow our thinking to be colored by natural pressures and opinions, be they traditional or based upon personal experience. While we should have opinions in civil affairs, we are not discussing the wisdom of court decisions, or any civil actions. We are simply trying to discover the teachings of the Writings which bear upon the subject of nationality and race, and leave the application to each individual. In addition, we must recognize that some day the Church will be faced with very difficult decisions in this area.

     A Direct Creative Origin?

     Now we can find no evidence in the Writings or the Word that social, national, nor even racial differences were created outright from the beginning by the Lord. Indeed, much that is said about the earth being one tongue, and the nature of the Most Ancient Church in contrast to the Ancient Church, seems to indicate a gradual formation of social, national, and racial differences, primarily within the Ancient Church, from religious origins and associations in the other world.
     Still, if it is assumed that races were created in the beginning, outright by the Lord, before the distinctions of the heavens, then racial distinctions become a vital part of the initial creative process. With such an origin, it might well be inferred that any intermingling of the races is contrary to the laws of creation and thus contrary to the will of God. Assuming the outright creation of the races by the Lord in the beginning seems to be the strongest possible defense of racial integrity. But this assumption is based on a lack of any positive teaching. We cannot deny its possibility, but we can say that it does not seem to be valid in the light of many general teachings.

     Early Social and Cultural Variety and Its Cause

     The first variety known among men was that between the preadamites and the spiritual and celestial men who followed them.* Clearly these were gradually developed differences. Certainly the preadamites' relatively external life and beast-like actions were completely different from those of the celestial men of the Most Ancient Church.**
     * AC 286.
     ** Cf. SD 3390.

111



     We note the contrast of preadamites to the life founded on respect for the father of the house as it was with the man of the Most Ancient Church. The preadamites lacked an internal in utter contrast to those who cared nothing about the externals of the body.* They seem to have been utterly incapable of peacefully dwelling family by family in tents under a benevolent patriarchal rule as the men of the celestial Church learned to do.
     * AC 243, 940.
     Clearly there seems to have developed a social and cultural difference between the preadamite and the man of the Most Ancient Church with many varieties in between.*
     * Cf. AE 799; CL 75.
     But while there may have been natural reasons for some cultural and social differences, these differences clearly had a spiritual cause, coming about according to the spiritual development of the preadamite stock. There was no created difference in basic genius at that time, though some developed to a spiritual degree, and others to a celestial. Their individual states of regeneration set the pattern for their social differences. Social change and difference today come about through a similar combination of spiritual will and desire and natural circumstance.
     The law seems to be, then, that social difference originated primarily from a divergent spiritual view of life. However, the difference in itself is passed on to later generations as an attitude or disposition in the natural mind. The social differences, then, in our day, may or may not have a relation to religious differences. If the religious dedication is the same, then social similarity is merely an external similitude, of not too great consequence.

     National Difference in Most Ancient Times

     The Writings indicate clearly that the primary social unit in the Most Ancient Church was the family. They also mention nations, but apparently nations joined loosely together by love, rather than any need for mutual defense.*
     * AC 479; AC 1159; cf. AC 10813.
     What held them together was not external pressures and threats, but rather love and similarity of genius, or form of mind.* We read, "It is to be remarked also that each house was of a peculiar genius, distinct from every other; for it is well known that children and even remote descendants derive from their parents a particular genius, and such marked characteristics that they can be distinguished by the face and by many other peculiarities. Therefore in order that there might not be a confounding, but an exact distinction, it pleased the Lord that they should dwell in this manner.

112


Thus the Church was a living representative of the kingdom of the Lord; for in the Lord's kingdom there are innumerable societies, each one distinct from every other, according to the differences of love and faith."*
     * AC 471.
     This passage seems to indicate that in these most ancient times the Lord wished to prevent "confounding," and to preserve an "exact distinction." But note this was the beginning of the organization of the Gorand Man of heaven, large and fundamental distinctions were absolutely necessary in the beginning formation, so that all essential uses would be performed and fostered. In addition, we would note that there was no burden of hereditary evil. They were held together by similarity of genius and love, not by a need for protection.*
     * Cf. AE 988: 6.
     Modern heredity studies tell us, inbreeding tends to emphasize both the "good" and "bad" characteristics. Where heredity was good, we might infer from science and from doctrine that close inbreeding was ideal as it preserved and encouraged the highest development of the desirable spiritual distinctions. Certainly good as well as evil traits can be passed on." But in our day, with the burden of hereditary evil we all carry, it might be that a primary way of really breaking the power of this hereditary evil would be marriage of those with very different hereditary makeups. Peoples with more affectional traits might have a profound impact on the faith alone generation in which we live. Such mingling could tend to prevent the doubling of tendencies towards certain types of evil. Whether this speculation should be pressed to any encouragement of intersocial, international, and interracial marriage remains in doubt. But it could be a reason for such marriage.
     Certainly in Providence the Lord has increased communication among nations and races. Through increased communication, there is a growing opportunity for such a mingling to take place, as indeed it has taken place in large numbers. But is such a mingling of Providence, or is it a permission to help gradually break the burden of hereditary evil? Or is it simply a great evil reflecting the hellish state of society?

     The Dispersal of the Nations in the Ancient Church

     With the fall man's heredity became selfish, and the character of men's organizations became dedicated either to mutual protection, or else mutual aggression. Geographical boundaries became important. Whole tribes migrated to escape either some natural privation, or some political aggression.

113



     This new type of nationality is brought out by a contrast in the letter of the Word.
     In the fifth chapter of Genesis, the generations of Adam are given. These show the gradual development of different spiritual states in the posterity of the Most Ancient Church. We recall, for example, Enoch who gathered together some of the revelations to that Church and preserved them for posterity. But we would note that in these chapters the whole emphasis is upon the apparently fantastic ages of the different generations. True, the rivers in Eden ran to different locations, but there does not seem to be any national origin involved. (Curiously, the River Gihon compassing Ethiopia, where the black race is, corresponds to cognition)." * These ages represent differing spiritual states, yet imply a general harmony. However, with the generations of Noah's sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, given in the tenth Chapter of the book of Genesis, the whole emphasis is upon the geographical location. These nations stemming from them mean, however, species of worship.** The Word shows the diffusion by saying: "These are the three sons of Noah, and of them was the whole earth overspread."**
     * AC 78; cf. AC 117.
     ** AC 1254.
     *** Gen. 9: 19.

     It could be noted in passing that some fundamentalists have made these three sons of Noah the origin of the three major races of men. The lands they inhabited, such as Ham in Cush or Ethiopia, gives some credence to this idea, but I am unable to find any such idea clearly indicated in the doctrine. However, we should note the elusive teaching, "Such men, who in the Ancient Church were called Ham, because they loved a life of all cupidities, merely prating that they could be saved by faith however they lived . . . appeared to the ancient people black from the heat of cupidities."* If this was the racial development, surely it was by a gradual process. Three sons by the same father and mother would have similar colors of skin and similar internal heredity from the father.** But such thoughts are pure speculation based upon the letter of a part of the Word which is not actual history.
     * AC 1063.
     ** Cf. AC 4317: 4.
     Now the Most Ancient Church was not widely dispersed, but the Church formed after the flood, called the Ancient Church, was widely scattered, spread over the whole earth. The picture given in the doctrines is consistent with the scientific view of a beginning of the races somewhere in the near East, culminating in great migrations.*
     * AC 10559, 3708, 4454; cf. AC 3686, 4447, 4454, 4517, 6516: 2, 9325.

114



     It was man's choice to leave his family and tribal heritage, to abandon his celestial nature and to become nations seeking selfish goals or else protecting themselves from them. Involuntary spiritual and natural separation occurs when selfishness enters. Each step of the development of the human race had its spiritual reason, fashioned from the miraculous free interplay between God and man. The essential origin of nationality was and is spiritual. Yet the differences are passed on by heredity and tradition and seem to be essentially matters of the animus or external mind.
     For example: "(That) they who, like the Jews, are of the seed of Jacob, cannot so well be regenerated as can the Gentiles, for they have an inherent opposition to faith, not only from principles imbibed from infancy and afterwards confirmed, but from hereditary disposition, may in some measure be evident from their being of a different genius, of different manners, and also of different features, from other men, whereby they are distinguishable from others; and these characteristics they have from inheritance. And it is the same with the interior qualities, for manners and features are types of the interiors. Therefore converted Jews fluctuate more than others between truth and falsity. It was the same with the first men of the Ancient Church, who were called 'Noah' because they were of the race and seed of the most ancient men . . ."*
     * AC 788: 2.

     Babel and the Dispersion

     We would recall the familiar story of the tower of Babel. This cannot be taken as the origin of different natural languages, but rather the origin of diverse doctrine stemming from a lack of charity. Yet we would note that every society or family of spirits can be distinguished by their speech."* The story begins, "And the whole earth was of one language and of one speech."** In the first Ancient Church, charity was still emphasized, but there was a difference of external worship. How could the correspondences taken from nature, so important to the worship in the Ancient Church, be the same among the men of the North and the men of the South? The Lord could be a Lion only where lions were known or remembered. But then came spiritual derision and selfishness, which led to the spiritual and at length natural confounding of tongues.
     * AC 1758.
     ** Gen. 11: 17.
     As great groups of people settled in different areas of the world, and as great geological and geographical changes occurred, quite naturally different groups lost touch and developed along their own unique spiritual and natural paths.

115


The theory of the American Indian developing such a culture, after his Alaskan bridge to Asia was broken, presents no real doctrinal problem to my mind. Yet a common spiritual heritage, that came from a God who made all things in the beginning and beheld them very good, accounts for much where modern anthropology is silent, or merely attributes these common beliefs to a natural evolution from the wonders and awe of nature.
     Now we would note each nation developed its unique external worship, spiritual associations, and consequent religious roots. Communications were between a few neighboring nations, but not over great empires. But gradually these cultures lost their common spiritual vision of charity. As they settled in their Babels scattered throughout the world, ambitious men sought dominion. Magic and idolatry became tools for rule, and priest-king combinations became common. The second Ancient Church, lacking internal worship, was formed to protect against profanation."*
     * AC 1324, 1327.
     The great Empires of Persia, Greece, and Rome came very late in the history of the Churches, when there was only a falling representative of a church left (the Jewish Church). This great possibility of communication was established through the desire of men for greater dominion. Yet this very communication was used to establish Christianity as a religion for all men. "Go into all the world," the Lord said, words unheard of and condemned by the pharisaic guardians of the Chosen People concept. Christianity knew no social or national boundaries. Rulers and slaves each had their place in the Christian ranks. Barbarians, and Jews, were both accepted, and so were the various races. Once more the common language of doctrine, the desire that the world become one tongue, was expressed.
     And yet once more we too must observe that the great communication possibilities of our day must in some way be preparing for the New Church which is to fill the whole earth.

     National Characteristics

     The Writings make very clear the unique national characteristics of man. We read: "In the spiritual world when a land is mentioned, no land is perceived, but the quality of the nation therein in respect to religion."* Again we read: "When families and nations are viewed by the angels, they have no idea of a nation, but only of the worship in it; for they regard all from the quality itself, that is, from what they are. The quality or character of a man, from which he is regarded in heaven, is his charity and faith.

116


This any one may clearly apprehend if he considers that when he looks at any man, or any family, or nation, he thinks for the most part of what quality they are, every one from that which is dominant in himself at the time. The idea of their quality comes instantly to mind, and in himself he estimates them from that. Still more is this the case with the Lord; and, from Him, with the angels, who cannot but regard a man, a family, and a nation from their quality in respect to charity and faith. And hence it is that in the internal sense by `nations' nothing else is signified than the worship of the church, and this in respect to its quality, which is good of charity and the derivative truth of faith. . .**
     * AC 9325.
     ** AC 1258.
     The rise of nationalities has provided a variety of ultimates for the various societies in the Gorand Man. Such ultimates and such associations cannot be taken lightly. Yet heaven is one kingdom of uses. The variety becomes a matter of the forms of uses, not any lack of inner harmony. Yet the differences in heavenly societies which interiorly cause national distinctions are clear and "most distinct."*
     * AC 4222.
     In the Lord's view, the whole human race is as one man . . . Whereas all in any kingdom appear before the Lord as one man according to their love of uses, it is plain that all the English appear before Him as one man; likewise all the Dutch, all the Germans, all the Swedes and Danes, also the French, the Spaniards, the Poles, the Russians; but each nation according to its uses....*
     * Love VI.
     This leads naturally to a brief discussion of national characteristics today: of the Dutch*; of the English**; of the Germans.***
     * TCR 802.
     ** TCR 807.
     *** TCR 813.
     But note also, "As the Germans are under a despotic government in each particular dukedom, they have no such freedom of speech and of the press as the Hollanders and the British have, and when that freedom is restrained, freedom of thought, that is, the freedom to investigate matters to the furthest extent, is also kept in restraint. . . ."*
     * TCR 814.
     We might ask what happens to a nation's character such as Germany's when, for example, the fundamental natural freedoms are changed.

     In connection with national differences we would note that the Africans are included in a strange company of nations and religious groups. The True Christian Religion treats of the Dutch, the English, the Germans, the Papists, the Mohammedans, the Africans, the Jews, all in one series of chapters.

117


Again we ask, could this imply a national rather than a racial idea of the Africans? Or does it imply that race, nationality, and external Church membership all are roughly the same in origin and general development?
     In any case, what these teachings seem to indicate clearly is unique spiritual causes for national distinctions and changes. The direct association of ultimate nations in this world with societies in heaven tends to foster and preserve the uniqueness of nationality, through heredity and environmental disposition. Modern science indeed assumes that a natural evolution of nationality took place and continues to take place. True, they disregard any possible spiritual causes in the heavens or in the world of spirits, which in the Writings is clearly linked to the genius or at least disposition of man."* But we know that the real origin of these unique national traits comes from the other world.
     * TCR 813.
     Yet when we add selfishness to these necessary distinctions, we sometimes lose sight of the uniqueness of use. Some fail to see the uniqueness of every human being; others overemphasize differences. It is selfishness that destroys the ability to look with charity upon another's differing spiritual views and consequent distinct natural appearance. National and racial distinctions can call for a just pride for the sake of use. But national and racial conceit and lack of mutual respect are detrimental and false challenges to both spiritual and natural usefulness - detrimental to the very purpose of creation, a heavenly kingdom of uses fostered and perfected by men of all varieties.
     Differences and varieties in heaven must increase to all eternity. Uses would suffer without such differences. And these differences will no doubt be ultimated in various human organizations of men. But these are voluntary distinctions which come about through mutual respect for the uniqueness of use.
     With each dispensation of the Churches from the Most Ancient to the New Church, a different and new heaven was formed. These fundamental changes in the organization of the societies of heaven came about gradually by a growth and development process. We see great upheavals of nation against nation as a reflection of the reorganization of the spiritual world at the time of judgment. It is only to be expected that great national changes of our times would reflect the great spiritual changes which took place at the last judgment.
     The nationality, like social status, can become then essentially a matter of the animus, or it can carry with it the stamp of deeper spiritual patterns of thought and action. Again we seem to be faced with essentially an external similitude.

     (To be continued)

118


ON TRANSLATING THE WRITINGS 1971

ON TRANSLATING THE WRITINGS       Rev. NORBERT H. ROGERS       1971

     (A paper written to serve as one of the bases of a seminar on translating the Writings sponsored by the Swedenborg Society and held in London, July 6, 1970.)

     The first thing to be said is that I am very glad this opportunity has been arranged for representatives of the various organizations interested in translating Swedenborg's work to meet together and to share their views. Those responsible for making the arrangements deserve and have our thanks. For the various translating and publishing agencies in the New Church should not compete with one another, nor should one merely reduplicate the efforts of another. Their efforts, their resources and their labors should rather be directed to joint projects, to complementary ones, or to supplementary ones, never to competitive ones.
     Translation is not an end in itself, but a means. And as the end properly should govern the means by which it is fulfilled, so our first concern is to determine the end or objective of translating the Writings. Besides the general end of making the Writings available to the public in everyone's vernacular that they may be more widely read, there seem to be three possible but separate objects in our translating the Writings. We can translate for scholars, that their doctrinal studies may be facilitated and made more accurate; we can translate for New Church people, that their general knowledge and understanding of the doctrines may be infilled and clarified by particulars; and we can translate for popular appeal, that those out of the New Church or just newly come into it may come to know something of the teachings of the Writings and be attracted to them.
     All three are worthy objectives. But they are disparate, and no single translation could possibly achieve them all. Each one has its own particular basic requirements. The need of scholars is for a most exact translation with standardized rendition of words and phrases, that in so far as is possible they may know precisely what was said in the Latin, with the least possible intrusion of the translator's ideas of what is meant. The need of New Church people is for a doctrinally correct translation presented in as readable style as is possible. And a popular appeal translation needs to present the leading principles and teachings of the Writings in brief, simple and clear form in the current idiom.

119



     Neither now nor in the foreseeable future would it seem wise for us to attempt to achieve all three objectives at the same time. Even when all combined together, New Church members and others interested in Swedenborg's Writings are few in number, so that our "market" is small, nor are our resources unlimited. There is the need, then, to determine to which of the objectives we shall give priority and main concern.
     The need of translations for qualified New Church scholars seems quite negligible to me. For one thing there are not many real scholars, far fewer than is good for the Church. For another, scholars of the Writings can and should go to the Latin, relying on it rather than on translations. And if he should lack the knowledge of Latin to do so, I imagine the true scholar would have the motivation and the ability to overcome that deficiency without too much difficulty.
     Translating for popular appeal partakes more of adaptation and paraphrasing than it does of actual translation, and so depends very heavily on human concepts of what the Writings teach. I feel that for the present at least the popular appeal needs can best be provided by other means - by booklets of excerpts and by conversation, lectures, and sermons, articles, pamphlets, books, stories and plays by New Church people.

     My first conclusion, then, is that our primary objective and chief concern should be to translate for New Church people - for those who in one way or another have gained a knowledge of basic and distinctive New Church doctrines, have accepted them, and seek to broaden and deepen their understanding of the doctrines. For them, as has been noted, the translation of the Writings needs to be doctrinally correct and as readable as possible.
     With regard to readability, I should like to quote from my review in NEW CHURCH LIFE of Rev. William F. Wunsch's 1961 translation of Divine Providence: "Most, if not all, of the English translations of the Writings in general use today were made by scholars of earlier generations and adhere closely to the Latin phraseology and sentence structure. While this does permit the reader to form a fairly accurate idea of what is said in the Latin, and how it was said, it certainly does not make for good meaningful English. This mattered little when Latin dominated education and had marked influence on literary styles. The reading public was then quite at home with Latin-style English. But this is no longer the case. For some time the trend in education has been away from classical studies to the point that Latin is regarded generally as a very minor incidental, if not as superfluous. The Latin scholar has become a rather lonely rara avis! English grammar and literary styles are no longer influenced by Latin, and resemble it not at all.

120


With no knowledge of Latin, or with but a brief 'exposure' to an introductory course, by far the majority of the reading public is ill equipped to cope with the pedantic circumlocution of Latin-style English. It finds that style awkward, repetitious, repulsive and hard to understand. A vital need of the New Church today is thus for fresh translations of the Writings in good modern English literary style and idiom."* The same would apply to translations in other contemporary languages.
     * NEW CHURCH LIFE, June 1962, p. 288
     In a living language literary style and idiom are not static. They gradually change with the passing years, so that what are good and meaningful expressions of thought in one age become increasingly less so in succeeding ages, and eventually they become archaic and no longer serviceable. Even if we succeeded in coming up with translations in the best, most readable literary style and appearance of today, in two or three generations they will seem pass?, awkward and hard to read.

     My second conclusion, then, is that the need to translate the Writings for New Church people is a continuing need. We cannot expect, nor are we to attempt, to translate the Writings for all time. We should rather concentrate our efforts at any given time to translate in the best possible way for the present and immediate future.
     There are a number of things that can be done to make our translations of the Writings at least come nearer to acceptable modern standards of readability. However, there are also a number of things that cannot be done. One of these things we cannot do is to withdraw the Writings from their 18th Century background any more than we can withdraw the Old Testament from its Jewish context and background. The Writings were written in the background of a particular culture and age in history, which we can never overcome however well we translate them. For this reason the Writings will always have a dated flavor. A second thing is that the Writings are, as some of us frequently call them, a rational revelation; that is to say, they present truths for man's rational apperception, and this often according to the sequences of logic, beginning with a hypothesis and proceeding in step by step reasoning until a conclusion can be reached. In the process there is an extent of repetition, much of which may appear superfluous but which is necessary for the proper understanding of all that is involved in each step, together with the relations and distinctions with the things in the preceding steps. We cannot do away with the reasoning style of the Writings nor with the repetitiousness that is proper to it.
     A third conclusion, then, is that the Writings will never be easy reading.

121


We will have to expect readers to discipline themselves until they become accustomed to the Writings' distinctive language and style.
     Among the things most frequently suggested for increased readability, which have been tried to some extent, are breaking up the long, complex Latin sentences into several shorter sentences in translation, where possible recasting the Latin passive phrases and clauses into active ones, and breaking up the long solid paragraphs into several shorter ones. This last may well be relatively easy to do; however, I have not as yet tried it, so do not really know. I note that the Harleys have made some attempt to do so with good results in their new translation of Divine Love and Wisdom, e.g., nn. 65 and 70. Perhaps the results would have been even better if there had been more leading between the sub paragraphs - but this is a matter of publication, not of translation. But the two other suggestions are easier said than done. One of the difficulties encountered, both in breaking up a Latin sentence into shorter ones and in using an active verb form instead of the Latin's passive, is the frequent need to supply a subject when it is not clear from the Latin what the subject should be. Then, too, shorter active sentences in translation are apt to be definite restrictive statements which exclude the overtones of meaning and the variety of possible interpretations present by intention in the longer passive Latin sentence.
     Here again I quote from my review: "Avoidance of repetition whenever possible is a maxim of readability. . . . Certainly, Latin words and phrases have different meanings and connotations when used in different ways and in different connections, which should be brought out in translation. Certainly, too, translating a Latin word or phrase variously for the sake of variety frequently does more good than harm; or if not, it is of little importance. But it also happens that at times just how a word or phrase is translated is important, and that variations for the sake of variety obscure rather than illuminate what had been meant. This is to be avoided, particularly in translating the Writings which profess to be the second advent of the Lord."*
     * Ibid. p. 289.

     In brief, as is well known, translating requires the translator to make many decisions. He must determine just what the author of the original meant, and he must decide how best to render the words, phrases, and sentences to bring out that meaning in translation. Necessarily a translation is no more than the translator's interpretation of what was meant in the original text. But it should be an honest interpretation. The translator should avoid to the best of his ability substituting his own ideas for what the author of the original had meant.

122


This he is able to do only in so far as he is thoroughly conversant not only with the languages he is dealing with, but also with the subject matter of what he is translating and with its author's mode of thought.
     This brings us to a fourth conclusion; namely, that for a doctrinally sound translation of the Writings, the translator must be well versed in Latin, and he must also have extensive knowledge and understanding of what the Writings teach. Indeed, he should have a degree of enlightenment in these things. In view of what the Writings teach about the enlightenment of the clergy,* in my opinion a translator of the Writings should be none other than a well trained and experienced minister of the New Church who also has training and experience in Latin.
     * TCR 146, 155.
     This considerably restricts our field of potential translators, especially in a church whose clergy is in short supply and in an age where interest in Latin is not in vogue. Certainly in the General Church the ministers with Latin majors and others competent in Latin are few in number, and they are all fully occupied in pastoral and educational uses.
     Our need is to increase the number of New Church ministers who are well grounded in Latin as well as in doctrine, to make it possible for some men to have light enough loads to allow them to include translating among their activities, or for one or other of them to take a sabbatical to devote himself to translating. It is an obvious need. Meeting it will be neither easy nor quick. Certainly it will not be met if pre-theological school Latin requirements are minimal, nor if the study of Latin is left to individual initiative.

     What seems a primary need is to foster a climate of knowledge and interest in Latin, particularly Swedenborg's Latin, in the New Church in general, but especially among its young people, that some with ability may be stimulated to be well on their way to becoming Latin scholars even before they feel the call to the ministry. A step in this direction has been taken, I am glad to say, at the Academy of the New Church on the high school level, where in addition to the required first year Latin course and the customary second year elective course, third and fourth year courses are now being offered to students with superior ability. It is hoped that Latin course offerings on the college level will also be increased and made attractive to able students. To make this possible additional qualified personnel will have to be found or developed.

123


And I believe it to be one of my chief responsibilities as chairman of the General Church Translation Committee to encourage the Academy to enlarge its Classical Language Department that it may better help develop the needed climate of interest and students of Swedenborg's Latin.
     Something that we might join together in doing is to seek out promising young men in the New Church and to offer them scholarships, bursaries, or grants in aid - whatever you may wish to call it - to encourage them to major in Latin, or to make themselves proficient in Latin after completing theological school.
     I should add, in conclusion, that looking to the future translation and scholarship needs of the Church, the General Church Translation Committee is currently investigating the feasibility of developing a computerized index of the Writings and eventually of Swedenborg's Philosophical Works. At the time of this writing the project is still very much in its preliminary stages. Our Committee are agreed that such a computerized index of the Latin text would be of tremendous and lasting value to the Church, and have appointed a sub-committee of two Latinists and two computer engineers to investigate the proposal further, in detail, and to seek solutions to the problems involved. Many of the problems will not appear until after a computer is in use for our purposes. First efforts, therefore, are being directed to working up a small pilot project. This will provide us with a realistic basis for evaluating the worth of computerizing the Writings with equipment now available, and the experience needed to develop efficient techniques. Part or all of the first volume of the Arcana Coelestia has been selected for this pilot project. But first we need to benefit as much as possible from the experience of others who have used computers in translation work. Any help or information in this respect will be greatly appreciated. Finally, we have been in touch with a conceptual indexing company whose methods and systems might possibly be adapted to attain our objectives. A first exchange of letters has been made, and at the moment a second letter is being drafted to explore further the company's capabilities to meet our needs. If the reply continues to show promise, personal contact with the company will be in order. The whole venture when it gets off the ground will be a tremendous one, involving much labor and considerable expense. Perhaps it is something all interested in translating the Writings might join together in carrying forward.

124


SECOND LOVE PREFERRED 1971

SECOND LOVE PREFERRED       RICHARD R. GLADISH       1971

     The love that comes once in a lifetime, according to the romantic idea, must come back for a return engagement if it is going to amount to anything. And that means that the love which ushers the average couple into matrimony is doomed. This statement may have an ominous sound, particularly to youth, but it is merely a law of life. Blossoms are fine things - nothing better in the springtime - but blossoms have to wither and die and disappear before the fruit of autumn can put in an appearance and give us something substantial to live on. Love, in its starry-eyed early stage, is actually a promise of what love is meant to be at the last, but people, by and large, seem to have mistaken the pre-view for the feature.
     Let's take a look at love. Like many of the fundamental things, we really don't understand it very well, after all. And yet some variety of love dictates our daily plans and motivates the endless searching that is human life. A recent dictionary begins to define love as "a strong or passionate affection for a person of the opposite sex; sexual passion or desire, or its gratification." And there are some eleven other definitions of love, ranging from "a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a friend," to "nothing, no score."
     Obviously there are varieties of love. The feeling I have for a good friend, or that my wife has for babies, or the reverent affection due to God from His creatures are entities quite different from each other as they are from the passion of Romeo and Juliet. Yet there is one underlying thing which all forms of genuine love have in common, and that is the desire to give of what is one's own to make the object of one's affection happy. My wife certainly will give of herself, of her possessions, time, smiles, and my cash, just to make a baby happy, and the believer will do the same in the adoration of God, although God, being infinite, needs not man's work or His own gifts, as Milton pointed out a number of years ago. Still there is in worship the element of pleasing the object of one's holy affection. But it is especially in romantic love that we see each party devoting himself in something of a frenzy to the task of making the other happy, and at the same time considering it no task at all, no matter how many tough assignments are involved.

125



     Well, we know what love is, you say, even if we can't define it, just as, to steal A. E. Housman's delightful simile, a terrier knows what a rat is even though he can't define one, by the effect on us, by the symptoms. Yes, we know what love is, but where does it come from? Who or what is responsible for it? Scientists have said that it comes from the glands, or the chemical interaction of elements in the blood, or something like that. That gives me the same satisfaction as to say that Blake's lyrics grew out of his indigestion, or that Macbeth was the result of childhood trauma suffered by Shakespeare.

     Since it's so difficult to put your finger on the exact source or cause of love, suppose we prod about the area a bit more and see what turns up. Love takes many forms, and it has one fundamental feature: it seeks to serve another or others outside itself. Even the love for an abstraction, say the love of truth, follows this law. We can't please truth, since it's not a person, yet we can satisfy its conditions by behaving according to its demands - and that's very much like pleasing someone other than self. At least it calls for shaping our own conduct and trimming our own habits and drives to accord with something outside ourselves.
     So, though we don't know where love comes from, exactly, except that it seems to well up inside us at somewhat unpredictable times, we are sure that it is a force, because it gives us all the drive and motivation for everything we think and do. When several loves come to grips with us, then we get all tied up in knots, and do nothing. When a little girl has a dime, she may not spend it for as long as a whole hour, debating between ice cream today and a ride on the ferris wheel tomorrow. And when Romeo drinks the poison he has established the victory of his love for Juliet over his natural love of life.
     Speaking of the unpredictableness of love, as we were, the fact that we cannot tell when love will appear and when it will vanish into the wilderness of the unconscious in itself shows how little we understand the nature of love, and how little it is really ours. We tend to think of ourselves as being the source of the loves which animate us, but if we really are the manufacturers of the commodity of love, it is strange that we do not understand it better and cannot deliver on a more regular schedule. This leads to the supposal that maybe we do not originate the love in us. Maybe it comes from somewhere else; maybe we only condition it according to our nature.
     Although love seems to come and go as it lists, is it subject to any control at all by you and me?

126


Right here is one of the stumbling-blocks in many a matrimonial pathway in the world about us - the belief that love is incapable of being compelled, and that when John or Mary looks at the other over the cold coffee in the grey light of the second or fifth or tenth year of marriage, and feels disenchanted, that it is all over, and there is nothing that can possibly be done. Love is dead, etc., and better be on the lookout for a new prospect.

     Let's tie up this idea with the preceding paragraph. If love is not something which originates in the individual as electricity originates in a dynamo, but is received from some source external to the individual, just as the growing power of plants does not originate in them, but is received from the sun in heat and light, then it follows that man cannot control it unless he finds the secret to control the switch on the incoming line. We have noticed something of the nature of love - that it has its own ways and laws of operation, that it seeks conjunction with its object, and that to love is to feel the delight of another as one's own. Love is a force. So is electricity. How do we control and harness the latter? First, by knowing something of its laws and then by constructing channels and ducts for it to flow along, or bridges to jump across. For the fundamental nature of electricity seems to be a restless impetus to move, to flow, and to reunite with mother earth. And so clever men construct machines which make use of this knowledge about electricity, and cause it to accomplish many chores on its way. Let's stretch this analogy to the force called love. We know a little - very little - about its laws; for example, that it seeks to move and flow toward a reciprocating love where it may find fulfillment and peace. Now, we can't build machines to harness love, but better still, we have such machines; that is, ourselves. And by taking thought, it is possible to alter and improve those human machines, consisting of a mind housed in a body. If it weren't human life would be a colossal farce. These human machines are at birth, like a teeming wilderness, and we do what any pioneer has to do. We clear out the underbrush, tidy up the landscape, re-plant and build; perhaps domesticate a few of the animals. And so we learn about our machines, and about the force, love, and we try to make the machine a better receiver of the force so that it will operate more efficiently. We then control the force to the degree in which we understand it, and control and shape the machine which is ourselves into a form through which the force, love, can operate.
     So you can say that we learn to control love by learning to control ourselves. And that is indeed the way it works. John and Mary may have moments of disillusion, but they can control the sequels. They can say, it is all over with love and renounce their marriage vows, and in that case they are doing a rather violent thing to the machine they are operating.

127


They are short-circuiting the love-force. Or they can insist on living according to their vows and, in that case they can determine to make a success of their marriage, to abide by the rules and regulations, and eventually their love will return, provided they selected each other with some care in the first place. As a matter of fact, love, like one kind of electric current, does alternate. It comes and goes many times in the course of any ordinary marriage. But as the human machine is perfected over the years, love comes for longer periods.
     After this digression into the nature of love in general, let us get back to the kind of love we started out to discuss, namely, marriage love, and see why it is necessary for the original love to die and be born again. Note the tie-in with the resurrection idea, which applies to all life that we can observe. When a sincere couple fall in love, they live in an ecstatic Cythera, or island of love, which separates them from the rest of the world. Everything is ennobled and gilded for them. The loved one's appearance is seen as handsome or beautiful, the loved one's voice is heard as sweet and musical, the touch of the loved one is felt as thrilling, no matter how it seems to the rest of the callous world.

     As I hope we agreed before, love is not something that man originates. Nor is this love. In fact, the way it strikes like lightning, and alters in a flash the individual human landscape, makes that so perfectly plain as to be a by-word. Man doesn't turn it on, although he may do things consciously which lead to its enkindlement. And if it is turned on, why doesn't it stay on? Why don't people who fall in love simply stay in that sort of love the rest of their natural lives. Aside from the fact that a world peopled with nothing but sighing and trance-walking lovers would conceivably be no improvement upon the present one, this is for most people the vital question.
     I think we can indicate the answer. We have already seen that this state of love is not our own. It is indeed a gift, it is a loan. It is the come-on, the pre-view to the main show. It is a seizure by a force that totally, if temporarily reorients our natural bent. Naturally selfish and prone to think of ourselves first, we find the current flowing along unaccustomed channels, or perhaps, backward through the usual ones. Anyway, we become selfless (toward the loved one) immediately, overnight. We don't have to learn this as we learn everything else in this life, the hard way. We learn it the way the birds learn to fly, the calf learns to walk, with remarkably little pain and delay. You'd think that we would become a little suspicious about this sudden change-over. It's like being given a Cadillac by a passer-by. Very fine, but when will we be asked to pay?

128


But most of us don't take the time to be suspicious, to think that a gift we haven't begun to earn has some day got to be paid for, like everything else in this hard world, in the sweat of our brow.
     It's the most natural thing in the world that this early state of love should fade and fall like blossoms to the ground. Young people ought to know about this, and expect it, and understand what to do next. But, America has geared its literature and entertainment to the utterly false theory that the honeymoon state lasts forever. John and Mary find that their individual personalities reassert themselves after a time. Their own desires, interests and habits as they existed before the experience of love return in their old possessive power. They never had disappeared, really; they had been rendered quiescent by the opiate of love. As these old ideas, desires, habits creep back, they skirmish along the flanks of the great love and cause it to withdraw a little here and a little there, and more and more, until it seems, one dismal day, to have vanished utterly. In other words, the real selves of the two lovers being imperfect, and shaped with much dross in the mold, are opposed in many points, even in certain fundamental ones, and when they are discovered, the real work of marriage, adjustment to one another, and of the new partnership to the world, begins.

     It is as if two riders approached each other in a mist; they see each other and love each other at sight. Then the mist lifts in the morning sun and discloses a troop of motley retainers behind each rider. Each says to the other, "I will love you if you get rid of those evil and unsightly retainers." And so the task begins. The riders are used to their retainers, and they cannot bear to part with them. They try to make them more orderly, and eventually send some of them off for good, but there are many times when they turn to the other rider and regard him with a long and critical look. "Is it worth it, just to have his love?" And eventually, I suppose, the riders end with well-behaved and helpful retainers, who agree perfectly with the other rider and with the retainers on the other side. Then the riders may embrace in peace and establish themselves in a castle all their own forever and ever.
     Sadly, it is at the point where the fog lifts that one out of four marriages in America comes a cropper. The riders ride off at opposite angles, taking their rowdy crew along. They give up the real job of marriage. They have seen the preview, but they miss the feature picture. Although they may meet many other riders in other mists, they never go beyond the first love, and that love becomes shorter and more disillusioning as the crowd of retainers grows and becomes more and more unruly.
     It's not very much fun to talk about, but perhaps we ought to look more closely at the drab interim period of marriage.

129


Now the glory of romantic love is gone, the illusions are withered, the thrill of living by reflex and instinct is no longer possible, unless it be in snatches. John and Mary are no longer thrown into emotional tailspins at the mere sight and thought of one another. The island of Cythera has taken wings like a magic carpet, and, after dumping the poor couple off rudely enough, has vanished into the world of dreams that are intended to return on a permanent basis later. But if John and Mary have got skeletons (an osseus formation that gives rigidity and bestows power to work and resist temptations is at once a more pleasant and more appropriate word than that four-letter plural for viscera) they go to work. There is still a home to make, there are meals to cook, dishes to wash, drains to unclog, and, I hope, children to raise. And if they are wise they will shun the possibility of defeat in their marriage; they will avoid the use of the word divorce even in fun when referring to themselves. Remember the power of suggestion. The Germans lost the last war partly because they were used to the idea and experience of defeat, and America and Britain were not.

     In this long middle stage of marriage, and I fear it is never entirely ended in this world, love is not dead; it is relatively quiescent. It returns, too, for moments and even days of something like the original fervor and transport. But now the lessons of love have to be learned with the head rather than spontaneously lived from the heart.
     Now the mind must step in with laws and rules and regulations making for marriage success. One must learn to examine his motives and objectively view his acts and thoughts. He must ask himself about each intention: Is it for me? Is it for her? Is it for our marriage? One must learn that what is for either one and does not serve their marriage, menaces not only their marriage, but indirectly, each individual, who finds his ultimate fulfillment in marriage. Of course, the externals of affection and courtesy must be kept up, even though the heart is not fully in them. This preserves the internal elements so that they can later infill the external forms. It is like teaching manners; we teach children to act politely even though their little hearts may be and often are filled with pure hatred. If they do act polite, they may come to intend politeness. But if they never act politely, they are likely neither to intend it nor to have the knack of doing it. It is also strange to find that some of the battlefields of marriage are created out of the best intentions. John tells Mary to go lie down and rest and he will do the dishes. Mary tells John the same thing. Quarrel. Perhaps unselfishness can be overdone.
     John and Mary should be careful not to walk on the private preserves of the other fellow.

130


Each one thinks that he has some talent which is death to hide, and the time he can be given to pursue this objective may well aid in a strong marriage bond.
     The married partners in this stage have to operate on the principle that since they have left the island, their marriage partnership has a relationship to the rest of society, and is responsible to society's laws and should be concerned with society's best interests. For example, they ought to recognize that the ostensible purpose of marriage is for the sake of bringing children into the world and raising them to be ornaments of society, and that any marriage entered into with the idea of circumventing this purpose is an attempt to use the privileges of marriage without accepting its most important responsibilities. And Nature, herself a mother, is apt to penalize that practice.
     I know a woman now in her early fifties, who, I am told, chose not to mar her marriage with children. The husband devoted himself to pursuing the dollar with whole-souled fervor and eminent success. She spent her life seeking diversion. Now she moves in a monotonous cycle from country estate to town house to sanitarium. She plays a little bridge, but she has found no duties, no responsibilities, no anchor. Her husband is afraid she will commit suicide. At a time when she might be enjoying the satisfactions of grown children and the delight of spoiling her grandchildren, she finds life drained of meaning and pleasure and is obsessed with self-concern. I am told by workers in mental hospitals that there are many women like this one in America in this year of our Lord.

     Anything we love must be protected from enemies that prey upon it. Marriage must be especially guarded against infidelity. A married man maybe it's John again, is away from home. He is lonely, uprooted, feeling inadequate in his new environment. He meets an attractive woman who seems to be undergoing a similar experience. They find interests in common. They find in one another some of the recognition and sympathy which every ego demands for its food. It would be easy for them to have an affair. Others around them seem to be doing so, and the prevailing social code makes it seem prudish and chicken-hearted of them to refrain. Refraining never is very glamorous, anyway. But what course they take at this point indicates with great precision just how much they care for the kind of marriage they had a preview of in their earlier days. Here is where they indicate they intend to earn that kind of marriage or say goodbye to it. For that is the way the earning is done, by such unnoted and unmentionable decisions as refusing to commit adultery.

131



     Then, after a heap of living in the "brain control" period, if the rules and regulations on the whole have been faithfully kept, Cythera turns up again, but now it's an island with a difference. This time it doesn't turn magic carpet and carry them off from society into a mindless ecstasy. It comes right into their house or apartment and looks a good deal like the dining room rug.
     It's not the kind of thing people talk about freely, I am happy to say, but I have heard in moments of close communion with more than one couple married some fifteen years that they would not exchange their state for that of the honeymoon period. The uncertainty, the ignorance, the insecurity of being controlled by forces they do not understand is happily behind them. Such couples have learned the anatomy of unselfishness, and though they are far from infallible in the everyday tests of life, they have learned much about themselves and each other, and - how to fashion a pretty clever contraption for catching a bluebird.
     The signs of this marriage love are not reckless passion and moonstruck trance. Its initiates show no signs that would cause them to be picked out of the crowd. But the spirit within their marriage is placid and deep and tenacious, and wise with the humility that experience teaches.
     The love that comes once in a lifetime can find a way to return and repossess two lives, and light their partnership with a tempered and shielded flame that neither blows out in the winds that course the world nor dies from lack of fuel.
WANTED 1971

WANTED       Editor       1971

     The following numbers of New Church Education (formerly Parent-Teacher Journal) are wanted to complete a set for the Pittsburgh Society's Library:

Vol. 1 no. 1 (1936-1937)
Vol. 8 no. 1 (1943-1944)
Vol. 12 nos. 5, 6, 7 (1947-1948)
Vol. 14 no. 8 (1949-1950)

Please forward to 299 Le Roi Road, Pittsburg, Pa. 15208.

132


LOVE OF HEAVEN 1971

LOVE OF HEAVEN              1971


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

Editor . . . . Rev. W. Cairns Henderson, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager . . . . Mr. L. E. Gyllenhaal, 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. Notifications of address changes should be received by the 15th of the month.

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$5.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy. 50 cents.
     (Reprinted from New Church Life, March 1951)

     There is no more beautiful picture in the Writings than that which portrays the life of heaven. In it, the angels are seen basking in perpetual spring. They dwell in gracious homes, beautifully appointed, and set in lovely surroundings unmarred by the presence of anything ugly, noisome, or unclean. All their legitimate wants are supplied by the Lord without stint. Each is engaged in an absorbing task in which he forgets himself utterly; not to earn his daily bread, but because it is the work for which his mind most fits him, which above all he most wants to do, and in the performance of which he most truly fully lives.
     In their societies, dwelling among those only who are likeminded with themselves, and with whom they most want to be, we see the angels living a full, well balanced, and gracious life, in which work, worship, social intercourse, and recreation each has its rightful place and its proper use and value. And we see them living a peaceful and happy life, in communities which are untroubled by friction, incompatibility, jealousy, envy, or unlawful desire; a life based upon mutual love, in which affection, respect, and admiration for and appreciation of one another's uses are expressed in sincere courtesy and good will, and in which conjugial love makes possible a truly chaste love between the sexes. No anxiety, solicitude, or dissatisfaction mark their days; for they are satisfied with their lot and content in God, and trust implicitly in that unfailing providence in the stream of which they are held.

133



      With this most affecting picture before them, there must be very few, if any, within the church who do not feel a longing to enter heaven whenever they reflect upon it, and to become participants in this lovely life; the more so as it is frequently and painfully made obvious how very different life on this earth often is. Yet while this picture is of the greatest value in awakening a love of heaven, - and for this reason has been revealed by the Lord in the Writings, - we must be careful that the affections it arouses are not directed to it alone; be careful that we do not rest content with the picture itself, and use it merely as the basis of a dream in which we seek escape from an often unhappy and frustrating and unsatisfying world.

     For the truth is, that the things just mentioned do not make heaven at all! They are either external representations of the inward states of the angels, or results thereof and products of their uses. Again and again we are told that the angels enjoy but do not set their hearts upon them; that their delight is not in these outward things, but in the internal things which they represent. It is those internal things that really make heaven and its life. And unless they are what we, too, really love, we do not truly love heaven or desire to go there. Furthermore, unless we love them sincerely and permanently, the external things that in certain states make so strong an appeal to our emotions would give us neither happiness nor satisfaction, but would eventually become most distasteful and, indeed, hateful.
     The inner world of our own mind is more real to us than anything extrinsic which is not in harmony with it, and external surroundings and circumstances do not produce a corresponding internal state or give satisfaction where one is lacking. This fact is illustrated daily in earthly life. The most beautiful day will bring no happiness to a man who is sick with fear or crazed with anxiety. The most lovely scenery gives no satisfaction to one who is obsessed with anger, contempt, hatred, and lust for revenge upon his enemies. The most ideal situation and surroundings hold no joy for one who is discontented with his lot and whose hopes and ambitions find no expression in that environment, but crave a different setting. And the most pleasing and kindly society would not be appreciated for long by one who was secretly not in accord with its ideals and standards. He would first become bored by such companionship, and then hostile to it; and would transfer his enmity to his associates, hating them for their unfailing kindness and despising them for a patience and gentleness mistaken for weakness.
     Now all this is undoubtedly true of the life after death. Because the Lord in His mercy opens heaven to all, and denies it to none, all, even the evil and those who are not prepared, are free to enter if they wish.

134


And, again and again, we read of certain spirits who were firmly convinced that they would at once come into the happiness of heaven if only they were admitted among the angels, and who were therefore introduced into some angelic society; only to find that they could not endure the beauties of which they had dreamed, because their inner life was not in harmony with that of heaven. It may be remembered, also, that when certain spirits were invited to spend three days in an angelic society, they were furnished with the garments of that society as soon as they arrived; and that when they put off those garments at the end of their visit they were filled with a desire to depart, despite the many beautiful things they had seen and the profound effect these things had upon them at the time. (CL 25.)

     All this shows that the love of heaven that causes a man really to want to go there is not merely a desire for its external features, beautiful as these are, but love of its life. And what is the life of heaven? It is nothing less than the life of spiritual uses. It is the life that consists in seeking and finding complete forgetfulness of self in the unselfish performance of uses to the neighbor, and in looking for no other reward than the happiness which is inherent in such service. It is the life of wishing only well to others, of thinking nothing but good of them, of saying and doing only what is sincere, just, kind, helpful, and comforting; the life that desires no more than the satisfaction of its legitimate needs; the life that is entirely free from greed of gain and lust for power; the life that regards as abomination anything unchaste, hypocritical, deceitful, and untruthful; the life that is centered in the Lord and His precepts.
     It is this life that makes heaven. In our prayers, and our hymns, we speak and sing of our earnest desire to go to heaven, and it is right that we should do so. But unless it is this life that we have in mind, as the object of our love when we do so, we are self deceived. The heaven for which we are striving is an imaginary one of our own construction; a state of perfection for ourselves because everything we dislike has no place in it, not a state of happiness for others because we shall have ceased to do evil! Now this is important for two reasons. In the first place, we can surely see that there is little use in cherishing a hope that we may go to heaven if the life we really love is a different one from that of heaven; for in that case we are actually looking for salvation by faith alone, and would find that heaven would give us no true and lasting happiness or satisfaction. And, in the second place, we may surely see also that if we do not love the life of heaven now, and do not even want to love it, it is futile to imagine that we shall suddenly find ourselves able and willing to do so when we pass through the gates of death into the other life.

135



     As to the life that really makes it, heaven is not something unattainable here below that can be experienced only after the death of the body. On the contrary, the joys of heaven, the beauties and wonders with which the angels are surrounded, can be experienced after death by those only who have attained to its life while still on earth. The Lord said to the Jews; "The kingdom of heaven is within you." (Luke 17: 21.) And in the Writings He instructs us that "he is received who receives heaven in himself in the world." (HH 420). While heaven is, in the Lord's mercy, open to all, none can remain in it except those who have received the kingdom of heaven into themselves. And so it is that the life of heaven is not to be loved as something we hope to attain in a dim and far distant future, when our life on earth shall be over. It is something to be loved, sought, and lived, here and now.
          So the question we must surely ask ourselves is this; Do we love the life itself of heaven, or are we only attracted by the outward beauties and amenities of angelic life in contradistinction to the ugliness and sordidness which are never entirely escapable in this world? And if we feel that it is the life of heaven itself that arouses our affections we may then ask ourselves; "Do we want that life here and now?" Do we desire it only in some idealized future society in a heaven patterned to our requirements, or right here in, for instance, our own society of the church on earth, - where we may have to make drastic changes in our own life to bring this about? Do we want it sufficiently to be willing to learn, patiently and humbly, from the Writings just how it may be attained, to seek out in ourselves everything that is opposed to it, and to fight against and shun those things, even though in so doing we shall be denying ourselves?
     If we are prepared sincerely to do all these things, it is an indication that we have been deeply affected by the realities that truly make heaven, and have experienced the interior affection of truth. The Lord could bring everyone into the external environment of heaven, and under the conditions that obtain there. But where there was no love of the inner life of heaven, these would only become loathsome, even as to the Jews became the manna that fell as bread from heaven. They would not reflect the inner life, would not express the love of the heart and the thought of the mind, and so would cause distress, pain, and anguish. There are none so deluded, or so destined to a sad awakening, as those who suppose that mere introduction into the environment of heaven is intromission into its joys, or that given ideal surroundings they could change the pattern of their lives overnight.

136


The truth is that those only are received permanently into heaven after death who have received heaven into themselves in the world.
PEACE 1971

PEACE              1971

     "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you." (John 14: 27.)
     "Peace has in it confidence in the Lord, that He directs all things, and provides all things, and that He leads to a good end. When a man is in this faith he is in peace, for he then fears nothing, and no solicitude about things to come disquiets him. A man comes into this state in proportion as he comes into love to the Lord."
(Arcana Coelestia, no. 8455.)
SHINING NAME OF JESUS 1971

SHINING NAME OF JESUS       DONALD L. ROSE       1971

     May I begin with an undisguised advertisement for the booklet, That All May Know?* This useful little work includes bright sketches of a book of the Writings as seen in the spiritual world. "The writing there is such that it shines brightly before those who believe in the Lord and in the new revelation."** The writing ceases to shine as it comes down to the natural world.*** And yet the reason we are in the New Church is because of something that shines in the spiritual world of our minds. "Faith is nothing but a complex of truths shining in the mind of man."****
     * General Church Publication Committee, 25 pp. 50 cents.
     ** That All May Know, p. 2.
     *** See TCR 848 and 624.
     **** TCR 347.
     When we talk about the name of the Lord, we are talking about the whole complex of truths which make up our idea of the Lord.* We are not just talking about a verbal sound of one or more syllables. Mr. E. B. Glenn has pointed out that the name "Jesus" is "very rarely" used in the pages of this journal and that we may be in error in avoiding the use of this name.** I agree with the point he is making. One of the conclusions we might draw from this is that we have tended to be coldly intellectual. If this is among our other failings, it is healthy to be aware of it. May it make us more humble and more conscious of our need for progress.
     * AC 2724, 3006, 8882, TCR 298.
     ** NCL, April, 1970, p. 189.
     Some in the other world were able to say, "Christ," but could not say the name, "Jesus." They were similarly unable to say, "Divine Human," or even to say, "one God."*

137


Surely the truths of the New Church in complex should enable us rightly to use the name, "Jesus." "No satan can bear to hear any truth from the Word or to hear Jesus named."**
     * AR 294, TCR 111.
     ** TCR 380; see also 297, 799.
     There are various factors in the question of whether we should use the name "Jesus" by itself. It is right that we should customarily say, "the Lord." From the beginning the Writings seem to commend this to us. We should take note of what is said in No. 14 of Arcana Coelestia and the phrase, "Ye call me Lord, and ye say well, for I am."* Furthermore, we have the example of the disciples. I have pointed out in my booklet, The World Knew Him Not, that the disciples never addressed the Lord by the name, "Jesus."** We would not address a king by his name apart from any title, and we are told not to think of the Lord or address Him as our brother, for He is "King of kings and Lord of lords."***
     * See also TCR 81.
     ** Page 18.
     *** AE 746.
     Mr. Glenn rightly observes that we avoid "by name the implication that He was merely a man." The Writings teach that the thought of the Lord's Human "as like the human of another man" is virtually the same as a denial of the Lord.* One passage shows that one of the most detrimental ideas in Christian thinking is "the idea respecting the Lord's Human, that it was like the human of another man."** But how striking it is that this very passage ends with the teaching that only the true living Christian is able in the spiritual world to mention the name "Jesus." (For some reason evil spirits were able to address the Lord as "Jesus."*** This was probably only possible before the judgment wrought by the Lord. It shall be noted that after the resurrection the disciples no longer said, "Master." They addressed Him as "Lord." The Writings call attention to the frequency of their saying, "the Lord" in the Gospel of John after the resurrection."****
     * AR 504.
     ** DP 262: 5.
     *** Matt. 8: 29; contrast TCR 297.
     **** AC 4973: 5, 2921: 6.
     While avoiding "old church" connotations, we may say "Jesus" with newly revealed truth shining in our minds. It is a name that can be filled with Divine majesty. Indeed the Writings confirm the saying of the Apostle that at the name "Jesus" every knee should bow in heaven and on earth.*
     * Philippians 2; TCR 297.
     There is a special warmth in using the name "Jesus," for this name especially calls to mind the Divine good. Thus we use it in such hymns as the one which begins: "Jesus, with Thy church abide . . ." We ought, perhaps, to use this name by itself more often, but we are warned not to "place worship in a name" or to imagine that using certain names will make us more worthy.*
     * AC 2009: 12.

138



     The prayer that the Lord's name be hallowed and the commandment not to take it in vain extend beyond the speech of the lips. Ideas in our minds are far more full and complex than we can realize. The idea of a person contains all we have known or thought of that person since infancy!* Each idea in the mind of a good man is inwardly radiant like a constellation.** But the idea of the Lord is the primary of all ideas.*** And that idea can be infilled with us to eternity. Even when we are reading in the Writings about "charity, freedom, will, repentance and very many other things" we are brightening our idea of the Lord Himself. "These things also make up the idea of the Lord, because they are from Him.****
     * AC 6200.
     ** See AC 1896, 4946.
     *** AE 957.
     **** Inv. 41.
     We are told in the Writings that faith in the Lord is like a star growing dim when there is no entrance into truths concerning the Lord.* But that faith shines more and more "like a star" as we continue to enter into the truth. "The beauty and comeliness of faith caused by that glow, when truths of faith are multiplied may be compared to . . . precious stones . . . the beauty of the rainbow . . . the illumination of a church by numerous candelabra."**
     * TCR 348.
     ** TCR 353.
     When the Lord says He is the "star," He calls Himself, "Jesus," and this involves the promise "that He will come with new light, which will arise before His New Church."* "I Jesus have sent mine angel . . . I am the bright and morning star . . . Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus."**
     * AR 954, 955.
     ** Rev. 22: 16, 20.
     The use of a name was not the main point in Mr. Glenn's letter, but it is a point worth our attention, for we are to make a right use of the Lord's name "in prayers, psalms, and all worship, also in preaching and in writing on ecclesiastical subjects.*
     * TCR 297.

     DONALD L. ROSE
LAWS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE 1971

LAWS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE              1971

     "1. Man has no other sensation, perception or knowledge than that life is in himself in such a way that he thinks and wills, and consequently speaks and acts from himself; but nevertheless he should acknowledge and believe that the truths which he thinks and speaks, and the goods which he wills and does, are from God, and thus as it were from himself" (AE 1136).

139


Church News 1971

Church News       DENIS DE CHAZAL       1971

     GENERAL CHURCH

     Messrs. Ragnar Boyesen, a third-year student in the Academy of the New Church Theological School, and Arne Johannes Bau-Madsen, a second-year student, have been recognized by the Bishop as candidates for the priesthood.
     
     MONTREAL, QUEBEC
     
     I trust most of you know where Montreal is - the land of Expo 67, kidnappings, and very soon of the Olympic Games.
     We are so small that I will run down the list of our members: the E. Izzards, the W. W. Timmins, the F. Duquesnes, the P. Dowdens, G. Dowden, D. Finlay, A. Hergier, the McMasters and family, the D. Odhners and family (from Vermont), J. Pettigrew, the P. Bellingers (just arrived in Ottawa), the B. Jorgensons (also from Ottawa), R. Hilliard and the D. de Chazals.
     Unfortunately, we lost one of our supporters, Mr. Eric Wethey, a very kind and learned man who passed away a week ago. He enlightened the Circle's discussions during the time he was with us.
     We now have the presence of Mr. J. Pettigrew, who heard about the New Church through the Swedenborg Foundation. We are very pleased to have him among us; he adds so much to our meetings. I would like to thank those among you who are active in the Foundation for the tremendous work you are doing in propagating the New Church through gifts of books of the Writings and other activities.
     We are also proud of having one of our members, Mr. Robert McMaster, at the Academy of the New Church. We miss Robert, who played the violin at our services.
     As to ministers, we now have the regular services of the Rev. Christopher Smith from the Toronto Society. Here again we have some people to thank: the Toronto Society for allowing us one of their ministers for his regular visits. We very much appreciate this. Thank you, Toronto, from all of us!
     Desmond McMaster, who was our treasurer for seven years, has passed the bank book to David Finlay, who, we are sure, will carry on the good work.
     Now that you know something about our Circle, do not hesitate to join us if you happen to be here during one of our weekends.
     DENIS DE CHAZAL
VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN 1971

VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN       Editor       1971

     Visitors to Bryn Athyn on any occasion who need assistance in finding accommodation please communicate with the Guest Committee, c/o Mrs. Leo Synnestvedt, 611 Waverly Lane, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009. Phone: (215) Wilson 7-3725.

140


LORD'S INTERCESSION 1971

LORD'S INTERCESSION       Rev. W. CAIRNS HENDERSON       1971




     Announcements






Vol. XCI
April 1971
No. 4

     "And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And He said, I will not destroy for ten's sake." (Genesis 18: 32)

     Evidently there were not found in Sodom even ten just men, for the city was destroyed. So it seems that Abraham's moving plea - humble, yet with the insistence of zeal - was made in vain. But in the internal sense of the Word that idea vanishes, and the emphasis in the dialogue between Abraham and Jehovah is on the constant assurance that those represented by the numbers for whom he pleaded would be saved. In that sense Abraham represents the Lord, and his interceding for the doomed city signifies the Lord's intercession for the human race, which He ardently desired to save.
     At this time, when we have celebrated the Lord's resurrection, and our minds look forward to the Ascension and to the Second Advent, the idea of the Lord's intercession can provide a single focus for our thought. It brings into one view what the Lord on earth was doing for men in making His Human Divine and what He now does for them, and will ever do, from His Divine Human. Thus it enables us to look with love and gratitude to the past, the present and the future, and so remain in the spirit of Easter when the day itself fades into the past.
     To intercede for anyone is to mediate for him: to go between him and the one to whom he looks for aid or pardon and plead his cause; and thus to serve as a medium of approach to, and help or forgiveness from, that person. In one of the Messianic prophecies it was foretold that the Lord would do this for men: "And He bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors."*

142


In fulfillment of that prediction the Lord was on earth, and appears in the Gospels as, an Intercessor, who sought to avert the damnation that threatened the human race, as Abraham tried to turn away the destruction of Sodom made known to him by the angel.
     * Isaiah 53: 12.
     When the Lord was in the world, and in the state of humiliation, He made intercession for the human race. His end in assuming the Human and making it Divine was that men might be saved by the Divine Human. In His union with the Divine, therefore, the Lord constantly regarded the conjunction of Himself with the human race. He had this in view because He had it at heart, because it was His love and His life. So when the Lord perceived the Divine that was manifesting itself to Him, and perceived also that His rational would be made Divine - which is represented by the appearing to Abraham of three angels whom he addressed as one and by the promise of the birth of Isaac - His thought was directed to the human race, which He earnestly desired to save. But as all salvation was to be by and from Him, it could not be concealed from His thought that the race was in evil and falsity and was imbued with the love of self and the lust of power; that the men He had come to save, although in some good and truth, were in a perverted state.

     These truths were revealed perceptively to His human consciousness by His Divine soul, and this revelation is what is signified by the disclosure to Abraham of the impending doom of Sodom. Thus the Lord's thought concerning the human race, when He was in perception, occasioned heartfelt grief and anxiety; and from love He then adjoined His thought more closely to the Divine, establishing communication with it, and pleaded for those whose spiritual future caused Him so much concern; urging that what was good might possibly be adjoined to them although they were in evil, and that the good might be separated from the evil. This was the Lord's intercession when He was in the world; and it is signified here by Abraham drawing near to Jehovah, making supplication for the people of the city whose destruction had been made known to him, and successively reducing the condition of its preservation to the presence of at least ten just men.
     By Abraham is represented here the Lord's human consciousness - the consciousness in which the Lord was when aware that the salvation of the race depended upon Him, but when apparently separated from the Divine; and by Jehovah is meant the Divine itself, the Lord's Divine soul.

143


The numbers mentioned by Abraham in his petitions signify the various classes of the spiritual for whom the Lord made intercession: those in a few truths filled with good, the "fifty"; those in some truths conjoined with good, the "forty-five"; those confirmed in truths by combats, the "forty"; those who had fought against evils only a little, the "thirty"; those who had been in the good of ignorance, the "twenty"; and those who by a life in good had received apparent truths and remains of good, the "ten." For all of these the Lord interceded from love, and received the assurance that they would be saved; that those should be saved with whom there were some goods and truths, even a few, because good cannot die, although the wicked were to be visited when their iniquity reached its height.
     Although the Lord's love is infinite and desires to save the whole human race, it does not demand an infinite response from finite man. It accommodates itself to his finiteness, to his weakness and frailty, and upon those who respond freely, however few they may be and however imperfectly, is concentrated all of the Lord's love. This may be seen imaged in the unflagging zeal with which Abraham pleaded for a smaller and smaller number of men; and there is something else that may be seen also. As Abraham humbled himself more deeply before Jehovah his zeal increased; and as the Lord's humiliation became more and more profound, so did He more fully receive and make His own in the Human the Divine love of saving those souls who would look to Him, thus interceding for men with the Divine.

     However, there is another sense in which the Lord continually interceded for men when He was in the world. Intercession is predicated in the Writings of the Divine truth, which is nearest to the Divine good because it proceeds immediately from the Lord. From the love that is within it the Divine truth intercedes continually for men, especially for those who are in the truths and goods of faith; and as the Lord was the Divine truth while on earth He was, before He had fully glorified His Human, a constant intercessor, extending forgiveness and the remission of sins to all who believed in Him as the truth and lived in good.
     Yet the Lord's intercession did not cease when He had fully glorified His Human and ascended into union with the Divine. His Divine Human is still the Intercessor, and He intercedes for men to eternity. For this reason He so often promised His disciples that He would entreat the Father for them, saying, for example: "I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever."* But how the Lord now intercedes must be rightly understood.
     * John 14: 6.
     In the state of humiliation, wherein He was apparently separated from the Divine, the Lord on earth interceded as the Son with the Father.

144


But since His glorification and ascension He intercedes with Himself as God of heaven and Lord of the universe; and in the Writings we are given two fundamental ideas of why the Lord in His Divine Human is still called the Intercessor.
     The Divine Human is the Divine love in human form. From that love and its mercy and grace the Lord holds man in perpetual remembrance - a remembrance that cannot be stirred up or revived by any entreaty because it is constant. He mediates continuously for those who keep His commandments and thus make themselves objects of His love; has compassion upon them; excuses and forgives the evils of which they have repented and their unintentional sins; gives them aid from His own Divine; and saves them. Thus does He eternally make intercession for those who are somewhat in good and truth although still in evil; not by praying the Father for them, which would be merely human, but by interceding with Himself - doing all these things of Himself from the Supreme Divine within Him. This is called intercession both because it is the Divine Human which acts and thus mediates between man and the Supreme Divine, and because salvation is essentially of pure mercy, since of himself man is nothing but evil and never deserves it.

     But the supreme sense in which the Lord is now, and ever will be, the Intercessor is that the Divine Human is a permanent medium between finite man and the infinite Divine, which in itself cannot be seen, known, approached, loved or worshiped. Without such a medium God is invisible; there is no access to the Divine, no determinative thought of it, and therefore no conjunction with it. But the Divine Human is the means by which man may come to God, and God may come to man and teach and lead him so that he may be saved. It is the visible God, Divine Man, through the idea and love of whom conjunction with the Supreme Divine is given.
     If we would see this, we must understand that the glorification did not remove the Divine further from man; it brought the Divine nearer to him. The Lord's Human, when glorified, did ascend above the heavens into unqualified union with the Divine called the Father. But it was not absorbed by the Infinite; for its union with the Divine is, we are told, as that of a mind and body in infinitely perfect correspondence with its soul, and although the Divine Human is infinite, it is as if finite to spiritual sight. Thus it is a presence with angels and men that brings the Divine nearer because it is an actual presence, whereas before there was only a representative presence. It is in this sense that the Lord is our Intercessor, and there is no other.

145



     Such is the teaching which reveals the true meaning and nature of the Lord's intercession. While He was in the world, and in the state of humiliation, the Lord interceded for the human race with the Father as though He were a separate person; although this was, in inner fact, the intercession of the Divine truth with the Divine good. While His glorification and ascension led to a perfect union in Him of the Divine and the Human, His intercession continued and has become eternal, though by a different mode. He now intercedes with Himself, and by this mediation with Himself we are to understand the infinite and eternal action and reaction between the Divine truth and the Divine good which look to the salvation of men; and His Divine Human is called the Intercessor both because there can be no conception of, or conjunction with the Divine itself except through the idea of Divine Man, and because the Divine truth which now proceeds from Him continually intercedes in its going out from the Divine love.
     Intercession is love pleading, and this involves on the Lord's part a continual extending of mercy. By glorification He became in mind and body the mercy He already was in His soul. By glorification, also, He entered into the power of granting that mercy to all who repent, and who receive of it through the life of faith in Him. This mercy, with its gift of salvation, results from His presence with men as Divine Man; and this means that the church must cleave to, and strive to enter more interiorly into, the idea of the Lord as Divine Man. In that idea alone lies the possibility of conjunction with Him and of salvation. The Divine Human in which the Lord rose and ascended, and in which He has come again, stands forth for ever as the visible God and the sole object of worship: above the heavens, but also in them and in the mind of everyone who worships Him from the heart, eternally Divine but in human form, and filled with the power of granting mercy and salvation to all who repent. Therefore it is that He is, and eternally will be, the Intercessor and our only Mediator. Amen.

     LESSONS: Genesis 18: 16-33. John 17. Arcana Coelestia 8705: 1, 4.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 441, 521, 430.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 24, 102.

146


LORD ON THE MOUNTAIN 1971

LORD ON THE MOUNTAIN        Rev. KENNETH O. STROH       1971

     An Easter Talk to Children

     How do you children think you can learn to see the Lord? After the Lord rose from the grave on that first Easter morning, many people saw Him. What do you think you have to do so that you can come to see Him?
     Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see Him. But they thought they were coming to see His dead body lying in the grave - a large hole cut in a rock: they thought they were coming to see the sepulchre. For they did not know that He was alive.
     So they came to the sepulchre. But when they got there they found that there had been a great earthquake. The stone that had closed the door to the sepulchre had been rolled back. The sepulchre was open. And there, sitting on the stone, was the angel of the Lord. The angel's face was bright and shining, like lightning, and his clothes were as white as snow.
     The guards, who had been watching the sepulchre, were lying on the ground, almost as if they were dead. Because, when the angel had come and rolled back the stone, they were so afraid that they fell to the earth. And now the two Marys were also afraid. They did not understand what had happened. They thought their Lord's body might have been moved, and they did not know where they would find it.
     But the angel told them that they should not be afraid. The Lord was not there, the angel said. "He is not here: for He is risen, as He said." And the angel invited them to look at the empty place where the Lord's body had lain. And then he gave them something to do. He told them to go quickly, and tell the Lord's disciples that He had risen, and was alive, and that they ought to go to a part of the country called Galilee, and there they would see Him.
     The two women were still afraid. For they did not quite understand what had happened. But they were also joyful when they heard that Jesus had risen from the dead. And they ran quickly to do as the angel had told them.
     But suddenly they stopped running. For there, in front of them, was Jesus Himself.

147


"All hail," He said to them, which meant "Rejoice." When they saw the Lord, they fell down to the ground, held onto His feet, and worshipped Him. And then He told them that they should not be afraid, but that they should go and tell His disciples to go into Galilee, and they would see Him there.
     So, with great joy, the women did as the Lord had said. They told His disciples the good news. Then the Lord Himself came to the disciples. And they were very glad to see Him, though as yet they did not fully understand what had happened. But, some time later, they did go to Galilee. They went to a certain mountain, where Jesus had promised to meet them. And when they saw Him there, they worshipped Him. At last they had begun to understand who He really was - the one God of heaven and earth. And it was there on the mountain that Jesus told them that He had all power - that He ruled over the heavens and the earth.

     Now why do you suppose the Lord told them this while they were up on a mountain with Him? This was a very special mountain. We do not know which one it was. Perhaps the Lord had been there before with His disciples. But the reason He came to them now on this mountain was that here they could see Him, understand and know Him in a special way. Here they could see and know that He rules over all people and things, and is God Himself.
     In olden times people had worshipped the Lord on mountains. They knew that the Lord was higher and more important than anything He has made, either in the heavens or on the earth. They knew that the heavens are high above, on mountains, in the spiritual world. And so, people who loved the Lord felt closer to Him on the mountains. A mountain reminded them that the Lord was above, in heaven, and was looking down on them, loving them and taking care of them. They thought how only He has the strength, the power, to do this. So, when they worshipped the Lord, they went up into a mountain, where they could feel close to Him. And this is why the disciples, who love the Lord very much, were told to go to that mountain in Galilee, where they saw and worshipped Him.
     And we, too, must learn to look upward, if we really are to come to see the Lord. We must learn about Him from His Divine Word, so that we may know what He says and does, how He thinks and feels, so that we may know and understand Him. We can learn to know Him as our God, who has all power. Then we can learn to love Him as our Father in the heavens. And the more we love Him, the closer we can be to Him - as if we are with Him on a spiritual mountain.

148



     This is why, when we pray to Him from our hearts, our minds are turned upward towards Him. And this is why it is written in that beautiful Psalm: "I will lift up mine eyes unto the mountains, from whence cometh my help." To lift up means to look up with the eyes of our mind so that we may understand and see. "I will lift up mine eyes unto the mountains, from whence cometh my help. My help is from the Lord, who made the heavens and the earth." Amen.

     LESSONS: Matthew 28: 9-20. Apocalypse Explained 405: 1, 5.
     MUSIC: Hymnal, 213, 217, 218.
     PRAYERS: Hymnal, 103, 108.
PASSION OF THE CROSS 1971

PASSION OF THE CROSS       Rev. WILLARD D. PENDLETON       1971

     We need not dwell upon the fearful events which immediately preceded the crucifixion. Suffice it to say that the Lord had been delivered into the hands of those who sought His life. From the day He had purged the temple they had plotted against Him, and the moment they had anticipated was come. With mock ceremony, therefore, they clothed Him in royal purple and placed a crown of thorns upon His head; and bowing before Him, they cried out, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews."* Not satisfied with this, they took reeds and struck Him, and spat upon Him; and forcing Him to bear His cross they took Him out to a place called Golgotha where they crucified Him; and they set up over His head His accusation, "This is Jesus the King of the Jews."*
     * Matthew 27: 29; John 19: 3.
     ** Matthew 27: 37.
     To all after generations the Lord's suffering upon the cross has been a symbol of the triumph of the human spirit over man's inhumanity to man. That is what it means to most men at this day. To all believing Christians, however, the passion of the cross has deeper implications, for it is the faith of the former Christian Church that by suffering death upon the cross the Son of God effected a reconciliation between the Father and a fallen race. The teaching is that the Son, by reason of His agony, placated the wrath of the Father who, for the sake of His Son, was from that time willing to forgive the sins of all for whom the Son would intercede.

149


Hence it is held that the Lord's passion was an act of redemption; that is, an act by which all who believe in Him are saved.*
     * TCR 132.
     The passion of the cross, however, was not an act of redemption. It was an act of glorification. There is a difference, and the difference is basic to an understanding of the event. For man is not redeemed because the Lord came into the world and sustained the agony of the cross; but man may be redeemed because the Lord came into the world and by means of temptations admitted into Himself, glorified His Human and made it Divine.
     To understand the passion of the cross we must know that it was not an isolated instance of suffering in the Lord's life on earth, but that it was the last, and the most severe, of the temptations which He endured.* Hence the teaching of the Writings that from His earliest childhood even to the last hour, the Lord was afflicted by grievous temptations. Yet men say, How could this have been so? Can the Divine be tempted? The answer is that when in states of glorification, that is, when He entered into communion with the Divine, He could not be tempted; but when His perception was obscured by fallacies and illusions derived from the infirm human He was tempted.** Were this not so why would the Scriptures bear record of His temptations in the wilderness, His agony in Gethsemane, and the passion of the cross?
     * AC 1690.
     ** AC 2795.

     But the Lord was not tempted as man is tempted, that is, by delight in evil. This is unthinkable, for evil can in no sense be predicated of the Divine. Hence we are told in the Writings that "in the Lord there was not any evil that was actual, or His own."* Further, we are told that when the Lord entered into the perception of the evil into which the human race had fallen it "struck Him with horror," and this to the extent that "He willed to withdraw from the perception and from all derivative thought."** For such as the love is, such is the man, and only the Divine love can be predicated of the Lord.
     * AC 1444.
     ** AC 2222.
     To understand the nature of the Lord's temptations, therefore, we must first understand that there are two kinds of spiritual temptations: temptations as to good, and temptations as to truth. That He could not be tempted as to good is apparent because from the Divine love He willed only what is good; but when His perception from the Divine was obscured by appearances induced by the hells upon the infirm human He could be tempted as to truth.*

150


Concerning this the Writings state that it was "truth Divine bound," that is, truth bound by human appearances by which the Lord was tempted;** for in such truths "there are fallacies, and . . . falsities which break in . . . and tempt . . . [man]*** that is, insinuate doubts concerning the end in view. This is the peculiar power of evil - the power to incite a doubt concerning the end in view.
     * AC 2813, 2814.
     ** AC 2814.
     *** AC 2813.
     The Lord had come into the world in order that He might open the way of salvation to all men. Yet the appearance was that so great was the evil into which man had fallen that none could be saved. This was the appearance by which the Lord was so cruelly afflicted; for what is a temptation but an affliction of the spirit, that is, "an assault upon the love in which the man is."* What is more, the Writings observe that "the temptation is in the same degree as the love."** How great, then, were those temptations which the Lord endured from earliest childhood even to the passion of the cross! From the Divine love He willed that the way of salvation should be open to all, but this was the issue which the hells put in doubt. Were this not so why would He have cried out in agony, "My God, My God, Why hast Thou forsaken Me?"*** In this He was tempted beyond all mortal comprehension, for the appearance was that those whom He had come to save from bondage to evil were lost. This was the appearance by which He was afflicted, and this was the passion of the cross.
     * AC 1690.
     ** Ibid.
     *** Matthew 27: 46.

     Thus it is that although we cannot comprehend the severity of the Lord's temptations, we can, by way of analogy, understand the issue involved. For in the life of regeneration man, too, is tempted. For what are temptations but an attack upon the love in which a man is. Hence the Writings speak of natural and of spiritual temptations, the nature of the temptation being determined by the nature of the love which is attacked. Natural temptations, therefore, are said to be anxieties arising from the loves of self and the world, that is, from the fear of the loss of honor, reputation and gain. So the natural man resists any attack upon self as an attack upon his life, and suffers in the degree that self is deprived.* It is otherwise with the spiritual man in that his primary concern is not for self but for others. It follows from this that spiritual temptations, as distinguished from natural temptations, are assaults upon the truths of faith which a man believes in his heart and according to which he loves to live.** When this love is assaulted, therefore, man not only suffers from doubts concerning the truths of faith, but also from doubts concerning salvation.

151


In such states man comes to know the meaning of despair and the fearfulness of the illusion which the hells induce upon the human mind.
     * AC 847, 8164.
     ** HD 196.
     We are living today in a society in which many have rejected the idea of God as an untenable thesis. The impact of their thinking is evident not only in modern philosophy, but also in the gradual erosion of moral principles and social ideals. Through almost every medium of communication our minds are subjected to doubts concerning the truth of the Word. Yet when we enter into temptation, that is, when we are afflicted by doubts that are insinuated into the mind through the thought of the world, "be not faithless, but believing,"* for as the Lord said to His disciples, "I have overcome the world."**
     * John 20: 27.
     ** John 16: 33.
     It was for this purpose, that is, that He might overcome the world, that the Lord assumed the human from the mother, and by way of the infirm human admitted into Himself those appearances of self-life by which man is afflicted. As man He sustained the most fearful temptations that the hells could induce, and as Divine Man He rose again on the third day. This is the testimony of the Writings concerning Him, and it is they which at this day bear witness to the truth of His Word. For apart from the spiritual sense of the Word, the Word in its letter cannot be understood.
     When we think of the passion of the cross, therefore, our thought is not bound by the scriptural emphasis upon the physical sufferings of Christ. Yet in this connection it is to be noted that the Writings state that physical sufferings, which are natural temptations, are frequently conjoined with spiritual temptations. "Such," they say, "was [the nature of the Lord's] temptation in Gethsemane, and when He suffered the cross, which was the most frightful of all."* When understood in this way, that is, when the Gospel account of the Lord's passion is seen and perceived in the light of the doctrine, we can understand the issue involved in the Lord's temptations, and why it was that "it behooved Christ to suffer." For by means of temptations which He admitted into Himself, He opened the way of salvation to all who in freedom, seek Him in His Word.*
     * AC 8164.

152


CONJUGIAL LOVE 1971

CONJUGIAL LOVE       Rev. ELMO C. ACTON       1971

     III SIMILITUDES

     In a previous class we considered the origin of the masculine and feminine and saw it to be in the Lord Himself - in the Lord as esse and existere, substance and form, good and truth, love and wisdom. These in Him are one and proceed from Him as one but are divided in reception in order that, in their reunion in man, man might be blessed with all the joys of heaven. The question we now take up is: Are individual pairs born for each other so that only one specific man married to one specific woman can receive conjugial love; or can any man married to any woman develop conjugial love in marriage; or, still again, are there certain men married to certain women who can through a life together receive conjugial love and certain others who cannot? The last of these is, I believe, the teaching of the work Conjugial Love. Nowhere, as far as I know, does it even suggest the idea that any man can marry any woman and develop conjugial love in that marriage.
     We shall also consider the question of the means in Providence by which conjugial pairs can be recognized. Conjugial love is the most ultimate and therefore the most interior or highest means by which the end of creation is fulfilled. Therefore, the teaching is given that "the Lord's Divine Providence is most singular and most universal in regard to marriages and in marriages, because all the delights of heaven stream from the delights of conjugial love, as sweet waters from the vein of a fountain."* This does not mean that there is a special Providence, for the whole of the Divine is in all the Lord's works, but if man is in order there is a fuller reception of the Lord's leading in marriage, and therefore a more exquisite perception of His Providence.
     * CL 229.
     In considering this question, it should be a matter of firm faith with us that the Lord provides a conjugial partner for every man born into the world, for every man who observes the laws of order according to the Commandments, and that this union of conjugial love is provided, if not in this world, then in the world to come.

153


In several places, therefore, in the work Conjugial Love, it says that the Lord provides conjugial love or a conjugial partner to those who are willing to wait. Therefore, we may say that every man and every woman is born for a conjugial partner with whom conjugial love may be received. The passage teaching that separations take place after death in those marriages in which there was no internal conjunction and then a suitable partner is provided, goes on to say: "Unless these had been provided on earth, as is the case with those who from youth have loved, chosen, and asked of the Lord a legitimate and lovely partnership with one, and who spurn and reject wandering lusts as an offense to their nostrils."*
     * CL 49.
     Now, conjugial love is to be restored because the truths concerning it have been revealed. This is a statement we should recall to ourselves frequently: conjugial love is to be restored because the truths concerning it have been revealed. Therefore, where those truths are known, and applied to life, man in Providence is led into a marriage in which he can receive conjugial love, or in which conjugial love can be developed. Consequently, having entered into a marriage, any thought that that particular marriage is not eternal must be shunned as a dire insinuation from the hells. This is evident from the teaching that:

     "Once, when two married partners from heaven were with me, by permission, a certain worthless spirit, by cunning speech, took away from them the idea of what is eternal in respect to marriage. With this gone, they began to lament, saying they could no longer live and that they felt a wretchedness such as never before. When this was perceived by their fellow angels in heaven, the worthless spirit was removed and cast down, and with this done, the idea of what is eternal instantly came back to them; whereat they rejoiced with gladness of heart and embraced each other with the utmost tenderness . . . . When they were in the idea of what is eternal, they were in mutual gladness, but when in the idea of what is temporal, they said, 'It is no longer a marriage'; and the wife said, 'I am no longer a wife, but a concubine'; and the man [said], 'I am no longer a husband, but an adulterer."*
     * CL 216.

     It is very interesting that this is said of two who were not conjugial partners, and who later were consociated with partners who were similitudes, and this because, "both had the idea of what is eternal in respect to marriage."
     This idea of what is eternal should enter into the beginning of the marriage and should be in the marriage throughout. The promise to marry is said to be the essential of marriage. In this promise must be present actively the thought and the hope that that marriage will last to eternity. Why? Because in this is the acknowledgment that the origin of conjugial love is from the Lord alone.

154


Only in the acknowledgment of marriage as eternal can there be the acknowledgment of the Lord as the origin of conjugial love, and as we saw in our earlier class, that is the first universal truth that is revealed in the memorable relation given at the opening of the work Conjugial Love. This is important for us to teach our young people - the idea that in the promise to marry there must be this idea of eternity. There are widespread today many ideas that engagement is a light thing, even that marriage itself is a light thing - therefore, the idea of trial marriages, impermanent engagements.
     As far as I know, there are only two passages in the Writings that speak of conjugial pairs being born.* These are parallel passages, and they are almost identical. Both numbers refer to how the Lord in His Providence provides conjugial partners in the heavens (both of these numbers say, in the heavens). To quote from only one:

     "The Lord's Divine Providence is most singular and at the same time most universal in regard to marriages in the heavens, and in the marriages themselves, because all the happiness of heaven springs from the delights of conjugial love, as sweet waters from the sweet vein of a fountain. Therefore, it is provided by the Lord that conjugial pairs are born, and that, all unknown to the boy and girl, they are continually educated for marriage; that in due time, the girl, then a marriageable virgin, and the boy, then a young man fit for entrance into marriage, meet somewhere as if by chance and see each other; that, as if by instinct, they instantly know that they are mates, and, as if from a kind of inner dictate, think within themselves, the young man, 'She is mine,' and the maiden 'He is mine'; and that after this thought has dwelt for some time in the minds of both, they deliberately address each other and are betrothed. It is said, as if by fate and as if by instinct, but what is meant is by Divine Providence, because when not known, Divine Providence has this appearance. That conjugal pairs are born, and, unknown to both, are educated for marriage, this [he] confirmed by the conjugial similitude visible in the faces of both; also by their inmost and eternal union, in animus and mind. Unions of this kind, such as they are in heaven, are not possible unless foreseen and provided by the Lord."**
     * CL 229, 316
     ** CL 316

     At the time of death the essential things of man's character are formed. He can develop only within the limits he has acquired by his life in the world. Consequently, there is only one man, male or female, with whom he can receive conjugial love from the Lord, that is, as it is said in the Apocalypse Revealed, every truth has its corresponding good, and every will has its corresponding understanding. Now, when by a life in the world, that will or that understanding has been formed, then there is only one other will or understanding with which it can be united in conjugial love. It can therefore be said that he or she was born and educated for that one, and, therefore, when they meet, they immediately recognize each other.

155


But with us it must be otherwise on earth before man's spiritual state or man's character has been formed, before his place in eternal life has been determined. Here the law of similitudes and dissimilitudes comes into play.*
     * See CL 227-229.
     The general teaching is that there are internal and external similitudes, and internal and external dissimilitudes. Between similitudes conjugial love can be received, but between dissimilitudes "no conjunction can be effected because they are antipathetic."* Similitudes and dissimilitudes are defined as arising from "connate [i.e., inborn or hereditary] inclination, varied by education, associations with others, and imbibed persuasions."** This, I believe, applies to those within the church as well as to those without the church. Those of internal dissimilitudes can enter into marriages on earth because of external similitudes, but such marriages are dissolved after death when internal states become visible in the external, for as the Writings say, "at death external affections follow the body and are buried with it."***
     * CL 228.
     ** CL 227.
     *** CL 320: 3.

     The reason that those with dissimilitudes can be united on earth is that they disregard internal states and they become united through external interests or through interests in the world. As we shall see a little later, the Writings say that all men can be conjoined as to external affections but where there are internal similitudes, external dissimilitudes can be dissolved and conjunction can be effected. Conjunction can be effected "by mutual offices, by civilities, by abstinence from things unchaste, by a common love of infants and care of children, and [note this] above all, by conformity in things of the church, [for] by means of things of the church, conjunction is effected of similitudes differing inwardly, but by other means there is effected only a conjunction of those similitudes which differ outwardly."* In other words, by the things of the church, and that means the teachings of the church and a life according to those teachings, external dissimilitudes in a marriage can be overcome.
     * CL 228.
     You will note here that that number uses the word, church, but often the distinction is made between the word religion, and the word church, as used in the Writings, and there is a distinction. However, I would point out in regard to marriages, the Writings use both the words church and religion, not only the word religion.

156


Where there is agreement as to the things of the church, that is, where there is an acceptance of the Word - of the truths of the Word and a life according to them - then many external dissimilitudes can be dissolved. External dissimilitudes are such as difference in station in life, in manners, in what one is taught, difference of external interests, and many other things that are all of an external nature. It says further, "above all, by conformity in things of the church, [for] by means of things of the church, conjunction is effected of similitudes (which differ inwardly)."*
     * Ibid.
     This, I may say, is the hope of our teachings concerning marriage in the church. However, this does not refer to an intellectual agreement as to the doctrine of the church, but it refers essentially to a love of the ends or of the goods of the doctrine of the church. I believe the difficulties enumerated in Conjugial Love in regard to the limitations of environment that stand in the way of meeting one's conjugial partner on earth can be and are overcome by agreement in the things of the church. I think that is important. The number says: "Marriages are contracted within the district, city or village of one's birth or abode, where there is no choice save one that is restricted and limited to the families of one's acquaintances, and among these to those in the same station of life as oneself. Hence it is that, for the most part, marriages entered into in the world, are external and not at the same time internal."* These difficulties, I believe, are overcome by the things of the church.
     * CL 49.

     The teaching concerning similitudes and dissimilitudes seems to parallel the teaching concerning the internal and external affections. That teaching is given in the chapter on the causes of apparent love and friendship in marriage. In this chapter internal affections are defined as: "Mutual inclinations in the mind of each partner which are from heaven"; and external affections are defined as: "the inclinations in the mind of each which are from the world." Note that both these affections are predicated of the mind. The internal affections are of the internal mind; the external affections are of the external mind. In this chapter it says: "Most marriages in this world are contracted from similarities of external affections and therefore, many of them are dissolved after death, for in the spiritual world, all are conjoined as to internal affections." However, in order, marriages should be entered into from similarity of internal affections, for similarity in the "inmost ends and purposes of life as existing in the internal man, and all of these come from heaven through the Word."*
     * CL 271.

157



     The whole purpose of our social life should be to create a sphere or climate conducive to the mutual discovery of mutual affections. Otherwise, the affection of worldly things will prevail, and marriages will continue to be contracted from similarity of external affections apart from internal. In general, the external affections according to which many enter into marriage are said to be of the body and of the world; that is, they are similar external delights, external pleasures, similar worldly pleasures, and even, as it says, unchastity. That is very interesting - even unchastity, which can have a certain external affection that leads to marriage. Now these external affections, if they are inordinate, absorb the internal affections and cause them to be withdrawn. This is especially true of what the Writings call allurements and concupiscences. Concupiscence is a word used in the Writings to mean delights - disorderly delights. This is why in our church we discourage the use of the sense of touch as an expression of love before engagement, for it can easily lead to the deception that there is love when there is only physical allurement and concupiscence. Touch, as the most ultimate of all the senses, should be the expression of the highest love. Until that love exists, it cannot be pure in its ultimate, for, the Writings say, the love of wisdom is the origin of conjugial love, not the love of sex. Hence, the important thing is that the attraction should be from internal affection and from the internal into the external.
     The doctrine of similitudes and dissimilitudes also preserves man's freedom, so that he, as of himself, may enter into marriage and receive conjugial love or receive the delights of conjugial love in himself as his own. If there were only one man and one woman who could receive conjugial love, the tendency would be for man to be still and await the Lord to provide him his partner, or for the man to make no effort to receive conjugial love in his marriage, for it would already be there. But man's life and delight is in freedom, and the Lord provides internal and external similitudes so that man as of himself may choose his partner and as of himself acquire conjugial love in his marriage. By observing the laws of order concerning marriage, he is led by the Lord to a similitude or to marriage with one with whom he can receive conjugial love. Then, having received conjugial love, he may see and acknowledge that the Lord has led and guided him along the way, and that the blessing of conjugial love is from the Lord alone, and he may say that he and his partner were born and educated for each other.

158


NATIONALITY AND RACE (Leading to the Question of Inter-Racial Marriage) 1971

NATIONALITY AND RACE (Leading to the Question of Inter-Racial Marriage)        Rev. ROBERT S. JUNGE       1971

     (Continued from the March issue)

     II

     The Origin of Race

     While most people think that they have a clear idea of what race means, the term is almost impossible to define. Too often race, because of prejudice, is applied almost hit or miss to outsiders, people who are culturally different. But this is a false basis for racial distinction. It might be said: "Race is a group of persons connected by common descent, blood, or heredity characterized by a more or less unique combination of physical traits."' Racial labels are dangerous. For example, when a negro robs or fails, we may be tempted to say, "You just can't trust the negroes." When an under-privileged white does the same thing, we either discharge him or jail him with no racial inferences.
     We would put the emphasis upon the more or less unique in the definition, then. The Hawaiian, for example, is considered to be a mixture of white, mongoloid, and negroid stock. The Moroccan, or Ethiopian, whose skin may be as dark or darker, is considered to be of white stock. In general, the Indians of North and South America, also brown, are scientifically classed as mongoloid stock. The Northern Japanese also appear tan, have horizontal eyes, and are classed half mongoloid and half white, while a man classed as pure negroid could also appear tan or dark brown. All these could have similar skins, yet racially, all could be classified differently.
     In our day, we have a fairly easy time determining a man's nationality by a relatively artificial means such as citizenship. But even here, what of those of Swedish descent in Minnesota, who still speak Swedish and retain their national customs, yet are American citizens?
     The modern determination of race is even more arbitrary. It includes no consideration of social or psychological difference, but rather a purely artificial consideration of certain heritable physical traits.
     It should be noted that modern science has devised no intelligence test that indicates any substantial differences between races, provided the environment is equal. Race classification is terribly complicated. Mixtures and crossing color lines are so common that it makes classification difficult in the extreme. What is the effect of the internal heredity from the father, and the external from the mother?

159


Of course, the New Church man asks, are there not genuine and deep spiritual differences which cause such obvious external differences as yellow, black, and white? That there are spiritual differences which cause these differing external appearances is a natural assumption to a New Church man. But how deep or fundamental they are is not clear, at least to my mind. Do these differences pertain to the animus as disposition or to the form of the mens or spiritual mind, or something still deeper?
     If we could discover the origin of race with any doctrinal assurance, it would help. But this is much more difficult than might be expected.
     Previously we questioned any direct creation of differing races in the beginning, though we did not deny the possibility. We indicated that we would explore a combination of natural and spiritual elements, gradually developing racial differences. To this task we now turn.

      One Possible Solution: A Fundamental Difference of Genius.

     The fall of the Most Ancient Church produced a fundamental change in the character of the minds of men in the world. The Lord separated man's understanding from his corrupt will, so it could rise above the turmoil of lust and torrent of falsity, even as Noah's ark rose above the flooding waters. This understanding elevated into the light of heaven enabled man to be reformed through conscience. He could form a new will within this understanding free from the corruption of his hereditarily sullied old will.
     This fundamental change can be called the formation of the spiritual genius of the man of the Ancient Church, ruled primarily by his understanding. This spiritual genius is in stark contrast to the celestial genius of most ancient times when the will and understanding acted as one.*
     * Cf. AC 4493: 2, AC 200, etc.
     Some in the church make a great point that the African, and therefore the negro, is of a celestial genius, as opposed to the intellectual and presumably spiritual genius of the white race. (We shall have more to say of this later when we take a closer look at the passages.)
     However, we would note that the man of the Most Ancient Church was essentially of one genius, the celestial genius, with his will and understanding united. If the fundamental sense of genius as to essential form of mind is used regarding the spiritual, the celestial, and the spiritual-celestial genius, and then assumed to be the origin of the white, black, and yellow races, then the men of the Most Ancient Church were of one race (presumably black). Racial difference then had its birth with the formation of the Ancient Church, and the spiritual genius. Such a view presents multiplied problems. Since, for example, the heaven of the Most Ancient Church is closed, and we still have numerous Africans with us, surely their heaven is not closed to them!

160


The fundamental view of differing genius as the origin of racial difference just does not seem tenable.

     In this connection, we might note that we do have heavens linked to religious concepts such as to the Mohammedans and the Gentile heavens, but as far as I know, we have no indication of heavens specifically designated for different races or nationalities, except as these reflect the spiritual values of various heavenly societies. While there are spiritual Stockholms, Londons, etc., these are quite clearly in the world of spirits, and such local and national distinctions seem to fade with the natural memories becoming quiescent. They are replaced by internal associations in heavenly societies. There the spirits take up their unique uses, which are the fundamental causes of differences and spiritual harmonies. It is not possible to say categorically that racial differences also fade, but this seems to be the case. Arcana 6701 indicates such a fading of differences regarding people of various planets: "The spirits and angels who are from other earths, are all separate from one another in accordance with the earths, and do not appear together in one place. The reason is that the inhabitants of one earth are of a totally different genius from those of another; nor are they associated together in the heavens, except in the inmost or third heaven. Those who come thither are together from every earth, and constitute that heaven in closest conjunction."
     To take the spiritual and celestial kingdoms as the distinction between the black and white race gives no realistic answer for other races or mixtures. Though there would then be severe cause to avoid mixing.* Nations have their unique spiritual character as do races; this comes from association with the heavens, but seems to occur with (as it were) organized randomness.
     It seems that first men were of one race before the Most Ancient Church fell. It also seems that race, like nationality, gradually and providentially developed, as perfection and variety increased. Now many assume that we are to return to a Golden Age, not of innocence of ignorance, but of wisdom. Through regeneration when the New Church fills the earth, it is assumed that a wonderful state of charity and enlightenment will return. If we assume a return to the Golden Age state, do we then assume a return to a time when love and charity make a spiritual oneness of race, which in time will be reflected by all men being one external color? If this is true, which I certainly would not press, then the amalgamation of the races is no genuine cause for concern.
     * AC 8830, 8835, etc.

161




     The Surviving Most Ancient Church

     Now it is frequently assumed that the men of celestial genius, ruled primarily by perception, died off completely with the flood. This is based on the clear teaching: The genius of the Most Ancient Church "is not found and does not exist at the present day."* This would, of course, deny any full application of celestial genius to the African. But the Writings seem to indicate that only those in the highest degree, the last day of creation, were capable of such profanation as to require extinction. Others, still of a celestial genius, but developed, let us say, only to the state of the fifth day may have, in fact probably did, survive the flood. (This theory is carefully advanced and documented by Dr. Odhner in The Divine Allegory, pp. 24-29.)
     * AC 201; cf. AC 310.
     The passage which leads to this theory indicates other churches besides Noah. We read:

     "The Most Ancient Church, as has often been said, knew from love whatever was of faith; or what is the same, from a will of good had understanding of truth. But their posterity received also by inheritance that cupidities, which are of the win, ruled over them, in which they immersed the doctrinal things of faith, and thus became Nephilim. When therefore the Lord foresaw that if man continued to be of such a nature, he would perish eternally, He provided that the will should be separated from the understanding, and that man should be formed, not as before by a will of good, but through an understanding of truth should be endowed with charity, which appears as a will of good. Such did this new church become which is called Noah, and thus it was of an entirely different nature from the Most Ancient Church. Besides this church, there were other churches also at that time, as that which is called Enosh (ch. 4: 26) and others also of which no mention and description is extant. Only this church 'Noah' is here described, because it was of another and entirely different nature from the Most Ancient Church "*
     * AC 640.

      We would note that Enosh is described elsewhere as, "Enosh as before observed, is a third church, yet one of the Most Ancient churches, but less celestial, and consequently less perceptive, than the church Seth; and this latter was not so celestial and perceptive as the parent church called 'Man' (Adam). These three are what constitute the Most Ancient Church, which relatively to the succeeding ones, was as the kernel of fruits or seeds, whereas the succeeding churches are relatively as the membranaceous parts of these."*
     * AC 505; cf. AC 439; SD 4719.
     These special members of the Most Ancient Church in merely an image of the celestial or at least less celestial seem to have survived the flood. They may have been broadly dispersed and formed a "Golden Age" for many widely scattered civilizations.

162


Many of the descriptions of the Most Ancient Church, or Golden Age, seem to be able to be applied in such a broad sense, and also seem to apply after the flood which destroyed the worst perversions of that church. Written records of the correspondences used in the Most Ancient Church are said to have been preserved by the church Enoch.* But this church only knew a general obscure perception without any distinctness.**
     * AC 520-21. 609; AE 728.
     ** AC 522.
     We find that certain tribes, Hittites and Hivites, were "among the more upright nations in Canaan."* They still possessed a remnant of interior truth from the most ancient Divine stock.** The various types of men spoken of in anthropology are believed to have lasted throughout different eras, confirming the idea of remnants. Homo sapiens is designated our branch.
     * AC 3470, 2913.
     ** AC 4447, 4448.
     Now if the dual evidence of science and doctrine of some surviving with but an image of the celestial state is valid, can we assume that the Africans also are of such a remnant who are described as being of "a genius in which are the angels of the celestial kingdom"; in contrast to the Europeans "who are of a spiritual (genius)"* If this is so, then we have a fundamental clue to racial origin. But let us turn to a close examination of the passages regarding the Africans.
     * SD 5518.

     The Africans

     It should perhaps be pointed out again that the term, African, as used in the Writings, and the peoples and locations implied, does not of necessity apply to the negroid peoples. It could apply in general to non-Mohammedan Gentile peoples who occupy the continent of African - not white European immigrants, but members of the white race living, for example, in North Africa from very ancient times. This may perhaps seem a dodge to those who favor racial integrity, but we must point out the possibility, however tenuous, of such an interpretation.
     Now let us turn to the problem of the genius of the African. The Writings use the term, genius, in a very special sense regarding the Fall, in relating the difference between a celestial genius and spiritual genius.
     However, they also use the term, genius, in a very broad sense, as that tongues, families, and nations signify different things "according to the genius of each,"* or in speaking of the genius of different nations and even provinces.** The term is applied to races (?) as the Orientals.*** Here genius seems to mean something akin to spiritual and in some cases natural disposition or nature.****

163


A similar passage says rather than according to their genius, according to their morals and opinions.***** Still another says the genius in respect to charity" . . "in respect to faith" and "in general relative to the things of faith. . . and of charity." ****** Genius is applied to individuals, as when parents teach their children according to their genius.*******
     * AC 1159.
     ** TCR 813; cf. AC 4911.
     *** DP 255:4.
     **** Cf. AC 2256: 2; LJ post. 270; AC 1640: 2.
     ***** AC 1216.
     ****** AC 1251.
     ******* AC 2533: 2.
     There is a very curious passage in the Arcana which emphasizes education in heaven, but is open to several interpretations. We read:

"Moreover little children are of diverse genius and of diverse natural disposition, and this from what they inherit from their parents, and by succession from grandparents and great-grandparents; for the actual life with parents, confirmed by habit, becomes a second nature, and is implanted hereditarily in the infants and this is the source of their diverse tendencies."*
     * AC 2300.

     "Speaking generally, little children are of a genius either celestial or spiritual. Those of a celestial genius are well distinguished from those of a spiritual genius. The former think, speak, and act more softly, so that hardly anything appears except a fluent something from the love of good to the Lord and toward other little children; but the latter do not think, speak, and act so softly, but something as it were winged and vibratile shows itself in all their doings; and is also evident from their indignation; besides other characteristic differences. Thus every little child has a natural disposition different from that of every other, and each is educated according to his natural disposition."*
     * AC 2301.

     With the possible variety of interpretation of the use of the word "genius," we turn to the full passage in the Diary referred to above:

"The African race is the one in this earth which is able to be in illustration beyond all other races, because they are such that they think interiorly, and receive truths, and acknowledge that they are truths from that ground differently from other races, for example, Europeans, who think exteriorly, and only receive those things in the memory; nor do they see that they are truths from any other ground than that they have been so instructed from infancy, and that some one said so about whom they have faith that he knows - thus from authority." (Note the contrast is with the Europeans as a "race.") The passage continues: "The Africans in our globe are the ones who are of the genius in which are the angels in the celestial kingdom; Europeans, those who are of the spiritual [genius] - the difference in the nature of which may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia."*
     * SD 5518.

     As far as I know, this abbreviated note type passage is the only time the term celestial genius is applied to the Africans. In another later passage, which is almost identical, the term is changed to the Latin word "indole" which seems to mean nature or disposition, rather than deeper form of mind.*
     * LJ Post 118. Cf. also SD 4783 "indole."
     This could imply that they are of a genius like or an image of the celestial genius, rather than a celestial genius in any full sense like those of the most ancients.

164


Yet such a celestial and affectionate disposition could have its racial origin in some lesser developed state of the Most Ancient Church. They apparently have an ancient holy book.* Certainly they have some idea of the Divine Humanity.** We are elsewhere taught that the New Church is being instaurated with the Gentiles who acknowledge the Divine Human.*** The Africans are most beloved because they receive good and truth - preferring to be called obedient rather than faithful.**** We would recall that the African won the tiara for his discussion of conjugial love.***** Through the course of centuries magic and idolatry have perhaps sullied their insight.****** Whether the geographical spread of the Heavenly Doctrine among them and the revelations from heaven take place in the world of spirits or on earth, they still seem to have a kind of interior enlightenment and perception.******* The critical question is, is this merely a natural disposition or nature, which is of the animus, and therefore can be classed as an external similitude when considering racial mixing? Or is this an internal form of the mind or spirit itself, which would make it a deep similitude, affecting the very approach to religion itself? Such an interpretation would lead the church to stand strongly against interracial marriage, even as we do, or at least should, against interreligious marriage, though perhaps not quite so strongly, since form of mind seems to be less fundamental in human relations than religious conviction. Perhaps it is some of both. In this connection, the following passage is of interest:
     ". . . The Gentiles are also distinguished according to their genius and their capacity to receive light through the heavens from the Lord; for there are among them some who are interior and some who are exterior, which difference comes partly from climate, partly from the stock from which they have sprung, partly from education, and partly from religion. The Africans are more interior than the others."******** Note: partly from climate and stock (race?), partly from education, and partly from religion.
     * LJ Post 121, 123; SD 5809.
     ** LJ Post 121; TCR 838; CL 75; SD 4774-5, 4770-2, 5811, 5919, 5947.
     *** AE 49e etc.
     **** AC 2604; HH 326, 514e; CLJ 73; TCR 837, 839.
     ***** CL 113-114. Cf. CLJ 77-78.
     ****** SD 4946, 4949, 4989, 392-4.
     ******* LJ Post 116-120; 124; TCR 840; CLJ 76; SD 4773-4780, 5946.
     ******** TCR 835.
     On the basis of the evidence, my own conclusion is that, like social status and nationality, racial difference can be internal and based upon religion. But it can also be essentially a matter of the animus or external mind passed on from generation to generation. A curious and difficult set of passages might well be noted that could support such a position.

165



     "There are, among the blackest of the Africans, those who love to be punished and treated harshly; and who come into heaven, saying afterwards that they detest blackness, because they know that their souls are white and their bodies black."*
     * LJ Post 115. Cf. SD 453-4; AC 2603.
     While science in general makes race a matter of a natural external development, I think any New Church man would find Toynbee's statement remarkable. He says:

     "The stimulus of penalization is also illustrated by racial discrimination as exemplified in the caste system of the Hindu society. Here we see races or castes, excluded from one trade or profession, making good in another. The negro slave immigrant of modern North America has, however, been subject to the twofold penalization of racial discrimination and legal servitude, and today, eighty years after the second of these handicaps has been removed, the first weighs as heavily as ever on the coloured freedman. There is no need to enlarge here upon the appalling injuries inflicted by the slave-traders and slave-owners of our Western world, European and American, upon the Negro race; what we are concerned to observe - and after our examination of the Hellenic parallel we observe this without surprise - is that the American Negro, finding the scales thus, to all seeming, permanently and overwhelmingly weighted against him in this world, has turned to another world for consolation.
     "The Negro appears to be answering our tremendous challenge with a religious response which may prove in the event, when it can be seen in retrospect, to bear comparison with the ancient Oriental's response to the challenge from his Roman masters. The Negro has not, indeed, brought any ancestral religion of his own from Africa to captivate the hearts of his white fellow-citizens in America. His primitive social heritage was of so frail a texture that, save for a few shreds it was scattered to the winds on the impact of our Western Civilization. Thus he came to America spiritually as well as physically naked; and he has met the emergency by covering his nakedness with his enslaver's cast-off clothes. The Negro has adapted himself to his new social environment by rediscovering in Christianity certain original meanings and values which Western Christendom has long ignored. Opening a simple and impressionable mind to the Gospels, he has discovered that Jesus was a prophet who came into the world not to confirm the mighty in their seats but to exalt the humble and meek. The Syrian slave immigrants who once brought Christianity into Roman Italy performed the miracle of establishing a new religion which was alive in the place of an old religion which was already dead. It is possible that the Negro slave immigrants who have found Christianity in America may perform the greater miracle of raising the dead to life. With their childlike spiritual intuition and their genius for giving spontaneous aesthetic expression to emotional religious experience, they may perhaps be capable of kindling the cold grey ashes of Christianity which have been transmitted to them by us until, in their hearts, the divine fire glows again. It is thus perhaps, if at all, that Christianity may conceivably become the living faith of a dying civilization for the second time. If this miracle were indeed to be performed by an American Negro Church, that would be the most dynamic response to the challenge of social penalization that had yet been made by man."*
     * A Study of History, Arnold J. Toynbee, pps. 128-129.

166




     We as a teaching church have never spiritually met the American Negro in any significant numbers. Certain practical experience (of colporteurs and advertisers) indicates that the church would spread more readily among the Negroes in this country than among whites. Doctrine might also imply such success. Some say Providence has never led them to us. Is it really Providence, or have we been closing the door because we do not really understand the problem or its solution? As a church, I feel we should give this thought, before a situation arises rather than in the heat of a problem.
     All men, whether socially, nationally, or racially different have a place in the New Church. Our task is to think clearly from doctrine. Do we want high and low churches of socially different classes? Do we wish one general governing church over many nations, or nationally independent churches? Is our position clear concerning church membership for members of the Mission? Do we look for separate church and church educational facilities for the different races? If so, how or where do we put the middle social class, the mixed nationals, and the racial mixtures?
     When we watch the actions of a minority race, highly defensive, arrogant, with chips on their shoulders, let us remember that we, too, as a church belong to a minority, and the same arrogant, defensive pressures work within our group as well. These are not simple questions which can be dismissed lightly. They are matters for soul-searching thought in the light of the doctrines.

     The Mongoloid Race

     But we have spoken only of the black race; what of the yellow peoples? Perhaps the teachings about them by comparison will shed light on the overall question.
     We read that the Ancient Church "in course of time" was diffused into Great Tartary, where the Ancient Word is preserved.* The people of Lesser Tartary "do not suffer foreigners to come among them except the Chinese."** "They call the Chinese their friends because they are of their race."*** It is reasonably clear that those of the yellow race, then, were a part of the diffusion of the Ancient Church, thus of a spiritual genius in general.
     * Cor. 39; TCR: 3-4.
     ** AR 11.
     *** SD 6077.
     But the question is, did the yellow race have any unique spiritual characteristics which could account for their different external appearance? We read of the Chinese in a passage which could, it seems, be applied to most Gentiles.

167




     "When they perceived the indignation of the others, they began to think whether they had trespassed against the neighbor, and whether they had claimed anything for themselves that belonged to others. (In the other life all thoughts are communicated.) I was permitted to perceive their trouble: it was that of an acknowledgment that perhaps they had wronged the others, and of shame on that account, and of other good affections at the same time, from which it was known that they were endued with charity. Presently I spoke to them, and at length about the Lord. When I called Him Christ, a kind of repugnance was perceived in them; but the cause was discovered to be that they brought this repugnance from the world, from their having known Christians to live worse than they did themselves, and in no charity. But when I simply called Him the Lord, they were inwardly moved. They were afterwards instructed by the angels that beyond every other doctrine in the whole world the Christian doctrine prescribes love and charity, but that there are but few persons who live in accordance with it."*
     * AC 2596.

     They are further described as "of a tranquil disposition."*
     * LJ Post 133.
     We also, however, read of a spiritual experience of Swedenborg where he desired to know what quality many of the Chinese were. "The angels said that the delightfulness of my sleep had inflowed from the fact that angels had been speaking and that they had been so delighted at this that they had been in tranquility of some celestial peace; and that evil spirits could not approach, because they were of a spiritual celestial genius."* In the corresponding passage in the Spiritual Diary 6067 this is called simply a spiritual celestial with no noun following and the passage is entitled, "The Indo Chinese."
     * LJ Post 132.
     In view of the frequent use of genius in a rather external sense noted above, and in view of this being one single passage, and in view of their origin from the Noachic Church, it would seem unwise to press the word genius too hard.*
     * Cf. AC 3263, 3470, for a spiritual church among the Gentiles.
     Speaking in broad terms of a simple, trusting, tranquil people, yet with a strong tendency to reason, we seem to find from experience that the term, spiritual celestial, defines the Oriental mind. But does it not also in general terms describe what from experience we know of the East Indian mind of the white race equally well? There are many religious ties among the white and yellow Orientals, and religion is at least a partial cause if not the origin of difference. All we can say is that if mongoloid racial integrity were still religiously essential, one would certainly expect more clear definition in the Writings (though of course this is a negative proof).


     (To be concluded)

168


ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS 1971

ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS       NORBERT H. ROGERS       1971

     COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY

     The 73rd Annual Meetings of the Council of the Clergy of the General Church of the New Jerusalem were held in the Council Hall of the Bryn Athyn Cathedral, January 25-29, 1971, following an opening service conducted by Bishop Acton in the Cathedral chapel.
     The meetings were attended by three priests of the episcopal degree, thirty-two of the pastoral degree, and two in the ministerial degree, and, in addition, by one guest, a total of thirty-eight. They were the Rt. Rev. Willard D. Pendleton, presiding; the Rt. Rev. Elmo C. Acton, the Rt. Rev. George de Charms; the Rev. Messrs. Alfred Acton, Kurt H. Asplundh, Bjorn A. H. Boyesen, Peter M. Buss, Geoffrey S. Childs, Robert H. P. Cole, Harold C. Cranch, Roy Franson, Victor J. Gladish, Daniel W. Goodenough, Daniel W. Heinrichs, Willard L. D. Heinrichs, W. Cairns Henderson, B. David Holm, Geoffrey H. Howard, Robert S. Junge, Louis B. King, Kurt P. Nemitz, Hugo Lj. Odhner, Ormond de C. Odhner, Dandridge Pendleton, Martin Pryke, Norman H. Reuter, Morley D. Rich, Norbert H. Rogers, Frank S. Rose, Erik Sandstrom, Frederick L. Schnarr, David R. Simons, Lorentz R. Soneson, Kenneth O. Stroh, Douglas M. Taylor, N. Bruce Rogers, and Christopher R. J. Smith.
Also present by invitation was Candidate Erik E. Sandstrom.
     After accepting as Minutes the report of the 1970 Meetings published in NEW CHURCH LIFE (April 1970, pp. 160-162), Bishop Pendleton welcomed the assembled clergy and mentioned the celebrations of the two hundredth anniversary of the New Church during the past year. Noting that his report published in the December, 1970, NEW CHURCH LIFE covered the year ending August 31, 1970, he spoke of his activities since then. He said that copies of the revised Statement of the Order and Organization of the General Church has recently been mailed to all members of the General Church and he requested that pastors review this statement with their congregations. Thanking the clergy for their response to his request for counsel in regard to the selection of a priest for ordination into the third degree, he said he would take no action at this time, but would reopen the subject at the meetings next year.

169


The Council then turned its attention to the presentation and discussion of various doctrinal and pastoral subjects.
     Two regular sessions were given over to hearing and discussing papers prepared by the Rt. Rev. Elmo C. Acton and the Rev. Erik Sandstrom who constituted the Program Committee. Bishop Acton's subject was The Visible Divine Human, and Mr. Sandstrom's paper was entitled One Kingdom, its thesis being that the Church Specific and the Church Universal were not separate entities but one whole. Other papers and subjects presented for the consideration of the Council at the regular meetings were Moral Values with Today's Young People in the Academy: A Growing Problem by the Rev. Dandridge Pendleton; The New Quality of Priestly Enlightenment by the Rev. Morley D. Rich; The Celestial Heaven and the Celestial Church by the Rev. Frank S. Rose; The Use of Cassettes by Traveling Pastors by the Rev. David R. Simons; and The Time of the Annual Meetings of the Council of the Clergy by the Rev. Norbert H. Rogers. There was also a question-and-answer period with the Rev. Martin Pryke concerning activities, policies and plans of the Academy.
     The Wednesday afternoon session took the form of a seminar. By prearrangement the subject of enlightenment had been selected and the Rev. Louis B. King had been asked to be in charge of the seminar. After hearing a summation of a paper on The Mechanics of Enlightenment by the Rev. Kurt P. Nemitz, the Council broke up into five small discussion groups. Reports of these discussions were given after dinner that evening. At another after-dinner evening discussion consideration was given to the Usefulness of Ministers' Reports?, a question raised by the Rev. Norbert H. Rogers, and to The Possibility of Joint Meetings of the Clergy of Different Branches of the New Church introduced by the Rev. Martin Pryke.
     One of the most pleasant and appreciated fringe benefits enjoyed during the week of the Council meetings are the morning refreshments attractively and graciously served by ladies of the Bryn Athyn Women's Guild. At the last session of the Council meetings, the Secretary was unanimously requested to convey the ministers' thanks to those concerned. Thanks are also due to the ladies for the pre-Friday supper social hour they organized.

     Respectfully submitted,
          NORBERT H. ROGERS
     (Secretary of the Council of the Clergy)

170





JOINT COUNCIL

     JANUARY 30, 1971

     1. The 77th Regular Joint Meeting of the Council of the Clergy and the Directors of the Corporation of the General Church of the New Jerusalem was opened by the Rt. Rev. Willard D. Pendleton, at 10 a.m., on January 30th, 1971, in the Council Hall with The Lord's Prayer and reading the one hundred and thirty-eighth Psalm.

     2. Attendance:

Of The Clergy: Rt. Rev. Willard D. Pendleton, presiding; Rt. Rev. Elmo C. Acton and Rt. Rev. George de Charms; Rev. Messrs. A. Acton, K. H. Asplundh, B. A. H. Boyesen, P. M. Buss, G. S. Childs, R. H. P. Cole, H. C. Cranch, R. Franson, V. J. Gladish, D. W. Heinrichs, W. L. D. Heinrichs, W. C. Henderson, B. D. Holm, G. H. Howard, R. S. Junge, L. B. King, K. P. Nemitz, H. Lj. Odhner, D. Pendleton, M. Pryke, N. H. Reuter, M. D. Rich, N. B. Rogers, N. H. Rogers, F. S. Rose, E. Sandstrom, F. L Schnarr, D. R. Simons, C. R. J. Smith, L. R. Soneson, K. O. Stroh, D. M. Taylor. (35)

Of The Laity: W. B. Alden, G. G. Anderson, L. Asplundh, R. H. Asplundh, G. M. Cooper, G. R. Doering, A. B. Fuller, B. A. Fuller, L. E. Gyllenhaal, J. S. Junge, R. D. Junge, W. R. Kintner, E. B. Lee, L. Nelson, L. Pitcairn, S. Pitcairn, L. Synnestvedt, R. Synnestvedt, Jr., R. E. Walter. (19)

Guests: G. H. Woodard and Candidate E. E. Sandstrom. (2)

     3.     The Minutes of the previous annual meeting were accepted as published in April, 1970, issue of NEW CHURCH LIFE, pp. 162-165.

     4.     Memorial Resolutions:

Memorial Resolution for Kesniel Carswell Acton, presented by the Rt. Rev. George de Charms.

     Inasmuch as the Lord in His good Providence has called Kesniel Carswell Acton into the spiritual world, we would express on behalf of the Joint Council of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, our deep affection for him as a man, and our grateful acknowledgment of his life-time devotion to the uses of the Church he loved.

     Kesniel was born in Philadelphia on October 1st, 1895. He was the son of the late Bishop Acton and Emeline Carswell Acton, who were among the first to establish their home in Bryn Athyn. Kesniel attended the Bryn Athyn Elementary School, and later the Secondary Schools of the Academy, from which he graduated in 1914. In the fall of 1916 he entered the Temple University Law School, attending classes at night while working as Secretary to Mr. Raymond Pitcairn during the day. In November 1917 he joined the United States Army, and served in Europe until the end of the First World War, returning to this country in March 1919 with the rank of Regimental Sergeant Major. In June 1921 he passed his Bar examinations, and the following year he was granted the degree of LLB from Temple University.

171


In 1926 he married Doris Renee Odhner and established a home in Bryn Athyn which became a lively and popular center of New Church social life. Here the happy couple raised a family of five girls and one boy, all of whom received their basic education in the Academy, and later established New Church homes of their own.
     Kesniel's outstanding characteristic was a deep loyalty to the truth of the Heavenly Doctrine, and an unfailing desire to promote the uses of the Church. He gladly offered of his many talents, whenever and wherever he could be of use, without the least regard to personal honor or prestige. As a member of the Civic and Social Club he gladly accepted appointment or election, at various times to every official position from that of custodian to that of President, and always fulfilled the duties of his office with conscientious care and efficiency. For nearly forty years he was a member of the Pastor's Council of the Bryn Athyn Church, and served with distinction as secretary of that body. He was Treasurer of the Bryn Athyn Church from 1934 to 1964, when he was elected Financial Vice President of the Society. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the General Church for thirty-four years, during which time he rendered invaluable services as Associate Counsel in all legal matters connected with the Church. He was for many years a member of the Board of Directors of the Academy. In all these ways he strove directly to serve the Church. At the same time, he contributed to the welfare of the Church indirectly, by his constant activity in the civil affairs of the Bryn Athyn Borough, doing a great deal to promote the cause of local self-government, which was in constant danger of encroachment both by the city and by the state.
     Kesniel will be long remembered as a kindly and genial friend, a constant reader of the Writings, whose active mind followed with keen interest the doctrinal thought of the Church, and constantly strove to order his life according to it. He will be sorely missed but we know that he will continue, in the new life to which he has been called, all the heavenly uses for which he had been prepared during his life on earth. In a thousand unseen ways the Church will continue to benefit from his love and devotion through all the years to come. For this we give heartfelt thanks to the Lord, and resolve to record on the annals of this body our profound affection and esteem for Kesniel as a well loved co-worker in the task of furthering the establishment of the Lord's New Church on earth.

     We also resolve that a copy of this resolution be sent to Mrs. Kesniel Acton and her family, as a token of our friendship and sympathy.

Memorial Resolution for John Howard and William Burton McCardell, presented by the Rev. Geoffrey S. Childs.

     Whereas, the Lord has called to the spiritual world our friends John Howard and Willard Burton McCardell, we the members of the Joint Council of the General Church of the New Jerusalem do now record the affection in which we held John and Willard, and the personal loss felt by the members of the Detroit Society, the General Church of the New Jerusalem, and by this the Joint Council in meeting assembled. John Howard and Willard McCardell had much in common. They faithfully served the Detroit Society for the major part of their adult lives. Both served as members of the Board of Directors of the Detroit Society, both served as members of the Detroit Pastor's Council, and both served as members of the Board of Directors of the General Church. John as treasurer of the Detroit Society for so many years, managed the finances so that the Society became self-supporting, and Willard through his technical knowledge and zeal enabled Detroit to build an all-purpose building which still serves the uses of the Society.

172


John and Willard will be sorely missed. Their individual contribution of love and effort to the Church cannot be replaced. But we have encouragement in knowing this same effort and love are now performing higher uses.

     Therefore, be it resolved that this memorial resolution be inscribed in the minutes of the Joint Council in meeting assembled on this day of January 30, 1971, and that copies of this resolution be sent to Mrs. Howard and Mrs. McCardell in token of our love and sympathy.

The above resolutions were accepted in silence by a standing vote.

     5.     Mr. Leonard E. Gyllenhaal, Treasurer, reported. He advised he was continually impressed with the work and talent shown in such a small church. While the Academy put on a real drive for funds which was beautifully responded to, contributions to the General Church also increased. According to the present records, which are incomplete due to some societies not having reported as yet, the number of contributors is down, but the volume of giving is up. (See complete report NEW CHURCH LIFE, pp. 184.)

     6.     Mr. Bruce A. Fuller, Controller, then spoke of the work he has been doing, most of which is new during the past three years. He spoke of the centralized payroll as one of the new aspects. He described the operations at Cairncrest and how they have grown in the last few years. All services and information are handled under the Rev. Norbert H. Rogers, Secretary of the General Church. The print shop, which is now a major operation, has been moved downstairs. The Book Center had sales of over $15,000.00. There are no salaries whatsoever involved with the Book Center, all work being done on a voluntary basis. The Rev. David Simons, Assistant to the Bishop in New Church education is now at Cairncrest and in charge of the Religion Lessons Program. Theta Alpha Festivals lessons are prepared in the Stone Room. NEW CHURCH LIFE is now stored in the third floor and the Swedenborg Scientific Association also uses it for storage purposes. The Autogyro Corporation maintains storage and file room. Cairncrest is a very going concern.

     7.     Bishop Pendleton accepted the reports of the Treasurer and Controller. He suggested that every member of the Joint Council make an effort to visit Cairncrest.

     8.     Mr. Robert Walter, Chairman of the Salary Committee reported. He advised that the Committee meets with representatives from all Societies, usually treasurers. Since 1960 the ministers' salaries have been increased by better than 45%, minister headmasters by 55% and teachers by 65%. The centralized payroll is well received by all treasurers.

173


He further reported that basically the responsibility of the committee is to recommend a workable plan and since all Society treasurers are included many different tangents are discussed. Questions and observations were requested.
     The Rev. Frank S. Rose expressed great admiration for the treasurers and the Salary Committee. He feels they have really worked on salaries for teachers and ministers and have also helped the Societies to relate to each other and this will strengthen the work of the Church.
     Bishop Pendleton remarked that he feels the definite time spent between the local treasurers and the Salary Committee has been a very useful thing. He stated this gives both parties a perspective they could not have had before.
     The Rev. Martin Pryke supported the plan to employ teachers from August so they would have time to prepare for teaching. This also makes the transfer between schools easier.
     The Rev. Alfred Acton asked if it would ever be possible to get just an inkling of what the salary scale would be for the following year. Mr. Walter advised this is something that should be known but is not yet available.
     The Rev. Daniel W. Heinrichs requested that the information accumulated through contact with the local treasurers be made available to the treasurer of the Durban Society since he isn't in the position to meet with the various Societies. Mr. Leonard E. Gyllenhaal reported that the minutes and records are sent to all treasurers.

     9. The Rev. Peter M. Buss reported on the South African Mission. He advised he had much more of a consolidation report than anything else. There are three areas in the Mission - Durban, Johannesburg and the Rural Districts Area. The most satisfactory area is around Durban with two societies. Johannesburg has two societies and two little groups approximately four hundred miles apart. The Country Districts can be reached only by going to Durban and then going to other places. In a sense he is more pleased with the development of two of these societies. They have the most successful Sunday schools in the entire Mission.
      The South Africans and the Americans seem to think these people cannot really understand too much about the New Church. Because their level of education is extremely low the members of the Church will never know a great deal of doctrine, but they know more than just the general truths of religion. They have general truths, but they also have the Writings. They know that God is one - that He is the Lord Jesus Christ. They know that there is a heaven and a hell. They know that there is conjugial love and that they must love their wives and must shun adulteries, and they know that marriage is for eternity.

174


They know that they have more than the Christian Church. Mr. Buss has his conviction that the Mission is a body of the New Church. He feels in spirit they are very real.

     10. The meeting recessed for refreshments.

     11.     Bishop Pendleton expressed his confidence in the work that Mr. Buss has done as Superintendent of the Mission. A great deal has been learned about the Mission since he took over five years ago, and the situation at the Mission has been brought into focus. Bishop Pendleton feels Mr. Buss has been gentle and courageous in handling a very difficult problem and thinks the Mission is much stronger, though in numbers it appears to be smaller than it ever has been. Bishop Pendleton asked about the future of the Mission. Mr. Buss advised that membership is strictly by baptism and interest. At present they have two thousand cards of baptized people and of these they know the whereabouts and level of interest of about six hundred. Much work is being done and will continue to be done to locate the others. Many have moved, have married and been taken out of the Church or have lost interest. They are trying to bring these people back, and he feels that the new and attractive church building may help with this and then there will be the planning of a program. Mr. Buss feels that while the Mission may grow quite rapidly in some areas it will grow in general in the individual manner in which the General Church grows. Bishop Pendleton asked how many active ministers they now have and was advised six, four of whom are in their fifties and sixties. They have a complete lack of suitable candidates for the Theological School. At the present time two of the leading laymen are considering applying to the Theological School and if they do Mr. Buss will certainly recommend them as being suitable. He was asked the level of education required for Theological School and his answer was they liked them to have finished the sophomore year of high school before entering the three-year Theological School. They preferred full high school graduation but due to the fact that all the cost of schooling is not completely subsidized, many times the family just cannot get together the money for this requirement.
     Bishop Acton asked about the Nova Hierosolyma Mission. Mr. Buss advised that he corresponds occasionally with Bishop Odhner, but regularly with Mr. Mooki the head of the New Church in South Africa, newly separated from Conference. He knows nothing definite about the Mission and therefore is not in a position to make a statement.

     12. The Rev. Norbert Rogers reported for the Publication Committee.

175


He advised he had circulated a report (See page 192, NEW CHURCH LIFE) showing some of the activities. He advised that as a priest and as a member of the Committee he considered his responsibility not to go beyond evaluating the material to be published or reprinted in context to its usefulness and value to the Church. However, on becoming chairman he realized there are other problems of concern to the Committee, particularly seeing that the materials move and the members of the church know of the availability of publications from the Book Center and Book Agents. He felt advertising in NEW CHURCH LIFE and sending free copies to the ministers did not promote the books sufficiently. He also felt that the Book Center, which handles the publications, should purchase the books from the Publication Committee. While this would mean larger allocations to the Book Center it would not necessitate so many allocations to the Publication Committee. He also feels this would encourage the Book Center to move items on its shelves. There has been embarrassment due to not having the Word available for sale but this is due to what the Writings would call "accidents of Providence." Mr. Rogers called on Mr. Fuller to describe his efforts in obtaining the Word.
     Mr. Fuller stated that the Word had previously been referred to as the Academy Word but due to the General Church Publication Committee assuming more responsibility many of the Church works have been turned over to them from the Academy Publication Committee. The Word was very low in stock at the time of transfer to the General Church Publication Committee. Almost right away the Committee started correspondence with Oxford University Press in England for a new printing. The Word is a copy of the Bible with certain passages rearranged to eliminate the non-canonical works. The bid came in, but it was rather high, and they decided to try to find a binder in the United States who would do it at a lower cost, but they were unable to find anyone who would do it at all. The edition of the Bible previously used is no longer available, and a new edition had to be selected, and as the first bid by this time was out of date, the Board of Directors asked the Committee to obtain more definite figures for the next meeting, but these have not been obtained to date.
     The Swedenborg Society had entered into a co-operative printing of the Word with the Academy and again they are interested in joining in a joint venture and the combined order will be three thousand copies. While Mr. Fuller wasn't sure of a firm figure he estimated that the Word would actually cost approximately $9.00 and sell for approximately $12.00. Previously it sold for $9.80. Oxford Press will do it but are being very indefinite at this time and appear to be not really interested.

176


Mr. Rogers asked Mr. Boyesen if he would be able to see Oxford Press about this and Mr. Pryke recommended this personal contact. Mr. Boyesen agreed to look into this.

     13. The Rev. Harold C. Cranch then reported on the incorporation of the General Church in Canada.
     Some years ago it became evident there were uses of the Church in Eastern Canada which were more widespread than could be handled by individual societies and thus the Eastern Canada Executive Committee was set up. However, now due to new legal requirements for tax relief, it was necessary to consider an organization for the whole of Canada. At the last District Assembly a committee chaired by Mr. Keith Morley was set up to study this and the uses to be served. These uses covered overall development and coordination of uses, encouraging greater Canadian responsibility, establishing a legal entity, making possible the establishment of a central payroll plan and management of hospitalization and other benefits which cannot be handled from the United States, and to sponsor and develop the Maple Leaf Academy and later develop a high school.
     The Committee prepared By-Laws for the General Church of the New Jerusalem in Canada (an Ontario Corporation) based on those of the Incorporated International General Church, meeting the requirements of Canadian Law, maintaining a subordinate relationship to the international organization. This was worked out closely with the Bishop, the Treasurer and Board of Directors. By tradition, the President will be the presiding Bishop of the General Church, and also by tradition, three local pastors will be on the Board. Members of the Corporation do not need to be Canadian residents.
     The first presentation will be made at the Canadian National Assembly May 7th to 9th. If not completed at the Assembly the Board will have the authority to proceed, incorporating any changes. This incorporation should be most useful to Canada and to the General Church as a whole.
     Bishop Pendleton remarked that the By-Laws are almost entirely from the General Church By-Laws, adapted to Canadian law.

     14.     Progress Report on the Community Development in South Africa. The Rev. Daniel W. Heinrichs advised that he would continue his progress report from the point where he stopped last year. The Society is moving from the location in Durban where they have been since 1925 to a residential suburb of Durban - approximately ten miles from the previous church settlement. The school, moved in the later part of July, now consists of three classrooms and two large walk-in storage rooms built by the male members of the Durban Society working on Saturdays and Sundays from December 10th to the middle of July.

177


All are very pleased with the school. Actual construction of the rest of the church complex began in February and consists of four separate units. The church building ideally seats three hundred and fifty people and quite comfortably seats at least four hundred people. The church hall will seat four hundred people and in banquet fashion two hundred people, and has a large stage. The office block consists of four offices - two for use of the Mission and two for use of the pastor and the Durban Society.
     The school is complete. The hall is complete except for a few minor changes for acceptance and the offices are occupied but still in need of a few minor changes. The church is three-quarters finished and the contractor expects to complete it in March, but more realistically the Society is looking for April and hoping after talking with Bishop Pendleton to hold the church dedication on the 19th of June. One very unique feature in the church which they think is the first in the New Church and possibly the first in any church is a stone altar - an unhewn stone altar - with which all are pleased and much impressed.
     Four years ago the Durban Society extended the primary school from three grades to a seven grade elementary school, which in South Africa is a complete primary school. There are thirty students in grades one to seven with two full time teachers - one half-time teacher - six volunteer part-time teachers - the pastor doing considerable teaching - and the Rev. P. M. Buss giving considerable assistance in teaching arithmetic.
     The Durban Society has grown rapidly over the years, particularly over the last decade. The adult membership is one hundred members and average church attendance is one hundred and seven. At the Christmas service there were two hundred and twenty-four people. The adult membership of the Society consists largely of young and middle aged couples with growing families and the prospects for growth are very good. 90% of the eligible children are enrolled in the school and they project that within a decade the student body will be forty-five.
     Mr. Heinrichs explained they had originally bought a thirty-four acre plot of land and the Glencairn Foundation gave them thirty-three acres so they now have sixty-seven acres of land for development of the community. On the original property there are twenty-five sites - thirteen of which are spoken for. In the very near future they hope to begin to receive payment for the sites and the money will be invested and thus they hope to decrease the Society's dependence on the General Church for grants. They are looking forward to the time they will be able to sell all of these plots and become completely independent financially.

     15. Progress Report on the Washington Society.

178


The Rev. Frederick L. Schnarr reviewed what had taken place over the last ten years. Ten years ago they moved from a rented hall to the first unit, then two years later to a ten acre site in the extreme suburbs and erected an all-purpose building. Then they purchased thirty-six more acres of land adjoining this property and endeavored to develop all of this. The first week in February the first family will move in and in a few more months two more families will move in, making six families in the Park with some twenty children. The school opened in September with nine children in grades one through four and is working extremely well.
     Mr. Schnarr mentioned that what is happening in Washington is unique in our times. There has been very rapid growth in the uses and facilities of the Society. The Society used to depend on a transient group but this is no longer true. The attitude has changed and people want to stay in the area all the rest of their lives. He feels a lot of the change has come about because the men of the church have come together and considered the uses of the church in terms of what they are willing to do in ultimates to build the church, and that this, while unique for the moment, will spread through the entire church in the United States and Canada within the next twenty years. He feels that Providence has been very kind to them and all future developments must use the experiences that all previous developments have been through.
     Mr. George Cooper then further reported on the Washington Society.
     Mr. Cooper reported mainly upon the structure established in the Washington Society. They have set up an organizational chart, the leadership of which is provided by the pastor and the Board of Trustees. All functions of the church are directly under them and they are responsible for providing direction and priorities. He further explained the make-up and workings of the committees and subcommittees.

     16. In calling on the Rev. Douglas M. Taylor to report on the progress of his radio work in Australia, Bishop Pendleton explained that the work is an experiment from which the church will learn a great deal. He feels the time is getting close when there can be an evaluation of the results of external evangelization from an intelligent and continued basis, and we can learn out of this the use of radio as a medium in conjunction with newspaper advertising.
     Mr. Taylor expressed his thanks for having been able to continue his radio work for another twelve months. There were two main things he wanted to stress: that the work is continuing in exactly the same way as before and the response has been about the same. There have been slightly fewer first responses, but there are far more second responses - people asking for literature several times. Many who never write do listen. Visitors to church services are the usual, in fact, on one Sunday when no visitors were present it was remarked upon.

179


Mr. Taylor is trying to get second response people together in a central location in Sydney for classes. A circular letter went out to all those who were not listed in the telephone directory and the others are being contacted by telephone. So far he has received six acceptances by mail and fifteen by telephone.
     Mr. Taylor also mentioned that when they learned about the New Church World Assembly, the Australian Broadcasting Commission had asked him to give a report of it for their News of the Churches program. This he had done on the week the Assembly was held, having based his report on the program of the Assembly that had been mailed to him.
     They also suggested that he write a documentary on the life of Swedenborg for a forty-five minute program on the Life of Swedenborg. It has been approved and will be presented March 14th - the only concern is how the actors will perform it. A lot depends on their sincerity and ability. He was also asked how the characters should be performed and the pronunciation of Swedish names.
     A small group of inquirers has been meeting once a month for a class and are now paying all expenses for Mr. Taylor's monthly trips - an encouraging sign.
     Mr. Gordon Anderson asked if there was any estimate of the size of the audience and what percentage of audience were responding. Mr. Taylor advised the station feels they have between two and three thousand listeners regularly. Typically, there are two responses per program but some weeks there are none and others more. The subjects which brought the most responses were the series on The Lord's Prayer, The Lord's Miracles and the Lord's remarks on what the Bible teaches about the spiritual world.
     The Rev. Robert S. Junge asked if the radio broadcasts had any effect on the state of the Society.
     Mr. Taylor replied it seemed to as indicated by the surprise expressed on the one Sunday when no visitors were present. He mentioned a lady and her three children who were recently baptized and the children placed on Religion Lessons. There is a solid core getting very caught up in this radio project. Just that it's possible to get visitors and new members has been a real help.
     Bishop Pendleton mentioned that the programs were reaching the isolated in Australia and New Zealand. New Zealand people really look forward to them and they send scripts of talks to all contacts.
     The meeting adjourned.
          Respectfully submitted,
               NORBERT H. ROGERS,
                    Secretary

180


ANNUAL REPORTS 1971

ANNUAL REPORTS       NORBERT H. ROGERS       1971

     During September 1969 through August 1970, ninety members were received into the General Church. Seven were dropped from the roll. Four resigned from the Church. Forty-seven deaths were reported. On September 1st, 1970, the roll contained three thousand two hundred thirty-eight names.
     Membership, September 1, 1969                         3206
          (U.S.A. - 2077, Other Countries -1129)
     New Members                                        90
          (U.S.A. -72, Other Countries -18)
     Deaths reported                                   47
          (U.S.A. - 36, Other Countries - 11)
     Resignations                                        4
          (U.S.A. - 11, Other Countries - 3)
     Dropped from Roll                                   7
          (U.S.A. - 0, Other Countries -7)
     Losses (U.S.A. - 37, Other Countries - 21)          58
     Net gain during September 1969 through August 1970     32
     Membership, September 1, 1970                         3238
          (U.S.A. 2112, Other Countries -1126)

     NEW MEMBERS

     September 1, 1969 to August 31, 1970

THE UNITED STATES

     Arizona:     Tucson

Mr. James P. Cooper
Miss Martha Ann Hartter
Mr. Kenneth E. Lee

     Florida:     Pompano Beach

Miss Janet E. Synnestvedt

     California: Huntington Park

Mrs. Eleanor C. Gardam
          
     Illinois: Chicago

Miss Margaret G. Gladish

     California: Los Angeles

Mr. William H. Mellman

     California: Paramount

Mr. Ronald R. Block

     California: San Diego

Mr. Albert Joseph Low
Mrs. Albert Joseph Low (Gladys Lucille Palmquist)

     Illinois: Glenview

Miss Denise Brewer
Miss Denise A. Holmes
Miss Diane Holmes
Miss Janna King
Miss Heather A. Nelson
Mrs. Dan H. Woodard (Joan Fuller)


181




     Kentucky: Louisville

Mr. Dean R. Boyce
Mrs. Dean R. Boyce (Sherry Anne Kimble)

     Kentucky: Maysville

Mr. Don A. Walton
Mrs. Don A. Walton
(Edna Jane Gardner)

     Louisiana: Baton Rouge

Mr. Julien A. R. de Chazal

     Massachusetts: Boston

Mr. Christopher W. Simons

     Michigan: Rochester

Mr. Robert W. Bradin

     Minnesota: Stillwater

Miss Kathryn E. Wille

     New Hampshire: Newport

Mr. Robert B. Genzlinger
Mrs. Robert B. Genzlinger
(Maureen Laura Mondeau)

     New Jersey: Avalon

Mrs. John H. Cahaley Jr. (Gabriella Gabos)

     New Jersey: McAfee

Mrs. Robert W. Caturano (Terry Caroline Cowley)

     New Jersey: Plainfield

Mr. Robert E. Ford

     New York: Brockport

Miss Barbara J. Synnestvedt

     New York: Campbell Hall

Mr. Reginald F. Delaney, Jr.

     Ohio: Bay Village

Miss Charlotte Gyllenhaal

     Oregon:     Gearhart

Mr. James E. Hawley

     Pennsylvania: Bryn Athyn

Mrs. Frederick A. Burness (Florence Swartzlander)
Mr. Lawrence E. Cranch
Miss Dianna Echols
Miss Deanne Johns
Miss Elsa B. Lockhart
Mr. Joseph T. McDonough Jr.
Miss Gail A. Morey
Miss Deborah K. Nelson
Miss Pamela Orr
Miss Janice U. Packer
Mrs. Prescott A. Rogers (Barbara Jill Heilman)
Mr. Charles W. Schiffer
Mr. Richard D. Schiffer
Mrs. Richard D. Schiffer (Jane Wolvington)
Miss Peggy R. Schroeder

     Pennsylvania:     Erie

Mr. Paul A. Murray
Mrs. Paul A. Murray (Dianna Mae Young)

     Pennsylvania: Hatboro

Mr. Stephan Silcox

     Pennsylvania: Huntingdon Valley

Mr. Khalil Abed
Mrs. Khalil Abed (Wadia Salfity)
Miss Wadad Abed
Miss Patricia A. Bruckerl
Mr. Kingsley G. Rogers
Mr. Erik E. Sandstrom
Mrs. Alfred R. Tolson (Olivia Berith Odhner)
Miss Carla M. Washburn

     Pennsylvania: Kingston

Mr. George M. Kelly

     Pennsylvania: Lansdale

Mr. James S. Smith

182



Mrs. James S Smith (June Marie Makepeace)

     Pennsylvania: Newtown

Mr. Carroll B. Ripley, Jr.
Mrs. Carroll B. Ripley, Jr. (Carolyn Adele Hoffman)

     Pennsylvania: Old Zionsville

Mr. Michael G. Smith

     Pennsylvania: Philadelphia

Mrs. Robert E. Lee deMaine (Georgine Ann Class)
Miss Irene H. Drannikow

     Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh

Mr. Jan Junge

     Pennsylvania: Rydal

Mrs. George M. Jones, III (Nancy Ruth Weeks)

     Washington: Bellevue

Mrs. Miles S. Johns, Jr. (Virginia Gertrude Demmer)

     West Virginia: Point Pleasant

Mr. Friend S. Furbee

     CANADA

     Alberta:     Silver Valley

Miss Shirley A. Friesen

     Ontario:     Islington

Miss Barbara A. Walker

     Ontario:     Kitchener

Mrs. Reinhold J. Kauk (Patricia Joan Peer)

     Ontario: Preston

Mr. Henry B. Heinrichs
Mr. Roy P. Stewart
Mrs. Roy P. Stewart (Murielle Fidele Mary Plouffe)

     SOUTH AMERICA

     Brazil: Rio de Janeiro

Mr. Roberto de Roure Paes

     Colombia: Bogata

Miss Ana Maria Correia Gomes

     EUROPE

     Norway:     Oslo

Miss Tove Violet Bredesen

     AUSTRALIA

     Victoria:     Sorrento

Mr. Graham Rodney Horner
Miss Margaret Lynette Horner

     N.S.W.:     Carlingford

Miss Elizabeth Gabrielle Simmons

     N.S.W.:     Drummoyne

Mrs. Charles Mario Segulin (Margaret Mary Stewart)

     N.S.W.:     Gordon

Mr. Stanley Herbert Grocott

     SOUTH AFRICA

     Natal: Durban

Mrs. John Frederick Elphick (Una Joan Paul)
Miss Elizabeth Ione Adele Schuurman
Mr. John Anthony Snoep
Mrs. John Anthony Snoep (Sonja Alice Johanson)

183




     DEATHS

     Reported September 1, 1969 to August 31, 1970

Acton, Kesniel Carswell, May 18, 1970, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania (75)
Baker, Mrs. Ross Edward (Phyllis Mary Wright), June 11, 1968, Glen Riddle, Pennsylvania (56) - Delayed Report
Beach, Roy Edward, October 4, 1969, Mt. Jackson, Virginia (29)
Beath, Mrs. Ida Stuart (Dill), August 9, 1970, Urbana, Ohio (98)
Beebe, Martin Raining, December 26, 1969, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania (50)
Behlert, Elmer Edmund Jesper, date unknown, place of death unknown - Delayed Report
Burnham, Mrs. Crebert (Vera McQueen), March 23, 1970, Glenview, Illinois (71)
Bricker, George Lowell, April 24, 1968, Chicago, Illinois (64) - Delayed Report
Brickman, Mrs. Elmer G. (Elinor Ebert), August 21, 1970, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (61)
Buell, Miss Frances Margarita, September 26, 1969, Feastervlle, Pennsylvania (86)
Cole, Mrs. Charles Snowden (Emily Margueret Rauch), January 29, 1970, Glenview, Illinois (95)
Cooper, Alfred Victor, August 20, 1970, Warrington, Lancs., England (63)
Cranch, Frederick Dawes, November 19, 1969, York, Pennsylvania (63)
Crowther, Seth Wilkinson, April 1, 1970, Meadowbrook, Pennsylvania (64)
de Charms, Captain Richard, III, March 5, 1970, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (82)
Dokkum-Bruijns, Johanna Maria, during 1967, Bilthoven, Holland (83) - Delayed Report
Eschwege, Mrs. Samuel (Winifred Irvina Stevens), October 10, 1969, Chicago, Illinois (85)
Forster, Norman, date unknown, place unknown, last residence Durham, England
Frampton, Mrs. A. Ellis (Gaynell Marguerite Strott), February 28, 1970, Erie, Pennsylvania (78)
Frost, Francis Laible, April 2, 1970, Foxboro, Massachusetts (72)
Glenn, Mrs. Gerald Starkey (Clio Pollock), August 16, 1970, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania (86)
Hansen, William E. T., February 22, 1970, Spokane, Washington (74)
Heilman, Anthony, March 28, 1970, Glenview, Illinois (51)
Heilman, Otho Ward, October 17, 1969, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania (82)
Henderson, Mrs. Albert D. (Margaret Anna Gyllenhaal), December 5, 1969, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (79)
Honeman, Mrs. Norbert Henry (Gloria Nancy Caldwell), June 6, 1970, Glenview, Illinois (46)
Howard, John, May 19, 1970, Mt. Clements, Michigan (56)
Johansson, Ester Maria, December 18, 1964, Stockholm, Sweden (77) - Delayed Report
Kressman (Croessmann), Allen Berger, July 9th, 1969, Dyersburg, Tennessee (70)
McCardell, Willard Burton, May 21, 1970, Highland Park, Michigan (50)
Mongredien, Clara Beryl, December 25, 1968, Durban, Natal, South Africa (87) - Delayed Report
Murdoch, Stuart, April 26, 1970, Glenview, Illinois (61)
Pendleton, Constance, December 7, 1969, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania (83)
Pendleton, Freda, May 4, 1970, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania (88)
Peppler, Clara Emillia, January 3, 1970, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada (90)

184



Potts, John Warren, February 22, 1970, Alamos, Senora, Mexico (57)
Rosenquist, Friedel, June 18, 1970, Sellersville, Pennsylvania (73)
Scalbom, John D., February 22, 1970, Evanston, Illinois (55)
Scalbom, Oscar Trumbull, December 25, 1969, Glenview, Illinois (69)
Shepherd, Frederick George, October 2, 1969, Colchester, England (74)
Synnestvedt, Homer Stuart, August 25, 1970, Capistrano Beach, California (66)
Taylor, Beatrice, October 5, 1969, Pretoria, Transvaal, South Africa (89)
Vinet, Pierre, June 16, 1970, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania (72)
Van Horn, William Orlando, April 1, 1970, Richboro, Pennsylvania (89)
Waters, Mrs. Alan N. (Hilda Mary Potter), August 27, 1970, Colchester, Essex, England (76)
Whitehead, Mrs. William (Ora Evelyn Stroh), July 4, 1970, Richboro, Pennsylvania (79)
Woelfie, Mrs. Gustav A. (Uarda M. Doering), November 2, 1969, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada (81)

     RESIGNATIONS

Cranch, Eliot Walter, Glenview, Illinois
Starkey, Charles Seymour, Weston, Ontario, Canada
Starkey, Mrs. Charles Seymour (Sylvia Anne Gesher), Weston, Ontario, Canada
Stenstrom, Tor Ake Vilhelm, Sweden

     DROPPED FROM THE ROLL

de Negreiros, Joao Ubiratan, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
de Negreiros, Mrs. Joso Ubiratan, (Edna Silveira), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Fairhill, Miss Josephine Lizzie, London, England
Lima, Snra. Antonio C. da Silva (Alice Henrietta Leonardos), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Lobo, Candido, Jr., Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Motum, Alvin Everett, England
von Sydow, Aifredo Max, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Respectfully submitted,
     NORBERT H. ROGERS
          Secretary
TREASURER OF THE GENERAL CHURCH REPORT FOR 1970 1971

TREASURER OF THE GENERAL CHURCH REPORT FOR 1970              1971


     In spite of the business recession, unemployment, the stock market, inflation, and the loss of a number of contributors, 1970 was unusually successful financially for the General Church. It was, however, an expensive year; for general fund operations alone we spent $38,000 or 10% more than in any other single year. At the same time I believe the General Church performed greater services to the church than ever before in any twelve-month period.
     As in the past the continued updating of the Salary and Benefits Programs contributed to rising costs. In support of these programs the General Church rendered substantial aid to education in five of our Societies operating schools as well as in pastoral support in four additional Societies.

185


Assistance was also provided for pastoral work in six organized Districts plus ten general areas throughout the world.
     1970, of course, was an Assembly year, and the expense of traveling for ministers and their wives attending the Assembly added to the total. It was also the first year of a new policy of awarding General Church stipends to candidates in the Academy's Theological School.
     In addition to all of these, there were the usual expenses of administration, the multitude of operations housed at Cairncrest, the South African Mission, contributions to the Pension Plan, and many others, each adversely affected by the galloping inflation.
     Unusual expenditures were also made from Capital funds last year. To provide cash for the completion of the new church building in Stockholm, the General Church bought the manse from the Society. A home was purchased in Connecticut to serve as a manse for the pastor in this new District. In South Africa a new church and manse were completed in the Mission, land was purchased for a second church, and an office was provided for the superintendent in the Durban Society's new building. Finally, a loan was made to the Washington Society to promote the continued development of Acton Park.
     All of this was made possible by the continued growth of operating revenues and the generosity of our large contributors. In addition to the Capital gifts that we have been so fortunate to receive each year, in 1970 over a half a million dollars was distributed from the Estate of Miss Winifred Boericke.
     Investment income increased predictably by established formula, but regular contributions to income exceeded our expectations. While we appear to have lost a rather large number of contributors, and many of these are due to the lack of reports from at least four important areas, many who regularly support these uses have increased their amount to overcome this loss by nearly $3,000. The following is an analysis of the source of general contributions:

                    1970                         1969
Category          No.          Amount               No.           Amount

$1-$99          472          $14,438               555          $10,636
$100-$499          108          18,730               109          20,168
$500-$999          19          13,419               15          10,859
$1,000-Over     15          59,148               19          61,223

Totals          614          $105,735               698          $102,886

     In the final results income exceeded expenses, enabling the addition of $6,000 to the reserve for moving ministers and approximately $2,700 to Net Worth.
     Even the General Church Book Center turned a good profit last year, thanks to the volunteer services of a number of dedicated people who operate the Center.
     Respectfully submitted,
          LEONARD E. GYLLENHAAL
               Treasurer

186




     COMPARATIVE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL CONDITION

     Assets

                              December 31

                                   1970          1969

GENERAL FUNDS

     Cash                              $ 3,650          $ 34,987
     Accounts Receivable               46,777          37,217
     Loans Outstanding               56,947          60,251
     Investments N.C.I.F               841,764          815,495
     U.S.A. Bonds                    1,038          1,038
     Other Securities               92,104          127,273
     Buildings and Grounds          114,000          114,000
     Real Estate                    104,334          29,899
     Inventory-Publications          25,092          14,592
     Prepaid Expense               8,778          13,838
     Due from other Funds          3,173          2,538

          TOTAL GENERAL FUNDS          $1,297,657     $1,250,128

LOAN FUNDS

     Cash                              $ (32,533)     $ (3,187)
     Loans Outstanding               63,085          33,085
     Investments-N.C.I.F               87,178          87,178

          TOTAL LOAN FUNDS          $ 117,730          $ 117,076

ENDOWMENT AND TRUST FUNDS

     Cash                              $ 275,020          $ 129,891
     Investments - N.C.I.F          5,177,521          5,119,988
     Due from other Funds          65,000          60,000
     Other Securities               722,403          183,239

TOTAL ENDOWMENT AND TRUSTS          $6,239,944     $ 5,483,118

SOUTH AFRICAN MISSION FUNDS

     Cash                              $ 1,176          $12,284
     Loans and Accounts Receivable          4,263          3,136
     Investments-Building Society          67,112          69,079
     Real Estate and Office               19,921          4,549

          TOTAL SOUTH AFRICAN MISSION     $ 92,472          $89.048

TOTAL ALL FUNDS                    $7,747,803     $6,949,370

187





     Accountability

     December 31

                                        1970          1969
GENERAL FUNDS

     Accounts Payable                    $ 24,042          6,422
     Contributions for Future Expenditures     18,546          24,396
     Due to Other Funds                    66,237          60,348
     Unexpended Funds
          Restricted                         28,651          51,992
          Appropriated                    9,280          9,486
          Reserved for:
           Investment Savings          90,143          44,675
           Pastoral Moving               7,972          7,791
          Other                         5,532          7,809
     Unappropriated Income Surplus          196,171          192,677
     Principal of Book Center               21,040          7,357
     Net Worth                              839,125          837,175
          
TOTAL GENERAL FUNDS                         $ 1,297,657     $ 1,250,128

LOAN FUNDS

Building Revolving Fund                    $ 117,730          $ 117,076

TOTAL LOAN FUNDS                         $ 117,730          $ 117,076

ENDOWMENT AND TRUST FUNDS

     Funds Functioning as Endowment     $ 977,185          $ 841,116
     Endowment Nonexpendable
          Income Restricted               1,292,896          1,249,198
          Income Unrestricted               1,537,663          963,752
     Special Endowment                    2,301,976          1,298,780
     Trust Funds                         130,224          140,272

TOTAL ENDOWMENT AND TRUSTS               $6,239,944     $5,493,118

SOUTH AFRICAN MISSION FUNDS

     Accounts Payable                    $ 840          $ 338
     Mission Reserve Fund               90,782          86,760
     Trust Funds                         570               549
Special Funds                              280               1,401
          
TOTAL SOUTH AFRICAN MISSION               $ 92,472          $ 89,048

TOTAL ALL FUNDS                         $7,747,803     $ 6,949,370

188




     OPERATING INCOME

     Where it came from

                                             December 31

                                        1970               1969
Contributions

     General Purposes                    $105,735          $ 102,886
     Religion Lessons                    2,255          6,067
     South African Mission               5,230          5,466

          TOTAL                         $113,220          $ 114,419

Investment Income

     General Fund                         $ 55,082          $ 53,839
     Endowment Funds                    198,404          159,249

          TOTAL                         $253,486          $ 213,088


Subscription and Sales

     New Church Life                    $ 5,509          $ 5,598
     New Church Education               1,363          1,414
     Printing and Publishing               10,681          7,432
Moving and Travel Funds                    9,692          6,089
Miscellaneous                              5,350          4,122

          TOTAL INCOME                    $399,301          $352,162


What it was spent for

Administration

     Episcopal Office                    $ 27,159          22,619
     Secretary's Office                    15,441          14,562
     Financial and Corporate Affairs     27,925          24,207

          Total Administration          $ 70,525          $ 61,388

Services and Information                    77,201          67,800

     TOTAL ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES          $147,726          $ 129, 188

Education

     Support of Schools                    $ 42,694          $37,917
     Religion Lessons and Other          15,151          16,794

     TOTAL EDUCATION                    $ 57,845          $ 54,711

Pastoral Support

     Societies                              $ 17,713          $ 20,748
     Resident Areas                         36,367          35,723
     Nonresident Areas                    24,624          25,826
     Special Services                    8,042          12,764

          TOTAL PASTORAL                    $ 86,746          $ 96,061

189




Clergy                                   $18,674          $ 8,209
South African Mission                    29,673          26,637
Missionary                              2,294          2,516
Pension Fund Contributions               32,090          28,752
Other                                   15,559          6,924

     TOTAL EXPENSE                          $390,607          $ 351,998

Appropriated from Surplus

     Reserve for Moving                    6,000          -

Unappropriated Balance                    $ 2,694          $ 164
GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM (A Pennsylvania Corporation) REPORT OF THE SECRETARY FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 1970 1971

GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM (A Pennsylvania Corporation) REPORT OF THE SECRETARY FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 1970       STEPHEN PITCAIRN       1971

     MEMBERSHIP

     During the year 1970 the number of persons comprising the membership of the Corporation increased from 336 to 340. The changes in membership consisted of:

13 New Members:

Bellinger, Philip E.
Elder, Bruce E.
Jean-Marie, Frank S.
Lindrooth, Charles H.
McDonald, C. Dennis
McDonald, Jack M.
Nelson, Perry S.
Pendleton, Brent
Scott, Robert G.
Simonetti, Paul J.
Smith, C. R. J
Starkey, David G.
Wyncoll, John Harold

8 Death of Members:

Acton, Kesniel C.
de Charms, Richard
Frost, Francis L.
Howard, John
McCardell, Willard B.
Potts, John W.
Synnestvedt, H. Stuart
Tyler, George T.

1 Death of Member Not Reported on 12/31/69 Report:

Scalbom, O. Trumbull

     DIRECTORS

     The By-Laws of the Corporation provide for election of thirty Directors, ten of whom are elected each year for terms of three years. The Board presently consists of twenty-nine Directors. At the 1970 Annual Meeting ten Directors were elected for terms expiring in 1973.

190


The present Directors, with the dates their terms expire, are as follows:

1971 Acton, Elmo C.
1972 Alden, William B.
1973 Anderson, Gordon G.
1972 Asplundh, Lester
1972 Brewer, Horace H.
1973 Brickman, Theodore, Jr.
1972 Campbell, David H.
1973 Cooper, George M.
1971 Doering, George C.
1973 Doering, Grant R.
1971 Fuller, Alan B.
1973 Gyllenhaal, Charles P.
1973 Gyllenhaal, Leonard E.
1971 Hasen, Alfred H.
1973 Junge, James F.
1971 Kintner, William R.
1971 Lee, Edward B., Jr.
1972 Nelson, Lewis
1972 Pendleton, Willard D.
1972 Pitcairn, Lachlan
1972 Pryke, Owen
1971 Rose, John W.
1973 Schoenberger, John J.
1972 Smith, Marlyn F.
1971 Stebbing, David H.
1972 Synnestvedt, J. Ralph, Jr.
1973 Synnestvedt, Leo
1971 Walter, Robert E.
1971 Woodard, George H.
Lifetime honorary member of the Board:
de Charms, George

     OFFICERS

     The Corporation has four Officers, each of whom is elected yearly for a term of one year. Those elected at the Board Meeting of January 23, 1970 were:

President               Pendleton, Willard D.
Vice President          Acton, Elmo C.
Secretary               Pitcairn, Stephen
Treasurer               Gyllenhaal, Leonard E.

     CORPORATION MEETINGS

     The 1970 Annual Corporation Meeting was held at Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, on January 23, this being the only Corporation Meeting held during the year. The President, Bishop Pendleton, presided, and the attendance numbered 112 members. Reports were received from the Nominating Committee and the Treasurer, and the election for Directors was held.
     After adjournment of the formal meeting the following reports were given: the Reverend Daniel W. Heinrichs reported on recent developments in New Church education in the Durban Society and the move from Durhan to Westville; the Reverend Louis B. King reported on the progress of ninth and tenth grades in the Immanuel Church high school; the Reverend Alfred Acton reported on the specifics of the Immanuel Church school and the sports program; the Reverend Fred Schnarr reported on the plans to establish a New Church school in the Washington, D. C. Society; and the Reverend Frank Rose reported on the history and future of informal New Church education as conducted in England during the summer months.

     BOARD MEETINGS

     The Board of Directors held four meetings during 1970, the President presiding at all of them. The average attendance of Directors was 20 with a maximum of 23 and a minimum of 16.
     In January a regular meeting and an organizational meeting of the Board were held.

191


Mr. Garth Pitcairn, Chairman of the Pension Committee, reported that there were several inequities in the present Pension Plan and be presented recommendations of his Committee to update the Plan and make the pension payments more realistic, reflecting cost of living increases and present salary rates. The Board approved these recommendations and requested the Committee to review pensions at least once every three years.
     Bishop Pendleton reported that the Washington Society had asked the General Church to assist them in establishing a New Church elementary school by providing the salary of an experienced teacher for a minimum of five years. After a discussion of the Society's finances the Board approved in principle the request of the Washington Society, and authorized the Treasurer to pay the salary of an experienced teacher in the Washington Society for the period of one year, at which time the plan would be reviewed by the Board.
     A request for the support of an additional teacher in the Kitchener Society for the 1970-1971 school year was also approved with the matter to be reviewed in one year.
     At the May meeting Bishop Pendleton reported that the Reverend David R. Simons had resigned as Principal of the Bryn Athyn Elementary Schools and that the Reverend Robert S. Junge had consented to serve as Principal for one year. The Reverend Mr. Junge had earlier resigned as Secretary of the General Church, Unincorporated. Bishop Pendleton said that he proposed to employ the Reverend Mr. Simons as Educational Assistant to the Bishop. In this office Mr. Simons would be the Director of the Religion Lessons, Editor of New Church Education, Secretary of the Educational Council and assist the Bishop in the work of developing elementary schools throughout the Church. The Board of Directors unanimously approved the employment of Mr. Simons. Bishop Pendleton further reported that he was proposing to nominate the Reverend Norbert H. Rogers for the office of Secretary of the General Church, Unincorporated, at the General Assembly.
     A modification and an increase in the Ministers and Teachers Minimum Salary Plan was approved, effective September 1, 1970. Mr. Robert Walter, Chairman of the Salary Committee, said that his group was working on a more sophisticated Plan which hopefully would result in a more permanent broad compensation package, tied in some way with the over-all economy.
     Upon the recommendations of a Special Joint Committee, Mr. Bruce Fuller was elected to the Office of Controller of the General Church, reporting to the Treasurer.
     At the October meeting Mr. Leonard Gyllenhaal reported in detail for a Special Committee on the difficulties in finding homes for the pastors in Connecticut and Sweden. After discussion the Board of Directors approved the purchases of manses in both Stockholm and Connecticut.
     Mr. Gyllenhaal further reported that the Pension Committee had recommended an upward adjustment in the pensions due Mrs. Viola Rennels and the Reverend Victor Gladish. These adjustments, which cover certain inequities, were approved.
     Bishop Pendleton reported that the new revised edition of "A Statement of the Order and Organization of the General Church" had been received. A copy of this pamphlet will be sent to each new member of the Church. The Board, upon the Bishop's recommendation, authorized covering the mailing costs of sending this pamphlet to all members of the Church.
     Other matters to come before the meetings were: approval of loans from the Revolving Building Loan Fund; reports on the Boericke Estate; approval of Bank Resolutions; approval of reprinting the Word; discussion of purchase of Church buildings for certain areas; and consideration and action on normal routine matters.
     Respectfully submitted,
          STEPHEN PITCAIRN
               Secretary

192


PUBLICATION COMMITTEE 1971

PUBLICATION COMMITTEE       NORBERT H. ROGERS       1971

     After giving the General Church Publication Committee fine and inspiring leadership for several years, the Rev. Robert S. Junge last summer resigned in order to take up his duties as Acting Principal of the Bryn Athyn Church Elementary School. I then assumed the chairmanship and the Rev. David R. Simons was appointed to fill the vacancy on the Committee.
     During the past year the Committee has met every six or eight weeks to consider new manuscripts submitted to them and when needed, the reprinting of other materials. During the course of the year the Committee authorized publication of three booklets, namely, That All May Know by Donald and Frank Rose; The World Knew Him Not by Donald Rose; and The Birthday of the Lord by Noel and Mildred McQueen. Authorized for reprinting were Things from the Word in ABC; and a hard cover edition of The City of God by K. R. Alden. Also approved for reprinting, but not yet done is a pamphlet entitled The Visible God by Erik Sandstrom. Still under consideration is The Spirit of Morality by Frederick L. Schnarr.
     The Word according to the New Church canon is now out of stock, and for more than a year Mr. Bruce Fuller has been trying to arrange for a new printing to be made. Most companies who publish the Bible are not willing to take the trouble to print the Word for us in what is to them such a small order. The Oxford Press is willing and at the time of writing Mr. Fuller, in conjunction with the Swedenborg Society, is in the process of negotiating terms.
     Respectfully submitted,
          NORBERT H. ROGERS
               Chairman
EDITOR OF "NEW CHURCH LIFE" 1971

EDITOR OF "NEW CHURCH LIFE"       W. CAIRNS HENDERSON       1971

     With a General Assembly and the New Church World Assembly to be reported, 36 additional pages were required in 1970. In order of space used, the total of 612 pages was made up as follows:

                              Pages

     Articles                    362
     Sermons                    66
     Reports                    55
     Editorials               36
     Announcements               27
     Church News               25
     Reviews                    10
     Talks to Children          10
     Directories               8
     Miscellaneous               7
     Communications               6
                              612

     The series of articles on the work True Christian Religion mentioned in last year's report was concluded in the December issue.

193


This series has been much appreciated by a number of readers.
     Excluding editorials, news notes and reports, the contents of NEW CHURCH LIFE in 1970 came from 43 contributors - 33 ministerial and 10 lay, the latter including one lady. Once again, we did not have a good year in the Church News department, but an effort will be made to improve this in 1971.

     CIRCULATION

     Figures as of December 31, 1970, supplied by the Business Manager show that paid subscriptions increased by 12 and gratis subscriptions by 1. Total circulation is shown in the following tabulation:

                                        1970      1969

Paid Subscriptions

By subscriber           921
Gift                    303                    1124          1212
Free to our Clergy, Libraries, etc.     215          214

                                        1439          1426

     Respectfully submitted,
          W. CAIRNS HENDERSON
               Editor
RELIGION LESSONS COMMITTEE 1971

RELIGION LESSONS COMMITTEE       DAVID R. SIMMONS       1971

     In the new uses we have been called on to serve, it is our hope that we can stimulate and lead New Church education both in our homes and in our schools. We regard families away from church centers as a primary responsibility, at this time.
     As Director of General Church Religion Lessons, we read the Religion Lessons and our admiration and respect for the men who wrote and developed them grows. Their scholarship, their knowledge of the Word, their application of New Church doctrine and their love of children shine through every page. They have made a great contribution to the church. However, the lessons, as they would have acknowledged readily, are a pioneer effort. They are not perfect. They need, and will always need, to be re-evaluated if they are to meet the living needs of the church. We see present deficiencies, not essentially in the content, for this is top scholarship, but in the form - in how they are accommodated to the minds of children. The concentration of the minds who wrote them was on content, on transmitting the spirit of the Word. We propose to focus on the form, and on ways these lessons can be better accommodated for easier, more affectionate reception.
     In analyzing lessons for readability, we discover that many lessons are technically one to four years above the reading ability of the children to whom they are sent. When lessons are beyond the reading ability of children, then, of course, they must depend on their parents for help. It would he our hope that children from fourth grade up might be able to work, for the most part, independently. In order to accomplish this, we have asked for volunteers to go over and simplify the lessons. This need not be done by a minister.

194


It is simply a matter of eliminating or replacing all the multi-syllabic words and long-involved sentences. We will, of course, check this work. Then as we reprint our lessons we can print our revised versions.
     Of equal importance educationally, is the kind of response expected of children. What kind of questions and activities are we using to help children make these lessons their own. All educators know that we cannot really learn without a reaction and response, and that the more effortless and enjoyable the response, the more there is of delight in it, the better will be the learning. Our whole effort in Religion Lessons is to promote learning by making it as delightful as possible. Inmost delights, which come from contact with the Word, need to be matched by external delights provided for by lively, variety-filled ways of using the truths learned. Concerning this, one parent wrote that her ten year old daughter "has balked about filling in the completion type objective questions. It seemed to me that the series covering Exodus through Judges could use some reprocessing, keeping in mind the difficulties a third or fourth grader has in spelling Deuteronomy, for example. Or the painstaking efforts of reading and re-reading the lesson, in order to find the right words which might be indefinable and meaningless to the child two minutes later. I would suggest if it is felt that a test and measurement effort is needed in conjunction with religious experience, that the questions be shorter and fewer, and that occasionally the traditional objective items give way to other kinds of measurement and evaluation of which there are many, as you know."
     Here in the effort to provide for more stimulating and interesting forms of response is an area where a minister-educator is needed to improve the work of our lessons. For response is precious! It is the way children make things their own. It is a means of impressing fundamental ideas on the human mind, and it is an area which can be organized to bring pleasure, fun and delight - vital ingredients - to our program.
     We have discovered that while most of our girls conscientiously follow our program from the Old Testament stories through Life of the Lord, to the City of God and Heaven and Hell courses, still we are experiencing drop-outs, as far as our boys are concerned. We propose to meet this problem by offering alternative courses, such as a "Science from a New Church Point of View" course, based on Unity in the Universe, and also by moving to more modern and enjoyable means of communication, namely, cassette tapes.
     We have been conducting lessons on an experimental basis with five students ranging from 7th to 9th grades and the results have been encouraging. This little experience seems to indicate that we have a stimulating and interesting means of educating our people, which is also practical.* The potential for adult education is open-ended.
     * Casette Recorder - $25 and up; casette tape $1.50 for one hour (half hour per side). They are light for mailing ($.20), very simple to operate, and can be reused.
     Cassette tapes can record up to an hour per side. They can be easily duplicated. And we can transfer any materials that we have on our full-size tapes, in the Sound Recording Committee Files, to cassettes, as the demand increases.
     Experience shows one can cover a great deal of material in a fifteen minute lesson. Above all, they are direct, warm, personal and friendly - a one-to-one type of instruction, which is the best kind of education. We have also been impressed with the educational value to the students themselves, who must organize their thinking from the Writings for their oral presentations, and with the freedom it gives them to extend their lesson into their own lives by asking questions of their own, which greatly expands the usefulness of this pastoral contact.

195



     We have to date tried two methods of cassette lessons: 1) giving two fifteen minute lessons, asking questions which require a ten minute response of the student. When we receive their completed tape, we comment on their answers and send the next pair of lessons. We used "Science from a Religious Point of View," for this experiment. 2) In the second type of lesson tried, the student reads the material from our regular correspondence course, such as Rev. B. David Holm's course on Heaven and Hell, and then answers the questions on these lessons into his recorder. He is also encouraged to ask questions beyond his reading. The teacher then corrects misimpressions, expands ideas, and provides answers to the individual questions.
     Of these two methods, the second is by far the least time-consuming. Also, by the time the student has organized his thoughts, the most important part of the lesson, the direct, reflective approach to the Writings, has been accomplished! The work of some of these students has been outstanding
     There is a third experiment being tried with adults. This is to have adults take a course, such as Growth of the Mind, by regular tape. Then every time a question comes up, speak that question onto a cassette tape. In this way we can have adult education courses with response that would be answered by a minister.
     Another project we are working on, which relates not only to our families away from the church centers, but to learning in our schools as well, is the development of Learning Aids. We propose, for example, to print on the covers of our magazine, NEW CHURCH EDUCATION, a series of flash-cards for learning the books of the Word - The Old Testament, The New Testament, and The Heavenly Doctrine. We have begun a series that can be cut out and used in this manner. Also, we have begun a series which will teach the names of the twelve sons of Israel, showing the order in which they were born, their mothers, the meanings of their names and their correspondence. We can extend this knowledge by having children who have mastered the names, relate them to the Tabernacle in the Wilderness - the order of encampment. (See Bishop de Charms - Tabernacle, p. 252) We have designed maps or mats so that this may easily be learned. Later, when children come to the division of the land of Canaan among the tribes, this knowledge can be added. The use of these "learning aids" extends into the classroom as well as our homes and into every subject on the curriculum. Our emphasis is on building up a body of information related to the distinctive knowledges of New Church education which can make learning more interesting. We have volunteers, college students and parents, working to demonstrate the possibilities, and we are hoping to inspire the schools to expand this work and share their developments throughout the church.
     This Christmas, thanks to the generous support of Theta Alpha, we were able to send a slide viewer and four Christmas slides into every home which takes Religion Lessons. The grateful response, through Christmas cards and letters has been rewarding. Our purpose was to open the homes of the church to the wonderful slide collection of the Visual Education Committee. We feel certain that as these slides are put to use, we can expand this collection.
     A next step will be to offer cassettes and slides - Audio-Visual packs - first, for the festival celebrations such as Christmas, Easter, Nineteenth of June and Thanksgiving. Ultimately, we could introduce each set of Religion Lessons or adult education courses offered. We have learned we can turn slides into film strips for easier mailing and projecting, and we are currently searching for an economical projector to recommend to our homes.
     We hope to involve our schools, including the Academy, in making AV packs related to all phases of the church.

196


Such projects as dramatizing our church organization, its history, its great men, the life of Swedenborg, the myths of the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans along with their knowledge of correspondences - any area where our distinctiveness is obvious - become worthwhile projects for our Art and History departments and interested supporters. These AV packs would be useful for our schools, as well as our homes. They have great potential for introducing newcomers to the full extent of our uses so they may gain a broad background of the church, or for missionary work. We hope we can demonstrate what a simple uncomplicated recorder and camera can do to expand our education uses and unify the church, and we hope to inspire others - our schools and homes - to contribute their talents to this work. Like writing and printing, all forms of communication are providential means for the development and spread of the church. These means may not be the full answer, but we should explore their potential for all it is worth, and explore it not only with our own local uses in mind, but for the whole church!
     As Editor of NEW CHURCH EDUCATION, it is our aim to coordinate this magazine with our Religion Lessons program and with the curricular developments of our schools. Theta Alpha also made it possible for us to send a copy of this publication to every home enrolled in our Religion Lessons program in the hope of increasing our circulation. This was very much appreciated.
     We are working to provide the home with more material and more leadership related to Family Worship. We recognize the great needs in this vital area for guidance and direction. We also feel that articles showing subject matter in the distinctive light of the Writings can help homes away from church centers to interpret all phases of education from a New Church point of view.
     Courses, such as Rev. B. David Holm's course on Heaven and Hell can be printed in NEW CHURCH EDUCATION and used as correspondence courses and Sunday school lessons. We would urge all ministers who have series relating to works of the Writings or subjects appropriate for youth to submit them for publication and use as correspondence courses.
     As Educational Assistant to the Bishop, we are visiting our schools to work with their faculties in the development of distinctive programs for the church. We hope to encourage them to work on "Learning Aids" and AV packs which can be used by our homes as well as our schools. We have visited Washington, D. C., and will he visiting Glenview (two weeks) in January, Kitchener - Toronto in February (one week), and Pittsburgh in March (one week)
     It is truly an inspiration, challenge and delight to be associated with uses which have so much to offer in the growth and development of the church.

     Respectfully submitted
          DAVID R. SIMMONS
               Director
STATISTICS 1971

STATISTICS              1971

     GENERAL CHURCH RELIGION LESSONS ENROLLMENT     1970-1971

Pre-School     1966 Group 4     23
               1967 Group 3     22
               1968 Group 2     16
               1969 Group 1     11
               1970 Infants     10     82     26 workers and teachers

197





Kindergarten      (A)                              33     9 teachers
     First Grade     (B)                              27     5
     Second Grade     (C)     Section     A-17, Section      B-18          35     11          
     Third Grade     (D)          A-20          B-14          34     9

     Fourth Grade     (E)          A-14          B-15          29     10
     Fifth Grade     (F)                              26     7
     Sixth Grade     (G)               12               15          27     8
     Seventh Grade     (H)                              19     4
     Eighth Grade     )     LIFE OF THE LORD     Section I          29     
     Ninth Grade     )                    Section II     28     
     Tenth Grade up     )     CITY OF GOD                    42     )Personally
)     UNITY IN THE UNIVERSE          2     )under
)     HEAVEN AND HELL               5     )Mr. Simons

Given by New Church ministers to the isolated:

North Ohio, Rev. Erik Sandstrom                              22
South Ohio, Rev. B. David Holm                              33
Washington, D. C., Rev. Frederick Schnarr                    35
California, Mrs. C. Muller                                   6
Western Canada, Rev. Willard Heinrichs                         22
Australia, Mrs. L. Brettell                                    14
South Africa, Miss L. Lumsden                                   16
England, Miss E. R. Acton                                   12

                                   TOTAL                    578

Festival Lessons sent from this office

England                                             12
Australia                                             10
S. Africa                                             15
San Francisco                                        6

          TOTAL          203

NEW CHURCH EDUCATION circulation 615
TRANSLATION COMMITTEE 1971

TRANSLATION COMMITTEE       NORBERT H. ROGERS       1971

     On appointing me chairman of the still to be formed General Church Translation Committee in 1967, the Bishop asked me to do two things first of all. One was to prepare a statement about the General Church and translating which was duly published in NEW CHURCH LIFE (March, 1968). The other was to suggest personnel for the Translation Committee. In due course the following were appointed, with the reasons for their appointment shown in parentheses:

The Rev. Alfred Acton (Doctrine, Latin, Hebrew)
Mr. Lennart O. Alfelt (Swedenborgiana)
The Rev. Daniel W. Goodenough (Doctrine, History)
Miss Lyris Hyatt (English)
Mr. Eldric S. Klein (Latin, History)

198



The Rev. Ormond de C. Odhner (Doctrine, History)
The Rev. N. Bruce Rogers (Doctrine, Latin, Hebrew)
The Rev. Norbert H. Rogers (Doctrine, Latin, Liaison with Swedenborg Foundation)
The Rev. Donald L. Rose (Doctrine, Latin, Liaison with Swedenborg Society)
Miss Margaret Wilde (Foreign Language Department Chairman)

     The Committee first addressed itself to formulating its principles, procedures and rules of translating. These were largely based on the regulations adopted by the Swedenborg Society, with modifications to suit our particular anticipated needs. The Committee next set about selecting a work to translate. It found that since World War II the Swedenborg Foundation and particularly the Swedenborg Society had been active in revising translations and producing new ones, and that what still needed retranslating were mainly the Arcana Caelestia, the Apocalypse Explained and the Spiritual Diary - all major works and too big to be the first attempt of our inexperienced committee and for the time available to our qualified translating potential. We eventually found two or three short works that had not been recently translated. Of these we selected to translate the Earths in the Universe because of the interest in the subject that had been aroused by space exploration and the then recent first moon landings. The Rev. N. Bruce Rogers agreed to do the translating, and the Rev. Alfred Acton to serve as his consultant. Unfortunately, Mr. Rogers was not able to proceed with the translating for a year and a half due to the pressure of his teaching duties at the Academy and to the need to devote the summer to developing his courses. This year, however, he has begun to arrange in parallel columns, in Latin, comparative passages from the Spiritual Diary, the Arcana Caelestia and the Earths in the Universe, which will be a valuable aid when he begins the actual translation of the Earths in the Universe.
     About a year and a half ago the Translation Committee was asked to investigate the usefulness and feasibility of computerizing the Writings. After consultation with competent persons, the committee concluded that computerizing the Writings would be of lasting and invaluable benefit to the scholarship of the New Church and that a sub-committee be appointed to investigate feasibility in detail. The sub-committee composed of Messrs. Robert Merrell and Paul Simonetti, N. Bruce Rogers and myself, and now also Mr. Lennart Alfelt, held a series of meetings to determine objectives and how computers could help attain them, problems that would be involved and possible solutions. A point came when we felt we had gone as far as we could theoretically and that it was necessary to have a pilot project to serve as a basis for discovering further problems and for working out better solutions. Contact had been made with Casyndekan, Inc. (accent on -syn-) of Colorado Springs, which had computerized some of Machiavelli's works, and whom we thought might be able to help us. After some exchange of letters, telephone calls and a conference with one of their representatives, a contract for a pilot project consisting of the first three chapters of the Arcana Ceelestia, Third Latin Edition (Swedenborg Society), at a cost of $1,010.00 was drawn up and, after being examined and discussed by the full Translation Committee, was approved and signed by me, sufficient funds having previously been donated to the Treasurer for the use of the Translation Committee. All the preliminary data - input for the pilot project has been completed and, at the time of preparing this report, is being proofed by Misses Hilary Pitcairn and Polly McQueen. The Sub-Committee on Computerizing the Writings viewed the first print-outs of the pilot project with mixed feeling.

199


We were disappointed that the data-input had been by key-punching, and so contained many subjective errors. We had thought an optical scanner was going to be used, but apparently an adequate one was not available to Casyndekan, Inc., and there is also some doubt that such scanners are sufficiently developed to do the job we need. But on the other hand, we are learning a lot from the pilot project that will be useful if and when the time comes to computerize the Writings. Then, too, when the data-input has been corrected, we expect to have it available to us to test out various possible uses computers can serve for the church, in addition to telling us the location and frequency of occurrence of any given word - something that will be of great help in compiling indexes and concordances, and also of value in translation work.
     I contributed one of four papers for a Swedenborg Society-sponsored meeting on translating the Writings held in London last July, and participated in the discussion. The meeting was most useful. A notable outcome of it is the Swedenborg Society's agreement to organize a two-week school on translating the Writings next summer. I understand that Dr. John Chadwick, of Cambridge University, has agreed to serve as Director of the school, and that it is to be held from Monday, July 12, through Friday, July 23. I have recommended that the Rev. Alfred Acton, the Rev. N. Bruce Rogers and Mr. Lennart Alfelt be sent to London to attend this school.
     Two problems needing solution should be mentioned in conclusion. One is the question of remunerating translators, and, if so, at what rate? When considering the question, the Translation Committee felt it was a matter for others to determine. It seems to me that the translation needs of the New Church have passed beyond the voluntary spare-time efforts of individuals. Acceptable standards have to be set and met. And for this translation projects should be undertaken on assignment by the Translation Committee and reviewed by it. This being so it seems fitting that those doing translation for the Committee should be remunerated. The Swedenborg Society does so in the form of an honorarium rather than wages.
     The other, more serious problem is how to develop the translating potential of the church? We greatly need to devise ways to encourage qualified young men to become properly competent in Latin and to see to it that those with translating skills have the time actually to translate. The whole church needs to be concerned with this problem and help solve it.

     Respectfully submitted,
          NORBERT H. ROGERS
               Chairman
SOUND RECORDING COMMITTEE 1971

SOUND RECORDING COMMITTEE       W. CAIRNS HENDERSON       1971

     A Catalogue Supplement issued in 1970 added 283 new titles for a total of 2095. These accessions came from Australia, Bryn Athyn, Colchester, Glenview, Pittsburgh, Toronto and Washington, D. C.
     In the twelve months ending September 30, 1970, circulation increased from 1146 to 1354. In addition, 63 blank tapes were mailed, 11 music tapes were requested, and 11 copies were made, for a total of 1439 tapes handled. During the same period a total of 795 of the Visual Education Committee's slides was mailed to borrowers.
     The treasurer reported that as of September 30, 1970, Committee net worth stood at $17,196.25, a decrease of $754.17. Total income for the year was $6,678.35, an increase of $459.03, while total expenses were $7,433.12, an increase of $647.15.

200


The main increase in expense came from maintenance, which was up $550. Cash on hand was down to $5,258, which should he adequate for the year. Visual Education funds have been integrated into the rest of the expenses.
     The Committee's move from one end of the Asplundh Field House to the other went smoothly on September 26. The entire move was accomplished in one afternoon, in remarkably good order, although the internal reorganization took several additional weeks. The Academy provided a very good set-up according to the Committee's specifications.

     Respectfully submitted,
          W. CAIRNS HENDERSON
               Chairman
MINISTERIAL CHANGES 1971

MINISTERIAL CHANGES       Editor       1971

     The Rev. Geoffrey H. Howard, Pastor of the Tucson and San Diego Circles, has accepted a call, effective September 1, 1971, to the pastorate of the Los Angeles Society and as Visiting Pastor to the San Francisco Circle.
Laws of Divine Providence 1971

Laws of Divine Providence              1971

     "2. Man should act in whatever he does from freedom according to reason, but should nevertheless acknowledge and believe that the very freedom which he has is from God; the same is the case with reason, regarded in itself - which is called rationality." (AE 1136)
VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN 1971

VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN       Editor       1971

     Visitors to Bryn Athyn on any occasion who need assistance in finding accommodation please communicate with the Guest Committee, c/o Mrs. Leo Synnestvedt, 611 Waverly Lane, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009. Phone: (215) WIlson 7-3725.

201


EXCEPT A GRAIN OF WHEAT 1971

EXCEPT A GRAIN OF WHEAT              1971


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

Editor . . . . Rev. W. Cairns Henderson, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager . . . . Mr. L. E. Gyllenhaal, 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. Notifications of address changes should be received by the 15th of the month.

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$5.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy, 50 cents.
     The Writings insist that the passion of the cross was not redemption. Although the Christian churches teach that it was, more and more clergymen are saying that the Lord's passion may not be separated from His life and resurrection - that there is a purpose which makes them one. This the Lord Himself spoke of when He said: "Except a grain of wheat fall into the earth and die it abideth alone; but if it die it beareth much fruit." Man is born to die that he may live; and in coming into the world by birth of a virgin the Lord willed to suffer death and to rise again the third day - but to the end that He might put off the maternal human and put on a Human from the Divine that was in Him in which Divine Human He has all power to save those who believe in Him. That as to which the Lord rose He became through His life and death. Therefore the angels have no thought of His death and burial, but of His glorification.
     This the Lord taught by the comparison quoted, and this that He taught determines our approach to Easter. The more we think in the light of the Writings, the less may we ignore Calvary. But as a church we do not seek the living among the dead on Easter morning. We do not, like Mary Magdalene, seek conjunction with the human that was crucified. The Heavenly Doctrine raises our thought, and would uplift our affection, to the Divine Human, now revealed in the Lord's second coming. For us the sign and symbol of the Lord's saving presence is neither the crucifix nor the cross. It is the open Word which is the source of life, and which sheds a flood of light on the mind that in darkness is yet prepared to receive it.

202




     A UNIQUE DOCUMENT

     Within recent weeks a revision of A Statement of the Order and Organization of the General Church of the New Jerusalem prepared by Bishop W. D. Pendleton in consultation with his Consistory has been mailed to our membership. This is a unique document. It is not a written constitution. In preparing it the Bishop and his advisers were not attempting to design an ideal order and organization that would be binding upon the future of the church. Their endeavor was simply to state as clearly as possible the governmental principles and practices observed in the General Church at the present time, and thus to give information as to the status of order and organization in the General Church at the time of publication.
     As a church we say that the Writings are our constitution. This means that our principles of government have been drawn from the Writings as we understand them, and that our governmental practices represent the adaptation of these principles to existing needs and situations. In other words we are here dealing with what is, not with what it is considered should be; and while it is hoped that the former is based upon the latter, it is realized that the future may bring need for modification.
     This is as it should be. If the church is a living body developing under the leading of Providence, it will enter into a truer understanding of its principles and a deeper appreciation of how to apply them, may even come to see new principles and to recognize new situations. This is what is provided for in the Order and Organization, and is what makes it unique - that while it is based on the Writings it provides freedom for change. Our pastors have been requested to consider this Statement with their congregations, and many have probably done so already. We draw attention here to this feature only - one which makes it possible for the General Church to be led by the Lord at all times.

     AN EVERLASTING COVENANT

     One of the most universal ideas found in Scripture is that of covenant. In ordinary usage a covenant was a formal agreement between two or more persons, involving free will and consent, also obligation with a solemn promise to fulfill the conditions agreed upon. The term is now confined to its religious usage, however, the word, contract, having taken its place in law and in business. In that usage it describes the Lord's promises as revealed in the Word, conditioned on certain terms on the part of man - as obedience, repentance and faith; and it is represented by the agreement between Jehovah and the patriarchs, whereby they were to be faithful to Him and He was to bless and protect them.

203



     Although it is present in some form throughout the Word, the covenant first appears distinctly in the story of Noah, with the rainbow as the sign. It then reappears from time to time: the covenant between God and Abraham, with circumcision as the token, and the Sinai covenant, which gave Israel an awareness of national security guaranteed through God's protection. The people covenanted to worship Jehovah alone, and He to bring His people into the land of Canaan. The new covenant of the prophets grew up later, after experience of personal and national suffering made possible an awareness of the need for salvation. Israel had broken her covenant with God, but He was willing to write in their hearts a new covenant which would be universally available, and which with some was associated with the Messiah.
     In the New Testament the covenant is associated with the Holy Supper, and its sign is baptism. So the entire history recorded in the Word is from beginning to end a history of the covenant, of its inauguration and development with the Jewish nation, and of its fulfillment in the Gospel.

      Here we find an example and illustration of the law that the Lord appears and accommodates Himself to the customs and conditions in which men are, and which they practice in human relations. The covenant signifies conjunction, for every covenant is for the sake of conjunction that those who enter into it may live in friendship or love.
     However, no covenant can be made between God and man. Man, himself, is a covenant breaker. The true covenant is between the Lord and that which is the Lord's in man. Therefore it is conjunction through love and faith and the things thereof, which are the Lord's and in which He is; and as this conjunction is entered into through regeneration, the covenant is regeneration and the Lord who regenerates is the Covenant.
      As covenants are made by consent on both sides the Lord proposes and man answers. In this we may see how the covenant is present in all things of the Word. But the covenant is actually made with man through his reception of the influx of truth from the Divine and then through the bringing of his mind into correspondence with that truth. The covenant itself is then the conjunction of the Lord with the new will which is formed by the truths of the Word. What the Lord offers to man is love, the love which He Himself is, and all the spiritual gifts which are in and from it, if man on his part will receive. This is action and reaction, but man cannot react of himself but only as of himself from that which is the Lord's with him. Conjunction of the Lord with the new will and understanding through reception of Divine truth is the covenant.

204


Church News 1971

Church News       Various       1971

     GLENVIEW, ILLINOIS

     When we fell heir to the prospect of writing a report for NEW CHURCH LIFE on what has been happening in Glenview for the last year or so, we took a skimming view of who had been writing these reports for the last seventy years. Research disclosed that this work had been done 70% of the time by the root, branch and blossom of one family tree. Want to take a guess? Yes, it is the McQueens. These old accounts are more like family letters, telling of weddings and births, and who joined the Society or left it. Now it is hard to know what to write about because the family has grown so big.
     Perhaps the new trend here in the last year or so has been in the number of reading and discussion groups for various ages. Mr. Acton leads the men's discussion group and the young married people's class, and Mr. King the women's discussion group, the high school class and the Arcana class. This last is held in the morning at the Kings' home and is attended mostly by older people. And of course, the venerable Philosophy Class continues to meet every week under Mr. Acton.
     Our schools have grown and are very busy. To see over one hundred elementary school children from kindergarten through eighth grade marching, all singing, into Pendleton Hall on festival days is something tremendous. The twenty-six in the high school have a healthy feeling of being distinct from the grade school.
     A Sons' sponsored busload of high school students drove to Bryn Athyn last winter and were most hospitably treated while visiting classes at the Academy, meeting new friends, and generally enjoying a bounteous social life. The folks in Pittsburgh also outdid themselves for our young people when the busload descended on them for a night on their way home
     Last spring "H. M. S. Pinafore" was given by the high school, and just before Christmas Dan Woodard directed them in Dickens' Christmas Carol. It was an epoch-making event last fall when the Immanuel Church School football team, splendid in red and white uniforms, played on our football field, on which the men and boys had worked hard, clearing and planting. Incidentally, these same men and boys have devoted many hours to the Park this last summer removing large elms which were diseased. But hope arises. The Boys Club, led by Brad Smith, have planted new trees.
     There is to be a Science Fair, held by the grade school, next month. Last spring's Art Fair was ample evidence of the growth of our art curriculum under Marguerite Acton.
     Our Sunday school, with nineteen on its roll, deserves mention. It was started nine years ago, when the Rev. Elmo C. Acton was our pastor, for children in the area who do not attend our school. Finally, in the school line, we cannot forget that vitality-packed group which attends Bambi Riedemann's pre-kindergarten.
     It was mind-expanding to have a visit from Bishop and Mrs. Pendleton in November as they were returning from the West Coast. We were especially delighted to hear from them about the dedication of the Washington school in September. At a Theta Alpha sponsored luncheon the Bishop spoke about the World Assembly. With the aid of a map he pointed out how the church is spread over the globe. A really episcopal perspective he gave us.
     While Mr. King was away last February the Rev. Norman Reuter visited us and was very stimulating, especially in informal discussion.

205


This year the Rev. David Simons visited us for two weeks and generated waves of enthusiasm for education.
     In September Mr. King introduced a new format for Friday suppers and classes, one aimed at making the occasion more a feast of charity. The class is given at seven o'clock and the supper is served at seven forty-five, with ten minutes between for a glass of wine and possibly some discussion of the class. After a trial period of this schedule it was voted overwhelmingly to continue it.
     At the first Friday supper in September we celebrated the Kings' Silver Wedding anniversary. The song sung was one written thirty-five years ago for the W. H. Junges' Golden Wedding, with verses for the Kings added by Alfred Acton.
     There is a faithful group of promoters of sales of New Church literature which arranges books and pamphlets on a table in the lobby after church and keeps us aware that we have not yet read it all. Of course, Mrs. Sydney Lee never tires of people knocking at her door to ask what she has in the Book Room. Who was it said: The New Church must be a reading church?
     A word about our Christmas celebrations is a good way to end telling about Glenview doings. First come in mind the four beautiful tableaux; and of the four the most vivid was the one of Balsam cruelly raising his stick to beat the ass which had fallen down in the road before him, when suddenly on this scene of hate a sparkling angel appeared. The power of contrast!
     After the tableaux comes that fun time when Mr. King gives presents to all the children (about a hundred preschoolers). Oh, those starry-eyed little girls carrying their new dolls (made and dressed by women in the Society) back to show their dads and mothers, and oh, those red trucks for the little boys! Flag pins and flag tie clips were given to the girls and boys of the grade school. The gifts committee did a tremendous job.
     After all this regular celebration, this bailiwick was really kept lively with the swarms of young people who visited us during the holidays. It was all wonderful!
     SUSAN SCALBOM HOLM
     MARY SCALBOM NICHOLSON

     GENERAL CHURCH

     Candidate Arne Bau-Madsen will assist and gain experience of pastoral work this summer in the Kitchener and Pittsburgh societies, respectively. Candidate Ragnar Boyesen will assist and gain experience of pastoral work in the Immanuel Church, Glenview, Illinois.
CALENDAR READINGS 1971

CALENDAR READINGS       Editor       1971

     Those who follow the Calendar of Daily Readings issued by the General Church will begin the Arcana Coelestia this month. The Calendar was discussed at the 13th General Assembly, held in London in 1928, and was instituted the following year. Publication of Notes on the Calendar Readings by the Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner in NEW CHURCH LIFE began in January, 1929; and those who have access to the volume for 1930, in which the notes on the Arcana began, may usefully consult it. This year's readings will cover Arcana Coelestia, volume 1, nos. 1-896. The Arcana expounds, seriatim, the books of Genesis and Exodus, and in inter-chapter material contains doctrinal treatments of many subjects; some of which were published later, with little change, as The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine and Earths in the Universe.

206


CANADIAN NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 1971

CANADIAN NATIONAL ASSEMBLY       WILLARD D. PENDLETON       1971




     Announcements
     The First Canadian National Assembly of the General Church of the New Jerusalem will be held in Caryndale, Ontario, Friday, May 7, through Sunday, May 9, 1971; the Right Reverend Willard D. Pendleton, Bishop of the General Church, presiding. All members and friends of the General Church are cordially invited to attend.
     WILLARD D. PENDLETON
          Bishop
55TH BRITISH ASSEMBLY 1971

55TH BRITISH ASSEMBLY       WILLARD D. PENDLETON       1971

     The 55th British Assembly of the General Church of the New Jerusalem will be held at the University of Essex, Wivenhoe, Colchester, England, Friday, July 23, through Sunday, July 26, 1971, the Right Reverend Willard D. Pendleton, Bishop of the General Church presiding. All members and friends of the General Church are cordially invited to attend.
     WILLARD D PENDLETON
          Bishop
SWEDENBORG SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION 1971

SWEDENBORG SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION       MORNA HYATT       1971

     The Seventy-Fourth Annual Meeting of the Swedenborg Scientific Association will be held in Pendleton Hall, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, May 5, 1971, at 8:15 pm.
     Reports and election of President and members of the Board of Directors will be followed by an address by the Rev. Alfred Acton II. "The Origin of Evil and Early Man." All are welcome.
     MORNA HYATT
          Secretary
CORRECTION 1971

CORRECTION       Editor       1971

     Baptism

     Nelson.-At Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, November 29, 1970, John Francis (born December 3, 1962), son of Dr. Nicholas Christian Nelson and Mrs. Hubert Synnestvedt (Patricia Conerton), the Rev. Kenneth O. Stroh officiating.

208


ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH SCHOOL CALENDAR: 1971-1972 1971

ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH SCHOOL CALENDAR: 1971-1972       Editor       1971

     Ninety-fifth School Year 1971

Sept.8     Wed.          Faculty Meetings
     9     Thurs.     Dormitory students must arrive before 8:00 p.m.
                    College registration: local students
                    Secondary Schools registration: local students
     10     Fri.          College registration: dormitory students
                    Secondary Schools registration: dormitory students
     11     Sat.     8:00 am.          All student workers report to supervisors
               8:30 p.m.     President's Reception
     13     Mon.          Classes commence in all schools following Opening Exercises
Oct.     22     Fri.          Charter Day
               11:00 a.m.      Charter Day Service (Cathedral)
               9:00 p.m.      President's Reception
     23     Sat.     2:30 p.m.      Annual Meeting of the Academy of the New Church Corporation
               7:00 p.m.     Charter Day Banquet
Nov. 24     Wed.          Thanksgiving Recess begins after morning classes
     28     Sun.          Dormitory students must return by 8:00 p.m.
     29     Mon.          All schools resume classes
Dec.     3     Fri.          End of Fall Term
     6     Mon.          Winter Term commences in all schools
     17     Fri.          Christmas Recess begins for all schools

     1972

Jan. 2     Sun.          Dormitory students must return by 8:00 p.m.
     3     Mon.          All schools resume classes
     15     Sat.          Deadline for applications for 1972-1973 school year
Feb.     21     Mon.          Washington's Birthday Holiday
Mar. 10     Fri.          End of Winter Term
                    Spring Recess commences after morning classes
     19     Sun.          Dormitory students must return by 8:00 p.m.
     20     Mon.          Spring Term commences in all schools
     31     Fri.          Good Friday. School holiday after special Chapel Service
May     19     Fri.     7:45 p.m.     Joint Meeting of Faculty and Corporation
     29     Mon.          Memorial Day Holiday
June 14     Wed.     8:30 p.m.     President's Reception
     15     Thurs. 10:30 am.      Commencement Exercises

209


RESIST NOT EVIL 1971

RESIST NOT EVIL       Rev. MARTIN PRYKE       1971


Vol. XCI
No. 5
May 1971

     "Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: but I say unto you, That ye resist not evil." (Matthew 5: 38, 39)

     One of the outstanding characteristics of the Lord's teaching was the way in which He took certain familiar laws of the Old Testament and threw new light on them. He showed that more is required of man than mere literal obedience in bodily behavior; He showed that the thought within the word, the intention within the deed, was what really judged man. It is not enough that we do not kill; we must shun also the hatred within us which prompts the killing. "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment. But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment."*
     * Matthew 5: 21, 22.
     Of all such teaching, the words of our text contain the most abrupt, and even startling, contrast: "Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: but I say unto you, That ye resist not evil." What a paradox between the law given through Moses and the new law given by the Lord at His incarnation! Furthermore, we are told that the former was not abrogated, but explained, by the Lord!
     The Divine truth itself, of course, can never be grasped by the human mind; the finite cannot grasp the Infinite. Yet it is imperative that we come as near to such a grasp as is possible, and to this end the Lord has accommodated His infinite truth to the understanding of man in the pages of Divine revelation. Such an accommodation inevitably involves many paradoxes, or apparent contradictions.

210


These may cause the thinking man much concern and may, on occasion, bring him into states of serious doubt; yet it must be evident that the presentation of such sublime truths cannot fail to involve such difficulties. Such a vast picture cannot be surveyed all at once; we must see the truth a little at a time, and it will sometimes seem that one part is not in agreement with another. Yet the truth is that all these parts are harmonious and as our view widens we shall see that they fit together to make the whole. In addition, we frequently need the forcefulness in the presentation of truth which paradoxes give. They startle us, and we are aroused to look further into them, and what we learn remains because we have found the answer to what seemed to be an insoluble problem.

     The Mosaic law of retaliation (the lex talionis) and the Lord's injunction "that ye resist not evil" make an outstanding example of such a paradox. In Exodus we read: " . . . thou shalt give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe."* The Lord said, " . . . resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away."**
     * Exodus 21: 23-25.
     ** Matthew 5: 39-42.
     Can both of these be obeyed by man? Indeed can either be obeyed quite literally? The law of retaliation which demands an "eye for an eye" repels us for inspiring states of mind which are un-Christian, while the command to "turn the other cheek" seems to be beyond the reach of man and to be unreasonable in its demands upon him. In fact, the truth lies in both, as well as between them, and we do not begin to see the whole truth until we understand the proper implication of each.

     The essential law of Divine order is that expressed in the golden rule:
"All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them; for this is the law and the prophets."* From this principle that we should seek first for others those things which we desire most for ourselves, is deduced the further principle of the spiritual world that good brings its own reward and evil its own punishment.
     * Matthew 7: 12.

     The man who earnestly seeks the good of the neighbor is brought into such a state that he receives from the Lord an inner blessedness and peace. The good returns to reward him who looks, not to the reward, but to the use served.

211



          Similarly evil brings its own punishment. It is a law of hell that the evil and falsity which a man desires for another turns upon him and he is punished by it; just as the avenging Egyptians, as they pursued the escaping Israelites, were engulfed by the closing waters of the Red Sea. The punishment comes, let it be noted, not from the good, or from heaven, or even from the Lord, but from the evil itself and from hell itself. The love of heaven is to "resist not evil" and to do only what is good. It is a state of innocence, removed from evil, which does not seek to harm any; it is the state which "turns the other cheek."
     The love of hell is quite opposite. It is the love of harming others to one's own gain. The consequence of this evil is not to be underestimated. Sometimes we are inclined to give little weight to the power of evil, lest we imply some injustice to those who suffer its consequences. Evil is real because it does hurt others; if it did not it would not really exist at all, or be evil at all. Men are harmed by evil, cruelly harmed. The innocent suffer at the hands of the wicked. Mankind as a whole has suffered and continues to suffer as a consequence of the fall. In committing evil we bring punishment upon ourselves, but we also bring hardship to others.

     If this seems unjust, it is because evil is unjust; unjust because it is the very opposite of Divine laws which are justice itself. We must not blind ourselves to these unpleasant facts; but our hope, of course, is in the mercy of the Lord; and this mercy shows itself in the indisputable fact that no man is ever allowed to be deprived of his great human heritage - free will. A man may be harmed, may be dragged down, may be made to suffer in innumerable ways, but never can he be forced to the way of evil, be driven into hell or be forcibly deprived of life eternal. Every man is so protected that he may be free to exercise his free-choice between good and evil, heaven and hell.
     The law of hell, then, is that evil will always and inevitably, bring its own punishment. This punishment may come through others there who are in the love of punishing and causing suffering. But, however it comes, it comes as surely as the reward of heaven comes to those who do good.
     It is not hard to see that such justice does and must exist in the spiritual world and so to be content that justice will come to all of us when we leave this world. But it is quite manifest that such justice does not now exist on earth - at least not in the things of this world. Daily we see examples of evil being rewarded with success, power, riches and pleasure, while the good go unrewarded and suffer hardship and poverty. Such has been the way of the world since the fall; it is one of the consequences of prevalent evil of which we have spoken.

212



     Man has recognized this and those who are well disposed have sought to remedy it. Thus it was that the ancients sought to establish the spiritual law of reward for the good and punishment for the evil on earth by means of the law of retaliation. "An eye for an eye; a tooth for a tooth" is a crude ultimation of the spiritual law. Thus the Lord, through the instrumentality of men, controlled the evil from without, by external laws, because they had made it impossible for Him any longer to control them from within by the laws of conscience.
     This is why we find these harsh laws of retaliation in the Divinely commanded laws of the Israelitish Church, These people were of such a nature that this was the only form of Divine law that they could understand. Their sensual nature could only grasp the most primitive form of justice: "wound for wound; stripe for stripe."
     Indeed, even in the world today, two thousand years after the Lord came with His more interior message concerning the Divine law, there are still states which can only be met by such crude justice. Children and adults whose evil is a danger to society must be restrained by such punishments, although we would not now require the full measure of the law of retaliation. Nevertheless where order cannot be established by internal bonds from the Lord (through conscience), bonds must be established from without (as is done in hell) and the principal of these bonds is punishment.
     Although the present day tendency is to decry all punishment as inhuman and unjustified, it is often, in fact, the very opposite; it is both humanitarian and justified. It is the only answer to certain states and certain problems; it is the only control which an evil world will acknowledge; the only bond which will restrain the man who is in the love of self. If it is necessary in hell to restrain there; it must also be necessary on earth as long as the earth continues in its present infernal condition. "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth" may be an extreme form; but the basic principle is still regrettably applicable and we cannot yet renounce it - although we most certainly are to work for the day when it may properly be discarded.

     It is to this day that our thoughts are directed by the Lord's injunction, "Resist not evil." How can we believe that now, in a world rife with evil, we can possibly hearken to the literal meaning of such a command? "Whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away."

213


As long as we live in the midst of evil we must resist it; both for the sake of our own salvation and for the sake of those who are in evil. We do not forward the spiritual welfare of another man, or of a nation, by permitting them free rein to their evil loves. They must be curbed and disciplined, not ignored.
     We cannot, of course, tear these strange verses, with the message of non-resistance, from the rest of the Word. We must see them along with much other teaching which constantly exhorts us to defend ourselves from evil and to fight stalwartly against it.

     The fact is that evil must be resisted so completely, so perfectly, that resistance is no longer necessary. This is the message of our text which the sons of Israel had never learned. They were commanded to clear the land of all its idolatrous inhabitants, so that they might live at peace, protected by the Lord, unresisting because none dared to attack. Because they refused to do this, they never found their day of peace and lived in conflict continually.
     As the Lord uttered the words of the Sermon on the Mount and gave the command, "Resist not evil," He sought to project the thoughts of the Christian Church to the day when their land would be cleared of its enemies, and they might live at peace, fearing no evil, confident in the Divine protection and not desiring to attack those who could not harm them.
     Thus the Lord offered a goal towards which the Christian Church might strive. Few might believe themselves capable of reaching a state where they would not be compelled to resist evil, but a new vision of spiritual life was given, which did not destroy the law of retaliation (for as yet it must remain in some form or another) but explained it. It set the old law in a new perspective and gave hope for a new era when it might no longer be required.
     Inmostly, then, our text speaks of the heavenly and regenerate state. This is the state when the evil has already been resisted and overcome. It is a state which is most wonderfully protected by the Lord; for where good is, the Lord is present, and where the Lord is present, evil cannot attack.
     Such men have no vengeance against the evil (if, indeed, they did, their protection would cease). Rather do they freely forgive, willing to leave the evil in their free will, and not desiring to make an attack upon them which would destroy them. Yet the good do not seek to remove the punishment which falls upon the evil, for they recognize the need for it and the use served by it.

214


They are compared, in the Writings, to a father who watches a master punish his child whom he loves. From his love he would not have the punishment withdrawn.
     These states may be hard for us, in our fallen condition, to comprehend; but they are states of rest from battle, of an innocent absence of any fear of evil. They are described to us by the Lord in terms of non-resistance to evil which we can hardly understand either. Yet He has given us this strange uplifting vision of an almost super-human forbearance, so that we might be inspired to elevate our ideals, and, instead of being dragged down by an acute awareness of human failing, may be inspired by a hope of human success, and so that by firmly resisting now, we may rest from resistance in His heavenly kingdom. Amen.

     LESSONS: Exodus 21: 1-6, 18-25. Matthew 5: 17-48.     Arcana Coelestia 9049: 1, 2
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 422, 463, 429.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 34, 73.
ADDRESSES UNKNOWN 1971

ADDRESSES UNKNOWN       Editor       1971

     The following people have been address unknown for over three years. Anyone who can supply information please communicate with the Office of the Secretary, General Church of the New Jerusalem, Pa. 19009.

Mr. Alfred Glenn
Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009

Mr. George U. Naill, Sr.
B-16     Spruce Drive
Eastern Dawn Trailer Park

Mr. Felix Duquesne, Jr.
181 De Belle Fuille
St. Eustace, Quebec, Canada

Mr. Richard Salinas
San Lorenezo 224-2
Col. Del Valle, Mexico D. F.

Miss Kay J. Orr
17540 Foothill Blvd.
Fontana, Cal. 92335

Mr. Peter Gill
1205 Patann Drive
London, Ont., Canada

Mr. Alvin E. Motum
28 Lowes Wong
Southwell, Nottingham, England

Mr. John J. Walker
120 Gorand Avenue
Englewood, New Jersey 07631

Mr. Fred G. Wallen
2911 Sprague Drive
Orlando, Florida

Mr. Wilhelmus J. Weimer
Molenstraat 176
Monster, The Netherlands

215


CONJUGIAL LOVE 1971

CONJUGIAL LOVE       Rev. ELMO C. ACTON       1971

     A DOCTRINAL SERIES

     IV. MARRIAGE IN THE CHURCH

     We now consider the question of marriage in the church, that is, the doctrine that conjugial love can exist only between those who in mind and heart are of the church that is meant and signified by the New Jerusalem. This doctrinal teaching, which is emphasized and has been emphasized from the beginning in the Academy and in the General Church, is, I feel, greatly misunderstood. It is questioned by some and even rejected by others. Yet it is, when rightly understood, as I see it, the plain teaching of the Writings.
     Let us consider some of the difficulties that stand in the way of understanding and accepting this doctrine. The first of these is thought from person. Thought from person closes the mind from within, we are told; it limits the thought. This applies to all doctrines; therefore, any doctrine should first be examined abstractly, that is, apart from person, and then applied to person. It says that the angels do not see others as persons; they see others as uses; then they see those uses performed as persons; and then they love the person from the use. Therefore, in seeing the true application of this doctrine, we must try to remove our thought from person, for thought from person always limits the idea. If the thought is not raised above person, then it leads man into fallacies and eventually into falsities. In other words, in regard to this subject, we are inclined to think of the particular marriages of our parents, sons, daughters, relations, or friends; and then we form our thought from this; and this leads us into fallacies. Our love of them as persons causes us to accommodate the doctrine, thus limiting our thought of it, clouding our mind, and even leading to the denial of it.
     Another obstacle which stands in the way of seeing the truth concerning marriage in the church is thought of the church from person or thought of the church from organization, that is, thinking of the organization of the church not as an external of the church itself but as a kind of club. The church referred to in this doctrine is not the organization of the church but is that church which is represented by the holy city, New Jerusalem. It is the Lord's church, and it is the church that is known to the Lord alone.

216


The marriage of two within the organization of the church can also be heinous in the sight of heaven if they do not have the same religion or if the church is not within them, for the church is composed of those in whom the church is. Sometimes we almost seem to fall into the thought that conjugial love is kind of a prize given if you join the church.
          A third thing that should be understood is that we are not speaking of the external success or happiness of a marriage. The Writings teach that almost all can be conjoined as to external affections and can enjoy a happy and successful marriage according to appearance and according to life together in the world. Therefore, the teaching is given at the end of the work, Conjugial Love: "Judge not that ye be not judged."* In application to this subject, this means that we are not to make a judgment of a marriage from its external appearance. Conjugial love is an internal love. It is not visible before the world. Conjugial love, we read, may have place with one married partner and not at the same time with the other, and it may lie so deeply concealed that man himself does not notice it. It may also be inscribed during the course of his life on earth. The reason is that that love accommodates itself to religion, that religion being the marriage of the Lord and the church; this is the origin and source of that love. Marriage in heaven is provided, therefore, whatsoever may have been the nature of marriage in the world. From the above comes the final conclusion that whether a man has or has not conjugial love must not be decided from the appearance of marriage or of scortation.** We have to stress this point. We are not talking of the external appearance of marriage.
     * CL 531; Matthew 7: 1.
     ** CL 531.

     Another thing that should be clear: in my mind the church must teach the ideal. The church does not teach the accommodation; otherwise, the accommodation becomes the ideal. The church teaches the ideal. The accommodation is to be made on the part of the individual. For if the church were to teach an accommodation or an accommodated end, the ideal would then soon be lost sight of, and eventually it would entirely disappear; for the hells are continually striving to induce man to give up an ideal, to claim that it is unattainable, and therefore, to accept a lesser or a lower end or ends. Now what do the Writings teach? In Conjugial Love 58 it is said: "There is a love truly conjugial, which is so rare at this day that it is not known what it is and scarcely that it is." This shows the nature of the love of which we are speaking. It is so rare at this day that it is not known what it is and scarcely that it is.

217


Therefore, conjugial love is not from without through accommodation of each to the natural wishes and desires of the other. It is not from agreement and sympathy and common participation in external pleasures. It is not through the accommodation of the life of the one to the life of the other. It is from the Lord alone from within through a common life according to the goods and truths of the Word.

     Now these others are spoken of: the external accommodations. They are useful; we are not rejecting them. They can be applied, and a marriage can be successful purely from a worldly point of view. But the conjugial love and the marriage of which we are speaking are from the Lord from within through a common life according to the goods and truths of the Word, that is, through agreement as to the inmost ends and purposes of life. When these purposes are drawn from the Word and especially from the Word of the Second Coming, then conjugial love can descend from the Lord out of heaven. Consequently, the first opening teachings in the work Conjugial Love are concerned with the marriage of good and truth and the marriage of the Lord and the church. If there is not agreement, therefore, as to this origin in a marriage, how can there be agreement as to the inmost ends and purposes of the marriage or of the life together? That is a question one must ask himself. But let us examine the Writings further and see what they teach about marriage in the church.
     In De Conjugio, in the second index under Conjugial Love, we read:

"Conjugial love is not now on earth, but still it can be raised up with those who will be of the New Jerusalem." And in the work Conjugial Love 293: 6, Swedenborg was instructed by angels as follows; "Tell the inhabitants of earth with whom you are, that there is a love truly conjugial, the delights of which are myriad. As yet scarcely any of them are known to the world; but the world will know them when the church betroths herself to [the] Lord and becomes His bride," And often in the Writings conjugial love is said to be the precious jewel of human life and the repository of the Christian religion. The true Christian religion dwells in conjugial love, and it cannot exist without it. Conjugial love is to be restored because the truths concerning it are revealed, and only where those truths are known and lived can it exist in fullness on earth.
     The church betroths herself to the Lord when in an individual the truths of the Word are known, are loved, and are applied to life. When this is done by two partners, there conjugial love descends. This means the conjugial is established in an individual, and therefore conjugial love can exist, it says, with one and not with the other.

218


The conjugial can be established in an individual in this way: by the conjunction of good and truth, by the marriage of the Lord with the church. Then he or she is led by the Lord to his conjugial partner, if not in this world, then in the other, for he or she has the conjugial within himself or herself. Therefore, the Writings teach everywhere that the origin of the church and the origin of conjugial love are in the same seat and they progress in like degree or go forward step by step as far as possible.

     Let a few numbers suffice to establish this important truth, and let it be firmly in the thought. Conjugial Love 63 says: "The church is formed by the Lord with man and through the man with the wife; and that when it is formed with both, it is a full church, for there is then a full conjunction of good and truth, and the conjunction of good and truth is the church. The conjunctive inclination, which is conjugial love, is present in the same degree as the conjunction of good and truth, which is the church . . . ." In number 238: " . . . the origin of the church and the origin of conjugial love are in one and the same seat . . . they are in continual embrace." And in number 242, which treats of the causes of cold, it is said: "That of the internal causes of cold, [one is] that one has one religion and the other another. The reason is because with such partners, good cannot be conjoined with its corresponding truth . . . hence, from the two souls there cannot be made one soul." This number also contains Swedenborg's experience in a great city, when he was about to enter a certain house the angels with him said: "'We cannot stay with you in this house because the partners there are in discordant religions.'" This is in accord with the well-known number, Arcana Coelestia 8998, which says: "Marriages on earth between those who are of a different religion are accounted in heaven as heinous, and still more so [marriages] between those who are of the church and those who are outside of the church." Note here the use of religion and of church in the same connection. Sometimes quite a point is made of that, and in general, you can say that religion refers to good and the church to truth, but you will notice that both those terms are used.
     Conjugial Love 239 says: "Though there is religion, there are no truths of religion, and what is religion without truths?" In Heaven and Hell 378 it is said: "Nor can [conjugial] love exist between two partners belonging to different religions because the truth of the one does not agree with the good of the other, and two unlike and discordant kinds of good and truth cannot make [one mind out of two] ." Now these and many other numbers teach that conjugial love and the church go hand in hand or are in the same seat or are in continual embrace. Conjugial Love 130 says: "Conjugial love is according to the state of the church . . . with man."

219


The ideals presented in this work, Conjugial Love, are presented also so as to agree with reason, and it frequently says that this is a matter of common belief, but let it be presented to the reason. This occurs a number of times in Conjugial Love.
     Let us then ask ourselves, how can the following goal of conjugial love be attained with those who are of different religions and churches. It is so difficult, you almost have to define your terms over and over again; but try to see this in the light of what has been said. We are speaking of that church which is the Lord's. Now how can the following goal of conjugial love be attained with two who are of different religions and churches? "[He] who is in love truly conjugial loves what the other thinks and what the other wills; thus he also loves to think as the other . . . and he loves to will as the other . . . consequently, to be united to the other, and to become as one man." "Those who are in love truly conjugial continually will to be one man, but those who are not in conjugial love will to be two."*
     * AC 10169.

     Now we are ready to examine the fourth principle of the Academy, since this is the teaching that is principally attacked. I presented the teachings of the Writings first, and now I quote the principle of the Academy which many think should be changed. "Marriage in the church is essential to the conjugial and vital to the existence of the church. Without it the church could not be established and preserved, for the conjugial life is the home life, and if the church is not in the home, it is not anywhere. The conjugial in the home is the pillar upon which the church rests and by which it is supported. Take away this pillar, and the edifice is in ruin. The conjugial in the home consists in the husband and wife thinking together in the things of religion and from this in other things. If they do not so think together, they are not together in the spiritual world. Their spirits do not dwell together in the same society, and they are interiorly in collision and conflict. This is the reason why such marriages are accounted in heaven as heinous."
     As I have said, I have placed this principle of the Academy at the end because we are not to think from the principles of the Academy or from any one principle of the Academy. We are to think from the Writings. The principles of the Academy were enunciated in 1898 merely so that what was of value in the past might not be lost to the future. No one is asked to subscribe to them in joining the General Church. Now I ask, are we mistaken in our teaching of marriage in the church? Should we say, that because we do not know the internal state of a marriage whether within or without the church, we should not be so definite in our teachings? I believe not.

220


I believe we should be firm and definite in our teachings so that men and women of any age will seek the conjugial through learning and living the truths of the Word and thus preparing themselves for a conjugial marriage with one of the other sex. To teach marriage in the church, therefore, is to teach our people to look for that which is eternal and to look for a union in the internal and to form the marriage on that basis and not on the basis of external attractions. But at the same time we should not and we have no right to condemn; nor have we any right to judge the interior quality of a marriage. This is known to the Lord alone. Therefore, we should wish that every married couple may receive from the Lord conjugial love in their marriage, and we should express our desire that the Lord's blessing may be upon it.
     In closing, I would remind you again of the fact that we must think from essence to person. We must think that way in regard to marriage. The church cannot exist on earth except with and in those who are striving in their marriage for conjugial love. Thus we should think of marriage firstly from the point of view of use; not a point of view of the happiness of the individuals in that marriage, but of the use they can perform to the establishment of the Lord's church on earth and to their finding their happiness in the performance of that use - in forming in their marriage conjugial love so that the New Jerusalem may descend from the Lord out of heaven.
     I will make one comparison of that, and that is of our education. Our education exists so that we may prepare our children to perform the use of the church. We are not by our education giving our children a headstart on the way to salvation. By education we are preparing them to enter upon the use of the church. They find their own happiness and their own regeneration in the performance of that use. We certainly cannot regenerate them by education. We can only prepare them for entering upon the use.
LAWS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE 1971

LAWS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE       Editor       1971

     "3. To think and speak truth, and to will to do good, from freedom according to reason, are not from man himself, but from God; and to think and speak falsity, and to will and do evil, from freedom, are not from man himself, but from hell, yet in such a way that falsity and evil are from thence; but freedom itself, and the very faculty of thinking, willing, speaking and doing, are from God." (AE 1136)

221


PROPER USE OF PRUDENCE 1971

PROPER USE OF PRUDENCE       Rev. ALFRED ACTON       1971

     The problem of the proper use of prudence in the affairs of men, as opposed to trust in Divine Providence, has plagued Christians in all ages. Men have constantly wondered whether by their actions they were demonstrating a lack of faith in the Lord's leading. Did not the Lord teach us to care not for the morrow? Was it not His express command for us to care for neither raiment nor food? How could man, whose prudence tells him he must have such cares, avoid the implications of our Lord's teachings? Is he not, by exercising his prudence in providing for himself and his family, violating God's law?
     The question of birth control by means of the advances of medical science, which the "prudent" of our age tell us is essentially a question of food and raiment, becomes, if we accept their forecasts of an overpopulated world, essentially the same question as that which the individual who plants seeds in the spring (one of mankind's first major scientific advances), or places money aside for his old age, faces: namely, the question of how to reconcile trust in Divine Providence with the prudence of man. Indeed, even should we reject forecasts of a population explosion, the regulation of the numbers in one's family still calls our prudence into play, for we are taught that it is the love of having children which enhances conjugial love, and "having children" must include the rearing of children as well as their propagation, while rearing necessarily demands considerations as to food and raiment for such offspring. All three of these examples we have used illustrate how prudence demands our taking advantage properly of the advances of our material civilization. The questions of planting seeds, saving money, and birth control all raise the same question: Does the use of prudence violate the law of God? Are we not when we attempt to lead ourselves in effect denying that God leads us? Are we not caring for the morrow instead of seeking the kingdom of God?
     To answer these questions we need to realize that care for the morrow and seeking God's kingdom are not necessarily opposites. They are not mutually exclusive - indeed they can be one and the same thing. But to understand this we must realize just what Divine Providence is, and what human prudence is in relation to it.

222



     Divine Providence is the leading of the Lord. We are taught that this leading is in the most minute particulars of our lives; yea, in every least detail. Yet the Lord does not lead man into evil. How is it, then, that Divine Providence is present even in evil acts? The doctrine of permission taught in the New Word answers this question. Permissions are things which the Lord allows for the sake of man's freedom but which He does not will. In other words, permissions are evils which the Lord does not want but allows because He from His infinite wisdom sees that to destroy men's freedom - which would destroy men as well - is far worse than the evils which He allows. Yet this doctrine is not complete unless we realize that the Lord will not permit anything which would destroy the first of Providence, which is a heaven from spiritually free men. So men cannot commit spiritual murder, for this is directly opposed to Providence. It is true that men are free to try such heinous acts if their loves are vile enough - yea, they may even destroy all life on earth, but still they will not achieve their end of spiritual murder. God will transfer the spirits of our earth to another where they will receive spheres from men of that planet and so perpetuate their eternal existence. This same teaching, however, also consoles us from such dark thoughts by clearly stating that God guards against such catastrophe.*
     *Cf. LJ 9, 10.

     Divine Providence, then, ever seeks what is good despite the evils inflicted by men due to their freely accepting what is contrary to Divine order; that is, of their freely choosing to elevate the things of self and the world above the things of the neighbor and the Lord.
     Elsewhere in the New Word Divine Providence is defined as "the Divine operation in man that takes away the love of self."* Since the first of Providence is human freedom it is impossible for the Divine to operate apart from means. If the Divine operated directly upon the lives of men, men would become aware of its operation, and so would realize that they were in no way free. They would realize that the things of their puny prudence were all carefully controlled by God who turns even their worst acts towards His Divine ends. Such realization would be far more than mere intellectual or emotional recognition of a fact. It would completely stifle freedom - men knowing they were as automata in God's hands would lose the ability to act freely - so they would lose their very lives. For this reason it is a law of the Divine Providence that God shall operate on men, even in the least particulars of their lives, only by means which enable men to consider themselves free. For this consideration is the essence of their freedom.
     * DP 207.

223



     Now there are but two means whereby Providence may operate. These are: men and nature. We call the operation of Providence in nature chance or fortune, while we call the operation of Providence in men, prudence. It is essential that we realize that both chance and prudence are the means whereby Providence can operate. It is also essential that we recognize that both these means can be perverted. Disease, we are taught, is the result of evil, that is, its cause is found in the spiritual world and there in hell. Yet we call the question of who catches a disease a matter of chance. We know from revelation that the spiritual is the cause of all natural things which in their turn are called effects. To put it another way, the spiritual world is a world of causes while the natural world is a world of effects. When men from freedom chose to do evil their choice was necessarily eternal. It would not have been free if this were not the case. So by their free choice of selfishness men turned themselves into evil rather than good causes. In process of time these evil causes in the spiritual world brought about a perversion of forms in the natural world - germs became disease germs. Nature became perverted. So it is that nature today can cause misfortune as well as fortunate occurrences, but still the operations of the things of nature are essentially of Providence. The Lord will not allow the perverted forms of nature to thwart His Providence. He may indeed allow disease to strike the innocent, but He will never allow such disease to destroy the spiritual freedom of such innocent sufferers. The Lord purposely allows His rain to fall on the just and the unjust, for otherwise spiritual freedom would be destroyed. So too with disease; it strikes the good and the evil - apparently according to mere chance, yet chance is the means of Providence, a means which disguises Providence for the sake of human freedom.

     The case is similar with prudence as it is with chance. Prudence originally enhanced the workings of Providence. We learn of a prudence from God - prudence which seeks to bring about the Divine ends of creation - prudence which works hand in hand with Providence as a faithful servant fulfilling its master's wishes. We learn of this prudence existing in the highest of the heavens where wives prudently avoid disclosing to their husbands certain knowledges which they have in order to preserve conjugial love with them. Such prudence - although it involves secrecy, which also implies some simulation or at least private thought, as well as thought for not just the morrow but for eternal happiness - still is in no way detrimental to the workings of Providence.

224


But hear these teachings from the Word itself as to what prudence is: "Unless man, as if from his own prudence, directs all things belonging to his employment and life, he cannot be led and directed by the Divine Providence; for he would be like one standing with relaxed hands, opened mouth, closed eyes, and breath indrawn, awaiting influx . . . . Again: "If, therefore, you wish to be led by the Divine Providence use prudence as a servant and minister who faithfully dispenses the goods of his master. . . . " And again: "Prudence itself appears to man to be his own; and he believes it to be his own as long as he keeps shut up within him the deadliest enemy of God and of Divine Providence, the love of self. . . . This is the prudence with which the Divine Providence acts as one."* From these teachings the real truth is clear: "The Divine Providence is in the minutest particulars of nature, and in the minutest particulars of human prudence, and that it is from these that it is universal." **
     * All above quotes from DP 210.
     ** DP 201.

     But we have acknowledged that the prudence can be perverted. What is it that perverts prudence? How are we to judge whether our own prudent acts are perverted or in concert with Providence? The answer to these questions is simple, though its application to our motives may prove perplexing. The loves of self and the world pervert. According to Divine order, love to the Lord should be supreme, next below it should be love to the neighbor, and below these should come love of the world and love of self. When this order of love exists man is angelic All his loves find proper expression. He is completely happy. Since love of self is lowest in his heart he cares for self solely to the extent that it enables him to do good. He will eat and find raiment, but this will not be the first in his thought. He will do this solely to avoid becoming an object of charity, and so unable to perform the works of charity. Likewise he will exercise prudence in performing the works of charity lest he inadvertently aid the wicked and so do evil, and also lest he destroy his ability to continue in his works of charity by squandering the means available for his acts. Such a man will love riches and eminence - but solely for the good he is able to do thereby. Again, his prudence will protect his position lest his ability to do good be destroyed. Further, such a man will do good to the neighbor in all its degrees, that is, his society, his country, the human race, his church and the angelic heavens, because he knows that such good acts are pleasing to the Lord, whom he loves above all else.
     In such a man prudence is indeed a blessing. For prudence in him is the working of Providence. His labors are the Lord's labors. His cares in protecting others are the Lord's cares.

225


He heeds the words of the Lord and delights in the knowledge that the Lord can use him to bring good into the world.
     Let us also strive to emulate such men. Let us seek to build the spiritual house of our mind in a pattern centered on love to the Lord with the love of self relegated to the circumference. Let us also be ever watchful of the spiritual city of truth found in the Lord's Word, ever eager to learn therefrom. But even as we strive to approach the Lord let us also realize that it is He who must approach us - for we know in truth that apart from Him we can do nothing.
NATIONALITY AND RACE (Leading to the Question of Inter-Racial Marriage) 1971

NATIONALITY AND RACE (Leading to the Question of Inter-Racial Marriage)       Rev. ROBERT S. JUNGE       1971

     (Continued from the April issue.)

     Variety as the Perfection of Creation

     No discussion of this problem would be complete unless we noted that spiritual and natural variety is part of the perfection of creation, coming from the infinite things in the Lord.* The Writings put it:

     "Variety of worship of the Lord from the variety of good in different societies is not harmful, but beneficial, for the perfection of heaven is therefrom. This can scarcely he made clear to the comprehension without employing terms that are in common use in the learned world, and showing by means of these how unity, that it may he perfect, must be formed from variety. Every whole exists from various parts, since a whole without constituents is not anything; it has no form and therefore no quality. But when a whole exists from various parts, and the various parts are in a perfect form, in which each attaches itself like a congenial friend to another in series, then the quality is perfect. So heaven is a whole from various parts arranged in a most perfect of all forms.**
     * DLW 155
     ** HH 56.

     Individuals, variety, spiritual and natural differences, are part of the perfection of heaven. Again we read:

     "An image of the Infinite and Eternal in the variety of all things, is apparent in this, that there is no one thing that is the same as another, nor can there be to eternity. In the faces of men this is evident to the eye from the beginning of their creations; consequently it is evident from their minds, of which their faces are types; also from their affections, perceptions, and thoughts, for these constitute the mind. For this reason in the entire heaven there are no two angels or no two spirits that are the same; nor can there be to eternity.

226


The same is true of every visible object in the two worlds, the natural and the spiritual. From all this it can be seen that variety is infinite and eternal."*
     * DP 56: 2.

     If we labor for brotherhood, then, it is a brotherhood of equal and different individuals under one God, attached together as "congenial friends." So many movements for unity (be it economic, social, national, racial, or religious) forget that variety is part of perfection. We do not make for genuine unity and perfection by removing all differences. Rather we find unity by cultivating in our hearts a genuine respect for sincere difference.
     The crowning example of genuine love, which is at the heart of unity, is the Lord's love for man. As man looks to Him, He does not destroy man's individuality. He does not disturb his freedom, or his unique character. In fact, the more nearly man is conjoined to the Lord, the more unique individuality the Lord gives him; the wiser and happier he becomes.* We read: "The more nearly a man is conjoined with the Lord, the more distinctly does he seem to himself as if he were his own, and the more clearly does he recognize that he is the Lord's."**
     * DP 34, 37.
     ** DP 42.
     What sort of social, national, and racial world can we expect, then, when the New Church has grown to where man everywhere recognizes that he is the Lord's? It will surely be a world associating together as "congenial friends." Yet will it be a world where social, national, and racial differences are ignored and eventually absorbed?
     Even in heaven, in the same angelic society, there are princes and less ranking members. While the princes entertain the whole society, there is clearly a social difference. In the schools of wisdom, rewards are given according to the best answers to problems posed. Higher angels always receive a social respect on their visits. Yet those who marry make one angel, and one angelic use. They seem to make a single social unit in heavenly society. The heavens are divided into celestial, spiritual, and natural. Yet there is no jealousy. Uses both separate and unite. They are the cause of distinctions and of harmony.

     Mingling

     As we look at our social, national, and racial prejudices, use seems to be a key concept. Heavenly societies are organized according to the uses they perform. If in the normal development of uses we are involved in social, national, or racial intermingling, then this must be proper.

227



     Our New Church schools are too small to provide separate facilities for differences in social level, nationality, or race, even if we thought they should be provided (which many do not). We do not seek occasion to "test" our schools by seeking differences, but we accept the indications of Providence when the use of New Church education is requested by low or high social status, varying nationalities, and different races. Perhaps from these very associations more light will come.
     At work, at play, in all phases of life, it is use that draws men together and inmostly use in relation to our Creator. In the eyes of the Lord, use is supreme. In all our relations to our fellow man, let us seek to be a genuine "image and likeness" of God and look first to spiritual uses, then to natural. As far as possible, let us preserve genuine respect for uniqueness and variety as we see it in the Writings, yet striving to eliminate the irrational prejudices of our society - as we see them to be irrational in the light of the Writings.

     Intermarriage

     But we must give some careful consideration to the question of the inmost use of conjugial love and the production of spiritual and natural uses as the offspring of marriage. What counsel do we as ministers offer if we are asked to perform a mixed social, national, or racial marriage where the uses seem to have drawn the couple together? Clearly our society is losing its awareness of social similitude in marriage, though the Writings indicate that it is desirable that they be of the same station for this is an external similitude.
     In this country, international mixtures are prevalent. The Writings are quite clear that nationality, too, is an external similitude.
     Apparently where there is conjugial love, social, national and economic differences are soon forgotten, for the internal similitude of true religion overrules the merely external differences. These differences, after all, had their origin according to the regeneration of man. Surely, then, two of the same religion, who seek regeneration from the Lord with all their hearts, can overcome the barrier of differing social status, classed in the Writings as one kind of differing external similitude. That things can change is clearly indicated in the Writings. "It is likeness of state that causes approach and presence, and it is love that makes likeness and unlikeness (similitude and dissimilitude). . . ."*
     * AC 6866: 2.
     This is not to say that similitudes even in external matters are not important. These "similitudes and dissimilitudes in general take their rise from connate inclinations, varied by matters of education, companionships, and imbibed persuasions."*

228


These similitudes are the product of both a spiritual and natural heredity and environment. While it seems quite clear that love can overcome many, we are clearly taught that we should look for external similitudes in our choice of a partner, as well as the all-important internal similitude of religious agreement. The Writings clearly caution against too dissimilar partners seeking union. We read,

"That various similitudes can be conjoined but not with dissimilitudes. The varieties of similitudes are very numerous, and more and less distant. And yet those that are distant can in time be conjoined by various means; especially by accommodations to desires, by mutual kindnesses, by civilities, by abstinence from things unchaste, by the common love of infants and the care of children, and above all by conformity in the things of the church. For through the things of the church a conjunction is effected of similitudes inwardly distant; through other things only those that are outwardly distant. But conjunction cannot be effected with dissimilitudes because they are in antipathy."**
     * CL 227. Note the similarity to TCR 835 on the genius of Gentiles and Africans, "climate, stock, education, and religion."
     ** CL 228.

Or similarly we read:

     "That the external causes of cold are also numerous; and that of these the first is dissimilitude of dispositions (animorum) and manners. There are internal and there are external similitudes. The internal take their origin from no other source than from religion. For this is implanted in the souls, and through the souls is derived as a supreme inclination into the offspring. For the soul of every man derives its life from the marriage of good and truth, and from this is the church. And as this is various, and different in the different parts of the globe, consequently the souls of all men likewise are various and different. Thence, therefore, come internal similitudes and dissimilitudes; and according to these are the conjugial conjunctions that are treated of.
     "But the external similitudes and dissimilitudes are not of souls, but of minds. By minds (animos) are meant the external affections and thence inclinations which are insinuated, chiefly after birth, by education, social intercourse, and the consequent habits. For example, it is said, `I have a mind to do this or that,' by which is meant an affection and inclination to it. Persuasions adopted respecting this or that kind of life, are also wont to form those minds. Hence come inclinations to enter into marriage even with unequals, and also to decline marriage with equals. But yet these marriages are varied, after a period of cohabitation, according to the similitudes and dissimilitudes, contracted from heredity and likewise by education; and dissimilitudes induce cold. And so with dissimilitudes of manners. For example, a man or woman uncultivated, with one who is refined; a clean person, with one unclean; a contentious person, with one that is peaceable; in a word, an unmannerly man or woman with one who is mannerly. Marriages of such dissimilitudes are not unlike conjunctions of different kinds of animals with one another, as of sheep and goats, of stags and mules, of hens and geese, of sparrows and noble birds, yea, as of dogs and cats, which do not consociate because of their dissimilitudes; therefore there are colds from these."*
     * CL 246. Again, compare TCR 835. [Italics added.]

229




     We would note that as far as we have been able to discover, there is no direct mention of race (or stock) in regards to similitudes either external or internal. Since the only internal similitude is similarity of religion, we might well assume that race was primarily an external similitude where the religion is the same. We read: "Every nation (in the other world) has its place allotted in accordance with its idea of God as a Man."*
     * DLW 13.

     Historic Consanguineous Marriage and Intermediates

     To those who would condemn the "adulteration" of the races, we can only say that adultery is the mixture of good with evil, and even the most prejudiced could hardly make such a judgment. In the light of this, let us look again at the most ancients. The men of the Most Ancient Church married within their own families or the family of their nation. To represent this is why the early patriarchs of Israel insisted that their sons marry from their own stock, and Jacob returned to Laban, for example, to take a wife.*
     * AC 3612, 4061.
     Goods and truths take on correspondential relationships, as do families.
     " . . . In the regenerated man, goods and truths, or the things of charity and faith, are related to each other as with relationships by blood and by marriage, thus as families from one stock or parent, in like manner as they are in heaven (n. 685), an order into which goods and truths are brought by the Lord. ."*
     * AC 917.
     This is closely linked to associations in heaven.* Yet heavenly societies intermingle when their forms are not complete.** Clearly there are intermediate spirits even between the celestial and spiritual genius.***
     * Cf. AC 9079; SD 2685, 2687; AC 4067: 2.
     ** AC 7836: 4.
     *** The men of Jupiter, for example, are such. AC 8733. Cf. also HH 27; SD 5618. Note AC 8796 indicates that the intermediate works only in an influx from celestial to spiritual, not the reverse. Compare AE 831; 2 where celestial spiritual angels preach in the celestial heaven.
     " . . . By those who are in a general perception of celestial good are meant those who are intermediate between the Lord's celestial kingdom and His spiritual kingdom, through whom therefore are effected influx, communication, and conjunction.* These have extension even into the celestial societies, which is signified by 'they shall come up into the mountain.' . . ."**
     * See just above, n. 8787, 8796.     
     ** AC 8802

230



     There is a not too strong case which might be made for the non-mixture of races based upon Israel's practice of consanguineous marriage.* That racial characteristics are tenacious, coming from heredity, we read:

     "Every attentive observer may see evidence of this truth in the fact that the evil inclinations of parents remain visibly in their children, so that one family, and even an entire race, may be thereby distinguished from every other."**
     Or again we read:
     
     " . . . This is also evident to every one who reflects, and also from the fact that every family has some peculiar evil or good by which it is distinguished from other families; and that this is from parents and ancestors is known. It is similar with the Jewish nation remaining at this day, which is evidently distinct from other nations, and is known from them, not only by its peculiar genius, but also by manners, speech, and face . . . "***
     * Exodus 34: 12-15.
     ** AC 212e.
     *** AC 4317.

     Each tribe in Israel represented good distinct from others in one particular genera or species.* Such relationships could be direct or from collateral or parallel lines.** Yet we must ask ourselves, do these teachings apply today or were they a representative held over for the sake of Divine revelation from the Most Ancient Church?
     * AC 7833.
     ** AC 3665: 4.
     The following passage definitely has a close bearing on the problem. While it is long, I shall quote it in its entirety:

     "If he shall take him another. That this signifies conjunction with the affection of truth from another stock, is evident from the signification of 'taking' or 'betrothing' another, as being to be conjoined (see n. 8996); for in the spiritual sense, matrimony, which is here meant by 'betrothing,' denotes the conjunction of the life of the one with that of the other. According to Divine order there is a conjunction of the life from the truths of faith with the life from the good of charity. From this comes all spiritual conjunction, from which as from its Origin comes forth natural conjunction. By 'taking another' is signified conjunction with the affection of truth from another stock, for the 'maidservant' before spoken of denotes the affection of truth from natural delight (n. 8993); consequently 'another' denotes the affection of truth from another stock. (2) What is meant by 'affection from another stock' may be known from the fact that all affection which is of love is of the widest extension, so wide indeed as to surpass all human understanding. The human understanding does not even go so far as to know the genera of the varieties of this affection, still less the species of these genera, and less still the particulars, and singulars of the particulars. For whatsoever is in man, especially that which is of affection or love, is of infinite variety, as can plainly be seen from the fact that the affection of good and truth, which is of love to the Lord and of love toward the neighbor, constitutes the universal heaven, and that nevertheless all who are in the heavens, where there are myriads, differ from one another as to good, and will differ even if they should be multiplied to countless myriads of myriads.

231


For there cannot be in the universe one thing that is exactly like another, and that subsists in a distinct way; it must be various, that is, different from all others, in order that it may be anything by itself (see n. 684, 690, 3241, 3745, 3986, 4005, 4149, 5598, 7236, 7833, 7836, 8003). From all this it can in some measure be known what is meant by 'an affection from another stock,' namely, an affection which differs from the other, but which can nevertheless be conjoined with the same spiritual truth. Such affections as are represented by maidservants betrothed to one man, are of one genus; but there is a difference among them as to species, which is called a 'specific' difference. These things might he illustrated by various examples; but the general idea derived from what has been already said will suffice. (3) In order that there might be represented the conjunctions and subordinations of such affections under one spiritual truth, it was permitted the Israelitish and Jewish nation to have a number of concubines - as to Abraham (Gen. xxv. 6), also to David, Solomon, and others. For whatever was permitted that nation was for the sake of the representation; namely, that by things external they might represent the internal things of the church (n. 3246). But when the internal of the church had been opened by the Lord, the representations of internal things by external ceased, because it was then internal things, which are those of faith and love, with which the man of the church was to be imbued, and by means of which he was to worship the Lord; and therefore it was then no longer permissible to have more wives than one, nor to have concubines for wives (n. 865, 2727-2759, 3246, 4837)."*
     * AC 9002.

     This passage, and the general doctrine, seem to indicate that such closely related marriage was a representative holdover. The royal marriage of brother and sister in Egypt, and even more recently in Hawaii, may very well be such a holdover from ancient times. But is it a practice we would encourage, for the situation is so different today?
     The law of heredity, instead of carrying in large measure good traits from the father and mother, carries essentially evil traits. We can assume that to marry consanguineously tends to emphasize both these hereditary traits. Much can be inferred concerning deliberately marrying an unrelated person from the following passage in Conjugial Love, which clearly points out the problem of geographical location limiting the choice in such a way that only external marriages can be formed.

     "An external perception of love has its cause and origin from such things as pertain to the love of the world and of the body. Wealth and large possessions especially are of the love of the world; and dignities and honors are of the love of the body. And besides these there are various seductive allurements; such as beauty and a simulated propriety of manners, sometimes also unchastity. And moreover marriages are contracted within the district, city, or village of one's birth or abode, where there is no choice but such as is restricted and limited to the families that are known, and within these limits to such as are of corresponding station. It is for these reasons that marriages entered into in the world are for the most part external, and not at the same time internal . . ."*
     * CL 49. Cf. CL 274.

     We would not wish to destroy the force of the argument for external similitudes.

232


However, we would observe that meeting people of other stations is much more common today than when this passage was written. We would also notice that travel and communications have vastly changed the opportunity for meeting a far greater choice. And the passage implies that such a broader and presumably more unrelated choice is desirable for the sake of internal similitudes within the constraints of social status, at least as an external similitude.
     We would also note that those in a church so small as ours face a unique problem. To turn their backs upon the internal similitudes of basic religious agreement, which we would note may transcend allegiance to differing sects, would be a grievous surrender of principle. Yet is the New Church not limited in a different way as much as in the time when Swedenborg wrote of the problems of finding someone suitable in the district, city or village nearby?* New Church partners must take hope that if they look to the Lord, He will not only help them find a suitable partner somewhere in the church, but also help them to adjust to and overcome their external differences.
     * CL 320e.
     Now we know that the heavens have gradually grown and been perfected throughout the ages. Yet with each succeeding specific church, a new heaven was formed. We would expect, then, that the growing variety in the heavens would produce a growing variety on earth. Human dignity demands variety according to use. But will this be a growing variety of races and nations?*
     * Cf. AC 1258, 1259; AC 471; DLW 269.
     Today we see great changes in literacy. Channels of communication through radio and television have meant that nations from Europe to Japan learn of and suffer from new fads such as the Twist almost as soon as we do. The war brought many intercultural and intersocial marriages. The U.S. itself is a social and cultural melting pot. The world gradually seems to become more and more so. What precisely these changes mean spiritually, no man can say.
     Is this cultural and social melting pot an orderly development stemming from the good results of the Last Judgment, or is it a foul corruption coming from the state of the world? That it has a spiritual origin there can be no doubt, but what is it?

     Summary

     I believe that we cannot in conscience avoid giving our people careful instruction on the race question. I do not see any clear and definitive position, yet feel the nature of our instruction in this most sensitive area could have profound implications on the church for years to come.

233




     I would very much appreciate your consideration of the following questions:

     1.     Did social and national differences gradually evolve from spiritual causes under the laws of Providence?
     2.     Was the difference of race created from some permanent internal characteristic which is unalterable, and therefore is one race internally incompatible with another? If so, how can our church instruct and make a place for those millions who are already racially mixed?
     3.     Did the difference of race gradually evolve from spiritual causes under the laws of Providence?
     4.     Are these differences primarily of the animus, the mens, or the soul? Are they permanent or in a state of flux according to use?
     5. Are racial differences, in fact, simply serious matters of external similitudes when considering interracial marriage?
     6.     Should we as priests perform such marriages if there appears to be internal similitude of religion?
     7. Would there be a distinction in performing a mixed marriage of two partners of "pure" races, and that of performing a marriage for two partners of already mixed racial background?
     8.     Is there a genuine need for the church to give instruction regarding human and individual rights?
     9.     While we assume that we have no place in racial problems as a civil issue as a church (we should not take stands on laws or their interpretation), do we have a place to try to form a moral and religious conscience in these matters? Are we doing so realistically and with practical candor?
     10. Can we, for example, realistically apply the teaching of the Writings about the Africans to the American Negro who is almost completely of mixed racial stock? Or do these teachings apply only in a very general sense as we might apply the teachings about the Germans to the members of this Council of German background?
     11.     What, indeed, do the Writings mean by genius, and indole when applied to race? Can we get some clear idea of what is meant?
     12.     What principles should guide our interracial social relations in our schools, as to dating, as to dances, as to dormitory life, etc.?
     I feel that this whole subject is an area which demands our attention and practical instruction. I feel that to neglect it is a serious mistake yet I am forced to admit that my conclusions are almost all tentative. I wonder if we have any consensus as to what we should teach?

234


FREEDOM 1971

FREEDOM       Rev. NORBERT H. ROGERS       1971

     Freedom is something all right-minded people want to have and to keep. Only a very few do not prize it and are willing to live without it; and they are to be found only among the weak and the fearful, the foolish and the insane. But all others, whether they know it or not, whether they think about it or not, whether they are young or old, look upon freedom as something very precious indeed, more valuable than jewels, or silver and gold. That this is so can be seen from the fact that nearly all the most famous people in every country have been those who have planned and worked, risked their possessions and their lives, and willingly suffered great hardships, for the sake of freedom. Nearly all wars, great and small, that have been fought since the beginning of history to the present time, have been fought by nations or peoples trying to defend the freedom they had, or to gain the freedom they wanted. Indeed, if we think about it, nearly every person we see or know about is in some way working and struggling for freedom. For example, the people who make up the governments of our nation, its states, and cities, that is all who make the laws and carry them out, are really doing nothing else than working to preserve and increase the freedom of the people. So also do the lawyers, police officers and judges whose duty it is to punish criminals and law-breakers and to protect the innocent. Doctors and nurses work to free us from diseases; teachers to free us from ignorance; and ministers to free us from evil. All who contribute to the wealth of the country, the farmers and sailors, business-men and storekeepers, office workers and the trade unions all in their own way help to maintain and to increase the freedom of the people. And if we think about it further we will see that one of the chief reasons why every husband and wife want a home of their own, and work hard to maintain it, is so that they and their children may have a place where they can be free to live as they think best. Even the disobedience of children, although it is something wrong for which they must be punished, is a sign that they prize freedom and are willing to struggle for it.
     The reason all right-minded people value freedom so highly is because freedom is necessary to human happiness; and this so much so that a man who is free but has nothing else at all in the whole world is far happier, and indeed far richer, than one who has everything except freedom.

235


For the lack of freedom takes away all pleasure and value from all things, even the most wonderful, and causes them to make us miserable. Even things which usually please us become unpleasant when we are not free. Whereas freedom makes it possible for us to enjoy all things, and to find the greatest delight in even the most unimportant things.
     Because freedom is necessary to happiness, it is also necessary for life. For without happiness life is not worth living; and in times of unhappiness, if we did not have the hope of being happy later on, we would not make the effort necessary to live. This is why so many people are willing to die for the sake of freedom, preferring death to slavery. In this people differ from animals; for animals do not need freedom for their happiness and life. Sometimes a caged animal may act as if it wanted to be free, but in actual fact it is acting in that way for quite some other reason; because it wants exercise, or food, or because it wants to attack another animal, or because it is afraid of something. As long as it is properly cared for, an animal enjoys its captivity, for it is then far safer and healthier than when it is free.

     People are different from animals, needing freedom for their happiness and life, because they have human souls and are able to regenerate and to live spiritually in heaven. But we can regenerate and live spiritually only in so far as we understand truths and love goods, only in so far as we have faith in the Lord and charity towards the neighbor. And these are things we cannot have as our own without freedom. We can indeed learn how to regenerate whether we are free or not; for whether we are free or not we can learn from the Word, and also from others, the knowledges of good and truth that will tell us what we ought to think and will, and what we ought to believe and love in order to live spiritually. But no matter how well we know and remember these things, we ourselves will not be able actually to think truth and will good as long as we lack freedom. Only when we are in freedom can we come to understand truths and to love goods; only when we are in freedom can we come to have genuine faith and charity; thus only when we are in freedom can we regenerate into the spiritual life and happiness of heaven. The Lord not only tells us this is His Word, so that we may know it, but He also gives the soul of each person the wisdom to perceive the need of freedom for spiritual life and happiness, so that through the soul each one may have a strong instinctive desire for freedom. And because the soul governs our natural life, it causes us to want natural freedom as well as freedom of spirit, and to be unhappy without it.

236


For this reason, even those who do not read the Word, who have no knowledge of regeneration or of heaven, and who even do not realize that they have a soul, nevertheless prize freedom and form the habit of struggling to preserve it.
     Though all right-minded people want freedom, and work for it, few really know what true freedom is, or how to gain it. The first idea most people have, which is the idea all children usually have, is that freedom is to be able to do whatever one wants to do whenever he wants. And because rules and laws prevent people from doing exactly as they wish, they think there should be no rules or laws; and if rules and laws exist they think they ought to disobey them in order to be free. In brief, this idea is that if there were no laws at all a person could not but be free, so that to gain freedom all that is necessary is to get rid of all laws. And there have been some who have tried to do this. But they have always found out that, instead of enjoying greater freedom and happiness without laws, they were less free and more miserable. The reason is that before they are regenerated all people love themselves more than others, and also love evil. The love of evil causes them to want to do things which hurt others, making them unhappy and taking their freedom away; and the love of self causes them not to care about the happiness of others, making them quite unwilling to stop themselves doing the evils they want, however hurtful they may be to others. If, then, there were no laws to prevent the unregenerate from doing the evils they want, no one would be free and no one happy. Thus though they take some freedom away from everyone, because they prevent people from doing all the evils they want, laws make it possible for more people to have greater freedom than they could without them. And so one of the first things to be learned about freedom is that there can be no freedom without law, and without obedience to law.

     Another idea about freedom, which is very common today, is that true freedom is to be secure or safe. It is thought that if only people could be free from danger, that is, safe from the attack of enemies, or safe from disease, or safe from poverty and hunger, they would have all the freedom they needed to be happy. But the wiser among men have come to see that freedom and security are quite different; indeed they are opposite to one another. For instance, to be only partly safe from disease we would have to spend so much time practising health rules we would be free to do little else; we would not be free to eat what we wanted, we would not be free to go where we wanted, we would not be free to be with our friends. To be completely safe from every danger would mean that we had to give up everything else, including all our freedom and our happiness.

237


In brief, there can be no freedom without danger.
     There are many other ideas concerning freedom and how to attain it that are just as mistaken. And these mistaken ideas make it clear that there cannot be freedom without knowledge. We need to know what freedom is, and what it is not; and we need to know what will cause us to be truly free, and what will take freedom away.
     Some of the knowledges we need can be learned from other men, and also from our own experience. But these knowledges will tell us only a little about natural freedom in this world; they will not tell us about the true freedom we need for our happiness, nor how to attain it. For the knowledges about true freedom can be found only in the Word of the Lord, because true freedom is something the Lord gives us. It is not something we can invent, or make for ourselves. This is clearly taught in the Word, where the Lord says: "If ye abide in My Word, ye are My disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."*
     * John 8: 31, 32.
     Truth can make us free because truth is the very law of real freedom. In so far, then, as we know the truth and use it, so far do we not only know what real freedom is, but so far also do we keep the law of freedom, making it possible for the Lord to give us freedom and happiness such as the angels of heaven enjoy.

     Though everyone wants to be free, not everyone wants to know the truth that will make them free. And even among those who may want to know it, not all are allowed to know it. For if truth is not properly used, if it is used for evil and thus profaned, instead of making people free and happy, it would harm them most seriously, preventing them from ever being free or happy. The truth itself will not do this, but man's improper use of it. For this reason the Lord keeps His truth hidden in the Word, allowing only His disciples to discover it, knowing that only they will use it properly for good. It is true that there are many who are not disciples of the Lord who think and say that they know the truth; but they do not. For what they think and say is the truth is actually only the knowledge of what is true, which is not the truth itself, but its covering or clothing, as it were. There is as much difference between truth itself and the knowledge of that truth as there is between a person and his clothing.
     Everyone can become a disciple of the Lord; but no one is a disciple unless he abides in the Word of the Lord. To abide in the Word means first of all to know what the Word teaches.

238


It is to learn the knowledges of good and truth that the Lord has made known in the Word; it is to learn what the commandments of the Lord are; it is to learn what the will of the Lord is. This is something everyone can do, whether he is good or evil; and it is something that is not very difficult to do. But the second thing meant by abiding in the Lord's Word is far more difficult. This is to do what the Word teaches; it is to apply the knowledges from the Word to the uses of life, to everything we say and do, think and will; it is to obey the commandments; it is to do the Lord's will. This is difficult because the Lord's will is for the most part quite different from our own will; for the Lord's will is that we do good and not evil, and that we love the neighbor as ourselves; whereas our will is to do evil rather than good, and to love ourselves rather than the neighbor. And so when we actually try to do what the Word teaches we find that we must do many things we do not want to do, and that we cannot do most of the things we do want to. Many find this too difficult to do, and stop really trying to do the teachings of the Word, looking upon them as bonds which take away their freedom.

     That the teachings of the Word are bonds which take freedom away is quite true as long as we really do not want to do the Lord's will, that is, as long as our will is different from the Lord's, and as long as we love evil rather than good, and ourselves rather than our neighbor. But if nevertheless we abide in the Word, that is, if we continue trying to do what the Word teaches, faithfully obeying the commandments of the Lord, a change will gradually take place in our will. We will come to want to do good rather than evil, and we will come to want to serve the neighbor and to make him happy rather than to think of ourselves only. In brief, we will come to want to do the Lord's will rather than our own. And when this is the case we can truly be called disciples of the Lord. The teachings of the Word will then no longer seem like bonds that take freedom away, but like guides which help us to find freedom; for we then want to do what the Word teaches. And because of this, because the disciples of the Lord want to do good and not evil, and to serve the neighbor, they can be safely entrusted with the truth itself; for they will try to use it for good only, and not for evil.
     And by properly using truths, a further change takes place. From only wanting to do the Lord's will rather than our own, the proper use of truth will cause us to love the Lord and to love doing His will, so that His will may be said to have become our will; from only wanting to serve the neighbor we will be caused to love our neighbor more than ourselves, and to find our delight in making others happy; from only wanting to do good rather than evil, we will be caused to love good and to be averse to evil; we will be caused to do good from love because it is the Lord's will and because it helps our neighbor, and to shun all evils because they are sins against the Lord and against our neighbor.

239


And when our love is such, when through truth we have come to love the Lord and our neighbor more than ourselves, and to love good only and not the least evil, then do we become truly free.
     The freedom that we will then have is, in a sense, the kind that we had first wanted in childhood, namely, the freedom to do all that we want. As long as we have any desire for evil this freedom cannot be given us but it can be given us as soon as we have no longer any desire for evil, but love good only. For as soon as we no longer want to do anything hurtful to others, there is no longer any reason why we should be prevented from doing what we want to do. This perfect freedom is the kind the angels have. This is why their happiness is so great. But the case in hell is just the opposite. Because evil spirits love evil and want to do evil only, they cannot have the least freedom, but must constantly be prevented from doing what they want to do. And so they can have no real happiness. We can know from all this the great truth that no one can ever be free to do evil; for evil is the enemy of freedom. But freedom lies in good, in wanting to do good. And so, if we wish to be free, we must learn to shun evils as sins and to do good from love, according to the teachings of the Word. In so far as we sincerely try to do this, so far will it be possible for true freedom to exist on earth for this is what the Lord meant when He said: "If ye abide in My Word, ye are My disciples indeed: and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
BEGINNING OF WISDOM 1971

BEGINNING OF WISDOM       Rev. KENNETH O. STROH       1971

     To think or act from principle is often considered to be the mark of a man of integrity and uprightness; while to be unprincipled is thought to be a sign of a lack of morality or scruples. Probably the majority of men and women, both old and young, would like to be thought of as people of principle, and thus as worthy of trust and respect.
     But what is principle? Too often the word is associated with rules of conduct which have come to be accepted as normal behavior, and therefore have acquired the label of righteousness.

240


These rules may apply to behavior, appearance, or even to attitudes of mind - such as attitudes regarding what is proper in the relationships between people, between different age groups, races or countries, or between members of the church. In this connotation a principle may become a thing of habit, accepted without thought or the process of reason. So common is this identification of a rule of conduct with a principle that it has come to be part of the dictionary definition of the word.
     In New Testament times the Pharisees had made a multiplicity of rules - including those relating to the washing of hands before meals, as well as at many other times. This prompted Jesus to warn: "Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man. . . . For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: these are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man."* But many still define principles as rules of conduct.
     * Matthew 15: 11, 19-20.
     Yet such a definition can lead to confusion of thought. For a principle, properly speaking, involves the ultimate source, the origin or the cause, of some thought or action. It refers to the beginning from which something has sprung. Perhaps a principle could be well defined as the beginning or the origin of something. In this sense, it might be said that all men act from some principle, because from some purpose, source or beginning; and the question then is not whether they are men of principle, but rather, what kind of principle is it from which they think or act? Is it high or low, strong or weak, wise or unwise, good or evil?
     Thus the Heavenly Doctrine compares the principle to a soul from which all that follows has life. And it is noted that the principles which a man interiorly holds are those which agree with and are confirmed by his loves. That is why, when you speak against what a man really believes, it is as if you are speaking against the man himself. So, when what a man deeply loves or believes is brought into question, he may react strongly, for it is as if he himself were under attack.*
     * Cf. AC 4736e, 10,307: 3.

     What, then, makes the beginnings or the origins of man's loves or beliefs, and his consequent thoughts or actions, to be good or evil, wise or foolish? The Divine Word tells us that the way to wisdom is to learn to love the Lord, to obey His commandments, and to fear to disobey His will, not from the fear of punishment, but from fear lest we do something against Him whom we love. Thus the principle, or the beginning, of wisdom is a love of the Lord, and a holy fear lest we violate the true order of life which He has revealed to us in His Word. Or, as it is put in the Psalm: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."

241



     How, then, may we become men and women who think and act from principles that are good and wise? How may we grow in that fear of the Lord which is the beginning of wisdom? The Heavenly Doctrine has much to say, not only regarding what kind of thing we ought to think and do, but also regarding the manner in which we should approach the choices that face us in the life we lead and in the faith we learn to accept as our own. But all these things are encompassed by or included in the simple statement of the Writings that he who would be truly wise must be wise from the Lord, and he will say in his heart that "the Lord must be believed, that is, the things which the Lord has spoken in the Word, because they are truths; and according to this principle he regulates his thoughts."* For did not Jesus say to those Jews who believed on Him: "If ye continue in My Word, then are ye My disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free"?**
     * AC 128.
     ** John 8: 31, 32.
     The Heavenly Doctrine reveals that the men of the Most Ancient Church on this earth thought in this way. Their thinking began from the Lord. They did not have, nor did they need, a written Word. For they had immediate revelation from the Lord, by means of open communication with spirits and angels, as well as by visions and dreams. By this means they could have a general knowledge of what is good and true; and when they thus had general knowledges, or general leading principles, they could find them confirmed in everything they perceived or thought, heard or saw, day by day. So they could tell what things agreed with these leading ideas and what did not, what was true and what was not.
     We are told that the "general principles of the Most Ancient Church were heavenly and eternal truths - as that the Lord governs the universe, that all good and truth is from the Lord, that all life is from the Lord, that man's proprium is nothing but evil, and in itself is dead: with many others of similar character. And they received from the Lord a perception of countless things that confirmed and supported these truths."*
     * AC 597: 3.
     Since the fall of man, however, a general knowledge of what is good and true cannot be given in this way; for, before we can know what is good and true, we must learn the knowledges of truth by an external way, from the Word and from nature. But unless we keep our minds turned toward the Lord we can go astray. For, because we learn by means of external sensations, we can fall into the error of thinking that the external world is the source of the truth we should believe.

242


We may think that we should learn what to believe from the things we hear and see in the world, from the worldly knowledges we can learn, or from the philosophies which others or we ourselves have devised. We quite properly wish to see and understand. But we may make the mistake of wanting to believe only what we see and hear, or only what seems to be capable of some sort of physical or intellectual so-called "proof"; and we may say to ourselves, "Why not? If there is one God and one creation, how can natural things be contrary to spiritual things?"
     But the Writings declare that to be instructed from things of sense in what is celestial and Divine is "as impossible as it is for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. For the more [a man] desires to grow wise by such means, the more he blinds himself, till at length he believes nothing, not even that there is anything spiritual, or that there is eternal life. This comes from the principle which he assumes."* This desire to learn or to decide what is good and true from something within ourselves or from something in the world around us is pictured in the Word by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden. And to Adam, or the man of the Most Ancient Church, the Lord God gave the command: "Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."**
     * AC 128.
     ** Genesis 2: 17, 18.

     Therefore, if we would become truly wise, the principle we should assume, or the beginning of our thought, should not be from the world or from ourselves. Rather the start should be made from the truths of faith. The Writings explain that the way to accomplish this is first to learn the teachings of the church, then to go for oneself to the Divine Word, and examine it to see whether these teachings of the church are true. For doctrine is not true simply because it has been spoken by a teacher, whether layman or priest. If it were, the teachings of all churches would be true, no matter how contrary. But we ought to search the Word, and there see whether the doctrinal things are true. We are given the promise that when this is done from the affection of truth, then we can be enlightened by the Lord so as to perceive, without knowing whence, what is true; and then we may be confirmed in this truth according to the good in which we are.* And we are also promised that then knowledges and sciences can become means of becoming spiritual if we acknowledge the Divine in faith and in life.**
     * Cf. AC 6047: 2.
     ** Cf. HH 356: 3.

243



     A good example of this kind of thinking is to be found in what are called the "Principles of the Academy." These Principles are twelve points of doctrine and faith as generally understood and accepted by the members of the church for whom they were written. They pointed the way to the performance of positive uses in the realm of church government, the work of the priesthood, New Church education, and so on. They served to arm the church against dangers which were then seen to threaten it, and they endeavored to protect the growth of conjugial love. They were believed to be one with the Divine doctrine, given by revelation to the New Church. But they were largely applications to life of the Divine doctrine as then understood in the church. They were not intended as dogmatic statements, binding upon the conscience of the church. They were regarded as matters of opinion: and their formulators recognized that "what makes the church is not so much its doctrine as its spirit" - in this case that spirit which is "the love of truth for its own sake."*
     * Principles of the Academy, pp. 16, 17.

     If we would know and love the truth, we, too, must continue to abide in the Lord's Word, especially His Word to the New Church; we must abide in this Word, not depending solely on the teaching of the leaders of the church, no matter how learned they may be. For the Word sheds the only true light which "shineth in darkness."
     Even if we have this light, however, we cannot be positive that everything we believe is completely true and devoid of any falsity. For we are finite human beings, subject to misunderstanding and error. But there are two kinds of falsities of belief; one arising from ignorance, the other from cupidities - strong external desires or longings. Falsity from ignorance is not so dangerous; it may arise from wrong teaching received in childhood, from lack of an ability to judge between good and evil or from worldly demands on time and energy which make it difficult to turn to the Word as often as one would wish. This falsity of ignorance is not too harmful as long as it is not willful."*
     * AC 1295.
     What is harmful is the falsity of cupidities, for its origin is the desires and longings of the loves of self and the world. For these loves wish to form principles which can be used for self-advancement and glory - used to captivate minds and lead them to serve one's own selfish purposes. Those who embrace ideas and teachings in this way and for these reasons make for themselves a mental cloud of ignorance which turns into darkness, so that they cannot see any truth."*
     * Ibid.

244



     But suppose the members of the church love the truth for its own sake, yet disagree on matters of faith and life of the church, Does this mean the presence of falsity and heresy which can divide the church? To this question the Heavenly Doctrine answers, No, not if the spirit of charity rules. For if charity ruled and were alive then the men of the church "would not even call schism schism, nor heresy heresy, but a doctrinal matter in accordance with each person's opinion; and this they would leave to each person's conscience, provided such doctrinal matters did not deny first principles, that is, the Lord, eternal life and the Word; and provided they were not contrary to the Divine order, that is, to the precepts of the Decalogue."* So, differences in principles of living do not necessarily imply falsity or heresy. It is a sad human spectacle when a man adopts a principle, believing it to be drawn from the Writings, then is persuaded that anyone who does not agree with him must be weak in matters of principle. He fails to recognize that one man's principle may not be another's, and that charity may provide room for both, as long as there is a genuine effort to be guided by the Lord.
     * AC 1834: 2.

     This does not mean that it matters not what you believe as long as you live well, do good, and hate no one. But it does mean that true principles of thought and life cannot be acquired without the Divine Word, or apart from that heavenly love of the Lord and charity toward the neighbor that is the very spirit of the love of truth for its own sake. And true principles of thought are necessary to the life of regeneration, and thus to man's salvation; because the Lord can lead us only by means of what is in our minds and hearts, whether delights, fallacies, or true principles.
     Some men and women may be born with natural good hereditarily; they may seem inclined to be kind, truthful and useful. But this is only from heredity. And we are told that unless they also take into their minds the principles of doing what is good, either from the Word or from the teaching of their church, their charity is only natural and not heavenly, for they have no true conscience, which is the plane of life into which the angels can inflow, and by means of which the Lord can lead them to heaven.* While pagans may be ignorant of the truth through no fault of their own, and may receive instruction in the other world, those who have the Word cannot plead ignorance except for causes over which they have no control.
     * Cf. AC 6208.
     So it is of eternal importance that the members of the Lord's church should try to have their thoughts and actions arise from true beginnings, from true principles.

245


They should not confuse rules of life, habits of thought or differences of opinion with first principles, but should keep their eyes on the Word of the Lord, especially the Heavenly Doctrine - the Word of the Lord to the New Church. They should keep their eyes on the Word of the Lord - the Lord who is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End of life and of the church. If this is done, then the earth, that is, the church, will truly be the Lord's, and the fullness thereof; and the men and women of the church will come into that holy fear of the Lord which is the beginning of wisdom.
WORD OF THE LORD AND THE MIND OF SWEDENBORG 1971

WORD OF THE LORD AND THE MIND OF SWEDENBORG       Rev. THEODORE PITCAIRN       1971

          We read: "Without the coming of the Lord into the world, no one could have been saved. It is similar at this day; wherefore unless the Lord comes again into the world in the Divine True, which is the Word, neither can anyone be saved."*
     * TCR 3.
     To anyone who has an open mind this is a clear statement that the Writings of Swedenborg are the Word of the Lord; for the Lord made His second coming in the Divine truth, and, as stated above, this truth is the Word.
     If the Writings are the Word they must have the characteristics which make the Word to be the Word.
     There are four characteristics which make the Word to be the Word.
One:     The Word is in a perfect continuous Divine series.*
     * See AC 1659. 2120, 7933, 4442.
Two: The Word, in every part, treats of the glorification of the Lord and the regeneration of man.*
     * See AC 3540.
     Three: Every word in the Word opens to infinity. While I have not been able to locate the place that says every word of the Word opens to infinity, this teaching is implied in the following statements: "There are inexhaustible things in every word of the Word."* "Every word in the Word is from the Lord."** "There is not a single word used in the Word that does not involve a celestial arcanum."***
     * AC 1936: 2.
     ** AC 771.
     *** AC 4136. See also 1869, 1870.
     Four: "Every Divine work is complete and perfect in ultimates." This is said of the Word in the Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture no. 28.

246


     If we read the Writings in the light of the world, they do not appear to have the above characteristics which make the Word to be the Word.
     They do not appear to be in a perfect Divine series, nor do they appear to treat in every particular of the glorification of the Lord and the regeneration of man. They appear to treat much of the history of churches and, at times, of other historical events. They describe many things seen in the spiritual world and in the earths of the universe. They do not appear to be perfect in ultimates, for they have apparent errors of history, of scientific facts, and even at times of words.
     Such appearances in the letter are cherubim or guards which hinder those who are not prepared from entering the paradise of their internal sense.
     In this respect they are not unlike the Old Testament where also we find apparent historical errors, and things not in agreement with scientific facts.
     The perfection of the Word in ultimates, lies in this: that it is a perfect ultimate of its internal, and this can only be seen to the degree that we are in the light of heaven.
     It has sometimes been said that the Writings are a different kind of Word, not having the above stated characteristics; but this idea is contrary to the plain teaching of the Word itself, for we read: "That the Book of Job is a book of the Ancient Church is evident, as before said, from its representative and significative style; but it is not of those books which are called the Law and the Prophets, because it has not an internal sense which treats solely of the Lord and of His kingdom; for this is the one thing that makes a book of the genuine Word."*
     * AC 3540: 4.

     We are frequently warned against the idea that the Divine Providence is in generals, and not in particulars and least singulars. The supreme work of the Divine Providence is in the giving of the Word. The Divine Providence in the giving of the Word is not only in respect to the preparation of the mind of him through whom the Word was given, but also as to the historical facts which are in the Word, and the knowledges acquired by the human race which are brought into the Word, and also in respect to the words of sacred languages in which the Word is written, even to the letters. That the Hebrew letters are of Divine origin is known. That this is true of the Greek letters can be seen from what is said of Alpha and Omega. That this applies to the Latin letters, can be seen from the following: "In the spiritual heaven, the writing is in Roman letters."*
     * SD 5561.

247



     It has at times been said that in the Old Testament the basis is even the letters, in the New Testament in the words, and in the Writings in the ideas. Words, especially words in a Divine order, signify ideas, and we are frequently told that every word in the Word is significant. Ideas can only exist in the mind; it cannot be said that a book has ideas; although all the words, in the books of the Word signify ideas. The words of the Word in the supreme sense signify ideas in the Divine Human of the Lord, which are infinitely above the ideas of men or angels.
     In an article by the Rev. Erik Sandstrom in the NEW CHURCH LIFE of January, 1971 entitled, "Swedenborg's Preparation as to the Will," he calls Swedenborg a "revelator," an expression not uncommonly used in the church. This expression appears to involve a confusion of thinking concerning the relation of Swedenborg as a man and the Word of the Lord.
     The Apocalypse commences with the words: "The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him."* The Third Testament is a revelation of the Lord, which He gave to Swedenborg. The Lord is therefore the only Revelator. Neither John, nor anyone else through whom the Word was written, is ever called a revelator.
     * Apocalypse 1: 1.
     In the article, he quotes the following: "one must not love angels more than God; for in comparison with the Lord no respect must be paid to them." Mr. Sandstrom continues: "He, (Swedenborg) is increasingly aware of his calling; this is what is meant by the 'indescribable grace.' But he is also aware of the dangers attached to it, to others and to himself, and in an outburst of zeal he even felt as though he might wish to inflict harm on harm, nay, even extreme harm, if this should be necessary, to prevent that veneration be turned to himself rather than to the Lord."*
     * NEW CHURCH LIFE. January 1971, p. 14.
     It appears to me it is just this veneration of Swedenborg here warned against which might be derived from Mr. Sandstrom's article.

     There is a passage in the True Christian Religion from which it might be concluded that Swedenborg received the infinite Divine doctrine in his understanding. We read: "The Second Coming of the Lord is effected by means of a man to whom the Lord has manifested Himself, and whom he has filled with His Spirit, that he may teach the doctrines of the New Church from the Lord by means of the Word . . . He will do this by means of a man, who is able not only to receive the Doctrines of this Church in his understanding but also to publish them by the press."*
     * TCR 779.

248



     Compare the above with the first verses of Luke, where we read: "It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus . . ."* It is obvious that to interpret what Luke calls his "perfect understanding" to mean that he understood all that is contained in the Gospel of Luke, is irrational and it would be equally irrational to interpret the above number about Swedenborg to mean that Swedenborg understood all that is contained in the Writings.
     * Luke 1: 3.
     The Writings or Third Testament is the Lord Himself in His second coming, and is therefore infinite. Swedenborg's understanding was finite; and there is no ratio between the Infinite and the finite.
     What Swedenborg understood compared to what is contained in the Writings or Third Testament is as a drop to the ocean. That this is so is clearly evident from the following:

     "This spirit said . . . There is a palace here which is called the Temple of Wisdom; but no one can see it who believes himself to be very wise, still less he who believes he is wise enough, and less yet one who believes himself to be wise from himself. This is because such are not in a state to receive the light of wisdom from a love of genuine wisdom. It is genuine wisdom for a man to see from the light of heaven that what he knows, understands and is wise in, is so little in comparison with what he does not know and understand, and in which he is not wise, as to be like a drop to the ocean, consequently almost nothing. Everyone who is in this paradisal garden, and who acknowledges both from perception and from seeing it in himself that his wisdom is relatively so slight, sees that Temple of Wisdom; for it is the inner light which enables him to see it. So, because I had often thought, and had cause to acknowledge, first from knowledge, then from perception, and finally from inner light, that man has so little wisdom, behold it was granted me to see that temple."*
     * TCR 387.

     The reason the Word is the Word is not on account of the understanding of the one through whom it was written. Some, through whom the Word was written, understood very little, some understood much more. Some who wrote the Old Testament only recorded the historical things with which they were acquainted. Some of the prophets, we are told, heard voices and understood very little of what they wrote.
     Job, we are told, is a book of the Ancient Church; he was of "the sons of the east" from whence later came the wise men to the Lord in His infancy, and he was the last of those who understood correspondences. The Book of Job, we are told, is an "excellent and useful work," yet it is not the Word,* while through some who lacked the wisdom of Job, the Lord wrote the Word.
     * See AC 2683; CL 532; AE 422: 20; AE 740: 14.

249



     We read:

     "To prophesy signifies to teach the Word, because a prophet means, in the highest sense, the Lord, and in the relative sense one who teaches the Word, but in an abstract sense, the Word and doctrine from the Word. . . . By prophets here and elsewhere in the Word are meant, in the nearest sense, such prophets as those were in the Old Testament through whom the Lord spake; but in the spiritual sense those prophets are not meant, but all whom the Lord leads. With those also the Lord flows in and reveals to them the secrets of the Word, whether they teach or not. . . . In many passages prophets are mentioned, and no one has any other idea of them than that the prophets of the Old Testament, through whom . . . He dictated the Word, are meant, but in the spiritual sense [are meant] all whom the Lord teaches . . . who are in a spiritual affection of truth. . . . For the Lord teaches those, and flows into their understanding and enlightens; and this is more true of them than of the prophets of the Old Testament, for they did not have their understanding enlightened, but the words they were to say and write they received merely by hearing, and did not even understand their interior sense still less their spiritual sense. . . . Prophets in the spiritual sense mean all who are wise whether they teach or do not teach."*
     * AE 624: 4, 13, 15.

     For important reasons those through whom the New Testament was written had to have more of an understanding of what they wrote than was the case with the prophets of the Old Testament. They were prepared for this as to the understanding and will by the teaching the Lord gave them, when in the world. Some, like David, through whom books of the Old Testament were written were evil men. Matthew and John, we are told, are in heaven, and this applies in all likelihood to Mark and Luke.
     John certainly had some interior understanding of what he wrote, yet the epistles of John, unlike his Gospel and the Apocalypse, are not the Word, although they are important books of the church containing Divine truths.
     In the case of Swedenborg it was necessary that he had a far greater understanding of what he wrote, and we indeed marvel at what must have been his understanding, yet this was but a drop compared to the ocean, as to the contents of the Word given through him.
     If Swedenborg understood all that is contained in the Word written through him, he would be a kind of god, or at least super-human. He would be infinitely wiser than any man or angel who ever was or ever will be, no matter how much heaven and the church progress. He could not, therefore, be in a society of heaven, but would have to be a kind of archangel far above the societies of heaven.
     We may realize that our understanding is relatively little compared to Swedenborg's and that is good.
     Swedenborg deserves great respect, but let us not venerate him, lest we should be "inflicted with the extreme harm," against which he warns.

250


MEMORIAL DAY 1971

MEMORIAL DAY       PHILIP C. PENDLETON       1971

     (An address delivered by the Mayor at a civic observance in Bryn Athyn, Memorial Day, 1970)

     We are together today in remembrance of those brave men who, over the course of nearly two centuries, have offered their lives that this nation might live. Memorial Day - or Decoration Day, as it was called when I was a little boy - originated in the South shortly after the Civil War. A group of ladies who had gone to a cemetery to place flowers on the graves of the fallen Confederates, noticed the bare graves of Union soldiers, and compassionately decorated these as well. This kindly act was the inspiration for a now nearly forgotten poem whose refrain ran:

     Under the roses the blue
     Under the lilies the gray.

     The custom swept swiftly through the country and quickly took deep root in our American heritage.
     Memorial Day is a day of remembrance, not only of our great dead, but also of our Father in heaven to whom we owe the blessings of both natural and spiritual freedom and independence. But while we acknowledge these gifts from Him, we must constantly bear in mind that every new generation, each in its own time, must prove itself worthy of them, else they will be taken away from us. For such precious gifts can be received only by nations who love them - and are ready to fight to the death to keep them.
     Today, as we stand here, all but the naive or willfully blind, can see, looming upon the horizon, grave threats to the continued preservation of the very freedoms for which those we honor fought. And it is of these threats that I wish to speak.
     The first is the threat of a ruthless, materialistic, godless Communism, openly bent on world conquest and already well on the way to attaining its end. Over the past thirty years, nation after nation has either been swallowed up by Russia and China or is now controlled by Moscow or Peking through puppet regimes which must slavishly do their master's will. Witness the recent occupation of Czechoslovakia by Russian troops for the sole sin of daring to deviate, ever so slightly, from the rigid Marxist-Leninist line.

251



     All over the world, both of these nations are supplying money, arms, advice and supplies to Communist factions within other countries. They are constantly stirring up disorders and revolutions and creeping ever closer to our shores in pursuance of their deliberately planned policy of encircling and isolating us.
     Today China has the atomic bomb, and just recently our Secretary of Defense warned us that Russia has surpassed us in both the quantity and the quality of her land-based missiles. An ominous prospect indeed, and one due solely to our own failure to see the consequences of a misguided hope for peace.
     The second threat is that of internal subversion and revolution which, as every security official knows, is largely led and directed by what the Communists call the "Fifth Column." These men, most of them native- born Americans, are trained to infiltrate every group which has a grievance, real or imagined, and to whip up hatred, resentment and maudlin self-pity. The demonstrations, riots, lootings, assaults, and even murders, they encourage are not the end, but the means to the end, of open revolution. Their goal is a Soviet United States of America. Another grim picture to contemplate!

     The third threat comes not from avowed Communists, or their pathetic dupes, but from many of our own people. We are yielding to a growing love of material things. The dole has become a way of life - not a temporary crutch. The hard disciplines of education are being steadily eroded. Immorality and perversion are rife. Drugs are dulling the old American qualities of initiative and responsibility. Productive labor is denigrated. Love of country calls forth sneers and contempt. The flag of our nation is openly burned, torn to bits, trampled and spat upon. An hysterical pacifism, utterly divorced from all reality, is rampant, even in high places. A false and deliberately induced sense of mass guilt is sapping our moral strength. Love of the neighbor is being converted into an indiscriminate and sentimental "love of mankind" which has no regard to the spiritual quality or use of the individual man, which, incidentally, we are taught in the Writings, is the only true test of charity toward the neighbor. More and more parents are becoming permissive with their children, and more and more children flout their parents. Increasingly, where the lives and safety of others are concerned, people pass by on the other side of the road, as did the priest and the Levite of old. Women, particularly those in the so-called "upper classes," are unwilling to bear children. Many young men are refusing to fight for their country. Crimes of violence are soaring to unprecedented heights. The churches are placing less and less emphasis on the life that leads to heaven and more and more upon the so-called "social gospel" of the good life in this world.

252


God, by many people, is regarded either as non-existent or only as a blind, natural force.
     This last threat is the most subtle and dangerous of all, for it bears evidence of moral and spiritual decay. What brought about the fall of the great nations of the ancient world - Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, Persia, Greece and Rome? Decay from within, not their enemies from without. What has reduced the great nations of later years to the status of second and third rate powers - Turkey, Spain, France, and even once mighty England? Again, decay from within. Why do we stubbornly insist on ignoring the lessons of history?
     My purpose in reciting these evils is not to cause anyone to sink into despair or despondency, but merely to point them out. There is too much that is wholesome and sound within our nation, too many men and women of resolute moral courage, and who love their country, to give way to fear and confusion. But just as the individual must search out, recognize and shun his evils if he would regenerate so must a nation do if it would survive. Neither the individual nor the nation can long endure that does not recognize and refrain from the evils within.
     Time and again the Lord delivered the sons of Israel from the hand of their oppressors, but note well that He could not do this until they had repented of their evils and called upon Him for help. Even to pagan imperial Rome, although the Romans knew not His name, He granted a revival of strength which lasted over a period of nearly ninety years, by raising up in succession five good emperors who governed the people faithfully and well.
     But we do not have to rely upon a natural or even a moral revival to give us courage to face the future. We know that the Lord has made His second coming. We know that He has promised another golden age when men, with His help, have learned to shun the two great evils - love of self and love of the world. And what is our part to be? Simply put, in the words of the Writings, it is to look to the Lord, shun evils as sins against Him, and do our work, whatsoever it may be, sincerely, justly and faithfully. And implicit in this is that we love our country, and desire its welfare, for it is said in the Writings: "He who loves his country and from good will benefits it, in the other life loves the Lord's kingdom; for there the Lord's kingdom is his country."*
     * AC 6821.

253


REVIEW 1971

REVIEW              1971

     MY SIDE OF THE GRAVE. G. Roland Smith. Designed and Illustrated by the Author. The Missionary Society of the New Church, London, 1970. Paper, pp. 151. Price: 10/-.

     This delightful book contains much to challenge and stimulate as well as entertain the thoughtful reader. Yet it is difficult to classify it. Although it is about the author, and is obviously written by him, it is not autobiography. In his own words, it is "neither a disciplined piece of research, nor an authoritative statement of doctrine. It is not a devotional aid for the religious, but an account of one who sometimes finds it difficult, these days, to devote himself to anything. It is a record of his doubts as well as his convictions, and a summary of the circumstances out of which they have arisen."
     In these pages one whose thought and life seem to have been molded by the Writings recalls and philosophizes about his experiences in growing up - at home, in school, and in the church; as an art student; for two years as a less than enthusiastic conscript in the Royal Air Force (Aircraftsman 2nd class); as a teacher, later; and as a family man with responsibilities for wife and children. This is a rich and wide assortment of experiences; but if it leads to doubts it also produces convictions which establish a pattern of order. Mr. Smith has some interesting things to say about the status of the Writings, about the role of the church in modern society and the mistake of regarding that role as a social one. As a teacher and a former schoolboy he has some shrewd observations on education as a means and as an end in itself.
     Varied as his experiences have been, the author is convinced that there are patterns to take the bewilderment out of living, and these are woven by his thinking from the Writings and presented with humor as well as clarity. Perhaps the key thought is that life in this world, for all its richness and complexity, is only this "side of the grave." There is another side, disclosed by revelation, to which we may look forward. The author concludes: "Men have been described by certain atheists as 'pattern making animals.' As a pattern maker by profession, I cannot help but see myself as part of a greater pattern - and God as the greatest pattern maker of all." "If we are in search of order, then it is to the non manmade things that we must turn for inspiration."

254


SPIRITUAL RENEWAL 1971

SPIRITUAL RENEWAL              1971


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

Editor . . . . Rev. W. Cairns Henderson, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager . . . . Mr. L. E. Gyllenhaal, 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. Notifications of address changes should be received by the 15th of the month.

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$5.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy, 50 cents
     Until the Lord had glorified the Human, He alternated between two states of consciousness: the state of glorification and the state of humiliation or exinanition. In the first of these He was conscious of and spoke about His unity with the Divine; declaring that He and the Father are one, and that he who saw Him saw the Father. In the second, it appeared to the Lord as if He were separate from the Divine; and in that state He prayed to the Father as to another.
     The Lord was in the state of humiliation when, as recorded in the Gospels, "He went up into a mountain apart to pray." Humiliation opens the mind to receive the Divine; and the Lord's going up into a mountain means that it was His love of saving men that led Him to humble Himself before the Divine that He might receive and make His own the Divine from which He would teach and heal. We may think of the Lord's states of humiliation, then, as states of renewal; states in which He received the Divine that He would then give to men.
     Man's regeneration is an image of the Lord's glorification, and we know from the Gospels that on occasion the Lord took His disciples apart and instructed them. If we would receive from the Lord, we must cultivate the habit of drawing apart and praying to Him, alone. A physical retreat from the world is not necessary; we can withdraw into the solitude of the mind which is directed to Him and away from the world. And if, in so doing, we ascend the mountain of love to the Lord, we will descend again renewed, revitalized by those spiritual forces from which the battle of life is fought.

255




     LISTEN TO YOUR HEART!

     All the ideas by which men live are not found in theology, philosophy, ethics and politics. Some appear in the most unlikely places, among them the lyrics of popular songs; and that medium has long urged the troubled and uncertain: Listen to your heart; it will never lie to you, never deceive you, never lead you astray. If you want to know the right thing to do, listen only to your heart. There is some value in this, up to a point. The intellect, separated from the heart, is cold and exacting, devoid of sympathy, compassion, pity and mercy. But the idea that the heart has an unerring instinct for what is right and is therefore an infallible guide goes far beyond that point and should be questioned.
     We read in the Word: "The heart is deceitful above all things; who can know it?" What the heart or will tells us is what the heart or will wants, whether good or evil; and since it is the will that leads the understanding, not the reverse, the heart speaks very persuasively. It has no difficulty in producing reasons why what it wants is the good and right thing to do. When we consider what has been revealed about man's native will, we may see just how unreliable a guide it is. Indeed, it was because mankind could no longer listen to its heart and remain human and salvable that the Lord separated the will and the understanding, and made it possible for the understanding to recognize truth and then show the way.

     Sounder advice would be: "Listen to the Lord's Word and your understanding of it; and try to see its teachings and their applications to your problems in their own light, and not as your will would bend them to its purposes." There is in the world a gospel which has a strong appeal to the young and the idealistic - the gospel that what is demanded of us is love, not legalism. Unfortunately, however, by legalism is meant everything that the Lord teaches in the Word, and that the church derives from the Word, including the Ten Commandments; and it is held that any effort to formulate and direct love under the guidance of principles will destroy it. If we only love others, our love itself will show us what is the right thing to do in any and every situation. But this will not do! Love and wisdom, charity and faith, good and truth, are inseparable, and they have no reality unless the Lord is in them. We can be led to good only by the Lord and in the truth of His Word. Yet there is an important sense in which we should listen to the heart - but to the new heart which, together with a new spirit, the Lord forms within those who love Him and do His will. For it is this heart which urges us to put to use the truths we have learned, to send them forth into the uses of life, and it may be relied on implicitly.

256




     THE INTELLECTUAL OF THE CHURCH

     In several places the Writings speak about the "intellectual of the church." What is meant by this is something far superior to mere knowledge. Its quality and extent are not measurable by the content of the memory, and the most comprehensive memory-knowledge of the Word does not necessarily imply its existence. There is an intellectual that is formed by scientifics, but it is inferior to the true intellectual of the church. That which determines the presence or absence of this is the end for which knowledge of truth is sought; and if our approach to the Word is entirely intellectual, if we study it to impress others with our learning or to form their thought, the true intellectual of the church is not in us - though we may seem to be what is generally called "intellectual."
     A true intellectual, we are taught, consists in a man's perceiving when he reads the Word, and carefully compares one passage with another, what is the truth of faith and the good of charity, or what is to be believed and done. It is a perception that what is taught in the Word is true, not from the dictate of knowledge and philosophy, but from the dictate of the spiritual sense of the Word; and it is to perceive and see, before any doctrinal is confirmed, whether it is of truth or not, and then to confirm it if true. Thus the intellectual of the church is a spiritual understanding in the natural; the intelligence of truth seen in light; a faculty which is enlightened when the Word is read, and therefore a genuine understanding of the Word, of good and truth, and of the doctrinals of faith and charity, leading to the formulation of true concepts of them. And it manifests itself by a delight in learning what is good and true for the sake of life and uses.
     Thus we may see that the intellectual of the church has nothing in common with what the world understands by intellectualism. It is not necessary for a man to acquire vast scholarship to have it, to become learned in the arts and sciences, or to go deeply into the more profound aspects of theology and philosophy. It exists with the truly simple in heart as surely as with the genuinely wise - though in a different degree; and much more so with them than the so-called learned, who are wise only in their own estimation and in that of those who measure superficially. It is to be measured, not by the extent of a man's knowledge of the doctrines given for the church, but by his estimate of the purpose for which the doctrine has been given, and by the use he makes of his knowledge; by the life of humility before the Lord and charity with the neighbor, and of true wisdom manifested in spiritual uses. Sacred knowledges are indeed indispensable, but use is more important.

257


Church News 1971

Church News       RUTH C. WYLAND       1971

     SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA

     As the newly appointed Circle correspondent for NEW CHURCH LIFE I am hoping to keep churchmen in other locations aware that the San Francisco Circle is a really going concern - and we would always like to have more people move here!
     Bryn Athyn has its Post and San Francisco has its Bulletin compiled by Jon and Hannah Cranch. Without a file of Bulletins, reporting three years of Circle activities would be almost impossible.
     The Rev. Lorentz Soneson was our pastor until July of 1970. During his stay he made many innovations. He was the first minister to fly up to San Francisco twice a month for four o'clock services. He began Monday afternoon children's classes and Monday evening adult classes (instead of Saturday). He initiated the children's June 19th picnics and adult New Church Day banquets. He suggested and followed through on teenage suppers with the minister, informal get-togethers for thought-provoking questions and social interchange. He supported and directed the activities of the Sunday school which met on the alternate Sundays in his absence. He suggested a men's weekend which became an actuality in June of 1969.
     Mr. Soneson gave us an overall view of the Writings in his adult classes for one year followed by a detailed two-year study of The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine which was both informative and rewarding. The June 19th banquets had well prepared programs under the direction of able toastmasters (Weston Smith 1967, Gordon Smith 1968, Tom Aye 1969 and Mr. Soneson himself in 1970). Tableaux were presented each year under the enthusiastic direction of Mrs. Philip C. Pendleton (Christine Heilman) with children of all ages taking part. Twice Mr. Soneson joined our festivities on Christmas Day, once bringing his gentle wife, Midge (Rose) Soneson and the family.
     Ours is a changing Circle from year to year. Stanford University draws many people to our area. Lt. Christopher Clark and his wife, Tryn Grubb Clark, came here with the ROTC at Stanford, arriving in 1968. Lt. Comm. Dan Leonard was assigned to study at Stanford for a year and then with his wife, Vaughnlea Good Leonard, his two sons and newly adopted daughter was transferred to Japan in the summer of 1969. Nora Cranch of our Circle married Paul Cooper in 1968 and left for Chicago a year later. When the Gordon Smiths were also transferred to Louisville in 1969 we found it difficult to be happy for them because of the loss of so many friends in such a short time.
     Happily some people came to stay and others are recent arrivals. Danna Junge came in 1968 to study at the University of California at Berkley. She married Don Kistner and settled in the area, with a new member, their son Dam, arriving last summer. Sally Headsten came to San Francisco to direct the Florence Crittenden Home. John Doering brought his wife, Christina, and son John, here while working on a Fellowship at Stanford. Wenda Junge is attending Stanford this year and Elaine Pitcairn has joined our number. Diana Davis is here with VISTA from Los Angeles. Red Pendleton and his brother are located in the same area since Dr. and Mrs. Lawson Pendleton (Marcia Henderson) moved their family here while Lawson works at the Hoover Institute.
     Visitors have been the rule rather than the exception. We were lucky to have a visit from the Rev. Norman Reuter and his wife (Beth Fuller) in 1968.

258


A few months later the Rev. Ormond Odhner flew in from Los Angeles to give us a wonderful class with slides on the birth of the Lord. Frequent visitors have been Mrs. Helen Boggess and Anne Finkeldey. Mr. and Mrs. Daric Acton with Mrs. Roena (Acton) Merlin attended one of our picnics. Susie Grubb was staying with her sister, Tryn Clark, for a few months. Summer visitors have been Kathy Coffin, the Michael Pitcairn family, Peter Alden, young Tom Redmile and Joyce Cooper. Passing through have been Susie Coffin, Bob Merrell, Mrs. James Junge (Bethel Pitcairn), Elaine Cooper and Mr. and Mrs. David Powell (Edith Kuhl), to mention only a few.
     Bishop Pendleton has visited us three times. In February of 1970 he came to tell us the sad news that our pastor was to be assigned elsewhere. The Bishop brought his charming wife, Gay (Pitcairn), on his latest visit last November and we had two memorable evenings and the honor of hearing the Bishop preach in our chapel.
     Some of our young people are attending the Academy. At present Janet Pendleton is a senior there and Michael Pendleton is a freshman in the College. Jennifer Pendleton was there but returned home after Christmas.
     Our Women's Guild, for three years under the quietly competent leadership of Mary Aye, has provided many services for the Circle. Since we have a minister who stays in our homes for two days twice a month, there are many arrangements for hostessing, classes and special occasions to be taken care of. Although we live many miles from each other, we have social occasions at the drop of a Surprise Birthday Party (Ray Wyland, Lottie Muller and Mary Aye)
     Our last meeting with Mr. Soneson was a sad occasion because we had grown to know and love him in the four years he was our pastor. We realized he was called to other uses and we were well aware that we could count ourselves fortunate to have had him with us as long as we did. His eagerness to give of himself, his dedication to his duties, his constant counsel and the clear challenges of his sermons will be sorely missed.
     We welcomed the Reuters at an August social supper at the Jon Cranch's. On this occasion the Marlin Eberts drove the distance from Pleasanton to attend. Mr. Reuter was so enthusiastic at the prospect of beginning his duties on the West Coast that he gave up his vacation in order to get started. He took firm hold of our problems, made the necessary decisions and has continued the schedule that Mr. Soneson began.
     We lost one more family to Los Angeles. Capt. and Mrs. Fred Fiedler (Barbara Allen) who had long been a part of our Circle.
     The Christmas tableaux this year were under the direction of Mrs. Christopher Clark (Tryn Grubb) and had a background tape which Mr. Reuter had prepared for the Detroit Society. On this occasion we had the pleasure of seeing the Bertil Larssons (Lillian Macaulay) from Paradise, California, and Mike and Beth-Ann (Schnarr) Woods from Santa Rosa.
     Our Circle begins 1971 still changing, growing and learning. For anyone planning to be in the San Francisco area we extend a hearty welcome. Write or phone Jonathan Cranch, our secretary, and plan to join us for a day, a week - or even move here. We'd love to have you!
     RUTH C. WYLAND
VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN 1971

VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN              1971

     Visitors to Bryn Athyn on any occasion who need assistance in finding accommodation please communicate with the Guest Committee, c/o Mrs. Leo Synnestvedt, 611 Waverly Lane, Bryn Athyn. Pa. 19009. Phone: (215) Wilson 7-3725.

259


PACIFIC NORTHWEST DISTRICT ASSEMBLY 1971

PACIFIC NORTHWEST DISTRICT ASSEMBLY       WILLARD D. PENDLETON       1971

     The Tenth Pacific Northwest (United States) District Assembly of the General Church of the New Jerusalem will be held July 10 and 11, 1971, in the Seattle area the Rev. Norman H. Reuter presiding.
     All members and friends of the General Church are cordially invited to attend.
     WILLARD D. PENDLETON
          Bishop
INVITATION 1971

INVITATION       DANIEL B. MCQUEEN       1971

     The Bryn Athyn Boys Club is holding its summer camp July 31 to August 14, 1971. Any New Church boy who has not had the opportunity to join the Club is also welcome to attend if he has completed the fifth grade; the oldest boys at camp are those who have just completed the eighth grade. Boys may attend either one of the two weeks of camp. The charges will be $33.00 per boy for a one week stay, including insurance.
     As you probably know we use our own campsite, a 200 acre tract we call Camp Lamoka, near Towanda, Pa. It is a beautiful place, with woods, streams, mountains, and many other attractions. Since I will be unable to attend camp this year, it will be directed by Mr. Carl Gunther the first week and Mr. Bradley Smith the second week.
     If you are interested, please contact Mr. Carl Gunther, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009 for further details. (Those in the Detroit area should contact Mr. Vance Genzlinger.) Due to the amount of planning necessary we cannot guarantee to accommodate inquiries received after July 1st.
     DANIEL B. MCQUEEN
          Director

261


HOPES, THE POLICIES AND THE PROBLEMS OF THE GENERAL CHURCH 1971

HOPES, THE POLICIES AND THE PROBLEMS OF THE GENERAL CHURCH       Rev. WILLARD D. PENDLETON       1971


Vol. XCI
June, 1971
No. 6
     (Taken from a tape recording of remarks to the First Session of the New Church World Assembly, London, July 2-5, 1970)

     Mr. Chairman and friends, may I express my pleasure in having been asked to speak to you today. The subject assigned to me is that of the hopes, the policies and the problems of the General Church. At the outset, let me say that it is the hope of the General Church that it may serve as a means whereby the Lord's New Church may be established on earth; for there is a profound and essential difference between an organization of the church and the Lord's New Church, and I believe that it is important that this distinction be noted at this time. The reason for this is that we have come here as members of various organizations of the New Church, and it is our mutual hope that each of us may serve in his own way and according to such illustration as he may possess in the establishment of the New Church among men.
     In order to understand the General Church, and I assume this is the reason why I have been asked to address you today, it is necessary that I explain to you why the General Church was organized. We must therefore go back into history, that is, to the early beginning of the New Church in America. At that time certain basic doctrinal differences existed, and these same doctrinal differences persist at this day. The first tangible product of these differences was the formation of the Academy of the New Church in 1876 under the leadership of the Reverend William Henry Benade.

262


The primary purpose of the Academy was the establishment of a theological school in which young men could be prepared for the priesthood in accordance with the understanding of the Writings which was held by those who subscribed to the Academy movement. At first, however, there was no thought of separation from the General Convention. This, "came later under the stress of a necessity not [originally] foreseen."*
     * W.F. Pendleton: The Academy of the New Church; Fiftieth Anniversary Record, p. 13.
     It was not until 1890, therefore, that the actual separation took place; and in 1891 the adherents of the Academy organized the General Church of the Advent of the Lord under the leadership of Bishop Benade. The newly formed organization, however, soon encountered difficulties which had not been anticipated, and in 1897 it was reorganized under the leadership of Bishop W. F. Pendleton and adopted the name of the General Church of the New Jerusalem.

     It is, then, as members of the General Church that those whom I represent on this occasion meet with you today. In reporting for the General Church, I can say that for the past seventy-three years we have enjoyed a stability of structure, we have been blessed by a slow but steady increase in membership, and the uses to which we are committed have been strengthened and multiplied. But what are the uses of which I speak? As I understand the Writings, there are two primary uses of the church, namely, worship and instruction. I will not speak here of the use of worship, for I believe that the use of worship is understood by all who subscribe to the faith of the New Church. I would take this opportunity, however, to call your attention to the use of instruction, for in its emphasis on this important work of charity, the General Church differs from other bodies of the New Church.
     Believing, as we do, that the Writings are the Word, and thus the sole authority within the church; we hold that the understanding of the Writings is essential to the growth and development of the church. Further, we hold that the understanding of the Writings is dependent upon instruction. In this connection I would call your attention to the teaching of the Writings where it is said that, "all instruction is simply an opening of the way"*; that is, an opening of the way to the perception of good and truth. It is, then, by means of instruction from the Word that the Lord is known. In other words, it is by means of instruction from the Word that the Lord, who alone is good and truth, is made visible to the sight of the understanding.
     * AC 1495.

263



     This is the reason why from the beginning the General Church has placed special emphasis upon the use of instruction. This emphasis is fully reflected in the policies and practices of the General Church. That this is so is evident from the fact that it is our policy to encourage our people to go to the Writings for themselves. We place no faith in creeds or councils nor in the claim to Divine illustration on the part of any priest or layman.* Further, it is a policy of the General Church to institute regular doctrinal classes in all of its societies, circles, and groups. We do this because we believe that the understanding of doctrine is basic to the life of the church. Finally, it is our policy, wherever possible, to establish schools. Our reason for this is that we firmly believe that the most fertile field of evangelization is with children of New Church parents.** Do not misunderstand me. We do not hold that the education of children in the sphere of the church is the only form of evangelization, but we do believe that it is the most productive. I am sure that a study of the comparative growth rate of the existing organizations of the New Church will bear this out. The real growth of the New Church, however, cannot be measured by numbers; if it could be, we would all have cause for discouragement. But as I read the Writings, I am deeply convinced that we have here an obligation, that is, an obligation to provide for our children an educational environment which opens the way to the perception and acknowledgment of the Lord.
     * See TCR 489.
     ** Principles of the Academy, NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1899, p. 118.

     Never underestimate the spiritual significance of childhood. During childhood and youth the Lord provides for those states of innocence which are basic to the life of regeneration, for what is innocence but a willingness to be led by the Lord? It is this willingness, that is, this desire to be led by the Lord, that we seek to cultivate through the instrumentality of an educational system designed to inspire in the hearts of our children an affection for the Lord's Word.
     It is then, as stated, our policy to establish grade schools in our societies. These schools come under the direct supervision of the pastor. Beyond the grade schools we have the Academy of the New Church, located in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania. This requires some explanation because I know that in the minds of many there is a confusion in regard to the relation between the Academy and the General Church. The difference between these two organizations is that the one is an educational institution and the other an ecclesiastical body. The relationship between them is one of mutual confidence and trust. It is to be noted, however, that the Academy performs certain uses for the General Church.

264


These uses are: the education of the youth of the church, the education of young men and women for the teaching profession, and the education of young men for the work of the priesthood. The very nature of these uses testifies to the confidence which the General Church places in the Academy; indeed, I would say there could be no greater expression of confidence than this.
     I would not, however, have you think of the Academy as we would think of any other educational institution. The Academy is more than an institution. In essence it is that spirit of devotion to the Writings which leads to the understanding and perception of what is meant by the statement in the True Christian Religion, "The Second Coming of the Lord is not a Coming in Person but in the Word, which is from Him and is Himself."* This was the reason why it was organized and this is the purpose which it serves at this day.
     * TCR 776.
     Structurally speaking, the Academy is comprised of four schools: the Girls' School, the Boys' School, the College, and the Theological School. Further, it possesses a library containing some 75,000 volumes. Here also you will find an outstanding collection of Swedenborgiana, featuring original editions of the Writings and Philosophical Works, the Star Collection consisting of subsequent editions of the same, and the unique reconstruction of Swedenborg's own library. We can readily understand, therefore, why the Academy has become a research center not only for New Church students but also for all who for one reason or another seek information concerning Swedenborg, his works, and the intellectual environment of his time. In this connection it is worthy of note that the Swedenborgiana Collection is supported by a representative collection of 18th century scholarship.

     Having spoken of the policies of the General Church, we come to the third and last assignment of this address, that is, its problems. Like any other organization, large or small, our problems are many. In trying to sort out our problems in a meaningful way, however, I think that it would be fair to say that our primary problem is one of communication. The reason for this is that the General Church is not geographically restricted, and the result is a membership which is scattered throughout the world. How do we meet this problem? The answer is, as best we can. It is my opinion, however, that the structure of the General Church is adapted to this need.

265


The General Church is organized under the administration of an executive or administrative Bishop; it consists of societies, circles, groups and districts. In each society, circle, group or district, there is a resident pastor or visiting pastor, who is directly responsible to the Bishop for his conduct of the ecclesiastical affairs of the society, circle, group or district under his charge. I am aware that this kind of organization is somewhat foreign to those bodies of the New Church who subscribe to the congregational form of government, but I believe that the order of the priesthood that is prescribed in the Writings logically results in what is generally referred to as the episcopal form of government.* Much has been said and written on this subject, particularly in those earlier days when the order of the priesthood became an issue between the proponents of the Academy and the majority group within the General Convention. While at this day it remains as a difference between us, my only comment at this time is the pragmatic observation that "it works."
     * HD 313, 314; Coro. 17.
     While the communication between the Bishop and a pastor, and a pastor and his people, is basic, the General Church also relies upon supplemental media of communication. In this area of development I believe we have enjoyed a high degree of response. Since 1880, under a succession of gifted editors, the NEW CHURCH LIFE, which is the official organ of the church, has served us well. I would also here mention the work of the Sound Recording Committee and the work of the Religion Lessons Committee. Last year the Sound Recording Committee issued over a thousand tapes of sermons and addresses upon request, and the Religion Lessons Committee provided religious instruction for some five hundred children who are not in a position to attend a New Church school.

     It is, then, the policy of the General Church to follow its people, that is, to reach out to them wherever they may be. In this, of course, we are limited both by manpower and by means, but the will is there. In this connection I cannot speak too highly of the dedication of those district pastors who devote so much of their time and energy in traveling from one small group to another. I am convinced, however, that the future of the General Church lies in the development of these districts, and I can report that this work has already borne good fruit. Today we have several societies where twenty years ago we had only a small group. This is encouraging not only because it is indicative of future patterns of growth but also because it is evidence of growth.
     When we reflect upon the fact that two hundred years have passed since the Lord made His second coming, we tend to be discouraged with the slow growth of the New Church.

266


There is, however, no real cause for discouragement, for it is plainly taught in the Writings that the church will remain with a few until such a time as provision is made for its growth among many.* What this provision will be, that is, what form it will take and how it will be effected, we do not know; but one thing is certain, the Lord will provide for His church. The reason for this is that, "this New Church is the crown of all the churches that have hitherto existed on the earth."** It is with this in mind that we have come together on this notable occasion. Now that we are here it is of order that we should ask ourselves, what is our responsibility in the growth and the establishment of the New Church? As I understand it, our first responsibility is to preserve the integrity of the Divine doctrine within the church, and our second is to declare it to others; for unless we preserve the purity of the Divine doctrine among ourselves, how can we present it to others? It is, then, in the recognition of our responsibilities and with a deep sense of gratitude to the Lord for the blessings and the privileges He has conferred upon those whom He has called to His church that we begin our meetings together.
     * AE 732.
     ** TCR 786.
MINISTERIAL CHANGES 1971

MINISTERIAL CHANGES       Editor       1971

     The Rev. Daniel W. Heinrichs has resigned as Pastor of the Durban Society, effective September 1, 1971.
     The Rev. Peter M. Buss has accepted appointment by the Bishop as Acting Pastor of the Durban Society for the interim between Pastors.
     The Rev. Willard L. D. Heinrichs has accepted appointment by the Bishop to serve as Superintendent of the South African Mission and Visiting Pastor to the isolated in South Africa, effective September 1, 1971.
     The Rev. Christopher R. J. Smith has accepted appointment by the Bishop as District Pastor in the Canadian Northwest and the Northwestern United States, resident in Dawson Creek, effective September 1, 1971.
     The Rev. Norman H. Reuter has accepted appointment by the Bishop to serve for one year as Pastor of the Southwestern District, effective September 1, 1971, resident in Tucson, Arizona.
     Candidate Erik E. Sandstrom has accepted appointment by the Bishop as Assistant to the Pastor of the Olivet Church, Toronto, Canada, and as Visiting Minister to the Montreal Circle, effective September 1, 1971.

267


LOVE OF REPUTATION 1971

LOVE OF REPUTATION       Rev. LORENTZ R. SONESON       1971

     "And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are; for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward." (Matthew 6: 5)

     The New Church is dedicated to the worship of the Lord Jesus Christ, the one God of heaven and earth. To this we declare our allegiance. It is the cornerstone of our belief; the fundamental concept upon which all else is constructed. This great truth, because of its profound implications in all that is comprehensible to the human mind, must be kept uncluttered and visible to the understanding. When the light of this principle is beclouded by any misconception or human interpretation, the vision of all else is dimmed accordingly.
     This, in fact, is what happened in the course of man's history. The words of the Lord Himself while on earth were subjected to human reasoning, and as a consequence lost their effectiveness. "I and My Father are one" was the essence of the whole of the Gospels. "If ye have seen Me, ye have seen the Father" could not be more explicit. But because men put more faith in their eyes of this world, they could not be persuaded other than that the man who was born of Mary was the same as any other man. As a result, their natural sight closed their understanding of His truth.
     It was only in the fullness of time that the Lord prepared men to see again this essential teaching. Centuries had to pass before false interpretations had run their course to their inevitable erroneous conclusions. The trinity of three Divine persons in the Godhead had to come to the surface, to be seen for what it meant. Religious leaders were forced to prohibit further reading of the Word in order to protect their false conclusions. Fear of excommunication and thus eternal damnation was employed to block the use of reason in the laity.
     Just as the evils of man need to break forth in the form of war for judgment to take place, so did the falsities of theology need time to break forth into their ultimate dogmas for their judgment. But man was not left without a truth to which he could turn.

268


In the fullness of time the Lord revealed Himself again through His promised second coming. The disillusioned worshiper was able to turn to the heavenly doctrines of the New Church and the precious link of God with man was preserved. Not only were the plain teachings of previous revelations reaffirmed with rational confirmations, but new teachings were presented as well.

     It is in thanksgiving, then, that we come before the Lord on or near the 19th of June each year. New Church men come with hearts that are full of joy that the Lord has chosen to reveal Himself once again. The Heavenly Doctrine, within the pages of the Writings of our church, is now the permanent bond that joins God with man. It is the crown of all the churches. It is the means by which the Lord has made Himself visible to His creation, the human race.
     The Lord, also, has shown us the true meaning of the sacrament of the Holy Supper. This most holy act of worship is a tangible way to establish and maintain a link with the Lord. We read:
     "The man who looks to the Lord, and performs repentance, is conjoined to the Lord, and introduced into heaven, by the most holy sacrament of the Lord's Supper. The bread and wine do not effect this; there is not anything holy in them; but material bread and heavenly bread correspond to each other; and so do material wine and heavenly wine and heavenly bread is the holy of love, and heavenly wine is the holy of faith, both from the Lord, and both the Lord. Thence there is conjunction of the Lord with man, and of man with the Lord; not with the bread and wine, but with the love and faith of the man who has repented; and conjunction with the Lord is also introduction into heaven."*
     * AR 224: 13.

     But such conjunction with the Lord does not take place just because one partakes of the Holy Supper. Man must approach the Holy Supper worthily, which means that he should examine himself, know and acknowledge his sins, make supplication to the Lord, and begin a new life. Furthermore, we are instructed: "If this is done at stated times; for instance as often as a man prepares himself for the communion of the Holy Supper; and if he afterwards abstains from one or more sins, which he then has discovered in himself, it is sufficient to initiate him into actual repentance; and when he is in that, he is on the way to heaven; for then from natural he begins to become spiritual, and to be born anew of the Lord."*
     * TCR 528, 530.
     From these teachings, then, the two-fold purpose of worship becomes apparent.

269


One, we are before the Lord today in gratitude and praise for His gift of the Second Coming - the crown of all His churches. Secondly, though, we are here humbly to reach out to the Lord for His spiritual food, in the sacrament of the Holy Supper. This act of worship reminds us of our task in the goal of conjunction with the Lord. We are required to examine ourselves to see what blocks the way from the Lord entering into our lives and dwelling with us. We may be grateful for the Lord's second coming, but it will not be a coming into our lives personally, unless we prepare the way. It is fitting for us, then, to commemorate New Church Day with some thoughtful self-examination in preparation for the Holy Supper.

     One of those evils that lies hidden in all before regeneration is the love of self in the form of a love of reputation. The Lord warns man of this deterrent to His conjunction with us, in the words of our text.
     "And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are; for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward."
     The hells strive to operate secretly within, lest they be recognized and resisted. Most of their operation, in fact, is well concealed. The understanding is quick to justify the actions of the will. The efficiency of defense mechanisms when challenged or accused is proof enough, but the desire for reputation is difficult to conceal. The immediate reaction to a compliment or praise confirms this. Words of admiration make one self-conscious, which is to say, one is more conscious of one's true self than at other times. The will responds almost immediately to praise. The face expresses it with a smile; and any effort to hide it often brings embarrassment and flustered composure. Few men are immune to a compliment on their intellect; and what women does not enjoy a favorable comment on her beauty?
     The point is that the desire for acceptance and recognition is a tangible emotion which gives evidence of a deeper and otherwise hidden evil love. It should serve as a reminder to us that the hells are very much a part of our lives. More hideous influxes, we are told, are there, too; but somehow they escape our self-examination. The reaction to admiration of self from others is undeniable. It serves as a reminder to us, in preparation for the Holy Supper, that we have ample need of the Lord in feeding us, and lifting us up.
     Admitting existence of this love of reputation is important, even though it is difficult to hide, even from others. We may try to conceal this love by a cloak of false humility, but this is nothing but an indirect expression of the love of reputation.

270


The Pharisee in the text sought admiration on the street corner by pretending humility.
     We face the same temptation. Insincere modesty or simulated humbleness is not the means for combating the love of reputation. That is a humiliation of heart that stems from self. The Heavenly Doctrine prescribes the only effective way to achieve genuine humility. When man actively and persistently shuns the temptation to ultimate evil thoughts, because the Lord has commanded it, he enters a state of humiliation. "And when he is in humiliation [from the acknowledgment of self] he is in a state of the reception of good and truth from the Lord."*
     * AC 4956.

     This sequence of events follow one another as surely as day follows night. Resisting evil inclinations immediately opens the door to the heavens. This influx of truth and good from the Lord combats the hells for us, and the desire for evil gradually subsides.
     This process, however, is frequently a challenge to our love of reputation and admiration. Active resistance to evil and a shunning of falsity in the world often entail risking one's reputation. Refusing to accept what others might accept as a way of life stimulates antagonism and resentment. Living by principle is often lonely. It is pictured in the words of the Lord, "When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret."
     But whatever humiliation is suffered as a result of living a life according to the Commandments, it must be remembered that the Lord does not leave us comfortless. There is a strength that comes from heeding the truth. There is also an inner joy that remains with the man who walks humbly with his God. And these two, the strength and the inner peace, gradually replace a need for admiration from others. The hunger for reputation loses its savor and intensity. In its place comes a confidence in the Lord that satisfies any longing of the heart.
     Once man acknowledges the helplessness of self, he can turn to the truths of the Word for his strength. This humbleness of heart and mind is in no way a false modesty. It is a genuine recognition of the source of power. There is no desire to stand before men and solicit their admiration. Public approval is no sure evidence of the true way of life.
     Humiliation before the Lord can be effected in the secret recesses of the mind. The life of diligent service to the neighbor gradually becomes a way of prayer to the Lord. Each task is met with the trust that the Lord will provide the strength and insight to accomplish it. Often these daily challenges are faced when no one is looking on to admire or condone.

271


It is as if we are living a life of prayer in the privacy of our closet, beyond the sight of approval from others.
     It is quite possible that the uses laid before us each day to perform never will gain widespread recognition. The influx of truth we receive by shunning the evils that are sufficient unto the day, will point out tasks that gain little or no reward. Few, if any, will know the struggle we exert to perform our daily work. There is little hope that we will receive wide acclaim for resisting the hells that attack us. The secrecy of our closeted life excludes encouragement from others.

     Furthermore, no man can fully appreciate the trials of another. Temptations can never be shared with even the closest neighbor. The battle of life is a private one. The struggle for reformation and regeneration is strictly individual and personal. We only know that every man must undergo it if he is to inherit the kingdom of heaven.
     But there is an ironic twist in the story of those fighting against the love of reputation. If a man persists in his endeavor to recognize and shun the evils within him, he gradually loses his desire for fame and recognition. The love of reputation, inherited from the beginning and once so active, begins to recede.
     As a result, love of the Lord gradually evidences itself in a life of external charity. Qualities of genuine humility, the virtues of honesty and integrity begin to show themselves in life. The ability to accomplish worthwhile tasks is increased. Wisdom reflects itself in words and deeds.
     For those who have the eyes to recognize these worthwhile qualities in such a man, there is a natural response. The good from the Lord is seen in this neighbor and is admired, respected and loved. His humbleness and wisdom, his devotion to duty, and his confidence and trust in the Lord inspire a reciprocal love from his neighbors. He has, in fact, an esteemed reputation among his peers!
     But the admiration and homage he receives from others are not received as glory and honor to himself. He is confident that whatever good he performs comes from the Lord. He takes added delight in the fact that he can be of use to others, and that is his reward - not their gratitude. In fact, he shuns any form of acknowledgment and resists all display of gratitude to him as a person. It is enough to be of use to others - and this is how the Lord "rewards him openly."
      So let us, in celebration of New Church Day, prepare ourselves to come before the Lord to sup with Him at His appointed table of the Holy Supper - and let us beseech Him to replace our longing for recognition with a love of service.

272


Let us seek a private and personal relationship with the Divine, wherein we ask that He give us the strength to continue in His way.
     In this way we can transform our desire for self-gratification and praise into a single devotion to Him, who alone deserves it. Then, as the angels of heaven, we can "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, into His courts with praise; be thankful unto Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth is to all generations."* Amen.
     * Psalm 100, 4, 5.

     LESSONS: Matthew 6: 1-8. True Christian Religion 700, 709.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 518, 502, 457.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 79, 125.
IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES 1971

IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES              1971

     The New Church Courier contains an interesting article by Norman Heldon, "Are the Writings Hard to Read?", in its April issue. Comparing a trade journal and a textbook on Economics with True Christian Religion, Mr. Heldon shows that they are not. The same issue reports that the Rev. Douglas Taylor's documentary on Swedenborg, broadcast by ABC, was handled very sincerely and sympathetically by the Drama Department.
     The New Age prints a Statement from the Council of Ministers, which, "it is hoped, will the better help thinking in regard to the Status of the Writings." The Statement reads as follows:
     "The New Church in Australia is an Association of Societies that accept the Writings given through Emanuel Swedenborg as the Revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ to the New Church, meant by the New Jerusalem in the Book of Revelation.
     "We accept also that Emanuel Swedenborg received these Heavenly Doctrines from the Lord alone while he was reading the Word of the Sacred Scriptures.
     "Therefore the Association has traditionally seen, and does see, the Books of the Sacred Scriptures, as enumerated in Arcana Coelestia 10325, as the ultimate expression of Divine truth from the Lord, in which He is present in the power and strength of His omnipotence.
     "Since the Heavenly Doctrines are from this Source, they are to be used in conjunction with the Sacred Scriptures in providing mankind with

     (Continued on page 303.)

273


TWELVE APOSTLES OF THE LAMB 1971

TWELVE APOSTLES OF THE LAMB       Rev. ROBERT H. P. COLE       1971

     A New Church Day Talk to Children

     The apostle John was in the spirit many times when he was on the Isle of Patmos. He saw wonderful things in the other world and wrote them down in the book of Revelation. Some of the things he was permitted to see in heaven were very much like things he may have pictured in his mind when the Lord spoke parables to all twelve of the disciples at once.
     One of the most splendid things that the Lord allowed John to see in the spiritual world was a distant view of the entire New Church coming down out of heaven. To John, it looked just like a very magnificent city at first, then like a beautiful bride about to be married. The New Jerusalem must have appeared resplendent and fitted out as if there were about to be celebrated a great holiday or the birthday or wedding of someone very important.
     Then a great voice in heaven called the city a tabernacle where there would be the worship of God Himself, and there would be no more unhappiness. If we think about this quite deeply, we are able to understand many of the things that John wrote about in describing the New Church as the holy city, New Jerusalem, filled with good and happy people. But one idea we may have difficulty in understanding is, how could there be a tabernacle and no temple in the New Church? - because we know that tabernacles and temples are really the same thing in one sense. They are both places in which the Lord is worshiped.
     Do you remember what John said was the reason that there was no temple? He said that the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. Whom did John mean by the Lamb? We can all see that he meant the Lord, but in order to understand why the Lord was called a Lamb, we need to know why John said that there was no temple in the holy city.
     If we go back in the Word to the story of Abraham, we will remember that three angels came to visit him one afternoon when he was near his tent, which was also called a tabernacle in those days. After a wonderful feast had been set before them by Abraham and his wife, Sarah, the angels told him that Isaac would be born, and Abraham saw and knew that it was not really three angels who had told him this truth, but the one Lord.

274



     A somewhat similar thing happened to the apostle John when he was on the Isle of Patmos. He saw, on one occasion, three important things in front of his eyes. He was shown a city that was called a tabernacle, no temple, and a Lamb. Yet, because he knew that the Lord was the Lamb, he must have had some idea that a tabernacle, or the holy city, New Jerusalem, and seeing no temple, also meant the Lord as well.
     Why do you suppose that the Lord showed these visions and things that stood for Him to Abraham, to Isaiah and to John; and why would it be important for us to know what it all meant? Two hundred and one years ago the Lord also showed these things to Swedenborg and to all twelve of His disciples; but that time He told them what they all meant.

     Swedenborg tells us in the Writings that thinking of the worship of the Lord as being somewhat like a tabernacle, or what it contained, was all right for people such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the sons of Israel. But later on it became important for people to know more about who the Lord was, because the world was full of evil and many people were confused about whether He was a person or not. So Isaiah prophesied about His coming into the world as a human being, and John saw Him and spoke with Him and lived with Him, and the Lord even referred to His body as a temple. But that way of the Lord's showing who He was did not do enough for sincere men who lived later, because many people who now knew that He was a person were confused about whether He was God or not.
     So that is why the Lord called Himself the Lamb, because He was even willing to be crucified, or to be led like a lamb to the slaughter, and to rise again on the third day, so that people who wanted to believe that He was God would be able to, by having it proved to them and by seeing how He could drive away evil spirits. Still, there were many people who did not want to believe in the Lord because they were selfish and worldly. They began to corrupt and confuse those who sincerely believed that the Lord was the one God of heaven and earth, and who loved Him very much.
     Once again, and for the last time, the Lord showed someone three important things by opening his spiritual eyes. This time it was Swedenborg who saw the three things. But just beforehand, the Lord showed him dreadful things in hell, and many people there who had told lies about the Lord and had led others away from worshiping Him.

275


Then He showed Swedenborg something in the first heaven that looked like Abraham's tabernacle. That heaven is where the natural angels live. As he watched, that appearance changed, and he was given to see the same tabernacle as the beautiful temple at Jerusalem that Solomon had built for the Lord. Then Swedenborg knew that he was in the second heaven with the spiritual angels.
     Then something much more marvelous happened. The angels with Swedenborg said: "You shall see something still more wonderful." They opened the third heaven for him, where are the celestial angels who love the Lord above all things; and while Swedenborg watched, the temple that he was admiring vanished, and in its place he saw the Lord alone standing upon its foundation, which was the Word. And this is the way that John had seen Him seventeen hundred years earlier.
     So that is the real meaning of the holy city, New Jerusalem, or the New Church that was a tabernacle and that had no temple but the Lamb. The New Church is not to be confused by selfish and worldly things. These are not in anything that the Writings, the new Word, teach. The New Church will not need the sun or the moon for light, but only the glory of God and of the Lamb to give light to the minds of men.
     Of course, we have meeting places for worship; we have many churches and a magnificent cathedral. But the most important thing about the New Church is that it is the Lord Jesus Christ whom we worship, and who stands ready to teach us important things about Himself in the new Word. These are wonderful truths that lead us along higher and higher paths toward happiness in our earthly lives and in heaven for ever, if we learn to be unselfish and thoughtful of others and useful in many ways, as long as He gives us life to live on earth. That is how we are to prepare to live in the Lord's kingdom where He alone reigns.
     On the nineteenth day of June in 1770, with Swedenborg there in the spirit, the Lord showed the twelve disciples these marvelous things, and He sent them all over the spiritual world to tell everyone they met only what is true about Jesus Christ, the Lord our God, who is the Lamb. That is why the Nineteenth of June is the birthday of the New Church. Amen.

     LESSONS: Genesis 18: 1-19. Revelation 21: 1-14, 22-27. TCR 789-791.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 421, 465, 483.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. C12, C19.

276


CONJUGIAL LOVE 1971

CONJUGIAL LOVE       Rev. ELMO C. ACTON       1971

     V.      APPARENT LOVE, FRIENDSHIP AND FAVOR IN MARRIAGE

     Tonight we take up the chapter on "Apparent Love, Friendship, and Favor in Marriage."
     In summary of last Friday's class on marriage in the church, we read Conjugial Love 238: 2: "The origin of the church and the origin of conjugial love are in one and the same seat, and they are in continual embrace." Furthermore, when there is no religion, there is no conjugial love. Therefore, only those who are in the same church and the same religion, or who through life together are coming into the same church and the same religion, can receive in their marriage conjugial love while they are on earth. Conjugial love is to be restored because the truths concerning it are now revealed. Therefore, only where those truths are known and lived can conjugial love again be known to the man of the church.
     Many of the truths revealed in the work Conjugial Love are of a very practical nature and are readily applicable. This is especially true of the teachings given in the chapter on "Apparent Love, Friendship, and Favor in Marriage." Throughout the work Conjugial Love, I become more and more impressed with the statement, oft-repeated, that the truths are there presented so that they may appeal to reason. In no. 295 we read: "What is written in this book has for its end that the reader may see truths from his rational understanding and so may give them his assent." The number continues, saying, that what is established in the mind from authority, that is, from the authority of the church, only enters into the memory and soon passes away. But what is acknowledged from rational sight, because the man from rational sight sees it to be true, enters into the interiors of man's mind, and remains. This same teaching is given in almost every chapter in the work - the truths concerning conjugial love may be seen from rational sight and confirmed by reason.
     A particular chapter in the work must always be viewed in the light of the whole work.

277


In general, Conjugial Love in the first part presents the ideal of conjugial love and how it is to be attained. Then the work considers the preservation of conjugial love and its protection in contrary, disorderly, and even evil states. However, unless the second part of the work is read in the light of the first part, it cannot be properly understood. Thus every particular chapter and every subheading in each chapter must be viewed in the light of the first thing said. The first thing taught in the work Conjugial Love, as we saw in the first class, is that conjugial love or marriage is eternal; that a true marriage is for eternity; that, therefore, it is acquired through a life of regeneration; and that must enter into everything that is said in the work. In addition we must read each thing in the light of the last thing said. The last thing said in the work is that conjugial love, being an eternal love, is not visible to man's external sight, and, therefore, conclusions concerning the state of conjugial love are not to be made from external appearances. These generals must be kept in mind in consideration of any part of the work.

     The chapter on "Apparent Love, Friendship, and Favor in Marriage" is preceded immediately by a chapter on "Causes of Cold, Separations, and Divorces in Marriage." There adultery is given as the only cause for divorce. Many causes are given for legitimate separation - separation from bed, from bedchamber and from house. After divorce marriage is allowed. After separation remarriage is denied. Where there is not just cause for divorce or for separation and yet there is external and/or internal cold in the marriage, then for the restoration of peace and harmony in the marriage, the chapter on apparent love, friendship, and favor in marriage is given. Consequently, it is important to see that this chapter is given in those cases in which divorce is not allowed and in which there is no just cause for separation.
     All the causes of internal cold in a marriage, the Writings say, arise from religion - from the fact that there is no religion, that there are different religions, that one has religion and the other has not, and that there are falsities of religion. These may or may not result in external cold. Again, we come to that idea that conjugial love is an internal love and cannot be judged from its appearances. Therefore, this internal cold may not break out into external cold. Conjugial Love 244 says: "There are many causes which conjoin animi [that is, the conjunction of the lower mind - the external affections] but yet do not conjoin souls" [that is, the internal]. Thus where there is internal cold, there may be no external cold. The external causes of cold given are many, and they can all be overcome by the partners' returning to a true religion. In other words, the external and the internal causes of cold, too, can be overcome by the couple's returning to a true religion.

278


It is only in a true religion, as this chapter teaches, that there can be what is called in the Writings internal heat or internal warmth or internal love. Where there are no legitimate causes for divorce or separation, there are given causes of apparent love, friendship and favor in marriages, and it is said that unless there is divorce or separation, marriages are to continue during life in the world. Separations are to take place essentially after death when the internal comes out into the external.
     The whole burden of this chapter under consideration, as I understand it, is the preservation of the marriage in a state of comparative peace and happiness so that in time internal and external warmth may be restored. If marriages are to continue during the life in the world, even though conjugial love is not present in them, they are not to exist in a continual state of antagonism and turmoil. By the application of the doctrine of apparent love, friendship and favor, they are to continue in a state of external peace and delight. One of the arguments is that if there is continual bickering between the partners, it is better for them to separate. Now this chapter gives, to my mind, the answer to this. They are to restore that state of external peace and delight by apparent love, friendship, and favor in marriage.

     Light may be thrown upon this doctrine if it is equated with the doctrine of mediate good in regard to man's regeneration. I think the two doctrines are very similar. In other words, when a man is not moved by internal loves, then he is to preserve his life in a state of order from external loves. As you know, this is especially true of children (in the love of reward, to be thought well of, and many of those other external loves). Just because the internal is in disorder, it is not to break out into the external. Some people would claim that it is hypocritical not to express the internal in the external. However, as I see it, it is the height of hypocrisy to express evil loves in the external, for by doing so, you think you are doing good; and therefore, you are perverting the whole idea, as evil becomes good. Consequently, the doctrine of mediate good is similar to this doctrine of apparent love, friendship, and favor in marriage. I have not the time to make the applications, but you may be interested in making many of them for yourselves.
     In the introduction of this chapter, it is said: "That [the] appearances [of love, friendship and favor in marriage] are necessities and utilities. [They are necessary, and they are of use] and that without them homes and hence societies could not hold together." We will consider that a little later.

279


But it is also said, and this is important for many: "Besides this, some conscientious persons labor under the idea that disagreements of minds between them and their partner, and the consequent internal alienations, are their own fault and will be imputed to them; and because of this they grieve at heart. But since it is not in their power to relieve internal dissidences [differences], it is enough for them to still the troubles which arise from conscience by apparent loves and favors."*
     * CL 271.
     The first reason given for the necessity of these appearances of love and favor in marriages is that most marriages today are entered into from agreement in external affections. They are conjoined as to external affections, that is, affections which arise from ends in the world, and not from internal affections, that is, from affections which arise from ends in heaven. We considered that before and saw that we should endeavor at all times to train our young people to look for internal affections. Because most marriages are contracted from common external affections, after the first states of marriage are past, internal affections begin to show themselves. If there is not agreement in them between the partners, then internal and external colds arise. This is particularly true where there is not agreement as to the things of religion. In this state, "the external affections which led and allured [the couple] into matrimony are then sundered so that they no longer conjoin [them]"*; and the marriage is, as it were, gone.
     * CL 275.

     These external affections, which are from ends in the world, are such as for a position in society, for the enlargement of family, and from allurements, concupiscences [that is, sensual desires], and even from unchastity. I think that is very important. Unchastity has an allurement because there is that which is unchaste with us. This is the real reason why the sense of touch is proper to conjugial love, not proper to an introduction into conjugial love. External affections, especially allurements and concupiscences, "leave no room," the Writings say, "for searching into the agreements of internal affections." * " . . . if internal affections which conjoin minds are not within [external affections], matrimonies are dissolved in the home, [that is] because it is between the partners privately. This comes to pass when the first fires, kindled at the time of betrothal and flaming at the time of the wedding, gradually cool down on account of a discrepancy in internal affections, and finally pass off into cold."** But it is according to Divine, rational, and civil law, the Writings say, "that matrimonies once contracted must continue to the end of life in the world."***

280


It is according to the Divine law because marriage is the ultimate order upon which heaven rests and into which it inflows from rational law because it is in agreement with Divine law and also from the contemplation of the enormities and the social destructions that would result if marriages were dissolved at the mere will; and according to civil law because of the disruption of the state, especially through the neglect of the care and education of children. This would seem to be commonly acknowledged, for the state spends a great deal of money in trying to hold marriages together. Courts, for instance, when people apply for divorces or separations, usually send the couple to a marriage counselor to see whether the marriage cannot in some way be preserved because of the disruption of society through easy divorces and easy separations.
     * CL 274.
     ** CL 275.
     *** CL 226.
     Where internal affections do not conjoin, there are external affections which simulate internal affections and which consociate the partners. They exist from the first covenant of marriage. They exist from the couple's communion of possessions, from their common uses built up during the first years of their marriage, from the necessities of the home, from thoughts and secrets common to them, from infants, from cohabitation, and from many other things. From these mutual external affections and the appreciation of the contribution made by each one of the couple, there can exist apparent love, friendship, and favor in marriage. Such appearances are called in the Writings conjugial simulations, and they are said to be praiseworthy because they are useful and they are necessary. And they are said to be wholly distinct from hypocritical simulation, for they have as their end reconciliation and peace and harmony in the performance of the couple's common duties.* This is where you can see that it seems to align itself with the idea of mediate goods. A man who rushes off into every evil that his internal will desires would soon destroy himself. But he can restrain himself from rushing into the evils of his will, even using the fear of the loss of reputation, honor or gain - loves which we should be thankful for, because frequently when we propose some evil to ourselves, the fear of the loss of reputation, honor, or gain, holds us back, giving us time to reconsider and to examine to see the evils contained therein.
     * CL 279.

     These simulations are praiseworthy because without them the mutual advantages of the couple would be lost, and yet as the Writings say, living together is enjoined on the partners by covenant and by law, and therefore is inseated in both as a duty. With a spiritual man conjoined to a natural man, they are said to savor of justice and judgment.

281


They are sincere because a spiritual man "looks to amendment as an end; and if this does not follow, he looks to accommodation for the sake of order in the home, of mutual aid, of the care of little children, of peace and tranquility. . . . For a spiritual man acts spiritually even with one who is natural."*
     * CL 280.
     All of this chapter is very practical. It enjoins upon married partners to seek common affections in which they can be conjoined and in which they can find mutual sympathy and mutual delight. In most of these affections is the common concern for the children, and also, the Writings stress, an appreciation of the contribution that each has made to the good of the other. It even presents the idea of the husband thankful to the wife for the bearing of children, bringing them forth with pain, suckling them, and caring for them. See how practical it is. The chapter enjoins upon us to seek out things we can appreciate in the partner and to show gratitude for them and be mutually conjoined in them because gratitude and appreciation effect that conjunction.
     Mentioned many times in this chapter is the necessity of keeping the secrets of the home. Each, because of their life together, is aware of the faults and shortcomings of the other, and he or she should regard these as secrets and not noise them abroad. It goes so far in this chapter, even to the point where it speaks of protecting the partner from some past act which may lead to criminal prosecution. "The blemishes here meant are blemishes which are suppressed in silence by the other partner in order to avoid ill-repute. Besides these, with some there are past crimes which, if divulged, would be subject to legal punishment."* From this no doubt comes the justice of the law that a husband cannot be made to testify against his wife, nor can a wife be made to testify against her husband, in a court of law.
     * CL 288.
     In closing, we quote from Conjugial Love 290: "Between aged partners on the ground of their dwelling together, their dealings, and their companionship, there is a friendship as though of conjugial love, tranquil, secure, lovely, and full of courtesy."
VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN 1971

VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN       Editor       1971

     Visitors to Bryn Athyn for Commencement or any other occasion who need assistance in finding accommodation please communicate with the Guest Committee, c/o Mrs. Leo Synnestvedt, 611 Waverly Lane, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009. Phone: (215) Wilson 7-3725.

282


IN SEARCH OF THE ANCIENT WORD 1971

IN SEARCH OF THE ANCIENT WORD       JAMES S. BRUSH       1971

     One of the more fascinating predictions from the Writings is that there existed upon the earth in ancient times a form of the Word which has been lost. Only fragments of it are preserved in the Old Testament. Concerning this Ancient Word we read:

     "That there was a Word among the ancients, is evident from Moses, by whom it is mentioned and who took something from it (Num. 21: 14, 15 and 27-30); and that the historic parts of that Word were called the Wars of Jehovah, and its prophetic parts, the Enunciations. Besides these, a prophetic book of the Ancient Word, called the Book of Jasher or the Book of the Upright is mentioned by David and by Joshua."*
     * TCR 265.

     This Ancient Word, exists like a buried spiritual treasure, which the Writings say may still be extant. It has long been a topic of speculation among New Church men as to the location of this immensely important document. The Writings comment upon the subject as follows:

     "Respecting that Ancient Word which was in Asia before the Israelitish Word, it is permitted to relate this unknown fact, that it is preserved there among the people who live in Great Tartary. I have conversed with spirits and angels in the spiritual world who were from that country, who said that they possess a Word, and have possessed it from ancient times, and that they conduct their Divine worship according to this Word and that it consists solely of correspondences. . . . They further told me that they do not suffer foreigners to come among them, except the Chinese, with whom they cultivate peace, because the emperor of China is from their country; and also that their population is so great that they do not believe any region in the whole world to be more populous, which is also credible from the wall so many miles in length, which the Chinese built long ago as a safeguard against invasion from them.*
     * TCR 279.
     "Seek for this Word in China and perhaps you will find it there among the Tartars.*
     * AR 11.
     "At the present day this Word is lost in the kingdoms of Asia and is preserved only in Great Tartary."*
     * CL 77.

     In the above excerpts, then, clues are given as to the physical locality of the Ancient Word. Succinctly stated, it can be sought for in a part of China which at one time was a part of Great Tartary among a people whose population density is very high, and from whom the emperor of China has come.

283



     Great Tartary is that portion of Asia from which come the Tartars (a corruption of the more correct word, Tatars). That region is known to be the lands of the Mongol peoples, an extremely large area covering generally what is today Inner and Outer Mongolia together with Manchuria. There are also peoples of Mongol ancestry in Chinese Turkestan (present day Sinkiang), but these can be excluded from other considerations. The Mongol peoples live for the most part upon high rather arid plains. The major way of life of those living on the Mongolian plateau has been until recently that of pastoral nomads who raise large herds of cattle, or among some in the past, reindeer. They are fierce warriors, too, and have invaded China many times causing the Chinese, as is mentioned in the above quotations, to build the Great Wall as a protection against them. The Great Wall was completed, from earlier walls, as a continuous unit by the emperor, Ch'in Shih Huang Ti, in the 3rd century B. C. Invasions by the Mongols carried them not only into China, but the "Golden Horde" of the invincible Ghenghis Khan swept all of the armies of China, Russia and Eastern Europe before him in the thirteenth century. It is thought that from Siberian kinsmen of these peoples may also have come the Indians of North and South America, who travelled across the land bridge connecting Siberia and Alaska in prehistoric times.

     However, the lands of the Mongol peoples extend also into what is today the northeastern provinces of China, more commonly known as Manchuria. This latter area is much different from that of the two Mongolias (Inner and Outer). Two roughly parallel mountain ranges run in a northeasterly direction. Ancient settlement by various Mongol tribes has followed the banks of Manchurian rivers, of which the Liao in the south and the Sungari of eastern Manchuria are of major importance. The valley of the Sungari river was the home of Manchu peoples since the beginning of the sixteenth century A. D. The Argun, Amur and Ussuri are interconnecting rivers which form the present-day boundary between China and Siberian Russia. The parent stock of the Manchus were the Tungus people whose settlements extended well into Siberia.
     In contrast to the nomadic life of the Mongols of Mongolia proper the central Manchurian plain is better suited to agriculture, so that the Mongols in Manchuria pursued until relatively recently a mixture of settled agriculture and nomadic life. Under the leader, Nurhachu, all of the Manchu tribes were first united. They then conquered all the other Mongol tribes of Manchuria in the 17th century.

284


At the end of the Ming Dynasty corruption had so weakened the empire of China that the Manchus were actually invited to enter China and occupy the emperor's throne in 1644. Nurhachu's grandson, Sheng Tsu, then took over the leadership of all northern China and Manchuria. The subjugation of southern China followed forty years later and a continuous series of Manchu emperors occupied the seat of power in Peking until 1911. In Chinese history this is called the Ch'ing Dynasty.

     It is probable, therefore, that the peoples to which the excerpts from the Writings refer are the Manchus, for from them came a hereditary succession of emperors from a time of forty-four years before Swedenborg's birth until a hundred and thirty-nine years after his death. Further, the eastern end of the Great Wall of China was built to prevent their invasion of China. Indeed, they were attempting such an invasion at the time they were invited to occupy the Chinese throne.
     Chinese, Japanese and western scholars have studied and described the various tribal divisions and culture of southern, central and northeastern Manchuria. Their descriptions as available in the more common sources indicate that the religion of the area is variously a mixture of Shamanism and Tibetan forms of Buddhism with no apparent connection to ancient middle-eastern sources. There are, however, groups who have been little studied. An area in northwestern Manchuria called the Buteha wilderness, which includes Hsingan and part of Heilungkiang provinces, contains Tungusic peoples, also. Because of their relative isolation they have been little studied by western ethnologists and linguists, but are referred to as "New Manchus" in the organizational structure created by the Ch'ing Dynasty (Lattimore, O., The Mongols of Manchuria). It is thought by the author that these people most nearly possess the qualities described in the quoted passages from the Writings.
     As stated above there is no obviously direct connection between the religions of the ancient middle-eastern cultures and those of the Far East. However, there is the highly developed and elaborate mythology of Hinduism on the Indian sub-continent. He who is familiar with only the rudiments of the doctrine of correspondences can see within these myths a connection to the doctrinal knowledges ascribed to the Ancient Church. Moreover, the offering of animal sacrifices to the High God, Shang Ti, upon the Altar of Heaven in Peking has been performed by Chinese emperors in Peking and elsewhere since long before the time of Confucius (551-479 B. C.) who alludes to the ceremony in the Analects. This form of worship, we are told in the Writings, originated in the declining days of the Ancient Church. This Church, referred to as Noah and his sons in the Word, extended over much of the Middle East and northeastern Africa (AC 1238).

285


In process of time it was translated Into Great Tartary, and from there downward as far as the Black Sea and then again into all the countries of Africa.*
     * Coronis 39.
     The fact that this Word with the Ancients has not been found despite the extensive studies of Manchuria by ethnologists and historians is, perhaps, surprising. Certainly the value of such a document would have been appreciated by such scholars for its use in understanding the ancient world. In this regard only conjecture can replace positive knowledge.

     If the Ancient Word did continue to exist among a people of Mongol heritage, they would have had to withstand the countless varieties of idolatry, magical arts, divination, spiritualism, human and animal sacrifices, and adulteries which seem to characterize the fall of the Ancient and Israelitish churches. Probably such resistance to decline could only have existed in a setting of rigid cultural isolation maintained for at least 3000 years. The excerpts quoted from the Writings suggest that this people (the Manchus) possessed those social and psychological attributes. They did not permit contact with foreigners except the Chinese. Historians have recorded that the Manchu emperors, despite their personal acceptance of Chinese culture, attempted to maintain a racial and cultural separation between subject Manchus and the Chinese - even though a large part of the Manchurian population lived among the Chinese while manning military garrisons throughout China. Marriage between Manchurians and Chinese was legally forbidden, even though evidence indicates that this was not altogether a successful prohibition. Chinese immigration into Manchuria was not permitted until the latter half of the 19th century. Massive immigration by the Chinese since then has displaced or surrounded many of the Mongol peoples of southern and northeast Manchuria. This influx became even more severe after the overthrow of the Ch'ing Dynasty in 1911 by the Kuomintang Republican government of Sun Yat-sen. In 1931 Japan invaded Manchuria renaming it Manchukuo and held that territory not altogether against the will of Manchurians. Under their administration Manchurians were permitted to regain authority over their territory from the Chinese and relieve the pressure of immigration. After Japanese capitulation in 1945 authority was retransferred to the Kuomintang under Chiang Kai-shek. Since the displacement of this government in 1948 by the Chinese Peoples Republic (Communist), the subsequent history of the area is little known outside mainland China itself.
     The refusal by Manchu emperors to permit Chinese influx into Manchuria until the 1860's did keep the area insulated from the rest of the world.

286


The question as to the reason for this isolationist tendency (which was also extended to China as well) is not discussed by most sources other than to note the fact. Much is known about Manchu culture from Chinese sources, and it appears relatively shallow with no indication of an ancient cultural connection. On the contrary, the Manchus themselves became heavily permeated with Chinese culture and religion. It must be categorized as speculation without any factual support that the Manchu emperors were protecting an ancient cultural source somewhere within Manchuria from outside contact. There is, however, no evidence to contradict this conjectural assumption. If, however, that culture has remained in isolation for several thousand years it is unlikely that it has not been invaded by this point in time.
     The worth to the New Church of finding this group would be of inestimable value. Preserved with them is not only the Ancient Word, but the techniques for transmitting from generation to generation the means of its interpretation. The Ancient Word apparently disappeared in direct proportion to the degree in which the knowledge of how to lead men to charity by means of a comprehension of correspondences was lost. If that group has retained that knowledge it would enormously enrich our own abilities in conveying to our children the incomparable wealth present in the spiritual sense of the Ancient and modern Word.
NECESSITY OF IGNORANCE 1971

NECESSITY OF IGNORANCE       Rev. DONALD L. ROSE       1971

     Are you ignorant? That is a silly question. Of course you are. Ignorance is one of the facts of life. Ignorance is something all mortals share. The question is not really whether you are ignorant but rather, how do you feel about your ignorance? This is a question which touches several individual emotions.
     How do we feel about ignorance? Unfortunately it is not uncommon for us to feel disturbed and resentful about it. Let us mention here just three of the various kinds of reaction to ignorance. One person finds ignorance so humiliating that he would rather pretend that it does not exist. He finds refuge in conceit. We call him a "know it all"; but when we say this we do not actually mean that he knows everything. We mean that he seems to himself to know everything. To him ignorance is so shameful that he cannot bear to face it, and so he cuts himself off from its benefits.

287



     Another case is the girl who is keenly aware of her ignorance and who feels almost frantically that she ought to do something about it. Sometimes she just worries about her ignorance. At other times she makes desperate attempts to alleviate it. It is hard for her to find contentment, because ignorance is painful to her, and her laborious efforts to get away from it are often disappointing.
     The third case is the man who is defiant about his ignorance. He is like the schoolboy who says that history and mathematics are stupid. He almost seems as if he is glad to be ignorant, but he feels self-conscious about it. Unfortunately he does not appreciate the fact that everyone is ignorant; and, like others, he fails to appreciate ignorance for what it is.
     None of the above three cases can progress happily in understanding. The first case is the man of whom we say, "You can't tell him anything." The second case is a person whose possibilities are defeated by feelings of frustration. Her goal of getting away from ignorance is quite impossible. When she tries to learn she comes up against new things she does not understand, and she feels worse than she did before. The third case decides that learning should be left to those who are not ignorant. This strange reaction is like that of the undernourished body which loses healthy appetite and leaves eating to those who are well fed.

     To become as angels we must learn to love truth without vanity, and we must learn to acknowledge gladly the infinite wisdom of God and the ignorance of all His children. Ignorance is a blessing to us. It keeps us young. It is both the gateway to wisdom and an integral part of angelic wisdom itself. Genuine religion is impossible without ignorance, for holiness dwells in ignorance, and "even with the wise innocence dwells in ignorance."*
     * AC 9938.
     But let us get acquainted with our ignorance. If someone were to ask you if you knew much, it would be hard to give an answer. It is a relative thing. Compared to some, you know a great deal. Before the question can be answered, it must be established what you are to compare your knowledge to.
     You are to compare what you know to what you do not know. Consider this carefully, and then answer the question as to whether you know much. You are free to answer that you know a lot and that there is not much you do not know. You are even free to indulge the fantasy that you possess all knowledge. But if you make the comparison correctly, and if you realize that there is no end to knowledge, you will answer that by comparison your knowledge is as nothing. The correct answer, no matter who you are, is that you are ignorant.

288



     Of course, you may enjoy contemplating your knowledge by other comparisons. You may wish to make self-flattering comparisons whereby you will not seem ignorant. But the real comparison is to be made with what you do not know, and if you make progress you will learn that ignorance is not really unpleasant. Vanity and conceit with their shallow attractions cannot give you what the acknowledgment of ignorance can give.

     Merely to realize that knowledge is inexhaustible* can be a thrilling thing. We realize it with a sense of awe, and when we reflect upon the teaching that the "truths of faith may be multiplied to infinity,"** we have a way of seeing a quality of the Lord Himself. All wisdom comes from the Lord, and we may reflect in wonder that wisdom is infinite; wisdom may be compared to a magnificent church or temple which can be seen only when a man is aware of his own ignorance. The angels speak of a Temple of Wisdom. "But no one sees it who believes himself very wise, much less he who believes himself wise enough, and still less he who believes himself wise from himself."*** It is a kind of delightful paradox that Swedenborg's qualification for his work as servant of the Lord was based on his acute appreciation of his own ignorance. Swedenborg, one of the best informed men in his century, felt ignorant. He thought of the paucity of his own wisdom; first from knowing it as a fact, then from perception and a sight from interior light.****
     * DP 57.
     ** TCR 350.
     *** AR 875.
     **** Ibid.

     It takes time to cultivate an appreciation of one's own ignorance. A young lad, though certainly ignorant, has not learned enough to realize just how ignorant he is. The wise adult can gradually grasp the reality of his ignorance; and the angel, with his vistas of wisdom, appreciates ignorance even more. To be aware of the glory of the Lord is to be aware of the ignorance of self. For this reason those in hell do not like to think of the Lord, but those in heaven find their greatest happiness in such thought.
     The angels are always learning. They are far more aware of their ignorance that we are of ours, and this realization is one of the things that keep them youthful.* From the light of heaven we may learn to see our ignorance more clearly, and in this we may partake of genuine wisdom. "It is genuine wisdom for a man to see from the light of heaven that what he knows, understands and is wise in, is so little in comparison with what he does not know and understand, and in which he is not wise, as to be like a drop to the ocean, consequently as almost nothing."**
     * DP 335: 2.
     ** TCR 387.

289




     Since we wish to approach the Lord's teachings in a holy way, we should not be surprised or discouraged when we come upon things we do not yet understand. Rather should we be grateful that we can always see a little more in each new state. Those things yet above our grasp will keep us mindful of our ignorance, and will thus help to promote the sense of holiness. This is the precious benefit of learning to accept a feeling of ignorance as the right feeling for a man to have.
     Note well this teaching of the Writings. "With all men . . . holiness can dwell solely in ignorance; and if not in ignorance they have no holiness. With the angels themselves, who are in the highest light of intelligence and wisdom, holiness also dwells in ignorance; for they know and acknowledge that of themselves they know nothing, but that whatever they know is from the Lord. They also know and acknowledge that all their memory-knowledge, intelligence and wisdom is as nothing in comparison with the infinite knowledge, intelligence and wisdom of the Lord; thus that it is ignorance. He who does not acknowledge that there are infinite things with which he is not acquainted, beyond those with which he is acquainted, cannot be in the holiness of ignorance in which are the angels. The holiness of ignorance does not consist in being more ignorant than others; but in the acknowledgment that of himself a man knows nothing, and that the things he does not know are infinite in comparison with those he does know; and especially does it consist in his regarding the things of the memory and of the understanding as being of but little moment in comparison with celestial things; that is, the things of the understanding in comparison with the things of life."*
     * AC 1557.
VISUAL EDUCATION COMMITTEE 1971

VISUAL EDUCATION COMMITTEE       Editor       1971

     The Visual Education Committee has been transferred to the office of the General Church Religion Lessons Committee. Please send your requests for material to the Rev. David R. Simons, Director, General Church Religion Lessons.

290


PREPARATION FOR THE HOLY SUPPER 1971

PREPARATION FOR THE HOLY SUPPER       Rev. GEORGE DE CHARMS       1971

     On "the day of unleavened bread, when the passover must be killed," the Lord "sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the passover, that we may eat. And they said unto Him, Where wilt Thou that we prepare? And He said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he entereth in. And ye shall say to the goodman of the house, The Master saith unto thee, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with My disciples? And he shall show you a large upper room furnished: there make ready."*
     * Luke 22: 7-12.
     The subject here treated of is the preparation of man for conjunction with the Lord by means of the Holy Supper. This conjunction is possible only after what appears to be a total separation. The disciples could not truly know the Lord until after He had been taken from them by death. Only after He had risen from the tomb could they begin to realize His true Divinity, and worship Him as their God. That the faith of the disciples might survive the crucifixion, that they might seek and find Him after His resurrection, preparation was necessary, and to that end it was of need that they should celebrate the Last Supper together with the Lord. Unless they should learn to know and worship the Lord, the whole purpose of the Advent would be frustrated. That is why the Lord said to them: "With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer; for I say unto you, that I will not any more eat thereof until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God."*
     * Luke 22: 15.
     All men are born natural. Before they are regenerated they are not able to understand anything spiritually. Of necessity they think from sense experience, and therefore from ideas of time, and space and person. The idea of God and of religion which they derive by instruction from parents and teachers is purely natural. In this respect they are like the disciples of the Lord who, while He was with them in the world, could think of Him only as He appeared to them in the flesh, with all the limitations of mortal man. To them He was the Messiah, a Prophet, a Messenger sent from God, inspired with mysterious powers and wisdom, but by no means could He be regarded as the Infinite Creator of the universe.

291


His followers could visualize the heaven of which He spoke only as an earthly kingdom in which they would be blessed with worldly wealth and honor. The same is true of all men, for by inherited nature every one thinks of happiness in terms of external prosperity and the successful attainment of personal ambitions. These blessings are pictured as the reward which the Lord promises to all those who love Him and keep His commandments. The hope of such a reward inspires all their worship, and sustains them in all their uses to society. This hope is to them the "bread of life," but it is a bread that is unavoidably leavened with self-interest. Nevertheless, the Lord comes to man in this natural state, even as He came to the disciples, clothed in the human born of Mary.

     To every one who is to be regenerated "the day of unleavened bread" must come "when the passover must be killed." By this is meant a state of worship, when man is led to seek a deeper understanding and a truer faith. One must be led in providence to withdraw, for the moment, from the cares of the world and the thought of self, and be inspired to ask in all humility for Divine guidance from the Word. In this state one may sense the joy of serving the Lord and the neighbor with no concern for a reward. This is the "unleavened bread" which alone can sustain and nourish man's spiritual life. It can be given only when "the passover must be killed," that is, when self-will is subordinated to the will of the Lord as revealed in the teaching of the Word. Man can then be elevated temporarily into spiritual life by means of heavenly affections with which he has been miraculously imbued during infancy and childhood, and so worthily and with sincerity of heart can approach the Holy Supper.
     Then it is that the Lord can say to "Peter" and to "John," "Go and prepare us the passover that we may eat." By these two disciples are meant man's religious faith and love, both of which are natural. For although the Lord had frequently forewarned them, Peter and John had no idea that He was about to be crucified. They welcomed His invitation to dine with Him because they loved Him as they had learned to know Him in the world. Why the Lord, particularly at this time, wished to eat the passover with them, they could not know. Where they were to meet with Him they had no idea; wherefore they asked, "Where wilt Thou that we prepare?"
     Secretly the Lord had already provided the place of His passover feast; but this was now to be made known to Peter and to John, as if their own discovery. Man must seek conjunction with the Lord, although in truth it is the Lord who, in secret ways beyond all human comprehension, conjoins man to Himself.

292


Yet He can do so only if man willingly follows His instruction: "Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he entereth."
     The Lord at the time was in Bethany, on the Mount of Olives, and the city to which He referred was Jerusalem. By this city is meant the doctrine of the church, the ordered teaching of religion which we have accepted as our traditional faith. To "enter into" this city is to reflect upon our beliefs, and compare them with the plain teaching of the Lord's Word. As far as they are found to be in harmony with Divine revelation, man then learns to understand them for himself, in the light of his own mind; but as far as they do not agree with the Word they must be rejected as no longer binding upon one's conscience. In this way man attains for the first time to an individual faith; not a persuasive faith based on his confidence in his teachers, but one that springs from personal insight and rational conviction. By such a faith man may be led to ever deeper understanding; and this new guidance is what is meant by the "man bearing a pitcher of water" whom the disciples were to meet, as if by chance, in the streets of the city.

     Such a faith, being founded on the Word, is indeed a gift of God. It is the best of which we are capable at the time, and in providence it will serve our immediate needs. Nevertheless it is far from perfect. It is purely individual, being never exactly the same as the faith of anyone else. It is molded by one's own experience, by his training and his education. It is limited by his form of mind and by his native intelligence, and contains many external appearances and fallacies. That is the case with every one, even the wisest and most learned. Nevertheless, because it represents man's own understanding of the Word, it comes to him immediately from the Lord. In the Lord's sight it is very precious in spite of its imperfections, because in it there is innocence, humility, and a willingness to be taught and led. Of such a faith as this Isaiah writes: "Thus saith the Lord, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for My servants' sake, that I may not destroy them all. And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of My mountains: and Mine elect shall inherit it, and My servants shall dwell there."*
     * Isaiah 65: 8, 9.
     No one realizes the imperfections of such a newly acquired faith. Every one must follow its leading, for it is the only faith he has. He must believe in it with unswerving confidence, and defend it through every trial and temptation.

293


But he must do so, not because it is his own discovery, or because it bears testimony to his own intelligence. He must cherish it and obey it solely because it comes to him from the Lord; because he sees it as the teaching of the Word, and because it makes the Word more living to him and more operative in his life.
     This is of prime importance, for if he is to grow in spiritual intelligence and wisdom, every man must be willing to modify his present beliefs as he attains to more accurate knowledge and truer understanding. That he may do so he must continue to search the Scriptures, and submit his mind to ever further Divine teaching. He must regard his present faith, not as an end in itself, but as a means in the Lord's providence whereby he may advance in the life of regeneration. He must reach a point at which his present understanding is found to be inadequate to the demands of his life, and when he must again ask the Lord the way to further progress. That is why it is said that when the man with the pitcher of water reached the house and entered in, he disappeared. It was some one else, "the goodman of the house," who met the two disciples at the door; and they, not knowing what to do, spoke to him in the words the Lord had commanded, saying: "The Master saith unto thee, Where is the guestchamber where I shall eat the passover with My disciples?"

     If a man lives faithfully according to his best understanding of the Word, even while he continues to read the Word and reflect upon its meaning, the Lord secretly prepares his mind for a deeper perception of the truth. Suddenly, things in his reading he had never noticed before spring into view, revealing unsuspected errors of thought, and opening new avenues of exciting discovery by which he is led into "a large upper room furnished."
     This "large upper room" is not our own. We are but guests in it, invited by the Lord. It is a holy place, provided in the inmosts of our mind where we may receive Divine gifts of unimagined importance to our life, and where we can draw near to the Lord's table to "sup with Him, and He with us." Here, as never before, the Lord can touch our hearts with His own love, and flood our minds with heaven's light. Here He can bless and break the bread of life, and share with us the love that is His very "body"; He can cause us to drink from the "cup of salvation," imparting to us a perceptive understanding of the Divine truth that is His "blood" - all this to strengthen us against the day when He will seem to be taken from us, when suddenly we realize how inadequate is our natural faith to meet the real issues of our life; when the Lord, as we have known and loved Him lies dead, and when we search the tomb in which His body lay, only to find it empty.
     This happens over and over again in the life of regeneration.

294


States of worship elevate our minds only temporarily into the sphere and the light of heaven. Constantly we fall back into the thought and the life of the world, and return to the pursuit of our personal ambitions, to the pressing demands of the external man, and to the appearance that in meeting these demands lies the secret of all happiness. Yet it is in this natural state alone that real spiritual progress can be made. In the midst of the struggle to meet our earthly responsibilities we can still remember the vision that came to us in states of worship. We can cherish that vision and protect it, and keep it inviolate. To this end, as we fulfill the duties of our daily life we can strive for justice and mercy, and for the spirit of charity that looks not to self, but to use in which there is no thought of personal reward. But this battle cannot be sustained indefinitely without a periodic return to the state of worship. The vision fades unless it is constantly renewed.
     That is why the Lord not only ate the passover with His disciples in that upper room in Jerusalem, but also established the Holy Supper as a feast to be observed at stated times, even after He had appeared to them in glory. Without this a new and living church could not be established in His name. Wherefore, even as He gave His disciples bread and wine in that upper chamber, He said, "This do in remembrance of Me."
     We must ever hold the Lord in remembrance. In every time of evening, at the end of that little day when we thought we could see the way so clearly, when again we grope in the darkness and realize our need for help, we must once more seek communion with the Lord. As we do so, the Lord again can "sit down, and the twelve apostles with Him" to partake of that spiritual "feast" by which He renews our love, strengthens our faith, and prepares us to meet the temptations of our life, and through them to conquer the evils of our inheritance, that He may build His church within us. This the Lord can do only for those who at stated times worthily approach His table, to partake of the Holy Supper.
LAWS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE 1971

LAWS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE              1971

     "4. The understanding and will of man ought not to be in the least compelled by another, since all compulsion takes away freedom, but man ought to compel himself; for to compel oneself is to act from freedom." (Apocalypse Explained 1136)

295


WHY ARE WE AFRAID? 1971

WHY ARE WE AFRAID?       JOHN MOORHEAD       1971

     As we look around our world and begin to comprehend the extent of man's hatred toward man, with his mad desire for wars and suffering, it is easy to feel overwhelmed and afraid. In such a state of fear man reverts to the primitive animal state, where in extreme danger the higher mind is closed and we see only two alternatives, fight or flight. With every day the world becomes more and more polarized into those who fight and those who flee. So driven by fear of other men and the world we either advocate a violent revolution and cause even more death, or else we flee to the safe sanctuary of our childhood faiths. Our greatest danger in the New Church is a flight from the world by closing ourselves off into tight little groups where we can forget the world completely. The Writings describe powerfully how such a state of fear, which is really a lack of trust in Divine Providence, can close a man's mind to freedom and reason thereby making change and reformation impossible.*
     * DP 139.
     The world today is in desperate need of reformation. The much praised technical, materialistic society (both Capitalistic and Communistic) destroys itself at a faster and faster rate every day. Without a love of the neighbor or God to guide us we become our own destroyers. A man who kills is a man who fears to be killed himself. Those who fear other men do not fear God.* With every day we become more separated from our neighbor. The world is divided into Communist and Capitalist, white and black, old and young. How can we love God when we can't even love man?
     * LJ 69.
     Blessed by a more complete revelation than has ever been given before, the New Church has the tools to show the way to a love of God that is universal for all men. A true love of God that would unite man instead of dividing him. Yet where is this New Church? Hiding behind its own fear and uncertainty. Unwilling to trust in Divine Providence it continually urges caution. In a tiny wavering voice it says: "We must first strengthen from within before we can hope to change the world, we must have more time." Yes the world is a big place but if we really believe in the truths God gave us why do we fear this world so much?

296


By continually turning ourselves inward we move farther and farther away from a religion of life and instead become involved merely with the doctrines of faith instead of the doctrines of charity. "The church then no longer studies life but doctrine, and when this takes place it casts itself into shades."* We see signs of this everywhere, our sermons are becoming increasingly involved doctrinal studies which have less and less relation to the goods of life. When was the last time you read a New Church book or heard a sermon which dealt with how the New Church should reach out to other men by showing where we agree instead of disagree? Swedenborg says there are many paths to the Infinite thus there are many different doctrines, yet all churches make one when they acknowledge charity as the essential of the church.** Ask yourself, how much charity and tolerance has the New Church shown to other churches? We are all very aware that Paul is in hell, Quakers are spiritually conceited, and nuns must stay on the outskirts of heaven. What a negative frightened approach to other men's religion this is. Continually the Writings emphasize that the goods of life are the essentials, that doctrine has no life in itself unless it comes from charity. Studying doctrinal points to the exclusion of the world is only for those who doubt the strength of the truth God gives us. If what we have is Divine truth then why can't we trust the Divine to protect His own truth? As finite men we cannot protect the Infinite, we can only close it off from other men. With every day the walls we have built around the truth become higher and stronger. God says, "Cast not your pearls before swine." Surely no one thinks He means the entire human race. It is true that there are forces which seek to destroy the truth. Right now they are doing a fine job by working on our fear of the world. Why don't we see the changes in the world today as an opportunity instead of a threat? We fear change, for it may alter our present comfortable external existence, so we fight change by making it harder and harder for other men to reach us and affect us. The best way to protect ourselves is by a retreat into purely doctrinal matters. Here we can be safe from the world's problems. Once again the warning is given us. "Every church at its beginning regards the good of life as in the first place, and the truth of doctrine as in the second; but as the church declines, it begins to regard the truths of doctrine as in the first place, and the goods of life in the second."***
     * AC 3325.
     ** AC 3241.
     *** AR 82.

297



     Retreat from the world will not save us. Man already has the means to destroy himself. The only thing we need is a little more distrust and the world will end, and with that world God's final revelation to man. God will protect our world from destruction only if we can keep our trust in Him by living our lives with love towards our neighbor. To do this we must open our minds and examine all that we now hold to be doctrine. Where are we clinging to doctrine out of faith alone instead of from charity? In this task each man from charity must examine the Writings for himself.

     "When those who are in the spiritual affection of truth read the Word, they do not see it from the doctrine of the church where they were born . . . for they want to be enlightened and to see truths within themselves, and not from others. They who are in this state are enlightened by the Lord and it is given them to make doctrine for themselves from the truths which they themselves see . . . But they who read the Word from the doctrine which is from others cannot see truths from the light of their own spirit, thus not within themselves, but without themselves; for they think that it is true because others have seen it; and they therefore attend only to things confirmatory; all other things they either pass over as if they did not see them, or draw to one side of the things which the doctrine dictates. Everyone can see that these persons cannot be enlightened."*
     * AE 190.

     All men wish to live a life of love; no man wants a life of hate. In our own way we each have a vision of the Infinite. Because we are all finite such a vision is always incomplete and imperfect in some way. A man who is truly looking for his God is interested in other men's vision of God. He does not feel threatened and ridicule the other man's God. Instead he recognizes the common goal and praises God for the many different paths He has given man to reach Him.
     In the Golden Age there were also many different paths to the Infinite, therefore many different doctrines; yet all men realized that love to the Lord and the neighbor was the essential and so all churches made one.* The New Church has been given this truth for a reason, this truth alone shows men how to live together in peace once again. Only by looking to God together with our fellow man can we find Him. Let us unite all men in our love for God and that God will lead us all to a new Golden Age. "Then would each person say, in whatever doctrine and in whatever outward worship he might be, This is my brother, I see that he worships the Lord, and is a good man."**
     * AC 2982.
     ** AC 2385.

298


WE RENDER THANKS, ACADEMY! 1971

WE RENDER THANKS, ACADEMY!              1971


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

Editor . . . . Rev. W. Cairns Henderson, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager . . . . Mr. L. E. Gyllenhaal, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

All literary contributions should be sent to the Editor. Subscriptions, change at address, and business communications, should be sent to the Business Manager. Notifications of address changes should be received by the 15th of the month.

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$5.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy, 50 cents.
     What may the graduate of one of the Academy schools take with him as the unique gifts of the institution? To say, a sense of values, is not enough. Many schools try to impart that. The Academy's particular gifts are the revealed knowledge that there are values which are eternal, and therefore absolute and universal; some understanding of what they are and how they may be realized; and, since the Academy tries to influence as well as teach, the beginning, it is hoped, of a lifelong commitment to them.
     It has often been said that much of the restlessness of today's youth - its questioning and rebellion - arises out of a desperate search for an authority that will offer a firm basis for values; an authority in which young people may find identity and discover meaning and purpose in life. For many, values are relative, subject to change by social and cultural conditions; and this may lead to the existential attempt to create values by looking within oneself, sometimes through use of the so-called mind expanding drugs.
     The authority which many are said to be seeking is just what the Academy has to offer; not that of a human tradition, but a Divine authority entrusted to its care; an authority which is not imposed from above but which invites and challenges reason for its acceptance. Some graduates may scarcely be aware of this now; some may confuse with it the authority of the institution; some, for this or other reasons, may never feel that they can accept it. But for those who do it will become increasingly the most precious gift of their Alma Mater; a rock of certainty in an uncertain world, an unchanging standard in the midst of change.

299




     CHANGE AND THE CHURCH

     Every birth anniversary of the New Church invites us to consider how the Lord's crowning dispensation may be further and more surely established on earth. Now that we have entered the church's third century we may usefully think also about change in relation to the church. Certainly the world has changed in the last two hundred years; just as certainly it will continue to change; and if the church is to evangelize effectively, it must be able to appraise and adapt itself to its environment. But where change may and should not take place requires very careful thinking, for vital issues are at stake.
     Where the idea of change is valid is not in relation to the principles on which the church is founded but to the ways in which they are accommodated. Divinely revealed doctrines do not change, and in offering them the church has a responsibility not to obscure an important distinction. It has an obligation not to compromise, dilute or sacrifice principles in the name of accommodation, or even to de-emphasize at the bidding of human prudence or natural charity. For the Lord alone builds the church, and He can do so only through the truths He has given it as they are, not as men might wish them to be. To jeopardize principles is not to accommodate but to yield.

     Our belief is that there can be no real establishment of the church specific except on the basis of certain things: the acknowledgment that the Lord has made His second coming in the Heavenly Doctrine; the recognition of the Divine authority of the Writings; acceptance without any reservation of what they teach about the consummation of the Christian dispensation as the instrument of salvation; belief that the church is new and a church, distinct and to be distinctive, not an advanced denomination in a revitalized Christianity; a conviction that evil and falsity must be exposed and judged before good and truth can be established in their stead: and the life of spiritual charity that can be attained only through the spiritual truth revealed in the Writings.
     These things do not change. They are the eternal truths and goods by which alone the Lord can build the church specific in this world. There is constant need for change in our understanding of them, in our perception of how they are to be presented, perhaps most of all in the spirit of charity in which we ourselves react to them and offer them to others. The perfecting of the church means change, and in these things we must change or die. But an everlasting kingdom can be built only on eternal truths; and any attempt to change the truth will not build but destroy. On this distinction we need to be absolutely clear.

300




     THE STRUCTURE OF THE CHURCH

     We are taught in the Writings that the Lord's church is universal. The Lord's kingdom on earth, the church in the widest sense, is a spiritual communion scattered throughout and gathered from the entire world, whose members are known to the Lord alone. It embraces all men and women of every religion who acknowledge one God, live together in charity, and look to heaven as they understand it.
     However, the Writings which teach this plainly proceed to make a distinction. They say that the Lord's church is both specific and universal. The church specific exists where the Word is, and where it is rightly understood - an important qualification; and where the Lord is thus known and acknowledged. The church universal consists of all those who do not have the Word and therefore do not know the Lord, but nevertheless believe in one God, obey His revealed will as they understand it, and live together in simple charity.

     Now these do not constitute two churches. They constitute one church - the universal church of the Lord. The members of each communion are equally the church. In the Lord's sight they are as one man, and they will all be saved and will enter into His heavenly kingdom. The church specific and the church universal are the two great parts of one church. This is clearly implied in the teachings that the church specific is as the heart and lungs to the church universal, and that through the church specific those have light from the Lord who are not of it.
     But we should not suppose that uses are performed only by the church specific to the church universal. The two parts of the Lord's church are interdependent. Heart and lungs are of use only in the body; it is as essential to them as they are to it. Those men and women who form the church universal are a powerful force for good in the world. They are in consociation with heaven and in charity, and wherever there is charity there the Lord is present to work out His purposes. He is in conjunction with them, though more remotely, through their love and charity and obedience. The church universal is a force in the world through which the Lord is working to maintain certain ultimates for the reception of His kingdom: faith in one God who reveals His will to men; belief in religion, in the sanctity of marriage and of the home, in morality and decorum, in honesty and decency, and in justice for all men as God's creatures.
     Both the church specific and the church universal consist of particular churches, individual men and women. For it is only individuals who can believe in God and do His will. So the church specific, the church universal and the particular are one: the universal church of the Lord.

301


FACULTY ORIENTATION IN THE ACADEMY 1971

FACULTY ORIENTATION IN THE ACADEMY       Various       1971

     Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:

     The April 1970 issue of NEW CHURCH LIFE contained an invitation from the Executive Vice President of the Academy of the New Church. Members of the General Church who are now teaching in schools other than the Academy were invited to place on record in the Academy files a statement of their teacher training and experience if they wish to be considered for positions on the Academy staff in the future. This is a commendable method for attracting to the Academy those who wish to teach on its staff and who have the professional qualifications which the Academy needs.
     I would like, however, to raise the question of whether the staffing of the Academy in this way will provide what we describe as "New Church education." Being a member of the General Church and having a thorough knowledge of his subject-matter is no guarantee that an Academy teacher presents his subject in the light of New Church educational philosophy and doctrine. There is not even any assurance that such a teacher has an adequate knowledge of New Church educational philosophy in order to provide the New Church education which General Church parents wish their children to have.

     I would like to ask that you obtain and publish a statement from the Executive Vice President of the Academy on this question. As part of the subject I, and I am sure other New Church parents, would like to know whether a teacher new to the Academy staff is required to take Academy college courses in educational philosophy (his teaching load for the first year or two on the Academy staff could be adjusted to allow him the time to take such courses) if such courses have not been previously taken. If Academy teachers do not have such training, then Academy education becomes (it seems to me) a good secular education (in English, biology, mathematics, history, etc.) without the atheistic and materialistic emphasis found in the public schools but with the bonus of social life with New Church young people. This sort of education I can provide for my children closer to home and at less cost - but I visualize Academy education as something more than this. Some comments from the Academy on what is being done to maintain and develop "New Church education" would be appreciated by me, and, I believe, by other members and parents of the General Church. I will look forward to seeing some comments in NEW CHURCH LIFE.
     DONALD G. BARBER

302




Editor of New CHURCH LIFE:

     The matter which Mr. Barber raises in his letter is one of great importance to the work of the Academy and obviously of interest to our patrons. I am, therefore, glad to have the opportunity of responding.
     Since the school year of 1959/60 the Academy has been operating what we have called a Faculty Orientation Program. The purpose of this program was to provide the distinctive preparation which is obviously necessary for a teacher working in our institution. Our teachers need to be well acquainted with the doctrines of the church, with the philosophy underlying New Church education, in addition to having a competency in their own subject area and a knowledge of teaching methods.
     Until the school year 1967/68, a series of courses was offered to new members of the faculty. These were conducted by such men as Bishop de Charms, Dr. Odhner, Dean Henderson and Professor Richard R. Gladish. New faculty members were required to take four such courses before being granted tenure.
     However, there were many drawbacks to this particular program. It was difficult for the senior members of the faculty to find time to develop courses to meet the special needs of the teachers, and the young teachers found it difficult to find the time and energy necessary in taking such courses while teaching themselves. It was therefore decided to abandon this particular form of faculty orientation and to make a thorough study of the subject with a view to developing a better program. We have been working on this study (carried out essentially by myself and the Heads of Departments) over a period of three years, and now, after consultation with the faculty and approval from the President's Council, will institute a new Faculty Orientation Program next year.

     I believe the readers of NEW CHURCH LIFE would be interested in knowing something of this program and so I outline its three steps below.

     1.     During the first year of employment an Orientation to the Institution is organized in which new faculty members meet with different administrators to learn about the Academy's customs, procedures, practices, traditions, structure, financial planning, etc. This is essentially an informative program designed to make it easy for the new faculty member to work in the institution on a practical level.
     2. During the second year of employment a simple Reading Program is organized to encourage a study of the philosophy of New Church education.

303


During this year new teachers will read such works as Growth of the Mind (George de Charms), Foundations of New Church Education (Willard D. Pendleton), Values and Objectives of New Church Education (Willard D. Pendleton), and The Academy - A Portrait. Opportunity will be provided for the teachers to meet with the authors of these books and to discuss them. In connection with The Academy - A Portrait, we hope to have them meet with the Head of the Department appropriate to each section of that work.
     3.     The third part of the program will be carried out during the next two or three years, when the faculty member will be expected to prepare a thesis. This is intended to encourage the faculty member to study, in some depth, our philosophy of education and to relate this to some area of his own field. We hope to be able to make some adjustment to his teaching load so that this may be a significant and worthwhile study. Our expectation is that this will prove valuable to the individual as well as to others who are able to benefit from what is produced. This thesis will be conducted under the guidance of the Head of the Department in consultation with myself, and the faculty member will be encouraged to consult with any member of the faculty (priest or layman) who can be of assistance to him.
     I hope that this brief description will give the readers of NEW CHURCH LIFE an idea of some of the ways in which we are trying to preserve the distinctiveness of our education. Obviously, there are many other more subtle and less obvious ways which will be effective whenever New Church men are working together in this use. If any reader would be interested in receiving a more detailed account of this program, I would be happy to send him a copy of that section of the Faculty Handbook of Customs, Procedures and Rules which describes it.

     MARTIN PRYKE
          Executive Vice President
IN OUR CONTEMPORIES 1971

IN OUR CONTEMPORIES              1971

     (Continued from page 272.)

a rational perception of what the life of charity should be, thus that they are the means by which the Lord has come to mankind in His Second Advent.
     "We believe that the above can be summed up in the following words: 'The Word enfolds the Heavenly Doctrines and the Heavenly Doctrines unfold the word.'"
     We would ask only: How can the Word be unfolded by that which is not the Word?

304


Church News 1971

Church News       ISABEL ROBERTSON       1971

     LONDON, ENGLAND
     
     Thumbing through past pages of the "Life," I find it so long since the London Society sent in a report that it looks as if your reporter has followed the prevailing pastime in Britain and gone on strike. Not so! The activities at Michael Church during 1970, were so numerous that precisely the opposite is the case and the real difficulty is finding time to participate in everything one would like to attend. I could mention the West Country Gathering in May at Wolford Cross in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Best, always a warm and happy occasion; the Young People's weekends at "The Rock," Frinton, in May and November which, according to the youngsters attending, get better and better all the time; the picnic at Dulwich Park to celebrate the Nineteenth of June, and the Garden Party at Mantilla Road in July; the Summer School at Culford in August; the holiday at the Isle of Wight in September which managed to avoid getting swamped by a 2-million pop group a little further round the island. But all these occasions have become annual events at Michael Church and are sandwiched between our traditional celebrations: B.Y.O. lunches on Sunday afternoons preceding doctrinal classes, Swedenborg House doctrinal classes and our reading group visits, to say nothing about "workdays" at the church to get specific jobs done, and entertaining the many visitors who pass through London. Yes, I think it is a fair comment to say that we are a busy, thriving Society, conscious of our obligations to the Church and to each other, and earnestly seeking to discharge these obligations to the best of our ability.
     The World Assembly held last July was another event which placed considerable responsibility on the Society as a whole to entertain and accommodate some of the many overseas visitors. This event has been competently reported elsewhere, but I would like to record just my own impressions as a very unimportant participant. That there are very real differences in the approach of the various organizations to the authority of the Writings, some almost irreconcilable differences, no one could honestly deny; but there was, nevertheless, a warmth of spirit and an eager desire on the part of everyone to make a success of the Assembly, and this was undoubtedly achieved. It did allow us all to meet and exchange views in an atmosphere congenial to progress, an atmosphere that could not have been generated in any other way. This, to me, was its strength. Normally a New Church person or family group in a large city is isolated for six days a week from others sharing the same outlook, and this tends to heighten the feeling of belonging to a very small unit indeed. But here, at the World Assembly, one realized that there are many striving for similar ends to our own, however different the means, and this can only be encouraging. Let us hope, therefore, that such an Assembly will become a feature of the New Church world scene and at shorter intervals, say every five years rather than ten.
     A flurry of excitement was felt at Michael Church last November when our pastor, the Rev. Donald Rose, announced that he had received on behalf of the Society an offer of first refusal to purchase the Camberwell Church, belonging to the Conference group, at a very advantageous price.

305


Practically all of our members availed themselves of the invitation to look the building over, but while agreeing that it offered many advantages over Michael Church as well as holding many memories for some of our older members, the decision to turn the offer down, after prolonged and detailed discussion, was almost unanimous. It was felt that for the present as well as for the foreseeable future Michael Church was better suited to our needs and finances, since the upkeep of a building the size of Camberwell could involve us in heavy expenditure in any one year.
      We have had three additions to the Society since my last report: Hannah Violet, born to Mr. and Mrs. Tom Sharp on April 21, 1970; Bethany May, born to Mr. and Mrs. Fred Elphick on May 9, 1970; and Gavin Murray, born to the Rev. and Mrs. Donald Rose on January 15, 1971. This brings the total number of children available for the Sunday school to well over 40. We have also added two temporary members in the persons of Miss Karin Sandstrom, from Stockholm, Sweden, who is in London to continue her studies of ballet and choreography for at least one year, and Miss Mary Ball from Irene, near Pretoria, South Africa, who is also over here for a year to get comparative experience of English hospitals.
     Our visitors over the past year have included Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Parker from Toronto, who have made several trips to London to see Mrs. Eldin Acton, who has been far from well for many months; Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Klein from Bryn Athyn, who delighted us with their attendance at on open meeting of the Women's Guild, and contributed to the discussion following a paper by Mr. Rose; also Mr. and Mrs. Robert Asplundh from Bryn Athyn, and Miss Martha Gyllenhaal from Rome; as well as many others too numerous to list, but all of whose visits we have enjoyed.
     ISABEL ROBERTSON
      INNOCENCE 1971

INNOCENCE              1971

     "As regards truths purified from all falsity, be it known that pure truth is never possible with man, both because falsity is continually flowing forth from the evil in which he is and which has its seat in him, and because truths have a mutual connection, and therefore if one be false, and especially if more than one, the remaining real truths are thence defiled, and partake somewhat of falsity. But truth is said to be purified from falsity when the man is capable of being kept by the Lord in the good of innocence. Innocence consists in acknowledging that in oneself there is nothing but evil, and that all good is from the Lord; and also in believing that man does not know or perceive anything from himself, but from the Lord, thus also the truth which is of faith. When man is in this state, then falsity can be removed from him, and truth can be insinuated by the Lord. This state is what is signified by the unleavened things, and also by the eating of the paschal lamb." (Arcana Coelestia 7902)

306


EDUCATIONAL COUNCIL 1971

EDUCATIONAL COUNCIL       DAVID R. SIMONS       1971


     The Educational Council of the General Church will hold its meetings from Monday morning, August 16, to Friday noon, August 20, 1971.
     All New Church men and women who are teachers, and teacher candidates who are in their fourth year of College, are encouraged to attend.
     The program will be publicized as soon as it is finalized. The development of New Church education is the responsibility, challenge and delight of all New Church teachers.
     DAVID R. SIMONS
          Secretary
SONS OF THE ACADEMY 1971

SONS OF THE ACADEMY       J. MURRAY CARE       1971

     The Pittsburgh Chapter of the Sons is looking forward to meeting and seeing a large number of people from all chapters and areas. The upcoming meeting in June will be a fine affair. The following is the schedule of events:

     Registration - Friday afternoon, June 25, 5:00 - 8:00 p.m., at the church.
     Meeting - Friday evening, 8:30 p.m. Academy representative will give an address.
     Open House - Friday evening, after the meeting, at John Schoenberger's.
     Annual Meeting - Saturday morning, June 26, at 10:00 a.m., in the church auditorium.
     Lunch - Saturday, 12:30 p.m., in the church auditorium.
     Banquet - Saturday evening, June 26, at 7:30 p.m., at Stouffer's restaurant in Oakland. Cocktail hour at 6:00 p.m.
     Church - Service at Le Roi Road, Sunday, June 27, at 11:00 a.m.
     Cost - $12.00 per person. Wives wishing to join at banquet, $6.00.

     Mr. and Mrs. William F. Blair, Jr., are making arrangements to accommodate our visitors in New Church homes for this weekend. If you have specific homes where you would prefer to stay, please let us know. We will be pleased to make reservations nearby for visitors who prefer to stay at a motel, cost not included in the $12.00 per person price. We would appreciate hearing by the first week in June so that we can make tentative arrangements.
     J. MURRAY CARE, Chairman
          Committee of Arrangements

308


ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH Staff Appointments and Changes 1971

ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH Staff Appointments and Changes        Editor       1971

     The following appointments to and changes in the Academy staff have been announced:
     Mr. Donald C. Fitzpatrick, Jr., was appointed Assistant to the Executive Vice President. He has served since January 1st.
     The Rev. W. Cairns Henderson has resigned as Dean of the Theological School for reasons of health. The Rev. Erik Sandstrom is serving as Acting Dean until arrangements can be made for the Deanship.
     Miss Margit K. Boyesen has resigned as Dean of Women in the College, effective July 1, 1971. She will be succeeded by Miss Margaret A. York.
     Miss Morna Hyatt has resigned as Principal of the Girls School. She will serve as Head of a separate Mathematics Department, and for the next two years as Co-ordinator of Accreditation.
     Miss Sally J. Smith has accepted appointment as Principal of the Girls School.
     Dr. Robert W. Gladish has been appointed to the Academy Faculty. He will serve as Head of the English Department and will teach English in the College.
     Mr. Michael A. Brown will serve as Dean of Men in the College, a new post.
     Mr. Mark Bostock has been appointed Chairman of the newly formed Arts Department, which will include the Visual Arts, Music, Drama, Woodshop, Home Economics and Technical Graphics.
     Mr. Brian L. Schnarr will succeed Mr. Michael A. Brown as House- master of Childs Hall.
     Mr. Gale W. Smith has resigned from the Academy staff to become Director of Physical Education in the Bryn Athyn Elementary School. Mr. Robert L. Heinrichs has been appointed to replace him in the Physical Education Department and in Athletics.
     Miss Judy Scalbom will join the staff as an Art teacher in the Girls School.
     Miss Lauren Brown will serve as a part-time teacher of Cooking, Sewing and Home Decoration in Home Economics.
     Mrs. Denis Cooper, School Nurse, will teach one term of Home Nursing.
     Mrs. John E. Hay, a professional librarian, has been appointed to work part-time in the Library during the next school year.

309


SAFETY AS THE EAGLE'S 1971

SAFETY AS THE EAGLE'S       Rev. KURT P. NEMITZ       1971


Vol. XCI
No. 7
July, 1971

     "To the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, where she is nourished for a time, and times and half a time, from the face of the serpent." (Revelation 12:14)

     It is difficult to imagine that magnificent bird, the eagle, dying from anything but old age. Have you ever seen how an eagle reacts when approached by a stalking predator? She merely unfolds her powerful wings and with a few strong beats rises majestically above her enemy. Then, from a lofty vantage, she calmly surveys the terrain below to choose a safe and suitable resting point.
     Such is the protection the Lord provides for His New Church.
     The time may come when the New Church will literally fill the whole earth and when, consequently, her only real enemies will be the evils in the hearts of her members. But at the present day, needless to say, the Lord must protect His church not only from the evils of each one of us, her members, but also from the wicked influences and corrupting philosophies of the surrounding world.
     In the twelfth chapter of the book of Revelation, which we have heard read this morning, the Lord forewarns His New Church of these interior and exterior dangers which threaten her in her beginning stages.
     The central figure of this chapter is a wondrous woman. Most of us are, no doubt, quite familiar with the signification of the "woman clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars upon her head." She is, indeed, a beautiful picture of the New Church which the Lord has established at His second coming.
     The man child which she bore pictures the new doctrine, or understanding of the spiritual purpose of life, that the Lord has given to His New Church.

310


Through this understanding of life, when it has matured, the Lord can, as a shepherd with a rod of iron, both lead man's soul to spiritual pasture and control its unruly thoughts and feelings, and thus lead him to his eternal rest. Therefore, in order that man's understanding of the new doctrine may develop to fulfill its vital function, it is in the Divine Providence wonderfully protected.
     Notice what happens with most people, both with our own adolescents and with adult new-comers to the church, when they first begin to grasp the significance of the teaching about life in heaven and on earth that the Lord has given in His new revelation. Are not these infant thoughts at first snatched up to the higher and interior regions of their minds as something tender and precious? God has, indeed, elevated them to Himself so that they may grow and develop in safety. And, as always is the case when man in thought is near to God, the Divine presence pervades the mind of the novitiate New Church man with a reassuring sense of certainty and peace with regard to life's meaning and purpose.
     But this heavenly peace is broken when one begins to be aware of the practical implications of the Lord's teachings in the Writings, when one sees that they imply a condemnation of much of this age's conventional and comfortable thought and behavior. Then doubts and misgivings, inspired by egoism and worldliness, attack the novitiate New Church man, attack him ofttimes with all the ferocity of legendary dragons. They lash out, not infrequently, at even the church organization in which his understanding of the Divine purpose of life has been mothered. The angels of truth battle with falsity - 'til at last, with God's help, man comes to see his egoism and its subtle argumentation for the serpent it truly is, and casts it down, with the conviction that the Lord's teachings and not his own or the world's vain opinions are the truth that shall lead and govern him.

     Note now the striking parallel between the development of the New Church person and the New Church as a whole. The beginnings of the New Church in various parts of the earth have almost always been characterized by a joyful and unquestioning reception of the new revelation. But not long after, the hells awaken men's inherent conceits and set them to doubting the new doctrines. Again and again men have questioningly said: "Yes, these teachings are quite rational and sound very good, but can we really say that they are fully the Word of the Lord as to truth and authority? Must not these doctrines be partly Swedenborg's and thus in need of revision and modification by every age?"
     Although this battle with regard to the Divinity of the Writings still continues in a few places, the issue has been clearly decided for many.

311


Within the General Church there is certainly no doubt that the theological doctrines that the Lord has revealed through Emanuel Swedenborg constitute His promised second coming and are therefore the crown of His Word. But let us not be overconfident; the acknowledgment of the Divinity of the Word does not in itself destroy the enemy. Remember that when the dragon was cast down to earth, he began again there to persecute the woman who had brought forth the man child.
     The great threat to many in the New Church today comes from the world around us. The thought of the so-called "learned," and the popular attitudes regarding many practical matters of individual and group morality which their "scientific" attitudes inspire, often attack those principles which are the very spirit of the Lord's New Church. We are all aware, for example, of the way in which the insidiously persuasive reasoning of some psychologists and anthropologists threatens our dedication to the heavenly ideal of a chaste and eternal union between one man and one woman, a union whose primary use is the procreation of new human beings. This is only one of the many important areas of life in which New Church people are under the hellish attack of the dragon. And because communication via the mass-media is so highly developed today, the enemy is now not only within us but literally all around us.
     Such is our, and our church's predicament, in fact, that there is nothing we, alone, can do to save ourselves or the church from the destructive and devastating forces in the world around us. Our hope is truly in the Lord alone.

     That we might be saved from the power of the dragon, the Lord has given His church "the two wings of a great eagle." Wings, the two wings of a great eagle! What can be meant by these wings? Do they not picture the mind's ability of being lifted up so that it may regard what is natural from a spiritual and heavenly point of view? When a man thus sees all the details of earthly life from a truly spiritual point of view, then he is out of danger, for the subtle but earth-bound logic of the "great dragon, that old serpent, called the Devil and Satan," cannot then reach and poison him.
     Such a saving elevation of the mind, or enlightenment as it also may be termed, the Lord can effect with each one of us. The very life with which He inflows through man's soul bears with it the power of elevating the mind. This Divine power, however, cannot act without means, just as a magnet cannot lift an object unless there is something in the object that can be affected by and respond to its power. That which must be in our minds, if they are to be able to respond to the Lord's uplifting power, is knowledge from His Word.

312


Through the teachings and principles of the Word we can be lifted up and see the matters of earthly life in their proper place, that is, in relation to the things of heaven.
     This is a brief explanation of how the mind is elevated, or enlightened. For those who would understand more completely, the Lord has also revealed the interior workings of this process. The more detailed explanation found in the heavenly doctrines is as follows: The light of truth, which brings understanding, is always flowing into us from God through our souls. The reason why we do not, however, before regeneration see life correctly, as it truly is - even if we may have a knowledge of many spiritual truths - is that our egoistic nature foolishly fashions all that we know about life into a false concept or mental picture, a picture of life with ourselves at the center and not the Lord's Divine Humanity. This false picture is then what our mind's eye regards as reality. But when we read the Word and reflect upon it with the prayer that the Lord may lead us to see the truth, then He can bring us into communion with His angels, for it is a Divine law that those who share common thoughts are spiritually present with each other. And when we are thus present with the angels, the sphere of the Divine love which is active with them can affect also us - indeed, even our memory. The powerful sphere of their good love can effect a rearrangement of the content of our memory, that is, of all that we know, into a picture of life that rightly corresponds to reality. Then, from the heavenly truths that we have gathered from the Word, we can see all the matters of earthly life as they are as to their inner and real significance.

     When we have such a spiritual view of life, then we can clearly see what is good in the world around us as well as what is evil. There is certainly much that is good and many men and women that are good outside of the New Church here on earth, for the Lord is with everyone in the degree that he or she makes room for His goodness in the conduct of his or her life. The Divine good and truth are thus to be found in some degree almost everywhere. Were it not so, only very, very few could be saved. Because it is our duty as the children of God to befriend His goodness wherever we may find it, just as much as it is our duty to oppose the evil wherever it is discovered, our thought must be uplifted by means of the Word, so that we shall be able to discern that, in others and in society, which is good and valuable and that which is not.
     From these considerations, it should be clear how vitally important it is for each and every one of us to read the Word regularly. The Lord tells us, indeed, in the Writings that we should "read one or two chapters a day."* There is no substitute for reading the Word - in the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the Writings-for oneself.

313


It is, needless to say, useful to hear sermons and to take part in doctrinal classes, but these are auxiliary aids only to help men and women understand the Word for themselves. (And, in truth, when men and women begin reading the Word for themselves, they will then listen to sermons and doctrinal classes with new interest for, and commitment to, the Lord's teachings and His church).
     * AE 803.
     Unless the laymen of our church are elevated by the Lord's Word above the sphere of the world, the church cannot survive with them. The priesthood cannot protect and defend the spiritual life of New Church men and women against all the attacks that atheistic and materialistic philosophies and movements make upon them. There is but one Savior and He is our Lord, Jesus Christ, the Living Word. We must each one of us turn to Him, and daily in His Word seek for those Divine truths by which alone He can lift us above the attacks of the dragon, so that we in safety, like the eagle, may grow and mature into more useful members of His kingdom, the church. Amen.

     LESSONS: Exodus 3: 7-15. Revelation 12. Apocalypse Explained 759: 1-3.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 460, 429, 448.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos 89, 118.
MINISTERIAL CHANGES 1971

MINISTERIAL CHANGES       Editor       1971

     The Rev. Daniel W. Heinrichs has accepted appointment to be on special assignment for the Bishop. He will also be engaged in teaching Religion part-time in the secondary schools of the Academy.
     The Rev. Erik Sandstrom has been appointed Dean of the Theological School, The Academy of the New Church.
VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN 1971

VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN       Editor       1971

     Visitors to Bryn Athyn on any occasion who need assistance in finding accommodation please communicate with the Guest Committee, c/o Mrs. Leo Synnestvedt, 611 Waverly Lane, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009. Phone: (215) Wilson 7-3725.

314


CONJUGIAL LOVE 1971

CONJUGIAL LOVE       Rev. ELMO C. ACTON       1971

     A DOCTRINAL SERIES

     VI. THE CONJUNCTION OF CONJUGIAL LOVE WITH THE LOVE OF INFANTS

     Last Friday we treated of the causes of apparent love, friendship and favor in marriages. We saw that the teachings of this chapter were given so that conjugial love might be preserved in states of internal and external cold and eventually return and be fully present in the marriage. It should be observed that this end can be effected only where both partners are willing to apply the teachings of the chapter; however, some use can result even if only one of the partners applies the teaching or, as is said in the chapter, a spiritual man acts spiritually even with a natural man. What principally brings about the return of conjugial love after temporary states of internal and external cold is a common looking to the Lord in the things of religion; and the greatest force in the external is a common looking to the spiritual good of the children.
     Tonight we discuss the teachings in the chapter on the Conjunction of Conjugial Love with the Love of Infants. Conjugial love and the love of infants or children cannot be separated, for the one cannot exist without the other. This is the principal teaching of this chapter. We shall endeavor to show that the end of marriage is natural and spiritual offspring and that the mediate cause is conjugial love. Conjugial love, therefore, is not an end in itself. It is the means by which the Lord provides for the ultimate end of His creation. Conjugial love and the love of infants are not parallel loves, running along beside each other. They are one and the same love, bearing the relation of end and means; and, therefore, being end and means, the one cannot exist apart from the other. Love and wisdom apart from use are mere abstractions, and they can effect nothing, and furthermore, they soon vanish. And so it is that conjugial love between husband and wife can only exist in the love of infants or in the love of offspring, and if the latter is not present, conjugial love with the husband and wife vanishes away. In use, therefore, conjugial love exists and becomes real. We have seen that the origin of conjugial love is the union of the Divine and the Human of the Lord, and from this, the marriage of the Lord and the church, and from this, in turn, the conjunction of good and truth in the internal of the individual man.

315


But these loves come into real existence only when formed in substances which are in forms of use, or become uses formed in natural and spiritual substance. And if you will have noticed, there is one number in particular in this chapter, referring to the fact that good and truth are real substances and they become forms in actuality only in use - when the love of offspring in the natural world becomes substantial in the birth of children, and in the spiritual world when that marriage becomes substantial in, what is called in the Writings, spiritual offspring.
     All uses in this world come into effect only insofar as they come into substances, natural substances, and in the spiritual world into spiritual substances. Now you may ask, what if a couple cannot have children. The answer is that a wise man, and the Lord, judge a man according to his sincere intentions. All good loves go forth into use, by which they can communicate their delights to others so that they may feel them in themselves as their own. This is eminently true of conjugial love, for the husband and wife together communicate their life to the children and the children feel that life within themselves as their own. Thus without the love of infants, there is no conjugial love. Now this teaching is the teaching in the light of which the subject of birth-control should be examined. I do not intend to examine that tonight, but I would stress this because I would ask you to think of applying this teaching when you think of the whole subject of birth-control. So many of us, particularly the young, are inclined to think of birth-control as a subject apart, but it must be seen in the light of the principle we are expounding this evening. Conjugial love is the inmost love by which the Lord provides for the ends of His creation, and so, marriages are most holy, for they are that means.
     In Apocalypse Explained 988: 5 we read:

     "How holy [marriages are] in themselves, that is, from creation . . . can be seen from the fact that they are seminaries of the human race; and as the angelic heaven is from the human race, they are also the seminaries of heaven; consequently, by marriages not only the earths but also the heavens are filled with inhabitants; and as the end of the entire creation is the human race, and thus heaven, where the Divine itself may dwell as in its own and as it were in itself, and as the procreation of mankind according to Divine order is accomplished through marriages, it is clear how holy marriages are in themselves, that is, from creation, and thus how holy they should be esteemed."

     In the same number later on, we read: "When procreations of the human race are effected by marriage in which the holy love of good and truth from the Lord reigns, then it is on earth as it is in the heavens, and the Lord's kingdom on earth corresponds to the Lord's kingdom in the heavens."*

316


This is the essential means by which the prayer, "Thy kingdom come," is fulfilled.
     * AE 988: 6.
     Further confirmation of the oneness of conjugial love and the love of infants is given in the teaching concerning delights. In general, it is that all delights should be, and in actualities are, according to use, and that conjugial love, having as its end the highest of all uses and the complex of all uses, contains within it the greatest delights. The teaching here given concerning delights having direct relation to use cannot be perceived by the merely natural man, that is, by the man who denies the existence of an internal man and a man who denies the reality of eternal life. He, as the Writings say - and this is a very important sentence - can see no difference between the embraces in marriage and the embraces outside of marriage. He can see no difference, that is, in the delights. To him the delight is the same. And yet the difference between them is as the difference between heaven and hell. You will remember that when the young man was inquiring in the other world what heaven was and what hell was, he was told by the angels to examine and see what delights are and he would discover.

     In Apocalypse Explained 991: 2: "From the marriage of good and truth there exists the love of bearing fruit, namely, good through truth and truth from good; and from that love the love of producing offspring descends, in which there is all delight and pleasure." Further in Apocalypse Explained 991: 3: "The pleasure of producing offspring . . . surpasses every other pleasure . . . because its use, which is the procreation of the human race, and thus of heaven, surpasses all other uses." And in Conjugial Love 183: "Without use, love and wisdom are merely abstract ideas of thought, and after some tarrying in the mind, these pass away like the wind; but in use, the two are brought together and become a one which is called real. . . [The use of conjugial love] is the supreme and ultimate use of Divine love by means of Divine wisdom. . . . This is because the use of conjugial love is the most excellent of all uses, for thence is the procreation of the human race, and from the human race the angelic heaven."
     Now it is the use which makes love truly conjugial delightful. It is the use from the internal, and it is this use which also makes love truly conjugial, what is called in the Writings, chastity itself, and therefore, genuine chastity can exist only in marriage, that is, fully chastity. Because the appropriation of offspring is the most universal of all uses, providing for the end itself of the Divine love in creating, therefore the teaching is given that into conjugial love are gathered all joys and all delights from firsts to lasts.

317


This is because of the excellence of its use above all other uses. Its use is the propagation of the human race and thence of the angelic heaven, and because this use is the end of ends of creation, it follows that all the states of pleasantness, happiness, and delight, which by the Lord the Creator could ever be conferred on man, are gathered into this love.
     That delight follows use and is present with man according to the love therefrom is manifest from the delights of the five senses - sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Each of these has its own delights with variations according to its specific uses. What then should not be the delight of the sense of conjugial love, whose use is the complex of all other uses? This is what is meant by the statement that the sense of touch is proper to conjugial love. In Heaven and Hell 402: "The delight of marriage, which is a purer and more exquisite delight of touch, transcends all the rest because of its use, which is the procreation of the human race and thereby of angels of heaven."

     Thus the general proposition is given, and this is universal: the more eminent the use, the greater its delights. Delights here referred to are not from the ultimate; they are not from without; they are not from the senses; but they are from the interiors in the ultimate or in the senses. If the delight is from the senses or from without, then there cannot possibly be any perception of the difference between embraces in marriage and embraces outside of marriage, for from without they are the same. Man's continual temptation is to separate use and delight and to indulge in delight apart from use. Take for example, man's temptation in regard to taste, which is to overindulge the sense of taste or to overeat, or else his temptation may be to overdrink, or to overindulge in recreation. Ultimate delights, to be pure and lasting, must be from the internal in the external, and it is only the internal in the external that can make those delights new every day. If the delights are from without, they become old; they become stale; and some new external thing has to be added to them to make them live again.
     For example, recreation should be a letting-down of the love of use into the external so that it may be re-created therein. When this is the case, then the external delights are ordered and arranged by the use in the internal. Use in every case should be the end, and delights should be the means by which the end comes into ultimate being. It is the use within that purifies and makes holy all external delight. The use of conjugial love, being the most eminent of all uses, therefore, is holy, pure, and clean above every other love with the men of the church and the angels of heaven and into it are gathered all joys and all delights from firsts to lasts.

318


It is the complex of all loves; all loves are enfolded within it because it is the ultimate and final end of creation.
     Conjugial Love 69 says: "I know that few will acknowledge that all joys and delights from the first to the last are gathered into conjugial love because . . . the love truly conjugial into which they are gathered is at this day so rare that it is not known what it is and scarcely that it is, and these joys and delights are present in no other conjugial love than that which is genuine." Genuine or pure love of offspring can come into existence only in conjugial love. This is important, for viewed naturally, it seems that the love of offspring can exist apart from conjugial love; but the Writings teach that the sphere of conjugial love makes one with the sphere of procreation. This fact is evident from procreation being the end and conjugial love the mediate cause whereby that end is effected, and in the effect the end and the cause act as one. I would call your attention especially to that phrase in Conjugial Love 385: "procreation being the end and conjugial love the mediate cause" because, as I said in the beginning, there is a tendency with all of us to think of these as two things - separate, running parallel beside each other. There is no basis for that in anything in the Writings.

     Again, the first end of conjugial love is the procreation of offspring, and the ultimate end, which is the effect, is the offspring procreated. The first end enters into the effect and is present therein as in its beginnings, and it does not withdraw. Now this means that the love of procreating, stemming from conjugial love, does not cease with conception and birth but it continues into the preparation and training of the children for the life of heaven. This also is important. Man can have a love of offspring or a love of children quite apart from conjugial love, but in this case it is not that spiritual love of offspring which comes from the Lord alone, or it is not that spiritual love of offspring which is the fruit of conjugial love. The Writings, in Arcana Coelestia 2730, refer to the posterity of the Most Ancient Church, and they say of them: "with whom the church declined [that is, that posterity with whom the church declined], began to love their children, and not their consorts; for children can be loved by the evil, but a consort can be loved only by the good." And a parallel passage in the Spiritual Diary m4628 says: "The men of the Most Ancient Church loved their wives better than their children. Their posterity loved their children in preference to their wives.

319


Conjugial love is heaven; wherefore, love begins from thence because it is innocence but even the worst are able to love children and not wives because they behold images of their own glory in the children but not in the wife. They are able to be averse to their wives and love their children and to be with the wife and not to love her at all, which is a perversion."      Those numbers teach that the two are conjoined together because where there is a genuine love of the wife, there will be a genuine love of the children, and where there is a genuine love of the children, that is, a spiritual love of offspring, there will be the genuine love of the wife. When children are loved and not wives, the true love of offspring fails, and the end of creation cannot be effected.
     On this subject this clear and concise statement is made in Apocalypse Explained 988: 5: "It is true that the earth might be filled with inhabitants by fornications and adulteries as well as by marriages, but not heaven; and for the reason that hell is from adulteries but heaven from marriages." This shows clearly that the use of propagation does not cease, as said, with conception and birth but passes on to the training and education of the children for heaven. And this can only be examined properly where there is conjugial love or where there is a striving after conjugial love. This use, that is, the use of preparing the children for heaven, goes out from the home into the school; and so it is that education becomes the proper and the necessary use of the church. From these teachings it is clear that conjugial love and the love of infants cannot exist apart. While in time they progress according to time, yet in end they are one and the same and can never be separated without the destruction of each. Therefore, conjugial love can never be known as to its spiritual quality apart from the love of infants. And the love of offspring can never be rightly understood apart from conjugial love. This is the end of the present series.
FIRST DEGREE OF THE PRIESTHOOD 1971

FIRST DEGREE OF THE PRIESTHOOD              1971

     The ministry of instruction is provided for in the first degree of the priesthood. By ordination into this degree the candidate becomes a minister, and enters fully into the uses of instruction. He is therefore authorized to preach the Word of God according to the doctrine of the New Church. He is also authorized to administer the sacrament of Baptism, to hear and receive confession of faith, and to lead in public worship. The sign of this degree is a white stole. The priest, while ministering in this degree, may serve as an assistant to a pastor, or he may be appointed to take temporary charge of a society under the supervision of the Executive Bishop. (Order and Organization of the General Church, 1970 Revision.)

320


EVANGELIZATION 1971

EVANGELIZATION       SANFRID ODHNER       1971

     (A talk to a class in the Academy of the New Church College)

     When my oldest son heard that Mr. Sandstrom had invited me to talk with you about evangelization, his response was, "Who have you ever converted?" And that pretty well established my credentials: I have converted no one.
     It was, however, my total lack of success - and the equal failure of most of my friends - that first put the problems of proselytizing among my chief preoccupations twenty years ago. We were of reasonable intelligence and zeal; we had a message of value for which there was an evident need; we went forth, as you will very likely do, and bruised our heads, and retired in defeat. We must have been doing something wrong. I could not believe that the entire world was not ready for the New Church. The only alternative was that I and my friends were not ready for the world. But how? Why?
     The more I thought about it, the more I became convinced that it was an incredible conceit to think that any one of us, without strategy, study, co-ordination, training or tools, might successfully sell the most complex product we could undertake to sell.
     (About this word sell, and the word persuasion: please allow me to use them in a sense in which Swedenborg does not condemn them: the presentation of the truth in its most readily acceptable form, the pointing out of the function and applicability of truths, the answering of objections, the allaying of prejudices or misapprehensions that inhibit the freedom to understand and to accept. There are techniques of persuasion that dull or destroy the freedom of reason, but we do not need them - and I do not intend them.)

     The human mind is a garden of habits, prejudices and loyalties. Even to get a man to switch his preferences in soap is difficult, and awesome strategies and forces are brought to bear by those who would accomplish it.
     Certainly, to change the very attitudes and ideas by which a man lives cannot be undertaken by whim or by hunch with any hopeful likelihood of success. Nor are whim and hunch sufficient tools to serve the matured conviction that this work is of vital importance to the church.

321



     I believe that it is an imperative of the church; that it is now essential to the very life and health of the church to undertake the spreading of the Word as a prime and pressing responsibility.
     Arnold Toynbee, the historian, pointed out that all movements which have real social impact first have had a "period of marked withdrawal from their society." The church, of course, has been markedly withdrawn since the founding of the Academy. Within our walled-in societies and the halls of Academe, the church has been consolidating, foundation laying, resolving basic principles, strengthening its nucleus, as a butterfly evolves in its cocoon, the foetus in the womb, an idea in the privacy of personal reflection.
     But after its withdrawal, a movement must return to its society to have any impact on it. That may not be easy. Private reflection in an organized body as in an individual, is a seductive luxury. It's easier to get out of a warm bed on a cold morning. Tradition, comfort, habit, timidity, all press for continued withdrawal - because re-entry into the world requires adaptation to others' states without descent into them, and that's hard work.
     I submit that the church has come to term, has grown its wings and must muster the courage to use them. It is time for the church to enter the world as a force. And if the idea scares us, we should remember this: the fate of a pupa too long in the cocoon is not an ever more beautiful butterfly; it is atrophy and decay. Withdrawal serves a vital function; but once its use is done the cocoon becomes a coffin.
     Admittedly, I first expressed this urgency some fifteen years ago, and today the church seems still very much alive and in health. But I think that - while we have yet to take wing - changes have been working; the cocoon has been opening; a determination to spread our wings and spread the Word has been firming in the body of the church.

     Fifteen years ago, evangelization was still felt somehow to constitute a threat to the church's devotion to education; looking outward "threatened" a lowering of our standards of distinctiveness. My contemporaries were unable to enlist the kind of support we knew was needed for the organized effort we saw as mandated.
     But now they, my contemporaries, are part of the "Establishment," and I submit that there is little if any limit to the support you will find for any really well thought-out program of evangelization to which you are prepared to devote your minds and energies. This can make the job possible for you; but not easy: missionary work is work.
     I have been able all my working life to observe and participate in the failures and successes of the persuasion process.

322


I've had to prepare sales promotions and sales tools, identify selling appeals, write sales training programs, create effective advertising campaigns. Given a product, service or idea of merit, success is directly proportionate to the proper appraisal of what is to be sold, the validity of the market study, the thoroughness of strategy planning, the quality of sales material, the recruitment, training and direction of the sales force.
     Now for a job that is really much harder. At least as hard-nosed an approach is needed.

     Pinpointing the Market

     In a sense, all of mankind is our market; and if we had unlimited resources in funds, manpower and zeal, we could probably approach the job in that way. But it is unfortunately true that the most fruitful segment of a market must be selected as a target if a sufficient impression is to be made anywhere; resources spread too thin, are barely felt anywhere. That is why our evangelical focus to date has been internal: our children.
     But what is our most fruitful external evangelical market? It is important that we choose carefully; for a wrong choice makes success less likely, and failure is the enemy of zeal. Analyses of where and how we have best succeeded in the past may be of little help; they will show where we have tried the hardest, but not necessarily where we should have been trying.
     To choose that target must be the result of many interested minds reasoning out a satisfactory consensus from every consideration of fact, intuition, experience, logic. Let me give you my present thinking as an illustration of the kind of factors that we must involve, and perhaps as a start toward such an interchange.
     An indication of the most fruitful market is almost always inherent in the essential nature of the product, service or idea itself. Its appeals, purpose, complexity and the price that must be exacted for it, all help to define the market for it.
     Our product is, as it characterizes itself, the rational doctrine. As the church of the rational doctrine, it is our task to attain the same effective relationship with the rest of the world (or the universal church) as the rational faculty in a man's mind has to the rest of his mind.
     The function of this small rational part of the mind is to reach out, throughout the mind, to bring order to it; to reform its habits and its disciplines and its loyalties from an understanding of the true order and real purpose of life. And each of us must work to enhance the ability of our rational faculty to do this.

323



     Similarly, we must work to increase and enhance the ability of this church of the rational doctrine to effect order throughout the whole disordered world of which it is a small part. We must shape and steer the church so that it may more effectively reach out into all phases of human activity to bring about such order. This means, at its core, the priesthood, protecting the church as an instrument of reason; and it means, in its reach, the laity, making it an efficient instrument of order - something only the laity, active in the world's society and able to influence directly its traditions, ethics, laws and moral codes, can do.
     We must be able, and become increasingly able, to contribute to the formulation of business ethics; to influence the making, interpreting and enforcing of law; to help to shape and order custom and morality through active social leadership in and of the world's society.
     As of now, the church does not have enough men of sufficient caliber to influence society toward real order And it is only through evangelization deliberately directed toward men of leadership potential that we can enlist such men in the church's work of bringing the new order to the world.
     Particularly since we must choose a market segment, lacking, as we do, the resources to approach all segments at once and in force, this is a segment we must consider: the man who is or will be among the effective, thinking leaders of the world - the educator, scientist, philosopher, journalist, jurist; the political, business, social or religious leader whose opinions and attitudes and beliefs do most to shape the whole of our society.
     It is clear that we could not hope to find a field for external evangelization more fruitful if converted, fruitful in creating an environment favorable to the preservation of the church in the world and to its future growth. And it is clear that such minds should be more receptive to the seeds of reason that constitute the doctrines of the church.
     Some of you will have other ideas about what segment of society should receive our priority and emphasis, what will constitute our most fruitful market. Good! Then press for a dialogue that will consider all possibilities and achieve a consensus; for until we agree on our target we cannot combine our energies and will be dilettante in our efforts.

     Planning Strategy

     Strategy means plan of approach: the general principles of timing, tone of voice, the media or people through whom to reach the chosen market. For illustrative purposes, let us consider a strategy for approaching those who would bolster the effectiveness of the church in its lay influence on society.

324



     By the time a man has reached a leadership position - a place of influence on social philosophy, practice, law or ethics - he has normally accepted or developed already a philosophy with which he is content. Or he has decided that there is not much percentage in thinking about underlying verities, and flies by the seat of his pants. There are exceptions, of course; but they carry no distinctive identification marks, and when you pick a mature intelligence as a prospect you will almost surely find that however agreeable he is in discussion, his receptiveness is only chin-deep.
     We will do the best to reach him before his mind is shaped and set. We want him after he has begun to question society's role as moral arbiter, but while he still possesses an uncompromised moral thrust carried over from adolescence. We want him freshly appalled at the gulf between the morality he has been taught and morality in practice; indignant and searching, full of new facts and ideas from history and science and literature, newly exposed to the ideas of a broad new spectrum of friends and acquaintances.
     In a somewhat different sense, Swedenborg expected the church to grow through the colleges and universities. I think his expectation will be justified in both senses - through academic dialogue and through students. But, I think, through the students first.

     The Sales Force

     As strong as any recommendation for this strategy is the existence of a steady flow of young people, from our schools into the universities, who are eager for the help needed to make them an effective force. We have allowed a full generation of them to pass by unaided, unguided, and with few exceptions ineffectual. It is time we put the church, ourselves, behind them.
     Giving them literature and leaving them on their own will not be enough. They should be invited to be a part of a continuing, improving program. There should be somewhere they can go for answers to difficult questions and objections; a clearing house for ideas and experiences; a source, working from their feedback, of materials improved or freshly written to meet the needs they discover; and - perhaps most important - a central dialogue concerned with the development of a basic philosophy of evangelization.

325



     They should receive, before leaving their New Church school, a grounding in what the program consists of, and the part it is hoped they will play in it; a review of the material and what each piece is intended for; encouragement of their participation in the writing of new material; an idea of what has already been done in the missionary field, and how it failed or succeeded; some understanding of the techniques of persuasion so that they will appreciate the difficulties, not be too easily discouraged, and know how to handle objections; and some inspirational background stressing the church's need for evangelists, the mandate that possession of the truth imposes on New Church men, and the reasons they have been elected the arm of an initial foray into organized external evangelization.
     No effort short of this can provide for the intelligent evaluation of methods and materials and experiences that will be essential for improvement and expansion. And isn't it true that you would feel more purpose and confidence in your efforts if you knew that even if you failed your experiences would contribute to the development of an effective program?

     The Literature

      I think I can safely assert, with all due respect for the work of many, that there is no literature in existence appropriate to evangelization in the market segment we have been postulating - or any other truly external market segment. Most of what does exist has been written by those who have had some success in missionary endeavor, but their formulae are of little strength without the force of their personalities in the give-and-take of discussion. Very nearly all that has been written assumes too much. It is directed at the old Christian, who believes in the authority of the Bible; while, in fact, the thinking prospect we will encounter questions any authority apart from reason and a subjective sense of rightness and wrongness. An argument from established dogma carries no weight with him; and argument with established dogma - the tripersonal Trinity, for example - carries no relevance.
     But there are moral questions of important relevance and concern to this age of dawning reason that we can invoke in our literature. There is a search for meaningful patterns in life. There is an amorphous sense of purpose and a desire to identify with it. There is a wish to find a God of credibility.
     The important consideration is this: an effective program of literature must start where the prospect is, and bring him along step by step to an affirmative and understanding reading of the Writings. The goal must be to have a piece available at every step, for every prospect to answer his objections and meet his special interests - each piece being built and based upon what has come before.
     That goal is, of course, remote. But it must be present even in the preparation of the initial literature, so that the first pieces can be designed in such a way that future pieces can be based upon them and branch out from them.

326



     Like the selection of our market and the development of strategy, the preparation of literature will involve a consensus of views on appeals and approaches. After discussion, drafting, amendment, further discussion, an accepted piece may eventually have no one true author. The vital need is to have literature that anticipates as well as possible the massive task of moving a prospect's mind.
     If all of this sounds overly ambitious, consider the vast amount of energy that over the years has gone into what has come before: handing out the Writings on street - corners, advertising lectures, doorbell ringing, pickups on the Cathedral grounds, the persistent, unaided efforts of scores and hundreds of individuals. And consider how little we have now of the fruit of the church's miscellaneous experience on the stump; how little we have in the way of missionary techniques capable of being passed on or refined for the next would-be missionary.
     In the quickening of our interest, we have now several projects in progress: among the laity, in the College, on the part of individual ministers. I can envision a far-reaching usefulness in this first college-level class in evangelization. But if these efforts remain diverse, without central co-ordination, organization and planning, insufficient service is being given to the need; and evangelization will remain the province of the few with exceptional personalities or exceptional selling abilities.
     Let me repeat these two thoughts and leave them with you:
     First, because communication of ideas from mind to mind is among the more difficult of human activities, missionary work is work, and to be done properly will require the focused energies of the church.
     Second, external missionary work, now an imperative of the church, deserves and demands the same careful consideration and development of strategy and philosophy on our part that the use of education received from our founding fathers.
LAWS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE 1971

LAWS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE              1971

     "Man does not know, from feeling and perception in himself, how good and truth enter by influx from God, and how evil and falsity enter by influx from hell; nor see how the Divine Providence operates in favor of good against evil; for in such case man would not act from freedom according to reason as if from himself. It is sufficient for him to know and acknowledge these things from the Word and from the doctrine of the church." (Apocalypse Explained 1136)

327


LAWS OF PROVIDENCE 1971

LAWS OF PROVIDENCE       Rev. HAROLD C. CRANCH       1971

     The Lord God is love itself. Throughout the Word men are taught that He is just and righteous and that all His works are holy. But if we do not study the Word from genuine doctrine, it is sometimes hard to see the Lord's justice and righteousness. The Old Testament in some places refers to a wrathful God showing favor to those who worship Him and apparently destroying those who are ignorant of Him and worship other gods - although they may be innocent of wrongdoing. The Word is not at fault. The truth is there to be seen. But the leaders of the churches have drawn doctrines from it which do not present the truth but give only their own interpretation.
     Thus it is not the Word but a church which teaches that God predestines some men to heaven and some to hell. The doctrines of the modern church are responsible for the false idea that the Lord saves men by pure mercy apart from the kind of life they live. This would deny the real mercy and love of the Lord, for if He could save men by pure mercy, and yet did not save some, He would not show mercy to those who were condemned to hell. But the real teaching of the Word is taught throughout the Old and New Testament, when these are rightly understood: "The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works the Lord is righteous in all His ways and holy in all His works."
     As the Lord loves all men, so He bids men love one another, not only their friends, but their enemies as well. So the Lord said: "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be the children of your Father who is in heaven."*
     * Matthew 5: 44.
     Man's love should be an image of the Lord's love, and a perfect love looks to the establishment of true order. In such order there can be no enmity, for all would then work toward the common good, treasuring the rights of others. To work for such a state expresses love to all, to both friend and enemy, but it is expressed differently to a friend and to an enemy. To friends it is mutual assistance, co-operation in work, mutual recreation and sharing inspiration. But love toward our enemies, that is, toward enemies of mankind's welfare, is expressed by combatting that which prevents the establishment of order.

328


It is combatting by education the falsities which prevent the realization of that ideal. It may be expressed by actual combat in warfare, to defeat the attacks of those who try to force their will upon others. It may be expressed by the conviction and punishment of criminals. In every case the object of our actions should be to establish and maintain that true order, in which the Lord can reign over men. The punishment of a criminal should be for the sake of his correction. There should be no desire to make him suffer for his crimes but the true and heavenly motive should be to help him remove his evils, and to rehabilitate him for a useful life of order. By this motive punishment becomes an expression of love. In all things we are to do our part intelligently, to establish true order upon earth. So we are bidden "to be perfect, even as our Father in heaven is perfect." We are to live the Divine law, our acts inspired by true love of the neighbor.

     The Lord illustrates His teaching that men should live a perfect love, by showing that the Divine love and provision are given to all alike. "The Lord maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth His rain on the just, and on the unjust." This teaching declares the justice and perfection of His law. He maintains the order of creation - from His love, leading all men to an understanding of that order, providing for their eternal welfare, yet providing also that men may have real freedom. So His love and wisdom, represented by the sun and rain, are given freely to the good and evil, but they affect them in different ways. All are benefited by the reception. By the good the benefit is acknowledged; but the evil see the Lord's love as punishment and restriction, for it strives to keep them from their evil and turn them again to order. Thus every man sees the Lord according to his own nature. The pure and merciful see Him as the very source of purity and mercy but the evil see Him as evil - for they see only the punishment He gives; they fail to see its purpose and that it is their own evil which brings the suffering.
     But the Lord's Providence is the operation of the Divine laws of order. It operates to preserve creation, that its purpose may be fulfilled. And this purpose is to lead men to heaven. Heaven is the state of order freely accepted - the living presence of mutual love and intelligent cooperation in the uses of life. The Divine Providence continually works to establish this order - it always furthers the work of leading men to heaven. But since love zealously protects the freedom of others, it was foreseen that freedom would be abused and evils would arise. And when some did accept evil the work of the Divine Providence changed in appearance. Inwardly it was the same, but with evil men it constantly led them away from evil toward good. Without destroying their freedom it holds them from the more grievous sins, that they might be kept as near to the order of heaven as their character will permit.

329



     So it is that the laws of Divine Providence are laws of love, teaching evil men that evil is insanity, and gradually turning them as far as they will permit to the spiritual sanity and peace of a good life.
     The Lord is order. His order is imaged in man in mutual love and helpfulness. Every man by performing his work well helps all other men in the performance of their use. By performing their uses all men have happiness and self-respect - the necessities of life - and the right to relaxation and recreation. Each man by the just and faithful performance of his work gives true worship to the Lord, for by it he obeys the spirit of the commandments. Formal worship is also necessary. Instruction in the Divine laws must be received that the life of usefulness may be inspired from the truth and not from selfishness. When in our daily work we apply the Lord's teachings, then the Lord becomes the center of our lives. But if our own desires and our own ideas of what is right and wrong become the basis for our deeds, we become self-centered. This leads to conceit, to love of self, and if we continue it brings disorder and unhappiness. If the Lord becomes the center from which we act, then we will be led by Him to order, peace and contentment.

     The Lord operates by laws of order. In the past men have not given much thought to the Lord's government. They acknowledged His almighty power, they thought that He governed not by Divine laws but by a kind of wilfulness which could be changed by prayers. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Lord does nothing by caprice. His love and wisdom are eternal. Prayers do not change His will, rather they help make His will powerful with man. The Lord from constant love wishes good to all men. By sincere prayers that in man which blocks the reception of this good is removed and thus the prayer is answered. Because the Lord created the world and man, according to His Divine wisdom, order is everywhere. Natural laws are eternally true. Order is seen in the laws of the astronomical universe, or in the physical laws which govern the life of the most minute creature. Only in the world of man's creation is there disorder. Yet even here the laws of the Divine Providence are most clearly seen by those who wish to see. But also, in the disorder man has made for himself, an agnostic can find confirmation for his agnosticism. The eternal law still applies. We see around us what we are inwardly within ourselves. "To the merciful, Thou will show Thyself merciful, to the forward or perverse, Thou wilt show Thyself perverse."*

330



     * Psalm 18: 25, 26.
     The Divine Providence acts through natural laws to preserve creation. These laws are unchanging. Only in that way could man's freedom be protected. They work with the evil and the good in the same way. They differ only in the effect they produce on each individual. Because they are unchangeable and the same with all, we can see and understand them to some extent, we can co-operate with them in freedom and aid the Divine work of establishing the Lord's kingdom on earth.
     In the book the Divine Providence these laws of the Lord's operation are clearly set forth. That work shows the Lord's wonderful love which provides freedom and rationality for men and gives them every blessing freely, asking nothing in return save that men be happy. To provide for their happiness the Lord has revealed those laws of love which are a guide to all that is good and true. Yet men cannot be forced to accept what is good. If men are compelled to good, then what is good seems evil. Therefore men are given the freedom to see and accept these laws for themselves, and in a hidden way the Lord guides all men to the way of order.

     In general there are five laws of Providence in its relation to man. These are explained in detail in the Writings. If men will but try to understand them, the purpose and way of the Lord's leading will be seen and will show His supreme love.
     The first emphasizes personal responsibility. We read: "Man should act in freedom in accordance with reason." The second tells how that responsibility is met and how the Lord can then help man. So it teaches that "man should as if from himself put away evils as sins in the external man; and the Lord is able in this way and in no other way, to put away evils in the internal man, and at the same time in the external."
     The third law treats of man's permanent reformation, and how it is effected by internal freedom. It reads: "Man should not be compelled by external means to think, will, and thus to believe and love the things of religion, but he should guide himself and sometimes compel himself." So in the fourth law we find the means which are used to bring about that reformation: "Man should be led and taught by the Lord from heaven by means of the Word, and this to all appearances as if by himself." By receiving the teachings of the Word when we read and hear them we learn the Divine pattern which we are to compel ourselves to follow. From our reason and thought we can see their good common sense, so we try to live up to them.
     That these are all laws of the Divine Providence and that they emphasize that men must act as from themselves, is brought out in the last general law. So we read: "Nothing of the operation of the Divine Providence should be evident to man's perception or senses, but he should nevertheless know about it, and acknowledge it."

331



     These are the five fundamental laws of Providence. It is by means of them that the Lord governs every event of our lives, to lead us individually toward heaven. By them the Lord protects our freedom. By them it can be seen that the "Lord is righteous in all His ways and holy in all His works."
     Because Providence permits and provides all that daily happens to us to further our spiritual development, we must come to see how we may cooperate to the best effect. A well known teaching of the Writings instructs us:

     "Unless man, as if from his own prudence directs all things belonging to his employment and life, he cannot be led and directed from the Divine Providence. He would be like one standing with relaxed hands, closed eyes, and repressed breath awaiting further influx. If therefore you wish to be led by the Divine Providence use prudence as a servant and minister who faithfully dispenses the goods of his master. This prudence is the talent given the servants to trade with, of which they must render an account. It is this prudence with which the Divine Providence acts as one."*
     * DP 210.

     From this we can see that to co-operate with Providence we must do the work immediately before us sincerely, faithfully, and justly, that we may accept heavenly order in our lives. By meeting the daily problems given us in Providence to help us, we co-operate with the Lord. In them we can live according to all five laws of Providence. In our daily work we act from reason, in spiritual freedom. If we use reason correctly, we put away evils of life by self-compulsion, because the Lord in His Word has taught them to be evil; and in freedom, by the use of reason, we can understand the Word and live its teachings. Thus can we co-operate with the Lord's Providence, in freedom, as of ourselves, and in such a life, although we cannot see the operations of Providence we can know and acknowledge its eternal guidance.

332


BLESSED MIRTH OF HEAVEN 1971

BLESSED MIRTH OF HEAVEN       Rev. MORLEY D. RICH       1971

     The Ark of the Covenant was the most sacred and precious of all the religious symbols and possessions of the Jews. Containing the two tables of stone on which were carved the Ten Commandments, it represented to them all the laws and statutes of Jehovah, who had given them to Moses on Mt. Sinai. As such it also symbolized for them the protection of Jehovah especially extended to them as a chosen people. It was also, in other words, their magic touchstone, their good-luck charm, so to speak, which would guard them from destruction as long as they cherished and held on to it. For this reason, as well as because Jehovah commanded it, they kept it in the holiest recess of the Tabernacle, hidden from the eyes of all behind the veil. They guarded and treated it with the utmost of reverence and care.
     This they had done now for generations - several hundred years: through the forty years of their wanderings in the wilderness on their way to Canaan, and through the long centuries during which they had been settling and conquering that land. Always they had guarded and carried the Ark as best they could. Many times they had carried it, together with all the furnishings of the Tabernacle, from place to place; each time they arrived at their destination setting up the Tabernacle and setting the Ark in its place within the holy of holies. Occasionally they had even set it in the house of a reliable family, as when they had left it in the house of Obed-edom.
     The Ark had become increasingly holy and precious to them through these generations. Furthermore, they looked forward to the time when they could set it up permanently in Jerusalem in a temple or house of Jehovah.
     Now at last, in the reign of David, they could at least set up the Tabernacle with the Ark in a somewhat permanent place just outside of Jerusalem, in Zion, the city of David, where it would remain for the many years before the Temple could be built. For the long years of trouble and strife with Saul were over. David has been recognized as their king, and Jerusalem was assured as their capital and holy city.
     For David, too, it was a time of great relief and happiness.

333


After all the years of exile and hardship, of battle and danger, of grief and doubt on account of Saul, he was at last back in his own country and with his own people. Now he could worship and serve Jehovah, and take care of his people in permanent and proper surroundings.
     How fitting and appropriate and utterly right it was that they were able, as their first act in the new era beginning, to take their beloved and holy Ark close to its final destination, to install the most holy object of their worship in the Tabernacle now set up close to Jerusalem itself. It was no wonder that such a tingling joy, such a bubbling excitement filled them even to the point of hilarity which burst forth spontaneously in shouting and blowing of trumpets. And it was no wonder, either, that this state came to such a climax in David that he could not restrain himself, but "danced before the Lord with all his might."
     For it seemed to them that the most precious dreams of all their generations were now being realized. They would now conquer and inherit all that promised land flowing with milk and honey. Their most beloved religious symbol would now become the permanently placed image of their omnipotent kingdom over all the earth under Jehovah's power and protection.
     Such a thing was not destined to become true, of course. For the Jews had nothing but a most external idea of what the kingdom of God is. They did not know that it is comprised of all people in whom there is something of religious life and faith, and that it consists, not in any external rule or empire, but in the rule of the inward love and faith in each and every man who will bow to it.
     Yet the story and state described is none the less true in their inward content, in the spiritual state which is represented and signified by them. For there is a state of heavenly mirth, and joy and even laughter, which results from the things represented in the literal story.

     The literal story tells how David and his people brought the Ark out of Baale of Judah, from the house of Abinadab, accompanied by the playing of musical instruments. But when Uzzah was smitten and died for trying to steady the Ark, David was so dismayed that he stopped the procession, and had the Ark put into the house of Obed-edom. Then, when the house of Obed-edom became blessed and fortunate through the Ark being there, David took it out, and carried it with shouting and the sound of trumpets to Zion, where it was set properly in the Tabernacle itself. And on the way, "David danced before the Lord with all his might."
     Now we are told that what was represented by this journey of the Ark is the progression of man's spirit, in the course of regeneration, out of the natural, signified by Baale of Judah, into the spiritual, signified by the house of Obed-edom, and finally into the celestial state, signified by Zion.

334


Each of these stages of man's spiritual progress is accompanied by gladness and joy, represented by the playing of the musical instruments, the shouting and blowing of trumpets, and David's dancing. More specifically, it is written that the playing of the instruments on the first journey, from the house of Abinadab to the house of Obed-edom, represents gladness of mind from a natural and spiritual affection of truth; and David's dancing, and also the shouting and the blowing of the trumpets represent joy of heart from the affection of spiritual and celestial good.*
     * AE 700: 28.
     A parallel to this is found in the work Heaven and Hell, which describes what results from the peace of heaven in which are the angels:

     "Because the peace of heaven is the Divine inmostly affecting with blessedness the veriest good of the angels, it can be clearly perceived by them only in the delight of their hearts when they are in the good of their life, in the pleasure with which they hear truth that agrees with their good, and in gladness of mind when they perceive the joining together of good and truth."*
     * HH 288.

     By recalling certain truths in regard to man's regeneration, and by translating them into human terms through reflecting upon our observations and experiences, we can see how this journey of the Ark from the house of Abinadab to Zion is, indeed, a beautiful and fitting picture of every man's journey to heaven. We may know that every person begins adult life in a state which is merely natural. He lives without reflection in the atmosphere, ideas and emotions in which he has been brought up. Mostly he lives a fairly orderly and law-abiding external life without thinking much about the reason for or the manner of it. He is entirely self-centered in the sense that he is as yet in the loves of self and the world, subconsciously regarding everything outside him as revolving around himself. He is, in other words, in the house of Abinadab.
     But in the house of Abinadab are also, at this time, the Ark with the Ten Commandments. This means that there is also with every person something of the law of the Lord, implanted there by whatever religious persuasion has surrounded him in childhood and youth. This simply means that there is also with each man some little basic foundation for recognizing the laws and ethics of his society as existing outside of himself, and having a Divine source; and it is when he consciously acknowledges this, and begins to repent of the evils of his proprium - of his love of self within - that he begins his journey to heaven; and the Ark within him, the implanted law of the Lord, likewise begins to make its journey to Zion, for this law then becomes exalted and glorified in man's mind and heart.

335



     Now the first stage in this journey terminates in the house of Obed-edom, and by this, we are taught, is represented the spiritual state with man. It has to do primarily with truth and the affection of truth. What does this mean in common language, and how may it be seen from human experience?
     This state begins with a man only as he, by repentance, has begun to obey and live the Lord's literal commandments and laws from himself; because he has seen and acknowledged their authority from some thought and reflection of his own, and not, as formerly, from others. When and as he does this, the Lord can inflow to gift him with perceptions of the real truth, the genuine Divinity, of these external laws, and with glimmerings of the causes and reasons behind them. For the first time, he begins to see how true they are, and to feel pleasure because they agree and harmonize with the good he has been striving for through repentance of his evils. He experiences something of the pleasure the angels feel when they "hear truth which agrees with their good." Something of this occurs with every person who, after having striven to live aright from some principles, hears or reads those principles written and explained reasonably in the Word of the Lord, having an aura of Divine authority around them and breathing through them. Perhaps every New Church man has at some time or other, perhaps several times, had the experience of coming across some truth in the Word that has caused him to exclaim with delight, "Why, that is exactly what I have always felt, believed, and tried to live up to!" Something of happiness, lightheartedness and cheer has then momentarily invaded him at the time.

     Though such a feeling may not be genuine, yet it is a likeness of that state of pleasure which invades the man who is progressing to the spiritual state, who is traveling toward the house of Obed-edom, when he hears or encounters in some way a truth or truths agreeing with the good which he is trying to live. He is then in the affection of truth, which means that he is capable of being affected by, moved, stirred and stimulated by, truth. Truth then affects him in such a way that he feels a keen pleasure and delight in it. He sees how appropriate, how exquisitely fitting and harmonious and beautiful the truth is in relation to life in general, and his own life in particular. This is that state of pleasure which is represented by the playing of the musical instruments during the journey of the Ark from the house of Abinadab to the house of Obed-edom.

336



     We can imagine, therefore, what must be the state of joy represented by the shouting, the sounding of the trumpets, and David's dancing before the Lord with all his might, on the next stage of the journey - from the house of Obed-edom to the Tabernacle in Zion. It is taught that this stage represents man's progression from the spiritual to the celestial state of life. This has reference to good, to the affection of good, and to the joining together of his states of truth with his states of good or genuine love to the Lord and the neighbor. This is, therefore, the last stage of man's journey into the heavenly life; for it is the joining together of truth and good in man which is the final result of the regenerating process.
     This begins with him when - having been gifted with the love of the truth which agrees with what he is trying to do by repentance - man now does the good from both an affection of truth and a love for the good which the truth teaches; a love of good for its own sake, and because it agrees with the perceptions of the truth of the Lord's laws which he has. When this occurs, and as it occurs, the Lord gifts man with even more heavenly perceptions and feelings. For he begins to perceive, with the most acute clarity, how his truths and their goods are, and must be, joined together; how they are but two halves of one Divine and heavenly whole; how truth is the necessary form or expression of good, and that good is the inner substance of truth.

     When and as man sees this, there comes to him an almost insupportable state of delight. The translation of the Latin of the Writings terms this "gladness of mind when [the angels] perceived the joining together of truth and good," and also "joy of heart from the affection of spiritual and celestial good"; both of which are represented by the shouting, trumpeting and dancing which took place on the final journey to Zion. But this hardly expresses either what is conveyed by the Latin of the passage or what actually occurs.
     For in the Latin the word hilaritate is used, from which come our words "hilarity" and "hilariousness," and which convey even the idea of laughter - that laughter which bursts forth spontaneously from an overflowing and oft-times unexplainable happiness. A representative image of this is the tingling, almost giddy and uncontrollable laughter and play of little children, which often occurs without any perceptible cause or reason. It is also experienced in the beginning states of married pairs in moments of innocent and inexplicable feelings of gaiety, lightheartedness and interplay.
     But these become genuine and his own blessings in the man who is progressing toward heaven.

337


They are the result of his state of peace, and from thence his keen and altogether marvelous insights, given by the Lord, into the wonderful and intricate fitting together of goods and truths, both in himself and outside of himself. So when he sees how the truths which he has express the goods which he should do, and how the goods which the truths teach are from and part of the very substance of the Divine; then indeed he actually tingles to the extremities of his being with a bubbling, incredible joy; his rational mind, from the exquisite perception of the ratios and relationships between goods and truths comes into a state even of hilarity; and descending into the body itself, laughter bursts spontaneously through his lips.
     All this is implied in what the Writings teach concerning the representation of the shouting and blowing of trumpets, and David dancing before the Lord with all his might. And it can be seen to some slight extent even in the common experience of all men. Everyone in whom there is something of religion has, at one time or another, experienced that keen pleasure which comes when he sees that he has succeeded in doing something which is exactly right, which fits and reflects perfectly some principle which he believes to be true; in other words, when he sees how the good which he has done is joined to the truth which he believes. And what conscientious parent has not been flooded with gratitude to the Lord and a most acute delight, when he has seen his child or youth at last understanding and carrying out one or more of the truths which he has tried to teach him? And who has not experienced a feeling of pleasantness, and even joy, when he has seen another person changing his life in accordance with truth?

     Although these may be only likenesses or replicas of the true state of heavenly joy, yet they are most necessary states of life in the way of regeneration. For these states of delight, even of hilarity and laughter, from the perception of good and truth, build slowly in a man over the years a most helpful reservoir of strength: a reserve of love and affection and faith upon which he may call, and from which he may draw, in the also inevitable times of trial, doubt and spiritual temptation which will intervene.
     Some passages in the Writings appear to teach that laughter and hilarity are from hell; and from this it would be possible to conclude, as did puritanical and dour souls, that all the pleasure which produces laughter is likewise of evil. But a more careful examination of these passages will bring forth the truth that what is being spoken of is the laughter which results from delight in others' misfortunes, or derision and contempt of others. Consequently, we are led to the basic truth - that laughter and hilarity, like all human emotions, are good or evil according to the affection and thought within.

338


For in other places in the Writings it is distinctly taught that mirth and humor and their resultant laughter are the signs of the rational. In other words, they are of the human. They are distinctive characteristics of the human, since only the human has rationality in the true sense.
     Now this rational is at first perverted, and therefore its mirth or humor will mostly be of a derisive or contemptuous quality, and its laughter will therefore be from hell. But in the course of regeneration this rational is corrected and infilled with spiritual love and charity; and when this occurs the mirth of the rational mind will gradually be filled with charity and love, and its direction and quality will be changed. Its mirth and laughter will be aroused by the keen delight of perceiving truth, and the conjunction of that truth with good, whether in oneself or in others. The sensation of the exact, beautiful and intricate fitting together of goods and truths, of their relationship, of the complex and marvelous ratios between them - this will produce a kind of exhilaration and pleasure which will come forth even into the laughter of the heavenly human. In such laughter, it is obvious, there is no derision or contempt, no ill-will towards others. It simply arises from the perception of truth and good, oft-times quite apart from any person or persons. Furthermore, it is a most effective weapon for the routing and dispersing of the evil spirits with a man, for they cannot stand humor directed against themselves: this for the same reason that any person who is in a state of evil and self-pity cannot bear lightheartedness and humor in others.
     Even when a man in the progress of regeneration may laugh in derision or contempt, his laughter will have a different quality and direction. His derision and contempt are directed toward the evil itself which he may see in himself or in others, not toward the person. Thus he may quite properly be contemptuous and derisive of evil itself. He may even laugh because he sees the absurdity, the inanity, indeed the insanity of some evil in himself or in others. He will, for example, be stirred with mirthful contempt by his own states of self-pity, for he will see lust how absurd, empty and destructive these are - to himself as well as to the neighbor. And it may rightly be asked, how can any man effectively turn away from evils and shun them, except as he comes to regard them not only with anger and revulsion but also with something of intelligent contempt, derision and humor?

     But evil contempt is typified in the story here by the reactions of Michal, David's wife. She was ashamed of his dancing before the Lord, and reproached him for having made a fool of himself.

339


She was derisive of his state of rejoicing and envious of its spontaneity. She represents, therefore, the derisive laughter of hell: a spirit in every man which seeks to suppress and destroy, to cast suspicion and contempt upon, such states of cheerfulness, of spiritual joy and mirth. For the hells recognize the strength of such states as a threat to their own dominion. So they seek to destroy them in man; for they know that only by inducing constant sadness, self-pity and despair upon a man can they destroy him, or drag him down to their own level in the life after death.
     What then happened to Michal represents what happens to those destructive states in the man who is regenerating. "Michal, the daughter of Saul, had no child unto the day of her death."* It may be enlightening to remember that Michal was the daughter of Saul - a man whose besetting evil was a most virulent raging jealousy of anyone, including David, who equaled or excelled him; and who, from that jealousy, experienced the most dark and violent states of despair, self-pity, and burning, infernal anger.
     * II Samuel 6:23.
     But in the man who is regenerating, this means that his unregenerate states of derision and contempt will not have offspring, will not multiply and increase with him, just as Michal had no child. The seeds of hell will become sterile and impotent in him, and will lose all life and power to influence him; and when he comes into the life of heaven, he will figuratively, as David did actually, "dance before the Lord with all his might"; he will rejoice and love the Lord with all his soul, and with all his mind, and with all his strength.
SECOND DEGREE OF THE PRIESTHOOD 1971

SECOND DEGREE OF THE PRIESTHOOD              1971

     The ministry of worship is provided for in the second degree of the priesthood. By ordination into this degree the minister becomes a pastor and enters fully into the uses of worship. In addition to the duties prescribed in the first degree the pastor is therefore authorized to administer the sacrament of the Holy Supper, to solemnize betrothals, to consecrate marriages, and to dedicate homes. As a pastor he is also authorized to serve as the governor of a local society or church. The sign of this degree is a blue stole. A pastor may from time to time be called upon to represent the Executive Bishop in presiding over Assemblies, and in dedicating churches, and also to perform such other duties connected with the episcopal office as may be delegated. (Order and Organization of the General Church, 1970 Revision.)

340


LAYING OF THE CORNERSTONE FOR THE DURBAN SOCIETY OF THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM 1971

LAYING OF THE CORNERSTONE FOR THE DURBAN SOCIETY OF THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM       FRED PARKER       1971

     The 19th of June in the year 1970 was the two hundredth anniversary of the New Church and as such was celebrated throughout the world by New Church people.
     For the members and friends of the Durban Society in Natal, South Africa, it was also, appropriately enough, the day chosen for the laying of the cornerstone at the church now in the course of construction on the site at Westville. This is to be the future home and center for all activities connected with the General Church in South Africa.
     For the best part of half a century the church, school and all other activities have been located at Musgrave Road in Durban, but city expansion together with the inadequacy of the present complex to accommodate the increasing demands, such as increased attendances at church and school, have made it necessary for the Society to seek pastures new. In this it would seem they have been very successful and also fortunate.
     The new site at Westville comprises some sixty acres of grassland with some bush and scrub and a few indigenous trees. The terrain can be described as hilly to undulating, which is common to most of the area. Compared to the Musgrave Road site the new situation can almost be termed as rural in that the land is confined to one block, no public roads or other rights of way pass through it. The Durban Society is most fortunate to have acquired the amount of land it has in this area. Half of the land it was able to purchase, the balance being acquired through the generosity of the Glencairn Foundation. The property is to be registered as Glencairn Park, which is surely most appropriate.
     Westville itself can be described as a select residential area. It lies west of Durban - a distance of some eight miles. The altitude at the church site is estimated to be one thousand feet above sea level, thus commanding good views. On fine days the Indian Ocean is clearly visible. In contrast to the heat and humidity of Durban the air at Westville is clean and free from smog. The locality enjoys a good summer rainfall, thus lending itself to the creation of parklike surroundings - with an abundance of green lawns which enhance the beauty of many fine trees and flowering shrubs.

341




     The appointed hour for the laying of the cornerstone was 7 a.m. - which was not far off dawn. In South Africa the middle of June is also mid-winter. More often than not our winter days dawn clear and bright -with the sun from the east bringing sparkle to a dew-soaked countryside. In this respect the day had little to offer, an overcast sky - with a total lack of sunshine was in the circumstances somewhat disappointing; on the eastern horizon, beyond the hills and valleys which run down to the sea, a menacing bank of dark cloud was much in evidence. Despite the early morning hour some 150 members and friends had assembled at the spot where the cornerstone was to be laid. They formed a half circle. The stone, which had been removed from the former church building in Musgrave Road, was all in readiness, with block and tackle neatly in place. Some of those present could recall the time when they were present at the first laying of this stone, which was close on fifty years ago, in the old church building soon to be demolished.

     At the appointed hour the pastor - Rev. Daniel W. Heinrichs - emerged fully robed from a nearby workman's hut. Making his way through the sand and rubble which is always in evidence where buildings are in the process of construction, he reached the position from which the ceremony was to be conducted. The Word was opened, and after an appropriate reading and prayer all those present joined in the recital of the Lord's Prayer. The opening sentence from Psalm 118: "O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good; because His mercy is for ever," made one realize that this was a solemn occasion. Readings from the New Testament and the Apocalypse Explained followed, after which the pastor gave a short address which we now record in full.
     "The cornerstone which we are about to lay is an unhewn stone with the Hebrew inscription "L'rosh Pinnah." An unhewn stone represents the Divine truth itself - Divine truth which is untainted by human intelligence. The Hebrew inscription "L'rosh Pinnah" means the "head of the corner." These words mean that the Lord Himself is the cornerstone and foundation of the church. Hence, it is the acknowledgment of the Lord's Divine Human which is the cornerstone and foundation of the true Christian Church now being established on earth. In a more general sense this cornerstone represents all the Divine truths of the Word upon which heaven and the church are founded.
     "The laying of this cornerstone is an ultimate act representative of our faith and conviction that the true church is founded upon the acknowledgment of the Divine Human of the Lord which is fully embodied and revealed in the Divine Word.

342



     "In choosing as our cornerstone, the stone which was laid in our former church buildings on Musgrave Road, we wish to represent the continuity of the church in our midst. For all the preceding states of faith and love are, as it were, the foundation upon which this new beginning is made.
     "We would note today is the two hundredth anniversary of the New Church. On this day two hundred years ago, the Lord sent forth the twelve disciples who followed Him on earth, to proclaim the glad tidings of the Lord's second coming. We may say that two hundred years ago today, the spiritual foundations of the New Church were laid in the heavens, from which the New Church on earth descended and is now descending. May the building which rises above this cornerstone, in which this congregation will shortly worship, contribute to the growth and extension of the Lord's kingdom on earth."

     At the conclusion of his address the pastor indicated that the cornerstone was now about to be laid, and to assist him in this task he called upon four of those present to come forward. These were: Rev. Peter Buss, Gordon Cockerell, John Frost and Dr. Willard Mansfield, who then combined, with the aid of the block and tackle to position and maneuver the cornerstone into its final resting place facing due east. We cannot do justice to this report without recording the fact that at the precise moment that the cornerstone was laid a shaft of sunshine pierced the cloud-laden eastern horizon giving momentary brightness to the proceedings, as it briefly rested on the inscription L'rosh Pinnah. It was a moving moment, some say a good omen, it lasted but a minute.
     The cornerstone now being well and truly laid, the pastor pronounced the dedication as follows: "In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I now dedicate this stone to its sacred use. It is set apart for the sake of representation and in order that it may stand before the eyes of men as a symbol of that Divinity which supports all the genuine and sincere undertakings of men who look to the upbuilding of the Lord's New Church upon the earth."
     Following upon this the children present, all in correct order gave a rendering of the Hebrew Anthem 174. In this they were directed by their teacher Mrs. Gordon Cockerell who waved her baton to some purpose, the voices of the singers making pleasant music on the early morning air.
     Soon after this all those present joined in the singing of "Our Glorious Church" which brought the proceedings to a close.

343


ORDINATION 1971

ORDINATION       ERIK E. SANDSTROM       1971

     Declaration of Faith and Purpose

     I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Creator of the physical universe and of the heavens; the Redeemer of the human race; and the Sun of heaven.
     I believe in His revelation of Himself to the human race, by means of angels, through the Ancient Word, the Old Testament, and the New.
     I believe that the Writings are the glorified Divine Human, and that in them the Lord Jesus Christ is revealed in fullness to man's rational comprehension; and that in them He ceaselessly, and from infinite mercy, leads each human who is willing to be led, according to his individual genius and capacity, to a life of heaven.
     I believe in the New Christian Church as the Lord's New Church on earth, descending from the New Christian Heaven.
     I believe in the priesthood of the New Christian Church, whose call and duty it is to teach the truths of faith from the Word, and to lead thereby to the good of life.
     In presenting myself for this inauguration, I believe that my call into the priesthood is from the Lord alone. I pray that I may be fit to serve Him and His heavenly kingdom, in this world and in the spiritual world. In submitting to His will and wisdom, I will teach the doctrine of genuine truth as rationally stated in the Writings, drawn from the sense of the letter of the Word and confirmed thereby; and so allow the Lord Himself to speak directly to the man of the church, and to feed his mind.
     May the Lord add to me the strength to lead those entrusted to my care according to His truth.
     ERIK E. SANDSTROM
PRIESTHOOD 1971

PRIESTHOOD              1971

     It is of faith that the Lord leads the church by the operation of the Holy Spirit with both the clergy and the laity. "But enlightenment and instruction are communicated especially to the clergy because these belong to their office, and inauguration into the ministry carries these with it" (TCR 146).
     The General Church recognizes the priesthood as sanctioned by the Writings, and therefore as the Lord's office by Divine appointment in the church, given for the administration of the Divine law and worship with a view to the salvation of souls. (Order and Organization of the General Church, 1970 Revision.)

343


FOUR STYLES IN THE WORD 1971

FOUR STYLES IN THE WORD              1971


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

Editor . . . . Rev. W. Cairns Henderson, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager . . . . Mr. L. E. Gyllenhaal, 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. Notifications of address changes should be received by the 15th of the month.

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$5.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy, 50 cents.
     We are taught in the Writings that there are in the Word, in general, four different styles. The first is that of the Most Ancient Church, in which representatives were formed into factitious historical series, and is said to be that of early Genesis. The second, or historical style, in which the record of actual events contains a continuous internal sense, is related with the books of Moses from the time of Abram onward, Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings. The third style mentioned is that of the prophets, which is broken and, it is said, scarcely ever intelligible except in the internal sense; and the fourth style is described as that of the Psalms: a style intermediate between that which the prophets were inspired to use and common speech.
     Although these are said to be the styles of the Word, it is evident that they are styles of the Old Testament. Yet it is possible to see at least traces of these four styles in the New Testament Word. The historical style can be recognized without difficulty in large portions of the Gospels; as can the prophetical throughout the book of Revelation and in the Gospels' prophecies of the Second Coming and the Last Judgment. The form of the most ancient style can be seen, perhaps, in the Lord's parables, which teach Divine truth representatively under the form of made-up episodes; and the style of the Psalms is at least represented by those inspired utterances which Christians have been led to count among their noblest songs: the Magnificat, the Benedictus, the Gloria in Excelsis and the Nunc Dimittis. (See Luke 1: 46-55, 68-79; 2: 14, 29-32.) To what extent they may be present in the Writings is another question.

345




     BE TRUE TO YOURSELF!

     Frequently an adult facing a crisis, or a young person moving into a strange and perhaps difficult situation that will test him, is counselled: Be true to yourself! What may this advice mean? If it expresses a belief that within a man there is a core of absolute integrity and complete rectitude by which he should measure his conduct, it were better left unspoken, or if said, better left unheeded; for the self into which man is born, and which he develops through his own efforts, is selfish and worldly, and is no reliable arbiter of conduct and conversation.
     It is more reasonable to assume that what is meant is this: be true to the ideals that have been held before you, to the values that have been nurtured in you, to the principles in which you have been trained. No matter to what pressures you may be subjected, do not betray these. In other words, be true to the conscience that has been instilled in you.
     This is more like it; but even so, the worth of what results from following this advice depends on the nature and quality of the ideals, values and principles accepted as much as on the degree of acceptance. If they are derived from the Lord through the Word, then through their acceptance in life as well as thought there is formed gradually a self to which we can and should be true, with a humble but firm assurance that from it we shall do no evil to any man.

     But this self is not innate in us, just waiting to be found in some moment of self-discovery. It is created in us by the Lord as we respond to His revealed truth in will and thought and life. Yet while it is from the Lord, it is given to us as a new self, a new proprium, a new love in and by which to live. This, of course, is a matter of regeneration, and it might be asked whether we can be true to something that is not yet ours. Indeed we can. We can be true to the Word as to the self we would become, and as we are we become that self; not from ourselves but the Lord.
     A somewhat similar piece of advice is: Let your conscience be your guide! Its value depends, of course, on what kind of conscience we have. Even if the advice does not presuppose a universal and uniform conscience, its validity will be determined by the source of conscience. Conscience is formed with a man, the Writings teach, from the truths of his religion, according to their reception inwardly in him. Conscience thus formed from the Word will at first be a borrowed conscience, even as is the first, historical faith we form from the Word; but as we allow it to guide us we are given to make it our own, and in this new conscience we have the standard to which to be true, and the ability to be true to it. By this we shall not be false or evil to any man.

346




     THE RESPONSIBILITY OF KNOWING TRUTH

     In the little work, Intercourse of the Soul and the Body, Swedenborg was led to ask: "Of what use is knowledge unless it is communicated? What is it but like collecting and storing up riches in a casket, and only looking at them occasionally and counting them over, without any intention of applying them to use?" Then he was inspired to answer: "Since it has been granted to me to be in the spiritual world and in the natural world at the same time, I am obliged by my conscience to communicate these things."

     Here is an obligation that rests also upon us to whom has been given a knowledge of the wonderful things revealed through Swedenborg by the Lord. The spiritual riches that have been revealed to us in such abundance are not ours to hoard, or only to pass from hand to hand behind locked doors. Although the main growth of the church will be from within, it will increase also from without; and we have an obligation, a responsibility, to communicate the truth of the Writings in every way we can. Our knowledge of it implies a responsibility to proclaim the truth of the Writings to the world through all the agencies in or related to the church which are organized for that purpose, and to spread it individually wherever there seems to be a receptive state. It is not for us to withhold the truth, still less to permit others to suppose that what is really the teaching of the Writings is the product of our own thinking. Far be it from us to presume to play the part of Providence - to decide that the truth shall be made known to one and withheld from another; unless it seems clear that in giving it we should but be casting pearls before swine.
     Our knowledge of the truth of the Writings lays upon us, of course, the obligations to learn and understand that truth and to live according to it. But in addition, there is the obligation to communicate that truth to others, both as an organized body and as individuals, and these three are inmostly one. The good life which comes from truth known and understood evangelizes far more than we ever realize. When truth has entered into life it is no longer a matter of conscious knowledge, but it goes on instructing as before, though more interiorly; and the Lord teaches others through us by what we do as well as by what we say.
     These words make one with the Lord's injunction to the disciples when He sent them out to preach: "Freely ye have received freely give." The use of extending a knowledge of the Writings is not seen and appreciated from a worldly concern for increase in numbers, but from a spiritual longing that the priceless gifts of heaven may be shared.

347


Church News 1971

Church News       SHERRY MCCARDELL       1971

     DETROIT, MICHIGAN

     As the summer nears, the Society's main activities are coming to an end and many people are preparing for their long awaited vacations. Looking back over the past several months we find we've had a full and prosperous year.
     One of the year's highlights occurred when the Bishop and Mrs. Pendleton paid us a visit in October the weekend of the 9th through 11th. They were guests of the Walter Childs, at which the Bishop gave an informal talk on Friday night, on the uses of the General Church. Saturday evening consisted of a supper at the church preceding a thought-provoking talk by the Bishop on modern sociological problems and how the Church is dealing with them, followed by a question and answer period. Concluding the evening, everyone was invited to an open-house at the manse where they could discuss matters of their choice more extensively. The end of the Bishop's visit came after his sermon on Sunday, a visit enjoyed by all.
     We had another happy occasion on November 20-22, to have with us the Rev. and Mrs. Martin Pryke. Again an informal talk Friday night on the Academy and its uses, followed by a supper on Saturday night and talk on "Today's Youth." To each of these talks by Mr. Pryke, the high school young people were invited. An open-house at Mrs. John Howard's wound up the evening with a social ring. Mr. Pryke gave the Sunday morning service.
     There was the traditional offering of fruit by the children on Thanksgiving and a recitation of the 23rd Psalm.
     The Christmas season is the busiest time of the year in one's home as well as in one s church activities. A Christmas class and sing held at the Vance Genzlinger's supposedly on December 11th, was the beginning of several church functions. Actually it was postponed until the 13th because of snowy weather and hazardous driving, a sure sign that Christmas was on its wax. On the 19th the Society was invited to the Church of the Holy City to see slides and hear a talk by Rev. Ormond Odhner on the "Life of Christ."
     Every year at this time, a time of rejoicing, many people put forth an extra amount of their time, energy, and talents, to present the tableaux which are most touching for the children and a treasured memory for all. Under the direction of Karen Lehne and Helga Childs, and with the help of many others, nine beautiful flow-through scenes were created. And to these people we say, thanks. Our gratitude also goes to the Walter Childs family for providing the chancel decorations, and to the Tom Steens for contributing the nativity representation each year.
     A few nights before Christmas a group of young people went out caroling at different Society homes, and ended up at the Steens for thawing out and refreshments.
     The adult Christmas service preceded by the children's service on the 24th followed the traditional pattern.
     To toast in the New Year, an open-house New Year's party was given by the Bill McCardells at which a large number of people came, indulged, and enjoyed themselves.
     The Women's Guild serves an important use in our Society, one we couldn't get along without. One project they had going late last summer, headed by Sue Elder, was making craft items to sell at a "Farmers' Market" here in the Detroit area. The items left over were again on sale at our "Fall Frolic" in November.

348


With the profit they made, which was $218, the Guild contributed to the building fund which we now have going in Detroit for a new church building.
     The women also provide the church suppers every month, fall entertainment for the family, spring entertainment for all religion classes, and many other activities year after year, that are vital to the functioning of our Society.
     The local Sons serve a useful purpose, and scheduling doctrinal discussions after their meetings, which has increased both value and attendance, may account for their becoming more active within the past five years. New emphasis has been put on the selling of Academy stamps by the Sons, which has become very popular with the children. The Sons have also taken on the responsibility of running the local boys' club, doing things with them and taking them places. During the middle of May, our men's group got together with the men's discussion group from Glenview at Linden Hills for a weekend retreat to study the topic of "Distinctiveness."
     Lively discussion took place at our Society Annual Meeting in February, with the result of only one change from the way we normally do things. The change concerned our doctrinal class schedule. Until then we had three Friday classes (one being in a home), and one Saturday supper and class once a month. However, we decided it might prove beneficial to more people by having two Friday and two Saturday classes, the second Saturday class being in the home. Having a class in the home produces a sphere of warmth which is agreeable to everyone and has been a success since we began this procedure.
     There was a request made for more organists at the meeting following an announcement that Freda Bradin was retiring after thirty years of faithful service. The request for more lay readers was also made.
     In April, we were again invited to the Church of the Holy City to hear a lecture by Dr. Dorothea Harvey on the "World of the Old Testament." Dr. Harvey is a professor of religion and philosophy at Urbana College and has participated in archaeological "digs" in the past, her last being back in 1966. Her lecture, which also consisted of slides, was on her findings and the discoveries of other archaeologists; a most interesting and enlightening evening.
     In the middle of April, the 16-18, began a weekend of activities for visiting General Church treasurers. Aside from treasurers of the General Church U. S. and Canadian societies being present, there was a board member from each Society, including all of Detroit's board members, and the treasurer and assistant treasurer of the General Church here to discuss the Church's financial matters and policy.
     Since last August we've had three babies born in our Society; a sign of hope that the New Church may continually grow in number.
     And we're happy that the Robert Kendigs have moved to Detroit to help enlarge our group.
. . . . Yes, it was a very good year!
     SHERRY MCCARDELL
SWEDENBORG SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION 1971

SWEDENBORG SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION       MORNA HYATT       1971

     The seventy-fourth Annual Meeting of the Swedenborg Scientific Association was held on May 5, 1971, in Pendleton Hall, Bryn Athyn, with an attendance of 49 members and 54 guests.
     Mr. Donald C. Fitzpatrick, Jr., was re-elected as president, and the following were elected to the Board of Directors: Rt. Rev. Elmo C. Acton, Mr. Lennart O. Alfelt, Mr. Edward F. Allen, Mr. Erland J. Brock, Mr. Charles S. Cole, Jr., Rev. Daniel W. Goodenough, Rev. W. Cairns Henderson, Mr. Joel Pitcairn, and Mr. Tomas H. Spiers. (At a meeting of the Board later in the evening, Mr. Charles S. Cole was elected vice-president, Miss Morna Hyatt was elected secretary, and Mr. E. Boyd Asplundh was elected treasurer.) Dr. Hugo Lj. Odhner, having declined nomination, President Fitzpatrick read a tribute to him, and he was unanimously elected an honorary member of the Board.

349



     Reports were read. Prof. Edward F. Allen had resigned as Editor of the NEW PHILOSOPHY at the March meeting of the Board, and Mr. Lennart O. Alfelt had been elected to fill the post. The new Editor paid tribute to the former Editor, and announced that Mr. Donald C. Fitzpatrick, Jr., and Mr. Kenneth Rose will continue on the Editorial Board. He spoke of the desirability of scholars from the various New Church bodies and from among Academy graduates contributing to the pages of the NEW PHILOSOPHY. "Among them we have a great potential for viewpoints of a stimulating kind, possible only in an environment where variant philosophies and practices pose a challenge to our own philosophy."
     Rev. Alfred Acton, II then delivered his address on "Evil and Early Man." In it he discussed some long-debated questions. What is evil? Did God create evil? After briefly outlining various answers given in oriental religions and by the Jews and the Greeks and the early Christians, he turned to the philosophers. One school believes that evil is entirely relative to man. Others see good and evil on an absolute scale. The Writings define evil in many ways. Diseases and evil animals have arisen as a result of man's free choice of evil. Such things are called evils because they hurt man.
     They could not ante-date hell, and yet the studies of scientists indicate their existence much earlier. Mr. Acton then discussed possible dates for the Most Ancient Church and for the advent of evil. The Writings indicate that the development of writing was a result of man's fall. This occurred in the time of the church called Enoch. History confirms the teachings of revelation that this was a time of rampant evil, and puts writing, and therefore the end of the Most Ancient Church, at about 5 or 6 thousand years ago, a date which concurs well with other statements of the New Word concerning remnants of the Most Ancient Church. The New Word says that the men of the Most Ancient Church were a pastoral people who had developed beyond food gathering and had become settled farmers. Radio carbon dating places the dawn of agriculture between 7 thousand and 10 thousand years ago, a date which may he pushed back by future discoveries. Modern man dates from about 25 thousand years ago. Since Swedenborg did not mention that the most ancient people he saw in heaven appeared different from us, it would seem that 25 thousand years ago is the outside limit for the beginning of the Most Ancient Church. Since evil came into existence at the end of that church (around 6000 years ago), what of evil animals and herbs and poisonous minerals, many of which are known to have preceded man on earth? What of the pre-Adamite man? The New Word says that man for the first time began to eat meat after he fell. How can a food gatherer survive without eating at least some meat? How can the findings of science be reconciled with revelation? There is only one truth, Revelation and science both understood correctly will agree.
     Evil is the perversion of order and therefore cannot arise until order exists. The establishment of order was gradual. As the Writings indicate, a balance in nature was provided from the beginning by having some forms of life provide food for others. Animals that eat each other are not evil. It is only when they are in opposition to Divine order that they have relation to evil, as is the case when an animal harms man. The balance of nature is not disorderly. Before the advent of man, the world and nature were the "chaos" described in the Word. Evil comes from hell. Influx from hell into existing animal and plant forms twisted the use of these forms and made them evil uses. Natural predators began to prey on man. The sphere of order that had protected from natural harm was broken by evil influx. Disease germs, which had protected man by killing animals, now beset the human body. This concept agrees with the teaching of revelation that evil cannot create, it can only pervert what already exists.
     But how did hell arise?

350


Mr. Acton from his study believes that pre-Adamites developed through a very long period, at first in natural order, then through the development of charity becoming spiritual, and at length attained to the state of the Most Ancient Church. Prior to this they had not been in free choice. Since they had forethought, they were men and are in heaven, but in a sense they were not men. They were simple tool makers satisfying their natural loves. They probably ate meat. After attaining to the celestial state of the Most Ancient Church, to return to the animal-like state of his pre-Adamitic ancestors would be to pervert order, to choose a lower good, and so to bring evil into actual existence.
     Mr. Acton supported his thesis by citing instances of fossil findings, cave drawings, and images. The idea that the fall was partly due to the influx from pre-Adamites in the other world is not taught directly in the New Word. It was suggested by the Rev. Carl Theophilus Odhner in his work, The Golden Age. After the fall, it was necessary for the Lord to come on earth and to establish a new order.
     In the discussion following the paper much interest was expressed in Mr. Acton's bringing together of revelation and of the findings of science, in the concept of the fall of the Most Ancient Church involving the choice of a pre-Adamitic animal-like existence, and in how "evil" animal could exist before man had fallen into evil.
     Bishop George de Charms said that many of the suggestions presented were along the line of his own thoughts, but he had envisioned the Most Ancient Church much earlier and lasting much longer. He believes the pre-Adamites must have been potential human beings from the beginning. Would they not have had a human soul from the beginning?
     Mr. Warren David raised the question of the existence of evil on other planets.
     Rev. Daniel W. Goodenough found difficulty in accepting the proposition that the pre-Adamite was not quite a man and yet lived to eternity. How is this possible if he could not look above himself? He shared Bishop De Charms question about the dating. He has explained the similarity of religious myths around the world by the Indian migration across the Bering Strait, which is believed to have occurred sometime before 10,000 B. C. These myths must have been derived from the Ancient Church, which Mr. Acton's theory would put considerably later. Cave drawings date from 25,000 B.C. Are these a form of writing? The knowledge of God came with the beginning of the Most Ancient Church. Could not the choice of evil come at the beginning of the church rather than only at the end?
     Mr. Ragnar Boyesen asked whether the fall resulted from evil or from falsity, from the perversion of the concept of good or of truth?
     Professor Charles S. Cole suggested that an answer to some of the problems lies in the distinction between evil as disorder and evil as sin. He invited Mr. Acton to return to the Academy for a few days to talk with students about these matters. He noted that doubts have arisen about the precision of dating methods and referred to important work done by The Creation Research Society.
     Rev. William Woofenden commented that in recent years he has been grateful for the statement in the Writings that man cannot think of the concept "from eternity." He has assumed that man cannot think of the origin of evil nor imagine a time before the advent of evil.
     Mr. Prescott Rogers, a teacher of Ancient History in the Academy, said he had difficulty in reconciling the chronology. He feels that food gathering and food producing societies could exist simultaneously, and he would push the dates for the Most Ancient Church further back.
     Miss Lyris Hyatt asked where Homer came into the chronology.
     Mr. Acton responded with appreciation for the comments and questions. He said that Homer definitely belonged to the Ancient Church. The paper was not concerned with the beginning of the Most Ancient Church but rather with its fall, which occurred with the development of writing. He would be happy to place the Most Ancient Church earlier it we had evidence of pastoral life.

351


He does not think that millions of years of pre-Adamites is reasonable. The Most Ancient Church was probably on its way up when men first embraced evil. It is pretty clear that the choice of evil was a perversion of good rather than of truth. Man's first choice of evil was a sin, whereas the embracing of evil by men of a later generation may or may not have been a sin.
     The meeting closed with an invitation from Mrs. Kesniel Acton to a social gathering at her home, at which a lively and enjoyable discussion continued on the questions that had been raised.
     The address and a complete account of the meeting will be published in the July-September issue of the NEW PHILOSOHY. Subscriptions to the NEW PHILOSOPHY and requests for membership in the Swedenborg Scientific Association will be welcomed by the treasurer, Mr. E. Boyd Asplundh, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
     MORNA HYATT,
          Secretary
ORDINATIONS 1971

ORDINATIONS       Editor       1971

     Sandstrom.-At Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, May 23, 1971, Candidate Erik Emanuel Sandstrom into the first degree of the priesthood, the Rt. Rev. Willard D. Pendleton officiating.

     Smith.-At Caryndale, Ontario, Canada, May 9, 1971, the Rev. Christopher Ronald Jack Smith into the second degree of the priesthood, the Rt. Rev. Willard D. Pendleton officiating.
CORRECTION 1971

CORRECTION       Editor       1971

     Gwendolyn Pitcairn, whose baptism was announced last month (p. 306), was born July 23, 1970, not July 28, 1970, as reported to NEW CHURCH LIFE.

353


OUR ASSOCIATION WITH OTHERS 1971

OUR ASSOCIATION WITH OTHERS       Rev. KURT H. ASPLUNDH       1971


Vol. XCI
August, 1971
No. 8

     "When thou comest into thy neighbor's vineyard, then thou mayest eat grapes thy fill at thine own pleasure; but thou shalt not put any in thy vessel. When thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbor, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand; but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbor's standing corn." (Deuteronomy 23: 24, 25)

     The regulations here quoted from the law of Moses governed the external behavior of the ancient Jews of Israel. A man passing through another's vineyard or field could eat of the fruit or pluck handfuls as he passed, to meet his immediate needs. It was not permitted that he fill a vessel with grapes, to carry them away with him, nor that he reap a quantity of grain with a sickle, and thus harvest his neighbor's crop unlawfully.
     The Writings reveal that the regulations which applied to the external relationships of the Jews now apply equally to all men as to their internal relationships or associations with each other. In speaking of another of the laws of Moses the Writings state this very clearly: "Every thinking person," they say, "can see that there is some reason for this law which lies hidden within and does not appear; for nowhere," the Writings continue, "has a law been enacted about fire catching hold of thorns, and thereby consuming a stack, or the standing crop; because such a thing very rarely happens; whereas it is of daily occurrence that the fire of wickedness and anger lays hold of and sets on fire the falsities of concupiscences, and thus consumes the truths and goods of the church."* Each of the laws of Moses corresponds to a spiritual law that has application to our daily lives.

354


And while the law or statute may seem to have little importance in external life it will, when spiritually understood, involve things of our mental or spiritual life that happen every day.
     * AC 9144.
     The first part of our text concerns the plucking of grapes in the neighbor's vineyard. The Writings specifically teach what this law means. "Every one associating with others who are in a different doctrine and religion may learn and accept their goods of charity, but may not become imbued with them, and conjoin them with his own truths."* We find that this law of association is confirmed by the correspondences involved in the text. The "vineyard" signifies the church or the religion of another. The grapes, or fruit of the vineyard, signify the goods of life which that church or religion teaches and which its faithful followers make a part of their life. Eating the neighbor's grapes while in his vineyard signifies that it is permitted all, no matter what their own religion, to enjoy and benefit from the works of charity which others do from their religious convictions. But being prohibited from taking grapes from the other's vineyard in one's own vessel signifies that the other's charity is not to be taken as our own, or forced to fit with what our doctrine teaches.
     * AC 5117: 13.
     We find that what this means in practical terms is that one church should not simply copy the works or practices of another church or religion because they outwardly, and even genuinely, are of use, and meet some external need of mankind. Our church has a unique form of charity which springs from our own understanding of truths. That is, we must learn to bring forth the fruit of our own vineyard so that our neighbor, passing through, may benefit from our labors.
     And we find that this applies to the individual man of the church as well. We must each build a life of religion from our own study and application of the truths of doctrine. It is not enough to continue the customs and traditions of our fathers in the church. We cannot simply superimpose upon our faith the fruit of another generation, or of any other man. This places a responsibility upon each man to make his faith alive in himself and to direct himself according to the conscience he has formed for himself from the Word.
     The second part of the text deals with the plucking of corn in the neighbor's field. Unlike the law of the eating of grapes, which is directly expounded in the Writings, the law of the plucking of corn is nowhere directly considered. It is an unexplained text. It should be said, then, that in seeking for the spiritual sense of this text there is something of uncertainty and theological speculation.

355


However, it should also be said that the Writings provide many indirect approaches to the understanding of the hidden meaning of this text. The reason it is not directly unfolded in the Writings is that its meaning can be discovered by study and the comparison of similar passages which are treated in the Writings.
     The law itself is stated as follows: "When thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbor, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand; but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbor's standing corn."
     Its form and outward intent are very similar to the law about the neighbor's vineyard. Here was a provision for the welfare of the man forced to travel on foot through a land where there were no institutions of hospitality. Everyone in ancient Israel depended upon customs of hospitality which all were expected to practice. Regulations were adopted so that no man would take unfair advantage of another man's hospitality.

     It is clear that the spiritual meaning of the law in question is closely related to the law about the neighbor's vineyard. As that law defined our relationship with "others who are in a different doctrine and religion" so, too, would this law be a further development of that same relationship. The subject is: What kind of association may we have with those of a different doctrine and religion? What are the benefits of that association? What are the limits of it? This is a most practical question for the New Church man to consider, for, being of a numerically small church, the New Church man is frequently brought into association with those of a different belief and practice. Or, even where there is not personal contact, the thoughts and the works of the so-called "outside world" surround and even bombard him constantly. The more a New Church man knows what the Writings teach concerning his association with others, the more he is able to live up to the spirit of the Lord's teaching: "I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil."*
     * John 17: 15.
     We must be in the world, but not of it. That is, we must not associate ourselves with that of the world which would be detrimental to our spiritual growth. This does not mean that everything of the world around us is evil and false, and that we must avoid all association with that world. It does mean that our association with the world and with others of different principles and practices has its useful limits, and that if we do not know and observe these limits we do ourselves harm.
     No one should take exception to this idea of limited association, for it is a natural necessity as well as a spiritual one. Countries make distinctions between those who are citizens and those who are not.

356


Businesses and professions make distinctions between those who are employed in their offices and fields and those who are not. Schools make distinctions between those who are of one class and those who are of another. Such distinctions are important and necessary for the order of natural life. In a similar way orderly distinctions must be made between those of one mind, and those of another. This promotes uses and reduces the chance of a disorderly association developing and opening the way for a spread of evil.
     But what is the spiritual import of the law concerning the plucking of corn in the neighbor's field? From a study of the correspondences involved it seems legitimate to adapt the law about the neighbor's vineyard, as stated in the Writings, to this law: That law was that "every one associating with others who are in a different doctrine and religion may learn and accept their goods of charity, but may not become imbued with them, and conjoin them with his own truths."*
     * AC 5117: 13.
     Adapting, or paraphrasing this, to apply to the neighbor's grain field, we would say that every one associating with others who are in a different doctrine and religion may learn their truths of faith, but may not conjoin them with his own goods.
     There is an important distinction made in the Writings between the "standing corn" or the growing crop and the harvested crop. This is the key to understanding the sense of the text. The "standing corn" is the crop that has not yet been gathered into sheaves, nor brought into barns. It signifies "the truth of faith in its conception."* The "harvest," on the other hand, when grain is brought into barns, and used in the making of bread and other foods, signifies "the reception of truth in good."**
     * AC 9146.
     ** AC 10669.
     The difference here is the difference between means and ends. All truth is a means. It is a means to an end of good. The reason we learn truths is that we may be instructed by truths in a way of life. That way of life is the good to which the truths as means lead. The standing corn in the neighbor's field signifies the truths which a man is developing or thinking about as a means to his purpose. When the man's thoughts and intentions are well ripened, he, as it were, harvests the standing crop. It is used for particular purposes - as when it is made into bread. The harvest is the application of the means to a particular end.
     The law of the text states that we may pluck the ears of our neighbor's standing corn, but may not harvest it with a sickle. The law means that we are permitted to learn and be affected by the truths of faith that another man has learned, but we must not be led by them to his ends or purposes.

357


Note that we pluck his grain with our hands. The "hands" signify our power and "as of self." The Lord has given us the ability to reach out and take for ourselves those truths which may be applied to our own purposes. Actually, the "ears" of grain signify what the Writings call "scientifics," or as it is elsewhere put, "the containant truth."* This is what we can take for ourselves from the experiences of life, and from the study of the Word. We learn knowledges which are, as it were, containants, or vessels. It is the Lord who fills or inspires these knowledges with purpose. Thus does the grain grow - even while we sleep - first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear.** But if we take these same knowledges and imbue them with our own purpose, or use them for ends which others have in mind, we are "harvesting" the neighbor's grain. We are then closing our minds to the inspiration of purpose from the Lord.
     * AC 10669
     ** Mark 4: 28.

     To give a simple illustration, we may compare the teachings of the literal sense of the Word to "standing corn," but the dogmas or creeds of the churches to the harvested crop. It is necessary and right for us to learn the things of the Word - even as people of all Christian religions do. We may benefit from the studies in the literal Word that have been made by scholars of other churches. However, we ought not to accept the false doctrines which have been developed by a study of these things. The Writings warn us that the literal sense of the Word may be twisted and turned to favor any preconceived dogma.
     To put the idea briefly, we may learn from anyone, but should not be influenced by anyone's bias.
     Reaping with a sickle signifies judgment. We must not use a sickle in the neighbor's field. The meaning of this is that we may not be the judge of our neighbor's life. This does not mean that judgments are not to be made, and that distinctions between right and wrong and good and evil may not be made. But it is the Lord who so judges, by the Divine truth of the Word. This is what is meant in the book of Revelation where the Lord is pictured as one sitting upon a white cloud, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple crying with a loud voice to Him that sat on the cloud, 'Thrust in Thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for Thee to reap for the harvest of the earth is ripe'."*
          * Revelation 14: 14f.

358



     The same thing is also meant by the parable of the wheat and the tares. When the servants asked the householder if they should gather up the tares, he said: "Let both grow together until the harvest."* Here, the wheat and the tares represent those knowledges of truth which are being acquired, and are growing in the mind. The one crop looks to a good use, the other does not. Yet, it is difficult to separate the two until the harvest. When the fruits of the harvest are gathered in, they may be separated, for as the Lord said, the good and the evil can be distinguished by their fruits. But it is the Lord, by the sickle of Divine truth, who executes judgment on the state of the church. He alone has the "sharp sickle" by which this may be done exactly and exquisitely."**
     * Matthew 13: 24-30.
     ** AE 643.

     When Samson sent the 300 foxes through the standing corn of the Philistines, tied two-and-two with firebrands, and destroyed the crop, he represented the Lord judging. The Philistines, appropriately, represent those who are in faith alone, who learn truths for no purpose but a selfish one. While the truths which such learn may also be of value to the man of the church, the purpose of the Philistines in learning is entirely wrong. Therefore their crops were destroyed by fire. Actually, this is a representation of their hatred and the lust of dominion which devastates all the genuine uses of the church. The harvest of the church should consist in the uses of charity, mutual love and genuine worship; but when cupidities rule, there is nothing of faith, nothing of worship, nothing of use. All is consumed and laid waste.
     "When thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbor, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand; but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbor's standing corn."
     The New Church man may use and benefit from all the knowledges and learning of the best minds of the world, as long as the knowledges and learning are absorbed innocently. But what is accepted by us is to be, as it were, hand picked. Ours should be an affection of truth for the sake of use. That is, we will be affected by those things of the knowledge of the world which we can see will be of genuine use. But we must not partake of the harvest of other men's knowledges and learning. We must beware of the theories and false principles to which men have applied their learning. We should not accept a man-made philosophy of life, but should be instructed by the Lord alone, who is the Lord of the harvest.
     "Say not ye, 'There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest?' Behold, I say unto you, 'Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.

359


And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labor: other men labored, and ye are entered into their labors.'" Amen.

     LESSONS: Judges 15: 1-8. Matthew 13: 24-30. Arcana Coelestia 4149.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 450A, 445, 451.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 14, 86.
LIFE OF RELIGION: THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC LIFE 1971

LIFE OF RELIGION: THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC LIFE       DANIEL L. HORIGAN       1971

     (Given at an Academy of the New Church College Convocation, March 24, 1971)

     For a long time it has seemed to me that our church has tended to neglect consideration of an important segment of life as it is lived by a majority of its members. I refer to what I have designated the socioeconomic plane of life in more common terms, the plane of business. We have developed concepts of distinctive New Church government, education, social life, and philosophy. The individual faced with a problem in these aspects of life has a developing body of common knowledge to turn to; but when it comes to economic problems, we seem to have relied on individual efforts with no formal means of passing on personal experiences as to what does and what does not work. In a business world whose value standards are so rarely based on revealed truth, anyone attempting to live the life of religion (i.e., to do genuine, rather than spurious, good) is bound to be involved in situations wherein there will be strong pressures on his principles. These pressures frequently reach the point where the choice is between carrying out company policy at the expense of one's conscience and being true to one's conscience at the expense of one's job. I think it is more than coincidental that so many of our members are in business for themselves or in smaller businesses where they can have some say in establishing policy.
     The remarks that follow are one man's unashamedly biased opinions on what might be done to begin correcting the lack of a distinctive philosophy of business management based on the new revelation.

360


To set the stage for what I have to say, I would first like to quote from an address entitled "Ministration in Administration" given by Dean Douglas Horton of the Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration on March 30, 1958 - the "B" School's 50th anniversary:

     "There are those who are coming to look at their business through the eyes of their country (not to say humanity) rather than at their country through the eyes of their business. It is men of this character which support and are supported by the School in a common dedication to the creation of professional standards; and if a man belongs to this company he has an inner sense of eminence which is his best shield against unprofessional littleness.
     "The emergence of every such person in the business world gives the School in its difficult, almost impossible, task a better hope of success, for it marks the widening of the professional community. The School has sought to develop leaders of this turn of mind, but leadership needs community. There must be an Athens appreciative of great art before a Phideas can be sustained there. It is true that it will be Phideas who will eventually give Athens its distinction, just as the new leaders sent by the School into the business world will engender the new professional spirit we hope will become the spirit of that world. Too often, however, we who have watched young men enter the business world with the light of human service in their eye have had to see the eye glare and the light go out when they really got enmeshed in the struggle on the darkling plain,

     "Swept with the confused alarms of struggle and flight,
     Where ignorant armies clash by night.

"It is all very well to talk of being idealistic. Leonidas could withstand a Persian army for awhile in 480 B.C. - but not today. No man can stand alone against a modern army, nor can any man alone bearing a banner of professional decency transmute the mores of a world inured from its beginnings to the laws of the jungle. He can make his witness, such as it is, but no more. Now, however, there are signs of a new community in the business world. Into this community may now be sent the young artificers of business as a profession, and because they can find friends of like mind there they can effect a union which may he built into strength.
     "I am sure that none of us is deceived into thinking that the process of lifting a civilization or any part of it from a self-seeking to a self-giving emphasis is or ever will be easy. Neither the School nor the burgeoning professional community in the business world will find it so. The employer who sweats his labor can undersell his competitor, and the one who treats his labor with minimum decency has sometimes driven another who strives for the maximum out of business. One cannot be as generous as he might desire in an ungenerous society. The standards are too often set by the least generous. If we are to create individuals of professional sensitivity, it is necessary to create the society in which they can be what they wish to be. It is a slow and painful battle in which there is no substitute for education.
     "So we are brought face to face with the last phrase of my text (I Corinthians 12: 5). After it speaks of 'differences of administrations' - or, as we might put it for our own purposes, the many professions including business - it does not stop there.

361


It goes on to speak of 'the same Lord.' The power upon which they must all ultimately depend is the same.
     "It is because the task of altering a civilization - and the task of the School of Business Administration can only be defined so - is so preternaturally difficult that I do not believe it can be accomplished by men who do not see themselves as instruments in the hands of a greater and wiser power than they."

     One cannot help but wonder what happened to Dean Horton's ideals, when, less than a decade later, a student of the "B" School was quoted in an article in a national magazine as saying the two courses conspicuous by their absence from the curriculum were "Corporate Loyalty" and "Business Ethics." The latter has apparently been replaced by the "anything for earnings" philosophy so typical of the kind of opportunistically-oriented manager described variously as "aggressive," "hungry," "hard-nosed," "competitive," and similar adjectives which connote anything but true charity. Yet, as I hope to demonstrate, sustained business success and the resultant economic well-being of the society it serves is directly proportional to the extent that it operates as a form of charity.
     I am convinced that a fundamental cause of many of our burgeoning socio-economic ills (inflation, poverty, unemployment, etc.) is a wide-spread misunderstanding of the true purpose of business and confusing money with wealth; too many people fail to distinguish between the appearance and reality in these basic economic concepts. Any business must produce a profit if it is to remain viable, but this it can do only by producing exchangeable wealth on a continuing basis. And this wealth can be defined as being the economic wherewithal to satisfy human desires for betterment. Obviously, not all such desires will lead to a better world if they are satisfied: false heavens are not restricted to the other world, as witness the large, highly profitable businesses supported by the popularity of gambling, drugs, and disorderly sex. However, this simply reinforces my contention that human attitudes and value standards based on the truth as now revealed in the Writings are the key to a genuinely healthy economy, and that our doctrines can provide us with practical answers to meet the challenge posed to ourselves and our institutions by the rampant and growing disorders that plague the world today. The quotations which follow will illustrate what I mean:

     What a dead thing a moral life is without a spiritual life, is set forth in full in the Apocalypse Explained, no. 182: "A moral life is to act well, sincerely and justly with one's companions in the functions and business of life, . . . but a moral life from the love of self and the world is not in itself a moral life, although it appears as such. For the man who is in such a life acts well, sincerely, and justly for the sake of himself and the world only. To him, what is good, sincere, and just serves but as a means to an end, that he may be elevated above others and rule over them, or that he may acquire wealth." (The subject is treated at large in this number.)

362



     "A moral life without a spiritual life is used as a cloak to cover evil designs, producing a deceptive appearance that easily blinds and leads astray. It is an enemy to the New Church, and to all who in heart desire to live a truly religious life; for it closes heaven and separates man from the Lord."*
     * W. F. Pendleton, Topics from the Writings, p. 36.
     "By uses are not meant merely the necessaries of life, which have relation to food, clothing, and habitation for man and those dependent upon him, but also the good of one's country, of society, and of the fellow citizen. Business is such a good when that is the final love and money is the mediate and subservient love, provided the business man shuns and turns away from frauds and evil devices as sins. It is otherwise when money is the final love, and business is the mediate and subservient love; for this is avarice, which is the root of evils."*
     * DP 220: 11.
     "Who does not see that there cannot be found an empire, kingdom, dukedom, republic, state, or household that is not established by laws which constitute its order and thus the form of its government? In each one of them, the laws of justice are in the highest plane, political laws in the second, and economical laws in the third; or in comparison with a man, the laws of justice constitute the head, political laws the body, and economic laws the garments; and these last, like garments, may be changed."*
     * TCR 55.

     We have made tremendous advances in science by discovering the laws of science and applying them to improve man's material welfare in the physical domain of life. But, as the above quotation makes quite clear, man is ruled by the laws of order on each and every plane of life. Hence, one of the contributions I believe we can make to a more orderly world is to begin developing a common body of knowledge regarding such laws and their application on the socio-economic plane of life. Another, perhaps more important, contribution is to show by deeds as well as by words the discrete relationship between man's ruling love and his behavior in the world of commerce. Although I am sure that many of our members are making their individual witness in the business world, as Dean Horton referred to it, he makes eminently clear that we could be much more effective in gaining acceptance for the applicability of our doctrines if we were to develop a New Christian community. This does not mean a physical community; rather, it means a metaphysical community of like minds freely exchanging ideas and experiences having to do with the application of the laws of order to the business world. I would think it logical that this community might eventually include the Academy of the New Church College which, if I interpret the situation correctly, would welcome a purpose both supplementing and complementing its primary role of educating our ministers and teachers.

363


Businesses owned and managed by truly principled individuals could constitute a practical laboratory for putting newly developed concepts to the test, while a management consulting firm under the same type of leadership would provide needed liason between the academicians and the business executives. As this concept develops, we might anticipate having four-year graduates of the college with their degree in Christian Business Management, and eventually we might even be able to offer a Master's and a Doctor's degree in the same subject.
     Serious consideration should be given to setting up the academic program as a sandwich course; that is, one in which the students alternate semesters between the classroom and business. Each business semester could be arranged for a different functional aspect of the business, with specialized classroom work both to prepare for it and to follow it. Such an approach to education at the college level would achieve several desirable results:

     1)     The students get a change of scene about the time they usually become bored with what they are doing, be it school or business.
     2)     The students would get exposure to all the major functions of business and therefore would be in a good position to decide which, if any, they like well enough to consider it for a career.
     3)     The students would have practical experience upon graduation which would both help them get a job and do a better job more quickly.
     4) The students should be able to see more relevance between their academic subjects and their idealism for making this a better world.
     5) The students would get more out of their studies and would also be more stimulating to teach, as attested to by those schools which have had experience with sandwich course programs.
     6) The students would be better able to finance their own education.
     7) The students would regain respect for the work of their elders - something which has become increasingly difficult to generate as our economy has become more highly specialized.

     And what of the businesses which would be an integral part of the community and its program? Would they have to be charitable enterprises operated on a non-profit or even a loss basis? Against a background of over two decades' study of business and of the people in business both as a management and personnel consultant and as a staff executive, I am convinced that not only would this not be necessary, but that actually just the opposite would result from using Christian business management principles. Let me illustrate the basis for this conviction. Using New Church terms and concepts, we would say that business is an enterprise organized so as to make it possible for men to ultimate collectively their love of use on the socio-economic plane of life.

364


This it would do by identifying specific human desires for betterment which its management feels are either not being met at all or are being poorly met. It would organize and direct the people who comprise it to conceive (design), produce, and offer for exchange (market) the products - the goods or services - which it hopes will prove to be an acceptable means of satisfying the desires it has chosen as its particular objective. To the extent that it has correctly identified unfilled or poorly filled needs (of which there is never any shortage), and then designed imaginatively, produced efficiently to high quality standards, and properly presented for exchange its products, it will be rewarded (profit) for its contribution to society's store of wealth. In this concept of a socio-economic system, the human desires to be satisfied are the end, the products are the means to this end (the cause), and profit is the result of successfully achieving the end (the effect). And only by orientating the business to the real end rather than to the apparent end (the effect) can there be a sound basis for mutual trust to exist. When such trust is absent, it is inevitable that vicious power politics will develop and flourish. As they do, the co-operative effort which is essential for sound economic growth diminishes proportionately. To emphasize the difference between management based on co-operation (applied charity) and on the loves of self and of the world, consider these examples:

     1)     The behavioral scientists hold out the hope that one of their most recently developed techniques - management by objectives (MBO) - will resolve, to the benefit of all concerned, the conflict that so often arises between personal objectives and those of the corporation. Focusing on a common objective is an effective way to reduce interpersonal conflict, but only if the primary objective is such as to encourage the subordination of self-interest to the welfare of others. Since, as the quotation from Divine Providence cited above makes quite clear, companies whose primary orientation is financial are, in fact, organized to promote avarice, installing MBO programs here merely facilitates the work of the hells by subordinating all higher values to monetary considerations.
     2)     In an article entitled "Is Anybody Listening?" which appeared in Fortune magazine back in 1950, the point was made that "Only with trust can there be real communication, and until that trust is achieved the techniques and gadgetry of communication are so much waste effort." In the light of this statement and of the point just made regarding the absence of the basis for trust in a financially-oriented company, the waste inherent in the literal fortunes being spent on the design and installation of sophisticated electronic management information systems (MIS) staggers the imagination.

365


The fact that none of this waste ever appears on a company's account books does not make it any less real; but its elimination through the proper management orientation would be reflected in greatly improved profitability.
     3)     Every product has a finite profit life; that it, the particular human desires which the goods or services offered by a business are intended to satisfy eventually reach a point of satiation. When this occurs, the business's customers will then give a higher priority in the exchange of their disposable wealth to the satisfaction of other desires; and this will be reflected in reduced sales and profits of the displaced product. A properly managed company, because its primary orientation is the satisfaction of its customers' desires, foresees the need for change and therefore always allocates its always-too-scarce resources of time, men and money so as to maintain a good balance between today's and tomorrow's requirements. Financially-oriented managements, in contrast, in variably concentrate on maximizing reported (i.e., short-term) profits. Hence, when the inevitable decline in sales and earnings occurs, they are not in a position to counter it properly, but instead institute self-defeating cost reductions which temporarily improve reported earnings. Such reductions are most likely to be in those areas where there is no immediate (visible) payout; that is, in personnel and all those longer range product and market development programs so essential if there is ever to be any hope of coping with the basic problem of satisfying shifting customer desires.
     4)     It is currently fashionable for management to acknowledge that its people are any company's most valuable asset. Yet these words have a somewhat hollow ring to those employees who are let go whenever there is a reverse in the company's fortunes because of shifting customer desires. Again, the fact that accounting procedures have not yet been developed to record human resources as assets (they are still treated as expenses) makes it easy to disguise the waste involved in sacrificing people to short-term dollar considerations. Yet employee loyalty has real value which can be measured in improved profitability when management actions foster it at all times rather than just during boom times.
     5)     The current state of labor relations was revealingly described by a knowledgeable legal expert in these words: "Collective bargaining is based on force and power and the possible use of the strike as the ultimate weapon." Hardly descriptive of mutual charity, but not really surprising when labor adopts the same goal as management - making money. However, where the goal of management is clearly set forth as the creation of exchangeable wealth, and where management policies are designed to facilitate, not thwart, employee efforts to ultimate their charitable inclinations, the source of most labor-management friction will be eliminated.

366


As this occurs, the time formerly spent by both sides in presenting and arguing grievances and negotiating contracts from strictly selfish motives will be greatly reduced; and strikes with their horrible economic waste, gradually can be eliminated.
     6)     Output from existing physical facilities will be increased where management policies encourage properly motivated employees to do their jobs to the best of their ability. This will be reflected in more employees spending a greater proportion of their time on productive activities and less on "busy" work. There also will be better housekeeping, making for longer equipment life and for more efficient production because of the reduced need for maintenance shut-downs.
     7)     The quality of the goods or services produced will he greatly improved where management has the correct orientation, thereby reducing the costs of warranty claims and customer service. This, in turn, will increase customer loyalty, with a further favorable impact on profit margins due to a reduced need for the kind of costly advertising and sales promotion campaigns required when the company or product image has become tarnished as the result of false economies instituted by opportunistic (financially-oriented) management.
     8)     Companies whose actions match their words regarding people being their most valuable asset will find it easier (and therefore much less costly) to attract and hold the kind of psychologically-healthy employees a business must have if it is to continue to operate successfully (profitably) in these rapidly changing times.

     Benefits such as these will not be forthcoming immediately, as it will be necessary to gain acceptance for management's sincerity of purpose before the employees will be willing to show their good faith. Unfortunately, the philosophy of the "now" generation is not exclusive with youth: too many managements allow today's imperatives to dominate them even though they realize that the laws of economics dictate that there must be some short-term self-denial in the consumption of today's production if there is to be any hope of really increasing tomorrow s. The sad fact is that when disorder rules on the higher planes of life, it inevitably causes disorder on the lower planes. However, the opposite is also true - firm adherence to the laws of order on the higher planes leads to order on the lower ones. Hence, given a business whose owners are dedicated to making tomorrow truly better by developing and applying principles of Christian management, executives who are committed to doing so, and employees who are encouraged to share the same motivation, I claim that the results of all the benefits accruing will begin showing up as a steadily increasing figure at the bottom of the profit and loss statement.

367



     Insofar as the concept of communal economic activities is concerned, there already are many various sorts of these in operation. Walter Gordon, a former Minister of Finance for Canada, has grouped together a stable of about a dozen manufacturing and service businesses which he controls through his holding company, Canadian Corporate Management Company. He also controls a large chartered accounting firm (Clarkson Gordon), a management consulting firm (Woods Gordon & Co.), and a receiver in bankruptcy (The Clarkson Company). Thus, even if his accountants and consultants are unsuccessful in keeping the Cancorp companies and other clients solvent, he still can make money from burying them. There's no doubt that he and the members of his inner circle make money from this community; but there is good reason to believe it could both be a more profitable community and be less harmful to the free enterprise system if it were operated according to the kind of principles revealed in the Writings.
     Both the Catholic and the Jewish churches operate communities wherein a religion, an educational system, and member-owned businesses co-operate to their mutual benefit, albeit not necessarily to the benefit of non- members, nor as openly as I propose.
     The Christian Reformed Church sponsors a local community consisting of an elementary school system and the Christian Labor Association of Canada. The former bases its curriculum on Christian principles as set forth in the Bible, while the latter is actively and openly promoting the application of biblically-oriented solutions to labor relations. For example, they correctly identify work as the means whereby man serves God and the neighbor, and have developed several economic theories based on this truth. They publish a number of excellent booklets setting forth these theories, with titles such as, "The Christian and Modern Business Enterprise," "The Freedom to Serve," "Man in God's World," and "Humanism & Human Rights - a Christian View."
     I could cite many more examples, but these should suffice for now. Let me conclude by recapping briefly. There is an increasing awareness that something is seriously amiss in our materialistically-oriented world, and many, particularly among the young, are actively seeking solutions. To the extent that humanism is looked to for answers, the situation can only worsen; but, to the extent that solutions are sought using revealed truth, there will be renewed hope for the future. We have been privileged to have been given the new revelation, and I feel strongly that it is high time we begin using it to meet this growing need.

368


Surely we have qualified men in the church who would be willing to join together for the purpose of developing a practical program for creating a new socioeconomic philosophy based on their understanding of the Divinely ordained laws of order, and then begin structuring a business community founded on this philosophy. The truly distinctive aspect of this community would be the continuing endeavor to apply our doctrines on this ultimate plane of life. The major benefit from the program would be the provision of an expanding environment in which individual efforts to live the life that leads to heaven (which we know to be the real purpose of life) will both strengthen the communal effort and be strengthened by it. A minor benefit insofar as purpose is concerned but certainly not in terms of effects would be the high degree of synergism which would enable the community to enhance its own material wealth as it enhances the world's, thereby helping to mitigate some of the latter's poverty and unemployment. And last, but certainly not least, the program should prove to be a powerful missionary tool for carrying the truths of the New Word to the church universal as well as appealing to our own children's high idealism.
     I hope I have convinced you, as I am convinced, that we have a literally heaven-sent opportunity to effect some much-needed changes in this sorry old world if we will but create a community for uniting our efforts. And now I will close by showing that the crisis in value standards we face in our affluent world is not without historical precedent. Polybius, the Greek historian, summarized the reasons for an earlier nation's demise in a single sentence: "At Carthage, nothing which results in profit is regarded as disgraceful."
Laws of Divine Providence 1971

Laws of Divine Providence              1971

     "6. Man is not reformed by external but by internal means; by external means are meant miracles, visions, fears and punishments; by internal means are meant truths and goods from the Word, and from the doctrine of the church, and also looking to the Lord. For these means enter by an internal way, and remove the evils and falsities which reside within, but external means enter by an external way, and do not remove evils and falsities, but shut them in. But nevertheless, he is further reformed by external means, provided he has been previously reformed by internal means; but a man who is not reformed is only withheld by external means which are fears and punishments - from speaking and doing the evils and falsities which he thinks and wills." (Apocalypse Explained 1136)

369


URIM AND THUMMIM 1971

URIM AND THUMMIM       Rev. FREDERICK L. SCHNARR       1971

     While the sons of Israel were encamped at Mt. Sinai they received from the Lord instructions concerning many things. They received universal laws in the form of the Ten Commandments; detailed laws relating to all aspects of civil and moral life; and intricate instructions concerning the practice and form of sacrifice. They were told exactly how they were to build and furnish a place to receive the Lord's presence - the Tabernacle; and they were told to set Aaron and his sons apart to serve as a priesthood, and were given instructions as to what the garments of the priest should be, and how the priest was to perform the duties of his office. In connection with this last, Moses was commanded by the Lord: "And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron's heart, when he goeth in before the Lord; and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the sons of Israel upon his heart before the Lord continually."*
     * Exodus 28: 30.
     To most people, the intricate and complex details of the life and worship of the Jewish Church in the time of Moses are nothing more than an interesting part of ancient history. With the exception of the Ten Commandments, the rites and rituals of this far off past contain no great message for modern man. In modern Christendom, the building and use of the Tabernacle, the details of the sacrifices, and the institution and ordering of the priesthood under Aaron, are at best only a matter of brief attention and passing interest.
     Such is not to be the case in the New Church. For now we know that the ancient stories and prophecies of Scripture, the ancient laws and rites, and the descriptive details of peoples, places and things, are all but the coverings within which lie deeply hidden the spiritual goods and truths of heaven in their Divine order and form. From the spiritual sense of the Word we are able to see something of the profound wisdom of the Lord; in wonderment we see that every detail of the letter of Scripture is part of an ordered and organized Divine work - a work so marvelous and complete that it contains all knowledges of good and truth sufficient for the development and progression of man's love and wisdom, and his delight and happiness, to all eternity.

370


The revealed truth that such is the nature of the Word is what causes the man of the New Church to exalt the Word of the Sacred Scripture anew, to honor and respect it, and to cherish and protect it as the very real presence of the Lord with man.
     When we begin to examine from the spiritual sense the meaning of a particular part of the Scriptures, we tend to become somewhat confused by and lost in the great wealth and detail of representation that we find revealed. We see the meaning of each separate thing, but not the general teaching and truth that should stand forth from the details. It is only through patient study and reflection that we gradually see the doctrine of life contained therein, and see again how the Word is eternally true for all men in every age. Such is the case in understanding the use and meaning of the Urim and Thummim set in the breastplate that was to be worn by Aaron, the high priest.

     The garments of the high priest consisted of six main parts. Innermost was a white robe of fine linen covering the entire body from the shoulders to the ankles. Over this robe was placed the ephod, which was hung over the shoulders by two straps. The ephod was cut around the neck like an apron, and hung down the front of the robe to the knees. It was made of blue linen, and embroidered round the edges with purple, scarlet, and blue pomegranates. Golden wires were woven through the blue ephod, and along the lower skirt a golden bell was hung between two pomegranates. On the strap of each shoulder was placed an onyx stone, each engraved with the names of six of the tribes of Israel. A girdle made of fine needlework, and of the same colors as the ephod, was bound around the robe and the ephod just above the waist. The breastplate, in which were set the twelve precious stones of the Urim and Thummim, was made of the same materials and colors as the ephod and the girdle - gold, blue, purple and scarlet. It was made of a double thickness, was a square about the size of a man's hand span, and was fastened to the ephod over the heart of the high priest by six golden rings, three on each side. The two rings at the top were fastened by golden chains to the onyx stones on the straps of the ephod. The other four rings were fastened to the ephod with blue thread. In the breastplate were four rows of precious stones, with three stones in each row. These were set into small cups of gold, each cup being inscribed with the name of one of the tribes of Israel. When Aaron went into the Tabernacle to seek the Lord's guidance, he received answers by the manner in which the stones of the breastplate would shine and sparkle.
     The other two parts of the priestly garments are not described in great detail.

371


There was an outer cloak, open at the front, made of white linen and embroidered, and there was a mitre - a white linen cap. Sewn to the front of the cap with a blue thread was a signet engraved with the words, "Holiness to the Lord."*
     * Exodus 28: 39.
     Now we learn from the Writings that in this detailed description of the garments of the high priest, and the essential duties of the priesthood relating to worship, there is a representative and clear picture of how the Divine good descends from the Lord prepared for human reception, and how it then ascends again to the Lord, having been received and returned by man to the Lord. We are taught that the priesthood represents the function of the Divine good in the saving and preserving of man's spiritual life. But there are two aspects of the representation. One is the proceeding of Divine good through the forms of Divine truth, seeking to lead and guide man, and to be received by him with love. This function of the Divine good the priest represents in worship and instruction, when he teaches and speaks in the name of the Lord, when he administers the sacraments and rites of the church, and when he blesses the people in the Lord's name. The other representation of the priesthood is not that of the proceeding of Divine good, but of the reception of Divine good by the man of the church. Here the priest represents the state of reception of the Divine good by means of Divine truth in the church on earth; thus the church in approaching the Lord in the humility of prayer, and in the expression of love and devotion to the Lord in words or songs of praise and thanksgiving.*
     * AC 3858: 9, 9900, 2015, 6148; AE 412: 23, 624: 17.

     As to the first representation of the priesthood, namely, the proceeding of the Divine good through the forms of truth, we may see how this was marvelously set forth by the Lord in the ultimate picture of Aaron and his priestly garments. As we have noted, Aaron as the high priest, represents the Divine good. Now the Writings tell us that the Divine good cannot descend to states of human reception without being clothed in the form of truth. And with men on earth, not only must the Divine good be clothed in the form of truth but it must first pass through the states of heaven, so that it is modified and stepped down by degrees, that it may approach and enter that which is merely external and natural. The Divine good cannot approach man immediately and be received.
     All this is represented in the garments prepared for the high priest and in their colors and adornments. Aaron's garments represent the degrees and forms of truth, while the colors represent the degrees and states of good that are present in the truths.

372


Since good and truth are received by the celestial angels in a conjoined form, this state is represented by Aaron himself; there are no garments to represent celestial truth. But to make it clear that the lower forms of truth contain the goods of the celestial heaven, the colors which represent that heaven were used in the outer garments. These colors are crimson or scarlet and blue; crimson representing the celestial love of good, and blue the celestial love of truth.* The clothing of Divine good in forms of truth in the spiritual heaven is represented by the white inner robe. White represents the love of truth, especially the spiritual love of truth. The love of good in the spiritual heaven was shown by the purple that was woven with the crimson and the blue into the outer garments.**
     * AC 9466.
     ** AC 9856.
     In the ephod, the breastplate, the girdle and the coat we have a picture of truth in its most ultimate form - the truth in the natural sense of the Word. It is the truth that we first see when we read the story of the Word. This story, or that which we call the letter of the Word, contains within it all higher truths, or all higher forms of the Word. Not only is it the ultimate containant of all truths, but, what is even more important, the Divine good - the Lord's love - is present therein with all the states and loves of His heavenly kingdom - the crimson, the blue, the purple and the white. The Divine good, clothed in the beauteous forms of truth, constantly proceeds from the Lord, descending through the heavens, and through the forms of the letter of the Word seeks entrance into the human heart.

     All truth and good, in whatever form, are from the Lord. There is no truth, even the lowest truth of the natural sense of the Word, which does not come from the Lord, look to Him, and contain His presence. This essential truth was represented by the gold that was woven throughout the priestly garments, by the gold adornments, the gold clasps and bells, and the gold cups to hold the twelve precious stones of the breastplate. It was also represented by the gold signet on the mitre, the inscription on which showed that all the holiness of the Word was from the Lord and looked to Him.*
     * AC 6335, 9874.
     When we know that Aaron's outer garments represent the letter of the Word and its natural sense in which is the spiritual, then we are able to see more clearly why the breastplate was set with twelve precious stones. The twelve precious stones represent the whole complex of spiritual and celestial truths; and that they should be set upon that which represents the letter of the Word, the ephod and the breastplate, signifies not only that they are contained therein, but that they may be seen there by man.

373



So we are taught that if a man sincerely approaches the Lord in the Word, he will find there all the truths of spiritual life.*
     * AC 9873, 6335.
     In all the details of Aaron's garments and their adornments we see the representation of the descent of the Divine good to man through the form of Divine truth. But as we noted, there is another representation of Aaron that relates to the use of the breastplate and the Urim and Thummim in it. We noted that Aaron, as high priest, represents the man of the church, that is, the man who receives the Lord's Divine good in his life, and through it gradually comes into the more immediate presence of the Lord. This, of course, is the picture representative of the regenerating man.
     Aaron was to wear the breastplate set with the twelve precious jewels when he came before the Lord to seek His help. He was to wear the breastplate over his heart. Aaron represents the regenerating man; the breastplate, the goods and truths of the Word which such a man has learned, used and desired. That it was over the heart represents that these have formed in man a love to the Lord. It is from such a love that the man of the church approaches and enters into the Lord's tabernacle - the more immediate sphere of His presence. He brings before the Lord his problems and troubles, his states of despair and temptation, his states of joy and sorrow; indeed, he lays before the Lord the whole of his life, that he may be directed and guided by the Lord alone. How it is that the Lord answers such a man is the wonderful meaning of the Urim and Thummim.

     The Urim and Thummim were not the precious stones of the breastplate, but the glowing and shining of these stones when Aaron stood before the Lord seeking His help. In Hebrew the word Urim means "a shining fire"; while the word Thummim means "a shining forth of light." This is indeed what is represented. For the Lord's love is received from heaven, from its sun, as shining, warm and gentle heat, while His truth is received as shining, bright light, marvelously reflected into beautiful living colors.*
     * AC 9905.
     When a man approaches the Lord from love, the Divine good flows into the goods and truths that he has and gives them a new life from the Lord. The various loves of good that man has are awakened and brought to life; they are fired and warmed with a new activity and delight, and man feels a new happiness, a new sense of use to the neighbor and to the Lord, and a new peace of mind that is born of a full trust and belief in the Lord.

374



     Not only are man's goods activated, but also his truths. When the Divine good flows into forms of truth with man it brings to truth a new enlightenment, a new perception. This is how man comes into an understanding of truth that is rational and wise from the Lord. The breastplate was called the "breastplate of judgment" for this very reason. For there is no true rational judgment or intelligence with man unless it is from the knowledge of Divine good and truth, and unless man takes that knowledge before the Lord by doing the good of life that it teaches. Only then can the Lord bring to man the warmth of His love and the light of His wisdom, and raise man up from natural life into the spiritual life in which all are constant and eternal vessels of the Lord's life.*
     * AC 9857, 9823, 3682.
     The answers given from the Lord to Aaron through the Urim and Thummim, the flashing and shining of the precious stones, were produced in the most particular order. The four rows of stones going from right to left represented the four ruling loves of heaven, and that is why the stones in each row were of a different color. The first row, of red stones, signified the celestial love of good; the second row, of blue stones from red, signified the celestial love of truth; the third row, of blue stones from white, signified the spiritual love of good; and the fourth row, of white stones from blue, signified the spiritual love of truth.* Remember also that under each stone was the name of one of the twelve tribes - the general order and divisions of good and truth."**
     * AC 9856, 9866, 9873.
     ** AC 3862.
     Now the Writings assure us that we cannot feel or be aware of how the Lord is present with us at any exact time. Nor do the Writings present us with this picture of how the Lord vivifies and enlightens goods and truths with us so that we should endeavor to search for the presence of such states within ourselves. The complexity of how the Lord orders and awakens the mind to the life of heaven is far beyond our comprehension. But we can learn from the Word the Lord's general order and operation with us. We can see from the Word, understand and believe, that there is in truth such a marvelous and profound presence of the Lord with us. We can see how His good descends through the heavens clothed with the beautiful garments of truth. We can see how the Divine life must be received by man if he is to become an image and likeness of his Creator. We can understand how we must array ourselves with robes and garments, with the adornments of gold and precious stones, and with crimson, blue, purple and white, all of which are the goods and truths of the Word. We can know that the precious knowledges of good and truth must not remain mere knowledges with us, but must be placed on the heart through obedience and use.

375


We can believe that when this is done, we will have prepared ourselves worthily to go before the Lord, to enter the tabernacle of His presence, to seek the warmth of Divine love and the light of Divine wisdom. In that day the Lord will answer His servant through the Urim and Thummim, and there shall he an eternal blessing upon him.
CORRESPONDENCES IN MARRIAGE 1971

CORRESPONDENCES IN MARRIAGE       Rev. ORMOND ODHNER       1971

     In the work, Conjugial Love, we read: "The correspondence of [conjugial] love is with the marriage of the Lord and the church. That is, as the Lord loves the church, and desires that the church shall love Him, so husband and wife mutually love each other. It is known in the Christian world that there is such a correspondence between them, but what is its nature is not yet known. This correspondence shall therefore be explained. . . .*
     * n 62.
And the Writings do explain it, even as to its particulars, though sometimes only by allusions. Plainly, however, they speak of one particular aspect of marriage in which we might expect to find certain correspondences, and teach that here no such correspondences exist. In marriage, the husband does not represent (or correspond to) the church; for both husband and wife together constitute the church. Much that the husband does in marriage; much that he contributes to it - his active role in marriage - has parallels with the Lord's part in the marriage of the Lord and the church. Much that the wife does in marriage - much that she contributes to it - her re-active role in marriage, has parallels with the church's receptive role in the Divine or heavenly marriage. But the husband does not represent the Lord; the wife does not represent the church; husband and wife together constitute the church.
     Whether the Apostle Paul knew anything of the Lord's own words concerning the marriage of the Lord and the church, we shall never know with certainty. Both from the Writings and from the biblical critics of the learned world, however, we conclude that he did not. Much that Paul wrote, nevertheless, strengthened the concept that in marriage the husband represents the Lord, the wife the church, and thus perpetuated the very ancient false idea that by her very nature woman is inferior to man.

376



     Paul was a learned Pharisee. He well knew Jewish religion and its rabbinical interpretations and the philosophy built upon them both He was personally acquainted with pagan religions and pagan philosophy, and they had a marked effect upon his thinking - as they had upon all the learned Jews of that day.
     Many pagan religions denied woman an eternal soul. Jewish religion did not do that; but in the days of the Lord there was still argument in it as to whether anyone, male or female, had eternal life.
     In common with pagan thought, however, Jewish religion made woman a lesser order of human being than man, and it based this on the literal story of Genesis. Woman was sort of an after-thought in creation. God saw that it was not good for man to be alone, so He formed woman from man and for man. As Paul put it, "Man is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman, but the woman for the man." *
     * 1 Corinthians 11: 7, 9.
     And further to the depreciation of woman, Jewish thought, in just as cowardly a fashion as Adam had done in the Garden of Eden, shifted the blame for original sin from man to woman. Adam, when accused by Jehovah God of transgressing His commands, had replied: "The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat." Paul put it this way: "Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, was in the transgression."*
     * I Timothy 2: 14.

     Woman's Divinely inflicted punishment for original sin also loomed large in this, of course: "Thy desire shall be subject to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee."
     It is small wonder, then, that Paul could write such things as these: "The head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is the man."* "Wives, submit yourselves unto your husbands as unto the Lord. The husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church. . . . Therefore, as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their husbands in everything."** And, "Let your women keep silence in the churches; for it is not permitted for them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience. . . . and if they will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home."*** "Let the women learn in silence with all subjection."
     * I Corinthians 11: 3.
     ** Ephesians 5: 22-24.
     *** I Corinthians 14: 34, 35.
     All of which would be true if, in marriage, there was a correspondence of the man with the Lord, the woman with the church, for surely the church must be subject to her Lord in everything. But there is no such correspondence.

377


The husband does not represent the Lord; the wife does not represent the church; both together constitute the church. Before the Lord they truly are on equal footing, of equal importance, of equal value, of equal worth.
     Within marriage or outside of marriage, then, let there be no dominance of one sex over the other, no striving for supereminence, no secret sense of superiority. Let not the male claim to himself any so-called masculine privileges over the female as he boasts of his more active, more aggressive role in life. And let not the female seek dominion over the male, either by practicing wily feminine subtleties upon him (which she knows he will never understand), nor by indulging in that peculiarly cruel form of torture in which woman by nature excels - persistent nagging - (which she knows no man can stand). Let him not privately look down upon her for what he thinks is her inferior intellect; and let her neither purposely abet nor even accept his smug masculine conceit, smiling to herself while she does so because she knows that here is the hidden force which motivates him in everything he does.

     Before the Lord, truly, man and woman are equal - equal, if not the same. Certainly they are equal in the essentials of humanity, the essential things that differentiate the human from the animal, namely, the twin faculties of liberty and rationality. Man and woman have these in equal degree, equal manner, equal form.
     But these two faculties, as they are in themselves, are always above our consciousness. We become aware of them only in their results, our mental powers of will and understanding; and it is here that the basic difference between male and female first becomes evident. Both man and woman have will and understanding, of course; but, as we read, "With the man the understanding predominates, and with the woman the will predominates; and the character [of each] is determined by that which predominates."*
     * HH 369.
     And from this basic difference between male and female come such well-known teachings of the Writings as these: (1) Man is born to become a form of understanding, to become understanding or wisdom in form; woman, to become a form of affection, to become affection or love in form. (2) The male is created to become wisdom from the love of growing wise; and the female, to become the love of the male from and according to his wisdom. (3) And, in marriage, the will of the wife conjoins itself with the understanding of the man; and the understanding of the man with the will of the wife.

378



     Man, then, is wisdom in form; woman is love in form. In this, these two essentially equal human beings are essentially distinct. Consider these two things as to their inmosts, however. Inmostly, the wisdom of the male is nothing but love, the love of growing wise. And, inmostly, the love of the female is nothing but wisdom, the wisdom that lovingly takes truths and gives them form in uses.
     The wisdom of the male? Certainly it does not consist of the masses of facts he acquires or has acquired, be they laws of physics or knowledges concerning the Lord's glorification. No man can stop and look at the mass of facts his wisdom has accumulated and say, "There is my wisdom," nor does any woman love him for that mass of facts. His wisdom is his love of growing wise, the love of becoming ever wiser. Hence it is in the very nature of man to go on and on, ever learning more and more and more. . . . Yet where, really, is there any wisdom in doing that? Indeed, is it not evident that right now we are at a momentary juncture in history when we have far more knowledges than we know what to do with?
     And the love of the female, the love which she by her very nature conjoins with the wisdom of the male (conjoins, that is, with his love of growing wise)? What is that, inmostly, but wisdom? Here is the receptive love of taking to itself, cherishing, and bringing forth in uses the wisdom of the male. Does anything else in life more truly deserve the name of wisdom?

     Hence the male inmostly is love, the love of growing wise; and thus does he become a form of wisdom. And hence the female, inmostly, is wisdom, the wisdom that lovingly clothes and brings forth the wisdom of the male in forms of use; and thus does she become a living form of love.
     And thus also is the Lord's church formed in the husband and wife who together and as a perfect one constitute that church which is the bride and wife of the Lamb. This is His church, formed first with the husband out of those things of spiritual wisdom he acquires for himself of the Lord from his love of growing wiser and ever wiser; and formed from or through the husband in the wife from her love of taking the things of wisdom with her husband and clothing them in forms of use. This is the church descending into their marriage out of heaven; and it is this in them which is resurrected into eternal life in heaven out of their lives together here on earth.
     May this church be fully prepared in each of us, fittingly clothed in the beauty of truth and in the purity of good, so that, as we rise up to meet our God, it may be said, even of us, "Behold, the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready."

379


FIRST CANADIAN NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, MAY 7-9, 1971 1971

FIRST CANADIAN NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, MAY 7-9, 1971       VIVIAN RIEPERT       1971

     Seventy years after the first Ontario District Assembly, also held at Carmel Church, the first Canadian National Assembly was held at Carmel Church in Caryndale, May 7-9, 1971. Friday, May 7, turned out to be a warm spring day, in a late season, bringing out the forsythia, daffodils and early tulips to add to the warm welcome of guests as they arrived from distant points. The Dawson Creek, B. C., area sent four representatives, Montreal one, Toronto area 82, Kitchener area 91, Ontario isolated 15, Bryn Athyn and other U. S. A., points 17; making a total of 210 who signed the roll. Caryndale homes accommodated many of the guests; a few stayed in motels; and many of the Toronto members came and went each day.
     All the sessions, the meals, the banquet and the services were held in the Carmel Church building, with professional caterers handling the banquet and the Sunday luncheon. The beautiful spring weather throughout the weekend dispelled any sense of crowding in the building, although some of the American visitors questioned calling 65 degrees balmy spring weather. All arrangements for the Assembly were under the direction of the Rev. Frank Rose, Mr. John Kuhl and Mr. Robert Schnarr.
     It was a pleasure to have the Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton presiding at the Assembly, which benefitted from his capable leadership. We regretted only that Mrs. Pendleton could not attend. The other ministers in attendance were the Rev. Harold Cranch, pastor of the Olivet Church; the Rev. Christopher Smith, his assistant and soon to become pastor in Dawson Creek; the Rev. Willard Heinrichs, pastor in Dawson Creek and soon to be the Superintendent of the South African Mission; and the Rev. Frank Rose, pastor of the Carmel Church.
     There was a noticeable feeling at the Assembly of a strengthened national unity, making possible a broader outlook toward General Church uses which helped to create the happy, friendly sphere that prevailed.

     First Session. The Assembly opened at 8:00 on Friday evening with a short service conducted by the Rev. Frank Rose, who then welcomed everyone and introduced Bishop Pendleton who spoke on "The Government of the General Church."

380


This talk was in preparation for the main business of the Assembly, the incorporation of the General Church in Canada. Bishop Pendleton traced the early development of the Church through the formation of the Academy, the separation from Convention, and the final establishment of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, to show that when Bishop W. F. Pendleton first wrote "The Order and Organization of the General Church of the New Jerusalem" in 1914, he had fifty years of study and development in the church on which to base his ideas. Many interesting points were developed, such as the three degrees of the priesthood; it was shown how each degree is a preparation for the next, until in the third degree the priest enters fully into the use of government. Also, man's freedom, both in regeneration and in church government, depends on consent, and the freedom of consent involves the freedom to reject. The need for councils and corporations was also defined. It was pointed out that the Corporation in Canada would be to further General Church uses in Canada under the supervision of Canadians, and not for the uses of the three societies in Canada.
     Following the session, the guests adjourned to two floodlit houses adjacent to the church where many ideas were exchanged and refreshments enjoyed. The homes were the manse, home of the Rev. and Mrs. Frank Rose, and the home of Mr. and Mrs. Philip Heinrichs.

     Second Session. The business session opened at 9:30 on Saturday morning, and with a short coffee break in the middle lasted nearly three hours. Bishop Pendleton opened the meeting, the Rev. Frank Rose and the Rev. Harold Cranch jointly conducted the business, Fred Hasen was secretary, and Keith Morley was "chief consultant."
     Before discussion commenced on the by-laws of the proposed corporation, a motion was passed postponing the question of opening the membership to women until the Second Canadian National Assembly, at which time a full session will be devoted to this subject if necessary and the Corporation will be honor bound to act on the wishes of the Assembly.
     After passing or amending each by-law the Assembly passed a resolution to set in motion the forming of the Corporation. Charter members then elected the first Board of Directors, and the directors their officers, with the following results:

     The Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton, President
     The Rev. Harold C. Cranch, Executive Vice President
     Fred Hasen, Secretary
     Fred Longstaff, Treasurer

Alec Craigie
Tom Fountain
Leonard E. Gyllenhaal
Gordon Jorgenson
John Kuhl
Keith Morley

381



Dr. Fred Hendricks
Denis Jean-Marie
Gilbert Niall
The Rev. Frank Rose
The Rev. Christopher Smith

     A buffet luncheon, prepared by a committee of Carmel Church women was served at one o'clock. Friendly groups gathered at tables in all corners of the building, making for an informal, relaxed atmosphere. Strangely enough, no one chose the "board table" in the library where the new Board of Directors convened after lunch, while many others caught cat naps before the afternoon session.

     Third Session. With the business of the Assembly taken care of, we settled down at 3:30 on Saturday afternoon to hear a paper by the Rev. Willard Heinrichs, the session opening with a short service conducted by the Rev. Harold Cranch. The paper, entitled "All Things New," directed our thoughts to the Lord's operation in human society in the natural world and encouraged renewed individual effort and study to co-operate with the Divine operation in making a new moral, civil, political and social order. Mr. Heinrichs suggested setting aside all ideas based on existing structures in society and going to the Writings for enlightenment and new truths to guide us. Many passages were quoted as to how the Writings should be approached. He warned against the hasty application of a few general passages in seeking solutions to current problems, and quoted the warning in the Spiritual Diary about disturbing society and causing enmities and hatreds in attaining one's ends. Some of the fields of study mentioned in the paper were civil government, astronomy, psychology and conjugial love. It was suggested that evangelization and work with young people might both benefit greatly from increased application of doctrine to external matters. Everyone in the church, regardless of education, ability or age, was encouraged to take part in this work and so strengthen his sphere, which will affect the minds of others.
     After this session there were a few minutes to relax, except for the busy committees responsible for setting up the next event, the banquet. One hour later found all the Assembly guests in party attire enjoying the hospitality of two neighboring homes near the church, those of Mr. and Mrs. Don Glebe and Mr. and Mrs. Erwin Brueckman, for a very sociable cocktail party.
     The Banquet. The banquet, always a social highlight at Assemblies, was indeed a very happy, lighthearted occasion. Adding to the white mums and ferns which decorated the stage so delightfully for the sessions table arrangements of red and white carnations made a bright setting. Bountiful food and cheerful service prepared the two hundred diners for the program to follow under the very capable direction of the Rev. Christopher Smith as toastmaster who kept the six songs and toasts and six speakers all in order.

382


The toast to "The Church" was given by Mr. Reinhold Kauk, who assured us that it is not pride in externals that makes us sing "Our Glorious Church," but rather joy that man can be regenerated by the truths of doctrine and abide in the Lord's kingdom on earth. The next three speakers dealt with the history of the Church in Canada.

     The Rev. Frank Rose spoke on the early years of the Carmel Church, beginning in 1830, and mentioned some of the early leaders who inspired the development. Then he kept his audience in stitches by quoting bits and pieces from turn-of-the-century reports, rolls and minute books. Mr. Sydney Parker entertained next with a very witty history of the Olivet Church, developing the theory that Toronto is the training ground for the General Church and Academy hierarchy. At this point in the program a quartet comprised of the Rev. Frank Rose, Roger Kuhl and Keith and Gilbert Niall rendered some original verses into which they worked almost every Canadian surname in the Church. The Rev. Harold Cranch then continued the history with a paper on "The Church in Western Canada" which recalled the annual summer trips by the Rev. F. E. Waelchli, the Rev. Henry Heinrichs, the Rev. Karl Alden and Mr. Otho Heilman.
     Mr. Robert Heinrichs was the next speaker, with a paper on "How the Future Looks to Me." He gave us a little projected history from the 20th anniversary Assembly of the incorporation of the General Church in Canada, and most of it looked good. In his closing remarks Bishop Pendleton added to the humor of the evening by misquoting a letter from the toastmaster and adding a little projected history to the last paper. He also expressed gratitude for what is right with the General Church.

     Sunday Services. The Assembly service at 11:00 a.m., on Sunday morning was attended by more than three hundred adults and children, a few more than could be comfortably crowded into the church. For this very special occasion the chancel was decorated with bright yellow forsythia, pussy willows and white mums. Violin and organ music added to the delightful sphere. The Rev. Frank Rose conducted the service with Bishop Pendleton preaching and officiating at the ordination of the Rev. Christopher Smith into the second degree of the priesthood. The Bishop's sermon was on "The Priesthood" and used the text: "Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you." (John 15: 16). It described the priestly function from most ancient times and defined its uses to the church today. "These uses are: the ministry of worship, the doctrinal instruction of the church and the administration of ecclesiastical government. There is, however, another use which, although it pertains to worship and is the culmination of all worship, is nevertheless unique.

383


Because of its importance it should be considered separately. We refer to the ministry of blessing. It is in this act of conference that the priest enters into the fullness of the representation of his office. Whereas in all worship there is an ascent of man to God, in the ministry of blessing there is a descent of God to man. . . . This function of the priestly office is also conferred by the rite of ordination; and whereas others may ask that there may be a blessing, only the priest may speak for the Lord in the pronouncement of the benediction. In this he speaks from his office and the representation which it bears."
     During the morning service a nursery for children under four was held in a home. During the Psalm, children aged 4 to 9 left the service and were shown film strips by the Rev. Harold Cranch. During the afternoon service Mr. Cranch showed religious movies to the school children.
     The weather co-operated splendidly all weekend but was appreciated most of all at Sunday noon as the total congregation was ushered from the church to the front lawn where greetings were exchanged in the warm sunshine and the Assembly photograph was taken. For the next hour and a half a leisurely buffet luncheon was enjoyed by family groups, some in the assembly hall and some at tables set up outside the building. As children left the tables to swing and climb trees in their Sunday clothes, the adults found it easy to visit from table to table with another cup of coffee and another delicious pastry.
     At 3:30 the Holy Supper was administered with Bishop Pendleton as celebrant and the Rev. Willard Heinrichs and the Rev. Christopher Smith as assistants. For those who participated it was a moving climax to the Assembly.
     A delightful tea party was held on the lawn in front of the school rooms after the service. Delicious refreshments had been prepared by a committee who served the children at a discreet distance in the school playing area. Goodbyes were said as guests departed, bringing to a close a most enjoyable, useful and historic Assembly.

     Attendance Figures:

First Session: address, Bishop Pendleton           203
Second Session: business meeting                    152
Luncheon                                             141
Third Session: address, Rev. Willard Heinrichs     134
Banquet                                             203
Ordination Service                                   335
Luncheon (adults 160, students and children 65)     225
Holy Supper Service (Communicants 85)               93
Registration                                        210

     VIVIAN RIEPERT

384


LAST PAGE OF THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE 1971

LAST PAGE OF THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE       Rev. THEODORE PITCAIRN       1971

     The last page of the Divine Providence begins: "Excuse that these things are added, so that the overflow of the leaf of paper may be infilled." The translation of this sentence in the Standard Edition reads: "Excuse the addition of what follows to fill out the rest of the sheet."*
     * DP 340e.
     This sentence has puzzled many in the New Church. It appears to indicate that the paragraph is of very little importance but was added only to occupy space. Yet that this is not the real meaning can be seen if we acknowledge that the Divine Providence is a book of the Word of the Lord, and that there is nothing in the Word of the Lord that is not of great significance.
     Internally seen, the Word is the Lord manifesting Himself; and if we do not have an idea of the full Divinity of the Word we do not have an idea of the full Divinity of the Lord.
     In the Science of Exposition by Bishop W. F. Pendleton there is a chapter on the last thing said and its great importance. The things there said confirm the importance of the last things said.
     In the sentence which commences the last paragraph of the Divine Providence we read: "Excuse that these things are added." If the human race had not fallen it would not have been necessary to adjoin this paragraph; but as the human race fell it was necessary. This appears to be one of the things involved in the word "excuse".
     The word "paper," Latin, charta, occurs quite frequently in the Third Testament, but like most words which do not occur in the Old and New Testament, its spiritual significance is not given. The root meaning of charta is a "papyrus leaf," and it thus has the idea of a "page."
     Words in the Word all have "inexhaustible" things in them, but we will not attempt here to unfold what is contained in the words charta, paper, or page, except to point out that a page often means a period, as when we speak of a page of history, or a page of a man's life. (When it is said that a paper was given to a meeting, no one thinks of the paper on which it was written.) A book consists of pages. When it speaks in the Word of the books by which those who have died are judged, these books signify the things of man's life written on the interior memory.*
     * AC 9386, 2474.

385



     The Divine Providence treats of the working or operation of the Lord's Divine love and wisdom. This last paragraph treats of the opposite, or the influence of the hells.
     Concerning the use of the opposite we read: "The conjunction of the good and the true is provided by the Lord by means of relation; for the good is not known as to its quality unless through relation to that which is less good, and by its contrariety to evil. From this comes all power to perceive and feel. . . . Everything enjoyable is perceived and felt from what is less enjoyable and by means of what is not enjoyable; everything beautiful . . . by that which is unbeautiful, and everything good . . . by means of evil."
     "If they knew truths only they would not have the opposites; and thus also thought would perish."
     The spirits from hell describe in the last paragraph of Divine Providence the delights of hell. The delights of hell are also the delights of our proprium. If we do not acknowledge the delights of our proprium as being from hell and opposed to the Divine Providence, we have no real knowledge of the truths concerning the Divine Providence, and, as we quoted above, in this case "thought would perish."
     In relation to the word, "excuse," compare what is said in the paragraph we are considering with what is said in Arcana Coelestia 986: 3. "Evil spirits are excused when they do evil, when they are in any use."
     The paragraph we are considering is certainly a use of the evil spirits from hell, and it illustrates the uses of the hells, by means of which this paragraph was given. We can take the word, "excuse," as a prayer that they should be forgiven.
     From the above it can be seen of what great importance is this last paragraph of the Divine Providence.
VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN 1971

VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN       Editor       1971

     Visitors to Bryn Athyn for the opening exercises of the Academy schools, or any other occasion, who need assistance in finding accommodation please communicate with the Guest Committee, c/o Mrs. Leo Synnestvedt, 611 Waverly Lane, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009. Phone: (215) WI 7-3725.

386


"LORD, TEACH US TO PRAY" 1971

"LORD, TEACH US TO PRAY"              1971


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

Editor . . . . Rev. W Cairns Henderson, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager . . . . Mr. L. E. Gyllenhaal, Bryn Athyn, Pa

All literary contributions should be sent to the Editor. Subscriptions, change of address, and business communications should he sent to the Business Manager. Notifications of address changes should he received by the 15th of the month.

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$5.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy, 50 cents.
     When the disciples asked, "Lord, teach us to pray," their request was itself a prayer. In these few words, therefore, they were led to meet what the Writings now tell us are two essential conditions for effective prayer. It must be directed to the Lord alone, and it must proceed from Him only. As the Lord is the only God, He alone can answer man's prayers; but if He is to do so, He must inspire the prayer, both as to that for which man asks and as to the spirit in which he does so.
     Our prayers should be offered in a spirit of implicit trust in the Lord's mercy, providence and wisdom, the underlying petition being that His will may be done. There is, of course, nothing magical about prayer. Yet it can be a very powerful means not only of entreating the Lord but of actually receiving from Him; not a means of shedding responsibilities, but of gaining the strength, wisdom and patience to carry them - a means by which man speaks to the Lord and the Lord answers him.
     Prayer can initiate that self-compulsion which is necessary for regeneration. It can turn the mind from self, focus it on the Lord and invite His approach, and provide for man's approach to Him. By means of prayer man's thought can be raised into the light of heaven to receive a vision of the Lord's kingdom, and the affections can be exalted to the Lord and opened to receive the gifts of His love. Prayer therefore effects communication, and by means of it man can be encouraged and strengthened in times of spiritual trial. Finally, it is the most effective means of introduction into humility. For all these reasons, then, our petition, like that of the disciples, should be: "Lord, teach us to pray."

387




     SPIRITUAL SADDUCEEISM

     The Sadducees are spoken of in the Gospels with the Pharisees, and the two sects are named together as seeking to entrap the Lord with questions. They are linked by Him in His warning to the disciples to "beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees"; and John the Baptist bestowed on both the scathing appellation "generation of vipers." Yet there were radical differences between them, mainly on two grounds. The first was theological and had to do with authority. The Sadducees accepted only the Old Testament as authoritative in religious and ethical matters, thus rejecting tradition - a view which led them to deny the resurrection and the existence of angels and spirits. They were literalists and rationalists. The second difference was sociological. The Sadducees were fewer than the Pharisees, but they included most of the nobility in Jerusalem, both priestly and lay. Their influence was probably restricted to the Temple and the Sanhedrin.
     Even the origin of their name is in dispute, and it is not certain when they became a sect; but it is thought that Sadduceeism may have arisen as a reaction against the extremism of the Pharisees. The Sadducees were at first less prominent than the Pharisees in their opposition to the Lord, though the high-priest who sought His death was a Sadducee; and when it became evident that Christianity was based on the Lord's resurrection, their opposition to the apostles became very strong.

     Nothing is said in the Writings about the representation of the Sadducees. However, we may conjecture that as the Pharisees represent those who are predominantly in the love of self, the Sadducees stand for those in whom the love of the world reigns. This would be consistent with their being the party of wealth and privilege in Jerusalem; with their belief that the only rewards are in this life, an attractive one to those in the love of the world and in possession of its wealth; with their denial of the resurrection; and with their extreme rationalism. Those in whom the love of the world reigns deny the life after death because they love only this life; and they are, perhaps, less opposed to the Lord than those in self-love because their affections are centered in this world, until they are forced to realize the opposition that exists between love of the Lord and His kingdom and love of the world.
     Let the Sadducees, then, stand as a warning to us against the inordinate love of the world which, in effect, denies the life after death because it has no place for that life. Let them stand also as a warning against that cunning and deceit which made the Sadducees spiritually a "generation of vipers."

388




     THE SUN OF HEAVEN

     As a philosopher Swedenborg saw the need for two suns in the creation process - one living and active, the other dead and passive or reactive. He therefore postulated a spiritual sun, and this postulate became the basis in his mind for reception later of the revealed doctrine concerning that sun. That doctrine is peculiar, even unique, to the New Church; yet it raises some fundamental questions.
     Is the sun of heaven Divine or spiritual, infinite or finite? There are certain statements in the Writings which might lead us to conclude that it is Divine and infinite. It is a most universal principle, we are taught, that the Lord is the sun of heaven; and again and again it is said that the sun in heaven is the Lord, and that the light of heaven is from the Lord who is the sun to the angels.
     On the other hand, we are told that the spiritual sun is not the Lord Himself but is from Him. The sun, the teaching is, is not God, but is a proceeding from the Divine love and wisdom. Let everyone beware, we are warned, of thinking that the spiritual sun is God Himself. God Himself is a Man. The Divine life is within, in the fire of that sun, but the things which constitute the sun are from the Lord but are not the Lord; therefore they are not life in itself, but are deprived of life in itself. In other words, the spiritual sun is not God but is from Him - the first sphere which surrounds Him. It is of the substance which has gone forth from Him and is therefore finite.

     Therefore the Writings make the curious statement about the spiritual sun that "there and thence is the first of finition." Taken in conjunction with the teaching that the first of that sun is God Man that seems to mean this. A true finite has both inner and outer limits. The spiritual sun has no inner limits, for within is Divine Man, infinite and uncreate; but as the first sphere which surrounds Him it has a self-imposed outer limit; wherefore it appears before the eyes of the angels which, although spiritual, are finite. This idea appears to reconcile the two lines of teaching about the spiritual sun and to explain how God first finited His infinity and produced all finite things by means of His sun. The Writings speak truly when they say that the Lord is the sun of heaven because that sun is from Him. They also speak truly when they say that the Lord in Himself is not a sun but Divine Man. The sun of heaven is spiritual and therefore finite. It is the first of finition and therefore the nexus between the Infinite and the range of created finites infinite within, finite without; connecting that which is infinite within and without and that which is finite within and without.

389


NEW CHURCH VERSION 1971

NEW CHURCH VERSION       Various       1971

     Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:

     In the first year of its publication NEW CHURCH LIFE carried an article pointing out that New Church people could not be satisfied with extant Bible translations. They "will still cling to the AV, and their only remaining hope for a correct translation of the Scriptures will rest on those who accept the Writings. . . ."* It was coincident that the following year the General Conference of the New Church in England elected a committee to translate the Word. The committee has endured for some ninety years, and just this spring we have their excellent presentation of the five books of Moses under the title, Pentateuch.
     * New Church Life, 1881, p. 4.
     Actually the determination to do a New Church translation goes back to 1843, when a committee was formed at the annual meeting of the Western Convention of the New Church. Bygone years have seen a number of scholarly men engaged in this work; yet by the time the Revised Standard Version came out twenty-five years ago, NEW CHURCH LIFE was saying: "Wanted: A New Church Edition of the Scriptures! There is a growing need for a New Church version."* This new volume, then, marks an important milestone.
     * 1946, p. 564
     It has numerous unique features. No one would know from the King James Version or the Revised Version that the word rendered "serpent" in Exodus 4: 3 is different from the one in Exodus 7: 9. Translators would tend to ignore the difference, but the Writings say: "the word rendered serpent in the former passages and the one so rendered in the latter are different."* The New Church translators have made the significant distinction.**
     * AE 714: 29.
     ** See AC 6946, 7239
     A feature the reader will soon notice and welcome is the use of the Divine name, Yehowah. (See the excellent article by the Rev. Kurt P. Nemitz, "The Correct Pronunciation of the Divine Name," NEW CHURCH LIFE, June 1967).
     But New Church translators are not without their problems and differences. Take the "shittim wood" of the Tabernacle. In his book, The Tabernacle of Israel, Bishop De Charms has given good reasons for making it "a most excellent cedar"; but this version has rendered it "acacia" after the manner of the other modern translations.
     When Swedenborg was going through the Word and producing the unpublished volumes that preceded the Arcana Coelestia, he at first used two translations and put them in parallel columns.

390


But halfway through Genesis he discontinued the use of the more literary Castellio and wrote out only the Schmidius version. And he gives an important principle in translation. "The very words of the original tongue must be inspected. Nor must attention be devoted to the elegances of the Latin or other tongue; for then an entirely different end is regarded than the instruction of the world in things spiritual and celestial. . . . "* He regrets that other translators "have given little study to the translation of the exact words of the text from their fountain head as done by Schmidius."** It is by these criteria that we find this new translation most attractive. The preface states that "the New Church finds it necessary to translate the Word in the light of its knowledge of the spiritual sense." Yet in a few instances that has not been carried through in the way we might have hoped. It seems unfortunate to change "an answer of peace" in Genesis 41: 16 to an answer "reassuring." (See in this connection AC 5257). Similarly "speak peaceably" is changed to "speak pleasantly" in Genesis 37: 4. In the Writings this is rendered "speak for peace unto him."***
     * WE 2431.
     ** WE 2073.
     ***AC 4681.
     When the Hebrew uses the word "peace," we should be even more inclined to bring this out than does the King James Version. In Genesis 29: 6, where that version says, "Is he well?," my Collins Bible deems it worthwhile to footnote that the Hebrew' says, "Is there peace to him?" The Writings here put emphasis on the word "peace."* Yet this new version makes it, "Does all go well with him?" Should not the word "peace" be brought out at least in a footnote?**
     * AC 3780.
     ** See also Genesis 37: 14; AC 4712.
     One could genuinely argue from the internal sense that the "peace be to you" of Genesis 43: 23 could be rendered "all is well."* But a New Church version should be no less interested than other versions in bringing out the key word "peace" from the original language. In this instance even the Jerusalem Bible makes it "Peace be to you." This is an ancient form of salutation that was ratified by the Lord when He came into the world.**
     * See AC 5662.
     ** See HH 287: 2.
     This example simply illustrates the point that the publication of one New Church version does not ipso facto settle our translation needs. It behooves us to give this version our attention and to benefit fully from a fine piece of work. We owe these men our congratulations and gratitude.
     DONALD L. ROSE

391




     P. S. Last year, sir, you seemed to regret the paucity of letters sent to NEW CHURCH LIFE. I have a suggestion to readers. Write a letter to the editor to comment on books. Writing an actual review is so final, so ponderous - and, you have to be qualified! I would not aspire to review such a considerable work as Existentialism and the New Christianity by the Rev. Harry Barnitz. How can one do justice to such an extensive piece of work? But it is easy in a letter to share an impression or two. One impression of that book is that it can be most useful for people who do read existentialist authors, but who might not be interested in more typical New Church literature.
     I hope other readers will share with us impressions of the new Pentateuch.
     DLR
ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH 1971

ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH       Editor       1971

     School Opening: September 1971

     The official opening of the Academy schools this year will follow a different pattern from that of the past.

     Saturday, September 11, 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. Open Houses will be held in the Theological School, the College, the Girls School and the Boys School, where faculty members will be available for consultation and facilities open for inspection. All parents and friends of the Academy are cordially invited to these Open Houses.

     Saturday, September 11, 8:30 p.m. The President and Mrs. Willard D. Pendleton invite the parents of all students in the Academy schools and visitors to Bryn Athyn, and their hosts and hostesses, to a Reception in the Asplundh Field House.

     Monday, September 13, 8:30 a.m. Separate School Opening services will be held simultaneously for the College in Pendleton Hall and for the Secondary schools in Benade Hall. Parents and friends of the Academy are cordially invited to attend these ceremonies. Classes commence immediately following.

392


Church News 1971

Church News       CHARLES P. GYLLENHAAL       1971

     NORTH OHIO CIRCLE

     In September of this year the North Ohio Circle will remember that it was eight years ago that its visiting pastor stepped off a DC 6 at the Cleveland Airport for his first visit to us. This was a few days after his arrival in the United States, he having been transferred from England to a position at the Academy.
     This seems to be a good time to express our appreciation to our indefatigable, always gracious, dedicated teacher and good friend, the Rev. Erik Sandstrom. Perhaps we are paying tribute at the same time to all (visiting) pastors everywhere.
     The word (visiting) is in parenthesis because we do not think of Mr. Sandstrom as a visitor; we think of him as our pastor. We forget that he has a full-time job (or more) at the Academy. We forget that at least eleven times a year he makes the 1,000 mile round trip from Bryn Athyn - flying during the winter months, but driving most of the time, usually with Bernice, his lovely wife, and often with other very welcome visitors. It never really occurs to us that he isn't always here. Looking back, Mr. Sandstrom has flown to Cleveland about twenty-five times - fighting snow, strikes and mechanical difficulties - and has driven about sixty-five times. Most of us spend a year getting our courage up to make this gruelling auto trip to and from Bryn Athyn once. Most important, however, is the inspiration, leadership and affection that he brings with him by plane or car.
     Mr. Sandstrom has guided us through a heartening period of growth, through a General Assembly, through eight annual meetings, and through various other potential pitfalls. And we remain a very cohesive and happy circle.
     We are very fortunate to have Mr. Sandstrom conduct our monthly doctrinal classes. They are scholarly, provocative, and interesting to the point that the discussion afterwards could last all night, if not shut off. At the same time the services on Sunday, no matter where they are held, are wrapped in a quiet sphere of worship that is typical of Mr. Sandstrom. Also typical of him is the extra effort he makes in sending us before each monthly visit a preview of the Sunday sermon and the Saturday class, with suggested readings. This information is sent to the Circle in a mimeographed publication called "Around the Circle."
     In the category of "news" since our last report: we now have a Sons chapter, a big benefit being that we have had: 1) an enjoyable visit from the Toronto executive; 2) a banquet in April, 1970, with Mr. Don Fitzpatrick speaking as the Academy representative; 3) the chance to play host to the Pittsburgh executive at its quarterly meeting in March of this year; and 4) a banquet in May of this year with Dr. Grant Doering speaking as the Academy representative.
     Other stimulating activities recently include a visit by the Rev. Harold Cranch of Toronto, who talked of his studies of archeology in connection with the Word and gave a report of the World Assembly in London; a memorable visit by eight members of the Erie (Pa.) Circle - who came to observe our lay service, as they have now started their own - and left us true New Church friends whom we hope to see again; and a visit in April of this year from Mr. Ariel Gunther. Mr. Gunther's daughter, Marilyn, with her husband, Bob Hunsaker, and two children, now belong to the North Ohio Circle. Mr. Gunther gave us an illustrated talk on stained glass and mosaic tile, as used in the Cathedral and Glencairn.

393



     In addition, we have had a long list of visitors from other parts of the Church. Our monthly Sunday services, held now on a regular basis at the Swedenborg Chapel, the Convention church in Cleveland, are attended by about fifty people. This total can include visitors from Bryn Athyn or elsewhere; members of the Convention group; and even students from Rocky River High School, encouraged to attend by Mrs. Charles (Stoecklin) Crehore, who teaches there. Lay services are held monthly between the regular services. Another regular member of the congregation is Mr. Henderson of Tallmadge, Ohio, who has long been a student of the Writings on his own, and who heard that there was an organized Church, and arrived at the Swedenborg Chapel early on the Sunday morning that the ceiling collapsed. He helped clean up the mess, and despite this "hazy" introduction has been one of us since.
     CHARLES P. GYLLENHAAL
ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH Joint Meeting 1971

ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH Joint Meeting        N. BRUCE ROGERS       1971

     The Annual Joint Meeting of the Corporation and Faculty of the Academy of the New Church was held in the Assembly Hall at Bryn Athyn, Pa., on the evening of May 21, 1971. Present were a number of adult visitors and students in addition to members of the Corporation and Faculty, for a total attendance of 305.
     President Willard D. Pendleton opened the meeting with a short service of worship, followed by acceptance of the Minutes of last year's meeting, and the offering of a memorial resolution for Mr. Kesniel C. Acton. Bishop Pendleton then announced the retirement of the Rev. W. Cairns Henderson as Dean of the Theological School and the appointment of the Rev. Erik Sandstrom to that post.
     There followed the annual reports of the Executive Vice President of the Academy, the Secretary of the Corporation, and the Treasurer. These reports and the memorial resolution for Mr. Acton will be found published in the Annual Number of The Academy Journal for the year 1970-1971, together with the Minutes of this meeting.
     The concluding portion of the meeting was devoted to a presentation by the Education Department of the Academy, reporting on some aspects of its work in the Senior College in preparing students for the B. S. degree. The Rev. David R. Simons presented a view of this work in its relation to the schools of societies in the General Church, both in meeting staffing needs and in the development of New Church educational philosophy. Mrs. George Woodard explained a new part of the degree program, called "the practicum," which involves an entire term devoted in the last year of study to actual experience in the classroom under close supervision by experienced teachers, Professor Richard R. Gladish, Chairman of the Department, closed the program with some remarks on the development of the curriculum and recent efforts in investigating possible teacher certification by the State for its graduates.
     N. BRUCE ROGERS
Commencement 1971

Commencement       N. BRUCE ROGERS       1971

     This year's Commencement Exercises, held on the morning of June 16 in the Asplundh Field House, were marked by cooler weather than usual which was at the same time sunny and pleasant, contributing to the comfort of those attending. It was the Academy's ninety-fourth Commencement, and it saw graduates receiving degrees and diplomas from all the Academy schools: one from the Theological School; six from the Senior College; nineteen from the Junior College, thirty-three from the Girls School, and thirty-eight from the Boys School - a total of ninety-seven
     After the entrance in procession of the students of the various schools, followed by the Corporation and Faculty, the Rev. Martin Pryke opened the exercises with a service of worship, including the traditional singing of Anthems in Hebrew and Greek which focus on the Word as our source of spiritual instruction.

394



     The speaker was Mr. Kenneth P. Holmes of Glenview, Illinois, who is the Chairman of the Department of Social Studies at Glenbrook High School. Mr. Holmes addressed himself to the current national and world problems facing the graduates of today, and compared them with those of a generation ago, placing them in a historical perspective that afforded both insight into their nature and hope for the future. He concluded by stressing the mission of the New Church to bring order into a world of spiritual chaos. It was a powerful and inspiring address that was much appreciated, and it will be published.
     During the presentation of diplomas and degrees it was announced that this year's recipient of the Theta Alpha Alice Henderson Glenn Award was Miss Charis Dunlap, graduating from the Junior College; and that four Sons medals had been awarded to graduates of the Boys School: a Gold Medal to Mr. Curtis McQueen, and Silver Medals to Messrs. Mark Alden, Kent Cooper and Philip Schnarr.
     The valedictorians were: for the Girls School, Miss Paige Bostock; for the Boys School, Mr. Curtis McQueen; for the Junior College, Mr. Christopher Bown; for the Senior College, Mr. Glenn Alden; and for the Theological School, the Rev. Erik E. Sandstrom. Their remarks reflected an affirmative spirit both toward the education they had received and toward the undertakings they looked forward to. If there was a common keynote, it was that graduation marks not an end but a new beginning, and that their past training and achievements were but a preparation to meet new challenges, for which they felt ready and even eager.
     In his response to the valedictories, the Executive Vice President, speaking for the President, noted the spirit of their remarks and the themes to which they had addressed themselves; and in thanking them for their expressions of gratitude to the Academy, went on to point out that the Academy is not the Church but a preparation for entrance into the Church, and that those now leaving the Academy must assume for themselves the responsibility for their further instruction in the doctrines, by associating themselves whenever possible with the Church in its activities of worship and instruction, and by their private reading of the Word.
     The exercises closed with the singing of "Vivat Nova Acclesia" (Long Live the New Church), which, in the theme of its words, seemed a particularly fitting climax this year to the spirit of the morning's ceremonies, that the New Church may live and remain always faithfully the Bride of the Lord.
     N. BRUCE ROGERS

     ACADEMY SCHOOLS

     Awards, 1971

     At the Commencement Exercises on June 16, the graduates received their diplomas and the honors were announced as follows:

     Theological School

     BACHELOR or THEOLOGY: Erik Emanuel Sandstrom.

     Senior College

     BACHELOR OF SCIENCE: Glenn Graham Alden, Michael Dean Glenn, Mary Elizabeth Waelchli Griffin, Ottar Trosvik Larsen, Susan Linda Brown Woodard, Rosemary Susan Wyncoll.

     Junior College

     DIPLOMA: With Distinction: Christopher Duncan Bown, Dale Cooper, Charis Dunlap, Alan Wayne Gladish, Kathy Byrne Grant, Polly Suzanne McQueen, Merry Posey.
     DIPLOMA: Peter Macbeth Alden, Patricia Anne Bruckerl, William Harrison Clifford III, Marvin Bruce Clymer, Margaret Sharon Cranch, Anna Louise Friesen, Robert Grubb, Henry Bruce Heinrichs, Margaret Anne Parker, Bazett John Rabone, Russell Hugh Rose, Sonia Beth Soneson.

395




     Girls School

     DIPLOMA: With Honors: Kristin Louise Asplundh, Janis Cole, Elizabeth Gyllenhaal, Stephanie Lynn Latta, Melissa Kate Pitcairn, Eva Magdalen Sandstrom, Susan Lynn Schnarr, Donna Zeitz.
     DIPLOMA: Clarinda Anne Alden, Zanna Alden, Deborah Bevan, Gail Amelia Birchman, Paige Bostock, Sheila Joyce Brannon, Elizabeth Brewer, Jency Ellen Cole, Carole Jane Cronlund, Judith Anne Davis, Constance Gyllenhaal, Pamela Gyllenhaal, Susan Frances Lee, Adele Nelson, Janet Louise Pendleton, Louise Posey, Kay Marie Reuter, Rebecca Rhodes, Jeri Irene Roschman, Andra Seckelman, Theda Margaret Spracklin, Anne Laurel Sullivan, Ruth Synnestvedt, Susan Louise Synnestvedt, Leslie Jane Taylor.

     Boys School

     DIPLOMA: With Honors: Kent Cooper, Curtis Leslie McQueen, Dewey Odhner, Philip Bradley Schnarr.
     DIPLOMA: Mark Edward Alden, Brian Gage Blair, Maxwell Blair, Thomas Andrew Bostock, Richard Leo Bradin, Ivan Kent Brown, Eric Hugh Carswell, Steven Daniel Clymer, Garth Cooper, Martin McDaniel Echols, Donald Henry Friesen, Mark William Furry, Geoffrey Lee Grant, Mark Alvin Gruber, Dean Nathan Holmes, Walter Lee Horigan III, Robert Gordon Johns, Kim Junge, Cedric King, Dean Charles Morey, David Andrew Nash, John Kevin Odhner, Thomas Cooper Redmile, Robert Hyland Rose, Thomas Hartley Rose, Hans Ulrich Schoenberger, Joel Hyatt Schoenherger, Edward Acton Simons, Jeremy Frederick Simons, Donald Goodwin Cole Smith, Willard Dale Smith, Paul Bruce Synnestvedt, Malcolm Stephen Walter, Philip Robert Zuber.

     Theta Alpha Award

     The Theta Alpha "Alice Henderson Glenn Award" was given by the Faculty of the College to Charis Dunlap.

     Sons of the Academy Awards

     The Sons of the Academy Gold Medal was awarded to Curtis Leslie McQueen.

     The Sons of the Academy Silver Medal was awarded to Mark Edward Alden, Kent Cooper and Philip Bradley Schnarr.
FIRE AND THE LIGHT OF LIFE 1971

FIRE AND THE LIGHT OF LIFE              1971

     "There is in man the fire of life, and the light of life. The fire of life is his love, and the light of life is his faith. The love of good (that is, love to the Lord and love toward the neighbor) makes the fire of life in a good man and in an angel of heaven; and the love of truth and the faith of truth make the light of life in them. But the love of evil (that is, the love of self and the love of the world) makes the fire of life in an evil man and in a spirit of hell; and the love and faith of what is false make the light of life in them. But the love of evil is called in the Word the 'burning of fire,' because it burns and consumes those things which belong to the love of good and truth." (Arcana Coelestia 9141: 2)

396


LIVING GOD 1971

LIVING GOD       Rev. ROY FRANSON       1971


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. XCI
SEPTEMBER, 1971     No. 9

     "I am the First and the Last: I am He that liveth and was dead,- and behold, I am alive for evermore. Amen." (Revelation 1: 17, 18)

     The book of Revelation does not give a prophetical account of the rise and fall of the Christian Church, beginning in the days of the apostles and ending with the battle of Armageddon, as is commonly believed; it is a prophecy describing the very last days of the first Christian Church, and the commencement and establishment of the "crown of all the churches," spoken of as the "holy city, New Jerusalem." In this final book of the New Testament Word the one and only God of heaven and earth is frequently named the "First and the Last." The opening words of the book state that it is a revelation of "Jesus Christ." He it is, therefore, who is the "First and the Last, the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End." The most holy name of the supreme Being-the "I AM" of the Old Testament-is modified and clarified in many places throughout the Word. The Old Testament itself speaks of Him as the First and the Last, as in the prophet Isaiah, where we read: "Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel and His Redeemer, the Lord of Hosts: I am the First and I am the Last; and beside Me there is no God. . . . I, even I, am the Lord; and beside Me there is no Savior."*
     * Isaiah 44: 6; 43: 11.
     In the New Testament we read that Jehovah, or I Am, is the "Christ,"* the "way, the truth and the life"** the "door to the sheepfold," *** the "good shepherd,"**** the "Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last," and the "root and offspring of David; the bright and morning star."*****

398


By all these clarifying modifications of the "I Am" the one and only God of heaven and earth is presented to finite minds as omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent in a most general, but at the same time, in a most powerful manner.
     * Matthew 24: 5.
     ** John 14: 6.
     *** John 7: 9.
     **** John 10: 14.
     ***** Revelation 22: 16.
     What is particularly interesting about the text before us, however, is that the one God is described, not only as the "First and the Last," thus as to His own infinite and unchanging qualities, but also as "He that liveth and was dead," that is, foretelling how finite men would conceive and speak of Him at the end of the first Christian dispensation.

     In every church since the beginning of time God has been loved and feared; He has been thought of as the source of every blessing, as a loving Father immanently concerned with earthly society-a Father who justly aids or opposes man's plans and efforts, and a Father who rewards men, now and in eternity, for faithfulness and virtue, and punishes them for disobedience and sin. God, whether conceived of as one supreme Being, or as "six and thirty thousand," has been in the center of human thought ever since God formed man out of the dust. Men have misunderstood God, they have misinterpreted His law and His will, as revealed in His Word; they were unable to recognize Him when He came in the flesh, but they have not denied His existence. Theologians and philosophers in every age have spent a great part of their lives trying to formulate airtight arguments for the existence of God; since time immemorial it has always been believed that only "the fool hath said in his heart, there is no God."* Thinking men throughout the ages have recognized the importance of making him whom the Word speaks of as "a fool" to know that the God who exists in his understanding at the moment when he denies Him, must, for that very reason, also exist in reality.
     * Psalm 14: 1.
     Numerous and various are these arguments. The principle of cause and effect has often been applied in producing them. So, for instance, it must be acknowledged by every man that he is an imperfect being, for his knowledge is limited and increases little by little. But the idea which man has of God is that of an absolutely perfect Being. On the principle that there cannot be more reality or more perfection in the effect than in the cause, it must therefore be concluded that our own imperfect minds cannot be the cause of a perfect Being. In other words, the idea that man possesses of a Being more perfect than himself, must necessarily have been placed in him by a Being who is really more perfect. The essence, or core, in all the arguments based upon the principle of cause and effect is, that all things and beings which exist cannot have caused their own existence, but are effects of a prior cause: therefore, there must be a Being who does not need a cause of its being, simply because the very nature of this Being is existence itself.

399


This is why God, when He speaks to men, calls Himself "I Am," and this long before men had produced the argument that God is because He must be existence itself.
     Religious leaders throughout the ages have always been greatly concerned about the importance of preserving the eternal truth that God is, and indeed that He is "mercy and truth" to all who sincerely seek to live according to His revealed will. This was true also in the beginning of the Christian Church. But in our day Christian leaders have come out with the statement that God is dead, and thus has been fulfilled the prophecy of the text, "I am the First and the Last: I am He that liveth, and was dead." And it is to be noted that in the internal sense these words do not refer to the Lord's crucifixion and resurrection; for, as stated above, this is a prophecy foretelling the very last days of the first Christian dispensation, and the beginning of the New Church. These words, therefore, have reference to the fact that in the last days of the Christian Church God will be thought of by its members as being dead. It was the worship of false gods that caused the end and destruction of all the previous churches existing upon the earth. But in the Christian Church voices are being heard that completely reject the very concept of God. For the first time in the history of the race, God-His love, His justice, and His immediate presence-has been brought into question, not only by the biblical "fool," but by the teaching ministry of the Christian Church itself.

     The prophetic statement, "I am He that liveth and was dead," deserves our very best attention. Frequently the Lord calls Himself "He that liveth," and the context of all these passages clearly shows that unless man acknowledges the living God, he himself will lose his life. The prophet Jeremiah was inspired to write: "And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of My people, to swear by My name, the Lord liveth . . . then shall they be built in the midst of My people. But if they will not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation, saith the Lord."*
     * Jeremiah 12: 16, 17.
     Again we read: "Wherefore, as I live, saith the Lord: Surely, because thou hast defiled My sanctuary with all thy detestable things, and with all thine abominations, therefore will I also diminish thee; neither shall Mine eyes spare, neither will I have any pity."* In beautiful words David was inspired to express what every man knew and believed in the ancient world: "My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. . . . Behold, He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep."**
     * Ezekiel 5: 11.
     ** Psalm 121: 2, 4.

400



     The Lord exhorts us to swear by His name, "the Lord liveth," because He alone is life, and from Him alone comes all life. And it is because He is love itself and wisdom itself that He is life itself; for love and wisdom are life. Men and angels are recipients of love and wisdom proceeding from the Lord, and therefore recipients of the Lord's life. The acknowledgment of this is absolutely basic for the preservation of mankind as human beings. Yet, it is believed and taught today in the Christian world that man has life implanted in him and that it does not therefore flow in unceasingly from Him who alone has life in Himself, and who thus alone is life.
     It is this falsity now openly taught by Christian leaders and philosophers that lies at the root of all the unrest and violence that we experience in society today; it is this perverted rational acceptance of the non-existence of God, that is the real cause for all hatred among individuals, groups, classes and races. For when life itself is rejected, the inevitable effect is death and destruction. Thus we see that the law of cause and effect, which can be profitably used to illustrate the existence of God, can be used with equal profitableness to illustrate the truth that when God is neglected and rejected-when the source of life is denied-the receiving vessels of life cannot but mutually destroy each other.

     Frustrated Christian leaders recognize and admit that the simple message of the Bible does no longer inspire men to "lift up their eyes unto the hills" looking for help in their troubles from their Maker. Man is no longer looking up, acknowledging with the Psalmist that his "help cometh from the Lord which made heaven and earth"; be is looking out into the vastness of space, and down into the marvelous structure of the atom. And in so doing, he has made tremendous scientific strides. Never before has man been so powerfully aware of the immensity of the universe, or of the unbelievable force by which an atom is kept intact. He now knows that the earth is not the center of the universe. The pride of being a human being on this earth, as the center of the universe, has been replaced by an anxiety of lostness on a mere speck in the universe, in which innumerable planets may be inhabited. This, and many other things which science has manifestly enabled man to see and perceive, have drastically changed the frame of his religious self-evaluation based on the teaching of orthodox Christianity. Phenomena, which yesterday men could only ascribe to the powers of the gods, have today a perfectly logical scientific explanation; and scientists are confident that it is only a question of time-a very short time indeed-until science will have an answer to the mystery of life itself.
     Man is to be duly praised and admired for his marvelous scientific achievements.

401


But the tragedy is that in his scientific exuberance his spirit is suffering from starvation. He no longer has a healthy concern for the life of his spirit, but only a fearful anxiety in regard to the very existence of human life on this earth. His scientific achievements have made him afraid of himself; for he knows that, in a very literal sense, the destruction of mankind is at his very fingertips. And since he does not acknowledge a life beyond, he is scared, he is bewildered, and he despairs.

     The emotional stress of the possibility of utter destruction is more than many people are able to bear. The result is that they engage in either absurd, irresponsible or destructive activities. Thinking of the human family as but a greater man, we may picture him today as an ambivalent creature, with a desire to survive on the one hand, and a desire to destroy, on the other. For having rejected and neglected God, he is ruled and governed by self; and self is as eager to destroy as it is anxious to survive. The truth of this insane picture of today's society is unquestionably confirmed by the mounting acts of absurdity, irresponsibility, violence and destruction.
     But the prophecy of the Apocalypse does not end with the words, "I am He that liveth and was dead." It continues with the comforting and reassuring promise, "Behold I am alive for evermore."
     This is the wonderful sensation which the man who is led to the New Church will experience and perceive. This return to a belief in the Living God has been made possible because the I Am has revealed Himself anew in the Writings for the New Church. Possessing the Writings, as the result of an historical occurrence, more excellent than all miracles-namely, the opening of the spiritual eyes of a man, that he might see the wonders of heaven has given to man the material by which to discover spiritual laws. These spiritual laws are far more glorious and wonderful than my natural law that man ever has or ever will discover. And, if he diligently applies himself to the discovery of spiritual laws in the light of the Writings, even as he has labored to discover natural laws in the light of worldly knowledge, they can be seen with the eyes of his spirit just as clearly, and acknowledged just as whole-heartedly, as any natural law can be seen and acknowledged.
     In the New Church it is clearly seen and humbly acknowledged that the New Testament teaching of the Lord, "without Me ye can do nothing," contains an immutable spiritual law, which, when understood and lived, produces in man an inner state of peace containing the promise of eternal blessedness. Possessing the revealed knowledge of the Writings it can be clearly seen and joyfully acknowledged that the teachings of the Hebrew Word which speak of the death of the body as an event whereby men are "gathered to their people," or "to their fathers," contain within themselves an equally immutable spiritual law which prescribes that man lives as a complete man to all eternity after the death of his body, and this in a world that is even more real than the world he left.

402



     In the New Church there are, and will be, those who look out into the vastness of space, and down into the marvelous structure of the atom ' And the thrill and delight in the discovery of something new and useful for man during his life in the world will be as great with them as with any other man. But in addition, the New Church man is supported in his natural efforts of being useful to society by a spiritual teaching which is fully satisfying to his mind, as well as in complete harmony with his scientific findings. Indeed, every new scientific discovery will serve him as a new confirmation and clarification of his religious beliefs.
     Thus it is, that in the New Church God has again taken the central place in the human mind-"the tree of life" is again restored "in the midst" of man's intellectual "garden." God is again recognized as life itself-the one and only life. In this belief and acknowledgment man can enjoy life in all its dimensions; he can live in peace with himself and the world; he can be delivered from the horrors of fear and anxiety; freed from his states of indifference and cynicism, and gifted with powerful weapons against the structure of evil.
     May we therefore learn to realize the importance and significance of the prophecy which reads: "I Am the First and the Last; I Am He that liveth and was dead; and behold, I Am alive for evermore. Amen." Amen.

     LESSONS: Psalms 121, 122. Revelation 1: 1-11, 17, 18. Inv. 39, 46.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 438, 442, 441.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 11, 111.
LAWS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE 1971

LAWS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE              1971

     "7. Man is admitted into the truths of faith and the goods of love by God, only in so far as he can be kept in them to the end of life; for it is better that he should be constantly evil, than that he should be good and afterwards evil, since he thus becomes profane. The permission of evil is chiefly from this ground." (Apocalypse Explained 1136)

403


ALL THINGS NEW 1971

ALL THINGS NEW       Rev. WILLARD L. D. HEINRICHS       1971

     (Delivered at the First Canadian National Assembly, May 8, 1971, and the Tenth Pacific Northwest District Assembly, July 10, 1971.)

     In the twenty-first chapter of the book of Revelation we find that familiar and yet always powerful and thrilling promise of the Lord: "Behold, I make all things new." This, surely, is a promise that only the infinite and eternal God could make. If we reflect for a moment on the implications of this Divine statement, our minds are filled with deep humility and awe. "He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new." [Italics added.] That there should be no doubt whatever regarding the certainty of the promise, the Lord commanded John to record these confirmatory words: "Write, for these words are true and faithful."
     Now we know from the Apocalypse Revealed that these words were addressed primarily to people entering the spiritual world from the time of the Lord's first advent to the time of the Last judgment. They constitute a promise to these people that there would indeed be such a last judgment in the spiritual world when the former corrupted Christian heaven and the vastated Christian Church would perish. Then would the Lord from His Divine Human create a new heaven, and a new church to be called the New Jerusalem*; the newness in both worlds arising from the new doctrines given through the servant of the Lord, Emanuel Swedenborg.
     * AR 886.
     It is, however, an obvious truth that no statement of our Lord is dated. It has its application in all times, in all places, in all people, in all states of life. The Lord's statement, "Behold, I make all things new," is therefore a standing assurance to each one of us that if we freely consent and co-operate, He will form in us a new will and a new understanding, and from this a new spiritual life in accordance with what is good and true.
     Yet the Lord's promise to make all things new surely involves more than the making new of the spiritual world and the spirit of the individual in that world. As I conceive of it, and I am certainly not alone in this, the Lord is constantly working through the agency of angels, spirits and men to make all things in the natural world new also. The Lord is tirelessly operating to create in this world a new moral order, a new civil and political order, and a new social order which will correspond with the new spiritual order and provide a fit embodiment for it.

404


No field of human knowledge, no area of human experience, is to be left untouched and unchanged by the Divinely loving and wise operations of the Lord. It is to this latter operation, the operation of the Lord in human society in the natural world, that I would direct your attention this afternoon.
     I would like to focus especially on our responsibility to co-operate with this Divine operation. When I say, our responsibility, I refer not so much to the New Church as an organization, but to the individuals who are associated with the organization. The primary use of the church organization is to see that the Divine is in the world-that Divine truths and good from the Word are evangelized and are maintained in their soundness and purity. The church addresses itself primarily to the spiritual needs of man. The people in the church, however, certainly have a further responsibility: they must do their utmost to relate spiritual goods and truths to moral, civil, political and social affairs. Note what is said in the work Heaven and Hell relative to this matter:

     "The spiritual life is not a life separated from the natural life, or the life of the world, but is joined with it as the soul is joined with its body, and if it were separated it would be . . . like living in a house that has no foundation. For moral and civil life is the active plane of the spiritual life, since to will well is the province of the spiritual life, and to act well of the moral and civil life; if the latter be separated from the former the spiritual life consists solely of thought and speech, and the will, left with no support, recedes."*
     * HH 529.

     Now everyone who is acquainted with the Heavenly Doctrine must recognize the truth of the above statement. The love of the spirit must find some expression in act or it eventually perishes. Hence the common teaching that "to receive the life of heaven, a man must needs live in the world and engage in its business and employments and by means of a moral and civil life there receive spiritual life. In no other way can the spiritual life be formed in man, or his spirit prepared for heaven."*
     * HH 528.
     At the same time, however, and this is the essential point of my address, we must always remember that the quality of man's actions, the quality of his moral and civil life, which is to support his spiritual life, is according to the quantity and quality of the truths of Divine revelation that he knows, understands and applies to his moral and civil life. Just any old code of moral and civil life will not suffice, no matter how strongly confirmed by centuries of tradition, or how commonly it may be accepted in one's community.

405


In short, the moral, civil, political and natural life of the New Church man must reflect the spiritual goods and truths of the Writings; and this requires careful thought and reflection.
     The danger is always present-perhaps not so much in moral matters, but certainly in civil, political and other natural affairs-that we may assume without reflection that our external life is outside of the scope of the teaching of the Writings. It is the nature of our heredity to dissociate faith from life. Note what is said in the Arcana Coelestia regarding people with our heredity.

     "They separate spiritual life from civil life so widely that they would not dare to draw any idea of the one from the other. That the two correspond, and that spiritual life is represented in civil life, they know not at all, and some do not even allow any comparison; when yet the case really is that no idea can be had of spiritual life except from things that are in civil life; and therefore if the latter are set aside the former falls to the ground, until at last it is no longer believed in."*
     * AC 4366.

     Now when I stress the necessity of relating what the Writings teach to all fields of knowledge and human experience, I am not calling attention to something that has heretofore been passed over in the New Church. Since the very beginning of the New Church many have seen the importance of this work. The early Academicians are eminent examples of this, and I would in no way wish to detract from their worthy endeavors. I believe, however, that as yet we have not progressed too far down the road in our efforts to make all things new in the external realms that must, of necessity, provide an embodiment for the new spiritual order. There are several reasons for this. In the first place, the men of the church saw as their primary duty, and rightly so, to seek to understand and apply the teaching of the new doctrine to the spiritual life of the individual man, and to the life of the church. In the second place, there was sufficient stability and order in moral, civil and political affairs that there seemed to be no immediate necessity of examining these and like areas with a view to advocating significant reforms.
     The Writings themselves would seem to reflect the view that the external institutions and laws of society are already in sufficient order to reflect the new spiritual order. Note what is said in the following passage from the True Christian Religion, and then let us reflect on the situation in today's society:

     "Viewing moral life in its essence it can be seen that it is a life that is in accordance with human laws and with Divine laws; therefore he who lives in accordance with these two laws as one law is a truly moral man, and his life is charity. Anyone, if he will, can understand from external moral life the nature of charity.

406


Only transfer external moral life, such as prevails in civil communities, over into the internal man, so that in its will and thought there may be a likeness and conformity to the acts in the external, and you will see charity in its true image."*
     * TCR 445.

     The statement encouraging us "only transfer external moral life, such as prevails in civil communities, over into the internal man, so that in its will and thought there may be a likeness and conformity to the acts in the external, and you will see charity in its true image": such a statement would seem most surprising until we realize what was considered a civil community in Swedenborg's day. The following brief statement in the Spiritual Diary sheds some light on this matter, as it focuses attention on one of the essentials necessary for the preservation of a truly civil community: "civil laws also throughout the world utterly prohibit them [adulteries] as things to be abhorred."*
     * SD 4405.

     Let us also remember the teaching in Heaven and Hell 531, where the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh commandments are said to be the laws of civil life, in addition to being laws of moral and spiritual life; which means, of course, that civil authorities have a responsibility to impose punishments where there are infractions of these laws. Certainly today's civil communities, at least in Western society, are not the civil communities referred to in the Writings, and the external moral life required therein is clearly not of the same caliber. While the fifth and seventh commandments in the Decalogue are still quite strongly enunciated, little effort is made to enforce the fourth commandment in its natural applications, and the sixth commandment is no longer regarded by many communities as a civil law at all. It is only too evident that the old moral, civil and political orders and institutions are being dangerously eroded and swept away.
     New Church people cannot just stand by and watch society lurch toward anarchy and chaos. All around us there are people seeking, through writing, speaking and action, to establish a new order. But from what? From human intelligence unguided by Divine revelation. Surely we must step forward now, and from the Word begin to draw out Divine principles applicable to life in the worldly community and so organize these principles that the outline of a truly new order can begin to be glimpsed.
     Our natural reaction, however, is usually to try to bring back the old order that used to be-the one that was comfortable for us, the one that we grew up with. But when we are tempted to try to bring back the old order, let us remember that the old, while it served a useful purpose in maintaining a reasonably stable environment in which the New Church could commence, was in itself permeated by the evils and falsities of the former Christianity. Its foundations were laid, in many instances, in eras where there was virtually no spiritual light penetrating into natural affairs.

407



     But as the sons of Israel borrowed from the Egyptians many useful things which were later used in the construction of the Tabernacle, so we must draw from the old order all that is good, true and useful, and then, under Divine direction, seek to construct a new order. This will involve us in a searching examination of all areas of knowledge which relate to civil affairs: philosophy, jurisprudence, politics, ethics, history, sociology and psychology, to name but a few. All of these areas of knowledge must be examined and reordered in the light of principles from the Writings.
     But if we are to enjoy any unique enlightenment to bring forth something new from the Lord for the use of society in its external affairs, we must approach the Lord's Word in the Heavenly Doctrine in the proper manner. It is especially important that we avoid the profane tendency of our heredity to study the Word with a view to confirming theories and opinions already formed from our own intelligence, or passed on to us by others. The following passage from Arcana Coelestia speaks to this tendency, and teaches what our motivation should be when, we turn to the Word:

     "It is known that there are many within the church who are affected by the Word of the Lord, and who bestow much pains upon the reading of it; but still there are few who have as their end that they may be instructed in the truth, for most remain in their own dogma, the confirmation of which from the Word is their sole aim. These seem to be in the affection of truth, but they are not; for those alone are in the affection of truth who love to be instructed about truths, that is, to know what the truth is, and to search the Scriptures for this end. No one is in this affection except the man who is in good, that is, who is in charity to the neighbor, and still more he who is in love to the Lord."*
     * AC 4368.

     Another danger the New Church person must avoid, which is related to the above, is the tendency to approach the Heavenly Doctrine for useful insights, but not for Divinely authoritative principles relating to the area of knowledge or experience in which he is interested. There must be no searching of the Writings merely for "Swedenborg's perspective." The Arcana Coelestia makes this abundantly clear:

     ". . . he who would be wise from the Lord, and not from the world, says in his heart that the Lord must be believed, that is, the things which the Lord has spoken in the Word, because they are truths; and according to this principle he regulates his thoughts. He confirms himself by things of reason, of knowledge, of the senses and of nature, and those things which are not confirmatory he casts aside."*
     * AC 128.

     Certainly a new form of scholarship, distinct from that now encouraged in the world, must prevail in the church, or we will not be able to be agents in that Divine operation which seeks to make all things new.

408


It might at first seem somewhat restrictive, but note what results from this kind of scholarship:

     "With those who love truth because it is true, theological matters rise even into the highest region of the mind, because in that region is their heaven, and they are in the light in which angels dwell. But moral subjects theoretically examined and perceived have their place in the second region beneath these, because they communicate with things spiritual. Beneath these in a first region political subjects have their place; while scientific matters, which are manifold . . . form a door to these matters. Those with whom things spiritual, moral, political and scientific are thus subordinated, think what they think and do what they do from justice and judgment. This is because the light of truth, which is also the light of heaven, illuminates from the highest region all things that follow, as the light of the sun, passing in turn through the ethers, and through the atmospheres, illumines the eyes of men, and beasts and fishes."*
     * TCR 186.

     For, we read further:

     "The true order is for man to be wise from the Lord, that is, from His Word, and then all things follow, and he is enlightened [even] in rational and scientific things. For it is by no means forbidden to learn the sciences, since they are useful to his life and delightful; nor is he who is in faith prohibited from thinking and speaking as do the learned in the world; but it must be from this principle-to believe the Word of the Lord and, as far as possible, confirm spiritual and celestial truths by natural truths, in terms familiar to the learned world. Thus his starting point must be the Lord, not himself; for the former is life, but the latter is death."*
     * AC 129.

     In this connection we would draw attention to yet one more statement from the Writings which a New Church person should take to heart as he sets out to make a new and unique contribution to his community's thought and life. This passage-in speaking of the two foundations of truth, scientific knowledge and the Word-concludes with this comment: "In brief, nothing can be founded upon scientifics except it be previously founded upon the Word. This must be first: the other is only a confirmation from man's scientifics."*
     * SD 5710.
     The Writings thus make it quite apparent how we should approach the Word for enlightenment and guidance, even in external and worldly matters. We must hold in abeyance for a time what we have previously learned from other sources, in order that the Lord can guide us to see new horizons and new possibilities never before known to men. For example, in the realm of civil government and political affairs, I believe that we should approach the Heavenly Doctrine, setting aside for a time our current ideas respecting republics, democracies, socialist societies and communist states, with a view to seeing whether, perhaps, the Writings might suggest to us a new form of civil government with new institutions.

409


In respect to our church government we have used this kind of approach. Cannot we do this in respect to civil government? From numerous passages in the Writings I have wondered if perhaps a new form of civil government could be evolved based upon the human form, its institutions deliberately organized in a manner similar to the organs in the human body, and functioning harmoniously like the human body.* Perhaps with such a government it would be easier to comply with the passage in True Christian Religion which states that in a civil kingdom the laws of justice should be as the head, political laws as the body, and economic laws as garments which can be changed.**
     * See AC 7396; TCR 412; Char. 82, 80.
     ** TCR 55.

     Certainly the application of teachings from the Writings could revolutionize the approach of society to many of today's serious concerns, such as war, unemployment, drugs, homosexuality, abortion, birth control, and yes, even women's liberation. The Writings certainly contain the solutions to all of these issues. But we would caution that these solutions will be discovered only by careful, recurring study. There must be no hasty application of a few general passages relating to the matter at hand. We must always remember the familiar teaching that one passage does not establish the truth. Only when a number of passages are rightly collated and the general is qualified by particular and singular truths, only then is there a basis for genuine enlightenment and perception. We might further reflect, especially the more youthful among us, that when we feel we might have been given some new insights, we must use charitable and lawful means to make them known and to implement them. We are directly warned in the Writings that we should take heed to ourselves that in seeking to promote our views and attain the ends we propose, we do not make use of means that disturb societies and cause enmities and hatreds between their members.* Those who use such means to promote their views are said to correspond to deadly abscesses in the region of the chest.**
     * See SD 1765.
     ** See SD 1766.
     There are, however, many areas of knowledge and experience besides the above which need to be reshaped gradually by the Divine hand working through the agency of men. Archeology, anthropology and history are three related fields of study which have been approached already by a number of New Church scholars. Careful attention to those myriads of passages relating to the character of the successive churches that have previously existed in the world can yield a wealth of new insights.

410


Thoughtful application of the science of correspondences most certainly will open up new vistas in the study of human cultures past and present. In the Appendix to the Treatise on the White Horse we find that challenge which was originally issued to the Royal Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, but is also addressed to us: "As the science of correspondences was esteemed by the ancients the science of sciences, and constituted their wisdom, it is important for some of your Academy to devote his attention to that science; and this may be done especially from the correspondences disclosed in the Apocalypse Revealed and demonstrated in the Word."

     Another field of current interest to men both within and without the church, especially with the commencement of space travel, is astronomy. The question arises, where are those moon men, Venusians and Martians that the Writings describe? It is my conviction that a penetrating study of the doctrine of degrees, such as is found in the work, Last Judgment, might yield some intriguing possibilities if it is guided by such principles as the following from the Spiritual Diary: "All corporeal forms are governed entirely by the state of the atmospheres and many other things pertaining to the earths in which they dwell."* We may discover that the inhabitants of some earths may not be sensed by us or our instruments because they dwell in a different, perhaps higher, plane, degree or dimension than we do. Again, in all such matters let us use the Word as our primary foundation of truth; scientific knowledge, which is always permeated by some fallacies, serving for confirmation and illustration. Let us place our confidence in the tree of life and not in the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
     * SD 1670.
     I would mention briefly just one more field of study to which, I believe, the Writings especially address themselves, and that is Psychology. A number of men have already garnered from the Heavenly Doctrine hundreds of passages which describe in detail how every affection and thought, spiritual and natural, is aroused in our minds through the agency of angels and spirits. The principal causes of different kinds of mental illness are uncovered, and the Divine means for prevention and cure are elaborated in many teachings.* Here is a field which in our day calls urgently for our attention. Men such as Dr. Wilson van Dusen of California have already begun this work, but there are as yet infinite depths to plumb. For we should never be satisfied in any field with the efforts of a few men, no matter how profound their studies may be. In growing numbers the men of each rising generation must delve again, reflect again upon those Divine eternal truths in the Writings.

411


New principles and more effective applications for the good of society will always be forthcoming from the Lord.
     * See especially SD 3624-3628.
     There are, I believe, many reasons why we must increase our efforts to make new from the Lord the many fields of knowledge and areas of experience that concern modern man. As I see it, this may prove to be one of our most effective methods of external evangelization. I believe that it is very much in the spirit of that well-known exhortation of the Lord: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."* If we are able to bring forth something that is truly new, rational, and useful in some field, those who are in that field, and others who are in some affection for external truths, may be excited by the appearance of something Divine in that which especially interests them. They may be moved to draw nearer in order to inquire after the source of our insights. The Lord may then be able to awaken in them an affection for more interior truths which will serve them in regeneration. Every truth of wisdom drawn from the Word is "like a mirror in which the Lord is seen, and every good of love is an image of the Lord."**
     * Matthew 5: 16.
     ** TCR 767.

     I believe the state of today's youth should serve also as a powerful impetus for us to renew our efforts to apply Divine doctrine to external and worldly concerns. It is our constant desire that all of our young people will develop an ever deepening affection for the truths of the Word and will one day seek active membership in New Church societies. Yet it would appear that in recent decades a growing percentage of the young is shying away from full involvement in the life of the church. There may be many reasons for this, but in some measure it may stem from a failure on our part to reach them where they are concerned. It is quite proper for young people to be most concerned in respect to external matters, to be primarily in an affection for external truths. But by them, as by gateways, the Writings tell us, "there is entrance into the rational things from which rational wisdom is formed."*
     * CL 163.
     Many are the passages in the Writings which show how the rational mind is developed in the young and made ready for the reception of spiritual goods and truths by sciences and branches of study pertaining to natural, economical, civil and moral affairs.* It is said of these matters which occupy the lower regions of the mind that some of them become there like little buildings around a temple, and some like vestibules through which there is entrance.** The temple here, of course, refers to the highest region of the mind where are the spiritual goods and truths from the Lord.

412


Certainly, as all the various branches of worldly study are ordered more and more by the truths of the Writings, they will serve as more perfect means of developing, rationality, and provide for more immediate entrance into the Lord's temple in the higher region of the mind.
     * See DLW 332; cf. DP 335; HH 496.
     ** TCR 494.

     There is yet another reason, and a very important one, why men of the New Church have a responsibility to apply themselves to the work of making all things new on the natural plane. Conjugial love between husband and wife is constantly perfected where the husband continues to grow in rational and moral wisdom.* Now it is true that the application of teachings of the Word to scientific and civil matters in itself does not guarantee wisdom, and thence a promise of the perfection of the conjugial. Nevertheless, it is a means from which this wisdom may be formed.
     * See CL 130.
     But if rational wisdom is to develop, the husband is called upon to regard all the goods and truths which appear interiorly in himself, not as his own, but as flowing in from the Lord.* In short, he must strive for humility and innocence before the Lord and shun the surge of pride in his own intelligence which the hells seek to arouse whenever one gains a new insight or discovers a new application of one's knowledge. Further, the husband is called upon to respond to that love or affection inflowing from his wife which moves him toward the application of his new discoveries in the practical uses of the home and community. For moral wisdom is obtained only when man bends what he knows and understands to the removal of evils and falsities in himself and in the community, smaller or larger, where he applies himself to the perfecting of uses.
     * CL 102.
     Now many in the church may regard themselves as either too old or too lacking in education to commence the work that has been advocated in the address this afternoon. We may feel that our contribution would be so primitive and small that it could be of no use to the church and the world. But this is not the case at all. Although we may have no advanced educational degrees, and may have no prominent position in the community, and although the spoken, written and demonstrated results may be small, our efforts can nevertheless be of great use. Our very desire to carry on our part in this work will flow forth from our spirit and add itself to our sphere-that sphere which constantly affects the minds or spirits of others and moves them, if they are willing, to think in a kindred manner, and become concerned about the same matters of wisdom. With every actual effort on our part to draw from the Writings things applicable to external matters that interest us, there will be a strengthening of our sphere and a greater effect on the minds of others.

413


Where there are written results, where new insights are set down and organized, a legacy is provided for future generations to draw upon, and use one day to construct, in the larger society, a new order that will provide an ever more perfect embodiment for the new spiritual order established by the Last judgment. All of us here are challenged to become willing instruments of the Lord's Divinely Human operation in seeking to make all things new.
SUCCESS AND ITS ABUSE 1971

SUCCESS AND ITS ABUSE       Rev. DANDRIDGE PENDLETON       1971

     It is the Lord's will that each man shall come into his own place in heaven.* To this end, the operations of Providence with man commence at his birth and continue throughout his life in this world.** These operations are contained within the least particulars of nature and human prudence***; yet the Lord conceals His presence therein, lest man should set himself in opposition to the Divine.**** For by heredity the human proprium has an "inborn enmity" against the leading of Providence.*****
     * DP 67.
     ** DP 332-3
     *** DP 201-3
     **** DP 212, 180-182.
     ***** DP 211.
     A knowledge of these things is necessary, if we are to respond in fullness to the Lord. For while we cannot foresee what lies in our future, we can know of the laws through which He approaches and guards us. To acknowledge the means is to look to the end: which end in this case is to affirm the Divine will. But this affirmation cannot be made from man's proprium; for the will of his birth is set against the Divine will, and therefore opposes it interiorly in all things. This may seem strange, when we consider that the Lord's will is that man shall come into heaven. For does not man also wish to enter heaven? Into the ultimate rewards of heaven, yes; but not into that which constitutes heaven, which is the love of use above and beyond self. There is not a man born who desires to live the life of heaven until be has commenced the process of spiritual reformation. There are many who think that they desire heaven, because they think of it as a state of eternal self-gratification. Like the sons of Israel groaning under their Egyptian bondage, such a man looks upon the Promised Land not as an opportunity for use, but as a refuge from worldly problems. In order to gain this refuge be is willing to embark upon the journey of repentance and reformation-but with many a backward glance, and many a curse heaped upon the God who would save him.

414



     For the way of spiritual life lies through the wilderness of temptation. It is a way beset by fierce enemies, by hunger and thirst and trembling fatigue. It is a way wherein high resolve seems inadequate, and honest efforts appear to be ground under the heel of expediency. It is a way that seems unending in its frustrations. And then, suddenly, miraculously, all changes. The world's wrongs seem to right themselves. Mental anxieties are stilled, and physical ailments diminish. Faults of long standing lose their hold, and a sense of new purpose is given. Nor is this a false respite. A spiritual state is found-one which is perceived in peace and understanding.
     This is the state represented by the sons of Israel as they emerged at last from their wilderness wanderings and stood "on this side Jordan." Confidently they gazed across the river into the land of Canaan. Too confidently. Under Moses, their wise and aged leader, they were compelled to camp; and to listen, as he rehearsed in their cars the events of the past forty years. He reminded them of their former state: their bondage in Egypt, their miraculous release under the Lord's hand, the dangers which they had met and conquered under His protection. Now the wilderness lay behind them. But they were not to think that their warfare was finished. Many enemies still waited to be conquered-enemies far stronger than they had yet faced. But Israel had gained something that she had not possessed before; confidence-confidence that the outcome could and would be achieved. Eagerly they prepared for battle, whereas before they had shied away in fear. Still Moses held them back. They must pause and reflect deeply, lest they dash themselves against an unyielding barrier created by their own pride. Sternly, he reminded them of their obligation: Remember the Lord thy God. He it is that hath saved thee; He hath defeated thine enemies; He hath caused thy flocks and herds to multiply, thy silver and thy gold; He it is "that giveth thee power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day."* "Therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live."**
     * Deuteronomy 8: 11-18.
     ** Deuteronomy 30: 19.

     Success is a dangerous servant, for we are never completely its master. We long for it, strive for it, as life's crowning reward, seldom recalling that its attainment brings with it the most trying of all responsibilities. The loves of the proprium-those loves which pander to self-interest and worldly pleasure-lie close to the surface of our thought, ready to rule at the slightest turn of circumstance. To achieve success is to grasp the means of power in the lives of other men-power which can be utilized to influence them toward heaven, or toward hell, according to our ends in view.

415


Success and power-the power to influence and, if perverted, the power to dominate-are inevitable partners. Guided by the spiritual love of truth, they give form to noble aspirations and lead men to look to true values. Ruled by the love of self, the power of success becomes an engine of destruction.
     There is no one who escapes the danger inherent in success. For there is no one who does not long to control his fellow men in some form or other. As long as a man still struggles to achieve his cherished goals, his lust of dominion may well hide itself under a veneer of self-sacrifice and high ideals. An unrealized pretense of service may be the means of subjecting others to servitude. There is no area of life where the abuse of power does not seek entrance. In marriage, in parenthood, in the bonds of friendship; in politics; in scientific achievement and in religious organization; in every aspect of life that is touched by human motivation, success begets power, and unprincipled power breeds corruption. Men would have it so, however much they may protest to the contrary. Only the regenerate truly seek the power of success as a means to a good end.

     There is only one way in which to curb this abuse, and that is to acknowledge that it is not man, but the Lord, who gives or withholds human achievement, according to spiritual needs. These needs cannot be measured by any external appearance. The possession of worldly fortune is not an indication of spiritual goodness, any more than financial poverty and hardship betoken a state of spiritual degradation. The internal requirements of some are such that they must find their life in a continuing struggle for worldly success; while with others the need can be met only through a contest against success. It would be difficult to decide which of these contains the more demanding spiritual assignment. A lack of wealth and position may bring bitterness and resentment; but it may also keep a man aware of his own inadequacy and of the need for aid from powers greater than his own. On the other hand, the possession of worldly blessing may cause a man to forsake humility; but it also gives opportunity for the performance of uses that can bring a profound insight into the principles and applications of charity. The struggle for success is perhaps the more obvious in its self emphasis, while the struggle against success flows from a somewhat deeper vein of the human proprium, and therefore comes in a later state of life with most men.
     "Remember the Lord thy God." This was the warning uttered before the Israelites, flushed with their wilderness victories and straining impatiently toward greater conquests. This warning is for the man of the church who has successfully undergone a state of spiritual crisis.

416


Release from strife is a time for legitimate rejoicing in the use that has been served, yet also a time for reflection, a time for conserving and building our strength for the tasks which still lie ahead. It is not a time for dropping our guard, for breaking the shield wall. It is not a time for losing our humility before our God. Yet there is more danger of this after a victory has been won than in any other state of mind. Never are we so vulnerable-so ripe for plunder-at the hands of the hells. In our success we relax our hands, drowsing pleasurably in the warmth of men's congratulations.
     In such a state as this is-to which no man is unsusceptible-we hear the Lord's voice as from a far distance. It is not that we cease to speak His name or to observe His daily ordinances; for these things add to our stature in the eyes of men and bring an additional chorus of approval. It is not that we cease to speak His name before men, but that we cease to listen to His voice in the private sanctuary of our own conscience. We forget that without Him we would have nothing and would be nothing. We bask in His gifts of spiritual principle and mental acumen and worldly success, none of which come apart from His ordaining providence. Men praise us for these gifts, and we receive their homage as though we had fashioned them with our own hands. Bloated with self-importance and a conviction of unlimited ability, we look round about upon the rest of mankind as though we ourselves were gods. The danger in this case is extreme; for we may unwittingly allow what has been done to be undone. The good results of our previous spiritual experience may swiftly be cancelled out, and we be totally unaware of it.

     To "remember" here signifies to be conjoined with the Lord after temptation.* Of this the man of the church must constantly remind himself, especially when he enters upon the satisfaction that comes from successful achievement of some heart's desire. The longer he has fought for this achievement, the larger does he tend to appear in his own eyes, and the more strenuously must he guard against interposing his own image between himself and his Creator. If this danger seems improbable to us, it is because we have not searched deeply into the nature of self love-have not seen it mirrored before our eyes in its true, interior aspect. Success is a key to the performance of use; as such we should seek it. But it can also open the door of hell, and cause a man to forget his God. This is why we are told in the Writings that success is given or withheld by the Lord, even on the ultimate level of financial, political, worldly achievement, according to a man's ability at the time to use that success wisely; that is, for true spiritual benefit both to himself and to others.

417


This does not say that a man who comes into financial fortune or worldly position will use these gifts wisely, but that he has the ability so to use them. Thus, a rich man in his wealth cannot take more spiritual comfort than the poor man in his poverty; but neither can the poor man suppose that, because of his poverty, he is automatically more humble than the man of means. The leader in his leadership cannot suppose that he undertakes a greater spiritual use than those who are less influential; but neither can the less influential suppose that they are entitled to partake equally in the rewards that leadership has earned for the leader. It is not so done in heaven and should not be so done in the church on earth.
     * AC 5229, 850.
     Before temptation man is blind to his evil. But he is also protected from guilt by his ignorance. After temptation has occurred, he is not so protected. For the very point and outcome of the temptation has been to make him aware of his disorder. Yet be is not to suppose that be thereby secures the power of spiritual life for himself. He secures nothing. He only makes himself receptive to spiritual life. The difference here is an essential one; for in the one case he exalts himself into the first place, whereas in the other the Lord reigns supreme.

     Before temptation man is ignorant and protected. After temptation he is enlightened and responsible. He is responsible, because be is enlightened. He has emerged from obscurity into firm realization. He finds success where he bad known failure. Here, before his rejoicing merges subtly into conceit, and his desire is replaced by the glory of self and the lust of rule, he must heed the Word of the Lord and pause to reflect upon his past. If his reflection be of a spiritual nature, looking to the way in which his thought of truth and his love of use have gradually changed for the better, be will admit to the leading of an all-wise and prevailing Providence. If he analyzes honestly the steps which have led up to his success in life, he will realize that his actual choices and abilities have been few by comparison with conditions that have existed apart from his own doing. The raw materials and the master-plan have been provided by hands other than his own. He has but followed out the instructions written upon his intellect and his powers of perception; and in the process be has needed constant correction and assistance, for his errors have been many and his patience short.
     We need not fear success, nor the power that success brings, as long as we endeavor to contribute their benefits to others from an interior motive of use. But in order to sustain this motive, we must attribute to the Lord that which is His, the glory and the honor. To fail in this is to lose the spiritual gift that we have gained.

418


When we have eaten and are full, when we have built goodly houses and dwell therein, when our possessions multiply and our hearts are lifted up, say not that our power and the might of our hands hath gotten us these things. "But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day."*
     * Deuteronomy 8: 18.
     "I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live."*
     * Deuteronomy 30: 19.
SEEING PROVIDENCE IN ULTIMATES 1971

SEEING PROVIDENCE IN ULTIMATES       Jr. Rev. DANIEL GOODENOUGH       1971

     The Divine Providence of the Lord is not merely universal and general; it at once governs all things from the most general to the most singular. There is no least thing in creation which is not governed by the Divine Providence. "Even the very hairs of your head are all numbered." The Writings frequently show that the Divine Providence cannot have universal power unless it also has power in every least ultimate of creation.*
     * DP 191-213.
     Armed with this doctrine, the New Church man finds, or ought to find, a large measure of protection from the cataclysmic onslaughts of natural emotions as he journeys through life. Aware that the Divine Providence governs all things and each thing, the New Church man can be spared much of the natural grief which often accompanies tragedies or simply unfortunate happenings; so also he can learn to prevent his proprium from being puffed up by success, since he knows that when he succeeds, the cause lies not in his own prudence, but in the Providence or permission of the Lord. It is for man's contentment and peace of mind, for his freedom from anxiety, that he should know about the Divine Providence and acknowledge it.*
     * Cf. DP 175.
     While the doctrine itself is clear enough, and likewise its importance both for our mental tranquillity and for our belief in an infinitely loving, wise and powerful God, yet when we try to apply the doctrine practically, it easily becomes a hard saying. It is not just that the Divine Providence, being spiritual, is not obvious to the physical senses. Our greatest temptation to doubt the Divine Providence occurs when we face one of the many major or minor tragedies that confront every life.

419


"Even the very hairs of your head are all numbered"; we know this must be true because it is so strongly taught throughout the Old and New Testament and the Writings. But try as we may, we cannot see how it is true in this or that case, which is before us.
     It is clear that to understand Providence we must first understand the nature of Him from whom it is. If we think of the Lord from His person, we will not understand Him or His Providence, because we will think of Him finitely. We do need to think concerning the Lord's person, and to come to understand it, but our thought must be from His essence-that is, we must think of God from His essence, and from His essence of His person.* To think of the Lord from His essence is to think of Him not merely as a person who once walked the earth, but as a Divine Man of infinite love and infinite wisdom.
     * AR 611.
     To think from essence is thus to think from the attributes or qualities of the Lord. These attributes are infinite in number, but those which especially relate to the Divine Providence are the eternity of God-Man, and thence His omniscience, omnipotence and omnipresence. The Divine Providence flows from these three, and it looks to eternity. One of man's principal difficulties in understanding the Divine Providence is his preference for the temporal, the here-and-now, to the eternal. We can never understand the Divine Providence, much less the Divine, unless we learn to think from the eternity of God-Man and of His kingdom.

     Such spiritual thought of God as eternal, and of His Providence as looking to eternity rather than to the present, requires a degree of abstract reflection which does not come easily to us. While we may not be so obsessed with the demands of the moment as are infants and little children, we are perhaps closer to their state than we usually realize; in assessing the significance of events we usually do look to future good, yet the problems of the near future easily crowd out of our minds concern for the distant future; and while in theory we judge all events according to their eternal value, rejoicing when an eternal use is served and saddened only when an eternal use appears to be obstructed, yet in practice an event's eternal value and use may be of small consolation to us when we face some temporary unhappiness or loss. The truth is that thoughts of eternity are intended to be infinitely more than mere consolation in time of trouble; the order, uses and values that endure to eternity are to be our constant inspiration and hope, directing us ever more closely to our eternal Father and the eternity of mutual love He wills to give us. At the same time, thoughts of eternity are essential if we are to find any contentment under the Lord's Providence.

420


In order to be strengthened and uplifted by the peace that inflows from acknowledging the Lord's Providence, we must learn to abstract our thought from the demands and values of time, and think from what is eternal. Understanding of the Divine Providence can begin only when our concern for eternal things frees us from the pressure of time and immediacy.
     This is not to say that it is easy, in a time of sadness, grief or discouragement, to set aside the appearance of things and think solely from the values of eternity. Yet the Lord can relieve our anxiety only if we try to do so. Similarly, in states of doubt and discouragement, because of unsatisfactory conduct in ourselves and in others, let us not be overawed by the events of the moment. In these states we may indeed think from the values of eternity, and human failure to meet eternal standards brings us into anxiety. While some such anxiety is unavoidable, the Lord wills that we withdraw from it, by thinking from eternity rather than from time. Even when our sadness or worry is concerning eternal values, the problem of the moment ought never to overshadow the eternity that lies ahead. Every new moment brings new issues before us, and new opportunities for improvement, because the Lord always restores man to a state of equilibrium and freedom. We cannot ignore present problems, especially if they remain active, and yet the means by which they gradually disappear is often not by our focusing directly upon them, but rather by looking to uses in the future. Problems will sometimes not disappear as long as we remain anxious about them; they may slip away when our attention is directed to something else. Thus our concern for the life of religion, in ourselves, in our friends, and in our children, must not be limited to today's outcome, be it victory or defeat, but must look to opportunities in the future to eternity. Only in this way can we learn to trust in the Lord's governing of man's spiritual life as well as his natural life. Although the spiritual problems bf the moment can render our anxieties too grievous to be set aside with ease, we are spiritually shortsighted if we do not compel ourselves to look to the eternity that lies before us.

     Yet still we find it difficult to see how even the hairs of the head are all numbered. All the hairs of the head signify in the internal sense every least ultimate object and event, and their being numbered by the Lord signifies His disposing and arranging of them.* How we long for clear evidence of this universal and singular government of each and all things! How much stronger do we feel our trust in the Divine Providence would be if we had absolute and obvious evidence from day to day!
     * AC 10044: 3; AE 453e.

421



     Yet here, as frequently, we find that our natural inclinations are opposed to Divine order. If evidence of the Divine Providence in ultimates were, in fact, unavoidably sure, our willingness to be guided by the Divine Providence would be destroyed. Thus the same law which states that man should know about and acknowledge the Divine Providence states that nevertheless he is not to perceive and sense anything concerning the actual operation of the Divine Providence.* The explanation of this law makes clear that under certain circumstances, observing the Divine Providence in ultimates is permitted, as we shall see shortly. But it is made equally clear that if the operations of the Divine Providence were unmistakably evident to man, his spiritual life would be destroyed. A full chapter in the Divine Providence is devoted to an explanation of why this is so.
     * DP 175.
     In general the reason is that were we aware of how closely the Divine Providence governs every least detail of our own and other's lives, we would be left with no sense of living our own life. Again and again the laws of the Divine Providence return to the underlying principle that man must act from freedom according to reason-that is, be must act as if of himself. All life is the Lord's, but to all men He gives the gift of life as of self-that is, the sensation and feeling that man's life is altogether his own and that he can do with his life whatever be wants. The sensation that be lives from and by himself makes one with his feeling of freedom; without this sensation he would have no freedom and no life. Now if man perceived and sensed how closely the Divine Providence guides all things of his life, he would lose the sensation that he lived from and by himself-, he would feel compelled in all things. Every least affection, thought and action he would recognize as being guided by the Lord, and they would then seem to be the Lord's and not his own. Where he had previously loved someone or something, be would now feel only that the Lord loved, and that his own part in life had been reduced to absolutely nothing. Even his reflection on such things he would feel to be not his own reflection, but the Lord's reflection. Everywhere be had previously enjoyed life, he would feel that only the Lord enjoyed.

     Of course man does have freedom from the Lord, and while the details of his life are guided by the Lord man is allowed innumerable areas to express his free choice. But if be sensed how fully the Divine Providence permeates his life, be would scarcely be aware of any areas of freedom and would feel only that every desire, thought and action was the Lord's and not his own. Hence we may see the truth of the teaching that if man were led by a living perception and sensation of the Divine Providence, "he would not be conscious of life, but he would be moved to utter sounds and to act much like a carved statue.

422


If he were still conscious of life he would be led like one bound hand and foot, or like a beast before a cart. Who does not see that a man would then have no freedom? . . . in fact, if you consider it interiorly you will perceive that be would then have no thought, still less any reason, and therefore would not be man."*
     * DP 176.
     Later teachings explain that man in this impossible situation would either deny God or would make himself to be God; also that he would intrude into the order and tenor of the course of the Divine Providence and would pervert and destroy it.* But the case is purely hypothetical, and one that we cannot imagine clearly because we cannot really imagine what it would be like to feel that every least detail of our life was not our own and belonged to another.
     * DP 180-186.
     And so, we read, "The Lord does not manifestly appear in His Divine Providence, but by it He leads men as silently as a hidden current or favoring tide bears a vessel. . . ."* If we were to perceive and sense even a small part of this leading, our sensation of life as of self and our freedom would be destroyed to the extent that we could be sure that this or that was from the Divine Providence. As soon as we can be certain that any least event in our lives is from the Lord, then we lose our freedom of choice regarding it. If it does not appear so to us, it is because we cannot imagine the state of being certain that this or that in our lives is from the Lord.
     * DP 186.

     We must know about and acknowledge the Divine Providence, then, without being permitted clear and obvious proof of its operation. Such a permission would serve no use. Yet we can see some instances of the Divine Providence in operation. Under what circumstances? First, we are permitted to see the Divine Providence only after the event. With this teaching we may be somewhat familiar. But no less important, it is granted man to see the Divine Providence only when be is in a spiritual state, not when he is in a natural state. It is a natural state in man that demands proofs: "Make me see it, and I will believe it."* But such a state cannot see the Divine Providence, even in past events, because the motive is wrong. Thus those who become spiritual by reformation have no desire to see the Divine Providence before it occurs; they delight in seeing it in the whole world, but in past events only.** While the natural state demands inescapable proof, the spiritual state does not desire such certainty in viewing the Divine Providence.

423


When proofs are demanded, reasonings against the proofs are never lacking. The natural man wants absolute certainties, and cannot have them, but the spiritual man is content to follow the revealed truth and to look for its applications. The spiritual man's sight of the Lord's operation in life is much stronger than such impossible proofs, because it flows forth from a prior belief in and acknowledgment of the Divine Providence. Only if we begin with the affirmative acknowledgement of Providence and then endeavor to see its illustrations in life, can we be given to see the Lord's work among us.
     * DP 182.
     ** DP 188, 189.
     Trust in Providence begins with an affection of acknowledgment. Only influx from the Lord can give us this acknowledgment. We cannot make ourselves trust in His providing. What we can do is to try to elevate our state from natural to spiritual. It is for this purpose that we cultivate thought from eternity, and not from time. The Divine cannot inflow with an affection of trust into thought from time. Thinking from time holds man in a natural state. Compelling ourselves to think from eternity lifts us towards a spiritual state into which He can inflow. Only he who looks to eternity can perceive and love the Lord's promise, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."*
     * John 14: 27.
MINISTERIAL CHANGES 1971

MINISTERIAL CHANGES       Editor       1971

     The Rev. Peter M. Buss has accepted a call to the pastorate of the Durban Society, effective July 23, 1971.
New District 1971

New District       WILLARD D. PENDLETON       1971

     In response to a request from the membership of the General Church residing in North Jersey, in the New York-Connecticut area, and in Massachusetts, I take pleasure in recognizing these groups and circles, as organized under their Pastor, as an official District of the General Church.
     WILLARD D. PENDLETON
          Executive Bishop

424


HOME AND SCHOOL 1971

HOME AND SCHOOL              1971


NEW CHURCH LIFE

Office of Publication, Lancaster, Pa.

Published Monthly By

THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM BRYN ATHYN, PA.

Editor                Rev. W. Cairns Henderson, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

Business Manager     Mr. L. E. Gyllenhaal, 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. Notifications of address changes should be received by the 15th of the month.

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION

$5.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy, 50 cents.
     New Church education at every level, from the home through college, calls for a commitment on the part of parents as well as teachers and children. We cannot expect our children to obey what we do not live. What we pass on to them is what we ourselves value. Knowledges are only the means. Our first concern should be the ordering of our own lives. Whatever we may say and teach, the greatest influence we have upon our children is in what we do. If our lives do not show a love of the truths and goods of the church, how can we expect our children to value them?
     We cannot effectively teach our children what is not in our own hearts, or expect their teachers to do so. The essential work of education is passing on to our children a love of the truth that is in our own hearts; for it is the love of truth that will make them free to receive it for themselves-not knowledge of truth, but the spiritual affection for it. And we can be the means of opening their minds to receive this affection from the Lord only in so far as we are striving to attain it ourselves.
     But what is the spiritual affection of truth? It is the truth so affecting the mind from within that man is led to seek the good or use to which truth leads. Truth is known from its use; reason enables the truth to be seen, but that is all it does. The spiritual affection of truth is received through the shunning of evils as sins against the Lord, and if it is not in the minds of parents they cannot be the means of influencing their children toward it. On the other hand, if it is there will be no vital gap between them; for children will be looking toward that which their parents have received or are receiving from the Lord.

425





     "O COME, LET US WORSHIP AND BOW DOWN"

     "O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker." Our public worship opens with this invitation to humility before the Lord. It is heard every Sunday by many, frequently by others, seldom if ever by some. Now we are told that all things which pertain to worship are signs of charity. These are externals of the body and the mind; and the former, which are done by deeds and words, consist, as far as public worship is concerned, in going to church, hearing sermons, singing, devoutly, praying on the knees, and partaking of the Holy Supper.
     Charity, which consists in looking to the Lord, shunning evils as sins against Him, and doing goods because they are uses, is in the internal man. Yet we are taught that in the New Church there is to be no external of worship that does not have within it a corresponding internal; and it is just here that difficulties may arise. Some may be disturbed by a feeling that there is no internal with them; that external worship would be insincere, even hypocritical, because it did not express internal.
     However, the Writings teach that external worship is a powerful means of leading to internal worship. By means of it, internal things are excited, external things are kept in holiness so that internal ones can inflow, man is imbued with knowledges and prepared to receive heavenly things, and is endowed secretly with states of holiness which are reserved for the use of eternal life.
     In point of time, external worship, and even some compulsion toward it, must precede internal worship, perhaps by many years, Yet in this there may and need be no lack of sincerity, but a patient, humble and persistent placing of oneself in the way of yet receiving from the Lord the things of charity which are the internal of worship; and when the invitation to worship is accepted in that hope, the Lord's blessing will be given. From and through love of the means comes love of the end.

     THE CHURCH AND SOCIAL CONCERN

     There is much ground for social concern in the problems which press upon us in today's society: problems in economic matters, in community relations and in our physical and mental environment; of social conflict, sex and the family; of drug abuse and addiction; and in national and international affairs. These are the problems to which the Social Gospel addresses itself; and a growing concern, fostered by some of the influences which bear upon us, has led some New Church men to wonder whether there is not a Social Gospel in the Writings.
     To be able to answer this question we must understand what is meant by the Social Gospel.

426


In one sense, it is as old as Christianity. Although there have always been some Christians who shunned society and felt no need to make it Christian, it has been more usual to try to Christianize society. Medieval Catholicism had a gospel for society and tried to build a Christian culture. Calvinism had a program for society. The Reformation sects all looked in various ways toward the establishment of a Christian social order.
     What is specifically meant by the Social Gospel is, however, of later date and origin. It was produced in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and is an element within American liberal evangelical Protestantism. Its main thesis is that the church exists primarily, not for the purpose of brining men to salvation through repentance and faith-personal evangelism-but for the purpose of discerning God's will with regard to the social needs of mankind, and of working through social action for a better world-one in which Christian principles will be applied toward the solution of social problems. Linked with this were two ideas: that progress is inevitable-an idea stemming from faith in evolution-and that man is inherently good. There is no use saving individuals one by one when a corrupt system is condemning them by the thousands. Man lives in a society, and if that is corrupt it will corrupt man. All too often, however, the hope for a better earthly society has replaced active interest in a life after death.

     The teaching of the Writings shows, we believe, that the Social Gospel rests on fallacies, and that we cannot accept either its major premise or its basic assumptions. The kingdom of heaven is established on earth only as it is formed in the minds of individual men and women who look to the Lord as a personal, Divine-Human God, and shun evils as sins against Him; and only by the Lord working through such individuals can the world be so changed as to become the ultimate of the kingdom of heaven on earth. Man must be regenerated individually, collective regeneration is impossible; society must be regenerated through man, not man by society.
     As New Church men and women we should not be indifferent to economic, social, moral and political problems. There is no sanction in the Writings for that; much for the development of a social concern, but one that is rational and discriminating. There is need for the formation of a social conscience-and perhaps we have been slow to move in that direction-but not to regard its exercise as the main function of the church. This is a conscience to be used by individuals; and perhaps we should not relate it with a Social Gospel at all, since that phrase involves so many things which we, as a church, cannot accept.

427


WHY WE ARE NOT AFRAID 1971

WHY WE ARE NOT AFRAID       WARREN F. DAVID       1971

     Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:

     In the June issue of NEW CHURCH LIFE was an article entitled "Why Are We Afraid?" which assumed that we of the New Church are afraid of the world. This was based on several "observations."
     There may, indeed, be people in the New Church who are afraid, but it does not apply to all. A New Church man, above all others, has every reason to be not afraid. His complete trust in the working of Divine Providence allows him to go forward in the work of the church without fear of anything the world can offer. He can show charity to people in other churches and listen sympathetically to their beliefs without the least fear that they will destroy his faith. He feels no need to fight other men's doctrines by such methods as ridicule, because his own faith does not depend upon that kind of support.
     The typical New Church man of today operates daily in the sphere of the world around us. Daily he meets his fellow men on the job and has his opportunity to exercise charity toward them. Daily be looks for opportunities to promote the spread of the church by doctrinal discussions, discussions of issues of the day in the light of the heavenly doctrine, by attitudes toward what is right firmly expressed.
     On Sunday he goes to church with a view to recreating his ability to spread the church by means of inspirational worship and instruction in the single source of truth for man-the Word. This weekly return to the Word is a great source of strength for the sincere man of the church. Every week he sees more of truth, which means more ways in which it can be applied to life's daily problems.
     This being not enough, the man of the church also studies the Word daily in his own home. Let us not take these opportunities for recreation away from the church. Let us rather go forth into the world as so many others are going, completely unafraid, trusting at all times in the Lord's providing, and using every opportunity the Lord gives us for conveying both our knowledge of the truth and our enthusiastic zeal in spreading it to all whom we can reach.
     Look about you and see! The church is full of fearless men and women who daily carry the message into the world around them. If the world is reluctant to give up its worldly ideals, what is that to us?
     One point deserves to be emphasized. We must first strengthen from within before we can hope to change the world. That is so true. A man who is not strong within, strong in the things of spiritual life, cannot hope to change the world. It is only the lack of this internal strength that makes a man afraid.
     WARREN F. DAVID

428


DIRECTORY 1971

DIRECTORY              1971

     GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM

     Officials and Councils

Bishop: Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton
Bishop Emeritus: Right Rev. George de Charms
Secretary: Rev. Norbert H. Rogers

     CONSISTORY

Bishop Willard D. Pendleton

Right Rev. Elmo C. Acton; Right Rev. George de Charms; Rev. Messrs. Geoffrey S. Childs; Harold C. Cranch; W. Cairns Henderson; Louis B. King; Ormond de C. Odhner; Dandridge Pendleton; Martin Pryke; Norman H. Reuter; Norbert H. Rogers, Secretary; Frank S. Rose; Frederick L. Schnarr; David R. Simons.

     "General Church of the New Jerusalem"

     (A corporation of Pennsylvania)

     OFFICERS OF THE CORPORATION

Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton, President
Right Rev. Elmo C. Acton, Vice President
Mr. Stephen Pitcairn, Secretary
Mr. L. E. Gyllenhaal, Treasurer

     BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CORPORATION

Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton; Right Rev. Elmo C. Acton; Mr. William B. Alden; Mr. Gordon Anderson; Mr. Lester Asplundh; Mr. Robert H. Asplundh; Mr. Horace W. Brewer; Mr. Theodore Brickman, Jr.; Mr. David H. Campbell; George M. Cooper, Esq.; Mr. Grant R. Doering; Mr. Bruce Elder; Mr. Alan B. Fuller; Mr. Charles P. Gyllenhaal; Mr. Leonard E. Gyllenhaal; Mr. James F. Junge; Mr. Ralph D. Junge; Mr. William R. Kintner; Mr. John E. Kuhl; Mr. Lewis Nelson; Mr. Lachlan Pitcairn; Mr. Stephen Pitcairn; Mr. Owen Pryke; Mr. John W. Rose; John J. Schoenberger, Esq.; Marlyn F. Smith, Esq.; Mr. J. Ralph Synnestvedt, Jr.; Mr. Leo Synnestvedt; Mr. Robert E. Walter; Mr. John H. Wyncoll.

Honorary Life Member: Right Rev. George de Charms.

     Council of the Clergy

     Bishops

PENDLETON, WILLARD DANDRIDGE. Ordained June 18, 1933; 2nd Degree, September 12, 1934; 3rd Degree, June 19, 1946. Bishop of the General Church. Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church. President, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009.

429




ACTON, ELMO CARMAN. Ordained June 14, 1925; 2nd Degree, August 5, 1928; 3rd Degree, June 4, 1967. Dean of the Bryn Athyn Church. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009.

DE CHARMS, GEORGE. Ordained June 28, 1913; 2nd Degree, June 19, 1916; 3rd Degree, March 11, 1928. Bishop Emeritus of the General Church. President Emeritus, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009.

     Pastors

ACTON, ALFRED. Ordained June 19, 1964; 2nd Degree, October 30, 1966. Assistant Pastor of the Immanuel Church, Glenview, Illinois. Headmaster of the Secondary School. Address: 2700 Park Lane, Glenview, Illinois 60025.

ASPLUNDH, KURT HORIGAN. Ordained June 19, 1960; 2nd Degree, June 19, 1962. Pastor of the Pittsburgh Society. Address: 6901 Yorkshire Drive, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15208.

BOYESEN, BJORN ADOLPH HILDEMAR. Ordained June 19, 1939; 2nd Degree, March 30, 1941. Pastor of the Colchester Society. Address: 30 Inglis Road, Colchester, England.

BUSS, PETER MARTIN. Ordained June 19, 1964; 2nd Degree, May 16, 1965. Pastor of the Durban Society. Address: 42 Pitlochry Road, Westville, Natal, Republic of South Africa.

CHILDS, GEOFFREY STAFFORD. Ordained June 19, 1952; 2nd Degree, June 19, 19S4. Pastor of the Detroit Society. Address: 280 East Long Lake Road, Troy, Michigan 48084

COLE, ROBERT HUDSON PENDLETON. Ordained June 16, 1963; 2nd Degree, October 30, 1966. Pastor of Sharon Church, Chicago. Visiting Pastor, Madison, St. Paul-Minneapolis Circles, St. Louis Group. Address: 5220 North Wayne Avenue,, Chicago, Illinois 60604

CRANCH, HAROLD COVERT. Ordained June 19, 1941; 2nd Degree, October 25, 1942. Pastor of the Olivet Church, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Address: 2 Lorraine Gardens, Islington 677, Ontario, Canada.

FRANSON, ROY. Ordained June 19, 1953; 2nd Degree, January 29, 1956. Visiting Pastor to the Southeastern States, resident in Miami, Florida. Address: 6721 Arbor Drive, Miramar, Florida 33023

GILL, ALAN, Ordained June 14, 1925; 2nd Degree, June 19, 1926. Address: 9 Ireton Road, Colchester, England.

GLADISH, VICTOR JEREMIAH. Ordained June 17, 1928; 2nd Degree, August 5, 1929. Address: 3508 Linneman Street, Glenview, Illinois 60025

GOODENOUGH, DANIEL WEBSTER. Ordained June 19, 1965; 2nd Degree, December 10, 1967. Instructor in Religion and History, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009

HEINRICHS, DANIEL WINTHROP. Ordained June 19, 1957; 2nd Degree, April 6, 1958. On special assignment to the Bishop, part-time Instructor in Religion, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009

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

HEINRICHS, WILLARD LEWIS DAVENPORT. Ordained June 19, 1965; 2nd Degree, January 26, 1969. Superintendent of the South African Mission. Visiting Pastor to isolated members and groups in South Africa. Address: 30 Perth Road, Westville, Natal, Republic of South Africa.

430




HENDERSON, WILLIAM CAIRNS. Ordained June 10, 1934; 2nd Degree, April 14, 1935. Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE. Professor of Homiletics, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009

HOLM, BERNARD DAVID. Ordained June 19, 1952; 2nd Degree, January 27, 1957. Visiting Pastor in South Ohio and to the Eric Circle. Address: 10613 Le Marie Drive, Sharonville, Cincinnati, Ohio 45241

HOWARD, GEOFFREY HORACE. Ordained June 19, 1961; 2nd Degree, June 2, 1963. Pastor of the Los Angeles Society. Visiting Pastor to San Francisco. Address: 5114 Finehill Ave, La Crescenta, Calif. 91214

JUNGE, ROBERT SCHILL. Ordained June 19, 1955; 2nd Degree, August 11, 1957. Acting Principal of the Bryn Athyn Elementary School. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009

KING, LOUIS BLAIR. Ordained June 19, 1951; 2nd Degree, April 19, 1953. Pastor of the Immanuel Church, Glenview, Illinois. Address: 73 Park Drive, Glenview, Illinois 60025

NEMITZ, KURT PAUL. Ordained June 16, 1963; 2nd Degree, March 27, 1966. Pastor of the Stockholm Society, Visiting Pastor of the Copenhagen, Jonkoping and Oslo Circles. Editor of Nova Ecclesia. Address: Aladdinsvagen 27, 16138 Bromma, Sweden.

ODHNER, HUGO LJUNGBERG. Ordained June 28, 1914; 2nd Degree, June 24, 1917. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009

ODHNER, ORMOND DE CHARMS. Ordained June 19, 1940; 2nd Degree, October 11, 1942. Professor of Church History and Instructor in Religion, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009

PENDLETON, DANDRIDGE. Ordained June 19, 1952; 2nd Degree, June 19, 1954. Principal of the Boys School, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009

PRYKE, MARTIN. Ordained June 19, 1940; 2nd Degree, March 1, 1942. Executive Vice President, Academy of the New Church. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009

REUTER, NORMAN HAROLD. Ordained June 17, 1928; 2nd Degree, June 15, 1930. Pastoral Assistant to the Bishop. Acting Pastor of the Tucson Circle. Acting Visiting Pastor to Phoenix, Arizona, San Diego, California. Address: 2536 N. Stewart Avenue, Tucson, Arizona 85716

RICH, MORLEY DYCKMAN. Ordained June 19, 1938; 2nd Degree, October 13, 1940. Visiting Pastor of the Central Western District, resident in Denver, Colorado. Address: 562 Pennsylvania Street, Denver, Colorado 80203

ROGERS, NORBERT HENRY. Ordained June 19, 1938; 2nd Degree, October 13, 1940. Secretary of the General Church. Secretary of the Council of the Clergy. Chairman, General Church Translation Committee. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009

ROSE, DONALD LESLIE. Ordained June 16, 1957; 2nd Degree, June 23, 1963. Pastor of Michael Church, London, England. Visiting Pastor to the Circles in Paris and The Hague. Address: 135 Mantilla Road, Tooting, London, S.W. 17, England.

ROSE, FRANK SHIRLEY. Ordained June 19, 1952; 2nd Degree, August 2, 1953. Pastor of the Carmel Church, Caryndale, Ontario. Address: R. R. 3, Preston, Ontario, Canada.

SANDSTROM, ERIK. Ordained June 10, 1934; 2nd Degree, August 4, 1935. Visiting Pastor to the Cleveland (North Ohio) Circle. Dean of the Theological School, Professor of Theology and Religion, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009

SCHNARR, FREDERICK LAURIER. Ordained June 19, 1955; 2nd Degree, May 12, 1957. Pastor of the Washington, D. C. Society. Visiting Pastor in North and South Carolina. Address: 3809 Enterprise Road, Mitchellville, Md. 20716

431




SIMONS, DAVID RESTYN. Ordained June 19, 1948; 2nd Degree, June 19, 1950. Educational Assistant to the Bishop. Secretary of the Educational Council. Director, General Church Religion Lessons. Educational Consultant to General Church schools. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009

SMITH, CHRISTOPHER RONALD JACK. Ordained June 19, 1969; 2nd Degree, May 9, 1971. Visiting Pastor to the Pacific Northwest, resident in Dawson Creek, British Columbia, Canada. Address: 110896th Ave., Dawson Creek, B. C., Canada.

SONESON, LORENTZ RAY. Ordained June 16, 1963; 2nd Degree, May 16, 1965. Pastor of the New England, New York and Northern New Jersey District, resident in Connecticut. Address: 145 Shadyside Lane, Milford, Connecticut 06460

STROH, KENNETH OLIVER. Ordained June 19, 1948; 2nd Degree, June 19, 1950. Director of Music, Bryn Athyn Church. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009

TAYLOR, DOUGLAS MCLEOD. Ordained June 19, 1960; 2nd Degree, June 19, 1962. Pastor of the Hurstville Society. Address: 22 Dudley Street, Penshurst, New South Wales, Australia.

WHITEHEAD, WILLIAM. Ordained June 19, 1922; 2nd Degree, June 19, 1926. Professor Emeritus of History, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009

     Ministers

BOOLSEN, GUDMUND ULLRICH. Ordained June 19, 1961. Address: Turesensgade, 23, 5, 1368 Copenhagen K, Denmark.

FIGUFIREDO, JOSE LOPES DE. Ordained October 24, 1965. Minister to the Rio de Janeiro Society, Brazil. Address: Rua Desembargador Izidro 155, Apt. 202, Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

ROGERS, NORBERT BRUCE. Ordained January 12, 1969. Instructor in Religion and Latin, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009

SANDSTROM, ERIK EMANUEL. Ordained May 23, 1971. Assistant to the Pastor of the Olivet Church, Toronto, Canada. Visiting Minister to the Montreal Circle. Address: 230 East Mail, Apt. 217, Islington 677, Ontario, Canada.

     Associate Member

WEISS, JAN HUGO. Ordained June 19, 1955; 2nd Degree, May 12, 1957. Address: 2650 Del Vista Drive, Hacienda Heights, California 91745

     Authorized Candidates

BAU-MADSEN, ARNE JOHANNES. Authorized February 1, 1971. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009

BOYESEN, RAGNAR. Authorized February 1, 1971. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009

     Guyana Mission

     Pastor-in-Charge

ALGERNON, HENRY. Ordained, 1st and 2nd Degrees September 1, 1940. Pastor of the General Church Mission in Georgetown, Guyana. Address: 85 William Street, Kitty, E. C., Demerara, Guyana.

432




     South African Mission

     Pastors

BUTELEZI, STEPHEN EPHRAIM. Ordained September 11, 1938; 2nd Degree, October 3, 1948. Pastor of the KwaMashu Society. Address: P. O. Box 11, KwaMashu Township, Durban, Natal.

MBEDZI, PAULUS. Ordained March 23, 1958; 2nd Degree, March 14, 1965. Resident Pastor of the Hambrook Society, Visiting Pastor of the Enkumba Society. Address: Hambrook Bantu School, P. B. 9912, Ladysmith, Natal.

NZIMANDE, BENJAMIN ISHMAEL. Ordained August 21, 1938; 2nd Degree, October 3, 1948. Assistant Superintendent. Resident Pastor of the Clermont Society, Visiting Pastor of the Kent Manor Society. Address: 1701-31st Avenue, Clermont Township, P. O. Clernaville, Natal.

SIBEKO, PAULUS PEFENUS. Ordained October 3, 1948; 2nd Degree, March 23, 1958. Resident Pastor of the Alexandra Society, Visiting Pastor of the Mofolo, Greylingstad and Balfour Societies. Address: 15911th Avenue, Alexandra Township, Johannesburg, Transvaal.

ZUNGU, AARON. Ordained August 21, 1938; 2nd Degree, October 3, 1948. Mission Translator. Address: 3458-39th Avenue, Clermont Township, P. O. Clernaville, Natal.

     Minister

MBATHA, BHEKUYISE ALFRED. Ordained June 27, 1971. Assistant to the Rev. P. P. Sibeko, resident at the Greylingstad Society. Address: P. O. Box 41, Greylingstad, Transvaal.

     Societies and Circles

     Societies                                   Pastor

BRYN ATHYN CHURCH                         Rt. Rev. Willard D. Pendleton
CARMEL CHURCH OF KITCHENER, ONTARIO      Rev. Frank S. Rose
COLCHESTER SOCIETY, ENGLAND                Rev. Bjorn A. H. Boyesen
DETROIT SOCIETY, MICHIGAN                Rev. Geoffrey S. Childs
DURBAN SOCIETY, NATAL, SOUTH AFRICA      Rev. Peter M. Buss
HURSTVILLE SOCIETY, N. S. W., AUSTRALIA     Rev. Douglas McL. Taylor
IMMANUEL CHURCH OF GLENVIEW, ILLINOIS      Rev. Louis B. King
LOS ANGELES SOCIETY, CALIFORNIA           Rev. Geoffrey H. Howard
MICHAEL CHURCH, LONDON, ENGLAND           Rev. Donald L. Rose
OLIVET CHURCH, TORONTO, ONTARIO           Rev. Harold C. Cranch
PITTSBURGH SOCIETY                          Rev. Kurt H. Asplundh
RIO DE JANEIRO SOCIETY, BRAZIL           Rev. Jose Lopes de Figueiredo
SHARON CHURCH, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS           Rev. Robert H. P. Cole (Resident)
STOCKHOLM SOCIETY, SWEDEN                Rev. Kurt P. Nemitz
WASHINGTON SOCIETY, D. C.               Rev. Frederick L. Schnarr

     Circles                         Visiting Pastor or Minister

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK                     Rev. Kurt P. Nemitz
DAWSON CREEK, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA     Rev. Christopher R. J. Smith

433



DENVER, COLORADO                          Rev. Morley D. Rich
ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA                          Rev. B. David Holm
FORT WORTH, TEXAS                          Rev. Morley D. Rich
THE HAGUE, HOLLAND                          Rev. Donald L. Rose
JONKOPING, SWEDEN                          Rev. Kurt P. Nemitz
MADISON, WISCONSIN                          Rev. Robert H. P. Cole
MIAMI, FLORIDA                          Rev. Roy Franson
MONTREAL, CANADA                          Rev. Erik E. Sandstrom
NORTH JERSEY                               Rev. Lorentz R. Soneson
NORTH OHIO                               Rev. Erik Sandstrom
OSLO, NORWAY                               Rev. Kurt P. Nemitz
PARIS, FRANCE                               Rev. Donald L. Rose
ST. PAUL-MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA           Rev. Robert H. P. Cole
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA                     Rev. Norman H. Reuter (Acting)
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA                Rev. Geoffrey H. Howard
SOUTH OHIO                               Rev. B. David Holm
TRANSVAAL, REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA      Rev. Willard L. D. Heinrichs
TUCSON, ARIZONA                         Rev. Norman H. Reuter (Acting)

     In order to avoid confusion, it seems well to observe, in the official records and the official journal of the General Church, the recognized distinctions between a "Society," a "Circle," and a "Group."
     A "Group" consists of all interested receivers of the Heavenly Doctrine in any locality who meet together for worship and instruction under the general supervision of pastors who visit them from time to time.
     A "Circle" consists of member of the General Church in any locality who are under the leadership of a regular visiting Pastor appointed by the Bishop, and who are organized by their Pastor to take responsibility for their local uses in the interim between his visits. A Group may become a Circle when, on the recommendation of the visiting Pastor, it is formally recognized as such by the Bishop.
     A "Society" or local "Church" consists of the members of the General Church in any locality who have been organized under the leadership of a resident Pastor to maintain the uses of regular worship, instruction and social life. A Circle may become a Society by application to the Bishop and formal recognition by him.
     WILLARD D. PENDLETON,
          Bishop

     Committees of the General Church          Chairman

British Finance Committee                Rev. Bjorn A. H. Boyesen
General Church Publication Committee      Rev. Norbert H. Rogers
General Church Religion Lessons           Rev. David R. Simons
Nominating Committee                     Mr. Theodore W. Brickman, Jr.
Orphanage Committee                     Mr. Leonard E. Gyllenhaal
Pension Committee                          Mr. Garthowen Pitcairn
Revolving Building Fund Committee           Mr. L. E. Gyllenhaal
Salary Committee                          Mr. Robert E. Walter
Sound Recording Committee               Rev. W. Cairns Henderson

434



Translation Committee                     Rev. Norbert H. Rogers
Visual Education Committee                Rev. David R. Simons

Address all Committees, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009 except the following:

Rev. Bjorn A. H. Boyesen      30 Inglis Road, Colchester, England
Mr. Theodore W. Brickman, Jr.     1211 Gladish Lane, Glenview, Illinois 60025
Mr. Garthowen Pitcairn           600 Woodward Drive, Huntingdon Valley, Pa. 19006
Church News 1971

Church News       Various       1971

     PITTSBURGH, PA.

     This year has been full for our Society-Social participation, which had been at a low ebb, was revitalized through the formation of a social committee consisting of members of each age and geographical group. As a result we have had a full and enjoyable social calendar with excellent participation in all events. Mrs. Stroemple, with an eye for comedy and personality, has involved many members for the first time, with exciting results.
     To Bryn Athyn this year went Rebecca Alden, Garth Glenn, Raymond Kendig and Wellesley Rose. The children starting first grade included John Alden, Elizabeth Asplundh, Charles Blair, Sylvia Rose and Richard Stein. Eighth grade graduates this year included Dianne Alden, India Blair, Philip Heilman, Bruce Horigan, Denise Kendig and Clinton van Zyverden. In the abovementioned groups children in and out of our Pittsburgh New Church School are named because they are all New Church children.
     Theta Alpha prepared and presented another greatly enjoyed Swedenborg banquet in February. Fifty participated in the luncheon and program. It remains one of the yearly events looked forward to by all our children.
     Mrs. Bert Nemitz has retired this year after teaching in our Pittsburgh school system for twenty-five years. This summer she has been joined by her daughter and family-the Dave Griffiths. Perhaps they will make their home with us. In addition we have welcomed Jaynyne and Brenda Naill, and Martha Gyllenhaal, who is attending Carnegie Mellon. The Ernie Glenns have made their home in Apollo, not far from our Johnny Appleseed settlement (29 adults and 29 children, within easy distance of each other and thirty miles from Pittsburgh). Town and country share activities, social and other, through Sunday school committees, our social calendar and formal church gatherings-not to be confused with church services. This is a monthly gathering for formal class and informal discussion, followed by an old-fashioned country supper. Mr. Asplundh in his more than full-time ob of church and school uses has given our teenage children not attending the church school an opportunity to share with him in a bi-monthly class conducted in our country communities. Aside from what the children learn, it has proved another link in their feeling closer to their church and church friends in town, and a sense that this is "their" minister also.

435


Hopefully, as more is shared among children and adults, we will strengthen our sense of unity and therefore our use as a total group.
     Last April we had the pleasure of hearing and talking with Miss Sally Smith and Miss Pearl Linaweaver about the Academy. Many questions from parents and/or Bryn Athyn anticipants were answered. Aside from adults wondering "how it had changed," many of the young people looking forward to attending the Academy felt that they were in touch with those deeply involved in the school, which was a contact they greatly wanted. Ninth and tenth grade students did make a trip this year to visit Bryn Athyn, society and school, and returned greatly excited with the experience.
     We have had seven baptisms this year, the latest that of Carolyn Stein, and three confirmations. We have also shared good wishes in five weddings, the last of which was that of Judy Abele and Dirk Junge.
     We miss Gorandma Brown (Mrs. Percy Brown), who has spent fifty-two years in our Society as a vital entity. A special party was held for her in June to commemorate the many places she and her husband filled in our church uses, and the place in our hearts where she remains. From personal experience let me say that she remains a copasetic grandma. The Robert Glenns we will miss as they return to Bryn Athyn after twelve years with us. They leave many remembered times of sharing, and also a handsome screen to enclose the Word and lectern in our auditorium. The Dr. Dan Heilmans will be leaving us to be in Cleveland for a year, after which we anticipate their return.
     We have had many visiting preachers this year, Bishop Elmo C. Acton among them. The Rev. Dan Heinrichs and family will be spending a month with us this summer.
     Laurel Camp was a bustling success filling many with memories to hold over until next year. It is a congenial trip away from the bustle of everyday living into wilderness trails and new paths of sharing.
     The annual Sons banquet opened areas of growth-financial, geographical and spiritual. Though in many ways "daring" in context, it was well attended and much enjoyed.
     One last thought, about the Nineteenth of June. As has been our habit, the church service was followed by all going reverently to the church lawn to watch a program presented by our pastor and the children. It was conveyed with innocence and imagination. The singing, participated in by all, was a moving thing to hear on the wings of summer.
     ZARAH BLAIR

     TORONTO,CANADA

     This report covers the period from September, 1969, through August, 1970, in the life of the Olivet Church. During this time, all the uses of a large New Church society were sustained under the leadership of our pastor, the Rev. Harold Cranch, assisted by the Rev. Christopher Smith, whom, together with his wife, Diana, we welcomed most happily into
our midst, following a period of two years when our pastor had been without regular assistance in the pastoral office.
     The first use of a society of the Church is worship and instruction. At regular Sunday morning services the average attendance was 140, an increase of 9 from the year preceding. The principal series of sermons preached by the pastor focused on the book of Revelation, as a suitable preparation for the two hundredth anniversary of the sending forth of the twelve disciples on the first New Church Day. One sermon a month was devoted to the presentation of a basic doctrine in a form suitable for reception by newcomers. The usual sermons were also given in preparation for Christmas and Easter. Special family services were held at Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, and on the Nineteenth of June with a high attendance of 189. An evening service was held on Good Friday. The sacrament of the Holy Supper was administered quarterly at regular church services with an average of 77 communicants, and mid-quarterly at early Sunday morning services with an average attendance of 14 communicants. A memorial service was held for Mr. Theodore Rothermel, one of our oldest members and a life-long member of the Olivet Church.

436


We were happy to think of his reunion with his wife Lillian as the service ended with the singing of "O precious sign and seal of heavenly union"-a most moving occasion. We rejoiced in 14 infant baptisms, 3 confirmations and 2 weddings.
     In the general doctrinal class series were given by the pastor and his assistant on "The Authority of the Writings," "Ritual," "The Doctrine of Charity" and "Reflection." Average attendance was 56. One class a month featured a presentation accommodated to the young people, and was preceded by a "family supper." This proved a quite successful innovation, drawing a high attendance of 92.
     The young people's class, consisting of those of high school age, considered sections of Topics From the Writings, guided by Mr. Smith. The older young people and young marrieds met monthly with Mr. Smith to consider a variety of subjects appropriate to their needs and states.
     The second traditional use of a well established New Church society is the work of New Church education carried on in its day school. The Olivet Day School continued this work with 42 pupils in eight grades and a kindergarten. The teaching staff remained unchanged from the previous year, with Miss Sylvia Parker in the junior room, Mrs. Norman Hiebert in the intermediate grades, Miss Barbara Charles in the senior room, and Mrs. Sydney Parker teaching the kindergarten, with the pastor and his assistant leading in worship and teaching courses in Religion, Human Body and Physical Education. A highlight of the year was the annual school night held in May when we all gathered to hear the reports of the headmaster and teachers, and to see the work of the children. As always, the school play at the end of the year provided another evening of delight.
     At the end of the year Miss Barbara Charles left to take up a new post teaching in the Bryn Athyn Elementary School. We bade "Miss Barbara" a reluctant farewell and presented her with a gift of money which she used to buy lamps for her new home in Bryn Athyn.
     It is a regrettable fact of life in a society of the Church which finds itself located in a large metropolitan center that not all the children of the society are able to attend its day school. Provision must be made for these in a Sunday school. Our pastor gave special attention to this use in his report to the Semi-Annual Meeting of the Society, and we quote from his remarks. "We have a very active Sunday school and an excellent Sunday school faculty. One-third of our children of elementary school age are not in our day school, and must depend upon Sunday school training alone for the knowledge of the Word and the essential doctrines that should be given at their specific ages. They go through these states only once, and each state should be fed according to the principles given in the Writings. This can be done, if we give sufficient importance to the Sunday school work, see that the children attend, have our teachers trained as effectively as possible, and use the most effective aids to make the work very powerful in the short time we have with the children. It can be done, and I think it must be done, or else we, as a church, will be short-changing our children. We will not be providing for their needs as well as we know we can provide for them." There are four classes of instruction in the Sunday school. The fourth-just begun this year, and intended for both day school and public school pupils-meets one Sunday a month for instruction in the basic and essential New Church doctrines.
     A highlight of the church year is always the annual presentation of the Christmas tableaux. This year proved no exception as, following a service in the chapel, we marched in solemn procession to the church hall to watch the prophecy of Balaam, see Bethlehem and the Wise Men on their journey, be moved once again by the ever-new scene of the Nativity and the presentation of gifts by the Wise Men, and view the flight into Egypt. After the tableaux the pastor in his robes presented gifts from the Church to all the children present.
     After worship and instruction, and New Church education, comes social life and a variety of supportive activities which we now report.

437


The organized social life of the Olivet Church was varied this past year, ranging from an Open House to welcome the Christopher Smiths, through a square dance in November, a family Christmas party with adults and children happily together, the annual Swedenborg's birthday banquet, this year addressed by the Rev. Peter Puss on the subject of Swedenborg and Polhem, to a games night in February, the Sons' anuual ladies' night banquet and entertainment in April, and the banquet on June the Nineteenth. A bridge tournament brought members together in other members' homes, while the weekly Friday suppers preceding the doctrinal class proved, as ever, to be feasts of charity.
     The social program for the young people embraced several events including three young people's weekends held jointly with the Kitchener Society, and built up to the Maple Leaf Academy, held at the beginning of the summer for those who could attend.
     Ladies' Circle and Theta Alpha continued to meet in alternate months to pursue their distinct uses and to hear from Mr. Cranch on the subject of Saul, David and Solomon (Ladies' Circle), and from Mr. Smith on The Moral Life (Theta Alpha). The Forward Sons met monthly to dine on a repast prepared by a member, to carry on their uses, and to hear a paper by a member on some subject of general interest considered in the light of the Writings.
     At the Semi-Annual Meeting of the Society, held in March, we heard reports of the work of the Long Range Planning Committee. This represented the first results of a new use, established by the pastor and described by him as being vitally necessary for the development of the Church in Toronto, inasmuch as it will not again be possible to move to a new location in order to accommodate a much larger congregation, the very nature of our Society and its uses and the Metropolitan Toronto situation making this impractical.
     The only logical way for the Church to develop in Toronto involves two stages: first, the fullest use of our present facilities, which means an addition to the present building. The Building Committee has been reactivated and funds provided for preliminary studies looking to such an addition in the very near future. The second stage will occur when absolute maximum use of our present building is reached. Then the Society can be divided. At present there are 173 active adult members of the congregation, plus 31 active young people and 97 children. Growth projections indicate that by 1975, festival services as now held will have reached maximum numbers for comfort, and that by about 1985 the same will be true for regular services. Already a satellite community is being envisioned to allow members who are unable to locate near the Church to group together so that transportation may be provided to bring their children to the school. This would remain a part of the Olivet Society until our present facilities reach capacity, by which time the satellite community should be ready to provide a building for itself, and a second society of the Church would be established in the Toronto region. In this case neither society would have a congregation so large that the pastor would lose contact with individual members of his flock. This is the concept that is being developed for the ordered growth of the Church in our midst. We believe that it holds exciting promise for the future.
     The climax of the year was the festivities associated with our celebration of the Nineteenth of June. As many of our members as could attended the General Assembly held in Bryn Athyn; Toronto was well represented there. But, led by our pastor, there was never any doubt that this two hundredth anniversary of the day we mark as the birthday of the New Church would be celebrated in the Olivet Church, and celebrated fully. It could not be otherwise in the center of the Church which our Society is. And so we gathered on the Nineteenth of June, old and young, as the children, led by the pastor, entered the church in glad procession bearing red and white banners, to the strains of "Jerusalem the Golden," and worshiped the Lord who has come again in His second advent. Following the service, a children's banquet was held.

438


The adult banquet, held the next day with the Rev. Christopher Smith as toastmaster, had for its theme the two witnesses of the Apocalypse, which signify the two essentials of the New Church: that the Lord Jesus Christ is the one God of heaven and earth and His Human is Divine, and conjunction with Him by a life according to the precepts of the Decalogue. On Sunday, the pastor preached on the descent of the New Jerusalem and we received the Holy Supper. So we ended another year in the life of the Church as we end this report with the words of the injunction and the prayer sounding in our cars: "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. . . . Even so, come, Lord Jesus."
     JOHN RAYMOND
SWEDENBORG SOCIETY 1971

SWEDENBORG SOCIETY       FREDA G. GRIFFITH       1971

     161st Annual Meeting

     The Annual Meeting of the Society was held at Swedenborg Hall on Wednesday, May 12, and was attended by 38 members. The meeting was opened with the repetition of the Lord's Prayer.
     The President welcomed members to the 161st Annual General Meeting. A number of apologies for absence had been received and the attendance was the smallest for some years. Mr. A. A. Drummond had sent a message congratulating the Council on a good year's work.
     After the formal notice of the meeting, the Minutes of the 160th meeting were read, confirmed and signed, and the Honorary Secretary then presented the Report of the Council for 1970. She said that for the Society one of the really exciting results of the gathering of New Church people in London in 1970 was the "Translators' Summer School" which was going to take place in July. The suggestion to hold such a school had been made at the post-Assembly meeting on translation and the Council had agreed to it with enthusiasm. Our own Advisory and Revision Board, together with four ministers of the General Church, three of the General Convention, and possibly two from the De Nova Hierosolyma would be taking part.
     Turning to the work of the Advisory and Revision Board, the Secretary said that volume VII of the Third Latin Edition of Arcana Coelestia was now being printed. Volume VIII would be finished earlier than had seemed likely because of another noteworthy happening. From September, 1971, the Rev. John Elliot will be working on a full-time appointment for the Society, first to finish the Latin and then to start on a new English translation of Arcana Coelestia. This appointment, made possible by a generous grant from Bryn Athyn, of a Fellowship for five years, seemed to the Council one of the most important events in the Society's history. The desire, the need, for a new English translation had been in the forefront of the Society's hopes for many years, but until recently, and indeed at the time the Report was written, it seemed a hope with no immediate chance of fulfillment.

     Mrs. Griffith mentioned the work of Mr. Chetty in Madras who has acted for the Society in seeing through the press new editions of the Doctrine of Life and the Doctrine of Uses in Tamil. Mr. Chetty's sales of the four Tamil editions published by the Society are very satisfactory.
     Mr. Drummond's retirement from the Chairmanship of the Advisory and Revision Board in the summer of 1970 was a matter for regret by all concerned. The Board are, however, very happy with their new Chairman, the Rev. H. G. Mongredien, the longest serving member of the Board.
     The Library catalogues and the Hyde's Bibliography Additions had attracted a good deal of attention from visitors to the World Assembly and showed the importance of the painstaking work which had gone into these compilations.
     The Secretary expressed concern at the fact that of the record sales of L4,355, only 24% were in this country. The Society is glad to supply so many of its publications to overseas customers, particularly in the U. S. A., but it would seem that people in this country were not buying the new editions.

439



     The Council bad been disappointed that the Spring Meeting, especially arranged for young people, was, in the average age of the people present, quite autumnal!
     The year had been an expensive one in that re-decorating inside as well as out, as well as complete electrical rewiring of the premises, had been carried out.
     The Secretary concluded by thanking the three members of the staff for their co-operation and willing service.


     Mr. F. B. Nicholls, the Honorary Treasurer, then presented the Accounts. He said that the excess of expenditure over income was very high, L4,855. All the expenses had increased: as the Secretary had said, there had been heavy expenditure on the building, and although rents were higher there was still a loss on the property. Again, sales were higher, but printing costs were still rising. Subscriptions were down. We had a heavy deficit and heavy printing costs to come. Members could perhaps remind their friends in the New Church that the membership subscription is a minimum of only 50p., and life membership only 110.
     The Chairman of the Council, Mr. Norman Turner, moved the adoption of the Reports and Accounts. He referred to the two exciting events mentioned earlier, the Translators' Summer School and the appointment of a full-time translator, and felt that these were opening up a new era in the Society's history.
     The motion for the adoption was seconded by the Rev. Bjorn A. H. Boyesen, who paid tribute to the work of the officers. The Rev. C. H. Presland referred to the appointment of the Rev. John Elliot as one of the greatest things that had happened. He should be allowed to get on with this work. Mr. Presland spoke with appreciation of the work of the Advisory and Revision Board and expressed his good wishes for the Summer School.
     Mr. Turner then moved the Council's nomination of Mr. R. H. Griffith as President for another year. He said that we all knew that Mr. Griffith has a love for the basic uses of the Society and brought dignity to the office of President, This was seconded by Mr. A. S. Wainscot and carried unanimously. Mr. Griffith replied briefly, thanking the members and saying that he regarded the Presidency of the Swedenborg Society as one of the highest honors a layman could be given. He then proposed the reappointment of Mr. Norman Turner as Vice-President and this was carried unanimously.
     The nomination of Mr. F. B. Nicholls as Honorary Treasurer was moved by Mr. John Cunningham who said that in him we had a Treasurer well able to look after the Society's investments. This proposal, too, was carried unanimously.
     The Secretary announced that there had been no nominations for the Council so the four members retiring by rotation were declared elected, namely, Mr. G. P. Dawson, Rev. Dennis Duckworth, Mr. L. H. Houghton and Mr. A. F. Turner.
     The Chairman of the Council took the chair while the President gave an address on "Influx." Mr. Turner moved a hearty vote of thanks to Mr. Griffith for his paper and for his services during the year. This was carried with acclamation.
     The meeting was closed with the Benediction.
     FREDA G. GRIFFITH
VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN 1971

VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN       Editor       1971

     Visitors to Bryn Athyn for the opening of the Academy schools, Charter Day, or any other occasion, who need assistance in finding accommodation please communicate with the Guest Committee, c/o Mrs. Leo Synnestvedt, 611 Waverly Lane, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009. Phone: (215) WI 7-3725.

440


CHARTER DAY 1971

       Editor       1971

     All ex-students, members of the General Church and friends of the Academy are invited to attend the 55th Charter Day Exercises, to be held in Bryn Athyn, Pa., Thursday through Saturday, October 21-23, 1971. The program:

Thursday, 8:30 p.m., Religion Department Open House and Program.

Friday, 11 a.m., Cathedral Service with an address by the Rev. Lorentz R. Soneson

Friday Afternoon-Football Game

Friday Evening-Dance

Saturday, 7 p.m., Banquet. Toastmaster: Mr. E. Boyd Asplundh
TRADITIONS OF MEN 1971

TRADITIONS OF MEN       Rev. GEOFFREY H. HOWARD       1971


Vol. XCI
October, 1971
No. 10
     "Ye have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that they are many: and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool . . . Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool: but ye have not looked unto the maker thereof, neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago." (Isaiah 22: 9, 11)

     In their historical context these words of Isaiah refer to the devastation which the city of Jerusalem suffered when the mighty Assyrian armies led by Sennacherib laid siege unto it some 600 years B. C. King Hezekiah of Judah, anticipating Sennacherib's onslaught, diverted the waters which filled two pools outside of the city, and conducted them into the city itself through an aqueduct. Thus he attempted to stave off the invading armies by depriving them of a water supply outside of the walled city.
     The spiritual significance of Isaiah's words of reproach is cryptic. Their internal meaning has been opened by the Lord in the New Word. By the city of David is meant Jerusalem, and Jerusalem signifies the state of the Lord's dwelling with man. It signifies a state of true faith in the Lord; a faith in Him from which man is moved to enter into the works of charity; into the willing service of his neighbor. When this is the case the mind of man is as a strong city. It is recorded that the city of Jerusalem had breaches in it, at this time. When man is in genuine charity, he is Divinely protected by the Lord from the onslaught of evil. By diverting the waters of the two pools outside of the city to within its walls is signified an error into which man falls so often. The waters of the pools signify the Word in the sense of the letter. Men can go to the Word and can change its intended course to suit themselves.

442


They can find within its letter reasonings to confirm anything that they desire. But in so doing they do not look "unto the maker thereof, neither [have] they respect unto him that fashioned it long ago."
     When the Lord came on earth and taught, He exposed the same dangers intimated in this text. He did this in a form that was far more lucid to human comprehension. While on earth many of His rebukes were directed towards the Pharisees and scribes who came from Jerusalem. These peoples constituted the leadership of Judaism at that day. They were concerned with maintaining a semblance of external righteousness in the eyes of others, but within, their hearts were filled with unclean loves, which constituted an utter corruption of the true things of heaven which should properly have been within. With predominant concern for external piety they asked the Lord why His disciples walked not according to the traditions of the elders, but ate bread with unwashen hands. The Lord rebuked these questioners thus: "This people honoreth Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me."* He thereby exposed the same error that the people of Jerusalem had made under King Hezekiah. The breaches in the city of Jerusalem were breaches in the heart of man; the heart being far from the Lord. The concern to preserve externals, the water supply into the city, was without regard to the Maker thereof, neither out of respect unto Him who fashioned it long ago. The internals of the mind were turned away from the Lord, but the externals of conduct conformed unto the traditions of men. Concerning this the Lord said: "Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition."** And of the quality of worship when externals are of sole concern He says: "In vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."***
     * Mark 7: 6.
     ** Matthew 15: 6.
     *** Matthew 15: 9.

     In our text, and later in the Lord's elaboration upon the dangers of mere conformity to tradition, we find a warning that will have eternal application to the affairs of men. When we are preoccupied with a concern for mere tradition, apart from the principle that it serves, then life becomes as a hollow dead shell. A meaningful life must always be vivified from the presence of the Lord within. The Lord can be present only when man opens the door unto Him, when he learns from the Word how to discipline and train his thoughts, his motives and his desires into conformity with the Divine will. There is no other method whereby man can truly find himself, and feel that inner confidence which comes by way of doing the will of the Lord.

443



     In almost everyone there lurks something of a love for tradition. Through tradition, we sense a kind of continuity with the past; a certain sense of stability, because in the observance of tradition the interior delights of remains are stirred. Church festivals, church customs, and church attitudes become traditional with us. National observances become traditions in which the love of country is stirred with us. Birthdays, anniversaries, and family gatherings become traditional with the individual. We look forward to these things because they relate the present to the past. They are times for reflection, and times for resolve.
     This love of tradition, which we all share, is possible because the Lord implanted the possibility for its development in us. If the Lord implanted this possibility then obviously it was intended to serve a beneficial end. The love of tradition is not necessarily a negative love. Like many things which the Lord gives man to dispose, it can be turned to a good or an evil end by the freedom of man.
     The question, therefore, presents itself as to how tradition may be differentiated as to good or evil. The answer may be very simply resolved by determining whether it is a tradition in which the ends of serving the Lord and the neighbor are inmostly present. Indeed this is a most general principle to apply, but it can supply us with an accurate answer. Unless the tradition is expressive of a sound spiritual principle, then it can only be detrimental to the spiritual advancement of life.

     Therefore, it is well for each generation, and indeed each individual, to examine the traditions of his heritage; to examine them to see if they do in fact express and promote a true principle found in Divine revelation. The form of our traditions, if they are to be living, must always be subject to modification and change, that each generation may grow to express the truth more perfectly as it is enlightened to see it.
     There is a hidden danger attendant upon the blind acceptance of tradition. It is human nature to fall into a love of tradition. That love for tradition can only be a full and meaningful love when the tradition is based upon the Lord's Word, and is also held in a place subservient to the Word. When tradition is loved more than the Word, then self intelligence is loved more than the Divine wisdom of the Lord. This is folly. Never must the traditions of men usurp the Divine intelligence of God.;
     While we might intellectually subscribe to the supremacy of Divine intelligence in the affairs of men, it is very easy to fall unknowingly into a blind love of tradition. The case of the Pharisees was not isolated. The evil of making the Word of God of none effect is an error attendant upon every generation of mankind.

444


Many of the current problems of men today may be attributed to this very mistake.
     The Lord said: "Except a man be born of water and of the spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."* The mind is born of water when it is purified and cleansed by truths in which we believe, and in which we have faith. The mind is born of the spirit when the truths of our faith, when truths from the Word, are brought into the conduct of our lives.** The allegiance is clearly to be directed to the Lord alone and to His ways. If we are to be led by the Lord, it is first essential that we put forth the effort to learn from the Word just what His ways are; to learn the laws of His leadership. So often we fall prey to the traditions of the godless world. We devote an incredible amount of time and effort to the understanding and development of skills that will better our material well being. Whereas, for the laws and the means that will improve our spiritual well being - the real things that are of eternal consequence - to these the human race often seems singularly indifferent. These things are not popular in the traditions of people whose God is the mammon of materialism. As much of the world seems to drift in the sway of such empty traditions, the bewildered and enslaved mind still cries out for peace within his soul. The anguish that he feels is the voice of spiritual pain; of spiritual impoverishment; a yearning produced from the deficiency of Divine love.
     * John 3: 5.
     ** AE 475: 8.

     As we glance at the state of our modern society, do we not see the tensions and stresses that are bred of man-made philosophies and ideologies? Can we not learn from the testimony of countless chapters in the history of man that the only philosophy of eternal consequence is the eternal truth, the eternal principles that God has revealed? Men will always err when they fail to think firstly from the Word. In all matters, Divine principles must rule in the first place. There must exist a willingness to surrender self-intelligence, and a mere traditional allegiance, to principles which we see have a sure foundation in the Word. A healthy mind, a healthy community, a healthy country, and a healthy church, are all willing to cast aside those forms which do not contain the Divine of the Lord within them.
     When a child is born into this world, he is born at a certain point in time. He has no choice but to become heir to the traditions of his elders. He has no choice but to trust in their wisdom. He has no wisdom of his own during his developing years. Unless he bestowed his trust upon his elders his mental development could not go forward. He must therefore receive into himself the faith of his parents; the faith of the adult world which influences him.

445


This faith is not his own faith, it is a borrowed faith, which is intended to serve his needs for a time only. As an adult he will have to cast that faith aside, at least to a degree. He will need to test it, to withdraw from it, to doubt it, all in an effort to obtain objectivity. However, he finds that pure objectivity can hardly exist. He cannot help but fall back upon the security of his past experiences; experiences in which he felt a certain strength, but which he has not yet come to understand rationally. The faith of adult life needs the rational confirmation of truth to add strength to what that faith feels. We must not only feel the comforts of a sound faith, we must also see its structure and its order, and see these as harmonious creations of the Lord. That is why the Word was given. From his understanding of the Word, man can confirm the presence of Divine principles in the traditions of his heritage. From the Word he can also see their absence, or see those areas where tradition is questionable, and is subject to a modification of attitude.

     We live in a world that is in a constant state of flux. Sometimes we feel that the changes we witness are almost more than we can comprehend. What is perhaps most difficult for the older members of society to understand is the open rebellion of the young. Why can they not accept the traditions of their elders in a manner of gratitude, and with loyalty to the past? In a country where material benefits are unparallelled in the history of mankind, the scope of human unrest smolders and spreads. It seems incredible. It seems incredible until we ask ourselves, whom are we serving, God or mammon? There is nothing evil in material wealth or possessions, in themselves. These things can be turned to good or evil by the attitudes of men. If these things are of secondary importance, if they are used for the furtherance of God's revealed will, they can be of untold value. If they are of primary importance, if they are used to further selfish ends - power, self indulgence of the natural appetites, the prestige of self-intelligence - then they will rob life of the inner joys and felicities of the spirit. The mind becomes a barren wilderness of devastation.
     We must constantly re-examine our traditions. We must hold the Lord and His Word in the first place, and look at ourselves, our community, our country, and our church, in the light of His principles. Whenever the authority of the Lord is displaced, whenever it is absent from the policies and traditions of men, there is always going to be dissent and conflict among men. Traditional attitudes will never suffice unless that tradition images the Lord's truth. For it is love that unites men, and love descends from one source only, from the Lord the Author of life.

446


Love can only be with us to the degree that we are united in the bond of willingness to be led by the terms of His truth.
     While we might feel a prudent concern for the present state of the world, and we feel uneasy in the shifting sands of human dissent, let us remember that the Lord permits these things to happen so that a better state might emerge. We forget it so easily, but He does govern and guide the affairs of men. He indeed permits evil. But He also provides good. Benefits do emerge from the radical reactions of men.
     Of one thing we may be sure. There is only one cure for the spiritual ailments of men. That lies in the unifying power of the Lord when men turn to Him and suffer themselves to be led in freedom by His truth. So the shifting climate of modern times is not all negative. Perhaps the trouble is that many of our traditions are, in subtle ways, the traditions of men, and perhaps we have inadvertently strayed into the same error of the Pharisees and have made the "commandment of God of none effect." It is an eternal truth that man must always look unto the Maker of the world, and have "respect unto Him that fashioned it long ago." Amen.

     LESSONS: Isaiah 22: 1-14. Mark 7: 1-13. AE 475: 2, 5, 6.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 441, 445, 498.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 14, 61.
SOUTH AFRICAN MISSION 1971

SOUTH AFRICAN MISSION       Rev. Willard L. D. Heinrichs       1971

     An Appeal

     One of the most important tasks of the Mission in South Africa is the translation of the Writings into Zulu. Unfortunately the Mission does not possess copies of the Writings in Latin to make available for this work. If there are any priests or laymen who have spare copies of the Writings in Latin, it would be appreciated if they could send them to the General Church of the New Jerusalem Mission in South Africa. The Mission would be happy to pay the postal charges that are involved. At the present time the Mission is particularly interested in securing a few copies, in Latin, of True Christian Religion, Conjugial Love and Divine Providence.
     Please write to the Superintendent: The Rev. Willard L. D. Heinrichs, 36 Perth Road, Westville, Natal, Republic of South Africa.

447


VISIBLE DIVINE HUMAN 1971

VISIBLE DIVINE HUMAN       Rev. ELMO C. ACTON       1971

     (Delivered to the Council of the Clergy, January 26, 1971.)

     "This New Church is the crown of all the churches which have hitherto been on the earth, because it will worship one visible God, in whom is the invisible God, as the soul is in the body."*
     * TCR 787.
     The visible God - how is He seen? I would first note that the Writings identify the fall of the former church with the adoption of the Athanasian Creed. With that act the doctrine of the Lord ceased to be a subject for further study and enlightenment. From the 5th century on it was a static doctrine that not even the Reformation renewed and reopened. As long as men strove for an understanding of this doctrine there was life in the church, even though the differences in interpretation were far apart and there was long and often bitter contention.
     There is a lesson for the organization of the New Church in this. Agreement in the understanding of the particulars of the doctrine of the Lord is not as important as a free and open study of the doctrine. This allows for progressive enlightenment. The doctrine is thus kept open, and is not closed and confined to a human formulation. We may say, in one sense, that the state of the church is indicated by its active and continued consideration of and delight in the supreme doctrine of the church; and this not only with the clergy but also with the laity.
     We often wonder why this doctrine is revealed in the Writings in so many apparently ambiguous teachings. The apparent ambiguity, however, is in the explanation of the particulars of the doctrine. The essential genuine truth is clearly and concisely stated: "God is one in essence and in person in whom is the Divine Trinity, and the Lord God the Savior Jesus Christ is He." The doctrine of the Lord is an interior and holy doctrine; a doctrine that can be grasped only in part by man; a doctrine concerning which there should be progression and continuing enlightenment and perception; a doctrine that must be viewed from infinite sides. We should not be disturbed by our differences of understanding, but rather by our lack of study and consideration of the doctrine.
     We must study the various qualities of the Lord as revealed in the Writings as if they were separate and distinct, and we must try to form clear ideas concerning them. Then we must endeavor to see how they are one in Him. The more distinct ideas we form successively - one after another - the more perfectly will we see His oneness when we view them simultaneously - how they are distinctly one in Him.

448




     "The thought alone that there is a God and that the Lord is the God of heaven opens heaven and shows man present there, and yet so slightly as to be almost unseen, appearing afar off as in the shade. But in proportion as his thought of God becomes more full, true and just, he appears in the light. Thought becomes more full by cognitions or truths from the Word that pertain to faith and of goods that pertain to love; for all things from the Word are Divine, and Divine things taken together are God."*
     * AE 1098: 2.

     "The sense of the letter is such as to separate what the internal sense unites; and this for the reason that the man who is to be instructed from the sense of the letter cannot have an idea of a one, unless he first has an idea of more than one; for a one with man is formed from many; or what is the same, from successive things is formed that which is simultaneous. There are many things in the Lord, and all are Jehovah."*
     * AC 3035.

     The thought of God as Man, in the human shape, while the only door of entrance, can grow only by the development of ideas concerning the essence which makes the form truly Human. In thought from the form alone there is no development or enlightenment.
     The particular phase of the doctrine of the Lord I wish to consider in this presentation is: What is the visible Divine Human? In what form is God visible to the man of the church today that did not exist prior to the glorification of the Human and its revelation in His second coming?
The Divine Human is a new accommodation of the infinite Divine love to the sight and reception of man. The infinite God, however, did not descend into the ultimates of nature and then return to the Infinite, leaving only a record of the event - only a finite picture of the Man Jesus; even though He is the only Man in whom God revealed Himself; and it is important that we form our external ideas of God-Man from the historical record of the life of Jesus, for only in Him may the glory of the Father be seen. By the Advent an accommodation of the Infinite was effected that did not before exist. Bishop N. D. Pendleton expresses this in his paper "Humanizing the Divine." After stating that the Lord, in glorifying His Human, rose above the heavens, he continues: . . . In so doing and so becoming, He did not vanish from spiritual sight, was not lost to view in the primordial Infinite, but that, in making His Human Divine, He at the same time, and by a reciprocal process, made His Divine Human, which now outstands as the very God of heaven and earth."*
     * Selected Papers and Addresses, pp. 169, 170.

449




     Several answers to our inquiry have been presented. The Rev. William Mason maintained that Luke 24: 39 - "a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see Me have" - was a revelation of the doctrine of genuine truth; that the Lord rose with the flesh and bones which He had in the world. However, they were no longer material but Divine substantial, and that substantial body is the Lord's Divine Human. As he stated it, the body that was buried was the body that rose; and it is in this body, Divine substantial, that the Lord is now seen. This is certainly the appearance, and an essential appearance for children and the simple; but when it is confirmed as the truth itself, I believe, it leads to a falsity.

     "Many in Christendom can form no idea of the fact that the Human in the Lord was made Divine, a chief reason of which is that they think of a man from his material body, and not from his spiritual body."*
     * Lord 32: 8.

     [Converted Gentiles easily acknowledge the Lord as Divine Man.] "The reverse is the case within the church where, because He was born a man, He is with difficulty acknowledged from the heart as God. These make His Human like their own human, although they know that His Father was Jehovah, and not a man."*
     * AC 9198: 2.

     And yet we have the following: " . . . it was from providence that they are called persons [in the Athanasian Creed] for a person is a man, and a Divine Person is God who is Man. This has been revealed at this day for the sake of the New Church, which is called the holy Jerusalem."*
     * AE 1109e.

     Another answer to our difficulty was proposed by Dr. Eldred E. Iungerich. He maintained that the material body became, as it were, a Divine limbus, a "reliquae" of the former natural body, that held it back from disappearing into the infinite Divine and enabled the Infinite to present itself as Divinely Human. The difficulty with this is that it attributes to the Divine Human finite qualities, while the clear teaching is that all is the Divine esse.
     Dr. Hugo Lj. Odhner, after arguing in favor of the position that the material substances of the organic body, being freed of all finite limitations, became Divine substantial and infinite, says: "It is probable that the Divine Natural must have something to do with the union of the cosmic and immediate presence of the Divine in the ultimates of nature with His personal presence as God-Man. He came to be given all power in heaven and on earth."*
     * "The Lord's Human Essence," p. 9.
     Again - in "Doctrinal Studies," 1963 - he suggests, after arguing for the glorification of the "flesh and bones": "For this is the ultimate truth of the Lord's advent - that the Lord who created the universe from the substance of His own love and holds the heavens in His hands, revealed this Divinely Human identity with the cosmic force which binds the atoms together."*
     * Page 12.

450



     Bishop N. D. Pendleton, in his paper, "Humanizing the Divine," says:

     "But is there here any differing from the original status of the former creative Divine - the Word in the beginning? And did the glorifying of the Human of Christ make any change in and from the original Divine? Did it result in any alteration in the modes of the primordial Infinite? For myself, I can only answer in the affirmative. It seems to me that twice within the range of the Infinite progression, there came a change of mode. The first was when the lifelines of the pure and continuous Infinite turned upon themselves as a result of the will to create, thereby producing circling foci in the primal Infinite, in image of the after finites, which foci became the initiaments of creation. And that once again there was given a change of mode when an individual Divine Human was produced after the manner of man's regeneration, by infilling an individual human form and structure, from inmosts to outmosts, with Divine Life, which Life was thereby so accommodated and adapted, so conditioned by and to the original material human, that the Divine thereafter maintained itself as Human, that is, as a Divine Human in likeness to a natural man."*
     * Selected Papers and Addresses, p. 171.

     Bishop W. D. Pendleton, in a paper, "The Formation of the Human," says: "It is, then, as Divine Man, that is, as Divine truth in human form, that God is now revealed to the man of the New Church. In this form, which is Divine truth in rational form, the Lord may now be seen and acknowledged by all who aspire to good through the affection of truth."*
     * NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1954, p. 155.
     Some have held that the Word - the New Testament and the Writings (some, only the New Testament) - is the visible Divine Human. Everything above and within it is infinite and therefore invisible, so that the only change in the Divine accommodation is the written Word. While I think there is a very real sense in which the Writings can and should be called the Divine Human, they alone as the Divine Human cannot fulfill all the teachings concerning the visible God as given in the Writings.
     My tentative conclusion is that the visible Divine Human is the Gorand Man as seen in the Writings. The Gorand Man to which I refer here is not the Divine of the Lord as received by the angels but that Divine which makes heaven. In the Writings heaven is frequently identified with the Divine Human and also with the Holy Spirit or the Divine proceeding. Heaven as the Holy Spirit or the Divine proceeding is the Divine of the Lord as received by the angels while heaven as the Divine Human of the Lord is the Divine of the Lord which makes heaven, the Divine-Human form in which the angels are.

451


The Divine of the Lord which makes heaven and also the church is our "Father, who art in the heavens," to whom we pray. When man's thought is ordered and led by this Divine Human form in reading the Writings, he sees the Divine made Human and the Human made Divine, God-Man and Man-God, the visible God: that visible God in whom is the invisible as the soul is in the body, the sight of whom makes the New Church the crown of all the churches.
     Let me present the line of thought that has led me to this tentative conclusion. I asked myself, what had been destroyed with man that necessitated Jehovah's being born a man upon earth? It could not have been the idea that God is in the human shape, nor that He has human qualities. The reason was that men had attributed to God merely human qualities and created a God in their own distorted image. Since an external form takes its quality from the essence that is attributed to it, we can say that men had destroyed all idea of God as Divine Man and so had fallen into idolatry, which is the worship of a form apart from its true essence. As a result, there were no longer any genuine truths of faith or goods of love with man by which he could be conjoined with heaven and through heaven with the Lord.

      The Human essence before the Advent was the Divine esse presented as the "Angel of Jehovah." When this could no longer inflow and affect man, there was danger that man would be cut off from the reception of the Divine and so would destroy himself. This is clear from the many passages which teach that just prior to the Advent there was no longer a man upon earth; no longer any celestial, spiritual, or even any genuine natural good. This is important to our line of thought, for it shows that the goods and truths in which the Lord dwells, and by which He is conjoined to man, are not the scientifics and cognitions of the Word, nor the works of the external man according to them, but the ideas and loves within them. The ideas and loves are the real spiritual man, and all communication with heaven, and through heaven with the Lord, is according to their quality. The teaching is that the Lord came when "there was no longer any faith of love remaining in the whole world"* "nothing of charity remained";** "not even natural good remained with the man of the church";*** "there was . . . no longer any good, not even natural good; and consequently there was no truth";**** "there was no good whatever remaining with men";***** and "after there was no man any longer on earth or no longer anything celestial and spiritual among men."******
     * AC 2034: 7.
     ** AC 2243: 5.
     *** AC 10355: 5.
     **** AC 2905e.
     ***** AC 3398: 4.
     ****** AC 1894: 2.

452



     Men had so perverted the goods and truths of the Word that through them they could no longer receive a genuine human essence from Jehovah's Human Divine in heaven; and this in spite of the fact that the moral teachings of the prophets were clear and seemed to improve man's life in the world. This again strengthens the teaching that the human can be received only from within from the Lord; not only the human that is imparted through the soul, endowing man with the faculties of liberty and rationality, but also the conscious life of his thoughts and affections. This is quite contrary to the appearance. But the scientifics and cognitions of truth and the moral forms of good are only vessels which prepare man for the reception of the human essence inflowing from the Lord out of heaven. So when there was no longer a man upon earth - no longer any genuine truths and goods with man which could receive the Human from heaven - God descended, took on the prior Human essence, and glorified it. He became the Divine truth in lasts as He had been the Divine truth in firsts from the beginning; and this Divine truth in lasts is the Word, no longer given in representative forms, but in Divine natural truths which plainly reveal the Father, thus opening again to man the way for the reception of what is truly human from the Lord out of heaven.*
     * See AC 4180: 5; AE 726: 7, 1087: 2-4.
     Why did Jehovah have to come into the world for this purpose? Every Divine work proceeds from the Lord to ultimates from firsts and then in ultimates accomplishes its purpose. This mode is necessary for the preservation of human freedom. In ultimates God and man are together, and there man is given the as-of-self.
     This is illustrated by the teaching that the judgment represented by the Flood was effected by the Divine that still remained in the man of the church. When this failed, then the Lord came.*
     * Ath. 49.

     What Was the Human that the Lord Took On and Glorified?

     It was not the human from Mary, for everything from her was put off. It is argued by some that the material body is not from the mother but from creation; that what was put on from Mary consisted only in the perverted forms impressed upon the natural substances of the body; that therefore, when these forms were rejected, the natural body, being released from all finite limitations, was glorified.
     What happened to the material body is not the subject of this presentation, nor is it essential to it, but I should like to call your attention to Luke 24: 39.

453


The great majority of the numbers which say that the Lord rose with the body which He had in the world (Mr. Noble points out that it is never said, the same body), refer to this passage in Luke, and most New Church men have taken the words literally. There are several numbers that give and suggest the spiritual sense of this verse which I quote:

     "The Lord alone has proprium. From proprium He redeemed man, and from proprium He saved man. The proprium of the Lord is life, from His proprium He vivifies the proprium of man, which in itself is dead. The proprium of the Lord is signified also by the Lord's words in Luke, 'A spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see Me have.'"*
     * AC 149.

     "The flesh and the blood, therefore, signified by the bread and the wine in the Holy Supper, denote the Lord's Human proprium. The Lord's proprium itself, which He acquired to Himself by His own power, is Divine. His proprium from conception was what He had from Jehovah His Father, and was Jehovah Himself. Hence the proprium which He acquired to Himself in the Human was Divine. This Divine proprium in the Human is what is called His flesh and blood." *
     * AC 4735.

     "[Angels are not aware] that flesh and blood are mentioned in the Word . . . They are astonished that the man of the church does not allow himself to be elevated above the sense of the letter, and thinks not spiritually but naturally of the Lord and of His flesh and blood."*
     * AE 30. See also AC 256, 3813, 4168, 8409; HH 341, 591; DLW 114; DP 53; Ath. 119.

     To me this passage and the numbers cited say that the Lord alone to His Human has proprium; no man has proprium per se. The Lord alone rose as to His own proper life, even to that of the flesh and bones. But the great difficulty in understanding literally Luke 24: 39 and the many passages in the Writings which say that the Lord rose with the body which He had in the world, is the teaching that the Lord glorified His Human successively while He was in the world. Certainly the body that was crucified was no less material than the body that was born.
     The teaching is that the Lord was not only conceived but was also born of the Father.* Conception refers to descent; birth to ascent. The Divine itself descended and took on the Human, and by glorification or ascent all that was merely human was put off, and so it became a glorified Human or a Divine Human. Therefore the Human that was glorified was put on from the Father, not from Mary, and it was put on successively while He was in the world.
     * See AC 2628, 2649: 2, 2798, 2803; Ath. 150

     "While the Lord was in the world, He put off by the acts of redemption everything of the human which He had from the mother, and put on a Human from the Father, which is the Divine Human; and this is why in Him Man is God and God is Man."*
     * TCR 103e.

454




     "The Divine took to itself the Human successively while He was in the world."*
     * Ath. 30.

     "As often as He fought and overcame, this was imputed to Him for justice, that is, it was added to the justice that He was becoming, as a continual increase, until He became pure justice."*
     * AC 1813.

     What Was the Human From the Father?

     Apocalypse Explained 1108: 2 states: "He had indeed taken a human body from the mother, but this He put off in the world and put on a Human from the Father."* Athanasian Creed says: "What was born from Mary the Lord expelled from His own Divine . . . thence He assumed a Human corresponding to the Divine. . . . Hence He was not only conceived but born of Jehovah. . . . [For] in the sepulchre, and thus by death, the Lord rejected all the human from the mother and dissipated it"**
     * See also TCR 103e.
     ** Ath. 162.
     The Human from the Father which the Lord put on successively and glorified was, as to essence, the Divine Human, the angel of Jehovah, "just that which had been with the angels of heaven."* Also, it is said that He put on the Divine Human "over His former human."**
     * AC 6371: 2.
     ** DLW 221: 2.

     "When the Lord came into the world and thereby made the Human in Himself Divine, He put on just that which was with the angels of the celestial kingdom, thus He put on this sovereignty. For previously the Divine transflux through that heaven had been the Divine Human; it was also the Divine Man which was presented to view when Jehovah so appeared; but this Divine Human ceased when the Lord Himself made the Human in Himself Divine. This shows how the case is with this secret."*
     * AC 6371: 2.

     "This Divine, or this of Jehovah in heaven, is the Lord from eternity. The same the Lord took also upon Him when He glorified or made Divine the Human in Himself. . . . It is from this that everyone is able to think of the Divine itself as a Man, and at the same time of the Lord, in whom is all of the Divine, and a perfect Trinity, for in the Lord the Divine itself is the Father, this Divine in heaven is the Son, and the Divine thence proceeding is the Holy Spirit." *
     * AC 5110: 3.

     Divine Love and Wisdom 221:2 says: "This Human He superinduced over His prior human."

     "This Divine [the Divine Human before the Advent] in heaven is none other than the Divine itself, but in heaven it is as a Divine Man. This Man is what the Lord took on and made Divine in Him, and united it to the Divine itself as it had been united from eternity; for from eternity there was a one."*
      AC 5663: 3.

455




     How?

     It has been thought by some students that the Lord put on the former Human by His descent through the heavens, that by that descent He took on an heredity from the heavens and that, therefore, that heredity was present in Him from birth - a spiritual mind contaminated by evils from the propriums of the angels. N. C. Burnham called this "the great spiritual mother, the heavens."* At one time I held a similar idea; but the Lord at birth was the Son of God, His body was the body of His soul, which was the infinite Divine. The seed from which He was born was the Divine truth from the Divine good in its own essence, infinite and uncreate.** Only the human born of Mary was contaminated with an evil heredity. So at birth there was the Divine esse which was the soul, the body, and the heredity from Mary. But there was no heredity from the heavens or the world of spirits.
     * Discrete Degrees, p. 130.
     ** Can. Trin. IV: 4.
     The Human Divine, or the Divine Human before the Advent, is the Human which the Lord put on from the Father and glorified.* This Human was put on and glorified successively while He was in the world. This became necessary because the Human Divine was powerless to heal the state of evil into which the race had fallen, and this because of the propriums of the angels which limited its operation.** In the beginning it had revealed the glory of the Divine esse - the Father - but it could no longer, and therefore the Lord prayed: "And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self, with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was." ***
     * AC 6371: 2.
     ** AC 6373.
     *** John 17: 5.
     Now how was this Human put on? The flesh and bones of this Human were the affections of the cognitions and scientifics of the Old Testament. These the Lord put on from without, and therefore it is said that the Lord did not will to imbue Himself with any other cognitions.

     "In His childhood the Lord did not will to imbue Himself with any other cognitions than those of the Word, which was open to Him, as before said, from Jehovah Himself, His Father, with whom He was to be united and become one; and this the more, because nothing is said in the Word that does not in its inmosts have regard to Him, and that has not first come from Him; for the Human essence was only an additamentum to His Divine essence that was from eternity."*
     * AC 1461.

     The Writings stress over and over again that the Word is in the human form, and the Old Testament was the ultimate form of the Divine Human before the Advent.

456


This had to exist, therefore, before the Lord came so that He might put it on and glorify it. By imbuing Himself with these scientifics and cognitions He took on the bones and flesh of the former Human. But this is not the whole of the Human which the Lord put on from the Father. I have endeavored to show that the human with man is received from within by influx from the Lord out of heaven. So it was with the Lord before glorification. He put on the Human Divine by influx out of heaven from the Divine into the scientifics and cognitions of the Old Testament.

     "In order that the Lord might reduce the universal heaven into heavenly order, He admitted into Himself temptations from the angels also, who, insofar as they were in the proprium, were so far not in good and truth. These temptations are the inmost of all, for they act solely into ends."*
     * AC 4295: 3.

     "He admitted all the hells into Himself in their order, yea, even to the angels. . . . And He thus reduced into order all things in the heavens and in the hells, and at last glorified Himself, that is, made the Human in Himself Divine."*
     * AC 4287.
     "The Lord admitted temptations into Himself in order that He might expel thence all that was merely human, and this until nothing but the Divine remained. 'No one taketh My life from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.'" (John 10: 18)*
     * AC 2816: 2.

     "When the Lord made the Human in Himself Divine, He, too, had about Him societies of spirits and angels, for He willed that all things should he done according to order; but He summoned to Himself such as might be of service, and changed them at His good pleasure; yet He did not take from them and apply to Himself anything of good and truth, but only from the Divine. In this manner He also reduced into order both heaven and hell, and this by successive steps, until He had fully glorified Himself."*
     * AC 4075.

     "All man's states and changes of states are directed by the Lord to ends which the Lord alone foresees . . . with man these changes are done by the Lord; but with the Lord Himself, when He lived in the world, they were done by Himself, because He was Divine, and the very esse of His life was Jehovah."*
     * AC 2796.

     When influx from all the societies in hell, the world of spirits and heaven had thus been received and Divinely ordered by the Infinite Divine love, the Father, and this by dispelling, putting off, all of the evils, falsities, fallacies and appearances, even to the inmost of the rational, the Divine in heaven became an essence by itself.* This was accomplished from within and from without: from within from the Divine love itself, from without from the Word made flesh.

567


The Gorand Man of heaven, as to that which makes heaven, became the body of the Divine love, and in and from it the infinite God could inflow with man and angel without the finite limitations of the states of the angels. The sun of heaven shone seven times more brightly than before.
     * AC 3061: 3.
     This would seem to explain the emphasis in the Writings upon the Lord's acting from "His own proper power." For the Lord in so doing imparted to the angels and through them to men the "as-of-self." This is suggested by Arcana 1752:

     "The angels were with the Lord when He fought against the hells . . . . When He was in combats of temptations, it could not be otherwise than that the angels should be present to whom the Lord from His own power gave strength and, as it were, power to fight together with Him, for all power that the angels have is from the Lord."
     The Lord alone has proprium and in overcoming from His own proper power He took to Himself the power to adjoin to man His proprium so that man could perceive it in himself as his own.

     Heaven, therefore, as to that form and order which make heaven, is the body of the Lord. It is the visible Divine Human - the Father in heaven - the Divine love in human form; and it is so called in the Word. Thus the man who is receptive of influx from heaven thinks of the Lord as Man, for his thought is led by the order and flow of heaven. That is the meaning of the Lord's prayer while He was still on earth. We read in John 17: 21, 24: "That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us. . . . Father, I will that they also, be with Me where I am; that they may behold My glory." And in the Writings heaven is many times called the Lord's body, and those in heaven are said to be in the Lord.
     We read: "The church in heaven and on earth is the body of the Lord; they are in the Lord and the Lord is in them."* ". . . to be in His body is to be in heaven."** " . . . heaven constitutes His body; therefore to be in His body is to be in heaven."*** " . . the Lord as to the Divine Human is order in the heavens, and because everyone who is being regenerated is being brought into this order, therefore they who are in this order are in the Lord."**** "All the angels in heaven . . . perceive that the Lord's Human is Divine. . . . The reason is that the whole heaven is the Divine Human."***** "Another arcanum is that the Lord's Human also was made Divine. In Him alone there was a correspondence of all things of the body with the Divine - a most perfect correspondence, infinitely perfect, giving rise to a union of corporeal things with Divine celestial things, and of sensuous things with Divine spiritual things; and thus He was the Perfect Man, and the only Man."****** "From this it is evident what is meant by the Lord's body, namely, the Divine love, in like manner as by His flesh.

458


Moreover, the Lord's very body when glorifled, that is, made Divine, is nothing else. What else must we think about the Divine, which is infinite?"******* "Because His body in the supreme sense is the Divine good of the Lord's Divine love, therefore all who are in heaven are said to be in the Lord's body."******** "The soul of His Human is the Divine of the Father, and the Human is His body. . . . This arcanum is from the Lord Himself . . . for those who will be of His New Church."*********
     * TCR 416.
     ** AC 6135: 5.
     ***TCR 719.
     **** AC 9987e.
     ***** Ath. 96.
     ******AC 1414e.
     *******AC 6135: 5.
     ******** Ibid.
     *********TCR 154: 6.

     Now confusion may arise from the identification of heaven with the Holy Spirit. The Lord in heaven is the Holy Spirit as to what is received by the angels, that is to say, as to the goods and truths which the angels consciously receive; but as to what makes heaven, what is independent of the states of the angels, this is the Divine Human. Therefore the Divine Human became an "essence by itself"; not by itself as to its relation to the Divine love, but as to its relation to the heavens. This ambiguity is common to all relationships between the Lord and man, or between the Divine in se and the Divine in creating or appearing. Thus we can say that goods and truths with man are the Lord's, yea, they are the Lord, but as to the form of their reception, we say that they are human and finite. So also we can say that heaven is the Divine Human of the Lord, and that the Lord as to His Divine Human is above heaven in the spiritual sun. As to heaven being the Lord's Divine Human, we have the following teachings:

     "It is now allowed to relate and describe wonderful things which, as far as I know, are not yet known to anyone and have not yet come to the mind of anyone, namely, that the universal heaven is so formed that it corresponds to the Lord - to His Divine Human; and that man has been so formed that he corresponds in all and singular things to heaven, and through heaven to the Lord."*
     * AC 3624.

     " . . . when the Divine itself passed through the angelic heaven, it appeared in human form as an angel before those with whom He spake; this was the Divine Human of Jehovah before the coming of the Lord. The Lord's Human when made Divine is the same, for the Lord is Jehovah Himself in the Divine Human."*
     * AC 6831.

     We read also: "The soul of His Human is the Divine of the Father, and the Human is His body."* "From all this it is now evident that the Divine in the heavens is the Divine Human of the Lord."**

459


"The Lord as to the Divine Human is heaven and the church because He dwells in His own there, and not in what belongs to others."***
     * TCR 154: 6.
     ** AC 10067: 4.
     *** AC 10359.
     But heaven as the Divine Human is not the whole picture. For the Divine love, the Father, out of the Divine Human in heaven, gave the Word - the Word of the New Testament and, supereminently, the Writings. They, the Writings, are the ultimate body of the Divine Human, for in them the Father in heaven may be seen and known. Because heaven, apart from the propriums of the angels, is the Divine Human, therefore a revelation could be given by Swedenborg from the Lord out of heaven of which Swedenborg could testify: `I have not received anything from any spirit or angel, but from the mouth of the Lord alone." These Writings also are the Divine Human of the Lord. As Swedenborg was commissioned by the appearance of the Lord in person to become the instrument of His second coming, so the revelation is a revelation of the Lord in His Divine Human, and when it is read and understood in the sphere of heaven the Lord Himself is seen therein and there is: "The crown of all the churches . . . for there the visible God is worshiped in whom is the invisible as the soul is in the body" there the Divine love is seen in its own Human Form Divine, man's will and understanding being ordered and led according to the flow of heaven.
MINISTERIAL CHANGES 1971

MINISTERIAL CHANGES       Editor       1971

     The Rev. Erik Sandstrom has resigned as visiting pastor to the Cleveland (North Ohio) Circle.
     The Rev. Daniel W. Heinrichs has accepted appointment as visiting pastor to the Cleveland (North Ohio) Circle for one year. In addition to his part-time teaching of Religion in the Academy, Mr. Heinrichs will teach Religion part-time in the Bryn Athyn Elementary School and carry out certain assignments for the Dean of the Bryn Athyn Church.
     The Rev. David R. Simons has accepted appointment as visiting pastor to the St. Paul-Minneapolis Circle, Minnesota, replacing the Rev. Robert H. P. Cole.

460


DOCTRINE OF DISCRETE DEGREES 1971

DOCTRINE OF DISCRETE DEGREES       JOHN WHITE       1971

     What is known in the New Church as the doctrine of discrete degrees is a subject of the highest possible importance to clear thinking and to a rational understanding of the causes of things even on the plane of natural and external thought; while no progress whatever can be made in understanding spiritual life and its progressive states, its relation to natural things below and Divine things above, without some knowledge of this doctrine.
     We are told in Divine Love and Wisdom that:

     "A knowledge of degrees is like a key to lay open the causes of things and to give entrance into them. Without this knowledge, scarcely anything can be known; for without it, the objects and subjects of each world seem perfectly simple, as though there were nothing in them beyond that which meets the eye, when yet compared to the things which lie hidden within, what is thus seen is as one to thousands, yea, to tens of thousands. The interiors which are not open to view can in no way be discovered except through a knowledge of degrees. For things exterior advance to things interior, and through these to things inmost, by means of degrees; not by continuous but by discrete degrees. 'Continuous degrees' is a term applied to the gradual lessenings or decreasings from grosser to finer, or from denser to rarer; or better, perhaps, to growths and increasings from finer to grosser, or from rarer to denser; precisely like the gradations of light to shade or of heat to cold. But discrete degrees are entirely different: they are like things prior, subsequent and final; or like end, cause and effect. These degrees are called discrete because the prior is by itself; the subsequent by itself; and the final by itself; yet taken together they make one. The atmospheres, which are called ethers and airs, from highest to lowest, that is, from the sun to the earth, are separated into such degrees; they are like simples, collections of simples, and again collections of these, which taken together are called a composite. Such degrees are discrete because each has a distinct existence, and these degrees are what are meant by 'degrees of height'; but the former degrees are continuous because they increase continuously, and these degrees are what are meant by `degrees of breadth.'"*
     * DLW 184.

     We are so accustomed to thinking of degrees as being gradual or continuous, such as from heat to cold, or from light to darkness, that we find it at first difficult to see that there are degrees that are not continuous; degrees of progression in which each progressive state is quite discreted from that which precedes it as well as from that which follows it.

461


The progress of an intention into an act or into speech will exemplify this discreteness. The intention is on the spiritual plane of the mind. This is the first degree. It proceeds toward the action or speech by      influencing the muscles or organs of the body to move in a certain definite manner, which is the second degree; and the resulting act is the third degree or state of progress, and completes the trine of end, cause and effect, which are always in this order, and discreted from each other, though homogeneous, or parts of one whole.
     This illustration is introduced here merely to show what discrete degrees are and how they differ from continuous degrees, which are always on the same plane.
     As to the importance of the subject under consideration, the Writings teach that without some knowledge of these degrees no one can understand the distinctions of the three heavens, or those of the interior faculties of the mind of man, neither those between the spiritual and natural worlds, nor consequently between man's spirit and his body. Neither can he know what correspondence is, nor how the spiritual is represented in the natural, nor can he know what influx is, nor the law of its operation; for living and thinking in the external sensual only, when he tries to form an idea of a spiritual world, he imagines the natural world to be gradually rarified by some refining process, and by continuous degrees attenuated into the spiritual. To him the spiritual is only a purer kind of natural which he must locate in space, it being impossible to separate matter, however attenuated, from space and time.

     The importance of the subject may be clearly seen, therefore, if we consider it to be as it really is, the intellectual door through which man enters into the understanding of the causes of things and is enabled to form real ideas of what constitutes heaven and the different ideas of angelic life, of what constitutes the orderly method of creation of the more external degrees of the natural universe, and of their use and necessity as basic planes on which the superstructure rests, and as the matrix in and by means of which can be formed and nurtured the embryo of an angelic existence.
     It follows also that he thus learns the absolute reality as well as the perpetuity of the natural universe.
     We are told in the Writings that all things in the spiritual and natural worlds have their existence from both these kinds of degrees, so that the only difficulty in explaining their nature and the distinction between them will be in choosing examples the nature of which is familiar, and we shall find that the continuous degrees are to be found on each plane or stage of the discrete.

462


In Divine Love and Wisdom we read:

     "All things which have existence in the world, of which threefold dimension is predicated, that is, which are called compounds, are composed of degrees of height, that is, discrete degrees; as examples will make clear. It is known from ocular experience that every muscle in the human body consists of exceedingly minute fibers, and these put together into little bundles form larger fibers, called motor fibers, and groups of these form the compound called a muscle. It is the same with nerves; in these from minute fibers larger fibers are composed which appear as filaments, and these massed together form the nerve. The same is true of the rest of the combinations, bundlings and groupings out of which the organs and viscera are made up; for these are compositions of fibers and vessels variously put together according to like degrees. It is the same also with each and every thing of the vegetable and mineral kingdoms. In woods there are combinations of filaments in threefold order. In metals and stones there is a massing together of parts, also in threefold order. From all this the nature of discrete degrees can be seen, namely, that the first exists by the second, and through the second forms the third which is called the composite; and that each degree is discreted from the others."*
     * DLW 190.

     We learn that on each of these stages or states of progression there are continuous degrees. In the first, each fiber varies in thickness throughout its length; so does each bundle of fibers, and so also the completed muscle; and in each state all their variations are by continuous degrees.
     To take a more intricate example of discrete degrees, one which connects the spiritual and natural worlds, commencing in the former and completing itself in the latter, we may consider for a moment a written sentence. Here the first end or intention is the thought of the mind, with the desire to convey some idea in such a form that it may be communicated to others. The sentence therefore, in its first degree, is in the spiritual world, or world of the mind; the second discrete degree of it is in the actions of the muscles of the hand, directed by the mind to form the necessary letters and words in their proper order to convey the idea; the third discrete degree is the written sentence. As always, the first degree may exist without the second and third, but never the others without the first.
     This example may also show us how discrete degrees are exemplified in the law of influx, for it is by influx from the spiritual world that the sentence has its existence. The mind thinks in the spiritual world, but causes the body to act in the natural world by an influx into the brain, and so into the nerves and muscles of the body; and, moreover, the action of the body corresponds to the influx of the spirit and at the same time represents its state.

463




     We are told in Divine Love and Wisdom that "to think from ends is of wisdom, from causes of intelligence, and from effects of knowledge. From all this it is clear that all perfection ascends and descends along with degrees and according to them."*
     * DLW 202e.
     With respect to the manner in which the heavens act on the earth through these degrees, the above examples show in a finite individual form what takes place in an infinite and God-directed manner directed on a whole created universe; for the one end of the Divine Being is precisely the formation of a heaven from the human race and all influx from the spiritual world into the natural is governed and directed with that end in view.

     It is, of course, impossible to consider any adequate part of such a vast work from our infinitessimally small point of view and the amount of knowledge we possess, but the fact that all influx is according to discrete degrees from higher to lower may be quite apparent. Taking the formation of our own earth as an example, it is evident that the idea or intention has been to form a home for the human race where it could be propagated and nurtured as to the body and prepared for its future life in heaven as to the mind or spirit. The first end, which is spiritual, is the first degree; the formation of the earth itself by means of the sun until, after an immense time, it was habitable by men, is the second; and the actual placing of men in their home is the third, which completes the whole; during the progress of which creation there has been the continuous degree of oversight as to the increase of things overseen, the continuously increasing diversity of forms of natural life, and the continuously increasing numbers of the human race.
     Correspondence, we may see from the above examples, is the answer or response of any natural thing to the spiritual influx that causes it to exist. The doctrine of correspondence shows that each plane answers to the one above it as an effect. It makes the spiritual world the true cause of the natural, and the end of nature to furnish an alphabet and vocabulary to the soul whereby, through things external and sensuous it can come to know things internal and spiritual. The rational meaning of nature is understood only when it is seen to be the basic plane of what is created, and thus the prepared object of the mind's operations when it is first stimulated to action.
     That natural things also represent on the natural plane their causes on the spiritual plane is evident. Bread, or man's food, because it answers on its own plane as the sustainer of natural life, corresponds to the Divine good, which is the sustainer of all spiritual or heavenly life.

464


Water or drink, which modifies food and makes it digestible, corresponds to the spiritual truth which modifies and gives form to good and makes it spiritually useful to man's spiritual life.
     Now when we are enlightened as to the meaning of degrees and at the same time can form some idea of what correspondence is, we can begin to understand more clearly the statement so often to be found in the Writings, that regeneration consists in bringing the natural mind into correspondence with the spiritual mind; for bearing in mind that all evil resides in the natural mind of man, and that until the natural is brought into some semblance of order the spiritual mind proper, which is in the order and form of heaven, is kept closed, and only as evils are removed or at least made to be quiescent can the heavenly influx of life from the Lord flow through the opening spiritual degree in such power as to bring the natural to correspondence on its own plane. And so likewise do we begin to understand more clearly and to assimilate more readily the doctrines about heaven and the spiritual progress and growth of the man who is becoming an image and likeness of the Lord; and so also of creation, salvation, the formation of conscience and the exercise of charity.

     Respecting the Divine Providence, we can see more clearly how the Lord rules and governs the world perpetually, appearances to the contrary notwithstanding; and better and clearer as the years go by, if we are in earnest in striving to live a spiritual life, can trace the hand of the Divine Providence that has led us by what have seemed such devious ways up to the present; seeing it as did Moses from behind, or after the event, we learn and know that the cause of what seemed our bitterest sorrow and our most severe disappointments was really the Divine love guarding us from our own evils while we were being builded better than we knew, and that our sorrows and troubles were permitted only to save us from worse.
     So also, seeing how discretely our truly human life, that comes from and leads to heaven, is separate and distinct from our old sensual and natural life, we can the better understand the unseen and angelic association the Lord provides for us - not consciously to destroy our liberty, but helping us in our every effort to do right and to shun evil; and in spite of the fact that there will still come times when for a short while we may lose sight spiritually of the guiding hand, yet our trust is none the less real and our faith none the less illuminated by a heavenly light; while our sensual mind is watched and kept in more careful order because we know that our own proprium is nothing but evil, and that our own life is just that share allotted us of doing some use and fulfilling some part, however small, in the Lord's kingdom.

465



     The discrete degrees of conscience, when we have learned them, open to our view an immense subject of the highest importance to a clear insight into the progress of regeneration, from the plane of mere obedience through the discrete degree above - the conscience of justice and equity which makes men good citizens of this world - to that higher degree of conscience which makes the law of heaven the influx into the mind that a thing should or should not be done, and which comes only from the acknowledgment of the Divine will and assimilation of the life of it.

     And so of charity through all its discrete degrees - charity to the family, the neighbor, the country, the Lord's kingdom and the Lord Himself. We can learn in the great temple of spiritual truth, when the key of this doctrine of discrete degrees has unlocked the door.
     Obedience, then, to the Divine law is to be our watchword: and looking at this also through the doctrine of discrete degrees, we find that just according to the degree of our obedience is our allotted place in heaven, which corresponds to our motive in obeying. For obedience even to the Divine law is qualified by its motive; and in its first and lowest degree where it has reward in view, though the reward be heaven or one's idea of heaven - it leads only to the first and lowest heaven; but if we obey the truth for its own sake, because it is God-given and leads up to good, we shall enter the second or spiritual heaven, where we shall love our neighbor as ourselves; and if ever in our upward path we can leave that old self-love of ours and, fully acknowledging our own nothingness, be content to receive the heavenly life for the sole purpose of dispensing its goods to others whom we love better than ourselves, we may become helpers in that celestial degree of the Lord's kingdom which finds its happiness in the guidance and care of infants, and of those who are in the innocence of spiritual infancy.
     The highest service one human being can render another is the communication of spiritual and Divine truth. To give men clearer knowledge of their own nature as spiritual beings, and show them how they can shun the evils which destroy and the errors that mislead them; to give them clearer conceptions of the Divine character and of their relations to the Lord from whom they receive their life, and teach them how they may come into more intimate and orderly conjunction with Him; this is co-operating with Him in accomplishing the purposes of His love and wisdom. When we do this we stand with Him in the lines of His own order.
     In Divine Love and Wisdom we read: "Degrees of height are in threefold ratio, but degrees of breadth are in single ratio.

466


But into degrees of height none ascend and are elevated except those who in the world have been in truths, and have applied them to life."*
     * DLW 202e.
     The New Church has a mission of incalculable promise and preciousness to philosophical thinkers of the present day. She has the rational equipment that qualifies her to take possession of the field and to give that primary instruction concerning the nature of the human mind without which all speculative psychology must be in vain. The secret lies in the doctrine of discrete degrees and its twin doctrine of correspondences.
     The above, and many things of a like nature, it is our privilege to learn in a study of the degrees of the mind - that sublime psychology which is a part of the Lord's revelation to the church of the New Jerusalem.
EDUCATIONAL COUNCIL, AUGUST 16-20, 1971 1971

EDUCATIONAL COUNCIL, AUGUST 16-20, 1971       DAVID R. SIMONS       1971

     Our meetings, under the able chairmanship of the Rev. Alfred Acton II, were held in Pendleton Hall. They were well attended - 114 teachers signed the roll - and were enthusiastically received. Although it was a week packed with meetings - so much so that only a few souls made it for a dip in Bishop Pendleton's lovely pool - the spirit of delight and progress caused the members to vote for a similar program next year.
     There were three feature presentations:
     1) A series on Piaget's Education Theories, which were related to the New Church by Mr. Michael A. Brown, teacher of psychology in the Academy College.
     2)     A series on "Communication With the Neighbor," by the Rev. Lorentz R. Soneson, which included live demonstrations.
3)     A series on "Reading in the Content Areas: Kindergarten Through College," given by Mrs. Evangeline L. Wright, Reading Supervisor in the East Brunswick (New Jersey) Public School system (Kindergarten Through Grade 12). There were demonstrations which involved teacher participation and useful discussions to liven up these stimulating topics.
     Perhaps the most lively discussion was the one which followed Professor Richard R. Gladish's presentation, "What's New in the Education Department of the Academy?" In his talk, Professor Gladish reviewed the steps that have been taken in investigating the feasibility of applying to the State of Pennsylvania for the right to certify our Education Majors.

467


The pros and cons of this proposed step were debated with unanimity on one fundamental point: that no step should be taken which would jeopardize our essential uses.
     Mr. Yorvar E. Synnestvedt, teacher of Bryn Athyn Church Elementary School's eighth grade boys, presented "A New Spelling Curriculum" which he and Mrs. Ottar Larsen had compiled. This was an impressive piece of work which will be of use to all of our schools.
     A delightful workshop on Mythology, with emphasis on the unique interpretation the Writings make possible, was given by Mrs. Sanfrid E. Odhner and Miss Mary Alice Carswell. They filled a room with all kinds of books and audio-visual aids on Mythology. They treated it as a subject which has special interest for New Church men because of our knowledge of its prior origins in the correspondences of the Ancient Church.

     The Rev. Daniel Goodenough, Jr., gave a thought-provoking paper, "A Philosophy of Social Studies." It was so full of interesting ideas that the Council wants him to continue it for full discussion next year.
     Dr. Gregory Baker gave a study on "The Luminiferous Ether," plus a demonstration of wave motions. Although this was technical in nature, we were given a background for a better understanding of Swedenborg's theory of the atmosphere which carries light.
     The Language Committee, under Miss Sally J. Smith, new Principal of the Girls School, brought up the subject of a unified language program in our schools. Mr. Richard Acton, who teaches in Glenview, presented reasons for studying foreign languages; and Mrs. Ernest R. Lowrey, also a teacher in Glenview, gave her philosophy and practices, demonstrating that the day of knowledgeable, enthusiastic teaching has not come to an end.
     At the business session we decided to hold our meetings in 1972 from August 14-18. Committee heads gave their reports. Mr. Erland Brock, head of the Science Committee, introduced something new by appointing an advisory board to evaluate the work of his committee. The following questions were raised for discussion. Should the Academy report annually to the Educational Council? What is the role of the Council in implementing curriculum? How shall we structure the next set of meetings? Should we develop a Foreign Language Curriculum for all of our schools?
     The Rev. Kurt H. Asplundh raised an interesting point. If it is desirable for the Academy Education Department to be evaluated, what better group to do this than the headmasters of our local schools, who are vitally interested in the progress and product of this department?
     Bishop Pendleton concluded the formal sessions by congratulating the Program Chairman, the Rev. Alfred Acton on the high quality of the meetings: "I feel that this has been an unusually productive series of meetings."

468



     The social highlights of the busy week, which help to bring us a feeling of harmony and unity as teachers in the General Church, included daily luncheons at the Civic and Social Club, put on by Mrs. David Roscoe and a crew of volunteers. At each luncheon a different headmaster gave a picture of the work of his school. The Rev. Frank Rose told in humorous fashion of the great strength it has been to have a man teacher, Mr. Michael Glenn, added to his staff; the Rev. Kurt Asplundh unintentionally brought down the house in describing a field trip at the beginning of Pittsburgh's school year; the Rev. Fred Schnarr gave the historical background of the new Washington school and had a model of the new community to display; the Rev. Harold Cranch spoke of Toronto's new building program, and also demonstrated some very effective audio-visual aids. The final luncheon was a banquet, with Mr. David Roscoe, history teacher in the Academy's Boys School, as our genial toastmaster. His speakers were Mr. Paul Funk, French teacher in the Boys School, who spoke on high school counseling; Mr. Michael Brown, who spoke of college counseling; and Dr. James Pendleton, a psychiatrist, who spoke of the difficulties of dealing with children and of the many assumptions on which teachers and parents act, which are often untrue.
     We had two Open Houses in the General Church office building, "Cairncrest," where teachers met informally after the evening meetings.
     I know that all of us went away stimulated and inspired to return with new zeal to the uses of New Church education which the Educational Council is organized to promote.
     DAVID R. SIMONS.
          Secretary
LAWS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE 1971

LAWS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE              1971

     "God is continually withdrawing man from evils, as far as man from freedom is willing to be withdrawn. As far as man can be withdrawn from evils God leads him to good, thus to heaven; but as far as he cannot be withdrawn from evils God cannot lead him to good, thus to heaven. For as far as he is withdrawn from evils he does good from God, which in itself is good; but as far as he is not withdrawn from evils he does good from himself, and this has evil in itself." (Apocalypse Explained 1136)

469


REVIEW 1971

REVIEW       NORBERT H. ROGERS       1971

     SWEDENBORG UN PROPHETE POUR NOTRE TEMPS. Par Jean Prieur. Bibliography par Claude Bruley. Paper, pp. 95. Cercle Swedenborg. 10 Francs.

     This French biography of Swedenborg is well written, informative and enjoyable. It notes the main events in Swedenborg's life, as well as his various interests, activities and accomplishments. It touches on some of the distinctive principles in Swedenborg's scientific and philosophical works, and in capsule form outlines some of the leading doctrines in the Writings. A surprising amount of information is packed in but a few pages, and the necessary condensation tends to give the impression, especially to begin with, that Swedenborg was a little too outstanding to be quite believable. This is my only criticism.
     The bibliography is excellent. It lists in chronological order Swedenborg's scientific and theological works. Under each title is given a summary description of the work and its principal contents.
     The booklet should be a useful tool in communicating to French speaking people a knowledge of Swedenborg and his works. It also provides suitable reading for those studying French.
     NORBERT H. ROGERS
CHARTER DAY BANQUET TICKETS 1971

       Editor       1971

     In order to avoid confusion and embarrassment, those who will be guests in Bryn Athyn homes for the Charter Day weekend should order their banquet tickets in advance, by mail, unless they have made other specific arrangements with their hostesses. The date is October 23, the price is $4.50; all students, including those not presently attending the Academy, $2.25; and checks should be made payable to The Academy of the New Church. Orders should be sent to the attention of Mrs. R. Waelchli, The Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania 19009, before October 18th. These will be carefully held for pick-up at the switchboard in Benade Hall, either by you or your hosts. No tickets can be sold at the door because of the need for advance reservations with the caterer.
     Mark clearly on envelopes "Banquet Tickets."

470


EDUCATION OR INDOCTRINATION? 1971

EDUCATION OR INDOCTRINATION?              1971


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

Editor . . . .Rev. W. Cairns Henderson, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager . . . . Mr. L. E. Gyllenhaal, 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. Notifications of address changes should be received by the 15th of the month.

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$5.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy, 50 cents.
     We are reminded in the month of October that one of the purposes for which the Academy was chartered was "promoting education in all of its various forms." The Academy now confines its direct efforts to secondary and higher education, promoting elementary education only in the important sense of training those who will teach and develop it further. Yet there are those in the educational world who would question whether we are educating at all, whether we are not, in fact, engaged in indoctrination. To them it seems that in educating our young people in the sphere of the Word and the church we are restricting or destroying their freedom - forcing upon them or persuading them to a body of dogma.
     This would be true if our purpose were to impose upon them a body of doctrine that is a closed and rigid system. But that is not the case. What we are trying to do is imbue them with an affection of truth that will lead them to the Lord in the Word because it looks to the uses of life, natural and spiritual. The Writings advise that the doctrinals of the church must first be learned, and then examination should be made from the Word as to whether they are true; for they are not true because the leaders of the church have said so and their followers confirm it. The Word is to be searched, and there it is to be seen whether they are true. When this is done from an affection of truth, man is enlightened and confirmed by the Lord. This is the purpose of Academy education, to prepare our young people so to approach the Lord in the Word. In this is true freedom, the freedom given to those who know the truth because they continue in the Lord's Word and are His disciples indeed.

471




     WHEN DOCTRINE DIVIDES

     New Church men of an ecumenical bent frequently refer to the teaching that if churches are united in charity doctrinal differences will not divide them. If we are not to be led astray, the whole teaching and its implications should be noted. The essentials of the church are the acknowledgment of the Divine of the Lord, the acknowledgment of the holiness of the Word, and the life of charity; the first of which includes love to the Lord. If these are regarded by the men of the church as the essentials, and if their doctrines look to them, then differences do not divide. From this it follows that if doctrines do not look to these essentials, but reject, deny or ignore them, they do separate and divide.
     The Writings tell us that there are two ways of procuring the truths of faith - by means of doctrinal things and by means of the Word. They also refer to the Word as Divine doctrine. Now it is evident that the Divine doctrine, the Word, does look to the essentials of the church; it is the form of which they are the substance. The only doctrinals which could deny the essentials of the church would be those which the church derived from the Word, but not in agreement with it; and these do divide because their origin is the proprium of men, and this means that there are as many churches as there are men.

     It seems to be implied by the ecumenists among us, however, that if the organized bodies of the New Church would get rid of their doctrines they could unite in charity. Certainly the Writings teach that when life makes the church and not doctrine separate from life then the church is one, but when doctrine makes the church then there are many. But would not the same thing be true if life separate from doctrine made the church? For then the life would be from man, not the Lord, and what is from man must separate.
     However, we are taught also that when the men and the doctrines of the church look to the essentials, differences in doctrine, ritual and worship, far from dividing, provide a harmonious variety. This, too, is important. As the New Church spreads throughout the world - among people of different races, nationalities, languages and cultures - we should not expect to find uniformity of ritual in every land, or think that those who differ from us cannot really be of the church; that the church in its purity exists only with us. Love and charity will be expressed in many ways and forms; and, as the Writings say, churches which are in a variety of goods and truths are like so many jewels in a king's crown, provided their goods relate to love to the Lord and their truths to faith in Him.

472




     THE CONFIRMATION OF TRUTH

     To "confirm" is so often employed negatively in the Writings that it is well to remember a positive use in which what is involved is of the utmost importance. We are taught, for instance, that the knowledges of faith must be confirmed by rational, scientific and sensuous things, for without confirming things man cannot believe. Knowledges do not become truths with him until they are acknowledged in the understanding, which takes place when they are confirmed. Unless truth is confirmed it is not accepted; and after death no one can believe anything except what he has impressed on himself by confirmations.
     But we are warned that to be able to confirm whatever one pleases is not the part of an intelligent man, but to be able to see that truth is truth and falsity falsity and to confirm it, for the mind calls that truth which confirms what it loves. So to be wise is to see whether a thing is true before it is confirmed; and those only can see this who are affected by truth for the sake of truth.
     Spiritual faith, we are told, is insinuated by an internal way, which causes it to be believed, and an external way, which causes it to be confirmed. When man is in the affirmative from the Word that the things it teaches are the truths of faith, it is then allowable for him to confirm them by all the scientifics he has. To regard rational things from the doctrine of faith is first to believe the Word or doctrine from it, and then confirm them by rational, scientific and sensuous things. It is one thing to believe from the rational, another to confirm by it.

     As with the individual, so with the church. We are taught that if doctrine is not confirmed from the sense of the letter of the Word, the truth of doctrine appears as if only human intelligence were in it - a teaching which the priesthood should have constantly before it. Therefore the doctrine of the church is to be drawn from that sense and confirmed by it. However, doctrine drawn by those who are enlightened may afterwards be confirmed by rational things, and is thus more fully understood and is fortified.
     Confirmation of truth must take place in the individual mind - in man's reading and study of the Word, his receiving and reacting to priestly instruction. Yet in the deepest sense truths are confirmed by the Lord and not by man. When anyone speaks Divine truth from the heart the Lord confirms it, and this is the only source from which confirmation can come. The Lord confirms the truths which a man speaks as of himself but in the heart through an affirmative which does not manifest itself in the thought, thus through acquiescence which comes from internal affection.

473


TIME FOR AN EVANGELICAL CRUSADE? 1971

TIME FOR AN EVANGELICAL CRUSADE?       JOHN KANE       1971

Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:     

     There are indications that America is experiencing an evangelical revival, and what happens in America today happens in the rest of the world before long. Where does the New Church stand in this and is it an opportunity to announce the Second Advent? John Moorhead (NEW CHURCH LIFE, June 1971) sees signs that the General Church may be becoming a purely doctrinal society more concerned with truth than with charity.
     What is the fundamental difference between the new Christian Church and the old? To the outsider, who cannot be expected to accept the Second Advent in the first instance, it is that the New Church does not beg the question of the life after death. It is this that first brought me to the Writings six years ago. I believe it is the deep desire to know that they and their loved ones are not just beings of a day that is behind the fundamental religious drive of most, if not all, people. With most it is a feeling that is deeply hidden, particularly hidden from oneself, for to admit it requires the self to be humbled.
     As the first Christian Church lost faith through falsities and worldly loves, the number of those who knew "in their bones" that life was eternal without need of explicit facts dwindled. As we see today from the statements of priests and bishops, this utter darkness has descended on many of the clergy, too. In a vain effort to recover their influence and position in the world the churches have turned to "social Christianity," but while these natural goods are praiseworthy in their own natural setting they have not halted the drift away from the churches, nor have they filled the emptying seminaries. The story of Martha and Mary, as I understand it, warns against "social Christianity."
     Another result of the loss of faith in Christianity has been the attraction of some eastern faiths in formerly Christian countries. Their cloudy promises of reincarnation and nirvana have had an appeal where Christianity no longer appeared to offer eternal life.
     Surely the New Church should be urgently studying how to breast the current wave of revival. The interest that might be aroused could be very large. Never mind if the majority of those attracted in the first place might lose interest before long, while others could even twist the Writings to their own ends. Some seed must fall on good ground and the New Church cannot fail to be enriched thereby.
     The way to get a message across is well understood today and we have all the media at our disposal. But if the New Church is to rise to this challenge the matter of the image to be presented must be studied from the very first principles.

474


Even our titles lack inspiration - the General Church, Convention, Conference! To the outsider they sound horribly sectarian. For an evangelical crusade could not all the New Churches combine under one banner, while not relinquishing their doctrinal differences, and call themselves the New Christian Church to distinguish themselves from the Old Christian Church? The New Church must study carefully its differences from the Old Church and make much of these points or it will sink with the Old. It has struck me for some time that the liturgy itself, to the outsider, appears not very different from the old Protestant tradition, and the churches too. When I first attended a New Church service I had hopes of witnessing something, however inadequate, based to Heaven and Hell 223, but I was sadly disappointed.
     I imagine that I can see on the billboards and posters the campaign announcements in attractive colorings and carefully avoiding all the signs and emblems that might be associated with the old Christian Church.
     But first and foremost the Word is spread by preaching when the time is ripe. Who can deny the fantastic successes of the Wesley brothers in the last century. Some people, and with reason, attribute their success among the laboring and artisan classes to the comparative social and political stability of the Anglo-Saxon world up to the present time. Cannot the best New Church preachers form themselves into an evangelical brigade and each endeavor to deliver at least one sermon per month to interested and uncommitted audiences, particularly to young audiences in universities? I am sure that New Church societies would willingly sacrifice some of their cosy meetings with their visiting pastors for this aim. Such a crusade could galvanize both clergy and laity alike. Who knows but this could be the time for a rich harvest?

     JOHN KANE
          Villa Patricia
          Santa Brigida
          Las Palmas
VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN 1971

VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN       Editor       1971

     Visitors to Bryn Athyn for Charter Day or any other occasion who need assistance in finding accommodation please communicate with the Guest Committee, c/o Mrs. Leo Synnestvedt, 611 Waverly Lane. Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009. Phone: (215) MI 7-3725.

475


Church News 1971

Church News       Various       1971

     HURSTVILLE, AUSTRALIA

     In terms of size the Hurstville Society is still an infant. However, it is quite a lusty infant, exercising its muscles in numerous activities and making a good deal of noise which is heard in many places outside Hurstville.
     The radio talks continue and attract a considerable audience, judging by the number of contacts resulting. These talks are an excellent introduction to the Church. A surprise request from the Australian Broadcasting Commission for a documentary on Swedenborg resulted in a very good presentation prepared by the Rev. Douglas Taylor and admirably produced by the Commission's Drama Department. It was entitled "Swedenborg the Forgotten Philosopher."
     The decision of the Homer family to move to Hurstville from another State was a major one for them as there are eight in the family. However, we hope and expect that their living here will be beneficial to the Society and to the Homers themselves. Already Baringa, the former home of the Rev. Richard Morse is showing welcome signs of attention.
     In the last few months we have been happy to welcome a number of visitors, some of them U. S. servicemen from Vietnam. Today, Sunday July 4, we were happy to meet Major and Mrs. Echols and their four children from Hawaii. Also at church was Mr. Julien de Chazal, ex Mauritius, and a Mr. O'Sullivan and his daughter who has heard the radio talks. Recently, too, it was a pleasure to meet Miss Ruth Womersley, who had been to the Academy with Miss Gail Simmons. Ruth showed many beautiful slides of many beautiful places. Present at Easter was Mr. Basil Lazer of Canberra. The work or Mr. Lazer deserves a mention. He has been most industrious in producing booklets about the Writings and they are proving to be very good for missionary work. Mr. Lazer introduces topics from the Writings with characteristic eagerness and sincerity.
     The children's celebration of the Nineteenth of June took the form of a pageant, with children playing the parts of the twelve disciples proclaiming the new evangel in the spiritual world. A puppet show presented by Roslyn and Maret Taylor provided fun and food for thought. The Society held a banquet at which there were three speakers - whose subject was the verse from the Apocalypse, "Blessed are they that are called to the marriage of the Lamb." The several visitors expressed their appreciation of the evening. In harmony with the theme there was a very happy atmosphere. On the following evening, a strong contingent (not militant) of Hurstville members attended a Nineteenth of June celebration at the Sydney Society (Conference) Church.
     NORMAN HELDON

     COLCHESTER, ENGLAND

     It is some time since news of the Colchester Society was sent to the Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE, and perhaps a brief summary of some of the events of the last few years may help to rectify the omission.
     It was a somewhat sad occasion when we bade farewell to the Rev. Frank Rose and his family. They had spent many useful years in the service of our society, the school, and with the members of the Open Road endearing themselves to everyone.

476


However the arrival of the Rev. Bjorn Boyesen with his family was warmly welcomed and their unceasing efforts on our behalf are deeply appreciated. With the many diversions offered in the world today it is no easy matter to maintain interest in and enthusiasm for the various uses and functions of the church, and it is some indication of the work done by Mr. Boyesen that as well as giving considerable time to teaching and conducting worship in the school, he holds classes and group meetings to cover the needs of every stratum of the society. We have the junior girls the boys Religion class senior boys, young adults, young marrieds, Society doctrinal class and an Arcana class mainly for the elderly who prefer an afternoon meeting.
     We are very conscious of the value of New Church education, and have good reason to be grateful to our head teacher. Miss Hilda Waters who is so devoted to the wellbeing and development of the children in her care, and to the other helpers in the school. We regret the current decline in numbers, and that there is no immediate prospect of increase but it is our earnest hope that something may be done to keep the school functioning for many years to come.
     The various improvements made to the church building and to the grounds have been of great benefit and have given added pleasure. Thanks to the continuous work done by one of our retired members the flower beds are always a joy to behold. We are now able to hold banquets, socials, suppers and classes, etc., in the school extension; and the recent gift of a beautiful chancel window, the purchase by the Society of a silver Holy Supper set a new electric organ, and handsome new interior doors, all help to make the church a dignified and harmonious center for worship.
     We have been happy to welcome several visiting pastors, who have given us an opportunity to hear many excellent sermons, and it is always a source of pleasure to meet the visitors from many parts of the world who manage to make their way to Colchester. These visits help so much to bridge the distance between our rather isolated societies in England and the rest of the General Church.
     At the time of writing we are looking forward eagerly to the forthcoming British Assembly, with the knowledge that on this occasion we shall have in our midst Bishop Pendleton himself and no fewer than six pastors. What a feast of instruction we have in store!
     BRENDA BOWYER

     WASHINGTON, D. C.

     The Washington Society now has one year of New Church day school behind it. The delight of its nine pupils in learning, their regret to have school close for the summer, and their affirmative response to having all subjects taught with some relation to the Lord and the Word are certainly a credit to Miss Gillian and more than sufficient reward to the pastor and members, whose hours of labor, both physical and mental, went into the school's establishment,
     Since the September 1970 issue of New Church Education devoted so many pages to the opening of this new school, we refrain from similar coverage here. However, we were delighted to have Bishop Pendleton join with Mr. Schnarr in this memorable event, which was pervaded by a sphere of innocence and joyous anticipation. Next year the school will add a fifth grade, with Mrs. Frank Mitchell and Mrs. Dean Smith teaching some courses.
     An increasing number of infant baptisms holds great promise for our future growth. We are always pleased when we can share in the sphere engendered by these administrations of that sacrament, and we were particularly touched when our pastor left the chancel at the end of a service to join his wife in presenting their daughter to Bishop Acton for baptism. One wedding, that of Greta Doering and John Davidson, allowed us to participate in the joyous sphere of that rite also.
     Although those involved in building homes in Acton Park sometimes feel that county rules and inflationary prices are conspiring to stop the project, still, the wheels of progress are grinding away.

477


Two new homes bear witness that it can be done. This New Church community is no longer just a dream. Also, our venerable treasurer David Stebbing, whose kind services and contributions have kept us going through many years and his wife Winifred have just purchased a home not a mile away adding greatly to our feeling of stability. The magnificent trees and unusual breezes make residing in Acton Park especially delightful. The pine forests, woods, streams and meadows make it an ideal place to raise children. Again we feel moved to express our gratitude for Mr. Schnarr's foresight and the Pitcairn Company's generosity in making all this possible. We would also express special gratitude to Mr. Donald Allen whose retirement hobbies are painting the church and mowing the acres of both the church and the park.
     The additional homes near the church will make it easier to house the seniors when they come on their annual visits to the nation's capitol. We missed having the senior boys stay with us this year as they put up in a motel. The opportunity to get to know some few of the coming generation is always a pleasure. We enjoyed this year's gathering at the church with them, especially as the young people told us something of the New Church activities in other societies and circles.
The men's discussion group, besides stimulating their interest in the Writings, also offers them an opportunity to get to know each others thought processes. Subjects discussed this year were love of country principles of government and a lengthy exploration of ideas on evolution within the New Church. The last such meeting was pleased to hear a paper delivered by the Rev. Alfred Acton which we hear, provoked a most interesting discussion.
     Socially we have enjoyed our Friday suppers, several bridge games and games parties; a talk on ancient western civilizations by Mr. Austin Arrington; a costumed Halloween party which combined with a talent show and ran the gamut from kindergartners to grandparents; the Thanksgiving dinner dance; a family fun day and bazaar combined; a Christmas supper and sing, at the George Coopers this year; and a weekend of New Church Day celebrations to wind up the year.
     Which, apart from the Nineteenth of June picnic, again at the Coopers, brings us to more serious things. The fruit offerings of the children at Thanksgiving and the flower offerings at Easter are always very moving, as are the Swedenborg's birthday celebration and especially the Nineteenth of June celebration, in which the children take a large part. Our special admiration goes to the talented Sunday school teachers who so deftly use so many different art media to illustrate the stories from the Word, which the children then describe. At Christmas time we have again those representations of the story of the Lord's birth in the tableaux, the profound visual impact of which we can never measure but always feel. Certainly these things must all help to delight the senses of the children and broaden the scope for the work of the Lord and the angels within their minds. Also, we would here mention the particularly thorough grounding in the fundamental correspondences of the Word which Mr. Schnarr gives the children so that the things of nature must often serve to remind them of spiritual things and the stories of the Word must beckon them to investigate their spiritual meaning. "The correspondences by which the Word as to each and all of its parts has been written possess such power and strength that it may be called the power and strength of the Divine omnipotence" (Inv. 45).
     We have again benefitted from the ministrations of many men: Candidates Erik E. Sandstrom, Ragnar Boyesen and Arne Bau-Madsen; the Rev. Messrs. Erik Sandstrom, Martin Pryke, David Simons and Ormond Odhner; Bishop Willard D. Pendleton and Bishop Elmo C. Acton. While Mr. Schnarr has given us classes on the Decalogue, the Apocalypse Revealed and the uses of the priesthood, the main emphasis has been on a series on the doctrine of New Church education as found in the Writings. What is always amazing about doctrinal studies is that whatever the subject the mind is focused upon all other studies are found to have some bearing on it.

478


Thus whether we are hearing Bishop Pendleton on "The Willingness to Believe" Bishop Acton on "Ideas," or even Mr. Odhner's Nineteenth of June topics on the history of judgments in the other world something could be gleaned which bore upon the central theme of New Church education.
     We feel blessed with our external beginnings and with our food for thought. May the Lord help us to be useful tools in the upbuilding of His church which will one day fill the earth.
     JANET H. DOERING

479


CHARTER DAY 1971

       Editor       1971

     All ex-students, members of the General Church and friends of the Academy are invited to attend the 55th Charter Day Exercises, to be held in Bryn Athyn, Pa. Thursday through Saturday October 21-23, 1971. The program:

Thursday, 8:30 p.m., Religion Department Open House and Program.

Friday, 11 a.m., Cathedral Service with an address by the Rev. Lorentz R. Soneson

Friday Afternoon - Football Game

Friday Evening-Dance

Saturday, 7 p.m., Banquet. Toastmaster: Mr. E. Boyd Asplundh
ORDINATION 1971

ORDINATION              1971

     South African Mission

     Mbatha.-At Kwa Mashu Township Durban, Natal June 27, 1971, Candidate Bhekuyise Alfred Mbatha into the first degree of the priesthood the Rt. Rev. Willard D. Pendleton officiating.
BLESS THE LORD 1971

BLESS THE LORD       Rev. NORBERT H. ROGERS       1971


Vol. XCI
November, 1971
No. 11

[Photographs of the interior and exterior of the church of the Durban Society.]

     "Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits." (Psalm 103: 1, 2)

     These familiar and beautiful words, frequently used as a blessing or prayer before meals, are interiorly part of a song in praise of the Lord on account of redemption and reformation.* Being such, they are also said to concern the celebration and worship of the Lord.
     * PP.
     From most ancient times man has been accustomed, and indeed Divinely commanded, to celebrate and worship the Lord by representative and correspondential acts of many kinds. For the most part man naturally tends to confine his concept of worship to such externals, especially to the rituals of the church. But the Writings make very clear that rituals, though very necessary, are but one part or aspect of worship; for worship, we are taught, pertains to life, specifically to the life of good and truth, that is, of love, charity and faith. We are taught also that the angels, and regenerate men as well, glorify and worship the Lord in every act they do, and in every word they speak, whatever these may be.
     Yet words and deeds themselves, however true and good they may be, do not constitute glorification and worship of the Lord; they are but the necessary means by which glorification and worship are expressed and confirmed. Glorification and worship themselves pertain to the interior state of life: they are the activity and outpouring of the love, charity and faith which inmostly affect man and qualify his life, and which man receives from the Lord alone.

482


But man can receive love, charity and faith from the Lord only insofar as he freely turns himself toward the Lord and approaches Him, seeking them, and opens his interiors to their reception by putting away the proprial things that stand in the way. Putting away proprial things involves humiliation of self; the recognition that all man's own affections and thoughts are infernal in quality, wholly corrupt and unworthy, and that they must be completely subjugated that the Lord's will may be done on earth as in heaven. And the reception of love, charity and faith endows man with a new heavenly quality, raising him up into a new state of life and happiness. As a consequence, it involves a grateful and joyful acknowledgment of the Lord's infinite love and mercy. Both of these things - the humiliation of self and the joy of acknowledging the Lord - which pertain to the reception and active presence in man of love, charity and faith, are also essential elements of all true worship. They must characterize man's interiors, or else he is not in a genuine state of worship; and they ought to be present in externals, or else these do not properly express or serve the needs of worship. For this reason both elements, humiliation and joyful acknowledgment, are included, sometimes simultaneously, sometimes alternately, in all the services and rituals of our church; and both are manifested in the words of our text.

     The idea of self-humiliation is usually and naturally associated in man's mind with sorrow and sombreness; and since it is an essential element of worship, man tends to feel that something of sadness and mourning properly belongs to sincere worship. This is true only when and insofar as the proprium has not yet been fully subjugated; that is, insofar as man is unwilling to humble himself, and does not really acknowledge that nothing good and true is from himself. His proprial life and all the things belonging to it then seem very important and valuable to him; he wills to preserve them; and the very thought of losing any part of that life fills him with grief and anxiety. But when and insofar as the man has subjugated his proprium, and recognizes its infernal quality, it no longer appears valuable or desirable to him. He then welcomes every opportunity to reduce its influence over him, and finds joy rather than sorrow in humbling himself and in worshipping the Lord. Something of the joy derived from humble acknowledgment of the Lord is manifest in the self-exhortation: "Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits."
     All blessings which produce or contribute to a state of blessedness are goods or relate to goods. Certainly evils cannot bless anyone; for they are the very essence of all misery, insanity and destruction, and only by Divine intervention can they be made to contribute in any way to the pleasantness and happiness of life.

483


Neither can falsities impart blessings; for of themselves they are related to evils and serve them. Nor, indeed, can truths of themselves bless man; for truths separated from goods are harsh and condemnatory. Only when truths are conjoined with goods do they introduce man into a better and happier state of life. The truths then are the means by which the better state is attained; but what makes the state a better and happier one is the good to which the truths have led man and with which they are conjoined.
     So we are taught that blessing inwardly involves all celestial, spiritual and also natural good; and outwardly, worldly, bodily and earthly good; but these external goods, it is said, are blessings only from the inward good.* To "bless," then, means nothing else than to communicate good, essentially interior good, to another, by which his state is improved and made the more blessed. By so doing men can bless one another. Indeed, the blessedness and happiness of heaven are continually being increased and perfected because the angels mutually communicate and share their goods with one another. The goods they have and share are not from themselves, but are all blessings they receive from the Lord, as are all the genuine goods which men on earth have. For from man himself comes not the least good. Man can thus bless others only from the Lord, but not at all from himself.
     * AC 1096.

     Still less can man bless the Lord, no matter how ardently he desires to do so. For man has nothing of his own with which to endow the Lord or to improve His state. In his exhortation to bless the Lord the Psalmist, then, is speaking according to the appearance that what man has or does can please the Lord and delight Him. Such speaking from appearance is common, having been done from ancient times; and it is quite proper to do so, especially insofar as man knows and acknowledges that of himself he is nothing. For the appearance has been granted, and is carefully preserved with men and angels by the Lord Himself, that they may have the use and enjoyment of their freedom, and that they may be motivated to use that freedom as of themselves to think and will to speak and to live, according to the Divine will.
     Moreover, except when his motives look to gain for himself, or to aggrandisement in his own sight and in the eyes of his fellow men man's desire to bless others and to communicate good to them is aroused by love and charity, testifying to the active presence of these loves and their affections.

484


The loves of self and the world obstruct blessedness, both to oneself and to others, and must be reduced to total submission that there may be blessedness. It is quite otherwise with good loves. Blessedness is said to be received with genuine charity.* Furthermore, it is an essential of love to seek to bless the one loved from itself.** So the angels are in the continual effort to communicate their blessings to one another because they are in mutual love and charity; and because of that, the more of their blessings they give to others, the greater blessings do they receive from the Lord. A genuine desire to bless the Lord is thus a manifestation and sign of love to the Lord, and the exhortation and effort to bless Him are a declaration and expression of that love. This is man's reciprocation of the Lord's love by which man is conjoined with the Lord and caused to be in a heavenly state. By this the Divine end of creation is fulfilled with the man, which end, however, cannot be achieved until man has as of himself by the Lord's power completely freed himself from the enslavement of his proprial evils. For this reason the exhortation of our text is said to be a song in praise of the Lord on account of redemption and reformation.
     * AC 4608.
     ** TCR 43.

     The declaration of love expressed in the words "bless the Lord" necessarily involves a grateful acknowledgment that all blessings are from the Lord alone, and a desire to praise the Lord and to make known His wonderful works. For there can be no genuine love without knowledge and acknowledgment, nor without gratefulness, nor without a seeking to communication and to sharing. So it is said that "blessed be the Lord" was in ancient times a formula of thanksgiving;* and that to "bless the Lord" means to sing to Him, to evangelize His salvation and to preach His wisdom and power, thus to confess and acknowledge the Lord from the heart.**
     * AC 1096.
     ** AC 1422: 2.
     All things, all blessings, are from the Lord's Divine love, and are brought into effect and communicated by His Divine wisdom. These two, the Divine love and the Divine wisdom, are the things which above all others we are to attribute to the Lord, and for which we are to sing to Him with the thankful acknowledgment of love. This we are specifically exhorted to do in the text by the words "bless the Lord," and "bless His holy name." For the word "Lord" in the text is the English translation of "Jehovah," and by "Jehovah" in the Word is specifically meant the Divine itself or the Divine esse from which all things are, which, we are taught, is the Divine love. And by "name" in reference to the Lord is meant that by which He is made known, and by which He may be seen by men, approached and blessed. This is the Divine existere, which is the Divine wisdom.

485


For Divine wisdom gives form to the Divine love, enabling it to stand forth to view and to be known. In its proceeding even to ultimates it is the Divine wisdom which enables the Divine to reach out to man, to touch him, and to operate with him to redeem and save him; and we are taught that even in ultimate forms, the Divine is fully present in what proceeds from the Divine. This is what makes all that is meant by the Lord's name to be holy.
     In the text there is an exhortation not only to bless the Lord and His holy name, but also not to forget all His benefits. This is a reminder of man's continual need to humble himself, without which even the angels could not acknowledge the Lord and bless Him. For we are taught that of himself, even in angelic states, man is nothing but a passive and inert vessel, which continually tends to sink down even to the lowest hell. Only the Lord's uplifting power can preserve man from such a complete descent into hell. Only the Lord's power can withdraw man from infernal states. Only the Lord's power can raise man into a heavenly state, and maintain him in that state: this so much so that we are taught, were the Lord's unceasing effort to uplift man to be interrupted for a moment, even the celestial angels would immediately relapse into infernal states.

     Memory is associated with love and affection. We naturally remember only what in some ways affects our loves and affections. We remember more easily and clearly the things which most directly affect our most active and cherished loves and affections; and we remember most vividly what agrees with and supports our ruling love. Whenever something is recalled to mind from the memory, the affection or love with which it is associated is stimulated and refreshed, and the ties linking us to the thing or person connected with the memory are renewed and strengthened. The memory thus is the basis not only of mental development but also of conjunction; and nothing else than conjunction with the Lord is meant when the bread of the Holy Supper is eaten in remembrance of the Lord.
     What in no way affects our loves and affections is not remembered, while the things which hurt our loves and are found unpleasant are not long remembered. For every effort of love is to protect itself, to dissociate itself with all that is opposed to it, to turn away from it, and as far as possible to put it away completely. Forgetfulness, thus, involves removal, a cutting off and separation, and the destruction, as it were, of what is offensive to one's loves and affections. To be able to forget evil, pain and misfortunes is among the Divine blessings given to man; and the forgetfulness of them means that there is no love for them, no tie linking us to them, and thus no conjunction with them. But to forget the Lord's benefits is to cut oneself off from the Lord.

486


It means that we have no love to Him, and no ties with Him. It can only mean that we are being led by our proprial affections away from the Lord, away from His protection and love, and away from His blessings. This man naturally tends to do. He continually needs to heed the Psalmist's exhortation not to forget all the Lord's benefits, that in the conscious remembering of them the remains of his love to the Lord may be rekindled and develop until his soul and all that is within him may come to bless the Lord and His holy name.
     For external acknowledgment of and gratitude for natural goods provided by the Lord are not enough, nor do they cause man to be blessed. They but constitute and testify to a purely natural love of the Lord. Such a love looks to self primarily, and to the Lord only on account of the rewards He gives and may give in the future. Such a love, too, affects man only superficially, without animating his interiors, and so leaves his true self in the same infernal state as before. To be genuine and to affect the spirit, man's remembrance of the Lord's benefits, his acknowledgment and love of the Lord, must turn away from self to the Lord. They must have regard for the Divine and spiritual blessings which the Lord bountifully and freely provides out of pure mercy and love; and, too, man must strive to permit his remembrance, acknowledgment and love to be raised above the plane of his natural man to the interiors of his thoughts and affections, and indeed to the very inmost of his being, to the inmost of his understanding and of his will, meant by the "soul" and the "bowels" or viscera, that is, by "all that is within man."
     Then will the remembrance, acknowledgment and love of the Lord affect, enter into and qualify the whole man - all his thoughts and affections, all his words and acts. Then will there be a genuine reciprocation of the Lord's love and mercy, bringing man into conjunction with the Lord and causing him to be truly blessed. And then will man be able with a humble and full heart to join the Psalmist in joyfully saying: "Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits." Amen.

     LESSONS: Psalm 103. Luke 6: 20-38. Arcana Coelestia 6408.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 577, 576, 509.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 137, 159.

487


THANKING THE LORD 1971

THANKING THE LORD       Rev. CHRISTOPHER R. J. SMITH       1971

      A Thanksgiving Talk to Children

     "What shall I render unto the LORD for all His benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvations, and will call upon the name of the LORD." (Psalm 116: 12, 13)

     These words tell of thanks to the Lord for the many benefits or good things that He gives us. But more important than this, these words show us how to thank the Lord for all His benefits - how to give thanks to Him. We can think about the many benefits that the Lord gives us, but do we know how to thank Him for them?
     If we do not know how to thank the Lord, we should learn how, because if we thank Him properly, He will see that we really love Him. Then He will be able to bless us even more, by giving us greater benefits so that we may become even more happy.
     Now you may say: "I do thank the Lord in my prayers. When I think of my home, my friends, my food and clothing, the happy life that I live, I do feel thankful to the Lord. What else can I do to show my thanks?" Well, just saying "thank you" is only part, a small part of being truly thankful, because there is much more that we can do.
     We should understand that there is a great difference between saying thank you and showing our thanks. It is easy to say thank you but much harder to prove it, that is, to show that we are really thankful.

     Let us take an example. Let us say that you are sick in bed and feeling a little miserable because you do not want to be in bed and you have nobody to play with. But suddenly one of your friends comes to see you and stays to play with you. He helps you to be much happier. And each time he comes, you thank him for coming over, and you are glad he took the trouble to stop and see you even though he may rather have done something else.
     Then when you are well again, you will feel that just saying "thank you" was too easy. It was not enough to show how really thankful and glad you were. And so you try to show it by doing something. This means that you will wait for a chance to be helpful to the friend who took the trouble to visit you when you were sick. In other words, you will want to make an effort yourself to help your friend and make him happier.

488


And I am sure that you could think of many ways to do this.
     What I want to ask you now is, how are you going to thank the Lord for all His benefits toward you? When you were sick, it was the Lord who made you well again because He gave you what was needed to make you better. Now you may thank the people who helped you while you were sick and then try to show your real thanks by doing something special at another time. But how are you going to thank the Lord by some special thing that you are going to do just for Him?
     Let us go back to the Word to see how it teaches us to show our thanks to the Lord. How does the Word answer the question: "What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits toward me?" "Render" means to give. The Lord has given me everything that I have; what can I possibly give to Him in return? The Word answers: "I will take the cup of salvations, and will call upon the name of the Lord."
     What does this mean? Simply this: to show our thanks to the Lord, we must take all the things that He has given us for our salvation, which are all the things that will help to save us from evil and allow us to go to heaven. Then once we have all these things, we must use them for the purpose that the Lord gave them in the first place. When we have taken the benefits that the Lord gives us and used them with care and thoughtfulness, we have given Him the real thanks for which He asks.

     It is the same way with everything that you are given. You are not truly thankful for something unless you use it, and use it in the way it is meant to be used. Take the example of a bicycle. Many of you have bicycles. And when you were given them, you were glad and thankful at the time. But if you were really thankful, if you really enjoyed having the benefit of a bicycle, you would use it with special care so that it would serve you well. If you just drop it on the ground when you have finished riding, if you leave it lying outside at night or blocking the way of other people, if you do not clean it and oil it, then you are not really thankful for the bicycle, and that is how you do not use it properly. Then do you know what happens? It is taken away from you - if not by your parents then by the fact that it becomes damaged and broken so that it cannot be used anyway.
     In the same way the Lord will take away something that He has given us if we do not use it, and use it in the best way we can. But we should try never to let that happen in our lives.

489


Therefore when we see any benefit that the Lord gives us, especially something that will help us to come closer to Him and to heaven, we must make sure that we use it, and use it properly, for this is true thanksgiving to the Lord. This is what we should remember whenever we say the prayer: "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits." (Psalm 103: 2) Amen.

     LESSONS: Psalm 116. AC 318.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 571, 614, 577.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. C16, C20.
FIFTY-FIFTH BRITISH ASSEMBLY, JULY 23-25, 1971 1971

FIFTY-FIFTH BRITISH ASSEMBLY, JULY 23-25, 1971              1971

     The Fifty-fifth British Assembly, presided over by the Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton, began on Friday, July 23, 1971. One of the notable things about this Assembly was the quality of its organization, and this was due to the devoted work of Mr. Philip Waters and the willing helpers enlisted by him. There were new touches, but the fairly recent custom of starting with a service of worship in the Colchester church building was retained.
     Following this afternoon service there was a Reception at the University of Essex, the place where the three Assembly sessions were held. The first session was addressed by the Rev. N. Bruce Rogers. He spoke on "The New Church in a New Age," calling our attention to the teaching that in the church one generation follows another with a constant variation of disposition. His address challenged the present generation to face evangelization responsibilities. A panel of the laity led the discussion of this paper, and at the second session a panel of six ministers led the discussion of Bishop Pendleton's address on "The Unity of the Word." The Bishop's address emphasized the unity of all Divine revelation in presenting God as Divine Man. The address at the third session was given by the Rev. Alfred Acton. Entitled "Providence and Contemporary Life," it emphasized principles of the Divine Providence, and invited applications in the light of those principles.
     The Social on Saturday evening brought events at the University to a close. On Sunday, July 25, the morning service, attended by some 200 people, and the afternoon Holy Supper service, were held at Colchester.
     Business.     Speaking on behalf of the British Finance Committee, Mr.

     (Continued on page 524)

490


ONE KINGDOM 1971

ONE KINGDOM       Rev. ERIK SANDSTROM       1971

     (Delivered to the Council of the Clergy, January 27, 1971)

     This address is an appeal for consideration of our duties as a church body to the Church Universal, and for thought with a view to action.
     In raising this matter I am mindful of the momentum engendered by previous thoughts and endeavors. In our present generation thorough studies have been made and films and lectures prepared by the Rev. Harold Cranch, and several other members of this Council have contributed much valuable thought and experience. Further back in time the torch was carried by men like F. E. Waelchli, Gilbert H. Smith, Theodore Pitcairn, Karl R. Alden and, in Sweden and Norway, Gustaf Baeckstrom. If we go all the way back to the beginnings of the New Church we find ourselves in a position of gratitude to such names as those of Robert Hindmarsh, John Clowes, Samuel Noble and James Glen. And let us not forget that the first apostle to reach out was Swedenborg himself, whose systematic dispatches of copies of the Writings to universities, princes, bishops and friends, accompanied by remarkable letters, were the first means of making the world aware of the new gospel, and whose letters and memorials to the king, and under him to the Diet and to consistories, bishops, professors and others stand as lasting testimonials of the most zealous defense of the doctrines when these were under attack.
     My own interest in the field is not as new as my relative inactivity in it since I came to English-speaking areas might suggest. Most recently a College course on Evangelization, begun last year, and a current series on the same subject to an adult class in Bryn Athyn represent such interest. But in Sweden and Norway I gave many public lectures, also two on a special trip to Finland, and advertised and sold a fair amount of New Church literature in connection with these lectures. I also wrote a little book in Swedish, called En Ny Kristen Kyrka (A New Christian Church). So I would not wish my present thoughts to be taken as representing a sudden burst of interest.
     At this time the world is quite obviously in desperate need of the guiding influence of truth. I think, too, that the General Church, for her own prosperity and enrichment, is in need of reaching outside of herself.

491


The question seems to be: when is there the right time to do so? In discussing these matters I would like to examine the following four areas: 1) The Church Universal and the Church Specific; 2) The Church Specific in isolation and preparation; 3) The state of both the Church Universal and the Church Specific; 4) Duty to the Church Universal.

     The Church Universal and the Church Specific

One Lord, one Word, one kingdom! Ever since the New Church was established by the Lord two hundred years ago, she has acknowledged one God, and has confessed that the Lord Jesus Christ is that God. More recently, she has also witnessed the belief and confession that the Word is one, and this because the same Lord, the same Divine love and wisdom, speaks in all the three forms of revelation, weaving them together as one progressive Divine message to all men. And now I think we need to add, one kingdom.
     This is a matter of attitude, and I believe that if we have the right attitude to those less fortunate than ourselves, we will wish to reach out to them, and will speak to them from sympathy and not from arrogance or condescension.
     The Church Universal and the Church Specific are not two churches but one church. True, we sometimes speak of them as two, and in a certain context we do so by right; for it is legitimate, up to a point, to speak according to the appearance. The Writings sometimes do. And the appearance here is that the Church Specific is by itself, and the Church Universal by itself.
     But that they are interiorly one is clear in at least two ways. First, we know that the entire kingdom of the Lord in both worlds, in fact, in the whole universe is one in His sight. Second, we have the teaching in the Writings that the church where the Word is, and where the Lord is known and acknowledged, is to the church which has not the Word and does not know the Lord, as the heart and lungs to the body. Therefore, as the heart and lungs are part of the body, so the Church Specific is part of the Church Universal, but its central part. These two points are brought together in the following teaching:

     "The whole heaven is before the Lord as one man; so likewise is the church . . . They also actually appear as a man. . . In that man, the church where the Word is read, and where by means of it the Lord is known, is as the heart and as the lungs, the celestial kingdom as the heart, and the spiritual kingdom as the lungs. As it is from these two founts of life in the human body that all the other members and viscera subsist and live, so also it is from the conjunction of the Lord and heaven with the church by means of the Word that all those subsist and live, in all lands, who have a religion, and who worship one God and live good lives, and thereby are in that man and have relation to its members and viscera which are beyond the thorax where the heart and lungs are."*
     * SS 105.

492




     It should be noted that the life of the nations does not stem from the Church Specific, but from the Word by means of it. Perhaps the Word, seen as spirit and life, could be likened to the two unpervertible degrees in man, through which the Lord flows in, while the church underneath these degrees is like the heart and lungs. In any case, it is through the Word that life is given to the world, and its place, and that of the church, are further established as our passage goes on: "The Word in the church, although it is with comparatively few, is life from the Lord through heaven to all the rest; just as the life of the members and viscera of the whole body is from the heart and lungs: there is also a similar communication."*
     * Ibid.
     There are two more teachings we should bear in mind as we set the two areas of the Lord's kingdom before us, the interior and the exterior. One of these teachings implies a warning lest we tacitly identify the Church Specific with the church organization. It reads:

     "The church is the church from spiritual good and from the derivative truths. He who is not in spiritual good, that is, in the good of charity, and in spiritual truths, that is, in the truths of faith, is not of the church, in spite of his having been born within it. . . . Its being called the church is not from the fact that the Word is there, and that there are doctrinal things therefrom, nor from the fact that the Lord is known there, and that the sacraments are there, But it is the church from the fact that men live according to the Word, or according to doctrine from the Word, and so that the doctrine is the rule of life. They who are not of this character are not of the church, but are outside of it; and they who live in evil, thus they who live contrary to doctrine, are further outside the church than the Gentiles who know nothing whatever of the Word, of the Lord, and of the sacraments, for the former, because they know the goods and truths of the church, extinguish the church in themselves, which the Gentiles cannot do because they do not know them."*
     * AC 6637.

     Needless to say, the General Church - and we think of our own organization - was and is instituted for the sole purpose of serving the Lord as He is revealed in His glorified Human; thus at the same time that of serving and embodying His living church as the body serves and contains the mind. But the interior fact remains, that of the kingdom of God ye shall not say, "Lo here! or, lo there, for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you."* There is ever a danger of mistaking the external for the internal. We even have the saying that "clothes make the man" and, more seriously, it is certainly possible to have oblations, incense, new moons and sabbaths, assemblies, solemn meetings, appointed feasts, and the spreading forth of hands,** without the Lord being in these things.
     * Luke 17: 21.
     ** See Isaiah 1: 13-15.

493



We should therefore realize that having the Word and serving the Lord with sacraments does not conjoin heaven and earth nor serve the Church Universal; but having the Word and living it, and honoring the sacraments and living up to their correspondences, these things do conjoin and serve. That is why it is also said that "it is not the Word which makes the church, but the understanding of it";* for to understand the Word correctly is to see it as the book of life, and to see and understand it thus makes possible a life from it as of self.
     * SS 76.
     The other teaching is also from the Arcana. It gives particulars concerning the Church Universal, which is there called the Lord's spiritual church - meaning, I think, that it has some life from the Lord in it - and it contains one observation to which I would call special attention. It says:

     "As regards the Lord's spiritual church, be it known that it exists throughout the universal world, for it is not confined to those who have the Word and thence know the Lord and some truths of faith, but it exists also with those who have not the Word and therefore are altogether ignorant of the Lord and consequently know no truths of faith (for all the truths of faith look to the Lord); that is to say, this church exists among the Gentiles who are remote from the church. For there are many among them who from rational light know that there is one God, that He has created all things, and also that from Him is all good, consequently all truth, and that likeness to Him makes man blessed. And moreover they live according to their religiosity in love to that God and in love toward the neighbor, and from the affection of good they do the works of charity, and from the affection of truth they worship the Supreme One. The Gentiles who are of this character are they who belong to the Lord's spiritual church, and although while in this world they do not know the Lord, yet within themselves they have the worship and tacit acknowledgment of Him when they are in good, for in all good the Lord is present; and therefore in the other life they easily acknowledge Him, and receive the truths of faith in Him more readily than Christians do who are not in good in this way."*
     * AC 3263: 2.

     The statement to which I would draw special attention is that the Gentiles here described have a tacit acknowledgment of the Lord, for they are in good, and the Lord is present in all good. This can only mean that good in which there is innocence (i.e., a willingness to be led by One who is Supreme) is receptive of the operation of the Divine Human; or, to say the same thing in another way, that those who are in some good of innocence tend to think of God as one visible Supreme Being who has Divinely Human qualities.

494


For by the name "the Lord" the Writings always mean the Lord God as visible, that is, the Lord in His Divine Human. "In all good the Lord is present." We are speaking of a "tacit acknowledgment," not the full acknowledgment that is possible only by means of the Word; that is, we are speaking of the acknowledgment that slumbers, as it were, in the will, but has not yet come forth in the understanding, so that it might be conscious.
     The principle must apply to Christian Gentiles as well, though their good, sadly, is not likely to be as gentle and yielding and ready as the Writings lead us to expect with those outside of Christianity. Those who live in the embrace of fallen Christianity are in a more difficult plight. The confusion in the world is more total around them. But that they exist, and that they have Divine protection is clear both from the general teaching that a new church is always first formed from the remnant of a former church, and, more especially, from what the Writings tell us about "the earth that helped the woman in the wilderness," concerning which more presently.

     It must be noted that the hallmark of the Church Universal is essentially the same as that of the Church Specific. There are two things that exist as the pulse from the heart and the breath of the lungs wherever there is anything of spiritual life throughout mankind. In the Church Specific that the Lord is now forming they are called the "two essentials of the New Church,"* and they are "the acknowledgment of the heart that the Lord's Human is Divine, and a life according to the Ten Commandments."* The parallel of these in the Church Universal is that "they live according to their religiosity in love to that God and in love toward the neighbor"; or that "they do the works of charity" and "worship the Supreme One."
     * AR 490, 491.
     ** Ibid.
     Within Christianity there is again a special situation. Here it is not enough that they worship a Supreme Being. They must also revere the Lord Jesus Christ, and strive to follow Him. For something concerning Him is known. But will not the principle again apply, that "the Lord is present in all good"? And we are not asked to believe, despite the critical state of the Christian world, that there are not people in it who hold on to a simple faith and strive to live a good life.
     What comes out of all this, I suggest, is that the Church Specific - in addition to the children raised in her sphere - can grow only from the Church Universal. With reference to those in the Church Universal who live within Christianity there is confirmation of this in the teaching just alluded to, concerning "the earth that helped the woman."

495


That teaching is as follows:

     "The church that is called the New Jerusalem is to tarry among those who are in the doctrine of faith separate while it grows to fullness, until provision is made for it among many. But in that church there are dragons who separate faith from good works not only in doctrine but also in life; but the others in the same church who live a life of faith, which is charity, are not dragons although they are among them, for they do not know otherwise than that it is according to doctrine that faith produces fruits, which are good works, and that the faith that justifies and saves is believing what the Word teaches and doing it. The dragons have wholly different sentiments. But what these are the others do not comprehend, and because they do not comprehend them they do not accept them. This makes clear that the church consisting of those who are not dragons is meant by the 'earth' that helped the woman and swallowed up the river that the dragon cast out of his mouth. . . . Therefore it is by these that the New Church, which is called the Holy Jerusalem, is helped and also made to grow."*
     * AE 764: 2.

     The principle that growth can come only from the Church Universal as far as the world around us is concerned, that is, in addition to growth through children who are educated in the faith of the church, is congruent with what is said about the recruitment of the New Heaven.

     "This heaven was formed of all those who, from the coming of the Lord to the present time, had lived the life of faith and charity, since these alone were forms of heaven. . . It follows that it is composed both of Christians and of Gentiles but chiefly of infants from the whole world who have died since the Lord's coming. For all these were received by the Lord and educated in heaven and instructed by angels, and reserved, that they together with the others might constitute the New Heaven."*
     * HD 2, 3.

     So there is a parallel between the growth of the New Heaven, or the New Church in heaven, and the New Church on earth, in that in each case increase is from adults who have lived in faith and charity, and from children who are educated under the auspices of the Lord.

     The Church Specific in Isolation and Preparation

     In either case the swelling of numbers - and, of course, also growth in depth - is under the government of the Lord's Providence. But even as He put it into the hearts of men to begin New Church schools, so He will also move hearts to the other and additional work. It will be in His own time; but, as in the case of the first work, His time is when there is zeal and at the same time wisdom to do the work from the Word. "No man has religion from himself, but through another who either knows directly from the Word, or by derivation from others who have learned from the Word that there is a God, that there are a heaven and a hell, that there is a life after death, and that God must be worshipped in order that there may be happiness."*

496


A short phrase in the Apocalypse has the same thrust: "And let him that heareth say, Come."** Thus it is that the Lord works through men.
     * DP 254.
     ** Revelation 22: 17.
     But everyone knows that many efforts have been made in the past, no doubt from zeal, and no doubt with much knowledge from the Word; yet these efforts have not had any impact comparable to the action that led to New Church education. Fruitless they cannot have been, for as the Lord said: "A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit";* and He alone knows what fruits might have been produced that were invisible to men.
     * Matthew 7: 18.

     Yet there is a major difference between the two areas of initiative, and the difference is this: that whereas New Church education was launched as a use of the church, and became adopted as the church's primary act of charity, the use of evangelization has been essentially at the initiative of individual men, even though the church has at times given support to that initiative. I am noting the difference, but without suggesting that there is as yet cause for lamentation. For I believe that the Lord's Providence is governing the affairs of the church by means of the affections of her men and women, and that the Lord will put it into the heart of the church to move into action when she is ready for it, and when the world is ready.
     But the church cannot move to act without first analyzing and taking stock. She must act from intelligence as well as zeal. On the other hand, analysis, perhaps on the part of many, may bring forth the zeal which surely is stored up as a latent affection, held by the Lord in preparedness for the day of His providing.
     And so the teachings concerning the woman in the wilderness rise up in our view. For she is the church - the Lord's church - and she is kept for "time, times, and half a time," in isolation, and at the same time in preparation.*
     * See Revelation 12: 14.
     She is in isolation in the environment of the Protestant tradition, for that is the wilderness into which she fled, and that - although she is hidden from his view - is where the dragon is.* The wilderness signifies in general a church where there are no longer any truths, or a devastated church.** But that here the Reformed or Protestant Church is particularly meant is clear from what was just said about the dragon, and also from Apocalypse Revealed 717, which tells us that the Reformed are treated of from chapter 7 to chapter 16, inclusive, in the Apocalypse - thus including our chapter, Revelation 12.

497


Church history, too, confirms this point, for as is well known it is almost exclusively in the Protestant regions of Christianity that the New Church exists and has existed from the beginning.
     * See AR 537 and AE 764: 2, above.
     ** AR 564.
     The New Church was not always in isolation, for in the beginning, especially through the Gothenburg Trial, she was widely known in the Christian world. That was when the dragon stood before the woman in order to destroy her male child, the doctrine itself, as soon as it was presented to the world. But knowledge of both the church and her Divinely revealed doctrine was withdrawn. The doctrine itself, being caught up to God and His throne, was protected from violation, that is, it was, in effect, forgotten by the world; and the church found a little home here and there in the world, nearly always in Protestant regions, and always relatively undisturbed by any intrusion from the churches around her. She was small, and was deemed harmless.

     So, in Providence, it was possible for her to get established and to gain strength in doctrinal understanding and faith. "It is said 'a time, times and half a time,'" we read, "because 'time' in the singular signifies a state of good, 'times' in the plural a state of truth, both in respect to their implantation, and 'half a time' signifies a holy state of the church."* We can see something of this in the short history of the church. Both in the early Hindmarsh days in England, and in the first generation of the Academy movement in this country, charity and friendship and enthusiasm and spontaneous social life in the sphere of the church were all noticeable characteristics. Good and love and hope prevailed. Was there not a state of the morning? Can we say that this, in the present cycle of the history of the church, was her "time" - her state of the implantation of good? Of course, the New Church is to last forever, and I am not suggesting that there will not be parallel or corresponding developments in the future; but up to the present time, and presumably for some time yet to come, the church has been in a state of a special kind which may not be expected to recur in the future, namely, a state of physical isolation.
     * AE 781.
     If our reading of history is correct in respect to the initial state "time" - then the ensuing period of study and development of doctrine would be covered by the plural form "times." The singular form in the Word relates to good, the plural form to truths; and this because good or love or charity is one, but the truths by which it speaks and acts are numerous.

498



     And there has been a development of doctrine. What are the foremost things of faith in the church? Are they not the truths relating to the Lord, the Word, and a life of faith and charity?* Of course, the church is not finished with a study of these things; but there has been a notable crystallization of all three, perhaps with emphasis on the first two. The church knows a little more than the formulas of doctrine. She is somewhat impregnated with the truth that our Lord and God is visible, and is among us; therefore that His Human which we can see and understand is wholly Divine and infinite in its essence. And she knows and acknowledges, or begins to do so, that it is this God alone who speaks to us and to the world in all the three forms of Divine revelation, therefore that the Word is one because it is His Word.
     * DP 259.
     As for faith and charity, the people know with at least some understanding that these become one by looking to the Lord in humble faith and by actually shunning evil as sin against Him, and that good works, or the positive works of charity, are good in their essence as far as there is this turning toward the Lord and turning away from evil.

     But I think the church will be truly revived with the essence of charity only insofar as she as a church reaches out in charity outside of herself. There are two areas of charity for any family. The first is within the family itself. "Charity begins at home." But the family, chiefly through the father, is also to do the uses of charity outside the home. Then the family is held together and is developing in the right spirit. And do we not have cause for reflection in the fact that the work of a man's occupation or employment is first on the list of the functions of charity in the Writings, and that the instruction of children is in the second group of acts on that list?* Does this mean that the spirit of charity in the home is to develop as first in time, or as the initial emphasis, but that in the over-all sphere of charity it is second as to essence? In other words, is the use within the family a means to an end, and the use of the family the end? If so, then there is a similar relationship as between faith and charity themselves, in that faith is first in time, but charity is first in essence and in end.
     * Char. Vii, viii, et seq.; cf. Also TCR 422, 423.
     What is suggested in all this is that the church will come into maturity and into full health insofar as she will also reach outside of herself. Another thing, too, is suggested or implied; namely, that the one use will benefit from the other. For the essence of charity is indivisible, and as it comes into its own it will be enriched in all its aspects.

499


Will not our young people enter with a new spirit into the sphere of New Church education if they know that the church herself is making use of it, and that they may have a share in that use?
     I am sure that the church as a church has a duty to give a lead to the world in the other three fields of charity as well - "benefactions, obligations and diversions";* but we can only take one step at a time, and the occupation of charity in the form of an outreach of the church family is the most urgent.
     * Char. ix-xi; TCR 425-434.
     The spiritual life of the world, that is, the salvation of the world, depends on the New Church. The Lord alone is Savior. But in His first advent He established His church by means of His twelve apostles and by means of all other disciples, or followers, in the first generations while there was still life and unity in the church. He will do so again.
     All of this relates to the Church Specific. She it is who is first in a state in which good is implanted, and who is afterwards in a state in which truth is implanted. And when will she enter into the state signified by "half a time"? Is it not when she will give, outside of herself, of the things she has received? The Apocalypse Explained describes this as a "holy state of the church";* and the Apocalypse Revealed gives us the following: "A time, and times, and half a time, signifies to the end and a beginning, thus during its increase from a few to many, until it reaches its appointed state."** One can only assume that the "appointed state of the church" is when her Divine doctrines, and the doctrines through her, will exercise a world-wide influence in all areas of human life and behavior; in fact, when the church will be the conscience of the world, and the doctrines themselves the truths that build up that conscience. Is not a holy state one of conscience? And can there be a holy state with the "many" unless there is a new world conscience from the Lord?
     * AE 761.
     ** AR 562.

     The State of the Church Universal and the Church Specific

     Not much need be added on these points, and not much said in order to give some definition to these states. We do not presume, of course, to read inmost states. But there is much that comes to open view, and from this it is legitimate to try to draw some cautious conclusions.
     It is manifest that the Church Universal is suppressed from all sides. The onslaught of the sensuous is world-wide, and the biased and one-sided competition for money and possessions is everywhere. The rulers of the world, whether in the ecclesiastical or the secular field, clearly - speaking generally - strive for office more than for usefulness.

500


The voice of conscience is relatively quiet, and the voice of the proprium and of the flesh cries out aloud. Individuals who abide in a simple faith are confused and anxious. As for those of them who live within the precincts of the old Christianity, they are described in a passage from the Apocalypse Explained quoted earlier, and we repeat that since they do not comprehend the doctrinal views or sentiments of the dragonists, therefore they are protected from them and cannot be said to accept them.* And as for those of the Gentiles who are remnants of earlier churches, we may assume that something analogous applies to them; they, too, would stand uncomprehending before the traditions of their religiosity, and thereby have the protection that interior involvement would destroy, and in the meantime they, too, would live a simple good life. But all are anxious, disoriented, and with but little hope for the morrow. It cannot be otherwise. Are they not like the spirits at the time of the Last Judgment, and before it, who were "under the altar," i.e., under the protection of heaven, and who cried out: "How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?"**
     * AE 764: 2.
     ** Revelation 6: 10.

     I do not think, however, that the anxiety of those who are of the Church Universal stems chiefly from the organized churches. These are falling apart. They do not put up much of a challenge. The only anxiety connected with them would arise from puzzled questions as to why they are in such a state of crisis; why the faiths which have held the minds of millions in their grip for so many generations seem to be no longer valid. I think the fears and confusion that the remnant must now be experiencing come mainly from the worldwide and shameless worship of Mammon. The universal trend seems to be to settle for all the values that are below the expanse, to the exclusion of all that are above; in fact, to the extent that the existence of the latter is denied. It is this uncompromising sensualism and materialism that would cause the inarticulate and voiceless cry to rise up from many: "O Lord, how long?"
     Now is there not a reaction to this in the Church Specific? Is there not a stirring within her as to what can be done, what must be done, to meet the challenge of Mammon? - that Mammon who speaks in the same general chorus of voices as those of the dragon and the woman on the scarlet beast.
     But when I ask if there is not a stirring I may appear to speak as though I knew who they are who belong to the Lord's Church Specific. I do not mean it quite that way.

501


We do not know what people live and inmostly love the truths that are now revealed, but we do know that life and love from these truths are possible with those only who have them. In other words, the Church Specific must be found among those who know the Writings, and must be constituted of those who in addition love them and live according to them. I am therefore speaking of an awakening and apparently widening interest, even eagerness, to reach out to the world and do something to check the terrible evils and the hopeless mess of subjective arguments that cause the whole world to be an unhappy one.
     So I am speaking of the interest we can see, and the growing interest we have seen for some time, in all the organized bodies of the New Church. And I am raising the question: Is there a connection between the plight of the Church Universal and the state of the Church Specific? I believe that there is, and for the reason already suggested, namely, that the Church Universal and the Church Specific are not two churches but one church in the sight of the Lord. Therefore will He not lead both regions of His kingdom together, as a one? Is there not a connection between the affections - the anxious affections - in the Church Universal, and the answering affections - the outreach affections - of many of those who live within the doctrinal precincts of the Church Specific? In asking these questions I have special reference to the following teaching: "The Lord by His Divine Providence gathers the affections of the whole human race into one form, which is the human."*
     * DP 192, 201.

     So the question is: Is the time at hand when the Church Specific must come out of her isolation? Certainly she must not allow the sphere of the world to come in - and there is a danger of that; rather, it is a matter of the church coming out.
     I do not expect sudden or spectacular growth; but at one time or other we know that the time will come that growth at a faster pace than we have been accustomed to so far is to take place. For the Writings tell us that "nourishing the woman in the wilderness for a thousand two hundred and sixty days" means that the church "is at first among a few, that in the meantime provision may be made for her among many," and this "until the church grows to fullness."*
     * AE 732.
     And here is a challenge. In a certain conversation with His disciples the Lord rebuked them, saying: "Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest."*

502


Are we in the New Church to wait the four months until the whited fields compel us to act?
     * John 4: 35.

     Duty to the Church Universal

     I do not believe that the Lord's Church Specific exists only within the precincts of the General Church; but I do believe that it is incumbent on the General Church to give a lead in the work that is to be done. We may assume that all the organizations of the New Church pray that they may serve as ultimate embodiments of the Lord's Church Specific, but the General Church has a unique position among them because of its clear and unequivocal stand with regard to the second essential: the Word.* And it is the Word that is to save the world, that is, the Lord as the Word, now speaking openly to all who would hear, and "showing plainly of the Father" to all who would see.
     * See DP 259: 3.
     I do not advocate hasty action. But I think our consideration should look to action. There is the man who fell among thieves. He needs help. And sooner or later there must come a priest and a Levite who do not pass by on the other side.
     Moreover, I think the General Church needs to act for its own sake, too. She can become too insular. It is of order that the woman shall be in the wilderness for "time, times, and half a time" but it is not of order that she shall remain there beyond that period. Charity will tend to grow stale within the church if it is not exercised by the church. An editorial in the Sons' Bulletin very forcefully put it several years ago: "The butterfly must leave its cocoon in its time, else the cocoon becomes a coffin."*
     * Summer, 1965, pp. 2, 3.
     We have a heritage of thought relating to evangelization from which to draw. That we must use. To this I would add just one element; one more idea: I believe that the whole laity of the church should be instructed, should be given material, and should be invited to be actively involved.

503


DEDICATION OF THE DURBAN SOCIETY'S COMPLEX OF BUILDINGS 1971

DEDICATION OF THE DURBAN SOCIETY'S COMPLEX OF BUILDINGS       DENISE BONGERS       1971

     Glencairn Park

     The New Community and Its Complex of Buildings

     After what has seemed like years of waiting, excitement, disappointment, elation, hard work on the part of many sub-committees, and, at times, days of physical work paving and cleaning the grounds on the part of most of the members, the complex of the Durban Society is at last completed.
     The name, Glencairn Park, was chosen for the community as a whole after a substantial block of land was donated to the Society by the Glencairn Foundation. The Park, including this gift, consists of 67 acres of rolling hillside land in the suburb of Westville, approximately eight miles from Durban. Eleven acres of this land have been reserved for church, hall, offices and school uses, including four acres of playing fields, while a further 22 acres has been subdivided and will form the first stage of a New Church community.
     The buildings, which have been constructed as the first part of the development, are grouped around a large, central, grassed courtyard and open out into it. On the one side is the church, facing east, with vestry and guild room. The second side consists of an office block of four rooms, three of them large enough for classrooms, and the fourth a general purposes office. These rooms house the pastor, the Mission Superintendent and their secretaries. A block of three classrooms and a storeroom occupies the third side. On the fourth side is the hall building. On the ground floor is the large hall and stage, with projection gallery, the kitchen, library and toilet facilities. Downstairs is a smaller recreation area with storeroom and toilets. The entrance to the church and hall are together at one corner, separated by a small paved area.
     The construction of the buildings is in brick, steel and reinforced concrete. The external finish of all buildings is in red brick, while the roofs are of asbestos cement slate. The internal finishes are generally rough plastered and painted white, while the floors are of carpet, timber or tile. Quite extensive areas of the brick paving have been laid to surround the buildings, and this work has been carried out very enthusiastically by members of the Society.

504


The same is true of the school block, 90% of which was built by the congregation. (Only the laying of the face brick to the outside of the building was left to the experts.)

     The church itself has been planned on the basis of a square, with the entrance and the chancel in opposite corners and the center aisle running diagonally through the church. The seating is radial in pattern, which concentrates attention on the chancel. A decorative, and at the same time structural, feature of the church is the all-timber ceiling and roof construction. This is in the form of a laminated timber space frame, the pattern of which emphasizes the sense of concentration on the chancel. The church is gold carpeted throughout which, together with the amber colored glass in the windows, helps to create a peaceful atmosphere ideal for quiet reflection. The layout of the chancel and sanctuary is traditional to the General Church, and the furniture has been chosen and designed for simplicity. The altar is of natural unwrought stone, strong, symbolically interesting, and successful as the visual climax of the church.
     A development plan of the whole area has been drawn up, which makes allowance for additions to the existing primary school and a possibility of a high school. We are confident of continued growth in the Society and look forward to the day when the community is fully established.

     The Dedication

     To our great joy, the Bishop, the Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton, arrived in South Africa to play his part in the culmination of the thought and effort that have gone into the complex, which was designed to the end that we out here in South Africa may contribute to the establishment of the Lord's New Church on earth.
     On Saturday morning, June 19, 1971, the complex was dedicated by the Bishop to the uses of worship, instruction and social life, before a congregation of 254 persons.
     Before the service started there was half-an-hour of soft preludes on the organ and a beautiful solo sung by Mrs. Daniel W. Heinrichs. During the singing of the first hymn (no. 76) the Bishop, accompanied by the pastor, the Rev. Daniel W. Heinrichs, and the Rev. Peter M. Buss, entered by the main door and proceeded up the aisle to the chancel, Mr. Heinrichs carrying the new copy of the Word which had been presented to the Durban Society by the Transvaal Circle.
     The service then proceeded with the 6th Office; the reading of the lessons (I Kings 8: 1-30 and AC 10645: 2-4) by the Rev. Peter M. Buss; a talk to the children by Bishop Pendleton on "Dedication" and the delivery of the following sermon, "The Presence of the Lord," by the Rev. Daniel W. Heinrichs.

505




     DEDICATION SERMON

     "I have surely built Thee a house to dwell in, a settled place for Thee to abide in forever. . . . But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain Thee; how much less this house that I have built?" (I Kings 8: 13, 27)

     During the period when David was king of Israel, after his enemies had been subdued and his kingdom established, he determined that he would build a permanent dwelling place for the ark of the covenant - a permanent place for the worship of Jehovah. He did not feel that it was fitting that he dwell in a magnificent house while the ark of the covenant was housed in a tent. He wanted to build a place of worship worthy of the majesty of Jehovah. When King David spoke of his intention to Nathan the prophet, he replied: "Go, do all that is in thine heart; for the Lord is with thee." (II Samuel 7: 3) However, that night the word of the Lord came to Nathan the prophet; he was told that David was not to build a permanent place of worship for Jehovah, but that this would be done by his son who would rule after him. "He shall build an house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever." (II Samuel 7: 13)
     When Solomon became king he began the building of the temple in the fourth year of his reign. The building of it took seven years. When it was completed King Solomon assembled all the leaders of Israel and the heads of the tribes for the feast of dedication. After the ark had been placed in the most holy place, and a cloud filled the temple to indicate the presence of the Lord, "Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven," (I Kings 8: 22) and offered a prayer of dedication to the Lord. The words of our text form a part of this prayer of dedication. "I have surely built Thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for Thee to abide in forever. . . . But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain Thee; how much less this house that I have built?"
     On this great occasion - the dedication of this house of worship - it is useful for us to reflect on the meaning and implication of these words. For we have built a church which has been dedicated to the worship of the Lord. In placing the Word upon the altar we have represented His presence in this church. Surely this was our intention in building the church - to provide a place where the Lord could be present with us, a place where we may come into the presence of the Lord to worship Him.
     "But will God indeed dwell on the earth?" Is there anything about this building which should cause us to believe that the Lord will be more present here than in any other building?

506


Certainly this church was designed as a dwelling place of the Lord with us; the sanctuary was designed to represent the influx of the Divine into the church. The altar of unhewn stone was chosen to correspond to Divine truth not limited by, or tempered with, human intelligence. The rising of the church from the nave to the sanctuary is intended to inspire the elevation of the affections and thoughts in worship to the contemplation of the Divine of the Lord. The focus of the whole church on the open Word on the altar is intended to represent a mutual looking to the Lord. But can these things produce the presence of the Lord?

     It is true that the Lord is everywhere present in His creation, from the inmost of the spiritual world to the ultimates of the natural world. The Lord is omnipresent. He is in space apart from space; He is in place apart from place. (Inv. II) In this sense He is present in this building. But in the true meaning of the word the Lord cannot be present and dwell in any natural building. His presence in the sense that we are speaking of it is with men. But with whom is the Lord present? How is He present? In what is He present? It is appropriate on the occasion of this dedication that we reflect on these questions.
     It is the teaching of the Word that the Lord is present with every man in the whole universe whether he be good or evil. (AE 80) If it were not so man would utterly perish. But He is present with the good in one way and with the evil in another. "With the good the Lord is present in every particular they think from the truths of faith, and which they will from the good of love; He is so present that He Himself is faith, and He Himself is love with them. . . . He is as if dwelling in them." (AC 10146) But with the evil the Lord is not present in every particular. He is present in a general way: giving them life; giving them the ability to think and to will; maintaining with them the possibility of receiving faith and love. But with the evil He is as if absent, because His presence is neither perceived nor acknowledged. (Ibid.)
     Even in states of external worship, when such a man is in a holy external, there is absence of the Divine. For a man who is in worldly and selfish loves has none but evil spirits with him. Good spirits and angels cannot be present with him because of the sphere which goes forth from his spirit, which is perceived by them as an offensive odor that repels. (AC 4311: 2)
     We are all familiar with the teaching that the Lord is present in the Word. (See AC 8652) Indeed, that is why we represent His presence in the church during services of worship by the open Word. But the Lord is not present in a book. His presence in the Word is in the Word as it exists in the minds of men, that is, in the Word received by men.

507


As we read the Word and receive instruction from it the Lord is present with us, for He is present in the truth which is from Him. (AC 8427: 3) But the Word is received by each man differently; so, therefore, does the Lord's presence differ from man to man. "His presence is according to the degree of reception." (AC 9594e)
     In speaking of the Lord's presence with man in truth from Him, we must bear in mind the teaching of our second lesson, that "the Lord is not in the understanding of truth without the willing of it; but is in the understanding of truth together with the willing of it. For truth does not enter into a man and become his until the man wills it and from willing does it, because the will is the man himself, whereas the understanding is only so far the man as it partakes of the will." Therefore, the Lord's presence in man is in the truths from the Word which the man does from the will. These are what make the church with him and "make the Lord Himself to be with him." (AC 10645: 3)

     When a man lives according to truth, he lives a life of charity. So we are told that "the Lord is present solely in charity. . . . The Lord is indeed present with every man, but in proportion as a man is distant from charity, in the same proportion the presence of the Lord is, so to speak, more absent, that is, the Lord is more remote." (AC 981) Conversely, the more of charity there is with a man, the nearer is His presence with him. Charity is a love which exists within man. It expresses itself in life as love to the neighbor. Whether we say charity or love to the neighbor it is the same thing. We therefore have the further teaching that "the presence of the Lord is first possible with a man when he loves the neighbor. [For] the Lord is in love; and as far as a man is in love, so far the Lord is present." (AC 904: 3) "And He is present according to the quality of it." (AC 6707)
     In order to grasp the essential truth concerning the Lord's presence with man we must remove from our minds the thought of space, for the Lord is not nearer or farther from man in a spatial sense. He is in all space apart from space. Our thought should be of the Divine essence. The Lord's presence with man is in that which the man has from Him. The Lord is love itself and wisdom itself. He is the origin and source of all love and wisdom as they exist with angels and men. The same may be said in respect to good and truth. He is the origin and source of all good and truth with angels and men. Therefore, in so far as a man has genuine love or good the Lord is present with him; and in so far as man has genuine truth and wisdom the Lord is present with him. Therefore the presence of the Lord is with those who admit Him." (AC 9415: 2)

508


These teachings from the Word concerning the presence of the Lord make it abundantly clear that the Lord's presence on earth is according to the state of reception of His Divine qualities by men.
     We have built a house for the Lord to dwell in and this morning this building has been set apart for the worship of the Lord Jesus Christ. It has been dedicated to this use. "But will God indeed dwell on the earth?" It is our hope and our prayer that this will be the case. Let us regard these words as a challenge to our determination, sincerity, steadfastness and integrity. The answer to this question lies with each one of us. We must realize that the use to which this building is dedicated can be fulfilled only in so far as it is fulfilled individually with those who come here to worship. The Lord can be present in this church only in so far as He is present individually with those who worship here. If this service of dedication is to have true meaning and real effect it must result in an individual dedication with each one of us. The real dedication of this church is an internal and individual act of the spirit. We must individually dedicate ourselves to the true worship of the Lord. And this we do when we daily strive to make our hearts and minds receptive of the Divine good and truth from the Lord in the Word, and express them in life as love toward the neighbour. In this measure that all who worship here do this, so will the Lord be present, preserving and sustaining the use of this church and imparting the spiritual peace and tranquility of those who worship herein. (See AE 850

     INSTRUCTION

     The ceremony of the dedication then took place. The Bishop said: Because of the use it is intended to serve, it is of order that a house of worship should be set apart by a solemn act of dedication.
     We have come here today, therefore, in order that we may dedicate this building, which has been prepared by the members and friends of the Durban Society of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, to the worship of the Lord Jesus Christ as He is now revealed in His Divine Human.
     In placing the open Word upon the altar, we acknowledge the Lord to be our God and dispose our lives to His service. Thus it is that in the dedication of this church, our hearts and minds are turned to Him of whom it is said in the Word: "Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it." (Psalm 127: 1)
     In the dedication of this house of worship, however, it is fitting that we should recognize also that the other buildings in this complex are designed to serve the supporting uses of New Church instruction and social life.

509


Here the members of the congregation will gather to receive doctrinal instruction and to consider the uses they are organized to perform; here the children of the Society will be educated in the truths of the Word; and here all will participate in that sphere of friendship which is expressive of the life of the New Church.
     It is, then, with a deep sense of gratitude to the Lord, who has enabled your hearts and your hands in the preparation of this building, that we now call upon the representative of the Durban Society, who is appointed to present it for dedication.

     PRESENTATION

     Mr. John Frost, the architect, then came forward and formally presented the building for dedication, saying: The members and friends of the Durban Society of the General Church of the New Jerusalem present this building to serve the uses of the Lord's New Church, and on their behalf I offer this key as a token that the building is now ready for dedication.

     ACCEPTANCE

     The Bishop then said:      In the name of the General Church I do gratefully receive this building for the use of the Durban Society. May it serve as an instrument in the Lord's hands to promote the growth of His church among men. And may all who worship here worship Him in spirit and in truth; that is, as the one God of heaven and earth, who at this day is plainly revealed in the spiritual sense of His Word.
     Let us therefore lift up our hearts with our hands in the acknowledgment of Him who is the Source of all our blessings, and dispose our lives to the worship of His holy name.


     DEDICATION

     Up to this point in the service the altar copy of the Word had been resting on the Holy Supper altar. The pastor then handed the open Word to the Bishop, who placed it upon the altar, saying: And now in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the presence of this congregation that has labored so diligently in preparing this place for Him, I do dedicate this building to the worship of the Lord according to the doctrine and the ritual of the Church of the New Jerusalem. May the Lord's blessing be upon all who worship here, and may they find in the uses to which this building is dedicated their exceeding great reward. The service concluded with the singing of hymn no. 77.

510




     Supporting Program

     Reception. The dedication weekend opened on Friday night with a reception in the hall, when the guests were received by Bishop and Mrs. Pendleton, the Rev. and Mrs. Daniel W. Heinrichs, the Rev. and Mrs. Peter M. Buss, Mr. and Mrs. Gordon D. Cockerell and Mr. and Mrs. Brian M. Lester.
     Among those present were three extremely welcome guests from the United States, Mr. and Mrs. Robert H. Asplundh and Mrs. O. Payne. Other very welcome guests came from Zululand, the Transvaal and the Cape.
     In the softly candlelit hall, in an atmosphere of warm friendship and anticipation, the introductions were made and were followed by a very appetizing cocktail supper.
     The Bishop then gave us a most interesting talk on "What and Where is the New Church?" He touched briefly on each and every one of the General Church societies in all parts of the world.
     The formalities over everyone settled down to a delightful evening of conversation and greetings to all the visitors who had made such long journeys to be present with us on this eagerly awaited day, the eve of the dedication.

     New Church Day Banquet.     On Saturday night 158 people filled the hall to capacity for the New Church Day banquet. The atmosphere was enhanced by the masses of red floral arrangements on the stage, round the hall and on the tables, and the dinner itself was delicious. What a joy it was to be able to hold this function "at home" after so many years of hiring restaurants, hotels, or club dining rooms!
     The formal proceedings opened with a welcome to those young people who were attending for the first time, followed by messages from absent friends, including most of the past pastors of the Durban Society. Warm tribute was paid to Mr. A. Martin Buss for the tremendous amount of work he had done in the administration of the building of the new complex, and to Mr. John Frost, our architect, whose quiet devotion to the whole project throughout its erection far exceeded mere professional duty. Our pastor, the Rev. Daniel W. Heinrichs, was accorded a standing ovation by the gathering for his fourteen years of service to the Durban Society and his constant inspiration toward the fulfillment of the dreams many years before, and now of the goal achieved.
     The theme of the papers for the evening was the growth of the Durban Society - past, present and future. Extremely interesting papers were given by Messrs. G. D. Cockerell and John Frost and the Rev. Peter Buss.

511



     Mr. Cockerell traced the history of the Society from the arrival in Durban of the pioneers, Mr. and Mrs. James Ridgway and family, at a time when the city was in its infancy and wild animals and snakes still roamed the bush. Several boxes of books were brought out with them, including a set of the Writings. These boxes were stored for a while and were attacked by white ants. Most of the books were completely destroyed, but not one volume of the Writings was seriously damaged. In some cases the bindings had been eaten, but not a single letter of the print had been touched. This was regarded as evidence of the providence of the Lord and nothing short of a miracle.
     Mr. Cockerell then took us through the various stages of the church from the early days when worship was held in a lounge, through the first church and hall on Berea Road, to the last church and hall in Musgrave Road. His description of the growth of the congregation from the Ridgway family up until 1955 under the various pastors sent to minister to us, from the Conference in the early days, to the General Church later, made fascinating listening.
     Mr. Frost took up the history at the point where Mr. Cockerell left off. He explained that with the dedication service this morning and the imminent departure of Mr. Heinrichs an era had come to an end, and the Society was now at the crossroads which would present us with a challenge that has probably never before been faced by the Durban Society. He traced the period during which we enjoyed a period of quiet expansion until a small bomb was dropped in the lap of the Society with the discovery that the Musgrave Road property had increased in value to the extent that a complete relocation of the Society was possible.
Not just the moving of the church and hall buildings, but the creation of a total environment where the spiritual, educational and secular aspects of the church would have a chance to interact in the most favorable surroundings. For the first time in years the Society, as a unified body, was actively engaged in a sphere of activity involving all the members. During the following months of active co-operation in the establishment and work of the many subcommittees which worked toward the fulfillment of the goal which had been set for the new complex, the spirit of charity had been most pronounced and everyone involved had experienced this and its attendant pleasures. The Society's future is in the present, and as we have shown our potential strength in the tackling of problems on the external plane, we have admitted the ability to tackle the real challenge of a Society - spiritual strength and growth within the Society and outside.
     The Rev. Peter Buss then spoke of the future of the Durban Society.

512


He started in humorous vein, touching on the possible activities of the various youngsters at present in the congregation. He then went on to say that as we turn our attention to the living uses for which the complex was built - worshipping the Lord and learning His laws - we would find that there is no sense of letdown in the aftermath of the frenzied building activities, but rather a sense that all the labor has been justified, a sense of fulfillment, an increased awareness of our interior commitment to the church. Although the external development of the church is important, the quality of the life its members lead makes its future a good or a bad one. We will find that it is not going to be something different from the present, or the past, but rather an extension, a development, of that which in our deepest hearts we have always wanted. Life is a process of becoming something, and that becoming goes on to eternity - forever we are becoming more and more fashioned into the image of the Divinely Human Lord.
     There should be a bond within a congregation which knits them together, which makes them a unit, and our deepest bond is that we are fighting a common enemy - the force of hell, which makes us put our selfish interests above any other considerations. We are bound together because we know that in his New Word the Lord has shown us more clearly how to avoid this peril. So our future is that more and more we gather together, as we have done for half a century, to help each other toward the goal of shunning our own evils and becoming aware of the good in others. Then we will progress, not just as individuals, but as a society, and walk together, eternally, towards perfection. This is the future of the Durban Society; the drawing together of a people in their quest to obey their God. We may call it an eternal future.
     Bishop Pendleton summed up briefly before the final toast to "The Church," by reminding us that while we might draw inspiration from the church pioneers of the past, we must go forward. We have reached one goal - the completion of our new complex; but material wealth and maturity meant added responsibility, and it was the duty of every one of us to insure that the new buildings served the spiritual uses for which they were created.

     The Durban Society

     The Durban Society consists of 102 adult members and some 75 children and young people. For many years it grew slowly, and it suffered quite a lot as a result of the Hague controversy, yet its picture in the present is a most encouraging one. In the last twelve years it has had a most enthusiastic growth, progressing in that time from less than 50 resident members to more than double that number.

513


It is probable that it can claim, percentage-wise, the fastest growth rate in the Church, and a large amount of the increase is from without: we have an average of three or four adult baptisms a year, and we have already had five in 1971! It must be remembered also that Durban has long been the only center in South Africa, and that isolated people now living all over the country have had their early instruction in the Durban Society. Unlike the North American societies, we lose to but do not gain from other societies; for we have, until the recent formation of the Transvaal Circle, been all that there is.
     It is with a sense of real excitement that we have seen this growth, especially in the last decade, and we are deeply grateful that Providence has enabled us to develop a complex and a community so ideally suited to our expanding uses. We are thousands of miles from England and the United States and Canada, and must remain removed from much of value that other main centers could give in the way of shared ideas and activities. Yet we have always found in the few visitors who have managed to spend some time within our boundaries a sense of oneness; and we long for more of this communion. We take this opportunity to extend a most cordial invitation to all members and friends of the General Church to take advantage of our hospitality if ever it lies within their means.
     DENISE BONGERS
COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS 1971

COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS       KENNETH P. HOLMES       1971

     (Delivered at the Commencement Exercises of the Academy schools, June 16, 1971.)

     Commencement evokes emotions. For graduating students the exciting dreams of beginning a new life are mingled with a tinge of sadness at leaving an accustomed state. As graduates, your memories reach back to the friendships, knowledges, joys, and perhaps the occasional pains, which have comprised your high school and college years. Memories are precious things and your recollection of the Academy days will remain vivid long after the recall of specific knowledge dims. For in a very real sense the friends with whom you stand today as graduating students are the friends with whom you will carry on the ever expanding uses of the church: friends with whom you will, perhaps, be conjoined to eternity.

514



     As parents and friends - graduates - we, too, are filled with a variety of emotions. Life has rushed on with frightening speed. Many of the things we wanted to do for you and with you, as children, are gone. The states of childhood are all too brief, and you stand before us as men and women. But with pride, which we hope is permissible storge, we congratulate you on your graduation. We are proud, and grateful to the dedicated faculties of the New Church schools which have worked toward the ends which we as parents promised at your baptismal services.
     My thoughts run back quickly over the years to 1942, when our class graduated from the Academy high school. There is a tendency among high school and college students with whom I work to assume that nothing which occurred over ten years ago is "relevant." Since I have been assured by the faculty that you students do not subscribe to the concept of only the immediate present being relevant, we will in the next few minutes explore some relevant, and perhaps some irrelevant ideas, which will range over many centuries.
     The world of June 1942 was in many respects a more simple one than that which you enter. Our nation was engaged in World War II. The carnage of Pearl Harbor was only a few months past. The nation throbbed with the thrill and horror of war. There was a singleness of purpose which brought the country together and molded and filled our minds with the vision of total victory over the totalitarian forces which threatened our existence. Good and evil stood out clearly in the world. The united nations represented the cause of righteousness pitted against the treachery and villainy of the enemy. The world was as clear to us as a John Wayne movie. We were young men and women anxious to serve and too eager, perhaps, to die. We did not have the anxious problem of career or college. Rather our concern was how we could enter the military service and into what branch we might be accepted. Two leaders of our class of 1942, Leslie Evens and Justin Davis, gave their natural lives to the cause of united nations victory.
     Today we are mired in the Indo-China war in which good and evil, cowardice and courage, falsity and truth, are combined in kaleidoscopic manner. You may be called to serve in a war for which you can find no justification; to join in a war for which the most dedicated pacifist offers no acceptable solution; to join a war which the most dedicated Chauvinist finds difficulty in defending. The Indo-China war perhaps symbolizes the confusion of America in 1971.

     We live in an age of philosophic splintering in which strident voices trumpet solutions and truth. We live in an era characterized by dichotomy rather than by unity. Perhaps the hackneyed word "gap" best describes our society, and of gaps there are many.

515


The credibility gap, the technology gap, the communication gap, the generation gap, the responsibility gap, the missile gap, the education gap, are a few which come to mind.
     Yet, if there are gaps, if there are dichotomies between the American dream and daily operations of American society, is strength or weakness indicated? Is a society united by a common goal of victory in a world war, such as our graduating class of 1942 entered, a stronger society than the one which you join in 1971? Surely a long and imposing list of social ills can be readily drawn which would confidently predict the fall of Western civilization. But an equally long list can be drawn up which would demonstrate that for the first time in human history man is close to resolving the basic problems of society.
     The world you enter insists on evaluating every facet of society. Our nation is deeply involved in an analysis of values in which traditional beliefs held by religion, home, economic systems and legal systems are under scrutiny. It is difficult to think of any aspect of society which is not being evaluated, with suggestions for reconstructing it. Yet within the analysis and the resulting threats to existing political, social and economic systems, is the powerful theme that there is a better way of organizing human activities. Implicit in the questioning of social organization is the concept that there is an order, a method of organizing human society which will resolve the basic conflicts and make a better life.
     The call to improve the lot of mankind and reorganize human activities is not new. Throughout all of history, societies have attempted to find a life in which man functions in harmony with God and with the physical environment and his fellow man. Man's concept of God gives form and structure to the society. The influx that there is a God and that He is one has been expressed by man, and a belief in God has formed society through all eras of history.

     We cannot, in the brief compass of this speech, document and establish generalizations on all the religions which have guided large and small segments of human society. Perhaps, however, there is a use in suggesting some of the major themes which have guided man in his search for identity and the meaning of existence on earth.
     Since man's destruction of the ties which had bound him to God in the Most Ancient and the Ancient churches, there have emerged many attempts to reunite man with God and to understand His Providence.
     Hinduism grew slowly. By around 1000 B. C., ritual and a body of sacred literature had developed. Hinduism recognized an all-powerful force, Brahma, represented in many gods.

516


The force of Brahma existed in all created things. By rejecting the world man eventually, after a cycle of rebirths, would gain perfection and union with God. Ritual and ceremonies performed by priests were essential to preserving order. The off-shoots of Hinduism have been many. A principal one was Buddhism. Buddha taught that human suffering was caused by the pursuit of worldly things. To avoid earthly suffering one should renounce the quest for wealth, power and eminence, and follow the eightfold path, which taught truthfulness, gentleness and kindness. Buddhism, like most religions, split into two factions: those who held that the ideal life was one of reflection and meditation to preface eventual union with God; and those who held that life on earth should be reformed rather than looking to an ethereal Nirvana.
     In China, Confucianism and Taoism are examples of the type of split which affected Buddhism. Confucius was perhaps the first pragmatist in insisting that the test of an idea was to see how it worked. If it brought pleasure to society it was good, if it resulted in pain it should be discarded. Taoism developed a mystical, ceremonial ritualism to meet the needs of man. Man often nods in agreement at the rational approach to religion, but yearns for the emotional and ceremonial. The Chinese were fortunate in that they could participate in the order and logic of Confucianism, or when bored could turn to the more emotional Taoism or Buddhism.
     Christianity in its infancy had great appeal in the beautiful and powerful message of salvation and the relationship between men. The Sermon on the Mount, perhaps, best expresses the universal appeal of the early church. After a brief morning, heresy riddled the Christian Church, obscured and then eroded the teachings. The spiritual life of the church was destroyed at the Council of Nicea in 325 A. D. However, the spiritually dead Christian Church gave few indications of temporal demise. The doctrine of the Catholic Church, which held sway in the Western world, spoke of a triplicate God, the doctrine of good works, and the ideal life as being a withdrawal from the world. Monasticism and asceticism taught that the world should be rejected. The good life, the ideal existence, was one of contemplation and good works.
     The Protestant Reformation shattered the religious unity of Europe. Guided by the concept of faith alone, the emerging sects battled Catholicism on many fronts. The ideal of monasticism and the contemplative life was met by the Protestant demand for a life based upon participation in society. The Protestant ethic of participation in the world blended easily with the emerging capitalism, and the philosophic union of Protestantism and the capitalistic ethic produced a new guide for man. God's approval of man could now, to some degree, be measured by material achievement.

517


Somehow the market place could be the final manifestation of God's Providence.

     The role of the New Church is to bring order to a world torn by centuries of conflicting ideologies. The solutions to the world's problems are not to be found in the many forms of legal and illegal drugs; nor are solutions reached in patriotic or revolutionary slogans; nor in the Oriental concept that in a mystic recycling of life perfection is regained.
     The commission of the New Church man is to be in the world, but not of the world. The commission of the New Church man is to help restructure the world in a Divine plan which is not governed by the caprice of the market nor by temporal expediency. The pleas, the demands, which confront our society require solutions based, not upon a cleaving to past mistakes, but to the new revelation which presents new solutions to man's ancient problems. Man should live in the world with all the challenges, honors, joy and sadness it presents. We cannot remove ourselves from the world, but we can attempt not to become of the world. The renunciation of the world, the Writings tell us, is "to love God and the neighbor. And God is loved when man lives according to His commandments, and the neighbor is loved when man performs uses."*
     * HD 126.
      To renounce the world means to renounce the love of the world. As parents and friends we hope that you graduating students will not only join with us, but will lead us in the search for ways of implementing the truths of the New Church, which is the crown of the ages. The call of the prophet Micah has meaning for all time: "He hath showed thee, o man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?"
LAWS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE 1971

LAWS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE              1971

     "9. God does not, without the use of means, teach man truths, either from Himself or by angels, but He teaches by means of the Word; by means of preaching, reading and conversation and intercourse with others, and thus from thought with himself about those things; and man is then enlightened according to his affection for truth grounded in use; otherwise he would not act as if from himself." (Apocalypse Explained 1136)

518


PREPARATION FOR THANKSGIVING 1971

PREPARATION FOR THANKSGIVING              1971


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

Editor . . . . Rev. W. Cairns Henderson, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business     Manager . . . . Mr. L. E. Gyllenhaal, 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. Notifications of address changes should be received by the 15th of the month.

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$5.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy, 50 cents.
     It might not immediately occur to us that there should be preparation for Thanksgiving, or that it should take the form of self-examination. Yet, when we consider what it is essentially - thanksgiving to the Lord for His Divine benefits - we may see that it is so. The Writings say three things about thanksgiving: that it should not proceed from man himself; that it comes from the heart out of good; and that man gives thanks from Divine truth and by it. What proceeds from man himself is, of course, evil. Only Divine truth can teach him what are the benefits the Lord confers and how they are to be acknowledged; and only from good in the heart can he feel gratitude for them. The paradox of thanksgiving is that while the Lord does not need yet demands it, it can be offered only by what is from the Lord with man.
     These teachings show that there is a place for self-examination in preparation for Thanksgiving, and in their light we may ask ourselves certain questions. Will we be moved to give thanks, or withhold it, by external and worldly things only? Will we feel self-gratification rather than gratitude? Will we experience any desire to share the benefits we have received? According as we answer these questions we may see whether our thanksgiving is inspired by what we have received from the Lord or whether it proceeds from ourselves. Spirits, we are told, cannot give thanks unless the Lord permits it. If it comes from ourselves, we would not even be allowed to give thanks in the spiritual world; and while the expression is not forbidden here, we may not hope that it will be received by the Lord. We may thank Him only from what is His with us.

519




     DEDICATION IN DURBAN

     The dedication of the Durban Society's complex of buildings reported in this issue is not the only significant event that has occurred recently in that center of the General Church. It was only a year or so ago that the Durban Society resolved to expand its day school from three to seven grades - a complete elementary school under the South African system. The new spirit manifested in reaching and implementing that decision has now ultimated itself not only in a new church of beauty and dignity, classrooms and other facilities, but in the beginnings of a community - homes surrounding the buildings in which worship and instruction and social life will take place, to constitute with them an integrated form of use.
     For the Durban Society this dedication was the happy culmination of seven years of discussion, search, planning and unremitting work which involved the entire Society and held their measure of frustration, calling for patience, courage and trust in the Divine Providence. One can sense in the report all the elements that blend in all true thanksgiving: gratitude to the Lord; gratitude also for the generosity, dedication and devotion of those who made the culmination possible; a quiet, happy pride in what has been achieved combined with something of wonderment.

      As our friends in South Africa have doubtless discovered by now, the excitement and the thrilling happiness of the dedication weekend could not be sustained indefinitely. Indeed, it is better that they should not be! In the order of life, ends once achieved become new beginnings, and in the acceptance of this lies preservation from any feeling of let-down. The challenge in Glencairn Park is to build a stronger society of the New Church, one that will promote the further growth of the Lord's New Church through the uses done there; and this not only in church and school but also in the homes of the community - those homes of which it may be said that if the church is not in them, it is not anywhere. Mention is made in the report of the extreme isolation of Durban from the centers of the General Church in England, the United States and Canada. Geographically that isolation is a fact of life. Yet there is a very true sense in which it may be said that Durban was the center of the Church during the dedication weekend; for the affections and active thoughts of all in the Church who knew what was going on there were with those actually taking part in the events. Now that the dedication itself is history they will not be withdrawn. The entire Church congratulates the Durban Society, shares in its gratitude and joy, and enters into its hopes for the future with quiet confidence in their realization.

520




     SELF-COMPULSION

     All students of the Writings know that nothing good ever comes of being compelled. There is no freedom in it, and what is not from freedom does not become man's own. But self-compulsion is an entirely different matter. It is from a certain interior freedom which is not perceived at the time, and in that freedom there is heavenly love. Therefore, the Writings give us, as one of the laws of Divine Providence, that man should bring and even compel himself to think and will, and thus believe and love, the things of religion; that is, compel himself to do what is good, to obey what the Lord has commanded, and to speak what is true.
     However, it is vital to note the direction in which self-compulsion is to be exercised. Man should compel himself from evil, the teaching is, not to good; for it is possible to compel oneself from evil, but not to good that is really good. If man compels himself to good without having compelled himself against evil, he does not do good from the Lord but from himself, doing it for the sake of self or the world, reward or fear. Here is an important teaching. Our efforts should not be directly toward regenerate states - states of genuine worship, charity and conjugial love - but against the evils that oppose them; for as these are put off by resistance, those states will be given by the Lord in their stead.
     When man compels himself from evils he purifies his internal mind, and when this is purified he does good from freedom and does not compel himself. This is heavenly freedom, which he enters through self-compulsion against evil. If appears, the Writings say, as if compelling oneself against evil and to good cohere, but they do not. Many have compelled themselves to good, but not against evil, but when they were examined in the other life it was found that evils inhered in their goods from within. Before the world man may compel himself to good without compelling himself against evil, for there he is rewarded for so doing; but in the other life he cannot do so.

     The heavenly proprium is formed, we are taught, in the conatus of man's thought, and if he does not obtain it by compelling himself he can never do so by not compelling himself. Yet there are those who do not compel themselves and those who cannot. The former are those who, because they had heard that all good is from the Lord, had held it as a principle that they would not compel themselves, but await an immediate influx into the conatus of their will; the latter are those who despise all good and truth and believe nothing that is repugnant to their cupidities and reasonings. But they who do compel themselves against evil cannot be led by evil spirits in the other life, but are among the blessed.

521




     THE TRULY LIBERATED WOMAN

     Much is being written and said today about the liberation of women. While the crusaders for liberation have certain goals with which reasonable people would agree, it seems that, despite the evangelical ferment of the movement, some of the bonds from which they demand to be freed are of their own making or imagining. Regarding themselves as having been used by men, they appear to think of marriage, motherhood and homemaking as forms of servitude, as limitations unfairly imposed which somehow prevent them from realizing their full potential as human beings.
     In this we see at best complete confusion, at worst a rebellion against and repudiation of what is truly feminine. The only thing that can really liberate from it is the revealed truth of the Word: the new attitudes formed when that truth is known, understood, loved and obeyed.

     According to the Writings, the genius of women differs from that of men from their very birth. Like man, woman has both understanding and will; but the will predominates in her, and a human being is according to that which predominates; therefore she is born to be voluntary - to think from the will and to act from affection - and this is connate in her. It is her nature, even to the very fibers of her being.
     Woman, then, is such and is so formed that will or cupidity reigns in her more than understanding. She is born to act from affection; ideally the affection of good and truth, for spiritually woman is born to be the love of man's wisdom from the Lord, because she was formed through that wisdom. But in a consummated age, when men are certainly not seeking wisdom from the Lord, there is often a rebellion of women who no longer perceive anything spiritual in the ideas of men: and because these women belong to the same age, the affection that leads them tends to be the affection of evil and falsity stemming from cupidities, which produces a distorted system of values. Women feel a deep contempt for men, and seeing their own role as one of subservience, clamor for freedom from the bonds which they feel have been so unfairly fastened upon them.
     We are taught in the Writings that the sexes are complementary and interdependent, that male and female together make one man (homo) in the sight of the Lord. That is the basic truth on the matter, and neither man nor woman can go against it without doing harm to themselves. The truly liberated woman will be the one who can find her identity and destiny in the teaching of the Writings about the nature and use of woman, who can learn to cherish the God-given abilities that make her a woman, and to love the uses through which they are developed: and, so doing, find her relation to the Lord and to men.

522


EVANGELIZATION 1971

EVANGELIZATION       Various       1971

Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:

     I have read with considerable interest the article on Evangelization by Sanfrid Odhner on page 320 of the July issue of NEW CHURCH LIFE.
     Mr. Odhner's approach to this all-important phase of what might be called - in a certain sense - New Church education, is both refreshing and stimulating. His constructive criticism of past efforts, together with his suggestions for future plans of operation, I feel will be useful for anyone interested in New Church evangelization.
     His closing paragraph is particularly useful. He says: " . . . external missionary work, now an imperative of the church, deserves and demands the same careful consideration and development of strategy and philosophy on our part that the use of education received from our founding fathers." I hope that others may be inspired to comment on Mr. Odhner's paper.
     HAROLD P. MCQUEEN
Huntingdon Valley
Pennsylvania

Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:

     I was much interested in Mr. Sanfrid Odhner's article on Evangelization in the July issue of NEW CHURCH LIFE and hope it will not lie dormant but will lead to some further developments. His suggestions could give some real motivation to our young people of college age, a real purpose for learning and living, a real way to help people in the world.
     The writing ability and style exhibited by Mr. Odhner in this article indicate that he would be a good one to work on the materials he advocates.
     MORNA HYATT
Bryn Athyn
Pennsylvania
VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN 1971

VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN       Editor       1971

     Visitors to Bryn Athyn on any occasion who needs assistance in finding accommodation please communicate with the Guest Committee, c/o Mrs. Leo Synnestvedt, 611 Waverly Lane, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009. Phone: (215) WI 7-3725.

523


LOCAL SCHOOLS DIRECTORY 1971 - 1972 1971

LOCAL SCHOOLS DIRECTORY 1971 - 1972       Editor       1971

     Local schools report the following teaching staffs for 1971-1972:

BRYN ATHYN:     

     Rev. Robert S. Junge          Acting Principal
     Mr. Carl Gunther               Assistant to the Principal
     Miss Eleanor Cranch               Kindergarten, Section I
     Mrs. Ottar Larsen               Kindergarten, Section II
     Mrs. Edward Cranch               Grade 1, Section I
     Mrs. Thomas Redmile               Grade 1, Section II
     Mrs. Grant Doering               Grade 2, Section I
     Miss Rudaina Abed               Grade 2, Section II
     Mrs. Sandra Penner               Grade 3, Section I
     Miss Carol Smith               Grade 3, Section II
     Mrs. Robert Johns               Grade 4, Section I
     Miss Rosemary Wyncoll          Grade 4, Section II
     Mrs. Barbara Synnestvedt          Grade 5, Section I
     Miss Heather Nelson               Grade 5, Section II
     Mrs. Stanley Rose               Grade 6, Section I
     Mr. Larry Posey               Grade 6, Section II
     Miss Kathryn Wille               Grade 7, Girls
     Mr. Leigh Latta               Grade 7, Boys
     Mrs. Dan Echols               Grade 8, Girls
     Mr. Yorvar Synnestvedt          Grade 8, Boys

COLCHESTER:     

     Rev. Bjorn A. H. Boyesen          Headmaster
     Miss Hilda Waters               No Report

DURBAN:     

     Rev. Peter M. Buss               Headmaster
     Miss Ruona Hendricks          Grades 1-3
     Miss Belinda Wilkinson          Grades 4-7

GLENVIEW:     

     Rev. Louis B. King               Headmaster
     Rev. Alfred Acton II          Assistant Headmaster
     Miss Judith Nash               Kindergarten
     Miss Kathy Coffin               Grade 1
     Mrs. Samuel Mayo               Grade 2
     Mrs. Donald Alan               Grade 2
     Mrs. Kenneth Holmes               Grade 3
     Mrs. Ben McQueen               Grade 4
     Mrs. Ralph Synnestvedt, Jr.     Grade 5
     Mr. Richard O. Acton          Grade 6
     Miss Gertrude Hasen               Head Teacher, Grades 7 and 8
     Mr. Gordon McClarren          High School and Elementary
     Mr. Dan Woodard               High School and Elementary
     Mrs. William Hugo               Librarian

524




KITCHENER:     

     Rev. Frank S. Rose               Principal
     Mrs. John H. Hotson               Kindergarten
     Miss Jennifer Scott               Grades 1-3
     Miss Joan Kuhl                    Grades 4-6
     Mr. Michael Glenn               Grades 7 & 8

PITTSBURCH:

     Rev. Kurt H. Asplundh          Principal
     Mrs. Robert Kendig               Kindergarten, Grades 1, 2
     Mrs. Robert Omlor               Grades 3-6
     Mrs. John Schoenberger          Assistant, Grades 5-9
     Mr. Dirk van Zyverden          Grades 7-9

TORONTO:     

     Rev. Harold C. Cranch          Principal
     Miss Sylvia Parker               Grades 1-3
     Mrs. Norman Hiebert               Grades 5 and 6
     Mrs. Leigh R. Bellinger          Grades 7-8


WASHINGTON:     

     Rev. Frederick L. Schnarr     Principal
     Mrs. Patrick Mayer               Grades 1-3, 5

     Part-time teachers are not included. The teaching staff of the Academy of the New Church is listed in the Catalog Number of The Academy Journal, pp. 3-5.
FIFTY-FIFTH BRITISH ASSEMBLY 1971

FIFTY-FIFTH BRITISH ASSEMBLY              1971

     (Continued from page 489)

Roy Griffith reported on the action taken on the Resolution passed at the previous Assembly, requesting the British Finance Committee to go forward with the incorporation of a body to deal with the business affairs of the Church in Britain. There had been delays because of the number of departments of government concerned with a company of this character, and the inevitable argument between the lawyers concerned.
     Mr. Griffith explained that this corporate body would have no concern with the ecclesiastical uses of the Church. It was in effect be a substitute for the British Finance Committee, with much wider power to manage and do business on behalf of the Church. It would cater for much wider activities in the future. The formalities were well advanced and a Certificate of Incorporation would not be delayed much longer.
     The following appointments to the British Finance Committee were ratified: Mr. Kenneth Pryke, Mr. Norman Turner, Mr. Herbert Ward and Mr. Philip Waters. Auditors elected were Mr. David Appleton and Mr. Thomas Hugill.
     The Rev. Bjorn Boyesen reported on pastoral visits to different areas, and Mrs. Boyesen spoke of the growing tape recording system which serves these areas and includes between 45 and 55 regular receivers.

     (Concluded on page 531)

525


Church News 1971

Church News       Various       1971

     CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

     Sharon Church in Chicago is one of the churches in the General Church with society status. Founded before 1900, and now the center of the midwestern pastoral district, it continues to grow and prosper, as this present year dearly indicates.
     First, let me say a word about the district. Our pastor, the Rev. Robert H. P. Cole, is active in ministering to groups in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Madison, Wisconsin, Wilmington and Rockford, Illinois, and in St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota. As these groups grow and prosper, Sharon Church is strengthened, and the same groups by their relationship to it.
Some brief history of Sharon Church is interesting to note as it shapes its present development. The building was bought in the year 1923, and was even then known as "Sharon Church." Its record attendance was 90 persons. The name Immanuel Church was retained by the Glenview Society when it was formed in the country. The attendance at Sharon Church is smaller now because when the Academy school was built in Glenview, Illinois, a very large percentage of the older membership relocated there. Thus Glenview became a church community. Activities at Sharon Church this year were numerous and especially rewarding. A monthly supper and doctrinal class were held the third Wednesday in every month except July and August. Each month a different person provided the wonderful dinner, which was topped off by a wonderful feast of spiritual food from the Writings. Two of these suppers included: one, a baby shower for Donald and Jeanne Dimon, celebrating the future birth of their son, Donald Walter Dimon, our newest Sharon Church baby; and, two, the fortieth wedding anniversary of Charles and Ethel Rae Lindrooth, who were presented with a beautiful silver bowl on which their names were engraved. Later, on a Sunday, another couple, the Kitzelmans, were honored also for their fortieth anniversary. No golden anniversaries yet, just two fortieth ones!
     Speaking of celebrations, we must mention the four wonderful displays at Sharon Church observing Christmas, Easter, New Church Day, and now Thanksgiving. Very attractive figurines illustrating these various occasions show what can be done with distinctive New Church religious art. Thanksgiving fits right in with the church when one reflects that the American Indians descended from those who were part of the Ancient Church, and that church had a harvest feast and a ritual of thanksgiving.
     In addition to the monthly supper and class, an informal class was held about every other Thursday in various homes. These highly stimulating classes covered most of the Gospel story from the Arcana.
     Several times within the last year the Coles shared their wonderful cabin in Wisconsin with the membership. In this most beautiful and relaxing atmosphere each person gave a short talk on a character or characters from the Writings. These talks were followed by an informal discussion and lesson on the truths presented.
     Sharon Church holds Sunday school for all its children and has included a number of neighborhood children. There is also a children's talk given by Mr. Cole; so children and adults have had opportunity to participate in everything. This is as it should be, since New Church education is the first use of charity.
     In July the last service was combined with a wonderful picnic held in Wilmington, Illinois. Forty-four persons with all ages combined to make it a truly great affair.

526


It was truly both a spiritual and a natural feast, and it served to unite the hearts and minds of all present. Truly a great year for Sharon Church and a hopeful promise of still greater things to come.
     MICHAEL NASH

     GLENVIEW, ILLINOIS

     When the Christmas season, with which our last report ended, came to a close and students and visitors alike had left, we returned to what is now our main interest - the plan for redevelopment in the Park. This has two parts, the first being the paving of the large parking lot near the church and school buildings. The Village of Glenview, which in the past has been lenient again and again, has given us a deadline, October. The vote to drain and pave this area at last was unanimous, and an energetic committee has solicited pledges in support of our part in this work. The main plan includes the provision of multiple housing for two types of members: young couples just starting out and unready to build their own homes, and elderly, retired folks.
     In the realm of personalities we feel the loss of several of our staunchest members whose work has called them to Bryn Athyn or whose "branches are in Bryn Athyn" although their roots are here. However, the flux of visitors from there to us seems to alleviate that loss a little. Bryn Athyn has supplied speakers as well. Dr. James Pendleton's subject was "Psychiatry in the New Church," and our own Ronald Nelson spoke on the Academy's sports program and its aims. Three teachers from different departments in the Academy visited our schools in March. The main purpose of their visit was to bring about a closer co-ordination between their schools and ours. They said on leaving that they had learned as well as taught.
     We have also had our local speakers, such as one of our teachers, Mrs. Lowrey, who, with her husband's help, showed slides of and told us about their trip through Norway, Russia and Germany. A speaker of our own, Kenneth Holmes, reviewed the period between 1619 A. D. and the Civil War, tracing in so doing the history of Afro-Americans in the widely differing sections of the country.
     In late May thirty of our men attended a retreat in Linden Hills, Michigan. These weekends with and among our young men, under the eye of a minister, fill a real use, a felt need, and seem to be growing in popularity.
     While the Rev. Alfred Acton was in England, teaching in the British Academy Summer School and attending the Translators School, the Actons lent their home to Candidate Ragnar Boyesen and his wife and family. They seemed to enjoy our Glenview Society as much as they themselves were enjoyed. May the future bring them back to us again sometime!
     As the Immanuel Church School, both grade and high school, is our single most important use after that of church services, a report on it seems in order. A welcome addition to our knowledge of the school has been provided by the hanging of the art work on the walls of Pendleton Hall in time for viewing by those attending Friday supper and class. We are often spellbound by the truly beautiful effects achieved by the children. It is not often that we have the pleasure of seeing the results in the Science Department, but the Science Fair demonstrates, by its complicated and intricate experiments, that in teaching natural truth our school is highly successful.
     School trips are part of all this, starting as they do in the second grade. Some points of interest in Chicagoland visited are the Planetarium, the Field Museum, the Museum of Science and Industry, and even a Salerno Bakery. The upper classes go farther afield - to Springfield, our State Capitol, and the Kings' farm. An invitation to the Bryn Athyn Boys Club camp will perhaps have more takers another year. The sixth grade girls ran an outdoor carnival to raise funds for fixing up the tennis courts. The two girls' volleyball teams covered themselves with glory, ending at the top of their respective leagues. The boys, considering the much larger schools they met, did extremely well also.
     One use, of course, is the missionary one. Our pastor has appointed Martin Klein as head of the Epsilon Society.

527


This bodes well for our becoming active once more in this field.
     Mrs. Ronald Holmes was baptized at the same time as her husband was confirmed. There is always a special joy when spouses come into the church together. May there be a blessing!
     Easter was ushered in as usual with a special Palm Sunday service. There was a service on Good Friday evening for the administration of the Holy Supper, with the children's flower offering on Easter Sunday itself.
     The Glenview Society has adopted in recent years the custom of putting out a Nineteenth of June greeting card, signed by all the members at hand who wish to express to each other, and to absent friends, their joy in the Lord's second coming. As the Nineteenth of June is the high point of the church year, it seems fitting to end this report with some mention of that celebration. However, the birthday of our nation must not be passed over. Our community Fourth of July Parade was enlivened by the newly formed Park Historical Society, which featured some early Park Settlers, whose parts were taken by their descendants of the third generation or their great-grandchildren. Chuckles galore evidenced the crowd's appreciation. And so on to the Nineteenth.
     The celebration began with a service in the church. Then the congregation moved outside to see the pageant; which, though always wonderful, was more impressive than ever. This year the four horsemen of the Apocalypse were represented by dancers in white, red, black, and soft pale grey. How the dancers achieved the atmosphere of horses was elusive but definite - most effective. Many an eye was moist, the sphere was so strong.
     THE PARK LANE TRIO

     [EDITORIAL NOTE: The Park Lane Trio consists of Agatha Starkey Fuller, Susan Scalbom Holm and Mary Scalbom Nicholson.]

     KITCHENER, ONTARIO

     The Kitchener Society - the majority of whose members now reside on the beautiful rolling slopes of the rural New Church community of Caryndale - has enjoyed another useful year of growth and development led by its cheerful, ever busy, tireless pastor. Besides his many Sunday sermons from which the application of doctrine to one's daily life shines forth so clearly that one cannot help but examine his actions and thoughts in the light of New Church teaching, Mr. Rose conducts regular, well attended Friday doctrinal classes, weekly young people's classes, Arcana Coelestia classes for men, introductory classes for newcomers, occasional conjugial love classes for married couples, and an address to the monthly Women's Guild meeting. He is also the headmaster and teaches many courses in our day school, and organizes two Sunday school classes each Sunday.
     This past year he gave two series of short talks broadcasted from the local radio station; helped prepare for and run the first Canadian National Assembly of the General Church; organized and ran the very successful Maple Leaf Academy held for high school age New Church young people at Caribou Lodge in the Muskoka district, June 20-30; and took the leading organizing part in the Laurel Leaf Academy for college age and up held at Laurel Hill Park, August 29-September 6, near Pittsburgh. He also visited the sick and aged, and of course conducted many services and events in connection with each festival event.
     We pause to pay special tribute to one of these events - the beautiful Christmas tableaux he helped to direct. Subdued lighting and the yellow glow of candles set a sphere of worship as we entered the assembly hall which was tastefully decorated with Christmas greens. Before each scene a prophet who appeared at the side of the stage on an elevation that might have been a housetop or a city wall read a prophecy from a scroll, dramatizing most effectively the great power there is in the letter of the Word. As each tableau appeared the characters moved in a perfectly natural way and the music throughout was powerful and unifying. From the first appearance of the shining angel to the adoration of the infant Lord by the Wise Men the Christmas story was depicted with a great depth of feeling and beauty.

528



     Our elementary school opened in September (1970) with not only an enlarged enrollment of 44 pupils but a staff increased by one more full-time teacher. Mr. Michael Glenn, our welcome new third teacher, taught 7th and 8th grades. "Miss Joan" Kuhl, who has had many years experience in New Church education and a number of years on our staff, taught grades 4, 5, and 6. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd grades began the year under the gentle guidance of "Miss Laura" Gladish, but at the end of November they sadly said goodbye to her when she left to be married to the Rev. Gudmund Boolsen and to start a new life with him in Denmark. At a delightful Christmas party the Society showered them with gifts and our very best wishes. Laura will long be remembered here, for she spent six and a half years in our Society teaching the lower grades in our school. In January the staff and pupils happily welcomed their very capable new teacher, "Miss Jennifer" Scott. Mrs. Hargrove Hotson was our busy volunteer kindergarten teacher. This September, we are happy to report, our school opened with the same teaching staff, but an enrollment increased to 46.
     In spring the 9th and 10th grade students were treated to a trip to Bryn Athyn to visit the secondary schools. Nine of our local young people were attending the Academy last year, and eight of our young men and women are there this year.
     Perhaps the most outstanding special event of the past season was the first Canadian National Assembly, held in Caryndale, Friday, May 7, through Sunday, May 9. Bishop Pendleton presided at all the meetings and the main order of the day - incorporation of the General Church in Canada - was accomplished with unanimous approval. It was this business that gave the Assembly a different flavor from that of a regular District Assembly. One had the feeling that it would become a very historic occasion in the annals of church history. The importance of the event brought visitors not only from Toronto and the U. S. A., but from Montreal, Muskoka, Dawson Creek and Fort St. John - each of whom added to the aura that surrounded the meetings, services and gatherings. Beautiful spring weather smiled on Caryndale that weekend and a most delightful sphere pervaded every gathering.
     Welcoming visitors in our midst always gives us great pleasure and many visitors came and went during the year. In the fall a flock of young people from Toronto and Detroit attended weekend doings organized for their age group. The treasurers from many societies gathered here in the late fall for meetings and we enjoyed visiting with them and their wives. The Rev. Lorentz Soneson was the honored speaker at our Swedenborg's birthday banquet. Then in February the Rev. David Simons and Mrs. Jane Beebe spent a few days with us, talking to teachers and parents and children, and giving many of us a vision of new avenues in the field of education. March brought Professor Bruce Glenn with his charming wife Vera to address our Sons Ladies Night banquet, which proved an outstanding occasion. June brought another host of welcome young people through Caryndale on their way to and from the Maple Leaf Academy. In the summer we enjoyed the services of Candidate Arne Bau-Madsen who spent three weeks here with his sweet wife and infant son. Many other visitors came and went. In summer, every time one walks the streets of Caryndale, one is almost certain to meet some smiling guest from another center, either in town to visit relatives or friends or just inspecting our church and community as they pass through to some vacation spot.
     Four families have moved into our area this year and have helped to swell our numbers. The Denis Kuhl family came from Bryn Athyn in the fall, the Maurice Schnarr family came from Windsor and moved into their new home in Caryndale in January, the Peter Lermitte family arrived from Toronto in the early summer and moved back into their old house, and the George Kuhl family from Glenview arrived in midsummer. We are happy to have them all here with us. But saying goodbye to the Bob Heinrichs family when they left for Bryn Athyn where Bob will join the Academy staff this fall, was difficult for us all.

529


We all have a deep affection for them and will miss their smiling faces at our gatherings. Bob and Karin have filled many offices in our Society. We wish them both well in their new work.
     It has been a year of wedding showers, for a number of our local sons have been married this past year: Richard Hill to Wynne Pitcairn, Keith Niall to Paula Roschman, Henry Heinrichs to Pat Bruckerl, Warren Stewart to Judy Genzlinger, and Richard Brueckman to Lynnette Peters. To each couple we extend our very best. We only wish they could all live here, but further study and chosen occupations call all but two couples elsewhere.
     A number of babies were baptized and one of our members, Mr. Gerald Schnarr, passed into the spiritual world in his 71st year. We miss his smiling presence and seeing him busily occupied on the lawns around his new home where he worked with so much delight in his one year of retirement before his passing. We rejoice that he is now able to lead an active, useful life in the spiritual world with youthful vigor once again.
     A news letter about our Society would not be complete without a word about the growth of our young community. We now boast 34 homes and 155 residents. Due to a very generous gift from the Glencairn Foundation our property holdings now include four adjoining farms in addition to the original farmland tract on which our church and community development are located. Those who purchased this land share with us the vision that some day a flourishing New Church Academy of Canada will he nestled somewhere on the rolling fields or woodlots of the farmlands, with many more streets and homes clustered about.
     The church has spent much time and effort in the past to provide education for its young people, for it is with the young that the future growth of the church rests. But our church societies could not thrive without the experience, wisdom, affection and understanding of their senior members. So I am happy to report that Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Knight of Toronto have thoughtfully arranged a bequest for the construction of a home in Caryndale to accommodate elderly New Church people. A committee of Toronto and Kitchener men has been appointed to arrange for the construction of the initial building consisting of a number of apartments or units with provision for expansion as need arises.
     With the growth of our school and community the need was seen for a better sports area to keep our children and young people occupied, so a paved play area and a sports pad, surrounded by a track, with a bowling green nearby, have been added to our church and school facilities. Tennis, badminton, volleyball, lawn bowling, plus many track and field games and activities for gym classes, can now he enjoyed in the warm weather, and a bigger and better ice rink can be more easily flooded for winter sport. These added facilities have been greatly enjoyed and used by both the school and the community.
     This past winter saw the beginnings of a Saturday Club for elementary school boys, and in the spring and summer a number of camping weekends were arranged for them. The girls also were treated to a weekend outing, at Lake Conestoga, by the local Theta Alpha chapter. The very young enjoyed attending a happy pre-kindergarten, held two mornings a week from February to May.
     Besides the festival celebrations the past year was enlivened by a number of interesting activities. First, in the fall, came the Women's Guild annual rummage sale, where little children have a "ball." At the end of November we enjoyed a charming family Christmas party at which we were treated to a feast of childhood fantasy in song, dance, poetry and fun. In December a family skating party was enjoyed at Waelchli Pond, with a Christmas sing and hot drinks served around a huge bonfire. In February came the Theta Alpha Annual Family Fun Night, with supper, games, tournaments, pictures and movies for all ages. This was followed shortly by our second annual Winterfest, a day packed full of winter sports and competitions, with lunch served outside (if an icy gale is not blowing) around a winter bonfire to warm the fingers and toes.

530


It includes skating, hockey games, tobogganing, skiing, snowmobile rides, and a snow sculpture competition. Canada's birthday was celebrated in our traditional manner with a large family picnic on the church grounds. Beginning with a flag raising and the judging of costumes or floats in the parade, through the races, games and peanut scramble, it was a fun-packed day for all. This year it was topped off in the evening by a family square dance under the stars on our new sports pad which was so successful that it was repeated later in the summer.
     The summer closed with the Sons' sponsored family picnic and corn roast at Lake Conestoga, with swimming, eats, drinks, and visiting for all ages. If you are looking for a place where you can work hard to help in the growth of the New Church, while giving your children the opportunity for a New Church education and many hours of recreation spent with other New Church families, try Caryndale!
     RITA K. BRUECKMAN

     CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

     This group of New Church people is of fairly recent formation. So it was suggested that a short account of how we came together and what our progress has been might be of some interest.
     My husband and I arrived in the Cape as immigrants from Britain. We had been given one or two sketchy contacts with New Church people by our great and revered friend, George de Moubray, lay minister of the Society in Jersey, Channel Islands. Once we were reasonably settled we set about finding these people by looking them up or advertising in the press. One Sunday afternoon in June last year we held our first meeting. Since then we have become fourteen, and we hold regular worship and doctrinal discussions in our homes. We have twice been visited by the Rev. Peter M. Buss of the Durban Society, and history was made in October last year when the Holy Supper was administered for the first time in Cape Town.
     From the funds raised from our fortnightly offertories and private efforts like selling home-made candies, knitted garments and pot plants, we manage to cover part of the visiting minister's traveling expenses. This year we held a Harvest Supper, the funds in kind raised being sent to an African welfare mission, and in November we hope to hold a public sale where we might also make contact with interested people. Last Christmas we also held a thanksgiving dinner at a local hotel, and as this was such a success we are planning to do the same again this year.
     Our members come from very varied backgrounds: Mauritius, the Transvaal and Great Britain. Some come of New Church families; others found the New Church later.
     SANDRA MERSON-DAVIES

     MIAMI, FLORIDA

     This report covers the events of quite a few years. Time seems to go much faster in Florida, perhaps because changes of season are so unnoticeable.
     The services in our home-like church reflect the sincere reverence of our regular worshipers, as well as the simple depth in the preaching of the Rev. Roy Franson. It is noteworthy that our pastor's talk to the children is always of help to the adults in absorbing the teachings he presents in the sermon.
     We have been fortunate in that several families from the Convention, led by their strong loyalty to the truths of the Writings, come regularly to worship in our church.
     Because our pastor makes four trips a year to isolated New Church people we have developed a group of lay readers. In this way the church doors are never closed. It is a pleasure to welcome the enthusiasm of a new lay reader accepting his responsibility.
     During the winter season we welcome many old friends. We like to believe that the opportunity to attend a tropical church is a big factor in their decision to come down south when the snow is deep.

531



     The Women's Guild is now in its fourth year and has many rewarding uses. Refreshments are served after church when visitors are present, which makes for a congenial gathering. At our annual bazaar, held in November, you will find many home-made goodies, and some offerings from our woodcarving husbands. The proceeds of past bazaars have furnished a beautiful rug for the pastor's study and drapes for the church.
     This report would not be complete without an expression of welcome to the Mellmans, Hank and Sylvia. We were happy to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary on September 6th. They will be an addition to our doctrinal class and will help to bring inspiration to this small Circle.
     JACQUINE SIMONS
ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH Enrollment for 1971-1972 1971

ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH Enrollment for 1971-1972              1971

Theological School          8
College                    119
Boys School               123
Girls School               134
                         384

     LOCAL SCHOOLS

     Enrollment for 1971-1972

Bryn Athyn               365
Colchester               No Report
Durban                    27
Glenview                    130
Kitchener                    46
Pittsburgh               31
Toronto                    40
Washington, D. C          12

Total reported enrollment in Academy and General Church schools 651
FIFTY-FIFTH BRITISH ASSEMBLY 1971

FIFTY-FIFTH BRITISH ASSEMBLY              1971

     (Continued from page 524)

The Rev. Donald Rose mentioned the use of the News Letter as a line of communication. Mr. Boyesen thanked the committees and the individuals who had helped to make the 55th British Assembly a happy and successful one.
THINKING AND WILLING 1971

THINKING AND WILLING              1971

     "Man finds it difficult to distinguish between thinking and willing; for when he wills anything he says that he thinks it, and often when he thinks anything, that he wills it. Yet they are distinct like good and truth, for the esse of thought is will, and the form of will is thought, as just said. As a man finds such difficulty in distinguishing between these two he therefore does not know what is the esse of his life, and that it is good; and not truth except in so far as this comes forth from good. Good pertains to the will, and will is that which man loves; and therefore truth does not become the esse of man's life until he loves it; and when a man loves it he does it. But truth pertains to the understanding, the office of which is to think, and when a man thinks it he can speak about it. Moreover it is possible to understand and think truth without willing and doing it." (Arcana Coelestia 9995: 2)

532


USES OF MESSIANIC PROPHECY 1971

USES OF MESSIANIC PROPHECY       Rev. LOUIS B. KING       1971


Vol. XCI
December, 1971
No. 12
     "Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel." (Isaiah 7: 14)

     Only the Lord foreknows the future. He alone predicts, with Divine accuracy, events to come; and this He does and has done for one purpose - that prophecy may become a vital part of Divine revelation. Inmostly all Divine revelation treats of the Lord, His essence and person. It treats of why and how He came into the world to effect mankind's redemption, and how and why He came a second time to bring into full, eternal effect the redemption wrought by His first advent.
     But why prophecy? What is the use that makes it so vital a part of Divine revelation? There are many uses of prophecy. First and most obvious is the use of announcing to men of ancient times the future advent of the Lord which all prophecy, regardless of its wording, accomplishes. Without such an announcement men would not look forward to and long for His coming. They would not watch for Him or prepare to receive Him. Nor would those who rejected Him be truly free to do so without this preknowledge. So the Lord provided for successive prophecies throughout the ages that this longing for His advent might he rekindled in each generation; and with each new prophecy not only was the excitement of the past restirred but some new concept of the Lords coming was added, some additional idea of Him to help accommodate Divine truth to the men of that particular age, that the hope of salvation might be kept alive.
     The first prophecy to appear was directed to the men of the Ancient Church and is contained in the third chapter of Genesis, in which we read:

534


"And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; He shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel."* The ancients understood by this that the Lord, the woman's seed, would be attacked as to His lowest nature by the hells, the heel representing the human nature that the Lord put on. The serpent signified the forces of evil attacking. However, the heel of the man-child would ultimately crush the head of the serpent. The Lord would ultimately crush the power of hell through and by means of the Human He would put on.
     * Genesis 3: 14, 15.
     Centuries later, when this first prophecy was all but lost in obscurity, the Lord caused another prophecy to be given. Jacob, on his deathbed, blessing his twelve sons, said to Judah: "the sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come."* Here was added the concept of a ruler and lawgiver, an infinite love for the human race ruling by means of an absolute law and order founded in Divine truth. The Jewish people understood very little of the real implications of this prophecy, but it served its purpose in that day by awakening in them a desire for the coming of a Messiah, or king, whose strict laws would rule all men with power and great glory.
     * Genesis 49: 10.

     A number of centuries later the Lord again prophesied through Moses, as the latter spoke to the congregation of Israel in the wilderness. "The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet . . . like unto me; unto Him ye shall hearken."* Here the idea of the Lord as a prophet was added. A prophet was one whose ability to foretell the future was clearly recognized but whose essential work was one of teaching, blessing in the name of the Lord, and leading to the good of life.
     * Deuteronomy 18: 15.
     Again, years later, as the sons of Israel were about to emerge from the wilderness to possess the land of promise; when they entered the land of Moab, on the final lap of their wanderings, the Moabites, filled with hatred for these intruders, wished immediately to destroy them; but fearing the consequences suffered by the Egyptians and the Amalekites when the latter had harassed the Lord's people, they sent to a distant land for a prophet who could be hired to curse the sons of Israel. But Balaam, the hired prophet, seeing the sons of Israel encamped below him in the order of heaven, could only utter a blessing.

535


As he thus praised he prophesied: "I shall see Him, but not now: I shall behold Him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth."* The personality of the Messiah was here emphasized: a Man whose birth would not only be signaled by the appearance of a star, but whose royalty and power would triumph over His enemies outside the land of Canaan, the Moabites, as well as those inhabitants within, the children of Sheth.
     * Numbers 24: 17.

     Hundreds of years later, after these things had come to pass, the shepherd-king of a united Israel poetically and prophetically described Messiah further: "I have anointed My King upon Zion . . . My Son art Thou; this day have I begotten Thee."* Here was a startling prediction. The Savior to come would not only be a lawgiver and a prophet, but the King of Zion and the Son of God.
     * Psalm 2: 6.
     Later on it was said in Isaiah: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel."* A virgin birth! A miracle of innocence and beauty whereby God Himself would become incarnate! Truly, a sign which could not be ignored or mistaken.
     * Isaiah 7: 14.

     In the prophecy of Micah it was added: "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall He come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel."* Bethlehem of Judea. Now the very place of the Lord's birth was known. That the Jewish Church would reject the Lord, in spite of this clear sequence of prophecies, was foretold by Isaiah when he said: "He hath no form nor comeliness. . . . He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief."** Truly He was despised and rejected by those who had already despised and rejected His Word before His coming; and just as the prophecies had prepared the faithful to await and exalt His coming, so they stand in judgment of those who deliberately turned their backs upon Him when He came, and who, when they could no longer ignore His words, silenced them upon the cross. How vital, then, were the prophecies in preparing the human race for the Lord's coming; keeping alive the hope of salvation and providing the wherewithal for a free reception or rejection of Him when He came.
     * Micah 5: 2.
     ** Isaiah 53: 2, 3.

     A second and equally vital use of the prophecies was their effect at the same time upon the inhabitants of the spiritual world. In the internal sense these same prophecies contained for the angels of heaven complete instructions with regard to the part the angelic heavens would play in the Lord's coming, for it was understood that He would "bow the heavens" in His descent to earth.

536


Not that the Lord would take to Himself anything properly belonging to the angels themselves, but that He would adjoin to His infinite soul those successive degrees of accommodation whereby His own Divine love and wisdom were present with the angels, in appearance as if their very own life. Furthermore, these same prophecies, when received in the active thought and affection of men on earth, provided a continuous ultimate basis upon which the heavens could rest and through which they might inspire men with the hope of salvation.
     The hells were also affected by the Messianic prophecies as they were active in men's minds. They were affected with intense hatred for the Lord and a fierce desire to obstruct His coming and extinguish in men all hope of salvation. As a result, by the time the Lord actually came, the entire complex of the hells was mobilized and overwrought with lust to attack and destroy the Prince of Peace. This the Lord permitted in order that the hosts of the underworld might exercise their ruling love to the full and thereby encounter total defeat, rejection and subjugation. Thus did the prophecies - all of them in their orderly succession - perform a vital use to the inhabitants of the spiritual world.

     A third use of prophecies is to be seen in the way in which they confirm the event foretold when it actually takes place. It is a law of order that any prophecy is only partially understood until the final hour of its fulfillment. So with the Lord's coming, those who at first doubted the authenticity of His claims, but wished to be affirmative, after they had remembered and reflected upon the number and sequence of prophecies of His birth, no longer hesitated to acknowledge Him as their Savior. For this reason the Lord reiterated the prophecies and on numerous occasions opened to His disciples the Scriptures of law and prophecy.
     A fourth and vital use of prophecy was that which it rendered to the Lord Himself. For the Lord put on a finite mind by birth into the world; and his mind, like that of any other man, had to be opened and established in truth from the Word. Part of that Word consisted in the prophecies of His coming, each of which, in its inmost sense, foretold and thus explained some vital stage of development whereby the process of His glorification would be effected. This He alone understood, and by this Divine truth He alone united His infinite soul with His Human essence. Though we cannot understand more than that this was the case, we can humbly acknowledge it as the inmost use of prophecy.
     Finally, the Lord in His second coming reveals a final and culminating use of prophecy. Though these sayings were given long ago, and although their uses, previously mentioned, had been accomplished in full, nevertheless, they are made to live again, over and over again, for the sake of each man's regeneration.

537



     For, like the human race as a whole, each one of us begins his individual life in the golden age of infancy, surrounded and moved and delighted by heavenly hosts of celestial angels. But with the dawn of self-consciousness, like the human race, we fall; and with the implied condemnation inherent in our hereditary loves of self and the world, a prophecy is given - a first tender word of hope - the promised coming of a Savior. Our first innocent concept of the Lord as a Heavenly Father is this first prophecy. We cannot, in the beginning, appreciate the full significance of this first prophecy; nevertheless, it is there. Upon reflection, however, we recognize that this first vision of the Lord, acquired during infancy, is seen in the sensual mind, though in a sphere of innocence fashioned by unseen celestial associates. It is an infantile concept of a Divine Man, born of the church or the woman, the state of Christianity in and around us at the time; and just as our objective vision and worship of the Lord begin in the sensuous plane of the mind, so will it there be that the fiercest struggles take place between the Lord's will and the lusts of self and the world.
     In later life the serpent will strike continually at the heel of the woman's child, but that same heel will - if man as of himself determines it, by shunning evils as sins - crush the head of the serpent. The final combats of regeneration take place in the natural mind in order to subdue its opposition to the spiritual mind and thus bring it into correspondence with interior spiritual conscience.

     As we review the prophecies year by year, feeling once again the mystery and awe which led up to the Lord's birth, we are given to reflect how each one of these ancient sayings, in its proper order, refers to the orderly development of our concept of the Lord, as the blessed event of His birth into the world of our rational mind draws near.
     Again and again He must be born anew in our lives. We must see Him as the seed of the woman, that is, born of and in the true church. We must recognize Him as a Sceptre out of Judah, a King upon Zion, a Prince of Peace - the omnipotent God. We must see Him as Immanuel, God with us - the omnipresent God. We must see Him as a prophet and a Star out of Jacob - the omniscient God. We must see Him as the Son of God born of a virgin, that is, the Word made flesh - the Divine truth entering into us, conceived of the Holy Spirit from within and born of a virginal affection of the Heavenly Doctrine from without. With each regenerating man the Lord descends and becomes again the Word made flesh, in an image and likeness of the very same way in which He came to redeem the whole human race.

538



     Let us, then, look with hope and trust to the Lord's advent in each of us. Let us heed the prophecies that would lead us to Bethlehem, to the Lord's Word; for it is in going to the Word that we behold and worship His Divine Human in all its power and great glory; and He is born in us when, like the bread and wine of the Holy Supper, His Word becomes flesh in us - when it enters into our thought and affection, our every word and deed. Then can it be said: "Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us; this is the Lord; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation." "Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end." Amen.

     LESSONS: Genesis 3: 1-15. Isaiah 9. Arcana Coelestia 66.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 538, 540, 544.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 57, 114.
HAPPINESS IS GIVING 1971

HAPPINESS IS GIVING       Rev. ERIK E. SANDSTROM       1971

     A Christmas Talk to Children

     "And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds." (Luke 2: 18)

     When Christmas comes every year we have a lot to look forward to. There will be many good and happy things: presents, good food and candy, bright lights and many colors and decorations.
     But just think about the shepherds out in the fields, in the middle of the night. When, all of a sudden, an angel appeared to them, they were very surprised, and fell to the ground. The angel had to tell them, "Fear not," because they were so afraid of him. Then when thousands and thousands of angels sang a song of praise the shepherds must have seen a sight much prettier than the best Christmas tree, brighter than any candles, or better than lots of candies and toys. They saw heaven!
     As soon as the angels of heaven had finished singing their hymn of praise, what did the shepherds do? They did not just sit down, or stand still, did they? No, they said to each other: "Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us." So with joy and amazement they hurried to Bethlehem; and when they saw the Lord lying in a manger, wrapped in swaddling clothes, they knew why the angel had appeared.

539


Then they knew that the Messiah, the Lord, had finally arrived.
     The shepherds were the first to know about the Lord's coming. Before the angel told them about it, only Mary and Joseph knew - and Elisabeth, Mary's cousin, knew - that the Lord was going to be born on earth. But now, as soon as the shepherds had seen the Lord with their own eyes, what did they do? Did they quietly return to their flocks of sheep up in the hills? Did they go home and go to sleep? No, they returned rejoicing, and told everyone they met what they had seen. They shouted with joy as they returned, and people in their houses woke up, and heard what the shepherds were saying: "The Messiah has come; Glory to God in the highest; we saw an angel, and he said, Peace on earth, good will toward men. Messiah, the Christ, is born in the city of David. He is our Savior, He is the Lord; we have seen Him, He has been born on earth."
     So as soon as the shepherds had found out that the Lord had come they spread the news abroad, so that all that heard it wondered and were amazed. The shepherds were thus the first to know about the Lord's coming, and the first to tell others about it.

     That is how happy and good news passes on from man to man. As soon as you hear about happy news, you want to tell others about it. If you have some good news to tell others, you can hardly wait to tell them. You are almost bursting with excitement. For example, when mother comes home from the hospital with a new baby, you just love to tell others about it: tell them if it is a boy or a girl; what color his eyes are; how much he weighs. And if you have some relatives who are visiting from far away, you love to tell others about it, so that you can share your happiness with them. When we are happy, we want to make others happy, too.
     That is what happened with the shepherds. They had just received very good news. For hundreds of years people had been waiting for Messiah, the Lord. They knew that He would come; but they did not know when, or how, He would come. So when the shepherds had seen how the Lord had come on earth, in Bethlehem, they told it to others straightaway, so that others could be as happy as they were.
     Perhaps the good news that the shepherds gave to everyone was the beginning of people giving presents to each other. The shepherds were the first to give Christmas presents to others. They were like little children, giving presents to their parents. Don't you think it is fun to see your mother and father opening the present that you gave them? You feel just as happy when they are opening your present as when you open your present from them.

540


You are happy to get presents from others; but you are just as happy to give presents to others, and to see their happiness when they open them.
     So now we know what the story of the shepherds means, don't we? It means that happiness is giving to others. Happiness is giving. And all good things come from the Lord. It is the Lord who gives us happiness, who makes us smile and be glad. It was the Lord who made the shepherds glad, so that they rejoiced and spread the good news that the Lord had come down to earth. The Lord had given Himself to us. The Lord gave Himself as a present to us. So when we give to others we should remember that the Lord is good to all, and that His tender mercies are over all His works. He opens His hand, and satisfies all our good wishes. He gives you everything. So be glad this Christmas that the Lord has come. Be glad like the shepherds, and give good news to others. Give happiness, and the Lord will make you into an angel. Amen.

     LESSON: Luke 2:1-20.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 522, 524, 530.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. C6, C7.
FREDERICK EMANUEL DOERING TRUST 1971

FREDERICK EMANUEL DOERING TRUST       Editor       1971

     Applications for assistance from the above Fund to enable male Canadian students to attend "The Academy of the New Church" at Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., for the school year 1972-73 should be received by one of the Pastors listed below before March 15, 1972.

     Before filing their applications, students should first obtain their acceptance by the Academy, which should be done immediately as dormitory space is limited.

     Any of the Pastors listed below will be happy to give any further information or help that may be necessary.

The Rev. Harold C. Cranch
Two Lorraine Gardens

Islington, Ontario

The Rev. Frank Rose
R. R. #3
Preston, Ontario

The Rev. Christopher R. J. Smith
1536-94th Avenue
Dawson Creek, B. C.

541


CHARTER DAY ADDRESS 1971

       Rev. LORENTZ R. SONESON       1971

     (Delivered at the Cathedral Service, October 22, 1971)

     The deepest desire of the human heart is to be free. Every man seeks this goal, for he perceives that his longing for happiness can be realized only in a sphere of freedom. So history shows how men have labored and fought, suffered and died, to achieve this worthy objective. We are still seeking it: freedom of thought and expression, freedom in education and religion, freedom in our land and in the whole world.
     Men supposed they had at last discovered the secret of freedom in recent times. Believing that it lies hidden in the conquest of the forces of nature, they concentrated all their energies in that direction. The results have been amazing! Men have attained a degree of natural emancipation from time-consuming tasks, and a relief from want, poverty and sickness as never before in the record of mankind. The advancement of knowledge, combined with the spread of education, has progressively loosened the bonds of ignorance. Inventive genius has eliminated numerous drudgeries of labor. The application of scientific laws has alleviated much of human suffering.

     Yet, it must be asked, what has been achieved? Our modern world, at its great height of intellectual development, still appears to be on the edge of disaster; tottering on the brink of world chaos, much of which can be traced to the scientific creations meant to liberate and benefit all men. It would appear that an increase in knowledge and the cultivation of men's intellect alone will not guarantee freedom and happiness for all.
     You must have undergone something like this already in your experiences here at the Academy. It is certainly implied, by your teachers and administrators, that if you will only do what they say, you will have a pleasant time at this institution. Your math teacher beseeches you to give up your time and study hard; do whatever he tells you each day, even when it is difficult and time-consuming. He promises that if you do, you will not only get a passing grade but will enjoy a liberation you never had before - a freedom from ignorance in his subject.
     Other authorities demand your obedience to what seems a myriad of regulations. They announce and enforce rules of conduct affecting most of your waking hours.

542


Study time, eating and dress, social conduct - all seem to be controlled by one rule or another. Again, the implication is that if you obey all the regulations, you will enjoy liberty and happiness, making your stay here a memorable one. Perhaps the appearance is that if the student body adhered to all demands, the only freedom and joy would be with the faculty and administration.
     Another conclusion some of you may come to during your stay on the campus is this: if worship is compulsory, and study of the doctrines of our church is enforced and graded, is not this in effect denying you freedom of religion? How can you freely and rationally come to accept the doctrines of the New Church when you are subjected to such discipline while attending the Academy schools? How is this different from other parochial schools that captivate the affections of their young through fear, endangering freedom in adulthood?
     Let us address ourselves this morning to just these questions, and in so doing, define the real goal of the Academy as the educational arm of the church.

     Your faculty and parents know that there are many kinds of freedom, but in general there are three, called natural, rational and spiritual freedom. Now, what are they? The first, we are told in the Writings, is a liberty everyone has. It is the natural freedom to think and will evils. No one can take that freedom away from you, even with enforced worship and compulsory study of religion! Of course, no one is ever free to say and do whatever he wants, even as an adult, his natural freedom is always preserved. No one can change your thoughts and affections without your consent.
     However, everyone recognizes that there is no chance for any kind of freedom unless there is order. Unless there were rules in sports, there would be no chance to enjoy the game freely. Unless there was some order in the classroom or in a meeting, there would be no freedom to accomplish anything. Where there is disorder, everyone suffers. This should be perfectly obvious.
     This kind of external order, however, requires someone to enforce it. Unfortunately, the role of disciplinarian falls upon the parents, and later teachers and student leaders. They devise their own rules to maintain order, but these are frequently annoying, inhibiting, and almost accusatory in nature. They are man-made, and thus subject to question. But there must be some regulations to maintain external order, for without them there is chaos and anarchy. However, these rules never destroy man's freedom to think and will evil; they only control man's actions, for the sake of external order.

543



     There is another liberty you enjoy throughout your life that no one can take away from you. You are free to pretend!* There are some wonderful delights that come from exercising this freedom, which is called rational freedom. If you are nice to people in your actions, they are nice to you. If you seek and obtain good grades, you receive honors. If you practice the rules of good civil and moral conduct, you gain a good reputation which is always nice to feel. If you are externally charitable to others, you gain respect and even tangible rewards. No one has to know your motives; you are free to pretend you are good and charitable, and reap all the honor, reputation and gain that come with such an external life. No one can take that freedom away from you.
     * See DP 73.
     It is comforting to know that simulating, or pretending to be, a good person by performing external good acts of charity is a transitional step toward regeneration. It provides a period when one can see and enjoy the benefits from leading an orderly external life. It is described in the Writings as a state of "mediate good" - a period when good acts are performed from a selfish motive.*
     * See AC 3993: 8.

     So, grant that your motives may be selfish and worldly. You certainly will not agree with all the man-made rules forced upon you, both on this campus and later in society. Your rational freedom preserves your right to disagree. But you risk losing many benefits from this period if you belligerently oppose those in authority. Your suggestions for change in your environment are more likely to be heard with a good record than without it. You can doubt, affirmatively, and still enjoy the dividends of leading an orderly external life.
     Indeed, many of you may conclude that the Academy encourages you to lead such a life. Certainly the appearance is that if you adhere to all the requirements, strive for a good reputation, seek good grades, and play the role of model students, you will be amply rewarded.
     Now this may come as a surprise to some of you, but the Academy actually does encourage you to play this role! This does not mean by any means that it encourages hypocrisy as a worthy goal. But it knows that while you are still in states of doubt about what is true, you are more likely to find intelligence and wisdom by leading an external life of good than if you are practicing a life of disorder and evils of every kind.*
     * See AC 2568.
     The transition from our inherited love of all evils to that of an angel - who loves the Lord and his neighbor more than himself - is a gradual one. There are many stages of development. As students, you are in one of those stages.

544


Some of you are experiencing only enforced rules of external conduct, and endless facts and figures that are to be memorized. Others of you are enjoying the delights of a new kind of freedom that comes from self-compulsion.* In addition, you are awakening to a new kind of joy that comes from discovering truths.**
     * See AC 1947.
     ** See AC 3982: 2.
     These are some of the goals of the Academy, but they are not unique goals. You could learn self-compulsion and discover truths in other institutions of learning. What sets this institution apart from any other on the face of the globe involves the third of the three freedoms mentioned earlier. No other organization dedicated to higher learning exists today that seeks as its ultimate goal spiritual freedom for its students! The reason, of course, is that no other body of educators has the newly revealed laws of Divine Providence that describe this spiritual liberty. It is a law of Divine Providence that man should act from freedom according to reason; but that is a spiritual freedom, not a natural one.*
     * See DP 71, 176.
     The Lord spoke of this new kind of freedom when He taught in the temple at Jerusalem. "If ye continue in My Word, then are ye My disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."* But even those who believed in Him did not understand His words. They answered Him: "We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest Thou then, Ye shall be free?"
     * John 8: 32.

     Some men of great vision saw this educational objective ninety-five years ago, and sought a charter from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to make their dreams a reality. You are reaping the benefits of there having been many dedicated people who held this objective in the past and are still holding it today for you. But what is this spiritual freedom that is so unique and so important that we celebrate it today?
     First of all, it is not a gift we are born with, as are the other two mentioned. It must be acquired. No man is aware of this different kind of liberty until he is truly in it.* No man can attain it unless he has suffered himself to be regenerated by the Lord.** No one can experience it until he is willing to be led by the Lord alone.*** And, no man can be spiritually free unless he knows what is true. But note this, carefully: no man can glimpse truth unless he first lives a life according to the Commandments."****
     * See AC 1947: 2.
     ** See DE 98.
     *** See AC 892.
     **** See AC 2568.
     To state these truths another way: the beginning step toward spiritual freedom is an external life of order, according to the simple dictates of the Old and the New Testament.

545


This is the reason why the Lord said: "If ye continue in My Word, then . . . ye shall know the truth." This is why the Academy stresses its many rules for external moral behavior. At the same time, it requires a command of the basic doctrines of the church. They are only knowledges, stored in your memory; but they are there for you to draw on later.
     As you step into adult life in the world you will be forced to select a philosophy, a set of principles to guide you. As you search for a true one, those knowledges acquired in school will be there to guide you in your selection. As you practice what you select to be true principles, you may then come to see what is really true and what is false, but not before.
     Finally, and hopefully, if you see what is false and evil, and begin to shun them as sins against God, you will enter into that freedom so wonderful and so unique that everything before will seem but a state of slavery.* That is the goal of our Academy, nothing less. The Academy does not exist to enforce rules of etiquette and moral behavior alone. It does not exist just to teach knowledges and skills. It does not stop at teaching truths from the Word, but seeks further the ultimate goal for each one of you - spiritual freedom and all of its heavenly delights."**
      * See AC 892.
      ** AC 2744.
     That is the unspoken prayer and dream of all those who surround you here today. The alumni, the parents and the teachers come here to the Cathedral before the Lord, rededicating themselves to this ultimate goal. They come seeking enlightenment, inspiration and strength from their Creator to lead you to see, with them, this Divine use of the Academy.
     They desire your spiritual freedom, nothing less. All the rules of school and of home and society are but preparation that looks to this final goal - a liberty that comes from being led by the Lord alone.
      We only ask you to view our actions as parents and teachers in the light of this our motive. This is the spirit and purpose of our school - our own Academy - as expressed by the Lord's words: "If ye continue in My Word, then are ye My disciples indeed: and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN 1971

VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN       Editor       1971

     Visitors to Bryn Athyn on any occasion who need assistance in finding accommodation please communicate with the Guest Committee, c/o Mrs. Leo Synnestvedt, 611 Waverly Lane, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009. Phone (215) WI 7-3725.

546


INFLUX 1971

INFLUX       ROY H. GRIFFITH       1971

     (Presidential address given at the 161st Annual Meeting of the Swedenborg Society, London, England, May 12, 1971)

     "Influx" is a normal English word used in the Writings in its normal sense of inflowing. It is a word not much used in everyday conversation but it is used extensively throughout the Writings. In this brief essay I shall confine my summary to man and the natural world.
     At the outset it might be useful to state that man has no life in himself but is a recipient of the Lord's life.* "All the sustenance of spiritual life in the natural is effected by influx from the internal, that is, from the Lord through the internal."**
     * See AC 1999
     ** AC 6128.
     Spiritual influx is likened to natural phenomena.* The sun gives warmth and pleasantness to our bodies; it is essential to natural growth, and without it natural life could not exist. It is essential for the beauties of flowers and trees and the lovely things growing in the world. But that same heat received by the cess pit and rotting vegetation creates odors offensive to our nostrils! The eye receives pleasure from the light flowing on to objects that please us. There is the influx of sound into the ear. Whether the sound is pleasant or not depends upon the receptiveness of the hearer. The sun's warmth and light flow universally, and they are received by natural objects according to their nature and quality. So it is with man with the influx of love from the Lord, and spiritual light, which is faith. The similarity with the warmth and light of the sun follows through, for the influx of the Lord's love causes the warmth of love in man; and heavenly light gives intellectual light in man: but as the Writings reiterate: "these are varied according to the reception."
     * See AC 6128.
     It is to be noted that influx is in one direction only. Nothing can flow from the natural world into heaven.* "The Lord flows into all, both generally through heaven, and particularly and universally from Himself." ** The influx from the Lord is received in three discrete planes in man. The soul is the primary recipient, thence it descends into the mind and through this into the body.***

547


These are philosophically referred to as man's "inmost," his "intermediate" and his "ultimate."
     * AC 10399.
     ** AC 6475.
     *** See CL 101.
     The effect of the Lord's inflowing into each individual is to dispose man to receive heaven.* This immediate influx into man's will is from the Divine Human. It is unceasing and is received by man according to his state of good; but with evil men it is rejected or suffocated. These latter in consequence lead an evil life which in the spiritual sense is death.
     * See HH 297.
     The human soul, being a superior spiritual substance, receives life immediately from God;* but the mind, being an inferior spiritual substance, receives influx from God mediately through the spiritual world and the body, being composed of natural material substances, receives influx from God mediately through the natural world.
     * See Infl. 8.
     Life from the Lord flows continually through the soul, into man's rational, thence into his external mind and so into his knowledge. These are disposed into order and so man is able to think and to be rational.* "Such is the conjunction of the Lord with man." Without this conjunction man would be unable to think and to be rational. Man has numberless thoughts which cannot be attributed to the experience of his senses or to his external mind; these can flow only through man's internal - his soul.
     * See AC 2004.

     The presence of the Lord with man gives to man freedom, and the more man is prepared and ready to receive influx from the Lord, the greater the freedom.* But when man chooses to receive influx from hell, which is forcible and impetuous, he is dominated by the influence of evil spirits who seek to subjugate him completely.
     * See AC 905.
     Those qualities of the spirit that man has in contrast to lower forms of animals derive entirely from the Lord's influx into his life. The Lord's influx is into the will and from this into the understanding, and so into his rational and his memory where knowledge is stored. Because of this process man is able to reason, to repent, and to understand the nature of good and truth.*
     * See AC 657.
     Man alone is born without any knowledge. The tendencies to evil which he inherits from his father and mother are the cause of this. In consequence, his faculties are turned against good and truth so that his life cannot at once correspond to the influences that flow in from the Lord and heaven. So he must acquire knowledge and understanding by an external way so that he comes to recognize good and truth and can become rational by accepting these into his will and so into his life.

548


In this way the Lord makes it possible for man to become rational.*
     * See AC 1902.
     "Without influx from heaven man cannot even move a step."* And it is through angels and spirits that the Lord governs man's will and understanding. For this reason man prays to the Lord to send His angels to lead him, teach and inspire him to think and what to say. But all the time man must be aware that while good inflows through heaven from the Lord, there is the constant insidious flow of evil from the hells.**
     * HH 228.
     ** See AC 6206.
     The memory and thought of spirits, whether conjoined with heaven or hell, never flow into man. For if this were so, man would not know what thoughts belonged to him and what to spirits good or bad. What does inflow from heaven is the affection for good and truth and for applying it; and from hell the desire for evil and falsity - to love oneself above, and dominate, all others. If man's own affection harmonizes with the affection that flows in, it influences his interior thought and so is received by him. The fact that it is only the affection for good or evil that flows into man gives him the freedom to choose between them, rejecting one and receiving the other; so that what he receives with affection is appropriated to him.
     When, in exercising his freedom of choice, man takes delight in evil affections, then a hell is opened which is consonant with that evil.* Of course he then sets about seeking to prove that the evil is allowable, shows contempt for others, and follows a life of deceit and corruption, scorning the prohibitions of the Decalogue.
     * See AC 6203.

     Perhaps more than in Swedenborg's day, there are very many who reject any thought about eternal life and scorn any idea about a spiritual world; without, indeed, much inquiry as to the prospects of a plane of life concurrent with our material world.* We are told that spirits of this kind abound in the other life, because, of course, they convinced themselves of this falsity while living in this world. ** It is not surprising that the perverted affections of such spirits inflow into the mind of man, prompting him to follow his inherited instincts, to indulge himself in the evils in which he takes pleasure, and to live a life of selfish desire for sensual satisfaction and the pleasures of the world. (I do not imply that worldly pleasures in themselves are evil; they are not if they are subordinated to a well-balanced and spiritually disciplined mind.) Man indeed can rid himself of these sinister influences by thinking about eternal life.
     * See AC 6203.
     ** See AC 6201.

549



     When a man's life is in sympathy with some infernal society in hell there is an influx into the sphere of his life. This gives rise to thoughts of anxiety and especially induces a care for the future. There is much anxiety of one sort or another in the world; and those who suffer seem to have no desire to seek the spiritual causes for their discontent and dismal outlook on man's affairs in the world.* How fashionable it is to attribute all our worldly ills to economic causes and physical environment! The influx from hell is into man's evil affections, which show themselves as lusts of various kinds and pervert the thoughts and perceptions.**
     * See AC 6201.
     ** See DP 33: 3.
     While in this world we cannot see what is in a man's mind. I suppose one can safely say that everyone at some time more or less frequently according to his state, has evil thoughts caused by the influx from evil spirits. But these are of no consequence provided they go no further than the thought and are rejected by the will.* I fear that regeneration would be well nigh impossible if we were to get ourselves condemned because of those unpleasant ideas that seem to come into the mind from apparently nowhere! It is only when delight is taken from harboring and acting on disorderly ideas that man associates himself with hell.
     * See AC 6204.

     The spiritual process is exactly the same with the influx from the angels of heaven. Their influx is especially into man's conscience, where, of course, he can accept or reject the good flowing in. "The interior conscience is of spiritual good and truth; the exterior conscience of justice and equity."*
     * AC 6207.
     It is important for man's development and in accordance with Divine Providence that his thoughts and perceptions and what he wills and does should appear to him to be his own. Without that characteristic, we are told, man would acquire neither understanding nor wisdom. It is hardly necessary to remind my present audience that the fact of the matter is that all truth and all good, charity and faith, are the Lord's. "No one can receive them from the Lord unless it appears to him that he perceives these things from himself."*
     * DP 76.
     We read in Divine Providence: " . . . man can think and will nothing from himself, but everything he thinks and wills, and consequently what he says and does, is from influx. If it is good, it is from influx out of heaven, and if evil from influx out of hell . . . good is from influx from the Lord, and evil from man's proprium."*
     * DP 287.
     Instead of willing and acting as of himself and ascribing to the Lord all thought of truth and endeavor to do good, man can take no action and allow himself to drift without purpose and resolution on the thoughts that flow into his mind.

550


But man was created to be a receptacle of the Divine, and the faculty of reception can be developed only by positive action and acknowledging the Lord as the only fountain of good and truth. When man reads the Word so that he may understand what is true and do what is good he will grow wise.* And this happy state is achieved because the Lord (without man's conscious knowledge) enlightens his mind and gives him understanding of those passages the truth of which would otherwise elude him. (Surely we have an illustration of this in our own Society, when our translators tackle those difficult passages the meaning of which would pass them by if they received no influx from the Lord.)
     * See AC 3436.
     In recognizing that the life of every man, spirit and angel flows solely from the Lord, and may be indirectly through heaven or perversely through hell, it is important also to recognize that the inflowing life is received according to the quality of the recipient. Those who wish to do good will accept good and truth for their true value; but the evil man will accept good and truth perverted as evil and falsity.*
     * See AC 2888.
     There is yet another salutary influence on man, derived from influx from the Lord. When man is undergoing temptation in the process of regeneration he has, as always, an inclination to evil. But with man's willing co-operation the Lord's influx dispels the disorder and withholds the evil from the man.*
     * See AC 3318.

     So far this brief essay has dealt only with man and his reception of influx from the spiritual world. Besides this there is a countless multitude and variety of living things on the earth. Life flows into these from the spiritual world. There is a tendency at this time to treat and deal with animals as though they had minds capable of rationality as has man. But the case is very different.*
     * See TCR 335.
     Life flows into beasts and other living creatures through the spiritual world and not directly from the Lord. This influx is into the bodily senses and for this reason the bodily senses, usually referred to as instinct, are much keener than in man. It exists without any connection with the thought. There are also instincts derived from habit. The living creatures are not concerned with knowledge in the sense that we understand it with man, nor do they have intelligence and wisdom. The actions of animals may appear to derive from "intelligence," but this is not so, for they do it from instinct and habit. The soul of the brutes cannot be elevated to heaven like the souls of men.

551


The soul of the brutes causes them to concern themselves with earthly things alone - food, comfort and procreation; and the soul perishes with the body.*
     * See AC 3646.
     The Writings tell us that very many men do not know how to distinguish between their own life and the life of beasts. This is because they are solely concerned with external things and at heart concern themselves only with the things of the earth and the body, and are without knowledge or desire for spiritual and celestial things. "Hence," say the Writings, "comes the insanity of our age, in that men compare themselves to the brutes, and do not see the internal distinction."*
     * AC 3646.
     The influx into the vegetable kingdom is similar to that of the beasts, in that life from the Lord flows in through the heavens. Without this influx into their material forms plants would not grow and fructify.*
     * See AC 3649.
     But in considering the living things of the natural world we would not lose sight of the fact that all these things derive their origin from the spiritual world - a phenomenon so fully described in the science of correspondences.*
     * See DLW 88.
     Today throughout the world we learn of so much that is disorderly among men. The same evils seem to rise in different parts of the world that communicate very little or not at all. Surely even this can be understood only by knowing the nature and method of operation of influx from the spiritual world, in these cases from malignants in the world of spirits and from hell.
     I would like to conclude with a fitting quotation from Intercourse of the Soul and the Body: " . . . to think from the influx of natural light is merely to dream, and to make vain assertions like fortune-tellers."*
     * Infl. 16.
Laws Of Divine Providence 1971

Laws Of Divine Providence              1971

     "When eminence and opulence lead astray, it is man who from his own prudence has led himself to them; for he is led by the Divine Providence to such things as do not lead astray, and that are serviceable with regard to eternal life. For all the operations of the Divine Providence with man look to what is eternal, because the life which is God, and from which man is man, is eternal." (Apocalypse Explained 1136)

552


CLERGY REPORTS 1971

CLERGY REPORTS       Various       1971

     Report of the Bishop of the General Church

     September 1, 1970-August 31, 1971

     Some of the highlights of the church calendar year were the opening of the new primary school in the Washington Society; the First Canadian National Assembly; the dedication of the new church complex in Westville, South Africa; the formation of the North Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts District; and the Translators School held in London under the auspices of the Swedenborg Society. I speak of these particular events as highlights because each of them involved a new beginning and each, in its own way, was characterized by the delight and enthusiasm that belong to first states. Taken together, the first four events are evidence of the growth and development of the uses of the General Church, and our participation in the Translators School is evidence of the desire of the General Church to take an active part in the pressing need for more adequate translations of the Writings.
     In commenting on these developments, I would note that all who were directly concerned were deeply moved by the promise that each of these new uses brings with it. In each instance the spirit of first states prevailed, and as one who, to a greater or lesser degree, had the privilege of participating in these developments, I can only express my gratitude to the providence which has made these new beginnings possible. It is my hope that the seeds which have been planted will hear fruit in the gradual upbuilding of the Lord's church on earth.

     Assemblies: This year I presided over two National Assemblies - the one in Canada, May 7-9 (for full account see August issue of NEW CHURCH LIFE); and the other in Great Britain (see November issue of NEW CHURCH LIFE). In both instances the Assemblies were involved in the process of incorporating the General Church in their respective countries. I would also observe that both of these Assemblies were well attended and that the doctrinal discussions following the addresses were constructive and stimulating. In this connection it is interesting to note that this was the fifty-fifth National Assembly to be held in Great Britain. In the development of this important use, England has shown the way to the rest of the Church.

553




     Episcopal Visits: In September I made a visit to Washington, D. C., where I had the privilege of dedicating the new primary school. This memorable occasion was an inspiration to all who attended, particularly in view of the fact that it is the first General Church school to be opened in many years. I take this opportunity to congratulate publicly the pastor, the Reverend Frederick Schnarr, on his foresight and leadership in this highly encouraging undertaking.
     In October I visited with the Detroit Society. Here I received the traditional welcome, and all enjoyed the series of useful and crowded events. At that time Detroit had recently suffered the loss by death of two beloved and respected laymen, and the loss was acutely felt. But the Detroit Society is a determined and loyal group of New Church men and women, and despite losses through death and removal, they are in the process of regrouping, and the pastor assures me that the prospects for future growth and development are bright.
     In the latter part of October and in November, I made an extended trip to the West. On this trip I visited with the San Diego Circle, the Los Angeles Society, the San Francisco Circle, and the Glenview Society. The usefulness of such visits cannot be overestimated. Unlike Assembly situations, which are more formal in nature and usually involve many visitors, the Bishop has the opportunity to meet and talk with the individual members of a circle or society and inevitably to come away with a much better understanding of local accomplishments, problems, and needs.
     On June 1 Mrs. Pendleton and I left Bryn Athyn for an extended visit to South Africa, returning by way of England, where I presided at the 55th British Assembly. This trip, which required two months, was filled with excitement, adventure, and an increased awareness of the growth and development of the General Church in South Africa. One purpose of the trip was the dedication of the new church building in Westville (a suburb of Durban), which is supported by a separate social hall, a school building, mission offices, and pastoral offices. Taken together, these buildings, which are beautifully situated in the midst of Glencairn Park and effectively designed, constitute an outstanding complex, which will long serve the needs of the Durban Society.
     It would be impossible to capture in words the spirit of this occasion. How does one describe that sense of fulfillment which was shared by those who for seven years had planned and labored for this event? The essential affection was one of gratitude to the Lord for His many blessings. Adjoined to this was a deep sense of gratitude to the neighbor, each of whom had some part in the work. In this co-operative undertaking, however, special recognition is due to the pastor, the Reverend Daniel Heinrichs.

554


It was his foresight and determination which led the society through some long and discouraging periods, and it was he, along with John Frost, a young New Church architect, who envisioned the ultimate outcome. What we have today, therefore, is not only a complex of buildings designed to serve the needs of the Durban Society but the beginnings of a New Church community on land reserved for this use. (For full report of dedication, see November issue of NEW CHURCH LIFE).
     While it is true that our visit to South Africa was timed to meet the date set for the dedication of the church buildings in Westville, it was also timed to meet the date set for the dedication of a new church building in Kwa Mashu, which was constructed for the South African Mission. This small, but carefully designed, building, which overlooks the township of Kwa Mashu, was also the work of John Frost. Acting under the direction of the Reverend Peter Buss, who at that time was Superintendent of the General Church Mission in South Africa, and with the able assistance of the Reverend Paulus Sibeko, who undertook the construction of the building, Mr. Frost succeeded in erecting a building that is both dignified and serviceable at a very low cost. Here, as at Westville, the delight of the congregation was apparent. Following the dedication, I inaugurated Candidate Alfred Mbatha, a promising young African, into the first degree of the priesthood.
     Speaking of the Mission, I can report that I was greatly encouraged in regard to the quality and the prospects of the Mission. The present state of the Mission is, for the most part, the result of the very capable work which has been done by the Reverend Peter Buss over the past six years. In reordering and reorganizing the Mission activities, Mr. Buss has succeeded in giving a new direction to the Mission. I have reason to know that his gifted leadership was deeply appreciated by our Mission Pastors. In this connection it should be noted that Mr. Buss has recently accepted a call to serve as pastor of the Durban Society and that the Reverend Willard Heinrichs, due to his interest in the work, has been appointed to succeed Mr. Buss as Superintendent.
     Our stay in South Africa was by no means confined to dedications. For close to four weeks I was kept busy conducting doctrinal classes, holding services, meeting with various boards and committees, attending social functions, presiding over meetings of the Mission clergy, and enjoying luncheons and dinners in individual homes. All this added up to a tight, but interesting, schedule. When the time came to leave Durban, we were reluctant to go, but we were cheered up by the many friends including the delightful pupils of the Kainon School, who came to the airport to wish us farewell.

555



     The first leg of our return journey, however, was short. Coming down at Johannesburg, we were met by the Reverend Peter Buss, who, with his charming wife, had preceded us by car. Here we enjoyed two relaxing days and two eventful evenings in the company of the members of the Transvaal Circle. This was our third visit in the past fifteen years with our friends in this area, and we were delighted to meet with old friends and new members who have recently joined the Circle.
     A bit tired in body, but much refreshed in spirit, we flew by easy stages to England, where, as reported, we had the pleasure of meeting in assembly with our many friends in England and also of spending a most informative day at the Translators Summer School.

     Ordinations: On May 9, 1971, I ordained the Reverend Christopher R.J. Smith into the second degree of the priesthood at Caryndale, Ontario.
     On May 23, 1971, I inaugurated Candidate Erik Emanuel Sandstrom into the first degree of the priesthood at Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania.
     On June 27, 1971, I inaugurated Candidate Alfred Mbatha into the first degree of the priesthood at Kwa Mashu Township, South Africa.

     Pastoral Appointments and Changes: The Reverend Geoffrey H. Howard has resigned as Pastor of the Southwestern District and accepted a call to serve as Pastor of the Los Angeles Society and as Visiting Pastor to the San Francisco Circle effective September 1, 1971.
     The Reverend Norman H. Reuter has accepted an appointment by the Bishop to serve for one year as Pastor of the Southwestern District, effective September 1, 1971, resident in Tucson, Arizona.
     The Reverend Daniel W. Heinrichs has resigned as Pastor of the Durban Society and will be on special assignment to the Bishop. In this capacity he will serve as Visiting Pastor to the North Ohio Circle and as a part-time teacher of religion in the Academy and in the Bryn Athyn Elementary School. He will also undertake several special assignments for the Dean of the Bryn Athyn Church, effective September 1, 1971.
     The Reverend Peter Buss has resigned as Superintendent of the South African Mission and accepted a call to serve as Pastor of the Durban Society in Westville, South Africa, effective July 23, 1971.
     The Reverend Willard L. D. Heinrichs has resigned as Pastor of the Northwestern District (U. S. A. and Canada) and has accepted an appointment by the Bishop to serve as Superintendent of the South African Mission and as Visiting Pastor to the Transvaal Circle and to the isolated members of the General Church in South Africa, effective August 1, 1971.

556



     The Reverend Christopher R. J. Smith has accepted an appointment by the Bishop to serve as District Pastor of the Northwestern District (U. S. A. and Canada), resident in Dawson Creek, B. C., effective September 1, 1971.
     The Reverend Erik E. Sandstrom has accepted an appointment by the Bishop to serve as Assistant to the Pastor of the Olivet Church, Toronto, Canada, and as Visiting Minister to the Montreal Circle, effective September 1, 1971.
     The Reverend David R. Simons has accepted an appointment by the Bishop to serve as Visiting Pastor to the St. Paul-Minneapolis Circle.

     Other Changes:     The Reverend Erik Sandstrom has been appointed Dean of the Theological School of the Academy of the New Church.

     New Districts:     In August I recognized the North Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts circles and groups as an official district of the General Church.
     WILLARD D. PENDLETON
          September, 1971


     COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY

     September 1, 1970 to August 31, 1971

     MEMBERSHIP

     During the year ending August 31, 1971, one young man was inaugurated into the first degree of the priesthood, and one minister was ordained into the second degree. There were no other changes in the membership of the Council of the Clergy, which at the year's end consisted of three priests in the episcopal degree, thirty-seven in the pastoral degree, four in the ministerial degree, and one associate member, a total of forty-five. Of these, fifteen were wholly or essentially employed by the General Church and/or the Academy of the New Church, and seven were retired or in secular work.
     In addition, the General Church has one priest of the pastoral degree in the Guyana Mission, and in the South African mission, besides the Superintendent, there are five priests in the pastoral degree, and one in the ministerial degree. A directory of the General Church and of its Missions is published in NEW CHURCH LIFE, September 1971, pp. 428-434.

     STATISTICS

     The statistics concerning the Sacraments and Rites of the Church administered during the year, compiled from forty-one reports received as of October 15, 1971. together with comparative figures for twelve-month periods five and ten years ago, are shown below:

557




                              1970-71          1966          1961
Baptisms
Children                         137          151          139
Adults                         31          33          28
Total                         168          184          167
Holy Supper: Administrations
Public                         151          192          167
Private                         65          Not given     Not given
Communicants                    4825          5712          4917
Confessions of Faith          31          39          27
Betrothals                    28          24          16
Marriages                    43          41          36
Blessings on Marriages          3          Not given     Not given
Ordinations                    3          3          2
Dedications               
Churches                         2          0          0
Homes                         10          13          13
Other                          1          1          1
Funerals or Memorial Services          33          48          33

     REPORTS OF THE MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL

     The Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton continued to serve as Bishop of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church, and President of the Academy of the New Church. The full text of his report appears on page 552 of this issue.

     The Right Rev. Elmo C. Acton served as Dean of the Bryn Athyn Church. In addition to his regular duties he taught Grade 9 Religion in the Girls School of the Academy of the New Church, Grade 5 Religion in the Bryn Athyn Church Elementary School, and from January to June a Theological School course on the Spiritual World,

     The Right Rev. George de Charms, Bishop Emeritus of the General Church, President Emeritus of the Academy of the New Church, and Emeritus Professor of Theology, preached four times in Bryn Athyn, and once in Meadowridge, Pennsylvania. He also gave an address to the Academy Faculty, twelve chapel talks to the College, and a Christmas talk to the children in the First Grade of the Bryn Athyn Church Elementary School. In addition he taught two courses in the Theological School, and two in the Senior College.

     The Rev. Alfred Acton II was Assistant Pastor of Immanuel Church, Glenview.

     The Rev. Kurt H. Asplundh continued to serve as Pastor of the Pittsburgh Society.

     The Rev. Bjorn A. H. Boyesen served as Pastor of the Colchester Society and Headmaster of the New Church Day School. He also continued as Chairman of the British Finance Committee and of the British Academy, and was a member of the Council of the Swedenborg Society and of its Advisory and Revision Board.

558




     The Rev. Peter M. Buss served as Superintendent of the South African Mission, Visiting Pastor to the Transvaal Circle and Visiting Minister of the South African District. He also performed sundry duties in the Durban Society and in Kainon School, and took over the pastorate and the headmastership respectively on July 21, 1971. When in North America for the Council of the Clergy meetings, he preached and gave a class in Toronto, preached in Bryn Athyn, and addressed the Academy and the Bryn Athyn Church Elementary School on the South African Mission.

     The Rev. Geoffrey S. Childs served as Pastor of the Detroit Society.

     The Rev. Robert H. P. Cole, Pastor of the Sharon Church, Chicago, and Visiting Pastor to the Midwestern District, including Rockford and Wilmington, Illinois, Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Kalamazoo, Michigan, reports some growth in the membership and attendance at Sharon Church. In addition to his regular duties he participated in neighborhood civic activities and gave the Independence Day address in Glenview.

     The Rev. Harold C. Cranch, Pastor of the Olivet Church, Toronto, and Headmaster of the Olivet Day School, reports that the Society has launched a building campaign, and that there has been an increase in the school's enrollment and in the Sunday school activity. In addition to his regular duties he served the isolated members in the Muskoka area and at Parry Sound, made a visit to the Montreal Circle and to the isolated members in Ottawa and at Peterborough, and traveled across Canada, preaching five times on the way and officiating at a baptism. He also continued to send monthly sermons to isolated members and to others requesting the service. In General Church work he has been active in the Eastern-Canada Executive Committee and in the Committee to Incorporate the General Church of the New Jerusalem in Canada, and he met regularly with the other Eastern-Canada ministers to consolidate district uses and to co-operate in carrying them out.

     The Rev. Roy Franson served as Pastor of the Miami Circle and Visiting Pastor to the Groups in New Smyrna Beach and St. Petersburg, and in Atlanta, Georgia, Birmingham, Alabama, and to the isolated in these States and in Tennessee.

     The Rev. Alan Gill was retired and had no activities to report.

     The Rev. Victor J. Gladish, although in secular work, conducted services once a month at Sharon Church, Chicago, except for July and August, one service for the Detroit Society, and gave a doctrinal class at Immanuel Church, Glenview.

     The Rev. Daniel W. Goodenough, Instructor of Religion and History at the Academy of the New Church, in addition to his regular duties preached twice in Bryn Athyn and twice in Pittsburgh, and once each in Toronto and Troy, Michigan. He conducted a Children's Service in Bryn Athyn and in Pittsburgh gave a talk at a Children's Service and the address at a Sons of the Academy meeting. He also spoke on the philosophy of history at the Educational Council meetings and participated in the Laurel Hill Academy summer school.

     The Rev. Daniel W. Heinrichs served as Pastor of the Durban Society of the General Church of the New Jerusalem and Visiting Pastor to the Zululand Group. As Principal of Kainon School he had the pleasure of witnessing the school's growth to the status of a complete elementary school. On his way to attend the Council of the Clergy meetings he paid a five day visit to the Society in Rio de Janeiro, where he preached and gave a class. He also preached in Caryndale and in Pittsburgh before returning to Durban.

559




     The Rev. Henry Heinrichs was retired and had no activities to report.

     The Rev. Willard L. D. Heinrichs served as Visiting Pastor to the Canadian Northwest area and the Pacific Northwest area in the United States, resident in Dawson Creek, British Columbia. In addition to his regular duties he held one service each for the Durban Society and the Transvaal Circle, as well as the Hambrook and Alexandra Township Societies of the South African Mission. He also gave a doctrinal class for the Transvaal Circle.

     The Rev. W. Cairns Henderson served as Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE, Professor of Theology and Instructor of Homiletics at the Academy of the New Church, and, until April, as Dean of the Theological School. He also continued to serve as the chairman of the Sound Recording Committee and as a member of both the Academy and General Church Publication Committees. In addition he preached twice and conducted one Children's Service in Bryn Athyn.

     The Rev. Geoffrey H. Howard, resident Pastor of the Tucson Circle, and Visiting Pastor to the San Diego Circle, the Phoenix Group, and the isolated in Flagstaff, Arizona, and El Paso, Texas, reports that membership within the Districts he serves has reached its highest point to date and that participation in church activities has been steady.

     The Rev. Robert S. Junge served as Principal of the Bryn Athyn Church Elementary School, and as a part-time teacher in the Academy of the New Church.

     The Rev. Louis B. King continued as Pastor of Immanuel Church, Glenview, and Headmaster of the Immanuel Church Schools.

     The Rev. Kurt P. Nemitz continued as Pastor of the Stockholm Society and Visiting Pastor to the Jonkoping, Copenhagen and Oslo Circles. In addition he served on the staff of the British Academy Summer School, and preached at the British Assembly and for the Pittsburgh, Bryn Athyn, London, Colchester and the Conference Brightlingsea congregations.

     The Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner was retired and had no activities to report.

     The Rev. Dandridge Pendleton was the principal of the Academy of the New Church Boys School.

     The Rev. Martin Pryke served as Executive Vice President of the Academy of the New Church. In connection with his duties he conducted a Good Friday Service for the Academy schools, and visited Detroit, Los Angeles and San Francisco, where he also preached. In addition he preached twice in Bryn Athyn and conducted an Evening Service. He also preached at a Men's weekend at Meadowridge, Pennsylvania, and at a Boys' Club Camp at Lamoka, Pennsylvania, and gave two doctrinal classes.

     The Rev. Norman H. Reuter, Pastoral Assistant to the Bishop, served as Acting Pastor of the Los Angeles Society and Visiting Pastor to the San Francisco Circle. In addition to his regular duties he presided over the Pacific Northwest District Assembly at Bellevue, Washington, as the representative of the Bishop, and on the way to and from that Assembly he visited isolated members in California, Oregon and Washington.

560




     The Rev. Morley D. Rich served as Pastor of the Denver Circle and Visiting Pastor to the Ft. Worth, Texas, Circle and to the Central Western States. In connection with his regular duties he preached eighty-six times, gave fifty-two doctrinal classes, and traveled approximately thirty-one thousand miles by plane and by car.

     The Rev. Norbert H. Rogers served as Secretary of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, and also Secretary of the Council of the Clergy and of Consistory, and Chairman of the General Church Publication and Translation Committees and of the Church Extension Committee. In addition to his regular duties he made three pastoral visits to Philadelphia, and acted as editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE during the Editor's illness.

     The Rev. Donald L. Rose continued as Pastor of Michael Church in London. He also edited the British News Letter, visited Holland twice and France once, and served as Headmaster of the two-week summer school. He notes that in January he initiated a monthly doctrinal sheet particularly aimed at young people or people new to the Church, and that he has been sending it to between forty and fifty people.

     The Rev. Frank S. Rose served as Pastor of the Carmel Church, Caryndale, Ontario, and Headmaster of the Carmel Church School. He also took charge of the Young People's Assembly in Bryn Athyn, and ran the Maple Leaf Academy and the Laurel Hill Academy gatherings.

     The Rev. Erik Sandstrom served as Professor of Theology at the Academy of the New Church, Visiting Pastor to the North Ohio Circle, and, since May, 1971, as Dean of the Theological School of the Academy of the New Church. He notes that the North Ohio Circle continued to hold its services in the Convention church in central Cleveland, and that in addition to his monthly pastoral visits interim family services were held each month under lay leadership. He also continued to serve on the General Church Publication Committee, preached five times and conducted one Children's Service in the Bryn Athyn Cathedral, and gave two series of adult doctrinal classes.

     The Rev. Frederick L. Schnarr served as Pastor of the Washington Society, Visiting Pastor for the District of southern Virginia and North and South Carolina, and as Headmaster of the Washington Society's New Church Day School.

     The Rev. David R. Simons continued as Educational Assistant to the Bishop, Director of General Church Religion Lessons, Editor of NEW CHURCH EDUCATION, and part-time teacher at the Academy of the New Church College. In the course of his work he spent two weeks in Glenview, one week in Kitchener and Toronto, one week in Pittsburgh, and three days in Washington. In each of these societies he worked in the school, gave doctrinal classes, preached and conducted children's services. He also attended the southern Virginia, North and South Carolina District Gathering at Pawley's Island, S. Carolina.

     The Rev. Christopher R. J. Smith continued as Assistant to the Pastor of the Olivet Church Society and Visiting Minister to the Montreal Circle.

     The Rev. Lorentz R. Soneson served as Pastor of the New England, New York and New Jersey District, resident in Connecticut. He also served as a teacher at the Laurel Hill Summer School.

561




     The Rev. Kenneth O. Stroh served the Bryn Athyn Church, giving Children's Services, teaching Religion in the Elementary School, conducting the Cathedral choir, the Society's singing practices and the Bryn Athyn orchestra. He also made pastoral visits to the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, area.

      The Rev. Douglas M. Taylor continued as Pastor of the Hurstville Society, Sydney, and Visiting Pastor to the Auckland, New Zealand, Group and to the isolated in Australia and New Zealand. In addition to his regular duties he gave weekly talks on a Sydney radio station, spoke once to an audience not of the New Church, began a survey on Australian attitudes to religion, and, by invitation, wrote a radio documentary on Swedenborg which was produced by the Drama Department of the Australian Broadcasting Commission and broadcast on its national network. He notes the Hurstville Society's pleasure that two of its young people are enrolled in the Academy College.

     The Rev. William Whitehead, though retired, contributed an article to the Theta Alpha Journal, an interview for the young people's The Publication, and a letter for the Military Service Committee. He was also able to resume work on a Church History project which ill-health had made it necessary to set aside for a time.

     The Rev. Gudmund U. Boolsen reports that he continued to study Latin and to proof-read his Danish translation of Heaven and Hell. He also attended the Swedenborg Society's Translators School on a Carpenter Fund grant.

     The Rev. Jose L. de Figueiredo continued as the Minister of the Rio de Janeiro society.

     The Rev. N. Bruce Rogers, Instructor of Religion, Latin and Hebrew at the Academy of the New Church, continued to serve on the General Church Translation Committee. He attended the Translators School in London, England, held under the auspices of the Swedenborg Society, delivered an address at the British Assembly and took part in the British Assembly service of worship, and began to participate in the British Academy Summer School, but illness forced his early return home. He preached once in Colchester and twice in Bryn Athyn.

     The Rev. Erik E. Sandstrom completed his last year in the Academy of the New Church Theological School and, when inaugurated into the first degree of the Priesthood, was appointed Assistant to the Pastor of Olivet Church, Toronto, and Visiting Minister to the Montreal Circle.

     The Rev. Jan H. Weiss was engaged in secular work.

     Respectfully submitted,
          NORBERT H. ROGERS
                    Secretary

562


HOW THE LORD GOVERNED THE UNIVERSE WHILE ON EARTH 1971

HOW THE LORD GOVERNED THE UNIVERSE WHILE ON EARTH       Rev. DOUGLAS TAYLOR       1971

     (Broadcast over Station 2KY, Sydney, Australia)

     Well, we have an intriguing question before us this time. You remember, last week I said we would answer the question, "If Jesus was God the Creator appearing on earth in a human form, then how was the universe governed while He was on earth with the mind of a child?"
     Now, that's a most important question, and it deserves to be treated seriously. The answer can be stated briefly in this way: that the universe was governed by His Divine soul, which was within, and which had always governed the universe. But that answer will not convey very much to us until we understand what is meant by the term, "the soul." What do we mean by the Divine soul?
     First, let's see what the soul is with man. Then, perhaps, we will be able to form some ideas of the Divine soul. Of course, the word, soul, is used to mean many things. But what is strictly called the soul in this context is that receptacle of life that we all have - good and evil alike. Every human being without exception has an inmost spiritual vessel receiving life from the Lord. That inmost vessel is called the soul. It's the first thing in us that is acted upon by the Lord and receives life from Him. But note: it's nothing physical; it's not to be confused with anything of the body; it's made of spiritual substance; and it's a spiritual organ or vessel receiving life from the Lord. Without it, nobody could live.
     But the Divine soul - God's soul - is life itself. It's not a receptacle of life. It's life itself, the source of all life.
     But as far as man is concerned, what does his human soul do for him? Well, as we've already seen, it's the part of us that first of all receives life from the Lord. The soul also directs the formation of the body in the womb of the mother. The operation of the soul is that mysterious force that directs the whole process so that cells subdivide in just the right way, according to the Divine order. Life from the Divine Being flows in and is received first of all by the soul, which channels it in order to perform various uses throughout the body. All our involuntary or automatic functions, such as our reflexes - those things in our body that work quite apart from our mind, our thinking and willing - are all directed by the soul.

563


You see, the soul acts into and upon the rear-brain, which is technically known as the cerebellum, and through that it exercises control over all the automatic or involuntary, unconscious functions of the body.
     Now, this happens with even a newborn babe, who has very little mind or consciousness at all, and it goes on through life no matter what stage of development our mind is in or what state it is in. The state of the mind has no bearing whatsoever upon the soul and its work; the soul in this context being defined, as I've said, as the organ or receptacle that first receives the inflow of life from the Lord.

     For example, you know how it is if you scratch your hand. Provided that scratch is kept clean, it will just heal automatically. It's not the body, of course, that heals itself. The body, in itself, is just flesh. It's the action of the soul - a spiritual organism, a finite receptacle of life; it's the soul that channels life from the Lord and automatically does the healing without any help from our mind. In our mind we can wish as hard as we like that the healing be speeded up, but it makes no difference: this because the workings of the soul are above our conscious awareness. In the example we are considering, the soul marshals instinctively the forces of the body that are necessary to heal the scratch and restore order in the body.
     Now let me repeat: this kind of intuitive working of the soul goes on no matter what we are thinking. It goes on even when we are not thinking at all, when we are asleep. The state of our mind has nothing at all to do with it.
     Another example would be the process of growth. This is another involuntary process of the body that goes on quite apart from the thinking and willing of our mind. This is why the Lord Himself said: "Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?" Now, it's the same with the Divine soul - except that it is not a receptacle of life but life itself. Just as our own individual soul governs the involuntary functions of our body, so the Divine soul governed not only the body that it had created for itself but also the whole universe. It always had governed the universe. In fact, this Divine soul, or what is the same, this Divine Being, had created the whole universe. From infinite love and wisdom the Divine soul (or the Divine Being) - known as Jehovah God - provided what was needed in the whole universe, intuitively sensing what was needed to maintain everything in a state of order, just as our soul, on a finite scale, intuitively provides for the needs of the body.

564



Now when the Divine soul, the Divine in itself, needed to be more closely and personally present with mankind on the physical plane, He created a human body for Himself by means of the Virgin Mary. But the fact that that human part was, in the beginning, merely human and finite or limited, the fact that it began life with only the rudiments of a mind as does every newborn babe, in no way prevented the Divine soul from continuing to operate as it always had done, and so rule the universe. Even when the Lord's human mind was barely conscious, even when it was asleep, the Divine soul continued to govern the universe. After all, we are assured in the Old Testament that "He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep." Incidentally, it's the same with our soul, isn't it? It governs our body even while we are asleep. Our soul neither slumbers nor sleeps. It is a finite image of the Divine soul.

     Now it's interesting to note that the human part that the Lord made for Himself was known as Jesus. This was the Divinely revealed name; and it means, most significantly, "Jehovah saves." That expresses a great truth, doesn't it? As we've seen in previous talks, in the Old Testament it is said that Jehovah is the only Savior. You'll find that particularly in the book of the prophet Isaiah. But in the New Testament Jesus is called the Savior. We can only reconcile these two groups of passages by supposing, as we've seen, that Jesus is Jehovah in the human form, come on earth to save us from the hells; not to save us from the consequences of our sins, but to save us from the influence of the hells, and so save us from sinning. He saved us by putting on a frail human nature which could attract the hells so that from the Divine within He could fight against and subdue the hells; which, as we know, He finally did. This was the way the Creator of the universe became the Savior and Redeemer. It is one of the greatest and most fundamental errors of the Christian Church that it has taught that God the Creator and the Lord the Redeemer are two separate persons, when, in fact, they are one and the same - the one and only God of heaven and earth.
     Now this explanation that you have been listening to this evening, derived from what has been revealed by the Lord through Swedenborg, not only answers the question that was raised, but it also explains something I mentioned briefly last time - i.e., why the Lord on earth had, so to speak, two states of mind, a kind of dual consciousness. You see, when the influence of the merely human body was predominant. He had one state of mind; but when the influence from the Divine soul predominated, then He had a more exalted state of mind.
     When the body prevailed, the Lord seemed to be separated from the Divine soul within, which He called in the New Testament "the Father."

565


At times like these the Lord was described as praying to the Father as if to someone outside of Himself. These were times when He was in temptations, when His human part was rebelling against His Divine part. The effect of this was that there seemed to be two persons in Him; just as with us, when we are in states of temptation, there seem to be two forces contending for the mastery of our minds.
     But, on the other hand, when the Divine soul predominated, then He did His Divine miracles, and said things like this: "I and the Father are one." He spoke as one having authority, and not as the scribes. He spoke from the Divine, and He did this more and more often until this more exalted state began to predominate. It kept on predominating until finally His human part also had become completely Divine. He was then Divine from first to last. This is why, in the book of Revelation, He describes Himself as the First and the Last. There was complete unity or peace between the Divine and the Human in Him, so that He was the Prince of Peace and could communicate peace to His disciples.

     To sum up, then: from His birth throughout His life on earth right up to the resurrection, the Lord (that is, Jesus) was completely God only as far as His soul was concerned. Only His soul was fully Divine, the Divine. But after the resurrection He was and is God as to both His soul and His body. From this we can see the answer to a question that was put to me recently as to why Jesus said, in Matthew chapter 19: "Why callest thou Me good; there is none good but one, that is God." You see, we have to remember just when this was said. This was said at an early stage in His ministry; so, obviously, He could not allow His human part to be called "good." At that stage goodness, Divine goodness, could be fully attributed only to His Divine part. Later on, however, when even His human part had been made Divine, then it was in order for Him to be called good. He said that all power was given unto Him in heaven and on earth, that is, that He was the Almighty. And He did not rebuke doubting Thomas when he called Him "My Lord and my God."
     After all, Thomas had spoken a great truth. Jesus is Lord and God. But let's face up to what follows from this: that if He is Lord and God, there can be no other Lord, no other God, can there? The moment we say there is some other Lord or God who is not Jesus, in that moment we are saying that there are more gods than one. We are getting into polytheism - the worship of many gods.
     The teaching of the New Testament is that there is one God in one Divine person, and that He is the Lord Jesus Christ.

566


The Father, meaning His Divine soul, is within Him, and His Holy Spirit or Divine influence goes forth from Him. It is completely true that "in Jesus Christ dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead (that is, the whole of the Divinity,) in bodily form."
     The Lord Jesus Christ is therefore the God we worship and pray to in the Church of the New Jerusalem.
CHRISTMAS, CHILDREN AND MATERIALISM 1971

CHRISTMAS, CHILDREN AND MATERIALISM       KURT SIMONS       1971

     As Christmas approaches, we are once again made depressingly aware of the modern world's fascination with material things. The clamor to induce us to buy this or that is almost inescapable. And the saddest, indeed the most sinister, aspect of the whole wretched business is its focus on our children; especially from that universal baby-watcher, the television set, which pours forth a continuing stream of "Tell Mommy to buy you a . . . ."
     The mental world of a child is small and uncomplicated. He cannot keep several things in mind like a grown-up. In short, he lacks perspective. What occupies his mind does so to the exclusion of all else. What, then, happens to the whole sphere surrounding Christmas and that most wonderful of stories? Is it fair to expect a child even to keep it in mind under the barrage of appeals to his senses of both the advertising and the gifts themselves. And what gift can we give that is good enough to replace the far more precious gift we have taken away by allowing our children to be thus distracted?
     Christmas, like other of the Christian religious holidays, did not come down to us from early times historically in a single form. Its celebration today is the conglomerate result of as many secular as church influences (just as Easter parades and candy eggs owe more to the pagan "rite of spring" festivals than to anything having to do with the celebration of the Lord's resurrection). If we go back to the original story in the Word of the first Christmas, we find that the first gifts ever given, those of the Wise Men, were offered only to the baby Lord. There is no mention of any exchange of gifts among men; and we can see why this should be so, since the Writings tell us that "gifts" or "presents" correspond to worship.*

567


Certainly giving has been associated with worship from the days of the Old Testament burnt offerings down to the thanks we give to the Lord at each meal.
     * AC 1171.
     Further evidence of how far our conception of the season has departed from its origin is found in the fact that the word, Christmas, itself is nowhere used in the Word. It is derived from Old Church usage - the Mass of Christ - that involves not simply ideas but also a form of worship alien to our doctrines and all that for which they stand.*
     * See DP 257.
     The question these points raise is whether we should stop giving presents to children at Christmas in order to put the proper focus, especially at this season, on giving homage to the Lord for all that He has given to us. This homage is, of course, doubly due from the New Church for its new gift. Certainly, from a logical point of view - and children often see things in a clearer logic than adults - for a child to receive presents on the Lord's birthday is inconsistent with the rest of his experience with birthdays, on which presents are given to the person whose birthday it is, not to the people celebrating the birthday. And since the grown-ups can scarcely do what the children are denied, this would mean everyone stopping the practice of gift-giving at Christmas.
     Yet is this sufficient? Looking at things again from the child's point of view, we would only be taking away something that he likes, putting a negative face on the procedure that will assuredly inject an unhappy note. More appropriate would seem to be a full change of emphasis, from material giving to a form of giving more in keeping with giving to the Lord. And the type of gifts the Lord is interested in involves the giving of ourselves, heart and mind. Far from poetic platitude, such giving is the stuff and substance of the very reason for our being created.

     How, specifically, might we go about this new, or renewed, New Church form of giving? A small but symbolic beginning might be made by replacing New Year with Christmas as the time for those new resolutions to "learn to do well" which are the sort of gift the Lord values most from man. What, in fact, does the historical whim of the world's calendar have to do with the regeneration these resolutions should deal with anyway? If even business has a "fiscal" year out of step with the calendar, is there any reason why the New Church calendar should not begin anew each year at the day of celebration and remembrance of that first Beginning?
     And what of the children? At the Christmas service - the, to them, Lord's birthday - should they be simply passing on objects in the form of even flowers or fruit, let alone money with all its inappropriate connotations, that their parents have provided them with, usually at the last minute?

568


How much more meaningful it would be if they were to give something of their own thought and feeling: a specially drawn picture of a story from the Word, a pledge to do some work on the Lord's house (the stones in the cathedral floor were gathered by children), or anything that they had cooked, sewn, built or written for this purpose. The fertile imagination of childhood can be trusted to provide an unending stream of ideas if the opportunity is there.
     Yet this is still only a beginning. The Lord has set us an example of His gift of life and use to all men, and He has left us the instruction to demonstrate our love of Him by showing charity to all men. Gifts from charity to the life and use of the neighbor are thus another form our new giving to Him might take, gifts above and beyond those we give in our daily tasks of regeneration.
     For instance: the sick, the hospitalized, the inhabitant of orphanage or home; all used to be singled out in the old days for charitable attention of at least an external sort each Christmastide. Now the government, an insurance company or some other "they," looks after these people, supposedly. In fact, the efficient mass mechanical heartlessness of such care must come as a shock to those who do not know of it. Yet here are people who have been given what must be one of the most difficult of any use on earth, simply to endure. With no apparent worldly use of the sort we on the outside perform each day, with no need for nor, too often, care for them, simply living becomes an overwhelming burden.

     Could we not, then, this once a year lend some aid to those carrying the burden of such a use? Nothing complex is required; just our simple, warm companionship in any one of many forms. However critical we may be of the off-key, a group of children singing carols may still move the lonely to tears; simply walking the wards of a hospital or "home" as a family, stopping to wish each and all a Merry Christmas and perhaps exchange a word or two; playing a few games, or perhaps even reading the Christmas story, at a home for orphans or retarded children: the list is endless. Sure, people will think we're crazy - the people outside. Sure, we get tongue-tied - at first, anyway - talking to strangers. Sure, our reading or singing voice doesn't sound like a recording star's. So what? The whole point of having our religion is to see the irrelevancies of worldly appearances in their true perspective. It is the same appearances, after all, that have so distorted the celebration of Christmas in the first place.

569


     If we would change our children's lives, we must not only involve them but, in fact, set an example for them. For we know from doctrine, from psychology and from our own experience that what we are, far more than what we ever say, determines what our children think of us and what lessons they take from us. The best, in fact, the only way we can thus lead them to view the story and meaning of the Lord's birth into the world free from the coarse fabric of materialism is to rend that fabric from our own lives. Indeed, if we do not, our older children at this day hold out the threat that they will leave us in our turn to a bitter and lonely old age. If this is not charity, where will we have a better opportunity to illustrate for them our belief in and our practice of charity than in the season dedicated to the peace on earth for which they, and we, so deeply long?

570


APPLICATIONS FOR ADMISSION TO THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH COLLEGE 1971

APPLICATIONS FOR ADMISSION TO THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH COLLEGE       Editor       1971

All Students:
     Requests for application forms for admission to The Academy College for the 1972-1973 school year should be made before January 15, 1972. Letters should be addressed to Dean E. Bruce Glenn, The Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania 19009, and should include the student's full name and address, the name and address of the school he or she is now attending, and whether the student will be a day or dormitory student. Please see the Academy catalog for information about dormitory requirements.

     Completed application forms and accompanying material must be received by Dean Glenn's office by March 15, 1972.

     BOYS' SCHOOL AND GIRLS' SCHOOL

New Students:
     Requests for application forms for admission to the Academy Secondary Schools should be made for new students before January 15, 1972. Letters should be addressed to Miss Sally Smith, Principal of the Girls' School, or The Reverend Dandridge Pendleton, Principal of the Boys' School, at The Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania 19009. Letters should include the student's name, parents' address, the class the student will be entering, the name and address of the school he or she is now attending, and whether the student will be day or dormitory. Please see the Academy catalog for dormitory requirements.

     Completed application forms and accompanying material must be received by The Academy by March 15, 1972.

Old Students:
     Parents of students attending the Girls' School or Boys' School during the 1971-1972 school year should apply for their children's re-admission for the 1972-1973 school year before March 15, 1972. Letters should be addressed to the Principal of the school the student is now attending.

571


LOYALTY 1971

LOYALTY              1971


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

Editor . . . . Rev. W. Cairns Henderson, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager . . . . Mr. L. E. Gyllenhaal, 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. Notifications of address changes should be received by the 15th of the month.

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$5.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy, 50 cents.
     The New English Bible renders the first verse of the Twelfth Psalm: "Help, Lord, for loyalty is no more: good faith between man and man is over." Whether this is the most felicitous way of translating the Hebrew is open to question, but it does emphasize the relevance of the letter of the Word in all generations and therefore in our own. These words might well be uttered by the man of the church today. For many, loyalty is an outmoded virtue. The very idea of loyalty to a principle or a cause, to one's country or one's marriage, to duty or to one's superiors or even ones associates would be dismissed with a pitying smile; and as a result there is no basis for trust between men, but only for suspicion and mistrust.
     What this amounts to is a belief that the only loyalty that matters and is worth preserving is loyalty to self. To be what you want to be, do what you want to do, say what you want to say, and go where you want to go, far transcends in importance loyalty to anyone or anything else. It is more than a duty. It is almost a sacred obligation. For in it alone can you find your identity, be free, and really live. This is nothing less than the supremacy of self-love, and where that prevails there is neither good nor truth, love nor faith, left among men. This will be the state in every consummated church; and, surrounded as we are by that state, we can look only to loyalty to the Lord and His Word to furnish a basis for good faith between man and man. So, as always, the Word here turns our minds from the human condition itself to the Lord, who alone provides a remedy for it.

572




     "AND THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH"

     No account of the Lord's birth is given in the Gospel of John. Instead the Gospel begins with a philosophical statement of the Incarnation - the doctrine of the Word made flesh. The Lord from eternity was Jehovah in a human form, but not yet in the flesh; for an angel has not flesh, and it was by means of an angel that He then appeared. As Jehovah willed to put on the entire Human, He assumed the flesh. So the simple yet profound statement made by John records the fulfillment in time of the Lord's will to become Man in ultimates - to take on His own proper Human; and it is the basis of our belief that the Lord Jesus Christ who was born in Bethlehem was Jehovah incarnate: the Word that was in the beginning with God, and was God, and became flesh to dwell among us.
     Yet we are taught that the full meaning of scripture is not found in the letter but in the internal sense, and in that sense "flesh" does not mean the material body, but the sensuous which is the ultimate of the natural degree of the mind. In this instance the reference is not to the material body which the Lord assumed from Mary, but to the Human which He put on from the Divine itself. When the Lord was born, the Word was indeed made flesh externally in His infant body; but this was not the complete fulfillment of that scripture, and the Word was not made flesh internally until the Lord had glorified His Human all the way down to the sensuous and had thus become the Word in ultimates. In other words, John's inspired statement does not speak only of the Incarnation. It is also an announcement of the Lord's glorification; and as such its fulfillment was marked by His saving, after His resurrection, "A spirit hath not flesh . . . as ye see Me have."

     This longer view of their meaning does not take anything away from John's words as a profound statement of the Incarnation. Rather does it lead our thought forward to the Lord's glorification, for the sake of which, as the means of salvation, He came into the world. For by "flesh" in reference to the Lord is signified also His Divine proprium - the Divine good of the Divine love proceeding from the Divine Human; and from that "flesh," the teaching is, all who love the Lord are vivified by the appropriation of His love, which appropriation is signified by "eating the flesh of the Son of Man." This spiritual appropriation is effected by the life of love and charity, which is also the life of faith. It is represented, and actually takes place, in the Holy Supper according to the presence of that life; and that it can take place, to effect conjunction with the Lord, is because the Word was made flesh. Let us approach the festival Communion with this idea in mind.

573




     MICHAEL

     If the New Church had a patron saint he would probably be St. Michael; the victorious fighter against the dragon has a strong appeal for the church militant. However, Michael, whose name means, "who is like God?," appears in both the Old and the New Testament. He is mentioned in Daniel as an angel in the late Persian period, a heavenly prince who guards Israel against the influence of Persia and Greece. In the book of Revelation he is at war with the dragon, and in the Epistle of Jude he appears as an archangel who contends with the devil for the body of Moses - which the Writings say was taken from ancient books written in correspondences. His function in Scripture is that of a messenger of God who defends against that constant enemy of the church, faith alone.

     According to the Writings there are, of course, no archangels. Michael is therefore not the name of one angel supreme among those who are with him, but of an angelic society which is so called from its function, and of that function itself. This is with those who confirm from the Word that the Lord is the God of heaven and earth; that He and the Father are one; that men are to live according to the Decalogue, and that then they will have charity and faith. In general, Michael stands for all in heaven who are in wisdom concerning the Lord and who worship Him; but specifically those are meant by Michael who in the age of the consummated church fought for the Divinity of the Lord and His unity with the Father, and thus for the truth that there is one God, and also for the life of faith which is called charity, against those in faith alone.
     Michael's combat with the dragon continues and is waged in both worlds. We are taught that in the world of spirits all are conjoined as to their interiors with the angels of Michael or the angels of the dragon; and also that by Michael and his angels are meant those in the Heavenly Doctrine, the men of the New Church - by Michael, the wise, and by his angels the rest. The essentials of the doctrine of the New Jerusalem are that the Lord's Human is Divine and that love and charity are to be lived. These essentials are under constant attack by those who are in faith alone, and they are as constantly defended by the Michaels of whom the New Church is formed: defended by spiritual truths rationally understood. The defense of the church centers in this conflict, and it involves battle against foes within as well as without, for faith alone is within us as well as within others. So as we near the end of the year and the beginning of a new one, among the things we may ask ourselves is, how faithfully have we fought in the army of Michael, and how much more resolutely may we resolve to do so in the days that lie ahead.

574


Church News 1971

Church News       Various       1971

     NORTH JERSEY CIRCLE

     We are alive and comparatively well in North Jersey, despite the fact that there has been no news from us for some time. Though families are scattered over a considerable area, our Circle has remained remarkably constant in membership and attendance at Divine worship and doctrinal classes over the past two years. Every meeting, in addition to its spiritual purpose, becomes a pleasant social occasion with the comfortable but stimulating atmosphere that is possible among warm friends.
     Our active attendance has included James and Cecy (de Mendonca Lima) Boatman, Jean (Ord) Bouillet, Lillian (Heimgartner) Elliot, Robert and Ginny (de Maine) Ford, Curtis Glenn, Paul Hartley, Jack and Mary (Brown) Lindsay, Fred and Joan (Kendig) Munich, Barry and Carolyn (Gaffney) Simons, John Sabol, and Jim and Anne (Lindsay) York. Among us we have thirteen children in regular attendance, ranging from toddlers to young teens. Peter and Chris (Henderson) Boericke and two sets of twins were with us for a short time in 1969, but have moved back to Bryn Athyn, and we miss them.
     This past spring we were sorry to see the Barry Simons and their two children leave the area, but they are still in our District, having moved to Connecticut where Barry is now working with his brother Brian; and we all wish them well in their new home. Almost simultaneously with the Simons' departure we happily welcomed Hugo and Dorrie (Heinrichs) Odhner, who, with their three children, are now our newest members.
     We have had several visits from former members Fred and Greta (Alden) Odhner, who now live near Albany, New York. They, their good voices, and all or various combinations of their seven children are always welcome personal and numerical additions to our ranks.
     A number of members of the Convention church in Orange, New Jersey, including the Rev. and Mrs. Harold Larsen, have joined us for doctrinal classes on a fairly regular basis; and the Convention church has kindly extended the use of its facilities when our own meeting place has not been available. Our Christmas service last year, in fact, was held at the Convention church, with both ministers participating; and afterwards we were guests at a gracious holiday buffet. This friendship between our groups is mutually appreciated, and Convention members have added greatly to the liveliness of our doctrinal discussions.
     Divine worship is usually conducted by our pastor on the fourth Sunday of each month at the Women's Club in Morristown, New Jersey. The space available to us includes a large foyer, preparation and "chapel' rooms, and rooms for our youngsters to use after the children's talk. Anne York, who so beautifully provided our music for many years, has sadly encountered health problems which have prevented her from continuing; but we were fortunate that Cecy Boatman was able to assume this use with sincerity and talent. Anne still lends her dynamic presence to all gatherings, circumstances permitting; and Jim and Kenneth have built us a handsomely made modular lectern which adds much to the appearance and convenience of our portable chapel furnishings. These, with our music, enhance the sphere of worship in our very pleasant surroundings at the Women's Club.
     Doctrinal classes are held at the homes of members on Saturday evenings, preceding each Sunday service.

575


Social highlights of these meetings have been delightful suppers at the homes of the Jack Lindsays, the Jim Boatmans and the Jim Yorks; plus, at Lillian Elliot's, an 80th birthday celebration honoring Mr. Paul Hartley of Newark, our oldest member and a New Church scholar of distinction.
     This year we are anxious to develop a discussion class for older children who are or will soon be eligible to attend the Academy. It is hoped that this class could meet at least once a month between pastoral visits.
     A most significant change for our Circle has been the appointment of a resident pastor to the North Jersey, New York, New England area. In the spring of 1970 we learned with regret that the Rev. Daniel W. Goodenough would have to relinquish his duties as our visiting pastor because of the pressures of his teaching responsibilities at the Academy. At that time it was announced that the Rev. Lorentz H. Soneson had been appointed full-time resident pastor. In June, then, Barry and Carolyn Simons combined a well attended children's barbecue and field day at their home near Califon, New Jersey, with a fond farewell to the Goodenough, thus marking the close of one phase of our Circle's history with a day we shall all remember.
     During the summer of 1970, Mr. Soneson, his wife Midge (Rose) and their three children accomplished the move from their previous post in Los Angeles - San Francisco, to establish their new home in Milford, Connecticut, which is centrally located for the greatest number of New Church families in our rather large area.
     In the fall we began a new year with our own new pastor, who was enthusiastically welcomed by all. Needless to say, 1970-71 was a busy year for Mr. Soneson, who had a myriad of details to attend to in organizing activities within the entire pastorate, and in getting to know everyone from North Jersey to Maine. In the midst of this full schedule the Sonesons celebrated a happy family event in Bryn Athyn last May - the marriage of their daughter Wendy Jo to Joel Hoo; and we wish them every future happiness.
     The major achievement of Mr. Soneson's first year with us was a successful "Gathering" in Milford on June 19 and 20. Five North Jerseyites attended the Saturday business meeting at which the matter of requesting District status for the Circles and Groups of the North Jersey, New York and New England area was discussed and affirmatively voted upon. From the meeting we adjourned for a social hour at a local motor lodge, which was lively with greetings and meetings of long separated friends. Unfortunately, Jack and Mary Lindsay had to return home after that; but the rest of us stayed for a delicious banquet at a nearby restaurant and a happy open house at the Brian Simons' home. On Sunday, the lovely New England Congregational Chapel in Milford was the setting for Divine worship and the Holy Supper, after everyone was invited to a bright summer outdoor luncheon at the Sonesons home.
     Many more details of this Gathering will be reported from more northern Groups; but we do want to emphasize its importance as the means of effecting a new organizational identity for our Circle and to express our pleasure at being able to see so many old friends at one time. The banquet talks and the services were most fitting celebrations for June Nineteenth, and we extend to all Groups and members who assisted a sincere thank-you for their hospitality, social arrangements, and many hours of planning.
     With the start of another new year, now as a part of our recently organized Northeastern District of the General Church, we hope to offer the best of the old and the new as an active New Church "home" for newcomers to our North Jersey Circle. And, as always, we look forward to welcoming visitors whenever they can be with us.
     LILLIAN ELLIOTT

     CHARTER DAY

     The ninety-fourth annual celebration of Charter Day was held over the weekend of October 22nd, with the usual large contingent of visiting parents and other friends of the Academy to help swell and make festive the various events traditionally associated with the occasion.

576



     As has been the case in recent years, the formal program began on Thursday evening, the 21st, after a large and enthusiastic high school football rally. At 8:30 p.m., the Religion Department offered in Pendleton Hall a program whose purpose was to describe and discuss the religion curricula in the Academy schools. The Rev. Daniel Goodenough served as moderator and as first speaker, outlining very briefly to the audience the courses of instruction in the Girls School and describing in more detail his own course for sophomore girls. He noted the challenge inherent in attempting to foster a distinctively feminine wisdom, a wisdom of love seen through its relation to uses, and he responded to several questions on this point. He also informed the audience that the sort of revision of the religion curriculum that the Boys School had recently undergone would also be taken up by the Girls School once that revised curriculum for boys had been given a chance to operate for a year.
     This new program in the Boys School was then described by the Rev. Dan Pendleton, the Headmaster. The faculty in the Boys School, he said, was focussing the four years of instruction in religion upon three large topics or headings - God, Man, and the Church - with different texts used in the various terms and years as a basis from which to approach these topics. He noted that incoming juniors were tested to see if they needed the sort of instruction offered in the earlier years or if they were ready for the program offered for the last two years. Despite the current heavy emphasis on the generation gap and upon those things that separated adolescents from adults, Mr. Pendleton stressed the need for both groups to see the larger issues and causes that united them and to recognize whether the divisive influences stemmed from a mere difference of forms or externals or from a difference in essentials. No matter how the external forms might vary, boys, he believed, still wanted and needed structure, limits, rules, discipline, tradition, and respect and affection.
     The program next offered a model classroom session of a College religion course in Evangelization conducted by Dean Erik Sandstrom. Dean Sandstrom described the general aims of the course and then addressed himself to the twelve members of his class on the stage with whom he carried on a question and answer session on two chapters from Revelation as they pertained to evangelization.
     The Rev. Martin Pryke closed the meeting with a summation of the changes recently introduced into the College religion curriculum. He noted the increase in the number of courses offered and the effect that this had in yielding more varied options to the students in their selection of courses. He pointed out that, in the first two years, college students were required to take four terms of religion out of six total terms, and this provision, with the larger number of courses available, made it possible better to meet individual tastes and needs. He felt that the students' response to the new curriculum was enthusiastic and hence most encouraging to the faculty.
     On Friday the main festivities of the weekend were begun with the traditional march of Corporation, faculty and students to the Cathedral. Despite the cloudy, threatening weather, the academic procession - with banners and full regalia was vivid and colorful. The Rev. Lorentz Soneson gave a pointed and strong address on the nature of freedom (printed elsewhere in this issue), and the service in the Cathedral was followed by the traditional singing of school songs on and before the steps of Benade Hall. In the afternoon the ANC football team, undefeated up to that point in the season, faced a large, tough squad from Tower Hill School and, in a spirited and well-played game, lost 16-0. The cross country team, which was hosting Hun School that same afternoon, gave the ANC crowd something to celebrate, however, by handily defeating their opponent. The day closed with the Charter Day dance, memorable, as always, for the renewing of filial ties and old associations in an atmosphere of dancing and song.

577



     On Saturday morning, the Sons of the Academy International held a meeting in Pendleton Hall, the central feature of which was a talk by E. B. Glenn, Dean of the College, on the need for support of research in the Academy. Dean Glenn noted that the true capital of the Academy lay in the love and devotion of its faculty to the school's purpose, and he emphasized that this capital needed the sort of replenishment that could only be gained by research. Without it the intellectual vigor and distinction of the school would be dependent upon the studies of men in prior generations, studies which, though seminal and still important, could not take the place of continuing investigation and study. While he made no specific recommendation about the involvement of the Sons in this sort of work, Dean Glenn did suggest that this was an area that the Sons might wish to investigate as a field for their cultivation. He recalled that the Sons had underwritten Bishop de Charms' Growth of the Mind and, more recently, The Academy: A Portrait, and he particularly praised the former work as the sort of study whose effect and influence continued to be invaluable. This presentation was followed by considerable discussion that indicated that the topic had proved stimulating.
     That afternoon the Theta Alpha International met in the Assembly Hall. After a brief service of worship conducted by the Rev. Daniel Heinrichs, the group conducted a business session, during which Mrs. Garry Hyatt presented a proposal for a revision of the bylaws. Gifts were then presented in the name of the Theta Alpha to Miss Morna Hyatt, past Principal of the Girls School, and to Miss Margit Boyesen, former Dean of Women in the College, for their long and outstanding service to the Academy. After the formal meeting, Mrs. Robert Asplundh showed slides of the visit she and her husband had recently made to the Durban Society at the time of the dedication of the new church and school buildings in Glencairn Park on June 19th.
     On Saturday evening the Asplundh Field House was filled for the Charter Day banquet. Mr. E. Boyd Asplundh, the toastmaster, presented a program on the theme: "The Academy and Change." He noted that, in the last ten years, twenty-three new faculty members had joined the faculty, underlining the fact that it was not buildings but people that made the institution. He then introduced three of the younger members of the Academy faculty who were to address themselves to various aspects of the theme. Miss Margaret York. Dean of Women in the College, spoke on "The Academy College in a Changing World," observing the various innovations going on in higher education in the country, particularly at the junior college level. Dean York stressed the necessity for clear thought about these changes. We, too, could not remain static, but yet we had to evaluate all these changes in the light of what would be most worthwhile for us and for our unique function.
     The second speaker, Mr. Brian Schnarr, addressed the audience on "Innovation: Myth or Reality." What, he asked, was our incentive to progress when we had a monopoly on our product and when we had no competition? The sense of the necessity for improvement must come about from our awareness of the stultifying effect of having no "competitive alternative." Perhaps, he felt, it was better that we consider ourselves "number two" so that we would demand the very best from ourselves, thus showing our desire to improve by our willingness to change.
     Mr. David Roscoe used his relative newness to the Church for a background from which to speak on "An Outsiders Inside View" of the Academy. He gave a witty catalogue of his own reactions to his introduction to the New Church and to the Academy, sizing up our advantages and deficiencies in the school. He noted some of the adverse effects that our size had upon a restricted curriculum, but he remarked upon the strong sense of dedication and unity he saw among the Academy teachers compared with what he had seen in his previous experience elsewhere. That unity, he said, stemmed from the central position which the Writings assumed in the lives of the faculty and in the general life of the school.
     At the conclusion of the speeches, Mr. Gareth Acton, President of the Sons International, presented a beautiful white and gold banner to the Academy on behalf of the Sons.

578


In responding to the gift, Bishop Willard Pendleton thanked the Sons, recognizing the place this banner would take among all the other class and school banners presented to the Academy. Bishop Pendleton emphasized the fact that the Academy was its sons and daughters - the sons devoted to the truths of doctrine, and the daughters to the upholding of conjugial love. The Academy was not an end in itself but existed to establish the Church on earth. The audience then rose to sing "Our Own Academy," and with that expression of unity and affection the banquet and the Charter Day weekend celebration ended.
     ROBERT W. GLADISH

579


General Church of the New Jerusalem ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS 1971

General Church of the New Jerusalem ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS       NORBERT H. ROGERS       1971

     The Annual Meetings of the Council of the Clergy and of the Board of Directors of the General Church have been scheduled to take place in the week of March 5-11, 1972, at Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania.
     NORBERT H. ROGERS
          Secretary.